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?

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'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

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!

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.