halloween / dia de los muertos reminders

all things donkey lady

Ahh, it's good to be back in Say-town when the Fall hits. That's right, it's Donkey Lady time!

I love the stories and yes I've written about it before - y que? Wasn't one of my original intents with this blog to take a good look at all things women and all things queer. What's more odd than a woman who was made folklore and icon. Shoot, she wouldn't be the first. There's Pocahontas, Frida Kahlo, La Virgen de Guadalupe, La Lupe (besotes mama!) - countless others.

Most likely because it's Halloween season, the local paper did a story about the Donkey Lady. They even offer a Talk Back webpage where you can relive your childhood fear and, hopefully, be comforted by strangers. I myself called a phone number when I was in elementary school that, at the time, had a horrible donkey sound. Man, I could use that number now. I'm not saying it's right to scare kids but it's not so wrong either, you know?

found this...

Blogger in Florida... www.soapboxblog.com. Scope it out.

spillover from my birthday, update on pumpkins, what else is happening? I know there's more I'm supposed to be writing down...

I haven't yet recounted my birthday hijinks and, thankfully, those photos people took haven't ended up on the internet or Bermuda Triangle's website!

I did meet up with Nancy who I then tried to convince to let me be her Two Week Girlfriend. She moved up to Austin last week. Of course she thought I was crazy but now we are talking nice. So much dreading about women and it's better if they do live far away. Yes, there's the missing but there's also all that time where I can actually do the things I need to do!

My new work is fantastic. Loads of paperwork but great support and just, overall, super funny and intelligent people. It's meant changing my schedule some and now I'm super tired on Mondays because I'm running like mad all weekend.

The new queer parenting group I'm in met up and went to Medina, Texas for a huge pumpkin patch held at Love Creek Orchards. It was so hot the last thing I needed to be carrying was a 10 pound white caspar pumpkin but it's a beauty! I got a tan too. So much for that cold front coming in.

Tigrette had a great time in the hay maze and painting another, much less heavy, orange pumpkin in all kinds of colors.

We knew we hit the right place when, at the entrance to the orchards there were individual flags forming the rainbow. It's like they were waiting for us. Like gay days at the pumpkin patch. You knew we had to find jokes in all this.

strep!

I should have known. my voice was different than usual. classic sore throat and achy. I had strep, not tonsilitis. I was listening to the automated system for test results that my doctor uses and though I would hear "negative for strep. please continue your antibiotics as prescribed by your doctor".

this time it was "positive for strep. please continue your antibiotics as prescribed by your doctor." not much different, I know, but I tripped because I had Tigrette all on top of me the last few days and sometimes she uses my toothbrush without telling me. I should have known tho : she had a cough about 1 1/2 weeks before I got sick and then got rid of it. We didn't use to call her Typhoid Delhi for nothing - girl knows how to share.

Moreso, I've been thinking too much: I used to have issues with my voice when I was in transition. if that's still the case there's a lot of transition happening!

I'm sleepy. my throat hurts.

sick again!

This is madness. I was just fine earlier in the week, then with a sore throat and achiness on Wednesday. By Thursday when I woke up my tonsils were like two old dogs at the back of my throat.

Two cases of tonsilitis in the seven months I've been back here. I know it's the allergies, though now I have more allergies than I used to!

I'm not a happy camper today, that's for sure. If I could convert this to a conspiracy theory I would.

quote of the day

In this world
Hate never yet dispelled hate.
Only love dispels hate.
This is the law,
Ancient and inexhaustible.

--Dhammapada

an old story... childrearing between generations

my mother and I are often at opposite sides of ways to raise Tigrette. as an immigrant, she wants me to "do better than I did, not have to work so hard". that's wonderful but it implies a comparison, a burden on the shoulders of the child to take one step further on the path their parent(s) took.

i would often take the large view with raising Tigrette. I have to see her as an individual who does not belong to me, who make take a completely different path than I have taken, whose life may be so distinct we are truly able to honor each other's individuality. of course, her hair is like mine and she is sassy like I am and she can't have her food touching so dinner is often placed in 2 or 3 small chinese bowls (yes, like me when I was a kid!). yes, she is like me but she doesn't have to keep on the life mission I'm on or have chosen to take on.

turns out there's an author educating along the same lines. Who knew childrearing instructions could be found in the Talmud?

energy, in swirls, moving around and around

there is so much energy to be tapped at 6 a.m.

now, i'm not the kind to wake up super early unless there's something extraordinary going to happen but i've been waking early this last week because my new job starts at 8 a.m. no matter what and ends at 5. i was telling a coworker that I don't mind the early but i'm having loads of trouble getting to bed. beyond that, i'm not all that talkative until 10 or so. my mind's still a little sleepy before that.

there are so many files, it's amazing. files to make, files to review, files to have signed and returned, files holding birthday cards so we can sign them with relative secretiveness. (is that was word?)

and an actual lunch! and the world doesn't collapse if something has to wait a day.

of course, there will be so much more work soon enough but for now, since I didn't inherit someone's bad job before (like my previous job), I feel good about being able to set a foundation down.

I was upset the other day when a volunteer called me to tell me she missed me, that the place was chaotic and she wishes she didn't have to give any more time to the organization. with 8 people missing and no new replacements coming any time soon, I can sympathize with how she is feeling.

still, i'm way glad to be out of the chaos. every day really was worse than the day prior. i've never seen such recklessness and disharmony.

i work to remove the energy i picked up there. it helps that my new job has me out in the beginnings of the hill country. more trees than buildings, people there actually intelligent/informed/secure in their own offerings and talents. and, believe it or not, i'm getting actual trainings which will help me do my job better! what an amazing thing.

so, i'm feeling rushed and sleepy, but happy. whew - i needed this.