Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Dear BloMo-ers!
Dear BloMo-ers!
Congrats! We made it. 30 days of posting. If some of you did it in March too, then special Kudos to you!
I only randomized once, and I wish I had done more. Maybe the next time. Definitely in November. I know I got much more out of this experience when I was more involved with the group.
Congrats to whoever wins. I know it won't be me. :( But if by some dumb luck it is me, then please know that I did post every day, and you can check it out at my real blog, 5 Cats Shy and I added the nablopomo email address as a preferred reader :)
I'll be taking tomorrow off. Till next time...
The proud to have accomplished 30 days of inane babbling blogger
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Dear T,
Dear T,
I suck at emailing. I have every good intention to write you back and just haven't yet. I'm not in the mood to be online lately and have only been here to do these blog entries since I can't give up on BloMo with just a few days left! There's nothing wrong, I'm just trying to get stuff done around here, plus I'm reading a really good book.
I promise I will try and write a real email tomorrow!
Thanks for understanding,
Your email-challenged friend
Monday, April 28, 2008
Dear Interwebs,
Dear Interwebs-
As of tonight we have a love/hate relationship. Usually I love love love you and how small you make the world. But tonight my sister got an email from someone who found her on it, who was on her myspace page, and will then also see me and I don't want to be seen by this person.
I am so thankful that I made my myspace private. And actually pretty happy that I made my blog private at this point too.
What sucks is that I'm probably going to have nightmares tonight.
So Interwebs, while I do normally love you, tonight- you suck.
Sincerely,
The one who doesn't want to be stalked, please
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Dear BloMo
Dear BloMo-
I made it through the last 26 days doing the alphabet, and now I just have four more days of "letters" so I guess this is what I'll do for those.
I have to say, I'm not a fan of these themes. It was said that it would help us think outside the box and be more creative. I feel like it made me stuck in a box and writing lameass posts.
Because I'm really not feeling "Voices" I will not be BloMoing in May. that's OK, I need a break anyway.
Don't get me wrong though, I do enjoy doing the BloMo thang. I just hope that if I do decide to do June that it's either a better theme or no theme :)
Thanks!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Z is for Zooba
Wow! I made it 26 days! Now I just need to figure out what to do with the last 4 of the month...
Anyway, Zooba doesn't exactly exist now as they have now changed their name to BOMC. Ok, I confess I first typed BMOC, which would actually be Doug Simpson, Big Man on Campus. But it actually stands for Book of the Month Club.
I was a member of Zooba for a while and I really liked it. You see, I much prefer to read and own hard cover books. Of course this is usually cost prohibitive. My most common way of taking care of this was to shop the clearance/sale racks at Barnes and Nobles and pick them up for 5 or 6 bucks. But alas, for those books you have to wait till they have been out forever, and usually till they are actually being released in paperback to find them there. And then you might not find your favorite authors, so that's a gamble.
Then I found Zooba. New released Hardcover books, $9.95 with free shipping! They way it worked is that you made a queue (not unlike Netflix or Blockbuster) and at the beginning of each month they would send you what was the top of your queue. If at any time you wanted to pick up some extras, you could do that too, same price, free shipping. This worked great for me for many months.
Well when the card I had on file with them expired they asked me to update it. So I did. But then every month they keep asking me to update it. However, if I order something not on auto ship, they use the new card and are quite happy. But somehow they can't figure out that card should be used for the autoship too. But I confess, this makes me happy. With trying to cut down on expenses I don't necessarily want a new book every month if I'm picking just because. But now whenever one of my favorite authors has something come out, I can order it and get it for the good price :) So yes, Zooba, your ineptitude has made me appreciate your service even more!
And now I'm off to reread a hardcover book that I got immediately after it's release by one of my favorite authors :)
Friday, April 25, 2008
Y is for Yesteryear
Well you know how for D I posted about Divine Secrets? Well shortly after I made that post we found out that the online community we were all part of was closing. They gave us two weeks notice, so we all spent that time looking at old pictures and reminiscing. Women who hadn't been part of the community in years stopped by to visit and check in and say goodbyes. It was warm and fuzzy and brought back tons of good memories. It made me appreciate even more what that group had given me over the years.
Of course every time large groups of women get together cliques form, and gossip happens. So yeah, there were some bad times too, full of bullshit or whatever.
But I'm not focusing on that. I'm remembering all of the good times of yesteryear :)
Thursday, April 24, 2008
X is for Xenon
Ok clearly this isn't the easiest letter to do, but I didn't want to be lame and do a fake x word or xray. SO I went with Xenon.
As I've said before, I am a Nuclear Medicine Technologist. One of my least favorite tests we do is a Xenon Lung scan. I hate this test because for one thing the most common symptom that makes them order it is shortness of breath. So what do we do? We make the patient lie flat on their backs. Then we stick a mask on them and pump Xenon into it and they feel even more like they are suffocating.
Another reason I hate it is because it is the one test we do that requires the most patient cooperation. And so we get these sick breathless people who are almost always claustrophobic for some reason and make them have to cooperate with this miserable test.
Fortunately, spiral CT's have taken over much of these tests away from us. But we still get the people who can't have contrast either because of allergy or decreased kidney function (those are the sickest of the sick, so an additional miserableness for them to have to do this much longer test.) I feel so mean doing this.
So yay, I actually came up with a few paragraphs for an X word! And BOO for Xenon lung scans!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
W is for Woot!
Woot!!
My new boyfriend, David Cook made it through another night. I swear that boy is SO swoonworthy!!
I am addicted to watching this performance:
I'm also SO excited for Neil Diamond week! I heart Neil bigtime so WOOT! for that too!!
Now if only the man would get over Mandy Moore and decide that he wants an older woman...
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
V is for Voila!
One of the most amusing roadtrips was when my friend Maria and I went up to Montreal for the day to shop. (This was back when I was living in Vermont, btw, clearly I'd not be roadtripping there from here!)
Anyway, being the smartass Americans that we are, we were referring to everything as Le ___. We were VERY amused when we actually saw a place called Le Sex Shop! (or was it Shoppe?) (We also kept referring to the dollar stores as the 79 cent stores! Of course now they're just dollar stores. Oh well.) We bought matching tshirts- "good girls go to heaven, bad girls go to Montreal". Several times I almost peed myself laughing.
But the most bizarre part of the evening was when we were walking on Rue St Catherine and ran into Popeye le Spider Man. He was doing some funky dance right there on the street. Of course Maria posed with him! We know a photo op when we see one!!
I'm pretty sure I spent the next day with a total stomach ache from how much laughing we did that day, but it was tout bon!
Monday, April 21, 2008
U is for Urban
I have no idea if I live in an urban area or not. How weird is that? If I were to describe my neighborhood to anyone, they would think suburban. However, my zip code means that I live in a city. So by definition that means it is urban, right?
I don't know if my impression of what urban is is skewed because of where I grew up. In my mind, NYC is urban. And so by comparison, Raleigh is nothing comparatively. Even downtown still seems like nothing compared to "The City".
So I guess what I'm wondering is whether I'm a city snob, or if there really is nothing that compares to New York.
And do I live in an urban area or a suburban?
Sunday, April 20, 2008
T is for Twilight
This has always been my favorite moment in time. And tonight it was particularly spectacular. I only wish that I could paint with words the beauty I saw outside tonight. We're right in between thunder storms moving through so that, combined with the sun considering setting left the whole world outside holding it's breath. And in that moment there was pink and gold and a light emanating from the trees that left everything just shimmering while still somehow holding still.
I believe that magic occurs at times like this.
It is impossible to see so much beauty in a single moment and not have hope... to not believe in a greater good, a higher power, in possibilities, in love.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
S is for Stu
As in Ringo Stu Kitty :) I've been asked before how he got his middle name, and it's kinda hard to explain. It's one of those things that you had to be there to understand how funny it was, you know? But I'll try...
Back in college there was this guy Stu who was ubiquitous. Everywhere we went either he was already there or showed up shortly thereafter. Because of his omnipresence we somehow started changing every song that had the word you in it to Stu. I believe alcohol was involved the first time it happened. It works really well, try it! I remember singing "Hopelessly Devoted to Stu", "Bad Case of Loving Stu", and then, because at the same time the Red Hot Chili Peppers were also big, we started doing it with Flea and me, so there was the song "Flea and Stu and a Dog named Boo". It's fun, try it sometime!
And so somehow when Ringo Kitty was adopted it seemed only fitting that his middle name be Stu.
I wonder what that guy would think if he knew...
Friday, April 18, 2008
R is for Ringo
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Q is for Quinnipiac
So I was pondering what I could possibly do for Q as I was driving to the sorority house for a cookout. One of the words that popped into my head was Quinnipiac. It's a college in Connecticut that I had a friend who attended back in the early 90's. I quickly discarded that because other than saying I had a friend who went there and there goes your Q I had nothing else to say.
But then at the cookout I was chatting with some friends of a sister who came down to visit for the weekend. And guess where 2 of these women went? Yes, Quinnipiac.
So how's that for a coincidence? I wish I had spent some more time chatting with them. One of the best books I ever read was the Celestine Prophecy, and in that it talks about coincidences and people who you are meant to share something with. I wonder if any of that is true. Well, I'll see them again on Saturday and if anything important is meant to be, I'll find out then. :)
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
P is for Puhleeze!
Seriously, some people are so annoying and stoopid I just can't handle it. I would vent more, but I don't want to be so negative here. But PUH-LEEZE!! Sometimes people think they know it all and won't open their minds at all. Some people are judgmental and are basing those judgments on incorrect information, but since they think they know it all, they won't hear anything. Some people are so high on their horses that they have a huge way to fall...
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
O is for Over
And that's how toilet paper should be hung. It drives me nuts when people hang it under. It is SO much easier to pull and tear off when it's over, so I seriously don't understand why anyone would disagree with me.
I confess there are times where I will switch the TP to be right if I find it's wrong. Not everywhere, because I don't want people to think I'm crazy, but I have a few friends who are crazy and do it the wrong way, so I fix theirs since it's an ongoing joke, and then every once in a while I'm at some public place where it's wrong and I'll fix it.
I never said I wasn't a dork :)
Monday, April 14, 2008
N is for Nom
see more crazy cat pics
Sunday, April 13, 2008
M is for Meds
So I haven't been taking my narcolepsy meds since I don't have insurance anymore. And it sucks. In the past when I was starting to build up a tolerance to my dosage my doc had suggested me taking a holiday from them. We ended up just switching what I was on, which is a good thing. That was back when I was in school for Nuclear and there is no way I would have survived. I am so sleepy and groggy and barely functioning! Fortunately I'm about to start work again, I can go back on my meds and get back to normal.
The good news is that I have to take a drug test next week and I won't have to go through the whole process of proving that they are prescribed.
The bad news is... *YAWN*
Saturday, April 12, 2008
L is for Little Boy
So when I first adopted Seamus he was 9 weeks old. And a very little boy. His birthday was March 17th, and I knew I wanted him to have a nice Irish name, but I hadn't settled on one yet. So until we came up with the perfect name for him, I started calling him Little Boy. It stuck. I still use his proper name too, but more often it's just Little Boy. And the irony of this, of course, is that he is VERY far from little now. But to me he'll always be my Little Boy.
Now if you've read back to last year, you would know that he is a mighty hunter. And that it's not something I enjoy very much. We went through a lot to get the place mouse-free so he'd stop bringing me gifts in bed. And I think it's been about 8 months without a gift. Till last night.
The last few weeks he's been back sitting watch in the kitchen, but actually more on the threshold between the kitchen and dining room area. Sorta staring at the pantry...
Last night he brought me another mouse. Ugh.
So previously they had found that there was a gap between the wall and the floor behind the stove and they fixed that. I now fear that the same gap might exist in the back of the pantry. Ugh.
I know that I'll definitely be sleeping with the penlight under my pillow again for a while now...
Friday, April 11, 2008
K is for Keys
Am I the only one, or does anyone else keep random keys from things that don't exist anymore? In a drawer I have old car keys, old apartment keys, keys that I don't recognize, and the keys to the lock that I had on the truck that I used to move cross country, even though I have no idea where that lock is anymore! My favorite random key I have is still on my keychain. It's a tiny key for a locked file box that held the HR stuff for an old job where I was the manager. They key had that fat plastic thing around it so it's REALLY hard to get off the ring, so there it stays.
I don't know what it is about me that I can't seem to get rid of these keys. Maybe the next time I get into purge mode I will actually toss them. But maybe I just keep t hem to be tiny memories of old times...
Thursday, April 10, 2008
J is for Jersey
Yes, I am originally a Jersey girl. Please don't ask me what exit though! Often I get this email sent to me and I thought I'd share it here. Some of it is stupid, but much of it is scarily true :)
You Know You're from New Jersey When...
...you recognize or can relate to at least 10 of these:
You've never pumped your own gas.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
I is for Imbroglio
So back in college I was almost a groupie for a band named Imbroglio. They were originally called Catch-22 but then changed their name. They played at local bars and whatnot and had quite a following. The one bar they played most often at was also the bar I frequented the most, The Coney.
A friend of mine was dating their manager, so I got into a lot of their shows without having to pay the cover. Always a good thing for a poor college student! Personally, I had a wee bit of a crush on one of the guys in the band, but unfortunately he had a girlfriend. Back in those days I might not have cared except I had the chance to get to know her and she was great, so that's where that ended. About 10 years later I was watching that show "A Dating Story" on TLC and saw him on it! No, he wasn't the guy going on the date, but the friend who the dater guy hung out with before the date saying "I wonder what she'll be like..." He didn't look too different, and I confess it brought me back to those days listening to some of their greatest hits.
For cover songs they did some great stuff like "Jessie's Girl", "Space Aged Love Song", "Keep your Hands to Yourself" and some U2 song- I think it was "Sunday Bloody Sunday".
But their real talent was in their originals. Unfortunately this was back in the day when cassettes were more common than CD's and so I don't have any of their music anymore. :( One of their prettier songs that they did "unplugged" was a song called "Be There". A friend who also logged many hours at the Coney groovin to their tunes while drinking $2 pitchers of Rolling Rock gave me this fabulous gift I still have. She "acquired" one of those lucite frame table tent type thing that has the Rolling Rock logo on the bottom of it with their quote of the era "Same as it ever was". In the frame she put a great picture of us, and on the back she typed the words to "Be There"...
Mold me, shape me
Mend me, take me
Be there in the end
Need me, teach me
Use me, seek me
Always be my friend
Awww. So in preparation for typing this post I tried to google them to see if there was any chance they still existed. I found another band with that name out of Baton Rouge but that's it. Then I googled Imbroglio and IUP together to see if someone else had ever written about them, but instead found much about the mascot imbroglio IUP had. (We used to be the IUP Indians till they decided that was racist)
Anyway, I miss those days dancing in the Coney and listening to those guys, so I dedicated this post to them :)
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
H is for HOORAY!!!
I got a job!!! It's just a two week gig but it's still a job! And it's a good start. It takes away the "she hasn't worked in over a year" issue as well as the no travel experience issue.
It's a tiny department- just one tech. I'll be covering for him while he's on vacation.
I am so excited, and so relieved! And from here things can only get better!! :)
El Paso here I come!
Monday, April 07, 2008
G is for Grits
No, not the food. This post is dedicated to my dear friend Gritsy :)
I met Grits through doing the yaya thing. One night we just started talking and the friendship grew from there through emails and this blog.
I think it sucks that we live so far away from each other.
She and I don't talk as much as we should. But whenever we do email, I feel like she gets me and I get her.
And she's thoughtful. Before I had my first surgery for that injury she sent me the best get well package ever. Not only did she put in a little gift for my sis too for taking care of me (how sweet!) but she also put in a little feather lined bell for me to ding when I needed help! She also put in a bag of healing stones, which I often carry with me when I need some extra strength. Recently I had them in my bag when I was at a meeting and they spilled out of their pouch into my bag. As I was putting them back in my friend I was with was looking at them and admiring them. Her favorite one was the same one that is my favorite- the one her daughter chose for me from their driveway.
T- I'm sorry that we've been pretty out of touch as of late. But know that I adore you. I might end up being in your state in May, pretty far away, but maybe we could do a midway meetup or something :)
Another great part about Grits is that we can be pretty out of touch, but I know we also still can pick it back up like we never missed a beat.
I love friends like that :)
Sunday, April 06, 2008
F is for Formal
Believe it or not, all of these years later I am actually going to a sorority formal this Friday night. Of course this time I'm going as an advisor and I don't have to stress over finding a date like back in yesteryear, and that makes me happy.
I don't think I should probably be drinking at it though, and that makes me disappointed.
Anyway, should be a nice evening because after all, it's free for me :)
I was talking to some of the other advisors who are going and they asked me what I was wearing. The answer was, of course, LBD. If I didn't have a Little Black Dress already hanging in my closet I probably would be too stressed about finding something to wear and would have decided not to go.
God Bless the LBD.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
E is for Egad!
I had two other E's I was pondering using, and maybe I'll do some extra E's since I do have 4 extra days this month.
But right now I'm watching the Carolina game and EGAD they are in trouble!
I have never seen them play worse. Granted, Kansas is kicking serious defensive ass, but I think it's also that the 'Heels are sucking serious offensive ass that combined is making this happen.
My sister's comment- "I think it's called choking".
I hope this time out gave Roy Williams the opportunity to kick so booty so they actually get into this game and save it for themselves.
Egad. :(
*****Updating****** 8:58pm
Maybe they heard me? They're doing a bit better. And these guys have a history of coming out in the second half with new found energy and drive! I'm not giving up on them :)
******Updating*******10:51
well crap. They were rawking, got within just a few, and then it seems like it's falling apart again. My heart is breaking :(
*****Updating******11:11
I'm sad. But I guess on the bright side we know now that Tyler probably won't go pro early because he really wants this win. And in other good news we don't have to worry about mayhem ensuing on Monday. Trying to look on the bright side...
Friday, April 04, 2008
D is for Divine
Secrets of the Yaya Sisterhood that is...
This is one of my alltime favorite books. After reading it, I got involved with a local Yaya group, went to Yaya gatherings all over the country, and made some of my best friends.
One of the coolest parts of my involvement with this sisterhood was the chance to go to a special preview screening of the movie a few months before it came out. I flew out to San Francisco and went with a bunch of the women there, some of who I had just gotten to know well at a gathering in Ohio where we had over 40 women from (I think) 12 different states.
All in all I've been to gatherings in the Tennessee mountains, Virginia (both northern and Shannandoah Valley), Maryland (both Baltimore and the Eastern Shore), Ohio, San Fran, Nantucket, NYC, , Philly, Outer Banks of NC, and countless other smaller get-togethers for dinner/drinks/fun.
Because of my Yaya involvment I am the proud owner of 4 tiaras and 6 feather boas.
But more importantly, because of my Yaya involvment I have a network of friends all around the world who I know have my back, and I have theirs. It's a great feeling!
YAYA!
Thursday, April 03, 2008
C is for Cookie
That's good enough for me!!
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
B is for Berkshires
I've got some insomnia so I figured I'd do my 4/2 post now.
I decided not to go with Bitch :)
So I don't remember if I ever talked about my time in the Berkshires here or not. I know if I had, it was very superficial, so this is definitely more info than that.
Back in 94 I got a job at a school for kids with "special emotional needs" in the Berkshires. My official title was "residential counsellor" but what everyone just called my position was "dorm parent".
So this boarding school was basically a VERY EXPENSIVE dumping ground for messed up highschoolers. The tuition was something around 50k a year. Many of the kids were there on court orders, or hospital transfers. Most of the kids came from families that were loaded though, these were not ghetto kids. They acted out for attention, not for survival. (then again, maybe it was their way of trying to survive their families)
As I mentioned, this was a boarding school, and although I was a dorm parent, I was not the primary one, so I also was given my own apartment on campus. However, I was required to sleep in the dorm 2 nights a week to give the primary the night off. We were on duty 7 days a week, from 7am till I think 10pm, with only one night a week and one weekend a month. It was essentially slave labor. I wouldn't even begin to figure out what my salary would be in hourly wages.
There were 3 levels of dorms for each boys and girls. "Regular Boys/Girls", "New Boys/Girls", and "The Farm". I got stuck on the Girls Farm. These were the lowest functioning girls on campus. They were not allowed contact with any of the other students, they were not allowed to go to class; we had tutors come in for them. They did not eat meals in the dining room, we cooked them in our dorm. It was the most isolating place for not only the kids, but also for me. There was one other dorm parent, and a teacher assigned to us, both were really nice, but it was still a lonely place. We had about 8 or so girls in the Farm, it varied somewhat during my time there. Basically I spent my days with the same 9 people constantly.
It was required for all staff members to be in one on one therapy weekly too because they considered the place so high stress. We also had a support group that met once a week. Those times were the only way I survived my time there.
So here was a typical day-
Get the girls up at 7, and some would do a "spot pick" cleanup while others would make breakfast. Then after breakfast we'd have a group therapy/check in/goal setting for the day. Then the tutors would come in for some lessons. Then lunch. Then another group therapy. Then "work crews". This is when we were slaves for the campus. And lucky me, being stuck in this dorm meant I got to do the work crews too. One of our favorite activities was to wander all over the campus watering flowers and "deadheading" the petunias. Rah. Then dinner. Then another check in/group therapy before bed. Monotonous hell.
Except for the therapies. Those could get interesting. And heartbreaking. All but one of my girls had been molested. One actually by her brother who was also a student there. There was one girl who spent much time dealing on the breakup of her parents marriage because her mother walked in on her father in bed with another man. This girl also claimed at one point that the father's lover raped her, and begged me to take her for an HIV test. Wow.
Well after the semester ended they were mixing up the dorm staff, and the teacher was being replaced by another who was a gay man. During a weekly check in phone call with the mother of this girl I shared that we were getting a new staff member, and that J was having some trouble adjusting because this guy was gay. Mom asked why that would matter and I said it was because of her father. Mom then shared that her father was not gay, that she never caught him with a man, and that J was actually a pathological liar. Wheee!
One night two of the girls decided to run away. Of course it happened to be on a night when I was sleeping there. (It wasn't because they wanted to screw me, per se, it was because the window in the dorm parent that lived there's room was the only window not alarmed, and I was sleeping on the couch) Of course it also meant that because I wasn't in my apartment that they could rob me before they hit the road. I'm still sad that they took one of my favorite sweatshirts.
Right after that incident I decided it was time for me to go. There were so many other horror stories that I can't even begin to share. The place was actually abusing these kids, but brainwashing everyone to think that it was the kid's choice. (If the acted appropriately then they would be allowed to...)
They had a rule "a buck a fuck". That meant that any time you dropped the f-bomb you had to pay a dollar. Well this one girl, A, was acting out large. She was punching the walls and spent about 250 bux in one afternoon. I went to the staff meeting and asked for help. The supervisor told me he'd be buy after the meeting with some zip ties to restrain her. Unfortunately, I'm a smart ass and made the mistake of saying "she could use a gag too, she's going into serious debt". Yeah they took me seriously and gagged her. She was tied up and gagged all evening, they finally took the gag off, but if I remember right she was tied up over night. She was "roomed" which means she wasn't allowed out of her room for meals or showers or basically anything except to pee. They said if she didn't have roommates they would have just given her a bucket and not let her out for that either.
And I was starting to buy into this. God help me. I learned later that the place had been likened to a cult.
So I realized I had to leave.
Years later I saw an article in the Boston Globe that the school was being investigated for multiple charges of child abuse and that several staff members had been arrested.
It has since closed.
I found a group on Myspace that is from the old students and I lurked and read their posts. It's truly heartbreaking.
What blows my mind is how much I saw, and how much I was affected by this job. I never used to be a crier, but after being there, I became a faucet and lose it with the slightest provocation.
I only was there 7 weeks.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Here we go again...
And for A I'm going to go with Ancestors. I've mentioned before that I have worked on my family tree a bit in the last few years. It's been pretty cool actually learning about them. It's been really challenging because I come from a line of Smith's and Miller's. Fortunately they didn't move around too much, so it wasn't as hard as the other line that only lived in this country for a few generations.