Terri Schiavo, the new reality show!

I'm sitting in a restaurant last night watching the Fox News and they're talking about Terri Schiavo. They give a brief history of her case (as if anyone doesn't know by now) and then start talking about her current condition. The screen shows Terri on video looking weak and sickly while in bold letters under her image the words "Day 11" make it even more obvious that this person has turned into a television event before our eyes. Next, a "specialist" explained what, exactly, is going on in Terri Schiavo's body right now: "She's not feeling any hunger, her own body's pain killers have kicked in. Her kidneys are shutting down because of dehydration. Toxins are building up in her system and will soon lead to a heart attack, which will kill her." It is then that I realize that Terri Schiavo is the new hit reality TV show. What will happen next? Who knows? Tune in at 7pm tonight to find out! -Tactless.

Somewhere, lost in the media exploitation, are a few issues that need to be taken care of. One is, when a person is incapacitated, who has the right to decide what happens to him or her? Ideally there's a living will, but how many people have actually bothered to write one up? It's not difficult. Any scrap of paper, a diary or blog entry may have been enough for Terri Schiavo's case to be decided once and for all in court. So, write down what you want to have happen to you if you are incapacitated! Or, if you are unsure (like me), leave it to your loved ones and hope there's not some 15 year fight that ends up with you getting starved to death. (Ew.)

Another thing that this case has pointed out is a need for our legal system to decide once and for all who can make the decision to "pull the plug" on someone? Does the spouse trump the parents? We need to make sure that this doesn't happen again. I don't often call for laws, but in this case it needs to be made clear.

Lastly, and I'm not sure if I'm alone in this, but I'd rather not be starved to death... If it's Terri Schiavo's lot to die, why does her death have to occur in such a long, drawn-out way? I can't imagine how her loved ones must feel watching her slowly dehydrate and starve. Even if they felt that she wouldn't want to live, how could anyone sit by and watch that? No, I'm strongly in favor of leathal injection in a case like this. Spare us the "Day 12" coverage and spare her parents another day of watching her waste away before their eyes. Doctor-prescribed lethal injection (involve a judge, I don't care!) should be made legal. Murderers and rapists sentenced to death are ensured that it will be relativly painfree and humane. So, why is lethal injection not good enough for Terri? Watching her death it's plain to see that it archaic and cruel. -And it certainly shouldn't be broadcast for the world to see.

"Put a flag on your car...it's literally the least you can do."

(The title of today's blog entry is from Bill Maher's 2002 book When You Ride Alone, You Ride With bin Laden.)

All the magnetic ribbons and bumper stickers that have been stuck on cars since 9/11 is astounding! At first they were an okay idea, but it's gotten out of hand. I mean, now they have ribbons for sports teams! -I've seen "Bears" ribbons, "Cubs" ribbons, "White Sox"...
Basically they've become so commercialized that they have lost their meaning.

For educational purposes, here's a list of ribbons (there are others besides yellow, red, and pink!): http://www.craftsnscraps.com/jewelry/ribbons.html

And a link to a great ribbon parody site: http://www.supportourribbons.com/index.php

Which leads me to something I've thought about doing several times now. -Switching magnetic ribbons on people. How funny would it be to take the cammo "Support Our Troops" ribbon off of that big truck and switch it from the "Support a Cure for Breast Cancer" pink ribbon from the VW Beetle next to it? Or, switch the cammo ribbon with the rainbow one? How about the "Cubs" and the "Sox"?
-No, you could get killed over that one...

So go forth and swap ribbons!

Ending hunger. 2 ideas in 1.

Last night we had dinner at Lone Star (a steakhouse/bar). We were seated in a nearly empty dining room (it was very early). The one other table that had been sat was occupied by a mother and 2 children. One of the children was wining and crying non-stop. The mother did little to quiet him/her. Soon another party came in and they were sat behind us. Before they were even seated fights broke out among 3 of the children. "I don't wanna sit by him!" "Mom! Tommy has my toy and won't give it back!" I was ready to kill. If they kept it up, I was prepared to ask to be moved. I was in no mood to deal with this noise. I decided against having kids. Why do I have to deal with everyone else's? We were in a steakhouse/bar for Ghod sakes! As Ed and I were commenting on all the kids, the table infront of us was sat. Another mother and 2 small kids. Luckily, those children were very well behaved and we didn't hear a peep out of them all through our meal. I decided against killing anyone at that table if I went berserk. -It was a possibility at that point... Anyway, we got through the meal, and as we left we figured out why there were so many kids. We parked right infront of a banner that said "Kids eat FREE on Tuesdays!" Great. Cross off Lone Star as a dining choice on Tuesday nights... Still, parents should either teach their kids how to behave in a restaurant or not bring them until they can be quiet enough to not disturb the other patrons. Alternatively, restaurants could creat "family sections" to condense the noise into one central area so the rest of us have a hope of eating in peace.

But that's not what I was really going to write about today. See, a couple of years ago I came up with the answer to hunger in our area, if not in the whole country and I figured I better share! The idea came to me while driving in late spring. It was a familiar scene -a beautiful pond (okay, a retention pond) crammed with Canadian geese. They were wing-to-wing, filling an area roughly the size of a football field. And it isn't a temporary thing! If you live around here you know there's a definite "goose problem". You go out for a walk around our old apartment's grounds and there's goose poop everywhere! They make a mess of everything. Something needs to be done! A-ha! Geese are eatable. Why not allow hunting and/or trapping of geese until the population's under control? The meat could be used to feed the hungry... I think it's a good idea!

My other idea, if the goose thing doesn't work out. Is allowing the eating of noisy kids in restaurants. The world would be a much better (quieter) place. The meat could be used to feed the hungry as well ala "Soylent Green". Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "baby food"...

I hate people...

How to destroy the earth.
...I'm thinking about it.

Stuff that did NOT get stolen from my car.

Okay, so now that some time has passed since my car got broken into, I've been able to find some humor in it...

What got stolen:

• My $100 radio
• My boost gauge
• My Air/Fuel gauge
• My gauge pod
• My fire extinguisher

Yep. My fire extinguisher was taken. I had a rice-y white fire extinguisher strapped down to the back seat and it was stolen along with the electronics. I find that to be hilarious since...

What was NOT stolen:

• My AFC
  
• My palm pilot

The AFC is easily worth $150 to $200. It was the single most valuable piece of equipment in the car at the time. Fortunately, it was under the passenger seat along with my Palm Pilot. A cable ran right under the stereo (which was stolen), over the center console, and went under the seat. If the person would have just been curious enough to pull on it they would have found them. More proof that keeping stuff "out of sight" is, in itself, a good security measure.

Stupid Motivational Posters

I saw this in OfficeMax and almost died laughing...

Some people at "Successories" need a history lesson!


My car was broken into last night!

More bad luck...

Ed got the shifter in the Laser working properly (thanks to the magic of WD-40) so we took that to dinner last night. I was so happy that I'd be able to drive it to work the next day! Turns out that wasn't gunna happen...

I got up this morning and went out to start the Laser. I unlocked the door, opened it, and noticed a black plastic piece on the seat. Grr. The gauge pod must have finally fell off. I pick the piece up, no that's the piece that goes over the door... I look at the A-pillar where the gauge pod should be. No. Can't be. Where is it? Maybe Ed took it off... I went inside and asked Ed. Nope. He didn't touch it. We both go back out to the car. The stereo's gone too!

Whoever did it was neat as hell, and I have to admit I'm thankful they didn't rip everything apart. They made off with 2 fairly cheap gauges, a gauge pod that I was hoping to replace anyway, and a stereo worth $99 new. Still, I feel violated, and I'm not sure how we can better protect the cars from future break-ins.

Obviously the person who did this knew what they were doing. They probably saw the gauges from the street and marked it as a target. Our hours are regular as hell, so timing wouldn't be a problem. Due to the fact that all the screws were left neatly on the seat, the frame or whatever you call it for the stereo was neatly left on the floor, and the other plastic piece that goes over the door was neatly left on the driver's seat, I'd say the guy (or girl) responsible was just as organized and careful in selecting the target and following through. It also shows that they have a conscience.

In the end, I'm out a couple hundred dollars -but as Ed said this morning it's a cheap wake-up call before we have both our cars in the driveway full of expensive toys. What makes me the maddest is thinking about how to protect the cars in the future. Car alarms are cheesy and easily gotten around. Ed mentioned motion sensors and possibly a video camera, which would be easy to do and cheap with the cost of webcams these days. I don't know, but we won't sit around and do nothing! We have 2 "race cars" and only 1 will fit in the garage at a time...

The funny thing is I went through some police training and I know at least a little bit about how targets are picked. One of the things I liked about our house is that it's a really bad target for thieves. Our block curves around, and we're actually on the corner of a cul-de-sac, which places our house as the farthest forward on the block. That means that you can see our whole driveway clearly from a great distance away. Not the best place to be breaking into cars! The thing that helped this person not be seen, however, was my Jeep. It was parked next to the Laser providing a perfect sheild from view. Gosh darn it...

Oh yeah, the Laser was locked, the Jeep's always unlocked (no sense locking a Jeep w/ a soft top!), the Jeep had the same stereo in it, but the face plate was locked in the center console. The Jeep's stereo was untouched. I didn't have time to look around and see if anyone went through the Jeep looking for the face plate...

The moral of the story: Car locks mean nothing. Hide your stereo's face plate, and conseal anything (like gauges) that make your car stand out. I'll be mounting my gauges elsewhere next time....

Random Venting

First of all, I'm typing this with a dvorak keyboard layout just, I don't know, to make things more difficult.

Last week I made a commitment to myself that I'd drive the Laser to work every day until April 9, when I go to the "Learning Curve" autocross workshop. That way, I figured, I'd have as much practice at driving stick as possible before learning how to improve my autocross abilities. Well, last Thursday (I think), my radiator hose blew off again -or at least that's all we thought was wrong. Turns out that the pipe from the radiator that the hose attaches to broke off (it's 12 years old, and plastic). We found someone with their original radiator lying around, and it turns out to be free -he was just happy to see it gone! So, cool. I was back on the road on Monday.

Monday, just as I near the train station to pick Ed up, I start finding it really hard to get the car in 3rd gear. After Ed gets in and we start out to go eat, the problem gets worse and I accidentally shift to 1st when I mean to go to 3rd a couple times. Then I figure it out -the shifter is just not returning to center between shifts. After that I'm able to compensate for it, but it takes all the fun out of driving (having to be so careful shifting). 3rd was my favorite gear! We suspect it's just a spring, but I don't want to drive it like this, so I'm back to driving the Jeep to work and worrying that I won't be comfortable enough with the Laser to drive it well at autocross.

Speaking of comfortable driving in the Laser, I'm still sitting on a freaking chair cushion so that I can see over the dash! I'm guessing that that won't fly at autocross, so I'm hoping to put a 1" spacer under the chair rail. Another project to get done before April 9, and guess who's car's in the garage? Not mine...

As far as work goes, we're having a continuous problem with server lockups and it means having to reset the server, sometimes 5 times a day! That's annoying. Plus, my users can't seem to get it through their heads that they really do need to EMAIL me with their problems rather than coming to my door and telling me about them. I'm way too busy to remember that they can't figure out how to open the manual paper tray on the printer or that they wish they had the little cat in their email rather than the light bulb. Bleh.

Back to the Jeep. It has a tranny problem too, I think. The rpm's surge a little before it shifts into... probably 3rd gear? (It's automatic.) So, that has me worried. It has Ed worried too; he wants to get rid of it. Not suprising, he hates my Jeep. It IS slow, but it's awesome off-road. Just wish it saw dirt more often. We could use a towing vehicle, but does that have to mean no more off-roading? And I'm so mad at the Laser's unreliability that I don't want to pick up a car payment on a truck. I'd rather get an S2000, an Evo, or a WRX sti.

Money... Ed and I make a pretty decent buck, but everytime he talks about his car it's a list of parts he needs before his engine arrives, and all the parts come in $1000 increments. It's driving me crazy, his credit card is about maxed. I need exhaust, and intercooler, and shocks. Maybe brakes as well. But instead I'll be buying him a clutch/flywheel, and maybe even wheels and tires! Yay.

And what am I doing hanging out with these car guys anyway? Half the time they treat me like I don't know anything about cars and I want them to stop treating me like a girl. The other half of the time I wonder if they have any interests outside of cars. I mean, there's only so much I can take. Maybe I am really a girl after all. I still know more than the average DSM'er out there, though...

I have a brand new pocket bike that's been sitting in the middle of our front room since Xmas. Sunday was warm enough for me to ride it, but instead I spent the day picking up all the dog droppings from the yard. 3 bags. Yummy. :-P Monday morning I stepped outside to go to work, and guess what was waiting there as a present for me? Poop from the dog down the block (he runs loose all the time). Lovely.

We had dinner with our friend, Kris, last night. He mentioned that he found something embarrassing of mine in one of the MCSE books I lent him, but he wouldn't tell me what it was. Great. Last time I let anyone borrow my books... What the he11 would I have left in there? It's driving me crazy trying to think about which freakish thing about me has been revealed.

So, I'm in a bad mood. I'm this close (imagine my fingers indicating a very small amount of space) to just quitting work, and driving. I'd keep going until there weren't any more people and I'd just stay there for awhile. I hate people. People suck. So does my car when it doesn't work. When it does work, though, it rocks!

Make sure your child doesn't end up gay

A coworker of mine expressed his relief that, although his teenage son was caught looking at inappropriate things on the internet, at least he wasn't looking at naked men...

And I had a thought...

For all of you who feel this way, here's how to make sure you never hear your child say that he or she is gay. -Remind them often that homosexuality is bad. It's a crime against nature. If you're religious at all remind them that God hates gays. Homosexuality is a crime against God! Repeat this often enough that they know how important their "straightness" is to you. Punish them for watching TV shows portraying gays as "normal". Refuse to allow them to hang out with kids who may be gay. Make them know that your pride rests on their sexual prefrence.

That way, if they are gay, maybe they'll kill themselves before your friends find out.

The US is boycotting the Kyoto treaty

I'm not an environmental wacko, but am worried about how this will reflect upon the US's reputation internationally, especially after our snubbing of the UN about the war in Iraq.

<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>

"The Kyoto Protocol, the landmark UN treaty on global warming, took effect Wednesday after an agonising gestation, supported by 141 nations but boycotted by the world's biggest polluter, the United States." -Tribune de Geneve, Switzerland

"After years of delays, a world plan to fight global warming came into force on Wednesday, feted by its backers as a lifeline for the planet but rejected as an economic straitjacket by the US and Australia." -India Times

(“Until such time as the major polluters of the world including the United States and China are made part of the Kyoto regime, it is next to useless and indeed harmful for a country such as Australia to sign up,” Australian Prime Minister John Howard said.)

"It has the support of 141 countries but its future is clouded by a boycott by the biggest single emitter, the United States, which by itself accounts for more than a fifth of world pollution." -Turkish Press

"The United States, the world’s largest emitter of such gases, has refused to ratify the agreement, saying it would harm the economy and is flawed by the lack of restrictions on emissions by emerging economies like China and India." ABS-CBN news, Philippines

""Some commentators blame George Bush's administration for damaging efforts to prepare for a successor to the treaty, which expires in 2012. (¶) The US, the world's largest emitter of such gases - accounting for almost one-quarter of global emissions - has refused to ratify the agreement. It had agreed to a 7% reduction before Mr Bush denounced the pact in 2001." -The Guardian, UK

""It is unacceptable that the US and Australia should renege on their commitments as negotiated in 1997, and refuse to implement the modest limitations they originally agreed to when the consequences are global in magnitude," Worthington says." -ioL, South Africa

"Under Kyoto, the targets vary by region: The European Union is committed to cutting emissions to 8 percent below 1990 levels by 2012; the United States agreed to a 7 percent reduction before US President Bush denounced the pact in 2001." -China Daily

Gun Control

I love comments, so I'll feed this gun control issue a little bit here.

I'm a five foot-two, 130 pound girl with a gun. I use it for target shooting. I'm not exactly one of those "You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands" people, but the gun control issue bothers me. I mean, many of the "gun control" laws that have been passed so far are idiotic. Background checks, even at gun shows are a good idea, though. They're quick and effective with little impact to retailers or customers.

Waiting periods are another story. Truthfully, I could live with a waiting period for an individual's first gun purchase. It might prevent "acts of passion" against self or others, and no one should just buy a gun on a whim -it takes time and practice to become skilled enough with a gun for it to be useful in hunting, sport, or home/self protection. A couple day's wait for your first gun is no big deal. I don't get waiting periods on subsequent gun purchases, however. What purpose do they serve? They make no sense, and laws that don't make sense should be repealed!

As for the Second Amendment; our forefathers were giving us a final measure for protecting our rights. This country was "won" by people banding together and fighting for independance. The idea may seem outdated to the average American citizen, but it's what Bush hoped would happen in Iraq, and having an armed population can only serve to ensure that the will of the people doesn't get overrun by a rogue government. The ramblings of the paranoid wacko? I know it sounds like it -we've all heard the "black helicopter" people, but in the end it's a good idea. It's "Plan Z". Perhaps Hitler said it best:

The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so."
-- Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)

Obviously this doesn't mean that everyone should have a gun. It takes a lot of training and practice to be able to use a gun safely and effectively. Anyone who isn't willing to put forth the required time and effort shouldn't buy one.

As for the issue of kids and guns, it's a personal matter. Get rid of your guns entirely if you don't think you can keep your guns locked up or use a trigger lock or other safety device (but not "the safety" on the gun itself as it's easily turned off, even on accident!). If you feel you can effectively keep your kids from your guns, do so. Many things in a house can harm a child -parents must be responsible and keep all dangerous items away from their children.

Also, teach your kids about guns. They should know that if they see a gun they shouldn't touch it. They should tell an adult about it immediately. My parents did this for me, but my Dad also introduced me to guns when I was very little. My first "gun" was a Red Rider BB gun and it was too big for me when I got it! My Dad shortened the stock so I could hold it properly and then he taught me how to shoot cans out at my Grandpa's farm. It was a lot of fun, but as he showed me how to shoot, he also taught me basic gun safety. I was not to point it at anyone. I was not to put my finger on the trigger until the gun was pointed "down range" and I was ready to shoot. This served to remove the "mystery" of guns in general and enforced the rules that needed to be adhered to when he handed me a .22, and then a .38, etc. His reasoning was that if I ever found a gun out at home or in anyone else's home I wouldn't be curious about it or try to "play" with it. If a parent is comfortable with firearms and can teach their children these rules, I think this is a great way to protect your kids from gun "accidents".

In the end, it's my right to own a gun and I wish the Democratic party would come around to more sane views on gun control as I've been turned off by the Republican party over the last 8 years. Banning guns entirely makes no sense -I doubt the criminals will turn in their guns. It'd serve only to disarm law-abiding citizens and make us all easy targets for criminals. Look at Florida, for example. After they passed their concealed carry legislation crime went down on the street, but went up at airports. Why? Because people in airports can't carry guns. Hello? Who would want to rob someone who's potentially armed? But I won't go into concealed carry here...

...and you thought I was a liberal wacko!

Dumb names for cars

I was driving behind a minivan today, then I noticed the name... Oldsmobile Silhouette. Who in their right mind would name a minivan "Silhouette"?

Mmmm... boxy.
:-P

Bill of Rights vs the Patriot Act

Bush: "To protect the American people, Congress must promptly renew all provisions of the Patriot Act this year."

According to the ACLU's summary of the Patriot Act:

• Expands the government's ability to search private property without notice to the owner.
• The government no longer has to show evidence that the subjects of search orders are an "agent of a foreign power".
• The FBI does not even have to show a reasonable suspicion that the records are related to criminal activity.
• Surveillance orders can be based in part on a person's First Amendment activities, such as the books they read, the Web sites they visit, or a letter to the editor they have written.
• A person or organization forced to turn over records is prohibited from disclosing the search to anyone, limiting the ability of individuals to challenge illegitimate searches

I urge everyone to read the articles here: http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=12126&c=207
There's even a copy of the actual Patriot Act there if you want to read "the real thing".

Do we really need to give up our rights in order to be secure?

A review of the Bill of Rights follows below. These ten amendments should be known by every citizen of these United States. The first ten amendments are what established this country as "free", and they should be defended as fiercely as our soil. We cannot let this President erode our freedoms in the name of security. To each one of you out there who stuck a "9/11 -we will never forget" sticker on your car -don't loose site of what you are giving up in your want for retaliation.

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Wedding Cruise Is Chartered!

What's with my luck lately?

On Wednesday I called Fran, our travel agent, but got the receptionist. I left a message asking Fran to give me a call back about the cost of a cabin with 3 lower beds, and saying I had a question about insurance costs.

On Thursday I hadn't received a call back yet, and I wrote her an email outlining my questions and saying that I was disappointed in the lack of communication. I mean, we were still working on cabin pricing and the deadline for the deposit is just over a week away!

Fran called me Thursday afternoon and said she left a Voicemail earlier (I had missed it, whoops!). Turns out our ship's been chartered for the date we had chosen for our wedding cruise, and Fran's been trying to find out what Royal Caribbean was going to do with us. They usually put you on another date and give you some kind of a discount, apparently. So, it's a waiting game. Fran said she'd keep calling to find out what was going to happen, and she said she'd give me an update by Friday.

Friday I had a half-day because of the doctor's appointment in the afternoon, so I emailed Fran before leaving and gave her my home and cell phone numbers. I got no call on Friday. Beemster Travel's open until 1pm (according to their website), but I got no call on Saturday either.

This morning I emailed Fran again asking what was going on and telling her "I'd rather know what's going on then be left in the dark." 'cause that's how I feel. Like I'm in the dark. Here I am, with a wedding to plan, but the date is questionable now. All of my invitations went out with the old date on them, so now I'll have to send out new invitations (or, at least, follow-up letters). I wanted to book a year in advance so we could get all of our cabins right next to each other, but as time passes, that will be harder and harder. I want to tell the people who have said they're coming about the change, but it's silly to notify people when we don't have the new date set yet. It's all a big mess. I wish I could call Royal Caribbean myself just to get this straightened out ASAP. I thought that going through a travel agent would make things easier, but I'm going crazy due to lack of information here!

General Hospital II: My doctor's worse than my disease!

As you recall, in the previous episode, Erica's doctor suspected her hand pain was due to rheumatoid arthritis. He referred her to a rheumatologist who didn't take her insurance. Erica called her insurance company and got the name of a specialist who WOULD take her insurance (and was close to home) but he couldn't fit her into his schedule until a month later.

So, one month later, I show up at Edward's hospital way early for my appointment so I could pick up a copy of my x-rays from the radiology department that the rheumatologist requested I bring along to my appointment. I drive through the parking garage and finally find a spot on the roof. The sign near my car says "Stairs" and points left. I walk in that direction, open the door, and find myself in a pretty nasty looking stairwell. It doesn't look like a public area, but I walk down anyway (the sign told me to!). When I get down to the ground level, I'm in a small corriador with 2 elevators, 2 hallways, and a few offices. I decide to take the hallway that goes left, but there's nothing but offices that way. I go back and take the other hallway, and it looks like it's the same thing. After taking the elevator's up (maybe the lobby is on the 2nd floor?), then back down, and finally finding an odd hallway that went, like, half out-side -I eventually found the lobby.

From there the lady at the Information desk pointed me to radiology, and within 10 minutes I had a copy of my x-rays on CD for the rheumatologist. Next, I went back to the Information desk to find out where the specialist, Dr Munn, was located. The girl looked him up in a big book, then consulted with the other lady about where the office was and how to give me directions to it. After getting about half-way through the instructions, she gave up and walked me to the bank of elevators I saw when I first entered the hospital from that scary stairwell. She left me there, at the elevators, saying that he was on the 3rd floor. I pushed the "up" button while she helped an older woman who was as lost as I was when I first entered the hospital. (The sign that directed me to the stairs in the parking garage was clear enough, why not a sign like that near the elevators that says "LOBBY -->" ?

Anyway, I got off the elevator on the 3rd floor, and walked around looking for an office that said "Dr. Munn" or "Rheumatology" on it, and after finding "Rheumatology", found myself in a line waiting to check in. No biggie. I was over a half-hour early. As I got to the head of the line a man tried cutting infront of me, but I have mad anti-cutting skillz, so I beat the cane-carrying man to the counter (heh, take that!).

"Erica Steeve here for a 2:15 with Dr. Munn" I said. And the receptionist got a confused look on her face.

"Dr Munn is never here on Fridays" she said.

"WHAT!?! I've waited a month in pain and took a half-day off of work to come to this appointment!"

"Sorry, he's not here."

"Well, could you check to see if I'm in the computer? I was told I have an appointment with him today at 2:15pm."

"Well, Dr Munn works out of his Oakbrook office on Fridays. I'll call there and see if they know where he is."

So, I wait. About 5 minutes later she comes out and says that his answering service says that his office is at lunch until 2pm. "Well, what am I supposed to do?" I asked exasperated.

After finally getting her to try reaching the doctor's office directly instead of through his answering service (!?!) she still can't get anyone on the phone that can say where the doctor is or what I should do. I left the office with Dr. Munn's business card and slammed the door behind me on my way out.

As I ride the elevator back down to the first floor (to take the stairs to the 4th floor of the parking garage) I dial the number on the business card. I get a woman on the phone and I tell her my situation. She explains that Dr. Munn is in the Oakbrook office today, he only sees patients in the Naperville office by request.

Again, I explained that I've spent a month IN PAIN waiting for this appointment and ask what I should do. She gives me directions to the Oakbrook office and says I might still be able to make it. I look down at my watch, it's almost 2:00 -time for me to take my medication. I haven't had lunch yet, and I can't eat while I drive 'cause I'm in the Laser (stick-shift). I get in the car and start crying before I get out of the garage...

I pulled in the parking lot of the Oakbrook office at 2:15pm (I love the Laser), and quickly find Dr. Munn's office. The receptionist turns out to be who I talked to on the phone and she re-iterates that Dr. Munn can see me in Naperville if I request that at the time the appointment is made. It takes all I have to not catch her by the throat and tell her that if someone would have told me that my appointment was in Oakbrook I could have avoided this whole mess and saved about 60 miles on the car since I started out from work in Hinsdale, drove to Edward's Hospital in Naperville, then back to Oakbrook for this appointment. But, instead, I take a seat and wait for my name to be called.

When I get into the doctor's office I start to calm down and was suprised that my blood pressure was "normal". Dr. Munn ended up being a great guy. He explained everything well, and didn't seem to be in a hurry. Any questions I had were answered, and he even took the time to tell me about some exercises I could do to help stabilize my "floating patella". Early on in the exam he said he didn't think I have rheumatoid arthritis. He was able to feel nodules in my 2 most painful fingers and diagnosed the problem as "Trigger Finger". My treatment options are: rest and anti-inflammatory medication, a cortisone injection (which he readily admitted was very painful), and surgery (also painful, but very effective). I chose the drugs even though I've been on NSAID's of one sort or the other since November because of this pain and suspected arthritis. After reading up on it, however, I bet I'll eventually give in and go with the injection or surgery. I mean, obviously I'm no good at resting my fingers...

Jewelry Addiction

It's sad, but true. I -the original tomboy am now addicted to buying jewelry. It all happened when I was researching diamonds for my engagement ring. I ran into this forum: www.pricescope.com . It has a lot of great information, and the people on there are really helpful and knowledgable, but soon I was checking out the gemstone threads. I thought Alexandrite was really cool because it changes colors depending on what kind of light it is in, but it's pretty expensive. Then I found out that there are color-change sapphires and garnets as well. I found a small color-change garnet for $30 on www.multicolour.com and purchased it. Well, okay, so now I'll need a setting for it... My engagement ring is obviously pretty modern-looking, but I also like the art deco / filigree look of the 1920's era jewelry. So, I started looking at estate sale websites. I found lots of beautiful rings, but few settings or mountings that would take my small garnet. I did find, however, a really cute little butterfly wing necklace. There went another $60. Still looking for a setting, I've found one that I like on www.jansjewels.com. It's not exactly what I was looking for, but I like the price. This really isn't the gem to go all-out for anyway. It's only 6mm x 4mm. No, when I get the ring I really want...

Help! I'm turning into a girl!

On the other hand, it sounds like we might be getting our garage back soon. That means we can either start tearing down Ed's engine :-D or doing my timing belt change :-P

Your beautiful Royal Romance (R) wedding in the Royal Lavatory

Okay, so this idea to book the wedding ceremony through Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines was a big mistake. Turns out that the cute little wedding chapel that they tell you about online and in the brochure isn't necessarily where your ceremony will be performed. No, see, they'll tell you the time and location of your ceremony 2 weeks before the date. As for your last chance to cancel your wedding... 60 days prior. So, RCCL reserves the right to hold your ceremony wherever they want, and you have no choice but to go along with it.

Well, I don't consider myself picky, but I don't want to be married in a lounge. I could do the library, even -it'd kinda fit with Ed and I being the nerds that we are, but not the lounge.

Arg! So, I searched Google and found a few wedding consultants in Miami who set up beach weddings or whatever you want. The costs look cheaper or on par with what Royal Caribbean was going to charge for an onboard wedding, so maybe this will all work out painlessly afterall.

Another option is to pay RCCL $600 extra for a beach or courtyard wedding, but then they can't guarantee that it'll be handicap accessible, and we have to make sure that our guests (including a couple of people who have a hard time walking on uneven surfaces) can get to the ceremony site and that they have a place to sit.

I'd really like to do this witout Royal Caribbean anyway because their customer service over the phone has been horrible. Their website says to 'call their Royal Romance Wedding Coordinators and they'll take care of everything for you'. Well, I've called twice and both times I got someone who wouldn't offer any information at all. They'd just answer my questions with "yeah", "no", or "I guess". Not quite what I was expecting.

Avoid using USPS

I've had afew bad experiences with USPS in the last couple months, and I thought I'd share...

First, Ed's Mom sent me an Xmas present in December. I was at home the first day delivery was supposedly attempted. No one came to the door. Believe me, I would have known because the dog goes crazy when someone sets foot on our property. But, when Ed came home and got the mail there was a "delivery attempted" note in our mailbox. The second delivery attempt was made the next day, but (like most people) Ed and I were at work when the mailman came. So, our only option was to pick it up at the post office. Well, the post office closes at 5pm on weekdays, you know, when most people are just getting off of work... Yeah, we don't get home until 5:15pm so there was nothing we could do there. Option C is to pick it up on Saturday before 1pm, but it was the last remaining week before Xmas and we had shopping, wrapping, doctors appointments, dental appointments... Our weekends are always busy. So, I called them and asked if it could be delivered to my work. Nope. No can do, for security reasons it must be delievered to the address it was sent to. To top it off, it'd be returned to sender if I didn't pick it up within 10 days. So, in a mad rush before my doctor's appointment and Ed's dental appointment we ran over to pick up the gift. They didn't even ask for ID when we picked it up. All you need is the little slip they leave in your mailbox. Right... Real security there...

Second story is pretty general. Ed and I have both recently had online purchases delivered via USPS. The stores we bought from sent us a USPS tracking number, but all it said was "billing information received" until we actually took delivery of the item -then it finally updated as "delivered". Useless. You can almost tell what intersection your package is at with UPS, FedEX, or DHL. I'd pick them over USPS any day.

Last, is a story about my engagement ring and I could kill the USPS over this one. It wasn't lost or anything, but their lack of tracking information available to the receiver OR to their own customer service people... Grr.... I was hoping to get the ring on Friday so I could show it to my parents and my Grandma when I went over there on Sunday. It didn't arrive at work on Friday, so I kept watch on the tracking info to see if it'd be delivered on Saturday. If it looked like it might be delivered, I figured I'd go into work so I could receive it (there's usually no one in the office over the weekends). On Saturday morning the tracking information finally showed that the ring left Georgia on Thursday (so the tracking info is about 2 days behind!). I had no idea where the ring was currently, so I called their customer service number at 9:30am. I told the man on the phone about the situation, he pulled up the tracking info and confirmed that the package left Georgia on Thursday. He had no more information than I did about where the package was currently. So, I asked him, in his opinion, if the package left Georgia on Thursday via Express mail, could it be delivered today? He said "it looks like it's scheduled to be delivered on Monday or Tuesday". I hung up a bit disappointed, but figured that there wasn't much anyone could do. The rest of Saturday we spent out shopping for my brother's present (a little last minute, but I pretty much knew what I was going to get him), then we took the Laser for a run to Schaumburg to put some miles on the tranny to be sure it was working okay. Saturday night we got home at about 11pm and I pulled up the tracking info for my ring one more time. When the screen came up I almost had a fit! "Delivery attempted 11:35am". IT was delivered 2 freaking hours after their customer service told me it'd be delivered Monday or Tuesday. -That means that while I was talking to the USPS guy on the phone, the ring was on the truck for delivery. Proving that the USPS has NO CLUE where your item is at any given time. Nope. I'm doing my best to avoid EVER doing business with the USPS again.

Did I mention GRR?
Grr....

EDIT: As an update I thought I'd share the fact that I complained to USPS through their online questions form about the engagement ring thing. I got a response saying that they'd refund the shipping costs if I bring in the label. I thought that was nice of them...

I got my ring, and Gram's coming on the cruise!

Well, for all the worrying about Gram's reaction to the whole cruise thing, it ended up being no big deal. I told her we were getting married and the 80+ year old lady JUMPED UP AND DOWN WITH JOY! It was so cool. I told her about the cruise, and asked her if she'd come with and she just said "yes". I couldn't believe it! She said she'd go anywhere, she just wants to be there. After Aunt Dolores got over a bit of shock over the fact that we were going to pay their way, they got all giggly and looked over all the information we had. They're both really excited. It turned out better than I could have ever expected.

The other good news is that I got my ring today. I overnighted the diamond to Boone of www.boonerings.com last Tuesday, and it got here (to Hinsdale, IL) on Saturday via Express Mail (USPS, not the fastest option). It looks great, some quick shots of it can be found here for now. Better pics will be posted when I have time. I gotta get the invitations sent out tonight! The only problem with the ring is that it's about a half size too big I think. I'll wear it for 24 hours or so to be sure, but I think I might have to get it remade in a smaller size.

False Security

About 6 months ago the people who manage the office building where I work decided to put locks on the bathroom doors. It's a common practice, I know, but there are many things wrong with this idea and it's implementation in this particular case.

See, a female employee of ours (about 2 years ago) was in the middle of... doing her business... when she looked up and discovered a man watching her. Gross, I know. The situation was taken care of, the cops called, the guy taken into custody, etc, but the woman was pretty shook up about it. I don't know if the locks were a (very late) response to that incident or what, but let's imagine if the man wanted to hurt her instead of just watch her? Once that door closed behind her she'd be locked in the bathroom and help would be, at a minimum, delayed. (What if someone heard her scream, but didn't have a key!) I think we're all much safer WITHOUT the locks.!

That leads me to the implementation stuff:

• The bathrooms on the other side of the hall do not require a key.
• The locks on the doors to the Men's room and the Woman's room are the same.
• The keys for the bathrooms are the same as the key to get in the front door of the building.

So, I'm really confused about what they think they're accomplishing here. Anyone who can persuede the receptionist at the doctor's office down the hall for a key can use it to get into either bathroom or can pocket it and enter the building whenever they want (there's no alarm). Basically the building is less secure because of this locked bathroom idea. More proof that people in general are stupid. QED.