What! Was I not just talking about Migrating?

It is strange, some of the most vivid memories I have is from Australia. I don't have a lot of pictures but I can remember everything so clearly. Maybe it was a combination of not being burdened with school, being on my own, developing my pallette for beauty. I don't know if there is a day that passes that I think about that beautiful place. Well there is lots of stuff I think about everyday like coffee, my mom, people that meant a lot to me and new ideas. So I am very afraid of being cold and whammo - check my email and my boss in Oz is trying to get me to go back and work for him. (It's turning summer now down under) Now the million dollar question - do I follow what I set forth in my previous post and say yes?

When did fall get here?

I know fall is here because I have a cold and cannot find a long sleeve shirt in my wardrobe of tank tops. I have one pair of closed toe shoes - the rest are sandals. Where were the tv commercials telling me that I had to go out and buy shoes, pants and sweaters. I've been living in warm areas from February till now and have adjusted to it never getting cold. I feel like I need to migrate south....or into a bottle of cough syrup...

Honesty

When does honesty run its course?
In my day to day quest of functioning as a normal human being I have found being even more up front about things makes others more interested. Like if I am embarrassed by something or someone, rather than keep it to myself I've been giving it up and people seem to be handling it with a more humorous attitude which makes me feel much better about the situation. But where is the limit? When is it too much information?

advice

advice at a thai restaurant
-from a friend's fortune cookie: the best happiness is the happiness you can give to others
-from a semi-conservative friend: the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.
-from me: make sure there is water before putting the hot pepper into your mouth

advice on brady
-from me: try thurmans at least once, don't shower before you go and bring your pipe.

advice at brothers
-from random man: kick the guy in the balls who is using the women's restroom
-from Brian: if we sit here long enough waving our money we're bound to get served
-from me: don't step foot into this under-aged-over-dressed crap hole who can't even serve their elders

advice at terrace
-from the ho's: wear gold shoes, short skirts, dance in a corner and let the bartender spray you, you're bound to have a hot date lined up (for the evening)

advice at rosies
-from me: chill out with a pitcher among friends

Driving for Doughnuts

Ever feel like you're stuck in a routine and you're never going to get out of it? I felt like that all last week and today it occured to me that routine is ok as long as you have little surprises along the way. Maybe today it was the spontanoues formation of a volleyball team, or lunch with a bubbly friend, or an unexpected present when I got back from lunch. It makes sitting in front of a computer go by a lot easier.

When I was listening to a Buddhist radio station they were talking about change. I know some people that fear change, motto being: change is evil and will repent against it. The speaker actually embraced change and became more animated because change is a good thing. It is something new and exciting. I even wonder if change can be a routine? The most simple example being, If you keep changing your hair every month, does that then become a routine rather than change?

So end point being is that I've always been a "yes" person but I'm going to try to push that to saying yes to the unknown, the expected and hopefully that will create lots of little surprises along the way.

Metro?

How do you tell if someone is very metrosexual or gay? (without asking them)

The party's over or so I say

Upon walking out my door this morning a cool breeze (65 F) hit me. I realized that the party might be over. Still two weeks left of summer but the mindset has already taken over. Leaves were on the ground - mostly because of the big windstorm but I felt a little sad. Now it's time to drink hot cider, cuddle up with Tolstoy (War and Peace) and start having movie dates with my girl friends. I'd like to say I can't wait but I can.

The weekend Wrap-up sponsored by the Bears and Vikings loss

So Detroit is on top of the division, who would have guessed. But besides the Packers losing some other things good and not so good happened as well.

1. Seeing "Cut" at the art museum. If you didn't go you missed out on some phenomenal video cuts.
2. Starting off the Packer season with my old college friends.
3. Having a guy write his number on a napkin - being old school still rocks (too bad he wasn't my type).
4. Getting away with asking a guys obscene questions and making them perform acts in order to accomplish bachellorette party tasks.
5. Seeing a 13 year old boy fly a kite to electronic music at the kite show.
6. Not cutting my hair but coloring it. No I didn't do it myself.

7. Recovering evidence of what happened the previous night, keys back on keyring(good) shoes back in closet (good) seeing the aftermath of redbull and vodka (bad) seeing a bumper sticker pasted outside and remembering it was once on my ass (bad).
6. Going dancing with a girl I've never met before.
7. Rejecting a guy with the same name as a television show.
8. Hanging out with the sister.
9. Starting a collaborative art project.
10. Finishing a really bad book, Bad Heir Day. It's an English soap opera of wannabes and the wealthy.

He's coming for me

He sang Ain't Got You (to me) when he was in Milwaukee and now he's back to find me. Bruce is hitting up Wisconsin, again, this time in Madison, October 15th. But, why is he back? He checked his website,
" 'We're coming back to some of our favorite cities to make sure the fans get a chance to see how this tour has evolved over the course of the last 50 shows. Bruce just keeps stretching the boundaries of his performance night after night, and the result has been some of the very best concerts of his entire career,' said long time manager Jon Landau."
So, will I buy tickets right away? Nah, I'll most likely ebay it and see what happens. Once a year is awesome but if anyone wants a date, hey I'm there.

So you wanna be a rockstar?

So my co-worker/volleyball sidekick is also in a rock band called Fuzee. They played at Summerfest and now they are coming to a pub near you and me. Check them out Friday night at Points East Pub on LYON ST. Kicking some tunes with them are Moth from Cinncinnati and Pedal from Milwaukee. If your not sipping beers down at your house, pound them down here with a side of slamming rock.

cheers!

the Weekend Wrap-up sponsored by Advil and Starbucks

The week and weekend filled with:

1. Playing a bad first 9 holes and good back 9 holes at Lake Park
2. Trying to call it a night after the bar but instead getting thrown over shoulders and into the after party for more beer and more pool
3. Buying a painting I've been lusting over for 6 years. Come see it!
4. Acquiring beer goggles at exactly the wrong time
5. Not burning the couch
6. Being invited to an underground space in west bend where the speakers are up to the ceiling, records are being spun and the men can't believe a hot girl digs this music.
7. Painting my kitchen key lime pie green
8. Getting told I was "the one" after just being introduced. (Is that a new pick up line?)
9. Finding a solution to resolve the hunger and water issue in new orleans: dump large amounts of rice and pasta into the water.
10. Dad flying out to Arizona with his girlfriend, then coming back as his finance - congrats!

New Fav Music: Aqualung

From the Pabst Theater site:
"Vital, dramatic piano-pop songs radiate from London artist Matt Hales. Vocals swell and drop with beauty and sadness as Matt duets with his brother Ben in this stunning performance. The British songwriter creates a world-weary mood with just his keyboard and that wonderfully evocative voice. Aqualung's music is hauntingly beautiful and his performances are absolutely breathtaking. An uncanny knack for soft yet powerful melodies paired with an unparalleled emotional depth, Aqualung is the total package."

So I went out and got his music and I fell in love. He is playing Thursday night at the Pabst if anyone is not going to Rolling Stones or White Strips or Jazz in the Park or anything else that goes on Thursday nights in Milwaukee, come with me to go see Aqualung!

Pissed off and Sad

After watching and reading reports on Hurricane Katrina I am pissed off and sad. Seeing roofs peeking from the water in New Orleans and the rescue attempts being done I wonder where will these people go and what will they do? The Superdome is low on food and will be evacuated. Places are flooded and on fire. There are not enough tears to wept for these people. I can't cry because I want to do something, not cry about it. I want to open my home, give up my food, be prepared with wood and hammer, give them better memories, give them anything.
Now, perfect example here: Why are we spending $ putting more soliders and warfare in Iraq when there are people here in need. We have Americans in need of your help Mr. President. But you want to spend the time and funds to dress men in camaflouge and cross your fingers and hope they don't get killed. You will hurt more people in the South if you don't stop Iraq now. You're killing the corner shop owner who made sure his regulars got the morning paper and some smokes, the beautician - the gossip queen who made everyone smile, the activist, the carpenter, the musician, the taxi driver, etc. These people are the life blood that make things function. How will we engage when the majority of these members has their life to rebuild? How will people treat each other? Will it ever be the same? Every action has a reaction and so forth. If one person is burdened, that burden is passed along. But if you get that optomist that smiles, people will smile back. How can we help those devestated smile back?

the segregating storm

After watching the updates on the Hurricane last night a news bit came on warning areas in the hurricane's path, once on land. It read "Category 1 storms affect small trees, shrubery and mobile homes".

Usually, in trying times, classes don't matter. If you're poor, middle class or wealthy, a town will come together and fix what needs to be mended. Here, a tropical storm is segregating us up into classes. Our society does that enough as it is. So, let's think, if the lowest storm makes shrubbery equal to mobile homes, then are mountains, catcus, boulders, wheat fields comparable to mansions, city halls, strip clubs, and outhouses?

Running into:

Things that I ran into or ran into me:
1. An intertube + all 160+lbs of Tony
2. a fall shopping spree hosted by my latest paycheck
3. my new favorite drink, a sangria blanco as served by coast
4. lots of old friends from high school, the drunk, the cute, the stoned.
5. A wave after being launched at incredible heights into the sky, hello birds, hello water!
6. old stories, funny stories, never to be shared again (back hair) stories.
7. My favorite store - Anthropologie
8. A fun hawaiian navy man - welcome home!
9. Seven running shoe stores - time to buy online
10. a five minute conversation about how my grandma's shoes are sticking to the floor.

Book to Read

Before you break down and read Harry Potter, here's a good memoir about a kid in San Francisco who swims for the affection in the wealth and dramatics of his parents. His quest to be cool and be free leads him backpacking, pot smoking, car stealing, fruit throwing, panty sniffing and much more. Based on his life, he describes the theatrics of his once famous mom, his overly wealthy dad, his hated step-mom, along with other friends and family members and how they contributed to his way of life. Happy Reading!

GWB VAC Stolen from WilliamZabka

I don't like stealing things unless I'm stealing it back. But I'll admit to taking this from williamzabka, hope you don't mind.

"No one can ever complain about how much time George W. Bush has spent on vacation. Seriously, think about it. Do you know how much damage he has done when he wasn't on vacation. It is like if your janitor throws up and smears shit all over the walls. For all I care, he can go to an island in Indonesia right now for an extended vacation. Dealing with him after he leaves will be like picking up after your child when he goes to sleep. But in this case your child's activities include burning your money, pissing in your gas tank, and getting your boss to fire you. That is a lot of fucking cleaning up.

So I for one will no longer complain about GWB's vacation time. Please, Mr. President take up scuba diving. Learn how to mix the ultimate margarita. But don't forget to keep ignoring important things like if you want our troops out of Iraq by the next millenium, how by saying you are leaving no child behind you are really leaving them all, and most important of all; don't forget to continue ignoring important intel from the CIA."

When the leaves start to Fall

Not to long ago I was playing volleyball when I realized that it was beginning to get darker out earlier. It was still bloody hot - but it was dark. I felt like a bird that needed to prepare for migration. There was an aire of immediacy. i knew there was still many days of hot hot weather. Today is very cold.

Some people are thinking about starting school again, others are trying to squeeze in one last vacation and others try very hard not to think about wisconsin winters. I was ontop of my friend Brian's apartment overlooking downtown from the south and thought how much at ease I feel in Milwaukee. I began thinking about how fantastic the colors are in fall and I wondered if I could stay in Milwaukee for one more season. I had one of those weeks were I was surrounded by friends and activities only Milwaukee could provide. I met up with various friends I haven't seen in a while and some I see all the time, went down to water, watch a ball game while grilling out, went to the Landmark, celebrated Miller's 150th by dancing to Bon Joni. All these events made me feel at home. But by the end of the week nothing was at home.

The clouds were out and it was raining. I couldn't wait for the leaves to turn colors but that would mean the trees would shut off circulation. I could, however, wait to see my far away friends because I knew they'd always be there and something was in the works that'd all of us girls would be together. But now one is not with us anymore and it is so unfortunate it had to happen to her and now. It won't stop raining for a lot of us. But we are so happy when the little sparks of sunlight that come down on us and we can smile and laugh again. I saw even more older faces that took me back to my college days and we just shook our heads in disbelief and then we would make each other laugh at some of the stuff we did. It was bittersweet.

My friend Sara and I were driving back home and it seemed we could not get away from this gray cloud and then, close to home, we saw an opening of vast blue sky. It made me think that I needed to keep going till I find the happiest place there is. If that is were there turning leaves are that's where it is, if it is between mountains and salt water that's were it is, if it's in the warm heart of someone, that's were it is. Peace and love to my deepest friends and our one above.

Old Poems

I started thinking of a poem and I began repeating lines of poems I had written 2 years ago. This was exactly 2 years ago and it's interesting because with some of these poems I am not the speaker. Just because the person you know and love writes these poems doesn't necessarily make them the speaker. I like to put myself in someone else's shoes see what images or thoughts start coming to the surface. Bruce Springsteen does this constantly with his ballads. So it is interesting when something I have written in the past, where I totally removed myself, touches me now.

for more photographed poems, please see my temporary site, www.uwm.edu/~gmj3/final

From the Journal: "blow"

strangely, this is how I feel at this exact moment"