Don Ho died today. As a little girl, I loved to watch the Don Ho Variety Show. I remember watching the show and asking my mother, “Why is Mr Don Ho sticking his tongue into those women’s mouths, Mommy?” As part of his act, he would give kisses to the women in the audience and he liked to slip them a little tongue. Yuck! I wonder if he tasted like poi?

Yesterday was a reunion of sorts. My dear friend, Suzette, came out of a half decade of hiding and graced me with her presence! She and her husband Mats came to the Donnavilla on Sunday and had lunch with us. Suzette warned me on the phone that I wouldn’t recognize her– she had gotten gray and pudgy and somehow lost her chin since it could no longer be found on her face. It certainly is sad when friends age terribly but Suzette wasn’t one of those casualties- she looked fine.

I served a terrific meal, one that was both easy and tasty! Appetizers consisted of grapes, mini pitas and hummus for dipping. Although I am capable of making hummus, this time I purchased it ready made. Lunch was salad topped with chicken, grape tomatoes, feta, olives and my homemade salad dressing. I even served dessert! It was sliced strawberries with cool whip. Food preparation and service went smoothly. Certainly the smoothness was owed to Rob who helped me the entire time.

Although it had been years since I last saw Suzette we seemed to resume right where we had left off– provided the last time I saw her we got along swimmingly. I can’t rightly remember what happened the last time we saw each other and why she fell off the earth. I very much liked her new husband Mats especially because he took our silly questions in stride– most of which consisted of references to Ikea, Bjorn Borg and how in the world was Alfred Nobel able to amass a fortune under Swedish tax laws? Did I mention Mats is Swedish?

After lunch we adjourned to the parlor where Robert brought up a subject he tends to bring up when we are with friends. I will usually mention what a wonderful musician he is and without fail Robert mentions how he bought me a guitar which I never touch. This of course is not true since I do take it out of its bag to lightly stroke its neck and run my fingers along its body. The real truth is I never practice and I have forgotten the one chord that Rob taught me. I usually just smile when the subject is brought up and then I try to introduce a new subject such as Calvinist theology. The thing is, as much as Rob insists that I told him I wanted to learn how to play the guitar, I only remember saying I wish I could play the guitar. There’s a big difference there– one means practicing, the other is just a deluded wish that I might wake up one day with the gift to strum. Regardless, I realized that Rob really wants me to play the guitar and the more I think about it, practicing isn’t such a bad thing. Heck, it might be fun! And so I am throwing my cap into the musical ring. I will try to learn to play the guitar. This time I will actually put effort into it. I just hope Rob will work with me.

I decided to send my taxes via mail. Why make it easy for them? Saturday morning I printed everything out, signed the two different forms, wrote a check to the PA Dept of Revenue and mailed everything. I can’t tell you how happy I am now that it is finally out of my hair. The only thing that will make me happier is when I get a check for all the money NJ collected from me. We shall see.

I must reclaim my positive emotional state. The last few days I have been struggling with a dark mood. It’s due to hormone levels, I know, but I still can’t allow myself to dwell. Of course, dwell is exactly what I have been doing. Dwelling on my issues and angst and thinking over and over thoughts that just aren’t healthy. Men should every day thank God that they aren’t affected by the same cycles that rule women. When was the last time a man sat drinking a cup of a coffee when suddenly a wave of unutterable sadness descended upon him and he had to put down his mug and have a little cry? I am going to hazard a guess that this has only occurred once to a man and his name was Liberache. That’s not a gay joke, I just think that people who wear so many sequins must be plagued by demons.

Check out this Web site and notice the ad on the right. I love the typo– 2007 Moon Dairy. (You may have to refresh a couple times to see it)

Okay, let’s practice some positive thinking:

• I can’t wait to wake up tomorrow!
• I just know that I am going to have a great time at work!
• Mondays are my favorite day of the week!

I am already feeling better.

Last night I made Chicken, Rice and Beans. I was really happy with how it came out. It was pretty easy to make. The only adjustment I made to the recipe was instead of using cayenne pepper I used a couple squirts of Sriracha sauce. I have the feeling that this is one of those meals where the leftovers will taste even better.

After dinner, Rob and I watched an episode of Blackadder II that I had never seen! Rik Mayall had a cameo! I just about fainted. I laughed so hard when he said, “I like girls with beards, gives me something to hold on to!” After Blackadder I went through my eclectic collection of DVDs and I gave Rob a couple of movie choices, Immortality, Myra Breckinridge or The Wicker Man starring not Nick Cage but the Equalizer. Rob chose The Wicker Man. OH MY GOSH WHAT A CRAZY WEIRD ASS MOVIE! Was not expecting the end although the signs were there all along. I can’t imagine this is an easy film to find unless you have NetFlix but do check it out. I really liked it.

I am so frustrated and angry. Why didn’t I just have Uncle Dick do my taxes? Even if he charged me 500.00 it would have been worth it. The time and emotions I have invested into this endeavor! WHY! Why can’t it be easy? The latest goose egg is I discovered my company took out NJ tax even though I never worked in the Jersey office. Apparently they had me listed as being in the NJ office while I worked from home waiting for the Philly office to open. I went into Turbo Tax and placed a checkmark in the box that stated my employer withheld a different state’s tax. The following screen told me that I would have to submit my W2 Form with my return. But I planned to e-File it! Does this mean I can’t e-File it? I don’t know! Finally I decided to heck with it all, I am just going to e-File it just so I can get this darn thing over and finished. Well, it tells me I have to do an electronic signature and it needs information from last year’s return. I AM IN MY OFFICE IN PHILLY! I AM NO WHERE NEAR THAT INFORMATION! So I cancelled out. It seems that I just can’t seem to get this finished. I am beginning to think the real reason Thoreau refused to pay taxes is that not only is it unconstitutional, it’s PAINFUL! I think I am going to have a party once my taxes are submitted. I will party after I write the check. (How is it possible that they take so much out of each paycheck yet at the end of it all, I still have more to pay?) UGH! UGH! UGH! 😛

by William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee;
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company
I gazed, and gazed, but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought;

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

I did it. I signed up for a year of XM radio. I got a call yesterday morning as I was making my rice pudding without milk or cream or raisins. The woman was real nice and I realized that I really do enjoy XM and I couldn’t imagine going back to regular radio once my trial expired which it would do so in just a few short days. I am happy I signed on as a paying customer. Why, just this morning driving to the train station, singing along to 50’s on 5, I realized how much I love XM. It’s like a game– keeping sync with the music when the signal is lost:

Paul: You and I will be as free
Donna: You and I will be as free

Paul: Keeechhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Donna: As the birds up in the trees

Paul: Kessschhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Donna: Oh, please stay by me…

Paul: Diana!
Donna: Diana!

And the satisfaction I experienced as Paul and I duetted on the last line– heavenly!

Rob and I went to my parents’ house for Easter supper. I brought along two dishes I made– pineapple bread pudding and Alton Brown’s Indian Rice Pudding. I made the rice pudding this morning and I deviated slightly from the recipe. I didn’t have any milk or heavy cream or raisins or pistachios so instead I used Silk and a spoonful of pistachio pudding mix. I completely omitted the raisins. Somehow the stars aligned because it worked and tasted pretty much like how it should if I had used milk and heavy cream.

My mom served ham, kielbasa, pork loin, hrudka (cheese), paska (bread), potato salad and tomato salad. It was a delicious meal. Lisa and I called Lenka in Bratislava. I can hardly believe it’s been two years since she left us to go back home to Slovakia. My mom showed me a DVD that her cousin sent her. He had transferred some of the family’s old home movies onto DVD. It is nice to have such a nice family record. I brought along my digital camera and I took pictures of the food my mom prepared and then I sat the camera on the table right behind me with the intention of taking more pictures during the meal. Only after everything was devoured and Lisa and I were leaving did I remember my camera. DANG IT! The only pictures I snapped were of food. Grrrrr!

Now I am home, dressed in warm sweat pants and my new terrycloth robe that I use more as a sweater because it is so warm. I did my expense reports on Friday but my taxes are still only 1/2 complete. The only urge I have is to watch La Femme Nikita episodes. I think I may make some mint and chamomile tea because my stomach feels queasy after eating so much.

Tomorrow I will be working late. There is a user group meeting that I am going to attend in the evening. I am not exactly looking forward to it. How is it that I just had a three day weekend (I took Friday off) and I still feel like I need another day off? Maybe it’s because I haven’t been on a vacation in ages. Sure, there was the 2 month imposed vacation last year after my old company laid me off but I can’t say that was stress relieving. Maybe I should plan a trip. Whatever it is, I need to do something.