Good News, Bad News

Good NEWS: My job has asked me to start working FULL-TIME, starting this Monday. They wanted be to start yesterday, but I needed time to digest all this. And this is a mixed bag for me, I knew it was possible when I interviewed for the job, they did tell me it would, at some point, go full time. The only thing is, it's not sitting very well with me. My stomach is in knots. I actually called in sick yesterday, but I think that had more to do with some bad chicken than my nerves. I'm feeling a bit out of control since this was hoisted on me, and it has to do with my kids more than anything.

You see, I've been extremely lucky to have a husband who makes a decent buck (side note, his job is still not very secure yet either, no one has bought the refinery yet, and he's still in a limbo state, but still employed), and I've been able to raise our wonderful girls (now in Jr High and High School) only working part time jobs, and perfect ones that would let me be home with them after school.

The thing is, most folks I know would've loved to have had what I had, so I feel like a big ole baby worrying about how I'm gonna handle the change. It's certainly not the actual work part, I do love the company. It's my kids. These are the years they really don't need me as much, but at the same time, they may start getting into mischief when I'm not home.

I also have the questions of how the heck can I get it all done. Again, all the other parents who both work and raise a family, aren't gonna give me any sympathy here. And I don't want it, I just want to know, HOW THE HELL DO YOU DO IT ALL? Cooking, laundry, cleaning, oh, and my dog...I forgot about her. I usually walk her every morning, I don't know how I'm gonna squeeze that in too.

Back to the job, the funny thing is, I asked my company for more money if they wanted me to go full time. They said I would be getting more, since I would be working an extra 10 more hours a weeks. Whoopdedoo. I wasn't thrilled about that either. Our company has a frozen limit on raises of a whopping 3% and my year review is in February, so I'm not gonna be thrill to get an extremely small raise either. But in this economy, I'm freaking lucky to even have a job.

One thing is for sure, I'm getting a gardener who not only cuts the lawn, but does it all. I use to trim the bushes and handle the flower beds, weeding and racking. Nope, not gonna do that anymore, I won't have time, besides I'm just feeling to old to do that anymore.

Okay, now the BAD NEWS, this may very well be my last post. You guys know I don't post that much anymore, since I've started working just part time. The kids hog the laptops when they're home, and I know I've said this before, but I'm on a computer at work all day, and I don't feel like being on one when I get home. So, I bid you all farewell for now. I'll still be lurking, but posts will be far and few between.

Vamp's Worldview OUT.

[EDIT] Oh man, and here's a Scientology fraud case on CNN too, that I don't have time to rant on. I'll just make a comment on the very last line of the article. "I fart in your general direction."

Most Emailed CNN Story this Morning...

...is an article about billboards promoting reason being posted in New York's subways. Here's the link.

I'm know from living in a very large city that discussing religion is not the same as it is in the small town I live in now. There were so many different groups of faith, that not having faith was a helluva lot easier, because I bet larger cities have a higher population of atheist...I'll have to see if I can find some stats.

I'm just wondering why it's the most emailed post on CNN, not the most viewed, the most emailed. Are the supposed religious right already up in arms about this, possibly planning hitting the NY subways, on October 26th, to tear these out?

It makes me go hmmmmm. I'm sure it won't cause as much uproar as:

A year ago some unease was caused by advertisements that ran inside subway cars promoting Islam. While the ads themselves weren't controversial, they were partially funded by an imam of a Brooklyn mosque who served a character witness for convicted 1993 World Trade Center bombing mastermind Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman.

I think people are more afraid of Islam than they are atheists. What do you think?

One After 909

Today, 09/09/09, my Jeep turned 99,999 miles. Please ignore the check engine light.

And this day wouldn't be "the day" without The Beatles!

"Sucked" from Joe's Big Blog

Thanks Joe, this kills me too.

Pics from Pink Floyd Laser Light Show featuring Alan Parsons

...and a picture that made me think of Green-Eyed Momster's tattoo.

Sup?

Yep, been busy. I'm on a computer at work everyday and I really don't feel like getting on the "net" when I get home. I'm missing a lot of blogs. One of my friends from the blogs got a postsecret on the website this week. Congrats to them.

Anyway, school is starting this Monday. I got one entering the harrowing part of life called Junior High. The other little vampiress is starting High School and hates having to start all over after being at the top of her game in Junior High. Still, I keep telling her, these will be the best years of your life...then you can have the next best years of your life in college. And with the way she's been rolling, she should get a pretty good scholarship *crosses fingers*. Just four more years.

Me, I still have to download the camera with pics from the Alan Parsons Project laser light show in LA we went to a couple of weeks ago. The band, called "Any Colour You Like" did an awesome job, with Alan doing the show from the "booth". Alan & band took the stage afterward, and sent me back in the way back machine to a song I had completely forgotten about.



I'll also have to post a pic of the t-shirt they had for sale, that looks exactly like Green Eyed Momster's tattoo. I also have a great shot of Alan with his bi-focals on too. Oh well, when I get "around tuit".

Plus I got some pics on that same camera of us having our last hurrah before school starts. All of us went to Pismo Beach and rode horses ON the beach. Pure heaven, yeah, I said heaven, because that's heaven to me. How can we afford to do that you might ask? We had a bitchin' yard sale and sold our useless crap in the garage and made $400. So, a hotel a block from the beach, with a two room suite, midweek: $139/nt. Horseback riding, $50 per person for a family of four: $200. Actually riding a horse on the beach: PRICELESS!

I won't post again, till I download those pics!

ONLY 10 months in Jail for $200,000....Hell YEAH!

How 'bout this...a pastor from Virgina Beach (where I got married 16 years ago, but on a Navy Base...) is gonna spend ONLY 10 months in jail for pilfering $200 GRAND from insurance scams and blank church checks.

Wow, I would almost do that for that much money...that would pay off our house free and clear. But he's going to hell NOW, right?

Even more funny, this guy has already been convicted for grand theft and burglary in 1994. Now who in the hell would hire this guy as a pastor for a church, when he already has a record for thievery? I'm mean really. Oh, we forgive him, because God gives everyone another chance, blah, blah....

BLAH!

Wedding

I'm a wee bit nervous...I'm shooting a wedding tomorrow, in the daylight *hisss*. It's my first wedding shoot. I'm okay with it, because it's a backyard wedding, and that's right up my alley, I do love natural light *hisss*. Plus I have an awesome camera, a Sony Alpha 300a, and I invested in a pro flash. But I bet I won't need since it's in the DAYLIGHT. *hisss* But I felt I better have it on hand. I have a tripod and a backup camera, which is my little Canon, which I've taken some masterful shots. So I think I'm set. I'm just really nervous.

If anyone gives a shit, here's my photo blogspot with some stuff I've done, like pets and senior portraits. www.photographybydiverl.blogspot.com

Wish me luck. The easy part is taking the pics, the crap part is processing.

In Islamic theory....

I saw this today:

In Islamic theory, are spirits that can harass or possess humans and animas and are often said to be motivated by revenge or jealousy.

This was the last paragraph from an article in the Telegraph about a Saudi family who apparently took a "genie" to court.

It's Certainly not the Finger of God...

...or is it?

A couple of days ago, hubs and I laughed when I pulled out a potato chip that looked like it was flippin' me off.

Yesterday, he made eggs, but this one's yolk broke and it looks like someone's trying to flip me off again.

If I believed in the almighty skydaddy, I would really think he's trying to tell me something?

And Now for Something Completely Different.

Complaints from Japanese monks from the eighth century Todaiji temple in Nara have prompted a figurine company to take a grinning Buddha with a bulge between its legs off the market.

HN and Associates voluntarily withdrew the Marimokkori character after a request from the temple because the firm didn’t have the temple’s approval of the Buddha’s design beforehand, Adelaide Now reports.

The monks felt that the statuette had an inappropriately large bulge between its legs.

A company representative said they understand the monks’ view that giving a bulge to a Buddha statue is “imprudent.”

The Marimokkori character, which originated in northern Hokkaido island, is a word play on “marimo,” a type of moss ball found in lakes, and “mokkori” which means bulge and is a slang term for an erection.

Stay off your knees, please.

Sucked this from APP.com

As Joe says, "This Kills Me"

Sucked this from Joes Big Blog.

Wow, I just discovered, I made 300 posts...woot!

This is what really pisses me off...

....people who use God as a fake shield of morality. Except for this nut job, he's an epic fail when it comes to his lawd tattoo from the tat parlor.

Here's the headline (and the story):

Texas man gets 'Only God can judge me' tattooed on his arm, then skips out on paying bill.

Well, since the only real people "judging" him are the cops and the pissed off tattoo artist, I think it's pretty hilarious, since his tattoo should have said "nobody can judge me". C'mon, he didn't just dash on the tat, he bolted on the lawd.

I know some religious types, who act like little children, will feel compelled to say, ahhhhhh, ummmmm, god's gonna punish you for your sins. When really it's not a question of morality, it's a common sense issue of ethics. Knowing right and wrong, just like kids learn, and god ain't got nothing to do with it.

ONLY I CAN JUDGE ME. Boy, and I do it best or worst...whatever.

Game show to Convert Atheists?

Surfin' 'round on a Sunday and I just came across this on Rueters. Imagine being on a game show that'll try and convert you from disbelieving in God. Wow. The kicker is the prize:

The prize for converts will be a pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen religion -- Mecca for Muslims, the Vatican for Christians, Jerusalem for Jews and Tibet for Buddhists.

Geez, I'll bite...what if I pretend to be converted. Does that mean I get a free trip to Tibet? Because I could easily turn Buddhist in a heartbeat for a free trip, y'know.

Oh crap, I still have a chance after reading the last paragraph:

Some 200 people have so far applied to take part in the show and the 10 contestants will be chosen next month.

A team of theologians will ensure that the atheists are truly non-believers and are not just seeking fame or a free holiday.

What are they gonna ask?

Creepy Life Form? WTF is IT?

I found this on Third Eye Concept (dot.com) What the hell is this?

Funny Quotes About Religion

I loved the one from Peter O'Toole best!

Funny Quotes About Religion

View more documents from Doina .

HA - Narcoleptic Angels - HA

Stolen from Joe's Big Blog.

Finding Jesus

Well bitchin' 'bout religion is way more fun, huh, Infidel? And was that pessimist post for me too? Because I swing between the two, still always trying to be on this side of optimism.

The Cartoon is from Third Eye Concept....there website is about my speed.

Check out the baby who doesn't grow old. Sounds too "Believe it or not" for me. But still extremely interesting in the way of the possibilities for mankind.

YEAH I GOT SICK

I dunno, I think I got some viral thing. I was thinking maybe it was meningitis. Y'know, stiff neck, bad headache, nausea, ummm, real, real bad. Could've been West Nile Virus, for all I know...just no fever. Of course I tried, just in my head, to blame those nasty ass chemical laden uniforms I had to inventory, for my overall malaise.

I dunno. Today, I'm finally better. I missed a couple days of work, tried to get a doctor's appt., but since I hardly ever get sick, I don't have a general practitioner. I usually just see my OB/GYN. Oh, I just LOVE those appts. *sarcasm*

Yep, stupid huh? A Nurse at the dog park recommended a walk in clinic, and when I called and told them my symptoms (because they asked, duh!) they told me to go to an urgent care. Nope, not gonna do it, I said to myself. That's too expensive, LUCY. An easy $500 for something I can look up on a symptom checker.

Believe me, though, I would have gone, had I had a fever.

Anyway, I was just getting tired of seeing my last post, bitchin' 'bout those dang uniforms, but here I am again, bitchin' 'bout something else. Whatdaya gonna do?

Dirty Work

It's almost impossible for me to believe I've been at my new part time job for 4 months. For the most part, I've been pretty happy being a glorified paper pusher. The small extra income has been a welcome, since hubs income is slowly being eaten up by rising bills. We are still dealing with the uncertainty of his oil refinery closing.

The thing is, I came close to quiting yesterday.

Yesterday, I had to do the most insulting work in my entire administrative career. You see, I have no problem getting someone coffee, although I haven't had to do that, I would do it in a heartbeat. I would even empty someone's garbage can if asked. That doesn't bother me. What does bother me is having to go thru the dirty, chemical laden coveralls and smocks for an inventory count.

This, I believe, was a one time thing. What pissed me off was my concern for having to tally each and every item clean and DIRTY. I work at a silicone chemical plant. Of course I can't go into what chemicals are used at the plant, but I've seen the list and I did sign a waiver saying I was aware of these chemicals on the premises and that I'm okay with it. Of course I'm okay with it, I work in the front office building, away from those chemicals. I know they are in the air, but not so concentrated as I had to deal with yesterday tallying the stinky smocks and coveralls.

If I wanted to do laundry, I could do that at home. I was insulted that I had to go thru the dirty laundry of the smelly asses that work in the plant. I'll tell ya, my own husband was pretty perturbed that I had to do this when I called him in a snit to vent about it.

My boss came in the room as I was unwillingly trying to complete the task. I had latex gloves on when she walked in and said, wow, it stinks in here. I said, yeah, I'm not really happy about doing this. She said, "What do you mean? I told here I don't feel comfortable handling these chemical laden dirty work wear. It's making me anxious. I didn't want to tell her I was in the midst of having a full blown anxiety attack.

I'll say this, she DID pull someone else from the plant in to help finish the count, because I think she finally GOT IT. But it had already been half done by then. I went home feeling ill at the end of my shift.

Call it psychosomatic if you want, but this morning, I've woken up with a full blown headache and I'm feeling like I want to call in sick today.

Am I out of line on this one? Am I being a primmadonna?

Rest in Peace Koko Taylor

I just found out Koko Taylor passed away. Bein' a former Chicagoan, this is a great loss to the Blues Community.

My best wishes to her family in their time of loss.

Here's an excerpt about her from The Chicago Tribune:

"Born Cora Walton in 1928 in Memphis, Tenn., Taylor literally got up off her knees to become a blues icon.

Growing up on a sharecropper's farm outside Memphis, young Cora and her three brothers and two sisters slept on pallets in a shotgun shack with no running water or electricity. By the time she was 11, both her parents had died. She picked cotton to survive, and moved to Chicago in the early '50s to be with her future husband, Robert "Pops" Taylor, who died in 1989. She found a job working as a domestic, scrubbing floors for rich families.

She had sung gospel music in church while living in the South, and on weekends would attend the blues clubs on Chicago’s burgeoning South Side scene, the heyday of Chess Records and such stalwarts as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Willie Dixon. She would occasionally sit in and caught the ear of Dixon, who approached her in the early ‘60s about recording one of his songs, “Wang Dang Doodle.”

"I didn't know Willie Dixon from Adam's house cat," Taylor recalled in an interview with the Tribune. "But he says to me, 'I love the way you sound' and, 'We got plenty of men out here singing the blues, but the world needs a woman like you with your voice to sing the blues.' ”

I've had the pleasure of seeing Koko Taylor and Muddy Waters....Please enjoy some "Wang Dang Doodle":



We'll miss you, but we still have your remarkable style to remember forever.

Finding a New Direction

Yesteday, my big Five-Ohhhh, we were joking around about how next year I'll say this is the first anniversary of my 50th. Then I decided, since my favorite number is 33, I should start saying this was the 17th anniversary of my 33rd birthday.

We had a great time up at the Little Red Lodge, up in the Alta Sierra Mountains. Except, I forgot shoes. Shoes for hiking around the mountain trails. Ugh! The only shoes I had on where the ones I had worn from after work. A kind of flip flop with a kitten heel. Ugh! I still walked around in them, but certainly no hiking. To tell the truth, I wasn't really feeling that good when we went, but I won't go in my, ummm, let's just say tummy problems.

The cabin had quite the selection of movies. And quite the collection of the Monty Python series. The first morning I woke up wayyyy tooo early at 4:30am, made a pot of coffee and watched Python till everyone else got up. Then I was jittery as hell and couldn't take a nap later. UGH! again!

And how 'bout this...when we got home, there was a message from my oldest daughter's 8th grade DC trip coordinator saying we forgot to fill out some form and that she could do it tonite. Meaning on the 31st of May. AHHHH! I thought she was leaving on my birthday, June 1st. Shit, it was a good thing I didn't take the scenic ride home on Sunday. We got home about 1:30pm Sunday and she had to be at school for the bus to LAX by 4:30pm.

We had her packed, for the most part. And to top THAT off, the dress she wanted to wear, that we'd bought a week ago, still had the theft detector on it in the armpit. We had to run out to Kohl's to have it removed. That all worked out.

My baby was gone before I turned 50. She did call me from DC, and she reminded my husband to get flowers sent to my work for my bday, wink wink, thanks Halo.

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Crap, I gotta get to work, but I wanted to say that I've been fooling around on google, and for some reason I looked up the Urban Dictionary's version of the word "vamp" and found this one to be my reason for being around here:

"vamp"
"intrans. verb: to kill time on the pc by allowing oneself to follow tantalizing distractions, e.g., to google overmuch
A novelist, being interviewed on "Fresh Air", NPR, said that he used to try to compose on his pc but has now returned to writing his drafts in longhand on a legal pad because it was too easy to "vamp" on the pc."

Yet, my time on the internet lately has been sparse, at best. Because, now, I don't seem to have the time, or care to be on a computer, for that matter, since I'm on one at work all day. I think this may just turn into an online journal, I dunno.

Bitching about religous idiots bores me now. I gotta run.

Milestones...

Eh, I'll feel a wee bit older tomorrow. No it's not my birthday. Yet. That's a few days later, and I don't want to talk about the number 50. No, I'm talking about my babies. My youngest, Juju, is leaving elementary school. She's passing sixth grade, but no graduation. We are getting a limo for her and a few of her friends. Twenty-five bucks a kid for a lime ride, not bad huh? Anyway, still it's sad that I have to say good bye to my little baby girl. You think of any child in elementary school as little. She's growing like a weed and so are her FEET. Size 8? Wow. But, I digress...my oldest daughter, size 9+ in the shoe dept., is graduating 8th Grade tomorrow. Pomp and circumstance abound. She's giving a graduation speech and will be the second one to graduate, she'll follow the class president. She's quite the scholar, and I'm personally in awe of the absorbsion of knowledge, as a matter of fact, I'm envious.

Good bye my little baby elementary school girl. And say, HELLO to my Junior High student.

Good bye my Junior High 4.0 young lady, and HELLO to my new High School Freshman.

I love you both more than you'll EVER freaking know.

We're cramming a lot in this weekend. Graduation tomorrow, and I get to take my first paid day off to go. Then I should make it too see the youngest one do a singing talent show. And after school, lots of pics when she and her friends get in a limo.

Friday, I'm celebrating my "birthday weekend" up in the mountains at a nice cool cabin for a couple of nights. Did I mention it was 101 today? It should be a weeee bit cooler up there, I hope. *crosses fingers*

I'm still thinking of going whitewater rafting for the big 5-Oh. May not be able to squeeze that in, but gotta do it sometime while I'm, ummm, OLD!

Monday, my real stinkin' d-day, my baby, (the oldest one, she'll still be my baby forever, y'know) is leaving for Washington DC for a week. *sob*

And thanks Joe's Big Blog (too lazy to add link, he's in my sidebar) for your lovely pics on your DC trip, it's a great preview for what she has to look forward to seeing.

Happy Summer, here it is...and it's HOT!

Adam Lambert is hiding...

... a big fat black women in his body. And I mean that in a good way. You talk about diggin down deep into the guts, or some would say "soul", with a powerhouse voice, shit that boy can sing.

Yes, me and the girls watch American Idol. I absofuckinlutely loved Adam Lambert's version of Mad World, originally done by Tears for Fears. It was redone, by Gary Jules for the movie Donnie Darko. I've never seen the movie, but I love Gary's version too.

Aww, I just had to add my two cents on it. Good Luck Adam.

New 47 Million Old Ancestor Found

Before I get into that, has anybody watched the "Life After People" series on History channel. It shows how the world would exist after people, and only if people, for whatever reason, no longer existed. It shows in time lapsed animation how buildings would be enveloped in greenery. Or how they won't last more than 300 years without humans to do maintenance.

I've always said, who's to know we haven't developed largely at some point in time and then it all just disappeared. I mostly thought about this after Sept 11th, when those buildings came crashing down, the equipment etc., like phones, computers and desks, were just obliterated. Nothing left.

Then I watched the Life After People series. It states almost nothing man-made will survive more than 300 years, except some carving in a large exposed granite mountain in Georgia, called Stone Mountain, which has a carving of horse riding famous people of our early years here, with Jefferson Davis, Jackson and Lee. It will last, pretty much, forever. Then I thought, when we are all gone, future intelligent life finds it, they'll think, we thought those people were Gods.

Yeah, yeah, I know, the pyramids, and some other things have been hanging around for longer, but that's because we have humans to do the upkeep. Or they were made out of an indestructible material.

Anyway, I'm rambling, back to the point. This came out today about "Ida" an early ancestor of ours from 47 million years ago. She was found at the bottom of a shale pit in Germany. What seems remarkable to me, are the bones very similar to our own:

"Opposable big toes and nails rather than claws confirm that the fossil is a primate, and the presence of a talus bone in the foot links Ida directly to humans."

So that defuncts my idea of intelligent humans having modern conveniences a millenia ago, because, well, hello, we hadn't evolved yet. But it does destroy creationism, yet again, kind of like Lucy did. But we people of reason know, religious groups just put there fingers in their ears and go "lalalalalalalalalala".

It takes a millenium to evolve.

National Day of Prayer

Pray? PFFFT! They should all say, "Let me THINK about it", because that's all you're really doing.

Actions still speak louder that prayers, but, let me give it a try. I "pray" someone finds my wallet that I lost last Friday with my ss# number and credut cards in it.

I "pray" that someone won't steal my identity, because I also had an ID type birth certificate from So. Carolina in it. I, stupidly left it in there, why I don't know. C'mon folks, "pray with me". Friday, I contacted EVERY possible agency. I even did a police report online and a report with the FTC I put a security alert/freeze on all three credit reporting agencies, called and cancelled my cc cards. I even had the bank review their tapes to see if I left at the "deposit station"...it wasn't there.

So I PRAY it was just some kid who took/found it when I might have left it at the drug store. I had gone there right before the bank. I've been so distracted.

I "pray" that I won't be so distracted anymore. (*ohh look, a squirrel*)

I "pray" that my best friend from the dog park will go to that special place that atheists go when they die. He passed away on Sunday.

To add to my drama, my mother is considering moving from Texas to California. She said she would put me back in the will if I took care of her in her old age. So, for that one, I "pray" Postsecret.com puts the postcard I mailed out Tuesday on their site for Mother's Day this Sunday. I really "pray" she understands there's no amount of money in the world for me to ever trust her, since I feel she's trying to emotionally blackmail me.

Another Major Step in Life

Today, I went to register my oldest daughter in High School. I think I was more excited than she was. Even more funny, I was constantly watching my husband for signs of nostalgia, since he went to the same high school, almost 30 years ago. *WHEW* I actually broke out in song:

Memories,
Like the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures,
Of the smiles
we left behind...

All of a sudden my daughter is a walking a block ahead of me.

-----------------------------------

News on my friend is not good. He's in critical condition with a breathing tube and still under sedation. They told me he's not getting worse, but he's not getting any better either. I broke down, and lost it. Hw is a well educated man, and an atheist too. He was an officer in the Navy with John McCain, on the same ship even...he use to say he didn't like him AT ALL. I'll try and visit him this weekend, so I can get his brother's phone number, who lives in NY.

Hug your loved ones...you just never freaking know when life will take a weird turn like this. We were just laughing and singing show tunes in the ER a couple of Fridays ago and now, I just don't know.

Absence due to Illness

...not that anyone cares...but I've had the flu. Hit me like a ton of bricks, right before Easter. I had to take a friend to the ER the Friday before, and that's a guaranteed wait of 6 hours minimum. And also a guarantee, that if you weren't sick going in, you certainly will be coming out.

Yes, a week before that, I was braggin' how I hadn't been sick yet, and this was the first year that I've made it thru without a cold bug. *knock on wood* But nope, didn't make a year, oh well.

To top all this off, I found out a dear friend I walk with at the dog park has AML. He's the one I had to take to the ER, to get some antibiotics before he went to Cedar Sinai to have his chemo, the Monday after Easter.

His is the type of leukemia you can happen to get if you survived Lymphoma from using intravenous cytoxan after 3-5 years. How fucking crappy is that? I found out Thursday, when I thought he'd be back from his 4 day chemo session, that he never had it and was instead in the ICU with probably the same gawd awful flu bug I had, and it's gotta be even worse for someone without an immune system. He was heavily sedated with meds, only so he wouldn't see what he was all hooked up to, with tubes and wires. That was the report I got from this friend anyway. He said he thought he was going to die, he looked so bad.

And now, I sit and still don't know what's going on with my friend, and no call back from his companion, and I left a message today. I'm afraid to call the hospital...I know that's silly, but I'm just plain scared to hear what's going on. So I sit and wait.

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This afternoon, trying to keep occupied, I had to giggle about when I came home and changed outta work clothes and put on a clean t-shirt, that happened to be stained. I said to myself, looking in the mirror..well that's good, I can't get it any worse...and left it on and went down stairs. I had to pull out some generic "PAM" cooking spray, from over the stove, and it, for some reason, spills oil all over my shirt and my face. Not to mention, after that, I pulled out some country style ribs from the crockpot, and splashed the "juice" on my now even more stained shirt.

If there were a God, that was a time I thought he was messing with me for making a snarky comment about having to wear an already clean stained shirt. Nope, just a coinkydink...that is the randomness of life.


'

In the words of Kirk Douglas...

A couple years back I had to go see a ankle surgeon in LA for a 2nd opinion. On the way back home I stopped at Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery, right in the middle of lala land. It's literally surrounded by buildings and quite small. My reason, I want to finally see Marilyn Monroe's grave (we share a birthday). Which I did, and I have a pic of it somewhere...ANYWAY, I also got to see Kirk Douglas --- ALIVE --- visiting his son Eric's grave. I observed him from a distance...while standing by legend Jack Lemmon (grave).

I read this this morning on CNN about Kirk Douglas' One Man Show. At the age of 92, he's survived a helicopter crash, a couple of broken knees, and a stroke, he reflects on his life:

CNN: I was surprised at how much humor there was in the show. One of the lines that got laughs was when you described talking to an old actor friend of yours. You told him, "I'm doing a one-man show," and he said ...

Douglas: "Is there any part in it for me?" You know, actors are pathetic. We are desperate, you know, and an actor -- instead of like a writer, you can criticize their writing, an actor, you criticize him. It's very personal. It makes you very vulnerable.

CNN: You speak of a long life and of your brushes with death, and you say it in a humorous way in the show, like, "does God hate me?"

Douglas: I have so many things that were happening to me: the stroke, the helicopter crash, a broken back, I broke two knees, then I thought maybe God is mad at me.

CNN: But in all seriousness, did you take any of this as a message from above?

Douglas: Well, I don't know. I have studied religion, and I have concluded that there is some power. We don't understand it. Nobody really saw the Pearly Gates or hell.

But I feel affected by nature. If I look at the trees, or the other day we got a bouquet of roses, and there were white roses tinted red, and I thought, "How does that happen?" So if you look at nature, you begin to think that there is some power behind everything. I don't know what it is, and I don't think anybody knows. You either have to believe that there is, or you don't.

CNN: You've had a really interesting spiritual journey in your life, and you have explored your Judaism much more as you got older.

Douglas: I studied Judaism a lot. I studied religion in general, and I have never imposed my Judaism on my kids. They are what they want to be. I think ... you must care for others. That's the correct religion, I think. You have to learn eventually to care for other people. My mother said once to me -- and we were very poor -- but my mother said, "A beggar must give something to another beggar who is worse off than he." And that has stuck with me. ... If people give whatever they can give to help other people, we will solve all of the problems of the world. ...

If only more people got "it". I'm the same way about nature. I'm not sure I believe in any power though. But, I am most certainly amazed at the wonderment in nature.

The REASON my Daughter doesn't believe in GOD

Halo showed me this video and said, this is why I don't believe in God....

It's No Effing Miracle...C'mon, Really?

Okay, have to "betch" about the story of the guy who got shot in the head "gangland style" or "execution style" (per media reports) and survived because a priest gave him a "special" Pope John Paul rosary.

Here's my first problem: This priest, Rev. Art Snedeker, had only so many rosaries blessed from Pope John Paul. Why would he give his LAST rosary to a guy who's been shot in the head. Common sense would say the dude's a goner, I mean, c'mon, really. And then, when somehow, the doctors save this guy, the priest wants to give credit to a magic necklace, the pope and God.

The 2nd issue I have is, what about all those other people that got the "jeebus beads"??? Where were their miracles? Why didn't we hear about those? Oh, that's right, we aren't suppose to question why God does the things he does. This pick and choose crap is for the birds.

Can we go on now or what? Really this whole story comes back down to the sainthood of John Paul. Not about the guy who got shot in the head or how his friend died that night...where was his miracle....UGH!

Bakersfield Tops the list for Crazy Sex Laws

Stole this one from "The Californian" blogger...amazing how Bakersfield is numero uno:

Laws are supposed to protects us, but when the government decides to get in our pants, some crazy stuff goes down!

Here are some actual sex laws truly for the record books!

1. In Bakersfield, Calif., if you're going to have sex with Satan, you've gotta use a condom. And definitely come up with a safe word!

2. Poking a porcupine is illegal in Florida. But apparently that law didn't go far enough. Just a couple of weeks ago, State Sen. Nan Rich submitted a bill that would ban peeps in the Sunshine State from being able to stick it in where the sun don't shine on any animal.

3. In Minnesota, it's illegal for any slime bucket to hook up with a live fish. Don't worry disinterested wives, a cold fish is still A-OK!

4. In Dyersburg, Tenn., it is illegal for a lady to call a gentleman for a date. Clearly no one in that town is getting laid!

5. In Merryville, Mo., no woman can waste her natural waist. Wearing a corset is illegal because "the privilege of admiring the curvaceous, unencumbered body of a young woman should not be denied to the normal, red-blooded American male." No wonder it's called the "Show Me State!"

6. It's illegal to purchase sex toys in Alabama. This law can beat it!

7. In Washington state, it's totally legal to eff an animal like an animal, as long as it weighs less than 40 lbs. What, fatty farm pets don't deserve some love?

8. While most would argue that this is place where the people get screwed many different ways, in Washington, D.C., engaging in any sexual position other than missionary is illegal.

9. In Massachusetts, you cannot recklessly consummate your love with a rodeo clown while the horses are still around. But seriously, there's a reason for the expression "hung like a horse." I doubt the animal would get jealous!

10. The biggest Internet-porn-consuming state, Utah, gets freaky in its laws too. Sex with an animal is totally cool, unless you're doing it for cold, hard cash! Hey, why buy the cow when you can have the milk for free!

I think I've had sex with Satan once...but it was in Chicago.

Chrissie Hynde

A quick pic from last weeks concert...The Pretenders...I got the playlist from some wanker, I believe he was either the lighting or sound guy. He hailed from London, talked with him a bit after show, and mostly about our own kids.

Waited after the concert to try and catch Chrissie...she never came out...meaning I only waited til 1AM (an hour and a half after the concert) to try and get an autograph before I gave up. I'm a working girl now and it was on a "school" night...gotta get mys sleep. Oh well, great show, fab date nite with hubs too.