Hold my hair

My roommate's daughter and her Chihuahua have been squatting with us for the last month....because she's afraid of bugs. Not the dog, the kid.

A long haired version, not the kid, the dog, is so ugly, it's cute. Big eyes that need to be shoved back into its miniscule skull, lips that get caught on its razor-like, double row of shark teeth and a feather duster for a tail.

It has a tendency to yak. I assume it has something to do with grooming its own long hair....like a puffy Persian feline that gets the frequent hairball.
As a result, we often hear retching at the most inopportune moments and in bad, bad places (well, is there REALLY a good time and place for vomit?). To avoid further gag-inducing cleanup, it's scooped and swooped into the bathroom where it is unceremoniously held over the toilet bowl....and she holds back the ear hair....of the dog, not the kid.

Being PC

Why is it the American public thinks it's so bad to speak their minds?

I'm just so curious about that.

Is being politically correct that important? Why do we care? Is it that uncomfortable to let others know where you stand personally on sensitive topics? Is it about not wanting other people to see you in a negative light because you have a certain point of view?

I sent out an email yesterday venting about some of the crap that has been flying in the current presidential election campaigns. I was met (not that I expected alot of reaction because people are afraid to be politically INcorrect) with deafening silence and one brave sole that respectfully disagreed....at which point we continued to discuss differing points of view.

As one of my long-time friends said, it makes her butt clench to talk about politics (and abortion, religion, homosexuality) with friends and family. I used to be the same way...it was a learned behavior. But WHY are we like that?

I think being PC has led to more problems than it has helped. Originally it started in order to minimize offense to certain identity groups. But it has morphed way beyond that behavior. Now it has just swung to the other end of the spectrum.

It's talking about issues that gets them understood and sometimes even resolved. Not ignoring them, sweeping them under the carpet or pretending like they're NON-issues.

I think our parents' generation utilized that method of dealing because it was more important to look a certain way -- normal, balanced, maintstream, etc. And, it seemed easier. But in fact, discussion, facing head-on, DEALING with problems and issues is the only way to get THROUGH and PAST them.

I think we, as a people, have maxed out the era of being PC. It's time to stand up and talk and maybe, just maybe, we might evolve toward a more productive and peaceful nation.

Rachel Maddow is my new hero!

And...my new girlfriend. And by girlfriend I mean, only in my dreams. She's the epitome of the type of woman/partner for whom I would sell my soul. Ok, maybe I wouldn't go that far. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't sell my soul for anyone. Hmm. I may have already done that. Not sure. Don't remember. Whatever.

She is INCREDIBLY intelligent (she was a Rhodes Scholar and went to Oxford for her doctorate in Political Science), extremely witty, confident and full of lively energy. And those are just a few brief descriptors. Read more about her here: http://www.maddowfans.com/bio/ or go to: http://www.rachelmaddow.com and click your way through her professional life.

Anyway, she now has her own show as a political analyst (which just started in September) on MSNBC. I have never in my life been so entertained by politics. Of course, there is a TON of material created daily in our current environment. But still...she does a phenomenal job.

I look forward to her show each night. I just wanted to share the fun that I have found. I hope you enjoy her too.

Oh, and below is a link to her appearance on Jay Leno. Loved it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuJAAPPEEJI

Chaos and compartmentalization...

I was watching The Biggest Loser the other night (as I sat there eating dinner) and thought about what Jillian was telling Tara about the mess in her room when the last 4 folks went home for 30 days before the finale week started. It was something about it being a manifestation of the chaos Tara was feeling internally.

I've seen people like that. Stuff just everywhere, nothing in its' place, pathways only big enough for walking, albeit carefully. And I do believe it's a total reflection of what is actually spinning around in their noodles.

I'm a tad different with that. I like to have order...mostly. Everything that can have a place, usually does. However, I have a stack of boxes that 1) I haven't made time to go through and keep adding to them every time I move, and 2) don't have a place to put those things that I don't want to part with once the purging actually begins.

As I was washing the grime off from a day of doing nothing, I realized what MY boxes represent. Each box, whether random and old paperwork or memorabilia and pictures, etc., reflect those compartments in my brain of things that I'm not quite ready to let go of, but also don't really have a place in my daily life, either.

I'm a firm believer that if you can't name it, you can't fix it. So, hopefully, I've finally named that issue, and can now start handling it.

Chaos is not my friend.

Hurricane (y)Ike(s)!

Well, as most of my friends and family know, we came through relatively unscathed. As did the 6 or 8 houses around us. Go a block over in any direction, and they didn't fare so well. Trees uprooted, roof damage everywhere, fences down or completely blown away, never to be found. We were very fortunate. As were most of my friends and family. For that, we are all profoundly grateful to the Powers That Be.

Our town still has no power in over half the area. Produce, ice, water and dairy is hard to come by. It seems none of us are going to shrivel up and blow away, but its not been easy.

I continue to be amazed that we can put flat screen tv's in the back of the headrests of our cars so kids can watch Pokemon while traveling 15 minutes across town, but the wind blows and the 4th largest city in the nation, and surrounding areas, is virtually paralyzed for going on 9 days now. Think it's time to find new methods of power distribution?

This catastrophe is no better or worse than say, Katrina, wide-spread damage wise. The damn thing was so big and lasted so long it made it's way up to the Chicago area and caused damage there too - that's over 1000 miles away. Many areas east of Galveston/Houston were hit even harder than this area. Just as Gulfport and Biloxi were devasted in relation to New Orleans. What remains a mystery to me is that once the initial coverage by national media was displayed, and "they" discovered that there weren't thousands of deaths in Ike's wake, they turned to other news. News no less newsworthy, but just turned almost completely away. As Rachel Maddow from MSNBC said, "...the media turned the page far too soon on the devastation of Hurricane Ike...".

It will be many weeks and months before life returns to normal. For some, it will never be the same. Hundreds of homes were simply washed away, businesses gone, widespread unemployment...and the list goes on.

I just hope that once Governor Perry finally takes a personal tour, which is supposed to be happening within the hour, more help will be requested from our Federal Government....who is busy trying to bail out our economy - the very one the Bush Administration tanked in the first place.

Wonder if there will be anything left for disaster relief.

"I'm a very nice person...."

"I'm a very nice person and I would like to meet a very nice person."

Yeah, that's the notification I just received from one of those personals sites. That "someone" wanted to get my attention.

Well, now, I'm enthralled. I have to get right on that and respond immediately. Because after all, what more can be said in a brief description of oneself?

Um...what was I about to do?

Value? Pfft!!!

I'm continually displeased and even disgusted by the perpetual lying and cheating of local and international corporations claiming more "bang for your buck".

The most recent of my disappointments manifested in a big ol' bag o' bird seed.

Yeah, you heard me.

We regularly fill the little log cabin shaped bird feeder in our backyard. And load the dried corn cobs on the squirrel feeder contraption that the squirrels never seem able to properly operate (they should have had a squirrel design it). Its entertaining, and brings some semblance of serenity to this suburban tract house development. I try.

So, in buying BIG bags of seed, for what seems to be a better price, I've either gotten a less than savory ratio of seed the birds like, to seeds they care nothing for. Or SAND! Yeah, SAND. I was just removing the cabin from the tree to refill it with seed, and there's an entire layer of sand at the bottom of the feeder.

Always in search of a different explanation to keep my blood pressure from boiling, I think that it could have something to do with giving the birds something they need to help their digestion. Just like you give chickens hard grit, if they are held captive for your egg-laying pleasure. But SAND is not listed on the label of ingredients.

So, I'm willing to bet it has everything to do with trying to fool the public in letting them believe they are getting more product for less money.

Throwing that 50lb bag over my shoulder, pulling a hamstring while tripping on an exposed root in the front yard, snorting the excess dust (with no added benefit) while transferring it into other containers to keep other varmints out of it (even though they probably won't eat sand either) -- NOT value.

Sand. I'm worn out!