Frogger Girl

Ooops...I'm Supposed to Write This Blog...Ooops

2008-12-07T12:21:00.002-05:00

So I just realized what a negligent blogger I've been. I have every intention of writing the randomness of my day, but at work I hate to log-on and blog (though I will waste my time with online sudoku and crosswords) and often when I get home I hate looking at a computer since I spent most of my day staring at one for work.

I'm going to try and be better about this (for the very few of you who read this thing) much like I'm trying to be better about writing a journal for my own benefit. This is my year of change and improvement (or so I tell myself)and I'm going to put this blog into an area for improvement.

I want to be a better blogger. For me, that means being a well rounded blogger. Not just blogging about frustration and bad stuff, or too focused on the random. I want to try and be like me, honest but with a fair amount of geek/nerd randomness thrown in.

Here's hoping I will be a better blogger! We'll see how it goes. Fun, fun!

Who Doesn't Love a Random Internet Quiz?

2008-12-07T12:14:00.001-05:00

1 minute, 3 seconds

Created by Bunk Beds.net

Random Political Sighting!

2008-11-02T22:48:00.001-05:00

Yes, yes, I have been a naughty blogger. Too many things good, bad and in between have kept me busy enough that posting has fallen by the wayside, but today I had a geektastic moment! I saw a famous political person out and about, and that really never happens to me.

While walking from my apartment to Georgetown I passed Donald Rumsfeld leaving Church. He looks like he always does and when I heard his voice, that was the clincher. It was just kind of surreal. Of all people, Rummy! At a church none the less. Very random, and no, I did not yell anything or heckle hime. The man had left church, and to be honest I was a little excited to see him.

In my 4ish years of DC area living I have only had 2 sightings of the famous, political or otherwise. One sighting was of Anderson Cooper walking in the DuPont. Yes, I was sure it was him and he was dressed casually just out and about. I did a double take, but there was no doubting who it was. In the time after that sighting, I had a drought.

My friend Princezz O'Phun has had many cool sightings. Chelsea Clinton, McCain and many more. DC is so freaking small, that my drought of seeing the famous/important is a bit odd. That will probably change with work and other outings! I will content myself with my Rummy sighting and hope for more excitement down the line. Fun, fun!

Wow, Time Flies!

2008-09-17T21:15:00.002-04:00

I'd say time flies when your having fun, but not all of the last few weeks was a laugh riot. Nothing terrible, just the usual busy, busy! In the last three weeks I've done the following: Moved, unpacked, started a job and in general squeezed in a life.

My move went shockingly well over Labor Day weekend. My job started with few hitches and only a little first day angst. The last few weeks have been a whirl of Federal Govt forms, admin stuff, lots of reports/information to absorb and joining/attending the Govt. Agency gym. Gotta say, being able to hit the gym over lunch or really whenever I think of it is great!!! It's nice to be employed again, and in a place full of benefits and tolerable work environment.

I still need to get a real grocery store run in, but overall being closer to friends and in the city has been good. Can't promise tons of blogging for a while but we'll see!

Moving On: No More Suburbs Just the Swamp!

2008-09-01T19:37:00.002-04:00

After much preparation and anticipation FroggerGirl has officially moved lily pads from the Swamp Suburbs into the Swamp proper! I absolutely hate to move. So much time, money and resources have to be wasted on packing up and hauling my crap from one place to another. On the plus side everything went swimmingly! Only one minor hiccup involving elevators and some fellow tenants trying to poach my reserved move-out/elevator time, but it was amicably resolved and didn't mess with the process too much. Plenty of help provided by friends and while I'm still exhausted from it all, I am moves and that's what's important.

The move has had a funny side effect. I haven't been able to obsess or stress about my first day of work tomorrow because too much else has been going on. Now with about 12 hours until I report to work it's all starting to set in. I'm not stressed, more excited and a touch freaked out, but it's all the natural and good emotions. I've been to focused on unpacking and organizing all of my life so I feel comfortable in my new space...and it's sort of working. Any move makes me feel a bit disjointed. A new building to get used too with different neighbors (one of which is the fantabulous Princezz O'Phun!) and news things to remember. Twice this weekend I had to remind myself I live in the Swamp and switching my route back to my new digs, not the old place in the 'burbs.

So before my total exhaustion sets in I have a few more papers to look over, fill in and in general get myself centered for the big day tomorrow. The lily pad is almost gilded to my satisfaction, so I'm sure before long this will feel like home, which will be very grand indeed!

Rock on Hillary!

2008-08-26T23:38:00.002-04:00

Dude, Hillary....Holy Crap! Good work! I'm not easily moved by Politicians and speeches. Michelle Obama's speech at DNC '08 last night was very good, but Hillary tonight was magic. She hit all the right points and I actually cried...at a speech...by a politician. That kids, does not happen! My friend Politichica is in Denver and texted to tell me she was there in the auditorium and for once I am very jealous that she got to be there in person. Hard to tell what the overall impact of her speech will be with angry Hillary Supporting Dems, but she certainly gave a pretty sweet speech. Now I need to turn off the pundits before the dissect the speech to the point where it looses all meaning.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation!

2008-08-26T23:09:00.002-04:00

In honor of school starting here in MD I figure the old stand-by start of school theme was appropriate. I took a weeks vacation to visit home to see family and relax a bit before all of my move into DC, new job and general life craziness kicked in. It was busy, but a nice way to wind down after weeks that had a mixture of anxiety, sickness, happiness and all the other emotions transition creates. So with no further rambling ado:

1.) I ran the 2 mile portion of a charity walk run AND came in 2nd for my age group! Hopefully next year if I'm home at the right time I may be in good enough shape to run the 5 mile race, but the 2 mile length was just perfect this summer! I even averaged the 10 min miles that had eluded me on my other training runs. Very fun!

2.) Attended the 26th annual Thresheree (think antique farm equipment, small town fair vibe) and went to the horse pull. I've been going to the Thresheree with my parents since they discovered it and the horse pull is the highlight. Gorgeous Belgian draft horses pulling weighted sleds. Now, this is not something that holds my attention the whole time, but it is fun to observe. I also got to see the Door County local color, eat some good food and got a sunburn...I could have lived without the sunburn.

3.) Got to spend lots of quality time with my family, especially my ever growing niece and nephew. My nephew at 12 is becoming a gigantaur having attained 5'9" and still growing, which gives him 3 inches on Auntie Froggergirl. Along with Mom (Grandma to the young'uns) Frogger we got to have ice cream, see a movie, visit Bay Beach (I even braved motion sickness to ride the Scat) and in general got some good quality time. I also got to see Sister Flickey (their Mom) and my Grandma Frogger who at almost 98 is still kicking and living in her home like the tiny dynamo she always has been.

4.) I got to eat all of my favorite things (and fear not, I kept up my running to counter act the high calorie goodness) like ice cream, the good stuff you only get in WI, which I ate a few times twice in a day. Most critical good food: Cheese Curds! I swear that is the hardest thing about living here in the Swamp, no cheese curds, no squeaky goodness when fresh, no cheese goo when fried. I could happily go my whole life never eating a crab again (the Mid-Atlantic fixture) but the thought of no cheese curds ever again would make me cry!

There were other sundries of fun while I was home, but I hit the big stuff. It was a wonderful time, and while I was home my official Govt Agency job offer came through. I could share that happiness with family and it felt great! Now I get to re-shift, finish packing/moving and all that other good stuff!

Chronicle of the Underinsured

2008-08-11T20:16:00.002-04:00

I have lamented this before, but until my new job starts I am among the millions of under-insured Americans. When I lost my job the whole $275+ a month to keep my insurance under COBRA seemed so insane and I'd had almost a full year of great health, so I went another route. I knew Government Agency job was lining up, so I decided on a mid-grade deductible on a short term policy, not cheap, but affordable. Now, that $250 a month seems like such a good idea. Doctor visits covered and prescription plan, that just seems like bliss to me!

In the last 2 1/2 weeks I have had to go to the Doctor twice and both times resulted in prescriptions, because I am a lucky, lucky adult who gets ear infections. I have never had a sinus infection, UTI...heck most of the normal adult health gripes I have avoided, yet I get an ailment that little kids get. Seriously, I'm almost 30 and I get ear infections? Urgh!

Two weeks ago I went to the Doctor and once she confirmed the oh so fun diagnosis of infected ears, we went to the next phase: prescriptions! Thanks to overuse of Amoxicillin in my youth, it now does nothing for me. This fact I have told my Doc almost every time antibiotics come up for discussion. What is the most common treatment for ear infections? Amoxicillin. So this time I reminder her, "Do you remember my bronchitis that turned into an ear infection and how useless Amoxicillin was?" She did and so she prescribed Augmentin, whose primary ingredient I come to find out is....Amoxicillin. Now I like my Doc, she is normally so good and cautious with antibiotics (which I totally appreciate) so I figure she prescribed it for a reason, yet I knew within 3 days of finishing the course of drugs that something was still not right.

Cut to today. I'm stuck at this useless mandatory training so I can keep my unemployment, I'm in pain and when I call the Doc's office I find out she is out. "Never fear" I'm told, her partner can see me. Now, Doc 2 is qualified, but he is very difficult to understand. His accent is very thick and he is much slower in the exam than my Doc. There was also the fun moment when he jabbed the lovely ear looking devise so far in my ear I shouted out from pain and pulled back. He attributed this to my ear infection, I attributed it with his trying to pierce my eardrum on the stupid ear looker! Not cool!

Now I have the very expensive, but very effective antibiotics, that cost twice as much as the last one (thank you no prescription coverage!) and now for the first time ever, Ear Drops! I fly home to WI for a quick visit this weekend and I knew if I didn't fix this ear thing I would be a screaming mess on the plane....and there is also that whole ear infections can lead to hearing loss thing. I shall happily take my antibiotics and put drops (ewwww....the worst feeling ever) in my ears all in an effort to fix the issue. Now comes the effort to stay healthy until job starts, insurance gets upgraded and I can confidently get meds and care without feeling worse with fear about the bill! Fun, fun!!

Olympic Crossroads

2008-08-08T01:33:00.003-04:00

I love the Olympics, every 4 (now really 2) years there was the big international spectacle of global unity mixed with competition to watch and enjoy. Always some inspiring story and great feat of physical achievement to view and remember. A event meant to bring hope and peace into an often tense and dangerous world.

I realized last night that 4 years ago when the Athens Summer Games opening ceremonies were on TV, I was busy assembling IKEA furniture in my new apartment. I had just made the big move after Grad School down to the burbs of DC. I was about to start a new job, freaking out after the whole move process as I tried to get organized and adjusted... In general it felt like a major crossroads in my life. I didn't feel confident in myself, I hated the idea of my new job, but wanted to pay the bills and the crossroads made me very uneasy. However, the path I was treading wasn't all bad, just not as direct or clear as I would have liked. Lots of opportunities came and went and adventures were had, but it was so very strange. Now, 4 years later, it's a bit of history repeating itself.

The Olympics will start this evening and before they are over my life will have changed again. After a few months of crazy and the last four years spent trying to be an adult and building towards the better job and life choices, things are finally falling into place. Before the end of the month I will be moving again, this time into DC to be closer to friends and more connected to life, work and in general a better place for me right now. I'm in the final stages of being employed again, this time in a job that fits my interests and education, a first since moving to DC. I'm 29 and it feels like I'm finally entering adulthood. This time my crossroads doesn't seem so scary and awful. No matter what I'm heading in a better direction. I've learned and grown in the last few years and I finally feel like my life is getting itself ordered and on the right track. My confidence is back and after weathering this phase of upheaval and unemployment, I feel stronger and better than I have in years. Physically, I'm better and making my health and physique a priority so that I can build the long life full of vitality and strength that I want for myself. 30 will be here before I know it, and even that doesn't scare me because it's a number I can't avoid and it will be wonderful too, so long as I make it that way!

Tomorrow I will watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and do it with a smile. It's a nice bookend, the Olympics were a backdrop when I first started my DC adventure and now they will mark the next phase of the journey. This phase will be even more exciting than the last. Even with a world full of uncertainty I feel hopeful. There may be war and pain in the world, but there is also peace and unity, so I'll focus on those happier ideals as the fuel for the hope I need to keep moving forward. So hope, don't fail me now because there is still a lot to do and I need you more than ever!

Favre: No, you do not get a do over!

2008-08-03T21:38:00.003-04:00

Ummm, Brett Favre all I can say to you is, "What the hell?" Dude you retired! Don't you remember? The tearful press conference, the goodbye to Green Bay? You actually made grown men (and of course women) of WI and all other Packer lovers cry for you! They were happy to see you go so that you can retire and our team can move on. Don't you remember? Your old, have some lingering injuries, and despite your boffo performance last year, you are often a hit or miss guy. So you retired of your own free will, and now you want a do over? Really? I mean, your a good guy, and you'd probably get a street in Green Bay named after you if you stayed retired, but come on!

I'm not the biggest football fan ever, but I love and will forever be a fan of the Packers. Mama and Papa Frogger gifting the Frogger Kids with Packer Stock back when Lambeau was being improved and while my stock is symbolic at best, it still makes me linked to the team and it's a nice feeling. Favre, you are making me feel not so nice. You had your time in the sun, and it was great! Now, you just seem like a spoilsport who dragged your team and fans through the wringer for nothing. I mean geez!

I kind of wish I knew some good sports cliches to wrap this up...so in stead I shall give a virtual raspberry to Brett. :-p "Pthppppppppppppppp!!!!" I know, I'm super mature. ;-)

Back on Track? Geting there....I think...

2008-08-03T21:15:00.003-04:00

I've had a kind of nutty week (and some change) since my last post. I fell like I'm switching to the right track after a month of upheaval, and that is a nice feeling, but also a bit odd.

Last Thursday I made a bit of an ass of myself after being given not quite official notice that I (probably) got my Government job. When my friend Defence Guru passed on the good word I started to jump around like a total idiot on the sidewalks of Mt. Pleasant, getting me more than a few looks that clearly said, "What the hell is she doing?". All I can say in my defense is, I have been watching a lot of The Price is Right and finding out job news was kind of like winning the always popular new car. The only down side to all of this was is I still have to wait for my official notice and it is just killing me! I want to be able to take a jump back to the old Wisconsin Lillypad for a visit before I start working and the sooner my notice comes the better. I haven't seen any Frogger Family in 6 months so a quick visit before the rest of my month goes crazy would be nice.

Adding to my nuttiness is that after my looking at places in DC and starting to feel a bit overwhelmed, I had success. In fact, in less than 24 hours I applied to a new apartment, was approved, gave my notice on my current place, booked the truck to move (over Labor Day Weekend, blah!) and sent out the call for moving help. The building is great, my dear friend the Princezz O'Phun lives there and it will be very convenient for work, friends and DC city life. Again, there is the downside of having to pack/move. I really hate the moving process, but after 4 years of living in the burbs it's time to make the change. This weekend I already made some progress in the organizing/purging process and I have plenty of time to pack and prep for the move.

In general this feels like a very strange, but good time. I've been a bit better at creating structure and feeling productive. Today I restarted Week 6 of my running program (again) and it felt so good to be back running. I hit Whole Foods for a tasty salad and picked up yummy desert too as a reward for my hard work lately. I've lost over 15 lbs since June and I feel great! Despite all of the craziness, things are coming together the way they are supposed to. It makes me feel like the Little Engine That Could getting over the hill and starting the next phase of my journey ready adn willing to face what's coming and knowing things will work out, someway or another!

Structure: My Missing Link?

2008-07-22T22:14:00.004-04:00

So in the last few weeks the one thing that has been really bugging me is my lack of structure. Freedom is fun and all, but it has it's place, like on vacation or if you ever get truly financially independent. For my personality, I do like some level of routine and responsibility and that is sorely lacking these days. Structure and routine are with us our whole lives. When you are young structure comes from parents and of course school with extracurriculars. As you get older work sets the structure because it takes up the majority of your weekly time, friends and family fill the gaps.

Well, my no work has led progressively to less and less structure. Today I realized that has been factor in any funks I've been having. Last week really messed things up with being sick, interview stress and of course Mr. Man's situation. The sick part made me tired, cranky and threw off my morning run routine. All the other stress and busyness just compounded my structureless mess!

Today I've made a resolution of sorts: Get control of the day! No more oversleeping and getting hypnotized by daytime TV. I was able to restart week 6 of running with no ill effects, which is the cornerstone of routine re-establishment plan. Since job search is still part of my day I will do that early, and then by God I'm going to start using my time better. There will be visits to museums and parks. DC summer is pretty wicked unpleasant, but my building has a pool, so I should utilize it. There are still movies to see and books to read. Really plenty of things are out there for me to enjoy and to help structure my day more.

Getting control of the day will be a challenge, but it has to happen. If I'm going to be out of work I might as well enjoy some of this time. Sometime in the next few weeks I will get a job offer and then work will be back to help enforce structure. In the mean time I need to be a wee bit more motivated to set my own structure. Better to enjoy my time than be be annoyed by it!

Midwestern Crisis Response Team Activate!

2008-07-19T11:35:00.006-04:00

So the last week has been more than a bit nutty. Good and bad blurred together and it's been a lot for me to process. One of the funnier things to come out of this whole experience was the reaffirmation that being from the Midwest gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when I see how my fellow WI kids all pulled together to help our friend, and more importantly, the way in which we are driven to help.

Upon sharing the news of Mr. Man's attack and hospitalization with PolitiChica we realized we had a similar response mechanism. What should we do? The answer: Cook. PolitiChica was ready to break out the casserole and hotdish makings and I was ready to start baking a cake. Why? Because that is what you do to help those in pain. You feed them and care for them so they can focus on what is important. That can be grief around a funeral, healing after an accident, whatever the situation calls for. Mr. Man's broken jaw and the upheaval around where his family was staying made feeding the problem a bit tricky, but the sentiment was what counted. We wanted to help ease the pain and offer comfort, mind you in the form of food, but that is just what we were raised to do.

The practical aspects of our Midwestern minds came out too. I have this thing about flowers, I hate to give them. They are often expensive and, well, they die. The only time I will gladly give flowers or donate towards them is for a funeral. For some reason in that circumstance of death and remembrance flowers seem right, but otherwise I'm not a big fan. With this whole Mr. Man situation I didn't want to give flowers. He couldn't really have them in his room, and, well, they die! Mr. Man was upset because he thought his watch was stolen. Practical, happy, something useful...so PolitiChica and I got a watch. Mr. Man was thrilled and it was a nice feeling. Another WI friend was trying to think of a gift for Mr. Man and also wanted to avoid flowers. He is also focusing on the practical and kind categories for gifts. We want to give something, but usefulness is our guiding light.

The Midwestern Crisis Response Team (MCRT for short) has now moved onto what we can do for our friend once he is released from the hospital. His jaw is wired shut for the next 4-8 weeks, so that means all sustenance will come through a straw. Yum, yum, fun, fun, liquid diet! That means, our goal is to switch back to feeding the situation so he can focus on healing. Soup recipes that can be blended are being searched out, ideas for nutrient additives to help Mr. Man (who is very tiny already) keep on some weight and get healing nutrition are being researched. In short we are in full care giving mode. No MCRT member wants to smother Mr. Man, but we are ready and willing to do what has to be done and that makes my heart feel lighter than it has in a while.

It also gives me comfort to know that even though I am far away from my home base and family, the MCRT will be there for me too. This post is not a slam on any other region of the US. I know warm fuzzy folks on the East and West coasts and Southern Hospitality is legendary. However, to me, the Midwestern ethos is very special and unique and I wouldn't switch my upbringing or my Midwestern people for anything!

The Bitter and The Sweet

2008-07-18T13:52:00.004-04:00

It's fascinating how the Universe seems to work. For all things good there are things bad and the equilibrium of it all sometimes makes no sense. My day yesterday had both sweet and bitter and I still can't quite sort through it all.

Yesterday was my big day, the interview I have been waiting and hoping for since March was finally going to happen. I have been sick all week, so I was stressed that I would look and sound awful, completely blank on a question, and a million other pre-interview worries. By 10:30 a.m. that was all wiped from my mind and a big dose of perspective replaced all the worries and fears.

I received an email via Facebook that changes everything. A roommate of my dear friend Mr. Man could only think of one way to get a hold of me to tell me some terrible news and that was Facebook. So in a Friend Request was one of the worst things I could have imagined: Mr. Man has been attacked and robbed Wednesday night and he was in the hospital, his long term prognosis was good, but he was in a bad way. Not many details, just he was robbed, possibly targeted for being gay, but who knows? Could have been bored thugs bent of bullying and beating. There was shock and the immediate need to pass along the message to others who know and love Mr. Man. Then a weird sense of calm. What did I have to worry about? An interview is daunting, but at least I'm safe and healthy enough to live my life and have the interview. I decided then and there my interview would be fine, but Mr. Man may not be fine, so all prayers and calls for help needed to go to him, not me.

I went to my interview, and I know this will sound immodest, but I rocked it! At the end of my interview on of my panelists even told me, "You did good!" which made me feel great. After the fact my friend Defense Guru followed up with some of his contacts and gave me the best feedback of all: The interviewers had said I was a definite hire. Mind you, I still have to wait and see if this all comes together, but it felt so good to know I had done well, and that this long hoped for opportunity may actually happen. Mama Frogger was so proud of me when I called to update her that it almost made me cry. I could tell she was just happy for me and the opportunity I may well get after a few weeks of uncertainty and fear. Friends were nothing but supportive and I was really happy...until I wasn't. The sheer happiness was dampened because it was mixed with worry about Mr. Man.

I know I have every right to be thrilled and jump for joy, but at the same time one of my closest friends is in a bad way and it's hard to feel both the worry and the happy at the same time. This strange bittersweet will be with me for a while. Mr. Man would have been one of the first I told my my interview success, but I can't right now. I want to visit him, but I worry about my germs, his family needing the time with him and everything else. To see he is as OK as he can be will help, so a visit will happen very soon.

I understand and in a strange way can accept that bad things happen to good people. So much in our lives is out of our control. I take comfort in the fact that Mr. Man has loving family and friends to support him. I have to believe that even the worst of things can make us stronger in the long run if we let them. So I will learn from the bittersweet that the good and the bad often come together. Yet, in my heart of hearts, I wish I didn't have to learn this lesson at all, but I can't change the past or the lesson, so I learn.

The Reading Rainbow

2008-07-17T09:27:00.003-04:00

I discovered something very fun to me. Reading Rainbow, one of my favorite PBS programs when I was a kid, is still on the air. The PBS station I watch the most (I get 3 of them on my bunny ears) shows Reading Rainbow after Sesame Street. I loved this show when I was a kid. They still use some of the super cheesy 80's clips (like LaVar Burton getting a wax model of himself made) and some books they profiled when I was a kid are still shown, but newer books are profiled too. I actually remember how psyched I got when I was given a Reading Rainbow book (it even had the sticker on the corner) as a birthday gift. A show all about reading hosted by Geordi La Forge, what is better? I mean seriously, Reading Rainbow kind of defines a bit part of my life because it focuses on a love a books and the way they can open minds to new things.

Reading was/is one of those critical values my parents instilled in their Frogger Kids and we in turn are drilling into the next generation. My parents never really censored what we read because they could appreciate we had different tastes and we weren't reading anything too nasty. Mama Frogger let me read all the V.C. Andrews' books and no one got overly concerned when I went through a lit phase filled with Stephen King and Anne Rice. My Sister-in-Law once admitted that on her first visit to meet our family, we freaked her out. All the Froggers in one room and all of us happily reading, she had never seen such a thing in her own family and it threw her. No one was angry or avoiding talk, we just decided it was a good time to relax and read and we all had good books we were enjoying. Didn't seem wierd to us.

In this state unemployment I have turned into Cookie Monster's cousin, Reading Monster. I have finished more books in the last 3 weeks than I have in about 3 months. I just finished When You are Engulfed in Flames last night, and I only started it two days ago. Now I need to find another book to fill my time. I figure better to devour books than watch scary daytime TV like soaps, or worse, the hypnotizing traffic wreck that is Maury Povich and his daily Who's the Father episode of his talk show. Shudder. After my interview today I am totally getting a new book to read. I'll need something to keep my mind occupied while I stress about if I got the job. Maybe another classic, or a different genre...God, I love reading!

Hello, My Name is Sniffleupagus

2008-07-14T17:33:00.004-04:00

I have a case of the sniffles, and yes, sniffles is a medical term in my world. It;s the awful congestion, post-nasal drip sore throat ick. Nothing so wrong, no fever or anything, just a snuffy, sniffy head. I think I sound and feel a bit like Snuffleupagus. My voice is a bit off and congested and I feel all big and lumbering, however much like Snuffy, I'm still a sweetheart.

I did somehow manage to run today. I used the Neti and that combined with some over the counter drug help made me feel almost ok for a few hours. So while I still felt ok, I did Day 1, Week 6 of my running plan. During and after my run I felt ok, but of course then the snuffy head came back with a vengeance. So my afternoon, while productive, was a bit more uncomfortable. I tried on my interview suits and applied for some jobs, so all in all my sniffles haven't held me back too much. Now it's time for tea, Dr. Who and some more reading...and hopefully a clearing of the head.

Weekend Round-up:Fun Fun

2008-07-14T17:15:00.003-04:00

I had an unusually active and friend filled weekend, so I figured Id hit the high points in on post.

Friday
Pretty much chill. Stayed in, watched some TV (PBS was replaying Masterpiece Theatre, I know, I'm a dork!) and then came lots of reading before I went to sleep. Honestly over this weekend I got over half of Lady Chatterley's Lover read.

Saturday
Started early, got up before 8 to have time to relax a little, listen to NPR and start prepping for my day of Movie Madness. I met-up with my friends Jack and Jill, a great married couple who love movies as much as I do, and we made our own double feature. We went to the 11 am Wall-E (seriously nothing is better than a morning movie) had a break for a snack and a few drinks, then back for Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D. Oh, so much fun!

Morning movies are my new favorite because you can see a movie and have lunch and still have most of your day open for other fun, or for more movies. Wall-E was fantastic, seriously Pixar's best movie and just so well done. The only downfall was one group of Mom's who teamed up to bring their kids...and then did nothing to shut them up when they started talking. Journey 3-D was just good cheesy fun. I hadn't seen a 3-D movie since one of the Imax nature films at the Smithsonian. If this movie hasn't been in 3-D is would not have been worth watching, but the 3-D just added the cheap thrills and cheesy effects that made it engaging. A few moments where focusing was hard, but overall it was just silly fun.

As often happens when I hang out with Jack and Jill our outings turn into day long hang-out sessions. Inevitably we head out for more food, drinks, or occasionally an afternoon of games. Saturday was a stop at Trader Joe's to pick up snacks and then back to Jack and Jill home base to eat, chat and play XBox. I learned I suck at Halo, but am better at a few other games. I think I'm too used to the Wii controller...but I digress.

The only down side was I was so tired at the end of the day (combine drinks and early start with my ever increasing age) that I had to miss another outing with friends. I had to miss an outing organized by Princezz to see our friend VeganAvenger, and I had to be all old and lame...sigh. Oh well, it was still a good day.

Sunday
Sunday was BooKlub. A very small turnout, Jack and Jill were there and my friend PolitiChica, everyone else had last minute plans or were tired from VeganAvenger night. As per the usual, not a ton of book talk, but lots of chat and good food. Lasted a few hours and then it was back home to read and relax. By evening a case of the sniffles had settled in. I have had a remarkable streak of good health, so this apparently mild case of sniffles won't be that awful, but it is annoying.

Overall, I had a damn fine weekend filled with generous friends, good movies and lots of activity. Hopefully next weekend will be a just a nice!

Am I the Walrus? No, I am the Tortoise…Coo Coo Ca Choo

2008-07-11T12:17:00.002-04:00

And no, I am not the Eggman, just the Tortoise of Aesop’s fables. I am slow and steady and if I don’t win the race I sure as sugar finish it! Today was Day 3 of Week 5 in the 9 week Couch to 5K series. This was a tough one and even though a few times I wanted to stop I hung in there and made it through. The reason today was so hard is twofold.

1.) This was the longest run time to date, 20 minutes non-stop and I haven’t done that in over a year making it seem very daunting.
2.) My head and body were not in sync, meaning a few times a slight side ache or other diversion almost made me stop. My body just felt slower/heavier than it did on Wednesday like it wasn’t quite awake. I think my head got so caught-up in the longer time it started to bog me down in the first half of the run, but I got over it.

A few times my mind wandered and I realized a speed walker might lap me, so I had to speed up. The first 5 minutes were fine, but then a slight side ache crept in (Princezz, you are not alone) and I had to focus on breathing and ignoring the pain (which was mild and annoying) to keep going. I also had to face my own Heartbreak Hill of course my Heartbreak Hill is not very long or very steep, but it came at about the 12 minute point when my legs practically screamed at me “What the Hell are you doing? We don’t like you right now! Stop running uphill, we mean it!” Yet up the hill I went and the later little dips and rises were much easier to take after I got up the more challenging slope.

I kept telling myself to keep going, distracted myself a few times with nature (a few pretty cardinals and suddenly appearing squirrel), occasionally reminded my legs to pick up the pace, and before I knew it I was done. Whew! It was tough, but I feel like it was a good challenge and next weeks even longer runs will hopefully be better now that I have made it over this hurdle. So now it’s time for the Tortoise to get on with her day. There is work to be searched for, interviews to prep for, and of course plenty of horribly daytime TV to amuse me if I am so inclined…but hopefully I can resist that until the work part is done. So onward and upward I shall plod on!

The Wheels on the Bus

2008-07-10T10:59:00.002-04:00

OK, so in an attempt to save gas/mileage and in general be a good citizen I have been on the DC Metro/MetroBus system a lot more lately. I never have much issue with the Metro (by that I mean the actual train/subway) because it's usually on time, I can deal with crowds around rush hour and the stations are clearly mapped out.

The MetroBus system is a bit more of an adventure. It's really hard to get a clear map of a bus's route. You have to hope you have one of the buses that announces intersections or a sense of a neighborhood to know where you are sometimes. Now that it's summer one word describes all of my MetroBus experiences: Hot! I realize AC hurts the mileage, environment and gas prices are high, but when it's past 90 degrees and no one can open the windows, well that is just cruel! No air flow in a large metal can pressed against other humans is just not a helpful way to commute. The bus driver gets a nice big open window to help with the heat, but those of us in the back get the deafening noise of the bus rattling and no open windows. Oh well, public transport never promised to be perfect.

Case in point: my adventures on the bus to the garage where my car was getting a check-up. The garage is in Kensington (a town pretty close to home base) and there are a number of buses I can take to get back home after the drop off. I took RideOn Bus 5 back to home base. It's a very clear-cut route, I'd been on it before and I was riding it to the terminus of Silver Spring Station. It was a pretty smooth (hot) ride overall. My ride back to pick-up my car the next day was more of an adventure. I got RideOn Bus 4 and dear me was it a mystery. The route was even longer, more winding (the bus driver was awful lots of jerky stops and starts) and the ride actually involved me getting an ID check. The bus cuts through one of the Walter Reed outposts and apparently we had to prove we belonged on the bus to the security guard. The funniest part was that one stop before the stop I needed the bus driver just pulled over by a park and turned off the bus. She didn't even bother to tell me what was going on, just sat in silence. Not a huge deal, I was close enough to my final destination, but it was still weird. I then saw the driver just walking around in the park. I'm guessing it was her break, but that was still odd, I mean a passenger was still on the bus and nothing in the schedule said, "10 minute stop for bus driver to take a stroll".

I'll keep using the Metro System, bus lines included, for the rest of my time here in DC. Like with everything else in life there are good parts and bad parts to the system. I'm sure the more I use the buses the easier it will be to figure the out. In the meantime I shall think cool thoughts when I'm pressed in a bus or Metro car with no AC.

Bright and Shiney Day!

2008-07-09T13:22:00.002-04:00

Today did not really start out as a promising day. I was feeling kind of gross, tired, not motivated to pop-up and run like I planned. Overall a slower start to the day than was intended, but in some ways fate meant for me to start slower today. Fate/God/Universe...whatever it may be...meant for me to still be home at 8:05 prepping for my run.

Why do I think this way? Because at 8:05 I got a phone call that just transformed my day. A certain Government Office, that I applied to many moons ago, and who over the last few weeks of stress and fear have been teasing me with their presence and possible employment, finally called. I got THE call I have been waiting on for over a week. The call to schedule an interview. Whew! I had been in such a high state of fear/concern the past few days and this call just gave me perspective. The Govt caller was very nice and said the best thing ever. Govt Office is VERY interested in people who can start "right away", and what better defines my life right now than that?

Nothing is certain, but this feels very right indeed. I'll still keep up my searches for jobs as a back-up, and I try to tell myself to settle down a little, but it's hard to do. Last week I tried on my suits, and since I have dropped close to 15 lbs in the last month an a half they fit better than ever and look great. I'm getting my haircut tomorrow to keep the style looking polished for the interview, and interview prep will start ASAP. Need to make sure I'm fully prepared to Wow the interview panel.

I'll still be on high alert until after my interview next week and the time it takes them to decide if I get an offer. Nothing is a guarantee, but I keep on smiling and feeling that my Pollyanna thoughts were right, things really do happen for a reason.

What is in a name? All sorts of stuff!

2008-07-08T15:01:00.004-04:00

So I was giving into my love of entertainment gossip yesterday by clicking on CNN and People.Com and what was one of the headlines: Nicole Kidman had her baby. Awww cute. Then I saw what they named their sweet little bundle of baby: Sunday Rose. Sunday, but she was born on a Monday...so Sunday? Really? Mmmhmm and no one is going to pick on this kid for being named after a day of the week? Just like I'm sure Gwyneth's little Apple will never have variations of taunts with "sauce, cart, sour" or heck anything else my perverse little mind is thinking up right now. I mean if you looked through the names celebrities have dropped on their children, (Banjo, Pilot Inspektor, Kal-El) well Sunday is pretty mild by comparison.

Granted, parents have to pick a name that is special to them for their child. There are traditional names you couldn't pay me to name my child. No offense to any who have these names, but there are already tons of Sara, Jennifer, Emma babies, and it's never fun to have too many kids with the same name in the same class. I also realize all names run the risk of teasing. FroggerGirl's real name is also the name of a doll that performs a specific bodily function, which made for all sorts of fun in the childhood teasing/name calling department. It made me stronger in some ways, but it really made me hate that freaking doll. I can't fault my parents, they gave me a good name, not their fault the Toy Gods messed it up.

The other reason weird names are on my mind, beyond the strange need celebrities have to make the offspring media targets/butt of jokes, was because I was up too late on Sunday and gave into one of my guilty pleasure. Watching Jack Van Impe Presents for fun. I don't watch it because I believe a damn word he says or prophecies. Hell, I watch it because I don't believe a damn word he says. I watch it for his weird, blond, skeleton skinny, super face lifted, kind of dumb sounding wife, Rexella. Oh yes, her name is Rexella, Rexella Van Impe. Is there a better name than that for sheer giggles. It also helps that she sounds like a bubble head on Valium. I hear Rexella and I automatically think of Barbarella, or some other intergalactic space hooker.

OK, sometimes even I have to make fun of a name. I guess it's not her fault Rexella sounds like a Star Trek name. Just like it's not Sunday's fault her Mom and Dad have a twisted name plan. As Juliet said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet."

Run FroggerGirl, Run....

2008-07-03T14:44:00.003-04:00

Despite all the stress and everything else going on I absolutely refuse to loose the hard fought and won ground of physical and health improvement. So this morning, despite feeling a wee bit icky and unmotivated, I made myself get up and out for yet another round of Couch to 5K running fun. Week Four is of course a challenge. More running, less down time, and it leads up to the larger milestones ahead. I ran on Tuesday, inside, where AC and the treadmill make the whole running experience easier and a bit more comfortable. Today I went back outside to get back on track for all my goals.

Outside it was warmer, borderline hot, but thankfully it was still early enough in the day that true heat had not yet settled over DC and humidity was low...which will really not last at all! Instead of my usual bright and early, it was more like bright and mid-morning, but I was still proud to be up and out instead of feeling like I did yesterday.

I'm very pleased with the trail by my apartment. The route I've been taking lately is mostly shaded and cool. Despite a pretty steady stream of cars that pass though the area, the paths are peaceful. My Podcast provides music and verbal encouragement when I run, but I keep the volume low to allow some of the quiet to surround me despite the sounds.

The funniest thing about my run is that for the the final run, the Podcast is set to this kind of innocuous rock inspired song, but every time I hear it the words "More Cowbell" pop into my head. The main percussion of the song is an unfailing regular and surprisingly loud cowbell. I think it's supposed to help my pace and feel upbeat, but all I can hear is the cowbell and pictures of the SNL sketch flash in my head. At least that little giggle helps raise the spirits!

The Power of Positive Thinking

2008-07-01T19:14:00.002-04:00

Well, it appears the day is not so dark as I had thought! Good things do happen. After the fear and everything else, comes better news. The ever hoped for Government job, applied to many, many months ago, has finally had some progress. After much waiting and vague confirmation emails, finally a message of hope...they want to schedule an interview. While there are no guarantees, the slow hire process will continue at least there is a major ray of hope in the process. I will continue to apply myself to all avenues I can, but the hopeful feeling was very nice indeed!

the ugly, The Bad and THE GOOD!!!

2008-07-01T12:54:00.005-04:00

OK, reverse order, because I find that it's better to address the less pleasant things first to make the good shine brighter. So here it goes.

the ugly

FroggerGirl for the first time in her life, not at her own choosing or because of school, is without gainful employ for a (hopefully) brief period of time.

The Bad

I have discovered that loosing a job triggers a feeling a of grief and panic I hope to never feel again, or at least not have to feel for a long time.
FroggerGirl had to back out of the Mexico Wedding she was supposed to be a Bridesmaid for. That truly hurts my heart because I had to disappoint a dear friend at a time that should be nothing but sunshine and lollipops for her as she sets up her new life.
There are still some lingering feelings of doubt and fear clouding my mind, but since barely 24hrs have passed since the great ax fell, well it's to be expected.

THE GOOD

I have the unshakable love and support of my family, the Frogger Ma and Pa quickly closed ranks to offer support and ideas to help ease their little Frog's mind, and like much of life, Ma and Pa can make things better with a word.
An outpouring of support by friends, both far and near, offering ideas, leads for jobs and in general the go-get-em-tiger, you will kick-butt kind of pep talks and thinking that help to raise even the lowest of feelings.
I am ( and I realize this is immodest/egotistical, but to hell with it) wicked smart and in my life have worked in enough random places and had enough education that even if it's stocking books at Border's I will find a job.
An organization of Government affiliation has passed my job application (made many months ago) through to the interview phase...so maybe they will finally call (I totally feel like a High School girl waiting for her crush to call her on the phone) and grant me a face to face to show them how awesome I am.
This morning, even though my spirits were still a bit damp I got up and started a productive day. I won't let this deter me from my running plan (which went very well this morning, possibly because I was working off some stress) or lead to too great a depression of mood, to use what some may call a cliche, "This too shall pass."

Overall the GOOD outweighs the Bad and the ugly. I am not so trite or calm as to think this process is going to be easy or without down moments, but I have to focus on positive things.

Frogger Pa said it best, "This is one of those character builders you don't really want, but that happen anyway and help you in the long haul." So, back to the grindstone I must go, to press my nose against it, and hopefully end up with more than a ground-down nose!

FroggerGirl's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day....

2008-06-30T17:33:00.003-04:00

Have you ever had a day that starts with a bad feeling? Inauspicious signs seem to be there? That would be my day today. I had a call from a friend that kept me up late, and thus made me decide to sleep instead of run this morning, but in resetting my alarm, I screwed up and overslept. My morning was rushed, traffic seemed against me and now that I think about it wheels were in motion for the bad that was to come.

I got to work and it was eerily quiet. Things have been slow, so this was not totally a surprise, but my co-worker (daughter of the boss) was kind of weird with me. My Boss was not very engaged, but I assumed our slow business had her down more than usual. Then came the bomb, and try though she might to set it down gently, all bombs sent on a mission seem to explode no matter how careful you are. She asked what I had heard about my Govt job prospects, then came sentences involving the words, numbers crunched, business low, overhead not met, Boss Lady taking a pay cut, co-worker is taking a pay cut...so I volunteer I can take one too...except that is not to be. Blood is thicker than age, skill or the bills I have to pay, so co-worker will keep her job...mine, well not so much. Then boss lady kind of trailed off, no timeline had been set, she was going to try to make some calls for me, but we both new no easy job fix would come. By the time I left the office I knew that this week I would have income, but next week, well there is the mystery for FroggerGirl.

Emails went out in a call to arms to friends who can help in my interim search for temp work, ideas and aid were received and pep talks and hope given. Then other spectres of dread...my desire to move into DC, job panic, a wedding I am supposed to attend...followed by tears. Tears I desperately don't want to shed because I am strong, this is not the end of the world, and tears will not help...but tears come anyway. Tears that make my head hurt, my nose stuff up and my body ache. Tears keep coming unbidden in fits and starts, but I guess that is what sheer terror can do to a girl out of a job who has never been in quite this position before.

Plans are being laid and lists are being drawn up and I can cope with this...perhaps after more tears. Unpleasantness will follow, but that too shall pass. I knew in some back part of my mind that this economic crumble in the housing market would hurt me directly. I knew in some way that challenges I did not want, but must face was looming...and now here they are...KABOOM...in my face. I have survived it and will soon rebuild. Hopefully better and stronger than how I feel now, which is hurt and a bit scared, but determined to overcome and triumph, even though I know it will be hard.

Pollyanna is in my head too, whispering that everything will be OK. Everything happens for a reason. Tears are acceptable for today, but tomorrow they have to go away. Too much to do to wallow in the muck of self-pity. Jobs and apartments need to be found and tasks accomplished.

I would give anything to trade my Terrible, Horrible etc... Day with Alexander. his seems a hell of a lot better than mine! ;-)

What a Difference A Day Makes!

2008-06-26T10:13:00.003-04:00

Yesterday there was a small cloud of anxiety and doubt hanging out over my very weary little head...until 4:00pm EST! Then that cloud totally went away, not in a burst of rainy tears, but the proverbial sun broke through the cloud! The slow wheels of Govt. that I have been anxiously waiting to see turn...turned!!! Hope has helped defer the stress and fear of uncertainty and that is a wonderful thing that makes a lot of problems seem to melt away. To make this post full of every Pollyanna cliche:

There is Light at the End of the Tunnel

My Glass is Half-Full

My Glasses are Truly Rose colored!

PBR on NPR? Infomercials on PBS? Really?

2008-06-25T15:00:00.006-04:00

So since my last few posts have been focused on heavier life type topics, I think it's far better to focus/rant on some of the more ridiculous and odd things I observe. Far lighter and happier fair indeed.

The first observation is one I enjoy, PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) is apparently a regular sponsor of the NPR programing I listen to. When they do their little mini-commercial promos for sponsors, all of a sudden I hear about Pabst (PBR) it's sponsorship of a musical event and of course proud sponsor of the news and programming. In the last 2 years I have seen a sudden re-emergence of PBR in bars and on menus...of good restaurants. Now offence to those who love PBR and its cans, but it's not the best beer from WI. I grew up being told PBR is a low tier beer, but if they are supporting NPR I may have to reconsider it's tier placement. Either way there is something that makes me giggle about hearing the serious news announcer talk about Pabst Blue Ribbon right before the news. Kind of doesn't fit the picture.

This observation is more of a rant. When did PBS need to start using full on infomercials as a fund raising tool? I mean I can live with fund raising time, and right now I'm a freeloader (not with NPR thankfully) who deals with the specials as par for the course of life with no cable I lead. However, when I see some of the same faces hocking How to Play the Piano and Rich Dad Poor Dad, that I see late at night on regular infomercials...well something just doesn't sit right. I mean PBS still has the annoying specials like Celine Dion Vegas and Celtic Tiger, which is in the same Irish obsession vein as RiverDance, and those I know people snap up. I can live with the brief flashes of the infomercial like programs balanced with the remembered PBS wares for fundraising...but when they do it every weekend for a month and a half? That is just punishment! I mean how many times do you need to show How to Play a Piano w/out a Piano...because God knows that's how I want to learn how to play. And Rich Dad Poor Dad, a program largely predicated on Real Estate Investment? That just seems irresponsible. I can have some relief that fundraising doesn't come around too often and when it does I may have to consider increasing my Netflix disks. I just can't take the infomercial Celine Dion madness for another month and a half, I just love myself too much to suffer that much.

Operation News Blackout

2008-06-25T14:31:00.002-04:00

OK, a news blackout is probably a bit extreme, but me thinks it's time I reduced my news/mass media intake a bit. I think a giant MUTE button for talking heads and doom/gloom journalism and reporting is sorely needed. I've noticed a spike in my anxiety level, and I believe the amount of news I read, watch, click though on the Internet and listen to on NPR is messing with my head. The news is dominated with talking heads and stories screaming about human misery, a collapsing/weather-crazed planet and war. It always seems that some talking head's screaming about how Americans (and by extrapolation me) will be homeless because of the credit crunch, or die of/suffer from starvation/malnutrition because of food prices (OK that's a bit extreme, but it could effect a lot of low-income Americans), or loose jobs because of oil prices and the economy. I happen to work in the great big world of Real Estate right now, and any good news in housing is quickly drowned out by bad. I hear about high oil prices and then see pictures of horrible floods (which are tragic and legitimate news) followed by screaming headlines about how said floods are going to screw our economy and the whole world...and it just makes me tense, sad and, even right now, ready to cry.

I never used to sit at home in dread of driving to work, dealing with bills or buying groceries....this is a very new and to be honest not very rational. I have a wedding in Mexico next month and I'm having a hard time being excited (which I really want to be) because all I can see is the $$$ involved that I don't have or should be saving for the economic Apocalypse the news keeps forecasting. Yesterday as I was partially filling my gas tank (thank you $4.09 a gallon, which I am grateful for after I see almost $5 in CA) they had the NPR Marketplace report playing over the PA system. The Marketplace Evening Report were talking about consumer confidence and the story was fairly lame about how we have it so much better than in the 70's because we are suffering an economic crisis but we are doing it without disco music. Seriously, disco jokes are lame to begin with, and that lame joke did nothing to make my mood lighter, in fact it ticked me off a bit. The only good point in the story was the reporters admitted they (the Media) were partly responsible for American feeling like poo and living in a state of Economic fear because of how and what channels decide to cover.

So to cure this anxiety spike and try to restore balance to my news needs and mental health I'm going to massively cut-back on the mass media news machine for a while. I can't totally release my addiction to NPR, but I can stop watching the massive blocks of evening news and reduce my news site surfing. I don't have cable and I feel overwhelmed by the news, imagine what 5+ channels of 24 hour non-stop news at my fingertips would do to me! Sheesh! I still hope to know what's going on in the world, but just find the balance in it all!

Runing Rockstar? Not yet, but soon!

2008-06-24T14:39:00.004-04:00

So the FroggerGirl Feelings Funk has lifted! Happy Hour w/Princezz, a decent nights sleep and putting a few ducks in a (mental) row have been immensely helpful! And oddly enough the same thing that helped trigger some funkage on Sunday also helped to lift it, and that is my newish morning run routine.

I've always had a bit of an athletic inclination, emphasis on bit, yet in the past few years I've been in an out of regular physical activity and I decided enough was enough! For my 29th year I've decided to refocus on me, get my career goals a bit more in focus, look at my life and friends and really nurture and grow the good relationships and feelings, and most importantly, get my ass in gear to prep my inexorably aging body for the long haul ahead!

When I moved to DC four years ago I dropped about 20 lbs (thank you elliptical machine!) and got myself to my current state, I'm in decent/OK shape, and I occasionally reach good/great status for brief flashes. Yoga has been great for me on mental and physical levels, but right after my Birthday I started my new challenge, The Couch to 5K Running plan.

One brief history disclosure, I have started and stopped the Couch to 5K plan 2 other times. Both times I made almost to eh 9 week finish mark, but ended up wimping out b/c of illness or scheduling excuses. This time I will make it to the end and keep it up! I like this program, it is easy to follow (when I'm no wussing out) and the Ullery Podcast makes it pretty idiot proof. All I needed was a new iPod Shuffle (my old iPod was offially skunked/dead), downloaded podcast (which is set to music AND tells me when to do what interval) and the mental toughness to force myself to wake-up early. The waking up early part is the toughest for me, a natural night owl, but once I did a few times I discovered it's not nearly as awful as I had feared! :)

Sunday I finished Week 2, and it was a good run. I felt good, the weather was nice, and I finished my last running interval strongly. Yet, when I got home fatigue, muscle soreness and my own hormonal/stressed mind started in on my and my physically tired state caused by meh sleep and the run just made the funk creep in. I tried to focus on the good stings, like hey, I have consistently gotten-up at the crack of dawn to run for 2 weeks, but it was hard to do.

Today, Week 3, more running than walking is creeping into the training, and the challenge is rising. Today the weather was great, low humidity, still in the 60's, just enough sun. The trail I run is relatively busy, so I pass a lot of people out for their morning walks, runs, or bike rides. It makes the morning feel brighter to see so many folks out and about, plus I get to see lots of dogs and since i can't have one of my own yet, I get the vicarious thrill of dog walking/running. I finished my lat run interval strong, I felt great. As the day has moved on I am a bit sleepy, but I still feel good.

I think this whole morning exercise thing will work out just dandy! This time I will make it to the 5K mark and then I can start thinking about The Race for the Cure or other actual event runs.. I have moral support in the form of runner friends including the Princezz who is running the same plan, so this time I think I may actually make it to the "great Shape" mark.

I think 29 is going to be one hell of a year for FroggerGirl! One of her best yet! ;)

Even a Small Victory is a Good Victory....Right?

2008-06-22T22:05:00.002-04:00

So FroggerGirl has had a bit of a funk this week/week-end. Nothing serious, just overtired, post-Birthday week, work is nuts and everything else...so long ramble short, I have a low-grade funk that is easily treated with friends, exercise and happy thoughts.

To treat this funk (which may also have hormonal origins) I'm focusing on all the good things going on. Like, hey next week my hormones will calm down! That will be lovely. Almost the end of the month, so that means work may be busy in a good way instead of boring yet stressful. A certain government agency may finally email me good news, or some news, anything is possible. :)

A bigger happy spot, I have actually gotten up way early to do my Couch to 5K Running podcast for the last two weeks AND I've done well with it! Even this morning I got up early to run. No collapsing with fatigue and in general I feel the better on those active days. I have finally gotten to the point where I can hold a half handstand in my yoga class for more than a few seconds AND I'm in the correct alignment without teacher assistance. Maybe by the end of summer I'll be able to test doing a for real handstand, something I wasn't even able to do when I was a kid.

I have friends, a good book to read and in a few weeks I will have an adventure to Mexico for a friend's Wedding. Never been to Mexico and still lots to do, but I've always been a glass-half-full kind of lady!

OK, sleep helps treat funks, so off to dreamland! I'm already seeing a bit more rose-tint in my glasses, so maybe by tomorrow I'll be at full-blown pair of rose-colored glasses for the day! :)

Birthdays

2008-06-14T17:44:00.003-04:00

What's better than a Birthday? Not much! FroggerGirl had a lovely time with friends for her 29th (yes, I turned what is a false age for many, but the real deal for me) and it was craziness and great all in one!

I always new I had great friends, and they were willing to deal with cabs, some planning Snafus and a few location changes, but they were all troopers and we had a great time. The restaurant we ended up in by complete chance was named Argonauts was surprising good, located in a borderline neighborhood of DC, but the food and service was great and I'll definitely head back to the area for food again. The evening ended with a side trip to Adams Morgan to people watch and sit outside was also lovely.

I can't stop this whole ageing process, but at least I can enjoy myself with friends and fun to ease the passage of time! Good stuff! :-)

Vanity

2008-06-08T21:30:00.004-04:00

OK, so I've been thinking about this topic a lot lately. I've never considered myself a vain person, but I've come to realize my sense of vanity has developed more as I age. Back in High School and College I was more concerned with make-up and some fashion, but never really obsessed or anything and I certainly never pulled mush off with flair. College then degraded to me really not giving 2 sh*ts about lots of appearance factors like my weight etc... Yet in the last few years things like skin condition, weight and fashion have started to mean more to me.

An example? I got a haircut last month that literally left me in tears...twice! The hair wasn't terrible by any means, but it felt boring, like middle-aged-overweight-Mom hair! NOT COOL! I dealt with it until I saw the ever lovely Princezz sporting great hair and I too had to reclaim my head! Now after $80 I'm sporting a mighty fine do, and I will just have to continue splashing out for fabulousness from now on. In my earlier 20's (and to be honest at many points in adolescents) I sported some wicked awful/weird hair, but now it actually affects my mood. I had tears over HAIR! And no, it was not hormones, it was the haircut that caused the tears.

I've given in to my need to moisturize, sunscreen my super pale self, and even check for grey hair and fine lines. Make-up and I are still in a strange detente where I will wear it on rare occasions, but so far have been able to look fine w/out it. According to others my fashion sense is better than I give it credit for...and my ego/vanity center is very happy about that. ;) I will soon (so very soon) be 29, the gateway to 30, and I'll be damned if I look prematurely older or preternaturally younger than my age.

However friends and loved-ones, if you see me acting too crazy vain please help a FroggerGirl out and give me a wake-up call. :)

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth...just sat around at the edge and chilled.

2008-06-08T21:26:00.002-04:00

Oh Dear...I knew I had been a neglectful blogger to all three ( I may be overestimating here) of you who read this meandering spewing of brain goo that FroggerGirl calls a blog, but I had no idea how neglectful I had been. I have not posted since February? Really? So Sorry...I must have been keeping all of my brain goo to myself...or something. Sorry to have been so remiss and I shall endeavor to be better.

Frog From Hell

2008-02-27T16:28:00.001-05:00

Now how can you name something so cute a Frog from Hell? So what if he is practically armor plated, 10 lbs, 16 in long and had razor sharp teeth? I’m not saying I want him to be my pet Herbie II, but that is still a pretty sweet frog. Makes Frogger Girl think she should re-invest in a pet frog…maybe a smaller, non-fossilized one…with fewer teeth.

When Life Happens

2008-02-27T16:25:00.002-05:00

Have you ever noticed how, despite your great, wonderful/fantastic intentions, life has a way of happening and changing things? Like my plans to actually blog...which totally never happen lately. Or better yet my Yoga Rock Star plans thwarted yet again by my inflexible hamstrings! All of these things I can accept, but a good gripe can be a nice stress releiver. Life, I love ya, but you can be damned tricky!

When Yoga Attacks...

2008-02-08T16:49:00.000-05:00

OK, it's not THAT bad, but darn if Yoga didn't kick my butt last night. I went to a make-up class, taught by a a slightly dippy substitute, who usually focuses on Yoga for Abs...so guess what we did? I'm not a Yoga Rockstar (last night I was playing with the term SuperYogiFly as a possible goal to aim for or theme song to write) but I am improving.

I like the new challanges and I'm trying to get to two 1.5 hr classes a week now. We'll see if that keeps up. Last night we were back again trying to do "crow pose" the one pose I can't seem to get my head around, or more precisely I almost fall on my head. A lot of the Ab work kills today, but last night was actually pleasant.

Hopefully me regualr Sunday class will be a nice challenge. Maybe we'll do the fun half-handstand, which I'm actaully getting good at! No matter what, I'm pretty sure Yoga is going to keep kicking me in the back-end for a while, but it's worth the pain.

So terribly wrong....

2008-02-01T15:53:00.000-05:00

I was reading an update on the suicide bombings in Baghdad today. The first reports this morning on the radio said it was two women, and now the situation is even worse. The suicide bombers now appear to be two women with Downs Syndrome used as unwitting pawns who were blown-up from afar. This is so terribly wrong...

In general, I believe in the inherent goodness of people. There are of course evil deed and terrible people in this world, but at our cores I still think people are good. Events like this shake my belief in humanity. How could anyone hurt a person who so depereatly needs to be protected and taken care of? Over my lifetime I have had many encounters with the mentally retarded, and those with Down Sydrome are usually the sweetest and most kind of them all. Like abuse of children, cruelty to those adults unable to think and care for themselves is reprehensible to me. My gloomy Mid-Atlantic Friday just got gloomier. This news is just so terribly wrong...

Civic Duty

2008-01-31T17:07:00.000-05:00

I’m officially a good citizen, or at the very least a responsible citizen, I fulfilled my Jury Duty requirement for the next 3-5 years. I’ve never had to deal with jury duty before, so on some levels I was excited, but I had a feeling this experience would be more ass pain then learning experience. My feeling was spot on. Let’s recap the joy of Jury Duty:

1.) Had to be in the Jury Lounge by 8:30 in Rockville, which meant a very early morning, rush hour traffic and a scramble for parking in the limited jury lot. Oh, and it was raining, which did not make the day (or traffic) seem promising at all.

2.) Had to deal with inept security trying to run 1 metal detector/x-ray machine with a massive line out the door and of course get the obligatory bonus scan/pat-down. I realize security is important, but these guards were so scattered people could get past them and a few did. This was followed but the additional joy of another long line that wrapped all over the Jury Lounge just to check in and be counted.

3.) After all that waiting and early rising, with no hope of caffeine, the jury handlers turned off the lights and had us watch a special video. It started with actors re-enacting the Medieval justice system of throwing people in water to see if they would float and other fun stuff, then cut to Ed Bradley who gave us the short History of Jury Trails. Then on came Diane Sawyer to help us know what to expect in our own trial. This was a seriously old and poorly constructed info tape, so it just made the morning seem longer.

4.) After sitting for about 2 hours my number (Good Old 79) was called. Off my group went to the 7th floor courtroom, only to be told to wait a few more minutes and then be told to go back down to our lounge, the trail was dismissed.

5.) More waiting with no cell phone (it had a camera and that’s a no-no) in mostly silent room (though those who had cell phones certainly used them) and no access to the computers (thanks to other juror’s bogarting them). The waiting was broken up by lunch followed by more waiting.

6.) Finally by mid afternoon, we got the word we could collect of $15 and go home. YEAH!

What did I learn? Nothing except the one day, one trial system usually means sitting around doing nothing. At least I got my French homework done which made me feel useful. I’m also glad I wasn’t dealing with jury duty in DC where you only get paid $4 and have the same useless waiting. Good thing I don’t have to even think about this again for the next 3-5 years.

The Davos Question: I Dare You

2008-01-31T17:01:00.001-05:00

Moving and True: I Dare You to not be moved by this!

Media, WTF!

2008-01-22T12:25:00.000-05:00

Do you know what has been seriously pissing me off for the last few weeks? The way media pundits are forcing race and gender into the democratic primaries. I realize the candidates have both had sly comments on both race and gender, but for the most part they want this kind of focus to be minimized. Issues, not genetic characteristics, should be what the media and voters focus on. I realize that race and gender are influencing factors to many, but it shouldn’t be the only factor. To imply that genetics (Male vs Female, Black vs. White) are the end all and be all of this election is utterly disgusting!

A few media outlets, apparently most notably CNN, posted stories implying black women in South Carolina were going to have the toughest time, because they must decide to vote color or gender. WTF! What, issues don’t exist? Why would white women democrats be any less at a loss for a decision? How the hell does that affect a black woman who wants to vote for Edwards? Is she a race/gender traitor? Am I a bad woman if I vote for Obama or Edwards? Does my XX genetic code mean I MUST vote for Hillary, even if I question her policies? For me race and gender is the furthest thing from my mind when I think of the president. I want a leader who can fix the foreign policy screw ups of the Bush White House. I want a leader who offers solid economic policies and starts to implement major Health Care reform. Media at large, you are so busy telling me about the obvious genetics of the candidate you have yet to even try to present an actual policy analysis or force indepth policy ideas from candidates.

When I vote I will vote for the person I think can best run this country. If Hillary gets the nod and can convince me she is the one, then fine. Same holds true for Obama or Edwards, hell even McCain has a (long) shot at my vote. Please leave chromosomes and color out of this election and let me focus on who can best run this country. The US is significantly more diverse than the media is portraying it right now. STOP DUMBING DOWN THIS COUNTRY'S ELECTORATE!

Civic Duty

2008-01-22T12:18:00.000-05:00

Well, for the first time ever in her adult life, FroggerGirl has been called to Jury Duty. A few months back I got the questionnaire that dictates eligibility and of course I was eligible. Next week is the call in to see if I really have to show up followed by an 8:30 appearance at the courthouse to see if I get called onto a jury. I have mixed feelings. This is my civic duty and in theory after one day I'm done for 2 years. The suck part is I get $15 for the day and no guarantees it will only last one day. I must suck it up and embrace my civic duty to show-up for jury duty and try to muster up the same enthusiasm I have for voting. Sigh....

Baby Mama

2008-01-18T13:24:00.000-05:00

So I'm a 'tard and can't get the widget to load correctly (or so my computer tells me) for this trailer to display on my blog, so instead I've embedded the link to this movie in it's title. Baby Mama looks like a solid comedy with great women in it and a pretty funny premise. The preview had me in giggles and them some. Anything with Amy Poehler AND Tina Fey deserves a look! Perhaps this will be the chick flick of the future, one that isn't all about dating angst or sad romances.

Snow!

2008-01-17T13:20:00.001-05:00

It's snowing down here in the swamp, and not just wimpy flurry snow, real snow! Supposedly the frozen crud of Sleet and it's friend Freezing Rain are supposed to swing by later, I see hints of them now, but for the time being it's just pretty fluffy wet snow! At least 2 inches already...so that means schools are being let out early and people are already planning their commutes home. It's still nice in winter to actually have signs of winter instead of the crazy weird warm weather we have had lately. I'll try to keep my dread about the evening traffic at a minimum, and instead stare and smile at the pretty peaceful curtain of white outside my window.

Fear the Super Bug!

2008-01-17T13:14:00.000-05:00

OK, the media drives me nuts, every day there is some super-bug or disease I must live in fear of or at least they really want me to live in fear of. In years past it was Super-Strep (the flesh eating kind), SARS, Bird Flu, West Nile Virus and of course the affliction du jour MRSA. Now there is a new drug resistant and even nastier strain of MRSA that is affecting gay men in high density population centers (San Francisco, Boston etc…). Now the warning is that it’s likely to make the jump to the general population (insert the words "imminent jump" if you’re on CNN or one of its brethren) and it’s been shown to be sexually transmitted.

I realize this is a serious issue, but at the same time I feel like it’s being twisted by the media to add fear to my life. If it isn’t a disease, it’s the recession (or lack there of) or it’s the war or some other thing that adds stress and pain to my psyche, but racks up ratings and money for them. MRSA is avoidable with good hygiene and vigilance, but the media likes to ignore that completely or hide it at the end of a story. Instead the news is spending a lot of time on the gory details of the MRSA infections. I realize the media needs to report on public health issues and I would hate to not know that there is a threat. Yet, here is the issue to me, I think the media exaggerates and misleads us about the seriousness or spread of a lot of these issues because it helps them score ratings and ad money. If you’ll excuse me, I now must buy some sanitizer for my desk so I can avoid the regular flu that is hitting my co-workers, but not that's not getting any news time. I’m also going to price out full body condoms and the going rate of a fall-out shelter or some other remote piece of real estate as the ultimate protection…you can never be too safe, right? ;-)

Mitt's Hair Tells All?

2008-01-16T11:52:00.000-05:00

OK, I found it hysterical and mildly disappointing this morning that an NPR reporter while describing Romney's appearance at his MI Primary winner's speech actually said, "His usually perfect hair was mussed, but that didn't take the shine off the moment." I don't have the exact audio file, but I'm sure some clicking on the NPR news story would find it. Really, that's news? Mitt's hair is somehow embodying his status in the GOP race? I mean, I hate Mitt's hair, but who am I? Just some random person with Ken Doll Hair issues and a general dislike for Mitt, NOT an NPR reporter. It just felt weird to have a legitimate journalist slam Mitt's hair. This wasn't the brainless partisan pundits or random bloggers like me that I expect to slam a hairdo, this was media I usually respect. I guess that should tell you how odd this election is going to be, Mitt's hair is now the bellwether of results. At least it's an interesting angle and possibly more accurate than polls, right?

Smurftastic!

2008-01-16T11:50:00.000-05:00

Underneath the blaring headline featuring the train wreck of Brittany was a much more heartening story: The Smurf’s turned 50! The cute, blue staples of my childhood cartoon time are still around and better yet, they are teaming with my favorite branch on the UN (yes, I realize this is a major sign of my geekiness), UNICEF! Smurfs are still super popular in the EU nations. I ate the blue Schtroumpf (French/Dutch name for Smurf) Ice cream a few times in France and saw plenty of comics/books of Smurf adventures in stores. Thank goodness some vestige of my childhood is still pretty much unchanged and still popular. Smurfette and Papa Smurf keep up the smurfing good job!!

How to Win a Fight...Blog Style?

2008-01-16T11:44:00.000-05:00

OK, I saw this link about really winning a fight, more as a rebuttal to weak artivles in Men's Magazines and as I read it and laughed, I realized I know this information and have learned the lessons kind of painfully. I’ve never been in real fight (ie no pads, with malice of forethought), but I did do Krav Maga for almost a year and that involved voluntarily (and with aid of some padding for certain drills) getting may ass kicked for fitness and of course safety. I agree with one of the comments, which is it is a bit misguided/macho to think via pictures and half-assed advice you can teach someone to punch/fight is a bit off. There also the no kicking advice that is totally for crap. I learned some pretty brutal/effective kicks, and let’s face it, kicking in the right place is the primary defense taught to women everywhere. I get the sense the no kicking is more because guys want to be Bruce Lee and a lot of guys have the no kicking in the balls rule of fighting. I’m still a fan of avoidance and non-violence, but at least I have some external affirmation that in a pinch, I could save my own ass. I still hope I never have to prove it...

Oui, Wii!

2008-01-08T15:40:00.000-05:00

OMG, my super fantastic Christmas present from Mom and Dad Frogger was the Nintendo Wii. I grew up with Nintendo and the Gameboy among other toys, holds a special place in my nerdy heart. For my 21st B-day I asked for and got my purple Gameboy Color, which to date is really only used to play Tetris. Nintendo already had and still has my brand devotion (I guess I’m a corporate sheep on that point). The Wii was the first game system in a long time to hold any appeal and I’ve been trying to get one since the summer when the Wii scarcity was in full swing. Well, no longer do I have to suffer.

Beyond my mild irritation that everyone seems to be sold out of the Wiimote/Nunchucks I need to get any multi-player games going, the Wii is the most fun ever!!! You get to bounce around and move....it's great! Thank you Universe and of course Parents, for the Wii fun. Now I just need to make sure I don't get too addicted. ;-)

Golden Globes, Bye-Bye?

2008-01-08T15:34:00.000-05:00

As many know, FroggerGirl is a bit of a movie junkie. I love going to the movies, watching Netflix DVDs of those I missed and I even watch the Golden Globes and Oscars. I have fun with the awards season and enjoy the frothy nonsense of pretty dresses and film stars. Now word comes that there will be no Golden Globes this year. WGA, SAG and Producers Guild, you just shot yourself in the foot big time. I get it, there is a strike, but one of the few showcases to help all of your causes, keep the media money maker moving and get fan interaction is the one award show where many participants drink too much, people are wiling to be goofy and in general be kooky Hollywood for a night. My life will move on and missing drunk/crazy celebs is not the end of the world, but it’s still a bummer for a movie fan like me.

PS: This little rant on EW.com has my favorite smacks to both sides of this strike on the Golden Globes issue!

Boredom...

2008-01-04T15:56:00.000-05:00

I'm so bored! Like watching paint dry might be an improvement to my day bored. There are still a few work things I could do, but honestly, they will add to my boredom and I just don't think that is a positive step to the day. It's Friday, the work week was only 3 days and it's 4 pm, which means I'm within 2ish hours of going home and it feels like the clock is moving backwards! This does not make sense...GAH! It's not like I have big exciting plans or anything else to motivate this weird bored/antsy feeling. Universe, work with me here!

Darwin Awards

2008-01-04T15:50:00.000-05:00

What's better than lists that cap off a year. Like this is a strange combination of pity, mirth and of course perverse approval of stupid people dieing in stupid ways. Here is the 2007 Darwin Award Winners, Enjoy!

The Primaries are Moving Along...Thank God!

2008-01-04T15:42:00.000-05:00

Everything I wrote yesterday is still true today about Iowa. However, I was pleased and surprised by the record voter turnout and the unusually close race it produced for both parties. New Hampshire should be interesting to watch, but I think the later primaries will be the truly fun fights to watch. Big voter states like Florida and California might also be crazy. It could be the first time in decades that the conventions are not pre-determined months in advance. I might be annoyed at this never ending election season, but at least it will be interesting AND with political action like last nights the headlines might stay socially and politically relevant instead of focusing on the ever imploding Spears clan or other random uselessness. Here’s to hoping!

Iowa...Really?

2008-01-03T14:36:00.000-05:00

I’m originally from the Midwest and I know this is somewhat biased but…who gives a flying flip about Iowa? I mean seriously that State, along with New Hampshire who also deserves the same comments, is forever the bellwether for the Presidential elections? Really? I appreciate History and the importance of traditions, but in 2008 Iowa and its caucus system feels ridiculous to me. So much time, energy and money is being spent on a system that may only give us a false leader board to work off for the coming primaries. If the weather is too cold there will be low voter turnout, the system is so complicated a lot of younger voters avoid it and let’s be honest, Iowa is not exactly diversity, economic or racial, incarnate. How is it possible then that Iowa (and again not to seem to evil on one state New Hampshire is in this too) is the place that will often help determine who runs for President? Is it not scary to anyone else the Iowa is helping Huckabee?

As I watch Nightline and listen to NPR give me almost constant Iowa updates all I feel is a rising sense of frustration with the system and anger at how much effort is spent on such a small fraction of the US population. I have met very nice Iowans and I realize there are relevant issue for everyone (immigration, health care, global warming) to be found in Iowa, but overall it just feels limited in scope and power for the Presidential elections. Maybe I’m just bitter, but I know I’m not alone!

The only good thing right now with the Iowa caucuses is that they will be over with today. Now we can see if the other states like Michigan and Florida will really be punished for trying to challenge Iowa and New Hampshire for dominance. I hope to God the next election some of these shenanigans will have worked themselves out. I'm suffering from election burnout and nothing has even started to happen yet. America, what the hell are we doing?

The Traveler

2008-01-03T14:34:00.000-05:00

I discovered something on my travel misadventures this Holiday season…I’ve become an honest to God traveler. I fly so much and have encountered so many random situations that it takes a lot to shake me up or mess with my head. I hadn’t realized how much of a traveler I had become until others started to say how they would have freaked out, or how good it was that I was a traveler. Heck, my Mom even said she doesn’t worry about me or my Big Brothers when we travel because we do it so much. This is the same woman who almost re-arranged a visiting family members trip to WI because she was worried about me driving through Chicago alone on my way to Ohio. I have never thought I was a bad traveler, I just never thought I was great at it. Apparently I should reassess.

This trip was the first time I’ve ever had a flight all out canceled due to weather with no immanent hope of a correct connection/fix-it flight to my final destination. I’ve been canceled before and I’ve missed flights and had to spend nights around airports, but never like this. In years past this kind of seemingly hopeless situation would have reduced me to tears and self-pity. This time I had a few emotional thoughts and moments, mostly because of the Holiday factor to the travels, but I could rein them in, still be polite to the airline folks that could help me and be focused on my task.

In one of my not so proud moments on the phone with customer service I pretended to get choked up to ratchet up the sympathy factor and get more help…and it worked! I was super polite to desk agents and the luggage people and you know what, they all helped me gladly and thanked me for being so patient and polite. If they could read minds they would know some of the not-so-polite thoughts rushing around my head, but thank goodness not a one of them appeared to be psychic.

While I would never pick nightmare flights and trips, at least now when they happen I know what to do. I have the ability to navigate the system and that is actually a good thing. Now if only the airline industry would start making some improvements, that would be a travel miracle for everyone! Now if I could only afford more exotic or even not so exotic travel…that would be even better!

A Kind of Christmas Miracle

2008-01-03T14:31:00.000-05:00

My trip back North to the Frozen Pond for the Holidays was filled with all sorts of issues. Leaving the Swamp was no issue, heck Detroit was a breeze it was that final leg into Packer Country that proved difficult. Fog, snow, ice and general icky weather meant no flights into my final destination airport Saturday the 22nd…which totally sucked. What was worse? That Northworst’s only solution when I left the airport was to fly me to Minneapolis late in the afternoon on the 23rd and hope they could connect me to my final destination knowing that weather would mean a night in Minneapolis too because weather warnings were already popping up about my final destination airport. Northworst Airline was screwing with me and so was God with the weather and it sucked!

One bright side was I met up with 3 other stranded women trying to get to the same general area and we were able to split the discount hotel room and give each other moral support the nest day when we started to play the stand-by game to see if we could get to our respective families. Bright side number two, after a good chunk of time on the phone and schmoozing the Northworst Ticket agent I was able to secure a mid-day flight to Milwaukee, which was at least in the correct state and with-in 2 hours of the Frozen Pond! Then came the rest of the cosmic joke and somewhat miraculous ending.

My Big Brother B started to drive down to get me to salvage some of the Christmas togetherness we were planning…then the weather had different ideas. He hit ice not far from the Frozen Pond, hit the guard rail and found the ditch. He was safe and sound, but the car needed to return home for an assessment. Once in Milwaukee I found out it would be at least 3-5 hours before anyone would be able to get to me and get me home. Bright sides popped up again, my aunt and uncle lived in the area. I was able to hang out at their house, and while there 5 big Golden Retrievers were a bit much, it beat the airport.

Finally my parents were able to retrieve me and we slogged our way North. Northworst continued to play with my emotions by promising me imminent arrival of my luggage, but that didn’t happen. Thankfully my luggage did arrive on Christmas Eve and we were able to hit up Target for the major requirements of underoos and PJs! I was able to see Big Brother J for about 24 hours and there was still quality time to be had with the rest of the family. All in all, the hassle didn’t poison the trip.

No matter how messy and awful my trip might have been, it was totally worth it to have Christmas at the Frozen Pond with family. Plus, it seems low level miracles like getting home can happen even when the weather wants it to happen differently.

WTF: Spears addition

2007-12-19T15:26:00.000-05:00

Today’s not really news, but apparently easier to stomach than Iraq headline:
Britney’s 16 yr old sister Jamie Lynn is preggers.

The Spears’ Family is officially a multi-car pile-up traffic accident for the world to ogle and waste their time one (me included). I’m actually sad (well sad mixed with slightly judgmental) for Jamie Lynn. She is 16, a Nickelodeon role model/star for the tween set and unfortunately the baby sister of Poptart (God I love that word!) Britney. This turn of events for Lil’Spears is not a good no matter how you spin it or how much OK Magazine pays you for the story. Add to that her sister’s major paparazzi porn f-ed up life and this situation will soon be eclipsing all the other non-news of celebrity airheads. Obviously Jamie Lynn is set for money and childcare, but what little privacy or career she had is probably going bye-bye forever.

I'm sure thousands upon thousands of teens have sex and get pregnant every year, so in that the Lil’Spears has company. Here is my nastier judgey part, not many of those millions are also major tween stars with their own lines of toys, clothes and a major influence over young women in the US. Now after realizing, “Hey, this is jacked up.” Lil’Spears tells kids to just say no to pre-marital sex! It’s not he premarital sex part that’s the problem, at least not in my little moral oral mind. The real problem is that Lil’Spears is 16 AND apparently didn’t learn the whole Birth Control lesson from her big sister. She is lucky she didn’t get crotch crickets or some other fun STD along with the pregnancy.

Merry Christmas Entertainment News Providers! You are set well past New Years with this Spears family antics. Now let’s hope something better or at least more socially relevant comes along in 2008!

Guilty TV Pleasure...I'm such a Geek!

2007-12-13T16:30:00.000-05:00

I'm almost ashamed to admit I'm excited for a cheesy reality show that is a revival of on of mu childhood favorites. American Gladiators! I used to religiously watch that show in it's 1990's heyday. The strange costumes, silly challenges and the massive obstacle course just enthralled me...but then I got older and ostensibly cooler (relatively speaking of course) and the show disappeared. Now I may have to watch at least the first few episodes just for flash back geek giggles. Hulk Hogan (I also loved the WWF shows when I was a kid) is host, the Gladiators are still crazy huge and I'm sure the cheese will be there in bulk. This just reinforces what a major geek I am.

Christmas Music from Outer Space!

2007-12-13T15:51:00.000-05:00

I found a link to an unusual Christmas Song as I was clicking away at random entertainment blogs. The song was described as half Christmas card/half intergallactic cry for help. Chiron Beta Prime may well become a holiday staple, if for no other reason than it makes me giggle! Enjoy!

Bacon Cookies?

2007-12-13T15:48:00.000-05:00

I am a big fan of bacon, but I'm very sceptical about a Bacon Chocolate-Chip Cookie with Maple Glaze. I mean sweet and savory are usually a good combo, but does bacon really make the cookies better, or just ever so slightly more artery clogging. I think it's fair to say I will not be adding these to my Christmas Cookie catalogue anytime soon. How about you?

Music Makes the Holidays Better!

2007-12-12T18:01:00.000-05:00

I love Christmas…and actually Hanukkah (primarily the Dreidel song)...music. I’m sure there is some bastion of Kwanzaa songs somewhere, but I have yet to hear any of it in stores or on the radio. Most songs and artists I can deal with, I may not buy the Mariah Carey Christmas CD, but a few of the songs are passable as background music for the Holidays. Of course this time of year makes me embrace my favorites and dread the other tripe and crap variations of holiday classics.

My all time favorite CD, the one I force my family to listen to so much that my Mom has to commander the CD changer is John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together. Oh my God that CD is fantastic! So many memories of Christmas past and enjoyable tunes for Christmas Present and Future to enjoy! I also hit the Mannheim Steamroller CD’s pretty hard, nothing beats often trippy (Carol of the Bells anyone?) electronica and orchestral takes on Christmas. An added bonus is it drives my Brother’s nuts, so it’s got to be played if for no other reason than perverse sibling antagonism over the Holidays.

Mind you I now start my annual dread of my all time least favorite song…Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. THIS SONG NEEDS TO GO AWAY!!! My own Grandmother, may she rest in peace, had a love hate relationship with the song. Her dark and ribald sense of humor got a kick out of a song about a drunken Grandma getting taken down by Santa, but on the other hand she was a Grandma and thought the song lacked some level of respect. I hate this song. It’s inane and crueler in nature than I’m ok with this time of year. It also gets stuck in my head. Even as I type this blog, the chorus of the song is playing in my head and I am not okay with that!

As always I’m on the look out for good Holiday music. This year it was a lot of old school 50’s and 60’s swing interpretations by Sinatra and others. Plus of course the Chipmunk Song, a song I forgot I loved until I heard it again. My wish for all is happy listening to Holiday or whatever music you’d like this year…and if you can go out and buy John Denver and the Muppets: A chirtsmas Together, I figure all of humanity should listen to that one.

Politics and Religion Don't Mix!

2007-12-12T17:43:00.000-05:00

Is it just me, or do others find the strange fixation with Mitt Romney vs. Mike Huckabee and the Christian vs. Mormon media discourse a bit odd? Until Nightline and CNN and a few others ran stories fueled by the Mitt Romney Religion speech I had no idea flocks or Evangelicals try to save Mormon souls or how many people feel Mormons are a cult. I also had no idea that many Evangelicals do not consider Mormon’s Christians at all. The Mormon Faith is shrouded in secrecy about a lot of their tenets and I guess their founding is a bit suspect to many, but still they are big fans of JC. I’m sure a few even sport WWJD do bracelets along with any WWJSD beliefs they have. The strange media and campaign twists this whole discussion has caused seems fascinating to me. Huckabee is now, “The Christian Candidate” and playing up his past as a Baptist minister. Romney has been forced to make speeches reminding people he is religious and a peachy keen candidate and that the Mormon element is minimal.

Personally, I have never met and unfriendly or crazy Mormon. I’ve had a number of Mormon friends and encounters with Mormons and none of them have ever tried to convert me or acted in any way but pleasant and upstanding. Most don’t drink and are family oriented and they amaze me with their ability to avoid caffeine, which is the only substance I can check off as an addiction for me. I’ve had more unpleasant encounters with Evangelicals trying to convert me or attack my belief system and twisting some hateful language in my direction for my refusal to bend to their will.

Mind you neither Huckabee nor Romney holds a snow balls chance of ever getting my vote. They are Republicans, and not the kind cooperative Republican I could support. On the petty this-shouldn't-really-matter-but-it-does side, could you imagine a President Huckabee without giggling jut a little? Plus Ken Doll hair Romney has more going against him then people fear of Mormons…he has Ken Doll hair and his wife is Barbie and he is totally getting B**ch slapped for flip flopping on immigration and abortion. Hopefully neither of these men make it to the big show…but then again maybe Hillary or Obama would have an easier time beating them than Mayor 911. Man I wish we could move past the primaries already, this election feels like it’s been going on forever!

STRESS Take 2

2007-12-12T17:40:00.000-05:00

I have stress, plenty of it as I have ranted before, but I realized that really none of my stress is Holiday related. At least not directly Holiday related. I love the time that starts with Thanksgiving leads to Christmas and wraps up with New Years! I love getting people presents, attending parties, getting Christmas Cards (but never writing them…I should work on that) and of course going back to the frosty lily pad of WI to be with family. My Christmas shopping is down to just minor stuff, my flight is booked and was only kind of expensive in stead of killer, I have a nice manageable amount of Holiday parties to attend, presents to look forward too and best of all every member of the Frogger Family will be home…and that is a rare event indeed! I'm starting to think this makes me an oddity at this time of year when almost everyone else is deep in Holiday heck.

Did I mention that I still have stress, and plenty of it? Yet somehow the Holiday’s do not mess with my head all that much. Buying presents does highlight the BIGGEST stressor, but I’ve found that can be dealt with too. Other aspects of my life mess with my stresses a lot more than the Holidays. A few years ago I had the honest discussion with myself…why are you stressing over the Holidays? You can’t make stress just go poof, but you can reframe it, so over the Holidays I just reframe it! Stress is life, but this brief window of time in life is supposed to highlight love, giving, thankfulness and family, so I focus on that and it helps put the stress in perspective. Let’s face it; all of my stressors will be around for a while, so freaking out at this moment will just add to their power. I’m no Super Zen FroggerGirl and I fail at this positive thinking sometimes, but that’s to be expected, because I’m human and we are equally good at failing as we are at succeeding. So long as I keep trying that means I’m moving forward and that eventually some stress will fade and other will come-up.

Now the key for me is just remembering to keep this frame of mind when the Holidays are over. I think I can do that, but there will surely be lapses thanks to good old human nature! There are times I wish this kind of thing wasn't so exhausting!

Would this work?

2007-12-07T15:59:00.001-05:00

As I have said before I have a fondness for advice columns. They are my daily news guilty pleasure, akin to the horoscope for daily fun with a dash of usefulness if your open to let it in. A a staple of the advice column is the single women complaint columns. You know what I'm talking about because they are in everything from Savage Love to Dear Abby...the painful, "Where are the decent men" letters or my favorite letters the, "I'm so fantastic, yet I can't seem to find anyone who appreciated my fantasticness! What to do?"

Now, on more than one occasion as a response the single woman dating complaints letter, Dear Margo has given a piece of advice that seems very quaint, old school, and would have worked a decade ago...maybe...but would probably not work now. If you want to meet quality men go to a hardware store on a Friday night. Ummm, maybe it's just me, but I would feel VERY sketchy if I went to troll for guys in a hardware store. For one thing, why the hell waste my Friday night in a Home Depot? I have no real home improvement needs myself and feel that any contrived guy trolling is counter productive and not really helpful for me. Another issue is a lot of guys in a hardware store are married picking up supplies for weekend work. According to Dear Margo there are loads of single male homeowners trying to find Ms. Right in the hardware store. Apparently Margo is NOT living in the DC metropolitan area. Maybe in Iowa this tactic works, but I think it's odd advice.

BTW, despite the Frog Pond reference FroggerGirl didn't write this letter. I may have moments of lament over my single status, but so far I've been able to deal with it without writing Dear Margo...plus the author is like 4 years younger than me. If she thinks it's tough now, just wait a few years! ;-)

Why do I let TV bother me?

2007-12-07T15:56:00.000-05:00

This is a question that keeps me up at night…in the figurative sense, "Why do I let TV bother me?". I watch programs and then I wonder, “Why do I let them stress me out or depress me?” Most of programs are scripted TV, so it’s totally imagined fake people acting out scenarios, or it’s Oprah or a silly reality program, that probably should be taken with a grain of salt before I let it impact my psyche.

Last night is a perfect example: Grey’s Anatomy. WTF people, this season had better get back on track after the WGA Strike, because I am not as attached to the show so far this season as I was in Season 1-3. I still love the idea and my fond memories of Grey’s past keep me tuning in, but this season has felt more like it was toying with my emotions (and Yes, I realize TV is an inanimate object/presence that cannot be targeting specifically me, I’m not completely crazy). It’s a sign of good TV when people get absorbed and believe these actors, but if a show messes with me too much I have to stop watching. ER was a casualty of this phenomenon. Too much useless blood and drama (bed hopping) made it impossible for me to watch with any devotion. Any characters I liked died or left so the show fell off my radar.

Last night’s Grey’s was a blood and depression fest. I spent most of the episode hoping to NOT see blood and ick mixed with the emotional angst. Overall, I was pleased that some of the story lines I was most pissy about had some resolution (George and Izzie anyone?) but overall I am still nervous that after loosing Addison and some of the other characters loosing focus this show could drive me away (or start seriously sucking)…and I don’t want that. For as much as TV shouldn’t control me, I still love this show and can forgive it messing with my head a little…so long as happiness or positive story lines occur at least once in a while. My fingers are crossed for the rest of the season!

Painful (literally) life lessons

2007-12-07T15:53:00.000-05:00

I have decided I must have a masochistic streak buried deep in my subconscious. I seem to have an innate ability to harm myself, usually in minor ways, due to actions that I just don’t think through or seem to happen. Maybe I need to apply some Buddhist Mindfulness into my world. I have in the past year and a half sliced my hand open and needed stitches while slicing a bagel, which to be fair was not as stupid as it sounds, and was very uncomfortable. I have messed up any number of muscles and joints thanks to not paying attention while walking/exercising. I almost killed myself in heels in my work bathroom more than once thanks to marble floors…well the list goes on and there is a lot of stupid/thoughtless incidents not worth the prolonged chronicle.

This week’s edition…I had to get gussied up for a professional situation and the only way my suit slacks (or trousers, take your pick) looked right was in a certain pair of very cute, perfectly deep red, pointy toed, a bit too high for comfort stiletto heels. They looked fabulous, but by the time I had been in them for the few hours of my professional engagement, well, my feet hated me. Lovely blisters and painful calf muscles complained for days. I have no one to blame but myself, but damn it those shoes made the whole outfit! A smarter person would have found a better way to make the outfit work, or maybe had the foresight to get the trousers hemmed…but in this case I did not have said foresight to think the situation through. This will now be added to my mental list of Self-Inflicted Things to be Avoided! Maybe one day the lessons on the list will stick and I’ll stop inflicting harm…but I doubt it if it's Cute Shoes vs. Unsatisfactory Outfit, the shoes always win.

I'm totally seeing this movie!

2007-11-29T14:44:00.001-05:00

OK, so again in the Entertainment Blog realm I found this post about an upcoming Colin Farrell movie. I was not sold on Colin Farrell...until I watched the trailer and saw Ralph Feinnes was in in too. Colin Farrel actually seemed on his game in this movie, which is a shocker after how bad Alexander was and how bad his new Woody Allen Movie sounds. Added bonus on this movie, it takes place in one of my favorite cities in Belgium...yes, I have a favorite Belgian city and if you don't your missing something! The movie In Bruges looks funny/quirky and even though it seems to rip on Belgium...well it still looks funny. Now I just have to hold out until at least 2008 to have my own little Bruge flashback on the big screen.

Kids!

2007-11-29T14:43:00.001-05:00

As many know, the FroggerGirl is a totally Awesome Auntie (I have independent input on this from the subject nephews and nieces…they may have been kissing some butt, but still) There are 4 tadpoles in the family and for good measure there is even gender distribution. I’m currently at this weird stage of Auntie-dom…my nieces and nephews are getting older. Yes, I realize I cannot stop this process, but it freaks me out.

My oldest nephew is now about 11.5 months away from being a teenager. I will have a tadpole nephew no more…he will be a pubescent semi-tadpole-froggy-thing…that is just not ok! Well, alright it’s the circle of life and it happens, but as a friend of mine would say, “I am not emotionally prepared for departure.” As he gets older I’m finding more in common with him in terms of humor and conversation, but it’s hard to part with my memories of him as the quiet serious blond toddler/kid in grandpa glasses who was too precious for word. His sister is hitting double digits this January…the Big 1-0. That is equally tough, but I guess since her big brother is paving the way I can deal with her age better.

As I spent time over the Holidays with my 4 ½ yr old nephew…let’s call him Train Boy…and my Little Princess (aka his sister the 2 ½ yr old Chief Trouble Maker) I was reintroduced to how much I both love kids and am thrilled I don’t have them yet. My older nephew and niece remind me time is passing and kids grow-up too quickly. Train Boy and Lil’ Princess remind me that they also stay young for a long time and are challenges from start to finish. Tantrums, quiet moments, book reading, lap sitting (them, not me, I would squash there little selves!) new words learned (hopefully no bad ones they heard their Auntie slip up and say) and all the other memories that can only come from little kids. Terms like criss-cross apple sauce (I used this too at their age; it’s the PC term for sitting Indian Style) and dealing with the logic of kids who have yet to really learn empathy and sharing on a grand level. It was fun, but exhausting.

Every time I leave family gathers after time with the tadpoles I’m happy to have had the experience and sad to leave them, but I’m definitely happy that at this stage in my life I’m just Auntie. I play with the kids, but diaper changes and tantrums are usually handled by the parents. I may have learned empathy and sharing on a grand level…but I’m still happy to have my time for me and I don’t have to share it! I’m sure Christmas with all the family in one place will bring out the same feelings…but I guess that will be blogged about when it happens.

Terrible Netflix Decisions!

2007-11-29T14:23:00.000-05:00

So I was skipping though the world of Entertainment Blogs and came across a rant about how one film can ruin you for an actress or even mess with your head enough that sleep is hard to find and Netflix decisions are behind the trauma. I was tempted to rent the movie Hard Candy, then I found out it was a pretty sick horror flick and it was deleted from my queue pretty darn fast.

It’s the last line of the blog that made me start thinking…What movie did I regret so much that I too pretty much ran to get it out of my house? My Answer: Irreversible! I rented this at least 2 years ago and it haunts me still. GAH! Possibly the most pointless, violent and physically revolting movie experience I have had. I thought it was a Memento like movie that runs backwards and it was French and supposed to be edgy and a thinker flick. In all fairness I had been warned by reviews that it had some tough stuff, including a rape scene, but I was tricked by some decent reviews into thinking it would be thought provoking. For me it provoked the thought that destroying this DVD would break laws (it was Netflix property after all) and should not be done no matter how much I wanted to and it would not solve the problem of more copies of this thing.

NOTE OF CAUTION: SPOILERS WILL BE WRITTEN HERE…so if you planned to traumatize yourself with this movie, stop reading…but please rethink watching this movies…it is terrible!

Nauseating camera moves that made motion sickness immediately trigger should have been warning one. The opening scene in a super raunchy Paris gay bar that shows fisting: warning 2 that we have a problem. Quickly compounding matters was warning number 3…the hate crime of literally bashing in a gay guy’s head in graphic detail. The next scenes were awful and involved trying to find a rapist and a lot of anti-gay talk. The rape scene…well let’s see that was big red flag sirens going off that this movie needed to go home. It was beyond graphic and went on for almost 10 minutes and well it was horrifying. I looked away…I thought this has to be over soon, right? No, it was awful and the movie just kept on going. Shortly after that scene came some more nauseating camera moves and my own feelings of being dirty for watching something so pointless and awful. Then silly drama in a bar and that made no sense and was foreshadowing the rape I just suffered through (remember the film moves backwards) and I then decided I had to turn off the movie, seal it back in it’s Netflix envelope and get it the hell out of my apartment. I left my apartment went downstairs and outside to the mailbox at 11pm to get it on its way back home to Netflix. I then ran upstairs and searched out The Princess Bride to try and wipe the gross flashes and scenes from my head with gentle and silly comedy.

So, long story short it took a while for that one to be semi-erased from my mind and it definitely made me rethink supposedly “edgy thinker films” from France and Netflix reviews! Lesson learned for now...and Irreversible is added to my NEVER AGAIN list of movies!

My Deamon...is it me? I'd like to think so!

2007-11-19T12:07:00.000-05:00

Marketing with a Message

2007-11-16T11:50:00.000-05:00

OK, I admit it...I love the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty ads that promote "real" women. I was fascinated by the first ad Dove Evolution that showed in time elapse how admittedly beautiful models (in this case random woman) are morphed into gorgeous unattainable beauty thanks to make-up and hair staff plus computers to help even out features and make people look skinnier. The Pro-Age campaign with aging women in some form of undress was risque, but at the same time it had a message about beauty and timelessness...and the fact that everyone of us will age and get wrinkled and grey, but we are not ugly because of that. Their most recent foray is aimed at younger girls and is called Dove Onslaught to demonstrate how media can get to them without a parent noticing. I think it's a very well done piece and it's got a solid message. Apparently there are those who think these messages are NOT good...and hurt as much as the rest of media.

I think the author of that article and a number of critics are looking at this with a skew to their won agenda (and No I am not surprised by this...it's how media works). The message that women need to develop self-esteem that is separate from a fashion industry or media ideals needs to broadcast far and wide. Being attractive/presentable is attainable for anyone, but that is one small part of who we are! I'm not a model, but I like to think I look presentable and attractive most days, but beyond that I'm wicked smart and driven which will take me farther than being 110lbs with big tits and no brain. I hate that stupid people like Paris Hilton or any number of drunk-ass Reality TV stars get attention for vacuous personalities, lack of discernible brain activity and being "HOT". Kids (Hell, Adults) are sponges and a dialogue about beauty and the media needs to happen. To say these ads tell girls that any kind of beauty goal or activity is stupid is missing the point of the ads and skewing the issue. For Christ's Sake, DOVE SELLS BEAUTY PRODUCTS!!! It would be suicide to put out the message that appearance is totally meaningless. Dove is marketing a different ideal. I don't buy a lot of Dove products...too much perfume and so far nothing has caught my fancy...but I sure am inclined to give them a try from time to time. Specifically because they are willing to challenge an idea. I realize that there challenge helps their business, but I'm realistic enough to accept that trade off.

STRESS!

2007-11-16T11:35:00.000-05:00

Its official…I’m stressed! I thought for a while I was in a funk and just a bit overwhelmed with lots to do, but I can handle that right? Well…yes, but it is now time for a stress reduction exercise or something! Causes of my stress are work, my MA, feelings of inadequacy in aspects of my life, possible new (and slightly scary) horizons for my career, a very stupid car insurance related stress and right now it just feels like life in general is stress. I think this is in the forefront of my mind b/c I haven’t been sleeping well the past few weeks (from the stress and the bright lights on 24/7 at this building remodel kitty corner from my window that seems to cut through my blinds, which is so delightful!) and its Friday…which should equal profound joy at the idea of two days of relative freedom…but the spark isn’t there. On some level there are hormones (so freaking annoying!) to blame for the stress funk seeming worse.

However, FroggerGirl was raised to be a Pollyanna with a whole “I can learn and grow from this” attitude so fear not gentle readers…I will persevere and kick this stress in the booty! For the first time in a while my weekend will not be a definition of boring. There are things to be done with friends and next week is Thanksgiving and quality time with my Brother’s family, specifically the little sweet urchins he and his wife brought into this world. So to sum up this ramble with classic cliché style…stress sucks, but some good old fashion comfort food (in moderation) and a sunny day help…the rest will take a bit more effort, but I’m ready for it!

I'm Afraid for the Future...

2007-11-13T12:03:00.000-05:00

So this Daily Mail Article and a Facebook link made me a bit scared for the young women of today. Yes, I'm still young and a woman, but I'm not like these 18-25 year old alcoholics in training. Binge drinkers and proud of it...so proud they post pics of their drunken stupidity online...classy! We have all done stupid things while drinking, but let me tell you if there ever was a picture of me trying to pee in public, I sure as hell wouldn't post it online. employers, teachers, parents and peers could all see and judge (often harshly) a persons character and value off those kinds of pics. It's a brave (drunken) new world online...be prepared!

Politician or Rock Star….

2007-11-13T12:00:00.000-05:00

OK, I have to be honest…I’m getting awful sick and tired of Barak Obama. Early on I was excited for him and his political aspirations. He had Liberal street cred with a lot of democrats, the exciting rise to power, he is very smart, a solid orator and seemed to have the making of the first black President of the United States. He seemed to have it all...and then reality set in! His performance in debates and in public has been a disappointment. He is treated like a Rock Star at campaign stops, but he’s a Politician…at least that’s what he claims to be. Rock Stars are fun and all, but I wouldn’t want Bono as my President…and I REALLY like Bono.

Oprah loves him, that’s no surprise. He danced and proved he had some groove on Ellen. Then he had the WORST INTERVIEW EVER on Tyra banks, I mean seriously that train wreck is no way to get votes. He has had his Colbert and Daily show sit-downs (which to be fair seems a pre-requisite for all candidates) and now he’s been on SNL to rip on Hillary. I get it, Obama’s relevant AND funny, but come on…this is getting ridiculous. The best he’s been able to do is rip on Hillary as a woman and a “faker” and promise he’s got all these innovative ideas, but where are the ideas? Where is the proof of policy smarts? Critics have rightfully pointed out he has not varied from a set stump speech and he’s made more than a few blunders proving he doesn’t have foreign policy chops. With every Hollywood moment he indulges in I’m loosing respect. Relying on cute and funny worked on his book tours, but now he’s trying to be President. I need my President to show that he/she has intelligence, savvy and political know-how…I could care less if Tyra or Oprah like him/her. For the love of God, somebody make him talk Politics and stop shaking his groove thing…it’s getting distracting.

Thanks to the Princezz for the idea….

2007-11-13T11:58:00.000-05:00

Sily list of questions to answer and enjoy!
Copy and post your answers in the comments, and if you post on your site, I'll post my answers:
1. Do you have a tattoo?
2. How old are you?
3. Are you single or taken?
4. Fish?
5. Do you dream in color?
6. Ever seen a corpse?
7. Hipsters or Hillbillies?
8. How did we meet?
9. What's your philosophy on life and death?
10. If you could do anything with me, and have no one know, what would it be?
11. Do you trust the police?
12. Do you like musicals?
13. What is your fondest memory of me?
14. If you could change anything about yourself what would it be?
15. Would you cheat ?
16. What are you wearing?
17. Have you ever peed in a pool?
18. Would you hide evidence for me if I asked you to?
19. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together?
20. Which do you prefer - short or long hair?
21. What's your favorite day of the week?
22. What's your favorite color?
23. If you could bring back anyone that has passed, who would it be?
24. Tell me one interesting/odd fact about you?
25. What was your first impression of me?
26. Have you ever done drugs?
27. Will you post this so I can fill it out for you?

Addiction

2007-11-02T14:07:00.001-04:00

Hello, My Name is FroggerGirl and I'm a Facebook-aholic. It is my new crack. Social network sites usually annoy the crap out of me...MySpace, Friendster...they just were never worth messing around on. Too much effort to play with the layout and all that. I'm officially on of those who crashed Facebook at the after 20 stage. Seriously, that site is waaaaay too much fun. I had to laugh at this article about Facestalking...very funny. It's still random how people I haven't seen in over a decade or more importantly don;t really talk to anymore are now my "Friends". Add to the weird voyeur element of Facebook the applications. Seriously my sister and I mess with one anther all the time with applications. I may one day need a Facebook intervention...but for now I'm revelling in the timewasting wonder that is Facebook!

This argument in Torture…

2007-11-02T14:05:00.000-04:00

OK, I am sick of the whole “Torture” discussion. I think it’s important to discuss what is happening to terrorist suspects, but we have now devolved into rhetoric and stupid simplification. Party politics and political fear are now driving this discussion and that just seems wrong. There is a Geneva Convention for a reason and obviously our policies and procedures with Enemy Combatants has not been a resounding success. I think the current debate with Mukasey and all that is just static. Look, water boarding is torture…that’s it. Now how do Congress and the President intend to deal with all the political ill will we are creating everyday? Some real analysis and honesty would be appreciated by EVERYONE right about now. Sadly, I just don’t see much hope for that.

TRON

2007-10-22T16:32:00.000-04:00

If I haven’t explained this before, FroggerGirl has a long memory that has a lot of random entertainment info stuffed into it. I’ve watched and remember a lot of obscure and cheesy TV and movies. One of my favorites is TRON. I remember watching TRON in class as a special “treat” in the 6th grade…a 1982 Disney movie about a guy sucked into a video game was out “treat”. It’s is pure sci-fi silliness from the early 80s. Seriously…this movie is CHEESE! What brings up this TRON moment? I saw a link to 10 Epic Halloween Costumes and there is a man who not only made himself a TRON costume…he did a special website giving a step by step description of the process. It is too funny!

For your consideration: TRON Guy

Now That's Commitment!

2007-10-20T12:20:00.000-04:00

Ok, I read this article a while back and it stuck with me. Louis Theroux is a documentary film maker/newsman character in the UK known for unusual subject matter and commitment to documentary/news stories. He's a bit like a classy UK Michael Moore. For his most recent story he was focused on Plastic Surgery...and he even got some done in the name of his story. Either that's commitment or insanity. He committed partially out of vanity, but also out of curiosity...that's an odd mixture for elective surgery, but I guess no worse than the reasoning of contestants on Extreme Makeover. It's weird thought: Surgically altering yourself. Is the root of those decisions self hatred/self-disgust? Do you stay yourself when you make some very integral physical changes like boobs, new nose or other choices? Are you lazy if you get liposuction? Who knew one English guy's gut reduction could lead to so many questions.

Religious Crime Wave?

2007-10-18T13:50:00.000-04:00

OK, so I was reading a Slate.com series on laws, or more specifically the breaking of laws. Today's focus: Mormons and the Amish. Who knew they were such law breakers? Well, I knew some of them were...but man it's funny to read it all in one place. It definitely makes you wonder where religious tolerance and actual law enforcement meet. From the headline it made me think there was a mass Amish/Mormon crime wave that nobody talks about. I knew there must be more the Amish than quilts, pies and a mean dislike of cameras!

Why I Love the CS Monitor

2007-10-18T13:29:00.000-04:00

I lost ny news/infroamtion gathering way for a while. I got caught-up in CNN and MSN for it's quick, and often tabloid, news. Today I found the path. I had forgotten what a great and random news source the Christian Science Monitor is. I read it all the time in college and Grad School, and then…well go back to my Frost like path references for a clue. I rediscovered it today and I was just so happy. Everything from Philosophical editorials to a new form of bike racing is covered. I loved their book section for new and hard to find releases. What made me VERY interested today was an editorial about Kant and Atheism. I was so wrapped up in it…it was GREAT! Kant is one of my favorite philosophers, Perpetual Peace was one of the first tough books I picked to read early in college. The editorial was well balanced and confronted some issues I have been thinking about lately with so many books coming out saying belief in a higher power = diminished intelligence. So to the Christian Science Monitor I say, “Kudos! I will not forget you again.” I mean, where else will I find a Kant argument in a national news source? Certainly not on CNN.com or the other news cites that give equal time to Britney and Paris as well as REAL News.

Somethings are NEVER art

2007-10-12T13:46:00.000-04:00

I have a confession to make: I love art, but I am more than a little scornful of certain forms of Modern Art. OK, I'm extremely scornful of many forms of Modern Art. Things like Performance Art or when someone craps on a piece of paper and call it art. I went to SFMoMA and saw a giant stack of Indigo died shirts...like 1,000 of them and it was being called Art. I guess I just didn't get it. At first I thought they were Prison shirts and that made sense, but no they were just cotton shirts. It seemed like a waste of resources more than art...I mean come on, a big ass pile of shirts?

Why this rant? Well I was paying attention to two art related stories this week. NPR and BBC covered this story of the dumb-ass artist who as an , "Act of Love" kissed a $2M white canvas in France. Her lipstick cannot be removed from the canvas and now the owner is suing her for over $2M. The lady who kissed the painting is an artist too. I get a heavy whiff of publicity whore off this lasy more than genuine LOVE of art. Maybe she was hoping to piggyback on another artist's genius? Any way you slice it she defaced valuable and well thought of art, and it was NOT improved by ugly cheap red lipstick.

The other story totally grossed me out. An Artist has an ear grafted onto his skin as a statement of art...AN EAR! This is a medical technique used to help victims of violence, frostbite, etc...replace and reconstruct their bodies. What the hell is a perfectly normal, but possibly unhinged, dude doing grafting an ear onto his forearm? It looks gross and art be damned, this is clearly a medical ethicist worst nightmare. EWWWW!!!! This is not Art! I'll take a Rubens, Warhol or Pollack any day over seeing a dude with an ear on his arm...that is just all sorts of wrong!

Hallelujah, I’m saved!

2007-10-12T13:43:00.000-04:00

Well, saved from feeling like a total tard when I text and IM people and can never figure out the lingo or TXT language. This may be lame, but Netlingo has totally helped! It gives me more than enough knowledge to feel less like an old fart and more like the young kind of-hip person that I am! YIPEE, I can feel less lame now! OMG! TTYL! Now if only I could get a website this sweet to help me with French!

WTF: Political

2007-10-11T13:51:00.000-04:00

Let me get this straight, with all the crap that has hit the fan politically our President it voicing concern over the WWI Era Armenian Genocide? Are you kidding me? A horrible atrocity that happened almost 100 years ago that Congress was resolving was a genocide and thus a crime of the Ottoman Turks is worth an international brouhaha? I realize Turkey has been super helpful with the whole Iraq situation, but are they really this thin skinned about their past? I realize many countries have moments of denial, but this is ridiculous. President Bush needs to settle down and realize this issue is thre least of his troubles!

Someday you just feel like crying….

2007-10-10T12:55:00.001-04:00

Ever had a day where stress and other shit just get you down? I’m having one of those days. I hate pity parties…especially when I’m having one! I realize we all need to feel the range of emotions from happy to sad and I appreciate all of those emotions because they do inform my life. I just try to keep self-pity to a minimum, it just seems healthier and pity parties usually don’t make me feel better.

Today is a day when homework seems insurmountable, work is a bit odd and emotionally over wrought and I just discovered people really do suck! My usual stance on people will be restored once my funk is lifted, but for now….sucksville!

Enunciation is Key!

2007-10-10T12:37:00.000-04:00

Yet again at Yoga there was a funny word play moment. Funny to me because there is scatological 13 year old style humor still in my sense of humor. My regular yoga teacher is great. I love the fact that she is a bit spacey and has odd tangents and sometimes has word salad moments(worry not; no serious neurological issues are present). Overall she is good at what she does and her spacey is a kind I can deal with. There is just one thing, sometimes she doesn’t enunciate and this leads to her favorite phrase sounding kind of dirty when you have said 13 year old scatological humor in you.

My teacher likes to talk about reaching in to tap into, “Your Innate Ability” whatever ability that is for the lesson of the class. She says is more like, “Yer Innate” and when she is speaking fast like usual…well it sounds like, “Urinate” and that makes me giggle. I know it’s juvenile, but come on when someone says, “Reach deep into your self and tap into Urinate ability to release your pelvis.” Well, it’s a little funny. Maybe it’s just me, but at this point, anything that is making me smile is a good thing!

Very Naughty Blog? Really?

2007-10-08T17:43:00.000-04:00

JustSayHi - Free Personals

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:
drugs (5x) suck (3x) dead (2x) shit (1x)

Wow...didn't see that rating coming. I figured PG MAYBE PG-13, but NC-17? That makes me as dirty as the new Ang Lee Movie. See what happens when I blog about performance enhancing drugs and say the word suck? Iguess that proves the danger of taking information/words out of context. Very Naughty FroggerGirl.

Merde = Grammaire Francaise!

2007-10-05T17:42:00.000-04:00

It’s official; I’m a grammar ‘tard. Yup, I have issues with the structure of language, especially a foreign language. In English it’s punctuation (you know : ; , etc…) that proves difficult or if you asked me about a dangling participle…I’d be screwed. Last night was class number 3 in French. I was a bit behind on all the homework, plus the in class work we didn’t get done last week, that the last 30 minutes of class were my own personal hell. Past tense verbs that need avoir vs. etre add or agreement of objects and conjugations. I’m in this class to help me finally absorb all the French grammar info I can’t seem to keep in my head. It’s annoying to always sound like a retarded French four year old when I speak the language. My pronunciation is great; it’s just the damn grammar! I’ve been doing flash cards at work, on the Metro…hell I’d do them when driving, but that seems dangerous. There is still hope in me, I have 7 more classes to attend and in that time something has got to be absorbed into my head and stay there. I will not be a cheese eating surrender monkey, I will soldier on! Merde!

Doping is Dope!

2007-10-05T17:18:00.000-04:00

I must be jaded. Not only was I not surprised that Marion Jones finally admitted using performance enhancing drugs, I have minimal indignation about it. Usually I'm all sorts of indignant about this kind of thing. Is it weird that I just assume the majority of professional athletes take some form or another of performance enhancing drugs? Most athletes take some low level energy/dietary/hormone booster from a trainer, nutritionist or GNC like store. The truly bad offenders take steroids and its super powerful siblings to improve their performance. I realize there are honest athletes, but in endurance sports or events where we are breaking human speed records yearly it seems odd that just hard work lead to the freakish abilities of the participants.

The only thing that truly pisses me off is when an athlete lies repeatedly about their drug use, even when confronted with evidence of their drug use. Can you really tell me Bonds, Jones and others had no idea they were taking something stronger then flax seed oil? You sprouted muscle and had massive body changes...flax seed oil DOES NOT DO THAT! Kids look up to athletes, want to be them and live their life…and a lot of them are not honest about how they achieved their glory, money and fame. Just because everyone does it on some level doesn’t make it right, and it’s actually teaching kids to be dishonest and that there is a double standard on drug enforcement and athletes on drugs. It’s ok to do THESE drugs because they will make you run faster and hit balls farther, but stay away from crack, because crack kills.

Potisive? Po-T-isive? Is that a word?

2007-10-03T13:55:00.000-04:00

Last night at Yoga my substitute teacher either has a random speech impediment or some issue with the pronunciation of a certain word. Throughout the evening when she should be saying positive it kept coming out as potisive. Po-T-isive…with a T not an S…so it’s a new word? The teacher was truly crunchy yoga lady. Late 40s with pierced nose, Sanskrit tattoo, crazy curly free flow hair and super chipper attitude. She is married to an artist and does super intense yogic chants and practice. So maybe she meant to have Pot in her Positive. I don’t want to stereo type, but come on, this lady loves her Herb. Class was fine, but I had to laugh when she would say, "Potisive thinking will help you engage your legs. We must thrive on potisive energy.” Webster’s, you are on notice because there is a new word on the block!

No child left behind…unless it’s a sick child

2007-10-03T13:49:00.000-04:00

Ok, let me get this straight….Bush wants all children to excel in Education and has developed the No Child Left Behind ideology…but then he uses his veto power to kill legislation meant to help keep children covered with health insurance benefits. WTF people!

I realize I do now know all of the policy ups and downs or the nuance of SCHIP, but come on! The basic premise that even a majority of congressional REPUBLICANS understood was that there is a program in jeopardy that can help States keep children insured. That by allowing children (in most cases poor to lower middle class children) access to healthcare that is not killing their parents financially these children will get regular medical care and hopefully stay healthy, instead of parents trying to decide if they should buy food or pay for the ER. What is wrong with that?

Our country is in a crisis of health care. I can barely get an appointment to see my Doctor, and I have insurance. I don’t get the feeling Bush wants to hurt kids, but by engaging in this pissing contest with Congress he is putting the health and welfare of thousands of children second to his political hubris.

Guess what Bush? You just gave the Democrats another issue they can use during the 2008 Election season. You now look like a dickhead and even people from your own party are pissed about this issue. Way to go Mr. President!

The Train Wreck Continues

2007-10-01T18:06:00.000-04:00

Here's a shocker: Britney Spear's living train wreck just won't stop. Is anyone actually surprised by this? And guess what kids? The media will continue to cover this like it's more important than any other world event.

Move over Sudan Crisis, because it's Britney Bitch!

You'll find me in the club?

2007-10-01T11:14:00.000-04:00

Well, not often, but Saturday night I actually went out! I went out to celebrate a great friend’s milestone Birthday. Normally, it’s like pulling teeth for me to go to a club. The places are usually overpriced, crowded and there is often a heavy whiff, if not outright stench, of meat market. For a good friend I will go outside my comfort zone to Da Club (thank you 50 Cent), and this time it was actually fun.

I realize this is a bad way of looking at the preparation for going out to a club, but I view it as the time to Whore-up. If you’re a woman you know it involves way more than average make-up, skimpier than average clothes and shoes that often make you want to amputate your feet. I like to think my end result is more high-class hooker than down right whore…especially when I see some of the outfits the 18 year old girls are wearing. Everyone makes their choices…and most of my friends and I look more classy than trashy.

Thankfully I was able to skip paying a $20 cover thanks to a free online pass, being a woman over 21 and getting to the club before midnight. Plus being with reserved VIP tables (yeah, I was a part of a VIP group) let me jump the line. However, I am aging so the idea that the club doesn’t even open until 10pm was a bit daunting. I had to take a disco nap to be even close to handling it.

The second level where our tables were located was less crowded and more fun than the main level. A bit too warm, but space to sit and relax a bit made it more tolerable. There was of course the deafening music and requisite shouting into other people’s ears to have a conversation, but I wasn't expecting quiet or soothing atmosphere. I had to apologize to my ringing ears and sore throat, but the pain was minimal.

For my once in a blue moon outing, this one was worth it. Lots of friends and folks I hadn’t seen for a long time. The Birthday Girl had a great time and now I can say I actually went out to a club this year. So until next year, you will not be seeing me in the club…unless another friend needs to celebrate a milestone B-day there. And they better be a great freakin’ friend, or I am out!

Ewwww! Yet, oddly intriguing...

2007-10-01T10:51:00.000-04:00

Saturday I went with the girls to see Bodies the Exhibition! I have wanted to see it since I first heard it came to town. For those not in the know, it’s an exhibit that has taken human cadavers and preserved them for exhibition. They were even able to separated out their bits and pieces to be preserved separately. So we saw not just whole bodies, but the entire circulatory system was broken down and separated by limb, section and finally the whole dame thing lit up bright red! Spinal cords, embryos…you name it and it was preserved. There was a tumor with hair AND eyes! HAIR AND EYES! That one was nasty and I didn’t even realize what it was until later when comparing notes with one of the girls.

It was weird because all of the exhibits and pieces were once living breathing people (most from China) that are now skinned, preserved and gawked at daily. It was informative, but also had the side-show freak element to it. Certain displays, like the embryo section, were totally meant to shock as much as inform. Yet I was sucked in and had only minimal moments of nausea, mostly caused by a sudden realization that the skinned down person was once walking/talking, not just the strangely wax figure like preserved specimen.

It was worth it to pay for admittance and an audio tour. I learned even more about the human body and saw things that used to be impossible to display until this new preservation process. It was interesting to see what we are really like inside. It’s easy to loose perspective about our bodies and our natural processes. This exhibit does make me reconsider any notion I had of leaving my body to science. I don’t really think I need to be skinned and gawked at…I’ll leave that to other corpses!

WTF: Celebutards Edition

2007-09-28T15:17:00.000-04:00

Can I just say that if all of the crazy ass Celebutants/Celebutards could all just sit down in their drunken stupor and be quiet that would be great. Seriously, I am sick of seeing headlines about baby bumps, DUI and other crazy crap. What’s super-duper pissing me off? Frickin’ Paris (DUI Prison Superstar) Hilton is trying to save Africa with a visit to Rwanda. Yeah, her deep critical thinking skills and conflict resolution skills will totally help a civil war ravaged country more than UN and other NGO efforts. Maybe she can give them fashion advice…that would be helpful right?

Look, she has more money than God could have rightfully wanted her to have, so I agree with a few of the columns I have read: WRITE A CHECK PARIS! Don’t go there. You are a dumb-shit drunk and you are not helping to bring awareness to these people. Your bringing awareness to yourself…and again not in a good way! TMZ.com (yeah I know not the arbiter of class act news, but whatever) even tried to ask other dumb-ass Hollywood blonde her thoughts on Paris's trip. The results just make me sad for America!

I do not think Paris truly wants to help these people. I think she is trying to save her vapid little self from seeming too vapid and useless in the media. Too late, we all know you are a waste of time/space, you are not Angelina and prison hasn’t changed you one bit. Rwandans, brace yourselves!

This is going to be mean...

2007-09-28T15:07:00.000-04:00

Consider this a reminder if you know me and if you don’t it’s an explanation: FroggerGirl is not a tiny petite waif of a girl. I am not massive…probably just on the larger end of the normal spectrum. Having said this, let me now be mean.

As I was going through security at SFO Airport, there was a middle aged couple in front of me. They were like a parody of a married couple. Bickering, struggling and in general not happy campers. Things like, “What are you doing? God what is wrong with you!” coming from the wife and equally cheery talk from the husband. Now you’re thinking to yourself, “Well FG is not being sweet and cuddly about this couple, but how is this mean?” Well, I’ll tell you…this couple was FAT! Not just a little big or mildly overweight…these were Weebles. They were almost as wide as they were tall…and thankfully they were not tall.

I would have probably forgotten these two as I continued on my merry way except…they were on my flight back to the Swamp. Worse yet, guess who was sitting in my row? You got it, Mrs. And Mr. Weeble. NOT COOL! First these two barely fit in their seats and even though I was thankfully on the aisle. Well you can imagine right? Mrs. Weeble was complaining that she was claustrophobic…and then looks over at me (she thought I was listening to my iPod) to say, “I would pay to sit on the aisle” to her husband. Yeah, well I would not accept any amount of money to sit smashed between the less than happy Weebles or crammed against the window with them trapping me.

Let’s draw a word picture shall we? Picture is you will the less than roomy seats on an A319 plane about to be in the air for about 5 hours. Now, picture two Weebles crammed into the middle and window seat. FroggerGirl has to stow her items under the seat in front of her. Weebles had bogarted the overhead bin space for their massive bags of chocolate, candles and t-shirts souvenirs. Mrs. Weeble is violating the personal pace of FG in a major way. Not only is she invading over the top to the armrest in such a way that I must torque my body into the aisle and I cannot fully sit back without leaning my shoulder onto a portion of her arm, there is bellow the armrest space violation. Again, FG is not tiny, but my ass fits in the seat with at least 2-3 inches between it and the armrests…no spillage of my girth into the other passenger’s thigh space. Overall, it’s no a pretty picture and it lasts for 5+ hours with us not arrving in the Swamp until the wee hours of the morning. YIPEE!

Like I said…not nice of me, but this couple triggered MAJOR resentment and discomfort for me. That and the fact that I was stuck with them for so long in such a small amount of space didn't help. It’s one more reason that makes that thin line of love and hate in travel so precarious. Sometime people just suck!

Pearls Before Swine

2007-09-25T15:33:00.000-04:00

I happen to love comics. I hate touching news print (all the ink residue and smell is a bit much for me) but when I'm visiting the Northlands of WI, well I risk the ink and start stealing the crossword/comics/Lifestyle section from Momma Frog. Mayhem (of the happy/funny kind) ensues because Momma Frog is a bit territorial with her crosswords and Lifestyle section.

Thanks to the Internet I can get my funny fix sans ink. Pearls Before Swine is one of my favorites. Not the best drawing, but often it has great social/political commentary...and a subversive message. This one made me smile ear to ear.

Why the smile? My biggest photo pet peeve, be it photo business cards (especially in Real Estate) or some other posed photos, is the shot of the hand under his/her chin look. Often the person looks like a dumb-ass with his/her hand under her chin. Note to any who are considering this: You do not look smart or cute. You look ridiculous! Sometimes little kids pictures can pull this off, but more often I can forgive those photos because the kid had no choice. I may take a note from Rat and start finding ways to institute corporal punishment to offenders. If you have one of these photos, well I say, "Good for you!" but know I never want you to send one to me.

The Thin Line Between Love and Hate

2007-09-24T16:52:00.000-04:00

There is this strange internal dialogue/self analysis that occurs when I travel. It starts with the evaluation of the thin line between loving and hating something. I love to travel and 90% of the time I am thrilled…once I get to my destination. It’s the getting there that pisses me off at least 80% of the time. Keep in mind my statistics/percentage breakdowns can vary depending on the travel/reason.

I just got back from lovely San Francisco, CA….home of Rice-a-Roni and my oldest Brother J. This was a good trip; fun was had by all, unless Brother J and his GF were keeping things from me. Sibling bonding occurred, yummy food was eaten and tasty beverage was enjoyed too! The trip could have been longer, but my vacation time would not allow for this trip AND holiday travel…and let’s just say Momma Frog would not be cool if I shorted Christmas in WI even if it was to visit Brother J.

Why the love/hate discussion? Why the questioning of an activity (travel) that 80-90% of the time is thoroughly enjoyed? The answer is simple: the modes of travel available and the facilities I have to use SUCK!!! Driving to a location if it’s a part of a Girls or Friends road trip or traffic is minimal that’s fun. Otherwise in heavy traffic or crap weather, driving = No Fun! Bus, well that’s rarely an option worth taking. Train travel in Europe and other places of the world are a bit more viable than Amtrak. Air travel in theory should be the fastest, more efficient and in general better option…but it’s not. It’s all sorts of FUBAR.

Have you ever tried to deal with Dulles Airport? It sucks…so do most airports and the lines in security. It took me an hour to get through security AND then deal with the strange square people movers that drive you to your terminal. Then there was a running FroggerGirl barley boarding the plane in time despite arriving 1.5 hours early for her flight. The flight itself was fine…the flight home, well…BAD! That get's it's own special rant about people, not infrastructure.

For every pain free perfect trip there is it’s karmic twin waiting to spank me hard as a reminder that travel is an investment of time, energy and money and that thought + planning is required for decent trips. I hate having to plan AND think…it goes against every molecule of my procrastinating body. Instead I shall just suffer and rant at you poor souls who chose to read my blog. Aren’t you luck?

Thank Goodness for Netflix

2007-09-17T22:36:00.000-04:00

Isn’t it sad when good TV dies? Or worse yet when good TV dies and you missed it? There have been a few of those shows in my world. Don’t get me wrong, TV is not everything and the loss of a good show doesn’t stop the world from spinning…but after work when my brain is sometimes half dead, well decent TV is nice to relax with, right? What’s prompting this little rant? I found a show called Wonder Falls on Netflix that only aired about 4 episodes on Fox. It’s weird and great and it made me laugh so hard a few times I cried…then I cried due to drama and good acting. Seriously, this show could have been my Grey’s Anatomy of the day when it started to air…but I missed it and it died the TV cancellation death.

Wonder Falls is not my first such discovery, about 2 years ago I discovered through Netflix the Joss Whedon show Firefly. I loved it so much I had to own it, and the movie inspired by it Serenity. Like a lot of good (and to be honest horrendous) TV it was canceled after only 3-4 episodes. It’s complicated, a bit subversive and FUNNY! Another show that died before it’s time that due to my lack of cable had to be provided to me via Netflix…ROME! Rome rocks! It is so good…with the nudity, violence and rocking dialogue/acting…I mean they actually got Rome for all of its gory glory! Yet only 2 seasons were made, and that is a travesty. I prefer to be amused by good TV, not crap like Caveman. Oh well, that’s why I have Netflix…to better enjoy what can so often be missed in TV Land!

Sad...

2007-09-16T21:26:00.000-04:00

So, I’ve been in a bit of a funk since last night and said funk is over my Cousin, who I shall call Seattle Cousin (SC). She is 10 years younger than me and lives all the way across this big ol’ USA! She has also been comatose, vegetative, whatever choice medical term you like, for over a year. Mother’s Day 2006 she was in a terrible car accident with friends. One girl died, my cousin ended up in her current state and the driver just broke her arm. No alcohol or drugs involved, just giggly girls in a hurry to get to their destination. Then BOOM…2 vibrant girls went poof. Every day I get an email update on SC from her former boyfriend who updates a website on her condition and gives support to her family. She has good days and bad days. Most days I read the posts, pray for her and move on with my day. Those days tend to be neutral or good news days. Other days I read about her condition and just want to cry. Those are moments when I feel hopeless for her and her family in Seattle. I try to stay positive, but I’m human. It’s one of the situations I hope never happens to anyone else close to me, but the Universe/God may have different plans. The funk will pass with a new day, but SC will probably stay the same for a while. I guess that’s why humans hope for miracles…to help move-on and keep hope alive. So I hope…and that’s enough for now…

Emilie Simon - Fleur de Saison

2007-09-16T18:02:00.001-04:00

I officially love this artist. The video is plenty trippy and just fabulous to watch!