1) Keep an extra key in your wallet. That way, if you lose your keys inside of a Home Depot, you won’t have to take a cab home.
2) Actually have an extra key for your car, period. That way, if you lose your keys inside of a Home Depot, then go home, you won’t realize you don’t have another key at all. Then you have to call a locksmith to come out and create one for you while you wait in the cold, cold rain.
3) If your house was built before 1975, all projects will take 2-10 times as long. Keep that in mind. Sometimes, just trying to screw something in a wall reveals things previously unknown.
4) When buying a new light (in this case, for our bathroom, over the medicine cabinet) – or anything, really - check to see if it actually fits in the space you plan on putting it. Especially before you install half of it, then realize, hey, why is the top of the medicine cabinet pumping against the bottom of the light fixture?

I know these things seem very dull & boring lessons to learn. But I assure you, you’ll be happier for having known them in advance!

When I think about the fact that healthcare is not considered a basic human right in this country, my blood boils. Oh you’re poor? Fuck you – you can die. Oh, your child has cancer? Well, too bad, I guess you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to keep up with hundreds of thousands of dollars of medical bills you’ll never be able to pay. Have a nice life! Hmmm…AIDS medication? Sorry, that’s for the rich white people. Not enough to go around for you, my friend. In the US, lack of wealth can be a death sentence.

Basically, to have any sort of acceptable healthcare, you have to work for a large company. What a great way to force people to work in a job they don’t like, for a company that doesn’t have their best interests (or anyone else’s) at heart! You get to voluntarily enslave yourself to stay alive.

And what does Bush think we should do? Well, we should computerize medical records to SAVE MONEY for huge HMOS and PPOS that make money hand over fist!
http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2005/01/27/records/index.html
Yes, that truly is a crisis in this country. I was just thinking to myself, you know, I don’t think United Healthcare or Blue Cross Blue Shield are making enough money! Poor little guys. Of course, we wouldn’t want to be…gasp! Socialized like those crazy European countries! Wow, I mean, they’re practically Communists! Wait…what’s that you say? The Euro is stronger than the dollar? Oh.

Dave should really be bitching about this on his blog as he was just screwed over by COBRA. They basically took his money, then dropped his coverage without notice…it’s kind of a long story and pretty evil. Guess what? We don’t think they’re going to give us the money back!

You know what really infuriates me? When people say about breast enlargements: “Well, if it makes them feel better about themselves, I think its okay”. That’s a legitimate reason for a woman undergoing a dangerous operation for something that is both unnecessary and can KILL her? A comment like this demonstrates that they did not think very deeply about why a woman might feel this way (oh, ya know, centuries of oppression, society’s overemphasis on looks, the creation of competition between women to “catch a man” etc…) and the fact that if someone thinks bigger breasts are going to make them feel better they need psychological counseling. I see women proudly parading their large, fake breasts around at the gym (they are always popping out of a sports bra) and it just makes me sad. I can only think to myself, “What happened in your life that made you hate yourself that much?” I want to take them aside and make them read something inspirational from Gloria Steinem.

So, one of the best things about having this blog is that I didn’t have to explain to everyone in person that I was sick. Everyone was like, yeah, I read about it already (including my Mom). Anyway, now that I’m back…what have I missed? I have DAYS of celebrity gossip to catch up on!

I was just reading this article which you all might find interesting…the Ten Worst Corporations of 2004. http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0124-21.htm I’m sure it was hard to just pick ten. You know, part of me wants to call out to everyone, “Don’t buy from these people” but the sad reality is that most corporations are doing bad shit and it’s just not possible to avoid every single one. If Target (god forbid!) were to one day show up on that list would I really not go? Toilet paper has to come from somewhere. And Lord knows that Charmin is doing in India for chrissakes. Would I stop using my migraine medicine because the company that makes it is on that list? Of course not. I suppose the best that can be hoped for is a government that actually imposes some regulations or at least taxes corporations. And while it’s obvious that exactly the opposite has happened and will continue to get worse under Bush, I doubt there would have been much difference Democratic rule. They’re all in bed with the same folks. Are lists like this important anymore? I suppose to simply maintain your current level of cynicism and anger – yes. The only store that I just don’t go to is WalMart! Absolutely not! Well, except for that time I went to Sam’s to have all my photos developed because it’s really cheap and that time…errr….ummmm…..yeah. I’ll shut up now.

Ummmm...so perhaps I was a little too harsh on Cold Mountain. Turns out I think I fell asleep while Inman was being killed or something. Maybe the DVD skipped. But that Bridget Jones girl's accent was still pretty annoying!!!

I've been out of commision for the past two days. I have some sort of flu/cold combo. I think I finally understand why people want those damn flu shots that I never get because I'm terrified of needles. Dave finally made me stay home yesterday and catered to my every whim (movies, ice cream, tea with honey and lemon) which is what I needed. I have a habit of pushing myself and then it takes me forever to get well. I missed the NARAL lunch. I didn't get to see Arcade Fire. And I really couldn't have, either, I was such a wreck. I've been resting up so I can at least see Ms. Led this evening at Emo's with the Thermals. I may not be able to drink beer and , ok, I may have to sit down for the show. But dammit! I am not missing anything else this weekend if it kills me. Which it very well might. It's amazing how quickly time goes by when you're in that sick/tired/DVD/not leaving the house haze. Saw Cold Mountain which I thought was TERRIBLE excepting Jude Law's hotness, which is less obvious in this movie since he's covered with sores, blood etc... much of the time...so that's not really a saving grace overall. Was this up for Best Picture last year? Unbelievable. And the end? WTF? Did he have sex with Ada and die or what? Anyway, I digress. It's about time for me to head out to meet Kim, Marshie and Ms. Led at Casino.

Maybe it was the Bush Inauguration that made me so sick?

My voice is gone. Just gone. I’ve coughed it right outta me. On the one hand, I don’t have to talk to anyone at work. On the other hand, my throat feels like a million little bacteria spores with tiny little pick axes are happily chopping away with malice. Oh Lord, please let me die. This isn’t very promising for the NARAL Roe V. Wade luncheon tomorrow, or Arcade Fire tomorrow night….or Ms Led the next night. Perhaps I’ll just be a silent observer (well, the one with a hacking cough) to all those events.

We watched “Garden State” last night and I was quite impressed. I’d heard some negative reviews from some too cool for school folks who felt that the movie was shallow and predictable. As though the subject matter of depression and psychiatric drugs and fucked up families were…sigh…so done, already! I disagree. I thought it was a well-written, smartly shot, blackly comedic and rather touching story of a boy coming out of a Lithium haze and replacing numbness with feelings. Of course this has been covered before. But it’s a gi-normous subject and it affects lots of people differently – there is room to tell the story more than once. And yes, I realize that I’m about seven months behind the bandwagon on this one. I can’t keep up with everything, you know.

By the way, today is Not One Dime Day… kinda like Adbusters Buy Nothing Day…an anti-retail protest against Bush, Inc. And while I don’t think this will cause much of a blip on the world’s radar, I love people for setting this shit up. It gives me hope that one day, we’ll come out of this weird, puritanical Dark Age.

After a flu-induced delirium last night, I’m feeling at least 50% better. I spent about three hours half-awake/half-asleep really confused. I honestly couldn’t tell if I was dreaming or whatever I was seeing had actually happened. Then, I sweat through all my clothes and felt much better. Now, it’s mainly hacking and coughing. I’m sure you’re happy I filled you in on that. Of course, trusty Malcolm was by my side the entire time. Pets have a way of knowing when you’re sick and need to be comforted.

So, speaking of delirium, a few days ago Dave mentioned the news about covert military operations in Iran as revealed by Seymour Hersh, the journalist who first brought Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal to light; it bothered me so much, I couldn’t really process it immediately. I mean, yes, I knew it was coming, deep down. But I’m still shocked as hell. Should I be happy that I’m not so cynical as to not be floored by this kind of information? Read about it here. Way to create more terrorists, Bush! Iran, Syria…what’s next?

Ian McShane from Deadwood won a Golden Globe for Best Actor (Drama) for Deadwood, the raddest show on the teevee!

I am desperately trying to locate a transcript from an MSNBC story I saw yesterday while at the gym. I was just reading the text at the bottom of the screen. The argument was about the availability of over the counter Emergency Contraception.

Even though study from the University of California-San Francisco demonstrated that the availability of EC did not change the sexual habits of women, this horrid, vapid woman-hating woman made an argument that the availability of EC would cause a great increase in – get this – statutory rape. You know, I couldn’t even make this stuff up! You see, MEN will buy the EC, force young girls to have sex with them, and then force them to take EC. Because, you know, rapists are generally pretty concerned with sort of thing. It’s fear of getting young girls pregnant that’s really holding them back!

Well, I WAS going to wish you Happy Sanctity of Human Life Day but Dave beat me to the punch on his blog. It's hilarious so just go read his, 'kay?

We ate at a kick ass (and expensive) restaurant last night called Uchi. I know that sounds pretty snobariffic, but hey, I'm a bit like that with food. But I'm not the person who pooh poohs BBQ and a good homeade mac n' cheese and Jezebel ham, nosiree. Just don't eat substandard vittles. The point is, outside of a good juicy Jalapeno sausage, sushi fusion (oh god, I can't believe I just used that lame word...) of things like toro, goat cheese and balsamic vinegar works surprisingly well. Also noteable was scallop in pumpkin puree. That shit was GOOD, I tells ya. Luckily we were there very early so Marshall could get to work on time, which was a blessing 'cause hipsters started stinking up the joint by the time we left. We headed to Lovejoys for a bit, had a fiery argument about Female Genital Mutilation then came home (I'm not lying about this...)

Not looking forward to returning to work tommorow and the shitstorm of work that surely waits me. Still have to finish reviews for Bitch (Enon) and Venus (Nedelle). For some reason, I write better when I'm at work. I think it's just the "working" vibe/environment of being in an office as opposed to sitting in front of the computer in my robe with a cat on my lap. That's nice of course, but more likely ends up in me buying pop songs on itunes.

For anyone STILL WITH ME, please do yourself the biggest favor of your entire freaking life and go see Ms. Led and the Thermals on Saturday at Emo's. The show will be nothing short of fantastic and rock-filled!!! Also planning on seeing Arcade Fire on Friday which will be packed, I am sure. They are so "it"...sheesh...

Man, yesterday’s entry was like the most boring entry in the history of entries. I think I just felt obligated to write something even though I was tired and distracted and didn’t really know what to say. So I’ve promised to provide you with fabulously interesting news tidbits. I present to you the following:

*A HIGH-larious take on the Brad n’ Jen Break up here.

*And you all have prolly already read abut the kick ass Ali G stunt.

*Fact: The 35 million aid package Bush offered to tsunami victims was less than the 40 million budget for the Coronation Ball for himself. Discuss.

So, I admitted to Henna that I like the smell of cat breath. She found that very gross. Then again, it’s better than onion breath. I tried to categorize what cat breath smells like exactly. I find it comforting. Like fur, dry food and grass maybe? Or as Ralph Wiggum so succinctly puts it, “My cat’s breath smells like cat food”. Indeed.

Work is KILLING me. I have no freakin' idea how I'm going to get shit done. I've still got two reviews to write - for Enon and for Nedelle - and here I am...typing n' watching "Being There" at the same time. I saw the Peter Sellers biopic on HBO the other week - a little on the cheesy side, but enjoyable...especially during the swingin' sixties era. He was kind of an asshole, though, it seems.

I had my first NARAL Texas Board meeting this evening. There are some pretty amazing folks on the board, including Margot Clarke, who is running for Austin City Council, several people who are administrators at Huston-Tillotson (a small, local Baptist College here), a schoolteacher, coupla lawyers. I'm a little worried about the time committment and that will shake out with work and Girlstown, but I've managed in the past. As long as I don't get that weird eye twitch again! This means minimal time at the Humane Society which I feel both guilty and relieved about. I love spending time with the cats and they truly need it, but I can't stand the way AHS is managed (or mis-managed). I could go on and on, but I don't want to be negative. But they're very good at driving off their best volunteers...that's all I say.

Coronation Protest
Originally uploaded by silverzephyr.

Try and make it out if you can. 4pm @ The Capitol Building January 20th.

I'm feeling very overwhelmed, workwise. I seriously need an assistant or an intern or whatever...someone to boss around and do my shit work for me. Eek.

I'm trying to write an album review of Low's "The Great Destroyer" tonite and it's just not happening. I write for a while, then abandon, then write, then abandon. That's the way it is with me and music reviews. I'm still waiting for inspiration. Some sort of Low-sent angel to give me some really great synonyms for "morose."

My Mom called yesterday to tell me that she's sending some childhood books my way. When she was in town, I picked up a book at Uncommon Objects and fondly remembered the illustrations and asked if she still had them. She said she had just given them to St. Vincents weeks ago (a charity). I thought I would just pick up a few on ebay, so I was checking and some of them were super expensive. It turns out that Andy Warhol did some of his first illustrations for this 1958 series (called "The Best In Children's Books")! I told her and unwittingly made her feel bad. So she went back and bought them back. I also got two on ebay. One of the two I bought has Warhol's illustrations for a story called "Homemade Orchestra" which describes how to make your own instruments. I was surprised at the look of his art - it's very simple and childlike. Check it out!

warholart2
Originally uploaded by silverzephyr.

Cute, eh?

Kim and I saw some good local indie rock last night at Emo's (part of the "free week") which was PACKED with people...thus proving our theory Austinites are CHEAP BASTARDS. What Made Milwaukee Famous continue their quick rise to local fame with another fantastic show. This Microwave World were new waverrific as always. I dig them more each time I see 'em. Didn't care for Zykos much, however. I think I saw their keyboard player yawn, too. I acted like a total fan girl and bought a WMMF CD and T shirt. I haven't done that in a loooong time and it felt good to be excited about an ATX band. I thought about how I've completely transitioned into attending almost all indie pop shows - it's a long way from my punk and garage days. I still like punk (well, some of it), but the misogyny and the attitudes of the people in the local punk community became too much to bear. As Kim and I discussed, in its "pure" form, punk rock was a beautiful thing - it promised to be political and socially aware, to not discriminate or base the measure of a band's or musician's worth on technique alone but on style and substance. And from my experience in this community, none of that is true. It's a highly exclusionary world in which people are judged on what they wear, in some bizarre social hierarchy measuring how "punk" you are, and how much you go "out". And girls are seen as inferior imitators or as merely sexual objects. Not only that, but many of the people involved are overwhelmingly negative about other types of music or folks who just aren't "cool enough" to be a part of their clan. Yes, folks, it's high school! Eek! Noone wants to relive that shit! Enough of my ranting. But it makes me sad. I guess I outgrew punk rock. Sniff.

We also ran into a very tipsy Henna and her BF and had some good, gossipy convo. Plus Henna has joined the ranks of "Pet Parents". Now she understands the need to regale others with a barrage of cute pet stories and pictures (pet porn, as I heard someone put it the other day).

I am happy to report that Malcolm's eye ulcer has healed. There's a scar but at least I don't have to hold him down to administer eye drops twice a day or look at his crazy dilated eyeball. Dave is finally back in town tommorow. Poor guy missed both the fondue party and the show last night, but he was doing his grandson-ly duties at his grandfather Tuffy's bedside (see his blog for details) after low sodium landed him in the hospital and has been, as far as I can tell, doing some actual work coaching in Denton and Dallas.

You all know how much I hate Ann Coulter! Here's some scandalous pics of her...er...doll. Yes, there's an Ann Coulter doll. Scroll down after going here. You know I never got a response from the hate mail I sent to her website. I expected SOMETHING. I know I'm prolly encouraging her, but I couldn't help myself!

On other news, Malcolm's eye ulcer seems to be getting better. Or it appears not to bother him anyway. He still doesn't like me putting things in his eye. Can't imagine why!

This weekend, you should head to Emo's on Saturday. Number one, it's free. Number two, it's What Made Milwaukee Famous and Zykos, two cool local indie pop bands. I really like the former esp. Very catchy stuff indeed.

Disturbing news (isn’t it ALWAYS?) on the judicial nominee front. With his upcoming coronation ahead of him, Bush feels pretty comfortable giving Democrats the finger by resubmitting a bunch of justices that weren’t confirmed last year. Check ‘em out!

I dreamt last nite that I had two sets of eyebrows and somehow I had been plucking one set all along and they looked nice and everything but I had never noticed that there were other eyebrows just above them that were all disheveled. I looked pretty weird. I'm not sure what that means.

This weekend, we went to Houston for Michelle and Nikheel's wedding. It was a beautiful affair. Quite fancy shmancy, I must say. On Friday night, we went to the "Garba-Raas" a sort of traditional pre-celebration. Many family members sang both old and new songs and proffered toasts and roasts. In addition, there was some tradition Indian stick dancing. The next night (New Year's Day) was the official ceremony, an interesting mix of Catholic and Indian traditions including fire, rose petals, tying the bride and groom together and many offerings to Ganesha. The dinner afterwards was held in a gorgeously decorated ballroom with open bar (whoo hoo!!!), fab Indian food and a dessert fest. We ate soooooo much. Mmmm. I spent today visiting with my friend Gina, her fiance Major and their ridiculously adorable baby, Zuri. See attached photo for cuteness.

Gina Major & Zuri Nov 2004
Originally uploaded by silverzephyr.

Major, Zuri & Gina