I am not necessarily political, but seriously Republicans, get the fuck over yourselves. The Affordable Healthcare Act is a fucking LAW.
I have never been embarrassed to be an American until now. These fuckers that run our country have shut down our government (whilst getting paid their own salaries mind you) and 800,000 federal workers are either furloughed or being told they are going to work without pay.
Blows my fucking mind how obviously racist and classist this country still is.
Just see this, people. And do it if you can. The Bloggess puts it together so much more eloquently than I ever could.
On a personal note, went to visit my sister this weekend to celebrate what my niece claims is her 8th birthday, but you never know with this child, everything that comes out of her mouth I take with a grain of salt.
Don't trust those baby blue eyes
It was a good visit. It's been a good week, actually. Good to have one before the pre-op (boo!) stuff next week.
Oh, and we had a potluck at work, and I took the infamous pickle dip, and it went over like gangbusters, so here is the recipe. You can thank me afterwards.
8 oz cream cheese, softened
16 oz sour cream
1 tsp garlic salt
1 jar refrigerated pickle spears (preferably Claussen)
Whisk together room temp cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Roughly chop pickles (do not use a processor; hand chop into bite sized chunks). Add chopped pickles to sour cream/cream cheese mixture.
Refrigerate overnight; serve with sturdy plain potato chips. Stand back and prepare to be in awe.
Cheapest, best potluck recipe ever.
Until next time, here is my Mood Ring(tone) of the Day:
Not bad enough for the insurance to cover the hysterectomy, but enough to cover a LEEP procedure...which yay! Not cancer. But boo! I could have to possibly have to get this done AGAIN down the road, and let's be honest, it sucks ass trying to get time off from my job, and really not looking forward to seeing the gyno every six months, so quite frankly, I was hoping to get everything ripped the fuck out.
I'm never having kids, no plans to EVER, so why not? Stupid insurance; Doc Awesomesauce says that it wouldn't cover a hysterectomy at this point; test results were abnormal, but not THAT abnormal (obviously there are levels of abnormal in the medical field) which is too bad; I was looking forward to 4-6 weeks off from work, with people taking care of me, and pain pills. No such luck. Back to work in a day or two, which sucks, because I have no sick time left, and trying to schedule off time from work from what is basically a call center is hard as shit.
But whatever. I'm going to ask Dr. Awesomesauce to recommend that I'm off at least 6 days for recovery...that way I will get paid. Yes, I'm working the system, but I'm also a big fat wimp when it comes to pain, so knowing me, I will be wallowing in bed for that long after this procedure. Because IT SOUNDS HIDEOUS.
But it's not cancer. So that's a plus.
Pre-surgery: Oct 10, actual surgery Oct 15. Whining and moaning about it: for weeks and weeks after.
Meanwhile, it's almost Friday, and College Football Saturday is almost
upon us, so just one more day until the weekend. It's weird, I've been
feeling strangely sad and alone and missing the Rottenator, which is VERY weird, because he's been here and stuff, but I don't know...maybe it's his preoccupation with Grand Theft Auto 5 or maybe it's just the state of mind I've been in, but I've been feeling VERY alone lately. Doesn't help that we work different shifts, I guess, but it is truly an odd sort of feeling for me, because I usually love my alone time. Ah, well. Hormones, I guess. Zoloft cannot take care of everything. But I'm feeling okay.
Oh, and seriously, why do I like Nicki Minaj? Someone explain to me why I find her so catchy because she is my:
Mood Ring(Tone) Of the Day:
This also brought me great joy this week; it's just fun, and I adore Stephan Merchant.
Thanks for keeping up with me; I'll now go lurk around and keep up with all of you...
It's kind of weird when you are a woman and you realize that you are not necessarily equipt with those natural instincts to procreate and mother young offspring; in fact, you realize that you are more like a panda mom, or an elephant mom who tries to stomp your children to death in order to avoid taking care of them.
My sister is amazemballs and I love her children to death, and when I am privileged to observe what she has to deal with on a daily basis...I am completely in awe.
I don't know where the mominator instinct bypassed me, but it did. Hell, I can barely deal with a moody cat, but I visit my sister and watch her handle three headstrong (albeit hilariously intelligent) children with utmost patience and understanding, and I am completely impressed.
She is patiently answering questions about the same subject over and over again, and tending tantrums and minor injuries with seemingly effortlessness while I am in the background arguing with my nearly 8 year old niece about how she's going to ruin my one umbrella, my ONE umbrella, and you have it on the grass, and now it's half damaged, and I don't care if your birthday is two weeks after mine, it's my birthday this weekend, and give me my umbrella and stop breaking stuff already!
God, you would think I was an only child, and I know that you are already thinking the same thing: thank GOD she has not procreated.
I am an awesome aunt, however. I'll give myself that. There is nothing better than little kids that just love you for you and are so excited to see you when you come to visit. And I will volunteer to babysit them anytime, anywhere, because we always have hilarious adventures together.
And I will always make sure that I'm the one that they can call when they need bail money. All I ask for is a group hug at the end of it like the one I got this weekend.
My sister made sure I had an awesome birthday, full of Crimson Tide and Hello Kitty and pickle dip and pee wee football (those parents are kray kray!) and it was exactly what I needed. Turning 24 (ahem) has never felt so awesome.
Especially the purple Hello Kitty purse...don't hate.
And of course I didn't hear back about my test results so I will spend the entire weekend exploiting the whole "really? Well, I may have cancer!" angle until it's worn the hell out and everyone who knows me tells me to go fuck myself, which will be entirely understandable.
Hopefully I will find out on Monday or Tuesday; still leaning towards the hysterectomy; everyone I've talked to: "You don't want kids? Get that shit taken out, what are you waiting for?"
In the meantime, looking forward to a good day with the sis and the fam tomorrow; will try to tone down the "C" talk in front of the kiddies, but make no mistake: I'm riding this sucker out.
Incidentally, have any of you ever thought about a will or an obituary or things like that? Kind of morbid, I know, but I'm currently composing a pretty killer (no pun intended) obituary, because I tend to lean towards the morbid anyway, and I would have done this with or without the possible cancer diagnosis. This just gives me an excuse.
It's so fucking weird I didn't even know her in real life and this is the first time that the "passing" of a "Facebook" friend has really gotten to me.
This chick was hilarious. I checked on her status updates every time I was on Facebook; I emailed them to my sister. She was amazeballs.
It is really bothering me, even though I never met her in real life, and only interacted with her occasionally online.
The world today...I love social media when it's good, that you can interact with people that you would never meet in a thousand lifetimes, but in another way I also hate it...because I do feel real pain when it comes to the loss of this person. That I didn't even know.
That's the first thing I thought about when the doctor handed me a pamphlet with the word "Dysplasia" at the top of it...
Yes, my first thoughts were of a much beloved and underrated movie from 1986 called Lucas wherein I was first introduced to the term " Leukoplakia".
Why, I don't know; just one of those things.
Sooo...had my Colpol today and needless to say, the doc was not satisfied with the results. So after much scraping, and sample taking and pamphlet giving, looks like I may have to have a minor surgery called a "LEEP" . We'll find out for sure on Friday...possibly Monday or Tuesday of next week, but in the meantime, I am going to milk this possible cancer thing because it is my birthday weekend, and if there is any way that I can feel more special, I'm going to exploit it.
With things like this:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/122371314848308086/
Does that not look like the most delicious thing ever? I have demanded it of my sister....because I can... because possible cancer. Don't hate, I'm taking it easy on her, I could have demanded this!
But I didn't because she is a mother and does have a life and doesn't have multi-hours to spend on creating a spectacular dessert...besides, if she mastered this before I did, I could never live with myself.
And now off to sleep to prepare for another day at work....even though....screw you work I possibly have cancer!
Anyway, for whatever reason these two Dwight Yoakam songs have been in my head...don't know why...perhaps it's the cancer....
Even though my clients tend to be a little nicer, probably because I'm not so dim, and I will say: I had a client who said that ( company I work for) was determined to piss him off and he actually thanked me at the end of the call after I massaged his bruised ego.
Gyno procedure (officially called Colpol) is rescheduled for Tuesday because my god dang body is not cooperating and after three months of no period, suddenly I have a never ending one.
Other than that: no news. Watching college football. Roll Tide. But sometimes no news is good news. Oh, the Rottenator and I did visit a new restaurant in a premature celebration of my birthday last night and he ordered a Bento box:
As I ordered the Green Curry Chicken and let's just say: he downed a lot of wasabi and my heart grew just a little bit bigger that day.
Other than that, my stupid female parts are not cooperating with my gyno's schedule so I have had to move my appointment three times: here's hoping that Tuesday is the charm.
I leave you now with a most excellent and unhealthy recipe that went over quite well for our Gameday celebration; it is so simple, and so delicious and decadently unhealthy:
Ingredients: 16 ounce box Velveeta cheese 1 cups milk 2 teaspoons paprika 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper 15 ounce can Hormel Chili (No Beans) 4 teaspoons chili powder 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1. Cut the velveeta into cubes
2. Combine the cheese with remaining ingredients in medium saucepan over medium heat.
Have you ever had that moment? Where someone totally called you out on your bullshit? And you realized they were the one? Even though you'd been together for four years, you were still unsure and suspicious and never fully trusted them, but then...they totally have your number.
I hate that, too. Why do you not recognize me as the perfect goddess I am; why do you point out my weaknesses? Because, ideally, I have none.
And you love me anyway. Damn you, Rottenator.
Meanwhile, I went to DragonCon and all I got was this single lousy picture:
And this, I didn't even take it; it is courtesy of my sister, who illegally snuck a pic (allegedly) when Spike was not paying attention.
So, this is my only pic, and as you can tell by the date on my sister's blog, it may be a while before I have anymore, but trust that fun was had by all.
In fact, we had a really good time even though the crowds were maddening. I forgot how much I hated crowds, even if they were all sci-fi geeks, and very polite, I'm just old and can't do it anymore. I was near panic attack mode, but it all ended up well thanks to one of my college friends who showed us around because he is an expert at these things.
The one on the right, we love him!
I'm not saying I'd do this again, even though it was kind of funny; the Rottenator would have hated the crowds but Alabama was playing their opening season game the same weekend in Atlanta so there was an immersion of my two worlds; nothing made me happier than watching Alabama football fans clapping at Daleks. Just sayin'...
Oh, did I mention that I passed my work test so now I have semi job security? What what?!?!? Yes, this is a huge relief; I've actually mellowed out a little bit about life whereas the Rottenator has gotten more intense. I was hoping that college football season would ease some of his depression, but not so much so far...maybe when they beat Texas A&M he'll feel better. Plus, he's turning 30 this year which can't be easy; I vaguely remember it myself...although 40 was harder than 30...and now every birthday is just another excuse to eat cake and ice cream and possibly get some flowers.
Getting old is weird. Mood Ring(tone) Of The Day:
*Incidentally, this is the song that my sister and brother in law walked down the isle to when they got married...because they are fabulous...
Rottenator: I can't believe you're missing the first day of football because of a stupid convention.
Me: It's not a stupid convention; it's DragonCon; it's a chance for me to reconnect with my peeps and indulge my inner geek.
Rottenator: I can't believe (bro-in-law) is going; he's going to miss his first game of the season too. Against Clemson...pretty important.
Me: He's not missing it; he's ditching us for the night so he can watch his game.
Rottenator: Don't blame him; probably he wouldn't be going at all if (nephew) didn't want to go; otherwise, he'd let you two nerds (me, and sis) fend for yourselves.
So, a week from today, I will be amongst my peeps, for it is the weekend of DragonCon, and I am so looking forward to it (even though it means I will miss the opening game of college football, Alabama vs VA Tech, we have that shit handled, so don't give me a guilt trip about not watching it with you, Rottenator, Roll Tide..etc).
And here's the question, which I ask of all Dr. Who fans: how do you get past it? That your favorite actor has been replaced? Oh, don't get me wrong, the concept as far as network television goes, it's brilliant. You can replace a lead actor at any time if they get out of line, or are feeling ornery, or wanting to bounce, or whatever, you just boom! Regenerate and then you're on to the next one.
But for the fans...devastating. Let me explain: David Tennant is my favorite Dr. Who, but when Christopher Eccelston regenerated into him....
A part of me died. Just saying.
Though it wasn't as devastating as this:
Moving on, I've combined two posts into one because they do seem to connect somehow and have the same meaning, and are funnily enough, all Dr. Who related...did I mention that I'm looking forward to next weekend? Not only do I get to hang out with my sis and favorite nephew, but we all get to embrace our inner geek, yay!
So, work crap:
What you may see in front of you is a mild-mannered nearly 42 year
old who doesn't speak much....inserts her opinion every once in a while
when a comment is deserved, but other than that, sits quietly at her
desk doing her job. But inside....sometimes....she still
rages....raging on against the dying of the light.
Funnily enough, Stephen Colbert inspired this part of the post.
And
it was also spurred on by everyone in my team talking about past
indiscretions, and my need to feel a part of the group and join in the
conversation, because it's funny, these people don't know me like that.
Their perception: middle aged woman who doesn't know shit about what the issues that the "young kids" are dealing with nowadays.
Side
note and mental check: most of my team are in their late 20's, and/or
early 30's so you're not exactly children. You're not in college anymore
people, and you're not that different from me, sorry to break it to
you.
BTW: think I
passed the second part of my "hey, you're gonna get fired if you don't
know the answers to these questions that have absolutely nothing to do
with your job." I'm in the payroll industry, btw...I hate
math, and I was a journalism major in college. Life is a helluva thing.
For someone who racked up thousands of dollars of debt...to have a job
in payroll...without getting into details, check your paystubs, people.
And check them carefully...oh, and pay your taxes. Because if you
don't it will come back to bite you in the ass with a vengeance.
My outfit for DragonCon:
With this button:
My sister's outfit:
She is either awsesomesauce or a heifer for showing everyone else out...I haven't decided yet...
So, after two and a half months of not having a period, my body decides it's time to have one the DAY before my colposcopy (which I still can't pronounce by the way...colonoscopy...colscopy...copocetic...Coldplay...you know what I mean!) so it's been rescheduled for a month from now because my doctor is on summer vacay for a few weeks.
All is well, though. I'm still surprisingly okay about it (thank you, Zoloft), as well as my "pass this test or you'll be fired" work assignment. The first part of the assessment was today and I feel pretty confident about it. Turns out I finally figured out that this job sets you up for failure, but despite that, I'm still pretty darn good at it. Not perfect, but still...at least I actually care about doing a good job, and even though I'm not perfect, I do try, and although it is a job that is completely opposite of everything that comes naturally to me, I have adapted to it relatively well. And I do have a bit more confidence in myself. Which is a weird feeling for me; it's odd: I have low self esteem, but I also think I'm brilliant and awesome. Is there a defined medical condition for that? Please don't say bipolar because that means I would just have to get on more medication.
Meanwhile, this is my Mood Ring(tone) of the Day, and don't judge me; it just so happens that I was taking a bathroom break at work and no lie, the chick in the next stall was singing this (don't even get me started about people who talk to themselves and/or others while taking care of business, I don't get it)...
So, I'm cheating because I actually made this Friday night, but I haven't had a chance to share it before now because the Rottenator and I enjoyed a mini weekend-vacay which was much needed. And even though it wasn't without its occasional spats, it was still enjoyable.
But moving on...behold: Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo (aka: 50 ways to clog your arteries):
Serves four (if you serve with a Caesar salad and garlic bread):
1 box fettuccine noodles, prepared according to directions
1/2 c butter (one stick)
8oz pkg cream cheese, room temp, cut into four pieces
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 T. garlic powder (or to taste)
black pepper, to taste
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 c. fresh broccoli florets
2 T. mayonnaise (or enough to coat chicken pieces)
Italian seasoning blend (like Ms. Dash)
Directions:
Boil pasta according to box directions (12-14 min for fettuccine noodles); in the last four minutes, add broccoli florets, drain, and set aside.
Heat skillet to medium.
In a small bowl, combine chicken pieces, Italian seasoning, and mayo, stir to coat. Add mixture to skillet and saute until chicken is well cooked and browned through; 8-10 min (the mayo keeps it moist).
Place chicken to the side and in the same skillet, melt your stick of butter; once melted, add your cream cheese slowly, incorporating it into the melted butter. Just stir around until the cream cheese is melted; it won't be a smooth sauce until:
You add the cream; keep stirring until this mixture gets smooth; you may want to use a whisk; I didn't have to, the sauce was smooth enough for us, and then I added the grated Parmesan cheese and stirred around until the cheese got melty.
And then I added the chicken pieces and made sure that everything was all mixed together.
And then that big pot that I originally cooked the noodles and broccoli in: I put the noodles and broccoli back into it, and poured the chicken alfredo sauce all over it and mixed until it was a delicious pile of cheesy buttery goodness.
And indeed, I did serve it with garlic bread and a simple salad. And the heavens rejoiced. It was pretty damn awesome.
I am still partial to David Tennant, sorry. Sometimes I just can't let go of the past, but I'm okay with that...which is why I'm going to DragonCon in a t-shirt that celebrates a show that has been off the air for ten years.
So, finally got my lab results back from the gyno appointment I had last Monday. Good news: blood work came back fine; thyroid, cholesterol, blood sugar, blah blah blah, all awesomesauce. However, there seemed to be some concern with my pap smear:
The first words out of the nurse's mouth: "Now, I want you to put all thoughts of cancer out of your head."
Me: "Oh my fucking god, I have cancer."
She assured me that this was more common than one would think; in fact, she's already called three other patients and given them the same news. Which only means to me: "Great...we are the three out of five that have cervical cancer."
So, I'm due back in on the 16th for a colposcopy (not to be confused with colonoscopy but near about in the same nether regions), and I'm actually okay with this; much better mine frame than one would think because, hey, cancer: it's old news in my family. Meaning, it runs rampant throughout my relatives both here and in the beyond, so I feel more than prepared to handle any news they give me after the results. Even though it did concern me a little when I told the nurse I would "see if I could get off from work" on the 16th and she said: "Um...yeah...see what you can do about that."
Hmm...okay...well, done then.
Nothing else to report except that I started watching Homeland and it's SOOO good! I forgot how much I loved Damian Lewis. The show is brilliant; good summer watching since there's fuck all else on except for Top Chef Masters.
Meanwhile, I'm still planning on going to Dragoncon with my sis and fam, and she has ordered a dress from Lameasaurus on Etsy.
The dress she ordered was this one:
How absolutely adorable is this? Now to decide...to dress up or not...
With me? Funny you should ask, but big fat nothing, thanks for asking!
Not that I'm complaining; sometimes a lack of news is not a bad thing; it just means that there's no drama going on which makes for a very boring blog but no offense, faithful readers, I'll take it. I'm dead tired of drama.
SO! While the entire world was fascinated by Baby Cambridge, I myself was fascinated by another story about another British baby...aka Liam Gallagher's love child.
See, you don't know me like that yet, but I used to love, love LOVE Liam Gallagher. I mean, he was my hero of Britpop, and not just because we shared the same birthday (Sept 21 in case you're interested in sending gifts) but also because I found him sexy as shit.
Dude did not age well:
But hey, who am I to say, I certainly have not aged as gracefully as I would have wished, but at least I don't have illegitimate children all over the world. And how happy am I now that I didn't accept his proposal of marriage that he made to me...in my mind...
Moving on, not a lot to report, really. Life is continuing; oh, I did make a long overdue appointment with a gynecologist and let me just say: I do believe your gynecologist is the most important person in your life, because my last appointment (which was, let's say...many years ago) was so traumatic I have avoided the experience ever since. However, this time, I trusted the judgement of my mother and my sister and went to their recommended doc, and although I would not say that the experience was pleasant, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. He was congenial, quick, and efficient.
Even though...after the fact both my mother and sister confided in me stories about this man's infidelity with some of his interns; I mean, really? I could have gone my entire life without having this information; why, for the love of God, why would you tell me that my gynecologist was a philanderer? Allegedly.
Regardless, he is an excellent doctor and made me feel not at all self conscious and even switched up my meds a little bit when I let him know that the Wellbutrin wasn't quite working for me. In fact, even though I was no longer crying in the shower before work every day, I found that I was very angry and aggressive.
So, we're back to Zoloft, and I'll keep you posted on how that's going. So far, so good, but it's early days. The Nooge and The Rottenator are relieved that I no longer want to kill them...on a daily basis. It's been downgraded to once a week...tops.
Mood Ring(tone) of the Day...(ick, Liam we are SO over):
First off, go here to see where I'm stealing this idea from; I do so love his blog.
Anywho, here we go:
1. What's something people might ask you for help with?
Answer: grocery shopping: I have mad skills when it comes to food shopping on a budget; give me a price limit and I will give you a week's worth of food to feed any sized family. Recognize.
2. What's something you might ask someone else for help with?
Math...and math...did I mention math? Throw in a spot of algebra while you're at it; I could do with a refresher in that, too.
3.
Did your family take summer vacations when you were a child? If so,
where did you go? If you're a parent, did/do you plan summer vacations
with your own family? Did/do they resemble those you took as a child?
Edisto Beach, SC. It's basically the only beach I know, and the only one I want to vacation at...although I hear the Gulf Shores of AL are lovely and I would like to vacation there at some point in the near future to see what their beaches are like.
4. Pool-lake-ocean...which one is most appealing to you on a hot summer day?
Ocean...see #3
5.
Have you ever justified using the expression, 'you gotta be cruel to
be kind'? Was it really necessary or were you rationalising?
No, never. I tend to err on the side of caution; I can never bear to hurt anyone's feelings. What's the point of giving someone a bad day?
6. The Journal of Psychology
recently mentioned the results of a survey identifying the ten most
hated foods as-liver, lima beans, mayonnaise, mushrooms, eggs, okra,
beets, brussel sprouts, tuna, and gelatine. Of those foods, how many do
you actually hate? Anything you'd add to the list?
How could you possibly hate mayonnaise? If I had anything to add to the list it would be sweet or bread and butter pickles...they are an abomination. Everyone knows that pickles should be dill or sour.
7. What's your favourite book or movie set in a beach or lake town?
Prince of Tides or Conrack. I have watched both numerous times and I make no apologies. Both are awesome.
So tell me..what does it feel like to be semi-successful at a job that you hate? Is it worth it? All of my reviews and call monitoring have been positive (aka "Kathleen is awesome say what?!") but still..the calls they don't hear are filled with self doubt and upper lip sweat. *sigh*
I hate that this job is affecting me so deeply, but on the other hand, I blame it on the weather and the lack of vitamin D.
That's right people, it has rained 43 fucking days in a row. No joke; it's probably rained 2 inches in the time it took me to compose this sentence. How do you lot in the Pacific NW of NA or in the UK even deal with this? My hair is protesting.
Anyhoo, I know that I should post more often, but there is actually nothing going on other than my daily routine.
PS for the last one: I forgive you, Willow...and Doogie...moving on...
I'm going to Dragoncon in Atl in September with my family and I need to pick out an appropriate costume. We are going as characters in the Whedonverse, so if you have any suggestions for any costumes for middle-aged overweight red headed women, I'm all ears...and fat rolls.
Meanwhile the Rottenator recently reminded me of this song because he stated that the Animals were the best British-invasion group to ever hit the US...above the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, but you know what, I could not fight him too much because the Animals did rock...
Thus behold, my Mood Ring(tone) Of The Day: and btw, is it just me or does the lead singer Eric Burdon remind you of a young Gary Oldman? I'm just saying..of course, I also think that Gary looks like Sid Vicious so who am I to judge....
Rottenator has decided to go back to school to become a radiology technician...aka "radiologic technologist".
My job is still blah.
Happy pills seem to be working...with the exception that I'm feeling a little bit aggressive. Disclosure: anyone else have any experience with Wellbutrin? Or any suggestions of any happy pills that seem to be working for them? Feel free to message me privately.
I can't get past level 6 of the retro Buffy game that I bought for the Xbox and therefore, I am again boycotting videogames.
One of my work friends is suffering from lupus, and going through chemotherapy and is in daily pain and it makes me realize how ultimately god-awful I am at comforting people.
About #5 up there, well, bottom line, pain and suffering makes me uncomfortable. So I've always taken the role of the court jester. I'm much better at making someone laugh than commiserating with them in their pain. I hope that does not make you think of me as superficial, or not understanding of any their suffering. Believe me, I do. It's a defense mechanism; I'm working on it. And I really do hope that laughter is the best medicine.
My Mood(ring) Tone of the Day: #1:
My Mood Ring(tone) of the Day #2 (a repeat, but appropriate):
Happy 4th of July! As you should have probably guessed by this point, I celebrate every holiday there is not so much for the meaning of the holiday as it was originally intended, but more so as the whole festival and spectacular of the whole thing.
And it means that I get a day off from work. And it also means that people are a little bit happier on this day. So there you go. Worth a shout out.
So, the Rottenator and I have recently rediscovered the sitcom "My Name Is Earl" courtesy of Netflix and all I have to say is...it is a more pleasurable experience than trying to relive the "Arrested Development" resurrection which was, I hate to admit, a disappointment.
You know the worst part about getting into a show after it's been off the air is realizing that no more new episodes will be created and and they leave you with a cliffhanger.
On another note, my glasses broke today but luckily I managed to find two nearly outdated contact lenses so at least I am not completely blind. It really was scary for a minute; the whole being completely blind thing. For a couple of minutes all I could picture was this:
But all is temporarily fine; I can see, and I'm due for some new frames anyway. I can't decide whether I'm going subtle or for the Lisa Loeb look.
Normally I would not comment on things in the world that do not concern me, but I do feel a bit moved to express my opinions on a recent topic of interest:
Oh, I have such mixed feelings about Ms. Paula Dean. I loved her whole story when she first started: she had the whole agoraphobia, abusive husband, made her success on her own (which I still admire, btw) thing going for her, and sincerely, her recipes are the shit. As in, her food is fucking delicious, and I own many of her cookbooks...because I am Southern...and engaged to a very Southern boy...and I like my fried foods. And a lot of Paula's recipes satisfy that very comforting "food I grew up on" hole that occasionally needs to be filled. Sometimes you just crave peach cobbler with a gallon of butter, or a dinner of deep fried everything, you just do.
So I was torn when Mr. Tony Bourdain, who I have also LONG loved...(as in "have a huge crush on, and had Kitchen Confidential long before he became a Food Network/Travel Channel/CNN "star" yes, I am one of those "I knew them before" people) attacked her...via Twitter, no less (even though he was SO right, damn you Tony!)
But I understood. I mean, Paula was kinda shifty/shady when it came to the whole diabetes revelation thing. And Tony also reminds me of one of those angst-ridden "takes his craft so seriously everyone else is just a sell-out and I'm still edgy and holding on to my youth, man" people that I now, as a middle-aged ex-goth, want to punch in the face. Grow up. You are a sell-out. But at least I can admit that I admire you with no shame or embarassment.
Since moving back from the big city of Atlanta, back home, to my own Southern roots, and living with a VERY southern man, I've come to reevaluate a lot of things in my life. I'm not nearly as cosmopolitan as I used to be. I embrace biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, peach cobbler, all of that ultimately Southern "soul" food that would as soon stop your heart as look at you.
So Paula's recipes have come in quite handy. That, I appreciate.
This whole new thing that's happening with her. It is a mess. If it is true that she said the things that she said, it is wrong, and it is offensive, but the woman did not lie. The only difference between Paula Dean and a lot of southern women her age who live down here is that they are not in the public eye when they used that word. My own grandmother, who spent the last years of her life in a nursing home being tended to by the kindest, most generous attendants on the planet, referred to them with such the same word. Of course, she was in her 80s, and Paula is in her 60s, so is that an excuse? No. But it is a reality.
I agree that Paula should be called out for the things that she has said; she should know better. And it pains me to know that things like this still happen; actually, I am quite appalled. But not surprised.
Delving deeper into the whole affair, and reading Paula's transcripts, it is no better or worse than anything else you'd ever hear down here on a normal every day. Take that as you will.
All I can say is that she is of the old school. Not that that's any excuse, because there are also other people her age who were born and raised in the South who have realized the error of their ways, but then again, there are those that don't. But I also feel that prejudice exists everywhere. And it is not more predominant in the South; just a bit more reported.
But moving on:
I have mixed thoughts about Edward Snowden, and I my one wish in life is that I go out like James Gandolfini: good food, good wine, quick heart attack, boom, peace out. And it kind of freaks me out just a little that he was only 10 years older than me when he did check out.
I loved Tony Soprano, and beyond that, James Gandolfini. He was amazing.
So, what have I been up to? Not much. On Saturday, whilst cooking up frozen sausage links, I managed to flip them in such a way that the frozen meat combined with the hot grease that splattered all over me and therefore, gave me huge blisters and burn marks all over my face.
Needless to say, I was unhappy. It's amazing how much my sense of vanity kicked in when "faced" with the fact that I may have to go out in public with pretty obvious burn marks all over my face.
I felt like this:
It was a weird sensation; usually, I am so concentrated on how ashamed I am of my body, to have visible markings on my face, that really threw me for a loop, to have my face "disfigured"...yes, it made me realize how superficial I am, in that I took advantage of my sick time at work and just managed my way in today, when I was able to cover everything up with makeup.
And side note: I highly recommend Neosporin. It is like Noxzema in the way that it is a miracle worker. Sometimes the old remedies are the best; they are tried and true for a reason. I am nearly all healed up and able to cover everything with make up.
So, what else: once again, I realized that when the Rottenator and I are forced to spend extra time together, I am filled with murderous rage. In that: truthfully, it was his time to enjoy himself at home and I was the unwelcomed intruder, but in the other sense, I was significantly unhappy with the fact that we spent 48 hours watching ESPN and old Alabama football games on YouTube. I am again trying to deal with the fact that we have nothing in common but we still try to make sacrifices because God knows, we do love each other when it comes down to it.
Other thoughts: my happy pills: they seemed to be working at first but now I just feel angry and confrontational about my life...but at least I'm not depressed, right? I'm reserving judgement for at least two more weeks, but right now...I don't feel a significant difference.
My Mood Ring(tone) Of The Day...oh wait, I have two...
