A Dialing Tip

A very full weekend.. It lead with me losing my wallet Friday night.. but all in all, it was actually a fantastic weekend. More on that later..

But for now, my Monday morning consists of calling the credit card companies and the bank to replace my cards. .. American Express has a convoluted Automated Response System and I kept having to repeat myself to check any suspicious activity. And there is no "option" to speak to a customer service rep to request a new card. I kept pounding the "0" key only to hear "I'm sorry. I don't seem to understand what you've said.".... GGAAAA... After the 3rd time, I yelled out "You F*cking B^tch!!!"... "One moment please. A customer service will be right with you."

I now have a new AMEX card arriving tomorrow by 5pm.
So you heard it here first folks. The quickest way to speak to a human at Amex....

It's Not So Easy Being Green...

So Earth Day has come and on. And I would say that it felt like the most momentous Earth Day in memory. Not that I personally participated in any big Eco Events. I worked on the plants on my deck, bought a succulent(30% off!), took Sake for walkies and watched a bit of the Planet Earth marathon on the Discovery Channel. And if you haven't seen his program, get thee to an HD TV quick! It's an amazingly filmed series, but watching it on HD takes it to a mind-blowing level.

All of this Green Talk recently I think spurs great dialogue about how we use resources we take for granted. You may still feel Global Warming is Gore's way of getting back at Bush, but ultimately we shouldn't be sucking up Mother Earth's resources just because we have the technology to do so. Oh, but its so easy to do isn't it? I mean, have you checked your Carbon Footprint lately?? My god, how many trees do I have to plant to make up for all the times I've driven to gym on a Saturday morning instead of taking the Muni??
... And what about the ONE compact florescent bulb I bought that still sits in the cupboard?
.........And I KNOW I don't unplug the toaster when I'm done with breakfast.
... And no, I never bring my own organic cotton sacks while doing my weekly shopping at Trader Joe's.
.... And I can barely afford organic carrots let alone organic clothing!

Its enough to lead me to just throw my newspapers in the trash, and buy a SUV! But before I did anything rash, I came across this great organization(courtesy of Oprah, of course.). For 10 cents a day, Greendimes.com will help rid you of unwanted junk mail and save all that paper. And, they'll even plant a tree for you! Finally, someone who's made it easy. So go..

Go forth and be GREEEENNNN!!!!

Be Well, Be Strong Virginia Tech

We are ALL reeling...

I know, guns don't kill people. People kill people.
But let me leave you with this:

Guns like the gunman's 9mm semi-automatic handgun and a 22-caliber pistol are easy to come by in gun shops across the country, but particularly in the Virginia Commonwealth where there is:

No gun registration
No mandatory wait period
No ban on assault weapons.
No ban on high capacity clips
The only restriction is one firearm per month.

Reactionary? Sure. Strawman logic? Maybe.
But right now it's the only thing I have to wrap my head around......

A Hallmark Moment

I had the joy of having my sister and her two children over on Saturday afternoon. It's not exactly Toys R Us, but I do have a small amount of toys tucked away just for my 4-year-old nephew to while away the afternoon. His eyes indeed lit up when I brought out the Big Box of 96 count Crayola Crayons.

Nephew: "WOW!!! Sixty-Nine!!!!"
Rowdeezy: (chuckling) "My love, that's Ninety-Six. See? The 9 is before the 6. Ninety-six."
Nephew: "Ohh. Ninety-six. I LOVE NINETY SIX!"
Rowdeezy: "Well, ..you may grow up to love Sixty-Nine one day too....."
Sister: (Spittake in the kitchen)

American Idol

I had never wondered until today if a writer, American or otherwise, has helped to shape me, shape part of who I am today. But when I heard the news of Kurt Vonnegut's passing, I realize that dear Kurt was my American Idol.

Don't get me wrong, I was never a #1 fan. I've never read Cat's Cradle. I barely got through Slaughterhouse-Five. But at the tender, impressionable age of 16, I was entranced by the Beat Writers of the 60's and their thumbs up at the writing establishment. (I went to high school in Berkeley, sue me.) Richard Brautigan, Ferlinghetti, Vonnegut. They were all anti-establishment without reeking of the typical Hippy Dippy Acid Tripping stereotype that San Francisco is known for. These guys were sharp, funny, satirical, brooding, depressed, suicidal. What more could a 16-year-old ask for??? I remember quite distinctly my very first term paper was about Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. So while others toiled away on the symbolism of East of Eden or the heady nature of To Kill a Mockingbird; I sat and chuckled at beaver jokes and protagonists who suffered from Echolalia. His apocolyptic humor always struck a note of kinship within me.

I often pretend around these parts that I feel at ease with writing. Any writer could tell you that "ease" is rarely ever the case. It took Vonnegut 22 years to write his classic Slaughterhouse-Five, the Great American Novel. So thank you, Kurt, for helping me to be at ease with my own writing. Thank you for lighting my way through the treacherous years of teendom. Thank you for showing there is more than what is spoon-fed to me. Thank you for showing me writing doesn't always have to "come naturally" or be "serious" to be good, no, great, NO, brilliant.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
1922 — 2007

(image courtesy of www.vonnegut.com)

Faking It

I can be passionate about a good many things in life. In turn, there are a good many things in life I'm not so passionate about. Yin/Yang and all that.

And faking that passion for the sake of others has never been my forte. Even when it means my very own survival. .. Next week, I have an appointment to feign my desire and commitment to something that I actually want very little to do with. But I do have a mortgage and a car payment to think of, so let the playacting begin.

Any helpful hints?

My Lovely Lady Hump Day

Had a meeting at the W Hotel at 10 o'clock this morning. We've launched our website in China .. and of course, bugles must be played and confetti thrown. .. On the way back however, a bird crapped on my cordoroy trenchcoat. WTF?? Tidestick to the rescue. "Its good luck!" I keep telling myself, not really believing it.

At 12:30 I wandered over to the neighborhood bookstore for a reading with an author. Something about the "UNrunner's Guide to Running a Marathon". Well, I waited 20 minutes and the Bitch never showed up. .. I was seriously considering a purchase, but now I'm too indignant to do so.

.... Just 10 minutes ago, I bumped into the President of Merchandising on the hall (My boss' boss' boss.). As I turned around to exit my VPs office, he came in. Caught off guard, all I could manage was a squeaky (albeit friendly and chipper) "Hiyyeeee!" ...

........... When will Friday get here?