My Salvador Dali Cat

"Ignorant people think it is the noise which fighting cats make that is so affravating, 

but it ain't so; it is the sickening grammar they use."

~Mark Twain

Joey never just sits, he kinda melts into the bed, or a chair or a box. He sits very flat, and they drapes his long legs over the side, resting his head down, like you see here. Like he was just painted by Salvadore Dali. He has many silly little quirks, but this one might just be my favorite. I love my boy!

"I believe cats to be spirits come to earth.

 A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through."

~Jules Verne

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Peace Lantern

"Peace Lantern"
Japanese Tea Garden
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

"This 9,000 pound bronze lantern was purchased with contributions from
school children of Japan as a symbol of friendship to the United States.
Yasusuke Katsuno, the Japanese Consul General, formally presented the
Peace Lantern on January 8th, 1953. The gift was a commemoration of the 
US Japanese peace treaty signed in San Francisco in 1951."

~Inscription In The Peace Lantern Plaque 


 Diplomacy As An Abstract Thought

"An eye for an eye will only make the world blind."

~Mahatma Gandhi

Monday, September 10th, 2001, was a very good day. Except for the six weeks or so, immediately following September 11th, when I noticed people saying please and thank you more often. People not only stopped cutting others off in traffic, but would safely pause to let folks in front of them! I remember more smiles and eye contact, and little courtesies like folks helping me get the bread down from the top shelf at the store. A small gesture for them, sometimes the world for me. America was one, and the world understood our grief, and shared our sorrow. But I suppose all the good will wasn't sustainable. Little by little, not only did the selfish and greedy return to their ways, the previously content among us, found an inner bitterness that perhaps they never knew existed. In the last 15 years, incidents of road rage has increased, and now there is an official term for the mean folks that yell at us on social media for having a different opinion then their own, it's called Internet Rage.

I don't know about you, but I need to get off the hate superhighway at the end of the day if I can. I need to turn off the social media, unplug from the 24 hour news cycle, and pretend Sarah Palin, and her hateful buddies are really just living in a fucked up snow globe owned by some grouchy kid somewhere. Yeah, I didn't seem very peaceful just then, did I? Well, this week, especially I guess, I am not. I could give you a list of what's bothering me, but if you know me at all, you probably already know most of it. Frustration over politics. Injustice in Ferguson, Missouri. Fear of international terrorism. You get it, it's probably the same things bothering you. I am really bothered and things only seem to be getting worse, and the most frustrating part is... they don't have to. I am watching America throw away it's common sense, and it breaks my heart. Some days I feel like saying FUCK IT THEN, JUST GO AHEAD AND PRESS THE FUCKING BUTTON ALREADY. But then, invariably, I will have someone come at me on social media, loaded for bear, asking me how I can feel the way I do about something? To which, all I can do is thoughtfully explain my explanation and my position. 

Sometimes that's all that's needed. The "Internet Trolls" reveal themselves to just be folks as frustrated as I am, looking for answers. It's hard in the moment to not want to strike back, but a compassionate answer to someone who is lost, really does work. I wish the GOP understood diplomacy is not an abstract notion, it's a tried and true method that when used in a genuine method, can yield great peace. I don't think ISIS would have any of it, but then you have to remember where their barbaric regime began... the years following an illegal, unnecessary war in Iraq, and the destabilization of the middle east. Hatred for a handful terrorists, and our own politicians who LET our lives change on 9/11 and since. America is so different now, then when I was a child. I never, ever, thought in my fifties I would be sitting up, late at night, worried about the things I worry about. Hell, when I was a child, a republican president, through diplomacy, opened us up to relations with China, and we were safer for it. When did diplomacy, as a mean to protect the United States, both on the world stage, and right here on our own soil, become a tool to be mocked? 

Mood: Frustrated

~Me :)

                                              

Ellipsis Misses: Volume 1 Episode 2

"I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity."

~Edgar Allen Poe

Appointments

Thursday, March 12th, 2015

Alarm Sounds At

7:30 AM

Dr. Shrink

 10:15 AM

Lab Tech Dracula

 11:30 A.M.

Lunch Made Of Chocolate

12:00 PM

Hour Of Pout

1:00 PM

All Better

2:00 PM

Mood: I'm OKAY, You're OKAY

~Me :)

 

Don't Cancel And Whatever You Do, Don't Leave!

"I used to wake up at 4:00 A.M. and start sneezing, sometimes for five hours. I tried to find out what sort of allergy I had but finally came to the conclusion that it must be an allergy to consciousness."

~James Thurber

So, about a week ago I had a phone appointment with my primary care physician. Yes, my healthcare plan, Kiaser Permanente, does phone appointments for routine things. I have a couple medical problems that need slight monitoring, like my Type 2 Diabetes, and my Fibromyalgia, and my Hypothyroidism, so, every 6 months or so, I go in for lab work, and then I speak with my doctor over the phone when the results come back. It's much more efficient.... most of the time. Last Friday, my appointment was for 3:00 P.M. and I was ready by the phone. A phone that never rang. Well, I should say, didn't ring at 3:00... or 3:30... or 4:00... at 4:30 I left. I had things I needed to get done, but don't you just know it, the minute I got into the car, and turned on the engine, my doctor called. I decided that I wouldn't take it, because I had to leave, or face an extra hour of traffic on the freeway. When I got to my destination I called my doctor's office, and left the message that I would reschedule a phone appointment, which I did as soon as I got home. It is for later this week, which should have been the end of it, but no, I got a call on Monday of this week, asking me to make an appointment, because Dr (Blank) couldn't reach me on Friday. 

Sigh.

"I know" I said,  "That's why I called you last Friday and made another appointment." And then I spent the next few minutes explaining that it was the doctor who missed the appointment, not I, and that I had also scheduled my blood work for this week. All the ducks, were in a row. And it even sounded like the nurse who called me understood... kinda... that it hadn't been my fault, I simply waited as long as I could, then left. Simple. Right? No, Tuesday, I got another phone call, from the same nurse, who wanted me to schedule another appointment! Holy COW... KACHOO... YES, now I am irritated, with the added attraction of a head full of allergies! "I spoke to you yesterday, I already made the appointment, both for the blood work, and to speak to the doctor on the phone! Do I need a third for something?" "No" said the nurse, I forgot I spoke to you yesterday... I will close this message." "Yes, that would be good" I encouraged. UGG! And you know what the real fun thing look forward to is? Thursday, I will be getting my blood drawn, after my first appointment with my new therapist, and I can't even eat beforehand. Therapist #50.. something... I think. All the therapists are running together. I would have started seeing her last month, but I had to cancel the appointment.

Sigh.

KaCHOOOOOOOOOO!

Mood: Intrigued

~Me :)

It's A Spring Thing

"I've just been bitten on the neck by a vampire... mosquito.

 Does that mean that when the night comes

 I will rise and be annoying?"

~Vera Nazarian

I am sneezing constantly... it must be spring! Well, no, but it will be soon enough, and with the sneezing, it will being the incessant chirping of birds, and the reemergence of bugs. Yuck. See why autumn is better than spring? While the bugs aren't quite done yet for the year, but with each cooler day comes the promise that they will be... and soon!

I don't like bugs, but this one was very photogenic!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

My New Favorite Show... Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ( Netflix Original )

"To say I'm an overrated troll, when you have never even seen me guard a bridge, is patently unfair."

~Tina Fey

Bossypants

Yesterday I told you about a documentary on Netflix that I had enjoyed thoroughly, and today I am at it again, I found a show I have to share with you, because Netflix is quickly becoming my favorite way to be entertained. This time out, I want to tell you about the newest, and funniest, 23 minutes of viewing, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. It comes from the wonderfully twisted minds, and comedic genius, of Tiny Fey and Robert Carlock. It has the pace, comedic bite, and some stars of the marvelous 30 Rock, but with a few new twists along the way. I don't want to give too much away, but imagine what life would be like, if you have just spent 15 years living in a small underground doomsday shelter in Indiana, and then once you learn the world didn't actually end, you decided to spend the rest of your life in New York City, and there you have the predicaments of our girl Kimmy. 

Life, once you emerge, would be fun, and strange, and well, strange. And so is Kimmy, but strange in the kind of way that you might wish she was your next door neighbor, because not only can you trust her, but you might actually be able to get a contact high from her never ending enthusiasm. I find myself thinking of Kimmy as a less cynical Bridget Jones, which is easy to do because of the slight resemblance of Elle Kemper to Rene Zellewigger. But the biggest difference between Bridget and Kimmy, is Kimmy can wrap up her missteps in 23 minutes, and nothing is hopeless if you take it in 10 second increments. It's that thought alone which makes Kimmy a lot less lost than Bridget, so yeah, I would next door to Kimmy in a minute. If only to learn her coping skills! The only downside to the show being on Netflix, is the limited release of only 13 episodes. The show was originally developed for NBC, but it passed on it. Silly networks... their bonehead decisions are Netflix's and our, gain!

More Please!

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Everything You Need To Know

( Rolling Stone )

Mood: Me? Excellent!

~Me :)

How Did It Get So Late So Soon?

"How did it get so late, so soon?"

~ Dr. Suess

Alan worked his regular 8 hour shift yesterday, plus 4 hours. He came home, and we had pizza, and watched a documentary on Sarah Palin, that I highly recommend by the way, called, 

Sarah Palin: You Betcha! It's available from Netflix, so if you haven't seen it, and you have Netflix... scoot... skedaddle... go see it! But, be prepared, it's some scary stuff, and is mostly told to film maker, Nick Broomfield, by the folks who actually lived through the experience that is Sarah Palin. It's a cautionary tale of ruthless ambition, fundamental Christianity and destructive politics, each at it's most dangerous. It's probably nothing you haven't heard before about Mrs. Palin, but when the actual words are coming from the mouths of people who have felt the wrath of Palin first hand, it's positively bone-chilling. Particularly when you consider the ridiculous brawl that took place in Alaska last September, and how quiet everything got in the days and weeks afterward.

It was widely published at the time, a man who attended the party, Eric Thompson, which was held at the home of Korey Klingenmeyer, his boss, at McKenna Paving, lost his job almost immediately after he spoke out to ABC News, regarding the Palin's part in the fight. Mckenna Paving, is owned by Matt and Marc McKenna, the men whose birthday's were being celebrated at the party. He was rehired at some point later, perhaps around the time the tapes made by police, the night of the party, were released to the media. Apparently, for sometime following the altercation, Korey Klingenmeyer considered filing assault charges against Bristol Palin, who is said to have punched him in the face several times. But in the end, as always, suddenly everything went silent, and if you watch the movie, you will see why. Sometimes I don't know whether to think of Sarah Palin as one big joke, or evil incarnate. All I know is, as good as the documentary was, I don't recommend watching it on a night when you lose an hour of sleep... you will lose enough sleep as it is!

"Mr. President, the only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke, is a good guy with a nuke,:

~Sarah Palin

On how President Obama should deal with 

Russian President Vladimir Putin

CPAC speech, March 8th, 2014

Drunk Bristol Palin Sobs To Cops, Mom Sarah Slams 'The Bad Guys'

(Audio Recording)

Tic... Tic... Tic...

Don't forget to set your clocks forward!

Daylight Savings Time 

2:00 AM

Mood: Quiet

~Me :)