Monday, November 28, 2005

Dogs, Poker, & Chocolate

The dogs are extremely needy tonight. They act as if we haven't given them any attention in a year. Good Lord.

My sweetie has been introduced to a new online poker game. He's not stopped playing since. Well, he did wash about half the dirty dishes earlier. But every since he hit the couch... Poker poker poker.

I am so incredibly hormonal. I want chocolate. Lots of it. I'm going to find some now.

The Crow

Here comes a rant...

I don't know the details, but some crazy snarky feud happened online a few moons ago between a group of people down south who, incidentally, all had great blogs. Whatever happened sent at least one of them into a full blown tailspin of terror. I truly don't know the details.

Now suddenly, out of the blue, at least two of these bloggers have disappeared from public cyberspace. And I think that's crap. I don't fault them for disappearing. I'm just frustrated that people can't get along.

Why can't we all just get along?

Despite not knowing the details, it appears that a point in time came when everyone was going to agree to disagree and go separate ways. Then one party seemed to keep appearing in unwanted places and egging the opposition on.

Did anyone hear about the Harry Potter complaints over the weekend? Parents everywhere were upset that the movie was so "dark" and "scary." Um... Hello?

1. The movie is based on the book. If the book is dark and scary, the movie should be relatively dark and scary.
2. The movie is rated PG-13. This means, parental guidance is suggested, and material may be unsuitable for children under 13. This includes a risk of "dark" and "scary."
3. If you are concerned about what your 4 and 6 year old see, take the time to investigate and screen it before hand. Don't pop into the theater with silly expectations and then get upset.

And here is the correlation... People are always complaining about things that they don't agree with or support as though someone has a gun to their heads forcing them to watch, listen to, participate in, and be exposed to whatever it is they don't agree with or support.

Here's a huge newsflash - it's a free country. Not only can you see and experience darn near anything you'd want to - but you can also avoid nearly anything you want to.

This Harry Potter film... for example. People have to physically get themselves into a movie theater when it's showing, then pay money for tickets. This is not a forced activity, like paying income taxes or breathing oxygen. If you don't like the movie, simply stay out of the theater and don't give the ticket counter person your money in exchange for admission. But don't go raving about and ruin it for people who choose to do so and enjoy it.

Same for anything, including websites. I've been on the web a long time, and never, with the exception of those horrid little pop up ads, has any website or blog simply appeared on my screen without my having put it there of free will and specific choice. If I find one I don't like, I simply stop reading and generally don't go back. I don't have the time to write to them incessantly and wage war on their very existence.

I don't like the Enquirer or the magazine Us. So I don't purchase them. I'm still glad they are there for those who enjoy them. I'm not going to raise a stink, write to the publisher, authors, and editors in hopes to change their chosen content or kick them off the retail shelves altogether. How silly.

So my rant, ultimately, is about people who run around and push their thoughts, values, judgments, opinions, and standards onto others. Get over yourself. Whether it's in the 3D world or in cyberland, go find something you do like and quit making a fuss over something that isn't meant to appeal to you anyhow.

And incidentally, Harry Potter was great. If you haven't seen it, you should.

Saturday, November 26, 2005

They're really blue.

Your Eyes Should Be Violet

Your eyes reflect: Mystery and allure

What's hidden behind your eyes: A quiet passion

Friday, November 25, 2005

Turkey Day 2005

Hope the world had a great Turkey Day.

I'm thankful for too many things to list completely, but here's a few:
My sweetie, my family, my friends, my pets, my job, my home, good coffee, great sales, case law being available on the internet, modern technology, funny movies, having all five senses in tact and the ability to run down the street, and the gift of ambition.

Little dog is doing well.

The day was filled with so much drama that I can't even begin to tell the twisted tale right now. I must go to sleep. More tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Word Verification Thingie

I have turned on the word verification thingie because, sadly, the only comments I had on any posts were SPAM. Crappy SPAM. No, I don't want to shop in anyone's outlet mall or have a penis enlargement. Spammers go to hell. This is my space.

Hopefully the word verification thingie will not detour new friends.

Pins and Frickin Needles

Here's my situation... I am a weird hybrid employee. Funky position. Not normal. There are changes happening in management. Big changes. I can't even describe it further than that.

Now here's the deal... The collective executive management team that is in the midst of forming now will be of one of two mind sets. One, they will think that my position and its relative scope and purpose are of the utmost importance for future business growth and sustainability. Or, two, they will think that it's an absolute waste of effort and salary dollars.

I will either end up with a whole lot of satisfaction and opportunity in my position, not to mention a teensy bit of job security, or, I will be calling MARVIN, the automated unemployment system in Michigan. Shit.

Dear God, if I am going to be put on lay off, please let it be after my debt is again under control, I have my home sold, my wedding is funded, and my sweetie and I have gathered a small down payment as well as completed the mortgage process for a modest home that we can call "ours." A modest home where we can host family events, plant a garden, paint the walls, kick the dogs off the couches, have a homebase for charity functions, and spend good time together every day. Love, Taylor.

Sounds like I'm asking a whole lot. I'm really not. All I need are 6 - 7 more months in my chair working my bloomin arse off. 6 more months of employed bliss, and for my home to sell as quickly as possible. Now here's the thing... This whole "management change" as I've called it here, will likely take a good 4 - 6 months minimum to sort out. The odds are stacked in my favor for my time frame in either case, but you just never know for absolute sure.

As far as selling the homestead... Let me just share with the world that I did get an offer Sunday afternoon. I had to reject it. Didn't even bother to counter. Why? Well, because the offer was for LESS THAN I PAID FOR THE PLACE FIVE YEARS AGO. WTF?? I was a bit frustrated. Grrr.

Phew. Long hiatus.

Where have I been? Good question.

I've been:
dealing with work issues and uncertainty
working my tail off to prepare a piece of property to sell
working my tail off to sell that property
trying to do voodoo with my budget
spending time with my mother who had a stroke in September
trying to plow through my thesis
trying to help my sweetie get through his classes
trying to help my sister with her classes when she needs it
training for the half marathon
running the half marathon
nearly dying in the half marathon
finding out I may have a heart condition (??)
dealing with the stuff related to that
planning the wedding party attendants and getting all the asking out of the way
finding inexpensive wedding vendors
planning the holiday party at work
dealing with politics on the party committee at work
working through a ton of R&D issues on new products that are launching...OMG!!!
trying to keep my sanity
taking M to her obedience classes every week until I couldn't juggle it anymore and we dropped out (what losers we are)
trying to fix up the rental house we're in a little bit and make it liveable
dealing with a few TOOL customers that take up all my time unnecessarily
planning a very large community charity program
this list could go on forever and it really wasn't my intended subject matter, so let's just call the list truncated here.

I'm giving myself a gift. I'm taking the LSAT. I don't care what it costs or how long I have to study. I'm taking it to see if I have a gift that should be used. Well, used in some way better than what I do now, which is a great thing, but not really as stable as I'd love....

In other news, I've really gotten fat. I mean FAT. Fatter than I was last time I decided I was sportin a few extra pounds. No, this is different. This is war. Stay tuned for progress.

If I'm not back before then, have a wonderful Thanksgiving if you celebrate it, and a wonderful first day of the holiday shopping season if you celebrate that too.