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A Couple of Things…

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cruise_vet1.  I took my dad on one of those three-hour cruises out to the Anacapa Islands and we had a blast taking photos and seeing all the pelicans, sea lions and dolphins.  No whales, but we found something even cooler.  My dad met a gentleman on the boat who is 96 years old, has been married for 77 years (his wife was with him), and he actually served under Patton.  What an honor shaking his hand just days before Veteran’s Day.
on the ocean
All in all a great day out on the ocean!

2. I just finished reading a book where the man’s wife dies, and later in the story it was revealed she was really alive. I hate fiction with story lines like that.  It makes it hard enough to let go of someone you love who has died, and this just feeds that false sense of hope that it all could be a terrible mistake.

If anyone could have pulled this off, my mother could have.  See she actually worked at Rose Hills Mortuary…so you can understand how my mind would figure out how she could have pulled it off.  Even to this day…

3. One of the aspects I love about Facebook is that you can reconnect with people you haven’t seen for literally 20 years but now feel like you’re a part of their lives, even though they live no where near you, and you probably won’t be seeing them for another 20 years, if that. I can private message as if we’ve been in the middle of a conversation.  I love it!

4. From my awesome headlines file:
Fake podiatrist sucks women’s toes
Giant Anteaters kill two hunters in Brazil.

Okay, so I read up on the anteater story because, “really?”  And it turned out that there were two separate incidents! Apparently these guys have front claws that are as long as pocketknives. So you just have to get in their way.

As for the podiatrist story?  It actually ran on CNN.

5. Is calling a man “adorable” a bad thing?  Or calling him “cute”?  Does it make men feel less manly or slightly effeminate?  I wonder because there are certain men I consider that way, and others I think of as artsy, or handsome, or that they are a manly man. Love them all, don’t get me wrong, but I hesitate to say, “You are so adorable!”

Turns out there is tons of info written on this very subject if you care to Google it.  My favorite entry, “Do the ‘cute and adorable’ guys ever get laid?”  It’s a question on a forum on a bodybuilding website.  I didn’t bother to see how people answered because I already know the answer which is resoundingly a “yes!”

6. I’ll be honest, I’m on the fence when it comes to Man Buns.

Google Maps7. This above satellite image of Ventura City Hall was brought to my attention by the crew I work with at City Hall because Google Maps had captured us during lunchtime sometime recently.  Clearly, this is a satellite photo of the guys doing their cross fit training on their side of the court, and me on the other side shooting hoops. How freakin’ funny is that?

Basketball court

8. I finally figured out how to Skype from my home computer.  I have one of those mini video cameras hooked up and I got the audio to work and everything!  But now, I feel like someone is always watching me even though I’m not connected.  To take care of that nagging feeling, I always make sure I have the lens covered up…just in case.

9. Have you ever walked into a bar or music venue and thought to yourself, “These are not my people!”

Halloween 2014(Thanks for photo Maggie)   Halloween last week was okay.  I really wasn’t planning on going out but I was slightly pressured to do so, so I put my hair up in a ponytail, put on a baseball cap and wore a safety vest.  I was a construction worker!  It came in handy when it started pouring rain and I had to run across the street to avoid getting more drenched. Cars saw me a mile away!!  The photo above is so bright just from the flash, so you can imagine getting caught in someone’s headlights!

Amanda-Me-PeggySide note:  I asked this gal to use my Canon camera to take a photo of us at The Watermark.  It took her FOREVER to figure it out and this is how it turned out!  I just laugh every time I look at it wondering just how drunk was she? Way too much head room!!

10. I had my first dirty martini on Halloween.  YUM!!

11. I read an article about which foods make you tastier to mosquitoes.  Included on the list are pickled foods, dairy products, Alcohol, Beer.  Yeah, I’m screwed.

12. From my favorite quotes file, “For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing.”  – Eleanor Roosevelt

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A Couple of Things…

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Maggie, Dad and Eve1. So my father turned 80 years old this week.  That’s quite a milestone you know.  He’s 80 and still hitting on women.  What’s so funny is that NO ONE is surprised by that!

2.  Yeah, I’m so done with seeing ice water dumped on people. I am glad it helped to do something awesome, raising money and awareness for ALS, but come on already!  It really became a PR opportunity for people.  Now if we can have George or Brad in a white T, or even shirtless do this on video, I might actually pay for that.

3.  Shortly after my divorce I had a date with a man I had a crush on.  It was my first crush and only one for almost ten years after my marriage ended.  We had one date and then that was all.  I felt bad that he never asked for a second date until I spotted him in a grocery store this week.  Honestly, he was not really handsome then, but since he completely let himself go…well let’s just say it looks like I dodged a bullet, and that other expression WHICH I HATE, actually makes some sense for this occasion, “Everything happens for a reason.”

Charles Lloyd

            (Josh McNutt, Charles Lloyd, Dorothy Darr, Adam Randall and myself)
4.  I attended a screening of the documentary, “Arrows Into Infinity” about the life and career of Charles Lloyd.  Both Lloyd and the director/life partner of Lloyd, Dorothy Darr, were in attendance and did a Q&A after the screening held at Squashed Grapes.  It was a privilege to meet Lloyd and his life partner Darr.  He will be receiving the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Award in 2015.

5.  I’d like to think that none of my friends watch “reality” TV shows like that Honey Boo Boo thing.  Seriously.

Halloween6. Madeline_movie_posterSpeaking of scary things, this post happens to fall on Halloween 2014 so I thought I would share another one of my favorite Halloween pictures with Sydney when we’d go out trick or treating together.  She was so freakin’ cute!   This particular year we went as Madeline and Miss Clavel from the Madeline book series, and then later of course the movie starring Frances McDormand as Miss Clavel.
I love Halloween for a couple of reasons:  kids costumes are adorable but mostly because I get my fill of black licorice and candy corn for the year.

Cookbook7.  Did you ever see that movie “Julie and Julia” about a struggling writer who starts a blog and works her way through Julia Child’s cookbook?  Seemed like a good idea, so while I was perusing through a recently acquired “Beginner’s Cook Book” from Home and Gardens (circa 1984), I thought maybe I would do the same thing!  Well, I probably wouldn’t blog on each recipe, but how great would it be to finally learn how to make my own spaghetti sauce or make pot roast and gravy?  Yes Maggie, I will cook for you.

8.  Not only do I get grossed out, but I get a little indignant when I discover a spider or mosquito bite, like I’ve been violated somehow.

Questionable Cupcakes9.  From the “Really Bad Ideas” file comes this news story, “Mom Bakes Vagina Cookies for Second Graders, Can’t Believe Teacher Has the Nerve to Refuse Them.”   Best line from the article is when the author wrote, I think vagina-inspired art is actually quite beautiful. I still wouldn’t bake a plate of vagina cookies and bring them to my grade-schooler’s class, because I’m not bat-shit crazy.”

Too funny!!!  Here’s the story for reference:  http://www.mommyish.com/2014/09/23/mom-bakes-vagina-cookies-for-second-graders/ I found it originally on the Huffington Post.
Warning:  Clicking on photo is not for the faint of heart.

10.  I saw an MSN story with this title (I copied & pasted it):  “5 People Who Only Vowed to Eat One Food”

Not to nitpick or anything, but shouldn’t it be, “5 People Who Vowed to Eat Only One Food?”   What they’re saying is they only made one vow, which was to eat one food, as opposed to vowing to eat only one food.  You get it, right?

11.  My knee has been really giving me trouble the past month or so and as a result, I can’t exercise at lunch so I’ve been reading. I typically have a book going at any given time, but I’ve been going through more books more quickly now. Nice for mental stimulation, not so nice for my midriff.  Next step, Orthopedic surgeon and most likely an MRI.

12.  From my favorite quotes files, “There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.” –Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Thanks for listening.

A Couple of Things…

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Pam and Maggieoregon_1409_0021.  The trip to Oregon with Maggie to visit Sydney was super fun.  If Syd Rose started popping out grandbabies for me, I would seriously think about moving up there.  Meanwhile, Portland-Rocks.com is in the works!  Just sayin’.

There was lots of outdoor hiking with Maggie, good food, cold drinks, and as much time as I could with Sydney in-between her jobs.

2. I saw a cooking website with a blog called, “15 Dinner Recipes Impossible to Mess Up.”  I feel a challenge is afoot.

3. Kobe’s first shot of the season was an airball?  Okay, in all fairness, it’s the preseason; but still, how much does that suck?

4. Did you see those advertisements how Brett Michaels was appearing at an RV Show?  Reminded me of that line in that Don Henley song, “I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.”  Just didn’t seem right.

5.  On the other end of the spectrum – on the extremely COOL end – there’s this video I saw recently of a school band rockin’ some Rage Against the Machine.  Damn I would have been in band if my school had rocked some Zep or Bowie back in the day.  Check it out:

6. Speaking of music, I wonder, “Is it better to have diminished hearing, than to not have enjoyed live music your entire life?” I pondered this after my Aunt Angie’s recent visit.  She is 86, my father is 80 and he’s going deaf.  She has perfect hearing.  My dad spent his entire life enjoying loud music, his sister hadn’t been to a live music event until this year, not since she was a teenager.  My question reminds me of that famous quoted question “Is it better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all.”

Of course there’s always a good argument for wearing earplugs.

7. I saw someone poise the question, “If you could rid the world of one thing, what would that be?” Someone commented, “Cancer.”
I gave it some thought and I came up with, “Stupidity.”  I figured if we were smarter, we could find the cure or stop it in the first place.

8. I believe I experienced my first (and hopefully last) scintillascintillating-scotomating scotoma.  It last about 15 minutes, then it went away.  It could be described as a half circle of refracted light in my vision path, like a floating aroura borialis or light shining through a quartz crystal.   Bright jagged semi circle.  TOTALLY freaked me out!  I’ve read up on them and they usually are followed by a migraine, with or without a headache.  Who knew you could have a migraine without a headache!

9. I hate it when I arrive at an event and run into friends who say, “Oh!  I have that same shirt!”  I guess it could be worse – they could be wearing the same shirt.

evil-raccoon10. Oh! The raccoons are back.  Yep, I woke up and laid in bed listening to odd noises around the house. So I looked out my back bedroom window, and turned on the outside light to find two humongous vermin walking across the back fence.  They froze at first and then looked up at the house with their beady evil eyes, then continued on.  They had to be at least 45 pounds each. They were huge!!  And again, I live at the beach! So weird.

11. Sometimes when I want to show off, I will work into the conversation that I once dated someone (Victor) who saw Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust tour in the Seventies.  But now I can say, my good friend Linda LeBrock actually met Gloria Steinem.   One degree of separation should account for something, which I guess is that I know how to pick cool friends!

12. From my favorite quotes file:  “Without music, life would be a mistake.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Thanks for listening!

A Couple of Things…

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With Syd Rose1.  For those who never read about why I started this blog (Read “About Pam”), here it is in a nutshell: “It’s therapeutic as it takes my thoughts out of my head, and frees up that much needed space for handling life.”

The photo I use on my blog is of me and my daughter, Sydney Rose, celebrating my birthday a couple of years ago. THIS is how I take on life!

2. I read a blog called “31 apologies you should make to your bartender.”  I’m sharing my two favorites, the first of which resonates totally with me, the second is just funny:

#6. I’m sorry I ordered Cabernet in a bar and then made an icky face like I expected it to be good.
#12. I’m sorry I told you my drink was too strong. Who does that?

3. I had never been a fan of the marmot, that’s not to say I didn’t like them, but I just didn’t give them much thought until I saw this video from Greenpeace.  They were doing a time lapse video at Glacier National Park when this furry guy came along and ruined it.  They weren’t too mad about it though, how could you be?  Check it out:

4. I saw a story called, “Famous products back from the dead”, one of them was the Astro pop.  I gotta get me one of them!
Astro Pop

5. I rarely have nightmares, in fact I can’t remember the last time a bad dream woke me up, but when I do they are usually one of three recurring scenarios all stemming from real life stressful situations:

  • The DJ nightmare – where there is dead air and I’m running around trying to get the next song on, but the equipment won’t cooperate.
  • The waitress nightmare – where too many people are seated in my section for me to keep up with them.
  • And finally, the smoking nightmare – where I realize I’m smoking after having quit for over twenty years…because IT”S REALLY HARD TO QUIT and who wants to go through that again!?

6. On the other end of the spectrum, there are simple things that ALWAYS make me smile:

  • The feel of the warm sun on my shoulders when I come out of an air-conditioned building or car.
  • Hearing the trolley make its stop around the corner from my house.
  • Hitting a three-pointer.
  • Pictures of most baby animals.
  • Getting a message from my daughter.
  • Seeing my dog, Samantha “Boom Boom” Baumgardner, waiting for me when I return home.
  • Seeing dolphins in the ocean.
  • Hearing the perfect drum fill/solo.
  • Hitting all green lights.
  • Walking into a venue and seeing someone sporting the ever popular VenturaRocks.com t-shirt.
Scanned from my photo album

Scanned from my photo album

7.  Another great memory of being married was when Sydney Rose was born. Because of all the horror stories you read about how hospitals can mix up babies, Syd’s daddy never let her out of his sight while they cleaned her up and he made sure they put the proper i.d. bracelet on her.  It really was sweet.

And though I was dead tired after being in labor since 5 in the morning (I gave birth at 7:10 that evening), I couldn’t sleep.  I got up after midnight and made my way down the hallway to the nursery where they let me hold my baby.  I couldn’t stand to be apart from her.

8. I hate that expression, “Only the Good Die Young.”  In fact, I call BULLSHIT!!! After a certain age, are we all Bad???  And what age is that?

People resort to that expression because they remember Billy Joel singing it, and you may or may not know, it was actually about a young teen trying to deflower a Catholic girl: “You Catholic girls start much too late,but sooner or later it comes down to fate.I might as well be the one.” Suggesting even the good people die, so you might as well be bad.

I say we retire that expression…of course unless you’re a horny teenager. 😉

breeze9. Sometimes I worry about writer’s block; I worry mostly because I have a deadline for my Ventura Breeze column that I write twice a month.  I have to come up with 500 words about Ventura’s music scene.  Luckily there is an abundance of music and I have enough contacts to get the inside scoop. I post them here (along with other editorials when I get a bee in my bonnet):  http://venturarocks.com/blog/category/ventura-rocks/

10. From my favorite quotes file: “People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.”  – Isaac Asimov

Thanks for listening!

 

 

 

A Couple of Things…

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Squashed Grapes Harvest1. Latest adventure?  Going out with the Squashed Grapes crew to help harvest grapes in the middle of the night.  Left the Grape at 11 pm and returned the next morning at around 10:30 am.  In return I get a t-shirt that says, “Will Work for Wine”. Totally worth it!!

2. Funny vs. Snarky.  I’d like to think I can be funny without being snarky, which is to say not poking fun at the expense of someone else.

3.  I saw a Depends commercial where they are encouraging people to show off their Depends.  I guess they’re trying to take away the stigma of wearing an adult diaper.  Well good luck with that.  I guess Depends will be cool once we see George Clooney in them.

4.  For my bi-lingual friends:  There is a band here in town that I had never ventured out to see until recently.  They were into their third song when it hit me like a ton of bricks what the English translation for their band name, Sin Chonies, is. Brilliant!*

5. How true is this?

Religious Truths

6. Is it just me or are the people who refer to Ventura as “Ventucky” a little redneck themselves?   Okay, That was a little Snarky.  True, but snarky. 😉

7.  It always makes it that worse when a headline includes a dead dog.  “Three People Including One Dog Found Dead Inside Crashed Car.”

8.  Mob mentality is a real thing; and it’s scary.  Just know this, you have the ability to rise above it.  I entrust you to do so.

9.  I wonder why people post cryptic messages on FB about who is a good person, or how great some of their friends are, or how messed up some people are, or how they only have a few good friends.  The best one I saw recently was, “I got the best compliment ever!”  That’s all she wrote.  REALLY?  I Un-friended her based on principle.

Robin Williams 1951 - 2014

Robin Williams
1951 – 2014

10.  From my favorite quotes file:

“I’m sorry, if you were right, I’d agree with you.” – Robin Williams

May you Rest in Peace Sir.

Thanks for listening.
 
 

*Translation is “without underwear”

A Couple of Things…

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Me and Syd 20111.  I truly believe that laughter is the best medicine, but I also believe that music is the next best thing.

2. I recorded my first song courtesy of Christine Law.  SOOOO much respect to artists who do this for a living.  Grueling!!  It still needs beaucoup work, like lyrics, so don’t even ask.

3.  What does it say about society when you have to offer a reward for someone to come forward and do the right thing?

4. You know that expression, “A body in motion, stays in motion”?  It’s really true, and to be honest, I hate it; because a body lying about watching a movie and eating potato chips…with dip, and a root beer float, sounds so much more fun.

Arlo Guthrie5.  It just occurred to me why people love Weird Al so much (See #1).  Combining wit with music is genius, which also explains why I love Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice Restaurant.” It was tradition for the longest time to play the title cut every Thanksgiving.  I miss that!

6.  The Huffington Post had a blog called “23 Reasons You Should Go Hug Your Mom.”  Just a couple I would share with Sydney Rose:

a.  For every event that you tried to resist photos, because your mom is probably the only person in your life who will take more photos of you than TMZ does celebrities. She wanted to capture every prom, little league game, and academic awards ceremony because to her you are the biggest celebrity.

b. For supporting your decisions and dreams no matter where they took you.

There were 21 other ones, but really, they didn’t so much apply.  I thought about how sad this one was:  “For every time you acted like she was embarrassing you and she had to hide how much that probably hurt her feelings,”  Because I only remember the times she showed me off to her friends thinking I was kind of cool, which is the best feeling EVER!  My daughter rocks!

Here is the blog:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lexi-herrick/23-reasons-you-should-go-hug-your-mom_b_5584982.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000037&ir=Parents
Syd-mom-face

7. When I log on at 4:30 in the morning, I wonder how many people are up late, and how many are up early.  Sometime for me, I’m just taking a break from sleeping.

8. Life is full of interesting phases, obstacles, amazing highs and frustrating lows.   It’s the human experience that makes the ride worthwhile.  How one handles adversity is a character issue.

Father Serra
9. Someone, some time ago, made a statue of Father Serra and it can be found in front of Ventura City Hall.  Then someone thought it would be a good idea to paint a picture of this statue of Father Serra and that life-sized painting is found inside City Hall.  Then I thought, hmmm, how can I make this even more removed from the actual subject?  Hence, this photo of a painting of a statue of Father Serra. I do what I can to forward the arts. 🙂

10. I love silly headlines.  Here are a couple more I’ve come across recently:
a.  What happens if your parachute fails

b.  Super rich pets who live better than you do.

11. This was soooo me when I was growing up:

Even as an adult, my future ex-husband use to say that I run like an upright turtle.  It made me laugh because it was so true.

12. From my favorite quotes file:  “”Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” –Stephen R. Covey

 

Thanks for listening.

 

A Couple of Things…

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1.  I love birthdays.  I love partying with family and friends, there’s nothing like it.  A couple thoughts about celebrating getting older:

a. Birthday dinner Age is a state of mind; however, one’s body isn’t always on board.

b. When people say, “You’re 29 and holding” that just means you look NOTHING like a 29 year old.

c.  I’ve gotten over the embarrassment of people singing “Happy Birthday” to me. I use to cringe, now I embrace it.

d. I rarely remember the gift, but I always remember who I was with and where we were at.  Friendship is the best gift.

e. I can’t believe what a charmed life I live.  Family, friends and this amazing community.  I feel the love. I will never take it for granted.

2.  Okay, I’m just thinking out loud here, but if a younger man flirts with an older woman, she doesn’t qualify as a “Cougar”, right?

That being said, Casey Abrams singing to me at Squashed Grapes recently was too freakin’ cool.  You might recognize him from American Idol.  He is self taught – by ear – on eleven musical instruments, the man is such a talent!  There were a handful of us hanging out after his show and when he sat down at the piano and asked what song we wanted to hear.  I said, “You know what I want to hear” to which he said, ‘I’ll play it only if you sit next to me.”

Here is a video that was taken afterhours when Casey Abrams performed “Cougartown”  July 26 here in Ventura:

3.  For my bi-lingual friends:  I love that somebody poised the question: “What if Soy milk is just regular milk introducing itself in Spanish?

4.  When you see an obviously photoshopped picture, don’t you wonder, “Who do they think they’re kidding?”

5.  As you may or may not know, I am on a quest to spot an owl in the wild.  I understand they are nocturnal, so I look at dusk and dawn and in the evening, but my night vision really sucks.  I spoke to my optometrist about it complaining that the Lasek surgery I had diminished my night vision, but sadly he said, “No, it comes with old age.”
Fucker.

Sydney in the Snow
6.  Funny anecdote from my marriage.  One weekend we decided to take Sydney Rose up to the local mountains for her first encounter with Snow.   As we drove through the winding roads, we finally got high enough to see the fluffy white stuff on our way to Mountain High ski resort.  It was at this point that Sydney started shouting, adamantly I might add, “NO NO NO!!!”  So much so that Chris stopped the car because we were so startled.  Turns out she couldn’t enunciate the “s” yet, so “Snow” became “No”!

7. On the subject of breasts, my daughter said she’s been told that more than a handful is too much. Of course, only small breasted women believe that.  HA!  I am JUST KIDDING!!! But that being said, of course men have their preferences.  I know a man who loves teeny weeny hardly-there breasts.  I never dated him of course because clearly we are not a match..

8.  Another real book title:  Knitting with Dog Hair: Better a Sweater From a Dog You Know And Love Than From a Sheep You’ll Never Meet.

Creepy?
Now I’m re-thinking those sweaters in my closet.  Is sheep hair kind of creepy too?

E.T.9.   Do you remember seeing E.T. The Extraterrestrial for the first time?  Or Jurassic Park or Indiana Jones Temple of Doom? Independence Day?  So thrilling!

10.  From my favorite quotes file:  “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”  – Maya Angelou

Thanks for listening!

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Mom1.  Today would have been my mother’s 79th birthday.  Honestly, I don’t think she would have aged all that gracefully, but it would have been fun to watch.  I’m sure she would have been that special grandma to Sydney Rose, the kind that do everything against your wishes, the kind the grandkids love!  And I would like to think she would have been proud of how her daughter turned out.   Well I’d like to think so.  🙂

Happy Birthday Mom.  40 years gone, and miss you everyday.

video2.  Seriously, Couldn’t someone have fixed my hair for me????
Here now, City of Ventura employees sharing how green we try to be:

3. My conversation with a gentleman at the recent Latino Business awards presentation touched on what people’s “exit strategy” is for retiring from the work force. Mine is dying. And believe it or not, I’m totally fine with that. I’m happiest when I’m productive!

Lay's4. How can something so good be so evil? I’m referring of course to the new Lay’s Cheesy Garlic Bread favored potato chips.

5. It’s no secret that I play guitar. It’s also no secret that I suck at it. But I was playing around one night recently and I wrote a song (well the music) and I wondered to myself, “Have I heard this before?” So I started asking songwriters that I know whether they question themselves on songs they write. Everyone so far has admitted they do.

James Garner6. I was saddened by the passing of actor James Garner this week. I wasn’t so much into his show, The Rockford Files, but I LOVED his movie Support Your Local Sheriff. He was a great comedic actor. Also, just an aside and a sort of Six Degrees of Separation, Garner was actually born, James Scott Bumgarner…so very close to my married name Baumgardner. So we were sort of akin. RIP in James Garner. He was 86.

7. I placed a button on VenturaRocks.com where readers and fans of the website can make a donation to defray costs. The first few weeks I actually had a VERY small number of contributors but I was completely jazzed. Two of them I had never met before! One of them is the Mayor of a neighboring City! But then I got to thinking, 99.999999999999% of the readers had not made a contribution. What if I charged an annual membership, and maybe throw in a t-shirt. Would that be too much to ask for this service? Would I be able to retire? I’m thinking no and no. I’m still hoping for the honor system.

8 My view on life’s set backs: You can overcome them, or defeat the. Those are the choices. When you say you can’t do anything about it, you have succumbed.

Facebook quiz9. Have you seen that Facebook quiz you can fill out to see “What is Your Old Person Name?” I’m afraid mine would be “Pamela”.

10. I love the kind of laughter when you can’t talk because your body won’t cooperate with what you want to say and tears are rolling the your cheeks… It’s the best!

11. From my favorite quotes file, “Never love anyone who treats you like you’re ordinary.” ― Oscar Wilde

A Couple of Things…

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Sydney and Me1.  I freakin’ miss my baby!  First she had a car accident last Fall, and then last week she had her car broken into and they took her ID and bank cards (yeah I know, a lesson learned), tools and a basket full of a laundry which meant she had nothing but – and I quote – “Ratty clothes at home.”  Luck would be on her side though as the cops arrested a woman later that day trying to use her credit card (she had closed it) and she got most everything back but her clothes.  Her grandpa and I pitched in and transferred some money to her account so she wouldn’t be known as the ratty-dressed woman in town.

Sure there have been tough times, but she’s independent, she’s brave, she’s responsible and takes care of business.  I couldn’t be more proud!!

Domain Name2.  I received an email notifying me that the domain name, “acoupleofthings.com” is now available for purchase.  You see, I own, “acoupleofthings.us”, so these commie-rat bastards thought I might be interested in their $4,000.00 price for it.  I got a really good laugh out of that one!  Click on image to enlarge and see.

3.  I read an article on the Huffington Post called “37 Things in your Home to Get Rid of Now” and 9 of them pretty much apply to me:

  1. The extra packet of buttons that came with a cardigan that you’ve since donated
  2. Holiday cards
  3. The treasure trove of plastic grocery bags under your sink
  4. All the stacks of magazines you haven’t touched in months
  5. All the half-scrawled lists, notes and post-its reminding you of things you have no idea about.
  6. Old textbooks
  7. Paperback novels that didn’t change your life
  8. Any plastic storage container that doesn’t have a lid
  9. Instruction manuals for appliances you know how to use

Not that I’m getting rid of anything.   😉

4.  This is really a website:  www.WhatTheFuckShouldIMakeForDinner.com

For some reason, this one is blocked at work.

1944 - Jane Eyre5.  One night recently I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep so I turned on the TV and Jane Eyre was on, the Orson Welles version from 1944.   What a bummer of a story; so freakin’ depressing!!!  I’m taking this off my “must read” list of books.

6.   I read an interesting blog called, “10 Life Lessons From A Navy Seal”.  My favorite was, “If you want to change the world get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward.”

It’s not always fun and certainly not popular, but reading this, I feel less guilty about “Just getting the job done” and not worrying whether I’m liked.  Trust me, NO ONE EVER has called me a “sugar cookie.”

Seaward7.  The funniest thing overhead at Surf Rodeo this past weekend:  Two surfers were walking up the street from the beach, one was walking gingerly, apparently injured while surfing, and his friend says to him, “You want me to get an ice pack for your vulva?”

8.  I use to get offended that it was okay that guys could go without their shirts, but it’s not okay for women (for two obvious reasons).  But I’ve decided to quit bitching about it and just enjoy the view.

Happy Birthday!9.  Facebook posts indicate the degree of how well you know and/or like someone when it comes to acknowledging their birthday:

1. HBD
2. Happy Birthday
3. Happy Birthday!
4. Happy Birthday Ken
5. Happy Birthday Ken!
6. Happy Birthday Ken!  I hope you have a fabulous day!!
7.  You’re sweet face always makes my day.  I’m so happy you grace our lives with your blah blah blah blah blah
(Extra points for adding a photo.  Extra extra points for adding a personal photo of you and them together).

10. From my favorite quotes file:  “The amount of sleep required by the average person is ‘five more minutes’.” – Wilson Mizener

Thanks for listening.

A Couple of Things…

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Jackie, me and Linda

Jackie, me and Linda

1.  One of the perks of writing a blog is that it’s a conversation starter.  I’ll run into a friend and they’ll say, “Oh! I know what you mean about….”  I like that.

2.  Some women have gone way overboard on Nazi-feminism.  I get it.  But I’m still proud to say that I am a feminist.  I publicly admit it; but I’m also guilty of keeping stereotypes of women being a lesser sex alive.  I’m working on it, but whenever I get a fellow female up on the court with me, I tell her not to shoot like a girl.  How demeaning is that?  I saw a short clip produced by “Always” (a feminine hygiene company) about how it’s derogatory to say, you run like a girl.  or you hit like a girl.  They ask the question, “what does it mean to do something like a girl?”  Furthermore, they ask, “When did doing something like a girl become an insult?”

bb-stephenI shoot hoops like a girl, because I am a girl.  And you know what?  That’s pretty cool because I play hard and I love the game and I’ve beaten guys half my age – although not Stephen show in this photo with me.  But I have beat guys in their 20’s; you can put that in your pipe and smoke it.
The thing is though, it should never be men against women.  Boys against girls.  it should be, be the best you can.  PERIOD. Oh!  And have fun doing it!  #LikeAGirl

Here’s the video:
embed video:

3.  In a related subject:  I’ve never understood bands who glorify the demeaning or violence towards women.  Death metal, rap, whatever.  Do they think it’s funny?  Do their fans? Seriously, not cool.

mybeach4.  I like living at the beach and the feel of being a member of this community, but I swear to God, a small number of those short-term vacation rentals really discredit that viewpoint. Some of these “vacationers” are guilty of one or all of the following infractions:  they park illegally, leave trash on the beach, leave trash in front of the house, stay up late partying loudly on weeknights, have screaming kids, have yapping dogs.  Fortunately most are really nice folks looking for a fun time, but don’t really realize they are in the midst of a family neighborhood, not a vacation resort.

5.  In a related subject, Sammy is going deaf.  She has high blood pressure.  Even with her poor hearing, the 4th of July fireworks drove her crazy and her heart was racing.  Fireworks at the beach are off the hook!!! But spending the evening at home with the doors and windows closed tight and the T.V. playing loud is worth the sacrifice of giving up a holiday party or two.

6.  I don’t follow politics as closely as some, and typically only pay attention to National elections and California and Ventura politics, but I saw Congressman John Lewis from Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District post on Twitter that he was released from Parchman Penitentiary 53 years ago after being arrested in Jackson for using “white” restroom.  What an inspiration seeing that this man fought for injustice and then become a champion and leader in the same “white” governmental process.  Our own mini version of Nelson Mandela.

teatime7.  I read the following news story “‘Well-Behaved Kids’ restaurant discount sparks online debate” and I thought about it. I think it’s brilliant, mostly because we would have received the discount all the time!  You were a good kid Syd Rose; but then, we have to take some credit because we didn’t take you to a restaurant if you were feeling out of sorts.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/well-behaved-kids-restaurant-discount-sparks-online-debate-1.2644240

8.  Going out and taking in live music never gets old for me.

BerlinWall9.  A little known fact about me:  I have a piece of the Berlin Wall.  When the wall came down in 1989, a listener of 96-ZTR had several pieces of it which he acquired while in Europe during that time. How thoughtful of him to give me one. It’s an ugly piece of aggregate material, but I can’t imagine tossing it out.

10.  You ever look at your Friends list and think, “Who the hell is that?”  Yeah, me neither.

11.  Tacit consent is a sticky matter.  You can argue all you want, but if you don’t stand up to evil or something YOU believe to be wrong, YOU are a part of the problem.  End of story.

12.  I would like to refute the following study:  “Wide-Hipped Women Have More Sex Partners, Controversial Study Shows”.  😉

From my favorite quotes file, “”Depression is merely anger, without the enthusiasm.” – Steven Wright

Thanks for listening!