Happy Day After Thanksgiving!

Greetings all-
it's been a bit busy since Election Day, but I hope everyone had a safe & happy Thanksgiving. My Turkey Day started yesterday, but does not end until Sunday: one of the benefits to having step-families is the guaranteed extension of the Thanksgiving & Christmas Holidays.

Guess what?

Speed (& I) got a puppy! Here, in all his cuteness & glory (and demon-dog eyeshine), I give you . . . Pepper!

Note the nose lick, courtesy of Speed's SUPERB timing.

And, because he is a GOOD PUPPY, here is Pepper sitting:


He's little, he's cute, he LOVES this tennis-ball-dumbell-thing Speed found at PetCo:

and he's ours!

Enjoy your weekend!

Everything But The Pony...

Well, election day has come & gone -- I voted, did you?

If you read my last post, you've probably figured that I'm disappointed that Amendment 3 didn't pass -- and I am, truly. It was something that I truly believe would have helped cut down on smoking; however, this is how democracy works. The fact that it only missed by about 62,000 votes (which is 3% of the total cast) gives me hope that, eventually, my state will realize what's up. (on the same track, California's Prop 86, which would have raised taxes on cigarettes by $2.60 per pack, only lost by about 4.3%. And my state complains about 80 cents?!?

BUT, let's look at the positives -- here are some of things that PASSED in the State of Missouri:

Constitutional Amendment #2:
Constitutional amendment to allow any stem cell research that federal law allows (this one had a smaller margin than #3 had) -- three cheers for scientific progress!

Constitutional Amendment #7:
Constitutional amendment to require legislators, statewide elected officials and judges to forfeit state pensions following felony conviction or removal from office by impeachment or for misconduct and to allow voter referendums on pay proposed by a citizens commission (umm....duh?)

Proposition B:
Proposition to increase the minimum wage to $6.50 an hour, adjust the figure yearly to match the consumer price index and make other changes

And in my county, the Special School District got their tax increase.

In addition, it seems that (at this point), the Democrats have taken the House (227 seats to 194) and are sharing the Senate (49/49). We'll also have our first female Speaker of the House, California Democrat Nancy Pelosi.

All in all, I got everything I wanted, except Amendment 3 -- it's like Christmas morning, and I got everything I asked Santa for, except that pony...

ATTENTION MISSOURI VOTERS

November 7th is fast approaching, here's a great bit from STLToday.com about why you should vote YES on Amendment 3:

Yes on Amendment 3
10/29/2006

Missouri will collect about $107 million in cigarette taxes this year. At the same time, Missouri taxpayers will spend more than $2 billion — much of it through Medicaid and Medicare — to treat people with tobacco-related illnesses like heart disease, lung cancer and emphysema. The overwhelming majority of the money will come from taxpayers who don't smoke.

Anti-tobacco groups, including the American Cancer Society, the American Heart and Lung associations, doctors and hospitals, want to raise cigarette taxes by 80 cents a pack. That price hike would prevent many young people from taking up smoking; as it is, about one in five Missouri teens smokes. The tobacco tax revenue would provide money for anti-smoking campaigns in schools, increase payments to doctors who treat Medicaid patients and provide health care for the poor.

The tax increase, Amendment 3, is one of five ballot issues facing voters in the Nov. 7 election. It would raise Missouri's cigarette tax, now the second-lowest in the nation (behind South Carolina, a major tobacco-producing state), to about the national average.

Opponents of the tax, including convenience store owners and other retailers who sell tobacco products, argue that the amendment unfairly targets the poor. They've got it exactly backward. The tobacco industry unfairly targets the poor, and the poor suffer disproportionate harm because of it. The tax increase, in fact, would benefit poor people by giving them an additional incentive to quit smoking, by helping them learn how and by paying for some of the health care they need but can't afford.

The opposition is fueled by contributions from global tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds, and from stores that profit by selling a dangerous and addictive product. Their campaign against Amendment 3 is marked by the same shameless half-truths and outright lies that characterized decades of tobacco advertising.

They argue the tax will cost Missouri billions of dollars in extra Medicaid payments. But their facts — it may invite lawsuits that might make the state dramatically expand Medicaid coverage — are as insubstantial as smoke.

Opponents allege the tax will unfairly force smokers to pay for health care provided to others. Once again, they've got it backwards. Cigarettes would have to cost about $7.75 a pack in Missouri just to cover the cost of smokers' health care now. Even an 80-cent tax hike won't bring them anywhere near that amount.

With breathtaking hypocrisy, opponents criticize backers of the amendment because lawmakers in Jefferson City — most of whom don't support the tax increase — used tobacco settlement money to balance the state budget, rather than fund prevention efforts. Opponents also say the amendment is too complicated. But it has to be to keep tobacco tax money from being used for other purposes — like balancing the budget — by short-sighted legislators.

Opponents imply, falsely, that the tax is backed by big drug and health insurance companies. It's not.

Unlike the taxes we must pay to help cover the cost of health care for those with tobacco-related illnesses, the tobacco tax is entirely voluntary. If people don't want to pay it, they don't have to buy tobacco.

To reduce the incidence of smoking-related illnesses, to keep more Missouri children from starting to smoke, to help smokers quit and to help cover the cost of caring for those already debilitated by smoking, vote Yes on Amendment 3.

A Brief Rant

***Warning: reading or commenting on this post may result in a bunch of FBI guys showing up at your house with a warrant they don't have to tell you about, that you therefore can't complain about.***

I had to write a paper for my "Management Applications of Information Technology" class; something dealing with IT & ethics. I opted to write about the USA PATRIOT Act & the ethical dilemmas it creates. It's a 7-page paper, so I don't want to post it all, but I'm proud of it & want to share the intro & conclusion with you:

Adopted by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787; the United States Constitution was established, “in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, ” and today remains the oldest working federal constitution. The first ten amendments to the Constitution, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, protect the people’s rights by expressly limiting the powers of the government. Among the rights guaranteed are:

. . . freedom of speech . . . right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances . . . The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizure . . . [and assurance that] no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized .

Also described in the Bill of Rights are the rights to due process, trial by jury, and various rights afforded to individuals accused of crimes. The Bill of Rights was adopted because, “a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added ,” suggesting that our forefathers understood the need to regulate the power of government to prevent incursions upon the civil rights of the governed. Indeed, the Declaration of Independence states that the power of Governments is acquired through, “the Consent of the Governed,” and should be used to protect the rights bestowed upon them by their Creator, in the way that “seem[s] most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. ” Thomas Jefferson once said, “The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object, ” and indeed the role and responsibility of Government should be to protect and increase the rights of the people, never to eliminate rights they have already been guaranteed. The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act) allows governmental agencies to unethically infringe upon individuals’ Constitutionally guaranteed rights, often using information technology to do so.

...[lots of facts to back up my assertion]...

Ultimately, the ethical dilemma presented by the USA PATRIOT Act is this: we live in an age of unequaled technology, which can be used for positive or negative effect. The USA PATRIOT Act allows our government to utilize this technology to monitor individuals’ actions for the specified purpose of combating terrorism. The United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights exist to protect citizens from the misuse of governmental power and infringement upon their rights as individuals. In the struggle to protect citizens from acts of terrorism, those in power must weigh the need to protect the civil rights of both U.S. citizens and non-citizens. Questions must be raised regarding who is responsible for all aspects of data collection and usage; and how these individuals and organizations will be held accountable for their use of the data. When the data is incorrect, or is used wrongly, systems must be put in place to determine who is liable for the damage that may be caused. To quote David A. Keene, Chairman of the American Conservation Union, “the line should not be drawn at 'what is helpful for law enforcement,' but at what is needed to protect us while preserving the proper balance between preserving civil liberties and our nation's national security needs. " Ultimately, society must decide what uses of this information are ethical; however, when information is gathered and used without public knowledge, questions must be raised to determine if the ends justify the means. Benjamin Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety, ” and citizens who willingly allow their government to use information technology to trample the civil rights of others should not be surprised when they find their own freedoms at risk.

Feel free to comment, or write your Congresspeople, or research.

NEW JOB and other updates

Arg - what is that now, three weeks? My apologies, it's been a bit busy. Here's a short summary:

I GOT A NEW JOB with the corporate offices of my hospital -- whoo hoo! Executive Services Coordinator in the office of the BIG president! More $$$, better hours, no holidays or weekends! I'm psyched, more later!

Grams' mammogram came back with "something" on it -- for a 25-year breast cancer survivor, that's a mega-depressing thing -- BUT, she had a biopsy, and all is well.

Then she had to put her dog to sleep -- he's the last real connection to Grandpa, I think, since they scattered his ashes in the ocean, so it's tough to deal with; but we are all doing what we can to be there for her.

Jenny Craig -- I'm holding steady between 135-140lbs, right where I want to be. Mom & Grams continue to lose, yay!

I'm still truly, madly, deeply in love with Speed. See how happy I am:

We have scheduled TEN WHOLE DAYS off work to just relax, beginning with a weekend jaunt to the Milwaukee area to catch up with M & JK. After that, we may go camping for a few days, who knows...

Lots of A's in school - yay me! Writing a paper (or should be writing a paper) on the ethics of govermental surveillance for my IT class (think USA PATRIOT Act -- shudder!)

Little bro home from school this weekend, family going out to dinner Friday night, whoo hoo!

Thinking of changing my car insurance carrier -- the little gecko says he can save me like $140/6-months -- does anyone have any experience with Geico? Thoughts, opinions?

That's about it, back to work I go -- in the immortal words of Tigger, ta ta for now!

Sad Day

The world is mourning the loss of a great naturalist; a man who took us with him into the wild, to give us a better glimpse at the wildlife that he loved and tried to protect.

Here are a few quotes I thought were really good:

"'Rarely has the world embraced an animal enthusiast and conservationist as they did Steve Irwin,' Discovery Networks International President Dawn McCall said in a statement."

"The consensus of public opinion on the sudden death of the man we called the Crocodile Hunter is 'I’m shocked… but I know I shouldn’t be.' Steve Irwin waded into crocodile-infested waters, hauled poisonous snakes out from under rocks, and scaled trees in further search of things that send most people — and other animals — skittering in the other direction."

"'You need to come with me and be with that animal,' I once saw Irwin tell an interviewer on one of his Animal Planet specials, '…because if we can touch people about wildlife, then they’ll want to save it.

He then turned towards the camera, as I’ve seen almost no other celebrity do before in a soft-light interview. “Come with me!” he said, eyes wide. 'Come with me.'"

"Reports are now surfacing that Irwin, who was filming a documentary when he died, never saw the stingray that killed him until after it struck. His friend John Stainton told Australian media that the cameraman floated in front of the ray as Irwin swam alongside. The animal likely felt cornered. The barb swung.

If the camera hadn't been there, it may not have attacked.

But then again, if the camera hadn’t have been there, we likely would have never known Steve Irwin at all."

Pics

Well, here we are -- the new & improved 136-lb me, and the new boyfriend -- aren't we cute?



and some of just me:

NEW BABY!!!

From the Saint Louis Zoo website:

IT'S A GIRL!

The Saint Louis Zoo is proud to announce the birth of an Asian elephant baby this morning, August 2, 2006, just past midnight. Ellie, the Zoo's 34-year-old Asian elephant , gave birth to a 341-pound baby girl. Both mother and baby are doing very well.

This is Ellie's second baby and the first for the baby's father, Raja. Raja was the first elephant ever born at the Saint Louis Zoo. Now, at age 13, he's started a new family, with another baby on the way in February!

Mom and baby are currently off-display, but we will be adding photos and video of our new bundle of joy as soon as possible.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!

Go here to see a pic!

Updates On All Fronts

I know, I know, it's been awhile since my last post (but not nearly as long as we've been waiting to hear from Bert), you have my apologies, but you know how it goes -- work, school, work, school, try to sleep, attempt to have a social life, rinse & repeat. I present to you, then, a summary of what's been going on.

The new definition of a romantic gift is . . . are you ready for this . . . a programmable thermostat! Don't laugh, I'm actually serious. After weeks of noticing me manually adjusting the t-stat before I leave the house (love the feathered kids, but they don't need it to be 70* while I'm gone, their species is from freakin' Australia!); Speed not only bought, but installed a programmable t-stat for me. Added note of cuteness -- he got one with a nice, big display, because he knows I can't see when I have my contacts out. Awww.

In return, I got him this, which I find to be equally romantic. Trust me -- I volunteered to scrub the shower when he moved into the new place, while he & "the guys" were doing the heavy lifting -- ohmygoodness, it was almost as bad as the fridge (did I tell you about the fridge? the one that the owner said, "I got divorced in 1998 & that fridge hasn't been cleaned since"?). So, the mega-romantic shower cleaner was presented to him last night with the following statement: "this is for you, because I love you & I never want to scrub that shower ever again."

Other notes: it's recently come to my attention that my favorite Lab Boy says I'm "Extreme Left Wing" -- am I that bad? I haven't even tossed in a political post recently (okay, I haven't tossed in any posts recently, but still) -- that's okay, Labbie, you still rock!

Thursday afternoon, I took Speed to the Zoo after work so that he could witness the chaos & cacophony that is "song time" at Camp Kangazoo. If you've never seen it, you can't understand -- but if you have, you know what I'm talking about. He observed. He chuckled at me being goofy beyond belief. He didn't run away. Score!

Enough of that. Work is there -- not too busy, but I managed to tick off a few folks by suggesting that their customer service & teamwork skills could use some polishing, to say the least.

School -- I have my Marketing Midterm on Monday - cross your fingers. For a group project, I'm working with another bio-type-girl & some guy who's been in a few of my classes. Project: pick a real or pretend product & develop a marketing plan. Original idea was something like this which, Big Brother aside, could be very handy, especially in preventing/solving Missing Children cases. We LEFT CLASS Monday with the plan to brainstorm & come back to pool ideas after the midterm. Then I get a voicemail from the guy that says we have to change our plan (no details why), maybe "a store in the mall" or something.

HUH?!?!

Talked to other partner last night, apparently the guy has issues with the "implantable chip is the mark of the beast" suggestion (which I hadn't even thought of, nor do I really get; I mean, we implant pacemakers that have serial numbers, what's the diff?); & is suggesting that the "Christian School" we go to (which I picked because it's the cheapest accredited MBA program in St. Louis) might take issue with it.

IT'S A MADE-UP PROJECT, FOR GOODNESS SAKE!

However, understanding that all are entitled to their own opinions, and not wanting to step on anyone's bible-thumpin' toes; I suggested we rework it to be a pet chip, rather than a human chip. My frustration in this comes because the other partner & I had already invested a few days of brainstorming into this; and just scrapping the whole thing would be a waste of time that I don't have to waste. So -- pet chip. Much like the current AVID chip, crossed with a GPS transmitter & able to reference (or carry) the animal's vet & vaccination records -- anyone interested?

Since I haven't mentioned my quest with Jenny recently, you'll be glad to know I've been holding between 135-140lbs for about two months now (starting weight 179.2)-- my original goal was 135, and if I hit that, whoo hoo; however, I'm quite comfortable where I am & have noticed all that good stuff that comes with a 23% drop in body weight -- more energy, better blood pressure & cholesterol numbers, etc.

Okay, guess I'd better get back to work -- yay for Saturday Shifts with nothing but paperwork to do!

Cheers, y'all!

The Real Reason To Celebrate

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred. to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Explosive Fun

Whoo hoo, got to blow lots of stuff up this weekend, yay 4th of July!

People, I have discovered the COOLEST way to light fireworks:




That's right, it's a TORCH. Push-button, nonetheless. Oh my goodness!

Lots of fun, more details later, but I'll leave you with something to think about:


Sparkler Bombs.

News Review

Well, I'm off to IL this weekend -- Sunday officially makes 2 months since my first date with Speed, & we're going to do lots of playing outside (hopefully with minimal heat exhaustion, since it's supposed to be in the UPPER 90'S!!!). Not to leave you poor readers (all five of you) alone, however, I'm linking you to some news articles I've seen recently that made me either cheer or shake my head:

I think this vaccine is an awesome breakthrough; in cancer research in general and in women's reproductive health specifically; and I think that the age recommendation handed down by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is perfectly reasonable.

I think that anytime someone is going to give large amounts of money (and I mean REALLY LARGE) to groups that do good work, some groups just need to shut up. I mean, how does a group that "devotes the vast majority of its funding to combating disease and poverty in developing countries" "'spell doom for the families of the developing world'"????? Oh no! They want to give people money to improve quality of life! The horror!

I'm so glad that someone finally slapped GWB's hand & said "too far!!!"

I think the protection of Alaska's coral gardens is a great step for marine conservation.

This editorial by Sylvester Brown of the St. Louis Post Dispatch brought back great memories, because I'm a Missouri Scholars Academy alum.

Those are just some of the major things that have caught my eye this week -- happy 4th of July weekend, everyone, celebrate safely!

Saturday Afternoon Snippets

Well, here I am, at work, one hour left -- it's been SOOOOOO slow (knock on wood), I'm almost going crazy . . . er . . . crazier. I've finished all the paperwork, done a bit of homework, and done more than my fair share of internet browsing. Thus, I thought I'd provide an update on various things.

Speed and I spent all last weekend moving him into the house he's renting for a few months while he builds his. The rental is owned by the same old guy who calls me Trixie. The guy is 70 & hadn't occupied the house in over 6 months AND he's a mega-packrat -- ohmygawd, it was a good thing I went out; the boys did heavy lifting & I did heavy cleaning. One great quote from the old guy, "I got divorced in 1998 and that refrigerator hasn't been cleaned since!" Oh goodness. I scrubbed. And Shop-Vac-ed. And Windex-ed. And then I did it all again.

This week at work has been busy enough to keep me entertained, and with no free evenings to spend with Speed, sigh. We still managed to make all but one of our lunch dates this week (the joys of working in the same department) -- did I mention I got flowers last week? I SO got flowers for NO good reason -- mega points, especially because I can't really remember the last time a b/f got me flowers -- and it was a big ol' bouquet, too, just because!

Okay, it's disgustingly cute, I know, I'm sorry. No, I'm not. I'm quite enjoying myself. Speed's meeting me after work tomorrow (yep, he'll be rescuing me from another day of boredom) to go to mom's house for dinner.

On the school front, I have one more class in Business Economics - the final - Wednesday, then I'm done with this class, YAY! The teacher, albeit intelligent & into his subject matter, gets on my nerves. I DID get to give a presentation about how various economic theories apply to the non-profit sector, specifically, the ZOO; so that was cool. Next course is Current Issues in Marketing.

We're getting back into Overnight season at the Zoo, yay!

I read this article which makes me sad; but this one gave me a bit of hope, though I think it may be due to the fact that they either (a) didn't find oil there or (b) it's too costly to drill. Oh no! Cynical Tiffany got loose! Beat her back into the recesses of my brain . . . beat, beat . . . okay, I'm better now.

Anyway, that's the mega-big excitement (thrilling, I know), back to surfing I go....

Update

So, today makes 5 weeks since my first date w/the new guy. I'm still keeping most of the details to myself (mwah hah hah) -- suffice it to say that he's pretty much everything my good friends would hope I'd find in a guy -- but here's a funny story.

New guy, who works in my department at the hospital, has earned himself the nickname "Speed," thanks to his penchant for driving various vehicles at speeds that would frighten your mother.

While out & about on a motorcycle ride Sunday, we ran into a guy that Speed is renting a house from; who had apparently heard about "the new girlfriend." Yes, he knew my name (because he'd asked about me previously), but when introduced he said, "oh, you're...Trixie, is it?" ha ha ha.

Super funny because that now makes us:
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...did you figure it out yet?
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Sorry, I had to!

Hanging In There

I'm still here.

Been a bit busy, as you might imagine. Grandpa's memorial went well, I managed to get through my whole 2.5 page rant, which got rave reviews -- they laughed when they were supposed to laugh & they didn't fall asleep. Things are getting back to the new version of normal.

My grown-up job office has been short staffed for the last three weeks; so that's been hectic. My Business Econ professor is ticking me off, I'm glad I only have 4 classes left.

On to the positives:
I finally broke 140. After 50 weeks, yay! I'm still hoping to hit my goal of 135 by the end of my year with Jenny Craig, although if I don't, I"ll still be good -- 40 pounds is 40 pounds!

Saw X3 on Sunday afternoon with C & M -- I liked it a lot, but be sure you stick around after the credits! Had dinner with Bert Sunday night, caught up on life & such things.

Saturday, I'm driving to Cape Girardeau for a certain someone's wedding. Since I'm only expecting to know him & the family, I'm making it a single-day trip, but it promises to be fun.

Perhaps most exciting, I have a new guy in my life. Yesterday made one month since our first date. That's all I'm saying for now, stay tuned...

What to Say...

I've decided that it was a good thing that Grandpa wrote his own obituary. He was always the first to brag about us, but usually the last to tout his own accomplishments. His obit, in its entirety, reads as follows:

"Graf, Joseph L. May 8, 2006, age 77.

Beloved husband for 51 years of Lucille Ann (Schneider) Graf; father to Joseph C. (Anne) Graf and Cheryl A. (Mark) D'Harlingue; grandfather to 6; great-grandfather to 1; son of the late Joseph and Grace M. (House, Graf, Kraemer) Butz; brother to Charles (Marilyn) Graf.

Attended Mt. Pleasant Grade School, Cleveland High School, St. Louis Univ., Washington Univ., Bailey Tech School (Auto Mech). He was in the Air Force thirteen years, worked for Gusdorf and Sons, Prudential Ins., J.L. Distr. and as an auto mechanic, retiring in 1994.

Services: Memorial Service will be held at KUTIS SOUTH COUNTY Chapel, 5255 Lemay Ferry Rd. (at Butler Hill) Sat., May 13, 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers please contribute to the charity of your choice."

It is, as he often was, simple, to-the-point, and with minimal embellishment.

I'm working up something to say at the memorial Saturday, so I'm going to start here.

The man I called "Grandpa" was and will remain the most influential male role model in my life. From him, I learned how to pitch without throwing "like a girl." He taught me the only card trick I can still remember; although he made it much more believable than I ever could. It's thanks to him that I can occasionally recognize the voice of Old Blue Eyes, and that I know to shift to 2nd gear when going down "the hill" in winter. In his own way, he impressed upon me the importance of evaluating a person based on their abilities and character, rather than their appearance or background. Most importantly, though, he taught me how a man is supposed to treat the people he loves. As much as he teased everyone -- including Grandma, and many of you will know what I mean when I say "Joseph, you're gettin' on my last nerve!" -- he always had our best interests in mind.

Grandpa loved his family more than words can adequately describe, and he never hesitated to make sure we knew it. The last thing he said to me was how proud he was of me, and how much he loved me. That, and to be careful on my trip to North Carolina.

I know he worried about me, like he did about all of us -- I've been told that's in the "grandparent handbook" they give out when the babies are born -- right along with the "parent handbook," I'm sure. Like parents, I believe that grandparents do the best job they know how to do, and Grandpa did it well. When I was away at school, he made sure that every time I came home, my car went in for an oil change -- "you take it into Joe Bess," he'd say, "don't worry about the bill, it's taken care of," and it always was. I still have a credit card in my wallet, Grandpa gave it to me when I left for school the first time -- six years ago this Fall -- "in case of emergencies, he said, use it if you need to, we don't even need to tell your mom." I may have used it for gas or a hotel room on the drive home a few times, but when I graduated & tried to give it back, he said "go ahead & keep it, just in case." I got a real, paying, grown-up job, and he said the same thing, "just in case." Grandpa did the best to take care of the "just in cases."

He retired in '94 largely because Mom, Little Brother & I were living with him & Grams, and we couldn't find a reliable babysitter. Figuring that he'd do a better job anyway (which was usually his line of thought -- that's where I get it from), he became our babysitter for the next year or so. He would make sure that homework was done and that dinner was made; took us on random field trips to the History Museum or the Arch, and would pack us up in the evening to pick Grandma up from work. He was always there, for us and for our friends.

I tried to call Grandma & Grandpa at least once a week when I was away at school, but there were times when I'd get busy and completely forget to do anything but go to class and sleep. About ten days into the cycle, I'd get "missed call" messages on my cell phone. Grandpa would call, but not leave a message, because he didn't want to bother me. I'd talk to mom, who'd say, "call your grandparents, they're worried about you but don't want to bother you." Now that he's gone, I wish he'd bothered me more often, or that I'd had more time to call him. I'd get random cards, and Grandma's cookies were always a big hit, but what touched me the most was when he'd call and say "I just saw something in the paper . . . I'll save it and send it to you." I have random clippings scattered throughout my folders from school; things that Grandpa thought I'd be interested in. No matter where I was -- and boy did he worry when I left the country for nine days -- I never wondered whether he was thinking of me, and I never considered that he wouldn't be there when I got back. Now that he's gone, those of us who knew him will take the lessons he taught and continue to apply them to our lives; and we will pass them on to the next generation. Grandpa wasn't the type of person to just fade away, it wasn't his style. He was my Grandpa -- and he will remain, as he always has been, a solid, strong, permanent fixture in my life.

Dealing

My grandpa passed away last night.

Today would have been 8 weeks since his surgery; he's been in the ICU ever since. In one of his lucid/coherent moments yesterday, the doctors asked what he wanted, and he said he wanted to be taken off the machines. Most of the family was there -- little brother is up at school, he has finals this week; and the two youngest cousins were at home.

Some of you may remember my audio blog from March, where I mentioned that Grandpa's biggest reminder was that, if something went wrong, we had to call the Pasta House. So there I am last night in the hospital, everyone's crying, and all I can think of is "we have to call the Pasta House!" -- today, Mom mistakenly said "Olive Garden" & I'm like, "no, no, it's the Pasta House, whatever you do, it has to be the Pasta House!"

I'm not sure if I'll be blogging about this anymore, I'm trying to do what I've always done & be the rock for my family; while dealing with the loss of the most influential male role model in my life.

Of Travels and Finals . . .

As mentioned previously, I'm headed to Bloomington. JK & I couldn't find a decent campground that allowed alcohol (& you KNOW one of the fun things about camping is being able to chill out w/a 6-pack around a campfire), and there's a high chance of rain, so we decided to grab a hotel room instead & partake of the nightlife in town. Not sure how much of a joke that will be, but it IS a college town, so I have hope. Saturday, we'll probably check out the zoo, maybe hike a trail in the state park if the weather's nice.

I had my Financial Management final last night -- I'm pretty sure that it's impossible for me to NOT get an "A" in that class, woot!

My next class, Business Economics, starts in about a week & a half. I think. Might want to check that out. Hmm.

Oh well. I have NO motivation to do anything work-related, but am trudging through data entry with the help of my new iPod. Did I mention that it rocks? Probably so, but I'll say it again. It rocks.

Later!

Wednesday Update

Well, if J can do "half-assed Wednesday" posts, the least I can do is throw you something -- though I don't have a ton of excitement to share right now.

I've been mega-social the last few days -- Friday I went out for a few hours w/some Zoo folks, Saturday I went out with C & M for dinner & pool. Sunday I slept late. Monday I did the happy-hour thing with some guys from work, and Tuesday night had dinner w/another friend from the Zoo. That's like four times as much socializing as I normally do. I actually have plans to do the happy-hour thing again next week -- it's kinda nice to have some folks to chill out with after a hectic day @ work.

I'm going to Bloomington, or thereabouts, this weekend. My friend JK from Northland called & said "I want to get out of Milwaukee this weekend, let's do something." After establishing that I wasn't driving 6 hours up there, and he wasn't driving 6 hours down here, we decided to meet in the middle, maybe go camping.

My major excitement for the week: I bought an iPod nano. It SERIOUSLY rocks. 'nuf said.

Okay, I have a new book calling my name (Deception Point, by Dan Brown), so I'm outta here -- take care!

Saturday Randomness

First things first: HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!!!

Okay, I'm at work. By working today, I was able to have last Monday off (to come home from NC) without using vacation time. It just means that I'll be sitting here in boredom till 3pm today. Joy.

Let's see, something you might enjoy:

I never knew court transcripts could be so entertaining, but if you share my interest in the whole evolution/ID "controversy" (which I fondly like to refer to as "Creationists trying to repackage a religious idea and teach it to unsuspecting youth under the guise of science"), you may enjoy reading the transcripts of the Dover, PA court case - the one where the School Board made teachers read a "disclaimer" about Evolution - which can be found here. This actually helped renew my hope in the future of science education, because before the court could even make a ruling, the voters had ousted all members of the Board who supported the "disclaimer." Power to the people!

My final exam in Financial Management is Thursday. For the Midterm, we were allowed one 8.5" x 11" piece of paper, front & back, on which to copy formulas, examples, etc. to assist us on the test. Okay, understandable, I'm not a big fan of memorizing random formulas; in fact, in my Chem class in college, we were allowed a 3"x5" index card for each test -- but only ONE, so as the semester progressed, you either wrote smaller or left off the stuff you knew. Back to Financial Mgmt -- my GRAD LEVEL course -- we are now allowed TWO 8.5" x 11" sheets, front & back, for the Final. Come on, people! Good grief, isn't that a bit much? So, I'm taking my "page" from the midterm, shrinking it to 33%, and therefore getting almost two blank pages to write notes covering the last 6 chapters of material. And forget actually writing notes, I'm just copying & shrinking the PowerPoint slides from the review we did in class (because the midterm review was almost EXACTLY the same as the test, just with different numbers). I anticipate NOT stressing over this Final too very much.

Next class on my path to an MBA: Business Economics.

I still have not unpacked from my trip. All clothes in my suitcase smell of cigarettes, thanks B, so I'll be taking them & the rest of my wardrobe to the laundromat tonight.

5 hours left . . .