Firing up....

Yesterday afternoon, the company where I work had a BBQ for employees, contractors and their families. It was a fairly good turnout. The two bosses fired up the grill and cooked burgers, hot dogs (that I heard were really good) and veggie burgers. Thanks Christine and Joe! There were several salad options and cookies, too. And prizes! I won a great laptop bag. No, I don't have a laptop, but it's the perfect size for carrying all my sh*t to work without it getting too bulky. The wife and kids got to see where I work (finally) and got an idea of what we do. A few of my buddies were there, but most weren't, so now I have to chew them out next week!

It's new to us!

So we just got a 1995 Kia Sportage. Looks pretty much like the photo above, minus the roofrack and the spare on the back door. We did have to put some money into it to get it back into good running condition, but it definitely has some perks! If you've ready my previous post lamenting the 1994 Jeep (which now has 278,000 miles on it!), you'll understand my relief at driving something with automatic transmission and working A/C. The radio isn't great, but we can replace that. In the meantime, when I get home from work my knee isn't throbbing from sitting on the clutch for two hours, and my clothes aren't soaking wet cuz the temp inside the car is somewhere between 105 and 115. There isn't quite as much storage space in the back of the Sportage as in the back of the Cherokee, but what the heck? We're all still getting used to having to hold the handle up to keep the doors locked when you close them, but automatic windows are great!

Haven't added any bumper sticker to the Kia yet, but that will be coming soon. We just have to decide which ones to put on it!

What a day

In honor of yesterday's mayhem and ersatz "localized Mercury retrograde event", aka New Moon in Scorpio (eek!)



snagged from Star Trek Inspirational Posters

Movie Review

We don't get out much.

I mean, there are lots of movies we want to get out and see in the theater, but the thought of dealing with the crowds, the babies, the teenagers, and the volume of the soundtrack in the theater -- not to mention the price of tickets these days -- we very rarely go out to the movies. That's what Showtime and Netflix are for! Needless to say, there are a lot of movies we really want to see that we don't get to see until well after everyone else has seen them.

Last night, we watched the DVD of one of those movies.

Brokeback Mountain

What an incredible movie. What an incredible story. What an emotional rollercoaster ride. I can't believe no one spoiled the last half hour of the movie for me when they were talking about it! A painfully honest movie about forbidden love between soulmates and the social conventions that keep them apart except for stolen moments over a period of 20 years. An incredible love story that leaves you breathless and wishing things were different.

Kudos to Director Ang Lee and original story author Annie Proulx. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger provided a masterful performance. Thank you.

Everything I Needed to Learn, I learned from Star Trek

Star Trek Inspirational Posters

Political commentary

I am an avid listener of Air America Radio, listening to the high brow-low brow humor of Stephanie Miller every morning, and the incomparable Randi Rhodes in the afternoon. Stephanie makes me laugh, and Randi wakes up my anger - not at her, but at the current state of American politics.

During yesterday's afternoon drive, Randi spent an hour talking with Dennis Kucinich, who ran for the Democratic candidacy for President in 2004. What a brilliant man. I voted for him in the primary, based on his anti-war stance, but I had no idea how deeply his beliefs run. He has obviously read the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and believes in non-violent approaches to conflict resolution. He also speaks of the force of change needing to begin within -- the microcosm will lead to the macrocosm. He is an inspirational speaker. Just listen to some of his speeches on his or Randi's website! We need more people like him in our leadership. We need more people who believe there is another path, one that does not include war or economic hegemony or the curtailing of civil liberties. We need more people who are willing to stand up and speak Truth to power.

Have a look at some of the bills and projects he is working on now.

And please, get out and vote in November! Our lives depend on it.

Changes

I've been getting on other people's cases cuz they haven't blogged for a while. I know they're still alive, because I've seen them and/or spoken with them. Meanwhile, I realized that I hadn't posted anything for over a week now.

We've been trying to organize the place a little, sorting through and getting rid of some things, rearranging, cleaning corners that haven't seen a vacuum in a while. We've also been looking at getting a new computer desk to replace the ugly hand-me-down desk that has become a black hole in the corner. It's all a long-term project, but at least some areas are starting to feel and look a a little better. The project has to be done by the end of October, since we are supposed to get new carpeting in November. Preparing to carpet a furnished apartment isn't much different from packing to move, but this carpet is so old the seams are separating and the edges are fraying.

The oldest child is getting ready to go back up north to college for her senior year. The middle child is getting ready to start his freshman year at a local university. The youngest will be starting her senior year in high school. I just keep shaking my head in disbelief. There were many times over the years when I thought they would NEVER grow up. They have all turned out to be wonderful, independent, creative young adults. Thank you, Goddess. I have been very fortunate.