About that movie quote

I mentioned in my TT that there's a movie I like to quote in meetings when I can't make up my mind. It's Chinatown. Evelyn Mulwray was Faye Dunaway and Jake Gittes was Jack Nicholson.


Evelyn: She's my daughter.
[Gittes slaps Evelyn]
Evelyn: She's my sister.
[slap]
Evelyn: She's my daughter.
[slap]
Evelyn: My sister, my daughter.
[More slaps]
Gittes: I want the truth!
Evelyn: She's my sister AND my daughter!

Please take care of him and his family

"Hi. I am stuck in the mountains. It has snowed 4 days straight. Hope we can drive back tomorrow."

So read the message I received from my best friend this afternoon. I thought he was in his home office, snowed in under a pile of work. Instead he was still in the mountains, where he and his wife and kids had been spending a long weekend with his parents and siblings. He was supposed to be back home yesterday afternoon and at his desk today. Didn't happen. Couldn't happen. Roads are closed and blizzard conditions are predicted to continue until tomorrow morning.

I bet his daughters are loving the adventure while their father is climbing the walls, wondering if there are ramifications to unexpectedly missing two extra days of work when things are so sensitive on his accounts.

I'm glad he's up there with his whole family. He's less likely to try anything reckless like driving impassable roads if he knows knowing he's responsible for his wife and daughters, and besides, his father would try to dissuade him.

My best friend is very important to me.

Thursday Thirteen #102 -- The Never Before Revealed Edition

THIRTEEN THINGS
YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TOLD
ABOUT THE GAL HERSELF

Lisa, aka Snarky Pants, often credits me for helping her with her blog content. Today she is returning the favor. When you have posted as long, and as often, as I have, coming up with things you haven't already revealed about yourself can be a challenge. In my attempt to come up with 13 new Gal facts, I used her 100 Things About Me as my template. (Thanks, Snarkela.)

1. Had I been a boy, my name would have been Jack. Had my older sister been a boy, her name would have been Jack. If my baby sister had been a boy, she would have been named Jack. My dad really like the name Jack but alas, never got to use it on a son of his own.

2. I didn’t plan to be a writer. I was a secretary at Sears Corporate Headquarters and one of the established women executives (and there weren't many in those days) took me under her wing. "Doesn't it bother you that you're smarter than your boss?" She convinced me to take the catalog copywriter test, and I was on my way. I Googled her, and she's 83 now and lives in Boca Raton. That makes me happy.

3. The first boy I was going to marry was named Tommy. We were both in Kindergarten and watched Lassie together on Sunday evenings. We were going to have a big back yard and lots of dogs, all of whom would be kept on leashes so they wouldn’t face the dangers Lassie did each week. I was sad and confused when his family suddenly moved away, no notice, no forwarding address. It turns out his dad was arrested for dealing drugs, in cahoots with the local pharmacist, and Tommy and his mom went to live with her parents. In the dull, boring, white-bread suburb I grew up in, it was a major scandal. My mom didn’t tell me the truth about this until I was almost 30.

4. My uncle was in Viet Nam from 1964 to 1966. I was very worried about him when he was over there, because I watched the news coverage every evening. When he got home, safe and sound, I brought him to school for show and tell. I love him extra for that.

5. I thought my Kindergarten teacher was the most beautiful woman in the world. She kept her blonde hair in a knot atop her head and always wore lipstick.

6. My favorite color is blue. Paul McCartney’s favorite color is blue, too. Coincidence?

7. My favorite movie quote to work into conversation is, “My sister. My daughter. She's my sister and my daughter.” I even slap my own face from side to side as I use it to illustrate that I can't make up my mind. I enjoy seeing if anyone in the room gets it.

8. When I was little, my "babies" were plush toys. Dearest were my Lassie dog and a musical duck named Charlotte.

9. The best boss I ever had is now my theater buddy. I’m glad Barb is still in my life. She was, and remains, my biggest professional influence.

10. I wish I could whistle.

11. I sleep with the TV on.

12. I read William Goldman’s book Magic in one sitting. It's funnier and more shocking than the movie.

13. I wish I looked like Mariska Hargitay. (I don’t.)

To participate yourself,
or to look up more TT participants,
visit the new hub (thursday-13.com).

Find the writer

I actually enjoy being swamped this week. After all, I was so worried about being OUT of work that being HARD AT work is a relief. Plus it's fun to feel it pumping on all cylinders. And I'm off to my spa retreat next week, so it's not like I can get seriously burnt out.

Tuesday Tunes #16

It's time for recents ...


Name your most recent:

concert: Paul McCartney, his "Chaos & Creation" tour (2005)

song you listened to: "I Can Help" by Billy Swan. I was listening to the 70s playlist on my iPod. I'm glad it wasn't something more embarrassing, like Helen Reddy or Barry Manilow (shudder).

album you bought: Working on a Dream (Brooooooce)

artist you discovered: Marcia Ball (Love that bluesy piano)

song you downloaded: "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" by Johnny Rivers. My 70s playlist again.

To play along, click here.

Yahoo's 100 Movies ...

Here's the list of 100 Movies that Yahoo! says we should see before we die (in alphabetical order). Have you seen them?

Put the ones you've seen in bold, the ones you liked in italics and √ the ones you didn't like. Add one movie that's not on the list. Tag your friends!

If you participate, please let me know so I can come check our your list.


0-9
12 Angry Men (1957)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) √
400 Blows (1959)
8 1/2 (1963)
A
The African Queen (1952)
Alien (1979)
All About Eve (1950)
Annie Hall (1977)
Apocalypse Now (1979) √
B
The Battle of Algiers (1967)
The Bicycle Thief (1948)
Blade Runner (1982)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Blow Up (1966)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Breathless (1960)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
C
Casablanca (1942)
Chinatown (1974)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
D
Die Hard (1988)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Duck Soup (1933)
E
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
The Exorcist (1973)
F
Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)
The French Connection (1971)
G
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather, Part II (1974)
Goldfinger (1964)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1968)
Goodfellas (1990)
The Graduate (1967)
Grand Illusion (1938)
Groundhog Day (1993)
H
A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
I
In the Mood For Love (2001)
It Happened One Night (1934)
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
J
Jaws (1975)
K
King Kong (1933)
L
The Lady Eve (1941)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Lord of the Rings (2001)
M
M (1931)
M*A*S*H (1970)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Matrix (1999) √
Modern Times (1936)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
N
National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)
Network (1976)
Nosferatu (1922)
O
On the Waterfront (1954)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
P
Paths of Glory (1958)
Princess Mononoke (1999)
Psycho (1960)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
R
Raging Bull (1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Raise the Red Lantern (1992)
Rashomon (1951)
Rear Window (1954)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Rocky (1976)
Roman Holiday (1953)
S
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Schindler’s List (1993)
The Searchers (1956)
Seven Samurai (1954)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Sound of Music (1965)
Star Wars (1977)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
T
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
The Third Man (1949)
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
Titanic (1997)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Toy Story (1995)
U
The Usual Suspects (1995)
V
Vertigo (1958)
W
When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
Wild Strawberries (1957)
Wings of Desire (1988)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Women On the Verge of Nervous Breakdown (1988)
The World of Apu (1959)

ENDOMENTAL'S ADD: The Philadelphia Story (1940)
THE GAL HERSELF'S ADD: The Way We Were (1973)

It was bound to happen one of these days

After all, I've been a professional writer for decades now. And today was the day the inevitable occurred. I finally ran out of words.

This morning we got a new project and we are scheduled to show my boss our efforts on Wednesday AM. But alas, I have no ideas.

Zero. Zilch. Nothing. Nada. Diddly-Squat.

I may have used all my words up over the weekend when I worked on the other project. Perhaps all I need is to replenish my word tank. Maybe if I busy myself with mindless tasks (like labeling a new file folder for the project), inspiration will strike ...

Manic Monday #23

Do you screen your phone calls? Yes. I feel it's more polite than hanging up on a telemarketer. (To paraphrase Horton Hears a Who, "people are people, no matter if they're telemarketers.") If I'm wrong and it really was a call I needed to take, they'll leave a message and I can call them back.

When was the last time you lost your temper? Last week a crazy man went off on me at the el platform. He called me the "c-word" and a "douchebag." I was very angry and upset, but was determined not to let him see that he got to me. So I responded, as evenly as I could, "I prefer twat." He kept raging at me. It was very upsetting. I realize I'll never know what set him off, I'll never see him again and I don't care what he thinks of me, but I hate when people like that burrow their ways into my life. Women on the el platform were very nice to me and said things like, "Your day will get better," and "Don't worry, he's just nuts."

When you're lost, do you ask for directions? Yes. I frequently don't understand the directions either because I have no sense of direction. But I try.

To play along yourself, click here.

I'm working. Is she? (Updated)

It's a beautiful day outside. Sunny and 60º. My livingroom windows are open and I can hear the kids next door playing. I would love to be playing with my nephew, who came in second with his Yellow Submarine Pinewood Derby car. But no, I'm working, juggling a writing assignment and my laundry since 2:30.

Please don't view the above paragraph as a complaint, for it's not. My months-long fear of being laid off hasn't been entirely obliterated. In this economy, in my industry, too much work is far, far better than not having enough.

I'm grumpy because I'm worried about something I can't control. Is the art director also assigned to this project -- the weepy one who gives me agita -- also working on it this fine Sunday? I told her to. She promised she would. But that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

For her latest boyfriend broke up with her Thursday night. I found out about it when I got in on Friday morning. My boss told me. He told me to "do what it takes to get work out of her." He said he saw "hugs in my future." Yes, upon coming into the office on Friday morning, she unburdened herself to our boss. It was, in his words, "another knot in the noose."

Now my boss is not a hard-hearted man. But she has not been working to the best of her capabilities for nearly two years now. First it was tears because her husband was cheating on her, then it was tears because they got a divorce. Then it was hangovers and sleepy time as she got over her divorce by staying out late and acting like a 20-something when she's really just a breath away from 50. Now it's staring off into space and starting to cry unexpectedly because her boy toy "moved out." (It's important to note they weren't living together; they weren't that serious. All he had to take were a couple of shirts and his toothbrush.)

I gave her a pep talk on Friday. "Let's have this project done for Monday morning! Won't it be great to show everyone what you can do when your back is to the wall? Aren't you LUCKY that Chris won't be around to distract you?" Rah! Rah rah!

The due dates for this project are hard and fast. A new one is being kicked off tomorrow morning. It would be nice to know that she cares. The irony is that she really does like this job. Our agency is well known within the industry, and she is proud of having an office that overlooks Lake Michigan. It's the sense that she no longer has to prove herself, that somehow is entitled to it that I don't understand.

I suppose if we were really friends I should call her, check up on her, make sure she's okay emotionally and on track professionally. But she makes me too crazy. She has very passive-aggressive ways of letting me know that she doesn't really like me, or at least that she feels competitive, and I don't feeling like getting a dose of hurt feelings on top of this exasperation.

Oh well. Venting feels good but it's not getting my porttion of the project done, is it?

THIS JUST IN! It's Monday morning and she did work over the weekend. Yea! Sometimes it's spectacularly great to be wrong!

A barren spinster's reflection on matrimony

My best friend's sister-in-law (wife's sister) felt her husband slipping away. She was sure her man was too fond of his career and his grown-up toys (electronics, new car and a private plane) and ignoring her and their toddler son. So she told him she had a fling, that she slipped away for an overnighter, under the guise of a business trip, with a coworker from another city who was desperately attracted to her. She referred to her one-nighter as "Plan B." Her husband moved out and began dating. She is distraught because there was no "Plan B." She made the story up to make him jealous, to make him value her more because other men wanted her. She and her coworker did go away together on a business trip, but nothing went on between them. Her husband doesn't believe she made it up, and there is no hope for reconciliation.

These two are in their late 30s, college-educated, professionally successful, and complete dolts.

My oldest friend, a woman, was upset because her lover forgot they had plans for Sweetest Day. I recommended that she just tell him he hurt her feelings. How could he know she was hurt if she doesn't tell him? Another friend of hers -- a married woman in her 40s -- advised her to give him the silent treatment, to freeze him out until he begs her to tell him what he did wrong. I don't understand the effort that goes into the manipulation. I'm also reasonably sure that in my oldest friend's case, it would fail because he wouldn't notice "the silent treatment."

What's with these marriages? Tricking your man into believing you're wanted by other men, punishing him with the silent treatment?

When I hear these Lucy/Ricky tales, I am very glad to be a barren spinster. Because if this is what marriage is like, I don't want it. Oh, I love Lucy, but I remember that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz ultimately divorced in real life.

Three Dead Presidents

Look what I won in this week's Illinois State Lottery. Sure, I had to spend $2 to make $3, but that's a shitload better than my 401 (k) is doing. Perhaps I should put my faith in chance ...

Partying with the other half

My friend Kathleen has been involved with a challenging but fascinating man for quarter of a century. They have been married 20 years now, have two very good kids (a boy getting ready for college and a girl about to enter high school in the fall) and have weathered their ups and downs. The thing of it is, though, even when they have found their relationship frustrating, their mutual respect for one another (and, of course, love) has seen them through.

Over the last five years or so, her career has really taken off. She's made it to VP in an internationally known company and is making plenty of money. In exchange for that paycheck, she works very hard. His role these past few years has been to manage the household funds -- saving for their retirement and paying college tuition for two kids -- and cleaning his and other people's homes. Her husband prefers working independently so he cleans a couple houses each week -- his clients aren't at home and he can schedule his assignments so he's home by the time his kids get home. The extra money (about $12,000/year) helps, too.

This arrangement was originally his idea, and Kathleen went along with it because she believes that the best gift she can give her kids is happily married parents. She got her own basic optimism and security from growing up in a stable home, anchored by her parents' own strong marriage.

Only their arrangement doesn't seem to be working for him anymore. She's become more successful, with added responsibilities and a progressively bigger check, while he's stuck in a rut. He can do his houses almost on automatic pilot, and the kids are older and more independent now. He believes (and he may be right) that they primarily need their daddy now to ferry them to and from after school events and friends' homes.

He's more easily aggravated by day-to-day things, especially their dog. (Their very sweet-natured dog occasionally has an accident indoors, or sheds on furniture he's been told not to jump on ... the usual hassles that come with pet ownership.) He no longer has an independent network of friends, and his family all lives in England.

Kathleen has decided he's lonely. Kathleen has decided he needs to hang out with me.

And so last night the three of us went to a play by the neighborhood theater group. Kathleen knows the star from church, and most of the audience (except for her husband and me) were parishioners. Afterwards we went out for drinks at a popular local watering hole and I asked him what I thought was the obvious question -- How did a nice, devout Catholic girl and a cynical agnostic agree to raise their children in the Church? (His answer: It was more important to her than to him.) Then he told me a rather harrowing story about his childhood and how, when he was just 9, his dad died. This, and living in England during the most violent years of the English/IRA confrontations, colored his feelings about God and religion.

Kathleen looked at us so proudly as we compared/contrasted our views on faith (I'm way less conventional than she is, yet far more devout than he is).

He's awkward with small talk, and so am I. Since, through Kathleen and our infrequent meetings over the years, we already knew about one another's education and professional backgrounds, so we could dispense with that. We talked about matters of gravity, yet he was very amusing. We also talked about the Beatles and the upcoming local election.

I had a nice time with them. I know Kathleen was pleased that he and I chatted so animatedly and comfortably (being in one of my favorite bars, enjoying a flirtini, helps). I don't know that the three of us will make going out a regular event, but I wouldn't mind. I enjoyed it, she enjoyed it, but it's hard to tell definitively if he enjoyed it.

Saturday 9 -- Crank Up the Tunes

1. What is your favorite 50’s band? The Everly Brothers

2. What is your favorite 60’s band? The Beatles

3. What is your favorite 60’s record album? The Beatles' White Album

4. What is your favorite 70’s band? Wings

5. What is your favorite 70’s record album? Band on the Run (Wings)

6. What is your favorite 80’s band? Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

7. What is your favorite 80’s record album? The End of the Innocence (Don Henley)

8. What is your favorite 90’s band? Del Amitri

9. What is your favorite 90’s record album? Hatful of Rain (Del Amitri)

To play along yourself, visit: Saturday 9: Crank Up the Tunes

A meme to cleanse my mental palette

I've worked rather hard the last two days and am feeling kind of fried. So I have liberated this meme from Ms. Mo (she who loves hounds and her hubs) and am using it as mental sorbet.

• Link to the person who tagged you (that would be Mo)
  
• Post 7 things about yourself that people may not know
• Tag 7 other people and link to them
• Leave a comment for each of them on their blogs to let them know they’ve been tagged

1. I really only had one beer in my life before I turned 34. That was the year my dad died and before the wake, one of my friends took me out and ordered me a beer. For some reason I no longer hated the taste and have been drinking it ever since.

2. I have dated -- statistically speaking -- an inordinate number of parochial school Catholic boys. I suspect this means something, but I'm not sure what. It's not like I wear plaid skirts and knee socks.

3. My best friend recently described me as "optimistic, curious and sentimental." I think he's right, but I'm also reasonably sure not many people know it.

4. Even if given the opportunity, I would never want to meet Paul McCartney. I have loved him since I was 6 years old, and I don't see how he could possibly live up to 45 years of foreplay.

5. I feel very bad about the bat on the Space Shuttle Discovery. (I have far more compassion for him than that damn Octo Mom.)

6. I find it fascinating that Lou Dobbs can do an entire hour of talk TV without revealing his upper teeth.

7. Sometimes I think the fictional character most like me is Jane Craig (Holly Hunter) in Broadcast News. I can be so together professionally and so ... not together in my personal life.

(Stolen verbatim from Mo.) Now, I'm not gonna tag anybody for this one, cause...well, cause I don't feel like it - but, if you're here, readin' this...well then, consider yourself "tagged"...

When life imitates art

In Love, Actually, Liam Neeson plays a widower who is trying to rebuild his life and raise his stepson alone after the untimely death of his wife. Since I heard about Natasha Richardson's death, the movie keeps running through my head. So sad.

God, I love the Cubs!

"On May 3, the Cubs will retire No. 31 in honor of the two pitchers, one a Hall of Famer, the other a future Cooperstown resident." MLB.com

I grew up watching Fergie Jenkins pitch. Regular readers of this blog may have noticed that I simply adore future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. They both wore #31 as Cubs. Now that both of these fabulous pitchers have retired, the Cubs are doing right by them and retiring the jersey #31.

While I miss Greg Maddux something fierce during this, the first spring training in decades that I haven't followed his progress, I do love the continuity this represents for me. Because my Grandma was a lifelong Cub fan, and her favorite player of all time, Ryne Sandberg, is one of just a handful of Cubs in team history to have his number retired. Whenever I see that white pennant with 23 printed on it flying over the park, I think of my Grandma and how she loved her Ryno. Now perhaps someday my nephew (now just 9) will take one of his kids to Wrigley Field and point to a white pennant bearing the #31 and tell his kid, "You know, my aunt really loved the Professor, Greg Maddux."

Thursday Thirteen #101 -- Thirteen Teen Dreams

Not many people remember the name Gloria Stavers, but if you were a girl in junior high school between 1958 and 1975, the odds are good that you were familiar with her work. For those were the years that she was the editor of 16 Magazine, the teen magazine that brought us as close as possible to our heart throbs.16 had the best interviews, and the best, most kissable color pin-ups -- perfect for decorating my locker door and bedroom wall.

Here are 13 of the most prominent boy toys to grace 16's pages during Gloria's time at the helm. I was madly in love with some of them (Paul McCartney, Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy) and a little in love with others (Raider Mark Lindsey). Enjoy this trip down memory lane, and the memories of a simpler time.

WHO WAS YOUR BUBBLEGUM CRUSH? Please let me know in the comments. I'm especially curious about who guys loved, pure and chaste from afar, when they were 11, 12 or 13.

1) Elvis Presley
2) Rick Nelson
3) Paul Petersen
4) Paul Anka
5) The Beatles
6) The Dave Clark 5
7) Herman's Hermits
8) The Monkees
9) Paul Revere and the Raiders
10) The Osmond Brothers
11) The Jackson 5
12) Bobby Sherman
13) David Cassidy


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun!

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Stolen from a silly little freak ...

Who goes by the name of Snarky Pants.

1.) You’re on a trip taking a tour through the jungle. You have a backpack with some food, some first aid supplies, a pocket knife, a flashlight and a couple bottles of water. Somehow, you get separated from your group. By night fall you haven’t found your group and haven’t heard them looking for you. How long do you think you would be able to survive on your own?

A couple of days. On the plus side of the ledger, I'm very independent and I don't panic. Now for the debits: I have NO sense of direction whatsoever and cannot stand the heat. I'd do well to live by Mrs. McGinnis' words of wisdom (an imposing dragon of a woman, she was my Girl Scout leader for several years) and just stay put until someone finds me.

2.) Do you think it’s okay to lie to spare someone’s feelings? Why?

Yes. I do it all the time. Most things aren't worth hurting someone's feelings over. On the other hand, I tend to be insensitive because I often just don't get it. For example, I was dating a very hot guy who was a bit taller than I am, so I guessed him to be 5'5. He was so good looking and so very good in bed and had such a terrific voice that it never occurred to me that his height bothered him. One day I asked, "When did you realize you were always going to be short?" Oh ... my ... God! He actually flinched as though I thrown water in his face. I felt terrible about it.

3.) If a talking Gal doll were made, what are THREE phrases it would say?

a. The thing of it is ...
b. What the fuuuuuuuck?
c. I'd rather remove my own spleen with a butter knife.

4.) If the super power to be able to read minds at your own will were possible, do you think it would be… cool and helpful, intrusive and wrong, manipulative or maddening? Explain why you would or wouldn’t want to be able to read anyone’s mind at your own will.

I'd prefer it if I could read my cats' minds. I think that would be great fun. However, if it's limited to people, I'd only want to do it while on the train or bus, when I'm bored. I think it would be highly entertaining. I'd probably give in to temptation and do it more often though, and then feel bad because it would be intrusive and wrong. I tend to be very private and would hate having someone do it to me.

5.) RE: Drunk confessions, are they the things people can’t bring themselves to say sober or just crazy ramblings of an influenced and intoxicated mind?

Yes.

6.) What brings out the worst in you?

Bullies. I hate bullies. A coworker once nicknamed me "Avenger Bunny" because nothing sets me off like witnessing bullying. It's the duty of the bigger to help the smaller in this world, and I cannot stand it when that world order gets knocked on its side.

7.) Do you think long distance relationships work? Have you ever been in one before?

Yes. I was in one for years and it was the happiest time of my life. Of course, I think it helped that, according to my shrink, I have a deep-seated fear of genuine intimacy, so you shouldn't go by me. I'm not a well woman.

If you choose to play, let me know so I can compare our answers.

Two very different slices of life

Often at the health club, I zone out and inhabit my own little world. Today, for some reason, I was more engaged with my surroundings and was eavesdropping. What I overheard reiterated how diverse my day-to-day is.

While dressing, I listened in on two big -- VERY BIG, like big enough to make me look slender -- young women discussing what a pain it is to bail someone out of jail. They make you wait forever, yet you can't smoke in there (nor in any public building in Illinois) nor use your phone -- not even to text!

Then while I was on the exercise bike, I heard two absolutely fantastically made up young women talking about refinancing their homes. They were breathlessly batting financial institutions and APRs back and forth as their feet spun round and round on the pedals.

I estimate all four women were about the same age (25 to 30), in the same health club, undoubtedly live and work within a half hour of one another, and yet lead completely different lives. My life is nothing like any of theirs. "There are nearly 3 millions stories in the Windy City ..."

Puppies and Parvo

One of Oprah's puppies has died, and his littermate, also adopted by Oprah, is very ill. The culprit? The Canine Parvovirus.

Aside from the heartache attached to this -- something everyone who has ever shared their life with a critter can relate to -- this is a tragedy because Oprah used these adoptions and the publicity they received to highlight America's shelter pets. If the fate that has befallen Ivan and Sadie discourages anyone from giving a shelter animal a home, that would make this sad situation even worse.

99.2% of the puppies received by PAWS Chicago either did not contract parvovirus or were cured of the disease.

PAWS (Pets are Worth Saving) is a good shelter. They treat the furry little souls in their care with kindness and are stringent in their adoption procedures. They help the community with all kinds of good works, including a Pet Food Bank to assist those who are struggling in this economy but can't bear to give up their pets. In short, they are the Good Guys. But parvo is a tenacious virus and it's difficult to successfully vaccinate a puppy against it if it was exposed by the mother.

It happens. It's sad and it's rare, but it happens. It's not the risk you run by rescuing a shelter dog, it's the risk you run by giving your heart to a dog. That shouldn't stop you from considering adopting a dog like Barley, the handsome PAWS resident shown here. Look at that face! Doesn't he deserve the love and security that comes with having a home?

The unfortunate fact is that there are no sure things in life, except death. It takes courage and faith to give any animal a forever home, for in the back of our minds we know that our hearts will break when the relationship ends too soon. PAWS can't be blamed for that.

Idol Observation

Tonight Danny sang "Jesus, Take the Wheel." To cover a Carrie Underwood song on the Idol stage takes balls, and he delivered. I've never enjoyed Danny this much before.

Adam did a sitar-driven version of "Ring of Fire" that was bizarre but fun. If I were calling in, I'd vote for Adam. He sure as shit was original!

Anoop sang "Always on My Mind." No fair, that song always gets to me. Mentor Randy Travis said it was a risky song choice because he can't get Willie Nelson out of his mind. Not me. It's Elvis' version that's tattooed on my soul. Anoop isn't Elvis, but isn't that too much to expect? Anoop's version was dear and sweet.

The women were all completely forgettable, which doesn't make sense. It's country week, after all, and country music has such a rich history of kick-ass divas. One of this week's contestants even performed "Walkin' After Midnight" and all it inspired from me was a yawn (and a nod to her lip gloss, which was lovely).

Randy Travis is so gray! When did that happen?

Going it alone

I just found out this afternoon that my theater buddy can't make it tomorrow. She has a sudden, crunch project and predicts she will have to work until long after the curtain goes up at 7:30. So I'm going alone.

It's Mary Poppins, for pity's sake! I love Mary Poppins. She looms large in my legend. I can't miss the opportunity to see her live.

This is awfully last minute for me to find a seatmate, and I don't feel like it. I wanted to see it with my theater buddy because she completely loves musicals, and I'd rather see it alone than with someone who won't totally appreciate it like she and I would. So I'm honoring our dinner reservation but I'm bringing a book instead of my theater buddy, and then I'm going to the theater. Alone. And I'm looking forward to it.

What I am not looking forward to is tomorrow at the office, when coworkers see me dressed for theater and ask, "So who are you going with?" If I tell them I'm going alone, they will look at me with horrible pity, like I'm friendless. I don't like to lie, but that's what I'm going to do.

Why do people always assume that if you're alone, you're lonely? Why do others force me into a defensive position, just because I like my own company? Sometimes I wish well-meaning people would just leave me ... well ... alone.