11 words for the first of 11

Last year we were puking, this year we were shopping. Holla!

Random without photos

• I have my fancy new camera and I am without ideas or weather to put it to good use. It's too dark in the house with this dreary rain and wind to do anything really fun unless I get out the tripod. I just don't have the kind of hands that can hold steady under 1/50th of a second. And the tripod, well, it's a red rag to a bullish 20 month old.
• I don't have pink-eye again. I thought I did since I was experiencing all the same symptoms - red, puffy, goopy, itchy eyes and a feeling that I had an eyelash stuck in them. To boot my outer ear canal and nasal passages have been itching something rotten. I had to take a Claritin to get to bed last night. So I went to the doc again today. (I'm getting ready for them just to name one of their treatment rooms after me at this point.) He said I don't have pink eye but likely some kind of allergy. Oh sheesh. SOMETHING ELSE? No idea what I'm allegedly allergic to but I was sent off to the store for "Clear Eyes" drops and some antihistamine cream. At this point I'm beginning to wonder if I have Münchhausens.
• I'm considering a more distinct separation between my personal blog, Facebook, and twitter, and those of memories by michelle. Maybe even making this blog private. As who I am starts to become more of what I do, what I say has the potential to affect my business. I don't like this reality or idea but I also don't like the idea of feeling sensored or self-edited all the time. If I'm going to write, it's got to be real - blood, guts, and all. I just can't do the daily self-motivation thing. Life is not happy and peppy and a bed of roses all the time. I don't like reading those status updates (at least not all the time, when they begin to seem forced) nor reading those types of blogs and so I don't want to write one. But, it poses a problem. You see my problem? Phooey. No good choices here. I love this little place of mine online.
• I'm slowly getting to look forward to 2011. The second half of this year has been a mixture of joy and pain and it's all sort of coming to end with a quiet sigh. Anyone who knows me well knows that this does not come naturally to me. My instinct is to party through the season balls-out and skid to a halt on Jan 1, feeling totally worn out. So, I'm hoping 2011 brings more of the joy and less of the other crappy stuff. It's odd really that this artificial, annual clean slate we've created actually makes a difference, but it does.
• Speaking of which: new year's resolutions. I'm going to keep it simple this year. A subject for another post but I have a few things I want to get done in '11. I'm not going crazy, however. I have recently realized that too much planning and list-making literally makes me feel suffocated and induces a mini anxiety attack. What about you?
• I'm into tea. My friend, CJ, recently made me a cup of chamomile, vanilla, and honey herbal tea along with a spoonful of honey. I usually am not a big fan of herbal tea, being from England where tea comes no other way but with milk and sugar, but this was the right drink at the right time. I bought some and now I'm off to brew a cup. Or, as my little munchkin would say: "Make cuppateeee"

Eye of pink

I have pink eye (aka: conjunctivitis, to those of us who live in the non-parenting world.)

This is what pink eye looks like.



I caught it early, so, as pink-eye goes, it's not that bad. For some perspective, click here. Ack, right?

How does it feel?

Like someone is constantly poking me in the eye with a small piece of straw.

Nice.

There's also the pleasure of waking in the middle of the night to feel your eyelids glued together with yellow goop.

I also have a sinus infection and an ear infection. Fortunately for you, I don't have one of those little cameras that trails up my nasal passages to provide a pic of my sore and inflamed areas. Recognize, however, that if I did, I would post it. I have no boundaries. (OK, no pride too.)

On the plus side, before I began to feel like death-warmed-up, I managed to achieve this in the, currently-designated-as, "present wrapping room"...



Don't freak out. You're right. That IS the floor you can see.

I didn't get much wrapped but now it is better organized. And yes, for those of you with anal OCD, this DOES constitute organized for me these days.

Otherwise, not achieving much over here right now. My head feels like someone poured hot syrup into it and my body screams "lay down!" at me whenever I attempt to do anything other than sit and mindlessly stare at my computer.

Why can't the holidays happen in summer when we don't live in a vat of viruses and bugs?

SHOW ME THE MONEY! and other afternoon quickies

• I love/hate contracts. I love the language and the details. I hate it when contract negotiation over terms becomes a legal pissing match. You know, their lawyer says remove this Tort language, our lawyer says keep it in or lose your underpants, that kind of thing. What I would really like to do, if attorney fees weren't so freaking high, was put the two of them in a padded room and tell them not to come out until it was resolved. But then I would need to hope my guy had a good right hook and I confess to having never met him. What I'm trying to say is that what's irritating in all of this is being the go-between. I'm getting all the bad mojo trying to explain why we won't cave and all I really want is the commission. Sadly, the reality is that they retort, I go back to my lawyer, he retorts, I reply to them, their lawyer reviews, I go back to my lawyer... and this all takes WEEKS. Weeks! SHOW ME THE MONEY!
• Wikileaks. I admit I'm not 100% genned up on the whole thing but I've been paying attention, as much as my overloaded brain will allow right now. Have to say it's pretty flipping eye-opening to find out that your PayPal account won't transfer your photography profits into your bank account because some Wikileaks supporter/hacker is screwing with their system. Also very disturbing given I "safely" store my bank account and credit card information with them. It all seemed a little too easy and I wouldn't mind betting that some folks in those Afghan mountains are currently searching for a satellite hook-up so they can post their ad on Craigslist for an experienced hacker. As for the whole issue of who is American or unAmerican or even American at all... arghhh, it's making my brain hurt (and likely to cause me an aneurysm given my favorite Palin is now weighing in.). Should confidential information be leaked for the "good" of the nation and in defense of the 1st amendment or are we cutting off our nose to spite our face? These are issues far too pressing and involved for someone who is currently stumped just trying to pick out a good pre-school for her soon-to-be 2 year old. These are MY big decisions these days. I don't have time for national security right now. Just get my PayPal account back up and... again SHOW ME THE MONEY!

Oh, and p.s. Yes I do love black people... and lawyers!

p.p.s. Who else doesn't believe a desperate transient killed that Hollywood publicist? The whole thing just reaks of a Hollywood set-up. Can I hear the made for tv movie being green-lighted as we speak?

Just a small thing

This is something I have been wanting to rant about for some time. I have exactly 20 minutes before I turn from Sales VP into mummy and so I'm going to take five of them to go off.

WHAT IS UP WITH LOCAL NEWS CHANNELS SPENDING AIRTIME READING OFF THEIR FACEBOOK COMMENTS?

I get that pretty much every media outlet these days is trying figure out how to synergize it's content across a broad spectrum of media but, the way I see it, you have to find a way that does this that ADDS value to your customer.

It irks me no end when I turn on the morning news only to be greeted by some B-market anchor-person, stumbling over reading the usually ineloquent, mostly unintelligible, and even occasionally irrelevant FB page comments from presumably half-drunk or lobotomized viewers.

IF I WANTED TO READ THE COMMENTS ONLINE, I WOULD BE ONLINE! No, but I am sitting on my couch, watching you on TV and it is not adding anything to my experience to watch you squinting to read something off your Dell laptop - something that I could read for myself, in my own time if I wanted to - when you are instead supposed to be delivering me real content.

Incidentally, as an extension of this, I am detesting the whole "Viewer's Voice" trend on news programs these days. If I wanted the uninformed opinion of the average Joe on the issues of the day, I would ask my friends who are, on average, significantly more intelligent than the 15-minutes-of-fame-hungry folks who have time to comment on a local news Facebook page at 6am. The whole point of watching a news program is to get news and informed opinion from experts or professionals or whatever. I expect to be educated by watching. It's not a town-hall forum, folks, it's the news. You know, where they report... news. And I've got news for you. Your opinion is not news to me.

Yes, a little feisty this afternoon. In my defense, my time is over-committed, I'm stretched too thin, and have been stalked all day by a freaky woman who is trying to get a job with our company. 13 phone calls, folks... 13! Nobody likes a desperate job seeker.

Things I dislike INTENSELY about the way Americans drive

This post has been coming on for a while. However my frustration is at fever pitch and so it's time to vent on this here bloggie. After all, I AM Ms. RANTY Pants.

1. Lanes are pick-and-choose. Fast lane? Slow lane? What? Noooo, I'll just poodle along in the fast lane at 10 miles an hour under the speed limit because, ya know, I just like it over here. Need to overtake? Oh, there's supposed to be a specific lane for that? I thought they were ALL up for grabs.
2. Stopping distance is for Grannies. Really? I need extra space to stop at 70mph? Hmmm... but that would mean I can't read your bumper sticker and I'm awfully bored just driving along here... And why is the guy behind me flashing me and giving me the finger? He was at least twenty feet from the car in front of him when I jumped in between them. Asshole!
3. Indicating takes too much time. I mean, why would anyone else need to know where I'm going? Once I'm there, they'll know, right? Plus, if I indicate, that just tells the other guy to close up the space I was moving into, just to be a prick.
4. Each driver is the only one on the road. The problem is I'm looking for this street address and it's really hard to see. So, of course,  I have to slow down enough to read the numbers. WAIT! Break! Is that it? I'll just swerve in a little to see. Nope, wrong one. Swerve back out and continue on for another block. What? Huh? Why is that guy behind me honking his horn? Idiot! He shouldn't drive so close.
5. Bends in the road are SCARY! Of course I have to slow down to 5mph to turn the wheel, I mean, it's hard with one hand. If I use two hands I have to put down my cell phone. Oh,I'm supposed to use one of those bluetooth thingies? Damn Nanny state, I'll show them!
6. Consistent speed hurts my ankle. Why is it important that I keep a consistent speed, especially when it means I have to moderate the pressure on the gas pedal? That really tires out my ankle! Then there's the fact that I'm deep in thought here. Sometimes my mind wanders; I'm a busy person, always multi-tasking, you can't ask me to focus on driving exclusively. That's just unfair. Anyway, isn't that what the break pedal is for? If I just go balls-out for a while, break and then repeat, doesn't my speed average-out at the end of the day?
7. Missing a turn or freeway exit is justification for extreme measures. Hey, I'm sorry that I crossed four lanes in rapid succession and at 80mph, almost causing you to swerve and hit a 26ft truck, but I was about to miss my freeway exit but you can't reasonably expect me to drive to the next one and turn around.
8. "Have a great day!" does not translate to the road. I may be all kinds of fake-nice to you when I'm behind the counter at Starbucks but that's because they pay me to be. (Plus, hello! FAKE!) But when you go out of your way to let me out of a parking spot, or give way on a busy street so I can pass, I see no need to pretend. Raise my hand in thank-you what? You need a gold star? Man, you need a shrink for that.

Which is not to say I'm a perfect driver - far from it - and I have found myself doing some of these things myself since I moved out here 15 years ago. However, it's a kill or be killed kind of reaction for me. Defensive driving is a must in this country and the only way to mount a good defense is to match the offense head-to-head. If given the opportunity to drive a different, more civilized way, however, I would.

I would also say that America is not alone in having it's share of crazy drivers. I've traveled and I've been in terrible Turkish Taxis, Balls-Out Belizian Buses, and Kill-me-now Kenyan Cars. But the reality is that everyone seems to be playing by the same rules in those countries and they are almost always paying attention. It's the erraticness, cluelessness, selfishness and unpredictability of the average American driver that blows my mind and sends my blood pressure through the roof.

Anyway, done with my soapbox now. Feeling a tad better. Thanks.

2 Random Rants

The end of the 140 character tweet?

If you're a tweeter or a twitterer, as I like to call us, you've probably seen a growing trend lately for people's 140-character tweets to trail-off mid-thought with a  "(cont)" and then a link.

This is due to a new twitter plug-in called "TwitLonger". Basically it enables you to extend the length of your tweets. You type your tweet into TwitLonger and it sends most of it to your twitter news feed, truncating and providing a link to the full tweet.

I'm a bit disappointed by this, truth be told. I'm kind of enjoying the daily practice to condense my thoughts into the short space twitter provides. I tend to be wordy by nature (I'm sure you've noticed) and so it's good to force myself to be more to-the-point while, at the same time, sending the same message and (sometimes, even, if I can) be amusing or provocative at the same time.

Plus, it opens up twitter to a sort of Facebook-like essay-writing, that cannibalizes the very point of twitter - to provide short, frequent, bite-sized, thoughts or status updates, that can be read quickly. Now, to read the rest of some people's thoughts, I have to click on a link. Meh. I just don't want to. Plus, people were forced to be creative with 140 characters. Notsomuch when you have all the space in the world to ramble on. I mean, HELLO, look at this blog!


A glimpse into the future

Yesterday evening, Daisy played on her own in the living room for a whole hour while I cleaned the kitchen, drank a glass of wine, and even (simultaneously) talked on the phone with a girlfriend. It was a marvelous and epiphanic moment; a glimpse into a future when I may again be able to get something significant done around the house without having to stop to pick a whining Missy up, kiss an owie, fix something she broke, help her with something she can't do, or ward-off a tantrum.

Given that Daisy only naps perhaps one hour a day now when I'm with her, long gone are the hours I used to have to quietly putter around the house and get the odd thing done. So, it would be nice to have at least one hour a day where I can tackle a floor cleaning, a toilet cleaning, a drawer reorganizing... just anything that makes me feel a little bit more in control of my environment and, therefore, life.

Random Rants

I've been too busy having a life (I know, get out of here!) this weekend to blog. Saturday was a whirlwind of activity and Sunday was pretty choppy - plans got made, plans got changed and canceled, stupid traffic snarl-ups sucked-up time, that kind of thing.

Here are some random ranties. Just stuff that is on my mind right now...

1. CHOICES

OR

Do I buy a new DSLR or a new laptop?

My personal laptop is about to hit its 6th birthday and, since every human year is like 10 for a computer (my own, personal formula), that makes it just about ready to retire. At the very least, it's slowing down and no longer equipped to run the forty-thousand windows that I have open at one time, without grinding to a Ctrl-Alt-Del halt.

The laptop I really want is a fancy MacBook which would be perfect for my picture editing. I love Macs and had one all the way through college but have been using PCs for several years now mostly because of work and price. Now I'm thinking about taking photography more seriously, I think it's time to return. But the price! Oh the price! Maybe I should get a PC instead, until I actually start generating some income from the photo thing? Or is that a waste and I should go the whole enchilada now? I don't know. Having trouble deciding.

And then there's my camera - the old Canon Digital Rebel XTi. It's been serving me pretty well these past few years but I'm beginning to feel it's limitations. Canon just released the new 60D, which is very swank but, honestly, I'm not sure I need a rotating screen - just one more thing for Daisy to twist and break off when I'm in the bathroom peeing. However, the 60D release has meant that the 50D (the camera I was originally thinking of upgrading to) has taken a nose-dive in price - from $1,099 to $675 in some places online. That's quite a discount and hard to resist.

Except, of course, I need a $1,500 laptop.

Decisions, decisions...

2. PhotoVision 2010

I recently subscribed to a DVD education series for photographers. 6 DVDs a year, with 8 hours of content, mailed to your home every two months, for just $39. Even better, Beth Jansen, the photographer I was raving about in my previous post, has a spot in one of them. I watched it on Friday night (woot, crazy fun in the Ranty Pants household!) and got more than my 39 bucks worth in the first 20 minutes.

Don't you just love it when you get something for a great price and then it exceeds your expectations?

3. BIZZY

My next couple of months are shaping up to be CRAZY busy and I'm having a hard time even scheduling things like lunch, dinner, or cocktails with friends - all things I HAVE TO fit into my schedule in order to maintain my sanity as a work-from-home mummy.

• This weekend is our big neighborhood garage sale. It's been going on for 25 years or so, I think, and 30+ homes in the subdivision usually participate. This year we have A TON of crap to get rid of - mostly Daisy's old toys and clothes but also some bachelorette furniture that I've finally recycled out. At the end of it we may be missing a dining table and sideboard (until I can afford to buy new ones that I like). However, I am looking forward to having some empty space in my living room. I'd like to paint but who has time?
• My Dad is currently in England for a trip to see his keyboard cronies and he'll be bringing back his sister and brother, my uncle and aunt, next week, for a two week trip. We'll be doing the whole tourist thing of course, after work for me, and on the weekends. I'll be in San Francisco in a couple of weeks, to play tour-guide because, you know, one can't rely on "the parents". LOL.
• At the end of those shenanigans, I'm off to Chicago for 4 days, for a work conference. Groan. Although - happy - one of my good friends who also works in the same industry, will be going. This means cocktails and late nights and LOTS of talking. I will be exhausted at the end of it.
• Once back from Chicago, our next weekend is blocked-out with back-to-back birthday parties for my niece and a friend's little girl.
• The following weekend we're in the bay area for a photo shoot with my favorite local photographer, Penny Silvia. We'll be getting our Christmas Card shots on the beach this year.
• Weekend after that, my cousin's daughter, Billi, who I was the first to hold after she was born but is now a smoking-hot teenager, is descending upon us, with her Grandmother (my mother's sister-in-law.) She'll be with us for 8 days and I anticipate a lot of shopping - HELLO! Teenager + girl + in my family!!! It's also my Mum's birthday that weekend. Thinking we'll do the annual Apple Hill trip that weekend because, well, when else WILL WE?
• Last weekend in October now and it's Halloween. Daisy will be a ladybug (bought her costume this weekend) and I'm confident that the weekend will be chock-a-block with seasonal activities.
• Blissfully, we then have one weekend off (yep, book me now!) before it's Hubby and my 4th anniversary. So we head to Cache Creek Casino for an En Vogue concert and an adult night away.
• One more weekend off (mark your calendars, folks) and then it's Thanksgiving, which also coincides with my husband's birthday as well as my mother-in-law and sister-in-law's birthdays.

Somewhere in the midst of all of this, I'm doing some freebie photo-sessions for friends and family, to help me practice and build my portfolio.

YIKES! I'm exhausted just reading the list.

I DON'T GET IT!!!!

I have to confess that the new fad show, Glee, does nothing for me. It does not make me gleeful. It makes me confused and irritated. Confused because I don't understand what it's about or what the fuss is all about and irritated because everyone else can't stop FAWNING all over it on Facebook and making me feel as though I am sooooo uncool for not getting it. Ok, they're not making me feel that way - that's not their intention - but by default, I feel uncool because all my cool friends seem to like it. Is this some unique piece of Americana that this Brit cannot connect with? What's the deal, folks?

On a similar note, I'm usually somewhat in alignment with the judge's evaluations of contestants on American Idol but, again, I'm completely at a loss as to their adoration of Siobhan. I find her pretentious and, most importantly, lacking in talent. Her only claim to real fame is her mind-bending screeching - her poor attempt to somehow out-pizazz last year's runner-up, and my gay husband, Adam Lambert. As for the rest of her performance, she always sounds like she has to sing at half-power in order to stay in tune; if she really punched it, it seems, she would lose all control.

So, I'm officially forming the "Uncool people against Glee and Siobhan" club. Hubby is my first member. Any other takers?

Sometimes I feel like I'm from another planet. Oh, wait, I'm from England. Maybe that qualifies?

Why I don't bother traveling in the U.S.

In short, it's too frickin' expensive.

I've been spending some time thinking about our next trip and originally I had promised Hubby that this year (after Jamaica, which was supposed to be last year anyway) we would stay closer to home to save money.

Well, that's not going to work.

It's not going to work because 4 nights in Monterey is just as expensive (in some cases, if not more so) as almost a whole week, all inclusive, in Mexico or the Caribbean. So, why exactly would I travel down the street, where I see the same old chain stores and restaurants, when I can get a real break

Vacation deals for $521 - flight plus 4 nights in an all inclusive resort!

Ok, so granted, we could stay in a Motel 8 in Monterey and eat at Subway but, at that rate, I'd rather stay home.

Guess it's too soon to put our passports away for the year after all...

An apology to my readers (should there be any remaining)

I have just noticed that my last six bazillion posts are either about my hip or my weight.

So, this is just a quick post to apologize to any of you left out there who may still be reading this blog and hoping (against all hope) that I will find something new to "rant" about.

At one point this blog was about travel and politics and opinions and interesting stuff like that. Now it's just a sad reflection of what my life has become - a merry-go-round of medical appointments and sulking.

Must do better. In life as well as on blog.

Stay tuned...

It occurs to me...

... that the expectations of the political process in this country are ridiculous.

1) At the local level, we elect individuals to represent us in Congress based upon, what we believe to be, shared beliefs, values, and policy positions. We send them off to Washington to deliver on those promises and then, over the next two to six years (depending on whether they are a Congressman/woman or Senator) we judge them on their ability to deliver what they promised during the elections.

2) We do the same thing at the Presidential level. We pick one person based upon what they represent, to get things done.

3) As a citizenry we then spend the next two to six years complaining because these people as a collective group do not "meet in the middle", "compromise", or "work together".

4) #3 requires that the people in #1 and #2 give up something because, let's face it, no matter what words you use to make it sound nice, compromise requires the person on each side of an issue, to let go of/give up something. This, by default, means that some of the things that the people in #1 and #2 promised, cannot be delivered upon, at least to the extent to which they were promised.

5) We make the President a separate branch of government that has really little or no real influence on what goes on in Congress, thus making it all but impossible to affect any real change because he/she needs to persuade a group of more than 500 people fighting at the local level for their own constituents vs. the greater good, and/or playing partisan politics and infighting for their own professional gain.

6) We give the minority in Congress the ability to filibuster bills that the opposing party brings to vote, thus ensuring that the minority can scupper the efforts of the elected majority, and preventing the very changes that the majority of voters mandated by electing the party in the majority in the first place.

7) We then criticize the people in #1 and #2 for not doing what they promised to do, although when they actually do #3, they can't deliver on a lot of what they promised, and when they don't do #3, the opposing party does #6 and kills it anyway.

It's like putting a CEO in charge of a company and then asking him/her to lobby all the employees to create, vote-on, and enact his/her company decisions! No company could ever be run that way. Why do we expect that our country can?

Now, let me be clear: I am not a fan of many of the people in Congress, even on my side of the aisle (I am also not one of those people who thinks it's as simple as saying that everyone is corrupt and/or worthless either). But it seems to me that the system is set-up to have you be damned if you do and damned if you don't.

We say we want change but our system of government is set-up to force centrist policy-making which, more often than not, reinforces the status quo.

I voted for President Obama because he stood on a platform of change but, honestly, I have to say that never ONCE did I think that the system we have in place in this country would actually let him affect much of that change. I'm not surprised that the health-care bill is all-but dead. I never expected it to pass. That's why I haven't been getting all excited this past year about it on this blog. It was dead before it started.

I think it's time to get real in this country. Either you want something to happen, in which case you have to accept that not everyone will agree with the outcome and that's just life (get more votes next time, folks!) or you agree that everything's mostly fine as it is and harmony (or the effort towards it) is more important than results. (Quick pause while I vomit.)

Yes, it is true that you can argue that the current system prevents radical shifts and thus ensures that change, overall, can be incremental. BUT it also discourages big, sensitive issues from being tackled at all - like health care, like social security, like tax reform - all of which have been broached numerous times but always without result.

Although it is a noble goal, it's just not possible to please everyone. We are not kindergardeners playing a "no win/no lose" soccer match. We are grown-ups and the reality of life is that, for change to be enacted, some people are going to end up happy and some people are going to end up pissed off. That's life.

Ok, so I couldn't leave it alone entirely

Republicans, I'd like to know how it feels to be the party of obstruction. Really? What else do you stand for? All I can see is: guns, killing doctors who perform legal procedures, religion, torture, oil, and war. Pretty much anything else worthwhile you obstruct. In the past it was an African American's right to vote, social security, medicare, segregation, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, The Clean Air Act, The Clean Water Act... now, true to form, it's healthcare.

Not that the Democrats in Congress don't deserve a fair share of the blame here either. They dragged their feet putting the bill together, weighing it with all kinds of pork-barrel crap and stupid in-fighting, failing to seize the political capital that President Obama had bought for them (and which has now significantly dwindled, not in small part, because of their ineffectiveness.)

It's a national disgrace to be sure on all sides. The Democrats for behaving like school children fighting over the big bag of candy that was dropped in the middle of the room and the Republicans for sulking in a corner because they couldn't have it all their way. Now, of course, they got Mr. Brown who can be sure to gleefully block anything worthwhile just because the Republicans didn't come up with it in the first place.




And, does it bother anyone else that this Fox News anchor seems to have a self-satisfied smirk on his face? It's almost as if he's elated that the richest country in the world cares less that 15% it's residents do not have basic health care.

Then, as for this young fellow, I'm sure his 15 minutes of fame won't be his last. I expect to see him on an FBI wanted poster sometime in the next 10 years. (The part this article failed to mention was his F grades and the fact that he has consistently been in trouble for yelling racial slurs and talking about the KKK. AWESOME. Yup, put a gun in THIS boy's hand for sure.)

Things I don't understand about America's relationship with guns

By now you've probably heard about the horrific shooting of 4 police officers in a Washington state coffee shop. As if it's not bad enough that you have to put your life on the line for a bunch of ungrateful (and often dumbass) strangers every day, now if you're a police man, you're going to be watching your back while you're sipping a latte with your family. Horrible.

My sympathies aside, on my way back from the gym this morning I was listening to an NPR report on the aftermath of the shootings. The reporter was interviewing locals and getting their reaction to the tragedy and he came across one man, a taxi driver, who had this to say (and I paraphrase): "I think more people should carry guns... and be ready."

Um...I'm sorry. WHAT!?

Help me understand this America, please, coz Lord knows my English powers of logic are failing me here.

Four trained, armed police officers were sitting in a coffee shop, minding their own beeswax and, despite their on-the-job experience and years of training, were unable to pull their guns out of their holsters in time to protect themselves from this random lunatic. How EXACTLY would you, Mr. Taxi Driver, fair better under the same circumstances with a pistol in your pocket?

Is the argument that if other by-standers in the coffee shop had seen the gunman and were armed, they could have perhaps taken him down before he made his way through all four cops? Because that sounds suspiciously like a gunfight at the OK Corale to me. Maybe two of the cops would have been given time to pull out their guns if the barista had dropped the frothy milk and brandished a shot gun but then maybe the little 3 year old girl sitting with her mother and her hot chocolate would have got a bullet in the head instead.

The circular argument that, because some people have guns more people should have guns, just seems like the ramblings of a bunch of lunatics to me. And I'm sorry if you're pro-gun, I just can't get my head around this stuff, even after 15 years of living in this place.

Things that are pissing me off right now

1. That I have to start my day with two mega pain pills
2. That every time I turn on my tv set I see Sarah Palin - she just assaults every one of my senses. I'm sure if I could smell her, she'd make me vomit.
3. That I am yet again considering hiring yet another 'expert' to help me try and figure out why I keep injuring my hip/back/pelvis and that this will take more $$ and more time, both of which are in short supply lately.
4. That I have to end my day with two mega pain pills and a muscle relaxer. (With any more of #2, I might also need a valium.)