Just a note to let those who read my diet journal that I updated (at last!) today. You can find the link on the right sidebar or My CR Diet Journal
Horrible about the freaky blackout in the northeast. I am undecided on what caused it (as are most folks) but I find it very, very strange and would NOT rule out hacking. Isn't a form of terrorism hacking into the electrical and water computer systems to create havoc? Oh, and how can Bush and others IMMEDIATELY assert it wasn't terrorism? Uh, they don't know WHAT happened.
Please scroll down and read Charlie Reese today. There's a link at the bottom of this site. His column reminds me of this song and lyrics:
Dirty Laundry - Don Henley
I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something that I can use
People love it when you lose
They love dirty laundry
Well I could have been an actor
But I wound up here
I just have to look good
I don't have to be clear
Come and whisper in my ear
We need dirty laundry
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em all around
We got the bubble-headed bleach blonde
Comes on at five
She can tell ya 'bout the plane crash
With a gleam in her eye
It's int'resting when people die
Give us dirty laundry
Can we film the operation
Is the head dead yet
Y'know the boys in the newsroom
Got a running bet
Get the widow on the set
We need dirty laundry
You don't really need to find out
What's going on
You don't want to know just
How far it's gone
Just leave well enough alone
Keep your dirty laundry
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em where they sit
Kick 'em all around
Dirty little secrets
Dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers
In ev'rybody's pies
We love to cut you down to size
We love dirty laundry
We can do the innuendo
We can dance and sing
When it's said and done we haven't
Told you a thing
We all know that crap is king
Give us dirty laundry
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em all around
======
Ta, ta till later....
My Novels
Friday, August 15, 2003
Thursday, August 14, 2003
Hmm, I'm feeling rather well these days. I am starting to get that itch to write/create again, and indeed, composed a poem last night. I'm also reading a good novel by one of my favorite authors, Josephine Hart. I was mesmerized by her first novel, Damage. Of course, obsessive, destructive love affairs are my forte. And that novel delved into an obsessive madness that destroyed one life and a long marriage.
Here's an excerpt from the novel I'm reading:
Oblivion--By Josephine Hart
"....I believe death is a double dealer: first, he deals us our mortal death, and then our real death -- oblivion -- when we are forgotten. Life to death, death to oblivion, both are short journeys. Yet we journey on, not in blissful ignorance -- for this knowledge is universal -- but in wilful blindness, or in childish terror, or in insane activity and accumulation of what we perceive as emblems of protection... Fame, 'surely if so many know me' ...Money, 'surely if I can count me' ...Power, 'surely, since I give orders'. Perhaps Epicurus was only half-right. Most of what we do in life may not be to try to defeat death but perhaps to defeat that dimly-glimpsed oblivion. We are, I fear, constructed for forgetfulness. The forgetfulness that we will be forgotten."
"And love? ... Surely when we love?"
"Love is the most dangerous emotion of all for the dead. Love's the killer. Love is always the killer. The new baby, the new romance, the new wife, over time they force the dead into oblivion. Perhaps the dead are sometimes angry."
I held my hand over my eyes for a moment and I felt my mouth tighten involuntarily.
"I've offended you."
"No, no."
"A polite lie." She gazed at me. Mockingly? I must move on. I must try to keep control.
"Art -- what about art? Does art defeat oblivion?"
"'I am an artist,' the self-benediction of our time. But so few are. And of those who are, so few are great. Time alone will tell whether some unique contribution has been made, and if the work lasts, it would have done so even if it were anonymous."
====
Otherwise, I'm still working...but this is a temporary, part-time position and will end after this month. And that is okay, since I am not full-time work material; I loathe it long-term.
DH and I are still looking at property/houses. Haven't found anything promising recently, other than the foreclosure fiasco last weekend. I do have several selected to drive by this weekend. One is in a VERY small town about ten miles to our south, a rather pretty region in a valley surrounded by mountains. The place is a house and huge lot for $39,000.00. But since that is the asking price, perhaps we could make an offer of 35,000.00 and get it. The main thing is the condition of the house and the lot/location. Since the small town is lightly populated, and is considered a dying town...then I'd think we MIGHT stand a better chance of liking this place.
The city where we live now is not considered a large city, more of a modest-size and certainly NOT a small town anymore. The quaint, quiet nature of small towns has always appealed to me. Unfortunately the Mexican illegal element is ruining various sections of this city (and NO, I'm not prejudiced, simply stating a fact), and causing strain on the school systems, and almost every community service. Plus, they do not take care of their housing -- and though most rent, they even cause nice apartments to become rundown. Sorry, but this is the truth for our city. At any rate, a change of town might just be in order.
I found an exceptional website today for American military families to express themselves; there's articles, as well as candid letters (with signed names) which really are eye-openers about what our service men/families are enduring over in Iraq. I support our troops, just not the boneheads who have sent them there and continue to keep them there.
Here's an interesting excerpt from a mother's letter about her son's service in the first Gulf War, and his suicide:
In early 1996, I thought things were starting to look up for him again. He'd sworn off the alcohol and drugs, he had a job he liked, and he planned to become engaged to a long-time girlfriend. Two weeks before the date they had chosen for their engagement party, at the age of 25, my William went out to his favorite spot at the beach and took his life at sunset. A few years later, unable to adjust to losing him, his girlfriend/fiancee also took her life.
So I guess I'm not a military family member anymore. Not since March of 1996.
I blame King George the First, and Gulf War I.
Now, another crop of kids and their families faces a war even more brutal and terrifying -- and much longer-lasting, and with a much, much shakier rationale -- than Gulf War I.
I'm writing to you to let you know I support your efforts. Even the kids who come home without a mark on their bodies still sometimes bear terrible scars because of the things we ask them to do to "defend freedom". I'd feel better about this if I knew it really *was* to defend freedom, and not just to defend Dick Cheney's stock portfolio, or Donald Rumsfeld's massive ego, or King George the Second's undeserving grip on global power, or our access to cheap oil and gas.
This stupid and unnecessary war is sowing a terrible seed among the other countries on this Earth, and among our own young....
My heart is with all the young soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan today. I hope they and their families can find a better, more just outcome than our family did. Wars send terrible ripples through the world. They should never be undertaken except as an absolute last resort.
Why do so many of the American people still trust these horrible people in this administration? Don't they see, yet, that these people may spout all the Christianoid claptrap they want, and they may stoke all the fears about Liberals and Gays and Terrorists and Atheists, but they are in no way on the average American's side. They take away our liberties and they sacrifice our children, supposedly to "protect" us ... but they can't protect us from anything.
They and their selfish dishonest kind are making matters worse, while they make themselves and their friends richer.
--Bring Them Home Now, Military Families Speak Out
And here's another link to an important news/articles website:
Truth Out
If you haven't checked out my links section at the bottom of this site, please look at those and click on 'Let There Be Peace'; it will provide you with up-to-date news daily about the continuing situation in Iraq.
Enough for today.
Here's an excerpt from the novel I'm reading:
Oblivion--By Josephine Hart
"....I believe death is a double dealer: first, he deals us our mortal death, and then our real death -- oblivion -- when we are forgotten. Life to death, death to oblivion, both are short journeys. Yet we journey on, not in blissful ignorance -- for this knowledge is universal -- but in wilful blindness, or in childish terror, or in insane activity and accumulation of what we perceive as emblems of protection... Fame, 'surely if so many know me' ...Money, 'surely if I can count me' ...Power, 'surely, since I give orders'. Perhaps Epicurus was only half-right. Most of what we do in life may not be to try to defeat death but perhaps to defeat that dimly-glimpsed oblivion. We are, I fear, constructed for forgetfulness. The forgetfulness that we will be forgotten."
"And love? ... Surely when we love?"
"Love is the most dangerous emotion of all for the dead. Love's the killer. Love is always the killer. The new baby, the new romance, the new wife, over time they force the dead into oblivion. Perhaps the dead are sometimes angry."
I held my hand over my eyes for a moment and I felt my mouth tighten involuntarily.
"I've offended you."
"No, no."
"A polite lie." She gazed at me. Mockingly? I must move on. I must try to keep control.
"Art -- what about art? Does art defeat oblivion?"
"'I am an artist,' the self-benediction of our time. But so few are. And of those who are, so few are great. Time alone will tell whether some unique contribution has been made, and if the work lasts, it would have done so even if it were anonymous."
====
Otherwise, I'm still working...but this is a temporary, part-time position and will end after this month. And that is okay, since I am not full-time work material; I loathe it long-term.
DH and I are still looking at property/houses. Haven't found anything promising recently, other than the foreclosure fiasco last weekend. I do have several selected to drive by this weekend. One is in a VERY small town about ten miles to our south, a rather pretty region in a valley surrounded by mountains. The place is a house and huge lot for $39,000.00. But since that is the asking price, perhaps we could make an offer of 35,000.00 and get it. The main thing is the condition of the house and the lot/location. Since the small town is lightly populated, and is considered a dying town...then I'd think we MIGHT stand a better chance of liking this place.
The city where we live now is not considered a large city, more of a modest-size and certainly NOT a small town anymore. The quaint, quiet nature of small towns has always appealed to me. Unfortunately the Mexican illegal element is ruining various sections of this city (and NO, I'm not prejudiced, simply stating a fact), and causing strain on the school systems, and almost every community service. Plus, they do not take care of their housing -- and though most rent, they even cause nice apartments to become rundown. Sorry, but this is the truth for our city. At any rate, a change of town might just be in order.
I found an exceptional website today for American military families to express themselves; there's articles, as well as candid letters (with signed names) which really are eye-openers about what our service men/families are enduring over in Iraq. I support our troops, just not the boneheads who have sent them there and continue to keep them there.
Here's an interesting excerpt from a mother's letter about her son's service in the first Gulf War, and his suicide:
In early 1996, I thought things were starting to look up for him again. He'd sworn off the alcohol and drugs, he had a job he liked, and he planned to become engaged to a long-time girlfriend. Two weeks before the date they had chosen for their engagement party, at the age of 25, my William went out to his favorite spot at the beach and took his life at sunset. A few years later, unable to adjust to losing him, his girlfriend/fiancee also took her life.
So I guess I'm not a military family member anymore. Not since March of 1996.
I blame King George the First, and Gulf War I.
Now, another crop of kids and their families faces a war even more brutal and terrifying -- and much longer-lasting, and with a much, much shakier rationale -- than Gulf War I.
I'm writing to you to let you know I support your efforts. Even the kids who come home without a mark on their bodies still sometimes bear terrible scars because of the things we ask them to do to "defend freedom". I'd feel better about this if I knew it really *was* to defend freedom, and not just to defend Dick Cheney's stock portfolio, or Donald Rumsfeld's massive ego, or King George the Second's undeserving grip on global power, or our access to cheap oil and gas.
This stupid and unnecessary war is sowing a terrible seed among the other countries on this Earth, and among our own young....
My heart is with all the young soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan today. I hope they and their families can find a better, more just outcome than our family did. Wars send terrible ripples through the world. They should never be undertaken except as an absolute last resort.
Why do so many of the American people still trust these horrible people in this administration? Don't they see, yet, that these people may spout all the Christianoid claptrap they want, and they may stoke all the fears about Liberals and Gays and Terrorists and Atheists, but they are in no way on the average American's side. They take away our liberties and they sacrifice our children, supposedly to "protect" us ... but they can't protect us from anything.
They and their selfish dishonest kind are making matters worse, while they make themselves and their friends richer.
--Bring Them Home Now, Military Families Speak Out
And here's another link to an important news/articles website:
Truth Out
If you haven't checked out my links section at the bottom of this site, please look at those and click on 'Let There Be Peace'; it will provide you with up-to-date news daily about the continuing situation in Iraq.
Enough for today.
Monday, August 11, 2003
Finally, finally....FINALLY, I have time to write an update. My personal problems have been resolved, I'm working part-time, and life has improved.
DH and I are still looking for a place to buy, and still pursuing foreclosures. This past weekend we found a beautiful older house with 6 acres about ten miles from the city. The house has been entirely renovated, gorgeous hardwood floors, some carpeting, fresh paint...open floorplan on the first floor, bedroom, den, kitchen, formal living room, dining room, full bath downstairs; two bedrooms and a full bath upstairs, basement, sunroom. It is a foreclosure, and the price is a bit more than we want to pay...but it seemed IDEAL in every way. Anyone reading this journal will know we've been searching for the PERFECT place for over a year now, off and on. We thought we'd found it.
But this morning DH went by the courthouse to find out where the property lines were, and guess what? There's only 2 acres with the house, instead of 6! Darn it, that wouldn't be enough land for DH's horses. There is even a fairly good-size building in the back for a saddle shop/office for DH! Unfortunately though, the land is just not enough -- particularly 10 miles from the city and at the asking price. Perhaps the realtor will reduce the price, since it is being promoted as 6 acres.
Just a tip for anyone thinking of investing in foreclosures -- do your homework! Better go to the county courthouse and check into the tax assessor's records, property lines, etc. Of all the places we have found in foreclosure (and there's LOTS in this county alone) I know of only 2 that were actually what the realtor had been promoting. The others had land issues, or the houses were in such dire need of work that the asking price was ridiculous. I really don't see how anyone could "make money off foreclosures"...and certainly not get rich quick in that endeavor. Lots of scams out there now trying to cash in on these ceaseless foreclosures in this bad enconomy (and don't get me started on Bush and the poor economy!), but these ARE indeed scams. We've only looked within our county, and still haven't found a suitable place with a price less than most home owners are asking. So beware!
We've also looked at several home owner's property/houses up for sale, but again, haven't found the perfect place. We are very, very selective because at our age, we already know all the pitfalls and problems of buying real estate (having owned two places) and/or the true financial value. Location is probably THE most important aspect, but then again, if you have to spend a lot of money getting a house livable and/or updating, and paid a bundle to begin with...well, you might just be on a sinking ship.
Othewise I'm busy with my part-time work, taking care of my critters (7 cats indoors only, 4 regular strays I feed that stay in the backyard)...so I can't complain. Physically I'm well also. This month is the two-year anniversary of my biking at least six times a week! I'm maintaining my weight at 90-91 lbs, and even eat healthy, don't starve or restrict too much. I only eat sweets on rare occasions, and with the exercise, I guess that helps me maintain this current weight.
I suppose that's it for now. I will try not to neglect this journal again, but IF I fail to update regularly...you can always browse the extensive archives! :-)
DH and I are still looking for a place to buy, and still pursuing foreclosures. This past weekend we found a beautiful older house with 6 acres about ten miles from the city. The house has been entirely renovated, gorgeous hardwood floors, some carpeting, fresh paint...open floorplan on the first floor, bedroom, den, kitchen, formal living room, dining room, full bath downstairs; two bedrooms and a full bath upstairs, basement, sunroom. It is a foreclosure, and the price is a bit more than we want to pay...but it seemed IDEAL in every way. Anyone reading this journal will know we've been searching for the PERFECT place for over a year now, off and on. We thought we'd found it.
But this morning DH went by the courthouse to find out where the property lines were, and guess what? There's only 2 acres with the house, instead of 6! Darn it, that wouldn't be enough land for DH's horses. There is even a fairly good-size building in the back for a saddle shop/office for DH! Unfortunately though, the land is just not enough -- particularly 10 miles from the city and at the asking price. Perhaps the realtor will reduce the price, since it is being promoted as 6 acres.
Just a tip for anyone thinking of investing in foreclosures -- do your homework! Better go to the county courthouse and check into the tax assessor's records, property lines, etc. Of all the places we have found in foreclosure (and there's LOTS in this county alone) I know of only 2 that were actually what the realtor had been promoting. The others had land issues, or the houses were in such dire need of work that the asking price was ridiculous. I really don't see how anyone could "make money off foreclosures"...and certainly not get rich quick in that endeavor. Lots of scams out there now trying to cash in on these ceaseless foreclosures in this bad enconomy (and don't get me started on Bush and the poor economy!), but these ARE indeed scams. We've only looked within our county, and still haven't found a suitable place with a price less than most home owners are asking. So beware!
We've also looked at several home owner's property/houses up for sale, but again, haven't found the perfect place. We are very, very selective because at our age, we already know all the pitfalls and problems of buying real estate (having owned two places) and/or the true financial value. Location is probably THE most important aspect, but then again, if you have to spend a lot of money getting a house livable and/or updating, and paid a bundle to begin with...well, you might just be on a sinking ship.
Othewise I'm busy with my part-time work, taking care of my critters (7 cats indoors only, 4 regular strays I feed that stay in the backyard)...so I can't complain. Physically I'm well also. This month is the two-year anniversary of my biking at least six times a week! I'm maintaining my weight at 90-91 lbs, and even eat healthy, don't starve or restrict too much. I only eat sweets on rare occasions, and with the exercise, I guess that helps me maintain this current weight.
I suppose that's it for now. I will try not to neglect this journal again, but IF I fail to update regularly...you can always browse the extensive archives! :-)
Tuesday, August 05, 2003
Still alive. Just wanted everyone to know I'm not dead. Lots of personal stuff going on, as well as hectic work (yes, I went back to work!) schedule.
I'll try to update in detail soon. If you're reading and curious, send me a private email and I'll explain more in detail.
More when I have TIME -- which is in short abundance these days!
I'll try to update in detail soon. If you're reading and curious, send me a private email and I'll explain more in detail.
More when I have TIME -- which is in short abundance these days!
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