WWI

The last American World War I veteran died at 110 this weekend. In my lifetime (hopefully), the last WW2 veteran will likely pass away, and perhaps the last Korean and Vietnam veteran. How brave these men and women were, and how we don't honor those sacrifices nearly enough in this country. He was also captured by the Japanese during WW2, though in a civilian role. 

At least another generation that has heard stories first hand lives on.  What a remarkable life.

ABCs of Me

A.   Age: 34 for seven more days
B.    Bed size: queen
C.   Chore you hate: folding laundry, emptying dishwasher, scrubbing bathroom
D.   Dogs: nope
E.    Essential start to your day: coffee, brushing teeth 
F.  Favorite color: blue
G.  Gold or silver: silver
H.  Height: 5'8"
I.   Instruments you play: nope
J.   Job title: VP
K.  Kids: nope
L.  Live: Washington, DC
M. Mom’s name: Mary
N.  Nicknames: LisaB
O.  Overnight hospital stays: nope
P.  Pet peeve: bicyclists who weave in and out of traffic
Q.  Quote from a movie:  "Everytime a bell rings an angel gets its wings"
R.  Righty or Lefty: righty
S.   Siblings:  two brothers
T.   Time you wake up: 7-7:30 a.m.
U.   Underwear: cotton, Victoria Secrets
V.    Vegetables you dislike: are olives veggies?
W.   What makes you run late: husband
X.    X-rays you’ve had: teeth
Y.    Yummy food you make: pasta
Z.     Zoo animal favorite: monkeys

College Ask

Some obnoxious, immature SMC student called me last night, ostensibly to ask for a donation. She was giggling when she asked me how long it had been since I was back on campus (13 years almost) and then stammered when I pointed out there was little reason to go back when I was hundreds of miles away. I hung up after I told her that she wasn't conducting this impromptu questionnaire very well. I don't even think she apologized or asked if I had a few minutes of time.


The school's liberal drift will prevent me any time in the near future from donating money. Honoring lesbian radical feminist theologians and the likes of Howard Zinn don't cut it.  And hosting CodePink is ridiculous. Apparently the passive pink ribbon "non-violent" protesters, the likes of which are the same ones that would probably attack a Republican in Madison for daring to suggest curbs be imposed on union hegemony are not peaceful.  Codepink, which "is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities," is completely unaccountable, and they don't have the faintest idea what peace is. Most of their members are hateful, narrow-minded bigots who accuse anyone who opposes their pro-extremist policies as being racist.  Apparently, after this country was attacked on 9/11, they decided that we should roll over and play accountable to our sins against mankind.  They are the ones who equate the actions of Ghaddafi with Governor Scott Walker.

I can rant on and on about the idiocy of the left. All I know is that I won't subsidize their narrow minded thinking on a campus I attended back in the mid-1990s. I'd rather start a scholarship fund for students to go to CPAC or to bring in a leading Catholic scholar like a Hadley Arkes or Robert George. Not Howard Zinn.

Big Music Day

New Adele is out today, and so is the new Cave Singers. And I also downloaded Telekinesis. Yup, I'm addicted to NPR's Music page.

It makes up for that scary eye doctor appointment, stress at home, headaches, the bad resumes I keep getting, and the rest. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Promise that it gets better?

76

For the record, that's not just the year I was born. It's the temperature outside right now at 3:45 p.m.

And yeah, the forecast shows a chance for snow on Tuesday. Fail. It literally could drop 50 degrees in a 24 hour span.

I really, really hate Winter. I hate January and February, and I am counting down 10 days until March and thus Spring arrive. I can wait. I can't wait....

90s Music

I contributed a comment on this thread about the awesomeness or lack thereof of 90s rock. I think my biggest frustration with mainstream radio, particularly DC 101 or that obnoxious Fresh FM station, is that the music is stuck in the 90s. I graduated from high school and college in that decade, and whenever I turn on DC radio I still hear the sounds of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc. Occasionally there is a Phoenix, Kings of Leon, Mumford & Sons, or Black Keys song, but it's a rare thing.  And the songs don't premiere til a full year after their debut.  I checked DC 101's page, and one of the last songs they played was Fatboy Slim's Praise You. And yeah, it is good to hear something contemporary, but it include a bigger mix of more "mainstream" alternative like Pete Yorn, Cold War Kids, Drive by Truckers, Scissor Sisters, or Adele? I don't think I've heard any of those songs on the radio.

I think they still do New Music Mart, and I remember in those years right after college, I religiously listened to it every night to discover something new.  Then with the advent of online radio, options opened up and I didn't have to rely on DC radio.  Good thing, too, because if I did, I would have gotten satellite a long time ago.

Anyway, thought it was an interesting post. I wonder what they'll say about 2000's music?

End of an Era.

Borders is filing for bankruptcy and is shuttering many of its stores. Including, so very sadly, the one right across from my office.

Man, I have spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours wandering around that store. I am so sad. I love Borders. I love actual book stores. Now I'm going to have to trek several blocks away to Dupont or the other book stores in the city. Or turn to Amazon. It's fed my reading habit over the years, my music habit, my trashy magazine habit, and my coffee habit. Gifts and such, too. Sigh. It's the end of an era.

We've lost other cool nearby locations, whether it was the food court at Farragut North (McDonalds and Sbarro), that pizza place where Vapiano's is, Dean & Deluca, Wendy's and Vie de France, that place where I'd get cheap pasta (can't remember the name, actually both of its locations), the Limited on Connecticut, and more places than I care to recall.  Generations of young workers bees will need to find a new place to procrastinate over lunch.

Well, perhaps there will be some good clearance sales.

R.I.P. Borders.

Resumes

So I keep getting resume submissions from lots of bad applicants. People who have the wrong employer listed, people who have the wrong date, who have typos and bad grammar.  Applicants who are SO very over-qualified that they would be a bad match, despite impassioned pleas that they don't mind the entry level-ness of the position.

It's really discouraging. I don't know if it is an entitlement thing, a bad economy thing, an education deficiency, or what. Any way you look at it, it's pretty discouraging. I sure had my problems finding positions, but I could not have possibly been this bad. At the least, I can write and spell check, particularly cover letters.

Anyway, I will keep on looking. Hopefully a few better applications will come across my desk soon.

Warm Up

It's seventy degrees on Valentine's Day.  That I cannot complain about. Or my sweet smelling roses.

Or seeing a wonderful friend last night for dinner.

Or having draft one of that damn book done.

Seventeen

17 years ago today we lost Grandpa Joe.  Almost a half of my lifetime ago, as I was 17 then (3 weeks shy of 18).  It does not seem like it's been so long.  I loved the picture of Joey from a couple of weeks ago, taking pictures.  So much like his great grandpa, and namesake.

So lucky to have had him around for so long and miss him.