The Usual Randomness
The White HouseToday I took a tour of the White House. Being that it is now by invitation only and it took my company a year and a half to obtain the invite, and the fact that I'd never been there before, I wanted to seize the opportunity!
I have to say, it really is a very lovely house. It's very well furnished. Everything is clearly an antique, well made, and expensive. Paintings of Presidents and their First Ladies from history books I remember are all over the walls. I can at last say, I have been to the White House.
I had no ideas there were paintings of First Ladies. The first picture you see on the tour is Hilary Clinton. It made me wonder why she deserved that distinction. Until you go upstairs and you see the room where they keep the paintings of all the recent first ladies... and then you wonder "why is Hilary in the basement?" Poor Hilary, do they know she has been "shunned" in that way? I mean, I'm not exactly nuts about George W. Bush, but I am still willing to respect the fact that he is currently the President. Is Hilary not a more recent first lady than Jackie O and Lady Bird Johnson? Why doesn't she get to be in the fancy room with the rest of them?
Long time no blog
I can hardly believe it's been since August that I have blogged on here. I forget what caused me to stop. But. I can't promise I'll be blogging all that often going forward either. Not that anyone has been reading my blogs. So. I guess it doesn't matter either way! But that having been said. Things have been pretty busy. Work keeps me on my toes all day. Not literally but mentally. There are moments where I feel like my brain function is bound to completely shut down and it will be the end of me. But so far so good. No shut down of mental functions yet. I am still sort of wedding planning. Right now the bane of my existence with regard to that is finding invitations. I don't know what kind of invitations I want! I can't say I care too much about it. But the thought of spending as much as $5.00 per invite is just a little... I dunno. I realize in the scheme of spending money on an entire wedding it's a very small percentage. But let's face it. 1000 on paper is a lot of money to be spending on something that 99% of the people who receive it will just be tossed. So I'm starting to think. There has got to be a better way to do an invitation. I just haven't actually come up with the idea yet. Maybe I could still write a book that doubles as an invitation. No one knows about Delaware. Even I don't know all that much. Hmm. It could get people excited about it.
Does Abscence Make the Heart Grow Fonder?
Heh. I have been absent from blogging as of late. Between work and wedding planning... I just haven't had time to blog really. The only energy I have is to read other people's blogs and occasionally comment. Otherwise, eh. It's back to the grindstone for me.
Then again, not too many people know that I have this blog! Heh.
But this week has been much calmer and I've been able to relax a little more.
I am very excited because I think I may have found a good venue for my wedding reception/dinner. I am only concerned because from discussing it with my parents... it seems as though there may be more people than the venue can handle coming to the wedding.
It would seem that my dream of a very small intimate wedding is less and less likely. But it's also okay. I am very touched that so many people want to be there. So I may have to adjust my plans accordingly. I just hope that I can still have the food I want for it.
She's not that innocent.... anymore
Last night, mostly due to the fact that nothing else on television sparked my intrest, I watched Matt Lauer's interview with Britney Spears. An entire episode, devoted to her!
Now. I first have to admit, I am a closet Britney fan. Her songs are catchy. There is a reason why she appeals to the pre-teens. I can understand it (being of a pre-teen mindset myself at times). Would I want my hypothetical pre-teen daughter admiring Britney? Eh. I wouldn't mind it if she liked her music. But if it came to seeing her as a role model? Probably not.
That having been said. Despite the fact that I don't understand her choices ... it's her life not mine. And despite the fact that she contradicted herself at several points throughout the interview, those contradictions were not fundamental values. They were fluffy silly opinion points. Like.... not liking the stereotype of being called country in a negative light but then calling herself country.
But Brit, if you are happy then you go do what you have to do. It's not fair for the paparazzi to infringe on your every move. Honestly, if there were 20 flash bulbs in my face, I'd probably have dropped my baby instead of losing my balance temporarily.
And honestly, I'm kind of getting tired of listening to Britney gossip. I don't know. Lately gossip in general is just losing it luster for me. It doesn't really add value to my life. I'd rather learn more about saving and investing at this point. Heh. Or clothes. I still love clothes. I don't know. I want to learn more about things that will benefit me and the people I love in some way. How my new silk dress will add value to the lives of the people I love ... I'm not really sure yet. But it sure does make me happy.
Ashlee and her new nose...
A summary written by me, but info taken from MSN gossip.
I have never really been a fan of Ashlee Simpson. Really none of the Simpson family inspires much of a sense of admiration from me. Considering the fact that Joe Simpson seems to enjoy making comments about his daughter Jessica's huge breasts.... there's totally a made for tv movie somewhere in there someday about their family.
But I will say, her nose job? Probably the best idea in the world. Granted, the uniqueness she touts in her recent magazine interview... is pretty much gone... but hey she's the queen of submitting ironic statments. But I have to say, she does look much prettier now. I'm surprised her Dad didn't make her do it sooner. Considering his savvy for publicising the life of his elder daughter... I'm shocked he didn't do the same. Although now Ashlee looks like a teen version of Jessica now.
Next? Boob implants.
Or maybe not. Boob envy must run their family because evidently Jessica thinks her sister has the most perfect boobs.
An introspective into finding yourself.. but it's not my idea, I borrowed it.
A passage from Slate who took it from someone else... about finding oneself.
"In order to become whole we must try, in a long process, to discover our own personal truth, a truth that may cause pain before giving us a new sphere of freedom. If we choose instead to content ourselves with intellectual "wisdom," we will remain in the sphere of illusion and self-deception. … The damage done to us during childhood cannot be undone, since we cannot change anything in our past. We can, however, change ourselves. We can repair ourselves and gain lost integrity by choosing to look more closely at the knowledge that is stored inside our bodies and bringing that knowledge closer to our awareness."
by Alice Miller from The Drama of the Gifted Child and the Search for the True Self
The interesting thing I will add and is perhaps somewhat random.... what my concern is for raising children is... while I realize I will probably screw my own children up pretty effectively all by myself, I worry more about how other children are going to screw up my child. Because those types of abuse is more internalized and accepted as part of growing up. But.. the repercussions of those moments has far reaching effects... some people never realize it though because it is that internalized and accepted most of the time.
What money can do for... just about anyone... or anything for that matter.
The horse racing world is a a-twitter over the fracturing of Barbaro's right rear leg which currently looks a little more like a piece of wood some children practiced hammering on instead of a surgical plate and screws.
Which makes me wonder.
What about the other horses in the world whose owners aren't multimillionares? Are their survival chances less than 50-50 simply because their owners cannot afford to hire doctors like Dr. Dean Richardson of University of Pennsylvania? Because there certainly isn't widely available medical insurance for what would otherwise be categorized as farm animals.
Sure your average horse might not earn you millions of dollars by winning a race - but does that mean they are any less loved by their economically challenged owners? Is it fair the less fortunate horses may be automatically put to rest while Barbaro is carefully cared for complete with a swimming pool for physical therapy?
While survival of the fittest may have once been dependent on genetic strength, nowadays, survival seems to be more dependent on the size of one's bank account. And this now seems to extend to horses as well.
Whether legally or not, here are some observations I have made of the wonders that money can buy you:
- People who need organs can now buy them on the black market.
- People who want babies can now buy them or pay someone else to birth them for you.
- If your faith in modern medicine is great, you can pay for your full body or just your head to be frozen so that someday, they can resuscitate you.
- Don't like the body you have? Thanks to the marvel of plastic surgery your boobs butt and abs can be enhanced or made the way you've alwalys dreamed of.
- If you a kidnapped (real or fake), it helps if you are attractive, female, white... and your parents are rich.
- The same works for horses who are injured.
I will say this though. If you've got it, you're entitled to using it. It is your money after all. I am hardly in a place to judge. Anyone who resents that fact is either a Democrat, Communist or just a hater.
Enough is enough already.....
I am a huge fan of celebrity gossip. I have a subscription to Us Magazine, I read all the gossip columns online to keep up with what's going on in their lives... not so much because I really believe any of what is reported, but because, it's a form of entertainment for me. Like fantasy baseball is for some men right now. I don't understand their fascination with it, some days I don't really understand my fascination with celebrity gossip... but nontheless for some reason... I really enjoy it.
Is it because I take pleasure in seeing their mistakes or falacies or the difficulties they experience? Not really. Quite frankly when I ask myself seriously about the value added to my life in having read yet anoter piece of smut... I am ashamed of myself for supporting an industry that invades other people's privacy. I wouldn't want people watching my every move or judging me for some superficial thing.
And yet this habit is like my guilty pleasure. I'm not sure why I do it. But I can't seem to resist reading more and more and more.
That having been said. We all have our foibles. Every person, no matter how successful or attractive they may seem, has a weakness. It's part of human nature. The other part of human nature - is to make mistakes or unfollowed through actions.
People are up in arms over Britney Spears's parenting skills. But come on. What parent doesn't feel uncomfortable or unsure about raising their child right without having the world scrutinize them for every single movement you do or do not make? Hell if I knew everyone was watching me like that, I can guarantee I'd probably leave my child outside hanging by a toe or something or make some heinous mistake that would make me feel like I was a totally unfit mother - when I wasn't any different from anyone else who is a first time mother.
The fact of the matter is, in a normal person's life, they might think people will judge them for not being the best mom, but no one knows their mistakes. Whereas Britney... that sort of fear is actually a realistic one.
Honestly, if I were her, I'd probably pull a Michael Jackson and divorce my ner do well husband and whisk my babies off to some other country to live quietly outside of the media and public scrutiny. Just live a nice normal quiet life for a time. Do some song writing and continue to hone my skills. But for the sake of normalcy for my kids, and for the chance to make the parenting mistakes in privacy, I would do it. If Sean is really her religion now. I think that's the best move she could make for herself and her children. It's no one else's business.
But then again. If the only life you know is being in the public eye. And you love it as much as she does. Well. I guess that just isn't going to happen.
I myself will continue to wrestle with my habit of reading gossip columns and my fascination with celebrities for reasons I still don't really understand.
