I was going to write about my quick trip to Buffalo this past weekend, but just visited Bread for the City's blog and read the following:

"We need your help: Fill the Food Gap!

Today we have an urgent request. We just ‘closed the books’ on the month of May, and the books tell us that we spent $10,360 more than we’d budgeted on food for that month.

We don’t regret spending whatever it takes to feed the hungry in our community. But that money must come from somewhere, and we can’t balance last month’s budget deficit against the hungry families who come to us this month.

Will you help us fill the gap in our food budget? Please consider donating to our food pantry today.

The cost of food has been rising for years; so, too, the need for food assistance in our community.

Fortunately, Bread for the City’s Food Director Ted Pringle is a seasoned pro at finding inexpensive supplies of healthy bulk food. However, Ted recently had surgery, which kept him out of work for most of the month of May. This meant he wasn’t able to take the time he normally does to find the best deals.

“Every day I search through inventory sheets to find what’s healthy and cheap,” Ted says. “For instance, there’s this brand of good, unprocessed canned chicken. If I have the time, I can find it for 99 cents a can. But in May, I had to place an advance order for $3 a can.”

Ted has since come back to Bread for the City fully recovered, but in low spirits for having gone over budget by more than ten thousand dollars. He’s working hard to catch up, but he can’t do it alone.

Nobody can do this alone. But working together we can make up the difference.

You can help us. $30 will feed a hungry family of four. Please give today.

You can also help by spreading the word. Share our message above, and use this link:
www.breadforthecity.org/fillthefoodgap

Between now and the end of the month, we’ll post occasional updates on this blog, and more regular updates on Twitter. So follow us on Twitter, and help get the word out by tweeting @breadforthecity and #fillthefoodgap.

If you can spare $30 (that's sacrificing 10 visits to Starbucks or going out for lunch for three days) please consider donating, they're in desperate need of the funds.

This was taken yesterday after thirty minutes of waiting to just get on the platform:

Since my birthday I've been a lazy butt. I've zero motivation to do much of anything. I'm bored with the Internet, although I still spend way too much time on it. I can't concentrate on the crocheting project I'm working on. And I can't sit still long enough to read The Russian Debutante's Handbook, whose title belies the plot of the novel.

I think part of this lack of attention span is due to the fact that I've not been able to work out since getting my tattoo. My back is still too tender to wear a sport's bra, and the idea of wearing one at this moment makes me cringe.

I'm always surprised on how much working out helps keep me focused and grounded. It's going to be hard to keep it up once my summer classes start in July, I'm not sure when I'm going to breathe let alone workout for the months of July and August. I just have to keep reminding myself that taking these classes will help me graduate on time and lighten my load during the Fall semester.

I have a photo to share of the clusterf*ck that was the Metro ride this morning, but my phone was acting up before the battery died and I couldn't send it to myself. Hopefully I'll be able to get it up when I get home. 

Today is MY DAY. Yes siree bobby!!! Because it's my special day I can ask for anything I want! And what do I want?? I want you to go to the Bread for the City website and make a donation. Any amount will do.

Still haven't gotten all the photos up to Flickr from the NYC trip. This week has gotten unexpectedly busy. Actually that's not true, I knew it'd get busy with preparing for my birthday on Friday, but I didn't think it'd get as busy as it has. But it's cool, it keeps me out of trouble. ;)

Here's one photo, 'tho to tide you over.

Am still here. Have been too lazy to write, the past week.

I've some photos from my recent NYC trip to post. Will hopefully get them up by the end of the week.

Until then, my pretties, stay well.

On June 4, 1989 Chinese government cracked down on pro-democracy, student-lead protests that started weeks earlier, on April 15th, as a gathering to mourn the death of reformist leader Hu Yaobang, in Tiananmen Square.

Since then the CCP has done everything in its power to ensure that the citizens of China are denied access to any accounting of the massacre that killed hundreds of people. There is no mention of it in text books, former participants are harassed on a regular basis, imprisoned, amongst other things.

China, I spent two years in your beautiful country, got to know many wonderful people. It is time you open up about what happened twenty years ago. Otherwise it will continue to hold you back.

I've realized I've turned into one of "those people", you know the ones who talk about their pets ALL THE TIME. I can't always help it, I love my kittehs, but sometimes I think I must drive people crazy. I think I'm still working on rebuilding my speech filter after it's utter collapse while in China.

Got back from NYC late last night. An Amtrak train broke down ahead of us so we had to stop and load the passengers onto our train. But it didn't kill the buzz I was on from an awesome weekend.

The more time I go to New York, the more I love it. Especially Spyder's neighborhood in Astoria. If Niels and I ever get the chance to move to NYC, and if all goes well someday we will, I totally want to live there. There's awesome little shops, great places to eat and it's only 15 minutes to the city.

Oh, New York, I miss you already.