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

New Game
9:29pm

Ever hear of a googlewhack? I've created a new game: EtsyWhack. The goal here is to search for something on etsy.com that has NO results. Sounds, easy, huh? It's not. So far, we've found 1 EtsyWhack, and no, I'm not going to tell you what it is. Can you find one?

Cold or Flu?
9:25am

So folks, what do I have? A cold or the flu?

Quote of the Day
9:33am

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom. - Rev. Martin Luther King

It's Not Too Late!
4:45pm

It's not too late to order and receive something from my etsy shop for Christmas! All are handcrafted and handwoven by me, meaning that each piece is one-of-a-kind. All are very reasonably priced. I'd hate for you to miss out! See below for some examples...

Coral and gold plated beads makes a wonderful Christmas gift!

Of course, living in NM, I have to have something in turquoise!

Snowflake obsidian goes with everying from a little black dress to your favorite pair of jeans.

Another beautiful example of a necklace to wear at your office holiday party.

There are many more in the etsy shop. Why not take a look? All proceeds go to a deserving struggling graduate student in my immediate area. ;)

A Day At the Rio Grande Zoo
10:22am

This is Bhutan, a baby snow leopard, born July of this year...

...and here are his parents.

Cute little meerkat

These vultures have an up to 9 foot wingspan! Cool, huh?

I Knew They Were Up To Something...
4:21pm

Sarah Palin's New Nickname...
11:19pm

...Bible Spice.

The Voice of Reason
9:44am

From retired General and former Secretary of State (and Republican) Colin Powell:

"I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say, and it is permitted to be said.

"Such things as, 'Well you know that Mr Obama is a Muslim'. Well, the correct answer is, 'He is not a Muslim, he's a Christian, he's always been a Christian.'

"But the really right answer is, 'What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?' The answer is, 'No. That's not America.'

"Is there something wrong with some seven-year old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she can be president?

"Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion he's a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists.

"This is not the way we should be doing it in America."

Come Visit Me at Etsy!
9:55am

I started beading this summer and then I had too many finished products so I had to do something with them so I opened a store at Etsy.com! You can get there by clicking on the banner above or you can to LotusJewels.etsy.com. Feel free to pass along the URL to all your friends and family.

(The holidays are coming! Why not give one-of-a-kind handmade gifts?)

Quote of the Day
9:55am

“I’m no racist, but I’m not crazy about him either,” said Mr. Piroli, 77. “I don’t know, maybe ’cause he’s black.” -- Aliquippa, PA resident discussing Presidential candidate Barack Obama.

The Battleground State
10:05pm

We had both Obama and McCain in Albuquerque today. McCain had a rally at the fairgrounds and attracted about 1500 supporters. Obama actually just finished talking about 15 minutes ago to a crowd outside at UNM Johnson Field estimated at 50,000! 50,000!!!!! 35,000 were actually in the gates of the event with the other 15,000 lining Central Avenue.

So, call me crazy but I think it's safe to say that Obama probably has the lead in this state.

In How Many Ways is this Offensive?
11:26am

I got the following in my in box this morning:

From: al.zawahiri96@gmail.com
Subject: Your Life is in Danger. (Death Approved)
Date: October 11, 2008 1:36:58 AM MDT
Reply-To: al.zawahiri96@gmail.com

Hello,

It is of utmost importance that you read this email with all carefulness and seriousness. It might interest you to know that someone who does not like your existence on Earth has paid us (Fatah Al Islam) to eliminate you. It was maintained that you have occupied a position that you ought not to have occupied, but due to your greedy nature you worked yourself up to that post. We have been following you around and from all indications you will be executed by tomorrow.

For your information, you do not need to inform anyone or even the police about this, it will never change anything, and rather you will also be endangering the lives of other members of your family.

You can always reach us on this email if you wish to make any contribution. Be warned!!!

Mustapha Mohammed Al Zawahiri.
Spokesman.

So, as far as I can tell, this could be classified as terrorism and extortion. They are trying to make me afraid of my life (terrorism) but I could make any contribution? I am contributing to a person or entity that's going to kill me? How does that make any sense?

I also like that the coward behind this email is hiding behind a radical Sunni Islamist group, propagating the mass hysteria that all Muslims are evil and bent on killing Americans. We all know that, well, you know, they have nothing better to do than send someone to Albuquerque New Mexico to kill a graduate student.

And yes, I reported this to gmail, since it is a gmail address that I am supposed to send a "contribution."

Just a Thought
10:25pm

I feel like McCain is holding the Presidential debate hostage...

My Favorite Nickname for Sarah Palin...
10:10pm

...Caribou Barbie.

Finally! Something to Brag Blog About
9:51pm

I got my dissertation proposal out today. For those of you who are not familiar with the dissertation process, all that means is that I gave a bunch of papers to those in my committee stating what I'd like to do for my dissertation. Now, having said that, the bunch of papers were 32 pages of background information and methodology and I'm damn proud that I got the proposal out.

I meet with my committee on October 1st. Hopefully they won't be ripping me a new one.

Quick Update
11:26pm

I'm mostly blogging here and will be for the next 2 weeks so come over and keep me company if you have some time.

Nick let me cut his hair this past weekend. He tied it up in a pony tail and I literally hacked off his hair with a pair of slightly dull scissors. I measured the hair cut off and it is 18" long! Even with all that length off, his hair still goes past his shoulders. It looks a lot healthier. We'll be sending the cut hair to Locks of Love.

Oh, BTW, I don't have Crohn's Disease, colon cancer or that allergy to gluten (thank God). It's more likely I have Colitis. The medication for colitis is helping but it costs $250 a month! Ugh.

I'm working on my dissertation proposal. I need to have it ready by the time school starts. I'm excited to start my own research but not to start school. Eh well, it will all be over one day. "That which does not kill us, makes us stronger."

Lastly, I am trying to learn Spanish (AGAIN). This time I'm using Rosetta Stone. I've been enjoying it so far. If you speak Spanish and you want to write me a simple email en Español please feel free to do so. I will attempt to write back in Spanish as well.

Wimbledon Prediction
12:03pm

Wildcard Chinese player Jie Zheng will beat Serena Williams in the semi-finals of Wimbledon. Jie Zheng is the first Chinese tennis player to make it to the semis in a grand slam. I think Serena is going to underestimate her and if Serena does win, it will be after a great battle. We'll have to wait until Thursday to see if I'm right.

Of Course I Know Him
12:34am

The uh...unique young man in this news story was a student in my class the first semester I taught. He's definitely original. He's got tattoos all over him, including on his forehead. If I remember correctly, it's a cartoon character that says "Keep Looking Forward" or something similar to that. The one thing I remember best about him was his stubbornness to even consider that acupuncture could actually work. He was convinced it was either a bunch of hooey or a placebo effect. I found it interesting that such an unconventional young man would refuse to consider an "alternative" (alternative to Western medicine) medical technique that has been practiced for thousands of years on the other side of the planet.

I Couldn't Resist*
10:15pm

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

I'm not sure what's with the eye patch. I just thought it was funny. When I was a little kid, I had a lazy eye and had to wear a patch. I hated it. I was so embarrassed. I remember my dad trying to make me feel better by telling me I looked like a pirate. To which I responded, "but I don't want to be a pirate!" Reminds me of Seinfeld...

* It's all Betty's fault!

Noble Silence
10:30pm

So many of you know that this past semester was very difficult health-wise for me. In an effort to get my shit together, I took a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction class. It was an 8-week class that ends this upcoming Thursday night. While I knew I was learning different meditation techniques, I didn't really notice any changes in myself. Then a week ago Saturday, we had a full-day retreat (I only participated in the afternoon) that was a "silent retreat" which means no speaking. I was actually looking forward to not talking. I realized after the retreat that I REALLY liked not talking.

In the past, I've always been the loud-mouth in the class. I always had to voice my opinion. However, now I no longer have a need to be heard. I have no need to add to the noise already present in the world. This silence has created a calmness inside ne now that I've been searching for for years. I don't know how long this peace will be with me but I plan to take advantage of it while I can.

These ideas/feelings also apply to blogging. After 7 years of blogging, I don't need to add my opinion to the other millions of opinions already out there. Anything I have to say has already been said, probably more eloquently, by someone else. So, at least for now, I'm choosing to not blog. I will continue to cultivate the new peace and calmness. You can always email me if you want to know if I'm alive or dead...assume I'm alive though, unless you hear differently.

And of course, like any other blogger that has claimed they have stopped blogging forever, I reserve the right to start blogging again at any time without advanced warning.

What tha...?
11:15pm

Guess who was in my dream last night. Forget it, you couldn't guess in a million years. It was Dionne Warwick! Seriously. Is she still even alive? How in hell did my brain come up with her? And yes, I do believe she was singing "That's What Friends are For" in my dream.

Wanna Go On A Diet?
10:43pm

Check out these delicious foods! When the description of one of them starts with, "This, dear reader, is a medium-sized lump of Sweet Fucking Christ," you KNOW it's gotta be good!

E-Cycle
9:56pm

A few weekends ago, Nick and I gathered a few things from around the house that we weren't using anymore and recycled them. Here's what the trunk looked like:

There's an old laser printer in there, a scanner, about 3 dead notebook computers, external hard drives, external CD drives, old Jaz drives, and God only knows what else.

Here's the back seat:

Here we have 2 huge honkin' monitors and an old stereo system with speakers. Nick figures we took about 100 lbs of stuff to be recycled. The whole set up at the recycling center was amazing.They let around 10 cars in at a time. Once you stopped your car, you were surrounded with 3-4 volunteers just there to pull everything out of your car. Then you were off! So they were emptying 10 cars about every 4 minutes. It was the most organized thing Bernalillo county ever did.

Of course, once our hot water heater died 2 weekends ago, we found even more stuff we could have recycled in the garage so we'll have to wait until the next e-cycling day here. All in all tho, it was great to get all that stuff out of the house!

Cute Story
8:23pm

I just had to pass this along.

And I'm Sure You Know What It Means When I Don't Update
10:16pm

I was happy and healthy for 10 days. Then the weather changed drastically here from 70 and sunny to 40 and snowing. And the next day I woke up feeling crappy again. That was on Thursday. Friday and Saturday I slept all day. I'm feeling better than then but I'm still not 100%. Ugh. Stupid weather.

So Here's The Story
8:01pm

Starting around the beginning of February, I came down with a stomach virus. It stopped me from going on a planned trip to Hawaii for a week and it stopped me from going to school. And it stayed with me...for weeks. I went to the doctor and they tested me for everything... parasites, pancreatitis, diabetes, h. pylori...everything came back negative. Oh, except for mono, for which I am still testing positive. There really wasn't anything I could do. I went to school when I could and slept when I couldn't. As the weeks passed, I became more and more depressed. I didn't want to blog anymore. I didn't want to go to movies.I didn't want to see friends. I didn't want to leave my darkened bedroom. I didn't want to do anything. And then the anxiety set in. Let me tell you. I HATE anxiety. I would wake up in a panic every morning. Spring break came and went and I was still sick. Now I had nausea for the majority of the day which kept me from eating hardly anything. On bad days, I had a can of soup. On good days, I had a scrambled egg, maybe a piece of toast, and a can of soup. I did save some $$ on food, that's for sure, and I did lose a bit of weight.

This past monday, March 31st, the doctor told me to stop taking a particular medication that had been prescribed two weeks prior. The med was to cut down on stomach acid at night. Guess what? I woke up on Tuesday and I was HUNGRY! And I was in a better mood! I still had a little anxiety but even that has gone away now. So basically, I was sick for 2 weeks because of the damn medication. The doctor told me I could just take Pepcid instead of the prescription stuff...information that would have been most useful 2 weeks ago.

It's been a full two months, but the virus is gone and the depression and anxiety have subsided. I feel pretty darn good, albeit a bit tired. I've now lost 20 lbs since school started in the fall. I would NOT recommend this particular diet plan to anyone. It was pretty miserable.

So, I'm hoping to continue to feel good and blog more. Cross your fingers...

Potty Mouth
8:43pm

Created by OnePlusYou

Political Humor
1:04pm

Make more pictures for your blog 

Time
3:08pm

How much time do these people have on their hands?

Note to Self
9:19pm

Don't eat dinner while watching Dexter.

Oh, the Places You'll Go
4:37pm

I dream a lot. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I remember my dreams a lot. (BTW Susan, I dreamed last night you just gave birth to your fourth child!) There are places I seem to dream about often. One of the places is the Boston subway, better known as the T. Often the dream is that a train is coming and I'm not sure which way it's going, the way I want to go or the opposite direction, but I have a need to jump on it anyway and figure out where it's going afterward. I've dreamed that I'm on the T, which has greatly expanded since I lived in Boston, and I'm no longer sure how to get where I want to go. Even worse, I've had driving dreams in Boston. I haven't driven in Boston since before the Big Dig, so I have no idea how to get where I want to go. I also dream that I'm in a combination Boston Science Museum/New England Aquarium. In these dreams there is never enough time to see all the exhibits I want. Hmmm, I suppose that dream proves what a giant nerd I still am.

I used to have a dream that I had to finish either middle school or high school even though I'd already been through college. I would be so embarrassed that somehow I hadn't finished a class or I had failed a class because I forgot to drop it in time and was back in school with young brats when here I was a college grad. I never really figured out what that was about.

Where do you repeatedly dream about?

The Mathematics of Blogging*
8:17pm

You may have noticed I'm not blogging much. That's 'cause I have this lingering illness that no one seems to be able to figure out. And I really don't want this blog to just turn into a bitchfest so when things aren't going well, I don't blog as much. Ergo, the mathematics of blogging is that there is a direct correlation between how things are going in my life and the frequency with which I blog. Spring break is next week and hopefully I'll be feeling well enough to do something fun by then. Until I'm better, feel free to leave chicken soup at the door. Thanks.

* Not to be confused with the Politics of Dancing

Planning Ahead
6:59pm

March 20th is Sweater Day to honor Mr. Rogers, who died 5 years ago from cancer. I LOVED Mr. Rogers as a kid and I remember I had a record by him that had a mirror on the cover of it. I also remember fighting with my sisters who wanted to watch soap operas when Mr. Rogers was on. I mean, c'mon! If you could choose a soap opera or Mr. Rogers, which would you choose?

BTW, did you know that Mr. Rogers' mother knitted all the sweaters he wore?

All Is Right With the World...
11:14pm

...because my Girl Scout cookies arrived today! All 6 boxes of them! Woohoo!

Oscars
5:04pm

Did anyone else notice that no American actors won last night?

Please!
9:25am

Someone tell me a joke!

UPDATE: Thanks Mike for the Boston jokes. They always crack me up. I also found a preview for the next Futurama movie! How could that not cheer someone up?

Attention Project Runway Fans...
2:19pm

The final runway show was over a week ago now and all five designers had fashions in the show to throw off the press as to who the real finalists were. Here are some of the fashions. Can you guess who designed what? Through some investigative net surfing, I know who designed most of the fashions. Place you guess in the comments.

PS: You'll get bonus points if you can spot at least one America's Next Top Model contestant.

My New Obsession
9:56am

Can't explain it and not proud of it but it's a great game to play during TV commercials.

Remember When I Said I Was Losing Hope?
2:12pm

I got not one, but two copies of the letter below. How DESPICABLE! How can someone pose as a soldier in Iraq to con people out of their money? I don't even know where to start about how low and disgusting this letter is. I mean, it basically is stating that an American soldier is willing to take money, like a mercenary, instead of turning it in, sullying all American soldiers as money grubbers instead of those who wish to honor their country by serving in Iraq (regardless of your views on the war). How can someone pose as an injured hero and actually use the word "God" more than once in order to score money from kindhearted (albeit not-so-smart) people? Well, I suppose the answer to that is obvious...

BTW, the return address is "@yahoo.com.hk." I didn't know our troops had email accounts that went through Hong Kong.

GREETINGS,
HOW ARE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY?. HOPE ALL IS WELL. MY NAME IS JOHN DRAKE, I AM AN AMERICAN SOLDIER, SERVING IN THE MILITARY WITH THE ARMY?S 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION. WITH A VERY DESPERATE NEED FOR ASSISTANCE, I HAVE SUMMED UP COURAGE TO CONTACT YOU.
I FOUND YOUR CONTACT PARTICULARS IN AN ADDRESS JOURNAL. I AM SEEKING YOUR KIND ASSISTANCE TO MOVE THE SUM OF ( $18.7MILLION U.S. DOLLARS )TO YOU AS FAR AS I CAN BE ASSURED THAT MY SHARE WILL BE SAFE IN YOUR CARE UNTIL I COMPLETE MY SERVICE HERE, THIS IS NO STOLEN MONEY, AND THERE ARE NO DANGER INVOLVED.SOURCE OF MONEY: I DISCOVERED SOME MONEY IN VARIOUS CURRENCIES IN BARRELS AT A FARMHOUSE NEAR ONE OF SADDAM?S OLD PALACES IN TIKRIT-IRAQ DURING A RESCUE OPERATION.
I TELL YOU WHAT ? NO COMPENSATION CAN MAKE UP FOR THE RISK WE HAVE TAKEN WITH OUR LIVES IN THIS HELL HOLE. OF WHICH MY BROTHER IN-LAW WAS KILLED BY A ROAD SIDE BOMB LAST WEEK. TO CONCEAL THIS KIND OF MONEY BECAME A PROBLEM FOR ME, SO WITH THE HELP OF A BRITHISH CONTACT WORKING HERE, AND HIS OFFICE ENJOY SOME IMMUNITY, I WAS ABLE TO GET THE PACKAGE OUT TO A SAFE LOCATION ENTIRELY OUT OF TROUBLE SPOT.
I HAVE NOW FOUND A VERY SECURED WAY OF GETTING THE PACKAGE OUT OF IRAQ TO YOU FOR YOU TO PICK UP, AND I WILL DISCUSS THIS WITH YOU WHEN I AM SURE THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO ASSIST ME.I AM READY TO SHARE THE TOTAL MONEY EQUAL WITH YOU. ONE PASSIONATE APPEAL I WILL MAKE TO YOU IS NOT TO DISCUSS THIS MATTER WITH ANYBODY, SHOULD YOU HAVE REASONS TO REJECT THIS OFFER,
I DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG WE WILL REMAIN HERE, AND I HAVE BEEN SHOT, WOUNDED AND SURVIVED TWO SUICIDE BOMB ATTACKS BY THE SPECIAL GRACE OF GOD, THIS AND OTHER REASONS I WILL MENTION LATER HAS PROMPTED ME TO REACH OUT FOR HELP, I HONESTLY WANT THIS MATTER TO BE RESOLVED IMMEDIATELY, PLEASE CONTACT ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE MY ONLY WAY OF COMMUNICATION IS EMAIL.
GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
JOHN DRAKE.

Typical
5:04pm

Well, they started counting all the votes from Tuesday's Democratic Caucus in New Mexico from scratch this morning. We never can seem to get this voting thing right. On Tuesday, people in Rio Rancho waited up to 2 hours to vote because 1) there was only one polling place in the second largest city in New Mexico and 2) they severely underestimated how many voters there would be and ran out of ballots. Great. (For the record, there was a 50% increase in the number of voters this year as compared to 2004.)

Now the count is so close that both the Clinton and Obama camps asked for a recount before there was even a first count. Anyway, they now are hoping to have a final count by February 15th.

In case you are keeping track, it was New Mexico and Florida in 2000 that couldn't get their counts finalized and New Mexico an Ohio in 2004 that took weeks to announce the winner of that presidential election. It seems we just don't learn from our mistakes.

Losing Hope
9:06am

This story made me cry, literally cry. Who would do such a thing? I just don't understand.

Breaking Bad
9:19am

Brian Cranston, currently in town to film his new show Breaking Bad, has a message for my husband. Click here to see it.

Bring On The Crumbsnatchers!
9:19pm

15

Well DUH! This is Albuquerque!
9:58pm

Remember I mentioned that Extreme Home Makeover was filming here? Well, apparently a pickup full of sensitive and rare equipment associated with the shoot was stolen out of a hotel parking lot. The newscaster this morning reported the story as if it were ghastly and a shock. As far as I'm concerned, the production company was flat out stupid to leave anything valuable outside. Outsiders don't seem to get that this is still the wild west. Albuquerque in many ways seems lawless and just on the fringe of acceptable society. We have a lot of poverty, child abuse, high school dropouts, etc. It seems like there's a murder/suspicious death reported every day. I'm sure our murder rate is not THAT high but I sure have become immune to such news. Instead of a "Oh my God! That's terrible!" reaction, it's more like, "It's just another day in Albuquirky."

Anyway, hearing that the production pickup with all it's irreplaceable gear was stolen made me think, "meh, that's Albuquerque for ya."

Just a Big Jumbled Mess
8:01pm

I declare a moratorium on using music from Carmina Burana in commercials. C'mon guys. Give it a break. Stop taking one of the most wonderful piece of choral music and using it to sell all kinds of crap. I mean, if you were going to sell diamonds with it, I might lift the moratorium for you. And while I'm at it, I declare a moratorium on commercials within commercials. That shit really bugs me.

Men who wear Crocs look ridiculous.

Why didn't someone tell me that Summer Glau was in the new Sarah Connor Chronicles? If someone had, like maybe those responsible for getting people to watch, I would have tuned in to the pilot! Seriously, someone is missing a bet on that one.

Oscar noms are out tomorrow morning. I think it is safe to say that it would be impossible for me not to have seen at least one movie nominated. I think I saw 48 movies in the theater last year and I've seen 4 already this year. The Ex was definitely one of the worst movies I saw last year, which is sad since it had both Jason Bateman and Zack Braff in it. Among the best were The Namesake, Talk to Me, and The Painted Veil, in case you were looking for something to rent.

School starts again tomorrow. I could use another week of vacation but I think I'm ready to go back. I wish we could ease back into it but starting tomorrow it's full speed ahead. In fact, I should be doing stuff for school right now instead of typing this. Wish me luck!

Quote of the Day
3:01pm

"I have always been an overachiever. Not at sports of course, because after all, I am built for comfort, not speed." - from Crazy Aunt Purl's Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat Hair by Laurie Perry

It Had To Happen Sometime
9:49am

My dear crazy old lady cat's health is starting to fail. I took her to the vet's yesterday because she just seems so damn skinny to me. I can feel each vertebrae and her ribs when I pet her. Unfortunately, she really is losing weight. I was hoping it was just my imagination. She's now 7 lbs, which is half the size of Damien. She lost about 4 or 5 ounces since July. The vet says it's her kidneys. I'm to change her diet to try to prolong her life. However, the vet said if she won't eat the new food, then give her whatever she wants. Makes me think of a "last meal" mentality.

We shall see...

It's About Time
8:13pm

A consumer complaint has been filed against Dr. Phil in the state of California regarding his visit with Britney Spears when she was released from lockdown. The complaint includes the fact that Dr. Phil does not have a license to practice in the state of California. In fact, Dr. Phil does not have a license in ANY state. There was a complaint several years ago against him in Texas. Dr. Phil decided not to do what the licensing board asked him to do after the complaint and therefore gave up his license in TX.

The second part of the complaint has to do with Dr. Phil releasing medical information to others without the consent of the patient. I mean, the man released a fricken press release about Britney's condition! Unless you are in the medical field or training to work in the medical field, you may not understand how serious this is. Hospital workers in New Jersey were fired for just telling others that George Clooney was in their hospital after his motorcycle accident, much less telling people his condition. I have to go through annual training regarding patient rights.

I seriously worry about Dr. Phil giving my future profession a bad name. If people think what he does on his show is "therapy" or how psychologists work with clients, then we're all screwed. I would just like to say that not all psychologists just say, "So, how's that working for ya?" Usually, a psychologist will take time to know their clients and really do care. Also, good psychologists know that direct confrontation does NOT work.

It's obvious from the fact that Dr. Phil does not have a license to practice in any state that he has gone from a person who swore to do no harm to a person whose job is to entertain. For me the worst thing Dr. Phil could do is turn someone off from seeking therapy who needs it because of his attitude or on-screen persona.

Random Stuff
8:21pm

Have you seen the MacBook Air? OMG, it is soooo sweet! 3lbs, less than an inch tall. It's been a LONG time since I've been blown away by the looks of a new computer. I am totally lusting like you wouldn't believe. AND it's reasonably priced! *pantpantpant*

Extreme Home Makeover is in town. Today was demolition day. Starting tomorrow tho, if you're in ABQ, you can go down to the fairgrounds to park and there will be shuttle busses to the build site. Here's the story of the family they are building for.

So, I've seen Philip Seymour Hoffman in three movies in the past two months. He is, of course, wonderful in all three movies but what I don't get is that his performance in Before The Devil Knows You're Dead is not getting any nods as far as the awards season is concerned. He's gotten noms for Best Supporting in Charlie Wilson's War and noms for The Savages, in which I though he was understated. Anyway, all three of his movies are worth viewing. I probably enjoyed his performance in Charlie Wilson's War the best. The character is great and he really adds something to every scene he is in.

I got to hold a 10 day old baby yesterday! Newborns truly are miracles. This one was sooo adorable and perfect it ALMOST made me want to have one. Almost.

Jen - 2, Cats - 0
7:34pm

So my big accomplishment of the past week was catching and releasing (alive) 2 mice from the house. It took all of 10 hours to catch and release the two mice. In comparison, my cats have had 4 months to catch just one of the little rodents but chose to sat on their fuzzy butts instead. Bodhi actually did catch one mouse in the house and took it outside but it doesn't count in my book because he bad brought the same mouse IN to the house so he still gets the big goose egg in the "ridding the house of mice" department.

Ahhh, so much fun to be had while on break from school.

Where is Jen?
11:03pm

Yeah, I know. I haven't been blogging. I promise to update soon. Until then, here's a great story for you to read.

What tha...
12:05am

...I think I hear thunder. That storm system from CA must almost be here...

I'm Just Sayin'...
5:08pm

I honestly have not decided who I would vote for in the Democratic primary. However, because Bill Richardson is my governor, I thought I'd just tell you a few things about him.

• He is the only candidate that has been nominated 4 times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
• While Dubya is in office, the North Korean government refuses to talk to anyone in Washington. Bill has both gone to North Korea to broker peace and nuclear deals and hosted the North Korean delegates here in New Mexico.
• He has been the Secretary of Energy and the US Ambassador to the UN.
• He has made cockfighting illegal in New Mexico.
• He was in Darfur a year ago to broker a cease fire.
• He's the only candidate that I found to have a Spanish version of his election web site.
• He wants troops out of Iraq immediately.

Honestly, has any other candidate had the same amount of international experience? He's clearly a man of peace and understand the value of diplomacy. So, you know, you certainly don't need to vote for him, but you might want to give him another look-see.

Another Year
10:58pm

At the end of every year I think, good riddance to a crappy year. next year has to be better. However, since I say this every year, every year must have some crappy parts to it. This year, I'm grateful that the 6 months of mono seems to have passed and I'm done with comps. I don't know what next year has in store but surely, it's better than mono and comps, right?

I hope you all get to spend the New Year's Eve with someone you love.

Hibernation Mode
2:38pm

Yesterday was the first day in which I didn't need to do anything in MONTHS. Ahhhh, finally! Some time off. It's such a relief and will end entirely too soon. In the meantime, my plan is to take lots of naps. Yes, it's a daunting plan, but I think I'm up to the challenge.

BTW, yesterday was Nick and my half-a-quarter-century anniversary! Woohoo!

To Be Continued...
1:57pm

So, I have a lot to blog about but don't seem to have the patience to put everything down at once so I'm just going to add stuff throughout the day. First up are a couple of links I've been saving for you, my faithful (single) reader...

This is a silly geeky link that talks about the mathematics found in Futurama. BTW, Bender's Big Score gets funnier the more you watch it. Have you spotted Cartman's head in a jar at the head museum?

Also Futurama related, since Cartoon Network's contract with the show is over January 1st, Adult swim is all Futurama, all the time, starting December 26th and ending December 30th/31st. So, if you ever wanted to see what the funny is all about, here's your chance.

This is a seriously Democratic liberal link that you really shouldn't even watch if you're pro-Bush, a Republican, and/or conservative. Even I will admit it's a but harsh.

Second up is a complaint about ads on TV. Seriously, does everyone and their pregnant sister have a perfume to push at Christmas time? The Britney commercial makes me want to puke. I also think I lose IQ points every time I see it. And poor Beyonce is a bit overexposed this year. Not in terms of clothing but in terms of the number of items she's flogging. I understand about striking while the iron is hot and all, but I also am tired of seeing her everywhere, which is unfortunate since she actually is a talented young woman. Beyonce, sometimes less is more

Holy Crap, It's Over
6:31pm

The long, drawn out, torturous activity known as the "comprehensive exam" is over. I started the whole process the first week in January and finished today. I am officially a doctoral candidate...without even exaggerating a little, like I have been for the past 3 years. Now I'm totally exhausted and would like to just crawl into bed for about a month.

For my efforts, I got a whole fricken handshake from my committee. Whoopie. From my wonderful husband I got a new iPod Nano...however, my OS is so old on my iBook that it won't let me play with my new toy! Wahhhhh!

Can I just go collapse in the corner and cry now?

It's Still All Over But The Crying
10:07pm

Yeah, uh...for those who are curious or asked, I didn't defend on Tuesday (more details about that later...or not). I'm defending tomorrow at 1pm mountain time. Think good thoughts then please. I need the help.

It's All Over But The Crying
10:26pm

I have to defend my comps tomorrow. I wish I felt better. I'm afraid I'm going to be completely inarticulate tomorrow. Gah, I hate that. The one day a year I need to sound intelligent I usually sound like a blithering idiot. Other than the defense, I got a 4.0 this semester, although I'm pretty sure that's a mistake but who's going to tell?

Well, wish me luck!

And Here It Comes
6:12pm

With classes over, my body has decided it's time to break down. Currently, it has decided that actually digesting food reeks of effort. I can't say I'm surprised but I was hoping for one year in which I didn't get sick at the end of the semester. Unfortunately for me, I have to work tomorrow at the local VA hospital then attend a 2 hour meeting in the afternoon. Hooray for me.

Random Stuff
5:36pm

How do my cats know when it's 8:30am? They wake me up EVERY morning at 8:30am. If I find out that one of your taught them how to read a clock, you're meat!

I turned in my comprehensive exam on Thursday and I defend on the 18th. I don't even care about the defense. I'm just exhausted! I still have one final on Tuesday that I have to get through somehow. I don't know how I'm going to be prepared for it. I just want to lay in bed for about a week.

The good news is that this is the first year since I started grad school that I wasn't sick on my birthday or during Thanksgiving. I have decided it's because I gave up caffeine this past summer. Apparently caffeine exacerbates stress and I think not drinking it really helped me out. I used to drink Diet Mountain Dew in the mornings to get me going. Then drink another to get through class. I'm ont sure what I'm going to do next semester when I have 2.5 hour classes. Anyway, I've decided that caffeine is evil and I'm better off without it.

I've almost finished my Christmas shopping, thanks to Amazon.com. Damn, I love getting everything online while my ass is on my nice comfy couch.

Gimme Your Stuff!
12:44am

So, there's this site called "Gimme Your Stuff" where you offer things from your part of the world in exchange for stuff from other parts of the world and I can't pass it up! I'm willing to send someone:

• Cans of green chilies -- try them on hamburgers, scrambled eggs, even mac & cheese!
• Salsa made here in New Mexico
• Southwestern patterned fabric
• Beads in the shape of Native American fetishes -- I have both bears (in lapis, onyx: see photo below, snowflake obsidian and malachite) and buffalo (snowflake obsidian).

The fetish bear beads will be in the shape of those above.
However you can pick what stone you want.

I can also offer Mexican candy if you're adventurous. All of it has chili in it and usually something sweet and sour...yes, all in the same candy.

I am open for any trades from other nations. I particularly would like Japanese fabric or Cadbury hazelnut Brunch bars (no raisins please!) but again, I'm open to whatever. Whatcha got?

Introduction

Is this an exciting web site or what? What did you expect? Something earth shattering? Sorry, I'm just a simple person, born in Boston. Grew up in Belmont, Massachusetts, graduated from University of Vermont with a BS in Electrical Engineering and a BA in Comparative Religion. I made an attempt at getting a Master's from Goddard College in Vermont but Goddard was a little too weird for me.

I now live in Albuquerque, NM where I am a full-time graduate student, working toward a PhD in Psychology. My husband, Nick, and I have a cozy little house in the foothills of the Sandia mountains where we live with our four cats.

Yes, I drew that sad picture at the top of the page to the left of my name. It's a self-portrait, kinda. It actually looks nothing like me. Needless to say, I am not an artist.

What else do you want to know? Email me and ask.

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