Amnesia

I just saw a commercial for a constant constipation drug named, Amitiza.

Pronounced with a slight flare in ebonics: (I’m a teezah.) Couple that with what it’s supposed to do, well, you could have a whole bunch of fun with mental images on that one.

I just found that extremely amusing this morning.

I’m waiting for a depression drug called Dunbehatin.

Does it bother or confuse people in California to call states like Minnesota and Michigan, the Mid-West, when it’s really their Mid-East, location wise? Seems a bit unfair that New England got to do the naming scheme for the whole country.

Hell, Japan could even be considered the Near -West instead of the Far-East!

Poor Californians, no wonder you guys needed to legalize marijuana.

So as I was driving to work yesterday, my mother calls. “Kate, guess where I am?”

“Umm…”

“The Hillary Clinton rally in Hartford! We’ve got some great seats. Right behind her! Look for me on TV!”

Rolling my eyes and chuckling, I was sure she was over exaggerating. When I got to work, I watched the stump speech and sure enough, not even 20 feet behind Senator Clinton was the floating head of my mother. It was surreal.

In her own words:

Just wanted to send a few pics i took today in Hartford Ct. I actually met, shook hands with and had a small dialogue with Hillary Rodham Clinton.

I was seated about 20 feet behind Sen Clinton, and had a birds eye view of her and the workings of the Secret Service.

She is an amazing woman. Except for a voice hoarse from rigors of campaigning, she was warm and engaging and quite a pretty woman; far softer than she looks like (sic) on TV.

I told, (more like shouted) to her,  “We need to restore our country to its greatness and I hope that you will help to do this if elected!”

She caught my eye, reached up to me over a crush of other people, gave me a firm handshake and simply said in a most sincere and serious way( a vow, really) “I WILL!!!”

I was stunned and somehow still find this unbelievable, that I possibly have just met and had a few words with the next leader of the free world.Here are the pics as promised. I have also included a link to a video of her speech. I am seated behind her under directly under the sign. I  am in a burgundy shirt to the left. (OF COURSE!)

http://www.wfsb.com/politics/15150613/detail.html

Below - Mom is the one right next to the A on the blue AMERICA sign.

Back before my father’s devastating heart attack and subsequent recovery from double bypass and heart valve replacement surgery, (now that’s a mouthful), he used to write in a blog. Determined to write a diary of his past, a lot of the things he discussed were extremely poignant and filled with wisdom.

After the events in July, his blog writing has all but come to a halt. While he’s moved in with me and my three children, I think he’s lost the interest while trying to cram as much living with his grandchildren in as he can muster, in case something else in his body decides to betray him.

While eating dinner with my Dad, I was pressing him for facts on Article 15 for an upcoming piece in the “O’Leary Letters.” Immediately transported back in time, more stories started rolling off his tongue, and for over an hour and a half, I sat there riveted.

***

“The year was either 1968 or 1969.”

My father seems frustrated because there is some doubt in his mind as to which of the dates set the stage for the story. Shaking off his dismay, a large smile erupts on his thin lips as he begins to weave the tale.

“It was the Fourth of July and we were all drunk and stoned on Tuy Hoa (he pronounces it Too-E-Wah) waiting for the sun to set. Almost every man had some sort of drink in his hand. Most carried a stainless steel beer can that you had to crack the top with a special opener. There were none of those easy pull tabs, so God forbid if you forgot the tool.”

He takes a bite of his dinner and thinks for a moment as he slowly chews his food. I take the opportunity to fork a bite of steamed vegetables.

“Every guy also had one of those slap flares used for emergencies. Red meant, ‘imminent attack’, yellow meant ‘danger’ and green was the signal for ‘all clear.’ So you can imagine when the dark settled in, all you heard on the base was a countdown.”

He starts to chuckle. “God, all I can remember hearing was this echo, ”4…4…4….4, 3…3….3…3, 2….2…2…2…., 1….1…1…1″, before the entire base was lit up with these multicolored flares. Little did we know that Charlie (the enemy) was sitting in the mountain range around the base just waiting for something like this to happen.”

“Oh no.” I said. “You lit up the base?”

“Like a fucking Christmas tree. So, the enemy decides to send rocket attacks our way as a thank you for lighting up the night. We all knew we were being attacked, but it didn’t matter; we were all too drunk and stoned to care. So, we threw our beer cans at them.”

I start laughing. “You threw beer cans at them? Did you think you were going to hit anyone?”

“Well, when you’re that wasted, you don’t really have a great judgement of distance. We just threw the cans at the direction of the rocket attacks. So, the next morning comes and we hear news of the damage. They ended up taking out some planes, and while there were some deaths and casualties from the actual attack, most of the injuries consisted of circular bruises and cuts from where our own people were hit by Bud cans.”

“You have got to be kidding me?”

“No. I can’t remember the exact figure of deaths. I know that one rocket got a helo as they were lifting off the ground for a night mission. Blew open the cockpit and we lost five in there.” He takes a breath, obviously startled by the recollection, but soon turns back to me with a smile, “but like I said, most people were hurt by flying stainless steel cans.”

“You didn’t get in trouble?”

“What were they going to do? Section 8 a whole base? No, we just were never allowed to celebrate like that ever again.”

****

My father did mention as I told him I was going to write this on my blog, that there are things that do get muddled in his memory ever since his massive stroke 3 years ago. While he tends to tell his stories with a jovial tone, there are moments when the facade breaks and the pain reemerges from below as it would from someone who has seen all sides of War.

“There are things that I want to remember, other things that I am not sure I can tell, and things that I wish I could forget.”

If time permits and he’s willing to share, I might make a habit of recording his stories and tranferring them to written format. If only for the main reason that I’ll have something to remember him by, and my children will get the gist of what the Vietnam War was all about, before this particular history stops being important.

This is actually pretty funny considering I watched the actual Tom Cruise video and was like, uh, WTF?

“We do not forgive, we do not forget…

Expect us.”

Hackers have declared war on the Church of Scientology. The video is really creepy, but then again, its target is too. While I’ll keep my thoughts on the religion to myself, I can’t help but watch this video and just get a really ominous feeling. It’s like something out of “The Matrix” or a…science fiction book.

In order to track my journey of weight loss in the Biggest Loser Competition at my local gym, I’ve set up a separate blog for those who are interested. It’s mainly a way for me to maintain accountability with a food and exercise journal and general thoughts on the triumphs and tribulations of trying to lose weight.

You can find it here.

I’ve added a few more blogs from intarweeb peeps that I really like, so if you have a chance, go visit! While I’m posting the links below, you’ll notice them in the big “Awesomes Stuff on Da Weebs” column on the right of your screen.

The Brain of Shawn -  Although I’m not a Linux girl, ( I’d like to learn it one day,) his product reviews are hilarious and informative with a lot of life mixed in.

Hot Chicks Dig Smart Men - Funny and also intelligent, this is one of the few sites out there that definitely gives street cred to phrase that hot chicks actually DO dig smart men.

The Random LOL Cat (Thanks Shawn)

Patrick Rothfuss - Author of “The Name of Wind”, his insights and experiences in life are charming. It’s great watching a newly successful author move through his newly found fame, and still be so down to Earth, that his fans can still touch him.

You’ll find their witty banter a nice distraction from the real work that you’ve been pushing off.

In other news: I’m continuing to pump out The O’Leary Diaries both here and on Pete’s site. It looks like we’re getting some good feedback on the pod casts as they come out, and once the whole piece is completed, I will be looking to publish as a short story.

Hopefully this will entail Pete getting “Loss of Innocence” published as well. He certainly deserves it with all the hard work he’s been putting in.

So, what’s new wit you?

While commenting on an upcoming convention on John Scalzi’s website, I mentioned that depending on finances I’d probably drive to Detroit to attend and sleep in my car. Then, realizing it was near Detroit, I mentioned that it was probably not a good idea since my car would most likely be stolen; with me in it.

Someone immediately took offense that I was making fun of his hometown even though I was half joking. (The area around and including Detroit has consistently been in the top 20 places in which your car would be taken from your possession illegally according to the NICB.)

To make a long story short, I couldn’t understand why someone would get so picky over a comment made about their hometown.

Until I saw this:

Ms. Princess Leia wanna-be, makes fun of my birthplace and the town in which I currently reside. Watching this video, I found myself getting rather defensive! For all you non-Enfield, CT residents out there, sure, we do have a correctional institution, but there are a lot more establishments in which you could find a job. Hell, it’s not like she’s stuck here by any means. A lot of the people who live in Enfield, work in other towns or cities. Enfield is a mostly upper-middle, middle-middle, class town situated between Hartford, CT and Springfield, MA. 2 hours away from both Boston and NYC, it’s perfect for a budding artist or songstress to find work and still live relatively close to home.

Yes, our mall might suck ass, but every Tuesday you can go see a movie at the cineplex for $5.00, all day! There is a Best Buy across the street next to a Kohl’s. Cheng’s Garden has some of the best Chinese food I’ve ever had! The Enfield Public Library is also a great place to hang around if you’re the literary type! We have an ice skating rink as well, along with some of the nicer public schools in the area. Every July 4th, Enfieldians celebrate the birth of their country and pride of their town with a 3 day weekend celebration including a parade and fireworks on the town green.

We even have an outdoor holiday celebration with the lighting of a decorated tree. In two weeks, we’re having a multicultural celebration at our middle school.

I guess what ticked me off is that Ms. Organa felt the need to limit herself in her environment. I don’t know her background in education, but aside from being a corrections officer at the local prison, she could have been a teacher, a retail manager, opened up her own medical or dental practice…anything, really.

I can see wanting to escape the only place you’ve ever known for bigger and better things, but try not to belittle the people who work and live there while doing it. The way she made it sound was that we had a few singly spaced houses, surrounded by hundreds of miles of fields, and a prison.

Enfield has been and will be so much more than that.

I’ve decided that it’s high time I chuck this extra weight I’ve carried for awhile. My gym is having a “Biggest Loser” competition ala the ABC television show and I think this will be just what I need to get motivated. While I’ve had a gym membership, I’ve really had a hard time getting myself up to go. I think the two biggest things that will be helpful are:

a) It’s a competition with a winner and some sort of prize. While I’m hoping its not a restaurant gift certificate, because, that would just be mean; I don’t shy away from competitions once I enter them. In fact, I double my efforts to win. I’m going to be going to the gym every night to get a leg up on the others in the group and trying desperately to get my mile down to 8 minutes.

b.) It’s a structured plan over 8 weeks. So I’m hoping I learn what I need to do in order to keep this up after the competition is over. It includes both workout and nutritional counselling. Plus the group workout on Tuesdays and Thursdays is going to feel great! I’m also counting on them to be my support and encouragement group.

I start this Monday and if the embarrassment of weighing myself in front of other perfect strangers is not enough to get my ass in gear, I really have no idea what will be.  

I have always had a love affair with food. It’s been my emotional comfort since I was a child. While I won’t be giving up the things I desperately love, I need to love them a little less.

Wish me luck.

I don’t care what anyone says, but The Sugar Hill Gang has one of the best songs ever recorded with “Rapper’s Delight.”

I downloaded the Karaoke version off of Itunes tonight and it’s been on repeat ever since. I can’t stop, and I won’t stop,
a rockin to the bang bang boogy say upchuck the boogy,
to the rhythm of the boogity beat.

Just incase you forgot how awesome this song actually is, here’s a little visit from the JD and the cast of Scrubs featuring an alarm clock and a much older Sugar Hill Gang.
I want that clock.