FREE YOUR MIND

I put this on the Christian dating website that I belong to, Relationships.com. But I think you all could use this as well.

Stop being so judgmental! Try to attempt the following (they won’t hurt)
1. Don’t care about someone’s hair color (brown is as nice as blonde).
2. Stop making judgments and pin it on some obscure mindset in the Bible like someone saying that those who paint their nails purple or black (& doing the same to their hair) are sinful. ( I think it’s even cool that the lead singer of the Breeders, Kim Deal, used black shoe polish to color her hair. Again, my mind has been freed).
3. Don’t worry about the way you dance.
4. Don’t obsess over your clothes, don’t even worry that much about ironing (that’s an AWFUL chore anyway).
5. Don’t cry if you haven’t mopped your floor in a couple weeks or vacuumed the carpet in a week or so (emphasis on the "or so").
6. Have a discussion about politics and religion (not at the same time) with someone (ANYONE). THEY’RE IMPORTANT TOPICS!! Plus, it will have the added benefit of motivating you to stay well informed.
7. Date someone who is 40 lbs. (or more) overweight. They try harder. You’ll find out that you’ll forget about the weight when you see what wonderful personalities they possess.
8. Encourage the lady who is 5'6" and 120 lbs. to eat a large pizza (by herself).
9. Chew some gum on a crowded street and snap it really loud!

In an attempt to free your mind remember or do the following:
1. Remember that most liberals fully support the war in Afganistan.
2. Most liberals aren’t atheists.
3. Most of Western Europe is too liberal (ok enough about politics)
4. Find out where Surinam is.
5. Hear a rock band you never heard before or an obscure band that plays the type of music you enjoy.
6. Find out why 1968 was such a sad year.
7. Find out what time period the US had the longest period of prosperity.
8. Find out where the Straits of Hormuz is.
9. Don’t be so upset when someone thinks differently than you.
10. Don’t be so quick to say that someone is guilty.
11. Things aren’t always the way the seem, and sometimes it’s good to find out why.
12. Most liberals are against gay marriage. It’s true!!

"I choose not to run"

After being on the TMA (Terrace Maintenance Assoc.) Board for 5 years, I am going to call it quits. I have been president since last August. Being at the pinnacle of power (yeah right!), has made me grow tired of helping run the condo so I will retire in November. Let someone else do it.
Accomplishments? I helped settle a lawsuit against the TMA, I have helped with running the pool, have approved (and in some cases, refused to approve) a number of decisions, worked towards keeping the condo complex fiscally stable, been a peacemaker and smoothed over several disputes, listened to numerous complaints and acted on them so that the complainant's grievance was solved.
What is the TMA exactly (see Aug., 2005 as this also give more info about the complex and the people there)? There are 28 building with 6 units in each one. 3 units are 2 bedroom condo units and the other 3 are 1 bedroom units.

The budget is over $200,000. We hire trash haulers, general maintenance contractors, laundry units company, pool attendants for the summer, electricians, & on and on and on. The problem that I have is that certain people don't always give me the situation in the most honest fashion. I have to spend inordinate amount of time finding what really happens. The same person draws numerous complaints some deserved, some not. Then certain board members are trying to circumvent the Cond0 By Laws to hold onto as much power as they can. The newest scheme? Since I am leaving another Board memeber isn't running either, instead of having an election for them as they have each of the last 30 years, they want to go down to a 5 member Board. But the By Laws clearly state that our Board MUST have 7 members! One of my last acts as a President is to stop their foolishness and insure that there will be a an election and not some stupid power grab.
Now if there is someone out there that suggests that I should quit because I need more time to myself, they are right. I need to spend that extra time finding a nice calm woman. That would suit me great, because it was really nice to have such a woman like that this past spring.

"Saviano stop raping my wife"

Subtitle: Strangeness in the Loop
There has been a widespread story making its way on blogs. & guess what?? I have firsthand knowledge of the story! The Richard J. Daley Center is a 30 story building over 400 ft. tall and is the site of civil litigation in Cook County (not all of it but most of it). Several of the floors are dedicated to divorces and child custody. I am a paralegal that occasionally files documents at the Law Division so I walk by the strange sight above of this man who stays motionless and expressionless for hours on end.
A married couple by the name of Farhad Khoiee-Abassi and Shabnam Vahabinazhad had kids and are now getting a divorce. The divorce is very bitter and has been going on over 2 years. There have been custody fights over the kids and Ms. Vahabinazhad has needed protection orders to protect herself against her upset husband. Since Mr. Khoiee-Abassi is Arabic could there be an honor killing afoot? Maybe, maybe not, but his estranged wife doesn't feel very safe.

Mr. Khoiee-Abassi has been, of course, very frustrated with the whole process. So to vent his frustration he has done the following, with the sign above, "FBI Agent Chris Saviano stop raping my wife" Why are so many bloggers grasping at straws regarding this story? Because no one really knows who "Chris Saviano" is. The records of those who work at the FBI are understandably hard to get access to so the FBI is obviously not going to help unwrap this mystery. Mr. Khoiee-Abassi is very mute and talks only rarely so he doesn't explain why he singled out the supposed "Chris Saviano". The only concrete part of this story is the fact that the above couple is in a very bitter divorce.

There is a fairly decent discussion about this event on http://hyalineskies.com/2006/08/the-chris-saviano-effect/

Oh, & get this! He's been at the Daley Ctr. on such a regular basis that he's become a tourist attraction. Now people come up next to him, turn to their friend's camera and give a big wave, like they're next to the Sears Tower or Lake Michigan or something! Predictably he just stands there and ignores the posing and cameras.

As you may have noticed, I subtitled this post "Strangeness in the Loop" The Loop is a part of downtown Chicago so named because the El CTA train tracks form a loop with a rectangle of streets which they are above (Wells, Van Buren, Wabash, & Lake Sts.) Mr. Khoiee-Abassi is not the only strange part of the Loop. You have a myriad of beggars and homeless people. Today, I saw a young woman advertise that she found out on the ultrasound that she was pregnant, and he will be a boy. So she, of course, needed your cash. Another woman with sunglasses (to show that she was hiding bruises), advertised that she was beat up and assaulted so she also needed money. Man, the lady I admire most, Jean Teasdale, would be extremely busy trying to help them!
The homeless even have their own newspaper, Streetwise. Much of the money goes to the homeless person selling the paper (which is only a dollar). They paper is professionally done and some of the homeless have actually used the money to advance themselves and no longer be homeless. I've bought it numerous times. It's a good paper.
But I really do like working in the Loop, and I'm only 2 blocks away from the Daley Center and the very stoic, mute Mr. Khoiee-Abassi. Poor guy.