This time, it is all about me!!

Talk to me about me!! (Stolen from Spin the Moon)

If you are reading this, leave one memory of you and me together! It doesn't matter if I know you a little or a lot, anything you remember! Next, post this in your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

The inside scoop

The project I am currently working on is funded by a large petro company in Venezuela. I see articles about Chavez insisting the US is going to invade, the coup in 2002 was the US, etc. Knowing that we do everything possible to funnel money back to the home country by work sharing with engineering companies in Venezuela as well as purchasing equipment from vendor shops there, I was intrigued to dig deeper than the headlines.

I found a blog entitled Caracas Chronicles and dug in. The post located here is particularly interesting, describing the coup in 2002.

Astros Fever

National League Champions!!!!

First game in the World Series against the White Sox is Saturday. My son's t-ball team is the Chicago White Sox. And we're from Houston. Are you beginning to see the problem? He's been saying "Go White Sox" for several weeks and we've had to nip this quickly. I hope we have convinced him that wearing his White Sox uniform to school is a very, very bad idea.

Superstition

The extended family spent a fabulous weekend on an exotic game ranch in Leakey, located in west Texas. We spent a weekend there every October. The weather was beautiful and the scenery couldn't be any better. So, of course all 17 of us were huddled around a small tv Saturday afternoon to watch the Astros.

My uncle's a former college baseball player and his kids all played and my cousin's boyfriend still plays in an adult league. We are a baseball loving family.

The Astros were up 4-3 in the ninth and it looks like the we're on our way to a 2-1 lead in the NLCS. My grandmother gets up and heads upstairs and the momentum starts to shift. It looks as if the Cardinals might score and everyone starts yelling "Maw-Maw- get back down here!!! You need to get back into your seat!" We finally get her back into her seat, Astros get the third out and everyone starts giving Maw-Maw high fives for winning the game.

Hmph. Baseball players and their superstitions.

Night stalker

Last night I dropped by a friend's mom house to pick up baby stuff I'd lent when my friend and her new adorable, little son and hubby were in town. I always get confused which street, which house and I'd already taken one wrong turn and was driving slowly to not miss it again. An older couple was out walking and they were walking in the street. Which always baffles me since it was dark and the neighborhood just installed sidewalks. But I guess it's just me that would rather not have a run in with a car when I'm on foot.

I digress. I am about three houses away when I come up behind the walking couple and I decide not to whip around and park right in front of them. So I slowly creep behind. And they start moving over to the side so that I can go around. But by this time it's too late. After about a minute of this, the guy starts getting agitated and turns around and throws his hands up in the air as if to say- WHY ARE YOU STALKING US???? At that very moment, I was in front of the correct house and put the car in park and turned off the headlights. They finally figure out I am not intentionally following behind and they continue on their merry way walking in the dark on the incorrect side of the street.

The sick part was how hard I was laughing about it all. Everyone seems to have a short fuse these days.

Let's go Astros!

We went to the Texans game yesterday. That was painful. Not sure how many times Carr was sacked because I lost count. Hubby brought a little tv to watch the Astros while we were at the Texans game. I found that a little strange and rude, but realized half the other men at the game had headphones on and were listening to the Astros while watching the Texans.

It's the 3rd quarter, we're down by umpteen thousand and the Titans are getting ready to score again. The Astros are down 6-1 and Berkman's at bat and the bases are loaded. He hits a grand slam and half the crowd at the Texans game goes wild!!! They post the score and the other half goes wild. The guys on the field break their huddle and look a little confused. The crowd starts chanting "Let's Go Astros!" and some are yelling to put the game on!

I felt bad for the Texans, but the Astros pulled it out against Atlanta in game 4 in 18 innings. Now it's on to the National League Championship Series.

Blood wagon

Our office hosted the semi-regular blood drive earlier this week. I haven't donated since before I was pregnant with my 2nd child and since I don't have anything disqualifying me at the moment since I'm not pregnant, recovering from child birth, or nursing, I decided it was time. My blood type is O-, so I feel a large responsibility to donate.

My last visit, the technician was obviously inept and my blood stopped flowing after a few ounces, so this time I asked for the most experienced person. The one with the supervisor tag on her white coat spent 5 minutes squeezing my arms, checking my veins before finally finding one. And since my skin is transparent white, you would think this would be an easy task. She finally found one and I'm happy to say no problems this time.

I did have a strange side effect that evening. Two servings of meat!! Ok, it was a side effect that is strange for me.

Why are fundamentalists so frightened by liberal family values?

Who's afraid of freedom and tolerance? is a very interesting article about the differences between the religious liberals and conservatives.

If there is one basic thing conservatives do not understand about religious liberals, it is this sense of commitment. They see us champion choice over obligation, but misunderstand our reasons. They understand us to be advocating a superficial and nihilistic way of life. They think we want to choose our own moral codes so that we can pick easy ones that rationalize our every whim. They believe that we want the freedom to define our relationships so that we can walk away from anything that looks difficult.

In fact, religious conservatives and liberals share more concerns and beliefs than either commonly admits. Both have loyalties that go beyond self and the convenience of the moment. Both reject the materialism of popular culture. Both seek something more substantial than the momentary satisfaction of desire or the endless striving after status. The committed life is a different way to pursue these goals, not a denial of them.
But the committed life requires freedom, because only voluntary commitment has meaning. We give our members the freedom to doubt and encourage them to question their beliefs not so they will see all beliefs as whimsical and contingent, but quite the opposite: We find that hard-tested and hard-won beliefs are more likely to withstand the challenges of modern life. A marriage whose every assumption and duty has been freely negotiated is not a house of straw, but rather a house whose every brick has been carefully laid. The freedom of liberal religion is an invitation to engage with the most significant issues of human life and society, not an excuse to fall into a shiftless and vacant hedonism.

Might have to look into the Unitarian Universalist church. This might be a good way to expose our children to religion without forcing us to believe something we don't.

Props again to Mister Crunchy for the link.

9 years today

It's hard to imagine that someone's put up with me that long. The man deserves a medal. Happy anniversary, hon.

All aboard!

Growing up, I knew my father was an engineer. And the only type of engineer I knew drove trains. I wondered why he didn't wear the striped suit with the funny hat to work. My husband never really believed me when I told him this- he just thought it was a funny story I liked to tell.

Well, with schools closed due to the hurricane, hubby is getting lots of quality time with the kids. The boy started asking lots of questions when they were watching CNBC. What does the green arrow mean? What does the red arrow mean? What are those letters across the bottom of the screen? Hubby proceeds to explain the stock market. Then he asks the boy how mommy and daddy earn their money. He answers with mommy is an engineer. So, what does she do at work? The boy answers she drives trains. Ha.

Misconceptions

Here are some of the more common misconceptions about atheists that I would really like people to understand:

• We are not a unified group. We do not belong to an organization, we do not meet every week to discuss our non-god beliefs and how to overthrow the ones who do.
• We have ethics and morals. They are just not based on punishment and reward after we die. We are not good to get the golden ticket in the afterlife and avoid the incinerator. They are simply based on living in harmony with their fellow neighbor.
• The bible is a book. A very old book written by some people a long, long time ago. It is nothing more than that. It is certainly not a guide book. Arguing with passages from the bible doesn't mean a hill of beans to us.
• Some are afraid to express their beliefs not because of embarrassment, but because of discrimination.
• We do not want to be 'saved', learn why our beliefs are wrong, or really hear anything else about why we're going to hell. Many of us got here through deep introspection, not because we're 'looking for the easy way out'. And the hell references have no impact, see #3.
• Just because we don't believe in a all mighty power, does not mean we are bad people.
• We are able to give from our hearts without strings attached. We don't have an ulterior motive, not looking to change other people, just to pass on good will and live harmoniously with others.

Any, all, or none of this may apply. The reason being, atheists are not a group. They are individuals finding their own way. They are conservatives, liberals and everything in between.

My Rita evacuation story

I'm not sure you can call it an evacuation, since this weekend was our extended family's annual trip to New Braunfels. Early in the week last week, I was calm, cool and collected. Glad that we already had reservations for the weekend and we would be out of town. As Wednesday started, my nerves caught up to me. I left work after lunch to make preparations at home. After the boy's school was cancelled for the remainder of the week, I decided we would leave Thursday morning instead of the afternoon.

Wednesday I spent packing up the few things that are irreplaceable- scrapbooks, wedding album and all important documents. We continued to pack for our trip, put everything from the back yard into the garage. I felt the need to clean, to clean everything. I also understood how ridiculous that seemed. Watching the news just increased my tension, yet I couldn't turn away. We finally went to bed at midnight Wednesday and were awakened at 3:30 am by my father. The eye of the category 5 storm was to pass right over our suburban town with 140 mile an hour winds. My parents hit the road and tell us to do the same. My husband insists on waiting. We're not sure what to do with the animals as the place we're staying does not allow pets. So, we sit and wait and watch the weather non-stop. At 4:30 am we start packing the truck. As the path shifts east, we decide it's safe to leave the animals.

After watching hours of stranded motorists on TV, we head out at 8:30 am Thursday. Years of my husband's fascination with taking the back roads finally paid off. We make it to New Braunfels in 5 hours. Some in our party took 11 and 12 hours to make the journey, so we felt fortunate. But mostly we were happy the family was safe and all together. Our usual vacation spent floating in the river, wasting the days away were instead spent interrupted with MSNBC updates. We arrived home yesterday afternoon to find not a drop of damage. The neighbors informed us we didn't even get any rain. We are all so thankful that the storm took itself elsewhere, but sad and concerned for those in its path.

Man versus juice drink

Hubby volunteered at the boy's school on Tuesday and then went to lunch with him. The boy was so excited to have his dad there and kept offering to share his lunch. Volunteer positions were filled by other parents, assisting the kids with opening condiment packages and juice boxes. The little girl sitting across from them (whom my son has a crush on) was having difficulty opening her juice drink. Hubby offers to help and after repeating attempts my son asks if he wants to ask one of the other adults to come help.

Ugh, doctors

I went to the dermatologist yesterday because of a rash I've had on and off. It's only been on my arms, but when it spread to my neck, I decided to take action. Knowing that it might take months to get in to see my dermatologist, I take a recommendation from my mom. They were able to see me that day. I wait the standard hour in the waiting room and am finally escorted back to my new waiting spot. The nurse comes in, writes down my complaints and steps out. The doctor comes in almost immediately, says "it hasn't been that long since I've seen you" to which I reply "this is my first time here". He looks at me for less than 20 seconds mumbles something about nonspecific dermititis and dry, sensitive skin and then starts listing off the medications he is prescribing. Two minutes later, he walks out and I have four prescriptions in my hand with instructions to come back in 3 weeks. Yeah, right. Of course, they are all name-brand, the tv advertised pills.

I am so fed up with doctors. I am beginning to think they are as crooked as politicians. In bed with the drug companies. Did I forget to mention the pharmaceutical sales rep that came in while I was waiting and I heard him passing out candy bars to the staff? Wonder what goodies the good doctor gets. Trips to the Bahamas?

Having said that, I do believe there are doctors out there that care, I have a few on my team. But as a healthy 30 year old, I have been prescribed more drugs than I care to count. And the fact that I have a team, that's sad in itself. Endocrinologist for thyroid problems, dermatologist since I'm the poster child for skin cancer with blond hair and blue eyes, gynecologist cuz I'm a girl. Don't even get me started on the rest of the family's team.

There has to be a better way. One person who will treat me, not just a specific symptom. One that will take the time to determine the cause rather than immediately reaching for the script pad. Someone who believes that medicine is a last resort.

The sky is falling!

Last evening, as hubby and I were watching Rock Star INXS, a loud crash along with the sound of glass breaking came from below. Thinking the cat or dog knocked something off the kitchen counter or a mirror fell off the wall, we slowly walked down the stairs. Imagine our surprise to discover the ceiling fan had fallen from the ceiling and broken the glass top on the coffee table below.

Almost as bizarre as our shower door shattering in the middle of the night. Maybe our house is haunted.

Torn

My employer is asking people to volunteer for an assignment working with FEMA for the hurricane Katrina victims. It's a 12 hour day, 7 days a week job for a minimum 30 days doing whatever FEMA needs. I feel like I really need to help out. I also worry about how my family would cope in my absence. I know the 30 days is unrealistic and I would most likely be gone for 4 - 6 months. Is it fair to ask my parents to take over my duties? Is it fair to my kids to be without their mother for months on end? I am torn between my sense of duty to my family and my country.

I can appreciate the irony

A week before last Friday, the evening my daughter ended up in the hospital, I received an unexpected and alarming phone call. It was from a law office and one of our rent houses was due to be sold on the courthouse steps in a little over a week. One of the main aspects of our business is helping people out of situations like this. Imagine our surprise at being in the very situation ourselves. Turns out we neglected to change our address with the homeowner's association and the association was foreclosing because of our deliquent dues. The following Monday I took in a cashier's check four times the original amount to save our property. I can certainly appreciate the irony.

Blogging the aftermath

If you're anything like me, you're constantly scanning the news for updates in the New Orleans area. Here are several blogs that I've been following:

Josh Britton
Kaye's Hurricane Katrina Blog
Instapundit

I can only imagine the desperation felt by all of those affected by hurricane Katrina. Natural disasters like this expose not only the dark side of human nature but also the good side as well. I know as a nation we will pull together and do whatever it takes to help those in need.

Emergency Room Part II

Not a good weekend. Little baby girl had to go back to the hospital. She wasn't responding to her inhaler Friday evening and hubby finally took her to the ER Friday around 9:30. He and my dad spent the night in the ER with her and my mom relieved them Saturday morning. The doctors were still concerned with her breathing and they admitted her that afternoon to watch her over night. We finally brought her home yesterday morning. She'll probably get the diagnosis of asthma at her pediatrician's office when I take her in tomorrow.

She is such a brave little girl. And she can manage to have fun no matter where she is. I just worry so much about her. Not being able to breathe must be the most terrifying experience. Fortunately this time was no nearly as bad as in April and she didn't have to get an IV or go to the progressive care unit. The incidence of asthma in children is growing rapidly and especially in the Houston area. Maybe we should move.

Quirks

I'm walking back from a snack break with several coworkers when one of my quirks came to light. They had ice cream bars and had finished and were chewing on the wooden sticks. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard to me and I couldn't hide my reaction.

Another quirk surfaced at the dentist's office today. I hate going to the dentist. I usually receive nothing but compliments (thanks for the great teeth genes folks, but I'd rather have the fast metabolism gene.) The hygenist is scraping and buffing and polishing and she starts working on the back of my top teeth and I can not stop giggling.