Yeah it’s halloween tonight and every night

Happy Halloween!

I didn't realize there were so many people against Halloween in the same way I am!

http://www.sarahhatter.com

One day we’ll celebrate every Halloween

What is up with adults dressing up for Halloween? God, I am so sick of people asking me what I am going to be for Halloween! If I had a dime for everyone who’s asked me this past week… Seriously people, I dress up every day to be someone I’m not; it’s called my job! Why would I want to do it again and spend more money on clothes that I’ll only use for one day? Halloween is such a crappy holiday anyway. What is it that makes it a holiday? Nobody gets the day off work. If you don’t get the day off work, it’s not real holiday.

I think it’s a giant conspiracy – and I mean huge!

Think about it, first it’s the people who grow the pumpkins. The only other thing people use pumpkins for are baking the seeds, pie and cookies right? What other uses are there?

Then, there are the card makers. Hallmark must have gotten in on this in the early stages. Why do we need a card for Halloween?

Then the candy companies got involved. Don’t even tell me Hershey’s wasn’t the first on this boat either! I’m all for chocolate, but I’m also very attached to my teeth! Which brings me to:

The Dentists! They are the ones who are manipulating parents all over the country by lobbying for this holiday because after all the candy has been consumed; teeth will be rotting for years, keeping the dentists in business forever.

But I’m talking about the adults dressing up, not the kids, the kids are fine, it’s supposed to be fun for them, not for the adults, we (supposedly) grew up.

Now we have the side businesses that benefit from Halloween. For instance, the grocery stores that have to sell the candy and the aisle of costumes they carry. Then it’s the party stores that for a month load up on the “hot costumes” for kids and adults alike. Then there are the adult erotica shops that carry the slightly more naughty costumes for adults. What about the bars? They must hold a Halloween costume party, complete with a contest for the best costume. All the while, people are drinking more than they should to celebrate a non-holiday, holiday. Sad.

You see all the people making money off of all you suckers for a one day “holiday”? If you’d like to throw away money for a better cause, try sending some this way or I’ll have to continue dressing up to be someone I’m not and go to work.

A government for hire

My girlfriend forwarded an email to me, which was sent out by the Democratic Party candidate running against Tom DeLay, Nick Lampson. I think you'll get the idea of what that email said by reading the response I sent her:

“Ok, here's the problem I have with this email - it's all well and good that Tom DeLay is an idiot, but you and I know that already, as do a lot of other voters, especially the Democrats. Tell me what you are going to do! Nowhere in this email does he talk about what he is going to do about any of the problems we face as a region, state and country. I want answers, not blame. I'd rather run the actual donkey from the democrats logo, than someone who doesn't say anything important.

Instead of sending out this email, I would 1000x prefer an email that says something like, ‘While Tom DeLay is busy fighting his legal battles, what is he doing for you in Congress? The only battles I'll be fighting are to help save (blank), grow more jobs in our region and by working hard, I'll do (blank). Improving our education system in this country is my top priority and I'm going to present a plan that does (blank). This education plan is important because with a good education, the future workforce of Texas and America will be able to work the jobs I helped to create, which will keep this region, state and country's economy flowing and growing for years to come.’

Give me something to get excited about, not something to get more pissed off at (Tom DeLay). When are politicians going to get their heads out of their asses?”

Yes, I'm a little feisty today!

We're never gonna survive, unless we get a little crazy

Problem: The wife of the boss asks me to manage someone who is working on a specific project for her.

Middleman: (Me) somebody who acts as a negotiator or intermediary

Waste of time: (See: “problem”) the wife of the boss asks me to manage someone who is working on a specific project for her

My Solution: The wife of the boss can manage that person directly and I don’t need to be involved

Reason: I have other problems that I need to address and managing another person who isn’t producing work directly for me is just a waste of my time

Her Solution: (See: "waste of time" & "problem") the wife of the boss asks me to manage someone who is working on a specific project for her

See my problem?

We reserve the right to refuse service to you

I really need new lunch partner:

It took P 11 emails back and forth (for a total of 22!) to decide where to go to lunch.

The problem I guess was that I told him it was his choice.

The funny thing is that he likes to go to lunch early and I like to go late, but I conceded this time and said I would go at 12, but he took so long deciding that we’ll now be meeting at 1230, more to my liking!

I’m on the highway to hell

Some random notes while driving to work this morning:

A. The speed limit is 40 mph, you should try it sometime.

B. Don’t fly by me in the right lane at 60 mph and then cut me off and slam on the brakes so you can make a left turn because 1) it’s rude and 2) you could’ve very easily eased into the left lane BEHIND me where there were NO CARS and no potential for causing an accident!

C. Stop staring at the joggers and go when the light turns green. Oh wait, that was me.

D. When the three cars ran the red light, which was well within their limits of stopping for, why didn’t the motorcycle cop who made the left turn heading in their direction pull them over? If that had been me running the light, I would’ve been pulled over in a flash, but these three people apparently have “Don’t pull me over – I didn’t do anything wrong” written all over their cars and the cops believe it!

E. The white lines that define the parking spaces in the garage serve as a guide as to where you should park, might I suggest using them? If you choose not to, I will park next you, in between my lines, and don’t be surprised if you can’t get into your car because mine is right up against it. See, I’m of the firm belief that if you can’t even park the car, then you shouldn’t be driving it!

Now I send back letters from the wasteland home

Click the title and you'll see that I couldn't have said it better myself. Or maybe I already did.

Losing my religion

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that bothered me, but I couldn't explain how it bothered me. It read:

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich"

I just couldn't help thinking that, yes, it may do that, but I don't think it's keeping the rich from murdering the poor, or the oppressed.

Let's take the issue of the Iraq war. President Bush has led our fairly wealthy country into a poor and formerly oppressed country and we are killing their people, our brave soldiers and other country's military personnel so that our fairly wealthy country can sleep better at night - to be blunt about it.

So maybe what bothers me the most is that our President, who is deeply, ridiculously religious, feels it's ok to kill the poor, the oppressed or even the innocent, so long as it makes us feel ok. But does he not see that we aren't ok with it? There are millions of people who believe that what we are doing in Iraq is wrong and our children are the cost of his rationalization.

I have so many thoughts running through me about this that I cannot put into words right now, so I think I'll come back to this topic over the next few days and weeks.

Somedays I’m bursting at the seams with all my half remembered dreams

Buy the new David Gray CD – “Life in Slow Motion”. It is more than worth the money. It has its catchy “radio” songs, as well as slow moving, relaxing tunes and thought-provoking, lush, melodic ones that will make you want to hit the repeat button and listen all over again.

All the way to heaven...

The Houston Astros are going to the world series.

I have seen things that you will never see

I would hope that people had noticed that I did not post anything for almost a week, but I can dream, right? I was sans internet access this past week as I was on vacation. I will have a lot to post from those vacation days where I did some writing, so keep checking back in the next 24 hours or so.

I would also guess that you’ve noticed the posts directed at the Houston Astros attempts to go to their first World Series in 43 years. Well, my vacation week started last Sunday with me sitting at that marathon, historic, record-breaking/setting, series-clinching win over the Atlanta Braves about 20 feet from the left field foul pole. I saw that Luke Scott’s drive was in fact foul by a mere 6 inches or so. I saw Roger Clemens in the performance of his career. I was one piece of an historic, memorable day that will be burned into my mind for years to come. I have posted pictures of my ticket next these words as validation to any skeptics who think I was not there and I am only repeating the things I watched on TV.

It's a typical situation in these typical times

This is just typical that they would pay for something that will keep us working. As opposed to not paying for the days we’ve missed because of the hurricane.

Staff:

Our office encourages the staff members to get the flu shots annually. Therefore, the office will pay for the cost of the flu shots for staff members, which will occur on October 27, 2005 in Suite 1245 from 8:30AM until 1 PM. Please reply to this email so that we will know the number of members taking the flu shots in order that we can issue a check for payment.

Got a ticket to ride?

Is it me, or is it just backwards to charge $45 for a standing room only ticket? Isn't it painful enough to have to stand for 3 - 3 1/2 hours, pay $7 for a beer that isn't all that cold and $5.50 for a Hot Dog that isn't that hot? Oh wait, this is the World Freakin' Series we're talkin about!!!

Leaving on a jet plane

Something about me and airports I guess!

We flew into Jacksonville International Airport today without problems, but when we had come back to pick S’s sister and her boyfriend up, I came upon the issue of the day: airport security.

Normally I wouldn’t worry about something of this nature since I am willing to give up some freedom if it means keeping me safe. However, in this particular instance, I feel we need to rethink things, even though I know it happens everywhere. We parked in front of the terminal to pick the two of them up and we waited for maybe 2 minutes before they arrived. Their luggage had not come out yet, so they brought their carry on bags to the car and went back inside. About 3 minutes later, security came over to tell us to “circle the lot if we weren’t loading anything.” I understand the reasoning for this; they don’t want people loitering around in front of the airport. It’s a reasonable idea – in New York, Washington, D.C., L.A., Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Toronto, you get the idea, the major airports. At Jacksonville International Airport, I can’t imagine too many terrorists hanging out in front of the terminal, waiting to blow it up. I also cannot imagine too many terrorists wanting to hijack a plane from that or any small market airport due to the nature of the size of the planes that fly in and out of them.

Terrorist: We have de plane.

FAA: You’re kidding right?

Terrorist: No. We are going to fly dis tirty-five seat Turboprop into de Des Moines Civic Center.

FAA: Ok buddy, you do that!

I know, I know, that’s mean, but I’m just playing a role here.

Seriously, are we worried about this? Maybe there is another reason I’m not thinking of or that no one has told me, but this is the reason I have been given and (insert hint of sarcasm here) I take the government’s word for everything, like a loyal citizen!

Again, I’m not opposed to giving up some freedom, but making me circle the lot when I know my party is inside waiting on their luggage to be brought out is a bit ridiculous.

Part II of this issue is the fact that I have to continuously circle the lot! With the price of gas these days, a potential energy shortage, the fact that I am driving a rental car and that 30 other cars are doing the same thing as well, causing a possible traffic accident, which then translates to my insurance rates going up; come on, let me stand by the curb for 5 minutes. Hell, you can run my drivers license through a background check if it makes this whole process easier.

The funny thing about this situation is that we were told to move not once, but twice and I thought about lying to get out of it the second time! After we came back around after the first couple laps, S had to use the restroom, so she parked and I was in the passenger seat. When the security officer came to my window and asked what I was doing I explained to him the situation and he asked me to move it…again. I wanted so bad to tell him that I didn’t have a drivers license and that I couldn’t move it, that we’d have to wait for either S, or the one of the others to come to the car, but I also did not want to know what the consequences would be if I said that. So I got out of the passenger seat and adjusted the driver seat and pulled away, made 4 laps, then stopped to finally pick up our party and head to our vacation destination.

A great start to this vacation.

Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise..you too will get old & when you do you’ll fantasize, when you were young, prices were reasonable

(Click the link to read about the where title of this post originates - it's worth the read!)

We were thumbing through the pages of a new J. Crew catalog earlier this evening and as my girlfriend points to a picture of a mildly attractive woman, wearing an ensemble that she would probably never wear, she proclaims how much she likes the coat that the lady is wearing. I tell her that I don’t care for it much, but of course, in this discussion, my opinion will not matter!

However, I quickly noticed numerous other issues that I had with the picture that were in little relation to the actual outfit. The first thing I noticed was the fact that the woman was standing in a fountain. Why? What does that have to do with selling clothing? After I noticed that, I glanced at the background of the photo, which was a picturesque garden of sorts. The kind you would think of when describing an old English or French manor with a large plot of land behind the house. Again, what does this have to do with selling clothing? How does someone see this picture and say to themselves, “This is a practical time to be wearing this outfit, while walking around my enormous backyard!” If the person was wearing this outfit and standing in an office, walking along a city street, sitting at an outdoor café or even standing in front of a mirror while getting ready to go out, I could certainly see it as a reasonable idea to sell the product, but in a scenic garden? I don’t get it.

The next and most important problem with the picture, in my opinion, was the price of the clothing: $250 for that jacket, $300 for the skirt and $180 for the blouse. The ironic thing about seeing those ridiculous prices was that the two of us had a conversation earlier in the day about the outrageous cost of a pair of jeans that I almost bought.

I went to The Gap earlier in the day because fall has arrived and I was in need of new jeans. First of all, I’m not a victim of fashion as any one of my friends will tell you. I like shorts/jeans and a t-shirt or polo, but none of it has to be a name brand and I don’t care what people think of that. I’m not preppy, nor would I want to carry a look that screams “pretentious”, whether I am or not. I’m not grungy, nor would I want to carry a look that says “scrubby”, whether I am or not. I just don’t care what people think of what my clothes say about me, even if they say “I don’t care what you think of me!” I can, and do, look good wearing the clothes I wear and most important, I’m comfortable in them. Anyway, the past 6 or 8 pairs of jeans I’ve bought have all been from The Gap and I like how they look and feel on me and they seem to last a couple years, which is great considering how much I’ll wear one pair. So I went again today, walked over the area where all the jeans were and picked up a couple pair to try on. Now, as I said, I’m not a slave to fashion, so when I tried on the first pair and I couldn’t see my feet because the bottoms of them were so wide open or flared-out, whatever it’s called, I quickly dismissed this pair, whether the rest of them fit correctly in other areas or not. I then tried on the other pair and while the opening at the bottom was a little better, but still not how I would like them, the other areas did not fit that well. Well, two pairs down and hopefully not too many more to go. I walked back out and looked for more styles and when I couldn’t find any, I asked for some help. Surprisingly, the pretty young associate (read: blonde hair, blue eyes, big breasts and I admit, I assumed air-headed) was attentive and knowledgeable as she lead to me to the area of what I was looking for. She asked if this was what I was in search of and I nodded, thanked her and said I would come find her if I needed anymore help. She said, “You’re welcome”, which I was a little shocked at, but no less happy to hear and she walked away to tend to other customers. On a side note, I have issues with customer service these days, if you couldn’t tell, but that’s for another day. I found my size, walked back to the dressing room and proceeded to try on my 2 new pairs of jeans. The first pair was almost perfect in fit, except the waist was a little tighter than I’d like. I figured they would stretch, but I would prefer to just be able to put them on without worrying about it. Anyway, I took them off and went to put on the 2nd pair when I noticed the price tag on the first pair - $44.50 – for denim, blue jeans. One of the least expensive fabrics and least expensive products to assemble was selling for $44.50. I could not believe that a store could charge that amount for a product that costs so little to produce!

How have we valued the material goods in our lives that a pair of blue jeans costs this much money? Maybe I sound old and dated, but seriously, $44.50 for blue jeans! People should stop paying these prices and start being outraged about them. I could go on about numerous items that are overpriced and overvalued by society, but that would just be redundant, so I’ll spare everyone those words.

So let’s go back to the J. Crew catalog now: $250 for that jacket, $300 for the skirt and $180 for the blouse. Need I say more?

It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine

For proof that humanity is not nearly as advanced as we think it is, click on the title of this post. Millions of people on this planet still believe that these sorts of things bring positive or negative effects with them and to try to prove to them otherwise would be sacrilege. I can only hope that in death, we get the correct answers to the questions of life.

At the good 'ole hockey game

The rush is back. Go Sabres!

Just to hit the ball and touch 'em all - a moment in the sun

Is that Post-Season baseball I smell? I think it is!! Go ‘Stros!!

Happy birthday to you...

Happy Birthday Mom! The big 5-0!
Yea, she's not gonna like seeing that!