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Well, today I'm going in to work for a few hours. Plus, because so many folks are out on vacation, I've been doing 1.5 hours of overtime every day since last Wednesday to cover from 8 to 6. Of course, it's not exactly time-and-a-half since I'm out on vacation starting this Wed, just my luck. But I'll take what I can get.

God, how nice it would be to just have a clean slate again, before all the vet and doc bills dragged me under. I had been going several years without a balance before that. This sucks so much. I just hope that we'll be seeing more overtime in the near future--there's indications that they're ramping up the government and channel 1 proposal seeking, so I'm crossing my fingers. Even one night of overtime means earning more than a week of nights working a second job, plus my hands are practically tied by this job because they expect me to be able to work overtime with little or no notice. But if they then announce they're cutting back overtime, then IMO the deal is off. Right, that'll fly.

Holy cow!! After all this time, I'd given up hoping and gone on with planning my summer.

I just got notice today that I've won a full scholarship [free registration ($84) plus $400 in expenses reimbursed] to WriterCon 09 in Minneapolis from Friday July 31 through Sunday August 2.

Holy crap! I have to book a flight, book a room (and/or find a roommate), arrange a pet sitter, and arrange time off. Aaack!

No, I'm not panicing...I'm excited!! But seriously...only a month's notice? Not on, folks. Thank god it's not going to conflict with my trip home next week.

Ohh, and I'm going to have my big trip-to-Bespin story to debute! Oh, this is cool! God, it's about time something good happened to me. It's been a SHIT year so far.

Yikes, airfares have gone up since a couple months ago. Ouch, it's more than half the fund. I'm crossing my fingers that I can still find a roommate to split the costs of the room, but with such short notice, I'm not confident I'll find one.

So yeah, I'm suddenly finding this a mixed bag of blessings because I'm still going to have to spend money. I forsee a lot of protein bars in my future...

Well, so much for my luck. I just booked a flight through Priceline for the first time. I bargained the price down quite a bit from the standard fare, but you're doing it blind and can't know the flight times until after you commit. The flight out if perfect, but the flight back...ouch! The flight leaves Minneapolis at 6 am on Sunday morning--which means I miss all the Sunday panels AND I doubt the train will be running that early (4-5 am) so I'll have to take a taxi. And it's too late to change it now. Fuck. Ah well, at least I'll still have the rest all day Friday and Saturday and part of Thursday, and the ticket's nearly $100 cheaper.

Apologies to those on my fList who are attempting to be vegan, but this made me laugh.

Rwwarrr!

While talking with my niece last night, she asked me if I have the first three Star Wars films and if I can bring them.

::sigh::

I said of course I'll bring them, but I dropped in my subtle opinion that they're not as good. She has sworn that her favorite character is Chewie, with Leia coming in second, so I know there's still hope... I suspect we'll be watching all six during the week I'm home. Considering it's over 90 degrees there right now, sitting inside in the AC watching movies (even bad ones) is okay with me. I means I can entertain her without spending a penney. Win.

Speaking of my niece, both she and my brother halfway into their week-long camping trip down at Devil's Lake, WI. They're doing trips into Wisconsin Dells for things like a day at the waterpark, or canoeing on the lake, etc. It sounds like they're having a good time, despite the heat and despite not having a ton of money. My brother and I were very lucky to have done a lot of camping as kids with our grandparents, so I'm happy to know she's getting the same opportunity. She's got my brother's cell and calls me regularly to update me or ask questions on what I'd like to do when I get home. On Monday morning I got a call where she reported that their tent was COVERED with daddy long legs, like out of the movie Arachniphobia. An hour later I got a call reporting that she'd just found one in her swim suit. It's been entertaining.

Oh, and my brother tells me that Kaila's grades improved dramatically since he "won" the court case and the meds have continued. As in jumping from Cs and lower to As and Bs. And no more notes from the teachers about behavior, either. Yeah, like that.

::sigh::

While talking with Mom tonight, I mentioned that I was thinking Kaila was old enough that I could bring a copy of Harry Potter and the Sourcerer's Stone home to read with her while I'm there for a week.

I half expected her to not be excited about the idea, but she was pretty firm about rejecting it outright. She doesn't want the book in the house. She is afraid that if I do, Kaila will then want HER to read them with her after I'm gone, which she will refuse to do. Yadda yadda yadda.

Why all this? Because of witches and wizards and all that evil magic. Never mind that it's fiction. Never mind that the deeper themes in the books are about love and friendship and forgiveness and other basic human strengths and failings. Never mind that it's NOT REAL.

I asked if she believes that giants and elves and goblins and unicorns are real, too, because they're also in the books.

Part of me is still very tempted to bring a copy anyway and leave it up to Kaila to decide. I find this sort of fear of this book (fear caused by ignorant people who didn't bother to read the books themselves before passing judgement) absurd. But it's her home and she's for many practical purposes Kaila's mom (in fact Kaila still calls her Mom and calls her biologial mother by her first name), so I should probably respect her wishes...this year. But I did tell her that it's probably only a matter of time before her friends start talking about the books, anyway.

::shrug:: I tried.

I miss eating an apple. It's not so much the biting into it--which is also something I can't do right now because of the jaw--but they seem to upset my stomach, even mild ones like golden delicious (my favorite). They warned me that I might dislike things I used to like, and vice versa, but for the most part no foods have bothered me much. I was never fond of the drier meats (chicken breast, pork chops) that can tend to cause problems, so avoiding them isn't a hardship for me. I do miss the pastas and breads at times, partly because they're so cheap and partly because some of my favorite dishes revolved around them (pad thai, curry dishes, Italian). But today I'm really missing my apples and this makes me sad.

Talk about dodging a bullet.

How many other wars would we be in already if John McCain and Sarah Palin had won in November?

Georgia
Iran
North Korea

And it's only June.

Wanna know why I haven't joined the Democratic Party?

Because they're ball-less wonders, now threatening to collapse and give in on healthcare reform. Even with a clear majority AND +70% public support for public option, they don't think they'll have the votes. WTF?

Sorry folks, but I have NO respect for that kind of hand-wringing and wimpering. No, I'm just fucking angry now. With ALL of them.

Much as I dislike the GOP and their harmful if not insane policies, at least they aren't afraid to use the power they win through elections.

Grow a set already, people!

Okay, haven't done one of these in a while, and I'm putting off doing something more constructive.

The Rules
1. You can ONLY answer 'Yes' or 'No'.
2. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages or comments you and asks
( Read more... )

Don't know if you've heard about this, but there's this clueless idiot congressmman from Michigan (R- Pete Hoekstra) who recently Twittered to compare the recent protests and events in Iran to the how it felt when the Republicans were rightfully handed their sorry asses after the last election. That's right, he's comparing the grassroots and emotionally charged uprisings of the Iranian people to that of the Republicans losing the "permanent majority" they abused for 6 years under Bush.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Irandecision 2009 - The Oppression of House Republicans
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

As one might predict if one weren't totally clueless like the Republicans seem to be, there's been a reaction. Here's a sampling...

@petehoekstra Dove into a pool, swam to the other side, got out using the stairs. Now I know what it was like to storm the beach on D-Day.

@petehoekstra I stepped in a puddle today and got my shoe wet. It was like being on Flight 1549 landing in the Hudson River

@petehoekstra Had to move all my stuff to a new office w/o a corner view. Now i know what the Trail of Tears was like. #GOPfail

Pete Hoekstra is a meme

Oh, for Christ's sake, are you kidding me??

Exclusive: Indy 5 Is A Go!

Yet more evidence that these folks in fact have no other tricks up their sleeves.

Here you go, folks, just what you've been waiting for!

Common Fish Species Has 'human' Ability To Learn; 'Brain Size Isn't Everything'

I remember reading about behavior studies of sticklebacks when I was a kid.

(Yes, I am a geek.)

A quandry!!

FYI, if you consider money issues TMI, stop here...

Here's the situation. My mortgage is upside down. By how much I can't know without getting a new appraisal done, but it's probably enough to make me cry. I also currently pay mortgage insurance after the last refinance--it was the only way I could come up with the initial out-of-pocket money to pay for my surgery--never mind all the new mind-boggling additional bills I've had to load onto credit cards since then because the insurance fucked me over twice.

Anyway, because of all this, I am desperate to try to refinance once more. I realize this may be hopeless, but I have to try because I don't want to start missing payments or god-forbid default. However, I can't refinance without first getting a new appraisal.

Oh, and I realize that much as I hate to contemplate this, bankruptcy should not be ruled out because of all these bills. I've tried talking down interest rates with them, to no avail. I've opened a new card with one of those low-to-no interest rates to try and transfer the debt, but even with my "perfect" credit, the ceilings have drastically dropped and the one I got barely put a dent in the overall amount on the higher interest card--and now that new one is maxed with the transfer, which makes a negative hit on my credit. ::sigh:: But if it means I don't lose my home or my car, maybe it's something I shouldn't rule out. I don't know. I just don't see how things are going to get better when I'm making minimum payments now and have no room for emergencies anymore. What I have in savings won't cover a month's mortgage.

So I'm throwing my question out to the collective wisdom of the Interwebs.

Is it worth the money I will have to spend to do an appraisal, if there's a likelihood the banks will just laugh and tell me I'm screwed? How much does an appraisal typically cost? Do you have any recommendations for appraisors and banks to contact? Any other advice?

It's a good thing I'm into cheap laughs--I'm too broke to afford sophisticated humor.


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This leaves me speechless.

Well, no, it fills me with curse words, but since my Mother is informed whenever I use them, I'll just say them out loud...

Insurers Tell Congress: Hell Yes! If You're Sick, We're Pulling Your Insurance Coverage

Because seriously, insurance is only for those who will never need it.

Reason #1: I find them obnoxious.

Seriously, I've got a co-worker here who can't seem to be quiet for any length of time. Whether it's yawning loudly and often (like he's freakin' Leo the Lion at the zoo), or snapping his fingers with a shocking lack of rhythm, or wacking his pen on the desktop, or answering his phone by YELLING loud enough that everybody comments.

Is this a sign that I'm getting old, or that he's just an ass?

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Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Listened to the book on CD now. I love her style.



This is about all the various ways through history that people have tried to prove the existence of the human soul, and what happens to it after death. It touches on everything from reincarnation to physical autopsies to spirituals/mediums and near-death experiences. The author not only does her research in libraries, but personally attends various research projects in universities, in her efforts to give a broad explanation of all the various methods and histories of each theory. She comes at each with as close of an open mind as anyone can, and does it with a wit that made me laugh out loud on a few occasions.


View all my reviews.