Because this is SO important

Well, gentle readers, last evening while waiting for DH Jeff to arrive, I finally sat my butt down and gave myself a pedicure. Now, this involves sitting in one place for a while and allowing 4 coats of polish to dry. Think a LONG time, because I'm the retarded female who always manages to wreck her beautiful handiwork because I don't wait long ENOUGH for the toes to dry. So, I've been putting this off for a while...Like the color? It's called "Dive Bomb."

Weird Science

Last night, DH Jeff & I had sake. This morning, as evidence of how my strange brain works, this memory popped into my head:

Several years ago, DH Jeff (then DBF Jeff) and I were living in what's pejoratively known (for good reason) as "the Arlington Slums" or Howard Manor Apartments, where any semblance of "climate control" is mere wishful thinking. We had heated up some sake in a whistler kettle and finished it, but hadn't rinsed it out the kettle. Yeh, lazy. Then a week went by and I wanted to heat some water for tea. I shook the kettle to see if there was still and water in it (short memory); no water sounds. So, I removed the lid and what do I see? A tiny kingdom of blue-green towers. For real. Jeff had to see this one. Thank goodness I looked before putting adding water.

Reminds me of a Simpsons episode where an entire micro-civilization grows in a petri dish.

Just when I started liking people...

...I read this pair of horrid stories in WaPo this morning:

VA Toddler Dies After Father Leaves Him in SUV. Here’s the low-down: a guy leaves his infant son in his SUV all day long while he’s at work. 90 degrees inside the car. Claims he was supposed to take the tot to daycare, but forgot. All day. Until one of his co-workers asks him – is there something in your car? Indeed. But this story gets richer: this guy had just adopted the boy from Russia a few months prior. Fabulous! So he rescues the kid from a grim life in Russia only to torture the pup to death by neglect before he reaches two years old.

I’m still trying to understand how one can actually forget a whole human being. Guess I’m naïve that way. Plus, if you went to all that trouble to complete an international adoption, would you really want to dump the kid on a stranger daily rather than taking some parental leave or getting a relative (spouse, partner, parent) to ease the child into the family? Not to mention being generally more attentive and remembering you have a child? Hell no, this is America! Buy or birth the toy and put it on a shelf.

In Baby’s Death, a History of Unrest at Home. WaPo kind of soft-peddles this one – “a young couple struggled to rear four [emphasis mine] small children.” The low-down: this unmarried Hispanic woman lives with her children (3-, 2-, 1 year-olds and the 6-month-old) and the sperm donor. She leaves the 6-month-old in his playpen to take a nap (inside) while taking the other three outside to play. The baby dies mysteriously. There’s a history of “turmoil” (possible abuse by the XY). There was a social worker assigned to this “troubled” family…one who never paid a visit to check things out. The breeder seemed overwhelmed to friends and family. Hmmm. I wonder what happened? The ME hasn’t reported yet on the CoD.

I just find it amazing that this woman was essentially continuously pregnant for four years. At some point, don’t you think that she would say, “enough, I’m going on the pill?” Or, maybe "we should get married so these bastards have a name?" So much for Latino family values. She’s a stay-at-home-mom and the sperm donor pays the bills…maybe not willingly. Just around for the trim, really. Or maybe he forbade her to use contraception. I truly cannot fathom the macho mind. Or maybe they’re both too stupid to be proactive. Don’t know. The remaining tykes don’t have a prayer, though, that’s for sure.

Restaurant Review: Vidalia

A few Fridays ago, our social group decided to meet at Vidalia for happy hour and possibly dinner. A draw was the gratis mini-wine tasting in their lounge. Plus, neither DH Jeff or I had been there, so we were enthused about trying it.

The first impression was positive: helpful hostess staff, a relaxing and hip lounge area near the bar, beautiful, calm restaurant interior. We decided to have dinner there and that was when the sticker shock set in – especially with the rest of the group. DH Jeff & I knew that it would be rather expensive and had planned for that…but the prices even surprised us. Yet, we weren’t going to eat there all the time – this was a treat, a novelty. However, even with the complimentary amuse bouche (a little culinary architecture along with a shot glass of soup), the place was over-priced. The quality of food was good but not commensurate with the cost, and the portions were tiny. The food presentation, in fact, impressed me as a parody of snooty, high end French restaurants. Clearly not the intention of the restaurant, but there it is.

I appreciated the serene, well-designed interiors with all the clever Crate & Barrel-style dishes. The service was polite and competent. We didn’t kvetch about the expense like the some of the group, because we expected it. But I doubt we’ll be going back because, let’s face it, there are better, more reasonably priced establishments in the area. Like legions.

Booze Notes: Chardonnay

I'll admit it - I used to be a complete chardonnay snob. I hated what I found to be the prevalent flavors: oakiness and fruitiness. Yechh. But then I had an awakening: not all chardonnays taste the same! You know why? While some are aged in oak casks (thus the oakiness), others are aged in steel tanks (no oak!). What the latter lacks in charm, it makes up for in drinkability (to my palate). Here are my latest joyful discoveries:

Fat Bastard Chardonnay($8.99/bottle, Whole Foods) - France. Mellow and smooth, very relaxing. And you can't beat the colorful name.

Riven Rock Chardonnay ($5.99/bottle, Whole Foods) - California. Crisp, bracing and a little tart. Can't beat the price either.

Oh, and you can check out Whole Foods online wine info/tutorials here.

Netflix rocks!

Ok, I know I'm way behind the whole web-rent dvd thing, so no snickering. I just signed up for Netflix and I just LOVE it! OMG, they make it so easy and efficient! And, they email you when they've received the dvd & also when they're going to mail your next selection. Such good communication skills!

BTW, our next few selections are Season 1 of Lost. No, I've never seen it, but have heard devotees seriously discussing it, so we're going to see what the buzz is all about.

Also, I've put Season 1 of Six Feet Under on my queue. DH Jeff asks, "oh, so what's that about?" (reasonable question) To which I reply, "Not a clue. I just saw the name and thought I should see what it was about." (unassailable logic) He tries to reason that one out...unsuccessfully.

Here's the deal

In July, I'll be working part-time, in a job (and organization) that has lasted a year longer than anyone thought or planned for. So, that is to say, the half-time hours change is good, because even though that means less money this month, I TRULY will have more time to blog.

Really, it hasn't been due to lack of material that I haven't posted regularly, just lack of time. That said, I have tons of movie-book-restaurant reviews, booze notes, other notes, rants and other fun stuff to share with you. So stay tuned!

The scoop

Well, gentle readers, here's what I've been up to:

- Finished shredding all old receipts and unnecessary documents and filing all the needful;

- DH Jeff & I re-org'd the "workroom" for aesthetics and better space usage. It looks SO much better now. Then,

- I tackled the closet...and continue to tackle it. I re'org'd all our clothes & shoes and am now trying to decide what to give away or throw out. And I keep finding more things. Gaack. This weekend, I will finish off that task.

- Perhaps this weekend I can also find time to finally give myself a pedicure, and

- Finish a book for a book club on the 29th, and

- Catch up on my book & movie reviews. And other blogging.

Who said I would have so much free time once I finished with school?

Also, I'm trying to lose ten pounds. That's it. Unfortunately, I love libations and victuals a bit too much. Well, I decided that I probably could shave off a few hundred calories by not drinking alcohol every day of the week. So, it's kind of one day on, one day off and on off days, I just drink water with dinner. No real progress yet, but I haven't gained any weight.

A few weekends ago, we went with a friend to her mountain home (Blue Ridge) to chill and went wine tasting. Lots of fun! I took lots of pictures, some of which I'll share with you soon.

Oh, and I joined Netflix. I figure, I can check out all the movies I want & then MAYBE buy ones with bona fide replay value. The plan I signed up for (after the free 2-wk trial) is $8.99 per month for one movie at a time, but unlimited rentals within the month. I just got The Kite Runner. I think this will be a good deal and I can save some money without foregoing entertainment.

And I need to replace the photo of me on this blog, because my hair is longer now.

Whew!

Scotch Watch 2008: The story continues

Last Friday evening DH Jeff & I met friends for happy hour and dinner at Vidalia (review to come), downtown. Instead of dessert, I opted for a single malt, preferably one I hadn't tried before. I chose Dalwinnie (12- or 15-year, I'm not sure) and was very pleased with my choice. It's very smooth and mellow - a pleasing finish to a good meal.

So, I'd say it gives Glenfiddich a run for its money; however, I'd like to taste them side by side to see which I like best.

For more information on the Scotch and the distillery, go here. Looks like the 15-year is comparable in price to most good 12-years at $50 and change per bottle.

Meaningful ceremony

Instead of focussing on those reports of the cruel knobs who leave their small children and pets in baking vehicles (there were a few reports in the paper today), I'm pleased to highlight something really positive.

Those recently taking the oath of citizenship were treated to a truly meaningful and beautiful ceremony. U.S. District Court Judge, T.S. Ellis III, decided to hold the naturalization ceremony at the Arlington National Cemetery, emphasizing the service and sacrifice that has made our country great. Judge Ellis, himself, is an immigrant from Colombia. Read the whole WaPo article here.

Nice to have this kind of news for a change.

Some good things

What's happening...

1. I finally received my Forensic Science certificate. It's official. But come on, folks, couldn't you have made it a little more impressive? It's really kind of boring. I mean, when I worked for a Navy contractor, I used to make & frame 5-year employee certificates - and they looked sharp. That was just using Word to print them. Hmmm.

2. Our "workroom" is looking better and better. Over the weekend, I shredded (literally) reams of old statements and receipts. It's liberating.

3. (This is for you, AJ) I used all those CVS plastic bags I've been stockpiling to dispose of the shredded material.

4. We've been really trying to avoid wasting food. And save money. And lose weight. So, we've been taking our lunches in with whatever's in the fridge (think hummus and lots of veggies).

5. I'm writing to you this morning which is 1) great because this is part of an effort to blog more often and 2) impressive because I'm actually doing something in morning besides dozing and putting off work (ok, I'm still putting off work...).

Have a beautiful if toasty day!

And the outrage spreads

Today in WaPo's Metro section was an article about two teenage girls in Virginia Beach who were killed by - wait for it, wait for it - an illegal alien drunk driver. And what's neater is that he had been convicted before of - drunken driving! Wahoo! Now Virginia Beach residents are getting riled up about illegal immigration. Hmmm.

I guess if folks like La Raza had their way, the whole US would be a lawless cesspool like Mexico. Fortunately not everyone is an open-borders idiot.

Here are five costs of uncontrolled illegal immigration:

1. Crime - including gang activity, rapes, murders, identity fraud and, yes, drunk driving.

2. Healthcare burden - of course they don't have insurance.

3. Education burden - don't speak English, no problem! The taxpayers will pay for more ESL and other "assimilation" programs!

4. Social services burden - welfare and food stamps anyone? No money for children, but what the hell? Everything's free in the US!

5. Increase in US poverty level. Although there's little way of actually knowing how much -to what extent- illegal immigration increases the poverty level but look - the (minimum of) 12 million illegals in this country are generally poorly educated, low-wage workers, many of them with children to support.

Anyway, food for thought. I'm sure to come up with another five costs of illegal immigration soon.

We're ok

You'll be glad to hear that even if the DC area was hit with severe thunderstorm and tornados, DH Jeff and I are safe and sound. All we suffered was a brief power outage and that happened before we got home...so the clocks had to be re-set. Minor.

I impress myself...

...and you're like, "yeah, so what's new?" Well, remember I said I was rising early in the mornings with DH Jeff because of his training? And how I've been organizing? Well, this morning I out-did myself in productivity! I did laundry (and folded it - can you stand it?), unloaded the dish washer, made my lunch, blogged, made the bed, shredded some more old statements, took out the trash and recyclables, labelized some file folders filled with school-ly goodness (yeh, I keep my notes) and made it to work before 5pm. It's only 1pm, but I think I should get some time off for good behavior.

Movie Review: Educating Rita

Educating Rita is the story of a Cockney hairdresser, Rita (played by Julie Walters), who wants more out of life than attempting to make middle-aged matrons look like Princess Di (this movie was done in the 80s). So she enrolls for tutoring at the local august university. Rita's assigned tutor is a washed up, alcoholic English professor, Frank (played by Michael Caine), who wants nothing to do with teaching any more. Rita demands that he teach her and thus the adventure begins.

This gem of a film wasn't available in DVD until recently. So when I discovered it was offered on Amazon, I grabbed it. It is a charming story of how this diffident yet bright and persistent gal struggles to read and write critically, to find a new life of the mind, and to feel "good enough," ie, equal to the other university students for whom a good education is birthright. Along the way, Rita encounters vexing obstacles, not the least of which is her boozy tutor. In less capable hands, this film could have been saccharine, content-light drivel (ie, the typical Hollywood dramedy) or at least sickeningly sentimental, but with a really good script and superb performances by Caine and Walters, it truly warms the cockles of the heart. And it's not strictly a chick flick, DH Jeff liked it too.

What's more, you can get it for a song, so why not treat yourself?

Home progress

DH Jeff smiles benevolently while I race around the apartment, excitedly querying him, "isn't the apartment clean, doesn't it look better, see we have more room?! Shred, shred, shred!" The impetus for this result has been bubbling away for a while, but it wasn't until Jeff had to start these early morning training classes this week, that I've been on overdrive.

Overdrive to what, exactly, you ask? Well, our apartment has gotten pretty cluttered thanks to the fact that both of us are pack-rats and I'm totally OCD about keeping every important document that I might conceivably need some day, going back to, oh, 1985. Well, because he has had to get up really early, I join him for coffee and noshes before he heads out. Then I bound into action, straightening up, vacuuming and in an unexpected burst of energy yesterday morning, dusting the whole apartment (yes, you heard me right). I'm also weeding out my files and shredding the unnecessary, because I just don't need all the time sheets from when I was temping in 1986. I just don't.

The result is that when I come home from work, I feel much better about the place and am provoked into doing more. Eventually, I'll have a neat inbox and a continuously emptied shred box, instead of various piles all around. Life will be beautiful. Then I can work on reorganizing the "workroom" for aesthetics and function. I dare to dream.

Justice?

There was a follow-up article in today's WaPo regarding the illegal immigrant drunk driver who killed a Marine and his girlfriend in 2006. I opined about the original story here.

The scumbag had a blood alcohol level or FOUR TIMES THE LEGAL LIMIT (I believe it was around .32) and decided to get behind the wheel. He had been previously been charged with drunken driving but the case was dismissed because of a police screw-up. The Marine had just served eight months in Iraq. Both Marine and girlfriend were in their early twenties.

Today's article tells us that the wetback got only ten years in prison. The original sentence was for twenty years (a more fitting sentence, to my thinking), but the stupid judge suspended ten years of the sentence. The article doesn't say why. So, for killing two Americans, one who managed to not die in a war zone, this criminal only got ten years. My only thought is that the judge wanted to make the sentence shorter, so that the felon could be deported faster and off the U.S.'s dime. OK, but we all know how competent this country is at permanently deporting anyone. [end sarcasm]

A very old disease

This morning's WaPo Health section carried a very interesting article about leprosy AKA Hansen's Disease. This article resonated with me because back in the early 80s, when on post with my family in Mexico City, our Mexican maid, Suzie, was diagnosed with it. It came as a shock that this biblical disease was still around. Indeed it is, and the U.S. has the world's best center for research and treatment in the world, the National Hansen's Disease Clinical Center in Baton Rouge, LA. Some fun facts about this disease:

- 95% of the world's population is thought to be immune to it
- it is actually a neurological disease that comes from a bacteria
- humans and armadillos are the only known animals to contract this disease
- it is not that contagious, but
- it is not known definitively how it is spread

Read the whole article here and more about the disease here.

What happened to Suzie, you ask? Well, we took her for treatment and arranged with a friend to have that treatment continued after we left post. Now, the friend was trustworthy and sympathetic, but unfortunately, Suzie was surrounded by friends and relatives who were superstitious and believed in the "treatments" of the local witch doctors, called curanderos. I don't know what evenually happened to her, but hope that she finished the legitimate medical treatment and did not resort to those purveyors spurious "medicines."

The problem with liberals

I'll confine myself to just five today, boys and girls.

1. Entitlement without responsibility. Defined in terms of "rights." Otherwise known as "freedom to do anything I want and never having to deal with the consequences." And someone else will pay (taxpayers). This can be seen by non-glue-sniffers as "reinforcing undesirable behavior."

2. Racism and other dialog stoppers. Accuse someone of being racist, anti-immigrant, guilty of human rights violations, etc., in order to thwart any conversation about the actual issues.

3. Open borders lobby and "world citizens." Support unfettered, unrestricted migration into and out of the U.S., especially for the little beaners who do low-level work, and then demand and defend the invaders' "right" to all sorts of benefits, public assistance. Then offer them citizenship. Because after all, U.S. citizenship doesn't mean that much anyway. These are the sophisticates who consider themselves "world citizens" and not-so-much American citizens, because patriotism and allegiance is so passé. Until they need their country to do something for them.

4. "Reproductive Rights." This is both the "right" to have your unborn child vacuumed and/or yanked out of you for any reason, at any time, and to have as many children as you want without the means to actually pay for them. This also means excoriating someone (in an outraged manner) of suggesting that "poor people shouldn't have children." These attitudes relate to #1 above.

5. America is always wrong. Whether it be war, foreign policy, border control, you name it. All that freedom, rights, upward mobility, education, relative safety...if you can find a better place, go there.

Progress of demolition

The downtown corner demolition proceeded very efficiently and amazingly neatly. I just had to mark their progress. Evidently, they imploded the building from the outside-in, in stages, so at one point there was this bizarre tower with all sorts of metal and wire hanging out. It looked like some sort of prop from a dystopic future. Anyhoo, here are some pictures...

Eating away at the corner.


Spooky tower.


Extreme close-up spooky tower.


After Armageddon.


And...it's a pile of rubble.


I'm sure you feel edified seeing the very neat demise of a building. Thank you for your cooperation.