Thursday, August 31, 2006

To a Lady

You were here, at my work, long before I ever got here. I fixture, moving about the trailers. I don't remember when we met, but I'll never forget how you used to wait for me to drive past in my golf cart so that you could jump out, and laugh when I screamed.

When I returned, you were still here. and I got to know you better. Your feelings towards me were luke warm, at best, even though you seemed to be excited to meet anyone else. except that one guy. you never liked him at all. You simply put up with me. I cleaned up your vomit, I bought you food. Still you snubbed me.

I advanced in position, you advanced in age. Still spry, you drove our landscaping manager crazy eating all the ducklings. I'm glad I never saw you tear into a bit of roadkill. I still can't believe you would go swimming in the reclaimation ponds.

Still I would stop and talk to you, looking deep into your eyes, wishing for the day when you would jump up when I approached, happy to see me. once, I thought you did, but as I drew closer, and you saw who it was, you turned and walked away. I never stopped wanting to be your friend. I don't know if you know how many times I made sure your drinking water was fresh and clean, how often I cleaned your water bucket.

Then you had a stroke, and I oohed and ahhed over you and prayed for your comfort and an happy ending. when I saw you the other day, looking forlorn, I told myself to stop, and offer you a kind word and a pet on the head. You didn't even seem to notice me, but that was nothing new. They took you to the Dr that day, and you died while you were away. you are to be brought back and buried here, next to your friend Pasquale in a place of honor.

I know we will all miss you. I'm sure you won't be replaced. You belong to a time gone past in the history of my company, when puppies ran free and greeted our guests. You'll live on in our memories. I'll miss your shaggy black head on my porch inthe morning. I'll miss giving you treats, the only time you would have anything to do with me. I'll miss admireing your haircuts and the cute little bows they would put on your ears.

goodbye Lady. Run with Pasquale forever.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Food

a friend of mine posted a blog at some point (I don't know when, I read it yesterday) discussing how she feels guilty eating meat, even though she likes it. Whether or not to eat meat is a personal and biological issue, and I think it is up to the individual.

I? Eat meat. And I like it. Which is really a good thing because my body needs it. That's right. I have to eat meat. At least one serving a day. Without it, my body starts to digest my lean muscle tissue. I start consuming myself. I get crippling headaches.

I can go a day or two without animal protein as long as I make sure I eat some beans, nuts, or tofu. I can survive on Soy Beans. But to be safe, I generally have some sort of animal product at or before lunchtime to keep the headaches at bay.

It was the Chiropractor I worked for that finally diagnosed me. Chiropractors, for those of you who don't know, ARE doctors. The have the same training as MD's, but when it comes time to learn drugs and prescriptions, they learn adjustment techniques instead. The total required training hours for a Chiropractor is actually higher than for a MD.

One day, I felt a headache comeing on, and she tried to stop it before it really got going. At some point, when her ministrations didn't work, she happened to smell my breath. At that point, she knew exactly what was going on with my body and sent me for a burrito.

Today, I happened accross an article on MSN about how much protein your body needs. One sentence stuck with me. That protein deficiancy is one of the dangers of anorexia.

I am not going to pretend that I am anorexic. But I will admit that I suffer from an eating disorder. Never diagnosed, I still know it is there.

I'm not sure when I developed this problem, I do know that I was young. I'm sure it likely happened right about the time my mom had another kid and I had to learn to fend for myself. Breakfast and lunch were up to me. My family always had a sit-down dinner. Now, I'm lazy. Some days I would grab a carrot for the road, some days I would slap together a peanut butter and butter or plain peanut butter sandwhich. Many days, I would have nothing. In elementry school, I would sometimes borrow money from the office to eat, sneaking the change out of the jar over the washing machine to pay it back, some days I just wouldn't eat. I would watch my friends eat the lunches thier mothers packed for them. I learned to ignore the fact that I was hungry.

In 6th grade, I was able to walk home for lunch, so I would eat some instant rice or buttered noodles while I watched Hollywood Squares. When we were disallowed this privilage, my bad habits started up again. My friends would share their lunches, or the ones who got free lunches would send me to get it or pick it up for me while they had something off the lunch cart. I will always be greatful to them for this. One night, my parents asked us all what we had for lunch and my reply became something of a family joke, "A Dorrito". I don't think it occurred to them that perhaps there was something wrong with this answer. that perhaps I needed more supervision to make sure I was eating.

In 9th grade, I had a friend who bought me lunch every day. I gained 25 pounds within 6 months. Throughout high school, my patterns remained the same although they got a little better because I was more likely to have cash. I'm not saying I ate well, choosing cookies or hostess doughnuts, but at least I ate. Sadly, at home, I had learned to eat what I could when it was available. Like most growing teens, I was a seemingly bottomless pit, easily out eating my father at buffets. I understand that my body didn't understand the concept of "full". I didn't understand that it's not a good idea to eat a whole package of cookies or half a tub of ice cream in one sitting just because I could and it tasted good.

I'm lucky. Although my weight sits higher than I would like it, I have never been much more than a little chunky. If not for the Miss Santee pageants, I likely would have continued to see myself as a skinny little kid in need of a good meal, making up for lost time when I had one. Bathing suit competitions will do that. Learning I had a very low score in that area was the best thing that could have happened. It told me I needed to get into shape. I lost 15 pounds that year. If not for the Dr's diagnosis, I would still ignore my hunger as a pest, instead of my body requesting fuel. I will now stop and say "I need to eat" instead of continuing with whatever I happen to be doing. I also try to stop eating when I know my body should be full, although I do have a bingeing habit. Once I learned to clean my plate, I learned to do it well.

Healing comes in strange ways. I'm still learning self control. I eat lunch every day, although I still have a bad habit of skipping breakfast. I can eat just one scoop of ice cream and be satisfied with it. Now if I could just do the same with cookies...

Monday, August 28, 2006

Weekend Update

Friday night I had a WONDERFUL time at my dear friend Randy's surprise Birthday bash, complete with pinata and anouncement that the baby on the way is a GIRL!! I hope she likes skulls because I have a GREAT idea for a little decorated onesie.

saturday I went to the storage unit with my seester. we learned that we are "way cuter than our dad" and that we are now the proud owners of half a gorilla suite complete with coconut bra and grass skirt. We threw out the porn collection. we learned that Daddy is really organized... in his tackle box. we changed the lock and set in motion getting him off the account. Did I mention the leather chaps? size XXXL. we've only just begun.

A side story that I forgot to mention from last week. Bearing in mind that the man in question is an idiot, we have a regular customer at Harbucks that stands around and talks to us when we would rather be closing up shop and going home. He has told me twice how he once blew someone's brains out, loudly, which, I could tell, made the other customers uncomfortable. Personally? I think killing someone, even in self defense changes your soul a bit and you never really recover. I think that there is something wrong with you if you are proud.
He told one of our supervisors that one of my coworkers is "really pretty. I mean she should be a model....or a hooker" nice.
So this guy happens to see my tattoo and asks if I am a witch to which (heh) I reply, "yes" as I do not hide it, I just don't advertise. My tattoo had come uncovered while I was working on the floor. later, he asked the model/hooker if she wasn't afraid a house might fall on her.
I like to think that I have a very good sense of humor about the way those of my faith are portrayed in society. I embrace it because I think it is funny. But I can't help but think that was a bit insensitive. Like when those kids asked me if they could burn me at the stake. ignorance.

Sunday I got started on my office. Organizing it, that is. I will post pictures of my progress when I am done, but I have to say, although I cannot currently get to my computer, I CAN see my floor for the first time since I moved in. Now if I could just get myself to clean my bedroom, maybe I could use the ironing board without having to transfer the clothes on it from the board to my bed and back again at bedtime.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Learning

My ankle/leg/foot has been hurting a lot over the last couple of days and since part of the pain is the bone tired weariness that you feel after a long day shoveling gravel in the sun (yes. I have done it so I know exactly how this feels) I know that I have been overdoing it. Vased ont he fact that the pain moves around, I am coming to accept that although I do not have the excruciating pain that I expected out of the injury, I am hurt worse than I have wanted to admit. This, sadly, means I won't be back in my skates for maybe even a month. Little tiny baby steps...

However, one thing I noticed while I was out and about yesterday, was the lack of parking spots near to the stores I needed to go to. I do not have a handicapped plaquard. I realized that once I am better, I should make a point of parking further away, not just for the exercize, but to allow those who need them more to park in the closer spots. Not everyone who has a disability has a plaquard, and I should take advantage of being able when I am able.

School has begun, and that means the fundraising has begun. One popular fundraiser in my area are discount cards that you can presumably use at various drive through locations. without getting into the fact that I don't generally eat fast food, I don't end up using those cards. I forget them, I'm embarassed, whatever. So when I was approached yesterday, I first told the boys I didn't have any cash (this was after I tried to avoid eye contact) which was true. In my face, the young man told me that they could take a check. I explained that I did not use the cards, That I still had one leftover from last year from my brother. I probably should not have bantered with them, but as I walked away, I heard one of them call me a bitch. Now he wasn't just agressive, he was rude. Without looking back, I called, "I heard that" and continued on my way into the store. He wouldn't look at me when I came out.
Call me old, but I am old enough to be this boy's mother. (gasp!!) the level of disrespect I got from him from the get go was unnerving. He, and his friends (save one who I had a nice conversation with as I walked out) treated me like I was a contemporary. Even if I were a contemporary, I don't think I should have been approached that way! Whatever happened to respecting your elders?

Thursday, August 24, 2006

In the absence of anything interesting to say


here is a mini golf picture.
I liked this one because of the liem-charlie madness.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Blog a thon

This will be long and picture heavy, I think.

I was having a conversation with a coworker. I described my boss as looking kind of like Santa Clause. It was suggested that I might be an elf. (I denied it). Then the coworker asked me if I owned green shoes and smelled of wood glue. (No green shoes, but sometimes I smell like wood glue) It was announced that I must be an elf. WHICH may actually be true. My mother? has some pretty pointy ears. AND it would explain my constant and compulsive need to make stuff. and so, to complete the picture, I bought these:

They are WAY comfortable. and, by the way, my pants are not short, I took the picture with my feet in the air. it was the best shot I could get.


DERBY INJURIES!



This is why we don't wear ankle socks. That's a blister, it left a scar. Lucky for you I only take pictures of my feet and legs because there have been a few fun bruises on my ass too.


Today's outfit. I ran out of pants. I am SO SEXY. Wish you could see the rest of the outfit, because um, I'm in the Cruise Director suit today. Totally dowdy.

Meanwhile, Biker Bob was at Wal Mart the other day. As he was entering the building, two boys ran out, laughing, being chased by a security guard. They had obviously stolen something. An older woman, also laughing, called out encourangement to them. When another customer piped up that it wasn't appropriate to encourage stealing, she turned to him, used a racial slur, and threatened to kick his butt. This was, an older woman. Biker Bob was appalled. I am saddened, not only by her encouragement of this illegal behavior, not only because they boys, by thier laughter, were not stealing because they needed the item stolen, but because it was fun, but by the ignorance of the situation.

Theft is just not economically intelligent. The cost of that product HAS to be paid, and that means that the rest of us, and those boys too, will have to pay for it. lower wages because the business owner has to cut back due to theft. higher prices to recoup losses. the effects may be subtle, but so can the rising tide.

and the woman. with her racial slurs. I would be harassing her if I called her the equivilant of what she called that man. And the attitude is perpetuated every time those words are uttered. But people don't think of the effects of that either. The man being yelled at? Will carry that impression with him forever. And I am sure it was not a good impression.

My sister, friend, and I were sitting in Burger King one night eating our burgers. (Not boogers) The back door to the restraunt was locked, but we were opening it when people came to the door. We finally decided that we would not open it anymore, as everyone else could actually go through the front door like we did, and, we wanted to eat our dinner. A family came to the door. We looked up, temptation itching our feet, and went back to our dinners. the family went around front.
As they headed to the bathroom, "Dad" pointed us out to his kids. "Look there" he said, "at those three predjudiced white bitches". Shocked, we could only stare. He repeated himself several times in a very angry tone. His wife looked uncomfortable. When it was all over, we talked amongst ourselves.
This was the first time I have ever been called prejudiced. I think it may have been the last. Sure, we all have predjudice. It's the ability to remember that everyone is an individual and cannot be blamed for the actions of a group that shows acceptance and intelligence. We did not open the door, not because the family had darker skin than we, but because we were exercizing out right to eat our dinners before they got cold.
It was tough, for awhile, not to think that every black man assumed that I am predjudiced. It may be tough for Biker Bob and the other witnesses to that horrible scene to think that all people of that woman's ethnicity encourage thievery. perpetuates the hatred...Prime example of runaway ignorance.

I think that is all for today. I had so much more, but as usual, I have forgotten.

Friday, August 18, 2006

pause, and begin.

there has been so much I have wanted to blog about over the last day or so, but I either didn't have time, or I wasn't anywhere near a computer.

Speaking of near a computer, Biker Bob's crapped out on him and now he's shopping laptops. which, of couse made me go, "Hey! I want one too!" It's a want, not a need, and that is a lot of what has kept me from REALLY looking into it over the last couple of days. That and the knowlage that buying a laptop is not economically reasonable at this time. Not that I don't have the credit, but, I would like to be able to quit Harbucks eventually. I love working there (although the sprained ankle makes it REALLY difficult to do my job) but I also miss the luxury of having time at my apartment. You know, the one that put me in the financial bind that forces me to work a second job. However, the indulgent voice in my head says that if I had a laptop, I could not only blog ANYWHERE, but I could better track my business sales when I am away from home. You know, instead of hand writing everything at craft fairs, I could enter it directly into the computer and give a nice looking receipt...oh wait, I would need a printer too...So really I only want one because I want to keep up with the Joneses or the Bob, in this case. I think I just talked myself out of it. Phew!

Went mini golfing last night. it was great! There was one fellow there that I did not introduce to Biker Bob because he never got close enough to me to do so and it was a bit awkward because I had only met him once before...And I feel bad, especially since I intorduced his date to Biker Bob, but I was standing right next to her at the time. And really, the guy? never spoke to me all evening anyway. I'm making excuses to justify my actions, but it isn't working. I see through my clever mind tricks.

Mind tricks. Biker Bob said something last night that bothered me. He said that the main objective is not to piss me off. And I thought, wow. I don't treat him very well if he has to walk on eggshells in order to maintain my affections. Here is why I think he feels this way. A couple of weeks ago, although I don't think I mentioned it here, I called the whole thing off. He had made a deal breaker move. This is one of those deal breakers that stems from a childhood issue, and something I REALLY need to get over because it's silly. I know that. But it happened after he did something else that caused me to tell him to stop, and, I made my choice. Obviously, we worked through it, with him admonishing me to communicate better, as he did not know I was that angry. Apprently this is a relationship problem I have since C told me the same thing. This does not mean that I am going to start throwing tantrums. not real ones anyway.
Anyhow, Biker Bob is now very careful not to do things he knows piss me off. And I think he is careful not to do anything he thinks might piss me off. And I am often bothered by the fact that I am so sensitive about things that he has to stifle himself in order to keep me around. It makes me feel like my mother. My mother has SO MANY RULES that she is difficult to approach, I think, for any man she happens to be dating.
So I think it very important to work hard to cut the poor guy some slack. and maybe, just maybe think about his feelings once in awhile. I've been so totally in the box lately that my actions and feelings are bound by it. It can't be good for Biker Bob. I know it isn't good for me. Maybe I can break this cycle of acting like my mother by being aware of it. Maybe I can get over some of those issues. I don't want to be one of those high maintenance women. High maintainance can be emotional maintenance, not just the money/presents kind.

the Mosque next door to Biker Bob's home burned down yesterday. They wondered if it was a hate crime, but although they get eggs thrown at them round about 9-11*, the fire department was unable to find any evidence that it was arson. I saw the news cameras when I arrived at Biker Bob's house last night, and smelled the funny smell in the air, but it took a couple of minutes for me to actually notice that the building was burned up. I felt VERY unobservant. I had not idea it was even a Mosque. I thought it was an abandoned office building because I never see anyone there and well, I've never noticed that it is open. Yup. in my own world over here.
*What I want to know is, why in the world would you want to throw eggs at a church? it is not the fault of Islam that there are extremists out there who will twist the words of Mohammed. There are psychos in every faith. and some of them have loud voices. Look at Jerry Fallawell. (sp?) if we truly believed that all Christians believed as he believes, there would be a much bigger uproar when he is caught being a bonehead. But no, the majority of Christians, like Muslims, simply want to practice thier faith in peace. Like anyone else.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Gimpy Moe

Plans went forward for me to pick up Biker Bob from the airport after Derby Practice on Monday. During practice, I was finally assigned to a more advanced Doll for tutelage, which was great. We worked on the skills that are nessesary to make the team. I fell a few times, and hit my head on the floor once (I saw stars, but took a couple of asprin and kept on going)
Beginner practice over, I stayed for the big girl practice since I seem to be able to keep up lately. and, when I leave early, I catch shit from the others for not staying. which is good for me. We start practicing pack speed drills. I, being the slowest in the pack, was getting a lot of great bumps and learning how to take them gracefully (a bump is when a teammate comes up behind you, grabs hold, and pushes you forward). Then we switched directions.
Ordinarly we skate counterclockwise. My body is (sadly) now conditioned to skate this way. I start to struggle, and I fall. Great. now I have to catch up. Steely Jan starts hanging out towards the back of the group in order to grab hold and swing me back into business. I start to panic because I am not skating as well as I would if we were going the "right way" I make a quick mental note to start skating the other way in order to equally train my body.
I round the turn and catch up to Steely who reaches out her hands. I grab hold, preparing for the rush of being swung around and catapulted forward. I am always amazed at Steely's strength.
Something goes wrong and my foot twists and folds under me. As I land on my ankle, I hear an audible crunch. The sound that issues forth from my mouth is almost inhuman and I crawl from the track, breath raspy with pain and shock. I nod my answers. Yes, I'm alright, yes I need ice, and finally verbally, I need a minute (to get off the track). I can't remember if I crawled or skated off. Steely arranged for ice and the skating continued with me smiling from the sidelines and quietly cheering my former pack along.
I checked for range of motion and tenderness and found that I was ok. I was fine walking, and eventually left to pick up Biker Bob. the ladies stopped to check how I was, and the Captain came over to not only check on me, but to tell me about even earlier classes available. boot camp, to teach the skills she hasn't had time to teach. I expressed an extreme interest and was flattered that she would make a point to tell me about it personally. It doesn't take much.
When I woke up Tuesday morning, I couldn't walk. I crawled to my phone to ring my boss.
Thankfully, Biker Bob was able to take me to the Dr's office where I was blessed with a quick appointment and a Dr who laughed a bit and said I am among the elite few who can fall on her own ankle. He sent me to xray because I had "boney tenderness"
The only time I almost cried through this ordeal was when I had to walk 1/4 to 1/2 mile to the xray room. I had a cane, but at this point was able to walk ok, and it was more of an annoyance than a boon, although I did lean on it heavily during the walk back to my Dr's office.
Dr informed me that I am not broken, only sprained and will heal as my body deems fit. I took the res of the day off from both jobs and tried to allow Biker Bob to spoil me. We ran a lot of errands for him, his computer pooped out and so did his truck, and I took a nap. He helped me with my shoe when I couldn't put it on, and took me out for very yummy pepperoni and artichoke pizza. He also dished up a healthy load of crap for being injured.
So here I am, back at work, and not nearly as spry as I prefer to be. I am happy to report that my bones look good and healthy, and, that I got to keep my xrays, which means I get to look at my bones any time I want. AND I'm getting around pretty good already so I have high hopes of being all better in time for practice on Monday, since that will be the first day of boot camp. AND after tonight I should have enough tips saved to buy a new pair of roller skates. So you see?? being ginpu isn't so bad after all.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Missing Monster

Here I am!

Wednesday I was laying low after the big Email madness. Bossman suggested that I watch myself and not goof off which I kinda did a little bit, I should still...Big craziness? got an email from C. He found my blog. What I thought would be a huge catastophy and terrible thing (I know, it's out there, I knew he would find it eventually) turned out to be a really great event and he now knows about Biker Bob (I wasn't telling him because I didn't want another repeat of the E situation where he dissapeared out of my life for a year over a guy who was only in my world for a few weeks.) and I really feel as though it brought us to a more healthy place in our friendship. Reading it (the WHOLE THING!!!) helped him to better understand me, and our conversation helped me to better understand the place he is right now. it was GREAT!

Thursday I drove to Vegas, burned my mouth on hot tea, attended a Wedding, wandered around the casinos, and went to bed.

Friday, I drove home from Vegas, wandered around my apartment, and went to bed. I stopped in Jean to pee since I have never been there and if I can time my urination to coincide with new experiences, how can that be wrong? as I was leaving, I saw a man standing by the side of the road apparently talking to a tree. Then I realized that he was praying. I took a few minutes to appriciate his devotion to god such that he would pull over in the middle of the desert to pray. how many people, myself included can't even be bothered with getting up early for morning devotions? he may also have just been talking to the tree.

Saturday I spent most of the day reading and doing laundry before work. Then I went to work, got off early, and headed to a bonfire thrown by my friends who are in from VA. You may not remember about a year ago when I wrote this post. My friend was there with her baby. This was the first time I had seen them since the funeral. That baby has her father's eyes. I almost cried. She's beautiful. And she gave me the biggest smile EVER which is way cool because I usually make babies cry. I also got to snuggle the Vislas, which always makes me happy.

Sunday my sister and I went up to our dad's storage, but it was closed. blame me for that one. Went and had pho. mmm. except for the part where I burned my mouth on hot egg rolls. Went swimming at my house with my friends. it was wrestlemainia in the pool. THEN we went for all you can eat japanese seafood buffet where crab and fish jokes did abound. we ended the evening at my friend Liem's house. fun times were had by all.

I'm back at work today and have been plesantly busy. Turns out that Biker Bob will be home tonight so I will pick him up from the airport after practice. Yay. stinky, sweaty Gina. Until tomorrow.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Oh shit

I was going to blog about how great practice went last night and how I got to see a softer, friendlier side of out team captain and how the girls were asking about my derby name and how I need to pick one.

Then I had a catastrophy.

I was sending an email to my friends to get suggestions on said derby name. only, it didn't go to my friends. Nope. it went to a group on property. and some off property. and the recall? only partially worked. there's still multiple emails roaming around. It went almost to the top. and I? am totally panicked. I told the bossman, and I have done what damage control I can, but, um, yeah. that's bad. against company policy. and REALLY embarassing.

I'm waiting for it to bite me in the ass. The people teasing me about it are really helping because it makes me feel better. it's the higher ups that I have not heard from that scare me. I try to be invisible in my cave. I feel like I just ran through the resort nakid.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Weekend Update

Friday night I went out with my family to celebrate my brother getting his diploma. It was yummy. Not the diploma, the food. My Aunt and Uncle started in again on how wonderful I am for being me and not making any excuses for it. Which, I mean, I don't think that's something I should be praised about. It made me uncomfortable. I'm flattered that they think I am wonderful, I think highly of them too. No matter what I said (and I tried a simple thank you)they kept on and on. I didn't know what else to do.

Saturday night I went to see Wicked for my birthday. My sister, mom, adopted sister, and cousin/sister went. It was flawless. I had a wonderful time. Great show. Wendy bought me a lovely t-shirt. Momi bought dinner, and Shawna and Lisa picked up my ticket. It was a perfect evening.

I had yesterday comepletely off! It was wonderful! after a slumber party with Shawna and Wendy, then breakfast, I went home and spent all the rest of the day there! I worked on business (made more that the Punk Rock Craft Fair than I thought I did!) made a purse out of one of Biker Bob's pairs of jeans that he made me, worked on embroidery, made a pin cushion (wasn't nearly as cute as it was in my head, sadly) watched movies (4 of them!!) and was in bed asleep by 10:30!! Glorious! couldn't ask for a better day.

Derby tonight. I'm a little nervous.

Friday, August 04, 2006

Wow! Exciting!

I don't often discuss business here because I don't want to sound like a soap commercial. Perhaps I should mention a little more frequently my often neglected side business simply for the reason that it brings me joy.

So in exciting news, I will tell you that my logo is DONE! Special thanks to Court Jones- www.courtjones.com for designing it for me. He tried to make it look like me but when this is what you have to work with:



and your model keeps falling off her exercize ball, it's tough to get a good likeness. So here she is:

Or at least one of the preliminary sketches. I'm not sure if Court has given me the disk yet. Please note the copyright. This drawing belongs to Court. Please to not "borrow" it. He is a professional artist who makes a living and he worked VERY hard on this design. If you would like to commission work, GREAT!! Please do. I love to see my friends successful.

That rant over, I'll be placing a banner on this page as soon as I get my act together and you can steal and post my banner whever you want. (Sensei)

I've added a new soap to my line! it's Gingerlicious! It has not been posted on the site yet, I need to do some (ahem...a lot) tweaking over there, but it is among the soaps that are now bigger and smellier for your bathtime pleasure. Since I bought a WHOLE BUNCH of Ylang Ylang on sale yesterday, you can expect some of that to make it into soap as well.

I have stickers! and they say, "Feeling Dirty? www.bubbly-creations.com" I made them over at stickerjunkie.com, which had the best price around if you are looking to make a lot of your own stickers. If you aren't, and you just want to plaster MY stickers on your stuff, let me know and I'll send you one.

Sharon, http://sharonreynolds.typepad.com, met me at the Punk Rock Craft Fair on Sunday, and not only bought a bar of Peppalyptus soap, but mentioned it in her blog! I hope she uses it instead of just sniffing it. I like what she has to say in general and have added her to my daily reads. another super cool happy point for her? She eats Pho. mmm. Pho. with my best friend coming into town next week, I hope to have a Pho Fabulous month.

Really, since joining up with The Bad Girls of Craft, I have felt craftily renewed and excited about all things crafty so you will likely be seeing more of my crafty side in the days to come. Right now I am putting aside my wash cloth knitting (also not available throught the site, but I am thinking they should be) to make blankets for my Webmaster Randy (www.rebturtle.com) who's wife is due in January AND my friend Nicole who I have known FOREVER who's dad gave me my wonderfully wacky pet bird is due in February. Let us all chant, "January, February. Knit, Knit, Knit!"

Thursday, August 03, 2006

yeah. totally.

Found this while surfing at Diary of a Freak Magnet, http://diaryofafreakmagnet.blogspot.com/, written by Ginger who, not only shares my mother's name but must be a part of my family somehow because, um, we're all freak magnets too.

The Movie Of Your Life Is A Cult Classic
Quirky, offbeat, and even a little campy - your life appeals to a select few.But if someone's obsessed with you, look out! Your fans are downright freaky.
Your best movie matches: Office Space, Showgirls, The Big Lebowski
If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

Finally! A diagnosis!

And knowledge that it isn't just me.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14124484/

mini drama dots

  • had Jury Duty yesterday. Ran into my brother who also had JD. We were out by noon. It was lovely.
  • Biker Bob headed off to Illinois yesterday. Since I wasn't working I took him to the airport. I have grown accustomed to having him around so it was a bit strange to not be able to hang out with him or call him after work last night.
  • Still living in the land of confusion.
  • Little "run in" with coworker this morning. She had to attend the weekly meeting yesterday since I was out. They asked her about a report that I tend that had fallen out of favor but has been resurrected recently. She was unaware of it.(it is posted on the public drive for all tho see) She complained that not knowing about this didn't make her feel very much a part of the department. I explained the report, and it's history. What I didn't point out is that she has duties these days that people ask me about that I am unaware of. I do not confront her about it. Just as I don't expect her to tell me everything she does, I don't think she should expect me to tell her every time I create a new form or report. I am a bit miffed by the situation, but I am certain that I will get over it.
  • I should have taken yesterday afternoon to deal with my dad's storage, but I didn't. It's a 60 mile drive to where it is. It's really easy to find reasons not to go out there.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

What.the.fuck???

But last week's ruling, which stated that "limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples furthers procreation, essential to the survival of the human race, and furthers the well-being of children"

ok so gay people don't make good parents and humans are in danger of surviving???? Bull Shit. I'm calling Shenanegans. go get your brooms.

an exerpt from a newsweek article on the gay marriage fight in Washington.

Gratuitous picture and more

Wedding Chic

and now for something a little more serious.

NWJR over at The Daily Snark, wrote a post responding to another blogger's post regarding the term "tard" as used as an insult. Tard. As in Re-Tard. As in, there's something wrong with you so I am going to call you mentally challenged.

I'm not going to pretend that this word has never snuck into my vocabulary. I will claim that I have always found it's use as an insult a bit sad. Perhaps it is because I have been around mentally disabled people my whole life. Uncle Georgie, my great uncle and the youngest of my grandfather's siblings was born with Downs Syndrome. Which used to be called Mongoloid before people decided that the term was offensive to those who hail from Mongolia. There's nothing wrong with Uncle Georgie. He's one of the happiest, most loving people I know. Uncle Georgie loves to draw.

I grew up in a family that took care of their children regardless of their differences, instead of stowing them away in an institution, they raised the mentally different even when, as in the case with my Grandmother's cousin Michael, they were severely handicapped and needed constant care. Michael loves music.

I grew up in a family where sometimes, bad things happen, and you learn to live with them. My cousin Scott grew up in a rural farming community. The children were warned not to swim in the drainage ditches, but dogs will swim in anything. Kids, as a rule, love their dogs no matter where they've been swimming. Scott's brain is damaged forever from pesticide runoff. I don't know him well enough to know what he loves. But he is human too.

Then my nephew was diagnosed with Autism. And I can't imagine ever calling him retarded, although once upon a time, someone might have. Yes, he's a bit different than I. And sometimes, his issues are hard to handle. Every day, I think that my cousin and her husband are amazing because they do everything they can to ensure that he has a good life. (they are amazing for other reasons too) He's the only person I know who can wiggle his toes independently of each other. Finn loves electronics.

Looking at it my family as their individual diagnoses, it is easy to call them, or anyone else who is developmentally disabled, mildly goofy, just plain dorks, "retarded". And in some ways, we are all a bit slow, if you want to use the literal translation. Maybe though, it is time to put away archaic descriptions and think about the people underneath the label. Because they aren't really retarded. Just wired differently than me. I wish I could wiggle my toes like Finn. I would like to be proud of my art like Uncle George. Dance when I choose, like Michael instead of feeling self conscious. hmm. interesting.