I just "discovered" the best song ever...its by Michael Bublé and its called Everything...(lyrics here)
Wednesday, January 30
Tuesday, January 29
How can people do this?
I just read an article about how pets are the latest casualty of the mortgage/foreclosure crisis going on right now...
The article stated that many cats are being abandoned and are turning to feral cat colonies in hopes of survival, only to be ostracized by the feral cats because they're too tame). It said how dogs are being found chained to trees or in abandoned homes starving and close to death. Many home inspectors are going into foreclosed homes only to find these animals as well as turtles, frogs, hamsters and other pets just left in rooms with no food or water and no one to care for them!
How can this be?
I think its horrible and devastating to lose your home - I make no light of foreclosure. But I think its even more outrageous for people to just abandon their pets like this... Many are moving to places (apartments, shelters, etc) that do not allow pets, however if this is the case, then why on Earth would they think just leaving them abandoned is a good idea??
There are plenty of options that are more humane. Although shelters are risky because of the chance of euthanasia (which I don't agree with), at least these animals would have a humane remainder of their lives being fed and taken care of. And their hope for finding a new family is greater rather than just being left like yesterday's newspaper.
The problem with our society is that collectively, we are a disposable society. Don't like your hair color? Change it. Aren't happy with your marriage? Divorce your spouse. We don't want your pets anymore? Just leave them. And while there isn't anything harmful about changing your hair color, just imagine being that abandoned animal who gave only unconditional love to their human only to be tossed in the end. That makes me furious!
I hope people like that get what they deserve in the end....
Horrible. Just horrible.
The article stated that many cats are being abandoned and are turning to feral cat colonies in hopes of survival, only to be ostracized by the feral cats because they're too tame). It said how dogs are being found chained to trees or in abandoned homes starving and close to death. Many home inspectors are going into foreclosed homes only to find these animals as well as turtles, frogs, hamsters and other pets just left in rooms with no food or water and no one to care for them!
How can this be?
I think its horrible and devastating to lose your home - I make no light of foreclosure. But I think its even more outrageous for people to just abandon their pets like this... Many are moving to places (apartments, shelters, etc) that do not allow pets, however if this is the case, then why on Earth would they think just leaving them abandoned is a good idea??
There are plenty of options that are more humane. Although shelters are risky because of the chance of euthanasia (which I don't agree with), at least these animals would have a humane remainder of their lives being fed and taken care of. And their hope for finding a new family is greater rather than just being left like yesterday's newspaper.
The problem with our society is that collectively, we are a disposable society. Don't like your hair color? Change it. Aren't happy with your marriage? Divorce your spouse. We don't want your pets anymore? Just leave them. And while there isn't anything harmful about changing your hair color, just imagine being that abandoned animal who gave only unconditional love to their human only to be tossed in the end. That makes me furious!
I hope people like that get what they deserve in the end....
Horrible. Just horrible.
Monday, January 28
What now?
In the past week, I've started receiving text spam... For those of you who don't know what it is, basically that's spam that's sent via text message to my cell phone.
Just this past Friday, it got worse. I got maybe 6 or 7 messages on Friday and I finally had to call Verizon Wireless to complain. The representative I spoke with was less than helpful. His first suggestion? "Have you considered changing your phone number?". Um, no. I've had this number since...well, since maybe 1998 - TEN YEARS. That's ten years of contacts I'd have to let know that my number has changed. No thank you. He suggested blocking text messages to my phone (thus negating the service of unlimited text messages that I pay for each month). No thanks to that too. He then told me to visit Verizon Wireless' text site (www.vtext.com) and set my preferences so I don't receive texts from web or email based addresses. If I wasn't willing to do that, he admitted that I was basically stuck receiving these messages. Um...? So I tried the web option in hopes that I could still receive emails from family & friends, but that seemed to be the key that unlocked Pandora's box.
On Saturday, by 8:30pm I received 19 - COUNT THEM, NINETEEN - spam texts!! I called Verizon again and again the representative suggested the phone number change and the text blocking. Does anyone at Verizon actually keep track of each accounts' activities and phone calls when you call in to speak with them? So basically I had to rehash my conversation from Friday.... Dimitrius was very nice and suggested the Vtext option again - so this time I chose to block emails as well... I also suggested to him that Verizon create a spam blocker much like emails have where customers have the option to block all texts EXCEPT those from people in their address book! Hey, if it works for Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail, why not Verizon? So he took my statement and I made sure to point out to him that if this happened to the President or CEO of Verizon, the problem would be fixed right away!! (I'm still holding out for their cell #s - I'd like to forward all my spam to them and see how quickly the problem is solved!!)
After getting off the phone with Dimitrius (Saturday's guy), I received another 6 spam texts within an hour. Plus another 3 overnight. Nice spam blocking Verizon!
Sunday, I received another 10 or so.... I called Sunday night again and got the same schpeal - "would you like to change your cell #?" NO. NO I WOULD NOT LIKE TO. I told the representative this time that if I have to change my cell number, I'm going to change cell companies too. I pay Verizon money to solve problems and provide me a service, NOT for me to work around THEM. So phone number and text blocking suggestion out of the way, I finally spoke to a tech person who told me Verizon is aware of the situation and that in the past couple of weeks, spamming has increased, so obviously something is up (ya think?)... They are working on solving the problem, blah blah blah. She gave me one more option for blocking texts via Vtext.com and "that should definitely work". So I tried it....
So far since I've change that last option, I've received about 12 more spam texts - including 3 overnight (one of which scared Luna when the pillow shook from the vibrating alert).
Nice.
So what now?
Just this past Friday, it got worse. I got maybe 6 or 7 messages on Friday and I finally had to call Verizon Wireless to complain. The representative I spoke with was less than helpful. His first suggestion? "Have you considered changing your phone number?". Um, no. I've had this number since...well, since maybe 1998 - TEN YEARS. That's ten years of contacts I'd have to let know that my number has changed. No thank you. He suggested blocking text messages to my phone (thus negating the service of unlimited text messages that I pay for each month). No thanks to that too. He then told me to visit Verizon Wireless' text site (www.vtext.com) and set my preferences so I don't receive texts from web or email based addresses. If I wasn't willing to do that, he admitted that I was basically stuck receiving these messages. Um...? So I tried the web option in hopes that I could still receive emails from family & friends, but that seemed to be the key that unlocked Pandora's box.
On Saturday, by 8:30pm I received 19 - COUNT THEM, NINETEEN - spam texts!! I called Verizon again and again the representative suggested the phone number change and the text blocking. Does anyone at Verizon actually keep track of each accounts' activities and phone calls when you call in to speak with them? So basically I had to rehash my conversation from Friday.... Dimitrius was very nice and suggested the Vtext option again - so this time I chose to block emails as well... I also suggested to him that Verizon create a spam blocker much like emails have where customers have the option to block all texts EXCEPT those from people in their address book! Hey, if it works for Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail, why not Verizon? So he took my statement and I made sure to point out to him that if this happened to the President or CEO of Verizon, the problem would be fixed right away!! (I'm still holding out for their cell #s - I'd like to forward all my spam to them and see how quickly the problem is solved!!)
After getting off the phone with Dimitrius (Saturday's guy), I received another 6 spam texts within an hour. Plus another 3 overnight. Nice spam blocking Verizon!
Sunday, I received another 10 or so.... I called Sunday night again and got the same schpeal - "would you like to change your cell #?" NO. NO I WOULD NOT LIKE TO. I told the representative this time that if I have to change my cell number, I'm going to change cell companies too. I pay Verizon money to solve problems and provide me a service, NOT for me to work around THEM. So phone number and text blocking suggestion out of the way, I finally spoke to a tech person who told me Verizon is aware of the situation and that in the past couple of weeks, spamming has increased, so obviously something is up (ya think?)... They are working on solving the problem, blah blah blah. She gave me one more option for blocking texts via Vtext.com and "that should definitely work". So I tried it....
So far since I've change that last option, I've received about 12 more spam texts - including 3 overnight (one of which scared Luna when the pillow shook from the vibrating alert).
Nice.
So what now?
Sunday, January 27
Do I or don't I?
I just ate a fortune cookie with the following fortune:
(by the way, my lucky numbers evidently are 1, 5, 10, 40, and 43 - but I digress)
That led me to start thinking about how I used to believe. Deep down I knew that I believed in the "Disney magic". Not in Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. But in the concept of a happy ending... Somewhere along the way, though, I lost that. Well, its not a big secret where and how I lost it, but point is, I lost it. I lost my belief.
So when I read my fortune tonight as I ate that delicious cookie, I started thinking...
Do I believe?
Just a year ago, I'd have emphatically said "no".
At that time, even with my budding relationship, I didn't really believe that happy endings were possible. I thought that maybe my belief system for the better part of my life was somehow flawed or wrong. I'd see a movie and at the end I'd all but yell at the screen because happy endings don't happen. The girl really doesn't get the boy and they don't live happily ever after. It just doesn't happen.
But in the past year, so much has changed.
While I still admit that I do still have issues to deal with, I realize that I don't have that inclination to scream at the TV or movie screen. I realize that my faith in my new relationship is growing. I realize that it is possible for someone to love you not because they're related to you and not because they have to, but because they want to. Because they love you for who you are - warts and all. And although I've always loved that way, its a new and foreign concept for me to be loved back that way.
And that has given me hope.
Its given me hope that maybe it is possible to be happy...truly happy. Hope that maybe happy endings are possible.
Right now, I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm starting to really believe deep down that it isn't the light of an on-coming train.
But you know what? Even if happy endings are possible, I don't want my beliefs to be back where they were... Because my beliefs were based in fantasy. They weren't real. Cinderella and Prince Charming are fictional characters. And what I want is to be me. And I want my relationship to be real. And it is. And you know what? If its going to have a happy ending, I want to know that that happy ending is real.
And then, only then, will I be able to really say, for the first time, that yes, I do believe.
do you believe?
endurance and persistence will be rewarded.
endurance and persistence will be rewarded.
(by the way, my lucky numbers evidently are 1, 5, 10, 40, and 43 - but I digress)
That led me to start thinking about how I used to believe. Deep down I knew that I believed in the "Disney magic". Not in Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. But in the concept of a happy ending... Somewhere along the way, though, I lost that. Well, its not a big secret where and how I lost it, but point is, I lost it. I lost my belief.
So when I read my fortune tonight as I ate that delicious cookie, I started thinking...
Do I believe?
Just a year ago, I'd have emphatically said "no".
At that time, even with my budding relationship, I didn't really believe that happy endings were possible. I thought that maybe my belief system for the better part of my life was somehow flawed or wrong. I'd see a movie and at the end I'd all but yell at the screen because happy endings don't happen. The girl really doesn't get the boy and they don't live happily ever after. It just doesn't happen.
But in the past year, so much has changed.
While I still admit that I do still have issues to deal with, I realize that I don't have that inclination to scream at the TV or movie screen. I realize that my faith in my new relationship is growing. I realize that it is possible for someone to love you not because they're related to you and not because they have to, but because they want to. Because they love you for who you are - warts and all. And although I've always loved that way, its a new and foreign concept for me to be loved back that way.
And that has given me hope.
Its given me hope that maybe it is possible to be happy...truly happy. Hope that maybe happy endings are possible.
Right now, I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm starting to really believe deep down that it isn't the light of an on-coming train.
But you know what? Even if happy endings are possible, I don't want my beliefs to be back where they were... Because my beliefs were based in fantasy. They weren't real. Cinderella and Prince Charming are fictional characters. And what I want is to be me. And I want my relationship to be real. And it is. And you know what? If its going to have a happy ending, I want to know that that happy ending is real.
And then, only then, will I be able to really say, for the first time, that yes, I do believe.
Friday, January 25
Wednesday, January 23
Snow?
Its now Wednesday and guess how much snow we got! None. Zip. Zilch. Nada! Ok, that's not true - we got 2 snow flakes that fell yesterday afternoon. Two. Small ones. And if you blinked, you missed them. I had my eyes open, so I saw them.
Good thing the weather gurus are good for....for....what? I dunno - but not for forecasting!
Next hope of snow? This weekend... Keep your fingers crossed!
Good thing the weather gurus are good for....for....what? I dunno - but not for forecasting!
Next hope of snow? This weekend... Keep your fingers crossed!
Monday, January 21
Here's hoping!
Well, "they" are calling for snow tomorrow. Nothing major - but at least a dusting to an inch or two! That's nothing compared to other January's! But since my hope of a blizzard giving us an impromptu day off hasn't happened yet, I'll settle for a snowy slushy day that will allow me to use my new snow boots...FINALLY!So keep your fingers (and booted toes) crossed and hope for the best! It'll be nice to see a snow-covered winter - at least for a day or so!
Friday, January 18
There's something wrong with this....
....and its not that I have the intense urge to brush my teeth after seeing this! FYI - this is an orangoutang, NOT a monkey! :)
Bon apetit!
Monkey Needs A Drink - Watch more free videos
Bon apetit!
Monkey Needs A Drink - Watch more free videos
Monday, January 14
You call this weather?
Talk about a bust! Up until bedtime last night, the weather gurus were practically calling for death and destruction in the form of a major winter storm to hit overnight into this morning. We had a heavy snow warning in effect from 9pm last night until noon today. We went to bed with rain falling and the promise that temps would drop and the snow would start (and quite honestly, the hope that work would be closed or at least delayed today)!
We woke up, however, to barely a dusting on the grass and a departing rain storm. Nothing major. No death and destruction. No promise of a day off. Nothing. Just the promise (or hope?) of getting to work on time.
Now they're calling for another storm for the end of the week.
As of NOW, they're saying rain for us. Of course, with their stellar forecasting skills, we'll most likely get a monsoon - or a blizzard. Who knows. All I know is that January is almost over (ok, its HALF over tomorrow) and I just got a new pair of fabulous snow boots for Christmas (from man...thank you sweetie!), and with 65 degree temps last week and no snow this week, I haven't gotten to wear them!! So I'd be willing to let a little snow fall for the promise of getting to wear them!!
Well, that and a day off from work. We all hope for that!
We woke up, however, to barely a dusting on the grass and a departing rain storm. Nothing major. No death and destruction. No promise of a day off. Nothing. Just the promise (or hope?) of getting to work on time.
Now they're calling for another storm for the end of the week.
As of NOW, they're saying rain for us. Of course, with their stellar forecasting skills, we'll most likely get a monsoon - or a blizzard. Who knows. All I know is that January is almost over (ok, its HALF over tomorrow) and I just got a new pair of fabulous snow boots for Christmas (from man...thank you sweetie!), and with 65 degree temps last week and no snow this week, I haven't gotten to wear them!! So I'd be willing to let a little snow fall for the promise of getting to wear them!!Well, that and a day off from work. We all hope for that!
Friday, January 4
Where?
I'll be honest... I'm a little sad, a little bummed, a little happy, a little excited, and a little upset - all at once. Let's face it, I'm a woman! I'm allowed.
Why am I such a cornucopia of emotions you ask? Well, my man left today for an 8-day vacation on Andros Island in The Bahamas to go bonefishing. (that's the bummed part) No, he's not fishing for bones. Bonefish. Its a kind of fish that you fly fish for on the "flats" (sounds exotic, when in reality, its just knee-deep water). (that's the excited part)
Anyhoo - here's where he is - the yellow arrow points the way (he's just on Cargill Creek according to the Andros Island Bonefish Club website - where he's staying):
Its the largest island in The Bahamas but its the least populated (or so I've read). Its about 150 miles southeast of Miami and the weather this week is calling for daytime highs around 80! That's sounding pretty good considering its a "balmy" 34 degrees today and yesterday it struggled to hit 24 here in NJ! So while he's not overly fond of the heat (he likes winter better), I'd be willing to bet he's appreciating not freezing his tookus off right about now!!
The part that makes me sad is that we won't get to talk to each other until he returns next weekend (Saturday can't come fast enough for me!)... So, the countdown for me begins...8 days!! I know he'll be wishing he could stay longer and fish more (I mean, the other option is to come home to said freezing tookus and go to work - hmmmm, there's a no-brainer choice!).
But, I know I can't wait to see him again! He's a good egg, and I'll admit it...I like having him around! (and that's the happy part)
So...
8 DAYS TO GO!!
Why am I such a cornucopia of emotions you ask? Well, my man left today for an 8-day vacation on Andros Island in The Bahamas to go bonefishing. (that's the bummed part) No, he's not fishing for bones. Bonefish. Its a kind of fish that you fly fish for on the "flats" (sounds exotic, when in reality, its just knee-deep water). (that's the excited part)
Anyhoo - here's where he is - the yellow arrow points the way (he's just on Cargill Creek according to the Andros Island Bonefish Club website - where he's staying):
Its the largest island in The Bahamas but its the least populated (or so I've read). Its about 150 miles southeast of Miami and the weather this week is calling for daytime highs around 80! That's sounding pretty good considering its a "balmy" 34 degrees today and yesterday it struggled to hit 24 here in NJ! So while he's not overly fond of the heat (he likes winter better), I'd be willing to bet he's appreciating not freezing his tookus off right about now!!The part that makes me sad is that we won't get to talk to each other until he returns next weekend (Saturday can't come fast enough for me!)... So, the countdown for me begins...8 days!! I know he'll be wishing he could stay longer and fish more (I mean, the other option is to come home to said freezing tookus and go to work - hmmmm, there's a no-brainer choice!).
But, I know I can't wait to see him again! He's a good egg, and I'll admit it...I like having him around! (and that's the happy part)
So...
8 DAYS TO GO!!
Wednesday, January 2
Welcome to 2008!
Happy New Year!!!
Its a new year - time to make new experiences and new memories. 2007 was a year of change and growth for me, but I do have to say that I'm glad its all behind me and that its a new year!
That being said, I have some feline news that is something new for 2008....! Last night, I was sitting in the living room watching TV, and all of a sudden, Luna jumped up on the sofa next to me and snuggled in and slept there for almost 3 hours! That is a MAJOR change for a cat who is not a lap cat. She's just not a snuggly cat - and on the rare occasions that she does snuggle, its brief....just enough to say "there, I snuggled with you, are you happy now?" But this was a rare treat for me - maybe her 2008 new years gift to me perhaps!
On a different feline note, I got my man the funniest and coolest gift for Christmas for his cats.... One of his cats, well, lets say his cat regurgitates regularly. So, on one of my internet browsing days a few months ago, I found myself at the PETA website, and found the best gift ever - a caution sign for said regurgitations! Well, Christmas night, we got back to his place from his family's house, and I was very excited to find that it needed to be used!! Sick? Yes, of course, but funny none the less! The one side is in English, the other, Spanish. And yes, he thinks I am crazy for photographing it, but its one of those things you'd never believe otherwise!
Anyway, I wish everyone a very prosperous, healthy and wonderful 2008!! May your bad days this year be no worse than your best days in 2007!
Its a new year - time to make new experiences and new memories. 2007 was a year of change and growth for me, but I do have to say that I'm glad its all behind me and that its a new year!
That being said, I have some feline news that is something new for 2008....! Last night, I was sitting in the living room watching TV, and all of a sudden, Luna jumped up on the sofa next to me and snuggled in and slept there for almost 3 hours! That is a MAJOR change for a cat who is not a lap cat. She's just not a snuggly cat - and on the rare occasions that she does snuggle, its brief....just enough to say "there, I snuggled with you, are you happy now?" But this was a rare treat for me - maybe her 2008 new years gift to me perhaps!
On a different feline note, I got my man the funniest and coolest gift for Christmas for his cats.... One of his cats, well, lets say his cat regurgitates regularly. So, on one of my internet browsing days a few months ago, I found myself at the PETA website, and found the best gift ever - a caution sign for said regurgitations! Well, Christmas night, we got back to his place from his family's house, and I was very excited to find that it needed to be used!! Sick? Yes, of course, but funny none the less! The one side is in English, the other, Spanish. And yes, he thinks I am crazy for photographing it, but its one of those things you'd never believe otherwise!Anyway, I wish everyone a very prosperous, healthy and wonderful 2008!! May your bad days this year be no worse than your best days in 2007!
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