Rag Files Of A Fashion Diva

Associations SUCK!!!

2007-12-21T22:11:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 100 push-ups, 70 leg lifts, 600 crunches, 100 squats, and a 2 mile run. Yep, I was an over achiever tonight. Deal with it! :P

For those of you who may not already know, Chi and I live in a townhome. Now while such living does have its perks, with every passing day, I'm beginning to think that the negatives are starting to far outweigh them. Tonight's run brought about two more complaints I have concerning the way this place is run.

1. Lack of snow removal from the sidewalks. Most cities around here (including the one I live in) require the walks to be shoveled within 24 hours after the snowfall has stopped or a fine is assessed. The last time we had snow was last Saturday yet some of the walks I used on my run were still covered. What's worse, the snow that had been there had turned to slush because it got warm enough to start the melting process and then after the temps dropped, it froze into ice. Now because I've got 30 years of skating experience, I tend to fair better than most when it comes to keeping my balance on ice but having to run on the shit for extended distances because someone can't be bothered to clean the shit up is ridiculous. What pisses me off even more is that Chi and I pay over $100/month in dues for things like snow removal to be taken care of. Oh and although they have gotten a little better about it, the dumbasses they hire to do the clean up still have a problem with making more of a mess than was there to begin with.

2. Dog poo left on the sidewalk. People of the neighborhood - if you're going to take your dogs for a walk and let them shit outside, pick the crap up please! I mean it's one thing if you let the dog crap in the grass. Personally, I don't care if you pick it up or not if the dog leaves a loaf or two where I don't have to walk. Of course I can't say that the home owner who's lawn it is or the landscaper will feel the same way, but that's their business. The sidewalks, however, are something that everyone uses and are there for the purpose of walking on. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs and animals in general, however, I don't like stepping in a steaming pile of gooshy poo that has a stench that sticks with your shoe even after it's been washed. Thankfully, I happened to miss the poo on the walk tonight because I looked down just in time but even so, it was pretty gross to see a couple brown turds lying there on the pavement staring up at me. Besides, it's winter and a cold ass one at that so it's not like it would take long for the shit to freeze making it quite easy to pick up.

And now for something completely different....

Will someone please tell Chi to stop sharing his gas? I'm about ready to pass out over here! LOL

Til next time....

Can't Sleep - Hairballs Will Eat Me!!!

2007-11-27T23:39:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 50 leg lifts, 50 push-ups, 50 squats, 300 crunches. I wanted to do a run but considering it was fairly windy and only 16F, I decided to put it off for today.

So our cats have hacked up some pretty nasty things in the time that we've had them. I mean they've produced hairballs that at first glance had me guessing exactly which end they came out of. The only thing that clued me into them being an actual hairball rather than a piece of shit was that the smell wasn't of fecal nature and there was usually a small amount of undigested food next to them. Every foul thing either one of our critters (one of which seems to have gone into a catnip induced coma as I write this - wow I think he's actually tripping..break out the psychedelic lighting!) has hacked up, however, has never prepared me for the picture I saw yesterday of a ten pound hairball extracted from a hair eating woman. Talk about something that looks like a piece of shit. And I'm not talking any old piece of shit here. I'm talking someone emptied the entire contents of their bowels after a day of non-stop eating. Have a look for yourself.

According to the news article, doctors pulled this heap out of an eighteen year old woman after she had come to them with pain and a forty pound weight loss. YUCK!!!

And now for something completely different....

People, whenever you get one of those chain letter things in your email, use snopes.com to check it out before you even think about sending it on. Once again I received a forwarded email from someone today that was nothing but a bunch of false information put out there to scare people. I really dislike forwarded emails to begin with for numerous reasons but I dislike them even more when people just blindly send them on without checking their validity first. UGH!

Otay, that's all for now. Oh and be sure to read the November 9, 2007 post titled The "Real" Rafe Balchou if you haven't already. It's definitely a must read for anyone who's thinking about befriending someone they met on the internet.

Til next time....

Car Update & My Gripe Of The Day

2007-11-01T19:16:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 3 mile run.

Well, I picked up my car from the "doctor's office" yesterday. Wouldn't you know the minute I take it in to have ti looked at, the flamming service engine light would decide to go off - or at least it did after I dropped it off. Had I driven it just a bit further or turned it off then started it again, it more than likely would have gone off which I thought it would probably do after the sensors made it through the next set of checks. The dealer did go ahead and run a code history scan anyway just to see if there way anything there. Turns out the engine had misfired - something that can just happen but isn't necessarily a sign of a bigger problem. According to the service guy, they checked everything out and couldn't find anything so it was just a fluke.

It did turn out to be a good thing I took it in though. It seems that there was a recall I didn't know anything about because either Mitsubishi didn't send out notices or the one they sent me got lost in the mail. I guess the catalytic converter was originally programmed to run a little lean and because of that, there was potential for it to overheat. Anyway, the dealer caught it and reprogrammed the CC so it will run a little more rich and prevent the overheat issue. Of course the downside is that my gas mileage may drop slightly. Oh well, I can't really complain too much since I only have to fill up about once every two weeks and it's less than $40 when I do.

The other plus to taking my car in is that I ended up getting a new set of wiper blades. I really didn't need them since the original ones had hardly been used but I was told that there was this promotion going on and my car was one of the ones picked to receive the new blades. It's funny, ever since I picked up my car, I've had this feeling it was lucky and in the two years I've owned it, it would seem that's how things have been. I mean I had an absolutely wonderful buying experience with a sales guy who is more than willing to go the extra mile when it comes to service, no new car bugs to deal with like the ones my Sunfire had, the car has performed well in all driving conditions, and now it's been selected for a "prize". You know, I think I'm going to have to speak to it about winning the lottery. Hey - it could happen!!! LOL

And now for something completely different....

The gripe of the day - my slower than a dogs with no legs computer at work. Every day it seems to take longer and longer to boot. Today it took a whopping six minutes! My laptop here at home is the same age if not older (three years) and it doesn't even take that long start up and I've got tons more crap on this one than I do the one at work. If that isn't enough, I spent the first hour and a half waiting for the stupid thing to stop paging and freezing up so I could actually do some work. GRRRR!!! My company is slowly changing everyone's out for newer, faster machines but because I was one of the last people to receive one when they changed them out a few years ago, I get to be last again this time which means mine isn't coming until March. My suspervisor had tried to get that date moved up after I had told her how slow my machine is but it was a no go. I'm stuck with the pile of crap I've got for another five months. UGH!!! The most ridiculous thing about all this is that they give the faster machines to all the people who have the below average computer skills first and then leave people like me that could make the most of a beefed up machine with what I've got. Sorry but 2.8GHz with 248MB of RAM just ain't cuttin it these days.

Poor Car

2007-10-30T18:55:00.000-07:00

Exercise: Grocery shopping and a two mile run.

Yesterday morning when I started my car so I could leave for work, it made a terrible noise much like that of a piece of paper in a high speed fan. This of course caused the Service Engine Soon light to come on even though shortly afterward the noise stopped. Because Chi had already left, however, I had no choice but to go ahead and drive my car to work. Everything seemed to be working correctly and I didn't have any further problems nor did the strange noise return. The warning light did stay on, however. Not that it's any surprise given how the sensors connected to that light typically work. Even so, I'm taking my baby to the doctor tomrrow. The car is still under warranty and since Chi doesn't have the proper software on his computer to read my car's codes, I figured I would have the dealership look at it. I have a feeling whatever caused my car's "cough" is probably nothing (perhaps a leaf getting in somewhere it shouldn't and triggering the emissions sensor) but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I bought the car brand new nearly two years ago (the 12th of November is its birthday). It's been an absolute gem the whole time I've owned it and I wish to keep it that way.

And now for something completely different...

I'm beginning to get really T'd off with people who like to think they know more about the way I think and feel than I do. Um hello....I should think that because I receive information from my brain on a first hand basis and have had more than thirty years of experience with it, I'm going to have the edge on what goes on in my own mind. I swear there are way too many people who only apply what people say to them and do to their own side of things rather than really taking time to listen and determining meaning according to how it applies to the person making the statement.

DJ Mag's Top 100

2007-10-28T18:40:00.000-07:00

Exercise: House cleaning - YIPPIE! Plus a three mile run.

According to DJ Magazine's top 100 DJs, my favorite (Armin Van Buuren) came out on top as number one. I was extremely pleased upon reading that news. Actually, as it turns out, the majority of the DJs I like made the top 100 and many of them were inside the top twenty. Here's a rundown:

2 - Tiesto
3 - John Digweed
4 - Paul Van Dyk
5 - Sasha
6 - Above & Beyond
7 - Carl Cox
8 - Ferry Corsten
10 - David Guetta
12 - Paul Oakenfold
13 - Markus Schulz
16 - Eddie Holliwell
21 - Judge Jules
73 - BT

I only wish BT would have placed higher.

And now for something completely different...

I've litterally got a pain in the butt and I wish it would go away. A few weeks ago I was stretching before my run. I had put on my running pants and socks before doing so and it turned out to be a mistake. The pants are too long and I didn't get the ends of them pulled up over my heels. Because the pants are made of spandex, then were a little slippery on the carpet; so much so that when I went to do one of my stretches, I ended up doing the splits. Now normally I can do the splits with ease, however, this particular time I went down in a very fast, uncontrolled manner because my foot slipped so my leg ended up twisting sideways and this pop which I swear was loud enough to be heard two states away resonated from my hip. OH THE PAIN!!! It was enough to make my ears ring and my vision go grainy for a few minutes. Chi, of course, found great humor in me writhing on the floor in pain. LOL Even so, I did make it out for my run that night although the morning brought extreme stiffness and pain.

These days it's just kind of turned into a dull ache in my butt and left thigh. I've noticed it feels better if I exercise then when I don't and that it must be working itself out some because I can now stretch better than I could during the first couple of weeks after it happened. If I move just right, I have the sensation of my hip joint feeling like it just needs to be popped again and that would set it right. Part of me wants to do it but the other part says, "NO FLOGGING CHANCE!!!" due to the experience the first time around. LOL Ah well, hopefully one day soon it will set itself straight because I'm just getting tired of dealing with it. :)

Hi Honey, I'm Home!

2007-10-23T15:18:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None yet. Won't be going out until 9 this evening. Gotta watch Beauty & The Geek and House. :)

So, I'm back. Well, sort of. It seems the internet police at my company have now decided blogger is one of those "offensive" sites they must block. *RE* If I remember correctly, the message that comes up when I attempted to access the blogger homepage at work is some complete bullshit about it being a social networking site so, therefore, it's a no no. Oh heaven forbid if you speak your mind on the internet during your lunch hour! I swear it's crap like this that makes me want to find another job. Of course whenever I start thinking that way, all I have to do is come home, take a look in one of my closets and see the minimum one year supply of fabric softener, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, and facial towelettes plus a decent stock of toothpaste, mouthwash, air fresheners, and various other things and that feeling tends to subside rather quickly. lol Anyway, because of this inconvenience, I now will now have to type my posts at work, email them to my personal account, and then post them after I get home assuming I have time. What does this mean to you dear readers? It means that I will definitely be posting but it may not be as frequently as it was when I could access my blogger account from work.

With that out of the way, on with the real post....

One of my co-workers brought this to me the other day and it pissed me off to no end that he would do such especially knowing that I went through the immigration process to bring my husband here and have a much better understanding of it than the average person. Of course what irks me even more is that this particular piece of trash talks about refugees. Refugee status is something not easily gained and let me tell you, those who get it have more than likely been to hell and back. Definitely not a position to be "envied".

The Welfare Poem

I cross ocean, poor and broke,
Take bus, see employment folk.
Nice man treat me good in there,
Say I need to see welfare.
Welfare say, "You come no more,
We send cash right to your door."
Welfare checks, they make you wealthy,
Medicaid it keep you healthy!
By and by, I got plenty money,
Thanks to you, American dummy.
Write to friends in motherland,
Tell them "Come fast as you can."
They come in turbans
and Ford trucks.
I buy big house with welfare bucks.
They come here, we live together,
More welfare checks, it gets better!
Fourteen families, they moving in,
But neighbor's patience wearing thin.
Finally, white guy moves away,
Now I buy his house, and then I say,
"Find more aliens for house to rent."
And in the yard, I put a tent.
Send for family they just trash,
But they too, draw the welfare cash!
Everything is very good,
And soon we own the neighborhood.
We have hobby it's called breeding.
Welfare pay for baby feeding.
Kids need dentist? Wife need pills? We get free!
We got no bills! American crazy!
He pay all year,
To keep welfare running here.
We think America darn good place!
Too darn good for the white man race.
If they no like us, they can scram,
Got lots of room in Pakistan.

It is interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1890 and each can also get an additional $580 in social assistance for a total of $2470. This compares very well to a single pensioner who, after contributing to the growth and development of America for 40 to 50 years, can only receive a monthly maximum of $1012 in old age pension and guaranteed income supplement. Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees!

Let's send this to all Americans so we can all be ticked off and maybe we can get the refugees cut back to $1012 and the pensioners up to $2470 and enjoy some of the money we were forced to submit to the government over the last 40 to 50 years.

Please forward to every American to expose what our elected politicians have been doing over the past 11 years - to the over-taxed American.

There are so many things about this post that get my blood boiling, I feel as though I could explode.

For starters, it was something originally written about Canada but some dimwit decided to sub the word American for Canadian. Not that it made it any more true. Whether the word American or Canadian be used, the whole thing is completely FALSE.

Now here's the real truth....

Some refugees get a ONE TIME start up payment and only about 3/4 of refugees receive financial assistance from the federal government for a limited time and at a lower rate than Canadian pensioners.

What people don't seem to realize is that the people who are classified as refugees have fled from unimaginable hardship and many times have lived in refugee camps for years before coming to places like Canada and the US. Some are victims of trauma and/or torture in their own countries and many of them arrive with little more than a few personal belongings, if that. I'm disgusted to think there are people out there who believe the people in this situation shouldn't be allowed to receive funding from the government especially given the fact that the government assistance only lasts for a year or until they find a job, whichever comes first.

All I have to say to those of you reading this who may have passed it on is SHAME ON YOU!!!

And now for something completely different....

I got "nuttin". Well, that's not entirely true. I've got "sumpin" but it's not complete and I think I will make it into its own post for another day. Ooh the suspense! :P

Til next time....

"Stalkers"

2007-06-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 5 mile run, 300 crunches, 60 leg lifts, and 50 push ups.

What is it with ex-boyfriends/girlfriends who think they need to stalk the people they dated years ago? I mean I can understand having curiosity of wondering where that person is today blah blah blah but to actually hunt him/her down and get the current boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse involved just seems a little creepy.

As some of you know, I have a My Space page. Because of some of the weird nuts lurking about on the internet and people from my past that I don't want finding me, I don't usually put too many identifying things on profiles. The only things I have on my page that could identify me if you didn't already know me are the years and schools I graduated from. It seems that was enough for one particular person from my past to find me.

A couple weeks ago when I returned home from work, I had checked my tracker and in doing so, one of the hits which came up actually had a profile associated with it. As soon as I saw the profile URL I was pretty sure I knew who it was and once I saw the name on the profile, I was 100% certain. Turns out the first boyfriend I ever had - the one that I dated for four years and haven't seen in about nine years found me. At first I thought, "Whatever" and just kind of dismissed it but then the next day when I checked my tracker, I noticed that he had hit my site at least fifteen times. That's when I started feeling a little weird about it all and decided to send him a message. I said, "So...you found me. Do you spend this much time on all your ex-girlfriends' profiles or just mine?" Yah, I know it was a bit snippy but dayum! Sure I've wondered about him now and then but not enough to hunt him down and try to find out about him in a sneaky way. I guess it's the puzzling way things ended that also had me wondering why the hell after all this time he would do such a thing.

A few months after we had split up, we had actually started talking again and were on friendly speaking terms. When Chi had come over to visit, we kind of lost touch for a little while but shortly after Chi and I got married, I heard from B again. It was then that I told him I had gotten married and it was like as soon as he received that information, he ran and hid never to be heard from again. I think maybe in the back of his mind he was hoping that we would eventually get back together even though I had said it wouldn't happen and me telling him about marrying Chi finalized that for him but even so, he didn't just have to disappear the way he did.

It would seem that B definitely hasn't become any more computer savy since I knew him. After I saw he read the message I sent, I checked my tracker again. This time there were about 15 hits on there from his wife's profile. Obviously he doesn't know about IP addresses and shit. If he did, maybe he would have realized that changing profiles didn't make a blind bit of difference as far as me being able to tell who had been viewing my page. It was after seeing all those hits that I really just started feeling kind of like I had been dephiled and I sent him another message. I basically told him if he wanted to talk, then let's talk but if he was there just to check up on me, not to bother.

As of today, I haven't heard any sort of response from him and it would seem that he and his wife haven't returned, however, I wouldn't doubt that they will pop back up one day. Hell, I would even be willing to bet that they've been doing all kinds of internet searches on me to see if they can find out anything knowing how B was when I knew him. He made a point of doing everything he could to "cover" his identity but when it came to finding out stuff about someone else, he was all over it. *Rolls Eyes*

And now for something completely different....

I've decided to stop posting here for awhile. We're on summer hours at work now so I only have a 1/2 hour for lunch which makes it pretty much impossible to read the news and make any kind of decent post here. Sure I could slap something up here after I get home but even then I don't have much time since I don't get there until about 6. That gives me an hour to make dinner, an hour to eat it and spend some time with Chi, then the remaining time is used for working out and having a shower.

Anyway, I'm not going to completely disappear. I've decided to put up an exercise log over on my MySpace page and who knows, if there is something worthy to rant about, I just might throw that up there too.

See you when summer hours are over in September.

Til next time...

Pomp And Circumstance

2007-05-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None yet other than running across the hall periodically to help Mr. Monkey with this and that.

So this past weekend my mom and I went to Kansas City once again. One of my second cousins graduated from high school and we went down to attend her party. While we were there (which wasn't long since we left here Saturday and came back on Sunday), we also spent a lot of time with my auntie.

As usual, I did all the city driving (my mom doesn't like having to try and navigate with all the crazy drivers) so I basically became a chauffer for my mom and 75 year old auntie. Let me just tell you that when those two get together, they can be worse than teenagers but I absolutely love spending time with them both becuase they're both just a trip to be with.

My mom and I also got to meet auntie's 84 year old boyfriend that she's been seeing for quite a while. He's a nice, sweet, and very genuine guy although I must admit I have a hard time putting him together with my aunt. I think it's because he seems pretty laid back and kind of "small town" whereas my aunt is a "city girl". Not that it really matters since they seem to make each other happy.

The boyfriend did give me a good laugh though. During the time we spent with him, he turned to me and asked, "So, what school do you go to?" LOL I said, "I'm WAAAAY out of school. This year marks 15 from high school and 11 from college." I honestly think the guy was a little taken aback that I'm as old as I am and it's not like he doesn't see well. My auntie said he has 20/20 vision.

After he got over his mild shock about my age, my auntie mentioned to him that I had lived in England for a time and that I married an Englishman. I was surprised because when he asked me where Chi was from and I told him, he actually knew of the city. Most people don't and typically the only way for them to get any idea of where it is is to relate it to the location of London. Turns out the boyfriend faught in WW1 and had spent some time in England and even in the town where Chi grew up so of course we had to have a little chat about that too. ;)

As for the graduation party we went to on Sunday - it was much different than the ones I remember going to when I was that age. First of all, my second cousin and her best friend actually had their party together at the friend's house. Interesting way of doing things but also a good idea financially I would suppose. They also had tons of food and photos from throughout their lives everywhere to look at. Oh and the party lasted from 2 - 6. Now when I graduated from high school in 1992, you had a party with a window of about 2 hours and typically all that was served was cake and punch. I also don't remember attending any or my own having the picture thing either. My how things have changed.

I also determined that the girls who used to give me shit through school about my clothes (I refused to be one of their sheep and caught a lot of flack for it) still just kind of make me want to vomit. Many of the kids that showed up at the party were like those girls. They all wore the "latest" clothes and had to be looking "just right". I swear they all looked alike and there was no individuality. What the hell is the fun in that?

Anyway, the thing that really made me want to toss my cookies was hearing one of them saying something to the effect of, "Oh I just can't believe this is it" blah blah blah. I couldn't help but whisper under my breath, "Honey, this is only the beginning. Wait until you get 10+ years down the road." She then was telling some of her friends about what she was doing for the summer. One of the things she mentioned was a European trip. It was then that I realized just what it was that gagged me about the superficial sort of people. It's how they talk about subjects like this trip in a way that comes off as I'm trying to make it sound like a chore to cover up for the fact that I'm really bragging. All I could do was roll my eyes when I heard her going on about it all. Yep, I know I'm a bitch but I can't help it.

There was one rather humorous moment. I have a second cousin by marriage (her father married my cousin who is also the mother of the cousin who the party was for) whom my mom and I hadn't seen in at least ten years. Although she's definitely gained some weight, I knew exactly who she was. My mom, on the other hand, didn't. As my mom and I are getting some food, M comes walking up and starts talking to us. The whole time, my mother has no clue who she is. It wasn't until my auntie said something a bit later that my mom realized who she actually was. LOL

Sorry...I'm again lost for a "something different" tidbit today and time is short- DEAL!

Til next time....

Who knew what a difference 5lbs could make?

2007-05-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None yet today other than trips across the hall but I'm hoping to have time for some this evening.

So a few weeks ago PIBs called me up and he had made mention of how thin I looked and that he had only just noticed it when we went skating. Well, later that day, I had gone in to talk to my supervisor about something and she comes right out with the question, "How much weight have you lost?" HUH? I told her none that I knew of but then again I don't own a scale. She then made some comment about how thin I looked. I told her I had been increasing my workouts and my body was sort of reshaping itself because of that but I didn't think I had actually dropped any pounds. This past Saturday I went to get my haircut and even my hair guy made mention of how trim I looked. He also said something to the effect of liking the fact that I had a healthy pale color to my skin. lol

Anyway, on Sunday I took Mr & Mrs PIBs to my parents' house so they could park their car there while they attended a concert at the balloon field rather than trying to deal with the nightmare parking situation at the venue and having to pay. As it turned out, my sister hosted our Mother's day lunch at her house (oh and let me just say after dealing with the crowded mess out by my parents house and stuff, I can see why my mom didn't want to stick around LOL) but before I left my parents' house, I went in and weighed myself just to see if I had lost any weight. Turns out, I'm down five. I was kind of surprised actually. I mean I know my clothes have started fitting better but given the amount of muscle I've gained, I figured that would make up for the amount of fat gone. Ah well, it's not like I'm going to complain about it. Of course the downside is that I seem to have further increased the gap between my waist and hip measurements which absolutely sucks. I had a hard enough time trying to find pants that would fit before - now it seems to be even worse. According to size charts from most of the places I shop, my bust and waist are anywhere from a size 2 to a 4 while my hips usually fall in the 8 to 10 range meaning if I buy pants to fit my ass, I end up having a good two to three inches bunched up around my waist. ARGH! Sure I could take the shit to a tailor but knowing what I do about alterations, I don't think it would be possible to make them look good just because the difference is so big. Of course it would help if manufacturers would stop making their shit to fit women who are built like little boys. UGH! *RE*

Otay, nothing for the something different files today as I just don't have the time.

Til next time....

Someone Revoke That Guy's License PLEASE!!!

2007-04-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None - I was tied up running errands last night and didn't have enough time to do my usual sets when I got home so I'm really looking forward to skating tonight.

As any of you who have read my past posts know, I tend to mention peoples' driving skills (maybe I should say lack of them) here fairly frequently but the guy who had a near collision with me this morning really took the cake. I can't stress enough that when you are changing lanes you need to actually turn your head and look not just rely on your mirrors.

As I was getting on the interstate this morning, I nearly had some dood sideswipe me. At the place where I turn to get on the ramp, there are four lanes. Two are right turn only lanes which are for the ramp and two go straight on. I was in the left most lane that turns with a SUV to the right of me and a Taurus or Sable (not exactly sure which) to the left of me. As the SUV and I go to make the turn, the asshole to the left of me decides he's going to turn too. The fucker almost turned straight into my car! Had I not moved over to the right what little I could, I'm sure he would have actually hit me. I mean he came within six inches or less of doing damage and based on the way it all happened, I think he either didn't look behind him, did look but thought he could outrun me, or a combination of the two.

After I got done shitting my pants from the near miss (something I'm sure the person to my right was doing when I started to move closer to him to avoid getting hit), I was absolutely livid. Not only did I lay on the horn, I rode his ass all the way down the ramp. Wouldn't you know the fucker was in such a hurry to get by me and then he couldn't even seem to do the speed limit. When we finally got on the interstate where I could pass him, I looked over and he didn't appear to be very old which does a lot to explain his wreckless driving. I was disappointed though because he didn't look over at me. Of course had he done that, I would have made sure to let him know he's "number 1" in my book. FUCKER! I only wish I would have gotten his license plate. I was too shaken up by the near miss that the idea didn't pop into my head until it was too late. It seems, however, that I've seen this car so maybe just maybe I might get another opportunity to get the license number some other time and you know if and when I do, I'm posting the fucker here for everyone to see. That's right asshole - you're going on the wall of shame.

Yep, I think I may just have to buy a lottery ticket today because if you ask me, you don't get any more lucky than I was this morning avoiding an almost certain accident.

Well kiddies, normally I would have a blurb or two for the "something different" files but today I just haven't found anything exciting enough to qualify. Not that really matters. Lunchtime is about over and I need to get back to work.

Til next time....

Look Ma - No Cavities! Part Deux

2007-04-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 2 hours of skating and what do you know - even Mr. PIB showed up. Of course he lived up to my nickname for him since he was whining about being tired after 20 minutes. LOL What's even funnier is that he said his legs were wobbly this morning. He only actually skated for an hour (if that) and about a quarter - half the speed I usually go. Hehe

So I left work early yesterday to go to a dentist appointment. I had been kind of stressing about it since it had been a year and a half since I last went (check my 10.12.04 post) because my employer changed to an insurance my dentist doesn't accept. Anyway, I figured I would end up having at least one cavity and have to spend quite a bit of time in the chair for the cleaning by an overly aggressive hygenist. As it turned out, the hygenist I met with this time was so gentle I hardly knew she was doing anything and I think she actually did a better job of getting my teeth clean than the last one I saw in Oct. '04. Oh, I also came out cavity free amazingly enough. In fact, when my dentist sat down to have a look, he told me I had some very nice looking teeth and gums. lol Guess all that milk drinking I'm continually razzed about has paid off. :)

And now for something completely different...

This is for all you techo industrial fans -

Quite some time ago, I had come across a band by the name of Sister Machine Gun and really liked what I heard. The other day as one of their songs was playing on my car CD player, I had the thought to check out whether or not there was a MySpace page for the band. Sure enough there was and they had a couple of songs on there I hadn't yet heard. When the first one called To Hell With You started playing, I knew I HAD to have it because it was just THAT good. That's when I took a trip over to Amazon.com. I did a search on SMG, found the album that I was looking for (Influence) and listened to the samples of all the songs on it. Not bad....not bad at all. Needless to say, that item went into my shopping cart. I then also listened to the samples from their 6.0 album and liked what I heard there too so that one also made it into my cart. On Friday of last week, they both arrived in my mailbox and I've been playing the shit out of them ever since. Anyway, for all of you who like kick ass techno industrial music and don't already have these two albums, I highly suggest you check them out!

Well, lunchtime is over kiddies so I must be on my way.

Til next time...

Has vote for the worst finally taken off?

2007-04-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 2 hours of kick ass skating of course. :)

You know, I used to kind of enjoy watching American Idol. Because Mediacom was having their little battle with Sinclair Broadcasting, I didn't start watching this season from the git-go and even after Fox was restored to my channel line up, I didn't really make a point of tuning in. Obviously I didn't miss much. There are maybe four people on there who have some actual talent and the rest - BLECH! What's worse is that Sanjaya kid keeps making it through. Good lord he makes William Hung sound good.

I've come up with three possibilities as to why old "Sanny" is still in there. Either one, all the little teenaged girls are voting because they think he's cute (which, I can see how they think that but for some reason the kid just kind of comes off with a Michael Jackson weirdness vibe for me). Two, Vote For The Worst has finally come into its own and is actually making a difference - "You go VFTW!" If this is true, maybe they will bring down this show singlehandedly and put it out of the misery of dying the slow death it has over the last couple of years. Or three...there's a combination of the two previous factors at work here. Regardless, with this kind of "talent" making it into the top 8, I think it's a clear sign that it's time for this show to leave the air. Lord knows I wouldn't miss it.

Today's a slow day in Blogger news so I don't have anything for my "something completely different files" (sorry) so I'm just going to leave it here for today and head on over to Amazon.com to check the price on a couple of SMG albums I'm thinking of picking up. Hmm...maybe I should check out Best Buy too. Chances are if they have what I want, it might be a little more expensive but I don't want to wait to have the shit shipped to me if I don't have to.

Til next time...

Had Enough! Tuesday Tirade & Some Goofy Shit

2007-04-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 50 pushups, 50 squats, 70 leglifts, and 300 crunches :)

You know I think I've heard more than I care to about Iowa's new cigarette tax. I wasn't even going to bother mentioning it here, but with all the bitching about it that doesn't seem to cease, I'm going to throw in my $.02.

On a personal level (meaning affects only Chi and me), I don't really give a shit if the state raises the tax on cigs or not. Neither of us smoke and since our health insurance costs are about 1/30th what the average couple pays, the tax really doesn't make much difference to us.

I think what amazes me most about the frenzy over this topic is how irrational people's behavior becomes. I mean I actually had someone go off on me for somehow being personally responsible for the raise just because I voted for Culver and I don't smoke. The most insane part about this is:

1.) I didn't vote for Culver because of this issue. In fact, it played NO part in my decision.
2.) This person had no idea where I even stood on the issue to begin with and just chose to start attacking me without provocation.
3.) My district representative who actually got to vote on the bill voted AGAINST it.

Like I said, I really don't care either way about it, however, I can't help but laugh at some of the illogical ranting and behavior all this has caused. For example:

1.) People driving to Missouri to "save" money.

This one totally cracks me up! I mean let's think about this for a minute. Right now gas is $2.54/gal here. Most cars people are driving average somewhere in the 20 - 35mpg range. To drive from where I live to the state line and back is about 200 miles roundtrip. Now let's say your car gets about 30mpg. At that rate, it would take about 7 gallons of gas for the trip. Multiply that by $2.54 and you get about $17. Ok, so that's the gas down. Now to figure wear and tear on the vehicle. I believe the current IRS figure is something like $.39/mile if you subtract out the fuel costs that are included in the IRS number. If you do the calculation for that, you come up with about $77. Add that to your fuel expense, that trip to save a buck or two ends up really costing about $94 just for the drive.

Now let's see, even for a pack a day smoker, $94 would pay the tax increase for three months. What this means is in order for the trip to be profitable, you would have to purchase enough cigarettes for the savings to be more than $100. Not only is this illegal (and yes, I know the chances of getting caught are slim), it means that (based on a rough calculation) you would have to buy at least 5 cartons but probably more like 8 or 9. The thing is, it seems to be the people in the low income brackets that this is effecting most. Now what I want to know is, if they can't afford to pay $1/pack extra here in Iowa, how in the hell are they going to come up with over $200 for the extra gas money and the cigs in order to actually save money buying across the state line? My God with thinking like this, it's no wonder so many people in this country are living paycheck to paycheck and have an average credit card balance of $8000.

2.) Why don't they up the tax on alcohol too?

Obviously this question was raised without doing a little research first. I believe the current tax on a bottle of wine in this state is $.75/bottle. Each bottle yields 8 glasses of drink which means per serving, you pay about $.09 tax. The tax on cigs in Iowa is now $1.36 and you get 20/pack. If you calculate that out, each cig carries not quite $.07 tax. In reality, bitching about the drinkers not paying enough is worthless because those consumers are already paying more. Not to mention, wine has been shown to actually have some health benefit - something absolutely NO doctor would ever say about a cig.

3.) Culver is just doing this to balance the budget and use the extra funds for purposes they weren't intended for.

Well, if those of you saying this had actually read the bill which was signed into law, you would see it clearly states that those funds can only be used for purpose spelled out in the law so Culver can't use them for anything else.

4.) Culver's a failure. The new law is generating revenue for Missouri, not Iowa.

Even if people are going out of state to buy, Iowa is still gaining because of the increased gas consumption. Then we also have the people from Minnesota. The tax is higher up there so you can bet that those who live close to the boarder more than likely come here to buy cigs instead. Of course my guess is that people are going to tire of the drive to Missouri and will just start buying here if they continue to smoke and because of that, the money will be generated. I mean Christ, it's only been a month. Once the "novelty" wears off, it will be back to the same old same old.

5.) The tax isn't fair because it puts the burden on a minority of people, many of whom don't have much money.

While I agree it's not fair to single one group out and lay a heavy tax on them, I see the difference in this case being that anyone falling in this group can choose to quit smoking and not pay the extra tax. I mean this gripe is equivalent to me moving into a house in a prominent area and then bitching that the taxes are too high. RIDICULOUS! I knew what I was getting in to when I bought the damn thing and I could have chosen to pay less by going to a different area.

Speaking of things I've had enough of - COLD WEATHER!

It had been so nice the last week or so but today it was like we backed up and returned to late February/early March. Yesterday when I came out of work, it was 60 degrees. Today, a whopping 38. BRRRRRR!!!

Oh and what's the deal with the hellacious storm last night that woke me up at 2:30 in the morn? According to what was being said on the 10pm weather reports, it sounded like we weren't going to get much of anything here. Yah NOT! I woke up to lightning so damn bright it lit up our room like the sun and thunder so fucking loud it sounded like the widows were going to bust. I love storms but in the wee hours of the morning during the work week? Not so much.

Next up - something weird....

Saturday as I was getting ready to go to my parents' house, I took my rings off and noticed that not only my wedding band but also my engagement band had somehow managed to get bent. What's so odd is that I don't remember them being like that the day before nor do I remember anything that would smash them. I mean the wedding band is almost a perfect oval it's so squashed. Hopefully, they'll be easily fixed as they obviously hold a lot of sentimental value not to mention, I use them to hold my diamond ring on since it's a little big.

And now for something completely different.....

A long time ago there used to be this show which was aired in the wee hours of Sunday morning called Night Flight. I only got to watch it a handful of times but I remember seeing a clip on there that just made me laugh hysterically. For years I tried to find it on the web so I could see it again but with no luck. Well, last night I had read a post on a forum which reminded me of this show so I went looking for the clip again. Amazingly, I found it this time - thank God for You Tube! lol So I watched the short film again and it was funny yet didn't make me laugh as hard as the first time I saw it. Obviously, being a teen and severely needing sleep makes one find things funnier than they really are. hehe Anyway, I'm posting the link here so you, the reader, can have a look for yourself and determine the funny factor. :)

Juke-Bar

Otay - that be it from me for today.

Til next time.....

What NOT to wear when you go skating

2007-04-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 2 hours of hard core skating of course and various activities over the weekend. ;)

So last Thursday was skating night once again and let me just start by saying that there are certain things that one should never be worn to skate in. There was this chic there who used to be a regular a few years ago and I hadn't seen again until last week. She always used to piss me off because she would skate around putting her leg straight out behind her and not pay any attention to what she was doing. I mean I can't tell you how many times this chic has nearly kicked someone including me because of this little "trick" she does. Anyway, it would seem that she still hasn't learned anything about appropriate dress not only for the rink but just in general. First off, she had on these capri jeans which were so tight, you could see crevasses that no one should ever see from a pair of jeans. Second, she had on this low cut cami so basically everytime she bent over to do her "trick", you could see right down her shirt - EW EW EW!!! Now the outfit itself may not have been so bad for an outing to a club or mall, however, she wasn't the thinnest of people and I swear everything she had on appeared to be at least two sizes too small. It would seem she's one of those people who would rather brag that she can get her fat ass into a size 8 rather than wearing a 10 or 12 so the garment looks nice. I swear I will never understand that mentality. I'd much rather have something that looks and feels good to wear than something that looks and feels awful that I can barely squeeze into just because I want to be able to tell someone I can wear a 4. I mean shit, if size is that important, buy a garment that fits, rip the fuckin manufacturer tag out and put a custom one in with the size you want it to be but please FOR THE LOVE OF GOD don't come to the rink dressed in shit that makes you look like you've been walking the streets looking for "business" before you came.

In other skating news...

I think I've found another way the squats I have been doing during my usual exercise routine are helping me other than just toning my legs. It would seem that they are also making me a stronger skater in two different ways.

I was skating backwards and went to turn around. Rather than just doing a usual turn, I did it with a jump like I do when I'm jam skating. Well, it seems there was a piece of something on the floor that I didn't see (never did find it but felt it a couple of other times when I went around the rink) and wouldn't you know, my skate hit it just as I landed. Whatever it was was enough to make my skate stop dead - not a good thing when you have a decent amount of momentum backing you. Now before I had started doing squats, I'd be more than willing to bet I would have fallen flat on my ass had I been in that situation. Last night, however, I made an awesome save if I do say so myself. Sure I stumbled a little but I didn't even have to put a hand down. It rocked! lol I'm convinced those squats have given me even better control than I had before which is good since I've decided falling just isn't an option because I'm that good. lol

The second positive effect....I do believe they have helped me become a more powerful skater. They had a speed skate last night and I swear I was actually skating faster than I did ten years ago. Hell, I was passing the younger people. Not bad for someone who's pushing 34. ;)

And now for something completely different.

This weekend we had a party for my dad's birthday. It was pretty low key as most of those kind of family gigs are but fun as always. I got the usual $30 worth of assorted lotto tickets for him but I was a little miffed to find out the total winnings only came up to $4. Not that he cared because it's just a fun thing that we share but it would have been nice for the winnings to be closer to what they have been in previous years.

I also watched two movies that I really enjoyed. The first one was Stranger Than Fiction. I've never been that much of a Will Ferrell fan but after seeing Elf awhile back and then this one, I'm really starting to like him a lot and have to say he's a pretty damn good actor. Anyway, this particular movie is about a guy who starts hearing this voice in his head of someone who is narrating what is going on in his life. He ends up finding out that it's the voice of an author who is writing a book which is enssentially about him although the author (played by Emma Thompson) doesn't know this guy actually exists. It's definitely different than your average plot line and I think that's why I enjoyed it so much.

The second movie I saw was The Holiday. I absolutely loved this one. I've never been a huge Jude Law fan either but I gotta say that man is definitely drool material. Actually in a way he reminds me a bit of Gavin Rossdale back when Bush was really starting to get big in the early 90s. In this film, two women do a transatlantic house swap in order to get away from the men they have been involved with. Personally, I don't know how any woman couldn't fall in love with Jude's character.

Well, that's all I'm going to write about those so I don't spoil anything for anyone who hasn't yet seen them and wants to.

Actually, I guess that's all I'm going to be writing for today since lunchtime is now over.

Til next time...

Stupid & Rude People

2007-03-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None yet. I was too busy this weekend to get any in but I'm hoping I can maybe get out and run tonight. All this week we're supposed to be having temps in the 70s - low 80s so it should be just about perfect running weather.

Now on to the meat behind the title of this post. What is it with people being so damned bitchy and stoopid lately? Last week was my week to accept deliveries at work. I had gone down to open the door one time and it was the woman from FedEx. She had pulled her truck back to the second door where she usually drops stuff off and had the four packages she had for us unloaded and waiting by the door. Unfortunately, the day before a pallet had been dropped off and the only place to put it was right in front of that door so nothing else could be received there. I poked my head out the other door and explained the situation and said that she would need to bring the packages in where I was. Since there wasn't enough room to walk between the wall and the truck with the boxes she had, that meant she had to move the truck up about ten feet. Once I had told her this, she just gets in this huff ranting about not having time for this blah blah blah and throwing the packages back on the truck. Ok lady, not my fault so don't be a bitch to me. Once she gets moved up and I let her in, I apologized for the inconvenience once again but does she acknowledge it? NOOOO! Whatever! You wanna be a bitch to me? Well, two can play at that game my deare. Hurry up and get the hell out of here if you're going to act like that because I really don't want to deal with you anymore. Oh and it seems that I'm not the only one who has this impression of this woman. I talked to some of my co-workers and they too have come across her bitchy side.

On Saturday I went to Ames to get my hair highlighted and cut. It was another $200 day but hey, it was worth it. Actually, if you take the whole weekend into account it was more like $1000 because Chi finally made a decision on a monitor for his new computer - LG 24" flat screen. He said it's one of the better ones out there and I have to admit, it's pretty damn nice.

Anyway, back to my trip to Ames. I swear to God the nuts were out on the road in full force that day. People were cutting others (including me) off right and left. I was almost hit by a couple of those idiots just on my way there alone. What was even more bizzare is that half of them were driving much slower than usual. Of course what really pissed me off were the people who couldn't decide which speed to drive. Normally on trips like this, I will turn on the cruise control especially since my car does very well with keeping a constant speed even when climbing a large hill and I end up sitting by myself between the wolf packs. Well some of these jokers were driving slow enough that I could pass them doing the limit, however, it was like once they saw me about to get past them, they'd speed up and then I would have to drop back in behind them. It would seem that people in non performance type vehicles don't care much for getting passed by a sports car. Stupid fuckers don't seem to realize I could out run them anyday if I wanted to.

I think the highlight of stupid drivers came on Sunday though. I went to my parents' house so my mom and I could go see a play that my oldest nephew was doing lighting for. When I was just about out to their house, the last light you hit on the way out of town turned red. About a tenth of a mile down the road from there, the right lane ends and because of that, I had already got over in the left lane. Well this dumbass kid in a rather beat up Lumina comes racing up my right side thinking he's going to overtake me. Stupid kid - beaters are called such for a reason. I only had to go as far as third gear to smoke him. LOL

Speaking of my nephew, I got a call from him last night. Earlier this year he had gone to St. Louis to audition for Summer Stock. He got three call backs which, considering he was competing with 300 other people for one part, that's good. Well, as it turns out, this year he actually landed a part! He was so excited. At first the plan was to work at the college building sets and stuff because it would give him experience and some money but as you can bet, that all got chucked when he found out he was offered a part. Not only does he get to perform, he will also learn about and build sets there too plus make some money. It won't be as much as he would at the college, but at least it's something and it's his first actual paying acting gig plus it's great for a resume.

And now for something completely different....

I'm impressed. I did our taxes just over a week ago and the state has already deposited our refund. Haven't seen anything from the Fed yet, however, when I submitted them via Turbo Tax, I think it said we should have it by 03.31. Not bad. Hell, I remember years ago when you could only file by paper and it often times took six weeks to get your check. True, there is a $30 fee to do everything electronically but hey, it's worth it.

What makes this even better is that I also received a client bonus at work this month. When you combine it with our refund, it comes up to 3/4 of a month's income for Chi and I. Granted, it would be better if we could work our taxes so we don't pay in more or less than we need to in order to maximize our money and get the interest instead of the government, but it seems like no matter what we do, we always get something back. Ah well, I would rather get a refund I guess than have to pay.

Now that we got this extra cash, I've been giving some really serious thought to buying a new pair of skates. I could have got them regardless but I just didn't know if I wanted to spend the money. I'm still not sure even though we received enough extra to more than compensate for the $500 - $1000 they would cost me. Yah, I know - they're expensive but I don't do the cheap piles of shit you can buy at the sports stores around town. Those are fine for people who aren't so serious about skating but I prefer the custom made types which form to your feet and are just all around more comfortable.

I don't know, I'm still up in the air about this one. Like I said, I'm still not sure I want to spend the money but on the other hand, my old skates are 15 years old (I love them dearly) and starting to wear out. I'll keep you posted on this one.

Well, lunchtime is over so I'm outta here.

Til next time....

Music & Lyrics

2007-03-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

Exercise: YAY! I finally got to go out running. The last couple of days have been up in the 60s so it's been perfect running weather. I took a new route that I haven't checked mileage on yet so I don't know exactly how far I went but I'm guessing by the amount of time I was gone it had to be at least two miles if not more. The great thing about it is I thought I might be pushing it just to make a mile since it's been so long but I wasn't. I felt great the whole time and probably could have put in another mile or so if it hadn't been for the fact that I needed to get back to the house for dinner. Oh I guess I should also mention that I did 40 push ups, 240 crunches, 60 leg lifts and 40 squats too. :)

This past Saturday my mom and I went to lunch and to see a movie. At first we were just going to eat something at the mall but the place was absolutely crowded. Think maggots on a shit pile and you will have something close to the image of all the people swarming the food court. Not that I was really expecting anything less. I mean not only was it just past noon, it's tournament time so a lot of the kids in town for that were stalking the mall. Since we didn't know how long it might take to get a seat, I suggested that we go over to PF Changs and eat there thinking it might be a little less busy. As we were walking over there, this SUV passed us. Some teenaged boy was hanging out the passenger side being a total dipshit. As him and his buddy who was driving go by, the one hanging out the window says to me, "Hey baby what's happenin? Want some candy?" Um yah sure whatever dumbass. I muttered something under my breath and my mom said, "What?" She had totally missed what had just taken place so I told her about it. I guess she didn't realize the guy was talking to us. I probably wouldn't have either had it not be for the fact that he was right next to me when he said what he did and there was no one else around. What I got a kick out of was my mom making some comment about picking a fight with them because that's so unlike her. I said, "I'm not looking to pick a fight, I would just like to be able to go back and find them so I can tell them politely to shove it up their butt!" My mom just started laughing away after I said that.

Sortly after this incident, we got to the restaurant. Sure enough, it wasn't nearly as busy as the food court in the mall and we were seated in about five minutes. The great thing about eating there is the food is tasty and it's served family style so two people can potentially eat there for about the same price as it would cost for fast food. My mom and I shared an order of their garlic noodles (which I just love by the way) and the rice that comes with them. We still had some left over after we got done eating and the entire bill came up to $14 after a $3 tip. I know, that's kind of a big tip for an $11 bill but the kid that waited on us was pretty nice and he did a good job of taking care of us.

Once we were finished eating, we had just enough time to make it back over to the theater. Actually, I think they may have started the movie a couple minutes early because the previews were already playing when we walked in. Not that it mattered since they tend to kind of get annoying after oh say the first fifteen. I swear, what is the deal with having a mimimum of 20 minutes of previews before a movie. One or two is sufficient. After that, I'm ready to call it a day and just go the hell home. Oh and if that wasn't enough, the film got all screwed up right before the movie was about to start so we ended up having to wait another 5 minutes for a tech to fix that.

In the end though it was worth it. I thought the movie was actually one of the best romantic comedies to be released in the last couple of years. It seemed to be a hit with the other people in the theater too. It had a well written script which got lots of laughs and even though it's got a similar plot line to many of the other movies in the same genre, it's just fun and the actors have good chemistry so it doesn't come off as a chore to watch. The only thing I think that could have been done better is the selection made for the part of Cora. The chic can sing, I'll give her that but I found her acting skills a little lacking. Even so, I will definitely be buying this one when it comes out on DVD if for no other reason than to stare at Hugh Grant. *DROOL* LOL I know, he's getting a bit "long in the tooth" these days but there's just something about his character that makes him appear more hawt than he would on an average day to me. :)

And now for something completely different....

I would like to address the person driving the truck with the following license plate: 351 CIT

Ok dipshit let's get something straight, you're brake lights - they're supposed to be red not orange. Orange is the colored reserved for turning signals. What did you do, have a mishap when changing the lamps out yourself or did you just think it would look cool? Why I am thinking the reason is probably the latter of the two? Well, I for one can tell you as a driver sitting behind you when you tromp on that brake peddle, it's not cool. In fact, it sucks and nearly made me blind. Dayum...Do us all a favor and change those fuckers!

That about does it for today.

Til next time....

The Concert That Almost Wasn't

2007-03-08T11:09:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 180 crunches, 60 leg lifts, 30 push ups, 30 squats, and various stretching manuvers. I'm still waiting for the weather and walks to straighten themselves out so I can start running again.

This past Saturday was the My Chemical Romance concert in Lincoln, NE. They really aren't my "cuppa" tea but TBB wanted to go and didn't have anyone else to go with her. The tickets were fairly cheap as far as tickets go so I figured what the hell. Besides, MCR does have a few songs that I like so it's not like I didn't have any interest at all. Of course with the untimely snow storm that decided to blow through, we almost didn't get to go.

From Wednesday evening through Thursday evening, there was a blizzard warning and the interstate running between here and Lincoln was closed. I guess cars and trucks were just flying off the road right and left. Thursday my office closed about 15 minutes early (yah like big woo!) and it wasn't a very good drive home. A trip that usually takes me about 20 minutes ended up taking 45 because of drifting snow and white out conditions. Chi was let out of work at noon which shocked the shit out of me. It's a very rare deal when his employer actually shuts its doors for weather problems.

Friday didn't seem to be shaping up much better either. Chi's office didn't even open that day. Of course you can bet your ass that mine was. We did have a late start (10am) and at the time I had to leave the house, the snow wasn't blowing to the point where I couldn't see out the window, however, the roads really weren't in any shape to be driven on and they had only become worse by the time the day was over. I can understand the whole bottom line issue that a company faces when having to close for a day but in this case, I think it was really stupid that the decision was made to stay open. You think closing for a day is going to hurt the profit, try having a couple of people from your staff out long term because they were in a car wreck. No day of business is worth risking people's lives in my opinion.

Friday night after I got home, I was talking with TBB and we were trying to decide what we were going to do about the concert the next day. She had pointed out that we could take an alternate highway which I wasn't too keen on just because those tend to be in worse condition than the interstates and they're notorious for being drifted shut when there's blowing snow about. Originally the plan was for TBB to leave her house about 8 and get to mine about 10 so we would have plenty of travel time for the 3 1/2 hour trip to Lincoln. Instead, TBB decided to hold off leaving her place until 10:30 in the hopes that maybe the reports of the interstate opening at noon would be true.

I-80 did reopen just after noon time but something else came up which gave us a major delay. When TBB was about 35 minutes from my house, she ended up getting in a wreck. Luckily her car suffered minor damage and she was ok other than being rather shook up which would be expected. I guess some dumbass tried to toe his son's car out of the ditch with his pick up (something that, at the time was not allowed) and rather than getting the car out, his pick up got stuck too and was still sticking out in the road a bit. According to what TBB said, everyone was getting over in the other lane to avoid it - everyone that is except for this dumb bitch who wasn't watching where she was going. The dumb dumb ended up smacking head on into the truck and spinning around - that's when she grazed TBB's car. What really took the cake, however, was later when her mommy was there, this chic tried to say that TBB cut her off. Oh yah because that's so easy to do when you're BEHIND someone. It would seem what she was getting at was that TBB didn't yield to her and let her in the other lane. How typical especially of a 19 year old driver. Obviously she had never heard of a gas peddle nor had she learned how to use it. *RE* Ok kiddies, here's a short little driving lesson for you. When you're driving down the road and there is something blocking your lane, you are the one who is required to yield not only to the road block but also to the traffic in the other lane. The same goes for when you're entering any roadway especially interstates from on ramps. I can't even tell you how many times I've had people come down those things and expect me to get over in the left lane to make way for them. Stupid bastards.

So anyway....back to the concert roadtrip. We finally ended up getting on the road just before 4. With Lincoln being 3 1/2 hours away and the concert starting at 8, we knew it was going to be tight timewise but decided to go for it. Thankfully, the interstate over wasn't too bad. There were a few spots here and there which were icy and some blowing snow but for the most part, traffic was moving along at about the speed limit. We ended up hitting Lincoln about 7:15 but we didn't get to the hotel until at least 7:30. Turns out TBB was reading the wrong map and detoured us on the scenic route. LOL I've been there before once or twice and didn't think where she was going was right, however, that was over five years ago. Things can change quite a bit in that amount of time and I didn't want to get us lost even more than we were especially since we were running so late. It turned out not to be that big of a deal though. Getting back to the main road was easy enough and the hotel wasn't very far from there.

After we got checked in and settled in our room, we rushed to get ready and walked the two blocks over to the venue. Definitely much colder than I would have liked but the hell if I was going to drive the car. When we got there, the opening band had already started. Not that it really mattered though, neither of us were overly interested in them although I think they had one song (hell if I know what it was) that I kind of liked. TBB wanted to stand on the floor in the mob so during their set, we snuck up the side towards the stage. I think when we finally stopped, we were probably about 6 - 10 rows back from the railing which was a good 4 feet from the stage.

When intermission came and the lights were turned on, I took a look around and boy did I feel really old. The majority of the crowd that was there was probably between the ages of 15 & 25 (if that old) and anyone attending who was my age more than likely was there with their kid. While we waited for MCR to take the stage, the kiddies in the crowd on the floor started getting impatient and pushing (UGH!). That coupled with the security guards who kept dousing us with water and getting in my eyes (not a good thing for a contact lens wearer) just outright pissed me off. It was then that I decided I was going to go sit in the stands because I really just didn't need that kind of shit especially at a concert for a band that I'm really not into that much. The good thing was that Mr. PIB's wife and daughter were also attending the concert and there just happened to be a seat free close to them so I was able to sit by people I know.

The show for the most part was entertaining although I think it could have been better. I mean when MCR first came out, you had this dramatical entrance that looked like something straight out of an Alice Cooper show but after that it just kind of fizzled. The whole rest of the show consisted of very little other than pyros (which scared the shit out of me every time they went off because I was sitting right next to where they go boom. So close in fact I could feel the breeze) and a bunch of guys jumping up and down because they more than likely can't dance to save themselves. I swear there were times when it was almost more interesting to watch the crowd where there was plenty of body surfing and moshing/body slamming going on. I had seen and heard about these things on tv but never actually witnessed them. I gotta say, today's kids are certainly a different breed.

Towards the end, TBB ended up getting pulled out of the crowd because she was getting crushed. Because of where I was sitting, I was able to see her come out. I sent her a text to let her know where I was so she could come and sit by us. Now this is one instance where the wireless age is truely a blessing. 15 - 20 years ago, it could have been a total nightmare trying to find someone at a concert if you got separated.

After the show was over, we headed back to the hotel to get some warmer clothes and then returned to the venue to see if the band would come out. As cold as it was, we were doubtful but stayed for awhile anyway. As it turned out, they never showed but we did end up getting some food out of the deal which was good since TBB and I had hardly eaten all day. Some guy came off one of the busses with a pizza box complete with a whole pipping hot cheese pizza and told us we could share it. Not the best meal especially at midnight but given the hour, that was pretty much our only choice.

I think the most humorous moment, however, came when we were on our way home. We had stopped at a gas station just outside of Council Bluffs so we could get something to drink. I pulled into a parking space that was next to this older Cutlass (not a total POS but not overly well kept either). As I was getting ready to get out of the car, the two guys who owned the car next to us had come out and rather than driving away after getting in, they just sat there kind of looking over at my car. Stuff like this always makes me a little suspicious but I figured it wasn't like they could really do anything without getting caught since it was broad daylight and there were quite a few people at this station. Anyway, when I get out of my car, I notice they have the passenger side window open. As I'm walking by, the kid in the driver's seat yells at me, "Hey! I like your car!" LOL That just totally cracked me up. I, of course, was polite and said, "Thanks!" but it just makes me laugh everytime I think about it.

And now for something completely different...

Today is a very sad day. As I was reading the BBC News earlier, I found out John Inman of Are You Being Served fame died at age 71. It was his character on that show (Mr. Humphries) who always made me laugh the most.

Well that's it for today.

Til next time....

Memo to the neighborhood dumb fuck & snow removal team

2007-02-28T12:52:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 180 crunches, 60 leg lifts, 30 push ups, 30 squats. YAY me!

So this past weekend we had a nasty little storm that moved through the area bringing with it thunder, lightning, rain, ice, and yes, you guessed it, snow. Many people in the state experienced power outages and the governor ended up declaring a state of emergency. Chi and I, however, came through it pretty much unscathed. Our power never went out and luckily, we didn't have to go anywhere. Well, not until Monday morning which, although it was after the storm had passed through, was bad enough considering what we had to deal with.

That brings me up to the title of today's post.

First off, to the neighborhood dumb fuck living in #701 who obviously doesn't read the monthly newsletter put out by the association and hasn't yet learned what a garage/driveway is for - consider yourself reported. I've really fuckin had it with trying to navigate around your piece of crap Saab (Polk Country License 915 PIF) in the morning on my way to work. Once again you left your stupid fucking car out on the street during a goddamn snow storm making it nearly impossible for people to drive around. At least this time we got enough snow that after the plowing was done, your ride was completely drifted in. Good luck with the dig out asshole! Hopefully once the property management company receives my complaint, they will come and tow your shit away then maybe you'll learn your lesson fucker!

Now to the snow removal people. Who the hell trained you how to do your job??? Whomever the hell it was obviously had their head shoved so far up his or her ass he or she couldn't see daylight let alone what he or she was doing given the total shit attempt made at plowing our neighborhood streets. It would be one thing if your services were free but they're not. Chi and I pay over $100/month to the association on top of our mortgage just like every other homeowner in our area to cover the cost of what you do. The thing is, you do such a poor job that I don't even know why we are paying you. First of all, you start your clearing when the snow is still coming down and blowing around - yah does a lot of good dipshit. Next, you then come back when the storm is over for another go round and stuff is starting to turn slushy. Rather than making a good effort, you clear enough area down the middle of the drive for one car (yah, real useful when you park two cars in the garage - one on each side and can't drive down the middle). Then, you make a feeble attempt to clear the street leaving big ridges of slush everywhere which freeze overnight and become big ice piles by the next morning. Um, just for your information, not everyone drives a fuckin truck that sits two feet off the ground and can easily straddle said ice mounds you redneck. Oh and good fucking job only leaving a clearing wide enough for one car where the road bends around. Real fuckin brilliant. Next time I suggest maybe using a little salt. Believe it or not, it's fairly cheap (I should know since I work for a food broker that has a salt client) and it usually works quite well for those stubborn ice patches too.

What really sucks is that we're supposed to get another storm tomorrow which is similar to the one that we had this past weekend. What's worse is the streets in my neighborhood still aren't completely clear and I just know more shit on top of it is only going to make things worse when it comes to the plowing skills (or lack thereof) of these dumbasses. UGH!

And now for something competely different....

Sometimes the stupidity people display when posting on the MySpace political forum truly amazes me. There's this one woman on there (her ID is DJ and you can find her profile here) and I swear she's not only missing something upstairs when it comes to intelligence, she comes off as just a little psychotic which is probably an understatement. What's worse is politically she's on the left and totally gives Liberals a bad name. She's definitely one person the blue team could do without. UGH!

The particular thread that just put me over the edge when it comes to her stupidity had to do with an article about a German couple who got into legal trouble for homeschooling their daughter. The article specifically stated that the girl had fallen behind in her studies so the couple were tutoring her at home. Now to everyone I know and those who were all posting in this thread (that is everyone but DJ), we took it to mean that the reason her parents were teaching her at home was because she was having trouble at school. Dumb dumb DJ, however, insisted that it meant that the girl was falling behind because she was studying at home. Of course I guess that's to be expected from someone who thinks homeschooling shouldn't be allowed because parents might indoctrinate their kids with only the teachings of the religious right rather than presenting both sides and letting the kid choose. WHATEVER!

Here's a snipit of the interaction I had with her after she decided to rag on a fifteen year old homeschooled kid who posts under the name Lil Moe.

Lil Moe said: I am homeschooled and most kids I meant say I am so lucky.

DJ said: a. this sentence doesn't speak volumes about your education b. that explains a lot of your posts. you're a good example of my point.

I see when one of you idiots tell a 15 year old that no woman will ever want him, that's just find and you defend her, but I point out that a 15 year old homeschool kid is just repeating what his parents are indoctrinating him with and I'm evil. Oh please.

and also pointed out to him that defending his education with a very badly constructed sentence was not the best way to do it.

The Fashion Diva said: So DJ tell me, does the fact that you made the same sort of grammatical error as Lil Moe (see bolded items) speak volumes about your education too? Based on your so called logic, it would seem that your public education sucked just as much as his homeschooling eh? *RE*

Lil Moe said: Are you in one of those teacher unions? Because I don't see whats wrong with my parents teaching me. My dad got a degree in Mathamatics and Computer science, my mom degree is in English.

DJ said: Honey, your parents may have good educations, but that doesn't mean they're good teachers.

Funny how you make a huge assumption about me. Sounds like youre parents are teaching you the mantra well.

If you're mother has a degree in english, she'd be upset at your grammatical skills. At 15 my kids were much better writers. They'd never say my dad got a degree, they'd say my dad has a degree or received a degree. But what the heck, my kids were educated an in real schools and so was I. I guess we don't know the new grammar.

The Fashion Diva said: Oh for crying out loud! Obviously the fact that for the first five yars of a child's life, their parents are their greatest teachers has escaped you. Even after they go to school, their parents do still play a very important part in learning.

My God, it's because my father sat down with me when I was little that I was able to learn math three years beyond what I was being taught in public school. If anything, he was a BETTER teacher because I was his daughter and he knew the best method of presenting the material so I could easily understand and retain it.

Kudos to you if your kids are in public school where the teachers know their shit and do a good job. The sad fact of the matter is, not all schools are like that. There are many which have teachers who, in my opinion, have no business being in front of a classroom because they suck that bad. Yes, there are some parents out there who probably shouldn't be teaching either but seeing as it's their kid, I think the choice should be left up to them (not you) as to what is in their child's best interest.

DJ said: I'm still trying to figure out what he was saying. WTF WAS he saying?

The Fashion Diva said: Are you really that dense? The word meant should have been meet. DUH!

DJ said: I see...Interesting. Kids (who generally don't like going to school) think he's lucky for not having to go to school....

(shaking head sadly)

and um, mistyping a d instead of an e is an easy typo, changing meet to meant? tupo? probably. As easily made as mistyping a single letter? no....

A teacher would have corrected him on it if he turned in a paper like that. Especially if it were one saying he was better educated because he was homeschooled. And it wasn't the only grammatical error he's made in his posts.

The Fashion Diva said: Of course they would. To an "outsider" it looks like it would be much easier to goof off. What they don't tend to realize is that if done correctly, it would be just as structured as a regular school and, in some cases, the parent might be more likely to be harder on the child than a teacher at a public school.

Um, whether it be a typo of a letter or a word, a teacher would dock points for the mistake. And yes, it is just as easily done especially if you are thinking faster than you're typing. I was an A student and have been known to do it every once in a while and I'm sure you have too. Until the day comes when you are perfect (which it won't by the way) lay off and stop being so petty.

Good God, you couldn't even understand the point in the original post concerning the fact that the girl in question was being homeschooled because she had fallen behind in her studies at school. I swear you're the only one that didn't comprehend it that way. *RE*

DJ said:
Um, again where did it say that? If you go by that single sentence which is the only place it mentions it, she was falling behind. And it mentioned tutoring because she was falling behind in her homeschooling?

But of course because I interpreted it differently than you, I'm stupid. Just like the attacks on the other 15 year olds on these forums is fine and justified, while some criticism of one that agrees with you is the equivalent of child abuse.

All the other hypocrites ran away. Are you really that stupid to defend something as ridiculous as this?

After her last post, I just couldn't bring myself to answer her. Her idiocy proved to be way too much for me and it was quite obvious to me that this woman's IQ had to be less than anything walking on two legs.

Well, that about does it for today.

Til next time...

You're soliciting me for what?

2007-02-23T13:21:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Two hours of hard core jam and speed skating. :)

Last night I was at the rink skating around minding my own business when this chic approached me. All she did was say, "Hey!" and when I turned back to look at her, she handed me this quarter sheet of paper that was folded in half. I said, "What's this?" in a less than thrilled tone just because papers like those are usually the kind that you find under the wiperblades on your car advertising scam jobs and shit. I unfolded the paper and read it. I guess this girl is part of some roller derby type of club or some such thing. I noticed that her and her friends had on these black shirts that referred to it (they've been there before too wearing those shirts). The paper was an "ad" for their group. I guess they want me to join. Based on the fact that I'm the only one they gave this to, it would seem they had been secretly "scouting" me. Come to think of it, these may be the same chics that were there a couple weeks ago taking pictures.

Anyway, after I read it, all I could do was roll my eyes and try to think of the closest place I could dispose of it without being overly noticeable. The bathroom - Yah, that's the ticket! Don't get me wrong, it's somewhat flattering that they think I'm that good and want me to join their little club but let's weigh the facts here.

1.) I've never quite understood the whole point of roller durby. To me, it's just kind of....well.....STUPID. For whatever reason, my mind tends to liken it to female mud wrestling. YUCK!

2.) I haven't spent 30 years of my life perfecting my skills as a skater to play "chase and block".

3.) Based on the women I saw wearing the shirts, they didn't look like they were any older than their early 20's. I mean holy shit, if that's the case, I've been skating a good ten to fifteen years longer than they've been alive.

4.) I can't help but wonder if part of the reason they invited me was the fact that they skate like shit and thought I would be the asset to their team that would get them out of a losing streak. Yah, I know that sounded pretty pompous of me but damn it's true. These chics skated like people who still haven't completely mastered balance and have lead in their ass.

5.) They wear protective gear even when "freestyle" skating - YIKES! I've never worn that shit nor will I ever. It's uncomfortable and gets in the way. Besides, I think skating without it makes a better skater because you're more likely to stick the landing the first time if you know the alternative is busting your ass. LOL Oh and for all of you out there who want to give me "the speech" - BITE ME!

So anyway, thanks but no thanks. Roller Derby just ain't so cool in my book.

Once again I don't have anything for the "something different" files so I'm just going to leave it here today.

Til next time....

Poop soup - It's what's for lunch!

2007-02-20T13:20:00.000-08:00

Exercise: None last night. Still trying to keep the "flegum" in my lungs under control. Oddly, this cold (assuming that's what I have/had) seems to be a bit of a puss. Recovery time from it has worked out to be about half what I usually experience - not that I keep colds that long to begin with.

So I'm sure you're probably wondering what the hell the title of this post is all about especially due to its graphically disgusting nature. Well, I made a trip to the bathroom right before lunch as I usually do, however, today I found a really nasty surprise in there that I really could have done without especially right before lunch. It appeared that someone had shit in one of the toilets and when it was flushed, the old crap shoot decided to back up leaving a bowl full of brown, smelly water complete with toilet paper and poo chunks. Thank God I saw it before lunch rather than after. I wish I hadn't seen it at all but if it had to happen, that was the most opportune time. At least that way I could just choose not to eat rather than harfing my lunch up in the next stall over.

And now for something completely different....

PIBs is a happy chappy. He was all excited when The Police announced their reuion tour but then crushed when he found out the initial dates weren't for venues anywhere close to here. The Evil One managed to get tickets to the Madison Square Gardens show so of course being the meany I am I made sure to let PIBs know about it (evil laugh). As expected, he came back with the, "YOU SUCK!" response. I did some further researching on this tour the next night after The Evil One gave me some additional information. I found out that The Police do have a date booked for July 2 in St. Louis. It's about a 7 hour drive but at least it's driveable which is what PIBs was looking for. Oh was he all over that after I told him. It seems that I've now been the one elected to go with him. Now I'm not a huge Police fan (I don't own any of their stuff) but I do enjoy some of their music so it's not like it was a hard sell for PIBs. :) We'll see what happens with this. So far, nothing's set in stone since the show time along with ticket sale date has yet to be determined. I guess it only took 14 minutes to sell out both NYC shows so who knows if we will actually be able to get tickets but if we do, I guess PIBs and I will be roadtripping in July. So help me if I don't kill him before we hit the state boarder! LOL

Otay, that's all for me today.

Til next time....

Happy V-Day/Anniversary to me!

2007-02-16T10:52:00.000-08:00

Exercise: None. I decided to take the night off last night from skating. I was going to go but then decided against it. I thought I would just take the evening to rest in the hopes this cold (which hasn't been too horrible) will go away sooner. Besides, it will probably do my toe some good to take the week off. I'm still puzzled as hell when it comes to what I did to it. I also had Chi begging for me to stay home and spend some quality time with him so that made it even more worth it to stay home.

So Wednesday marked the 8th anniversary of when Chi and I got married. Although many couples choose to go out and celebrate an event like this, we chose to once again have a nice meal at home. Quite honestly, I think in many cases the food is better since you can prepare it just the way you want, and the whole setting is much more cozy. Of course when number 10 comes around, we may just have to trip somewhere since that will be more of a milestone.

The downside was that I wasn't feeling very well because of that cold which decided to inhabit my body. It was all I could do to make it to the store and pick up a few things I needed for dinner without passing out but I showed it who was boss in the end.

The menu for the evening was the following:

Linguine with homemade marinara sauce and garlic bread
Chocolate dipped strawberries with white coconut chocolate drizzled on top
Strawberry bellinis (I'm not a drinker and can't really stand the taste of alcohol, but I have to say these were really good).

Now I usually do a decent job when it comes to cooking but I was really please with how everything turned out. Not only did the food taste excellent if I do say so myself, I thought the presentation wasn't half bad either considering I had never tried presenting pasta like the chefs do or the fact that I hadn't ever made the fancy looking strawberries before.

I think Chi must have liked it pretty well too. I mean he did say it was good and all but considering the fact that he was scarfing down the leftovers the next day kind of says it all.

There was one thing that did piss me off during this day other than my cold. Dumbass John McCain decided he needed to give us a recorded phone call right when I was in the middle of making everything. The first time the phone rang, I didn't answer it and figured if it was someone who really needed to get a hold of one of us, they would call back. About a half hour later, the phone rang again so I figured I should probably pick it up. Luckily I was at a point where I could stop and do so. I run up the stairs as fast as possible to catch it before whomever hangs up and as soon as I pick the thing up and say hello, I hear dumbasses voice on the other end of the line. I was soooo disgusted! I mean what the hell kind of politician calls people on Valentine's Day of all days? That's just stupid! Even if I had some remote liking for the guy, that would have killed any chance of getting me to vote for him. What an idiot!

And now for something completely different...

I see that Rush Limbaugh has once again shown just what a total bigoted gas bag he is by saying Obama should "renounce" his race and just "become white" because Obama made a statement saying, "If you look African - American in this society, you're treated as an African - American." Quite frankly, I think Obama is right on target because you can bet had his skin been white, you wouldn't be hearing all the crap you do about whether or not the US is ready for a black president even though he is in fact 1/2 black. It amazes me there are people out there that still listen to this asshole and think he's just the greatest. Obviously they had a lobotomy at some point in thier lives.

Next up are the global warming naysaying dumbshits who have recently reared their ugly little heads on the MySpace political forum once again. I think the most laughable claim they've been making has to do with it not possibly being for real because temperatures have been extremely cold the last couple of weeks. Ok dumbasses, let's get something straight here. Global warming refers to the average temperature of the atmosphere (you know that area that surrounds the Earth and has about five layers a couple of which actually get warmer the farther up you go) and the temperatures of the oceans. Because this problem is based on an average planet temperature rather than a day to day local temperature, it's very possible to have below zero weather and still have a heating of the atmosphere and oceans. Not to mention, even though the weather has been quite cold, it's still not like it used to be years ago. I can remember when I was a kid, it snowed a hell of a lot more than it has in the last few years. I can also remember days when we would have -40F windchills or colder (and that was the high during the day!) for a few days in a row. I don't remember there being any days that cold for quite some time.

I guess the thing I really don't understand about the naysayers is...What the hell is the big deal if it should turn out that there isn't a real problem? I mean given 90% of scientists or more do believe there is merit to the idea of global warming so more than likely there is reason for concern but even if they are wrong, what's so bad about taking percautions? Are you people really so self-indulgent that you can't give up a few things to at the very least make the air a little bit nicer to breathe or at the very most prevent catastrophic consequences? Sad. Really sad.

Alright people. I'm outta here.

Til next time.....

Tuesday Tirade

2007-02-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 180 crunches, 60 leg lifts, 30 push ups, and 30 squats. As much as I hoped, the running things just didn't happen last night. Too much drizzle spit coming out of the sky for my liking.

There's nothing like a morning full of idiots when I'm getting a cold to bring out the snarky side of me.

It seems some asshole of a cold thought it needed to start setting up house (speaking of which - he's on tonight - YIPPIE!!! Sorry couldn't help myself - back to the story hehe) in my bod yesterday. It began with a slight cough but now the bastard must be running water and flushing the toilet because my nose won't stop dripping. It could, of course, be worse and I think there's maybe only been twice in my life when I've had a cold that put me down for a day but it's annoying all the same.

What's kind of strange about it all is that Chi has had a nasty little bug for the past few weeks and I've managed to avoid it all this time. I was really beginning to think I might be able to escape unscathed but obviously that didn't happen. I have a feeling though whatever I got didn't come from Chi. More than likely, I got it from the damn drinking fountain at the skating rink. Last week there was a session made up of quite a few ankle biters right before the one I was there for. Kids are great but let's face it, they do some pretty disgusting things particularly when it comes to water fountains that even holding the button down to let the water run before taking a drink won't fully safeguard against.

I'd like to give a shout out to the person in building 7 who is once again parking their car on the main street that comes back into our section of the neighborhood. Thanks a lot you FUCKER! It's bad enough having to drive around your pile of shit especially since people like to drive on the wrong fucking side of the road around where I live but it's even worse when you have snow coming down and icy streets to contend with. I saw there was some nice drift action going on around your ride so with any hope that shit will be half way up the side of it by the time you come out to leave causing you to have to dig for oh say and hour or so. BASTARD!

Now to the chick in the blue Cavalier who insisted on driving right next to me this morning when I was coming around on the mix master where the road is a banked curve and a bridge no less - SHIT OR GET OFF THE POT WOMAN!!! You know, I'm comfortable with my driving skills in winter weather. Hell, I had to take my final drive for driver's ed in a blizzard, however, some of the other people out on the road really fuckin scare me. This chic was one of them. I mean it's one thing to drive side by side in the area where we were on a dry day but when it's snowy and very icy - YAH RIGHT! All I needed was for her to spin out or something. It also wouldn't have been so bad had she stayed in her own fuckin lane but she insisted on using part of mine too which means she was only inches away from me instead of feet. BITCH!

I got a call from SHL today. If you will remember from an earlier post, this is the helpdesk woman that has been trying to solve an issue with a financial planning tool we use here in the office. Help is the last thing this woman offers. Today she called to confirm an account number and when I gave her the information she asked for, she basically told me that the number I gave her couldn't possibly be the right one. Ok bitch, if it isn't, then why the hell did you call me? Oh and get this, what she was confirming was something that she had only been given three times prior but for one reason or another no longer had.

If that wasn't enough, she then proceeded to try and tell me what I was seeing on my screen wasn't there. Um yah right WHATEVER! I sent you a fuckin screen shot that shows exactly what I'm telling you you stupid bitch. I swear this woman will argue any point even if you have proof to the contrary. The most scary part of it all....she's supposed to be one of the best people for solving these sorts of issues. YIKES!!!

Well, that about does it for today. Once again, I have nothing for the "something differen't files". Tomorrow is Valentine's Day (also the 8th anniversary of the day Chi and I got married) so I won't be posting. Tune in Thursday for the latest happenings.

Til next time....

Obama is officially IN!

2007-02-12T12:59:00.000-08:00

Exercise: None yet. Wouldn't you know, the temps have started to climb a little and I wasn't able to make it out for a run yesterday because I had house duties to take care of. Today isn't looking any better because the snow bastards have decided we need 5 - 7 inches of the white stuff. Or so says the weather people who, at times, are about as reliable as a game of Telephone. Who knows, if it isn't crappy by the time I get home, I may just get out there and go. Hell, I've been known to go even when it's snowing, however, they are predicting freezing rain before the snow. Falling down and breaking my ass is the last thing I need right now especially after messing up my toe last Thursday night if you know what I mean.

So back to the title of this post. This past Saturday Barack Obama officially entered the Presidential race for 2008. I, personally, am very happy that he did. I know a lot of people have reservations about him because he isn't as experienced as other candidates but there's something telling me that might be a good thing. After all, Lincoln had very little experience and he is still one of the most respected Presidents the US has ever had. That's not to say that if Hilary got the nomination and Barack didn't that I wouldn't vote for her. While I do like Hilary and would love to see a woman finally be President, I just think Obama would be better for our country right now.

Of course not everyone is as thrilled about Obama as I am. It seems the PM over in Australia thinks if Obama wins the Presidency, it's going to also be a win for the terrorists. OH GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK!!! Personally John Howard I think it's time you pulled your head out of Dubya's ass long enough to see the light and smell the fresh air. Nobody - Democrat or Republican wants terrorists to take over. Some of us (Obama being one of them) knew this war was nonsense from the beginning and can see that our occupation in Iraq is only making things worse. Oh and look at your ratings - they're kind of going south just as Dubya's have aren't they? Gee, wonder why. Maybe because the people in your country are just as fed up as those in the US and can see quite easily through your bullshit. Funny how you sit back and froth this garbage when you have more 1000 troops there yet many are in noncombat roles. I agree with Obama. If you're so, "ginned up to fight the good fight in Iraq," you need to send another 20,000 Australians to the war. "Otherwise, it's just a bunch of empty rhetoric." Of course the best part of all this is that Republicans and Democrats alike were telling good old John to get his nose out and Obama was being a good sport by saying he took the attacks on him as a compliment. Now that to me defines a candidate with class.

Otay I don't have time for my "something different" files today. Not that I really would have much to say anyway so I will just leave it here for now.

Til next time...

House has returned and all is well

2007-02-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 180 crunches, 60 leg lifts, 30 squats, and 30 push ups. Damn this cold weather! I want to be able to get back outside and run.

Well, because Medicom and Sinclair finally decided to work out their issues with each other, my Fox channel is back and I was able to enjoy my first episode of House in weeks. I also did watch American Idol although I don't know why. Oh wait, that's right....there was nothing else on and it was too butt cold to go out and run. Now AI I can live without (there's only so many times you can watch people make fools of themselves then be verbally abused by judges before you get bored), but House is much harder to forgo. I absolutely love his sardonic wit paired with his extraordinary problem solving skills.

And now for something completely different....

My mom has this vegetarian cookbook that she loaned to me awhile back. I copied quite a few of the receipes into the database I keep on my computer (yes, I know that's being too organized - piss off!). Anyway, lately I've been cooking a lot of these dishes and I have to say they are pretty damn good. Even stuff I wasn't sure if I would like or not was tasty although I will admit there is one recipe that's supposed to be kind of like a pasta salad with fresh tomato and olives which I actually cook even though the receipe doesn't say to. I don't really care for tomatoes but they're not so bad when cooked (even better when in ketchup hehe). Anyway, I have got to say that this is some of the best damn pasta sauce I think I've ever had. What's even better is that the recipe usually makes quite a bit so there are leftovers and it's fairly healthy since it's made from fresh ingredients and doesn't have any added salt or sugar like that nasty canned stuff. Oh and the simplicity is great. I mean the most time consuming bit is actually cutting up the tomatoes and cooking the pasta. Mmmmm just thinking about it makes me want some. :)

Otay, that be it for today.

Til next time...

Governor Perry you've been a very naughty monkey!

2007-02-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 200 crunches, 60 leg lifts, 30 squats, and 30 push ups. Almost made it out for a run last night but the wind was still blowing a little too much considering the temperature.

Well, it seems Governor Perry from Texas has decided to take a page out of old Dubya's book by doing whatever the hell he wants regardless of how many people oppose him. This past Friday he signed an executive order requiring all schoolgirls entering 6 th grade (basically ages 11 & 12) be vaccinated against HPV starting this fall. This is just assinine in my opinion and fear mongering to get people's money at best. Personally, I think a decision like this is best left in the hand's of the parents. Now granted they can opt out but it has to be for religious or philisophical reasons and there's a bunch of red tape to do it.

I can understand the thought of wanting to keep people safe and healthy but anyone who knows anything about HPV will tell you that although it's very frequent, the number of cases which actually turn into cervical cancer are very small. In fact, from some of the research I've done, cancer rates have been declining for quite some time and this one in particular ranks as one of the lowest in frequency. Based on what I've read on the MySpace political forum, it seems to be bringing back that old myth about being able to catch STDs from toilet seats. Now while it's possible in theory given the perfect conditions, there has yet to be a documented case of it actually happening. Oh and damn those people who put this fear in some women's minds. May you forever find yourself sitting on a wet seat when using a public toilet. Some of us don't believe that shit and we're tired of having to use toilets after those who do since they hover and piss all over the seats but don't wipe it up.

The other real questionable part of Perry's actions are his connections to Merck. That just seems like a total conflict of interest to me. If that isn't enough, this particular vaccine costs $360 which must be paid out of pocket for those receiving the shots. Now even though many insurance companies might cover this, we have to remember here there are a staggering number of people who don't have insurance due to the fact that it's so damn expensive. Yep, someone's definitely getting paid.

To sum it up, I'm glad I don't live in Texas and hopefully even though Merck is trying to get every state to do this, this bullshit will never make its way to Iowa.

And now for something completely different.....

I watched a show on TLC last night that I found very interesting and think shows very well that true love does in fact conquer all. If I remember correctly the title of the show was My Unique Family and last night was its debut. The first episode focused on a family in which the father was transitioning from male to female. Rather than the wife taking the children and leaving like many people might, this particular one stayed and they are making things work. Although I can't say for sure how I would react if I were in that situation, I could fully understand where she was coming from when she she mentioned having a connection with the other person that just couldn't be thrown away because the package they came in changed.

Well, that's it for me today.

Til next time....

Coincidence? I think not!

2007-02-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

Exercise: None yet other than walking back and forth to the other side of the office. I'm still hankering for a run but with the colder than butt cold weather outside, I'm thinking that won't be happening for awhile so I will have to still with the usual crunches, leg lifts, and push-ups again this evening.

So Medicom who the hell are you trying to fool? For those of you who don't know, Medicom is one of the local cable providers. A few months ago they started having this completely stupid dispute with Sinclair Broadcasting. Supposedly Sinclair wanted a certain amount of money and Medicom thought it was too much. What it came down to is if the dispute didn't get settled, those who subscribed to Medicom cable tv would lose their local Fox channel so if they wanted to see it, they would have to use the old rabbit ear antennas to see it. Yah, I know big flippin deal. Hell, I personally would have been willing to pay an extra $5 a month if they would both just shut the fuck up and settle their pathetic crap.

Anyway, the end of the first deadline came and Sinclair gave an extension to see if things could be worked out. By the time the end of the second deadline came (the first of the year), it was determined no agreement could be arranged so the channel was pulled. Now I will say I was a bit pissed in the fact that it meant I would no longer be able to watch House since I didn't have any rabbit ears, I didn't want to go out and get any, and they don't seem to work worth shit in our house anyway. Ah well, it's not like tv is my life so it wasn't that big of a deal that the channel was pulled.

Well, this past week, there was a report on the news about Medicom raising some of its rates. Of course they make sure to stick in the comment that the increase had nothing to do with renegotiating the contract with Sinclair to get the Fox station back on Medicom's line-up. Oddly enough two days after that report, guess what? Fox is now back on. You have got to be fucking kidding me if you think customers are actually going to believe that rate hike had nothing to do with the channel coming back online. I mean the fact that they made a point of mentioning it had nothing to do with the Sinclair negotiations when they first reported the rate hike made me suspicious but once the dispute was magically settled two days later, you can bet your ass I was 100% sure it's no coincidence. I know there are some pretty dumb people out there, but come on, the public isn't that stupid. Ah well, at least I will now once again get to watch House even though I've missed a few weeks and will have to try to figure out what the hell is going on.

And now for something completely different....

My little blue baby rolled 10,000 miles this past week. I was coming home from work Thursday night and when I was about a mile away from home, the odometer turned over. I think it's unbelieveable that it took over a year to reach that point. Hell, I think my Sunfire was there in about six months or less. My initial calculations came out to where I would have 100,000 miles when the car turns 10 but if I keep at the rate I'm at now, I shouldn't even hit 90,000 by the time I've had that long. Not bad....not bad at all especially when I take into the account my Sunfire had double that in only 8 years.

Ok, I'm giving all my readers a warning. I'm planning to move this blog over to word press. I have been kind of "shopping around" for awhile now to see what other services are out there and I like some of the features Word Press can offer that blogger can't. The downside, however, is that Word Press doesn't allow you to set up a custom template unless you pay for it (which I'm not going to do) but I think I'll manage without. It's time for a change anyway. I'm not sure when then move will take place but I'm hoping soon. I will provide a link once the other site is up and ready to go.

Well, that about does it for me today.

Til next time....

And she's back boy that was awkward!

2007-02-02T00:57:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Two hours of hard core roller blading.

So I hit the rink again last night. Seems those squats I've been doing have really done the trick. I was able to skate harder and faster than last week and I think I'm nearly up to par with what I used to be a few years ago when I was going on a regular basis.

There was something though that threw me a little off. In my last post, I mentioned seeing a truck owned by a company a "blast from the past" worked/s for and mulling over whether it was just a coincidence or a sign. Well, depending on how much is read into it, I'm starting to lean toward it being a sign. Not in the respect that I heard from the person who it reminded me of but the person from the past who showed up at the rink. He's one of the others that I was referring to when I posted the other day about how guys get funny when they find out a woman is married.

The first time I had ever seen this guy was nearly 15 years ago over at the other rink I used to frequent. We never spoke to each other although for whatever reason, I always wanted to. Of course me being the chicken shit that I definitely was back then (and still am to some extent), I didn't ever approach him. Fast forward to about 4 years ago. I had been skating at the rink I'm going to now on a regular basis. Out of the blue, this guy shows up. I did remember him but like the last time I saw him, I was too chicken shit to talk to him. Turns out he decided to talk to me. Seems I wasn't the only one who remembered the two of us crossing paths at the other rink. For the next few weeks we kind of hung out together at the rink just talking about this and that, what we had done in the last ten years blah blah blah. At some point a few weeks after we had started talking he asked me if I was married which kind of surprised me since the ring on my finger makes it a little obvious and it's not as though I tried to hide the fact that I was. Hell, I just assumed he was too (or at least seeing someone and yes, I know what assuming does). Well, the week after the night I had answered, "Yes." to his question, things got weird. He started talking to me less and less and then stopped coming all together. It would seem that he was hoping to take things further than just friendship. Had he decided to talk to me years ago, he may have gotten his chance (I admit, I thought he was kind of cute in his own way and our personalities seemed very compatible.) but by waiting he was too late.

Anyway, my whole point of telling about this guy is because he showed up at the rink last night. Definitely the last person I was expecting to see there. Looks like he may have a woman in his life now - a chick I remember from years ago at the other rink. If she's who I think she is, I can't say I like her much because I can remember her treating my oldest nephew like he was either an idiot or child much younger than he was when I took him skating with me back then. The really weird part about all this is, the guy didn't even say hello to me. Ok, so I didn't venture to speak to him either but I thought it best especially after the way things ended the last time I saw him but geez, it's been four fucking years and he seems to have a girlfriend- get over it and let's all be friends. DAYUM!

And now for something completely different....

For all the naysayers when it comes to global warming - read this and SUCK IT! It's not 100% proven yet but 90% is enough for me to think there is merit to it.

I was watching the world news last night and they reported that on average people in the US are in a 1% savings deficit. According to the report, there have only been four times in history when the savings level has dropped below zero - 2005 and then two years back in the early 30s around the depression. We keep heading down this road, you can bet your ass we're heading for the bottom falling out of our economy. Shape the hell up people and stop buying on impulse. I swear this is a result from the influence of things like computers, cell phones, and tvs which give instant gratification and have turned us into a need it now society. Thank God my parents grew up in a time before all of that shit and were able to teach me how to put off things that I want so I am able to somewhat ensure financial security for my family.

That's it for today.

Til next time.....

Shad Shad the social pooping cat

2007-01-31T11:21:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 160 crunches (yep, I've upped the stakes again), 50 leg lifts, and 30 squats.

Any of you out there who are SNL junkies and used to watch the show about 15 years ago might remember a skit called Toonsis The Driving Cat. As the title suggests, it involved a cat who could drive a car although in the end he would wreck and you typically saw a flash to footage of a car tumbling down a cliff. Now our little Grey Guy is gifted - not quite to the degree that Toonsis is (and even if he was, he wouldn't be allowed to have the keys) but he's got some talent. I have come to the conclusion that because of the praise he has received over his talents, he believes his shit "don't stank" and that everyone needs to be present for the blessed event. To put it quite simply, the cat appears to have this need to seek out "his people" before visiting the "sandbox".

Some of you might be saying, "Oh come on, you just happen to be by the box when he needs to go." Obviously there are times when this is true but not always. We have two kitty dump sites at our house - one upstairs, the other down. In the morning after I get ready for work, I go from the master bath to the small bath upstairs to feed the little monsters then go downstairs to put on my shoes and get my lunch ready. Sure as anything if the little grey hairball decides to eat breakfast, he will sprint downstairs to poo in the box in the bathroom down there where I am rather than stopping at the one upstairs as he passes by on his way down. Yep, he's a total social dumper and how the air quality drops once he's made himself known. Forget about Toonsis, this is more along the lines of Something Smells Good In Stinkville...."Oh just hand me the damn cat's ass!"

And now for something completely different.....

As I was coming to work today, I was passed by a semitruck owned by a company whom someone from my past worked for (and may still - it's been years since we last talked). Now the superstitious people out there would say it's a sign. Those who aren't into that stuff probably would just dismiss it and not think anything of it. Then there's the idea that if we see something that we some how can relate to, we are more likely to pick up on it. I suppose that could be considered true but I don't think that played much into this. I don't really consider myself to be superstitious but I do think it's interesting how coincidences do arise when things like this come along. For whatever reason, I had a thought of this person come into my head right before I saw the truck. I've noticed that from time to time I will have dreams involving things which actually come to pass to. Very strange. So back to the truck...if it were to be considered a sign, I wonder what it's a sign of. Hopefully the future will tell because I'm like the cat when it comes to curiosity and yes, I swear it probably will kill me one day.

Ok, that's it for me today.

Til next time....

There's a critter in the ceiling dear Liza

2007-01-30T12:47:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 120 crunches, 50 leg lifts, 30 push ups, 30 squats (decided to add these to kind of mix it up a little and help out with the skating).

Earlier today I was sitting at my desk minding my own business as I do and all of a sudden I hear this noise that sounds kind of like someone rustling a wrapper. At first I didn't think much of it but then it continued. I sat for a minute just listening and realized that was no wrapper, that was a mouse or some other small animal scurrying around. For the next half hour or so, the poor little thing was just running all over the place and making quite a bit of noise doing it - so much so that it was rather distracting.

And now for something that isn't entirely different because it's still work related....

I get a kick out of the drama that starts over the most simple things. One of the other departments here is being required to take a test on a couple of the MS Windows applications - I believe Excel and Outlook. From what I understand they have to score at least a 70% and do each test in less than a half hour. Now I can see how if you have a slow computer (and trust me, many of the ones we have here are) you could end up not finishing in time especially if you don't know the answers to the questions right off the bat but really. 70% is what I would term generously low especially for someone who is in a position where they should know this shit. Of course when it comes to the people I work with, I'm often amazed by just how little they do know. Oh and I would wager to say that very few in this office even know what Access is let alone how to use it effectively which is a real shame because it could make tons of things so much easier. What really makes me laugh though is when these things come up, there's always someone who'll make some sort of comment about me taking the test for them. Um shyah I don't think so.

Well, that about does it for me today. Lunchtime is almost over anyway. I know - dud post today but what can I say, it's been a fairly slow day so far. Maybe tomorrow will bring something a little more exciting.

Til next time....

Oh the travesty! My beloved wood floor is gone!

2007-01-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 2 hours of kick ass skating.

So during my daily morning chat with Mr. PIB the other day, he was telling me about taking his daughter roller skating. Turns out he actually likes to go - an admission that ended up being kind of a "well spank my ass and call me Charlie" moment for me since most people these days will look at you as though you have a third eyeball and say, "Isn't that a 70s thing?" when you even try and utter the words roller and skating together.

Anyway, after all this talk, I decided to bite the bullet and return after a 3 - 4 year hiatus to the adult night session I used to go to at one of the local rinks. I had been thinking about going for awhile but just couldn't be bothered for one reason or another. For the most part, I'm glad I went and it once again reminded me just how much I like to skate. The downside - the floor has been changed. This place used to have the biggest, most beautiful wood floor in town - it's now plastic tiles that go click click click click when you skate over them. Granted it's not as bad as those coated concrete floors but nothing beats wood. According to one of the guys I talked to, there was a really bad leak in the roof that destroyed the floor beyond repair. The insurance only covered $50000 and to install a brand new wood floor would cost $200000. While I understand the financials pretty much made it impossible for the owner to go with wood, it SUCKS! Even so, I'm sure I will find myself returning on at least a somewhat regular basis although the music they play is still complete and utter shit for the most part (that was one of the reasons I stopped going in the first place - tired of the same old same old and the modern day stuff being nothing but crappy rap).

I think the most interesting thing about returning was discovering that I must have left some sort of impression on people when I used to go regularly. One of the guys who's a regular came up to me and actually remembered me from a few years ago. I think I had maybe talked to him once or twice before but usually nothing more than a passing hello. Then there was another guy who came up and talked to me for a bit. He actually remembered me from the another rink I used to frequent about 15 years ago. I couldn't believe it. As far as I know, we had never spoken to each other before and I sure as hell don't remember him yet he (and a couple of his friends) remembered me. Of course I also have to wonder if he had other motives by talking to me when he first approached. The reason I say this is because he started off by talking about the other rink and stuff then kind of went through a list of things that I might have done since then one of them being getting married (I noticed right before he asked this he had glanced down at my left ring finger). I don't know, there was just something in the way he asked that kind of gave me the impression that the question was brought up to find out information rather than actually being interested as to whether I was married or not.

That's what brings up my next thought....

Why is it that guys get so weird about things when they find out a woman they've been talking to is married? I mean yah, ok it puts kind of a damper on things if the guy has intentions of wanting to date the woman but what is it with guys thinking they've got to drop the coversation right there and then basically act like you no longer exist? Christ, married woman are people too. Just because we can't be close to you in a romantic way doesn't mean we can't or don't want to talk to you. I swear people are so weird when it comes to stuff like that. I guess that's the one thing that I really like about Mr. PIB. He's married, I'm married but we are buds and can hang out without it being "weird".

So back to the skating thing. When the session was over, I was reminded of a bunch of muscles that I have but obviously hadn't been using enough. I swear that had to be the first time I actually felt stiff and sore right after I got done. What's really bad is I got a nasty cramp in the foot as I was driving home - not a good thing especially when you drive a car with a clutch. It was then that I really started dreading the next day because I figured my legs would be even more stiff than they already were. Oddly enough, they weren't. I actually felt pretty damn good. The downside though was that I wasn't able to get in a good stretch and run on Friday evening so getting out of bed on Saturday morning wasn't overly pleasant. Even today I'm still feeling a little tightness but I think after I go to a couple more sessions, the soreness will be a thing of the past.

And now for something completely different....

I would like to address the asshole who keeps parking on the street in front of building number 7 (Yah you with the license plate 915 PIF). Read your newsletter dipshit! Your car either belongs in the driveway or in one of the parking spaces back by buildings 2 & 3. I'm getting really fuckin tired of having to try to navigate around your piece of shit auto especially since there is still ice on the road due to a clean up crew the doesn't know what the hell they are doing.

And speaking of annoying people and their cars. I'd like to give a two bird salute to the fucker who cut me off this morning as I was coming to work. You're lucky you were moving too fast for me to catch your license plate otherwise you better believe I would be posting it. Obviously someone forgot to tell you that when you merge into traffic, you are the one who is supposed to yield. Oh and another thing - you pass on the left, not the right asshole and definitely not 20 feet from where the road and exit lane fork. I did watch you make your way on down the interstate. It seems that you didn't stop with cutting people off after you nearly hit me. From the looks of it, you nearly caused another accident which makes me wonder if you even made it to your destination today after all that wreckless driving. If you did, congrats although I'm sure the accident Gods will get you yet and are planning your crash as I type this. If you didn't, serves you right and maybe you'll learn next time but I doubt it. Yah, that was cold but you know what, when you come close to killing people because of your stupidity, chances are they aren't going to be overly friendly.

Otay, I think that about does it for me today. Lunchtime is almost over so I should get this posted.

Til next time....

Who left the freezer door open?

2007-01-22T12:54:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Yah right. At 2F with a windchill of -16F and no shoveled walks you can bet your ass I wasn't out running. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind running in the cold but even I do have limits. LOL

To start off today's post....A little ranting

So last Monday was our first commute during a winter storm this season. The good part about it being the first time is that people generally will go slower and be more cautious than they tend to be if they've already delt with slippery roads a couple of times. The bad part is no matter if it's the first time or the last time in the season, people don't seem to know how to clean their fucking cars off. I can't tell you how many I saw going around with a back window completely covered. Then again, now that I think about it, I shouldn't be surprised. It's not like most people look behind them when doing things like changing lanes these days anyway. *RE*

Now what I really can't understand is the road reports given on the news. I mean they pimp those things to sound as though it's going to be trecherous then you get out there and it's not so bad. That's not to say caution shouldn't be taken and the roads are as good as they are when dry, but I've noticed lots of times they make it sound a whole hell of a lot worse than it really is. My traction control light came on a couple of times (once on the way to work and once on the way home) but compared to some of the weather I've driven in, this was nothing.

Then there's the state of the neighborhood streets when it comes to the winter season. I swear the people hired to come and plow them don't know what the hell they are doing and it would seem that each year they neglect the sidewalks more and more. Two days later those fuckers still weren't shoveled. Well, I take that back. It appeared a feeble attempt was made to get the snow off them. Of course what pisses me off most about that is they leave half the shit on there and don't put any ice melt down, it refreezes and rather than just being light fluffy snow, it turns rock hard making it even more dangerous to walk on than before it was shoveled.

I'm really beginning to hate the toilets we have in our house. I swear the drain pipe in them is smaller than your average dump station. It seems like things that would easily go down in most toilets end up clogging ours up. Now there have been times when Chi has flushed wads of hair down (something I tend to get on his case about since that's trouble just looking for a place to happen) but these three little bastards have sort of been this way since we bought the house. I know it's not an actual plumbing problem (which is good) but it's a pain in the ass. Of course after my experience last Sunday, I have to say I would really like to replace these little pansy ass flushers with the high power models (you actually have to try if you want to clog those fuckers up).

So what happened Sunday your wondering? Oh let me tell you. I spent a good hour cleaning the toilet and floor in our master bathroom because one of those piss pots decided to overflow. That has got to be one of THE grossest tasks a homeowner may have to ever do. Luckily there wasn't that much water that came out but even a drop is more than I wanted to have to deal with (luckily it wasn't brown and turd infested). What made matters worse is that it ran along where the carpet meets the bathroom flooring at the door and there was just enough of a crack there so some of it leaked through to the kitchen floor downstairs. I was so pissed when Chi called my attention to it and yep, I once again called our house The Fucking Money Pit. At least the ending turned out happy. There wasn't any lasting damage and I was able to get the toilet sorted out without having to call a plumber because that's one expense I didn't want to have to face. We just got the $10000 put back in the savings which was withdrawn for Chi's car and didn't want to have to start taking it back out again.

On top of all this, there's work. You know most days I don't mind my job and I have to say I'm glad to have one but then there are other days where I just want to choke the living shit out of someone and tell just about everyone else to do to hell. last week was a real doozy for that.

Are annual review assessments were due and I swear I don't know why those of us who are administrators have to even bother. Every year it's the same questions and every year I get the same scores. What's so ridiculous about this is that we've basically been told by our supervisor that she's not allowed to score more than one or two 4s per evaluation (each question is rated on a scale of 1 - 4) so basically a three is all the better you can do. Oh and no one gets a 4 for attendance even if they only take time off which is accrued and advanced notice is given. How ridiculous is that? I swear every time we do these things I feel as though I am wasting my time because I will never get any better than where I'm at now. The sad part about it is, it's not because I don't try harder or do more stuff beyond the call of duty but because the "system" of higher ups won't allow it. Totally pathetic I tell ya. Oh and if that isn't bad enough, I don't like the fact that my supervisor will go and talk with the business managers then rate me based on what they say rather than getting both sides of the story first. There have been a couple of times now where I've been scored lower because a business manager decided to only fill my supervisor in on half the details of the story. What is it with people and not wanting to be accountable?

Last week also seemed to be "You're So Stupid" week too. There's an error in one of the financial planning tools we use for one of our manufacturers and the person at the helpdesk we have been talking to about it is, in my opinion, dumber than a rock. Now I've dealt with this woman before and let me tell you every time I've had to talk to her, I've wanted to reach through the phone and slap her. She's one of those people who won't listen to a word you say because of course she's right, you're wrong, and that will never change. Then there's the fact that she won't shut up long enough to listen. You try to say something and she'll just over talk you. Oh and this isn't just my opinion of her. The business manager thinks the same of her. What's truly scary is he told me that he had heard this woman helped develop this POS software. The BM and I had the exact same thought about that....If it's indeed true, it's no wonder the database is so completely fucked up.

Anyway, here's the email exchange I had with this woman (I think I shall refer to her as SHL aka Stupid Helpdesk Lady)...

SHL: Can you please send me the screen shot of the payment tool...all the pages leading up to the error message?

Me: Please see below. (Now keep in mind here the BM had already sent here a copy of the shot showing the error I had sent him a couple days prior and then I sent her a shot of two screens I go through right before the error comes up).

SHL: Thanks....Can you send me the shot with the error message as well please?

Me: I believe the BM already did.

SHL: It will be more helpful to see the full flow...your last screen shot with the error message on top is what I need.

Me: (shaking my fists at the computer screen because of her stupidity). You have all of the shots. The error comes up on top of the one that says [Screen Title] (2nd shot in the message below) as soon as I enter any dollar amount and try to move to another field or validate the claim.

SHL: I just left you a voice message (not sure why she didn't just call my direct line seeing as the number was attached to every email I sent her. Yet one more thing to give her stupid marks for.). I need to have all the documentation come from the same session. The BM's copy was from a different day. Please just try to clear the deduction and when you get the error message, send me the screen shot. The technical group cannot investigate properly without the documentation coming from the same work session.

I was livid by this point but ended up doing what she asked because I know if I hadn't, I would have given her a few choice words which would have gotten me in hot water. The completely stupid part about all this is the only way she knew what I sent her came from two different sessions is because originally I had given the BM a print out of the error not an electronic copy. He then scanned it and sent it to her. Had I sent it to him electronically she would have been none the wiser. I don't know what the hell she thought she was going to see that was SOOO different because what I ended up sent her was the equivalent of cutting out the paper error screen and pasting it on the other shots I sent her. Nothing like dealing with a bullheaded bitch before 10 am let me tell you.

And next on the stupid list....

A buyer that can't pull his head out of his ass for two seconds to see that the information he requested is, in fact, on the spreadsheet that was sent to him. One of the BMs had come to me and asked if I could combine a price list and a spec list for one of our clients since they don't keep all that information in one file anymore. I told him it might take a little while but it should be completely doable. Anyway, I get it done and then send it on to the BM. He, in turn, sends it on to the buyer who requested it. A day or two later, the buyer sends back a message wanting unit weights (something I had left off since that is something most customers don't typically ask for.). The BM asks if I can put the information on there. Again, doable but it will take a little bit of time. So I get the thing all done and send it back to the BM who then forwards it to the buyer. This morning I open my email and there's a message from the BM - according to the buyer the package weight he wants still isn't on the spreadsheet. WTF? I open it up, find the item and look across to the column where the unit weights are. Sure enough there's a value in there. I even called over one of my co-workers to look at it just on the off chance that I had smoked some crack I didn't know about. Turns out she saw it too which means she either smoked some crack too or the information was indeed there all along. Being someone who doesn't do drugs and knows my co-worker doesn't either, I'm going to go with option two here. Obviously the crack smoker is the one on the other end of the email chain. *RE*

Next up....

BMs that seem to think I'm their fuckin secretary and can't shit without having their hands held. I got this message today from one of them that wanted me to get a stock report from one of our customers for a particular client and then give him the buying bracket information. Ok, first of all, what the hell is the point of calling me to request this information when he could have just made that call to the buyer directly? I mean he calls me, I don't know who buys the stuff because I no longer do the customer service part of the line so I have to ask the BM who I need to contact in the first place. Second of all, the buying bracket information is on the price list located on the share drive where he could easily get to it. I swear there was probably a good 5 - 10 minutes wasted by this process. Then again, I really shouldn't be surprised by his actions. This is a man that will get other people to send his faxes and snail mail stuff for him whenever possible.

And last but not least on the stupid list....

The BM in one of our other offices who, rather than asking me about something directly, will go through one of the BMs in my office. Ok dipshit, why not stop wasting everyone's time and just ask me? I don't know, there's just something about that sort of thing that just rubs me the wrong way. Of course most people here think the guy is a total ass munch so I guess it doesn't really surprise me he does the things he does. The most laughable part about all of it is that it appears that he likes to have this very organized and proper way about him but obviously the guy doesn't even know how to use spell check when he sends emails. I've seen third graders compose better stuff than this guy at times.

And now for something completely different....

I was watching tv the other day and a commercial came on for the Iowa Stars hockey team. I had seen this ad before but never really paid attention to the music they were playing in the background. For some reason, this particular time, my ear picked up on it. I'll be damned if it wasn't Ride Into The Sun by Def Leppard (one of my favs of theirs). I was impressed. I mean it's one thing to pick one of their top ten singles but this one was definitely more obscure and something that I would say only a fan would know to choose seeing as it was originally released as a B side a long time ago and then actually on their Retroactive album from the 90s.

Otay...that about does it from here. I've been working on this piece of crap for about a week so I think I should finally get it posted. Hopefully one of these days I will make it back to daily posting so this shit isn't so long to read. LOL

Til next time....

Dubya and the neverending Deja Vu

2007-01-11T11:19:00.000-08:00

Exercise: No time - had to go grocery shopping.

I've said it before and I will say it again....I'm ashamed to live in a country run by the dolt who goes by the name of Dubya. His latest little rambling only further enforces this feeling. His decision to increase the number of troops in Iraq also further shows me that the man is only capable of listening to those he agrees with and doesn't give a shit about what the people of this country (you know, the ones he is supposedly working for) have to say. I couldn't even bring myself to watch his blah blah last night because the sight of him just makes me want to throw up these days. Instead I opted for Mythbusters and how ironic that their show was about a myth concerning the Hindenburg's demise.

I did, however, read the transcript today. My initial thought - *RE* Same Shit/Different Day. It truly amazes me there are people out there (while decreasing in number everday it would seem), who still buy into the crazy shit this loon pours out everytime he flaps his lips. I always knew the man was delusional but I think his speech last night hit new heights when it comes to such.

It's when I read the following quote that I couldn't help but say, "DUH Dipshit! Anyone with half a brain could see that one coming. Oh wait, I forgot, you lack enough grey matter to even qualify for having half a brain when it comes to these things.

"When I addressed you just over a year ago, nearly 12 million Iraqis had cast their ballots for a unified and democratic nation. The elections of 2005 were a stunning achievement. We thought that these elections would bring the Iraqis together - and that as we trained Iraqi security forces, we could accomplish our mission with fewer American troops.

But in 2006, the opposite happened. The violence in Iraq - particularly in Baghdad - overwhelmed the political gains the Iraqis had made. Al Qaeda terrorists and Sunni insurgents recognized the mortal danger that Iraq's elections posed for their cause. And they responded with outrageous acts of murder aimed at innocent Iraqis."

I mean come on. I should think that even an idiot would find this to be common sense.

Oh and why do I get the feeling that him bringing Iran into the mix is a foreshadowing of this asshat trying to convince America to invade that country next? This man is truly on a power trip and quite frankly it scares the hell out of me.

Personally, I believe by staying in Iraq we are making things worse with each passing day rather than better and only sealing a fate of never being able to completely leave the place. I view trying to get rid of terrorism like racism. No matter how hard you try to snuff it out, there will always be a few who will keep it alive and convince others to do the same. Hell, look how long it's taken to change people's view in this country about those who have a different color of skin and the problem still exists. I mean do we honestly think that every last terrorist is going to be killed off and the Middle East will just wake up and place nice one day particularly with those it views as traitors? Get real. A snowball in hell would have a better chance. Now if the US was smart, we would have used our knowledge to solve the problem rather than our force and by doing so, we could have likely ended up a stronger nation because of it. People too often feel that if you don't physically fight that you're a coward and a wimp but when it comes to this sort of thing, the cowards are the ones who won't use their brains over their braun.

And now for something completely different....

My mom called me last night to ask if I could come and look after Sadie dog when they go away for a few days. While I was on the phone with her, she told me that my oldest nephew had another epileptic siezure. Now granted he's been pretty lucky as it's been a year or two since the last one, however, everytime this happens, he isn't allowed to drive for six months and I know that really bothers him.

According to my mom, he had gone out shopping last week and at some point he called her to say that he wasn't feeling right and thought she and my dad should come and get him. They did and on the way home was when it happened. My dad was driving the kiddo's car. J was with him and my mom followed behind. My mom said that not too long after they started the trip back, my dad pulled over on a side street. She thought maybe there was something wrong with the car but my dad motioned her over and that's when she saw J shaking uncontrolably. She said he looked ashen as though he was dead and it really scared her. She ended up calling my sister to ask if they needed to take him to the ER but my sis said, "No, he should be ok in a minute or two." Sure enough, as quickly as it started, it stopped and he went to sleep. By the time they got home he was fine but of course had no memory of what happened. My mom said when she told J what went on his face just fell because he knew it meant no driving for at least six months (something that really screws things up when you're a college student that commutes). The real upside to the whole thing, however, is the fact that he knew beforehand something wasn't right and called my parents so he wasn't behind the wheel of the car when all this was happening.

Well, that's it for me.

Til next time....

Tis the season to be jorry fra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra....

2007-01-09T19:46:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 2 mile run

Yah, it once again has been awhile since I last posted here - SUCK IT! I've been busy this time with spreading holiday cheer. Ok maybe I should change that to holiday sarcasm but it was all in good fun. When you have a mother who looks like (and sometimes acts like) Maxine from the greeting cards, how can you honestly think some of that won't rub off. LOL Oh and for those of you that might think I'm being mean by saying such about my mother, I'm not. I've told her this stuff to her face and it was all in good fun. Actually in a way I think she prides herself on it. LOL

So yah, the Christmas/New Year holiday. Shopping for shippable gifts really bites. With all the "rules" now when it comes to posting stuff overseas it makes sending presents a pain in the ass and requires a lot of creativity when filling out customs forms so that the surprise isn't totally given away. I am thankful, however, that I was able to find some stuff that wasn't overly large or weighty so the shipping bill came in under $50 this year. Of course I wasn't too pleased at the fact that the postman that I spoke with said that the package would get there before Christmas with a couple days to spare and then after speaking with my mummy in law, I found out that as of Christmas Day, it hadn't arrived. I have a feeling though that the problem lies with the Royal Postal Service not the USPS. I guess they have been having troubles over there with the mail for quite some time now so more than likely it got hung up after it made it across the pond.

After it was all said and done, I ended up celebrating Christmas three times. Once on the 16th - that's when we all got together with my brother and his family. That was one hell of a long day too. I got up at 5:30 so I could make it to Iowa City in time for TBB's graduation. I don't care much for getting up really early but when it comes to one of my best buds' graduation ceremony, "I'm there dude!". Fortunately it was over early enough that we were able to shoot down to the Olive Garden for lunch before I had to leave. I needed to be back on the road by 1:30/2 so I could be at my parents' house by 4 and I just wouldn't have felt right about attending the gig and then having to leave right away. I had called my mom the night before to tell her there was a possibility I could be late but I wanted to try and make it on time. I ended up only being 5 minutes late which isn't bad considering I was coming from 120 miles away. Of course true to form my sister and brother both showed up late. My my sister in law even went so far as to say she was told an hour later than my sister and I were. Now I know my mother can be a little "flakey" from time to time and she definitely has been known to show some "blonde tendancies" but I'm confident that she told her the same time as she told my sister and I.

The second celebration was on Christmas Eve at my parents' house which is when we exchanged gifts with my parents' and two oldest nephews. On this evening we also played UNO Attack. It's not a bad little game and when it's my family playing, you can bet it's a great time. As my mother likes to say, "We put the fun in dysFUNctional!". LOL Not that I would say that word is overly descriptive of my family. I mean we have our moments but, for the most part, we're pretty happy people who get along really well.

The third celebration was the one at home with Chi and the furballs on Christmas Day. That's when he and I exchanged gifts and open the goodies sent over to us from England.

All in all, I have to say I feel as though I made out like a bandit since I received nearly everything I had given as suggestions plus a little bit more. Here's a rundown of all my goodies.

From J-Lo
A cool lamp

From Chi
Two really nice warm sporty but structured jackets
Another CD flight case. I just love those things and think I may just have to get one for my laptop.

From Two Oldest Nephews
A $50 gift card for Bed, Bath, & Beyond

From My Parents
KT Tunstall CD
The Who CD
An 80's Box Set CD
Madonna CD
Foreigner CD
Victoria's Secret So In Love Parfume & Lotion

From My In Laws
A Man U Football Shirt
Scissor Sisters CD
The Who CD
KT Tunstall CD
Calvin Klein's Euphoria Parfume & Lotion
A Small Little Stuffed Bunny

From TBB
An Assortment Of Goodies From Bath & Body Works
A Candle
A New Air Freshener For My Car

Yep, I did alright and I love everything that was given to me. :)

I was also happy to see that my waistline didn't grow any during the week and a half I had off over over the holidays. My mother always makes some of my favorite cookies at Christmas time (Snickerdoodles & Ginger Cremes) along with some killer fudge so you can bet I was doing some serious chowing down. :) I guess I must have subconsciously trained myself to only take in the amount of food I need or something because I was slacking a little bit in the exercise department so I would have thought with all the tasty crap I consumed, I would have gained "a little more me" somewhere in there. LOL

As for New Year's, it was fairly low key but that's ok since I knew that Tuesday meant going back to work.

And now for something completely different....

I have to say that I am utterly sickened by the people who were celebrating Saddam Hussein's death. Yes, the guy was mainly viewed as a nut and did some pretty awful things along with the good that he brought his country, however, for those in the US to find pleasure in his demise only leaves me to think that they have sunk to his level and maybe below.

So far the news has been reporting that there hasn't been any great backlash over it which was feared but that kind has me wondering if it could be due to a plot to catch us off guard as the terrorists did with 9/11. In a way, it seems that terrorists stratagize like cats meaning that they will sit close by their prey observing what is going on but not directly look at it so the prey builds a false sense of security that things are ok. As soon as the prey is fairly comfortable - BAM! - the cat attacks. Take the WTC towers for example. Terrorists bombed them in the early 90s and did a fair amount of damage but nothing like 9/11. In the nearly 10 years that passed, a lot of people once again got "comfortable" and thought something like that would never happen again all the while the terrorists were "watching" and just waiting for the right moment to pull off a smiliar attack on a much more grand scale.

On last week's Suze Orman show, she was showing clips from past shows (some of which I never saw) and I could do nothing but shake my head at some of the people who called in. Now some of the time the people who call in do know what they are doing with money but they just want some advice on how to further better their methods. Other times there are people who call in and just leave me saying, "You really had to ask that?" For example, there's a segment on the show called Can I Afford It. This is where people will call in with a high ticket item they want to buy, give Suze their financials, and she will tell them if they can afford to get it. This one chic called in wanting to buy a $5000 pair of diamond stud earrings. According to the financials she gave, her outgoings were more than her income plus she had a pretty big student loan debt, substantial credit card debt if I remember correctly, and no savings. I was floored (and I'm sure my mouth was just hanging agape) that she would even need to ask about buying such a thing. "Um, like HELL NO!" Of course I think the thing I love about Suze the most is that when people pull an idiot move like this woman did, Suze is sure to call them on it. A word to everyone reading this - if you aren't, at the very least, putting 10% of each paycheck away in a svaings account, you're screwing yourself. There's no excuse for not doing this and it will be a great benefit to you should you ever find yourself in a position where you need emergency cash.

Over the holiday and this past weekend, I had another couple episodes of sleep paralysis. I swear it's the oddest feeling. During the first one, Chi was next to me and I swear I willed myself to say something in order to get his attention so I could see if someone touching me would be enough to "wake" my body up. What was so strange was that I thought he had heard me and turned to touch my hand but based on what he said, none of that took place and he said he didn't hear me say anything. During this last one, I swear I had opened my eyes and was able to look around because the view that I had was exactly what it was when I did finally open my eyes. The thing is, I'm not sure if I really did or not because of what I obviously imagined concerning Chi the time before. It's odd because no matter how many times I have one of these experiences and try to keep myself calm, panic usually always sets in because it feels like you can't breathe and you're unable to move anything no matter how much you tell your brain to do it.

I know there was something else I wanted to mention here but I'll be damned if I remember what it was so I'm just going to leave it here.

Til next time......

Fuck you Axl Rose and the bus you rode in on

2006-12-04T10:57:00.000-08:00

Exercise:

This would be the statement I thought I was going to have to drive into Mr. Ego's brain loud and clear if GNR didn't put on one hell of a show after making us wait so damn long for them to take the stage this past Friday night (or should I say Saturday morning?).

As I mentioned in a previous post, I originally wasn't going to attend this show, however, my second oldest nephew really wanted to go and his mom didn't want his 18 year old friend driving nor did she want the two of them hanging out at a concert alone. After my experience of wanting very badly to attend Def Leppard when I was 14 and not having anyone to take me plus having my brother tell my mom it was a show I shouldn't attend because of lewd things they might say or do on stage, I vowed that any kid in the family behind me was never going to have to suffer as I did which is why I took the kiddo and his buddy.

Now I knew that we were in for a long night as TBB had warned me GNR hadn't been taking the stage until late at previous shows and the fact that there were more bands than just Sabastian Bach & GNR, but nothing prepared me for this gig - HOLY SHIT! First of all, there was an act there that, had I known about them, I don't know if I would have been so willing to take two sixteen year olds or at least I would have prepared to get them out of the arena during the time they were on stage. It consisted of five women calling themselves the Suicide Girls. Basically what it boiled down to was a 30 minute strip tease. Granted they couldn't get completely naked but regardless, it was just tacky as hell. I did think it was humorous though when they brought them out for a second time (supposedly because GNR was delayed) and the crowd booed them. LOL

Second of all, GNR didn't take the stage until 12:30AM - yah you read that right. They didn't even show up until an hour and a half after most concerts let out and let me tell you had the show not been good, I would have been pissed as hell to the point where I would have hunted Axl down to give him a HUGE piece of my mind. Fortunately for him, the show was better than what I was expecting - just over 2 full hours chalked full of pyro, high intensity music and they sounded pretty tight although I'm thinking they may have been using some backing tracks because I noticed the same sort of thing going on with the vocals that happened at Motely Crue. There were parts where it appeared that Axl was singing but nothing could be heard. Then again, maybe it was just issues with the wireless mic. The thing I got a kick out of the most was the majority of what they played was the stuff I remember listening to when I was about the same age as my nephew and here he was lapping it up.

I must say the crowd wasn't that big really. They had the floor open as a general admission area and I think at most it was maybe 1/4 - 1/3 full. Not to mention the people down there seemed to be extremely well behaved which I found rather shocking. I think GNR kind of shot themselves in the foot though by making the crowd wait so long. Axl tried to give the excuse of weather delaying them but anyone with a little commmon sense knows that was a total bullshit excuse. I mean the crew and equipment were there before the show even started and everything was already set up. Then there's also the fact that all the other acts were running on time. Give it up Axl - we all know you're just an attention whore. Anyway, a good portion of the crowd left early before GNR even took the stage because they were tired of waiting so they ended up playing to an even smaller crowd. Then again, I guess GNR got there money in the end so that's all that really matters. *RE*

I did manage to sneak my camera in - not that I really had to be that sneaky since security was a joke. I had the camera in its case under my sweatshirt. When the woman pat me down, I told her it was my purse. Rather than her insisting on having a look, she said ok then asked if I had a camera. I said, "No" even though I did and she was willing to take my word for it. Not that it really mattered anyway. Since we were sitting up in the balcony and off to the side of the stage (didn't want to get down on the floor with the kiddies since I didn't know how rowdy the crowd might be), I really couldn't get any decent pics.

I didn't end up getting home until 20 to 6 in the morning because I had to take A's buddy home then drive A to my parents' house since he was staying with them for the weekend before I could go home. At least A really liked the show and that's the most important thing because it was my early birthday present to him. Later this month we're supposed to be going to Disturbed in Cedar Rapids which should be interesting. They're a little bit heavier than most of the stuff I typically listen to but I told A if there is ever a gig he wants to go to and he needs someone to take him, I'm the one who can make it happen. :) What kind of shocked the shit out of me was when he said he would actually like to go see Def Leppard. Downside is that they are done touring for awhile but I plan to get him to one of their future shows come hell or high water and I shall definitely make a point of trying to make it possible for him to meet at least one of the guys. :)

Ok kiddies - lunchtime is over....got to get back to work.

Til next time....

Welcome to the lunatic parade

2006-11-27T11:21:00.000-08:00

Exercise:

So a week ago this past Friday my mommy and I took off to Kansas City for my autie's 75th birthday party. Believe it or not, I actually got up that morning around 6 and went for a 2 mile run in the rather brisk weather before having a shower and heading to my parents' house. We ended up leaving sometime between 10 and 11 and took our time getting there since we didn't have any place we needed to be until the next day and we couldn't check into the hotel until 3.

Like usual on our trips to KC, we stopped in Bethany for lunch. Subway sounded good so that's what we went for. As we sat and ate, I noticed these two young, fairly nice looking guys sitting across the room who kept looking over at me. I know I'm cute and my ROCKSTAR shirt along with my car are attention grabbers but dayum I was beginning to wonder if I had sprouted another head or something. LOL

As it turned out, we arrived at the hotel right at 3. Oh and may I just say that all the time I spent driving around the city with Chi when we've tripped down there and yearly family visits in the past really paid off. I was able to get everywhere we needed to go without having to get directions. Not only is that a plus because it means not having to fiddle with maps and stuff but my mom sucks at directional stuff (she tends to get turned around easily) so having two people not knowing exactly where they are going isn't a good thing especially when one of them (mommy) doesn't know which way she is going without looking at a compass and even then gets confused. LOL

The original plan was to check into the hotel then go do a little shopping at the Plaza. Most of the stuff I ordered from Bebe at the beginning of the month didn't fit and I figured rather than pay to ship it back, I would just take it in to the store since they have a couple of them in KC (really wish Iowa would get one) and that way I could also maybe make an exchange or find something different that fits. As it turned out, however, we ended up checking in and just hanging out until dinner time. Neither one of us really felt like getting back in the car that quickly after a three hour drive and because we didn't have to be anywhere until 1:30pm the next day, we knew we could do the shopping on the way there.

We ended up going down the street to the Mac Grill for eats. Luckily the wait wasn't overly horrendous seeing as we were out at prime dining time and the food was decent even if I did eat more than I probably should have. LOL When we came out, there was an ambulance by the side of the restaurant and the paramedics were actually working on someone in the truck. I don't know what happened but I told my mom that's definitely not a good sign if the person had just finished eating. I know it's not nice to make jokes about such things especially if the situation was severe (don't think it was though as I can't imagine them hanging around for such a long time if it were) but then again when did I ever say I was nice? *evil grin*

On the way back to the hotel, I decided to stop at the mall on the way. I had visited this one before in the past and wasn't overly impressed with it but I thought it would probably have a Victoria's Secret anyway. You see before we left to go to dinner, I realized I had forgotten my robe from home and although Marriott does provide such garments, they just aren't the same. Anyway, I had planned to buy a new one at some point in the not so distant future and I figured this would be the perfect time to pick on up. Well obviously the luck fairy wasn't smiling on me this time because it seems that all the stores with the exception of the two anchors had moved out of this particular mall and gone to a different one. I found a VS alright but it was empty so I was forced into using the one at the hotel.

The next day on the way to the reception for my auntie, we stopped at the Plaza so I could do my shopping. I have to admit this has always been one of my more favourite places to shop in KC - yah, I know, I have expensive taste - SUCK IT! The downside of hitting this area especially on a weekend tends to be finding a parking spot. At first I didn't think we were going to get one but I found another ramp that I don't think was there in the past and it had plenty of spaces where I could park my car and not feel nervous about leaving it because someone could ding it. The best thing is, the parking there is free.

So the first stop after we got parked was VS and holy hell was it ever busy. Oh and this one clerk was just kind of rude. I had picked out the robe I wanted and was walking over to the counter to pay for it. As we do in this country, I stayed to the right and this clerk who was coming towards me decided left was better for her. She was coming from the front of the store and I know she saw me long before we reached each other but dayum she was totally fuckin hell bent on making me move for her. When we passed, I said, "Oh excuse me" in a way that I was hoping she would catch the sarcasm but I don't think she did seeing as she didn't even acknowledge me. The chic that actually took my sale was much more pleasant but I have to say even though she had dark hair, she was about as good as one of the blondes you hear about in jokes when it came to giving directions. You see I wasn't for sure where the Bebe shop was located in the plaza and I didn't see it when we drove through looking for a parking place so I asked the sales chic. It was so nice of her to leave out a useful turn. I told my mom that I must have only dropped enough money to get directions but not good ones. LOL Luckily we came across a directory and we got it figured out.

Next up was the Bebe store. It too was horrendously busy but I managed to get waited on right after I walked in the door. The woman whom I talked to was so nice and didn't waste my time with a bunch of superficial chatter like some of them do. I had told her that I wanted to look around before making my transaction because there might be some other things I would like to pick up to replace my returns. She said that was fine and I proceeded to do so. Unfortunately at the outset I was only able to find two t-shirts like the ones I was returning but I figured I may as well go ahead and try the next bigger size on to see if it would fit because if nothing else, I would know what to buy in the future when ordering online. I don't know why it is but it seems like places like this store think that all women are petite. I say this because when I ordered the t-shirts online, I bought according to my measurements (Size small according to the chart). Everything fit fine, however, the sleeves hit me about half way between my neck and shoulder rather than sitting on the end of my shoulder as they should. As it turned out, the mediums fit much better across the shoulders but even those were a little small in that area. I knew, however, that I wouldn't be able to go up another size without risking everything else being WAY too big. I decided I would get the navy logo shirt but the other one had a snag in it so I didn't want it. I had looked for another on the rack but they didn't have any more in my size. I then asked the woman who had been helping me if they might have one in the back room. She said she didn't know but that she would check with someone else (I'm thinking it may have been the acting manager but I'm not sure). Well this woman that she checked with turned out to be a total self important bitch whom I don't think had any sort of clue. I explained the situation to her and when I asked about having another shirt in the back, she got this look on her face as though I had three heads. I swear it's like she didn't even know such a room existed. Anyway, she starts asking me where I found it blah blah blah - basically everything I had already told her. She then walked off and I thought she went to look for what I wanted. I must have been waiting at least five minutes or so and still hadn't heard back from her. In the meantime, I found a cute little dress that I decided I would try on to pass the time while I waited. When I finished with the dress (I did decide to buy it), I asked the woman I first talked to when I came in about the shirt again and she went to bitch lady. BL came back saying, "I don't know where those are blah blah blah" in a real snippy voice. Ok lady....not a good way to react to a customer who spends over $500 on your products. After I got home, I got on the website and bitched about her. I received a response back saying she would be dealt with and that I could have the shirt I wanted shipped to me free. Ha ha take that BIOTCH!

So after that wonderful escapade to the Plaza, we took off for the church where my auntie's birthday reception was. At first I was afraid we might be a little late because of all the time we spent trying to get an answer out of an imbecile at the store but we actually made it right on time. The party was fairly low key with several of my realitives and some friends of my auntie. I ended up mainly hanging out with my sister, nephew, and cousin.

Later in the evening we went to one of my cousin's house for dinner. It was a little cramped but a good time and my cousin is an absolutely fabulous cook - meatless lasagna and roasted veggies...YUM! While we were waiting for dinner, my sister leaned over and asked me if I liked Guns N Roses. I told her they have some stuff I like but I hadn't planned to go to their gig. That's when she told me that my second oldest nephew wanted to go but he didn't have any way to get there because she didn't want him riding to Ames with his 18 year old friend driving. I told her if that's the case and he really wanted to go I would take him but she said something to the effect of "Oh I think he's forgotten about it now so it's now big deal." I couldn't believe she said such. Yah right he's forgotten about it. I know better than that as I do remember what it's like to be 16 and wanting to go to a concert you have no way of getting to. It was then that I leaned over and started talking to A about bands and concerts. Turns out he hadn't forgotten at all. That's when I told him, "You ever want to go to a concert, you come talk to me." Upon hearing that he just got this little funny grin on his face and I knew the gears in his head were a grinding. LOL

Not long after we had our little chat, I noticed a few people standing at the door looking out on the porch. I was curious to know what was going on so I went over to have a look for myself. Turns out there was an opposum out there eating the cat food. I couldn't believe it as I had never seen a live one up close like that and that it actually was comfortable enough to be that close to people. My cousin's husband tried to scare it off but all it did was run back into the shadows until it thought the coast was clear and then came back out to finish munching the food. LOL The really funny thing is a few days after I returned home, Chi had called me over to the window one night. He said, "Come here, you've got to see this!" I looked out and there were two oppsums scurring around. I definitely hadn't seen any at our house before and thought it funny that they would show up now after I saw the one at my cousin's house. I can only guess it was the smell of the garbage that had blown around the neighborhood the week before that attracted them. Chi had me cracking up too because he didn't even know what they were but he knew he had chased one out of the garage earlier in the day.

Thanksgiving was at my parents' house and fairly low key as usual. I did end up bringing a big smile to A's face though when I told him I would buy tickets and take him to see GNR though. According to my mom, my sister had said something to him about it paying to have a rich aunt. I just had to laugh. Chi and I don't have enough wealth to classify as rich (yet - LOL) but we do have quite a bit more than most people and it's nice being able to use it in a way that brings joy to others.

Alrighty I must be going now...

Til next time

Bitch bitch here bitch bitch there and a couple of a ha has that's how we bitch the day away in the merry old land of Oz

2006-11-17T08:57:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 2 mile run, 120 crunches, 50 leg lifts, and 30 push ups

So there have been some events/observances I've made over the last few weeks that have just kinda chapped my ass and well, guess what dear readers - you get to hear about them today. I know - LUCKY YOU!

First up....

The contest DL.com had where you could win a chance to play some football (soccer for those out of the know Americans in the crowd) with Vivian Campbell. In order to win this contest, you had to submit a guess as to which team the guy supports. I normally don't enter these contests but this one sounded like it could be a really good time if I were to win. Now since I'm one of those people who likes the band and the music but doesn't go mental over every last little thing they do/say/what have you nor do I care what color their shit is, when they last went, or how bad/good it smells, (yes, that's right TBB - I'm not a "REAL" fan either LOL) I had to do some searching on the internet for the answer to this question. It took a little while but I did find the information I was looking for.

Anyway, awhile back I had posted on the forum about a meeting I had with Mr. Campbell in Davenport last year concerning how he saw my Chelsea football shirt that I was wearing and came over to talk to me about it. Had I known they were going to have this contest, I think I would have thought twice about making the post I did because you can bet your ass it brought the crazies out. I started getting IMs from people I didn't know nor had I ever talked to before wanting to know if Chelsea was "Vivian's team" or if it wasn't, did I know which one was. Ok let's get something straight people, it's a contest meaning that the more people who guess right, the less chance there is for me to win. What in God's name makes you think that I'm going to give the fucking answer away to someone I don't even know and decrease my chance of winning? I can be nice but the hell if I'm going to be THAT nice. Sorry but the only people I'm giving that kind of info to (assuming I have it to begin with) is someone like TBB who I actually know and am friends with.

Next up....

Non Brits who pretend to be British and have some tie to the UK because they like a band which hails from there even though they most likely have never even spent anytime there themselves. There is nothing dumber than an American using British terms they don't even know the meaning of and trying to come off as though they do. Unless you're acting in a play, relaying a skit from something like Monty Python, or actually know how to sound authentic the fake accent has gotta go - REALLY! Oh and before you even think about harping on me saying I'm being hypocritical for making this complaint, you may want to take a few things into account:

My ancestory lies in the UK and I'm not very far removed.
I have actually lived there and made several visits in addition.
I'm married to an Englishman and when you live with people, shit just rubs off on you.
My inlaws do still live there so I have a direct tie to the place.

Third....

Dumbasses that really should learn not to argue a point about something they don't understand. A guy I work with (I think I'll call him Tweedle Dum) called me the other day because he had a pivot table that someone sent to him and he wanted to change it around in order to make a one page printout rather than several pages. He described to me what he was looking at and I told him how to move things around to see the data that he wanted. I didn't hear back from him so I thought he got it to work. Later on in the day, I asked him if he was successful with getting his print out and he said no because when he moved the filters around, all the data disappeared. This was an obvious tip off to me that he didn't know what the hell he was doing so I told him to send me the file and I would have a look at it. Once I got it, I discovered first and foremost that what he was wanting to put on a single page didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of fitting and still being readable unless you had an extremely powerful magnifing glass. Second of all, I discovered that the reason he was seeing zeros where he thought there should be data is because of how he was filtering stuff. What really took the cake and made me want to slap the shit out of him, however, was when I explained to him why he was seeing what he was when he moved stuff around, he wanted to argue with me that the pivot table was wrong. OMG! Let me put this in the most simple terms I can Tweedle Dum....A pivot table is nothing more than a summary of a data list on another worksheet. Because all it's doing is reading data from another location, there's really no way for it to be wrong in the sense that you think it is. It's showing zeros because there is actually no information for the criteria you selected. Even after giving him this explanation and showing him the exact place on the data list where the information was coming from, he still didn't want to accept it as the reason the data wasn't showing up. Obviously he doesn't get the concept that computers are only as smart as the operator who gives the commands and in his case, smart isn't even a word that should be used. I swear every time this guy has a computer problem/software problem and asks me to fix it, he wants to basically ends up wasting my time by trying to argue that it's got to be a problem with the machine not the operator. *RE*

I think the most scary thing about all of this is when we were discussing the pivot table issue, he told me that he was going to be taking a training course on them later in the week. This from a man who doesn't even understand how the CC email function works. YIKES!!!

Next.....

I got a call from a guy calling on our insurance agents behalf the other day. He wanted us to make an appointment to come in and talk with the agent to supposedly review our policy and make sure we had the coverage we thought we did blah blah blah. More like wanted us to come in so an attempt could be made to sell us more insurance we really didn't need. I made that comment to the guy who called and his reply (as it was to every other comment I made) was, "I get that a lot." No shit...maybe it's because people are on to your bull. After all, your clients get a copy of their policy in the mail. If they take the time to read it, they know exactly what their covereage is DUH!

Next.....

So I get this call from a regional manager for a client I have at work. When I first took over this line a year and a half ago, I didn't care much for the guy that was managing it then because he was the type of person who would basically ask for information and expect three times the work needed to be done to get it for him if that makes sense. Well you can bet I was happy as hell when he decided to transfer to a different territory. When the interim guy took over, he didn't even call me to introduce himself like many of them will do so I thought, "Hey this is great maybe he'll go through the business manager like the majority do and I won't have to be bothered with the same nonsense I had with the other guy." Well when I got the call from Mr. Interim, I soon found out things had gone from bad to worse. Not only did this guy want me to give him information that he already had (which the only way for me to get it is from the same source he's looking at mind you) he's not overly bright. Not that the guy before him was the brightest bulb, but this guy was even more dim than the first. He was asking me how to spell the word freight for Christ's sake. Oh and I think was really chapped my ass was his little lecture about copying people (namely him) on emails blah blah blah. Ok dipshit...you tell me how am I supposed to copy you on emails when I don't even know who the hell you are since you had never contacted me to begin with so I would know how to contact you. The most ridiculous part is that he thought by being copied he was going to correct this issue that had been going on ever since I took the line over and the guy before him couldn't even get fixed. Yah whatever!

Next....

This past week was a rather sad one. I found out that my "office mommy" (I call her that because she's like a second mom to me) is going to retire next month. I must say it's definitely going to be interesting to see how they absorb her workload too because I'd be really surprised if they would actually hire someone else in. Of course you would think if they decided to not to hire anyone else, they would give us all a raise or a nice christmas bonus but there's not even a snowball's chance in hell of that happening.

And last but not least...

My car turned one year old this past Sunday. My how the time has flown. At least my mileage estimate was almost spot on. Actually, I came in just under. I believe I had projected 7600 and I had just over 7500. At this rate, it's definitely going to take me over ten years to put on 100000 miles - a far cry from the kind of mileage I had on my Sunfire. My mom and I are on our way to Kansas City today for the weekend - we're having a 75th birthday party for my auntie who live there. My mom asked me to drive and I was razzing her by saying if I do, my poor car will turn over 8000 miles. At first she thought I was being serious and saying I didn't want to put the mileage on my car. LOL Actually, in a way I was hoping I would get to drive (at the outset we were going to take my parents' car) because I just love driving my car that much. :)

Otay time for me to be on my way now. Shall post again sometime after the holiday with all the happenings.

Til next time......

That little thing called Def Leppard Fandom

2006-11-10T11:12:00.000-08:00

Exercise: It's been so long since I started writing this flamin' post I don't even fucking remember what sort of exercise I did.

So a week ago this past Friday I took the day off work in order to go meet up with my trusty concert going sidekick TBB, her sis, and one of her sis's friends so we could hit the Def Leppard gig in Moline that night. When the date was first announce, I didn't originally plan to go but since my parents ended up giving me the money they did for my birthday and TBB was able to work her "evil bad influential magic" on me with the temptation of 5th row seats, I decided what the hell. It was about time for us to get together again and I had a bunch of samples from work that I needed to get to her anyway.

We had decided beforehand that we would eat at the TGI Fridays attached to the hotel which sits right next to the venue. Knowing how busy Fridays (no matter which one you go to) seems to be, I thought we may run into some time issues when it came to making the concert on time. Sure enough when we got up to the person taking names, she told us the wait time was an hour and a half - OUCH! We decided to go ahead and put our names on the list anyway even though it was already past 5 since we knew Lep was closing the show and they were the ones we really wanted to see.

Once we got on the list, we took off for a walk over to the venue to see if we could find out how strict the camera nazis were going to be since TBB said she'd had issues with getting a camera in to this particular venue in the past. Unfortunately it was still a little early for the doors to open so we weren't able to tell how thorough they were going to be with their searches. Instead we just hung out in the lobby for a little while to kill some time and stay warm since Fridays was remodeling their bar area and we couldn't wait there.

When we headed back over to the restaurant to check our wait status, we passed by this woman who, at first, I thought was the "We love you Phil" psycho lady from Sioux City. Later on TBB remembered that she was actually this other psycho woman we came across in Davenport last year who we at one time thought was the "blog stalker" that had BIG issues over the whole G Baby on the shoulders deal. We don't think that is actually who this woman is, however, we do know she's one of "the crazies" and wouldn't you know we ended up one row behind and just off to the right of her at the concert. Of course it was her little drunken friend standing right behind her and next to me that really pissed me off. I don't know what it is about me but somehow I always seem to attract the drunks at these sort of events and this night was no exception. I swear I must have a sign pinned to me somewhere that says, "Beer victim - Please abuse" or some such nonsense on it. Don't get me wrong, I'm cool with people enjoying a few beverages at a concert. It's when they start getting drunk, careless, and invading my personal space that I draw the line. This chic certainly didn't waste any time getting to that point either because she was already pretty sloshed by the time Journey hit the stage. My thought, "Ok. Fine. You want to be so smashed you won't even remember the show, so be it. Just stay in your own fucking spot and all will be cool." Yah, like that happened. The dumb bitch started dancing around, holding her half full beer glass up in the air and wouldn't you know she dropped it causing the contents to spill down the side of my leg. Oh how I love being so soaked from the knee down in a vile smelling liquid containing some stranger's spit that my pantleg sticks to me and my shoe goes "squish" when I step down on that foot. As much as I really just wanted to lay off and deck her, I knew it wouldn't be the best choice of reaction so I shot her a really nasty look. That's when she says in a very slurred manner, "Sorry...It's was an accident." Yah accident my ass - You're fucking DRUNK!

I was hoping that would be the end of it but NOOOOO. Later on when Lep came on, she came back with yet another drink (oh just what I wanted to see) - thankfully this one had a lid and I didn't get any on me, however, she kept falling into me because she was so smashed, she was having a hard time standing up straight. *RE* As much as I did enjoy seeing the show and getting some decent pics (yes, we were able to get our cameras in quite easily amazingly enough - links to mine at the end of the post), I really could have done without this bitch at my side. At one point towards the end, she tried to tell me something but couldn't because she was so messed up. You know, I just don't get it. *RE*

That brings me up to the next wack job that TBB and I noticed. It was this guy in the front row. We later found out his name is Bob and a woman we had been chatting to came up with the name Side Show Bob for him which just kind of stuck with TBB and I because it was so fitting. We had actually seen this guy before - he was at the Davenport gig last year too and it would seem he's friends with "Crazy Blonde Lady" (the one I mentioned earlier who was sitting a row ahead of us). Of course after observing what a nutjob this guy is, we are wondering if he hangs with the blonde so the Lep guys don't realize he's actually trying to hit on them. Not only did this guy bring papers he printed things like "Guitar Pick Please" and "Drumstick Please" on to the concert to hold up (TBB and I couldn't believe the band actually obliged repeatedly), he also has been known to bring a whole fucking duffle bag full of shit to get signed. I completely understand the wanting of an autograph and/or picture thing. I've asked for them before but I don't get the multiple request concept unless you're a googly-eyed teen. Honestly, I'm not really sure what pissed me off most about this guy - the possibility that he was getting all those signatures so he could hock the stuff on Ebay or the fact that he was being rude and monopolizing the limited "meet & greet" time. I mean when we were out by the busses on this night in particular, it was quite cold, Rick Allen was the only one to show, he tried to leave a couple different times, and this asshole kept pulling him back to sign more crap including these blocks of wood with the band member's names on them. Not only do I find this being completely creepy and rude to the celebrity in question, I think it's a pretty pissy thing to take up time that could be used for Rick to sign for/take pics with fans who haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting him. This right here is the biggest reason why I will not interact with the band members unless they approach me first which, given the "Viv incident" at Davenport last year, does happen. I already have autographs and sigs from all of them except Sav and I don't want to take away from a "first timer's" experience seeing as I know what it's like to be one of them.

When things finally started winding down out by the buses, TBB and I along with a few other friends (her sis and guy friend had already left at this point because it was getting so late) went over to the hotel next door where the band was staying. We were hoping we could maybe catch the other guys walking in and finally get our elusive Sav sigs but it just wasn't to be. We did, however, run into side Show Bob again and wondered how the hell he actually beat us over there. Talk about stalkerazzi! This guy had this huge fucking banner than must have been six feet long with Phil Collen on it all draped out on the lobby table along with a bunch of other shit. The group of us went in and sat down so we could talk (two of our friends were actually staying at the hotel) for awhile and get better aquainted and I kid you not this psycho stayed there for a good hour or more thinking the band was actually going to come back down. Of course the group of us being the rowdy little monsters we can be started cracking jokes about the guy loud enough that we could be overheard if one paid attention. We were kind of hoping he and "Psycho Blonde" would get the hint but I don't think they did.

TBB and I didn't end up leaving the hotel until nearly 2 or a bit after but it was well worth staying that late because of the great conversation even though I had a 10 minute freak out because I thought I had lost my wedding band. Turns out it fell off in my bag because my hands had been so cold my fingers "shrunk". The downside to our late departure, however, was the fact that we didn't get back to TBB's place until about 3 and I didn't get home until 5:30am. I have to admit the drive from IC to WDM was probably THE longest two hours of my life because I was so tired but again, it was more than worth it because the evening had been so much fun.

Before I leave the events of that evening and move on to some of the DL forum squirreliness I've seen lately, I want to give a shout out to P code name Vikki Rockett - TBB's friend from Moline. You Rock! And thank you so much for letting us sit in your truck to stay warm.

Now on to the forum "crazies". I swear that place is full of whiners and psycho fans. I mean you've got the ones who don't seem to show any restraint and respect for personal space when it comes to the band and then you've got others bitching and moaning because their experience with meeting the band isn't what they wanted it to be. Hello reality check here. Any dumdum knows reality rarely (if ever) lives up to the fantasy. These people are, afterall, human. Oh and the speculation that goes around that dump concerning the reasons one or more of them was acting a certain way - GIVE ME A BREAK!

If that isn't enough, there are the ones boohooing because the tour is almost over and they just don't know how they will ever survive if the band takes some time off. *RE* C'mon people some of us are tired of hearing the same old shit being rehashed. Some of us want some new material and if that means the guys lock themselves away in a studio for a couple of years SO BE IT!

Check out these two threads Lepression and Best Way To Meet Def Leppard if you want to see for yourself what I'm talking about.

Well that about does it for this post. Bout time I got it out seeing as it's only three weeks past due. LOL Oh I almost forgot. Here are the links to the better pictures I was able to get that night. Unfortunately resizing them made some get a little more pixelated.

Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4

Til next time....

Oh happy day!!!

2006-11-08T11:12:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Nothing more than a couple of bathroom trips so far since I'm at work once again. I did, however, get in a 3 mile run last night and hopefully another this evening since it's supposed to be nice once again.

So this has got to be THE BEST day after elections in my voting history. The US finally told Dubya where he can stick his partisan rule. Iowa also made me proud by going completely Blue this time around. Now that the Dems have their chance, I'm hoping they use it wisely. I will say that I was a little sad that my district didn't vote in a Dem but then again, I live in what I would call "Pub Country" and well, the guy who was running was not only kind of an unknown going against an incumbent but also about as effective as watching paint dry when it comes to public speaking. Given these factors, I pretty much knew at the outset Spencer just wasn't going to make the cut.

If this wasn't enough to make me a happy chappette, pulling up CNN's homepage this lunch hour only sweetened the pot because Rummy stepped down - FINALLY!!! It appears the old codger actually got the hint. The downside, however, is that Dubya is the one picking the replacement. Given the last few choices he's made, it's hard to say what the new guy might do but at least Rummy is outta there.

And now for a "YAY!" that's completely different....

This past Friday I finally broke down and purchased some new clothes. More often than not, I'm not overly fond of clothes shopping because I rarely find anything I like and when I do, lots of times stuff just doesn't fit right because it's made for women who are built like guys rather than actual women. It would seem (fingers crossed here) that I may have lucked out this time. Bebe and Victoria's Secret both have quite a few things I like and the things they sell usually tend to fit me without too much trouble. From what it looks like, both my orders should be delivering today and I'm really looking forward to them. What's even better is that I'm going to KC in just over a week and they have an actual Bebe shop there so I might be able to pick up a few more things. That is of course if my pocketbook doesn't object. This place is a little more expensive than some but I have to say based on the few items I already have from there, it's well worth the money. :)

Otay kiddies, lunch is over so I must be on me way.

Til next time.....

Kick out the vote muthafuckers!

2006-11-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

Exercise: Very little at the moment other than walking from my desk to the bathroom or one of the BDMs' offices and back since I'm at work. :P I'm hoping for at least a two mile run and some floor exercises later though especially since it's supposed to be a nice day.

I still haven't finished writing my post about the adventures TBB and I had in Moline along with the observances I've made regarding what I would call some rather over zealous fans. So much to say....so little time. lol Anyway, I do hope to have it out within the next couple of day but in the meantime, I wanted to just put out a little reminder for everyone to vote. Let's get the backward thinkers out of there and get this country back on track!

Now in another bit of political news which is now kinda old but I still want to address, I have to send out a big SHAME ON YOU! to Rush Limbaugh. Over the years I've heard some pretty quack things uttered from this guy's lips but his statements about Michael J Fox and the campaign ad he did went WAY too far! Not to mention they only go to show just how "Lush" likes to shoot his mouth off without really knowing the facts before doing so. Oh and that so called apology that he issued later - PATHETIC! In fact it wasn't even an apology since he stated if he was wrong. Give me a break! I have a feeling he wouldn't admit his mistake even if shown undeniable proof of it. Oh hey doo doo head...I find it funny how when it comes to something you don't agree with you will say things like voters are being mislead to think that their vote for a single US senator has direct impact on stem cell research in Missouri but it doesn't and won't yet when it involves something you support, you're all over it telling people to vote for a change. Yah whatever dipshit. Sometimes one is all that is needed.

I think what's even more absurd about all the press surrounding MJF are the people saying he's exploiting his illness and just trying to get liberals ahead. First of all, I don't know one person who wouldn't do what he's doing if they were slowing dying from a disease with no cure and had the means to reach the masses in order to try and push for medical advancements to solve the problem. Second of all, I do believe MJF himself mentioned liking Arlen Specter - Not exactly a liberal by any means. What's more, the last I knew MJF is Canadian which mean the guy can't even vote and, in a way, is at the mercy of the American people when it comes to issues like embryonic stem cell research that may help to one day cure him.

Next up....The Saddam Hussein verdict.

Ok, the guy did some really horrible things, however, I don't know which is worse - the things he did or the people rejoicing over the fact that he's going to be put to death. To me, that sort of mentality is disgusting. Do I think he should be punished? Yes. Do I think it should be by death? No. This whole eye for an eye bullshit is nothing but a vicious cycle that really accomplishes nothing in the end but increasing the death toll.

Last on the politics list....Bush getting snubbed by GOP candidates up for election.

This is some really funny shit. You know it's bad when the republicans up for election don't want to share the stage with Dubya because his approval rating is so low and it might jinx them winning. The only thing that can sweeten the pot now is for the democrats to regain control which, if things go according to the polls, will happen.

Now a couple of other tidbits....

Most weekday mornings Mr. PIB will give me a call just to shoot the shit for a few minutes during his smoke break that he takes out in the parking ramp. Normally, the convos are just your usual chit chat - how you doin?, etc but there was one day not long ago when I got hit with the old YIKES! stick. He called to let me know someone had left their undies in one of the garbage cans located in the ramp. Oh if that wasn't a discussion for 8am I don't know what is. LOL I mean that's one of those train wreck situations....you really don't want to know what the story is behind it but you can't help but wonder what happened and if there is some woman out there freezing her ass off because of it. LOL

This past Saturday I went up to Ames once again to get my hair done. I know I've mentioned it before but I just have to say it again....I sooooo love my hair guy! Yet another perfect cut and highlight job. Oh and he also offered me a bottle of Voss water. For those of you who don't know, this is supposedly the purest stuff you can get and is imported from Norway. Based on what he told me, the only two places where you will find it in this area is at a nightclub in Des Moines and his salon. Honestly, I really couldn't taste that much difference and don't get what the big deal about it is but then again, I was raised on well water so I'm not used to drinking bleach like most city dwellers are. I will say, however, that the bottle it comes in is pretty cool and unique since it's tall and glass. I liked it so much that I kept it as a souvenier. Of course the funny part about it all is how we were joking about it being the water that only the snooty people drink and acting as if we were such by shoving our noses in the air. LOL

Ok, lunchtime is over so I've gotta get going. Please forgive what probably amounts to many grammatical and spelling errors as I just don't have time to check them right now.

Til next time...

Wuss kids and some pretty scary shit

2006-10-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 30 push ups, 50 leg lifts, 120 crunches

Ok so like just when I think everything is finally settling down from the busy summer schedule and that I will have more time to post BLAM! I get hit with this cold/allergy crap that just kind of left me not wanting to have to tax my brain with trying to come up with something to write. I call it cold/allergy crap because I'm not really sure which of the two it is. It hasn't behaved like a typical cold in which there is at least one day when I wake up feeling as though I have been run over by a truck but it also hasn't really behaved like the typical allergy stint I tend to go through for a couple weeks in the fall in the respect that I've been coughing my head off. I don't know what the hell it is but I will say that my bod has decided to kick its ass. I don't get sick often (I think the sick germs know I hate them and my body will quickly show them the door if they try to come in) and when I do, it's rare if I'm down for a day if that.

Now then - on to the topics covered in the title of this post.....

After hearing a story on the news a few days ago about how a school out East decided to ban the game of tag because of possible injuries which could occur and the observations I have made of the kids in the neighborhood waiting for the bus in the morning, I have come to the conclusion that today's youngins are a bunch of wusses. I mean really. When I was in grade school, I can remember some girl pushing me down a metal slide that sat on blacktop (something you rarely see these days if at all) because she didn't think I was moving fast enough. I ended up going down head first and scraped my lip up. Sure it scared me a bit and it hurt like hell but c'mon, that just came with the territory. When you're a kid, you work is to play hard and injuries are all part of it. These days it almost seems like kids would have to purposely try to get an injury because stuff has become so "idiot proof" or adults have decided to further stifle fun and creativity because they are thinking with a brain living in a much older body that can't take as much punishment as that of a kid.

As for the kids waiting for the bus....There is one kid in particular whose mommy takes him in the car to the bus stop and waits there with him every morning blocking the fucking road the whole time. Now I might be a little more sympathetic if it were freezing cold outside (even though I waited out in weather like that without any problems) or the kid wasn't able bodied but she did this even throughout the summer months and there's nothing wrong with the kid. It's not like we live in a place where someone would be likely to try and kidnap the boy and even if it were an issue of her not wanting him to wait by himself, she could always drive the extra 1/10 of a mile to the stop where several kids wait. Yep, kids today have definitely turned pansy.

With that out of the way, here's the scary shit....

Bush's little law that he signed which basically kills Habeas Corpus and further turns him into that Decider he claims he is. YIKES!

And now for something completely different...

Obama was on Charlie Rose the other night. Unfortunately I couldn't watch it all since the program doesn't come on until 11:30pm but I will say that I like good old Barack more and more every time I hear him talk. Think I may also have to check into reading his book as it sounds like it would be really good.

Speaking of Obama, I heard on the news that he has now made a statement (something to the effect of not being able to promise six years as a senator) which could suggest that he may run for Pres. in 2008. Oh how I hope he does and that he not only gets the nomination but also gets elected. Our country soooo needs someone like him right now.

Well kiddies, I've got other stuff I need to attend to so I'm off for now.

Til next time....

Weekend Review and Some Other "Schtuff"

2006-10-05T11:23:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 30 push ups, 50 leg lifts, and 120 crunches

Saturday I made my scheduled trip to Ames that I do every 6 weeks for a haircut. I don't know what the deal was but everyone seemed to be driving stoopid that day - more so than usual. Oddly a lot of them seemed to be driving slower than the limit rather than faster and just not watching at all where they were going. When I got to Ames, I actually saw a blazer that someone had taken window paint to and wrote, "I'm 16!" all over it. YIKES! Ok first of all, it's bad enough have teenagers on the roads these days considering how many of them drive. It's even worse when they start adverting who they are.

I got kind of freaked when I came up behind this guy turning left at an intersection with no light on a busy street. The sitting behind him and waiting wasn't the bad part (although was delaying me enough that I knew I was going to be at least a couple minutes late). It was when he decided to turn. There was this woman on a bike waiting to cross the street this guy and I were on. Just as he turns, she decides in her infanite wisdom to cross the street. I swear the dumb biotch was looking to get herself killed. she's lucky it was me - a cautious and curtious driver she ran out in front of rather than some of the other people out there.

I did end up getting to my appointment a little late (2 minutes I think it was) but it was all good. Mr. Hair was running a bit behind as he typically does. As always, it was a great laugh and once again he outdid himself with the way he styled my hair. I only wish I could get it to look like that when I do it. lol It's funny, most of the time he will tell me how much he loves doing my hair. This past Saturday was no exception. I told him I was glad I could make his day and he said, "You know you really do. You always come here with a smile on your face, a good positive mood, and you don't buy into the drama." LOL I said, "Yah...what can I say, a lot of people are drawn in by its marketability but I've never been one to buy into bullshit." hehe

So when I got done at the old cheveux chop shop, I decided to take a little drive out to the west side of town. I do this every once in a while just to see the changes that have gone on in the town since I went to school there. On my way out that direction, I came up to a stoplight where I was going to turn left. The light had turned yellow as I got over in the turning lane and rather than go on through, I chose to stop as you should if at all possible. Just as I do, this chic in a little red Cavalier comes up behinds me and honks because I didn't go on through and she had to wait at the light along with me. Of course me, being who I am, I politely let her know she was number one in my book *EG*. I didn't stop there though. One the light turned green and I made my turn, I made extra sure to drive 24 in the 25 mph zone. Given her age and how I'm sure she would have treated the situation at the light had it been her who would have had to choose whether to go not, I knew more than likely she was a speeder that wouldn't settle for anything less than 5 mph over the limit. Sure enough she was trailing me and throwing a fit all the way down to where she turned off the road. Yep, I'm a bitch - I will admit but it's not like she didn't have it coming to her. If anything, she should be thankful. I very likely could have saved her an accident that day. LOL

And now for something completely different.....

This week's WTF political moments. Just when you thought things couldn't get more absurd....shit like this comes along.

First up....news reports are now saying that the war in Iraq is promoting more violence and creating more terrorists. Well DUH! Hell, I could have told them that when this all started yet for some crazy ass reason, they decide to wait five years. I mean anyone with an ounce of logic could see that coming. Let's think about this for a minute. Is there actually anyone in the world who would take kindly to their homes and loved ones having the shit bombed out of them to the point where they would say, "Oops my bad! I'm so sorry. Here let me bow down and kiss your feet and do everything you ask."? Give me a break! Common sense will tell you anyone who is threatened is going to fight back - it's basic human nature.

The other night I watched the Iowa gubernatorial debate. Can we get any more low budget? I was really suprised as to how unprofessional it came off. Hell, the debate between Lamberti and Boswell had more class. Not that I'm overly impressed with any of the four people involved in these debates, Boswell and Culver are still a hell of a lot better than their alternatives.

Oh it looks like good old Condi is cooking up lies again concerning 9/11. Then again, I'm not sure the woman actually knows how to say anything true or overly intelligent. She and Rummie both need their walking papers along with the rest of them.

Then we have Foley - YIKES! So much for the republican party of values and morals. Of course if Hastert wasn't enough to make you puke to begin with, his latest blah blah about all of this should be enough to put you over the edge. Yah buddy, I can see how the buck really stops with you - WHATEVER! Oh and the fact that Faux News screwed up by labeling him a democrat only goes to further show how much fact checking they actually do.

And finally.....

Some crazy biotch from Alabama is trying for a second time to get Harry Potter books banned from school libraries. You know, it's no wonder people around the world have the opinion they do of Americans when you have people like Laura Mallory around. This woman believes that these books seek to indoctrinate kids as Wiccans. Oh holy Mary mother of God lady! First of all, you're off your rocker to think such. Second of all, I'd sure like to know how Wicca is any worse than any other religion. If you ask me, from what I know of it, it's probably one of the better ones going.

What is probably the most hysterical bit of this woman's rant is that she thinks these books are to blame for all the violence in schools because they promote violence and then goes on to say stuff like school shootings wouldn't happen if students were to read the bible. I guess someone forgot to point out all the violence in that book (which could also be at least partly a work of fiction) too. No doubt she's one of those bible thumpers who has the good book shoved so far up her ass, she doesn't know how to think straight. I mean c'mon lady...although kids have a lot to learn, any of them who are at the Harry Potter reading level are going to be able to separate fact from fiction/right from wrong. Kids aren't stupid although I can see how you would like to keep them that way. Not to mention, if you really want to do something about violence, why not harp on good old Dubya or the FCC for awhile. I should think the ridiculous war he's waging in Iraq right now along with a lot of the crap you can find on television is going to be more of an influence on the violence our children take in than some Harry Potter book. My guess is you probably haven't even read one of those books and you're just stirring the pot because you have nothing better to do. *RE*

Otay kiddies....that's all from me for now.

Til next time.....

Who The F*ck Are You!

2006-09-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None - no time today.

moe. and The Who, that's who. hehe

So this past Tuesday was concert night. The downside is, I don't have any pictures to share. :( Mommy and I were on a rather tight schedule and because we parked a good distance away from the venue to avoid the parking lot mayhem, I didn't want to risk taking the camera only to have to turn around and walk it back to the car should they not let me take it in. As it turns out, security might as well have been non existent so I lost out on having some completely awesome pictures. I guess I should have learned my lesson from the other concerts I went to at that venue but you never know and with my luck, the one time I tried to take a camera in, I would be called out. GRRRR!

Anyway.....

Mommy dearest arrived at my house about 5:30. She had been not so subtly hinting that she still hadn't ridden in my car yet so I told her I would drive. Wouldn't you know the first thing she did after getting in was comment on how low it sits - I knew she would say something to that effect. LOL Before we went to the venue, we stopped off at PF Changs for some food. Oh how I love their garlic noodles - YUM! After we finished our meal, we were given fortune cookies. It was funny because I had just finished telling my mom about the $7 lottery win I had and when I opened my cookie, my fortune said something to the effect that I have a good head for money matters. Well DUH! It's not like all my little greenback friends sitting in the bank made it there on their own will or as a result of my stupidity. hehe

Once we got done at the restaurant, we were on our way to the venue. Even though we did park quite a few blocks away, we made good time getting where we needed to be. We didn't get parked until about 7, but still managed to make it to the arena by 10 after and there was no line for will call or ticket taking which was a plus.

I was really surprised when we walked in because they actually had the whole top level in addition to the back half of the arena curtained off. I thought with a band like The Who (a name just about everyone knows) coming to town, there would have been a much bigger crowd. That's not to say 6200 is anything to spit at - just a lot less than I was expecting. I kind of have to wonder if all that hoopla with Pete Townsend a couple years back had anything to do with it. They did, however, fill just about every seat that was available. What I really liked was that our seats were better than I originally thought (closer to the stage than I was expecting). We were sitting in the first row of the lower balcony facing straight on to the stage. It was a little crowded but a good view none the less (and of course would have been PERFECT for pictures).

moe., the opener, was pretty good although I have to deduct points due to the person who was doing a rather poor job of the mixing. The bass was overpowering everything else so it all ended up being kind of "fuzzy". I do like their music though and am seriously considering getting some of it for my collection. It's the kind of stuff that would be perfect for keeping me motivated at work.

The Who ended up taking the stage sometime around 8:30 and all I can say is WOW! Ok, so maybe it wasn't completely perfect as Daltry was having a few voice problems here and there but when you stop to think about it, he's being singing for over 40 years and given some of the screams he's let loose over that time, it was expected so I can't really fault him on that. I will say, however, the guy couldn't dance back then and time has done nothing to improve it but like I said in my other post, he really does a good job of filling out a nice pair of jeans and a tshirt. *DROOL*

The set list went something like this:

1. Can't Explain
2. The Seeker
3. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
4. Fragments
5. Who Are You
6. Behind Blue Eyes
7. Real Good Looking Boy
8. Sound Round
9. Pick Up The Pieces
10. Out On The Endless Wire
11. We Got A Hit
12. They Made My Dreams Come True
13. Mirror Door
14. Baba O'Riley
15. Eminence Front
16. Man In A Purple Dress
17. Mike Post Theme
18. You Better You Bet
19. My Generation
20. Won't Get Fooled Again

Encore

21. Tommy medley
22. Tea & Theater

They filled about a solid two hours and only took a brief 5 minute break (if it was that long). They also had an awesome light show including 3 big screens and then five movable ones that were used for different graphics. I was a little disappointed, however, by the review they received in the local paper though. It kind of came across as though the person who wrote it was not only not much of a fan but also a little too young to realize just who he/she was watching. Oh and the classic line of the night came after Man In A Purple Dress. Roger said something to the effect of, "That, as I'm sure you all know, was Man In A Purple Dress and if you didn't know that, I guess we're all fucked!" hehe Too funny!

The crowd was an interesting mix. Down our row there was a couple who were probably in their late 40s early 50s. Next to them, a guy that looked to be maybe in his late 30s early 40s. The kid that was between that guy and me looked to be about 17 (maybe the guy's son perhaps). Then of course there was my mom who is 70 (she made some comment about betting she was the oldest one there - hehe), and on the other side of her were a couple of women I would say are in their 30s too.

Speaking of my mom...she totally cracks me up. When they started to play Who Are You, she got all excited because she recognized it from CSI. I'm happy to report that it wasn't the only song she recognized. She of course knew the stuff from Tommy because we went to the stage production of it and have watched the movie before (that reminds me....I gotta buy that weird as it is). She also remembered Won't Get Fooled Again to which she said, "Obviously that wasn't the case with the last election." LOL I couldn't help but agree and then I pointed out that Dubya couldn't even get the saying right. You know, that one that goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." We both couldn't help but have a good giggle over that one.

After the show I went down and bought a shirt. I don't always get stuff at concerts especially if I already have seen the band before, am not that big a fan, or I'm not that impressed by the show. As it turned out, I wasn't really a fan when I walked into the concert (in other words, The Who had songs that I liked but I didn't have any of their music in my collection nor did I know much about them.) but I certainly walked out as one. I've decided there will definitely be some of their music brought into my collection. Think I may just have to hit Mummy England up for a copy of their latest rock opera that was only released in Europe too. :)

I now just wish I knew more people who like this band. I'd really like to go and see them again but I wouldn't have anyone to go with and after having gone to a concert once by myself (I won free tickets to a band I liked but none of my friends did), I can honestly say it isn't much fun. Ah well, at least I got to see them once which is one more time than I thought I would ever get the chance at.

Otay....I've got to be on my way now - work is calling.

Til next time....

Save A Horse....Ride A Cowboy

2006-09-27T22:25:00.000-07:00

Exercise: This, that, and the other but mainly house cleaning.

So this past Friday PIB's wife, the Bad Influence, and I had a girl's night out. Our first stop was a restaurant called On The Boarder. It's a low to mid priced Mexican joint close to the mall by where I live. The food was pretty good although I got quizzed by the waitress about my choices. The first thing that got a raised eyebrow from her was my drink selection - milk. Ever since a few years ago, this is usually my first choice. Don't get me wrong, I like the taste of pop and still drink it from time to time but I realized that not only does it do bad things to your teeth, it kind of distorts the taste of food. Besides, if you're eating spicy, milk is one of the best beverages to have because it will take some of the burn out.

When I ordered, I got some chicken dish complete with rice and grilled veggies. According to the nutrition facts I looked at online the other day, this is one of the more healthy choices but in reality, it's still WAY more food & fat than anyone should have at a sitting. I don't normally think about this stuff but after being asked by the waitress if I was on a diet, I decided to do so. I guess some people just don't understand that there are some of us who just like the taste of healthier food.

After our meal, PIB's wife was "kind" enough to let our waitress know that we were there to celebrate The Bad Influence's bday which was last Thursday and of course mine which was last Tuesday. I knew Mrs. PIB being who she is would do something like this. Of course when I found out we were going to a Mexican joint, I feared the worst - ie sombreros and stuff. LOL As it turned out, all they did was came out and did their little birthday chant and then served us with a warm brownie topped with ice cream. Very good but so rich that none of us ate more than a bite or two. What was really funny is after our bdays were announced, two other tables jumped on the bandwagon. I told Mrs. PIB and TBI that everyone obviously decided we were totally cool and wanted to be just like us so they did the bday thing too. LOL Now even though there wasn't too much embarrassment, TBI and I have vowed revenge so we are looking for a good place to take Mrs. PIB for her birthday next month where they do obnoxious birthdays. If any of you out there have any ideas, I'm all ears. >:)

As we were eating our brownie, we were trying to decide if we should just go back to Mrs. PIB's house and visit with PIB, Chi, and TBI's beau (they were having a wine tasting party amongst themselves and playing a little Rock N Roll Guitar Hero from what I understand) or go to a bar. Because the place that was suggested mainly plays country (at least before 10) which isn't my favorite but I like some of it and it's always a good time, I suggested that we Save A Horse and Ride A Cowboy rather than listening to PIB's male chauvinist statements. LOL We all had a good laugh over that and decided that the bar indeed would be the best choice.

As soon as we got there, Mrs. PIB jumped into the line dance. Now TBI and I don't do the line thing. Actually according to TBI, she doesn't dance at all so we just stood off to the side and watched. Within a minute, we had some half drunk dude come over and start chatting to us. Based on what we saw the rest of the evening, he was making the rounds with all the women. LOL We stuck around for a couple of hours and completely enjoyed ourselves cracking jokes about anything and everything that came to mind.

Saturday and Sunday was mainly used for grocery shopping and house cleaning. One cool thing that happened though was I actually won $7 on my Powerball ticket. It's too bad I didn't spend the extra for the power play as I could have won $28 but considering I rarely win anything, $7 wasn't too shabby. That's not to say, however, that I would have minded being that lucky ticket holder who won the jackpot. ;)

Alright...must be off now as it's getting late. I hope to have my blah blah up about last night's Who concert within the next day or two. What can I say, I'm still a little too preoccupied with the visual of Roger D nicely filling out the t-shirt and jeans he had on. Yes, I know the guy is 62 and old enough to be my father but dayum....he still had a bod that does his clothes some justice *DROOL DROOL SLURP SLURP*. And well, since he's 13 years younger than my actual father, I just don't think of him like that. Shut up! I already know I have strange taste. Bite me! :P

Til next time....

Obama 2008

2006-09-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None - it's my birthday!

Ok...so I'm a doofus. I logged in to start writing another post today and realized, I never put this one up when I was done with it. I think it's because I finished it at the end of my lunch hour and didn't have time to post it then. Rather than posting it later, I forgot about it - WHOOPS! Anyway...here it is. It's a little old but hey, it'll do.

I attended the 29th Harkin Steak Fry in my hometown this past weekend. It was a great time and I even managed to get a little sunburn - odd since I made it through the entire summer without that happening.

In addition to Iowa's current governor, Harkin brought along quite a few democrats seeking election this November. I always like hearing what these people have to say especially Harkin because he's a politician who can tell a joke that's actually funny. The only one in the group who I have any real reservations about is Chet Culver. I mean he's alright and definitely a hell of a lot better than Dubya's little puppet Jim Nussle but I would have still rather seen Fallon get the nomination. I just think he had the potential to bring more fresh ideas to the table.

The real stand out at the shindig, however, was Barack Obama. This man is AMAZING! For those of you who don't know, he's a senator from Illinois and he one of the best "up and comings" in a long time. Unlike most politicians, he hasn't "gone Washington" as he likes to say meaning his interests lie with the people he represents rather than trying to represent DC to the people. Sure a lot of politicians like to claim they represent their voters but many of them fall way short. Yah, I'm sure of you are saying, "He's just snowing you like the rest of them do." but I really don't think he is. I tend to have an extremely good bullshit detector and it just wasn't going off when I was listening to him speak. I also really like the fact that he doesn't trash talk the people who don't agree with him. Instead, he points out the differences and tries to understand the other point of view in order to find common ground so a solution which is fair to all sides can be made. I can only hope we see him as one of our future presidents one day because it's going to take a lot of people like him to undo the mess that Dubya & friends have got us in.

After the fry was over, we all went back to my parents' house to have a little early birthday celebration for me (today is the actual day). My mommy and daddy are sooo good to me (so are my mommy and daddy England too). Not only did my mommy say she would spring for The Who tickets, she and my dad also gave me a card with $50 cash in it. My dad got me one of those $20 electronic Poker Play lotto things too. As I have mentioned before, it's like one of our little "bonding activities". Unfortunately, this time only brought me a $3 winner but it was fun all the same.

As for mummy and daddy England, they got me a nice watch, a CD chocked full of number one dance hits over the past fifteen years, and a little stuffed hedgehog which I brought to work with me. Chi cooked me a dinner of my choosing (his special curry of course - YUM!) and gave me a card from both him and the furbabies. :) He had asked me before if there was any particular gifty I wanted but I really just couldn't think of anything. There seems to be very little I want these days and most of the things I wouldn't mind having....well.....let's just say the checkbook would spank my hands. hehe

Oh and may I just say that you know you've found the right car dealer when your salesguy actually takes the time to send you a letter wishing you a happy birthday (oddly...he didn't send one to Chi...lol)

And now for something completely different.....

I read a transcript of Hugo Chavez' speech he made to the UN. I know he's rather extreme and could have used a much more tactful way to express his frustrations about Bush but I have to say the man did make quite a few valid points.

A local high school here is up in arms over the drama students putting on a production of The Laramie Project. For those of you who don't know, this is a chronicle of life in Laramie, Wyoming a year after Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, severely beaten and left to die, tied to a fence on the outskirts of the town for no other reason than the fact that he was gay. From what I understand, it does contain violence and substantial swearing but I think in this instance it's justified yet parents are flipping a tizzy over it even though the principal of the school did edit some of it. Give me a break! It's obvious to me that this probably has very little to do with the swearing and violence (if it did I think we'd be hearing a hell of a lot more whining about what's being shown on television these days) and everything to do with the sexuality topic that comes into play. Get over your idiotic prejudices people! You might find if you did, the world would be a more peaceful place.

Ok one more little blah blah before I go....Gas prices. Isn't it funny how in the last month and only a month and a half before midterm elections, the price of gas has dropped nearly a dollar? Yes, I do realize that prices usually do decline in the fall and it's all supposedly market related but it is rather coincidental. Of course even if prices were up to lawmakers, I really don't think there is anything that's going to get the republicans out of the mess they're in now enough to save their control. I swear everytime I hear or read a news article, the "pubs" are getting themselves into more trouble and only further bringing about thier doom.

Ok...that's it for now. I's outta here....

Til next time...

Don't call me "Bay bah"

2006-09-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

Exercise:

Yes, it has once again been a very long time since I was here last. Now that we've started back on our usual work week schedule, I should hopefully be able to check in more frequently. I really liked having three day weekends and I was all for continuing the 4/10 gig but, on the other hand, it's nice not having to get up so early and work so late.

There are tons of things for me to catch up on so I'm going to go for the Reader's Digest version on them. Of course by putting them all together, they could end up making War & Peace look like a short story. In other words, LONG POST - You've been warned!

A week ago this past Friday was Chi's 31st b-day. We spent the evening our at PIB's house visiting with him, his wife, and another couple. There wasn't any fancy sort of celebration but, as always, it was good fun.

That Saturday the six of us all went to the Renaisance Faire. Chi and I had never been before but we're glad we attended. I was sort of surprised Chi liked it as much as he did since often times things like that come off as sort of cheesy to him considering he's from England and not everyone playing a part has an overly convincing accent. I told him he should sign up to be part of it next year since he's the "genuine article" but he made it clear that there would be a snowball's chance in hell of that happening. I think the pirate that heckled him on the way in may have traumatized him too much. LOL

A week ago this past Monday I heard the news that Steve Irwin (The Croc Hunter) was killed by a sting ray. I never really watched his show but the news was sad and rather shocking none the less especially since rays are known to be fairly docile creatures. I think the saddest part of it all is that had he not pulled the barb from his chest, he may have lived. Oh and to the people that thought they needed to go and kill some of those beautiful animals because of this incident - You're a bunch of ASSHOLES!

Last Thursday, as many of you might know, was the Journey/Def Leppard concert in Ames. Mr. PIB and I drove up together and TBB met us there later. For awhile there it was kind of touch and go whether she was going to be able to attend but I'm glad that it all worked out in the end particularly because it had been quite some time since we last got together. Of course wouldn't you know I would forget the two gifties I had for her. (TBB if you're reading this, one of them is in the mail) I think I was too preoccupied cracking up over the funny that came out of Chi's mouth. He had come into the bathroom as I was getting ready and upon seeing the little black number I had on (mini skirt and babydoll t-shirt), he said, "What the hell is this?" and proceeded to raz me about getting all dressed up so I could pick up some chickyboys. LOL

The show ended up starting a bit early (think that's a first when it comes to any of the ones I've been to). First up was some guy whose name I don't remember with his guitar. He was alright but I was less than impressed. PIB made the comment that the dude reminded him of Johnny Cash. I said, "Nah, JC can actually sing." LOL When the guy whipped out his harmonica, PIB and I left - it was just too much for our ears to handle. We stopped at the beer counter so PIB could get a drink then went outside to the smoking area. Some chic was sitting out there with a couple of her friends having a convo with them that most people wouldn't even think of venturing into in public - obviously they were drunk. Anyway, this woman happens to look at the writing on my shirt (Bebe) and then starts saying "Hey Bay bah" over and over again trying to get my attention. For anyone who doesn't yet know - this is one sure fire way to get me to ignore you. PIB decided to pipe up by saying, "I think that girl is trying to get your attention." My reply, "You think? Thank you Captain Obvious!" LOL And before you jump on me for being mean, this is how we usually interact with each other.

When Journey finally hit the stage we didn't even know they had come on. I don't think we missed too much though - maybe half a song. We also missed their last couple of songs too because TBB arrived and we needed to go meet her but from the part I did see, they put on a helluva show. Hell, it was so good that I didn't even miss their "official" singer not being there.

Lep came out and put on a fantastic show. The only thing that would have made it better is if security would have come by much earlier and kicked out the two extra people in our row. Oh that and not having to be next to a bunch of drunk people. I swear they seek me out at these things. I mean I don't mind if people want to have a beer or two during the show but these people had been two fisting it all evening so by the time Lep took the stage, they had about eight in them already. What was worse is the chic next to me had fairly long hair that she kept flipping around in a manner that made it whip the skin on my arm leaving a raw spot. If that wasn't enough, she kept pushing her HUGE sweaty ass into me and managed to spill beer down my leg - YUCK!

After the show, we all walked around to where the buses were. PIB and I didn't care if we met any of the guys or not but we decided to stay for a bit to keep TBB company and let the parking lot clear out. As we were all standing around talking, Rick Allen showed up. PIB and I were kind of standing off to the side talking and everyone was huddled around Rick. About five minutes later I told PIB if we were going to get our tickets signed we had probably better get over there. Now even though PIB has dark hair, I swear he pulled a total blonde moment because he said, "I thought that guy was just some tech." LOL Amatures! Once we got an autograph and I took a picture of TBB with Rick (no...didn't get any of myself this time although I should have since the only pic I have with Rick is distorted thanks to a little Welshman who knows very little about digital cameras. LOL), PIB and I headed for home because he had to get up early the next day to go to work.

On the way back to Des Moines, we stopped at a grocery store to get something to drink. On the way in my phone started ringing. It was TBB. She told me that we had left too early because Rick had everyone get together for a group picture. After I got home, I saw that TBB had tried to call me again so I gave her a ring. She told me not too long after the group photo all the other guys except the Savage one came out. She said they were all being extremely chatty especially Elliott. I guess he told her that his wife once attended ISU. TBB and I determined that based on her age and possible major she could have had (AMDP since she was the wardrobe person for the band), I could have very well had a class or two with her. I'm a little sorry that we couldn't stay a bit longer because now I'm really curious to know when she was there and what she studied. Based on what I remember her looking like, her face didn't ring a bell with me but then again it's been 10 years and people do change.

I've got one more thing to talk about before I move on to my political rant. I want to address the boneheads who keep parking at the end of our street and blocking our drive. This past weekend our neighbors two doors down had vistors who came and stayed for a few days. Now I don't mind them parking where they do so much when it's the weekend and I don't have to go anywhere even though they aren't supposed to do it but when I have to get out and go to work in the morning, it really fuckin pisses me off! I don't appreciate having to back up, pull forward, and repeat two to three times in order to get out of my own damn driveway! To this latest offender driving a car with the following Illinois license plate 843 9848, I fart in your general direction! It's a damn good thing you left when you did because I was preparing a nasty little note to leave on your windshield. Next time tell the fucking homeowners you're staying with to park their stoopid cars in the fucking garage rather than using it as a lounging room so you can park in their drive.

Now that I've got that out of my system...Let's move on to the part of the post that falls under...

And now for something completely different....

I'm getting really damn tired of people referring to liberals as communists. Yes, we do believe that everyone holds a stake in everyone else and that's what will make this country great but we don't believe that everyone should live the same. The more I read some of the political forums out there, the more I see people sitting on the far right using this term. I think the thing that really bugs me the most about it is that it goes to show just how much people don't stop, listen, and attempt to understand from the other person's point of view. If the people throwing out this term were to do so, they might actually see that the majority of us on the left aren't anything close to a communist. *RE*

The one thing that further pisses me off is those people who say that liberals sympathize with terrorists. If that isn't the biggest bunch of bullshit I have ever heard, I don't know what is. What people seem to be missing is that we don't wish for terrorists to perform acts of violence anymore than the next person. What makes us different is that we (some of us anyway) are able to put ourselves in their shoes in order to see where they are coming from and why they may do the things they do. We understand that our way of life may not be for them and to force it upon them is doing nothing more than an eye for an eye. I encourage those of you who think liberals actually take sides with the terrorists to look up the definition of sympathy and then the definition of empathy. While these two words are said to be synonyms of each other, they refer to two very different things and often times are confused for one another.

The other day I took one of those little political quizes that supposedly shows how you compare with some of the past and present leaders around the world. My result - I came out dead on with The Dalai Lama. I once saw an interview with him and thought he was a pretty neat guy. After I got the results of the quiz I took, I decided to check out his website. It was like reading my own mind. Here is one person that really understands where the world needs to go and I admire him for it.

Otay kiddies, that's all for me right now. I'll be back later with my thoughts on the Harkin Steak Fry.

Til next time...

Hitler vs. Coulter

2006-08-26T22:50:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None....the weather was total shit today.

The similarities are striking:

1. Both Hitler and Coulter follow similar themes in their writings; a mistrust of the 'liberal' press, fierce nationalism, accusations of treason placed on those in disagreement, describing third world citizens as savages, and condemnation of pacifists, liberals, elitists, and democratic politicians. Both of them use extremely nasty tones and show a complete unwillingness to look at both sides. Furthermore, if you look at the historical facts it's easy to see how unbalanced these two are but their talent of propagandizing is obvious.

2. Coulter refers to liberals much the same way Hitler referred to Jews. She believes them to be a scheming group who conspires against the nation and its national values.

3. Hitler believed in paying attention to only those historical facts and events that fit into his own world view and throwing out the rest as though it never happened rather than having an open mind; letting history shape your vision of the world. This is a good detector of an extremist and let me just say Ann Coulter follows it to a tee.

4. Both Coulter and Hitler have predefined enemies. Hitler portrayed Jews as being anti-German with complete control of the press whose anti-German view points were slowly corrupting the unaware intellectuals. Coulter likes to pin similar accusations on liberals. She believe liberals have degraded morals in our nation's culture, conspired with US enemies, and that they ally with Communists to overthrow the current free economic system in America. Now THAT's paranoia for you.

Pretty much the only reason she can get away with her bullshit is because unlike Hitler, she doesn't directly attack any one ethnic group but instead a political party that has long been known to hold interests for many minority ethnic groups. She's also been known to avoid directly criticizing Muslims but will label anyone who defends them as a traitor. Obviously she thinks she's got a clever cover up for her bigotry but anyone with half a brain can see right through her.

5. Hitler & Coulter tend to bask in the failures of the power of the spoken word when it comes to promoting the opposing viewpoints. Hitler described it by saying that intellectuals lacked the power to get the point across through talk so they focused on writing and by doing so it lost them the psychological instinct for mass effect and influence. Coulter focuses on the lack of success of some of the talk radio liberals and draws the conclusion that liberals are out of touch with the common man so their views are wrong. To her, intellectualism is naive and useless.

It amazes me the way some people eat her drivel up (not that it should really given what Hitler was able to do) but to each is own.

In other political news.....

Wow! That Katherine Harris woman is really finding herself in a predicament. Sounds to me like she's been sniffing the old "Dubya Glue". According to her, separating religion and politics is "wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers." Yah, just like God chose Dubya to be our president. Hmmm and here I thought it was a process of election by the people of the country. Of course in Dubya's case, it was more like an "appointment". Oh and it gets better...She thinks that electing non-Christians is a legislative sin. She said, "If you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin." LMFAO If that isn't a hypocrite in action, I don't know what is seeing as I have yet to come across a "sinless" politician. Oddly enough, it seems the "harder" they push God, the more corrupt they are - go figure. *RE* Good God where in the hell do they find these people?! YIKES!

Next up we have Dubya's lovely little press conference a week ago where he said, "Now look, part of the reason we went into Iraq was - the main reason we went into Iraq, at the time, was we thought he [Saddam] had weapons of mass destruction. It turns out he didn't, but he had the capacity to make weapons of mass destruction." Excuse me - what was that? Did Dubya himself finally admit there weren't any weapons there? Yes, yes, I do believe he did. *RE* I got a kick out of the way he started that statement with "part of the reason" then quickly changed it to "the main reason". Gee Georgey trying to cover something else up that we already know? LOL I admit, I'm a cynic but I have to say that I have yet to be wrong about someone who I've had an odd feeling about as I do him.

Last on the politics docket, I wanted to make mention of the Harkin steak fry taking place in my hometown next month. I will be attending with my parents and sister and again this year. I really enjoyed the one I went to last year and I'm looking forward to the one this year. Barack Obama is supposed to be there. I've heard some really great things about him so I can't wait to hear him speak.

And now for something completely different....

Yesterday was my eldest nephew's 22 birthday. I can't believe he's that old. I should be the one turning 22, not him! LOL The little twurp really made out too. Money is what he wanted and money is what he got to the tune of $165.

I know there is something else I wanted to write about here but I'll be damned if I can remember what it was. Since it's getting late, I'll just leave it here. Oh yah...if there are any grammatical/spelling mistakes in this post, bite me and deal - I'm too tired to check. :P

Til next time...

Who are you?

2006-08-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 30 push ups, 50 leg lifts, 120 crunches. Better than nothing but not that fantastic. I just didn't have time. Seem to be pinched for that more and more these days.

Well I am officially the owner of two tickets to The Who. My dear mommy is going with me and buying the tickets as a birthday present for me. Yah I know, I have a cool mom who likes to rock once in awhile. LOL Over the years she has gone with me to Huey Lewis & The News, Bon Jovi, Genesis, Paul McCartney, and now The Who. Actually, back in the early 90s, she drove my friend and I to Cedar Rapids to see Def Leppard. She opted to go to the parents' room instead of attending the concert with us. When it was over, she told me and my friend that the place where she stayed was a total bore and after peaking in during the last few minutes of the show, she wished she had come with us. LOL She may be 70 years old but she's still game for a good rock concert.

This past Saturday morning was spent at the State Fair. I can't say that I saw anything that was overly "wowing" but it was a good time. I did happen to see a DJ that I used to talk to all the time about 15 years ago and pretty much lost touch with 10 years ago. I didn't get to talk to him and wish I would have because I think it would have been funnier than hell to see his reaction when I told him who I was. I did, however, manage to get my traditional salt water taffy (ooh how I love that stuff) and my dad and I got our lotto tickets. This year we decided to trade since we typically only seem to pick winning tickets when we give them to each other. No such luck this year. All of them were losers except one and the prize on it was only $1. I told my dad it was because we bought them too early (9am right when the Varied Industries building opened) and had we waited, we could have let the other "cattle wandering the barn" buy up the crap tickets before we came in and snagged up the winners. Ah well, it was all in good fun and it's not like we play because we actually think we are going to win big.

And now for something completely different.....

I see once again Dubya has gotten a chance to play with his little Homeland Security Advisory blocks. I gotta admit that I find it odd how it seems like the farther Bush slips in the ratings and the more people who become disgusted with the current administration, the bigger the foiled terrorist plots become. Chi said the other day that he has to wonder if these latest scares are something which were never intended to actually be carried out but instead devised to keep our intelligence occupied so that something even more massive could be planned and executed. He does have a point. Of course I think the longer we stay where we aren't wanted, the more likely future terrorist attacks will be due to making even more enemies than we had to begin with. Violence breeds violence and we've managed to step in deep.

Saturday evening I stayed up late to watch a Q&A with Ann Coulter and The Claire Boothe Luce Policy Institute. Now I knew this woman was off to begin based on things I had read about her but after listening to her speak all I can say is OMG! Never in my life have I sat and listened to someone and felt like I wanted to be physically ill. I was aware of the horrible kinds of things she has said but holy shit what an ignorant, bigoted, insecure woman (this being obvious by the way she laughs are her own jokes which aren't funny in the least). What was even more scary was that the young women who were sitting there listening to her actually agreed. I'm sorry but it's people like her who breed nothing but hatred by treating and talking about those who don't have the same view point as though they have a communicable disease. YIKES!

Otay, that's it for me today. Time to get to bed so I can be up no later than 5 and work my day away. UGH! I love my job. I love my job. I love my job. YAY!

Til next time...

No witty title today

2006-08-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 2 mile run, 100 push ups, 100 leg lifts, 400 crunches.

This past week was the National Balloon Classic in my hometown. The best part about it is that my parents live just across the highway from the balloon field so it's easy to watch without having to fight the crowds. The downside is that the weather wasn't very cooperative this time around. Saturday I got up really early to get there by 7:15 in order to watch the flight and have breakfast with my parents, oldest nephew, and the people my mom used to nanny for (she retired this past May). Unfortunately, the balloons didn't take flight because it rained buckets (I heard on the news later in the day that there was an inch worth of water dumped on the town). I waited around until the evening in hopes I might be able to see them fly then but again things didn't pan out due to weather. My nephew who was on a crew again this year went over to the field just before 5:30. He was back by 10 past 6 and said the pilots were on a weather hold and wouldn't be starting their meeting until 6:30. He went back over to the field and came back just after 7 saying the wind was too strong but the night glow and fireworks may still be on. He then left to go back over there again to give the pilot he crewed for (same guy as last year) a couple of pictures he took. By about 8 or so he had returned and said the night glow wasn't going to happen either but the fireworks were still on schedule. I was a bit bummed because I was hoping to get some pictures but I had at least been able to see one flight the weekend before when I had gone visiting.

My parents had invited both my sister and I over to dinner on the day I did get to see the balloons fly. As usual, my sister was late so she had missed most of the balloons, however, she did get there in time to see some of the "specialty" balloons (meaning the ones in unusual shapes). She came in and was talking about the Jesus balloon. My mom said, "What???". My sister explained that there was a balloon that was like a bust of Jesus sitting on a cloud and that it had just launched from the field. My mom was looking out all of the windows and couldn't see it so she thought maybe my sister was pulling her leg. I told my mom, "You can see it, you just gotta BELIEVE." total tongue in cheek of course. As it turns out, the reason none of us in the house could see it at first was because it was hidden by the trees. Later on when it got farther up in the air and over a little farther to the East, we could see it. With everything that has been going on in the world lately, all of us thought that it was just kind of creepy.

And now for something completely different....

Over the past couple of weeks I got to see a couple of pretty good films. The first one was Super Size Me. Now I always knew that McDonalds is some of the most lethal crap someone could put in their body but I didn't realize just how much damage it could do in thirty days time if you were to eat it everyday. The guy who did the experiment was healthy as a horse when he started out. By the end, he was headed down a road to a very sick place. He ended up putting on something like 20 - 25lbs, his cholesterol skyrocketed, he felt ill and exhausted all the time, he experienced depression except for when he was actually eating the food, he found himself having cravings for the stuff when he wasn't eating it, and a lot of his other tests had been thrown all out of wack. It seemed that even the doctors he had been working with were surprised at the results. The amount of fat and sugar he consumed was absolutely horrendous! I don't eat at these places very often (maybe once a year which is about all a nutritionist would suggest) just because I don't like the food that much but this is just another good reason to stay away from them.

The second film I got to see is The Devil Wears Prada. I really liked this one and Adrian Grenier is just sooo cute. It's not exactly what I thought it might be but it was really good. I now know one of the reasons I chose to steer clear of the fashion industry. Not that I think everyone in that line of work behaves like the characters in the movie, but I wouldn't doubt that at least some do just based on experiences I have had.

In addition to these films, I watched the Suze Orman show the other night. Even though she can be a little obnoxious, I gotta say I really like her and think she gives some of the better financial advice going. What's funny is just about everything she says is what I have been doing since day one even though I hadn't actually listened to her. Based on the financial state Chi and I are in, what she says works. I admit though I find it disturbing just how many people out there are making the kind of money mistakes they are and finding themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. I mean I knew the average credit card debt per household was something like $8000 but the stories of some of the people calling into this show make that amount of debt look like a walk in the park. I'm just thankful Chi and I haven't gone down that road. We don't charge more to our credit cards than we can pay every month and the only real debt we have is our two cars and house. Of course when it comes right down to it, the house is an asset so that debt doesn't really count and unless something horrible comes up, the debt on our cars should be gone within the next couple of years before the loans actually come to term. YAY!

I heard today that The Who will be playing Wells Fargo on the 26th of September. I think I may just have to go to that one. Can't say I will be forking over the $178+ for the best seats but I'm willing to part with $48+ to at least get to see them. It should be a nice 1 week belated birthday for me. :)

Otay - think that about does it for me for now.

Til next time.....

How to piss off the Diva & some other crap...

2006-07-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 50 push ups, 50 leg lifts, 200 crunches, and a 2 mile run. May I just say that I think I prefer 9pm runs over 7am runs when it comes to the weather?

For the last three week we've received a phone call every Saturday morning right around 10am (a time when we are usually still sleeping) from someone calling on behalf of Stew Hansen's Dodge City (the dealer we bought the Stratus from that we no longer own). Basically they are looking to buy good condition used cars from people so they can sell them a new one.

Now the first time these people called, I figured they would get the hint when I hung up on them and not call anymore. Silly me, obviously I was wrong. The second time they called, I told them we no longer owned the car and that we weren't interested. Even that wasn't enough to get them to leave us alone because they called again this past Saturday. That alone had me a bit ticked but it was the conversation I had with the guy that just rubbed me the wrong way. I swear they must seek out people with IQs lower than 60 and completely incapable of taking a hint.

When I first answered the phone, the guy asked for Chi. I asked who was calling and what for because I figured it was some sort of solicitation and I know Chi won't take those kind of calls. That's when the guy goes through his "spcheel". Like the caller the previous week, I tell him we no longer own the Stratus and aren't interested. That wasn't enough to get this guy to go away though. He starts asking what we drive now....um yah like I'm going to give you detailed info about that buddy. Mitsubishi was all he got out of me. Of course that still wasn't enough to get him to go away. He still tries to sell me on this deal. I'm like excuse me, we just bought both of our cars less than a year ago and neither one has more than 5100 miles on it, why would we want to get rid of them? Instead of answering the question, he keeps up with his crap saying, "what if we could show you how you would make a profit?". Ok dipshit, first of all, any dealer who claims the customer is going to make a profit on selling their car back and buying a new one is full of very smelly fecal matter. Second, if we wanted to profit by selling our cars, we could very easily do that without you seeing as they both are half paid for already and one of them holds its value so well it could actually be sold for more than we purchased it for. Ok so I didn't call him dipshit for real but I did call him out on the scam which left him a little speechless. Also let him know that if we ever buy a Dodge or Mitsu again, we will be going back to the dealer we purchased our current cars from because we knew we would get a fair deal and we really liked the salesguy. That was the end of that call and hopefully any future ones from that place. *RE*

Speaking of car stuff....I rolled 5000 on mine Friday evening when I was driving to my parents' house to meet up with them and go to a play my nephew was going to be in. I have to say it was kind of bittersweet although that many miles over 8 months time is pretty good especially when you consider the fact that my Sunfire had at least three times that on it when it was the same age.

Sorry folks no "other news" tonight. Just don't have the time.

Til next time....

A Short Rant

2006-07-19T22:25:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 200 crunches, 50 push ups, 50 leg lifts

How could you Mr. Bush?! After all this time of letting piss poor bills through, you decide to finally veto something that could do so much good. You try to make it come off as though you are being all noble by favoring life but it's nothing but a bunch of your usual smoke and mirrors bullshit. You will send thousands overseas and allow them to kill and be killed in a senseless war yet you won't let embryos which are set to be destroyed be used to potentially save lives and reduce suffering of countless numbers of people. I'm sorry Mr. President, I never thought highly of you to begin with but you have now sunk to an all time low! The fact that you can overlook what the majority of the country wants and what the majority of lawmakers have come together to pass only further shows me that you are running that fine line to Hitler many people say you are. Even many of those who have supported you wanted this bill and what do you do? You turn around and slap them right across the face. Yes, you definitely are the self centered, hypocritical, bigot that those of us on the other side of the fence always thought you were. You truly disgust me.

End rant.

Til next time...

A very sad anniversary

2006-07-07T17:30:00.000-07:00

Exercise: Errand running.

Well I had a big long post that I was going to write up about all the hoopla concerning Journey and people pitching a ridiculous fit over nothing but then I remembered what today is - the first anniversary of the London bombings. There's just something about events like that which just kind of put things like who's using a backing track or what defines a band as a cover into perspective. It doesn't matter folks.

A lot of the performers out there these days use backing tracks because if they don't, people think they are getting robbed when it comes to the show. They want album quality sound but also want to see the artist hopping all over the stage. I have yet to find anyone that can be that active while they're singing and not be winded. Did Steve Augeri fake a throat infection because of this whole tape issue? Maybe but I'm willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Even if he did, so what? I've seen him perform live and he and the rest of the band put on one hell of a performance. I don't care what anyone says, the guy has some pipes.

Some people think that Journey is nothing but a cover band these days. Oh please. I find it really humorous since two of the five have been there since 1973 and another since 1980. Only the drummer and singer are the "newbies" and well the singer has a voice so close to the one that "made" the band, the average ear would have trouble distinguishing the two. Hell they even have a similar look and share the same first name. Cover band, I think not.

And now for something completely different.....

Please remember all those affected by the Tube bombings and have some more tea. ;)

Til next time....

Busy busy busy

2006-07-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None today - I chose to lounge.

So I was supposed to take my mom to KC this past weekend so she could take care of her sister that had a pentuple bypass not too long ago and stay a couple of days but that ended up getting cancelled. My auntie from Phoenix was already there and things were going to be a bit cramped. Besides, my mother has been having trouble with her knee and foot so she wasn't overly sure she wanted to go. She found out that several years ago she broke her foot and didn't know it (Yah, I know I was like, "How on Earth can you walk around on a broken foot and not know it?"). Obviously because she never got treatment, it didn't heal correctly and because of it, she's experiencing Plantar Fasciitis.

Instead of our trip, my mom and I decided to get together for lunch and a movie on Friday afternoon. Around noon we took off for PF Chang's - a great place if you are into Chinese that isn't cheap buffet style. Once we got done, we went over to the theater to see The Lake House. As predictable as the storyline was, I did like it. I've always liked Sandra Bullock and she has good chemistry with Keanu Reeves.

Friday evening Chi and I went over to PIB's house. PIB, Mrs. PIB, Chi, and me all went up to Best Buy so PIB could get a new graphics card. In the end, he didn't get what he went in for but both he and Chi bought a new game to play. *RE* Oh and let me just say that I don't think I will be shopping with those two (PIB and Chi) again anytime soon. They're worse than a couple of three year olds when allowed out together. LOL

I also got to view a couple of other movies over the last few days - Rumor Has It and Nanny McPhee. I really enjoyed both and recommend them.

Last up but not least....The new season of Rockstar has started. Yay! I think. I know since this is only the first show it's a little early on but so far I'm feeling like it's little more than a rehash of the songs done last year and the people doing them aren't as good. That's not to say I don't think any of the performers are any good. There are a few that I thought did quite well - Toby, Patrice, Josh, and Dana but I would have thought they would at least use different music than last year. Oh and there seems to be something different about Tommy Lee. It almost looks as though he's "had work done" or something.

And now for something completely different.....

We're movin on up....A certain someone managed to get another raise which has put said person up another 15% for the year. :) It's amazing that in just over five year's time our income has nearly doubled. Even though today's job market isn't what I would call solid, it's nice to know that we have some security because of the money we can save while still enjoying some of the nicer things in life. Hopefully we can keep going on the path we are on so that in a couple more years, we can look into building a new house.

Other than that bit of news, I don't really have much for this section tonight. I've got some things I would like to address from the My Space political forums I've been hanging out at lately but I don't have them together yet so I will leave them for another day.

Til next time.....

Long time no blog

2006-06-20T21:50:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 50 push ups, 200 crunches, 50 leg lifts, and a 2 mile run

Yah, I know....it's been a long time and I've got a lot of catching up to do. These 4 10 hour days we've been doing at work are kinda kicking my ass. Besides, it's summertime and with the few hours I do have in the evening, I would prefer to spend them outside. :)

The weekend of the 9th was when PIB and his Mrs. had their annual EQ party. Most of the people there were the same ones from past years although there was at least one who I don't think attended before. There were also some who had been there in the past but weren't able to make it in this time.

As always, it was a great time. Chi and I both had that Friday off so we headed over to PIB's house about 1pm and I think it was something like 3am before things started winding down. Saturday it was back over to PIB's place around 5pm for more laughs. We ended up ordering pizza for dinner and the group of us going bowling. That was a total riot especially with a lot of the antics that were going on. Oh and some of the pictures were absolutely hysterical.

Sorry, that's all you're getting when it comes to that weekend. We have all agreed that this party is much like Vegas - what happens there stays there in order to protect the guilty. LOL

Wednesday the 14th marked exactly 9 years since the first time Chi and I met in person. That's one day I'll never forget and had to be one of the best ones I had during my six months in London. He and a friend named Rob (he needed a bodyguard LOL) were coming to the city for the day so we arranged to meet up at the Marble Arch Tube stop at 5pm. That evening we ended up walking all over town in the on/off rain stopping first at a pub up by the Edgware Road Tube stop called Rob Roy. After that we found ourselves at Trafalgar Square, a Pizza Hut down by Piccadilly Circus, Sega World at the Tracadero, and then a little coffee shop just down from there for some refreshments before hoping on a train to go back home.

Ever since then anytime Chi and I go back to England, we always try to fit in a trip to London so we can at least visit "our" pub if not retrace our whole adventure from that night. I'm hoping we'll get to go again soon but it's kind of up in the air at the mo. We're waiting for his brother & his fiancee to set a wedding date before we plan our next trip over. At $4000 a pop and only so much vacation time, we wouldn't want to get locked into something only to find out we'd have to make a second trip in a year's time or attempt to change the itinerary we already had. YIKES!

Anyway, when I arrived home from work on the evening of the 14th, I was pleasantly surprised with a single red rose to commemorate the day. :)

And now for something completely different.....

Lately I've really been enjoying the political forum on My Space. As to be expected there are some of your usual extremists along with those whom I would say just really don't understand what is going on, but there are some on there particularly from the younger generation that I'm truly impressed by.

What makes me giggle the most are the ones who continue to harp on the immigration laws. They like to make it sound as though none of them are ever being enforced and no one is being deported. Silly little squirrels....if they paid attention, they would know that the laws we have are being enforced as well as can be expected with the resources we have to work with. What's even funnier is that they voted the people in who are running the show and doing a poor job of it yet they still stand by them.

Then, there are those who are in complete denial by thinking our lawmakers (especially those on the right) and Dubya are doing a great job by reducing government, lowering taxes, and keeping the economy flourishing. Guess someone forgot to tell them that the so called reduction of government has really turned out to be an increase, that the lower taxes only really apply (or are worthwhile to) those in the top 1% and someone is going to have to pay for that deficit once the shrub gets the boot, and that although our unemployment is low, it's still much higher than when Clinton left office. Actually, when it comes to unemployment, very little reduction has taken place. I guess some people only choose to hear that it's been reduced without looking at the actual numbers. Hell, before there was a recent hike across the pond, our rate was equal that of England and just like over there, we've been laying off people right and left. Can someone say 30,000 in the car manufacturing sector alone? YIKES!

On top of all this, there is, of course, the Iraq hot button. UGH! Wake up for Pete's sake! People are still dying over there at an astounding rate and it only seems to be getting uglier the longer we stay. I don't care what anyone says, we picked a fight where we shouldn't have and no matter what little good may have come out of it, it wasn't worth the number of lives on both sides which were taken. Oh and way to go with Zarqawi's death. Turn the man into the martyr he wanted to be. What really pisses me off is the way people were cutting down Michael Berg for saying it was no reason to rejoice and saying that he supported terrorists. When will people ever get it through their heads that just because someone doesn't agree with the way something is handled doesn't mean they are for that thing happening? DUMB! DUMB! DUMB!

Otay....that's about it for me today.

Til next time....

A Birthday And A Conspiracy Theory

2006-06-05T22:09:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None. I took the day off. My allergies have been acting up a little and I had a nasty little headache that just refused to go away.

Saturday I went to my parents' house to meet up with my nephew so he could tell me about his UK trip and show me all his goodies he brought back. He had quite the time there and although he said he would love to live there, he didn't think he could because he would miss his family too much. Awww

The tat he got on his shoulder is pretty cool. Not tiny but not so big it's overpowering. Just a nice sized Union Jack with 2006 above it. He also brought home a lot of "touristy" stuff so I'm sure the shops over there just absolutely loved him. lol

He gave me some of my favorite cookies (McVities digestives - ASDA brand rocks too!). They are oval in shape and taste rather similar to a graham cracker. The chocolate covered ones are good too. :) He also brought me 2 of the candy bars (Time Out) that I would get from time to time when I lived over there and some of the mints I would always buy. On the non-food side of things, he got me a Monty Python knight widget and a small vase manufactured by Poole Pottery (totally cool). What can I say...the kid picks awesome gifts and he really loves his auntie. :)

Saturday was also my sister's 50th birthday so my mom, sis, and I went out to dinner and to see The Da Vinci Code. I have to admit there was a part or two that was a little graphic for my taste and left me feeling as though I was going to yak up a meal I hadn't yet eaten but gore aside, I really enjoyed it. I also have to say that all the people making the stink about the film really are making a mountain out of a mole hill. I'm not going to spoil it for those of you who haven't seen it yet but I just don't think it's worth all the fuss. I also have to say that in many ways, the explanation of Jesus makes a lot more logical sense than what the majority of the hard core "believers" like to preach. And before you start calling me a conspiracy theorist, I do know that this is a work of fiction. My thought is that the idea of Jesus having more human qualities sounds more realistic.

And now for something completely different......

Dubya should once again be ashamed of himself for the gay marriage amendment kick he's on lately not only because of what it would do (and yes, I know it most likely doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of passing) but the reason he is bringing it up. SHAMEFUL!

Well, it seems I had a couple of others things I was going to discuss but I'll be damned if I remember them so I will leave it here for now. We started doing 4 ten hour days at work this week (our summer schedule which is suppose to help save on gas - yah whatever. Certainly isn't saving sanity.) and after one day my brain is fried. Up at 5am, home by 6pm - what do you expect. YIKES! It's no wonder I can't remember the other stuff.

Til next time....

A Saturday away brought rants my way

2006-05-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

Exercise: House cleaning.

So this past Saturday I took off to Ames for my regular six week haircut. Wouldn't you know it would piss down with rain just enough to get my clean car dirty only for the sun to return afterward - GRRR! I thought about washing it on the way home but they are predicting rain again for tomorrow so I decided to nix that idea. I figured since it's supposed to be nice from Wednesday on, I would just take care of it then.

The rain, however, wasn't the first aggravation I came across nor was it the last. As I was going around the ramp on the mix-master to transition from one interstate to another, there was a cop car with its lights on parked in the right lane where the on-coming traffic from the interstate I got off of merges in to the interstate I was headed for. Now it wouldn't have necessarily been that big of deal had the guy been sitting up further so the traffic on the ramp could see him but he wasn't. He was down over the hill where you couldn't see him until you were nearly right up on him. The two people that were in front of me almost hit the guy and nearly caused a four or five car pile up. Turns out the guy was parked where he was to let people from a funeral procession merge freely. Not that I don't have respect for those things but freeways and interstates are NOT a good place for them. This particular one nearly caused a few more deaths or serious injuries and interstates do have MINIMUM speed requirements - something I don't think was being met in this case.

The third thing that happened which just kind of topped everything off was my visit to the Evil Empire. When I got there, I could tell by the number of cars in the parking lot it was going to be busy as I would expect for a Saturday afternoon - think maggots on a shit pile. Anyway, I started off next door at the EE's brother's place to get a few things - Milk, OJ, and some cereal. Now although it was quite warm out, I knew I didn't need much from the EE and shouldn't be in there an extremely long time so the stuff I already got next door would probably be ok sitting in the car as it usually is.

After I put the first bunch of groceries in the car, I walked into the EE. I went to get a cart and this girl who obviously had her head misplaced up her ass just stood right in the way even after I said, "Excuse me" twice. UGH! If that wasn't enough, when I went to walk through the second set of doors, all the people who went in before me felt the need to congregate right there in the middle of the walk. I don't know why it is that when people walk into these places their brains seem to fall out of their heads but it really kinda pisses me off. Of course these two things weren't even the worst of my experience there.

I picked up the items I needed in fairly good time and then looked for a place to check out. At first I thought about going to one of the self check lanes, however, they were all full and I've noticed that even though they are supposed to be "fast lanes" most people aren't overly quick going through them whether it be from lack of computer skills or whatever. I finally found a lane that didn't look too bad (no worse than any of the others anyway). There was one person that was halfway through and then another with a lot of groceries ahead of me but for any good checker, it shouldn't have taken more than about ten minutes to get both of them through. Not long after pulling my cart into the lane, I saw there was a problem. Uh oh...I started looking around to see if there was a lane close that I might fare better with. There wasn't so I just stayed where I was at. It didn't take too long to get the problem solved so it was all cool.

When the woman right in front of me started getting her stuff scanned, everything went south - QUICKLY! I don't know what was up with the check out lady but she has got to be one of the most ignorant people I have witnessed in a very LONG time. First, the woman buying the groceries had taken a box of gum off the shelf to buy. After the check out woman scanned the packages, she put them back in the box and then when she went to put the box in the bag, the scanner caught the UPC on it and scanned it. Check Out Dumbass (referred to as COD from now on) stands there and tries to cancel it out I don't know how many times before turning the blinking light on for assistance. The light wasn't even on for thirty seconds and she turns it off only to try the same thing she had been doing ten more times even though no one was coming over to help because she didn't leave it on long enough for anyone to see. *BLINK* *BLINK* This cycle goes on three times. Finally a supervisor comes by and COD calls her over. Turns out all she needed to do was to hit the clear button. *RE*

Not too long after the gum issue, she started having problems with the scale and proceeded to do the same damn thing she did with the gum with three produce items. The "fix" being the same. It was so sad because even the woman she was checking out got to the point where she was telling the woman what she needed to do to take care of the problem. By the time the fourth and fifth produce items came up and shouldn't couldn't get those keyed in right, COD just totally skipped entering them. That really pissed me off. You know with people like her checking shit, it's no wonder prices go up.

By the time it was all over, I had waited for 30 MINUTES for this stupid woman to process two people! I couldn't believe it! Now I'm generally a patient person but this was over the top and I did have milk and OJ in my hatch that I didn't want to spoil. I would have gotten out of the line but by the time I got to my "breaking point", there were already people behind me so I couldn't really leave. It was when I started putting my stuff up on the belt that I realized I had apples and thought, "Oh God, here we go again!" Thankfully, she was able to take care of them without any trouble although I thought she was going to rip a hole in the lettuce packaging trying to straighten the plastic out where the UPC was.

Yah so anyway, Beverly on checkout lane #9 - YOU SUCK!

And now for something completely different....

I watched a couple of movies this weekend. The first one was called Match Point. Very strange film but I liked how it showed the lengths people will go to in order to cover up infidelity and the oddity of "dumb luck".

The second movie was Narnia. When I was little, my mother read the books to me but because it was so long ago, I couldn't remember exactly what the story line was. Although some of the effects were a little hokey (like when the two girls are riding on the lion when he's running and their hair isn't blowing in the wind), I did enjoy it and thought the acting was brilliant.

Last thing for this section...

The Democratic primaries are coming up a week from tomorrow. I'd really like to see Ed Fallon get the nomination but I don't think it's going to happen. I believe that this guy might bring some fresh ideas to the table and I really like the fact that he not only isn't taking money from corporate sponsors but he also isn't running a dirty campaign like the other two are. I guess people just like those who take cheap shots at others better than actually talking about the issues.

Ok....that does it for me.

Til next time...

News stories that just make you say WTF?

2006-05-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 400 crunches, 100 push ups, 50 leg lifts

First up....all the hoopla over the Dixie Chicks and their latest album. Come on people it's been three years. Time to let go of the grudge especially since many of you who voted for Bush have now decided you too think the guy isn't doing such a hot job. Who really gives a shit anyway? I mean after all it was said in London - some place where people didn't like Bush to begin with and big deal what side they take when it comes to politics. Doesn't change the music. Their music isn't exactly what I would define as "my bag" but I'm tempted to buy their albums just as a method of saying, "Way to stand up for what you believe!"

I was watching the national news tonight and there was a story on there which just only solidifies my thoughts of how COMPLETELY screwed up immigration is. It was about a young man who's mother petitioned him here from Trinidad when he was 15. After he graduated from high school, he joined the Army as a greencard soldier. He had applied for citizenship but the government wouldn't give it to him because the card with his fingerprints didn't have a required signature. When he was in Iraq, he found a way to go about getting the fingerprints. As he was on his way to get them, he was killed when his convoy hit a roadside bomb. After over a year of waiting, he never got it, then on the day of his funeral, his mother was presented with a certificate of his citizenship (funny how when the kid was alive, it took years but after death the government produced it in "5 minutes"). Had he not had to go get those fingerprints, more than likely he would still be alive today. What a bunch of crap. Now I realize this set in motion a way for soldiers to have "fast track" citizenship but I think it's absolutely ridiculous that someone had to needlessly die in order for it to happen.

The DMPD is going to be cracking down on noisy cars and motorcycles after increased complaints from residents. What decides what is considered noisy? Well you would think it would be determined by some sort of electronic measuring device but no....it's up to the cops' discretion. If they can hear a noise from 50 feet away and consider it a nuisance, they can issue a ticket. For a loud muffler, the fine is $43.20. A noisy car stereo citation earns you a court appearance. If the accused is found guilty, the judge gets to decide the fine. Now granted I would love to see someone come and haul the Vampire's ass away for his obnoxiously loud motorcycle that he loves to rev at all hours (unfortunately though we aren't under the DMPD's jurisdiction), but I can see how this could get ridiculous pretty quickly. Besides, I would much rather those cops be out writing tickets to speeders and arresting dangerous criminals than bothering themselves with enforcing noise ordinances.

And now for something completely different.....

There are some days when I've gone into work and not long after being there, I wonder what in the hell possessed me to walk through the door. Today was one of those days. I had filed two payment requests from a manufacturer. We received a check about a week ago which was a full payment for one of the claims and then $16 (yah that's right $16 I shit you not) towards the second claim which was for $320. Well, because we can't send partial payments into corporate to be processed, the woman who does accounts receivable in our office decided to wait a week and see if a second check showed up (sometimes this manufacturer does pay with two checks for what reason I don't know). Yesterday marked the week - still no check. I emailed the woman at the manufacturer, explained the situation, and asked when we could expect payment. She didn't really give me a reason for the hold up but she said that she put the request through again. This morning I received another email from her. I guess there was a problem - she couldn't find the funding she needed and asked me to give her the details of all the claims made against the particular fund number being used for this particular claim. Um ok chic, you got all the fuckin information already dig it out your damn self. Obviously I couldn't say that to her and thankfully I had kept good notes so I sent all the information back to her only to see that as my email was sending, she had sent me a message telling me that she figured it out already - GRRRRR! It turns out that because of her "laziness" with a previous claim and the way it was paid, it had backlogged this one. Ok fine...can you tell me when the check will be issued? 30 fuckin days from the time AP receives it - WHAT?! Oh and if for some reason she has to completely rework the funding, that will add another 1 - 2 weeks on top of that. YIKES! It's then that I question whether or not there is a time constraint on the check we already have. Oh yah....she was tons of help with that. She asks me if there is anything written on it and I tell her no. That's when she says in a rather snotty way, "Well, there you go." Ok honey whatever you say. Most checks I've seen have some sort of statute of limitation. I told her I only wanted to make sure because I didn't want it going void in the time we were waiting on the other check. That's when she starts ragging on me about it not being her problem blah blah blah and if we have to void the first check it's going to take oodles of time to get that reissued. Jesus woman lay off the fuckin coffee! Yah, she's that high strung. I couldn't get her off the phone fast enough after that - was afraid I might say something I shouldn't which I did after I hung up. I do believe the word that came out of my mouth was BIOTCH! J-Lo, who sits on the other side of the cube wall from me, said, "Are you calling people names over there?" I said, "Damn right I am!!!" We both had a good laugh over that. Anyway....I have decided to refer to this woman who can't seem to pull her head from her ass long enough to breathe Queen of Tards from the planet Retardia. UGH! *RE*

And the winner of American Idol this time around......

Wait for it.....

TAYLOR HICKS! YAY!!!!!! I am sooooooo glad he got it. He's one of the people I've liked since the beginning.

Otay...that's me outta here for the evening.

Til next time...

I work with some of the wackiest people

2006-05-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 400 crunches, 100 push ups, 50 leg lifts

You know, there are some days when the people you work with just make it worth the trip into the office. One of the account guys I work with (I will call him Big O) just cracks me up every time I talk to him. Today I think he was nursing a serious brain fart since he kept calling me into his office nearly every ten minutes to "fix" his Power Point presentation he was working on. We always give each other shit and somewhere in there, I end up calling him weird or a freak to which he declares, "I'm unique". I then let him know that he's WAY beyond unique. lol I did let him know that he was only allowed one "tech" call per day but that was shot to hell by about 10am. I also informed him that if he called again, I would have to start charging double. Ok so maybe the monetary pay is the same but he is the "candyman" in our office and was more than willing to pay me in chocolate or any other goodies I wanted from his cabinet so it wasn't all bad. :)

Speaking of goodies from work....one of the other account guys I work with more than anyone else basically gave me and J-Lo free roam of the HBC samples so needless to say, I've got enough shampoo, body wash, and fabric softener to last at least a year. Btw, TBB if you read this....I have another big jug of laundry detergent for you. :)

Oh....was watching The Apprentice tonight. Sean just cracks me up and I really hope he wins. This week's task involved redesigning uniforms for Embassy Suites. I was appalled by what the women did. Obviously they knew nothing about designing uniforms or anything else for that matter - Dynasty anyone? YUCK! Sean, on the other hand, knew exactly what to focus on - keep it professional but make it functional. Sean...if I weren't already married, I think I would want you for my own. LOL

And now for something completely different.....

I've been spending some time reading political forums lately. I really find it interesting to see what other people (especially the younger crowd) are saying about the current hot topics. While there are your usual extremists and childish name callers, I have to say that I'm impressed with many of the younger people posting on these forums. Some of them are really thinking and help to restore my faith in the up and coming generation.

Otay....this is me leaving for the evening.

Til next time.....

Who the hell does he think he's fooling?

2006-05-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 100 push ups, 400 crunches, and 50 leg lifts.

So I sat down and watched Dubya's blah blah last night concerning his plan for those who didn't enter the US legally. You know every time I hear this guy froth, I can't help but have the thought "Do you think the American people are really that stupid?". This time was no different. Sure there are some out there who aren't as bright as others but it would seem that some are starting to smarten up when it comes to Bush even to the point of apologizing on public forums because they voted for him.

For any of you who watched this poor excuse for a president crap from his mouth and actually thought he's doing something by coming to a good compromise, he's got you duped! It was more than obvious he was just trying to drum some votes and failing miserably.

Let's go over the 5 main points that he referred to.

Secure The Borders

First of all, he sends the National Guard down to the southern border (keep in mind here the NORTHERN border is less secure but he makes no mention of it) and then proceeds to tell people he's not militarizing anything because those troops won't have any "power". Um yah....Even if they don't, I think it still sends that message and it's not a good one. Not only that, with Dubya running things, it's hard to tell what he might try to do. I mean he did go to war illegally and all. Sorry but things are just starting to look a little too "Berlin" to me with mini Hitler running the show.

I believe something does need to be done with our borders but only with patrol officers and nix the fence. Making people feel like criminals even before they get here is rude to say the very least not to mention it portrays that we aren't friendly and rather stuck up. Can we say gated community? What a bunch of bullshit! And people wonder why those in other countries have the opinion of us that they do. *RE*

Temporary Worker Program

Now we all had to know that Dubya would work in his corporate agenda when it comes to this issue. Then again, he's got to be crazy if he actually thinks he's finding middle ground here. The only ground he's "finding" is his own - he didn't really say anything last night that was new from when he previously spoke on the subject.

This sort of program he's suggesting basically provides a revolving door so there can be a steady stream of people coming in here to support us then be forced to go back home. Once there, they can then attempt to come back permanently. What a load of crap. Anyone who knows anything about the immigration process understands that there are only so many visas issued every year which means if all those temp workers want to come back, more than likely some aren't going to be able to at least not right away. Nothing like giving someone something only to take it away again. Just one more thing that suggests Bush really does think he's a direct line to God and has power over everyone else's lives.

I'd also like to know how this adds to increased security. If you ask me, it just complicates it all the more because you are bringing more people in, increasing paperwork, etc.

Tamper-proof Identification

Ugh....give me a break. There is no such thing. Someone always finds a way around such things. Forget trying to tamper-proof an identification card. Require everyone (citizens, immigrants, and travelers coming into the US) to be digitally fingerprinted. As "big brotherish" as it sounds, even I would go for that especially since it could provide benefits beyond just keeping those who are trying to milk the system from doing so. For example, it could help crimes committed by first time offenders to be more easily solved. It could also help with abducted children.

I do have to admit I actually laughed at his statement about employers not currently having a way to verify documents and work eligibility. Um guess someone forgot to tell him about the free service that the official social security website offers where an employer can register and check SSNs.

Opposition To Amnesty

Really? Doesn't sound like it to me since he's talking about giving the majority citizenship in the end. Yah...that's really middle ground. WHATEVER! Now while I agree with him that deporting millions of people just isn't realistic, I don't think granting citizenship is the way to go. I stick by my thought of legalization but with the restriction that no one may pass the status of permanent resident. This, I think, truly is the MIDDLE ground. By doing this, everyone would be legal, paying taxes, and be given the same human rights as everyone else. They wouldn't, however, be allowed to vote, hold office, serve on a jury and/or in the military among other things.

Congressional Passage Of Comprehensive Legislation

I agree that we can't build a unified country by provoking anger and fear, however, when he mentioned the bit about not exploiting the issue of immigration for political gain, I nearly fell off my chair. Damn hypocrite he is. Sorry Bushie baby but I was one of the many that saw right through your stunt.

The worst part about it all is the cost that could come into play. Knowing how Bush operates, he'll probably charge it back to the people going about things legally to come into this country which it turn will make it even more difficult for those who really need the chance at it. Then again maybe he'll give the poor already here a hidden tax raise and make them think they are getting a cut. Yet again, maybe he'll just do both since that is how "fair" tends to come out in his mind. YIKES!

And now for something completely different....

I was shocked to hear that Chris was voted off American Idol. If that doesn't say fixed contest, I don't know what does. They tried to play it off as people not voting but I'd like to know how that's possible. I tried for the full two hours after the show and I couldn't get through. At least Chris most likely built up enough of a fan base that he will be able to more than make it on his own. The other plus is that Taylor is still there. I really hope he wins now. I can't stand Elliott's nasty warble and I'm just not so impressed with Katherine anymore. Regardless of what happens, I don't think I will be watching the show anymore after this season just because it seems like a sham even more than it already did.

I've now seen both a Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice on the road (both in black). Those are two really sweet looking cars! I almost wish now that I would have held off for one. On the other hand, I'm glad I didn't. I really love the car that I have and I do like having the option of a backseat area. That's something that neither the Sky nor the Solstice have.

Otay....that does it for me tonight.

Til next time.....

A call from London and a couple of cars

2006-05-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None. It was a cold, windy, gray day today and I just didn't feel inspired. Coming home, curling up in my nice big chair with a blanky and vegging in front of the tv is what today called for. It was good. :)

I'm taking a break from the political garbage for this post to talk about just some "fun" things.

Last night not long after I got home, I received a call from London. My oldest nephew is now just over a week into his UK trip and loving every minute of it. He was telling me about his visit to The Tower Of London which is always a must see for a first time tourist and going to St. Paul's Cathedral. He said he was able to get some killer pics from the top (something I never got to do). I think the most interesting but bizarre thing he mentioned was eating lunch in the crypt of the cathedral. I couldn't help but joke about wanting a side of corpse with his meal. I know...sick humor but what can I say....it runs in the famdamly. :) The last little interesting tidbit I found out was that he's staying at a place not too far from where I lived. According to what he told me, the closest Tube stop to him was only two away from the one I always used. Oh yah....he's also going to try and get me some of my favorite goodies from there that you just can't get here. YAY!

So I was watching Inside Edition this evening and saw two stories that caught my attention. The first one was about a little 6 year girl who's spine was severed by a stray bullet. Not only did she forgive him before the court, her mother did too after he apologized. Now I can't say that I would expect a 6 year old to hold rage against someone for an act like this especially since she was only 3 at the time, but for the mother to not only share her daughter's sentiment but go as far as giving the guy a handshake and a hug was absolutely extraordinary. If only there were more people like this in the world. *sigh*

The second story was about this beast opening up at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Oh how I would love to jump on it for a ride. As some of you may know, I'm a sucker for amusement parks and coasters are my fav. The higher, the faster, the better I say. :) What has me even more enamored with this one is that you are tipped forward so it's like you are flying rather than sitting. It just totally rocks!

And now for something completely different....

I have now actually seen another Eclipse GT on the road. It's black and I kind of wonder if whoever owns it lives in my area since I saw it only a couple of miles from here. The other interesting thing is that I think its owner works down the street from me. In the past I noticed there was this older model black Eclipse parked at one of the businesses down the hill from my building. Well, in the past week that older model has disappeared and a brand new model is there. To whomever it is....you have GREAT taste in cars!

Speaking of cars....

My supervisor's son (the one who bought my Sunfire) came to the office yesterday just before I left to go home. As I was walking to my car, I noticed the Sunfire was sitting there. You could tell that it had been wrecked but it didn't look nearly as bad as I thought it might after what had been described to me. Other than that, it appears that he has been keeping pretty good care of it. I hadn't heard anything about it since the day my boss told me about the accident so I didn't know what ended up happening to it. Obviously the kid kept it and it's still going strong. I'm still amazed at the performance of that car. 9 years old, over 180,000 miles and as far as I know still has yet to have any of its bulbs changed. Who would have thought my little Sunfire would hang on like that. I've gotta say it definitely gives my new car some tough standards to live up to. :)

Otay....that's it for me.

Til next time....

Oh say can you see....

2006-05-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None. Was dead tired tonight. Couldn't get to sleep last night and once I did, I woke up at 3am wide awake. Finally after about 1/2 hour of tossing and turning, I got back to sleep but then had to be up at 5:30 - YAWN!

The ignorance and hatred being spread from sea to shining sea?

Over the past week, there have been many people out in blogland (well, more like cyberspace in general) who have been tossing out supposed "facts" from the LA Times about illegal immigration. What's most amusing about all this is the US government can't even nail down figures when it comes to those who are here illegally, yet somehow some LA news source appears to have been able to. That right there was enough to get me to question the validity. Just as I thought - semi true at best and it clearly shows how this becomes a racial issue by targeting only Mexicans even though illegal immigrants come from all over the world.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/taxes.asp

Then we come to the issue of flag flying. A bunch of people have been making a big stink about the US flag being flown upside down with a Mexican flag over it. True, it did happen, however, the people blah blahing about it made it sound as though it was happening all over the country and the Mexican people were coming to take us away ha ha. In reality, it was one incident pulled off by some high school students.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/mexicoflag.asp

Finally....the tax issue. Sure there are illegal immigrants mooching our welfare system. On the other hand, there are plenty of born and raised citizens doing the same damn thing. Is it right, no but it's not ever going to be completely avoidable either. Personally I've got a bigger beef with Uncle Sam giving the biggest chunk of my money (about 30%) to the military and sinking it into a floundering war we should have never started and been part of in the first place. Even at the highest estimation the moocher's are costing less than 1/6 what Dubya and his buddies are. YIKES!

And now for something completely different....

There's a guy I work with who has left me just short of wanting to pull my hair out. He's recently come on board to handle a portion of the biggest line I administrate for. This is an account where you have to be "on" at all times and there is no room for mistakes. Having worked with him on other lines and knowing how inefficient he could be, I was hesitant about him taking the new tasks over. Turns out my hesitation wasn't for not. The guy is horribly inefficient and it bugs the hell out of me when I have to take stuff back to him three, four, and sometimes more times just because he's too lazy to perform the tasks that I blatantly spell out for him. *RE*

I also got a laugh today. This new chic started training today as a retail supervisor. Now the guy who hired her was touting how wonderful her skills were and how well she knew Microsoft Office. Um well obviously she doesn't know as much as bossman thought because she couldn't even perform a simple mail function. Of course given some of the questions her boss has asked me about how to do stuff, I don't think it would take too much to impress him. Typical.

Oh and one more thing....Go to hell David Blaine. Yah, I know pretty harsh words but I've got my reasons.

Otay....I'm outta here.

Til next time...

OMG! That is soooooo funny!!!

2006-05-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 100 push-ups, 50 leg lifts, and 400 crunches. Finally my abs are starting to go back to the way they were a couple of years ago. :)

I was watching the world news this evening and there was this report about "Rummie" being heckled. They showed a clip where an ex CIA agent was just laying into the guy like none other and basically calling him a bold face liar. LMFAO I was literally rolling on the floor. Never have I seen the man tap dance more than he did when confronted about lying when it comes to falsely claiming Iraq had WMD.

They also reported that tomorrow will mark the 1000th issue of Rolling Stone. It's been awhile since I've perused a copy of one but I remember when my brother used to get them and I would always sneak into his room when he was gone so I could have a read. :)

I also had read on CNN at lunchtime what Moussaoui's judge said to him. "You came here to be a martyr and die in a great big bang of glory, but to paraphrase the poet T.S. Eliot, instead you will die with a whimper." She sooo hit the nail on the head. I'm also happy that the guy wasn't given the death sentence. I really think that if he believes what comes out of his mouth (assuming the guy is sane enough which he probably isn't), it's the best punishment that could be given to him because I believe that death to him would have given him some sort of satisfaction and meant to him that he succeeded.

And now for something completely different.....

Just after 5 this evening, I received a call from Edinburgh, Scotland. My oldest nephew who is studying acting is over in the UK taking a tour of some of the more well known theaters. For some reason I was thinking he didn't leave until the 10th but I guess he left earlier this week. The poor kid is dead tired (which I knew he would be based on the first trip I ever took over there) but he said he absolutely loves it. He's already gone and gotten a tat of the Union Jack on his shoulder. LOL I couldn't believe it when he told me that. At first I thought maybe he meant one of those temp things but he said it was real. Never would I have expected him to do something like that but at least he made a good design choice. :) He did tell me that tomorrow they are going to London but unfortunately he didn't think he would be able to meet up or talk to "Mummy England". I thought that was a bit of a shame since I know she would love to meet him but considering she's an hour each way outside the city, she does still work, and he wouldn't know how to get to her after he got of the train, it could get really tricky. I don't believe she drives and "Daddy England" works nights so picking the kiddo up would be a little difficult. Oh and the other thing that works against them is they don't know what the other looks like so meeting up at the train station could get interesting. LOL

Otay...that's it for me tonight.

Til next time...

GAWD what a day!

2006-05-02T21:44:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 50 push-ups, 200 crunches, and 25 leg lifts. Tonight was an "off" night meaning I went for half what I have built up to in order to let my muscles recoup.

The first part of today just kind of bit some ass. A few of my co-workers are what I would call VERY loud talkers even when it comes to stuff that personally, I wouldn't even whisper around the workplace. I do my best to tune them out but at times I find it nearly impossible. This morning was one of those times. They were discussing the big immigration issue that's been on the table lately and let me tell you, it was obvious they didn't realize they were discussing it where someone who is married to a foreign national could hear them. Then again, I don't think any of them even know me well enough to know that I married someone from outside this country. Anyway, some of the things they said just made me sick and the way they were referring to people not born here was so horrendous it actually got me thinking about whether or not I wanted to continue working at my current company.

This afternoon was the second straight one spent in the conference room on a dull ass, worthless conference call. I'm sooo thankful it's a rare thing when we have application upgrades rolled out. Ok...maybe some people got something out of it but I sure as hell didn't. Then again, considering one was reprimanded for falling asleep, I really have to wonder. I could have sat down with the manual and figured out anything I needed to know in about 15 minutes. Instead I had to waste two hours listening to some woman blah blah and people asking questions that just left you thinking how in the hell have you been working this long without knowing that?

At least Gooshie (Quantum Leap fans know who I'm referring to) was able to lift my spirits with a cartoon about a cat trying desperately to get its owners to buy it some Kitty Yummers. LOL

And now for something completely different....

American Idol ~ I soo love Chris and Taylor and I really hope they end up as the final two. Katherine and Paris are good too but I think Chris and Taylor just have something over them.

House ~ This has got to be one of the best shows on tv. I've watched it for the last couple of seasons and I really like it. It's kind of got that strange sort of surreal factor that Keen Eddie (a show which had me crushed when I found out it was cancelled) had. Oh and the sarcasm....Dr. House you're my hero. :P

Otay...that's it for me.

Til next time....

Anyone for some Colon Cleanse?

2006-05-01T22:15:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 100 push-ups, 400 crunches, and 50 leg lifts - about halfway back to where I used to be. Building the running back up to 8 or so miles is next.

So I was watching TV earlier and I shit you not (no pun intended), I saw a commercial for this product called Colon Cleanse. The name alone is gross enough but then this woman comes on and says, "To feel clean from the inside out!" Uh.....EWWWWW. I always have to wonder where they get the people who appear in these commercials and can keep a straight face when pimping products like that.

Well I see old "Lush Bimbaugh" might get a dismissal of a prescription fraud charge and not have to admit his guilt. *RE* Personally, I think the guy should "fry". Yah let's prosecute illegal immigrants as felons but let's allow the drug addicts to go free with a slap on the wrist. Oh and let's not forget the fact that more than likely, the deal he's getting is because the guy has money.

I was happy to see all the people who supported Day Without Immigrants. According to the news reports, the numbers weren't quite as high as expected but it was a sizeable turnout and it did force some businesses to close. Of course as expected the "opposition" showed up too. Based on all the ones I heard interviewed, they (like most people) all misunderstood what's really going on. This day was a protest against illegal immigration becoming a felony, not something to say that people think it's their right to come across the border any way they see fit. I said it in a comment I made in response to a reader of this blog and I will say it again....I CANNOT look at someone who steals a loaf of bread to feed a starving family the same as someone who robs a bank just because they want a lot more money.

And now for something completely different.....

To the landscapers who left all the rock here and there all over the streets in the neighborhood - YOU SUCK! Thankfully there was just enough space for me to get through without having to drive over the crap. I think what pisses me off even more is that Chi and I are paying extra for this service by way of dues. Almost every year they increase ($20 + a one time $35 installment fee in the 3 1/2 years we've been here) and the quality of service decreases. Hell, we're still waiting to have a piece of trim that blew off weeks ago replaced. It took two days to even get a response back to the email request I sent the property management company and then the woman who sent it seemed more concerned about the fucking text color not faxing well. Hey lady - ever think about changing the options on your computer instead of bitching at your customers? GEEZ!

Otay.....I is outta here.

Til next time....

Spanish version of the US national anthem

2006-04-30T19:52:00.000-07:00

Exercise: House cleaning - it's a workout. No really....it IS a workout especially when hauling a vacuum cleaning up and down stairs.

Adam Kidron (a British citizen and 16 year resident of the US) has put together a Spanish-language version of the national anthem and of course it's caused quit a stir. Once again Dubya opened his mouth only to have his ignorance come foaming out about it. He said, "One of the things that's very important is, when we debate this issue, that we not lose our national soul." Ok let's think about this for a minute. The United States is the biggest melting pot in the known world and really we represent all nations of the Earth because if you want to get right down to it, the majority of us are either immigrants or descendants of. Personally, I think having other language versions of the anthem is representing who we really are and celebrating out national soul not promoting loss of it. Besides, I don't see what the big uproar is anyway. I mean the melody of America came from the British national anthem and has served as an anthem for several other countries too so it's not like we haven't ripped stuff off from other places if that's how some people wish to see this Spanish-language version of the US anthem.

Then there's the oil business. Good old George doesn't want to investigate companies for price gouging and he doesn't want the huge tax breaks they are given to be rolled back (hmm...sounds like there are personal reasons involved in that one). Instead he's thinking big oil is going to take those huge profits and dump them into research for alternative fuel sources. Yah right whatever. C'mon Dubya, do you really think the American public is that stupid? You're ratings seem to be dropping with every day that passes. This certainly isn't winning you any points. Neither is the idea of your little repub bots that want to go to ANWR and drill. Oh and the $100 rebate check is laughable to say the least. A 100 bucks that's what equal to 2 tanks of gas maybe 3 depending on what you drive. LMAO Yah that's some relief. We get a lousy $100 and the oil companies still get billions. *RE*

And now for something completely different...

What is it with people not being able to recognize personal space? I was shopping at the Evil Empire's brother Friday night and as I was standing in the checkout line, this woman comes up behind me and I swear stood right on top of me. When she wasn't doing that, she had her cart up so close to me, I could barely move. Now it's one thing if I know you and you're standing within six inches of me but if you're a stranger - BACK THE HELL OFF! Geez!

So once I got done there, I went to the Evil Empire. I just have to say they are hiring some pretty creepy greeters these days. I walk in and this guy who was standing there looked a little strange to begin with but then when he looked me up and down before saying, "good evening" in a sort of "chilling" way, it just kind of freaked me out.

As I was returning home after shopping, I looked up in my review mirror and saw this car that I thought was an Eclipse like mine. I thought, "Nah...can't be. I've only seen two in the six months I've had mine and that's been awhile ago." I looked up again and the car had gotten closer. Sure enough it was a new Eclipse like mine and blue to boot - that was a first. When I got almost to my exit, the guy driving it pulls up along side me to pass. I look over and he gives me the thumbs up and waves. Think he must have been as shocked as I was to see another blue new Eclipse on the road. I waved back and just giggled to myself. After he got past me, I did notice one thing...his car wasn't exactly the same. It wasn't a GT. Come to think of it, none of the other ones I've seen on the road have been GTs. I don't know if that's because people just don't want to spend the extra money, they want the slightly better gas mileage, or a combination of both. Ah well....all I know is that I'm extremely happy with the choice I made and know I will love my car in the years to come. :)

Otay....I's outta here.

Til next time....

A Lunch Outing And AOHELL

2006-04-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 60 push-ups, 50 leg lifts, 240 crunches

Today the office president and top retail supervisor at my office took the administration staff to lunch for a belated celebration of administration professionals day. I always get a kick out of these sort of outings with some of the higher ups because you get to see them in a more candid way and get a chance to talk to them about stuff you may not normally get to. What's funny is that somehow I usually end up being the one that gets to sit right next to them. It's almost like everyone else fears that position. Personally, I think it's great. It's not that I'm the brown noser type who looks at it as a way to butter the bigwig up. I like it I guess you could say because it allows me to become more at ease with them and not have that feeling of intimidation you sometimes get when you only see these people in a business setting. Today was no different. I was sitting by Mr. Prez himself and he kept joking that I was the one who was buying and telling everyone to take advantage of anything on the menu. I said, "Oh....DAYUM....forgot the credit card...guess you're going to have to cover this one." That's when he started in with the washing dishes bit. I said, "Hey, I know....let's give the tab to Monkeyboy (the business manager I work most closely with) he's got more than enough money and he needs something to do." That got a laugh out of everyone because they all know what MB is like. All in all it was a wonderful time and even though I'm not the biggest fan of the restaurant we went to, I enjoyed it. :)

And now for something completely different.....

J-Lo cancelled her AOL account about a month ago. Yesterday, they sent her one of those "risk free" CDs which kinda ticked her off so she decided to call them up and have them remove her name from their database. Remembering the experience she related to me about canceling the account and what went on when I called up to cancel on my mom's behalf years ago (they wouldn't just take no for an answer), I told J-Lo to hold on to her ass because more than likely the would try to take her for a ride just like they did before. Sure enough....the bastards did it again. After going through the hoops to just get to a customer service person, she had to go through a ton more once he got on the line. He started asking her all kinds of questions about the account she used to have (screen name, account holder's name, secret question, ect.). He said it was to verify who she was but personally I think it was nothing but a bunch of bullshit. Based on what she was telling me, all of that wasn't needed to have a name and address removed from a database. I mean I could see it if she was trying to cancel the account but really. Who the hell is going to give a shit if their name is mistakenly removed from a marketing list if they already got rid of their account to begin with? I'm 99% sure this was a set up to attempt to talk her back into reopening her account.

So anyway, after he gets this info I guess he puts her on hold for a few minutes saying it takes that long to do what he needs to do (again what I would call another bullshit line). They pull this same crap when you make a cancellation and let me tell you anyone who would believe that's what is really going on has got to be stupid. I mean let's think about this....they call up your account and can tell you everything about it but it takes five minutes to hit the delete key? Yah WHATEVER! Sure enough when he came back, he started in with attempting to get her to rejoin with every little gimmick possible. I think she must have spent 10 minutes telling this guy no and he still wouldn't back off. Finally once he told her the task she wanted done had been taken care of, she hung up on him. She actually let him off a lot easier than I would have. I have a tendency to give people like that a piece of my mind. You know, I understand these people have to make a living too but C'MON! What really gets me is that obviously they are trained to do this kind of crap and with all the people that they've obviously pissed off, you would think that they would take a different approach. *RE*

Otay....I gotta get outta here. Comments on the other posts in the coming days.

Study me, I'm history...

Til next time....

Previous post comment response and some other crap

2006-04-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None the weather was shit today. Here we are almost the 1st of May and it was effin SNOWING! Thank Pete it wasn't sticking otherwise Ms. Mother Nature would have been getting an earful.

Brett said ~ "Negative, negative, negative...
Minutemen, while having a few bad apples, do just stand there and view the border and point out people crossing. That was the whole idea. They aren't armed with anything other than a walkie talkie to point out the criminals. Since, as you say, there isn't enough money going to this issue, we can use all the help we can get. Especially, since we aren't enforcing the existing laws due to mostly the reasons you cite. Also, part of the crowd that sides with you on "grandfathering" people in thinks those people should get away with breaking the law. It's a slap in the face to those doing things legally.
Greencard or another system, there still has to be a way to check up. It's going to cost because it does involve someone doing the work. That's not a bad thing. We do that for our drivers licenses and more. Seems that this form of taxation is quite prevalent for us, why not moreso for those that aren't citizens? I'm all for getting rid of taxes, but let's start with actual legal citizens.
So you're all for scrapping the Constitution now? While there were errors in the interpretation over the years, there is no mention of white men and no mention of women not having these rights. If you can point that out in the Bill Of Rights, that would be great. You also may want to check out the stats on illegal gun use versus legal gun use. As always, there are some bad apples, but it's amazing that people want to use that excuse for taking away our rights. There is a reason the first two rights listed are listed as they are. Man doesn't get "smarter" due to generational time. We may discover more science and geography, but that's not "smarter". Is there a modern day Plato or Socrates? Who is the modern day Einstein? Ideas have been around for thousands of years concerning freedom. Our founding fathers debated every word in the Constitution. They came out of it with a document that has held up over 200 years. With all the devisiveness in this political day and age, do you really think we can do better and actually finish a document? (Puts Iraq in perspective as they try to build a country, doesn't it?)"

The Fashion Diva's thoughts ~

I'm not being negative. I would call it more like practical & keeping Joe Public's interest in mind.

I know what minutemen do. Please stop attempting to give me a lesson on the subject. All I'm saying is that by allowing any old schlep off the street to patrol our borders, we could potentially be asking for trouble because things could more easily get out of hand. No weapons are needed for that to happen. I say take some of that pork barrel spending (there's a ton of it) and put it to some good use by applying it towards hiring trained professionals to do the job.

I really wish you would stop making it sound as though we aren't doing anything about illegal immigration because we are. Hell deportation hold tanks are getting too full as is. When you are talking the kind of numbers involved, there is NO WAY things are just going to be solved in a day's time no matter how strict the law or plentiful the resources.

How do you know grandfathering illegal immigrants in is a slap in the face to those who went about things legally? How many of them have you actually talked to? Given your profound inexperience with things like diversity and racial problems that are even blatant to a blind person, I'm going to say VERY few if any. Sure there are some who will bitch about it but there will always be some that do regardless of how the problem is solved. I, for one, can tell you as someone who has dealt with immigration on a few different levels and has gone through the legal process of bringing a foreign national into this country that I don't feel the least bit slighted especially if those who snuck in are required to always remain as a permanent resident alien. My reasons for this are:

I believe that if those people were sent home, the US would experience at least a mild economic hardship if not worse that really isn't needed right now particularly with the way Dubya is running things.
I feel for those who have to come here by ways of being smuggled in and I can understand what it's like to have something you really want ripped right out from under you. I don't want to have to say I was responsible for taking someone's dream away just because our government can't get it's act together.

What exactly do you think we need to check up on when it comes to a permanent resident alien? I mean if they get in trouble with the law, it's not like renewing a greencard every ten years is going to make a difference and I'm fairly certain the odds of someone's fingerprints changing is basically nill. Let's face it, it's nothing but a way for the government to make money. I mean we're talking about something that's equivalent to renewing a driver's license yet costs $260 instead of $20. When you calculate that out on a per year basis you're talking $26 vs $5 and unlike a DL, you more than likely will be waiting 6 months to get it and in Chi's case, driving 200 miles to get it. How ridiculous that anyone should have to pay 5 times the amount for the government to be that much more inefficient.

Extra taxes for those who aren't citizens??? Um yah no. Sorry but that just wouldn't fly because in some cases like that of Chi and me where the foreign national marries, the non-citizen wouldn't be the only one paying the extra tax or impacted by it. There's a saying that goes "Love knows no boundaries". Now why the hell should I be penalized just because I decided to live by that? All together now....R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!!!

I didn't say that I wanted to scrap the constitution . I was pointing out the fact that it's outdated and needs revisions to better pertain to this day and age. Errors in interpretation LMAO that's a good one. When you look at what was written and then how people especially women and blacks were treated, it's easy to see to whom it was really aimed.

It's not just the "bad apples" who drive my thoughts about gun control. It's the number of accidental deaths caused by legally owned guns especially involving children. It also has to do with living in a country where strict laws on such weapons is enforced. Imagine a place about the size of Iowa which has close to 60 million people living there yet the crime rate is about the same. This I believe has a LOT to do with the gun control laws.

Ok, so let's say human knowledge is only a matter of new science as you say. What's to be said of those who discover the new science? Obviously they have the ability to look at things differently from others in order to make that find. We also learn from that science which in turn makes us smarter than those who came before us. You can't tell me that the first humans to live on Earth knew everything that we know today and never progressed. Maybe our founding fathers debated every word of the Constitution when it was written but it was done in that day and age according to society then not how it is now.

And now for something completely different......

I watched Brokeback Mountain and A Beautiful Mind this weekend. Both of these films were pretty good. I have to say that I think the reason a lot of people were having such fits about Brokeback had more to do with the fact that the movie was above them and they weren't able to look past the sexuality of it to the relationship and connection of the characters. Oh the ignorance of some people.

People seemed to really have their heads shoved up their asses today. During the morning commute, most people were driving as though they forgot the gas is the pedal on the right and at work planes were buzzing over people's heads right and left because they just didn't seem to "get it".

I am now 100% sure that all the bitching people have been doing about mileage ratings on new cars being overstated is complete crap. My car is rated at 18/27. Normally I do about half & half driving - half city/half highway. Now if you take the two ratings and average them, that's about what I would expect to get for the type of driving I do which would be 22.5mpg. So far I've done no less than 23. This past time I filled up, most of my miles were highway but there were some city. I came out at 27.5mpg and had I actually waited a bit longer to fill up, that may have gone a bit higher. I can usually get about 400 miles out of a tank but this time had I gone until I was down to my last gallon, it probably would have been closer to 500. Sorry people but I think it's more a matter of how you drive that's influencing your ratings than anything else. From my observances, I think one of the biggest factors is speeding rather than driving the limit especially when it comes to streets with stoplights.

I heard on the news this evening that May 1st is National Day Without Immigrants. All immigrants are being asked to stay home from work, school, and stores to protest federal immigration reform legislation (something that makes it a felony to be in the States illegally). Personally, I hope every last one stays home and supports the cause because I really do think we depend on these people much more than most people in this country realize.

Ok....think that's it for me today.

Til next time....

dumb Dumb DUMB!

2006-04-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 2 mile run. I wanted to go further but rain was expected and I could see some dark clouds moving in. Normally rain doesn't bother me when running (not a light one anyway) but I had my MP3 player with me and didn't want to get it wet.

I was watching the CBS Evening News last night and heard two stories that just left me wondering how much more ridiculous things can get.

The first story had to do with Medicaid. As of July 1, all US citizens who sign up for Medicaid or renew their benefits will have to provide documentation of their citizenship. Ok, I get the fact that the idea behind this is to try and weed out any illegal immigrants using this service, however, let's think about this for a minute. Basically a birth certificate and a passport are the two most likely prospects of proof for most people. Well let's see....a lot of people don't have either of these things to begin with and if you're extremely poor, it's going to be that much more difficult to get them. I mean a certified birth certificate alone will cost you at least $15 in the state of Iowa and can take anywhere from two days to three weeks to get. Oh and let's not even mention the possible hassle you may have to go through (like waiting in line or on the telephone for 20 minutes or more). Then there's the passport option. Um yah...that's going to be really easy for someone who has very little or no money. A first time applicant over the age of 16 will pay $97 ($82 for under 16s) and that's not even counting the $15 or $20 for the pictures which need to be submitted. First time applicants also have to apply in person which, depending on where you have to go, could be somewhat of a hassle. Of course this too has a wait of a minimum of two weeks and in order to get it in the first place, you have to have a birth certificate. Hmmm....if you had that, what's the point of the passport as you could just use it to show proof of citizenship.

So what does someone do who has neither of these and can't get them? Well, you then have to go with a letter of no record and as many of the following as possible:

Baptismal certificate
Hospital birth certificate
Census record
Early school record
Family bible record
Doctor's record of post-natal care

LMAO....sure those are soooo much easier to come by than the first two options. *RE*

The second story had to do with the Opus Dei people kicking up a stink about The Da Vinci Code movie. I guess their group isn't depicted in the best of ways and they want a disclaimer put on the film stating it's fiction. Um hello are you for real? As if your average person with an IQ of above oh say 60 isn't going to already know it's fiction. Granted you people are kind of a freaky bunch but really. Actually, the fact that you're blah blahing so loudly about it is enough to make cynics like me think that maybe everything that has been said about you along with the depiction put forth maybe really does have some truth to it and you're trying to do everything you can to cover it up. GET A LIFE and go crawl back under your rock people! *RE*

And now for something completely different.....

Chi received a jury summons in the mail. LMAO!!! Now I know that they get the names from DOT and voter records (obviously they got his name from the DOT since he's not allowed to register to vote) but c'mon! This right here is how a simple little thing like checking a SSN could reduce costs and paperwork. If they took the time to look it up (the service is free mind you), they would see that his number carries the stipulation "Valid for work only with INS authorization" (this is what they print on the card issued to you if you aren't a citizen). Personally, what I think would make more sense is if they maybe put a suffix letter on the end of the number so that they could easily be filtered out of a database.

Otay.....time for me to be off.

Til next time....

Ok...Let's make this easy...

2006-04-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 2 mile run. Travel time was decent tonight although not as good as I would have liked (18 minutes). Of course when you figure in the kinda strong wind I was against most of the way, it wasn't so bad.

If I were to put forth a proposal concerning the way the US should move forward with the immigration issue, it would go a little something like this:

Secure the borders first to slow down the influx of new illegal immigrants and require those patrolling them to be government trained officials. Do away with all minutemen penalizing anyone caught acting as one.
Require ALL businesses hiring any foreign national to run a check on all AI and SS numbers to ensure documentation is legit.
Allow all illegal immigrants working and residing in the US at the time the law goes into effect to be "grandfathered in" as permanent resident aliens with no citizenship option or ability to petition other family members to the States. By doing this, we wouldn't be causing additional possible hardship to the country as I believe we do actually depend on their labor. In addition, it is also "punishment" for coming in the wrong way as these people would not be allowed to vote, serve on a jury, enlist, etc. They also would have no chance at getting other family members in at anytime as can be done now.
Streamline the immigration process by reducing the amount of paperwork involved by possibly allowing the initial forms to be filed electronically.
Reduce the fees involved. Rather than having several for each particular requirement, have one flat fee per type of visa which is paid up front.
Do away with greencard renewal for those who do not become a citizen. Issue one and have it be good for life or until the "alien" leaves the country for a period of more than two years. If that period expires, they must reapply and go through the visa process again.
Negotiate a work exchange program between Canada, the US, and Mexico. This would allow a person the opportunity to pay a small flat fee and swap places with someone in the country they choose to go to for a set amount of time (say a maximum of a year). After the time is up, the company the person is working for may petition on the worker's behalf to have them stay permanently.

I could go on but I just don't have the time. These, however, are some of the main ideas I would put forth after experiencing things from both sides of the table by not only going to a foreign country on a work exchange visa but also from going through the petition process to bring Chi here.

And now for something completely different.....

Yesterday I went to my parents' house for Easter dinner. My mom, my sister, and I were sitting and talking about various different things. My mother mentioned she saw someone with a bumper sticker on their car which said, "Border control, not gun control". How completely asinine. Um sorry but if it came down to a choice between those two things for me, I'd choose the gun control first seeing as the majority of the illegal immigrants who come into this country are fairly harmless.

The Nebraska legislature has voted to split the Omaha school system into three districts. Now normally this wouldn't be anything overly newsworthy, however, it's how it's being split that just leaves me shaking my head in shame. It seems this split is little more than state sponsored segregation. One district is mostly black, another predominantly white, and the third largely Hispanic. On one hand I could see how in a way this could actually be good in the respect that particular groups might get certain needs met more easily, but I really think the damage would outweigh any good that may come from it. In my book, diversity is the way to go because it allows you to learn about different cultures and the people from them. Leave it to a republican to come up with garbage like this.

I was reading a news article online the other day about this woman who is an American living in London. She was giving her little whiney blah blah about people there showing hatred towards her because she's an American. What a load of crap! Granted there are some people who do keep this mentality but I really don't think they are as plentiful as she tries to make it sound. I don't once remember coming across someone over there that hated or even acted like they hated me because I am American. Of course that could be because I didn't take the attitude that I'm better than everyone else because I'm American - pomposity has no place. Sure one of the guys I worked with and I would always rib each other (he'd call me a Yank and I'd call him a Limey) but it was all in good fun and neither of us took it seriously.

I also think it could be the fact that she said even though she doesn't like the stuff Dubya does, she defends him. Ok I know it isn't fair for people in another country to judge someone based on their country's leader but c'mon people! You deserve to get picked on if you are actually going to defend someone like George Bush especially in a foreign country because let me tell you, in many places, he doesn't even go over as well as he does here and we all know how well he ISN'T doing.

The last thing I want to address is people who use/play others and think nothing of it. I had someone who I thought was my friend do this to me lately and it really just kind of pissed me off. She wanted to get a "cheap" used car for her son. I told her I would be willing to talk to the car guy we got our cars from to see if he could do anything for her because I knew he wouldn't screw her around. She accepted and acted very appreciative and thankful that I was willing to help her. The next day which was Saturday, I got a hold of our awesome car guy and he told me that he could help her out and just to have her contact him. Monday was the next time I was going to talk to her so I figured I would just let her know what the scoop was then. Wouldn't you know, she went out and actually bought a car on Saturday. Not only did she spend a good $500 over the maximum she wanted to fork over, the car ended up having a problem with it about three days after she took delivery. Now it doesn't piss me off that she didn't buy from our guy - that was for her to decide. It's the fact that she basically told me she wanted my help even though I think she had this particular car picked out before I even said anything to her about talking to our dealer. All I can say is if you are looking for a way to get me to not want to have anything to do with you anymore, this would be the way to go about it.

If this wasn't enough, she also told me how she is using this guy so she can maybe have an advantage in a child custody battle. Her ex drug dealing/junkie boyfriend has now decided that he wants custody of their daughter. This detective guy came to her house and served her papers. I guess he was being helpful by saying if the ex-boyfriend did anything to violate his patrol, he would go pick him up in an instant to help her get out of the mess. Anyway, she said that she knew he was kind of sweet on her and even though he's married with kids, she was going to milk it as much as she possibly could so that he would help her - she's been to lunch with him quite a few times already. My jaw nearly dropped to the floor when I heard her say that. I couldn't believe that one she would be so stupid and two that she could do something that might break up a marriage especially one that involves children. She always bitched when her boyfriend would step out on her and yet here she is playing the part of the person someone else is stepping to. UGH! Some people just have no shame.

Alrighty roo....I'm outta here.

Til next time....

The Goober is BACK!

2006-04-14T22:30:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 2 mile run. After a pathetic attempt the other night, tonight totally rocked. It was like I had a firecracker in my ass or something. I knocked that bad boy out in 16 minutes flat. :)

I don't have a ton of time to post tonight but I just wanted to stop and leave my impressions of my first experience behind the wheel of Chi's car since it came home. There's only one word that can even begin to describe it. FUUUUUUUUUUCK!!! That is one bad ass car! Nothing like getting sucked back into your seat when the turbo kicks in and you hear the jet engine whine of the turbine. It's got a very different clutch in it and I don't think I would want it for an everyday car but it would definitely be a great weekend toy. I think one day that Porsche 911 Turbo I've been dreaming about may one day have to become a reality. It's one of the few cars on the street that can actually beat Chi's car in a 0 - 60 run.

Otay....must dash. I've got stuff to see and people to do...LOL.

Til next time when I post my proposal to congress about that little issue called illegal immigration.

Even more immigration blah blah

2006-04-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 30 pushups, 50 leglifts and 200 crunches. I'm hoping to get this at least doubled by next week.

So I guess a lot of people are upset over the immigration debate because they think there's a double standard when it comes to Mexico's laws as opposed to the US laws. They think that Mexico makes it terribly difficult to immigrate there yet the US just opens its arms so to speak. If these people who are so upset over this so called double standard actually took the time to read up on immigration laws rather than listening to extremists who only represent one side and make things look like such an atrocity, they might find out that the differences between the US and Mexico aren't as great as the "shockers" are making it out to be. When it comes right down to it, it would probably be easier to get into Mexico legally than it would be to get into the US.

Like with the US and the UK, the more well known ways to "get your foot in the door" in Mexico are:

Marry a citizen.
Find a company who will sponsor you and can prove that you possess a skill that can't be provided by anyone else in the country.
Be independently wealthy.

Now the one thing that Mexico seems to do that I don't believe the US or the UK does is a permit for retirees. This is for people 50 and older who aren't looking to work or make money but can prove they have a means to support themselves. The income requirement - 400 times the daily minimum wage per month and an additional 200 times daily minimum wage per month for each dependent. Might sound like a lot right? Here's the shocker - it comes up to just over $1600/month for the retiree alone. Pretty darn cheap if you ask me since that wouldn't even cover our house payment, dues, and one car for Chi and me.

It seems like one of the biggest fits is being thrown over the idea of going there as an investor because it is said that the minimum amount of money allowed is 40,000 time the daily minimum wage. Guess what? This amount that everyone thinks sounds so horrendous comes out just under $165,000 - barely a drop in the bucket for a serious investor. Here's the real kicker though. If you wish to come to the US as an investor, you have to have $500,000 to $1,000,000. In the UK, you are required to have the equivalent of about $400,000. Gee now that 40,000 times daily minimum wage isn't sounding so bad.

Like the US, you can be a foreign national and be a full resident. Doing this will entitle you to all the rights and benefits of a Mexican National (living, working, claiming state benefits, and paying taxes) but you can't vote. This is the same for a resident alien in the States. The one difference has to do with a possibility of prohibiting work in specific industries. It's usually limited and relate to bar and waiter/waitress work which is understandable. The UK does this sort of thing too mainly because jobs aren't as plentiful as the jobs in the US and they have to protect the interest of the citizens.

Let's talk property. Foreign nationals can own property (along the coast and borders) just not through direct diminion. Land which is outside this point can be acquired through direct diminion, however, the foreign national can't enlist the country of their citizenship's help to defend the property. Well DUH! I don't know any country that would allow that.

Oh, anyone born to Mexican parents in foreign territory is still a Mexican Nationalist. Just like a US citizen born in a foreign country. This child actually has dual citizenship.

There is nothing saying you are required to learn the language. As far as I know, none of the countries I've taken time to look at have a such a requirement. It will, however, make things easier for the people involved though.

Here are a couple other interesting facts...

For those coming into Mexico and the US, bank accounts can be set up fairly easily and as far as I know, you aren't required to register with the police. For someone going to the UK, it's a bit different. Even though I was legally able to live and work there, I was not allowed to have a bank account. I believe the stipulation was that you had to be there for a minimum of one year before that was allowed. I also was required to register with the police.

The list goes on but I'm going to stop here as there is just too much to cover. One thing I will say is if you want to see some STRICT ass laws, look at the ones for Denmark. They even have a thing about bi-racial couples and the age you have to be when it comes to getting in by marriage. I think the most interesting thing is people are pitching this double standard fit about Mexico which really isn't much of a double standard yet you never hear them crying about it when a country like Britain has harsher rules. Go figure.

For those of you who choose to learn more and see that the laws really don't differ as much as SOME people want to make you think, I suggest the following links:

http://uscis.gov/graphics/

http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=93

http://www.mexperience.com/liveandwork/immigration.htm

Based on a lot of the discussions I've seen and heard, I think one of the biggest problems is the clarification between foreign national and citizen. According to the information I've been able to find, the "rules" everyone is having a cow over apply to a foreign national, not a naturalized citizen. The are two DIFFERENT things. Both legal but one carries more "privileges" than the other.

And now for something completely different....

Dubya was in Iowa today raising money for gubernatorial candidate Jim Nussle. What do you know...a crook supporting a crook. I hope to hell this guy doesn't win. He's nothing but bad news.

I think there was something else I was going to post here but I'll be damned if I remember what it was so I guess I will just leave it here.

Til next time....

Weekend Recap

2006-04-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None. It's Sunday and my day off.

Friday - The business managers were doing their spring cleaning of the storage area we have downstairs in our building so the administrators got to go "shopping". I got enough tea for Chi that a shop could be opened. Check the picture of our pantry below (some of the stuff is stacked anywhere from 4 - 8 deep by 2 high). The majority of stuff in there came from work. Oh the benefits of working for a food broker. :)

Saturday - I had Chi take me up to Ames for my haircut. Mr. Salon Guy who does my hair wanted to see the new ride. When I was done, I called Chi to come and get me. I guess he went to pick up an oil filter at an automotive shop then on an adventure to find a good place to take some pictures. It obviously was quite the adventure too since he ended up getting lost. LOL It's a good thing I spent nearly 5 years in that town. Although there have been many changes since I went to school there, I still have a good working knowledge of the streets which helped me get him back to where he needed to be. I think though I'm going to have to buy him a compass for his new car since this one doesn't have one on the dash like most other cars. He doesn't do well telling his direction by the sun. LOL Oh and Mr. SG absolutely loved the new car. He's kind of a sucker for fast cars so when Chi finally arrived, I had Mr. SG's coworker go get him so he could come out and have a look. I think he could have used a bib because there was obvious drool. LOL

Sunday - I have now renamed our "Brown Kitty". Her new name is Piss Pants. For some reason she has decided to take to peeing on the bedroom floor. Friday and Saturday morning both she decided to whiz in the corner by the window around 5 am. We got it cleaned up and banned her from the bedroom at night. She really hated that because usually she comes in and snuggles up with us on the bed at night and she hates being locked out of any place her peoples are. This morning I got up and decided to let her in since Chi was still in bed and I thought she wanted to go curl up with him. I'll be dammed if she didn't want in just to piss on the floor again. I'm also convinced the little winch held it all night just so she could dump it off there. That earned her a permanent 24/7/365 banning from the room which she spent the first half of today announcing her displeasure with by sitting at the door and howling nonstop.

Mr. PIB also came over for a little while today. He recently bought a new motorcycle and had to come and show it off. I think he also wanted an excuse to take it out on the road too. He said that yesterday alone he put something like 80 miles on it driving all over town and stuff. LOL

Oh....so the little construction boys and girls have now started to level out the field to the west of our house. The last couple of days we have woken up to the sound of bulldozers and other big dirt movers outside our windows. Ok, the fact that a street is going to be put in just yards from our front door doesn't bother me too much but the noise from construction machinery rolling past my window at 7 or 8 in the morning on a weekend is just ridiculous. I'm mean come on people. That's when us working schleps get to sleep in. How's that supposed to happen with that kind of noise going on outside? Here's a picture of the work that has been done so far. It's not the greatest but hopefully I can get some more that do a better job of showing it. For the past summers, this area was filled with 7 - 8 foot high corn. Not any more - have a look.

Otay...I shall be off now.

Til next time...

Immigration Rebuttal

2006-04-08T23:06:00.000-07:00

Exercise: None - too busy with other stuff which kept me active. :)

I'm going to use a full post for my feedback on my immigration post because there is just too much for me to write in the Haloscan comment box. I'm warning everyone right now. This is going to be a long ass post. :P

Steph made the following comment:

Mexico's economic problems has nothing to do with the US. You're way off on those issues. Mexico's problems stem from decades of state ownership, much like most of Asia. For nearly 7 decades they practiced "dependencia", which basically meant that they were to be self sustaining and not trade with any other countries, believing it would boost their own economies. THEY are the ones who cut off trade which brought their countries to where they are today. The only reason some Latin American countries are now finally starting to raise their GDP is because they sold off large amounts of their state ownership, much like Margaret Thatcher did to bring England's economy out of the slump it was in during the early 80's, and finally opened up trade.I can list a slew of other things that has hampered the Mexican economy, but none of them have to do with us. Read "Commanding Heights" chapter 9. You watch PBS. The book is based off the PBS program of the same name.You use a lot of strong rhetoric, but most of it is extremely misguided by emotion. The fact that the congress would consider any kind of program letting illegals stay is being generous IMO. I think every single one of those moronic illegals marching in California should have been hauled away and deported.

I was able to pull up one of the essays from the book.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandi.../

My thoughts....

I wasn't trying to say the US is completely at fault for Mexico's economic problems. Anyone who would think that way obviously hasn't looked at things very closely. I was only referring to the things which did involve the US starting with the Mexican War in which the US took half its territory away. I mean if you get right down to it, in a way WE are the illegal immigrants - not the Mexican people.

My point in regards to NAFTA is that it wasn't the success as it was touted to be. I'm not sure if you read the post that you referred to or not but even that points out that Mexico's economy is now in a position where it's very sensitive to the performance of the US economy meaning when our market took a turn for the worst, theirs did too. What it fails to mention are the people who were put out of work (namely the small & mid sized farmers) because they couldn't compete with the big companies NAFTA allowed in. It's those companies who reaped most of the benefits and more on the US side than Mexico. The link also fails to point out that NAFTA made it possible for companies like WalMart and Costco to go down there and completely under sell the retail market which again although there was a creation of some jobs, it also forced others out of theirs along with tearing up the environment. Oh and I guess I should also mention that those who are newly hired cashiers at WalMart in Mexico make about $1.50/hr - that's approximately 1/6 of what the someone in the US makes doing the same job. Now tell me....where would you rather work?

My "rhetoric" as you call it is not extremely misguided by emotion. My thoughts and opinions are based on first hand experience from dealing with immigration not only in this country but others as well. Until you have dealt with it directly, you really can't understand it.

Brett said the following:

Way to go, Steph! Yea, I especially like the comment "I don't blame people for hopping the border illegally". What other illegal things are acceptable? Also, how does our country get made out to be the bad guy when these people are sneaking into our country? The only bad thing I can see that we did was not protect our borders properly. Other than that, as you so clearly point out in your own decision to live in this country, we are the greatest country in the world. That's why everyone wants keeps trying to get into this country. The main thing to remember in all of this is that we have LEGAL immigration, which I am all for, and ILLEGAL immigration. To condone the breaking of laws starts a very slippery slope for any argument.

WHOA! Who said anything about me supporting people coming into this country against the law or doing anything else which is illegal??? My statement about not blaming people for sneaking in had to do with being able to understand why they would choose that method, not that I actually supported it. If you had the choice of being left to feel like a criminal from the outset and having to possibly wait YEARS to support your family who desperately needed money for food and clothing or taking a chance at maybe getting caught then treated like a criminal, which would you choose? I ask that you keep your two girls whom you say you care for and love so much in mind and think about just how far you would go to get them their basic needs.

Granted border patrol isn't what it should be, however, by going after the companies offering the jobs (and YES, they are doing that. My mother worked with someone whose husband came in that way), it's a more nip it in the bud way of doing things. There are tons of places willing to hire illegal immigrants because they know they can get away with paying them less and in return increase their profits. THIS is actually why many of them are sneaking in rather than just doing it on a whim and hoping for something better as your words would imply. If you don't think this happens, then you are very naive to the corporate world.

My comment about Chi and I staying here really was not to imply that the US is the greatest country in the world. Jobs and economic opportunities do tend to be better (at least if you are educated and skilled), however, the US like every other country does have its problems and there are some places which actually lead us in some areas.

Let me tell you a little something about LEGAL immigration into this country that you think is SO wonderful based on the K-1 (fiance visa) that Chi came over on. In order for us to get the process going, I had to get a bunch of forms to fill out and let me tell you that in itself is a trick because some of them will say you need a particular form that goes with it and others will tell you that you don't. Just figuring out what you do need is a pain and it's not something where you can just pick up the phone to call and ask someone either. I also couldn't just walk into the INS office downtown to ask. If you call the hotline, you may have to wait in a que for an hour or more because you aren't just competing with people in your area but more like the whole country. If you walk in, you have to take a number and wait. If they don't get to you before it's time to shut up shop, you're out of luck. What makes it even "better" is that the hours are VERY limited and only during the week when most people are at work. At the time it was something like 8 - 2 M,T,Th,F - Wednesdays were reserved for greencard interviews only and I believe part of the day on Tuesdays was for fingerprinting. There's now a website that is more informative than anything that was available at the time I filed but that doesn't mean there still won't be questions that come up which it doesn't answer.

So now after the week or so it took to get all the forms that were needed, it took a good few hours to fill them out. That didn't even account for the time to get all the extra support you have to send with them gathered up. That includes the following assuming it's filed by a US citizen who meets the initial requirements and has never been married:

1.) Statement from an officer of the bank or other financial institution in which you have deposits given the following details:

Date account opened.
Total amount deposited for the past year.
Present balance.

2.) Statement from your employer on business stationary showing:

Date and nature of employment.
Salary paid.
Whether position is temporary or permanent.

You have to be able to prove you make 120% of poverty level. At the time the requirement was something like $12000/year. If you couldn't, you had to get a co-sponsor and provide the bank and employment information for them too.

3.) Birth certificate

4.) One color photo of petitioner and one color photo of your fiance(e) taken within 30 days of the petition date. They must be glossy, un-retouched, and not mounted. The dimension of the facial image should be about 1 inch from chin to top of hair in 3/4 frontal view, showing the right side of the face with the right ear visible. Let me tell you this is something photogs don't usually do so most don't get it right the first time. I had a pro do mine and he had to take three sets before it met the specific requirements.

5.) Proof of relationship. This includes:

Phone bills
Emails
Cards

Once I got all this together, the packet was sent off with a check for $95 (now $170) which was non-refundable should the visa not be granted. After that, all that was left to do was wait. I think it took at least two weeks just to get a letter back saying that the stuff had been received. It was then something like a month before I was given word that the application was approved and sent to England for processing. Once it got there, Chi received a letter from the Embassy telling him when to come for his "interview" which consisted of a doctor's check up, some questioning and then issuance of his visa which gave him 90 days to be married once he stepped foot in the US.

When Chi got here, he was given a 90 day work authorization. When that was up, we had to file for another one which I think was good until he got his greencard. That was another $100 (now $180). In addition, we had to file the papers so he could become a resident alien. That was $220 (now $325) and then there was the $70 (remains at $70) fingerprint fee. On top of that, if we wanted to be able to travel out of the country before he received his greencard, we had to file yet another form and fork over $95 for what they call advanced parole (now $170). If you don't already feel like a criminal in this process, this would do it for many people.

From that point, the wait was two years. We got a letter in the mail telling us to bring all of our relationship "support" along with bank and tax records to the downtown office for an interview. Luckily the guy we dealt with was fairly pleasant. Of course I would say having all our papers and Chi being from England rather than some place like Mexico helped - They tend to get very impatient with people who don't speak fluent English. After that approval, it was another month or so before we were told to report to the Omaha office to get the greencard. That's good for 10 years and then must be renewed. Cost of renewal $260.

If you add all the fees up and include the fees for the photos and sending the stuff in, it was just over $500 in 1998. It now pushes $1000. The fees for people wishing to come here as an immigrant or non-immigrant worker are even higher. Assume you are talking about a family of 4. You're looking at something like $4000 for them to all come here legally. Now you tell me how people who don't even have enough money to feed themselves are supposed to get that kind of cash. Oh and also tell me how that isn't a bunch of bureaucratic bullshit aimed at those who have money and at making the US government a ton of cash. Of course if you are financially well to do, more than likely the government will just turn it's head on making you file the forms and pay the fees because it knows the wealth you are bringing in.

Otay...that's all on this subject for now.

Til next time...

Immigration - Washington's Latest Mess

2006-04-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

Exercise: 2 Mile Run. I know I know - lame but it has been awhile and I need to ease back into things especially since my knee and back have been hurting a bit. A result of a lack of exercise no doubt. At least the weather is getting nicer so it will make it easier to get back out there and unlike previous winters, I actually lost 5lbs rather than gaining them.

You know I just love how the Head Overpaid Office Monkey in the White House has gone on with his bad self blah blah about this temporary guest worker program to make people think he's really doing something for the people who want to come and live here. In reality all he's doing is ensuring that we have a constant supply of workers who are willing to come here and work for below minimum wage pay so everyone else's wages stay depressed and we can live off of the tax they pay in and will never be able to claim back. How else do you think social security has been able to stay solvent this long? About the only real change his plan would make is say they are here legally rather than illegally. Whoohoo more free money for Bushie and we all know how much he loves that. At least when I lived and worked in London on a temporary work visa, I got the "perks" of some of the tax I paid in. Every paycheck 10% went to National Insurance and should I have had to go to the doctor, it would have been covered. Now I know we do have free programs these people can and do take advantage of but come on. If we're going to let em in then kick them out, take some of that money they are making for us and put it to use by setting up decent benefits for them while they're here.

In my opinion, if the guy (and congress for that matter) really wanted to do something about getting control on illegal immigration, they would go after the companies here who are offering the jobs rather than the people hopping the fence. Of course they would never do this. Many of those companies are the ones who support their political careers and we wouldn't want them to have to do without now would we? Oh the wonderful greed that runs rampant through DC.

In addition, had NAFTA worked as it was designed to, the Mexican government would have a much harder time with their "ethnic cleansing" of the very poor. Of course getting the asshole president out of there and replacing him with someone who actually cares about the people rather than him or herself would help.

Personally, after going through the process to be a temporary worker in another country and the immigration process to bring Chi here, I don't blame people for hopping the boarder illegally. It's nothing but a bunch of bureaucratic bullshit aimed towards those with money and making Uncle Sam some extra green that I can only imagine is even more inefficient than it used to be since Bush rolled the INS into Homeland Security. What's so stupid is that these people are coming here because their living conditions where they are suck and they want a chance at a better life yet the government extorts money out of them to do so. Ok let's think about this....if they had money to begin with to pay the kinds of fees we are talking about ($1000 upwards - and remember the exchange rate isn't working in their favor), how likely would it be that they would literally be dying to get in here? I'm thinking not nearly as much as they are now. I mean hell, why do you think Chi and I chose to live in the US rather than the UK? - the money and opportunities course. Had they been better in the UK, we would have gone there. Oh and don't even get me started on all the paperwork crap you have to fill out. You think doing a "simple" tax form is tough? HA! Try some of the immigration forms I experienced. I'm well educated and I still found them confusing as hell! And this bit with Bush saying he's doing this to protect us from terrorists - OMG that's just too funny! Bush wants to fight the "bad guys" with paper. *RE*

You really want to get a grip on things. Cut the salaries of the high paid political figures, lower or do away with the horrendous fees, and streamline the process to make it more efficient. Better yet, help countries like Mexico build a stronger economy instead of ripping it out from under their feet like we've done in the past and are continuing to do and I would be willing to bet border hopping wouldn't be nearly the problem.

And now for something completely different.....

This past Friday I went to the optometrist to pick up the pair of glasses I had on order. I finally broke down and got another pair since the ones I had were over 10 years old, my current contacts are still in really good shape, and I didn't want my insurance money to go to waste. I mean since the cost was completely covered, I figured what the hell. Anyway, when I was picking out a pair of frames, I was having a hard time finding anything I liked and wished they had something shaped like my sunglasses. I eventually settled on a pair which were ok although I wasn't overly fond of the color. The funny thing was though after I got them, I compared them to my sunglasses and I'll be damned if they weren't practically identical in shape. LOL

American Idol....

This show took an interesting turn this evening. Mandisa was voted off. Now I knew she wouldn't win the competition but I didn't expect her to go this early on. Personally, I think Elliott should have gone. I never have cared for his performances and I really don't understand why the judges seem to think he's so great. He's got a nasty little warble in his voice that just grates on my last nerve. ICK!

Journey/Lep Tour....

Well it seems there are people who are very interested to know if I am going to any of these shows and which ones. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. I've decided to keep it on the down-low this time around just because I can so :P

Otay....I think that's about all for tonight.

Til next time.....

For those who think racism isn't that big a problem in the US...

2006-03-29T21:10:00.000-08:00

Exercise: None tonight - not enough time.

Think again! Last Thursday I watched Primetime Live. The report was called What Would You Do? and it was about experiments ABC News had done to see how people would react to a variety of ethical situations. It was sort of like putting the movie Crash into real life.

The first experiment had to do with bullies. They got some child actors together in a park with other people around and had a few of them pick on one in the group. In the first round, the bullies were dressed in your average 12 year old gear. Not quite 1/3 of the people who witnessed what was going on offered to help, however, when things were changed to where the bullies were dressed like gang members (hoodies & baggy pants), nearly everyone standing by got involved and call the cops right away.

The second experiment had to do with a couple having an argument (physical & verbal) in public. The first couple was white; the second black. Again many people chose to stay out of things or told the couple to take it somewhere else, however, more people seemed to take notice and give more empathy to the white woman. Oh and people also seem to pay more attention if the couple is wearing wedding bands.

The third and final experiment was a set up where they had cab drivers make racial comments to get reactions from people. Out of the 50 or 60 they "tested", there were only about 7 who actually spoke up and said they thought the cabbie was out of line. What was even more disturbing was that there were many who agreed with what was being said yet claimed they weren't racist or they would disagree with a statement made, say they weren't racist but then go on to make prejudice comments. I think the topper had to be the woman who went right along with it and turned out to be on the diversity board of the company she works for. Gee why is it not surprising she was the only one who didn't want her face shown?

What it boils down to is that everyone will at some time or another judge a book by its cover and most likely form an opinion of a group based on a few (Muslims appear to be one of the top groups who are faced with this these days). What is most scary about this is the number of people who think they aren't racist but in reality are.

And now for something completely different....

Touch play machines have now been banned in Iowa. All I can say is what a bunch of prudish whiners we have in this state. I mean I'm all for keeping them out of places where kids can play them, however, I see no problem with putting them in bars where you have to be 21 in order to enter. I couldn't believe I actually heard some people going on about being addicts and the machines being too much of a temptation. Oh please! If it presents that much of a problem, don't go into the places that have them. Get a little self control for God's sake! We still have casinos and grocery stores that sell lottery tickets and you seem to get along with them around.

Next up...I received an interesting email the other day from someone who happened across my blog. It seems that someone from the Raccoon River Valley animal shelter had found the post I made last May asking anyone who could to please donate so they could raise the funds needed to stay open. She informed me that although they didn't get enough money, they were able to find a way to continue to help animals be adopted rather than put down and thanked me for pleading on their behalf. It's nice to know there are still people out there who appreciate random acts of kindness. :)

On a final note....Chi got to bring his brand spankin new car home Saturday. I've got to say if I were going to be the main driver of the car, we more than likely wouldn't have bought it. The overall outside design is pretty cool (for a 4 door LOL) and I like the recaro seats (although they aren't the best for napping LOL) but the ride and the interior design leave quite a bit left to be desired in my opinion. Of course because this is sold more as a performance car that's to be expected but I would take the amenities in my car over the extra bit of power just about any day. Oh well as long as he's happy with it, the $40 grand is worth it. Oh and just to show once again just how completely AWESOME our dealer is...Ant found a bolt in his tire the other day - something that isn't covered by warranty because it's considered road debris and "preventable". Keep in mind each tire costs $250 - $300 and that really isn't an expense we didn't want to have to face so soon. As it turns out, our dealer is going to take care of it for us. :) I can't say enough about how wonderful their customer service is. For those of you in the market for a new or used car - this is definitely the place to go (click the link on the right side of the blog and check them out)! I can even guarantee that the silver 2001 Dodge Stratus R/T with less than 65000 miles they have there (assuming they still have it - it's not listed on their website), is a gem. In our 5 and 1/2 years of ownership, we never had one problem and it was kept up meticulously. :)

Otay....gotta dash.

Til next time when I will be back to discuss the immigration garbage going on.....

OMG! Is he for real???

2006-03-23T22:15:00.000-08:00

Exercise: 30 push ups, 50 leg lifts, and 150 crunches.

So Bush says, "If I didn't believe we could succeed, I wouldn't be there. I wouldn't put those kids there." Um ok Bushie baby let's get something straight here. We just past the third anniversary when this incredibly ridiculous war started and very little has changed for the better. Let me guess you've finally discovered your ratings are swirling in the toilet bowl as the water does just before it flushes and you're trying to make some feeble effort to scratch your way out. Oh here let me jump on the bandwagon of support for you. *RE*

Oh and what's even better is how you continued on from that statement, "I meet with too many families who've lost a loved one to not be able to look them in the eye and say, "We're doing the right thing.", and we are doing the right thing." I've got two words for you Mr. I'm A Poor Excuse For A President And Even My Own Party Has Started To Turn On Me - Cindy Sheehan! Yah, I can really understand how picking off over 2000 Americans and over 30000 Iraqis is "doing the right thing". And here we are talking about Saddam killing the 114 that he's on trial for being SOOO horrible. Personally, I think it's you who really needs to be on trial because right now you aren't coming off any better than any of the crazies who preceded you or the ones around now.

And now for something completely different....

The other day at work someone forwarded me an email concerning being pulled over by an unmarked police car & calling *677. Forwarded emails are (for the most part) a big thorn in my side to begin with when they haven't been properly handled (cut from the original email & pasted into a new message) because they sometimes are used as a way to obtain mailing lists especially those ridiculous chain letters tied to luck - C'mon people really!

Anyway, I think what gets me more is the people who receive the messages like the one I mentioned dealing with *677 and send them on without taking the time to see if they are real. Had the woman in the office who chose to pass the email on to all the women in the office taken the time to check things out, she would have known *677 is only good in Ontario, Canada or at least it was three years ago when the message first started circulating. I had the notion to send a reply to out her stupidity but it just wasn't worth it. I figure it will catch up to her should she ever be in the situation and she tries to call that number. I will agree with the part of the story that says you should check out unmarked police cars asking you to pull over, but please people remember it's 911 not *677. Why dial more than you need to?

American Idol....

Finally that Kevin kid was kicked off. If you ask me, he shouldn't have even made it to the top 12. He just doesn't have the voice or personality to pull it off in my opinion. And while we're on the subject of voice, Elliott Yamin has got to GO! There is something about the warble in his voice that makes me think of the cowardly lion in The Wizard Of Oz. DREADFUL! Oh and Kelly Pickler - she needs to go too. Good lord it's no wonder people from other countries think Americans are idiots and we stereotype blondes when we've got people like her vying to be the next 'Idol'.

Skating's Next Star.....

Talk about a pathetic show! I caught the last half of this WE program last night. HORRIBLE! Not only did it come off as some low budget piece of crap that showed lack of EVERYTHING, two of the judges (namely Oksana and Rudy) are unbelievably unprofessional and just outright rude! There was a guy on there who gave a pretty sloppy performance but did better than the average schmuck and these two thought they needed to laugh at him. Now I've been skating for 30 of the nearly 33 years I have been on this Earth and let me tell you even though the guy was bumbling, what he was doing was by no means easy and as bad as his performance was, it didn't deserved to be laughed at.

Otay....time for me to make like a tree and leave.

Just under two days now until the Evo comes to live with us and I shed some tears over the $10,000 cash leaving us (will probably shed some more every month when we make the payments too! LOL). At least we should still be able to save a considerable amount of money every month so it won't be long until the money is "replaced".

Til next time.....

A Movie Packed Weekend

2006-03-19T21:35:00.000-08:00

Exercise: None - It's my day off.

Yesterday morning I drove to my home town for my opthomology appointment (all's well and no change in prescription - YAY!) and Chi stayed home to rip the stereo guts out of his car in preparation to trade it in next weekend when we go get his Evo. When I got done, I went over to my parent's house to visit with my mom.

We talked for quite awhile and then were going to go catch a movie but as it turned out, there was nothing that sounded all that good that was playing in the late afternoon/early evening slots. Instead we just stayed in and watched one of her DVDs - House Of Sand And Fog. I have to say this is kind of a depressing movie but is good and does well to show how simple errors and cultural misunderstandings can quickly get out of hand.

Later after my dad came home, the three of us went out to eat. We had Chinese and we all got a good laugh from the fortune I received in my cookie because it was so true. It said, "Your patience can withstand even the sands of time." LOL I will admit that I'm probably not as patient as I used to be (of the wonders of being out in the working world which resides in the NOW society) but I would say that I still possess more patience than most people I come across.
My mom let me borrow some of her DVDs so I spent most of today watching some of them. I brought home Intolerable Cruelty, Must Love Dogs, Pride & Prejudice, Crash, The Interpreter, and Flight Plan. I viewed the first four today. The first two were alright but probably not ones that I would watch over and over again. Pride & Prejudice - all I can say is I'm a total sucker for these sorts of films so of course I really liked it and at some point will probably purchase this one because I could easily watch it again. Crash is another sort of depressing film, however, it's a VERY good movie. It does a great job of showing how people will stereotype and develop a prejudice against a group of people based on an experience they have had with only a handful that would fit into that group. It also shows the interesting twists of fate life holds.

Well, I must be off now so I can get the laundry folded and get to bed.

Til next time....