Here's a poem I wrote today:

Inchworm

Inch your way closer, please.

****************************

In other news...
We adopted a new kitty. He was living in a neglectful home, and needed somewhere to live where he'd get more attention. So far, it's not quite Kitty WWIII yet but it's not exactly the kitty Waltons either. Here's a couple pics of the big boy (his name's Shanahan):








Maybe he and Feli will get tired of growling and hissing at each other one of these days...

Good news for once: Obama passed an act which subsidizes health care for people who have lost their jobs (or in my case, people whose domestic partners have lost their jobs). So, my health care has gone from $417 a month to $146!!!! Yipppeeee!!!! A great financial burden lifted. I'll be able to support myself now, which is a good feeling to say the least.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! And a pinch to all ye who are not wearing green today...

Just to make it easier for everyone, here's a link directly to my fundraiser page:

http://www.freezinforareason.com/members/member.php?mem_id=405

Please donate...just a few dollars will make a big difference for these kids.

Hey! Does anyone care to sponsor me in the Lake Anne Polar Plunge this year? It's for a good cause: Camp Sunshine, located in Maine, is a retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Here's the link:

http://www.freezinforareason.com/event/event.php?event_id=56

And, if that's not enough to persuade you, picture this: Me, jumping into an icy lake in the middle of February, in nothing but a bathing suit, wondering who the hell made me do this, and then remembering it was my own masochistic self. Me, climbing back out of the water with numb limbs, cursing and vowing never, ever to do this again...til next year. That's what happened last year, anyway...and this year promises to be a good 20 degrees colder, if not more.

So, if you could please find it in your hearts to sponsor my yearly suffering, I'd be most grateful!

post a picture in my comments of what you think describes me when you think about what/who I am.

give no written explanation. just an image.

So, I compiled a list of some of my favorite words. I'm sure there are oodles more, but this is what has popped into my mind over the past few days. Most are there because I like the sound of them, and the way they feel on my tongue, but some have to do with association or have a certain power to them. Feel free to throw in some of your own favorite words. I'm a word geek to end all word geeks! I've spent hours of my life perusing the dictionary. Maybe me talk pretty one day.

Here goes:

synecdoche
primal
doldrums
thwart
macabre
melancholy
banish
bewilder
calliope
schlep
orange
jamboree
grock
mandolin
chortle
luminous
enthrall
marshmallow
ambrosia
wild
forlorn
mammoth
masquerade
plight
parody
sage
limerick
dandelion
gazelle
fiasco

Here's words which sound like what they are:

curt
slug
guffaw
plod
flippant
corporation
quirky
pretzel
crotchety
mumble
marshmallow
bizarre

So, today was my birthday. I spent it at one of my favorite places in the world, Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary. All the animals there were rescued from abusive situations...some of them were victims of the animal agriculture industry, some were abused by their owners, some were found wandering around D.C. or caged behind restaurants, one sheep (the one in the pics below) was going to be sacrificed by a religious cult, etc. etc. Anyway, the sanctuary holds an annual vegan Thanksgiving feast, and this one happened to fall on my bday. Before we all sat down to eat, we watched the turkeys being fed...a banquet of rice, grains, lettuce, fruit and other goodies was laid out for them, and they were the guests of honor. I got a little teary like I always do...it was so nice to hang out with turkeys rather than seeing them dead on a plate. Anyway, we were stuffing our faces (I had a full plate of food plus 3 desserts), and a woman with a camera filmed my parents and Vaughn and I cramming it in. She's doing a special about the Poplar Thanksgiving feast, and apparently it will be on Youtube by Wednesday. I will be happy to post the link for y'all...what could be more enjoyable, after all, than watching Julie being a glutton??

It was frigid cold and blustery, and I got to spend time with my sheep soulmate, Adam. Then I went to my parents' house and got presents and a cake from Sticky Fingers. Now I'm going to crash on my couch, drink Mayan spice tea, and knit.

All in all, a perfect day.

Ever noticed that the word "corporation" sounds like a cross between "corruption" and "whore"?

I realized a couple nights ago that I have a vivid and distinct relationship with each of the colors. I went through all of them, and didn't even have to think about it; the relationships were so clear in my mind. Of course, there are an infinity of shades for each color, so I'm talking about the shades I identify with most:

Green--I'm married to green; we're soulmates and always have been.
Orange--I'm having a torrid and likely lifelong love affair with orange; she's the bold reckless me that I want to be, and sometimes am. We're playmates...
Purple--I've always admired purple from afar; she is mysterious and elusive and I long to be near her, but have never been able to get as close as I'd like.
Red--Red is my arch nemesis; we love each other and we inflame each other. There is contention, but it's passionate contention.
Yellow--Yellow and I are close friends and confidantes. We are comfortable with each other...not a lot alike, but we appreciate each other's differences.
Blue--Blue and I have never been close, and never will be. He always bored me and I never understood why everyone was so gaga over him.
Pink--I think we're different species. We have complete and utter disdain for each other.
Black--I'm simultaneously irritated and intrigued by black. I hang out with him sporadically and then we ignore each other the rest of the time.
White--White is haughty and I have little use for her.
Brown--Brown is the kind, gentle relative whom I feel very comfortable around. We're both introverts and it's very peaceful being together.
Grey--I respect grey and I worry about her. She's had a hard life.

1) Larry's (my boss at the pharmacy) laugh
2) Bud's (my boss at the bookstore) toothpick
3) Hoodies
4) Having an arch nemesis
5) Getting lost in the woods
6) Frisbee golfing
7) My underground passageway/cubby hole in Ireland
8) Knitting while wrapped up in a quilt with Feli nearby purring
9) Orange
10) Lucid dreams
11) Pirate water bottles
12) That Fall smell in the air
13) Being in love with someone whose name you don't know
14) Making faces in the mirror

I had a mostly ordinary day today, yet ordinary at Lake Anne is not your run-of-the-mill ordinary. I was working at the postal counter, which has a tendency to act as a magnet for Crazy People. Very few crazies today, though, much to my disappointment (and relief).

Four things of note, however:

1) The cops and other uniformed people were out dredging the lake looking for a dead body.

2) I was knitting a scarf. It was about two feet long, and I was using chenille (a thick heavy yarn). A man came up to me and stared for a while before asking, "What's that you're knitting? A bikini?" Yeah, a bikini. In November. Out of chenille. Looking oddly exactly like a scarf.

3) I spent hours trying to write a poem, and failing. I mean, I scribbled a bunch of lines down, crossed some out, scribbled some more, ad nauseum, but they didn't work, didn't connect. I finally threw in the towel and went back to knitting, and by then my brain was a tad punchy from my creative exertion. So, I came up with this masterpiece, a cheeky little haiku:


4) I came up with a list of my five favorite albums of all time:

--Neutral Milk Hotel  Aeroplane Over the Sea
--the Beatles  White Album
--the Smiths  Louder than Bombs
--Velvet Underground  The Velvet Underground and Nico (w/pic of banana on front)
--David Bowie  Hunky Dory

Runner up...Michael Jackson's  Thriller. What an influence that album had on me in my formative years!  My best friend Claire and I spent an entire Summer lip syncing to the album in my basement, and renting The Making of Thriller over and over and over again. Ahh, those were the days! "You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it..."

So, my readers...what are YOUR favorite albums?

Oh, and in the midst of all this wild 'n' crazy fun, I got a little work done too.

I don't get people.
They're like circular mazes with nothing but trapdoors.
Bloody people!
(no offense to any people out there who may be reading this journal).

Let's go to Endor and celebrate Obama 'O8!!!!!!

1. Stop talking about politics for a moment or two.
2. Post a reasonably-sized picture in your LJ, NOT under a cut tag, of something pleasant, such as an adorable naked mole rat in a stormtrooper costume, a cloud in the shape of Ian McKellen, robot unicorns, anything cuddling anything else, etc. etc.
Something that has NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS.
3. Include these instructions, and share the love.

So apparently McCain has accused Obama of being elitist because he drinks organic Honest tea. This from the man who owns seven houses and thirteen automobiles, while Obama has one house, one car, and a bike. But, hey, he drinks organic tea, and we Americans can't relate to such snobbery. He's probably a pinko commie too.

How's this for dramatic irony???
Ahh, if only Cheney had known how right he was...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YENbElb5-xY