Supreme Court

The US Supreme court heard a pivotal argument in the case for gay and lesbian rights today.

1 Year

So, it was around this time last year that I started Blogging. March 31st, 2002 to be exact. I have alwasy wanted a diary, but I hate to write. Blogging seems to be working for me though. While I hate writing, I don't hate typing. I have always wanted to express myself, and keep a log of my life. Blogging seems to work for this, so I am satisfied. I think I will continue.

It is interesting to think about. 100 years ago, many people kept diaries. Those diaries describe the daily life of the participants in that time. Blogs will be that for future generations, as long as we keep our entries.

Happy Birthday Mom!

and Breathe...

We had kind of a busy weekend....make that a hellaciously busy weekend.

Friday, right after work, we went to an Interfirst party at Barnstormers. It was fun. We didn't get home until about 12:30 though.

Saturday, I got up, and went to the gym. We then had the open house (3 couples coming through), and immediately after that we drove to Lansing for Patrick's sister Kristen's birthday, and his brother-in-law Jason's birthday. We got home around midnight. I also stopped over at Matthew's during the open house to try on the breeches for the doublet.

Sunday, I got up, did a little laundry, had another open house (5 couples coming through), and immediately left afterwards for dinner with my family in the Irish Hills. We got home around 10:15.

Monday, I got up, went to the gym, and came home to check email. Found out a friend from college was in town from South Africa, and decided to meet him and another friends for lunch. That lasted until 5. I got home, started cleaning out the garage for boxes dad wants to bring over, and then made dinner with Patrick. Spaghetti and meatballs, of which, I had leftovers today. We got done with dishes at about 7:15. Then it was veg time for a couple of hours until I was ready to pass out.

Thank God I am back at work today!

War

So, as we all know by now, we are at war with Iraq. I find that my feelings regarding this are not as cut and dried as some others. While, I do not support war for war's sake, I do have to wonder if the people of Iraq will be better off after it has been completed. But, that jumps ahead.

Do we have a right to go to war? I don't think so. I think there should have been clear proof provided to the UN and the UN should have voted on that evidenece. I feel as though our president has taken us into a situation where we, along with a few followers, have become a rogue nation. I feel as though he may be a war criminal now. I am just not sure.

Have we proven that Saddam Hussein has 'weapons of mass destruction'? Not as far as I can tell. Granted I am sure there is information I don't have, but in a truly free society, that proof needs to be shown, not hidden behind closed doors.

Is Saddam Hussein and his regime a 'bad seed'? Yes, I think so. Does he deserve to rule Iraq. No. This is a man who has attacked his own people, once created banned chemical and biological weapons, had prisoners in his jails raped and tortured. No, George is right on this count. That man is evil.

Have we set ourselves up to be a target for years to come? Yes, I think so. This war has put us at odds with half the planet. The Islamic nations of the world are opposed to it. Much of the Christian and Jewish world is as well. Will terrorists use it as an excuse to attack us again and again? Yes, I think so. Will we ever feel as safe as we did on September 10th? I think not.

How do I feel about the war? Mixed still. Is it good that we will try and set up a democratic form of government in Iraq and stop the Iraq government from torturing it's people? Yep. Do we have the right? Nope. I find myself listening occasionally and saying, that's good, and at other times, that is bad. Overall though, I find myself oddly distant. I am trying not to think about Iraq's and our people dying.

I have pondered whether to write up my feelings regarding this for a while now. Most of my friends are very opposed to the war. Patrick is very opposed to it. I am not. I am not sure how I feel. The whole situation has left me feeling addled.

HAHAHHAHAHHA

Steak and a BJ Day

The Neverending Day

So, today is just not ending. It feels like I have been here for days.... Just END already!

Schedule for the Weekend
Tonight: Nothing!
Saturday: Workout in AM, Open House from 1-4, Liz's Party
Sunday: Open House from 1-4, Laundry, Groceries, etc.

The house

On Saturday, we received a call. They were digging the basement. After Patrick and I got ready, we went over and took pictures of our basement. It is all dug out. We don't have walls or anything yet, but we do have a big-ass hole in the ground! They say that weather permitting, they will do the foundation this week, and perhaps the walls next week. We shall see. It was exciting!

Working out
So, on both Sunday and Monday, with no one waiting for me, I got my ass to the gym. Yay me! Tonight is aerobics.

Work
I have to drive to the Flint campus tomorrow in the afternoon. I need to do a presentation on what Endowments are for the Development and Financial people on that campus. I just talked to my boss, and he said he isn;t wearing a tie, so I guess I don't ned to either! Yay!

From the Prozac-Conniption, I took Peter Schmies's Word Classification Test.

I got 147 out of 200 correct. Go me!

My head hurt when I was done though.

Working Out

KG and I worked out again last night. It was good to get out and do something, but my foot has hurt all day now. I think between the seated stair-climber, the treadmill, and the weight-lifting concentrating on legs, I just did too much to it. *sigh* Poor foot. I will treat you better tonight.

Ambercon

This is the first year that I didn't make it into any of Kristen's games. I was fairly surprised...I am so used to signing up for them... I signed upf or 2 and didn't make either... Oh well. I have a good listing. I didn't get into James' games either. I got into one of Jack's games. (Thanks Jack!) Carla, Are you in the Midwinter's night game? I saw you mentioned a child character.

My games are below:

Slot 1: "The Enigma Society Revisited" by John Schleick (j.skellington@juno.com)
Slot 2: "A Midwinter Night's Dream" by Jennifer Crice (devilwoman@bolthy.com)
Slot 3: "Nine Princes in Juniper" by Jeremy Zimmerman (bolthy@bolthy.com)
Slot 4: "The Zelazny Affair" by Jennifer Crice (devilwoman@bolthy.com)
Slot 5: "Ghosts of the Past" by Paul Weimer (jvstin@aol.com)
Slot 6: "The Black Unicorn: Redux" by Anton North (ahnorth@usa.net)
Slot 7: "One uncle is down the well, another died in his bed, and the third just fell down the stairs." by Dana Bayer (amberpup@mchsi.com)
Slot 8: "Scratches in the Alley" by Nicholas Fortugno (larpguy@mindspring.com)

Working Out

So, Kristen and I have been working out for a few weeks now. This is in addition to our Aerobics class. When we work out, we usually begin on the Treadmill for about 30 minutes, then move on to weightlifting. So, this has been going on for about 4 weeks, I guess. Over that time, I have begun to notice the muscles in my legs have greatly improved. They have improved so much, in fact, that I am having little knee pain these days. I even broke out in *gasp* a jog for about half of my treadmill time last night. I am very pleased. This is the same thing that happened when I was doing Physical Therapy for the knee. When I stopped, the pain came back. So, now I know that it is a muscle issue that is causing my knee to stop hurting. It has some damage from Wrestling in H.S., as well as the tendons on the inside being too loose to hodl the kneecap down properly. Apparently improving muscle tone semes to help tendons, because I doubt it reversed the damage.

We went to our Aerobics class last night, and it was cancelled due to the weather. Now, I made it to work yesterday morning. How can it be that our instructor couldn't make it in during the evening? I mean...the roads were in great shape. So, we ended up working out again. We decided to go again tonight too. Go us! We rock!

Fascism in the White House

The following is mostly from an email Patrick sent to my father, and partly my additions and changes.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fascism
fas·cism
n.
1. often Fascism
a. A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.
b. A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government.

2. Oppressive, dictatorial control.

"A system of government marked by centralization of authority".

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http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home1.jsp
"Bush decided 22 previously disparate domestic agencies needed to be coordinated into one department to protect the nation against threats to the homeland."

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From the Encyclopedia Britanica, which all U of M folks have access to via
http://www.lib.umich.edu/eresources/user.php?char=E:

"Although fascist parties and movements differed significantly from each other, they had many characteristics in common, including extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the rule of elites, and the desire to create a Volksgemeinschaft (German: “people's community”), in which individual interests would be subordinated to the good of the nation."

"Most fascist movements portrayed themselves as defenders of Christianity and the traditional Christian family against atheists and amoral humanists."

Point: "extreme militaristic nationalism" (Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea) Contempt for cultural liberalism (Ask George where he stands on liberal issues like women's choice, gay civil unions or gay marriage, national health care, etc).

Point: Individual interests subordinated to the good of the nation ..."defenders of Christianity" - FAITH BASED INITIATIVE....

Point: How about the new Patriot Act, which subordinates rights of individuals in favor of government oversite for "security purposes". Benjamin Franklin had an eloquent quote on this very subject, he said, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

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Toss in some TIPS, and a justice department that can hold folks without a hearing - indefinitely, and the ability to listen on whomever's phone conversations they want, whenever you want with no control over it. Not to mention grabbing records about book purchases, and whatever else they've brewing in "Patriot Act 2" and I'd say we're heading towards a bloody police state.

A friend of ours who follows these things mentioned that 1/3 of the population was against the upcoming 'war'. The current administration's argument is that 1/3 of the nation isn't a majority.

Interesting, that only 50% of the voting population voted in the last election, and the current president didn't win the popular vote. So, in other words, less than 25% the nation didn't vote for Bush. Yet, he has a 'mandate'. 33% don't want a war. Think about it.

House

I called the builder. They are "waiting for it to warm up a bit", but our "permits are all pulled".

Some progress.

Life

So, in no particular order....here is the news.

I think I am coming down with something. I have a headache. I feel achey. I am just not feeling myself.

Patrick is sick. He was miserable last night, and sounded the same this morning. I need to call him and see if he went in to work today. (Just called.) He did not go in today. He tells me that my symptoms are what his symptoms were early on. **JOY**

We had a few more people come to the Open House over the weekend. 2 of them were return people, and said that they are interested and may make us an offer on the house in the next few weeks, after their pre-approval, etc. So, that is very good news, and has helped already with my stress levels. I actually spent all day Monday vegging in front of the TV, and that helped a lot too.

Ambercon - Patrick and I are discussing staying Sunday night now. It will depend on if his professor will let him out of class on Monday, and if I have enough points to get our room comped. We shall see.