Well, it's the last night of the year 2007. I've been grousing and complaining so much I thought perhaps I should try to think about the positive things that happened in the past year.
The new kitty who sometimes tires me out has started to mellow out a little - the operative word being 'little.' He's a great cat. He's affectionate, smart (he's the only cat I've ever had that fetches - the Old English Sheep Dog didn't even do that!), and cute beyond words. Sure the 9 year old cat doesn't think so sometimes but even he is playing with him and they even share a sofa, bed or love-seat together once in a while without killing each other. The older cat also has stopped sitting by the door like he wants to live someplace else. So that's a good sign, right?
I'm branching out from writing real life stuff and op-ed items to fiction. I've got some ideas for mystery novels with original characters of my own since the fan fiction I've been practicing on is not mine. LOL I find I'm getting better at descriptive writing and I'm really trying to break myself of bad habits like repetitive words, etc. It's hard but I think I'm getting better. A little. It helps having great betas to help. For the non-fan fiction initiated, betas are like editors. And boy do I need them! But shortly I hope to get good enough to work on my own stuff and who knows? You may be reading a novel written by me one day! Wouldn't that be cool? Well, for me it would be. For you it probably isn't a big deal.
There are a few changes coming around at work. Don't know if they'll be good or bad but it seems I'm in a good position at the moment. Tax season is coming up and I'll be busy doing that but I find I actually like doing taxes. Go figure. My father wouldn't believe me if he were alive. I remember at age 18 when I got my first W-2 forms and made him fill out my 1040 EZ form because I'd never done it before and I didn't know how and didn't want to know how. He held out until April 12 and finally caved because he didn't want me to NOT file and lose the money I was supposed to get back. Wicked child that I was I just kept letting him do it every year for the entire time I was in college.
I've discovered baseball. My husband was a tax widower last season and suddenly discovered not only baseball but Ultimate Fighting. Now, if you knew my husband, you would know the Ultimate Fighter thing is a bit off for him. Must be a guy thing. Most guys I talk to and mention it are familiar with it. Women either don't have a clue or they roll their eyes and say it's stupid.
However, the baseball thing is kind of fun. Since we live in Michigan, we were rooting for the Detroit Tigers. Fortunately they're good. Unfortunately they're not that good. LOL But it was all right. It was fun getting to know about the players and when you've got a great team to root for, it is fun. I suppose living in Hawaii it was difficult to have a great team to root for.
Let's see, my oldest granddaughter can now read and write to some degree so we can no longer spell things in front of her to prevent her from knowing what we're talking about. In some ways that may be bad, but mostly it's great. It seems she was just born yesterday and now she's seven!
I rediscovered Pandora and I'm once again obsessing over R.E.M. Found tons of videos on YouTube and interviews, etc. Seems I missed out on a lot since they're last album left me a little flat. I forgot how good they really are and how much I love the stream of conscious songs like Find The River and It's the End of the World As We Know It.
Also am considering doing something with our online radio station. We've got all that equipment just sitting there. That would be fun.
So 2008 is looking up after all. We will be getting rid of the current administration though, so that's a plus right there. Thank goodness for the two term rule. Somehow I wouldn't doubt that the evil garden gnome Karl Rove would figure out a way to get him re-elected despite the dishonesty and stupidity.
Well, here's to 2008. May it be filled with more good than bad and may be all come out of it a little smarter, stronger, happier and healthier.
NP: Beatles - Norwegian Wood
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Politics 2008
Can 2008 be any worse than 2007? Well, considering we'll be voting for a new president that isn't going to be George W. Bush, I'll say it's got to be better than the last seven years of hell. Sadly, I'm not enthused about any one candidate but I have to admit, I am actively starting to dislike every Republican candidate. As for the Democrats, they're boring me. I really don't care which of them wins the nomination because I'll be voting for them. Boring is better than mean-spirited, malicious, vindictive, fear-mongering, evil bastards.
All right, that was a bit over the top. I think McCain is probably a decent fellow. I'm just so horribly disappointed in his cozying up to the Jerry Foulwell - may he be suffering in hell - group and even the Bush Administration. In his defense, I believe he genuinely believes in the stand he is taking on the Iraq war. I just believe he is misguided.
I feel pretty much Fred Thompson isn't evil either. He also just doesn't see eye to eye with my basic core values. However, it seems he's more of a bore than people anticipated and there's no way he's going to win his party's nomination unless some miracle happens - like he gets a personality transplant. I think he should have stayed on Law & Order. I liked him better as Arthur Branch.
Huckabee? I don't trust him. And if my online friend from Arkansas, a level-headed, somewhat conservative lawyer doesn't like him, that's good enough for me to think the man is not a good choice.
Mitt Romney reminds me of the William Hurt character in Broadcast News. A pretty face with little real substance. He knows how to campaign dirty, though. That part reminds me too much of Dubya and Karl Rove.
And of course Rudy. Rudy Giuliani. I've gone on and on and on about my dislike for this man so I'll just keep it short. Not even if hell froze over would I ever vote for him for anything. I wouldn't elect him to be dog catcher cause I don't trust him to be nice to the dogs.
On the Democratic side you've got Obama, Clinton and Edwards (affectionately known as Damian in my house). Now there are others running who I like better but they're not going to win at this point. Personally I find myself liking the views of Kucinich and Biden. But unfortunately for both of them, they don't 'pop' like Obama, Clinton and Edwards.
It is my belief that despite apparently lagging behind Obama and Clinton, Damian will take the lead. The Democrats want to win and if they want to win against the evangelicals who have taken over the Republican party, they will have to run a white, male, Christian.
Don't get me wrong, Edwards seems like a nice enough guy. Perfect back story, great wife, beautiful family with a tragic story, smart, successful in his private law practice, I mean what's not to like? He even says all the right things. Well, sorry, but somehow there's something off about him. Maybe it's because he smiles too much. I don't trust anyone who smiles that much. Yes, not a great intellectual reason but I can't help it. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut and my gut tells me there's something not right with Edwards and I don't think I'm going to like finding out when he's already in the Oval Office.
The only upside to the whole thing is that I don't have to agonize over who to vote for. Even if Damian is the Democratic nominee, I'll vote for him. No trying to figure out which would do the least damage. I know the Republicans would just make things worse. The only Republican who I believe would have been better than anyone running on both sides of the aisle is Senator Chuck Hagel, Republican from Nebraska. And I'm not just saying that because he sent me a Christmas card. LOL Really. And I'm not even from his state so it's not like I ever voted for him. I did, however, write him a letter telling him how much I admire him and how disappointed I was that he was leaving politics because he is the only person in Washington, D.C. I trust. And it was all true.
Now I hear rumblings of Mayor Bloomberg of New York running as the the Independent candidate for president. It should have been Hagel. Bloomberg wants to create a nanny-state and protect us from ourselves. That bugs me on so many levels. Then again, I'd pick Bloomberg before I vote Republican despite that. Bloomberg seems more like a Democrat in disguise than the Republican he used to be anyway.
2008 will be interesting to watch I think. But in the end I predict it will be Damian against either Rudy, Mitt or John. I just hope I'm wrong about Damian.
NP: Window Blues - Band of Horses
All right, that was a bit over the top. I think McCain is probably a decent fellow. I'm just so horribly disappointed in his cozying up to the Jerry Foulwell - may he be suffering in hell - group and even the Bush Administration. In his defense, I believe he genuinely believes in the stand he is taking on the Iraq war. I just believe he is misguided.
I feel pretty much Fred Thompson isn't evil either. He also just doesn't see eye to eye with my basic core values. However, it seems he's more of a bore than people anticipated and there's no way he's going to win his party's nomination unless some miracle happens - like he gets a personality transplant. I think he should have stayed on Law & Order. I liked him better as Arthur Branch.
Huckabee? I don't trust him. And if my online friend from Arkansas, a level-headed, somewhat conservative lawyer doesn't like him, that's good enough for me to think the man is not a good choice.
Mitt Romney reminds me of the William Hurt character in Broadcast News. A pretty face with little real substance. He knows how to campaign dirty, though. That part reminds me too much of Dubya and Karl Rove.
And of course Rudy. Rudy Giuliani. I've gone on and on and on about my dislike for this man so I'll just keep it short. Not even if hell froze over would I ever vote for him for anything. I wouldn't elect him to be dog catcher cause I don't trust him to be nice to the dogs.
On the Democratic side you've got Obama, Clinton and Edwards (affectionately known as Damian in my house). Now there are others running who I like better but they're not going to win at this point. Personally I find myself liking the views of Kucinich and Biden. But unfortunately for both of them, they don't 'pop' like Obama, Clinton and Edwards.
It is my belief that despite apparently lagging behind Obama and Clinton, Damian will take the lead. The Democrats want to win and if they want to win against the evangelicals who have taken over the Republican party, they will have to run a white, male, Christian.
Don't get me wrong, Edwards seems like a nice enough guy. Perfect back story, great wife, beautiful family with a tragic story, smart, successful in his private law practice, I mean what's not to like? He even says all the right things. Well, sorry, but somehow there's something off about him. Maybe it's because he smiles too much. I don't trust anyone who smiles that much. Yes, not a great intellectual reason but I can't help it. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut and my gut tells me there's something not right with Edwards and I don't think I'm going to like finding out when he's already in the Oval Office.
The only upside to the whole thing is that I don't have to agonize over who to vote for. Even if Damian is the Democratic nominee, I'll vote for him. No trying to figure out which would do the least damage. I know the Republicans would just make things worse. The only Republican who I believe would have been better than anyone running on both sides of the aisle is Senator Chuck Hagel, Republican from Nebraska. And I'm not just saying that because he sent me a Christmas card. LOL Really. And I'm not even from his state so it's not like I ever voted for him. I did, however, write him a letter telling him how much I admire him and how disappointed I was that he was leaving politics because he is the only person in Washington, D.C. I trust. And it was all true.
Now I hear rumblings of Mayor Bloomberg of New York running as the the Independent candidate for president. It should have been Hagel. Bloomberg wants to create a nanny-state and protect us from ourselves. That bugs me on so many levels. Then again, I'd pick Bloomberg before I vote Republican despite that. Bloomberg seems more like a Democrat in disguise than the Republican he used to be anyway.
2008 will be interesting to watch I think. But in the end I predict it will be Damian against either Rudy, Mitt or John. I just hope I'm wrong about Damian.
NP: Window Blues - Band of Horses
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Things I Just Don't Get
All right, my age is showing. I was doing some checking on my kids (btw, when I say kids, I mean my stepson and daughter-in-law for those who might not know). So I stopped by their Flickr pages and their MySpace pages. It's just weird. I've heard people who have MySpace pages and love it. I find it weird. It's not like discussion forums or boards. It's a page about you.
Now that's all fine and good. Hell, I've got this blog and all. But it's not interactive. I've kind of disabled comments because I just don't want to deal with it. If anyone is reading this, if I don't know you from someplace else and you can't contact me through email or PM, I probably don't want to know what you think of my warped little mind and my little rants that can be mean spirited. If you know me, you know I'm generally a very nice person. I'm likable and I'm not really that bitchy. I just have my moments.
So anyway, my kids are kind of conversing with each other on MySpace a little. If I were going by just their little posts, I'd think they were still happily married and not unhappily married and planning to get a divorce. I don't get it. Now, I'm glad they can have friendly banter and not be angry with each other all the time. But I mean, maybe if you had friendly banter in person you wouldn't be where you are now? Just a thought.
Another thing I don't get is extreme sports. What is the point, really? You're just trying to figure how to kill yourself in the stupidest way possible? Of course I am probably the most non-physical person alive on the planet. When I was a child, my mother used to have to encourage me to run around because all I wanted to do was sit around and read or sit around and watch television. Any play that involved running was not interesting in the least to me. My father got upset that I got a bad grade in P.E. because I just didn't like it and often refused to participate.
Still, I'm getting tired of these 'extreme' everything. Is it just an American phenomenon? Are we just so bored because with better medical advances and the nanny-state our country is becoming we live longer? Perhaps I should just not rant and rave about it and let the people who want to engage in this kind of behavior do so in peace and perhaps win a Darwin Award. I love those. People killing themselves off to help evolution along - hopefully before procreating.
Finally, the obsession over morons like Paris Hilton, Brittany Spears and other brainless air-headed celebrities. Why does anyone care? I try to avoid stories about them but after a while it gets impossible unless you want to completely stop watching the news. And another thing, why does the evening news programs on every network seem to feel like they have to include those stories in the NEWS? It's fluff and it's stupid crap. You want to know about stupid, drunk, unfit mothers, sluts or whatever other Jerry Springer qualification they've got type of people, there should be a special place for that and not on the evening news!!!
I do have other things I just don't get but there isn't enough time to get them all in. Because these are the current ones, I'll just stick to them. Wait until tax season, folks. I'll have more stupid people stories to tell, I'm sure.
NP: Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion. LOL Hey, it does have some music on it. James Taylor was on earlier. They're doing skits now.
Now that's all fine and good. Hell, I've got this blog and all. But it's not interactive. I've kind of disabled comments because I just don't want to deal with it. If anyone is reading this, if I don't know you from someplace else and you can't contact me through email or PM, I probably don't want to know what you think of my warped little mind and my little rants that can be mean spirited. If you know me, you know I'm generally a very nice person. I'm likable and I'm not really that bitchy. I just have my moments.
So anyway, my kids are kind of conversing with each other on MySpace a little. If I were going by just their little posts, I'd think they were still happily married and not unhappily married and planning to get a divorce. I don't get it. Now, I'm glad they can have friendly banter and not be angry with each other all the time. But I mean, maybe if you had friendly banter in person you wouldn't be where you are now? Just a thought.
Another thing I don't get is extreme sports. What is the point, really? You're just trying to figure how to kill yourself in the stupidest way possible? Of course I am probably the most non-physical person alive on the planet. When I was a child, my mother used to have to encourage me to run around because all I wanted to do was sit around and read or sit around and watch television. Any play that involved running was not interesting in the least to me. My father got upset that I got a bad grade in P.E. because I just didn't like it and often refused to participate.
Still, I'm getting tired of these 'extreme' everything. Is it just an American phenomenon? Are we just so bored because with better medical advances and the nanny-state our country is becoming we live longer? Perhaps I should just not rant and rave about it and let the people who want to engage in this kind of behavior do so in peace and perhaps win a Darwin Award. I love those. People killing themselves off to help evolution along - hopefully before procreating.
Finally, the obsession over morons like Paris Hilton, Brittany Spears and other brainless air-headed celebrities. Why does anyone care? I try to avoid stories about them but after a while it gets impossible unless you want to completely stop watching the news. And another thing, why does the evening news programs on every network seem to feel like they have to include those stories in the NEWS? It's fluff and it's stupid crap. You want to know about stupid, drunk, unfit mothers, sluts or whatever other Jerry Springer qualification they've got type of people, there should be a special place for that and not on the evening news!!!
I do have other things I just don't get but there isn't enough time to get them all in. Because these are the current ones, I'll just stick to them. Wait until tax season, folks. I'll have more stupid people stories to tell, I'm sure.
NP: Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion. LOL Hey, it does have some music on it. James Taylor was on earlier. They're doing skits now.
Friday, December 28, 2007
2007 Retrospective
Another year over and I still haven't done many things I keep saying I'm going to do. I'm not one to make resolutions for the new year. I rarely keep to them anyway. I don't think I know anyone who actually made a New Year's resolution and actually kept it.
2007 has been a mixed bag of events. I'd like to say it's been mostly good but considering my kids are planning to get a divorce next year, it's difficult to say the good stuff made up for it. They're both so miserable and it's just not good. The three granddaughters seem to be all right. The two younger ones probably don't understand but the seven year old does and she's not happy about it but isn't acting out or anything. Sadly, I suppose she's now going to be just like most of her friends in school. Divorce seems to be the norm more than the exception any more.
We lost our fatty kitty, Harley. He was so bright and such a sweet cat. Then we got the little kitty we call Leaper. He's a blessing and a curse all at the same time! For those who have been reading along (you poor bored out of your mind, need to get a life people) you know the little bugger's been driving me crazy. But he's also so cute he's wormed his way into our hearts. My 9 year old cat, Bob, even likes him now...mostly. At least I think he likes him. He was licking him the other day. So, either Bob likes Leaper or he's just tasting him for when he has him for dinner later. Occasionally I get this look from Bob that says "What did I do to deserve this?" He was sitting by the door the other day and I gently explained he couldn't go live someplace else because he's our kitty. He didn't look very happy. Especially when the kitty attached himself to Bob's back. On the upside for Bob we've been giving him more catnip to make up for his being bothered by the kitty.
Other good things? I've discovered a penchant for fiction writing. Currently I'm indulging in fan fiction writing for my Criminal Intent obsession but I'm also working on the outline of an original novel. Probably will end up doing mysteries. I am a fan of Sherlock Holmes novels and of course one of my favorite authors is Agatha Christie. I love her mystery novels. Really used to love Gothic mysteries. Not sure how well I'll do with my own characters but if I can take someone else's and keep them in character - as much as possible when dealing with areas they won't.
And of course there's the music thing again. Pandora is so much fun. It's almost like programming your own radio station. Of course having your actual own radio station is better but the upside of Pandora is you can discover new artists while listening to music and they will play artists who are similar to artists you already like. Very much a plus.
Oh and the oldest granddaughter is reading and writing. That's just so wonderful. Then again, we can't spell things to keep her from knowing what we're saying anymore. Also notice she's asking more 'what does that mean?" when she doesn't know a word we've used. That's a good sign and a great vocabulary builder for her.
Not sure what 2008 will bring but I'm quite ready to be done with 2007. Here's hoping everyone will have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!
Oh and since I'm once again plugged in with music playing in my ears all the time again, I'll just add to the bottom of my posts NP (Now Playing) and the artist and song title.
NP: Idlewild - El Capitan
2007 has been a mixed bag of events. I'd like to say it's been mostly good but considering my kids are planning to get a divorce next year, it's difficult to say the good stuff made up for it. They're both so miserable and it's just not good. The three granddaughters seem to be all right. The two younger ones probably don't understand but the seven year old does and she's not happy about it but isn't acting out or anything. Sadly, I suppose she's now going to be just like most of her friends in school. Divorce seems to be the norm more than the exception any more.
We lost our fatty kitty, Harley. He was so bright and such a sweet cat. Then we got the little kitty we call Leaper. He's a blessing and a curse all at the same time! For those who have been reading along (you poor bored out of your mind, need to get a life people) you know the little bugger's been driving me crazy. But he's also so cute he's wormed his way into our hearts. My 9 year old cat, Bob, even likes him now...mostly. At least I think he likes him. He was licking him the other day. So, either Bob likes Leaper or he's just tasting him for when he has him for dinner later. Occasionally I get this look from Bob that says "What did I do to deserve this?" He was sitting by the door the other day and I gently explained he couldn't go live someplace else because he's our kitty. He didn't look very happy. Especially when the kitty attached himself to Bob's back. On the upside for Bob we've been giving him more catnip to make up for his being bothered by the kitty.
Other good things? I've discovered a penchant for fiction writing. Currently I'm indulging in fan fiction writing for my Criminal Intent obsession but I'm also working on the outline of an original novel. Probably will end up doing mysteries. I am a fan of Sherlock Holmes novels and of course one of my favorite authors is Agatha Christie. I love her mystery novels. Really used to love Gothic mysteries. Not sure how well I'll do with my own characters but if I can take someone else's and keep them in character - as much as possible when dealing with areas they won't.
And of course there's the music thing again. Pandora is so much fun. It's almost like programming your own radio station. Of course having your actual own radio station is better but the upside of Pandora is you can discover new artists while listening to music and they will play artists who are similar to artists you already like. Very much a plus.
Oh and the oldest granddaughter is reading and writing. That's just so wonderful. Then again, we can't spell things to keep her from knowing what we're saying anymore. Also notice she's asking more 'what does that mean?" when she doesn't know a word we've used. That's a good sign and a great vocabulary builder for her.
Not sure what 2008 will bring but I'm quite ready to be done with 2007. Here's hoping everyone will have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!
Oh and since I'm once again plugged in with music playing in my ears all the time again, I'll just add to the bottom of my posts NP (Now Playing) and the artist and song title.
NP: Idlewild - El Capitan
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Pandora & YouTube
All right, maybe it's the WGA strike or the winter break between new programming. Whatever it is, I find music is at the top of my obsession list. Law & Order: Criminal Intent is still high on my list of interests but it seems through Pandora - it's gotten so much better since I was there last and it was pretty good back then - and YouTube, my passion for R.E.M. and U2 and music in general has been reawakened. It was lying dormant for a while.
Something about Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe just seems to enchant me and since the beginning of the current season, I've been neglecting my music. LOL And of course Chris Noth is no slouch either. It also helps they added another of my favorites, Eric Bogosian, to the cast. While I miss Jamey Sheridan and Courtney Vance, I have to say Bogosian more than made up for the loss. He's got one of those minds I just love.
But I digress. Perhaps it is the lack of new episodes that has me visiting my music sites a lot more. But whatever it is, I'm once again enchanted by Michael Stipe and R.E.M. I adore watching Bono and U2. Neil Young is absolutely inspirational and Bruce Springsteen is still The Boss. During my research on YouTube, I came across an interesting find. While checking out Santana videos, I caught sight of and remembered an old college friend who happens to be Santana's current bass player. It was pretty awesome to see him on stage with Carlos Santana. Then I found videos of him on stage with Miles Davis!!! I knew he was playing with Miles back in the 80s but sort of lost track of him. I did come across him a couple of years ago online and wrote him a "Hey, howsit going" email and he wrote back saying he's busy with touring and recording but he's having a great time. Haven't thought about it much since. Seeing him on stage was really terrific, though.
I've just been so enjoying myself with Pandora and YouTube I just wanted to give them both a plug. All right, so YouTube doesn't need any help. But Pandora might not be as well known and I recommend it to anyone who likes music on any level. They have stations for all the major genres. The only failing is nothing by the group Metisse. Other than that, they seem to know every artist I've typed in. And I've discovered a lot of other groups along the way. I love discovering new music as well as revisiting old ones. YouTube is great for interviews and commercials and versions of songs I haven't seen in ages. The R.E.M./U2 performance at MTV's Inaugural Ball, Michael Stipe and 10,000 Maniacs at the same event. Also 10,000 Maniacs and David Byrne!!! Marvelous to see. I love watching live performances on YouTube. I also found R.E.M.'s first appearance on national television and it happened to be on Late Night with David Letterman. Everyone looked so young! Dave looked young and he had a lot of hair. LOL So did Michael Stipe.
So many things to see and hear and so little time. Off to Pandora to discover more new and interesting things.
Something about Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe just seems to enchant me and since the beginning of the current season, I've been neglecting my music. LOL And of course Chris Noth is no slouch either. It also helps they added another of my favorites, Eric Bogosian, to the cast. While I miss Jamey Sheridan and Courtney Vance, I have to say Bogosian more than made up for the loss. He's got one of those minds I just love.
But I digress. Perhaps it is the lack of new episodes that has me visiting my music sites a lot more. But whatever it is, I'm once again enchanted by Michael Stipe and R.E.M. I adore watching Bono and U2. Neil Young is absolutely inspirational and Bruce Springsteen is still The Boss. During my research on YouTube, I came across an interesting find. While checking out Santana videos, I caught sight of and remembered an old college friend who happens to be Santana's current bass player. It was pretty awesome to see him on stage with Carlos Santana. Then I found videos of him on stage with Miles Davis!!! I knew he was playing with Miles back in the 80s but sort of lost track of him. I did come across him a couple of years ago online and wrote him a "Hey, howsit going" email and he wrote back saying he's busy with touring and recording but he's having a great time. Haven't thought about it much since. Seeing him on stage was really terrific, though.
I've just been so enjoying myself with Pandora and YouTube I just wanted to give them both a plug. All right, so YouTube doesn't need any help. But Pandora might not be as well known and I recommend it to anyone who likes music on any level. They have stations for all the major genres. The only failing is nothing by the group Metisse. Other than that, they seem to know every artist I've typed in. And I've discovered a lot of other groups along the way. I love discovering new music as well as revisiting old ones. YouTube is great for interviews and commercials and versions of songs I haven't seen in ages. The R.E.M./U2 performance at MTV's Inaugural Ball, Michael Stipe and 10,000 Maniacs at the same event. Also 10,000 Maniacs and David Byrne!!! Marvelous to see. I love watching live performances on YouTube. I also found R.E.M.'s first appearance on national television and it happened to be on Late Night with David Letterman. Everyone looked so young! Dave looked young and he had a lot of hair. LOL So did Michael Stipe.
So many things to see and hear and so little time. Off to Pandora to discover more new and interesting things.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Surviving The Holidays
All right, Christmas came and went and I'm still alive and mostly well. Christmas is over and only New Year to live through then nothing for a nice long time.
Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays - sort of. I've been 'grazing' since we had 'snack day' at work last Wednesday - exactly one week ago. So much food, so little time and a more of me than I ever wanted. I'm really good at the eating during the holidays thing. It's the New Year's resolutions and losing weight thing I'm not so good at. Kind of like, I can do the binge eating part but the throwing up afterwards is the problem. Guess I don't have to worry about being bulimic or anorexic. No, I just have to worry about the fat part.
The endless cycle of gaining and losing weight is something I've done most of my life until I gave up about fifteen years ago. Seriously don't want to keep going from a size 1/3 to a 14/16 any more. Unfortunately, I'm finding myself getting a little heavier every year and not losing it. In order to maintain a low weight I'd have to turn into a rabbit and that's my problem.
I'm not a rabbit. I don't even really like vegetables. I can barely stand anything that is even remotely healthy. It must be in my genetic make-up to like junk food. It's not sweets that get me, it's the salty, starchy crap. Eating chips and dip, rice, potatoes, pasta, etc. I could never be a vegetarian. I love red meat. Medium rare. Nice and bloody.
My problem is I like pretty much everything. I have to admit I even like some healthy food. Tofu, cottage cheese, carrots, broccoli, peas and corn are on my list of things I will eat even if they might be good for me. All right, so there are a lot of healthy foods I like.
I could exercise I suppose. However, being an incredibly lazy person physically, it just never worked for me for longer than 6 months. I did the whole, exercise, weigh out your food, count calories and fat and HATED EVERY SECOND.
The thing about exercise is sweating. I hate sweating. Swimming is the only exercise I actually enjoy. No sweating there. I lived in the Pacific ocean as a young person. Surfing, swimming and just hanging out in the ocean was wonderful.
Now that I live in Michigan, I don't have that available to me. There are pools and spas but I just don't really want to go.
So, what to do? The health police are now after those of us who choose to not be healthy. Smokers were hit first. Now fat people are in the line of fire. Pretty soon it might be people who don't eat healthy. Never mind if you're slim and active but if you eat transfats you might be targeted.
Seems my fears of a nanny-state aren't that off base. My husband pointed it out to me first. He's quite right, too. Soon they will be in our homes, dictating what we can and cannot do because it would jeopardize our health. They're already there, actually. Some apartment buildings are talking about banning smoking period. Never mind if you are in your own unit.
Now, I don't smoke. But it bothers me that we are getting to a point where the hysteria starts small and eventually works its way up to something huge. First smokers, next unhealthy eaters and then what? People who aren't active enough?
I say, for all adults, if people want to kill themselves off doing stupid things then let them. Let me clog my arteries and kill myself off if I'm not going to listen to reason. It's the same thing for seat belts and motorcycle helmets. If people are too stupid to wear them they should go flying through the windshield or whatever fate befalls them.
Protecting people from themselves is just not a good idea. It's not like we need more people. We have too damn many people on this planet.
The idiot who takes his blow dryer into the shower, deserves to be electrocuted and killed. I believe in the Darwin awards. Bring 'em on people.
Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays - sort of. I've been 'grazing' since we had 'snack day' at work last Wednesday - exactly one week ago. So much food, so little time and a more of me than I ever wanted. I'm really good at the eating during the holidays thing. It's the New Year's resolutions and losing weight thing I'm not so good at. Kind of like, I can do the binge eating part but the throwing up afterwards is the problem. Guess I don't have to worry about being bulimic or anorexic. No, I just have to worry about the fat part.
The endless cycle of gaining and losing weight is something I've done most of my life until I gave up about fifteen years ago. Seriously don't want to keep going from a size 1/3 to a 14/16 any more. Unfortunately, I'm finding myself getting a little heavier every year and not losing it. In order to maintain a low weight I'd have to turn into a rabbit and that's my problem.
I'm not a rabbit. I don't even really like vegetables. I can barely stand anything that is even remotely healthy. It must be in my genetic make-up to like junk food. It's not sweets that get me, it's the salty, starchy crap. Eating chips and dip, rice, potatoes, pasta, etc. I could never be a vegetarian. I love red meat. Medium rare. Nice and bloody.
My problem is I like pretty much everything. I have to admit I even like some healthy food. Tofu, cottage cheese, carrots, broccoli, peas and corn are on my list of things I will eat even if they might be good for me. All right, so there are a lot of healthy foods I like.
I could exercise I suppose. However, being an incredibly lazy person physically, it just never worked for me for longer than 6 months. I did the whole, exercise, weigh out your food, count calories and fat and HATED EVERY SECOND.
The thing about exercise is sweating. I hate sweating. Swimming is the only exercise I actually enjoy. No sweating there. I lived in the Pacific ocean as a young person. Surfing, swimming and just hanging out in the ocean was wonderful.
Now that I live in Michigan, I don't have that available to me. There are pools and spas but I just don't really want to go.
So, what to do? The health police are now after those of us who choose to not be healthy. Smokers were hit first. Now fat people are in the line of fire. Pretty soon it might be people who don't eat healthy. Never mind if you're slim and active but if you eat transfats you might be targeted.
Seems my fears of a nanny-state aren't that off base. My husband pointed it out to me first. He's quite right, too. Soon they will be in our homes, dictating what we can and cannot do because it would jeopardize our health. They're already there, actually. Some apartment buildings are talking about banning smoking period. Never mind if you are in your own unit.
Now, I don't smoke. But it bothers me that we are getting to a point where the hysteria starts small and eventually works its way up to something huge. First smokers, next unhealthy eaters and then what? People who aren't active enough?
I say, for all adults, if people want to kill themselves off doing stupid things then let them. Let me clog my arteries and kill myself off if I'm not going to listen to reason. It's the same thing for seat belts and motorcycle helmets. If people are too stupid to wear them they should go flying through the windshield or whatever fate befalls them.
Protecting people from themselves is just not a good idea. It's not like we need more people. We have too damn many people on this planet.
The idiot who takes his blow dryer into the shower, deserves to be electrocuted and killed. I believe in the Darwin awards. Bring 'em on people.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Keith Olbermann
With no new Daily Show or Colbert Report to watch, I've been getting more into Keith Olbermann's Countdown on MSNBC. It's always been a great show but the more I watch it the more I get energized to become politically active again. I've fallen into the political doldrums as of late. The American public seems to have fallen into apathy. Either that or they're just stupid.
Olbermann calls it as he sees it and he seems to see it just like I do. If you don't like what the neo-cons who took over our country have done to it, watch Olbermann. He might just get you to start thinking about what you can do to rid our country of this blight upon our Constitution known as neo-cons. Those who play to the right wing evangelicals and want to inject their corrupt morals on everyone.
He went on a rant about Dubya and Rudy Giuliani. Check him out if you want to get energized to do something about the horrid state of our country - unless you're rich and evangelical. Then you wouldn't be reading my blog. ;)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/
Olbermann calls it as he sees it and he seems to see it just like I do. If you don't like what the neo-cons who took over our country have done to it, watch Olbermann. He might just get you to start thinking about what you can do to rid our country of this blight upon our Constitution known as neo-cons. Those who play to the right wing evangelicals and want to inject their corrupt morals on everyone.
He went on a rant about Dubya and Rudy Giuliani. Check him out if you want to get energized to do something about the horrid state of our country - unless you're rich and evangelical. Then you wouldn't be reading my blog. ;)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/
Monday, December 17, 2007
Tis the Season to be Grouchy
As a general rule of thumb, it takes me such a long time to warm up to the idea of Christmas. Until all the shopping is done, the presents are wrapped and all the food that needs to be prepared is bought, I just can't stand Christmas. This year it's worse. Been grouchy more than happy and really can't stand myself sometimes.
So besides writing LOCI fan fiction to make me feel better, I'll just post the following to remind me sometimes Christmas can be fun. This is from a writing site from last Christmas.
It's Friday And The Natives Are Restless - The Mindless Friday Conversations And Thoughts At A Small Town Newspaper
Okay, since I still haven't had time to actually sit and write anything for myself and am now trying to cover other people's stories while they take off, I am going to just ramble again. Sorry that I'm only able to treat this as some kind of blog, but it's therapeutic and keeps anyone who's interested updated on my generally boring but occasionally amusing life.
So, it's Friday. At the paper it's always a silly day. We all know the weekend is coming and while some of us end up working to cover events, etc., we don't have to be in the office to work and we're happy. Sure we have a paper to publish so we have to work but for many of us who aren't the editor and her assistant or the sports department who don't come in to work until night time any way, the day is pretty much over by around 2 p.m. Stories have been written and submitted for the most part. You do get the occasional accident or incident in the early evening but generally that's not my beat and I am more than happy to not have it.
The sales reps hang out at the office on Friday afternoons a lot because most of the people they need to see have gone home by noon or something. And no matter what, Friday is always a great day. We all get kind of loopy on Friday. We notice things we don't normally notice during the rest of the week. Things like, how come when we had an article about the parade tonight at 7 p.m. earlier in the week, our readers were still calling to ask us when the parade was going to be? Guess they just don't read the paper. Or the lady who complained that she never saw the subscription renewal special until today - December 1 - in yesterday's paper that said the special was only good until November. It only ran every day in November. Kind of makes you want to slap people upside their heads. Which brought me to my statement that had my co-workers in stitches. "I can handle stupid if they're nice. I can handle grouchy if they're smart. But stupid and grouchy I can't tolerate!" Okay, so we're not so nice sometimes on a Friday when we're all looking forward to whatever it is we look forward to on the weekends. So I'm really living up to my reputation as one of the would-be newspaper Nazis. We all joke in that Seinfeldian character The Soup Nazi accent, "No newspaper for you! One week!" Yes, we would like to say that but we never do - until they leave the office.
Now we're not like that with everyone, just the select few who haven't learned you get further along in the help department if you're nice than if you're a complete boob to people who really want to help you but won't if you treat them like crap.
It's also the day we all bitch about each other and tease each other mercilessly if we find any weakness or little error. This week was my turn.
Today we got some Santa Letters the kids are sending in for us to run in one of our upcoming issues. So, I was all done with my stuff and it's been a slow day so I help type some. That was kind of a mistake. I kept typing "Dear Satan," thanks to my fingers deciding that Dana Carvey's Church Lady character from Saturday Night Live might have something there about the whole Santa is Satan thing. Joyce, who was sitting at the computer behind me, happened to look at my computer screen just at that moment and said, "What kid is writing a letter to Satan?" That was all it took. We were all in stitches for the rest of the afternoon. Considering our subscribers don't seem to read the paper anyway, I wonder how long it will be before they find a Dear Satan stuck in those letters instead of a Dear Santa? Okay, so we're not going to do that because no one wants to read the paper and see their kid write "Dear Satan" instead of "Dear Santa." Now that I'm sure we'd hear about. With our luck it would be some incredibly devout Christian person who will want to burn me at the stake - like most of them seem to want to do already anyway. Okay, so no Dear Satans. I did correct them as soon as I saw them but there were at least three of them amongst the Dear Santas.
One of the guys in circulation who resembles Santa - yes Santa not Satan - was going to be Santa in the local Christmas parade. He and his wife make their appearances as Mr. and Mrs.Claus at various holiday functions throughout the season. This parade would see just Santa, however, because Mrs. Claus - who is a very smart woman - has a cold and the cold wet weather predicted for the evening wouldn't be good for her.
In any case, we were discussing this whole thing about him being Santa and after he left, one of the sales reps said despite the weather it might be worth it to go see the parade and maybe boo Santa. Yeah, we're a really nice bunch aren't we? So supportive. He asked what would people do if he did that and Susie from accounting replied, "Probably some people would join him." Who he wondered? "Juvenile delinquents who would grow up to be you," I replied.
Okay, so he was joking. But we are prone to a-hole like behavior from time to time. We're media types who haven't quite grown up yet and probably never will. These are the same rubber band fight crew. We kidnap each other's stuffed animals and send ransom notes and take pictures of our stuffed animals blindfolded and tied up and put them up as wall paper on the computer of the owner of the stuffed animal with a ransom note. Usually the pay off is a candy bar or something stupid. We leave annoying voice mail messages for each other. We sabotage each other's desks while someone is out of the office. I had police tape around my desk one day. Another person found silly string all over hers. When someone is having a birthday we stick signs up all over the building and on the door telling people to wish so-and-so a happy 100th birthday. And of course those lovely birthday ads we place in the paper for each other are just hysterical if it's not you. Yes, sick individuals one and all.
Of course that juvenile delinquent comment to Ron just set me up for a jab at me when it was suggested since Mrs. Claus was going to be sick, I should go as "Satan's Little Helper." Okay, I didn't go as Satan or Santa's helper. I had to go take pictures anyway. However, for the rest of the holiday season, I will be known as Satan's Little Helper to the staff of the paper. Why did I want to work there again? Oh yeah, I remember, I get to smack Santa for trying to steal my pen and I also got away with stabbing my boss in the hand with a pen. And of course being around sick individuals makes me seem kind of normal. Hmm...maybe I am Satan's Little Helper....
In any case, the day ended for me with picture taking at the parade and getting hit by a candy cane Santa threw at me as I was taking a picture of his float as I wondered what the wet weather was going to do to my health. That's the thanks I get for making fun of someone who wanted to boo Santa. He's gonna hear about it on Monday.
So besides writing LOCI fan fiction to make me feel better, I'll just post the following to remind me sometimes Christmas can be fun. This is from a writing site from last Christmas.
It's Friday And The Natives Are Restless - The Mindless Friday Conversations And Thoughts At A Small Town Newspaper
Okay, since I still haven't had time to actually sit and write anything for myself and am now trying to cover other people's stories while they take off, I am going to just ramble again. Sorry that I'm only able to treat this as some kind of blog, but it's therapeutic and keeps anyone who's interested updated on my generally boring but occasionally amusing life.
So, it's Friday. At the paper it's always a silly day. We all know the weekend is coming and while some of us end up working to cover events, etc., we don't have to be in the office to work and we're happy. Sure we have a paper to publish so we have to work but for many of us who aren't the editor and her assistant or the sports department who don't come in to work until night time any way, the day is pretty much over by around 2 p.m. Stories have been written and submitted for the most part. You do get the occasional accident or incident in the early evening but generally that's not my beat and I am more than happy to not have it.
The sales reps hang out at the office on Friday afternoons a lot because most of the people they need to see have gone home by noon or something. And no matter what, Friday is always a great day. We all get kind of loopy on Friday. We notice things we don't normally notice during the rest of the week. Things like, how come when we had an article about the parade tonight at 7 p.m. earlier in the week, our readers were still calling to ask us when the parade was going to be? Guess they just don't read the paper. Or the lady who complained that she never saw the subscription renewal special until today - December 1 - in yesterday's paper that said the special was only good until November. It only ran every day in November. Kind of makes you want to slap people upside their heads. Which brought me to my statement that had my co-workers in stitches. "I can handle stupid if they're nice. I can handle grouchy if they're smart. But stupid and grouchy I can't tolerate!" Okay, so we're not so nice sometimes on a Friday when we're all looking forward to whatever it is we look forward to on the weekends. So I'm really living up to my reputation as one of the would-be newspaper Nazis. We all joke in that Seinfeldian character The Soup Nazi accent, "No newspaper for you! One week!" Yes, we would like to say that but we never do - until they leave the office.
Now we're not like that with everyone, just the select few who haven't learned you get further along in the help department if you're nice than if you're a complete boob to people who really want to help you but won't if you treat them like crap.
It's also the day we all bitch about each other and tease each other mercilessly if we find any weakness or little error. This week was my turn.
Today we got some Santa Letters the kids are sending in for us to run in one of our upcoming issues. So, I was all done with my stuff and it's been a slow day so I help type some. That was kind of a mistake. I kept typing "Dear Satan," thanks to my fingers deciding that Dana Carvey's Church Lady character from Saturday Night Live might have something there about the whole Santa is Satan thing. Joyce, who was sitting at the computer behind me, happened to look at my computer screen just at that moment and said, "What kid is writing a letter to Satan?" That was all it took. We were all in stitches for the rest of the afternoon. Considering our subscribers don't seem to read the paper anyway, I wonder how long it will be before they find a Dear Satan stuck in those letters instead of a Dear Santa? Okay, so we're not going to do that because no one wants to read the paper and see their kid write "Dear Satan" instead of "Dear Santa." Now that I'm sure we'd hear about. With our luck it would be some incredibly devout Christian person who will want to burn me at the stake - like most of them seem to want to do already anyway. Okay, so no Dear Satans. I did correct them as soon as I saw them but there were at least three of them amongst the Dear Santas.
One of the guys in circulation who resembles Santa - yes Santa not Satan - was going to be Santa in the local Christmas parade. He and his wife make their appearances as Mr. and Mrs.Claus at various holiday functions throughout the season. This parade would see just Santa, however, because Mrs. Claus - who is a very smart woman - has a cold and the cold wet weather predicted for the evening wouldn't be good for her.
In any case, we were discussing this whole thing about him being Santa and after he left, one of the sales reps said despite the weather it might be worth it to go see the parade and maybe boo Santa. Yeah, we're a really nice bunch aren't we? So supportive. He asked what would people do if he did that and Susie from accounting replied, "Probably some people would join him." Who he wondered? "Juvenile delinquents who would grow up to be you," I replied.
Okay, so he was joking. But we are prone to a-hole like behavior from time to time. We're media types who haven't quite grown up yet and probably never will. These are the same rubber band fight crew. We kidnap each other's stuffed animals and send ransom notes and take pictures of our stuffed animals blindfolded and tied up and put them up as wall paper on the computer of the owner of the stuffed animal with a ransom note. Usually the pay off is a candy bar or something stupid. We leave annoying voice mail messages for each other. We sabotage each other's desks while someone is out of the office. I had police tape around my desk one day. Another person found silly string all over hers. When someone is having a birthday we stick signs up all over the building and on the door telling people to wish so-and-so a happy 100th birthday. And of course those lovely birthday ads we place in the paper for each other are just hysterical if it's not you. Yes, sick individuals one and all.
Of course that juvenile delinquent comment to Ron just set me up for a jab at me when it was suggested since Mrs. Claus was going to be sick, I should go as "Satan's Little Helper." Okay, I didn't go as Satan or Santa's helper. I had to go take pictures anyway. However, for the rest of the holiday season, I will be known as Satan's Little Helper to the staff of the paper. Why did I want to work there again? Oh yeah, I remember, I get to smack Santa for trying to steal my pen and I also got away with stabbing my boss in the hand with a pen. And of course being around sick individuals makes me seem kind of normal. Hmm...maybe I am Satan's Little Helper....
In any case, the day ended for me with picture taking at the parade and getting hit by a candy cane Santa threw at me as I was taking a picture of his float as I wondered what the wet weather was going to do to my health. That's the thanks I get for making fun of someone who wanted to boo Santa. He's gonna hear about it on Monday.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Pearl Harbor - A Japanese American Perspective
With all the angst over my laptop dying I forgot to post the following. I meant to do it on Friday, December 7 but with all the chaos of losing a computer, it completely slipped from my mind. I wrote this last year as an op-ed piece.
On December 7, 1941 life changed for the citizens of the United States. It was an attack against America in a shockingly violent way. That day began one of the dark periods of America's history. America was jolted into the realization that the world was a dangerous and violent place. Hitler and Mussolini in Europe and Tojo in Japan, the axis of evil in their day, dragged the world into chaos.
On the morning of December 7, 1941, my father was sleeping in because it was Sunday. He was supposed to meet his friend for breakfast in Wahiawa town but had overslept. Wahiawa is the town located right next to Schofield Barracks and what was then Wheeler Air Force Base.
On the morning of December 7, 1941, my mother was at home with her family. She was reading the newspaper when her youngest brother came running into the house shouting, "The Japs are bombing Pearl Harbor! The Japs are bombing Pearl Harbor!"
Considering the fact that my family was Japanese, it did not please my grandfather that his son would be using the rather disparaging term to describe the Japanese. That is until he realized what he was actually saying. The Japanese were attacking the island.
As they stood there trying to make sense of what my uncle was saying, the sound of airplanes flying overhead sent them running to the living room windows and my uncles out the door into the yard. They looked up and saw the planes. Airplanes with the rising sun painted on their undersides, declaring to all the world who they were. They were heading towards Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Air Force Base, which was the principal fighter base at the time.
My grandmother screamed at her sons to come back inside. They promptly did so but still went to the windows to watch the planes.
My grandfather joined them at the window as my mother and grandmother sat on the couch, terrified by the sight of those kamikazi pilots as they flew overhead and the words my uncle shouted as he ran into the house.
Meanwhile in Wahiawa town, a young Japanese American man waited for his friend to meet him for breakfast. He must have heard the engines of the Japanese planes buzzing overhead and looked up to see them. I wonder if he ran down the street in panic or if he just stood there as they shot down the road of the town? What was the last thing on his mind as the bullets hit him in the stomach and he died? I wonder if my father thought about that? I wonder if he felt somehow guilty about not being there? Would his friend have been inside when it happened and not been shot? Or would they both have been out there on the sidewalk when it happened and would both of them have been killed?
My father never spoke much of his WWII experience since it was the beginning of some of the worst times in his life. It certainly was a test of his patriotism, which stayed true no matter what. Relatives in "relocation" camps and being suspected of being a traitor merely by virtue of his race, watching his friends volunteer to go fight in Europe while some of their relatives were being held in those camps and watching many of them die would be enough to test anyone's faith in one's country. Not my father. He wanted to volunteer as well but was legally blind in one eye and wasn't able to join the Army. He was just happy to keep his job with the Department of Defense.
He never told me about how he applied to the Japanese Consulate in Honolulu to have his Japanese citizenship revoked. All nissei - second generation Japanese-Americans - had dual citizenship because their parents were citizens of Japan. Never mind that none of them had ever been to Japan and related more to apple pie and celebrated the Fourth of July with the rest of America. After he had passed away and my mother and I were going through his things, I found the certificate that made it official. He had gone out of his way to cut any ties with Japan in December 1940. A whole year before Pearl Harbor. I can only imagine it was getting pretty bad for Japanese in America even starting back then.
No, my father never spoke of WWII, except to tell me of his friend who was killed and of my aunts, two of his sisters who lived on the mainland at the time, being sent to those "relocation camps." I know how it profoundly affected his life, however. That also affected my life to some extent. The general disdain I had for anything Japanese and my cultural heritage was probably due to the non-spoken but implied disdain my father seemed to hold for it. It wasn't until I was teenager in the 70s that he finally seemed to come to terms with things and started to once again embrace things about the Japanese culture. Food for example. By that time, however, the blueprints had been set and I was dead set against being anything but a western-oriented, girl. It didn't happen until my 30s for me. That realization that I am a Japanese-American who hadn't bothered to learn much about her heritage and currently I am still trying to make up for it.
My mother told me stories. She told me about how after that day, soldiers came to their house and took away their radios to check for transmitters. They got them back a few weeks later. She told me how my grandparents took their pictures of the Emperor, a Japanese flag my grandfather had from when he served in the Japanese army years before came to Hawaii and a certificate he had from his service in the Japanese military - again, years before he left Japan and moved to Hawaii - and burned them.
When they came to take the ministers of the Japanese churches and the Japanese School principal to the "relocation" camps on the mainland, my grandmother and mother tended to the church they belonged to. There were no church services during the war but my mother and grandmother tended to the yard, garden and made sure the shrine was always provided with food and offerings.
She told me how her friends went to volunteer for military service. How they joined the 442nd "Go For Broke" unit made up of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and California. The group my father had really wanted to join. My uncles wanted to go and volunteer as well but my grandfather, who was incredibly bitter about the whole "relocation camp" situation, forbid them from going and volunteering. He said if they were drafted they would go but not before. He said his sons volunteering to risk their lives for the country that had taken innocent people from their homes and property and locked them up behind barbed wire with soldiers wearing the same uniform they'd be wearing, standing guard ready to shoot anyone who tried to leave, was not right. Those people never got back what they lost and had to rebuild from scratch when they were let out of those camps.
I was shown pictures of her cousin Tsugio, who was a translator for the Army during the war, visiting his mother and sisters in one of those camps. It was very surreal for me. A Japanese-American man wearing a U.S. Army uniform, sitting in the middle of a relocation camp where his family members were being held. No wonder my grandfather was so angry.
My mother told me how she was called on that morning of December 7, 1941 by her boss at the laundry she worked at. He was a Korean man who needed to open the office on Schofield, where my mother worked at the time, so soldiers could come get their uniforms. My mother at first refused. "I'm Japanese! I'm not going there! They won't let me!" she argued.
Her boss assured her it was all right and that they knew she was Japanese but they would be escorted by the M.P.s and they knew she wasn't a spy or anything. She HAD to help, he said. We were at war.
After assuring her parents it would be all right, my mother got dressed and waited for her boss to come pick her up. They both drove to Schofield barracks, nervously looking at the sky, worried that the planes might be coming back.
They were met at the main gate to Schofield Barracks by the M.P.s who escorted them to the laundry. A line of soldiers were waiting as my mother and her boss opened up shop and began getting uniforms back to them. She was there all day.
At the end of the day they closed up shop and my mother didn't go back to that office until after the war was over. She stayed at the main office in Wahiawa town instead.
Shortly after December 7, soldiers came to their house and took their radio. All radios were being confiscated and checked to make sure they weren't transmitting. I believe they were returned eventually.
Apparently they did issue special IDs for Japanese Americans. I found one among my mother's things while we were moving to the mainland from Hawaii. I asked her about it and she said it was issued during the war. All Japanese-Americans were required to have them.
I can't imagine living like that. My parents and their generation of Japanese-Americans are true patriots. They stood behind their country no matter what it did to them. They fought and gave their lives for this country while their families were kept locked up behind barbed wire fences, treated as common criminals because of fear and ignorance. I don't know that I would have it in me to forgive such transgressions.
On December 7, as we remember the sacrifices of those who died at Pearl Harbor, I also stop to think about the way it changed everything for my family and others like them. It truly was a dark day in our history in so many more ways than most people realize. A time I hope never to see repeated again.
On December 7, 1941 life changed for the citizens of the United States. It was an attack against America in a shockingly violent way. That day began one of the dark periods of America's history. America was jolted into the realization that the world was a dangerous and violent place. Hitler and Mussolini in Europe and Tojo in Japan, the axis of evil in their day, dragged the world into chaos.
On the morning of December 7, 1941, my father was sleeping in because it was Sunday. He was supposed to meet his friend for breakfast in Wahiawa town but had overslept. Wahiawa is the town located right next to Schofield Barracks and what was then Wheeler Air Force Base.
On the morning of December 7, 1941, my mother was at home with her family. She was reading the newspaper when her youngest brother came running into the house shouting, "The Japs are bombing Pearl Harbor! The Japs are bombing Pearl Harbor!"
Considering the fact that my family was Japanese, it did not please my grandfather that his son would be using the rather disparaging term to describe the Japanese. That is until he realized what he was actually saying. The Japanese were attacking the island.
As they stood there trying to make sense of what my uncle was saying, the sound of airplanes flying overhead sent them running to the living room windows and my uncles out the door into the yard. They looked up and saw the planes. Airplanes with the rising sun painted on their undersides, declaring to all the world who they were. They were heading towards Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Air Force Base, which was the principal fighter base at the time.
My grandmother screamed at her sons to come back inside. They promptly did so but still went to the windows to watch the planes.
My grandfather joined them at the window as my mother and grandmother sat on the couch, terrified by the sight of those kamikazi pilots as they flew overhead and the words my uncle shouted as he ran into the house.
Meanwhile in Wahiawa town, a young Japanese American man waited for his friend to meet him for breakfast. He must have heard the engines of the Japanese planes buzzing overhead and looked up to see them. I wonder if he ran down the street in panic or if he just stood there as they shot down the road of the town? What was the last thing on his mind as the bullets hit him in the stomach and he died? I wonder if my father thought about that? I wonder if he felt somehow guilty about not being there? Would his friend have been inside when it happened and not been shot? Or would they both have been out there on the sidewalk when it happened and would both of them have been killed?
My father never spoke much of his WWII experience since it was the beginning of some of the worst times in his life. It certainly was a test of his patriotism, which stayed true no matter what. Relatives in "relocation" camps and being suspected of being a traitor merely by virtue of his race, watching his friends volunteer to go fight in Europe while some of their relatives were being held in those camps and watching many of them die would be enough to test anyone's faith in one's country. Not my father. He wanted to volunteer as well but was legally blind in one eye and wasn't able to join the Army. He was just happy to keep his job with the Department of Defense.
He never told me about how he applied to the Japanese Consulate in Honolulu to have his Japanese citizenship revoked. All nissei - second generation Japanese-Americans - had dual citizenship because their parents were citizens of Japan. Never mind that none of them had ever been to Japan and related more to apple pie and celebrated the Fourth of July with the rest of America. After he had passed away and my mother and I were going through his things, I found the certificate that made it official. He had gone out of his way to cut any ties with Japan in December 1940. A whole year before Pearl Harbor. I can only imagine it was getting pretty bad for Japanese in America even starting back then.
No, my father never spoke of WWII, except to tell me of his friend who was killed and of my aunts, two of his sisters who lived on the mainland at the time, being sent to those "relocation camps." I know how it profoundly affected his life, however. That also affected my life to some extent. The general disdain I had for anything Japanese and my cultural heritage was probably due to the non-spoken but implied disdain my father seemed to hold for it. It wasn't until I was teenager in the 70s that he finally seemed to come to terms with things and started to once again embrace things about the Japanese culture. Food for example. By that time, however, the blueprints had been set and I was dead set against being anything but a western-oriented, girl. It didn't happen until my 30s for me. That realization that I am a Japanese-American who hadn't bothered to learn much about her heritage and currently I am still trying to make up for it.
My mother told me stories. She told me about how after that day, soldiers came to their house and took away their radios to check for transmitters. They got them back a few weeks later. She told me how my grandparents took their pictures of the Emperor, a Japanese flag my grandfather had from when he served in the Japanese army years before came to Hawaii and a certificate he had from his service in the Japanese military - again, years before he left Japan and moved to Hawaii - and burned them.
When they came to take the ministers of the Japanese churches and the Japanese School principal to the "relocation" camps on the mainland, my grandmother and mother tended to the church they belonged to. There were no church services during the war but my mother and grandmother tended to the yard, garden and made sure the shrine was always provided with food and offerings.
She told me how her friends went to volunteer for military service. How they joined the 442nd "Go For Broke" unit made up of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and California. The group my father had really wanted to join. My uncles wanted to go and volunteer as well but my grandfather, who was incredibly bitter about the whole "relocation camp" situation, forbid them from going and volunteering. He said if they were drafted they would go but not before. He said his sons volunteering to risk their lives for the country that had taken innocent people from their homes and property and locked them up behind barbed wire with soldiers wearing the same uniform they'd be wearing, standing guard ready to shoot anyone who tried to leave, was not right. Those people never got back what they lost and had to rebuild from scratch when they were let out of those camps.
I was shown pictures of her cousin Tsugio, who was a translator for the Army during the war, visiting his mother and sisters in one of those camps. It was very surreal for me. A Japanese-American man wearing a U.S. Army uniform, sitting in the middle of a relocation camp where his family members were being held. No wonder my grandfather was so angry.
My mother told me how she was called on that morning of December 7, 1941 by her boss at the laundry she worked at. He was a Korean man who needed to open the office on Schofield, where my mother worked at the time, so soldiers could come get their uniforms. My mother at first refused. "I'm Japanese! I'm not going there! They won't let me!" she argued.
Her boss assured her it was all right and that they knew she was Japanese but they would be escorted by the M.P.s and they knew she wasn't a spy or anything. She HAD to help, he said. We were at war.
After assuring her parents it would be all right, my mother got dressed and waited for her boss to come pick her up. They both drove to Schofield barracks, nervously looking at the sky, worried that the planes might be coming back.
They were met at the main gate to Schofield Barracks by the M.P.s who escorted them to the laundry. A line of soldiers were waiting as my mother and her boss opened up shop and began getting uniforms back to them. She was there all day.
At the end of the day they closed up shop and my mother didn't go back to that office until after the war was over. She stayed at the main office in Wahiawa town instead.
Shortly after December 7, soldiers came to their house and took their radio. All radios were being confiscated and checked to make sure they weren't transmitting. I believe they were returned eventually.
Apparently they did issue special IDs for Japanese Americans. I found one among my mother's things while we were moving to the mainland from Hawaii. I asked her about it and she said it was issued during the war. All Japanese-Americans were required to have them.
I can't imagine living like that. My parents and their generation of Japanese-Americans are true patriots. They stood behind their country no matter what it did to them. They fought and gave their lives for this country while their families were kept locked up behind barbed wire fences, treated as common criminals because of fear and ignorance. I don't know that I would have it in me to forgive such transgressions.
On December 7, as we remember the sacrifices of those who died at Pearl Harbor, I also stop to think about the way it changed everything for my family and others like them. It truly was a dark day in our history in so many more ways than most people realize. A time I hope never to see repeated again.
Life Without A Computer
I'm addicted to the computer. The internet in particular but also just having access to a word processing program, etc.
My laptop crashed on me last night and I haven't been that unhappy in ages. Of course my poor husband is the one who fixes these things so it became his problem as well. He deserves a medal of valor or something. I was tired from lack of sleep the night before because I'm all stressed over the break-up of my stepson and his wife. It was a horribly busy day at work and I was so looking forward to going home and getting online to engage in discussion over my favorite show, Law & Order: Criminal Intent. No such luck. My computer died and it just turned me into a 48 year old spoiled brat. It also didn't help that I'm going through PMS at the moment.
Yep, my poor husband had to deal with one unhappy wife. He did a great job and subsequently, this morning, I awoke a much happier camper. The laptop really is dead now. But then it's old and we were expecting it. Still, it's not easy to part with and at the moment until it gets replaced, I'm relegated to the desk top or to my wonderful husband's laptop.
I'm quite amazed at how bored I'd be without the computer. I look up recipes here, I write stories on it, I visit music and Criminal Intent Boards on it and spend hours discussing things like religion, politics, music, history, society and many other topics. Heck, sometimes when we miss shows on their regularly scheduled time and we forget to tape it, we watch it online.
I'd rather have my computer than my phone, even.
It's a good thing I got into a better mood because today I had to go shopping and I faced all those Christmas shoppers with children in tow. I'm already tired of Christmas music and I've now decided I hate people. All right, that's a bit harsh. I don't actually hate people as much as I hate people in stores. People in stores with their carts in the middle of the aisle, completely oblivious to the fact that they are blocking traffic from both sides. People in stores with children who they apparently have no control over. People in stores who talk loudly on their cell phones so you can hear all about their sister Susan's rudeness or about how they can't find anything they were sent to the store for. People who block the aisles because they run into someone they know and they both stand there talking until you say "Excuse me, can I get through?" and they look at you like you're the one being a pain in the ass.
It's sad because it's only December 8 and I'm already depressed about Christmas shopping. On the other hand, there is the internet where you can shop without annoying people and you don't have to go out in the cold snow to get.
*sigh* I miss my Firefox and my bookmarks. It took me three tries to figure out where the Kathryn Erbe Fans website was. I don't event think I could find my way to the Beatles board I belong to if I didn't have an email from them. Thank you Joey Self for saving me from hours of stress by starting the Paul McCartney song tournament, which you notified me about. LOL With bookmarks I got lazy. God knows where all those YouTube videos are I bookmarked so I could find them easily.
Ah well, I suppose we all need a little shake-up now and then to keep us out of a rut. While trying to find my favorite bookmarks, I might just find something new and interesting to obsess over. Though how it could beat Criminal Intent is really beyond me at the moment.
I don't want to get a life. I like the one I don't have now. ;)
My laptop crashed on me last night and I haven't been that unhappy in ages. Of course my poor husband is the one who fixes these things so it became his problem as well. He deserves a medal of valor or something. I was tired from lack of sleep the night before because I'm all stressed over the break-up of my stepson and his wife. It was a horribly busy day at work and I was so looking forward to going home and getting online to engage in discussion over my favorite show, Law & Order: Criminal Intent. No such luck. My computer died and it just turned me into a 48 year old spoiled brat. It also didn't help that I'm going through PMS at the moment.
Yep, my poor husband had to deal with one unhappy wife. He did a great job and subsequently, this morning, I awoke a much happier camper. The laptop really is dead now. But then it's old and we were expecting it. Still, it's not easy to part with and at the moment until it gets replaced, I'm relegated to the desk top or to my wonderful husband's laptop.
I'm quite amazed at how bored I'd be without the computer. I look up recipes here, I write stories on it, I visit music and Criminal Intent Boards on it and spend hours discussing things like religion, politics, music, history, society and many other topics. Heck, sometimes when we miss shows on their regularly scheduled time and we forget to tape it, we watch it online.
I'd rather have my computer than my phone, even.
It's a good thing I got into a better mood because today I had to go shopping and I faced all those Christmas shoppers with children in tow. I'm already tired of Christmas music and I've now decided I hate people. All right, that's a bit harsh. I don't actually hate people as much as I hate people in stores. People in stores with their carts in the middle of the aisle, completely oblivious to the fact that they are blocking traffic from both sides. People in stores with children who they apparently have no control over. People in stores who talk loudly on their cell phones so you can hear all about their sister Susan's rudeness or about how they can't find anything they were sent to the store for. People who block the aisles because they run into someone they know and they both stand there talking until you say "Excuse me, can I get through?" and they look at you like you're the one being a pain in the ass.
It's sad because it's only December 8 and I'm already depressed about Christmas shopping. On the other hand, there is the internet where you can shop without annoying people and you don't have to go out in the cold snow to get.
*sigh* I miss my Firefox and my bookmarks. It took me three tries to figure out where the Kathryn Erbe Fans website was. I don't event think I could find my way to the Beatles board I belong to if I didn't have an email from them. Thank you Joey Self for saving me from hours of stress by starting the Paul McCartney song tournament, which you notified me about. LOL With bookmarks I got lazy. God knows where all those YouTube videos are I bookmarked so I could find them easily.
Ah well, I suppose we all need a little shake-up now and then to keep us out of a rut. While trying to find my favorite bookmarks, I might just find something new and interesting to obsess over. Though how it could beat Criminal Intent is really beyond me at the moment.
I don't want to get a life. I like the one I don't have now. ;)
Monday, December 3, 2007
Barbie Is A Slut & Other Christmas Shopping Revelations
Here's a piece I wrote for Christmas last year. Thought it was appropriate for the season so I am re-posting here.
Well, last weekend was the time for my high maintenance six year old granddaughter to spend the night. She came over around noon on Saturday and didn't get picked up until 2 p.m. on Sunday. I love this little girl so much it is ridiculous. Despite giving up our evening of A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor and catching up on some taped episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (okay, so it's not an exciting life but we enjoy it anyway), we can't say no to having one of our three little angels over. We even had the two and a half year old over for a couple of hours while mom and dad shopped with the baby. They probably didn't want us to go completely insane because then they would be down one set of baby sitters. Our kids aren't stupid. No, my stepson and his wife are both bright young people who know just how to get grandpa and grandma to cave in and break that old "one grandchild at a time" rule.
In any case, I was expecting the high maintenance one to come over so I went out and bought some new Barbie clothes to keep her occupied. Barbie is the big thing in her life now. Barbie and those Bratz dolls. My husband can't stand the idea of Bratz dolls so we settled for Barbie. Personally I probably would have loved the Bratz dolls if they were around when I was six.
However, they were not and so I am quite familiar with and happy with Barbie and so is my granddaughter. In an attempt to try and find some less "slutty" attire for Barbie, I discovered that is just impossible. They have no clothes for her that aren't fitted and/or incredibly revealing. I don't remember my Barbie being that slutty. Okay, so she had bigger boobs, a smaller waist and a bigger butt. But she had clothes that weren't incredibly snug and fitted. At least I don't think so....
Okay, so how do I find Barbie Clothes where Barbie can dress like she's a doctor or a lawyer or maybe even a police officer? You know, something that doesn't look like she's a hooker or a slut. Well, I don't think they make suits for Barbie. At least none of the stores in my small town had any. I'm sure if they did it would 'Ally McBeal' skirts that would be short enough to make Ally McBeal blush. I want Barbie to have clothes that she can wear if she were a doctor, college professor, veterinarian, CEO or something that doesn't call for tightly fitting and very revealing clothing. In other words, I don't want to keep dressing Barbie like she's Christina Aguilera or Brittany Spears. I want the girl to have a brain and be a doctor or something. Not look like she's going to get a venereal disease and need a doctor. Yes, I'm 47 and see no reason to dress like that. No, I'm not going to tell you what I wore when I was 21 because then I'd sound like a hypocrite. But then again I can always fall back on the whole "brain growth" thing. Recent studies show that our brains grow until we are about 25. What the heck did I know back then? If I was clueless at age 21, what chance does my 6 year old granddaughter have when she sees Barbie dressing like a hooker and assumes that's what all nubile young women dress. This is not looking good and Christmas shopping is really hard enough as it is without looking for appropriate clothing for Barbie that is non-existent.
And of course the whole Christmas shopping ordeal has been incredibly stressful. The older I get, the less I like crowds. Christmas shopping always includes lots of people standing in the aisles staring at shelves of stuff with that glazed over look in their eyes. They resemble deer standing in the middle of the road waiting to get hit by a car - or in the case of shoppers in the aisle, a cart. It can get incredibly claustrophobic for people like me. You go down the wrong asile and can find yourself trapped between shopping carts and parents and children clogging the aisles, trying to find the same thing you are.
It would be a little easier for me to just scream and blow a gasket if the people were rude and annoying but they're all very nice and polite - I live in a small town, not a large city like when some woman actually ran over my foot as she pushed past me when I was shopping at a drug store in Honolulu. I did yell that time. But then I was also high strung and stressed living in a crowded city. It's only paradise if you live on the neighbor islands. Oahu is crowded and Honolulu is pretty much a city with palm trees. Yes, I miss it but not the stress of dealing with crowds.
Here in my small mid-western town, we all know we're just trying to get out of there alive and in a small town you never know who might know someone you know. No sense ruffling feathers of someone you might run into at a party sometime down the line. And of course we don't deal with hoards of people everyday in a crushing mass. So it could be worse. I could be shopping at Long's Drug Store in Honolulu, being frustrated out of not being able to find a decent outfit for Barbie, being trapped in a narrow aisle between shopping carts and people and having my foot run over by a very irritated and rude woman who nearly knocked over a pregnant woman in front of me in her haste to get away from the hit and run she inflicted upon my foot.
So, having found all the things I wanted - my daughter-in-law, being a considerate and very smart young woman - gave me a list of what to get for the girls. Oddly enough, despite no Barbie being on the list, there were two things that kind of freak me out. Love N Licks dog and a Fur Real Monkey. Perhaps it's because they didn't exist when I was child that I find them incredibly creepy. Automated pets kind of scare me. Brings to mind a combination of Stephen King's 'Pet Sematary' and those awful 'Chucky' movies. Yikes!!! Can't they just give them a real dog or...well, okay, so most people don't have monkeys for pets unless you're Michael Jackson and then we're back to that creepy factor again. Fine, we got automated pets for the children.
By the time I got home a few hours later, I was so happy to be home I didn't even mind that I ended up buying another set of slutty Barbie clothes for my granddaughter.
P.S. I have since learned the joys of eBay and finding marvelous bargains and some expensive items that aren't slutty for Barbie. Barbie now has a pilot's uniform, a doctor coat, a veterinarian coat, a NASCAR driver uniform, a couple of business suits and several sweaters and outfits that don't make her look like a hooker. They cost but it's worth it.
Well, last weekend was the time for my high maintenance six year old granddaughter to spend the night. She came over around noon on Saturday and didn't get picked up until 2 p.m. on Sunday. I love this little girl so much it is ridiculous. Despite giving up our evening of A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor and catching up on some taped episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (okay, so it's not an exciting life but we enjoy it anyway), we can't say no to having one of our three little angels over. We even had the two and a half year old over for a couple of hours while mom and dad shopped with the baby. They probably didn't want us to go completely insane because then they would be down one set of baby sitters. Our kids aren't stupid. No, my stepson and his wife are both bright young people who know just how to get grandpa and grandma to cave in and break that old "one grandchild at a time" rule.
In any case, I was expecting the high maintenance one to come over so I went out and bought some new Barbie clothes to keep her occupied. Barbie is the big thing in her life now. Barbie and those Bratz dolls. My husband can't stand the idea of Bratz dolls so we settled for Barbie. Personally I probably would have loved the Bratz dolls if they were around when I was six.
However, they were not and so I am quite familiar with and happy with Barbie and so is my granddaughter. In an attempt to try and find some less "slutty" attire for Barbie, I discovered that is just impossible. They have no clothes for her that aren't fitted and/or incredibly revealing. I don't remember my Barbie being that slutty. Okay, so she had bigger boobs, a smaller waist and a bigger butt. But she had clothes that weren't incredibly snug and fitted. At least I don't think so....
Okay, so how do I find Barbie Clothes where Barbie can dress like she's a doctor or a lawyer or maybe even a police officer? You know, something that doesn't look like she's a hooker or a slut. Well, I don't think they make suits for Barbie. At least none of the stores in my small town had any. I'm sure if they did it would 'Ally McBeal' skirts that would be short enough to make Ally McBeal blush. I want Barbie to have clothes that she can wear if she were a doctor, college professor, veterinarian, CEO or something that doesn't call for tightly fitting and very revealing clothing. In other words, I don't want to keep dressing Barbie like she's Christina Aguilera or Brittany Spears. I want the girl to have a brain and be a doctor or something. Not look like she's going to get a venereal disease and need a doctor. Yes, I'm 47 and see no reason to dress like that. No, I'm not going to tell you what I wore when I was 21 because then I'd sound like a hypocrite. But then again I can always fall back on the whole "brain growth" thing. Recent studies show that our brains grow until we are about 25. What the heck did I know back then? If I was clueless at age 21, what chance does my 6 year old granddaughter have when she sees Barbie dressing like a hooker and assumes that's what all nubile young women dress. This is not looking good and Christmas shopping is really hard enough as it is without looking for appropriate clothing for Barbie that is non-existent.
And of course the whole Christmas shopping ordeal has been incredibly stressful. The older I get, the less I like crowds. Christmas shopping always includes lots of people standing in the aisles staring at shelves of stuff with that glazed over look in their eyes. They resemble deer standing in the middle of the road waiting to get hit by a car - or in the case of shoppers in the aisle, a cart. It can get incredibly claustrophobic for people like me. You go down the wrong asile and can find yourself trapped between shopping carts and parents and children clogging the aisles, trying to find the same thing you are.
It would be a little easier for me to just scream and blow a gasket if the people were rude and annoying but they're all very nice and polite - I live in a small town, not a large city like when some woman actually ran over my foot as she pushed past me when I was shopping at a drug store in Honolulu. I did yell that time. But then I was also high strung and stressed living in a crowded city. It's only paradise if you live on the neighbor islands. Oahu is crowded and Honolulu is pretty much a city with palm trees. Yes, I miss it but not the stress of dealing with crowds.
Here in my small mid-western town, we all know we're just trying to get out of there alive and in a small town you never know who might know someone you know. No sense ruffling feathers of someone you might run into at a party sometime down the line. And of course we don't deal with hoards of people everyday in a crushing mass. So it could be worse. I could be shopping at Long's Drug Store in Honolulu, being frustrated out of not being able to find a decent outfit for Barbie, being trapped in a narrow aisle between shopping carts and people and having my foot run over by a very irritated and rude woman who nearly knocked over a pregnant woman in front of me in her haste to get away from the hit and run she inflicted upon my foot.
So, having found all the things I wanted - my daughter-in-law, being a considerate and very smart young woman - gave me a list of what to get for the girls. Oddly enough, despite no Barbie being on the list, there were two things that kind of freak me out. Love N Licks dog and a Fur Real Monkey. Perhaps it's because they didn't exist when I was child that I find them incredibly creepy. Automated pets kind of scare me. Brings to mind a combination of Stephen King's 'Pet Sematary' and those awful 'Chucky' movies. Yikes!!! Can't they just give them a real dog or...well, okay, so most people don't have monkeys for pets unless you're Michael Jackson and then we're back to that creepy factor again. Fine, we got automated pets for the children.
By the time I got home a few hours later, I was so happy to be home I didn't even mind that I ended up buying another set of slutty Barbie clothes for my granddaughter.
P.S. I have since learned the joys of eBay and finding marvelous bargains and some expensive items that aren't slutty for Barbie. Barbie now has a pilot's uniform, a doctor coat, a veterinarian coat, a NASCAR driver uniform, a couple of business suits and several sweaters and outfits that don't make her look like a hooker. They cost but it's worth it.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Why I Can Never Be A Republican
Watched excerpts from one of those Republican debates. I have to say they're making things very easy for me. No matter who the Democrats put up, I'm going to end up voting for them. At one point John McCain - a man I used to think I would vote for at one time in his political career - said we lost the Vietnam war because of a lack of public support. The audience members applauded. So all those people to this day probably saw Vietnam as a just war for us to be involved in. Now that's a surprise. I thought no one with at least a quarter of a functioning brain would think that.
I remember when I was growing up in Hawaii as a third generation American of Japanese Descent, Republican was a bad word. My father would have been more upset at the thought of my becoming a Republican than a stripper. Republicans really screwed themselves when they tried to prevent the large Japanese population from voting from way back when Hawaii was just a Territory of the United States. They all became Democrats - well, there were a few who weren't but if they were Republicans they were generally wealth. Once Hawaii became a state, the Republican party started to exist just for the Democrats to have someone to run against.
Eventually, I discovered Republicans aren't all that bad. I did, marry one, after all. And he's bright and very nice. Of course with the advent of the recent administration in the White House, he is now an independent and will also be voting for whoever the Democrats put up because he can't stand Republicans anymore either.
Oh and my father didn't know my husband was a Republican. Some things you just don't want to tell your father to save him a trip to the hospital.
At this point I know I will never be a Republican. As I've always said, I'm not rich, I'm not white, I'm not a man and I'm not a Christian. I have no Republican credentials, really. They obviously have been snubbing minority groups this campaign season and they don't like strong, intelligent women (can you say Hillary Clinton). I think they are in denial and are trying to self-destruct.
So after all these years I've been trying to figure out Republicans and it turns out I should have just listened to my father.
DISCLAIMER: This only applies to the lying scumbags who are running our country. Dubya, the Big Dick, Karl Rove the evil garden gnome, Scooter Libby (former right hand man of the Big Dick), etc. To all the honest, hardworking Republicans who are good people with decent values and who are aware of the problems of this administration, you are not included in my rant. Neither is Senator Chuck Hagel from Nebraska, who is the only Republican I would vote for. I may not agree with the man on various issues but at least I trust him. And I can't say that for many of the Democratic candidates either.
Hagel's decision to not run for any office once his current senate term is up leads me to believe that anyone who is a decent, intelligent and honest human being who can succeed in the private sector, doesn't really want to have anything to do with politics.
I just know I'm very angry at the current state of our country and our leaders. I get so angry that when CNN reran the Republican debate and I was trying to go to sleep, I told my husband to change the station cause they were making me so upset I couldn't fall asleep. He put it on Ultimate Fighter and I said fine. That was easier to fall asleep to than listening to Republicans talk. That's how angry I am.
I remember when I was growing up in Hawaii as a third generation American of Japanese Descent, Republican was a bad word. My father would have been more upset at the thought of my becoming a Republican than a stripper. Republicans really screwed themselves when they tried to prevent the large Japanese population from voting from way back when Hawaii was just a Territory of the United States. They all became Democrats - well, there were a few who weren't but if they were Republicans they were generally wealth. Once Hawaii became a state, the Republican party started to exist just for the Democrats to have someone to run against.
Eventually, I discovered Republicans aren't all that bad. I did, marry one, after all. And he's bright and very nice. Of course with the advent of the recent administration in the White House, he is now an independent and will also be voting for whoever the Democrats put up because he can't stand Republicans anymore either.
Oh and my father didn't know my husband was a Republican. Some things you just don't want to tell your father to save him a trip to the hospital.
At this point I know I will never be a Republican. As I've always said, I'm not rich, I'm not white, I'm not a man and I'm not a Christian. I have no Republican credentials, really. They obviously have been snubbing minority groups this campaign season and they don't like strong, intelligent women (can you say Hillary Clinton). I think they are in denial and are trying to self-destruct.
So after all these years I've been trying to figure out Republicans and it turns out I should have just listened to my father.
DISCLAIMER: This only applies to the lying scumbags who are running our country. Dubya, the Big Dick, Karl Rove the evil garden gnome, Scooter Libby (former right hand man of the Big Dick), etc. To all the honest, hardworking Republicans who are good people with decent values and who are aware of the problems of this administration, you are not included in my rant. Neither is Senator Chuck Hagel from Nebraska, who is the only Republican I would vote for. I may not agree with the man on various issues but at least I trust him. And I can't say that for many of the Democratic candidates either.
Hagel's decision to not run for any office once his current senate term is up leads me to believe that anyone who is a decent, intelligent and honest human being who can succeed in the private sector, doesn't really want to have anything to do with politics.
I just know I'm very angry at the current state of our country and our leaders. I get so angry that when CNN reran the Republican debate and I was trying to go to sleep, I told my husband to change the station cause they were making me so upset I couldn't fall asleep. He put it on Ultimate Fighter and I said fine. That was easier to fall asleep to than listening to Republicans talk. That's how angry I am.
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