Well, this is not good. I could not obtain any tickets for the INXS concert because the closest one is in Chicago and decent seats are going for $300-$800 per SEAT. Not per pair, per SEAT. So after all of my excitement, I will not be seeing them in concert. I feel a little sick.

I haven’t felt well all week. I have been so tired that I’m sleeping at least 12 hours a day and I have a general malaise. I don’t know what is wrong. I slept 13 hours last night and as I write this, I can barely keep my eyes open. My house is a mess and I desperately need to clean it; my mother-in-law and brother-in-law are visiting all weekend and into next week. I think they deserve clean towels, don’t you?

To make my idle whining completely insignificant, I was told today that one of my coworkers lost her husband this week. His death was completely sudden. It’s always tragic when these things happen, but it’s worse when it’s someone one knows well. Also, she’s a wonderful person who really cared about all of us at work. When we would have to work on a holiday (she did not ever work holidays), she would still come to work and bring homemade egg rolls, cookies, or other treats to let us know she was thinking of us. I know her husband is in a better place, but that’s probably little consolation to her or their two young children.

I called my husband and told him he’s not allowed to go anywhere anytime soon. So to whomever is reading this: go hug someone you love. And pray for everyone who’s lost someone.

I am happy to see a message of peace amid so much animosity by so many countries. I am not staunchly one political party or the other, but my views do tend to lean in one direction. I am conservative but open-minded. Some peg me as a “Green Republican,??? but that’s too limiting. My core belief is that I think that central government should be limited as much as possible. I also think- in a manner that seems contrary to both parties- that open discussion of ideas is desparately needed. If we are the model of a Republic to the rest of the world, we should view our own behavior as a template.

So back to my original theme. I am not solely anti-war, as it is impossible to be rational with an irrational person. There are situations where force is needed. However, messages of peace resounding from the mouths of religious leaders, political leaders, and (dare I say) we hoi polloi…these messages can only serve to aid in a more peaceful world. The other thing I really like about the message is that it’s a religious leader chiding all religious leaders for failing to concentrate on peace.

So put your guns down on the ground/yeah, peace, it makes such a pretty sound.

This is a picture of Carlton and me from earlier this summer.  My parents will probably KILL me for having a cigar.  Even though I smoke fewer than two a year, it’s still grounds for my death.  Not from cancer, mind you, but from their verbal bludgeoning.  They would further argue that I’ve ruined a perfectly good picture.  I disagree.  Carlton and I shared a cigar and a glass of bourbon at one of his work functions.  It was a lot of fun, and as a matter of fact, this picture was taken on the day I credit with being the "upswing" in Carlton’s happiness.  He had been really stressed by work, life,…. ME, and he slowly but surely changed his outlook for the better.  I love how happy he looks in the picture.

I am aware that most blog entries (including my own) are plagued by angst and what I call blogorrhea, driven by a need to be poetic and eloquent.  It’s the common person’s way to seem artistic.  As U2 once said, "every artist is a cannibal/every poet is a thief/all kill their inspiration/then sing about their grief."  I think comedy and lighthearted themes are much more difficult to convey without being too much like a syrupy movie. 

No angst: this one’s just happy.  I love this guy.

Uh oh.  Am I Nora Ephron?

I tell everyone I’m a jack of all trades master of none, but people still seem to think I can do everything. I am here to tell you I can barely find time for all my hobbies…something has to suffer. Exhibit A:

Yes, that’s my pumpkin. From OCTOBER. A friend of mine wanted to carve pumpkins in mid October, so we did. Cute, huh? Yes, well, then I sort of let it sit on the porch for six weeks. The lid isn’t missing; it rotted into the inside. Please note the large festering boil by its right eye. And the inside isn’t black from shadows, either: that’s mold.

Wonder Woman I ain’t.

Why is is that everyone in the world thinks that anyone in the world wants to read their rants? Ah well, after much pressure, I succumb.