Memoirs of a Geisha - Peter Goulden

T's Rates IT: T T T T T

The Final Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

T's Rates IT: T T

The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

T's Rates IT: T T T T t

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Gregory Maguire

T's Rates IT: T T T T T

Belwether - Connie Willis

T's Rates IT: T T T T T

...

Failure To Launch

T's Rates IT: T T t

Mission Impossible 3

T's Rates IT: T T T t

X-Men III

T's Rates IT: T T T T T

...

My Photo
Name:
Location: Houston, Texas, United States

It ain't the years, It's the mileage. I was raised a military brat, and wanderlust still comes over me every 3 or 4 years. Still love to travel.

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Random Thoughts Over the Last Week or So...

Friday April 28th
07:38
Hey! Where do I slgn up for more of these twelve to fourteen hour days?!?!

Sheeesh!

06:52
Seen in our lobby this morning...Tight jeans, a tanktop, and flip-flops may be a little too casual for Casual Friday.

Especially if you have upper arm tats.

Or maybe it's just me.

Thursday April 27th
16:00
Dr. Moskowitz just may have changed my life...Or at least made it a little more pleasant.

12:08
On the bus. I just heard some woman telling someone "You need to reboot." The Queen used to think that's all there is to tech support. She used to have a lot of PC issues where she worked, and she would call me because that's what I did. The first thing I would ask would be..
You guessed it!

Still a running joke belween us.

11:43
I don't really care much for birds as pets. Our "Roomate's in particular. Birds are messy, dirly and loud. As l'm waiting on the bus today, I open my bag to get my sunglasses out, a piece of effing bird dander floats out, up and away.

I really hate that fucking bird!!!


Wednesday April 26th
13:58
While walking out of the building @ lunchtime...Once again I am reminded that some people shouldn't wear see-thru ANYTHING!!!

I nearly had my eyes burnt out!!!

Tuesday April 25th
19:47
When I got off the bus tonight (Just now) I could smell the rain comming in. I've always loved that particular smell.


Sunday April 23d
14:48
The themes that are available nowfor Palm Computing devices! Surprising! Found a site today that had dozens. Bookmarked it... SCORE!!

10:38
Why is it I seem to have issues with people that try to give orders? When someone says "JUMP!" I have a tendancy to dig in and say "I don't think so"


Saturday April 22d
Midnight or so...
So I've bought this journaling SW. For my lifedrive. I bought some other titles too! Probably spent a little too much. But I made $240 Monday. Still feel kinda guilty about taking Joni's money.

But then again, I did provide a valuable service for her and her family.


...So - SCORE!!!

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Now What I Want to Know is:

How the hell do you get an invite to these kind of fashion shows.

"Fashion Week in Sydney Australia"






















Photos freely stolen from Yahoo!

Signs of a Great Society

Seen under a Houston freeway that runs between a "funky" neighborhood and an "affluent" neighborhood. Sorry about the crappy photo, but I was in traffic and there was a big semi behind me.
SolicitingJPG


The sign reads:

SOLICITING
A RIDE,
CONTRIBUTIONS,
EMPLOYMENT,
OR BUSINESS
IN THE ROADWAY
IS PROHIBITED


Now I know we have a lot of homeless folk here in H-town, but this sign fairly drips with compassion, doesn't it??

Do you smell that? Sarcasm...

Monday, April 24, 2006

Why?

Teenagers

Shit!

Friday, April 14, 2006

Part 4 of I Guess My "Fast & Loose" Youth is Catching Up to Me

Wednesday Afternoon This Is Gonna Hurt You Alot More Than It Does Me!



o I get out of the car and walk into the Oral Surgeon's. The girls in there all make a fuss and crack jokes while we are doing the paperwork thing.
But let's face it, I'm feeling like refried crap. It isn't long before they put me in one of those chairs in the back.

One of the doctor's assistants interviews me some more, just to make sure I didn't forget anything on the forms. (I didn't) . She makes sure I'm feeling okay and I am, under the circumstances. She goes away and leaves me to read my magazine.

A while later Dr. Krupa comes in. He seems to be a happy and confident fellow and after our interview I'm pretty glad Dr. Garza sent me to him instead of someone else.

It is pretty late in the afternoon and there are imprtant questions to be asked once it is ascertained that:

The surgery is necessary. It has to be done.

and

Dr.
Krupa is going to do it.


My turn:
Are we doing this today?

Dr:
Heavens, No! It's too late to start this.

Me: Okay...When?

Dr:
You'll have to talk to (someone) out front. But I'm sure it will probably be Friday.

Me:
What about...

Dr:
Pain??

Me:
Well yes...the nova whatever is wearing off.

Dr:
I'll have one of the girls call in a couple of scrips at your pharmacy. One for Pain and one'll be an antibiotic. And I want you to take these antibiotics until they are ALL GONE! Now come on in this other room and I'll numb you up some more. Take the pain meds when you get home. DO NOT wait for the numb to wear off, because if you do, you will be really sorry.


And so he gets the big needle out and shoots my tooth full of numbing goodness. I get up and out of the chair and go out front to setup my appointment for Friday.


Next: Haven't We always been there for You?!

Monday, April 10, 2006

Two Choices

If this doesn't bring a tear or two to your eye, you are either DEAD or Evil!


What would you do? You make the choice! Don't look for a punch line; There ain't one! Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?


At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:


"When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"

The audience was stilled by the query.


The father continued. "I believe,that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes, in the way other people treat that child." Then he told the following story:


Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked,"Do you think they'll let me play?" Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.


Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play, not expecting much. The boy looked around for guidance and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."


Shay struggled over to the team's bench put on a team shirt with a broad smile and his Father had a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.


At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible 'cause Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.


However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing the other team putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.


The game would now be over, but the pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.


Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the head of the first baseman, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay ever ran that far but made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.


Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"


Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to second base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball, the smallest guy on their team, who had a chance to be the hero for his team for the first time. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and he too intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.


All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay"


Shay reached third base, the opposing shortstop ran to help him and turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third" As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams and those watching were on their feet were screaming, "Shay, run home!" Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the "grand slam" and won the game for his team.


That day, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world.

Shay didn't make it to another summer and died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his Father so happy and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!


AND, NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY:


We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people think twice about sharing. The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.


If you're thinking about forwarding this message,chances are that you're probably sorting out the people on your address list that aren't the "appropriate" ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the "natural order of things." So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up that opportunity to brighten the day of those with us the least able, and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.


'Nuff Said, I think!