How I spent my Christmas Day

Christmas morning is pretty much the same every year. It's nice and quiet. All of my family's traditional Christmas celebration and gift opening happens on Christmas Eve so this day is mine. I do cook a nice holiday dinner and I enjoy the process. So here we go...

7:30:
It's time for coffee and the paper. There is an abundance of post-holiday sale flyers to go through even though I'm never interested in entering the fold of those who are out looking for the deals. But it helps me open my eyes and start my day.

8:00:
I shower and get ready.

8:15:
Time to think about cooking. I surf the net for a few ideas about how to prep things even though I will fall into my usual habits and do it all my way.

8:30:
Chop onions and celery while finishing my third cup of coffee.
Start cooking the pork sausage.
Add a stick of butter and the onions and celery.
Open the bag of croutons and empty into a large bowl.
Slice the fresh mushrooms.
Add chicken broth and the mushrooms to the cooking sausage.
After the mixture boils, I pour it over the croutons.
Gently stir it together until the croutons are all saturated.
Wash out the turkey pan, it's been stored away since last year and must be pretty dusty from lack of use.

9:00:
Preheat the oven. Prep the pie pastry and bake the pie shell.
I let the pie shell cool on the deck rail outside.
Peel and cut up the yams.

9:15:
Boil for 30 minutes. Set the timer.
Mix the vinegar, sugar, and oil together and cook.
Let it cool on the deck rail outside next to the pie shell.

9:30:
Clean and grate the cabbage and the carrots.
Chop the green pepper and mix with the cabbage and carrots.
Refrigerate until later.

9:45:
Drain the yams and mash.
Add the butter, milk, vanilla, and brown sugar.
Spread into a baking dish and refrigerate.

10:00:
Make the lemon curd.
Pour it in the cooled pie shell.
Make the meringue.
Top the pie with the meringue and brown it in the oven.

10:30:
Take out the turkey and clean it up.
Remove the neck and gizzards.
Throw them in a pot of water, onion, and spices and boil.
Stuff and prep the turkey.
Rub with spices and butter, cover with foil.
Put the rest of the stuffing in a casserole dish and refrigerate.
A 15-pound bird takes 4 and a half hours so I don't have to put it in the oven till noon.

11:00:
Make the creamy cole slaw dressing.
Take half of the cabbage-carrot-pepper mixture and mix in the dressing.
Pour into a fancy bowl and refrigerate until dinner.
Get the vinegar and oil mix off of the deck and mix with the other half of the cabbage-carrot-pepper mix.
Pour it into a fancy bowl and refrigerate until dinner.

11:15:
Cut up the broccoli.
Stick it in a ziploc bag until later.
Cut up the cheese into cubes.
Set it in a microwavable bowl until later.

11:30:
Turn off the boiling gizzards.
Pour the liquid broth over the turkey. I do the dishes and take out the dinner dishes.
The dining room table is cleaned off, the chairs are in place.
I think I will make the sangria now.
Get the pitcher, fill with ice.
Add sliced fruit and pour in the liquid.
It smells so yummy.
In the fridge it goes until later.

12:00:
The turkey goes in the oven.
The timer is set for an hour so I can remember to check it.
Take out the frozen dinner rolls.
Prep the cookie sheet and let them rise.

12:30:
I am going to go watch The Da Vinci Code now.
I need to sit down.
Jeff makes orange julius and we watch the movie.
I warn him that I will want to pause it in an hour when the timer goes off.
Since the movie is 2 hours and 40 minutes long, he doesn't mind.

1:30:
Baste the turkey.
Set the timer for one hour.

2:30:
Baste the turkey.
Set the timer for one hour.

3:15:
What a great movie.
It will inspire much conversation later.
Time to peel potatoes and make a note to turn them on at 4.
Get the steamer out and fill it with water.
Dump the broccoli into the steamer.

3:45:
Jeff takes the cheesecake out so it can reach room temperature.
Finish setting the table.
Set up the coffee pot so all I have to do is turn it on later.

4:00:
Time to cook the pototaoes.
Put the rolls in the oven.
Pop the stuffing in with the rolls.

4:30:
Check the potatoes.
Almost done.
Take the turkey out.
Let it sit.
Turn on the steamer.
Take the rolls out of the oven.

4:45:
Rinse the potatoes.
Add butter and milk and mash them.
Cover and set aside.
Take the stuffing out of the oven.

5:00:
Take the slaws out and set them on the table.
Jeff carves the turkey.

5:15:
Why does everything seem to go crazy at this time?
Turkey is carved, gravy needs to be made, food needs to be put on the table.
There's broccoli, cheese sauce, and dinner rolls the need to be dealt with.
And I forgot to turn on the coffee.

5:30:
It's time to eat everybody is happy and well-fed. I think they like it. I can't tell, and to be honest, I'm too tired to care anyway. The cooking was fun anyway. The irony is that I don't think it really matters whether it is good or not, it's all about just hanging out together anyway. I just wish I had tomorrow off to relax after such a busy day.

Busiest Post Office Day

I have today off. On a normal Monday morning, the alarm clock goes off at 4:55 and I'm up and running. I mean that literally. I get up, get dressed in my gym clothes, grab my work clothes, and head out. It's great having a fitness center right at work. I can run my 3 miles, shower, and head downstairs to work. It's a perfect schedule for me.

But this morning, like I said, I have off so no gym for me. I did get up at 5 this morning. As a creature of habit, I just couldn't fall back to sleep. I got out of bed, saw Jeff off to work, and poured myself a cup of coffee. As I contemplated today's schedule, one of the items on my to-do list I could do right now - go to the Post Office. Luckily, the Airport Post Office is open 24/7. I needed to get stamps to mail my Christmas cards and I have to packages to mail. I wasn't convinced that I should get dressed right now and head out so early. After all, this is my day off. So I turned on CNN where the story turned to the mail. Today is the last day to guarantee delivery before Christmas so it is considered to be the busiest mailing day of the year. That was the push I needed to get me out the door right now, before the long lines form.

I decided to pull my hair back with a headband and put on my gym clothes because they are so easy to slip on. Of course because they are gym clothes, my checkered flannel pants that I wear while driving didn't match my long-sleeved shirt I got from a 10-mile run a few years back. Needless to say, I looked like crap but at 5:30 in the morning I figured I would see a few people in line in front of me and the Post Office clerk. I've stopped there this early before and I know that before 7 there is only one clerk, and usually one or two other people are there like me, the early birds on their way to work.

This morning I was wrong. I pulled into the lot which was packed. I got the last available parking space and there are many. I brought my cat, Toby with me and I immediately regretted it. I wasn't sure I would be comfortable with leaving him in the car for any length of time. I swallowed my angst and headed out of the car. Toby's sweet little sad face made me feel guilty but I was there and I wanted to get this done.

As soon as I walked in, I could feel the hustle-bustle of how busy this day would become. There were three clerks working the counter (how unusual), and two lines. One for self-service package mailing and the other one for counter service. I needed counter service as I wasn't sure how to send my packages. The line was long and as I walked up, the guy in front of me did the head-to-toe once over. He was impeccably dressed and I looked like a slob. I thought to myself vainly, at least I have lipstick on and my earrings (as if it mattered, I knew I looked like crap).

What was not immediately apparent to me was the camera crew and the newscaster getting ready to do a story. As I realized their presence, I remembered the CNN story this morning. Oh crap, this really sucks. As the 10 people in front of me went through their transactions, the news people still hadn't starting broadcasting. The guy in front of me who I'm nicknaming Mr. Impeccable was next when the camera guy picked up his camera and started to get ready to film. Mr. Impeccable looked down at me, brushed off his shirt and straightened his leather jacket as if to get ready to be interviewed. But alas, guess who they picked out of the line to put the camera on? It's Murphy's law, isn't it? So there goes 60 seconds of my 15 minutes of fame. Arrggh.

Not exactly the way I wanted to start my day off.

Skate, skate, and skate some more

My son's girlfriend, Jeanette wanted to go ice skating for some time. So last Sunday we headed to Pettit Ice Arena for an evening of skating. My son, BJ, Jeanette, her girlfriend, the girlfriend's boyfriend and I looked like an odd group. Mostly because they are all near 20 and I am...well, let's just say more than double that. I wish I could remember the girlfriend and her boyfriend's names but they just didn't stick.

We got to Pettit and all of us had to rent skates but Jeanette. She had her own and apparently she was good at skating. As we tip-toed to the ice, my main concern was to not fall down and I did succeed at staying in an upright position. Since it took everything in my power just to stand up on skates, I relied on my runner's stamina as I glided around in circles for the entire two hours that we were there. Running every day does have its benefits so 2 hours on ice was pretty easy for me to do. GF and BF seem to spend more time on the bench watching then actually skating.

BJ was on the ice while Jeannette skated circles around him. With one foot over her head she skated. She skated backwards, forwards, and in circles while the rest of us spent our energy focusing on standing up. She didn't only skate around BJ she was making circles around all of us. For a moment I was tempted to just push her down. All that energy, all that youth, all that talent.

Actually I am just teasing I would never really push her down. I was the first to give up and give in. It wasn't for a lack of energy but my skates gave me a big blister on the back of my foot so I was done. Even with that, I might have continued but the blister had popped already creating great agony and pain. The friends were next to call it quits. They weren't all that into it in the first place so I was surprised that they weren't done before me.

Eventually BJ and Jeanette had to stop, the rink was closing. They had no choice. As we're heading off the ice, Jeanette announces that she likes in-line skating better. So next Sunday we should go the the Rollaero and roller skate. I told her that I also liked in-line skating better, mostly because I have my own skates and I am certain that they will never give me blisters. So she says we should go. I told her I didn't think I could since I would be going to Chicago for the day next Saturday. She announced, "But I want to skate on Sunday," in a whiney tone. She didn't seem to understand that it's way too much for me to spend all day in Chicago then spend the next day rollerblading. I just don't have the energy of the 20-somethings. I knew I should have pushed her down when I had the chance.

The 6th grade revisited

Now that my boss is MIA, me and my co-workers have to report to the manager of the application development department. He has combined his department and mine so that we all get together for weekly project status meetings. In the past few weeks, the three of us women would show up to the meetings, we would discuss our projects then we would leave and he would continue his meeting with the rest of his staff. This week the manager decided that we would rotate around the table, not singling us women out first.

This is a story about yesterday's status meeting.

Understanding the development group is not an easy thing. There are six men in the department. All have different quirks, as most people do, and the stereotype "computer geek" definitely applies to each of them in varying degrees. One guy looks like Elvis, another I like to call Comic Book Guy (see any episode of the Simpsons), and another reminds me of a cross between Louis Skolnick and Gilbert Lowell from Revenge of the Nerds. They like to talk about things like comic book heroes (obviously), the Lord of the Rings books, Star Wars and Star Trek, as well as get involved in discussions where they can argue theory and logic with furvor. With that said, I imagine their experience involving dating/relationships with women to be quite limited. I think I was right.

I was seated between Comic Book Guy and Elvis when the meeting started. I had my legs crossed where my foot was dangling under the table. Elvis decided to ever so gently bump my dangling foot. I thought it was an accident until he kicked me two more times. So I uncrossed my legs.

When it came to my turn to speak Comic Book Guy decided to slowly and deliberately push on the seat of my swivel chair. The chair moved until the left arm bumped into the table. I thought it was just centrifugal force moving the chair so I just scooted back to my original position. Until it happened again. Of course, I was speaking so I was half-paying attention to CBG's arm reaching towards the back of the chair to move it again. Bam. Into the table we go. Elvis was snickering.

When I realized what was actually happening, I had re-crossed my legs. So I took the dangling foot and gave CBG a soft kick in the shin. I was just trying to make him stop pushing on my chair. He immediately howled, "OUCH! She kicked me!"

Oh for God sakes, I thought. So I asked out loud, "What is wrong with you?!"

The response: "I didn't do nothing."

Elvis looked down and CBG folded his hands in his lap. Apparently the department manager was used to this type of behavior by these boys so he just ignored it all. It felt like I was in the 6th grade again with boys who somehow knew that had an interest in girls, but they just couldn't figure out why quite yet.

I was waiting for one of them to pull my hair and snap my bra.

Observation of the Day

As I walk through the office this morning, the first thing I see as I enter the department is Dynae's birthday balloons brightly surrounding her cubicle. I've been looking at these balloons since last week Wednesday. I did the appropriate thing that day and wished her a happy birthday. Her response was, "Thank you but my birthday isn't until Sunday." Under my breath I am saying, "Not that I plan on speaking to you on this Sunday (or any Sunday for that matter), but I digress." It was implied that since it was Thanksgiving week last week the balloons on Wednesday were logical. Duh. And if it weren't already implied, I don't care what day her actual birthday was.

But here we are, more than a week after the birthday balloons went up and the decorations are becoming old. That's when the observation hit me. Since Dynae is a 20-something, the birthday balloons stay up for a week. If the birthday person was 30-something, the balloons would come down the next day. If the birthday person was 40-something, the balloons wouldn't make it till the end of the first day. If the birthday person was 50-something, they would tear balloons down the moment they went up. And if the birthday person was 60-something, they wish someone would care enough to realize that they are having another birthday and decorate with balloons. And we come full circle on the life of a cubicle birthday balloon.

More Boss Issues

So the boss hasn't been mentioned for a long time. I wonder if he is coming back. The guy who is filling in for him is great. Maybe that's a sign of better things to come. Or maybe not. Lately I don't have enough to do. I requested involvement in a big project that is coming our way only to be denied. It seems that even though I have lots of experience with implementation of new software systems, because I haven't worked with this specific vendor I'm just not qualified. So the plan is to hire 3 "experienced" people to do the work. Did I mention I have nothing to do? So what a great idea! Hire more people and I have nothing to do. I need to find a new job.

MIA Boss Issues

Work has been frustrating lately. The boss is out on sick leave. We don't get the privilege of knowing what exactly is wrong with him, just that he will be out for 6 to 8 weeks. Of course, it is his right to privacy but every once in a while we get a little hint of a suggestion of whatever it is that is bothering him. The rumors run from the big C-word to mental illness. Since he has shown up in the office for an hour or two looking just fine, verified by senior management that he has no symptoms, the rumors are exacerbated along the lines of mental illness.

My co-workers and I have caught him in a variety of inaccuracies so current thought is that the man has lost track of the tales he has weaved and can't keep track of who he says what to so he is suffering from a combination of guilt and shame. Which is in keeping with the mental illness rumor...

My personal experience has to do with something he told be about his calendar. To preface the story, the day before I asked about the calendar we had a departmental meeting where he explained that he is traveling often to gain some new clients in the area of quality assurance. We are a software hosting company in the long term health care industry and the software vendors that we do business with are a source for him. The concept of doing QA work for these vendors makes sense and would make our department more than just overhead, but a resource for revenue. Sounds like a good idea to me.

I am new to this QA department so this man is in the process of training me. He told me to book some time on his calendar to spend some time together going over a project. I told him I struggled to find time on his calendar because he was so heavliy booked. Half of his day was filled with school open houses in the Chicago area. I didn't quite understand this, I thought maybe he was a teacher as well as the director here. So I asked him, "Are you a teacher?" I thought it would be really cool if he said yes, I would like to hear more if he was. I have a high respect for teachers. He said, no knowing exactly where I was coming from (his calendar). He explained to me that those were his potential clients. He said, "Remember yesterday I mentioned that I am in the process of trying to gain new clients for the business?" I said, "Oh, OK" quite confused by this answer. Based on our senior management's philosophy called the Hedgehog concept which boils down to doing one thing well, this didn't quite fit. Plus he said he was traveling to Tennessee and Washington DC, what would that possibly have to do with Chicago area schools? Hmmm....

I started to do some research. Google is a great resource. I discovered that this man has a tutoring business on the side. That explains all the school open houses. He must be trying to sell his tutoring service to the schools as a resource for students. Both his home and company are located in Chicago, so it was all fitting together. I looked at his calendar again and noticed that he is here when some of these events occur. Strange. But he was usually in a conference call in his office at the exact same time listed on his calendar. Other times he just wasn't here. By the way, Google also revealed another business that the man is in selling real estate. His expertise: Senior Living.

What I don't understand is why he would tell me a lie. It's obvious that we are NOT going into the business of doing QA work for schools. My co-workers were also feeling a little uneasy because of the events of late. After some discussion with them, it seems they also felt a sense of betrayal by some of the things this man has said. We did not get into too much detail, some things are better left unspoken. And now he is out on medical leave leaving us all wondering about many things, including our own welfare within the company. Anyway I don't care if he has other business ventures, except when I need him and he's not here. Otherwise, it doesn't really matter to me as long as I get a fair shake at work. Based on some of the things my co-workers are saying, they aren't getting a fair shake. It's too soon for me to tell.

VCPI Bowling Night

We went out for the first time with my new department. It was a bowling party. Luckily for me it was held at Olympic Lanes, close to home. I haven't been in the place for years and it was wonderfully updated, bright and cheery, very well ventilated. I am happy to report that I bowled a 189, 188, and a 183 game. At the end of bowling we were served pizzas. I have to find out where they are from. They were really good.

We headed to the bar as soon as our games were complete. By then half the bowlers had left leaving those of us with no ties to anything else on a Friday night. Although I was invited to another after-work party down at the Ale House. If the weather was better (it was raining and sleeting outside) I would consider going back downtown if this party didn't turn out to be interesting. But since the weather sucked, it's going to be here or home.

The bar was a great time. After a few Corona Lights (bonus! they have the light beer) I was relaxed and having a great time. I wasn't so sure some of these people even knew who I was but apparently I was wrong. Maybe it's just the nature of their work or their intenseness on the job that gave me the feeling that I was invisible to them. Anyway, I was wrong they knew who I was. Just knowing that will make me feel better, more comfortable at work.

We chatted with a few people, getting to know them better. The really cool thing is that I discovered that one of my co-workers also bowls on my HOG league. That is too funny. Here we're into the third month of bowling and I never knew that. Of course in the HOG league we don't get to bowl against all the teams so there's a chance I would have never known she was there if we didn't talk about it here.

There were so many nice people but I already knew that. Bowling just was verification of what I already knew.

Fantasy Football

I went to set my lineup for my fantasy football team and what do you know! I'm in first place. The funny thing about that is I don't know anything about football and I joined the league under the condition that no one else in the league tells me what to do. My son-in-law can get pretty bossy. I understand that everyone has an opinion but I really want to do this on my own. I reasearched the players, got some instruction on how to read the stats, and did it all all by myself. We shall see how long this first place standing lasts.

Election Day

My kids were discussing the voting referenda for this election. There are three referendum. The marriage amendment, the death penalty advisory, and the Oak Creek Middle School referendum. There is some confusion regarding the marriage amendment and some people seem to think they are voting for or against gay marriages. That is not true, gay marriage is already not legal in this state. The vote is to amend the state's constitution.

A yes vote on the marriage referendum means voting to change Wisconsin's constitution. The existing law restricting marriage to be between a man and woman will then become part of the state's constitution and would not recognize any legal validity of a marriage between anyone but a man and a woman.

A no vote on the marriage referendum means voting to leave things alone. It will not amend the state's constitution, nor will it change the existing law in Wisconsin.

After taking a business law class and developing a deep appreciation for the constitution as it is written I firmly believe that changing anything in either the US or state's constitution is a really big deal and a really bad idea.

The death penalty referendum is pretty straight-forward but it's advisory so it's just a suggestion not something we're voting into law.

Again, bad idea. Research will bear out that the death penalty does not stop crime and it doesn't save any tax-payer dollars. In fact, it's quite the opposite, once a person is sentenced to death, they now have legal access to many appeals paid for with tax dollars. So they are on our dole for a long, expensive ride before any sentence ends up being carried out. Not to mention, that the whole thought disgusts me, it's barbaric. Wisconsin was the first state to abolish the dealth penalty which makes us progressive. We need to move ahead, not back.

The middle school referendum would set aside money to build a new middle school. Progressively, that would make room to expand the East middle school into a high school since the new middle school could handle the additional students.

Toby's Bad Day

I started last night. It was a little after 9 and I was thinking about getting ready for bed. It began with the sound of Toby galloping across the hall. He was really hoofing it. I thought for sure it was a game. Then I heard the squealing. It was a chirpy little sound. And consistent, like a squeaky wheel on a wagon. Squeak, squeak, squeak. I started to pay more attention to it when it began to sound a little like screaming. It was obviously a small voice. Toby was relentless in his chase. That's when it occurred to me - he's chasing a MOUSE! Oh no. I hate mice. And no one is home but me. The men are up north and Bailee is at her boyfriend's house so I will have to deal with this all by myself. Shit.

I got up from my chair, tentatively. Toby's little cat ears were casting a shadow on the wall across from the basement steps. I tip-toed over to the steps and he was sitting there meowing quite seriously while trying to get behind some jars sitting in the corner of the first step. The mouse had to be behind it. I decided to play chicken and leave Toby to the dirty business of getting the mouse. When he finds them he tends to bat them around until he kills them. Then he will just sit there jabbing at them as if he's wondering why they won't move anymore. So I went back to the living room, turned off the television, and picked up a little. I checked the locks and peeked at the cat. He wasn't on the basement step anymore. Uh-oh. Where's the damn mouse?

I was too tired (and scared) to pursue it so I headed through the foyer to go upstairs to bed. Toby was sitting in the foyer with his head buried in a decorative crate in the middle of the foyer. He must have let the mouse go temporarily only to catch up with it here. Or else there is more than one! I'm not gonna think about that, I'm just going to bed. I better make sure I shut the bedroom door I don't want Toby bringing me any little mice gifts in the middle of the night.

I got up to the same familiar sound from the night before. Toby was scuttling across the hall. By the time I got downstairs, his head was buried in the crate again. I wonder if he chased that thing around all night. If so, he must be exhausted. After all, cats need about 20 hours of sleep. I put the mouse out of my mind, got my coffee and settled in to read the Sunday paper. On occasion, I like to sit in my big chair in the living room to read the paper. Normally, we read the paper at the kitchen table, but when it's cold in the house, the comfort of the big chair is nicer than the cold wooden kitchen chairs.

I finished with the paper and started my chores. I put some laundry in the wash machine and headed to kitchen to start food prep for the day. Toby was lying on his rug in front of the patio door, just watching me work. Apparently he forgot about the mouse. Note to self: tell Jeff to look in the crate when he gets home today and get rid of the carcass. I started frying bacon, pouring more coffee in my cup, and washing some apples when Toby got up and scurried to the corner of the room. All of a sudden the mouse comes running from the corner to under the garbage can. I screamed so loud the cat stopped his pursuit to turn and look at me. At this point, I'm standing on a stool as he looks up with this WTF look on his little kitty face. Of course he lost track of the mouse once I screamed.

I knew it was under the kitchen garbage container so I just went back to what I was doing hoping it would just stay put. It didn't. Toby chased the thing from the corner to under the garbage and back a few times. I think he finally got tired of the game and went back to lying on the rug. The rug split the difference from the corner to the garbage so he had all the bases covered.

Usually I like the quiet of the family's absence but this one time I was hoping they would be home early and they weren't. Bailee came home around noon with her boyfriend's two cats. Toby was back in hot pursuit of the mouse again and it was hiding under the computer desk. The new kitties were introducing themselves to Toby and he didn't seem to mind. At least at first he didn't. Then the cats started hissing at him. He didn't like that. He didn't seem to like the distraction from his mouse mission either. I explained the situation to Bailee who was no help. She said she hated mice too and wouldn't want to have to get rid of one either. Her cats took off to an unknown destination.

Toby seemed to have forgotten about the cats and went back to his mission of chasing the mouse. Jeff and BJ got home around 1. I explained to the boys about the mouse and the two cats that are roaming the house somewhere. Jeff approached Toby and he hissed at him. I'm thinking that was a late reaction to the new cats. Or he was pissed off about the many distractions from his mouse mission. Jeff decided to get in on the hunt. He got out his leather gloves and a yardstick to force the mouse out. As he did this, Toby seemed more interested in Jeff than the mouse so he missed him running by. Jeff yelled at the cat.

I figured between the cat and the mouse, exhaustion should be setting in and they would both give up. The cat figured out the purpose of the yardstick once he saw the mouse go by. Not much gets by this cat, he won't make the same mistake twice. So Jeff goes after the mouse again. This time Toby let the mouse run right past his leg. But at that moment, he picked up his paw to hold the mouse down. Jeff picked the mouse up from under the cat's paw. The poor thing was probably so tired he just didn't care anymore.

Jeff took the mouse outside and let it go. Now all poor Toby had to deal with was the other two cats in his territory. They buried themselves under a shelf in the basement. Apparently they were as happy to be here as Toby was to have them here. Bailee pried them out from their protective hiding spot and brought them back upstairs. Now that the mouse distraction was gone, they all just sat and hissed at each other.

I know Bailee thought it would be a good thing to bring the cats over to a larger place to run, but apparently they were much happier in their little home. So she packed them up and took them back to her boyfriend's apartment. Toby's busy day must have worn him out. He sat on the rug struggling to keep his eyes open. I wiped out his dish, put new food in it, rinsed out and refilled his water dish, and he walked over to eat. A few minutes later he curled himself into a ball in his sleeping place and was out for the day. And probably for the rest of the night till tomorrow.

Latest poll puts Doyle ahead

The article below is from the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel.
Of course, Green doubts the poll, he also believes that there is no such thing as global warming and that stem cell research is a bad thing. Moron. Maybe the abominable snowman is blowing the politican's hot air around to create the horrible hurricanes we've been dealing with. And maybe it's better to put our faith in God than rely on science to use embryos for curing disease instead of just throwing them away (I don't see why we can't do both). Republicans don't even know what the republican values are anymore. Why would anyone trust them? How quickly people forgot that it was Tommy Thompson (another Republican) who put our state into the deficit that it's in right now, oh wait, the Dems are winning in the polls, people DO remember!

Latest poll puts Doyle ahead, but Green camp doubts it
By STACY FORSTERsforster@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 18, 2006
Madison -With less than three weeks to go until the election, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle is leading his Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Mark Green of Green Bay, according to a new poll released today.
The poll was conducted by Wisconsin Public Radio and the St. Norbert College Survey Center and showed that 51% of respondents said they would likely vote for Doyle, compared with 38% who favored Green. Green Party candidate Nelson Eisman was the choice of 1% of respondents, 4% favored another candidate and the rest weren't sure. The telephone poll surveyed 400 likely Wisconsin voters from Oct. 9 to 16 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
The survey window is longer than many other polls because interviewers make repeated attempts to contact those who are randomly identified for the survey, rather than giving up and moving on to other respondents, said Wendy Scattergood, assistant professor of political science at St. Norbert College.
The random sample also included more Democrats than Republicans, Scattergood said.
In the race for attorney general, Democratic candidate Kathleen Falk was the choice of 44% of respondents, compared with 38% for Republican J.B. Van Hollen, within the margin of error. Seven percent said they favored another candidate and the rest weren't sure or declined to answer.
Other recent surveys have shown Doyle with a much narrower lead, within the margin of error of those polls, indicating the race is a dead heat.
An online poll by Zogby Interactive in cooperation with the Wall Street Journal Online was conducted from Oct. 10 to 16 and showed the race at 47.4% for Doyle and 45.6% for Green. Others weren't broken out. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
Mike Prentiss, a spokesman for the Green campaign, said the Wisconsin Public Radio-St. Norbert poll was inconsistent with other findings, such as those of the Zogby poll.
"Every other independent poll in this race has shown an incredibly close race," Prentiss said. "We like where we're positioned, and momentum is on Mark Green's side."
The Doyle campaign is feeling good about its position at this point in the race, said Doyle spokesman Anson Kaye. "We've said all along that polls go up and polls go down, but we're pleased to be leading this one as we have in most of the polls that have been done," Kaye said.
Respondents were also asked what was the most important factor in driving their choice for governor. The No. 1 issue was taxes, cited by 14% of respondents. And of those who rated taxes first, more planned to vote for Green, Scattergood said. Green also led among the 10.8% who said personal character was the most important factor, she said.
Doyle was the leading choice of those who pointed to education, which was most important to 13.3% and second on the list of issues, and of the 11.3% of respondents who said the economy was most important, putting it third. Doyle also led among the 5% who put health care first, Scattergood said.
Other poll findings:
Marriage amendment: The poll showed that a majority of respondents favored a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions that resemble marriage.
Fifty-one percent of respondents said they supported the amendment, 44% said they opposed it, 5% weren't sure or declined to answer the question.
The result is similar to other polls finding that a majority of voters support the amendment.
Death penalty: Respondents also favored an advisory referendum asking whether the death penalty should be enacted in Wisconsin in cases of first-degree homicide that are supported by DNA evidence. Fifty percent of respondents supported the idea, which will be used to guide lawmakers in making policy, while 45% were against it and 5% weren't sure or declined to answer the question.
Those results were also consistent with other recent polls.

It's a bad day when...

You know it's gonna be a bad day when:
1. You're too drug induced from all the allergy medicine you took the day before to go to the gym first thing in the morning.
2. Because you don't get up early to go to the gym, you oversleep and end up running late.
3. Because you're running late, you don't check your pantyhose before you leave for work.
4. Because you're in a hurry, you don't see the kitty barf at the bottom of the steps so you walk in it.
5. Because you didn't get up early to leave for work, the traffic is horrendous.
6. Because you didn't check your pantyhose before you left work, you now discover a big run in them as you're heading down to the cafe to get your morning coffee.
7. You put on your spare pair of pantyhose only to make a run larger than the one in the hose you just removed.
8. While putting the old pantyhose back on, you make another run in them.
9. You discover that your planned work schedule for Thursday is cancelled, leaving you scrambling.
10. You are having the best hair day of your life, only to find that you have a haircut appointment tomorrow.
11. A coworker kindly brings you candy for your candy dish and you can't stand the smell of it.

...And it's only lunch time.

I finally decided

I finally decided that I will hand in the required form for the Webmaster position on the Milwaukee HOG chapter board.

Reasons to volunteer:
I seem to operate on a day-to-day basis better when I have to manage my time with multiple projects.
I don't like their website so I should put my money where my mouth is.
I like that the chapter's favored charity is the JDRF.
I could use the web design experience.
I like being part of a team.
I might get the opportunity to voice my opinion within the chapter.

Reasons not to volunteer:
The dedication of my time.

Seems like an obvious decision when I write it all down.

iPod - Take Three

I took my iPod back to Best Buy tonight. I started in customer service before I was sent to the Geek Squad window. I explained to the resident Geek that my iPod wouldn't turn off. I went through the entire saga giving him the entire history since the problem started last Friday. It was sort of a catch-22. Since it wouldn't turn off, the battery was dead. The Geek got out a charger and plugged it in. He turns it on and off. Gee, I could have done that. I told him take it off the charger and then try it. He looked at me with an odd expression on his face. I sensed the man was thinking 'you dumb blonde'. I added to my original saga that since I work in an IT environment, not only did I run the device through every percievable (futile) exercise that Apple's support site had to offer, I asked my work Geeks if they had any ideas. I think my respectability went up at least one notch at that point. But since I was a little irritated, I asked him if he wanted me to take it home, charge it up and then bring it back so he can see it won't turn off. By then it charged a little, he removed it from the connection and agreed that it wouldn't turn off. Phew.

So he takes it in the back room. Now I'm feeling like I'm at the car dealership where they pretend to check with their manager whether or not it's OK to make the deal. He comes back out without the iPod and asks for my paperwork and if I had the extended warranty. I'm thinking to myself, what difference does the extended warranty make...it's not old enough for the original warranty to have expired. I handed him the paperwork and he barely glanced at it, so I don't know what that was all about.

Then a young guy came in with his broken iPod. I'm thinking gee, what a surprise! So I'm trying to listen to his story as Resident Geek takes the iPod in the back. At the same time Jeff is concerned that they now have both iPods back there. He asks me if the serial number is on the device. I told him not to worry, it's clearly marked and since I have the box we can match it up if necessary. Resident Geek comes out with my iPod in hand, gives it to me and says take it over to customer service and they will get you a new one.

We walk the ten steps back to the customer service representative and tell him I need a new iPod. He sends me over the to the sales floor. Of course (like last time) they didn't have my model in stock at this time. BUT the prices of iPods have dropped so I could trade my 2G for a 4G for $20. I hemmed and hawed then decided to take the bite. I just couldn't imagine a day without the damn thing. Now the tough part, picking a color. There was silver, black, pink, green. I thought and thought. Jeff wondered why I didn't just grab the pink one. I explained it's a bright, ugly pink and I don't like it. I chose the silver one. Plain and simple. Truth is, I kinda liked the green one. As the salesman takes the silver one out, he says the most popular one was the green. I told him I can see why, it's the one I was debating.

I went back to the service desk to complete the transaction. I explained how troubled I was over choosing a color, the clerk says 'speak now'. I asked Jeff to go get the green one and handed him the silver one. He comes back and says that the clerk said 'I knew it!'. Perceptive guy. I got out my credit card, and the clerk says no charge, they are even up. Wow....I'm thinking hurry, let's get out of here before they realize their mistake.

As I sat in the car reviewing the receipt I realized it wasn't a mistake, I did pay the same amout for my old iPod. It's just that I got a discount after the original price, so the clerk took the same original discount off the new one. How nice. It felt better knowing I didn't get away with something bad. I don't like guilt.

The new iPod is cool. I am happy with Best Buy. I just wish I could say I'm happy with Apple products.

I've replaced my iPod for the third time. It's getting ridiculous. Thank goodness for Best Buy's extended warranty. I've had it with these things.

Here we go again

My iPod doesn't work....again.
This is my second one. I cannot believe this is happening to me. I've spent a fortune on these damn things and I can't afford to have it break. Why me? Why can't something go right? I rely on this stupid little device more than I should but exercise wouldn't ever be the same without it. And exercise is difficult enough without my little crutch. Arrrggghhhh!

Scrapbooking

I did something totally out of character last night. I attended an all-night "crop" at the local scrapbooking store. This is an event where you take your photos and all your scrapbooking supplies and show up to hang out with a bunch of ladies doing the same thing. The beauty of these events is that if you run out of something or need something, it's all right there in the store. It's also a way to get new and fresh ideas and designs. And you get all your photos catalogued and presented in a nice photo album to share with others. I do love artsy things so I like the whole idea of scrapbooking I'm just not fond of hanging out with others.

I'm not comfortable in these settings with all the small talk about stuff I don't really care about. Hanging out with old ladies whose idea of a good time is spending weekends at their "cabin" where they can get away from it all by living with dead deer heads hanging on the wall and taking photos of their family members sitting at a picnic table in the yard. 30 years of photos at the same cabin and the same yard. I guess I just prefer the adventures found in new and interesting places that I've never been to before even though I do have a small collection of those same cabin photos. I just don't want to be defined by them.

The young women aren't much better, having to run to the bathroom to use their breast pumps. When they aren't in the bathroom they are comparing stories about playgroups and husbands who don't always help with the kids. All their photos involve the birthing process or some phase of drooling, squirming, cutesey, big eyed babies framed in pink or blue accordingly. I have some of these photos too, but not enough to be able to make an entire photo album about a 6-month old child. Maybe I was just a bad mom for not carrying a camera everywhere I went.

I have absolutely nothing in common with these people.

To me, the old ladies are boring, and the young ones are, well, boring. Where are the women who travel, have more than one decade worth of kid photos, and enjoy more in life than Christmas dinners and watching the grandchildren? I really want to put all my travel photos in albums but I think from now on, I'm on my own. The people I interacted with were nice (well, the young ones were) but I can't get into it as I'd hoped I would.

Maybe I will try again before I totally write this off. I did learn some cool things.

Stupid People

As Election Day gets closer I started to review my voting choices. I needed to understand how to interpret the marriage amendment. After reading posts at the site onmilwaukee.com from really stupid people who thought yes meant no and no meant yes I had to make sure the verbiage was clear to me. In my pursuit of local political data, knowing very well that most information on the Internet is total crap (either worthless opinions or non-scholarly half truths) I came across this blog that had Dimity on it. After perusing this guy’s site, I realized that this was no average redneck half witted Republican, this was an all out full fledged alien believing God fearing moron who goes by the name Milwaukee idiot (how fitting). I bet he is fat too. Nothing like a little gluttony, since there’s no such thing as global warming, maybe there’s no such thing as bad cholesterol either. Actually I bet he lives on high fructose corn syrup, a product of our government that I'm sure this guy agrees with, as long as you don't make fuel for our cars out of it. After I stopped gagging over the Dimwitty comments (I thought I would spell something wrong so I wouldn’t look too much smarter than this guy with his horrible spelling, grammar, and stupid remarks), I found this joke he posted:

Paris Hilton and Welfare Rats
Q: What do Paris and Welfare Rats have in common??
A: Neither one has any clue what the worth of a dollar is since they have never had to earn that dollar.

He forgot the other thing they have in common…they are all Republicans! Funny thing is the joke is on him. Apparently he doesn’t know that Dimity wouldn’t know what the dollar is worth either since she didn’t earn her lottery winnings. People are so stupid. That’s one blog I will never read again.

Great America

We spent yesterday at Great America which is why I didn't go to work today. I knew I would be exhausted so I scheduled the extra day off. Going to Great America after a 5-year hiatus felt a little off. I really love the thrill rides. Spending every moment either in line for the ride or actually on the ride is all I want to do. No shows, no food, no stopping for games or souvenirs. Nothing but rides. And the weather was perfect. Sunny, in the 70's, not a cloud in the sky.

We started with the familiar Batman. I insisted we go to the first row. Being at the lead with nothing to block your view of everything coming at you is a pretty incredible feeling. It did lengthen the amount of time spent in line, so this became a one time thing for the day. After the Batman we went our usual route, Iron Wolf, American Eagle, the Viper, and finally the best ride, the Raging Bull. We initially skipped the new Superman ride, mostly because we like the familiarity of our route around the park.

Most rides had a waiting time of 20 minutes. I think the only ride that took longer was the American Eagle. At least that was until we got to the Superman. We waited 50 minutes to get on that one. I had mixed feeling about whether it was worth it. The ride was fantastic, there was no doubt about that, but it was short. And the long wait in line didn't make me like it any better. The thrill was without a doubt amazing, but I didn't like my legs being locked down. The ride tips you into a position where you simuate flying like Superman (obviously) but in the process your legs are buckled in.

Once we finished with that ride we had spent pretty much most of the day. It was after 4 and the park closed at 6. So we decided to head back to the favorite, the Raging Bull. The Viper happened to come between us and the Raging Bull so we got in line there first. I live the Viper for the constant dips. As soon as you get past one, another one comes up. It's pretty cool.

One last ride on the Raging Bull and we were done. We headed out to a sports bar for some food and relaxation before the ride home. We took the motorcycle and it was getting dark, so the ride home was a little chilly.

For some reason the whole experience wasn't as exciting as it used to be. I do love the rides but it just didn't seem as big of a deal as it used to be. Maybe I've outgrown the amusement park thing. Maybe it was that I'm just getting older and just don't need this kind of thing anymore, nah-that can't be it. Maybe I will just have to try again. After all, I did have a great time.

Dinner by Design Update

Tonight I made the meal I created at Dinner by Design a few weeks back. It was beef marinated in Oriental spices and seasonings, beef broth and orange juice. All I had to do was drain the beef from the marinade and saute it. Once it was cooked I just added the rest of the marinate that was in the packet and a ziploc bag full of noodles and peas. The mixture had to simmer until cooked thoroughly. The entire process took just under 25 minutes. And it was really good.

Even so I don't think I will go back for the following reasons:
1. I like to cook.
2. I have most ingredients on hand so that is not an issue.
3. Paying $200 for 12 meals doesn't sound like a great deal.
4. Their menu selections aren't all appealing so I would struggle to make 12 entrees.

I do think this would be a good idea for people who don't cook but it's just not for me.

10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 Meme

TEN FIRSTS
1. First Best Friend: Rosemarie Torre who is still a good friend today.
2. First Pet: Blacky, a mutt. Guess what color he was?
3. First Piercing: Ears. I went with my cousin who got hers pierced, I was just supposed to be along for the ride because I was only 10 years old.
4. First high school crush: Craig Vattendahl and he went to South Milwaukee High!
5. First CD: Phil Collins
6. First Car: 1973 Ford Pinto. The ones that blew up if you hit the gas tank.
7. First Love: Craig Vattendahl (puppy love).
8. First Stuffed Animal: Can't remember.
9. First Concert: Elvis Presley - does it get any better than that!
10. First Time Drunk: I don't remember, I must have been too drunk.
NINE LASTS
1. Last Beverage: Coffee.
2. Last Vehicle Ride: Driving in my Santa Fe to work this morning.
3. Last Movie Seen: Beerfest.
4. Last Phone Call: Called Jeff to make sure he has December 9th free.
5. Last CD Played: My homemade pop CD.
6. Last Bubble Bath: May 31, 2004 in a hotel in Niagara falls.
7. Last Time You Cried: This morning in the fitness center.
8. Last Kiss: Last night.
9. Last Concert attended: Pat McCurdy
EIGHT HAVE YOU EVERS
1. Have you ever dated one of your best friends? Nope.
2. Have you ever been arrested: Nope.
3. Have you ever skinny dipped: Yes.
4. Have you ever been on TV: Yes, a few times, somehow the Packers are always involved.
5. Have you ever kissed someone and regretted it: Never.
6. Have you ever had a sex dream about someone you know: Absolutely.
7. Have you ever been sent to the emergency room: Yes, after a car accident.
8. Have you ever been in a fist fight: Yes.
SEVEN THINGS YOU'RE WEARING
1. Black and blue striped blouse.
2. Black skirt.
3. Black tights.
4. Black shoes.
5. Black bra.
6. Silver earrings.
7. My glasses.
SIX THINGS YOU'VE DONE TODAY
1. Cuddled with my kitty.
2. Ran 3 miles.
3. Paid for our December 9th bus trip to Chicago.
4. Called Jeff.
5. Told BJ I would join his fantasy football pool.
6. Edited a newsletter.
FIVE FAVORITE THINGS IN NO ORDER
1. Coffee
2. Summer
3. Flowers
4. My iPod
5. Quilts
FOUR PEOPLE YOU CAN TELL ANYTHING TO
1. Jeff
2. Jeff
3. Jeff
4. Kate (my therapist)
THREE CHOICES
1. Do lunch with friends or go to a meeting. Lunch.
2. Walk to Milwaukee Public Market or Borders at lunchtime. The Market.
3. Water or Diet Coke. Water.
TWO THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE
1. Run a marathon.
2. See Europe.
ONE THING YOU REGRET
1. 2002

Honestly, I'm not looking!

My friend Chad sends me a link to this website www.berbee.com and says check out this job I just interviewed for. So I click on the link and it's a company that handles hardware, software, networking services, and support services to other companies. It's just like my company! Oh shit...I'm gonna get fired for looking this up!

He really wanted my input and I told him since he's an IT guy working at a bank he would be better off being an IT guy working for an IT company. Since I knew something about the environment I told him the energy, company philosophy, and the availability of great computer knowledge would inspire him. He would be a techy geek living in a whole world of others like himself. And there's nothing like the common bond of a community of people who share the same passion for techydom as we do. Unlike being the square peg fitting into the banker's circle.

So hopefully he will get the fulfillment he is looking for in this new adventure because if management finds out I visited this link, I might need him to get me a job!

Dinner by Design

I got a coupon in one of those valpak things for this place. I had never heard of it before but apparently it's been around and one was opening in Oak Creek in the strip mall less than 2 miles from my house. I went to the Dinner by Design website to figure out what this place was all about. The coupon I had talked about preparing meals ahead of time so they are convenient for you when you need them. The money off was big dollars for your choice of 6 or 12 meals so I assumed it was expensive and time consuming. According to the website you got 12 meals for around $200.

The concept is pretty cool, make an appointment, pick your menu and start your food prep. Label the entrees, take them home and freeze them until you are ready to cook. They generally take half an hour to prepare making it convenient to have around. The website mentioned that the Oak Creek location had an open house where you don't need an appointment and you don't need to buy the 6 or 12 meals listed in the coupon so I thought I would check it out.

I walked in and found a clean and tidy foyer with lots of pamphlets around. There was a woman with short, white hair at a desk helping two women fill out paperwork and pay for their entrees. I stood there for a few minutes when she said to the two women, "I'll be right back, I have to get someone from the back to come out here." She filed past all three of us without another word. (I thought it would have been nice if she would have addressed me and just said that she would be with me in a minute. A little acknowledgement goes a long way, but she didn't.)

In the meantime, a group of three women came in behind me. So now there were six of us standing in the foyer. While waiting, I took a look at the rest of the building. Beyond the entrance where we were standing were stainless steel preparation carts. There were three in a row, back to back with another three on the other side and one on the end, completing a totally walk-around kitchen with many stations to make the different entrees. The walls had stainless steel racks that held storage containers and plastic bags, measuring utensils and bowls, ingredients and mixers for making desserts. The back corners had sinks on either side for the customers to wash their hands and aprons hanging next to the sinks for your use.

A clerk came over from the back room (I'm assuming there are refrigerators full of cold ingredients back there) and addressed the group of three women who came in behind me. She instructed them to fill out the forms she was handing out attached to clipboards. By the time she gave out the second of the three of them, I voiced my opinion. I said in an irritated tone, "Is there someone here who could help me since I was here first?" Just before she went to hand the third clipboard to the third woman, she swiftly turned and handed it to me, as if she planned that stating, "I'm including all of you." (Yeah right, if that were truly the case she would have had 4 clipboards in her hand instead of three.)

Now I felt bad because the third woman in the group who got the afterthought fourth clipboard says, "That's OK, you can come with us." I said, "I can't get waited on in bars either so I should be used to being ignored." They laughed, the clerk said, "No one will be ignored here." At that point she proceeded to send me to wash my hands, pointed in the direction of the sink, and instructed me to put on an apron and she would be right with me. I dutifully went to the sink while she gave out instructions or apologies for my behavior to the group of ladies while I washed. I then stood there waiting while she catered to the group's needs. (I suppose a group of three will bring more profits than just me so I have no real worth here - at least it feels that way.)

The clerk was truly a nice person and she did help. She showed me where the take-home containers were and where the labels with cooking instructions were, directed me towards the whisks, bowls and measuring tools, and told me to take my time picking out the entree I wanted to make. I had already chosen a beef-noodle dish so I was ready to start. She pointed out the workstation where that particular recipe and ingredients were. There is a list of instructions above the ingredients. The first thing to do was to get the bowl, whisk, measuring tools, and containers listed. Then it was time to get prepping. I started down the list of ingredients and discovered some were missing. The clerk rushed in the back and brought more. (I don't understand why this wouldn't be checked out when cleaning up the dirty dishes after the previous customer's preparation time was completed.) I mixed up the marinade, poured a portion of it in the pre-measured container of beef, closed the container, picked up a bag of the pre-made noodles and peas that complete the entree and got a stick-on label for the entire package.

I decided to walk around the kitchen looking for something else to make. As I moved away from my current station a clerk on the other side knocked over a container of pepper that landed right in front of me. I had to scoot sideways to avoid the barrage of pepper hitting the floor. As she came around to see the damage she seemd annoyed that I was standing in it. (I thought she should have apologized for getting it on me but she didn't.)

Most of the stations were taken as I continued my perusal. I tried to approach a woman to see how many pieces of chicken were in the entree she was making. She was terribly unfriendly and annoyed. (This is getting to be a barrel of fun.) Another station that interested me was occupied by a 12 year old who was clueless and whiney, not to mention impolite and inexperienced in the concepts of food preparation combined with cleanliness. (Between sticking her fingers in everything and her baby fat hanging over the worktable - it was not a pretty scene.) That clinched it, I'm getting out of here. So I took off my apron, washed my hands again, grabbed my entree and purse and headed to the front desk to pay and go. I realized as I was walking by, there was a hamper for dirty aprons. No one explained it, so I missed that. I honestly thought about going back and taking the apron off the hook and throw it in the hamper but I didn't remember which one it was anymore. So it would be futile.

I paid for my entree and headed out. I have mixed emotions about coming back, I won't be sure until I actually cook the concoction I took home. But if I had to decide today, I'm certain I won't be returning anytime soon.

Primary Day

It's election day and as I go out to vote I am reminded of what is really important. Staying away from the television and reading all the informtion on the voting records and any other information about the candidates, especially statistics. It's hard to lie about statistics or put a spin on them although I do believe that Freakonomics does quite an interesting job of making stats much more interesting than they usually are.

I'm thinking about a race in my area between a Democrat contender, Jeff Plale and the Republican candidate, Dimity Grabowski. Jeff Plale is an interesting mix of liberal conservatism, or what Republicans would call, a hipocrate. Albeit they leave little room to speak.

It’s widely accepted that State Senator Jeff Plale is in a Democratic stronghold. He represents the liberal east side, the socially moderate area of Bay View and the socially conservative areas of Cudahy and South Milwaukee. Plale is a social conservative and his positions on issues such as abortion have more than miffed the liberal east side.

What’s more, Bay View is becoming increasingly affluent and many are calling it “the other east side” as educated white collar workers stake their claim to this blue collar neighborhood. While Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood has long been a Democratic stronghold, it has had a strong catholic base and with that base it has been socially conservative. That is changing.

Plale showed strength and courage last year when he stood against TABOR and voted to sustain Governor Jim Doyle’s veto of the GOP led legislature. Although Plale has a predisposition to wanting to please fringe groups like CRG and to occasionally agree with right-wing talk show hosts, many Democrats now know that when it comes down to pushing and shoving, Plale will be with them on some key issues.

Plale has earned admirers for more that just casting a vote to sustain Doyle’s veto — he won admirers for standing up to CRG under intense heat. When it came down to two votes that the GOP needed to override the TABOR vote, Carpenter caved in and sided with the Republicans putting even more pressure on Plale.

Plale stood firm. The override came down to one vote. If Plale caved, local governments in Wisconsin could have faced the crippling financial crisis which gripped TABOR constricted Oklahoma which has consequently suffered from failing schools and crumbling public infrastructure. (taken from Watchdog Milwaukee, December 2005)

Dimity Grabowski has absolutely no credentials for politics. Her Republican asiprations are probably a result from the mega-lottery win her family incurred some years back. Not from the pull yourself up by the bootstraps and take care of your own business stance that most Republicans like to make claim to. Speaking of hipocrates.

So let's take a look at her bio....

SPIN: Dimity Grabowski was born, raised and educated in Sydney, Australia. (OK, not really spin but you get the point.)
REALITY: Not American born but thinks she should be in American politics, who does she think she is, Arnold Schwarzenegger?

SPIN: After her husband Darin received an Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army, the couple , in 1992 moved to Oak Creek, WI.
REALITY: She wants to play up the veteran thing but it's hard to do since she's not actually a veteran herself so she will hang on to her husband's only decent attribute. In fact, ask her what her husband does for a living.

SPIN: As alderwoman, she has been very active and successful in her promotion of storm water management controls, homeowners' property rights, and balanced budgets, and has strongly supported residential and business growth. Additionally, Dimity's work on behalf of the 27th Street Corridor has been very important to her. A known consensus builder, Dimity has earned substantial support from the business community and her constituents.
REALITY: I bet she has support from the business community, residents didn't want a Target, Ace Hardware, or any of the other new strip malls in their neighborhood but they got them anyway, thanks Dimity. And have you been down 27th Street? The Franklin side is bustling no thanks to Dimity, the Oak Creek alderwoman. The Oak Creek side is as barren as the Iraqi desert.

SPIN: As Alderwoman she formed the Citizens for Happy Holidays Committee.
REALITY: I live in Oak Creek and I've never heard of this. What does it mean?

SPIN: Dimity is a business college graduate and is currently pursuing a certificate in Public Administration at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.
REALITY: What business college? One is Sydney? If she has a degree then say Bachelor's of whatever so I'm guessing she really doesn't have a degree. And pursuing a certificate? Those programs have no tests or grades, you show up to a seminar-like forum and if you stay all day you get your certificate. Big whoop-de-doo.

Anybody know any Marquette University graduates with Bachelor's degrees in something like say....public relations who have some real insight and experience in American politics? Jeff Plale.

SPIN: This information is not the responsibility of Jeff Plale and he has no prior knowledge of it.
REALITY: This is my blog and I can say whatever I want. This is America and I have a right to my opinion and the freedom to say what I want to say so there.

The 5th Anniversary

I remember exactly where I was. I wasn't working at the time, but I kept a very strict routine so I didn't waste my days away. Get up and get Jeff off to work in the morning, go for a run, make a pot of coffee, get ready for classes. I attended MATC at the time through a program offered by the Wisconsin Department of Unemployment Compensation. I got to attend classes full time free of charge while drawing unemployment compensation, I felt like I won the lottery.

It was a Tuesday so I had my visual basic class that was held at 11. I had plenty of time to get some housework done and putz around if I so chose. It was 8:50 when Jeff called. He knew I never watched television and he told me to turn on MSNBC because something bad had just happened. He said a plane accidentally hit the World Trade Center in New York City. As we chatted I turned the TV on to see the gaping black hole in the side of the building, smoke billowing out as the news reporters speculated on what happened. Since this occurred minutes earlier, it was too soon to really know what happened.

All of a sudden you could hear the sound of another plane. It was a familiar sound of rapid decent. Since I've lived by Mitchell Airport my entire life I know that sound. Airplane noise is so familiar I don't really hear it sometimes but on the television I recognized it. The cameraman filming the burning building caught it live, a second plane crashed into the other Trade Center tower. I instantly dropped to my knees. I don't know if it was the gravity of what just took place, the fact that it was live and I saw it happen, the knowledge that this was obviously not a tragic accident, or maybe all these things felt like a sucker punch.

I was glued to the television. Sometime during the series of events I hung up from my call with Jeff but I have no recollection of when. I tried to shake it off and recover from what I just witnessed but I knew it would be with me forever. As the newscasters became increasingly emotional, describing the devastation and destruction, things got even worse. The tower came crashing down. The impact and the flames pushed it to the breaking point and it crumbled into rubble in an instant. All on live television. People were running, including the cameraman filming the event. It looked like the city had turned into a wild west dust town within moments. Even though I couldn't turn it off, I had to walk away from the TV.

I set my mind on the 11:00 class. I packed up my book bag and headed out the door. Sitting in class was unsettling. Instead of the usual chit-chat that goes on before the class starts, everyone was silent. The instructor walked in, everyone faced him and he said, "I've never had to stand in front of a class and teach on the day that my country is attacked. I don't know what to say."

So we engaged in conversation about it for the first half-hour of class. After that he announced that it's time to get back to business so we don't get behind. I was thinking good call. I need to move this to the back of my brain since I was already suffering from emotional exhaustion.

That afternoon I headed to my church. They were having their semi-annual blood drive and I always try to donate. The blood drive started at 2 and ended at 7. I thought I would go early before the after-work rush. It was a little after 2 when I got there and the place was crazy. They usually get 30-40 pints within their allotted 5-hour time period and today there were probably more people than that waiting to donate already. Carole, the blood drive coordinator was already starting to panic. With the volume of people already coming, she knew she was going to be extremely busy.

I waited 45 minutes for my turn. During that time people strolled in to pray. The grocery store across the street donated platters of food when they heard about the number of people wanting to donate blood. This was a way for those of us who were feeling helpless to do something. We really thought this was necessary as all those people who were injured by this event would need it. Little did we know that there would be very few survivors, no one left in the rubble to help. It was something which felt better than doing nothing.

The next day I had my web design class. My instructor started the class with a discussion on the previous day's events. He stated that when he flew into New York City, the magnificent towers were the first thing you saw before your plane even landed. He felt like a piece of our American heritage's greatness was now gone and traveling there would never be the same without those buildings. His statement made me feel that I had truly missed something spectacular since by that time, I had never been to NYC.

The world will never be the same after this terrible time in our history and we have to accept that. I've always wanted to travel to foreign countries and now I'm not so sure anymore. I have traveled to NYC since the 9/11 tragedy and I cannot express in words how difficult it is to stand at what is now called Ground Zero.

It's an emotional experience that brings so many mixed feelings of sadness and grief, anger and frustration, hope and faith.

Deutschland

My friend Scott is leaving for Germany at the end of the week.

I sent him an e-mail stating: "Haben Sie ein Bier für mich!".

He never responded.

I was trying to tell him to have a beer for me. My German is a little rusty so maybe I said I wanted to have his baby. I just don't know.

Lake Superior Circle Tour 2006

Labor Day weekend was quickly approaching and I had extended the long weekend by scheduling the Friday before and the Tuesday after the holiday as vacation days. I would be just as content turning the days into a celebration of domestication and spend the time quilting, canning, or just hanging out at home with a good novel. But Jeff had other ideas. This was an opportunity for a new adventure even though we had no idea exactly where to start. After a conversation with an acquaintance that spent some vacation time by Lake Superior, Jeff started to reminisce about his drive around the lake when he went ice fishing in Canada a few years back. So after a little research, I brought up the idea of the Lake Superior Circle Tour. I already calculated the miles which would total somewhere around 1600 depending on our exact route. To my surprise Jeff didn’t bat an eye; he thought it would be a great idea. So the planning began.

I immediately ordered maps from AAA then went to the Lake Superior Circle Tour website to order informational brochures and maps. According to the information, we would travel 1,300 miles to go entirely around the lake. It’s the largest of the Great Lakes, the coldest, and the deepest. The lake holds 10% of the world’s surface fresh water. The first decision would be to pick a city on the lake as the starting point. Since we had to go a few hundred miles just to get from Oak Creek to Lake Superior, we knew our start point would most likely be the first night’s hotel stay too. The next decision would be to decide which direction we should travel. Head west then around or start going east. Since we did a trip to Sault Saint Marie and Mackinac Island a few years ago, we chose to head west towards Duluth and then into Canada. But there was still the issue of the starting point….Marquette, Houghton-Hancock, Ashland, Apostle Islands-Bayfield – so many choices. Jeff wasn’t happy about the helmet law states we’d be traveling through so we eliminated Marquette and Houghton-Hancock, Michigan.

I started to research hotels in both Bayfield and Ashland. They are only 22 miles apart so it really didn’t matter which one. Since it was getting closer to the holiday weekend, we were limited to fewer choices as some of the good places were booked solid. After reviewing the ratings, newness, prices, and amenities we chose a hotel in Ashland. Part one of the first stop was complete, now we just had to plan the route to get there.

As we reviewed all the information sent to us, we knew it was going to be hard to decide where to stop along the way. On the second day we would go through Superior, Duluth, Grand Marais, and Thunder Bay for sure. The question that still needed to be answered was how much farther do we go until we stop for the night? Would we see Marathon, Nipigon, and Wawa or would we stop before we got that far? It’s really difficult to plan these things when riding on a motorcycle. The weather can wreak havoc on best-laid plans. So we usually compromise and allow for an average of 6 hours per day of riding just in case the weather holds us up for part of a day.

Jeff found a small town past Nipigon called Rossport. It looked quaint and was lined with bed and breakfast stops along the lake. He found a reasonably priced one that had great reviews so he booked it. Day two was now set. As we talked to others who’ve been in that part of the country, they all say the same thing, once you get past Marathon, there’s pretty much nothing but wilderness so the decision to stop here is part necessity and part strategy. Hopefully there’s someplace to eat nearby or else we’ll be in trouble.

During the days of planning I discovered a run/walk over the Mackinaw Bridge on Labor Day. I thought Bonus! This was right up my alley and as fate would have it, we could be in Mackinaw City on that day. Upon calculation of miles, we discovered that the Mackinaw area was a little far so we booked a room in Sault Saint Marie. So the run is iffy but that’s ok, it’s all about the lake tour anyway. Between the lighthouses, waterfalls, national parks, wildlife, and lake views, I won’t regret missing a thing or two, there’s so much to do and realistically I know we will have to come back if we really like it. We know for sure we will stop at a few overlooks, parks, local restaurants, and find the Harley dealer in Thunder Bay.

Friday, September 1, 2006

So the day is her and it’s time to hit the open road. Jeff wants to be on the road at 6am. After packing up the bike, making sure we have taken care of everything at home, and determining we have to stop at the ATM, it’s 6:40 by the time we got on the bike. By the time we got the banking done, it and hit I-94 the traffic was a little heavy due to the morning commute which was expected. The weather was a little chilly because of the early hour and I was certain we would warm up as the sun rose higher in the sky. We were just outside of Milwaukee by 6:55 so getting out of the city wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

We got off the main highway and onto Highway 10 around Oshkosh and took a scenic route through many beautiful towns. There were 92 miles one the odometer when we got to this point. We had breakfast at Diane’s in Amherst. We pulled in at 9:25. Jeff is so used to the hustle-bustle lifestyle that he was bothered that it took so long to get his eggs. Hopefully he will settle into a slower pace before this day is over. What’s the point of vacation if you’re not going to relax? There would be a few gas stops along the way so I made sure I picked up a couple bottles of water at each stop. The wind in your face can really dry out your skin and dehydrate you rather quickly so I tried to counter the negative effects by keeping us well-hydrated. A few pieces of licorice at each stop was also a way to get a little sugar boost of energy along the way. I started to wonder where the Harley dealers were long this route.

At 10:42 we passed the Marathon County sign and by 1:15 the Iron County sign was in view. We stopped at Northern Lights Harley on Highway 51 in Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin. This was just outside of Minocqua and Woodruff which was bustling with touristy traffic. The scenery was gorgeous and the lakes pristine which explained why there were so many people there. But the large volume of traffic was moving at a pace that was way too fast for us. We were breathing a sigh of relief when we got through to the other side of town and back to the solitude of the open road.

At 1:50 we were driving through Hurley. I had noticed previously that there were many trucks pulling trailers with ATV’s but now it seems the trailers were gone and the ATV has become the favored method of transportation. There were ATV’s pulled up into the parking spots in front of the local bars. It brought back the memories of the golf cars parked in the tiny parking spaces in front of the grocery stores in Phoenix. They even had golf car lanes on the roads there.

It was a little after 2:00 when we found our hotel in Ashland. We pulled in, parked, and unpacked our things. The view of Lake Superior was beautiful, right in the hotel’s back yard. We stayed and the AmericInn which wasn’t my first choice since they catered to families with a kid’s water park right in the hotel. But the price was right and we figured we wouldn’t be spending much time there anyway.

So we headed out to Bayfield. It was reminiscent of the shops of Cedarburg. We parked near the marina and walked through the little downtown, quaint with shops and restaurants. We walked the pier as far as we could and took some pictures. We came across the place that does the boat cruises around the Apostle Islands, since we were there late in the season the Lighthouse evening cruises were not available. We vowed to come back again during the summer. The area is that beautiful. There was a little bar atop a restaurant that overlooked the water. We climbed the steep steps to enjoy the view with some of our favorite beers. It was a great place to sit and relax. After we sit a while, we found the restaurant that was suggested to us for dinner. The place was pretty busy and we could choose to wait half an hour for a table or sit at the smoke-free bar. We chose the bar and enjoyed a nice dinner.

By the time dinner was done, it was getting dark. We headed back to Ashland where Jeff eyed a Dairy Queen and he wanted it for dessert. We stopped for a frozen treat where we met a couple who inquired about our travels. Luckily we ran into them because they told us to make sure that we got on the old highway that runs along the lake because the new highway runs inland and doesn’t have the view.

Saturday, September 2, 2006

We headed out after a hearty breakfast at the free breakfast buffet. The sky looked a bit ominous, but we were hopeful. We got through Superior and Duluth without incident. No rain fell but they sky still looked like it could come down any minute. We found the old highway road that the couple mentioned the night before and after a few miles of travel down it we were grateful for the good advice. The view of the lake was gorgeous; the houses that lined the streets reminded me of the expensive homes along Lake Drive in the north shore area of Milwaukee. The next gas stop would become the point where we needed to put on the helmets since Canada had a helmet law.

The skies cleared and it was smooth sailing after that. We stopped at a park and did a little hiking until we found a clearing that overlooked Lake Superior. We stayed long enough to take some great photos, buy the standard souvenir coffee mug, then get back on the road. It seemed like everyone was heading in the opposite direction, which made us feel like we had the whole road to ourselves. Nothing but nature and the sound of the Harley. We had hoped to see some moose or any other signs of wildlife but we saw none. In a way that was a blessing, nothing crossed our path where we had to slam on the brakes either so that’s always a good thing. We got to Thunder Bay after 3 in the afternoon. Jeff followed the signs that said “Downtown” and wouldn’t you know it, we ended up right in front of the local Harley dealer. We pulled in and did some souvenir shopping. They had really cool Lake Superior Circle Tour pins customized with a Harley on them. We had to have them. The place was a bit pricey but we figured we wouldn’t be back so we took the bite and spent more money than expected on Harley stuff. After a rest at the dealer, we got back on the bike and headed to Rossport.

We did see a bear run across the road about 300 yards ahead of us, a nice and safe distance away. Too bad it happened so quickly I could not get a picture.

Rossport is so small that from the direction we were headed we took a right to get on the road to Rossport which turned out to be a half-circle that would put us right back on the main highway if we kept going all the way around. We easily found our bed and breakfast. The hostess said she was starting to worry about whether or not we were going to show up, Jeff looked at his watch and thought it’s just a little after 7 so it’s not that late. It turns out we forgot about the time change to EST and it was really a little after 8 so now her statement was making more sense.

We walked over to another bed and breakfast that served dinner. The dining room was packed full of people. The menu featured fish caught 20 minutes away on Lake Superior. Jeff instantly ordered it; I’m not fond of fish so I ordered my usual steak. That was a mistake and I should have thought it through a little better knowing full well a place that specialized in fish would not do well with steaks. Oh well.

We walked the few blocks back to our bed and breakfast for some much needed rest after a long day of riding and fresh air. Little did we know that Rossport is a town that had train traffic. All night long. Every hour the bells sounded at the railroad crossing announcing the impending arrival of the train. Every hour the train whistles sounded reminding us the train was very close. Every hour the train chugged past making the entire house rumble. I think I slept for two hours total.

Sunday, September 3, 2006

In the morning the hostess chuckled about the trains and the comments she gets from guests. On the inside my tired brain wanted to strangle her, on the outside I just smiled and said nothing. We had our breakfast with an elderly couple traveling to Vancouver from the Ontario area. They were interesting people telling us some great stories of their lives.

We got packed up and headed out. We knew today would be a day without much lake view and we had a lot of ground to cover. It sounded like it might not be much of a ride, but it turned out that we were usually in the middle of a National Park. The view was fantastic. The rolling hills, bluffs, and trees were incredible and lush. There was a hint of color change on the tips of a few of the trees. Fall was coming but not too soon.

We rode from small town to small town, still not confident in converting gallons to liters and American money to Canadian money. We just put it on the credit card and let the bank sort it out for us. We stopped at a larger rest area for gas, got a sandwich, and a few more souvenirs. Then it was back on the bike. The saddest moment of the trip came when we passed a dead baby bear in the middle of the road. I’d hoped I could get that image out of my head rather quickly but I don’t think that will happen.

At the end of the day we pulled into our hotel in Sault Saint Marie. It felt like we just hit civilization. We were both so exhausted that Jeff generously went out and bought a 6-pack of Corona while I order a pizza to be delivered to our room. We stayed in all night with the pizza and beer. We really needed to catch up on lost sleep from the night before.

I researched the Mackinaw Bridge run and calculated that we would have to leave by 4 am tomorrow to get there in time for the run. I don’t think so; sleep is much more important right now.

Monday, September 4, 2006

We got up and headed to the free breakfast buffet as usual. We watched a little news on the television before we headed out. We felt lucky the whole trip because the weather was perfect, we never hit any rain and the temperature was consistently in the 70’s. In fact it seemed a little strange to us that the farther we got into Canada, the warmer it got. But today it definitely looked like rain. We thought we better get on the road and try to beat it and it was time to go home. There was 1,129 miles on the gauge when we headed out.

We got on the highway crossing our fingers that the weather would hold. After a few hours of riding, we stopped at a diner in Michigan for some coffee. We ended up ordering a little breakfast because everything smelled so good. We remembered being there before, when we went on a trip to Mackinaw with friends a few years back. It was kind of funny looking out at Lake Michigan after spending the last few days looking at Lake Superior. Two lakes down and three to go to complete the entire circle tour!

We got back on the bike and drove through the familiar territory of the Upper Peninsula and into Wisconsin. We could now take our helmets off but since the skies looked like they would open up at any moment I decided I would keep mine on. We got to Green Bay and a decision had to be made. Do we head inland or ride close to the lake? The skies were blacker over the lake so we stayed inland. I think it was a good choice; it didn’t start to rain until we were about 20 miles outside of Menomonee Falls. Since this was Labor Day and the holiday was coming to an end the traffic heading to Chicago was pretty heavy. It picked up drastically around Appleton and we knew we would be stuck in it until we got home. The rain got heavier as we got closer to home as did the traffic.

It felt good to get home and warm up. Considering our luck with the weather over the last four days, we felt lucky that we only hit rain this one time. It was a beautiful long weekend and a wonderful trip and I’m glad we did it. Total mileage: 1,574.