Another Unhappy shoppping trip

Last evening (12/29/09), when the temperatures had dipped into the single digits upon my leaving work at 6pm, my husband called me to inform me that the water had frozen (due to a lightbulb being out in our outdoor pump set up) and the fuel oil had gelled (the oil tech was enroute).  I realized that the heating tape that we had intended to install on the plumbing had not yet been purchased, so I figured while I was at Home Depot, I could grab it to help with the water freezing issue (Our plumber had told me to get the braided heat tape as it was more effective and had less risk associated with it).  On my way in, I stopped to ask a customer service agent where I would locate such a product, and he directed me to the plumbing aisle.  He said "There's an associate down there than can assist you."  I located the braided heat tape but there were no pre-packaged kits or pre-cut strips in the length needed, and it clearly said "Ask an associate for assistance" (it needed to be cut, in addition to needing the end, the plug, and the other items required.)  The associate was assisting a male customer (I would assume...I wasn't eavesdropping on the conversation), and not wanting to interrupt, I was waiting patiently for him to finish with that customer.  Another male customer approached the wall with the joints and elbows, and the associate said "Hey man, what can I help you with?" and he said that he was looking for something specific, the associate showed him where it was, resumed his conversation, turned around, looked me SQUARE IN THE FACE, said NOTHING, looked back down, and moseyed off non-chalantly chatting with the first customer, and did not appear to be taking him somewhere to find anything.  I was furious that he would stop his conversation to help another man find something, but wouldn't stop to give me, a woman, any assistance...not even "Are you finding everything ok?" when I was clearly standing by an item that says "ASK FOR ASSISTANCE".  I ended up settling for the prepacked set up (NOT what I wanted, or had been told to get).  Onward I proceeded to find the lightbulb for the spotlight for the hot water.  The first associate I encountered saw me and asked if I had been helped (and already perturbed), I said "Well, apparently, since I don't have a wang, I can't get any help over there."  He came over to the lightbulbs and tried to settle me down (he was very nice), and he apologized for the poor service that I had received in the plumbing department.  I was so irritated by the experience with the guy in the plumbing department that just because a man walked up he would stop, drop, and assist the customer but a woman would have to install an electrically engineered neon bra and panty set that lit up to say "I NEED ASSISTANCE" and pole dance before being asked if she needed help. In the future, I think I will shop at my local hardware store and be treated like an intellectual instead of an ornament.

Not yet...

So.... What does "Not Yet" mean to you?

Can't wait til November

I can't wait til November, when the madness will end. I just saw an article in the paper about an 18 year old man claimed to be having a 'consentual' relationship with a boy under the age of 14.  That's the equivalent of a Senior in high school dating an 8th grader. That's just not ok, whether it is male-female, male-male, or female-female.  Commenters abound with people saying "That's what we will get if we allow same sex marriage!" How about incest, folks?  Think grown, married men don't have sex with their kids (Which is not right, by any means!)?  Was that a result of a marriage between a man and a woman?  Nope, that is the result of someone who is sick and twisted and is too selfish to realize what impact their actions have on another human being.  It's all about the power!  Sure, there's an age gap between my husband and I.  However, when we met, we were both of legal and consenting age.  No way would we ever have dated when we were kids.  I would have been just starting the 6th grade the year he graduated.  I know my parents would never have allowed that.  However, once we met (after the age of 18, thank you), we knew we were right for each other.  I saw a comment that "Because the priest was homosexual, he assaulted the little boys".  SO NOT TRUE.  He assaulted the little boys because he was sick and twisted and could control them, not because he wasn't attracted to women.  I know plenty of and women who are gay or lesbian, who find the acts of priests who prey on little boys deplorable.  It's because a child doesn't have the cognitive ability to make a choice, and the adult does. I can't wait til this arguement ends in November.  I hope that the bill allowing same-sex couples to marry is NOT repealed.

Knowing when you've found the right one

This time of year is special to lots of people, for lots of different reasons.  Birthdays, fairs, school starts, leaves change, hunting starts, the squirrels start yammering about their nuts.   For my husband and I, it's the season of our anniversary.  Since we have been together (even before we got married), we've travelled to the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity and volunteered.  In repayment, we are allowed to wander the fair grounds, get a teeshirt, and a free organic meal, that once, we had the distinct pleasure of chopping vegetables for in the rain.  As we were preparing to take off this year, he said to me "It's our third time going over...wow".  And I thought back and said "I think it's our 4th time...we did it the year we got married."  And sure enough, it was.   I know I found the right one when one morning, we were looking at each other, and said "It totally doesn't feel like it's been three years."   I feel truly blessed to have a partner, not a "ball and chain" as some refer to their signficant other.

HAHAHAHA!

Read in a headline: Study: More sex may help damaged sperm Greening said the study's findings were ultimately very intuitive. "If you want to have a baby, our advice is to do it often." uh, duh? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090630/ap_on_he_me/eu_med_sperm_damage

The Stupid Car saleman and his Establishment

I was at your establishment looking for a pre-owned Honda Civic recently with a family member.  I was met with ignorance, inability to assist, and one salesman put words in my family member's mouth saying "You're right, she's not very nice", which is not anything she EVER said (I was there the whole time).  The car was not on the lot, and we were told "The owner has it".  The salesman attempted to sell a couple of Hyundai's, was not able to answer any questions that we had about them, and was not knowlegeable about them at all.  We decided to grantthe benefit of doubt, and try one of the Sonatas.  When we returned,  the salesman that came out to greet us asked us what we thought, and when he learned about the interest in Honda's said "Well, we have an Accord", and my family member said "Well, I'm really interested in the gas mileage that Civic's get" he was like "Civic's get better mileage than Accords?"  Uh, duh?  REALLY!? (Larger car, larger engine in an Accord?)  I felt like I was dealing with a bunch of retards.  I have done my fair share of car shopping, and this was the WORST experience I had, and believe me, when anyone asks if I know of any good places to go,  I will tell them NOT to visit your establishment.  A happy customer tells 3 people that they had a good experience.  An Unhappy customer tells 10.  Not such good odds in your favor.

Pets

Ok, sometimes the word is misspelled, and it's "Pest", but we love them. A LOT. Even when they shred blazers, and polo shirts, and skirts, and comforters. We make sure they have food, water, and shelter, they go to the bathroom frequently, and get plenty of love and exercise.
My husband and I work decent jobs, and can afford to take care of them.
Here's a note to the sap suckers out there. If you don't work, don't have transportation, and leech off the state, don't take on the life of something that depends on you. That includes cats, dogs, ferrets, mice, or, god forbid, a CHILD.
And don't put your big sorry sob story on Freecycle to find a veterinarian that will provide free care to you sorry ass to find out what's wrong with your cat. Doctors HAVE to take care of your pesky stinky whiny crybaby child. Veterinarians don't.

One answer to why I don't want kids

Because they become teenagers. And then they whine and cry at the ice cream stand because vanilla is just "GROSS!" and won't eat anything with vanilla in it. To the point of tears. And instead of just taking the ice cream and being grateful, they throw a temper tantrum, to the point of tears. And they have no consequence to the action of not knowing what was in the flavor of ice cream they chose.
Ok.
So we went to get ice cream after a very wonderful bike ride. Ahead of us stood super soccermom waiting in line (complete with the Abercrombie and Fitch capri's and the nike running tank) with her pre-teen devil-spawn with arms crossed in the stance of "I don't want ice cream". Super soccermom can't decide what type of ice cream she wants so devil spawn chooses something, and doesn't know what is in it.
The ice cream comes to the window, and SSM gives it to this girl who bursts into tears and REFUSES to try the ice cream because it's WHITE which automatically means it's VANILLA and VANILLA is just GROSS. So SSM says "It's ok, what do you want then?" and passes the ice cream off to Super SoccerUncle, who eats the ice cream on top of the ice cream he just finished. Now, don't get me wrong...I have been served the wrong flavor, but instead of throwing an all out hissy, tried it, and a couple of times, it was the best error ever made. However, "back in my day", My ass would have been blistered, and I would NOT have gotten any other ice cream. Not because I couldn't make a decision, but because I threw a hissy fit. The lesson learned would have been "Find out what's in the ice cream before you order, and be grateful to your parents for even taking you out for ice cream".

Stupid people

Here's the latest installment of stupidity.

Someone I know recently found out they were pregnant. It's hard to feel congratulatory to someone who is married to a military man, but the spawn that will undoubtedly spring from between her legs is not that of her husband, but from the boyfriend that she has while her husband has been deployed. Not only that, her excuse for not using protection was "They don't make condoms big enough."
REALLY? Are you serious? Is he a horse? Because, if you really wanted to be careful, you would certainly find a way.

ranting

In our fair state, gay marriage has been brought to legislation. The local newspaper ran a story on it. There were many comments posted, and I happened to feel the need to blather on...
By the end of the day, there were over 120 posts, several of them mine.
Here's my stand.

I think this is where biology trumps theology. This is where our biochemistry is saying "The world is overpopulated and cannot sustain the people we have, so we need to stop breeding!" Or maybe it's God's cruel joke to all you Bible thumping hypocrites, and He is saying "I have too many children to take care of, so I will make a certain percentage of my children love each other, even though they may be of the same (M/M, F/F), so they don't make more, but to take care of the ones I have." I would much rather have two people who love and care about each other taking care of a child than two people who hate each other fighting over whose weekend it is to take care said offspring. Just because a "marriage" (the ceremony of commitment between two people who love and care for each other) is allowed to take place, doesn't mean that it degrades the marriage to my husband. That would be like saying "Anyone who has an online bachelor's degree is degrading to the bachelor's degree that I have". The piece of paper is the same, the amount of time, effort and work is the same, so why is the outcome different? It's not. So live and let live, and quit whining about how "marriage" is between a man and a woman, and that it's so we can procreate. If you can't take care of a dog (cat, any animal) why should you be breeding? How many kids out there are in foster care because their parents don't give a hoot where they are or what they're doing because they are too busy boinkin' their latest lust? How many kids are abused and not reported? How many go hungry because the parents can't take care of them? How many are sexually assaulted by family members because they're too scared to "come out of the closet" so they keep it in the family? The couples that I know who have conceived through invitro fertilization, who take the time to go to parenting classes, who spend time with their children have, love their children very much. Are you Bible-Thumpers going to say that because a man and a woman can't conceive naturally that they shouldn't have science help them out? Some will, I know, but some won't! So why are you going to sit there and complain when two women who love each other go to a sperm bank and do invitro? It's not like it's a "WHOOPS! The condom broke!" or "Honey...my pills failed"! They are consciously making a decision to take care of another life, unlike some people who breed like rabbits and pump kids out so they can get an extra paycheck. Many people have said to me "Oh, you'll understand when you have kids" And I have replied "The only kids I will ever have will have four legs and fur" and that drew chuckles and rolling of the eyes, but it seems like everyone EXPECTS couples to have kids, and when they don't, its "why not?" And my husband and I are happily married. And everyone thinks we're weird because we've made the decision not to have children. Where does it say in any written law that couples are expected (other than socially) and must raise 2.5 kids, and be constantly strapped for cash? Oh, RIIIGHT... NO WHERE! So stop complaining that working men and women want the same rights that working men and women have. It shouldn't even be an issue. It's discrimination, and an abomination to the freedom to choose who you spend the rest of your life with
No one seemed interested in responding, so I wrote to that effect

One responded with:
M: Perhaps people here didn't care to read an epic-length dissertation that covers a multitude of issues. Most posters address one point at a time and use the responses to adjust their positions. If other points are needed, those are addressed in subsequent posts. It keeps the discussions more direct.
I responded with:
All the questions posed go back to the same point. There is no logical reason for heterosexuals to stand back and point fingers at homosexual people for wanting EQUALITY, aside from fear. Fear stems from the unknown and perceived danger that homosexuals pose a threat to the heterosexual way of life.
People retorted with defining marriage by website "x" and saying it is against God's will for gays and lesbians to marry.
I responded with:
Were we to believe everything that dictionaries and encyclopaedias define *currently defined language* and willing to accept what they say is the unbendable, undeniable, unchallengable, then we would still believe that the world is flat (Fear of the unknown), that the Earth is the center of the Universe (Fear of the New), and women who float are, indeed, witches (Fear of that which we do not understand) who need to be stoned or tied to the largest boulder and rolled down the highest hill in town. THEREFORE: The definition that was submitted as gospel by Rusty according to some website states: 4. a relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other IN THE MANNER of a husband and wife, without legal sanction: trial marriage; homosexual marriage, can be extrapolated into defining that, yes, 2 men or 2 women can be married, but currently, without legal sanction. What is before the legislature is to change the "Without Legal Sanction".
People began attacking me with "Well, if you're ok with gays marrying, then you are ok with polygamists and poly amorists"
To which I responded with:
The definition is "a relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other IN THE MANNER of a husband and wife" The point is that two people can LOVE each other, and it cannot be a bond between three people. If you truly love someone, they are your soulmate, your ONLY true love, the one who COMPLETES you, then you have nothing left to give to anyone else in the same manner. If you do, then you need to have a discussion with your partner, because they clearly are not meeting your needs, and if given ample opportunity, a person who is not adequately having their needs met will find some way. (And yes, I am female, and have met my soulmate, and I love him with all of my heart).
Which received the "Can we form a committee to change a word?"
A quick research on Merriam-Webster (A dictionary I hold with authority) excavated:
Per Merriam-Webster Online, http://www.merriam-webster.com/help/faq/words_in.htm To decide which words to include in the dictionary and to determine what they mean, Merriam-Webster editors study the language as it's used. They carefully monitor which words people use most often and how they use them. Each day most Merriam-Webster editors devote an hour or two to reading a cross section of published material, including books, newspapers, magazines, and electronic publications; in our office this activity is called "reading and marking." The editors scour the texts in search of new words, new usages of existing words, variant spellings, and inflected forms—in short, anything that might help in deciding if a word belongs in the dictionary, understanding what it means, and determining typical usage. Any word of interest is marked, along with surrounding context that offers insight into its form and use. It is the definer's job to determine which existing entries can remain essentially unchanged, which entries need to be revised, which entries can be dropped, and which new entries should be added. In each case, the definer decides on the best course of action by reading through the citations and using the evidence in them to adjust entries or create new ones.
People then tried to argue that because a definition was lower on the list that it wasn't accurate.
I am just so fed up with so many people saying "it's a choice, it's not natural, it's sin." and that they shove their agenda down our throat. It's none of the above. Does anyone hear "EEEEEEEWWWWWWWW!" when seeing a man and woman kiss and hold hands in public? No? Then why should we not extend the same when seeing two men or two women kiss and hold hands! Put yourself in their shoes and think about the daily discrimination they face, and then when they stand up for themselves, they're "Shoving their agenda down our throats?"

The latest addition to the family

What you ask?
The office slave and awesome hubby had a baby?
No...
We have adopted/purchased a puppy.

An 8 week old chocolate lab baby girl.
Named Tikka (TEE-kah)