...my DH Jeff! That's right, folks: he finished his 50,000-word novel for the NaNoWriMo contest late last night & ahead of the deadline (November 30)!!! While I don't think you can access the novel from the site, I bet Jeff would share it with you if you asked nicely. :) This is quite an accomplishment - a whole novel in a month!
*Ok, once I worked for a Navy guy.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
The Other Picard
Remember the "what if" Next Gen episode in which Captain Picard sees how his life would have turned out had he not taken all the risks - even the rash ones (like the bar brawl with the Nossican*)? And how he ends up toiling in obscurity, unappreciated, instead of the captain of the Federation flagship? Well, I often feel like that other Picard.
It frustrates me, it infuriates me, it mystifies me. I feel like I've wasted a lot of time & energy spinning my wheels. Having jobs, but never a coherent career. Yet always clinging desperately to each job like my very life depended on it. My constant refrain being "I need the money." That attitude is getting really old. Especially when my boredom and frustration (not mutually exclusive, let me tell you) do self-defeating things (more on that later). And all along I'm thinking, what the hell did I do wrong in the place? What could I be doing differently? What if I do something else and get the same results in the end?
I'm now almost finished with a program that cost me a lot in terms of time, money, effort and aggravation, yet I don't know if any of it was worth it. And I absolutely do not want to start all over, at the bottom, making crappy money just so I can "work in my field." What to do, what to do? Yet, I know I'm capable of doing a lot more than I'm doing now. Sigh.
*I don't care if that's not how you spell it, it was a TV show for gosh-sakes.
It frustrates me, it infuriates me, it mystifies me. I feel like I've wasted a lot of time & energy spinning my wheels. Having jobs, but never a coherent career. Yet always clinging desperately to each job like my very life depended on it. My constant refrain being "I need the money." That attitude is getting really old. Especially when my boredom and frustration (not mutually exclusive, let me tell you) do self-defeating things (more on that later). And all along I'm thinking, what the hell did I do wrong in the place? What could I be doing differently? What if I do something else and get the same results in the end?
I'm now almost finished with a program that cost me a lot in terms of time, money, effort and aggravation, yet I don't know if any of it was worth it. And I absolutely do not want to start all over, at the bottom, making crappy money just so I can "work in my field." What to do, what to do? Yet, I know I'm capable of doing a lot more than I'm doing now. Sigh.
*I don't care if that's not how you spell it, it was a TV show for gosh-sakes.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Not a big surprise - HIV in DC
I think we can very safely call DC "Kinshasa on the Potomac." Now I've opined this before, how DC is a backward city but...well, more depressing news: 80% of all HIV cases identified from 2001-2006 were African-Americans; DC has the HIV highest rate of any US city (almost twice that of NYC). And, until federal funding requirements mandated HIV tracking in 2000, the city just didn't bother.
Hmmm...maybe it's a matter of too few men snapping on the latex and too few females demanding it. The saddest part is that babies, who have no choice in the matter are being born with it. What a legacy.
The part about not tracking HIV incidence until 2000 is just par for the course for DC "government."
Hmmm...maybe it's a matter of too few men snapping on the latex and too few females demanding it. The saddest part is that babies, who have no choice in the matter are being born with it. What a legacy.
The part about not tracking HIV incidence until 2000 is just par for the course for DC "government."
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Book Review: Princess
Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia, by Jean Sasson is the life story of a Saudi princess as told to an American journalist. It details the dysfunction, hypocrisy and imposed inertia of the royal family in general, and depravity of some members in particular. Most of all, it describes the gilded but treacherous cage in which royal women are forced to live, and the vulnerability of all Saudi & foreign worker women in the Kingdom.
On a personal note, if I thought the Saudis were a bunch of troglodyte degenerates before, this book only reinforced that impression. There are some passages in the book that I’ll never forget although I’d just as soon purge those scenes from my brain. Princess “Sultana” (through Sasson) tells a compelling story and there’s plenty of sympathy to be had there. Some criticize Sultana’s narrative, though, saying that Saudi Arabia isn’t like that anymore and her story doesn’t apply to all Saudi women, blah, blah, blah. I say she was just telling her own story as a royal woman living under those specific rules. She also states that if change is going to happen, it would be provoked by middle class women, thus declaring that there are differences in society dynamics. Definitely worth a read – to get an idea of this particular Saudi’s life – and to better appreciate one’s own.
On a personal note, if I thought the Saudis were a bunch of troglodyte degenerates before, this book only reinforced that impression. There are some passages in the book that I’ll never forget although I’d just as soon purge those scenes from my brain. Princess “Sultana” (through Sasson) tells a compelling story and there’s plenty of sympathy to be had there. Some criticize Sultana’s narrative, though, saying that Saudi Arabia isn’t like that anymore and her story doesn’t apply to all Saudi women, blah, blah, blah. I say she was just telling her own story as a royal woman living under those specific rules. She also states that if change is going to happen, it would be provoked by middle class women, thus declaring that there are differences in society dynamics. Definitely worth a read – to get an idea of this particular Saudi’s life – and to better appreciate one’s own.
Post Thanksgiving Slump
Well, we held Thanksgiving at our place for around nine people (including ourselves) and I think we pulled it off pretty well. Yeah, I’ll have to work on the stuffing (turned out kinda soupy if tasty), but on the whole, everything turned out great and folks seemed to have a good time.
Sooo…Friday and Saturday we proceeded to do a slow, measured clean-up. We’re pretty much back to normal except for the roasting pan which I’ve been purposely avoiding. Remember when we just bought the aluminum version which we could just fold up and throw away? Yeah, now we’re all sophisticated and have an actual “non-stick” roasting pan. I suspect it’ll become more non-stick after soaking it in hot, soapy water – for a while.
For the last two days, we – DH Jeff and I – have been clicking-clacking away at our laptops, him at the NaNoWriMo contest (write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November) and me at my 10-page paper on Postpartum Depression/Psychosis (yeah, the same one I’ve been plodding through for the past month or two). Neither of us had bathed or left the apartment since Thursday. Yesterday, I finished the first draft of my paper, decided I needed to be somewhere besides the apartment and eat something other than leftovers. I convinced DH Jeff to go get sushi with me…which prompted showers. Halleluiah!
Sooo…Friday and Saturday we proceeded to do a slow, measured clean-up. We’re pretty much back to normal except for the roasting pan which I’ve been purposely avoiding. Remember when we just bought the aluminum version which we could just fold up and throw away? Yeah, now we’re all sophisticated and have an actual “non-stick” roasting pan. I suspect it’ll become more non-stick after soaking it in hot, soapy water – for a while.
For the last two days, we – DH Jeff and I – have been clicking-clacking away at our laptops, him at the NaNoWriMo contest (write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November) and me at my 10-page paper on Postpartum Depression/Psychosis (yeah, the same one I’ve been plodding through for the past month or two). Neither of us had bathed or left the apartment since Thursday. Yesterday, I finished the first draft of my paper, decided I needed to be somewhere besides the apartment and eat something other than leftovers. I convinced DH Jeff to go get sushi with me…which prompted showers. Halleluiah!
Book Review: Edith's Diary
Edith’s Diary by Patricia Highsmith was a kind of hand-me-down of sorts (the best way to acquire books), from a now-deceased uncle who said that “I would like her style.” It was actually later that I discovered (like “duh”) that she was the author of Strangers on a Train upon which the Hitchcock movie was based, as well as the Talented Mr. Ripley series of books. The former ended up as a book club selection & we also watched the movie for comparison. I’m still working through the latter. Highsmith has (“had,” I guess, because she’s dead now) the very interesting talent of making a sociopath, well, sympathetic. Thomas Ripley only murders people because he “had to,” but with everyone else, he’s the perfect gentleman. But I digress.
Edith’s Diary is a stand-alone novel about a couple and their young son who transplant from New York to a small town in Pennsylvania. The situation has a veneer of normalcy but the reader starts to question that veneer pretty quickly. Then the reader finds him/herself in the midst of a slow corrosion. The book moves slowly at parts, but doesn’t allow you to become bored. Well, let’s just say that I realize that Highsmith also crafts characters that very effectively get under your skin.
Edith’s Diary is a stand-alone novel about a couple and their young son who transplant from New York to a small town in Pennsylvania. The situation has a veneer of normalcy but the reader starts to question that veneer pretty quickly. Then the reader finds him/herself in the midst of a slow corrosion. The book moves slowly at parts, but doesn’t allow you to become bored. Well, let’s just say that I realize that Highsmith also crafts characters that very effectively get under your skin.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
How can you be irritable...
...when the nice lady from Whole Foods is offering you a truffle? You know the candy in question - the one with dense, wonderful, um, chocolate, with a dusting of decadent cocoa. Don't pretend you don't. The answer is: even I can't be too curmudgeonish when presented with that.
Actually, it's a totally brilliant scheme by Whole Foods to 1) short-circuit the impulse toward mass murder while waiting for one's turkey and 2) a good way to advertise the truffles (as if they really needed it). And in actuality, the crowds today were not that bad today and no more irritating than any other weekday afternoon.
I was also able to pick up a pot roast because DH Jeff insisted that we have one in addition to the 20-lb. turkey we're serving. You know, so that the small army we're feeding is fortified to fight that...battle or something after leaving our apartment...in the next state, under harsh conditions. ;) Just giving him a little guff - it will all be amazing!
Actually, it's a totally brilliant scheme by Whole Foods to 1) short-circuit the impulse toward mass murder while waiting for one's turkey and 2) a good way to advertise the truffles (as if they really needed it). And in actuality, the crowds today were not that bad today and no more irritating than any other weekday afternoon.
I was also able to pick up a pot roast because DH Jeff insisted that we have one in addition to the 20-lb. turkey we're serving. You know, so that the small army we're feeding is fortified to fight that...battle or something after leaving our apartment...in the next state, under harsh conditions. ;) Just giving him a little guff - it will all be amazing!
You know you've arrived when...
...you start getting flamed. In this case, it wasn't on this blog, but rather, on Goodreads.com about my review of the book Nickel and Dimed. Read the same review here.
Basically this chick thought I was heinous because I opined that unless people (working poor in this case) fully considered all the costs associated with having and raising children and could actually provide for them, they shouldn't have any. Besides the obvious issues of survival, to have children thoughtlessly (or should I say "to get pregnant thoughtlessly"?) effectively limits children's chances at success and conveys the idea that poverty and dependency is the norm and inevitable. She thought I was a bad person for saying so.
Her reaction is so typical of the left, that everyone should have absolute freedom to do as they wish, with no thought to the consequences. Liberals talk in terms of ''rights'' but not responsibilities. Like ''reproductive rights'' - in this case, to have kids when you can barely support yourself, then rely on public (read: tax payer supported) social programs - Medicaid, food stamps, etc., to ensure the basics. Stick someone else with the bill ('cause let's face it, your taking from the pot is likely to be a lot more than what you, the working poor, put into it...just sayin'). Doesn't that sound childish and irresponsible (of both the breeders and the ones advocating the behavior)?
That's one of the differences between liberal and conservative worldviews: we conservatives believe that you and no one else is responsible for what you choose to do - and thus you should bear the consequences, good or bad.
One last shot: reproduction isn't a right, it's a biological urge. We as human beings have the unique capacity to consciously plan our reproduction until our personal conditions are more optimal and we all should understand the obligation to do that. Flamer girl just doesn't get that.
Basically this chick thought I was heinous because I opined that unless people (working poor in this case) fully considered all the costs associated with having and raising children and could actually provide for them, they shouldn't have any. Besides the obvious issues of survival, to have children thoughtlessly (or should I say "to get pregnant thoughtlessly"?) effectively limits children's chances at success and conveys the idea that poverty and dependency is the norm and inevitable. She thought I was a bad person for saying so.
Her reaction is so typical of the left, that everyone should have absolute freedom to do as they wish, with no thought to the consequences. Liberals talk in terms of ''rights'' but not responsibilities. Like ''reproductive rights'' - in this case, to have kids when you can barely support yourself, then rely on public (read: tax payer supported) social programs - Medicaid, food stamps, etc., to ensure the basics. Stick someone else with the bill ('cause let's face it, your taking from the pot is likely to be a lot more than what you, the working poor, put into it...just sayin'). Doesn't that sound childish and irresponsible (of both the breeders and the ones advocating the behavior)?
That's one of the differences between liberal and conservative worldviews: we conservatives believe that you and no one else is responsible for what you choose to do - and thus you should bear the consequences, good or bad.
One last shot: reproduction isn't a right, it's a biological urge. We as human beings have the unique capacity to consciously plan our reproduction until our personal conditions are more optimal and we all should understand the obligation to do that. Flamer girl just doesn't get that.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Corruption on the Potomac
There is a disheartening local story about some folks at D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue who embezzled $20 million over four years. The Feds moved fast once they were alerted about it. Kudos to the SunTrust Bank employee who questioned a suspicious (and large dollar amount) transaction, and whose notification opened the investigation...but tell me this: How does one move around large sums of money on a regular basis via bogus tax refunds and no one asks
any questions for four years? What, no controls in place? No regular auditing of records? Heck no, this is D.C., The District of Corruption with zero accountability. This place has fully earned its reputation for being chock-full of incompetents.
The really sad thing is that when it's a white-collar crime, many people don't take it seriously, like there are no victims. Please keep in mind that this is taxpayer funds, and to a huge degree.
Update 11/15/07: In yesterday's WaPo is an article about the above scam and how it looks more like $30 million was stolen over a seven-year period. Yeah, the scumbugs got caught, but they were doing fine for SEVEN YEARS. It makes one wonder why one bothers to do things honestly and diligently. What's the motivation to do right (and all the suckiness that that entails) when you're going to have to pay in some way for all the wrong-doing others do? Because virtue is its own reward? Huh? But it gets even better: an article in today's WaPo states that the DC auditor flagged the Tax Office because of a notable spike in tax refunds...in 2004!!! She recommended closer monitoring of the office back then. Read and weep.
any questions for four years? What, no controls in place? No regular auditing of records? Heck no, this is D.C., The District of Corruption with zero accountability. This place has fully earned its reputation for being chock-full of incompetents.
The really sad thing is that when it's a white-collar crime, many people don't take it seriously, like there are no victims. Please keep in mind that this is taxpayer funds, and to a huge degree.
Update 11/15/07: In yesterday's WaPo is an article about the above scam and how it looks more like $30 million was stolen over a seven-year period. Yeah, the scumbugs got caught, but they were doing fine for SEVEN YEARS. It makes one wonder why one bothers to do things honestly and diligently. What's the motivation to do right (and all the suckiness that that entails) when you're going to have to pay in some way for all the wrong-doing others do? Because virtue is its own reward? Huh? But it gets even better: an article in today's WaPo states that the DC auditor flagged the Tax Office because of a notable spike in tax refunds...in 2004!!! She recommended closer monitoring of the office back then. Read and weep.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
For the record...
...I voted in the local elections yesterday. Not that it mattered. WaPo is chortling about how Virginians chose/endorsed Democrats ("moderates"?). And how immigration really wasn't much of an issue. No, that's not totally correct. How does one choose otherwise when most of the contests had only a Democratic "contender"? That's it, no real choice!
Unfortunately, it's business as usual here in Arlington "never-an-illegal-we-didn't-love" County. Oh, and evidently this county is getting the fall-out from those illegals who are leaving the better enforced counties. Wonderful!
Unfortunately, it's business as usual here in Arlington "never-an-illegal-we-didn't-love" County. Oh, and evidently this county is getting the fall-out from those illegals who are leaving the better enforced counties. Wonderful!
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