Mind Vomit by the ikss ~ a journal
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Wednesday, Sept. 08, 2004weekend woes
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�Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead�
-Lucille Ball
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
--Theodore Roosevelt, 1918
REGISTER TO VOTE
"The time is always right to do what is right"
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The "seven social sins": Knowledge without character,
Science without humanity,
Wealth without work,
Commerce without morality,
Politics without principles,
Pleasure without conscience,
Worship without self-sacrifice."
--Gandhi
"We have not inherited the world from our forfathers -
We have borrowed it from our children."
--Kashmiri, proverb
Cheney: Kerry win risks terror attack
DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- A November win by Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry would put the United States at risk of another "devastating" terrorist attack, Vice President Dick Cheney told supporters Tuesday. . .
Cheney told Republican supporters at a town hall meeting in Des Moines that they needed to make "the right choice" in the November 2 election.
"If we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we'll get hit again -- that we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States," Cheney said. . .
*
Aside form this being an incredibly ludicrous statement, playing on the fears of people by essentially just making shit up because it sounds good, what�s interesting to me is that Mr. Cheney seems to be forgetting is that the attacks against us which took place on 9/11/01 took place on his Administration�s watch!
Big fat windbag.
I�m so grown up, ain�t I?
I actually have lots of political bru-ha-ha to discuss, most notably the following headline, which just came across my desk this morning and which scares the bejeezus out of me:
Russia Ready to Strike Against 'Terror' Worldwide
BESLAN, Russia (Reuters) - Russia's top general said on Wednesday he was ready to attack "terrorist bases" anywhere in the world, as security services put a $10 million bounty on two Chechen rebels blamed for last week's school siege. . .
"As for launching pre-emptive strikes on terrorist bases, we will carry out all measures to liquidate terrorist bases in any region of the world," General Yuri Baluevsky, chief of Russia's general staff, said, according to Russian news agencies.
"However, this does not mean that we will launch nuclear strikes."
The FSB security service announced the $10 million reward for information leading to the "neutralization" of Aslan Maskhadov and Shamil Basayev, two Chechen separatist leaders who are household names in Russia after a decade of conflict in the mainly Muslim southern province.
More than 1,200 people were taken hostage in Beslan in the nearby province of North Ossetia and at least 326 were killed and 727 wounded, Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov said, revising the death toll down from an earlier 335. Only 210 bodies have been identified.
"Another 32 body fragments have been found and ... final figures for the number of dead could rise," he said in a report to President Vladimir Putin, posted at www.kremlin.ru.
The broadcast on Russian television of graphic footage filmed by militants inside the school added to the horror as Beslan residents prepared to bury more dead.
The pictures showed the school gym littered with what appeared to be bombs and bomb-making equipment and crammed with hostages, watched over by around six of the masked militants, one of whom was heard murmuring, apparently in an Arabic prayer. . .
Both the United States and the European Union advocate a political solution in Chechnya, although Putin has ruled out talks and says the West has double standards since its leaders would not sit down to negotiate with Osama bin Laden.
His view has some currency among ordinary Russians, thousands of whom attended rallies on Tuesday in solidarity with the families of Beslan. . .
� Copyright Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of Reuters Ltd.
*
However, I am instead taking a step toward the personal for a while. Don�t worry � I�m sure to write a new entry full of politically righteous indignation soon. But I have some catching up to do�in fact, I started an entry yesterday and didn�t quite finish. So here we go.
Sept. 7:
Holy Canoli, Batman - what a weekend.
I find myself on this Tuesday afternoon very much out of sorts. Which seems to be pretty much the norm with me, doesn�t it? So maybe I should just say � hey those few weeks of being in a good mood were wonderful, but now I�m back in sorts.
First of all, let it be known that I haven�t been quite myself since that shit that happened in Russia. Terrorism happens all the time, I know, and we end up numbing ourselves to it. We have to, just in order to maintain some semblance of sanity. But those cretins taking over that school was the proverbial straw on this camel�s back. I cried for hours that day and just haven�t been the same since. I mean, how much violence is this world supposed to take? And I mean - school kids???? I do not claim to know all that much about Russia or the Chechen�s fight for independence or how that all ties in to Muslims, but those people sure didn�t do much to further their cause, if you ask me. This is not the way to win friends and influence people.
Anyway�on a more personal front: I wrote sometime recently about some 3 Day-related frustrations I am having. Well, those frustrations were multiplied this weekend.
(I interrupt this broadcast to note the following: I just returned from lunch and once again almost forgot that I have given up red meat. While at Subway, I was tempted to order, rather than my usual Roasted Chicken sammich, one of their new toasted Meatball Marinara sammiches. After my last attempt at trying something new at Subway ended in disaster, however, and since I was pert near starving to death and not wanting to take the chance that the Meatball Marinara would taste more like Hockey Pucks in Tomato Sludge, I opted for the familiar. Then I got to my car and knocked myself upside the head for even considering letting red meat cross thru my lips.)
As you probably know, I volunteered to lead training walks this year, in preparation for the Breast Cancer 3 Day. One day last week, I had to email everyone in my little group, to let them know I would be unable to lead that day�s training walk because I had to work late (thank you Little Big Man for being sick three days of last week, at the end of the month and after having been on vacation the entire week before, while I was training Eartha Kitt and therefore performing few of my regular job duties).
Well, there is this gal �S� who trains with us. I already have no great love for S, for no particular reason except that I find her personality to be annoying. No biggy � she�s just not the type of person I prefer to spend my time with, ya know? Anyway�when I returned from Saturday�s 15 mile training walk, there was a rather snotty message on my machine from S, saying that she had driven �all the way down there� for the training walk which I did not attend and then had to �turn around and go home� without completing her training walk, because I wasn�t there. She wanted me to call her to confirm that Sunday�s walk was still on and she wants me to call her if I ever have to cancel again.
Now, I fully admit that I might be a little defensive here. I can understand why S might be perturbed at my last-minute cancellation. That said � two other gals showed up at the training walk meeting spot that day and walked on their own. They didn�t need me to lead them. S knows these people. Therefore, if she really did �drive all the way down there� she would have seen them and therefore could have walked with them.
I called S and told her this, albeit politely, and confirmed that I would be leading a walk on Sunday, as scheduled. But I was pissed. Mainly because I don�t believe she drove �all the way down there�, for the reason mentioned above and therefore, I feel she is just giving me shit because she was pissed I had cancelled in the first place.
It might be argued that I should never have volunteered to lead these walks if my schedule is unpredictable. However, I have only had to cancel a few walks, at most (I can think of three, since May) and there were always other people still willing to meet at the regularly scheduled time and place. In a nut-shell: everyone could still walk, if they wanted to. Not to mention, these people have no idea how many times I have bailed out on work when I really should not have left at exactly 5:00, so that I could live up to my commitment of leading these walks.
S�s complaint came on the heels of another one that I had received the weekend before. A gentleman complained about the time I had scheduled two Sunday walks. Usually, we begin our weekend walks at 6:15am. On two Sundays I had to schedule them to begin at 5:00pm, because I have other plans during the day. This guy whined at me about the time, because he couldn�t make it in the evenings.
I need to chill, though. These two people are only that, after all � two people. And the guy who griped about Sunday�s time is actually a really cool person whom I like. He was just being a baby about that one thing.
*
OK, it�s now four hours later and I sent S an email. Basically, I thought it over. I thought about her snotty attitude toward me and I got even more pissed. Frankly, I hope she gets mad at me after reading my email and never shows up to a training walk again, but if she does she�d better not come with any attitude or I will have to ask her not to show up any more.
Here�s most of my email:
Dear S,
I have been struggling all weekend with how to say what I am about to say, without sounding nasty. Please understand that I enjoy the company of all of you and enjoy leading these walks. That said, after listening to the message you left on my machine on Saturday, I feel the need to remind you of a few things. I was going to discuss this with you on Sunday, but as you know, you decided not to join our walk. I'd rather not have this discussion in front of other people, anyway. . .
I understand why you would be frustrated if I have to cancel [a walk], especially when I do so at the last minute. However, I felt the tone in the message you left for me, and during our conversation which took place afterward was completely uncalled for and I did not appreciate it.
Please keep the following things in mind:
1. I am volunteering to lead these training walks. That means - I am not getting paid for this. I do not work for the 3 Day in any way. I am a walker, just like you. I decided to lead walks only because I wanted to walk in my neighborhood and because I knew I would meet some really great people by doing so (which I have).
2. I have a job. I have a family. I have a life. Sometimes these things might interfere with my walking plans - just as they sometimes interfere with yours. I would love it if I always knew three days in advance that I will have to work late on a given day. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. I have not had to bail out on many walks, but when I have I usually at least have time to notify everyone in a timely manner and also to arrange for D to lead the walks in my place. As witnessed last week, however, that may not always be the case. While I am not anticipating another cancellation as happened last week, if that happens, I simply can not call each and every one on my mailing list, to make sure they saw my email (I have upwards of thirty people on my list). If I am having to cancel at the last minute, that means an emergency has arisen and I am probably lucky to have the time to send an email. That's just the way it is. I understand that you may not view your email throughout the day and that this form of communication may not work for you. If that is the case, it may be that my training group is not for you.
3. Most importantly - I am not responsible for your training. Please do not address me as if you were "unable to walk," as you put it, because I was unable to. I am trying to adhere to a schedule in order to assist everyone with getting ready for the 3 Day, but in the end how you train is up to you and you alone. If I have to cancel a walk, as I did last week; or if I cut one short, as happened on Tuesday when D had a splitting headache, please do not talk to me as if I blew it for you that day. You are free to put in your miles without me.
As I mentioned when we talked on the phone: two people met at Bixby Park and walked last Thursday, even though I had to cancel. Therefore, your statement that you "drove all the way down there for nothing" makes little sense to me. You know Jennifer and she was there until 6:10, along with Julie. You could have walked with them.
I do not wish to dissuade you from walking with us and I hope you will continue to do so. Just please keep these things in mind before you again get upset with me for having an emergency situation arise.
Thank you for your cooperation.
So that�s that.
And now I have to go lead a freakin� training walk, so I will get to the rest of my weekend tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.
Sept. 8
I had my first-ever turkey burger last night. I liked it a lot! Much better than the turkey sausage I tried to have with breakfast on Monday. In fact, I liked the burger so much I had another one for breakfast this morning!
Plus, they cook up so easily in my George Forman Grill! Just 4 minutes to cook my dinner. Gotta love that.
God Bless George Forman.
So I had my training walk last night. S showed up without having yet read my email, so I actually had to have a conversation with her, relating to the email I sent yesterday. I think we got it all squared away, but she is one of those people who does not listen. D was trying to talk to her about it all, even before I opened my mouth. The whole time D was speaking, this gal was just talking right over her. I finally said, �Let me interject here� and before I even got one sentence out of my mouth, she was talking over me, also.
Anyway, she�s just not going to really get it, but at least I doubt she�ll ever get snippy with me again.
I am feeling much better today. I just had a few days� worth of panic over the 3 Day and accompanying blue-ness. I sent out a new batch of letters today, begging for money. If that doesn�t work on the owner of my company, I will have to humble myself and actually go up to his office at the end of the week. My fundraising yard sale is on the 18th so I will know better after then how close I am to the $2,000 minimum I have to raise. One guy on my team (the one who whined about Sunday�s evening walk) has raised over $5,000??!! Hey, can�t he share the wealth a little???!!!
One thing that�s hard for me right now is the fact that my weekends are pretty much devoted to training for an event I may or may not even be able to participate in and that takes away from the already limited time I have to spend with John. Well, and it takes away from other stuff, but mainly I am bummed about how little I see the man.
And the fact that he seems to care very little.
My family is back from the family reunion. It sounds like everyone had a great time and I missed a lot of nifty family-type stuff. And nobody gave Barbara and Arnett any grief about the inter-racial thing, so I was apprehensive over nothing.
Of course, they all apparently saw video of my parents� fiftieth wedding anniversary party a long time ago (my uncle Dale, aunt Edwina and cousin Mary Jo [hey, what do you want? They�re from Kentucky! I�m sure were I raised there I would be called Karen Sue all the stinkin� time. Thank God we moved!] all came out for their party) and so they had a chance to get all of the bad-mouthing out of the way before our actual reunion.
That�s a horrible assumption to make about people I don�t know, and to whom I am related to boot, I know. But let�s be real, here. These people still refer to parts of their city as the �colored part of town.�
Anyway, apparently everybody loved Arnett (what�s not to love?) and they all had a great time.
Work has been�trying this week. I�ll save you the details, as I�m sure you�re already bored enough with this entry. It never pays to put your audience to sleep.
~~~
Word of the Day for Wednesday September 8, 2004
skulduggery, also skullduggery skul-DUG-uh-ree, noun:
Devious, dishonest, or unscrupulous behavior or activity; also: an instance thereof.
last / next
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