Random thoughts

I've come to realize that I am not a good communicator with people that are not in my general area. Case in point, my best friend since first grade and I have managed to stay in touch through the glorious invention of email. Should it have come to snail mail and me actually getting off my fat butt to mail something we probably would have lost touch long ago. Technology is grand isn't it? Especially for people like me.

I don't do it intentionally, I really don't. But I find myself trying to write to people but not following through with the actually sending of letters, postcards, cards, etc. I enjoy the interaction with people in other areas (I was a decent pen pal back in my elementary and junior high days), but as I get older, the less motivated I seem to be. I know, terrible right? I only bring this up as I got a message on MySpace from a friend that I haven't seen in roughly 7+ years (an old buddy from the military days). If not for this kind of site, would I be able to track anybody from the past down? Probably not. God bless the internet. :)

On another note, I've been trying some candy coated, chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Yeah, like if there was any nutritional value to the sunflower seeds, that went out the window with the chocolate and candy. Anyhoo, they looked interesting and thought I'd try them. They have the quaint moniker of "Flamingo Poop" as we are in Mickey Mouse Land South and everything has to have a draw to it. Jury's still out on if I like them or not.

Hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day. I happen to love the fact that I can sleep in on a Monday. All kidding aside, hope all our guys and gals in Iraq and Afghanistan remain as safe as they can be. I feel for them and their families. I'm not a war supporter, but I am a troop supporter. And what's up with the people that say if you're against the war you're against the troops? Why can't they differentiate between not agreeing with the war but still supporting the military veterans? Just asking.

Sorry for the various ramblings, I think my coffee's kicking in or maybe I need some more to balance me out.

Well, back to the grind at life.sa.laugh@hotmail.com.

Back to Indy

I am not a big race fan, let me state that right now. I don't really get the fascination of watching cars go around and around a track. Formula One, I can kinda see the draw driving through city streets, the track always changning, but not so much with IRL and NASCAR (I'm sure there are plenty of people hating me now for saying that). I did, however, watch the last portion of the Indy 500 today. Why? Mainly because there was absolutely nothing else on television. I have come to the realization that the IRL is watched, in large part, by people waiting to see what Danica Patrick will do. Will she win? Will she lose? Will she throw a fit that rivals any five year-old's? The answer would be no, yes, and most definitely!

I'm sure she is a very nice person, and she is a pretty woman, but man, what a whiner! I think she's her own worst enemy when it comes to the press about her fits. Have you seen some of the tantrums she's thrown? I especially liked the one where she went stomping down the track like a petulant toddler that was told she can't have a cookie. Great move both for racing and feminists everywhere.

There have been plenty of arguments that the fact that she is embracing her "sexy" side to promote herself is horrible. I don't really think it's all that bad. Unfortunately, sex sells and it sells well if you have a pretty face and a good body. It's got her name in the public eye, whether it's on television, radio, the internet, etc. In fact, she got more press and air time than any other driver for the portion of the race that I watched, and she didn't even finish the race. I think they spoke more about her than the actual winner, Scott Dixon. That has to be a bit annoying to the other racers, but guess it's the way things go.

My one issue with her is that she'll throw a fit, act like she's going to throw down with a guy twice her size and gets away with it. Just once I'd like to see a guy smack her and see if she tries it again. This will, of course, never happen. I'm not advocating violence against women but if she instigates a slapping, she better be willing to accept the consequences. That's all I'm saying. Look at poor Dan Wheldon when she shoved him at that other race last year (I think it was last year). She shoved him, yelled in his face, and what could he do? Nothing. If he shoved back, he'd be a bully. If he yelled back, he'd be a jerk for yelling at little Danica. Since he did nothing, they made comments like she could kick his ass, and she was tougher than him. It's a no win situation for these guys. Not cool. Miss Patrick, get over yourself and run the race. Crap happens and if you continue to blame everything bad that happens on other people, you'll lose support faster than it takes to win the pole.

On another note, what's up with the milk? I get it's tradition, but it's gotta be way hot and milk when it's hot, not so good. Like the announcers said, it's going to stink very quickly as they're spraying the milk. Yuck. I'm surprised they don't have a sponsorship on the milk bottle. They're everywhere else, why not the dairy council selling real estate on the glass bottle? I think we could totally market that.

Got milk? at life.sa.laugh@hotmail.com.

Work Out is my new guilty pleasure of the moment. I don't know why. Maybe it's all the good looking people not wearing a great many clothes. Maybe it's the drama they create amongst themselves. Either way, totally digging it. I know, I need help. You would think watching a show about trainers in a gym would motivate me to get off my big fat butt and do some exercises but it hasn't. Figures.

Also watched Alien vs. Predator Requiem. Yeah, I figured it would be crap before I watched it and was not disappointed. Despite the fact that I enjoyed the first AVP, the second was just a little too much to swallow. Way too predictable, acting wasn't too good and the special effects were eh. If anyone can recommend any new releases, or coming soon to DVD, I'm all ears.

Yeah, boring at life.sa.laugh@hotmail.com

They're baaaaaacccckkk!

So everyone knows of my probably somewhat unhealthy obsession with American Gladiators by now. Much like a train wreck, or stories about Britney Spears, I am unable to turn away from the over-the-top cheesiness dressed in bits of spandex. I don't know why, I think there must be a mutated chormosome in me or something, but I really like watching this stupid show. It is back for another season and I am a-watchin'.

They're seeming to up the ante this go-around with a harder Eliminator, new events and, oh boy, new Gladiators. Yippee. Well, the winners from last season became new Gladiators which totally works for the female winner. She was pretty well ripped when she won so it wasn't much of a stretch for her to don the spandex and get a cheesy moniker. For the guy winner, not so much. While I applaud the fact that the dude totally kicked butt during the season, let's just say he doesn't cut the most intimidating figure in AG. All the gladiators are between 6'2" and 6'8" and weigh well over 200 lbs. New dude? 5'10" and 160 lbs. Don't get me wrong, he looks pretty ripped, but definitely not a big dude. Guess that will come in handy during the wall and other such events where speed and dexterity are key. Guess the contenders should watch out for that. :)

To all the moms...thank you.

Happy Mother's Day belatedly. I hope this post finds one and all happy after a nice Mother's Day. I personally spent part of the day with my mom, aunt, sister-in-law, and cousin who are all in the club. Yeah us. I have to reiterate that I find it more meaningful to spend time with loved ones when a holiday doesn't dictate said behavior. While I love the fact that everyone celebrates Mother's Day, it seems to become as commercialized as Easter, Valentine's Day, etc. We haven't got to Christmas proportions yet but I could see it happening. We're bombarded with ads for flowers, chocolates, cards, trips, and everything under the sun to celebrate all Mom has done for us. While great, it feels like if you don't spend a lot of money on your mom, you're just an ungrateful kid. Am I wrong? I think it's nicer to ask my mom to go to lunch out of the blue, or to offer up a bouquet when the mood strikes. This could be said about many other holidays such as Valentines. Get me something when I don't expect it. Much more thoughtful. :) Besides, elbow macaroni pictures were the height of all Mother's Day gifts when we were little. Let's get back to that.

I'll get the glue and glitter at life.sa.laugh@hotmail.com.

Pain in the pump

We all know that gas prices are now astronomically high. We've seen it at every gas station and now feel the effects even if we don't drive in the price of pretty much everything from a gallon of milk to a bunch of bananas. Unfortunately, we're being told this is only the beginning. Price of gas is roughly $3.65 to $4.00 around the country and it's not even the official summer "driving season" when gas prices normally jump anyway. The price of a barrel of oil is $120-something depending on the time of day you check and they're forecasting it to go up to $180 or higher. You can imagine how much gas will be then.

Oy people! I know that we are a country that love our vehicles from the economical subcompact (which I should have bought) to the gas-guzzling super SUV (which unfortunately I own) we have a hard time not driving. Is it because we don't want to give up the freedom they provide? Maybe. More likely, if you don't live in a large metropolitan area that has a well-established public transportation system, ie. New York City, Chicago, then you don't have a whole lot of options on how to get to work, the grocery store, school, etc. I hear everyday these people toting the argument that it's the people driving the SUVs and trucks that are the problem. "Buy a smaller car!" is the solution. Well, some of us can't afford to just up and buy a new car, and unfortunately, not many of us live withing walking and/or biking distance from work otherwise that would be an option as well. Some people say, "Move closer to work." How many people can just uproot and move x amount of miles? Not too many I think.

I know we are a country of "it's not my fault" and "blame these guys" when it comes to our problems, but I think we have a legitimate gripe here when the oil companies continue to report record setting profits. They are getting this money from you and me. I say we need to do something about it. Don't know what since most politicians seem to be in bed with said oil companies and are not about to jeopardize their campaign funds to stand up for what is right for the people they're supposed to be representing. Even the threat of drilling domestically would send a shockwave through OPEC. I say we need to become independent of foreign oil, then of oil altogether. We all know it's not going to last. We need to find alternative methods of energy and we need them now! If our parents/grandparents were the ones going to the moon when no one said it could be done, why can't we free ourselves of this serious ball and chain?

I say look at wind farms, solar power, we have plenty of both! We're shooting ourselves in the foot I think. I read once that they wanted to start a wind farm off Cape Cod (or somewhere in that area) since there is so much wind available. It was shot down because one of the Kennedys didn't want to see windmills when he was sailing. Nice huh? I'm glad to see that the wants of few outweigh the needs of millions. We need to start thinking outside the box. If you want to erect a windmill in my backyard, go for it. Solar panels on my house, I'd totally do it if I could afford it. Bring on the energy!

Updates

It's been a while since I last posted. Shocking I know. What has happened in the last month or so since the last post? Not too much I must say. Gas prices went up, the dollar's value went down, we as a country are further in debt, and I as a person am further in debt, the war is still raging in Iraq and Afghanistan (or at least we think so since the media really doesn't cover activity in Afghanistan too much any more), crooked politicians in Washington, other politicians trying to get into Washington. Did I miss anything? Probably not. Same stuff, different day.

I know I'm way too cynical. I blame the faltering economy. Why not? Everyone else is.

Anyhoo, onto more entertaining items.

I have found my new guilty pleasure of the moment. It's that show Work Out on Bravo. I know, it's like a soap opera set in a gym and yet I can't look away. Who is going to be sleeping with the gym owner, Jackie? Which trainers are going to hook up before the season ends? Will Peeler stay at the gym or will he get himself fired? These are questions that I must have answered and the only way to do so is to tune in. I know, I have issues, but I love this show. My favorite character? Jesse. He's too cute and has a great personality. He just seems like he'd be a blast to hang out with and dish gossip. They also have new trainers to include the guy from those Bowflex commercials. Yeah, like I totally believe he got a body like that from a Bowflex. Whatever. So they're only like 3 episodes into the season and they've already gone on a lesbian cruise, rumors are swirling that Renessa hooked up with Jackie, the tension is brewing in the gym over a Doug tribute (very sad about that), and, oh yeah, they have new clients to work with. Stay tuned. I will be.

I need a life at life.sa.laugh@hotmail.com.