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Gaspo Blogs! Fresh Meat Alert!

After a couple of years of nagging, and y'all know I can be an Olympic-class nag, journalist/novelist/friend Tom Gasparoli has a blog up on the boards. Into You will take on relationship issues from a male-who-knows-how-to-listen-to-women perspective. Stop by and show Tom (aka Gaspo!) how we welcome newcomers.

Okay Tom, show us what you got! posted by jw at 9:13 PM 0 comments links to this post The education system My friend Crissy and her husband Jeff, at BottleImp, have two boys. One is in pre-school and learning is happening in a very creative way. posted by jw at 10:06 AM 0 comments links to this post Thursday, October 05, 2006

No, thanks, the stress entree was enough, I don't want any for dessert. Oh, did I spell dessert right? I have a problem with that word. And exsist, which is really exist. I finally learned how to spell dessert (instead of desert). Strawberry shortcake. Two Ss. Dessert.

Monday -- Mr. W -- Just got out. Me -- Of? Mr. W -- The doctor. Me -- And? Mr. W -- Surgery. Me -- When? Mr. W -- Tomorrow Me -- Yikes! Have you even known me to be less verbose? So...

Tuesday --

Surgery Dr. -- Well, it was a little more complicated than we thought. Me -- Yeah. That always seems to happen. Dr. -- Let me explain. (insert teacher sounds from Charlie Brown TV shows) Me -- Uh-huh. Dr. -- So then...(insert teacher sounds from Charlie Brown TV shows) Me -- Really? Dr. -- We think that...(insert Stephen Wright reading A Brief History Of Time) Me -- Okay Dr. -- You can see him in a few minutes.

Mr. W -- They're giving me Percodan. Nurse -- He pulled off his sensors. We thought he was dead. Me -- No. (fingering the card from his life insurance agent I'd stashed in my pocket)

Wednesday -- Me -- How are you? Bundle #3 -- (gasp, boo hoo) They're sending me...my kidneys...sick...

Hickory --

Fetch Bundle of Joy #3 to bring her to the city where the doctors KNOW something. She's fine. Meds. Rest. Tests later, but for now fine.

Thursday -- Boss -- When can I expect to have that report? Me -- Well it's like this... Boss -- When can I expect to have that report? Me -- Okay, see here's what happened... Boss -- When can I Me -- OKAY! Next Thursday? Boss -- Are we negotiating? Me -- Always. (with a really lousy Al Pacino voice) Boss -- Fine. Monday. Me -- Wednesday. Boss -- Monday. Me -- Tuesday? Boss -- Monday.

Happy Friday Eve, y'all! posted by jw at 4:52 PM 3 comments links to this post Thursday, September 28, 2006

The week They say these things come in threes. I’ve had my three, thank you very much. You can quit now.

Last week I went “on the road” with Mr. W as he met with various customers around the outer banks area. On Friday night we were on our way to meet one of his customers for dinner when we came upon flashing lights. Fire engines. Ambulances. Cars stopped in unusual angles across the road. I quickly looked away. I do that. I look away when it looks like the spot on the road may be an animal. I’m squeamish that way. But I saw enough to exclaim, “They’re covering him!” Mr. W assured me, “No. There putting a blanket on him to keep him warm. They do that,” because Mr. W knows that I’ll obsess about it. He tried to assure me. It didn’t work. I tried to put it out of my mind, but I was a bit subdued throughout dinner. I couldn’t get the image out of my head. The person was face down, wearing a cream colored shirt and jeans.

The next day I was in the lobby of the hotel and asked the clerk where the local paper could be found. It seems the local paper only comes out three times a week. I told her we’d passed by what looked like a pretty serious accident and I wondered how the people were.

She told me.

“I was on duty last night. We became the staging area. There was a family of eleven people waiting in line at one of the seafood buffets. Two of the family members, a father and son, decided to go across the street [a five-lane highway] to get some souvenirs. They didn’t make it. They got hit crossing the street.”

I stood still for a moment. Then I asked the question I knew the answer to. “Are they okay?” “No,” she said, “The man and his little boy didn’t make it.”

She went on, “The police brought everyone here and we put them in a room and tried to make them as comfortable as we could. The police did their questioning here. Some of the family members saw it happen. Others had their backs to the road. There was a minister here for them.” She sighed and shook her head. I thanked her for the information and left.

I got back to work on Monday to an email telling me that the mother of a coworker died quietly and peacefully, Sunday morning. She was 87 years old and lived a full and happy life. My coworker is an only child who never married and lived with her mother until about a year ago when her mother moved to a nursing home. The memorial service was Wednesday.

While on my way to the outer banks last Thursday, I talked to Sandy who told me Edie was not improving and it would be soon. It would be soon. Too soon. “Should I come back,” I asked. Sandy said she’d keep me up on things via phone. “Stay. Try to enjoy. There’s nothing you could do here but sit and wait. I’ll let you know.” So I stayed and tried to enjoy. It was a beautiful, restful place to be. It was a calm place to contemplate my future without my friend. She lingered until Monday.

I’ve spent the last few days reliving stories about Edie. She was an incredible woman from whom I learned a great deal. I’m going to get all those stories, the Elizabeth Dole story, the dress story, the spit-wad story, up here one day. In the meantime I’m trying to tough out a week of incredible grief. Grief over a family’s loss. Grief over a friend’s loss. Grief over the loss of someone so important to me that I can hardly stand it the thought of laying her to rest tomorrow.

They say God never gives you more than you can handle.

Note to God: I’ve had enough. posted by jw at 4:50 PM 2 comments links to this post Monday, September 25, 2006

The end of an era There are no words to express the loss. For me. For Sandy. For Greensboro. Most certainly for her family.

Edie Jones.

She was the heart of Southwest Greensboro. Of District 5. Expert campaigner. Confidant. Mentor.

I will write more later. When I can. Because there are so many stories to tell, most of them funny.

I am lucky. I have had some really special people in my life. Of course there are the usual suspects. You know. Mother, father, siblings, husband, kids. But besides those, I have been lucky to have been influenced by some wonderful people. John Kernodle, whom we lost in 1995. And now Edie.

Election night will never be the same for me. posted by jw at 8:38 PM 1 comments links to this post Sunday, September 24, 2006

"Knock-knock." Who's there? "Opportunity."

OPPORTUNITY! Come right on in!

Now that there are no bundles of joy needing me, I get to do other fun stuff. The last few days I've been on the road with Mr.W. This was my first trip ever to the outer banks. I've live in North Carolina for 22 years and this is the first time I've been to the outer banks. I had no idea what I was missing.

Stunning! posted by jw at 9:20 PM 0 comments links to this post Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Ask a simple question... In an IM exchange with a friend, the subject from a previous post came up. I asked, “Which brings me to another issue. Is blow job hyphenated? Is it blow job? Or blow-job? Or is it one word? Blowjob?”

My friend, who fancies him/herself an expert on the subject, responded:

“… your question about the naughty term? It's 1 word. No dash, no space.”

So I guess that settles it. Unless one of you other “experts” has something to say. posted by jw at 1:48 PM 2 comments links to this post Nick Carter's Brother To Be Married. Wait. Who? Let's look carefully at this press release, brought to you by Canada.com.

Canada.com Published: Monday, September 18, 2006 Article tools

Pop singer Aaron Carter is engaged.

The 18-year-old brother of Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter, reportedly proposed to girlfriend Kari Ann Peniche Sunday night in Las Vegas.

Peniche, 22, is a former Miss United States Teen who lost her crown when she posed for Playboy.

It will be the first marriage for both. Carter, who appears in a reality show called House of Carters on the E! channel in the U.S., is the youngest male singer to have four Top 40 singles.

The couple will reportedly wed in the next six months.

On her MySpace page, Peniche wrote that intelligence is important in a boyfriend. "You like to be able to talk about everything that is on your mind, and if your partner can't keep up, well, you know," she wrote. "You are very attracted to someone who can challenge you, and make you see things in a whole new way."

Carter, who has dated Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan, filed for legal emancipation from his mother in 2003, claiming she stole more than $100,000 from his accounts. The case was later resolved out of court.

On the subject of women, he told People magazine: “I’m not going to tell you, ‘Oh, looks don’t matter.’ If you don’t look good, get away from me!” © canada.com 2006

"It will be the first marriage for both." Since he's only 18 and she's barely more than that, I would guess so!

"You like to be able to talk about everything that is on your mind, and if your partner can't keep up, well, you know,"-- like you know, okay, really, I mean like whatever.

"If you don’t look good, get away from me!" What makes me think this match made in heaven won't last long enough to eat the top of the wedding cake, I mean like, they won't, you know actually EAT the cake. Too many calories.

Whatever. posted by jw at 12:46 PM 0 comments links to this post New way to work out. I have a feeling that if I tried this, I would end up SPLAT against the wall! This requires more coordination than I could muster in an entire lifetime. posted by jw at 8:57 AM 0 comments links to this post Monday, September 18, 2006

Damn you, Billy Jones! I hate memes. I hate chain emails. You know the ones that promise your dreams will come true if you make a wish and send the email forward to 10 people? Yeah, those. I hate them.

What, exactly, is a meme? Is it shameless self-promotion? Me! Me!

The only reason I'm doing this, the ONLY reason, is because I was tagged by Billy-the-friggin-Blogging Poet. I know why he sent it to me. I deleted my previous blog (lost ALL the archives in the process and damn I wish I had some of that back), and have only toyed with the new one. I'm at a place where I need to decide whether to blog or not. You know, fish or cut bait...etc. So, this was Billy's way of helping me think it through. I'm doing this only because of my respect and friendship with Billy, which I will appreciate more once I get over HATING Billy for sending me this freakin' meme!

1: Do you like the look and the contents of your blog? Nope, but I'm technologically incapable of anything better.

2: Does your family know about your blog? They knew about the first one. Bundle of Joy #1 read it. Bundle #2 refused because I used the expression "blow job" once and he freaked. Which brings me to another issue. Is blow job hypenated? Is it blow job? Or blow-job? Or is it one word? Blowjob?

3: Can you tell your friends about your blog? Do you consider it a private thing? Once it's on the internet, it's no longer a private thing, boys and girls.

4: Do you just read the blogs of those who comment on your blog? or you try to discover new blogs? Comment on my blog once and you're a friend, or enemy, for life. I have the regulars that I read, then when I have time, I love to explore. There is a lot of really great stuff. There's also a whole lot of crap.

5: Did your blog positively affect your mind? Give an example. Okay, I'll be serious for a moment. When I started my blog several years ago, I was at a low point in my life. It was a wonderful outlet for me. I was/am grateful for the positive feedback at a time when not much was positive. My life is really good right now which has stifled the creative process for me.

6: What does the number of visitors to your blog mean? Do you use a traffic counter? I use Site Meter. I LIVE in the hope that I'll go on my site and find out Fecund Stench read my blog.

7: Did you imagine how other bloggers look like? Only naked. It keeps me from getting nervous.

8: Do you think blogging has any real benefit? "You mean besides building communities, exposing crooked politicians, raising much needed capitol for worthy causes, pushing the traditional media to take on higher standards, promoting unknown talent, and making new friends... Naw, it's just a bunch of BS, that's all." -- Billy Jones

Yeah, what Billy said.

9: Do you think that the Blogsphere is a stand alone community separated from the real world? Here in this community it has become an integral part of the political/social scene.

10: Do some political blogs scare you? Do you avoid them? They don't scare me. They piss me off. I avoid them only if my blood pressure is particularly high that day. There are lots of ways to die. On a beach with Tommy Lee. Hot air ballooning with Brad Pit. Stroking out while reading the Chairman is not how I want to die.

11: Do you think that criticizing your blog is useful? If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all.

12: Have you ever thought about what happen to your blog in case you died? Well, I hadn't! Thanks a lot, buzz-killer.

13: Which blogger had the greatest impression on you? Only one? Lex. Ed. David. Roch. Sue. Ben. Chewie.

14: Which blogger you think is the most similar to you? Most bloggers have higher standards. I wish I could be as good as Mimi. But alas, I'm not.

15: Name a song you want to listen to. What? I don't know! What does that have to do with blogging? Okay, right now I'm listening a lot to these guys. SHUT UP LEX. YOU TOO, TONY!

16: Ask five bloggers to answer these question on their blogs. Okay, I'm fixin' to piss off some of my favorite people. Sorry guys, not MY fault. Billy made me do it.

Herb and Susan Chewie The Shu PEakes Hot Stuff!

Damn Billy, that was hard. I can't afford to piss off five people! I don't have that many friends! posted by jw at 6:55 PM 7 comments links to this post