My Soapbox

Republican Rep. Virgil Goode Brings Back Old Fashioned Racism (Or did it ever go away?)

2007-01-03T14:56:00.000-05:00

Republican Rep. Virgil Goode is reminding us of the good old days back when slaves knew their place, women were best barefoot and pregnant, the Japanese were secure in their internment camps, and those strange, heathen brown fellas who talked funny were watched with a wary eye.

The Congressman recently wrote a letter in defiance of Rep. -elect Keith Ellison's decision to use a Quran (Koran) for his swearing in, saying "that unless immigration is tightened, 'many more Muslims will be elected' and use the Quran to take the oath of office," according to the AP wire. For most clear-headed people it is obvious that Rep. Goode could have easily been wearing a KKK hood or a Hitler mustache when he said this statement, but for those of you who are a little confused by the Christian-religious haze floating around your head, I'll explain further.

1.) While the U.S. religious majority is Christian, this is still a country where religious freedom is upheld by the First Amendment; thus, Rep. Ellison should be able to practice whichever faith he should so choose without any repercussions.

2.) This isn't even the REAL swearing in. It's an unoffical one. The real swearing in, according to a Reuters article, is done as a group with no bibles or books of any kind.

3.) What sense is it to have a non-Christian swear on a bible??? That person doesn't even believe in the bible, so what's the point? It'd be like me trying to swear you in with the Good House Keeping book. It holds no weight unless the person is swearing over something he or she holds dear...like your mother's grave and such.

4.) Rep. Ellison is not even an immigrant. Although, I'm sure Rep. Goode doesn't realize that non-whites and non-Christians are actually born in America.

So why hasn't there been a louder outcry against this xenophobic racist jerk? I thought maybe, just maybe, in 2007 things would be better, but here we go again. We've done this over and over throughout our history. First it was the American Indians, then the black slaves, the Chinese, the Irish, the Italians, the Catholics, the Japanese, the Mexicans, and now the Muslims. You'd think we would've learned our lesson by now, but I guess ignorance never dies.

Hopefully Rep. Goode will go the way of George Allen.

In closing, I'd like to defer to the C-Ville, Charlottesville's Newsweekly, which said it best:

"Goode Makes Complete Ass of Self"

I HATE PHILADELPHIA

2006-10-04T16:45:00.000-04:00

I really really hate and despise this place. No culture, no diversity...this place is driving me nuts. I'm just biding my time till my sentence is over and I can get the hell out of this place.

At least they had enough sense to put that stupid Rocky statue at the bottom of the museum stairs instead of the top. Stupid city's only claims to fame are Rocky Balboa (the epitome of a blockhead grunt), cheese steaks with cheese whiz, and a cracked bell. Newest addition to the list would be highest number of homicide shootings. When my friends came recently to tour the sights they almost died of boredom. I won't see them again!

Then the burbs think they're sooo special because they claim one of the biggest malls on the east coast, King of Prussia Mall. Gimme a fukin break! When most of the area has to drive about 30 miles to find any decent clothing stores, I call that a disaster, not a triumph.

Biding my time...biding my time.

Korea

2006-10-04T14:04:00.000-04:00

Cutesy stuff in the mall. Korea loves cutesy stuff. They use cartoon images everywhere. The police department even has a mascot cartoon dog.

The DMZ (De-militarized Zone):
Propaganda Village on the North Korean side. This is a fake village the North Koreans constructed to make the South Koreans think they are advanced and live in luxurious buildings. However, no one really lives in Propaganda Village.
The blue building in the center is where negotiations took place with the North Koreans. The DMZ line runs through the building, symbolically cutting it in half. The large building in the background is in North Korea. We were under North Korean survelliance the whole time. There are two South Korean soldiers in front of the blue building on the right. One is positioned oddly so that only half his body is exposed from the building. This is so he is not such an easy target for the North Korean soldiers.
This is me inside the center blue building. I am standing on the North Korean side, so technically I am in North Korea.
This is some good ol' Korean food. Some delicious grilled pork, an egg dish in the left bowl, and a type of kimchee on the right. Oh, and a shot of soju.
My husband standing in the street. Seoul is a very lively city at all times of the day.
Changing of the guard at Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul.
Main building in Gyeongbok where the King conducted his meetings.
Another beautiful spot in Gyeongbok.

More pictures to come...

2006-09-27T23:02:00.000-04:00

I know it's been F-O-R-E-V-E-R, but my husband and I just got back from visiting Korea last week and I've been playing catch up ever since. My severe jet lag hasn't helped. Anyways, this will be a lame ass post, because it's just a post to tell you to come by in a few days because I'll be posting some photos from my trip. Korea was FABULOUS and I think I gained five friggin pounds!!!!! All the damn pork, beef, and red bean snacks!

2006-09-11T10:48:00.000-04:00

We'll never forget you...

2006-08-04T13:51:00.000-04:00

The news lately is completely depressing me, so I'll close the week with this adorable photo I took while working at the Wildlife Rehab. My coworker is feeding one of the baby squirrels, just one of the many fun tasks we get to take part in.

Fun Tidbits about animals and working with wildlife:

Fawns (baby deer) get very excited when you come out to feed them. They leap up on to you like a large dog, pawing to get to their bottle. I have a nice little cloven shaped scratch on my leg to prove their enthusiasm.

Mealworms still crawl around after they are torn in half. Also, a mealworm's guts turn your fingernails black, so after a day of tearing apart mealworms for baby birds to eat I have the hands of a mechanic for about a week. Doesn't matter how much you scrub your hands.

If you feed a squirrel his milk too fast, then the milk will come out his nose. It's not good to do that too often.

Baby sparrows are aggressive eaters and are fast enough to steal another bird's food before it has time to eat it. They are tiny birds, but suck down large clumps of food easily.

Bird poop comes out encased in neat little sacs, but if the sac is popped, then you have a mess. Baby birds stick their butts up and over the edge of the nest when they poop, thus, keeping their nest clean. They also poop a few minutes right after they eat.

Baby squirrels like to poop while they are drinking their milk.

Opossums are marsupials (the only marsupials in North America) that carry their young in pouches on their belly.

Opossums open their mouth and bare their teeth to frighten off people or animals that bother them, but they're really just cute little wussies who are more bark than bite.

Ducks can bite, but it doesn't hurt one bit!

Geese are really heavy to hold for any extended period of time.

Horses flirt with each other. Horses also dislike each other sometimes just like people do.

Breasts are made for milk!

2006-08-03T22:15:00.000-04:00

Ok, so this controversy over Babytalk Magazine is REALLY PISSING ME OFF!!!! The cover of the magazine shows a baby nursing from its mother's breast because the subject matter is breastfeeding. The breast on the cover is barely distinguishable as a breast because you can barely see anything. In fact, you can see more of a booby watching MTV or Desperate Housewives, yet, that didn't stop some people from completely freaking out:

Excerpt from CNN.com AP article:

"I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine," one person wrote. "I immediately turned the magazine face down," wrote another. "Gross," said a third.

These readers weren't complaining about a sexually explicit cover, but rather one of a baby nursing, on a wholesome parenting magazine -- yet another sign that Americans are squeamish over the sight of a nursing breast, even as breast-feeding itself gains more support from the government and medical community."

Gawd this pisses me off! America needs to grow the hell up and start realizing that God made boobs to feed babies. A fact that seems to be obscured in American society by the infamous allure of breasts as erotic sexual tools meant to ensure the downfall of a moral society.

Again, from the same CNN article,

One mother who didn't like the cover explains she was concerned about her 13-year-old son seeing it. "I shredded it," said Gayle Ash, of Belton, Texas, in a telephone interview. "A breast is a breast -- it's a sexual thing. He didn't need to see that."

WHAT?!?!? If you treat a breast like a sexual object and the act of breastfeeding as sexual, then YOU'RE causing the problem NOT the photo. This mom is teaching her child that breasts are something to be ashamed of, that breasts are only sexual objects, and that breastfeeding is not a natural act. This woman is what's wrong, not Babytalk's cover.

Besides the fact that this infantile (no pun intended), sophomoric behavior is ridiculous and not generally found in other parts of the world, it also encourages a stigma against breastfeeding despite the scientific enlightenment that breastmilk is the single most nutritious source of food for babies.

According to the FDA website:

More than two decades of research have established that breast milk is perfectly suited to nourish infants and protect them from illness. Breast-fed infants have lower rates of hospital admissions, ear infections, diarrhea, rashes, allergies, and other medical problems than bottle-fed babies.

"There are 4,000 species of mammals, and they all make a different milk. Human milk is made for human infants and it meets all their specific nutrient needs," says Ruth Lawrence, M.D., professor of pediatrics and obstetrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, N.Y., and spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The primary benefit of breast milk is nutritional. Human milk contains just the right amount of fatty acids, lactose, water, and amino acids for human digestion, brain development, and growth.

Breast-fed babies have fewer illnesses because human milk transfers to the infant a mother's antibodies to disease. About 80 percent of the cells in breast milk are macrophages, cells that kill bacteria, fungi and viruses. Breast-fed babies are protected, in varying degrees, from a number of illnesses, including pneumonia, botulism, bronchitis, staphylococcal infections, influenza, ear infections, and German measles. Furthermore, mothers produce antibodies to whatever disease is present in their environment, making their milk custom-designed to fight the diseases their babies are exposed to as well.

I'm definitely going to try my best to breastfeed when I have children. The only thing that would likely stop me would be if I were unable to stop taking Singulair for the time period I'd be breastfeeding. I think all women should be able to breastfeed whenever and wherever they need to as long as they try to be discreet about it. Unfortunately, I would probably avoid breastfeeding in public because I just don't have the patience to deal with all the jerkoffs out there who would have a problem with it. Fortunately, I would probably be a stay-at-home mom and would have the option of more convenient settings; however, most women don't have that option. Regardless, I think it's a very sad world we live in where people; in fact, other women, describe the scene of a baby nursing from its mother as "gross".

2006-08-02T16:16:00.000-04:00

OMIGAWD IT'S HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I KNEW IT!!!!

2006-07-26T13:22:00.000-04:00

'N Sync Star Lance Bass: "I'm gay"

Jordan Knight has got to be next!

My Birfday!

2006-07-26T11:24:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we celebrated my birthday in NYC. Here are some photos. Enjoy! (As you can see, I'm being lazy with this post!)

On the Seinfeld Tour with the real Kramer in front of the real diner.

In line at the Soup Nazi's kitchen. The lobster bisque was EXCELLENT - filled with huge chunks of real lobster!

Later that afternoon we met up with a couple of my friends from D.C. and we went to Comic Strip Live. The next day we went to the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art). We were there three hours and just barely saw three galleries (one of which I was just power walking through so I could see it in time).

Just hanging out with Hatshepsut, female pharoah of Egypt.

Pharaoh for a day?

More of my favorites:

Indian Art

Assyrian Art

Something to think about...

2006-07-19T14:38:00.000-04:00

"Not so smart when it comes to the Middle East" by Lou Dobbs

I HATE GLASSES!!!

2006-07-18T13:47:00.000-04:00

I've been wearing contacts for 16 years now. I got my contacts right before 9th grade. Before that, I suffered two years of huge, powder blue coke bottle glasses. I hated my glasses. I would keep them off most of the time and only quickly put them on to see the board in class. Well, as you know from my previous post I'm back to glasses for now. I've rarely worn my glasses in the past 16 years, so let me tell ya....I don't know how anyone does it!

Why Eyeglasses SUCK!!!!!:

1.) They make me look like a total dork no matter what I wear or how I fix my hair. Even if you look OK in glasses, you'd always look SOOOO much hotter without them!
2.) They give me headaches because I'm not used to them.
3.) It's SUPER annoying having this thing balanced on the bridge of my nose all the time.
4.) They keep sliding down my nose leaving me momentarily blind until I shove them back in place.
5.) It's hot as hell lately and it's not fun gathering copious amounts of sweat on the bridge of my nose and underneath my eyes.
6.) It's nearly impossible to do any type of strenuous activity in my glasses, like aerobics.
7.) I can't go swimming unless I want to ram myself into the side of the pool or a kid trying to doggie paddle.
8.) If it rains, then you're screwed. You might as well take them off, because you're blind anyways.
9.) Peripheral vision SUCKS!
10.) My neighbor didn't even recognize me the other day.
11.) I can't see what I'm doing while I'm in the shower. Where's the soap and how do I shave my legs?
12.) Oh, did I already mention THERE'S THIS THING SITTING ON MY FACE?!?!?!

Well, since I don't want your last image of me to be nerdy, I'll leave you with this.

Oh, I'm sorry...that's Jessica Alba, not me!!! Silly me!

Florida, car accidents & eye problems...oh my!

2006-07-14T17:55:00.000-04:00

July Fourth weekend my husband and I went to Florida to see my family and go to a wedding. The wedding took place in St. Augustine, so I was really excited to show my husband around this historical Spanish city. We visited the fort, Castillo de San Marcos, and strolled along the old cobble stone streets browsing little shops.

Unfortunately, it was super hot and I was sweating like a roasted pig. We had to go directly to the wedding at 6pm and we didn't have a hotel room there, so we had to change into our wedding attire in the public bathroom. Everytime I tried to apply makeup to my face it slid off. I was literally covered in an inch of sweat. BLECH! Anyways, I somehow managed to put myself together and we were off to the wedding. The wedding was in the Lightner Museum courtyard and took place on top of a stone bridge. Very romantic!
Congratulations Leigh Ann and Tim!

The reception took place at the local winery. I was crestfallen to find out "winery" doesn't necessarily translate into "lush, open countryside a la French provence with thousands of grapes hanging off of curling vines". It was just a building with what would have been a nice waterway view if it weren't for the construction going on to build new condos. Nevertheless it was a cool idea and all the guests got a tour of the winery and a wine tasting session. I was a bit tipsy after that and we hadn't even gotten to the real reception yet! (Leigh Ann, kudos for THE best wedding cake EVER! YUM, YUM!!!)

After the wedding we drove back to Jax (Jacksonville) and changed our clothes, so we could go clubbing with friends. My friend and her husband picked us up a little after midnight and we were off. Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones who were "off" that night . The light we were at had just turned green and we were moving forward when all of the sudden we were slammed from behind. Fortunately, except for a brutal head banging whiplash, we seemed to be alright and got out of the SUV. That's when I saw a pickup truck speed by. Turns out that truck had slammed into a car and that car had slammed into us. The asshole immediately fled the scene. Lucky for us some witnesses in nearby cars took off after the truck. A few seconds later a police car followed. Suprisingly enough, the SUV had little visual damage. We thought it would be much worse because it felt much worse. Unfortunately, the other car was not so lucky. It's entire rear end was gone! It had been smashed into oblivion. The male driver and the female passenger were luckily up and about. The woman had a huge bruise on her arm, but looked otherwise unharmed. The man was complaining of leg pains and was taken to the hospital. That night my husband, two friends, and I had sore necks and upper backs. The next day we were ok. The asshole who hit us got caught. He was drunk and is facing felony charges, among other ones, for fleeing the scene of an accident where he caused an injury. It was really weird to never see what this guy looked like. He caused such a horrible incident in our lives and could have even killed us and we don't know what he looks like. We asked the cop who came to take our statements if they could bring that guy over so we could pummel him, but no such luck. All in all, we were REALLY lucky and thank God we all had our seatbelts on.

Well, this past Sunday I may have been afflicted with some aftermath from the accident. I woke up early in the morning and noticed a flashing dot in my left eye. It's like when someone takes your picture with a flash. I immediately freaked out because I knew this could be a sign of a retinal tear or detachment. I'm a prime candidate for such a thing because I am severely nearsighted. Since it was Sunday, my optometrist was not working and neither were any other optometrists. I finally ended up going to the ER at Wills Eye Hospital, where I spent SEVEN HOURS...some of that time being prodded and blinded by a bright light and most of the time just sitting and waiting, and waiting, and waiting...

I couldn't believe how many friggin people there were in the ER!!! I figured it wouldn't be that bad because it was just for eye problems. Well, I was wrong!!!! It absolutely sucked, but fortunately, I found out I did not have a retinal tear or detachment; however, a blood vessel in my eye had popped and had leaked blood into my retina, thus, causing my problem. OH, and my contact lens had apparently scratched my cornea in the same eye.....thus, I'm sporting the dork of the year look with my rickety eyeglasses for at least two weeks. Anyways, the blood vessel thing may have happened for no reason or it could have been caused by the trauma of the accident when I hit my head. Either way I'm probably screwed with some huge ER fee since Florida is a No Fault state. F'ers!

A Good Ass Whoopin

2006-06-15T22:22:00.000-04:00

Yeah..that's what they gave you in the South when I was growing up...in school that is! I went to school in Panama City, Florida from first grade to half of third grade, and when you got in trouble you got sent to the principal's office and you got whooped on the butt with a big wooden paddle (like the kind they use in fraternities and sororities to put their Greek letters on:

Yeah...like that!) Fortunately, I never got whooped. I came very close. This creepy little boy named Shane constantly bothered me everyday. One day I got pissed off and, for some bizarre reason, took it out on his sidekick, Timothy, by tearing up his classwork. Well, our teacher, Mrs. Garvin, who by the way was a hunchback (no, I'm not kidding) (or maybe it was Mrs. Mack in second grade...I'm confused now) sent us all to the principal's office. Fortunately, the principal asked us if we thought we should get paddled and our protests saved our little heinies.

It's funny, but everytime I tell someone about this blast from the past I'm greeted by dropped jaws, wide eyes, and loud gasps. "Oh, you must've gone to a Catholic school," they say. Umm..no. Good ol' public school. "My God! What do you think of that? Did it scar you emotionally?" Uhh...no. In fact, I never thought much about it until I started getting these reactions. Things were different back then. You were a bad kid then there were consequences. No one thought anything of it. I blame it on good ole' Southern discipline. (?)

Anyways, to shock y'all further...we also had to say grace (pray) together before we went to lunch.

Brangelina Baby's Birthday May Become National Holiday in Namibia

2006-05-31T19:24:00.000-04:00

barf!

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

2006-05-30T20:14:00.000-04:00

May 5-8

Above:View from our room.

Snorkeling with the nurse sharks & rays

Five of the six. (Yvonne's taking the picture.)

ha ha!

2006-05-17T18:00:00.000-04:00

Washingtonpost.com headline:

Entertainment Blog
Richie Sambora Available,
'Heather's ex says, "Tell my female fans I am single and ready to party." Sorry Denise.'

Yeah Richie....we're stepping all over each other to get to you.....I mean, c'mon....does Richie still have fans?!?

Speaking of Christianity...

2006-05-17T17:45:00.000-04:00

I had jury duty today and I friggin got picked for the trial! But that's another story. Anyways, of course, we had to swear on the bible to be honest or whatever (I wasn't paying attention) and it got me thinking....what if I were Buddhist??? Or Shinto, or Muslim, or an Athiest? Or Jewish? (I'm not sure if it was the Old Testament or New, or both) I mean, wouldn't the symbolism of the oath be lost on me then? I suppose if they're relying on tradition it's ok, but if they actually think swearing on a bible will make people always tell the truth, then how do they account for nonChristians? It must be somewhat meaningless in that case, right? Just a thought.

The Da Vinci Code

2006-05-17T17:24:00.000-04:00

The uproar over the release of the movie, The Da Vinci Code, is pathetic. I mean, even the Albinos are pissed off. But, the Christian community's reaction to a fictional work is really disturbing to say the least. It really makes me wonder what they're really afraid of? For people strong in their faith, this movie should be no more than a minor annoyance meant to either be ignored or taken as entertainment for the masses. The fact that Christians across the globe are completely freaking out only leads me to believe that:

a.) they really are the control freaks they portray themselves to be, because they can't stand the thought of anyone possibly having a differing opinion.

b.) freedom of expression (artistic or otherwise) only applies when it does not conflict with their views. (oh...that's the same thing..see "a".)

c.) they're insecure in their own faith and try to hide the fact by being overzealous when they see the same thing in others.

What are you afraid of??? Are you afraid that Tom Hanks will be soooo believable in this movie that people will believe that Jesus Christ had children with Mary Magdalene and, thus, give up Christianity to become heathens???

Look, it's just a movie. A movie based on a fictional book that everyone has already read anyways. If you don't like it, then don't watch it. From the reviews I've read, the movie isn't even that good and I thought the book was interesting, but the writing was pretty simplistic. If people weren't making such an uproar about it, then most movie goers might not even watch it.

People, get a grip! Frankly, I would have liked to have seen this much fervor in the Christian community over the issue of priests molesting children, but then that would be rational and the world just doesn't work that way.

Doctors

2006-04-27T22:16:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! I know it's been a long time, so I thought I'd throw out a post. I've been busy working on some volunteer projects and dealing with being newly diagnosed with asthma. Yup! You heard right...asthma. Seems contrary to my doctor's assumptions, there is something wrong with me afterall; it's not all in my head. It took three visits to the doctor before I was finally taken seriously enough to get sent for testing. The asthma thing was a bit of a shocker, since I didn't know of anyone in my family that had asthma; however, I eventually found out that my paternal aunt in the Philippines suffers from it. Anyways, things have been stressful to say the least. Not only have I had to deal with persistent shortness of breath and chest tightness, but I've had to also deal with doctors. I'm not particularly used to dealing with doctors or clinics or hospitals. I've been pretty lucky up until now, which explains my exorbitant copay...chosen because I never had to go to the doctor before.

My GP (general practitioner) prescribed some inhalers for me. After three weeks I did not see any real improvement, so I went back in. Unfortunately, my GP wasn't working that day so I elected to see another doctor at the practice. I had had a terrible time the night before and had barely slept because of it. I needed something done asap. This new doctor proceeded to tell me that there was nothing he could do for me. That I should just wait to see a specialist (my appointment was not for another 2 weeks). I expressed concern about waiting so long when I was already feeling so bad and he proceeded to suggest that I was basically a victim of anxiety and that was my real problem, and he reassured me that I could in fact breath. THEN, he told me that the medicine I was prescribed by my GP, who is his colleague, would not work for me because asthma inhalers (broncho dilators & steroid) were only for people with wheezing and since I only had shortness of breath and chest tightness and NOT wheezing, the medicine was useless. Needless to say, this is the part where I wanted to rip off his head. It is also the part where I realized that I was not just dealing with a difficult doctor with a terrible bedside manner, but an incompetent one as well.

Since being diagnosed with asthma, I have researched my disease a million times over. Asthma can cause the following symptoms:

wheezing
shortness of breath
chest tightness
coughing

(Note:I have experienced all symptoms except wheezing.)
There are two types of medicine to treat asthma: quick-relief, which relax the muscles that tighten the lung's airways and are used for immediate relief of asthma symptoms during an attack, and long term controllers, which are taken regularly and are anti-inflammatory medicines that prevent attacks from happening in the first place. The key idea is that these medicines treat asthma, specifically preventing or easing the constriction of the airways, not one or two specific symptoms of asthma, as was suggested by Dr. Incompetent. If asthma medicines work properly and prevent the airways from tighting, then you will not have the symptoms of asthma. Thus, it seems ludicrous that this doctor would suggest that these medicines are only to prevent or treat wheezing. I tried to reason this line of logic out with him, but all he would say is, "These medicines are to treat wheezing, not shortness of breath." Then he told me that he could prescribe me a higher strength steroid inhaler or Singulair, but that it's up to me. If I could show you the blank stare I had on my face at that time, I would. Obviously, if I knew the answer to this, then I'd be the one with M.D. after my name. This guy was clearly insane.

On top of all this, I was still required to pay my copay.

Sooooo......today I saw my GP. She gave me some Singulair to add to my cocktail until I see the specialist. So, that's where I am now. I'm completely frazzled and wary of trusting anyone with the credentials, "M.D." Unfortunately for me, it looks like I'll be dealing with doctors for awhile now.

Random Thoughts on the Blogosphere

2006-03-30T20:04:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I don't know what I'm even doing with a blog. I really don't like conflict and arguing with people, yet here I am giving people an open door. I guess I'm trying to learn something while at the same time passing on knowledge. But sometimes you come across really rude and nasty people on here and instead of having a rational debate on something you end up in a virtual brawl. And, then sometimes you meet people who are refreshingly open-minded.

2006-03-30T15:40:00.000-05:00

This past weekend my husband and I went down to D.C. to visit some friends. We watched the IMAX film, Roving Mars at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. Although it was short, it was interesting. The film showed the building of the rovers and the thought processes that went into the invention. It also used a combination of real video and photos along with CGI special effects to show the landing of the rovers and their work on Mars.

Afterwards we had dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant where I indulged in enchiladas for the second time this month. YUM! I also ordered the flan for dessert. Unfortunately, the flan wasn't that great. I shoulda chowed down on the cheesecake instead. If you're looking for good flan, then I would highly recommend the flan at Coyote Crossing. Excellent! Then we spent the night and the next morning discussing and debating the plots of Smallville and Battlestar Galactica and the origins of the universe...no, really, I'm serious. Anyway, It was an excellent weekend.

Today was a gorgeous day. I got off my lazy azz and took a walk around the complex. Luckily that kept me busy for awhile and I was distracted from watching TV and eating goldfish crackers all day. I've really got to step up my workout/diet whatever...cuz I've only got a month before I go to Punta Cana and I'm nowhere near bikini ready. =(

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

2006-03-28T20:49:00.000-05:00

So, I've noticed a lot of the time I don't seem to get much respect from service workers in my daily life. I think most of it has to do with the fact that I don't often dress up and, therefore, I look like a kid. Even my eye doctor thought I was 21! I think everyone dismisses me because of this. A few of my Asian friends agree. While we're blessed with youthful looks, we're also cursed by the lack of respect those youthful looks bring. I can only imagine the stares I'll get when I'm pregnant. People will think I'm a pregnant college drop-out! However, I was talking to a good friend of mine earlier tonight and she said I'm not getting respect or attention because I'm tooooo nice and way too polite to people. She said I'm giving them the sign that I'm easy to walk all over. (I know what you're thinking...this blog reflects an outspoken, annoyingly loud, and sarcastic person - not a nice, quiet, polite dogooder. But, sometimes blogs are a reflection of the self that is shut away and screaming to get out...people who know me well know that I'm a more complex combination of the two.) This thought had crossed my mind before, but I hadn't given it much weight. Now I'm wondering if she's correct. Could it be that I treat people with too much respect that they can't possibly give me any back??? I think it sounds ludicrous, but maybe it's true. In many cases it's the yelling, irate bitchy customer that always seems to get exactly what he/she needs. People jump to attention and start running to assist. The service workers know they'd better not mess with this person or else! More and more I'm begining to think this is true. Obviously, not in every case, but more or less true. The fact that this IS true is infuriating! How is it people would be more inclined to deliver good service to someone who berates them over someone who is polite to them? How is it that a few stern words and an evil eye are better perceived than courteous discourse and a smile? Not only is this stupid, and I hate stupid things, but I'm annoyed that I have to become a total bitch in order to get the simplest tasks done. I don't like being mean to people unless I'm provoked. I can't fathom going up to the unsuspecting innocent and yelling, "Bitch! Where's my money?" Shouldn't everyone get that initial chance before being condemned? I sure think so. Apparently not everyone else does. So, I guess I'm going to have to grow some wrinkles and wield some nasty words if I want to get anything accomplished.

arggh!

2006-03-24T18:08:00.000-05:00

I know I'm beating this like a dead horse (where the hell does that expression come from anyways???), but...my GAWD...it's so completely infuriating and dumbfounding...I'm almost knocked speechless (almost)...it's like you feel like your head's going to explode.

(CNN) -- An Afghan man possibly facing execution for converting from Islam to Christianity is expected "to be released in the coming days," a source with detailed knowledge of the case said Friday. On Thursday, top Afghan clerics urged Muslims to kill Rahman if the government freed him.
"Rejecting Islam is insulting God. We will not allow God to be humiliated. This man must die," cleric Abdul Raoulf told The Associated Press.

I mean, my God...how do people like this exist??? I mean, what do we do with people like this? Jettison them into outter space? What the hell do we do? BELEoEurOEUIRooo!!!!

More hypocritical, depressing news

2006-03-22T15:06:00.000-05:00

Right now there's a man in Afghanistan facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity. Ironically, self-proclaimed "super-Christian" George W. Bush, who brought "democracy and freedom" to Afghanistan, has yet to condemn this atrocity. The Christian convert's trial judge told the BBC, "We will invite him again because the religion of Islam is one of tolerance. We will ask him if he has changed his mind. If so we will forgive him." AWww....how tolerant and graciously benevolent of them!

Uhh..is this what U.S. soldiers died for in Afghanistan? The right for the new Afghan government to put to death a Christian convert? And where the F*$# is Bush???? He's always got something grand to say about democracy, freedom, and Christianity....why is he suddenly speechless?

UPDATE: Looks like Bush publicly condemned this situation today in a speech out of West Virginia. Mr. President, are you reading my blog? According to CNN, Bush said, ""We have got influence in Afghanistan, and we are going to use it." Let's hope so, let's hope so. I can't think of anything better than for Mr. Bush to prove my above tirade wrong. Let's hope he does.