I've been tagged...

by Bex!
Here's the deal...pay attention now.

1. Find the nearest book: Ok, a very bad bio of Pete Townshend.
2. Name the book title and author: Behind Blue Eyes, A Life of Pete Townshend by Geoffrey Giuliano
3.Turn to page 123. ok...
4. Go to the 5th sentence on the page and then copy the next 3 sentences on your blog.

"Pete's rendition, however, is somehow strangely out of place in comparison to the rest of the album. It's not the obvious fact that it's a circa 1950s - something Country and Western ballad sung by a willowy English boy to his Persian-Indian messiah. That only makes it more intriguing."

(He is referring to "Heartache" by Jim Reeves on Who Came First.).


Ok I will tag: ginab, lyricsgirl (sue - however your screen name is spelled!) and
anne-marie!!

Maybe I should do the five weird things about yourself tag next...

Falling through the cracks

Being a substitute teacher for Special Needs kids has been very enlightening for me.
I see/hear alot. Many children are poor and neglected - I can see the sadness and frustration in their eyes.
Last week I worked with one of my favorite Special Ed classes. They have a new student and well, I was floored when their teacher told me HER story.
This African- American girl, I'll call her Tammy, is almost 9, but she should be in third grade. More on this in a bit.
She moved here to San Diego with her mom, dad, brother and grandmother after losing everything (including family) after Katrina.
Two months ago her mom died of heart disease.
Last month she was placed in the class I was subbing for - which is a mix of 4th, 5th and 6th mild to moderate special needs students.
I am unsure as to why she was placed in the special ed class - but I think it may be that she just refuses to work and has an incredibly negative/contradictory attitude.
Anyway, she SHOULD be with the 1st - 3rd graders, but she was PROMOTED a grade based on her appearance. She is more developed than girls her age (but I think it's just because she is overweight).
Being a poor, low-income black child from Louisiana,well, you can bet that has had a substandard education. Her father is not very well educated, and he grieving for his wife, so he is not in a position to support her and be the advocate he needs to be.
So here she is, a "slow" learner, promoted a grade and then dumped in a special needs class. The girl is not learning disabled, she's DEPRESSED. She needs COUNSELING and a tutor.
Her present teacher (who I subbed for) fought with the administration until she was blue in the face about getting Tammy the help she needs - and placing her back with mainstream students where she belongs.
The principal WROTE THE TEACHER UP for being in the principal's face!

I cannot stop thinking about Tammy. I am going to try to contact her dad through Tammy's teacher and see if I can help her out. Anjoli (my daughter who will turn 9 next week) could help tutor her - that would make it more fun for Tammy. I think it's really important for Anjoli to see how unfortunate some kids are...and how we cannot turn our back on children in need.

Wish me luck.

The first time Rufus met me...he looks thrilled.

Poor Rufus. The things he has to endure. Straight women. Fag hags...!

This photo was taken in October (?) 2003.
I met my dear, sweet, lovely friend (who is half my age) LAURA that day. I dragged her into the line to meet Rufus after his short performance at Borders in Westwood, (LA) and made her meet Rufus with me. (I can be a little bossy that way! "You WILL be my friend, damnit! I WILL NOT be bored!"). She was taken aback a bit by my, um enthusiasm. I won't tell you what I brought as a gift for him, but, seriously, it bordered on psychotic! She's going to spill the beans I know she will.
Oh Lord help me.
Please don't embarass me Laura.
I should have never have brought it up...

Rufus Wainwright "This Love Affair"

Rufus himself has said that it's one of life's greatest tragedies that he's gay...I think it's more tragic that he isn't a HUGE star.
I don't get it.
But I don't get alot of things...
I was in the audience when he performed this song at CBS studios in LA on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
I believe this is Rufus' best song. He had a bit of a cold that day though.

Btw, Rufus has a new cd coming out in May, 2007, entitled Release the Stars.
IT WILL BE NOTHING LESS THAN SPECTACULAR!!!!

New Do

Yeah I know this isn't MyVanitySpace...but I am so excited and I just can't hide it. I'm about to lose control and I think I like it.

(It's all Sue's fault -Lyricgrl Sue that is!).


It gets worse...

You Gotta Have Heart

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!


(Photo taken in Alishan, Taiwan June 2006. Click on it for more detail!!)

Get a Clue, Sue!!!!!!!!

I can be very, very stubborn and sometimes my perception of reality is just a tad askew. Case, in point, this classic Sue tale (sadly a true story actually) which I am about to share with all of you. It’s hilarious, but, well, honestly, it IS a bit scary too.

For Thanksgiving, our family drove to Tuscon, Arizona. Our friend Sokoun (pictured above with me - she likes doing cactus people poses!) invited us to stay with her Uncle Lee and his lovely wife. Sokoun and her family, as some of you may remember from earlier posts, are from Cambodia. Uncle Lee has done very well for himself since arriving over 25 years ago. He owns a mini - supermarket and has invested in real estate. He is living proof that, with a lot of hard work and sacrifice, the American Dream can indeed come true for anyone. He and his wife have a gorgeous home, it is almost palatial you could say. (Pictures to follow!).
Uncle Lee and his wife were SO hospitable – just lovely folks. (I could never pronounce Uncle Lee's wife's name – bad Sue, I know. I promise to get it from Sokoun!) We felt welcomed and very comfortable during our stay.

On Thanksgiving morning, I went for about a two mile jog at a park which was located across the street from their house. It had a beautiful trail, filled with huge Saguaro cacti and other varieties of cacti.
This is what the trail looked like:





I had never run in the desert before. I ran hard, because I knew I’d be feasting later on (and did I ever!). As you may imagine, it is was pretty warm and very dry, so I couldn’t WAIT to jump in the shower. My mantra at the time was: “MUST TAKE SHOWER…GET ME TO THE SHOWER….MUST TAKE SHOWER…”

SO! I walked from the trail across the street, and, well, this is what I saw:




For some reason, I looked at my car (the black Forrester in the pic) and I thought my husband had moved it. Don’t ask me why – as I said, I tend to see things not exactly as they really are. I thought I had parked in front of Uncle Lee’s house…so I walked up the walkway to his house. As I was walking, this boy from across the street ran over to me, and asked me, “Oh, are you looking for them?”
So I said, “Oh no, I am here visiting from California.”
“Oh, he said, “Well, have you seen Luke?”
“Ah no…who’s Luke?”
“Oh he’s a boy - he’s my friend.”
Well, I was thinking, THAT’S really odd because all of Uncle Lee’s kids are teenagers.
“How old is Luke?” I asked.
“He’s seven.”
Oh, I thought, he must be VISITING his Uncle for Thanksgiving.
So I walked into the house, and this Cambodian woman looks at me.
“Are you looking for Lee? He’s next door.”
“No, he’s not,” I replied. ‘”He’s working at the store.”
“Ah, no,” said the woman, “I don’t think so, because he has visitors.”
“Well,” I said, “I SAW him leave the house this morning. He’s a very hard worker isn’t he?”

Then I saw this very old woman mopping the floor, so, being the polite person that I am, I promptly took off my shoes.
I looked around and thought to myself, “Whoa – they really cleared the place out and they moved the furniture around too! (Uncle Lee was hosting a HUGE party that evening – over 100 people were invited).

“Ok ,” I told the woman, “ I REALLY need to take a SHOWER. Let me get my towel.” (It is good manners to bring your own towel when you stay at a Cambodian household).

I entered the downstairs bathroom, but I didn’t see my towel.

So I walked UPSTAIRS to see if I left it in the bedroom where we were sleeping.
At the top of the stairs is a tv room – and I saw 2 of Sokoun’s cousins whom I had met earlier that morning. The woman followed me upstairs (I assumed she was visiting Uncle Lee also, as lots of family were coming in from out of town).
“Oh hi! “ I said to her cousins.
The lady sat on the couch, introduced me to her husband, then patted the seat next to her, hinting that I should sit down and chat!
“Oh no,” I told her, “ I REALLY need to take a shower!! Then we can chat!”
“I just need to grab my towel from the bedroom.”

As I was walking down the hall, I heard her cousin say, well what I THOUGHT he said was, “You can USE the house.”
I have tinnitus and I have a hard enough time understanding those who speak English, let alone new friends with very thick foreign accents!
I think I said, “aw you are SO nice.THANK YOU!” I was just so appreciative of the “mi casa es su casa” vibe, ya know?

So, I kept walking and when I reached the room, it was EMPTY.

“OOOOOOOOOh!!!! I CONFUSED the house!!!”

Yup. I was in the wrong freaking house!!!
As I bolted down the stairs, I asked the woman who first greeted me in her foyer:
“Um, well, are you at least RELATED to Uncle Lee?”
She nodded her head.
Phew.

Yes, I was the hit of the party with THAT story! I honestly have never laughed so hard.
It’s good that I can laugh at myself though, dontcha think?
Yeah yeah I know…if I couldn’t laugh then I ‘d be crying all the time!




Anjoli atop one of two wooden elephants that adorn both sides of Uncle Lee's staircase. These elephants, each weighing roughly 500 pounds, were conspicuously missing from the OTHER house.
But, again, I thought they were cleared out for the party! OMG how thick can you get Sue??? Not only that, the staircase next door was WHITE!!