Rush Limbaugh's Philosophy on Drug Users

You may have heard that Rush Limbaugh was arrested (and released on bail) today on prescription drug charges..

Here is a quote from Rush's show on October 5, 1995:
"Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country. And we have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing drugs. And the laws are good because we know what happens to people in societies and neighborhoods which become consumed by them. And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up." Source: sf.indymedia.org

I don't listen to Rush, but I'm pretty sure I almost never agree with him on anything, however, in this particular case, I think we should absolutely heed his advice on drugs and those violating drug laws. I'm just looking out for him. I wouldn't want Rush to be labeled a hypocrite.

Into The Woods - Stephen Sondheim

Dick and I just saw Stephen Sondheim’s musical INTO THE WOODS for the 3th time. The first time was in MA last year – performed by a professional company, then in Portsmouth, NH performed outside by community theatre, then last night performed by MADCO in Derry, NH, also community theatre. We also have the DVD of the Broadway musical which Bernadette Peters was in. And we also went to a tribute to Stephen Sondheim performed by the Boston Pops in Boston last year – which included many of the INTO THE WOODS songs. So right about now, you are probably thinking these guys are just crazy dorks. Guilty as charged. (I won’t even tell you how many times I’ve listened to the CD.)

Needless to say, it is one of my favorite musicals (it's about fairy tale characters and what happens after "they live happily ever after") and Stephen Sondheim is one of my favorite musical composers/lyricists – he is very talented – especially the lines he comes up with – unusually insightful and pithy. So I was really looking forward to seeing it last night and MADCO didn’t disappoint. Sometimes I am so amazed by the talent of local community theatre actors and last night was no exception. ITW is a difficult musical to put on, especially for community theatre since it requires a large number of actors for difficult singing parts. Also, the staging is elaborate and it’s a long musical – over 3 hours with an intermission. The actors were all very strong and a few of them were actually better than the professional production we saw last year. You can’t beat community theatre for entertainment value – the tickets were $16 each, but the show was worth a lot more than that.

For those of you that are local, I highly recommend checking out a MADCO musical performed once a year in the spring. We have seen MADCO’s productions of Chicago, Cabaret, Side Show and ITW, all directed by Ron Godfrey, and they were all excellent – especially Cabaret in which the emcee won a NH theatre award for best actor in a musical (I believe that was the category). I have the broadway CD of Cabaret and you wouldn’t be able to tell him apart from the professional version. And next year, MADCO is putting on Urinetown, another great musical which we saw a few months ago in Boston – can’t wait to see it again next year!

If you’ve never gone to see community theatre, I would definitely recommend trying it out. It’s a fun and inexpensive night out to see live entertainment. And more times than not, they are quite talented.

P.S. We saw another play this week, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which was ok, not great, so I won’t bother blabbing about it (you’re welcome).

The Greatest Invention of All Time Is About to be Invented

The greatest invention of all time has just been invented. I read about it in the April 27, 2006 issue of The Week. An excerpt follows:

“Scientists are working on an infrared laser beam that melts away human fatty tissue, says ScienceDaily. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Jefferson Lab have found that at certain frequencies, they could melt the fat from the human tissue samples and intact pigskin without harming the outer layers. The melted fat then passes through the system and is excreted. The laser could soon be employed in place of angioplasty, clearing away fatty blockages without ever breaking the skin. While the laser could also serve as a plastic-surgery tool, melting away ugly belly fat and cellulite, study leader, Dr. Rox Anderson is most excited about its other potential cosmetic application: curing acne.” And it goes on about the acne…blah, blah, blah. You can read more about it in Science Daily if you want more technical info on how it can help heart disease and acne.

But did you get the most important part of this…it can melt away belly fat and cellulite without even breaking the skin!! This is a modern marvel. My prayers have been answered. I can see me and millions of others going to the doctor’s office once every year (maybe even more often) to get rid of all those dessert/candy/chocolate filled fat. Can you imagine eating all the dessert you want and knowing that the fat can just be “lasered” out of you (btw, I just made up the word “lasered”, so don’t bother looking it up in the dictionary)? Life here on earth will be heaven.

Maybe they could even set up those discount cards like they do in some coffee or sandwich shops – you buy 6 sandwiches and you get the 7th free. I would definitely sign up for that – buy 6 “fat melts” and get the 7th “fat melt” free. It even sounds like a sandwich! Or they could have a discount program – get belly fat and thigh fat removed and the butt fat removal is free. Life is good!

Pass me the Crème Brulee, please.

How Old Are You? Take Another Test.

Ok...I'm being lazy tonight, so here's another scientific test for you to take if you'd like. I'm 24 (yeah...I wish!) or so it says.

You Are 24 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

What City Are You? Take the Test.

You Are New York

Cosmopolitan and sophisticated, you enjoy the newest in food, art, and culture. You also appreciate a good amount of grit - and very little shocks you. You're competitive, driven, and very likely to succeed. Famous people from New York: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Tupac Shakur, Woody Allen

What American City Are You?

I never considered myself to be cosmopolitan and sophisticated, but really, how can a 5 question-test be wrong!? :-) What city are you?

Thanks to Poppycede for introducing me to this site.

I got THE call I've been waiting for!!

Well, Dick and I are going to NYC next week. We were there in June 2001 and July 2004, but never tried to get tickets to any of the TV shows. So, this time, I thought I would try to get tickets to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (I LOVE that show - never miss it) and The Late Show with David Letterman. I submitted my name and pertinent information about 2 or 3 months ago to each of the shows requesting tickets. My hopes were not high since both shows , especially The Late Show, said that they get lots of requests - more than they can accommodate, etc. Well, 4 - 5 weeks ago I got an email from The Daily Show that I was getting 2 tickets for Wed, 05/03 - YEAH!! I was so excited. So, one down, and one to go. But at this point, I did not expect to hear from The Late Show because there would be so many people vying for tix. And I figured, with my luck, if I did hear from them, it would probably be for the same night as The Daily Show.

So last Thursday, I get a call at work from somebody saying she was from The Late Show with David Letterman (I started to hyper-ventilate, but I don't think she noticed.) She asked if I was still interested in tickets to Letterman for Mon, 05/01 or Tues, 05/02. I said "YES". She then gave me a number to call of another person at the show and let them know who I am. She also said that I will be asked a trivia question and if I answer correctly, I'll get the tickets, IF they haven't given away all the tickets by then. She said I should call quickly since it's a first come first serve, so I did - my heart was racing - I was thinking "please let me know the trivia question". It was ringing and then I got voicemail...darn! I left a message. I got a return call about an hour later...with the trivia question...and I got it right, so he said I was going to the show - YEAH!! (I had been nervous about the trivia question, but I tivo Letterman nightly, so unless I had been in a vegetative state every single time I watched, then more than likely, I would get it right - but for some reason, I thought I would screw up.) I had to pick which day to go and I told him I didn't have a preference, but he said I had to choose. I asked him if he could tell me who the guests would be for each of the nights and he said that'll be a surprise. Anyhow, I picked Mon, 05/01 and later found out from tvguide.com that I picked a good night since Tom Hanks will be on Monday (undoubtedly plugging Da Vinci Code movie - which I can't wait to see).

Needless to say, I'm very excited about seeing Letterman and Stewart - and about going to NYC in general! As the old slogan goes...I love New York! (I know, I know...it's a bit much, it's a bit corny, but I can't help myself when I'm excited.)

Gas and Smiling

Ok, so yesterday morning, my car says it had around 50 miles 'til empty, so I said to myself "Self, it's time to get gas." I get to the gas station and geez - it's $3.00 a gallon for premium unleaded. My car has expensive taste when it comes to what it drinks - it won't run as well if I feed it the cheap stuff - I wish I knew this before we hooked up, but now we have a long-term relationship and I've grown attached and you know what they say "breaking up is hard to do". Plus, I really do love my car.

Anyhow...$3.00 a gallon - yikes. So I pull in next to the pump and this guy - about 60 years old - comes over (yes, I usually do full serve - I figured since I spoil my car with premium, I should spoil myself by not having to get out of the car). I say "Please fill it up with premium unleaded". And he gives me this smirk/smile/grin (I can't tell which it is), like "ha ha lady, we're gonna screw you today. We got you...you can't do anything about it.". But he doesn't say that, he just says "ok" and goes off to pump the gas. He comes back and says "$45 please" (ouch) and he still has that smirk/smile/grin on his face. So, I give him my credit card. When he comes back and gives me the slip (still sporting the smirk/smile/grin), I sign it and then he says, "Thank you. You have a very nice smile." Awwwwwwww...so sweet. So, I've come to the conclusion he was smiling at me, not smirking at me. But with gas prices the way they are, it's understandable one would be paranoid at every little smile or smirk one gets from a gas attendant.

Needless to say, I'll be going back to this gas station - if I have to pay $3.00 a gallon for gas, I should get "service with a smile" and not "service with a smirk".

Wicked - The Musical

Well, last night Dick and I trucked into Boston to see Wicked, the musical, at The Opera House. It was a very good musical – very big production – great costumes, great staging/props, great costumes, etc - very "Broadway". And the singing, especially of the “Wicked” green witch was fantabulous (did I just type that – eek - nerd alert!). Wicked is a book by Gregory Maguire. It is a novel about the “good” witch and the “wicked” witch from The Wizard of Oz – it’s their back story, a bit of a prequel to the W of O. I didn’t read the book, so I can’t compare the book with the musical, but the musical was very good – very cute and just plain fun. The show started promptly at 7:30 PM and ended at 10:15 PM with one 15-20 minute intermission. It appeared to be sold out. It seemed like the audience enjoyed it which you could tell by how quickly everyone gave the cast a standing ovation and the “chatter” afterwards.

Before the show, we ate at Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery right in the theatre district. They make their own beer and Dick really enjoyed his selection –Munich Gold. They have a bar with lots of TVs to watch sports – we ate in the dining room. The place has a relaxed feel to it. Dick had the shrimp and I had the Veggie Burger. Both were good. But the dessert was to-die-for. I asked the waitress what she would recommend and she said the Carrot Cake and she didn’t steer us wrong. She said it was about a pound…yes, a pound of cake. And as soon as I saw it, I think she’s right – the thing was HUGE – I’m going to guess it was probably 7 or 8 inches high. But the real test was the taste-test. And all I have to say is that it was the 2nd best carrot cake I’ve ever had (my sister makes the best – and I’m not just saying that because she reads my blog – it really is awesome - everyone always raves about it and makes special requests for her to make it). The description of the carrot cake on the menu nailed it – “Buttery-rich frosting covers a luxuriously moist, delicately nutty carrot cake that practically melts on contact. Made with a whisper of Pale Ale and finished with caramel sauce.” OH YEAH!

P.S. The service at the Rock Bottom was great up until we got our entrees. The entrees came out quickly,but the dessert took forever to come out - I swear they were peeling the carrots back there! And the bill also took quite a while to arrive.

Nigerian Soccer

I just read the following in The Week magazine April 14, 2006 issue:

"...it was announced that referees are allowed to accept bribes from teams, as long as the bribes don't influence their decisions. "Referees should only pretend to fall for the bait, but make sure the result doesn't favor those offering the bribe,' said Fanny Amun, Secretary-General of the Nigerian Football Association."

I think this is just brilliant - accept bribes, cut don't let it influence your decision. Maybe congress should try this - take the bribes, but let it not influence you. If bribes are not paid to "influence", then what the heck are they there for and who the heck is going to pay them if not to influence!? It just amazes me that the Nigerian Football Association allows bribes and then thinks they won't be used to influence. Can you imagine the MLB or NBA or NFL or NHL allowing referees to take bribes!?

Easter and Disappointment Over Fruit in a Cup

Today was Easter and when I got up, I was greeted with a Lindt chocolate Easter eggs from Dick :-) We went over Dick's parent's in the morning. Dick brought over custom-made Easter baskets for his folks. He picked up various items for the baskets yesterday and made them up last night. His parents were so surprised and enjoyed opening them. We had brunch over their house.

Then in the afternoon, we went to a local Portuguese club that was serving dinner. We had dinner with my father (mom is in FL visiting her brother), uncle, my sister and her boyfriend. (Dick also made my Dad an Easter basket - he's such a sweetie.) And in true Portuguese fashion, dinner was served 45 minutes after the stated time on the ticket :-) Hey, I guess I'm lucky it was only 45 minutes late. Anyhow, dinner was fine, but dessert was just some fruit in a plastic cup. Come on...fruit in a cup??? This is a Portuguese event...where's the flan or the rice pudding or the mounds of cakes or anything remotely "desserty" besides fruit in a cup? As you can see, I was deeply traumatized by this turn of events - it was a shock to the system - therefore, I compensated by having some Ben&Jerry's Dublin Mudslide Ice Cream at home (my favorite B&J flavor) and some sweet bread that my sister made which was very yummy. This helped, but the shock and disappointment are still with me. I'm not sure how long it will take to wear off. I hope I'm back to normal soon.

Happy Birthday, Vavo!

Today is my grandmother's birthday - she turns 91! Happy Birthday, Vavo. She is doing great. She is currently down in Florida with my mom for a couple of weeks visiting her "snowbird" son and his wife.

My grandmother was born in 1915 on a small island - Faial, Azores - known as the Blue Island due to the many hydrangeas that bloom in the summer. (Azores consists of 9 islands that are 972 miles west of Lisbon, Portugal. They were colonized by the Portuguese in the mid-15th century.) Faial really is a beautiful island as you can see from the pictures.

My grandparents had a small farm on the island until they and their children emigrated to the US in 1960. They came over because of a volcano that erupted on Faial. This eruption affected many farming families as the lands were covered with ash. They settled in New England and my grandmother has gone through 46 winters here - she's a trooper!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Vavo!!!

I love you!

Monty Python's Spamalot

Two words to describe Spamalot – HYSTERICALLY FUNNY!!!

Dick and I saw Spamalot at the Colonial Theatre in Boston last night and all I have to say is that my sides almost hurt from laughing so much – and I wasn’t the only one. It was one big laugh fest. I would highly recommend going to see it and you don’t have to be a big Monty Python fan to enjoy. I really like Monty Python, but I am not one of those fans that know all the skits by heart and have memorized all the lines – and I haven’t even seen any of the movies (although I will now) – and I still thoroughly enjoyed the musical. The audience seemed to be a mixture of die-hard MP fans and people like me. The show received a hearty and well-deserved standing ovation. You leave the theatre in a very good mood and singing. Everyone had smiles on their faces and they were still laughing on the way out. Again, if you have an opportunity – GO SEE IT – it’s just loads of fun. And the cast was just perfect – extremely talented in singing, dancing and English accents.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons right on Boylston St (same street as The Colonial Theatre and same street as the place where a crane/platform collapsed a few days ago killing 3 people – very sad). I had a really awesome Roasted Parsnip and Pear soup with a port reduction – very sweet taste. The Bristol Lounge is known for its Bristol Burger – everyone raves about it, but being a pesco-vegetarian, I haven’t tried it – although I was tempted! The burger is $17 – so, it’s definitely pricey for a burger, but it’s supposedly very good. Oh yeah, and great bread basket. And just on a side note, the Bristol Lounge has this great dessert buffet on Friday and Saturday nights from 9PM – 12AM.

What We Did in Maine

The weather was pretty good in Maine, so we walked on the beach - very wonderful. I wish I had a job that I could do from home, move to Maine and walk the beach every morning (except in the winter). We also did quite a bit of shopping at the local shops. And we took a ride up the coast to Portland - to Cape Porpoise, Cape Elizabeth, etc. Maine has such a beautiful, rocky coast. We saw lobster boats and fishermen - it looks like a tough job. We grabbed a bite to eat at The Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth - right next to 2 lighthouses (I haven't figured out why there are 2 lighthouses so close together.) As you can see from the website, the Lobster Shack is just that - a shack, but they had a great lobster roll.

Because our room was so lovely, we spent quite a bit of time in the room - reading, hot tub, etc. And we even got to play some pool at one of the local hangouts - Federal Jack's.

And the dining highlight of our trip was our dinner at The White Barn Inn in Kennebunk. We heard about it through some list of best restaurants in the US. It is a AAA 5-diamond restaurant and just recently won the Mobil 5-star award - only one of 16 in the US. So, we thought since Dick's gift certificate pretty much covered our stay at Captain Lord Mansion, we thought we'd splurge by having dinner at The White Barn Inn - and did we ever! It was the most expensive meal Dick and I have ever had (together or separately), but it was VERY GOOD. When we got there, we noticed there was valet parking which is quite unusual in Maine. The restaurant is actually in a couple of restored barns and the interior is somewhat rustic - but with white linen table cloths, etc.

The minute we walked in we felt "special" - there is a high ratio of wait staff to guests. And everything that is served to your table is served by two people to make sure the plates are placed on the table at the same time. A few seconds after Dick went to the bathroom, one of the staff came right over to pick up the linen napkin that Dick had on his lap (and which he put on the table before going to the bathroom) and replaced it with a new one.

The menu changes weekly and is a four-course prix fixe meal. For the appetizer, I had the Kennebunkport Lobster Bisque with Cognac Creme Fraiche and Lobster Tortellini. Dick started out with the Pan Roast Local Scallops on Asparagus with Black Trumpet Sauce and Spring Pea Froth. I then had the Parmesan Reggiano Mousse and Spiced Cheese Crisp while Dick had the Green Tea Infused Lime Sorbet. And for the main course, I had the Seared North Atlantic Cod Filet on a Mushroom, Asparagus and Steamed Potato Ragout with Lobster Hollandaise. Dick had the Pan Roast Farm Raised Chicken Breast on Creamed Spinach , Whipped Potatoes, Black Trumpet Mushrooms and Foie Gras Sauce. And we both had the same dessert - Caramel Souffle with Vanilla Ice Cream and Toasted Pecan Sauce. In addition to all this, the wait staff kept bringing over candies, chocolates and even a passion fruit gel/ice cream course - it was unbelievable. EVERYTHING was done to perfection. Both Dick and I thought everything we had was just perfect - it couldn't have been better. We really enjoyed this special night out and I'm so glad we did it, but I don't think we'll be doing it again anytime soon - it was quite expensive and we'd go broke very quickly, plus it was just too much damned food! :-)

And one thing we noticed was that most of the wait staff had accents. The host was from Milan, Italy, one of our waitresses was from northern France, etc. It felt very cosmopolitan.

So, those were some of our adventures in Maine. We had a ball!

I'm Back From Maine!

Hi everyone,

You may have been wondering why I hadn't posted anything since Friday morning. Well, I was away in Kennebunkport, ME starting Friday and returned home tonight. Dick and I had such a wonderful, relaxing and restful time. We stayed at The Captain Lord Mansion in The Ship Merchant Suite (Dick had a gift certificate for the inn that we put to good use.) It was heaven - such a beautiful inn! We arrived Friday afternoon and in our room was a half-bottle of champagne on ice, fresh baked cookies and fresh lilies and a card welcoming us. And the room itself was beautiful - there were 2 fireplaces - one in the bedroom and one in the bathroom. The place was just so romantic...full of antiques, etc. The bed itself was HUGE - there were steps on each side of the bed that you had to climb in order to get in! Anyhow, I could have stayed locked up in the suite the entire weekend - that's how nice the rooms were.

And everyone was just so nice. Each morning, the guests of the inn had breakfast in the kitchen or dining room. Everything was prepared fresh that morning and served hot out of the oven. Every morning started out with fresh-cut fruit, organic yogurt, granola, fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee (or tea). Then it was followed by a muffin or a pastry. Saturday morning was a carrot cake muffin, Sunday morning was a sticky bun and this morning was a banana nut muffin - all of these had just come out of the oven. Then it was followed by the "main" breakfast. Saturday was a stuffed french toast, Sunday was an egg souffle and this morning was belgian waffle and sausages (Dick had my sausages). Each mornings breakfasts were fantastic. And the great part was that we met a whole bunch of people and had great conversations during breakfast.

Well, I'll tell you more about our wonderful weekend in another post. Right now, I think I'm going to hit the sack - back to work tomorrow.

Book Club

I went to my monthly cousins' book club meeting this week. I really love our book club. It consists of my sister and 3 cousins and we've been getting together for about 8 months now. I'm glad my cousin thought of the idea of having a "cousins' book club" We meet at a local Panera Bread once a month at 6PM. Panera is very nice since they allow us to stay after they officially close at 9 PM. Last time we were there until 9:30 and the time before that it was almost 10:00. They said we could stay as late as the employees are there cleaning up and getting it ready for the next morning.

We all take turns picking a book - which works out well since we don't have to bring suggestions and vote on a book every month. And nothing is off limits - it can be fiction, non-fiction, memoir, etc. The following is a list of the books we have read so far.

1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (We all LOVED IT!)
2. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
3. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (I LOVED IT - but no one else did in the group)
4. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
5. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
6. Rain of Gold by Victor Villasenor
7. The Coffee Trader by David Liss
8. Night by Elie Wiesel

The book this month is In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. The next time we get together to discuss the book, we will be going over my sister's house for pizza, discussion and then we're going to watch the movie Capote.

I thought I'd blog about the book club because I really enjoy it. I love when we get together (and I'm not just saying this because my cousins and sister might read this). All the people in the group are just great and I love them lots. Not to get mushy, but I really do have an awesome sister and awesome cousins. And our book club meetings are really social events - we talk about the book and do the questions and answers thing, but we all catch up and spend quite a bit of time just chit chatting - probably half the time. It's lots of fun. For anyone who loves to read, I would highly recommend setting up a book club with friends or family - it's a good excuse to get together and good sharing/bonding time.

How long does it take you to prepare dinner?

I just read the following:

"Americans spend about 30 minutes preparing dinner every day, down from two and a half hours in the 1960's according to a new market research study." - New York Times

I can't even imagine taking 2 1/2 hours to prepare anything! I assume probably most women weren't working outside the home in the 1960's, so spending 2 1/2 hours on dinner was just part of the "work day". Also, there weren't that many prepared or semi-prepared foods back then (I'm guessing no spaghetti sauces in jars, no frozen foods, etc) - everything was from scratch, and therefore, would take longer. Anyhow, I thought it was an interesting statistic.

I think we average about 15 minutes preparing dinner (and that's probably on the high side) - it doesn't take to long to heat a frozen pizza or make grilled cheese or heat up some boxed soup or pick up some take-out, etc. :-)

Karen's Kitchen - Great Breakfast Place

I have discovered a new breakfast place that is AWESOME! We’ve been there the last 3 weekends. It’s called Karen’s Kitchen on Rte. 101 in Bedford, NH. It’s been open for about 3 months. It’s such a quaint little restaurant – definitely not a “greasy spoon” kind of place. They give you a basket of little muffins and breads with your coffee so you have something to munch on while waiting for your breakfast.

Their menu is fantastic – lots of favorite breakfast dishes with a twist. This is what I ordered each of the 3 weeks:

1. Village Stuffed Toast. This was stuffed with sweetened cream cheese, strawberries and bananas. DELICIOUS! And Dick and I shared a fruit cup which really was more like a small fruit bowl containing fresh strawberries, bananas, grape, oranges and melon.
2. Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes. These were 3 very fluffy pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. Also delicious.
3. Pancakes with Caramelized Bananas and Walnuts. This might have been my favorite – it was so wonderful and sweet.

We've been there 3 times during peak weekend breakfast hours and have waited an average of 10-20 minutes for a table, but it is SO worth it!

The great thing about their menu is its delicious creativity – pancakes with a twist, etc. BTW, # 2 and 3 above were specials and not on their regular menu.

Popcorn at the Movies

I just recently read the following and almost couldn't believe it (btw, this is not a belated-April Fool's joke).

"Just $30 worth of raw popcorn can translate into as much as $3,000 in sales at the movie theaters." - Los Angeles Times 03/18/2006

If you want to read the article where this excerpt comes from, just click here.

I Got Tagged

I've been tagged by Vernicious Knids. Thanks, VK, you saved me from thinking of what my next post would be about!

Place an X by all the things you've done sometime in your life:
(X) Smoked a cigarette (When I was in high school, I think I smoked a couple - as in no more than 5 - cigarettes to be cool, but I didn't inhale, so kids laughed, so it had the opposite effect!)
(X) Drank so much you threw up (Just once.)
( ) Crashed a friend's car
( ) Stolen a car
(X) Been in love
(X) Been dumped
(X) Shoplifted (When I was 12 or around there, my friend pressured me to pocket a Maybelline blush at K-Mart which I did. I was SO nervous and felt so bad, I never did it again.)
(X) Quit your job
( ) Been in a fist fight (I would be afraid to be in a fist fight...afraid for the other person that is. For those of you who actually know me, you can please stop laughing now.)
( ) Snuck out of your parent's house
( ) Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( ) Been arrested
(X) Gone on a blind date
(X) Lied to a friend (I can't think of a specific instance where I lied to a friend, but I can't imagine that in all my years, I haven't told a white lie like "that looks good on you". Although I have to say I'm pretty good about this "stuff" - if I don't like something on a friend or a new hair cut, etc, I won't say anything. However, if I like something on someone or someone's new hair cut or something like that, I'll gush about it! And if someone asks, I'm as honest as possible without offending...hopefully.)
(X) Skipped school (I think I did this once or twice, but I can't remember.)
( ) Seen someone die
(X) Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Been lost (But I do ask for directions and use mapquest.com)
(X) Been on the opposite side of the country
(X) Swam in the ocean
( ) Felt like dying
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers
(X) Recently coloured your hair (Within the last year I highlighted my hair and then colored it back the same color. These are the only 2 times I've colored it in my life. We'll see what happens when the white hairs become more numerous - right now, the qty is small enough that I can just snip them, but I am seeing more and more of them - they seem to be multiplying.)
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) Made prank phone calls (I think I did this a couple of times when I was very young.)
( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Danced in the rain
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sun rise with someone you care about (I watched the sun rise on the top of Cadillac Mountain in Maine with my honey. It is the earliest sunrise on the east coast. It was very romantic - we laid out a blanket and had coffee, fruit, crackers & cheese and chocolate while waiting for the sun.)
(X) Blown bubbles
( ) Made a bonfire on the beach
( ) Crashed a party
(X) Gone roller-skating
(X) Ice-skating (I think you would call it more like I was on ice skates and proceeded to put one ice skate in front of the other. My main objective was just not to get bruised.)

I don't want to put pressure on anyone, so I'll tag whoever accepts being tagged (I know...it's kind of a cop out).

Not an April Fool's Joke

I just realized that some of you may have thought that the previous post was an April Fool's joke because it is pretty remarkable, but it is real. Just click here . Harvard actually has a $26 billion endowment. I just wanted to clear things up...just in case there were any doubters.

Harvard University's $26 Billion Endowment!

I just read the following:

"Harvard University's endowment of about $26 billion exceeds the gross domestic product of more than 100 nations and is greater than that of any nonprofit institution in the world except the Catholic Church." - Los Angeles Times

My only questions is WHY would anyone with any money want to leave it to Harvard University since their endowment is well-endowed??? I know everyone is entitled to do with their money what they please and I whole-heartedly believe in that, but I have to say, if I had any money to give, it wouldn't be to an organization that obviously doesn't need it. I would think it would be going to waste - just being parked somewhere - not being utilized for really anything. What compels someone to give to an organization knowing that the organization doesn't need it? I think I would like to give it to a foundation that would actually do something good with it - something to benefit mankind (i.e. fighting malaria, fighting tuberculosis, clean water, medical research, environmental research, health care, fighting poverty, education, etc) and "animalkind" (i.e. animal shelters, free spaying/neutering, etc). So, for the record, if I ever win Powerball, I promise NOT to leave it to Harvard University!