new day

After a totally and completely self-destructive yesterday, I'm moving on.

peace and love,

m

10 thoughts

1. It's absolutely freezing out. Tux didn't even get out of bed at 6 am this morning to beg for food...you know it's cold when that happens!
2. Howard Zinn died, leaving a great legacy as someone unafraid to tell the truth. "There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people for a purpose which is unattainable."
3. Pandora is being funky fab this morning, having played Hallelujah as performed by Jeff Buckley [swoon], Arabian Nights from Aladdin, and some good old Frank [Sinatra].
4. TGIF. What a week, what a week.
5. Thinking about going here this weekend for the new photography exhibit.
6. Excited about going to IKEA with Jenn in a couple of weeks.
7. I love cupcakes.
8. "How's it looking, Meggie Meg?" Seriously, WTF, Dr. Wlodarski!??
   
9. I miss my Grandpa.
10. Groundhogs are kind of cute.

peace and love,

m

today in WHAT THE #*%!

I give you the Menifee Union School District in Menifee, California.

If you're going to ban books, I guess this is a good place to start!

peace and love,

m

Haiti relief

I'm watching the Haiti relief concert [okay, well, I didn't watch Taylor Swift or Sheryl Crow], and Dr. Gupta's piece about the complete lack of surgical supplies breaks my heart. As a surgical RN, I KNOW my hospital has supplies that they are not using, but are refusing to send to Haiti because they are concerned about liability.

That there sums up everything that is wrong with the USA. When it is all boiled down, we aren't really concerned about making a difference and helping people in their deepest hour of need. All we're concerned about is the possibility of being sued by a Haitian earthquake survivor. Something tells me that someone who has survived the terror and devastation of the past week in Haiti is not concerned about the potential of their surgical supplies not being up to American standards. For goodness sake, they are using the most basic of supplies now:

"At some of the hospitals and clinics now treating survivors, the conditions are as basic as can be, with vodka to sterilize instruments and health workers going to the market to buy hacksaws for amputations."

The supplies sitting in the warehouse at my hospital aren't helping anyone. It's been taken to the CEO of the hospital, but it all comes back as liability. Here is an opportunity for a health care organization that at least to me, does not have a very positive humanitarian image, but they aren't stepping up to the plate. It is infuriating.

At this point, the best way to donate to the Haitian relief effort is to donate money. I suggest Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières, The American Red Cross, or Oxfam America. If you text "Haiti" to 90999, $10 will be donated to the Red Cross for Haitian relief, and the charge will be added to your cell phone book.

Help these people rebuild their lives, their homes, and their world.

As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many, yea in some sort to our whole nation. --William Bradford

peace and love,

m

robert gibbs =

the man.

With the situation in Haiti as dire as it is, the last thing we need is an asshole like Pat Robertson running around saying that the people of Haiti brought a natural disaster on themselves by gasp, not being Christian. Nevermind that 80% of Haitians identify as Catholic [eh, but that's the devil's religion too, according to the evangelicals]. It just goes to speak to the intolerance some people have in regards to other religions and the quite common practice of blending multiple forms of spirituality [i.e. Haiti's unique mix of Roman Catholicism and Haitian Vodou].

It's a frickin' earthquake. Haiti did not cause this to happen any more than Thailand caused the 2005 tsunami.

peace and love,

m

9 days in

Yes, that's right, 9 days down and only 356 to go! Actually, the year hasn't been too bad :) I start therapy for my thumb on Wednesday...which involves...tiny barbells? I'm not sure. All I want is to be able to open doors and jars and put my seatbelt on without pain. Is that too much to ask?

Jenn and Pursey visited overnight, and as predicted, Tux is terrified of the puppy. When Pursey first came in, Tux was perched on the back of futon [per usual]; when they saw each other, Tux froze, then bolted for the bedroom where he hid behind the curtains! I tried to bring him out later, but he leaped out of my arms, tried to climb the wall, and dashed back into the safety of the bedroom. What a scaredy cat! He even slept under the comforter with me, which he never does unless I'm sick or he's terrified. I didn't think that he would like the dog, but had hoped against hope that they would hit it off and be BFFs like their mamas are :) As a friend says, Tux doesn't even like other people, why would he like another animal?!

We got a big snowstorm Wednesday night and Thursday, about 10 inches. It was light, fluffy stuff so that wasn't too bad. Now it's very cold.

I went to a surprise 40th birthday party last night. She was definitely surprised! I was laughing about how when I moved to MKE 2 years ago, I didn't think my social life would include a gay wedding, a 4 year old's birthday party, and a surprise 40th birthday party, among other things :)

peace and love,

m

quick catch up!

• Got called in Tuesday night. It always throws my body off for a good 3 days when I get called in. I think I'm finally recovered today!
• Lots of snow!
• JOB and Pursey are visiting tonight. Tux is going to meet his first dog! This should be interesting :)
• That's all I can think of.

peace and love,

m

epic fail

Yesterday while driving to work, I saw a Hummer. With the wolf endangered species license plate. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure one stop with the Hummer at the gas station completely negates any donation to the endangered species fund.

peace and love,

m

newest pillow

Okay, it's really Mr. Tux in his new favorite spot, curled up with Brewster and the pillows. Seriously, he is the cutest kittycat ever!

Today was full of cooking. I'm making a pot roast in the crockpot and as well as a pan of calico baked beans. Mmm, I'm set for the week [and probably the next]!

So I was channel-surfing tonight, and came across Bridezillas. Oh my goodness, are these women for real? I can't believe it. They're so whiny and bitchy--is it all for the camera or are they really like that?? And if they really are like that, how on earth are they in a relationship of any kind?! Jeez.

peace and love,

m

i'm bringing sexy back.

Okay, not really [JT's got that covered], but I am going to try to be better about my Saturday Picks this year. See, this is why I don't like resolutions. You start all gung-ho about them, but by January 3rd, you're all "eh, eff it." Maybe I'll make it to February ;)

Music

Joe Purdy. I'm officially obsessed, I think. He plays the sensitive acoustic folk music that I love. I heard this song, This Morning Blue, on pandora last night and it sent me on a wild google search

to find more about the artist. His songs have been featured on Dawn and Kia ads, as well as in Grey's Anatomy. He's got record execs foaming at the mouth to sign him, but he flatly refuses, because he wants to make his music how he wants, not how some guy thinks will be best for selling records. Gotta admire a person for being dedicated to his vision!

Books

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, by Alison Bechdel. I received this from Jeff for Christmas. It's a graphic novel-autobiography. Bechdel writes the "Dykes to Watch Out For" comic strip...you obviously don't find that in your standard newpaper ;) I really loved the book: a coming-of-age story, a story of familial trials, all woven together with excellent drawings, humor, and heartbreaking honesty. It doesn't matter that her coming-of-age story involves realizing she is a

lesbian, and that her father is gay; familial dysfunction and finding yourself is all-encompassing. I felt the same way about Brokeback Mountain: a love story is a love story, no matter who the lovers are.

Push, by Sapphire. The hit film Precious is based on this book. It's a quick read, only 140 pages, but it is jam-packed with substance. It will leave you outraged and overjoyed at the same time. Pregnant with her 2nd child from her abusive father, Precious is kicked out of her school, kicked

out of her home by her abusive, jealous mother, and tossed into the streets by a system that labels her as just another Harlem failure. However, she meets a passionate teacher who won't let her fail, and begins a new journey where she takes the steps to own her life.

Movie

I'm thinking that this category might have to go. I just don't watch enough movies to have it be a regular fixture! Mom and I saw 2012 at the fancy movie theatre when she visited in the beginning of December--it was totally lame, but we got to drink beer in the theatre. I watched Fahrenheit 451 last night on TV. That was pretty good, you really can't go wrong with the old movies. I think it's telling how all of our dystopian literature seems to be coming true these days!

Covet

I've been looking for wall art for my bedroom. I have this big white wall [like every other wall in Casa de Meg] that is begging for decoration. I just haven't found the right thing yet. It will be something in the vein of this painting that I found on etsy.

peace and love, m

wrong way

From the Journal Sentinel:

Task force records 55 drunken driving arrests; woman drives into lake

By Annysa

Posted: Jan. 1, 2010

A woman who drove her car into Lake Michigan was among 55 people arrested Thursday night and early Friday by a drunken driving task force composed of 11 police agencies in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties.

"She went the wrong way," Sgt. Phil Wentzel of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office said of the 19-year-old woman, who apparently was attending a private New Year's Eve party at Discovery World on the lakefront in Milwaukee.

This reminds me of my Paw, looking out my dining room window.

"Why can't I see the lake?"

"Because you're looking west, Dad."

"Harummphhh. I don't like being in the city, too many tall buildings, I can't tell which direction I'm looking!"

peace and love,

m

hello new year!

I had a *lovely* NYE, that did not involve Jo-Cat's, Sheryl Crow, or Water Street. It was a quiet and perfect evening. It goes without saying then, since it was a perfect evening, that we did not watch Ryan Seacrest and Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year ;)

Since the surgery schedule was pretty light, I had a short day yesterday. I went in at 9 and was out by 12:30. I used my extra time [such a rarity] to finally get my haircut. Then seeing as I was already at the mall, I did some shopping and found some nice bargains. Maurice's has a new jeans size that they call "extra short." The frickin' things are still too long, but much closer than anything else I have been able to find. They fit nicely everywhere else, so what's a girl to do? Buy them, of course!

Mr. Tux is starting this year out by being bratty and adorable all at once...so really, no change. I went to the linen closet this morning to find him with his head in the bag of food, chowing down! What a little piggy!

Time for some relaxation after a day of laundry. Maybe that should be my resolution: do not put off dishes or laundry until they become Mt. Everest.

peace and love,

m