Needing to move

In "this is another reason I need to get the fuck out of California" news:

A man was shot in the back of the head on the street corner opposite my apartment building on Thursday night.

I heard the shot. I thought it was a car backfiring.

Skate to the heart

Sometimes, the universe makes me laugh. Because I'm the type of person that takes pleasure in seeing people get what's coming to them. Does that make me a bad person? No. THAT MAKES ME ENTERTAINED.

Take, for example, this video:



Arrogant jackass, no?

Now read this article:

Blunder costs skater a gold

The universe just PWNED you. And I laughed.

I know one place I won't be living

I read an article last night online (shame on me for not remembering to save the URL) about a couple living in Manhattan in a 175 square foot apartment that they purchased for $150,000. That's ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY FIVE square feet for ONE HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. Thought I would reiterate that.

ONE HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. For 175 square feet. That's the size of most people's bedrooms.

And in the article, they were all happy and novel and "Oh, life is so simple in our 175 square foot apartment!" In which they didn't have room for a trash can. That they can't keep any clothes in because there isn't a closet, so they have to keep their clothes at "strategically located" dry cleaners around the city.

Did I mention that they also had two cats?

My parents bought their house in Indiana for a little over $150k. That $150k got them four bedrooms, two and half bathrooms, a formal dining room, a breakfast nook, a family room, a formal living room, a loft, a two car garage, a huge front yard and a huge back yard.

COUPLE IN MANHATTAN, PERK UP YOUR EARS. YOU SPENT $150K AND YOU GOT A CLOSET.

Living in California, I get crazy housing prices. Edgar and I have come to the sad conclusion that we'll probably never be able to buy a house here because how do you save $30k for a down payment before you're 50 years old? And I know that New York City has insane housing prices as well. BUT SERIOUSLY, PEOPLE.

That couple is insane. Congratulations on wasting $150,000. At some point your novelty fails to be novel and just becomes stupid.

I'll tell you what to do with your Bill of Rights

So I'm going to go a little bit off topic here and dip my toe into the world of politics. My goal in keeping this blog is not to create something rife with political commentary. I have my reasons, the biggest one probably being that I've learned that no matter what I say or think, it's very unlikely to ever change the mind of anybody that is a staunch supporter of anything/anybody else. Some people make it a point to not listen to any arguments you make, regardless of the facts that you use to back up your claim. "Facts, who needs facts? This is what my pappy taught me and this here is what is right. 'Cuz God says so." You can't fight it, you can only sigh and move along.

But forgive me, I just can't resist.

Anytime some one refers to Barack Obama as Hussein, it makes me want to gouge sharp pieces of glass into my eyes while simultaneously ripping out my hair and screaming like the banshee that is called Adam Lambert's Voice. YES, ADAM LAMBERT, WE GET IT, YOU CAN SCREAM, JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER PERSON THAT WAS EVER BORN. EVER. People that refer to Barack Obama as Hussein are doing it because they are the type of people that think just because some one has Hussein as his middle name, which he did not pick, that he is a terrorist, and that by using the moniker of Hussein they can instill their own fear and hatred into the hearts of others. Sure, people called what's-his-face-with-the-stupid-goofy-grin-and-unintelligible-stutter "W," but when was the last time that the letter W did anything to you? This terrorist attack, brought to you by the Letter W. "W" does not bring about thoughts of fear (well, relatively) as does the name "Hussein."

I'm a firm believer in the First Amendment (how can you not be?), but stuff like this just makes me cringe, mainly because it's coming from the minds and mouths of people who think that the Bill of Rights should be torn to shreds with the only surviving piece being the Second Amendment.

I often like to read comments on news pieces about current events and politics and I was especially into this around the time of the election. I would always do this, even though about 30% of the comments would make me want to revert to self mutilation (see: gouging of eyes, screaming, etc). It was "Hussein this" and "Hussein that," usually followed by hate speech spewed by some one who thought John McCain was here to save the world and would do so with the help of his prophet, who all of her adorers so loving called "Sarah." Just Sarah. Not Sarah Palin, not Palin, just Sarah. Since when did we start calling political figures by his or her first names only? Quick: Barack, John, Howard, George, Edward, Dianne, Barbara. I bet you FIVE WHOLE DOLLARS there is only one name in that list where you know exactly which one I am talking about. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, personally it would be great if we all just relaxed a little bit and lost the formality and the collective Sticks Up the Asses of everybody in general.

But really, the whole Trying to Play Obama Up As a Terrorist schtick is totally tiring. Get over it, your guy lost, no amount of trying to make someone's middle name a stereotypical reflection of who they are as a person or a politician is going to change that. You would think that almost a year later, things like that would have changed and people would have gotten over it with semi-quiet, if not begruding acceptance. Let's all grow up. Not to be a cliche, but we're all in this together.

Randoms

Oh, yes, a few more things. Because I never shut up. NEVER.

1) I'm super-duper proud of myself (yes, super-duper, I went there) because yesterday I ran 1.5 miles. THAT'S ONE AND A HALF WHOLE MILES. I'm giving my calves and my knees a rest today, but my goal tomorrow is to run 18 minutes at a 5.2. The mile and a half yesterday was 18 minutes at a 5.0. Edgar told me that he thinks there is a 5k in Pasadena sometime in October, so my goal is to get myself in shape and trained for that 5k.

2) We're getting a new computer! The laptop that I currently have is about 3 1/2 years old. It's not really that great. It runs extreeeeeeemely slow. Any methods to make it run faster are just stop gap measures; they don't stem the tide for very long. My dad works for HP, so I just spoke with him and we ordered a new laptop with lots of great stuff on it. I'm not really that knowledgeable on features of computers; I can't tell my megahertz from your gigabytes from so and so's processor. It's all Greek to me. But according to my dad, it's a really good model. Plus I get it with my dad's 30% employee discount plus a $100 instant rebate, so after tax and shipping and whatnot (yes, I said whatnot), it comes out to a respectable $572 and change. EXCITING.

3) Rafael Nadal lost his semifinal match at the US Open! We're Roger Federer fans in this house, and assuming that he beats Novak Djokovic in his semifinal match that he's playing as I type this, he'll have a much easier final match.

4) And Serena Williams......you are crazy. And very scary.

GO COTES!

Today was a special day. Why, you ask? Because today was opening day of the NFL season. YAY!

And so begins 16 weeks (more if my team goes to the playoffs) of near heart attack-inducing 3 hour spans of my life.

I'm an Indianapolis Colts fan. Life is sometimes tough for me. I have the best quarterback in the league (eff you Tom Brady), I have some of the best receivers in the league, I have one of the two best safeties in the league (when he's healthy), but for some reason, we just can't seem to get it done. Lack of a running game and lack of the ability to stop the run are holding us down.

The Colts' first two possssions looked really good, of course until the respective interception and lost fumble came about. And thus began the spouting of what are sure to be oft repeated phrases: "Come on, morons!" "Catch the fucking ball!" "Run you bastard, RUN!!" They just make me nervous. They're good, then they're not good, then they're good again, and we just keep going round and round and round on this never ending cycle of pleasure and pain.

And not in the good way.

I love my Colts. I suffer like this only for them.

One More Thing

Ok, I'm not so much about posting more than once in a day, but I can't keep my mouth shut about this one.......

Fla. Students' shirts: 'Islam is of the Devil'

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A lawyer for a north Florida school district says a handful of students have been sent home from Alachua County Schools this week for wearing shirts that read "Islam is of the Devil."
School district staff attorney Tom Wittmer says the shirts might have offended or distracted others and violated the district's dress code.
The shirts are connected to a local church called the Dove World Outreach Center Church Senior Pastor Terry Jones tells The Gainesville Sun that spreading the church's message is more important than education.
The congregation says a 10-year-old elementary school student was sent home Monday because of the shirt. Three high school students were sent home Tuesday and a middle school student also had to change clothes.

Really?! No, really?! "Spreading the church's message is more important than education." Really?! I'm pretty sure education is more imporant than spreading hate.

Indoctrination at its worst. People like this must be stopped. Like an elementary school child really understands the tenets of faith for Muslims. Clearly the Dove World Outreach Center doesn't.

Grow up, people. The world is bigger than your own backyards.

Thanks, MSNBC, for the article.

It's Wednesday

Ok, so I didn't win the lottery last night. That's ok, though, because no one else did and that means the jackpot will be $325 million on Friday, so I'd rather win it then anyways. :)

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In other news of the day events, RIP Ted Kennedy. I was reading last night when the Special Report came on announcing that he had died. It made it very apparent that the Kennedy Curse is still alive. Along with his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, that's two in one month. This family cannot catch a break.

The announcement also led me to consider how the Kennedy dynasty is dwindling out. I wasn't alive during the time of JFK and RFK, but I was a young girl for the time of Jackie O and John Jr's deaths, as well as that of a lesser cousin that died while trying to play football and ski at the same time (Michael? His name eludes me at the moment).

There's one Kennedy left in Congress, and while Caroline Kennedy turns up in the press every now and then, it seems like most of this glamorous political family is gone. By the time my kids are my age, the Kennedy name will most likely no longer be synonymous with a political dynasty that pushed for social change....JFK will probably be the only one they ever learn about in school, because he was the only one that was ever president. None of the others will be newsworthy so long after death, except maybe RFK.....but by that time, who knows if our failing education system will even cover him?

Just a thought.

Stupid Criminals Make Me Happy (You Betcha)

This, from our lovely friends at MSNBC. Thank you, Alaska.

FBI: Man gives teller ID before robbing bank
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A 34-year-old man is in custody after authorities say he gave a teller his account number and showed her his picture ID before robbing an Anchorage bank.
The FBI says Jarell Paul Arnold of Anchorage is being held on federal bank robbery charges.
The FBI alleges Arnold walked into an Alaska USA Federal Credit Union branch Friday and inquired about the balance on his account, according to the Anchorage Daily News. The teller asked for his name, account number and ID, the paper said. Authorities say he complied, and then handed over a receipt with a note on the back that said he had a gun and demanded money. The FBI says he got away with about $600.

Must have been desperate to catch that bus to Russia.......