Monthly Archives: August 2013

A Couple of Things…

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Syd for a quick visit while I was on the air.

Syd for a quick visit while I was on the air.

Mostly I like to have my blog be uplifting and not depressing, but lately, there are a number of downers going on not including Syria or Miley Cyrus.  So I will start with something up:

1. I’m eternally grateful that it takes so much more energy to hate than to love. Love is easy. Hate is work.

2a. Another friend dealt the cancer card. That’s just fucked up. She’s still in shock and is now facing a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.    K, you guys, this is it. Clean tissue. Health. Vitality. Mock it up. See it. Feel it. Be it. We can do this!!

2b. According to the National Cancer Institute, one in eight American women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Get those mammograms ladies.

2c. Of course men can develop breast cancer as well, but you don’t get the luxury of your insurance (if lucky enough to have it) to cover annual exams. So you’ll have to do due diligence and do those self exams which are so much fun!  Or better yet, have your wife or girlfriend do them for you.

3. Self proclaimed Christians who have no love and tolerance for all beliefs and lifestyles are amongst the scariest people I know. Just saying.

Gus exposing himself at the Central Park Zoo

Gus exposing himself at the Central Park Zoo, June 2009.

4. Sad to hear that Gus was euthanized this week at the Central Park Zoo.  He was 27 years old.  The average life span of a polar bear is 20.7.  He had an inoperable thyroid tumor and his health had deteriorated.  Sydney and I got a real up close view of Gus on our last visit to New York City.

5. My dog Sammy has been staring at me a lot recently. This worries me. She’s a senior citizen and may be having lapses in memory. I feel like she’s reaching out to me waiting for me to help her, but it’s probably more like she’s wondering who I am.  She use to jump up the moment my feet hit the floor in the morning and follow me from room to room, and she’d be at the gate waiting for my return.  Now she sleeps in and she’s sitting on the couch and when I get home.  But she’s there, and I love that she still demands my lap before retiring for the night.

6. I recently saw a post about how life is hard, but if you eliminate expectations and replace with a little bit of gratitude, maybe that’s enough.

That post made me sad.  Life is about creating and making the most of it.  Sure be grateful, but be satisfied because you’re living life to the fullest!  Don’t expect others to make it happen.  You need to make it happen.  Be responsible for your happiness!  Be grateful for that!

7. But I do admit that I get a little tired of the “Grateful” posts on Facebook.  After a while, I’m like, “SO FREAKIN’ WHAT!!! Who cares what you’re grateful for…unless of course it’s for the perfect lemondrop martini.

8. I’m too outspoken.  I say what is on my mind.  I use to have a filter, but the older I get, the more I blurt out what’s just sitting there.    On the upside, I won’t have regrets of things left unsaid.   Both bad, and good.

9.  From my “Little Did They Know” file:  I use to nurse Sydney while I was on the air.  🙂

10.  Have you never seen the Honey Badger video?  Do yourself a favor and check it out because, “Honey Badger don’t give a shit!”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg

Me and Kat Merrick

Me and Kat Merrick

11. Happy Birthday to Kat Merrick.  August 29 is her birthday.  She’s one of the hardest working women I know working to improve conditions in her community.  She loves her family, treasures her friends, and knows how to have a real good time!  I admire & adore her and am pleased as punch to call her my friend!

12. From my “Favorite Facebook Posts” file:  “I decided if you can’t be a good example, then you’ll just have to be a horrible warning.”  – Catherine Aird

Thanks for listening!

A Couple of Things…

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First day of school – Dianne, me & Jeff

1. Remember after a nice long hot summer that anticipation of the first day of school? Yeah, I don’t miss that so much.

2a. Speaking of school, I’m taking off this semester from college and taking this personal time to do a full body purification.  I did one once over 25 years ago.  While I realize I am not a body, I do have a body that needs tending to from time to time.

2b. Just in case you’re wondering, I am a spiritual being with this particular body. When this lifetime ends, the body stays (or in my case, gets incinerated), and I’ll go onto something else.

3a. I was reading a list called “10 Simple Things You Can Do Today That Will Make You Happier, Backed By Science”  It was written by Belle Beth Cooper.
Out of 10 points, my favorites are: “Exercise more – 7 minutes might be enough”; “Plan a trip – but don’t take one.”

3b. I love that someone narrowed it down to 7 minutes, and planning a trip is good enough, you don’t actually have to go!  It’s the Antici—pation that boosts happiness.  So mark shit down on your calendar, and look at it from time to time.  Love it!

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Your cat is asking for you.

4. I took this photo of Molly Monday night around 9:30 and sent it to Sydney (who moved to Oregon last week without her cat) via text message saying, “Your cat is asking for you.”  Then, I swear to God, the cat disappeared until Wednesday evening.  Half of me was dreading telling Sydney her cat disappeared, probably left looking for her, the other half, not so much.

5. AT&T internet providers blocked one of my postal worker’s union websites for security reasons.  Patriotic Act?  dDOS attack?  I couldn’t work over the weekend on this particular website and lost billable wages.  Commie Rat Bastards!

6a. I walked into my neighborhood donut store (I owed “goodies” at work because I bought a new car…this rule, by the way, is in the Engineering ByLaws), and I happened to have a bag of grapes I just bought at Vons.  The woman behind the counter asked if I had tried the new Cotton Candy grape.  I got super jazzed because I had read about these a couple of months ago.  She brought some out for me so I could try, and yes, THEY TASTE LIKE COTTON CANDY!!!  Crazy!

6b. So if kids (or adults for that matter) taste the sweeter Cotton Candy grapes, will they ever be satisfied with just the original sweet grape?

6c. And are these genetically modified grapes?  And is GMO ALWAYS a bad thing?  Cross pollination isn’t bad is it?

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Crazy!!!

7. I work with a bunch of crazy-ass fitness buffs who do this gnarly cross-fit training at lunch.  No comment.  Just a statement of fact.  I watch them from time to time as I have fun shooting hoops.

8. I recently read an article posted on the Huffington Post called, “23 Signs You’re Secretly An Introvert.”  It was written by Carolyn Gregoire. I fit 15 out 23 signs.  One sign is that you screen your calls, even from your friends (sorry bout that one), another one is that you’re a writer.  I call “BULLSHIT!”

9. My new Nissan Sentra did not make the Top Ten Most Stolen Cars in America list.  Yay!

10. I have a friend who is a gluten for punishment.  See what I did there!  She can’t tolerate certain grains yet she still eats them…. K, not so funny.

11. I had a bite of a papple this week. Technically, it’s called Asian pear, but it tastes a little like a pear & an apple, and Sergio from Engineering has dubbed it a Papple.  Regardless, it was delicious!

12. From my “Favorite Facebook Posts” file:
“Sometimes, the first step towards forgiveness is realizing the other person is totally bat-shit crazy.”   Michelle Barlett

Thanks for listening!

A Couple of Things…

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So much has happened in the past week!

1. Sydney Rose has embarked on her newest adventure moving to Oregon.  I finally wore her down and she allowed me to accompany her up there; however, she didn’t allow me to drive once (she was making a point that she could do it on her own).

The first day she played her music.  The second day she didn’t turn on the radio or mp3 player once.  She did however insist on playing car games.  We took turns naming off the 50 states, we did it with Wisconsin being the last, and we played Twenty Questions.  We laughed a lot and I’m so glad we had those last two days alone together.  Looking forward to her coming home for Christmas.

2. Missed my flight back home in Portland; first time I’ve ever done that.  Grrrr.   Portland traffic SUCKS!  Just saying.   Got on the later flight all stressed out, but the Bloody Mary and the affable conversation with an older gentleman sitting next to me helped to ease the pain to San Francisco.

3. The little twin propeller plane to Santa Barbara put me right back on edge; should have gone for a second Bloody Mary.

4. Back home on Wednesday and I bought a new car because I officially handed off mine to Sydney in Oregon.  I got myself a new Nissan Sentra.  Cute little guy.  I think he’ll do me right.

5. We had our final band practice on Sunday in preparation for our debut performance. Sydney Rose tagged along (spending as much time together before she was to leave town the next morning).   Christine actually sang on one of the songs. I hadn’t heard her sing before. I told them how great they sounded and Charles said they needed to get me a mic too. Horrified I said NO WAY, I can’t carry a tune. Syd chimed in with, “Have her lip sync!” To which Charles instantly deemed Syd Rose band manager.

6. I did it!  I made my band debut at Bombay’s Wednesday night (no lip syncing).  I was nervous, yet excited.  Having worked about 15 years in radio, I don’t mind being in front of people, but I’ve never played an instrument for anyone, and up until July, I had never played with a band. My band mates Charles and Christine Law made this girl’s dreams come true.  Tommy Marsh joining us made us sound actually pretty good!

7. Thank you Amanda for loaning me the dress (I had to follow Christine’s mandate of dresses and boots).

8. Thank you Jonny Reese for the shot of Patron as soon as I got off the stage.

9. Thank you Diego for the :15 video you posted on Facebook.

10. My dad was there to support me, he even wore a VenturaRocks.com t-shirt!  After the show he asked if he could have the pick I used to play guitar.  Could you die?  Too sweet.

11. My best buds were there to support even though I warned them I would suck.  It was quite a rush creating something out of nothing and seeing people respond to the music.  Charles Law is an amazing songwriter and I was super scared I would make a mockery of his song, “Corrine.”  But with Tommy’s help it sounded pretty damn good!

12. As for “Sweet Dreams”, it turned out that there was a guitarist in the audience who actually played on the original with the Eurythmics as a session player (he allegedly has the Grammy to prove it).  Seriously, this could only happen to me.  We played the Marilyn Manson version which sounded a lot more like a White Stripes version and he came up afterwards and said, and I quote, “I like your feel.”  I’ll take that!

13. Just saying…my band debut was everything I thought it would be.  I had a blast!  Thank you Christine and Charles Law!  Your generosity humbles me.  Love you!

14. From the “You Never Know Who You’ll Run Into” file:  Having breakfast at Art’s Cafe here in Ventura this week and a crew of nice looking young men (probably in their 20s) arrived and sat in a nearby booth.  The waitress asked where they were from as they came in a Mercedes Benz Van.  It turns out that Gary Young was one of them.  Shook his hand as he recently won the Gold at the X-Games in Barcelona for BMX Park riding.  Nice guy.  They were on their way to Santa Barbara for a demonstration at one of their sponsor locations.

15. The Saturday night before Sydney left, Molly, the anti-social cat, actually slept with Syd Rose. So, there is some minuscule amount of devotedness in her cold stone itty bitty kitty heart.

16.  From my “Favorite Facebook Posts” file:
“Let’s not get carried away by the fairytale okay, Pinocchio was a Goddamn liar.”  – Bodhi Elfman

Thanks for listening!

A Couple of Things…

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1. The Ventura Fair is in full swing!   The theme is Boots, Barns & Banjos.  It was so much fun walking the parade route last Saturday with Kat and Totally Local VC.   The float provided live music from Dan Grimm on guitar & Ian McFadyen on banjo and Jonny Reese of Amigos on air guitar.  Photo above has Mary McGrath who represented locally grown pumpkins, Kat Merrick of Totally Local VC and myself supporting local music.   The float took first place!!!

2. The second photo is courtesy of my friend, photographer Amanda Peacock.  When I saw this when she posted it on Facebook I laughed because I had no idea she was shooting me.  Then my second thought was, “What happened to my ass?!!!” Seriously!  I use to have one!

3. My birthday, by the way (thanks for asking!), was amazing!!  Went to the Getty Museum with Sydney, band practice with Christine & Charles Law, then drinks with the Laws, Eve, Kat & Chris, then a delicious dinner with the family, Staci and the Mimiagas at Aloha.  My birth week started with dancing to Rey Fresco the weekend before with Maggie at Bombay’s and ended the following Friday with Linda (my oldest & dearest friend) for great music from Shawn Jones at Peirano’s.
Dancing, amazing music, delicious food, the best friends and family.  Life is good!!!

4. I’ll be reviewing the no gift birthday policy with Kat.  (See last blog)

5. Oh!  I learned “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by the Eurythmics at band practice on my birthday, the Marilyn Manson version that is.  But it sounds more like the White Stripes doing Marilyn Manson.

6. Double Oh!  Thought of another life hightlight:
Interviewing Neil Patrick Harris while he was taking flying trapeze lessons in the Valley, then at the end, he surprises me with a free try.  I can still recall the adrenalin rush with safety harness on, standing on tippy toes grasping the bar, and then taking a deep breath and swinging out.    SOOOO SCARY!!!   I was high for days!

7. Soon after I wrote that list last week of some of the highlights in my life I saw this and smiled.  This is why I wrote it’s the PG-13 version:  “Some of the best moments in life are the ones you can’t tell anyone about.”

8. I wonder, “Is it better to have the last laugh or to just take the freakin’ high road?”

9. I recently took a break at work and walked downtown to a local bakery where I not only knew 7 out 9 people there, but one of them was the mayor of Ventura himself! Love this town!!

10. I had my co-workers over for a beach day recently.  One of us was brave enough to jump in the cold water.  The rest of us…not so much.    I need to toughen up if I’m going to learn how to surf!

11. Congratulations to my old friend and radio colleague, John Vance, who recently accepted the Fire Chief’s position in Minnetonka, Minnesota.  He’s relocating his family from Granger, Indiana.  Best wishes Chief!!   Of course this means he’s only 1900 miles away as opposed to 2100 miles!

12. From my “Favorite Facebook Posts” file:  “He who is devoid of the power to forgive, is devoid of the power to love. ”   Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

Thanks for listening!