Randomness at its Finest

Fire Burning in My Hands

2011-11-21T11:40:00.001-05:00

I'm a spoiled child. A grown child, but a spoiled one nonetheless. See, my mother knows me very well. She knows I love gadgets and such and that I take care of my things (in other words, she can buy me something and know that it won't broke within a week). So when Amazon announced the new Kindle Fire, without me even having to ask, my mother bought me one. She intended to give it to me for Christmas, but since it arrived so soon (she thought it would have been delayed), she decided to just give it to me now.

And I couldn't be happier!

Here it is:

Beautiful right? Yeah, I know!

When I mentioned I was getting the Fire as a gift, I received a lot of requests to "tell me what you think of it." Who am I to say no? I think I've played with it enough over the weekend to give a bit of a review.

I will start with the bad to get it out of the way.

My biggest issue is that the Fire is wi-fi only. I'm one of those instant gratification people and if I have something that can connect to the internet then I want it immediately. I don't want to have to go searching for a wi-fi hotspot. Then I thought about. Aside from when I'm out in the street, walking around (and obviously NOT using the Fire), everywhere I am, or would be, has a wi-fi connection - work, school, Starbucks, library, and, soon, even the subways. So really I'm covered. I can get over it. And if worse come to worst then I can always turn my phone on and make it a hotspot.
The glare. I've gotten used to my regular Kindle (which I will NOT stop using) and it's wonderful glare-free screen. It's not horrible, but just slightly annoying. I haven't tried it in the sun, but I'm sure it will be a bit problematic. But... I got used to it with my phone, I'll get used to it with the Fire.
There isn't an easy way to access the internal storage. Granted, you couldn't do this with the regular Kindle either (then again, the interface there was pretty much the file management tool), but since this is a tablet which has more functionality, it should be easy to access. The only workaround I've found was to download a file manager app. This solved the problem, but really, it shouldn't have been an issue in the first place. Of course, the reason I even had to do this...
When you transfer documents, videos, photos, from your computer to your Fire, they are supposed to go into their appropriate tabs based on their file extension. I've noticed, though, that some files do NOT even appear. They are stored in the Fire, but just not visible. This happens most with .DOC files. I wanted to save my resume on the Fire (hey, you never know when you're out and someone wants a copy of it), but it doesn't appear in the Documents tab (where personal docs would go) though I can access it using the ThinkOffice app (which comes with the Fire) or Documents to Go (which I downloaded). Also of note, if you create a document, it doesn't appear in the Documents tab. Boo!!!
Minor pet peeves: The Recent Items Carousel feature is pretty cool, except it's always on the Home screen and you cannot hide it or delete items from it, so be careful with what you read and watch. If you let someone else use it, they may see that you've recently viewed something, ahem, naughty.
Another minor issue is that the Fire, while it comes with the charger, does NOT come with a USB connector like the regular Kindle to easily transfer files from your computer to your Fire. I was lucky enough to have one (well two, because of my Kindle and my phone), but for those that do not, you can work around this by emailing any documents/videos/other files to your Kindle Fire email (generated when you register) and syncing the items to your Fire when you have a wifi connection again.
One last, really minor issue - not all the apps are available for the Fire yet. This isn't a big deal for me since I'm not much of an app girl, but for others that love their apps or can't live without certain apps, just be advised that some may not work just yet. I'm sure that will be handled soon as apps get updated though, so don't fret too much.

So,did I scare you away? I hope not. Here's what's good and wonderful about it, in no particular order.

It's beautiful! Okay, I got that out of the way...
It's not heavy at all and it's nice and small (small enough to fit in my petite hands), but substantial enough that you know you have it with you at all times.
You get ONE month FREE of Amazon Prime! Okay, that's not a lot and we all know Amazon does this to suck you in and buy Prime after the month is up, but really, it's worth it (and $79/year for Prime? that's not so bad). And if you don't want to pay for prime, well there's a Netflix app and it works lovely.
Apps are easy to download and they download fairly quickly (as long as your wifi connection is strong enough).
The Recent Items Carousel, despite what I said above, is pretty cool. You don't have to go searching for a document, book, or video again, it'll be front and center (assuming, of course, it hasn't been weeks since you've last viewed it).
Books, documents, etc. are bookmarked just as in the regular Kindle, remembering your place when you last viewed it.
Email set up was a breeze (for AOL and GMail) and, you can sync your GMail contacts to your Fire. I assume you can do this with the other email servers, but most, if not all of my contacts are on GMail anyway so I never bothered to check.
It's able to recognize a load of files, the list is here: recognized files. It still doesn't support EPUB, but it does read MOBI.
The video and sound quality are excellent. I tested a video on the Netflix app and it was very clear. Little, if no, pixelation at all, which means the resolution is awesome. As for the sound, I didn't test to see how loud it was since, for the most part, I will use my headphones with it anyway.
The reader is pretty amazing. You can change the size and font of the text (for MOBIs, AZWs only of course, no PDFs) to your preferred style, which I thought was pretty cool. But even better was the text/background change. You can have black on white, white on black, or brown on beige, which looks most like a page from a paperback. With PDFs, you can use the finger squeeze (or whatever it's called, I swear I'm a techie!) to enlarge or shrink the page.
Cloud access is quick (assuming, again, a strong wifi connection) and this also gives you an additional 5GB of storage on top of the 8GB (really 6.5GB with the OS taking up the rest), or more if you choose to pay for it.
The web browser is like most any browser. It loads quickly, though it will load a mobile version first if it's available, but you can always change this to the regular page. The browser is tabbed also so you can open up several pages at a time.

I can't think of anything else right now, but if I do, I may or may not update this. Also, anybody reading this (and any Amazon people reading this), if you can answer any of my issues above (maybe I'm missing something), please let me know. I assume things will get better as Amazon receives feedback from their customers, but really, there are few improvements needed which is pretty darn good for their first attempt at a tablet.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go play with Fire...

Cirque's Zarkana... Can I Go See It Again?

2011-08-13T20:51:00.001-04:00

I started a new job last week. Well, it’s not technically new since I did a three week temp stint there the end of May. Fortunately for me I found another temp position within the company doing something I actually like. Maybe that will be another post. Anyway, when I worked here three weeks ago, the first thing I did was look up what perks I get. This may not be a big deal for many of you, but I work in the entertainment industry, we get all sorts of perks. The two things I noticed were discounts to Yankee games and discounts to Cirque du Soleil’s Zarkana, my two favorite things.

Now, I am a HUGE fan of Cirque du Soleil, so much so that I am a Cirque member so I can be sure to get first dibs on tickets when they go on sale. This of course meant I was receiving a load of emails and mailings about their latest show Zarkana and in some(most) cases information about discounts. For those of you who know me, you know that up until May I wasn’t working so I would see these emails and postcards and such and sulk knowing I couldn’t buy tickets. So, of course, I saw the discount at work and thought, “I’m working now, maybe I can afford tickets.” Ummm… nope, still expensive (as most Cirque tickets are, but truly worth the price!).

What’s a girl to do? Call her mom. My mother loves the shows as much as I do (for the record I’ve seen 11, now 12, out of their 22 shows) and she said she’d buy the tickets. I was set!

Then curiously, I received an email from Cirque about Blogger Night. If I had a blog, I could register to win tickets to see Zarkana and well… blog about it. I know my blog isn’t very popular and it’s not completely geared towards the Arts, but I figured, why the hell not. The worst that could happen is I don’t win tickets. No big deal since mom already said she’d buy. So I registered, clicked send and pretty much forgot about it…

Until I received an email saying, “Congratulations, you won tickets for you and a guest for Blogger Night!” Well, go me!

I called my mom to let her know the good news. Just in time, too – she was just about to order tickets!

The day of the show arrived and I met my mom at the pre-show cocktails at Oceana that they offered the bloggers. Must say, the food and drinks were damn good!

Mom and I made our way to the show at Radio City Music Hall, sat down and waited for the show to begin. As with all of the Cirque shows, the show really begins a few minutes before the stage performance as the artists/clowns walk around and interact with the audience. It’s an extra treat that I’ve always found endearing of the shows. I pity the people who show up right on time or late as they miss this.

The show begins with us meeting the magician Zark who must find his way through an old theater to be reunited with his lost love. What I failed to realize, and I read later in the playbill, was the cutout of the scenery where Zark makes his appearance is shaped like the New York skyline. My fault for not reading that BEFORE the show so I could have paid closer attention, as it was my eyes were moving around fascinated with everything else going on.

As Zark moves through the theater he encounters all sorts of characters (the acts). Of course, these are the acrobats and clowns doing the usual swinging rope, juggling, high wire, trapeze, contorting, etc. With each Cirque show there is a uniqueness to each act, but I feel like there is always that one that stands out (obviously, seeing as many shows as I have, you can easily get bored with seeing the same thing over and over). The one that stood out to me the most was the contortionist.

While my mom was cringing as he shifted his body into various mind-boggling positions, I was fascinated by the artistry of his movements. In the past, if the contortionist was female, she would be in a one piece leotard, if male, usually the same thing or just tights and no top. However, the man performing was in a loose-fitting white ensemble. The top was flow-y and removable (being used an additional prop). The rotating stage he was on must have been made of some material that enabled him to slide effortlessly into his various positions. The lighting on him provided shadows larger than life against the walls that only emphasized his movements and made us think there were three people performing instead of just one.

Other noteworthy acts were the sand painter and the trapeze artists. The sand painter was something new to Cirque (as far as I know), she seamlessly painted various scenes from the show. The trapeze artists… well, I love them just for the sheer fact that they are flying around. I would LOVE to get to do that one day.

Of course, even with all of this, I sometimes wonder if I go to the shows to see the acts or hear the music and see the scenery. As with all of the previous shows, the music of Zarkana, fun and sensual, did not disappoint. As soon as I have money again I will order the CD. (I have the music to almost all of the shows - I told you I was a fan!) The stage came to life with huge archways that moved and shifted into different objects (the snakes were the most impressive) and “sang.” Something new with this show was the use of LED screens to project images of things actually happening on stage. It was a pretty neat trick especially when one of the female artists fell into a big fishbowl of sorts and end became a baby. Or when the clown was in space and we felt like we were floating along with him.

All in all, it was a wonderful show and I definitely recommend everyone go see it before it ends in October. Of course, I’m also very biased and would recommend anyone see it even if it was bad, luckily it wasn’t.

I had some videos, but I am not as tech savvy as I thought, so you only got pictures from the show. I think you’ll deal. Enjoy them nonetheless.

Until next time…

*All photos courtesy of Cirque du Soleil.

I do, I do, and NY does

2011-06-30T14:28:00.000-04:00

A wonderful thing happened on the way to a party Friday night (June 24th)....

A (new) good friend of mine is in the gay porn industry and occasionally does Go-Go dancing on the side at gay bars/clubs. If I can, I always try to go and support him, if not financially, at least for moral support. (By the way, he's the nicest, sweetest, most lovable person on the planet and smart!) This particular Friday, he was performing at a bar downtown and I dragged my gay husband ("GH") with me (not that he minded much).

I met my GH for dinner before heading to the bar. We both knew that the vote for same-sex marriage was happening that evening and we were glued to our phones (me on twitter, him on Facebook) and feeding each other information as news was updated. When the amendment on religious exemption was passed, my twitter feed blew up with congratulations everywhere as we all assumed that meant same sex marriage had been legalized. No, it didn't. The passing of the amendment was so gays and lesbians could not sue a church if they were denied a ceremony. In this, I do agree since churches are technically "private." I use the word private loosely, but it is their right to say no.

The amendment though signaled good things to come. If this was passed, the likelihood of passing the overall bill was very high and sure enough about a half hour later...

NEW YORK PASSES MARRIAGE EQUALITY ACT!!!!

Ecstatic, overjoyed, happy... those words don't describe what I was feeling. Perhaps GAY works best here. *wink* While I identify as heterosexual, this was HUGE for everyone! I have many family members and friends that can now experience what I experienced when I got married seven years ago. Nothing can top that, except maybe giving birth to a child (which I know nothing about). I turned to my GH and asked when he was getting married and told him I was going to be his maid of honor whether he liked it or not.

I was so excited I couldn't even finish my meal! GH and I paid and left to the bar. Once there, we met with my friend, who proceeded to pick me up and give me the biggest hug on the planet. He had just come from Stonewall and told me the atmosphere there was charged with excitement and joy. I was near tears I was so happy. I couldn't have been prouder of my state at that moment.

Of course, while the LGBT community was happy with the news, I can only assume the wedding planning industry (and the economy in general) was also happy. Economists predict a $184 million increase in revenue for the state of New York, most of that most likely going to New York City. Mayor Bloomberg is already trying to cash in, by promoting New York City as a wedding destination. I predict an even bigger increase in revenue, but I didn't study economics in college so I'll keep my mouth shut.

For the record, a small part of me feels this is all ridiculous. Until the Supreme Court deems the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, there will never be true equality in terms of marriage. The original constitution does NOT say anything in regards to marriage because, well... marriage, in and of itself, is a religious concept and our founding fathers were adamant about separation of church and state. The union between two people, however, is very much a federal/state concept. Let's face it, if we want to get married, going to the church isn't enough nor is it recognized by the government. No, we have to go down to City Hall and pay for a license to be ALLOWED to marry, then pay again to actually get married. And technically, that should be unconstitutional as well. Why the hell, should I pay for the RIGHT to get married. That's like saying if I want to make a salad with ingredients that I already have in my home, I have to first go down to my local government and get permission. What they've done is turn my RIGHT into a PRIVILEGE. Like I said, ridiculous...

Regardless, it's a great time to be in the city and the state of New York. We're moving in the right direction... finally.

As a side note, Rhode Island approved civil unions yesterday (June 29th). Couples in a civil union will be afforded the same rights as married couples. It's not exactly the same, but it's something.

Also, if I were gay and getting married, I would so want this cake:

I stayed out until 3am celebrating with my friend and a good portion of the gay community. I loved every minute of it and I wish I could relive the moment over and over.

To all my gay friends & family in relationships, I anxiously await my invitations!

'Til Death Do Us Part... Or Until I Get Better Internet Connection

2011-06-21T00:08:00.001-04:00

Hello, my lovelies. Happy New Year to you all! Also, Happy Valentine's, Happy Easter, Happy Solstice, Happy Memorial Day, Happy... you get the point. It's been a while since I've posted. I have good reason for this...Classes kicked my lovely behind this semester. I think I took for granted that I made Dean's List with a perfect 4.0 the previous semester and thought I could cruise to another 4.0. I was wrong. I only cruised to a 3.7 (A- in both classes), while not a 4.0, it's still pretty damn good if you ask me.

Anyway, we're not here to talk about my classes, but something a little more important. Love. And Sex. This post will be split into two parts and you'll see what I mean...

Love, or the lack thereof in our society, seems to be running rampant. By this I mean the lack of love being shown our gay brothers and sisters and their want of getting married. What's the big deal? If you ask me, let them get married. Marriage is a huge money maker. Weddings, legal fees, divorce fees, etc etc... It's huge! Plus, let's not forget all of the added benefits (insurance companies will make more money) and... eh, whatever. You understand what I'm saying. Of course, the argument is that allowing same-sex marriage would destroy the sanctity of marriage (and lead into more deviant behavior like pedophilia or bestiality - by the way, if these people against gay marriage think that would happen, I wonder what really goes on their bedrooms, who's really the deviant one), but that seems to be the only argument and not a rather convincing one either. I know plenty of gay couples and trust me when I say they HATE pedophiles just as much as the next person.

Let's talk a minute about this sanctity of marriage. These conservatives and other anti-gay marriage people (because I do know one or two so-called liberals who are against it as well), say that gays getting married will destroy marriage, but have shown no compelling case for this. It's almost laughable considering all the scandals, divorces, break-ups that occur within the same group of people who condemn gay marriage. Hypocritical much? Two people in love want to get married but can't, yet two people who can get married for gain (ex. political a la Schwarzenegger) and not love are allowed. Or better yet, what's a better example of the sanctity of marriage than two people (regardless of sexual preference) who want to commit to each other? Who's destroying the sanctity there?

We can't forget about Weiner either, posting pictures of himself on twitter while his pregnant wife was home (I'll talk about this in a second)....

That leads me to the next thing: Online love, can it happen and when is it considered cheating.

Let me preface this by saying, I met my husband online and we've been married now for seven years, together for nine. So can it happen? Yes. My new best friend met her husband through online personal ads and they've been together for almost five years, if not longer. However, in both cases we never actually fell in love until we met our significant others in person and, let's face it, we knew that they ACTUALLY existed.

Of course, there is a lot of gray area when it comes to online relationships. I also think there is a difference between a single person online and having fun and a married person online.

When I first began talking to my husband, I was single. I was also talking to a few different men online. I never once felt like I was cheating on anybody, but I was still meeting people and forming some kind of connection. Any encounters online were fleeting in that people come and go and I was meeting new people everyday. I can't sit here and say that any of those online encounters were meaningful when I was just chatting with them. Sure pictures may have been exchanged (this was pre-webcam and digital camera age), but I was able to shrug it off if anybody stopped talking to me or if they found someone else that caught their eye. Oh and let's not forget that because there is still some anonymity online, you still don't know who you're really meeting...

Things are a little different these days with webcams and such. You can essentially meet a person in "real-time." Does this change the dynamics of meeting online? Sure. While writing words on a page can be perceived differently by different people (one person could see the words as declaration of love, while another just thinks they're being nice), webcams allow two people to really talk, see facial expressions, etc. But regardless, it also depends on the maturity of the two people involved. One person may still not take it as seriously, while the other could go bonkers if they learn that their webcam "partner" is talking to other people. And really, you still won't have a true relationship until you can physically touch each other and be in each others' presence.

It wasn't until I met my husband in person and we started dating that removed myself from any "networking/dating" sites. I actually closed my account (we both did) since really, there was no more need for it. We found each other. A few years later, I have a twitter account, I have male followers and I flirt with them, but 1) I keep my twitter very anonymous and only exchange personal information with a select few (and all female or gay), 2) my husband is not a jealous person and 3) my time online does NOT take away from my time with my husband (when he's home we spend our time together, for the most part).

So, what happens when one person is married and gets online? This is where the waters get murky. I'm still married, I'm online, but as I mentioned before, I'm not online trying to meet my next "hook-up." And if I do happen to flirt with anyone (on the rare occasion), I DO tell my husband. We laugh about it and we move on. No big deal. Then there are the couples that don't mind whether their partners are online flirting. To some it's just mindless fun; in some cases, the couples could be in open relationships and... well that's a whole other discussion.

But, then you have the people like Rep. Weiner. If he weren't married, I wouldn't have cared what the hell he did while online, but he is. He sent pictures of himself to other women, he flirted with other women online, all while his wife was next to him (I wouldn't doubt it, it's easy to sneak a text or a direct message while on your phone) and pregnant. She didn't even know. And as someone pointed out to me, while everyone is focusing on what he did, they aren't focusing on what he didn't do and that was pay attention to his wife. He took time away from his pregnant wife to flirt with women. That is where he went wrong and that is cheating. Of course, if Huma knew and didn't care, well then, this is all moot, but the way Weiner was trying to hide everything, it was evident she didn't know. You can't condone that type of behavior.

So, basically, if you're single, have fun in the online world, if you're married, discuss what is acceptable behavior with your partner.

Anyway, that's my long spiel for the day (I think this may have been my longest post yet)...

What do you think (about both gay marriage and online love)? Tell me your thoughts.

Yours in Random,
Me

P.S. All of this talk of Weiner going to sex rehab??? Being a sexual person and flirting does not make you a sexual deviant, an asshole yes, but not a deviant. If he truly had an addiction, he would have met those women and had REAL sex with them, along with some street hookers and escorts and...yeah. Get a grip society, sexual being does not equal sexually addicted or sexually deviant.

Resolute This!

2010-12-30T03:03:00.000-05:00

It’s that time of year again when people make false promises to themselves. WOOT! I would say I am one of those people, but I’m not. I refuse to make a resolution when I KNOW it wouldn’t last a day. Hell, I couldn’t even last through the forty days of lent when I was a “good” catholic, I definitely wouldn’t last a full year, or worse, the rest of my life.

I can see the appeal though. People want to make changes in their lives and while they can do this any day of the year, it makes sense to want to put the proverbial foot down and make that change the beginning of the year. Out with the old, in with the new, yadda yadda. But as I see it, if you truly wanted to make a change, you would do so at the moment you decide it needs to be done, not wait until the end of the year. If you do wait, were you really serious? Think about it… go ahead… I’ll wait for you…

So, have you decided that you’re really serious? Okay. Good for you! I’m really proud of you.

Now… Just for giggles, let’s go through some of the more popular resolutions.

1) Lose weight/Exercise more – I think this is the MOST popular of all resolutions, not to mention it’s the one that makes the gyms out there the most money. When my husband was working at the gym as a sales rep, he made his most money between the months of December (when people were giving memberships as gifts - kinda rude, don't you think?) and February. I personally loved those months – well, my pockets did anyway. I asked my husband how often those people showed up after those first couple of months… hardly ever, yet they were still paying their monthly membership fees. As I said, it’s the Cash Cow resolution (no pun intended).

2) Stop taking drugs – I include cigarettes and alcohol in this since they are drugs as well. This is probably one of the hardest to give up. It’s noble, yes, but most people don’t have a plan to do this. Quit cold turkey? Gradually stop? For the milder drugs (cigarettes, alcohol), it’s extremely hard to do this, especially in our current economy. If anything, with all the added stress, people tend to smoke and drink more! I say good luck and I hope you can last longer than a week before you pick up another drink or smoke. For the hardcore drugs… Well, that’s more than I can really handle in one blog post and I won’t even try, but I wish you all the support and love that you will need to overcome your vices.

3) Save Money/Manage Debt – Perhaps the most doable of resolutions, but this goes to hell as soon as Valentine’s comes around. This requires discipline and time, two things many people do not have these days, unless they’re unemployed in which case, the resolution of saving money and managing debt becomes moot.

4) Get a better _________ - Fill in the blank here. Car, job, education, home, etc. I think this goes with #3 personally. You can get a better anything if you're not saving money or managing your money better.

5) The ever vague, become a better person – While this is all fine and dandy, I want to know what people actually mean by this. How does one become a better person? Do they get a personality transplant? Or do they mean financially better (see #3 and 4)? Does the person want to be more loving and caring? Around more (again very vague)? Someone please explain this one to me. Perhaps I’m just goal-oriented and I feel that there is no real goal here since someone can always “better” themselves someway, somehow, ya know? And aren’t resolutions supposed to be about goals? Maybe I’m wrong. Someone tell me I’m wrong. I want to be a better person and admit my mistakes…

Well, happy resolution making my friends and may 2011 be as wonderful or better as 2010!

P.S. My new year's resolution? Come up with a more original end of year blog post and don't lie about not making resolutions. *wink*

You Copycat!!!

2010-07-23T12:09:00.000-04:00

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. – Albert Einstein

I know, I know. I haven’t posted in a while and when I finally do I’m writing about a serious topic. Well, it’s not the first time and it won’t be the last. Of this, I’m sure.

They say, imitation is the highest form of flattery. Sure. To a point. So… plagiarism seems to be around me a lot lately. I don’t quite get it (not the plagiarism, but why it’s so prevalent in my little circle lately). Well let’s face it, it’s not plagiarism until you get caught, right? Well, everyone’s getting caught. Perhaps it’s people being more diligent in their reading, or people are reading more and can spot similarities quicker. Or, people just care more.

In the past, teachers tried to nip plagiarism in the bud early on. After all, copying, cheating, etc. does start in schools. It’s where we first learn about it. I think now, though, with the advent of the interwebs (I must remember to thank our dear president bush – note the sarcasm – for that word) it has become that much easier to catch the culprits. All that is needed is a few lines of the “original” work typed into Google and…voila! You will know if the work you are looking at was copied or not. It’s actually pretty neat.

Why am I writing about this? I have not been plagiarized yet…well…at least not that I know about anyway, but friends have been both the plagiarizer and the plagiarized.

I mentioned before, I think, that I write fan fiction – it’s my not-so-secret hobby. Most of the works in the fan fiction world are derivatives of the original book/story/videogame. You will find similarities, but it’s common knowledge, the authors know about it and there is nothing to be gained except some writing practice. At least, that’s how I see it. Yet, even in that world, people find it necessary to copy whole stories/ideas from each other. In all honesty, if you cannot come up with an original idea to put these characters in, perhaps you shouldn’t be writing. I am close with some authors who have had to pull their writings and completely stopped writing because they were being copied. It’s not a pleasant feeling.

Then, of course, you have the case where a friendship was jeopardized. For the sake of privacy, I will call them Tom and Jerry (credit to Hanna-Barbera).

Tom and Jerry were friends, had been for a while. They had classes together, studied together, were even lab partners. Things were going great in their lab class. They were both on their way to getting an A (or close to it). Tom, being the older of the two, definitely needed the A in the class; Jerry was younger and had time to pull up his GPA if for whatever reason he didn’t get the A he was looking for in lab. Lab reports were due every three to four days and we’re not talking about one or two pages here. These reports were 10-20 pages depending on the lab. It was a lot of work and there were plenty of sleepless nights to get these reports done.

Something went wrong though on the second to last lab. Tom finished his report and, being a good lab partner, sent it to Jerry so Jerry could use it as reference. Jerry on the other hand decided that it was too late and he needed to sleep. He took Tom’s report and copied a good portion of it, in some instances, not even bothering to change the wording around. Unfortunately for both of them, the lab instructor noticed. It turned ugly fast. What should have been a celebration for finish the lab course, turned into a broken friendship and almost expulsion.

Ironically, I had just lectured the two of them on taking the easy way out. It never pays, it’s risky and you only end up working harder. Jerry took the high road and ‘fessed up. The instructor was lenient and didn’t take any disciplinary actions against him. I think the guilt eating him up inside was enough punishment for him. Tom was found innocent of any wrongdoing. It worked out, sort of, in the end. They don’t speak to each other anymore.

About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgement. - Josh Billings

Lesson learned? I hope so.

A Bibliophile's Haven

2010-04-02T17:55:00.001-04:00

You all know by now how much of an avid reader I am and if you didn't know, then you've just been informed. I love reading. I love books. Yes, I have a Kindle, but the Kindle will never replace the feel of a real book in my hand or the smell of the pages and the ink. It's comforting. That said, I don't only like reading, but I like collecting books as well - mainly classics and leather-bound books right now. I don't have the means (time, space, money) at present to follow-through with my little obsession, but I will.

You would think that with my love of books, I would visit the library more often, but I don't. Don't know why, really, I just don't go. I have taken to either buying books or borrowing from friends and family (namely, my mother). I also have my aforementioned Kindle to carry with me. Yesterday, however, I went to the library for the first time in a long time. As I sat waiting for my classmate (we were studying for our upcoming Chemistry exam), I took a picture of the entrance because...well...it's gorgeous.

This is the entire front view of the library:

Pretty, right? I will say the inside looks like any ol' library.

All of this got me thinking about different libraries around the world. I took a peek on the interwebs and saw that someone else took the time to put together a slideshow of the most beautiful libraries in the world. You can check that here: A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries Around the World. However, if you don't want to go cruising around, here are my favorite ones. (Yes, the New York Public Library is not on my list, perhaps because I see it all the time?)

The Seattle Library - Seattle, WA

Look at all that glass and there's a garden inside, too!

The Staircase Library - London, UK

You will never have a problem reaching the top shelf again.

The Sansovino Library - Rome, Italy

It's just...breathtaking

The Trinity College - Dublin, Ireland

The rows of books! This is a bibliophile's dream come true. I know I could spend an eternity in here and still feel like it's not enough time.

Okay, so I know you're thinking, "But, Ms. Random, what about your own personal library? Don't you want one?" The answer to that is: YES! Right now, I do have a mini-library. It consists of five big bins full of books, a three-row bookshelf with books spilling everywhere, and some books on the floor next to said bookshelf. Yeah, I need a real library and fast! When the time comes, I plan on building one in my home. Here are some samples of what I would like (courtesy of Architectural Digest).

The open design here allows me easy access to my books, not to mention that no matter where I am, I'd be surrounded by them. What a glorious thing!

This one is light and airy. It is its own separate room and I absolutely love the stairs. I could spend a whole day, week, month in here!

A condo or apartment library, right? Something to consider, but it does look mighty cozy.

My personal sanctuary? Looks like it could be, I certainly wouldn't mind being here all day either.

It is my goal in life to have a library in my house. If I can manage it, I'd be one happy, reading camper.

So, my readers, which is your favorite library (if you visited the link or from the ones I posted)? I would love to hear what your opinion!

Things that make me HAPPY!

2010-03-15T00:34:00.002-04:00

Apparently there are blog awards that go around and I was privileged enough to receive one from a special friend today.

Greenie, author of Scribbles, Scruples & Stories, sent the Sweet Friends Blog award. I am extremely honored. Of course, there are rules with this, since this is an award that gets passed along.

Rules: Here are the rules: Recipient must post their award on their blog mentioning the person that gave it to them. Then they must pass it on to 10 others & leave a comment on each of their blogs to let them know that they have won. You must also post 10 things that make you happy.

So, I don't follow ten blogs (well, I follow more through my fan fiction blog), but I'll list the ones that I do and hopefully you'll follow them as well.

A Duchess Cooks in Brooklyn - a great source for recipes and all things food related. Really you can't go wrong.
Scribbles, Scruples & Stories - musings of a Danish woman (who I will get to meet in a couple of months)
Olgy's Blog - my Cuban comadre. We are both passionate about all things Cuba and education.
The Unread Reader - perhaps, the sweetest woman on earth and the loudest cheerleader/supporter.

Now for the ten things that make me happy. I hate that can only list ten, but hey it's a start.

1) My husband - Even when we argue (which is rare), we can still laugh at ourselves and realize that we are arguing for the dumbest reasons.
2) My family - I wouldn't be here without them.
3) My nephew - He gets his own, because he's just adorable and funny and generally a wonderful child. I hope my little ones turn out like him.
4) My friends - They know how to cheer me up when I'm down, or make me laugh harder when I'm already happy.
5) School - Way back in the day, I was the one that used to LOVE going to school. Now that I am back in school, I realize that I still do. Getting a 44/50 on my first Chemistry exam and a 90 on my Calculus exam helps also.
6) Sleep - Yes, sleep makes me happy. It energizes me everyday, why could anyone be sad about it?
7) My writing - I never knew how therapeutic my writing could be until I started doing it. Oh... and how addictive!
8) Music - It moves my soul, period, paragraph, the end.
9) The Sun - Well, this is fairly obvious. The Sun is warm and inviting, not to mention it gives me a great tan.

10) Rain - Hear me out on this one... Rain is dreary, yes, but you can't deny the fact that on a rainy day you can stay in, curled into your favorite spot, with a good book or a good movie. Sometimes it helps you catch up with things around the house or just makes you spend quality time with your family/friends/significant others. Not to mention that rain means flowers!

So what makes you happy?

Super Bowl Recap

2010-02-08T22:47:00.000-05:00

How 'bout dem Saints!?!?!? I was, and still am, super excited that the Saints won the Super Bowl. The team deserved it, but more importantly, the city of New Orleans deserved it and NEEDED it. Talk about a morale boost for the city! If I had money, I would fly down and celebrate with them. The win couldn't have come at a better time, too. Mardi Gras is right around the corner. The city will be buzzing. Oh, how I wish I could be there!

So, let's talk about the Super Bowl.

1) I missed most of the National Anthem as I was en route to a friend's house to watch the game. I caught the tail end though and my ears were ringing... that's not a good thing. (For the record, I am a musician - even if I haven't touched my flute in years - and my ears are trained to hear when something/someone is out of tune.) I wasn't impressed, but again, I didn't hear the whole thing. Oh, and this means I also missed the opening acts. I don't think I missed much there either.

2) The first half of the game was exciting, though I did feel that the Saints didn't have it in them. It was almost as if they were intimidated by the big bad Colts. But, I also knew that there was still a whole other half to be played and anything could happen...

3) The Who... Ummm... Yeah. I was glad they opened with Pinball Wizard, but the whole performance in general was blah. As someone said, "I miss the nipples!" I did, too.

4) The second half...well...THE SAINTS WON!!!! I told my husband that the game-changer was the two-point conversion. The momentum shifted and it was over for the Colts. Everything went for the Saints and I couldn't be happier.

Now let's talk about the commercials. Admittedly, I didn't really pay much attention to them. I actually watch the game and use the commercials to talk to the friends, get refills on the drinks, use the restroom, etc. But, here are a few that I did see and like:

Why I liked this one? Because it's Harry!!! And I can't wait to get my butt down to Universal and go. Really... I mean it... I'm like a little kid when it comes to Harry.

For the sheer fact that vampires are mentioned in this commercial:

Umm.... Johnny Depp... Alice in Wonderland, need I say more? And if you don't understand my obsession, I refer you to my second post.

Finally, because it's cute (even if a bit stereotypical):

You can view the rest of the commercials here.

Of course, there's also the controversial ad starring Tim Tebow and his mother. Honestly, I almost missed it, it was so bland and it didn't say much. The point of the commercial was to send viewers to the Focus for Family site and, as someone pointed out, the controversy on the ad probably drew more people to the site than not. Why? Because, again, the commercial in itself was nothing to scream about and most people would have missed it, but due to the uproar over the spot, more people were looking for it and became more interested in the rest of the story. Here is the ad...

See what I mean? Nothing to it. Also, CBS, if you're reading (which I doubt) - see how easy it was to show both commercials on my blog? Not that hard. Sure, I have my views and issues with the above ad because of what it is preaching (and even then, you would have to go to the site to really know what it is preaching - pro-life/anti-abortion agenda), but the group does have a right to air their views. It's called Freedom of Speech. CBS, however, by airing the commercial and not the gay dating service, showed their true colors and where they stood by taking sides and politicizing an event - the Super Bowl - that should not have been politicized. Shame on you, CBS!

One other thing. Some people felt I was too harsh on Tim and I made assumptions about him that I shouldn't have. True, I cannot sit here and assume what he does with his private life. It's great that his mother persevered and went through the high risk pregnancy. Many people wouldn't. That being said, he still does not have the right to tell other women what to do with their bodies. By being in the commercial, funded by a pro-life group, he was doing just that and that is why I have a problem with him.

Shoot, I was trying to stay off my soapbox, but, oh well. I can't help myself. *smile*

There's my little (or big) recap. Congrats to the Saints and New Orleans again! Now, I'm going to book my trip to NOLA!!!

P.S. What was your favorite commercial?

The Saintly Colts (or How the Super Bowl is No Longer About the Game)

2010-02-07T15:02:00.001-05:00

OMG OMG OMG Did you hear!?!?!?! Carrie Underwood is going to sing the National Anthem!!!

Really? Well, The Who is performing during halftime. The Who? When did the average age of viewers go from 18-45ish to 45-70ish? Eh, well... that's cool, I suppose. I like The Who, even if the only song I have of theirs in my collection is Pinball Wizard... right....

Oh, I almost forgot, there's a ga... What???? Daughtry is also performing??? The opening act? Sweet, though I don't listen to his music either. Okay.

So there's a game - I can't wait for all of the commercials this year. That's the best part of the Super Bowl!

Speaking of commercials, when did the Super Bowl become a platform for political agendas? CBS banned a commercial for a gay dating site, but will be glorifying the religious right with their pro-life/anti-abortion commercials. These commercials aren't cheap. ManCrunch, the gay dating service, paid an arm and a leg to get their spot aired, only for it to be pulled. There is nothing wrong with the commercial. It's actually quite funny:

Unfortunately, I cannot find the anti-abortion commercial. I wanted to post it as well, so CBS could see how easy it is to be fair to everyone. (I'm sure it's out there, but really, we can all wait to see it.)

Essentially, the commercial is of Tim Tebow, star quarterback of University of Florida, going on about how his mother was very ill and was told to have an abortion. Lucky for him, she didn't and he went on to win the Heisman Trophy and, more than likely, will make millions for his mother now. Tim, apparently, is a devout Christian. As my husband would say, "I'm proud of ya." (Note the sarcastic tone.) What I find ironic about all of this is that Tim is THE STAR QUARTERBACK for Florida. This means he must get women falling over him all the time and, unless he's a eunuch, I'm sure he's having plenty of sex (I would never for a minute buy that he's waiting for marriage). So I pose a question to him. How many of those women did you accidentally impregnate who later had abortions? He may not even know the answer to that one, but it's a possibility. Would he have told those women to not have abortions? I wonder...

But I digress...In lieu of not having the Tim Tebow commercial, here's a response ad from Planned Parenthood.

I'll get off my soapbox now...

So, who's ready to watch those Super Bowl commercials??? I know I am! Remember the Bud Bowl??? Do they even still have it? I miss it! A bunch of beer bottles playing football, too cute. As a 10 year old, I wanted a beer... to play football with, of course.

Oh... wait... there's an actual game? Yes, there is...

Well now, if you read one of my earlier posts you would know that I had originally predicted a Giants v. Jets Super Bowl (wishful thinking on my part). I was oh-so-close with the Jets. They played their hearts out though and you have to give them credit!

Instead, we have the New Orleans Saints playing against the Indianapolis Colts.

I can dig it. I like Peyton Manning and I like the Saints. I won't give a prediction on who will win because both teams are really good. I would like the Saints to win since they've never won a Super Bowl, but really it doesn't work that way, does it? I'll keep my fingers crossed though, after all, they do have God on their side, right?

I hope you all enjoy the game, eat lots of food and drink lots of beer, but be safe!!!

WHO DAT? WHO DAT? WHO DAT? GEAUX SAINTS!!!

On a Sugar High

2010-02-02T19:11:00.002-05:00

So... I'm digging this whole throwback thing the soda companies are doing. It's a great marketing ploy to get all of the "naturalists" to buy their soft drinks again. I know I definitely prefer real sugar to any form of artificial crap (in the diet drinks) or corn syrup. Of course, my inquiring mind wanted to know for sure if they were bs'ing us or if they were for real.

I took a peek at the Pepsi website and this is what I found:

There, highlighted in yellow, SUGAR!!! Not high fructose corn syrup, or as I lovingly refer to it... gunk. They were also very clear to point out that it does not contain Aspartame which is another unnatural sweetener that is used often in diet drinks. As I've always said, I would rather drink regular soda with the gunk (which will just make me fat) than diet soda with aspartame (which could slowly kill me). Now, however, with all the throwbacks, I can be happier with the regular soda.

Of course, I prefer Dr. Pepper over Pepsi and Coke anyway, and Dr. Pepper has been on the pure sugar bandwagon for a while now.

Dublin, Texas has been producing pure sugar Dr. P, since the beginning of time. Sure they make gunk Dr. P, but they are known for their good ol' sugar. I personally spend the money to get my Dr. P shipped to me from Dublin. It comes in 8oz classic bottles (which is normal serving size) and is absolutely, 100% delicious. Yes, because I say so! They are much lighter in taste than gunk Dr. P and hit the soda spot just right. I suggest you go and visit the site and order some today. You won't be sorry.

But, really, if we want to talk about natural sodas, there are a whole bunch other than Pepsi and Coke that are available and probably healthier even than the big corps.

My personal favorites are (in order):

GuS

Izze

Fizzy Lizzy

If you notice, most of these are juices with carbonated water. Like, I said, healthier.

What I'm looking forward to, though, since everyone is on this throwback high... is when Coca-Cola starts selling their cokes with cocaine again. Now THAT I'll buy!

(P.S. This was not intentionally meant to be a big ol' advertisement for the sodas, just some recommendations.)

"Now that's what I call Marine Biology!"

2010-01-29T18:29:00.002-05:00

As you all know, I'm going back to school. Well, I officially started yesterday and I am very close to feeling like Rodney Dangerfield. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I refer you to this:

Back To School (Extra-Curricular Edition)

Okay, well, I'm not a bug-eyed, rich, sexagenarian, but I am old...older than most of my classmates. Oh and I also won't wreck havoc on campus. That would be difficult to accomplish anyway since my school is a city college and, therefore, does not have a "real" campus. My undergrad campus? Sure, but not Hunter.

So, how did my first week of class go?

Monday, I ordered my books online. Apparently they have a process whereby you can order online and get first dibs on used books, if available. Of course, it was a big scam and I should've known better, but whatever. Buying online means there was no way for me to see for myself if all the used books were indeed taken. I ended up spending $400 in books, for just two classes. Crazy? Yes, but in the end I can only hope it was all worth it.

Tuesday, I waited for my confirmation so I could pick up my books.

Wednesday, I picked up my books. Can someone please tell me why textbooks are so damn heavy? Heavy and half of what's in those books is completely useless. What a waste of paper!

Thursday was my first day of class. Chemistry. If the first class is indicative of what the rest of the semester will be like then I should pass this class with big ol' fat A. The professor is nice - when I can understand what he is saying. If i fail, I will chalk it up to the fact that I couldn't comprehend the words coming out of his mouth. I will say, though, that it call came back in a flood when he started talking about mass and weight and moles and the periodic tables. I relished in it. I realized how much I missed Chemistry.

Today, Friday, Calculus...We went right into the work, going over old concepts - tangents, slopes, factors. I can't say I miss them, but it wasn't too bad. What was bad? He gave us an exam!! Granted, it was a diagnostic test to see where our strengths and weaknesses were as well as a way for him know how far back he has to go to get everybody caught up. Honestly, I'm a little scared, but I think I'll do okay? We'll see soon.

There you have it. What are your predictions on what my grades will be?

ID or Bust

2010-01-20T19:10:00.000-05:00

I went to get my new school ID today. I was pleasantly surprised that I, for once, didn't look half bad. I would post my previous pictures, but that would mean showing you what I looked like and I'm just not in the mood for that right now. Take my word for it though, they were pretty bad. I looked horribly fat in one (and I'm not fat), I looked like a school teacher in another, then of course, there are the "OMG, you look like you've seen a ghost" pictures. Yeah... so when I say I look good this time, I do. I actually smiled for a change, too.

So while I looking at my picture, I began to wonder about all the silly pictures that others have taken. Here's one:

Yes... Batman... really... the picture is okay, but the name. Wow. I wish I would have come up with this sooner, but I didn't. I took this from "12 Most Bizarre ID Cards" and really, I couldn't stop laughing.

So tell me, who here has a perfect ID photo. Anybody? If you do, I would LOVE to see it!

Coffee Talk with Random McRandom

2010-01-19T16:08:00.001-05:00

My friend, E, and I were discussing things that we missed from the good ol' days (as if we're that old) and one thing that came up was how good Saturday Night Live used to be and some of their skits and characters. The Church Lady, The Land Shark, and, our personal favorite, Linda Richman.

Who can forget Michael Myers as Linda Richman??? It was classic and funny. Amazingly, there aren't many videos out on the interwebs of the old skits. It's a shame because that was truly good sketch comedy. So here's a video that is up. Enjoy for old time's sake.

Watching it again is making me a bit... verklempt. I will give you a topic to discuss. A chickpea is neither a chick or a pea. Discuss.

(P.S. Thanks E for that little topic).

Guitar Hero, Rock Band, & Addictions...

2010-01-14T20:35:00.005-05:00

I have a new addiction. It seems along with my writing, I can't stop playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Now, I only have the guitar for both games and, perhaps if I had more space in my apartment, I would have the drums and mic as well, but I don't.

Honestly, I can't decide which I like better. For the record the versions of each that I have are:

RockBand: The Beatles

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

Guitar Hero: World Tour

My all-time favorite would have to be RockBand: The Beatles, if, for nothing else, the sheer fact that it's The Beatles. I mean, really. Come on. The background images are great - you really do feel like you're getting high with the John, Paul, Ringo and George.

Guitar Hero (both versions) are harder than RB... at least the Beatles version. I've only dabbled in RockBand 2, so I can't say for sure which is more difficult. I will say that I have pretty much mastered RB on medium, I'm lucky if I can play a few songs of GH on medium without getting booed off the stage. *sigh*

My husband has asked me why I have such an addiction (on top of making fun of me for even having the addiction considering that I am always yelling at him about his obsession with NCAA Football '07). My response to him, "I need a healthy addiction, plus it gets my brain working on different things. You know the whole hand-eye coordination stuff. Oh and I used to play the flute and this reminds of me those good ol' days." He looked at me as though I had three heads and walked away. *shrug*

P.S. if anyone is listening, I would LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE a GH or RB version for U2. Imagine rockin' out to With or Without You or even New Year's Day? Yep, I'll be that in a heartbeat....

On that note... it's time for some GH... or RB... or GH.............

Calling Dr. McRandom

2010-01-05T16:03:00.002-05:00

I don't believe I mentioned this before, but yours truly will be going back to school! Yes, this is the big news I mentioned in the New Year's post. For as long as I could remember (meaning when I started speaking), I wanted to be a doctor. A pediatric surgeon at that.

All through grade school, junior high and high school, it seemed as though my dream of becoming a doctor would come to fruition. I mean I was, after all, a straight A student. I missed being valedictorian by six points (93 vs 99), though everyone told me that had the averages been weighed to include extra-curricular activities, I would have been the valedictorian. Eh, whatever. I still went to an Ivy League school, whereas the valedictorian did not. (Either she wasn't accepted or she never applied).

Anyway, things were going well, then I started Uni and well... things weren't going so well. You see, I never once had to study in high school. I thought I could get away with it in college. Yeah, not quite. I nearly flunked out my first year. I was taking biology and calculus. If it hadn't been for my English class and whatever other course I was taking, I would have definitely crashed and burned. Needless to say, my hopes of becoming a doctor were smashed. So I changed my major and graduated with a degree in Psychology.

Now everyone comes to me for advice.

I, however, was not satisfied with the path I was taking and when I was laid of last year I knew that was my cue to get off my behind and finish what I started.

So, I applied to schools - rather a school - for their Post Baccalaureate Pre-med programs. Essentially I am getting a second degree in Pre-Med studies without all the hassle of going through four years of schooling.

I was accepted and now I start school at the end of January. WOOT!

Call me in about 6-8 years and I'll be ready to take care of your children! I mean it. Really! Hey... where y'all going?? I'll be a great a doctor. Come back!!!

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T18:28:00.012-05:00

So, I was horrible at posting last year. My new year's resolution, well, one of them, will be to post more frequently, hopefully once a week or once every other week. I will start this week with something my friend sent me. It seems appropriate considering the title was Random Thoughts...

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history when you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. Bad decisions make good stories.

4. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

5. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damn it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

6. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

7. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

8. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

Have a wonderful 2010 and I'll see you all next week... or sooner.... definitely sooner, I have some things to say.

Birthdays, Football and U2

2009-09-27T21:15:00.012-04:00

September has been a busy month for me, hence the lack of updates. September is also one of my favorite months. Why you ask?

Let's see. I turned 31, though people at the restaurant swore up and down I didn't look a day over 21. I'll take it. Hell, I was carded a month ago, too. This past month I wished about 20 different people Happy Birthday and I'm not even done yet. The most important person is my nephew; he will be 8 years old. He's the only person that can make me feel old.

Next:

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL!!??!?!?!?
It's football season people. I do not have a favorite team nor do I participate in any fantasy leagues (they are a waste of time in my opinion), but I love watching the games (minus my husband's extra commentary). The Jets look great this season and their new QB, Sanchez, just may make Rookie of the Year if he keeps up the work he's doing (minus those silly rookie mistakes he made today). The Giants... look the same. We'll see where they go. The Cowboys... ummm... yeah... Texas always has to do everything bigger, but not necessarily better. Who was the genius who thought it was a good idea having the huge jumbotron so low to the field? And those cage dancers? Really? Cage dancers? As Cris Collingsworth said, "It's the Triple AAA for the cheerleaders."

Brett Favre is back; he's the new Michael Jordan of football. Kurt Warner seems to be ageless and still good. Adrian Petersen looks amazing as always and the Bengals... well, at least they have OchoCinco...

My picks for the Super Bowl?

Why not? Just don't quote me on that, I never said I was a football expert. :o)

Finally... U2. This year I had the privilege of seeing U2 in concert. I considered this my other birthday present to myself. The 360 Tour is the second concert I've seen live. (I saw their PopMart tour back in '97). The smartest thing ever done was having a 360 degree stage. I felt more a part of the concert than ever before and I was all the way in the top tier. Not to mention that there was NO bad seat in the house. You can't go wrong. Their opening act was Muse and I have to say, I'm convert now. Here's a little peek at what I was excited to see...

Here's a peek at U2:

I also sent in an application for a post baccalaureate program. I'm going to try and become the doctor I should have been already. Let's hope everything works out well, shall we?

There are two days (or three, depending on when you're reading this) left to September. I wonder what else I can squeeze in before October rolls around.

Beer Babies

2009-08-22T22:11:00.003-04:00

I saw something rather disturbing today... Babies, toddlers and other small children (aka under the age of 21) relaxing at the Beer Garden.

Now some of you may think that the Beer Garden is an actual garden and I will forgive you for not knowing, but the Beer Garden is, for all intents and purposes, a huge outdoor bar. I didn't take any pictures because I did not want to have to deal with privacy issues and such, but believe me when I say that the bathroom even has a baby-changing station.

Ridiculous? YES!

What are these parents thinking? "Hello, I'm raising my child to be a future alcoholic of America. I also plan on helping him/her when s/he goes to AA meetings."

WTF????

Why would you want to subject your young'uns to a bunch of obnoxious drunk beer drinkers that act like children? Oh wait... the kids are in their element then, nevermind... proceed with the corruption of our future.

Death Becomes Us

2009-07-30T17:06:00.003-04:00

I haven't written in a while and there is no excuse for my idleness. I do know you'll forgive me though.

Today's topic of choice: Death

The last two months the public has seen a myriad of deaths from the most newsworthy to the little "who was that again?"

So here's a list of those that died just as a reminder...

1) Michael Jackson - I don't think I need to cover his death anymore. The media had a field day with his passing as it was. I will say, though, that it pains me when I read or hear people say things like "he deserved it, he was a pedophile" or "he was a weirdo anyway, good riddance." The man made some strange choices no doubt, but to wish someone's death like that or to say cruel things is uncalled for in my book. Whether he did anything or not, doesn't matter. He was still the man!

2) Farrah Fawcett - I was too young to appreciate her and really the wrong color as well. It's hard for me to look up to her, but she was every teen boy's wet dream... including my husband's, so that must count for something. I do think she was very strong though, it's not easy dying a slow death from cancer and having the will to live after learning that you don't have much longer to live. I just hope she lived those last days to the fullest.

3) Ed McMahon - Here's Johnny! There goes Ed... don't have much to say except I wish they never canceled the original American Idol... Star Search. I loved that show!

4) Walter Cronkite - people were upset about his death. I wasn't. He was old, he lived a long life, I'm sure he was fine with it.

5) Arturo Gatti - Known for the greatest boxing trilogy against Mickey Ward. His career was already on the decline if it hadn't already hit rock bottom with his recent losses. It's still a shame to see someone tragically killed. The investigation into his death is still open. I think his wife killed him, but who knows for sure.

6) Vernon Forrest - another great fighter. I just learned of his death yesterday. He was my husband's age. It's tough to see another good one go. We watched his last fight against Sergio "Latin Snake" Mora last night. It was his last fight and he lost, but just barely. He still lives in in the books though.

7) Steve McNair - Titans quarterback. Two words: Crazy lover. Men, if you plan on cheating on your wives make sure the woman is mentally stable. He had a good career and it was literally blown away.

8) Other notable deaths: Robert McNamara (former Secretary of Defense), Frank McCourt (author), E. Lynn Harris (author), Merce Cunningham (dancer/choreographer).

I could sit here and ask what in the world is going on because of all of the people are dying. OH MY GOD!!!!!

Right, I could, but I won't. People die everyday. It's a part of life. The moment we are born we begin to die. This isn't a bad thing. This just tells us that we need to live our life to the fullest because we never know when it's going to end. My father died two and half years ago. I was witness to it and I can say that he died with a smile on his face. His last vision was of me, my sister and his wife. He died knowing we were going to be okay. Did he die too young? For me, he did, but I liked spending time with him. Was it his time to go? Apparently so.

So here's a moment of silence to everyone that has died and everyone who is still alive not truly living. If you're not living, get off your asses and get to it!

I've made my peace, have you made yours?

What the Blood Clot?!?!?!

2009-06-10T23:46:00.006-04:00

Wow. I know you guys have missed me. I've missed myself. It seems my life went for a little roller coaster ride the last couple of months. The most important thing that's happened...my husband was diagnosed with blood clots...multiple clots. Now, this wouldn't be such an issue if he were 60 years old, but he's a very healthy 38 year old man. Strange, huh?

Apparently not...

My husband was hospitalized twice. The first time when he was diagnosed which was a complete waste of time. The second time they actually removed the most of the clotting. However, both times it was brought to our attention how common blood clots are these days... among young people. I wish I knew what the exact numbers were by age group. The only statistic I found was that 1 in 1000 people a year get DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis - the official term for blood clots in the lower extremities).

I don't know about you, but I find this very odd. It's not normal. What's worse was the nurse said that doctors are recommending people take Heparin shots before they fly to reduce the risk of clotting. Ok. People have been traveling for decades now and clotting, while certainly a risk because of the lack of movement on a plane, was never that big of an issue. My little conspiracy mind is going a mile a minute though wondering what the hell is going on. There should be no reason to take any type of medication if you don't need it.

Heparin for those of you that do not know is a pretty powerful blood thinner and anti-coagulant. The biggest side effect, of course, is that your blood thins and doesn't coagulate properly. So please tell me why anyone would willingly subject themselves to this major side effect for a couple of hours on a plane, especially if you are not pre-disposed to getting clots. It makes no sense. That doctors are telling people to get these shots makes even less sense...unless they are getting a kickback or worse, there's something else in those shots. Hey I don't put it past our government. They've done some f'd up things in the past.

Just to be on the safe side though, here is a list of things that can cause blood clots:

Flying
Prolonged sitting
Pregnant, smoking, female
Birth control taking, smoking female
Trauma to the leg (getting kicked in the leg for instance or break/fracture of the leg)
Some surgeries
Genetics
Old age

There are more, but those are the the main ones. So watch yourselves kiddies... Don't want to see you in the hospital.

Reading, 'Riting, 'Rithmetic

2009-03-19T00:52:00.006-04:00

The three R's. Obviously, whoever came up with that wasn't too bright considering that it's more like R, W, A or in another order RAW.

My early retirement has been going pretty well. I have indeed been reading, I have been writing (except not updating my blog as much as I said I would) and I have in fact been using some arithmetic... tutoring my friend's brother in math. Yes, I'm a bit of nerd.

So, what have I been reading? Well for starters a few books... yes all at the same time. I read depending on my mood. Here's the list:

1) Diana Gabaldon - The Fiery Cross (Outlander): This is book 5 of the Outlander series. My friend, E, got me totally hooked on the first book and I couldn't put it down. She bought the books, I borrowed, but to make it up to her, I bought the Outlander Companion book. Yes, I'm a fan.

2) Mario Livio - Is God a Mathematician?: I told you i was into Math. Not only am I tutoring, but I'm also reading about it. This is an interesting book about math and religion, almost a "which came first?" type thing. I haven't completely gotten into it, it requires a little more concentration that a regular book, but I will eventually finish it.

3) Brooke Allen - Moral Minority: Our Skeptical Founding Fathers: History, my other favorite subject. This is a great read for all of you who think our country was founded on religion. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our Founding Fathers (and really, they didn't find anything, the country was already here), were very much for separation of church and state and a few of them were devout atheists. Go figure! I'm almost done with the book, I will be passing it on to my mother.

4) Charlaine Harris - Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard Mysteries, Book 1): Another series from the author of the Southern Vampire Mysteries (aka the True Blood series). I needed something to start reading on my new Kindle, so I decided to get this one. I like the True Blood series (which I've read), so I figured I'll give this one a shot and maybe the rest of her series too.

5) FanFiction.net - Wow, this site has me totally addicted to its stories. I happened onto this site when I was checking out information on IMDB for New Moon (Twilight Saga) and I read the some of the posts in the forum. Someone mentioned a story "Wide Awake" that was a Bella/Edward story, minus the vampire theme. So I checked it out and now you can't get me to do anything else. Well, I take that back, I do other things and as you can see I also read. Anyway, there is FanFiction for almost every book, TV show, video game, etc out there. In other words, when you're not satisfied with a story, write your own version...

So that leads me to Writing. I was so hooked that I told my friend, E (the same as above), and she agreed too, that she should write her own FanFic of Twilight. And she did, check it out, it's called Bliss and it's a great story. She encouraged me to write my own Fanfic. Granted, I have a blog that I update, but that's not the same as writing a story. But I did, or rather I am. If you want to check it out (and review it), you can. It's called "Due To a Stalled Train Ahead." I won't tell you about it, just read it.

My ultimate goal in all of this is to eventually write my own original novel. I've always liked writing, but never had the time or motivation to do anything about it, until now. I certainly have the time and motivation since I'm not working anymore.

Oh and the 'rithmetic? As I said, I've been tutoring my friend's brother and I have to say it's fun getting back into math. It was always one of my favorite subjects in school and I always did well. One of the top in my classes...consistently.

All of this is making me nostalgic for my favorite show... School House Rock!!!!

3... is a magic number... oh yes it is....

Early Retirement

2009-03-05T22:22:00.003-05:00

Did you guys miss me? I'm sorry for the delay in updating my blog, I've been busy enjoying my early retirement. It seems that my company (which shall remain nameless, but the owner's daughter was famously "kidnapped" and then later robbed a bank back in the '70s), decided that, even though it was sitting on a large pile of cash, they wanted to hoard the cash and lay off some folks. I was one of them. Was I upset? not about getting laid off, but just in the manner that it happened. It was really one of those "oh hey you're gone effective immediately, pack your shit and go" type things. So, I did. I barely said bye to anyone (but there's always facebook). It was 2 or so in the afternoon when I found out and I was rather happy to get the hell out of there.

I liked the job, don't get me wrong, but I have better things to do with my time then sitting in front of a computer working for someone else. I can be sitting in front of a computer, updating my blog, selling on ebay, writing a novel, reconnecting with friends, searching for real estate deals, etc etc. the list can go on and I can do all of this from the comfort of my home or wherever there is free wi-fi. As a matter of fact, my ex-boyfriend was kind enough to even tell me about adding amazon to my blog so I can make some money. Thanks HMM. (yes, I still keep in touch with my ex... no my husband is not jealous).

As it is, my forced early retirement was the best opportunity for me. First of all, I was planning on quitting soon anyway. This turned out better considering that had I quit I would not have received severance, an extra month of health benefits (3 if I go with COBRA), or unemployment for a year. WOOOOOHOOOOOO. I think I hit the jackpot. So, of course, yours truly was trying very hard to play the part of the sad laid off worker, in reality all I wanted to do was laugh and jump for joy. So what does this mean for me? Truly, I wasn't joking about doing more important things. I can't exactly reveal what those things are because most people won't understand, but should everything work out, I will NEVER have to worry about money again. What I (and my husband) are doing is such a long and tedious process though that working was hindering this getting done sooner. Now, in just the two weeks that I've been laid off, we're almost done. On top of that, I've been doing the one thing I love to do... read (that will be another blog post because I do need to tell you about my new addiction).

So, I won't write much more for now, but do know that I will be updating my blog more often. I can't wait!

(oh, I also finally received my kindle... I'll talk about that later too).

Ciao for now!
Yours in randomness....

P.S. I would like to thank everyone, though, for the kind words when they found out I was laid off. My mom, especially; she took it the hardest, she actually cried. Seems that everyone is helping me look for a new job and I'm eternally grateful. My own set of personal head hunters. Thanks guys!!! (but let me enjoy my time and hopefully I won't have to go back to work).

Friends... How Many of Us Have Them?

2009-02-10T22:24:00.003-05:00

According to Facebook, yours truly has currently has 395 friends... and counting. I'm baffled that I know that many people. Well, let's truly think about this. Of those 395 people, I REALLY know about 100 and of those 100, I'm close to about 50 and of those 50, I talk to about 10 of them on a consistent basis. So really, how many friends do I have? 10, 50, 100 or almost 400?

So who comprises this lovely 395 number.

1) Family - I have to say that I've gotten closer to some family members because of Facebook. It's a beautiful thing. Sure there was e-mail, but for some of these people, I didn't even know they had any way of getting in contact with them until Facebook came around. So, yes, I'm grateful for that.

2) My true friends - why not. just another way to keep in touch with them. I love them just like family, they keep me sane.

3) Co-workers - common courtesy. I see them everyday, I occasionally say HI to a few them, it would be weird to sit next to them after ignoring their friend request.

4) School friends - This is probably the largest of the group. I went to 8 different schools in my life. Wow. I just realized I went to 8 different schools! I'm surprised I ever graduated on time. It's a good thing I was/am smart. Well because of all the moving around I developed many friendships around the country. I actively sought out some of these people since I was the one that moved. They wouldn't even know where to begin to find me if it were up to them. Lucky for me, they all remembered me (including the ones from kindergarten!) and they were curious about my whereabouts as well. Reconnecting with them has been a joy. Now, you have the others (mainly from HS) that are adding me as a friend. My first inclination is to ignore them. I kept to a select group of friends. Yes, most people knew me or knew of me, but a passing smile or hi, doesn't make me a friend. However, it still makes me feel good that they want to add me as a friend, it means I'm remembered. Or they just want to be able to look at the HS photos that they may be in. Who knows.

5) Other - this is the group of people that you've randomly met throughout your life, but can't classify them in a particular group. Online acquaintances, friends of friends... of friends... of friends, random people you meet in the street, even the husband's ex-girlfriends, which ironically enough, I am better friends with than my husband. lol

I have considered going through the list and removing some people that I really barely know, but I don't. I don't know if it's because there is something in me that likes the fact that all of these people know me and/or remember me; or if it's that I'm afraid of losing touch with them again and I'll have to wait until the next social networking site to come around to reconnect.... again. I would prefer to just leave them. Also, Facebook has made me realize how many people have been in my life, affected it in some way, shape or form. Some people are blurs, others are clear, but either way they made a great impact and in my case. 395 impacts. WOW!

Kindles and Rokus and iPods, Oh my!!!

2009-02-10T00:47:00.008-05:00

I like gadgets. I like electronics. I do not let my husband near any electronic without my supervision. I'm always afraid he's going to erase something or break something or connect something incorrectly. Should I trust him? I suppose, but when he keeps asking me how to copy and paste something... I'll keep everything to myself.

My husband jokes around with me though. When the latest toy arrives, I'm like a kid in a candy store, until I get bored with it. No, I don't get bored with it, I get used to it. The first few days are spent learning everything I can about the object in question. So here are a few things that I own or will soon come into my possession.

1) The Amazon Kindle 2. That's right 2. Amazon unveiled the new version of their kindle yesterday and it's a beautiful little thing. This was my mother's gift to me for Christmas (did I ever tell you I was spoiled rotten?) and of course it was back-ordered. Well with the new unveiling, they have since discontinued the old Kindle and will be automatically upgrading anyone that bought, but has not received, the old one. Yours truly is a lucky winner. Look at it... it's so sleek!!!!

I can't wait to get my little hands on that. I've already told my husband to be prepared, I'll be spending quite a bit loading it with books. wooohoooo!!!! I just have to wait until, at the earliest, February 24th. *sigh*

2) My other new toy we purchased was the Roku Netflix Player. At $99 and pretty much "umlimited" movies, that's a steal. It's so cute and small too. I thought it would be a bigger box, but no. Small and petite like me. It works pretty well too. My only complaint is that it is streaming so every once in a while it'll stop to re-stream. Sometimes when it does that, the sound gets whacky so the syncing is off. I'm hearing before seeing or vice versa. This corrects after a bit, but oh well. I'll deal. The best part though, it's wireless. I can move it around my apartment and put it on my other tv's if I need to. :o)

3) iPods.... well that's a given. I've had mine for a while, but I still wanted to list it. I, of course, have the old Special Edition U2 30GB iPod and it will be a sad day in hell when I have to upgrade (that time is coming soon), but I will never get rid of it. It's done me proud these last few years. I love it. You will usually always find me with my iPod on. I love my music too.

4) Nintendo Wii. Ok this isn't so much a gadget as a videogame, but to me anything electronic can be considered a gadget. I don't play it often, but when I do, I can't get enough of it. I had to get my sister one for X-mas as well. I needed her to feel my addiction when she started playing. :o) She's hooked.

So, I'll keep you posted when I get the Kindle and which books I buy first. I'm already thinking about the next piece of equipment I'm going to buy. It is true, I do like those first few days of getting something new. Maybe it's the fact that I like learning new things. I will actually sit and read the whole instruction manual so I know the machine/gadget inside and out. Yes, I'm a nerd, but you love me anyway!

In the words of Mork: Na-nu, Na-nu