1.23.2005

Today was a good and productive day. If you know me, you'd understand:

Obsessively watched episodes of Gilmore Girls season 1 from bed.

Got up at 10 to pick up my long unused wallet from where I had left it on Tuesday

Drove around a lot

Sang lots of Dixie Chicks and Bon Jovi

Found lots of rich lavender-scented hand cream at L'Occitane (outlet!! I love Williamsburg!)

Finally bought a much wanted big...sharp...Henkels...knife

Gazed at the sparkly iced over trees

Bought 4 new CDs (Jimmy Eat World, Sublime, U2, and Gwen Stefani)

Updated and uploaded days worth of music onto iPod (and not even halfway through my CDs)

Purchased gaudy, shiny, ethnic cabinet with many tiny drawers which actually used to organize bathroom

Obtained and will soon enjoy squishy mattress pad to enhance already mama-bearish bed

Figured out a song on the piano

Played a little SIMs and did not set my SIMs husband on fire (woo-hoo!)

Saw angsty-Achilles Brad Pitt butt

Ate dinner of buttery popcorn and diet coke

Boogied to "September" by Earth Wind and Fire

And, did not do any work at all. Life is good.

1.21.2005

Here's what I think of your "expanding freedom"!!

Ah, inauguration day. The speechwriters for the imminent Bush-Lite have done a good job this time. Too bad it doesn't seem to work well in reality.

For a half century, America defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose, years of sabbatical – and then there came a day of fire.
Did he forget about that little Gulf War that his dad (and America) was involved in?

From the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave.
From our founding, only rich white males had rights and everyone else's value was chump change. The second line just appalls me if Republicans really think they are upholding this ideal.

Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very different from our own. America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.
This doesn't work well in application. Germany chose to follow the Nazis. China and Korea chose to follow their dictators. Didn't seem to work out. And, the soul of the nation, their own voice...who chooses that soul, that voice? A majority of the people in the nation, the oppressed, the minority government, or the extremists? Basically, if we get rid of all those against us, it seems we've chosen for them.

All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.
Who's helping in Africa? Oh, yeah I forgot they're not oppressed (aka economically helpful to us).

The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know: To serve your people you must learn to trust them.
Trust? Our government seems to have a long history of control also--limitations on gay marriage, birth control, abortion, etc. You can't let people be morally wrong!

I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself – and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its character.
Ah-ha! A solution to our overworked and underpaid military, get in teenagers to fill in your ranks. They're stupid and willing, and totally expendable! But wait, what about the real problem? That killing others is evil--yet, you too can be a soldier!

When our Founders declared a new order of the ages; when soldiers died in wave upon wave for a union based on liberty; when citizens marched in peaceful outrage under the banner “Freedom Now” – they were acting on an ancient hope that is meant to be fulfilled. History has an ebb and flow of justice, but history also has a visible direction, set by liberty and the Author of Liberty.
Funny how the President has to quote from French history to validate our wars.

Enough about that, it's too easy to tear apart. What really concerned me was the actual and possiblevalue of the crazy celebrations in "our time of crisis and sacrifice":

$40 million: Cost of Bush inaugural ball festivities, not counting
security costs.

$20,000: Cost of yellow roses purchased for inaugural festivities by
D.C.'s Ritz Carlton.

200: Number of Humvees outfitted with top-of-the-line armor for troops
in Iraq that could have been purchased with the amount of money blown on
the inauguration.

$10,000: Price of an inaugural package at the Fairmont Hotel, which
includes a Beluga caviar and Dom Perignon reception, a chauffeured Rolls
Royce and two actors posing as "faux" Secret Service agents, complete
with black sunglasses and cufflink walkie-talkies.

22 million: Number of children in regions devastated by the tsunami who
could have received vaccinations and preventive health care with the
amount of money spent on the inauguration.

1,160,000: Number of girls who could be sent to school for a year in
Afghanistan with the amount of money lavished on the inauguration.

$15,000: The down payment to rent a fur coat paid by one gala attendee
who didn't want the hassle of schlepping her own through the airport.

2,500: Number of U.S. troops used to stand guard as President Bush
takes his oath of office.

26,000: Number of Kevlar vests for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and
Afghanistan that could be purchased for $40 million.

1.18.2005

Wallet.
House keys.
ID.
Money.
Food.
Clothing.

You'd think these things were important--important enough not to walk away from them, drive hours away, walk up to your front door, and then think, Oh shit. Yet, time after time, I leave such objects behind when I'm visiting someone or on the road. Someday, I'll just walk out, without any shoes or coat, without a purse, get into some random car driving to Las Vegas, arrive at the Bellagio, and think, Oh shit, where's my cell phone? And my...oh SHIT. Where the hell am I?

So, tonight, I went over to Heathen's for some scrapbooking madness (I know, shut up. At least it's not Tupperware.) I bring food, belated Christmas presents. I leave with food and Christmas presents. BUT no purse, checkbook, credit cards, ID, no filled out order form with the amount I owe, no address of the person I owe the money to, and no viable brain cells whatsoever. Exactly when does Alzheimer's kick in?
Sometimes I think this is the downfall of my romantic life--the inability to be psychotic. Do men really need the psycho girlfriend for it to be love?


1.13.2005

Usually, the new year brings me feelings of happiness and a renewed hope for the upcoming year. So far this year I've been really overwhelmed and depressed. I was blaming it on personal issues--work, family, etc. But no, now that I've thought about it, it's not me, it's the fucking world. I've realized that all the information that I've been bombarded with adds up to "My God we're setting ourselves up to die."

For example, I've been putting together a briefing for my director at work that sums up all the expenditures on the what the military calls the Global War on Terrorism (ha!)--mostly Operation Noble Eagle (keep the crazies out of our country), Operation Enduring Freedom (keep those Afghani crazies down), and Operation Iraqi Freedom (hey, those oil fields are mine!), with some money hidden away for our next attacks on another country that starts with an "I" and ends in an "n"(but you didn't hear that from me). Anywho, here's the breakdown:

- Just last year, we've spent a total of $71 billion (that's with nine zeros) on the Global War on Terrorism
- $3 billion on homeland security, $10 billion on Afghanistan,
and $57 billion on Iraq
- this $71 billion is in addition to the $462 billion spent on "peacetime functions"
- the grand total for last year--> $533,000,000,000 spent on our defense, about half our overall federal budget and the highest military spending across foreign countries by about $468 billion. But I guess if everyone is out to get you, you have to spend more.

- Also, our federal deficit is now over $4 trillion (that's twelve zeros), which is a major shift from 2000 when we had a surplus of $1 trillion. There goes that Republican theory that a war leads to an economic boom. Something I never understood anyways.
- half of the $4 trillion deficit is from tax cuts, a third from our
struggling economy, and a fourth from federal spending increases

What does all this mean? We're shit out of luck if we want to remain economically viable, hell, the Euro is double the value of the US dollar. Not to mention that we're already diplomatic pariahs. Fucking Dub and his fucking followers.

Here's a more comprehensive article on why Bush is the Tony "fuck the future" Manero of this century. It all makes me want to cry.

1.12.2005

I promised it, so here it is:

Lost and Found in Bavaria

“Hello, this is Lufthansa Lost & Found at Munich International Airport…we’ve found your sister. We understand the inconvenience that the delay has caused you, but we will promptly deliver her to your house. If you do not receive your sister in the next couple of days, please feel free to call our service desk. Happy Holidays and thank you for using Lufthansa.”

GAO has taught me many things to about how to make travel less painful—limit your baggage, carry no metal on your person, buffer in lots of time between connecting flights, have your tickets/ID/passport always at hand, and above all, be flexible, patient and pleasant. In my recent holiday travels to visit my sister stationed in Germany, these lessons came in handy, but they couldn’t prevent me from arriving 20 hours late after 9 hours in the air and endless hours wandering the airports.

This horrific trip began on an icy Monday morning. The Norfolk field office had closed due to the weather conditions. I should have known better, yet I was still hopeful that my flights would be only slightly delayed. I arrived at the airport the suggested 3 hours early for international travel—my small amount of baggage was checked, and I had seats for all connecting flights from Norfolk to Boston, to London, then finally to Frankfurt, Germany, with hours in between these connections. I was prepared to sit and wait.

Seven hours later, many announcements on flight delays to Boston, and walking laps between various gates, I was reassigned on a different airline to fly into JFK airport in New York so that I could catch my connecting flight to London. That is, if I was lucky and ran from my arriving gate to an unknown departing gate in the span of 10 minutes.

The flight from Norfolk to New York was deceptively pleasant so I was well prepared for the mad dash and hopeful that I could catch my flight given the other delays from JFK. I walked into the terminal and entered a zoo. People and luggage everywhere parked on any space of the floor. I picked out a narrow, winding trail and promptly ran through as fast as I could without knocking people aside. The passageway opened up into an area as large as Central Station, roaring with people pushing, yelling, and jumping over counters. I had walked into a riot. I dodged flying luggage, fists, and NYPD officers and ran to my gate as best I could. Luckily the plane was still in the gate and I was airborne for London soon after. But wait, there’s more!

The flight to London was probably the worst plane ride I have ever been on. It was so turbulent that the flight attendants remained strapped in throughout the 6 hour flight. That meant, no food or drink service, which in the end didn’t matter as everyone was sick to their stomachs.

After the marathon of retching, we safely arrived in foggy London, only 4 hours late. However, that still meant we had missed any connecting flights and the lines to find new flights were not moving. I found out that all flights to Germany were delayed, overbooked, or cancelled, and being a trained analyst, I quizzed them of various other routes to get to my destination—Luxembourg, Hamburg, Brussels, Paris, anything. The best they could give me was standby to Munich on a different airline, if I waited another 6 hours. My pleasant outlook was starting to fade, but I accepted my fate and waited. I also avoided thinking about my very late arrival to a city 8 hours away from my original destination, with no hotel or train reservations, and thought I could handle it when I got there.

My flight to Munich was uneventful, except for getting a glass of Coke spilled into my lap right at the beginning of the flight. Sticky and tired, I arrived in Munich near midnight and immediately went to baggage claim. I watched that track circle round and round until it stopped and then my predicament really dawned on me. No bags, no train tickets, hours late, soda covered, and not able to speak any German. Crushed, I went to report my lost luggage to Lufthansa, expecting very little help at this point. Instead, the angel of mercy behind the counter assessed my situation in one look, sat me down, booked me overnight train tickets to Frankfurt, and gave me a lollipop.

In the end, my trip was wonderful; I loved visiting Germany, but if I could prevent it, never again will this happen to me. New lessons learned: Stay home, don’t travel on the holidays. If you must travel, carry-on bag only, ship everything else, direct flight, bring ear plugs, and wear soda-repelling pants.

1.04.2005

BTW, in a depressed state due to many intertwined events: end of cheerful holidays, end of restful holiday break and beginning of anxiety, horrific travel conditions, inability to reach zen state over travel conditions, imminent engagement of younger sister, being given advice by younger sister on finding "the real one," gloomy weather, strong urge to cut overly long hair, death and destruction throughout the known world, etc. How do I cope? Why silly oogling of unrealistically handsome celebrities of course! I haven't had this reaction since Antonio first arrived. And the most recent one is not gay (not that Antonio is). Well, I don't think he is....I hope he isn't...they didn't mention a wife or girlfriend...dang.

Anywho, I proudly present, my newest gasp, oooh guy--Gerard Butler.



*gasp* oooooh! Definitely the first Phantom that wins the "Love the way he fits his pants" Award.
Alive and well from travel hell. Will give details after I think of a funny way of telling the story without it becoming a Napoleon Dynamite haze of "Idiot!" moments. (Maybe I will! GOSH!!)

But in the meantime, please try to give a little:


12.08.2004

I promise I will read all about the Franco-Prussian wars, by the end of tonight, I swear. Really. But in the meantime, since writers' block seems to be my MO for the month (and it's already the end of the night, with no chance of victory) here's this--my own personal duh...





what decade does your personality live in?


quiz brought to you by lady interference, ltd


Love the holidays, but for the expectations, merchandising, and debt. And lack of enough days in the month. Soon will be free of worries, papers, party planning, work and family responsibilities and guilt, and instead roaming the streets of Munich, lost, cold, and completely not-German speaking American. Ahh, sounds nice and relaxing.

11.24.2004

Crashing from measly 2-hour nap last night. But strangely articulate, logical, and impressive at 5:30am this morning while writing up performance rating for underling so that although he walks on water, his halo is not too shiny and unreasonable. Am the greatest boss ever. Or delirious and manic.

Was supposed to bake pies and breads for tomorrow, instead am just going to keel over. Guilt can't even penetrate blurry shield of fatigue. Maybe another 2-hour nap will refresh enough for dinner tonight with friends long unseen. Yes, fuck work...will go home at 3pm.

11.18.2004

Other people buy shoes, obsess about sex, gamble, drink, smoke crack cocaine....

I covet coats. Have to face serious affliction.

Decided to shop around for a coat as soon will be walking around quaint snow-drifted towns in Germany, and am lacking the right coat for that occasion. Went on a whirlwind tour of designer coats on various internet sites. Sighed and dreamed over fuzzy virgin wool/angora comfort, cuddly cashmere/fox fur joy, and long shearling sueded chocolate colored alpaca lined reversable hooded warm perfection. Oh alpaca. Seriously considered spending a thousand dollars for one coat. Am dangerously sick, but no rehab facilities available for such an addiction.

11.15.2004

On a lighter note, my pumpkin slaughter was delayed, but successful. I believe that my little pumpkin truly feels like a useful member of vegetable society now that it's become pumpkin bread, savory baked pumpkin, and roasted pumpkin seeds (and will soon be pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie). Is it wrong to assume that a vegetable has fulfilled its life by feeding me and many others? Where's PETV when you need them?
The great thing about being a cynic and a fatalist is that recent election results don't bring me down, they just don't bring me up. But it does disappoint me that I was right to believe that the majority of Americans are ignorant and/or selfish. Our national slogan should be "It's all about me." Go America and its moral values.

My main problems with Americans and our politics:
-A majority of us are ideologically against the concept of government. Thank you founding fathers.
-Our ideals are based in economics--we care most about what will give us the most monetary returns.
-We are reactionary--easily swayed by buzz words, catch phrases, and photo montages.
-We are polarized--2 parties, opposing views, right or wrong. Anyone who recognizes gray areas is indecisive, lacks convictions, ignorant, and cannot lead our country or represent the people.
-The electoral college. People do not vote because they don't think their vote will count in their state. What is exactly wrong with the popular vote? Again, thank you founding fathers for helping out the ignorant masses.
-People who don't vote because they feel "uninformed" or can't tell the difference between the candidate's views. That's called laziness.

So, for all you who are seriously thinking about moving to Canada, check
this out. See, socialists are always thinking about others.

11.03.2004

So sad for state of nation. Mourn continued work with defense issues under the dazed ape handpuppet of the devil. Will consider move to more intelligent state. Glad that Kerry conceded, hated gloating of co-workers. May their paychecks be cut for further defense spending. That'll show 'em.

Looking at historical election results, I was surprised by this:



I was really thinking of moving, then I see this. The year I was born, everything was so backwards--Vermont and the Western states voted Republican, while Texas, and the South voted Democratic. (Dixiecrats) Amazingly (and yet not), Virginia stayed the same ever since 1962. Shall I blame it on the eighties, the children of consumption and wealth or blame it on the parents of the eighties babies, the hippies that destroyed the image of being a liberal?

11.02.2004

The results of the Halloween that wasn't. Disappointed in unslaughtered pumpkin. Could not express scary inner self via ghoulish makeup and pink hair. Partaked in unlimited consumption of limited edition inside out Reese cups and dark chocolate Mounds bars. Overall, I'm sleepy, icky, and well-sugared.

And now...Election day. I voted. And not only because Britney Spears told me to, but because constituents like her exist. I also witnessed 2 major car accidents today: One car flying into a ditch backwards and one SUV flipping over. The signs must be telling me something. Regardless of the signs and the extent of ignorance in the country, I will be happy about the little things, like the commemorative map of the US I got today, complete with little donkey and elephant stickers.

My very bad Election Day haiku:

I vote to prove that
Democrats really exist
in the bible belt

10.30.2004

found myself the perfect pumpkin to slaughter. yay.

10.27.2004

Relived hatred from high school last night. Sad because it was so long ago, and I don't even remember exactly why I hate the girl, only that she was very evil, mean, and conniving. Should forgive because she "lived outside of society" and is sad. However, why should I accept someone who had been evil, mean, and conniving to me? How would I know that she wouldn't be evil again or is currently evil now. Trust is obviously an issue with me, especially when once that trust was broken. But I have a strange urge to go to that Barnes and Noble and check this girl out. Considering I've probably run into her before, just I didn't know it.

Yes, will go, will be civil, and will count how many times she mentions that another ex-friend of mine is married.

Will not gloat. (ha ha!)

10.26.2004

The things they don't write on the back of a pack of Tylenol Cold:

1) Antihistamine stays in your body for longer than the 4-6 hour dosage.
2) The side effects of antihistamine (sleepiness, lack of attention span) will remain with you forever.
3) Little known side effects include constant twitching of the top of your scalp and obsessive adjusting of your socks.
4) Argh! Why do my socks keep falling down? Is it the length, elasticity, color or inherent cow-ness of my cow socks? Madness, I tell you, madness!

Another exciting factoid: Researchers have recently found stem cells in fat. Yes, those yummy round tummies actually have more use than storing longterm energy, insulating against the elements, and inspiring hatred by liposuctioning fat-hating society. The stem cells can be manipulated to act just like other cells, without all that distasteful fetus cultivation and bone marrow removal. Stem cells can be created from your own fat, so that it matches perfectly and rejection is low. Exciting, isn't it?

10.20.2004

It's really scary when the devil himself is scared of his puppet. Well, puppets are inherently scary:

"Pat Robertson, an ardent Bush supporter, said he had that conversation with the president in Nashville, Tennessee, before the March 2003 invasion. He described Bush in the meeting as "the most self-assured man I've ever met in my life."

I think Pat was trying to say oblivious.

"And I warned him about this war. I had deep misgivings about this war, deep misgivings. And I was trying to say, 'Mr. President, you had better prepare the American people for casualties.'" Robertson said the president then told him, "Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties." Robertson, the televangelist who sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1988, said he wishes Bush would admit to mistakes made.

See, freaking scary.

"I mean, the Lord told me it was going to be A, a disaster, and B, messy," Robertson said. "I warned him about casualties."

The Lord didn't have to tell you this. It is a war. It will be a disaster and messy. Whenever a war was not a disaster or messy, it was resparked in another form--a messier, bloodier form.

More than 1,100 U.S. troops have died in Iraq and another 8,000 troops have been wounded in the ongoing campaign, with the casualty toll significantly increasing in the last six months as the insurgency there has deepened.

Told you so, Pat.

Asked why Bush has refused to admit to mistakes on Iraq, Robertson said, "I don't know this politics game. You know, you can never say you were wrong because the opposition grabs onto it: 'See, he admitted he screwed up.'" "Even if he stumbles and messes up -- and he's had his share of stumbles and gaffes -- I just think God's blessing is on him." Even as Robertson criticized Bush for downplaying the potential dangers of the Iraq war, he heaped praise on Bush, saying he believes the president will win the election and that "the blessing of heaven is on Bush."

Oh jesus. God help us all.