The Obligatory Year-End Blog Post

This time tomorrow night, I will be preparing to say "goodbye" to 2010 and "hello" to 2011.  Ok, let's face it... this time tomorrow night I will be either asleep or wishing that dang ball would hurry up and drop so I could go to bed.  Either way, in just about 26 hours 2010 is going to end, whether I'm still awake to see it or not.

Having spent more time unemployed this past year than employed, I am thankful to be ending the year 2 months into a job that I can see myself working for a long time.  To my surprise and relief, it has turned out that I really do like this job (and even some of my co-workers) now that I've had time to adjust to a whole new work routine.  This is probably the first time in my life I have had a job that I didn't dread each day, and also the first time I've had a job where I don't get depressed over the thought of still working there years from now.

As my employment status has changed, so has my schedule.  Time has been a roller coaster for me this year--  sometimes being so empty that I could scream from boredom, and other times so busy and hectic that I was nearly too busy to breathe!  During my periods of unemployment, I had the opportunity to reconnect with some family and some friends from my past.  Kaleb and I got to visit my grandparents almost weekly for a few months!  My dear friend, Jack, has moved back to the States this year after working overseas for the last 5 years, and it has been so great to have him back around for visits!  I've even gotten to know, perhaps for the first time, some old acquaintances from my elementary school days.

A Special Christmas Gift from My Daddy

Well, today is Christmas!  I barely slept last night because I was so excited to see whether or not Kaleb would have fun with all his new Christmas gifts!  He has, of course, had lots of fun this morning.  He got his very own child-sized recliner with a footstool and an end table and an LED lamp that he can turn on and off all by himself.  He's gotten new toys and books and clothes, too, and played all morning up until nap time.

I got some pretty nice things too!  I had already gotten my new love seat from my dad a few weeks ago, and we had created a footstool to go with it by shortening and upholstering an old coffee table I had in storage.  Dad also came home a few days ago with a new rug for my living room, since the old one no longer matched (the new love seat is a different color than the old one).  Also, Dad had paid for us to have Kaleb's portraits made a couple of days ago, also as part of my Christmas.  I expected I might receive a couple of other smaller gifts, and I did.  One gift in particular, though, has already brought tears to my eyes a few times today, and I feel it deserves a blog post!

Pensacola: Proof That Mother Nature has Multiple Personality Disorder!

Last night, Pensacola dropped into the low 20s!  As I write this, it is after 10:30 in the morning and the temperature is still below freezing outside.  The temperature isn't even expected to make it out of the low 40s today.  But, pop over to The Weather Channel, and one look at the 10-day forecast for this area will reveal that our projected high for Thursday (two days from now) is a mild 70º!!  Then, for the remainder of the 10-day forecast, the temps are expected to remain in the 40s at night and the mid-60s by day.  How does that make any sense?!

So, I saw signs of the overnight cold all over the place on my drive to work this morning: a few frozen mud puddles, several fallen tree branches, people bundled into so many layers that they waddled like penguins as they walked.  As I turned onto Olive Road, I noticed that I was running a bit earlier than usual.  As I passed the Casa Ole Mexican Restaurant on Olive, I was glad to have those few extra minutes.  I HAD to stop and take a picture of the fountain in front of the restaurant.  It was lovely, and not a sight we see often here in warm, sunny Florida.

Check it out!

Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas

As much as I enjoy the festive season of holidays that begins at Thanksgiving and continues until the New Year's party hangovers have worn off, I'm always brought down just a little bit by the people who constantly bicker and whine about the "reason for the season."

I'd guess that nearly all of my friends (on Facebook and in real life) would identify themselves as believing in the Biblical God.  Being in the South, people identifying themselves as "Christian" are definitely in the majority, and that's not a problem for me.  I grew up in church, and many of my friends still actively live the Christian lifestyle.

My problem is this: around here (and probably in other places too) there are people who actually get offended if you wish them a "Happy Holidays" rather than a "Merry CHRISTmas."  Now, I understand that Jesus may be your reason for the season, and I respect that, but I also respect the fact that Christmas isn't the only holiday celebrated in the late-December/early-January window.  There are also Santa Lucia Day (Sweden), Las Posadas (Mexico), Hanukkah (Jewish), Boxing Day (Canada), Kwanzaa, Yule, Emancipation Day, Feast of St. Basil, New Year's, Guru Gobind Singh's Birthday (Sikh), Epiphany, Three Kings' Day, and Lohri (Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh).....and probably many more I've never even heard of!  So, if I tell you "Happy Holidays," I'm not trying to downplay the importance of your God and/or your religion in your life; rather, I'm making an ethnically- and religiously-neutral statement of good will, and trying to express that I hope you enjoy whatever holiday(s) you choose to celebrate this time of year.

Cold Medicine Makes Strange Thoughts

Well, it's official: Kaleb and I are both sick.  I believe it to be my semi-annual sinus infection, and Kaleb's leaking yucky goo out through his ear tubes.  Fun, fun, fun!

Work Friday (yesterday) was a bad adventure of coughing and wheezing, and doing my best to make it through the work day without projectile sneezing or coughing on anyone.   I got home yesterday only to discover that Kaleb was coming down with the same brand of icky.  We both went to bed early and slept like the dead, thanks to the soothing effects of the best OTC cold medicines available.

Today, we have rotated through a looped cycle of sleeping/napping, snacking, and cuddling on the couch drowsily reading Kaleb's books over and over and over again.   Now Kaleb has gone to bed, and I've taken my dose of nighttime cold medicine: the kind with antihistamines and 10% alcohol, guaranteed to make you extremely loopy before it eventually knocks you out for the night.  As I lie here in bed waiting for sleep to come and take me away for another night of peace, my brain is running through any number of odd thoughts...thanks, in large part, to this heavenly cold medicine.

Remember when you were a kid, and you read the Dr. Suess book Green Eggs & Ham?  Well, tonight, I analyze my current state of poor health in a fun rhyme!

Scroll below to read my original adaptation of Green Eggs & Ham.

I call it "How Sick I Am," or, alternatively, "Green Snot. Damn!"

Thieves Should First Become Good Liars.

We have, in one of the classes I work with, a female student who is known to steal little (and, sometimes, not so little) things from teachers and other students around school.  While lots of people know she does this, it's hard to catch her with the stolen items in her possession.

For the purposes of this blog, I will call this girl "Jane," although Jane is obviously not her real name.  In fact, her name sounds nothing like "Jane" at all.

Today, during one of the afternoon classes, I was using a blue mechanical pencil to jot down some notes at my desk near the back of the classroom.  I was also watching the students to make sure they were paying attention to the lesson.  When I noticed some students on the other side of the room daydreaming, I set down my pencil and walked over to get them back on task.  I was still up and away from my desk a few minutes later when the class-change bell rang.

As the students were leaving the room, I walked back to my desk to finish making my notes, so that I wouldn't forget what I was supposed to be making notes about in the first place.  I sat down at the desk, but my pencil had disappeared.

Then I remembered, Jane sits right beside my desk.

I'm Feeling GREAT Today!

Feeling Liberated! Finally done with only having contact from Kaleb's father when he wants to trash my personal life (not that there's anything unsavory going on, btw). So, he's been deleted from my friend list here and told that my life is none of his business. Somehow he thinks it's ok for him to have totally ignored his own son since mid-January of this year, but still be entitled to voice his opinion about my friends and such. Well, I've had enough, and he can no longer read anything I post here. I've sent him a friend request from Kaleb's account, though. He claims he cares about Kaleb (although I don't believe it), and so if he truly does care he can keep up with Kaleb's life there. I sent him a very matter-of-fact note today telling him these things, and IT FELT SOOOO GOOD!

Thanks, Sharra, for the idea about removing him from my list and just adding him to Kaleb's. You're so smart. :-)

Below is a copy of the note I sent him this morning.

=================================================

Subject: Kaleb's Schedule

Kaleb will be back on daycare full-time starting Monday (tomorrow). Full time is Monday-Friday, 8-5. We were going to lose our place at the daycare by only sending him part time, as they are nearing capacity and he was holding a spot that could have been filled with a full time child.

It's been over 2 months since I responded to your request for visitation, and I've heard nothing back from you on the subject. I assume this means you're not going to be back around. You haven't seen him in almost 9 months, with the exception of the one day you came along with your mother.....and I doubt you'd have come that day if not for your mother's visit.

I'd left you on my friend list, up until now, so that you could keep up with what was going on in Kaleb's life. However, the only time I've heard from you was when you decided to get nasty about a comment a friend of mine made on one of my status posts that had absolutely nothing to do with Kaleb. You make no comment whatsoever about things dealing with Kaleb. Since those text messages you sent me, I have come to realize that what goes on in my personal life is absolutely none of your business. In a few minutes, I'm going to remove you from my Facebook friend list. I will, then, send you a friend request from Kaleb's Facebook account. If you care to know what goes on with Kaleb, you can accept the friend request from his account. If you aren't interested, you can simply ignore or refuse that friend request. It's your choice.

=================================================

I'm so proud of me for following through with it. :-)

Life's Little Cheat Codes

Sometimes I think it would be nice if life had cheat codes, as I'm told many video games do.  Sure, it's fun to experience a challenge and do things the hard way, but sometimes you just need a little help.  I have compiled, in this post, some of life's little secret cheats.  Some of these are my own, and others I have flagrantly plagiarized from other websites.  Enjoy!

Home Cheats

1. De-clutter your wardrobe:

Put your clothes into your closet with all the hangers reversed one time each year. As you pull clothes out and wear and wash them, hang them up and return the hanger to a "normal" position. At the end of the year, give away any clothes still hanging on backwards-facing hangers, since you haven't worn them in an entire year.

2. Get out of the house on time:

Make your playlist exactly as long as you have to get ready. Start out with slow songs, and work your way toward more upbeat and energetic songs as you approach the time to leave. You'll be able to tell how you're doing on time by the currently playing song.

3. Open a banana the right way:

Instead of tearing open a banana at the stem (which can be difficult), just flip the banana open and open it by pinching the dark/flattened end (pinch with the thumb and first finger of each hand, then pull your hands apart). There's a reason monkeys do it this way.

4. Always remember to take important things with you by placing them with your shoes or car keys the night before.

5. Chill any warm beer or soda in minutes. Put the cans in a pot, cover with ice, add 1½ cups of salt, then fill with water. The can will chill to ice cold, on average, in about 3 minutes.

6. Save the punch:

Keep your fruit punch at a party from getting watered down by melting ice by freezing juice in ice trays before putting the punch into the bowl. Use these frozen juice cubes to keep the punch cool in place of regualr ice.

7. Rejuvenate the glass caraffe of your coffee pot or glass tea pitcher without harsh (and expensive) cleaners or chemicals. Over time, deposits build up in these items with regular use. To clean them like new, put 3 Tbsp. of salt and ¼ cup lemon juice (or half a lemon, cut into wedges) into the caraffe. Add 10-12 ice cubes, and swirl. The lemon juice breaks up the deposits, while the ice and salt scrub them away. Once the bottom looks clean again, rince thoroughly and they're ready to use!

Halloween: Are You Being Tricked?

As the weather turns cooler, the aisles at grocery stores are filled with orange-and-black packages of candy and toys, and  seasonal costume shops are doing a booming business.  Parents usher their little darlings up and down row after row of costumes, some cute and some grotesque, searching for the "perfect" look.  Every grocery store, every other street corner, and half the churches in town have all set up their "Pumpkin Patches" to bring in revenue by selling pumpkins to be carved into Jack-O-Lanterns.  Everyone prepares in their own way, even though many haven't got a clue what they're preparing for.

While some of us are preparing for one of the most spiritual holidays of our year, others are testing out various candy-carrying options to see which has the greatest capacity or weight limit.  Personally, I don't expect everyone to view this holiday the same way.  Certainly every holiday is celebrated by different people in different ways.  But, I think that Halloween is one of the least-understood holidays commonly celebrated in America today.

Perhaps the one thing that annoys me the most is people who do not live their lives according to their professed beliefs.....and this is no different at Halloween.  It seems to me that the same people who post scriptures and "God" statuses on Facebook almost daily and who, in less than two months, will be ranting and raving against the "commercialism of Christmas" are the same ones who are preparing to escort their kids to a local store to begin picking out Halloween costumes for Trick-or-treating and candy to hand out to the neighborhood kids who will come to the door one evening at the end of the month.  Please be aware: Christmas isn't the only holiday being commercialized.

A friend of mine shared on Facebook today this link, which mirrors many of her own views as to why she and her family do not celebrate Halloween.  While she and I are basically on opposite ends of the religious spectrum, I fully respect that she lives her life according to her professed faith, and I think that all professed Christians ought to read the article.

So, I thought that I would use this post to share a little bit about the origins of Halloween and how and where it began.

Cotton As High As My Little Boy's Eye!

This past weekend, the annual Peanut Festival was held at the Gabbert Farm in Jay, FL.  Kaleb and I were invited to go to Jay to have lunch and attend the Festival with some relatives from my mom's mother's family...relatives I hadn't seen since middle school 13-14 years ago.  None of them had ever met Kaleb, and there would be children around there that had been born into the family since my last visit to Jay.

I traded cars with Dad for the day, since his van is roomier and runs better than my little Nissan.  Kaleb got to ride up in the front seat (still in his car seat) for the long trip.  He slept most of the way there, which meant he arrived well-rested and happy.  We ate lunch at my great-grandmother's house; she's Kaleb's great-great-grandmother...that's pretty great!  Kaleb sat in a booster seat at the table and ate lunch.  He's so adorable around people he doesn't know; he acted like a miniature man eating his lunch, wiping his own hands and face on a napkin, and politely asking to get down when he was finished.  Kaleb was fascinated by all the new faces, especially his young cousins who were running around being silly and playing.  The little girl-cousin who was Kaleb's size last time I visited has grown into a lovely 15-year-old young woman.

Political Lambo

So, on my way home from grocery shopping today, I got stopped at a red light beside, and slightly behind, a sleek black Lamborghini.  The person driving it sat at the light, revving the engine repeatedly, obviously trying to attract attention.  It worked.  As I glanced to the side, a lone bumper sticker on the back bumper of the car caught my eye.....and gave me reason to assume the person behind the wheel was a jerk.  I grabbed my cell phone to try and snap a photo, but the light turned green and the Lambo sped away, weaving from lane to lane to get around any vehicle not going at least 10mph over the speed limit.  Although I didn't get the pic, the sighting stuck with me enough to inspire this blog post.

Before I get to the issue of the message on the bumper sticker, let me start with this: What kind of moron puts a cheap vinyl bumper sticker onto the [painted] bumper of a Lamborghini?!?!  Are you kidding me?  I mean, I like bumper stickers, but A: I don't put them onto the painted surfaces of my car, and B: I'm not driving around in a Lamborghini!  Those cars cost a quarter of a million dollars or more!  That's $250,000+!!  My car is worth about......$1500.

Anyhow, I suppose it's not an unreasonable assumption to think that someone who can afford a Lamborghini can probably also afford to replace faded bumper stickers as needed or have a bumper repainted if a sticker removal damages the paint.

Sticker Envy!

Anyone who knows me, or who has ever seen my car, should be fully aware of my fondness for bumper stickers.  It's somewhat hard to miss, you know.  Here's what the back of my car looks like right now:

My current sticker collection.

But today, as Kaleb and I were on our way to spend the day visiting my best friend Chris, I saw an absolutely hilarious sticker.  I literally laughed out loud driving down 9 Mile Road heading out of Pensacola.  I laughed hard enough that Kaleb laughed too, even though he had no clue what was so funny!  This is the first time in a long time I've experienced sticker envy, but this sticker is well worth a bit of envy.  And what, you may wonder, was the bit of humor I spotted on my morning drive?

I never get jealous when I see my ex with someone else.

My parents taught me to give my used toys to the less fortunate!

Party Time: How Pitiful.

Playing a sad, sad song.

It's a party!

What?
          It's a huge pity Party!
Where?
          Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.
When?
          Tonight (and every night)
Who's Invited?
          We'll get to that in a moment.

Music will include the world's tiniest violin playing the world's saddest song.....just for YOU!

Let it be known here and now that I am absolutely sick of ambiguous status posts by people who are wallowing in misery of their own creation and seeking pity from everyone around them.  We all have bad days, but the rational among us work pro-actively to correct any problems we can and set ourselves back on the road toward whatever form of happiness we seek.  Sadly, not everyone operates this way.  I see far too many people, lately, living lives of self-induced wretchedness and broadcasting their angst online for all the world to read in an effort to garner the most pity possible.  Well, I'm done playing that game.  If you are miserable and are doing nothing to improve your situation, don't come to me fishing for sympathy.  I'm saving my condolences for people who haven't the means to improve their situations.

So, what does this mean?

Wiser By The Day

"I don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday."

~Abraham Lincoln

Well, Abe, I learned a lot yesterday after making a somewhat painful discovery.

That said, I started thinking last night about all that I have learned in my life as a result of romances and friendships, some of which failed miserably and some that fizzled out slowly and some that are still ongoing.  I'm not talking about those lifelong family relationships.  It goes without saying that you learn volumes from relationships with parents, siblings, grandparents, and other relatives.  Instead, my thoughts yesterday and today have been focused on those relationships that we form outside our families, often starting in preschool or elementary school.  Throughout our lives, most of us meet new people and form new relationships.  Some last only a short time while others last many years.  A rare few will last a lifetime.  But each and every relationship we experience, regardless of its duration, teaches us something.

Often, we never even realize that we're learning from our relationships.  The process is subtle, and it happens without us noticing.  Occasionally, the process of learning is painful, as when valued relationships end.  At other times, our awareness of this learning process can be quite pleasant, as when friends learn that they've grown to be so much more than friends.  Over the last few days, I've made the decision to be thankful for each and every lesson I've learned from my relationships past and present, both the good lessons and the painful ones.  These lessons are like gifts that enable me to live a better life.  And, as with any gift, I've decided I need to say "thanks" to the people who've given me these gifts of knowledge.

To The People of My Generation

It's a Political Party!

Dear Members of My Peer Age Group:

Now that we're all grown up, it's time that you start caring about the things that air on the nightly news before the sports scores!  National events MATTER.  The economy MATTERS.  World events MATTER.  The environment MATTERS.  And, like it or not, political events MATTER!  And not only do these things all matter, they should matter to you.

Some of you post sports updates online several times a day on several days a week!  But those of you who devote all this time to tracking your favorite teams are the same ones who are so quick to complain when I post something about current political or world events.  All of these international events impact your life too!  They determine who's making the laws you have to live by, how much you pay in taxes, how your children's schools are funded, how safe you are, and how the world around you impacts your health.  These matters play an important role in your day-to-day life.....every day.

I understand that news of politics and other world events can be dry sometimes and repetitive.  I suppose that news of sports and fashion and music and people named "Snooki" might be more exciting to those interested in such things, but none of those things are likely to have a life-changing impact on you.  Fantasy football isn't going to pay your bills; laws aren't written or enforced by clothing designers; pop culture isn't likely to ensure that your child gets a quality education.

National Child Passenger Safety Week, September 19-25, 2010

Leave it to Florida to have some of the most relaxed laws in the country concerning the use of child safety seats in vehicles. With the national Child Passenger Safety Week right around the corner, I thought this would be a perfect time to research and share some information on current safety regulations for children riding in vehicles.

Following the bare minimum laws set forth by the State of Florida leaves most young children vulnerable and under-protected.  Just because Florida law says that your 4-year-old can ride in any seat in the car with just the adult shoulder/lap belt does not mean that it is what's safest for your child!  I think most parents these days are more than familiar with the guidelines that state that infants should ride rear-facing until they are at least one year old and weigh a minimum of 20 pounds.  Many child safety groups advocate for extended periods of riding rear-facing, and cite many studies which back up their beliefs that this provides enhanced safety for kids.  The problems arise with the gross lack of readily-available information available concerning appropriate vehicle for children over one year old.

Congratulations! You're all grown up! (But you're still an immature nitwit.)

Possible alternate titles for this post:

"Why My High School Reunion Would Be A Complete Waste Of Time"

--OR--

"Cliques Are Forever"

I joined Facebook at the beginning of 2008, a few months before I became pregnant with Kaleb.  For several years before, I have been a member on MySpace.  However, as MySpace began to be taken over more and more by spammers and middle schoolers, I made the move to Facebook.....where the other "grown ups" seemed to be going.  I thought it would be a perfect way to keep in touch with friends, and reconnect with people from my past.  As it turns out, I was both right and wrong.

After joining Facebook, I rapidly received friend requests from lots and lots of my former classmates and  friends from different stages of my life.  For the most part, I accepted the requests from anyone I knew, putting aside whatever differences we may have had in the past and assuming that they must have moved past it as well since they had sent me requests.  My list of connections grew and grew and I discovered it was fun reconnecting with these people I hadn't seen in 8 years or more.

Deremopublicratican

The Elusive Deremopublicratican

As the 2010 election approaches, election "season" is in full swing all across the country.  Billboards all over town are plastered with 10-foot tall faces of politicians hoping to be elected or reelected.  I can't remember the last day our house didn't receive a prerecorded political telephone message from one candidate or another or the last day when our daily mail delivery didn't contain at least one political flyer.  I'd guess that one-third of the television commercials are political in nature, as well, especially during prime time and on the news networks. Radio ads packed with platforms and mud slinging are playing on every station. All the major intersections, and many of the smaller intersections, are peppered with Red, White, and Blue political signs, from which you can usually not read anything but the last name of the candidate - not their first name, political party, or even what political office they're running for.  A few days ago, on a Tuesday, I loaded up my 19-month-old and made the short trip to my polling place which happens to be a church) to vote in the primary elections, and counted no fewer than a dozen people in lawn chairs sitting along the road in front of the polling location holding signs and waving to every car that appeared to be pulling into the lot.  Yes, indeed, it is the season for politics, and it's only going to get worse as November 2nd gets closer.

As the political talk has increased in the news, it has also become a more talked-about topic on Social Networking sites like Facebook and Twitter...and maybe MySpace too, but who uses that any more?  Many of my friends and I post comments or status updates of a political nature from time to time, more often lately in this time leading up to the election.  Since I have such a varied group of friends, many of whom have political opinions that differ greatly from my own, I find myself regularly engaged in conversations of some type or another where some political something-or-other is the topic.  Thankfully, most of my friends are able to carry on open conversations as adults, without getting nasty or mean over differing opinions.  The problem, for me, has become this: most of my politically-minded friends do not know one another, so I keep finding myself having the same conversations over and over again with different people.  I've decided to answer, in this post, the questions I am asked most often concerning my thoughts on today's "hot button" topics.

Red! Recipes

Every evening as dinner time approaches, I read status post after status post where various friends talk about not having any new ideas for things to cook their families for dinner.  I think that, from time to time, every family falls into a dining rut.  Sometimes, all it takes to get out of the rut are some fresh ideas.  So, to help all of you get out of your dining ruts (and to get some new recipes for myself), I have launched a sister blog where I plan to collect recipes for family-friendly meals.  Feel free to check it out, and send in some of your family favorites too!

Click the photo to visit the new Red! Recipes Blog!

A Big Boy Bed and a Mickey Mouse Pillowcase

Well, I've always heard that when your child grows old enough to climb out of his crib, it's time for a big kid bed.  And, so, today my baby became a big boy with a big boy bed and a Mickey Mouse pillowcase.....on his first pillow.  For someone who's supposed to symbolize the "Happiest Place on Earth," seeing Mickey Mouse in my son's be sure is making me sad today! 

Kaleb standing beside his big boy bed, 8-16-2010.

Until this past week, I think I had been in denial about how much my baby was growing up.  Now, all of a sudden, I've had to buy him bigger shoes (size 6, the biggest size before he goes from toddler shoes to little boy shoes) and convert his bed from a crib to a "big kid" toddler bed.  A glance at the growth chart on his closet door shows that he's grown almost a whole foot taller since birth.  He's walking and running and using a spoon and fork.  He can talk a lot.....though you kinda have to know him to understand most of it.

I guess eventually every parent goes through these feelings.  I just had thought I might not have to deal with this so soon.  I simply don't remember authorizing him to grow up so quickly!

All tucked in and ready for his first night in the big boy bed!

The Swift Decline of Quality Television Programming

This weekend as I've been home with Kaleb, I've really noticed how few television programs there are anymore worth watching.  On the weekends, Cox Cable should just give us two days free, since most everything showing is absolute garbage.  We have 70 channels of TV, and I can't find anything to watch!  I shouldn't have to pay for extended service and hundreds of channels just to find one or two with worthwhile programming!

The first problem I have with weekend programming is the number of channels that air movies one after another all day instead of the normal hour or half-hour shows.  I'm a single mom with a toddler; I do not have time to sit and watch an entire movie uninterrupted!  Leave the movies to the movie channels!  But, while the movies are a problem on the weekends, there's a much bigger issue.....one TV style that is flooding the airwaves and ruining the quality of television:

"Reality" TV!

It all started in 1992 when MTV started a show called "The Real World" that followed a group of young adults thrown into a posh urban/downtown apartment together.  Real?  Hardly.  Seriously, in the real world, when would you ever find 6-8 beautiful young adults (men and women) who've never met all moving into an apartment together?  It would never work, especially not when you're hooking up with a different roommate every couple of days.  If "The Real World" was the real world, the rate of homicide would increase dramatically.....or maybe just the rate of STDs.

Late-Night Poetry Reading

For months now, I have had a few words of a poem floating around in my head.  I have known they were part of some poem that I heard a few years ago, but couldn't remember any more of the details.  I remember thinking, when I first heard it, that the poem was particularly touching.  But, every time these words would come to mind lately, I wasn't near a computer or a library or a bookstore or anyplace where I could research what poem they were from.  Well, tonight the words came to me again, as I was sitting here in bed with my laptop in front of me.  I found the poem whose words have floated around fragmented in my head for so long now.  As it turns out, the poem was written by a rather prolific author and former Nobel Prize (Literature) winner.  I've read through many of his other works tonight, and find that I rather like them all!  So, as I have a favorite poet for the first time, I thought I'd share, here, the touching piece that brought me to discover his work.

I do not love you as if you were a salt rose, or topaz
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
So I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

~Pablo Neruda [Love Sonnet XVII from 100 Love Sonnets]

It was this line that has stayed with me all this time:  "I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where."

Isn't that the nature of love, perfectly put into words?  When you truly love someone, it's a feeling that is completely unexplainable.  It's a feeling that is with you all the time.  It becomes a part of you and a part of everything you do.  It becomes a factor in the way you make decisions and live your life.  Love changes you.

Fun with PhotoScape v3.5

So, my dad found a Democratic "Street Sign" for my younger brother to hang in his room.  I thought it was funny, so I snapped a photo and decided to use it as a practice subject while I'm learning how to use the photo manipulation tools in my new software.  So, the photo I took edited together with some royalty-free stock photos I got online produced the result shown below.  I think it's not too bad, for a first attempt!  Be on the lookout for more postings as I learn the ins and outs of this super-cool program!

Broken Pedestals

In May of 2001 when I graduated high school, I had been taught by roughly 42 different teachers -- From preschool through high school.  Each and every one of them had the same responsibility to me as to all their other students: to pass along facts and information; to expose us to lots of cultures and world views; and to teach us to think for ourselves, form our own opinions, express ourselves effectively, and stand up for our beliefs.

Well, let me just say now that most of my teachers did a great job at this, however resistant I was to all the lessons they tried to teach me.  As I've grown up, I've found practical applications for more of the things I learned in school than I ever thought I would.  I have even found myself using a pretty good amount of ALGEBRA, of all things, in various life situations.  Really, who would have ever thought that Algebra would be useful?  But, indeed, it is!  Other useful things I've learned have included basic anatomy, history, geography, and English (vocabulary and grammar).

Yet, though my teachers and I spent lots and lots of time together in classes over the years, it is only now that I'm adult that I have begun to realize how little we really know about our teachers when we are kids.  Sure, we get to know about their favorite colors or foods.  We occasionally hear about their spouses or children or pets.  I even remember some smaller details, like the fact that Mr. Woodifn was retired from the military and the U.S. Postal Service, that Mr. Akers liked Creedence Clearwater Revival, that Mrs. Reynolds didn't drink alcohol, and Mrs. Bell had three Bassett Hounds.

It's JUST a birthday, you know.

It seems to me that there is a growing trend among people I know: unnecessarily-prolonged birthday celebration extravaganzas!  Let's face it, people, it's really not that big a deal that you have "managed to survive" yet another year.

Yes, when you were a kid, I'm sure your parents made a big deal of your birthday.  They'd plan a party, and invite your friends over.  You'd have a sleepover or a pool party, or they'd rent one of those inflatable castles for you to jump around in all day.  They'd come up with a theme like Princesses, or Lisa Frank, or that year's biggest Super Hero or Disney character.  Or, maybe you had a roller skating party or a bowling party, or an all-day Chuck-E-Cheese's blowout!

But, let's face it, now that you're a grown-up, it's time you knew the truth.  While you and your friends were gorging on pizza and cake, watching "PG-13" movies until midnight, and jumping and laughing until you puked, your parents were busy celebrating one thing.....YOU were one year closer to adulthood!  Sure they had all those fond memories of the day you came into their lives, but the fact remains that you were one year closer to being responsible for yourself, and that was worth celebration!

However, many of my adult friends seem to have gone birthday-crazy!  Now, some of you celebrate your "birthday weekend" or your "birthday week."  I've even seen some people who, when their birthday fell in the middle of a week, have begun their celebrations the weekend before their birthdays and continued them all the way through the end of the weekend following their birthdays!  Does anyone really need 10 whole days of birthday celebration?  That's 2.7% of the entire year you've spent celebrating!

The Slightly-Belated, Long-Awaited Proposition 8 Blog Post!

“Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same sex couples.” [U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker]

That's right, the judge (rightly, I believe) has ruled that people cannot enact laws, even with a majority vote, that have no rational or practical basis and are based entirely on the prejudice of the majority against a minority group with a different belief set.

In fact, not only was there no rational basis for such a law to have been passed in the first place, I can think of numerous rational bases for this law not to have passed. Not only that, I can think of rational arguments against most of the reasons people cited for supporting Proposition 8.

What is marriage? Webster's New World Dictionary defines marriage as “an intimate or close union.” While that certainly is an accurate definition, anyone who has ever been married could tell you that marriage is so much more. An intimate and close union, yes. But marriage is also safety, comfort, compromise, sacrifice, fulfillment. Among the multitude of dictionaries available, there can be found many different definitions for “marriage,” and only on rare occasion do these definitions contain any reference to the gender of the persons entering into a married state.

65 Years Ago Today.....

65 years ago today, the world became a much scarier place, and the face of modern warfare changed forever as the first atomic bomb to be used in war was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan.

A Uranium bomb (which weighed in at over 4 & 1/2 tons) nicknamed "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima August 6th, 1945. The Aioi Bridge, one of 81 bridges connecting the seven-branched delta of the Ota River, was the aiming point of the bomb. Ground Zero was set at 1,980 feet. At 0815 hours, the bomb was dropped from the Enola Gay. It missed by only 800 feet. At 0816 hours, in the flash of an instant, 66,000 people were killed and 69,000 people were injured by a 10 kiloton atomic explosion.
The point of total vaporization from the blast measured one half of a mile in diameter. Total destruction ranged at one mile in diameter. Severe blast damage carried as far as two miles in diameter. At two and a half miles, everything flammable in the area burned. The remaining area of the blast zone was riddled with serious blazes that stretched out to the final edge at a little over three miles in diameter.

Teddy Bear Bath Time!!!

If your kids are like mine, you may feel, sometimes, that the stuffed animal zoo has taken over your entire home.  If you feel this way, well, it's probably true.

But stuffed animals (and baby dolls) can be great, healthy toys for children.....girls AND boys.  I was told by a co-worker at a previous job that little boys who had stuffed animals would grow up to be gay.  To that guy: you are an idiot.  If a little boy is going to grow up to be a gay man, I guarantee it has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not he had stuffed animals as a child.  In the 70's there was "Free to Be You & Me" starring people such as Marlo Thomas ("That Girl") and Alan Alda ("M*A*S*H") and others.  One of the songs I like best from the show is William's Doll (watch newer version here) about a little boy who wants a doll.  His friends tease him saying "A doll, a doll, William wants a doll!"  His father is against the idea and tried to persuade his to like "boy" things like baseball.  In the end, William's grandmother is the wise one who knows that having a doll can set him on the road to learning how to be a good daddy when he grows up.  It's a good story, and a good lesson for parents of boys.

All Growed Up!

Over the past couple of years since I joined Facebook, I've reconnected with people I hadn't seen since middle school (which ended 9 years ago) or middle school (ended 13 years ago) or even elementary school (ended 16 years ago)!  Like me, all of these former classmates of mine are also now adults.  But, especially in the case of people I haven't kept in contact with over the years, this all still seems strange to me.

We're all old enough to buy alcohol now, and at least half of us have children.  Men I haven't seen since they were boys in elementary or middle school now have facial hair!  Some are married, and others (like me) are already divorced.  Some are homeowners, some are teachers, some are medical professionals, some are serving proudly in the military.  Seven of my former schoolmates are now church youth ministers around town and around the country.

Some of these people who were children with me haven't changed much over the years.  Some potheads are still potheads, some of the snobby bitches are still snobby bitches, and some people don't even look much different!  Some are no more mature now than they were when I last saw them in the 4th or 5th grade.

Simple Facebook Feature to Protect Your Account

In the blue bar at the top of most any Facebook page, select Account > Account Settings. Scroll down to account security and click "change." Then select "yes" to be notified by email every time your account is accessed from a new computer or device. Each time you log on for the first time from a device, you'll name the device...."phone" or "work" or whatever you choose, and then you'll recognize that device's name when you receive an email. If anyone else logs on from any other device or location (or even a different browser in some cases), you'll receive a notification email. If you receive a notification email, and you know you haven't been logged on to a new device, you'll know someone else is accessing your account.

This is a fast, easy way to monitor your account security, so there's no reason not to use it!

Doesn't "God" Ever Want To Say "No Comment"?

Before I get into the meat of this post, let me begin by saying that I do not intend to start a theological debate.  Nor is it my intention to proclaim any set of religious beliefs as specifically right or wrong.  I have no interest in condemning anyone for their chosen beliefs.  I am not in the business of converting others to my way of thinking OR of being converted to anyone else's way of thinking.  So, while this post will focus mainly on my observations of the Christian treatment of "God," I am not making any criticism of Christianity or any of its followers.

I have noticed, as I have connected with more and more people on various social networking sites (Facebook and others), that a great number of people will post updates asking for prayers, or praising their God, or stating that they know that their God will guide them/protect them/heal them/etc.  It is most specifically my Christian acquaintances that do this.  Among my Facebook friends, alone, I have no fewer than 10 friends who are employed by churches and countless others who openly and consistently practice the Christian faith.  There are, of course, others who are "part-time" Christians....you know: they think about their God on Easter, Christmas, Mother's Day, and any time they're in trouble, but mostly forget about the god concept the rest of the time.

There's Always A Reason [Follow-Up To Romantic History Blog]

After spending my evening last night with thoughts of relationships past, I thought to start my morning by finding something humorous to read about ex-boyfriends.  So began my search for funny quotes about exes.  What I found, however, surprised me enough to necessitate the writing of this blog entry.

So, what was it that I found?

I found, rather than a wealth of ex-boyfriend humor, the internet is flooded with sites promising to help you win back the "lost love" of an ex with hints, tips, advice, subscriptions and "foolproof systems."  Seriously?!?!

I was, once, friends with a woman who wasn't particularly outstanding in any way.  She wasn't all that smart, or interesting, or adventurous.  In hindsight, I suppose she was more of a friendly acquaintance than a real friend.  She never said much of anything of note, or much worth remembering.  But she DID have one phrase that she spoke quite often, and it was quite possibly the most wise thing I ever heard her say:

"Exes are exes for a reason."

A Brief Romantic History of - - - Me.

Tonight, I've found myself thinking about the past.  Some things I remember fondly, others sadly, and yet others with tears in my eyes.  I suppose everyone has evenings like these, when their thoughts turn inward and toward the past.  And now, as my thoughts have gone inward, they are flowing back out in text format!

For me, tonight, my thoughts seem to be largely populated by my exes....and they're an interesting group.

In the 9th grade I met a man who, for the purposes of this blog, will remain nameless and mostly without description.  He was a good man, much older than myself, whom I considered to be a true friend for the short time I knew him.  There was no romance, nor would it have been appropriate (or legal) if there had been.  What there was, for me, was knowledge that this man would become, in large part, the standard by which I would measure the other men who came into my life.   

Just a thought...

With every passing day,

I realize more and more that my son

will grow up to be the man

that my parents raised me

to raise him to be.

This makes me happy,

and helps me worry less.

A Review of the Exploreum in Mobile, AL

Today Dad and I took Kaleb to the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center in Mobile, AL.  What follows is my review of the parts of the museum we visited.  There were several of the exhibits that were geared toward children much older than Kaleb, and so these exhibits were not on our trip through the museum.

Our original reason for going to to Exploreum today was to check out the Reptile Planet exhibit showing at the Exploreum from July 9th until October 24th.  I have seen numerous billboard and internet advertisements for this exhibit over the last several weeks.  The Exploreum's website has this description of the exhibit:

These are NOT your garden variety reptiles! The Gulf Coast Exploreum’s new exhibit, Reptile Planet, features 30 exotic, live reptiles from 20 different countries. Get up close and personal with Burmese pythons, snake-necked turtles, veiled chameleons, American alligators and more! The exhibit also features numerous interactive components and activities that are fun for the whole family.  See this exhibit before it slithers away for good!

I am SO glad this was not the only exhibit accessible on our tickets!  It's true that there are 30 species of reptiles there, but I really didn't know that I was getting all excited to go and see lethargic turtles and sleeping snakes.  One of the animal exhibits was uninhabited while we were there, so that the caretakers could clean the terrarium.  Um, hello!  You're only open from 9-5 each day!  Don't you think it might have been a good idea to do your cleaning during the 16 hours the museum is closed?!?!  The "interactive components and activities" associated with this exhibit were static displays of anatomical parts of various reptiles.  I guess by "interactive" they meant "you can read the labels."  This exhibit was small, and tucked away in an upstairs area.

Giving you my 3¢, and you didn't have to beg for it!

So, news in the Pensacola area lately has brought "panhandling" to the forefront of local news (related news article here).  While I personally can't afford to provide income to every beggar in the greater Pensacola area, I don't think they deserve to be thrown off the street corners either, as long as they aren't being unsafe or harassing other people.  But all the press and print over this issue has gotten me thinking.....

Why are we really surprised at or surprised by the number of people taking to the streets these days to beg for money (some very successfully)?  Why are homeless people despised for begging, while parents all over town (and probably across the country) are actually encouraging their children to do essentially the same thing?  This is a problem that society has created, and many parents are perpetuating.

I can scarcely remember the last time I ventured to the grocery store without being pestered by some 6-year-old in a baseball uniform, or having to duck around a 5-foot-tall 13-year-old, or experiencing ear-splitting screaming from cheerleaders of all ages.....all standing around outside of the stores begging passers-by for money!  They're out there most every weekend, all year long.  All that changes are the uniforms that change with the seasons.....no, no, not the seasons of fall and spring and summer and winter.....I'm talking about the other seasons: football, baseball, basketball, soccer, marching band, etc.  I'm fine with the petite people selling lemonade or cookies or candy or hot dogs, or having bake sales, or washing cars.  Those kids are actually being taught a valuable lesson: that you should have to work for what you want.  My beef is with the kids who stand around with a can and just expect people to drop in money!  Heck, sometimes these kids aren't even STANDING to beg anymore; now, they're sitting under umbrella-shaded chairs!  Occasionally, I see the PARENTS doing more of the "work" (begging) than the kids who will supposedly be benefiting from the donations!

You may think your "tan" looks good.....

But I have never in my life seen anyone who I thought looked better "tan" than they would look with their natural skin tone.  If you were born white, than white is what is most healthy for your skin.  If you were born yellow or brown or olive or black or any other color, that natural shade is what is most healthy for your skin.  I don't care what the lady behind the counter at the tanning salon told you about how healthy it is to build up a "base tan" before you start going to the beach for the summer.  A "base tan" is still just a tan, and ALL tans are built up by overexposure to UV rays.....which means you are damaging your skin every time you get a sunburn OR a suntan!

Yes, your tan may be trendy and stylish.  Sure, I may be out of vogue with my pale, un-tan-able skin.  That's fine with me!  In 20 or 30 years, I'll still have healthy skin, and you'll either be going broke paying your dermatologist for "miracle" cures or you'll look like an expensive leather handbag!  Either way, I'll be better off for never trying to get a tan.

For the record, it IS absolutely possible to go to the beach and spend lots of time in the sun without causing unnecessary damage to your skin.  Sunblock and beach umbrellas are both cheap.  Use them!

Treat your emotions like a choose-your-ending story!

Remember when you were a kid, and there were 3 types of books in the school library that were always popular?  The Baby Sitter's Club, Goosebumps, and.....those wonderful books where you got to make choices to determine the outcome of the story.  You could read them several times each, making different choices along the way, and experience the story in a new way each time.  The choices made along the way were relatively simple, but they could make a big difference in the plot of the stories.

As I think about it, life's emotional roller coaster is actually a lot like those choose-your-ending books.  With each event in your life, you make choices about how to deal with the situation.  For example:

Wilting Lilies: Weak Women!

I find, lately, that I am completely disgusted by what seems to be a growing "trend" of weak women.  Nearly every day, I read Facebook status posts by women ailing from broken hearts and "can't-live-without-him syndrome."  There are news stories about women who stay with abusive husbands, not because they are scared to leave, but because they "love him," or they "know he doesn't mean it," or they "believe he will change because he swears he will."  I hear conversations (yes, everyone eavesdrops sometimes) between women discussing men who don't respect them, don't value their opinions, refuse to pay child support, don't help around the house, or are cheating.  Seriously!  What's wrong with you, women???

Aside from disparities stemming from anatomical differences, there are no significant characteristics preventing women from being as capable as men.  Don't get me wrong, I do believe that there are differences between the genders.  The point, though, is that none of these differences are great enough to prevent women from being able to live productive, happy, and healthy lives without "him."

"XXXXX-Americans"

Are you a Mexican-American?  Chinese-American?  African-American?  No, you probably aren't!

Oh, your MEXICAN but you don't speak a word of Spanish?  You're AFRICAN but you've never been to Africa?  You're CHINESE but you didn't know that the official name of that country is the People's Republic of China?

And what about NATIVE-Americans?  Sure, many years ago this was the perfect way to differentiate the "Indians" from the immigrants....but does it still make sense?

I mean, I was BORN in the Unites States, so am I not, by definition, a NATIVE American?  But, if I were to go around calling myself a "Native American," people would get offended.  And people would think I was loony if I went around calling myself "Irish American" these days.

A Long-Overdue Rant

Well, everyone else seems to have a blog, and so.....why not me?

I've had this Blogger account for several years now, and it has been mostly dormant for at least the last two.

I think blogging will give me an outlet to a) discuss my thought more in-depth than is possible on other social networking sites, and b) express thoughts that I may want to share without posting them directly onto any of my profiles on other sites.


So, this first blog will turn into a bit of a rant, and I expect to feel much better once I've said all that I've been holding back over the past few months.  Many of these topics will concern posting to Social Networking Sites.

Quoting a Friend's Comment on the Oil Spill in the Gulf

Okay, is anyone else SICK and TIRED of hearing about the oil spill? I realize that this is big news. I realize that it is important. I realize that it has the potential to affect all of us who live on the Gulf Coast. All that being said, the oil spill is NOT THE END OF THE WORLD! We're sitting around whining about the oil spill is going to uglify our beautiful beaches . . . HELLO! There are more important things going on in the world than how attractive our beaches are! There are still crimes being committed, there is still corruption in the government (on all levels), children are being abused.....


(excerpt taken from a note posted earlier today by a friend)

Kaleb's Minor-ish Dental Trauma Today

Well, it's been a not-so-great day in the life of my little guy!

At daycare today, Kaleb got tripped up running across the classroom and fell.....onto the tile floor....flat on his face. As a result, his "two front teeth" (top, front, middle) are both broken off diagonally, leaving an empty triangle where once there was just a cute little gap between his two perfect front teeth.

The daycare notified me while I was @ work, and I went and picked him up. We went first for an emergency appointment at Sacred Heart's Pediatric Dental Clinic. They took a quick look, and were fairly certain the teeth would have to be completely removed. Not wanting to have to put Kaleb under general anesthesia, they referred us to another pediatric dentist who could, if necessary, remove the teeth without general anesthesia (using instead a type of conscious sedation). Dentist #2 was Dr. Bonnin. He got a good x-ray, and luckily the tooth was NOT broken as deep as the nerve, which would have been the reason behind removing them entirely. From what the x-ray shows, there appears to be a thin layer of tooth (about as thick as 2 sheets of paper) covering the sensitive nerves within.

SO, for the time being, Kaleb gets to keep his teeth....and, as long as the nerve hasn't been damaged enough to cause it to start to die, he will get to keep them. If there is significant enough damage that the nerve dies, the tooth (or teeth) will have to be taken out at that time. Luckily, Dr. Bonnin said that looks unlikely. He says the teeth have been minutely impacted (pushed back into the gums), but that this should correct itself over time. Also, since Kaleb's just a little guy, the teeth he DOES have haven't fully grown in yet. Once the broken teeth grow in a bit further, they'll be long enough to be capped, thus correcting their shape. The doc checked to make sure that there are no sharp edges or points that could cause Kaleb any pain or more damage, and he said that the breaks appeared not to have left any ragged edges.

Because of the shape of the broken edges, Kaleb's teeth will now have to be brushed after every meal.....but that's certainly no big deal.

In all, I'm so thankful that this is mostly a cosmetic issue, and not something that should cause Kaleb any developmental or long-term problems! It might look a little funny for a while, but even that will be fixed with caps long before he's old enough to care about his appearance. Kaleb's not in pain, and as a mommy, that's a HUGE relief to me!

This photo taken yesterday, with all eight of his teeth still in perfect condition.

My "Happy Mommy Moment" Today

Occasionally, I experience what I refer to as a "Happy Mommy Moment." It's just a fleeting second when something happens that remind you how totally glad I am to be a mommy, and especially to be the mommy of my wonderful child.

Today, on the way home from getting Kaleb from daycare, we stopped in at Publix to pick up a few things. As we walked up to the store from our car, I was holding Kaleb's hand and letting him walk in the parking lot with me like a big boy....he's heavy, and the lot wasn't very busy.

Anyhow, the sun was shining brightly on our backs, and it cast our shadows in front of us, so that we were always about to step on our own shadows. I glanced down, and saw this perfect shadow, of a child and mother walking together holding hands. It was like the live version of those photos you see on Mother's Day greeting cards. The sun was bright and unobstructed, and cast a perfectly clearly defined shadow of my child and me.

In that moment, I wished we could just stand there and admire our shadow for hours.....but it was hot, Kaleb was tired, and we were in the middle of the crosswalk. So, we went in and did our shopping. But, the precious image of our shadows is lingering in my mind's eye, and I love it!

The People I've Met at Work So Far

So, the Census Bureau is turning out to be quite the place to meet a variety of new people. Here's a little description of the people I've met so far:

Department Management:
1. The sweet, soft-spoken daytime supervisor in my department.
2. The funny, good-natured evening supervisor in my department. Awesome, sarcastic sense of humor.
3. The apparently bipolar manager...pounding his fists on his desk one minute and cracking jokes the next. Don't like either of his personalities.

The people who started in my department when I did:
1. The other big girl....I like her a lot! Excellent sense of style, very pretty girl. Efficient worker, pleasant conversation.
2. The "Daria" clone. Monotone, Daria look-alike. Anti-social. Productive, but just enough to avoid looking lazy. Also, seems to be incapable of parking properly in a straight parking spot. Luckily, I haven't parked next to her.
3. The middle-aged, single gay guy trying like hell not to let on he's gay. I think he knows I've got him figured out. He's a nice enough guy. Really ought to try short sleeved shirts as a possible solution (or at least a help) for his excessive sweating.
4. The 50-something forever-single guy living in his mom's basement. Ok, so we don't have basements in Florida....making him the guy living in his mom's spare bedroom. I can picture this guy being the world's oldest WoW addict. He's nice enough, but about half the time he talks in his (scarily accurate) Yoda voice.
5. The Lenny Kravitz wannabe. Same look, but with a lazy"God's gift to the world" attitude. Spends most of his day flirting with the women in the office, while simultaneously bragging to the guys about his "hot" girlfriend. Instead of describing things as "cool" or "awesome" or "neato," he calls everything "sick." It makes me sick.

Other people working in my department:
1. The self-proclaimed Wicca-Jew. Aside from her extreme religious confusion, I really like this chick! She's cool, fun to talk to, and does her job well. Considering what I know about her life outside of work, I'm amazed at her positive attitude!
2. The robot girl. Works at super speed, knows the job inside and out. Speaks only when asked a question about work procedure, and then only to give the shortest possible answer without any unnecessary elaboration.
3. The "Quagmire" (think Family Guy). 'Nuf said.
4. The pregnant white-trash slut with unending verbal diarrhea. Raised her boyfriend's 3 kids (from 3 other mothers), got pregnant, and he left her. But she's confident he'll take her back once the baby is born in September and she gets her life all straightened out again. She says things like "anybody messes with my family and I'll take a Louisville Slugger to their knees" and I don't think I've heard her utter a sentence without a curse word. I do whatever I can to not work near her, as she is hands' down the most annoying coworker I've ever had.

New recruits coming in next week.....

Don't Go Fishing for Compliments!

Conversation I had earlier this evening with a friend who lives a couple of hours from me (via Yahoo messenger):

Friend: I found my perfect wedding dress!

Me: That's great! I'm so happy for you!

Friend: Did you see the pics I posted of all the dresses I tried on at the Bridal Expo?

Me: Yes.

Friend: Well, what did you think?!

Me: You looked very excited!

Friend: No, no, I mean what did you think about the pics?! You didn't leave me any photo comments!

[Let it be known that this friend posted photos of herself trying on no fewer than 25 different dresses, all of which I thought to be quite hideous. So, I had chosen to post no comments, as I had nothing nice to say about any of them.]

Me: Well, I didn't really have anything to say worth leaving a comment for.

Friend: Can you guess which on I picked?!

Me: I have no idea. They were all so different from one another.

Friend: Ok, well, which one do you think was the best?

Me: Well, if I had to choose one....

Friend (before I could finish): I know it's hard to pick one when they're all so awesome!

Me: Well, I guess I'd have to pick the one in photo #8.

Friend: Oh, that's the one you like too?!?!

(Thinking to myself: It's the least atrocious of them all.)

Friend: That's the one I BOUGHT!! Don't you think it's the most beautiful thing ever?!?!

Me: Well.....it's unique. And you looked very happy in it.

Friend: But....Don't you LIKE it? You like it, right?

Me: Well, not really.

Friend: OMG! Why would you SAY that?!?!?!

Me: Um, because you ASKED!

Friend: OMG!

Conversation ended here, and she logged off a few minutes later.

MORAL OF THE STORY: If you post photos or comments or status messages, and I don't comment on them, just leave it alone! Maybe I didn't see it. Maybe I saw it, and didn't really have anything to say. Or maybe, just maybe, I think you've posted something horridly ugly, and I don't want to hurt your feelings by telling you the truth! Be careful when fishing for compliments: Sometimes, all you catch is garbage!

Charges Dropped. Justice Served.

This is a story I've been dying to rant about online, but was asked to refrain until the matter had been cleared up. It has been handled, so now I can blab.

I have a friend who only a few of my Facebook friends know. Her name is Theressi, and she is one of the kindest, loving people I have ever known. Theressi is a single mom with a 5-year-old little girl and an 11-month-old little boy (both extremely adorable kids). Her husband died in a car accident when she was pregnant with her little boy, and so she is now raising her children on her own....and doing a great job of it.

Theressi, being the kind person she is, has kept the children in contact with her husband's family, even though they are usually unkind [understatement] to her at every opportunity. The frequently tell her that it's her fault that her husband died, as he was on his way home from a second job he had taken so that she could go back to school. Of course, that in no way makes his death her fault, but his family delights in blaming her.

Nevertheless, about a month ago, Theressi's mother- and father-in-law flew to visit the kids (from their home 2 states away). To help them save money on lodging, Theressi offered the in-laws her bedroom for the week-long visit and slept on the floor in her daughter's bedroom. The first three days went well, or as well as they could with snakes under your roof.

The Friday night during the visit, Theressi's mother-in-law was helping get the kids bathed and ready for bed. While grandma was getting the daughter into her pajamas, Theressi was dressing her son. While doing so, she (as most parents do, myself included) was kissing the baby all over and making him laugh.....there's nothing so sweet as a clean baby. Her mother-in-law told her to "quit getting the baby all worked up before bed." To avoid an argument, Theressi quickly finished dressing the baby and put him to bed. Then she and her daughter went to bed in the daughter's room, and the in-laws in the master bedroom.

The next day, Saturday, Theressi had to work. The in-laws asked if they could spend the day with the kids instead of sending them off to daycare. Of course, she agreed, and kissed her kids goodbye and told them to be good for Grandma & Grandpa.

When Theressi got home from work, the house was empty, so she decided to get a little laundry stared before the kids came home. When she went upstairs to get the kids' laundry, she discovered that all her childrens' clothes and their favorite toys were GONE. She immediately called the police.

When the officer came to her house they took a report and called the local airport, who told them that the grandparents and the children had flown out that morning to the grandparent's home town. Her local police started to work immediately, doing whatever it is that police do in family kidnapping situations. It was soon learned that the police and Children's Services in the grandparent's city had had a report filed saying that they had taken the children away from a mother who sexually molested them!

It turned out that Theressi's grandmother had reported her to be a child molester because she was kissing her clean baby after his bath!

The children were removed from the grandparent's home in their city and sent into foster care in their own home city while officials went through all the necessary investigations. In the end, the truth came out and the children were promptly returned home to their mother, where they belonged.

Unfortunately, most of the charges have been dropped against the in-laws have been dropped. They'll likely have to, at most, pay a fine for custodial interference. And there's a court order in place forbidding them from being alone with the children for any reason. This is NOT enough punishment!

True, the children were not physically injured.....
BUT....

They were taken away from their mother WITHOUT warning. The daughter, who lost her father less than 2 years ago, is now afraid to go outside her house, afraid that someone will take her away again! And now, she has had to make the decision to cut the in-laws out of her life completely....and one day she'll have to explain to her daughter WHY her grandparents aren't around anymore (luckily her son probably won't remember them).

Please keep my friend and her children in your thoughts as she works to fix the damage done to her precious family.
This is more kinds of wrong than I can even imagine.