Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: The Majorly Personal Meme, Part The Last

Cheers to all of us thieves!

41. What are your plans for this weekend? Sunday I'm seeing my Mom and my nephew. Monday I have ambitious plans for sorting books and going through my fall/winter clothes, while watching the Telethon and waiting for Jerry Lewis to do something over the top and offensive. It's a tradition.

42. Do you think someone might be thinking poorly about you? Why might that be? My sister. She's always mad at me for something.

42. What features don't you have that you would like on your cell? The issue really is: what features does it already have that I don't know how to use because I never bothered with the instructions?

43. How many people can comfortably sleep in your bed? Two.

44. What are you hoping happens by the end of 2010? My waistline makes a reappearance.

45. What was the last video you watched on YouTube? George and Martha were a fun couple, weren't they?



46. Would you ever agree to an open relationship with someone? No. Though after spending time with George and Martha, any relationship is scary!

47. Is there something that you could never give up? My cats.

48. Would you, (or did you) prefer a small, intimate wedding reception, or a big-scale, over-the-top reception? I'd prefer small and private.

49. What’s bothering you right now? I'm suffering a slight nose bleed. I think it's because the air is awfully dry in here. Creepy, I know, but you asked.

50. Do you hate anyone? No.

51. What were you doing at 12 am last night? Reading

52. Was this summer a good one? How warm was it where you live? It was warmer than I'd like this summer.

52. Is the last person you kissed before your current situation mad at you? I doubt it.

53. Can a man and woman be friends without having feelings for each other? If we didn't have feelings for one another, we couldn't be friends, could we? Did you mean without there being sexual attraction? Sure.

54. Do you think long distance relationships work? If you’ve had one, tell us about it. I was in one and was very happy. We spoke every day and saw each other twice a month. It suited me well, a good combination of connected and independent. But it was expensive and hard to be spontaneous.

55. Do you know why it’s called “Random Boredom“? I don't even know what it is. Sorry.

56. Do you thing that it’s always the man’s responsibility to initiate sex? No.

57. Have you ever made love while you were in the same room with another couple? No.

58. Tell us the best thing about your current or most recent S/O. He has a wonderful voice.


59. Tell us the worst thing about your current or most recent S/O. He smoked.

60. Would you write one question in today’s comments so that we could have our followers allow us to steal their questions? We’ll need at least 15. Sure.

"You would have gone ballistic"

So wrote Kathleen, in an email updating me on her condition.

She's right, I would have.

Last month she had a small lump removed from her breast, Stage 1 cancer. The procedure went well and a follow up with her oncologist was scheduled for this past week. They were to discuss treatment options. While she is, naturally, relieved that her cancer seems very manageable, she has been apprehensive for weeks about this follow up. She has heard how draining chemo and radiation can be, and Kathleen fears this. She has a high-paying, but high-stress marketing position. With one child in college and another one in high school, she worries about juggling tuitions and retirement saving. Plus, since her husband is self-employed, she is concerned about keeping her job so she can keep her comprehensive and affordable health insurance.

Also on her mind is her hair. Her full, pale brown/dark blonde curls. Her hair is her most beautiful feature and naturally she doesn't want to lose it.

So she went into this week's appointment prepared to hear more details on her options, ready to embark on the next chapter of her cancer drama. It was, therefore, disappointing to hear her doctor tell her that more tests need to be run before he was prepared to discuss treatment regimens. OK, said Kathleen, expecting to be asked to roll up her sleeve or remove her blouse, ready to surrender whatever material they needed to test.

She was disheartened when, instead, she was handed a clipboard. She had waited three weeks to give her permission to run tests on cells that had been removed last month. Now she has to wait three more weeks to find out what her course of treatment will be.

Recalling how emotional I got last summer when I had to wait forever to find out that my own suspicious mammogram really revealed nothing serious, Kathleen said, "You would have gone ballistic" hearing what she heard this past week.

Selfishly, I take a lot of comfort out of the fact that her oncologist, on staff at a world-class hospital with a reputation for excellent cancer treatment, feels she can wait now until later this month to begin taking next steps. That will put her close to two months after the original procedure to remove the lump, so clearly a man who is expert in his field doesn't think her case is at all life threatening. This lack of urgency is important to me because I don't want to lose her.

But for her, I am angry. Because her case seems to be rather run of the mill, I am not sure her care givers are managing her expectations the way they should. To them, I suspect, she's just a file folder with a name on it. But she's a woman who is scared -- frightened of losing her health care, her stamina, and her lush, beautiful curls.

The Recession hits a little close to home

Like next door.

My next door neighbors were medical students (or maybe interns). Very unfriendly. Not hostile, but definitely not interested in speaking to anyone (or holding the elevator). They moved out in July. I thought they were renters and their lease was up.

They were owners and they abandoned the property.

That unit has 1BR, mine has 2. But still, I'd hate to be trying to sell now with a foreclosure right next door. Not good for the value of my property, you know?

Neither are the hijinks of Crazy Old Neighbor.

While this makes me unhappy, I'm trying to keep it in perspective. I plan on paying this place off and living here until my niece sells it out from under me and uses to the proceeds to have her drooling aunt institutionalized. Hopefully by then, the economy will have recovered somewhat and the contents of this post will be nothing but a vague memory.

What's wrong with these photos?

Photo on the left -- Why would Mad Men's 1960s-era advertising exec Don Draper be holding a cell phone?

Photo on the right -- There isn't anything wrong with this photo. Not a blessed thing.

Thank you, Daily Mail. And that's not just some superficial way of giving you photo credit. I mean it. Thank you, from the bottom of my lusty little heart.

Keeping me company at the laundromat

I am thoroughly enjoying, Furious Love, the biography of the Taylor-Burton scandal/marriage/divorce/remarriage/divorce drama. I especially appreciated it this afternoon while I was stuck, once again, at the laundromat.
There is something wonderful about doing something so freaking ordinary -- eating a Wendy's hamburger as I watch my clothes go round and round in the dryer -- while keeping company with a woman who bounced from homes in Celigny and Gstaad to the Dorchester to her yacht … who partied with Noel Coward and Maria Callas and Peter O'Toole and Warren Beatty and John Huston … who can pair her 30+k diamond ring with her 69.42k diamond pendant …

Sure, LaLiz may have had eight marriages to seven men, but it's not like I'm not worldly-wise in my own way. I know when it's better to use the front loader.

I've become a voyeur

That's me. I've morphed into Jimmy Stewart from Rear Window. But instead of watching my neighbors through binoculars, I have been peering into the life of a former lover and his wife through Facebook.

He and I had an energetic and charged relationship about 10 years ago. There was no hope for a conventional future for us -- he's 12 years my junior and wanted eventually to settle down and have a family and that was never going to happen with me. But I was different from the girls he'd been seeing -- more independent and perhaps a bit more free-thinking. He was interested in trying his hand at theater -- both acting and set design -- as well as voice-over work, in addition to the lucrative computer animation he was good at. He was not yet 30 and had not decided what all he wanted to do. He felt he had time. The woman he was involved with, Debbie, felt 30 was a ripe old age and she was ready for a wedding and babies. I think our fling was a response to the pressure he was feeling.

We broke up the summer he turned 30 and was laid off, the two major events happening within weeks. He sublet his apartment and moved to another state, crashing briefly with his brother and sister-in-law. We exchanged letters and visited one another -- he came here and I went there exactly once. But by Halloween we were done. Without the centrifugal force of sex, there wasn't much holding us together.

I never met the girl he eventually married, but I feel I know her from her Facebook page. They have a year-old son, nicknamed Koala. They are both very active in community theater and she is popular among the company for her chicken meatballs over white rice. They ride bikes together as a family, and in a concession to motherhood she's sold her beloved scooter.

She seems really nice. But she wants another baby.

She ran into her ex-husband and in the five years they have been apart, he not only remarried and had a child but has another on the way. This makes her very blue because her ex not only never wanted children with her, but her husband (my ex) has made it clear that Koala is the only baby he wants. She's trying to change his mind, but doesn't seem to be having much success. One of her recent posts said, "Trying means more than saying you'll try. Trying means you actually have to TRY!"

She posts several times every day, so the story keeps moving at a brisk pace. That's just how it feels. And he's not my lover anymore, I see him through her eyes now, and her continuing saga holds my interest. I hope they live happily ever after.

I TRIED to do the right thing

Late last month, when I was paying bills and writing checks, I sent away for my suburban bus pass. They sent me the pass almost immediately, and returned my check. I had stupidly forgotten to make it out. AT ALL. No pay-to, no dollar amount, no signature. It was a blank check in the trueset sense of the word. "Joy" wrote VOID across the check with a post-it stuck to it, explaining what had happened.

I felt bad that I still hadn't paid for my 10-ride bus pass. So I cut another check, clipped it to the one that had been voided, and sent them both back to Joy's attention, thanking her for sending the pass and asking her to accept this check as payment.

And today, I received another pass.

I tried being honest. Now I give up.

For my TV boyfriend

If today (September 2) is your birthday, "Your openness and acceptance increases your powers of attraction this year. Creatively, you are in a powerful stage of your life. New hobbies are possible, or more enthusiasm is felt for existing ones. Increased personal magnetism and charisma are also with you."

If you see Mark Harmon today, wish him a happy birthday and tell him I love him.

Hey, LAAAAAAY-DEEEE!

I loooooove Jerry Lewis when he's a maniac like this. That's why I can't wait for the Telethon every Labor Day weekend

Before you mock Jerry, you gotta support Jerry's kids. So click here and do your part for a worthy cause. Then just take in the spectacle that is Jer.

August Happiness Challenge 2010 -- In Review

Another August is over and another Happiness Challenge in the books. As I look back, what has made me happy is like a thumbnail sketch of my life.

5 references to my friends -- The family I chose. I love them and don't know what I'd do without them.

3 references to baseball -- Impressive when you consider how much this Cubs season has sucked. Even when they underperform, they're still my guys and I still love them.

3 references to my cats -- Joey, Charlotte and Reynaldo, my fur family, who provide unconditional love as they teach me about tolerance and nature.

3 references to perks at work -- The view from my new office, summer hours, good insurance ... Benefits are as important as the regular paycheck and I'm lucky to have them.

2 references each to books, TV and music … and chocolate.

There you have it -- a microcosm of The Gal's life.

I Want Wednesday

I want to look like Mariska Hargitay.

Don't you?

August Happiness Challenge 2010 -- Day 31

My introduction to reflexology. Got a yummy, hour-long foot massage for just $40 (a $95 value -- thank you, Groupon). The reflexologist told me she was working through residual congestion in my lungs and sinuses by pressing on my feet -- which was fascinating because I did feel a little stuffy but hadn't mentioned it to her, so maybe there is something to this. But mostly it just felt soooo relaxing to have her rub and press on my feet that I actually dozed off. She used cornstarch instead of lotion, which was unexpectedly refreshing on such a hot, humid day.

In all, a great way to end a happy month!

10 on Tuesday -- I'm curious

Ten female celebrities and the superficial questions I'd ask them.

1) Elizabeth Taylor. What's it like to have once been the most beautiful woman in the world -- and now not be?

2) Jennifer Aniston. Do you still pine for Brad? Or is it just that you pining for Brad makes such good tabloid magazine copy?

3) Kate Middleton. Do you know what you're getting you're getting yourself into?

4) Nancy Grace. Do you really believe you're "a crusader for justice," or do you realize your show isn't that different from Jerry Springer's?

5) Laura Bush. What's it like to love a man when it seems the whole world is mad at him?

6) Paula Abdul. American Idol is floundering without you. Do you enjoy that?

7) Oprah. You can lay your hands on anything you want, so what's on your Christmas Wish List?

8) Madonna. What do you think of Lady GaGa?

9) Paris Hilton. What do you think of the Kardashian girls?

10) Hillary Clinton. So what's your marriage really like?

August Happiness Challenge 2010 -- Day 30

Jackpot! My new office really has a great view: Millennium Park and Trump Tower. And to think I actually told my boss I'd swap this office for a smaller one with no window if it would help keep peace within the team. (One of the art directors was upset that there weren't enough wall offices available for her to get one.) I'm so glad he didn't take me up on it. This office is going to be a great place to observe the fall colors and the Christmas lights.

Movie Monday -- Child Actors

Share the roles you've enjoyed from the younger set, linking back here at The Bumbles.

I'm going to take this opportunity to send a Valentine to Karen Dotrice, the British actress whose career began when she was 9 in 1964 and lasted until she was 50 in 2005.

Thanks to her performances in two Disney movies, she was a key stand-in for me when I was growing up. First, she was Mary McDhui, the motherless child who loved her cat, Thomasina, beyond all reason (though her actions made complete sense to me then, and still touch me now). Then she went on to her most famous role as Jane Banks, the girl bewitched by her supercalifragilisticexpialidocious nanny (and who wouldn't be?), Mary Poppins.

August Happiness Challenge 2010 -- Day 29

Little things mean a lot. This evening my best friend sent a message while he waited in the parking lot outside his daughter's ballet studio. They're waiting together for the 2010 Nutcracker cast. She's terribly excited and very confident and he's nervous -- hopeful but worried he should be managing her expectations a bit.

I love this.

He's very good at sharing the big things -- like when one of us is afraid for our jobs or when we first heard about Kathleen's condition. But sometimes he forgets how valuable it is to share the littler things, too. Because it's moments like this that make up our lives.

PS She got two roles -- a soldier in the first act and a Chinese dancer in the second.

Life imitates art

Tonight's episode of Mad Men ("Waldorf Stories") surrounds the Clio Awards. A commercial done by Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce is nominated, and even though Peggy believes the original idea was hers and that her contribution should be recognized, she isn't invited to represent the agency at the ceremony.

This very thing happened to me. Back in the late 1980s, a campaign I worked on won a Clio. I not only wasn't sent to the ceremony, I didn't even get a statue. Why would I? I only wrote all the copy.

I did, however, get a copy of the award certificate with my name listed, and the haircare company I worked for back then paid to have it framed. At the time, I was exuberant.

Didn't occur to me until this evening that I was passed over not because my contribution wasn't important -- it was vital. I was too junior. And back then, I acted like a girl (instead of a woman) on top of it. While my work was taken seriously, I wasn't.

I love Mad Men.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: The Majorly Personal Meme, Part Two

Cheers to all of us thieves!

21. If you were to live your life without your best friend, what would change? Nothing feels as right or makes as much sense when he's not around.

22. Tell us about a era of your life that you really miss. The 80s. Everything felt new and fun and I didn't think much about consequences. Also, I liked the music.

23. Have you ever been betrayed by someone that came as a complete surprise? Without revealing the person, if yes, tell us about it. Ouch! It cut too close to the bone to go over just now.

24. Do you ever think that is a good idea to hide your feelings? Sometimes it's the wisest course.

25. Tell us about your favorite year when you were a student. 7th grade. I was enjoying my first taste of freedom, being able to go places with my friends without adult supervision. I had a really great cat, Tommy. My parents' marriage hadn't begun unraveling yet. And I was making the move away from kids' books to grown-up ones.

25. When was the last time you were in a very good mood? What caused it? Something happens every day that puts me in a good mood. Yesterday it was watching the Cubs' Xavier Nady have a good game against the Reds. He's got awesome shoes to fill (D. Lee!) and it's fun to watch him take a shot at making the position his, either with the Cubs or another team next year. He's 31 and this is his fourth team. He reminds me of Eric Karros and Todd Walker, two other Cubs who may never become stars but were good-looking and hard working and really fun to watch.

26. Have you ever had a romantic relationship with a sibling of a good friend? No.

27. Tell us about the last thing that you did that you truly regret. I think perhaps I was too hard on my oldest friend. But her dark moods are forever getting the best of her and it's time she take the reins of her own life! So if I did the wrong thing, I did it with the best intentions.

28. When did you laugh today? When one of the guys on the janitorial staff told me I didn't look old enough to have lived here for 10 years.

29. Do you trust easily? Not anymore.

30. What do you care about that you wish more people would? High-speed rail. Our environmental problems, our international conflicts seem to tie back to our dependence on foreign oil. High-speed rail corridors between Chicago and St. Louis, Chicago and Milwaukee would get a lot of cars off the highways.

31. Is it easier for you to go without food or go without sleep? Food.

32. What non-alcohol beverage do you enjoy drinking the most? Coke.

33. When you walk into a room full of strangers, generally how is your confidence? What confidence?

34. Does talking about sex with anyone but your lover make you uncomfortable? Nope.

35. Do you tend to believe members of the opposite sex mostly behave the same way? No. We're each individual and unique, like snowflakes.

36. Did you drink any alcohol this week? If yes, what? No, I haven't. Which, come to think of it, is rather unusual for me.

37. Would you ever consider being a vegetarian? No

38. Do you believe that there’s always room in your heart for someone? Yes

39. Do you believe in the concept of soul mates? Yes

40. Last week, we had a few players criticize our victim’s questions. Which is fine to do and we value your opinion. Would you ever consider writing questions for Bud and me to post on a Sunday Stealing? Nuh-uh.

August Happiness Challenge 2010 -- Day 28

Cubs win! Cubs win! OK, so it's been a disappointing suckfest of a season. But individual games can still bring me joy. Like today's. 3-2 over the Reds. It had Fukodome making a great catch, and the ump saying he trapped it. Nady swung so hard he fell down in the batter's box -- but he also hit a homer. Randy Wells was great on the mound. Damn, a good, close, exciting game always makes me happy

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Little Miss Can't Be Wrong

1. Who was the last person you dealt with that felt that they could never be wrong? One of my art directors. Whenever another (or perhaps better) solution is suggested to her, she never evinces enthusiasm. Instead she just says, "whatever."

2. Tell us about one person who is the most like you. My niece just entered her senior year of high school. She is very much her own girl, with her own interests, and a tremendous desire for independence, which is how I was at that age (and now, I suppose). She has a career focus that I didn't at that age, and I admire her for that. Whereas my goal was to get out of the house, her goal is to get out ... and know where she's going.

3. What is something you really want right now? A washer and dryer that work!

4. What are you doing this weekend? The freaking trip to the freaking laundromat is top of mind right now. (Growl.)

5. Are you in a good mood? If yes, Why? Yes. In spite of the washer/dryer aggravation. Because the sun is out and the sky is blue and it's not prohibitively hot outside and (once I get the freaking laundry out of the way), I can do pretty much whatever I want today.

6. Do you have an ex that you are pretty sure thinks about you a lot? No.

7. What's one thing you wish you could do but can't? Sing! In my mind I'm forever the leather-lunged belting diva, a la Streisand. In reality, I'm completely tone-deaf. Bummer.

8. What's one trait you hate in a person? Bullies. Pick on somebody your own size, why don'tcha?

9. What's one thing you like to do alone? Read books or watch movies. It's harder to be transported to another place/time, if you're doing your traveling with someone else.

August Happiness Challenge 2010 -- Day 27

My new checks arrived! Aren't they great? As this disappointing season limps to an end, it somehow seems even more important to show my support (even if it's just to Commonwealth Edison and the condo association).

If you want your own Cubs checks (or if you cheer on any other mlb team), click here.

Crazy Old Neighbor is at it again

Put a load of laundry in the washer at 7:00. Went down to the laundry room at 7:45 to move it to the dryer and couldn't. Because someone (Crazy Old Neighbor) unhooked the hose from the sink so the water drained onto the floor, and pulled the washer just far enough away from the wall that it was impossible to open the dryer door. With the floor all wet and slippery, it wasn't easy for me to push the washer back.

Last week Crazy Old Neighbor broke the other washer and dryer. So now this building -- 24 units -- has no laundry facilities.

And tomorrow I have to waste my morning at the washeteria.

Right now, I hate Crazy Old Neighbor.

Is it wrong?

My neighborhood Blockbuster will be closing its doors forever -- after 20 years -- in mid-September. And I just spent nearly an hour wandering its shelves, picking up treasures on sale. I got 15 lobby cards for $3 (to decorate my new office and share with friends), a South Park DVD game for my niece, three used DVDs for me and, best of all, a brand new, still sealed copy of An Affair to Remember for my mom, all for $37.77!

It's a "best of all" because my mom is broke these days, and she feels very bad that she won't be able to fuss over my kid sister very much for her upcoming birthday. Well, when they were on vacation together last week, my mom and my sister were talking about movies and Mom was scandalized that my sister had never seen An Affair to Remember, which is one of Mom's favorites. Even though I'm not wild about my sister these days, it was well worth $7 to pick it up for my mom to give her. Because really, not being able to spoil us is the hardest part of the Recession for my mom.

So I was happy about this until it occurred to me -- Blockbuster itself could be creating more victims of the Recession. After all, that location has employed people in this town for decades. Is it wrong for me to get happiness out of their "going out of business" sale? I feel a little like a vulture.

I don't get it

I admit it -- I'm an unabashed fan girl. Whether it's Sir Paul McCartney or my beloved/beleaguered Chicago Cubs, or more recently NCIS' Jethro Gibbs, once I give my heart it's given. I'm as passionate and loyal to men I'll never meet as anyone on the planet.

But I'm sorry, I don't get this. There's so much darkness attached to Michael Jackson's legacy, so much denial in regards to his eccentricities, problems and character, such romance attached to his tawdry death … and this seems to be celebration of much of that.

On the other hand, the people of Gary are really suffering during this Recession, and the influx of cash will help. So I guess it's a good thing.

I'm just so much more ambivalent about this rather maudlin event than I am regarding so many other fanventions, which seem like good, life-affirming and completely silly fun.

August Happiness Challenge 2010 -- Day 27

Watching Reynaldo make a friend. My neighbor across the hall has her 7-to-8-year-old grand daughter visiting her. The three of us rode up in the elevator together. "Are you the one who keeps cats?" Jasmine (or is Yasmine?) asked me. I responded that I was and asked her if she wanted to meet Rey. She did. Grandma said, "Ok, girls, you know where I live," meaning we were on our own, which I took as a compliment -- my neighbor trusts both me and Rey.

I explained to Jasmine that since I had been gone all day, Reynaldo would be very eager to see us. And he was. As soon as he heard my voice and the key in the door, he was there. He was happy to see me, and her. I showed her how to let him smell her hand and explained that is a cat's way of figuring out who we are. Then he started to purr and rub against her. What a champ he was!

After a few minutes of bonding, I realized that Reynaldo and Jasmine were beginning a love affair and could be here all night. So I explained that he needed his dinner and she reluctantly agreed, but asked if she could visit him next time she came to see Grandma. I reassured her that Rey would like that very much.

Why is this man smiling?

This is Robert Blagojevich, Rod's brother. He's grinning because he just learned that the government has dropped all charges against him and he won't be retried along with his brother next year.

Robert and Rod were tried together -- when it came to their charges, the jury had to either acquit or convict them both. The jury couldn't reach either conclusion. No one knows for sure what the jurors told the Feds, but it's safe to assume that the jurors were closer to acquitting Robert than his more famous brother. Perhaps that's because Robert willingly took the stand and testified under oath.

Until relatively recently, the Blagojevich Brothers were estranged. While Rod followed his shooting political star in Chicagoland, his older brother served in the armed forces and lived in Kentucky. When Rod got in hot water with the local Democratic Party, he became paranoid and reached out to his brother, explaining that he needed a political operative he could trust and there was no left in the local establishment who fit that bill. So Robert came up here, worked as his kid brother's fundraiser and, presumably, found himself being used by the government for leverage when the indictments first came down -- rumor has it, Blago was told, "Take a plea and we'll let your brother go." Rod refused the offer and so Robert stood trial.

Now, after two years and huge legal bills, it's over. Did he break the law in his efforts to help his brother raise campaign cash? Probably. Was it intentional? Probably not. Has he paid a big enough price for his really very minor role in this mess? Undoubtedly. Thanks to Patrick Fitzgerald for saving tax payers the expense of a second trial.

And now it looks like the brothers' relationship is going back to the way it was. When asked if Rod had called to congratulate him on the good news from the government, Robert said, "No. When it comes to my brother, I'm an afterthought." When asked if he "blamed" his brother for dragging him into this, Robert said, "I don't discuss my relationship with my brother."

August Happiness Challenge 2010 -- Day 25

FREE pizza! Since I stayed late to (almost) finish packing, a team that was working late* and ordered dinner invited me to partake of their leftovers. I knew I should partake of the salad, but instead I went for the pizza. Free food always takes better.

*Enough work that at least four coworkers had to work overtime is also good news.

That's approx. $8.75 I saved

I rescued 24 letter-sized folders from one of the dumpsters outside my office. On the one hand, I'm pleased that I am able to recycle & reuse, saving the agency money and shooting an assist to Mother Earth. On the other hand, I suspect I may be dumpster diving because it distracts me from the daunting task of packing up my own office, which has to be completed by end of day tomorrow. GULP!

I Want Wednesday

I want perspective, to have it and to share it. I realize none of us sees our own lives clearly. Watching how my oldest friend keeps self-sabotaging, I wish I could shake her and show her the err to her ways (smoking, not exercising, indulging in things she knows will upset her -- and then getting upset with herself because she's depressed and not feeling well). Then I remember how she watched helplessly as I wasted my 20s on a real repulsivo. So that's why this Wednesday, I want 360º perspective.

What about you? What do you want today?

August Happiness Challenge 2010 -- Day 24

Done! After six months and countless hours and $700 (it would have $1075 without insurance), my tooth is finally done!

Why was it so complicated? In the 18 years since I first got a crown in the back, my gums have receded. This allowed a cavity to form beneath the crown. Unusual, but not unheard of. The cavity grew horizontally across the tooth, rather than down into the gum. Also unusual. This made it easier for my dentist to save the tooth (yea!) but also entailed some surgery on the gums on either side. And, unfortunately, the old crown which had served me so well came apart upon removal, so it had to be replaced.

But what matter now? As of 7:20 on August 24, my long dental nightmare was over!

10 on Tuesday

About the move.

1) We're changing offices on Friday.

2) I'm moving down the hall, and I believe I'll be getting a nicer view of Michigan Avenue. (Yea!)

3) The weekly beer cart parks right in front of my new office, which is also good.

4) But I'm not sure where my new printer and copy machine will be.

5) Our team is moving closer together, and a team from another floor is moving up here.

6) This is good because seeing all these empty offices, reminding us all of layoffs and fallen comrades, hasn't been good for morale …

7) And because the agency gets to make a little money by subletting one of the floors downstairs.

8) But I'm shocked by how much waste occurs every time we move. Reusable binders and paper clips by the ton get tossed into the dumpsters.

9) I have a hard time parting with anything, but I'm really going to try this time.

10) But I will take care to keep my recyclable paper out of the dumpster and in the blue recycle basket under my desk.

The Queen's Meme -- The Back to Fools Meme

1. Do you know your primary colors? Describe for me, if you will, the colors red, blue and green to a blind person. Red is cinnamon. Blue is ice. Green is leaves and grass.

2. What was your adult summer reading? My favorite book this summer was Heart of the Matter. It's the story of an extramarital affair as told alternately by the wife and the other woman. I ached for both of them, and it got me thinking that no one sees him (or her) self as a villain.

3. When you assembled your clothes last night for today's activities - you did do that, didn't you? - what did you choose to wear? Dark wash jeans and one of those pullovers I bought at Carson's.

4. What's in your lunchbox? Tuesday I'm buying lunch. But yesterday I brought spinach salad and apple slices w/caramel.

5. Imagine that your teacher is your fantasy crush. What would you bring her/him on the first day of school? Hmmmmm??? A sachet redolent of Lovely cologne, my scent. I want him to become familiar with it, as he'll be breathing it in as he leans over me in class, discussing my schoolwork.
6. No rest for the weary. Your child's teacher just called. A big ole' bully knocked your precious one into a locker for no good reason at all. What is your response to the principal? Set up a meeting for the three of us -- Principal, me and Ma Bully.

7. You have been given a pair of scissors, a glue stick and copy of Entertainment Weekly. Whose picture do you cut out and who do you glue to your headboard? George Clooney on the red carpet, wearing a tuxedo and roguish charm.

8. TEN POINT BONUS QUESTION! Now that you have time to watch all those Gilligan's Island reruns, tell me....What was the Professor really doing with Mary Ann all that time they were lost in the jungle? Hiding from Gilligan and the Skipper. Gawd! All that bickering!
And remember this uplifting quote:

"If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers."

— Edgar W. Howe

Now save yourself from the dungeon by playing yourself. Click here.

August Happiness Challenge 2010 -- Day 23

My virtue. I not only worked out at lunchtime, I brought my lunch. AND I resisted the seductive scent of barbecue and made my own dinner at home. Brings me just that much closer to my dual goals of no longer being fat and poor.

Introducing Urban Shocker

Is this not one of the greatest baseball names ever?

Born in 1890, Urban played for the Yankees and the St. Louis Browns from 1916 to 1928. According to my baseball page-a-day calendar, yesterday would have been his 120th birthday. I wish I'd known so I could celebrate accordingly.

"Oh, Gal, this is AWFUL!"

That's how my 10-year-old nephew responded last night when I said, "Hello." The family has been away all week, up in Wisconsin in a cabin without a TV, and he didn't find out until Sunday morning (from friends at a birthday party) that the Cubs had traded D Lee and Lou had suddenly retired.

We agreed we would rather keep losing with a team we like than say goodbye.

He's a Cub fan.