HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY

Today is the day that I celebrate all of the amazingness that you contributed to blogland this week. It is that day again. What day is that you ask? How can you have forgotten? Drum roll please. It is HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY, of course! The very best day of the blogging week. It is the precursor to the best day of the work week.

Here is what is going down: this is a weekly event. The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.

Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!

This one is for everyone:




This one is for Chris at A Deliberate Life:




This one is for FACING 50 WITH HUMOUR:




This one is for Cinderita at The Adventures of Cinderita:




This one is for Average Girl at It's An Average Life:




This one is for Phoenix at Res Ipsa Loquitur:

You have to click here to watch.


This one is for Simple Dude at Simple Dude in a Complex World:





image found at www.weheartit.com

MONKEY UP EVERYTHING HONEY

It is Sunday. You know what that means. Yep. I am one day late, but not TOO late for the Inspirational Music Post for the weekend. I used to call it the Saturday post. I can't remember when it last made it on a Saturday. I am thinking of calling it the Inspirational Music Sunday post. That way it would fall on the correct day.

Normally, I pull out my Inspirational To Me song first and then move on to what was rocking MTV back in the 80s. If you are new to Inspirational Song Day, the MTV portion of this post is decided on several factors. 80s music and 80s video were using one another to rocket songs to success. Some artists were exceptional at this and others not so much. I think that everyone understands that teenagers were riveted to MTV, but they didn't all understand how to go about making a great video. Or they didn't have the skills to really entertain. Some people can sing, but can they perform? Those are two very different skill sets. If not for MTV, Michael Jackson and Madonna might not be the legends in music that they are today. Ponder that for a moment and then we shall move on.

Okay, I am going to bank on the fact that you have pondered. Or as John Cage from Ally McBeal would have said, "You have taken a moment." Let's take a look at WHAM today. That would be the duo that was George Michael and that Other Guy. You don't remember his name? Me either. George Michael was the talent in that duo. He was also the good looks and the performer. In other words, he had it all going on. If your gaydar was installed and working properly, you knew he was gay, straight out of the gate. My friend, Megan, spotted it immediately. Gay. I was like, "Say what? He is yummy."

She says, "If those shorts get any shorter in WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO -GO, he will be without pants." She then went into, "Who wears short shorts, George wears short shorts," in a sing song voice. I was very familiar with the video and the short shorts. She was right. They couldn't get any shorter. Gay. How sad. I got over it and just enjoyed the show. It's still a great song. How does he get his teeth that white? Inquiring minds need to know! And here is the video and George in his very short shorts... I apologize ahead of time because it is a very catchy tune. The 80s are brilliant with their songs.



WHAM! Now wasn't that awesome? That is just like going back in time. Well, as close as I am ever going to get. Here is another best from WHAM! I love this one for two reasons. You get the plus of seeing what the concerts were like, because they have it going on in the background. Man, that was insane. You can also see what the live performances were like... incredible, amazing, mind-blowing, insert your own word here. However, it isn't strictly a lame concert video, which I think is lame when you have this wonderful medium at your disposal. However, George Michael functions best as a performance artist, so you can see why inserting pieces of his concerts into his videos works. It is all part of the art. It showcases how he MOVES. Sort of like Michael Jackson and his dancing. That is a big part of what made him such a huge hit. Singing and dancing and how they went together were a very big deal in the 80s. I will stop talking about it and let you watch it in action...



Eventually, George Michael split from the Other Guy and went solo. Well, that was huge because one of his first big hits as a solo artist was I WANT YOUR SEX. Does anyone else remember this? I was glad I was at college when this happened. I can't imagine playing this at top volume at home. My mom would have blown a freaking gasket. At college, it was a whole different ballgame. I was listening to the Violent Femmes at top volume and they used the "F" word repeatedly, which would have might caused her to disown me. Did I mention there was some rebellion going on in college? No. I suppose that listening to The Violent Femmes and I WANT YOUR SEX are fairly large clues. I suppose that is better than having lots of sex. People who talk about it a lot are usually not doing it. Just sayin'. Mom would be relieved. Just in case she reads this blog. Moving on...

Anyway, one of my favorite songs off of that album was the song called MONKEY. I don't think that I have seen the video until today. However, it illustrates how much George's image changed in a fairly short amount of time. About six years, I think. I don't know if he was out of the closet with everyone, or if I just knew because of my above-mentioned friend, Megan. I know that my college best friend, Jennifer, had a terrible crush on him. I hated to dash her hopes and dreams. She refused to accept the cold, hard truth, so I am thinking that maybe he was still in the closet. I don't know. My memory is lousy. Or she thought it was a waste. Whatever. *sigh* Anyway, at the time, I thought the song was about drugs, because drugs were commonly referred to as being a monkey on someone's back. However, I now think that any addiction can be the monkey. It's a great song. I think I love it more now than I did then. I hope you give it a listen. George still has excellent moves, but the lyrics of the song just might speak to you. A monkey is anything that is holding you back. Keeping you from getting what you want in your life. You need to figure out how to peel that thing off, once and for all, so that you can start living the life that is waiting for you. And when I say you, I mean you... and me.





Technically, I suppose I could stop this post right here because that song was pretty darn inspirational to me. Right now. However, I already had something else picked out for today. Something occurred to me a couple of days ago. As someone who loves 80s music, there are a few things about it that make it appealing. It is lyrical in a way that it is distinctive to the decade. Most songs last about three minutes. Another thing is that the chorus repeats many times. Particularly at the end. If you don't know any part of the song, you know the chorus, because it is repeated often. Not so in current rock music. You get the chorus at most, in many, three times. And the songs can last up to five minutes. Also, the chord structure in current music is limited. The riffs don't linger in your head. You don't find yourself humming them later. The music isn't lyrical. They aren't easy to sing. As someone who likes to karaoke, the current stuff is tough to sing. And a lot of it is actually not that pretty. 80s music is fun to sing. Sounds pretty. As a singer, it is easier to sing. All kinds of pluses. Interesting.

Now, where was I going? The thing that is closest to 80s music in today's music: Country music. You heard me. It is the reason that people who like OLD country don't like today's country. It is too pop. If you listen to Tim McGraw's song BACK WHEN (which I love, by the way) there is a line in there about him missing back when because they have put pop in his country. It's true. All of the people who grew up on 80s music rebelled when the 90s rolled around, started throwing up in their mouths every time the radio came on, and finally switched to country. Country figured out they were gaining a younger audience (people who grew up on 80s) and started putting pop in their country to keep them, and it worked. People of the 80s: that is where your 80s music went, just in case you were wondering. Everyone who loved John Mellencamp, Bryan Adams, Journey, etc. switch your dial to country. They now go by Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, etc. You can pay me later. I will give you my PayPal information, just send me an email.

Last week I played a Miranda Lambert song called The House That Built Me. That one makes me cry. It's a song about wanting to go home again. I have been feeling that myself. That "if I can just go back for a few minutes, I will find the missing piece and put myself back together again." In fact, I was thinking about roller skating around my neighbor's garage to Rod Stewart's DO YOU THINK I'M SEXY this morning. We would strap on our skates. Yeah, I am that old. And skate around the garage with the record blaring, singing at the top of our voices. At the time, I was certain NO ONE thought I was sexy. I was twelve. Maybe thirteen. However, I was looking forward to a day in the future when someone I had yet to meet would definitely think I was sexy. Back then, all I wanted to be was older and sexy. Now, I would love to be back in that garage, strapping on those skates, and not have a real care in the world. Funny how that works. And that is why I like this song. And so I present Lady Antebellum. The 80s gone country.



I think I used to have the dress she is wearing while she is under the clothesline. Bless her heart. Rock on people.

And in the immortal words of our Atlanta newscaster on youtube, "I love you long. I love you strong. And for God's sake, don't do anything stupid. Don't do anything stupid, people."


images found at www.weheartit.com

Did He Say What I Think He Said?

I am not feeling up to a "real" blog post. However, my mother sent this to me in an email and it is HILARIOUS. However, you will laugh out loud (GUARANTEED). So, if you are reading this at work, continue on at your own peril.

The following questions were set in last year's GED examination
These are genuine answers (from 16 year olds)............and they WILL breed.

Q. Name the four seasons
A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar

Q. Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink
A. Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit,
Sand, dead sheep and canoeists

Q. How is dew formed
A. The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire

Q. What causes the tides in the oceans
A. The tides are a fight between the earth and the moon. All water tends to flow
Towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature abhors a
Vacuum. I forget where the sun joins the fight

Q. What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on
A. If you are buying a house they will insist that you are well endowed

Q. In a democratic society, how important are elections
A. Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election

Q. What are steroids
A. Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs (Shoot yourself now, there is little hope)

Q.. What happens to your body as you age
A. When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental

Q. What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty
A. He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery (So true)

Q. Name a major disease associated with cigarettes
A. Premature death

Q. What is artificial insemination
A. When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow

Q. How can you delay milk turning sour
A. Keep it in the cow (Simple, but brilliant)

Q. How are the main 20 parts of the body categorised (e.g. The abdomen)
A. The body is consisted into 3 parts - the brainium, the borax and the
Abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart
and lungs and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels: A, E, I,O,U.. (wtf!)

Q. What is the fibula?
A. A small lie

Q. What does 'varicose' mean?
A. Nearby

Q. What is the most common form of birth control
A. Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium (That would work)

Q. Give the meaning of the term 'Caesarean section'
A. The caesarean section is a district in Rome

Q. What is a seizure?
A. A Roman Emperor. (Julius Seizure, I came, I saw, I had a fit) LMAOOOO

Q. What is a terminal illness
A. When you are sick at the airport. (Irrefutable)

Q. Give an example of a fungus. What is a characteristic feature?
A. Mushrooms. They always grow in damp places and they look like umbrellas

Q. Use the word 'judicious' in a sentence to show you understand its meaning
A. Hands that judicious can be soft as your face. (OMG)

Q. What does the word 'benign' mean?
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight (brilliant)

Q. What is a turbine?
A. Something an Arab or Shreik wears on his head



image found at www.weheartit.com

HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY

Today is the day that I celebrate all of the amazingness that you contributed to blogland this week. It is that day again. What day is that you ask? How can you have forgotten? Drum roll please. It is HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY, of course! The very best day of the blogging week. It is the precursor to the best day of the work week.

Here is what is going down: this is a weekly event. The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.

Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!

This one is for everyone:




Another one for everyone:

This one will not embed. Click here to watch.


This one is for Debra at Write on Target:




This one is for Cinderita at The Adventures of Cinderita:

This one will not embed. Click here to watch.


This one is for Manzanita at Wanna Buy A Duck:




This one is for Kristin at Bringing Pretty Back:




This one is for JJ The Disconnected Writer:




This one is for Ms Bibi at The Queen of Average:




This one is for Pat at live, laugh, love with the pondering princess:





image found at www.weheartit.com

Timing Is Everything.

Well, I figured out what my post with the "L" should be in my alphabet soup series. Lessons. The trouble there is I can talk about that for a long time. That could be a series of posts all on its own.


I read a post by Corrinne over at Everyday Gyann a week or more ago on lessons. It was actually something she excerpted on lessons. I can't remember it precisely, but the gist of it was that a lesson comes in phases. First is getting that it is a lesson. That still does you really no good if you don't take it further. There was a second point which took it deeper, and I can't remember what that one was, but it still wasn't enough. The only time that you really benefit from the lesson is when you are using the lesson. In other words, you have to apply it in order for the lesson to have benefited you at all. Taking it further yet, you may continue to get the lesson until you apply it. Now, that is fine motivation to get up and start putting it into practice. They call them lessons for a reason: because they are hard. They hurt. They suck. Etc.

Saw the movie Country Strong yesterday. Really good movie. I am always a bit surprised when they cast non-singers in singing roles and it works. Tim McGraw was the only big name country singer, and he didn't sing in the movie. In fact, I looked up the soundtrack and he only sings one duet on there with Gwyneth Paltrow. I was shocked. More on the soundtrack later. For those of you not in the know on this movie. Here is the trailer. Give it a quick watch, so you are up to speed.



Just from watching the trailer, you can already see that the movie is full of potential lessons. One of the best lines going in the trailer: "Don't take someone out of rehab before they're rehabbed." Yep. That would be a lesson. Even a moron can see the potential for disaster there. Fame puts an enormous amount of stress on a person. Pulling someone out of rehab early and immediately throwing them on a tour bus just probably isn't the smartest choice (she says with tongue in cheek).

Here is a short clip from the movie that is one of my favorites and is going to lend itself to where I am going in this blog.



That little clip from the beginning of the movie is how the song Timing Is Everything started to come together. Beau, played by Garrett Hedlund, finished it at the end. Here is the whole song. This is not an official video. Garrett Hedlund doesn't even sing it on the soundtrack. They had Trace Adkins record it for the soundtrack. I suppose that they wanted a "name" for it since it is such a great song. In my opinion, that is a shame, because Garrett Hedlund sings it better. And that is coming from a Trace Adkins fan. Sorry Trace. Here's the video. Listen to the lyrics, because that is the topic for today's yammering.



Timing is everything. "When the stars line up, and you catch a good break, people think you're lucky, but you know it's grace. It can happen so fast or a little bit late. Timing is everything. I know I've had close calls, when it could have been me. I was young when I learned how fragile life can be. I lost friends of mine, I guess it wasn't my time. Timing is everything. And I could have been a child that God took home. And I would have been one more unfinished song. And when it seems the rhyme is hard to find, that's when one comes along just in time. I remember that day when our eyes first met. You ran into the building to get out of the rain, because you were soaking wet. And as I held the door, you wanted to know my name. Timing is everything. And I could have been another minute late. And you never would have crossed my path that day. And when it seems true love is hard to find. That's when love comes along just in time. You can call it fate or destiny. Sometimes it really seems like it's a mystery, because you can be hurt by love or healed by the same. Timing is everything. And it can happen so fast or a little bit late. Timing is everything."

I am one of those people who wants to make things happen once they get the lesson. However, timing is everything. Trying to do too much for me before I really have my migraines under control is akin to pulling someone out of rehab before they are rehabbed. Not smart. However, when you are ready, it can happen so fast... timing is everything. And people will say that you got lucky, but you will know better. But you know it's grace. And timing is everything. You will also know how many hits you took to get to this "lucky place" and are very aware of just how bumpy the ride was, but people don't see that. And the thing that hurt you can be the thing that heals you. Sometimes it really seems like it's a mystery, because you can be hurt by love or healed by the same. Timing is everything. And it can happen so fast or a little bit late. Timing is everything.

I think about starting this blog and all of the people that I have met. Some of you are healthy as horses. Some of you live with chronic pain. Some of you are living your dreams. Some of you are still aspiring to get where you want to go. So, you keep practicing. You have a golden lasso and you keep throwing it out there until you rope in the moon. And it can happen so fast or a little bit late. Timing is everything. Some of you are wanting to meet that someone special. Some of you already have. Some of you have huge goals and have met them. Some of you are in the process of meeting them. Some of you just like to write and this is your personal space to do it. When I started this blog, it was just to keep my sanity. It is still that. But I also got to make a bunch of wonderful friends. And I could have been another minute late. And you never would have crossed my path that day. Timing is everything.




image found at www.weheartit.com

FREEZE THE HOUSE CENTERFOLD STINKS

I don't know how many of you even noticed, but last weekend I completely failed to put an Inspirational music post up at all. Ugggh. Here's To You Thursday came out on Friday, and by Sunday evening I knew that the music thing just wasn't going to happen. The really sad part about that whole debacle was that I had all of the music chosen. I just didn't feel able to put a post together. That seems really pathetic in hindsight.

Well, let me tell you a little story. Actually, have you ever noticed how sometimes that in life you get a bunch of little stories that fold into a collective of one big story? I think it is the universe trying to tell you something. Maybe. Or not. I do know that I pick up bits and pieces of wisdom from you people on here that make me stop and think and reevaluate. It has been cause for some major chicken coop cleaning (aka brain cleansing).

About a month ago I had a dream about my best friend, Jennifer, from high school, that I think I told you about, that prompted a telephone call. Anyway, we have been talking on the phone since then. It has been a really wonderful reconnection for both of us. To recap for those of you who missed that blog, I was on a crazy vacation with my parents and stressed out, when I bumped into her and her parents and literally said, "Thank God you're here." And then I woke up. I took it as a sign that I should track her down, so I did. Turns out she was thinking about me, too. Life is funny like that.

I think that I also told you about this little family pizza place that does karaoke on the weekends. Well... they have started doing it on Saturday nights now, too. Fridays got crazy. So, we now go on Saturdays. Less crazy. Everyone has a different approach to the whole thing. Some people sing the same thing every week. I suppose, because of that, they get pretty good at the song. It gives them the chance to really practice. They know what is coming, etc. Then there is me. Easily bored. I am more like kamikaze karaoke. I like something different all the time. If it works, great. If not, oh well. Of course, this did work better when I was going to a karaoke joint that let me use my own CDs so I could practice at home and use my CDs. I have LOTS of CDs. Now, even songs that I have on CD aren't necessarily good, because every version is different. LOL. One would think I might do the same thing a few times just so that I have a few things that I know are top-notch. Nope. Apparently that is not how I roll. I know that I have some things that I think will be better, but that is as close as I come. I get easily diverted, because that really isn't where I was going with this story...lol. Now where I was going...

Last week there was a young girl who sang Miranda Lambert's The House That Built Me. Honestly, the kid really couldn't sing that well. As in, she found about half the notes half the time. However, anyone who does karaoke is a superstar in my book. It takes courage to stand up and sing in front of people, so I clap for everyone. Some people because they are good, and some people because they are done. I just don't explain. At the end of that song, I was about crying in my chair. That is puzzle piece number 2 to this story. How about we listen to Miranda sing the song? She hits all of the notes. That is refreshing. And it is a cool video to boot.



I have been dreaming about the house where I grew up for a while now. In several different contexts actually. For those of you who have read this blog for a long time might remember some of them. But sometimes I just go home and walk around my house in my dreams. There is a part of me that knows that whoever moved in changed "my" house. They redecorated, maybe even made major renovations. But in my dreams it is just the same. I have also talked (repeatedly) about time travel machines and fixing my life. I used to joke that if I could just get back to the summer before my senior year of high school, I think that would do it. I would be back at a place where I was healthy enough that I could make better choices, and stay that way. Blah blah blah. I think mostly what I want is just to feel what it was like to feel certain again. That girl felt certain about her life and where she going. The last time I felt certain was when I was in high school. So those lyrics speak to me.

You leave home and you move on and you do the best you can
I got lost in this old world and forgot who I am

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it’s like I’m someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself
If I walk around I swear I’ll leave
Won’t take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me

Enter the third puzzle piece to this story. Once again, it comes to me via a dream. I tell you, if not for dreams I am not sure I would figure anything out! One morning this week I had a dream where I was with my friend, Megan, after a very long absence, and I was so happy to see her that I was crying. I mean really crying. Crying so hard in the dream that I was crying in real life. Crying so hard that it woke me up. At 4:30am. Yeah, that part sucked. Cause my head was freaking killing me when I came awake. Like it was going to roll right off my shoulders killing me. But, I knew that it was another sign. I was supposed to call her. Naturally, my address book was lost in my move. But, her husband, another former high school friend of mine is on facebook, and I sent him an email. She lives on the West Coast and we have been trying to connect since then. It is difficult to conquer time zones.

What I am getting at here is support system. Everyone needs one. When you are in pain, you don't want to talk to people because you feel lousy, so you push people out. That is the wrong thing to do. I have been doing it for years. However, it is the wrong thing to do. You don't want to burden them with your pain. You want to wait until you are all better, and have good news to report. Well, guess what? By the time you have good news to report a decade may have gone by; a decade is rough on a friendship. Don't wait. I have good friends. That are patient with my stupidity and willing to understand. Not everyone is. Make the call already.

Now, on to our 80s bands of the week. MTV is still rocking it out. I don't have lots to say about this band. I think the music speaks for itself. The music is good. The video is good. I always try to choose good music and good video. If you don't have good video, you don't make my weekend line up. So, this week's 80s pick is.... wait for it... J Geils Band. And you can decide what your favorite is and let me know.










Okay, once again this has all made me miss MTV like crazy. Well, not today's MTV. But MTV when it was GOOD. So, I salute the 80s and it's fine music. And I miss it like crazy. And I promise to be back next week to favor you with another impressive video artiste. Until then, rock on!

BAGGED AND TAGGED!

Well, I have a story to tell you! I was just going along, and blogging my own business, when Mary the Food Floozie went and tagged me out. You heard me right. She went and tagged me out. Apparently, Leanne tagged her out with 19 questions, which she answered thoughtfully, and even managed to incorporate some youtube action. Normally, I am all over that. I don't know how I let this post get by me with no youtube action (I am mentally doing some head scratching right now, but trying to move past this salient point). Anyway, back to the topic at hand... she tagged me out. She answered the questions and then tagged four people to answer the same 19 questions. I was one of the four. Yep, I am one of her people. We are tight. Buds. Peeps. Pals. Sistas. Okay, I have worked that as much as I am going to for now. I might come back to it again later. Or not. So, here are the 19 questions and my educated, insightful responses.


1. if you have pets, do you see them as merely animals, or are they members of your family?

Definitely members of the family. Our dogs are getting older and I worry about it. No one can even talk about the passing of our family dog when I was growing up without a total breakdown. That involves tons of tissue and brings on a sinus headache on top of my pre-existing migraine. Yeah, people who love dogs as much as I do probably shouldn't adopt them knowing that I will probably outlive them. Probably.


2. if you can have a dream to come true, what would it be?

Well, this is going to be a reoccurring theme, I think. (I read the questions already.) My website is going to take off, which means people are going to respond like crazy to my email with doctor/medical information. When I get better I will take it to the next level and register it as a non-profit organization. Someone will offer to do a fundraiser and the dominoes will start to fall into place to kick off Phase 2: Forging Hope Houses. HGTV will agree to put it in their fall line-up and the fundraising race will be on. The race we will win, by the way. So, sometime in the next three years or so 24 houses will be coming to cities or towns near you. Assisting people in their journey from illness to wellness. Forging Hope Houses. Moving from a dream to a reality.


3. what is the one thing most hated by you?

Negativity (if I have to pick just one ~ all the other bad stuff blows off of it).


4. what would you do with a billion dollars?

I would Launch Phase 2 all by myself. I would convince HGTV to put it on the fall line-up, still fundraise, get celebrities to support it (people love their celebs), and pull approx 10 individuals or families off of the streets in 24 cities and put them in a house. 10 people who were misdiagnosed or undiagnosed to the point that they became so sick that they lost their job, their health insurance, and finally their house. You can't even apply for SSDI without an address. 10 people (some with, and some without families) will get a home. Three meals a day. A driver to get them to their medical appts. An address so that they can apply for SSDI. Their kids can go to school. Their spouse, if they have one, can apply for work. They can pay rent when their SSDI comes in (% appropriate), their dr bills, and put money back into savings, so that they can have something for a downpayment on car/home when they are well. The goal is to assist them on their journey from illness to wellness. Forging Hope House is The Assist in giving them their life back. Sick person walks in and well person walks out who can go back to work, or at least, have SSDI and be able to manage their life.


5. what helps to pull you out of a bad mood?

Laughing, singing, reading some of your blogs! Watching YouTube. I am a YouTube junkie. Oh, and MM. If you don't know what that means.... well, you haven't been reading this blog regular enough!


6. which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?

This reminds me of a blog I wrote about the "curse" I feel like I was dealt back in college. I had to choose my freshman year whether I would marry someone who I loved more or who loved me more. Either way, it was lose/lose. You loved him more than he loved you and you knew it. Or he loved you more than you loved him, and you knew it. Horrible choice. All of this after my terrible epic fail in Music Theory Class. It was one epic fail after another. Anyway, I reflected on this blog that I felt like it set up my whole life and all of my relationships. Destined to be in one relationship after another that was out of balance. And it was like I sensed it that day of my freshman year in college. Destiny weighing down on me just waiting to spite me in future years. Egads. BOTH ARE HORRIBLE. I have lived on both ends of this scale and they both SUCK MONKEY BALLS. I choose to never live this way ever again. How is that for you fate? Never again!!!!! Suck that. In other words, there is no blessing in either of those choices... if I wasn't clear enough.


7. what is your bedtime routine?

Well, I watch my soaps on weekdays on soapnet (to wind down) at least most of the time. Sometimes GH winds me up, but most of the time it winds me down. And I putz around on facebook while I am doing this. I have watched these shows for 20+ years... yeah, I am that old. So, I can multi-task and not miss anything. Every now and then something is so riveting that I have to just sit and stare, but most of the time I can do my facebook crap and and watch/listen to my soaps at the same time. Then, it is fill my water, brush teeth, pee (did you really need all of this info?), and then my nightly prayers. Then, I lie there. Sometimes I sleep. Usually I lie in bed and listen to my migraine until about 1am before I drift off. I think I have covered everything.


8. if you are currently in a relationship, how did you meet your partner?

Currently in a relationship....hahahahahaha


9. if you could watch a creative person in the act of the creative process, who would it be?

I am trying to come up with something you'd believe, but you all know it is Marshall Mathers. After he pulled out his box of notepads on 60 Minutes, I am now riveted by how he takes an idea and runs with it. Does it start with a word? A phrase? Does he pull it off one of those notepads or it is something that just leaps into his mind? Does he pull the whole thing together in like 30 minutes or is it something that torments him for days? I know that sometimes an idea will grab hold of me and practically write itself. It comes out fast and furious. And, other times, it is like scraping the bottom of a very empty barrel. Painful. I suspect it is a mixture of both. Yeah, I admit I would love to be a fly on that wall. Well, not really a fly. Flies are gross. You know what I mean.


10. what kinds of books do you read?

Here lately I haven't been reading much of anything. The last books I read were some YA books I bought for H-girl. I vetted them to see if she might like them. I liked them, but that means nada. Normally, I read women's fiction. I will also read stuff on non-traditional health (shocking, I know). But, I also like James Patterson, particularly the Alex Cross series. And I have already gone on about how awesome Janet Evanovich is, so I won't bore you anymore with that. I am a recent Charlaine Harris fan. I was gobbling up the Sookie Stackhouse series until I realized I would hit the end in a couple of books, so I quit. I wanted to have something to savor. So, I haven't been doing much reading lately... except for you folks. Oh, yeah, and I keep reading Peter Drucker's book on managing a non-profit over and over and over again. Can we say obsessed?


11. how would you see yourself in ten years time?

Managing a very successful non-profit organization.


12. what’s your fear?

That I will allow my fear to cloud my judgement. Anything is possible, so long as you know that it is possible. It is when you stop knowing it that it stops being possible.


13. would you give up all junk food for the rest of your life for the opportunity to visit outer space?

I don't give a rat's butt about outer space. I have a mission on this planet.


14. would you rather be single and rich or married, but poor?

Money is irrelevant. People, I am on a mission to save the freaking world.


15. what’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

Well, before I can save the freaking world, I take my pain medication for my killer migraines. And then I claw my way to the bathroom.


16. if you could change one thing about your spouse/partner what would it be?

Magic wand. Appear.


17. if you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?

My name means "of shining fame." I can live with that.


18. would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing that special someone has done?

I have tried to do that. Learned that I don't have that superpower.


19. if you could only eat one thing for the next 6 months, what would it be?

My friend, Mary, is pretty smart. She went with salad, so that she could go with all kinds of salad. Chicken salad, tuna salad, etc. I think I am going to be a copycat and go with that, too. I couldn't live on just ONE thing for six months. Seriously. One thing? I am already down to a size 4 peeps. You put me on one food item and I might just die. And I can't die now. I have BIG PLANS and I am not going out because I was so stupid I only ate one thing for six months. So, there you go!


Now, I have to pick four people to tag out. I am basing this decision on a couple of factors. I know that some of you just don't "do" these sorts of things. So, not getting tagged doesn't mean I don't love you. It just means I know you. And some of you need some love right now, and that is what this is ~ some tagging love. And there are others of you who I think will provide very funny answers to these questions. You can decide where you fall in my decision-making process. In any event, I look forward to reading your answers to these questions. You have been tagged...

Carol the Gardener

That One Girl at What Was I Saying Again?

JJ The Disconnected Writer

Purple Cow at Letters to Imaginary Friends (to get your new blog going!)

To make this easier, here are the 19 questions for you:

1. if you have pets, do you see them as merely animals, or are they members of your family?
2. if you can have a dream to come true, what would it be?
3. what is the one thing most hated by you?
4. what would you do with a billion dollars?
5. what helps to pull you out of a bad mood?
6. which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?
7. what is your bedtime routine?
8. if you are currently in a relationship, how did you meet your partner?
9. if you could watch a creative person in the act of the creative process, who would it be?
10. what kinds of books do you read?
11. how would you see yourself in ten years time?
12. what’s your fear?
13. would you give up all junk food for the rest of your life for the opportunity to visit outer space?
14. would you rather be single and rich or married, but poor?
15. what’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
16. if you could change one thing about your spouse/partner what would it be?
17. if you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?
18. would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing that special someone has done?
19. if you could only eat one thing for the next 6 months, what would it be?


image found at www.weheartit.com

HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY

Today is the day that I celebrate all of the amazingness that you contributed to blogland this week. It is that day again. What day is that you ask? How can you have forgotten? Drum roll please. It is HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY, of course! The very best day of the blogging week. It is the precursor to the best day of the work week.

Here is what is going down: this is a weekly event. The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.

Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!

This one is for everyone:




This one is for FACING 50 WITH HUMOUR:





This one is for Purple Cow at Letters to Imaginary Friends:





This one is for Nicole at Destination Unknown:





This one is for Empty Nest:





This one is for Tracy at It's an Average Life:





This one is for Mary the Food Floozie:





This one is for Yvonne at Writing My Life Away!:

Click here to watch. Video will not embed.




image found at www.weheartit.com

Going In Circles.

This is just a quick post to let you know that I haven't died. Some of you know that already as I have left some blog comments. I just haven't felt up to the task of posting an actual blog. I am doing the alphabet soup thing and am up to the letter "L." Honestly, can't even come up with subject matter for the letter "L," which is indicative of my state of mind. Or lack thereof. I am doing really well if I am putting together a coherent comment on your blogs.

We did get spanked with that cold front, so we got snow and sleet. Georgians are simply not equipped to handle snow and sleet. It shut everything down. My doctor's office called and cancelled my appt yesterday, which was a good thing, because there was a solid sheet of ice on the roads, so we would have to cancel. Like I said, the state is simply not prepared for these sorts of conditions. And my migraine has been through the roof. The change in barometric pressure with a storm front like that always rockets me into outer space. So... blaaaahhhh.

I did read something interesting and am giving it a try. It was noted that people with migraines often have cold hands. So there is a line of thinking among some non-traditional practitioners who practice biofeedback with specific intent to lower the temp of the hands. In other words, if you can consciously learn to lower the temp of the hands, then it will trigger a physical vascular response. With a migraine, a person is experiencing vascular constriction. That constriction causes the pain. I am at a loss for the words I want, but if warming the hands can produce the opposite effect, that is a very good thing. I am not convinced that I can get my doctors to do biofeedback with handwarming as the goal. They are willing to do biofeedback for pain management, but I think that they might think I have a screw loose if I suggest the hand warming thing. Of course, when have I ever let that stop me? Right now, I am wearing knitted gloves with the fingertips cut off. It has only been a couple of days, so I can't tell if there is a noticeable improvement. Plus, my tips remain icy at all times since they are exposed. I think that might impede any real progress. But, it is overall more pleasant than having icy cold hands all of the time.

The only other news I have is that Social Security based their decision on approving denying me for SSDI based upon the reports of four doctors. Two of those doctors were ones that they sent me to for evaluations. The other two were supposed to be my doctors. One of them was. One of them was not. One of them was someone I have never seen in my entire life. That was that the doctor report that they used as my primary care physician. Someone I have never seen. Naturally, that doctor sent back a report saying, "No information on this patient." Of course, he had no information. I had never been inside his office. I would like to think that Social Security just made an error, but I would think that if they got a report like that they would double check the file, and then request information from the correct doctor. They didn't do that. That leads me to believe this was their way of denying my claim. The people handling my claim couldn't even work up steam about this because it "happens all the time." I was outraged. They were resigned. Finally, I realized all of my outrage was only going to crank my migraine into the red zone, so I let it go. We are working within their crappy system. Of course, now we can include their pulling bad information as part of our appeal. I was on the phone with my rep today to put our paperwork together. So, we are off to the races again.

My fellow blogger, JJ, posted something yesterday about the shooting in Arizona. He invited discourse on the subject of violence in society, and threw out some stats. He also said that people were uncomfortable with this sort of topic matter. Actually ~ discussing this sort of topic matter. I said that it wasn't so much feeling uncomfortable about the discussion, but feeling that there were no real solutions. People can talk forever about something, but solving it is a whole different animal. I feel the same way about this Animal that is Social Security. I have talked to a whole bunch of people about them pulling the wrong doctor's records and denying my claim. You know what? I am the only person who is outraged by this information. Even my mother shrugs it off and says we will appeal it. Why isn't anyone mad about this? Why aren't people angry about how rotten the state of Denmark has become? This stinks from the core. Why isn't she angry? Because she doesn't think she can do a thing about it, that's why. When I talked to my allsup rep, I expected them to be all over it. They weren't. We'll file the appeal and include that. The Animal called Social Security is too big. It may be rotten and stinky, but it's huge.

You see why I am not writing posts? My mind just goes in circles.



image found at www.weheartit.com

HERE'S TO YOU FRIDAY

This week has been crazy. For the first time since I started posting weekly HERE'S TO YOU posts on Thursdays, I missed one. This worries me. My Inspirational Song Saturday posts very quickly began sliding to Sunday. Now they occur more often on Sunday than Saturday. Oh dear. I promise to not make this a regular thing. HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY is not going to regularly roll out on Friday. That just isn't going to happen.

I do have some new followers scratching their heads wondering what the big deal is. Click on HERE'S TO YOU DAY in my sidebar to get a line on some older posts. But here's the skinny on HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY. Even though today is Friday. Today is the day that I celebrate all of the amazingness that you contributed to blogland this week. It is that day again. What day is that you ask? How can you have forgotten? Drum roll please. It is HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY HERE'S TO YOU FRIDAY, of course! The very best day of the blogging week. It is the precursor to the best day of the work week. It is the best day of the work week... this week.

Here is what is going down: this is a weekly event. The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.

Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!

This one is for everyone:




This one is for Yvonne at Writing My Life Away:




This one is for Mitzi at Daily Reflection:




This one is for Nicole at Destination Unknown:




This one is for Chris at A Deliberate Life:

You have to click here to watch. It would not embed. Grrrr.


This one is for JJ The Disconnected Writer:




This one is for Donna at Refusing to Age Gracefully:

People's Choice Awards Breakdown and a Shoutout to Marshall Mathers

Okay, here is the deal. I totally don't have a HERE'S TO YOU DAY post ready for today. If I hadn't had a doctor's appointment, followed by several errands with mom, I probably could have put one together. But.... I did. So, I am thinking it is going to be tomorrow. I have all of one idea written down. I know. I suck. Sometimes, the ideas for these things don't just come to me like bolts out of the sky. Sometimes they do. Sometimes I get three or four in a day. Sometimes I get nada. This week it has been a lot of nada.

So, instead of a Here's to you post, let's chat about the People's Choice Awards. Did you vote? If you did, you probably know that you could have voted repeatedly. There was no limit to the number of times you could go through the cycle of voting for all of the categories. I ran the gamut about six times. I then became so bored that I was about to nod off. I decided that six was plenty and quit. I am sure that there were some die-hard fans out there who spent days doing nothing but voting. On the one hand, I applaud their tenacity. On the other hand, I am really frightened of these people. Moving on...

I actually watched the awards show. I was hoping to see you know who, though I had a feeling that he wasn't going to be there. I was right. He was not there. We shall get around to the unnamed later. Let's talk about some of the stuff that actually happened.

Johnny Depp was named Favorite Male Actor again this year. Thumbs Up on that one. I can always get behind that vote. In fact, I think I cast that vote. Johnny Depp is not only uber-hot, but a very fine actor. I couldn't have been more pleased with this choice. America, you rocked that vote!



Glee won lots of stuff. Don't watch Glee, but it has made me curious. And I was in choirs in high school. If this show keeps music programs alive in high schools, I am all for it. Or if it makes people just spontaneously break out into song AND people think it is cool instead of nerdy, I can also get behind that. So, while I didn't vote for it, I can dig it.

Adam Sandler won funniest male actor. I really like Adam Sandler, so that was cool. I can't remember who I voted for, because my memory sucks. I don't think it was him, but I am still okay with how it all turned out.

House won lots of awards, but the only one that was broadcast was Lisa Edelstein getting her award. Now, I don't watch House, and I didn't vote for Lisa Edelstein. However, I think she may have had the funniest acceptance speech of the show. She whipped out a list of her favorite voters and read them off. It was hilarious. I have seen Lisa in other things and liked her. Glad she has found a show that has hit home with the viewers (even if I am not one of them). So, yay Lisa!

I learned something about this awards show business. They totally know who has won before this show starts. The only exceptions were two awards: New Drama and New Comedy, which they were still accepting votes on. Everything else had been closed out. The winners had been notified and the losers didn't even show up at the ceremony. How lame is that? They had all the winners in the front row. No one was surprised. Now that gets a thumbs down. What gets a thumbs up is that Hawaii Five-O won Best New Drama. Maybe, just maybe, Alex O'Loughlin can finally get with a show that sticks. That man is pure deliciousness and I am tired of following him from one show to another. It would have been fantastic had Moonlight not been cancelled, but it was. Then he went to Three Rivers. I would have been delighted if that had not been cancelled, but it was. Okay, now we have Hawaii Five-O. It has a tight cast and Hawaii. Mostly it has Alex O'Loughlin. CBS if you cancel this show, I might have to send you some hate mail. I really don't want to go there. The people agree with me. They have spoken. It got the vote!

The giveaway on the above was the viral video. They made a trip pre-awards show to the family who won the video and gave them an award made out of chex (or some other snack food) to keep until the show when they could get the real thing (made out of Waterford Crystal). This was one category I didn't vote in because I didn't know the subject matter. I treated it like any other voting situation. If you don't know what it is, don't vote and leave it to people who know something. Turned out to be a good decision because the winning vid was adorable. However, I wonder how many DAYS before the awards show they got their award???? Here is this hilarious winning video:



The most curious situation was the Twilight Saga. I thought that Kristin Stewart and Rob Pattinson were a couple. In real life. I don't know... maybe I am out of the loop on this one. The deal was this: Kristin, Rob, and Taylor Lautner were flown in from their location shooting for this awards show. Obviously, they won an award (or two). Turns out Kristin won Favorite Female Actor. Taylor is dressed to the nines in a tux. Kristin is in a dress that is way too short and heels that are way too high. (If that dress were any shorter, we would have been looking at her vajajay folks. That is something I really did NOT want to see.) And Rob looked like he came in from lumberjacking. WTH? When her name gets called, Taylor jumps up and escorts her to the stage. Well, he was dressed for it. Rob looks like crap. Kristin looks unprepared for this award (which I have figured out by now is BS, because she should already know she won it) and is all over the place. She has zero composure. When Twilight Eclipse wins, Rob talks first. Then Taylor. Kristin barely. She hurries as fast as possible to hang all over Taylor. Again, who is the couple here? From the dialogue, one might think it is Taylor and Rob. From the body language it appears to be Taylor and Kristin. But all the tabloids say it is Rob and Kristin. This is the craziest case of spin the couple I have ever seen.

Let's talk performances. As in actual performances. Selena Gomez was amazing. I was really pleasantly surprised. Such a young kid with a huge voice. I was really looking forward to Kid Rock. He is one of the few musicians who really has tried on just about every musical genre. I think that is pretty darn awesome. When I was married, my husband loved Kid Rock. Naturally, I had to take an opposing viewpoint and instantly loathed him... just because. When we got divorced, it was easier to give him a fair listen. I still think that song he did with Sheryl Crow has a good beat, but the lyrics are stupid. When he joined Big & Rich's Muzik Mafia, he went up a major notch. So, I have listened to my share of Kid Rock. So, what happened last night? Wait. I know the answer to this one. When you sing, you have to breathe from your diaphragm or your sound has no real substance behind it and it sounds tinny. As in not substantial or full. Huh. When you're recording in the studio and forget to do this, the person in the booth can stop you. When you are singing live... well, it just sounds like bad music. I was disappointed.






However, I think that was only the beginning, because the award came for Favorite Female Artist and Katy Perry won (not the disappointing part). She actually got two awards. They never did say what the second award was for, which was a cause for disappointment. What would you be expecting right now? The award for Favorite Male Artist, right? It did not happen. You read that right. In fact, almost none of the music awards happened. Do you want to know why? BECAUSE MARSHALL MATHERS WON FOUR PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS LAST NIGHT. HE SWEPT THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS. HOWEVER, HE DID NOT COME TO THE SHOW, SO THEY DID NOT EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT HE WON ON LIVE TV. Yeah, they gave him No Love. However, I am sending out lots of love. Congratulations Marshall on your HUGE night. The people chose you over and over again. Some of them are really scary people who spend way too much time at their computer. For the record, I only voted for you six times in each category. I think that keeps me still on the sane side of the population. But then I am extremely biased on my own behalf.




Instead, they ended the big night with Best Movie. That was Twilight. I already covered that. I voted for Inception, by the way. Awesome movie.


all images found at www.weheartit.com

K IS FOR KINDNESS

I know that many people blog simply because they enjoy writing, and this is one venue when others are clogged up, dried up, or feel like danger zones. Yeah, I am talking about those of us who really want to write that novel, but can't quite get a handle on it, so we blog in order to write something. At least that is how this whole thing started. I have discovered that there is a flipside to this blogging reality. And that, my blogging friends, is this: people in the real world are not very nice. There is a very real lack of kindness out there. Have you noticed?

If you have been blogging for any length of time, you may have met some people on here who are more friendly and kinder than anyone you actually know. It is comforting and discouraging, all at the same time. It is a relief to meet someone who is nice. It is horrible that they live in your computer.

I called a friend of mine who lives here on Christmas Eve, her birthday. Turned out not to be a good time. She said to call the next day because her family did everything on Christmas Eve. I called and got the machine. She promised that she would call me back. I left a message saying that I would be up until at least 10pm. Call anytime before then. Never heard back. That day or any day since. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I always was the one who called her. She never calls me. So, I am very undecided about what to do. So far, I am not calling again. Her son is good friends with my ex-husband. I called him (my ex, not her son) to talk about the kids this past weekend. Turns out he was at her house and it sounded like she was having a party. He also said he would call me back. Still waiting on that return phone call, too. There is definitely a part of me that is glad to not be at the top of my ex's priority list... However, common decency does dictate that I would like a call back within 48 hours. We are now well beyond that. And the fact that he made the guest list and I didn't on a party... well, that just sucks. No other word for that.

So today was my annual mammogram. Actually, my first ever. And it wasn't bad. Everyone should go if you are at that age. As in 40 or over. It was yet another dual lesson in kindness. After you get checked in, there is another small waiting room in the back. At a certain point, I knew that I was next. However, about four other women had come in. All of them got called before me and put into dressing rooms. At that time, the tech with my chart came in and saw what had happened. She became really angry because she knew what had happened. I had no idea, but I thought I was supposed to be next. She mumbled something about dressing rooms and said, "We're going to get you a gown and you can change in the room." And that is what she did.

As we got into the room with the machine, she handed me my gown. She told me that I was next in line, but the other techs were trying to beat me to the machine by getting their people into the dressing rooms first. She foiled their plan by taking the room with the machine and locking the door. Apparently, the unwritten rule is that if the person who is next is not "ready," then the following person on the list can supersede them. So, all the techs put their people in dressing rooms to see who could get undressed and into a gown first. It was like sharks in the water. It made my girl mad. Apparently, this was not a working environment where kindness reigned and co-workers looked out for one another. Where has all the kindness gone?

I was trying to explain this to my mom in the car while we were driving to the Sam's shopping complex. She had an exchange to make at Tractor Supply Company, and then we were making a fairly quick stop at Sam's Club. She never did quite grasp the situation. The idea that the co-workers were trying to jump each other in the line for the machines (there were two small plate, one large plate) was an alien concept to her. She simply couldn't wrap her brain around it. She is a "you do it the right way" person. Well, so am I. I would have had a tough time working there. Migraine city.

In the middle of all this, we were dealing with the interstate and merging into traffic. Some yo-yo was right on her tail and she got really upset about it. I was afraid we were going to have a repeat of what I call "the incident" from when I was in junior high. That would be the time some guy flipped off my mom in traffic, and it made her so mad that she rolled down her window, whipped out her middle finger, and shook it at him. She was screaming at the top of her voice, "To you too, buddy." I was holding a vanilla shake from McDonald's that I almost ended up wearing in my lap. That was as close as I had ever come to seeing my mom curse. Ever. My hands went limp and my whole body went into shock. I wasn't able to speak for nearly ten minutes. Like I said, we almost relived that again today. However, this time I was expecting it and I had no shake. A shake would have been nice, come to think of it.



image found at www.weheartit.com

J IS FOR JITTERBUG

Well, fellow bloggers I do have more to report on the SSDI front, but it shall wait until tomorrow. Maybe the next day. If you are not caught up to speed on the old news, then you need to backpedal and read I IS FOR INSURANCE, and I am calling a time out. Those two posts should catch you right up. In the meantime...

Leanne over at From Chaos Comes Happiness chooses a theme word each year instead of doing resolutions. I can get behind that better than resolutions. I think I might have written out resolutions in junior high school once and then quit that. Why? Because I had zero follow through on them. I realized, even then, I was going to do what I was going to do. Period. Aaaaggghhh. However, this embracing a word thing... I do like that. For instance, one of her words from a previous year was create. I thought that was a fine word to wrap yourself around. I like verbs. They are very proactive. This year she chose believe. Another verb. Then she indicated various areas of her life that wanted to push some of that belief into and watch some action happen.

My friend Mary the Food Floozie announced yesterday (quite late, actually) that her word was going to be nurture. I almost fell out until I realized that some of that nurturing was going to be self-directed. She is one of the most nurturing people I know. It is all give give give. So, nurturing your own spirit, in addition to others gets a thumbs up.

Becky over at Farmgirl Paints was talking about how she normally feels bleak during January. In a recent blog post she said that she didn't feel that way this year and that instead of feeling stuck on survive, she had found the thrive button. Thrive. I liked it. I didn't think of it myself, but it was better than anything I was coming up with for myself. The best I had wrangled in was persevere, and that still felt like a lot of work. Whereas with thrive, it feels alive. Growing. Flourishing even. Persevering feels like your neck deep in molasses, but you're going to keep moving anyway. Nothing is going to grow in molasses, let me tell you. Thrive. Much better word.




The definition of thrive:

1: to grow vigorously : flourish
2: to gain in wealth or possessions : prosper
3: to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstances

Ding ding ding. I think we have a winner. So, thrive it is.

To that end, the email campaign is on to get my Big Idea off the ground. The first step is the website and I need all of the help that I can get! I have already emailed everyone in my contacts list. Naturally, as soon as I was finished my mother came in and pointed out that I had made a typing error. Spellcheck didn't catch it, because technically it wasn't wrong. I typed "be" instead of "by" in one instance. Bah. So, there is a sentence that begins, "They do this be," instead of "They do this by." Of course there is. If you have received the aforementioned email and not sent it out yet, please make the adjustment. If you have already sent it as is. Oh well.

I shall be going through all of the blogs that I follow looking for email addresses. You can save me some time by sending me yours. How do you do that?

You can leave your email address in the comments. Or you can email at rarichards68@gmail.com your email address, and I will send you the corrected version of the email. You need not change a thing. This is me being proactive and thriving. Please copy/paste and send it to everyone you know. The idea is to cast as wide a net as possible. We then want them to send it to everyone they know. It may take five throws for it to get to someone who actually has valuable information for the site. But, it will never reach that person unless everyone continues to cast. So, throw that net.

And for all of you who were worried that Social Security had dealt me the knock out punch, in the immortal words of Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing, "No one puts Baby in the corner."


I dedicated this bit of footage to Phoenix on Thursday, but the song is really speaking to me. And I like this video better than the original. I think that we all have the capacity to be heroes. All the right friends in all the right places. When you have that, big things are going down.

Click here to watch it if you missed it the first time.




image found at www.weheartit.com

LANDED UPTOWN ROCK AND ROLL GOODNIGHT

Once again, it is Sunday evening and my inspirational music post is still on the iffy side. That means I am typing, but I am not at all certain that I am happy with what will come out. I like to have a rough draft already cued up in my head before my fingers start tapping away on the keyboard. That isn't the case, so this might be a bumpy blog.

I honestly don't know how I feel about the video for this song. I really like the song. I think that video can be a powerful tool. I am not convinced that they made the most of it here. However, I don't flat out hate it, either. So, I am going with it. As I said, I like the song. Ben Folds does a mix of really depressing stuff and some really sweet stuff. I think one of his best songs is The Luckiest. I really love that one. Maybe I should have checked to see if there was a video for it. Hmmmm. Well, it is a bit late now. I have already dinked around long enough on youtube. I do like this one. I think that it has a happy ending. And I like the part about that feeling you get when suddenly you see through all of the crazy or the crap in your life to what is true. It is like all of the clouds lift and you come back down to earth. Of course, you didn't know you were living in outer space until the clouds lifted, and you realized that you got lost somewhere along the way, and you had floated up into the ether. Regaining your clarity is a huge relief. So, here is the video. As I said, I think it could have been done with more finesse. But that is just my point of view. Still a great song.



Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let's talk 80s. MTV. Videos and what made it all so freaking awesome. I almost went with this artist last week and I didn't. He had so many excellent videos that I just couldn't get a handle on it. I am not sure that I am really any better equipped this week. The only difference is that I have had some more time to think about it and let it backburner on my brain. Are you scared yet? Good. I do think I might be able to tell the story for having let it gelled a bit. However, you must always take into account that anything 80s is still the perspective of a teenager coming out of an adult's mouth. I am still sticking with my refusal to research anything policy. It is all about how I remember it. If you remember it different, please say so in the comments, that is what they are there for... at least that is one of the reasons they are there.

So, Billy Joel came on the scene before MTV and videos. I think that Piano Man might have been his first big song. Of course, Just The Way You Are was also very popular and also preceded MTV. The thing about Billy Joel is that he always struck me as the "working man's singer" no matter how famous he got, or how much money he made. I don't know if it was the New York in him or just that he is/was a very down to earth guy, but he always had this Regular Guy feel about him. Of course, songs like My Life and You May Be Right only fueled that conviction. And he never came off as pretentious. I am going to post a video that pains me a little to watch because of the 80s fashion. But the song knocks it out of the park.



This is so hard because so many of my favorite Billy Joel songs precede 80s video. For instance, Only The Good Die Young is one of my favorites. There is no video for that. There is concert footage for it, but I am really trying not to use that as much as possible. Anyway, Billy Joel survived the blast into the 80s and learned how to embrace video. In the beginning, his style was very much like it was before: the working class singer who liked to rock it out. That was what you saw in the above video and what you are about to see now. Only this video was history making...



Billy Joel is still our blue collar rocker. However, he got more than he bargained for when Christie Brinkley agreed to be a part of his video. It was the first step in our very own love story. Sort of like Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Except I think Billy Joel is better looking than Charles. Unfortunately, both stories ultimately ended in divorce, but that is skipping ahead. Back in the 80s, it was pretty heady stuff. Billy Joel, blue collar rocker, marrying supermodel Christie Brinkley was pretty darn awesome. He wrote a song called All About Soul while he was married to her that is one of my all-time favorites. God, I love that song. And they have a daughter together.

Well, the other side of Billy Joel is that he writes songs like Allentown. He wrote that one back in the 80s about the lack of jobs in Allentown, PA. There is another one called The Downeaster Alexa that is well worth the listen. He isn't all love songs or "I wanna rock" songs. He also wrote this one that can and does make me cry when I listen to it...



Yeah, I know it is concert footage. You get what you get. In this case you do get to see him in his element at the piano. And this song doesn't lend itself to a lot of jumping around. Because they did all go down together. And you take that shit seriously.


image found at www.weheartit.com