If I have ONE more work meeting to discuss productivity levels I will need to be placed in a padded cell.
Why is productivity low, you may ask…….Because we are all in freakin’ meetings discussing how to increase productivity!
I mean really….let’s sum up all our problems with one word, shall we….”meetings”.
And while I do believe that power point is a great invention, I need not see another power point slide of ANYTHING…..EVER….AGAIN!
And while I am on a roll….let’s outlaw the following words/phrases:
1) synergy
2) moving forward
3) FYI
4) let’s think outside the box
UGH!
(that sound you just heard was my head exploding)
Is it any wonder I still collect records?
June 28, 2009
Think of 20 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world.
Categories: (R) Relationship (L) Life Change (E) Era (A) All-time favorite
***** it was nearly impossible to stick to only 20…but here goes….
Bad Brains – I Against I (A)
The Clash – London Calling (E)
The Rezillos – Can’t Stand the Rezillos (A)
The Runaways – The Runaways (E)
Bauhaus – The Sky’s Gone Out (E)
The Damned – Machine Gun Etiquette (E)
Hocus Pocus – The Raiders (45) (R)(L)
Stiff Little Fingers – Inflammable Material (L)
7 seconds – Crew (L)
Wynonie Harris – Bloodshot Eyes (78) (L)
The Pogues – Rum Sodomy & the Lash (A)
Toots & the Maytals – Sweet & Dandy (L)
The Exploited – Punk’s not Dead (L)
Sham 69 – That’s Life (E)
Circle Jerks – Group Sex (E)
Hepcat – Out of Nowhere (E)
Tom Waits – Rain Dogs (A)
Billy Bragg – Mermaid Avenue (A)
Fear – The Record (L)
Toy Dolls – A Far Out Disc (L)
I have kept mostly silent about the goings on in my family of late. A few friends know what has been happening and a few were with me when I crumbled into a ball of tears at the latest development.
As some of you know, my grandmother is the THE most important person in my world. She is 91 years old and my little bundle of fire. A powerhouse! An artist! An orator! A wit! An amazing lady!
Her health has been in decline for the past few years. On Monday I received a phone call that she had a series of terrible falls. Being 3000 miles away, I am not privy to the daily goings on and I rely on feedback from her assistant or from my mother. Though I speak to my grandmother on the phone every day, she never would tell me if she is not well or ailing.
The falls left her with two broken cheek bones, a fractured rib, a black eye and two knots on the back of her head.
My heart dropped and I braced myself for the worst case scenario. I spoke with her on the phone and the slowness of her voice and the hesitation in her words sent me into a tailspin.
My mother flew to L.A. to be with her and to take her to a myriad of doctors appointments. She started to heal and seems to be on the road to recovery.
Last night, as I spoke with her, her voice slow but sure, I asked if this was all worth it? This fight she was making….holding on to her life…when she’s in pain and struggling. We have always been staunch believers that it is the quality of one’s life which matters not the quantity!
She replied: “As long as I can still laugh, have fun, think, talk to you and maybe get in a little painting, YES!!!”
I didn’t get to choose my family….but I sure got one lucky hand….and I sure do love them!!!
The randomness of life, I suppose!
June 13, 2009
I am supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about me:
1.) I used to hate coffee. Despise it. Never drank the stuff. I even worked in coffee houses for years and was secretly disgusted by the product I served to other people. Now, I can’t make it through a day without coffee.
2.) While I have voiced my none too positive opinions on burlesque or the recent trend of roller derby (burlesque on skates?), I have to admit that I participated in a sort of burlesque type show and there are pictures of me dressed like a cigarette girl and …well…then I am(un)dressed in a red bra, garters and stockings. Ahh, my sordid past. I can never run for political office.
3.) I was a drug addict and have been sober from drugs for 18 years. Sobriety is what turned me on to coffee in point 1 (go AA meetings!). I’d make a lousy Mormon!
4.) I used to fancy myself a writer and went to college to achieve my goal of being the next tortured poet – or something like that. Now, when I reread the things I wrote, I want to curl up and die from embarassment. That is my instant reaction. My next reaction is to tear that crap into tiny confetti shreds.
5.) Mayonnaise is the nastiest substance EVER and I can’t eat anything that has mayo on it.
6.) I hate bare feet. Feet freak me out. I can’t get pedicures. I can’t stand people touching my feet and I can’t stand the thought of touching someone else’s feet.
7.) I knit – badly. I am currently only able to knit hats and scarves. I could probably knit a blanket – which is, let’s all face facts, a big scarf.
8.) I love to make chocolates. I worked for an ex-boyfriend’s mother each holiday season and learned how to make these sweet treats. I make them as holiday presents each year – except this year. Too costly and quite time consuming.
9.) I love buying or making presents for people but am horrible about waiting to give them on special occasions. I just give them to my friends or family as soon as I get them. I just don’t have the patience to wait.
10.) I have been collecting vintage clothes for 13+ years. I have so much stuff – half of which doesn’t even fit anymore. I have to face the fact that I will never have a 24″ waist again but I can’t bear to part with them. So all these treasures hang in my closet and collect dust. Either that or I need to find a really good corset!
11.) I had one major goal in my adult life – to own my own washer and dryer. I finally realized that goal two years ago. I don’t have anything else to look forward to hahaha.
12.) I’ve been engaged…twice. I attempted to return both rings but neither attempt was successful…anyone need an engagement ring??? I’m still not sure if I’d like to get married. Maybe..maybe not. BUT I am pretty happy that it was not to either one of the engagement ring “purchasers”. I was never the type of gal who dreamed about marriage or my wedding day.
13.) On the subject of jewelry….I don’t really like it. I am not a jewelry wearing type of gal. Never was one for flashy stuff.
14.) My highschool friends still call me “Claire”…..and while it annoyed the ever loving piss out of me in highschool/junior high…I find it quite endearing now and smile every time I hear it. I love that these are people who have stayed in my life for over 20 years. My brother used to call me “Na” because he can’t pronounce my name and sometimes people will call me “Ari”. I don’t have the heart to tell them that I HATE being called “Ari”. *shudder*
15.) I once left my house with a full head of hair and came back with my head shaved. I was a teenager. My mother thought I needed to be institutionalized. I probably did!
16.) When I was a teen, I was a total slob…and pretty out of control. One summer I disappeared for three weeks. I went on a road trip to San Francisco and spent most of my time at the Gilman and living out of my car hahah. My room at home looked like a hurricane had hit it. When I finally decided to come home, I walked into my room and found some friends cleaning it. They had stopped by to see if I was home and my mother (who can be quite frightening) forced them to clean up my room. They actually did it. Rather than be embarrassed, I laughed, grabbed some clothes and left again for another week. I took my friends with me though! My mother threw me out when I got back.
17.) My boyfriend (from a long long time ago) once snuck into my room late at night. We were hanging out and he had to use the bathroom. So he quietly crept into the main part of the house and walked in on my my mother, NAKED. I heard lots of screaming. I think my ex boyfriend may still be in therapy!
18.) I am not at all a picky eater but I can’t stand, for some reason, Thanksgiving foods. I don’t really like Turkey though I will eat it. I HATE green beans. DESPISE yams. Stuffing makes me gag. So all I usually eat is cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes.
19.) I can’t sing or carry a tune but MUSIC is a huge part of my life. I believe I may be court ordered in all fifty states to NEVER sing in public. I won’t even hum. But I can’t live without music. I can play the piano and the flute (badly) and a mean “mary had a little lamb” on the recorder hahah!
20.) I have a really odd aversion to taking care of my computer. I am fully aware that I must “back-up” and all the other bits and pieces that come with computer care. I set out with the best intentions but never quite seem to get around to it. I’ve even lost a few computers and everything on them to major computer crashes and yet still can’t seem to learn this lesson.
21.) I am close to my family – especially my grandmother. She is my world and I am not sure I could ever survive the day she passes away. I have been really lucky…so far. Only my grandfather has passed away.
22.) I have stayed friends with almost all my ex’s….with only one, maybe two exceptions. The “maybe” (my ex-fiance) is yet to be determined upon his release date..yikes.
23.) I will only wear one brand/type of perfume – Sung by Alfred Sung.
24.) I used to be adamant that I NEVER wanted kids. Now, I’m not so sure.
25.) I sometimes wish life had a “do-over” button.
If I hear one more report on Swine Flu, I am going to start pelting people with pork products!
May 1, 2009
As I rode the T to work the other day, I glanced to my right and saw a woman and her child wearing surgical masks and gloves. My eyes almost rolled to the back of my head!
I am tired (I would say sick and tired, but alas, the swine flu has not taken hold of me so I am wary of using the term “sick) of the over-hyped sensationalism surrounding this flu virus.
Nowhere in the media is it ever mentioned that roughly 36,000 people die of just regular flu viruses a year. If that is the case, why then are the less than 200 deaths attributed to swine flu causing fear and panic among the masses?
Additionally, this “outbreak”…or pandemic as they wish to call it….has very few “confirmed” cases. The media is reporting fictitious numbers based on “believed” cases. The people who are rushing to clinics with flu-like symptoms have not been tested (or the tests have not come back yet) for this virus.
Let us also look at Mexico, shall we? The majority of the cases seem to be coming from this country…Mexico City to be more precise. Mexico City has roughly 22 million people. 22 MILLION!!!!! That is a large population in a small area. It’s not surprising that a virus can spread among such a large group in such a concentrated space. And, the country as a whole is not world renowned for its healthcare system. Yes, many can complain the U.S. healthcare system is flawed or faulty but it is no where near the condition of Mexico’s healthcare system. In many circles, Mexico is still believed to be a Third World country.
And for those MENSA members, such as everyone’s favorite IQ winner, Paris Hilton, who feel that boycotting pork products is the way to avoid contracting this “dreaded disease”, I can only shake my head in disbelief at your ignorance and jump for joy in the knowledge that my favorite BBQ joint won’t run low on their famous pulled pork sandwiches. MMMMM, more for me!
This is not the Black Plague, people!!!!
Please stop feeding into the media maelstrom and allowing the news to overtake COMMON FUCKING SENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Enough!
