Friday, July 21, 2006 at 02:57 PM
George Bush Gropes Angela Merkel
She's the Chancellor of Germany for crying out loud! My only question to you is - would he have done this to a male leader? Can you say 'inappropriate' boys and girls?
She's the Chancellor of Germany for crying out loud! My only question to you is - would he have done this to a male leader? Can you say 'inappropriate' boys and girls?
Willowmist
3 Comments
Home Sweltering Home
I know everyone thinks that I have abandoned my blog, and I did really, at least whilst I was on vacation. VACATION!
We just got back from Canada - the true home of the free - where we visited my mom and dad, and sister and nephew. I would have visited more of you, but you all, very contrarily, chose to also take your vacations that week. So, instead, we visited the CN Tower, Ontario Place, and Medieval Times. We also visited the Putting Edge in Whitby a couple of times. It is a very cool, glow-in-the-dark minigolf course. I had at leat half of a very good game there once.
Most importantly, we got to spend a lot of time with family. Vaughan had a great time with his Gramma and Papa. They have spoiled him beyond redemption. He came home with new roller blades, half a million Canada flags (we arrived on July 1st and he obsessed over the flags the entire time we were there!), new t-shirts, new stuffed animals and a tupperware container full of Canadian coins. We won't be able to live with him for weeks after this, I'm sure.
I promise pictures...eventually...if not here, then on Tom's blog.
We returned home to a heatwave. It has taken three days to cool the house down to live-able temperatures again. Summer in Philadelphia is simply not human. It is clear to me that God, in whatever form you choose to envision him, did not intend for anyone to live here. We broke an energy usage record the other day in this area. I think it was 8,190 mw. I can promise that our house was a large part of that record. I think we blew the same fuse about five times in the space of an hour as Vaughan's monster air conditioner tried valiantly to remove the moisture from the house.
I have a mountain of laundry to catch up on, and I am greatly looking forward to catching up with my knitting girls this evening. Tom begins his job search in earnest this week. I will keep you all posted.
Happy July 19 everyone.
We just got back from Canada - the true home of the free - where we visited my mom and dad, and sister and nephew. I would have visited more of you, but you all, very contrarily, chose to also take your vacations that week. So, instead, we visited the CN Tower, Ontario Place, and Medieval Times. We also visited the Putting Edge in Whitby a couple of times. It is a very cool, glow-in-the-dark minigolf course. I had at leat half of a very good game there once.
Most importantly, we got to spend a lot of time with family. Vaughan had a great time with his Gramma and Papa. They have spoiled him beyond redemption. He came home with new roller blades, half a million Canada flags (we arrived on July 1st and he obsessed over the flags the entire time we were there!), new t-shirts, new stuffed animals and a tupperware container full of Canadian coins. We won't be able to live with him for weeks after this, I'm sure.
I promise pictures...eventually...if not here, then on Tom's blog.
We returned home to a heatwave. It has taken three days to cool the house down to live-able temperatures again. Summer in Philadelphia is simply not human. It is clear to me that God, in whatever form you choose to envision him, did not intend for anyone to live here. We broke an energy usage record the other day in this area. I think it was 8,190 mw. I can promise that our house was a large part of that record. I think we blew the same fuse about five times in the space of an hour as Vaughan's monster air conditioner tried valiantly to remove the moisture from the house.
I have a mountain of laundry to catch up on, and I am greatly looking forward to catching up with my knitting girls this evening. Tom begins his job search in earnest this week. I will keep you all posted.
Happy July 19 everyone.
Happy Daddy's Day!
I know it's not actually Father's Day until tomorrow, but since we have an actual father and son in the house, I expect to be busier tomorrow and I didn't want to miss the opportunity of bragging about my dad.
I happen to have the best dad in the whole world - even better than yours. He is very tall, strong, and very handsome and, admittedly, very young for my age. I know you all think that I'm just saying these things because I'm biased, but I'm not the only one to think them. I remember a day when I was working at Canadian Tire (a lower-end Sears-esque store for my American allies,) and my dad had come to bring me something or tell me something, or maybe he was just shopping and had stopped over to say hi. At any rate, I was with a female customer when he arrived. I glanced up and greeted him, hey dad," and the customer looked up at him, and then back at me, and asked in surprise, "that's your dad?" I nodded. She looked back at him, and then back at me and said quietly, "cute dad!" At the time I was rather shocked, afterall, I have a mom to go with that dad, but now I realize that he is a good-looking guy beyond just being my dad. Cashiers and waitresses love him and, though he is generally pretty shy, he's a ridiculous flirt.
As far as tall goes, he's 6'8" - I told you.
But that isn't even what makes my dad the world's best dad. What makes my dad so cool is his total devotion to his family. My dad didn't always have a family in the most traditional sense of the word. He is one of, I don't know, about a hundred kids - let's see, there's Uncle Mel, Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Joy, Aunt Donna, Aunt Beverly, Aunt Doreen...and I could be forgetting someone. His mom fell on hard times and they were all farmed out to foster homes. It was my Uncle Mel, the only one I really know all that well, who found them all and got them in touch with one another again. There isn't much that my dad won't do for family, and he really doesn't think about all that he does for us.
Ok, so now you're all thinking that I sound like a besotted little girl. Indeed, I am. I have always been a fawned-over little daddy's girl. I have an excellent husband because my dad taught me that I am worth nothing less.
He has more work ethic than about twelve men. I have always believed that there is very little that my father can't do. Frequently, when there is something wrong with my car, or something needs fixing or building around the house, I have bemoaned the absence of my father. In fact, the one time he has been to Pennsylvania to visit us, I locked he and Tom in our bedroom to lay wood flooring for the entire day, only letting them out for dinner. He had to leave the very next day. There is nothing that man can't fix or build and we all take him terribly for granted.
My dad is what you would call a morning-person. He tends to get up before the crack of dawn and then, the minute he sits on his chair to watch tv, he's out like a baby. I think he can fall asleep anywhere, at any noise level. He fell asleep during Phantom of the Opera at the Pantages Theatre where he had taken my mother and I as a Christmas present because I was in love with it at the time. Turns out, my dad isn't all that fond of opera.
He likes country-western music, but he doesn't care for Kris Kristofferson. I once got him a Tom T Hall CD because it was music that we both liked. I also like Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and all that 'trucker' type music because of my dad. He doesn't read a whole lot, but he has drawers full of old western books - Zane Gray, Louis L'Amour - that kind of thing. And the stupider and cheesier the western, action or kung fu movie, the more likely my dad is to actually stay awake and watch it.
He's got a wicked temper, which I have inherited. In fact, I am a lot like my dad in a lot of ways.
I named my son Vaughan because I wanted to name him after my dad. His name is Robert, though everyone calls him Bob. I confess to not wanting to name my son Robert. But my maiden name is Vaughan and, as a girl, I wasn't going to keep my maiden name once I got married, so this was my way of honouring my dad and carrying on the family name.
So, that's my dad. Handsome, tall, strong, hard-working, devoted and loyal. You know you wish he was your dad, but you can't have him.
Happy June 17 everyone and Happy Father's Day to my dad!
I happen to have the best dad in the whole world - even better than yours. He is very tall, strong, and very handsome and, admittedly, very young for my age. I know you all think that I'm just saying these things because I'm biased, but I'm not the only one to think them. I remember a day when I was working at Canadian Tire (a lower-end Sears-esque store for my American allies,) and my dad had come to bring me something or tell me something, or maybe he was just shopping and had stopped over to say hi. At any rate, I was with a female customer when he arrived. I glanced up and greeted him, hey dad," and the customer looked up at him, and then back at me, and asked in surprise, "that's your dad?" I nodded. She looked back at him, and then back at me and said quietly, "cute dad!" At the time I was rather shocked, afterall, I have a mom to go with that dad, but now I realize that he is a good-looking guy beyond just being my dad. Cashiers and waitresses love him and, though he is generally pretty shy, he's a ridiculous flirt.
As far as tall goes, he's 6'8" - I told you.
But that isn't even what makes my dad the world's best dad. What makes my dad so cool is his total devotion to his family. My dad didn't always have a family in the most traditional sense of the word. He is one of, I don't know, about a hundred kids - let's see, there's Uncle Mel, Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Joy, Aunt Donna, Aunt Beverly, Aunt Doreen...and I could be forgetting someone. His mom fell on hard times and they were all farmed out to foster homes. It was my Uncle Mel, the only one I really know all that well, who found them all and got them in touch with one another again. There isn't much that my dad won't do for family, and he really doesn't think about all that he does for us.
Ok, so now you're all thinking that I sound like a besotted little girl. Indeed, I am. I have always been a fawned-over little daddy's girl. I have an excellent husband because my dad taught me that I am worth nothing less.
He has more work ethic than about twelve men. I have always believed that there is very little that my father can't do. Frequently, when there is something wrong with my car, or something needs fixing or building around the house, I have bemoaned the absence of my father. In fact, the one time he has been to Pennsylvania to visit us, I locked he and Tom in our bedroom to lay wood flooring for the entire day, only letting them out for dinner. He had to leave the very next day. There is nothing that man can't fix or build and we all take him terribly for granted.
My dad is what you would call a morning-person. He tends to get up before the crack of dawn and then, the minute he sits on his chair to watch tv, he's out like a baby. I think he can fall asleep anywhere, at any noise level. He fell asleep during Phantom of the Opera at the Pantages Theatre where he had taken my mother and I as a Christmas present because I was in love with it at the time. Turns out, my dad isn't all that fond of opera.
He likes country-western music, but he doesn't care for Kris Kristofferson. I once got him a Tom T Hall CD because it was music that we both liked. I also like Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and all that 'trucker' type music because of my dad. He doesn't read a whole lot, but he has drawers full of old western books - Zane Gray, Louis L'Amour - that kind of thing. And the stupider and cheesier the western, action or kung fu movie, the more likely my dad is to actually stay awake and watch it.
He's got a wicked temper, which I have inherited. In fact, I am a lot like my dad in a lot of ways.
I named my son Vaughan because I wanted to name him after my dad. His name is Robert, though everyone calls him Bob. I confess to not wanting to name my son Robert. But my maiden name is Vaughan and, as a girl, I wasn't going to keep my maiden name once I got married, so this was my way of honouring my dad and carrying on the family name.
So, that's my dad. Handsome, tall, strong, hard-working, devoted and loyal. You know you wish he was your dad, but you can't have him.
Happy June 17 everyone and Happy Father's Day to my dad!
I'm Going to Graduate from High School!
I hope this sounds as ridiculous to everyone else as it does to me..
In order to qualify for state grant funds I have to have a high school diploma. It so happens that I do possess a high school diploma. In Ontario we refer to it as an OSSD - Ontario Secondary School Diploma. There is also an OSSGD - Ontario Seconday School General Diploma, for the less ambitious Ontarian. However, the state grant people don't seem to think that a Canadian high school diploma is good enough. They probably don't read those pesky little lists put out by the UN in which Canada, in fact, outranks the US in education, but I digress.
I now find myself in the outrageous position of having to either obtain my GED through the battery of tests, which, only incidently, is the same stupid battery of tests whether you are in Canada or the US, or having to obtain a Commonwealth Secondary School Diploma through college credits. Fortunately, I already possess the necessary 30 college credits required for this second option and it is only a matter of forwarding a transcript to the Department of Education to apply for this Commonwealth thing.
Let me walk you through this, because I want to be sure everyone is taking this journey with me. Although I am a college graduate from two separate colleges, one American and one Canadian, with a Canadian high school diploma, I must jump through hoops to get a US high school diploma in order to qualify for state funding to continue my college studies. My other choice was to pay $75 to have my OSSD evaluated for it's American equivalency, which would only take about a month.
This is just another example of American bureaucracy being used to stick it to the foreigner. If I sound a little annoyed, it's because I am a LOT annoyed. Land of the free my ass!
And speaking of freedom, a couple of homeowners in New London, Connecticut have recently been evicted by their own town council so that the town could bulldoze their homes and build a hotel, convention centre and luxury condos. The majority of the homeowners in the neighbourhood settled with the town and sold their property quietly, but a few refused to leave. They went to the US Supreme Court to argue that emminent domain could not be used to encourage private enterprise. The courts didn't, apparently, agree with them.
The vote was 5-2. Charles Frink, one of the council members who voted against the eviction, summed this situation up quite nicely - "I can't accept a possible reduction in taxes by having neighbors thrown out of their property. This is morally abhorrent to me. I refuse to profit from my neighbor's pain."
I think we should find out where the other five council members live and pool our funds in order to confiscate the property and build something better - a garbage dump, perhaps. It is the height of arrogance, to me, that these council members are voting to evict citizens for the sake of hotels and condos. Did any of them stop to walk a mile in someone else's moccasins? Their homes should be taken away from them so that they know exactly what it is they are voting to do, so that they are casting informed votes, as it were.
EMMINENT DOMAIN IS UNCONSTITUIONAL!!
In order to qualify for state grant funds I have to have a high school diploma. It so happens that I do possess a high school diploma. In Ontario we refer to it as an OSSD - Ontario Secondary School Diploma. There is also an OSSGD - Ontario Seconday School General Diploma, for the less ambitious Ontarian. However, the state grant people don't seem to think that a Canadian high school diploma is good enough. They probably don't read those pesky little lists put out by the UN in which Canada, in fact, outranks the US in education, but I digress.
I now find myself in the outrageous position of having to either obtain my GED through the battery of tests, which, only incidently, is the same stupid battery of tests whether you are in Canada or the US, or having to obtain a Commonwealth Secondary School Diploma through college credits. Fortunately, I already possess the necessary 30 college credits required for this second option and it is only a matter of forwarding a transcript to the Department of Education to apply for this Commonwealth thing.
Let me walk you through this, because I want to be sure everyone is taking this journey with me. Although I am a college graduate from two separate colleges, one American and one Canadian, with a Canadian high school diploma, I must jump through hoops to get a US high school diploma in order to qualify for state funding to continue my college studies. My other choice was to pay $75 to have my OSSD evaluated for it's American equivalency, which would only take about a month.
This is just another example of American bureaucracy being used to stick it to the foreigner. If I sound a little annoyed, it's because I am a LOT annoyed. Land of the free my ass!
And speaking of freedom, a couple of homeowners in New London, Connecticut have recently been evicted by their own town council so that the town could bulldoze their homes and build a hotel, convention centre and luxury condos. The majority of the homeowners in the neighbourhood settled with the town and sold their property quietly, but a few refused to leave. They went to the US Supreme Court to argue that emminent domain could not be used to encourage private enterprise. The courts didn't, apparently, agree with them.
The vote was 5-2. Charles Frink, one of the council members who voted against the eviction, summed this situation up quite nicely - "I can't accept a possible reduction in taxes by having neighbors thrown out of their property. This is morally abhorrent to me. I refuse to profit from my neighbor's pain."
I think we should find out where the other five council members live and pool our funds in order to confiscate the property and build something better - a garbage dump, perhaps. It is the height of arrogance, to me, that these council members are voting to evict citizens for the sake of hotels and condos. Did any of them stop to walk a mile in someone else's moccasins? Their homes should be taken away from them so that they know exactly what it is they are voting to do, so that they are casting informed votes, as it were.
EMMINENT DOMAIN IS UNCONSTITUIONAL!!
Commencement
And so I have graduated Summa Cum Laude from Montgomery County Community College, having earned an Associate's Degree in Social Sciences. I am now Willowmist, AA, thank-you very much. I have been accepted into the very prestigious Villanova University, there to continue my studies as a History major.
Please, do write and call to tell me how very useless a History major is in the real world. I certainly haven't heard it often enough, and I obviously can't know this already. Summa cum laude, for those who don't speak Latin, means with highest honours. This might imply that I have at least half a brain in my head. I am aware of the options available to a History major, thank-you very much for your incredibly well-intentioned input. I might even have some plans in mind. Or, I might not. I might just be studying History because I find it fascinating and I don't really care if it pans out as a career. Not everything has to be about practicality all the time and, quite frankly, I find it irritating when people assume that I have to DO something with my degree when I am finished. I will. I will frame it and hang it on my wall somewhere.
The Villanova-thing does, however, have me a little anxiety ridden. I am terribly self-conscious and have a fear of strange places and strange people that is all out proportion to reality. Being lost is my worst nightmare. So, not only does this university require me to drive, by myself, at night, on the turnpike, but the campus is frickin' HUGE!! Seriously...
Villanova Campus
So I think that the first three classes I will be taking this Fall are Augustine and Culture - Traditions in Converstation, Themes in Modern World History, and Computing and the Web. Have I mentioned that Villanova is a private Catholic college? Hence the Augustine crap. I am also required to take a couple of Theology courses, which normally you would hear me complaining about much more vehemently except that the introductory course is based on historical Christian evolution, which I can totally stomach. I'm telling ya, if you throw a little historical bent into just about anything you can usually talk me into it - almost anything. I am much less happy about the two required Philosophy courses and the Ethics course. I hate Philosophy. Why IS a raven like a writing desk? At any rate, I'll never go there again. It's the stupidest tea-party I ever was at in all my life!
Happy Knotty Birthday to Diane and Sherry!
Happy May 22 to everyone else.
Please, do write and call to tell me how very useless a History major is in the real world. I certainly haven't heard it often enough, and I obviously can't know this already. Summa cum laude, for those who don't speak Latin, means with highest honours. This might imply that I have at least half a brain in my head. I am aware of the options available to a History major, thank-you very much for your incredibly well-intentioned input. I might even have some plans in mind. Or, I might not. I might just be studying History because I find it fascinating and I don't really care if it pans out as a career. Not everything has to be about practicality all the time and, quite frankly, I find it irritating when people assume that I have to DO something with my degree when I am finished. I will. I will frame it and hang it on my wall somewhere.
The Villanova-thing does, however, have me a little anxiety ridden. I am terribly self-conscious and have a fear of strange places and strange people that is all out proportion to reality. Being lost is my worst nightmare. So, not only does this university require me to drive, by myself, at night, on the turnpike, but the campus is frickin' HUGE!! Seriously...
Villanova Campus
So I think that the first three classes I will be taking this Fall are Augustine and Culture - Traditions in Converstation, Themes in Modern World History, and Computing and the Web. Have I mentioned that Villanova is a private Catholic college? Hence the Augustine crap. I am also required to take a couple of Theology courses, which normally you would hear me complaining about much more vehemently except that the introductory course is based on historical Christian evolution, which I can totally stomach. I'm telling ya, if you throw a little historical bent into just about anything you can usually talk me into it - almost anything. I am much less happy about the two required Philosophy courses and the Ethics course. I hate Philosophy. Why IS a raven like a writing desk? At any rate, I'll never go there again. It's the stupidest tea-party I ever was at in all my life!
Happy Knotty Birthday to Diane and Sherry!
Happy May 22 to everyone else.