Perceptions
There's this person I have known of for quite some time. Until recently, however, I had never formally met this person. Despite that, I had formed an opinion. Kind of. I wasn't quite sure if I liked this person or not. I was leaning toward "not," though. Because of my former job, I wasn't quite sure if this person liked me, didn't like me or never gave me a second thought. But after meeting this person, and getting to know him/her a little bit, I decided I do like him/her, and I think this person likes me a little bit, too. At least he/she tolerates me and we have fairly decent conversations. I guess that just goes to show you (me) that you can't make snap judgments about people.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Yet Another Weird Dream
The Best Friend and I have a mutual friend (let's call him "John") who we haven't heard from in ages. Actually, I haven't heard from him since graduation. I think The Best Friend has seen him once since then. Every once in a while, The Best Friend and I wonder what happened to him. We think he's a doctor of some kind, though. So, anyway, here's the dream.
I was at my grandparents' house and there was some kind of family gathering because my sister and her kids were there. There was some kind of commotion outside so I went to see what it was. There was a car being towed away. I looked at the guy who was putting the car on the tow truck. It was John. I smiled at him and, eventually, he realized it was me, smiled, then walked up the stairs to come and talk to me. We talked for a while, then decided to go someplace, have coffee and talk some more. I went inside to tell everyone I was leaving. My sister got all pissy and said something sarcastic like "Sure, you go have a good time. Don't worry about anything that's going on here." I said "I know you just had a fight with your husband but don't take it out on me." (In the dream, I knew I was talking about her ex-husband, not her current husband, with whom she has a great relationship.) Then I left with John. He told me to get in the tow truck, which I did. Then, before I knew it, the truck just started moving. Before he got in. I kept trying to look around to see if I could see him somewhere, thinking that there was some other way he could have control of the truck other than being in the driver's seat. Although the truck was going really fast, it seemed to be under control. Anyway, that's all of that dream I remember. I think, since I had weird driving dreams in which I wasn't in control two nights in row, it's my subconscious worrying about the crazy drivers around here.
You know what? Now I know that's what it is. Just as I was typing that, I remembered something that happened when I was driving home from play practice last night. I was at a four-way-stop-sign intersection. When I got to my stop sign, there wasn't anyone else at the other stops. Just as I was about to pull into the intersection, a car came zooming up the street, didn't stop at the stop sign, then whipped through the intersection right in front of me. As the vehicle went by me, I noticed that it was an unmarked cop car. No excuse. If I wasn't a conscientious driver, there would have been an accident, and it would have been the cop's fault. Doubtful the courts would see it that way, though.
The Best Friend and I have a mutual friend (let's call him "John") who we haven't heard from in ages. Actually, I haven't heard from him since graduation. I think The Best Friend has seen him once since then. Every once in a while, The Best Friend and I wonder what happened to him. We think he's a doctor of some kind, though. So, anyway, here's the dream.
I was at my grandparents' house and there was some kind of family gathering because my sister and her kids were there. There was some kind of commotion outside so I went to see what it was. There was a car being towed away. I looked at the guy who was putting the car on the tow truck. It was John. I smiled at him and, eventually, he realized it was me, smiled, then walked up the stairs to come and talk to me. We talked for a while, then decided to go someplace, have coffee and talk some more. I went inside to tell everyone I was leaving. My sister got all pissy and said something sarcastic like "Sure, you go have a good time. Don't worry about anything that's going on here." I said "I know you just had a fight with your husband but don't take it out on me." (In the dream, I knew I was talking about her ex-husband, not her current husband, with whom she has a great relationship.) Then I left with John. He told me to get in the tow truck, which I did. Then, before I knew it, the truck just started moving. Before he got in. I kept trying to look around to see if I could see him somewhere, thinking that there was some other way he could have control of the truck other than being in the driver's seat. Although the truck was going really fast, it seemed to be under control. Anyway, that's all of that dream I remember. I think, since I had weird driving dreams in which I wasn't in control two nights in row, it's my subconscious worrying about the crazy drivers around here.
You know what? Now I know that's what it is. Just as I was typing that, I remembered something that happened when I was driving home from play practice last night. I was at a four-way-stop-sign intersection. When I got to my stop sign, there wasn't anyone else at the other stops. Just as I was about to pull into the intersection, a car came zooming up the street, didn't stop at the stop sign, then whipped through the intersection right in front of me. As the vehicle went by me, I noticed that it was an unmarked cop car. No excuse. If I wasn't a conscientious driver, there would have been an accident, and it would have been the cop's fault. Doubtful the courts would see it that way, though.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Another Installment of Weird Dreams
An "ex" of mine, who had my car, picked me up from work. In my dream, the street, which IRL only has stop signs 'til the end of it, had four traffic lights instead of the stop signs. The "ex" drove through the first red light, which bothered me a little bit, but not too terribly bad because we could see that there were no other cars at the intersection. However, at the next two intersections, we couldn't see if there were other vehicles but he drove through the red lights anyway. I told him if he did that again, I was going to get out and walk home. He laughed, then did it again. I told him to stop the car so I could get out. He didn't, but I got out anyway and walked home. I assumed he and my car would be waiting for me there. They weren't. He didn't show up for two more days.
An "ex" of mine, who had my car, picked me up from work. In my dream, the street, which IRL only has stop signs 'til the end of it, had four traffic lights instead of the stop signs. The "ex" drove through the first red light, which bothered me a little bit, but not too terribly bad because we could see that there were no other cars at the intersection. However, at the next two intersections, we couldn't see if there were other vehicles but he drove through the red lights anyway. I told him if he did that again, I was going to get out and walk home. He laughed, then did it again. I told him to stop the car so I could get out. He didn't, but I got out anyway and walked home. I assumed he and my car would be waiting for me there. They weren't. He didn't show up for two more days.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
I Hope You're Not Bored With This
I'm having a blast doing the play! In fact, I can't even believe how much fun I'm having. Yesterday the director told me she didn't know how I was doing the sound of the alien walker but it was perfect. I said "Well, I kind of feel like I'm the star of the show ... Anne Holliday as the alien walker." Everyone laughed and the stage manager joked that they'll put that in the next press release. The thing is, most of these people don't know that saying stuff like that will encourage me to be more of a ham and publicity hound.
Anyway, I still get butterflies and the shakes before every rehearsal. The theater veterans tell me that's normal. I'm just hoping the shakes and nerves don't get so bad that I blow it when we have an audience. Nah. I'm sure I'll be fine for my stage debut. Actually, it's not really my debut. I was on stage for piano recitals when I was a kid. And I guess you could count my speaking gigs for my book as being on stage, too. I think what's making me so nervous is that, with the other things, it was all me. If I blew it, I would be the only person who looked bad. This, however, is an ensemble and other people are depending on me to be good. Oh geez. I'll be fine. I better be. Yikes. I'm starting to get nervous all over again and the next rehearsal isn't for 30 more hours.
I'm having a blast doing the play! In fact, I can't even believe how much fun I'm having. Yesterday the director told me she didn't know how I was doing the sound of the alien walker but it was perfect. I said "Well, I kind of feel like I'm the star of the show ... Anne Holliday as the alien walker." Everyone laughed and the stage manager joked that they'll put that in the next press release. The thing is, most of these people don't know that saying stuff like that will encourage me to be more of a ham and publicity hound.
Anyway, I still get butterflies and the shakes before every rehearsal. The theater veterans tell me that's normal. I'm just hoping the shakes and nerves don't get so bad that I blow it when we have an audience. Nah. I'm sure I'll be fine for my stage debut. Actually, it's not really my debut. I was on stage for piano recitals when I was a kid. And I guess you could count my speaking gigs for my book as being on stage, too. I think what's making me so nervous is that, with the other things, it was all me. If I blew it, I would be the only person who looked bad. This, however, is an ensemble and other people are depending on me to be good. Oh geez. I'll be fine. I better be. Yikes. I'm starting to get nervous all over again and the next rehearsal isn't for 30 more hours.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Tales of the Traffic Law Challenged Part 8
I hesitate to put this in Tales of the Traffic Law Challenged because the problem may be mine, not the other drivers'. You see, I think my car is invisible. What other explanation could there be for 7 (Count 'em ... seven) drivers in the past two days pulling their vehicles in front of mine and nearly causing collisions? Could they have been blinded by the sun? No, because I was facing the sun. Besides, two of the incidents happened at night. Were they driving emergency vehicles with sirens blaring and lights flashing on their way to a horrific accident or fire? No, they were just regular people pulling out of parking lots and driving through intersections. Were they freakin' morons who don't know how to drive and/or have no consideration for other drivers and traffic laws? Uh, yeah. Probably. I guess this post is titled correctly after all.
I hesitate to put this in Tales of the Traffic Law Challenged because the problem may be mine, not the other drivers'. You see, I think my car is invisible. What other explanation could there be for 7 (Count 'em ... seven) drivers in the past two days pulling their vehicles in front of mine and nearly causing collisions? Could they have been blinded by the sun? No, because I was facing the sun. Besides, two of the incidents happened at night. Were they driving emergency vehicles with sirens blaring and lights flashing on their way to a horrific accident or fire? No, they were just regular people pulling out of parking lots and driving through intersections. Were they freakin' morons who don't know how to drive and/or have no consideration for other drivers and traffic laws? Uh, yeah. Probably. I guess this post is titled correctly after all.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Dance Class
This has nothing to do with anything that's going on in my life right now. It's just a story my Mom told me last night.
When I was a kid, I took ballet & tap dancing lessons. I don't remember how many people were in the class but, I think it was about 15. Anyway, parents were allowed to stay and watch the lessons because the studio was a fairly long drive for most people. So, during one of the lessons, the teacher had us do a routine combining all the steps we'd learned during the last few lessons. My Mom told me that during the routine she was really embarrassed because I wasn't doing anything the other students were doing. However, after the routine, the teacher said "It seems Anne was the only one paying attention because she's the only one who got it right."
That kinda seems weird to me because I'm an accident-prone uncoordinated mess when it comes to dancing. Maybe if I'd stuck with it back then ... No. Even my ability to follow directions wouldn't turn me into a good dancer.
This has nothing to do with anything that's going on in my life right now. It's just a story my Mom told me last night.
When I was a kid, I took ballet & tap dancing lessons. I don't remember how many people were in the class but, I think it was about 15. Anyway, parents were allowed to stay and watch the lessons because the studio was a fairly long drive for most people. So, during one of the lessons, the teacher had us do a routine combining all the steps we'd learned during the last few lessons. My Mom told me that during the routine she was really embarrassed because I wasn't doing anything the other students were doing. However, after the routine, the teacher said "It seems Anne was the only one paying attention because she's the only one who got it right."
That kinda seems weird to me because I'm an accident-prone uncoordinated mess when it comes to dancing. Maybe if I'd stuck with it back then ... No. Even my ability to follow directions wouldn't turn me into a good dancer.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Fianle Post
Here are my thoughts on the BB6 finale:
Eric & Jennifer justified my feelings of dislike for them. They are vile people. Michael, however, showed a lot of class in his remarks.
The look on Ivette's face when Julie pulled out the final key was priceless. You could almost see her thinking "I should have taken Janelle with me to the final two."
I felt bad for Beau when Ivette came out of the house, practically pushed him aside, and hugged Eric. That was a pretty crappy thing to do. Most BB fans will get the pun ... and I hope they'll forgive me for it.
I'm glad Julie told the jury that Kaysar got 82 percent of the vote in the America's Choice. I think it threw the nerd herd for a loop. That, and how little applause they got. Even James got more than Jennifer and April. Watching April trying to talk her way out of calling the viewers "pieces of shit" was hilarious ... and pathetic.
I'm glad Janelle and Kaysargot the most applause.
I'm glad Howie's vote was the tie-breaker. Fitting for "the star of the show."
Okie dokie. Buh-bye BB ... 'til next year.
Here are my thoughts on the BB6 finale:
Eric & Jennifer justified my feelings of dislike for them. They are vile people. Michael, however, showed a lot of class in his remarks.
The look on Ivette's face when Julie pulled out the final key was priceless. You could almost see her thinking "I should have taken Janelle with me to the final two."
I felt bad for Beau when Ivette came out of the house, practically pushed him aside, and hugged Eric. That was a pretty crappy thing to do. Most BB fans will get the pun ... and I hope they'll forgive me for it.
I'm glad Julie told the jury that Kaysar got 82 percent of the vote in the America's Choice. I think it threw the nerd herd for a loop. That, and how little applause they got. Even James got more than Jennifer and April. Watching April trying to talk her way out of calling the viewers "pieces of shit" was hilarious ... and pathetic.
I'm glad Janelle and Kaysargot the most applause.
I'm glad Howie's vote was the tie-breaker. Fitting for "the star of the show."
Okie dokie. Buh-bye BB ... 'til next year.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Penultimate BB6 Post, Plus Some Other Stuff
As much as I dislike Maggie, I want her to win. Why? So Ivette realizes she made the wrong choice by picking "The Friendship" over the money. Normally, I would say that picking a friend over money is a good thing. However, this is a game and the object of it is to win $500,000. For weeks, Ivette said she was playing for her family because they need the money so badly. But when Janelle offered her a deal, she didn't take it. As Janelle said in her final question to Ivette (according to a BB6 message board), by not taking the deal she threw away $450,000. Is a friendship with Maggie, a manipulative wench, really worth that much money?
Anyway, I'm still lovin' the job. I worked on the newsletter today. I have never worked with MS Publisher before but, I found it's easier than Quark so I'm not really having a problem. The only bad thing about working there is that I had to switch places where I get my morning coffee. I like my favorite place better (hence, the reason it's my favorite place) but my second favorite place is donating 25 cents for every cup of coffee they sell to the Red Cross for hurricane relief. I guess it wouldn't look too good if I was carrying around a cup from the other place.
Play practice is going well. We got our revised SFX scripts last night and, for our first run-through with the added sound effects, we did a pretty good job, I think. At one point, I had to crinkle a plastic bag to make a crackling fire sound. When I was finished, the tech director/sound guy/playwright came over and told me it took him a couple of seconds to realize the static in his headphones was actually my sound effect. That was a good thing. Tonight, he's bringing extra headphones so we get to actually hear the sounds the way the audience will. As a side note, ever since I started taking the anti-depressant, I've noticed I bruise a lot easier. I'm accident prone so it's not unusual for me to find bruises and have no idea where they came from. Now it's worse. However, this morning I did know how I got the bruise on the palm of my hand. One of my sound effects involves pounding a big, plastic trash can on the floor so it sounds like the gigantic alien walkers. Until last night, I was just dropping the trash can. But we decided pounding it was better. Unfortunately, the pressure of holding and banging, bruised my hand. Good thing I love theater. ;) There is a plus side, though. When I bang the trash can, I get to take out all my agressions.
Speaking of agressions, I have one less thing to be upset about now. After more than three years, my nightmare is over. It feels pretty good when the Superior Court rules in your favor. And the story even gave me a little free publicity for my book, Actual Malice.
As much as I dislike Maggie, I want her to win. Why? So Ivette realizes she made the wrong choice by picking "The Friendship" over the money. Normally, I would say that picking a friend over money is a good thing. However, this is a game and the object of it is to win $500,000. For weeks, Ivette said she was playing for her family because they need the money so badly. But when Janelle offered her a deal, she didn't take it. As Janelle said in her final question to Ivette (according to a BB6 message board), by not taking the deal she threw away $450,000. Is a friendship with Maggie, a manipulative wench, really worth that much money?
Anyway, I'm still lovin' the job. I worked on the newsletter today. I have never worked with MS Publisher before but, I found it's easier than Quark so I'm not really having a problem. The only bad thing about working there is that I had to switch places where I get my morning coffee. I like my favorite place better (hence, the reason it's my favorite place) but my second favorite place is donating 25 cents for every cup of coffee they sell to the Red Cross for hurricane relief. I guess it wouldn't look too good if I was carrying around a cup from the other place.
Play practice is going well. We got our revised SFX scripts last night and, for our first run-through with the added sound effects, we did a pretty good job, I think. At one point, I had to crinkle a plastic bag to make a crackling fire sound. When I was finished, the tech director/sound guy/playwright came over and told me it took him a couple of seconds to realize the static in his headphones was actually my sound effect. That was a good thing. Tonight, he's bringing extra headphones so we get to actually hear the sounds the way the audience will. As a side note, ever since I started taking the anti-depressant, I've noticed I bruise a lot easier. I'm accident prone so it's not unusual for me to find bruises and have no idea where they came from. Now it's worse. However, this morning I did know how I got the bruise on the palm of my hand. One of my sound effects involves pounding a big, plastic trash can on the floor so it sounds like the gigantic alien walkers. Until last night, I was just dropping the trash can. But we decided pounding it was better. Unfortunately, the pressure of holding and banging, bruised my hand. Good thing I love theater. ;) There is a plus side, though. When I bang the trash can, I get to take out all my agressions.
Speaking of agressions, I have one less thing to be upset about now. After more than three years, my nightmare is over. It feels pretty good when the Superior Court rules in your favor. And the story even gave me a little free publicity for my book, Actual Malice.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Stare Decisis
I'm too upset to write anything about BB6. Actually, I'm hoping that last night was nothing more than a bad dream ... or a visit to the Twilight Zone for me and all of the other Sovereign Six fans ... and we'll watch Tuesday's show and see Janie, not Maggie, in the final 2.
So, because I'm still in denial about last night's show, I'll post about something that's been bothering me since Monday. I was listening to the Roberts confirmation hearings. Roberts and Arlen Specter used the term "stare decisis" quite a few times. I know quite a bit about the law and legal stuff. (GSG even told me I'm well-versed in the law, considering I'm not a lawyer.) But I had never heard "stare decisis" before. I was hoping that one of the anchors on MSNBC would explain it. They didn't, so I figured that, although I'd never heard it, it must be a fairly common term or the anchors and researchers didn't know what it meant either and didn't bother to look it up.
Since Monday, I've been meaning to look it up but when I got on the 'net I'd get involved in something else (read: checking out the BB6 message boards) and forget. I'd only remember when I was all comfy and cozy in bed. But this morning I finally remembered while I was actually sitting here at the computer.
Stare decisis: (stah-ree duh-sigh-sis) n. Latin for "to stand by a decision," the doctrine that a trial court is bound by appellate court decisions (precedents) on a legal question which is raised in the lower court. Reliance on such precedents is required of trial courts until such time as an appellate court changes the rule, for the trial court cannot ignore the precedent (even when the trial judge believes it is "bad law").
Why couldn't Specter and Roberts just speak English? Because they're lawyers. Although I have a "thing" for lawyers, that's one of the things I don't like about them.
I'm too upset to write anything about BB6. Actually, I'm hoping that last night was nothing more than a bad dream ... or a visit to the Twilight Zone for me and all of the other Sovereign Six fans ... and we'll watch Tuesday's show and see Janie, not Maggie, in the final 2.
So, because I'm still in denial about last night's show, I'll post about something that's been bothering me since Monday. I was listening to the Roberts confirmation hearings. Roberts and Arlen Specter used the term "stare decisis" quite a few times. I know quite a bit about the law and legal stuff. (GSG even told me I'm well-versed in the law, considering I'm not a lawyer.) But I had never heard "stare decisis" before. I was hoping that one of the anchors on MSNBC would explain it. They didn't, so I figured that, although I'd never heard it, it must be a fairly common term or the anchors and researchers didn't know what it meant either and didn't bother to look it up.
Since Monday, I've been meaning to look it up but when I got on the 'net I'd get involved in something else (read: checking out the BB6 message boards) and forget. I'd only remember when I was all comfy and cozy in bed. But this morning I finally remembered while I was actually sitting here at the computer.
Stare decisis: (stah-ree duh-sigh-sis) n. Latin for "to stand by a decision," the doctrine that a trial court is bound by appellate court decisions (precedents) on a legal question which is raised in the lower court. Reliance on such precedents is required of trial courts until such time as an appellate court changes the rule, for the trial court cannot ignore the precedent (even when the trial judge believes it is "bad law").
Why couldn't Specter and Roberts just speak English? Because they're lawyers. Although I have a "thing" for lawyers, that's one of the things I don't like about them.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Feelin' Good
This is the first day in a long time that I've felt really good, physically, emotionally and mentally. And it's not as if bad stuff hasn't been happening. I won't bore you with all the details but, the worst of it was that the drain in our bathtub broke. It had been clogged and we tried to unclog it with Liquid Plumr (or however it's spelled). It disintegrated the drain, not because we used too much but because the drain pipe was old.
Anyway, despite the fact that I woke up this morning to a plumber working in the bathroom, across the hall from my bedroom, I felt good. One reason is that I had a good job to go to. As I mentioned in a previous post, it's a job I can be proud of and, once I actually do something useful (which I'll be doing Monday), I know I'll have a feeling of accomplishment. I've always enjoyed volunteering for Meals on Wheels but I felt different today. I still had the same feeling I always do, that I'm helping people. But now that I actually work for the Red Cross it felt, well, better. I wish I could explain it. I guess "good" is an underrated adjective because that's the best way to describe how I felt but it doesn't quite cut it. Oh well.
Back to other reasons I'm feeling good. Play practice went really well last night. I'm getting the hang of doing live sound effects and it's fun. Have I mentioned that all three performances plus dress rehearsals are going to be recorded then broadcast on the radio on Halloween? I can hardly wait to hear it the way the audience is going to hear it. Also, we learned last night that one dollar from each ticket sale is going to the Red Cross for hurricane relief. Pretty cool, I think. One of my new bosses is in the play, too (and he's hilarious in it!). I think it's extra cool that, since part of the proceeds are going to the Red Cross, two Red Cross employees are in the play.
The other reason I feel so good is that my name was in the paper today. (I still get giggly when that happens. Even when I had bylines, after 10 years, I got giggly.) It was in a "club news" item for AAUW. Another woman and I were recognized for being new members. Nothing earth-shattering but it made me smile.
Probably the most important reason I feel good is that I have absolutely no obligations until Monday. As much as I like my job and the play, I need a couple of days off from everything. So, as long as my Mom stays healthy (or as healthy as she can be in her condition), I should have a nice, quiet, relaxing weekend. Well, after BB6. I won't be able to relax until Janie wins HoH. Thank God the show is over on Tuesday. This addiction is getting worse.
Have a good weekend! <3
This is the first day in a long time that I've felt really good, physically, emotionally and mentally. And it's not as if bad stuff hasn't been happening. I won't bore you with all the details but, the worst of it was that the drain in our bathtub broke. It had been clogged and we tried to unclog it with Liquid Plumr (or however it's spelled). It disintegrated the drain, not because we used too much but because the drain pipe was old.
Anyway, despite the fact that I woke up this morning to a plumber working in the bathroom, across the hall from my bedroom, I felt good. One reason is that I had a good job to go to. As I mentioned in a previous post, it's a job I can be proud of and, once I actually do something useful (which I'll be doing Monday), I know I'll have a feeling of accomplishment. I've always enjoyed volunteering for Meals on Wheels but I felt different today. I still had the same feeling I always do, that I'm helping people. But now that I actually work for the Red Cross it felt, well, better. I wish I could explain it. I guess "good" is an underrated adjective because that's the best way to describe how I felt but it doesn't quite cut it. Oh well.
Back to other reasons I'm feeling good. Play practice went really well last night. I'm getting the hang of doing live sound effects and it's fun. Have I mentioned that all three performances plus dress rehearsals are going to be recorded then broadcast on the radio on Halloween? I can hardly wait to hear it the way the audience is going to hear it. Also, we learned last night that one dollar from each ticket sale is going to the Red Cross for hurricane relief. Pretty cool, I think. One of my new bosses is in the play, too (and he's hilarious in it!). I think it's extra cool that, since part of the proceeds are going to the Red Cross, two Red Cross employees are in the play.
The other reason I feel so good is that my name was in the paper today. (I still get giggly when that happens. Even when I had bylines, after 10 years, I got giggly.) It was in a "club news" item for AAUW. Another woman and I were recognized for being new members. Nothing earth-shattering but it made me smile.
Probably the most important reason I feel good is that I have absolutely no obligations until Monday. As much as I like my job and the play, I need a couple of days off from everything. So, as long as my Mom stays healthy (or as healthy as she can be in her condition), I should have a nice, quiet, relaxing weekend. Well, after BB6. I won't be able to relax until Janie wins HoH. Thank God the show is over on Tuesday. This addiction is getting worse.
Have a good weekend! <3
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Tales of the Traffic Law Challenged Part 7
Generally, unless there's a power outage, there is no reason to drive with your high beams on within the city limits. This is especially not necessary when you're driving your gigantic Chevy Suburban two feet behind my little Cavalier. If you can't see my little Cavalier without your high beams on, you're blind and shouldn't be driving. If you've got your high beams on because you're trying to see inside my car, you're creepy and you shouldn't be driving.
Generally, unless there's a power outage, there is no reason to drive with your high beams on within the city limits. This is especially not necessary when you're driving your gigantic Chevy Suburban two feet behind my little Cavalier. If you can't see my little Cavalier without your high beams on, you're blind and shouldn't be driving. If you've got your high beams on because you're trying to see inside my car, you're creepy and you shouldn't be driving.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
I Got It!
I got the job and I start tomorrow, so now I can tell you what it is. I'll be working for the Red Cross doing press releases, the newsletter and other related things. Besides the Meals on Wheels woman, there are only three full-time people in the chapter house and they've been so busy since Katrina that they can't keep up with their normal duties and do all the Katrina-related stuff on top of it.
When I was there last Thursday volunteering for Meals on Wheels, the director asked his "newspaper connection" to look over a press release to make sure it was OK. I told him I didn't work for the newspaper anymore. Then, after I looked over the press release he asked if I'd be interested in coming to work for them to do the press releases. I said I would love to, but I thought it was just something he said in passing because he was so overwhelmed with work. I was in shock, but happily so, when I found out he was serious.
Ever since Katrina, I've been saying I wished I could do more to help besides send money and pray. Now I will be doing more. I'm so excited! Wish me luck tomorrow!
I got the job and I start tomorrow, so now I can tell you what it is. I'll be working for the Red Cross doing press releases, the newsletter and other related things. Besides the Meals on Wheels woman, there are only three full-time people in the chapter house and they've been so busy since Katrina that they can't keep up with their normal duties and do all the Katrina-related stuff on top of it.
When I was there last Thursday volunteering for Meals on Wheels, the director asked his "newspaper connection" to look over a press release to make sure it was OK. I told him I didn't work for the newspaper anymore. Then, after I looked over the press release he asked if I'd be interested in coming to work for them to do the press releases. I said I would love to, but I thought it was just something he said in passing because he was so overwhelmed with work. I was in shock, but happily so, when I found out he was serious.
Ever since Katrina, I've been saying I wished I could do more to help besides send money and pray. Now I will be doing more. I'm so excited! Wish me luck tomorrow!
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Role Reversal
You know how it's said that when parents and their adult children get older there's a role reversal and the children are the "parents" to the parents? Well, I never felt that way with my Mom. For years, I've done things for her that, growing up, she did for me. But maybe it's because that's always the way it's been in my family that I never felt like the "parent." Until today. She hasn't felt well enough to drive for a few weeks. Today, she felt as if she could. So, as she got in the car and got herself situated, I peeked through the front window to make sure everything was OK. When she drove past the house, I went out onto the front porch and watched her drive down the street and around the corner. I felt like a mother watching her 16-year-old daughter drive away for the first time after getting her driver's license.
You know how it's said that when parents and their adult children get older there's a role reversal and the children are the "parents" to the parents? Well, I never felt that way with my Mom. For years, I've done things for her that, growing up, she did for me. But maybe it's because that's always the way it's been in my family that I never felt like the "parent." Until today. She hasn't felt well enough to drive for a few weeks. Today, she felt as if she could. So, as she got in the car and got herself situated, I peeked through the front window to make sure everything was OK. When she drove past the house, I went out onto the front porch and watched her drive down the street and around the corner. I felt like a mother watching her 16-year-old daughter drive away for the first time after getting her driver's license.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Answered Prayers
Last night before I went to bed, I told myself I was going to start the 5-day St. Theresa Prayer this morning. One of the things with this prayer is, you're supposed to say it 5 days in a row, before 11 a.m. Well, it was 10:48 a.m. before I remembered I was going to do it. So, I quickly did, then apologized to St. Theresa for doing it so quickly.
Part two of this story has to do with my belief in angels and that certain numbers are signs from angels. The angel sign is "444." It means your angels are with you. At the moment you see 444, you're supposed to acknowledge the angels. Well, this part is going to make me seem pretty lame but, I can't figure out how to set the clock in my mom's car so it's 2 hours and 13 minutes fast, so I rarely look at it. But when I got back from taking my mom grocery shopping a little while ago, I looked at the clock and it read 4:44. I acknowledged my angels, thanked them for being there for me and asked if they'd put in a good word with St. Theresa for me.
Part three of the story is that when my mom and I got inside the house, the light on the answering machine was blinking. The message was from someone who, last week, in passing, said "Do you want to come and work for us?" He was offering me a job!
I don't want to jinx it and say what it is now because he still has to get approval from the board of directors during their meeting tomorrow night. But it's an awesome job and it'll be paying more than I made at my last job. Lots more. And it's something I can be really proud of, too. And, it involves writing! The only thing that would be better is if it was full-time and permanent. But, hey, as I said, it's awesome and I just know I'm going to love it. Now I just have to pray that the board of directors approves it.
Last night before I went to bed, I told myself I was going to start the 5-day St. Theresa Prayer this morning. One of the things with this prayer is, you're supposed to say it 5 days in a row, before 11 a.m. Well, it was 10:48 a.m. before I remembered I was going to do it. So, I quickly did, then apologized to St. Theresa for doing it so quickly.
Part two of this story has to do with my belief in angels and that certain numbers are signs from angels. The angel sign is "444." It means your angels are with you. At the moment you see 444, you're supposed to acknowledge the angels. Well, this part is going to make me seem pretty lame but, I can't figure out how to set the clock in my mom's car so it's 2 hours and 13 minutes fast, so I rarely look at it. But when I got back from taking my mom grocery shopping a little while ago, I looked at the clock and it read 4:44. I acknowledged my angels, thanked them for being there for me and asked if they'd put in a good word with St. Theresa for me.
Part three of the story is that when my mom and I got inside the house, the light on the answering machine was blinking. The message was from someone who, last week, in passing, said "Do you want to come and work for us?" He was offering me a job!
I don't want to jinx it and say what it is now because he still has to get approval from the board of directors during their meeting tomorrow night. But it's an awesome job and it'll be paying more than I made at my last job. Lots more. And it's something I can be really proud of, too. And, it involves writing! The only thing that would be better is if it was full-time and permanent. But, hey, as I said, it's awesome and I just know I'm going to love it. Now I just have to pray that the board of directors approves it.
More on Dreams
I've noticed that some of my dreams are psychic, and I've posted about this before. They're not earth-shattering but they're freaky. I've also said that I need to try to study my dreams more than I do. One of these days, I'll stop procrastinating and actually do it, beyond posting them here. Anyway, here's the non-earth-shattering psychic dream I had last night:
I was with a group of people, one of which was the person who adapted our theater's version of WoW. He's also the morning guy on the local radio station. In my dream, he was explaining how he got the terrible cold he had.
So, when I woke up this morning, I turned on the radio as usual. I heard someone talking and I said to myself, "That's not him." But it was. He has a cold! I hadn't seen him since Wednesday night, and I only hear him on the radio Monday through Friday. In fact, as I was typing this, he just said to his co-host, "My voice has just been getting worse all morning, hasn't it?"
OK. Now onto the disconnected other parts of my dream life.
For some reason I had to scramble six eggs. But I couldn't scramble them all in one pan. I had to use three pans with two eggs in each of them. I also had to make au gratin potatoes. I kept checking on them in the oven but they didn't seem to be cooking. Every time I checked, they were still runny. I took them out of the oven anyway and was going to throw them away and start over. But then someone came into the kitchen, stirred the potatoes and I saw they they were really cheesy (in a good way) and the perfect consistency. The person even said they were the best au gratin potatoes she'd even seen.
Part of the dream took place in a grocery store but I don't remember a lot of that part. I do remember I only bought one thing and the cashier didn't give me a bag for it. I aslo remember waiting for someone and watching other people check out. Just as I was about to leave the store, a family was leaving as well. They had an entire pallet of some kind of beverage and were having a hard time maneuvering it, thus holding up all the people behind them who were trying to get out of the store.
I was at my former place of employment and walking up the stairs to where one of the printers is. There were lots of boxes on the stairs. As I was almost at the top, another former employee, who used to work upstairs, was there. He said all the boxes had to go downstairs. I said I wasn't going to move them. He said he wasn't either. Another former employee, who was behind me, said he wasn't going to move them either. Former employee number two laughed and started kicking the boxes down the stairs. I asked what was in them. He said "Do we really care?" Then we all laughed.
I know there was one other part but, I can't remember it. Oh well, maybe it wasn't that important anyway. As if any of this is important in the first place.
I've noticed that some of my dreams are psychic, and I've posted about this before. They're not earth-shattering but they're freaky. I've also said that I need to try to study my dreams more than I do. One of these days, I'll stop procrastinating and actually do it, beyond posting them here. Anyway, here's the non-earth-shattering psychic dream I had last night:
I was with a group of people, one of which was the person who adapted our theater's version of WoW. He's also the morning guy on the local radio station. In my dream, he was explaining how he got the terrible cold he had.
So, when I woke up this morning, I turned on the radio as usual. I heard someone talking and I said to myself, "That's not him." But it was. He has a cold! I hadn't seen him since Wednesday night, and I only hear him on the radio Monday through Friday. In fact, as I was typing this, he just said to his co-host, "My voice has just been getting worse all morning, hasn't it?"
OK. Now onto the disconnected other parts of my dream life.
For some reason I had to scramble six eggs. But I couldn't scramble them all in one pan. I had to use three pans with two eggs in each of them. I also had to make au gratin potatoes. I kept checking on them in the oven but they didn't seem to be cooking. Every time I checked, they were still runny. I took them out of the oven anyway and was going to throw them away and start over. But then someone came into the kitchen, stirred the potatoes and I saw they they were really cheesy (in a good way) and the perfect consistency. The person even said they were the best au gratin potatoes she'd even seen.
Part of the dream took place in a grocery store but I don't remember a lot of that part. I do remember I only bought one thing and the cashier didn't give me a bag for it. I aslo remember waiting for someone and watching other people check out. Just as I was about to leave the store, a family was leaving as well. They had an entire pallet of some kind of beverage and were having a hard time maneuvering it, thus holding up all the people behind them who were trying to get out of the store.
I was at my former place of employment and walking up the stairs to where one of the printers is. There were lots of boxes on the stairs. As I was almost at the top, another former employee, who used to work upstairs, was there. He said all the boxes had to go downstairs. I said I wasn't going to move them. He said he wasn't either. Another former employee, who was behind me, said he wasn't going to move them either. Former employee number two laughed and started kicking the boxes down the stairs. I asked what was in them. He said "Do we really care?" Then we all laughed.
I know there was one other part but, I can't remember it. Oh well, maybe it wasn't that important anyway. As if any of this is important in the first place.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
BB6 and Some Thoughts on 9/11
Every year I say I'm not going to get addicted to this show but, I always do anyway. This year has been the best since season two, in my opinion. Janelle really makes the show, no matter what the nerd herd thinks. (And to think I didn't even like her for the first two weeks.) I can't believe how stupid they are! I mean, Janelle won two America's Choices. That should tell them something. But in their little pea brains they see the viewers as "stupid," according to April. They've also blamed the show's editors for making them look bad and Janelle look good. Couldn't be that America likes Janie better because she's the best player, could it? The nerd herd is nothing but a bunch of lying, manipulative bitches. Janie hasn't lied once during the entire game.
Then, Ivette says she won't vote for Janelle although she admits Janelle played the game better than anyone else. That's just wrong. You're supposed to vote for the best player. If April or Ivette end up winning, it will be because the nerd herd can't believe someone from the Soveirgn Six got to the final two. Even if Janelle doesn't win, at least she should be happy that she's America's Choice to win, no matter what the nerd herd does.
Anyway, I feel guilty posting about something as petty as a reality show on September 11 but, I can't put my feelings about that into words. When I think about it, all I can remember is sitting in the living room at the apartment in California, drinking coffee, watching the "Today" show and getting ready to start the day. Even before the second plane hit, I knew the first one was a terrorist attack. I couldn't believe it was accident. After the second plane hit, I went numb. I think I was numb for the rest of the day. The only time I really felt anything was when my mother called. I wished I wasn't 3,000 miles away and that I could be with her in person to comfort her.
My brother suffered a major bout of depression after 9/11. He knew many, many people who died because he did a lot of business at the WTC. One of the people who died was one of his best friends, and a rugby teammate. My brother is better now but, he's not the same person. He probably never will be. Will any of us ever be the same?
Every year I say I'm not going to get addicted to this show but, I always do anyway. This year has been the best since season two, in my opinion. Janelle really makes the show, no matter what the nerd herd thinks. (And to think I didn't even like her for the first two weeks.) I can't believe how stupid they are! I mean, Janelle won two America's Choices. That should tell them something. But in their little pea brains they see the viewers as "stupid," according to April. They've also blamed the show's editors for making them look bad and Janelle look good. Couldn't be that America likes Janie better because she's the best player, could it? The nerd herd is nothing but a bunch of lying, manipulative bitches. Janie hasn't lied once during the entire game.
Then, Ivette says she won't vote for Janelle although she admits Janelle played the game better than anyone else. That's just wrong. You're supposed to vote for the best player. If April or Ivette end up winning, it will be because the nerd herd can't believe someone from the Soveirgn Six got to the final two. Even if Janelle doesn't win, at least she should be happy that she's America's Choice to win, no matter what the nerd herd does.
Anyway, I feel guilty posting about something as petty as a reality show on September 11 but, I can't put my feelings about that into words. When I think about it, all I can remember is sitting in the living room at the apartment in California, drinking coffee, watching the "Today" show and getting ready to start the day. Even before the second plane hit, I knew the first one was a terrorist attack. I couldn't believe it was accident. After the second plane hit, I went numb. I think I was numb for the rest of the day. The only time I really felt anything was when my mother called. I wished I wasn't 3,000 miles away and that I could be with her in person to comfort her.
My brother suffered a major bout of depression after 9/11. He knew many, many people who died because he did a lot of business at the WTC. One of the people who died was one of his best friends, and a rugby teammate. My brother is better now but, he's not the same person. He probably never will be. Will any of us ever be the same?
Saturday, September 10, 2005
A Weird Installment of Weird Dreams
I had weird stuff running around in my head all night but none of it seemed to go together. So, here are the bits and pieces of the stuff I remember.
I was at a bar/diner sitting at the bar/counter. A waitress showed me a plate of pancakes and told me to have some. They looked cold and shriveled, so I declined. Later, I was in a car with the people I was in the bar/diner with and we passed the bar, which was sitting way up on wooded hillside. One of the people said bars are allowed to stay open all night long but the only thing they're allowed to serve after 2 a.m. is cake, and they have to give it away for free. I asked if pancakes counted as cake. The person said they did. I said that explains why that waitress tried to pawn those awful-looking pancakes off on me.
I was in the kitchen at my Mom's house washing dishes and I was getting really angry because every time I thought I was finished, someone would come in with something else for me to wash. At one point, I let the suds fill up the sink and overflow onto the floor. I kept getting angrier and angrier and I was throwing things against the wall, hoping to break things. Then I'd get even angrier because I'd have to clean it up.
I was sitting on the front steps of my grandmother's house with a couple of other people. There were boxes on the steps and we were waiting for someone to come and help us pack them into a car so we could move. Some guy in a shiny new SUV parked in front of the house, made his way through the maze of boxes, said something to us then left without offering to help with the boxes. We were all angry that he didn't offer to help. Just as he got back into his SUV, another vehicle came along, smashed into the SUV and drove away. There was a cop right there. Instead of going after the hit-and-run driver, he was telling the SUV driver how to report the accident to his insurance company so he'd be able to get another new vehicle and all kinds of other stuff.
I was in a huge room, like a classroom, with a lot of other people. One of them was George Clooney. We were there for some altruistic purpose but, I don't remember what it was. George was supposed to be with me (Yeah. Only in my dreams.) but he was flirting with other women. Most of the other people, except the women he was flirting with, told me he was just trying to make me jealous. Eventually, George and I left together.
For some reason, I was running away from people and had to get out of my house without anyone knowing I was leaving. I also couldn't leave any traces of myself there or any clue as to where I was going. I was just about to make a clean getaway (I was in my bedroom putting my shoes and socks on) when a blonde woman came in and asked what I was doing and where I was going. I told her I was just putting my shoes and socks on because my feet were cold. Somehow, she knew that was a lie because my feet are never cold. Eventually, she left and I went downstairs, peeked out the front door and decided it was dark enough outside so I could leave without anyone seeing me.
Told ya it was weird.
I had weird stuff running around in my head all night but none of it seemed to go together. So, here are the bits and pieces of the stuff I remember.
I was at a bar/diner sitting at the bar/counter. A waitress showed me a plate of pancakes and told me to have some. They looked cold and shriveled, so I declined. Later, I was in a car with the people I was in the bar/diner with and we passed the bar, which was sitting way up on wooded hillside. One of the people said bars are allowed to stay open all night long but the only thing they're allowed to serve after 2 a.m. is cake, and they have to give it away for free. I asked if pancakes counted as cake. The person said they did. I said that explains why that waitress tried to pawn those awful-looking pancakes off on me.
I was in the kitchen at my Mom's house washing dishes and I was getting really angry because every time I thought I was finished, someone would come in with something else for me to wash. At one point, I let the suds fill up the sink and overflow onto the floor. I kept getting angrier and angrier and I was throwing things against the wall, hoping to break things. Then I'd get even angrier because I'd have to clean it up.
I was sitting on the front steps of my grandmother's house with a couple of other people. There were boxes on the steps and we were waiting for someone to come and help us pack them into a car so we could move. Some guy in a shiny new SUV parked in front of the house, made his way through the maze of boxes, said something to us then left without offering to help with the boxes. We were all angry that he didn't offer to help. Just as he got back into his SUV, another vehicle came along, smashed into the SUV and drove away. There was a cop right there. Instead of going after the hit-and-run driver, he was telling the SUV driver how to report the accident to his insurance company so he'd be able to get another new vehicle and all kinds of other stuff.
I was in a huge room, like a classroom, with a lot of other people. One of them was George Clooney. We were there for some altruistic purpose but, I don't remember what it was. George was supposed to be with me (Yeah. Only in my dreams.) but he was flirting with other women. Most of the other people, except the women he was flirting with, told me he was just trying to make me jealous. Eventually, George and I left together.
For some reason, I was running away from people and had to get out of my house without anyone knowing I was leaving. I also couldn't leave any traces of myself there or any clue as to where I was going. I was just about to make a clean getaway (I was in my bedroom putting my shoes and socks on) when a blonde woman came in and asked what I was doing and where I was going. I told her I was just putting my shoes and socks on because my feet were cold. Somehow, she knew that was a lie because my feet are never cold. Eventually, she left and I went downstairs, peeked out the front door and decided it was dark enough outside so I could leave without anyone seeing me.
Told ya it was weird.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
I've Been Tagged
Jawahara tagged me, so here's go nothin' ...
5 years ago: I was working at my "dream job" but, sadly, it started turning into a nightmare and I became very disillusioned with the business.
5 songs I know all the words to: The Star-Spangled Banner, Born to Run, Dancing in the Dark, As Time Goes By, Good-bye Yellow Brick Road
5 Snacks I enjoy: Chocolate, mixed nuts, guacamole and tortilla chips, cheese, potato chips
5 Things I'd do with $100 million dollars: give to all my favorite charities, pay off some debts, start college funds for my nephews, have some repairs done to my Mom's house, buy a house near Santa Barbara
5 places I would run away to: Africa, Nepal, Egypt, Italy, Ireland
5 things I would never wear: belly button ring, nose ring, tongue ring (or whatever they're called), anything yellow, thong underwear
5 favorite tv shows: Big Brother, Law & Order: SVU, Lost, CSI (the original), The Abrams Report
5 greatest joys: Adam, Alex, Aaryn, writing, theater (going to as well as participating in)
5 favorite toys: does my computer count?, Barbie dolls, Kasey the Kinderbot, the Mathematical Monkey, Slinky
5 people I'm tagging: ann marie, Sophie, Uncle Crappy, Erica, Deb
Jawahara tagged me, so here's go nothin' ...
5 years ago: I was working at my "dream job" but, sadly, it started turning into a nightmare and I became very disillusioned with the business.
5 songs I know all the words to: The Star-Spangled Banner, Born to Run, Dancing in the Dark, As Time Goes By, Good-bye Yellow Brick Road
5 Snacks I enjoy: Chocolate, mixed nuts, guacamole and tortilla chips, cheese, potato chips
5 Things I'd do with $100 million dollars: give to all my favorite charities, pay off some debts, start college funds for my nephews, have some repairs done to my Mom's house, buy a house near Santa Barbara
5 places I would run away to: Africa, Nepal, Egypt, Italy, Ireland
5 things I would never wear: belly button ring, nose ring, tongue ring (or whatever they're called), anything yellow, thong underwear
5 favorite tv shows: Big Brother, Law & Order: SVU, Lost, CSI (the original), The Abrams Report
5 greatest joys: Adam, Alex, Aaryn, writing, theater (going to as well as participating in)
5 favorite toys: does my computer count?, Barbie dolls, Kasey the Kinderbot, the Mathematical Monkey, Slinky
5 people I'm tagging: ann marie, Sophie, Uncle Crappy, Erica, Deb
Too Much Reality?
Another Installment of Weird Dreams
Plus Some Thoughts on Big Brother 6
I didn't remember the entire dream when I woke up. The predominant thought in my head was "Anne, you watch too much reality tv." Here's what I remember:
I was on the "Lost" island. Claire and Jack were there but I don't remember who else was with me. We found something that was vitally important to our survival (although now I don't remember what it was). The first thing I said was "Go tell Omarosa."
Omarosa? That's why I told myself I watch too much reality tv. I don't even watch "The Apprentice" so I didn't see any of her antics on that show. However, I do watch "The Surreal Life" and "Battle of the Network Reality Stars." She's on both of those. I think her appearance in my dream was my punishment for watching "Battle of the Network Reality Stars" after I said I was going to wean myself off of reality tv.
I had to start watching it though. Yes, I had to. Will Kirby and Mike "Boogie" Malin from "Big Brother 2" are on it. Will is my all-time favorite house guest so I couldn't resist.
While, at the moment, Will remains my all-time favorite, if Janelle makes it through one more week, she'll take over the title. The entire "nerd herd," except for Ivette, underestimated her during the entire game, which got her to the point she is now. How could they have underestimated her? Or at least, how could they have ignored her uncanny luck in the game? She won the PB&J Pass, plasma tv, a trip and the America's Choice phone call. She's also won HoH and veto competitions. And they concentrated on getting James out of the house first? Well, I am glad they underestimated her because if she and Howie weren't there, I would have stopped watching. The "nerd herd" is just too boring.
So, tonight, I gotta root for Janie to win HoH again. Then it'll be bye-bye Maggie. Finally!
Another Installment of Weird Dreams
Plus Some Thoughts on Big Brother 6
I didn't remember the entire dream when I woke up. The predominant thought in my head was "Anne, you watch too much reality tv." Here's what I remember:
I was on the "Lost" island. Claire and Jack were there but I don't remember who else was with me. We found something that was vitally important to our survival (although now I don't remember what it was). The first thing I said was "Go tell Omarosa."
Omarosa? That's why I told myself I watch too much reality tv. I don't even watch "The Apprentice" so I didn't see any of her antics on that show. However, I do watch "The Surreal Life" and "Battle of the Network Reality Stars." She's on both of those. I think her appearance in my dream was my punishment for watching "Battle of the Network Reality Stars" after I said I was going to wean myself off of reality tv.
I had to start watching it though. Yes, I had to. Will Kirby and Mike "Boogie" Malin from "Big Brother 2" are on it. Will is my all-time favorite house guest so I couldn't resist.
While, at the moment, Will remains my all-time favorite, if Janelle makes it through one more week, she'll take over the title. The entire "nerd herd," except for Ivette, underestimated her during the entire game, which got her to the point she is now. How could they have underestimated her? Or at least, how could they have ignored her uncanny luck in the game? She won the PB&J Pass, plasma tv, a trip and the America's Choice phone call. She's also won HoH and veto competitions. And they concentrated on getting James out of the house first? Well, I am glad they underestimated her because if she and Howie weren't there, I would have stopped watching. The "nerd herd" is just too boring.
So, tonight, I gotta root for Janie to win HoH again. Then it'll be bye-bye Maggie. Finally!
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
News?
I got home last night just as Countdown was going to its first commerical break. Keith Olbermann said when they returned, they would run a story on the New Orleans police department's trials and tribulations. During the break, I switched to CNN to see what Paula Zahn's show was doing. They were doing a report on FEMA's response to the Katrina catastrophe, then switched to a report on how the contaminated flood water could cause diseases. Against my better judgement, I switched to the Fox Pseudo News Channel to see what O'Reilly was jabbering on about. Normally, O'Reilly nauseates me. Last night was worse. What was his big news story? Geraldo Rivera. Yes, while there's death, devastation and disease all along the Gulf Coast, the big story on The Factor was that a columnist for the New York Times alleged that Geraldo pushed rescue workers out of the way so his camera crew could get shots of him resuing an old woman. At one point, O'Reilly said something like "There's enough you can say about us without lying."
Apparently Keith Olbermann believes that because Geraldo was "Countdown's" "Worst Person in the World" last night. Why? Because of this from Salon.com:
Geraldo Rivera arrives in a Fox News truck. An elderly woman with blond hair grips his elbow. She's wearing thick dark glasses and a pink shirt. He carries her small white dog in his arms. He's wearing thigh-high waders unzipped to below his knees. We shake hands. "Her relative called one of our stations," Geraldo tells me, explaining how that call went to another station, and then another, and finally to him.
The woman had been stranded in her home for six days. Geraldo picked up the woman and her dog and brought them here. The woman looks frail on his arm, though not as bad perhaps as a lady collapsed on a chair nearby, unable to move. Or a woman in a wheelchair being lifted from the truck, carrying her prosthetic leg on her lap.
"That's the second time he brought her here," one of the doctors tells me, nodding toward Geraldo.
"What?"
"They did two takes. Geraldo made that poor woman walk from the Fox News van to the heliport twice. Both times carrying her dog."
"Are you serious?" I ask. He says he is.
And that, dear readers, is just one of the reasons I hate the Fox Pseudo News Channel. Although O'Reilly says his show is the "No Spin Zone," I say "No one spins it like O'Reilly."
I got home last night just as Countdown was going to its first commerical break. Keith Olbermann said when they returned, they would run a story on the New Orleans police department's trials and tribulations. During the break, I switched to CNN to see what Paula Zahn's show was doing. They were doing a report on FEMA's response to the Katrina catastrophe, then switched to a report on how the contaminated flood water could cause diseases. Against my better judgement, I switched to the Fox Pseudo News Channel to see what O'Reilly was jabbering on about. Normally, O'Reilly nauseates me. Last night was worse. What was his big news story? Geraldo Rivera. Yes, while there's death, devastation and disease all along the Gulf Coast, the big story on The Factor was that a columnist for the New York Times alleged that Geraldo pushed rescue workers out of the way so his camera crew could get shots of him resuing an old woman. At one point, O'Reilly said something like "There's enough you can say about us without lying."
Apparently Keith Olbermann believes that because Geraldo was "Countdown's" "Worst Person in the World" last night. Why? Because of this from Salon.com:
Geraldo Rivera arrives in a Fox News truck. An elderly woman with blond hair grips his elbow. She's wearing thick dark glasses and a pink shirt. He carries her small white dog in his arms. He's wearing thigh-high waders unzipped to below his knees. We shake hands. "Her relative called one of our stations," Geraldo tells me, explaining how that call went to another station, and then another, and finally to him.
The woman had been stranded in her home for six days. Geraldo picked up the woman and her dog and brought them here. The woman looks frail on his arm, though not as bad perhaps as a lady collapsed on a chair nearby, unable to move. Or a woman in a wheelchair being lifted from the truck, carrying her prosthetic leg on her lap.
"That's the second time he brought her here," one of the doctors tells me, nodding toward Geraldo.
"What?"
"They did two takes. Geraldo made that poor woman walk from the Fox News van to the heliport twice. Both times carrying her dog."
"Are you serious?" I ask. He says he is.
And that, dear readers, is just one of the reasons I hate the Fox Pseudo News Channel. Although O'Reilly says his show is the "No Spin Zone," I say "No one spins it like O'Reilly."
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Another Installment of Weird Dreams
When I was in college, we didn't have fraternities or sororities. So, instead of having frat parties, we had "floor parties." As the name implies, entire dorm floors would have parties, invite lots of people and drink beer and "bash." (Bash is a mix of vodka, grain alcohol, Hawaiin Punch and fresh fruit. And it must be served from a clean trash can, lined of course.) How does this relate to my dream? I'll tell ya. I was at a floor party but, it wasn't in my dorm (but it was, ya know?). It was in a luxury hotel on a beach. One of the people I invited was Ashton Kutcher.* We were outside my room, trying to get in through the crowd of people, because all my other friends were in there. By the time we made it inside, my friends told me we had to leave and go to another party. Somehow, before we got to the other party, we had all changed from jeans and T-shirts into semi-formal-wear. At this other party, some really short girl was trying to steal Ashton away from me. It was so bad that it was like an episode of "Punk'd."
I don't know how I got from that party to my parents' house on Christmas Day. The weirdest thing that happened was that I was myself now and myself as a little girl at the same time. Yes, heaven help me, there were two of me. I, as a little girl, with the "now" me watching, was playing a game with my brother, who was the age he is now. At one point, my sister was looking at pictures of past Christmases. One of the pictures was of a bunch of boys looking at something (I don't know what). I was in the picture, as a little girl, sitting on the couch, pointing at one of the boys. As she was looking at the picture, my sister asked my mother if the boys were "neighborhood boys." My mother said they were and she and my father used to invite all the kids in the neighborhood to the house on Christmas Day. Then she started identifying all the boys. My sister started laughing and said she knew the one had to be The Coach (except she used his name. My few regular readers may remember him from last winter.) because I was pointing at him.
The next thing I knew, I was working at a restaurant where I used to work. The guy who was my boss then, but is no longer there, was my boss again. But instead of being a manager, like I was before, I was a waitress. There was only one other waitress working, and it was kind of slow so we spent most of the time in the office with the boss. When 3 p.m. rolled around, I thought I was going to be able to go home and get back to celebrating Christmas with my family. But the boss told me he changed the schedule and I had to work until 3:30. I was angry at first but, then the boss told me he hired someone to design new uniforms for us and the person should be finished with them, and show them to us, before I left. Half an hour later, Ashton Kutcher comes out of some hidden room with the newly designed uniform. We all hated the new design. I even said the reason I didn't want to be a waitress when I first started working there is that the uniforms were so ugly ... and these were worse than those. But then when I saw that his feelings were hurt, I told him I liked the color, although I really didn't. They were some kind of ugly, blue metallic that just didn't work well as fabric. And, they looked like maternity jumpers.
Then, I woke up.
*I finally realized why I dream about Ashton Kutcher so much. He's actually not Ashton in my dreams; he's standing in for The Best Friend. We were in high school at the same time the characters in "That 70s Show" were. Kelso, no surprise, is my favorite character on the show. However, the only thing Kelso and The Best Friend have in common is that they were the best looking guys in school. Anyway, it's hard to explain how I know Ashton is The Best Friend in my dreams. I just know.
When I was in college, we didn't have fraternities or sororities. So, instead of having frat parties, we had "floor parties." As the name implies, entire dorm floors would have parties, invite lots of people and drink beer and "bash." (Bash is a mix of vodka, grain alcohol, Hawaiin Punch and fresh fruit. And it must be served from a clean trash can, lined of course.) How does this relate to my dream? I'll tell ya. I was at a floor party but, it wasn't in my dorm (but it was, ya know?). It was in a luxury hotel on a beach. One of the people I invited was Ashton Kutcher.* We were outside my room, trying to get in through the crowd of people, because all my other friends were in there. By the time we made it inside, my friends told me we had to leave and go to another party. Somehow, before we got to the other party, we had all changed from jeans and T-shirts into semi-formal-wear. At this other party, some really short girl was trying to steal Ashton away from me. It was so bad that it was like an episode of "Punk'd."
I don't know how I got from that party to my parents' house on Christmas Day. The weirdest thing that happened was that I was myself now and myself as a little girl at the same time. Yes, heaven help me, there were two of me. I, as a little girl, with the "now" me watching, was playing a game with my brother, who was the age he is now. At one point, my sister was looking at pictures of past Christmases. One of the pictures was of a bunch of boys looking at something (I don't know what). I was in the picture, as a little girl, sitting on the couch, pointing at one of the boys. As she was looking at the picture, my sister asked my mother if the boys were "neighborhood boys." My mother said they were and she and my father used to invite all the kids in the neighborhood to the house on Christmas Day. Then she started identifying all the boys. My sister started laughing and said she knew the one had to be The Coach (except she used his name. My few regular readers may remember him from last winter.) because I was pointing at him.
The next thing I knew, I was working at a restaurant where I used to work. The guy who was my boss then, but is no longer there, was my boss again. But instead of being a manager, like I was before, I was a waitress. There was only one other waitress working, and it was kind of slow so we spent most of the time in the office with the boss. When 3 p.m. rolled around, I thought I was going to be able to go home and get back to celebrating Christmas with my family. But the boss told me he changed the schedule and I had to work until 3:30. I was angry at first but, then the boss told me he hired someone to design new uniforms for us and the person should be finished with them, and show them to us, before I left. Half an hour later, Ashton Kutcher comes out of some hidden room with the newly designed uniform. We all hated the new design. I even said the reason I didn't want to be a waitress when I first started working there is that the uniforms were so ugly ... and these were worse than those. But then when I saw that his feelings were hurt, I told him I liked the color, although I really didn't. They were some kind of ugly, blue metallic that just didn't work well as fabric. And, they looked like maternity jumpers.
Then, I woke up.
*I finally realized why I dream about Ashton Kutcher so much. He's actually not Ashton in my dreams; he's standing in for The Best Friend. We were in high school at the same time the characters in "That 70s Show" were. Kelso, no surprise, is my favorite character on the show. However, the only thing Kelso and The Best Friend have in common is that they were the best looking guys in school. Anyway, it's hard to explain how I know Ashton is The Best Friend in my dreams. I just know.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Tales of the Traffic Law Challenged -- Part 6, maybe?
This is a twist on the seemingly universal complaint about motorists who don't use turn signals. Today, I must write about people who use them but don't turn. I'm not talking about old guys on the highway whose turn signals are on for seven miles before they remember it and turn it off. I'm not even all that concerned about people who have them on at intersections with four-way stop signs. Granted, it's annoying but, it's not usually a traffic hazard.
My gripe is with people whose turn signals tell me they are going to turn down the street right before my turn so I can safely make a left turn in front of them. Then, they don't turn and nearly broadside me.
They are turn signals, people. Learn how to use them properly. It's not rocket science.
This is a twist on the seemingly universal complaint about motorists who don't use turn signals. Today, I must write about people who use them but don't turn. I'm not talking about old guys on the highway whose turn signals are on for seven miles before they remember it and turn it off. I'm not even all that concerned about people who have them on at intersections with four-way stop signs. Granted, it's annoying but, it's not usually a traffic hazard.
My gripe is with people whose turn signals tell me they are going to turn down the street right before my turn so I can safely make a left turn in front of them. Then, they don't turn and nearly broadside me.
They are turn signals, people. Learn how to use them properly. It's not rocket science.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
The Red Cross
I called our local chapter of The Red Cross on Thursday to get my volunteering schedule for Meals on Wheels. The chapter's director answered the phone & we chatted for a while because I haven't seen him in months, since about a week before my surgery. He jokingly asked if I wanted to go to Louisiana. I said that actually I did want to go but I'm not quite up to that yet. I wish I was.
But the more I thought about, and the more I watched news reports about the devastation, I realized the clean-up will be going on long after I'm feeling better. As good as I feel most of the time, I'm still very tired. Just working those two extra hours a day on the play is wiping me out. I was in bed, almost continuously, from 2 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday. One of the requirements for disaster relief workers is being able to work long hours. Seeing as I still need to take naps during the day so I don't get sick, I wouldn't be very useful.
But, that shouldn't be the case for much longer. So, the next time The Red Cross offers a disaster relief course, I'm going to take it.
Then, I'll just have to figure out what to do with my Mom while I'm gone and I'll be all set to help. For now, the best I can do is send money. And prayers.
I called our local chapter of The Red Cross on Thursday to get my volunteering schedule for Meals on Wheels. The chapter's director answered the phone & we chatted for a while because I haven't seen him in months, since about a week before my surgery. He jokingly asked if I wanted to go to Louisiana. I said that actually I did want to go but I'm not quite up to that yet. I wish I was.
But the more I thought about, and the more I watched news reports about the devastation, I realized the clean-up will be going on long after I'm feeling better. As good as I feel most of the time, I'm still very tired. Just working those two extra hours a day on the play is wiping me out. I was in bed, almost continuously, from 2 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday. One of the requirements for disaster relief workers is being able to work long hours. Seeing as I still need to take naps during the day so I don't get sick, I wouldn't be very useful.
But, that shouldn't be the case for much longer. So, the next time The Red Cross offers a disaster relief course, I'm going to take it.
Then, I'll just have to figure out what to do with my Mom while I'm gone and I'll be all set to help. For now, the best I can do is send money. And prayers.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Tip of the Day
Scenario: You are working with a very large, awkward piece of sheet metal (commonly known in theater circles as thunder board). It takes at least three people to handle this piece of metal, which has very sharp edges that could be dropped onto your foot once, twice or possibly even three times.
Tip: Do not wear flip flops.
Scenario: You are working with a very large, awkward piece of sheet metal (commonly known in theater circles as thunder board). It takes at least three people to handle this piece of metal, which has very sharp edges that could be dropped onto your foot once, twice or possibly even three times.
Tip: Do not wear flip flops.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
School
My 4-year-old nephew started pre-school on Monday. When I talked to him last week he was really excited about school. He was going to learn to read and write. He was also going to learn about animals, specifically dinosaurs. He was also looking forward to meeting, and playing with, new people.
Well, with the start of school came some tears. My sister waited in the hallway to make sure Alex was OK. He came out twice crying, just to make sure she was still there. What changed in between the time I talked to him and the start of school was that he had a dentist appointment. This particular dentist doesn't allow parents in the room while he's working on the child. So, in a little 4-year-old mind, Mommy not being in the room was equated with the dentist. Eventually, he was fine. It probably just took him a little while to explore and discover there was no drill, and no dentist in the room.
Alex's 3-year-old brother Aaryn had a difficult time with the first day of school, too. They are very close and have never been apart since the day Aaryn came home from the hospital. At first, Aaryn kept searching the house thinking Alex was hiding somewhere. Then he would do little things that annoy Alex, thinking that would bring him out of hiding so he would tell Aaryn to stop. Finally, it sunk in that Alex wasn't home, so every few minutes he would ask my sister when they were going to pick up Alex.
I'm sure they'll both adjust eventually.
This next part is semi-related to school. I had another weird dream last night. In the dream, I was at a party (held in a Wal-Mart, but all the shelves were empty) which was kind of like a school reunion because most of the people in the dream went to my high school. Of course The Best Friend was there and, in the beginning of the dream, we were just hanging and talking. At one point, someone mentioned that 65 of our classmates were there. That was weird because there were only 62 people in our class and two of them have died since graduation. Somehow, the party got moved to a baseball field in the city's biggest park. Also, people started ignoring me and The Best Friend. We decided we'd give them a reason not to ignore us anymore, so we started holding hands and hugging each other. We still got ignored, so we started making out. Still, no one cared ... until one classmate said "It's about time you two got together."
Then I woke up.
My 4-year-old nephew started pre-school on Monday. When I talked to him last week he was really excited about school. He was going to learn to read and write. He was also going to learn about animals, specifically dinosaurs. He was also looking forward to meeting, and playing with, new people.
Well, with the start of school came some tears. My sister waited in the hallway to make sure Alex was OK. He came out twice crying, just to make sure she was still there. What changed in between the time I talked to him and the start of school was that he had a dentist appointment. This particular dentist doesn't allow parents in the room while he's working on the child. So, in a little 4-year-old mind, Mommy not being in the room was equated with the dentist. Eventually, he was fine. It probably just took him a little while to explore and discover there was no drill, and no dentist in the room.
Alex's 3-year-old brother Aaryn had a difficult time with the first day of school, too. They are very close and have never been apart since the day Aaryn came home from the hospital. At first, Aaryn kept searching the house thinking Alex was hiding somewhere. Then he would do little things that annoy Alex, thinking that would bring him out of hiding so he would tell Aaryn to stop. Finally, it sunk in that Alex wasn't home, so every few minutes he would ask my sister when they were going to pick up Alex.
I'm sure they'll both adjust eventually.
This next part is semi-related to school. I had another weird dream last night. In the dream, I was at a party (held in a Wal-Mart, but all the shelves were empty) which was kind of like a school reunion because most of the people in the dream went to my high school. Of course The Best Friend was there and, in the beginning of the dream, we were just hanging and talking. At one point, someone mentioned that 65 of our classmates were there. That was weird because there were only 62 people in our class and two of them have died since graduation. Somehow, the party got moved to a baseball field in the city's biggest park. Also, people started ignoring me and The Best Friend. We decided we'd give them a reason not to ignore us anymore, so we started holding hands and hugging each other. We still got ignored, so we started making out. Still, no one cared ... until one classmate said "It's about time you two got together."
Then I woke up.