Why does it always go

That I figure out what ails my story and how to fix it when I'm in the least possible position to fix it? I've been contemplating my latest disaster and deciding with uncharacteristic zeal that I want to resurrect it and fix it, whatever the quality, so I can at least have a recent accomplishment of "I wrote something! Hooray!" So the first problem was the de-evolution of narrative and description and dialogue into paragraphs of serial events told to you, the hapless reader.

I realize now that the paragraphs are important because they are the guideposts to the story's action. It's not necessarily the content of the paragraphs that is the problem but more the way I've related the story. A few 'telling' moments here and there sprinkled through a story isn't the kiss of death. An entire third of the story is. Now that I realize the exact issue, I also have some idea of how to fix it. At some point (meaning the future, not tonight, because lately I seem to excel at procrastinating), I will turn my paragraphs into something that cannot be advertised as a cure for insomnia.

Testing

Blogger has been refusing to publish lately. Bad Blogger, no biscuit!

History lessons

I've always associated what's happening in Iraq today with more recent genocidal civil wars such as Bosnia and Kosovo as they are fresh in recent history and have some of the same characteristics: ethnics groups forced together into a country by a strong-fisted leader. Remove that force and lo and behold, the country falls apart and people who formerly called themselves friends and family are at each other's throats. But Fred Kaplan over at Slate points out another parallel which I'd never noticed before -- India in 1947 and Iraq today. The article is here. It pains me to say it -- because I want nothing more than for the troops to come home -- but Bush ignored one lesson of history and now we can't possibly ignore another. They've got to stay there until somehow any potential consequence of withdrawal is mitigated.

Womyn

Newsweek has an interesting series called "On Faith" in which they discuss various religious questions from different viewpoints. Today, the question was: "Are physicians' primary obligations to their patients or their religious convictions?"

I found the following paragraph in this viewpoint cut right to what has always bothered me about these so called 'conscience' laws so succinctly:

It should be noted that virtually all of the assertions of a
"right of conscience" by physicians and pharmacists are directed against women and women’s exercise of their right to choice about their reproductive capacity. These physicians and pharmacists are asserting that their private conscience is superior that to that of women. Yet it should be obvious that women also have a right to exercise conscience in regard to their own private medical issues.

And also, here's an interesting perspective from the ever interesting Anna Quindlan. If abortion is a crime, then what's the punishment? How Much Jail Time for Women Who Have Abortions?

A long time gone

So I'm back, which is kind of what I said in my last post, and it's kind of misleading because I was never really gone. I felt like taking a hiatus from the internet for any number of reasons last week, though I was online a lot this weekend as I was taking a defensive driving course online (6 hours!) in order to get my speeding ticket dismissed. I'm pretty happy to say that at this point, I'm just waiting for paperwork to make its way to me so I can get the entire thing dismissed. I have until October 9th to file all the paperwork with the court, but really, I just want it over with. New developments make me think things are going to get a lot busier from here on out and the last thing I want to worry about is Sweat Sock City's finest showing up at my door to haul me off to the slammer because I forgot to take my course and file the paperwork. For the record, I'm happy to report that I did receive 100 percent on the final exam, though my record through the course was less than stellar -- somewhere around a 94.

I'm feeling out of practice. Hopefully I'll have something more interesting next time.

Back!

Hello, all, I'm back. I am finished the book and since I have no way of discussing it here without spoiling it, all I will say is that the 7 straight hours I spent reading the book were very enjoyable. Your mileage may vary.

I feel like I've missed a lot in the last few days. It was just Harry Potter that's been taking up my time, but I've been out and about. I'm supposed to be working on my story but somehow I don't seem that motivated to do something about my summary paragraphs and I feel very much like cheating and just saying "the end". But then I think, if JK Rowling did that, we readers would feel totally gypped. Not, btw, am I insinuating in any way that JK Rowling and I have anything in common except for maybe a love of coffee houses.

So how about you? Have you read the book? Was it worth the wait? The anticipation? And please, out of consideration, no spoilers.

Offline

Beginning tomorrow evening, I shall be offline. Well, offline as much as I can be. I'm hoping against hope that I will NOT be spoiled for Harry Potter and one of the only ways to assure that is to stay off the computer and not read the newspapers or watch television. As it is, the New York Times has already published a review of the book, and spoilers are everywhere. Some media outlets are better than others when it comes to this kind of stuff, but I don't want to take the chance.

I will get the book on Monday (hopefully) and it's gonna be a sprint reading session. So I'll see you guys when I'm done reading!

Interesting...

I find this comment thread between the liberals and conservatives very interesting, if not a wee bit frightening. I'm amazed MikeB hung in there as long as he did (the 'liberal' voice) and he made some inappropriate comments, mho, but I also find it scary how many people still believe that Iraq and Al-Qaeda had ties to each other pre-9/11. The misinformation is disheartening, truly is.

The saddest part of this whole comment thread is that there really is no room for polite discourse. You question George Bush, and your Americanism is questioned. Of course, it's a conservative blog, so I suppose it should be expected; I have no doubt a liberal blog would flay a conservative for showing up on that blog with the opposing viewpoint. It's for that reason that I'm not a big fan of either politically conservative/liberal blogs. They pick their talking points that'll appeal best to their audience and cherry-pick the stories that'll support their viewpoint and don't bother ever saying "Oops, I was wrong that time" or post a story that might, just might, give another point of view. I'm not a big fan of the name-calling that goes on on either of these blogs. I know it makes for colorful reading, but it's just aggravating and disrespectful, mho.

I also believe political blogs do a major disservice to their readers, who don't get the whole story because they're too busy getting their news from either Michelle Malkin or Daily Kos. Conservatives will argue that they need blogs because the MSM has been leading them astray, but I'd argue that the bloggers have been leading readers astray (liberal & conservative both). These blogs subsist on a population of angry people of both political persuasions who are so incredibly convinced of their viewpoint that the minute that viewpoint is threatened, they have no choice but to attack. It's so very sad.

*Please, Kosvo wasn't so much an invasion as an intervention and many years late too. Gee whiz, people.

Writer's block

It's not so much that I have writer's block -- I have lots of ideas and phrases running through my head at all times -- but that I despise editing with a passion. I mean, I really, really, really, really hate editing. There was a time when I didn't mind it, when I actually looked forward to the process, but now, it just grates on my nerves big time and the only way to avoid this necessary evil is to not write at all or do what I've been doing lately -- edit as I go along. Those of you who have been there done that know that the 'editing as you go along' process is not the wisest because it turns you, the writer, into an automatic self-critic and once you start second-guessing yourself, the story is not going to get off the ground.

I have a story that started off really well, even included some dialogue, but the last half of it is nothing but paragraphs of writing right to the anti-climatic end of the story; and yes, it reads as tediously as it sounds. The lazy in me is tempted to just leave it at that and slap a "the end" on it so I can move on to the next project which will be infinitely splashier and more exciting, but the critic in me is wagging her finger and saying, "Now, now, now, don't cut corners." What to do, what to do? In the end, quality's got to win over getting something done quickly, because if I'm not proud of it, then there's no point in sharing it with the world, right? So back I go to flesh out my lackluster endings and add in dialogue and detail and bring my sketchy paragraphs to life so my settings and characters 'pop'.

That doesn't change the fact I still hate editing.

Car talk

Here in Sweat Sock City, it's become a rage to have valet parking at restaurants, upscale ones and the not so upscale ones. It actually makes me a little crazy because I can park my own car -- an act I engage in at least four times a day. And then I show up at this restaurant and I have to give my keys to some guy I've known for about 2 seconds and trust them to park my car for me. It especially aggravates me when the restaurant in question has a huge parking lot -- such as the newest, hip spot just down the street from me. Huge parking lot and it's all valet. And not free valet either.

I don't get it. Is this some service that people really need? I understand in cases where the weather is bad or parking is hard to find, but in places with their own lots? I don't get it. It especially irritates me because most of these places, you'll spend at least $15/person for dinner, probably closer to $30, and then you have to also pay the guy to do something you can do yourself. Depending on the place, you're lucky if you can get by with $5 to the valet. It's just like a local big movie theatre complex here -- they charge you $3 to park there.

I no longer frequent places with valet parking or if they do have valet parking, I check around to see if I can park on the street. In a couple of cases, the weather was so bad and the only option was valet, I drove out and went to another restaurant entirely. Needless to say, I also don't go to the movie theatre where you have to pay to park (another movie theatre in downtown where you do have to pay to park, validates your parking ticket for you, so it's all good).

I bet valet parking adds some kind of 'status' to a restaurant and probably attracts a up-scale crowd. I'd really like to see some studies on it, because I'm pretty sure I'm not the only who is aggravated by this particular growing trend. I'm also curious to know how many people choose not to go somewhere because you have to pay for parking.

Pretty as a lady bird

RiP, Lady Bird Johnson. The legacy she left this country might seem simple, but could hardly be considered trivial.

Sweet dreams

Spend the night at IKEA! Can you imagine? It reminds me of that time in high school -- I'm pretty sure it was senior year -- when someone thought it'd be a great idea to have a class sleepover in the gym. You can imagine that no one got any sleep at all that night. I remember lying in my sleeping bag, debating the meaning of life with my friends as the shadows danced themselves into weird shapes on the cinder block walls. Things get kind of trippy in a high school gym at 3 am in the morning and when you're 18 and think you know everything there is to know.

Anyway, I have a hard time thinking about spending more than an hour at IKEA, let alone an entire evening, but if they'd throw in the flight to Oslo along with the bedsheets and bathrobe, I'd totally be up for it.

Semantics, schemantics

I realized I used the word 'megalith' in this post in regards to the upcoming release of the last Harry Potter novel. I really meant the word 'juggernaut'. I'm eagerly looking forward to the book, even though I have very little memory of what happened in the last one, or even the five books preceeding it. I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan, probably pretty low on the scale, but I love the idea of being part of a huge reading community and devouring a book voraciously in a way that I haven't since, say, high school. These days, I tend to go at a very languid pace of about 3-6 pages a night if I'm lucky, and every now and then, I'll spend about 30 minutes reading.

But Harry Potter, well, that's a force of nature to be reckoned with and my speed will be dictated by the fact I don't want to be spoiled at all as to what happens and hence, I will need to read quickly to avoid from finding out the ending before I get there myself. This means I'll have to quarantine myself from all forms of media (::sniff::, Today Show), and maybe even people... In preparation, I've been trying to up my reading pace to about 10 pages an evening. We'll see how it goes. Since this will be a quiet weekend with no plans, I might spend a big chunk of time building my reading 'muscles', so I'll be game-ready when the book comes out next week...

Shakespeare had the right idea

Apparently that judge in DC who is suing some drycleaners over a pair of pants to the tune of $54 million isn't giving up, even though his case was dismissed a couple weeks ago. The whole thing is ridiculous and you got to feel for the poor drycleaners who have, literally, been taken to the cleaners with this case. There's defense fund for these guys over here, so they can keep up with this increasingly nutty litigatious judge without losing their shirts. Really, with all the stuff that's going on in the world, I can't believe this guy is going absolutely ape**** over a pair of pants.

Pop Culture

Reading: Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Movie watching: A Very Long Engagement starring Audrey Tatou
Television watching: What Not to Wear
Listening: Wide Open Spaces by the Dixie Chicks

I've been reading a lot lately and these are some of the other titles I've read and do recommend:

Return From Troy by Lindsey Clarke
One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding by Rebecca Mead
I Love You, Nice to Meet You by Lori Gottleib and Kevin Bleyer
Four Queens by Nancy Bazelon Goldstone

I've checked out a lot of books from the library, but I read so slowly these days -- about a book every two weeks -- that the number of titles I started and not finished is immensely long. I am, however, greatly enjoying "The Inheritance of Loss", which is unexpected. Next on my list is Resolute by Martin Sandler and Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns, but of course, that's without taking the megalith that's Harry Potter into consideration.

Rain, rain, go away

It's been raining non-stop for weeks now and it can stop at any time. There's this funky smell hanging over the city (hence my endearing name for it) because the storm drains are backing up pretty quickly and the drainage ditches that criss-cross the city overflowed their banks today. Fun all around. I'm watching a line of storms right now coming up from the south and whether it comes here or turns northward, it doesn't really matter. It's soggy no matter where you go.

I steered clear of any water on the streets on my way home from work today. I had to detour a lot because so many roads and intersections were under water, but that's okay. I had a high water experience about 10 days ago and I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown right there and then in the middle of a flood intersection. I got through it and pulled into a parking lot to wait it out, but once is enough for me. It's not worth the risk -- not to me, not to my car, not to anyone around me. Waiting*, as far as I know, has never killed anyone. But yet, I keep seeing truck after truck going into water that's at least as high as their grills. It's mystifying to me.

*for high water to recede, that is

Wasabi!

So the other night, outside of a local sushi restaurant, I'm introduced to this woman. She looks vaguely familiar, her name is vaguely familiar, but it takes me a few minutes to figure out -- well, actually, I have to ask her, "So what do you do?" And even before she opens her mouth to respond, I had a sudden vision of torrential grey sheets of rain, cars stalled out beneath a gray overpass, and this woman knee-deep in water, cowering beneath an umbrella. It's in this moment of soggy clarity, I realize she's a journalist for the local NBC affiliate. "You're the one who's always standing in the rain when it floods!" I exclaim. "Oh gosh, I always feel so bad for you."

At least I didn't say, "Wow, you look really different without your raincoat and floppy rain hat..."

What's going on

So it's been a rather eventful week. I returned from a business trip to Philadelphia late one night after being delayed on the Philly tarmack for 2 hours. It was hot, hot, hot in Philly that day and when people from the deep south say it's hot, well, you know it's got to be hot. So I was not quite awake the next morning when I drove into work and got caught in a very strategically placed speed trap just half a mile from my apartment. Most excellent.

So I'm sitting there at the side of the road, fuming and wondering just how it was after four years of driving down this road, how did I not know the speed limit was not 40 mph, but rather 30 mph? The cop wasn't that nice to me either. He not only handed me a doozy of a speeding ticket (12 miles over the speed limit will cost you $188 here in Sweat Sock City), but I was also the lucky recipient of not one, but TWO citations, that in total add up to another $350. Luckily, one of the citations -- proof of financial responsibility -- I'll be able to get knocked off. The insurance card in my car expired in May and I'd neglected to replace it with the new one. So that's easily taken care of. The second citation, well, that's going to be interesting to deal with.

I never changed my driver's license address when I moved to Sweat Sock City four years ago nor when I was in Ye Olde University Towne six years ago. Instead, I put the parental units' address on my license, deciding that until I figured out where this tumbleweed was going to land, I wanted to have a permanent address. Well, the cop didn't buy that explanation and gave me a stern lecture: "You're not a child anymore, you don't need to rely on your parents." Methinks someone doesn't have a good relationship with his parental units.

Anyway, I went online to DPS to change my address and found out that my current address is way too long for the address bar and there's just nothing I can do about that, short of going to DPS in person (I'll call in the morning to find out what's what). So now I'm not sure what to do. My court date is on July 20th, which means I have 20 days to procure a new license to show to the judge and hopefully get my $100 fine on that waived. Except that it takes 15 to 20 working days to get a new license, which means if I can't do it online, I'm out of luck. ::sigh::

As for the speeding ticket, I've decided to accept responsibility and plead guilty/no contest (I was, after all, speeding) and petition to take a driver's education course. It'll still cost me some change, but if I successfully complete it (and this will be my third* time through, so I have no doubt I will pass it), then I avoid having this ticket on my license and no points will be added to my driving record -- which is very important to me, because I do have a clean driving record (no accidents in the past 6 years, one speeding ticket five years ago).

The lessons here are:
* Don't speed
* Make sure you have an up to date insurance card in your car
* Make sure your license address matches your insurance card

The first time I took it was for the insurance discount; we get 10 percent off our insurance premiums on successful completion.

Music!

This is my favorite Dixie Chicks' song:



Enjoy!

Oops, I did it again

I bought a $320 suit for $54 at Macy's. And it's a classic style in charcoal gray, a quality brand, so nothing weird about it. Amazing. I needed a blazer and Ann Taylor had one on sale for $60 that was okay, but then I went to Macy's and the whole suit -- the only one left in my size -- was on sale for $60 and then I had them knock down the price 10 percent because it was missing a button (I can reattach it myself). Not bad, not bad at all. I love being a bargain hunter :-)

2000

Unintentionally, the Barak Obama post was number 2000. This is post number 2001. The management apologizes for the uncoolness of the 2000th post, as it was totally intended to be hot AND cool at the same time. But alas, righteous indignation took over and voila, Barak Obama is the proud, proud recipient 2000th post. Bah humbug.

Makes no cents

Phooey on Senator Obama, who has lost my support (tepid as it was) for the primary season (is it over yet?). I'd been shifting between Obama and Hilary Clinton for some time now and have been leaning more towards Clinton, but this latest memo of his smearing Indian Americans just about killed any pre-nomination support I might have had for him. I have no idea what he (or someone in his campaign) was thinking. In my non-scientific research, Indian Americans are well-off, educated, are leaders in a variety of fields, but more importantly, they vote Democrat. A lot. Maybe Indian Americans aren't a huge population so Obama wasn't worried about ticking us off, but still... Incredibly stupid and so now the next time the Obama campaign calls me looking for a donation, I'll remind them that I'm an Indian American and they don't seem to want MY support. My checkbook is CLOSED.

The worst part is though, if he gets the Democratic nod, I've got no choice but to support him. Of course, I can vote, just not give money. Grrr. IDIOT.

Milestone

This blog is coming up on its 2000th post. Which, I think, is amazing, because that means I've had 2000 things to say. Actually, if you know me in RL, you know I have a lot more than 2000 things to say and sometimes I say them all at once, and often times without any preamble. Sometimes, I think it's awful because people aren't living in my head. Imagine how much I could say if people were living in my head and were actually *with* me, conversationally-speaking. Of course, that could lead to all sorts of very strange conversations too (my friend Andrew once observed that sometimes my conversations were disjointed because I would just start talking about the thing I was thinking about and just expect everyone else to be RIGHT THERE with me).

The point is, I've been talking in RL and talking on this blog to the point of 2000 posts. About what, I couldn't quite tell you, and frankly, I'm scared to go back and read what some of the other 1,997 posts are. I used to think the blog would make a great diary and I'd go back and fondly recall good times I was writing about and all of the wacky, crazy ideas and opinions I held, but I don't because I'm not sure the tone of the blog and the subject matter always matches what's going on in my head or what I'm feeling, so it's not even an accurate representation of what was.

So watch for it, the 2000th post coming some day soon. It's gonna be hot. No pressure or anything...

Confessional...

Also, don't tell the "Sex and the City" girls, but I'm wearing a scrunchie right now, and by gosh darn it, my big hair and I LOVE it. (I think I may have even sewn my own scrunchie way back in the days when they were popular. However, as enamored with scrunchies as I am, I never did fall for the blue eye-shadow/leg warmer/leotard/big bangs look. There is some comfort there...).

To the Internet Gods...

Forgive me, for I have snarked...

Internet!

Oh Internet, my Internet! How I have missed you!

For those of you not in the know, sometime last week (Monday most probably), my phone line died. Dead, dead, dead. No landline, no Internet. It was a sad situation, especially when I realized I was getting very close to using up all of my anytime minutes on my cell phone and then learning it would take nearly a WEEK for AT&T to come out and repair the line. In the meantime, my phone would ring endlessly, even if I picked it up, but no one could hear me on the other end nor would my answering machine pick up. It was highly frustrating.

So, I'm back now, well back as long as AT&T will keep my phone line operating. I do believe this is the second time in four years that my landline has gone out like that, but the last time, I think the repair guy was out in 24 hours. Seriously, my jaw hit the floor when I found out that they couldn't get someone out here before the 11th. The good thing is, they've promised to credit my account for the length of the outage.

Now, to get to all those emails, blogs, and other various things I have missed over the past week...

What's that again?

I really don't like the phrase "The more you spend, the more you save". Huh? It doesn't make any sense. Say you can buy one shirt for $5 and you can buy two shirts for $8 or three shirts for $12. You can say it's a good deal ONLY IF you actually need three shirts. Otherwise, if you go for the $8 -- spend more to save more -- you actually spend $3 more than you otherwise planned to and if you go for the three shirts, then you've spent $7 more than you planned to. You didn't actually save money; you spent more. You just got what you were looking for for less, but in more quantity and my guess is that most people don't actually need the quantity necessary to 'save more'.

My cable company just sent me a letter that said if I bought one of their packages for $56, I would actually be saving money. Which makes no sense because my current package cost me... $0. And it's even more nonsensical because I don't have time for 160 channels and so in theory, if I 'saved' by buying their $56 package, I'd actually be paying more because out of those 160 channels, I'd probably watch less than a quarter, so I'd be paying more for the channels I was actually watching (I have a whole theory on 'cost per use' which I'll tell you about another time). So it makes no sense. They try to package it as savings, but it's really not. If you're not going to use it, it's not a savings.

Up, up and away

I have this crazy idea that you ought to be able to fly anywhere in the country for $250 or less. More than a few times, I've managed to head east for under $200 and once even got to Boston for $150 round trip. One of my favorite tools is on My Yahoo! which allows you to track flights to your favorite destinations and gives you a good idea of what the going rate is for a flight.

I've also started using farecast.com, which is essentially a forecast for airfares. It's a good guide since it shows you a trend, but I have yet to make a decision based on what farecast.com says. I also like checking what Southwest offers to a particular market because they tend to be the low-cost leaders in some, but not all markets. If you live in a hub city for an airline, chances are that airline will be the cheapest and most likely non-stop service to whereever it is you want to go.

I've also been using kayak and sidestep.com to get an idea. These are aggregate search engines that pull results from a variety of sources including the big guys at Travelocity, Expedia, Hot Wire, and a whole host of others. The good thing is, you put in one search and you get a whole lot of answers back. It saves you time and money.

Other tricks:
* Try to fly on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
* For international travel, book 6 to 8 weeks out
* For domestic travel, book 4-6 weeks out
* Try other nearby airports (within a 90-minute radius from your location, otherwise I'm not sure the savings are worth the hassle).

Airfares can change on a day to day basis. When I went to Philadelphia recently, the ticket price on a Friday was $350 and the following Saturday, the same flight had dropped to $176. I checked back on Tuesday and it was at $212 and four days later, it was at $165. So you never know. Just keep checking as your trip comes closer and when you see something you're willing to pay, just take it. The airfare may go up and it may come down. The key is to do your research ahead of time to make sure you're getting the best possible deal.

Oooh!

Video about Everest on YouTube!

ETA: They have a website!

LotD

I was looking for information on Burger King's whopper -- are they actually flame broiled or is it marketing speak? -- and came across this essay on echeat.com. Just wow. I can't imagine someone actually printing this off and turning it into a teacher. It reads nothing like 'professionally written' and makes gross generalizations and doesn't includes sources, not to mention if I can find it on google, a teacher can find it on google and that'll hurt a whole lot more than just writing the dang paper yourself.

LotD

I just tested my brain here and I'm apparently in possession of a brain that's average, which doesn't really help the ego or sense of superiority much, but okay. The attention test got me but I did pretty decent on the other two tests. However, in the interests of preserving my fragile sense of self, I'm not posting my scores here.

Sniff

Florida Girl has gone home after 5 days of wonderful visit, and she has left me with a fridge full of chocolate. It's a little scary just how much chocolate there is in my fridge. I mean, I knew she loved chocolate, but to her, it's as necessary to life as water and air. All of my mother!approved foods seemed to be hiding in the back of the fridge as part of the non-chocolate protection program. I'll rescue them in the morning.

LotD

Climbers clear a mountain of trash off Everest.

Quiz!

I stole this from jemima:

I am 52% Addicted to Coffee

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

LotD

Here's a good summation of the FanLib kerfuffle.

FanLib

Apparently fanlib.com is the latest controversy brewing in fandom. I don't plan at all to participate because I feel a wee bit uneasy over the fact money is being made on fanfiction and that's just... infringement. But the site creator answered questions over here, for those of you who may want more information. Note how many times he uses the term 'postive agent of change' or some variation thereof. Needless to say, the tone and content of his interview didn't sway me, a ficcer of more than a decade, and I doubt it'll sway much of the old guard either, especially those of us who remember the C&D letters of the 1990s or who don't see fanfiction as a commercial transaction (feedback wars aside) or particularly in need of validation from higher ups (i.e., the actual producers of media content). Thanks, but no thanks.

I bet you didn't know that...

once I was on the guest list for a Playboy party. I didn't go (principled stance) so I have nothing to report, but once, I was on the list.

Back!

I have returned, though I think as always, I need a vacation from my vacation. For those of you not in the know, I went to Philadelphia for a friend's wedding this past weekend. It was a blast and I had a great time reconnecting with all my friends from college. It was almost as if no time had passed though, it was a bit freaky for one friend to greet me, "Hey, I haven't seen you in a decade." (I corrected him -- nine years, not a decade). The wedding was great, lots of fun, and at some point, I'll have pictures of the meal, as it was very fancy and elaborate and I couldn't resist taking pictures. I'm a little nutty that way. But among friends, that's okay.

Offline

I know I owe some of you RL people phone calls and emails, but believe you me, the last five days have been really crazy. I'm taking some time away from the internets, but I will see you on the other side of the weekend.

Uh...

Flags at half-mast for Jerry Falwell? Seriously?

Electric blurr

So I got my electric bill today and it was for a (wait for it) a whopping $6.70. I'd gotten a notice a couple weeks back that said my rates were dropping by 10 percent, but this wasn't a 10 percent drop; this was an 80 percent drop. Also, $6.70 implied I'd barely used any electricity at all for the last month, which I knew was incorrect. My refrigerator must cost at least $6.70, not to mention the dishwasher, the microwave, the washer and dryer (which sorta works), my various fans, the television, the computer... It turns out I'm the beneficiary of a $25 credit for reasons unbeknownst to me, so my joy at managing to conserve electricity to the point of ridiculousness was short lived.

Still, I'm going to try to get through the month of May without turning on the AC. I'm really tempted to turn it on tonight, but I'm going to try the ceiling fan again. I current have my small fan going in the office and two of my windows are open and I'm quite comfortable, but if it weren't for the fan and the windows, there would be absolutely no moving air in my apartment.

Ah summer.

LotD

Here's a list of the what to eat and what not to eat at major restaurant chains. It's a little scary when you look at the calorie counts on some popular items and realize that that one item takes up half of your calorie allocation for the day (average person needs about 2200 calories a day) or in the case of the Colossal Burger at Ruby Tuesday's -- you eat one of those and you can maybe have a piece of celery and a cup of yogurt for the rest of the day. Scary, scary.

Surfacing

So I've been in and out of the blogosphere for the last few weeks and so I thought I owed just a tiny bit of an explanation. I was interviewing for a job and it was a pretty intense process and so a lot of my online time was spent preparing and researching for the interview and then taking an online test (3 hours!).

Once I accepted their offer, I decided to lie low during my background check. This blog is full of all sorts of things that people may or may not find offensive, so I decided to keep my fingers mostly silent or talk about things like salsa, which I'm pretty sure offends no one. I'm happy to report that I've gotten smarter since I first started blogging, but I just wanted to make sure I said nothing controversial here while people were actively looking into me.

Anyway, all is well, and I passed all of the interviews (10 in total), tests (2, including a drug test), and the background check. I gave my notice to my current company yesterday and I will be starting a new job next month. I'm really excited about the opportunity. Nervous too, of course, but excited, because I think I'll really have the chance to contribute to the new company, but also expand my own abilities.

Pop Culture

Reading: Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Listening: Fly & Wide Open Spaces, both by the Dixie Chicks
Watching: How I Met Your Mother

Shopping

I went dress shopping, or more accurately, I went on a scavanger hunt for the perfect dress on Saturday. It took me six hours, and I went to every single store in my area (including three Ann Taylors, two Ann Taylor Lofts), including the one mall I hate with a passion, and then at my wit's end, I went to a mall futher away before I found the perfect dress.

Here's what I was looking for in a dress (and keep in mind that a nice dress starts around $69 these days and I was looking for a nice dress):

• A lining was absolutely necessary
  
• A high neckline
  
• Skirt needed to at least come within an inch of the knees, if not longer
  
• The material couldn't look old or faded; an unbelievable number of dresses looked liked they'd already been through the washer/dryer 80 times before being put out for sale
  
• Should be appropriate for work, either alone or combined with a sweater or jacket
  
• Not terribly trendy; if I'm going to buy a dress that costs $69 or more, I'd want to wear it more than one season. I'm nutty that way.
  
• And note that even though I said a nice dress costs $69 or more, I didn't want to spend that much. I'm cheap that way.
  

I was indiscriminate about color, though I wasn't too keen on yellow, which seems to be the color of the season, or white, since I already have a white eyelet sundress for the season (I'm also not sure on wearing white to a wedding, which is why I wanted a new dress). I also wanted a dress that would just look nice and elegant and stylish in a classic way. I wanted nothing to do with the plunging V-necklines I saw a lot of or the slinky body-hugging LBDs that were curiously lacking in a lining.

Florida Girl said my expectations for a dress were too high and that sometimes you do have to suck it up and buy a $150 dress. But I stuck to my guns, and the end result was a dress that fit every one of my criteria. Needless to say, by the time I got home Saturday evening, I was dead tired, and I'll be happy to take a nice long break from the shopping malls, but I'm really happy with the dress and glad I did go through all of that because I have no buyer's remorse. All of this to say: define expectations and then hold out for what you want because it's well worth it if you don't have to settle.

Salsa, salsa

Since the last post was about salsa, I thought I'd post this recipe for a salsa I tried this weekend -- Avocado and Corn Salsa. It's pretty simple to make, very colorful, and just pure yum. It made a great complement to the bean & corn filling for my burritos (in a wheat tortilla). Plus, it's just another one of those great recipes that tastes wonderful but requires very little effort to please.

Two out of three tasters...

Here's an interesting article on jarred salsas. I really like Pace picante sauce, and Tostitos has a fairly decent one. I do like some of the gourmet salsas -- especially anything made with black beans and corn -- but they tend to be pricey and found only in boutique type stores which is no fun when you're a discount shopper likes yours truly. Anyway, for those of you who love salsa, it's a fun article.

Incidentally, making salsa is super easy. Take a tomato, take an onion, take a pinch of chilis, a handful of cilantro, and cut it all up, and mix it in with some lime juice. You can blend it to your degree of chunkiness. If you leave it as is, it makes a refreshing pico de gallo for a hot summer day.

Pop Culture

Reading: Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield
Listening: Little Wonders by Rob Thomas
Watching: The Office

Star trekkin' across the universe!

It's only a matter of time before Wal-Mart, Walgreens, and the Home Depot set up shop on this potentially habitable planet.

Not Ready to Make Nice

The other day, I told a friend that Bush was right about one thing: democracy could help eradicate the problem of fundamentalism in the Middle East. The problem was that the Bush administration was so steadfast in its conviction that it ignored the lessons of history and the associated needs/wants/desire of culture and religion; the result is a cauldron of simmering tensions and rage that no amount of democracy or capitalism can cure.

We make the mistake so many times of believing that what worked for America is what will work for everyone else or that people even want an America of their own. We believe so strongly that the way we do things here is the way things ought to be done. And when people disagree with us, we call them names and boycott their products. It's 2007, and we still haven't learned how to play nice.

Music, post #2

Anyone who knows me knows I love love love Hindi film songs. Recently, I got to see the movie, Abhimaan, which has one of my all-time favorite sound tracks (you can hear it here). When I was a kid, I wanted the soundtrack to Abhimaan played over and over again, almost to the exclusion of any other music (I'm surprised it wasn't banned after a while). It was so nice to listen to it again during the movie and realize that the songs have not lost any of their magic; in fact, listening again made me decide to replace the old very worn out but still steadfast tape with a CD.

My all time favorite song though is 'Kahbi Kabhi', which you can listen to here. I think it's Lata Mangeshkar at her most perfect :-)

Music!

As always, a seven day download and then it's gone.

Easy Silence from the Dixie Chicks' latest album, 'Not Ready to Make Nice'. I really enjoy the first four tracks of this one, especially the title song.

Say "Cheese!"

Cheddarvision.tv, in case you've ever wanted to watch the birth of chedder. Now you know.

MIA

I'll resurface on the other side of the weekend. Have a good one!

Is it over yet?

Larry Birkhead is the the baby daddy. Can we stop caring about this crazy cast of characters yet?

This is post #1,964

I'm an extreme saver. Other people indulge in sports like helicoptering up the side of a mountain and then skiing down in an avalanche, me, I like to save money. I like to come up with creative ways to do it, and I have this thing, that if I add an expense somewhere, I have to come up with a way to cut the expense somewhere else. It's amazing sometimes where I find the pennies and how those pennies add up. You can call it the 'latte factor', though some people discount the effect of a daily Starbucks purchase on your wallet (and waistline). This year, I wanted to find a way to save an additional $50/month to offset a $50/month expense, for a total of $600. Here's how I did it:

* Raise deductible on my car insurance to $1,000: $100/year
* 10 percent off on my cell phone by signing a new contract: $72/year
* Eating lunch out only once or twice a week instead of 4-5 times a week: $864/year (at $6/lunch)

My other favorite cost-savings measures include:

* Videos from the library instead of Blockbuster: $72/year
* Basic cable provided by the apartment: $420
* Keeping car trips to a minimum to save on gas: $240/year

I also have been buying some canned veggies lately instead of fresh and those are cheaper. But that's not necessarily because I'm cheap, but more because it's sometimes hard for me to consume all of my fresh produce quick enough before it goes bad. So for certain items -- mushrooms, olives, green beans, corn -- I'll buy canned. Nothing beats fresh tomatoes though.

Pop culture

Reading: Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir
Listening: Not Ready to Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks from the album The Long Way Home
Watching: Loreena McKennitt: Nights at the Alhambra

You again?

I seem to have gone on an unintentional writing/blogging strike, but Urban Legends are always fun to revist for content. Here's one that keeps coming back: reinstituting the draft. Urban Legends Reference Pages: Politics (Draft Fear).

Divining, part III

The tally is in, and without giving spoilers, I think I owe jemima a drabble because she did slightly better than I did on the BSG series finale predictions pool. That's if, of course, we discount revisionist history. If we don't count revisionist history, it's a tie and we're both off the hook, which is the place to be when yuo're a retired ficcer.

Divining, part II

(may contain spoilers for season 3 finale BSG; look away now if you don't want to know).

So jemima and I worked out this deal to our game to figure out what exactly is going to happen on the season finale of BSG and part of the deal was we got to revise our initial guesses after seeing this past Sunday's episode. So we've both revised and jemima's revisions are over here (her part one is over here). Mine are below, after the requisite spoiler space. If you haven't seen the first part of the season finale for season 3, look away NOW.
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
P
A
C
E
Death: Tigh
Disturbing: Tigh, Anders, and Tori are 3 of the 5 final Cylons
Decisions: Death penalty for Baltar
Divorce: Lee & Dualla
Devotion: Baltar marries Six just before his date with the airlock
Destruction: The hope of finding earth before the Cylons

Divining

Note: This post may potentially contain spoilers for season 3 BSG. If you haven't watched more than half the eps, you may want to look away AFTER the first paragraph (or even this one; I won't be insulted).

jemima and I have decided, on the basis of NO spoilers, to make our 'D' inspired predictions for the "Battlestar Galactica" season 3 finale. As of this moment in time, neither of us has seen last night's episode. So our current predictions are based on everything that's happened season to date. We retain the right, after viewing last night's ep, to revise our predictions. We had to provide guesses for five out of six proposed categories, plus one 'bonus' or 'wildcard' category of our own making. The stakes are quite high: the loser has to write the winner a drabble. If none of our predictions come true, then we're both off the hook and don't have to write drabbles at all.

So here are my guesses, with the required spoiler space. jemima will be posting hers on her blog sometime this evening. You'll have to go over there to see what she has to say since I am currently unable to provide the link. Again, I reiterate -- neither of us has seen last night's ep and we both claim to be spoiler free. That being said, you have been
W
A
R
N
E
D

My guesses are:


* Death: Anders
* Disturbing: Roslin confesses feelings for Baltar
* Destruction: Colonial One
* Decisions: Death penalty for Baltar
* Divorce: Cally & Tyrol
* Devotion: Baltar marries Six just before he meets the airlock

Only in America

I went to my first Brooks & Dunn concert yesterday. I was possibly the only person in the house who didn't know who they were or why they were popular. But I was given a free ticket and my only other plans for a Saturday night were a hot date with PBS (support your local station and make a donation NOW!). So off I went to the concert and I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it. I didn't find myself bopping to the music and the lyrics didn't particularly grab me as anything that I could identify with or relate to. I chalked it up as another experience I'd never had before and could now say with certainty that I don't ever really need to go to another Brooks & Dunn concert.

During the last song, which was kind of catchy, I suddenly heard clapping and people were getting to their feet. I looked up on the viewscreen and saw four Marines marching to the stage. I got to my feet and started clapping as well. It was an emotional scene, even for this hard-hearted anti-war liberal. I watched as they climbed the stage and stood at attention, the musicians and singers dancing around behind them. The camera panned in on the Marines' faces. They were young men, probably not more than 22, clean-cut and handsome and whole. My eyes started to tear up.

I couldn't help but wonder if these men had been to Iraq or if they were scheduled to go. I knew they must know people who had been to Iraq and I wondered if they knew some of the soldiers from our area who died at an approximate rate of one or two a month. I was sure they must know someone who was wounded in Iraq. Do they think Iraq is worth it? I wondered what they thought of the lights, the applause, the ovation, the realization that we love them now, but don't take care of them when they come home. And I want nothing more for these four young men to stay clean-cut, handsome, and whole.

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, feeling a little silly for getting all teary eyed over the situation. As I was walking out of the concert hall, I reflected on the recent troubles experieneced by McCain and Obama for using the word 'wasted' to describe the lives of soldiers lost in Iraq. They didn't misspeak. Iraq is a morass for which there is no military situation and our army is essentially standing between two sides firing at each other and our soldiers. It's a three-front battle, one that never had a connection to 9/11 -- a war conjured up by men who had never been on the battlefield themselves and with a blatant ignorance of history. This stupid war has drained our finances, has cost our soldiers their lives, has killed umpteen number of civilians, has destabalized the region, and yet we're not allowed to use 'wasted'. Only in America can the truth be so blatantly ignored.

It made me incredibly sad. Brooks & Dunn put a face to the men and women fighting for our country. But seeing their faces, more than anything I just want to bring them home so they wouldn't be subjected to such a hopelessly inarticulate experiment as Iraq has become. Of course, I would never say that at Brooks & Dunn concert, because then I would just be unpatriotic and dismissing the contribution of our troops.

Writing

I think the hardest part of stopping writing is starting up again. There is something to be said about writing something, ANYTHING, just to keep in the habit, and to an extent, I feel like this blog fulfills that quota. But nowadays, when it comes to being creative, I'm hopelessly lost and befuddled, as if I've never done this before. I'm also a lot more cautious, a lot more careful and discerning, which sounds like it could be a good thing, but it's not. The thing about writing is that you have to just go for it, with a playful abandon, with the knowledge that this thing you put down on paper, it might be any good, and that you're okay with that. That's the trick to being a writer. And it's a hard, hard one to learn.

My two cents

You know the argument that makes absolutely no sense and completely drives me batty? It's the one that runs along the lines of "Stop smoking and you'll live longer" and the immediate response is, "Well, I could get hit by a bus tomorrow and so I should enjoy smoking while I can." I hate this argument because it makes no sense. I mean, a BUS? Why are we all getting hit by buses? And there are things that we all actively do to AVOID getting hit by a bus such as not crossing in front of a moving one, or taking the tunnels or bridges or sidewalks. None of those things mean people won't get hit by a bus, but it just means we decrease the probability of that event happening.

That's the same thing with smoking or any other vice that threatens to short your lifespan in a way a raw-vegetable-and-green-tea-and-excercising-every-day lifestyle won't. Yet for some reasons, we indulge in behaviors that are downright detrimental to our health, such as driving our car* one block instead of walking or eating eight pieces of bacon and 27 hotdogs for dinner every night. We wouldn't step in front of a bus, so why do we persist in behaviors that are completely unhealthy and wrong for us? Admittedly, I get more pleasure out of a piece of cake than I do out of a stalk of celery so maybe that's what it is: we prefer to indulge in our short term pleasure and enjoyment, even if it does shorten our lifespan, instead of living a more austere, deprived life that be a certain percentage longer.

Whatever the reasons are, my point is: the 'hit by a bus tomorrow' argument is really stupid.

*An antidote to high gas prices: Drive less and smaller and walk more.

LotD

The Four Unspeakable Truths about Iraq

I gotta get that

Seen on a t-shirt at the gym: "I'm not bossy. I just have all the best ideas."

Ourselves our enemy

Honestly, the only thing missing from the following viewpoint, mho, is the burka. And what's most jaw-dropping about it is that the author is a woman.

Women no longer have a heart and love for children. Women don’t want to do their natural duties (having and caring for babies). Women want to become men, either equal to or superior in home, work, authority and government. Women have so educated the men of today, that they no longer desire marriage. So the few real women which would like to marry and raise a family are either told to go to work by their husband (to enjoy life more) or stay single for lack of a good husband. Many men just flat have no interest in the responsibilities and commitment of marriage because they are already enjoying all the benefits of marriage with some Jezebel without any responsibility or commitment. Once women become men, they are no longer needed in the home. Some have even made their man a house-husband so she can remain "out of the home" at work in the man’s role. These ladies really hate the inconvenience of children. They rather be a run around at the office and soon divorce and remarry. The divorce rate directly follows the rate of women in the work place with men.

Some men therefore, no longer look for a woman as a helpmate (wife), because women have become a threat to their manhood. What happens next? Men then look to other men for companionship instead of Women. And the frustrated woman rejected by men turns to women. It’s no secret that Sodomy is growing today, because people have rejected God’s design for the home and reproduction of the human race. And you guessed it - - WOMEN - - are a root cause"! It started in the Garden of Eden when Eve first lead the first man to complete ruin and lose with God.

Have you ever asked men what they want in a woman? They like quiet and submissive women. Not loud mouth rebellious women. Head strong, bossy, demanding, rude, over-bearing, MAUDE. They like feminine women (in the true sense) who dress like ladies in dresses and have not cut their glory off (long hair). Men do not want women who wear the pants, or men's suits and whacked off hair like men. Men like home-cooking not T.V. dinners or fast food all the time. Men want a woman to listen to them and not try to compete all the time in work, raising the children, and making decisions.

I have no words. None. It's as stunning on the fourth or fifth read as it was on the first. Of course, I understand this is an extremist view and that as a free country, everyone is entitled to extremist views; I'm sure, as a pants-wearing, hair-chopping, voting, working professional, non-married woman, I've got plenty of extremist views in the author's opinion. Let's start with the one where I don't believe women are responsible for all that's wrong with the world or the family and as a woman, I'll be the first one to support most women in most things they attempt (the exceptions being a couple of loonies on both sides of the political aisle) and hopefully succeed at.

Complete article here.

Stoup's on!

I admit, I stole 'stoup' from the omnipresent exuberant Rachel Ray. 'Stoup' is a cross between soup and stew, and in my case, it means Spanish rice gone woefully wrong but in a totally tasty way (no, I didn't splat rice all over the place! You people!). This happens to be my fallback recipe on Sunday evenings when I'm entirely too lazy to make something that requires more effort than stirring. It's quick, simple, gets all your nutrients into one pot, and did I mention it's rather inexpensive? And also that there's only one pot so clean up is a cinch? Total prep time is about 10 minutes, and total cooking time is about 40 minutes.

Ingredients

1 can garbanzo beans (or kidney beans), drained
1 can sweet corn, drained
1 can stewed tomatoes with garlic, oregano and basil
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbs vegetable oil
1 cup rice
1 cup water
1 pinch red pepper flakes
2 tbs cumin
1 pinch corinder seeds
salt & pepper & sugar to taste

1. Sautee the rice in the vegetable oil until golden brown. This is also the time to add all the red pepper flakes, cumin, corinder seeds, garlic, and onion.

2. Once the rice is golden brown, dump in the can of tomatoes, juice and all. Fill the tomato can with water and dump the water into the pot. Stir.

3. After about 5-10 minutes, add garbanzo beans and corn. Stir.

4. At about the 20 minute mark, add the green pepper. Stir.

5. Lower the heat, cover and simmer until the rice is soft. Be sure to stir occasionally. The final product will be overall watery, but mmm mmm good! Add salt, pepper and sugar, if required, for taste.

Ghosts of Rwanda

Yesterday I watched Frontline's "Ghosts of Rwanda" which has to be one of the single most disturbing films I've ever seen. I'd read about Rwanda countless times in the last decade, though to this day, I'm unsure if I even was aware of the situation when it was unfolding in the April of 1994 through July of that same year. Even knowing the story ahead didn't lessen the shock -- the stunning gut check -- of seeing the piles of bodies and the footage of all the western powers pulling out of the country, leaving countless behind to die. I wondered, as I watched the American conveys passing the people standing on the street, how many of those people are alive today?

The film traces the development of the genocide, beginning in 1993 when General Dallaire from the UN first visited the country to the assasination of the Hutu president to the brutal murder of the Belgian peacekeeping troops and through 100 days of genocide when approximately 800,000 people were slaughtered with machetes (among other things). At that rate, with primitive weapons, the extremist Hutus would have reached, if not surpassed the Holocaust, within two years. It's astonishing to me because butchery with a machete is up close and personal. It's an intimate act and yet so many people participated, even coming up on a church and somehow managing to slaughter all 5,000 Tutsis sheltered within.

The documentary has plenty of interviews including with General Dallaire, Pierre Gaillard, and Madeline Albright among others, insights, including some very touching and heroic actions taken by the few westerners left in the country, including Pierre Gaillard, who represented the Red Cross. I was left alternately stunned by the world's indifference and by the heroism of the few who stood up to the killers, the few who had no weapons except their words and mere presence to defend against an organized, ruthless campaign of extermination.

This is an extremely strong and disturbing film with appalling graphic footage, but if you can get your hands on it, you should. It's very much like visiting a concentration camp. You can read all about atrocities, you can see pictures, but until you're face to face with it directly, you cannot even fathom the pain, the suffering, the loss, the evil. As I mentioned, this film is NOT for the faint of heart, but I also think not acknowledging what has happened in the past and not bearing witness means we will let it happen again. So much for 'never again'.

Global warming?

Vermonters say winter's not what it used to be.

Hello, world!

I haven't blogged lately because I stepped up the excercise program which means that most nights this past week, I've come home, sat on the futon and promptly fell asleep. The one exception was Thursday night when I went to my book club. Today was my first day when I was able to tolerate the new regime without significant exhaustion. I did try to nap right after my lunch, but alas, my newly energetic body refused to sleep, so I ended up getting up and doing super fun things like cleaning the microwave, washing the bathroom rugs, and dusting the crown molding. I really hope your Saturday was more fun than mine.

To the top of the world (or nearly so)

Alex Voy, whom some of you know from her fabulous Trek fics, is blogging about her preparations to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro this year. And you know me -- I'm a sucker for a good mountain story. So go over there and root her on. This is way cool.

Note to self

Never, ever say something remotely negative about a mutual acquaintance. It will never, ever end well.

Tech post

For the record, I have NO idea why some of my posts' comment boxes says 'archived' instead of 'comment'. Usually, that transition happens at the 30-day mark, not the 30-second-after-publishing mark. I'll look into it, but I doubt it'll bug you guys as much as it bugs me.

LotD

I can't always claim originality on my links of the day, so today's tip of the hat goes to a friend who shall remain anonymous (unless ze outs hirself on this blog): The Crusie Mayer Writing Workshop 2007. I haven't had a chance to look at in-depth, but it's an online workshop, complete with a syllabus and articles on what worked for the writers in question. This week, they're discussing Point of View, which can be a pretty hairy topic. The topics on the syllabus look pretty neat and relevant. With the disclaimer that I haven't looked at it completely and thoroughly in place, the quick review suggests this site could be a good resource for those of us who need a kick in the pants to get going again.

LotD

I found this site called Six New Things. Every month, it tells you about 6 new things to do/see/appreciate in 70 locations, mostly US and Canada. The things range from new stores to art exhibits to new restaurants. It looks really cool. Anyway, just a head's up. :-)

Lifty thoughts

I spend about 5 to 10 minutes of every morning and every evening on the elevator. The elevator in the parking garage is a 5-story ride and mostly filled with people just like me -- disgruntled that it's morning and that we're crowded into a little box and hoping that the door doesn't open one more time to let even more people on. The parking garage ride is usually very quiet and no one smiles or makes eye contact.

The office ride is much longer and can be more pleasant. It's a 59-story express elevator, which is a really, really long time to spend ignoring the other people in the elevator with you. Plus, you end up riding up and down with the same people every day and so there's casual conversation every now and then. Then there's another elevator after that and it usually is grumpy, whether it's morning or afternoon, because there's nothing express about it; you stop to let people off, to let people on, and the more people the slower your ride down.

All of these elevator dynamics change at quitting time as everyone makes a spirited beeline to the lobby. The atmosphere is much more chatty and we make room for more and more people to squish in, as if we're in a contest to see how many people can fit in a single elevator. It's like we all finally woke up at the end of an 8-hour day and are ready to get on with the business of being a part of life.

Little Miss Sunshine


I finally got around to seeing this movie this past weekend and it was a delightful treat, much better than "Thank You For Smoking", which I'd originally been more interested in. "Little Miss Sunshine" is the most dysfunctional family movie around, but it's charming and sweet and funny in its own idiosyncratic way. The movie takes the old convention of a family roadtrip and spins it around, populating its yellow VW bus with a stressed out housewife, a failed motivational singer, a gay scholar who just tried to commit suicide, a Nietsche fan who doesn't speak, a grandfather with more than a few vices, and of course, Little Miss Sunshine herself, the effervescent Abigail Breslin.

The humor in the film starts out on a subtle note and becomes more and more slapstick and more predictable as the movie progresses, but somehow that didn't bother me. On the contrary, my amusement level grows as the roadtrip from hell means these disparate characters are forced to interact with each other on levels they're not used to, and how their relationships change and how they work together to get Olive to the Little Miss Sunshine pagent is wonderful. The acting is very good, the dialogue is sharp and funny (though a note here on some bad language and adult humor -- despite the young main character, it's not a children's movie). Definitely one of my favorite movies of the Oscar season.

My hips don't lie

In December, my aunt and I were having a conversation about taxes and I said that I was planning to do my own and then have my dad check them over. I've been doing my own taxes since I graduated from college. I first started using the workbooks and worksheets and have since gone on to software. I equate the process to how you have to learn how to add and subtract on paper before you move on to the calculator. During the course of our conversation, I mentioned to my aunt I was compiling a list of things every woman should know.

A lot of the things we came up with seem self-explanatory but it's amazing to me how many women will flinch from doing them or even learning how to do it. Knowledge, I think, is just as important as experience. I know the process of how to change oil in a car but that doesn't mean I'm going to change the oil in my car. It simply means I know what the mechanic ought to be doing and how to check his work and make sure that he did install a new oil filter. It's nice to have someone else to depend on who knows how to do some of these things or to pay someone else to do the work, but it's not always possible or affordable. Plus, I think there's a special kind of pride that comes with independence, the knowledge you can depend on yourself no matter what.

Most of the things we came up with fall into typical male gender roles -- finances (taxes, investing in the stock market), car related (Jump-starting a car, changing a tire, putting air into a tire) or yard work a(mowing the lawn). Those are the big ones in my mind because so often I hear other women telling me they leave those kinds of things to their significant others. I hate to be a downer, ladies, but what happens when the SO is no longer around? Women outlive men and tragedy is not the time to start learning some of these things that we traditionally delegate because it's not what we women traditionally do.

Modest is as modest does

I've been fascinated by Lydia of Purple at http://www.modestapparelchristianclothinglydiaofpurpledressescustomsewing.com/ and not just because of the appallingly long URL. It's like a peek into a whole 'nother culture. While I'm all about not letting it all hang out, I wonder if dressing this old-fashioned (no, 1901 was NOT the height of fashion, I'm sorry) doesn't attract even more attention than simply wearing a long skirt and a sweater set. I do think the dresses with bloomers for little girls are adorable. I just wouldn't want to wear them when I've reached the double-digit ages.

I also learned about Ladies Against Feminism today and Prairie Muffins. It was a very educational day. I like coming face to face with beliefs that are not my own, but in this case, there wasn't even a challenge. I can't even imagine living a life like that described in the Prairie Muffin Manifesto; I'm way too snarky, moody, cranky, and selfish to set a good example for anyone.

LotD

Microsoft is offering free 60-day trials of their new 2007 Office Suite over here. You can also find out which product you are over here. Not surprisingly, loquocious me came out as MS Word 2007.

LotD

This story about the astronaut hunting down her rival for the affections of another astronaut is just so... weird. So Jerry Springer. I heard lots of people talk about it today, and most people just couldn't believe it and a friend opined that it was the water down in Clearlake (where NASA is) that caused the astronaut to get in her car and drive to Florida, apparently wearing a trench coat, a wig, and a diaper.

A woman at the Y kept saying, "But she's an ASTRO-NOUGHT, an ASTRO-NOUGHT. ASTRO-NOUGHTS don't do things like that." And because I couldn't take the high pitched capitalized pronounciation of ASTRO-NOUGHT for a second longer, I said, "This is what happens to people who hang out in places without atmosphere."

There was silence. Sometimes, I really do just kill a room.

Super Bowl Sunday

I spent most of Super Bowl Sunday with a massive headache due to standing way too close to a space heater Saturday night (this is my only explanation as a) I went to bed around 11, b) I didn't have anything to drink at all and c) I didn't inhale any second hand smoke). As a result, I was completely out of it for the game and it took me until nearly halftime to realize who was actually playing (I'm still not sure -- the Colts and someone else, right?). A friend tried to explain to me what a time-out was and why the red flag was actually yellow, but I was more interested in a bottle of Advil at the moment and waved off the explanation.

What I did enjoy was the halftime show -- Yeah Prince! -- and the commercials. My favorite commercial would have to be a Bud Light (Budweiser?) commercial when this couple is driving down a dark road and they pick up a hitchhiker who is carrying both a six pack and an axe. That was pretty funny. As was the Oprah and David Letterman bit. And a couple of the Dorito commercials. It's the first Super Bowl I've seen since the infamous Janet reveal and it was fun, but I was more than ready to call it a night after halftime. I'm sorry, football fans, but I just can't get into your game.

ps. Don't stand too close to an oil-fired space heater. You'll thank me in the morning.

Statute of Limitations

Anyone who knows me well knows there's nothing I like better than an all expense-paid guilt trip. I will feel guilty about anything and everything, some of it valid but mostly not. If I step on your foot by accident, you can be sure I'll feel guilty about it for the next two weeks and I will discuss to death whether or not you really accepted my apology and oh God, what could I have done better as to have avoided the foot-step in the first place?

But at some point, it's time to let go. Sometimes, I ruminate for only a few minutes, other times for hours, and every now and then for months and years. There's no hard and fast rule, but usually when it comes to other people, especially people I've cared about, the guilt lingers a lot longer. There are definitely ways I've acted, things that I've done, that I wish I could take back. Sometimes I felt forced into acting a certain way that was unlike myself, sometimes I did it all on my own with no provocation. The end result is that someone is hurt and it is, to an extent, my fault.

My goal is always to treat people the way I want to be treated. I fall short of that. When I fall short, I feel guilty. I'd like nothing more than to beg forgiveness from the people in question, but it's not realistic, it's not practical. Sometimes forgiving myself is really what's needed to move on. There's no reason to re-open a situation and discuss it to death, when there's nothing to be gained and even sadder, nothing to be lost. Especially when you take time into consideration, that the people who have been hurt have found their ways to cope and move on without you. There's never an absolution, but I'm pretty sure there's no need because what we want most from the people we hurt is the one thing they can never truly give us to our satisfaction.

God sleeps in Rwanda

The Fainter and I went to see God Sleeps in Rwanda at the Holocaust Museum the other night and I've spent the last two days kind of processing the very idea that we were sitting in a HOLOCAUST MUSEUM watching a film about genocide that happened only 12 years ago and that there is a genocide going on RIGHT NOW in the Sudan. Sometimes I think we say we'll never forget and then we do, because it's happening somewhere else to people who aren't us and whom we have no real connection to. What I find incredible is how no one in the international community acted. Could someone somewhere have done something to stop the machete-killing spree? Who knows? It's impossible to second-guess, but to have done nothing at all...

The film itself is more uplifting than you'd think it'd be. It's about women in Rwanda, what happened to them during the genocide, and then how they've managed to move ahead and not only that, gain greater rights and equality in Rwandan society than they've ever had before. As someone pointed out on Tuesday evening, it's a tragic irony that nearly a million people had to die in 100 days in order for women to make these strides for it wouldn't have happened otherwise.

If you have a moment, you can send an email to your congress person about Darfur. If you go to savedarfur.org, they have a form letter and all you have to do is fill in your name and your zip code and they'll send off the email. It'll take two minutes of your time. The one good thing here is that President Bush has recognized what's happening in the Sudan as genocide; President Clinton never acknowledged that in Rwanda until many years later. So while we have the President's attention, go ahead and fill out the email and maybe this time we can do something.

LotD

Do you have a secret? These people do. Some of them are funny, others are poignant, and they're all interesting. So what's your secret?

And Battlestar fans will like this gag reel from season 3. Minor spoilers (or a major one, but I'm not sure if it's an actual spoiler or a foiler), of course, but very amusing. Note: Bad language and a few very amusing shots at the President (and I don't mean Roslin or even Baltar).

Pass the envelope please...

The winners for the 10th SNW contest were announced earlier last week over here and I completely missed all of the excitement in the hijinks I call Real Life (tm). Trek people, you may see a familiar name or two on the list. I know there were at least a few people on there I was very happy for. Can we raise a virtual margarita for the winners? Hooray! I'm not in Trek fandom any more, but it's definitely nice to see this book come out, and not just a little sad to know it's the last one.

Nostalgia

Blogger's been a pain lately, but today I persisted and so here we are, the first blog entry in a while. I was going to write about politics some more and about how women are their own worst enemy and if Liberia -- LIBERIA -- can have a woman president, what the hell is the matter with us? But enough about politics, because that's the future, and I'm more into the past these days. Not into the past in that self-defeating, anxiety-ridden way I have about me, but more in that golden "those were the days" kind of away. Mostly this has been brought up by two songs I heard on the radio lately and now I'm dying -- DYING -- to get copies of, even though I know they will drive everyone nuts because that's the kind of songs they are.

The songs I'm thinking about, that have specific memories associated with them, are "(And I would walk) 500 miles" and "What's going on?" C'mon, you children of the late '80s and early '90s', you know EXACTLY what songs these are and I bet to this day, you can scream at the top of your lungs, "WHAT'S GOING ON?" and I hope that you have someone in your life you'd walk 500 miles for. But the point of this is these songs remind me of my swim team, of when we used to sit under a big tent at the all-day district event, waiting for our 30 seconds of race (or in my case, the occasional 8-minute race as I did compete on the district level in the 500-meter freestyle -- 20 laps -- and the 100-meter breast stroke -- 4 laps).

We used to be known as the team to beat until a private club came along with an amazing coach (who, incidentally, was responsible for my breast stroke, which I competed in at the state level). And so we'd sit there at the district meet, our tent next to the private club tent, and just to annoy those snooty rich kids -- some of whom used to be on OUR team -- we'd turn up the stereo and we'd scream "WHAT'S GOING ON?" And then we'd sing at the top of our lungs, "And I would walk 500 miles, and I'd would walk 500 miles," in that rat-tat-tat staccato rhythm. And we would sing those two songs over and over again ALL DAY LONG. Even though we'd lost our first place standing to the private club, we were bigger and louder than them and we were giving them warning: we're right behind you. Just give us time.

It was totally awesome. Annoying, but awesome.

Prediction

I meant to say this yesterday but Blogger was acting up, but my guess is that John Edwards will secure the Democratic nomination. He's not the front runner right now, but he'll probably be chosen on 'electability' versus Obama and Clinton. I've been reading some comments on Clinton and I've been aghast by some of the things people have been saying, like one person called her 'unladylike' for wanting power and someone else called her the not-so-nice 'c' word and someone else said something to the effect of "if she can't keep her husband in line, how is she supposed to be president?" Puh-lease. I won't deny that I'm completely in Hillary's camp. I wasn't a couple days ago, but now I am. She is a smart, independent woman who has won respect on both sides of the aisle and has worked hard during her time in Congress. She deserves the respect all of the other candidates receive (ha!).

And for something completely jaw-dropping, read Howard Kurtz's article about Obama's schooling at a 'madrassa' at age 6. Apparently FOX News was all over this story, even though the allegations were thinly sourced and completely irrelevent; CNN has debunked the story here, though I'm pretty sure people will say it's just the liberal media covering up for their own. I don't have a high opinion of FOX News, which despite calling itself "fair and balanced" is decidedly not so, but I did think they'd do better than pick up a single source story from a newspaper and report on it without confirming it.

Sometimes I can't believe I share a country with these people.

You go, girl!

Hillary's in!

LotD

Two semi-related LoTDs. First, apparently one can ignore the US Supreme Court's rulings; just ask the Texas Supreme Court. The second link is Dallas-based: Man exonerated by new DNA technology after spending more than half his life in prison. And people wonder why I'm against the death penalty...

ETA: Here's a phishing quiz offered by the WP. Can you tell a real email from a fake one? I wasn't quite as savvy as I thought I was.

Sacrifice by any other name

I watched Jim Lehrer's interview with the president this evening even though I can't normally stand Bush -- either looking or listening -- but it's cold and icy here and I don't have cable and the Lehrer News Hour seemed like the appropriate thing to do while huddled under a fleece blanket on my futon. Plus, I was rather struck by President Bush actually admitting that things could have been differently and ::gasp:: taking responsibility for some of his actions. In fact, he wasn't as annoyingly brash and arrogant as he usually is. And then came this glorious, glorious piece of insight from our President. I still haven't picked my jaw up off the ground.

MR. LEHRER: Let me ask you a bottom-line question, Mr. President. If it is as important as you've just said - and you've said it many times - as all of this is, particularly the struggle in Iraq, if it's that important to all of us and to the future of our country, if not the world, why have you not, as president of the United States, asked more Americans and more American interests to sacrifice something? The people who are now sacrificing are, you know, the volunteer military - the Army and the U.S. Marines and their families. They're the only people who are actually sacrificing anything at this point.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, you know, I think a lot of people are in this fight. I mean, they sacrifice peace of mind when they see the terrible images of violence on TV every night. I mean, we've got a fantastic economy here in the United States, but yet, when you think about the psychology of the country, it is somewhat down because of this war.

Now, here in Washington when I say, "What do you mean by that?," they say, "Well, why don't you raise their taxes; that'll cause there to be a sacrifice." I strongly oppose that. If that's the kind of sacrifice people are talking about, I'm not for it because raising taxes will hurt this growing economy. And one thing we want during this war on terror is for people to feel like their life's moving on, that they're able to make a living and send their kids to college and put more money on the table. And you know, I am interested and open-minded to the suggestion, but this is going to be -

I'm sure Al-Qaeda is quaking in its boots now that it knows the American people are sacrificing 'peace of mind'. And I wonder how the military families feel about the statement that the vast majority of Americans are moving on, sending their kids to college, when they're sending their kids to fight in Baghdad. Just. Wow. Full transcript from the interview available here.

Musical blog

This is post 1,928. Wow. And to celebrate, I'm sharing one of my favorite songs with you: Life for Rent by Dido. Usual rules apply. The song is available for 7 days from today and after that, it's completely unavailable (no, I will not email it or re-upload).

You can find the song here.

Enjoy!

Hurts so good

Today I added 5 kg to my bar in body pump. I already fell asleep for three hours after the class and now that I'm resurfacing, it's a little like being a jellyfish underwater -- that's how intimately I'm conversing currently with all body muscles. I want to say I like it, but I find it difficult to think or move and boy, the kitchen in my little apartment seems sooooo far away to go for a cup of tea.

Blue jean baby queen

I had a really insightful blog thought today. Sometime during the day, I had a thought and then I thought some more and then I thought, "Wow, I should put that in my blog because that's really important and exciting and interesting." And now, fast forward many hours from when all that thinking was happening and after a long day of meetings at work, after a workout at the gym, and dinner and a couple of household chores and episode of THE BEST SHOW ON TELEVISION (tm), I am drawing a complete blank. I really hate that. How can I possibly be taken seriously as a blogger when I don't even remember what it was I was supposed to blog? ::sigh::

Meantime, I heard a rumor about President Bush admitting that the Iraq policy of the past year has not worked. I say 'rumor' because I refuse -- REFUSE -- to hear that man's voice or see his face in my house. But apparently, he did say it and there's something about 'surge' and 'accelerate' which I really think means 'escalate' and please, does he think we're so stupid that we need a "Wag the Dog" slogan for every piece of strategery he comes up with?

Also, I'm not enjoying IE7. Mozilla died on me today and so I'm surfing with the spawn of Bill Gates and holy Mother of Tom DeLay, if it isn't slow and tedious. I take back my lukewarm review from the other day, because tabs glorious tabs or not, I'm not a big fan of the "click and we'll maybe show you your page 20 minutes later" school of browser.

A start

Schwarznegger is talking about universal health care in California. I'm glad to note that my home state of Vermont already has it. I don't know if a system like Canada or the European countries is the way to go, but something has to be done to take care of the 40 million people who lack even basic care, not to mention the skyrocketing premiums for those of us who do have health insurance provided by employers. I don't know if Schwarznegger's plan is the solution, but at least he's taking action.

Write in it

A friend recently asked why I don't write as much anymore and I was pretty stymied by the question because I do still like to write, I just... don't. Part of it is a discipline issue. I don't have the discipline to sit at the computer any more after being at work all day and typing and researching and writing. I used to think I'd never get sick of the computer or the Internet, but there you have it -- there are some nights when I come home and don't even turn on the computer (hence the lack of bloggity lately).

But I think a lot of my non-writing has to do with the lack of community. When I first got online, I found the Story Exchange (Hi Harry!) and there was a vibrant community and lots of talent and sparkling wit and just a lot of support there. It was a lot of fun to login into the site, read the new stories, discuss them, and talk about writing-related matters on the forum, as well as esoteric topics like spumante. Then there was ASC, Trek fandom's gathering place (or at least one of them), and there were tons of very cool people there, and again, vibrant community with lots of ideas flying back and forth. It's easy to write in an environment that's full of energy and ideas. And honestly, I wanted nothing more than to be a part of those communities and for membmership, I had to write.

These days, the writing forums I used to frequent are dead or close to dead. Many of the people I used to talk to have moved on to other things or have changed their pennames and left no forwarding addresses. My RL is also a lot busier and I don't have the time or patience to be online for hours anymore doing the work required to establish a presence and personality in an online forum or develop online relationships beyond the ones I already have and maintain. And so I don't write as much because the motivation I had -- to be part of a group -- has essentially evaporated and the intrinsic motivation has all but disappeared.

But I have been feeling the urge to write again more and more lately and there are a few non-fiction essay ideas ruminating in my head. One of these days, I'll just force myself to sit down and write them down. I've found that the hardest part is just getting started. Once I get past the first few paragraphs, it's a little like flying and the words and ideas take over and there's no feeling quite like it in the world. I'll keep you posted.

LotD

Here are the allocations for DHS' funds. So are you a top tier terrorist threat too? (Say that 10 times fast!)

LotD

I don't agree with neocon Charles Krauthammer that often, but I think he articulated the reasons why Saddam's execution is a complete disaster perfectly.

I also think Newsweek summed it best in a story in its latest issue (the one with Gerald Ford on the cover) when they wrote, from a historical perspective which does not sugarcoat any of Saddam's atrocities or crimes: "... what Saddam achieved for his country came at a terrible cost, and of the countless problems he reated and perpetuated, his death solves none."