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G: I helped set up through most of the afternoon, but then Izolda and I headed off to meet up at Renee's to go up to David's Bridal in Glen Burnie to try on bridesmaids gowns once again. Petra couldn't make it, but Izolda, Janet and I all agreed to a certain dress and hoped it would work for Petra too. Turns out it did and so that is finally done. Pictures here someday, I promise! J: The next day as Chris and I lazed about in the New Deal Cafe, Ellen, one of the New Deal workers, answered the phone and handed it to me. Dorian was on the line, he had tracked us down and needed "party engineers." As we walked to his house we came up with a name for our party engineering company, based on a silly joke that goes something like this version I swiped from the Straight Dope: Tourist comes into
town, big seafood buff. He gets into a cab,
asks the
driver, "Where can I get scrod?" Cabbie turns around, looks at him.
"Bud," he says, "I've been asked that many times, many ways. But that's
the
first time I ever heard it asked for in the pluperfect subjunctive."
Har har! Ahem. Anyways, been having fun with that one. Where was I? Oh yeah, our concept company name: Scrodenfreude Engineers, Ltd., a division of Pluperfect Party Subjunctives, or something like that. We discussed our company's mission and structure, sometimes breaking into silly German accents. By the time we got to DNA's, we had a business card of a sort, by writing on the back of another older card I found in my wallet. We handed the business card very formally to DNA and then, instead of speaking in German accents, we started off in Japanese accents. (Must've been triggered by the business card.) DNA got a big kick out of that. Then we actually did some engineering and figured out how to make a sturdy foyer for the Den of Iniquity, along with a good sign holder. The sign said "The Den of Iniquity" and was mounted over a bamboo archway. Stylin'. Our work done, we walked across the street to meet Gina at another party, this one hosted by Jill and Aaron. It was a going away party for Dee, one of Gina's pottery friends. The party had an excellent table of food. I filled up on roasted veggies, salads, a little brie, and then homemade apple pie. Then I ate a roasted veggie sandwich. I think I ate some other things too. Ain't I downright gluttonous? G: Dee left for Texas today. She cried at the party when we gave her some goodbye gifts - an envelope full of cash to help with the move, and a handmade platter signed by everyone at the studio. I'll miss her.  J: After Jill's we went
home to meet up with Jenny and get ready for Librafest. Gina and Jenny
wore very sexy outfits. Jenny added a red wig to her ensemble and Gina
added her signature Evil Elf TM pointy ears. Chris,
pressured from people who attended DNA's last New Year's party, once
again wore practically nothing save a leopard print thong, cummerbund,
bow tie, and a red feather boa. All three of them were scheduled for
cocktail waitress duty at the party. I wore all black, a black mask and
a black knit hat, and called myself the Hep Cat Burglar. G: I thought that people who hadn't seen Chris at the New Year's Eve party might think DNA had hired a male stripper to serve drinks at their party. I mean, it was wild, but that would be REALLY wild, huh? J: The party was a wonderful success. It lasted till well after we left around 4 in the morning, and featured, from front to back:
 The
next day we puttered around a bit, went off to see a movie (I dozed off
a little but that won't affect the HMR,
honest), and then wandered home to make a big batch of wild mushrump
coconut curry. Then we went back to DNA's to inspect the party damage. When we got there, we knocked on the door but no one answered. Seeing people through the back door on the porch, we decided to walk through. We opened the door and walked through the living room. A guy I never saw before was giving a lady a tattoo. That was strange. When we got to the back porch there were several people chatting. Someone handed me an unopened bottle of sparkling wine. I popped it open and we had another, much smaller, party. Monday evening Gina and I attended another Greenbelt Council meeting to add our support for a second reading of the Forest Preservation Ordinance, designed to protect 204 acres of forest land in Greenbelt. The rumors were true, there turned out to be a little opposition, from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB). They wanted to select 17 acres near a ball field for as-yet-undetermined plans (perhaps a picnic pavilion, etc.), and wanted to keep it out of the preservation directive. They emphasized that they had no plans to cut down the entire area, and that once they were finished with what they called their "master plan" they would hand over the remaining land to the forest preserve. They were completely clueless as to how their undisclosed master plan put a swath of wild land (that lies right through the center of our forest) at risk. Luckily, many Greenbelters were on the trees' side, thanks to some quick phone rallying by Paul Downs and Susan Barnett. The council room was packed with people who wanted to protest PRAB's attempt at a land grab. Some of the council members proposed a compromise, saying that they could give a couple acres to PRAB, the location of which would be determined by PRAB in the future. An overwhelming majority of the Greenbelters didn't put up with that either. As one person put it, "Not long ago Greenbelt had over 800 acres of forest. Now we have a little over 200. It's time to stop. We won't give 17 acres, we won't give two." My favorite speech was by Lilian Childress, an eight-year old girl, who very simply said that she liked trees, that "if someone messes up a ball field or road you can always fix it, but if you cut down a tree you can't nurse it back to health." Many other Greenbelters gave comments, babbled incoherently, or made eloquent speeches, and my heart goes out to all of them. I'm a bit envious -- my stage fright during such events keeps me from speaking up when I really should. I applauded as much as possible. Ultimately, the five council members voted unanimously to protect all 204 acres, and said that if PRAB wanted to use some of the woods, they would have to wait two years for a community referendum. The crowd went wild with enthusiastic cheers! Then the council voted another measure in, saying that in order to get such a referendum placed on a voting card, the council would have to achieve a super-majority (four out of five) in support of said referendum. Woohoo! So our forest is a little safer today! I'm so happy. Tonight while Gina was at class, I got a call from Kevin Hollenbeck. He said, "Drop whatever you're doing and go outside to see the Aurora Borealis." He was on the Eastern Shore and had a good view. I took Booda for a walk down Research Road, away from the lights, and watched the northern sky dance, and listened to beavers splashing in the nearby creek. Pretty. Thanks, Kevin! |
THE HEAP where we wade the web izolda's nm pictures |
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