The World According to a Gemini

The Conservative Plot Against Americans

2011-05-07T13:20:00.002-05:00

I have a theory. It seems pretty obvious when you look at it. I could just be thinking the worst of them, but take a look at my theory and then tell me that it doesn't start some clicking in your own clockworks.

Look at what they're doing so far: Virtually destroying health care; keeping the oil companies rich while prices rise for us and the cost of food goes up, thereby causing those of us that don't make a lot of money to forgo healthier choices. Can't stay healthy if you can't eat right. Destroying our public education; taking away pertinent health care for women-because sometimes abortions are performed; taking away our EPA protections on manufacturers; destroying unions, thereby taking away collective bargaining for decent working conditions and equal pay. It all started long ago when these ridiculous tax breaks were given to manufacturers that increased their bottom line if they moved out of the country. The economy is in trouble and Americans are not being asked to sacrifice anything, like they did during World War II. God knows, they'd never let anyone that can afford to make a few sacrifices make any. Meanwhile, the middle class families and lower are making every sacrifice they possibly can in order to keep their families afloat.

I've given up cable. That's one small thing I've done for myself. Meanwhile, if you're in prison for anything you get free cable, free gym membership, and access to a free education if you're really good. Can't walk out the doors for anything though, but REALLY? Do we need to be paying their cable bill? (This really has nothing to do with my theory, but it is something that irks me.)

So, my theory: The conservatives want to dumb us down. Make people that make poor choices have children and be lousy parents, take away decent education from people that can't afford to get a private one, and keep us sick, desperate, and hungry. We'll get to a point where we'll take any job. Which is when they'll swoop in as the heroes and bring manufacturing back to US - after they've made sure they have no EPA rules to follow and no unions to kowtow to. So we'll have terrible working conditions, cancer from the water we're drinking from all the runoff going into our watersheds, asthma and COPD from the pollution being spewed into the air and the rich will sit in their ivory towers away from us getting richer while we keep producing their affordable workforce. It's pretty bleak.

Anyway, that's what I see coming. I don't know...maybe I'm paranoid, but just take a good look at the things they are doing and the things that they want to do. I think a little paranoia is called for.

Stay tuned....

2011-02-06T15:38:00.000-06:00

I'm coming back. Promise!

I'm thinking.....

2010-03-01T22:15:00.002-06:00

I'm thinking, that maybe now that I have a new computer that actually works at the speed that my internet service is set up for, that maybe I'll pick up my blogging. God knows that I have to get back into writing! There's just too much going on in the world to not make my characteristic comments on.

For instance: 8.8 earthquake in Chile that was preceded by 6.6 earthquake in Japan. They say they're not related, but REALLY? You can't tell me that one didn't have anything to do with the other. When plates start moving around, they have to affect others. They were both within the "ring of fire". I expect a pretty serious volcano somewhere pretty soon. We'll see. Of course, there was one not long ago that was spitting a little in Chile.

Politics--OMG, don't get me started. I love how everyone is talking about what a terrible job Obama is doing. They seem to "forget" that the things we're dealing with now were set into motion way before he was elected. Part of me wanted him to wait to run because I knew that in dealing with what he's had to deal with, it would probably equal out to one term. No one could be seen as doing a good job with the mess that was left. I just thank God and whatever other deity might have been responsible that Sarah Palin doesn't have anything to do with it. WHEW!!!

Home gardening: I'm having a problem with my lemon tree. I have those stupid little gnatty things or white flies. I can find nothing to get rid of them. I've been spraying the crap out of this tree with soapy water and it doesn't seem to be suffocating those little suckers at all. I can't use a pesticide, as I will be eating any lemons that grow. I did have quite a bit of tiny little lemons on it, but they have all fallen off. And there's a suspicious smell of something that could be cat urine...I keep trying to tell myself that it's just wet cardboard since that's what I have the pot sitting on--a broken down cardboard box. I haven't SEEN evidence of urine. Once Cloudy finds a plant she can pee on, though...she does prefer it to a litter box. I'm wondering when it will be safe to move it back outside.

Cloud Dancer: I watched her tonight playing with part of a pistachio shell. I think about all the clients that call our clinic and say that their cat is 14 and "you know, it's just so old, maybe it's time....". Either they haven't been taking the care that they could have been of their cats, or Cloudy just doesn't know that she's supposed to be old. She's 15 this month. She still gets a playful spurt every day, she hasn't lost any weight, and her fur is still thick, luxurious, and impeccably groomed. She does have an annoying habit of standing by my bed when I have decided to go to sleep and meowing about 10 times before getting on the bed, and doing the same thing in the morning when she has decided that I need to be up to let her out or give her treats or whatever.

I guess that's enough for now. Check with you later!

Uh-oh---she's back

2009-06-09T20:08:00.002-05:00

Gingrich at Republican Fundraiser Says Obama's 'Already Failed'

Leave it to a Republican to get me blogging again. They're stupidity and their belief that the rest of us are just like they are vexes me to no end.

News flash: President Obama has only been in office not even a full six-months now. The mess that was left for him to clean up has the specs of a toxic dump the size of the Pacific Ocean. Sure...let's blame all our financial problems on him. Give me a f@#$%ing break! I'm not that stupid. Are you?

-- a series of Republican leaders who also took aim at Democrats and the government bailout of Detroit-based GM, New York-based American International Group Inc. and other companies.

A bailout which was planned and put into place by George Bush and his party before he left office and now--suddenly--it's President Obama's fault. What have these people been smoking? It's not pot because they would be a little more relaxed if that were the case. (I think the Republican Party should smoke more pot personally. I think they would benefit greatly from it.)

Look...President Obama is not going to perform miracles. No one can get our country out of it's mess in a mere matter of months...not even in 2 presidential terms. I feel much more secure with him in office, though. He's a man of his own intelligence, not a puppet for the party--a party that would rather send all it's focal points to matters that are personal such as who people choose to marry, or who has a right to die and who doesn't, or what god we should be following.

Democrats aren't without their faults, either. I wish we could wipe out the two-party system and start working within a system that really represents the people that are out here working, living, and dying every day. Wouldn't that be nice? Utopia is a long way off, though. Until then, we'd better find a way to work things out instead of playing the blame game or we're all screwed and it won't matter which party you side with.

Victory!

2008-11-04T22:41:00.002-06:00

Martin Luther King Jr., here is your dream; his name is Barack Obama.

To the millions of slaves that were once owned in this country...here is your legacy: his name is Barack Obama.

To my great great grandfather, a member of the KKK: Start spinnin'!!!!

We win. In so many more ways than one...we win!!

The Double-Edged Sword

2008-10-05T12:36:00.002-05:00

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed by the Vice-Presidential debate this week. I think it was a little over-hyped, for one thing. How many more red-neck homilies could Sarah Palin squeeze in? I was mostly disappointed by Joe Biden because he didn't do his job. Why didn't he do his job?

Well, the GOP base has brought up the issue of gender: Questions are being asked that would never be asked of a man; issues are being brought up that would never be brought up with a man; if Joe Biden goes into attack mode--which is primarily what the VP candidate does--he will be attacking Palin as a woman. Huh? You've got to be kidding me?

Here's the thing: Sarah Palin wants to paint herself as a feminist. Now, I don't have a problem with feminism in general, but there does seem to be a certain hypocrisy that goes along with it, just like every other POV platform that people may choose to stand on. (ie, hearing people say, "I'm a vegetarian because I think it's cruel to kill animals," while they're standing on their platform with nice leather Nikes wearing a leather belt to hold up their pants.) The feminist platform demands equal treatment, but they only want the good side of the equal treatment such as equal pay, equal position, equal opportunity, etc. When it comes to the bad side of equal treatment, they play the damsel in distress being attacked as a woman. Men attack. That's what they do. It's in their genetics. It's in that Y chromosome. They hunt, they attack, they kill. Whether they're doing it with their fists, weapons, or words, that's what men do. Offensively or defensively, that's what they do.

So, if Joe Biden had done his job as the VP candidate, if he had done his job the way that he would have done for any other male VP candidate, he would have been condemned immediately for attacking Sarah Palin, the woman. So, here's the "feminist" getting special treatment, not equal.

Now, we'll wander a little in this vein.......

Over the time of centuries, the role of man has changed. The role of woman has essentially stayed the same, but with a few added options. We no longer need them to hunt and kill for us; we can just go to the grocery store. We no longer need them to provide a home for us; we can just buy or rent one ourselves. We no longer need them to defend our honor or virtue; we take our honor and virtue into our own hands and those that have anything to say about it be damned. We continue to be the care-givers and nurturers, but are also providers, protectors, and defenders of the faith. Men get to pursue their more aggressive aspects in sports, weekend warrior play, sharpening their verbal skills into weapons of mass destruction. Hell, we barely need them to provide babies anymore! None of us stand on equal ground. To stand on equal ground we would be working together and we're still for the most part pushing against each other. We've forgotten to need each other.

That's not to say that there aren't pockets of equality, but I'm talking about an overall picture, a whole world view, if you will. There have been societies throughout the centuries, that have been able to achieve the kind of equality I speak of, but we have destroyed them (ie, the Algonquian Indian nations, the Celtic race). We live contradictory lives.

We're feminists, almost-feminists, strong independent females and yet our blood races and our hearts flutter while reading historical fiction novels over the hero that's always grimed with sweat, blood and dirt and waving a broadsword around. We swoon over these characters in the movies that take place 200 or more years ago. The best ones are the heroes that are grimed with sweat and blood, but come home from the battle and speak from the heart with the words of a poet. Sigh. We still want the bad boy. We're confused.

I've rambled far from the debate. I'm dissatisfied. An essential piece of the intricate puzzle that is our lives is missing. We all speak with forked tongues; our words say one things and our deeds do another. Hypocrisy rules. I wish we could just strip down to the basics, look at the common things that we all need, and work together to achieve those goals and leave all the other junk behind.
There are too many cooks in the kitchen.

So good luck deciphering where I'm going in this odd little ramble. I think I may have gone too long without letting some thoughts out of my head. The ragweed may have me slightly befuddled right now. This is, after all, the world according to a Gemini and we are by definition kind of all over the place:)

Guy-friends

2008-09-20T22:26:00.002-05:00

Okay...so I just finished watching When Harry Met Sally...
for the millionth time, and it got me thinking. Are they right? Can women and men never be friends?

Can you think of any men that you're just friends with? Or guys, girls that you're just friends with? Gay friends, for obvious reasons, don't count.

I had a lot of guy-friends in high school and college. I had more guy friends than girlfriends. I started thinking, "Did they all want to have sex with me?" Yes, I knew a few of them did want to have sex with me, and yes...I did have sex with one of them, but that involved a lot of Jamaican rum and we remained friends - for a while. That's a different story.

I don't have any guy-friends now. I have acquaintances, but not friends. Not a guy that I could call in the middle of the night if I needed a guy shoulder to cry on. So it made me start wondering: have I moved past the point where my age and attractiveness - or lack thereof - have made it not worth the time for a guy to bother being friends with me? Do men only want to be friends with someone they're ultimately attracted to? Or do they want to be friends with you, but are afraid to be friends because of the underlying "sex" thing?

So...do ya'll (we are in TX) have friends that are the opposite sex, that are not gay, that are just friends?

If it's any indication.......

2008-09-02T20:37:00.002-05:00

Okay...I've kept my mouth shut long enough. I know it's taboo to start talking politics, but....

OMG!

So, McCain is supposed to be a "maverick". He supposedly does his own thing, not kowtowing to anyone. So his first "presidential" decision is in choosing his running mate. He wants Joe Lieberman. That's his choice. The right-wing GOP "handlers", however, said, "No...you can't have him. Take this woman instead." And what did he do?

He kowtowed!!!!!!!

These are the same "handlers" that have run the country for the past eight years. So, what do you think it would mean to elect John McCain?

Well, if his first "presidential" decision is at all any indication, I guess it would mean more of the same.

I don't know about you, but I agree with Barack Obama: Eight is enough!!!

Tagged

2008-07-10T19:16:00.004-05:00

So, Anne tagged me with some top ten list. I don't really understand how this whole "tag" thing works...I usually ignore them. When I was growing up, tag was a physical activity. But, in the interest of trying to keep up with society and technology, I'll give this one a whirl--I hope I can put the "tags" in.

1. List your top ten favorite films (in no particular order).
2. If you're tagged, you've got to post & tag 3-5 other people.
3. Give a tag back (some link love) to the one who tagged you in your post
4. Give a hat tip (HT) to Dan.

My favorite movies:
1) The Holiday (Dream vacation we'd all love to take--well, us single girls anyway)
2)Platoon (Gives me a better understanding of what my dad went through in 'Nam, since he doesn't talk about it much)
3) Lord of the Rings trilogy (Got 12 hours to spare?)
4) The Last of the Mohicans (Oh, to find a man that could love me that passionately--and what spectacular views!)
5) It's A Wonderful Life (A Christmas-time must! I absolutely adore Jimmy Stewart)
6) The Breakfast Club (Hey! I went to school with those people!)
7) Quills (You just have to see it)
8) The Usual Suspects (I love Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Spacey is awesome, and what an ending!)
9) Bull Durham (All hale the church of baseball!)
10) Dances With Wolves (What a beautiful story...until you get to the white people)
Honorable Mention: Dogma (Everything that turns me off of organized religion is brought up in this movie. Ben Affleck's diatribe in the parking garage is quite possibly the best monologue ever written!)

Tag! You're it: Alissa
Because I don't know what your favorite movies are
Leah Because we need to share more!
Jennifer Because you need some mindless task after three weeks in Europe!

Love, always, back to Anne

HT to Dan!! Who the hell is Dan? (I don't think this Dan is your husband, Alissa.)

Okay...next?

It's Joey's Fault

2008-05-30T15:36:00.002-05:00

Okay, so after reading Joey's glowing review of being fitted for a bra at Nordstrom's, I decided that I,too, must do this. Bras have not been feeling good lately...not that they ever really have. I felt that it would be a really nice thing to do for myself for my birthday. (I celebrate my birthday all week, since it usually occurs around a holiday weekend.) Today, I finally went to Nordstrom's. I try to avoid the mall as much as possible, but I had a free Aveda gift for my birthday to pick up anyway and I wanted to get my eyebrows threaded--more on that later.

But, I digress...we're talking about bras. Turns out, I've been wearing the right size bra all along. I've worn nothing but Victoria's Secret for at least 10 years. I've been very unsatisfied with their bras lately. I tried on several at Nordstrom's and fell in love with another brand. Talk about comfort! (Wacoal) Anyway, after picking out a few bras and matching panties (you have to have at least one matching panty for every bra--there are occasions where it matters!), I ended up spending over $350. I also ended up with a new Platinum Visa card. Definitely Joey's fault.

Off I went to Aveda to get my free gift. Picked up a couple of other things as well. Spent over $80. Yep...Joey's fault, because, like I said, I usually don't go to the mall at all.

I found the eyebrow threading place. I highly recommend this--Joey; then you can blame me for outrageous mall expenditures. She uses a device that's a combination string/rubber band. She just rolls it over your brow and pulls them out. It did occasionally feel like I was being thwacked by a rubber band on the brow, but I love the shape of my brows now. I never could pluck them this well and I hate what waxing does to my skin.

So, all told today, I did end up spending over $400. I feel so pretty though!

And it's all Joey's fault.

Why We Hate Filthy Rich People

2008-05-21T20:07:00.004-05:00

I usually ignore a lot of celebrity gossip, but something caught my eye today that just epitomizes the separation between those that have and those that have not:

It was a story about 2 celebrities, that--frankly--I've never heard of. Heidi Montag & Spencer Pratt. I have no idea who these people are, but it's quite obvious that they have too much money for their own good. It seems they had dinner somewhere with a bill that totaled $783. $720 of that bill was shots of tequila at $60/shot. SERIOUSLY???? Even the best tequila isn't worth $60/shot. I bet if you had set a half-way decent $10 shot of tequila in front of them, they wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

Their tequila of choice was Patron. It didn't say what kind of Patron, but I know that you and I can go to Spec's and buy the most expensive bottle of Patron for $483--$460 if I pay with cash. That's a 50-shot bottle. $60 a pop and I've got $3000. Maybe I should be selling this stuff on my balcony. You and I can get a really good bottle of Patron for $60 at Spec's--the Anejo is really good.

But, I digress. Their--no doubt, harried--server at this restaurant, received a whopping tip of...sixteen dollars. Yes--$16.
Now, as a former waitress, I must shout out my outrage at this affront. Even the worst server gets 10% from me, because I know what they're working for and what they're going through to get that pittance of a salary. And believe me, one has to be really bad to just get 10% from me. $16 is 2% of that bill. The bartender typically gets 5% of the bar tab. The server wasn't even tipped 5%!

So, this is why we hate filthy rich people. It's not that we're jealous of their fortunes. I know that all that money can't buy all the happiness and love in the world, and that's what is really important in life. We hate them because of the absolute wastefulness. Really? Even if you had $60, would you spend it on a shot of tequila? $720 and they could have bought almost 2 bottles of the most expensive stuff. Or maybe they could have given it to any of 12 dozen charity organizations. Or maybe they could sponsor a child in a starving country. Maybe they could FEED HAITI. You know--that place where people are making cookies out of mud just to survive!

What pees me off most about these people, is they have absolutely no clue what the actual value of a dollar is. And we just keep giving them more.

And A Good Time Was Had By All...

2008-05-18T20:07:00.002-05:00

My daddy came to town last week. This is a big event, given that I have lived in Texas 19 years and he has been down all of 5 times!

He and my stepmother, Miriam, stayed at the Doubletree downtown. I know! How awful that I didn't let them stay here! Look, my dad is allergic to cats, so believe me, he was much better off. Plus, if he had stayed here, he wouldn't have been able to witness such spectacular storms! Nothing happened here in South Austin. The first night, he watched lightening hit the Capital (off their lightening rods). The second night, he couldn't see the Capital anymore, but he sure could see huge pieces of hail and every piece of downtown debris you can think of flying past his 10th story window. So nice for Austin to give him a show.

Wednesday night, we went to Ruth's Chris. OMG!!!!! Nobody is lying when they say it's the best steak you will ever eat in a restaurant. Talk about done to perfection! I like my steak medium-well, and it was that and it still melted in my mouth. Well worth the $$$$$$!

I also met a second cousin, who happens to live in town. His name is Jason. My dad and his mom were very close when they were younger; it was driving them crazy that their kids lived in the same city and didn't even know each other. He's about my age and works a lot in the local music business. Ironic, considering that I went to school for music business stuff. Anyway, we're acquainted now and we'll see where it goes from there.

Dad and I went to see the last Longhorn baseball game of the season together. My usual seat-mate had to go out of town for a wedding, so she gave me her ticket. We beat the Aggies handily! My dad can come to a game anytime! The Aggies have been playing much better than we have this season, but we still managed to sweep them. Aggies SUCK!!! (Except when they become Veterinarians). We had a good time at the game. It was fun going with him. He always took me to Cubs games. I bought him a Longhorn baseball hat, since I wouldn't let him wear his IU baseball hat to the game.

They had to leave early Saturday morning, but even though the visit was short it was well-spent. Hopefully, the next time they come down, I'll have a house with no carpet and they can stay with me. Me buying a house is something we've been talking about. They were going to help me buy property in Colorado, but now I think it would be more prudent to have them help me buy a house. It's time I became a grown up.

Maybe......

Welcome back to CIVILization

2008-04-17T21:45:00.004-05:00

Well, I've been back for 5 days and I hate the fact that I was not snowed in.

Last night, one of my neighbors had someone pick her up at 11:00pm. He was such a gentleman...he laid on the horn in the parking lot for about 2 minutes, then stood up through the sunroof and spread his arms open wide and yelled, "HEYYY--YYYYYY!" Then, around 4am, she put the dog out on the balcony and it barked at the door for 20 minutes wanting back in. I can only imagine why the dog was put out on the balcony--the guy being such a winner and all. It's nice that my neighbors gave me a few nights to sleep. They're so considerate. I have a new one downstairs; so far so good there.

Work has been fun. A receptionist decided to call it quits while I was gone, so now we're down one. Now we get to start the interviewing, hiring, training process all over again. Oh joy!! I wish I could do my job from home.

This is where I want to be!

This is one of the areas that I'm looking to buy some land on. I've got a good lead that's in another area, but the trees there aren't like these. There are lots Aspens on the other lot; plus, it's 2.5 acres for just a little more than the price of 1.2 - 1.5 acres. Aspens are nice too, though.

God, grant me the luck to win the lottery.....

The Road Less Plowed

2008-04-10T13:47:00.002-05:00

I got to play in the snow today!

There wasn't much snow when I got here...a lot more bare ground than not. Yesterday, it snowed, but it didn't stick. Today, it hasn't gotten above 30-degrees, so it's sticking today. It's not like the snow I grew up with; it's dry. I laid down and made a snow angel and when I got back up, I was still dry. It's strange how it can be cold here, but it doesn't feel real cold. No one in Texas would ever believe it if they hadn't ever experienced it.

Mom and I went for a walk. We headed out toward the back of her property and hit the road that runs behind them. It was so beautiful. It's land untouched. It probably looks exactly like it did when the Indians lived here. The road is a dirt road and no one lives on that one, so it's not plowed. We walked quite a ways and the only sound I could hear was the wind, the trees swaying back and forth, and an occasional bird. So nice not to hear diesel engines, traffic, sirens, noisy neighbors and leaf blowers! There's also no one up here complaining or whining about anything. I swear, it's heaven!

Maybe, it won't stop snowing and I won't be able to leave on Saturday!

The Trials of a Traveler

2008-04-05T12:55:00.003-05:00

It's long, but entertaining.

It was the first day of my vacation. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't wait to leave. Off to Colorado for one whole week. There was a threat of severe weather about the time I was supposed to fly off into the wild blue yonder, though. That had me just a teensy bit on edge.

Low and behold, the storms bypassed Austin and looked to be traveling North-East. Phew! I was up at 5:30AM getting ready, switching suitcases (very different packing when you have to pack winter clothes), and making sure I had everything in order. My plane was to leave at 10:20 and I would be in Colorado Springs at 1:15 (2:15 my time). Hooray!

I went through security with no problems. My plane was on time. They loaded us up and we pushed out to the tarmac. And we sat there. And sat there. Finally, the pilot came on and told us that Houston had put a stop on all arrivals due to a storm to the north of them. It looked like we would have to wait about 30 minutes. Crap! I only had an hour between flights. I pulled out the Continental magazine to look at the gate situation Houston International. Great!!! We were landing in the E terminal and to get to the B terminal for my next flight I was going to have to run through two terminals and catch a bus to get to the one I needed to be at. Meanwhile, the woman sitting next to me was furiously thumbing e-mails on her blackberry and she didn't have her key notes turned off so I have this incessant "beep-beep-beep" going on right next to me. I finally resigned myself to missing my flight. We finally took off, with Miss Blackberry still thumbing away when she was supposed to have it turned off, and we flew into very turbulent skies.

Upon landing, I got off the plane and noted that my connecting flight was delayed 30 minutes. That gave me less than 10 minutes to get there. I tried, but of course I didn't make it. So I stood in line at the Continental counter for 20 minutes, along with other people who were having travel troubles, and when I got to the counter discovered that they had already booked me on the next available flight that would be leaving in about 30 minutes. Cool! How nice of them. Meanwhile, a vicious front was descending upon Houston. My next flight was delayed by at least 40 minutes. It was a much smaller plane--one of the express jets--but they loaded us in as quickly as they could so they could take off before the front hit. We got in, pushed out to the tarmac...and sat there. And sat there. Pilot comes on, "We're number 32 in line to take off and it looks like it will be about a 45 minute wait". OY VEY!

45 minutes turned into another 45 minutes due to the tower having computer problems. I'm sitting all scrunched up in my seat listening to the people in front of me tell there life stories to each other. They were both in their 50s. He was a psychiatrist, grew up in Catholic schools, married three times--twice to the same woman--and had two grandkids that were a year or two older than his youngest son. She'd grown up in Catholic schools as well, married young, had two kids, three grandkids, got divorced, got involved with someone else, moved with him to Colorado Springs (she was originally from Mississippi), blah blah blah. When her boyfriend called her she had "When A Man Loves A Woman" as her ring tone. Mr Psychiatrist thought that was so sweet. They were getting antsy though. They wanted to start drinking wine. The flight attendant was having none of it, but Mr. Psychiatrist got up and somehow sweet talked her into it. So, they started drinking wine.

45 minutes turned into another 45, because the front changed the wind direction and we, as the pilot put it, had to take a tour of the airport and go over to the other side, because planes cannot take off with the wind. They have to take off into the wind. So we followed the trail of the 31 other planes in front of us to the other side of the airport so we could take off correctly. I had already been sitting on the plane for hours, and when we finally took off, I would have another 2 hours and 20 minutes in the air. My butt was having a hard time with that realization. My mother and her husband, on the other hand, had to keep finding things to do in Colorado Springs since they live 2 1/2 hours away from the airport and they had left the house at 8:30 to meet me. We were supposed to have lunch and margaritas at a Mexican restaurant. Well, they got theirs.

Meanwhile, Miss Southern-Belle and Mr. Psychiatrist have finished two small bottles of wine each and at one point, she just crawled right over him to go to the lavatory, jaunty breasts stuck right into his face. Uh-oh...I see what's happening here. She has a boyfriend and he's married, mind you. Yes...by the time the plane did take off, they were making out like teenagers at a drive-in. I had to bare witness to all this. Sloppy kisses, too. The kind you can hear. That's pretty sloppy when you can hear kisses over the sound of plane engines. It made me feel dirty. I just prayed that they wouldn't head off to the lavatory together. (They didn't) They had more wine, then graduated to SCREWdrivers.

We land!!!! After 7:00. I was supposed to be there at 1:15. After a few more kisses, Mr. Psychiatrist said, "Well, it was nice meeting you." Yeah...I bet! Her cell phone burst out into "When A Man Loves A Woman" right after he said that. She just giggled and said it was nice meeting him, too. They have plans to meet somewhere tonight at 6:00. I'll bet she's all a-twitter with lusty anticipation.

So, out of the plane and into a car I go...for another 2 1/2 hours. My butt was not happy at all. But, I'm here...and thankful I've never had to see a psychiatrist myself. Talk about problems.

The American Legacy

2008-03-19T07:51:00.002-05:00

Now that the campaigning has moved away from Texas and the next "big state to win" is on the East Coast, I feel left out of what's been going on. I get updates through e-mail, of course, and if I weren't so busy, I could go to all the websites myself and read everything that's going on every day. Who has time for that? I'm not one of those that can sit in front of my computer for hours every day; I have to work, I have to exercise, I have to do the shopping, I have to see that baseball game, I have to finish reading my book, writing my own, or just sit down with no electronics on and just breathe. So what I do see of the campaigning is what happens to be the most inflammatory thing of the moment on a news clip.

It seems some black preacher voiced his opinion on how white people and white politics has treated black people in general over the centuries that this country has been in existence. This preacher happens to be Barack Obama's preacher.

Some people are sitting around wondering what this guy could possibly be so angry about; some people thinks this guy, along with so many others, should just get over it and move on; some people are getting all red-faced and choking on their indignation while sputtering racial discrimination and how dare he say such horrible things about us!

Others, such as myself, wonder why people can't look back on American History and see that things sometimes were done wrong and why can't we just admit that? We joke about a president that can't admit that something he did may not have been the best way to do things, but try to glance over the mistakes that were made along the way by everyone. We make mistakes. That's what makes us human. Like Barack says in his speech, "We are the sum of all our parts".

Now, what gets me about black anger is that they were not the only ones that were treated unjustly during the span of American history. Native Americans could certainly argue that point. While we were building this country from one coast to the other, Chinese and Irish immigrants were treated horribly--we couldn't call them slaves, though, because they received what could loosely be termed as "wages". And the Irish were white! Somehow just being Irish made them sub-human. Poor people of all ethnicities were--and still are--viewed as the scum of the earth who dirty the landscape with their pallid existence. Throughout the history of the world, there have always been a people that thought they were better than others--how they always seem to be the ones in all the power positions is beyond me. Why do we get stuck in the same place century after century? You'd think we would have all learned something by now.

The sum of all my parts, looking back on my ancestry, goes something like this: English, Scottish, Irish, German, Prussian, Swiss, Native American, French, Spanish and Italian. I am descended from serfs and nobility, merchants and farmers, drunks and explorers, good and bad, beautiful and ugly. We're all made up of history. I look back proudly on the ancestors who crossed the ocean on a boat that got lost at sea and survived the starvation that took 2/3 of the passengers on that vessel. One of those even dared to get back on a boat to go back and get the woman who was to be his wife and her family to bring them over to the dream that was America. I have a many times great grandmother and grandfather that were tried and convicted at the Salem Witch Trials, but got out of it alive. Only about 150 years separates me from the grandfather whom, as a boy, rode the countryside with his uncles passing out vigilante justice to farmers that treated their own families and neighbors ill by being drunkards or gamblers; unfortunately, if there were no drunks or gamblers to teach a lesson to, they were known also to drag Catholics out of their homes in the middle of the night to pass the time. Not too long ago, I found out that my great-great grandfather was a Grand Wizard in the KKK. That really turned my stomach; how could I have descended from that? And isn't he spinning in his grave right now knowing his descendant is supporting a black candidate for President of the United States?

The thing is, we could all be--should be--the best part of our history. Accept what's been done, and do better.

Exciting night in Texas

2008-03-04T23:11:00.004-06:00

It's been an exciting night in Texas. For the first time in years--and certainly the first time since I've lived here--the primary voting actually matters! And I get to vote twice...legally! How great is that?

Of course, I voted early, but the caucus could only be done tonight. It's the first time that I've ever had to caucus. It's the first time a lot of people have had to caucus, apparently. There were more people at the caucuses than people expected. There was almost a fight at my polling place because people were "cutting" in line. These are adults we're talking about! I had to call my mom and tell her all about it, since she moved to Colorado and is missing out on it. She said that it was just like it was 1968 again. I wasn't around in 1968, but I can tell you, there is certainly more energy in this race than there has ever been in my lifetime.

It's so very cool to be making history. If you live in Texas and you didn't caucus tonight, you missed out. There might not be another opportunity like this for a while.

Only 320 more days for Bush to be in the White House!!!!! His days are numbered!!! I swear, if I die before he leaves office, I'm going to be very upset and will haunt him for the rest of his life!!!!!!!!!! http://backwardsbush.com/

New friends

2008-02-10T10:25:00.000-06:00

Have you ever wondered if the friends that you have were supposed to be in your life for one reason or another and at a certain time? Really...think about it. Sometimes you can be in the same place for years and never meet, but then one day in a totally different place, you meet and become friends.

For instance--my friend and co-worker Stacy: we both went to the Art Institute of Dallas at the same time, different majors. We never met. Years later, dreams of photography and music production tossed aside, we meet while working at a veterinary hospital. My friend Cherri and I both lived in the Dallas area at the same time. Never met. Years later, we meet working at said vet hospital. Are there certain times that you're supposed to come into someone's life or they into yours? Years ago in Dallas, I could have met the man that I have recently been wildly in love with, but I met him here, years and two kids (for him) later and a relationship that he can't see himself getting out of because of those two kids (despite the fact that they've left each other twice, but gone back). Why didn't we meet in Dallas before his miserable relationship and two kids? Is it because I had to meet someone else first, lose him when he died, and go through that horrible grieving process. For what?

I've recently met someone that I did some pet-sitting for. In our preliminary meeting, she mentioned that her boyfriend had passed away not quite a year ago. I recognized the look in her eye and knew exactly where she was in that grieving process. Man, it sucks! I didn't say anything at the time. She went out of town and I checked in on her cats. I looked at all the pictures of "J" she has all over the place. He was incredibly similar to my Marshawn--tall, broad athletic chest, dark complexion and hair, and the same spirit shining from within. It made it seem like almost yesterday. She's a petite girl and I could see her big bed in her room and know how absolutely empty it feels right now and know that all those pillows that are on the bed do nothing to allay that feeling.

When she came back, I took her key back to her. Usually, if I'm not keeping the key for frequent jobs, I have people come and pick them up. I wanted to tell her, though, that if she ever wants to talk to someone that had been where she's at and understands where she's coming from, that she can give me a call; that I understand because I had been exactly where she is eleven years ago. Sure enough, the first question out of her mouth was, "Have you been able to love anyone else since then?" Hope springs eternal even in our darkest hour. I was able to tell her yes, and even though it seems it's not going to work out for me, I have the strength to go on and try again. We ended up talking for four hours. It won't be the last time either.

Ironically, her relationship with "J" started out much the same way that my relationship with "G" started.

So, the question is this: why do we have to go through such convoluted circles to meet each other at precise moments in our time? Are things pre-ordained, or is it all just chance? Do things always happen for a reason, or do they just happen? (I guess that would be "questions") Do you come into someone's life precisely when they need you to?

I'll let you ponder your deep thoughts now.

Patriots upset AGAIN!

2008-02-03T21:05:00.001-06:00

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love it when the Patriots get upset in the Super Bowl! So goes their undefeated season. What a time to lose, huh Tom? Beaten by another Manning!!!! Can't imagine being their mom. 2 boys, 2 years in a row.

Too bad it was one of the most boring games in Super Bowl history until the end of the 4th quarter. The commercials weren't even that good this year; although, the baby buying stocks on the computer wasn't too bad.

Dieter's Dream

2008-01-24T20:30:00.000-06:00

I have joined the ranks of January Dieting People. I am very diligently counting every calorie and trying not to go over my allotment for the day. I've added in some exercising, but I still haven't gotten up to every day. I am starting to ever so slowly lose weight. If I exercised more, I'm sure it would be more noticeable.

If I had any doubt that I was on a diet--IE convincing myself that I'm just eating healthier--the dream I had last night reminded me that I was in fact, for the first time in my life, on a DIET:

In my dream, a co-worker (who has joined my calorie-counting process) and I were roommates. Between our apartment and work, the ubiquitous "they" were building 20 different donut shops. Every donut store you can think of: Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme, Shipley, Mom-and-Pop donut stores. Probably every donut shop I have ever seen in my life was lining the streets from our apartment to work.

The weird thing is that before I started my diet, I was not a huge donut eater. I could go to Exxon and look at the Krispy Kremes and pass them up easily. I think it's because someone brought donuts to work last week and I really wanted the donut with the red jelly oozing out of it.

When I was a kid, on Sundays, my dad would go to the corner store and buy Bear Claws and Cinnamon Twists and whole milk. Thanks, Dad.

Traditions

2008-01-01T21:47:00.000-06:00

Everyone has been talking about Christmas traditions--I feel a little lost. I don't have any anymore...except, maybe taking care of other people's pets on Christmas.

I'm a child of divorce. Not only that, I live at least 800 miles away from any family members. When I was a kid, though, I was always allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve. That was great. We also had a little "candy count-down" that we hung next to the front door. There were 24 slots in it where a piece of candy went. Every night before I went to bed, I got to eat one, thus counting down the nights until Christmas Eve. Believe me--it was the only time of year I got candy anywhere near bedtime! Christmas was usually spent with my Dad's family after the divorce--Thanksgiving went to my Mom's. I don't know how it ended up that way, but these holidays just seemed to fit these families. Grandma Shaffer always made Ambrosia and Coconut Cake for Christmas dinner. Her Coconut Cake was to die for!!!!! Of course, it was not a recipe that she ever wrote down, even when I asked for it when I was 19 ("I don't know how I make it, I just do," she said). No one has been able to duplicate, although many in my family have tried. Sigh.....

Well, now, I do absolutely have to watch It's A Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve and A Christmas Story on Christmas day.

New Years Day is kind of my tradition now, I guess. I watch I-don't-know-how-many-hours of football, I make a pot of Black-Eyed Peas (Texas tradition), and I put Spare Ribs and Sauerkraut in the crock pot for later (German--and Irish, if you count the cabbage). The Sauerkraut has to go over mashed potatoes. It's a very bland-colored meal, but it's good!

My Black-Eyed peas were excellent this year! I put some kind of chili pepper in it; I don't know what kind because the grocery store doesn't really keep there pepper signs straight, but it looks like an anaheim. I threw in some onions, salt, pepper, thyme and a bay leaf, and cooked it in chicken broth slowly for about 6 hours. Add some corn bread and there's lunch!

Good thing I don't eat like that every day of the year!

OH...if someone could please tell me what the last comment on my previous post says, I'm curious to know.

Everyone needs one!

2007-12-11T21:22:00.000-06:00

Today I indulged myself. For my eight years at BAH, I got a gift certificate to a spa. Today, I finally used it. Leah and I both got one and we decided to pay a little extra for a package. For me, it started out with a facial. I'd never had one before and it was w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l. She told me when she was finished that I had excellent skin and to keep doing what I was doing (I make my own products). Yay-me!

After the facial, I had a glass of champagne. Then, I went in for my mud cocoon. What??? Well, they sisal-brush you off, put on a layer of mud with lavender in it, then set a canopy over you and steam you while they massage your head. I can't even begin to tell you how good this felt. Leah said I crawled out of the room.

We then went to Magnolia Cafe for lunch and I "crawled" home and took a nap. It was a good day.

What's Gotten Into Me?

2007-12-06T21:41:00.001-06:00

I don't know what's gotten into me! I've had some kind of strange insurgence of domesticity.

After work I went shoe shopping. I came home and made cookies! (I had some overly ripe bananas and a recipe for banana-nut cookies and all the ingredients needed.) After that, I made a big pot of sausage & lentil soup. Then I did a butt-load of dishes. I did a load of laundry. Today at work, I was even mothering a pregnant doctor!

I think the moon needs to get out of what-ever quadrant it's in!

The End

2007-11-30T22:16:00.000-06:00

It's over! NaBloPoMo is over! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really, it's been an adventure in discipline, but, I'm glad it's over. I don't have to post tomorrow! You don't know how good that feels. You may not hear from me for weeks!

I'm also excited because Leah and I have finally decided on a date to do our Spa day, and boy--do we have a package planned. Both of us had toyed with the idea of handing our extra gift certificates to this particular spa over to someone else, but in the end, we decided--nah. We'll get a deluxe day of treatment with minimum cost to us. It's going to be soooooooo nice. A whole day of pampering. Just what the doctor ordered.

So, here's to you: NaBloPoMoers! Lift your favorite drink and give yourself a toast! Drain it with gusto! We deserve it!

Because I can

2007-11-29T22:21:00.000-06:00

I'm watching the Cowboys and the Packers on the NFL network because I can. I don't have Time Warner Cable and they don't carry NFL network. I have Grande and they do, so I don't have to worry about a satellite dish going out in bad weather, either.

Time Warner Cable sucks! Their customer service is crap! Their prices are outrageous and they don't have anything more special than any other cable network can offer. Okay..they have News 8 Austin. But I have the NFL Network and don't have to spend $5 on A Beer at a sports bar to see a really BIG game.

Unfortunately, the Packers aren't doing so well. I can't stand the Cowboys. My intense hatred of them stems from living in Dallas for nearly 10 years and seeing members of the team get away with stuff you and I would never be able to get away with. The Dallas police kept arresting them, but the judges kept dismissing them. They would interrupt regular programming on tv to report that Emmit Smith had twisted his ankle and spend 20 minutes on it. It was ridiculous! And Jerry Jones...don't even get me started on him. I went to one game when I lived there and I got to see them get badly beaten by the Eagles. It was nice, though I did enjoy my victory very quietly.

Oh well...there's my two cents. Hey! Two....one more day to go!

Three

2007-11-28T21:10:00.000-06:00

I'm sure by now you all know how I feel about this.
And there you have it.

The Count

2007-11-27T21:41:00.001-06:00

I feel like The Count from Sesame Street: "4! 4 more days of the NaBloPoMo! Ah-ha-ha-haaaaaa!"

Really...much more of this and I'll be Oscar the Grouch.

I admit. I'm a boring person! I have nothing to write about in my life! My life is not exciting! I get up, I go to work, I deal with people--sometimes very difficult people--I come home...nothing happens. I am no longer that girl that Mother warned you about. People always thought I was, but I really wasn't. I was always the more responsible one in our wild group.

Wonder what they're doing now? Certainly not trying to write a blog a day.

5 more days

2007-11-26T22:47:00.000-06:00

I can't wait for this bloody month to be over!

I can't write a blog every day. Well, I can, but I don't like doing it. I don't like feeling like I have to do it. It doesn't flow if I feel like I have to do it. I really don't have to do it this month; it's not like someone's holding a gun to my head or anything like that, but I said I would do it. So I did. I am.

And after tonight, there'll be four more. And then....a nice long break:)

6 more days

2007-11-25T23:18:00.000-06:00

6 more days for this in November. Then, you'll probably never hear from me again! Just kidding.

This weekend has been weird. Friday felt like Saturday, Saturday felt like Sunday, and Sunday I had no idea what day it was, but it was cold and rainy. Being that it was cold and rainy and I have only five dollars until payday, I didn't do much of anything. I have noticed my new neighbors, though.

MG, they're loud. They don't go up or down the stairs without yelling to each other in the parking lot. On the stairs, they sound like a herd of something heavy, but too quick to be elephants. And the boy, who is about 9 or 10, is constantly yelling his sister's name..."Anna!...Anna!" How can people be so loud? Why would they want to be? This isn't a mansion that they live in alone. Why do people seem to no longer have any respect for their neighbors?

I can't wait to move to the mountains. Too bad it's going to be a long time from now.

Family Trees

2007-11-24T23:26:00.000-06:00

I've spent the last 3 hours on Ancestry.com building my family tree. Fascinating stuff. I've discovered that I am a descendant of the Medicis of Italy. That's a big WOWIE! The Medicis were the most powerful family in Italy for over a century. They had their hands in everything.

So...I'm going back to the website now to find out how many connections I have to the Medicis. So far, I have two.

Aggies Suck!

2007-11-23T19:52:00.002-06:00

And that's all I have to say today.

Turkey Day recap

2007-11-22T21:09:00.000-06:00

I got to sleep in until 8:30ish. I got up and ate breakfast. I went to take care of a client's cats. I came home and vegged on the couch with a fabulous book and threw a load of towels in the washer. I got up at a chapter break and prepared my turkey breast (natural raised-free range, of course), stuck it in the oven and then prepped my potatoes. Went back to reading. Got up, checked turkey breast--almost done, put potatoes on a low simmer, and prepared green beans for steaming. Went back to book. Got the beans going. Went back to book. Whipped potatoes, got turkey out, checked beans--they weren't done. Prepared plate without beans, put Ocean's Thirteen in DVD player, and prepared to spend thanksgiving dinner with George, Brad and Matt. Sat down, started movie, started eating, didn't notice smell, and smoke detector started blaring. Beans had run out of water. Spent the next 10 minutes waving a fan under my smoke detector and had no idea what was going on in the movie. In between fan waving I opened patio doors and window, turned on ceiling fans, and threw beans into a bowl. Moved the movie back and caught up. Consoled myself with more mashed potatoes. Had to stop movie and go out for 2 hours taking care of other people's cats, one of which has turned into a mountain lion and wanted to kill me. I chose not to stay with him long. Talked to my mom and grandma. Came back home, poured a glass of wine. Talked to my dad and stepmother. Going back to book now--will catch up on movie Saturday.

That's all.

Thanksgiving Memories

2007-11-21T22:26:00.000-06:00

What is your favorite way to spend Thanksgiving?

When I was younger, Thanksgiving was spent at my maternal grandmother's house. She has a small three bedroom house with one bathroom. All three of her kids, their kids (4 of us), and whatever significant others happened to be around at the time, would converge upon her house on Wednesday. That's 8-11 people in a three bedroom house with ONE bathroom.

It was the best time I ever had, though. My uncles are hilarious. I've had laugh lines on my face from the time I was eight because of them. My mother and my brother could certainly hold their own with them. They should have been a road act...we'd be millionaires by now. There was a lot of laughter at Thanksgiving in my family.

Grandma would get up early to prepare the turkey. The kids would all inevitably wake up since we were all camped out in the living room on the couch, chairs, and floor. She would proceed to make sausage and biscuits with gravy for breakfast--far better than you can get in any restaurant. She would have always had the desserts prepared before-hand, driving us kids to distraction wanting to get at the pumpkin and blueberry pies and the dirt pudding (pudding with crushed up oreos...mmmmmm.) Then the adults would start stumbling into the kitchen, which is the largest room in the house actually. Everyone--except the uncles--would commence to peeling potatoes, making dough for the homemade noodles, preparing the giblets for gravy (I hated that gravy), preparing the cranberries (no canned cranberries for this family), getting the green beans ready (not in a casserole), and preparing gallons of iced tea. It's amazing what you can do with only four burners on a stove. What a frenzy of activity it would be.

Then--the eating! This of course is when the uncles would materialize in the kitchen! I never developed a taste for the Turkey Leg because my mom and her brothers would fight over them every year. 2 legs, 3 siblings...such a clash of wills to witness. My mom is the oldest, so she usually won by using simple threats or reminding her brothers of the horrible things that they'd done when they were younger and she was in charge. My Uncle Tom and I usually dominated the pan with the mashed potatoes in it. Whichever grandkid was sitting on the outside of the table closest to the larger area of the kitchen usually got to enjoy their dinner in small bites between jumping up and down to retrieve forgotten cutlery, getting more ice for teas, and fetching things off the stove. We would stuff ourselves stupid and have to wait a couple of hours on desert.

During that wait, though, I always found myself with my cousins having to do dishes. I don't know how my brother always got out of it. Of course, Grandma didn't have a dishwasher. By the time we were through, there was usually someone rooting around in the kitchen for leftovers. I've always heard the Thanksgiving football game from the kitchen...never really saw it. Halftime saw everyone running for desert. I tell you, no one can eat a piece of pumpkin pie like my cousin Nathan; I don't know if he even tasted the pie underneath the tub of Cool Whip he put on it.

Afterwards, everyone would be dozing in the living room. Not easy to take a good long nap, what with being the iced tea drinkers we are and someone always leaping into the space on a piece of furniture that you'd vacated when you could no longer ignore your bladder. Uncle Tom would usually lead a procession to the local theater for the latest holiday movie while whomever was left behind got a rousing game of Scrabble going in the kitchen with more leftover munching.

It was a small, cramped house for that many people, but there was a lot of love and laughter. I miss it. I sometimes wish that everyone didn't have to grow up and have families of their own or move so far away. My mom is there now, sharing some laughter with her brothers and some anxiety about their aging mother. She's not as energetic as she used to be and she has finally started succumbing to her age and the exhaustion of taking care of a husband in the late stages of Parkinson's disease. There probably won't be half the amount of food that there used to be and there's finally a dishwasher--I say it's because Nathan and Tommy and I aren't around to wash them anymore. I'm sure that Nathan and Tommy with their eight kids will make an appearance, my brother and my niece Amanda may come over, and possibly some members of Don's family (my grandmother's husband). It won't ever be like it used to be.

I guess that's what memories are for, though.

Bachelor Follow-up

2007-11-20T21:16:00.000-06:00

I had always wondered what happened to Byron and Mary. I even looked on the website to see if there was any info, but there was nothing. Happily, they're still together and still planning on getting married. I think the key to that one was that both of them were in their 30s.

Twenty-somethings don't know themselves yet. I always see these 20-something-year-old girls on this show and I have to roll my eyes. They have no idea how much their lives are going to change by the time they're 30. It's so easy to fall in love at that age. You still believe in fairy tales--"And they lived happily ever after..." blah, blah, blah. I look back at the guys I fell in love with when I was in my twenties and I thank God that things didn't work out!

A woman is established by the time she's in her thirties. She's aware of herself. She's confident. She doesn't have to know where this guy is 24/7. Confidence is so sexy. It's not the same as narcissism--and it's not that bravado that's put up with false confidence. It's just knowledge--knowledge of what you're capable of, what you can give, and your capacity for love. It's so different from desperation.

Yes....some twenty-somethings make it. They're really a lucky few. Congratulations if you're one of them!

The Bachelor

2007-11-19T22:35:00.000-06:00

Okay...I admit. I watch The Bachelor. Not every week, but definitely the premier, a couple after that, and the finale. I usually get it figured out, too. I always know who the bachelor is going to pick. This year...he didn't pick either one. I was sure he'd pick Deanna. Does that mean he has to give the ring back since ABC paid for it????

Now, of course, I have to watch the "After the Final Rose" show tomorrow night to figure out what the hell he was thinking. He could be the smartest bachelor they've ever had; after all, everyone else's relationships have fallen completely apart after the show...except for Trista, but she was a Bachelorette.

Yes...the blogging gets slim when you have to blog every day. Makes you talk about The Bachelor. BTW--I think his twin brother is a lot cuter than he is!

More on celebrities

2007-11-18T21:04:00.000-06:00

I saw on the news today that the paparazzi have two newish members to the team in Hollywood; they are all of 14 and 15 years old! I can't believe their parents let them hang out in this crowd, snapping pictures whilst risking being accidentally run over by Brittney! Would you let your kids do this? On the other hand, they're bringing home about $2500 a week. That's a lot more than I made babysitting at that age.

When I was 15, I was obsessed with Def Leppard and Duran Duran. Half my walls in my bedroom were covered with DL pictures and the other half with DD. I read every article in any magazine I could get my hands on. I would miss the school bus in the morning if one of their videos happened to come on Mtv before I left. I knew everything I possibly could about them. I've retained a lot more of their information than I ever did of Algebra and Geometry.

I thought about all that the other day. Now, I hear a particular band and really like their music...let's say, the Foo Fighters. I love their stuff. I haven't the slightest notion what any of the band members' names are (except Dave Groehl--and I'm sure I've misspelled his name) or what they look like. I couldn't tell you anything about them. If I were 15 again, though...I'd probably never leave my house. I'd be on the computer forever searching for anything I could find on them. I don't even spend my time searching for DL or DD stuff...oh, if there had been the internet and PCs in 1985, though.

Instead, I spent the day torturing my cat. Not really, but I'm sure she thought so. First, I left her alone for a couple of hours, then I came home and Furminated and brushed her, vacuumed the floor, vacuumed her (she actually likes that!), and then I cleaned her ears. I really need to trim her claws, but I thought that after everything else, that may be a little risky.

I guess most people grow out of the celebrity stuff, huh?

Brittnatized

2007-11-17T22:45:00.000-06:00

Ever wonder why we are so inexorably drawn to Brittney Spears' life? I mean, this girl is an utter train wreck. Every week there's something new and completely stupid that the paparazzi have caught on film. This week, she's running red lights with her kids in the back seat. Actually, I'm surprised that, at this point, one of the kids isn't driving..I'm not usually a celebrity gawker, but this girl has me completely fascinated. It's beyond me how someone can be so clueless.

Of course, I've been wondering the same thing about George Bush for several years, so it's become somewhat of a habit.

Seriously? How bad of a mother does one have to be in order to be rooting for K-Fed to get custody? (That rhymes! It could be a country song!)

Let your children take notice: this is the result of no education. Hell, even reading a book once in a while could benefit--maybe not the ones that have titles like, "Wild Abandon" or "Pirate's Booty".

Anne said it best: "All I have to do is look at Brittney Spears, and I feel much better about my own life." (Hey, Anne--there's that adjective I was telling you about.)

Cold weather, warm cats

2007-11-16T22:30:00.000-06:00

How is it that a small, 8-pound cat can keep you so warm?

Normally, my cat sleeps on the opposite pillow as me. When it gets cold out, however, she has to sleep on me in some way--usually , on my legs. I can move all I want, she'll just roll along with me. The heat she generates is so nice! It radiates all the way down the length of my legs. I don't worry about being cold at all when she's around. I guess it's because a cat, as small as they are, are normally 101 degrees, or so. That's pretty warm! Who needs to waste the electricity on a heating pad when you have a kitty? Anytime I pull a blanket out, she's gotta be on it.

Just one more reason to have a cat: they're nice and warm, but don't breathe as heavily or smell as bad as a dog.

Halfway there!

2007-11-15T22:44:00.000-06:00

Blog a day, blog a day. It's like being in an 18th century Royal Court; you have to be scintillating and entertaining or sleep with the King in order to stay.
Where's the King?!!!!!!

???????

2007-11-14T21:47:00.000-06:00

I don't know what to write about today. My cat did nothing funny, I don't have kids, and work was relatively uneventful.

I did get a $50 gift card for spa services at Mecca, though. Who wants to bribe me? A Mother-to-be Massage would only be $45.........

Acrobatic Cats

2007-11-13T20:40:00.000-06:00

Sometimes, I wish I could have a camera on my cat at all times, because she cracks me up with her acrobatics. She has nightmares. She'll be sleeping peacefully and leap out of it to amazing heights.

One night, she was dozing a little on the floor. I pointed my laser pointer over towards her and turned it on--it was right in front of her. She jumped, literally, 4 feet in the air from a completely stationary position. I laughed until my sides hurt.

She's a very particular cat. She knows when something is out place--which is pretty challenging when her mother is somewhat of a slob. One day when she got one of those wild cat hairs and started running through the apartment, she was drawn up short at the little hallway between my bedroom and bathroom because one of her toy mice was laying there that had not been the last time she had passed through there and she did a cartwheel right over it. Really! A two-pawed cartwheel! The surprised look on her face at her feat made it all that more funny.

What crazy things have your pets done that make you laugh?

Not my fault

2007-11-13T06:34:00.001-06:00

Okay...it's not my fault that I didn't post last night. All I was going to write was: "Sorry. No scintillating insights tonight. I'm tired...going to bed." However, I turned on my computer and there was not internet, but that's okay, because now I have a story to tell and if there are any men who read, they can be very glad that they are men.

1 AM this morning, I was awakened by horrible cramps! Awful, ugly, somebody's-digging-a-hot-poker-into-my-gut-and-stirring-it-around cramps. And not a speck of aspirin, ibuprofen, morphine or anything else in the apartment. So, I finally throw on some clothes to drive down to the HEB. I get there and they have the aisle that the Aleve is on closed off because they're waxing the floor!!!! Normally, I would have walked down that aisle anyway and dared anyone to say something, but there was a very large, liquid puddle of who-knows-what's-in-it wax on the floor . No one else will go down there either. So I have to get back in my car and drive all the way down to Stassney, hoping the CVS there is 24-hour. Luckily, it was. I finally got to go back to sleep around 2:30.

It was a lovely night.

So, if I post again tonight, provided I can get my internet up, will that still count as a post every day?

Day 11

2007-11-11T22:30:00.000-06:00

OIY----another lazy day today. Read em and weep Moms. Sometimes, I'm really okay with the fact that I never had kids. My kid would likely end up in all kinds of therapy anyway.

I'm being tempted more and more to move tonight. Someone periodically keeps blasting Led Zepplin in their car in the parking lot. I'm torn between annoyance and curiosity: Led Zepplin isn't exactly what I would picture my neighbors blasting from their cars. I'll put it this way: the last time Cherri was pet-sitting for me, she asked, "Are you the only white person in this place?" I mean, Led Zepplin was great and all, but not exactly first choice for my Mexican neighbors.

Finished my book today and started another one. They're books that I've read before, but I wanted the escape. It's about time travel, which leads me to this question for you: If you were to go back in time to the American Revolutionary War, would you be able to tell someone when a particular battle was to take place or how it turned out? I mean, really? How well do you know your American History? And, aside from all that,--and aside from your own, personal Jamie Fraser-- could you survive without indoor plumbing, basic hygiene, or proper refrigeration of meat? Think about it. Could you?

R&R

2007-11-10T21:12:00.000-06:00

A fine, lazy day today. My windows are always open--despite the allergies and asthma. I read all day long, with the exception of football games. Although, I did read through the Notre Dame game; it doesn't seem the Irish can do much to hold my attention these days and it does little good to yell and scream at their coach through the tv. As it became apparent that the Longhorns were going to soundly trounce the Red Raiders from the North, I dozed on the couch.

There is much I could do around the apartment today, but I just didn't want to do it. I'm contemplating looking for another place to live. I found a listing for a "green built" apartment. It doesn't give the location, of course. The low price of a two-bedroom for $750 suggests East Austin, though. Wherever I decide to go, I can always ask John, a police officer I know, for the low-down on the neighborhood. Of course, my current neighborhood boasts prostitutes and drug dealers. I've never had a problem, and I can always tell who the prostitutes are when they're walking home in the mists of dawn. They always look used and defeated--it's rather sad. What has to happen to you in life to get you to that point? I hope I never find out.

Energy

2007-11-09T21:14:00.000-06:00

Okay...so, we're running out of oil. Now, our Illustrious Leaders--or IL--want to get a new source of energy. So instead of looking to all the free, renewable energy readily available to them now and in the future, they want to establish more nuclear energy.

I have to wonder how much money has been contributed to IL from nuclear energy producers? Apparently, quite a lot.

Wind, Sun, Water--all free, all going nowhere for quite some time, and no harmful waste. Even garbage can be utilized to produce energy! Seems like a no-brainer, right?

Well, no. See, the key word is "free". No one can harness the Sun and say it belongs to them. No one can harness the Wind and say it belongs to them. No one can claim the Ocean as their own. Kind of like what the Native Americans were trying to tell IL about the Earth 200 or so years ago, doesn't it?

Nuclear energy. The waste it produces can literally kill millions with one little leak. Not a quick death, like an actual nuclear explosion, but very slow. Like being turned into a slow-churned pudding. Or like being placed in a microwave--cooked from the inside out. And IL thinks there will always be acres and acres of open land that they can bury their nuclear waste in for hundreds of years, and it won't bother anyone.

Kentucky was also acres and acres of open land about 300 years ago. Come to think of it, much of the United States was. 300 years sounds like a long time, but really...it's only 3 or 4 generations. That's really not so long.

IL is not a very forward thinking organization. IL has no breadth of vision. IL thinks only of right now, maybe 20 years from now, and how much MONEY can be made before they die. Whomever follows really doesn't matter. IL does not look at how much things will cost 50, 75, even 100 years from now.

Hey--people are living to be 120 years old now; we could still be here.

IL is stupid. IL is greedy...very greedy. IL doesn't have a clue what it is to be a true human being. IL has lost sight of that.

Campaign time, Dear Readers. Write e-mails to Congress, the Congressional Committee for Energy. Wind, Ocean, Sun--it's all here right now. It has been for centuries before us. It's so easy and the technologies that are being perfected that can harness their energy is out there NOW. And, its waste cannot kill or harm us. (Unless you stay out in the Sun with no SPF or stand in the path of a Tornado or Hurricane) IL will kill us with no thought at all except for the bankroll it will produce.

And whose backyard is IL going to bury the Nuclear Waste in anyway? Guarantee, it won't be a neighborhood full of mansions and indoor pools.

NaBloPoMo Day 8

2007-11-08T21:58:00.000-06:00

Ummmmm---yeah, hi. Blogging. Today. Yeah me!

My friend, Cherri, is going to Ireland in April. Can I just say, "I hate her!"
I'd like to go to Ireland. I'd especially like to go anywhere with someone I love. Must be great.

What the *#@!

2007-11-07T19:54:00.000-06:00

I'm driving home tonight thinking about the news piece that I saw last night on NBC Nightly regarding the cost of gas going up another 32%. I thought it would hit in a couple of days and I needed to fill my tank up. My lovely little diesel bug, that does so well on gas mileage. The last time I filled up, it was $3.19/gallon and it cost me almost $40. A Volkswagen Beetle! $40 for a fill-up!

It didn't take a couple of days. The price of diesel is already up to $3.40/gallon! 3-*#@!^$-40 a gallon!!!!! (Oooh--I wonder where that link goes to? I'm not clicking it to find out.)

The irony is this: It costs less to produce diesel fuel than regular fuel. So, why is diesel more expensive? Please....figure that one out for me.

Gross things going on in the world:
Sonic is now selling Fried Macaroni and Cheese Bites.
Long John Silver's is selling Buttered Lobster Bites.
Lance Armstrong has apparently been making out with Ashley Olson (yeah--of the Olson Twins)! (Sorry Anne; didn't get a chance to tell you that one before my phone died.)

Oh yeah--I almost forgot--Britney Spears left her two children, along with her court-appointed supervisor, in the car during one of her supervised visits to shop for chandeliers. (The judge is going to love that!) Seriously--this girl doesn't have a clue!!!

Nothing

2007-11-06T22:11:00.000-06:00

I don't have anything to write about tonight. Nada.

Except, that I was right. Today at work, the receptionists were all, "It's freezing! I'm so cold!" In a nice out of the wind climate controlled 72 degrees.

Seriously...I think there is something medically wrong with them. I have a physical reaction to it, too....I just want to knock them upside the head. It just grates on my nerves to hear them all whining about how cold it is. It isn't cold in the office at all. By any stretch of the imagination.

Maybe their all just a little psycho. Maybe I am for wanting to knock them upside the head.

It's going to be a long winter.

Major Cold Front

2007-11-05T22:15:00.000-06:00

There's supposed to be a major cold front moving in tonight. That means that everyone at work will be freezing tomorrow, they'll be trying to jack up the thermostat, and I'll be hot. I haven't been able to get Indiana totally out of my blood--I don't freeze to death at 60 degrees! It will be a major change from today, though--at least a 25 degree difference. They're already wearing long sleeve sweaters and sweatshirts under their scrub tops and it was 84 degrees today! I don't know what's wrong with these people. Not enough iron in their diet or something.

I love this weather. I hate being hot. You can always layer up for cold, but you can't do anything about hot. Hot with humidity is the worst! I can't imagine coming to Texas in the 1800s and having to wear a corset and petticoat. No wonder women were always fainting! All those clothes and stockings--I would have been running off with some Indians first chance I got! They dressed sensibly.

Hey...I've posted a blog for 6 days in a row!

An extra hour?

2007-11-04T19:35:00.000-06:00

We set our clocks back last night to gain back that hour we lost in the Spring. People like to say they get an extra hour to sleep, but really, don't we all sleep in on Sunday anyway? (Well...those of us without kids). When I worked at a night club, this was a big deal because it meant an extra hour of business since the clocks got set back at 2am. That was an extra hour of tips for me. It's really not a big deal to me now. An extra hour to be lazy on Sunday.

I did torture myself with food today. I made some Jambalaya in the slow-cooker. After about three hours, this wonderful smell began to permeate the apartment and it had four hours to go! It was so good when I got to finally eat it, though. I can hear them talking now tomorrow at work: "Something smells good in here!" Here, being the break room, because of course I'm taking left-overs for lunch.

I e-mailed a realty company that deals with properties in Forbes Park. I'm starting the hunt for my Colorado mountain property. They have a nice one listed that's not too far away from my Mom's place. There's a lot adjacent to it that's also available. All total it would be close to 4.5 acres. I don't know if I'll be able to get my dad to help me out with 2 lots, though.

Yes...my daddy is helping me buy this property. He's always going on about how much money I'll get when he and Miriam, my stepmother, die. I just asked him if I could have some of it now. He was agreeable to it since it was for a property investment and not something crazy. I don't know how $$agreeable he is, though. Over 4 acres would be nice tucked away in a very underdeveloped part of Colorado. I'm about tired of the city. It's nice having convenience, but you can get just about anything you need on the Internet now anyway. I will miss HEB and Central Market, though. Not that I'm leaving anytime soon.

Blog day--3

2007-11-03T22:32:00.000-05:00

I got soooooo much work done today at work, mainly because my boss was not there. I love her to death, but it's hard to get anything done when she's in the office. She's a chatty one. And we're fully staffed now, so I don't have to be a full-time-receptionist-part-time-manager. Now I can be a part-time-receptionist-part-time-manager. Believe me...it's as complicated as it looks.

I watched Apocalypto tonight. It was a pretty good movie, and not just because all the men were half naked and well muscled. Well, most of the men were; all well and good if you could ignore the teeth. I couldn't do that in real life. BLEHH!

I'm very mad at Charlie Weiss, the coach for Notre Dame football. He could have won the game with 1:25 to go with a very simple field goal--the 22-yard line for crying out loud. BUT NO! He apparently wanted to go into overtime, which they did; not once, but three times. And what do you think happened? They lost, of course. I really wish I could figure out what goes on in a coach's mind, because they make some really dumb calls sometimes.

It appeared as if the UT game wasn't going to fare much better. Every time I popped over to channel 3, Colt McCoy was throwing an interception or someone was fumbling the ball. They pulled it out in the fourth quarter, though. Guess what? Mac Brown decided to go for the field goal instead of going into overtime. I think he and Charlie need to talk.

NaBloPoMo Day 2

2007-11-02T21:01:00.000-05:00

Okay....so what is one supposed to post when nothing really happened today? I can't really talk about work stuff, because people from work read this. I don't really want to reveal my inner-most soul on-line.

Oh--I'm going to try some therapy. No, not that kind of therapy. I've had a problem with exercise. I feel good when I'm doing it. I feel good after doing it. It has a wonderful affect on my body--I'm fortunate in that I lose weight very quickly once I start exercising. The problem is doing it. I don't know what my block is...I'd rather sit and read a good book. I've been considering hypno-therapy to try and make me want to exercise. I have a friend that is a therapist and we're going to try some new-fangled hypnosis-free therapy to see if we can get me up off my ass. I have to because my scrubs are getting tight. It's bad news when scrubs get tight. I mean, Hippos could fit into these things.

How many people do you know that actually have to have therapy to exercise?!!! I guess everyone has to have their hang-ups.

Try something new

2007-11-01T18:35:00.000-05:00

So, Jennifer, being a big advocate of NaBloPoMo, has me intrigued. Can I post a blog a day for a whole month?

"HAAAAAA!" Those of you that know me are doing right now, perhaps inhaling some liquid refreshment or spewing something out of your mouth along the way---wish I was there to see that.

The fact is, I quite like writing. I would love that to be my vocation in life as well as a source of income. Not having to follow a time-clock schedule is my absolute dream. Being able to wake up when my body wants to wake up, which is still annoyingly early, but not as early as when I have to get up to be at work at 6:45 AM. I'm not one of those persons that can leap out of bed in the morning 15-minutes before I have to leave for somewhere, although it can be done in a pinch.

So, Jenn, be my cheerleader and I'll give it a whirl. Who knows, maybe I'll graduate to trying the Triathalon next year.

And you thought it was safe to put something in your mouth again.....

The Origins of Halloween

2007-10-31T19:27:00.000-05:00

I love this time of year. Have you ever wondered why you bother getting your kids all dressed up for Halloween and carve Jack 'O Lanterns? Well, I'm going to give you a little history lesson tonight. Yes...history, not myth.

Halloween, or Samhain (Sow-en) began with the ancient Celts. Probably before them, but that's when things started getting recorded. The Pagan and Celtic tribes of Europe, Northern England, Scotland and Ireland saw this time of year as the beginning of a new year. It was the time of year to finish harvesting and laying in food stores that would see them, their families, and their entire tribe through the coming winter months. (They lived in a tribal society--it wasn't an "Every-man-for-himself" society.) They often worked through the night harvesting the last of their crops, so bonfires where lit throughout the land. There was a celebratory air to it all. The crops could not be harvested after this night. Probably weather driven, but also, the Pagans believed very much in The Little People, or Faeries.

These were not cute little winged things for them. The Little People could be very mischievous and vindictive at times. Many societies believed in them in one form or another, even in the Americas. If any part of your crop remained after Samhain, the faeries believed it was being left for them. If one dared to harvest it afterwards, they believed something that belonged to them was being stolen and punishment was meted out. One's family, home, livestock or the whole tribe could suffer in one way or another.

What about sacrifices to the Gods, you ask? Yes, much of the livestock was slaughtered at this time, simply because there would be no way for them to survive the winter months in the hard-scrubbed lands of the North. The meat was cured and stowed away for the winter. The remaining livestock lived in the house with the family it belonged to, so keeping a whole herd through the winter months was not feasible. Livestock living in the house provided extra warmth and fuel for the fires. No one ever had a herd of cattle, sheep, or goats that numbered more than twenty. They just didn't need that many.

Nothing was ever wasted. Not a single part of a slaughtered animal was ever just thrown away. Every part had some use. Our society could learn much from the ancients.

When Christianity--and more specifically, Catholicism--began to take hold, these practices could not be halted, for they were not only tradition, they were a means of survival. They couldn't just put their "devil worshipping" stamp on it and sweep it under the rug. So, it was Christianized with the addition of All Saints Day on the first day of November--a day of honoring the dead, a tradition that is carried out most thoroughly in Mexico today.

What about the masks and disguises? Well, it is said the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is very thin on this night, the last night of October. One needed to disguise themselves in order to confuse the wandering spirits on this night. Jack 'O Lanterns were placed in windows to scare off spirits--originally carved in turnips! Divination was used to ask the souls of the dearly departed for advice for the coming year--but caution always had to be used lest a soul that was not a "dearly departed" came through instead. Thus, such things should never be played with. Don't believe it? Well....tonight, after the little ones have gotten all their treats and are tucked into bed, just step outside for a minute or two.

Still your mind. Listen. You'll start to feel that the air feels...different. Be careful though; don't stay out too long. You never know who may be standing there listening beside you.

2007-10-27T22:45:00.000-05:00

I am so glad that Jennifer didn't tag me with the "food" blog, because I can't think of a single food that I like that means anything to me that starts with a "g"!

I'm getting ready for Halloween. The best Pagan holiday of the year. How do I get ready? Well, one of the best ways is watching the mini-marathon of "A Haunting" on the Discovery channel. 6 hours of real American hauntings. Seriously...if you want to be creeped out and not sleep, you've got to watch this stuff. It is real..and scary. If you watch more than a few hours of it, you'll get scared. Too bad it's on Sunday and I have to go to work the next day.

What is our fascination with being scared? Why do we want it? Is it the adrenaline? The fast pounding of the heart, the shortness of breath, the feeling that someone is watching you...following you? We go to scary movies, we read Stephen King novels, we turn on the 24-hour news channels.

What creeps you out?

For me...it's the giant roaches that Texans call "waterbugs". Yeah, right....waterbugs. Big Roaches that look at you and communicate their findings with something with those antennae. Seriously...they watch you and communicate something to someone. And they're just like Michael in Halloween---they don't die with the first attack. When you come back to scoop them up in the dustpan...they're gone. And you know they're somewhere--watching. Waiting.

Spirits don't really scare me. They're just energy that have not let go of consciousness. In their measure of time, it's still "now". Well, deep down, I really believe that, but my mind does buy into the "that's not natural" thing. That's how the Hauntings thing creeps me out.

So, seriously....what scares you?

I am cool personified

2007-10-15T20:10:00.000-05:00

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Okay...that's way better than the World Leader quiz. Now all I need is my Harley. Sadly, the Vespa may come first.

My Mommy is leaving me

2007-09-06T22:18:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, my mother takes off for her new home in Colorado. Tonight, she gave me all the stuff out of her freezer and refrigerator. As I was driving home, it hit me....Holy Crap! My Mommy is leaving me!

My Mom has never left me. I have left her...I moved to my Dad's when I was 16 and after that, she moved to Texas. Since I have been an adult and out on my own, though, she has never been more than three hours away from me. Every holiday, she's only been a short drive away. Colorado...that's 14 hours. Not a short drive. I can't chill out at her house in between pet sitting gigs for the holidays. I can't call her and say, "Hey, I'm heading for the Farmers' Market, do you want to come?" She can't call me and ask, "Do you want to grab some lunch?"

Now, she's going a long way away, and I'm really going to miss her. I've always had one of my parents nearby. Now, neither one of them is going to be close. I'm beginning to see that this sucks! I'm trying to convince myself of the benefits (a really cool place in Colorado to visit), but it's not really working.

I need one of my blogger friends who have children to be my surrogate Mom...even though, you're the same age, if not younger, than me.

Because, sometimes....you just need your Mommy.

Are Men really above Women?

2007-08-27T09:33:00.000-05:00

Ah....the age old debate. I read a wonderful book, not too long ago, that hi-lighted this debate in one of its chapters. It takes place in the 13th century and a girl is trying to become a student. The first few chapters of this book will make a lot of women so angry because it hi-lights how women were more or less just used for breeding purposes in that time. But this girl--she wasn't going to let that happen. I told a friend about this passage and she said, "You have got to post that on your blog!" So, here it is....Enjoy, Ladies.

From Pope Joan, by Donna Woolfolk Cross
"Your ignorance, child, is revealed in that question. For St. Paul has asserted this truth, that women are beneath men in conception, in place, and in will."
"In conception, in place, and in will?" Joan repeated.
"Yes," Odo spoke slowly and distinctly, as if addressing a half-wit. "In conception, because Adam was created first and Eve afterward; in place, because Eve was created to serve Adam as companion and mate; in will, because Eve could not resist the Devil's temptation and ate of the apple."
Odo smirked. Joan felt an intense dislike for this man. For a moment she stood silently, tugging on her nose.
"Why," she said at last, "is woman inferior in conception? For though she was created second, she was made from Adam's side, while Adam was made from common clay."
"In place,"--the words tumbled out as Joan's thoughts raced ahead and she reasoned her way through--"woman should be preferred to man, because Eve was created inside Paradise, but Adam was created outside."
There was another hum from the audience. The smile on Odo's face wavered.
Joan continued, too interested in the line of her argument to consider what she was doing. "As for will, woman should be considered superior to man"--this was bold, but there was no going back now--"for Eve ate of the apple for love of knowledge and learning, but Adam ate of it merely because she asked him."

Well, needless to say, I highly recommend this book. Truly, I do believe that Men and Women are equal, but we stand on different ground, our paths criss-crossing. We compliment each other and, as there is equal balance in all things, one would be no good without the other. I've often viewed women and men as the two parts of God; Women being the creators of life and Men the destroyers. But really, without Men we could not create life and without Women, they would have nothing to defend if for.

So although we rant and rave against each other on a daily basis, it's good to step back and look at it as a whole and accept the differences between us and the things that just will not change. We are different, but One...and no better than the other.

This movie looks interesting....

2007-08-16T20:16:00.001-05:00

I guess this movie is based on some children's series. It looks interesting--a good December it's-too-cold-to-go-do-anything movie. Of course, right now, it doesn't seem like we're going to have that type of December here. Oh well. Take the kiddos to it. Fuel their imaginations.

Go to the website and find out who your daemon is (or, if the word frightens you, your animal familiar). I think mine is pretty accurate.

Back home again

2007-08-09T22:00:00.000-05:00

Summer has finally caught up to Texas. We had a very long, rainy, cool Spring, but Summer has finally remembered us. And we remember her. It's so freaking hot! And it's not a "dry" heat!

I miss the sound of the wind in Colorado. The sound of people in the parking lot and traffic on I-35 just doesn't compare. I miss the clean air, the clear--very cold!--tap water, open windows all day and night long, and, best of all, not having to take Clariton-D every day! (No molds). I am determined to buy a parcel of land up there. You wouldn't believe how inexpensive they are! Even after adding electricity, well, and septic tank, it's a whole lot less than trying to buy a house and keep up with property taxes in Austin!

So, it was back to work. Aye-yay-yay. Why do people have to create such DRAMA out of something that really isn't that BIG OF A DEAL? They're called Negaholics--and they thrive on it! As a manager, I must not feed into it. That's why I invest so much in wine these days! I'll have cheese with mine, thank you. One of the guys at work asked me the other day, " You've changed--Why don't you gripe and complain about anything anymore? Why are you always smiling? You're always in a good mood." I asked him, "What's the point?" Really...there is no point in complaining about something you have no control over. I learned to do that in traffic a long time ago, thanks to living in Dallas. Now, I've learned how to at least hide it at work. I really did grow up and become an actress.

So, yes, I'm back to the grind, but with dreams of Colorado giving me something to reach for. I want land up there. I want a house up there. And I will get one...someday...........soon...I hope.

UPDATE ON ABANDONED KITTY:
The next door neighbor was able to adopt her and she is very healthy and happy in her new home. She was at a perfect weight, hydrated, and glossy when I saw her this week. Sigh of relief for at least one mistreated kitty. No word on her previous owners, though.

Don't want to come home

2007-08-04T18:48:00.000-05:00

Colorado is absolutely wonderful!!! Of course, this is not my first trip here, but this time, the isolation has been a much desired break. There are no strip malls here, no traffic, hardly even a road, and it's paradise!
The weather can turn on a dime here. It was about 82 degrees today, but the storms rolled by in the afternoon and now it's 66. No humidity! No mosquitoes! It's so wonderful.
I don't want to go back to civilization. On the drive to Taos yesterday, there was miles and miles of open plains. Just nothing. Just wide open space. The stars in the sky here are incredible! My mother's house sits right underneath the Milky Way. I haven't seen that since I was a kid. The sky was peppered with diamonds. The moon, also, was much closer here than in Austin. Sitting in the woods the other day, I realized how much the city is sucking my soul dry. I hate it. The only problem is, with these open plains and no strip malls or the regular forms of civilization, there is also no job. I need to be independently wealthy to move here. I must find a way, because I know I can't wait until I retire.
There is no vet clinic in "town", though, and lots of people have pets up here. Wonder if any of my Vet colleagues would be up to a move? Mom said I should go to beauty school, quickly. There is only one hair stylist within 50 miles of here, and she has a booming business and isn't even that good.
Hmm....the mind quickens.

Countdown

2007-07-30T20:12:00.000-05:00

One more day and then it's off to Colorado for a few days.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I need this!!!! I plan on getting lost in the wilderness for a few days. I won't even be near a cell-phone tower, so NO ONE will be able to call me.....AHHHHHH, bliss. I'm really looking forward to getting away from work. I hope I've been able to mask how frustrated I've been lately. If not, I apologize. I do try.

So, I'll blog more when I get back. I'll talk all about how gorgeous the house is that my mom and her husband are building and all about the views. Hopefully, I'll be able to see a bear; they supposedly wander through the "back yard" all the time.
Yeah...then I'll probably be more motivated to find a job that I can actually retire from where I can get paid and not work, because Mom is retiring. She's going to be able to concentrate on her writing and do nothing else as well as being able to do all this in her own home that was planned to her specifications in the middle of the mountains and forest in Colorado. She plans on wearing her pajamas for a year. I actually want a beach hut in Belize or Costa Rica. Just a hut will do. Really.

Pets are not disposable

2007-07-18T03:24:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, you just can't help but take work home with you and things keep you awake or wake you up in the middle of the night, such as tonight. At least it's not about something involving scheduling, employees, or the every day operations of the place tonight. Just the occasional case that comes in that my mind has trouble wrapping itself around.

I'm fortunate that in the eight years that I've worked for a veterinary hospital, I have not seen many cases of animal cruelty. I work at a somewhat pricey hospital, so most of the patients we see are of the spoiled variety. (Really, people who will spend $300 on a dental procedure for their dog or cat are not generally animal abusers; although, we do still get the occasional client that thinks Ol' Roy is quality dog food--joke: I'm not saying that people who feed their pets Ol' Roy are animal abusers) Cases where a pet has been abused usually comes when one of our clients has adopted a rescue animal or has seen a kitten tossed from a car on the highway and, risking their own lives, rescues said kitten. One of our clients adopted a dog from a rescue group that had been taken out to the gulf in a boat, tossed overboard, and left. (Apparently, they didn't want to deal with a pregnant dog.) Luckily, some nearby boaters saw the incident and were able to pull the dog into their boat.

It has always rancored me when one of our clients brings in a dog or cat that they want to take care of or have "inherited" due to the fact that someone has moved out of their house or apartment and abandoned their pets. How can someone just leave their pet? This is an animal that has formed a bond with their owner, and sometimes, I'm sure the owner has a bond with that pet, but they just leave them. I try not to pass judgement on these people, because I don't know what kind of situation they're moving into, but still...We've seen them left because a baby was born; because someone is getting married and the fiancee doesn't like the dog/cat (Hello??? Why are you marrying them? Package deal!); because they're moving somewhere that they can't take their pets to, etc. I realize, that some may think that it is better than taking them to a shelter where they may be euthanized instead of adopted. Believe me....it's not.

Today, one of our clients came in with a cat that had been abandoned by its owners. She lived in the neighboring apartment to this cat and hadn't realized the owners had moved out. If she had known that they had moved out, she would have notified management much sooner about the incessantly barking dog next door. I don't know how much time had passed, but someone finally went into the apartment. The dog, by this time, was dead.

(Just letting that sink in a little)
The people who left them, probably weren't intending to be what they thought of as "cruel". They left food out. Too bad they didn't leave the water running in the bathtub or something. The cat was very cute and sweet (a bob-tailed, dilute tortie with big green eyes). She was not in horrible condition--she was alert and active. I have never seen a cat, in my entire life, go for a bowl of water like she did when I brought one in the room. She had it almost emptied in less than 30 seconds.

I can't imagine what this cat went through, what was in her mind, as she was there day after day with her housemate as the water ran out of the toilet bowl and then watching her friend and housemate die, knowing that she would too if someone didn't come soon. Wondering where that person was that had always taken care of them--fed them, kept their water bowls filled; petted them, played with them, gave a lap or bed to lay on.

The girl that brought her in just couldn't contain her tears, thinking that she could have saved the dog, too, but didn't get management to go into the apartment next door when the dog wouldn't stop barking. It's not her fault, but she feels terrible. She wants to keep the cat, but for right now, the cat is evidence in an animal cruelty investigation and had to be surrendered to police and taken to the shelter. A doctor there will examine her. Our client will have to go through the adoption process once evidence is gathered and a judge rules on the case. I just hope the cat doesn't get a horrible upper respiratory infection at the shelter. They do the best they can there, but URIs are inevitable.

So, how can people just leave their pets? Why don't they take them to a shelter if they can't keep them, or find a rescue group that will take them in? There are hundreds of rescue groups out there! How can they just abandon them and think that it's the best they can do for them?

I don't know how many people besides my friends and co-workers read my blog, but I want them to know this: Pets are not disposable. When you get a pet, it's almost like taking care of kids, when they're puppies or kittens, to taking care of aging parents as they get older. They are a commitment and a responsibility. They require veterinary care and preventative medications. There is no such thing as a free pet. They cost money. If you get one and find you can't take care of it, please, please find a shelter or rescue group that will. Don't just abandon them. They depend on you. They love and trust you. Don't break that faith because somehow, some way, it will catch up to your soul.

Uh...Hi

2007-07-11T20:36:00.000-05:00

Well...it's July. Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I have been so busy, so tired, spinning around in a thousand different directions. I think I'm getting the center of my gravity back, though.

I quit my restaurant job. Finally. Working so many hours at BAH and with everything that's going on there now, I just wanted to go have a couple of Margaritas, not make them. Plus, there are new owners at the restaurant. One change per job, please. I didn't want to deal with change at two. I am missing the extra money right now, though. Strange how even a bad night equaled a couple extra hundred bucks each month. And then, there were the good nights. Not to mention the good food and the margaritas, but now I know how to make excellant margaritas and mexican martinis. I've also become the Queen of Quesadillas at home. So easy to make at the end of a long day. I'm going to have to get the Albondigas recipe from Letty for winter...and maybe the Chili Verde.

Not much else going on. Work is my big focus now. Figuring out exactly what I should be doing, because no one is really telling me. Of course, there is all these grand plans, but, I've worked there long enough to know that those might take a while. Right now, I'm just trying to focus on getting my staff on board with some enthusiasm.

It's gonna be a long summer.

Catch up

2007-06-01T19:52:00.000-05:00

Well...I'm officially now one year and one week older. I don't know how I feel about that. So many things that I thought I would have by now are just not here. I pretty sure by now that I will never have my own children.

I've seriously considered going to Africa and taking care of orphans. No...I'm serious. My only problem is my psychotic cat: who would take her? What would I do with her? She freaks out if I'm gone for a week. Her blood work that I did during her last annual was perfect. She's too mean not to live forever. She is something to consider.

The reason I think about this: Africa has a lot of orphans living in horrible conditions. It would give some meaning to my life, since apparently, I'm not doing anything here. I know there is plenty to do here, but there are things here that I would need to get far away from in order to concentrate on the task at hand. Things are still way up in the air with the love of my life: we still love each other deeply, but circumstances keep us apart. I will wait for only so long...after that, I have to leave for my own good. I have reason to believe that I will have my answer one way or the other by the end of this year. Meanwhile, I will look into Africa.

Other things are going fairly well. I got a promotion at work--I have visions of change; I only hope that others can see it, too. The Longhorns are, again, in the Regional playoffs--hoping that this year goes better than last (I can't go two years in a row where they are not in the College World Series). I've found the world's best liquor store where my favorite Tequila is $20 less than in any other store (If you are still drinking Cuervo, you have no idea what Tequila is!) The Cubs suck again this year, so, obviously Hell hasn't frozen over yet and the world continues to stay on track. (Damn Cubs!) I finally had a member of the family come to Texas for a vacation, so I've had guests. (Boy...they're kind of exhausting!) I'm healthy...first mammogram was A-OK. (If you've ever just wanted to play with breasts, you should be a mammogram tech.) As long as I keep busy at work, I don't dwell too much on the love-life. Busy doesn't look like a problem, at least for the upcoming month. And, I found out recently that, despite all the times I feel alone, I do have friends. For that, and for them, I am very grateful.

What to do in Austin

2007-05-16T22:58:00.000-05:00

Okay, bloggers. I have a family member coming into town next week (FINALLY) and I need your help in the 5 Must Do/See while in Austin, Texas for someone that has never been here...or, very much outside the state of Indiana. (Just taking her to a restaurant and seeing tatooed and pierced servers may blow her mind!) Send me a list of your five favorites and I'll compare mine and narrow it down from there.

THANKS!

Answers to an interview

2007-05-09T22:28:00.000-05:00

Answers to Jennifer's 5-question interview:

1. So, if you could have a college degree instantly, like the information and learning electronically zapped into your brain in an instant (with a legitimate diploma), what degree would you choose and what career would you immediately have?

Wow--so many to choose from. I have so many interests, but, I'd have to say that my first passion would be Earth Sciences. Watching the climate changes, the melting Polar Caps, the Volcanoes....I'm fascinated by volcanoes. I'd be the one sitting on the cap of Mt. Ranier when it finally decides to go. Earthquakes--where is the "big one" going to be? California or the long sleeping New Madrid (around the St. Louis area)? The Earth has always taken care of herself--death and rebirth. I'd love to chronicle the next "death". I'm completely handicapped by Physics, though. Physics is a major part of predicting earth changes and how to handle them. We'd all be buried under a pile of snow if it was all up to me!

2. What do you miss most about Indiana?

The green, green summers. Miles of rolling green hills. And tall Maple trees--trees you could really climb high into. The smell of things growing. It smelled like life. Crisp autumns. There is nothing like a football game with the smell of autumn in the air, the rattle of autumn leaves, the color of autumn leaves! I really miss Autumn. It's hard to describe how the air can be crisp to a Texan. And, I don't know about now, but, when I was a kid, it was soooo much fun to go out and play in the snow (and we're talking about a couple of feet, not millimeters like what happens here), get cold and wet to the point of numbness, and then coming in to hot chocolate or chicken noodle soup. It was the best way to thaw out and the warmth it created was so much more than physical. Green summers, tall trees, and crisp autumns...that's what I miss most, I guess. The land is beautiful there. And it grows really tasty tomatoes--Texans have no idea what a tomato really tastes like. Or plums--great plums in Michigan. Going to Indiana Dunes--a real lake, with real sand.

3. What is the best thing about living in Texas? How did you end up here, anyway?

Well, like anyone raised in a small-minded place, I wanted to escape. Women in their thirties in Indiana look twice as old as we do. And they all cut their hair and perm it after the second child, and that's how it stays. Smoking--there's a lot of smoking in Indiana. And eating lots of heavy bland meals with gravy that clogged your arteries just looking at them. I wanted to go to a big city, so, I went to Dallas. My mom already lived in Austin at this point. After a while, I discovered I hated the big city--especially Dallas. I love Austin, though. Austin is not like the rest of Texas. It's full of people more like me: open-minded, full of empathy for their fellow human beings, rational--you can rationalize with people in Austin!--and forward thinking people. People who aren't stuck in the past or just the here and now. People who don't worry about what something costs now, but what the potential cost is for the future by not doing something now. That's not Texas--it's Austin. If Austin were to disappear, I probably wouldn't stay in Texas. So, I guess the thing I like most about Texas is Austin.

4. What is your favorite childhood memory?

The neighborhood I grew up in. All the kids played together, no matter what age. My older brother showed me off to all his friends when I was born, so I was the youngest in the neighborhood for a while. We played outside all the time--until an hour past dark in the summer. At Halloween, we would canvas the entire neighborhood--for blocks! Our friend, Gary, was a mentally handicapped 26-year old. So, he was basically our age. It thrilled his mother to death when we would knock on their door and ask if Gary could come out to play. He fit in just right. We never knew any different. The innocence of my childhood--that's my fondest memory. Kids know too much these days. We had no clue. Ignorance is bliss. We had so much fun! We didn't have to have our parents planning our every move. ADHD didn't exist. When we went on a car trip, there were no DVD players in the car! We read books, used our imaginations with other toys, or just talked with our parents while hanging over the front seat of the car. Dayton Street--that's my fondest memory. We hardly ever went inside--we just played.

5. If you owned BAH, what would you change?

Well...we'd probably go broke, because I would move the focus away from the financial aspects and more towards doing what we could for the patients. I don't think we should have to have a pet owner approve an estimate before we save their pet's life. Why can't we offer the cheaper alternatives or do more to find out what we can do? I'd like to see us more involved with the community around us. I'd like to see some more concern for all that gets wasted--from electricity wasted when the attic lights are left on when no one is up there to all the recycling we don't do. And, being more open to alternative, natural, treatments. No, you aren't going to cure anything with herbs and nutrition, but you could sure prevent a lot with more natural diets and an awareness of what kinds of cleaning products people are using around the home. And I would try to mend the separation that's felt between the "front" and the "back". Create more of an atmosphere of openness and warmth. Probably move, too, to a place where we wouldn't have to spend so much in overhead so we could come down on some of our prices. And I would never hire people to put a body in a space--blending would be a must--there would be 30-, 60-, and 90-day reviews on new-hires as well as annual reviews on everyone else.

Hope you learned something about me you didn't know.

2007-05-08T22:33:00.000-05:00

I just read the last comment to my last blog, and all I can say is ....WOW. I checked out her blog: all about how the service industry sucks. Like, if she weren't in a party of nine, she couldn't be irked because her order wasn't being taken and all this time was being wasted on two little people...Some people have never had to work in the service industry. I'd love to see them try it one day. Just one day. Oh, what a fantasy. That everyone would have to work in the restaurant industry or retail customer service for just one day. Or, be an administrative assistant.

Every year, I watch what used to be Secretary's Day pass by (now it's Administrative Professionals Day) without a card, without a flower, without a cake or anything for the receptionists at work. It adds greatly to the feeling of being underappreciated for what we do at work. For the past few years, I've watched cakes being brought in for "Veterinary Technicians Day". Never have the receptionists been shown such appreciation. If one of us doesn't do something right though, boy--then we all get the kick in the ass.

I know, deep down, the work we do is appreciated, but it would just be nice to be shown that once in while. All we ever hear in meetings is "the receptionists don't do this" or "the receptionists aren't doing that". I would love to just one day have all the receptionists not show up to work so everyone would finally realize how much we do do.

I guess lately, I've been feeling like I'm just wasting time in, not one, but two thankless jobs. I do the best I can at both of them and it just never seems to be enough. I'm --30-something--and I'm still living from one paycheck to another. Working 1-2 other jobs just to have something to have some fun with once in a while--and eat food that's good for me, not just filling. What the hell is wrong with me?

Other friends of mine either have well-paying jobs, houses, or are finishing college. How do they do that and I don't?

I heard something this week that has really set me off. Roger Clemens, a guy that can throw a ball well, is going to be paid 4.5 million a month to pitch for the Yankees. 4.5 MILLION a MONTH. To throw a baseball. That's like, $30,000 a day. What human being actually needs to make this kind of money? And is he going to do anything good with it? Will he be altruistic? Will he save any children in Darfur? Will he save any children here, for crying out loud? He's pitching baseballs! He's not curing cancer or AIDS for God's sake! And it's just for 5 months for sure. That's more than a lot of his fans (or non-fans, like me) make in a whole year of actually WORKING THEIR ASSES OFF! Again, like me. Shit...this country is fucked up with it's values. And they say Gay Marriage is going to ruin things.

Our Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Soldiers, Teachers...people who actually DO SOMETHING get paid Crap, and a guy that can throw a baseball gets paid $30,000 a day. Mull that over for a while.

Then...wonder why you're not getting the best possible service at Chiles.

Does anyone know what a waitress is paid????

2007-04-22T00:37:00.000-05:00

Okay, People....listen up. I'm going to educate you on the thankless job of Waitressing 101.

If the food is bad...it's not our fault. If the food is late coming to your table...it's not our fault. If we don't have what you want...it's not our fault. And if your service is slow and it's Friday night and 3 waitresses have called in and one has to take the sick cook to the doctor leaving only 3 waitresses to serve a busy Friday night restaurant crowd...it's not our fault.

Do you know that wait-staff only make $2.01-$2.15 hourly? Do you know that the proper amount to tip is at least 15%? Do you know that if you have a waitress that is doing the best she can for you and often goes above and beyond that it is totally acceptable to tip more than 15%? Do you know that wait-staff has to tip bartenders and busboys 5 and 10%, even though they are getting paid more hourly? Come on, People! Help a girl out!

Now, I understand that you don't want a tip if your waitress/waiter is ignoring you, getting your order wrong, standing around talking to friends/co-workers, or just plain giving you lousy service when there is no excuse for it. Just 15% or worse, 10% would be justifiable. We're making $2.15 an hour. I think you should know that. $2.15/hour. That's it. And we have to share our tips with people who are getting paid more hourly. We're working hard for you--taking abuse that you would never take in the process--and you're leaving 3 bucks!! Maybe two. And if you're really mad, because it took 40 minutes to get your food and you spilled your expensive Mexican Martini all over the table, you leave NADA. Just a big 'ole slash mark through the tip line on the credit card receipt. Like it's MY FAULT.

Can you tell it was a bad weekend at the restaurant yet?

Friday--the BUSY night for restaurants, especially if they serve Margaritas and Mexican Martinis--we had 2 waitresses call in sick and one that was out of town. Our cook--and owner's brother/co-manager--had been dragging his sick ass to work all week long to the point of bordering on pneumonia. He looked like death warmed over and could barely stand up. I told our illustrious owner--the cook's own sister--that he was going to end up in the hospital on fluids for a week if she didn't make him go to the doctor and go home and get some rest and she finally decided that it might be a good idea. She sent the one waitress--we had only four at this point--that didn't have a table to drive him to the doctor. Leaving us with three. Three waitresses on a Friday night and no cook. At least, no cook that was used to cooking. She ran 30 minutes behind on everyone's order because she's not used to doing it. Because her brother works his ass off every day and every night. And let me tell you...he can run the kitchen just fine by himself. In fact...he prefers it that way.

Anyway..it was a night from hell. Some customers had sympathy and understood that we were doing the best that we could do. Most though....they didn't have a clue. So I just thought you should know: Wait-staff only make $2.01-2.15/hourly. Don't stiff us if we're doing the best we can do. Don't stiff us if we're out of something you want. Don't stiff us if your food is not made the way you want it made. Don't stiff us if it takes 40 minutes for your food to get to your table. If you're the only person in the restaurant and you aren't getting good service, then you may have a point. We are not the cooks. We are not the inventory control managers. We are not the managers that can't seem to hire reliable wait-staff. We are not the owners that think they can get by with only two cooks, one of which only works days. We are not everyone else that decided to go out on Friday night. We are your waitstaff. We are SERVING you. We're not getting paid a living wage. Show some apppreciation for God's sake! You don't have to cook or do dishes because of us. Your getting awesome--yes, we do serve awesome--Margaritas and Mexican Martinis because of us. And you don't have to lift a finger to do it! You have no mess to clean up! You can let your kids throw food all over the place--and you do! You send us running each time we come to the table for something instead of telling us everything you want or need all at once, taking us away from other customers, because YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON IN THE WORLD THAT MATTERS.

SHOW SOME APPRECIATION!!!!!!!!!!!

In order to get Kat to respond.....

2007-03-27T23:04:00.000-05:00

Kathryn...she goes away to Boston and then starts asking questions! Can you belive? So..in an effort to get a response from her.....I have to do this. Oh well...post in the comment field your answers. Maybe I'll learn something about you that I don't know already (because, I know more than you think!)

1. Can you cook?
2. What was your dream growing up?
3. What talent do you wish you had?
4. Favorite place?
5. Favorite vegetable?
6. What was the last book you read?
7. What zodiac sign are you?
8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings?
9. Worst Habit?
10. Do we know each other outside of Livejournal?
11. What is your favorite sport?
12. Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude?
13. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
14. Worst thing to ever happen to you?
15. Tell me one weird fact about you.
16. Do you have any pets?
17. Do you know how to do the Macarena?
18. What time is it where you are now?
19. Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
21. Would you be my partner in crime or my conscience?
22. What color eyes do you have?
23. Ever been arrested?
24. Bottle or Draft?
25. If you won $10,000 dollars today, what would you do with it?
26. What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew?
27. What's your favorite bar to hang at?
28. Do you believe in ghosts?
29. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
30. Do you swear a lot?
31. Biggest pet peeve?
32. In one word, how would you describe yourself?
33. In one word, how would you describe me?
34. Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

Momentous Events

2007-03-24T09:13:00.000-05:00

Alright Blogger-hounds...I'm posting!

This will probably seem a strange thing to start blogging with, but it picks up off a post from Leah. It involves a trip to the Girly Doctor. I have discovered that the best time of day for us motherless, always-wanted-to-be-a-mother-but-it-never-happened women to go in for this appointment is late afternoon. A blessedly empty waiting room awaits you!

It happened. She clarified the aging process by saying, "It's time for you to get a mammogram." Shit....I was hoping Leah's doctor was just crazy and jumping the gun a bit. A mammogram. Great. It's time for me to get my breast squished down to pancake size to search out possible invaders. Men don't have to have their testicles squished in a machine. Sure, they may think being manhandled by a doctor is horrible, but no...we have to endure so much more in our lifetime, but I digress. To top it off, insurance doesn't cover a whole lot of the cost because it's just to get a baseline. They don't think baselines are that important. Men run insurance companies, don't you know?

But wait! Oh...now there's a reason for the mammogram--she finds something. No, no, not THAT, just a cysty material. But reason enough for insurance to cover most of the cost of the mammogram because there's something there. The one breast also gets to have an ultrasound. Now I get to have cold gooey stuff rubbed all over it as well.

When I was 12-years-old, I started my period. The day this happened was a momentous event. I was filled with joy (little did I know). I was so filled with joy, that I called my dad--two states away and at work--and told him, "Dad! Guess what? I'm a Woman now!" He was so tickled that I would call and tell him this, that he told everyone at work. Little did I know what that one day would give way to, especially at the age of 12: hormonal fluctuations that caused horrible skin eruptions (because 2-3 zits are horrible at that age), split second emotional ups and downs that had the whole household walking on egg-shells, cramps from hell, "leaks" caught by someone in the hall at school that no one bothers to tell you about until the start of the next class, sudden longing for boys I had never noticed before and I would die if they didn't notice me, trial and error with pads and tampons...yeah, joyful day.

But, it is a momentous change. Good or bad. Here comes the beginning of the next one. I guess after my appointment, I'll call my dad--now four states away--and tell him, "Dad, guess what? I had my first mammogram today. I'm a middle-aged woman now,". This is just a small momentous event. That big one is lurking just around the corner. As always, there will be the good and the bad with that one.

MySpace Evacuee

2007-03-10T10:55:00.000-06:00

I've recently retreated from MySpace and I am entering the world of Blogspot where many of my friends and co-workers have been for years. Too many problems on MySpace--too much time typing brilliant blogs that got lost in Cyberspace as soon as I hit the "Preview and Post" tab. So now, I have to get back into the habit of posting a blog because I had just given up trying. Bear with me as I transition....