bjciii: My twisted thoughts

Before you answer, let me fully explain the question to which everyone is furiously licking their lips and getting carpal tunnel trying to click “Submit Comment” as fast as they possibly can.

I have a lot of friends who aren’t all that close with their parents; some of them to the point of rather not talking to them unless they have to or even seeing them unless necessary. While I don’t condemn them for this, I just don’t feel the same way. Granted, I had an interesting upbringing, but I always felt loved and cared for. Yes, there were days I wish I had different parents, but I was young and stupid. As I got older, I realized I was blessed with the set of parents I have.

So, the fully fleshed out question then becomes: Am I odd because I like talking to and spending time with my parents? I’m not talking blowing off friends to hang out with the rents or anything, but I don’t dread going over there. I don’t look at the caller ID and groan if it’s the house. I do talk to my parents almost every day for stupid little things. It’s not because I have a complex or anything, but it’s because I like to check in and make sure everything’s okay. I check in with a lot of my friends on a daily basis, but those checking ins are usually in e-mail or IM.

I dunno… I look around at some of my acquaintances and think I’m so not the norm. I guess I was just curious to see everyone else’s point of view. I mean, even my sister, the fiercely independent newlywed, has been talking to my mom & dad more since she moved out. Maybe it’s because we know we’re lucky. They’re both still married to each other after 35.5 years, neither is addicted to drugs or alcohol, neither is cheating on the other, and they are both happy. I don’t know a lot of families like that anymore.

Maybe that’s why it’s tough for me to get into a relationship… I have unrealistic expectations of where I want things to go! Sheesh… when did I become an over-romantic woman?

Before I begin, allow me to explain so you all don’t go ape-shit.

I understand people get really attached to animals; for the most part, animals make better people than most humans do. I understand that Barbaro’s owners and care-givers must be devastated by their loss and my heart goes out to them. I, myself, am not a horse person, but I do love my dog, so the leap of deduction isn’t all that big. To those people outside of that inner circle who have been affected by this, well I feel bad for you as well.

Having said all of that, however, I’m at a complete loss as to why this is a huge deal.

I mean, there I was at the store last night watching the evening news with Charlie Gibson and the lead story (the lead story people… the very first item after the opening music) was about Barbaro’s death. There’s a war going on whether you support it or not. Cities are banning trans-fats almost as fast as they are banning smoking. Rapes, murders, embezzlement, child welfare, religious intolerance, the upcoming election where the Democrats are throwing everyone into the ring to see who the strongest is… those are all newsworthy items for the lead story on an evening news telecast. The death of a horse? C’mon now.

It wasn’t even just the fact that this was the lead story… it was how they were talking about the horse. I swear, had I known nothing about this horse whatsoever, I would have walked away thinking it cured cancer, brought peace to the Middle East, and converted Osama Bin Laden to Scientology. They were using words and reverent tones that are usually reserved for the passing of great individuals such as Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Ghandi, and other incredible humanitarians.

It was a fucking horse!

Yes, I know the saying you may not be someone to the world, but you’re the world to somebody or something close to that, but I’m seriously waiting for “Barbaro Day” to become a national holiday after everything I’ve seen on the news! Like I said, I do really feel for the owners and trainers and support staff because they dealt with Barbaro on a daily basis and developed a relationship with him. The rest of the world? C’mon now.

Would everyone feel the same way if LeBron James had died in his rookie season? How about Sydney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins? Reggie Bush? Ryan Howard?

My point is that the media made SUCH a huge deal out of this and I’m kinda at a loss as to why. Of course I was also confused as to why I should care about Bennifer (Round 1), Tom’s couch gymnastics, and The Birth of Suri: The Savior of Scientology. I guess there are people out there who rotate around the media like planets around a sun and they look to that media to dictate their cares. At least that’s how I see it.

This is an e-mail I received earlier today from my buddy Jim in California. I’ve edited out the portions of the e-mail that really don’t fit into why I’m posting it, so deal…

Dear Bill,
I just watched last year’s season finale of “Supernatural” as well as this year’s season premiere. …[I]f I ever I have an evil demon inside me and the only way to kill it is to kill me, please just kill me. This is like a supernatural version of a DNR.

-Jim

To bring the rest of you up to speed, Supernatural is an amazing show which started on the old (and now defunct) WB network. Fortunately it made the cuts in the great merger between The WB and UPN when those two networks combined to make The CW (I hate the name too) and it’s on every Thursday night at 9pm; I reveiwed it when it first came out.

What Jim is referring to is the finale of last season where a demon (the demon according to the show’s mythos) possesses the patriarch of the Winchester family. Sam, the son, is forced to kill his father with a blessed gun which will kill the demon and restore a sense of normalcy to his and his brothers’ lives, or let his father live which means letting the demon live and they keep going.

Jim chooses the supernatural do not resuscitate over living possessed. Duly noted my friend… duly noted.

Aren’t the rest of you jealous of me? Do I not have the coolest friends in the world or what? I mean, take Jim for an example. A more brilliant political mind is tough to find, but he is incredibly creative and off-the-wall as well. All you people have are the boring friends.

Ya ever just wake up and something hurts? I’m not talking like a headache or a stomachache or something like that, but like if you stand up and you say “Shit! My leg is killing me!” Granted, I sleep in weird positions sometimes (an ex-girlfriend of mine used to say it was alternately “cute” and “odd” that I used to sleep with my hand resting on my chin with my head was resting on my other arm), but I’m used to waking up with fingers, hands, or arms completely asleep. Today I woke up and I have this weird ache on the outer part of my thigh (a few inches below my hip) and I’m completely clueless on how it happened. As far as I’m aware, I didn’t do anything strenuous in bed (and let the jokes fly), but it still aches a bit.

Meh… it will even out.

I did realize that I’m very naïve when it comes to certain things. For example, when I left my house on Tuesday night to go work out, I thought Hey… it’s 7:30pm. There’s gonna be NOBODY there! Yeah… right. I showed up and didn’t even get a parking space. I looked up at the window and saw no empty machines either. Amazed! I figured since that place is empty 12 hours earlier, it should be just as empty. Guess not. In any case, I’ll be waking my ass up early a few times a week to sweat to my iPod.

Speaking of my iPod… I finally got all of my music onto my PC. I think I have almost 9 full days of music on there (and yes… most of it is complete and LEGALLY PURCHASED albums). Sounds like I need a bigger iPod.

First, I’d like to welcome all of the Secret Service agents reading my BLOG today. I really dig those sunglasses y’all wear…

Now, for the rest of you… President Bush arrived in Delaware today to tour various DuPont plants and hotels. I believe Air Force One landed at New Castle County airport this morning and he’s already been to the duPont Experimental Station and the Hotel duPont in Wilmington. Now this isn’t privileged information because it’s been reported by our main newspaper, The News Journal.

In order for Georgie to make it from point A to point B, they closed down the main interstate (I-95) for a few miles, so I know there were a lot of pissed off people trying to get to places that had to take different routes. The funny part is that the road they shut down really had no reason to be shut down as it’s pretty much a straight shot on Rt. 141 from the airport to the Experimental Station. After that, it’s Rt. 52 from there to the hotel, so they really never should have hit I-95 until it was time to get the hell out of Wilmington to go to the airport again. Weird. I guess beaurocrats don’t make much sense in travel since they can’t really make much sense anywhere else either.

Again, everything I’ve written has been previously reported and the things I’ve typed have already happened, so there’s no security breach here folks! I’m sure George is enjoying his daytrip to the First State. While he is here, I would like to make some suggestions on what to accomplish:

1. Get a Deerhead hotdog. Them’s good eatin’!
2. Go to the top of the Rockford Water Tower… you can actually see where duPont leased the rest of the state!
3. Enjoy our tax-free shopping while you’re getting a cute Gap sweater for Vice President Cheney!
4. Gotta get a Kitchen Sink from The Charcoal Pit for the hungry secret service agents (See guys? I’m trying to help you).
5. Avoid the Tyler McConnell Bridge at rush-hour… it’s a bitch.
6. Go to The Wilmington Wine Company ( shameless plug) and take advantage of great savings!
7. Head down to the beach and get some Dolly’s Salt-Water Taffy… it’s a Delaware imperative.
8. Oh, you have got to walk around in the Target on Naaman’s road… then tell me just how ridiculously crowded it is. Again, it’s a Delaware hobby.

That’s only a few things to do in New Castle County (and 1 in Sussex), but I’m sure you’ll find more. I’d also recommend going to drink at one of our fine drinking establishments, but I have a feeling that “The Leader of the Free World” shouldn’t pooh-pooh his sobriety… right?

In any case, we’ll be back to normal when that big ol’ jumbo jet takes off. Of course it might make for an interesting flight if disgruntled Russian separatists lead by Gary Oldman took over the plane and demanded the release of their imprisoned leader…

…sorry. Been watching Air Force One on TNT too much lately.

I could take a decidedly negative approach right now, but ya know what? It’s not worth it. I mean really… I’ve had my flash of anger for the day and I think I’m beginning to realize why I get angry now. I think that breakthrough is what is causing me to mellow out.

Anyone who has really talked to me knows that I get very angry when I can’t make logical sense of something. The fact that a situation or person defies all logic sort of short-circuits my brain and I get upset. It is because of that thing that I choose to avoid people and situations that tend to go against all known rules of logic. I really never put it in that terminology before, so I’m pretty happy. Honestly, I’ve always known about what makes me angry, but I didn’t give too much thought as to why. Now that I have, I know I can laugh it off.

Take today for instance. I have been doing something for approximately 12 months, without change. All of a sudden, it’s wrong. Not only is it wrong, but someone takes it to the nth degree and goes running about talking about it to anyone who will listen. Why? I mean, it’s not some salacious nugget of gossip or even something horrendously wrong. Basically it comes down to perceived importance. That person perceives that they are important and needs to “deal” with something… the funny thing is that they really don’t. Someone else has to do their dirty work for them, so it all turns out to be some huge comical farce which, after the initial flare of “this does not make SENSE”, it’s extremely funny.

So rest assured that your fearless BLOGger is wonderful and happy and safe. I hope the same can be said for all of you!

Sorry it took me the extra day to get the trivia for this week up (which it is… now), but there was a security issue that Lunarpages didn’t really tell me about. They changed my password on the main account and I was locked out. Needless to say, I was a little freaked about things until I searched the forums and found the answer.

Whew.

Anyway, it’s up AND I managed to install the brand new version of WordPress (2.1) on my journal subsite (which you’re currently reading). If there are any problems, let me know.

You’d think that Delawareans would know how to navigate in the slush / snow, right? I mean… it’s not like we’re San Diego that freaks out every time it rains! We do get snow throughout the winter, sometimes a few inches at a time! However, this morning I’m driving to work and you’d think either all of the nursing homes let their patients drive around OR people from the desert were visiting Delaware and had no idea what that white stuff on the ground was. Granted, I’ve lived here for 31 years and have been driving for 15 of them here, but I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one!

In any case… I’m so glad Old Man Winter came to town! I hated the sixty degree weather in January!

Also, there’s some bad news… for some reason, my Sunday insomnia has been creeping back in. I used to associate that condition with a dread of going back to work, but since I enjoy my job, it’s not that. I just Googled it and it turns out that, if you sleep in on Saturday and Sunday, you have a chance of not sleeping Sunday night.

Well THAT sucks! I guess I’ll have to wake up earlier those two days now… usually I get an extra 2 hours each morning, so I think that translates into a sleepless Sunday night! Boo, hiss. Damn… and I enjoy sleeping in.

Regardless of which team you wanted to win, the AFC Championship game tonight where New England lost to Indianapolis will go down in history. At the very least, this game was one of the best games I’ve seen in a very, very long time.

I texted my cousin Kat (who is probably in utter disbelief as I type this) right before New England’s final drive and said: This is where Brady becomes a legend or merely great. See, Tom Brady is an amazing quarterback who’s done amazing things and has won some huge games (including 3 Super Bowls), but that last minute interception proved the kryptonite to New England’s very own Superman. If he had engineered a game-winning drive (as he’s done countless other times since he took the reins from Drew Bledsoe), he would have no doubt been a legend without question. I know more than a few of you will argue he’s ALREADY a legend, but I’ll say he’s most definitely a legend in the making right now. In any case, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Brady is a tremendous athlete and will definitely be back in the Bowl by the time he retires. Hell… Brady’s got more Super Bowl rings on one hand than the ENTIRE Eagles team has on ALL their fingers!

So congrats to Peyton Manning and the entire Colts franchise for getting that monkey off their back. My condolences to all the Patriots fans out there… I know it’s tough (remember: I’m an Eagles fan… you at least had a few good years!).

Two more weeks… my guess on the opening line? Indianapolis favored by 8 over Chicago. My prediction for the final score? Indy wins Super Bowl XLI over Chicago by a score of 35 – 17.

Okay… I’m going against major throngs of people on this and I fully understand that I’m going to come out looking like an asshole, but I have to say it:

Why was I not asked to vote during the election of The New Orleans Saints as “America’s Team?”

I’m completely aware that The Philadelphia Eagles won’t be America’s Team anytime soon; the majority of my fellow fans will make sure that doesn’t happen in my lifetime, but I resent having to make excuses to root for a team because of some overwhelming sentiment. Hell, after 9/11, The Giants got a big standing ovation… in New York. Everyone cheered for the New York & Washington teams for a week and then went back to hating them if their long-standing allegiances demanded it. Why is this team in New Orleans any different?

The biggest thing I keep hearing is that “it would be so good for the city” if they won the Super Bowl.

Bullshit I cry!

New Orleans, despite a brand-new pool in everyone’s back yard (and front yard… and side yard… and basement), is a hedonistic town that thrives on parties. I’ve personally never been to New Orleans (or NOLA as people have come to say) and I have no desire to go after hearing how it looked BEFORE Katrina. They don’t “need” to win The Super Bowl to restore any civic pride! They didn’t have any to begin with!!

I really feel for the people in the area who did lose everything and were good people. I honestly cannot even begin to understand how my life would be if my entire world were underwater and my family was forced to relocate to another state to get a fresh start. It’s absolutely mind-boggling… but I honestly think that these people, the good people looking for their lives back, could care less about a Super Bowl victory. The players might have gotten a couple cars wet, but I guarantee if any of the NFL players lost anything in the hurricane, they were able to replace it without really thinking of the cost.

The people needed to see the Saints play this season: that I’ll agree to. It meant a return to a level of normalcy. It meant that the giant edifice known as The Louisiana Superdome was no longer a tenement where violence and rapes occurred in the midst of reconstruction and Christian kindness to those who lost everything. I definitely see how the city NEEDED those first few games, but to NEED a championship for an excuse to party? Nah. You NEED a championship to erase years of close calls or futility. Arizona NEEDS a championship… New Orleans would just LIKE one.

Ya know what is going to happen if The Saints win the big game? There’s gonna be a party to end all parties. Not only that, but the party-goers are going to trash that city which is trying to desperately rebuild after that horrendous meteorological event. The victory party will make the riots in Detroit after they won the NBA Championship in the 1980s look like a Girl Scout campfire because there is no restraint in New Orleans. People go there to forget about propriety and who they are 7 days a week. I shudder to think about how the good people of New Orleans would react as the flood of revelers comes in to do more damage than Katrina did after they worked so long and hard to rebuild. I sort of picture an artist overcoming the loss of a limb completing a masterpiece only to have a bunch of neighborhood kids come running in and ripping it apart.

I know, I know, I know… I’m sounding like a really old and cranky man trying to tell those dagum kids to get off my front lawn, but if you think about my points, you know I’m right. New Orleans is not “America’s Team” they are “America’s Charity Case” in terms of this. One only needs to ask my mom who has been rooting for The Saints the entire season. Why? “Because of the hurricane!” There’s apparently no other good reason to root for the Saints unless you’ve been a Saints fan all along.

If all else fails people… ask yourselves if you’d root for a Dallas Cowboys team with Terrell Owens on it if Dallas was hit by a huge meteor. I think the answer to that one is pretty clear: Was T.O. actually hit by the meteor or not?