goodbye kitty

I've been a bad cat mommy. Even if you've never had the extended pleasure of companionship with a good cat, I hope you still understand my pain. After dealing with sleepless nights fretting about exams and deadlines at work, my problems were compounded by a little critter, who enjoyed chewing through power chords, unplugging things (necessary things like my alarm clock), and waking me up at ungodly times of the night, wanting to play or begging for food. So I decided he'd be much happier at my mom's.

Dreading the transport, which from a previous post you may remember the little animal has a propensity to crap and piss on himself in the carrier, I heeded some advice given to my mom by an airline passenger transporting her cat. Benadryl is a recommended sedative by veterinarians, said the passenger. So I shoved half a pill down Valdemar's poor unwilling little throat, after deception by implanting it into his food didn't work. After doing this I was convinced that I had just about killed my cat:

Valdemar lurched around my condo, foaming at the mouth and gagging, and inbetween mewling pathetically.

Panicked I called a Georgetown veterinarian who told me to bring him in. I had dinner plans with mom at Indique (a fabulous Indian restaurant) which we had to cancel. So I shoved my poor gagging and foaming cat into the carrier to pick up my mom at Union Station then head the opposite way to G-town. Not five minutes into the car ride, the cat crapped on himself. After getting to the vet's and (thankfully they cleaned him off), I was told that he was fine. When I asked about potential sedatives to give him for car rides, I was told that Benadryl is a recommended sedative for cats; and more importantly cats have a tendency to foam at the mouth when they taste something bitter, like Benadryl. Well damn, I wish I knew that before my wallet became significantly lighter. So now cat is with grandma.

And I can't bring myself to tidy up my place, still full of cat hair and scattered cat toys (and less appealing cat litter debris in the bathroom). I already miss him greeting me at the door when I come home from work, pouncing on my head an hour before my alarm, and snuggling up to me on weekend mornings (after his 5 AM feeding and I've gone back to sleep).

condo boards

With my building undergoing board of director consideration for a new homeowner's association, I hope this article will provide a forewarning/early lesson:

Neighbors thrown together by financial happenstance or the luck of the real estate market are sometimes shocked to find themselves acting out childhood angst and rivalries at the condo or co-op board. In the worst cases some yearn for the clinical detachment of a rental building.

dc is a great town

many wax about the lack of 'China' in Chinatown, or the uber-snooty people in G-town, the deserted business park feel of Golden Triangle on weekends, but I have to love DC for this:

Other law enforcement agencies across the country -- Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago -- have officers who deal with the gay community, but none has a separate squad like the District's. In addition to four full-time officers, there are eight auxiliary and reserve officers, including one transgender member, Tomi Finkle, a retired U.S. Capitol Police sergeant who now carries a LadySmith .45.

Rather proud, that my town is one of the few that have a squad devoted like this. Of course, it has to be in a town that requires a 3 day diversity training course for all govees!!!

rectify

now I love my mom, don't get me wrong. But there is definitley something inherently wrong when my mom discovers the URL to my blog and starts reading it everyday. Take the previous post for example, about me almost hitting a pedestrian. I didn't actually hit her, I almost did, instead maybe all she got is a set of headphones stretched a bit too thin when I my handlebars yanked them out of her oblivious head. But my mom reads this (and again I love my mom) but my sarcasm/penchant for melodrama does not serve the anxious mother well:

I read on your blog that you had an accident, you hit a pedestrian with your bike. What happened, was the person okay, did she has to go to the hospital, were you hurt. Please let me know what's going on about this.

Seriously ma, I'm fine, I'm burning spaghetti sauce right now, (just kidding!!! melodrama is funny!!!) I'm really not dying of smoke inhalation right now!!! Sheesh. I'm cruel, I don't deserve my mother.

pedestrian ...

I feel really bad about this ... and I know I shouldn't have run the yellow light on K St during rush hour this past Thursday night. I was already running late for a midterm and I hit a pedestrian ...

Not with my car! I actually ripped her headphones out with my handlebars as I narrowly veered my bike away from a head on collision into her. Frankly, I think she deserved it ... sure I shouldn't have taken the risk but I'm rather peeved by people who have their iPods up so loud, they can't hear furious bell ringing/or honking as a Mack truck barrels into them, or less dramatic, me on my slim little bike avoiding somersaulting into my asphalt death.

Even Victorians acknowledge this is a problem.

i aspire to blog

like this with many photographs ... of course, I'm really not very proficient with this blogger thing yet. Anyway, tell me if you read this and you don't end up laughing maniacally off your seat:

In Georgetown, of course, there were actually people walking around. Really, really rich people. Actually, it was kind of funny: it was a cold February day, but all the debutantes still want to look trendy, so they're wearing clothes made of thin material that aren't really warm enough for winter. And thus freezing their bony little asses off. Good fun to watch.

OR

OK, I'm glad I saw this, because it illustrates what a pain in the ass it can be do try to drive into Washington. We're at the corner of M and 17th. If you're driving north on 17th, and look up at the street sign, you're going to be confused, because this makes it look like 17th might be the cross street, or maybe continues around as the cross street. If you're me, you probably turn left like an idiot, because you just don't know. All because those idiots put the street sign on the wrong side. It's hard enough trying to get around with all the traffic circles, roads that dead-end, etc... do they really have to throw in the extra challenge of misleading people with incorrect signage? That's
just cruel. I know I should be thankful there's a sign there at all, but still. That's
diabolical.

dc political hope

I normally don't expect responses back from politicians when I write them. I think the last one I got was some form written by a congressional staffer from John Warner's (R-VA) office when I was in high school. I wrote to him about domestic violence and asked him to stick up for stronger legislation. What I got back was a 4 page treatise on all the legislation Warner has supported during his upteenth terms as Senator ... I seriously doubt the Senator had that much time to write a response back to a 9th grader, and it was probably some guy who was tired of licking envelopes and wanted to flex his brain muscles.

Well anyway, I was quite delighted when I heard back from Jack Evans concerning my DC Smoke Free petition. Here's what he wrote (not much) but it doesn't sound like it came from his secretary:

From:"Evans, Jack (COUNCIL)" Add to Address Book
To:"'scelesti25@yahoo.com'"
Subject:RE: Please Make the Nation's Capital Smokefree!
Date:Thu, 24 Mar 2005 10:03:11 -0500

Naz - thanks for writing me regarding this issue. When this legislation
comes before the full Council for a vote, I will be supporting it. Jack

we could be a band

in those pix i just posted. I figure if I don't hear from my friends who are in the pictures, I won't delete them, although I suppose I should ask them ... but no one really looks at my blog so who cares? But if you read this and you are a subject in a photo and you don't want to be there (or your name or mention or what have you) do write me and maybe it won't be too late for me to do something about it. I think blogger only gives me a week to delete/edit things.

Clearly these pictures are lagging behind from when they were taken almost two weeks ago, but I'm still sticking to my wonderful film camera. Even though I can't delete pictures, it works a heck of a lot better than even the most snazzy digitals in low light/indoor settings. Or at least the last time I checked which was two weeks ago. Or at least I think I get clearer pictures which I assume I can blow up to any proportion. Also I'm afraid my lovely SLR, which I splurged on two years ago, will get lost in my closet if I buy a digital as it becomes my new best friend. Heck, I still have my low resolution digital on my camera phone. Which I put to good use when I got the most unjust parking ticket yesterday morning ... for parking within 40 feet of a intersection ... what the fuck??? Who ever heard of needing to be parked that far away from an intersection? Also no signs or yellow painted curbs ... stupid DC.

I feel like I'm blogging inanities right now. I tried to post something a day ago but blogger ate it. Looking at those pix of myself, I realize I need to do something about my hair. A couple months ago when I got highlights and styling, it was fabulous, but now I'm realizing I need a trim, its looking shabby, and it's high maintance. Bryce, I'm coming your way at Bang hair salon ... with the idea to get my hair to look like this in bleu/blac.

Clearly I'm blogging because I have a midterm tomorrow night, yikes.

Italian dinner ... mmm tiramisu and creme caramel

Central Park in Winter with Good Friends

REI

was my downfall this weekend. Having received notice of my dividend plus 20% off any item in the store, I immediately purchased this camera bag to replace the one that came with my camera as part of a special. The old camera bag had a habit of spitting out film, lens caps, etc and wasn't really good on hikes. I had it delivered to my local REI store and yesterday went to pick it up. And then wandered into the footwear section where I proceeded to buy teva's and new hiking boots. My justification: I need Teva's!!! For the sporadic tubing and whitewater rafting, chilling in between climbs, resting the feet after backpacking, and of course all around wear in the city during the summer. I justified my boot purchase by thinking of the bloody socks I would pull off my feet after hiking in the past six months from old boots, which while protecting my feet from raggedy trails, would maul my poor feet after a mere 4 miles or so.

It was REI's fault for carrying my size in women's.

Well I thought the Teva's didn't fit properly so I went back to the store ... and of course came out with another extra shopping bag: this time with hydration day hiking pack and socks. I need socks for hiking right? Socks for anything really right? And the hydration pack is great for biking, hiking, rockclimbing, et al ... absolutely need it right???

Yeah, just don't let me into REI with a credit card again, thank god I got my tax return and student loan money. I occurred to me that once I finished school and the student loans kicked in, it might be a good idea to get a second job, like maybe at REI ... or The Limited.

the best Indian restaurant ever

in DC anyway is in Cleveland Park, called Indique. Coming from a discriminating S. Asian person such as myself that's saying a lot. My friend and I decided to do the tapas thing so we can have a taste of various things. Nothing disappointed. The crab cakes are to die for, we could've ordered 6 more. The tapas-size dosa was fabulous as well. We got quail, which was pretty good, although probably not worth the labor to eat it. Despite that, the first course was so good we almost ordered entrees too. Instead I got lamb korma to go for lunch the next day, and ordered four items for dessert: mango lassi (a must!!! made with fresh not frozen mangos!), masala chai(well balanced mixture of spices), some kind of flan thing ... don't order it, tasted like a butter pie or something, but the kulfi (saffron and pistachio ice cream) was amazing. Easily rivals Heritage India's kulfi. Heritage is great for traditional Indian food, but Indique takes the cake for innovative gourmet Indian food that I would be proud to take my out of town S. Asian friends to.

let it smolder ... out

In a previous post a whined about bars and specifically smoking. If any DC or even non-DC residents are reading this, here's your chance for action: Help Make the Nation's Capitol Smoke Free.

Spoiled by NYC's smoke free nightlife scene, I am excited and afraid of going to Local 16 tomorrow night for dinner.

Also, other reasons to quit smoking, your balcony could catch on fire. I wonder what the statistic is for smoking-related fires and burn victim/deaths.

one of those weeks

where I feel like doing nothing. For the past three weeks, as I've mentioned my life has been a whirlwind. Nothing like having a lot of work 'work' to do, while writing papers, preparing for presentations, and studying for exams to wear a girl out. Add to it, I took a fun girl's mini-break in NYC which left me in more sleep debt. Clearly I'm just whining. Although I really feel like doing nothing for a while. Today I did go to the gym, so that was good, and managed to jog on the treadmill without getting terribly out of breath for a good amount time (too small amount of time to be proud of posting in a blog). I was all set to be a good little grad student by starting to study for my last midterm next Thursday, however then I realized I lost my syllabus, so I couldn't even remember which readings I had to do. So its not like I'm procrastinating, although I really am blogging so I can kill time before watching Sex & the City. I should stop typing before I bore myself to death.

Millions

which I saw the preview of last night. Same makers as 'Trainspotting,' which was one hell of a depressing movie. Although Millions, was actually quite good in that surrealistic kind of way. And its not so scary that you can't take your kid to see it, its rated PG. Frankly, Lemony Snicket was a lot scarier ... don't ask me how I ended up seeing that film.

happy happy people

are celebrating. Assistant Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz is resigning, he follows on the heels of Undersecretary of Policy at Defense, Mr. Feith. Wolfowitz is going to the World Bank, sorry 3rd World countries, you're not getting any more money.

Being Muslim in America

There's an interesting article, previewing a BBC documentary on Tuesday night. Reading the article reminded me of the many questions and reactions I've gotten to the religion I grew up with. Also with a last name like mine, it's hard to hide that part of my heritage. In general I tell people that I was raised by an atheist, but Islam still had strong influences in my life ... I don't reject the religion out of hand but in general along with all the major monotheistic religions in the world. But this entry isn't about that, cuz I don't believe in proselytizing.

Rather I would like to rectify perceptions I seem to get everywhere around me. Like people believing that women are forced to wear head scarves. The history behind the hijab is rather complex, however there are three things all Westerners should never assume because a woman wears it:

1. She is oppressed (often quite the contrary, in the US its because she's an activist, for anything from women's issues to teaching children to read, and well respected in her community)
2. She supports terrorism (generally no Muslim supports terrorism; frankly it's anathema to the Q'uran and al-Qa'ida and other terrorist groups who use Islam to justify their cause are heretics according to the book.)
3. She was forced to wear it (often its more a cultural thing--or a sign of her activism in America).

I certainly can't speak for all Muslims everywhere, the religion is incredibly malleable and often the line between cultural and religious traditions are blurred. For example, a wedding in Saudi Arabia will be nothing like a Bangladeshi wedding. Muslims in Europe are different from Muslims in Indonesia or America. Islam is more progressive than some may believe, for example:

1. Women have the right to own land
2. Women have the right of divorce

Unlike its other monothiestic counterparts, Islam is unusual because it does not believe in the concept of original sin; the interpretation is that God forgave Adam and Eve anyway, so there's no sense in not accepting His forgiveness. (For that reason alone, if I had to pick a monotheistic religion, I would rather be a practicing Muslim than anything else--guilt of sin??? I'm masochistic enough with my choice of sports)

Most Westerners seem to get their perception of Islam through the practices of those weird countries in the Persian Gulf, where tribalism seems to have more a say in tradition than Islam and where the rather bizarre and puritanical form of Salafism (return to the times of the Prophet) started. But that's another entry, if not an altogether dissertation. I figure this will bring up more questions than answers, but I can only leave with one thing ... don't assume you know ... and Fox News sucks!!!

Ash & The Bravery

Fabulous show. Disappointing that Ash decided to play the opening set (45 mins) for The Bravery so they only ended up playing two songs off of Free All Angels. However, I was super excited to see them after almost two years, and the band seemed to be super excited to see the crowd. Overall it was a good time, but through The Bravery set I kept hoping Ash would come out for an encore. For reviews, check out zunta.

Despite what others say, I was impressed by The Bravery. Particularly since they sound like Brit band, seemed to be on a Brit label (but maybe I'm totally wrong about this but I don't feel like checking my facts), and looked like a Brit band, they were actually American. Being a fan of Brit-pop (for some reason has become a scary word to use in DC among some bloggers--although Mousetrap acquainted me with it about two years ago) and going through my formative teenage angst ful years glued to The New Order, Monaco, and sycophants Frente, I never had a problem with the genre itself and am glad bands who continue their legacy still exist. I wish The Black Cat could have more excellent performers on their stages such as the ones Thursday night.

time to decompress

Hoya! So I'm back from my NYC trip and ready to embark on my spring break, which although I still have to work, my evenings are free! And I won't feel like passing out by Wednesday afternoon which is the way I've felt since Spring semester began.

I was very happy to go to NYC, to visit two great friends with one excellent girl-friend. So I go onto the three things I immediatley love about NYC:

1. Guy to girl ratio, much higher than DC; fabulous ego boost when my g/f and I hit the club Lotus. Which by the way had the best house music dj I've heard in a loooong time.

2. No smoking in bars and clubs. It was heavenly, for some reason I was able to dance much longer, and not wake up feeling hosed and smelling like ass. It was one of the greatest clubbing experiences I've ever had.

other things:

4. H&M in mid-town, NYC is not ghetto-style H&M in Chinatown, DC

5. Metropolitan Museum of Art

6. Couture ... on sale!!!

hubris

is biting me in the ass. In my crazy whirlwind hell of the past three weeks, I managed to lose my debit card a couple days ago. I thought maybe I had thrown it into the pile of papers on top of the dining table, or maybe it fell through the cracks on my kitchen counter ... but after seeing charges at Amoco Oil this morning (which I never go to since I hardly EVER drive!--and they're too expensive, Liberty on Rt 29 is Ballston is where to fill up) ... I'm positive that I dropped it in a cab and now some DC cabbie is charging all his gas, food, god knows what else on my card ... of course the irony is my paycheck just hit my checking account as well ... teaches me the next time to brag about my finances online or in general to my friends.

light at the end of tunnel

almost ... so as promised I've been amiss.

Weekend events:

Friday: eating nothing that night, lifting weights, then proceeding to drink an entire bottle of wine at a party, and then dancing till I had to sit down (for all of two songs) ... sigh, my club kid days seem so long ago ... when I could dance from 9 PM till 4 AM, heels broken, sore, sweaty, make-up left somewhere on the dance floor.

Saturday: waking up supremely hung over, not remembering what happened to my car, aware of no groceries in the fridge, and that I have a paper due that day that I haven't even started on. Spent rest of day alternatingly writing about diplomatic negotiations in Soviet-US ship bumping exercise and napping off the urge to puke non-existant stomach contents onto my berber rug ... which by the way, is somewhere under the hairballs (cat and me), shedding fur, stacks of books, papers, and clothes.

Sunday: feeling like a normal human being had brunch with Naomi and Julie, replenished food stock, procrastinated on studying for midterm.

Am now procrastinating studying for midterm ... and tomorrow night, super excited about Banff Film Festival! Dreaded midterm on Wednesday evening, plenty of time!!!

Thursday night, dreaded paper and midterms over, at least until spring break. Rocking out at the Ash show at the Black Cat Thursday night. Been waiting since ... a year and a 1/2 ago when they were here last. Bought tix last night, may possibly sell out thanks to likely Express coverage that day ... perhaps last time they'll play at a small venue such as Black Cat in DC ... I guess 9:30 Club is next up for them.

Friday off to New York City and my favorite and unlikely vineyards in Long Island.

knew it ...

I'm probably making myself very unpopular by ranting against smoking and bars but just to add more icing to the cake here's another one:

The scientists found psychotic symptoms were more common among cannabis users.