Thursday, November 09, 2006

Reflections on Election

Okay, I feel the need to get this out now, because if I don't, way into the future my enemies will discover this tidbit about my life and raise it up as an example of my hypocraisy or evilness or whatever (By the way, I don't really believe I have enemies, I'm not crazy, just silly). *Deep breath* I didn't vote this year! Whew, glad to get that off my chest.

In order to better understand why I didn't vote, you might want to refer back my post about the excellent level of service at the RMV. You may think me cowardly, but I have yet to go back and try again to get my license, and at the same time, register to vote.

Now, I knew that the elections were coming up, and that I really ought to get around to getting registered so I could do my civic duty in my new town, but I really didn't care. This may sound like an excuse, but I didn't feel qualified to vote for governor, because I hadn't lived under the previous one, so don't really know her record of service, and don't really know what issues would affect my community most. Plus, I am far more interested in national politics than local ones, and Taylor ended up being the one to follow the governor's election.

I know, I know. The election was for the Senate and the House as well, but come on, do you really think Ted Kennedy and John Kerry wouldn't win? I didn't even see either one attempt to campaign.

I wasn't very happy the Democrats took the House and nearly took the Senate. But now they have a chance to do whatever it is they're gonna do (they are so vague on the whole national security thing. All I've heard is "We'll do it better than Bush!") and at work I'll finally be on offense instead of defense. Now I can be the one to complain about the eneptness of the current Congress! So you see, good can come from all things.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Sunday, November 05, 2006

The Pats vs. The Colts

Tonight's game with the Patriots and the Colts is creating quite a buzz around here. Now, I'm not much of a football fan, but even I plan to tune in tonight for two very good reasons: Tom Brady and Payton Manning. The NFL has been hyping the clash of these two quarterback titans, and I thought I'd add my two cents based on my unique qualifications as a girl.

This is Tom Brady. Now, Tom is an all around good-looking guy. So good-looking, in fact, that even men will admit that he's attractive. Now if there's one thing I can say about football, it is that it, er, accentuates most men's physical attributes in a postive way.

However, Tom does come off across like a total player, meaning that as fun as he is to watch on T.V., he definately isn't relationship material. But since my only contact with him will be through television, I can work around that.

Now, here's a boy I would be more than happy to take home to Mama.


Payton Manning may not be move-star hot, but he is the essence of cutie-patootie! Payton exudes good old fashioned southern charm with a great sense of humor. Plus, he's sweet to his mama, and you know what they say: boys who are good to their mamas are good to their wives. Not that that really matters either, because once again, this is strictly a one-sided relationship.

I can't really think of anything negative to say about Payton. I'd really like to believe he's a wholesome as he appears, but my cynical side says he's probably just as big a player as Tom Brady, he just doesn't dress as sexy. But he has great commercials!

I'm sure there are some points I've missed about both men, like their abilities as players, but I think my analysis pretty much sums up what's most important. So who do I want to win in the big game? Who cares? When it comes to attractive football stars, both are winners in my book.

Monday, October 30, 2006

This and That

It's been a while ...
So it has been far too long since I've written anything here lately. As you may remember, I started this here blog with the ambitious intention of writing every day so I could better develop my skills as a writer. Well, there's a reason writers are stereotyped as anti-social recluses who live in remote cabins on the mountains drinking too much brandy ( "Um, Meghan, I've never heard of that stereotype." "Shut up and just go with it!"). For normal people like me, life gets in the way. There, now you've heard my justification for my poor time-management skills. Moving on.

Boston in the Fall
I'm now experiencing the much-heralded "Boston in the fall." Actually, I'm experiencing Quincy in the fall, and I'm enjoying it immensely. The leaves are not only the brilliant shades of gold, red, orange and purple on the trees, but they stay that way when they fall on the ground. The leaves in Texas were always brown and icky when they fall on the ground, so this is a nice change. The not-so-nice change is the chilly weather. I think it's finally dawning on me that it gets cold in this state. Really cold. Like, wear-four-layers-of-clothing-and-then-a-goose-down-jacket cold. And it's still only autumn here. I don't know what I'm going to do when it snows ("Be cold." "Oh thanks.").

Hard Questions, No Easy Answers
I recently read an article by Sam Harris of the Huffington Post entitled There is No God (And You Know It).

"Oh," I thought, "This looks like a cheery read!"

In his article Harris makes the claim that atheists are the ones who are truly in touch with reality and therefore are the only people who can truly empathize the frailty of the human condition.

He also addresses the age-old question of how can a good God allow bad things to happen?

"But how else can we understand the claim that God is both omniscient and omnipotent? There is no other way, and it is time for sane human beings to own up to this. This is the age-old problem of theodicy, of course, and we should consider it solved. If God exists, either He can do nothing to stop the most egregious calamities, or He does not care to. God, therefore, is either impotent or evil."
I believe Harris fails to consider a third option, which is that God is both good and all-powerful, but he chooses to restrain his power and allow his creation to exercise their own free-will.

First of all, how many times has God averted a disaster and we never knew about it? I remember a couple years ago back in college when I learned that an asteroid almost hit the earth with the potential to cause a lot of destruction. However, the asteroid did not hit the earth, but I didn't hear anyone give God credit for changing the trajectory of the asteroid, rather it was a lucky break.

Then Katrina hits. And that's when God gets the "credit." Does that seem a little unfair to you? If Katrina can be used as evidence against God, can a near-miss with an asteroid be used as evidence for God?

The problems is Harris doesn't really want a God who would actively work to avert tragedies. He uses an example of a child molester kidnapping a little girl as an example of things God allows to happen, which brings up an excellent point that most human suffering is caused by other humans. This is where free-will comes into play. God allows people to pretty much do whatever they want here on earth. Of course, you can argue that God's a big meanie because he punishes people for that in the afterlife, however, that's a digression. For the time being, you can be as nice or nasty as you want. Now, would if God did intervene, and every time someone told a lie God caused them to have a pang in their foot?

"No, honey, of course you don't look fat." Ouch!

Maybe God could cause people to temporarily go blind if they look at someone lustfully, or to become paralyzed when they try to hurt someone. Wouldn't that be effective in preventing people from doing bad things? But I think Harris would complain that a God like that would also be bad because he would be constantly interfering with people's lives. Well , maybe God should take away our evil desires and then we wouldn't have that problem. But then, wouldn't we just be robots following God without thought? Isn't it our ability to think and reason and choose between what is right and what is wrong that makes us human? Isn't God showing a severe mercy in restraining his power and allowing us to live as we will, for good or ill?

There are no easy answers to why God spares some people and not others. Why does the rain fall on the both the righteous and the unrighteous? Why does God say "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."? Paul even addresses this in Romans 9.

Even though an atheist might not like this answer, when it comes down to it, God's ways are not our ways. God only knows what he has planned for us in this world. Our responsibility is to take what small portion of life we've been given and make the most of it while we can, and rest in the assurance that all things work for the good of those who love him.

Halloween Festivities
On a lighter, more shallow note, Halloween is tomorrow, and I am very excited ("What? I thought crazy Christian fundamentalists like yourself think Halloween is Satan's holiday!" "Who said I was a fundamentalist?"). Since I'm working in the pharmacy, I have big plans of wearing a tacky wig to celebrate. I originally wanted to smear my lab coat with fake blood and fill pill bottles with tic-tacs that I would munch on in front of customers, but my boss told me that was a bad idea. So tacky wig it is. Afterward, I'm going to my friend's house to pass out candy and watch scary movies. This is a pretty low-key Halloween for me, as I usually like having costumes parties with all the works, but like I said, that whole life thing gets in the way of me doing creative things. Like writing in this blog.


Sunday, October 01, 2006

"I'm Not Prejudice - I have an Ethnically Diverse Group of Friends"

Have you ever noticed that it's taboo to joke about any ethnic groups unless you are a part of that ethnic group? Then, it's not only acceptable to joke about it, but for members of other ethnic groups to laugh at your jokes. They just can't make any jokes backs. For example, I have a Norwegian - Scottish background, so I joke that's why I'm so cheap and short-tempered. My friend Chelsea, who has Irish, French, Indian and Hispanic (and who knows what else) ancestry can reply "That's for sure! And you know what else is funny about those Norwegian-Scottish people? They -"

"Hold on now, Chelsea - I'm starting to feel offended."

"But I haven't even said anything yet!"

"I don't want to listen to your prejudices against my people!"

"But I'm not prejudice! In fact, I'm friends with someone who has Norwegian-Scottish ancestry."

"Oh, well, I guess that's all right then."

It's also funny how friendship with member of a given ethnic group grants you immunity from being prejudice against that group. Which is why there is no such thing as prejudice or racism against Caucasians, because, being the majority, everyone is friends with at least one white person.

The other day, Jonathan, my boss at the Pharmacy, was laughing because even though he's Vietnamese, many of the older Chinese customers who come into the store try to speak to him in Chinese thinking he'll understand, even getting angry with him when he doesn't. Later that day a Polish woman was joking that because she had an accent, most people assumed she was Hispanic. I asked Jonathan whether he had that problem, and he said yes, people have tried speaking to him in Spanish as well as Chinese.

I once had an older Indian woman apologize for not recognizing me because "all you white people look alike to me."

No matter what race or ethnicity we are, human beings are all prone to silliness, and I'm glad that race isn't as big of an issue for my generation as it was for my parents, and I hope it will be even less of an issue for my children. I think it can be, if we all just loosen up a little more and learn to laugh at ourselves and be comfortable with others laughing with us.

But then, I'm an optimist - which comes from my Scottish side.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Politics are Depressing; But God Still Reigns

Is it just me, or do politics in general just no seem worth our attention anymore? It seems that any time I read anything from either the right or the left side of the spectrum, I leave feeling depressed and unsure. That's not a happy feeling for someone who generally goes through life with the optimistic belief that everything will turn out all right in the end and things are never as bad as they seem.

But things seems pretty bad now. The War in Iraq, the War on Terror, this bickering on both sides. It's hard to know where I stand politically because right now I can't agree with either party and neither represents me.

It's hard, because I want know where to stand politically. I want to know what to believe and to know that I am right. But life is not so simple, and it's difficult to pin down absolutes when it comes to political and social issues.

I could become apathetic. I once heard somewhere that pessimists should be the happiest people in the world because they are never disappointed and often pleasantly surprised.

But do I really want to go through my life a cynic? Allow myself to become bitter because I continue to be disappointed by frailty of human nature?

No, I believe the feeling of discontentment I'm experiencing is coming from a higher power all together, who is gently urging me not to seek security in the institutions of man, but in the constancy of his power. Not to rely on the counsel of men, but to lean on his truth.

God will do what he can to strip the illusions from the eyes of his children see they can see their need of him. C. S. Lewis puts it much better than I can:

"I am progressing along the path of life in my ordinary contentedly fallen
and godless condition, absorbed in a merry meeting with my friends for the morrow or a bit of work that tickles my vanity today, a holiday or a new book, when suddenly a stab of abdominal pain that threatens serious disease, or a headline in the newspapers that threatens us all with destruction, sends this whole pack of cards tumbling down. As first I am overwhelmed, and all my little happinesses look like broken toys. Then, slowly and reluctantly, bit by bit, I try to bring myself into the frame of mind that I should be in at all times. I remind myself that all these toys were never intended to possess my heart, that my true good is in another world and my only real treasure is Christ."

My hope is built on Jesus Christ. And through him alone can I have the assurance that everything will turn out right in the end.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Asian Television

In case my friends back home were worried that I would become too cool for them now that I live in the Big City (or in a smaller city outside the Big City), rest assured.

("Whew!" says Friend From Back Home, "I was so worried!")

I am still the same lovable dork Me that I've always been. Except now I'm a lovable dork Me who is addicted to AZN, the cable channel dedicated to Asian Americans! It all started when I was flipping through the channels, bored, with nothing to entertain me, when I saw a show with Korean people wearing period outfits.

"Wow," I thought, "Those are Korean people wearing period outfits. This show must be good!"

Even better was that fact that there were convenient subtitles on the screen, so I didn't have to make up my own dialogue like I had to back when I watched Spanish soap operas (don't judge me!). Before I knew it, I was sucked into a plot filled with intrigue and deception, and I was hooked. Then my husband came home.

"What are you watching?" He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Um ... I don't know the title of the show, because I can't read Korean," I said. "But ...!" I then began telling him the whole plot of the series.

Taylor, like most people, watches T.V. in a vegetative state, so he found it hard to understand why I would enjoy watching a show with subtitles. It was too much like ... reading ... He can understand why I like to read, but actively watching a show with subtitles seemed to be crossing too many barriers. Reading is a smart, healthy thing to do. T.V. is a lazy, stupid thing to do, and ne're the two shall meet.

Like most wives, I agreed with him and then secretly resolved to do exactly I wanted, and so I've kept watching. Only now I fear that the period drama is a gateway drug, because now I'm watching more and more AZN shows. First there was Asia Street Comedy (The title itself is enough to make me laugh.), now I've started watching Anime.

But it's no big deal. I can quit anytime I want. But not right now, my show's back on.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Napster is killing my jokes!

Okay, so in my previous post I had to click on a link entitled "where do they all come from?" which was supposed to lead you to the song "We Only Come Out at Night." by the Smashing Pumpkins, but Napster's supposed "share link" is dumb. Which is why I buy my music from iTunes.

Working at Brooks

Being a person who enjoys observing people and commenting on the aspects of human nature, working at Brooks Pharmacys has provided ample opportunities to feed my habits. In fact, too ample. So ample I'm not sure even where to begin my rant. Perhaps a little background on my store would help.

First, the average pharmacy processes between 300-500 scripts (that's pharmacy speak for prescription) a week, while it is common for our pharmacy to do over 300 in one day. Needless to say, that's a lot of time spent filling pill bottles and a LOT of potentially angry customers.

Second, due the nature of pharmicutical work, which is giving medicine to sick people, every customer is angry. They're mad at the tiny germs causing their illness, they're mad at their doctors, mad at their insurance agencies, and they're mad at me, the pharmacy tech, because I am the bearer of bad news about their doctors and insurance companies, and plus I take a long time to count pills. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed I can't help but wonder where do these people come from?

It probably doesn't help that our store is right across the street from a three-story tall Public Housing that holds all the senior citizens in Quincy. I think the highlight of their day is to come to Brooks with their fifty prescriptions and tell me about every ill that's occuring in their life. I think it might be the white lab coats, but for some reason customers love telling us about every single bodily function they have. It's ironic, because HIPPA is very stern about pharmacies not revealing patients' medical information, but the patients themselves announce to the whole store that they're about to have a colonoscopy.

The old folks really aren't that bad. The ones who really stir up trouble are the people on the state's health care plan. Now, Mass Health covers almost everything, and most medications only cost the patient between $1-$3 if they are not free. But you would not believe how many people tell me they don't have any money to pay for their meds. I had this one lady come in chowing down on a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice creams, which as you know is not cheap.

"I don't have no money for my medicine," she said, smacking her lips. "Just put it on my tab."
"Um, okay." I said. Brooks, doesn't deny anyone medicine it they can't afford it. So, a very complicated system was developed to allow someone to take their medicine home and then come back and pay for it later. But, technically there's no "tab" because we aren't the Down Home Country Store. Pharmacist Jonathan decides to try to explain that to the customer.

"Actually, m'am, we don't have a tab. You have to pay for your medicine."

She sets down her ice cream, the glint in the eye revealing a readiness for battle. "Oh, yes you do! I know because I've done it before!"

Jonathan continued "I know, but you have to pay for it. I can give it to you, but you have to come back and pay for it when you've have the money." I didn't mention it to Jonathan, but to most people that's what a "tab" means.

The customer picked up her ice cream, and resumed smacking. "Oh, I know that, I just don't have the money right now. But I'll pay for it later."

Satisfied, Jonathan left, and I was torn between saying "Yeah, right" and "You know, if you hadn't spend the $4 buying that expensive ice cream I bet you would've had the $3 to pay for your medicine." But you can't reason with someone who feels entitled to both ice cream and free meds, and to do so would have probably resulted in me wearing Ben & Jerry's for the rest of my shift.

While I enjoy observing human folly, I don't particularly enjoy participating in it. However, working in the pharmacy has shown me a whole spectrum of people and attitudes which makes me think about our society. In general, I'm against government handouts, because like Ben & Jerry's lady clear demonstrates, they're often abused. But what about nice old lady from across the street who is one fifty different scripts - she honestly can't afford them. How do we balance personal responsibility with community responsibility? It's a question I've been struggling with a lot here in Tax-achussetts, and one that won't be easily answered in one essay.

As for the question about why Brook's customers are the way they are, the answer is simple. People are weird. And that's about all you can say.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

The Joys of Government Service

Today I went to the Regsiter of Motor Vehicles today, foolishly believing that I was completely prepared to prove that Arkansas didn't screw up and I am who I really say I am. But alas, it turns out they say they want four documents that can verify your name, residency, birthday, and signature, it means they want one for each of those catergories - sorry, no double dipping. So although my driver's license clearly had my signature and birthdate, it could only be used for one. Although my lease has my name on it, it didn't have my signature ( my landlord has my signed copy) therefore it wasn't valid. Did I have a checkbook with my address? Of course, just not with me at the time. I wasn't sure why my checkbook was more valid than my lease, but whatever. I tried to be polite to the RMV lady, but the idiocy of the whole system made me furious. As Taylor walked me to the car, and I was shouting about the stupidity of beaucracies and scaring young children.

Still seething, I then went to work at the Pharmacy in Brooks. And there, I recieved back just what I gave. The funny thing about insurance cards, if you have to have them with you if you want to use insurance to pay for your meds. I delt with demanding customers all night long, who, in the words of one pharmacist, "only their meds now, and free ... what's wrong with that?"

I was about to complain about this as well, when it struck me that the lady at the RMV was probably as frustrated by me as I was by my customers at the pharmacy. That's when I realized that all customers are stupid. Including myself.

But seriously, I think God might have been trying to teach me a lesson. The first is that I am not always in the right in every situation. The second, is that I might get frustrated by my government, but at least I live with a government that allows me to write about this in a public forum, unlike in China where the Internet is screened. At least I have the oppurtunity to drive, unlike in many Middle Eastern countries where women are denied that priviledge. So it may be stupid, but it's a whole lot better than others out there, and I have the oppurtunty help make a change by being allowed to vote. Which I'll do, as soon as I get my voter's registration taken care of, which will happen when I collect four forms of ID. Which will happen with the State of Texas gets around to mailing me a copy of my marriage license. And thus the cycle continues. But not how I react.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Someone Clearly Doesn't Know How to Format Blogger

I admit it, it's true. But I also don't care enough to fix it. And that's the level of excellance you can expect here on Southern Girl Northern Bound!

Fun at Faxon Park!



So, this Labor Day Taylor and I spent the day doing a quest in the lovely Faxton Park in Quincy. I was alway curious about the point of Labor Day. After all, it's name implies that we are celebrating labor, and yet the majority of working people get Labor Day off. So I looked it up on wikipedia.com, and it turns out, there really is no point to Labor Day. So there you go.

Anyway, Taylor and I celebrated our break from Labor by going to Faxton Park and doing a "quest" created by a Girl Scout Troop like ten years ago. Now, the park changed a bit in ten years, so we had some difficulty navigating directions like "look for the dead tree" when the dead tree was gone. But we still succeeded, discovering all the clues and formed the cryptic message "STONE CAVE." I was really hoping to find a cave in the park, but alas, there was none. Anyway, for those of you who care, here are some pictures of our adventure.

Our first clue was to look out for the sea. This is a view of the Boston Harbor. I think. I'm still not very clear on my geography.










Our Quest was momentarily inturrupted when Taylor ran into this guy polishing his old antique car thing. He could tell you what it is, but I didn't really car. The owner was funny though. He drove all the way to Faxon Park for the mere purpose of polishing his car in the shade. In other words, he came all the way to Faxton Park to show it off to other car enthusiasts like my husband, who was suckered in like a lolipop in the mouth of a toddler.




A clue, a clue! Sit on the bench and try to look through the thick over-grown trees at a giant triangular rock!










The Giant Triangular Rock. Or Boulder. The Girl Scouts said rock, but I would have said boulder.












These are the boxes we had to fill with letter in order to decode the secrect message. Some of the letters were so difficult to find, I kept hoping these guys would show up to help us, but I guess they were too busy hanging out on Nick Jr.

I have more pictures, but Blogger is starting to freak out so I better let off. Anyway, Faxton Park is absolutely beautiful, and just another neat part of the city that's now my home.

Monday, September 04, 2006

And You Thought Global Warming was a Big Deal

Never mind that. According to a couple more scientists, the sun has been growing brighter since its infancy, and the Earth makes adjustments to compensate for the extra energy it's recieving. But it's all for not anyway, because the world is still going to end.

The End is Near - Al Gore is on T.V.!

Did you see that propaganda piece on ABC about the "Top Ten Ways TheWorld Will End (And it's Your Fault!)" that was on a couple nights ago?In case you missed it, do you know what we're most likely to die from? Not nuclear winter, not biological disease, but GLOBAL WARMING! The horror! And it was horrible. They literally took footage from Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." Then, wonder of wonders, the man himself was there, talking about how there is no debate, global warming is real, and those who disagree are fringe extremists brainwashed by corporate giants. The whole time the interviewer stood there, eyes wide, lips parted, taking in every word he said. "Oh really Al? Can it be true? Oh, take me know before the world ends (just don't tell Tipper)!" And in case you want to know about what the other side does think, don't bother. The two scientists (sorry Al, that's doesn't include you) basically said anyone who disagrees with the idea of man-caused global warming are the equivalent of Holocaust Deniers. During this sound bite they flashed images of basically every Fox New Personality available. I half expected to see a graphic pull up that said "Sean Hannity = Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." Except the media tends to like that crazy lil' Iranian leader and his Hezbollah band of social aid workers. While I'm not really surprised to find the other side trying to push me into the camp of skin heads and Nazis (after all, I DO oppose increasing the minimum wage), I do find it kind of odd that it resulted over global warming. Somehow the moral equivalency is lost on me.

Believe me, I'm not the only one struck by the comparison. Just poke around on Google and you'll find others who think Gore's being just a little extreme.

The Volokh Conspiracy

Anthony L. Hall

My personal favorite.

And still others who are willing to make the most of it.

Deniers have been smeared before.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Denting Your Neighbor's Car: A Terrible Mistake or Oppurtunity to Make New Friends?

Just a few days ago, Taylor (my husband, not my friend, Taylor Williams ) and I got into our car to meet a friend for a late-night dinner, when all the sudden our plans came to a dull "thud." The "thud" in this case was our car backing into the rear driver's side door of a Nissan Altima. Now, I don't have pictures of the damage we did, but let's say it's between this and this. After we inspected the damage, we then debated what to do. I never thought it would happen, but a little devil and little angel actually appeared on my shoulders. That was surprising enough, but even more so when I realized that the angel on my left and the devil was on my right. For some reason I always thought it'd be the other way around. The angel started first.

"You should leave a note! That would be the right thing to do," Left Shoulder Angel said.

"Nah, just walk away! No one will ever know!" Right Shoulder Devil Said.

She then looked at the car and said, "Well, I guess the car owner would know, since that dent is the size of a crater, but he/she/it (Little Devils are very Politically Correct, you know) won't have to know that it was you!"

That's when I said "Get thee behind me, Devil!" Political Correctness is always a sign of evil. Taylor and I went into our apartment building and knocked on all the doors without luck. Finally, on Apartment #3 we got a reply.

"What the @#$% do you want?" Said Apt. #3

Taylor and I fearfully looked at each other, praying that we hadn't smashed Apt. #3's car.

Taylor stood there like a man, holding me as I tried to escape down the stairway and said, "Excuse me, do you own a Nissan Altima."

Pause.

"No sir," Apt. #3 said, "I don't."

Relief.

"Great-thanks-have-a-good-night!" Taylor said as we ran down the stairs.

Since our fellow tenants obviously were not the car's owner, we were stuck writing a detailed note (We are so sorry! Call us and we'll pay [please don't sue us!]) and left it under the windshield wiper.

Then we waited. And waited. Until, finally, we got a call. It turns out the car belongs to a friend of a guy who lives in the building next to ours. The guy was actually pretty understanding, and surprised that we left a note instead of just walking away. In fact, all of our Quincy friends we told our story to were surprised. My boss, for example, was shocked that we would do such a thing, and then abruptly ascribed it to our "Christian ways, I guess."

We're still waiting to hear about the total estimate for the car. However, even now, I feel like we learned a life lesson deeper than look behind you when you back out.

Our money is not our own. I know I personally look at money as security, but it can be gone in an instant. I have to be constantly reminded that God is the only security I have for this life and the next, and that He is the great provider, not my paycheck. As they say, "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." I'm not saying God caused us to have an accident, but that He used this incident as a reminder of whom we depend.

I also know that God can take any situation and turn it into something good. And while denting their car wasn't what I see as the most ideal way to meet my neighbors, it did get me out of my building. God only knows, but this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Or just a lesson that money is a tool.

Either way, I know that I will grow from this as a Christian, which is really the most important thing of all.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

George Bush: Where's the Love?

Okay, so something I've noticed since moving up North is the severe hatin' on George Bush. Now, I can understand my diseffected college friends complaining about how "I hate George Bush, he's such a fascist." I just chalk that up to them being diseffected college students who don't really understand the meaning of fascism. You see kids, that means that Fidel Castro of Cuba is a fascist ("You mean that nice Communist Dictator who makes all that sugar?"), not the President of the United States who will be leaving in a year and a half. But even the intelligent, well-meaing, and generally pleasant adults around mutate into unpleasant crazy people as the mere mention of Bush. Or even a bush. For example:

"My, what a lovely bush you have in your front yard. What kind is it?"

"A fascist one that's ruined the economy and literally started World War III!"

Yes, I actually had someone tell me that Bush started World War III. Now, I mentioned that to my friends Chris and Taylor, and they surmised that while Bush could have started a new World War, it was hardly World War III.

"I think the Cold War could be considered World War III." Chris said helpfully.
"Actually," Taylor even more helpfully said, "There have been dozens of "world wars" since civilization began, so you'd have to say that Bush started a modern day World Way III. Or IV."

"Well, thanks guys!" I said. "I think you missed my point, but yours are still equally valid!"

The reason why I'm writing this is because I think it's weird. I was but a youngin' when the Republicans were hatin' on Bill Clinton (who I heard is actually a pretty charming guy as long as you're willing to overlook personal flaws), so this is the first I've experienced of Presidential Hatred.

But honestly, I don't recall Clinton ever being accused of causing all the ills Bush is accused of. Global Warming, the Middle East's Hatred of The West, JonBennet's murder(I'm totally not kidding about this). Just the other day I was watching Kevin Spacey talk about his role as Lex Luther in the new Superman Movie. The interviewer was saying how "Lex was so evil, so diobolical, so -"

"Like George Bush?" Spacey smirked.

"Well, you said it, not me!" The interviewer giggled.

Excuse me, Kevin, while I gag. It's one thing for diseffected college students to go off like that, but you? I mean, you only starred in a movie about a middle-age man lusting after a sixteen-year-old cheerleader. I expected so much more from you.

And the inconsistancy. First Bush is a ignorant cowboy, unfit for the presidency and being led by the hand by Dick Cheney or Karl Rove. Then he's a meglomanic bent on world domination? Can we settle on one or the other guys?

Look, there are plenty of things I'm unhappy with Bush about. Government spending, immigration, etc. but I'd rather have him in office dealing with the War on Terrorism (yes, there is one) than Al "Junk Science" Gore or John "Um, I changed my mind and did I mention I'm a war vet?" Kerry.

As for those of you who hate him, Relax! He'll be gone in a year and a half, and then we can all have fun hatin' on Hillary. Except for you, Doctor Shock.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Things I like about the South - Seriously!

In my last post I kinda did a little Arkansas bashing, which is easy, because Arkansas is probably the least cool state in the United States (unless you're being literal, then I'd have to say Hawaii). But picking on Arkansas is like picking on a socially awkward kid -- fun, but not very nice. I don't want to give the impression that I'm ashamed of my roots as a Mid-Western kid who moved to Dallas, Texas when she was ten. But I consider Dallas to be my true home town (Sorry Mom!) and have adopted many Southern cultural traits as my own.

The first, is the use of "y'all"* as a plural form of "you." Yes, I know that "you" is both singular and plural, but it's so confusing. Say, for instance, you (singular in this case) walk up to a group of people and say "Hey, you want to go to the store?" Now, do they know if you're talking to all of them, or just one of them? Because if they don't , things could be socially awkward quickly (like the said child in the above paragraph, but I digress). Therefore, "y'all" helps eliminate such awkwardness because it's clear that you are referring to all of them.

Second, I love real Southern barbecue! Dry rub, smoked, vinegar based, ketchup based, throw it all at me and I'll fill my tummy! I could probably eat barbecue every day and not get sick.

Along with barbecue, goes sweet tea! Aww, there is nothing better on a hot day then relaxing with a tall glass of sweet tea.

I could go on and on about good ol' Southern cooking, but I'm getting hungry so I need to move on.

Socially, something I like about the South is that Jesus=Cool! Now, that does has some problems of it's own, but it's nice to be able to talk about my faith without hearing 1: How dare you try to impose your belief system on me! or 2: Well, I'm glad Jesus works for you (you [singular] ignoramus) but I'm all set.

Along with the whole "We're all Christians (well, socially anyway)!" is the famous Southern Hospitality, which includes potluck lunches, big dinner parties, lots of sweet tea, and plenty of good, clean fun involving dice (Bunco) and cards (Spades) but no gambling!

I also like Southern Pride. We may have lost the War of the Northern Aggression (haha, I'm so just kidding. About the name of the Civil War, not that the South lost.) but we're not going to let that get us down! It's fun being a part of something bigger than yourself, even if it's something hokey like "Well, Texas could still be considered a Republic ..."

Finally, I like it because the South is a part of me. It's where I came from. But, now that I'm here up North, I'm ready to make it also a part of me. I don't know if I'll ever find a good substitute for sweet tea and y'all (maybe yous guys?), but I'm definitely ready to drop the whole debate over whether Texas can still legally secede from the Union. Plus, clam chowder is DE-licious!

*Now, there is some disagreement among users as to the correct spelling of the contraction, "you all." Y'all, Ya'll, Yawl, Y'll, and Ya'all are all variations, but each carries the same denotation of "you plural."

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Ordering Groceries Online is Almost as Cool as Ordering Clothes Online

As I was riding the T on the way back to work I saw an advertisement for www.peapod.com, which is an online grocery store connected to Stop & Shop. I was instantly intrigued. Could grocery shopping, one of the banes of my domestic life, really be made simpler through the Internet? Getting groceries has always been an ordeal, because besides having to create a list of things to buy, I have to arrange a time when I can have the car, since Taylor and I share a vehicle and he usually has it. Then there's the actual trip to the store, which takes at least two hours because I can never find some obscure but necessary item on my list.

"Okay, where the heck are the slivered almonds?"

Plus, inevitably I always come home and realize that I forgotten some item that's so important I can't understand how I possibly forgot it in the first place.

"Oh, toilet paper! I knew I was forgetting something important. I wonder how long we can stretch the kleenex until I get back to the store?"

When I got home I looked up this service online, and indeed, it appeared to be the solution to my dilemma. I excitedly told my husband about my new discovery, but he failed to share my enthusiasm. He raised up all these rational objections to purchasing groceries online, and effectively killed my own interest.

"Fine," I said. "I won't order groceries online. But we have to go tomorrow morning so I can have the car."

"That's fine," he said.

Until the next morning, that is.

"Are you ready to go grocery shopping?" I asked.

He stretched and yawned. "You know, I think we should give ordering online a chance."

Oh really?

So, Taylor lay on the couch and watched TV while I happily perused the online aisles. It was quite enchanting to be able to type in whatever I needed in the search box and, with one click of a mouse, add it to my shopping cart. Better still I was able to do this in my pajamas (Now, in theory I could have gone to the grocery store in my pajamas anyway, but for some reason one always seems to run into beautiful and well-dressed female friends when one does this, which is why I always dress up before going to the store. But that's another topic altogether).

Before I knew it, all my grocery shopping was done, and I never had to get up out of my chair(And we wonder why America is getting fat?).

The next day, my groceries arrived, and that's when I discovered that though convenient, online groceries shopping does have it's pitfalls. Several items were smaller than I thought they'd be, such as the 14 ounce jar of peanut butter I only paid a dollar for. Believe me, 14 ounces isn't as much as you'd think. And then there was the question of whether I should tip the delivery guy, but he didn't hold out his palm at anytime, so I decided to err on the side of stinginess. After all, I did pay a whole $6.95 delivery fee, so that should cover it, right? I bet he's with his coworkers right now saying "That Quarry Street chick is such a tightwad. We should spit in her bagels next time." Eww.

But I would have to say that the risks of delivery guy spit is definitely worth the convenience. It also made me marvel at what a cool place I live in, that I could have my groceries delivered to me! Definitely didn't have that amenity down South. I mean, back in Arkansas, we couldn't even get Chinese delivered. Now if that isn't the definition of backwardness, I don't know what is.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

What? Two Posts in One Day? She's Taking This Seriously!

Ha. Right. Anyway, I told my friend Chris of www.narfscavern.com (a little promotion for ya, Chris!) that I was starting a blog, and his first question was, "Is it going to be bitter?"

"No, of course not!" said I. "Why would it be bitter?"
"Because all blogs turn into bitter tirades about the world. I think that's the whole point."
"Well, my blog won't be bitter, because I'm just going to write about how smart I am and how dumb everyone else is -- oh wait ... "

But, I would like to note that I just hung out with three of my really good friends tonight after a week-long absence, reminding me yet again how good it is to be with people who share your values and beliefs. It renews you in a way just reading conservative blogs alone can't. Plus, random conversation is good for the soul.

"So, Rhode Island is neither a road nor an island. Discuss, discuss."

So here's to you my friends, you make me better than what I could be alone.

And on that sentimental note (I'm getting affected by these Northerners already!), good night!

Not another random blogger!

So, I've always resisted the idea of keeping an "internet diary" because, well, to be honest, I always thought they were kinda lame. Or maybe it's because the people I know who keep "internet diaries" ARE kinda lame. The disaffected college nerds who write about how miserable their lives are and how the girl they like likes someone else and how their moms is, like, totally driving them crazy. They also seem to avoid punctuation and capital letters, UNLESS ITS TO MAKE A REALLY IMPORTANT POINT!!!!!!!!!!!! the rest of the time its "like omg im so mad cuz the gurl i like is into some 1 else like my life totally sux right now (insert crying face here)."

However, recently I was turned on to the joys of conservative blogging, mainly michellemalkin.com and her affiliated video blog, hotair.com. Finally, here was a source of opinionated, obnoxious people who share my obnoxious opinions! What a discovery! And what a new avenue for me to explore. I'm one of the people who says "I wanna be a writer when I grow up!" but never write. So here's my chance to actually follow through and make writing a daily habit. And on that note so ends my first post.