This is old and outdated, but

I found this blog and particularly enjoyed this post.

Kind of down

So, a lot of things have happened in my life over the past week.   The biggest being that we found out we are moving out of the country later this year.   We knew we would be moving, but thought it was in about 18 months instead of 6.   Turns out, the Army had different plans for us, so we are moving in Aug/Sept of this year.  The other thing we found out is that some good friends of ours are leaving the Army   Am pretty sad about that.  The family, sans husband (who’s out of town with my husband), came over today.   Basically, it was to say good-bye.    The Mom wasn’t sure if her oldest child who is 7 understood that they were leaving here and not coming back.   I had wondered the same thing – if the kids understood the situation.   After hugging the 7 year old good-bye, it was very clear to me that she knew what was going on;  her hug was long and hard and brought tears to my eyes.

Whatever.

That’s what I thought when I was watching Good Morning America today.   There was a segment on between Representative John Lewis, a civil rights activist, and a former (?) KKK member, named something Wilson.  Anyway, apparently years ago, Wilson threw rocks/beat-up Lewis at a civil rights march/protest (sorry for not having all of the specifics).   Basically, this Wilson guy wanted to apologize and make amends with Lewis for his behavior nearly 50 years ago.  I was expecting to find a changed man – someone, who years ago, realized his ignorance and made changes for the better.  Someone who lived his life and perhaps even changed careers because he had been enlightened and seen the err of his former ways.    I did not get the feeling at all that Wilson was sincerely apologizing for his actions.  In fact, what I got from him was that a friend recently questioned him about where he would go if he died tomorrow.  Wilson said he would go to hell.   I think he’s attempting to save his soul from the depths of darkness.  I don’t think he’s sorry at all.   Oh, and he also made some sort of comment about Obama and how he opened his eyes (even though Wilson didn’t vote for him).   Personally, I think this man is dying and wants redemption.   Lewis was very cordial and polite, but I am wondering what his thoughts are too.   Did he really think that this guy was sincere?   Did he believe that he could have changed the core of his beliefs in a mere matter of months?   Hhhmm . . . I don’t think so.   GMA, I know this was an attempt at a feel-good story, but it really just made me angry and wonder how no producer could even recognize the lack of sincerity that Wilson possessed.

It’s been awhile and this is short too . . .

but I just had to post and say how sad I am that my favorite Korean restaurant in the next town over is being turned into a BBQ place – like Bubba’s BBQ or something horrible like that.  I am so sad!    I guess it figures – I am in KY.

Corporate welfare

Well, what a fine mess the US finds itself in these days with the economy tanking and large corporations folding and asking for government assistance, which I have to admit, I find quite ironic.   Why is it that some of the wealthiest people are often the ones that do not want to help those less fortunate than them?  I am not saying all corporate execs are like this, but my guess is more of them frown upon government assisted programs such as TANF, CHIP, SNAP (the new name for the food stamp program), Medicaid, etc. than actually want to support them.  I mean, why would they want to support the less fortunate?    They worked hard to get where they are today and they deserve to be there (you can say that again!).  So, I do have to say that this “corporate bailout plan” is nothing short of welfare for corporations.  You (Mr. Corporation) are asking the government for assistance because you find yourself in a tough place with no light at the end of the tunnel.  There’s no hope for future success without a little boost from Uncle Sam.  Hhhmmm  . . .  sound familiar?  Many low-income, working families feel the same way.   So, I hope some of you corporate elite will think twice before you vote against programs that support those in need. 

“I would buy Avon from her, but I am not voting for her!”

This is my quote of the week.  Er, perhaps it should be my quote of the quarter as that is about how often I blog.   Anyway, I am an NPR addict – seriously, I never listen to music in the car.  I have satellite radio and I have two national NPR stations and I flip between those whenever I am in the car.  So, earlier this week as I was leaving to go somewhere, I turned on NPR and that was the first thing I heard from a caller – referring to, yep, Ms. Palin.  I thought it was funny.  Perhaps, a slight sexist undertone (though it was stated by a woman), but funny nonetheless. 

I just really don’t even know what to say anymore about the GOP.  Why are they always late to the party??  They never care about an “underdog” issue until someone else brings it to their attention and it gains national popularity.   In this case, I am referring to women in the upper echelon of politics.  I know we have Condy, Nancy  Pelosi, and Elaine Chao, but  I am talking about Pres and VP positions.  Do you really think the GOP’s would have nominated a woman had Hillary not run a successful campaign?   Highly unlikely if you ask me.  And, while I am venting a bit, I must say that all these women who say they are going to vote for Palin just because she’s a woman – that’s crazy!   And, so against anything that truly strong, feminist women stand for!   Yes, I believe more women should be represented in politics, but the women who will continue to fight for what so many women before us stood for.    I am still frustrated with this political season/year, but I do think the election will be worth watching come November.  Fortunately, it’s a day off for me!  Who knew?  The college I work for gives us the day off for Presidential elections! 

My experience with a pet psychic

So, for those who may not know, I have three pets – a dog named Jasper (male), and two kitties – Baby Kitty (female) and Wellington (boy).  I had Wellington first – I got him in May 2002.  He was 4 at the time I got him.  I later got Baby Kitty in September 2002.  She was walking around my car one night after I came out of class.   I noticed something under my car and then looked more closely and saw that it was a kitten.  I couldn’t just leave her – even though my rule had always been one kitty per capita.  In other words, your cats can’t outnumber you.  Well, I took her home with the intention of feeding her and taking care of her until I found a home for her.  Her home ended up being my home!  I got too attached to her and couldn’t give her away even though I had someone who I KNEW would take really good care of her.  So, I justified the 2^nd kitty by saying that Wellington needed a cat for himself.  Which, to be honest, is probably not too far from the truth – he’s kind of a wild cat and needs a lot of interaction.  Jasper was the last addition –we have had him since September 07.  We got Jasper because Josh wanted a dog (I personally was just fine with the two kitties).   Well, since late Sept/early Oct, the house has been less than calm.  Jasper – while he’s 5 years old, still acts like a pup which the cats never liked.  Wellington eventually adjusted, but Baby Kitty has spent the last 10 months or so in the basement.  That’s where their food, water, and litter have always been anyway, so it wasn’t a completely new place for her.   And, our washer and dryer are down there, so we go down there pretty regularly.  Anyway, the past few months or so, we have noticed off and on various animal pee throughout the house.  Wellington was marking his territory throughout the basement and his favorite spot in particular was Jasper’s bed.   Jasper decided to join in on the peeing contest and started marking our living room furniture.  Fun times.   We weren’t sure what to do and just kept hoping it would go away – it wasn’t happening every week or anything – just randomly – a few times a month or so.  When Josh came home one night (while I was out of town) to a pool of pee in the living room, we pretty much decided we had to do something.  My friend had used a pet psychic and so I started seriously considering this route.  I had already thought about the pet psychic since Jasper and Baby Kitty did not seem to be getting used to one another.  Anyway, so after going back and forth a bit for the past couple of weeks, I finally made an appointment to speak with her last week.  

On Friday, I called her and she asked me some questions – had already sent her pics of the pets (all 3 of them) and gave some background (Welly and Jasper keep peeing everywhere) and Baby Kitty won’t come out of the basement because she’s so afraid of the dog.  So, we talk on Fri and we make arrangements for her to call me back in a few hours.   She then goes and communicates with the animals and calls me to tell me what is going on.  

With BK, she just gave me an exercise to do with her to help her better integrate with Jasper – she didn’t communicate with her.  And, she told me that we needed to change her name because “baby kitty” implies that she has to rely on someone else all the time and cannot fend for herself.  I told the lady that I usually call her Ma’am or Maamity Mamster.  She said that was fine and maybe we should have an official name change ceremony – lol. 

As for Jasper and Welly – the bottom line is that she said Wellington is very smart, but he’s also very bored and therefore he taunts Jasper making him have anxiety and so he pees on stuff.  Welly is peeing because he’s bored and at times, is demonstrating his alpha male prowess.    It’s funny because she said that we should let him outside more.  And, I don’t want him to go outside, but before I got him, he was an outdoor kitty – and then he got declawed.  She said he should still be ok even without his claws.   We did let him go outside over the weekend while we were out in the back yard and he was fine.  So, we will see.  I just feel like I am shortening his life span by several years by allowing him to be exposed to the elements.   Ugh.  She also told us that we have to be alpha parents when it comes to making Jasper feeling safe and secure and we can’t let Welly look at Jasper weird – especially when he’s eating.  Which is really odd because Wellington does go up and sniff Jasper a lot when he’s eating and Jasper always just moves away from Welly – you can tell he doesn’t like it – we noticed this pre-psychic. 

So, that has been my experience with the pet psychic.  I am hoping that if we can get Wellington outside more to burn off some energy and entertain himself more that that will help Jasper and his anxiety.  By the way, if you haven’t thought about it before now, Jasper is a total wuss and we were not surprised at all that he could be bullied by a cat.   And, we are doing our daily reconditioning exercises with Maamity Mamster and Jasper so hopefully within a few weeks, there will be balance and harmony in the house! 

Random

Well, I finally had some time to dust off the old blog!  It’s been months.  It’s been several busy months.  Doing what?  Not really sure.  Have been traveling a good bit – some for work, some personal travel and I got a new boss at work – which has helped my workload a good bit since I was doing two jobs for several months. 

 

I kept thinking that I needed to blog, but I tend to try to write about something in particular.  But as I have reviewed other blogs, I realized it’s kind of fun just to write.   So, I decided this blog would be a freewrite.  I remember learning that term at some point in school – as early as middle school, but possibly as late as my English 101 class my freshman year of college.  Regardless, I figured that I would just incorporate that concept into my blogs and write about whatever came to mind.  So, here I am and here are my random thoughts aka my freewrite. . .

 

My dog and cats still do not get along and they are literally having a pissing contest in the living room.  Not sure what is going on there, so I am contacting a pet communicator to see if she can intervene.  Yes, I am serious, and yes, I will likely post something  else about this in the future.    I miss being in a big city.  Visiting Chicago a couple of weekends ago made me realize that.  Though, I have to admit, I don’t miss the traffic.  I am hoping to get a pair of MBT shoes soon.  I went to the Zappo’s outlet and found some good deals on them, but they only had one pair in my size and I didn’t like the style.  I know – beggars can’t be choosers, BUT, those shoes stand out enough on their own anyway, and I don’t think bright orange stripes and orange shoelaces were really necessary.  I did see some cute styles though that I liked a lot – here’s hoping that someone with a size 7 shoe decides to return their pair and they end up at the outlet in Shepherdsville.   Thanks, Soon-Young, for endorsement on these!    I just found out that Margaret Cho will be in Louisville in September – yay!   I heart her.  Oh, that reminds me of my random Margaret Cho story (and I am sure a lot of us KADs have them!).  So, I went to see her in Atlanta (several years ago) with my gay bff.  We basically stalked her down after the show – fortunately, she was performing at a hotel where said gay bff worked, so we had an “all access pass” if you will.  While we were waiting around the hotel for her, some guy came up to me, and said, “Margaret – great show!  it’s Tadd – we met . . . “.  LOL – I told him I wasn’t Margaret and I think he thought I was being funny at first, but he eventually realized I was serious and I was not her.   So, anyway, the real McCoy comes out and she’s with this really tall black guy.  So, we stopped them and asked if I could get my picture made with her.   The really tall guy said yes and he took my camera and told me to go stand with her.  He got the picture, gave me my camera back, and they went on their way.   Well, guess what?  Guess what we realized?  The tall guy?  It was RuPaul out of drag.  Craziness! 

 

I really need to make a grocery list.   I haven’t been big grocery shopping in several weeks – mainly because we have been out of town a lot on the weekends and that is usually when I go.  We have also been getting a lot of vegetables from the co-op we are part of and cooking those.  I am telling you the tomatoes here are sooo much better than in other places.   And, so far, so good on not getting any kind of salmonella.   Speaking of unhealthy,  I bought a bag of cracker crisps today and had them with my lunch.   I was reading the ingredients list which I SHOULD HAVE done BEFORE I bought them as they contained partially hydrogenated oils (bad, bad, bad).  But not only that, beside the hydrogenated oils, it listed in parenthesis “(with TBHQ)”.   I wasn’t sure what that meant, so I looked it up – TBHQ is some variation of butane used as a preservative.  Lighter fluid.  OMG!   And, the even sadder thing is that the bag has the SMART CHOICES MADE EASY seal of approval on it!  When did ingesting butane become smart?? 

 

Anyway, I can’t think of too much else that I should randomly mention here, but I will try to post a bit more frequently. 

Green envy

Nothing like being bored and finally having the time to dust off the old blog.  So, I have told several of my friends this already, but I have to admit that I am annoyed (but glad at the same time) that it’s so very trendy now to be green.   I mean, at the risk of tooting my own horn, I was that girl, who in the 4^th grade, learned about recycling cans and how you are supposed to cut through the plastic that held a 6 pack of cans together so that fish and other animals don’t get stuck, so I educated my family on this and we began recycling cans and cutting through the plastic.   Nowadays everywhere I turn and everything I see there is talk of how something is friendlier to the earth and there are a ton of new organic products (not just vegetables, but cleaning products and everything) out there.  Which, also annoys me at people’s perception of what organic means or implies.  It does not mean it’s healthier or retains its vitamins better (referencing food here).  It does not mean lower in fat or that it’s automatically healthy for you.  It also doesn’t really help the environment.   Sure, not using pesticides is a good thing, but organic farming is generally sustainable by planting less things per square feet – therefore, to yield the same amount of food as a conventional farm, it requires more land.  It drives me crazy now that everyone is jumping on the big green bandwagon and is doing so because it’s the cool and trendy thing to do.  Why do people have to wait until something is socially acceptable before they are willing to participate?  Are people afraid that someone will think they are un-cool because they recycle their beer bottles?  <insert rolling eyes>  Come on, people, don’t you have beliefs of your own?  Or, do you have to wait until Mary Kate and Ashley say they are only going to ride their bikes from now on to reduce their carbon footprint before you feel that you can finally agree to recycle your newspaper?  Ugh, ugh, ugh.  While I am complaining  - yes, I will admit that I am very glad that people’s awareness is being raised.  However, please take note that people’s awareness is only raised because of some of the big companies now marketing their “green” products.  Clorox even has green products – hello?  Clorox.  And, the one that REALLY bugs me is Wal-Mart.  Yes, their commercials are compelling, but they are so not a green company.  It’s also now the cool thing to renovate your house so that it’s green-friendly – bamboo flooring, recycled tile and glass, fluorescent light blubs, etc.  Also, let’s discuss all of the “re” words.  Meaning – starting with REcycle, there’s also – REnew, REduce, REuse, REpurpose, REclaim.  Please don’t take this the wrong way – I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that people are finally catching on that we have to take care of the earth, and I love that now when I reuse or repurpose something people don’t think I am just being cheap.   I have been green for a long time now and am truly happy to see others joining me.  I guess it just bugs me though that I have gotten comments like, “do you want to recycle this used kleenex?” and now those same people are FINALLY seeing why it makes sense to recycle. 

So, I figured I would share a few of my own green tips.  Generally, because you are incorporating one of the RE words above, you are also saving some moolah too – not such a bad thing, right? 

·         Make your own all-purpose cleaner with vinegar and water – to reduce the vinegar smell, add drops of an oil scent (I like lemon eucalyptus myself)

·         Recycle most everything you can –glass, aluminum, newspaper, junk mail, cardboard boxes, boxboard, and plastic.  Keep in mind that on soda bottles, the caps are NOT recyclable.  Depending on where you take your things to be recycled, it might be best to just throw the caps away because some places may not be willing to sift through the plastic bottles just to remove the caps.  When you start recycling all of that, you will be AMAZED at how little actual trash you have.  DH and I go through about one (13 gallon) bag a week – if that. 

·         Take your own cloth bag to the store – that’s every store – it’s not just for groceries.  Take it to Target and even Wal-Mart and have them put your things in there.  Seriously, people what do you do with all those plastic bags???? 

·         Check out books from the library.  This saves trees from being cut down for paper and is usually free.  And really, how often do you want to keep a book you have already read?

·         On the same note, buy things that are used.  I know – some people might think “growdy”, but not everything has to be new.  Like books.  If you don’t like the library, then buy your books at a used bookstore (still keeps trees from being cut down for new books).  Check out thrift stores for unique items.  And, sometimes, not so unique -  I bought a small coffee maker for my office at Goodwill for a few bucks (it even has the REusable mesh filter basket so I don’t have to use paper filters aka trees to make my coffee).   And, bonus it’s a good brand (a DeLonghi). 

·         Subscribe to a list called Freecycle.  The original intent of this email list was to get rid of things you no longer want to other people in your community.  It keeps things out of landfills.  Everything MUST be free.  You can also ask for something you might need as well and you never know when someone says – you know what?  I have an extra iron, TV, etc. I am no longer using.  Unfortunately, depending on your area, some of the lists are filled with freeloaders who are only asking for specialty items (flat screen TV, laptop, La-z-boy).  However, it’s still a good list to be part of and you might get some cool stuff.  I got a set of Williams-Sonoma pasta bowls . . .  for free! 

·         Buy recycled products (paper plates, napkins, aluminum foil).  Not only is it important to REcycle, but it is also important to keep demand up for the products that are made from recycle materials. 

 OK – I guess that’s all for now.  I have been meaning to post this for awhile now – ever since I started noticing that the entire world was “going green”.   I got busy recycling and stuff and just never got to it until now.  

Stay green, y’all!  

My “friend” Allan

So, it’s snowing outside and I find myself at home with a half day off on a Friday afternoon – yippee!  Anyway, have been wanting to write about Allan for awhile now, so I figured I would take advantage of being stuck at home.  Basically, Allan has been emailing now (all forwards) for years now.  His first email to me said, “Hi Carol – it’s Allan – I am emailing you so you have my email address”.  Well, doing what I thought was the right thing, I wrote him back to tell him that I was not Carol – that I am Carrie and that he must have the wrong email address.  I never hear from that email, so I just assume he contacts Carol to get the right email address from her.  Wrong.  Very shortly after, I start receiving forwards from him.  I think the first couple I got, I did write him back to tell him that I was NOT Carol, but my efforts were in vein.  The forwards kept coming.   And, in 2004, I learned that he was a hardcore conservative – something I am not.  So, I started getting all kinds of conservative propaganda forwards about the election.  I had already set my spam settings and filtered him as junk mail, but I always check my junk mail to make sure I don’t accidentally miss something from someone I actually do know.  Anyway, there’s always forward after forward from good ol’ Allan.  I admit – occasionally I look at them and read them, and yes, I am even guilty of fowarding a few of them on (which, if you know me, it had to be a pretty good email as I rarely send forwards).   Anyway, the other day, I got an email from him and that was the final straw (or so I thought).  Here’s his email:

Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:55:22 -0800
From: bigun63383@yahoo.com
To: mxxxxg@yahoo.com; lxxxxr@aol.com; rxxxxxt@hotmail.com; sxxxxxr@themissouribank.com; lxxxxh@alltel.net; ce_xxxxx@hotmail.com 

Subject: Fwd: New bumper sticker

There’s a picture of a bumper sticker that says:

REPUBLICAN:  Because not everyone can be on welfare

 

OK, so I get pretty offended by this, so I decide to write back:

Hi,
 
I have emailed you several times before to tell you that I am NOT Carol Wilson; however, for years now you have continued to put me on your distribution list when you send out conservative propaganda.  At times  – I admit – I am amused with some of the narrow-minded forwards you send.  However, this time I am quite offended.  I work with a lot of single moms who receive public assistance, and contrary to your own beliefs and stereotypes - many are very hard working individuals trying to change their lives to be better for themselves and for their children. 
 
And, I will leave you with this final thought.  I, too, recently saw a bumper sticker that I deemed forward-worthy as well.  Here’s what it said:
 
My child is an honor student, but my President is a Moron! 

I like my bumper sticker MUCH better than yours.
 

Carrie D (not Carol Wilson) 

So, anyway, I sent it off thinking that it might start an email war.  No – no such luck.  He never responded – he has just continued to send me forwards.  So fellow readers and bloggers, I ask you to do me this one quick favor . . .  will you email Allan (his email address is listed above, or heck, I’ll list it for you again here bigun63383@yahoo.com) and tell him Carol told you to send him a quick note to say hello