Author Archives: Cindy

oy vey

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I think that if there were an award for Girlfriend of the Year, I might have put myself in the running this past weekend. Dave’s mom arrives on Thursday (she’ll be in town for 2 weeks), so this weekend was one last frantic attempt to make Dave’s house look somewhat presentable. It seems like we’ve been doing these House Fix-Up Weekends for ages, but we’ve taken an awful lot of weekends off in between, so other than painting and replacing the floor in the living and dining rooms, we really haven’t done all that much to the rest of the house. Here was the weekend task list, along with what we still have left to do:

* We painted the guest room. It used to be an insanely bright, migraine-inducing yellow, and now it’s a soft, light lavendar. Soooo much prettier. I actually like being in that room now.
* Shopping! We got kitchen stuff (trivets, oven mitts, frying pan, etc.), cleaning supplies, a toilet repair kit to fix the broken toilet in the guest bath, curtain rods for the living room and guest room, and curtains for the guest room. Dave’s mom is like me, she needs it to be really dark when she’s trying to sleep, so we got dark purple (light-absorbing) curtains to complement the lavendar walls. Oh, we also got some cool framed art to hang in the guest room, too.
* I cleaned out the den/music room. (I would call it a den, because it’s a big room downstairs that isn’t the living room. Dave calls it the music room because it’s where he keeps all of his guitars and various other musical equipment.) I should mention that cleaning this room out was no easy feat. It was so cluttered when I started that you had to climb over furniture and piles of laundry to even get in the room. This room tends to be the usual hang-out for Greta, the semi-feral cat that comes inside for food but won’t let any human touch her, because there are lots of good places for her to hide in there. In fact, it’s so much her hang-out that while I was cleaning it, I found half of a disassembled mouse. I made Dave come get rid of it, I don’t do rodents. In my defense, I’m not a total weenie, there was also a spot of dried cat sick that I cleaned up without complaining, and a whooole bunch of dead bugs (this is the country, after all). And in Greta’s defense, it could have been one of the other cats that killed the mouse (or got sick in the corner), I have no proof that it was her. It’s just a hunch. In any case, the room is now just about as clean as it’s probably going to get. I even made room in there for the old sofa that was replaced in the living room.
* Dave tried to fix the broken toilet, but all the bolts are rusted over, and he has to get a hacksaw to cut them off. That’s a task for later this week.
* I cleaned the half-bathroom downstairs, and the master bath upstairs. I cleaned the tub in the guest bath, but with the broken toilet and tools scattered everywhere, I didn’t bother with the rest of it. Again, a task for later this week.
* Dave started painting the trim in the living room/dining room. He ran out of primer, so he has to finish that this evening.
* I taped off the borders in the guest room so Dave can paint the trim in there, too.
* After Dave does the trim, I’m going to head back over and do the floors downstairs. The laminate floors we installed are dusty, and the rest of the hardwood floors are in dire need of a good scrub-down.

I guess all of this sounds pretty selfless on my part, but the truth is, I am totally marking my territory in that house, and Dave knows it. I figure that I’m most likely going to live there someday, so I might as well make it comfortable. But at the same time, I want it to look nice when his mom gets here, and when my family comes over on Thanksgiving. So I’m not whining about the work that we still need to do, even though my back is aching and I have a dozen small injuries from what we’ve already done. It’s cool, it’s all the name of Parental Approval.

adopt a kitty?

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My crazy alcoholic friend Krissy called me at 9 a.m. today. It seems that she’s been fighting a lot with her crazier, alcoholic-er (?) roommate lately. This morning they got into an argument that ended with Psycho-Roomie calling Krissy the c-word. (I should add that the P-R is a very mean & angry drunk, and it wouldn’t be inconceivable for her to have already started drinking that early in the morning.) Now, those of you who know me in real life know that I have no real problem with profanity. I have been known to use it quite profusely at times. But I typically avoid name-calling (at least to people who can hear me; other drivers on the road are fair game), and honestly, that is one word that is just WAY over the line. Krissy seems to feel the same way, and it’s technically the Psycho-Roomie’s house; Krissy never signed a lease, she was just renting a room. So after this fight, she decided that she’s moving out. Today. Her sister was heading over with the pick-up truck to help her load up her stuff when I talked to her this morning. She already has a storage unit for some of her stuff, so she’s going to put all of her belongings there and stay with family until she can find an apartment.

Here’s the problem: She needs a “temporary” home for her cat, Shadow. He’s a very sweet-natured, friendly 5 or 6 year-old black kitty. I put temporary in quotes because Krissy is starting to realize that she’s far too irresponsible to be a pet owner (she’s only had the cat for about a year), and I have a feeling that she’ll end up leaving him with his foster home permanently. I feel bad for this cat because he had one family for his first 4 years, then they had a baby and the baby was allergic, so they had to get rid of him. Since then, he’s been shuttled around to 3 or 4 different homes in the past 2 years. So if I can help to find him a permanent home, I’d like to. My apartment is too small for 2 cats, so I can’t take him, and Dave already has 2 1/2 cats (one of them is semi-feral and only comes in for food), so he doesn’t need another one. Anyway, Shadow is used to being indoors and outdoors (although I think he’d adapt OK to being indoors-only), he’s totally litter box trained, he’s up-to-date on all of his shots (had them at the beginning of the summer), and he gets along with other cats. Any takers?

This is very, very bad

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From the “holy shit, what will become of us over the next 4 years?” department (thanks to Adam at Tattoodles for posting this on one of his message boards).

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President Bush has announced his plan to select Dr. W. David Hager to head up the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. The committee has not met for more than two years, during which time its charter lapsed. As a result, the Bush Administration is tasked with filling all eleven positions with new members. This position does not require Congressional approval.

The FDA’s Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee makes crucial decisions on matters relating to drugs used in the practice of obstetrics, gynecology and related specialties, including hormone therapy, contraception, treatment for infertility, and medical alternatives to surgical procedures for sterilization and pregnancy termination.

Dr. Hager, the author of “As Jesus Cared for Women: Restoring Women Then and Now.” The book blends biblical accounts of Christ healing Women with case studies from Hager’s practice. His views of reproductive health care are far outside the mainstream for reproductive technology. Dr. Hager is a practicing OB/GYN who describes himself as “pro-life” and refuses to prescribe contraceptives to unmarried women.

In the book Dr. Hager wrote with his wife, entitled “Stress and the Woman’s Body,” he suggests that women who suffer from premenstrual syndrome should seek help from reading the bible and praying. As an editor and contributing author of “The Reproduction Revolution: A Christian Appraisal of Sexuality Reproductive Technologies and the Family,” Dr. Hager appears to have endorsed the medically inaccurate assertion that the common birth control pill is an abortifacient.

We are concerned that Dr. Hager’s strong religious beliefs may color his assessment of technologies that are necessary to protect women’s lives or to preserve and promote women’s health. Hager’s track record of using religious beliefs to guide his medical decision-making makes him a dangerous and inappropriate candidate to serve as chair of this committee. Critical drug public policy and research must not be held hostage by antiabortion politics. Members of this important panel should be appointed on the basis of science and medicine, rather than politics and religion. American women deserve no less.
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I read this and hoped it was a joke. I googled the guy’s name and came up with somewhere in the neighborhood of 7,800 hits. Time/CNN have run an article about him on both of their websites recently, and so has Planned Parenthood. This is absolutely terrifying to me. Anyone who says to use prayer as a remedy for any medical condition is the equivalent of a witch doctor in my book. And not prescribing contraceptives to unmarried women is beyond asinine. Are we suddenly living in the middle east? What’s next, is someone going to show up at my front door, take away my driver’s license, and force me to wear a burqa? Wait, isn’t that what we’re supposed to be saving the rest of the world from?

Heaven help us all.

The Ex Files

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Prepare yourselves, kids, for yet another weekend recap. (Does anyone even read these things?)

Friday was a rough day for me. Lots of money problems, combined with a dash of work complications, turned out to be the perfect recipe to make me cry. I had talked to Dave in the afternoon, so when he came over that evening, he brought me flowers to cheer me up. He’s so awesome. He also bought “Shrek 2” because it just came out on DVD. I have to say, Puss in Boots is probably the greatest cartoon character I’ve seen in a long time. Great movie.

Saturday, Dave went to work and I cleaned. That’s pretty much a standard response for me when my life feels out of control. The state of my apartment is one thing that I have control over, so I exercised that power. The place looked pretty darn good when I finished, too. Now if I can just maintain it until my family shows up in 2 1/2 weeks… Anyway, Saturday night, Dave came back over and we got Indian food (yum) and rented “Close Your Eyes“. I had heard this had gotten good reviews, and the main character is Goran Visnjic, the Croatian hottie from “ER”. It was a good movie, although a bit creepy for me. I ended up covering my face through at least a couple of scenes. (Anything that involves needles going into flesh, or pointy objects going into eyeballs requires me to look away from the screen. And this movie had both.)

Sunday, we went shopping at Best Buy and Target, which are always 2 of my favorite stores. Then we went to see “The Incredibles“. That was a fun movie, although I think all the little kids’ reactions was probably more entertaining than the movie itself. During the plot exposition, they get all fidgety and bored, but man oh man, do they hoot & holler when stuff blows up. Actually, I loved the Pixar short before the movie about the little dancing sheep. He was adorable.

Oh, there was also a brief-but-strange encounter with Dave’s ex-wife at the movie theater, but I’ll leave that story for him to tell on his blog, if he so chooses.

And today, it’s back to work. I have to head into the office in just a bit for a meeting. Fun stuff.

A Post for Eric

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I don’t mean to single you out with this, but you’re the first person who’s ever made a blatant anti-Democrat comment on my blog, and I seem to remember that you told me a decade ago when we first met that I was the first Democrat you had ever met in real life. (I hope that’s not still the case?) So, on this saddest of days, and since this is still the GBC’s politics/candidates/issues week, I would like to give my little post-mortem about why I thought it was so important to vote for John Kerry.

First of all, as the owner of a uterus, I could not possibly bring myself to vote for Bush. During the next 4 years, at least 2 or 3 Supreme Court justices will be retiring (possibly 4, now the Rehnquist has thyroid cancer), and whoever is President will appoint the replacements. The last time that Roe v. Wade came up to the Supreme Court to possibly be overturned and make abortion illegal, it passed only by a vote of 5-4. All Bush needs to do is appoint one conservative judge and he’ll tip the scales in his favor. And before anyone gets on a moral high horse about abortion being murder, blah blah blah, let me say that I agree. I personally would never have an abortion, I know that I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I did. However, I also don’t think that it should be up to the government to decide whether or not it should be an available option for me. I have several girlfriends who’ve had abortions, and even considering the psychological trauma that abortion brings with it, their lives would be way more screwed up now if they hadn’t had the abortions, to say nothing for how screwed up those children would be. Let’s also not forget that Bush wants abortion illegal under all circumstances – including cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s own health is at risk. Even the Catholic church doesn’t dare to go that far.

In fact, last night when I was watching the election coverage with Dave and things were starting to look like Bush was going to win, I told him that if it happens, and Roe v. Wade goes back to the Supreme Court after the new justices are appointed, you know that there’s going to be a huge Pro-Choice rally in Washington, D.C. I have already decided that if/when that happens, I will be there. I’ve never been passionate enough about anything to march on Washington, but I’ll be damned if some old gray-haired Senator or Supreme Court justice is going to tell me what I can or cannot do with my body. Besides, Bush making it illegal isn’t going to mean that women will stop having abortions – it just means that more women will be dying from having abortions in unsafe, unhygienic environments.

Next topic: Iraq. What the hell are we doing there? If we’re going after people who potentially have a weapons capability that can kill us all, why aren’t we in North Korea? Or if we’re just going after evil dictators who torture and murder their own people, why aren’t we doing anything about Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe? Perhaps it has something to do with there being no oil in either Zimbabwe or North Korea. Oh, and remember Afghanistan, the country that we supposedly saved from the evil Taliban? It’s more hosed now than ever. Instead of one widespread Taliban regime, there are now warlords popping up all over the country, threatening the lives of those who register to vote and try to participate in the elections. In most parts of Afghanistan (basically everywhere outside of Kabul), women have gone back to wearing the burqa. One final note on the whole Middle East subject: Iran actually supported Bush for President. Go figure.

Third topic: the economy. Remember in the third debate between Kerry and Bush, when Bush was asked what his plan was for people whose jobs had been outsourced overseas? He started talking about how he’d give Pell grants and other financial aid for people so they could get an education that would then get them a better job. Hmm, ok. What about people in the technology field, such as myself, who all seem to have at least a bachelor’s degree (many have higher degrees), and who still find our jobs being shipped over to India? Should we go back to school and start from scratch in a whole new industry? Then what happens when America stops being the most innovative in technology, and India produces the next Microsoft? Kerry at least had a well-defined plan to stop giving tax breaks to employers who outsource their jobs overseas.

Now, all that said, was Kerry the best candidate for President? Maybe not. I thought Howard Dean had some pretty good ideas about the economy. Wesley Clark was probably the best option to solve the whole Iraq mess. And John Edwards is very well-spoken and has the whole charisma/likability factor down pat. I don’t really know why Kerry was our guy, except that maybe he seemed Most Likely to Get Elected. But it doesn’t really matter, I didn’t vote for Kerry as much as I voted against Bush.

GBC Topic for Election Week: Politics/Candidates/Issues

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I voted today. I had heard horror stories about people being in line for over 4 hours, so I went prepared: I had my iPod, GameBoy, a book, a snack and a diet coke. I was prepared to, as Jon Stewart said last night on the Daily Show, “waste a day for democracy.” I even emailed my project lead and told him that I was leaving to vote and that I would hopefully be back by this afternoon, but I wasn’t sure when I’d be available.

And you know what? The entire voting process took 20 minutes. The standing-in-line part took up about 5 of those minutes. I was a little bummed that my polling place wasn’t giving away “I Voted” stickers on the way out, but it was otherwise a mostly pleasant experience. Go figure.

Now hopefully, fingers crossed, prayers said, and all that other stuff, we’ll have a new President in just a few short hours. Here’s hoping.