Saturday, December 20, 2008

Waaaa!

I am sick of being sick!!! I feel like Zeus when he has a headache so bad that he splits his head open only to have his daughter Athena pop out of his skull.

I have had a headache pretty much non-stop for a week and a half. It was the one I had in my last post. And it is still going on today. Went to the ER last night the drugs that normally kick my migraines asses only sorta helped. Now I wake-up this morning and guess what..."I"M BAAAACCKKK!" screams my head. I am convinced that I have the brain tumor to end it all. However I can not be that lucky, instead I must suffer and whine and sleep.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Wishing me luck

I missed another day of work on Wednesday(migraine) and my boss was less than impressed. I was nervous going in on Thursday because I was pretty sure I would be canned. I wasn't thank-goodness but I do get laid-off a week from today we all do as the store closes every year for a period of time around xmas. This time it is for SIX weeks. D is wondering if he is holding on to me until then but won't call me back in. Me too, that is a real possibility and I would not blame him at all.

My back is non-stop pain an unrelenting crushing weight in the middle of my lower back. I can't handle working on my feet anymore. Bending, twisting and lifting are all chores that I have to stop and think about before doing.

I have thus decided to start the tedious task of applying for disability. Keep me in your thoughts and send good energies my way that it doesn't take forever.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

sinners and saints

So this past month my wonderful girlfriend D. over at Weldable Cookies has been doing this NaBloPoMo thing of posting everyday for 30 days. She being her wonderfully brilliant self picked the wonderful topic of the 7 deadly sins and the 7 virtues. Well of course in reading all of these posts she has started me to thinking. I know I know this is not usually a good thing, but when she writes that happens to people.

Well anyways I have been contemplating my level of sin (which I really don't believe in as I consider myself a non-practicing Wiccan) where do I fit into all of these categories and what does it all mean? Well here is my results from a quiz I took;



Greed:Medium
Gluttony:Medium
Wrath:Low
Sloth:Very High
Envy:Medium
Lust:Medium
Pride:Very Low



Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz

Very interesting that the one my beloved paid the least attention to is where I rank highest... I know I am pretty lazy sometimes and pray that at some point in this lifetime I will catch a damned break, and stop living as a member of the working poor. I know these things are a large part of my being, but a SLOTH?!

I was also surprised that my wrath was not down there with my pride, for while it is true that I have very low self-worth I don't feel like my anger is an issue. I am not a vengeful person, hell I am nearly opposed to the death penalty. I do often wonder why we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong? In that light Gandhi said it best with "An eye for an eye, and soon the whole world is blind."

In D's postings she counted out the days and figured out how to save every one's favorite and the most fun of the sins for today the last post of the 30 days. So today being the 30th of November and all the sin was...that's right LUST and guess what...nothing... she suffered a major case of writer's block. She was all set to make it a really fun and exciting post and it fizzled.

I (at least according to the above ranking) am more envious then lustful. Say WHAT?!??!!! I consider myself to be a very sexual being, how could I possibly rank so low? Could it be because I am not the sly cat I was when D. and I got together nearly six years ago. Has she domesticated this old tom? I was a self-labeled, (and proud) U-Haul lesbian! Now I have medium lust levels?

Goddess please keep us from becoming a Pepper Schwartz statistic, PLEASE!

I don't think it is a real risk but I am just preempting a warning sign.

Well it is after 1am I guess I had better put my slothing butt to bed so I can work tomorrow.







Friday, November 21, 2008

Pain and Suffering

I feel as though I have been trampled. I hurt today all the from my spine to my belly button on my left side and a large section of my back is screaming on the right. I am home from work again. Today I am worried about it, my boss sounded mad for the first time. I think he is getting tired of my bullshit. It is not bullshit of course it is VERY real. I don't know what the hell to do anymore. Anybody got any multi-million dollar secret that they are hiding. Even a million would be great. I don't play the lottery, I don't go to Hollywood Slots. I am willing to take anyone's advice though.


Friday, November 7, 2008

post-election ramblings

So...here we are four days since my last post and three since the United States of America expanded the American Dream of millions by electing Barack Obama the next president of our nation. I have not yet posted about this because I have been in mild shock. I think that I am coming out of it now and realizing that it is for real. Mind you it is very much what I wanted to have happen, America needs this change. However much I wanted it, and my friends wanted it the nation had to want it. I have heard it referred to as being similar to the feeling many had in Red Sox Nation when after the 84 year drought we got to hear the words "and the Boston Red Sox are World Champions!!" (Philly fans congrats on your recent change to a winning team!!) However this is on such a grander scale, a scale that we as a people had an influence on. Today I am writing in red and blue and mostly am proud to be an American. While I am not proud of some of my fellow Americans for the racist crap that has happened since the election (black cardboard effigies hanging from telephone lines here on MDI, black church burned in Mass., and cross burnings in Newark, NJ to name a few) I am proud of the many of us that voted for the best candidate instead of the "right" colored candidate.

I am however disappointed that in several states "my people" that is to say the gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans* communities were knocked back down several rungs on the ladder of justice and equality. In EVERY state where there was a measure to ban same-sex marriages or same-sex adoption those bans won. I guess that when it is said that you can't have it all they mean it.

Here in Maine I think that we took Obama's message of change to heart and elected several young people to our state legislature. 6 new folks and 2 re-elected from eastern and northern Maine are all in their 20's. Maybe they ran the better campaigns or maybe we are looking for fresh life in Augusta, I don't know. I do know that I worked on the campaign of one of these 20-somethings. Elsie is 25 and I think that she will do great in representing us in the House.

I am still a little in shock I guess. I am mostly glad that it is over. Now I have the time to be at home sick and miserable that I didn't have while working on the campaigns.

Here's to hoping that Barack was right in saying "A better day will come."

Monday, November 3, 2008

Have you voted yet??

So today I am wearing my Obama/Biden '08 pin and my Electoral College t-shirt (from the Capital Steps) and was asked about 50 times if I had voted yet. I have indeed as I plan to be working for my favorite local candidate all day and may not get anywhere near my polling place. This year is the first year that Maine has participated in early voting without reason. We had absentee voting before but had to have a dammed good reason for not showing up on the assigned day.

The last guy to ask me this evening if I had voted yet said he couldn't find anyone who had not voted already. In working for the above mentioned candidate on Saturday we had the list of folks who had already voted in this district. The list for Bar Harbor alone was nearly 2 inches thick!! Now keep in mind we are a seasonal community there aren't but maybe 5000 year-round residents, 2 inches of names is A LOT of the community. I told the guy that I hope the poor poll workers remember to bring their cribbage boards 'cause it's gonna be a long boring day.

Within 24 hours we will have a good idea if the predictions are right. Within 36 hours it should be wrapped up. Then less than 77 1/2 days 'til then end of this error in American history.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Nobody tags me for memes so...I am tagging you

Have you ever…
1. gone on a blind date? No
2. skipped school? Of course I was 18 and living on my own the last 3 1/2 months of high school
3. watched someone die? No, thank goodness I had left the room when my great-grandmother went
4. been on a plane? Nope and won't
5. been on the opposite side of your country? Not yet some day...
6. swam in the ocean? Used to do all the time when I was a teenager
7. had your booze taken away by the cops? No I have only been pulled over once for suspected OUI/DWI however I was completely sober and the designated driver, the intersection was crooked.
8. lettered in high school sport? I didn't play sports in high school, I did manage the softball team and almost got a letter for that but I missed the last 3 games of the season and that disqualified me.
9. cried yourself to sleep? On too many occasions
10. played cops and robbers? Not that I can recall
11. sung karaoke? yes a few times
12. paid for a meal with coins only? I have, I HATE it when people do it to me though so I try not to do it unless I have too.
13. done something you told yourself you wouldn’t? I'm am sure I have but I can't think of anything right now.
14. cheated on an exam? I think I cheated on EVERY exam we took in French I but I didn't cheat in French II
15. made prank phone calls? a couple of times when I was a teenager
16. laughed until some sort of beverage came out of your nose? Soda, milk, water and coffee have all found their way out of my nose.
17. caught a snowflake on your tongue? I have only lived in Maine and Minnesota what do you think?
18. written a letter to Santa Claus? yes every year until I was 10 and my step mother informed all of us (my brother 7, and sister 4) that there was no Santa, no tooth fairy, no Easter bunny.
19. watched the sunrise with someone you care about? Cadillac Mountain is the first place in America the sun hits in the morning, Dawn and I have gone up there several times it is only a few miles from our house.
20. been kissed under the mistletoe? Not yet that I count anyways
21. ever been arrested? once
22. gone ice skating? I used to when I was young I can't even stand-up on them anymore.
23. been skinny dipping outdoors? no
24. had a nickname? my childhood nickname was Punky as in Brewster, as an adult I have been dumbed Smurf and Munchkin (I am just 5' tall)
25. been on TV? Yes Mr. Rodgers, and the news at political rallies.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Read a Banned Book or two this week


This week is Banned Books week, September 27-October 4 this from the American Library Association-
Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year. Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. This year, 2008, marks BBW's 27th anniversary (September 27 through October 4).

I feel that it is VERY important this year especially after all the ruckus that has gone on about Sarah Palin and her interest in banning books from the Wasilla library. Here is a list of the most challenged books of 2007;

The “10 Most Challenged Books of 2007” reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:

1) “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

2) The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence

3) “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin Henkes
Reasons: Sexually Explicit and Offensive Language

4) “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman
Reasons: Religious Viewpoint

5) “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain
Reasons: Racism

6) “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language,

7) "TTYL,” by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

8) "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou
Reasons: Sexually Explicit

9) “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris
Reasons: Sex Education, Sexually Explicit

10) "The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

If the above titles don't give you enough options here are some more;

Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books in 2000-2007
1 Harry Potter series- J.K. Rowling
2 Alice series- Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3 The Chocolate War- Robert Cormier
4 Of Mice and Men- John Steinbeck
5 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings- Maya Angelou
6 Scary Stories- Alvin Schwartz
7 Fallen Angels- Walter Dean Myers
8 It’s Perfectly Normal- Robie Harris
9 And Tango Makes Three- Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
10 Captain Underpants- Dav Pilkey
11 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain
12 The Bluest Eye- Toni Morrison
13 Forever- Judy Blume
14 The Color Purple- Alice Walker
15 The Perks of Being A Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky
16 Killing Mr. Griffin- Lois Duncan

17 Go Ask Alice- Anonymous
18 King and King- Linda de Haan
19 Catcher in the Rye- J.D. Salinger
20 Bridge to Terabithia- Katherine Paterson
21 The Giver- Lois Lowry
22 We All Fall Down- Robert Cormier
23 To Kill A Mockingbird- Harper Lee`
24 Beloved- Toni Morrison
25 The Face on the Milk Carton- Caroline Cooney
26 Snow Falling on Cedars- David Guterson
27 My Brother Sam Is Dead- James Lincoln Collier
28 In the Night Kitchen- Maurice Sendak
29 His Dark Materials series- Philip Pullman
30 Gossip Girl series- Cecily von Ziegesar
31 What My Mother Doesn’t Know- Sonya Sones
32 Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging- Louise Rennison
33 It’s So Amazing- Robie Harris
34 Arming America- Michael Bellasiles
35 Kaffir Boy- Mark Mathabane
36 Blubber- Judy Blume
37 Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
38 Athletic Shorts- Chris Crutcher
39 Bless Me, Ultima- Rudolfo Anaya

40 Life is Funny- E.R. Frank
41 Daughters of Eve- Lois Duncan
42 Crazy Lady Jane- Leslie Conly
43 The Great Gilly Hopkins- Katherine Paterson
44 You Hear Me- Betsy Franco
45 Slaughterhouse Five- Kurt Vonnegut
46 Whale Talk- Chris Crutcher
47 The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby- Dav Pilkey
48 The Facts Speak for Themselves- Brock Cole
49 The Terrorist- Caroline Cooney
50 Mick Harte Was Here- Barbara Park
51 Summer of My German Soldier- Bette Green
52 The Upstairs Room- Johanna Reiss
53 When Dad Killed Mom- Julius Lester
54 Blood and Chocolate- Annette Curtis Klause
55 The Fighting Ground- Avi
56 The Things They Carried- Tim O'Brien
57 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry- Mildred Taylor
58 Fat Kid Rules the World- K.L. Going
59 The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things- Carolyn Mackler
60 A Time To Kill- John Grisham
61 Rainbow Boys- Alex Sanchez
62 Olive’s Ocean- Kevin Henkes

63 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest- Ken Kesey
64 A Day No Pigs Would Die- Robert Newton Peck
65 Speak Laurie- Halse Anderson
66 Always Running- Luis Rodriguez
67 Black Boy- Richard Wright
68 Julie of the Wolves- Jean Craighead George
69 Deal With It!- Esther Drill
70 Detour for Emmy- Marilyn Reynolds
71 Draw Me A Star- Eric Carle
72 Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
73 Harris and Me- Gary Paulsen
74 Junie B. Jones series- Barbara Park
75 So Far From the Bamboo Grove- Yoko Watkins
76 Song of Solomon- Toni Morrison
77 Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes- Chris Crutcher
78 What’s Happening to My Body Book- Lynda Madaras
79 The Boy Who Lost His Face- Louis Sachar
80 The Lovely Bones- Alice Sebold
81 Anastasia Again!- Lois Lowry
82 Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret- Judy Blume
83 Bumps In the Night- Harry Allard
84 Goosebumps series- R.L. Stine
85 Shade’s Children- Garth Nix
86 Cut- Patricia McCormick
87 Grendel- John Gardner
88 The House of Spirits- Isabel Allende
89 I Saw Esau- Iona Opte
90 Ironman- Chris Crutcher

91 The Stupids series- Harry Allard
92 Taming the Star Runner- S.E. Hinton
93 Then Again, Maybe I Won’t- Judy Blume
94 Tiger Eyes- Judy Blume
95 Like Water for Chocolate- Laura Esquivel
96 Nathan’s Run- John Gilstrap
97 Pinkerton, Behave!- Steven Kellog
98 Freaky Friday- Mary Rodgers
99 Halloween ABC- Eve Merriam
100 Heather Has Two Mommies- Leslea Newman

Out of 3,869 challenges reported to or recorded by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, as compiled by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom does not claim comprehensiveness in recording challenges. Research suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many as four or five which go unreported.


Thursday, September 25, 2008

Another missed day of work

So here it is a day and a week since my last post and yesterday I awoke with a migraine like someone had driven a railroad spike though my left temple and was piercing my right temple with it. I couldn't see straight it was very difficult to focus on the phone to see the numbers to dial but I knew I had to call out. Apparently I was not the only one out yesterday, there seems to be a nasty head cold going around, and everyone else has it. I have been told that I have to be there tomorrow because I am it. One woman is on vacation and the other who works nights has this damned cold, so I think I am working with the boss or his son tomorrow.

Today I am exhausted and in lots and lots of pain. We bought a new bed this spring and it was wonderful at first but the pillow top has died and I could not get comfortable last night and my back was screaming all night and all day today. I barely did any real work tonight but that means I need to make up for it tomorrow.

I have worked there for a little over a month and have called out 3 or 4 times that is unreliable in my book. I just don't know what to do anymore I need to find some ambition to exercise more so I can be ready to have surgery this winter while the store is closed, so I don't miss all the recuperation time. I just don't have any motivation, or gumption to do anything. Not even to finish this post in one sitting as it is now the 29th and I am just getting back to it.

So I still haven't gotten any real sleep my back is in constant pain. I am working an extra day this week cause one of the women is on vacation and another is out with the hand, foot and mouth virus.
However, I still had my Sunday off yesterday to spend watching football. I am leading in my own little bragging-rights pool and I just found that I am ranked 1st out of 217 in the WVII channel 7 Bangor area pool, 1,317 out of 122,987 nationally, which I think is AWESOME.



Wednesday, September 17, 2008

medically unreliable = disabled??

As I have stated before I suffer from a spinal issue called Spondylolisthesis I also suffer from frequent Migraine headaches. Oftentimes I am unable to report for work or if I can go to work I am not at my full capacity and not able to function to preform all of my duties. It was suggested (by a medical provider) that my unreliability may make it difficult to stay gainfully employed and have I considered applying for SSDI? This was last week that she suggested this and now I can't stop thinking about it. I am afraid to become a "welfare case" again, I grew-up that way and don't want to go back to that life.

However she has a good point, if I were my employer I would not keep me on staff because you just never know when I am going to call out or show up unable to pull my weight. So I am torn, I don't know what to do. Part of the reason I am so up in the air on this is that, I do know that at some point in the not to distant future I am going to have to have an operation for by back that will lay me up for anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months!! How do I survive during that time?

Here are some MRI images the left is mine and the right is a normal spine. Note the L5 S1 area (which I have marked) see the difference between the two??

On mine the L5 juts to the left on the normal it is in a nice line. Also the form is badly compromised on mine, those two vertabra are totally different shapes than the ones above them or in the normal image.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

On being a New England fan


I am a New England fan I like the Red Sox, the Celtics and the Bruins but the Patriots are my favorite. They are a great team made up of wonderful men and Bob Kraft has been a simply amazing leader. The players while many of them could be "Super Stars" are not. Even the boisterous and often times annoying Randy Moss seems to have grown-up, matured and found a home in the Red, White and Blue (and silver). Hell he is even the receivers captain this year!

Now having said that I am a New England fan I know heartbreak I have seen our teams clench defeat from the jaws of victory way too often. I lived in the midwest for a short team and overheard someone in the electronics department of Wal*Mart describe a ball falling between two helpless outfielders as a "Red Sox moment" I looked at the screen they were gathered in front of and found that the Sox weren't even one of the teams playing!!

But suddenly the Pats have won 3 Super Bowls, the Red Sox have 2 World Series titles, even the Celtics are World Champions! The Bruins well they will get back to being great I am sure, they still are the 2nd greatest NHL franchise in the USA as far as the number of Stanley Cups won (5 for those of you keeping track the Detroit Red Wings have 11, the Montreal Canadians are the best overall with 24 one of which is pre-NHL).

So anyways last Monday everyone was sure that Tom Brady's injury is going to hurt the team, I say that they are a team and they will play as a team. They are the Patriots with Tom Brady, not the other way around. Yes he will not be on the field in uniform and playing but I bet he will be on the sidelines calling plays and mentoring the team the same as always. It is now kickoff of the 1o'clock games and we will see what happens.

Note the "old school" Pat Patriot at the top of this post and please sign the petition to restore it as the official emblem.


Friday, September 12, 2008

What an amazing race...

This whole campaign has been interesting, to say the least. I have changed my own opinions and choices several times. When there were like 90 people trying to get the Democratic nod, I liked Kucinich, and Edwards and sort-of Richardson (sort-of until I saw the LOGO network forum thing and he said he believed ones sexuality to be a choice). All of these guys fell from the pecking list one by one.

There was also this other guy on my radar, this senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, an African-American, he seemed really cool and impressive but will America elect a black man? Will his running increase Hillary's support? I don't want Bill anywhere near the top again. Don't get me wrong he did some great things when he was in office but he did some pretty nasty stuff too. (and I am not at all talking about Miss Monica.)

So the race came down to a woman and a black man, and we all know that now it is just Barack Obama left. I have had a Obama for ME! bumper sticker on my truck since March. I wear an Obama for ME! t-shirt with pride. I believe that he is the best chance that this nation has to start to did out of this hole that the Bush/Cheney clan has thrown us into. I am not a christian by any means but I do know my bible stories and I feel like Daniel being thrown to the lions.
I mentioned my bumper sticker, I also have one for Elsie Flemings for state representative. One to re-elect Dennis Damon to the state senate, and one for Tom Allen for US senate. There are also a Boston Red Sox "B" and the old New England Patriots logo, and a magnet that reads "Don't shop, ADOPT" with paw prints on it. It is an American democrat's truck trough and through. I feel we NEED the democrats to take control EVERYWHERE that they are running. I drive Elsie around once a week so she can canvas door to door in the community and get to know the independents and republicans and try to win their votes too.

I work in a small "mom and pop" shop and we sell newspapers and so there is always something about the election on the front page. The majority of folks are supporting Obama there are only three that I can think of that have openly expressed support for McCain. I am still in awe to even hope that this rings true across the nation, and that we don't have another Bush vs. Gore bullshit outcome.

So here it is people; I ask you to please, please, no I implore you to do your democratic duty and VOTE on November 4th. Not registered to vote?? Not an issue simply go to http://voteforchange.com and register there. Then spend sometime and really think about where this nation is right now, we need a change in Washington and that change is Barack Obama.



Monday, August 25, 2008

Happy, happy happy, joy, joy, joy!!!

Went to the in-laws in Massachusetts for the weekend. This is not as bad as some may think I get along well with the woman and she is my sweetie's aunt so that makes it a little easier I think. But it was a weekend in a double bed versus our queen that is too soft for my aching back. However the worst part is without my little Quinn snuggled in at feet she has to stay with a sitter for now when we go down there due to her uncanny ability to leap over or climb baby gates and accident on the cherished silk rug from Morocco on the last visit. I missed her so much she is such a little snuggle bug.

Quinn loves her sitter and her sitter adores her, she is of course a perfect angel for her no accidents, no garbage can adventures, no eating stuff she's not supposed to so she yurks on the carpet, no getting in and out of bed at night, none of the stuff that she does that make the aunt-in-law nervous. She even goes to work with the sitter which is where we picked her up last night.

We arrived and she was lying there in her bed good as gold but when she saw us she turned into an animated water worm (those toys that you can't keep a hold of). She was bouncing and twisting and panting and licking all at once. Just as happy to see her Mommies as her mommies were to see her. She is sooo cute and so completely your baby dog.

So we are all at home having slept in our own bed everything was great until 4am when the cat decided to climb my face en route to the headboard so he could look out the window and scratched across my nose and under my right eye I am a damned pretty sight.

Now it is time for us to go back to work and neither one of us is ready for it we are both exhausted the dog doesn't want to let us out of her sight. We all need a day of vacation recovery I could have and I guess should have taken another day but you know about coulda, shouldas, so I must get ready now and head off aching eye and tired body, but at least I am home and will come home tonight to my house, my family, and my bed.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Wait, This Makes Me A Slacker Doesn't It

We all know how I am not all that great at posting on a REGULAR basis. We also all know that when we have not posted for a couple of days well then we become a "slacker" according to some. Well here it is folks this is the straight poop:
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
slack·er [slak-er] –noun
1.a person who evades his or her duty or work; shirker.
2.a person who evades military service.
3.an esp. educated young person who is anti-materialistic, purposeless, apathetic, and usually works in a dead-end job.

[Origin: 1790–1800; slack1 + -er1; def. 3 popularized by the film Slackers (1991)]
1. malingerer, dodger, laggard.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
So, I guess if having and posting to your blog is your duty or work then yes in deed I am guilty as charged. However after reading definition number three I would say that there are a lot of people in this world who qualify. I again being one of them, hell I might as well admit to being guilty of number two as well. I scored fantastically on my ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery), my junior year of high school, (they were required.) I had the Marines, the Army and the Coast Guard recruiters after me the day our scores came in, I came out to the Marine, (this is the first time I have EVER told that to anyone else) and made excuses to the other two of why I couldn't possible join up. So yes, I do believe THAT I AM OFFICAILLY A SLACKER:O

Saturday, August 2, 2008

I know it's good for me, BUT...

Spondylolisthesis is a condition in which one bone in your back (vertebra) slides forward over the bone below it. It most often occurs in the lower spine. In some cases, this may lead to your spinal cord or nerve roots being squeezed. This can cause back pain and numbness or weakness in your legs. In rare cases, it can also lead to losing control over your bladder or bowels. - Web M.D.
And I my friends have it, and it is no fun. Luckily I am not a rare case I still have control over my private matters but, my spinal cord and nerve roots are most definitely being squeezed, pinched or in my mind MANGLED.

There are days when there is so much stabbing shooting pain in my right leg that I just want to chop it off. It is often excruciating to take a shower or do dishes, why this two things in particular are so bad I have no idea. I have had a series of steroidal injections in my lower back and they help for a little while but not much, and not like they are supposed to.

I have now been told that I am most likely going to have to have spinal fusion surgery which at best is a 6 hour procedure. To prepare for said surgery I need to exercise and lose a lot of weight. One of the easiest ways to do this is by walking so my dearest decided today to go for a walk to see the local waterfall after the rains. Also to spend some good time together not working. I thought it was a wonderful idea. So we grabbed the little dog and some water and set off. What she failed to tell me was that it was at least a 3 mile walk. I am now one seriously sore girl. However the waterfall was spectacular! Here is a shot of Quinn and I enjoying the view from one of Mr. Rockefeller's bridges.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Weather woes




Well phooey! It looks as though it is going to clear after all and my sweetheart is going to make us go to work. Rats, I was just looking at the dog curled up in her bed and the cat snoozing at Dawn's feet and I was thinking that it would be a wonderful day to use one of those free movie on demand coupons we got from Time Warner. Curled up together under an afghan with a bowl of popcorn and just hide from the wet and damp.

I still am lacking any type of motivation and the wonderful homemade corned beef hash that she made me for
breakfast is now a solid lump in my stomach. I may just go hide under the bed for the day anyways. Today is Friday but somehow feels to me like a Monday and I don't like it. Maybe I'll just go to bed with a book I have been meaning to read the sequel to my favorite childrens book of last year. That may be just the thing to lighten my mood. For any of you who enjoy a good childrens book I HIGHLY recommend checking this one out it was great. I may just re-read the first one to refresh my memory, then read the second. Have a dry and good day.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Bleah, buh humbug and humph!!!

Well, my dear other half took a peak over here to my blog and saw that I had not posted anything in two days looked across the table and said "Slacker!" I haven't posted 'cause I've nothing to post about. So I hit the wonderous Google button found some good quotes, copy and pasted them them added a little comment as to why it pertains to me at this point in time, it's not much but at least she can't say I'm slackin'.
It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it's a depression when you lose yours. - Harry S. Truman
Depression is the inability to construct a future. - Rollo May
It seems to me that these two go hand and hand as of late. I lost my job two weeks ago and I seem COMPLETELY unable to do a damned thing with myself since.
Noble deeds and hot baths are the best cures for depression. - Dodie Smith
I was the Sherpa for the Big Gay Weekend does that count as a noble deed? Anyone got a tub I can move into? We have only had shower stalls for the past 4 years, and while I maybe short even I am not THAT short.
The old grey donkey, Eeyore stood by himself in a thistly corner of the Forest, his front feet well apart, his head on one side, and thought about things. Sometimes he thought sadly to himself, "Why?" and sometimes he thought, "Wherefore?" and sometimes he thought, "Inasmuch as which?" and sometimes he didn't quite know what he was thinking about. - A. A. Milne, From the book Winnie the Pooh
Most of the time I wonder why? Then I forget and I wonder why, what?
My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known -- no wonder, then, that I return the love. - Soren Kierkegaard
'Nuff said.

My all time favorite depression quote, if that isn't an oxymoron in and of itself;

"Good morning, Eeyore," said Pooh.
"Good morning, Pooh Bear," said Eeyore gloomily. "If it is a good morning, which I doubt," said he.
"Why, what's the matter?"
"Nothing, Pooh Bear, nothing. We can't all, and some of us don't. That's all there is to it."
"Can't all what?" said Pooh, rubbing his nose.
"Gaiety. Song-and-dance. Here we go round the mulberry bush." - A. A. Milne from the book Winnie the Pooh
I believe that Good Morning is perhaps the worst phrase in the entire English language. In my world there is no such thing!!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Just for Ms. Huntress

ATTENTION READERS OF THE SLANT: This butch girl can cook too, yup it's true...most of us can. I am about to publish special for you courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens a recipe that impresses even Ms. Dawn the show-off at Weldable Cookies.

Beef Stroganoff
prep time 20 minutes
cook time 10 minutes
servings 4

ingredients
12 ounces boneless beef sirlion steak (honestly I usually use top round much cheaper)
1 8 ounce container sour cream
2 tablespoons flour (you can borrow that from your neigh
bor)
2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon granules (1 cube + 1/2 cup boiling water water)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (I used canned it's quicker)
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium palm sized)

1 clove garlic, minced (1/2 tsp. from a jar)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cups hot cooked noodles (we prefer extra wide egg noodles)

Step 1
Partially freeze the meat for easier slicing. Trim the fat to avoid greasiness. Thinley slice meat against the grain into bite sized strips. (Check out this video for the general idea.)

Step 2
In a small bowl (reactive or not doesn't matter) stir tog
ether sour cream and flour. Stir in the bouillon mixture and pepper, set aside.

Step 3
cook pasta(I acctually always FORGET this VERY important step)

Step 4
While pasta is cooking. In a large skillet cook and stir the meat, mushrooms, onion, and garlic in hot butter over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until desired donesness. Drain off any grease.
Drain pasta.

Step 5
Stir sour cream mixture into skillet. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly, cook and stir one minute more.

Step 6
Serve


we here in our house prefer more sauce on everything so I double the recipe and quadruple the stuff that goes in the bowl.

Good luck and in the words of Alton Brown "good eats"





Monday, July 21, 2008

BIG GAY WEEKEND

Well, they came, they saw, we conquered! The Maine Gay Net Face to Face Weekend on MDI was this past weekend. Organized, coordinated and hosted by my wonderful Dawn and I, and it was a fabulous success! There wasn't quite the turnout that we had hoped for but still. Nearly 30 GLBTA folks descended on our tiny village for the opening ceremonies Friday night many of them, to meet for the very first time . Everyone seemed to really like each other and the evening went very smoothly. Then Saturday we gathered again for a cookout and more folks joined us I would say increasing our numbers to 40ish. We helped to fill the Otter Creek Hall that night for Miller and Wilson's Theater of Marvels. If you ever get a chance to see this show DO IT! It is great fun. Sunday there were 11 of us for breakfast at one of MDI's best eateries Cafe This Way. Where we enjoyed great food and company then said our goodbyes.

Dawn and I are still in recovery mode this morning enjoying a leisurely breakfast of Pannu Kakku she an older blog post of hers for an explanation here. Treating more like a Sunday morning we'll see what happens.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

I saw her...wait where'd she go?

OK so for the NOT meeting Rosie story.

So you know how there are these cruises called 'R Family Vacations aka the Rosie Cruises? Well there happens to be one going on right now and they are traveling the northeast NY to Saint John, New Brunswick to BAR HARBOR, MAINE!!! Rosie O'Donnell was in town today now normally we Maine folk don't give a rat's ass about all the who's who crap. I have waited on Ann Curry from the TODAY show,
Susan Surandon and Tim Robbins, and I've met scads of authors. I really didn't care they are all just people, most of them have more money in their checkbooks at this very second then I will ever earn total in my lifetime but they are people just the same.

Rosie, though for some reason was different I REALLY, REALLY wanted to meet her. I waited and waited and waited with our adorable little dog Quinn but I didn't see her. I went and ran some errands and I get a call on my cell from someone that they just met her. AGGGGHHHH!!! So I drive around these crazy mobbed streets and I spot her on the sidewalk with a group of people, I turn around as fast as I can but, she vanishes poof! Rosie is NOWHERE to be seen for the rest of the day :(

I feel like Tweety Bird "I thoght I saw a Rosie. I DID! I DID see a Rosie" Only for me it wasn't a bad thing.

Woo Hoo and away we go!!

Well ladies and gents I have decided to finally start my own blog instead of just posting to all of yours and livin' vicariously though my sweetie Dawn over there at Weldable Cookies. And speaking of my sweetie wouldn't you know that as soon as I started this she presents me with a HUGE pile of steaming mussels with drawn garlic infused butter for dinner. Well the rest of the post about NOT meeting Rosie O'Donnell will have to wait.