When the Planets and Moon Align Just So. . .

First, let me say happy birthday (yesterday) to N. He’s in double digits now, but still my “little boy” (as long as he doesn’t hear me call him that). W and I took him to Chevy’s last night for his birthday dinner. It was both W and I at N’s request, and Chevy’s at N’s request. N loves birthdays at Chevy’s because they make a big deal out of it. They give you a sombrero (to keep!), have the wait staff all gather together to sing to you, and give you a free sundae for dessert.

Ah, but what would a post be without a good rant along the way. Today’s rant is about W. Yeah, I know, what a surprise. W was born under the sign of Gemini, the twins. W is Gemini through and through. He has two distinct personalities – good W and evil W. For the last few weeks I’ve been graced with having the good W around. It’s been nice. We’ve cooperated. He has even on occasion offered to be helpful in sharing the care of N. Even N noticed they were getting along better. I knew it was too good to last, and I tread lightly because I never knew when he would flip from good W to evil W. Within the last week, evil W has returned. Maybe the moon and planets are badly aligned. I don’t know. He balks at every turn. While I had good W to help with developing the October custody schedule I am now dealing with evil W as we implement it. Suddenly, he has forgotten (in spite of having helped develop the calendar and having it posted on his refrigerator; I’ve seen it when I pick up N) and not pleased that he is to have N tonight and tomorrow night, as we agreed when the two of us sat down and made the calendar together. Also, last night after dinner as we were transferring N’s stuff from his car to mine he got all pissy over a minor issue, said “Whatever” as I tried to explain something, slammed the car door on my car, turned and walked away. N said, “I can’t believe he just did that to you.” Then he put his head on my shoulder and rubbed my arm. I didn’t know what to say except to thank him for caring.

How long will evil W stay and prevent good W from appearing? No clue. I guess it’ll take until the wind changes, or the planets realign, or he has a little success with one of his “lady friends” as he calls them.

In other news, I had two exceedingly weird dreams last night (thanks to spicy Mexican food for dinner maybe?). The first dream was that N (and yes, he is very much a boy) was pregnant without my knowledge until he had the baby. It was a bizarre dream and fizzled out as I started to question just exactly how N, a boy, could have a baby. It was a strange and disturbing dream. In the other dream I attended a party where several people I know in real life and a couple of people I didn’t know were in attendance. It was a rather adult type party. All the women were in lingerie while they men were fully dressed (which I thought was weird even in my dream). I was a newcomer to the group but very warmly welcomed. They were playing some kind of card game that I was having a hard time following, but turns often resulted in various adult type activities engaged in for a time determined by the cards played. At one point, I ended up in a FFM threesome with a redhead I know from the bi group and a man I didn’t know. I also know that John Goodman (the actor) was there, as well as one guy I knew from grade school. Most of the women there were from my bi group. This dream was quite interesting and enjoyable and was only interrupted as W called me early this morning to let me know that I needed to replenish N’s lunch money at school. I struggled to awaken from the dream as I tried to figure out what the noise was (the telephone ringing). Oh well, it was almost time to get up for the day anyway.

And just now I read my horoscope for today:

Your attempts to remain practical today may be futile as you are drawn into the shadowy regions of uncertainty. Logic fails to explain your strong passions, yet this is as it should be now. Your current lesson is about honoring your feelings, whether they are rational or not. Remember, you can allow your emotions to flow unrestrained without necessarily acting on any of them.

Okey dokey then. Heading into another beautiful, weird, wacky day. Yet this is as it should be now. Well, at least my horoscope seems to think so anyway.

You Know This is How It Goes

You know how sometimes when you’re working on a project, particularly a volunteer project, it becomes obvious to you that those in charge gots no clue what they be doin’?

You know how when that happens you’re just greatly tempted to tell those in charge what a rotten job they are doing and how you could do it soooooooo much better?

You know how when you’re tempted like that you stop short of saying anything because you know if you complain too much they’ll try to put you in charge the next time?

Yeah, that was me, on Sunday, when working my volunteer hours in the concession stands for the greater good of the soccer club for which N plays.

And now it’s two days later, it’s still bugging me, and I still want to tell them how it could be done better.

The big decision I have to make though is whether to:
(A) Tell them how it could be done better and volunteer to manage the concession stands in the future, or
(B) Just keep my mouth shut and save myself the hassle of being in charge of anything.

I know lots of people would scream “Choose B you fool! Choose B!” I gotta tell you I’m leaning heavily towards A right now because I must tell you it is much easier for me to just get ‘er done than tolerate having things done in a piss poor half-assed way.

Sports of All Sorts

Let me say a little something not related to the main subject of my post just to clear off some residue from the last post. I just want to say that if you are unaccustomed to how people act when under the influence of drugs, even those taken exactly as prescribed, the whole thing can be unnerving, particularly when your first experience with this is in the middle of the night, and the person under the influence of said drug is unable, due to said drug usage, to explain what is happening and why and provide some reassurance as to everything being okay. Also, when the person under the influence of said drug tries to make a funny, but you aren’t sure if the person is joking or serious and can’t really get a coherent response from him, again due to said drug usage, it can get a little unnerving, or perhaps as things often seem worse in the middle of the night than in the light of day, it can seem downright scary. I don’t do well in those kinds of situations. I’m a wimp. So when the “fight of flight” reflex kicks in I opt for flight, and did, in the wee early hours of Saturday morning, around 5:00 a.m. leaving a somewhat out of it, somewhat bewildered, somewhat scary BJ back at his place while I hightailed it home.

While I love BJ a lot, I can’t say that I much care for the drugged up BJ. It has always been a priority for me to stay in my right mind, to be as alert as possible, and I find a certain amount of discomfort with being around pharmaceutically enhanced individuals. Now I am not talking about medications like, oh say, blood pressure meds or allergy meds, but I am talking about the kind of meds that would alter your personality like his sleeping pills seem to do. Normally when BJ takes a sleeping pill around me it is at bedtime, and he goes to sleep, and sleeps soundly, and isn’t scary at all. After all, how scary can a big sleeping lump be? But seeing him teetering on the edge of consciousness, sitting in his living room, incoherent and unable to respond intelligibly to me, freaked me out. I wasn’t even entirely sure he knew who I was or why I was there, and that was the scariest part because if he didn’t realize that then how safe was I? That’s when I decided to bug out. Now I did find out later that he did know who I was and why I was there and he was fine with me being there. It’s just that he didn’t/couldn’t communicate that in his drug-altered state. So we talked it all out later in the day, and maybe I’m a little clearer on things, and maybe he’s a little clearer on things, and maybe it’ll all be okay.

Thus ends my post length prologue to my real post.

And now, on with the real post:

This weekend was not great, but then again not horrible, for sports fan Trueself. I’ll do bad news first and then the good news.

As one of the many long-suffering Chicago Cubs fans of the world, I watched as my beloved Cubbies folded under the pressure of their World Series centennial year and tanked in the playoffs to the Dodgers (the Dodgers for pity sakes!) losing three in a row to go home once again with heads hung low and the ever present cry of “Well, there’s always next year.” Yeah, I’m still a Cubbies fan. I suppose I always will be. I would love to see them make the World Series once in my lifetime, but I think of the number of diehard Cubs fans for whom that hasn’t happened and I see this year’s performance, and I can’t help but think that it may not happen for me either. Sigh. . .

Oh well, at least we had the “Big Soccer Tournament” to attend. Alas, N’s team lost both of their games on Saturday, putting them in the Consolation Game on Sunday. His team played well in both of Saturday’s games. They just met up with some really tough teams, teams that were much better than any they’d seen before. They didn’t lose horribly either time, only by two goals in each game. Nevertheless, they lost. . . both games. . . and they were nothing if not a little down trodden by the end of the second game. I was a little worried that they would let their losses get them down so much they wouldn’t play well on Sunday. However, they were going up against a team that had also suffered two losses on Saturday so morale-wise the two teams should be pretty evenly matched. N’s team took an early lead on Sunday and although the other team fought back hard in the second half and nearly tied the game at one point when all was said and done N’s team won. . . a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy tournament.

The big bright spot in my weekend sports-wise though was the Illini performance against Michigan. The Illini won big, and not only did they win big they did it on Michigan’s turf. Now I know there are a couple of readers who will not be as excited at the outcome of this game as I was, but all I can say to that is to quote one of my favorite Illini t-shirts: Muck Fichigan! Yes, we beat Michigan. I can’t wait to watch the game on Tivo. I had to miss it due to N’s soccer tournament, but I made sure to set the Tivo to record it just in case we won. If we had lost, I would’ve just deleted it, but given that we won I’ll be having my own version of Monday Night Football tonight. I just need a little Papa Del’s and Bud Light, and I’m good to hunker down on the sofa for an evening of fine football, and because it’s Tivoed I can skip all the commercials. Perfect!

Not a Big Thing

I'm titling this post the way I am because I want everyone to realize that what I'm talking about here isn't a big deal to me. It's just something that I'm trying to work out in my head.

I know I tend to overreact and overdramatize. I have no illusions about that so when things happen that make me have strong reactions I try to step back and deal with myself first before dealing with the situation. I'm in one of those situations right now.

Something happened early this morning that scared me. It scared me badly enough that I left where I was and returned home. . . without explanation, without much forethought, just a strong desire to get to a place where I would feel safe and comfortable.

Now, several hours later, I'm trying hard to step back and think about it, think it through, and I can't talk about it yet. I have to think. I have to decide what to do and how to make myself feel okay with it.

From Under the Green Eyeshade

As an official bean counter (or accountant for those who want to be formal about it) I cringe as I listen to some of the stuff that’s being said with regard to the bailout.

The most galling thing I’ve heard so far is what seems to have started bubbling up over the last couple of days as certain factions have questioned the validity of the “mark to market” accounting rules that require investments to be valued at current market value. While I have no intention of getting into an in depth study here of the details of the rules (although goodness knows it would be a great cure for insomnia for you to try to read something like that) I just need to say something about the whole issue before my head explodes.

There are various ways you might account for investments in securities:

Cost – This would be the most simplistic, but highly inaccurate in some, if not a lot, of cases. You buy a stock for $1,000 you include it in the assets on your balance sheet at $1,000. What this doesn’t do is take into account any fluctuations in the value of that asset over time. Therefore, anyone looking at your balance sheet is going to have no idea whether it fairly represents your financial position. I doubt there’s much of anybody who would argue for valuing investments in securities at cost.

Lower of Cost or Market – Ah, this is an old favorite. In this case if you buy a stock for $1,000 you carry it on the books at $1,000 unless the value falls below $1,000, in which case you write it down to its market value. Therefore, if the stock value rises to $1,200 the stock will still appear on your books at $1,000, but if the stock value falls to $800 it will appear on your books at $800. This is a nice conservative way of accounting. Accountants liked it because it meant you weren’t over inflating values on your balance sheet and making you look like you’ve got more than you have. On the other hand, if you happen to be really good at picking stocks, then over time it starts to look like you have less than you actually do. Because after buying that $1,000 of Really Good Company early on and holding it several years that same stock is worth $5,000, but you only get credit for 20% of that. The only way to recognize that $4,000 gain is to sell the stock and actually realize it. I grew up in the era of Lower of Cost or Market and will admit to having a bit of an affinity for it. When it comes to reporting financial position I’m all about erring on the side of understatement of assets and overstatement of liabilities. I’m just cautious that way.

Mark to Market – The simplistic definition of this would be that for every investment you value it at its current market value. The danger of this is that it makes you vulnerable to market swings more than the previous method. The benefit is that it makes for a “truer” assessment of the value of your portfolio at a point in time. Lots of people in the financial industry lobbied hard to get this into GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) when times were good. They wanted to take advantage of the high values in the stock market at the time. Now these same people are crying in their beer because times ain’t so good and instead of having to mark their investment from $1,000 to $800 as they would have under Lower of Cost or Market and taking a $200 hit they have to mark their investment from $5,000 to $800 taking a $4,200 hit. This is exactly why I favor Lower of Cost or Market. Mark to Market has allowed companies to inflate their balance sheets for far too long.

Now these bigwigs in high finance want to ditch Mark to Market. But do they want to return to Lower of Cost or Market to help return towards a bit more conservative sanity? NO! They want even more freedom to mark invested assets up to some other value as determined by them. If we were to allow these people that kind of power there would be little to no integrity in financial reporting at all. I can’t imagine that this will ever come to be, but if it does I guarantee you I will pull out of the stock market all together because financial statements will be even more meaningless than they already are.

I could go on, but I won’t. I could expand on several points here, but I won’t. I could offer more options and examples, but I won’t. I know I’ve already left most, if not all, of you with your eyes glazed over.

Grrr…. This kind of stuff just riles me up like few things can. It’s all about integrity, choosing integrity over greed, choosing to do the right thing for everyone rather than the thing that will make it great for me while screwing over the masses. Less regulations and looser regulations just allow the greed to run rampant, unchecked. It’s bad enough already. How much worse does it have to get before regular people start to fight back?

Damn I’m pissed off.

Red or Blue?

A friend forwarded this to me. It'll help you see which presidential candidate is the right one for you. It's a survey. It gives you two quotes on an issue, one from Obama and one from McCain, but it doesn't indicate which one said what. You click on the quote that is closest to your convictions. In the end it will tell you who you are leaning towards, or should be anyway! Cool!

Click here to go to the quiz.

When I took it there were no surprises. As expected I didn't agree 100% with either candidate. Also as expected I leaned heavily toward Obama and away from McCain. I tried to make sure I was rating the statements on the statements alone and not trying to guess which candidate had said it (although in some cases it is just too obvious to be unaware of it) because I wanted to base it truly on how I feel about the issues and not skew it towards Obama because I wanted it to tell me I should be for Obama.

Odds and Ends

Not sure which of these are the odds and which the ends, but there's a bunch of 'em. Might take a while to read. Go get a cup of coffee, and maybe a muffin. Then find a comfy place to relax as you read.

1. Finally, this morning I saw Sarah Palin in an interview where she sounded almost reasonable and perhaps worthy of being in politics on a national level. Frankly, it was a relief as I had been terrified of the prospect of her being VP. Now I’m starting to think I would be only annoyed rather than terrified. My impression is that maybe her “handlers” in what I’m sure was a well-intentioned effort exerted too much pressure on her to be something different than her true self and inadvertently aided her only in coming off as a bumbling idiot in earlier outings. So now I’m looking forward to what I think could actually be a real debate between her and Biden. At least I hope it will be a real debate. Can we keep gender out of it? If so, the potential for real debate is possible. If not, I will sigh and realize we aren’t quite evolved as far as I’d hoped.


2. Bailout or no bailout? That is the question. Well, what if we turned it on its ear? What if instead of bailing out the fat cats on Wall Street we bailed out the little guy? What if instead of pumping billions into the big corporate machine, we pumped it out to those who are struggling to meet those subprime mortgage payments? Why does it have to be a top down effort? Why not build from the base? These are just brainstorming thoughts on my part so it might be completely unfeasible. However, if I were a Washington insider that’s the idea I’d throw out there and at least research its feasibility.


3. Yesterday, W called at 5:25 p.m. to let me know that he couldn’t pick N up from after school care as he normally does on Tuesdays (after school care runs until 6:00 p.m.). If this had been an emergency I would’ve been fine with it. If this had been something that came up suddenly I would’ve been fine with it. Given that he said he’d forgotten to mention it on Monday and then hadn’t found the time to let me know earlier than he did on Tuesday I was anything but fine with it. If it’s my time to have N and something comes up I can call W and ask if he’s available, but it is not even an option to just tell him that I can’t care for N at that time and he’ll have to do so. Nope, I have to find and pay for a sitter if he is unavailable. On the other hand, if W pulls a stunt like yesterday I have to change my plans to accommodate him, or I have to find, and pay for, a sitter. Grrr. . . There is an inequity here that is quite galling.


4. N wanted to have his birthday party at the local ice rink (he loves to ice skate) rather than my idea of having it at a local park with a nice play area. I was hesitant, but after finding out that it was not much more expensive to have it at the ice rink than renting the pavilion at the park (and at the ice rink they provide refreshments and goody bags which I would have had to do myself if we’d done it at the park), I agreed to it and booked it. The day after I booked it, N was talking to some of his friends, found out they wouldn’t attend if it was at the ice rink (they don’t know how to ice skate), and so he wanted to know if we could change back to doing it at the park. I told him no, because I’d had to put down a non-refundable deposit with the ice rink. Now I have an unhappy boy because he is getting his birthday party at the place he insisted upon. If it weren’t for the non-refundable deposit I’d be tempted to cancel the whole damned thing and not have a party at all. I know he’s just a kid, but a little gratitude would go a long way here.


5. I seem just a bit scatterbrained lately. Last night I took a load of clothes from the washer and put them in the dryer. This morning I went to get the clothes out of the dryer. They were still wet. I had never turned on the dryer. Duh. . .


6. French toast is good, and you know what? It really doesn’t take all that long to make, just the time to beat up a little egg batter, dip the bread and fry it up. Oatmeal takes almost as long. N and I had French toast for breakfast yesterday. We should do it more often.


7. This weekend N plays in another “Big Soccer Tournament.” I hear there will be 175 teams there of various age groups from at least three or four states. At least this one is closer to home and won’t require staying overnight with a fellow blogger. (You do realize, don’t you, that the only reason I blog is to make connections all over the world so that no matter where I travel I can save money on accommodations by staying in bloggers’ homes and taking advantage of their hospitality, soft guest beds, hot showers, and free food from their kitchens? Well, if you didn’t, you do now.) Fortunately, this is W’s weekend to have N so he gets to take him to the 8:00 a.m. game while I sleep late, blissfully unburdened with soccer mom duty for a bit. I’ll go over for at least a game or two, but not the early morning one. I’ll definitely make the Sunday afternoon championship game if his team makes it that far (and given their so far undefeated season I’d say they have a good chance) because I wouldn’t want to miss seeing that.


8. Last weekend BJ, N and I attended a fundraiser for a local charity. It’s the first time we’ve really officially done anything public as the three of us. I introduced BJ to a couple of friends of mine. I didn’t introduce him as anything like boyfriend, just as BJ with no further explanation made. I don’t know what they thought of him or the fact that I was with him. It felt awkward though, at least to me, maybe because they are friends of W’s too. I don’t know how BJ felt about it.


9. Can a couple separate and still attend the same church comfortably? That is a quandary for both me and W. He and I both enjoy our church. It is a small congregation, not a mega church so we definitely run into one another there. However, his circle of friends there and mine, while having some overlap, tend to be different in general. He tends to hang with the geriatric crowd for the most part. I tend to run with the parents of school age children and with the LGBTQA (yeah they keep expanding the list of those included with the Q being “questioning” and the A being “allies” for those not in the know) group. Because of the type church it is, we aren’t looked down upon for divorcing, and I’m not aware of anyone feeling the need to place blame or take sides. At first, we both thought that one of us might need to change churches to maintain comfort and peace, but it seems to be working for us at least for now. I guess the real test will be when one of us brings a new person from our lives into the church (and from the sound of things W may well have a new paramour in the not so distant future so he may be the first of us to bring someone else to church as BJ isn’t a big church person).

Umm, No, But Thanks for Guessing

Your Surfing Habits are 70% Male, 30% Female

If we had to guess, we would guess that you are a man. You use the internet to make your life more efficient - and to make you smarter. For you, the internet is like a vast encyclopedia. You search and surf extensively. You look up everything online.

Do You Use the Internet Like a Man or a Woman?

Huh?

Okay, let's see if I have my facts straight:

1. When we elect representatives they are to represent the people in their districts.

2. Polls show most Americans are against the bailout bill as it was presented.

3. Most of the representatives, regardless of party affiliation, who voted against the bailout bill are up for reelection this year.

4. Criticism abounds from the ones who wanted the bill passed that these representatives were more concerned about getting elected than passing the bill.

Tell me where my facts are wrong here people, because if the four statements above are factual then the representatives who voted for the bailout are the ones who are wrong. What am I missing here? Because it seems to me that if #1 & #2 are correct then #3 is the logical consequence of that and should be regardless of whether one is up for reelection or not.

Apparently I'm an idiot because it's another one of those things that I just don't get in spite of my high IQ.

My Latest Earworm

Your everlasting summer
You can see it fading fast
So you grab a piece of something
That you think is gonna last
You wouldn't know a diamond
If you held it in your hand
The things you think are precious
I can't understand

Chorus:
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine

You been tellin' me you're a genius
Since you were seventeen
In all the time I've known you
I still don't know what you mean
The weekend at the college
Didn't turn out like you planned
The things that pass for knowledge
I can't understand

Chorus

I spend a lot of money
And I spent a lot of time
The trip we made in Hollywood
Is etched upon my mind
After all the things we've done and seen
You find another man
The things you think are useless
I can't understand

Chorus

A Must Read

This is simply a must read if you are any of the following:
(a) Democrat
(b) Republican
(c) Independent voter
(d) Female
(e) Male

If you fit one or more of these categories, GO! READ THIS! NOW!

Or completely ignore me. . . Most people do. . .

-----------------------------
Later in the day
And now I just read this:

WASHINGTON (AP) – A White House spokesman says President Bush is very disappointed in Monday's House vote rejecting the administration's rescue plan for the nation's financial industry.

That there's enough proof in my book to chalk up the vote as a very good thing! Hahahahahahaha (only half kidding actually)

Like Blogging Out Loud?

Surprisingly enough, at least I'm sure it will be a surprise for at least a certain contingent of my readers, I will be preaching a Sunday sermon at my church in a couple of months.

If anyone is interested in attending, email me and I will send you the particulars. Since we are an opening and affirming congregation, I guarantee you will be warmly greeted there no matter your status in any dimension. We'll welcome you even if you're white, affluent, and narrow-minded.

Otherwise, you can wait until after I preach, and I will post the transcript of my sermon here on my blog.

Turning into My Father

When I was young it used to drive me batty that my dad would spend a good part of Sunday morning watching what I at the time thought was the most boring TV shows ever: the political talk shows a la Meet the Press and Face the Nation. I couldn’t understand why on earth he would care about such things. I also remember the summer when the Watergate hearings were televised. My dad was glued to the TV throughout, right down to staying in the hotel room while my mom took us kids to the beach when we were in Miami Beach on vacation.

In addition, my dad read every book he could get his hands on about Watergate and about the major players in Watergate. He continued his reading with other books about politics and politicians. Every time a politico comes out with a new book, Dad’s down at the library checking it out. He reads while he watches CNN, C-Span and Fox News in the background. Not only does he read, but he writes too. He writes letters to his congressmen, both state and federal. He lets them know exactly what his feelings are about issues and that whether or not he’ll vote for them in the future is dependent on their votes on certain issues near and dear to his heart.

In other words, my dad is a political junkie. He thrives on it. The scary part is that I’m starting to become just like him. Not that we always take the same stand on issues (although we do about three quarters of the time I’d guess), but we both love a good political discussion and both prefer to be as knowledgeable as possible about the issues.

I watch Meet the Press (though it’ll never be as good as when Tim Russert moderated) with some regularity. I find I tune in to the other Sunday morning political shows more and more often than I used to do. I immerse myself in news articles both in hard copy newspapers and magazines and from online resources. I find myself more and more interested in really listening to what the politicians say and then seeing how their votes and their actions align with their words. I spend very, very little time on political forums online, preferring to look for facts rather than emotions, and trying hard to look for substantiation before believing what I read. I tend not to rigidly vote the party line but vote for the person I believe is right on more issues, and particularly on the most important issues. I often vote for someone not of the Republican or Democratic persuasion.

I am my father’s daughter. Thanks Dad!

Just a Little Man-Bashing

If a man receives an email that has more than one question he will answer only one question. Now, what is up with that? Do men not read beyond the first question mark? Do they pick the easiest question, answer it, and hope you’ll go away? Do they not give a rat’s ass whether or not you can do your job with inadequate information?

Even when I try sending an email saying “In order to clarify your request, please answer the following three questions:” followed by a numbered list of the questions I still generally only get back the answer to one, or if I’m really lucky that day (stars and planets all aligned perfectly I guess) I might get back answers to two of the three. To expect all three to be answered on the first try? Ludicrous! I can almost guarantee it won’t happen.

Now I will admit this will occasionally happen when I email questions to women, but not often and not consistently. With men though, it is almost an ironclad guarantee.

Men. . . can’t live with ‘em; can’t shoot ‘em. . .

Not Politics Again?!?!? Yeah, Sorry

So I was reading an online discussion regarding the current state of things, little things like presidential campaigns and debates and the financial implosion that I could’ve told you would happen a while back if anybody had cared (I mean, after all, housing prices couldn’t possibly continue forever to climb like they were for a while; people were idiots to offer mortgages to other idiots who couldn’t afford them and to top it off with unrealistic terms; it was nuts; all I could do as Ms. Jane Q. Public was not indulge in the antics myself which I didn’t and therefore other than the thousands of dollars for which I as taxpayer will be on the hook to bail out the idiots I am coming through pretty well unscathed, including not having my portfolio tank recently due to having the world’s greatest financial advisor; anyway, back to the point of this here post following this closing parenthesis). I liked the following two comments in the discussion:

Commenter #1: The thing is, Obama could end up debating an empty chair, and Fox News would still have a dozen pundits in a row with talking points about how the chair actually won.

Commenter #2: "Face it, the chair was steady and unwavering, and as solid as oak. It didn't change its position one inch through the whole debate. Nobody can accuse that chair of being a waffle. And for a chair to debate a human -- what guts! What a MAVERICK that chair is!"

In the meantime, of course, the GOP is weeping. Because at the end of the day all McCain demonstrated was his ability to dart about madly from one stance to the next from one day to the next. The economy's rosy! The economy's cratering! I'm in the debate! I'm out of the debate! The papers are wrong, and the bailout bill isn't nearing agreement! The papers are wrong, and the bailout bill is nearing agreement! I'm in the debate!"

The way I look at it, this week proved that Palin wasn't the only one on the ticket who knows how to handle wildlife. Sarah Palin can field dress a moose, and John McCain can jump a shark.

Yep, that about says it all. Couldn’t have said it any better. I, for one, will be watching tonight’s debate with keen interest. Anyone else?

The Weekend That Felt Like a Week

This past weekend was N’s “Big Soccer Tournament” over two hours from home. In the past, his team has never ever done well at soccer tournaments and sometimes hasn’t even gotten to play at all. Therefore, when I saw that after two games on Saturday, he’d have one on Sunday morning and IF they made it to the championship game it would be played in the late afternoon, well I was sure we’d be home by mid-afternoon. I’d have time for weekly grocery shopping and a few of the chores that didn’t get done because of being gone on Saturday. I was sure, but I was wrong.

N’s team kicked butt.

They won their first game on Saturday morning easily, 4-0. We parents rejoiced, remembering last year and how happy we were when our team score any goals at all and didn’t lose by double digits.

After lunch, they won their second game, 5-0! We rejoiced again, but with less enthusiasm and growing doubts about whether we’d all get to go home at a decent hour on Sunday or if we would be getting our boys home, on a school night, late in the evening.

We sighed as the coach called us together for a quick parents’ meeting and told us it was almost a lock that we would be playing in the championship. Our only hope (bad parents that we are) was that our boys lose on Sunday morning, not badly but maybe by one point after a hard fought game and we could console our boys with how much better they are than they used to be, yadda, yadda, yadda. Then we could go home at a decent time.

We retired early on Saturday evening (just ask Drama; N and I both fell asleep on her sofa around 9:00 p.m. or so while watching TV; very comfy sofa BTW; yeah, we’re killer houseguests; invite us sometime and we’ll sleep on your sofa too), getting plenty of rest to be ready and raring to go Sunday morning. We’d seen a Krispy Kreme doughnut place on Saturday near the tournament site so we decided to have a Krispy Kreme breakfast on Sunday. Nothing says “Breakfast of Champions” like sugar and grease you know. We arrived at the field ready for action.

Of course, N’s team won. I don’t remember the exact score of that game, but the other team didn’t score at all and ours did so we won. Yay. Sort of. Now we had a few hours to kill prior to the championship game, which was scheduled as the very last game of the tournament. Sigh. . .

Fortunately, we had seen the day before one of our favorite restaurants that doesn’t have one in LNJ, Mimi’s Cafe. As luck would have it, I have a gift card for Mimi’s that was given to me before we moved from LOH. Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?!? We went, we relaxed, we ate, we left, we still had over two hours to kill. I went to a local gas station and filled the car with gas. Then we went to the mega book store and looked around. I bought N a book he wanted and got one for myself. We then went to the overpriced overexposed northwest coffee place where we read our books over iced mocha and hot chocolate. N asked approximately every 60 seconds if we were going to be late getting back to the game. When it was finally only about 30 minutes too early to be returning to the field I acquiesced and returned him to his native habitat (the boy lives for soccer).

The team they played for the championship came in with a reputation of being tough physical players. Not only that many were big for their age (yes, proof of age is required so they were the right age, or good forgers). It turns out their idea of a physical game is illegal moves like throwing elbows and tugging the back of jerseys. Few fouls were called, many fewer than what I saw occur. However, our boys were going toe to toe with them, refusing to be intimidated. N is also a physical player, but he rarely makes illegal moves. He just blocks with his whole body which is perfectly legal. He was doing so well at it that the coach of the other team tried to convince the referee that N was playing dirty, but the referee said no. To me it was just sour grapes because N knows how to play well and refused to be bullied by bigger more intimidating players.

In the end, the championship game was much tougher than the other games our guys played. They couldn’t get the shutout like they had in their earlier games. The other team scored on them three times. Fortunately, our team scored seven times. N’s team was the champions of their age division! Woohoo! We went to the trophy area so the team could reap the benefits of their weekend.

Then we drove home, two hours, interrupted only by a rest area stop and dinner at Baker’s Square. It was a long weekend, but the food was excellent! Fattening too. I may not eat for a week. (Yeah right.)

So N now has another trophy for his shelf. It’s the first championship trophy though. The rest have mostly been participation trophies, and a second place trophy from baseball this spring. It was a long weekend but worth it to see the look on N’s face when he accepted his trophy, to see how proud he was of his and his team’s accomplishments. I totally dig this soccer mom gig!

WTF?

Below is this article, Homeschooling Banned in California as State Turns Parents Into Criminals for Teaching Their Own Children, that I just finished reading over at NaturalNews.com. It's a stunner.

(NaturalNews) A California appeals court has ruled that homeschooling of children is illegal unless their parents have teaching credentials from the state.

"California is now on the path to being the only state to deny the vast majority of homeschooling parents their fundamental right to teach their own children at home," said Michael Smith, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association.

The court overturned a lower court's finding that homeschooling did not constitute a violation of child welfare laws.

"California courts have held that ... parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children," Justice H. Walter Croskey said.

The decision stunned parents of the state's roughly 166,000 homeschooled children. While the court claimed that it was merely clarifying an existing law and not making a new one, the decision leaves the parents of homeschooled children at risk of arrest and criminal prosecution.

"At first, there was a sense of, 'No way,' " homeschool parent Loren Mavromati said. "Then there was a little bit of fear. I think it has moved now into indignation."

Parents' reasons for homeschooling their children range from religious beliefs to dissatisfaction with the education received at public or private schools. But according to the court, all California children between the ages of 6 and 18 must attend either a full-time public or private school or be taught by a tutor credentialed for their specific grade level.

"A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation," Croskey wrote.

California's largest teachers union welcomed the decision as did the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles.

According to the law center's executive director, Leslie Heimov, children should not be educated at home, because they need to be "in a place daily where they would be observed by people who had a duty to ensure their ongoing safety."

Now, particularly look at those last three paragraphs.

First, I take issue with a primary purpose of the educational system being to train kids in loyalty to the state and nation. I thought the primary purpose was to teach them basic skills needed for life and to think for themselves, but never did I think it was to indoctrinate them into loyalty to the government.

Second, that last sentence implies that teachers have more of a duty to ensure the childrens' ongoing safety than the parents do, and I'm sorry but that is just bullshit. NOBODY is going to be more concerned about the safety of my child than me, and I am insulted by anyone who thinks that teachers are going to be more concerned than I.

Here's another article with more detailed information. Apparently this is fairly old news being reported at Natural News as the appeals court ruling happened this past February and was reported by major news outlets in early March 2008. However, it's one of those stories that gets little press at the time, and since it affects a relatively small minority of people few pay attention.

I don't homeschool, but I don't have anything against it in the majority of cases. To make it illegal across the board unless you have an accredited teacher as a tutor seems to be overly restrictive. I've known accredited teachers I wouldn't trust to teach N much of anything, and I've known wonderfully skilled teachers who weren't accredited that were gifted at it. Yes, we need to accredit teachers who will work in our public school systems, but for homeschooling? I don't think so.

Happy Celebrate Bisexuality Day!

Learn more here.

In honor of today, go kiss a bisexual! They'll be flattered whether you're the same or opposite gender of them so you can't lose!

Who knew September had such cool holidays? First "Talk Like a Pirate Day" on September 19 and now "Celebrate Bisexuality Day" on September 23. This is definitely worth hosting a party next year with a bisexual pirate theme. I love it! I am so putting this on my calendar for next year. Party! Party! Party!

Stolen From C-Marie

Start with your name: Trueself

If your ex REALLY needed you at 3 am, would you go to his/her house?
Yeah, I would, but only if he REALLY needed help like a medical emergency or something.

When was the last time you wanted to punch someone in their face?
A few minutes ago when talking to W on the phone.

What are the last three things you spent money on?
Breakfast this morning, dinner last night, bottled water at the soccer tournament

What was the last thing you cried about?
I honestly don’t remember. I know it was last week and probably more PMS-driven than anything else.

Could you go a day without eating?
Could? Probably. Would? Not likely.

Have you ever kissed anyone whose name started with a J?
Yes. That’s a fairly common first initial you know.

Do you smoke weed regularly?
Nope, not even irregularly.

Drugs are bad?
Illegal drugs? Yes. Legal drugs used as prescribed? No. Legal drugs used differently than prescribed? Yes.

Has anyone ever told you they’re in love with you?
Yes.

When was the last time you were disappointed?
A few minutes ago when talking to W on the phone.

Has a girl ever seriously punched you?
No.

What was the last thing you put in your mouth?
Granola bar.

Have you kissed two different people in one night?
Oh yes, too many times to count.

Is it easy for others to make you feel awkward?
Yes, incredibly easy.

In the past week have you felt stupid?
Let’s see, did I leave my house in the past week? Yes, so yes I have felt stupid in the past week.

Have you ever been outside completely naked?
Yes.

What would happen if you had a baby with the last person you kissed?
Okay. I wouldn’t be thrilled, only because of our age, but it wouldn’t be awful to have BJ’s baby.

Who did you text the most yesterday?
Strangely enough, it was W, keeping him apprised of N’s soccer tournament.

What were you doing at 10pm Friday night?
Driving to Drama’s house.

What are your plans for today?
Work.

Could you go the rest of your life without smoking a cigarette?
Yes, and I intend to.

What was the last reason you went to the doctor for?
The pain and swelling of my left leg from my fall. (and may I add that the “for” at the end of this question is not grammatically correct and unnecessary?)

What is the last thing you yelled aloud?
Woohoo!! (after N’s soccer team won)

What do you think of when you think of Australia?
Kimba, Fusion, Emily, koalas and kangaroos

Do you have any gay/lesbian friends?
Yes, loads of them.

Have you ever kissed the last person you texted?
Yes.

What’s one action you do when you’re really nervous?
Talk. . . a lot. . . about nothing at all. . . just to fill the silence. . .

Would you rather give up the computer or the TV?
The TV because I could keep apprised of most of my favorite shows on the computer, but without the computer I couldn’t keep up with my favorite bloggers.

Do you find yourself saying mean things to people over the internet that you wouldn’t say to their face?
No, I treat people the same no matter if it’s over the internet or face to face.

One word that explains perfectly how you feel at the moment?
Tired

What did the last text message you received say?
I love you.

Do you care if people hate you for no reason?
No. I can’t control anyone but me so caring wouldn’t make a difference anyway.

How hard is your life right now?
Brutal. No, no it isn't. It just has it's ups and downs like anybody's life.

Have you ever taken anyone for granted?
Probably.

Priorities

I was reading this article from the Associated Press about the victims of the recent hurricane and how they are coping. I found this section particularly interesting (emphasis added by me of the most interesting part).

More than 1 million people evacuated the Texas coast as Ike steamed across the Gulf of Mexico. Gov. Rick Perry said 20,500 people were still staying in 190 shelters Friday. About 135,500 families had qualified for government-funded hotels, though less than 9,000 were checked in, said Richard Scorza, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The federal relief effort has delivered hundreds of trucks of ice, water and food to more than 5 million people in the region.

Among those accepting a hand was Cheryl Harwell, who holed up in an empty hotel as Ike devastated the Bolivar Peninsula community of Crystal Beach. She ignored a mandatory evacuation order last week and suggested she wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

"I got everything I need here," said Harwell, 50, as she sat on the hotel's second-floor balcony with her husband and a friend.

Destruction surrounded them, but their second-floor abode was dry and tidy, complete with clean linen, bottled water and beer.

"We're happy here," said Harwell's husband, Armando Briones. "We've got plenty of cigarettes and plenty of food."

If they need something, they simply flag down the National Guard, which has been making daily checks.

Bless them for having their priorities in order at such a time. Some people might not have the presence of mind to stock up on such essentials as beer and cigarettes in such trying times.