Sunday, March 19, 2006

The Adventures of Bob and the ass in the express lane

I've found a new pet peeve. It's one that other people have because it's been mentioned on late night talk shows, stand-up comedy routines, and sit coms. 

It's the express lane at the grocery store. 

Today, I went to Safeway to get some things to cook for dinner and I went to the 15 items or less lane. The guy in front of me had nearly 15 frozen pizzas, let alone the 9 cans of cat food he had, and the various other items. It's not like he was one or two items over 15...this guy's total was well into the 20's. It wasn't even busy in the other lanes!

The real reason why I'm angry about it is because he was perpetuating my hunger. I'd been way on the south side of Denver at a friends' place getting new shelves for my trailer, and I didn't eat anything substantial all day. I was looking forward to making a nice chicken and pasta meal when this rude interruption happened, caused by a guy with no grocery store etiquette. 

Obviously, the story has a happy ending because I got checked out, and I did make my very nice chicken and pasta. Nevertheless, this guy's violation of the express lane rules has stuck with me, and I realize now that it will always be something that bugs me.

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My sister lost her beloved cat Bob this week. Bob was a gorgeous black persian with piercing eyes. He was a ripe ole 17 years of age. He'd been around since before both of my sister's children, and they have grown up with him as a member of the family. Bob was a fiercly independent cat in his early years, and was actually quite a recluse. His rare appearances were usually purposeful as he was only trying to go from one hiding place to another. All of them were far from human contact. As he got older, he became much more social and even became a lap cat. He loved being combed, and would express his delight by pawing at your leg even though he had long since had his claws removed. He was a great family pet, and he is missed.

R.I.P Bob. May you find an eternal field of catnip.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Back in bed

I mean literally. I have an actual bed again. Normally, the news of a bed wouldn't be that big of a deal. But you have to consider the fact that since I moved here in August, I'd been sleeping on an air mattress. See, the original plan was that I would move a bunch of stuff out here that I packed in my Element, and my schedule had an opening in it that would allow me to fly back to Jersey, rent a truck, and fill it with things like the bed I have in a storage unit there. That plan never materialzed, for a reason that I can't recall exactly. So, I never got my old bed out here and it was the air matress on the floor that served as my berth when I was in the Port of Boulder. I bought a pillow top thingy to make it feel more like an actual bed, and coupled with a flannel sheep sheet and a big, fluffy down duvet it was actually quite comfortable, truth be told.

So's I get home from a Jersey visit to news from my faithfull roomie CJ that his mother had a bed in her home office that she wanted to get rid of, and knowing about my inflatable trundle, he volunteered to take it. Wahey! We went to fetch it the other night before one of CJ's hockey games. It's a four poster, which doesn't really suit me. I got used to not having a headboard, and footboards usually just got in the way of my feet, so I wasn't crazy about those additions. CJ agreed to swap for his bog standard metal bed frame, and voila! I have an actual bed, and CJ has a girlie four post.

Now, I don't know if I'm alone in this or not, but regardless of circumstances-I could be 24-hour-race deprived of sleep-whenever I spend the first night in a new or unfamiliar bed, I don't usually sleep well. True to form, I slept better on my last night of air matressing than I did on my first night of 'I've got a big girl bed now!' That being said, I didn't have to roll out of bed this morning. I could actually throw my feet over the side and stand up.

It occurred to me that I simply got used to sleeping on the air mattress, and now I have to readjust to doing something other than having a campout in my own house. I started thinking about the other things that I've 'accepted' and just learned to deal with. Then I thought about the things that I can't accept, for one reason or another.

Maybe I just need to accept that there are things I can't accept, pick up the pieces of my shattered life, and move on.

Or, maybe I'll just go to bed.

Monday, March 06, 2006

South Dakota: Land of backwards thinking

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The governor of South Dakota on Monday signed into law severe restrictions on abortion, in a direct challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court's legalization of the practice 33 years ago.

Abortion foes have said they hope to use the South Dakota law to eventually bring the issue back before the high court, where they believe conservatives added to the bench by President George W. Bush in the last year could weaken or dismantle the court's landmark Roe vs Wade decision of 1973.

Supporters of Roe vs Wade have promised a legal challenge to the new South Dakota law.

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Thirty-three years. For 33 years, women have had the right to decide what happens to their bodies in the event of an unplanned pregnancy. Now, one State has taken that right away, even in the event of rape or incest. RAPE or INCEST. If you get rapped, or your Uncle shags you, and you get pregnant, South Dakota is saying that's too bad. A collection of cells now has more rights than you, even under those most horrible of circumstances.

South Dakota passed this bill specifically for the purpose of having someone challenge it and take it to the Supreme Court. It's unconstitutional up down and sideways.


This is only the beginning, I'm afraid.