Uncle Sam

This weekend we get to shop tax-free!!! There are limits.... we can't buy houses, cars, cigarettes, liquor, etc tax-free, but we can buy school supplies and what-nots!

This means the long weekend checkout lines will be even longer!

Brainy Brouhaha

We endured a marathon departmental meeting yesterday afternoon that featured laughter, tears, pathos, and the very real threat of physical violence as a heated verbal argument escalated and came extremely close to breaking out into geek fisticuffs. Yes, Phoenix, I borrowed the cat pic from you. :) And that was between the gals! JK. Svetlana and I just looked at each other bug-eyed. It’s just a good thing the parties involved were seated at opposite ends of the room. ("R" may be humongous, but "M" looks like a feisty little scrapper.) To add to the mayhem, “L” bonked his noggin (hence the tears) on the large flatscreen dangling from the ceiling which provoked loud, spontaneous applause and cheers. Yep, we nerds are vicious and unsympathetic. ; ) He flipped us off under the table in response. As we exited the room, GFR pulled the ancient There’s Something on Your Shirt trick on Charlie Manson by telling him he had spilled mayo and when CM glanced down, flicked him on the nose. Only GFR could have gotten away with it. However the highlight of this bull session occurred when “L” pontificated on the evils of IMing and how this would be forbidden when our new policies and procedures go into effect only to show his laptop’s display screen with no less than three IM protocols up and running. To add to his embarrassment, “S” messaged “L” from his laptop thus popping up yet another incriminating rectangle. Ooops!

Recently, our darling CruiserMel over at Ramblings posted her selection in regards to her Dream Desk/Fantasy File/Vibra Vault. In no particular order here is my Top Ten list:

• Mark Wahlberg. Eye candy in underwear.
• Jon Stewart. Funny and smart. Dynamic dual combo.
• John C. McGinley. Sarcasm, wit, smoking bod and my fav TV show all rolled into one.
• Gary Sinese. Have to agree there. Didn’t notice him till "Forrest Gump" and I was smitten. Sexy as hell with or without legs.
  
• Jay Hernandez. "Crazy/Beautiful" indeed.
  
• Harrison Ford. Retains sexiness as he ages.
• John Cena. I don’t watch wrestling crapola and I prefer him with a baseball cap and shirtless, but damn he’s fine.
• Heath Ledger. Can’t resist a knight.
• Tony Gonzalez. Which makes me favor the Chiefs after my Browns.
• Colin Firth. Who can resist that British accent?

Former stirrings:

• Fernando Allende from Flamingo Road. Watching him and Morgan Fairchild get steamy together is forever etched on my feverish brain. Damn he was hot! Whatever happened to him?
• Vincent Spano in “Baby It’s You”
• Charlie Sheen. “Platoon,” “The Chase” Rwwwrrr.

Priority Payback

A few weeks ago, while convalescing from my painful injuries, I popped in the movie, Click and to my delight and surprise, found myself engrossed in this moving tearjerker. Known mostly for his goofy characters, Mr. Sandler flexed his acting chops in this funny/serious role and proves once again (thinking Spanglish here), he can go the distance as a versatile actor. Yes, there were humorous moments and silly sight gags (thinking fat suit), but the “Christmas Carol”-like storyline focused primarily on his workaholic existence and the unforeseen fallout that would result.

“As Michael discovers that the remarkable device has the power to muffle the barks of the family dog, zoom himself past an irritating quarrel with his wife, and even allow him to travel back and forth through time to different points in his life, the rush of being able to skip straight to the good parts in life soon leaves him feeling as if he's missing out on the total experience. Only when Michael begins to realize that the he has lost control of his life and the remote is now programming him does he finally learn that life is as much about the moments he'd rather forget as it is the moments he will always remember.”

What would you skip over if you could fast-forward your life and would the expense be worth the price? In skipping over the everyday hassles might we miss out on experiences that are intrinsic to our very existence? *hums Harry Chapin’s Cats in the Cradle*

I've long since retired and my son's moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind."
He said, "I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kid's got the flu,
But it's sure nice talking to you, dad.
It's been sure nice talking to you."
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."

Steal This Post

I've read Lawyer Mama's blog a couple of times (maybe just once?) but anyways... today I thought 'I think I'll check that site'. I'm glad I did! For years I was team captain of a team formed by Chaos College and we collected donations and did the 12 hour walk to help raise money and fight cancer... for the American Cancer Society. I havent been able to participate in the past two years and I miss it greatly! I plan on getting involved with it again here in the city.

Anyways... reading her post she writes about Why Mommy's diagnosis. Go to her site and read! I've heard about inflammatory breast cancer before, but I think it's often misdiagnosed. I've had a few friends and family members battle breast cancer (and win! yeah!!!)

I really wish the very best for Why Mommy! This is her post - which i stole. Feel free to copy and post it on your site too!:

We hear a lot about breast cancer these days. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes, and there are millions living with it in the U.S. today alone. But did you know that there is more than one type of breast cancer?

I didn’t. I thought that breast cancer was all the same. I figured that if I did my monthly breast self-exams, and found no lump, I’d be fine.

Oops. It turns out that you don’t have to have a lump to have breast cancer. Six weeks ago, I went to my OB/GYN because my breast felt funny. It was red, hot, inflamed, and the skin looked…funny. But there was no lump, so I wasn’t worried. I should have been. After a round of antibiotics didn’t clear up the inflammation, my doctor sent me to a breast specialist and did a skin punch biopsy. That test showed that I have inflammatory breast cancer, a very aggressive cancer that can be deadly.

Inflammatory breast cancer is often misdiagnosed as mastitis because many doctors have never seen it before and consider it rare. “Rare” or not, there are over 100,000 women in the U.S. with this cancer right now; only half will survive five years. Please call your OB/GYN if you experience several of the following symptoms in your breast, or any unusual changes: redness, rapid increase in size of one breast, persistent itching of breast or nipple, thickening of breast tissue, stabbing pain, soreness, swelling under the arm, dimpling or ridging (for example, when you take your bra off, the bra marks stay – for a while), flattening or retracting of the nipple, or a texture that looks or feels like an orange (called peau d’orange). Ask if your GYN is familiar with inflammatory breast cancer, and tell her that you’re concerned and want to come in to rule it out.

There is more than one kind of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is the most aggressive form of breast cancer out there, and early detection is critical. It’s not usually detected by mammogram. It does not usually present with a lump. It may be overlooked with all of the changes that our breasts undergo during the years when we’re pregnant and/or nursing our little ones. It’s important not to miss this one.

Inflammatory breast cancer is detected by women and their doctors who notice a change in one of their breasts. If you notice a change, call your doctor today. Tell her about it. Tell her that you have a friend with this disease, and it’s trying to kill her. Now you know what I wish I had known before six weeks ago.

You don’t have to have a lump to have breast cancer.

The Simpsons

We went to see The Simpsons Movie last night.

I saw Bart's twig and berries!!!

HAHAHAHAHA

Full frontal male nudity. It was a hoot! Bart had been dared by dear ol dad to skateboard downtown... neeekid. Bart wasn't going to do it, but Homer called him a chicken and the next thing you know you see his unclothed butt cheeks scooting down the road. His goods was strategically hidden by different things as he passed through the streets. A leaf here, or a ball there. Then all of a sudden he skate boarded behind a fence of some sort and the only open space was right where the goods were. You saw nothing of Bart... except the family jewels. HAHAHAHA

It was a pretty good movie. It brought alot of laughs for sure!!!