Parking Place

Time once again to park my annual book list in a place where I can come back to it, should I ever feel the need.

So here it is, the books I read, re-read or started to read but couldn't get through for the year 2011. Needless to say, I had a lot of time on my hands....and yes, I managed to get myself addicted to the Sookie Stackhouse books. I've been addicted to True Blood for a while now so I figured it was about time I tried the books. Well done Ms. Harris, because I can't put them down once I start (which is how I managed to blow through all 11 of them in a less than 2 months). And of course now I've turned my attention to another Sookie-type series. One of these days I'll get back to the classics. Who am I kidding, I love a nice trashy novel!!!!

The Books:
Brava, Valentine by Adriana Trigiani
The Book of Names by Jill Gregory & Karen Tintori
I Love Everybody, and Other Atrocious Lies by Laurie Notaro
Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse series, Book 9) by Charlaine Harris
From Dead to Worse (Sookie Stackhouse series, Book 8) by Charlaine Harris
All Together Dead (Sookie Stackhouse series, Book 7) by Charlaine Harris
Definitely Dead (Sookie Stackhouse series, Book 6) by Charlaine Harris
Dead as a Doornail(Sookie Stackhouse series, Book 5) by Charlaine Harris
Dead to the World (Sookie Stackhouse series, Book 4) by Charlaine Harris
Club Dead (Sookie Stackhouse series, Book 3) by Charlaine Harris
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt
Living Dead in Dallas (Sookie Stackhouse series, Book 2) by Charlaine Harris
Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse series, Book 1) by Charlaine Harris
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Abortionists Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde
Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart
Later, At the Bar by Rebecca Barry
The Dove Keepers by Alice Hoffman
My French Whore by Gene Wilder
Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani
Son of a Witch: Volume Two in the Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Snooki In Wonderland: The Improved Classic by Phil Edwards (& Lewis Carrol)
A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice & Fire, Book 2) by George R.R. Martin
Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice & Fire, Book 1) by George R.R. Martin
Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Palm Trees on the Hudson: A True Story of the Mob, Judy Garland & Interior Decorating by Elliot Tiber
Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo by Heather Wardell
Blue by Lou Aronica
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell
Look Again by Lisa Scottoline
Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda
The People of the Mist by Henry Rider Haggard
The Year She Fell by Alicia Rasley
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Mossy Creek by Deborah Smith et al.
The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman
How to Be Lost by Amanda Eyreward
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
We Thought You'd Be Prettier by Laurie Notaro
A Taste of Magic by Tracy Madison

Ah, the sweet, sweet smell of success....

I still can't quite believe it, but I actually got a job. Let me say that again....I GOT A JOB!!!!! I GOT A JOB!!! I GOT A JOB!!!!

It only took 1 year, 1 month and 20 days, but I am finally, once more, among that most coveted of groups -- the gainfully employed. Granted, its an hourly temp job, which could end in as little as 4 weeks, but it beats the shit out of unemployment. I even get benefits (can you say 'best temp agency ever'?) And considering I was about to go work at Hooters, for no other reason that to get the hell out of the house (and give my DH something to be proud of, of course), what I'm doing now is an infinite improvement. I actually get to play lawyer. Like for realz. In some ways even more than I did in most of my other "lawyer" jobs. And unlike those other jobs, I do NOT work weekends, I do NOT work overtime, and I do NOT have to get dressed up...or even out of my pajamas if I don't like. That's right, I work form home bitches! A straight 40 hours a week.

I've never been so happy to be underpaid in all my life.

My new faves....

We've been in AZ 3 months now and in that time I've developed a few new favorite things. So here they are....

• Spicy Ranch Salad Dressing. They don't sell this back east. Don't know why, because its crazy delicious.
• Green Chiles. Another item you can't find back east. Also crazy delicious. For those not in the know, green chiles are green but they are not the least bit spicy as one would expect from a "chile". Instead, they're almost sweet. Very flavorful. And they put them on everything here....burgers, chicken, salad, EVERYTHING. And they are now a staple in our kitchen.
  
• Grocery Gas Rewards. Usually, 10 cents off per gallon for every hundred bucks you spend at the grocery store. Some stores let you combine rewards to get as much as a buck off per gallon! And since grocery stores here sell beer, wine AND booze, you can rack those points up pretty damn quick. Here's how it works: buy groceries using one of those store discount cards and BOOM, you get discounts on gas -- either at the grocery store's OWN gas station (yes, the grocery stores have their own gas stations) or, with one of the larger grocery chains, you can even get gas discounts at the Circle K.
• Living in an Apartment. Granted, I've done this before but never in such a nice apartment and never in such a large apartment community. We've got 2 pools, a top of the line gym and the most amazing service staff. Got a problem with a running toilet? Jump online, place a maintenance request and BAM, less than 24 hours later, no more problem. Definitely faster than I could ever get the DH to fix anything. THe only problem -- we're on the third floor with no elevator so bringing up all that booze from the grocery store is a bit of a pain in the ass.
  
• American Horror Story. Ok, so this has nothing to do with AZ, but since I'm listing favorites, I couldn't not list my new favorite show. One of the best new shows in a long long while. The first season just ended...if you haven't seen it, you need to find a way to catch up.
• The Sookie Stackhouse Novels. Yes, I'm way behind the times on this. And again, yes, this has nothing to do with AZ, but I'm in love with these books. Or maybe the better word would be obsessed. Massively, don't-sleep-at-night, obsessed. Thank god for e-libraries & the option to download to kindle or I'd end up broke, considering there's like 473 of the damn things. :)

I suppose that's it for now. I'll be back soon. Another unemployed friend of mine has inspired me to blog more. If nothing else, it'll kill the time. You can only clean your house so damn much, ya know.

The Last 6 Months....

Holy crap time flies, whether you're having fun or not. Though I suppose it does go a little faster when you're enjoying yourself. But whatever, here's a quick recap of the last six months (which were fun and stressful and exciting and scary and any other adjective you care to throw out there):

* Packed, packed and packed some more and then unpacked and still unpacking.
* Gave away a whole ton of shit, including the monstrous 'old person' chair.
* Experienced my first ever earthquake (minor, of course, but still...).
* Prepped for a hurricane, which never really came.
* Fell off the no smoking wagon.
* Spent some quality time down the shore with the family.
* Finished renovating the summer cabin (which is now too far away to actually use).
* Said goodbye to all our friends & family.
* Moved 2500 miles away from everything and everyone that we know.
* Drove through 10 states in 10 days.
* Stood on the stage at the Grand Ole Opry.
* Had Cracker Barrel so many times that I will NEVER eat there again.
* Learned that it takes 21 mississippis to cross The Mississippi.
* Finally won my fight with Dreams Resorts (and looking forward to our FREE 5 night stay there next year).
* Started and won a fight with my movers. But I'm still waiting for the check.
* Became an AZ resident and voted in my first local election (love the "everyone can vote by mail" law they have here).
* Found a local bar that we love.
* Became addicted to the X Factor.
* Joined LivingSocial and some other local 'deal-per-day' site and got to take an awesome photography class. Now I know what all those little symbols on my (super fancy) camera mean. Next up: ROLLER DERBY!
* Got a new hard drive for my Mac, as if I had a choice. Still hoping someone will be able to recover everything from the burned out old one.
* Found not just one, but FOUR places near me that have GF pizza.
* Applied for somewhere in the range of 40 jobs, but STILL unemployed.

So there you have it. The short & sweet version. I'd stay stop back soon for details, but let's be honest. I'm terrible at this blogging thing. :)

Holy Shit I'm Moving to Arizona!

I mean I've known I was moving to Arizona for a while, but today, for the first time, the whole enormity of it hit me. holyshitimmovingtoarizona!!!

And the first thing I thought after that was... Holy shit, I own way too much crap. Not like, oh shit she's a hoarder amount of crap, but still, alot of crap.

And so the great Stina giveaway begins. Some stuff I am selling (it ain't cheap moving cross country)  with the help of a friend (thanks Mr. Fister!), but for the most part,  I'm gonna need to be giving away a whole bunch of random shit.

For example, know anywhere I can donate a chair that lifts up and down to help you out of it and weighs about 8000 pounds? Cool, cause I need to get rid of one. 

Like I said, alot of crap.

And then there's the whole, ohmygodidontknowasouloutthere thing.

So yeah, I'm starting to freak out a little bit. Not in a bad way, but...still.  Kinda freakin out a little.

And crazy excited at the same time. Its kinda awesome.

HSF

The True Test

At 9:30 on Friday morning, I got in my car to drive to my moms some 350 miles away. Having JUST quit smoking, I knew the drive might pose a bit of a challenge. OMG how right I was.  The Universe was definitely testing me that day. 

Because instead of a relatively easy 6 hour drive, it took me more than 10 hours to get where I was going. 

Ten fucking hours!  Through some of the worst traffic I've seen in all my 40 years. 

And yet I did not stumble. And did not smoke a single cigarette. Instead, I took back roads to keep the view interesting.  And listened to my cherished country music as loud as it could go (can't get any country stations where I live so I look forward to road trips where I can).  And even though it was the longest trip to VA I've ever made, it was surprisingly un-stressful.  I actually think that had I been smoking the trip would've really sucked.

So there you have it. The big road trip test is done, at an even more difficult level than I had imagined. In case you couldn't tell, I'm pretty fucking pleased with myself.

And....now I've got several more days to hang put with mommy before going home to the next big test -- going out drinking with all my still-smoking friends. 

Yippee! I'm a non-smoker!

Just finished reading Allen Carr's The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.  And also just smoked my last cigarette. Ever.

I've stopped smoking before but it never really took. The last time I tried it lasted a year but then I stopped taking the meds.  Because silly me, I didn't want to be on psychotropic drugs for the rest of my life.  I lasted maybe a week after that. I fell into the same trap that many before me had also fallen into -- the "I can have just one" trap. 

This time will be different.  No drugs.  No nicotine gum or patches or substitutes of any kind.  This time I'm going in fully aware.  No more traps for me.  This time it will take.  I know it.  Because I know I'm not really dependent on cigs.  Nicotine, yes. But cigarettes, no.  So once that's out of my system I will be free forever.

Instead of 'giving something up', I'm gaining a whole new life.

Yay me!

Droid

Got a new phone today.  It has a blogger app. Amd so I figured I should give it a shot. And ya know what? It's super easy to use. Maybe it will lead to more blogging by yours truly.  :)

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Time to get my drink on. Although I'm not Irish. Not even a little. Except by marriage. So I suppose I do have a little Irish in me, from time to time anyway. ;)

Yeah - that's right....tasteless jokes are starting early this fine Paddy's Day morn.

And so in that vein....here's my favorite toast/Irish blessing of all time:

May those that love us, love us.
And those that don’t love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if he doesn’t turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we’ll know them by their limping.

Lost Lessons from Footloose

In 1984, the movie Footloose was released. You know you know it. Kevin Bacon? Lori Singer (of Fame fame)? Crazy Christian town that has a ban against dancing? Don't be shy. You know what I'm talking about.

When I first saw this movie (somewhere around the time it was first released -- fuck, I may have even seen it in the theater), I fucking LOVED it. That much I remember. But its been ages, probably decades, since I last saw it so the details are a bit fuzzy.

But tonight I couldn't sleep. And there, on HBO Family, there it was. Had something else been available for my insomniac viewing pleasure, I might of skipped over it. But it was the best thing on (which actually says something pretty shitty about late night TV). And so here I sit, wishing for sleep, and watching.

And the crazy thing is....to my own surprise, I realized how political this movie actually is. Was. Whatever.

My point...Um. hello. Crazy right wing psychos forcing their religion down the throats of everyone else? Sound familiar? It could be the same fucking bullshit that is floating around today except instead of dancing, the question now is whether poor raped women should be able to get abortions on the public dollar. Not exactly the same, I know, but its still the same religious fucking douchebags trying to force their beliefs on everyone else.

Anywho, 1984 was quite a while ago, and yet tonight I realized that Footloose still has a few things to teach us (apparently because our society is led by a bunch of ignoramuses who can't learn from the past)...

1. It is SO not cool to punch your girlfriend. No matter how cute you are. And whether she was talking to another guy, as liberal as he may be, or not.

2. Book burning is bad. Even preachers agree. (On a side note.....yes, you are allowed to control what your kid reads. Of course you are. They're your kids. BUT, you are NOT allowed to control what MY kid reads).

3. The devil is not found without. He (or she or it or whatever -- I'm nothing if not an equal opportunist) is found within. So stop projecting you silly silly religious wingnuts.

4. People will follow the shittiest, most draconian, bullshit rules for no other reason than they're afraid to confront the status quo. Kind of like gays raised in Republican homes.

5. One person can make a difference. At least on a small scale.

6. Dancing can be good for the soul! (Even the bible agrees -- for example....."a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance" Ecc. 3:4; "Let them praise his name with dancing" Psalm 149:3; "Thou has turned for me my mourning into dancing; though hast put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness" Psalm 30:11)

There are probably others, but I'm already up WAY past my bedtime and am done thinking for the evening. Feel free to share your own Footloose Lessons in the comments. :)

New Year, New Life

On November 8, I started a countdown toward Thanksgiving. I didn't even make it to the second day. And that's because, quite simply, on the very next day I was abruptly terminated from my job. I spent the better part of my summer abroad working my ass off, and almost all of the fall shut up in a hotel in NYC working my ass off, and as soon as that was all over, what did I get? A nice big fat fucking boot up the ass. Not even a, hey, take your time, we'll help you find work, goodbye. A get your shit and get the fuck out one. It was ugly. But, looking back on it now, it was probably the very best thing that could have happened. Because not only was I given a push out of a job a didn't like in the first place, but I got to have one of the best holiday seasons of my life. One where I wasn't tied to my blackberry waiting for the other shoe to drop. One where I didn't have piles and piles of case with me to read. One where I wasn't going crazy at the last minute to find gifts, because I had plenty of time to buy them in advance. Like I said, it was awesome. A blessing in disguise, and one which I am still enjoying. Because I'm still unemployed, and will likely remain this way for at least a few more months. It will be the first time in my whole entire life since I was like 14 years old that I've not had a job. And I plan to enjoy every lovin minute of it.

2010 Book List

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (on Kindle)
The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by ?? (on Kindle)

Mr. Golightly's Holiday by Salley Vickers
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (gave up on)
The Survivors Club by Lisa Gardner (borrowed from lending library @ Bay St Station)
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Stalking Susan by Julie Kramer (borrowed from lending library @ Bay St Station)
Songs for the MIssing by Stewart O'Nan
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson (not yet registered)
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
One Day by David Nicholls
Home to Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Wetlands by Charlotte Roche
Burn This Book and Move On with Your Life by Jessica Hurley (bookray with a twist...http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/20/6419292)
Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers by Lois-Ann Yamanaka
Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster
Learning Curves by Gemma Townley
Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
Lovers and Players by Jackie Collins
The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman (not yet registered)
The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell by Loraine Despres

17 Days of Thanksgiving

So I've seen this meme a few places....usually its says 25 days of Thanksgiving. Since T-day is the 25th this year, I assume. But I'm a slow starter and so rather than go back for 8 days, I figured, what the hell, I'll start today. I don't mean to be overly serious here or too self-analytical. Its really just an excuse to get me blogging again now that my stay in hell (aka the Millennium Hilton) is finally over. So....with that in mind....here it goes.

Today I am thankful for seamlessweb.com. Because it means never having to leave the building or talk to the take-out places who never seem to understand me. An online take-out ordering service may seem like a frivolous thing to be thankful for, I know, but what can I say. Sometimes I am just a frivolous girl. Besides, seamless is the shit. If you live or work in NYC, DC or a bunch of other cities it services, and haven't tried it yet, you should. It will change your life. For reals.

My New (Hilton) BFF

For 26 days now, although it feels much much longer, I've been literally living at the Millennium Hilton. It's directly across from ground zero and after 2 or 3 days, I basically got used to the sound of the constant construction across the street. It never stops. And I mean never. 24 hours a day there are pylon drivers, and jackhammers and all manner of insanely loud construction equipment running. There is traffic and road work and all the rest too. But at this point, its almost soothing -- the constancy of it; the feeling of progress -- since I've been here, I watched them add several stories to the Freedom Tower. I've also witnessed some amazing sunsets from our "war room" perch up on the 55th floor overlooking the Hudson. Because not only do I live here now, I work here too -- all thanks to the inability of two billionaire companies to settle their disagreements. Well, its not quite that simple, but still.

So here's the deal: my firm has had the entire top floor of this place, which is usually the first class suites for the ultra fancy and super rich, turned into a series of "war rooms." (for you non-lawyers -- a war room is really just a room where lawyers can work together to prepare for trial or some other deal). I've spent no less than 15 hours a day in the war room. Usually considerably more than that. I've never spent more than 8 hours in a row in my room, usually considerably less. And fuck, in 26 days, I've spent a sum total of maybe 8 hours out of doors. I eat my meals here. All of them. If I work out, I do it in the hotel's gym. A laundry services picks up & drops off our laundry. There is nothing you need that can't be delivered. I go outside only to get Starbucks (when we run out of coffee in the war room) or to pick up more snacks from the bodega around the corner. It's utterly miserable.

But it actually gets worse....

Because you see, while I usually like the company of the people I work with, most of them are actually cool fun people, a few weeks ago the powers that be sent us an extra pair of hands in the from of a new associate. The First Year. By the end of his first day, we thought he was a little odd. By the end of day three, we decided he must have some sort of mental condition. And by day 5, we wanted either to kill him or kill ourselves so that we wouldn't have to spend another minute more with him. The odd things he does are just too numerous and mind-numbingly irritating to list here, but here's just a few.

(1) He paces. Constantly. As if under some immeasurable pressure. But I mentioned he's new right? He's here to be a glorified paralegal. There is nothing for him to be stressed about. The most difficult task he's been given so far is print about 40 case opinions from the internet and put them in a binder in alphabetical order. It took him 10 hours. Mostly because he was pacing for 6 of them. That and he appeared to have forgotten the alphabet.

(2) He breathes loudly. Like seriously loudly. Like so loudly that I have to wear headphones and turn my ipod way the hell up so as not to hear it. It sounds like the sound people make when they come up from being under water a little too long. A long, heavy exhalation. Except he's not underwater. It's like he's forgetting how to breath. Which is not all that unbelievable since he apparently forgot the alphabet.

(3) He twirls his sideburns. Often while pacing.

(4) He's a fucking know it all. Remember how I said he was sent to us a few weeks ago? And how he's a new? Well, the rest of us have been on this case for more than a year now. Have lost our summers to depositions in London. Have given up weekends to endless investigation into the facts. Well, apparently, newbie here is so fucking brilliant that he was able to master the case in two days. Or at least that's how it would seem since he constantly has to throw his two cents into every fucking conversation we have. And its not limited to shop talk. He knows everything about everything. When he tried to tell me about italian cooking though, I had to pull out the bitch and shut him the hell up.

(5) He hovers. And copies. For example, for the first couple of weeks, I would get up from my work area and go across the room to the "snack table" to get a snack. We have all sorts of snacks here. Lawyers who work around the clock need nourishment form of junk food. That's just how it works. Except in my case, my snacks are gluten free. They're special. And oftentimes not as good as regular snacks. I dream of mint milano cookies. But I digress....I go over to the snack table, I choose my snack, and before I can turn around to go back to my work station, there he is, right fucking behind me. And while he could eat anything he wants, he doesn't. He chooses whatever snack I choose. WHATEVER SNACK I CHOOSE. Like he wants to be my new BFF or something. I even purposely bought some of the most vile GF foods out there, and forced myself to eat them, just as a test, and lo and behold, if I ate it, he'd eat it. It's actually a little disturbing. I eventually bought my own snacks and kept them right next to me to dissuade his freakish behavior. He's since latched on to a colleague. She's vegan. So apparently now he is too.

So there you have it -- as if it wasn't bad enough that we have to give up our entire lives for this thankless fucking job for more than a month (we've been here 26 days and have at least 10 more to go), we have to deal with The First Year. Who we've nicknamed FS. Because we need to be able to talk about him while he's around so as not to go utterly out of our minds batshit crazy. And FreakShow would just be too rude.

"Jackie Kennedy would not have camel toe.*

So this designer says, "Well, i was worried it was getting old?" And I get that in fashion language but at the same time, what the fuck is so wrong with getting old? Hmmmmm? Sure, I'm biased (40 is right around the corner; I can see it; that bitch is totally staring at me) but still. Who the fuck decided that only young and whateverthefuck is so goddamn fabulous and "old" is well, not gonna win you any contests? Whoever the hell it was, somebody, some "old" somebody, should kick his ass.



*Tim Gunn. Gotta give credit where credit's due. ;)

No News = Good News? Not Exactly

In early June, maybe even late May, I applied for a new job. One where the hours will be more manageable and one where my commute will drop from 90 minutes in each direction to a mere 15 minutes in each direction. Meaning, even if the hours aren't any better at the new place, I'd still get back more than 2 hours a day that I currently lose sitting on a fucking train.

So -- June/May whatever....I send in my resume. A couple weeks later, I get invited to an interview. It takes a couple more weeks to set that up but it eventually happens and it goes GREAT! They fucking LOVE me. So much so that they ask me on the spot to come in for a second interview.

The second interview, thanks to my shitty fucking work schedule, took over a month to set up but it too seemed to go really well. Left there on a high -- absolutely sure the job was mine. They told me a decision would be made soon, within a matter of days. And then...NOTHING. Not a word. Radio fucking silence.

I couldn't take it. Here I was, spending each day thinking, Is today the day I give my notice? Can I book that weekend for early October? I started thinking about what it would be like to have free time again. But after a week of nothing, I started to go a little nuts and so I make a call and I'm told "Oh yeah, so great to hear from you, we're gonna decide early next week, yada yada bullshit."

That was 10 days ago. TEN. MOTHERFUCKING. DAYS. And on each of those days the job seems less and less likely. And the plans for fall have to be canceled. And the misery that is my job starts to set back in. Sure, they haven't said no. But they haven't said yes either.

Everyone says no news is good news. But that's not particularly comforting when you're facing 18 hour days in the interim. Who cares if no news is good news if you go crazy before you can get the good news, right?

Dear Karma,

I think I've been a pretty decent person. I donate my time and money to charity. I'm good to my friends and family. I've done what I can to help other folks whenever they ask. I even try not to complain too much when it comes to my god awful job. And I never really ask for anything in return. But just about now I think I'm due. So Karma, please. Get me the fuck out of this job. Because I honestly don't think I can take it anymore. And I don't think I should have to risk losing my home to rid myself of a job that makes me so unhappy that its all I can do not to burst into tears on a daily basis. And it's only going to get worse the closer we get to October. I've already lost my entire summer. I don't want to miss the fall too.

So look, I've already done all the leg work and found a job I think I could really enjoy. And I did pretty well at the interviews too. All I need you to do is to give the powers that be a little push to offer me the job. So please, I beg of you, do me a solid Karma, would ya? I will be eternally grateful. You have no idea.

Thanks,
Your Friend and believer,
'stina

Sometimes TV is Totally Fucking Awesome

Sex scenes in first few episodes of The Pillars of the Earth:
-- true lovers: sexy, beautiful
-- old married social climbers: boring, perfunctory
-- rape (daughter of disgraced nobleman by loser son of social climber)
-- social climber mother jerks off power hungry rapist adult son: gross & demented


So I had this idea about writing something witty (and possibly even eloquent if you can fucking believe it) while watching this new show. And that little bit of nonsense above is my "holy shit, quick write it down before you forget it" notes. Of course, there were a couple (or three) glasses of wine in between the original thought and now, so I'm not a hundred percent sure where I was going with it.

But what I AM sure about is this... if you've read Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth, then you HAVE to fucking see The Pillars of the Earth on Starz. Maybe even if you didn't read the book you should check out the show (and if you don't have Starz, I'm sure there's somewhere on the web to find it). Granted, the production value ain't great in a couple of places, but the story and the characters are simply fantastic. Religion. Politics. Corruption. Intrigue. Murder. And the building of a cathedral in 12th century England.

Plus, c'mon, who doesn't like a variety of sex scenes with their evening drama?

A little birdy just told me that Prop 8 in California has been declared unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses.

Can you say hallefuckinglujuah?

Of course, the knuckle draggers behind that shitty law are sure to appeal, all the way to the Supremes if necessary, but this is a pretty amazing step in the right direction.

So thank you Chief Judge Walker. Thank you.

Whoever said money doesn't buy happiness was probably already rich

In less than 24 hours, I'm off to London once again. And the beauty of this trip? My return date is OPEN. Yes, open, as in, we haven't decided yet when you'll be allowed to come home, now back to work you fucking grunt. Ok, that's not totally true -- I know I won't be there past August 7, but still. How they expect people to live like this is beyond me.

I for one have had enough. But unless I want to go from one horror show (a.k.a. big slave-driving law firm) to another, there ain't much out there these days. At least, there ain't much out there that pays enough for me to make my mortgage payment each month without having to take a second job just to get by. Which pretty much would defeat the purpose of leaving the shitty job I have now.

If only I had some money. . . I don't need much -- maybe just a few hundred grand or so (yes, that sounds like a lot, but in the scheme of things, its really nothing) -- ya know. . . enough to pay off the dreaded second mortgage, quit my life-sucking job and start my own business. The DH and I actually have an AMAZING business idea -- we've got the concept, the name, the approximate location (eastern shore of VA, baby!) and the know how. All we need now is the cash.

We'd sell our house but thanks to greedy fucking banker assholes who crashed the real estate market while lining their own already overstuffed wallets, its worth less than we owe on it. I don't have any rich relatives or know any venture capitalists and without some cash of our own, no bank will even consider giving us a loan no matter how fantastic of an idea we might have. And I don't care what anyone says, with few exceptions, the whole "American dream" of creating wealth from nothing doesn't mean shit anymore. The system is set up to keep the rich rich and everyone else just getting by.

And then we're fed a whole line of bullshit to keep us from rising up against this fucking nonsense....Unhappy with the status quo? It couldn't possibly be because you're broke or don't have the freedom to do what you want. Oh no -- because if you just did what you love, the money would follow, say some (of course, they don't tell you how you're supposed to eat and keep a roof over your head while waiting for the money to flow). Money doesn't buy happiness, say the others (as they drive around in their luxury SUVs wearing $1500 sunglasses on the way to their $20 million dollar homes). Maybe my little business idea would fail; maybe I'd hate it. But without the start up money, I'll never be able to even try.

So please, spare me the money doesn't buy happiness line of shit. The only people who really believe that are people who don't need money. Because I'll tell you fucking what -- if I suddenly had a million dollars, I'd be the happiest bitch on the fucking planet, I promise you that.