Friday, October 31, 2008

What are YOU going to be for Halloween?




You Should Be a Werewolf



You are seen as a bit tough and quite unpredictable. You follow your impulses.

You see Halloween as a time you can go a little crazy.



You love to scare people, and people are quite scared of you.

You tend to be intimidating - and not just on Halloween!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

3 Things to Amuse You




http://www.lynyrdskynyrd.com/

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Authorities Scuttle Skinhead Plot to Assassinate Obama

Two neo-Nazi skinheads are in jail today after law-enforcement officials
broke up their plot to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Barack
Obama and shoot or behead 99 Black people, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said Monday. Authorities disrupted the plans of
the two would-be assassins to rob a gun store and target a predominately
African-American high school in a murder spree that was to begin in Tennessee,
federal officials said, in court records unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court
in Jackson, Tenn. All together, the two men planned to kill 88 people, including
14 African Americans by beheading, said Jim Cavanaugh, special agent in charge
of ATF’s Nashville field office. Read the rest here....

Monday, October 27, 2008

Just Too Much...Cutenesss!!!!

As all of you know, I am a big fan of icanhascheezburger.com and today when I went foraging for cuteness found far too much and thought it should just be shared. So, go, click, and have a moment of absolute peace.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Nancy


There are some people who come into your life and it seems as if you have known them all of it. Nancy was close to this sort of person. She was a member of my tai chi class and always had a smile and something good, or funny to say. This past Saturday at tai chi Hubby said Nancy was in perfect form and had everyone laughing, especially him. It was shock to discover her passing.

The platitudes of “She will be greatly missed” or “She was so very special” or “Nancy was one of a kind” do not come anywhere near the truth.

Like me she loved animals, especially dogs. The last time I was to talk with her she had her new puppy at tai chi class. Most everyone else did tai chi while we discussed dogs, training, and life in general. It was a late summer morning and her smile was almost as bright as the sunshine.

At the visitation last night there was a wonderful collection of people from so many different groups a few of which included tai chi, belly dancing, Kentucky Horse Park, Shriner’s Hospital, Central Baptist Hospital, the dog park, and so many other places.

Nancy was my friend and I am going to miss her. We are all going to miss her.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Yahoo! News Story - Online divorcee jailed after killing virtual hubby - Yahoo! News

Henrietta (hahwriter@Yahoo.com) has sent you a news article.
(Email address has not been verified.)
------------------------------------------------------------
Personal message:

This is funny and sad.

Online divorcee jailed after killing virtual hubby - Yahoo! News

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081023/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_avatar_murder

============================================================
Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

A Quick Note

FanStory.com is a good place to practice your craft. Since I need a place where I can just sit down and write and see how my writing does against other writing this will be the place for me to test-drive a few pieces and get myself more organized in my writing world. I encourage you to check it out. Even though it does require a monthly fee in order to join the contests which pay I highly recommend it.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Uphill Battles and Streaming Radio

Several weeks ago I began looking for a part time job. The extra money could help and having some work experience was a major plus. Two weeks ago I applied for a receptionist position. It was perfect - part time, good pay, and the hours could not have been any better. The human resources person who called me, let's call him "Adam", and was gushing over my resume' and cover letter. He also said my phone voice was perfect for the job and that I practically had the position. All I needed to do was to come into his office and sign a couple of papers and I could begin work within a couple of days.

I made arrangements for the WHEELS van to take me out to where I needed to be. I asked for Adam and he was pointed out to me. He saw the wheelchair and his eyes just shut down. He gave me the papers he had told me I needed to sign. I signed them and was promptly told that he thought the receptionist position had been filled and he did not believe there were any more positions available, but he would keep my resume on file in case something opened up. Yeah, not going to hold my breath there buddy boy. You can't fool someone who has been through the sudden change of heart once they actually see you.

The really sad thing is that I didn't need to be able to walk in order to answer telephones and direct people to where they needed to go. In fact, it would have been better for the people to see me in the wheelchair because the position I was applying for was at a hospital.

No matter how often it happens or how much you tell yourself things will get better and that there are more jobs out there, it hurts. It hurts deep down, and it is a pain that attacks your self-esteem and confidence. It also attacks that place where hope dwells and makes you not want to trust anyone, especially strangers, and strangers in positions of power, like potential employers.

However, I did not cry once I was home. I did not become outwardly upset at all. I told myself all of the platitudes of more jobs are out there and someone would see what a good employee they had before them and so much more. It did not help. Hubby added his voice to everything, as well as friends and even my priest. It did not help. Having a virus this weekend did not help either, but it did get me to thinking about all of the positive things I do have going for me.

I have not applied to any more jobs since that one rejection...until today. I sucked it up and settled in and found a streaming local radio station for music and applied for jobs. Keep going. This is the current motto. Keep going.

Friday, October 17, 2008

What Happened to the Week?

It is Friday and as I sit here typing this the sun is already beginning to sink down below the horizon and evening is not very far away. In looking back at this week I have been trying to see just what it was that I have done so I could at least regale you with stories of how fantastic it was, but there aren't any. I have also tried to see, if possible, what has not happened so that I could see where the holes were which could be filled in, but haven't seen those either. In short, I have no idea what happened with this week. Maybe next week will be better.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

This and That to Say I am Back

Surprise! I have returned! Things have been really jumping around here. There have been job interviews and job applications and arranging rides, etc. Now, however, things are easing up just a wee bit, while the old blood pressure still keeps trying to make me feel like absolute crap and dislike life.

And, for your reading enjoyment click the header above and see how a guy was snubbed for the Nobel in chemistry.

Friday, October 03, 2008

The Lives Diaries Keep Are Important

A diary of an Israeli astronaut about the space shuttle Columbia was found and is being restored. It survived extreme heat, falling many miles back to earth, and found its way to the wife of the deceased astronaut and is being restored for the family. It is humbling how miraculous this is, and how important diaries are to the average person, whether or not they are astronauts, doctors, or just plain people like myself. You may click the header above or the link below to read the entire story.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081003/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_astronaut_s_diary

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Research Begins and Words go Down


A new novel is in the works in my head. This time I am really trying to pay very close attention to both my audience and the story I want to tell. Since it is going to be set in the Civil War era and is, more or less, going to be what most people consider a romance, there are certain criteria which must be met, and this means reading up on the time period. The book to the right is one of the books I would like to read.
In all fairness, I have been wanting to read this book for a very long time as is. I had the pleasure of reading a very small part of it once at Barns and Noble and have been very sad that I was unable to finish it; at the time it was only in hardback format, which meant it was far too expensive for me to purchase and bring home. So now I have an excuse to send a friend to the library to pick it up for me (hopefully it is there).
Another novel that would like to be perused for said novel of my own, is this one:
Robert Smalls
A friend suggested this one after hearing part of the story on NPR driving to work this morning. After reading as much about this as possible, I must admit this sounds like a wonderful story to read in general.
The new novel has not been the only writing project of late either, but a short story is nearly finished. Already there are 2,384 words down on it, and, quite honestly, I am hoping to having the first draft down by the end of today or tomorrow - Friday at the very latest.
It feels wonderful to be writing again. Hopefully I can keep pushing so this will be a new phase of wordage and successful submissions.