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Friday, February 13th, 2009
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10:36 am - Can we have a collective "fingers crossed"?
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E's unemployment day #36. He FINALLY got a job interview next Tuesday for a position that is remotely related to his expertise (merchandising for graphics/printing supplies). Please send good job interview vibes our way! :-)
current mood:  hopeful
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, January 8th, 2009
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9:28 am - We've just become a statistic
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My husband left his job for a new job in March 2008. He was just laid off today (down-sizing). They gave him one week severance. We are so screwed. Our family's insurance was through his work - we cannot afford the family premium at my job. We need 2 incomes. It may be my son's last month at his awesome preschool. We just bought a $1000 hot water heater on New Year's Eve and paid $1700 for our dog to get ACL surgery at the end of October... both had to be on credit.
Happy 2009. :-(
current mood:  shocked
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(7 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, December 8th, 2008
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3:09 pm - A long time ago
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In a galaxy far, far away (late 1980's, Detroit to be exact), I was a cool kid hanging out in the music scene. I had a boyfriend in a band and he introduced me to some really cool, awesome musicians, and their band was called "Beer on the Penguin." And it was all good. And my friends and I traveled near and far and watched "BOP." We laughed, we cried, we shared MANY beers, and we made many friends. And even for a short while, before they finally broke up and became adults with real jobs and such, I would return home to visit and be lucky enough to go to a BOP show or attend a part at the "Penguin house."
Fast forward, oh let's say 15 years or so. My niece who is in high school now emails me and tells me that her English teacher, who is a super cool guy (her description), was in a band called "Beer on the Penguin" and would I possibly have heard of them before? Her teacher's name is "Pat," who would be none other than the incredibly talented lead singer for BOP. Holy cow - yes my dear, your English teacher would definitely remember me. :-)
So now I will go home and shuffle through old photos, and ultimately find a few cool snapshots of "Teacher Pat" for my niece to take to school and say "oh wow, my Aunt told me she has stories about you!" And thus, probably guarantee her at least 1/3 higher grade than she would already have gotten. lol
current mood: happy
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(comment on this)
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| Friday, November 14th, 2008
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11:54 am - Not a good day
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I just got out of a meeting where a 17-year employee was fired and I was the HR rep to give her the separation agreement (to review) and escort her to her desk to pack up the quick stuff, hand over her cardkey, and leave the building. I feel sick to my stomach. Granted, there had been performance issues for quite some time, and common sense would have dictated that they had to have seen this coming, but nobody ever really does.
current mood:  nauseated
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
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9:00 am - It is a good day to wake up in America.
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| Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
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10:49 am - As requested... please feel free to pass it along
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Copy this sentence into your livejournal if you're in a heterosexual marriage, and you don't want it "protected" by the bigots who think that gay marriage hurts it somehow.
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(comment on this)
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| Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
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2:36 pm - Food for thought
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I received this forward and really thought it hit home, as a non-partisan view of the state of our government. I realize things are not black-and-white, but this is still very interesting to wrap your brain around:
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems…AND THEN THEY CAMPAIGN AGAINST THEM.
· Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
· Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
· You and I do not propose a federal budget. The president does.
· You and I do not have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
· You and I do not write the tax code, Congress does.
· You and I do not set fiscal policy, Congress does.
· You and I do not control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices total the 545 human beings out of the 300 million citizens are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because the Congress created that problem. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists because they have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressional representative, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. Yet they run this county. I do not care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes and not to be swayed by special interests.
Those 545 people spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. Yet they cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from the rest of us is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I cannot think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
· If the tax code is unfair, it is because they want it unfair.
· If the budget is in the red, it is because they want it in the red.
· If the Army & Marines is in Iraq, it is because they want them in Iraq.
· If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it is because they want it that way.
· There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation,' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people and they alone, are directly and personally responsible for the conditions in this county. They and they alone, have the power. The people, who are their bosses alone, should hold them accountable. Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees. We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
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| Friday, September 12th, 2008
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9:06 am - Something bugs me
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The headline "Obama belittling Palin?" I didn't even read the article. Here's my problem. This is about to Presidential candidates, Obama & McCain. Obama picked his running mate, Biden. McCain picked his running mate, Palin. We are SUPPOSED to treat them all like political figures who are potentially going to run our country, and question them hard and sift out the crap and figure out who would be best at improving international relations, working on the economy, providing to those in need in our OWN country, and making people more empowered to live the American dream.
Human nature takes us right to "black guy versus white woman". I hate the thought of it. Obama has spent a lot of time talking about McCain, and less so about Palin, but every time he talks they somehow swing it into a Palin issue. Palin doesn't have the insight or political experience - regardless of her gender or her looks. But a headline like the one mentioned above just sounds like "black guy picks on white girl" and frankly, the 1950's are over thank you very much.
If this country cannot get past these incredibly shallow tactics to create diversionary drama, then we're doomed. Conservatives all of a sudden waving a flag because their "independent" candidate picked a woman. The only reasons Republicans like her is the fact that the woman happens to be a Christian religious conservative, even if she tries to ride the "reform/change" bus. The Democrats have already done the "woman on a ticket" thing so I guess I don't see the novelty. While I appreciate the novelty of Obama being the first black presidential candidate, I've gotten over that too and moved on to his general beliefs and ideas on policy.
I'm not going to vote for a black guy because he's a black guy, and I'm not going to vote for a woman because she's a woman. So I guess my problem is, will the Republicans please stop the "picking on the girl" smear and let the debates on substance begin? Before now, I would have been annoyed if the Democrats ever tried to play the race card - but now I'm feeling like it should totally be pulled every time the gender card is pulled:
"Oh yeah? Well the Republicans aren't going to vote for Obama because he's black! They say bad things about him because he's black; they don't want a person of color making policy, and they don't want to have to work in concert with a black guy, regardless of his party affiliation."
For cripes sake, I would HOPE that, while some people are ignorant enough to think that way, the majority of Americans aren't going to vote based on something so fundamentally wrong. And with regards to Palin, I sure hope the majority of Americans aren't going to vote for her (and not McCain) just because she's a woman. This isn't Obama vs. Palin, this is Obama vs. McCain. Very different credentials, very different views of leadership.
Argh - I cannot wait for this election to be over.
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| Friday, September 5th, 2008
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11:07 am - 50 Questions - stolen from flist
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1. Do you like blue cheese? Blech
2. Have you ever smoked a cigarette? Yup
3. Do you own a gun? No, especially not with small kids in the house
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? Never been to a Sonic
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No
6. What do you think of hot dogs? Yum, especially from The Dog House in Des Moines, WA.
7. Favorite Christmas Song? Silver Bells
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? One cup o' joe.
9. Can you do push ups? Yes, but not as many as I'd like to
10. What's your favorite meal? Alaskan King Crab legs with a side of roasted garlic and a french baguette
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? my wedding ring
12. Favorite hobby? cross-stitch, which I don't get to do, and cooking/baking, which I am trying to fit in more
13. Do you work with people who idolize you? Well of course, who doesn't? Um, no, not really
14. Do you have A.D.D? If there's an opposite affliction where you pay TOO much attention to details, then that's what I have
15. What's one trait that you dislike about yourself? Getting frustrated because everyone isn't thinking 12 steps ahead like I do; I need to chill
16. Middle name? Ileen
17. Name 3 thoughts at this moment. What's going on this weekend? Is it time to do my lunch errands? I need oranges for soccer.
18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday. Tomato basil soup, a gallon of milk, candles from Illuminations
20. Current worry right now? Time management with all of the kid activities
21. Current hate right now? hypocrites/double-standards
22. Favorite place to be? Snuggling with my kids, wherever
23. How did you bring in New Years? Watching TV with my hubby and a glass of red wine
24. Where would you like to go? Scotland, Ireland, Alaska, Morocco
25. Name three people who will complete this? No idea
26. Whose answer do you want to read the most? Anyone who does it
27. What color shirt are you wearing? White w/black sweater
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Not at all; jersey
29. Can you whistle? pretty good
30. Favorite color(s)? green
31. Would you be a pirate? Absolutely
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? Don't really sing in the shower
33. Favorite girl's name? Megan or Sarah
34. Favorite boy's name? Ewan or Ian or Matthew
35. What's in your pocket right now? They're empty
36. Last thing that made you laugh? Thinking about my son in big boy underwear (way too cute)
37. Best bed sheets as a child? Snoopy!
38. Worst injury you've ever had? Tie: Breaking my arm in 9th grade, rollerskating; cracking my eyebrow "bone" and getting a concussion at 21 from falling down while, um, rollerskating
39. Do you love where you live? Absolutely, I feel like I live in Mayberry sometimes.
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? Two.
41. Who is your loudest friend? Wendy, my former daycare lady, a/k/a my daughter's other "baby mama"
42. How many dogs do you have? One, the best evar
43. Does someone have a crush on you? Yes, the scrumptious bartender at my favorite Irish Pub... oh wait, that's just in my head. No, I don't think so.
45. What is your favorite book? Possibly "The Stand" or "It" by Stephone King, but I like a bunch.
46. What is your favorite candy? Godiva Dark Chocolate/Raspberry bar
47. What is your favorite sports team? Detroit Tigers
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? Actually, I'd prefer just a wake at an Iris Pub, and then a mix tape of all of my favorite songs while people drink shots of whisky!
49. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? Thankfully sleeping
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning? Crap, I need to pack the girl's swimming stuff for after school!
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008
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1:47 pm - Enough already
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Dear Media and Crazy Republican Pundits,
Please stop treating Sarah Palin like a hero because she has a special needs child. Will someone ask her who is caring for that innocent baby while his mother is out stumping for the VP slot? And don't give me the "glass ceiling" bullshit line, or the anti-working mom spiel, I'm tired of it. I AM a working mom. I would love to see a woman (even a mom!) in a power position like President or Vice-President too, but I'm not going to vote for someone who is the polar opposite of everything I believe in, just because she has a vagina and has procreated.
Please stop telling me what a great hunter she is - lifetime member of the NRA, etc., as if that is somehow going to make her a better VP. And Fred Thompson, I'm all geeked about the fact that Sarah Palin can field dress a Moose in the wild, but please tell me how that qualifies her as a party reformer and "uniter"? Tell me what it's going to be like for Sarah Palin, as VP, to become involved in international affairs and have to travel to say, the Middle East, for reasons of diplomacy? Last I remember, even the "renegade" politicians need to know how to play the game in international circles. She shook things up in Alaska, well woo-hoo. She called out people who were potentially rotten apples; but lest we forget, she's currently being investigated.
I believe in equal pay for equal work - apparently Sarah Palin doesn't agree. However, I also think it's naieve for people to not just suck it up and acknowledge that men and women are different. It's the old Fred Astaire comparison - everyone thinks Fred was the best dancer but Ginger Rogers did everything Fred did, only backwards and in heels. Women have more responsibility to their families, they generally are primarily in charge of nurturing their children, maintaining the household, and now, holding jobs of immense responsibility. Viva la working moms! I also think that women can work and still be good mothers (alas, back to the fact that I am one). However, you do make life choices, and if Sarah Palin runs for VP she is opening herself up to intense scruitiny on those life choices, so deal with it. And yes, it's because she's a woman. And no, she cannot be held to the same scruitiny as a man - unfortunately, that's the reality of life.
Please stop hiding behind the "pro-life" flag when talking about Sarah Palin's pregnant teenage daughter. Lots of parents, even the pro-choice folks, have supported their own pregnant teenage daughters, in part due to the Sarah Palin's of the world and their religious right abstinence only teachings. Unless you live under a rock, you should know that teenage pregnancy is a bit of an epidemic. However, when you're a politician and policy maker, and you cannot even get your own child to follow your "abstinence only" teachings, then why am I going to trust you to change the world into your Eutopia of religious "family values" perfection? Sarah Palin should be saying that she's thankful her daughter, who clearly had premarital and unprotected sex, did not get an STD or God forbid, AIDS, when she was not being abstinent. It's an opportunity to show a real life experience where teaching proper safety and sex education in the schools is important in the 21st century.
Please help me to understand why I'm supposed to think someone who wants to teach only creationism and who thinks that global warming doesn't exist, while her own state's wilderness is being affected by it, is a good choice to be 2nd in line to run the entire country?
Finally, please tell me why someone with such limited experience, from a state that is so physically, culturally and economically different from the majority of this country, is able to understand the needs of the people (country first!) in the farmlands, in urban cities, or in poor, rural communities that don't get Alaska pipeline kickbacks. I don't mean to imply that nobody from Alaska can understand the rest of the country - I mean specifically that this candidate's lack of experience outside of her own small town in the wilderness is too much to overcome.
Please let's have some intelligent conversations about the real issues of the candidate's qualifications, including explaining to me why I shouldn't think she's a bat-shit crazy extremist. I do not want to see her shooting a gun, or another photo of her pregnant daughter. And if McCain/Palin wins the election, I'm going to spend every night praying that McCain stays healthy for the next 4 years, and that Palin spends most of her time hunting in the Alaska Wilderness (but please stop with the shooting polar bears and wolves..'kay?)
Thanks for listening,
Susan
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008
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3:06 pm - Writer's Block: Sarah Palin?
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Seems to me like McCain is trying to "out-do" the Dems by picking a woman; nothing more than pandering. If only for one reason, I can't imagine having someone on a ticket who has her own walking example of why her own "abstinence only" teachings won't work. If you cannot even get your children to buy into your way of thinking, why should the country listen to you?
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Monday, July 28th, 2008
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3:37 pm - Oh to be 25 again
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This weekend in Seattle was the first night of Nine Inch Nails' new concert tour. It was also the 20th anniversary of the first time I ever saw Nine Inch Nails (Summer of 1988, St. Andrews Hall, Detroit). The hubby and I went downtown early, met up with a grown nephew and his girlfriend, and proceeded to drink and laugh and carry on like we did when we were oh, about as old as the nephew (late 20's).
We arrived just as Trent walked on stage, having missed the opening band because, um, we're still cool and we'd rather be drinking than watching some band we hadn't heard of. In retrospect we decided that if Trent Reznor picked a band to open for him, they were probably good, and some day we'll probably regret not seeing them, but oh well.
From the moment he uttered his first moan, to the moment when the last light went out after encore, I felt like I wasn't just watching a concert, I was watching an old friend. Trent and me, we go way back. We're the same age, we both grew up in an urban setting in the Midwest, and we were both in our high school marching bands (lol). He's been with me through good times and bad, falling in love and breaking up and falling in love all over again, moving across the country, and becoming as much of a grown-up as I'll ever be.
My hubby's first words to me were actually, "Trent Reznor is God," in 1991, while walking past me after one of hubby's shows and noticing the"NIN" button on my leather jacket. Back in 1991, only about every 100th person had ever even heard of Nine Inch Nails, so essentially that was memorable. We spent our first wedding anniversary seeing probably the best NIN show I can remember (Downward Spiral Tour, 1994).
Now, in 2008, as we drove downtown, I thought to myself, "I have changed so much, I am not really even sure that Trent is going to move me like he used to." I assumed we would just attend a great show and that would be that. The new songs were terrific, but when he early on started to break into songs from Pretty Hate Machine and Broken (of which the songs sounded just as relevant as anything new), I turned into a 20-something, doe-eyed girl. Oh Trent, you are still the nerdy, control-freak, damaged goods that I have always loved. Thank you for taking me back there, old friend.
And then on Sunday morning, bleary-eyed and thankfully only a smidge hung-over, my 2-year-old woke up yelling "Mommy!" at 6:30am, only a mere 5 hours after my head finally hit the pillow. Oh crap, I'm actually a 42 year old mother! And then I walked into the boy's bedroom, picked my son up, and he snuggled into my neck and I thought with a smile, "ahh yes, I'm a 42 year old Mommy." :-)
current mood: satisfied
current music: Anything NIN
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| Thursday, June 26th, 2008
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8:26 am
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The Challenge (stolen from jenifoto):
- Post 3 things you've done in your lifetime that you don't think anybody else on your friends list has done.
- See if anybody else responds with "I've done that." If they have, you need to add another!(2.b., 2.c., etc...)
- Have your friends cut & paste this into their journal to see what unique things they've done in their life.
1. Chatted it up with Trent Reznor backstage at a NIN show by strategically sitting on a stool and putting my legs up onto a counter, just so he couldn't get away.
2. Won a rollerskating "two step" competition.
3. Drove from Detroit to Seattle non-stop, in 52 hours.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
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10:53 am - So I get to meet the new boyfriend...
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So I went to dinner with tvaddictgurl and her new beau, theemmer and her friend from out of town, along with the hubby and the kids. A couple of pitchers of Mannys and lots of food later, I've decided that a good time was had by all. And more importantly, big thumbs up for the new beau. Especially when I asked the very opinionated hubby and his response was "oh he's great!" Of course I feel like I was a total spaz all night, but I suppose that's what I do in social settings and people seem to be entertained by it. Thankfully, no awkward moments and a genuine chuckle when I said that my most important question was, "So, do you think you could take me [in a fight] if you had to?" It's not as though I have any sort of intimidating size or superhero strength, but it's always nice to inform my friends' suitors that I'm not afraid to physically take them down if it comes to that. And, as my friends from the past can attest to, I simply have no shame and I'll actually do it. Thankfully, this fellow seems like a good guy all around, and I do not anticipate having to go all "Motor City" on his arse.
Except for the snide comment about Speed Racer, because once again, I have been in love with him since I was 5 years old and yes I am totally excited to see the Speed Racer movie. And no, I don't care if it's cheesy and unrealistic; it's not supposed to be. It's about a cute race car driver and possibly the coolest race car EVAR (ahhh, Mach 5, I do love you, too).
Okay, is it so obvious that I'm bored at work today, even though I have plenty to do?
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| Wednesday, November 21st, 2007
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7:43 am - Happy Thanksgiving!
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I swear I need to write more - but I wanted to let everyone know that I think about all my friends, whether near or far, every Thanksgiving. It's the start of the holiday season (which I love) but it's a little melancholy at times. I left a lot of wonderful people in Detroit (and family that I am glad to live far away from) and I miss them most during this time of year. So many memories! However, I have the most awesome family in the whole world, a sweet husband, a smart and beautiful little girl, and a decidedly unstoppable but oh-so-adorable and hilarious little boy. I could think of a lot of things that went wrong this year, like my husband's brother's untimely death, my poor little ones being so sick all last winter, my uncle having complications from surgery that ended up in 6-months of serious hospital care, and other incidental happenings. But I need to look no farther than the boy, the girl, the spouse, the dog, the cat, the fish, the house, the working vehicles, and gainful employment, to know that in all of the most important ways, I am rich beyond compare.
Thanks to all of you who are somehow connected to me, that make me wealthy in life but keep me humble!
current mood: thankful
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| Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007
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8:03 am - As asked by tvaddictgirl!
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01. Your Middle Name:
02. Age:
03. Single or Taken:
04. Favorite Movie:
05. Favorite Song or Album:
06. Favorite Band/Artist:
07. Dirty or Clean:
08. Tattoos and/or Piercings:
09. Do we know each other outside of LJ?
10. What's your philosophy on life?
11. Is the bottle half-full or half-empty?
12. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?
13. What is your favorite memory of us?
14. What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
15. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:
16. You can have three wishes (for yourself, so forget all the 'world peace etc' malarky) - what are they?
17. Can we get together and make a cake?
18. Which country is your spiritual home?
19. What is your big weakness?
20. Do you think I'm a good person?
21. What was your best/favorite subject at school?
22. Describe your accent.
23. If you could change anything about me, would you?
24. What do you wear to sleep?
25. Pants or skirts?
26. Cigarettes or alcohol?
27. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together? (If you have no idea, just say something crazy, it'll entertain me!)
28. Will you repost this so I can fill it out for you?
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| Monday, April 23rd, 2007
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11:33 am - Why do I like you?
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I shall comply, as requested by jenifoto - If you reply to this message, I shall do the following:
1. Tell you why I friended you.
2. Associate you with something - a song, a color, a photo, etc.
3. Tell you something I like about you.
4. Tell you a memory I have of you.
5. Associate you with a character.
6. Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
7. Tell you my favorite user picture of yours.
8. In return, you must post this in your LJ.
current mood:  curious
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| Thursday, March 15th, 2007
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11:12 am - Stealing a "Getting to Know You"
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AS IF I HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO DO,
1. Missed what the first question was...
2. Where's the best place to eat a romantic dinner? The Lobster Shack, Tacoma (on the waterfront)
3. Last time puked from drinking? YEARS
4. Have you ever got drunk and danced on a bar? No, but I've danced on a bar on Fetish Night at the Vogue - they have a pole, enough said.
5. Name of your first grade teacher? Mrs. Foresman (second grade too!)
6. What do you really want to be doing right now? Relaxing, not working.
7. What did you want to be when you were growing up? A veteranarian.
8. How many colleges did you attend? 1
9. Why did you wear the shirt that you have on right now? It's clean and went with the pants.
10. GAS PRICES! First thought? I remember when it cost $1 a gallon - *sigh*
11. If you could move anywhere and take someone with you, where would you go and who would you bring? To Chicago to be closer to my homies back in the Motor City, and also because I love that town. I would of course bring the hubby and too cute kids in tow.
12. First thought when the alarm went off this morning? Baby boy slept through the night - hurrah!
13. Last thought before going to sleep last night? I am so freakin' tired...
14. Favorite style of underwear? Bikinis from Victoria's Secret.
15. Favorite style of underwear for the opposite sex? boxers
16. What errand/chore do you despise? vacuuming
17. If you didn't have to work, would you volunteer? Yes, probably at an elementary school.
18. Get up early or sleep in? Sleep in!
19. What is your favorite cartoon character? Currently? Stewie from Family Guy
20. Favorite NON sexual thing to do at night with a girl/guy? Watch sports on a flat screen TV while drinking beer
21. A secret that you wouldn't mind everyone knowing? Without haircolor I'm already close to 50% grey
22. When did you first start feeling old? I'll let you know when I do
23. Favorite 80's movie? Anything "Hughes"
24. Your favorite lunch meat? liverwurst - I know
27. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual that was invented by people who died at 20? Absolutely not, but it's about WHO you marry and not just getting married.
28. Who do you stalk on MySpace? No one
29. Favorite guilty pleasure? My "Ultimate Manilow" CD
30. Favorite movie you wouldn't want anyone to find out about? Purple Rain
31. What's your drink? Lately, pint of Guiness with a shot of Jamesons.
32. Who from high school would you like to run into? My high school sweetheart, Larry MacDonald, because I know he and my hubby would love each other.
33. What radio station is your car radio tuned to right now? 107.7 The End (FM), 950 Sports Radio (AM)
34. What is a rumor that someone has spread about you? My hubby's former bandmate claimed that I was telling "everyone" that my hubby wrote all the band's music but didn't get credit; which wasn't true, was very high school, and didn't get any attention.
35. The Cosby Show or the Simpsons? Simpsons.
36. Worst relationship mistake that you wish you could take back? I refused a "friendship ring" from a boy who really liked me back in high school; I broke his heart and regret it to this day, he was a nice kid.
37. Do you like the person who sits directly across from you at work? I tolerate her, she can be very nice, but I wouldn't say I really like her - she can be really abrasive and annoying.
38. If you could get away with it, who would you kill? Pick a pedophile, any pedophile.
39. What famous person would you like to have dinner with? Bill Clinton (but I think I'd like to have a beer with Zach Braff)
40. What famous person would you like to sleep with? Trent Reznor
41. Have you ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended use? Nope.
42. Ever felt like running over a pedestrian? Not that I can think of.
current mood: amused
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(comment on this)
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| Monday, February 26th, 2007
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9:06 am - Tom's Memorial and all the Robbinses look alike
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Okay, so maybe they don't all look exactly alike, but frankly, they look a LOT alike. We went to Erik's brother Tom's memorial on Sunday. It was brutal and obviously nobody wanted to be there, but it was also very sweet and nice. There was a slide show, showing pictures of Tom through his life (he was only 54 when he died). He had been married for 28 years, so many pictures from college and on included his wife, Kaylene.
When his childhood pictures were shown, it was fun because his son Shawn looked EXACTLY like Tom as a little kid. Shawn has his own look now, but if it weren't for the hairstyles and clothes, you wouldn't be able to tell who it was in the photo. Then, they started showing teenage years and the first picture that turned up looked just sister Barb's oldest son Sam (and Tom was a cutie in high school so that tells you about Sam). Every picture with siblings, or kids, or parents; heck, they all look alike! And then there was a recent photo of Tom holding a cute baby in yellow jammies - could have been his kid. My daughter whispered to me, "Mommy, that's Ewan!" (her brother), and I said, "No...that's you!" And my daughter looks like oldest brother Dave's daughter, so there is just no denying you're a Robbins. It's actually quite charming.
So that's what I took from the memorial, since it was just so depressing and sad. That the whole family looks alike, and they're close, and they're just a whole lot of nice people. There are quirks and drama and crazy ones, but I can honestly say there isn't a mean Robbins in the bunch and they're all older and everyone is with the same spouse as when I met them 15 years ago. Can't say that about many families. We'll miss Tom so much, I have fun memories of him and I just dread the next holiday without him there. Heaven is a lucky place to have him.
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| Tuesday, February 13th, 2007
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10:28 am - I just feel sick to my stomach
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Yesterday morning, my husband called me about 9:00am to tell me his brother never came home Sunday night, after going out to refill a prescription. (We have since found out he actually went and dropped off the request but had to wait and apparently left the drug store.) He said the police had found his truck abandoned with the tires punctured/blown (not sure but think it may have been vandalized after sitting there unattended), near a park/beach a couple of blocks from their home. By the mid-afternoon, he and his other 3 brothers, 1 sister, and 80-year-old mom were all there, searching the beach, the neighborhood, and asking neighbors or anyone who would stop if they saw anything. The police did a good job, and harbor patrol was making regular patrols in the Sound. Around 5:00pm, a woman walking her dog along the beach came running screaming that she had found a body.
My husband called me with the news just after I had picked up the baby from daycare. So I had a 4-year-old and a baby in the car, and I had to fake my reaction and pretend like nothing was wrong. I spent the next 2 hours smiling, eating dinner, and making valentines for preschool. Finally, in the evening, a grown nephew and his girlfriend came over at bedtime to babysit so I could take the miserable drive to Ballard to hook up with the family.
We don't know everything but there is a suspicion that he became disoriented or severely ill to the point of just being "out of it" due to a pre-existing condition that made him prone to severe migraines. A witness thought they saw someone near the truck throwing up or acting ill, at some point. How he got into the water may always be a mystery, he could have wandered into the water, he could have fallen in, and he could have passed out and been pulled in by the tide. I suppose at some point it doesn't really matter, except he's no longer with us.
As you can imagine, we hardly slept a wink, and I finally had a meltdown as we were laying down and pulling up the covers. I was terrified at the thought of having to go to bed, or wake up, without my husband. Not just without "a" husband, but specifically the idea of MY husband being gone. We held each other in a totally uncomfortable position for what seemed like hours, as if we just didnt' want to let go. I finally had to give the baby his night feeding, and instead of staying upstairs in the spare bed, I came back down to be with my husband again. He is such an awesome person and this is going to be SO hard to get over. I just had to purge a little bit here, so I apologize for bringing you down...
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/303474_missing13ww.html
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