Just saying 'Hi'...

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:06:35 GMT

Wow, it has been a while since I've posted anything here!

General update, am almost done with classes at the GIA, only about 4 more months left, then I am free! I'd like to move back to Connecticut, but we will see where I find a job. I have been in the same place long enough and my feet are starting to itch to tread new terrain.

I have discovered it is very hard to type while a cat is resting his head on your hand.

And if I ever become like my mother's bad points and decide that I can't do things because they are too scary (as in, leave the screen door open because a robber will come and break in, not as in jump off a bridge with a rubbery string attached to keep from dying) someone should tell me, and if I don't listen, shoot me and put me out of my misery. This would also be a 'can't', not a 'don't wanna' or 'don't feel like it'.
Oh, and my mother has come up with an amusing plan. She has decided that I will find my dream job in Irvine (which is amusing as there is jewelry industry south and north of Irvine, but none actually in Irvine), that I can (and will) easily trade in my jeep and get a 'practical' vehicle, and stay with her and just pay part of the utilities. I giggled.

I went to a gem and jewelry show over the weekend that mostly had gem beads and pearls, and once again, could not become enthused by them. I prefer cut gems to beads, much as I try to love beads. After all, beads can be made into jewelry with a minimum of fuss. But cut gems are lovely, and one can really put oneself into the design. I was bad and bought a white and green jadeite bangle for $20. I am trying to figure out if it is B or C grade (bleached or bleached and dyed. The bleach makes the jade brittle, and the dye is not colorfast), as the cheapest for A grade should be at least $100-200 for a bangle. (A quality A grade bangle of desirable color, texture, opacity and pattern can easily be a couple million. Eventually, I'd love one between the $500 and $1000 range. But that is when I have money to just throw around!)

I wrote my first Gemological Abstract for Gems and Gemology. I only barely made deadline, which is sad as it is only 300some-odd words. I hope I did it well enough to get to write more. Sadly, this is unpaid, just fun and informative.

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 03:31:12 GMT

Your result for The 3 Variable Funny Test...

the Cutting Edge

(52% dark, 42% spontaneous, 32% vulgar)

your humor style:
CLEAN | SPONTANEOUS | DARK

Your humor's mostly innocent and off-the-cuff, but somehow there's something slightly menacing about you. Part of your humor is making people a little uncomfortable, even if the things you say aren't themselves confrontational. You probably have a very dry delivery, or are seriously over-the-top.

Your type is the most likely to appreciate a good insult and/or broken bone and/or very very fat person dancing.

PEOPLE LIKE YOU: David Letterman - John Belushi

The 3-Variable Funny Test!
- it rules -

Take The 3 Variable Funny Test at HelloQuizzy

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:28:14 GMT

Yay! The hand rendering portion of the jewelry design class is now done! Now to wax carving.

In celebration, I picked up two used books: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury because I haven't read any of his books yet, and, since the store was named after this book, it seemed like a good recommendation. And
The Prehistory of Sex, four million years of human sexual culture by Timothy Taylor which, according to reviews I've read, is very good, but has a strong political agenda. But then again, so did The History of Sex.

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 02:23:22 GMT

My mother has been having very expensive dental work done, and it is going poorly. And the 4 year anniversary of my father's death, who she loved very much, is in just days. I bet you can imagine how happy she is right now.

I've had more fun.

Visiting LA again

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:53:00 GMT

Somehow, I didn't realize that designing and painting a single piece of jewelry would take so very long! And at nearly one due every school day, it's no wonder that I haven't been on livejournal for a while.

No pictures of my fun foray into LA from last week, but it was, well, fun.
We went to see the exhibition by Cartier, in their Beverly Hills store. It was absolutely stunning, not only because everything Cartier makes is stunning, but they had some very special pieces on display as well. Specifically, La Peregrina was being displayed. It is a large drop shaped natural pearl that one of the Spanish Kings gave to his queen. It was later given by one of the Spanish princes to his fiance, Mary, Queen of Scots. When Queen Elizabeth offed her cousin, she in turn claimed the pearl as her own, if I remember correctly. It is presently owned by Elizabeth Taylor and is displayed as part of a necklace designed and created by Cartier, specifically for this pearl and Elizabeth Taylor.
There was also a, I think it was gold, copy of the lunar lander that was given to each of the three astronauts that first landed on the moon, Opera glasses created for the present Queen of England, a clock that ran on gravity. And I got to see tooty fruity items in person! I love those designs.
And then we went to the beach in Laguna. Which is a beautiful spot, with a healthy ecosystem that is a joy to see, meaning tide pools! I had a lovely time, but the guy who went with us had a less lovely time. He somehow managed to break a sandal he just bought and tear his swim trunks in a rather inconvenient spot. I tried not to laugh at him. I may have failed.

Anyhow, back to homework. I am supposed to be painting and drawing a bracelet as we speak, but made it too complicated, and therefore don't want to!

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:13:04 GMT

Okay, I understand that people looking for employees are strapped for time. I understand that they might only glance at the resume and do a quick read of the cover letter, maybe only the second paragraph of the cover letter, which is the only useful one.

But, really! If you are looking for a writer, you should look at more than just the first line of the cover letter!

I'd think you'd want to have some idea of her writing style and might glance at the enclosed portfolio, though I can see how the resume is useless.
But to read only the first line of the cover letter, and not even well, and then get annoyed, seems insanely stupid.

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Wed, 06 May 2009 07:00:19 GMT

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/magazine/03european-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
Going Dutch - How I learned to Love the European Welfare State

Guest Speaker: Risks in the Jewelry Business

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:51:26 GMT

Turns out, everything is a risk in the jewelry business.
Anyone in the jewelry business is a target. Insurance companies insist that traveling salespeople at least try to risk their lives for their jewelry before insurance will pay out (Thanks, insurance companies. So much for it not being worth your life. If you don't risk your life, you're risking being in debt in the millions. Great.)
And these type of burglaries, robberies, etc, are low on the priority list of most police departments because they happen less often than, say, car theft. Yeah, each hit is in the millions, but they aren't that many in number. So usually, it is very inexperienced police that handle these cases, meaning that if there is still a robbery in progress, there is more likely to be a death. Awesome!
And one of the more dangerous groups that are robbing jewelry businesses and salespeople are using this to fund a revolution in their home country. The FBI know who they are but can't get them yet. Our guest speaker even knew them by name, showed some video of actual robberies, and told us the names of the people who were doing the robbing. And, of course, told us the names of the people who had been knifed, or shot, or killed.
He then told us that we are entering the most dangerous profession we could choose.

All in all, it was not at all comforting. He gave each of us a dvd with a documentary they give to police they are training to react to jewelry robberies. My mother is never going to see this video.
He also told us who to contact, later on, after the police, after we've been robbed. It didn't even seem to be an if.
*sigh*

Gold Refinery trip

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:24:29 GMT

I am somewhat behind on my posts. I never gave a discription of my trip to the Refinery and Fabricating company. Yes, I am such a strange monkey, but it was so much fun!

Probably the best part was when the person doing the demonstrating melted down gold scrap so that the chunks were small enough for the Aqua Regia to break down quickly: He put out a 3 step ladder, and placed a bucket of water at the bottom of the ladder. He then heated the gold in a crusible with a nice long handle until it glowed and was molten. Then, while still heating the crusible with a two foot flame, he stepped to the top of the ladder, and let the gold flow through the flame and drip into the bucket. I wish I had photos of that particular manuever, but was too facinated to remember.

While we watched the Aqua Regia boil and eat the gold, swirling like a witch's brew, the other man giving the tour, told us about safety features, osha regulations, guidelines that his company and the other gold refineries had come up with and then taught to Osha, who then made these guidelines for everyone across the board.
He also told us that in ancient times, all sorts of metalworking was done while prayers and songs were sung. And these prayers and songs were very important because they worked to time each step. And because everything was so very closely timed, the ancient metalworking was often better than modern is.
He also told us that most gold comes from refineries, as there is only so much that has been found through out time. And that these processes are considered 'green' as all the materials are reused, very little to none lost or wasted. That his factory is zero emmission. And everything that he and his company doesn't refine from the aqua regia is sent to other refineries where the copper and nickle, and other metals are recovered.

From a container of aqua regia that had been allowed to cool previously, our demonstrator decanted out some fine silver. From this he made an ingot, and then pulled it to produce wire.

He then took some of the gold he refined out of the aqua regia, added metals to make it 10ktyg, melted them together, and cast some rings for us to see.

The rings are shown still attached in a tree.

Then he made some gold sheet for us, showing us how thin it can go.The guy doing the talking gave us all catalogues and said he only sold to companies and GIA students for their projects, and sent us on our way.
Besides it being tremendously cold there, we all had fun watching where our metals come from.

You were in my dream last night

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Mon, 04 May 2009 21:35:17 GMT

I dreamt that we were living as part of a group in this huge house built above, and enclosing in darkness, a stony harbor. (It was the house's sub-basement.) I loved it and thought it beautiful. You and I often would go to see the strange fish swim into the dark harbor waters. We never turned the lights on to do so, as there was a little light that filtered in from the balcony that we viewed the water from, and the water also seemed to glow somewhat, though I never knew the source.

One day, after I'd returned from a trip, I went by myself onto the basement balcony to view the waters, and found myself viewing a horrid infestation. Strange mutant creatures now swam in the waters below. First to catch my eye were flying fish in the shape of stingrays, the color of pale flesh that had soaked in water so long it has rotted off the bone. Their flesh writhed in ways that were strange and horrifying. I knew at a glance that, if they wished, they could leave their waters to pull victims in. And beside them, humanoid creatures made of the same foul substances. And even worse, these humanoids were able to change shape; growing sharp appendages, morphing constantly.

I recoiled in horror and ran (quietly, if they'd heard me, I'd been a snack) out of the room, and straight to find our housemates and recount the horror I'd just viewed. All scoffed at what I claimed to see, except for, of course, you. My boyfriend stayed quietly in a corner, listening to all the hubbub.

You led me away, saying quietly that we should do some reconnaissance to see if we could figure out what we ought to do about our new 'guests'. I should probably add that both of us slept very close to the entrance to the balcony over the sub-basement. We'd be first on the dining list as soon as our new 'guests' realized the smorgasbord sleeping above their heads.

Quietly, we snuck down onto the balcony. The foul creatures were still there, just as I remembered them. But now a person was with them. He was a member of one of the local gangs that hung around the harbor outside. He'd somehow been pulled into the watery sub-basement, and was now arguing with the humanoid creatures, brandishing a knife; perhaps too dim, or too brave to realize the danger he was in.

The humanoids watched him in fascination, morphing in and out of an imitation of random parts of his physiology - learning to imitate their prey. The flying fish jumped in and out of the water, agitated and ready to frenzy at any provocation. Suddenly, the humanoid closest to the gang member, who had been watching him calmly up til this moment, morphed his arm into a long blade and drew it back to strike. You and I, unable to watch anymore, knowing there was nothing we could do to help, realizing that the spill of blood would frenzy the flying fish and possibly sending them high enough to spot us, dashed from the scene before we saw any more. As we dashed, I noticed a shadowy shape on the other side of the basement, where the harbor sloped up to dry stone.

We dashed into your room, where you did your level best to calm me, though you were quite upset as well. You had calmed me almost to the point where we could try to think, though I didn't think there was anything we could do besides move and never come back, when I remembered the shadow, and the shape of the shadow: Human, male, the shadow of someone I knew well. I wasn't certain, but...my boyfriend, who always did what he could for me, who might be just that stupid just to make me happy...didn't that shadow look familiar?

And in the way of all dreams, that's when I woke up.

sigh

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Sun, 03 May 2009 06:15:24 GMT

My friends page would be much quicker of a read if I read it more often.

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:46:14 GMT

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Dream a little dream...

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:23:25 GMT

Finally wasn't being rushed when I woke up and could remember my dream. It was all silliness; but it'd make such a wonderfully silly comic book, that I really want to read!:

Super Heroes have to start somewhere, right?

Well, these wannabees are starting from a shoe store.

George Adams is the most admired of the bunch. He started out at the retail shoe store, but has made it to the big-time. He now sells top of the line shoes to customers that need to make appointments to meet with him. He loves and dreams of shoes, specifically all the shoes he has for his superhero wardrobe: 9 different types for stalking quietly, 8 for traction while attacking; but most of all he loves the ones with seaming on the outer edge. He doesn’t realize it, but the imprint of the seaming is a calling card that the bad guys have recognized and are starting to follow. They’ll find him soon.

Kelly admires him deeply. She hasn’t been in the shoe or the superhero business for long, but she’s certain that if she could manage to break out into the shoe big-time like him, she’d be sure to be brave enough to break out in the superhero business as well.

Alexis (Alex) doesn’t admire George so very much. And doesn’t sell shoes! She goes to his business once a week to look at the same magazine for specialty shoes. And every time she tells him she sees nothing she likes. And every time he tells her he will be getting a new catalogue next week for her to thumb through if she wants. But it’s always the same catalogue. She knows this because she’s marking the same page with the same little flyer every time she comes in to look. She loves gadgets, but doesn’t necessarily love the good side. She does love the manager of the retail shoe store, though she broke up with him almost a month ago. For a while there, every time she left her light on, he would come looking for her, and she wouldn’t have the chance to work on her gadgets. Now she needs to explain to him that she misses him but he can’t visit whenever he wants. Will she lose him and fall to the dark side, or find a way to become closer to this good guy? And will they both discover they’re trying to be Super?

And who is this good guy she’s so very much attached to? He’s the manager of the retail shoe store. He thinks well of George, but knows his head is in the clouds. He thinks Kelly’s admiration for George is just puppy love that can come to no harm, and even, kinda cute. Really, he’s an all around good guy who doesn’t see the darker side of people’s souls. He doesn’t understand why people might want to be Super Villains, but he also isn’t yet introspective enough to ask the question. If he screws up with Alexis, he might just have to learn a thing or two.

What Big Cat Are You?

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 05:25:27 GMT

You Are a Lynx

You are a quiet observer of the world around you. Your wisdom comes from listening carefully.
You've always been extra sensitive and aware. And it's made it difficult for you to fit in.

You see past people's outward personas. You are able to penetrate a stranger's soul.
What you've learned about people is both beautiful and ugly. And you keep these secrets to yourself.

What Big Cat Are You?

The Getty Villa

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 06:21:53 GMT

Went to the Getty Villa last, (oh dear was it that long ago?), thursday, and had a lovely time. My classmate Nicole and I went for a lecture that was being presented by a gentleman introduced as the foremost authority on Hellenistic Carved gemstones. He talked about how the gems were carved, who wore them, how they were generally worn, general ways to tell later period carvings, how they'd changed over time, and the part he spent the most time on: He detailed one particular mythos dating back to Troy, how the Greeks viewed this story, and how it was changed by the Romans. And then he showed many images detailing this same myth, and how it had and had not changed with time and how the generations of carvers were related to eachother. I found it very interesting, but the auditorium was cold, and cold makes me sleepy, so I didn't pay as much attention as I wanted to.

The Getty Villa is a smaller museum than the Getty museum. The villa is dedicated to Greek and Roman history, art, gods, goods, gardens, etc. It is beautiful and detailed. The road leading in is paved as though it were a Roman road, the Herb garden is wonderful, the main garden is sumptuous, and the treasures inside the building are amazing.

Here's some of my favorites:
I found this one to be hilarious!

I'm not sure you can read this one. It describes the inscription on a little gravestone with a small animal carved into it. It reads: "The inscription on this gravestone reads: 'To Helena, foster daughter, incomparable and praise-worthy soul.' It is unclear, however, whether the monument commemorates a girl or a dog named Helena. The dog's prominence within the elaborate architectural setting supports the idea that the gravestone honors an adored pet that was regarded as a family member.

I love that they showed the bracelets both front and back, so you can understand how they work a little bit. They had many different designs of snake bracelets on display, all beautiful.

I'd hate to have to carve these things without the use of modern tools, and admire the tenacity of the people who had to do so and still created such beauty.

You'll have to imagine him/her not being sideways. They had tons of these funky statues (both busts and full statues) made out of black metal with staring white eyes. They were really freaky, especially when the eyes weren't lined up quite right.

There were many sections of wall, this one painted.

The design of these small sculptures is simple, but I thought them beautiful.

I worked in the warehouse for too long to not be interested in the armor section. One of the marble statues (that I didn't photograph) was so beautifully detailed that it was carved with obvious hinges on one side of the statue's breastplate.

I'm not including any carved gemstones because they didn't photograph well, but otherwise, here is my reason for going to this museum:

Facebook

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 06:06:01 GMT

I have finally broken down and signed up for a Facebook account. I have yet to figure out how to use it and make it "cool". If anyone has any suggestions, they'd be appreciated. (Preferably useful suggestions, but otherwise is fine as well).
Though I'm sure I'll still be using LJ for useful posts.

Mom returns with tales of strange customs

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:11:42 GMT

Mom is home, and exhausted. She travels very poorly and hasn't adjusted to the time change at all, is headachy and lightheaded, and has slept nearly constantly since probably about 4pm yesterday (it now being around 10pm). But she did wake up long enough to tell me snippets of her trip.

Mostly she told me about the strange funerary customs that she didn't know anything about until now. I'd love to know how they got started, as they are kinda odd, especially when taken together: At the wake, the family of the deceased must not say thank you to anyone (for them coming to give their last respects, for any food brought, etc) and must not walk anyone to the door, but must remain in their seats.

On the way to the burial, everyone must take everything they need because no-one can re-enter the home until the deceased is laid to rest.

The family cannot leave the cemetery until the tomb is sealed and the cement too hard to break easily. (This one makes sense, as the Philippines is rather corrupt, and everyone fears theft, even of their dead. They also have some of the scariest vampires.)

Upon returning to the home, everyone must wash their hands, one person at a time, in a large basin filled with water and leaves before entering. (Mom was sad to be towards the back of the line when she found out about this tradition, as the water was kinda dirty by the time she had to dip her hands into it, and she was a little skeeved.)

And, this one makes no sense to me, whatsoever: The children of the deceased have a plateful of spaghetti together. This one takes a little explaining. There is only one plate and one fork. A forkful of spaghetti is eaten by each child, from eldest to youngest. It is the eldest's duty to feed this forkful of spaghetti to each one. So Aunt ManayEmma (I've probably misspelled her name) held the fork, and Aunt Daisy steadied Aunt ManayEmma's hand as she fed each in turn. This is because Aunt ManayEmma is the eldest of the children, but from my grandmother's first marriage, and not my grandfather's daughter at all. (Her first husband died young.) Aunt Daisy is the eldest of my grandfather's children, but Grampa never differentiated between them, so neither do they. Aunt Fely was sad to be the youngest and have to eat from the same fork as her 5 elder siblings. Ick.

It was a very well attended funeral, not only because my grandfather is related to a huge number of people in his town, but also because he was well known, and well liked. He'd started at least 3 different clubs after he'd retired and the full memberships attended, as well as the members of the several other clubs he'd been a member of through the years.

And as expected, my mother had a fun time helping decide how my grandfather's property is going to be split up. (This part is dirty laundry that shouldn't be aired in public, so feel free to skip.) One of my uncles and his family cared for Grandpa until Grandpa died. So he and his wife feel that they are entitled to the plot of land the family home stands on. (This is not a big plot of land.) The rest of the family feel that they want a bit of the land as well because it is grandpa's and should be split somewhat evenly (just in quarters, two siblings wouldn't get any), though the section with the house would go to my uncle. So far, it sounds like my uncle should be entitled to more for the care he's provided. But this is where the dirty laundry comes out.
My uncle's family has been taking away Grandpa's pensions and the money that my Aunts have been providing him with, so Grandpa kept having to ask for more money. And the part that makes me livid; the funeral director said of my grandpa after he'd prepared the body for burial, he'd never seen a body with such deep sores and so very thin. And suddenly I feel so much less sympathy for my uncle and his family. Especially as Aunt Daisy had been helping them out financially as well. Grr! I can't help but think that Death was kinder.
Ah, family politics!

Mom brought me back one of Grandpa's old books. It's the Japanese /Tagalog/ English dictionary that Grandpa used to use to write letters to us when we were kids. It makes me happy to have it.

The tide pools at Newport Beach, California

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 06:12:30 GMT

I went to the tide pools in Newport beach, CA yesterday and had much fun. I am amazed as to how much oceanic life there is so close to such a civilized area.
Anyhow, I have photos to share. They are a little dark as low tide was at 6:11am, dawn was closer to 6:20 am, and the morning fog hadn't burned off yet when these pictures were taken.
And, in case you're wondering, I fumbled my cell phone/camera once and almost dropped it into one of the pools. Ooops.

This photo shows some sea anemones crowding together. They were everywhere, and we had to watch our step so as to not squish any. When closed, which is what they do when the tide no longer covers them, they are dark with speckles that look more or less like shell and rock shards and blend in well with the surrounding environment, so it wasn't easy. We also saw sea urchins, star fish, star fish bits being eaten by sea anemones (ick), rock fish, and hermit crabs. Not to mention all the birds, surfers, fishers, and divers.

All the rocks shown here are entirely covered in mussels.

Here is a closer look at the mussels hanging out, surrounding the sea anemones' pools.

We visited briefly with one hermit crab. He tried to grab the shell and haul it across Nicole's hand but then thought better of it.

The beach is surrounded by cliffs upon which flowers grow on the vertical faces.

The flowers rain down to lay amongst the shell and rock.

And here we are trying to get home again. The tide had come in a bit, and it was a little more interesting trying to get home than it was trying to go out.

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 06:56:10 GMT

I need to get this book eventually, but keep forgetting the name. So I'm putting it here for safe keeping.
"Sieraad Symbool Signaal The Jewel-sign and Symbol" Description: 287 pages. A exhibition held June9-October 15, 1995 on the symbolism and significance of jewelry. Text in English and Dutch.

I'll also probably want to pick up "The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, An Illustrated Guide to the History and Powers of Gemstones, With information on birthstones, gemstone properties and therapy, crystal and crystal gazing, and the protective and preventative functions of amulets and talismans" by George Frederick Kunz. from the end of the 19th c/ beginning of the 20th c. I'm not very far into it yet, but already it is a great read.

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:41:40 GMT

My grandfather just passed away this friday. I'm not mourning him; he had passed from my life years ago. I just wanted to remember him. He was a pretty awesome guy.

Most of the family isn't truly mourning him, but getting together to celebrate his life. He'd been in pain for quite a while now (he was 97) with a badly infected foot and hadn't been able to leave his bed anymore.
And he never got over the loss of his wife. He really truly loved her in that fairy tale sort of way, and has missed her very much these last 10 years. We like to think that they get to be reunited now. Even though she'd been gone for approx. 7 years when I'd gone to visit him in the Philippines, he still cried when he spoke of her. He joked that he would have his casket placed standing behind hers so that he could stand there guarding her for eternity.

He had a large family to care for and did a lot of things to make money over the years.
His actual job that he made most of his money from was as a school teacher. And for quite a while, he was the school system's principle.
He also owned a small storefront where he or one of his children (usually daughters) would sell general items. He would always make sure to have one daughter in particular close the store every day. Why, you say? Because her boyfriend would come and close the store for her; even if he was grounded, he'd sneak out and help her. Pretty smart, I'd say.

I met him when I was very small. My mom thinks I was all of 2, but I remember him so clearly, I'm sure I might have been all of 5. He had the time to pay attention to me and by so doing taught me what love was.
It's interesting what children remember and find important and what adults remember. When I saw him again, oh 3 or so years ago, he remembered the trip to NYC. I remembered the stories he told, the walks he took with me, fixing my bed because he asked me to (I wouldn't do that for just anyone!). And, of course, the hot peppers. He would eat hot peppers out of a jar like I would eat pickles. So, of course, I sneaked over to try one myself. The result was much as you'd imagine, though I'm sure it was adorable from his point of view (as he saw me sneak one and let me get away with it and then suffer the consequences).

He and my grandmother each left a pair of shoes behind when they returned to the Philippines. He said it was because of a superstition that said they would return while the shoes remained. They talked about returning many times, but my grandfather had used most of his retirement pension to come to the States the first time. (It wasn't just a pleasure trip, my grandmother needed treatment for eye problems, which was why they came. I like to think they wanted to stay because I was just so cute!) Those shoes stayed in the closet a very long time. Probably until my parents started trying to pack up the house to get ready for retirement. My grandfather stopped talking about returning to the US to visit when his wife died. He'd never leave her, even in death.

I hear he was a cantankerous and quarrelsome old man in those intervening years. He was on the school board for quite a while (till shortly before my visit to the Philippines) until they couldn't take being yelled at so much. And then they kept him on the board because it was easier than arguing with him about his removal.

When I met him again, after about 25 years, he didn't recognize me. Well, truth be told, I didn't recognize him either. He was much shorter than my point of view from age 5. He kept asking who the 'Mexican' was. *laugh* Thanks Grandpa.
His memory was starting to fade at that point, and he'd remember who I was for a brief time, and then forget again. It'd been so long since he'd used english that he didn't remember it any longer, and my cousins had to translate. He kept trying to remember me, and he was very kind to me when he did remember. He kept trying to tell me about people in old pictures, but my cousins kept wandering away so I have no idea what he said. But it was nice seeing him again. I knew at the time that it'd be the last.

I saw my mother looking at some photos on the fridge yesterday, and I saw some of her thoughts: She was wondering how we'd remember her once she was gone. She was also wondering which photos of the babies to take to show off to her relatives. Mom's family is using this as an excuse for a family reunion as well. I'm sure they're going to have fun arguing about who inherits what. I've requested one of my grandpa's old books. Don't care which one, just want one. He was very fond of them, being a teacher and all.

So I have spent all day today cleaning so that the condo will be spotless when my aunt arrives tomorrow. She will be traveling with my mother the next day to Manila, where they will meet up with the rest of the family to take a plane to Bulan, to attend the funeral. I hear it is a tiny plane. My mother hates tiny planes. She is going to get the worst motion sickness! At least it's the dry season there.
Well, I hope the trip is good.
We had to buy pretty yet just sufficiently somber enough clothing for Mom for the trip. We also got a very nice umbrella for her to use as a parasol. It is tradition to walk from the house to the cemetery, and the sun is brutal there.

All these preparations have made me tired, so I'm off to bed now. Good night!

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 01:26:57 GMT

But wait, this doesn't describe an untimely death! I think I'm confused...

Your result for The 'Untimely' Death Test...

The Unforgettable

65% Heroic, 50% Alone, 54% Asleep, 59% Immortal, 16% Embarrassed and 73% Loved!

You are someone worthy of loving and being loved in return...

Keep it up. The world is a much better place because of you and the path you chose to take. You may even be lucky enough to die in the arms of someone who loves you deeply. That in itself would be the most rewarding aspect of an honest life.

Live to love, love to live... As I always say.

Take The 'Untimely' Death Test at HelloQuizzy

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:44:33 GMT

Not quite what I expected, but all good.

Your result for Which Were Animal Would You Be? Test...

You are a Were-Leopard!

50% leopard, 40% wolf, 40% horse, 40% tiger, 20% rat, 40% fox and 30% bear!

Leopards are predators. They are solitary animals that like to hunt at night, although they have been known to stalk prey during the daylight hours at times. They love sitting in tree branches hanging out and watching what goes on in their territory.

Leopards are the only large cats that are not monogamous. They like playing the field and living the high life of the jungle. They are stealthy and sneak up on their prey. They definitely like to do things on their own without help from their peers. Leopards only tolerate each other when the mating instinct hits them.

Leopards are also very strong and can lift up to three times their own weight.

As a were-leopard you definitely won't be enjoying a vegetarian life-style. You'll be taking your meat a little on the rare side...very rare.

Take Which Were Animal Would You Be? Test at HelloQuizzy

I'm hoping this is a joke

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:46:01 GMT

Grabbed off of Bookish: http://community.livejournal.com/bookish/1502730.html?#cutid1

Can we stop the madness?
Walter Olson
The New Book Banning
Children’s books burn, courtesy of the federal government.
12 February 2009

It’s hard to believe, but true: under a law Congress passed last year aimed at regulating hazards in children’s products, the federal government has now advised that children’s books published before 1985 should not be considered safe and may in many cases be unlawful to sell or distribute. Merchants, thrift stores, and booksellers may be at risk if they sell older volumes, or even give them away, without first subjecting them to testing—at prohibitive expense. Many used-book sellers, consignment stores, Goodwill outlets, and the like have accordingly begun to refuse new donations of pre-1985 volumes, yank existing ones off their shelves, and in some cases discard them en masse.

The problem is the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), passed by Congress last summer after the panic over lead paint on toys from China. Among its other provisions, CPSIA imposed tough new limits on lead in any products intended for use by children aged 12 or under, and made those limits retroactive: that is, goods manufactured before the law passed cannot be sold on the used market (even in garage sales or on eBay) if they don’t conform. The law has hit thrift stores particularly hard, since many children’s products have long included lead-containing (if harmless) components: zippers, snaps, and clasps on garments and backpacks; skateboards, bicycles, and countless other products containing metal alloy; rhinestones and beads in decorations; and so forth. Combine this measure with a new ban (also retroactive) on playthings and child-care articles that contain plastic-softening chemicals known as phthalates, and suddenly tens of millions of commonly encountered children’s items have become unlawful to resell, presumably destined for landfills when their owners discard them. Penalties under the law are strict and can include $100,000 fines and prison time, regardless of whether any child is harmed.

Not until 1985 did it become unlawful to use lead pigments in the inks, dyes, and paints used in children’s books. Before then—and perhaps particularly in the great age of children’s-book illustration that lasted through the early twentieth century—the use of such pigments was not uncommon, and testing can still detect lead residues in books today. This doesn’t mean that the books pose any hazard to children. While lead poisoning from other sources, such as paint in old houses, remains a serious public health problem in some communities, no one seems to have been able to produce a single instance in which an American child has been made ill by the lead in old book illustrations—not surprisingly, since unlike poorly maintained wall paint, book pigments do not tend to flake off in large lead-laden chips for toddlers to put into their mouths.

At any rate, CPSIA’s major provisions went into effect on February 10. The day before, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published guidelines telling thrift stores, as well as other resellers and distributors of used goods, what they could safely keep selling and what they should consider rejecting or subjecting to (expensive) lead testing. Confirming earlier reports, the document advised that only “ordinary” children’s books (that is, made entirely of paper, with no toylike plastic or metal elements) printed after 1985 could be placed in the safe category. Older books were pointedly left off the safe list; the commission did allow an exception for vintage collectibles whose age, price, or rarity suggested that they would most likely be used by adult collectors, rather than given to children.

Since the law became effective the very next day, there was no time to waste in putting this advice into practice. A commenter at Etsy, the large handicrafts and vintage-goods site, observed how things worked at one store:

I just came back from my local thrift store with tears in my eyes! I watched as boxes and boxes of children’s books were thrown into the garbage! Today was the deadline and I just can’t believe it! Every book they had on the shelves prior to 1985 was destroyed! I managed to grab a 1967 edition of “The Outsiders” from the top of the box, but so many!

People who deal in children’s books for a livelihood now face unpleasant choices. Valorie Jacobsen of Clinton, Wisconsin, who owns a small used-book store and has sold over the Internet since 1995, commented at my blog, Overlawyered: “Our bookstore is the sole means of income for our family, and we currently have over 7,000 books catalogued. In our children’s department, 35 percent of our picture books and 65 percent of our chapter books were printed before 1985.” Jacobsen has contacted the CPSC and her congressional representatives for guidance, but to no avail. “We cannot simply discard a wealth of our culture’s nineteenth and twentieth children’s literature over this,” she writes. She remains defiant, if wary: “I was willing to resist the censorship of 1984 and the Fire Department of Fahrenheit 451 long before I became a bookseller, so I’d love to run a black market in quality children’s books—but at the same time it’s not like the CPSC has never destroyed a small, harmless company before.”

Jacobsen also worries that any temporary forbearance on the part of the CPSC, which has said that it does not plan a reseller crackdown any time soon in the absence of evidence of risk, could be abrogated without notice in the future. For one thing, new commissioners appointed by the Obama administration are expected to show less sympathy in regulating business than the current commission. In addition, the 50 state attorneys general have been empowered to enforce the law on their own, and frequently take much more aggressive legal positions than those of the federal government, sometimes teaming with private lawyers who capture a share of fines imposed.

Seizing on the “collectible” loophole, commenter Carol Baicker-McGee declared: “If nothing happens to change this law soon, I promise I will spend whatever money and devote whatever space I can to buying up these older books. I’ll be happy to label myself a collector (and I’m subversive enough to leave the books lying around where kids might ‘accidentally’ read them).” But this strategy, aside from its overtones of furtive evasion, will provide limited legal help to sellers. Under the law, they’re liable if their products will commonly be understood as intended for children’s use, even if not labeled as such.

A further question is what to do about public libraries, which daily expose children under 12 to pre-1985 editions of Anne of Green Gables, Beatrix Potter, Baden-Powell’s scouting guides, and other deadly hazards. The blogger Design Loft carefully examines some of the costs of CPSIA-proofing pre-1985 library holdings; they are, not surprisingly, utterly prohibitive. The American Library Association spent months warning about the law’s implications, but its concerns fell on deaf ears in Congress (which, in this week’s stimulus bill, refused to consider an amendment by Republican senator Jim DeMint to reform CPSIA). The ALA now apparently intends to take the position that the law does not apply to libraries unless it hears otherwise. One can hardly blame it for this stance, but it’s far from clear that it will prevail. For one thing, the law bans the “distribution” of forbidden items, whether or not for profit. In addition, most libraries regularly raise money through book sales, and will now need to consider excluding older children’s titles from those sales. One CPSC commissioner, Thomas Moore, has already called for libraries to “sequester” some undefinedly large fraction of pre-1985 books until more is known about their risks.

The threat to old books has surfaced so quickly in recent weeks that the elite press still seems unaware of it. The wider pattern of CPSIA’s disruptive irrationality and threat to small businesses has been covered reasonably well by the local press around the country. Some papers have investigated particular aspects of the law—the Los Angeles Times has tracked its menace to the garment industry, and the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal the general plight of thrift stores—but almost no one has cared to consider the law’s broad array of unintended consequences, let alone ask what went wrong in the near-unanimous rush to passage of this feel-good law.

The New York Times, which last year vigorously cheered the passage of CPSIA in both its news and editorial columns, occupies a class by itself in almost completely ignoring the law’s wrenching effects as its effective date has arrived. The Times used to cover the book business, as well as apparel, retailing, and product design, to name a few of the sectors hit hard by CPSIA. Yet the paper has remained entirely silent on the law in recent weeks, aside from one brief wire-service item and a post on the paper’s automotive blog, Wheels, about the law’s effect on children’s dirt bikes (now forced off the market). On Wednesday, the Times ran an editorial solemnly condemning “book banning”; on inspection, the editorial turned out to praise an ACLU lawsuit against a school district that had removed a library book from the shelves because of its allegedly over-favorable view of Castro’s Cuba. In any wider and more systematic prospect of book banning, the paper has shown no interest.

Whatever the future of new media may hold, ours will be a poorer world if we begin to lose (or “sequester” from children) the millions of books published before our own era. They serve as a path into history, literature, and imagination for kids everywhere. They link the generations by enabling parents to pass on the stories and discoveries in which they delighted as children. Their illustrations open up worlds far removed from what kids are likely to see on the video or TV screen. Could we really be on the verge of losing all of this? And if this is what government protection of our kids means, shouldn’t we be thinking instead about protecting our kids from the government?

Walter Olson is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and has covered CPSIA in depth at his blog, Overlawyered.

http://city-journal.org/2009/eon0212wo.html

How I amuse myself on my hour long commute:

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 07:47:19 GMT

While driving down the highway yesterday, I found myself behind a row of shiny white unmarked vans, 8 or 9 vans long, with a slightly rangy looking green cloth covered pick up truck at the end and a more typical pick up truck behind that.
I amused myself for a bit trying to decide if they were a paramilitary type group, a cult of some sort, or possibly belonging to the US armed forces. They were driving in the slower middle lane (it is a four lane highway) so I assumed that a legitimate force was unlikely because the armed forces seem to always drive in the slow lane. But I couldn't decide between paramilitary or cult. After all, the shiny vans are excellent transport for women and children, but the green truck had a very military kind of look. Hmm...
And then the whole row of vehicles moved over to take the Camp Pendleton exit, and as they were slowing down, I got a good look as I drove past: Hm, green truck says Navy on the side. The vans are filled with guys in green camo, many of them sleeping in exactly the same pose. Wow, it is legit after all!
(But I hope the people in charge weren't aiming for even slightly covert, since they were a highly obvious and even eye-catching group.)

fenech_fox@yahoo.com — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:50:12 GMT

The Tucson Gem and Jewelry show was a couple of weekends ago, but I have yet to find time to post about it. Just to note: it was absolutely awesome! There was an amazing selection of items at an amazing selection of prices, mostly good, some less so.

I promise to write more about it soon and put up some photos. There are some interesting photos! (at least I think so)