Nice work, now go out & fight!

You won the nomination, gave a very good speech, now go out there and tell everyone the failed policies McCain wants to implement and how your plan is better.

We need this election bad, the nation is doing not so well. It's time to run a very effective campaign!

Nice job, Hillary!!

That's the best speech of your life (& you couldn't have picked a better time to give it!) We need you & Bill this fall so that Obama wins in November!

I truly enjoy watching the Republicans fall all over themselves at Hillary Clinton. There motivation is as transparent as quality glass. If they keep flattering her, they will keep certain voters away from Obama. Look at last night. After Hillary hit a home run with an outstanding speech last night, the conservative pundits were saying, "Wow, great speech! Gosh, I just can't see why Obama blew it and didn't pick Hillary. You know if I had voted for Hillary, I would be upset after that speech!"

These days, Republicans and conservatives have been blowing a ton of smoke up the asses of Hillary's followers. Most of them have finally seen the light and are joining the ranks of Obama's campaign. (Thank God). But cameras go searching for jilted, bitter Hillary supporters and it's not very hard to find them. So the coverage has been hanging on their words, and McCain's minions are putting their arms around them and trying to get them to vote Republican in November. & some of them actually will. What idiots! As Hillary explained, voting for McCain doesn't help Hillary, it doesn't change the direction of this nation and in my opinion, won't help the country.

One of the reasons I didn't vote for Hillary was b/c, other than Ted Kennedy, no one gets the Republicans angrier and more unified like Hillary Clinton. I actually think if elected, she would have made a good president.
But it's amazing! You have a convicted WAtergate felon on talk radio talking about a good way to literally BEAT Hillary UP PHYSICALLY and his followers love hearing that. The experts knew that if Clinton had won, the Republicans would have galvanized next week much stronger than they will now. Republicans still and will continue to have problems getting the Evangelical, conservative wing of their party to back McCain. Had Hillary beat Obama, there would have been no problem at all getting Evangelicals to back the AZ Senator. Hillary is anathema to conservatives; everyone knows it.

& let me tell you something. If she was the Democratic nominee, they wouldn't be praising Hillary the way they are now. Hillary would be depicted as the Antichrist and the very being that St. John wrote about when discussing the beast of 666. If Hillary had won, the Republicans would have been courting blacks and telling them about how Obama got "jobbed in the primaries". Anything to divide & conquer.

our future First Lady!

GREAT SPEECH TONIGHT, MICHELLE! KEEP UP THE EXCELLENT WORK!

some encouragement on my hobby

I really am interested in getting more information about rock n roll onto Wikipedia. It's basically a 2 step process. You have to join one of the subgroups in Wikipedia and if you develop a consensus, your article will stick and stay there.

I really think it's fun and important to write/contribute in Wikipedia because thousands if not millions of people may read it. After I joined Wikipedia, I was told that over 7,000,000 people have joined. So you know a lot of people read Wikipedia!!

My 2 contributions are on these 2 websites:

The entries are at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Taylor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagger/Richards

My big point is that the entries relating to the Stones should use more of Mick Jagger's Rolling Stone interview of 1995, and they should use more of Steve Appleford's book about the Stones songs. So where you see the Rolling Stone article footnote, that's where I contributed with the help of another guy from Jamaica.

Saturday morning not as fun for awhile

I used to absolutely, positively love Saturday, b/c it was the one day I could linger in bed until about 10:30. NOW, I can't do that anymore until the 2nd Saturday in Nov. My son is in the community flag football league, and he has practice on Saturdays from 9-11.
So this was my 1st Saturday not sleeping in, and it wasn't pleasant. I thought that maybe his practice started at 9:30, but when I checked this paper, I was wrong. Ted was about 15 min. late to practice. He didn't play much of the scrimmage that they had (he was sick the last practice and since he was coughing at the start of practice the coaches probably didn't think it was a good idea to play him much). Ted's team got their buts whipped 24-6 in the scrimmage. I wish Ted would have played some defense. The other team realized that his team had no way to stop a right side sweep, and they ran that play on them over and over and over. They scored 3 out of their 4 TDs on the right side sweep.

aftermath of yesterday

It's funny how you feel and act completely different when you are no longer upset. Then you look back at when you were angry and wonder if it was all really worth it. The fact is I never lost my cool around the co-worker that left.

I knew for certain that she was friends with the other 2 co-workers in our little office. In fact one of them criticized her, and I think she was trying to get me to say something worse about her. But I didn't take the bait. I just agreed and kept working.

Another point that I find very interesting is that once the co-worker was gone, then the other 2 workers talked more to me and initiated more conversation with me. We actually ALL felt like we were in the same group. It was no longer "The 3 Young Clerks and the Older Guy". We were given extra assignments b/c she had left and I volunteered to do one of them. So, the hope is that we will continue having good times working among ourselves, and that soon they will get more help.

glad she's gone, damnit!

I am glad that a clerk at our law office left yesterday. She was nice, very smart and did her job as clerk well, but I couldn’t stand her personality. She basically acted like I wasn’t in the room. She never spoke to me, but at the same time would speak for hours to the other 2 clerks in our small, little office space. Of course, the other 2 clerks were about her age, and I am old enough to be her father.
Still, that’s not a good enough explanation on her part. We had clerks here that would talk to me, in fact some of the clerks became good friends with me (but not so close that we maintained a friendship after they left, which is fine).
I know that at work, you’re not supposed to be there to socialize, but to be excluded like that on a regular basis was tough to take. Also, bear in mind, I only teach them how to be clerks. I am NOT paid to be their supervisor or be their mother hen. & I won’t do that except in only the most extreme circumstances.
There was also an incident between her and I that really pissed me off. She would share her Werther’s Carmels with her other 2 clerk/friends. I really like Werther’s so I asked her for a carmel one day. She stood up and practically threw it at me (all the while glaring at me).
I felt like saying to her, “BITCH! I WON’T ASK YOU FOR ANOTHER FUCKING THING IF WE WORK TOGETHER 40 YEARS!” But, of course, I didn’t do that. & I am very happy I won’t be working with her another damn minute!

absolutely, positively funny

Ok, stop and think about the following ? right now!!

What is the funniest music video you ever saw? All you awesome people who read this blog and never comment, I want your "Comment" on here too. Ok, if it's easier to just e-mail me w/ the answer I guess you don't have to leave a comment. But I really want you to!!!!

The funniest video is about a subject that isn't very funny and has often led to sadness, heartbreak and all sorts of bad things. Henry Rollins (lead singer in Blag Flag) when he went solo had a song on MTV back in the 90s called "Liar". It's funny, he starts out that he is all nice and friendly and would love to be your friend & he especially wants to be your friend b/c you're lonely and need someone.
Then the scene totally changes instead of wearing something nice and respectable, Rollins is nearly naked except for shorts and is all painted (especially the face) GREEN. He's jumping around and screaming and saying how much he likes hurting the person he lied to.
But then he changes his mind and notices that you're hurting and promises to never lie again.
ALL OF THE SUDDEN HE'S LAUGHING, 1/2 NAKED, & PAINTED ALL GREEN AGAIN. (This is the part where I laugh really hard) Part of the humor is that it was shown on the old MTV show "Beavis & Butthead". When Rollins starts screaming, they are both shouting a very high pitched, "Yes, yes!!!!" to everyone of his shouts and rantings. The video is so incredibly outrageous that how can you do anything but laugh.
The other part of the humor is that anyone who is an awful, manipulative liar like the one depicted by Rollins wouldn't be quite so honest. In "Liar", Rollins explains that he feeds off the negativity the sadness, the disappointment that the recipient of lying suffers. No liar will ever be so upfront as to tell you that.
Good video!! Go to Google with the key terms and you can probably download the video.

Blood pumping in the morning

I wasn’t all that alert this morning until someone wrote an e-mail, sent it to a bunch of people (including me) about politics. My name here relates to how I feel politically.
The e-mail was very sympathetic to the other side, so I wrote a very spirited e-mail to return the favor. I have some very strong views on the subject.

I do think that more people should talk about politics, and don’t necessarily agree that it is one of the "3 taboo subjects" (for those who don't know, the saying goes, "Never argue about sex, politics or religion" But it's ok if you mix all 3 together and have a participatory discussion) . It’s easy to see why arguing politics is not so great: one is often pretty emotional about their political views. Even w/ someone who doesn’t give a damn about politics, they are still interested in some of the issues (abortion, Iraq War, taxes, gas prices)
I think there should be more discussion about politics b/c it has benefits. For those who debate it gives clarity to your views and you have to think, crystallize your views and put it into words, then debate and counter the other persons' points. That’s a lot of thinking going on! It sometimes stimulates your own interest as if you want to know more about a topic (so that you can win the next debate or win by a larger margin than the last time) you will sometimes take the time to learn more. Now this may not happen too many times, but it still does happen to some people.

One of the bigger problems in politics is too much apathy. Americans’ are notorious for not participating in politics as much as their European counterparts. It’s even bad where I am president. As I noted before, I am president of a condo assoc. There are over 250 people living in the condo. There were a lot of people who didn’t even vote when we voted on levying a special assessment. Can you imagine not voting on an issue that so directly affects your money? How stupid!

I love my boss

First a little background, a little exposition.

I work at a law firm. No, I'm not a lawyer (so no "kill all lawyers" jokes). I'm a paralegal.

The way a law firm is set up is as follows:

The highest on the ladder are the partners. Partners own the law firm. They make the most money, they make personnel decisions, some partners do other work, but it varies. Many (if not most partners) insist that you do not call them by their first name. After all, they are "higher" than "you". I have never called the current partner "Allan" only "Mr. B______" I have to leave his name anonymous in case some employees (ex or otherwise) read this blog.

Next are the lawyers. They are the ones who work on the cases. One of the lawyers work on files before they become lawsuits. My 2 bosses are lawyers.

Then there is "support staff": paralegals, clerks, helpers of the office manager, secretaries, special projects people. At one point, I am above clerks as I am their teacher. I am 20 yrs. older than these clerks as they are law students wanting the experience of working at a law firm. Also, I am not just any support staff person, because I train the clerks, produce my and clerks' schedule to the partner, tell the partners that they better get going and hire a lot more clerks as I am doing now b/c we have 3 clerks leaving by mid August.

Of special note is the office manager. An office manager is definitely below the partners. But it's iffy where his level of power is among lawyers. (& obviously he is above support staff). I don't see our office manager higher than the most senior lawyers. But I definitely see him higher than the lawyers w/o much experience. It would be tricky for him to be lower than those lawyers that came after Nov., 2006, but it's possible if they bring into the firm a ton of money due to settlements and won trials that they could be, I'm not sure. I don't sit in on those types of meetings. I do hear them talk but that's only limited information.

Anyway, I have 1 boss that I don't know too well b/c he just got out of law school. I'm old enough to be his father. He is very excitable and enthusiastic. So far so good.

The other lawyer has been a lawyer for at least a few years. Like me he is sad because he is unhappily married. We sometimes commiserate. He is a wonderful boss. He praises me when I do well (which is "usually") and doesn't yell at me when I make mistakes. (NOTE: IF YOU HAVE A LITTLE TIME, COMPARE THIS POST TO THE FIRST POST I EVER MADE WAY BACK IN 2005, THERE ARE OTHER POSTS ABOUT THAT "BOSS-FROM-HELL" IN 2005 AS WELL) . He is great to work for and working for him makes me want to work harder for him. He even said to me (GOD BLESS HIS SOUL!!), "Vince does not work for me, we work together!" That was the same way it was with Adam (my ex-boss of 2006&7) and Brad (ex-boss of 2007 and early this year).

Adam taught me a lot and was simply a great lawyer. He left to start his own firm.

Brad was great. Brad left a few months to start his own firm, too. When I got sued he was my lawyer for free. He didn't have to do that; he just said he wanted to do that for me. Also, Brad was very forgiving of my mistakes. He just never got mad at me. If I was with a client and accidentally shot them b/c we were looking at a gun, the conversation would go like this.

Vince: Brad, I accidentally shot one of our clients

Brad: Really? (wouldn't even ask how it happens). Well we bettter go appoint a special administrator and keep the case going.

Brad was remarkably unflappable. Maybe the most unflappable person I ever met.

I like my firm b/c I have worked for 3 great bosses and only worked for 1 who gave me a tough time.

an expensive misadventure in May

I thought in the last weekend of May (the beginning of Memorial Day weekend, no less) that there was a possibility I was having a heart attack. I have had consistently good marks cholesterolwise and I have had intensive heart tests before (more on that later). But on May 23, I woke up with chest pain, and it decreased to a feeling like someone was touching me on the chest constantly.

We know that people can have a heart attack and not even feel it. Some have even died that way. & since I am overweight, heart disease runs in my family and I had this "sensation" (after the pain decreased it wasn't even "pain" anymore), I very reluctantly went to the local ER.

Well, since the Dr were scared of getting sued and saw the same risk factors as I wrote in the preceding, he said "we are taking you by ambulance to the hospital, because every other ER doctor in the US would do the same thing". So, I had an x-ray and a bunch of tests, even a treadmill test where they had some nuclear material injecting in my veins which better allows them to see blockages better.

Going to the hospital had weird twists. First, it was my first ambulance ride. Secondly, I worked at the same place THE SAME EXACT FLOOR as I was going to be treated! So I knew everyone who was treating me. "Hi VINCE, HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?"
"OH, EVERYTHING IS JUST PERFECT, FAITH, THANKS FOR ASKING"
That was a typical, repeated conversation I had. Thank God none of my former co-workers saw me naked. That would have really sucked.
So I leave hospital in less then 20 hrs after I first came. Yes, I was a lucky man when they told me no heart attack, no arterial blockage and no diabetes either. They have known for awhile that my blood pressure was "borderline" high. Not real high but enough to take notice, so my Dr. decided to put me on Atenol.
But I had a terrible sense of foreboding. I was scared shitless of the hospital bills. When you go to an Chicago-area hospital, you get more than 1 bill. Drs. don't work for the hospital. So when you go to the hospital you get 3 or 4 bills. One from the hospital, one from the ER doctor, one from the radiologists (if you get an x-ray) one from your regular dr., one from the janitor who cleaned your room......... (oops made that last one about the janitor up)
My total bills to find out that I was just fine and didn't have a heart attack was over $11,000. Thank God and thank Maribeth for insurance!! My bill that I had to pay for myself was around $600. One could make the argument that I "got off light" . The worst part of what I had to pay was the ambulance bill, not the hospital bill (that was $10,000 of the $11,000 total, for the hospital, I only paid $100).
I had surgery for a deviated septum in 2002 (the year from hell). Standard procedure is to find out if your heart is strong enough to take such a surgery. They did an EKG and thought that I might have had a heart attack. So I had a treadmill test with nuclear material shot through my veins that time too. & the results were that my heart, my arteries were just fine. The cardiologist reminded me, "But to make 100% sure we should do an angiogram. That's really the 'gold standard'" No, 'gold standard' for me, thank you. & besides I don't want to have a needle poking me in the balls and have a wire run from my groin to my chest. That sounds like it would hurt.

Anyway, if I ever have real chest pain, I"ll go to the hospital. But if I only have a touching sensation on my chest, I'll never go to the hospital again. Screw paying even $600!! I DON'T need to pay that amount just to be told I"m ok.

we're going to get our ass kicked

Last year, I was in my law firm's softball team. I played outfield. Even at the age of 44, I led the team in walks (maybe b/c I can't run very well, he, he, he) There were some moments in softball where I had some fun and came home from the game with a smile on my face.

We had a decent team, but still there were very good teams in our league and we were only 1-6. Yes, readers, we only won 1 damn game!

Now, the woman in our law firm who organized our softball team is suffering from cancer. She won't play but she wants the rest of our firm to play. 2/3 of our outfield is gone. 2/3 of our power hitters - gone. We will field a much poorer team than last year. I reluctantly joined the team this year as I didn't want to be a weasel, but man if we win even one game, I think I'll hop all the way from Chicago to my town Oak Forest (that's 25 miles). Plus, I know that our co-worker, the organizer with cancer needs all the happiness she can get, and I didn't want to disappoint her by saying "no".

Oh well, I know I will have fun. But that's not the point, going out there and getting your ass kicked as a team is kind of lousy.

Walgreens disappointment

Most people know what Walgreens is. IT's a store where you can buy medicine that the Dr. prescribes you. But it's a lot more than that. You can get food, over-the-counter medicine, make up, toys, vitamins and minerals, toiletries, and many other things.

Maribeth and I used to love Walgreens because when you wrote a check out, they wouldn't cash it until much later. For example, if you wrote it on Monday it wouldn't cash until Friday. & that was on a regular basis. Well, like so many other businesses, they have gone with electronic transactions. So instead of it taking 5 business days it only takes a mere 2. It's been a painful adjustment complete with a few $35 overdrafts. But we have figured out their new policy so we are adjusting.

It's amazing how a simple, almost minor change can have such noticeable effects. It hasn't been fun for me. I had gone into the hospital due to chest pain. I didn't want to go but was afraid that there was a small possiblity for heart attack. Anyway, the total charges just to be in the hospital overnight, run some tests and then be told I was, "fine, no heart attack and no arterial blockage", was $11,000. Yes, the bill was $11,000, and then my primary doctor said the ER doctors should have sent me home instead of the hospital and they shouldn't have panicked.

Well thank God for insurance (specifically Maribeth's insurance, let's be thankful for her!) Out of the $11,000 I have to pay about $600 of it. That's still hard and I will be down financially for a few months, but if I would have been saddled for the whole $11,000 I would have had to file bankruptcy for the 2nd time.

I want to write more about my hospital experience later. Sorry, if you feel like you are "left hanging"/in suspense.

a couple of topics

I enjoy being in my new support group on depression. I enjoy an unexpected benefit. I have an e-mail account on Yahoo, and I hate all the stupid porn offers I get. Now, since I joined the group, I get alerts from the support group that someone is writing to me or responded to one of the things I said in a forum. I'm getting so many alerts that they are crowding out the porn offers. Which is really nice, because I hated the fact that those porn offers made up a majority of my e-mails. So I opened up my Yahoo e-mail this morning, and the alerts crowded out the porn offers, but one of the offers was better mannered than the rest of those offers. It's header was "Let's be friends with benefits". Usually the offers don't speak in code. I think we all know what "friends with benefits" means (& if you don't, I'll explain), back in LaCrosse they were called "friendly friends". So I deleted that offer as I do the rest of the porn.

I continue to be surprised about all the people on the support group that want to commit suicide. There sure is a lot of sadness/melancholy in the world! It also points out how many dysfunctional relationships people have with their parents, and how much sex abuse goes on. It's appalling! I'm really thankful that I grew up in a stable household.

Maribeth came up with the idea that we should make more money. We could use it. So she gave me a phone number to join a team of mystery shoppers. Here's what happens when you are a "mystery shopper".

1. you are told to go to a store, you may or may not have to buy something
2. you are instructed to evaluate the store for its cleanliness, friendliness of the employees in the store, helpfulness of the employees, how organized the products are, and other criteria.
3. after you leave the store, you write a report and get reimbursed for what you bought at the store and get an additional fee, anywhere from $5-30.

Sometimes, you can shop on line, then your criteria is a little different. There are some mystery shopper groups that are bogus, so I'm going to be very careful. It certainly would be nice to make a little more money.

Maribeth & I are volunteering to be pool attendants for the condo's swimming pool. By not paying for the pool attendants, the condo saves over $9,000. This year that saviings will be less because we had to repair the pool and instead of opening Memorial Day weekend, it opened up last week. Maribeth said she enjoyed doing that. Which made me happy because when she's happy, it seems like the whole family is happy.

problem solving/desperate people

Not sure if I mentioned, this but I have depression. I was diagnosed about 7 years ago. The approach I have used in the last 2-3 years is to go to a Dr. who prescribes me medicine for this illness. He basically manages my medicine, but I don't see him for counseling. Our sessions last only 10 min. and anyone who has ever been to counseling will tell you that 10 min. doesn't accomplish very much. Most sessions of counseling are either 1/2 hour or 1 hour.

Again, the arrangement works pretty well. But there are times when I'm really upset that I need to talk to someone or vent or express myself. Well, why not do that here? I have discussed problems that I have had. But, there is some editing going on. I equate talking about your problems or confiding to taking clothes off. If someone told you truthfully that last month they tried to commit suicide by swallowing razor blades, figuratively, they are standing before you naked. Now, I have never made an active attempt to take my own life, and I sure as hell won't be doing it with razor blades if I ever were. But still, I don't feel like being too revealing or being too naked on this website (again this is only an analogy, not something literal!!)

So I decided to join a group for those with depression.
It has been a very eye-opening experience. Can you believe that one of young adults in that group really did swallow razor blades because she was so wanting to commit suicide? What goes through a person's mind when they grab the first blade and place it in their mouth? I mean I have been down, but holy shit! Razor blades!
Another teenager heads a counseling group, and she feels so bad for some people in her group that she, herself, wanted to commit suicide. Gotta wonder about that arrangement.
Well, needless to say, this has been a very good group to belong to because it has given me a mega dose of perspective. & it has also been a place to vent but usually, I'm sitting there gob-smacked at some of the really tragic stories going on.

Expectations and frustrations

The Milwaukee Brewers have had the best record in baseball since the last part of May. Monday, they made a very bold, decisive move and traded for CC Sabbathia, an excellent pitcher from Cleveland (the one in the picture). What does this do? It creates excitement, optimism. There's a belief that this will be the first time since 1982, a damn lifetime that they'll go to the playoffs. The higher expectations lead to more disappointment when the Milwaukee Brewers lose. They lost last night 8-3 to Colorado. They lost to a team where the opposing pitcher hasn't won in 2 @$#@@%^& years!! They lost to a pitcher who has continued to play lousy. But the Brewer batters stunk so badk they made this pitcher look like an All Star.

It's become so hard for so long since the Brewers did well that some fans have a website call "Pee Your Pants for the Brewers!" 7,043 people have taken the pledge that if the Milwaukee Brewers make it to the playoffs for the 1st time in 26 years, they will go to their backyards and pee in their pants. The rules say you can't wear a swimsuit either. I'm not making this up. The URL is http://peeyourpantsforthebrewers.com/

Pretty crazy isn't it? But frustration, anxiety and "living and dying by your team" will make 7,043 people do crazy things. & I am absolutely safe to say that by the end of July the number of people will be nearly up to 7,100 people.

But everyone's underpants will be perfectly dry if the Brewers continue to play as bad as they did last night. Then they'll have to wait 27 or more years to make the playoffs.

Pictures & then some

It's summer, and we decided to put Brianna in ballet class. Here she is complete with her lovely little ballet uniform.

The same Sunday I met Geddy Lee (go a few posts back to read about that), we also went to Buckingham Fountain. The Fountain is another wonderful, touristy place in Chicago.

Last weekend in June, for the first time in many years, Maribeth, the kids and I went out of state (& not just to Wisconsin either) to Minnesota. We went to my nephew, Scott's wedding. Here is the lovely bride and groom, Jennifer & Scott. We stayed in a wonderful motel (which we hadn't all done since 2000). Luckily, my younger brother and his kids were all able to be at the same place at the same pool and have some fun. Kelly, my brother, & I played pool and it was nice to "shoot the breeze" some which is something we hadn't done together in a long time. Yes, I see him several times a year, but being together in a family setting and having fun poolside are 2 completely different things. Glad we were able to do the latter 2 weekends ago.

Here's a rather unfortunate mystery. Above are 2 firecrackers. As you can see, the fuse for each are roughly the same length. So why is it that when I lit 2 firecrackers very similar to those in the picture, 1 firecracker went 20 ft. and blew up (good) and the other son-of-a-bitch went only 6 inches and exploded next to my fingers and left my ears ringing (very, very bad).

Brianna's kindergarten graduation. Funny, they didn't have kindergarten graduations in the late 60s when I was going to school.

Today, we went to OakFest. OakFest is my city's 4th of July celebration. They have all sorts of festivities: amusement park rides, pro wrestling, pie-eating contests, rock music, and plenty of beer drinking. & Brianna got to ride a horse which she thoroughly enjoyed!

This picture says it all, the love between dog and co-owner: Maribeth with Faith.

My Imaginary Travels (I think I'm doing this right (?)

Insert picture of World here. You can find one on Amel's Realm which you can click on in the right side of my column. Sorry I didn't do that part of it but I'm at work, & I've been on too long already.

• ~Begin Copy~
  Rules :
• 1. Start Copy from "Begin Copy" until "End Copy".
• 2. Put your blog's name and url write in which continent you live, add the country you live in. Example : My Imaginary Travels (Netherlands)
• 3. Leave your url post in here and I'll add you to the Master List.
• 4. Please help spread this tag by tagging your friends as much as you can.
• 5. Don't play unfair! If you have more than 1 blog, you can participate all your blogs for this tag. BUT you will have to post this tag to all your blogs as well. So, please. Don't cheat!
• 6. Please come back again to copy the update of the master list, often. This process will help new participants to get the same gains as the first participants.
• 7. Don't forget to use the banner at your post, you can save as or you can just copy the code in here.
• Master List :
• A. Asia : 1. Moms... Check Nyo (Philippines) 2. Aeirin's Collections (Philippines) 3. Jenny and Belle(Philippines) 4. Hailey's Beats and Bits (Philippines) 5. your turn
• B. Australia : 1. your turnC. Afrika : 1. your turnD.
• North America : 1. Simple Life, Simply Me (USA) 2. Pinaymama's Diary (USA)
• 3. 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires (United States) 4. What Happened to Vince? www.vince-s-ithaca.blogspot.com
• F. Europe : 1. My Imaginary Travels (Netherlands) 2. Juliana's Site (Netherlands) 3. Picturing of Life (Netherlands) 4. Amel's Realm (Finland) 5. your turnG.
• Antarctica : 1. your turn NOT! NOW YOU KNOW DARN WELL YOU AREN'T GOING TO FIND ANYONE IN ANTARCTICA (How many scientists do you know???)
• ~ End Copy ~

Perspective

As much as I complain about things, there are some things that remind me that things could be worse. Yes, I know that sounds cliché also. We have a client that was in 3 car accidents between February to April of 2006. 3 of them! & the response is “why is she such a poor driver?” She wasn’t! The accidents were caused by the other drivers! How do I know that? I have the car accident report and the other drivers were given traffic tickets (arrests) for slamming into our client's vehicle.

It got worse for her. She had her teaching degree delayed as a result of missing so many days from student teaching. She suffered severe neck pain, bulged vertebrae discs, back injuries, knee injuries. She ended up going to over 30 different hospitals and clinic as a result of her 3 car accidents. The lawyer told me yesterday, that at this time, 2 yrs. after the accidents, she is still treating. I’m preparing written answers to opposing attorney’s written questions. Instead of it taking less than a day to answer the questions, it’s taking me about 3 days. With so many different treaters and clinics, I've had to read 100s of pages of medical records and bills.

Also, I want to write about my cousin, Brendan Scanlon (a/k/a Solve). Brendan was born in 1983. He went to college in Chicago as an artist and had a really good job at a marketing firm applying his artistic skills. He also was in a pretty big community of street artists and was very well known. Last Saturday, he got into an argument with another man about his age. He ended up being held down by 4 men and stabbed to death. My heart goes out to him for the horror that the last minutes of his life brought to him. I was really amazed at how well known my cousin was. There were so many people writing in that paid their respects, so many memories and good times he created with/for other people. It was just staggering. My heart also goes out to his family. His family was extremely close knit. In fact, their family and my family gets together each August, and we have a great time. I wasn’t really close to him and unfortunately, didn’t keep in touch with him. I saw him every year at these family gatherings. I remember a few years ago, giving him bottle rockets which I had a large supply of and wanted to give away. He was very happy to get them.
There are a few websites to check out regarding his very untimely death:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-graffiti-artist-killedjun16,0,4570734.story

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/291765

& there is an especially good one which shows you how many people paid respects to him from the Chicago street art community and shows you a picture of the memorial built for my cousin. My kids and I saw the memorial Monday evening.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/chicagostreetart/discuss/72157605605470754/

No matter how bad it is, someone else is having it worse.

Lesson LEARNED

Sunday was Father’s Day. It’s 1 day set aside during the year to honor fathers. My day was ruined when my dear mother of my kids thought I was sleeping and told her dad something I really didn’t want to hear.

It all started Sunday morning. There was a Father’s Day card sitting on top of Maribeth’s dresser. It was just sitting there for hours during the morning. Deep in the back of my mind, I felt that I shouldn’t open it until Maribeth presented it to me. But, I couldn’t wait. So I picked it up and opened it.

It really made me feel happy. It touched my heart. The card said, “Thank you for taking such good care of our family. You are loved and appreciated more than you know”. Amid all the differences that Maribeth and I had (we’re still divorced, after all) the message felt really sweet. It seemed like the work I've done with my kids was really, sincerely appreciated.

So, that morning, I told Maribeth how much I appreciated the card. She asked, “Really?” “Yes!” I replied. I felt like asking her if she really meant it, but that would have been wrong (until I learned what happened later!).

Then she took me to breakfast (McDonalds), and I enjoyed brunch with her and our 3 kids and 2 girlfriends of Brianna. Then we went to her Dad’s place. She bought her Dad ribs from the Patio. Then I reclined, and she thought I was sleeping. So she said to her Dad, “I actually got you a card, but Vince picked it up by mistake and thought it was his.”

Then while I was writing this post I was even more upset. Because if I even had the presence mind to read the whole card, I would have noticed that Maribeth signed my name to her dad’s card. But I was too stupid. That made me even more angry then I already felt.

This is one Father’s Day I would love to forget, but won’t be able to. But the lesson is learned: never pick up and open a card that isn’t presented to you.

After reading the very nice message in the other father's card, I'm also reminded of 2 other sayings/lessons: If you feel good, don't worry, you'll get over it. If it's too good to be true, it usually is. By the way, I asked Ted (my son) later in the afternoon, "Ted, how many Father's Day cards did you sign?"

"One" (the same one I "signed").

Lately, there's a song that I have enjoyed listening to. It's by Nine Inch Nails, and it's called "Every Day Is Exactly the Same". The chorus definitely fits my mood. For the lyrics, go to www.nin.com/with_teeth

a bit of instruction about the ads

as you know, I run Google ads on my blog.
Just a little bit of instruction. You will see ads on a wide variety of subjects like car anti-theft devices, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Blues. When you see those ads, click onto them. It helps me out.
However, if you see the ad for "Barack Obama Exposed", do NOT click onto it. Give it the Finger.

Meeting a celebrity

To be honest, I did not want to put up a new post this soon. I wanted my leading post to be about Barack Obama for about a week. I was hoping to irritate at least a few conservatives and encourage a few liberals.

Then something happened Sunday, that I just had to report to all of you. I met Geddy Lee, the lead vocalist, great bass player and keyboardist for one of my favorite bands of all time, Rush. I was with my family at Millenium Park, the nice, touristy park off of Lake Michigan. We were sitting there and along came Geddy Lee who walked right in front of us with 2 older women and sat about 10 feet away from us. Then I wondered if I should even say anything to him at all. Once I realized that I should actually say something, my biggest emphasis was not to disrupt his good time. He wasn't there to be hounded by some goofy fan. No autographs, no taking pictures of me and Geddy (although my dear readers would deserve to see such photos, again, I wasn't going to put this man out while he was relaxing in Chicago).

So here's what I did. I watched him furtively. When he stopped talking (I didn't want to interrupt him while he was talking to the 2 women), I walked up to him and said, "Mr Lee?"
"Yes?"
"Hi, I just wanted to let you know I really enjoy your band's music"
"Thank you"
We shook hands. Then I walked away. For some reason, I just wasn't nervous. I still don't know why, but can only guess. I can't stop comparing it to meeting the famous Green Bay Packer, Jerry Kramer. When I was 10 yrs. old, I met this legendary offensive right guard, and when I got back to my seat, I was so awestruck my teeth were chattering. Meeting Geddy Lee was definitely a wonderful surprise, but I didn't even feel a fluttering heartbeat.

Quite frankly, I was happier with the way Maribeth reacted. We had been arguing before, because I told her before, that if we walked fast we would make the train and be able to go to church. She said no. She wasn't willing to walk fast or run. She didn't come to downtown Chicago to hurry, but to relax. We wouldn't be coming down there again for awhile. So there was no sense running to the train when the kids wanted to be at the park.

So after I met him, she had a big smile on her face. She must have said about 12 *+*times, "Now are you glad you didn't take the 4:30 train home??" She was just pleased as punch at the turn of events. She really felt vindicated. Seeing her so happy was a little like a beam of sunlight poking through the clouds, or hearing Geddy Lee singing "Dreamline" or "Tom Sawyer".

*+*Not an exaggeration!

This is what I believe

In my background part of my blog, I lightly touch on hoping that things go well in the 2008 election. It’s high time to discuss that vital subject area some more.

With Hilary Clinton now out of the race, I am going to state loudly and unequivocally that I truly hope that Barack Obama wins the U.S. Presidency on November 4, 2008 and frankly, the only person that’s going to beat Barack Obama is himself, not John McCain.
Why do I think that Obama is favored?
Very simple. When it comes to the issues, a majority of America agrees with Barack Obama.

Do a majority of Americans want American troops to stay the course and stay in Iraq?
HELL NO, AND NEITHER DOES SENATOR OBAMA!
Do a majority of Americans think that the economy is getting worse with prices high in gas and food, a nation too dependent on petroleum, and a nation too far in debt?
HELL YES AND SO DOES SENATOR OBAMA!
Does a majority of Americans think that the incompetent man holding the US presidency now has done a poor job as president? Did this same man come into office with a surplus and will retire (thankfully!!!!!!!!!) in January with a staggering deficit? Did this same man squander the good will of the rest of the world after 9/11/01 with his dreadful foreign policy? Did this same man say to the Iraqis “bring it on” to which these Iraqis did resulting in the deaths of over 4,000 American young men and women? Is this the worst president we have had since Warren Harding and can our nation do better?
HELL YES AND WE CAN DO BETTER WITH SENATOR OBAMA!

If a majority of Americans back Obama on the issues, how is he going to lose? Lots of ways, actually, but it will be because of poor, mistaken tactics leading to a disappointing loss, not because the Republicans have a better man.
Some conservatives like to talk about how Americans have, in the past, trusted Republicans more when it comes to foreign policy. That trust has led to ruin. We fight a war in Afghanistan with one hand tied behind its back, because we have to fight in Iraq. We aren’t any closer to apprehending Bin Laden fighting in Iraq. Republicans loved to talk about how Bill Clinton made the armed services weaker in his 8 years as president. Guess what most experts think of the armed services now compared to 2001?? THEY SAY WE ARE WEAKER!! Why? Because we are overextended and soldiers are on their 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th tour of duty in Iraq when they need to be in Afghanistan fighting terrorism. & get this, don’t trust my opinion, listen to the retired generals and admirals saying the very same thing!! There was a reason why Donald Rumsfeld had to quit after the Democrats crushed Republican in the congressional races (as they will this year). There’s a reason why even McCain thought Rumsfeld was the worst Secretary of Defense this nation ever had.

I know I’m a partisan Democrat, and I won’t hesitate to say that anyone who thinks that Senator Obama is “soft on terrorism” is a stupid, ignorant redneck. Senator Obama will take the resources wasted in Iraq and put them to better use in Afghanistan. Senator Obama knows that domestically there is still a lot of work to be done in making this nation safer from terrorists. Senator Obama will repair all the relations that Bush damaged with other nations (oh wait a minute, weren’t the Republicans better in foreign policy than Democrats?) so that the free world can wage a more effective war against those who believe in totalitarianism, growing heroin and oppression of women and take a much larger step towards and take a much larger step towards beating those terrorists.
But don’t take my word for it.

Listen and read the findings of the blue ribbon commission appointed by our current president regarding terrorism and 9/11/2001. The blue ribbon commission stated that one of the things the United States needs to do is sit down with our adversaries LIKE IRAN, because they stated that, “you don’t negotiate with friends, you negotiate with adversaries”. So all those people agreeing with John McCain about how terrible it is for Obama, as president, to talk to the Iranian leader, weren’t paying much attention to the blue ribbon commission of very well respected leaders (people like Lee Daniels, Republican, long time committee member and chairman of the House Foreign Relations, James Baker, Republican, chief of staff during the Reagan administration, Secretary of State during the better Bush’s presidency {that’s the father of the current presidential joke for those not reading the papers}). Don’t trust my words, listen to a couple of Republicans on the commission with brains!

Let’s say a few things about Hilary Clinton who made news today dropping out of the 2008 campaign. Senator Clinton wasn’t my first choice on who I wanted winning the presidency. I think she would make a very good president, but I think that too much of the country, especially too much of the South hates her, and wouldn’t vote for her. Newsweek magazine said it best that Republicans aren’t very united this year because they have a hard time uniting the evangelists and religious zealots of the party with the more moderate wing of the GOP. But if there was one person who could unite both factions together it was a Hillary Clinton candidacy for president. With her out of the picture, it won’t be quite so compelling nor detrimental (in the conservatives view) for some rednecks to stay home November 4. The election thumping that Republicans will get on November 4 in the congressional battles won’t be so difficult to stomach if it’s “President Obama” rather than “President Clinton”.
I truly hope that before or after Senator Obama heard the news of Hilary Clinton dropping out he looks in the mirror and says, “I’m going to run the best presidential campaign ever, because the only person who is going to beat me is myself!”

Oh & by the way, I would recommend NOT getting the book advertised in the above Google ad. The Real Obama or whatever the hell the title is, is fiction. It's probably written by some stupid bastard who will try to convince you that Obama is a Muslim.

interesting experience

On Satuday night, something happened to Maribeth & I that hasn't happened in about 13 years. There were no kids with us overnight. Better yet, we didn't even fight. Andy was at his grandpa's place in Tinley Park, Brianna was at her friend, Bella's place. Ted was at Nate's place. Nate and his family lives downstairs from us.

So what did we do? It began uneventfully doing things we loved doing. Maribeth watched Law and Order; I read my beloved New Yorker magazine with the White Stripes playing in the background. In the morning, we had an even nicer time.

How would I describe the whole experience? Nice and sedate, good "change of pace". I wonder if it will happen again this summer?

been busy (please wait)

I have been very busy at work. We have had new clerks in; they seem like a good group. The thing is that in addition to all the work I have to do, I teach them also. I really enjoy teaching new clerks, because I got my degree teaching high school social studies subjects (psych., sociology, poli sci., history, economics). The problem was there was such a glut of social studies teachers when I graduated that I never got to be a high school social studies teacher. I was only able to teach 2 yrs. in the Chicago Archdiocese school system and then didn't want to teach after that. But I have found ways to teach later. Teaching the new clerks is one example. They think they are bothering me when they ask me questions, but they really aren't. I always make it very clear to them that I welcome their questions and if they don't know about something, please ask!

It's been very busy. I have 2 new bosses and since one of my bosses left, I have to act like the attorney and keep moving his cases along. I am really happy with both bosses, especially Terry. There's no awkwardness, there's easy communication, no tenseness. The problem is that the other boss is leaving so then I'm going to have 2 sets of files (something like 40-60 cases!) that I'll have to move through discovery by myself. The hope is that our partner will hire another lawyer and transfer these same cases to the new lawyer or at least another lawyer.

Anyway, I gotta run, tons of work!

the Bad News Brewers

Because I was born and raised in the proud state of Wisconsin, there are 3 professional teams I root for. The Milwaukee Bucks, Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Brewers. The Bucks have been an absolute disgusting disgrace for the past 2 years. They have been wholly incapable of playing defense since about 2001 or 2002.

The Packers had a very good season last year (13 wins, 3 losses, and a playoff victory before their loss in the NFC Championship game), but the conventional wisdom is that they will do worse next year with a Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre retired and gone.

Then there's the Milwaukee Brewers. There's good news but mostly bad news. The good news is that the Brewers are pretty talented. They have a guy Prince Fielder (yes, his first name is PRINCE) pictured on the left, who was the youngest guy to ever slam 50 home runs in a season. They have Ryan Braun who was the Rookie of the Year last season. They have a very good pitcher in Ben Sheets. Also, their defense is better than it was last season.

BAD NEWS I put this in bold and in caps because there's just so much of it. Let's turn a strength into a weakness.

• While Ryan Braun has made a home for himself in LF and is much better there than at 3rd Base, he has had a hitting slump.
• PRINCE Fielder is also in a hitting slump. Before the season started, he announced he would be a vegetarian, because he doesn't like the way people kill animals before they are turned into meat. Now, he has fans blaming (wrongfully) that is the reason he is not doing well this year. Rumor has it that people are starting to throw hamburgers and steaks at him.
• Their young, promising pitcher is out for the season because he ripped up his knee.
• The Brewers have lost their last 6 games.
• Their starting pitching, other than Sheets, is awful.
• Ben Sheets is brittle and injury prone. He's had season-ending injuries a majority of the seasons he's played.
• The Brewers have had 1 winning season in the last 10 years.
• With poor starting pitching, poor hitting, there isn't a snowball's chance in hell they will make the playoffs this year. & that was the announced goal by management. They said, "The Brewers must make the playoffs or it isn't a successful season." At this point they'll be lucky to win more games than they lose. For the Brewers to significantly improve they must have the pitchers (by last names) Parra, Bush, Suppan and Villanueva go from rotten to very good. Going from rotten to average will not be good enough to even have a winning season.
• Many people are calling for the manager's head. I have no idea if that will help or not.

I'm so mad at them. People were saying at the end of last year, "Don't be so mad that the Brewers didn't make the playoffs. They are so young and talented that you can wait until next year. " I just knew that was nonsense. All that youth, all that talent, all that hope and it's flushed down the toilet with all that under-achieving! UGH!

concern about Andy

I'm a little worried about my oldest child, Andy. He has been having stomach problems and had to leave school early on Tuesday and yesterday he also "got sick" and would have left but it was at the tail end of the school day, and he didn't miss anything.

I was concerned that it was something he was eating that didn't agree with him, but we have been avoiding foods that are hard to digest.

I'm hoping it's not been stress. Maribeth and I have been getting along pretty well, and I do know there was an instance either in the fall or winter where we had an argument and Andy got sick that same day. That doesn't speak well for the 2 of us, and yes, we should probably argue away from the kids. But I live with someone who is pretty open about what she says, and it's hard to coax into going someplace to argue.

But anyway, with Maribeth & I getting along lately, it's hard to figure out what's wrong with my son.

blue

I feel about as good as the weather which is rainy with gunmetal gray skies. (wait a minute isn't gunmetal gray predominately black? if you know, let me know. If it is than the sky isn't that dark, it would be nighttime if it was).
I feel crappy because some good people left our law firm. Brad, my boss, left. When he first announced that he gave his notice to quit, I ruefully said, "Well, thanks for leaving me with Joan!" (I changed the name of my remaining boss so that she stays "protected"). He replied, "Well, it's nothing personal" Yes, we know Brad. But it sucks seeing his empty chair. The thing I liked most about Brad was how unflappable he was. I could tell him that I made a mistake, and he was just so nonchalant, so "laid back" about it! I loved that. It really encourages a person to be very truthful because even when you admit something you did was wrong you aren't going to be punished or even made to feel bad. Brad never would do that unless the mistake was real bad like a blown deadline that would kill a case. & I never made mistakes like that with him.
We also had a clerk that was gone. I enjoyed working with him because he knew more about rock n' roll (it seemed) than I did. I miss all the fun conversations and he always was someone I could share things with, and commiserate with.
But, you know what? It's silly to get upset about people leaving because the turnover rate at law firms is very high. That's just the way it is, and I've been at quite a few of them. That's why I'm so thankful that I've stayed at this law firm for over 2 1/2 years. That seems like a short time anywhere else but it's relatively long at a law firm.

Another thing that really bothered me is that the bank really gave me a big hit for overdraft fees. Yes, I know that I have no one but myself to blame for that, but in one case it just defies logic. On Saturday, I mailed a credit card bill to Target located in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. That's in excess of 400 miles away, but my payment made it there in 1 day and was processed and sent to the bank the very same day! Now Target National Bank is a very big bank and you would think they would literally receive 1,000s of pieces of mail every day. So, I'm still scratching my head over how I mail something Saturday and it winds up getting there Monday and my check is immediately cashed. Had I known that would have happened I would have obviously would have waited until Monday to mail the bill. (I got paid on Tuesday, and I figured, at the time, that I had plenty of time to zip my check into the bank the same day and it would be able to beat the check to Target. But noooooooooooo...................

Oh well, the answer is to suck it up and keep going!
On a more positive note, my Mom's birthday is today. She's 82. I am very thankful I didn't have merely a good mother, but a great one. I will be buying Mother's Day cards for her and Maribeth. Even when we were separated, Maribeth & I would still get each other Mother's Day/Father's Day cards. I told her today that I planned to take her out for breakfast which is her favorite way to celebrate an occasion. She liked that idea a lot. To all you mothers who read this blog, Happy Mother's Day.

finally, it's SATURDAY!

I remember having a rough time getting up last Monday morning, and I said to myself, "I can't wait until Saturday when I can sleep in." Then every morning thereafter, when I wanted to go back to bed so badly after the alarm rang, I thought, "Wait 'til Saturday". Well, here it is Saturday. I didn't get to sleep in much longer than usual, because I got up at 7:20 as opposed to 6:45. I guess the celebration came after I got up. I got to read the paper in bed. I listened to NPR. I read a little bit of my New Yorker. So the "sleeping in" part wasn't so great because I didn't really sleep in, but the sense of not having to race to a train station to go to work, the sense of being so casual, the sense of being unshaven, unkept, in shorts and tank top (yes, I look terrible), was very nice and very pleasant.

What was really nice was that I made it a point to keep the phone lines open as Maribeth requested, but no one called which was nice. When I saw on the caller ID that there was a phone call from Firestone, I blew it off and didn't answer.

The highlight of the morning was hearing one of the popular programs on NPR called Car Talk, it comes on before the very popular show Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me which is a quiz show focusing on people's knowledge of the past week's news events. I loved Car Talk because I hadn't listened to it in at least a year or so. I listened to it when I lived alone in Midlothian, but I haven't lived alone since the end of 2006.

Car Talk is a very good show made that way by the hosts, Tom & Ray Maglozzi (yes, they're brothers). They are very folksy, witty and the show can be listened to for its humor as much as the knowledge you get about fixing a car or finding out what the problem with your car is. Here's an example. The 1st caller was Christy of Washington, DC. Here's how the dialogue went.

Host: You're from Washington DC? Are you a lawyer, lobbyist or politician?

Christy: None of them, I'm a teacher.

Host: Teacher? Do you "reach" your kids?

C: Absolutely, yes!

H: What %age?

C: 100%.

H: Wow, sounds like a promoter more than a teacher.

After the humorous exchange, they finally get down to the problem. She loves her 1993 Honda Accord (& it has 270,000 miles), but there's a funny noise after she got a new clutch, & the noise occurs when she turns the car either right or left. They asked her if it makes the same noise when she is in idle and turns it right or left. She didn't know.

This is what surprised me: they told her to go out to the car at once and find out because that would help them diagnose the problem. They told her to keep her phone line open. So while she did that they took another caller a guy with a 1983 Volvo who lived in Malaysia. One of the hosts bragged that while his brother didn't know where Malaysia was, he did because he worked in the CIA. (OK that wasn't so funny but it seemed to be at the time; you had to be there, ok?)

After the guy was finishing up the car, he told the hosts how much he enjoyed Car Talk.

"It has kept me sane being so far from home"

Host: Well that's good because the show is driving us crazy!!!

So, the woman with the 93 Honda Accord came back after the call and after some discussion they came up in very expert fashion of what her problem was. Then a man came on the air with a car he has had for 20 years (man do they ever take a call from a car literally built this century???!?)

It was a problem with his front end. They asked what's the longest he drove the car and he said 400 miles. Then they chided him because he took such a big risk. The problem was a metal bearing connected to the wheel. They told him that it was breaking and if it broke completely off, he would smash into something. They told him to drive his car slowly to the car mechanic at once. But before he drove there, make sure that his life insurance was paid up and "all of his affairs were in order!"

To really appreciate the show, you would obviously have to listen to the show.

But I am enjoying my Saturday. I am hoping that this weekend is the 1st weekend I get to ride my bike and burn off a few calories in my fight against my fatness. I have lost 30 pounds.

You ever notice how much better complements are when it comes from family?? Well, when I was home last, my brother, Jerome, told me how much better I looked, and that he noticed I lost weight. I felt like I was handed $200. & from a guy who has to watch every dollar and is scrimping, saving and not taking a vacation in about 15 years ago, $200 would feel very, very good. Then I thought to myself, gee, I wonder if Bob (another brother, nicknamed good-naturedly "the Golden Schauf" since he has done so well and is prosperous {& yes, Bob, we know it was a result of hard work}) would ever make such an observation to me. Probably not, he would focus on the fact that I still need to lose at least another 50 pounds. That's ok, everyone needs a critic. Think of what a good critic our Lord is.

Yipee! I'm done!

In my pursuit to balance out happy posts with sad posts, I wanted to write about something that made me very, very relieved.

At the place I work, I am happy, because I finished a big project by myself. I've been much busier, because the clerk staff is cut in half (from 6 people to 3). So with 3 people, I have been doing clerks' projects that would have normally gone to the 3 clerks who just left. (They left due to finals and they are in their last semester of law school).

The big project was very worrisome, because I was concerned that I wasn't going to be able to finish it by deadline. There were probably thousands of pages I had to look through (albeit some of it was skimming). I am concerned about our client because he was badly hurt in forklift accident. He hasn't worked since the accident which was a long time ago.

Could you imagine not working for a long time, sitting around not be able to lift over 30 pounds due to a severe back injury? It makes you think you're lucky, doesn't it?? Sometimes I envy construction workers because their earning potential is high, but the problem is that they get hurt at work. The chances of a major injury happening where I work are very, very low. So, I guess I made the right choice in the field of work.

sometimes......

Sometimes the ads in Google do not necessarily correspond with my beliefs. For instance, the End of the World could happen anytime, but I am not one of those people who are absolutely certain that it's going to happen in my lifetime. It could but I'm not going to go around saying you better get ready b/c it's going to happen. Really, we should be good anyway. It's far more likely that a person could die an untimely death than the Apocalypse occurring tomorrow.

• Just to reiterate: I do believe in the Apocalypse.
• I don't know when it will happen
• Might happen in my lifetime but not sure it will (not like some people).

Are we clear? OK

not sure what to do

I am very sorry for being so vague in this post. I have to be vague in order to protect myself. There are more people who read this blog than I think (yes, I made a joke about having 19 readers but the truth is I don’t really know who reads it & who doesn’t. Obviously, you have readers on your blog who don’t comment).

There’s a person that’s not located in my hometown (I am not married, not divorced nor related to this person). This is a person I am upset with for making my life difficult. During the course of walking Monday through Friday, I have to walk where her location is. I find it so distasteful to see her that I alter my route now so that I don’t have to see her if she’s there. I am not comfortable with disliking this person so much, but she was wrong, and I really, really tried to get along with her to no avail. I tried to help her numerous times to help her, and it’s all been swept away into massive negativity.
Also, I was criticized for severing the relationship, and in so doing, I wouldn’t have to talk or deal with her. If it’s a dysfunctional relationship, why should I stay in it??? But I was criticized for my haste and blunt efforts. I guess I can see why I was wrong, but I hope that those who criticized me understand my perspective.

I guess the answer lies in forgiving this person to myself, silently. (we are so opposed to each other that if I said “I forgive you” it would result in another fight) But that’s hard. This area of my life means so much to me and for her to complicate and make miserable this area of my life, really makes me have absolute contempt for her. I don’t want to call her a name, I don’t want to yell at her. I just don’t want to see or hear her for a long time. But if that happens, I’ll tolerate it and keep going.

Think about it

There's a book that I absolutely love reading called Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse. I don't know if any of you have read it. Part of me strongly recommends reading it, but you have to have a very high tolerance for unconventional thinking. The pattern of the novel is that it starts out with a narrative of events occurring to the author and as the novel progresses there are more and more "dreamed up", surreal events and fewer actual events that the author is really experiencing.

One of the 1st things that is dreamed up is that the main person in the book, Harry Haller, is walking down the street. As he walks down the sidewalk someone comes up to him and gives him a book and walks away from him. He doesn't look at the book right away. Instead he takes the book to his rented home and finds out to his amazement that the book is actually all about him! The book gives a brief description of him and quickly delves into what his problems are. The book (actually a short story or treatise) offers some suggestions and also discusses some unconventional views on suicide and humor.

Here's my point. What if you were walking down the street and accepted a book from someone, and it turns out the short story/treatise is about you and the problems and illusions that are hurting you and your life. What would your book say? Would it be a very thin 4 page affair because you are a remarkably well-adjusted individual? Or, would your author have a lot to write about?? Hmm.............

Dear God letters

When things are tough, or when there's something really important about to happen and I want the outcome to be positive, I will write a "Dear God" letter. I basically write better than I talk (sometimes it's hard to tell with my grammatical errors emitting from this blog like stinky sludge).

So I write down what I have to say to God. I usually write 90% of the letter in shorthand (a written language that was once used by office secretaries, but is basically a dying art with the advent of dictaphones). I write it in shorthand so that others can't read what I wrote. I wrote one this morning amid all the problems at work. I don't know if I mean it or not, but I said I would accept whatever the outcome the bosses decide on. I really can't imagine continuing working with someone so incredibly insufferable that she puts no value in my work. Making this all more poignant is that there are other attorneys that value my work. Yes, that's true. I'm not lying. I didn't stay at this law firm for 2 1/2 years doing crappy work.

I wrote my prayer. Dear God, I hope you read it and will act accordingly. & yes, I will follow whatever the decision is.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day! I hope everyone has something good they can contribute to making the environmnent a little better.
Politics in the USA has been predicated and dominated by bitter partisan debates. This has been going on, unfortunately, since 1991, probably after the 1st Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm). It went on during the 1st Bush presidency, it was especially bad during the Clinton era, there have been times it's been bad now. One thing that I think is especially encouraging is that political & even religious leaders that are absolute polar opposites have been sitting on a bench together and sending out a message. The message is: our planet is in trouble. Together we must come together, European, Asian, African, Austrailian, North & South American, conservative, liberal, centrist, atheist, Muslim and Christian and help create and act out a strategy that will allow us to stop global warming. The 1st commercial was Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson. Wow, can't imagine 2 more different people than that. But there they were smiling, joking and speaking the above earnest message. The 2nd pair was Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich. Again, you look at them sitting on the bench together, smiling and you say wow. Could this mean something new in politics? Could this mean that bitter partisanship with mindless conservative talk shows talking about how the government messes up everything (well maybe in Iraq they did) and the same shows demonizing certain political figures like Hillary Clinton. (No we're not going to say what she's doing, we'll just exaggerate and distort all her views. Then we'll tell everyone who cares to listen what Barack Obama's middle name is and tell everyone he really is a Muslim. (HE ISN'T, DAMNIT) These talk show people like Rush Limbaugh are just scum.

But at any rate, I'm glad leaders from different political stripes are getting together and agreeing that yes, the earth is worth saving. That we all really need to do something. I wish this meant that change is underway and that there won't be this corrosive bitterness in Washington D.C. I wish that; I don't know if it will happen.

Saturday vs. Sunday

I have been at the same law firm for 2 1/2 years. Last week, it's safe to say was the worst week I ever had there. So the weekend was looked forward to: get away from work, regroup, put a smile on my face, relax.

Well, it certainly didn't start out well. Friday night, I walked Brianna to her friend's place because she was having a sleep-over. I was wearing earth shoes with a crack in the sole. Well guess what found it's way into the crack of the left shoe & into the ball of my foot?? Yes, an inch long thorn/briar off of this thorntree. I started saying "ouch" repeatedly and quickly took my shoe off and was going to put the shoe back on but the briar (I quickly noticed) was still in it. So I pulled this long briar out and kept walking Brianna to her friend's place. Since the briar went through the cracked sole it probably went 1/2" to a 3/4" into my foot, it was very sore. So my daughter, Brianna, (BLESS HER LITTLE SOUL!!) said, "Here Daddy, I'll hold your hand and we'll walk the rest of the way over to Bella's place." At first, I thought well that won't help and was going to say no thanks, but then I thought that would be a terrible mistake. If Bri wants to help me, then for God's sakes let her! More importantly, how often will your little daughter offer to hold your hand and help you out????!!??

Saturday, I could not sleep in because I was helping Maribeth with her craft show. My foot hurt and I was terribly miserable, because I was brooding over the bad problem at work. I felt terrible in a number of ways, (WAAA!). No, I didn't cry but was brooding terribly. Then I explained all this to Maribeth and she said she understood in a voice so tender that I thought, "Oh my God, Maribeth just comforted me. How awesome is that?!?" That's when I started tearing up and dabbing around my eyes.

The craft fair was a minor success for Maribeth and her sister. They did slightly better than breaking even so you can't complain about that. Now, more people know about them too.

Sunday was so much more different. I got to sleep until after 8, then I laid in bed listened to music and read the Sunday paper. I stopped thinking about the problem at work, and was finally happy. It's amazing how sleeping late changes a sad outlook. In fact, the whole day I didn't let last week's woes get to me much so we can chalk it up as a good day. The bed is really becoming the nicest, most sublime place to be.

But we all have to remind ourselves of Neil Peart's saying, "You won't get wise with the sleep still in your eyes, no matter what your dreams might be!" I won't be able to pay any bills sleeping. But one thing for sure. I really don't know how I did it working all those night shifts at Ingalls Hospital for 3 years.

trying, I'm really trying!

In my attempt to not sound to stupid, pathetic and worst of all, unreadable, I'm trying to work on sounding more dignified. I'm going to resist the urge of talking about how hard it is to get up in the morning, the fact that I sometimes feel very sad, why it's so very important that I take enough simethicone and activated charcoal and being horribly embarassed when I don't.

I'm not going to talk about the latest argument with Maribeth (& besides it was decreed that I wouldn't). I'm not going to talk about the latest person to leave the law firm and how bad it makes me feel.

I do want to talk about politics more, but I'm too tired to do that now. (oops I wasn't supposed to mention that, was I).

a meme, I think (?)

• 1. Rate your life from 1-10 (1 being very miserable) 7 for some reason I thought the original meme said rate your life on a scale from 1-5. Oh well, poor reading on my part.
• 2. Is your hair long or short?A: Moderate length, no crew cuts, bald heads b/c I hate them.
• 3. Do you have many real friends?A: I think so.
• 4. Name friends you last hung out with?A: There’s a few friends I work with and we work in the same room.
• 5. Do you love chicken?A: I don’t mind eating chicken but it’s my least favorite meat (Beef is my favorite)
• 6. Last three drinks you had?A: Mountain Dew, Water & water
• 7. Do you eat fish?A: Yes, I love fish: tuna, haddock, catfish, salmon, others. Surprisingly, I don’t eat much fish until Lent comes along in the late winter/early spring
• 8. Do people mispronounce or spell your name incorrectly?A: First name: No; Last name: Yes
• 9. Who was the last person you hugged?A: Maribeth
• 10. Last guy you think about?A: I take it this means last woman you think about for me, right? That would be Maribeth
• 11. Any food that made you smile today?A: My cold cereal was pretty good.
  12. Name one thing you have in common with your friends?A: They share my taste for music.
  
• 13. Do you trust your friends?A: Yes
  
• 14. How old will you be in five years?A: Almost 50
• 15. Do you believe in love?A: Yes, you haven’t really lived until you loved
  
• 16. Except for family and friends, who are you in love with?A: Never thought about that…..no one.
• 17. Do you honestly believe you have found the right guy/girl?A: I will say this. I am very grateful for Maribeth, because unlike so many other women, Maribeth gave me a chance and said “yes”. (She did this by being in a relationship with me) Maribeth has done more for me in the last 17 years than anyone else on the face of Planet Earth. I will also say that I can’t imagine being with anyone else right now.
  
• 18. Are you someone's best friend?A: I don’t think so. I had a best friend before 1990, but he died in a train accident.
  
• 19. Do you love music?A: I most definitely do. It is one of the ways I can be defined. Long live ROCK N’ ROLL!
  
• 20. Last song you listened to?A: Rust never Sleeps (Rock & Roll Will Never Die) by Neal Young. I’m hearing it now.
• 21. What's the instrument you wish you were able to play?A: Lead guitar. I would give my 3rd toe to do so!!
• 22. Who was the last person you talked to?A: Coworker
  
• 23. Who was the last person to call you?A: Renee, my office manager at the condo I am president of.
• 24. Would you consider yourself a worrier?A: Definitely. (“I wonder if I’ll make it through the day! I hope I don’t get in trouble!!” L!)
  
• 25. Do you consider yourself as a happy person?A: No. See above answer. I am thankful and greatful, but there’s too much that’s wrong with the world and my immediate surroundings to be happy.
  
• 26. Do you believe in saving yourself for marriage?A: No (I’m sorry, God)
  
• 27. Last person that pissed you off?A: Maribeth
  
• 28. From whom have you missed the most calls in the last 5 days?A: I don’t know I missed them and don’t know about it. & by the way this is moreso because I lost my cellphone Friday.
  
• 29. Who's the first person you call when you're having a bad day?A: I think Maribeth or maybe a co-worker.
• 30. Last person who made you laugh like crazy?A: Maribeth (actually she was laughing like crazy and I was watching her with much delight)
  
• 31. Who's your greatest inspiration in life?A: Good question but tough question. There’s people that do inspire me: my kids, my Dad, trying to live up to the expectations of my family in WI, being true to certain friends. Maribeth is an inspiration because I often try to prove that I’m worth the fuss I cause her.
  
• 32. Are you a good guesser?A: I would rather not guess.
• 33. Who was the last person to sing your current favorite song and what song?A: myself. I was singing “In My Time of Dying”. Sorry for being so morose.
• 34. Who makes you laugh the most?A: my kids
• 35. What have you been telling yourself lately?A: don’t be so sad, you live a blessed and lucky life. Thank God I have such great kids.

if your happy and you know it clap your hands

I'm sorry to all my readers for writing about "downer" subjects in the last few posts.

First of all, it's Monday and I don't feel bad. I'm comfortably numb and only mildly concerned of what this new day will bring me. Mildly concerned is just fine and perfectly normal, don't you think?

I went to my parents place this weekend. They live 200 mi. NW of me in Wisconsin. It's 1/3 of the way through April, and Wisconsin was still getting snow flurries. Hey, but it's my hometown and I was glad to be there if only for a day. I was really happy because (did you hear that???? "really happy" I said) my brothers Bill & Jerome and sister Kathi were all there and I wasn't expecting to see them. I had to listen to Kathi & Jerome talk conservative politics, and I was about ready to walk out of my parent's house, but hey, if that's the price I have to pay to see my siblings well I guess I will happily pay it. Then Kathi decided when coming to Dad's birthday party (he's 83) to show off her lacy bra. I was aghast. Kathi is very thin, very prim and very proper. So to see her fail to have her shirt halfway unbottoned rivaled the absolute shock that my niece is going to have triplets and she already has 3 kids. & she already has stopped working because she's so big. Poor, poor Annie!!! How in the world will they manage. But then again, "If God is for us, who can be against???"

The Cooling Board

"When I got there, she was layin' on the cooling board." - Son House's song "Death Letter"

I have been listening to a ton of White Stripes lately. One of the songs I enjoy hearing was their cover of the above Son House song "Death Letter". The song was a very powerful narrative of something that happened to an unfortunate young man back in the early 1900s. In those days, there were no phones, no Internet. He had a long distance relationship, and so when the girlfriend suddenly died, he found out by the relatives writing a letter sent via US mail and telling him to go see her/attend her funeral at once.

The story is similar to a story that my maternal grandfather told me. Previously, I knew that Grandpa Nachreiner's mom died when he was about 12 or so. Then his father remarried, but sadly, it was to the proverbial mean stepmother (how many stories have we read about the mean stepmother who afflicts the surviving kids?) . So my grandfather left home and became an adult in his early teens. In those days, you could do that. He began smoking at 14, 15 yrs. of age and died when he was 95.

So, we can say that not only did Grandpa's mother die, but at that same moment so did his childhood.

One Sunday, I think in the late 70s, without being prompted, he talked about his mother's death. He didn't explain what she died from because in this story that wasn't important; it was the fact that she was no longer going to "mother" him or be there to guide him and soothe his fears and misfortunes as only a mother can do.

He explained that one of the first things they did after she died was remove her from the house. It was during the summer. Now since this happened sometime between 1903 - 1905, there were not morgues and if there were, Grandpa's family surely could not afford to have his dear mom in one.

They laid his mother on a cake of ice. By keeping her cool (remember the song above talks about the "cooling board"), she would not decompose and literally smell dead. However, it was a hot summer, and she laid dead, outside the house for well over a day. By the time of the funeral, when she finally was given the dignity of a coffin, she was laying not in a cake of ice but a puddle of lukewarm water.

Grandpa never cried in front of me before or after that story. Even though it happened to him over 75 years earlier, the memories were still raw enough for him to well up with tears at the end of the story. What a way to lose your childhood!

I saw and heard this video

Sunday morning, for some reason we had either VH1 or MTV on.
I heard the video/song Kid Rock's "Amen" He talks about some of the things that are wrong with this country, but sadly enough, doesn't venture very far outside the cliche or the superficial. Here is one part that I took particular exception. He sings,
"...these wolves in sheep clothes pastors/Now damnit I'm afraid to send my children to church"

Sexual abuse among the clergy is a terrible, deplorable problem which has given the Church a very, very black eye. But Kid Rock's above lyric sounds and is stupid in several ways.
Afraid to send your kid to church????

Really? & how many priests abuse kids right in the middle of a church service? It would seem to me that going to church is one of the safest places to be. Also, why is Kid Rock sending his child to church, why the hell isn't he going to church with the child??? Are we sleeping off a hangover from partying on Saturday night??
It just goes to show you that when some people make criticisms it sometimes reveals more of the person who is doing the criticizing than it does the subject of criticism.