The Soap Box
A place for me to dump my brain and you to pick thru it

Welcome to the Suck
10:15am

I'm very intrigued by the previews for Jarhead and I think Sam Mendes is a great director. However, I REALLY REALLY hate violence in films. I can take a few violent scenes but if I have to sit through 2 hours of violence, I'd rather spend my money on something else...almost anything else..even a banquet at McDonald's . All I can find out online is that it's rated R for "pervasive language, some violent images and strong sexual content." Now "some violent images" doesn't sound so bad and I could care less about the language and "sexual content" unless we are taking rape scenes (which should be categorized as violence and not sex if you ask me). So I'm thinking, maybe I could probably take the violent images. However, given the subject matter, I can only imagine there is probably more violence in it than I can stomach.

Here's where you come in. Does anyone know what "some violent images" actually means? Are we talking stills? Quick shots of dead people? What? And even better, if you've seen a preview and can actually tell me how much violence is in Jarhead, please let me know! Thanks!

Trick Or Treat!
6:34pm

This is what Nick and I are doing for Hallloween.

Random Thoughts
12:21am

If I do not see the inside of another hospital this year, I will be happy.

Midterms are over! Yay!

Why why why...or is it how how how...did this become a real product?

While I'm glad the World Series is over, I have now lost the most effective way to fall asleep for another season. Turn on a ball game where the Red Sox are not in a playoff and I can fall asleep in less than an inning.

Trent Lott is an ass. He said that Bush should find the best candidate for Supreme court, "man, woman or minority." Hmmmm...I didn't know minorities were genderless. You learn something new every day.

Is it the weekend yet?

I'm Sitting on a (Semi-) Goldmine!
9:52am

(feefed from Betty)

With One Eye on Wilma...
10:19am

In case you wanted to know EXACTLY how clueless "Brownie" was during the Katrina disaster, I give you actual emails that were used as evidence at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing.

Cast of Characters:
Mr Brown: Head of FEMA in Baton Rouge at time of emails
Sharon Worthy: Mr. Brown's Press Secretary
Marty Bahamonde: The first FEMA official on the scene at the Superdome since Sunday.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Name is Damien...
8:50pm

...fear me!

And Here I Am Using My Lungs Like A Sucker
11:01pm

I have a milestone birthday coming up (it ends with a zero) and I decided I really need to get into a habit of exercising before I devolve into a lump of blubber. I finally got my ass off the couch on Sunday and went swimming at the gym. I used to be on a swim team way back when I was a pre-teen (or was I a teen? It was soooo long ago). I figured that would be a great way to get into shape as you use a great deal of different muscle groups as opposed to just walking on a tread mill. Well let me tell you, in the last 20-some-odd years, swimming got a LOT harder! I did three laps (or 1.5 round trips) and thought I was going to DIE! How is this possible? I used to have an efficient stroke and considerable stamina. In high school, to pass swimming, which we had to take, we had to swim a mile and I must have done it since I passed gym that semester. What happened to my lung capacity? With every lap I was gasping for air. I was thinking, "It's a good thing I'm not in some sort of tragedy where I would actually need to swim or die! I'd never make it!" I made a deal with myself that if I did 10 laps (5 round trips) I could then go in the hot tub at the gym! I did the laps and enjoyed the wonderful whirlpool.

Now if I can make it off the couch for a second swim in the next month, that will be REAL progress!

Serenity
10:24am

Yes, I know there was a series prior to the movie. Yes, I saw a couple of episodes before Fox jerked it around the schedule until I lost track of it. No, I have not seen Firefly on DVD but it didn't matter. The movie Serenity was great. It's entertaining from beginning to end (which is unfortunate if you have a bladder the size of a walnut, like me). For my money, it's the best sci-fi movie of this century beating hands down any well known sequel or prequel. If you like sci-fi and/or movies where chicks kick some serious ass, you really need to go see Serenity on the big screen before it's gone (and by the box office numbers, that is going to be soon!).

Unusual Thefts
9:32pm

Pennsylvania: 4 used colonoscopes from a hospital. Yeah, those are the things you shove up someone's ass to make sure they don't have cancer. Apparently there is a hot black market for such things. Uhhh....eww.

California: A prison in Ventura loses $50,000 worth of underwear a year. When prisoners are released, they tend to walk off in the prison undies and socks. The prison is planning to dye the underwear bright orange so it is obvious whose underwear they are wearing when they change into their "civilian" clothes.

I'm Moving
10:53pm

I'm changing my hosting company and changing my domain registration so it is possible that this site may disappear into the ether for a day or two. You have been warned.

Weekend
9:08pm

Well, I took most of the weekend off and just tried to enjoy myself, which was very successful if I do say so myself. Last night we went to the annual Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta night glow, where the balloonists light up their balloons against the dark desert sky. Unfortunately, the wind picked up and most balloonists weren't into being blown away so I only got one good shot to show you.

Afterwards, there was a pretty good fireworks show. I've never tried to take photos of fireworks with a digital camera. I got a few good shots and a few not so good shots but I thought I would show some off anyway.

Quick Update
11:32am

My days are filled with anxiety and panic attacks, which REALLY sucks ass. I find it almost impossible to live a "normal" life this way. I'm trying to drop a class at school to ease my load but in my program, apparently if you want to drop a required class and take it later, you can't unless the clinical committee says you can. So I'm in a holding pattern until I can meet with the director of clinical training tomorrow.

My days also include daily calls to see how my niece's one month old baby is faring in the PICU after suffering what I was told was a grade 5 aneurysm. What does that mean? Well, best case scenario I was told Monday morning was that she never walks or talks. Worst case scenario...well you can guess what that is. My heart breaks when I think of the possibility that these parents will need to decide whether to keep their daughter alive indefinitely on life support or "pull the plug."

There's more going on but trust me, you don't even want to know. As I mentioned before, it's Soap Opera Central around here.

I have to admit, Betty's newborn kitten rearing always cheers me up some. She even has pictures of the little guy up now. Reminds me of the kindness of others and how even the littlest have such a strong survival instinct.

Send me some good energy if you got any to spare. Thanks!

If There Is A God...
4:41pm

...he's hiding pretty well from what I can see. If I told you all the things that were happening in my extended family, you'd think I was lying. Just imagine the most ludicrous soap opera (minus any amnesia patients or talking dolls) and that's pretty much it. However, in order not to get too down I wanted to list some of the good things in my life.

1) My husband, for whom I am thankful every day.

2) My mom, who's a pretty sharp cookie when she wants to be.

3) My kitties, who always make me laugh and comfort me when I don't feel well.

4) My acupuncturist, who really LISTENS when I tell him what's wrong and who gave me some apples he picked over the weekend.

5) My mentor, who is patient and understanding and I feel really wants what's in my best interest.

6) Various friends and family, both in-laws and out-laws, who accept me as I am.

7) My beautiful house in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains.

8) My classmates who have helped me on multiple occasions get through some tough academic times.

OK, so things are pretty screwed up around here right now, but when I look at the positive things in my life, I think I just might make it after all.

Quote of the Week
6:25pm

"But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down"
     - Former Education Secretary William Bennett...NO RELATION thankyouverymuch.

Blog Name: The Soap Box
Email: jenben[at]g-r-c.com
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