Virginia Gal! Come On Down (or up in the geographic sense)

Virginia Gal loves the interviews she has been receiving. It makes her feel very Nicole Kidman. Thank goodness she didn't say Tom Cruise - that would mean she would need to jump up and down like a doof on national TV. But we like VG, so we won't associate her with the demented likes of Cruise again.

So, without further delay, we proudly present the (cue trumpets) 5 Question Interview!

She must copy and paste said stuff below and answer all questions. Good Luck!

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Here are the rules:

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below asking to be interviewed.
2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person's will be different.
3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions

Here are the questions:

1. You are an avid reader (at least I believe you are). Who is your absolute favorite author/authoress and why? Who do you most dislike and your evil reason for such disdain?

2. Also from what I gather, you like to travel. To someone who hasn't been outside of the continuous 48 states (yeah, I know ... sad), what three places would you personally recommend a person visit before they die and your reasons behind each. It doesn't necessarily need to be a town or country (e.g., you could recommend an annual event).

3. You are the eldest child. Out of how many? Are you close to your siblings and your parents? Are your family's political and social views the same as yours? Please elaborate. Yeah, I know that's three questions but it falls under the same subject manner.

4. Some people view the Bible-thumping extremist Christians as representatives of the Christian faith. Many Christians are quick to disagree by replying the extremists perverse the faith to their own means. You are a self-described liberal Muslim. What's your take on the Muslim extremists that have pretty much tainted the American view of the Islamic religion?

5. The last and less thought provoking question. Adorable Tony convinced you to start a blog. How did you get to know us bloggers in the first place sans a blog? What was your view on blogging before your own? What is it now?

Cute little music video aimed at the unfounded soaring gas prices

It's not a JibJab video but it still says what we are all feeling ...

We Can't Afford Our Gasoline

Just For Today (this is to all parents)

I don't know who wrote this but I thank them.

I read this everyday. I remember it whenever the baby is being particularly rambunctious and I feel like throttling her.

Now I am sharing it with you:

Just For Today

Just for this morning, I am
going to step over the laundry,
and pick you up and take you to the park to
play.

Just for this morning, I will
leave the dishes in the sink,
and let you teach me how to put that puzzle
of yours together.

Just for this afternoon, I will
unplug the telephone and
keep the computer off, and sit with you in the
backyard and blow bubbles.

Just for this afternoon, I will
not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when
you scream and whine for the ice
cream truck, and I will buy you one if
he comes by.

Just for this afternoon, I won't
worry about what you are
going to be when you grow up, or second guess
every decision I have made
where you are concerned.

Just for this afternoon, I will let
you help me bake cookies, and I won't
stand over you trying to fix them.

Just for this afternoon, I will take
us to McDonald's and buy us both a
Happy Meal so you can have both toys.

Just for this evening, I will hold
you in my arms and tell you a story
about how you were born and how
much I love you.

Just for this evening, I will let
you splash in the tub and
not get angry.

Just for this evening, I will let
you stay up late while we sit on the
porch and count all the stars.

Just for this evening, I will
snuggle beside you for hours,
and miss my favorite TV shows.


Just for this evening when I run
my finger through your hair
as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God
has given me the greatest gift ever given.

I will think about the mothers
And fathers who are searching
for their missing children...

the mothers and fathers who are
visiting their children's graves
instead of their bedrooms...

The mothers and fathers who
are in hospital rooms watching
their children suffer senselessly
and screaming inside that
they can't handle it anymore.

And when I kiss you good night I
will hold you a little tighter, a
little longer.

It is then, that I will
thank God for you, and ask
him for nothing more,
except one more day....

Darn you Disney Channel!

Sure.

Now that the new school year has started, Disney Channel has once again changed there Playhouse Disney line-up. It used to be Pooh at 5:30 and 6 followed by the Doodlebops at 6:30 and then Breakfast with Bear at 7. With the exception of Charlie and Lola which comes on around 7:05 during Bear, my child had no problem with me saying "Turn off the TV. We have to go for a ride."

click

Off went the tele and we were history.

Not anymore!

Now it's The Wiggles on at 6 followed by Breakfast with Bear at 6:30. That show is actually an hour long. Like I knew? But it shows Charlie and Lola at 6:35 and then The Wiggles (again!) at 7:05!

Dammit

The Wiggles, Charlie and Lola, and Dora (who thankfully we don't get on our cheapy cable) happen to be the baby's favorite shows.

If left up to me, the TV would not exist in our home. It would me just a monitor hooked up to a DVD player only.

Take that Comcast!

I work with mental giants

I order the supplies for my company. I don't monitor who uses the stuff.

I ordered a 15 foot extension cord about two months ago.

No lie, four separate people today asked me where it was.

?????????

Guess what? If it's not in the supply room, then someone is using it!

Duh

It's this place, I know it!

I have dropped the "F" bomb in my office so much lately, it's like a re-enactment of the bombings of Berlin during WWII.

This place just brings out the "F" in me.

Evil mommy strikes again

The daughter did not want me to leave this morning after I dropped her off at school. All seemed fine and well UNTIL I made a break for the door.

ZOOM

She was attached to my leg like Velcro (tm).

Dammit

We walked outside and I told her to have fun with her friends. Oh no. It was a "cling to mommy like static" morning. I picked her up and told her to give me a big giant hug and kiss. She did with giggles and smiles. Downside, she wouldn't let go. It was a Looney Tunes cartoon moment. The kid was hanging off my neck like a monkey - giggling and laughing. A teacher finally came over and we pryed the baby off of me.

She bawled; I left.

I waved to her as I drove by the playground. Her little boo-boo face followed the car as she waved back to me.

Watch ... tonight I'll pick her up and she'll want nothing to do with me.

At least I got the hug and kiss this morning.

Gas prices are set to fall

Is it just me or does anyone else find this a bit too coincidental that it's happening right after the big Labor Day holiday weekend?

Oil Prices Fall, Pump Prices Seen Dropping

Let's face it, oil companies are using Katrina as a scapegoat for their greed.

So long, little buddy

Bob Denver, aka Gilligan, has passed away at age 70.

Hey, imagine my shock. I always think people from my favorite comedies will live forever (e.g., Ted Knight, Isabella Sanford, Carroll O'Connor, etc.)

What Tatoo Would You Have?

Good heavens. I always thought a yin yang symbol or a gecko or something less cliche. Oh well. I guess it's time to go to Pop's on Frankford Ave. I got my design!




Heart Tattoo

What tattoo would you have?

brought to you by

Quizilla

Five Query Inquisition a la the Prof

I am a glutton for punishment. I'm also not very bright. I have already answered five questions from Taz and Pig so of course I'd like to do five more. Yes, I am the idiot who drops the toaster in the tub, fishes it out, shakes out the water, and plugs it back in to to see if it's broken.

*sigh*

So now it's the Prof's turn!

Here are the rules (such as they are):

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment asking to be interviewed.
2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person's will be different.
3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Now, on with the questions.

1 -- If you had ONE CHANCE to get absolute, perfectly appropriate revenge on someone, and NOT get caught, would you go for it, and what would you do? (Note: you don't have to tell us WHO, unless you abstract it out.)

The wuss in me would never do anything to someone. No matter how much of an ass someone is to me, I figure they are just a miserable piece of carbon anyway. Then I feel bad for them. besides, I always have this inert fear the second I do something vengeful, something worse will happen to me or my family.

Yeah, I know, BORING!

2 -- Which book has been the most influential in forming you as a person? (Note: you can't say "The Bible," because that would be a lame cop-out.)

But we LIKE lame cop-outs. Okay, okay. Dammit. I can not remember the book's title for the life of me. I read it in college. It dealt with God, science, the big bang, positive and negative energies, matter, light particles, etc. It actually brought me back to church. I just Googled for an hour and couldn't find it. But that was it! I swear! I think it had "universe" in the title.

Oh, rats.

3 -- Do you think pets go to Heaven, and why/why not?

I do believe they go to Heaven, kind of. Heaven to me is a warm feeling, like being wrapped in a blanket. No worries, no pain, no time. It's not the pearly gates with angels on clouds playing harps. From what I understood in class about angels, angels are frightening creatures. People shielded their eyes or bowed their heads from the sight of an angel in the Bible. That wasn't reverence - they were scared to death. Hello? Something not known to this Earth just popped in front of you and said it was from God. Umm, I'd cower and pee myself. But I digress. Heaven is a beautiful, ineffable feeling that is available to all. If you are a positive person, you are attracted to the positive in the afterlife. God to me is the positive; hence, you go to Heaven. Negative is the opposite. Animals are neither so their form of Heaven is boundless.

I am so glad my pastor doesn't read this blog. I can hear it now - "Heretic!"

4 -- What would the PERFECT day be like, in Maidink's world?

I would be with the family for starters. First, it would be at an amusement park or state fair or Ren Faire. We'd have enough money to do whatever without going crazy. Then it would be dinner where everyone would enjoy the meal. Then I'd drop the baby at mom and dad's home. Then Geo and I would go down Center City, hit a few bars (just for a buzz without getting sloshed), and maybe catch some nightly entertainment. Then we would go to our prearranged hotel suite, take a nice bath in the hot tub, feed each other food in the most imaginative ways possible, and bang each other like a screen door in a wind storm until exhaustion sets in.

In perfect Dreamworld, the baby would be potty trained. Oh rapture!!

5 -- You're changing a diaper -- a really vile and nasty one -- in a public restroom, when someone just pisses you off to the bitter end. Diaper in one hand, temper high -- do you use the diaper to your best advantage, or do you bundle it up and throw it away?

Public restroom means the buttmunch is female. Nasty diaper means it can knock a buzzard off a shit wagon. I'd evaluate the situation. Old person? Probably die soon anyway so who cares. I'll never have to deal with them again. Little kid? Ignore the little pest and let their parent or guardian deal with them later (or the police). Person my age? I'd think about it, smile, bundle the nappy, and throw out the diaper. This harkens back to my answer in question #1.

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And separate from the questions, the baby is in a size 3T. If you want to ditch anything, let me know. I'd be everso grateful.

Missing Monday - Cindy Song since 11/01/01

Cindy Song, whose birth name is Hyunjung Song, was born February 25, 1980 in Korea. She was last seen on October 31, 2001 after attending a Halloween party in State College, PA. She was dropped off at her residence after the party at a friend's home and it appeared she entered her apartment. Officials were alerted the next day when she did not show up for work at a local Korean restaurant. She was 21 at the time of her disappearance.

Anyone with information on Cindy's whereabouts are to contact the nearest FBI office or local police. For sightings outside the US, please contact the nearest US Embassy or consulate.

Please note: yes, this is being posted on a Tuesday. I had no PC access Monday. Sorry for the tardiness.

The oil companies rule the world

They own us, the retailers, the media, the government, ... you name it, they run it!

All this time I thought it was Bill Gates. Compared to the oil companies, he's a pimple on a gnat's ass.

My head hurts ... bad

This week has royally sucked. Let's go through why, shall we?

Katrina has probably become the 2nd worst hurricane in modern US history in terms of casualties.

My boss, who I have known for over four years, resigned! I actually liked my boss. Asshole.

I have had a migraine from Tuesday until this afternoon.

Gas prices are going through the roof. 'nuff said.

I need a glass of wine, two Excedrin Migraine, and a chocolate chip cookie. I know the wine probably won't help my headache but I really couldn't give two hoots right about now.

Why I choose the Yin Yang as a personal symbol

I am a Christian. I don't attend church regularly. I take the Lord's name in vain (though I really try not to). Organized religion, at times, gives me a migraine. I like to sing certain hymns; others make me nauseous. I think fighting over one's religion defeats the purpose. I don't condemn people for who they love. I believe everyone has some good in them no matter how morally reprehensible they seem to be. I believe in God and in Jesus and that He did die for my sins. I know the strength I have to live each day comes from my beliefs. I don't like hypocrites who pass judgement on others while clutching the Bible; however, I won't pass judgement on them for I am a Christian.

But I do not wear a cross around my neck. I wear a yin yang symbol.

It stares back at me whenever I look in the mirror. It's quite a beautiful piece. It's made of glass. I bought it off of E-bay.

I also use the yin yang as a gravatar. It's a tribal design using the symbol as the focal point of the sun.

It's my constant reminder that there are two sides to everything. As evil or as ugly things can be in this world, I am reminded there are things that are virtuous and beautiful. The dark can not exist without the light. Where one child is abused, another is hugged. While a city languishes in Louisiana, another looks toward hope in Mississippi. Tears fall for the finding of the dead as it does for the discovery of the living. Where despair exists, hope does as well. Both sides co-exist within each other but are completely opposite of each other. This is what helps me cope.

I talk to God when I need someone to listen to me but I don't have a question which needs an answer. I use prayer to help guide me through decisions. I look to the yin yang and it helps me stay focused and centered.

My religion gives me strength. The yin yang gives me peace.

Light Hearted Meme - The 5 Question Interview

And now, the infamous "5 Question Interview"! Brought to you by Taz and Piggy. The whole deal with this meme is YOU have to request being interviewed. So of course I ask the two English gents for questions. And here they are (the questions, not the gents):

1. You are on a remote desert island. You come across a magical retaurant. The menu consists of Cow Poo and Donkey Poo. Both highly nutricious. Which do you choose for dinner?

How the hell did I get on an island? I hate boats and deep water gives me the hoo-boo-geebees. Must have been a plane wreck. Lovely. And if the restaurant is so damn magical, why not real food? Figures. Stupid island. I'll take the donkey poop. I saw a cow stick its tongue in its own nose once. Not a pretty sight. Quite gross. Poop is bad enough but poop with possible undigested boogers ... yuck!

2. If you could live anywhere in the world, other than your home country or where you live now, where would it be and why?

Well, definitely not that stupid island with the undigested boogers. Now there would have to be the stipulation of employment and a place to live. I like Australia and New Zealand, but I'm not sure if I would want to call there "home". I would probably pick England. I have always been interested in England and her history. And I would love to find a good pub. The bars here in Northeast Philly suck. They're all like the cantina bar in Star Wars. Geo said he would have to pick Germany. He likes beer and he can look up his family tree.

3. What was your favourite toy when you were a child? And what is your favourite ‘toy’ now (evil laugh) and why? Describe what’s so good about it in very intimate detail.

My favorite toy was a stuffed animal named Catnip. I took that cat everywhere. It got quite ratty after some time. I had that dumb thing until I was 30. Then my dog ate it. Stupid dog.

Sorry to disappoint but my fave toy is my computer. It's a Dell Inspirion 9100 laptop. It's my source of communication and entertainment.

HA!! And you thought I'd say a dildo that took 4 "D" batteries, had five speed settings, and could jumpstart a VW. Just so happens that I like my laptop better.

4. Why are ice-lolly sticks made of wood? ... (Who wrote these questions?)

Because we can't wait until the ENTIRE rainforest is gone.

5. What is the most unhealthy thing you have eaten recently?

Hands down it's McDonald's. I swear they put something in their food to make one addicted to it. I try not to go, but there I am in line telling the McPerson I want a Big Mac super-sized meal with a Coke. It's like smoking. I think I'll slap a Quarter Pounder with cheese on my forearm and tell people I'm trying to quit eating at McD's and that the burger is my patch.

And now, for the obligatory terms and conditions:

Dont Forget:

DA RULEZ

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below asking to be interviewed.

2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person’s will be different.

3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions

"Wasn't That A Mighty Storm"

I heard this song this morning on WXPN. Michaela Majoun of the Morning Show played it. She said when she heard about Katrina, this was the one song that kept rolling through her head. I could swear I heard in her voice that she was holding back tears.

The song is about the worst hurricane disaster to ever hit our country in modern recorded times. It was the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. That hurricane wiped out over 6,000 lives.

The similarities between Galveston and New Orleans are frightening. Reading the history of both can make one actually shudder.

6,000 lives ... gone. Nothing more than a statistic in a sentence in a history book. And that's what makes me cry. Life is more than a number.

I only pray Katrina doesn't try to go for the record.

Wasn't That A Mighty Storm

(Traditional; Arrangement by Tom Rush & Eric Von Schmidt)

[Chorus:]

Wasn't that a mighty storm

Wasn't that a mighty storm in the morning, well

Wasn't that a mighty storm That blew all the people all away

You know the year of 1900

Children, many years ago

Death came howling on the ocean

Death calls, you got to go

Now Galveston had a seawall

To keep the water down, and a

High tide from the ocean

Spread the water over the town

[Chorus]

You know the trumpetS give them warning

You'd better leave this place

Now, no one thought of leaving

'til death stared them in the face

And the trains they all were loaded

The people were all leaving town

The trestle gave way to the water

And the trains they went on down

[Chorus]

Rain it was a' falling

Thunder began to roll

Lightning flashed like hell fire

The wind began to blow

Death the cruel master

When the wind began to blow

Rode in on a team of horses

T cried, "Death, won't you let me go".

[Chorus]

Hey, now trees fell on the island

And the houses give away

Some they strained and drowned

Some died in most every way

And the sea began to rolling

And the ships they could not stand

And I heard a captain crying

"God save a drowning man".

[Chorus]

Death your hands are clammy

You got them on my knee

You come and took my mother

Won't you come back after me

And the flood it took my neighbor

Took my brother too

I thought I heard my father calling

And I watched my mother go

[Chorus]

You know the year of 1900

Children, many years ago

Death came howling on the ocean

Death calls, you got to go

[Chorus 2x]

I see skies of blue ...

No, that is not a blue screen photo. That is an actual picture of the sky in Northeast Philadelphia at 7:08AM this morning.

The weather in Philadelphia was gorgeous this early morning. The clouds are non-existant. The air has a touch of coolness. It was absolutely beautiful.

How bittersweet though. It's as if Katrina swept away all the clouds and brought us the cool breeze.

After I took this photo, I thought about it and cried.

I am NOT an only child!!

I just act like one.

I was the youngest and only girl; hence, I was worse than an only child. I was more spoiled than lunchmeat left on a picnic bench in 100 degree heat.

You Are Likely an Only Child

At your darkest moments, you feel frustrated. At work and school, you do best when you're organizing. When you love someone, you tend to worry about them. In friendship, you are emotional and sympathetic. Your ideal careers are: radio announcer, finance, teaching, ministry, and management. You will leave your mark on the world with organizational leadership, maybe as the author of self-help books.

The Birth Order Predictor

Oil reserves to be released

This was just posted on The Wall Street Journal On-Line. You need a subscription to view so I'll paste a bit of the article.

"WASHINGTON -- Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman said Wednesday the Bush administration has decided to release oil from federal petroleum reserves to help refiners affected by Hurricane Katrina.

'In a word. It is going to be done,' Mr. Bodman said during a CNBC interview."

This, obviously, is in response to Hurricane Katrina and her aftermath. It's bad enough the US is about to face one of the worst energy crises since the 1970's. Katrina rubbed salt into the wound.

However, don't expect gas or heating oil prices to subside anytime soon. The release seems more like a Band-Aid (tm) on a gaping wound over a compound fracture.