Tornado Warning

Sorry I haven't been blogging much, but to keep this website a bit more active, I'm throwing some videos up as I go. I will be back to my normal schedule next week. Sorry for the lack of visits and I will be back in full force soon! This is a video I made when there was a tornado warning in my area a couple of weeks ago. I had my new toy (video camera) and it is a bit shaky, but I'm getting the hang of it. Check out the rainbow after the storm on this video. I shot this right right outside of my deck and through a couple of windows. (The window part I was just too damn scared to go outside!)

A Spontaneous Get Together

This is a video of a spontaneous get together at our place last night. I was surprised to see a couple of fellow bloggers you all may know!

My thanks to TeeJay (Todd), Just Because Today (Myriam), fellow bloggers who are now personal friends of mine, to make this video even that much more special!

Another Hot & Humid Day in New York

It’s another hot day in New York. It feels like a sauna outside and luckily for me, my a/c in my car decided to stop working. Technology has spoiled us, leaving us to think that we need a/c units for us to stay alive, and when a bit of humidity falls upon us like split pea soup, we’re gasping for air in hopes that we won’t soon be pushing up daisies. When I woke up, I got excited because I saw that it was overcast. I thought it might have cooled things down a touch, until I stepped outside and realized it was still as thick as molasses. I don’t do heat, more so, humidity. Give me a 90 degree day with no humidity and take my damn ass to the beach. I’m ready to go.

It’s not only the hot and humid days that get to me - it’s how it affects other people. For instance, yesterday late afternoon, I had stopped into our local farm market to pick up a few things. There was a long line of people waiting ahead of me. Each person who went up to the counter and plopped their produce down had a bone to pick with the nice little Korean man who really couldn't speak a lick of English, other than, “thank you”, and “goodbye”, as well as the total price.  Personally, I think these guys know English very well, but choose not to deal with mean New Yorkers. Smart. By the fifth customer, he somehow just nodded, letting them believe he really didn’t know how to speak any English whatsoever - even pointing to the total price to prove his inability to communicate with them. He was tired, hot and irritated by all of the cranky people. When it was my turn for him to ring me up, I told him, “Sometimes I wish I didn’t know English in order to keep my sanity from mean people”, and then looked down, grabbing each fruit out of my little cart and placing them out on the countertop. All of the sudden I hear, “I see you all da’ time here! Glad you come! You no buy sushi lately from us, why? Is every-ting ok?” I looked up at him, smiled and said, “You’re a genius.”

As I’m walking toward my apartment building, I noticed two crowds of people, possibly each being a family. On one side were four black women, maybe late twenties to early thirties and a teenage boy with them. On the other side were three Hispanic women, approximately the same age and two other men that were probably in their mid-forties. They were adults, however, they were seemingly having a little spat. You can definitely see the groups were parted, so I just walked bravely in between them and made my way up the stairs to get to my apartment. After putting everything away, I went back into my office (closest to the parking lot) and heard the argument escalate.

“He ain’t yo baby’s daddy so stop tryin’ to get him to pay up for yo’ broke ass!”
“Oh hell no you di-int!!! We be hittin’ it all day when you gone to work - and I ain’t lyin’!”

Then, fists started flying.

At that point, I bent one of the blades of my blinds down and looked outside. I saw one of the black woman start wiggling her head back and forth and her huge hooped earrings were flying from side to side. It was then...that she took off her huge wedged sandals. I knew she meant business. This is a weapon of all weapons - you better run if you see a girl take off her shoes. It doesn’t get better than this. I had the Jerry Springer, 'live', in my parking lot. I could have sold tickets. Of course a patrol came over and broke it up and everything went back to a peaceful and serene setting...somewhat.

So, another hot and humid day in New York means: Deb is going to tread gingerly through this lovely day of crankiness. 

Please enjoy your day & stay out of New York!

Fun Times (2nd Video)

Another creation from clips of this past year...

My Past Year

This is a video I put together of our past year with family and friends. I apologize for the poor quality of the video, but it's not easy trying to make a video with a BlackBerry and a small tourist cam and have it appear HD. I have now purchased an HD video cam, so hopefully now I won't have so much distortion in my videos.

It's Not Me, It's You...

Periodically, I’ll try to look at myself first, as far as my actions and behavior toward people, and see what it was that ‘stirred the pot’ if somehow, drama seeped into the mix. Being that I’m an explosive person; a reactive creature to conflicts, I’ll be the first one to admit, “Hey, it was me, I’m sorry”, but lately, it hasn’t been the case. I’ve been getting involved in these mini-dramas that produce way too much for what it’s worth.

Within our circle of friends, (as well as outside of our circle), we have a couple of women who somehow have forgotten that we’re a married couple. By nature, I’m a very sarcastic sonovabitch, and at times, flirtatious. Everything is in jest and hopefully taken ‘the right way’. As much as I dislike on and off relationships, having been through them enough, I also try to avoid on and off friendships. They seem to have a substance that I can’t quite put my finger on, but yet, have an inkling of what causes the reasons for its madness. I try not to think about things, but sometimes they explode in my face and there it is - out there in the wide open.

Although I take every crush, flirtatious remark, innuendo and mere flattery from someone as a compliment, I also take it as an insult if it gets taken and pushed way too far and out of control. I tell it like it is and I never sugarcoat things to the point of misleading someone. When someone “forgets” that I’m married, especially someone who is also a lesbian and believes in the sanctity of marriage regardless of gender, I wonder if it is “forgetting” or simply an “I don’t respect your marriage” type of thinking.  There has to be a level of respect when you befriend a couple who are married. The number of years together does not indicate a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ union. For some reason, I’ve seen many lesbians (not to say there aren’t any heterosexuals who think this way), think that if you are with your significant other for more than ten years, then LBD (lesbian bed death) has been bestowed upon them. One person, who had no clue about the nature of my relationship with my wife, but only knew that we were "just married", recently had made a snark comment regarding the number of years we’ve been together and simply muttered out, “Oh you can’t possibly be happy.” (Sigh.)

I want to clear the air of any leftover particles of bullshit that’s been scattered about: I’m married. I’m human. I’m happy and I’m sad. I love being married to my wife. I will never leave her, unless she leaves me. I do not want “another girl on the side”, nor do I wish to have an extramarital affair. I’m flirtatious, but this does not mean that I want a little side dish to the main course of my relationship. Just because I’ve been with the same person for a long time does not mean that we are no longer intimate or do not love one another. That isn’t anybody’s business to begin with. For all who have stated, “You can’t possibly be happy” --- no, I am not completely happy in my life. I suffer from depression and anxiety and I do my best to maintain a level of sanity with natural remedies, exercise and try to surround myself with positive people, such as my friends and family. It is what it is. I never tell someone that I’m single or mislead them. I am very honest, to the point of brutally honest, and possibly tearing the very thin thread of friendship that has left to be recovered...or not.

If you’re reading this post, and it sounds like an email that has been written to you, then heed this message: It’s not me, it’s you.

Never a Dull Moment...

You’re still not going to get any ‘deep & meaningful’ stuff out of me just yet. My mind is awfully scattered this past week - hell, this past month, so bear with me. The mini crazy dramas at home have kept me well occupied to last me for a while. Being that I live in a condo complex that is divided by each individual owner, every condo has their own set of rules of course. The home association only determines what goes on outside of your condo: no shoes outside the foyer, only 1 hanging plant, no big flags unless American, absolutely no umbrellas and electric grills only. You get my drift. The entire community is well kept and the landscaping is beautiful. The only downfall to this lovely little circle of homes are the many dog owners. Each building holds ten families. I live in a section where there are only hard working young couples hustling from work and then off to happy hour. It’s nice that way. No time for pets. One of them owns a 14 year old mutt. She’s cute, black chubby and quiet. She looks more like a black lab, but very slow-going and eager to jump into your car if you open your door.

During the past month, my next door neighbor just got a black lab puppy. He’s adorable, but rambunctious. I see my friend walking her dog around the yard and then heard, “Jen! He peed all over our bed!” Must suck to be them, I thought. And, as you already know, my neighbor downstairs just got a miniature pincher / Chihuahua mix. I never thought about the inevitable: constant yip-yappin’ barking pups. Granted, it’s only during the day (which I happen to work at home), so there goes that safe call - but even at night before my neighbors arrive from home, the dogs are itchy, hearing every sound in the building as though there was some intruder trying to force their way in through into the vents and into their territories. You can imagine what this does to a tiny little yip-yappin’ dog that looks more like a rat with huge ears.

This morning, as I was having my coffee and cereal with my wife, it was oddly quiet. All of our windows were opened because there happened to be a nice cool breeze. We then heard someone screaming, possibly an older man. I stepped out onto my deck and looked down below to see an older gentleman from across the street yelling at my neighbor next to me, who was sitting out on her deck. “You have no respect for your neighbors! You keep that good for nuttin’ dog barking all day while you’re at work! I’m retired and it’s driving me crazy! This community should have no dogs and I am reporting you to the home owner’s association! Train your goddam dog!” Of course, being that my neighbor is of Latina descent, her head started moving from left to right, making her big looped earrings jangle with each jolt as she fired back, “Ju-know, maybe if you turned your effin’ hearing aid lower you wouldn’t hear it so much! Go ‘head - tell the home owner’s association! All owners are allowed pets viejito! Read the contract asshole!”

The little older man briskly walked toward to the association’s office, which happens to be adjacent to our building and has not come out since. In fact, I am writing this from outside my deck, watching all of this unfold. I’m secretly rooting for the old man because frankly, hearing those dogs yip-yap from morning till night is really getting on my nerves as well.

Never a dull moment around here.

Miss Social Butterfly

I’m truly amazed of how well my neighbor downstairs is interacting with the other neighbors. She is playing very nicely in the sandbox these last couple of days, and mingling with other dog owners, as well as non-dog owners. She is constantly outside with her little pup - possibly an excuse to come out of her shell.   As I walked downstairs to head off to the gym, there she was, sitting on the lawn, smiling and greeting me. Again, I knelt down besides her and pet the cute little dog with the sharp teeth...and once again, I could not help but stare at her feet that were in the same surf boards--err--flip flops as they were the other day when I had seen her. My mother advised me to not be rude and stare at her feet because she’s probably self-conscious, but I just couldn’t help it. It was like not looking at the 5 inch inch lady at the circus. Impossible.

One evening, we had a huge power surge within the entire community. The electricity went out and our power box beside our building sparked up and fizzled out. It was a full moon which lit up the entire neighborhood. Odd thing was, since it was such a beautiful night, all of our neighbors decided to take a step outside. Once again, Miss Social Butterfly was out and about with her dog mingling...again on her surf boards.  Hell, she can practically ski with her flip-flops on. Since it was dark, I doubt I would see her gigantic feet, until I said hello to her. She unfortunately held her flashlight toward the ground - toward her feet. The only thing that glowed from below...were the very things I was not supposed to stare at.

I believe she is a teacher, because every summer she is home during the day. She looks bored out of her mind. I’m about to head off to the gym and she’s outside right now. She’s still very limited on ‘chit-chatting’, but you can see the anticipation when people walk up to her. I think today I’ll bite the bullet and ask Miss Social Butterfly (as well as her dog) if she’d like to join me to walk around the complex. I hope her strides aren’t as big as I’m assuming they’ll be.

Bigfoot

I’ve finally found out why my neighbors downstairs sound like a pack of wild boars walking around. I had thought that it was just a case of an angry stride or perhaps, something had annoyed them. We kept blaming their angry stomps on the neighbor below them. They’re a couple of young kids that tend to pump up their stereo a bit too loudly and have parties every once in a while. I had at times, thought that the two of them were upset with us after we had a get together that ran a bit after midnight or if we laughed too loudly, which happens often.

No.

As I’m walking toward my building, I see my neighbor walking in front of me. She now has a little miniature pincher. As she was making her way into her apartment, I was trying to pass her, when her dog came out to greet me. I stopped and played with him as his razor sharp teeth dug into each finger of mine. My neighbor suddenly opened up and said, “Wow, it looks like he really likes you!” We started talking from there, and as our conversation went on, I looked down and saw the culprit: her feet. This woman has the largest feet I have ever seen on anyone in my entire life. She was wearing these large tan flip-flops that could have been used for surfing. Throughout the rest of the conversation out in the foyer area, my eyes couldn’t help but stare at her feet. It was Bigfoot!

Almost two years of living here, this was my first introduction with this woman. I’ve met her fiance before, who is really friendly, but his girlfriend is a bit more introverted. I got back up from kneeling down getting my share of puppy bites from her little friend and said, “Hi, I’m Deb - the nut upstairs.” She laughed, and then said, “Oh, we’re the nuts downstairs.” (No name given.) Which is fine of course, but I can see her social interactions were a bit limited - maybe because we practically live on top of one another. I know some people prefer their privacy, but it was nice to finally get to meet the woman who sings, Evita, McArthur’s Park and Don’t Cry Out Loud in her shower. Frankly, she’s pretty good to tell you the truth. Now I can definitely put a face (as well as her feet) to the voice.

Losing My Mind

If it’s a full moon at night, does it still affect us in the a.m. hours? Sirens are going off nonstop, my neighbors are screaming bloody murder at one another because their underwear went off into dryer heaven, leaving them walking around commando, and dogs have been continually barking throughout the night into the morning. Madelene’s on her third cup of coffee walking around asking me if she looks “fat in this”, and my internet connection is teasing me saying, “Here I am! ...Now I’m gone. WAIT! Here I am! GONE!”

Madelene keeps forgetting something as she tries to walk out the door for work, so the door is opening, closing, opening, closing. Reminds me of Sesame Street when they tried to teach you Spanish. “Abierto! Cerrado! Abierto! Cerrado!” You’re laughing ‘cause you damn well remember that crap.

My iPod keeps dying out on me and today, it has finally taken its last breath, so I am heading to the Sprint store to gear up my BlackBerry to do the job for me. I had no clue that I could store all my music on it. I cannot work out at the gym and listen to their techno bullshit blaring from each corner. It’s enough to give someone a seizure. And as many things are turning on and off, so are my weird relations with people I am in contact with.   Off, on, off, on...off.

So as my scattered mind gingerly walks through this beautiful and crazy morning, I’m hoping it calms down before I completely lose it altogether. I will blog on a more serious note possibly later on this weekend or Monday. I’m sorry I’ve been kind of absent lately, but losing your mind isn’t a good thing while trying to write something of significance.

Enjoy your day!

Bodily Fluids

It’s not surprising at all to see pigs at your local gym. And what I mean by that is, there are too many people lacking in personal hygiene or the respect for others as far as wiping off their gym equipment. As I’m waiting for this rather large muscular woman to finish with her tricep machine, which looks as though you’re sitting on a chair backwards, then pulling in the levers - I noticed that she was done with her sets. She got up, to which I had expected her to walk over to the clorox wipe box and pull a few of those puppies out, but instead, she shuffled her amazon self over to the next machine. I decided to walk over to the machine and give it a once over. She had left ass marks on the seat. Not only were they cheek marks, but it was a little puddle left behind. I would have wiped it off myself, but I have never, ever once in my life seen anything so nasty as this at a gym.  Pigs!

The entire episode left a bad taste in my mouth, so I left the weight circuit area and just decided to do a little cardio instead. Ever since the recession, as odd as this sounds, everyone and their mother has joined a gym. It’s bad enough people are losing their jobs, but it’s worse because now they are at the gym during the day playing volleyball with the swine flu. The owners of the gym decided that it would be a good idea to place more cardio machines inside so people don’t have to wait on the dreaded line to elliptical and stairmaster hell. The bad part about having more machines inside for everyone is that now we’re so much closer together (not in a good sentimental way mind you) but if you slide your hand on the levers ‘just so’, you can literally hold hands with the next sweaty guy or gal next to you. I happened to accidently bumped hands with the next fella’ working out, who happened to also be very sweaty and then ended up giving me a little smile and tried ‘small talk’ with me. No...  Thank the good LORD he didn’t smell. If he did, I would have gagged and left the gym to run circles around the parking lot. I gave him credit for keeping up with his daily deodorant and cologne rituals.

So whether it was the disgustingness of the remaining sweat on the machines or if it was the collision between my hand and that random man’s, I have now ended up with a nasty cold of some sort. I’m going to purchase gloves for my next visit to the gym. I am totally serious - they’re not workout heavy weight lifting gloves - they are for sanitary reasons.  And no, they are not latex medical gloves, but ones that are disposable that have a towel-like texture to them. I may start looking like some freaky female version of Michael Jackson, but hey - I don’t have to touch the slimy stuff lurking around at the gym anymore.

CLEAN OFF YOUR BODY FLUIDS PEOPLE!

Human Goal: A Long Life Lived

It was a rough morning for me. I had woken up from a terrible nightmare. Sometimes I don’t know where or why these nightmares occur, but this time, I have a feeling it’s because of all the terrible accidents happening nearby where I live. There has been a lot of coverage of it here on the local news. One story just blew my mind.  A 36 year old mother of one was driving along the Taconic Parkway with four other children that belonged to her brother. She drove into a “do not enter” ramp and headed southbound in the northbound lanes. She collided into an SUV killing the four girls that belonged to her brother and three other men from Yonkers that were coming home from a Sunday dinner with their family. Questions were raised: Why did the woman hop onto the wrong ramp with a “do not enter” sign? Why did she travel for so long on the Taconic Parkway in the wrong direction? She had called her brother during her travel letting him know she didn’t feel well. But, they still have no idea as to why she didn’t feel well.

Another accident occurred on Rt 17 in Chester, NY. A 46 year old woman had hit a median guardrail and pulled over the side of the road. But, that wasn’t the tragedy. She had a three year old son in the backseat as well. She decided to walk across the busy highway for some reason. There were no stores or gas stations on either side of the highway, so police have no clue why she decided to walk around. It was then, a big Chevy pick up truck struck her, leaving her dead at the scene. Did she not feel well? Did she have dizzy spells or was she disoriented? No one knows. The older man who struck her accidently was absolutely shocked and horrified. No charges were filed against him because it was evident it was a complete accidental tragedy. They filmed him getting into a vehicle with his hand over his face crying.

With all these strange accidents happening lately, it really makes you think about how short life really is. Last night, in my nightmare, it was me driving the car. Instead of me being the victim, I had hit a young child sitting in the middle of a highway. I got out of my car and put her in my arms as I cried hysterically. There was blood all over the road - all over myself. I called 911, stuttering each word with screams of hysterics in between, clutching the child in hopes she would return back to life. How would I ever live my life after this? I’d be living in my own hell for the rest of my days.

Anything can happen at any given moment. We watch what we eat, try not to smoke and exercise as much as we can to prevent death from knocking at our doors, but how do we prevent unforeseen accidents like these to happen to us? This is why you should always tell the people in your life how much you love and appreciate them every. single. day. until you’re finally pushing up daisies after a long life lived.

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Edit: Reports have surfaced that law enforcement officials have confirmed that Diane Schuler, the driver in the tragic wrong-way Taconic Parkway crash that killed eight people, was drunk and high on marijuana when she entered the busy roadway going the wrong direction on July 26. ----read more