:: Always the Freak ::

:: Friday, October 31, 2003 ::

Bookcrossings

I'm irritated with people. I am a Bookcrossings member and I have released two books into the wild and no one has "caught" them! Grrrrr.... Oh well, my next one, I'm sending to my bro, so hopefully he'll log in and say he caught it... or I can do it for him =)

:: Jenn 3:42 PM [+]

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Corresponding with a soldier

I got a second letter from my brother. Who'd a thought I'd ever miss that guy!?! So, here's todays response:

Hey there! I got a letter from you yesterday! Yea Me! Now I can kinda know where it is you're vacationing. I see you have a lakefont view. How nice! The skies here are finally clearing - I see blue with big puffy clouds, but can still see plumes of smoke in the mtns. Short one today. Love ya. Oh, and Happy Halloween!

:: Jenn 2:01 PM [+]

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In Annoying Multicolored Ink, She Wrote...

Hi. Me again with annoying ink this time. At work today we had a "Harvest Festival" since so many people here don't celebrate halloween. It was fun and I won a prize for a ping-pong ball in the cup game. We assigned a point value o each cup and the highest score won. Sort of a Skee-Ball scoring type thing. I got (2) balls in the 10 point cup. We also had a costume contest (won by a 1/2 man-1/2 girl) and a best decorated desk contest, other games, food, and all of that stuff. It was a nice diversion. I didn't enter the costume contest, but I dressed up as a vampire slayer - kind of in a dorky way w/ a wooden sword/cross, garlic around my neck, holy water & pencils for wooden stakes. It was easy and free! heh Welpers, more tomorrow! Love ya - Jennifer

:: Jenn 1:39 PM [+]

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Do You Write in Male or Female?

This was a bit entertaining. They analyze your writing and predict if the author is male or female. Apparently, my writing style is more masculine than feminine.

I found the link while visiting A Heartburn, who apparently hails from the same area as me! How about that?

:: Jenn 11:00 AM [+]

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Faux Halloween

We're dressing up at work today instead of tomorrow since half of our staff won't be here tomorrow. And, we're havinga "harvest festival" with lunch and games and treats. So, today, I am Jennifer the Vampire Slayer! The garlic smell might become a little overcoming by the end of the day, though.

:: Jenn 8:45 AM [+]

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To My Brother...

As you can see, I'm low on postcards @ the moment, but will pick up some more soon. I KNOW I have some SOMEWHERE. Anyway, I saw mom last night. She's still sick. Bleh. We watched the movie "White Oleander". It was pretty good if a little slow-moving. I like seeing my mom each week.

I was thinking that maybe you know of some of your guys out there with you who don't have awesome sisters to write to them every day. Maybe you could use some of that paper I sent to you and send me a list with names and addresses so I can send them postcards & have some of my friends do it, too. Whaddya think? It might at least brighten someone's day, right? I thought it would be cool to do so get to work on that, ok? In the news: Same as Yesterday - the fires are still raging. Pretty crazy stuff. Oh, and I guess (our cousin) is finally moving back down here soon. It will be good to see him.

Love Ya, Jenn

:: Jenn 1:10 PM [+]

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Today's Famous People

Birthdays:

~1875 Marie, queen consort of Ferdinand I of Romania (1914-27)
~1884 Bela Lugosi, horror actor (Dracula, Body Snatcher)
~1947 Richard Dreyfuss, Brooklyn NY, actor (Jaws, Nuts)
~1965 Steven Sweet, Wadsworth Ohio, heavy metal artist (Warrant)
~1971 Winona Ryder [Horowitz], MN, actress (Heathers, Edward Scissorhand)

Deaths:

~1618 Sir Walter Raleigh is executed in London
~1911 Joseph Pulitzer, American newspaperman, dies in Charleston, SC
~1957 Louis B Mayer MGM producer, dies at 71

:: Jenn 12:44 PM [+]

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oops

I forgot to copy the postcard I mailed to my brother today. To paraphrase, I told him that despite the craziness of the fires, and the fog like haze, and the bright red sun today was a better day since I didn't spin out on the freeway after hiting a ladder... makes your day a little better when it doesn't start out like that!

Also told him that our slutty dad just returned from Roatan with his "other" woman or new womao or whatever you call one of the chicks who pays for him to do things and gets him laid but isn't the one he lives with.

Anyway, that was the gist of my news to Iraq =)

:: Jenn 1:23 PM [+]

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AHOY!!!

This week in the Cayman Islands is Pirates Week. If I allowed myself to fantasize right now, I would so fantasize about being there instead of here.

Since I missed the fabulous national holiday "Talk Like A Pirate" Day on September 19th, I'll give you the link NOW, in honor of the Cayman Islands' Pirate Week, so you too can learn to talk like a pirate, you lubbers!! And don't ye be forgettin' to take the Pirate Personality Profile! As for me:


I Am The Cap'n!

Some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some slit the throats of any man that stands between them and the mantle of power. You never met a man you couldn't eviscerate. Not that mindless violence is the only avenue open to you - but why take an avenue when you have complete freeway access? You are the definitive Man of Action. You are James Bond in a blousy shirt and drawstring-fly pants. Your swash was buckled long ago and you have never been so sure of anything in your life as in your ability to bend everyone to your will. You will call anyone out and cut off their head if they show any sign of taking you on or backing down. You cannot be saddled with tedious underlings, but if one of your lieutenants shows an overly developed sense of ambition he may find more suitable accommodations in Davy Jones' locker. That is, of course, IF you notice him. You tend to be self absorbed - a weakness that may keep you from seeing enemies where they are and imagining them where they are not

brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!

:: Jenn 9:59 AM [+]

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Invisible

What is it about becoming one member of a “couple” that all of a sudden makes a woman invisible? I feel really angry about this. Granted, on one hand, men tend to take us for granted anyway and that’s it’s own problem, but I’m talking about society's problem.

Let me give you an example. As some of you know, I recently purchased a home with my fiancée. When the papers were drawn up, he, of course, was listed first and was to sign all documents in the “first” spot. Okay, whatever. But, we are both on the deed and both on the loan yet nothing comes in our names. No, everything that comes in the mail is addressed to him. This is annoying to me. Lately we are getting a lot of “welcome” mail from local businesses, etc. Every single one of these items comes addressed to him. Grrrrrr… are you feeling my frustration yet?

Two weekends ago, we went to a “street fair” and there was a place to sign up to visit a time-share in the area and we could get free Home Depot Gift Cards. We decided to do it, so while he stood by, I signed up for it. So far, so good. On Thursday they called me to confirm and at that point took down additional information about the person I was bringing. When we arrived on Saturday at the resort and I gave them my name, they couldn’t find me in the list… why? Oh yeah, you know why. It was under his name. They wanted stuff filled out so I handed it to him and walked away.

If I am talking to someone about something, say I’m getting my car worked on and I bring my guy along, do they talk to me? Nooooooooo. They talk to him. I don’t exist. I have become my mother. I am his fiancée, woman, wife, whatever. In other words, I’m only an extension of the man I choose to be with. I’m sick to death of this. People! Get a grip! Just because we are women does not mean that we aren’t people with brains, thoughts, ideas, feelings, etc. Quit treating us like we’re invisible, because some of us do not accept this and you will hear about it. Oh, will you. This is a promise.

:: Jenn 9:35 AM [+]

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Visit Leftbanker to read his post about "economics". It's good (and not just because he's anti-WalMart).

:: Jenn 1:16 PM [+]

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Postcard to Iraq

Well, I'm not having the best month. I keep trying to stay positive, but I'm sucking at it. On top of it all there are all of these awful fires everywhere. It's horrible. From the border up to Ventura, I think and everything in between. No bueno. Sorry for the whiney postcard. I miss you and wouldn't mind having you around to chat with. I love you. Jenn.

:: Jenn 8:57 AM [+]

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Where Do I Start?

I have a million things I could talk about, but I dunno if I could do so and stay coherent. Lets say that this weekend was full of those UPS and DOWNS I've spoken about. Lets skip over that for now and go right to...

NASCAR WAS RAINED OUT!!!!! No bueno, except for the fact that our local TV was totally preempted with fire news all day anyway, so even if the race had been on, we couldn't have watched it. We're hoping they'll televise it tomorrow... I'll be setting my VCR in anticipation.

Speaking of fires... This is insane. I've heard the rumors about terrorism and while that is a bizarre tactic, it sort of makes sense. If you start fires up and down the coast of a state the size of California, what are we going to do? As it is, the fires in San Bernardino which started first, got San Diego to lease our aircraft up there to fight it so now that San Diego is on fire, we don't have the air power needed to fight what's going on down here. I happen to live in the one area that still had blue sky directly above for most of the day, but by the end of the day I don't think you could see any blue and the ash falling sounded like rain. There are about 10 fires burning across Southern California and it's absolutely insane... and scary. I just keep asking myself, "What's happening???" Many homes have burned, people have died and multitiudes have been evacuated from their homes. I feel really uneasy about the whole thing. I hope tomorrow brings some brighter news.

:: Jenn 9:05 PM [+]

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Postcard to My Baby Brother

I thought of you yesterday when I heard "Imagine" on the radio. I always do, though! =)

It's been a really busy day for me. Thank goodness I'm off tomorrow, I'm sooo ready for the weekend.

Love ya

:: Jenn 3:37 PM [+]

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Audiophile

I'm dying here because I didn't make it to the library this weekend so I have nothing to listen to on my commute. Well, except I had made, ages ago, a cd of Jonathan Livingston Seagull for just this type of desperate situation. So, this morning I listed to the familiar story. Obviously the story is awesome. What can be more inspiring then the tale that teaches to fly your highest and then fly higher? Alas, the recording sucked. But, I lived. Anyway, for anyone who has not read this classic inspirational story, I recommend it and any other of the wonderful stories written by Richard Bach. I give JLS an 8.5. If the recording was better, I might have even given it a 9. And, anyone who comes back and tells me this tale is about a bird that flies around, I'm going to personally kick your ass.

:: Jenn 8:57 AM [+]

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Historical Nothingness

Nothing in today's history really grabbed me. It is Weird Al Yankovic's Birthday. umm... some other stuff happened, I think. There were some warring issues, like a truck bomb in Beirut back in '83; some people were born, like Michael Crichton; some people died, like Jessica Savitch; the World Series was commonly in play; oh, and God created the Heavens and the Earth. huh. How about that?

:: Jenn 8:49 AM [+]

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My Opinion

Blogs with completely red backgrounds and black text are bad, scary and hurt my eyes.

:: Jenn 9:46 AM [+]

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A Postcard A Day...

Well, weirdo, I read your letters to mom last night and you fully cracked me up. Just tell me the truth - did your description of Iraq come straight out of a National Geographic magazine or are you practicing your descriptive writing skills!?! heh It was good, though =) you made it sound so picturesque!

So yesterday was the "day of fire" here. There were fires all over the IE, and Burbank and San Diego, too. Perfectly great air quality - RUINED. Bleh. Okay, more tomorrow.

-J

:: Jenn 9:45 AM [+]

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Today's "Rotten" History

Rotten.com has a "TODAY IN ROTTEN HISTORY" every day.

:: Jenn 4:26 PM [+]

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I Got A Letter!

Finally got a letter from my brother from Iraq. It sounds like it's pretty boring out there~ he likens it to "Groundhog Day", but he says the heat isn't as bad as it's been made out to be. He says it's sort of like the California desert, so basically, a much better climate than that of the North Carolina summer! He's enjoying seeing Iraq and wishes he could see a little more. Our family is made up of adventurous travelers, so even worrying about him, we can't help but be a little jealous of him, too. Here's today's postcard to HIM:

Yea! I got your 1st letter to me =) Your job sounds boring. Ha! Question: do you have access to a cassette player or CD player?

(Your wife) cracked me up in her email to me - she seems really worried about what to get us for a wedding gift. I told her not to worry - there is plenty of time. Plus, I'll just be happy to have you there! So make sure you are! Off to pretend to work now! ~J~

:: Jenn 8:51 AM [+]

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Classic on Audio

Yesterday I listened to The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens. This was actually a dramatization, rather than just a straight reading, so there were different characters being played by different people and background sounds. The recording was very good and enjoyable to listen to, but I didn't care for the story. I hated the end of it and the rest just kind of made me wonder, "what the heck was the purpose of this story in the first place?!?". It just seemed so random and disjointed, like perhaps he wanted to write these characters so tried to tie them all together. The "bad guy", Quilp, was performed in such a wicked way, that he was soooo creepy. If you're a fan of Dickens or dramatized audiobooks, or even of this book, I recommend listening to this one just because it's a great recording. Otherwise... the story didn't grab me. I'm rating it a 6 and that's only because that production was so good. If I were rating the story, it would probably only be a 3.5-4.

:: Jenn 8:34 AM [+]

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Music Today

1953 ~ Tom Petty was born in Gainesville Fla, singer (Heartbreakers-Refugee)

1970 ~ Tiffany [Renee Darwisch] was born (I Think We are Alone Now)

1971 ~ Snoop Doggy Dogg's (Calvin Broadus) birth day

1973 ~ "The Joker" was released by the Steve Miller Band.

1978 ~ The Police made their U.S. performance debut in New York.

:: Jenn 2:56 PM [+]

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Life, in General

It's just weird... this life we live. I mean, really... through the years you go from these extreme highs to extreme lows. Okay, maybe not YOU, but I have experienced this in my life. How do I go from feeling on top of the world, to being depressed all the time. I know it's ridiculous. I KNOW this. I have a great life. I'm totally lucky. Yet, I let things get to me. Work is making me physically ill. Every day things happen around here that make me have to FIGHT to keep from crying because I'm not happy here. So, now that I have a $2400 per month house payment, how do I take a job that is going to pay much less? As much as I love the benefits here, I'm really considering having to start looking again for another job. I don't want to be psycho. Of course, maybe it's just me, because I seem to be psycho at home, too! I guess if I use the past as my model, the truth is, this too will pass and I'll be back up on top of the world. I guess I just need to hold on and ride it out. God, I hate being such a whiner. But where the hell else can I get away with whining, but here. Okay. I'm done.

:: Jenn 2:36 PM [+]

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Monday Postcard to My Brother

Well, a superfast weekend passed me by. I got my moulding all put in in my living room and (Mr. San Diego) mowed our lawn for the first time. Then this morning the handle on the cold water spigot in our shower broke off. What a drag. Work is majorly sucking. Just talked to mom and she is sick. I did her unemployment filing online for her, though. I'm planning to go see her tomorrow night. Hopefully she won't get ME sick! I hear there is a letter from you in my mailbox-looking fwd to it. Love Jenn!

PS I bought a plumeria!

:: Jenn 1:12 PM [+]

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Survivor Update

I never got to make a Survivor update. Pretty much the characters still suck, except Rupert (RUPERT BETTER WIN OR I WILL BE SO DISAPPOINTED!) and Christa. I really hate the shows where the intake of disgusting "foods" are the challenge. Blech. At least Morgan finally got some wins... thanks, of course, mostly to Rupert's assistance. Merge should be coming on soon. I can't WAIT for them to vote out Jon, though. God, what a dick. Grrrr I just really can't stand any of the men on this show. Okay, thats all I have time for since Nascar is starting. Check out Sir Links-A-Lot for lots more info, if you want it!

:: Jenn 9:50 AM [+]

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Today in History Quickie

1872 ~ World's largest gold nugget (215 kg) found in New South Wales

1932 ~ Robert Reed was born in Highland Park, Ill - actor (Mike-Brady Bunch)

1951 ~ Pres Harry S Truman formally ends state of war with Germany

1982 ~ Jock Ewing dies in an aircrash on TV show "Dallas"

1987 ~ "Black Monday"-Dow Jones down 508.32, 4« times previous record

:: Jenn 9:44 AM [+]

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Grrrr

I forgot to mail a postcard to my brother today. What a loser I am.

:: Jenn 4:57 PM [+]

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Today is...

~St. Luke Feast Day
~Sweetest Day
~Alaska Day (Alaska Day)
~Independence Day (Azerbaijan)
~Persons Day (Canada)

This Past Week was...

~Freedom From Bullies At Work Week
~International Credit Union Week
~National Food Bank Week
~National Pet Peeve Week
~National School Lunch Week

:: Jenn 10:29 AM [+]

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Friday's Postcard To My Baby Brother

Hiya! Couple of things today. First, watched a video your son made the other night. Funny. He likes to watch himself upside-down. hehe I just want to hug him! Second, did I tell you I won concert tix? Yeah, last night we saw KISS and Aerosmith. Great show - thought it was the 80s! We're old - we left early. hehe

Love ya! J

:: Jenn 2:22 PM [+]

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Freaking Baseball

In honor of you psychos who are all hyped up over this baseball/World Series crap. Today's "Day in History" is going to be BASEBALL. Bleh.

1848 ~ William "Candy" Cummings was born. His claim to fame is that he created the Curve Ball.

1962 ~ Yanks beat Giants for 20th world championship

1964 ~ Despite a 99-63 record, the Yankees fire Yogi Berra after losing the 1964 World Series to the Cardinals in seven games

1974 ~ Oakland A's beat LA Dodgers, 4 games to 1 in 71st World Series, makes A's the only team other than Yanks to win 3 straight series

1982 ~ Robin Yount is the first player with two four hit games during one World Series.

1987 ~ 1st World Series game in a covered stadium (Minnesota Metrodome) (World Series #84)

1989 ~ Earthquake in SF (6.9) cancels 3rd game of 86th World Series - kills 67

1996 ~ The Atlanta Braves had the biggest blowout in postseason history, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 15-0 in Game 7 of the NL championship series to complete a comeback from a 3-1 deficit. The Cardinals became the only club to blow a 3-1 edge three times in the postseason.

2000 ~ Mariner Dan Wilson snaps the longest hitless streak in postseason history by ending his 0-for-42 skid with an opposite field single. Tiger Marv Owen had gone 0-for-31 in the 1934 and 1935 World Series.

:: Jenn 12:10 PM [+]

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Blog Abandonment?

This is kind of interesting

:: Jenn 9:47 AM [+]

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Postcard To My Bro

SUNSETS. See, I was thinking about sunsets because, you know, I see 'em on my drive home every evening. An interesting thing is that since I'm driving thru something of a valley, the sunset is more beautiful to the east of me, rather than to the west. I decided this must be due to reflection. It's a phenomenon I think about almost daily, though! The other evening (Mr. San Diego) called me to make sure I was seeing a particularly nice sunset. I love this. Have you ever done that?

Love ya!
Jenn

PS Any good sunsets in Iraq?

:: Jenn 3:33 PM [+]

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A Striking Issue

Yesterday, I was reading blogs and on one that is authored by someone I like and respect (well, as much as you can like and respect someone you only know via reading his blog) there were some comments about his unhappiness with the Grocery Store Strike. I tried to comment there, but of course, as is my luck, something errored out and my comment was lost. So, after stewing all night about this, I decided to just address this here.

To preface what I'm about to say, I wanted to bring up the fact that through either careful planning and preparing or through a series of random decisions and hapless circumstances, we all end up in the jobs that we have technically by choices we've made. I never pictured myself in the job that I have, but it's where I have ended up and the pay and benefits are sufficient that it is worth it to me to drive 3 hours round trip to work each day. It's the choice I've made for this point in my life. Yeah, I would love to be a Park Planner or Manager. I'm really interested in Safety and Risk Management. But, to move into fields like those would require me to make serious sacrifices that I'm not willing to make right now. My point is that the pay and benefits of a position and the type of position we accept all play into our decisions on whether or not to accept a position of employment (along with other life factors, of course). I'll move forward now.

The employees who are currently striking at your local grocery stores chose those jobs in the same ways that we chose our jobs. They looked for factors like, "what does this pay?" or "what kind of benefits will I be eligible for?" or "will I be able to retire someday from this company?" when they decided to become an employee for these companies. Now, some 25 years later, those retirement benefits that some of these employees have been working towards are being threatened with reduction. Yes, health care issues are at the forefront of the strike as well. The benefits that people count on are being DRASTICALLY changed. Some information has been put out that the companies are asking the employees to pay minimal co-pays for benefits or $5-10 per week premiums, but that information is incorrect. They are being told that not only will they pay high co-pays AND deductibles, but they will all of a sudden be responsible for paying a great deal of the insurance premiums. In addition, a new pay scale has been developed for new employees which pays much lower than those employees currently employed. You may not know this, but the majority of grocery store clerks and wrappers are part time. The companies save a lot of money by using part time employees rather than full time employees. These people, like us, live paycheck to paycheck. If, first, you begin to charge them weekly for health care premiums and then their hours are CUT because it is cheaper for the company to work the "new" employees at their lower pay scale, all of a sudden after many years of being employed for this company, one might not be able to pay those same bills that they've been eke-ing out all along. Trust me, I understand that companies have to look for money saving areas in order to remain competitive, but why not pick battles? Why not pick a single area to focus on at one time? Why hit these people from every angle all at once? If you walked in to work one day and they told you,

"Well, hi there Bob. Sorry, today is your day off, didn't you know you don't work 40 hours a week now? Joe over there gets paid less and is willing to work today, so you can just go home. You're only losing 8 hours of pay, quit whining. Oh and by the way, you might want to cancel that doctor's appt because we stopped paying your medical premium and if you want to go to the doctor, not only will you need to pay the premium, but you've got a $100 deductible you have to reach before what's left of your insurance will kick in. Don't you threaten to retire early! We've just cut the retirement benefits! No, I don't give a damn that you've been a loyal employee for 25 years. What does that matter to me? Stick around, maybe in a few years you'll get a better contract. But, don't count on it."

Maybe if that happened to you, you'd say "Oh. Okay." But, I wouldn't. I'm not a union member. As a government employee, striking isn't an option for me, but I would definitely do those things that were available to me to do to fight for myself. I think you would, too.

The people who are picketing are the people who are fighting for themselves and their way of life and their livelihood. You may not know this, but not everyone is technically on "strike" like the ones at Vons, some of those other employees are actually "locked out", meaning that even if they WANTED to work, the company will not let them since they are "not working under a contract". So now, not only is their future being threatened, but their TODAY is not being paid for, either, unless they go out and find temporary employment. So you're angry and resentful because people are standing in front of their place of employment asking you to support their efforts and shop at another store. I'm sorry you feel that way. If those people truly do yell and cuss at you, I'm sorry that they are handling this badly because that definitely reflects poorly on them and their cause and won't help matters. Most of the picketers are picketing the stores they work at normally. The reasoning behind that is that they have "regular" customers and they want to inform and educate those people and point them to alternative shopping sources. It should be done with respect and dignity because those customers will be the same customers they will be serving once again when this is all over. If you aren't being treated respectfully, you should report the activity to the local union office so that it can be corrected, but please don't lump everyone that is fighting for their jobs in with one or two "bad apples".

I'm not trying to tell people that they have to think like me and I'm not necessarily going to condemn someone for crossing picket lines. People have their own agendas and their own needs and I realize that not everyone has a Stater Bros to shop at instead of the usual neighborhood grocery chain. (Hey, I can't stand Stater Bros, myself. It has that funny smell, but I'll do what it takes) I could go on and on with even more information, there are so many arguments I've heard that I want to rebut. But, my fingers are getting tired of typing and chances are you're getting tired of reading this. My purpose here is to educate and to urge people to support the workers and shop in alternative stores whenever possible. You never know when it might be you who needs the support of your fellow human beings.

:: Jenn 11:43 AM [+]

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On Murder & Mayhem,
ON THIS DAY

1793 ~ Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, was beheaded in France

1851 ~ "Wild" Bill Longley was born in Texas. He was a psychopathic murderer of the old west.

1876 ~ Race riot at Cainhoy, SC

1925 ~ Angela Lansbury, actress portraying Jessica Fletcher in "Murder She Wrote", was born in London, England.

1931 ~ Winnie Judd murdered Agnes LeRoi and Hedvig Samuelson in Phoenix, AZ.

1946 ~ Alfred Rosenberg, the primary fabricator and disseminator of Nazi ideology, was hanged as a war criminal along with 9 others.

1951 ~ Liaquat Ali Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, was assassinated by Said Akbar

1991 ~ George Jo Hennard, 35, kills 23 & himself & wounds 20 in Texas.

:: Jenn 10:48 AM [+]

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Checking Stats

It appears I've been discovered by another. I don't know who it is but I'm guessing they had some help to know this blog exists. It's okay, though... my life is an open book right? I wish people who visited and know me in real life would drop a comment or an email saying "Hey, found your site. You're a psycho" or something to that effect. *SIGH* Nice to know which of your acquaintances know your innermost thoughts and desires, right?

This is a type of search result I hadn't ever seen before!

PS I've done a small amount of updating on the "About Me" page. Including adding my "Bands I've Seen In Concert" list.

:: Jenn 9:20 AM [+]

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Shut The Hell Up Already

You know what? I am sick to death of reading this California bashing. First of all if I picked out a group of people to bash, I would get bashed right back. So why is it okay to insult me or any other person that lives in California by lumping us all together and blasting us. Okay, honestly, I disliked Davis. I'm also well aware that ALL of the State of California's problems were not created by the guy. He's still a jerk. But, there is a whole lot of legislators that are involved in the running of California, so one man, while powerful, is not THAT powerful. Oh, and for those of you who think that we as a people have any say in anything or control of anything exept who is in office, whatever.

Okay, I'm also kind of interested in seeing what Arnold will do. Who knows? Maybe he will screw things up, but I actually like the idea of having someone who ISN'T your every day politician up there overseeing things. Remember that movie, "Dave"? I LOVED that movie. He was this regular guy that got thrown into "acting" like the President of the United States. Now, of course it's a movie, but the thing is what if you do have people in office who, while maybe lacking in political experience, can see things in a differnt light? It could set the stage for some change. Again, maybe it won't work out, but it will be interesting to watch.

I agree that the three ring circus that was the multitude of candidates on our ballots was ridiculous. Some stricter guidelines need to be set in place so that can be avoided in the future: more signatures and/or more money or SOMETHING, but with those that were in place, what could be done about it? I have no idea what types of guidelines are in place for other states, but I hope this experience will be a lesson for all.

Yes, it was crazy and something that had never happened before, but not every single person in California is a porn star trying to be governor. Not every single person even agreed with the whole thing and collectively, we're all pretty different, so stop generalizing. I don't go around saying everyone that lives in the Arkansas fucks his sister, do I?

:: Jenn 12:15 PM [+]

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Today's Postcard to My Bro

Okay Dorky. Why are you emailing my old address? Those jerks started charging for forwarding so I stopped using it 4ever ago! Use he good one: ladyjadegd@yahoo.com. I miss your kids, too. (Your Son) will never talk to me on the phone =( That makes me sad. I'm glad you called mom-that made her very happy =) Good job. Okay, stay away from bad guys!
Love Jenn

:: Jenn 8:38 AM [+]

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With Regards to Writing
(This Day in History)

1784 ~ Birth of Thomas Hastings, American sacred composer. Hastings was an albino afflicted with extreme nearsightedness, yet from his pen came such enduring hymn tunes as TOPLADY ("Rock of Ages") and ORTONVILLE ("Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned").

1844 ~ Friedrich Nietzsche was born in Germany

1860 ~ 11-year-old Grace Bedell wrote to Abraham Lincoln, telling him to grow a beard

1881 ~ P.G. Wodehouse, British-American writer was born (Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves)

1914 ~ ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers) founded

1917 ~ Arthur Schlesinger Jr, historian/author, was born (1946 Pulitzer-Age of Jackson)

1921 ~ Mario Puzo, author of The Godfather, was born

1959 ~ Emeril Lagasse was born in Fall River, Massachusetts. Besides being a professional chef he has penned four best-selling cookbooks. Read the biography, it's good! Heh I'm an Emeril fan, what can I say... he looks like Nick =)

1964 ~ Cole Porter composer, dies

:: Jenn 8:20 AM [+]

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A Postcard To My Brother in Iraq

Hey Bro!

So, I've decided that the quick, short format for communication with you is going to be best, so I've gathered up postcards that I've collected around the country... so get ready! Anyway, what the hell is it about home ownership that makes one all of a sudden do things they hate? Yup, tonight I cleaned up yard debris and put it in trashcans for the trashman to take away and Saturday, I swear to god (heh), I WEEDED until I was sweaty, but until I was done. Go figure. Love ya, Jenn

:: Jenn 3:20 PM [+]

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The Pants

Particularly because I've been listening to such deep and stimulating stories on my journey to and from work each day, I thought I'd relax a little by enjoying a light-hearted romp through the lives of teenage girls. So, I borrowed a copy of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants from the young adults section at the library. Well, so much for that idea. This story was much more than an easy-read teenage tale. It was the story of four teenage girls who had been friends all of their lives even though they were very different, and what happened the first summer that they spent apart. I caught myself laughing with some of their antics and crying with them through pain and emotion. How embarassing is that? Driving to work with tears running down my cheeks? Anyway, it is geared toward the younger set, so you won't get the kind of writing you would in an adult novel, but the story is good, the characters are real and what they go through that summer is the stuff we all go through in our lives. I highly recommend this for the 12-18 year olds and for those of you, like me, that still enjoy this type of novel even though we're 35!

7.5~The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

:: Jenn 9:38 AM [+]

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A Movie!

Mr. San Diego took me out to a movie today after we went toy shopping. We saw Kill Bill, Part 1. It was extremely bloody, but totally typical Quentin Tarantino and we both liked it (I was actually sort of surprised that Mr. SD liked it, but that's good). If you aren't familiar with this movie, it's brought us Uma Thurman on a mission for revenge. Apparently, the movie was so long they had to make it into TWO movies, so this was part one. I'm giving it a 7, because as usual Quentin gets a gold star for originality. It could have been an 8, but the gore factor was pretty overboard and well, hell, I'm not gonna give away everything, you'll have to see and judge on your own.

I do have one comment for Mr. Tarantino. Dude, your trademark of mixing up the scenes and jumping back and forth is cool. But, the Kill Bill duo needs to be teh last one in that format, otherwise, it's going to end up cheesy instead of cool. There.

7~Kill Bill, Part One

:: Jenn 4:51 PM [+]

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The Joy of Homeownership

Today left us $480 lighter after a visit to Home Depot, but we got moulding! And a lawnmower! Who the hell gets excited about this shit? haha WE DO! Then I did the one thing I hate the most in the world... yup, I pulled weeds! BLEH! Weird how buying a house makes you do those things you never wanted to *SIGH* I'm figuring there's a gardener in our future. My momy came to visit us today and I whipped up a quickie jambalaya for dinner... spicy and delish! Watching the Nascar Race at the moment. We're on the Yellow Flag. Jimmie's done pretty good so far... cross your fingers that he brings home the win, baby! Green Flag! Gotta Go!

:: Jenn 7:08 PM [+]

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Sweet

Gotta love when an asshole's plan backfires like it did to Burton on Survivor last night. Loved Loved Loved him trying to get rid of someone in a sneaky and creepy way and ending up the one voted off the island! WOOT! No time for more right now. Life's been weird this weekand I've been either really busy or under the weather. I'll try to get on here more... just gotta get through a rough time in the world!

:: Jenn 7:59 PM [+]

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Andy Prieboy

Looking for some info, guys. I love Andy Prieboy and used to run down to the Largo on Fairfax to see him all the time. But, it's been years.

So the other day when my friend and I were on day one of cleaning my house we were saying, we need to check out the net and see if Andy's playing anywhere. We both really want to see White Trash Wins Lotto again and would see him just the way he is, too! Amazing then that just three days later my friend picks up a copy of LA Weekly to discover that Andy had played THE NIGHT BEFORE! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

So, I've been combing the net and I have discovered he'll be doing White Trash Wins Lotto at UCLA in February. YEA! But, I'm wondering if anyone out there has any info about any other shows he might be running. It amazes me how little there is on the net about him when one can usually find SO MUCH about any subject. Go figure. Anyway, help a girl out if you've got any info. THANKS!

I need a scanner! I wanna post the picture of me and Andy at the Largo on Halloween in ummmm... 96?! Geez. Can't believe it's been that long. I'm old.

:: Jenn 1:40 PM [+]

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Things That are Good

~I finally got an envelope. Translation: In 7 years, no one has ever passed an envelope around, collected money, and purchased me a gift at work. I have contributed probably close to $150, easily, to these types of things over the same amount of time. Oh, my envelope caused a $55 Home Depot Gift Card. YEA!

~I have a four day weekend coming up this weekend.

~Saturday I received an email saying I won a copy of the SPecial Edition 2-disc DVD of Scarface (which I've never seen).

~Sunday I received an email saying I won tickets to Aerosmith & Kiss on the 16th. While I've seen Aerosmith twice over the last couple of years (which is why I couldn't justify PURCHASING tickets to said concert), I have always wanted to see Kiss and never have.

~I have three Secret Shops to do on Friday, so I'll pick up a couple of bucks and get to eat for free and buy some scrapbooking stuff for free (after picking up my free DVD).

So, I've got some good stuff going on... I just wish I could appreciate the good things in my life and stop dwelling on the things that make me crazy. I've really never been a person who gets "stressed", but I think a lot of stuff hit me at once and caused me to be a little cuckoo. I'm trying real hard to be positive and get over myself, though. So, I'm gonna look for some happy thoughts each day. And, I'm going to rewrite my brother's letter (that I never mailed) and make it more cheery.

:: Jenn 2:30 PM [+]

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I Am Not Alone

NOW I bothered to check the reviews at AmazonDotCom for the Patricia Cornwell book, Isle of Dogs. Perhaps looking ahead might have been a good idea. First off, I used to like Ms. Cornwell when she first began the Kay Scarpetta series. But, after about the first 5 of 'em, I quit reading her because they just got tired and the stories quit being focused on the Job that Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta was doing and started focusing on a bunch of personal crap, including waaaaay too much about her niece. So, I moved on. However, when I found the unabridged Audiobook edition at the library, it looked like a different type of story, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. OUCH.

I'm not 100% sure if it's just the story or if the person reading it just sucks ass as well. Michele Hall's droning is grating my nerves almost as much as the ridiculous story line that is trying to be funny, but falling flat. I'm halfway through it and while it is a rare occasion that I don't finish a book... I'm remembering only once before... but, I think this is going to have to be the end of it. I have one work that should describe this audiobook adequately. STUPID.

I'll give it a 1/10. The one being because the tape works and there is a story to listen to if one was desperate and I made it further on this then I did trying to read "...And the Ladies of the Club" BLEH

:: Jenn 9:20 AM [+]

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Survivor

Interestingly enough, it just occurred to me that I haven't MENTIONED Survivor yet. After the first two shows, here are my initial 10 comments:

1. BITCHEN location
2. The Morgan tribe are morons, which is offensive as I come from the Morgan line on daddy's side.
3. Most of the men in this show are total narcissist assholes
4. So far, the only likeable character is Rupert and sort of "Skinny Ryan" who was voted off last week. There was one girl on the Drake tribe who talked crap about one of the guys and I sort of liked her. I THINK it was Michelle, but not 100% as the women don't get much air time so far.
5. Mr. San Diego is really enjoying it already, which cracks me up as he was adamant in the beginning that Survivor was a stupid show.
6. I hope it gets better because so far I'm not enjoying it all that much due to the lack of likeability of the cast.
7. Love the reward challenge addition of getting to steal an item from the other tribe. It should be interesting to see how that plays out. There are several strategies that can work with that.
8. Rupert is a riot. From shoe stealing to skirt wearing, he keeps us laughing. I guess he'll be my pick for now.
9. How come the "strong" guys can blast The "weaker" guy for doing something and then he turns around and does the same thing in the challenge? What a moron. One can play the HUNKY guy and still be cool, look at Hunter two seasons ago! These guys need an attitude adjustment.
10. What is up with Osten, who wants to go home to his mommy? What an ass. Tens of thousands of people wanted to be on this show and this guy gives up after 6 days??? ASS!

Addendum: This is an EXCELLENT recap of the last episode.

:: Jenn 9:12 AM [+]

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Oh!

And after today, it is likely that I will not have computer access until Monday. Don't pout, no sobbing. I'll be okay.

:: Jenn 9:12 AM [+]

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