Matt 7:2-5 "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged [if we judge with an evil heart or dark intent, His judgment of us will reflect it; if we judge nobly and honestly, His judgment of us will reflect that, too], and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you [if we use extremes or exaggerations or other unfair means, our judgment will reflect it]. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye [point out his sins, "minor" in Jesus' example here] and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye [our own sins, even and especially those we will not admit, magnified by our selective blindness]? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' [tell him of his "minor" sins] when all the time there is a plank in your own eye [that there are greater or the same sins in our own lives which we do nothing about or think we are above]? You hypocrite* [pointing out the sins of others while by pretense we think of ourselves as above sin], first take the plank out of your own eye [sincerely ask the Lord for forgiveness and learn and live the Truth and Light by His Word], and then you will see clearly [be in a righteous position] to remove the speck from your brother's eye [to judge and to help him out of his bondage to sin]."

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

I loved San Francisco!
Monday, March 12, 2007
09:58 p.m.

I'm back from San Fran and am in love with that city! I remember going for the 1st time in 2001 or 2002 and not caring for it that much, but this time - I saw it from top to bottom with an open mind (trying not to think NYC was better) and I wound up seeing it as better than NYC! Blasphemy I know but it's the truth. It was GORGEOUS! It's like combining NYC with L.A. - you get the best of city life with great weather, gorgeous ocean views and just beauty everywhere. I came back to NY last night and as I walked from Grand Central to work this morning, I wasn't enamored with the city like before - I still love NYC, don't get me wrong - but I no longer view it with that 'NYC is the best city in the world' view I had before.



Those are a few pics I took on my cell phone of downtown San Francisco where Ricky had worked on a project for Wells Fargo once and the others are of one of the most beautiful structures in SF - the Palace of Fine Arts which I swear is just like something I imagined building in my own gardens one day (although not to such a scale).

Highlights of the trip include me, Ricky and my sister Mekha biking for 3 hours from Fisherman's Warf down along the shore and OVER the Golden Gate Bridge and back again (absolutely breathtaking and amazing), going to Ghiradelli Square, eating at Paul K's, Little Italy dinner, walking through the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park, going to Twin Peaks, riding the cable cars (the trolleys) at night, Union Square, touring Alcatraz and lunching at Fisherman's Warf - especially on Saturday when we bought the clam chowder in sourdough bowls and ate by the docks. :)

I'm gonna watch The Hills now and relax. *HUGS* to all!!

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

A Special Message for Amy
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
09:32 p.m.

A very sweet woman named Amy introduced herself to me on myspace.com a while back. She was a supporter of a wonderful Indian artist named Deeyah and our mutual admiration for that artist brought us in touch with each other. Amy is suffering from a great illness and has a family member who is also sick. I ask everyone reading this blog to please say a prayer for Amy and her sister.

Amy read a posting I had written back on November 26, 2006 on this blog which was my email to a friend about how not everything in life happens for a reason. Sometimes shit just happens and you have to deal with it. The entry is still here on this page as I haven't archived these entries yet - simply scroll down.

Amy wrote to me tonight asking whether I was mad at her because I hadn't responded to a couple of her emails on myspace and explained her troubles to me. My heart was so saddened to hear of her problems. What follows is something I told her in response and I am placing it here on my blog because what I said to Amy (who is a regular reader) may also help other people who need strength and light during dark times.

hi Amy, no I'm not mad at you and no, you didn't do anything wrong. If I haven't responded to your msgs it's because I rarely - if ever - respond to anyone's msgs I receive on myspace or on email. I'm always busy and, unless I have a block of free time, don't like wasting my time responding to emails unless it's absolutely important. I understand you are going through a very hard time and I am so sorry to hear about your sister having cancer - that's horrible and I'll keep both her and you in my prayers. However, I am deeply troubled that you were this upset by my infrequent responses to your emails. Please do not misinterpret a failure to respond as anything else but that. I don't like writing emails. They take too much time. I'm usually direct and to the point. I save my writing energy for my books and my blog and for the 8 hours I'm at work where my job is to write motions all day. In the free time I do have, it's devoted to everything else I enjoy in life. Emails come last. That said, yes life can sometimes be very unfair. It doesn't make sense why things sometimes work out wonderfully and, at other times, end tragically. All we can do is make the best out of the hand we are dealt. It is a testament to the strength of our humanity and our souls when we rise above our hardships and show the true beauty of our spirit - that we can persevere, remain kind and loving and good people despite the shit that happens to us and all around us. Millions of people throughout time have suffered for no good reason, but among the greatest of them is one common factor: they never gave up belief in the good inside themselves and others. They accepted that life was fair and unfair. That it could be ugly but also beautiful. That the most important lesson about life was - no matter how horrible a hand you are dealt - that you treat life, yourself and others, as precious and continue to love and find joy in something! You were born to live and know life. That meant knowing both the beauty and the horrors of life, the love & the pain. You must always live each day, until your last, thanking this universe and its God for giving you the chance of life - to know what it is to exist, to love and be loved. I have been through very hard and dark times myself - my own mother is going through a horrible sickness which has left her weak and in pain every day and my dad has 3 stents in his heart and is on medication every day. No matter how burdensome and horrible life gets, you must let your inner star shine. The star that resonates with the beauty of your soul - with the spirit of love and hope. Look beyond your own pain and your family's suffering. See what good you can do with both of your lives - both to enjoy it and to give to others in this world who are even worse off than you - such as woman who are being enslaved as war sex slaves for men, or children who are used for perverted men. There is great evil in this world but there is also great good. It is up to each of us to be the good in the world. I hope this email now suffices :) I am off to San Francisco for the next 4 days and won't be back till next week and won't have regular email access. Please be strong, pray, write and continue to live and love and help others. Create a life of meaning for yourself and others. As I said before, you and your sister shall remain in my prayers. - Nishi

And yes I am off to San Francisco tomorrow - just finished packing and need to shower, have dinner and sleep! Callie no I didn't see the eclipse because I was in Florida but I saw lots of pictures! :) Did you enjoy it? Sarah Beth *HUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG*** I'm hoping to see Lisa in San Fran this weekend! The next time you and I see each other again may be at her wedding! :) ML did you tell your bio teacher about the volcanoes? :) and the producer who did the tracks of material for Mariah Carey is not my producer YET - I want to meet him first and really see if everything is legitimate and if we are on the same page as far as my music career, album and everything is concerned. Cappuccino after shoveling snow sounds so good! :) Sean *HUGS* I left a message on your blog last week!

Ok now I am really out! See ya'll after SF! :)

- Nishi

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Recent Ruling by Federal Court on Guantanamo Bay Prisoner's Rights
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
07:24 p.m.

As many of you are aware, I'm opposed to the government-sanctioned detention, without proof or charge, of prisoners captured during the war on terror & labeled enemy combatants. These prisoners were allegedly captured on the battle fields but many aren't. They aren't even combatants but are farmers and other innocent civilians who were kidnapped by militia men, or unjustly rounded up, or were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Many of them have never been charged and they have been languishing in foreign prisons since 2001 without any hope of being freed.

On their behalf, attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights have been fighting to appeal their unlawful detentions. A few weeks ago, one of these cases was heard and a divided Federal Appeals court ruled that federal judges did not have authority to review foreign prisoners' challenges to their detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

They ruled so because of a new law Bush enacted in October 2006 called the Military Commissions Act of 2006. It was enacted because the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, had previously ruled - twice - that the Bush government did not have the authority to limit the habeas corpus rights of foreigners being held outside of the U.S. as enemy combatants. Habeas Corpus is the fundamental right of one to ask a judge for release from unjust imprisonment.

STEPHEN LABATON - in an article he wrote for the Associated Press said on February 21, 2006 that: "In response to those rulings, Congress twice rewrote the Military Commissions Act law to limit the detainees' avenues of appeal. The most recent rewriting was the one that resulted in this Federal Appeals court's ruling. The new law explicitly eliminated the federal courts' jurisdiction over habeas challenges by such prisoners. It instead set up military panels to review the justification of detention in individual cases, with limited right of appeal to the courts afterward."

We all know the military panels set up is just bullshit. I maintain that every human being held by us is entitled to habeas corpus - whether held in a foreign country or not. Being held in a foreign country is just a convenient way to keep the U.S. courts out of the military's affairs.

Shayana Kadidal, a lawyer at the Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents many of the detainees, told Mr. Labaton: "This decision empowers the president to do whatever he wishes to prisoners without any legal limitation as long as he does it offshore." Mr. Kadidal said the ruling encouraged "a contempt for international human rights law" and "such notorious practices as extraordinary rendition" - sending terrorism suspects abroad for interrogation, where, rights advocates say, they may face torture.

"The Military Commissions Act is a dangerous and misguided law that undercuts our freedoms and assaults our Constitution by removing vital checks and balances designed to prevent government overreaching and lawlessness," said Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee.

LABATON says in his articles that in the week prior, "Mr. Leahy joined a group of other Senate Democrats, including Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin and Robert Menendez of New Jersey, in introducing the legislation restoring habeas rights for the Guantanamo prisoners. Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the Judiciary Committee's ranking Republican, also endorsed that measure last week, and said Tuesday that he believed the dissent from the new appeals court decision would ultimately prevail in the Supreme Court."

I hope so.

But, says Mr. Labaton, "Other Republican lawmakers, including Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, both of whom also serve on the committee, applauded the ruling."

"The decision, Lakhdar Boumediene v. George W. Bush, involved a consolidation of the cases of 63 detainees, all from foreign countries, who had sought review in two federal district courts. One judge had ruled that she had the authority to consider the cases, while another had ruled that he did not, and granted the administration’s motion to dismiss the inmates’ habeas petitions."

"Writing for the appeals court, Judge Randolph first turned to the statutory issue. He said arguments put forward by the detainees’ lawyers that the new law was not meant to apply to the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay “are creative but not cogent." Congress, he said, clearly meant to keep the federal courts from considering the detainees’ cases."

"Turning to the question of whether Congress had acted within the Constitution, he said there had been no earlier cases in which a court had granted a habeas corpus petition for a foreign national held at an overseas military base. The Constitution, he said, 'does not confer rights on aliens without property or presence within the United States.' The opinion was also signed by Judge David B. Sentelle."

"In her dissent, Judge Rogers said: 'Prior to the enactment of the Military Commissions Act, the Supreme Court acknowledged that the detainees held at Guantánamo had a statutory right to habeas corpus. The M.C.A. purports to withdraw that right but does so in a manner that offends the constitutional constraint on suspension.'"

I agree whole heartedly.

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Back from my Florida Weekend :)
Monday, March 5, 2007
07:17 a.m.

I had SUCH a beautiful relaxing weekend with my parents in our Florida home. I didn't wanna leave them at all nor did I want to say goodbye to that beautiful home & area. We have this gorgeous little home in this humongous community complex in this little city called Bonita Spings in Florida - right near Ft. Meyers and I love it!! When I left NYC Friday night, it was cold & rainy and when I landed in Ft. Meyers it was hot as a sauna! The humidity and warmth hit me as shocking coming from the cool a/c of the plane. I adjusted quickly though because when I woke up the next morning - it was breathtakingly beautiful! Sunny & 85 degrees. Mom made delicious upa mav breakfast with fruit and coffee and after relaxing we all went to Ft. Meyer's Beach!! :) We lounged there late until 4pm while my dad fished and caught 3 fish! :) When I got back, I went jogging a whole 5 miles all over the complex. Florida has these closed off/gated communities in which residents can build cookie-cutter-like homes of varying styles - but each is beautiful and comes with options of pools or barbeque patios and garages - the works. And The community is so well protected and safe - no one who doesn't belong to the community can get in without permission. It's perfect for my parents.

My 5 mile jog around the complex was exhilerating. My sisters and I had gone there with the folks for Thanksgiving in 2005 and I enjoyed it then but I had an even BETTER time this weekend. I can't wait to go back to our Florida home! Here are some pictures of what our particular home and the area around it looks like. The complex is covered with lush lawns, tons of rivers/lakes and many, MANY beautiful bridges. They're even building a huge town center that will have a large community pool, shopping, post office, gas station - the works ;)



That evening I jogged I met so many nice friendly neighbors - one house was even having an awesome party! I thought it was predominantly older folks but there are some younger people too especially many young families.

Sunday, again got up to gorgeous breakfast and we lounged on the patio outside drinking lemon water and having breakfast and then I walked for an hour (3 miles I think) and then we all changed and went for a drive-tour of the islands off the coast of Ft. Meyers: Sanibel and Captiva Islands. They're beautiful! We had lunch at this little restaurant-lodge right at the point where Sanibel and Captiva Islands split. Florida is beautiful and reminded me SO MUCH of India with its coconut trees. The weather and all was perfect. When we drove back over the bridges and looked out over the ocean (well Gulf of Mexico) my dad and I talked about renting boats. I think we'll definitely do that next time we're in Fl. Afterwards, we went to McD's and got ice cream cones and went as a happily family back home :) My mom and I then walked for 45 minutes around the complex one more time together and then I had to pack and go back to the airport to come home. I was really, REALLY sad to leave. I wanted to lounge on the chairs cause I hadn't gotten a real chance to or sit outside and sip tea with my mom. One more day would've been perfect. Ah well. I'll be back again. I definitely wanna come back for Thanksgiving this year.

Now this weekend, I'll be in San Francisco!! :) My sister Mekha is presenting her paper at that psychology convention. Rick is meeting us there and will be giving us the total tour since he knows it better than we do! :) My folks come back tomorrow night and I know my mom'll be so sad to leave the Florida home. She loves it there with the beautiful weather and all. It's like 29 degrees here now and the cold weather isn't good for her muscles.

My mom packed some upa mav for me to have for dinner last night but I wound up having it now for breakfast. I love my dad & mom :) They took such good care of me when I came & visited. We're a really tight knit & loving family all 6 of us.

now it's time to go to work. *sigh* I wish we were rich and could just live in Florida whenever we wanted :) Ain't that the dream! ;) I'll respond to all msgs tonight or tomorrow. Hope you all had a great weekend and have a great Monday!

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Part 2 of the NASA flybye of Jupiter
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
09:04 p.m.



Hopefully you guys can play that and watch! :) It's a nifty little animation showing the volcanoes on Io - one of the moons of Jupiter. During the actual flyby, the scientists reported that a plume of smoke was seen originating from one of the volcanoes. It's depicted in this animation.

I'm on Slooh now (both in the chat and at the mission interface with the audio on) so I can hear the presentation. Hope ya'll are having a fabulous night!

*HUGS* to ML :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

NASA Fly-By of Jupiter Tonight & Tomorrow on SLOOH!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
7:00 p.m.

Updated at 11:45 p.m. EST BELOW
As some of you may know, I love Slooh and am a legacy member of the program. It's a LIVE telescope based in South America at Mt. Teide which anyone can log on to & view planets, galaxies and nebulae during the hours it operates. And if you're a paid member at commander level (I am - just pay $99/year) you can reserve the telescope for blocks of time during which you can input coordinates and view whatever in the sky you want to!

Well, the reason why I bring it up now is that tonight & tomorrow, Slooh's been been granted access to cover NASA's New Horizons spacecraft fly-by of Jupiter LIVE. New Horizons is the fastest and most advanced spacecraft that NASA has ever launched. The sling shot around Jupiter will accelerate the craft to a whopping speed of 52,000 mph in order to reach Pluto by 2015. The close encounter will allow scientists to take new detailed pictures of the Solar System's largest planet. Slooh will broadcast special live Jupiter & Pluto missions in conjunction with interviews of NASA scientists and real-time coverage of the Jupiter encounter. Slooh's Jupiter Flyby Specials will air on Tuesday and Wednesday night at 9PM ET/2AM UT. Guests will include John Spencer, lead scientist for the Jupiter encounter team and Max Mutchler, the Hubble scientist who discovered Pluto's two new moons.

So now you know what I'll be doing tonight at 9 ;)

Check out some spectacular pictures of nebulae here! :) My favorites are the ones of Orion & the Eight Burst.

Updated at 11:45 p.m. EST
I finished listening to the live coverage of the Jupiter Flyby and it was fantastic! So exciting! They were able to fully image Io (one of Jupiter's moons) and an active volcano has been found! While listening, they were still running the regular slooh telescopic observations and I snapped the following 8 screen-captures of the planets and nebulae and galaxies I saw using the telescope:



To see each of these 8 images I took in larger form, I uploaded a photo album at http://www.nishimusic.com/photos_misc/slooh_feb27th2007

You can see there how amazing the Slooh telescope at Mt. Teide is and what great exposures it obtains.

I actually liked the original layout of Slooh better than this one. Back then, mission interface looked like a game console because it was all curved everywhere. Now it's simply square save for the one circle view. Ah well.

It's almost midnight now and I'm SO ready for sleep! Hope everyone had an awesome night! Sweet dreams to all and to all a good night! :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Tuesday, February 27, 2007
01:53 p.m.

I am so content right now. I had appearances to cover in court at New York Supreme Court today and because it's situated right next to Chinatown, when I was done at a quarter to noon, I went over there for lunch and had this delicious shrimp dumpling soup and then headed to this relatively new cafe where I had delicious frothy house coffee and toast with condensed milk. I hadn't been to chinatown in so long that I'd forgotten how much I love being there, surrounded by the foreign language and novelty items and such a rich, different culture. One of my colleagues at work - who lives in the next town over from me in Westchester - told me his little daughter goes to a school where they teach mandarin to adults - Saturday morning classes - which are taught by really well-qualified teachers who are better than the ones at the Sunday classes I used to take in Chinatown 2 summers ago. I would love to learn it from an accredited school like that in a professional setting. I've forgotten the mandarin I did learn and I want to start all over again, fresh.

Ricky and I have been talking a lot about our life goals - what we're doing with our lives now and what we want to do with them. I know I want to spend my life making music and writing fiction as well as public interest papers & articles on human rights, mythology & archaeology & ancient cultures and engulfed in the pursuit and study of those fields. We both took a good look at our lives and what we're doing to pursue those things we really want to do. For me, I'm going to finally meet that new Tennessee producer in March. He apparently just finished doing 5 tracks for Mariah Carey. Yes, Mariah. I really, really want to produce a 12-track album of which at least 6-8 are my own songs, if not all. And while I pursue that, I want to finally finish work on at least 1 of my fantasy books and get the manuscripts out to publishing companies this summer.

I envy people like Paris Hilton who have the gift of wealth so they can pursue whatever hopes & dreams & whims they wish. If I had that much money I'd invest it in getting a Masters in Foreign Policy & Public Affairs at Columbia University and finally create the Human Rights Legal Foundation I've always wanted. I would also get an archaeology degree at Leicester University or some other credible archaelogy school. I'd invest money in new developing technologies, like a venture capitalist ;) I'd definitely not squander the money away or spend it frivolously.

Speaking of archaelogy, did you guys hear about the discovery of the Lost Tomb of Jesus? A documentary airing Sunday on the Discovery Channel reveals 2 ancient stone boxes which are said to have once contained the remains of Jesus & Mary Magdalene. An inscription on a burdial box discovered in a cave in Jerusalem reads 'Yeshua son of Yehosef" or Jesus, son of Joseph. The name on one of ossuaries 'Mariamene' is, in early Christian texts, the name of Mary Magdalene. One of the caskets bears the title 'Judah, son of Jesus' - of course staunch Christian leaders are screaming about this and how the discoveries aren't real and that they can't definitely be proven to be Jesus or Mary and contradicts the basic christian belief that Jesus was ressurected (entire body). It's extremely interesting.

You can read interesting research and articles regarding it at the following links: Jesus, Magdalene & Son in Talpiot Tomb, Possible Find of Jesus' Lost Tomb, James Ossuary, and you can view PHOTOS here.

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Tuesday, February 27, 2007
07:33 a.m.

how sad was HEROES last night? I was crying so hard by the end of the episode! I love Claire's dad!

Just woke up and am getting ready to go to court today at New York Supreme. Had so many strange dreams last night.....Rick and I were in one where we were on some huge platform waiting with other couples to board this shuttle train. Each of us couples took turns pressing the button & calling and after I'd done it, the train came, but Rick and I didn't get on that one, we got on the next one I think. I wonder if that's symbolic for our whole "marriage car/transport/" HAH! :)

Mmmmm need lemon water and a delicious cup of coffee. Could go for pancakes too. Wonder if I should go to the local diner and eat before getting on the train in.

It's still snowy out surprisingly - there's a light snow shower happening but nothing bad. I'm glad I shoveled yesterday. I never heard back from the venue I was supposed to perform at last night and my co-worker/keyboardist and I did not run into each other at work yesterday - he still hasn't emailed or phoned or anything to apologize for completely bailing on me as my musician for last night.

Whatever. I'm over it. I'm gonna put some coffee on and get ready....the memory of Ricky and me in that dream is really not leaving me....I think there's something else I'm supposed to remember from it.....

See ya'll tonight!

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

snow shoveling diva ;)
Monday, February 26, 2007
09:15 a.m.

LOL! :) I think that's a funny way to title this entry. :) I just finished shoveling our whole huge drive way BY MYSELF! Alone. With a single shovel. It took me 2 hours. We got I think between 3-4 inches. My parents are in Florida and I have no idea how to operate my dad's snow plow and even if I did, I'm not strong enough to control it and I was like 'well if I'm ever gonna get out of the driveway, I'm gonna have to get rid of the snow!' I was worried if I left that much snow on the drive way that I wouldn't be able to get the car out or back in when I came back home tonight from work - or worse skid and damage the car or myself! Plus they're predicting an additional 1-2 inches and for temperatures to go down into the 20s later today and I don't want the snow freezing! So I donned my coat, hat and gloves & got out there and about 1/3 of the way I thought to myself 'why don't I just call papa in Florida and see if his friend Jose or somebody can bring their snow plow and take care of this for me?' But by then I was 1/3 of the way through and I was sweating with adrenaline pumping so decided I'd keep going. And I did. Sheer will power. And also embarrassment because I didn't want my neighbors to see our driveway only half-done. LOL! I'm so proud of myself! My wrist, fingers, arms and back hurt but boy am I proud of me :)

I just finished salting the drive way now because they're saying we'll get another inch or two - I hope not! I'm going to have breakfast and relax for a bit and then shower and get ready & head in to work. By then the roads should be good and hopefully we'll not get any more snow here. I am NEVER, EVER shoveling the drive way again as long as I live!

:)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Sunday, February 25, 2007
9:29 p.m.

I have good news! :) No I'm still not performing tomorrow, but this morning, just when I was all sad and disappointed I checked my gmail account which is just for NishiMusic.com and found that a programming manager from iTV (Indian Television Broadcasting) emailed me interested in doing an interview on aspiring Indian American singers!! :) They're a South Asian cable network based in Astoria, Queens. Check out their website at http://www.itvgold.com. :)

So I'm happy again :)

I'm watching the Oscars right now. My fave dress belongs to Reese Witherspoon! The pictures don't do the dress justice! It is gorgeous on Live TV! :)



Ellen Degeneres did a hysterically funny job introducing the show and the Jack Black and Will Farrel musical skit had me rolling! :) So far so good and I'm happy to see Pan's Labrynth was getting some well-deserved awards! :)

Now if only I were performing tomorrow. *sigh* my so-called "friend"/keyboard player from work has still not bothered to phone me - not even ONCE - ALL weekend. No email. Nothing. He not only wasted my time but $100 of my money in rehearsal studio fees the past 2 weeks. If he dares speak to me tomorrow I'll chew his head off.

Now back to the Oscars :)

Sarah Beth *gasp* you got your computer fixed!!! YESSS!!! *HUGGGGGGGGGGGGG* I'll come online now and we can talk Oscars!! :D

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Saturday, February 24, 2007
08:55 p.m.

*sigh* so I think I'm going to have to cancel my performance on Monday night. The person who I was relying on to be my keyboard player never showed up for rehearsal today & didn't return my phone calls. We only had 2 rehearsals thus far and never got any of the songs right from start to finish - although 1 or 2 were coming along alright. It was absolutely critical to have rehearsals both today and tomorrow in order to be ready to perform Monday night. I'm so disappointed and upset with him and myself for relying on him. I just finished writing to the venue and told them what happened. I told them I'd be willing to come and sing "a capella" but that I'd be greatful instead if they gave me a date in April to perform by which time I would have another keyboard player or guitarist on board. *sigh* so disappointed.

I sat down at the keyboard today and instead tried to put music to my songs myself. I don't know how to play the keyboard but goddammit, I'll teach myself and get an instructor. For so long, the only instrument I knew how to play was the violin. It's about time I taught myself the keyboard and guitar. I don't want to rely on other musicians anymore. Sometimes, the only person you can truly count on is your self!

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Saturday, February 24, 2007
02:15 p.m.

mmmm I just got back from my 4 mile run outside and took a quick shower and am now sipping a tall glass of cold lemon-water (water with 4 slices of a fresh lemon) and am waiting for my folks to finish getting ready - I'm driving them to JFK today. Even though it was 35 degrees out it felt WARM! Yeah! It was sunny and just perfect to run in. Loved it :) And I'm glad I pushed myself to go & run because now I feel really good and healthy! :) The hardest thing about exercising and eating healthy - is finding the will power to do so!

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Saturday, February 24, 2007
12:47 p.m.

I'm going to sunny Florida next weekend! Just booked the tickets! My parents are visiting our home there in south-west Florida and I decided I'd join them just for the weekend. I leave Friday night and fly back Sunday night. The next few weekends are going to be jam-packed for me. After coming back from Florida, I leave the following Thursday with my sister to San Francisco! :) I'm so excited!! :)

After what felt like a super-long day of work yesterday, afterwards I met my friend from work who's accompanying me as my keyboardist Monday and we rehearsed my songs from 5 to 7pm. They're coming along ok but we only have like 1 or 2 songs that are workable and still 2-3 more to work on. Hopefully he can come over to my home this afternoon and we can rehearse a good 3-4 hours and again tomorrow. But what sucks is Monday they're predicting awful wintry weather - snow and rain and I have to drive myself to the train station in the mornings and I'm scared of driving in bad weather. If it's bad, I'll just take it slow or wait until the roads are better - getting to work is not worth getting into an accident or worse! Plus on days like that you can never get a cab and are stuck waiting for hours before one is free to get you. Hopefully the weather doesn't get that bad. I want to perform that night!!

Just had a yummy breakfast of coffee and fruit and 3 slices of Peppridge Farm's cinnamon raisin bread buttered & toasted! YUM! :) Helped my mom clean the kitchen and read the morning paper and booked the Florida tickets! :) I'm so excited to go hit the beach!!! :)

Read some interesting new archaeological news last night and this morning: Bulgarian archaeologists announced on Thursday an incredible discovery in the Perperikon area, an ancient living region of Thracians. The ancient Thracian city of Perperikon is located in the Eastern Rhodopes, 15 km northeast of the present-day town of Kardzhali, on a 470 m high rocky hill. The city is called "The Sacred" because of the famous sanctuary and oracle shrine dedicated to Dionysus. A legend tells that Alexander the Great himself had sacrificed upon the altar of Dionysus.

Plus, remember what I reported this past Wednesday about the archaeological discoveries in Saqqarara, Egypt? Today in Egypt, they found a rare double wooden statue of that ancient Egyptian scribe and his wife, which dates from around 2300 BC. It was among five other wooden statues found at the tomb in Saqqara, the necropolis of the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis. The official was Ka-Hay, who kept divine records, and his wife, Spri-Ankh. They were buried in the part of the necropolis associated with the pharaoh Teti.

I also found this article fascinationg: Ancient seer’s 5,000 year old artificial golden eye found. A 5,000-year-old golden artificial eye that once stared out mesmerizingly from the face of a female soothsayer or priestess in ancient Persia has been unearthed by Iranian and Italian archaeologists. Apparently, this woman was 6 feet tall and of Arabian descent. The ancient girl with the golden eye: 5,000 year old priestess found <--- that site has more info & a picture of the skull and eye and what she may have looked like wearing it. Here it is below:

Fascinating!

It's almost 1pm now and I wanna go jogging 4 miles outside so lemme get going. Have a wonderful Saturday everyone and see you all later :)

- Nishi

P.S. Millie LOL! I know what you mean!! :) By the way, do you wanna meet up when I'm in San Fran in 2 weekends? I'll be free on Friday 3/9 and Saturday 3/10 only. Lemme know either way :) Aura hahahahaha!! :) thanks for the link - I used to read up on tomb raiders all the time after I watched Lara Croft Tom Raider years ago. I'm fascinated by things like that and would always love to pursue a life like that - but I'm against doing anything illegal so anything I'd do would have to be approved by the archaeological community.

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Thursday, February 22, 2007
11:58 p.m.

dude I'm sleepy. I stayed up late now copying onto my computer a lengthy chapter I'd written long-hand while on the train for one of my fantasy fiction books. I wanna stay up late and keep writing now but I can't keep my eyes open any longer. I'm hoping to finish 10 whole chapters by Sunday and not just ANY chapters, the perfect "don't have to go back & edit again" kind of chapters! :)

I watched an awesome ep of Grey's Anatomy tonight - I don't follow that show generally - I tune in once in a while but when I do - even if it's just for a minute - I get sucked in cause it's that good! There is seriously no way you cannot give that show like 5 minutes and not want to keep watching it through to the end. But, ironically, it doesn't make me want to keep tuning in every week - it has too much dark reality and I'm more in tune with things like....comedy, sci fi and fantasy and FUN reality like The Hills or even Girls Next Door. Nevertheless, this episode had me crying sooo hard and was definitely worth watching. Then I saw the Oprah Winfrey Oscar special and how hysterical were George Clooney and Julia Roberts?! :)

Time for sleep and a talk with my darling. *HUGS* to all - see you tomorrow :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

news, archaeology findings in Egypt & on Ayaan Hirsi Ali & prejudice & discrimination in religion and culture
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
10:56 p.m.

So I was on the train this morning, heading into the city for a day in court in Brooklyn, and as I read my local morning paper I came across news of great interest to a girl like me: archaeology news. In Saqqara, Egypt, the tombs of a Pharaonic butler and scribe, buried in the desert for nearly 4,000 years, were unveiled yesterday by Egyptian archaeologists. The 4,000-year-old tomb of mud bricks belonged to Ka-Hay, a scribe of divine records, and his wife. According to Egypt's antiquities chief, Zahi Hawass, only 30% of what lies between Egypt's sands has been uncovered in the past century. These new findings hail from Egypt's 'New Kingdom' - 1570 B.C. to 1070 B.C. It astounds me when I think of people who lived 4,000 years ago being uncovered today....God would I love to be part of an archaeological dig. If I were rich, I'd go to archaeology school, get a degree and then help with dig work and go on as many archaeological expeditions I could. I love ancient history and believe it is extremely important to both uncover and remember the past. You can read more about these findings here and here.

In other news, the New York Times yesterday did an absolutely fantastic piece on Fake Drugs. Asia is seeing an “epidemic of counterfeits” of life-saving drugs, experts say, and the problem is spreading. Malaria medicines have been particularly hard hit; in a recent sampling in Southeast Asia, 53 percent of the antimalarials bought were fakes. Bogus antibiotics, tuberculosis drugs, AIDS drugs and even meningitis vaccines have also been found. Check out the original holographic seal for a legitimate malaria drug vs. fake seals used to dupe unsuspecting people.

While in court this morning, I read the most fascinating article in this month's February issue of VOGUE on AYAAN HIRSI ALI whose book, Infidel, is coming out soon here in the U.S. This woman and her life story are amazing! She was a former Dutch parliamentarian and TIME magazine named her one of the 100 most influential leaders of the world. She is an outspoken critic of those who use Islam to oppress women. She asked herself important questions such as 'If God is just, then why would he condone beating a wife?' She made a short film with her friend Theo van Gogh which called into question the Koran's harshness toward women. Two months after the film first aired, van Gogh was shot by a Dutch-born Moroccan who then stabbed a letter into the dying man's belly. The note was addressed to Ali. Was she, the attacker wanted to know, willing to die for her convictions? The article was absolutely fascinating and eye-opening. She is now a visiting scholar at Washington D.C.'s American Enterprise Institute.

Many religions, and sects within those religions, claim they are the true religion and are based on the true God but these religions are biased against women and gays & that is because the are not derived from God - they were man-made - carrying the cultural prejudices of those who created and instituted them. These people said the religion's stories and rules were all sacred, divine and from God, and punished any who disobeyed the rules. Over thousands of years, we were indoctrinated into systems of belief promulgated by prejudice and discrimination with an albeit, sincere, but wrong belief that it was right and for the general good. Today, those who disagree with such thoughts are persecuted, called infidels, unfaithful, told God will punish them. I believe it's all a bunch of crock. A true God in creating us, created us exactly as we are - male, female, straight and gay, black and white - and He loves us ALL. It's we, ourselves, who insist on hating and seeing things as good or bad and trying to justify our own wrong beliefs through religion and culture. It is all born through an unwillingness to know the other and unwillingness to accept the other and acknowledge that everything we THINK we know about God, race, sexuality and good vs. bad may all be so horribly wrong and that we as a race committed horrible crimes because of our narrow-minded fear and hatred of people who were different from us.

Trying to talk to someone who has been ingrained from day 1 with cultural or religious prejudices and getting them to be open minded and see that maybe they and their religion or culture might be wrong is like trying to tell someone the family they grew up with is not their real family. What we're taught as children, how we are raised & what we are led to believe as teenagers and eventually adults, is so ingrained in our psyche - it gives us a sense of identity. They'll say 'well this is what my parents believed, is what my culture believed, my church, my temple, my mosque - so they can't be wrong!' Think about Hitler & his men. He and his followers brainwashed thousands of German soldiers into believing that Jews were evil and out to take over Germany and what not. People with prejudices have always been outspoken such that their dislikes and hatreds are made well known. Their strong personalities appeal to those who are weaker in spirit or lack experience and knowledge. To oppose such people and their way of thinking, you have to get to the root of the hatred and dislike and, even once there, it might not be possible to get someone to give it up. Their hatred or dislike may be irrational and immune to any emotional or logical convincing. Hitler's doctors didn't care about the poor Jewish women and children they performed cruel and painful experiments upon. People like that - where is their humanity? How can you reason which such people? And yet, in every generation, there are people and nations in this world, who listen to and prefer prejudice and discrimination and support it.

I, however, believe there is hope. I believe that the majority of all human beings are generally good - with good hearts and a willingness to love and be kind to everyone and to see the good in all living beings. I believe that the Hitlers and promulgators & followers of discrimination and prejudice are a minority and that with extensive education, the majority of humanity will learn to accept one another or, at the least, not listen to the minority's loud bigoted voices whether they show up as Hitler or a angels of light via various world religions or your own culture/race.

VOGUE also had the best article on Beatrix Potter who cover model Renee Zellweger plays in the movie. Beatrix Potter's life story is one of my favorites - she was so intelligent, creative and strong-willed. Her watercolor pictured in the article, 'HARVEST SCENE' is one of my favorites - not to mention this gorgeous picture of Renee in an all-over black outfit by Alexander McQueen! I'll scan the images in and show you guys later this week since I can't find them anywhere on the net. VOGUE did a beautiful job covering the life of Beatrix Potter and Renee's role in playing her. As always, the photos were gorgeous and I have to say - between this and the article on ALI and so many other gorgeous photos of designer clothing I wish I could own, this February issue was by far one of the absolute very best to me personally!

It's 11pm EST here in NY now and it's time for my nightly talk with my Ricky. *HUGS* to all & to all a good night! :)

And before I forget, *BIG HUGS* to Sean (no, what IS the IT bag???!! :)), Ramona, Caroline, Sarah Beth, Callie, Jade, Kayla, Lydia, Darlene, HeartMonger, Marcia, Memory, Millie, ML & Azure Kaze! :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Happy Chinese New Year!
Sunday, February 18, 2007
7:17 a.m.



Happy Chinese New Year everyone! I *love* Chinese New Year! It lasts 15 days and has so many fun parades and foods and other things associated with it and it's steeped in traditions, legends and superstitions - all things I love! This year is the Year of the Boar/Pig! Those born during this sign are supposedly lucky in addition to being polite, hardworking and loyal! :)

According to 1 ancient legend, Chinese New Year celebrations came about from remembering a great man (or immortal god) who, on the eve of the new year, conquered a beast named 'Nian' (the chinese word for 'year') that had been preying upon the people. According to this legend, Nian could swallow all the village people in one big bite and the villagers were terrified of him. One day, an old man came to the villagers' rescue, offering to subdue Nian. The old man asked Nian, "I know you can swallow people, but can you swallow other beasts of prey instead of people who are by no means your worthy opponents?" Nian accepted the old man's challenge and swallowed the beasts that had harassed the villagers and their farm animals for years. Afterwards, the old man, who turned out to be an immortal god, disappeared riding off on Nian. And because of Nian, the other beasts of prey were scared into hiding so villagers could once again enjoy their peaceful life. The legend goes on to say before the old man left, he told the villagers to put red paper decorations on their windows and doors at each year's end in order to keep Nian away. It was believed Nian was afraid of the color red. The tradition of observing the conquest of Nian is carried on from generation to generation. The term "Guo Nian", which means "Survive the Nian" became "Celebrate the Year." The custom of putting up red paper and lighting firecrackers to scare away Nian continues today.

As part of the the Chinese New Year celebration, people buy presents, decorations, special foods and new clothing. Railroad stations throughout China are filled with travelers who take their vacation days around New Year to return home for a family reunion. Days before the New Year celebration, Chinese families are busy giving their home a thorough cleaning. It is believed the cleaning sweeps away bad luck and makes the house ready for good luck to enter. All brooms and dust pans are put away on New Year's Eve so good luck cannot be swept away. In many homes, doors and windowpanes get a new coat of red paint. The home is decorated with paper-cuts and poems called couplets of "happiness", "wealth", "longevity" and "satisfactory marriage with children".



The New Year's Eve supper is a feast with all the members of the family getting together. One popular food is "jiaozi" which are dumplings boiled in water. After dinner, the whole family stays up all night playing cards, board games or watching TV programs dedicated to the New Year's celebration. Lights in the house are kept on during the whole night. At midnight, the sky is lit up by fireworks which symbolize the sending out of the old year and the welcoming in of the new year. People open all the windows and doors in the house in order to let the old year go out.

Very early the next morning, children greet their parents and receive their New Year present. They get lucky red envelopes with money inside. The rest of the first day of the New Year is spent visiting relatives, friends and neighbors. The first day of the Lunar New Year is "the welcoming of the gods of the heavens and earth." Many people abstain from meat on the first day of the new year because it is believed that this will ensure long and happy lives for them. On the second day, the Chinese pray to their ancestors as well as to all the gods. They are extra kind to dogs and feed them well as it is believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs. The third and fourth days are for the sons-in-laws to pay respect to their parents-in-law. The fifth day is called Po Woo. On that day people stay home to welcome the God of Wealth. No one visits families and friends on the fifth day because it is considered bad luck.

On the sixth to the 10th day, the Chinese visit their relatives and friends freely. They also visit the temples to pray for good fortune and health. The seventh day of the New Year is the day for farmers to display their produce. These farmers make a drink from seven types of vegetables to celebrate the occasion. The seventh day is also considered the birthday of human beings. Noodles are eaten to promote longevity and raw fish for success. On the eighth day the Fujian people have another family reunion dinner, and at midnight they pray to Tian Gong, the God of Heaven. The ninth day is to make offerings to the Jade Emperor. The 10th through the 12th are days that friends and relatives should be invited for dinner. After so much rich food, on the 13th day you should have simple rice congee and mustard greens (choi sum) to cleanse the system. The 14th day should be for preparations to celebrate the Lantern Festival which is to be held on the 15th night.

Chinese New Year customs vary from place to place in China because China is a big country geographically, demographically and ethnically. But the spirit underlying the diverse celebrations of the New Year is the same, a sincere wish of peace and happiness for family members and friends.

For complete information visit these pages: Chinese New Year at New-Year.co.uk, China: Dim Sum New Year, Chinese New Year and Chinese New Year on Wikipedia.

Boy I would love some dumpling noodle soup today!

Happy Chinese New Year everybody! Hope we all have wonderful luck this year and receive lots of money, whether in red packets or not! :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Saturday, February 17, 2007
11:39 p.m.

Oh my god I am SOOOOOO freakin' frustrated like you wouldn't believe!! I've spent ALL NIGHT trying to somehow connect a flash drive or get CDs to work on my old Windows95 computer so I can save all my files that were on there from 1998 through 2004 and get all my websites, including UsagiandMamoru.com, MiakaandTamahome.com, MaxLovely.com and PrincessIshtar.com all back up and running. Nothing I do, short of connecting it to a dial up connection, will allow me to save all my files - the flash drives I use require drivers to be installed which the computer won't install or for which they don't provide windows95 drivers for ;) And I've tried to put in CDs to transfer the files onto but the computer refuses to read my CD-RW cds. I'm going to buy some refular CD-Rs and hopefully they will work.

That said, it was the sweetest thing to see my dear old win95 computer load up and run so perfectly. And I saw that many of my sites data on there was as recently updated as Feb. 2005!! That's AWESOME :D Now just have to get all that stuff onto THIS new computer and all shall be well with my computer world :)

In other news, my friend Stephanie is a talented artist and anime costume designer. Her designs have been placed on everything from clothing to mugs! They're really, really cute and I just recently purchased the two items shown below and some other cute designs. You can check out her products and designs at Zazzle.com/LittleHeaven or CafePress.com/lilhevn21.



cute neh? :)

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year and I had been planning to go to Chinatown and enjoy it with my friends but I wasted today entirely and didn't get anything done I was supposed to which leaves me tomorrow and Monday and Monday being a holiday I want to enjoy it and have fun on the 3-day weekend we get because of our dear 'ol presidents! :) So I'll probably miss the festivities, which sucks, but I'll be happier knowing I got everything done I was supposed to instead of leaving it all for Monday and not feeling relaxed when we have to go back to work on Tuesday.

By the way - the 5th HARRY POTTER movie comes out this summer, July 13th and at MSN you can catch a Sneak Preview of the Harry Potter Movie - Order of the Phoenix. Cool pics and summaries.

It's almost midnight now and I definitely cannot stay up late tonight if I want to be productive tomorrow. Have an awesome night everyone & hope your weekend has been going fabulously!

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Saturday, February 17, 2007
01:58 a.m.

I am up wayyyy past my bed time so might as well blog ;) I get President's Day off so it's a 3-day weekend for me! WOO HOO!! :D

My sweet Ricky got me a lovely little bouquet of roses for v-day. Rick was upset though that they weren't as pictured (they're small in real life). Yet, 1800Flowers.com charged him a lot of money for that and he was further mad that they didn't deliver on their 'guaranteed' v-day delivery and only delivered it to me the next day. He's going to get a refund on shipping, but, I didn't care - I loved the thought and effort he went to :) He felt more bad about it than *I* did! :) I brought them home today and they're standing in the pretty vase right next to my bed.

Meanwhile, I treated myself to a splurge with my paycheck today. Guess who owns the new Michael Kors Santorini Large Shopper bag that I saw in a magazine recently!? ME!! :D *AND* I got it at a discount from EBags.com. The actual price from Macy's or Nordstrom's is $298 but then you add shipping and tax to it and it comes to over $340! However, EBags.com was having a special 10% off *AND* FREE SHIPPING and I didn't get taxed! I paid in total only $268! Sweet!! :)



Had the 1st rehearsal with my friend from work today who's going to be my new keyboard player. Went alright and I was able to narrow the song list down from 21 to 8. Hopefully at our 2nd rehearsal, it'll start to come together.

It's almost 2am now and I need to sleep. Tomorrow is so gonna be a coffee day ;) *HUGS* to all! Hope ya'll had a wonderful v-day and are having an awesome Friday night. See ya tomorrow :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Happy Snowy Valentine's Day!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
6:46 p.m.



Ricky had me going that he didn't get me any flowers this year. He convinced me that the Bliss Spa package he gave me for my birthday was a combo valentine's gift too and I was really steamed! But then when we were let out of work early today at 3:30 because it had been snowing/sleeting and he surprises me by telling me that I was supposed to get flowers at work today! :) EEEEE :D My little heart melted :) I knew my baby wouldn't NOT get me flowers on V-Day :) I love you Rickers *MWAH* The flowers were probably held up because of the awful weather and should be there tomorrow :) YAAAY :D



So they kept predicting this snowstorm we were going to get. This morning the roads were very slushy and icy and I had to be in court today. The easiest part of my day was being IN court, the hardest part was getting pelted in the face by the sleet. Stupid weather.

I came home around 4:30 and helped my dad shovel the snow from the walk/steps and driveway and good LORD we got in total I think 3-4 inches!! I had no idea we'd get that much! I thought nothing more than an inch. Needless to say I am one cold Nishi and I am happy to be inside now munching on Mrs. Field's cookies and drinking a glass of lemon water.



So Steve, a partner at the firm I work for and a very cool guy (shout out to ya if you're reading this :)) regaled my colleagues and I with a lovely tale about the Legend of Valentine's Day - how it was based on this Saint Valentine who, on the evening before he was to be martyred during Roman reign for being a Christian, passed a love note to his jailer's daughter that read, "From your Valentine."

However, as many of you know, I love ancient mythology so I did a little research and learned that in pagan times, in the ancient Athens calendar, the period between mid-January and mid-February was the month of Gamelion, dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera. In Ancient Rome, February 15 was Lupercalia and there is a belief that the feast for St. Valentine may have been to supercede the belief and celebration of Lupercalia.



The feast of St. Valentine was first decreed in 496 by Pope Gelasius I. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the saint whose feast was celebrated on the day now known as St. Valentine's Day was possibly one of four martyred men named Valentinus who lived in the late third century, during the reign of Emperor Claudius II (died 270). The name was a popular one in Late Antiquity, with its connotations of valens, "being strong". Several emperors and a pope bore the name, not to mention a powerful gnostic teacher of the second century, Valentinius, for a time drawing a threateningly large following.

Many of the current legends that characterize Saint Valentine were invented in the fourteenth century in England, notably by Geoffrey Chaucer and his circle, when the feast day of February 14 first became associated with romantic love.

Interesting stuff.

Anywayz, it's time for dinner with my family now and to relax watching the Beauty & the Geek finale!! :D See ya'll tomorrow and have a very happy Valentine's Day! :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Monday, February 12, 2007
08:14 p.m.

new gig - confirmed! I'll be performing Monday, Feb. 26th at 169 Bar at 7:30 p.m.! very excited about that - especially because I have a new keyboard player!! A friend of mine from work just happens to play the keyboard and will be my permanent keys! YAAY :) Can't wait to get back on stage and sing!

Long-ass day at work today and SO happy to be home! Can't wait to see HEROES tonight and the new episode of The HILLS! :D

dude I hope it snows a lot Wednesday! I want to see it snow finally! Do I hate the cold? Hell yeah! But I love watching the snow fall. It's so peaceful and beautiful. :)

Millie awwww you will???? That's awesome! but even if I don't sing in San Fran we should totally meet up! I'll go to your starbucks and order a sugar-free soy cinnamon dolce latte! Will I get a discount? ;)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Sunday, February 11, 2007
10:03 p.m.

I have MORE exciting news! A friend of mine from Canada, who is an amazing Indian musician, had been helping me this past fall with contacts in the media. He emailed me in early January (when my computer crashed) about this journalist in the UK who writes for the UK's top South Asian newspaper!! This guy was interested in profiling me and asked to do a cool split pop-singer/lawyer article! :) My friend emailed me tonight to ask how it was going and I did a double take wondering what he was talking about and searched and found the email! I'm so thrilled and wish my computer mishap hadn't cost me so much time on this!

yaaayyy!! I'm super happy right now! *AND* I'm watching the Grammys! Did you guys see Justin Timberlake's amazing performance? That song is gorgeous. I just watched Carrie Underwood win best new artist and I'm happy for her - she is simply beautiful in every way - vocally, artistically and so humble! She deserves it! :)

I'm going to stay up another hour and watch the Grammys and take a hot shower and go to bed. I jogged 2 miles in the cold outside today after church and it was fantastic! 35 degrees and I dressed up really warm but after 7 minutes of solid running I was completely warm and it was the best feeling! Went to church this morning for the special birthday prayer they do after someone's birthday.

Oh more news. I might be performing in San Francisco when I go next month! Another friend out there is helping me get a gig there and a back up band! :) I'm excited!

A big *HUG* and thank you to Jade and Azure Kaze :) I'm excited about that article too! :) Sarah Beth talk to you tomorrow night at 10pm :) *HUGS*

Updated at 11:20 p.m.
Yes!!! Red Hot Chili Peppers won best rock album! YES YES!! :D I've loved Anthony Kedis since 7th or was it 8th grade when they came out with that song 'Under the Bridge' and he was in the video for the song running through a fiery explosion all gorgeous? LOL! :)

And did you SEE how AMAZING Christina Aguilera was in the James Brown tribute? My GOD that was one of the BEST - if not THE BEST - performances by Christina EVER! She is unbelievable! Everybody just bow down and worship her cause there are so few pop artists who have her quality and range of vocals.

And how adorable was Justin Timberlake and the Grammy Moment Winner? That was one of the highlights of the night! I love the Grammys :) Good night folks!

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Saturday, February 10, 2007
01:26 p.m.

Big news! :) Fusion Magazine (a new Asian Indian magazine) wants to do a feature on me! :) They'll review my demo EP and interview me and everything! Yaaayy! :D It'll come out in April 2007 they said. That's great because I'm itching to get back on stage now and sing again. I took a break for the holidays from Thanksgiving into January because money was tight and it's hard to pay band members for rehearsals and gigs but now it's February and time is right for me to get back out there and perform and when that article comes out it might be good publicity for my April & May performances too! :)

Sarah Beth I'll call you then after 4pm or 5 today! :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Fashion Week
Friday, February 9, 2007
11:29 p.m.

Since last Friday, the city's been taken over by Fashion Week with designers showcasing their Fall 2007 collection. Walking past Bryant Park you see all the familiar tents up and all the security and you see people dressed in gorgeous coats and scarves and humongous bags. Probably since my first fashion magazines when I was 8, I loved fashion but my love has only intensified as I grew up and could afford gorgeous clothes. The past couple nights, I've been watching Full Frontal Fashion - a show on the local NYC station (on channel 22 for Cable Vision and 25 for Time Warner). This show gives you a full 'front row' access to all of the best shows at Fashion Week. So far, the BETSY JOHNSON line is my favorite followed closely by dresses and coats from Anna Sui, Carlos Miele, Richard Chai and some other pieces from Nanatte Lapore. You can check out all the collections at http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/ - click on 'All 2007 Fashion Shows' to see every designer and if you register with the site, you can add your favorite photos to your own 'fashion album.' :)

I am enjoying my Friday night (I said TGIF to my mom like a gazillion times when I came home) and just enjoyed a yummy dinner and am relaxing with hot cocoa now and talking to Rick on the phone. We're planning our San Francisco trip in March.

Sarah Beth OH MY GOD! When I saw your message my heart broke for you. I instantly msged Lydia. We need to catch up. I'm gonna give you a call tomorrow or Sunday. Let me know (if you see this message) if the afternoon tomorrow or Sunday is ok? Like between 1-5?

Sean *HUGS* thank you! :) And actually I read somewhere that astronauts have with them some poison or something that if they get disconnected from the ship, they can swallow the poison and avoid a gruesome death.

Ramona thank you so much! How've you been and what's new with you?

I'm off to bed now :) Good night folks :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Wednesday, February 7, 2007
11:54 p.m.

watched a 2-hour special on Atlantis tonight on the SciFi channel that was simply fascinating. It mainly followed 2 different people who each believed they had located what they believed was evidence of Atlantis. One of them definitely found evidence of some maritime culture and the other's discovery has yet to be proven. The former found evidence of mankind activity in the Bahamas over 2000 years ago by way of anchors with holes drilled in them in an area known as BIMINI ROAD - this was an area where no one thought any mankind activity had ever occurred. I've been reading up more on it because ever since I was a child I've been fascinated by the story of Atlantis. One of the series I've been writing since I was in 8th grade is a story of the survivors of Atlantis and world domination by magical powers and a great battle between opposing sides to save mankind and the world. I'm always doing research on ancient civilizations and atlantis connections to add more depth to the story.

As I watched the show I kept thinking strange things, like about reincarnation and how 'wouldn't it be interesting if we found evidence that mankind kept repeating its history over and over.' I mean, what if we discover that in the past, mankind had been advanced and destroyed its advanced civilizations through nuclear warfare and ensuing climatic devastation? And that afterwards, another set of thousands of years pass and mankind begins to build itself up again...

It also brings to mind the fact that at some point in our development, mankind developed the ability to draw, to speak, and then to write. I always assumed that speaking was something we had always done but I read our ancestors didn't know how to speak and that we were mute beings. Who knows for sure. The point is that mankind, after thousands and thousands of years suddenly went from cave-drawing people to advanced stages of building (pyramids etc) and that from that point on, we've advanced at a rapid rate. The Mayans predicted that in 2012 we, humanity as a whole, would again be enlightened and that we would collectively evolve once more. What that means, I have no idea but it's fascinating (and a little freaky).

All I know is that I want to be with my family and loved ones always. My mom and dad and sisters....if we really are reincarnated then I want to stay with my family - I love them. I wonder what the point of it all is. I've had super strange dreams of flying on space ships as an astronaut of some sort - as a regular human I mean - and of being with lots of other kids and adults in these rooms with foam walls where we practice being bouncy and stabilizing ourselves....freakin strange dreams and lemme tell ya - the space dreams always seem lonely and sad. I've always been fascinated by astronomy and the stars and exploring space but at the end of the day - space is vast and empty and lonely. At the end of the day, I just wanna hang out with the people I love most and be happy - right here on Earth - home sweet home.

Strange thoughts to be having now before bed but watching specials on Atlantis will do that to ya ;) I'm gonna put it all outta my head and focus on "normal" thoughts now ;) Such as: Did you guys see 'Beauty & The Geek' tonight?? I thought the whole romance between Jennylee and Nate was SOOOOOO romantic and SWEET! Jennylee during this whole season said things that were really...well mean and snotty....but the sweet thing she shared with Nate redeemed her I think - u saw her better qualities more instead of the negative. The 1st season is still the best in my opinion but this 3rd season comes a close 2nd! :) The actual 2nd season I think sucked - it was so full of nasty people I hated & I barely watched past the 3rd episode of 2nd season I think. If any of you saw it and swear it was actually good, then I'll give it a second chance and watch it. Anywayz, it's time for me to call Ricky and say goodnight. I had a wonderful day back at work. The girls in my department took me out for lunch and we went to this Irish Pub/Restaurant around the corner that had AWESOME food :) And one of the girls actually brought me a CAKE which we cut near the end of the day. She is such a sweetheart! :)

Ok I'm out. *HUGS* to ML, Darlene, Marcia, Millie, Lorie, Miyu-chan, Kayla, Jade, Azure Kaze, Sean and my dear Sarah Beth!!! :) Thank you for your recent & continuing birthday wishes and sweet comments! :) You guys make my day! :D

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Tuesday, February 6, 2007
10:27 p.m.

well, it's almost over. In 2 hours that is. But it was over in India a good 10.5 hours ago anyway ;) This year, my birthday was one of the most loving and memorable ones for me. I'm glad I took yesterday and today off. Tomorrow I'm back at work and my sweet co-workers are taking me out for a belated b-day lunch and then on Friday I get Rick's Bliss Spa package!! I think I'll book massages and facials and anything else I can for President's Day weekend! :D

I just finished jogging 3 miles on the treadmill and took a long hot shower and now I can sit and be a little sad. Why? Because I drove Rick back to JFK Airport this evening and saw him off on his flight back to L.A. and now I miss him so much it hurts. Even though he arrived Friday afternoon, the weekend and all flew by so fast and its just never enough time. I just wish he & I didn't have to say goodbye anymore, that we were married already & lived in L.A. or somewhere in southern california together and that then my parents would move out there too! :D Having the people I most love near me is my ideal life - complete with 6 multi-platinum records, 2 movie deals and a dozen books published ;) HAH :D

The next time I'll see Rick is in March in San Francisco because my sister Mekha, who's doing her PhD in psychology, is presenting a paper at some conference from March 9th to 11th in San Fran. It's a really huge honor for her and she's never flown alone like that far and needs me to fly with her - and papa and mummy requested it too. So March is the next time I see him. *sigh* Long distance love is hard and you're lookin' at a girl who's been doing it for 6 years almost now (and 4.5 before that).

I'm looking forward to San Fran. Haven't been there since 2002 I think!? I'm putting on this super creamy Kiehl's body lotion now and settling in to watch today's recorded ep of Regis & Kelly and I'm gonna head to bed in half an hour.

Thank you again, everyone, for your wonderful birthday wishes to me today (and yesterday! LOL!) :) It means a lot to me. *HUGS* all around! :D

See ya guys tomorrow! :D

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Happy Birthday To Me! :D
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
01:17 a.m.



It is now "officially" my birthday! :D Although, technically, it was "officially" 10-11 hours ago in India when it was after 1 a.m. in India Feb 6th ;) Ricky kissed me then and kissed me again at midnight tonight and again just now :D Heck, coincidentally, it's 1:17 a.m. as I post this which is around when my mom thinks I was born in India.

We just got back from dinner at KION and it was absolutely wonderful! That's a pic of Ricky and me that my friend took of us tonight :) I am just a teensy bit buzzed in that pic ;) I had a 'flirtini' and a 'white peach mimosa' along with a shrimp bisque appetizer and salmon entree and this amazing dessert sampler which Rick told them to put candles on and then he and my friend sang Happy Birthday to me! It was fabulous! For my birthday present, Rick got me a package at Bliss Spa!!! In SoHo!! :DDDDD I'm SO excited! I've never gotten anything at Bliss and I'm soooo looking fwd to this :D

Tomorrow morning, he's taking me out for a birthday breakfast and I think we'll go for a movie :) Today we spent the day doing a NYC Tour aboard the NYC Party Shuttle Bus Tour! It was so great! We got to see NYC top to bottom but bailed after 1pm to do our own shopping in SoHo - I didn't buy anything but Rick scored a gorgeous sweater from Esprit.

I'm trying to be quiet now since my parents are sleeping in the next room. I think we'll have a birthday lunch with my parents tomorrow and then take Rick to JFK for his flight back to L.A. The weather has been horribly cold - so frigid and Rick's gotten sick from it. He hates the cold and he was like any inkling he had of moving to NY, gone because of this brutal cold. I can't blame him. Unless you grew up here in NY, it's hard to tolerate the winter compared to if you live in sunny southern California weather ;) Lord know I'd love to be a full-time beach bunny ;)

So 2007....I wonder if this will finally be the year for me. Who knows. All my horoscopes say BIG things ;) HAH :D We shall see :)

Thank you EVERYONE for your birthday wishes! *HUGS* to Kayla, Marcia, Jade, Sarah Beth and Miyu-chan for your messages today (well Feb 5th actually) :D

I had a truly wonderful birthday this year and I'm so happy I got to share it with my parents and sisters and Ricky and all my wonderful friends :D Here's to a beautiful 2007 - may all my dreams and YOURS come true :D

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Super Bowl 41 Sunday :)
Sunday, February 4, 2007
06:57 p.m.

Happy Super Bowl 41 guys and dolls :D I am watching the commercials with my family AND Ricky!! :D I have great news - Rick and my parents and I had an amazing talk last night about marriage and our future. We went into it nervous as heck but it was so wonderful! Warm and open and honest and just - so perfect! Better than I ever imagined! There's no longer insane pressure over our heads and my parents are so much closer to Rick now - it was just so loving and WARM and NICE :D I'm very happy. Now, Rick and I have to discuss an engagement date and wedding date. Whew.

I just ordered pizza and we're watching the game. Rick arrived Friday afternoon and I brought him home to say hello to the folks then we went to Applebees for dinner and then went into the city and I surprised him with tickets to see AVENUE Q which is one of the BEST musicals I've seen on Broadway! It was HYSTERICALLY funny! It's lewd, raunchy and SOOOO not politically correct and that's why it's freakin' funny :) After seeing that (and having a blast) we went to Junior's for a late dinner and dessert and came home and spent Saturday shopping at the mall (bought this super-warm sweater from GAP in brown which isn't available online) and we picked up 2 dozen cookies from Mrs. Field's cookie shop and had that great talk with my folks at night. My sister Mekha was acting as our buffer and she and I both agreed that Ricky handled everything so beautifully. I was really proud of him and my dad too! I have even more respect and adoration for my dad - the way he spoke with Ricky - it was all so great - I'm so freakin happy about it :)

So today my family bought me a birthday cake (chocolate with chocolate icing and filling) and we had a small family celebration. But tomorrow night I'm getting together for a birthday dinner with a few close friends at this place called Kion Lounge in the city. My birthday is actually on Tuesday, Feb. 6th but see I was born sometime after midnight/1 a.m. in India when it was Feb 6th but here in the U.S. it was still Feb 5th so I celebrate all day 2/5 and 2/6 since both days are my birthdays ;) Kion Lounge looks great and it's my dad's birthday present treat for me to treat a few of my closest friends and I to a birthday dinner :) Tuesday I think will be spent opening presents and/or shopping for ;) and then Rick leaves Tuesday evening :( I'll miss him :(

But right now the game is on and my birthday fun has only JUST begun! I'll take lots of pics tomorrow and post everything up.

AZURE KAZE Happy Birthday fellow Aquarius! :D *HUGGGGGGGGG* :) HQ romances are nice but I LOVE shoujo manga from Ribon or Nakayoshi. Darlene awww art teacher? that sounds like so much fun!! :) Good luck with the middle school position - I hope you land it! :) Sean awww that's great!! Rick and I tried out Vista demos at Best Buy - it definitely is flashy and very mac-like. It FINALLY has tab-browsing but I already do that with FireFox :) Sarah Beth HAPPY BIRTHDAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) *HUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG* 26 IS a big b-day! :) I loved turning 26! I felt like I was finally coming into my own. Please do come to visit me in NY! And hopefully when u do it will be at my own apartment in the city :D Miyu-chan Gettysburg? Umm...I have no idea where that is in NY....I'll get back to ya ;)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Thursday, February 1, 2007
10:52 p.m.

good evenin' guys and dolls! My folks just left to my sister Nithi's in connecticut - she's getting her wisdom tooth pulled out tomorrow and after that they're bringing her home for the weekend. I'm busy doing laundry now and doing vocal exercises. We had Thirumeni (one of the high 'bishops' of our orthodox faith) visit our house tonight to do a special prayer. He's only here this week from India and goes back Saturday. He's very holy and a good soul so my parents wanted very much to have him come to our home and pray. I was making hot chocolate when he arrived and my mom was all 'you can't drink the hot chocolate now - thirumeni's here!' YEESH.

I got my hair cut tonight and it looks great! :) I'd been growing it really long and wanted to grow out all my layers but then I got so sick of the length and decided today was the day it had to GO! At least 2 inches got chopped off I think - it's definitely more than 2 inches - I'm actually a little shocked by how short it is - reminds me of that horrid time when I got the bad haircut in chinatown. What was I thinking!

If Ricky comes tomorrow night, I'm taking him to a very special surprise show. He might read this tonight so I don't wanna spoil it...but I'm SO excited to take him to this thing. The tickets are burning a hole in my desk ;) Tell ya'll about it tomorrow :D

It's gonna snow tomorrow morning - I'm left with the car to take in and I just hope it's not a bad commute. I really want it to snow like 2 feet! I wanna build a snow man and just play in the snow. But I don't want any snow to effect tomorrow night's plans for Ricky if he makes it here.

Speaking of him - here he and I are in our Washington D.C. trip 2 weeks ago - this was actually out by the White House:



I'll put up more pictures later. Right now, I'm going to put these really pretty pink and lace-border sheets I bought a while back on my bed. Nothin' like sleeping on fresh, crisp, clean sheets :)

Darlene *HUGS* good for you!! I've got a Dell Jukebox on my dell comp too :) what've you been upto these days? How're things on your end? Heartmonger how was your nerve block test yesterday? I hope you're ok and well! *BIG HUGS* Sean That is atrocious and I can't believe the government of Nigeria is actually doing that! I'll look into it and see what I can do. It might be something I bring up at the next Amnesty International meeting I plan to attend in February. Sarah Beth *GASP* hold on now - when was your birthday and how did I miss it? Did I miss it????? And bless Pat's heart! Tell him I said hi! I'm still waiting for the two of you to visit me in Westchester ya know! Don't newlyweds have to make the rounds in the 1st year to visit friends and family!? Millie Nivea Q10 was ok....but I advise using Oil of Olay Total Effects Intensive Restoration Treatment (comes in a black tube for 19.99) or to use Neutrogena's line of Anti-Wrinkle serums and eye creams in tubes. :) Jade I am very happy with your virtual hugs for my birthday this year! :) *BIG HUGS* right back! :) Miyu-chan LOL!!!!! :) dudeeeee we need to catch up soon. I talked to u for the first time in forEVER that night on AIM and I had to rush and sign off. You owe me a road trip too!!! Marcia LOL! Thanks for empathizing with me :) How're you doing? What's new with you?

Alright folks, I'm out. See ya'll tomorrow night maybe :D Oh and Happy GroundHog's Day tomorrow!

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Wednesday, January 31, 2007
07:37 p.m.

well I couldn't do it. I changed, tied my hair up and still couldn't feel motivated and then Ricky called and I was much more enthusiastic about speaking to him than working out and while talking to him just now, I decided I'm hungry and want light soy milk with ghiradelli hot chocolate and to watch my netflix dvd of CLICK. It's gonna be a hot chocolate and Adam Sandler and Kate Beckinsale night :D LOL! and I feel much happier this way :D Sometimes, you gotta give in to how your hormones make you feel.

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Wednesday, January 31, 2007
07:15 p.m.

ugh. I feel so unmotivated now. I'm at the end of my 'time of month' right now and I feel the way I do the day before it starts: lethargic, apathetic and tired. I was psyching myself up to come home and work-out tonight after work but when I came home, I sat in front of the computer, read my email and I'm still sitting here in my coat which I haven't taken off. And it's now 7pm and I can't motivate myself to get up and get moving cause my eyes feel tired and I'm sleepy and I just don't feel like I have the energy to do a solid incline training work out for an hour on the treadmill. Although now I'm thinking maybe I can just do a straight walk for an hour instead of incline and maybe I'll feel motivated once I change into workout clothes, tie up my hair, wash my hands and face, drink water and just get ON the treadmill. Half the battle is just getting ON the damn thing. Anybody else get the workout blues around their time of month? Happened even when I had fun workouts like kickboxing and karate to go to....u just feel so freakin sluggish and don't wanna do anything.

Ok I'm gonna give it my best shot. If I don't get on the damn thing I'll be back to blog. I know I'll just feel worse about myself if I don't try to work out. How come men don't have this problem? My guy friends are all addicted to the gym. They'd rather go to the gym then go to the movies after work. Sheesh.

Be back later tonight to respond to msgs.

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Tuesday, January 30, 2007
11:28 p.m.

I began writing a new song tonight called 'Merry Go Round' - the title is symbolic for the spinning chaos of life and how you spin so fast that you lose sight of what's really important in life. The song is fictional and about 2 people who love each other but who, through the spinning merry go round of life, are slowly losing each other. It's a combination dance/rock/pop song that I can easily see playing in clubs.

I'm so sleepy now - respond to msgs tomorrow *HUGS* to all!

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Sunday morning blogging at my comp
Sunday, January 28, 2007
12:43 p.m.



I love this :) I'm back blogging at my desk in front of my window with the view of the lake :) That's what I see right now at my desk looking out. Last week it snowed just a little bit - like an inch or so - and it was so freezing cold that the top of the lake was covered with the frozen snow and it was simply beautiful to behold. I'm so happy to have my computer back up and running and to be sitting here happily typing and browsing away! :) Last night I stayed up till midnight watching NANA on YouTube.com :D

It's 38 degrees here now and my sisters are all home because it was my mom's birthday this past Thursday and we're celebrating as a family this weekend :) I think we're going to have lunch at Cosi's today and cut another cake which Mili baked! :D

Next weekend, we're celebrating MY birthday :) My bday's on Feb 6th and Ricky's going to be coming home and staying with my family next weekend :) I have a super special surprise (early Valentine's Day gift) that I'm taking him to on Friday night after he arrives. Saturday I think will be spent being grilled by the folks about our marriage plans and probably having a small family birthday party, and Sunday will be superbowl day and I wanna have a superbowl party if my dad gets the new widescreen plasma tv he's been talking about...and I gotta get on planning my actual birthday plans....

There are so many great art exhibits in the city right now. The paper this morning had a great article on John Singer Sargent's Venice Collection which is being exhibited at the Adelson Galleries in Manhattan at 19 E. 82nd Street b/t 5th & Madison now through March 3. One of his works I love most is called Opera Scene:



I also want to head to the Dahesh Museum of Art. They have this gorgeous work by Gustave Dore called The Black Eagle of Prussia or L'Aigle Noir De Prusse':



Pretty neh?

Niki I don't like iPods. At all. Plus, everyone and their mother has one and I don't like the idea of becoming a pod-person. I prefer products that are unique and different and Creative's line of mp3 and video players are even better than iPods so that sealed the deal for me.

*HUGS* to Millie, HeartMonger, Miyu-chan, Kayla, Azure Kaze, Marcia, Memory, Lydia, Lisa, Sarah Beth, Ramona, ML, Suni, Sean, Jade, Caroline, Darlene, Callie, Lorie and Dan :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

my computer's back up!!!
Saturday, January 27, 2007
09:14 p.m.

I installed my new hard-drive myself today! :) I just finished installing the drivers and finally got the ethernet adapter to work and I'm online!!! YAHOOOOOOOOOOO! I'm SOOOOOOOO happy to be back!!!! First thing I did was download FireFox :)

I gotta get all my stuff back on this computer now! I'm so excited! :) *HUGS* to all!! But first, late dinner-time :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Thursday, January 25, 2007
09:25 p.m.



That's my new mp3 player I just ordered. My old Creative Muvo TX FM bit the dust last year after dropping it one too many times and I found this one they came out with which is 2GB! :) I can use it to transfer files from the computer I used in 2004 (before I got the computer which just died over New Year's) and transfer all my files from there to the new harddrive which'll arrive this weekend (hopefully).

Today was my mom's birthday and after work, I bought a beautiful cake from Zaro's Bakery at Grand Central - white vanilla cake with strawberry filling and white chocolate frosting with pretty red roses all over the top :) My folks picked me up from the train station and we went for dinner at a nice little Italian place here in town :) Now we're gonna cut the cake in a few minutes.

I am so stuffed and I ate WAAAYYY too much food! Between the lunch I had wit my friend Marlene (we went to my fave sushi place for udon noodle soup and sushi) and the dinner with my folks and now cake....ugh...can't even look at my stomach....will work out hard tomorrow.

Have a great night all!

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Tuesday, January 23, 2007
09:27 p.m.

I *love* these Twilight Crème cookies from David's Cookies. My sister Mili brought them home from gifts she got over Christmas and they are HEAVENLY! 80 calories a piece but so worth it - they're like an oreo cookie sandwhich but even better!! Besides I'm entitled to them after working out for an hour and a half tonight! :)

Did you guys watch Heroes last night? How about The Hills? Heroes was a little slow in the beginning but it began to pick up pace after the first half hour. And the Hills - that Spence guy is such a TOAD!!! I can't believe he was with Heidi and then calls up Audrina to hang. UGH! 2-timing player.

I had court in Brooklyn this morning but it was a really easy day :) Came back to the office early and had so many papers to get out that took so much time and I'm still not done. Sheesh. Picked up 2 new manga that came out here called 'Mugen Spiral' and Pearl Pink. (See images below). They're both shoujo and really fun & cute reads and I highly recommend them!

There are a bunch of new anime I wanna watch: Koi Suru Tenshi Angelique - Kokoro no Mezameru Toki, Fushigiboshi no Futago Hime Gyu, Yume Tsukai and Kamisama Kazoku - hope they've been subbed or I can get them from NetFlix.

Ok I'm out for the night. Sarah Beth *HUGGGGGGG* don't be down my dear dear friend. Why not have someone else fix your comp? It's been so long right? Marcia I'm so sorry to hear that! *BIG HUGS* Happy Birthday though!!! I wish you the absolute best for the new year! :) No it's not an omen! Just a bad day! Ramona awwww feel better soon!! It is January - ripe time for falling sick right? ;) Azure Kaze nope nada. I don't think she plans on doing anything. No news on Toki Meka - nuttin.

Good night all!

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Sunday, January 21, 2007
05:43 p.m.

wai! I can't wait! The manga "Mamotte! Lollipop" will be available for purchase on February 27, 2007! :) Now if only someone would bring over Kirarin Revolution and Max Lovely and Delicious then I would be completely happy! :) If you guys have never seen the anime of this manga watch it on youtube.com! In fact I'll do better, I'll post a youtube link here:

Episode 1: Part 1 of 3



Episode 1: Part 2 of 3

Episode 1: Part 3 of

Enjoy :)

Heartmonger yes CD and cookies and all ;) *HUGS* :) The Moderns sounds like an interesting movie but not my style. I prefer romantic comedies and things that take me away from reality ;)

My CD drive on my computer works! And here I ordered a new cd/dvd combo drive! I was installing XP on my dad's new comp and decided to try and see if the cd drive on my own really didn't work and when I put the cd in, lo and behold it worked. So I really only need to order a new SATA harddrive. I called Dell and put the comp in recovery/repair mode through the cd but to no use - i can't recover/repair - it has to be set back to factory settings which I refuse to do and lose all my data forever. I'll send this harddrive to an expert one day dammit! Geek Squad apparently has more expensive technician in another facility who could retrieve the data. Yeesh. One day.

Spent today cleaning the bathroom, doing laundry, tidying up my closet and re-organizing 9 of my drawers and sweeping all the floors and lord am I tired! I still have to hit CVS and the grocery store and I don't wanna! It's dark out now and I wanna curl up in front of the tv with hot cocoa and watch anime!! :D

Yeah forget it, I'm not gonna hit the store now. It's Sunday night - Sunday nights in January were made for curling up with a blanket and hot cocoa and either a good book or a good show! :)

Hope ya'll have had a wonderful weekend! :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Saturday, January 20, 2007
11:47 p.m.

what an overall nice saturday I had! Slept in late till noon! Breakfast was soy milk, a hard-boiled egg and 2 slices of whole wheat toast with butter and jelly before I cleaned the house and went and picked up my computer from Best Buy. The Geek Squad re-funded me the computer back up cost since they couldn't do anything with it and had to re-format and I used that money to help me purchase the new harddrive and new cd/dvd combo drive I need to replace on that comp. Hopefully everything will arrive by next weekend and I can just install everything on my own. How hard can it be right? ;) Ha ha ha.

After a delicious lunch of my mom's chicken curry and cabbage, I made myself coffee and put in my new netflix dvd of 'Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica' Disc 1 of Seasons 2 & 3. It's just such fun tv to watch even though you know they're divorced. Jessica is just so pretty and cute to watch and Nick is so amazingly talented - that man can act and sing so well he deserves to be a phenomenon! After Newlyweds, I hit the treadmill for incline training for a full 60 minutes (involves increasing the incline gradient every 10 minutes until it's at the max - and walking on max for 10 minutes - and then decreasing it back by 5 minutes) - and did my normal 60 push ups and 250 reps of different ab exercises. My birthday is 18 days away and I wanna look great before the big day.

After a hot shower, read the new issue of Scientific American and now I'm eating a quartered apple spread with reduced-fat peanutbutter and washing it down with a cup of skim milk. Good protein for post-workout and pre-bed.

Found some interesting stuff in the paper this morning. This historian, Giuseppe Pallanti, a high school economics teacher from Florence, Italy, is claiming he's found the final resting place of the Lisa who the Leonardo Da Vinci's "The Mona Lisa" was inspired by. He unearthed a death certificate that shows a woman named Lisa Gherardini died on July 15, 1542 and is buried in a convent in the center of Florence - she is a woman who was believed by some to have inspired the painting. Gherardini was born in 1479 and married a rich silk merchant, Francesco del Giocondo. In Italian, the Mona Lisa is known as 'La Gioconda' because Giorgio Vasari, a 16th century artist and biographer of Leonardo and other artists, wrote that Leonardo painted a portrait of del Giocondo's wife. In addition, del Giocondo was a neighbor and acquaintance of Leonardo's father, Piero da Vinci. The historian, Pallanti, says it's hard to believe that Vasari lied.

But another expert - Alessandro Vezzosi - the director of the museum dedicated to Leonardo in his home town of Vinci, says Lisa Gherardini - wife of del Gioconda, was not the woman in the painting. A letter Leonardo wrote indicates the Mona Lisa was probably a lover of Leonardo's sponsor - the Florentine nobleman Giuliano de Medici. The museum director said it didn't mean that Leonardo didn't paint del Giocondo's wife, just that the portrait hadn't yet been found and that it was not necessarily the Mona Lisa.

I had heard of the Mona Lisa linked with the name Medici before so this is all fascinating information to me. I've been a huge Leonardo fan ever since I was a little girl and used to read every book about him.

In other fascinating news, Zeus worshippers demand access to ancient temple for rare religious ceremony! In Athens, Greece, a group is planning a rare ceremony to be held Sunday to honor the Greek gods at the 1,800 year old Temple of Olympian Zeus (click for a picture). Officials declared the site off-limits but worshippers are defiant. Full article here.

Well that's all for today folks. It's almost midnight and I'm off to bed for another action-packed day tomorrow ;) Hope everyone is well - I responded to all messages in yesterday's post.

Heartmonger the only thing I didn't get to do today my dear was go to the post office. By the time I was done cleaning and helping at home and went to BestBuy and came back it was 4 and the post office was closed. I swear you shall get those cookies - I even put them in these cute little blue tupperware boxes I bought specifically to mail cookies with. *HUGS* next weekend for SURE! :)

Good night all!

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Friday, January 19, 2007
11:33 p.m.

This is an amazing piece of news I found in the today's New York Daily News that I had to share with you guys tonight - it's like straight out of The Jungle Book or the pages of the National Enquirer - but it's all true!

JUNGLE GIRL FOUND ALIVE
Cambodian given up for dead in '88 returns as 'half-animal'

A little girl who disappeared more than 18 years ago has emerged from the jungles of northeastern Cambodia - naked, unable to speak, "half-human and half-animal," police said yesterday.

In 1988, 8 year old Rochom P'ngieng vanished while herding buffalo in a remote area, said Chea Bunthoeun, a police official in Rattanakiri province, some 200 miles northeast of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.

Her father, Ksor Lu, a policeman from the Jrai ethnic minority group, said he believed the girl had been eaten by wild animals and he eventually gave her up for dead. But on Saturday, loggers caught a naked woman, with long, matted hair hanging down to her legs, stealing food from their lunchboxes.

When Ksor heard about the incident, he went to see the woman - and immediately recognized a scar on her left arm. His lost daughter had the exact same scar, the result of a knife cut. Mao San, the police chief of Oyadao district in Rattanakiri, said the woman was "half-human and half-animal."

Although they will undergo DNA tests to prove the relationship, Ksor has no doubts that she is his daughter. Ksor said the woman cannot speak any intelligible language so she cannot explain how she survived all those years. "When I saw her, she was naked and walking in a benmding-forward position like a monkey . . . She was bare-bones skinny." the father said. "She was shaking and picking up grains of rice to eat. Her eyes were red like a tiger's eyes."

The woman refuses to wear clothes or to wash, will not eat with chopsticks and fights off anyone who gets too near. But Ksor said she was able to communicate some needs. "When she is hungry, she pats her stomach as a signal," he said. "If she is not sleeping, she just sits and glances left and right, left and right." But the father is optimistic his long-lost daughter will readjust to civilization. "It's not easy, but life is waiting ahead for her," he said.

That's the way the Daily News reported it but I found other news reports that reported the father's name is Sal Lou and that the scar was on her back. More coverage here. I'll be interested to find out if their is a DNA link.

Don'tcha just LOVE news like this?

I'm having a very relaxing start to my weekend this Friday night. After work, I went to my favorite salon in the city and got a manicure and pedicure (shiny clear polish) and came home and had dinner and watched my recorded ep of Regis & Kelly and watched some Las Vegas (first time I watched it - was interesting) and watched Harrison Ford take on the Air Force One hijackers in the movie by the same name - he is SO freakin' AWESOME in that movie!

Got a call from that new Tennessee producer - he's working on songs for Ashanti and Mariah Carey and will be up in NY to do some work on Ashanti's album soon. He's working to get me in the studio as he works on her album just so I can see him work and evaluate him. I guess I'll know then whether this is all legitimate.

This hot chocolate I'm drinking right now is so yummy! It's european chocolate. Tomorrow, I've got a BAZILLION things to do - post office to mail CDs and gingerbread cookies to Ricky and Amy, grocery shopping, cleaning, ironing and more dry cleaning & not to mention jogging up a storm! ;) Hope you're all having a fabulous start to the weekend!

ML hi! how're you doing? yeah I haven't seen the newest Gals volumes in stores either. I also wanna get all the volumes of Vampire Knight - I LOVE it from my monthly subscription of Shoujo Beat. Marcia *HUGS* hi! :) you bet it sucks! But it's nothing that a return to jogging won't cure :) Amy/Heartmonger LOL! Your cookies are coming!! :) Good luck with your leg braces! *HUGS* Azure Kaze Pan's Labrynth was cool but way more ghastly and bloody then I thought it'd be. The scene of torture and just all that shooting and....then the end...it wasn't what I expected at all - but it was a well-made movie nonetheless. I won't buy it though. Jade *HUGS* Rick and I did have an awesome time :) how was ur weekend and week? what'd you do? Kayla I think I reponsed in a couple entries below but next time make sure you try out! I'd SOOOOO vote for you on AI!!! :) Suni I read a lil of Peach Girl manga when it first came out and it was ok - never got into it much because it was too angsty and drama-rama but I'll try watching it when I get my computer fixed :) Sarah Beth I didn't go to the Pentagon - next time YOU take me :) LOL! *HUG*

- Nishi

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Friday, January 19, 2007
09:19 a.m.

I was on the subway this morning in to Times Square and there were these subway ads overhead in my car:

People
Becoming
Extinct Faster
Than Animals
Where?
Darfur.

Here today.
Slain tomorrow.
Where?
Darfur.

Fathers, Mothers, Brothers, Sisters, Nieces, Nephews, Granfathers & Grandmothers . . .

What happens to them happens to us. We are all African. We are all affected by what happens to them.

The way to help is to go to http://www.theIRC.org - The International Rescue Committee.

I loved the message of the Darfur ad campaign - we are all affected by what happens in Darfur. Genocide and such wide spread tragedy - we are all brothers and sisters on this planet - we SHOULD do something. We must.

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Thursday, January 18, 2007
08:59 p.m.

hi everyone :) I totally HATE not having my computer still. I'm going on Saturday to pick it up from Best Buy. I'll decide then whether to get a new harddrive if the current one hasn't been formatted. Sean I hope you're right and that one day I can still somehow recover my data from the harddrive.

Went to MidTown Comics yesterday and picked up the latest volumes of Pichi Pichi Pitch and Kare Kano (the last volume! *sob*) and Sugar Sugar Rune. Still need to go and get Gals and Neck & Neck and Ultra Cute.

I haven't done anything productive in forever and it's driving me nuts! I haven't written and I seriously need to go on a good run this weekend because even though I walked a million miles all over D.C. and all over the west village at lunch every day, I'm still holding onto holiday weight gain and it's depressing me when I go into H&M and tops that SHOULD look great on me - don't! >_<

No time to write more as I've gotta get head back upstairs and help clean up. *HUGS* to all! Tomorrow's FRIDAY THANK GOD! See ya'll this weekend. Kayla *HUGS* there's always next year babe! You'll make it :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Monday, January 15, 2007
11:04 p.m.

I got home about an hour ago from my flight back from D.C. - Ricky and I had THE BEST time!!! I miss him SO MUCH now. *SOB* we took a ton of pictures though and as soon as he sends them to me, I'll put them up here for ya'll to see. :)

I left 5am Saturday morning and had a super-easy flight to D.C. on JetBlue (fave airline) and Ricky was waiting for me and we hugged each other so hard! :) We got a cab and went to our hotel - The Marriott - by George Washington University and then went for breakfast at this place around the corner called 'Bread & Chocolate whose brumueslix (or something like that) is SO FREAKING DELICIOUS to have for breakfast (a mix of ground oats, walnuts, fruit and yogurt)! We spent out first day visiting the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and WWII memorials and spent the evening walking all over the city. All the weather forecasts gad veeb predicting nothing but rain but D.C. was GORGEOUS - the weather was *WARM* and it did not rain at ALL when we were out! It was honestly like warm spring there with people jogging in shorts, the cherry blossoms blooming and trees budding - it was the perfect weather - perfect weekend to spend sightseeing D.C. Sunday we were out early and visited the White House and the entire Capitol Hill area - walked EVERYWHERE and ate at this awesome mexican tapas bar called Halejo (or something like that) where I had a catalana to worship and this delicious shrimp dish. We spent the evening visiting Georgetown and after dessert at Cafe La Rouche saw the movie 'Pan's Labrynth' and then had a full dinner at this beautiful restaurant called the Bistro Francais. Today we spent all day at the Air & Space museum. We had the BEST time. I'd seen Washington D.C. before on school trips and with my family many years ago but it was great seeing it again as an adult and appreciating it in different ways. Beautiful city to visit.

Tomorrow I'm back at work and have court - long day in Brooklyn I bet. I caught some of the Golden Globes on the tv on board JetBlue and I have to say the best speeches were by the guy who's the star in HOUSE and the one by Meryl Streep (sp?). I had my vcr set to record the Golden Globes and the pre-show on E! so I'm just gonna watch everything tomorrow night.

Hope you all had a wonderful Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. I heard the weather sucked here in the northeast and that it snowed like heck out in the midwest. Hope you are all well and ok!! :) It's now 11pm and I'm going to take a quick shower before I get into bed. See ya'll tomorrow :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Friday, January 12, 2007
09:21 p.m.

we got out of work early at 3pm today in honor of the Martin Luther King holiday so I went and treated myself to a manicure and pedicure at my favorite nail salon and then hit Macy's and bought 2 new weekender duffel bags from Le Sports Sac! They're in this gorgeous baby blue flower motif! I'll take a picture and post it later - I'm in love with the bags! They're so beautiful and roomy and just perfect for these weekend getaways. I just finished packing and am going to wash my face, brush my teeth and get into bed. I leave the house at 5am tomorrow! *HUGS* to Sarah Beth, Sean, Jade, Marcia, Ramona, Heartmonger, Azure Kaze, Caroline, Millie, Darlene, ML, Lorie and Callie! See ya'll when I get back from Washington D.C. Monday night :)

LYDIA: if you see this, I only got your voicemail this morning on the train into Grand Central (phone was off until I got onto the train). I can't believe we keep messing up this jacket return. God bless you hon - I'm in D.C. this weekend. When will you be back in NY after this weekend?

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Thursday, January 11, 2007
09:30 p.m.

evening folks :) goodness I haven't written since last weekend. I'm doing to D.C. this weekend! YAHOOOO!!! :) Ricky and I booked flights to meet for Martin Luther King weekend in D.C. and we fly out Saturday morning. Our weekend is chock full of every site possible we can see in the D.C. metro area. Can't wait! I was last in D.C. when I was 17 or 18 I think when we went on a family vacation and I went when I was 13/14 as part of a school trip. I've already seen every major tourist site in D.C. but this time we're all going to visit Georgetown and Annapolis! :) Can't wait!!!!!! :D

Best Buy called me - the Geek Squad couldn't recover my data. *SOB* they had to re-format. They're going to refund me my money. :( *sigh* 2 years worth of design work and so much precious personal data - gone. Well at least it's only the harddrive - I can install a new one and the comp will be fine. But still *sigh*

Oh yeah stomach's totalllyyy better. We had a HUGE STINK in the city on Monday - I stayed home still not feeling well but my friends all told me about how bad the gas smell was - our company actually sent everyone home at 10:30 because the smell was in our building and there were fears about a gas leak in our building or area by Penn Station.

Watched the People's Choice Awards last night and I can't tell you how much I loved the dresses Halle Berry and Jennifer Aniston wore!! SOOOOOO gorgeous! Did you see Vince Vaughn roll his eyes when Queen Latifa asked him (at the end of the show) to say goodbye to the audience with her? LOL! Funny stuff :)

Anywayz, gotta head back up and pack! Tomorrow night I'll be too tired after work to really focus on packing so wanna do it tonight and besides I like to relax the night before an early morning flight :)

*HUGS* to all!!! See you tomorrow or from D.C.! :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Saturday, January 6, 2007
05:31 p.m.

so yesterday I didn't go to work - my stomach physically HURT - it hurt SO freakin much it was almost unbarable. The sides and the back and I could do nothing but sleep in bed and barely ate some toast and some 'cungee' (rice boiled in water with a little salt and pickle). I whined and complained to Ricky non-stop over the phone. Today I *think* I'm better - but my stomach's still tight and weird....we think maybe the stomach walls/muscles were sore from all the throwing up? God. Even when I got sick one night with bad salmon a year or two ago I don't remember my stomach hurting like this.

Today was my dad's 55th birthday! :) We had family visiting from out of state and my dad took my cousin and aunt hiking in the woods for almost an hour - saw the dam and lake and it was just beautiful - it was almost 70 degrees out today - 70 in January!! :) When I went for my morning paper today I just couldn't believe how 'hot' it was. Mum and the girls cooked up a delicious meal which I barely ate any of because I was so afraid of making my stomach hurt.

I didn't go to Best Buy today to try and fix my comp - hopefully tomorrow. And now I'm officially late returning my Blockbuster movies. I rented John Tucker Must Die and Spy Kids last weekend and they should've been returned on Thursday but with being stomach-sick and sleeping all day yesterday - didn't. ;) Both movies were fantastic!

The family all left a while ago and I'm going to rest now. *HUGS* to Millie and ML and Darlene and Marcia.

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Thursday, January 4, 2007
08:30 p.m.

tonight I threw up on the streets of NYC. Yup. And twice more on the train ride home. Isn't that a lovely way to start this post? :) I think I may have gotten a stomach bug that's been going around my office - 2 of my colleagues just came back yesterday and today from having that same bug. All I had today was my morning cereal, and the coffee from the coffee cart guy and he gave me a free donut today (maybe it was the donut!) and I had my normal tea from a teabag. Around lunch though I started feeling weird and queasy - stomach all heavy so I didn't eat anything. And after that a funny taste in my mouth appeared. By 4:30 I was in the bathroom hoping whatever was wrong in my stomach would just come the hell out. I amused a lot of people who walked in. Hah. I seem to always be amusing people with my troubles and vexations. My friend Sandra's daughter Kristy kept me company in the bathroom and I forced her to tell me all about her 16 year old school life and her new boyfriend, all the while begging my stomach to please just throw the hell up.

My sweet friend Kerri from work then offered to walk me to Grand Central and I left work thinking that somehow I could make it back home fine. WRONG! We got somewhere around 36th or 37th and Broadway and lord almighty I actually had to stop and threw up all over the road. Luckily I was behind a very large truck so not a lot of people saw me - but I swear some guys in the parking garage across the street may have seen and I could SWEAR they were laughing at me. Anywayz, I - with as much of my dignity as I could muster - took out my little package of kleenex and my little bag of antibacterial cloths and promptly pretended I had done nothing wrong and continued walking on. Until I got somewhere around Madison and 39th and ducked behind a driveway next to an apartment and more of that hideous stuff came out - twice more! Finally we made it to Grand Central with my dignity and pride still SOMEHOW intact.

And then - one of the most humiliating things ever to happen to me - which I told Kristy I feared happening - happened - I threw up on the train - TWICE. I was sitting there just me, oh my, fine thinking I had sat near a bathroom in the train car I was in so when I felt the urge at Harlem-125th STreet, I jumped from my seat with my wallet and kleenex and found it was some stupid weird locked room to store the conductor's belongings. I then ran to the conductor asking where the bathroom was and he told me only after checking my ticket and I had to go in between cars (damn those heavy train doors) and the stupid bathroom was LOCKED and/or occupied and I said 'OH NO' out loud and promptly sat down and threw up with one quiet 'errp' on the floor. Luckily the bathroom was right next to the door and a 2-seater so only the woman who had the wonderful luck of sitting near where I threw up knew I'd thrown up. She said to me 'Are you Ok?' and I said in my very best voice 'oh no, I'm just sick' and klneexed away and said 'I'm sorry about that, be careful when you walk out' and she said 'oh don't worry about it' and I high-tailed it out of there. I thought my misery would end there but nooooooooooo......just when we were 2 minutes away from my stop - the LAST stop on this train - the stupid damn urge came again - but by that time, the train had almost emptied out and everyone was lined by the exit doors of the train so I ducked to the back of the car I was in to the back 2 most seats and proceeded to let it all loose - 4 times. I was loud. People heard me. I think they were whispering. I am still so ashamed and humiliated. I wonder if you people have read this far down this humiliating journal entry.

I waited until we got to my stop and then only did I sit up straight and let people see who the "poor girl" was. Sheesh. My dad was able to pick me up from the station tonight so I promptly told him my misadventures in stomach land and came home, drank a glass of water and jumped in to bed. I slept for about an hour before my mom came and strictly told me only tea and lemon for me.

I still feel like crap and am totally weak. *sigh* isn't 2007 getting off to a lovely start? first my computer and now my stomach. whoopee.

On brighter notes - on the music front I've been contacted by an amazing music label in India who's interested in marketing and promoting me there and I'm still going to be working with that great producer in Tennessee.

Oh and about my computer - one of my friends at work told me when her computer's morthboard died, she took it to Best Buy who were able to extract the data for $80. I'm going to try them next.

Sean I ADORE YOU! Is it as simple as unscrewing, putting the new harddrive in and re-screwing it in? I LOVE doing that kinda stuff! Tell me more, tell me more! Or, actually, email me please? *HUGS*

Sarah Beth, Lorie, Callie, Jade, Kayla, Darlene and Millie and HeartMonger/Amy: *HUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGSSSSSSSSSS* :) Thank you guys! :) I love you all.

I'm going back up to rest. See ya'll tomorrow.

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Wednesday, January 3, 2007
10:43 p.m.

awwww everyone thank you SO MUCH for your sweet messages! :) *HUGSSSSSSSSSSS* I am sooooooo miserable without my computer :( when I think about all my web design files...my photos and so many sentimental things that were saved on there (and transferred from my old computer too) it breaks my heart. The technician told me today he couldn't get my data and that to get it back would mean sending it out to these professionals who charge $1000 to take the computer down to its very harddrive and extract the data.

Sean - 1000 sound right to you? There's no way I can afford that now. He told me, instead, that he'd get me a new harddrive and install it - a new harddrive in his estimate was 120/130 and his labor charge is 150 total and the cd/dvd drive would also have to be replaced so I'm looking at least $300-$350 in total possibly. I am definitely going to do what you suggested with my next computer and partition the harddrives - or at least get a darn external harddrive!

*sigh* I'm so freakin sad - you have no idea - even my writings and my poetry and dammit I had a million amazing favorites/bookmarks! :( plus, it's weird how much of my life revolved around the computer. I would check it first thing when I woke up, as soon as I got in from work, and was always on it - whether it was checking my bank balance, watching anime on youtube.com or just looking up stuff. I haven't logged back onto myspace in days and I know I have like a GAZILLION messages and requests ;) LOL! My email accounts alone had hundreds of msgs. This is gonna sound really weird but when your computer crashes and so much of your life's accumulation of data is gone, it's like you just lost a best friend or a pet? Weird huh? But it's a little like how I feel.

Anywayz, new computer and save up $1000 to get my data back. DAMMIT I WILL GET IT BACK ONE DAY!!! And at least those of you reading this post, if you take anything with you from reading this, let it be this: BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER'S DATA - you never know when it'll crash!

So tonight I watched the 2-hour season opener of Beauty & The Geek! I'm GLAD that girl got kicked off - she was always crying and didn't study and she was WAAAAYYYYYYY too sensitive about Sanjay not giving her enough credit when she didn't DO anything to earn any credit. But I wanna see Andrea get kicked out - I mean - WHAT A BITCH!!! That girl was SO MEAN to her sweet partner and she's just UGH - I wanted to slap her for her meanness.

USC WON THE ROSE BOWL!!!!!!! I watched the game upstate at my various uncles'/cousins' houses New Year's Day as we celebrated with dinner at each house. Was SO much fun! My cousins are the cutest things ever! I screamed myself HOARSE watching the game. I have no idea how Dwayne Jarrett catches those passes with one hand. There's apparently a rumour that USC's coach may leave for the NFL - I hope not - I think coaching a school football team is just so much more rewarding because it's all about school pride!

Being back at work after the holiday weekend is tough - thank goodness for coffee! :) The coffee-cart guy outside my building gives me a free donut now and then :D I gave him a box of chocolates for christmas! LOL! I've been jogging/walking 5 miles total every day since last Saturday and it feels GREAT :D I think I've reversed all that holiday over-eating damage!

Anywayz, boys and girls I gotta call my Ricky and head to sleep. I can't wait to have a computer back in my room. *SOB* I want my comp back the way it was :( *sigh*

Good night everyone - sleep well!

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

and 2006 ends with my computer crashing
Sunday, December 31, 2006
01:31 p.m.

*sob* my computer crashed last night :( I'm using my dad's comp downstairs. My comp has a disk read error and won't boot up at all. I was on the phone with Dell for over an hour opening up my harddrive and trying to get the CD/DVD drive to work so I could re-install WindowsXP and try to boot the computer up that way but the CD drive doesn't show up as an option on the re-boot menu - the CD drive (or the leather belt/cable that attaches it to the motherboard) may be damaged and means I'll have to buy a new new CD/DVD drive.

After my post last night, I went on myspace to approve friend requests etc and I was going to leave nice little New Year's messages for my 'top friends' and I opened them up all in new tabs (on FireFox) and after I'd done that the comp suddenly slowed down and froze and I stupidly started trying to re-start it and something I did must have caused something to short circuit? I have no idea. Or maybe it's a virus? :( All I know is ALL MY DATA for the past 2+ years may be gone - all my graphics and website designs (those which aren't uploaded to nishimusic.com) - luckily I backed up my catalogue of songs in emails to myself - but god so many other, irreplaceable and important files - all may be gone. :(

I have a technician arriving at 5pm who'll try to extract the data and back it up on cds for me. And unless he says differently, I'm going to buy a new CD drive and get my comp to re-boot using the XP CD....and if that fails, buy a new computer. I'm thinking a laptop. But above all - I need to get all that data BACK! Years worth of stuff - no way I'm gonna lose that - somehow it can be retrieved!

what a horrible thing to happen on the last day/night of 2006. when I look back on this year, a lot of rotten things happened - a lot of disappointments and a lot of sadness and pain which worked itself out and everything's well now - but still - what a wretched way to end 2006 with my most precious computer crashing :(

Well whatever! 2007 shall be my year! :) I'm gonna get engaged & married next year and shall very likely produce a brand new album with a new proucer in Tennessee - who knows what the new year holds! Out with the old and in with the new! :D

Eternal optimist I am :)

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! Please say a prayer I recover all my data? Thank you! :) *HUGS* to everyone! I'll write more either tonight or tomorrow if I'm home and not with family (and if my dad's computer is free! ;)). Make sure you tell me how you're all celebrating the new year!

- Nishi

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Saturday, December 30, 2006
10:07 p.m.

I have eaten so much food this holiday season, it's made me so guilty! My favorite pants are all tight on me now. I can't tell you how many cakes and cookies and fattening dishes I've eaten smiling all the way ;) LOL! But tomorrow I start my healthy diet - no more junk food - and back to exercising 1.5 to 2 hours every night! Hopefully before my birthday in February I'll be back to my normal weight. We just finished having the '40-day memorial' for my grandmother's death anniversary. We catered in food and cooked some other stuff and invited a lot of family and church friends over. It was great to see so many of my cousins all in the same house. One of my little cousins who's only 3 is named Kripa and she is SOOOOOOOOOO CUTE!!! But good lord does she like to play with EVERYTHING - from my lip glosses to my manga to my perfumes and glass picture frames. I had to watch her to make sure she didn't take things and misplace them or break them. She's so adorable though!

Heartmonger I meant to go to the post office today to mail you the cookies and the cd (and to many other people who bought my cd) but between cleaning, shopping for the groceries for the memorial party, and entertaining itself, there was no way I was getting to the post office. I'll see if I can mail it out next week sometime or, at best, next Saturday.

How is everyone's New Year shaping up? I'll be home. I decided to spend New Year's Eve watching movies and ordering in sushi and watching the ball drop with Ryan Seacrest and Carson Daly ;) Or maybe we'll go upstate to our relatives there. Who knows. Either way, no big party for me this year - I did it the past few years and it's tiring. I'd rather spend it with my family this year.

I've gotta go help clean up now. *HUGS* to Miyu-chan, Darlene, Sean, Millie, ML, Marcia, Azure Kaze, Ramona and Lydia and Sarah Beth :)

See ya'll tomorrow - New Year's EVE! :D

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Thursday, December 28, 2006
11:56 p.m.


"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Never give it." - Eleanor Roosevelt.

I hate to be restricted in ANY way. Hate to be confined to a particular way of life with no real options "out" - if I wanted it. It's stifling when you can't have the options you want. I want freedom. Freedom to live and do as I wish, without harm to anyone.

I hate narrow-mindedness; I hate bigots. I hate people who judge others. I hate people who disparage others, give bad attitudes and make people feel very small. I hate how they make you feel when you're around such people. Belittled. You probably pretend to ignore the slight or, if you respond, it is inadequate because you don't know how to respond to such a feeling, all the shame and anger build inside of you. But it is harder when there is a chance that there may be a grain of truth to what disparagers say. All it takes is a single grain of truth to ruin your virtuous stand. Then we owe it to ourselves to never commit, by our own hand, any error that would mar our virtuosity. And if we did err, to own up to it immediately and make amends. We owe it to ourselves, and to others, to give 2nd chances, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th chances to those who commit normal, human errors. We are not perfect - only human, and humans err a million times. By this, I do not mean murder nor rape.

When others are disparaged, do not stay silent. Even if there is a grain of truth to the disparagement, be the voice in light of all that is favorable. Disparagers hold power over those who have committed an error and it takes having no care for them or any thing owed to them to be able to voice dissent and stand strong against them. If you have nothing to lose, it is easy. If you have much to lose, it's the hardest thing in the world to stand up strong and speak out against injustice - even if there's a grain of truth. Sometimes, it takes being above and beyond reproach, but not necessarily. Part of being able to dissent and speak out against injustice is knowing that you yourself committed injustices and are not saints & angels. We all learned from it.

Being around disparagement is poison and makes you act in ways you normally hate and you suffer for it - because you know better and went against your conscience. But you learn from it - learn how to survive, how to rise above it. I seek peace in my heart and meaning in my life and that makes me see beyond pettiness. I don't want to see or face disparagement or be party to it. Sometimes, for your own sake, and to not invite malicious or petty behavior, you conform or stay silent - to survive. Doesn't make it right. But it's human and understandable. Make sure it is the right thing to do at the time and not simply that you're afraid to speak up.

My mantra has always been this - that as a strong woman, I should always behave with self-confidence built by virtue and wisdom, with grace, poise, dignity, and - above all - with generosity and good-naturedness. And the virtue and wisdom should stand upon a foundation of learning and honesty in all dealings.

That has been my mantra my whole life and, yet, I have fallen short of it so often. Disappointing myself time, and time again. I don't know why I make the same mistakes and I am only very, very slowly learning how to not make them again.

To be human, is to err. But to be a King or Queen, God or Goddess, is to know better, to learn from your errors and never, ever commit them again. To be wiser and do better than what we have before - that is the purpose of our lives.

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!

Tuesday, December 26, 2006
11:18 p.m.

AAAAGGGHHH!!!!! One of my absolute favorite comic strips - FoxTrot is no longer going to run every day - only on Sundays! Apparently, Bill Amend wants to do other things - which I can understand - but *SOB* I LOVE reading new FoxTrot every day - it's hysterically funny and WITTY. *sigh* Somebody pay Bill a LOT MORE MONEY to keep doing the daily? :D Maybe that'd work! ;)

I had to go in to work today and I was grumpy Nishi at first. There was hardly anybody on the train this morning except maybe 6 people in my car and this one old guy who gave me the weirdest look EVER and I was creeped out. I walked in to work going 'WHY are we HERE!?' - next year I'm taking the day after christmas off! I was super tired after this crazy weekend and totally grumpy that everyone else could be at home - including all my sisters who slept in till 10am and had pancakes for breakfast. >_<

Just finished watching the KENNEDY CENTER HONORS on CBS and it was so beautiful - Mekha and I were crying at all the moving tributes especially when all those naval guys from WWII came out to honour Steven Spielberg. The whole show was awesome and totally worth watching. ^__^

Ok I'm BEAT and goin to sleep. *HUGS* to everyone :)

- Nishi

Have you 'Sloohed' yet? If you love astronomy like I do, then you have to try the *LIVE* telescope missions at Slooh.com! Sign up for a free trial and see nebulae & galaxies right on your computer *LIVE*! I'm there most evenings & weekends. Join the Chat!