Fw0: everything worked out in my favor

Put your affairs in order!

http://legacycollegeofbusinessstudies.com/gfnolvh/nrmkmupg.phtm?CID=498812451680&c=5723

btummy
Ill take you up, i reckon shе laid a trap for me and i shoved my paw in.
Second to nothing because it had no consciousness of being so._____________________________
11.08.2014 23:19:09

Hi my friend

http://www.web-intiserver.com/rcofz/riwnkpndexu.website?hotmailID=140728379019660+language_en=7239103

Since you 're reading this - so I was not wrong
------------------
19.07.2014 23:57:00
How careless of me! Hе has never been out of his mind in his lifeexcept over silly me. btummy

First site for my friend http://mesin.ub.ac.id/Its_me555.php?mjv

Tryin' to GET BACK!!!

I know, this blog has appeared to have fallen by the wayside log ago, relegated to the cosmic heap of cyber junk, but I am actually going to attempt a restart, a jumpstart, a reboot to include all that came before and start some more posts here. Hopefully I'll be able to be conscientious and include all the things that have taken space, time, karma, money and energy in my mind - from Brennan the wonder boy, on with Frances the wonder rock starlette, through the major renovations to my blog partner and (in the words of Forrest) really good bestest friend's house (including plugs for a great endeavor she has jumped into with both feet hauling ass and delving pretty deep into the state of my health, medical condition, and all of the frustrating and sometimes pleasantly surprising details of the huge team that seems to be involved with forward progress. So buckle up and check this spot from time to time, and tell me something - especially if this starts looking like a psychotic energy infusion that may seem to taper into a downward asymptote. So, we'll see -

And I'll try to keep my sentences a little more succinct as I go. It will take practice!

Speaking of Etiquette...

..I know, it was a few weeks ago, but hey - Anyway, one of the other little things that people do these days tends to point directly to this growing epidemic of selfishness that is covering the culture these days. And one of the things that really bothers me about this cultural change is that I'm not immune to it either; I am becoming just as guilty as the people about whom I lament. The thing that I find irksome also ties into a post that my partner put in here about the way that people say things without thinking about them. Have you noticed lately that when someone is putting you off for some reason, they tend to say something like, "can't do it right now, but I'll get back to you at my earliest convenience." Huh?! Your earliest convenience? If I'm asking you to do something, then something tells me that this may never become convenient to you! I really think that this is more of a case of ignorance than bad manners, but still, people need to think about what they say. If I was trying to be polite, then I think that I would be the one to ask someone else to do something when it is convenient for them, ya know? I just strikes me as impolite when someone tells me that they will do something as part of a business dialogue or just plain polite discussion, only when it becomes convenient for them to get around to it.

Okay, now that I've vented, it does seem like a small complaint, but it still adds to that epidemic of the deterioration our cultural behaviors along with everything thing else. And it does seem like this epidemic is snowballing beyond repair at this point, unfortunately.

Still Craving the Outdoors

Several posts ago, I wrote about really wanting to get outside and going so far as to actually describe a hiking trip that is in the works for some time in the near future. In the meantime, the internet is a great tool for vicarious outdoor adventures and finding all kinds of information out there, not only for making plans for actual trips, but also for getting new ideas, reading what other people may be doing for their own outdoor recreation, and maybe joining in some discussions with people online. This is such a great way to share information and I just hope that people take advantage of it as much as possible.

Just browsing the web has brought me a wealth of information about some things - even certain things just about hiking in general - that I probably wouldn't have known about before I ever explored stuff online. There is this really neat technique for hiking and walking that I found out about called Nordic Walking that is really cool when you read a lot of the stuff about it. It combines maximizing exercising with fun in one's hikes and has a lot of interesting history and background information for this thing that seems to have been around for quite some time now. If you think you want to check into it and find out more about it, just Click Here. You will go to another website that will tell you all about it. Let me know what you think!

The Miracles of Modern Medicine

Being a frequent patient at several of the areas doctor's offices and medical centers, and a walking medical time-bomb, I usually attempt to have a great deal of sympathy, not only for the people that find themselves in the unfortunate position of being a patron to one of these offices, but also to the people whose thankless jobs it is to handle those patients and procedures. But recently I was once again visiting one of these doctor's offices at an area hospital and I was just absolutely astounded at the surrealistic experience it turned out to be.

The first sight I saw was as I was walking into the Outpatient Center, and I noticed that the ground seemed to be rumbling, as if a small tremor had hit our little geographical area. No we didn't have any quakes that day, but I'd be surprised if this didn't register on the Richter Scale. And, let me just say right now that this woman should have been brought in by ambulance and not by the two poor children pushing her wheelchair. Yes, I said wheelchair. And yes, I said that two kids were pushing this thing, but they were not little kids. they were probably in their early to mid teens. This chair looked like it had been manufactured by Caterpillar - you know, the big bulldozer and road building machinery company? I mean, it could have been powered by an 8-cylinder diesel engine with a 5-speed transmission. Needless to say, it was like, triple-wide, with dual wheels on each side of the chair. It looked like one of those Dualy farm trucks that pull horse trailers. I swear, this woman weighed at least 800 pounds, and I am not exaggerating! And those poor kids were huffing and puffing for all they were worth just to get her along the sidewalk. I just hope that she was coming in the hospital for gastric bypass surgery, because those kids were miserable!

But then, as karma would have it, while I was still just marveling at the sight I had just witnessed, I was being checked in to have my own procedure done, and since it was an ultrasound on the vascular structure of my legs, I had to go all the way down to radiology. Well, I know where radiology is, I've been there a hundred times, so, just give me my paperwork and I'll be on my way. But nooooo --- Regulations and all that. So, I had to wait for a volunteer to get to me with guess what? A wheelchair! to push me down to have an ultrasound. Well, I guess I could have enjoyed the ride, but oh the guilt and shame I felt! Not so much because I was on the verge of ridiculing the sight I had just seen, but the volunteer that had to push me was an extremely elderly, very delicate looking old gentleman who just had no business pushing a young(er), (relatively) healthy man down the hall of a hospital.

And I just have a feeling that things are going to be getting a whole lot worse in the medical field before they start to, if ever, get better. And that can be pretty spooky.

The Promised Pictures Providing Perspective and Piecemeal Painting Progress

This first picture is actually the fireplace wall when everything was just getting started, that was shown before, after the painting was done. This is just given as a little bit more perspective for the amount of work being done, and how much the little incremental changes make such a huge difference.

And the next picture is the same wall, with decorations and cleanup relatively complete.

And finally, the aforementioned closet, complete with a small remnant of the sea-foam, aquarium algae green left on the door to give some idea of the wonder that accompanies the incredulity of "why was this color ever used?" Imagine the entire closet covered with that yuck-o color! And, I know its just a closet, but isn't the white so much better to see, like when you first open the door in the morning to start your day with a choice of shirt or something?

Hhmmmmm -

Be Careful???

Can someone please tell me why people say things, as well-intentioned as they may be, without really thinking about what exactly it is that they're saying? While eating lunch at a restaurant today I overheard a conversation between the cashier and a customer. It was all friendly banter while he was paying his bill... you know, just small talk about nothing in particular. I really wasn't listening that closely...really! What did catch my attention, however, was his parting statement... "Have a good day! Be careful!" Be careful? Doing what, standing behind the cash register taking money and sliding credit cards through the machine? Watch out for those paper cuts! Now maybe he knew the young lady and was privy to information about some death-defying adventure that she would be partaking in after work - my guess is, not so much.

I hear statements like this all the time. I know I've been guilty of walking into a hospital room to visit a friend or family member after they've just had some kind of life or death surgery and asking the mindless question, "How are you feeling?" Well, duh! 

There are many reasons these phrases may come flying out of our mouths. Sometimes, I think people just feel like they need to fill dead space with some kind of verbal acknowledgement when maybe a simple smile would do. Other times these things just slip out in awkward situations. And there have been many times when, at least in my experience, these things just fly out and I find myself thinking about how little sense what I just said actually makes! 

Anyone have any stories to share?

Everybody be careful out there in cyberspace!

The Miracle Cleansing Effect of A Fresh Coat of White Paint

And, sorry, no pictures yet to show, but it is absolutely incredible what whitewashing can do for a room. Now, I use the term whitewash pretty loosely, because so far, it has only been trim and door frames and the insides of closets that have gotten that refreshing clean glow. (Isn't whitewashing where one just slathers white paint all over everything in sight? That's definitely not what I'm talking about - in fact, that looks pretty sorry itself.) But what a glow! Take a look at the pictures of the walls that have been painted so far and you can see how wide the door frames are inside the house. Now, imagine getting a close up shot of those frames in sparkling white and you will get an idea of the difference it makes to the big picture.



What really amazes both my blog partner and me is why in the world would 1) people want to paint those places an ugly sea-foam, aquarium algae green color like we found underneath, and 2) why is such a simple step in beautification not taken more often? I will be posting some pictures here soon which will hopefully demonstrate as much as possible this effect. Obviously, the only way to fully appreciate it is to see it "live," so maybe if someone is looking for a way to brighten up an otherwise dull and drab room, this will give you a good starting point.

Moving is Progressing in Pictures

On a lighter note, it is great to be involved in that whole making the home one's castle thing, and a lot of the comments at this site seem to be about that. Well, its just such a fun and positive thing that one is compelled to keep coming back to it. With that said, I think I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves for now and let my partner comment more on it as she gets a chance. The paint is looking awesome and the other picture is the ROCK AND ROLL PRACTICE ROOM!! Can't wait for that to get all set up -

Is Etiquette Dead?

I know, who has time to write thank-you notes anymore, right? With texting and voice mail, email and stuff, communications have changed drastically in just the last few years. But its actually texting and email and stuff that I'm talking about! I have been discussing this with friends and everyone seems to agree (and admits a little bit of guilt in the matter, also) that nobody ever seems to even have time to acknowledge, much less respond to, emails, texts, and voice mails, even when you, as the sender, would really like to have some dialogue about that subject pretty soon, dangit! (Yes, Mom, I know, I know - ) Anyway, could this be considered an all-out deterioration of the level of interactive etiquette in our society at large? I think it gives the idea credit. Any thoughts out there?

Oh, The Places We Would Go!

If you've had a chance to keep up with Jay's blog, you'll know that he is currently on a business jag in Southeastern Asia, with his work being done in Singapore and Vietnam. What a great opportunity! he must have heard about a thousand times in the weeks leading up to his trip. But isn't it so often the case that some of the most intense work you'll ever do in your job happens to be in the most exotic locations that you can be shipped off to. Regardless of who I've spoken to about these trips - family, friends, colleagues - its almost always the same. It would be such a cool place to visit, even for a fraction of the time, if only you actually had time to enjoy anything!! I think the only people that have been able to enjoy any time in any of the great places, are the directors and the owners. Well, forgive me if my tone sounds a little jaded, but, by then, you would have had all of the opportunities you could have ever wanted to take at that point in your career, ya think?

Now, you have to know that I say the preceeding with all of the envy that I can possibly shroud in innocent cynicism. Shoot yeah, I'd love to take a business trip to Singapore and Vietnam! Even if it was just for the plane ride and the authentic cuisine - I wouldn't pass it up for anything if I had the chance, would you? Even if I had to present some powerpoint piece that I had to fake my way through, and be subjected to the questions afterwards, I'd be there!

I know that Jay misses his family, but I also know Jay; between knowing him and reading his blog, he is most definitely making the most out of his travels. If you haven't checked out his blog yet, now would be a great time to do it.

Still Moving!

Ok, so I finally have a couple of minutes to comment on the whole buying a house and moving thing.  Bottom line... it's incredible! It's also somewhat surreal... I feel like somehow I've taken a step into adulthood - weird! I've always wanted to have a place of my own that I could paint and decorate however I wanted (I used to want to be an interior decorator when I was younger); although, I guess I thought it would happen under different circumstances. I never really pictured myself buying a one-bedroom house... in my head it was more the  3-bedroom house purchased with my husband for a growing family, but life doesn't always happen the way you picture it, ya know?

Back to the decorating thing... it's a slow process with lots of projects that keep popping up unexpectedly. Fortunately, I have friends who are willing to help! They know who they are! Right now I feel like I'm living in a Tetris game... I just kind of shuffle things around, unable to actually put everything in the proper place... because now everything actually has a place!... still, I can't put things where they're supposed to go until I get everything painted because I know I'll just have to move them and dust them off again. AAAARGH! The frustration!

But even as slow as the process may be, there is something to be said for progress.  There is definitely a sense of accomplishment in making the bare room that was there in the beginning become the warm, crisp, swanky living room I've always wanted... seeing the image that was in my head materialize into what I get to walk into every day is pretty cool!

An Entertaining Other Blog

Click on the title and it will take you to my Brother-in-Law Jay's blog, which is a lot of fun. Jay has like 3 masters degrees in English Literature and a great sense of humor, so check him out!

And, at Last, Perhaps a Little Controversy

Although I don't consider it particularly controversial, just a sober examination of recent history. Proper credit is given to the original author with thanks to the kinsmen who made me aware of this -

by: Patrick J. Buchanan

Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America.?
Fair enough. But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation. White
America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to.
This time, the Silent
Majority needs to have its convictions, grievances and demands heard. And among
them are these:
First, America has been the best country on earth for black
folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave
ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian
salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have
ever known.
Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an
American.
Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than
white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the ' 60s on welfare,
food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans,
legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs
designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.
Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against
white folks -- with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to
advance black applicants over white applicants.
Churches, foundations, civic
groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated time and money to
support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes
for blacks.
We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude??
Barack
talks about new 'ladders of opportunity' for blacks.
Let him go to
Altoona?and Johnstown, and ask the white kids in Catholic schools how many were
visited lately by Ivy League recruiters handing out scholarships for 'deserving'
white kids.?
Is white America really responsible for the fact that the crime
and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of white
America? Is it really white America's fault that illegitimacy in the
African-American community has hit 70 percent and the black dropout rate from
high schools in some cities has reached 50 percent?
Is that the fault of
white America or, first and foremost, a failure of the black community itself?
As for racism, its ugliest manifestation is in interracial crime, and
especially interracial cri mes of violence. Is Barack Obama aware that while
white criminals choose black victims 3 percent of the time, black criminals
choose white victims 45 percent of the time?
Is Barack aware that
black-on-white rapes are 100 times more common than the reverse, that
black-on-white robberies were 139 times as common in the first three years of
this decade as the reverse?
We have all heard ad nauseam from the Rev. Al
about Tawana Brawley, the Duke rape case and Jena. And all turned out to be
hoaxes. But about the epidemic of black assaults on whites that are real, we
hear nothing.
Sorry, Barack, some of us have heard it all before, about 40
years and 40 trillion tax dollars ago.

Now, if I were to provide any rebuttal, I would point out that the majority of the legislative bodies during the last forty years has been white, and it seems that one of the most insidious of the unintended consequences of that long list of minority advancement programs designed to rapidly and artificially raise the socio-economic standards of the members of those groups, is the equally long list of negative characteristics of behaviors that seem to get all the attention, and to be the rallying cry for blame, but for the wrong reasons. This is to say that it is not the continuance of institutionalized racism that is the limiting factor in any attempts at cultural improvement, but the results of racial preferences that has set the foundation for so much cultural lack of driving responsibility. The old proverb regarding the fish says it best. And America has not only given out tons of fish, but tried to teach fishing in every way possible. Unfortunately, having that choice leads way too many to take the delicious fish right now, and, hey, I can just mess with those worms and crickets and stuff tomorrow.

Naturally, when discussing cutural attitudes, it is done in generalities, and I'm not talking about you, or the individuals that truly have had really crappy luck. But as long as there are people who can stir up a crowd by giving them a common grievance and a common fall guy (the white man), then how is there ever going to be a large enough platform for the truth, sensibility, and reason to speak loudly enough to cut though the emotional fervor?

Would anyone care to comment?

Now THIS is Cooperation!

This would fall into the category of "If I only could practice a little while longer:"

You Gotta Move!

I wonder why it is that when you think about moving, its usually with an, "Uggh," somewhere in there. But actually, even if (maybe especially if) its not your move, it really is a cool and exciting thing to do. Oh, sure, you think about the grim stuff like cleaning and packing and actually lugging heavy stuff and being short on time, but when you start getting into it, all the cool stuff starts coming back to you. The stuff like being able to sort through and really throw out all the junk, or at least most of it, and then finding stuff you forgot you had, and now you can really use it! And if you're buying a house, there are all kinds of cool options open to you. Choosing your own paint colors; and, painting is pretty dang fun if its not your real job, ya know? (no offense to any painters out there); visualizing the arrangement of furniture and wall decorations, and just the idea of "a fresh start" rank pretty high as well. Maybe we can get some more elucidating details here if anyone wants to jump in the conversation (hint, hint).

One thing that is really awesome is having so much to do that's fun and can be, has to be, spread out over at least a few weeks for the intense stuff, and then even more for the details to fall into place over a longer term, although those details will pretty much be enjoyed exclusively by my blog partner, the true new homeowner here. But I am truly awed that I am able to enjoy helping her out for as much as I am.

So far, the only things that have been accomplished are the new house cleaning and prep and the beginning of the new interior paint job. As more time is spent in the house doing the type of labor that allows for brainstorming between friends, that visualization component really starts getting energetic. The time consumed also allows for idea refinement, realization of the other stuff that needs to be done and even new things that may have to be aquired. So we'll try to keep you posted as this project proceeds - Such as the painting progress:

I Hear the Outdoors Calling

Okay, it is now that time of year to stop lamenting about not getting a chance to go snowboarding this past winter, and start getting psyched about just visiting the mountains. The areas that are available for a snowboarding trip are limited, especially if it would just be a weekend trip. But there are so many really cool places just a short distance away that are great for a road trip through the mountains, or, one of my most favorite things to do when the weather gets nice, hitting the trails. I absolutely love to go hiking, but I also really dig mountain biking. Realistically, this summer, I'm just hoping to get in a few day hikes (because of that stupid liver thing and the complications surrounding it). But I can definitely get in to a couple of those!

I just spent the last hour looking at one of the kick-ass National Geographic trail maps that I have, mapping out a couple of routes that are going to be great for whenever there's an opportunity. Both of the routes I traced out start only a few miles, maybe 30 – 45 minutes northeast of Murphy, NC where the Bartram Trail crosses Highway 19. North along the trail takes you to the Appalachian Trail and then east along the AT brings you back to the highway. Probably a good route to take if there are 2 cars available and one can be parked at the exit. But to go south on Bartram, even though it would mean a little backtracking, looks like it would be way more intense. Not necessarily the difficulty of the hike, but the scenery, views and photo ops. There is a great network of trails that branch off of Bartram, and it looks like there could be several different loops to take. So I think that that will be the plan. C’mon! who’s ready to go? Murphy is only about a 4 hour drive away, so now is the time to DO IT!!

George is Saved in the Nick of Time

After making sandwiches on Oaknut bread, bread that I knew would become soggy within less than an hour with the shrimp salad that was as fine as any you could ever taste, I knew I was going to forget something in my haste to stuff all the necessary accoutrements into a tote bag for the show. Hmm – napkins (lots), cut strawberries, a decent domestic red, plastic champagne glasses(?), corkscrew – where is she? the sandwiches are already getting soggy – oh, yeah, water and skeeter repellant. I should have waited to make these stupid sandwiches.
There is still about 45 minutes before the music starts, so just take a deep breath and, there she is pulling in the driveway now. Don’t show any impatience, now. This should be good. This week it is a bluegrass band playing on the lawn of the Appleby Library, conveniently within walking distance up the street on this pleasant June evening. So into the house she walks with a commiserative and piteous look on her face, and a peach basket on her arm. She folds back the layers of towels in the basket and in the bottom of the basket, there he was – fur all nappy, emaciated, eyes sealed shut with the goop that was oozing out – oh, he was in such bad shape. He couldn’t have been more than four weeks old; why did the mama cat abandon him? So we wiped out his eyes, found a box to put him in, rewrapped him in fresh towels, and placed kitten and a small bowl of water in the box, put the box on top of a heat register (where the pilot light is always on, so it is always a little warm on top), and off we went.
When we got back, the kitten had not moved, and his eyes appeared to have seeped out some more of that ugly sludge, but he seemed to be warm and breathing easier. He was washed in the bathroom sink, and that’s when we started seeing all the huge fleas, living on him and off of him. I mean, these fleas were the size of house flies! They were the grossest and most engorged fleas I had ever seen! After washing him and drying him off, the fleas had to be picked off: I think that Heather probably picked off at least 50 more fleas after most of the varmints jumped off or fell off during the bath or drying. 50 BIG FAT UGLY FLEAS!! It was an absolute shame. But, after wiping his eyes out once more and then making up a tiny bottle of formula for him, which he got the hang of pretty quick, he started to perk up a little. He ended up drinking down about 3 full ounces of formula and then seemed to be able to rest peacefully for a few hours.
His recovery was amazing! Within two days, George the Wonder Kitty, went from the threshold of death’s door to this picture of health that you see below. See what just a little TLC does? And by the way, the music was awesome and immensely enjoyable, and the sandwiches, while they were a little bit soggy, they were delicious, as I knew they would be…

All Better Wonder Kitty

The Simplest Shots

This moonshot turned out pretty good. There will be more as I approach the satellite, closer and closer...

Saturn

Yes, the ‘scope was out the other night and my camera got lucky.  I’ll try to improve over time with images such as these

Finally, We've Come in the House

And so it begins. Since long back in the day, I mean, we were still using quills, ya know? I always thought, man, this stuff needs disemmination, it needs to be seen - at least some of it, by maybe a few people. But at the back of my mind, just under the level of consciousness, I wanted anonymity. Or if not to be fully anonymous, perhaps the appreciation for my words would be recognized posthumously. JEEZ - that's a morbid thought, but you see, everything that has historically compelled me to put words on paper, to articulate the confoundments and practice self-expression much more effectively than anything that I could ever do verbally, has been rooted in some type of sticky sacharrin romantic goo. Oh sure, there has been and continues to be lots of diverse subject matter from the personal to the public, political and cultural, funny and infuriating, but the only junk that I ever had the arrogant audacity to think was actually good prose, would always be the gooey muck that most people try to rinse off as quickly as possible. So now, this is going to be more of a challenge than it would seem, because the attempt here will be to entertain, hopefully to educate, maybe to opine, to show off, possibly to steer folks towards some of the things that I have found that could be interesting, useful, fun and even lucrative. In other words, you just never know what you may find here, and hey, neither do I. Rock On!