People who really love cats never "have" cats. Cats have us.  They are not our cats. We are their humans. But that doesn't mean they don't need us. People who don't know and love cats often have the mistaken impression that cats are aloof and independent, or that they only want… Read full post »

There's a small grocery store near the Assisted Living Home, where I work, that's called "Shady Discount Foods." For real. I wonder how much business they get. I would really worry about eating anything purchased from a "shady discount" grocery...

I went out last week, to get newspapers for my Curren… Read full post »

I'm discovering that my new job is a balancing act. It's impossible to please all the residents of the Assisted Living Home with all of my activities all the time. What bores one resident will fascinate another, and vice-versa. I'm one person. I can only do one thing at a time… Read full post »

Lunch Lady 2 just posted a fascinating entry about unexplainable incidents in her own life. Then she "opened the floor" for other OS bloggers to share their own experiences with ghosts, UFOs, and other unusual/unprovable/mysterious phenomena. Here are a few of mine.

Most recent: My cat, Lulu, who die… Read full post »

My first day working "solo" at the Assisted Living Home was a good one. I got the keys to the supply closet (which, in that place, are like "keys to the kingdom." The symbol of my authority). The first thing I put into the closet was a set of "baby weights"… Read full post »

Do y'all remember that episode of "I Love Lucy" where Lucy and Ethel get jobs in a candy factory? The conveyor belt zips along so fast that they can't possibly keep up with it, even when they "help" by frantically shoving candies into their mouths. Well, every time I get a… Read full post »

The answer is yes. I got the Recreation Director job and will actually start tomorrow! Tomorrow and Thursday I'll be "tailing" the current RD and getting acquainted with the home/residents. I'll be off on Friday (because Lady Lucia and I are heading out of town to visit a cousin of hers)… Read full post »

I remember being very disappointed when I learned, a few years ago, that the Master of Revels (in Elizabethan theatre) was actually NOT a Ring Master or leader of the fun but, in fact, a sort of censor.  He was an Elizabethan-era one-man Hayes Office, whose job was to see that… Read full post »

So. Things finally seem to be settling down, just a bit.

The funeral for Bob Ortiz went well. I'd never done a funeral in a crematory chapel before (actually, Bob's was only the third human funeral I'd ever officiated, 'though I've done quite a few for cats).  I was nervous, thinking… Read full post »

I got home from the Church Posse conference last night. This morning I received the message that my long-time friend, mentor, "extra Dad" and some time parishioner, Bob ("The Announcer") Ortiz had died. It seems that he breathed his last (found dead by the hospital staff) yesterday afternoon, while L… Read full post »

First, thanks so much to everyone who sent condolences about my sweet little Lulu. It's comforting to know that there are so many folk who understand that saying farewell to a beloved cat is a really hard, sad thing to do; that the loss is genuine and meaningful.

I visited with… Read full post »

This is such a bittersweet time in my life. I'm writing from my new home in Brooklyn. It's very peaceful here. There are birds tweeting madly outside the window. Lady Lucia is sleeping the just sleep of the extremely over-worked. Later today, I'll be having an interview for a nanny job,… Read full post »

Well, I went and got my students ordained. Now I'll be back in the city until it's time to leave for the National Church Posse gathering in Indiana, next Wednesday. I'll be having a pretty frenzied schedule between now and then (still dividing time between my seminary bosses' place in Manhattan… Read full post »

I only have a moment to post today, but wanted to share my fun news. This past weekend I was at the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference with Lady Lucia (where I participated in a church service led by her, as well as attending some workshops). One of the workshops (on naming… Read full post »

Hello, Y'all. I feel strange this morning. Relieved and sad. Scared and excited...

This is the last post I'll be writing from Iggy's computer; my last morning waking up in this apartment. Starting tonight (and for about the next three weeks) I'll be staying my seminary bosses' apartment. I'm doing th… Read full post »

I visited "The Announcer" at the hospital yesterday. It seems that he's still being Miracle Man. (Some of youse might remember that, about four years ago, he was told that they were not going to operate for his throat cancer because it was too advanced; that he had "a few weeks" to… Read full post »

1. Favorite word: At the moment, my favorite word is "sumptuous." I'm hoping (sometimes against hope) for a "Sumptuous Summer." I tend to think of the two words as being connected.

2. Least favorite word: Actually, it's a two-word expression. "Bottom line." People who care about the bottom line don't… Read full post »

For those who have been asking; my interview with the senior care  agency seemed to go quite well but the Director was not able to just offer me a job on the spot. He said he needed to check my references and also search his client files, to see where possible… Read full post »

No, I haven't got a job yet but I do have another interview scheduled (for tomorrow morning) and I'm pretty psyched about it. I'm interviewing with an agency that places "caregivers" (not Home Health Aides but people to assist with shopping, accompany to doctor appointments; etc) with seniors, most o… Read full post »

This morning, before ballet class, one of my students (who is Chinese) gave me a gift which, she said, she had purchased on her last trip home. It's a jade pendant in the shape of a hand, with an eye carved into the palm. She said, "Keep it for seven years… Read full post »

Today's mail brought my Masters degree diploma (in Holistic Theology). I got my transcripts (the "real" proof of my degree) a couple of weeks ago but actually having the diploma makes it feel "officially official." I took it out of the tube and admired my name in pretty lettering. Then I… Read full post »

Principessa's swimming lessons are over for the year, so we're free to do whatever we like on Mondays. Yesterday, I took her to the Central Park Zoo. I'd asked her 'rents to provide her with some spending money, because I remembered the Central Park Zoo (which I'd last visited only a… Read full post »

I didn't call her "Mama" when I was a kid. When I was a young child I said, "Mommy." As an adolescent, I switched to "Mom." But when she moved all the way across the country, and we started depending on email for primary communication, I found myself starting my emails… Read full post »

I never went to a dance with dance cards. (Did those go out with my Grandmothers' generation?) Actually, I never went to a dance.And I never had a year book because I dropped out and got my GED, in order to escape my horrible, violent, crime-and-drug-ridden high school.  But I feel… Read full post »

Job hunting is the most boring job in the world. That's why I haven't posted in a few days. I seem to spend all my time, when not with "Principessa" or "Dorothy," searching online for job prospects. I answer oodles of ads, in addition to sending cover letters/resumes unsolicited.  I pr… Read full post »