So It's My First Video, OK?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRETm9U0O10

Yes, this is my lame first attempt at creating a 17-second video on my digital cam and then uploading it to YouTube. Expect new and improved scintillating content over the next few weeks, possibly me singing to Labrador retrievers. Woo-effin-hoo.

Random Ramblings

Tomorrow is Girls' Day Out...yippee! I lurve getting together with the girlfriends: Anne, Lynne, Cat, Barb and Joan. All friends from my running club. We're going out to lunch and then out to a movie. Looks like we're seeing "Dream Girls" since about half of us have seen "Holiday."

"Holiday" was cute, very entertaining. And Jude Law, bastard that is he, is not hard to look at. I really want to see "Dream Girls," however, because of Jennifer Hudson. I hear she steals the show from Beyonce.

Worked a little bit harder with the weights yesterday and today I feel it a bit, but in a good way. Not too sore but sore enough to know that I worked out. I feel as if my posture is getting better, too.

Had a deep tissue massage today and boy oh boy, she really got in there and worked that sciatic nerve on the left side. I really have to keep on top of that or it will turn into real sciatica and that is NOT a good thing. Lots of stretching that puppy.

BF & I had dental appointments and this marks my 35th year of being cavity-free. Tom was amazed. I am lucky that I inherited my mother's good teeth. My brothers were not as lucky. But I also think it has a lot do with flouride being introduced to the water when I was young. A lot of folks are against flouride but I think it has done more good than harm, especially where dental disease is concerned. Also, I HATE any kind of soda pop and my brothers both love Coke. That may have something to do with it, who knows?

I always hated carbonated beverages. I find they don't quench my thirst and actually make me thirstier. I basically just drink water, green tea, coffee, red wine, beer and fresh juice made in a juicer. None of that commercial crap. You might as well drink pure sugar water.

We bought a really cool picture frame tonight. It looks like a window with 12 panes, 4 across and 3 down. Cherry wood, really pretty. We're want to fill it up with running pix but it takes 4 x 6 photos so we need to get busy and take more of that size. The USATF dinner is coming up so we'll get some more there.

My favorite Christmas gift? A portable DVD player! We actually saw this in a store and I remarked to Tom that it was something I would never buy for myself. Well, whaddya know? He got me one. I am loving it. It will sure make the morning commute that much more tolerable.

Sometimes I read on the bus but those overhead lights are so dim that it's uncomfortable to read. Which is a darn shame because I love to read. But I love being headache-free more. Damn DeCamp! Spring for some freakin' lightbulbs that work halfway decent, why dontcha?

More on Texas

The 10 O'clock News is depressing but not as depressing as my family in Texas.

Got a picture text message on my cell phone of a sun rising from my niece on Christmas Eve. This is her way of letting me know that she needs to talk to me. A normal person would just call but well, I think you get my drift.

Not that I don't love my niece. I do, very much, but she has her issues. She's 33, a single mom (by choice, but I don't think she actually knows who the daddy is), claims she's been diagnosed with ADD (she always reminds me of this whenever she gets herself in a fix), and is a drama queen. She used to have a drug problem but has been clean for three years. She's not unintelligent but emotionally, she acts 14.

At least she's trying to pull herself up, though. She's going to school to learn how to fix computers, she works and appears to be making the effort to be a good mother. However, one of the things that continues to pull her down is her OWN mother, my *lovely* ex-sister-in-law. As immature as my niece is, she's even more so and plays these manipulative games with my niece and everyone else. It's really sad.

She had been helping my niece out financially but as soon as my niece does something (real or imagined ) to tick her off, she pulls the plug. I told my niece that she should make every effort to become independent from this witch as soon as possible. Yes, it's going to be tough, both emotionally and financially, but most things in life that are worthwhile are worth fighting for.
I told her that I am there for her.

After my brother and Witch got divorced, she married this guy she met at her high school reunion. I met him once, at my nephew's wedding, and don't really have a good recollection of him, one way or the other. An impression, good or bad, was not made. Well, a few years ago, he ran into some financial problems with his business. Based on what I've written, can anyone out there in the peanut gallery guess what happened next? That's right. Instead of working things through, Witch leaves Guy #2, who, I learned, committed suicide the week before Christmas.

Now Witch has shacked up with Guy #3, a Colombian *artist* of sorts (sounds more like a bullshit artist to me), who lives in a tiny apartment above someone's garage! Well, my niece tells me that HE is now having financial AND health problems and I'm just waiting for the next installment of this sagging saga. I think we all know how it ends up.

But ya know? If I have to listen to another installment, I think I may drink myself silly.

Well, Wet My Feet and Call Me Ducky!

Had my weekly weigh-in/body fat measurement yesterday and I was shocked to learn that I have lost 3 pounds of body fat in a little more than a week's time! My actual weight was up by 3 pounds (nutritionist said it was probably water gain from all the salty foods over the holiday) but he was more interested in the body fat number. I could not believe it. After a week? And not even sticking to the diet that diligently?

So now my body fat is at 22%, 4% away from my goal. I expected to reach my goal in say, 3 months or so. Dayam, this stuff really works.

Had another workout today with free weights and it went pretty well (this after running 9 miles with Tom in the morning!). I have to say I was a bit apprehensive about this since I haven't worked out with free weights for quite some time. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to even do a decent amount of reps with a 5-pound weight. But I was fine, even able to do 8 and 10 pound weights for the different exercises. Naturally, as I keep doing them, I will keep adding weight (up to a point). For now, though, it's fine. She wants me to be slightly sore the next day, not in horrible pain.

I have a massage tomorrow (Gee, this staying home from work could grow on me!). Really more as a therapeutic session than one for relaxation although I do enjoy them immensely. I was supposed to do two sessions after the marathon on Nov. 19 and I've only done one. I really need it as I feel the piriformis acting up again. Very annoying kind of pain. Not debilitating but a dull throb, not while I am running but when I bend over or get up from a seated position.
Working with a trainer should help to counteract some of this, so I am told. A strong core is key.

News from the Dysfunction Junction

First of all, Merry Christmas, if anyone happens to be reading this now or on Christmas Day!

That being said, it's always Jerry Springerland when I call my niece in Houston, Texas, to check in on her. Thank God that she and her siblings have seen fit to finally divorce themselves from their toxic mother (my brother's first wife). No one said it was going to be easy but most things in life that are worthwhile are not.

That being said, since it is Christmas Eve, I'll spare you all the gory details for now. (I still haven't digested them all myself). I will revisit them later in the week but not before I've had a good night's sleep!

Tomorrow morning, I have to wake up early and bake oatmeal cookies for BF's family. Then after we exchange gifts, it's off to his son's house.

He told me not to go overboard this year being that we treated ourselves to a flat-screen TV back in November but I can't help myself. I got him:

badly needed luggage
a gift certificate for a massage
a gift certificate to our fave sports store
some tools and stuff he needs for his car
a tiny tool kit for his bicycle
new wallet
new keyfob
2007 datebook
and some other stuff I don't even remember!

He's tough to buy for. First of all, he doesn't need any more clothes. He's one of the few men I know that has more clothes than me. Not that he's a clotheshorse, he just NEVER THROWS ANYTHING OUT. A few times a year, I literally have to beg him to give away some stuff to the Salvation Army, the U.S. Vets, or other such charity or else he would not be able to close the drawers in his bureau or the closet doors.

He's a periodical and newspaper reader, not a booklover.

So, basically, I try to buy him things that he normally wouldn't buy for himself (i.e., the massage).


Well, I am off to try and fall asleep, despite all the caffeine I've had today. Maybe I'll find some Ambien in my stocking tomorrow.

Christmas Carols for the Demented

1. Schizophrenia -- Do You Hear What I Hear?

2. Multiple Personality Disorder --- We Three Kings Disoriented Are

3. Dementia --- I Think I'll Be Home for Christmas

4. Narcissistic --- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

5. Manic -- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and....

6. Paranoid --- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me

7. Borderline Personality Disorder --- Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire

8. Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why

9. Attention Deficit Disorder --- Silent night, Holy ... oooh look at the Froggy ... can I have a chocolate ... why is France so far away?

10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder --- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells ...

Some Random Musings

This blog is really starting to look lame because it needs more photos. I will have to take care of that, won't I? Supposedly, BF's sister took a really cool picture of me holding a red umbrella in Cape Cod (so she says). I'll be seeing her this weekend so hopefully I can can borrow it to scan in.

Got my blood work back from my cardiologist and everything looks good. My LDL cholesterol could be better but my good cholesterol (the HDL) is so high (78) that she said it almost cancels out the bad. Still, I want to bring it down a mite and working with the personal trainer might do that. My blood pressure reading was 90/70...egads! (in a good way, of course!)

And yes, that is my Christmas present to myself. I am biting the bullet and have signed up for a personal trainer who will supposedly help me get my core (torso) in peak condition, thereby making me a stronger and faster runner. Also, it will help protect me against injury.

I seem to have reached a running plateau. I got down to 24:11 this past season in the 5K but just can't seem to get over the hump into 23-land. Hopefully, this program will help.

I will try to be diligent about writing about my progress here. One of the things I hope to accomplish is a reduction in body fat. Now, when I tell this to people they look at me like I have three heads because I look slim for the most part. But you have to remember that people who excel at running or other aerobic sports have very low body fat. Paul Tergat, for example, who holds the world' s record for the fastest marathon with a time of 2:04, has 4% body fat! Lance Armstrong has 9% body fat.

Now before you think that I'm comparing myself to these two, I am not! First of all, they are male and they are professional athletes. I am just making a point that one of the reasons they excel at their respective sports is because of their low body fat percentages.

The last time I had mine checked it was around 21%. Not awful, but as a female runner, it should be around 18%. That is my goal (unless my trainer tells me otherwise).

In other good news, looks like I will be getting third place USATF awards this year for both the Mini 1 and Mini 2 categories for road racing! Woohoo! I was really trying for the Mini 2 category (medium-distance races, 5 Milers, 8Ks and 10Ks) so the Mini 1 category (5ks mostly) came as a BIG surprise. I consider myself a better mid-distance runner than shorter distance runner. The awards dinner takes place in January.

Finally, A Judge Who Gets It Right

Italics are mine--Martta


Jury recommends 90-year sentence for teen in Spring pipe attack
By BRIAN ROGERSCopyright 2006 Houston Chronicle


A jury recommended today that Keith Turner be sentenced to 90 years in prison for his role in a savage attack in which a plastic pipe was kicked into the rectum of another teenager, causing severe injuries.

Turner, 17, showed no reaction as he stood and listened to the verdict.

His mother, Janis Turner, sobbed loudly upon hearing the decision.

The verdict means Turner must serve at least 30 years before he can become eligible for parole.
The jury convicted Turner of aggravated sexual assault on Friday for the April 22 attack at a residence in Spring.

Later on Friday, during the trial's sentencing phase, Turner's mother said from the witness stand that he is a loving son with a good heart, but had fallen in with a bad crowd.

"He's not a bad kid,'' Janis Turner said, sobbing. ``He's making bad choices.''

[No, Ms. Turner, he's a bad kid. Some people are just bad seeds].

Turner's 18-year-old friend, David Tuck, was sentenced to life in prison last month after being convicted of aggravated sexual assault for the same attack.

Gus Sons, 16, whose home was the site of the attack, testified that Turner had held the 1½-inch-diameter pipe in place and Tuck had kicked it deep into the unconscious victim's rectum.
The victim testified in both trials that he does not recall the attack or the day leading up to it. He said he has undergone about 30 surgeries to repair massive internal injuries.and has more to go.
Sons told jurors that he, Turner, Tuck and the 17-year-old victim had been drinking and using drugs before the attack took place.

He said Tuck knocked the victim unconscious because the group suspected that the victim had stolen some of the drugs. Sons also said his younger sister, Danielle, then 12, had accused the victim of trying to kiss her.

Sons said Tuck shouted "white power!'' while beating and kicking the Hispanic victim.

You racist piece of shit. I hope you die in prison and rot in hell!

brian.rogers@chron.com

Thoughts on the Philly Marathon

I actually did better at Philly than my expectations. I told Tom that I didn't think it was unrealistic that I would do something "around 4:30." The operative word here being "around." I didn't want to be disappointed if I didn't make my goal. And "around" can mean anything from 5 to 15 minutes in either direction. LOL!

I haven't done a marathon since Jersey Shore in 2004 so I really didn't know what to expect. Yes, I had done a few long runs prior, but in all honesty, none more than 18 miles (LBI). But I was determined about two things: I was going to stick to a pace between 10 and 10:30 minutes/mile no matter what and I was going to take 1-minute walk breaks every 2 miles whether I felt like I needed them or not.

This worked well until I got to the halfway point at 13.1. When I arrived there, I could have sworn that I just passed Mile 12 about a few minutes ago, 7:52 to be exact! I asked a runner next to me what was going on and he said that the 12 mile sign was actually for the half-marathoners. Well, that kinda threw me off base a bit because I was taking my walk breaks at the even number miles. Now, because of that snafu, I would have to change it to odd numbers. Not a real big deal but when you're running 26.2 miles, you don't need any added confusion thrown in along the way.

I actually felt pretty good up until Mile 21. I felt better doing this race than I did doing LBI because there was virtually no wind. It was a beautiful course, too, never boring. You went through shopping districts,the downtown Philly area, a park, alongside a river, even along a roadcalled Kelly Drive, which Tom pointed out. And, with the exception of acouple of small ones, no really big hills to worry about. The crowds were enthusiastic, too.

The stiffness hit at Mile 21. Fortunately, I had been taking inGatorade at all of the water stops so that helped to offset some of the cramping somewhat but it's not a permanent effect. You have to keep taking it. At this point, my walk breaks went from 1 minute to 1:15 minutes to 2:00 minutes. I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to finish. Amazingly, according to the course clocks and my watch, I was pretty much right about where I wanted to be timewise.

At mile 23, I saw a woman running with a bunch of balloons and a sign that read 4:15 pace. She soon passed me by, however, and there was no way I was going to catch up to her. It's true what they say, the last 6 miles of a marathon are a beast. As I got closer and closer to the finish line, people kept yelling "You're almost there!" At one point, I shouted back, "Where's there?" and they laughed. Seriously, it seemed as if the finish was nowhere in sight. And there it was, finally!

The clock said 4:25:05 but my watch (chip time)said 4:20:05. (As Tom, the Lottery King, later pointed out, my bib number was 4205...weird! Only Tom would make this connection.) This was not a 10minute pace, but a 9:55 pace--31 FREAKING MINUTES OFF MY LAST MARATHON IN 2004!! ! No wonder I felt tired, achy and queasy.

Afterwards, all I wanted to do was sit down on the curb but I was afraid Iwould not be able to get up again. I ambled on over to the food tent, looking remarkably like someone trying to take a sobriety test. I could not seem to walk a straight line no matter how hard I tried. I got a banana, some water, found a chair, called Catherine and Tom to let them know where to find me. Although I had stopped running five minutes ago, it seemed as if my whole body was still racing. I don't know if was from the physical effects of the marathon or just looking at my running watch in disbelief.

What a (use your own expletive)!

Gawker.com has something called the Douchebag Awards, intended for people who act like, well, douchebags. Maybe I should start something similar here although I would have to change the name of the awards to something else, lest I be accused of being a copycat and a plagiarist.

I found this little gem in my emailbox last night:

Do you have nothing better to do then sit on your computer and discuss the personal lives of people who you do not know? I am speaking about your comments about the Carbones being "numerous and breeders". People in the 1940's and 50's were know for having more than the typical 2.5 children of this generation. I would like you to know that May and Sam Carbone have left a legacy of healthy and successful adults who contribute to society. They are teachers, engineers, architects, mothers and fathers.

Sincerely,
Jaime
Granddaughter of May and Sam Carbone


My first reaction was wha...? I don't know any of these people, I don't know anyone in East Rutherford, I don't remember making this comment, and who is this (use your own expletive)?

But I decided to do a little investigation. Since it was obvious she was referring to Baristanet.com, I went to the site and typed "Carbone" into Google. I DO remember a discussion about East Rutherford and a reference to the Carbone family. But, I repeat, I DID NOT MAKE IT!

And sure enough, there it was, the aforementioned comment, attributed to another blogger who shall remain nameless.

So, Ms. Jaime, I ask you this question: Do you have nothing better to do then sit on your computer and discuss the personal lives of people who you do not know?

May I also suggest that although "May and Sam Carbone left a legacy of healthy and successful adults who contribute to society," that you might not be one of them?

No Surprises Here

Who needs an October surprise when you have asshats like this putting his proverbial foot into his mouth?

www.nydailynews.com/front/story/467194p-393105c.html

Keep 'em coming, Dems!

Happy Morning!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQI2KlAurOg

A friend of mine from Canada thinks this is the funniest thing she's ever seen. I find it mildly disturbing.

Some Ramblings

I'm a great-auntie! My nephew and his wife from Houston welcomed A.J. Rose into the world on October 27! Details to follow but I hear mama and baby are doing fine. Geez, it wasn't that long ago when my nephew Harris was a baby himself! (Actually, it was 34 years ago but who's counting?) :-)
***********************************************************************************



Baristanet introduced this CAPTCHA feature which is driving me (and probably others) loco.

Evidently, they've been plagued with spam so the CAPTCHA is designed to keep out the spambots by making humans type in some numerals and letters. Fine, I understand. Craigslist does the same thing.

However, if you post at say, 6 PM and you try to post again 5 minutes later, you're shit outta luck. Try your post again in 3 hours! No, I am not being facetious.

I know that they're trying to make improvements to the site but they've asked for our feedback and I vented about it. You asked for it, you got it, Toyota!

I hope my comments have not fallen on deaf ears. If they have, I will have to look for my entertainment elsewhere. Oh no!

************************************************************************************

Yesterday, Tom & I did this cross-country 5K down in Holmdel. To say the course was challenging would be an understatement. Hills, treacherous paths through the woods, not to mention 25 MPH winds. Neither one of us had great times but our goal was to actually incorporate this as part of a longer run in preparation for the Philly Marathon on Nov. 19.

Well, we went around the course 2-1/2 more times, ran out on the flat road a bit and then called it quits. We had wanted to do about 20 miles but only ended up doing 16. The wind was beating us up!

I almost never get tired on long runs but I felt wiped afterwards. Another friend from the running club said that running in those conditions is tantamount to doing a longer distance. That made me feel a little better about it.

Curious to see how I'll do in Philly. Tom needs to do 4:15 to qualify for Boston. I don't care if I qualify for Boston but I would like to do around 4:30. Marathons are not really my event. I do better in the 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons. Marathons just take a lot out of you and you really have to put in the time and mileage to do well.

This is my last marathon, folks. You read it here.

And the Point Is?

I am a fan of Joyce Carol Oates but for the life of me, I can't figure out the point of her latest short story, titled "Landfill," which was published in the October 9 issue of The New Yorker. It is categorized as fiction but according to a Letter to the Editor published in the October 23 issue, it appears to be based on an actual event. I'll get to that later.

A brief synopsis: "Landfill" recounts the story of Hector Campos, Jr. of Southfield, MI, , a 19-year-old college student at Michigan State University who is reported missing by his dorm mates in late March. To make a short story even shorter, his remains are found in the Tioga County landfill. But it was well-known that Hector had a proclivity for getting drunk at frat parties and one night, he crossed the line into a drunken stupor and some other drunken frat boys, as a joke, pushed his body down a garbage chute into a dumpster. They claimed they checked the dumpster later that evening but that Hector had somehow vanished. How he ended up in the Tioga County landfill is anyone's guess.

Are you still with me?

If a fiction writer wants to engender sympathy from readers for a particular character, he or she should create qualities in said character that are, um, sympathetic. I read through seven pages of this story and could find no good reason why I should feel waves of compassion for this boy. In fact, the mood of this whole story was about as inviting as a well, a landfill.

Hector, or Scoot as his friends called him, was a mediocre student at best. He would attend his engineering classes either hung over or if sober, thinking about the next frat party.

As far as acceptance into his fraternity Phi Epsilon goes, he and several other pledges were accepted merely to "fill out the membership." Even if he was aware of this fact, he desperately wanted to fit in somewhere.

A girl he had been planning to take to a frat party sent him an email that "something's come up." "Bitch," he thinks to himself, "I knew I couldn't trust her."

His roommates barely tolerated him. When interviewed about Scoot's disappearance, the words and phrases that pop up are "uninteresting," "drunk like an asshole," and a reference to the fact that he, when drunk, would "piss on the toilet seat and the floor and the next day act like it's some goddam joke." So far, I am not feeling the love here.

His relationship with his parents wasn't much better. His extremely over-protective mother would text message and call him on his cell phone constantly. He would erase the messages. His contact with his father in the story is merely illustrated by an urgent request to send money so that he can pledge the frat house.

Scoot's death, while tragic, is anti-climactic. While we are shown the mother's grief and introspection, we are never introduced to any friends from high school, neighbors, cousins, former girlfriends, ANYONE who can offer a glimpse into the life of this kid. He didn't even seem to have a best bud. No pets. Gosh, even the other annoying, drunken frat boys found him annoying. What made him special and, more importantly, why did I just wade through seven pages of this story, waiting for the other shoe to drop?

Getting back to the my point in the first paragraph. Mandee Wilton from Ringoes, NJ (I always loved the name of that town!), writes a letter chastising Oates for characterizing her story as fiction when it so closely resembles real-life events. In her letter, she notes that the story "uses nearly the exact dates, times, descriptions, and scenarios" from a traumatic story of a young man from the College of New Jersey who disappeared this past March and whose body was found later in a landfill. She points out other similarities between the fictional character and the real one; for example, both were 19 and were named for their fathers. Wilton feels that Oates could have, ''Just as easily created a fictional piece of her own, rather than incorporating such significant details...from a well-known, real-life tragedy."

As a writer, I disagree. Since Man has been writing on cave walls, he has taken events from real life and made them into fictional works. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, providing enough details are changed. I, for one, get a lot of my ideas for my work from newspaper stories. The real creativity comes from getting inside the characters' heads and creating a persona plus being able to create a captivating, compelling story line.

I don't think Oates did that here. If she borrowed from real life, fine. However, the question remains, why did she borrow someone so mediocre and boring? If Hector Campos, Jr., was portrayed as a mean, rotten sonofabitch who kicked kittens and cursed at his mother and who everyone hated with a passion, that would have made for a far more interesting read. Instead, he comes off as just another drunken, boring frat boy, not even as remotely interesting as Flounder from "Animal House."

That Day

I was sitting in my office catching up on emails when a young assistant comes running in to tell me that a plane just hit one of WTC towers. Like many people, I just thought it was a mere pilot error, but got up and walked into the conference room to join my co-workers in watching the morning newscast.

My first reaction was, "What was this pilot thinking?" when we saw the second plane hit. Now we knew it was no accident.

I knew who was responsible the minute I saw this and it came as no surprise. What DID come as a surprise was the collapse of the first tower, and later the second. I don't think anything could prepare us for that.

I am not a person who cries easily but that day was the exception. The same was true for many of my co-workers, of all ages, both men and women.

Needless to say, our CEO called us all into the conference room and sent us home early. Getting home is another story and I'll spare you that one.

I do remember walking up to Fifth Avenue and looking towards downtown. Even from Midtown Manhattan, you could see the billowing smoke all too clearly. It was a surreal expereince but then I remembered it was not surreal, but all too real.

Taking the ferry over to Weehawken (no buses or trains were running), I sat next to a woman who was clearly agitated, more so than I. I tried to distract her a bit by getting her to talk about her pets. It worked for the time being.

The next day, my family was upset when I told them I was planning to go back to work on 9-12, so I stayed home that day, as did most of my co-workers and clients. Not knowing what to do with myself, I got on line at the Blood Bank in West Orange to give back in the only way I knew how at the time.

My tears and sadness quickly turned to anger and that anger has remained to this day, 9-11-06.

Back from Cape Cod

I know, know, I've been remiss about posting. I've just been too damned busy, but in a good way: running, swimming, biking, days trips to the beach, hanging with friends, family. And now, I am told, summer is almost over...boo-hoo!

It's not so much a weather thing, the end of summer signifies buckling down and acting like a (ugh!) grown-up once again. No more lazy, hazy, crazy days. Plus, I absolutley HATE the shorter days, especially around October when we set the clocks back. To a runner, that's anathema. Well, I hear that daylight savings time is supposed to be abolished in 2007. Yippee!

The big news: DBF and I just got back from a week in Cape Cod, MA...what a gorgeous place! If you haven't been, it's a must. We did Martha's Vineyard (you really need a week there-one day does not do it justice), Provincetown (cute, quaint, lots of neat shops and places to eat, very gay-friendly), kayaking on the bay in S. Dennis. I promise that pix are coming. Just have to download them.

I should add this is a very pet-friendly place as well. It seems as if EVERYBODY has a Labrador. In fact, the owner of this one ice cream place we went to has 3 chocolate Labs and even offers a doggie treat on the menu: a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a dog biscuit stuck in it!

In Provincetown, we visited a doggie store and there was a sign inside that said "Absolutely no food, drinks, children inside store. Pets welcome." Gotta love a place like that, I tell ya! Of course, there are the famous Black Dog, Inc. stores all over the Cape and I just hadda buy an orange hoodie shirt with a black Labby on it!

And the architecture! Those of you who know me know I love Victorian and Gothic architecture and the Cape has loads of it, each one more beautiful than the next.

As for the running, I am having a good year so far. I took first place female in our annual Interclub Challenge and me and my swim partner, Anne, took first place female team in our annual biathlon. I've also placed in 1st, 2nd or 3rd in most of my races this year.

BF has decided he wants to do a marathon in Philly this November and now I am convinced as well and have started training for that! This WILL be my last marathon, I promise you that (unless I happen to get into the NYC Marathon lottery next year!). This one will make my 3rd and will also make me a 3-state marathoner: NY, NJ and PA!

Well, it's my first day back at work and I have managed to survive. I love the way everyone tells you how rested you look. Well, that will last for about 15 minutes. :-)

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Jethro Tull-"Living in the Past"

PRICELESS!

A WTF? Moment

Last night was BF's bowling banquet (no GFs, no wives) so I made plans to have dinner over at a friend's house after work. She made dinner, I brought my air popper and after the movie, we watched "Capote." Well, after a horrendous commute home (torrential rains, bad traffic, a couple of accidents along way which, of course, creates rubbernecking), I just HAD to have a glass of wine or two.

Now normally, wine doesn't do much to me other than mellow me out but for some reason last night, I had a great deal of difficulty staying awake. Anyway, when the movie was over and I was sober enough, I drove home. It was nearly 11:30 and BF was in bed, snoozing to the TV. I decided to check my email. I noticed that my Norton Antivirus had just completed a check and everything looked good, so I clicked the "Finish" button. Well, underneath the Norton box was a little man, no lie, dressed like a butler, holding a tray with what looked like an envelope on it. No, I was NOT hallucinating but I did say, WTF?I probably should have been more cautious but I was curious and clicked on the little brown envelope. Up on my screen comes, "Welcome to Instamail!"

Evidently, this Instamail email program had somehow downloaded itself on my machine. Now I never heard of programs doing that but hey, today anything is possible, right? And sure enough, on my desktop were three Instamail icons. I have a perfectly good email program and don't want or need any more software on my computer so I went into the Control Panel to delete it, no problem.

I climb into bed and try not wake the BF but he woke up and kissed me hello. I told him about having some wine and then coming home to find a little butler with a tray on the computer and he said, "Oh my God." Apparently, a friend had sent him an email raving about this dopey email program and sent BF (who's not the most computer literate person in the world) the instructions on how to download it! Whoulda thunk it?

I told him that I would restore it if he wanted but explained that we really didn't need it and it would just be more crap clogging up our computer. He didn't seem to care one way or another.Well, it made for a good laugh anyway.

Too Hot!

Well, I signed up for this Ridgewood 10K about 2 weeks ago and never expected 90-some-odd degree weather on May 28. It felt more like July!

Anway, there were 2 races, a 5K and a 10K. I figured since the 10K started at 8:45 AM and the 10K at 10, it would be cooler, right? Wrong...it was STILL hot as hell but hey, I managed to do my best 10K of the season at 51:28! Not a PR (a PR for me would be 50:11 or better) but hey, like I said, it was hot as hell. One of my friends actually had to drop out of the 5k because she felt faint. Another elite one-miler also passed out. Geez.

Out of the blue on Saturday, Tom says, "Hey, let's go the beach on Sunday." So we headed down to Bradley Beach. He picked the best day of the 3-day holiday, in my opinion. Warm, but not HOT, very little humidity, faint breeze...ahhh!

Today, after the race, me and Tom and couple of our running friends ended up at the Verona Pool. Too cold to swim (for me, anyway) but we had a great time just sitting around blabbing. I do have great friends; I am blessed.

But back to work tomorrow....bleh. I think Tom is really pushing for me to start looking for work in Jersey again. He's been leaving the Jobs section of the Ledger out for me to find. Hey, if I could find a job in NJ, I'd be there like shareware. Problem is, everyone thinks I am over qualified (I am not. I don't even have a master's degree, I just happen to have a good title), or that I want this tremendous salary (I don't. I can live on much less than I make in NYC). I really have to work at "dumbing down" my resume. I hate to do that but if it means getting what I want, I will.

Just Can't Get Enough of Chiefy!

Oh God, it's hot!

Off to "da shore"... see ya.

Clueless in Portland

Don't get me wrong, I love my sister-in-law in Oregon but sometimes, well, she's a mite clueless.

I kept bugging her and my brother to send me more photos of my beloved god dog, Chief. She kept promising and promising but nothing ever arrived. So, I decided to be proactive and I mailed them a disposable camera and $$$ towards development so there would be no more excuses.

Well, I waited and waited and predictably, it was always something: "It's been raining out, I've been sooo busy, blah-blah-blah." But FINALLY, yesterday I got letter from them which I opened up with great anticipation...only to find 6 pix? WTF?

There was a nice card enclosed stating, "Thanks for the camera! Sorry it took me so long, but here are the pictures of Chief. We refuse to let you pay for development so here is your $10 back. Hope all is well."

She obviously thought the camera I sent her was for her own pictures since there are 24 exposures on a roll and I only got 6 of the dog. I should add that only 1 or 2 of them are any damn good. I mean, he's a black dog so you have to use the flash, even when you're outdoors but certainly indoors! How can you goof up a goof-proof camera? So, I have one of his with his "birthday bone" and another one with his girlfriend, Mojo, (a chocolate Lab) and an unidentified golden retriver, which I framed. I will post them here once I scan them.

So, I had a good laugh about this but it only means one thing: I have to travel out to Oregon myself to get any decent pictures!

On Rabbits

Rabbits,
creatures of habit,
co-habit,
but don’t blab it.

Mortal Combat!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yia7CbTn__4

Pain I Haven't Used Yet

Ever hear the expression, "Ugly she/he hasn't used yet?" Well replace the word "ugly" with "pain" and that describes my visit to the masseuse to a T.

I always rave about this woman to my running friends and she is worth every penny. I wish I could afford to visit her every other week but for now, it's just when I have a problem, which lately, has been a stiff lower back and the back of my quads.

Well, she literally found pain that I didn't even know I had! I mean, we're talking the minute she laid her big, strong hands on me. I don't recall the last time I had so many knots. They were mostly located in my buttocks and lower back areas and the back of my thighs but she found some in my upper back as well, especially around the neck and shoulders! I guess it HAS been a long time.

She asked me a few times if she was hurting me. I answered "yes" but I told her to keep on keeping on because that was the only way to bring the knots to the surface. Trust me, I know from experience.

She said it my discomfort was mainly due to overuse but she also asked me if I had taken a fall recently. As a matter of fact, I had: Last week on the trail, I slipped on a small rock and landed on the ground. No biggie, no skin was broken, just a little scratched up. But she said that as a result of falling on my right side, my left was trying to overcompensate and that was causing a lot of my distress.

Well, today I feel about 90% pain-free and tomorrow I should be golden. I really need to try to visit her more often. Maybe if I cut back on my Guinness tab??

1:48 and counting!

Last night, I went to the track near my house to do some speed work. After warming up for a- mile-and-a-half, I decided to clock my laps. At the beginning of the running season in March, I was doing a lap right around 2 minutes which, to me, sucks, but it IS the beginning of the season.

Well, my first lap--are you ready for this?--was 1:48! That is the fastest lap I have ever done! Needless to say my additonal 3 or 4 laps paled, averaging around 1:52 but still, not too shabby, considering I wasn't feeling my best last night. I was cold (what else is new?), tired and my lower back stiffness was acting up (I'm getting a much needed massage in Thursday, though).

A 1:48 lap translates into about a 7:12 minute mile, providing you can keep up the pace. That's where endurance comes in. But still, that's encouraging for this early in the season.

Back to being cold. I want to have my thyroid checked out. I have been cold a lot this spring. Tom says it's because it has been, uh, cold. Very astute observation of his, LOL. But I don't remember being this distressed by it before. I think the 10-pound weight loss MIGHT have something to do with it. I noticed that after I lost the weight that heat didn't bother me as much, either, which is a good thing. But I will have the thyroid checked out just in case. It would help if I had a GP, though. Haven't had to see one in about, 25 years! I'll ask my sister-in-law for a referral.

Also need to talk with her about Las Vegas. T has a birthday coming up (65th-yikes!) and I would like to take him to Vegas for a long weekend. He would LOVE it! But I have no clue how much it will cost, which travel agent I should call, et cetera. Pia and my brother have been out there several times so she's the one to ask.

A Poem for My Late Mom

TILT-A-WHIRL

One hot summer night in ‘65
we all went to Palisades Park,
"swings all day and after dark,"

me, Mommy, Daddy and Bobby.
I couldn't get enough
of the rides, the rides, the rides!

Oh, I wanted to be turned upside-down,
spun like cotton candy
until I was pink with dizziness,

holding onto my father for dear life,
while screaming faster, faster, faster!
We stopped at the Tilt-a-Whirl

where you're chained up
inside a cage
and the bottom drops out

while you're spinning,
upside-down, around and sideways.
No one wanted to try it,

except Mommy.
We couldn't believe it.
The same woman who shuddered

when I did wheelies down the big hill
on my bike, who wouldn't put her head
under the water at the town pool,

this same woman was being
transported to another dimension,
where lights danced

in myriad of colors, where
swirling white and silver metal rims
danced above people's lollipop heads.


No one wanted to try it
except Mommy.

We looked up, all of us
never taking our eyes
off that magical silver cage, glowing against the night,

spinning into eternity, cutting
its own path through outer space
with our mother inside.

Oh Yeah, Sign Me Up to Have Kids...

Amazing how many of the psychopathic little bastards there are, isn't it?


Teen Gets 12 Years for Poisoning Milk
By Associated Press

LAKEVIEW, Ore. - A 13-year-old girl convicted of attempting to kill two classmates by slipping rat poison into their milk was sentenced to up to 12 years in a juvenile detention center.
Holly Sweeney was ordered Friday to remain at the Hillcrest Girls' School in Salem until she is 25 with early release possible if she responds to treatment, the judge ruled.

Earlier this month, the judge found the Lakeview girl and her friend, Stephanie Quesnoy, 12, guilty of plotting and executing a plan to kill two classmates they disliked. Quesnoy is to be sentenced May 22.

Running and "Ruggles"

There are as many reasons to run as there are runners, I suppose, but I’ve never met a runner who didn’t enjoy it. The bottom line is that whether you’ve run a marathon in all 50 states, have run for 30 years, or just completed your first 5K, the thing that all runners have in common is the love of the sport.

Try explaining that, however, to my non-running friends and family members, (I refer to them as Ruggles, such as in Harry Potter, where non-magical folk are referred to as Muggles). Don’t get me wrong, most of my friends and relatives (the ones I still speak to anyway) support and encourage what I do. But more often than not, you hear things like: “The only time I’ll run is when someone is chasing me.”

My dear mother told me years ago that if I ran track, I would get muscles in my legs. Heaven forbid!

Or what about the portly relation in Houston who asked me why I run so much? “Because it allows me to eat what I want,” I replied. “But I already eat whatever I want and I don’t have to run for it,” he said, patting his rotund belly. “In fact, they bring the food to me.”

In 2002, I excitedly told a friend in Seattle that I completed my first half-marathon. Without missing a beat, he asked, “What happened to the other half?” I THINK he was kidding. I’m not sure.

And then there’s, “You run in this cold weather?” “You run in this heat?” “You run in the rain?” Yes, yes, and yes!

I have a nephew who’s an orthopedic surgeon down in Houston. While some part of me likes to think he’s proud of his aunt, he always makes “tsk-tsk-ing” noises when I tell him some of the distances I run. “You keep that up and you’ll be coming to see me in few years and it won’t be for a social visit,” he said.

The kid (he will always be a kid to me) has a point, since he tells me that more than half of his patients are athletes or former athletes. But, you know, you can end up in the orthopedist’s office after having spent your life as a couch potato, too. That being said, I prefer my life off the coach and on the roads.

To me, running is as much a part of my life's routine as is brushing my teeth, although running is much more pleasurable and far less routine. Yes, there are some risks (to joints, tendons, muscles, vertebrae, etc.) involved but that can be said of ANYTHING in life that’s worth pursuing. The benefits far outweigh any of the little aches and pains I may encounter along the way.

Best Quote Today

Best quote I heard all day, from a techie friend of mine:

"I'm giving up IT and going into something less stressful, like anally penetrating homophobic male tigers or shit like that."

Guess You Had to Be There

From a friend of mine in The Lone Star State, on Cinco de Mayo:

I’m a failure. The biggest drinking day in the Southwest and it came to nothing. Nada.
I didn’t wake up in another town in a stall with a donkey, a broken piñata, two hookers, used condoms [ribbed, for her pleasure], half a twelve pack of Modelo Especial, empty margarita pitchers and a film crew from Telemundo.

Maybe I have high standards. This is subject to debate.

Instead, I woke up this morning in my own bed, alone.
Next year, I will plan better.

I Have a Bone to Pick with iTunes

I'm a big fan of 70s and 80s music and lately, I've been trying to fill up my iPod with some of my fave tunes from those eras. One of those songs is "It's Magic" by a one-hit-wonder group called Pilot. Well, iTunes has the song, all right, but here's the catch: You have to download the entire LAME-O "Herbie 2" soundtrack to get that one song! Sorry, but I am NOT spending $9.99 for one frigging song! Especially for that dopey movie!If you try to find another stand alone version of the song, you're shit outta luck. Yes, they exist, but none of them are the original. Why does iTunes do this? I noticed that other users were complaining, too, on the iTunes feedback bulletin board.Well, I'll just search around for a 70s compilation CD somewhere, I s'pose.

I posted this lament on my LiveJournal and a friend of mine wrote back:

"Usually the reason that happens is the movie soundtrack is on one label that paid to use another label's tune on their movie but the owning label does not do business with iTunes/Apple. That's why you don't see AC/DC, Beatles, Led Zep and many other bands - because they are on Sony or EMI that won't deal with Apple because they have deals with Napster (Lamester) or their own music store they're trying to get going. It annoys me too, so in situations like that I'll look first at the public library collection of music to check out, then to the used CD stores for cheap copies.Good luck hunting!"

Aha...now I understand. Don't like it, but I understand.

Why Is This News?

And, furthermore, don't ALL fruitcakes taste as if they are 40 years old?


Man Rediscovers Gift Fruitcake From 1962
By Associated Press
Tue Apr 18, 8:12

WAUKESHA, Wis. - Lance Nesta did what many people do when receiving a fruitcake _ he set it aside, only to rediscover it more than 40 years later in his mother's attic. Nesta couldn't resist taking a peek at the cake, still in its original tin and wrapped in paper.
"I was amazed that it hadn't changed at all," he said.

Nesta's two aunts sent him the fruitcake in November 1962 while he was stationed in Alaska with the Army.

"I opened it up and didn't know what to do with it," Nesta said. "I sure wasn't going to eat it, and I liked my fellow soldiers too much to share it with them."

As best he can remember, he packed the cake with the rest of his belongings and shipped it home to Waukesha when he left the military a few years later. He recently rediscovered the boxed fruitcake in the attic of his mother's home in Waukesha.
His mom had given him advance warning of the fruitcake back in 1962.

"She knew I hated the damn things, but she said she didn't have the heart to tell my aunts, who had already mailed it," he said.
The cake arrived wrapped in brown paper with a red "fragile, handle with care" sticker on it. The cake itself was contained in a round blue tin printed with the words "Old Fashioned Fruitcake."

"Now it's just old," Nesta said.
While looking at the cake's container this week, he noticed the listed ingredients included rum and brandy.

"If I had known back then that it had rum and brandy in it, I would have eaten it," he said.
___

Random Musings

Who the Hell Is Dick?

I downloaded some Grateful Dead songs onto my iPod, some from CDs that I own, others from iTunes. I came across a pretty cool group of Dead songs called Dick's Picks in my travels and I'm wondering, "Who the hell is Dick?" Granted, Dick has some pretty good taste in Dead tunes (his U.S. Blues pick is awesome), but who is he and why do his picks matter? Where are Bob's picks? Or Mary's picks? Or, for that matter, Martta's picks? And I thought I was up on all that is Dead.
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First Place, Woo-hoo!

I took first place in my age at South Orange Rotary 5K this past Saturday. I felt that I ran well but I never dreamed that would take first place at any race this early in the season. I've started doing some speedwork on my own and that's probably been helping. This was a tough course, too. The first mile is all uphill...yuck! We DID have terrific weather, though, 70s and sunny. The best day for 2006 so far.

My time was 25:21. Not my personal best, but a personal best for this particular course. More than a minute faster than my 2004 time. I am praying to the fast twitch gods that this will be the first of many successes for me in my running career this season.

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Yoga? Zzzzzzz.

First off, let me start by saying that I think yoga is a beautiful thing. It's great for flexibility, stress reduction, spirituality and for people who cannot do weight bearing exercises. That being said, for the most part, I like more of an aerobic or anaerobic workout, like running, swimming, karate, etc.

The reason I bring this up because my sister-in-law RAVES about this yoga place in West Orange and has been trying to get me to come. I did go with her to some sort of anniversary party they had and honestly, I was not that impressed.

For one thing, throughout the entire party, the owners/instructors were shilling for membership. A BIG turnoff to me. Kind of used car lot-ish. Show us, don't tell us, as a former creative writing teacher of mine used to say. Make me want to come back, don't pressure me.

At one point, people got up to give testimonials. One of the stranger ones was a woman, about early 40s, who said that she was having pains in her chest so she decided to check out yoga! Uh, Honey, if I had chest pains, I would be on the phone to a cardiologist, not running to a yoga studio!

Also, while my sister-in-law's in great shape, most of the people doing the demos/testimonials were kind of on the, uh, zaftig side. Not what I would call fit. Think I'll stick with the running, swimming, bike riding and weight training.

Reason #245 not to have kids.

Reason #245 not to have kids. They can kill you:

Bloodbath & burgers

Pa. cops call son Mr. Cool

BY ADAM NICHOLS in Lancaster County, Pa.,
and WARREN WOODBERRY JR. and HELEN KENNEDY in New York
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS


A woman and a little boy outside the home where six members of the Wise family were murdered.

As the bludgeoned corpses of three generations of his family lay moldering inside their picturesque Amish country house, confessed killer Jesse (Jay) Wise took his girlfriend to McDonald's for hamburgers

Like a Patient Etherized...

OK, it's been two weeks now of getting a bird's eye view of Tony Soprano's ICU unit. There's a reason that only immediate family members are allowed in the ICU: No one else wants to see that! Having been in a few ICUs myself (as a visitor, not a patient, thank God), I can certainly speak from experience.

About 95% of the time, the patient is sleeping. During the other 5%, he or she is being attended to by hospital staffers to take care of such pleasantries as bodily functions and the changing of IV drips.

Don't get me wrong, I love The Sopranos and plan to watch every last episode, good, bad or indifferent. But enough of the ICU. I want to go home.

Which brings me to my next topic. Martta's World decrees that just as it is with the ICU--only immediate family members are allowed--the same should be true for Little League games. Yes, folks, only immediate family should EVER be allowed at these things. If you are NOT a member of said immediate family and you actually LIKE going to Little League games you are either 1. A pedophile or 2. A very, very sick individual who should not be allowed near living things. Really, you need help.

My boyfriend has two grandchildren, one of which is a lovely 10-year-old boy who plays Little League, among other things. He's actually a very cute, cool kid. He likes Weird NJ, he knows how to work an iPod, he likes scary movies. And yes, he plays catcher for his Little League team. Not that there's anything wrong with that. He's pretty decent, if I say so myself.

But the other kids? Oy vey, as they say! Hell on Earth is another phrase that comes to mind. Granted, there are a few bright bulbs on the tree, but for the most part, bad, boring and begrudgingly long.

Now I am all for kids playing sports, getting exercise, staying busy so they don't hold up the Local 7-11. But really, folks. Immediate family only.

Passing Heads

Upon his death, the Fore tribe
of Eastern New Guinea
gathers around a fire and passes
the deceased's skull around
chanting for mercy on his soul.
Ocher flames leap from the timbers
and light up the black sky,
as the bloody skull is finally consumed.
Only gray ash remains, to be buried
among the ashes of the dead
that have gone before him.

Tonight a fire is lit
in the living room of a new divorcee
who sits among a tribe of others
who have gone before her.
Each take turns, passing around
the skulls of their ex-husbands,
chanting curses. They ask for no mercy.
Sparks fly, as one by one,
their memories are hurled into the fire.
Tomorrow, only gray ash will remain,
to be collected in urns of memories
that line the cluttered shelves of their souls.

Some Musings

My next race, a 10K, is on March 26 in Millburn. Can wait. I don't think I've raced a 10K since the fall. They've all been longer races, 10-milers, 15Ks, the 20K two weeks ago. I feel as ready as ever but nervous. My goal to to break 50 minutes in the 10K and 24 minutes in the 5K. Doable goals, I think.

As usual, I have some tough competition in my age group. Depending on who shows up at Millburn, I might not make it into the top 3 slots...we shall see.
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A male co-worker, who I like very much, told me he thinks I'm getting too skinny. Besides the fact that it's not of his business, I'm not. I weigh exactly the same as I did 6 months ago. Maybe it's what I was wearing, who knows? Who cares? I feel great and I'd rather be thin than fat...so there!

The only thing is that my clothes from a year ago are all too big for me, when I was 10 lbs. heavier. I didn't think just 10 lbs. would make such a difference in clothing size. Lots of stuff just swims on me, like I'm wearing my big sister's hand-me-downs! I will give some of them away to Goodwill but some I really like (like one lavender suit) and I will need to have them taken in. Yes, it may prove costly but it's that or buy a whole new wardrobe. Don't get me wrong, I love to shop as much as the next woman but when do I have the time? Answer: I don't.
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Through no fault of her own, just some plain old bad luck, a friend of mine from the running club got a DWI and lost her license for 7 months. And, since I am the only one she told about it, guess who will be driving her to all the races until October? It is a bit of an inconvenience but she IS a great friend and she's always been there for me. Poor thing. She's needs this now like the proverbial hole in the head. She just put her mom in a nursing home (Alzheimer's) and has some minor health issues of her own.

I AM a little pissed at her because she just told me this about 2 weeks ago. Had she told me sooner (when it happened), I could have gotten her a decent lawyer. More on that below:

She was driving home from the shore (Manasquan) one night last summer. She was not, I repeat NOT intoxicated. She had one frigging glass of wine at a friend's house.

Anyhoo, she was stopped by a cop because her lights were out. The reason they were out is that her car (an older model Honda from 1995) has a dashboard glitch. The dashboard lights come on even if the headlights are not on. She explained the glitch to the cop who stopped her. He asked her if she had been drinking and she told him the truth: She had one glass of wine.

Well, to make a long story short, he drags her ass down to the station and makes her take a breathalizer. She did not refuse the test. However, due to nerves, a panic attack, whatever, she could not get the damned thing to work. So, this asshole, records that she refused the test!!! After spending the night in jail, she was sent home and told she had to appear in court.

She calls her family *lawyer* (and I use that term lightly...he sounds more like a milquetoast to me) and he basically tells her that there's nothing she can do, the sitting judge is a real asshole, she'll probably get 7 months suspended, etc. Well, this prophecy came true. If she had gotten a real lawyer instead of a make-believe lawyer, I think she could have gotten a reduced suspension at least.

So, that's it in a nutshell. I feel really bad for her. I can't imagine not having access to my car, for 7 months yet. Sheesh!

Oh Yeah, This Is Our Future, Folks

My advice to my friends and colleagues? Stay healthy or die young. Yes, this is our future and I sure as hell don't want them watching over me. When I read stuff like this, I am EVER SO GRATEFUL that I never had loathsome brats of my own.

And these were college students from prosperous homes! They did it "as a joke." Gee, I was a real crack up as a college student but I never set houses of worship on fire. Nosireebob. Oh, how I've missed out. I know it's a bad pun, but I hope they fry. And I hope that a big guy named Bubba makes them his bitches.
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3 College Students Arrested in Alabama Church Fires

By RICK LYMAN
Published: March 8, 2006
Three college students from the prosperous suburbs south of Birmingham, two of them 19 and one 20, were arrested today in the burning of nine Baptist churches in rural Alabama last month that federal officials say was a prank that spun out of control.

Arrested a few hours later was Matthew Lee Cloyd, 20, a student at the nearby University of Alabama-Birmingham whose mother was the owner of the 2000 Toyota 4Runner that had left the tracks, federal agents said in an affidavit accompanying the criminal complaint against the three men.

The identities of the accused came as a surprise to investigators, who had speculated that the arsons were the work of people intimately familiar with the remote rural roads where the fires were set, not products of Birmingham's upper-middle class, one the son of a doctor and another of a county constable.

"This is just so hard to believe," said Alabama Fire Marshal Richard Montgomery. "My profile on these suspects is shot all to heck and back."

Gov. Bob Riley said he was happy to learn that the fires were "an isolated incident" and not an organized attack on religious beliefs or Baptists. Speaking at a news conference announcing the arrests, he said the last five weeks had been "a pretty tough time" for church-goers.

James Cavanaugh, an official of the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency said the arrests were the result of following forensic evidence, rather than being given information. "We did not have a tip," he said.

One thing investigators had believed from the beginning was that there was no racial motive behind the arsons, as there had been to a string of church fires throughout the Southeast in the mid-1990's. And that, they said, was borne out.

Four of the churches burned in the early hours of Feb. 3 in Bibb County, about an hour south of Birmingham, had predominantly white congregations, while one was black. All four of the churches burned the morning of Feb. 7 in an even more remote stretch more than 90 minutes southwest of Birmingham, had black congregations.

But officials said the second round of burnings had been an attempted diversion, to draw investigators farther away from Birmingham.

Mr. DeBusk and Mr. Moseley appeared briefly before United States Magistrate Robert R. Montgomery in the Hugo Black Federal Courthouse in downtown Birmingham this morning. Both were slender and pale, with dark, floppy hair. Mr. DeBusk wore blue jeans and an orange hooded sweatshirt over a white T-shirt, Mr. Moseley a blue polo shirt over jeans.

They were ordered to return to court on Friday when a lawyer would be appointed for them if they had not already hired one and the issue of bail would be discussed. In the meantime, they were ordered to remain in custody.

According to the affidavit signed by Walker Johnson, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, analysis of the tire tracks had led agents on Monday to the home of Michael and Kimberly Cloyd on Birmingham's south side. The tire tracks matched a set special-ordered for Ms. Cloyd's 4Runner, but she told agents that her son, Matthew, was the vehicle's principal driver.

Ms. Cloyd told agents that her son had told her he had not set the fires, but knew who did. Dr. Cloyd said his son told him on Monday that he had been present at the arsons and knew who set them.

But a witness, unidentified in the affidavit, told agents that Matthew Cloyd said he and Mr. Moseley "had done something stupid," adding that it was something Mr. Moseley had done "as a joke and it got out of hand."

Agents later interviewed Mr. Moseley who, they said, confessed to setting the five fires in Bibb County with Mr. Cloyd and Mr. DeBusk. "Moseley stated that after they set fire to the first two churches, they saw fire trucks driving by," they said. "Moseley said that, after that, burning the other three churches became too spontaneous."

Agents said Mr. Moseley told them only that he and Mr. Cloyd had taken part in the second string of arsons, four days later. "These four churches were burned as a diversion, to throw investigators off," Mr. Johnson wrote in his affidavit. "Moseley said the diversion obviously did not work."

Mr. DeBusk, who was interviewed and arrested a short time later, also admitted behind present at the five arsons on Feb. 3, as well as kicking in the doors of two of the churches. He said the three had been out shooting deer in Mr. Cloyd's S.U.V. prior to the fires.

And So a New Running Season Begins....

I had my first race of the 2006 season this past Sunday, the Newark Distance Classic. You have your choice of a 5K (3.1 miles) or a 20K (12.4 miles) and being the masochist that I am, guess which one I chose? :-)

All in all, I am very happy with my time. I did 1:50:37, about 12 minutes off last year's time. I was shooting for a true 9-minute mile pace which would have put me around 1:52, so I actually did better than anticipated, with a 8:54 pace. I chalk it up to the 10-lb. weight loss plus good coaching last year from Coach Joel.

This is not an easy course to begin with (lots of hills and grades), plus the nasty headwinds we had in our faces for about 75% of the race didn't help.

But I felt pretty good afterwards, albeit a little soreness which is normal. Unfortunately, I did get one of those mysterious low-grade headaches which I've been told can come from not warming up properly (guilty!) or not taking in enough fluids before the race (probably guilty as well). Excedrin with caffeine seems to do the trick.

I beat my poor honey which was a first but it's not really fair since he's injured. He's been told he has a bone spur in his right heel which is very painful. He probably should not have run the 20K but he wanted to do it. I yelled at him that he's got to go see a foot doc and get x-rays done. He promised me he would. The sooner you find out what's wrong, the sooner you can begin treatment. I really don't know anything about bone spurs except that they are common in overweight people. Tom, however, is anything but, so it's got to be due to overuse.

So, my next race is at the end of this month, a 10K in Millburn, a walk in the park after this one.

************************************************************************************

In other news, my cousin continues to send me lame emails. About 1 in 10 has a funny joke, but most of them are the kind where you're asked to "send this email to 100 people in 5 minutes or a terrible fate will befall you and your loved ones" or annoying proverbs about men versus women and so forth. I'd rather read emails from crooked Nigerians. Most of the time, I just delete her stuff without opening it.

But yesterday was the last straw. She sent me something about a guy who creates babies out of marzipan. That is just too creepy for me. My brain will never be the same after seeing this:

My Personal DNA

My Personal Dna Report

No Easter Eggs, No Volcanoes :-(

I was bored and decided to search for Microsoft Easter Eggs. The last time I did that was in 1998 on my old computer.

In case you don't know, Easter Egg is a term that refers to an undocumented feature or novelty that is in a program that the makers of said program placed there for additional fun and credits. Easter Eggs do not affect your computer's performance in any way, either to the hardware or software.

I remembered there was a really cool one called "Volcano" where you right-click on the desktop, click Properties, then click on the Settings tab, choose 3D text as a screen saver and then click on Settings. In the Text Box, you type "volcano" and click OK. Voila! You get a cool-looking volcano as a screen saver.

Well, I tried that and all I got was a 3D version of the word "volcano" spinning around on my screen. "Honey, why do we have the word volcano as a screen saver?" asked the boyfriend.

Uhh...here's why: Evidently, after some sleuthing on Net, I found out that Windows XP, which is what I have, does NOT have any Easter Eggs! Bummer! The reasons are varied. Some folks say that Microsoft sells a lot of XP software to many government agencies and they don't need any "stinkin' Easter Eggs" in the software for security reasons. Some other folks call bullshit on this and say it's only the American version of the software that lacks Easter Eggs and the reason why is simply that Microsoft wanted a more "corporate" version of its software in the XP and deleted all the Easter Eggs.

But, I still hold out hope. A small core of people claim there are a few Easter Eggs in the XP software if you know where to find them. Can anyone help? There's a beer in it for ya.

Awwww!

Farkin' Hypocrite

There's an article in Reuters today about Jack Abramoff, the former lobbyist at the center of a corruption scandal, where he refutes the claim that Bush didn't know him. In the article, Abramoff says that Bush met him "almost a dozen times," which goes against what The White House is saying.

So here we have a case of "he said, he said," but what gets me most is this statement:

Abramoff raised more than $100,000 for Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, a feat that won him an invitation to Bush's ranch in August 2003, the National Journal reported at the time. However, Abramoff said he did not make the trip because, as an Orthodox Jew, he cannot travel on Saturdays.

Oh, it's not OK to travel on the Sabbath as a religious Jew but it IS ok to lie about illegal campaign contributions under the guise of charitable donations?

Please. I've had enough of these *zealots* hiding behind the cloak of religion when it's convenient for them. I've already lost my religion years ago. Now I'm about to lose my lunch.

What a Crock!

A few posts back, I talked about this ex that was hounding me to get together even though he knows I have a serious BF and am very content and all that. Well, a little birdie told me to mosey on over to Yahoo personals where he has posted an ad. After said friend and I had a good laugh at some of the inaccuracies (and bad spelling) posted below, I actually felt relieved that he's doing this. Perhaps he will stop asking me to meet for coffee.

"I'm a librarian at a large university (no,we're not all little elderly laddies (sic)with blue hair)who would enjoy meeting a articulate woman of intelligence who shares my passion for historical novels, film noir, a great Cabernet, cozy restaurants, classical guitar, rain storms, good stories, interesting architecture and all the small things that we often bypass or forget each day that make life worth living."

A few comments, however. (You don't think I'd let him off the hook THAT easy, didja?) Did you ever meet a person who seemed to be knowledgeable in one area and he or she would constantly lord that over you? Well, that's him to a T. You see, he's a history major and within the first five minutes of meeting him, he will let you know this. In my experience, however, his knowledge of history is at best spotty and his knowledge of other topics pales in comparison. But history is the only arena in which he feels comfortable so he will proceed to hold court and act like a know-it-all in order that he feels superior. Oh, you've met him, have you? :-)

As far as the "great Cabernet goes," he has a passion for many other kinds of booze, too. In fact, I'd venture to say that he's a binge drinker. He's been hospitalized for liver ailments at least 3 times in the past two years. He was told that his liver is performing at 40% capacity. Yet, he chooses to continue drinking. What does that tell you?

"Cozy restaurants." Bring some cash. Now I'm a gal, that does not mind picking up the check now and then. But, with him, it will be more now than then. Oh, I should add, I hope you have a car and valid license because you'll be driving. He lost his license years ago because he was driving with expired insurance. His lazy ass never bothered to renew it.

I guess that I'm trying to say, is that he sounds great on paper (or on the Internet), but a word to the wise: Caveat emptor.

Quiverfull

Twins run in my family, on both sides no less, and I have this one cousin on my mom's side see who sends me about 8 emails a day (no kidding) of all kinds of blather, including pictures of kids that are supposedly related to me. I am not sure whose kids they are exactly but it's kinda like "second cousin, once-removed," et cetera and so forth. Does it ever stop?

A few years ago, I went to some sort of family function and the place was swarming with about 30 children, twins and singles, all under the age of 10! Where did these people come from and who are they? If I ran into them in public and fell over them, I wouldn't know them. One of my "first cousins, once removed" was sporting a "Jesus is My Homeboy" T-shirt. M'kay. Needless to say, I'm not rushing back to any family functions real soon. Not that it matters since my eldest brother had a fight with one of 'em a couple of years back and now they are not speaking to him, or to the rest of us. I wish them well but I embrace the peace and quiet.

I've Got the Beat

Well, I got the results of my echocardiogram and everything is A-OK. Yes, it determined that I have a mild heart murmur (I knew about that) but it's not bad enough to warrant antibiotics when visiting the dentist. That's cool. Hate taking meds.

While the test itself is non-invasive, it IS kinda creepy to hear your heart beating and whooshing. I was listening to it while trying to determine if what I was hearing was normal or abnormal. Of course, not being a medic, I had no way of knowing.

Too Gone For Too Long

This is one of my favorite Randy Travis songs and I send it out to an ex (when I say ex, I mean EX, talking 15 years ago!), who still sends me emails saying he misses me and wants to see me. Too effin' bad, Dude. You just don't get it, do you? Well, I'll let Randy tell it (with apologies, I just changed "she's" to "he's").


You've been too gone, for too long,
it's too late to come back now
It's been so long since you walked out my door
now you're just an old song nobody sings anymore
I gotta a new love and he's the true love
but darlin' how could you have known?
you've been too gone, for too long
now it's too late to come back home

You've came a long way, goin' the wrong way
don't even set your suitcase down
You wanted to roam, now you're paying the bills
you're an old rollin' stone who rode over the hills
I had a good cry when you said "Goodbye"
I didn't wanna let you go
but you've been too gone for too long
now it's too late to come back home

I had a good cry when you said "Goodbye"
I didn't wanna let you go
but you've been too gone for too long
so why don't you just stay gone?
now you've been too gone for too long
now it's too late to come back home.

As If....

As if I needed another reason to hate teenage boys:


Teen thugs film attack

Nab 4 in brutal assault on immigrant

BY CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

In a sick sequel to the Florida fools who were videotaped beating a homeless man, four Philadelphia teens grabbed a camera, picked a victim at random and filmed themselves pounding the man to a pulp.
The victim, a Haitian immigrant, suffered a busted jaw and narrowly escaped being hit by a car before the teenage terrors were nabbed and charged with attempted murder.

"The sad thing is that it doesn't seem like it was a big deal to these kids," said Philadelphia police spokesman Lt. John Walker. "It was like they were making a documentary."

The oldest suspect, 18-year-old Tyrez Osbourne, was caught crying to his mommy by the local ABC affiliate, WPVI-TV.

"I'm not even on camera assaulting the man," Osbourne insisted. "I don't understand why I'm here."

Walker said witnesses can place Osbourne and the other suspects, whose names have not been released because they are 17 and 16, at Friday's crime scene.

"They're pretty much laughing through the movie, even when one of them tries to throw the victim in front of an oncoming car," he said.

Officials would not release the footage, but Walker said it shows the alleged hoodlums "doing some gangsta rapping and then they're walking and talking about how bad they are."

Finally, said Walker, one of the teens said "just pick somebody out for me."

"Unfortunately, that's when the victim shows up in the video," the officer said. "You can see a teen step in front of him. He strikes him in the jaw and the man falls against a wall. He's screaming, 'Why are you doing this to me?'"

The other teens can been seen pounding on the prone man and then the hulking 17-year-old who landed the first punch allegedly pushed the victim in front of oncoming traffic, Walker said.

The victim, a 30-year-old engineering student from Haiti who attends Drexel University, told investigators he intends to return home to Haiti, because he feels safer in his chaotic homeland.

Glad She's Gone!

"We heard the news the other day/And we don't know what to say/Except we're glad she's gone (glad she's gone)/You're rid of her (glad she's gone)."

These are the lyrics from a 70s pop band from Syracuse, NY, called the Pop Tarts. It's a girl singing to a guy, saying she's glad his ex is gone, she was no good for him, et cetera.

But, it COULD be applied to Anna Benson!

I, for one, am glad she's gone. Good riddance, Bubblehead!

RIP, Nixmary Brown

If you're reading this, most likely you've been following the accounts of the murder of little Nixmary Brown of Brooklyn who was brutally beaten to death at the hands of her stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez. Her mother did nothing to save her.

I'll spare you all the gory details (if you want them, you need look no further than The New York Post or The Daily News) but suffice it to say, this 7-year-old child knew nothing but a short life of pain, starvation and torture at the hands of BOTH of her parents, the people who should have loved and protected her.

And, let there be no doubts: I emphasized the word BOTH for a reason. You watch. In the days to come, now that the wake and funeral are over, the spotlight will be on the ACS, the child welfare agency that failed Nixmary and others like her (more on this later); the people who knew something was wrong but said and/or did nothing; and the lawyers. Especially the lawyers.

Mark my words. The little girl's body is not even cold in the ground yet and the mother's lawyer is already looking for an alibi. No, he's not denying that she took part in the murder but he's telling anyone who will listen that she, herself, was a victim and therefore suffers from Battered Women's Syndrome, the same syndrome suffered by Hedda Nussbaum more than 15 years ago. Everyone's a victim today, everyone has their own syndrome, how convenient. I call bullshit.

In my eyes, the mother is even guiltier than the stepfather! Why? Because she killed her own flesh and blood.

Flash ahead to today, January 20: The miscreant stepfather is now telling anyone who will listen that Nixmary pretty much deserved what she got because she didn't behave! And, he's crying crocodile tears saying he's sorry he killed her, but... What a croc, indeed.

I wish for two things to come out of this:

1. Privatization of the ACS. Little Nixmary is not the first tragic consequence of the ACS and its union drones. They just don't seem to get it, do they? My solution is to not just revamp this useless agency but to shut it down completely, make it a private enterprise and hire some top notch MSWs with salaries to match their abilities. Then no longer will we have to hear the hew and cry of "We are so overworked and underpaid, blah-blah-blah."

2. That Nixmary's *mother* and stepfather live to be 100 years old--in prison--and have to think about what they did every day for the rest of their sorry, pitiful lives.

10 Trivia Tips About Miss Martta

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Miss Martta!

1. In the kingdom of Bhutan, all citizens officially become Miss Martta on New Year's Day!


2. Marie Antoinette never said 'let them eat cake' - this is a mistranslation of 'let them eat Miss Martta'!


3. The book of Esther in the Bible is the only book which does not mention Miss Martta.


4. Reindeer like to eat Miss Martta.


5. Miss Martta will always turn right when leaving a cave!


6. Miss Martta was banned from Finland because of not wearing pants!


7. A cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to 20 bananas, which are individually known as Miss Martta!


8. The porpoise is second to Miss Martta as the most intelligent animal on the planet!


9. Lightning strikes Miss Martta over seven times every hour!


10. When provoked, Miss Martta will swivel the tip of her abdomen and shoot a jet of boiling chemicals at her attacker!

I am interested in - do tell me about
herhimitthem

Crisis!

I just spoke to a skinny friend of my mine who is going to Florida at the end of this month and {{{{HORRORS!}}}}} has gained a few pounds and cannot fit into her size 4 shorts and pants any longer!


My question is should I smack her now or wait until she comes over on Sunday to borrow some of my size 6s?

I'm Ready for My Closeup

Evidently, my doctor thinks I'm somewhat of a success story because I've managed to lower my cholesterol without drugs but just by making some lifestyle changes. As a result, she asked me if I would mind being featured in a national news release video about women and heart disease being produced by the American Heart Association. I told her that if it meant educating other women about the dangers of high cholesterol and heart disease, sure.

Well, last week I got a call from the video company and it was a go! I talked to the boyfriend (they wanted to feature him, too, about the effect my lifestyle changes had on him), he was cool with it and we all agreed on Saturday, Jan. 7, as a shoot date. The vid production team said they were shooting (no pun intended) for a half-day shoot, beginning at 10 AM and ending up around 1:30 PM.

Prior to the shoot, I needed to get permission from my two older brothers to use their likenesses in the taping, since the AHA wanted to show the familial relationship to heart disease. Both brothers were agreeable, although one of them asked if I would be using a flattering photo! LOL! I told him, of course, that I would use the one from my older brother's wedding a year ago.

The crew was extremely professional. They showed up early and were done by noon! If they moved any furniture and whatnot, it was moved back into its proper place before they left. They had instructed me on what colors to wear, how to dress and what questions they would be asking me.

That being said, I think they should have asked me more about the type of dwelling in which I reside. When they arrrived at my place, the cameramen groaned that I lived in a three-story walkup! No big deal to me but then again, I don't have to carry 50 pounds of camera equipment up the stairs, either. They were also a bit perturbed that I live in an apartment which faces the street, thereby picking up all the street noise. These are physical things over which I have no control but I still think they should have asked me about them so that they wouldn't be so surprised when they arrived.

The first 20 minutes of so was spent filming me running in Verona Park. Fortunately, today was a gorgeous day so the cameraman got some good shots. He filmed me running towards him and then away from him and the lake in the background was a nice backdrop. A couple of people walking by wondered what we were doing and that was kinda cool. My 15 minutes of fame had arrived!

Back to the apartment when they proceeded to interview me about my family history, my own history and my thoughts about women and heart disease. I think a big point of this video is to show women that heart disease is not just a "man's disease," that it's still the #1 killer of both men AND women. It's just that in the past, all of the studies and research have focused on men.

They had told me not to wear red or any type of print or pattern that might be distracting. So I had worn a black turtleneck and black pants which made me look very slender. However, since my running outfit had been all black, the cameraman decided that I needed a splash of color. Well, since red was out (too bad, it's a fave of mine), I suggested an olive green V-neck sweater. They didn't seem thrilled about it until I put it on and then they loved it! Said it brought out my hair and eyes. Speaking of hair, the interviewer would occasionally lean over to push a tiny strand of hair off my face.

Then (and this one cracked me up) I was told that they needed to powder to my nose and forehead because my skin was shiny! I always complain about my dry skin in the winter and am always slathering on tons of moisturizer so I don't know where the shine came from. Maybe because I had just come back from running, who knows. They asked if I had any powder (I don't, I never wear it) but they did have their own.

For the most part the interviewer liked my answers, only asking me to repeat a couple of them for emphasis. The street noise proved to be problematic at times, though, and we had to halt taping a couple of times due to a car horn or truck noise.

Then it was onto the kitchen where they wanted to get some b-roll and me and BF preparing food. This was the most annoying part of the shoot, I have to say. Everytime one of us opened up the fridge or a kitchen cabinet, we had to turn cans, bottles and boxes around so as not to display brand names! I understand why they asked us to do this but it was still a pain in the arse.

Also, it felt very fake to be cutting up fruit for salad after we just ate breakfast about an hour ago and making inane conversation while doing it but I imagine that most of this will end up on the cutting room floor. The director said she'd rather have too much b-roll than not enough.

Anyhoo, it was a fun morning. But I gotta tell ya, I would NOT want to do this (be an actor or a video spokesperson) for a living. It's a fussy business.

Where There's Smoke, There's Ire

There was a letter in last week's Verona News, the weekly freebie that gets delivered to all township residents, defending people's right to smoke in public places. This, of course, was written in response to pending legislation to make smoking illegal in public places in New Jersey, as it is in New York.

The letter went on to say that "smokers have rights" and before you know it, the health police will be going after people who eat fatty foods. Uh, not quite the same thing there. Yes, it's true, tobacco IS a legal substance and people who smoke cigarettes generally don't rob or kill people to feed their habit. (Although, with what it costs for a pack of butts these days, that may soon change.) Yes, in New Jersey, people still have a right to smoke to their heart's content in public places.

And, I'll even take it a step further and admit that, as of yet, there is no strong scientific evidence that proves that exposure to second-hand smoke causes disease. Yes, it's true that if you have a pre-existing lung disease or asthma, the smoke will probably aggravate your condition. But CAUSE disease? Bring on the proof.

That being said, I think most people, smokers included, will agree that second-hand smoke is just plain disgusting. It gets into your hair, your clothes and no one, except another chain smoker perhaps, enjoys kissing a smoker. My brother smokes and even he agrees that the smoke is gross. If we are out in a restaurant, he always steps outside or goes into the bar area to light up. If he's at home or in someone else's home, he steps outside. Yes, he is one of the few considerate smokers. "Few" being the operative word here.

So, using the convoluted logic of the smokers, why is that in New Jersey, smokers have rights but those of us who do not smoke, well, we can go pound sand. What about MY right to breathe clean air? What about MY right to go home, after a night dining out or dancing, without smelling like a friggin' ashtray? And, what about the rights of people who make their living working at bars, restaurants, and clubs in NJ? What about their right to work in a smoke-free environment?

New York, and other U.S. and European cities who have followed suit, have the right idea. When the anti-smoking law was first implemented, everyone whined that it would hurt business but that has not been the case. If anything, people who normally wouldn't go out to a club or restaurant because of the smoke, now go in droves.

We're not saying that smokers can't smoke. Light up all you want, that's your business. But when you're blowing smoke in MY face, that's where your rights end. If the majority of smokers had been considerate in the first place, like my brother, then we wouldn't need to consider such a law.