"so much persisting"

Saturday morning in The 'Bul; up the coast here a shimmering, winter sun lingers around my windowsill. I've got a steaming cuppa joe at my side, and the kitties are afoot- basking in the golden glow in my room. Sometime in January came the swift death of my beloved french press, so I've been making do with my Melitta Ready Set Joe single cup coffee brewer thingy. The added drama, or flair, of the french press is surely missed, but coffee must go on! Or, in the newly coined phrase (memes too) by words arising from the new political climate we Americans are currently experiencing: "But, coffee persisted" Unfortunately, the stove top burners don't comply with my nifty caffeteria, so it must sit high up in the darkness of the back of a cupboard- never to experience the front row VIP utensils and such. Alas...

Here's the background:
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/nevertheless-she-persisted-and-the-age-of-the-weaponized-meme/516012/

But I digress; more about the current political shit-show later... Or not.  Let us persist in reveling on a more positive vibrational frequency.

Lots brewing in the Turkey transition cycle. I'm eagerly anticipating which country I'll be moving on to in September. Before that, though, I'll be doing a brief stint back in America hanging in the woods, on the beach- with all the usual suspects, etc.  The kitts will be hanging in southern Oregon, becoming acquainted with their new environment- living as indoor/outdoor kitties! They will also have other feline, and canine, roommates! I think they really miss their feline and canine friends back in Bahrain during the summer's at Starr Villa.

The weather, of course, if up for lengthy discussions. A long, cold winter finally showing the first signs of lifting. Nevertheless, Knit-wits persisted. Yes, fortunately, time was well-spent. Knitting kept me quite active; our 'Knit-Wit' Sunday sessions were/are welcome comic relief where we can come together, our little group of Americans, Canadians, Kiwis, Turks, etc. The Boyz, always gracious hosts for our shenanigans morph into 'TV-Js' (yes, I just made that up), tuning us into the latest and greatest TV series, comedy routines, news bits, etc.

I've been branching out in the culinary world as of late. I'm currently LOVING cooking with celery roots. Winter means soups and these buggahs serve as tremendous bases for tasty, soupy treats. Black beans have also become a staple. Imagine just throwing them into the pressure cooker for 22 minutes and PRESTO- they are finished; no soaking overnight! BAM; I love me some instant gratification when it comes to food. Avocados, I've noticed, are becoming increasingly easier to 'peel'. Yea, it's something to master- how to easily get the skins off of avos here.

This past week I've started to hear increasingly louder whispers from my spring collection, tucked away deep in my closet. Shiny, silky fabrics trying to make a run for it to the front row upon each opening. After a quick closet analysis, I decide to keep them in the background- awaiting patiently for 'that day' to arrive. Shunned for now, nevertheless, they persist in their whispers...

My running shoes are anxious to get dirty too. Last winter I ran throughout winter. Sure, it was cold; neverlesless, I persisted.  This winter? Well, it was damn cold, and icy quite a bit. It never felt totally fine, in my opinion, to risk running and slipping.

Okay, here's the real news folks: I'm hungover; I'm hungry; I've had too much coffee; I have to pee (some of this list might contain alternative facts, but I can't recall).  *very bigly problem*  

"This is fake news because the news is fake"      (look it up)

The End...or not. Neverless, meme news persisted...

In case you want a factual *meme analysis* of how I view this new Amerikan regime change, here it isn't:

*OMG' really?*

#notmypresident

#resist

#stoppresidentbannon

#BasketofDeplorables

#tinyhands  #tinytrumps

#ConanMexico

#frederickdouglass

The Young Turks   #resist

2017. Spiritual warrior activation *upload complete* Hit return

My first #pussyhatproject project

Reflecting on my scenes of my 2016, when inserted into a geo-political-social worldwide kerfuffle, you have just that; good contexts mixed with bad (foreboding premonitions?), waiting to ambush, perhaps, the world as you have known it. It can't possibly be that dire, what 2017 has in store for us. We (I say 'we' as if just Americans are experiencing this, but in fact *THIS IS NOT A FACT* the world expects/anticipates/dreads/welcomes/*insert your verb* collectively.

Current Setting:New Year's Eve. 9:30 AM. Drinking (Indonesian) coffee with some organic milk frothed by an Italian, in bed (haha, absurd). Add to that a pinch of brown sugar, and, presto! instant early morning mood enhancer. Oh yea, da kine.

The kitts are on hand as well. On the bed. Staring at me, staring at the walls, and staring into space while listening to the crows outside. Cawing sounds attract their attention for sure. The unknown world out there, they ponder. They know there is a glorious life out there, different from the one they know with me, inside. Their thirst for the outdoors- from their Middle Eastern Dilmun civilization homeland they arose from, and so quickly removed from, via magic carpet ride to the center of the Ottoman Empire- Constantinople; they are looking to quench their thirst again. I can feel it. They must sense Oregon...After all, they are part of the global kittyzens crew... Third passport stamp coming up.

A quick shout-out to Karen and Georgia *Elvis, Millie*, the 'My Favorite Murder' http://www.feralaudio.com/show/my-favorite-murder/ podcast gargoyles. They mentioned something I had learned a long time ago, but has been disappearing from my knowledge chain; what a great resource Wikipedia really is. It IS so great for cut/pasting snippets, for quick reference on anything. You don't have to feel shame for using uncitable reference materials. Anyway, mahalo ladies for snippets of wisdom that I inherently know I DON'T have to fact-check... :)

Next up, on a whim just now while I was downstairs with Je-Gra grinding coffee beans- Yes, because that's what friends/neighbors DO early in the morning when in need of a cuppa-joe! So, the point of the story part here... I flashed on thoughts of EdVice and Frangelico, which, of course, means Romania- which ultimately means end of summer-last trip to get in- before the start of the (ridiculously long) Fall Semester school year... More on that - never! Maybe, but I try to not whine so much when blogging. Or proof-read. Anyway, the story: Ed eagle-eye spotted the bottle of Frangelico at the airport duty-free! I like Frangelico and coffee I've discovered. In honor of that discovery, today I partake in the ritualistic ceremony, to invoke holiday cheer. To say good-bye to 2016. Wat up 2017? Imma approach this as J.P. Sears might; ultra-spiritual warrior (http://awakenwithjp.com/).


Since we're on the subject of 'using uncitable reference materials', fuck this fake-news shit and 'Post-Truth' age of disinformation- too much information- intentional/unintentional fake information-howthefuckyoufigureoutallthisshit. I'm tired of searching. I'm already tired of figuring out (my version) of THE truth. Well, isn't 'my' version the dominant version? Obviously not, according to the date to stay alive DEEP in my heart, July 26, 2016. That's right. NOT November 11th, 2016. That, more recent, date just numbed my heart even more, resulting in a near shut-down concerning discussion of Amerikan *global* politics. The incoming president-elect has no place on my *dominant* spiritual agenda... That's right, all this political bullshit attacks my spirit, when I am weak. When I am strong, though...well- this is the goal for all years, all the time honestly.

I digress... July 26, 2016 I (we?) got sideswiped; Bernie Sanders lost the Democratic nomination for presidency to Hilary. Bernie's "movement of love", as coined by Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii State Representative)...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeuEOYBY8U8 

... lost over a 'movement of mediocrity', not devastating, like what we ended up with the president-elect's 'movement of dunces', but certainly wasn't going to progress in a graceful and honesty manner- which is where the U.S. needs to be headed... But how it happened was deceitful, IMHO. That's all.


(I know, completely lame of me to just cut/paste the attributive tag for Gabbard's quote, but I give 0 you know what). LOVE to break MLA/APA citation rules.  *rabblerouser*  On a side note, I'm increasingly fascinated with error-correcting grammar. I know, weird.

2016. Lots of: travel, good times, friendships, family time, growth, spiritual-self work, reading, running, yoga, learning, teaching, challenges met, and... as of late... KNITTING! That's right, I'm a knitting warrior at the moment. Check out the PussyHat Project:

https://www.pussyhatproject.com/

2016, time to bounce  *(gross) 2009 lexical reference*  (HaHa)

2017. Spiritual warrior activation *upload complete* Hit return