Pandora
Mood:  lyrical
Now Playing: Pandora - Grateful Dead Radio channel I created
Topic: Music
- - http://www.pandora.com Pandora User Stations for alison867 en Copyright 2006 Pandora Media, Inc. Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:24:51 -0800 Pandora RSS v1.0.0 pandora-support@pandora.com 60 false hourly 1 2003-09-01T12:00+00:00 - http://www.pandora.com/images/logo_pandora_rss.gif http://www.pandora.com 10 76 - http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh50276019649199020 Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Max Roach & Charle Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:36:46 -0700 guid.pandora.com/station/50276019649199020 - -   Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Max Roach & Charle

Created By: alison867

]]> http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh50276019649199020 sh50276019649199020 http://www.pandora.com/people/alison867 - - Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Max Roach & Charles Mingus - http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh50275860735409068 Original Dixieland Jazz Band Radio Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:35:58 -0700 guid.pandora.com/station/50275860735409068 - -   Original Dixieland Jazz Band Radio

Created By: alison867

]]> http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh50275860735409068 sh50275860735409068 http://www.pandora.com/people/alison867 - - Original Dixieland Jazz Band - http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh50275366814170028 Jazz Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:34:16 -0700 guid.pandora.com/station/50275366814170028 - -   Jazz

Created By: alison867

]]> http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh50275366814170028 sh50275366814170028 http://www.pandora.com/people/alison867 - - Preservation Hall Jazz Band - The Dirty Dozen Brass Band - King Oliver's Jazz Band - Jelly Roll Morton - Original Dixieland Jazz Band - Louis Armstrong - Sidney Bechet - Johnny Dodds - Muggsy Spanier & His Ragtime Band http://www.pandora.com/art/public/amg/portrait/pic200/drP000/P009/p00996ky71x.JPG - http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh28662777848085420 Alice Cooper Radio Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:50:25 -0700 guid.pandora.com/station/28662777848085420 - -   Alice Cooper Radio

Created By: alison867

]]> http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh28662777848085420 sh28662777848085420 http://www.pandora.com/people/alison867 - - Alice Cooper http://www.pandora.com/art/public/amg/portrait/pic200/drP100/P117/p11702s6wyt.JPG - http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh28658092038765484 The Grateful Dead Radio Sun, 22 Jun 2008 11:46:30 -0700 guid.pandora.com/station/28658092038765484 - -   The Grateful Dead Radio

Created By: alison867

]]> http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh28658092038765484 sh28658092038765484 http://www.pandora.com/people/alison867 - - The Grateful Dead - Uncle John's Band The Grateful Dead - Sugar Magnolia The Grateful Dead - St. Stephen The Grateful Dead - Box Of Rain The Grateful Dead - Fire On The Mountain The Grateful Dead - Cumberland Blues The Grateful Dead - Truckin The Grateful Dead - Casey Jones The Grateful Dead - Friend Of The Devil The Grateful Dead - Scarlet Begonias The Grateful Dead - Terrapin Station The Grateful Dead - Eyes Of The World The Grateful Dead - Not Fade Away The Grateful Dead - I Need A Miracle The Grateful Dead - Franklin's Tower The Grateful Dead - Brokedown Palace The Grateful Dead - Alabama Getaway The Grateful Dead - Deal Jerry Garcia - Samson & Delilah The Grateful Dead - Touch Of Grey The Grateful Dead - Lay Down Sally Eric Clapton - Cassidy The Grateful Dead http://www.pandora.com/art/public/amg/portrait/pic200/drP000/P003/p00353v970r.JPG - http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh25283806817237932 East Bound And Down Radio Sat, 24 May 2008 10:22:13 -0700 guid.pandora.com/station/25283806817237932 - -   East Bound And Down Radio

Created By: alison867

]]> http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh25283806817237932 sh25283806817237932 http://www.pandora.com/people/alison867 - - East Bound And Down Jerry Reed http://www.pandora.com/art/public/amg/portrait/pic200/drP000/P084/p08440u49tq.JPG - http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh25218922746297260 The Beatles Radio Fri, 23 May 2008 16:07:09 -0700 guid.pandora.com/station/25218922746297260 - -   The Beatles Radio

Created By: alison867

]]> http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh25218922746297260 sh25218922746297260 http://www.pandora.com/people/alison867 - - The Beatles http://www.pandora.com/art/public/amg/portrait/pic200/drP100/P100/p10030fvv35.JPG - http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh25217200464411564 Rockstar Radio Fri, 23 May 2008 15:53:37 -0700 guid.pandora.com/station/25217200464411564 - -   Rockstar Radio

Created By: alison867

]]> http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh25217200464411564 sh25217200464411564 http://www.pandora.com/people/alison867 - - Rockstar Nickelback http://www.pandora.com/art/public/amg/portrait/pic200/drP500/P563/P56327D6I1L.jpg - http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh25216934176439212 Uncle John's Band Radio Fri, 23 May 2008 15:50:19 -0700 guid.pandora.com/station/25216934176439212 - -   Uncle John's Band Radio

Created By: alison867

]]> http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh25216934176439212 sh25216934176439212 http://www.pandora.com/people/alison867 - - Brokedown Palace The Grateful Dead - Ramble On Rose (live) The Grateful Dead - The Grateful Dead - Uncle John's Band The Grateful Dead - Sugar Magnolia (Live) The Grateful Dead - Ripple The Grateful Dead - Playin' In The Band (live) Phil Lesh - Truckin The Grateful Dead - St. Stephen The Grateful Dead - I Know You Rider (Live 1971) The Grateful Dead - Terrapin Station (Part 1) The Grateful Dead http://www.pandora.com/art/public/amg/portrait/pic200/drP000/P003/p00353v970r.JPG - http://www.pandora.com/?sc=qm65616812 alison867's QuickMix guid.pandora.com/quickmix/65616812 - -   alison867's QuickMix

Created By: alison867

]]> http://www.pandora.com/?sc=qm65616812 qm65616812 http://www.pandora.com/people/alison867

Who am I - really?
Mood:  mischievious
Now Playing: "Today" by Smashing Pumpkins
Topic: Ponderings

Well, there are sure are a lot of quizzes out there and for some reason I keep taking them. I am trying to define just who I am, and sometimes the quizzes are actually right, and surprising, they are dead on more often than not. The quizzes are running about a 95% rate I’d say! So, here goes, who am I? According to the quizzes I am: 

1)      A FULL BLOODED FEMINIST – and I would have to say very much so yes, I am. The quiz says, “You believe in women's rights all the way and continue to be unhappy with the way things are right now and wish for more change. You are willing to take part in marches, boycotts and meetings that involve the amelioration of women's issues. You realize that society views feminists negatively but still are proud to call yourself one. You are appalled to see women who don't have a clue that "gender" is simply a term which the definition is 100% man made. If you feel a comment is sexist or makes you uncomfortable you speak up on it! You are always aiming to help others become aware of how much further women need to go and how society restricts them and predetermines their roles. You hate that feminists are so divided in themselves and believe that only if they are unified can they make a difference. We need more of you!”

2)    A TOTAL LEFT WING LIBERAL – “Congratulations, you do not drink the Republican Kool-Aid. You haven't been brainwashed and are able to think for yourself rather than get your daily marching orders from the right-wing media. Mindless submission to our leader has no place in America. You, sir or ma'am, are a patriot.” – Yes, that is what the quiz actually said. 

3)     I am defined by the movie “The Breakfast Club” and the musical “Labyrinth” which I have to admit, I totally agree with because I LOVE both of those wildly. 

4)    I am best suited to be a “White Mage” followed very closely by “Black Mage”, so what does that mean? I think it means that depending on the right situation, I could be your best friend or your worst nightmare, so don’t push it. 

5)     LITERATURE NERD – “Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and its eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society; however you can probably be overly-critical of works.”  Yes, that is what it said and I relate to it utterly.

6)     On the Personality Test I come out with this: “Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.”  AND supposedly I am both Phoebe Buffet “Nutty and musical but loving and giving...to the point that you would birth your brother's triplets.”  And Buddha “You are Buddha. You are a very peaceful person, you love all who love you. You are a cheerful personality, and you have a great sense of humor. Congratulations!! You are Buddha!!”  Well, I am definitely Buddha like in shape (LOL), but I don’t think I would ever birth my brother’s triplets – he has six kids already, isn’t that enough?

7)     My perfect Harry Potter mate is Remus Lupin, which makes total sense to me as my husband Matt is the spirit of the wolf and has been all his life. Duh, we had wolf wedding rings made, he is the only wolf on my ring and his ring has the four of us on it – our pack. No wonder my quiz said, “You like a nice, quiet mate with a little wildness hidden away. A true gentleman, he will not take advantage, you will have to take the first step. Very loyal, but very shy, it will be hard to win him over, but once you have mated, it will be for life. “ It is so very true it is spooky

8)     AND, apparently I am the “Worldwide Freakshow Champ” which I do tend to agree with, and so do my co-workers and my truly close friends. “You are beyond weird. People pay money just to see how weird you are. Stay away from weird and normal people. Remember they're contagious. Take advantage of how special you are.”

9)     AND apparently besides being all of the above, another quiz tells me, “I AM ASSERTIVE” – No, really?

“You assert yourself whenever it's necessary, but you're always polite and appropriate about it. You're not a bully, a manipulator, or a nag. You just state what you need quickly and honestly. You've been assertive for so long that it just comes naturally to you. You're definitely not shy. People wonder why you get what you want in life. Well, it's because you ask for it!”

Seriously, I totally agree with #9 and boy has it gotten me into trouble, and helped define who I let be close to me or not. It certainly weeds out those people who can’t take having a woman in charge, yes, in charge, because I tend to be a leader and take over things when I see that stuff that needs to get taken care of immediately isn’t being done. I will try to allow others to lead, and if they are capable, I am more than willing to follow a competent leader.  I will not take the lead though if I am not being compensated for it somehow. I’d better be well paid and respected if you want me to lead, and those who follow better damn well know that I am in charge and hop to it because dissension in the ranks is a clear red flag on the heads of those who are asking to be fired and quickly. I don’t ask anyone to work any harder than I work. When I am in charge I give it my absolute all and toil mercilessly until the job is done. Those that can keep up and work right along side me, I reward lavishly. Those who can’t keep up with me, I try to encourage while I assess what they need and if they will ever be capable of rising to the level they need to be at. But, those who fail and show no hope of ever being able to keep up, I leave them for the sharks. It is better to weed out those that can’t keep up with my crew than have them pull everyone else down – especially in morale.

I’ve learned a lot over the years, and I know that I am demanding. I know that I used to be a terrible leader, unrelenting and not understanding at all. I've grown up a lot since then, taken management courses, read a lot of books on the subject matter, and have grown into the position better - now. 

I let everyone know that I expect the closest thing to perfect that can be achieved reasonably - that's what I aim at - why initally try for anything less than that? I say it straight out and because of that I am often called blunt or assertive. I say it as tactfully as I can, but I think everyone knows where they stand with me because I am up front and honest about just how hard I work to make things run smoothly, and how hard I expect them to work as well. I know, depending on the task at hand, I can be "The Energizer Bunny". I have also met a few people with much more energy than myself and actually tire me (*cough - my mother-in-law Debbie - cough*)

This is in my personal life as well as my professional life. Does it sound cruel, or is it really pragmatic? Honestly – wouldn’t you like to know where you stood with your boss at any given time, and be given real goals, and deadlines, as well as rewards that reflect your true worth?

10)  Finally – if I were food, yes, you heard me, food, what kind of food am I? Well, here goes: I AM LASAGNA! Yes, world, here it is, “Compared to most people, you are open- hearted and genuinely friendly. You go out of your way to make sure everyone is comfortable and happy. It's likely that you're a good cook, and you have a few signature crowd pleaser meals. You enjoy entertaining and welcoming guests into your home.”

I got a new chair - so there!~
Mood:  chatty
Now Playing: "Good Day Sunshine" The Beatles
Topic: Reality

My new chair was delivered yesterday. I have had a chair with a broken back for six years now. About three months ago, one of the wheels fell off, and that was enough! I told my boss, and look, in just three short months on demonstrating what a complete piece of shit my chair was, I got a new chair. This chair is awesome and I really like it, yet, I haven't been able to get it to the position of total comfort yet. Right now since I am hanging out at my office until it is time to go pick up the children, I have it set so I am leaning back with my feet up. The primary reason this chair is so wonderful is that it is made for a tall person. My last chair had me feeling like I was sitting on the floor. Everyone has noticed that I am actually sitting above my desk now so that my arms are straight while typing.

I can't complain really. In June 2007 when I moved to my new office I got new furniture (desk, cradenzas, cabinets) an entire office suite of coordinating furniture. Sure, I had to put the stuff together myself because the building engineering staff didn't have 1) the time, 2) the inclination, or 3) the know how to do the job. So I brough in a set of tools and did it myself. About five months ago, I got a new computer. State of the art with a HUGE 25" flat screen, which replaced my computer that was pushing five years old. I love my new computer. Finally! Finally, I have a new chair. Now if I can only get MIS over here with a four port ethernet hub to network my color Ink Jet printer that has been sitting in the corner of my office now for eight months, I will have a 'perfect' office.

I still need to buy a new plant to replace my bromiliad that finally died. My new office is much warmer than my last office and it has slowly been dying since my move in 2007. I also need to refill my serenity fountain and give the surviving plants a good fertilizing with some Miracle Grow for indoor plants. My aloe plant is really doing well, my other cactii aren't. I don't think they are getting enough sun. Man, these plants are tempermental. If these die, I am going for silk plants. My spider plant and lipstick plant are going like gangbusters, so it must just be the type of plant, not my green thumb.

On the way home tonight I am running by Aldi to pick up flour and sugar. We are going to have homemade gnocchi for dinner tonight and the kids and I are making Valentine's Day cookies tomorrow with my friend April and her daughter Mackenzie who are coming by for a play date. Making cookies and playing on the Wii - too much fun!

My boss has been on vacation the last two days, and the day she was here earlier this week she wasn't in her office but in meetings all day. So, a few of my co-workers (the ones who haven't been out ill) have been less than productive. Another woman I work with walks by their offices a couple times a day and she says that they are playing on the Internet or just gossiping and goofing off. It is starting to annoy a few of my fellow co-workers. As for me, I just turn a blind eye to it, for I know that the woman who walks by is very good friends with my boss' boss and I am nearly positive that she is providing scathing reports to her. So, I keep to myself and am constantly busy. That woman is also helping me with the archiving and document destruction we are doing right now, so she knows just how busy I am and that I hardly have time to get up and go to the bathroom. Her comment to me the other day was, "If there isn't anything for them to do, why don't they just take the day off and leave so they don't annoy us." I just shrugged. It is not my business, I am not the supervisor.

So, I have tomorrow off for a vacation day as do the children. It is a district wide in-service day for teachers and clericals. As I am a technical supervisory employee I don't have to be there, so I took the day off. Monday is President's Day and we have that off as it is a Federal holiday. SOOOOOO - four day weekend for me. Jealous? LOL

Well, it is just about time to leave to pick up the kiddos. Ahhh, and Grateful Dead is playing Sugar Magnolia on my playlist. I think I will just sit back and sing along with the sunshine daydream part before I leave to get the kids. You just can't turn off the Dead's grove mid sunshine daydream.

PEACE BE WITH YOU -  doo doo doo Sunshine Daydream,

Walkin' in the tall trees

Going where the wind goes... 

 

 

 

A Birthday Essay From 2007
Mood:  caffeinated
Now Playing: One Day More - Les Miserables
Topic: Birthdays

In November 2007, my mother was celebrating her 55th birthday and was having some reflecting time when she wrote me an email asking me to write a birthday essay about my life. She and I have lived thousands of miles apart since 1995 and rarely see each other, sometime for years at a time. At this time, she was feeling like she hardly knew me really and wondered if I had a good life; if it had been full. She felt she had missed so much and sometimes she felt she didn't know me. The following 'essay' (I use the term loosly as it is NOT my best writing, just a recounting of stuff) is what I sent to my mother. I have updated it a little to include some things that happened this last year:

 

** 

 

Despite everything, my life has been a good one. Were I to go today, at least I could say that I accomplished a great deal for someone my age. Granted, I haven’t climbed mountains like the Alps or anything (I don’t count Mt. Baldy) – I’m afraid of heights and suffocating in the cold in the middle of nowhere – so sue me. I don’t scuba dive – again with the suffocating in the cold, but this time with a drowning twist. But hey, I have done a great deal.

 

I’ve backpacked through Europe by myself at age 18 – climbed the Waterloo monument (picture); stayed in a Paris apartment and walked the Seine River from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower which I then went to the top of and took pictures. I’ve seen the royal palaces of Belgium and the United Kingdom, and stood in buildings dating back to the first millennia of our common era. I have been to Stonehenge twice and touched the Avebury Stones. I’ve crossed the English Channel and sailed the Irish Sea. I’ve been to more castles than I can count on half a dozen hands, and more cathedrals, churches, grave yards, and historical sites (battlefields, museums, catacombs, etc) than anyone with less than either an Archeological or Historical degree.

 

I’ve been to 29 of the 50 states in the USA (the colored states are the only ones I haven’t been to). I’ve been at the top of the Empire State Building despite my fear of heights and saw the World Trade Center before 9/11. I have been to the top of the Haleakala volcano on Maui – again, despite my fear of heights and the terrible altitude sickness. I’ve been to Hawaii three different times in three different decades 1987, 1990, 2002. It was amazing to snorkel in Maui in January 2002 and listen to the Humpback whale song from perhaps two or three football fields from where they were breeching.

 

I have ridden on the backs of a camel, an elephant, and a horse – and poor Amy our Irish setter when I was like three or four. I have had many animals I have cared for in my life, one dog and one cat in particular I will never get over – Bandit my Belgian Sheppard, and Doobie, my little black and white kitty.

 

I have been to my fair share of concerts of all sorts be they classical orchestral shindigs or wild hard-rocking mosh-pit events, or huge stadium concerts. I’ve seen the Rolling Stones, Sting, Guns N Roses, Living Color, Steve Miller, Grateful Dead, Madonna, Motley Crue, Ozzy, Julian Lennon, Rick Springfield, Jerry Garcia Band, ZZ Top, Nickelback, Korn, Sevendust, Kid Rock, Puddle of Mudd, and a host of smaller opening acts I can’t even remember. Still, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Elektra, and Annie Get Your Gun impressed me more. Yes, I’ve seen musicals and plays both in London and on Broadway – and even at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, although Hansel & Gretel and The Nutcracker were immensely boring both times I saw them there. I’ve seen Samuel Ramey sing Mephistopheles from the front row; he nearly spit on me.

 

I can swim and dive. I used to waterski, snowski, and surf (thanks to Kathy G). I’ve played team sports like softball (again, thanks to Kathy G) and rode my bike all over West Los Angeles and the beach cities. Although skating isn’t something I like I can ice skate – barely. The most tiring experience of my youth though was marching through downtown Honolulu in a full drum major uniform in 90+ degree heat, not to mention the humidity, for more than two miles while performing with my mace and keeping time for the band. I barely walked away from that one. I was minutes from heatstroke. Thank goodness it started to rain at the end of the parade or I was sure I was going to die.

 

I took ballet lessons for a very short period of time. I am just not a dancer. I also took baton lessons, which I was very good at, imagine that. I even became a baton teacher for a while; my very first paid job at age 12. I am musical though, that’s for sure. I was the first female head drum major in my high school’s history. I can sing, play the piano, xylophone (and variations such as Vibes, and Marimba) and the baritone horn. I have written several songs, performed in several operas & musicals, performed at county fairs, and small venues all over California, and sung the National Anthem at large events. I do not have stage fright. I have been a keynote speaker at several conferences, and sat on the Board of Directors for the Northcoast Inter-Tribal Children’s Court. I was a Toastmaster and have been known to do the occasional Improv should I have a microphone thrust at me.

 

I’ve been in numerous weddings as Bridesmaids and Matron of Honor – my mother’s, Danielle’s, Brandy’s and Lisa’s – as well as being a vocalist at a few – Stacee’s and Amanda’s. AND been the bride in two – plenty for me, thanks! Sorry, but being the guest book girl is such an insult – so, no thanks to you Stacee (wedding #1).

 

I’ve had successful gardens growing everything from all kinds of herbs to onions, peas, and pumpkins. Flowers and odiferous offerings abounded from exotic star gazer and tiger lilies to lemon balm and chocolate mints. I have a decently green thumb when I care to express it, although, I admit, I go overboard when the moment takes me. The most I have ever spent on plants for my garden was $300 in one blow – talk about overkill.

 

I’ve camped A LOT, and I don’t know if I want to do that anymore. From Malibu, Zuma, and Ojai to Gold Beach in Oregon, all up and down California coast and into its interior even in January when it was less than 30 degrees outside I’ve been camping. Poor Honey’s water dish froze in under five minutes during one camping trip. Although I have had enough of camping, I still like house-boating. Best house-boating experience was on Lake Ouachita in Arkansas. It made Lake Mead in Nevada seem like a flatulent camel’s bung hole.

 

I’ve been through terrifying weather conditions and life threatening situations. Forest fires in mountainous Oregon trapped in a creek as the mountain burned above me, blizzards in the very same place. Tornados both in Kentucky and Kansas have gotten me running for shelter, one missing us by less than a mile. The largest earthquake to rock southern California in decades certainly gave my life a twist. Tremendous hail storms in Virginia with stones the size of baseballs that nearly broke my windshield and caused me to seek shelter under a freeway bypass while the storm passed were certainly thrilling. Flashfloods and lightning storms in Arizona were scary! One of the worst storms to hit southern Nevada filled with thunder, lightning, and downpours just so happened to hit while I was in a sinking boat on Lake Mead – yes, that’s a memory I don’t relish. I have skirted death enduring Mother Nature’s wrath quite a few times.

 

I am an accomplished cook. I wouldn’t go so far as saying chef, but I make good food people like. I am a hostess from the word go and have thrown many a successful party for all occasions. I love food. Let me say that again. I LOVE FOOD. I eat good bread (like sour dough and rye) and pasta and mashed potatoes with joy. I indulge in broccoli, spinach, and salads like it was chocolate. I absolutely love cheese – feta, gouda, gorgonzola, cheddar, brie – oh the list goes on and on. I am a carb-o-holic! I have eaten many things that most wouldn’t try – octopus, squid, quails eggs, escargot, pheasant, ostrich, buffalo, bear, elk, deer, eel, all kinds of fish and their roe (yes, caviar). I’ve even catered a few fundraisers, small parties, and a small wedding.

 

I have dated my fair share of men in my life – white, black, Christian, Jewish and otherwise. There has not been a period of more than four months when I have not had a boyfriend, lover, husband, etc since I was fifteen years old. Unbelievable? What can I say – men like me I guess. No matter what size I am, I have always had the pleasure of a man’s company. Have I always enjoyed it?  Now, that’s debatable! I have had three men outright propose to me and received rings from them. I’ve had three other men seriously talk marriage with me, and I seriously considered marrying all of them. I ended up marrying two of them. These were my serious love interests: Jack Leach, Brian Newman, Mike Alber, Dan Taylor, my ex-husband Mike Arrasmith, and my current husband Matt Robbins. All the rest were just ‘boyfriends’ and guys that I dated – not loved – all 29 of them. The greatest age difference was between Dan Taylor, who was 31 at the time, and myself at age 19. Yeah, we talked about marriage and his children called me mommy. I was too young to become insta-mommy at age 19 to a five year old and a nine year old. Something else to note: 4 Brians, 5 Mikes, 2 Adams, 2 Pauls, and how about that Stone! There were other guys I went out on one or two dates with, and quite frankly I can’t remember their last names – so here is a salute to Terry, Chris #1, Chris #2, and Tim.

 

I have certainly held a lot of jobs: baton teacher Westminster Academy, peer tutor LAUSD Marina del Rey Jr. High, Pizza Man, Music Plus, Discount Library, Penguins Books & University Pub (in England), Petries Plus, Magic Mountain (2 separate occasions), JKF Travel Time Telemarketing, The Daily News, caretaker for Sean the Autistic Man, babysitter of two annoying Dutch children, Talent Tree Temporary Services (worked at Zenith Insurance, Pacific Rim Assurance, some Savings & Loan, and some mortgage company, then Lamps Plus Corporate Headquarters and Talent Trees Head Office for the SF Valley), LAUSD as a Music Teacher, Sequoia Personnel (worked at Pacific Lumber, Restoration Hardware Headquarters, some mortgage and reality company, United Indian Health Services), Dell Arte School of Physical Theater,  Blue Lake Rancheria, the United Church of Christ, the City of Eureka, the City of Arcata, Blue Lake Casino, and now Wichita Public Schools. Yes – retail, food service, private corporations, publicly traded companies, the lumber industry, Indian tribal government, public and private school systems, small and medium size cities, a theater company, a newspaper, telemarketing, babysitting (adults with disabilities and young children), data entry, teaching, entertainment industry, loss prevention, gaming industry, religious related work, housekeeping, accounting, grants and transportation management, upper management, human resources and budgeting! I even have a gaming license since I worked in the Tribal Casino. I have done a LOT of different kinds of work. I haven’t worked in the medical industry – well, scratch that – I worked for United Indian Health Services at their clinic – doing accounting, but still in a health clinic setting. So yeah, I have worked in just about every industry, with the exception of Aerospace and prostitution! I have always had a job of some kind dating back to 1984. I’ve been working going on 23 years and I am 35 years old – WOW! I have had as many as four jobs (one full time and three part time in 2002) at the same time – not including teaching private voices lessons to boot.

 

Mom, you wanted me to write you a single page essay about my life during the period of time that I was divorcing Mike and meeting Matt. Why? I am so much more than that troubled ending and happy beginning. Don’t get me wrong – Matt is my world and I love him, but I am a whole person with considerable life experiences without him. He’s the cream in my coffee, the icing on my cake, the whooo hooo in my sex.

 

On this, your 55^th birthday, look back at your life, as I have looked back on mine. I’ve lightly touched upon a few things that help define me, but still this isn’t all that I am. You were right, mom, I could write a book, and my life isn’t a third over yet. You heard me! Just like Aunt Corrine, and just like you, mom, I know that we live into our nineties – we just don’t die young. I’ve got far more years ahead of me than I do behind me. I am finally truly happy and I plan on being so until the day I die. Be glad for me, as I am for you, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll right you another essay when I turn 55.

 

Much love and caring, your daughter,

Alison

K-12 Education Needs To Be In The Stimulus Package
Mood:  bright
Now Playing: Nothing right now - Matt's asleep
Topic: Politicians

K-12 Education makes up a large part of the budget of most states. In Kansas it is just about half of the budget. As Kansas has a large airline industry, which like other manufacturing industries has been hit by the recent economic downturn, there have been significant job losses. In the Wichita area this week alone, 8,000 layoff notices were handed out by Cessna, Bombardier Learjet, Hawker Beechcraft, and others. Coupled with the jobs lost in November and December, finding a job in the Wichita area has become difficult, as my husband has found out having been laid off from TECT Aerospace (a parts supplier for Cessna) on 12/05/08.

Now, K-12 education is faced with budget cuts for our current fiscal year as well as additional cuts for next fiscal year since state revenues, due to the above mentioned job losses, have shrunk considerably. Wichita Public Schools is the fourth largest employer in Sedgwick County. With the proposed cuts from the Kansas legislature, USD 259 will lose $88 per regular education student; special education students would receive additional cuts. That's $4,286,304 (for regular education) just this fiscal year - that's by June 30. If you divide that by the district's classroom teacher average salary that's 89.81 FTE (full time equivalent positions) by June 30, 2009. Then, after July 1, additional budget cuts added to that first $4.2 million and we have NO idea how high the Kansas legislature may go. Originally, the GOP led body proposed a cut that would have meant a loss of nearly $40 million to USD 259.

I am a budget analyst for Wichita Public Schools, so I do know what I am talking about. Our recent Bond issue was to be matched by the state; payments subsidized by the state making 25% of the cost. Now the state is specifically cutting payment assistance on Bond issues. There are 2 million square feet of additional school spaces (6 new schools, classrooms, gyms, etc) in that Bond Issue. Without the state’s funding, it is not likely that Wichita or many other districts in Kansas will be able to proceed as planned, meaning a loss in jobs – construction, engineering, architecture, etc.

The stimulus package has money in it specifically for Wichita Public Schools for Title I, IDEA, and Construction. The amount of indirect reimbursements to the district’s General Fund from the Title I and IDEA funds alone will help ease the state’s proposed cuts, nearly eliminating their impact. The $20 million in Construction funds would cover the Bond payments that the State of Kansas won’t be able to make, thus the Bond Issue can proceed, and all the jobs riding on Wichita Public Schools will be preserved. Jobs that will in turn pay taxes into city, county, and state coffers, spreading the effect of the stimulus package to the 10,000+ other governmental employees of the State of Kansas, City of Wichita, and Sedgwick County that reside in this community.

Senators, I ask that you seriously consider voting to pass the stimulus package without cutting K-12 funding.  The next two years of funding from the stimulus package would certainly save jobs in Wichita and see nearly 49,000 public school students and their families, as well as 5,508 USD 259 employees and their families through this tremendously stressful time, restoring faith that our federal government cares about working class people on whose backs this country was built.

The TARP passed last quarter and has done little to ease my life and stress. Giving the money to the banks didn’t stop my husband from being laid off. This stimulus package, if implemented as planned, would mean that USD 259 could remove its current hiring freeze and my husband, now on unemployment, could get a job again.

I feel victimized by greedy investment managers who sold risky mortgage backed securities. I have no debt other than my mortgage, which I pay on time and in full. Before my husband was laid off, we actually paid more each month to pay off our loan early. What have we done to deserve this? I am a public employee, working for the benefit of K-12 children at a far lower wage than if I was in a commercial fiscal budgeting and planning position, but I chose this line of work because school districts need good financial managers too. I am appalled by how out of touch with Middle America the financial community apparently seems to be if they are complaining about $500,000 salary caps. What about teachers; the people that mold the minds of America’s youth? The average Wichita Public School teacher is paid $47,727 per year! It costs that much to get a bachelors degree and teaching credential today. Solving the economic crisis and stimulus package debate on the backs of already strapped school districts and teachers is appalling, and I am ashamed that you, seemingly educated and caring people, could suggest such a thing.

 

This is the letter I sent to Senators Brownback, Roberts, Collins, McCain, and McCollum on Friday.

 

Busy as a bee
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: Shhh, nothing, the family is asleep!
Topic: Being Happy

It is Saturday morning and I have a whole day of activities ahead of me. I have already steam cleaned the tile floor in the bathroom and am soaking the toilet. All I need to do is put away our weekly/daily stuff we use and voila, the bathroom with be ‘guest’ presentable. Then, it is the kitchen that needs a thorough once over, and then dining, game room, and living room. The children and Matt should be up by then and I am putting them on emptying trash cans, dusting, and general straightening.

 

Robin, Floyd and their children are coming over around 4 pm and will be joining us for dinner. Their children are ages 7 and 9. Yes, both younger than ours, but I think Kyle and Michelle can handle that for a night. They just got a Wii for Christmas and are excited to play some of the new games we have on our Wii, like Lego Indiana Jones, and Mario Party, etc. I hope all goes well between the children.

 

Robin is a woman I work with downtown at the administration building of USD 259; she’s a purchasing agent. I’ve known her a little more than six years now, and have been to her home on at least four separate occasions, although, she has never been to mine. Floyd also works for USD 259 as a Food Service Driver Supervisor. He drives the food service trucks and organizes his staff. Matt worked with Floyd in 2003-04 when he was laid off at Cessna during the last economic downturn that really hit the aircraft industry. We’ve been out to dinner with Robin and Floyd once before for sushi at Sumo so, this shouldn’t be too awkward of an evening. We have the pool table and an awesome trash talking dartboard to play on with them while the kids immerse themselves with the Wii.

 

For dinner I am making at least three varieties of pizza:

 

1)      A super meat pizza (with turkey pepperoni, turkey bacon, and hamburger) with thin crust – Robin’s favorite – meat pie!

2)      A pepperoni pizza for the children should they not want the  super meat pie – also thin crust

3)      A onion, tomato, feta, olive, mushroom, chicken pizza with SUPER thick crust (for me!)

 

I need to send the kids or Matt down the street to the local grocery to pick up 2 two liter bottles of 7up and a navel orange so I can make Tang Punch. It’s a little sugary but doesn’t have caffeine, so hopefully the children won’t be bouncing off the walls TOO much. At least I can control the amount of sugar I use when making the Tang. It also makes one heck of a mixer for coconut rum or vodka! Luckily, I bought cups, plates, napkins, and maraschino cherries for today. What’s a punch or cocktail without citrus fruit or a cherry?

 

Right now, I am trying to decide what kind of nibble food I need to set up so when they get here at 4 pm they don’t starve until I serve dinner at 6 pm. Since we are having a lot of cheese with the pizza, I’d like to shy away from cheese and crackers, and since they aren’t vegetable people…hmmm, what I can serve? Chips and salsa would be good, but it can be messy, and the thought of a 7 year old trying to not get salsa all over my tan ultra suede chairs and couch just doesn’t sit well with me. I could make mini-quiche or tarts. I’ve got the philo dough, pastry, berries, and eggs. Bacon quiche, berry tarts, - OH, I have peanut butter and celery. Perhaps the children will like that? Colors – quiche is yellow, berry tarts are reddish purple, celery is green, peanut butter brown…OH, the punch is orange. I need a few more colors in there…maybe I will make spicy tuna melts. I need to use the remaining mushrooms today, so, I’ll make those – at least I know Matt likes them. Okay – I think I have the snackie pooh menu for eight down:

 

• Mini-quiche – bacon & eggs (a dozen)
• Mini-tarts – mixed berries (a dozen)
• Celery filled with peanut butter (and a few cream cheese ones)
• A dozen spicy tuna melts
• A dozen stuffed mushrooms

 

That should be colorful enough and provide a good variety. I wonder, do I have any red grapes left? A quick roll through some blue cheese…hmmm…well, off I go.

Racist pricks annoy me to no end
Mood:  incredulous
Now Playing: "Get Stoned" by Hinder
Topic: Assholes Do Vex Me

Racist pricks annoy me to no end.

 

We (my husband and I) get almost daily forwards of terribly Republican (now not sensible, well throughout GOP related material but super right wing fear and hate mongering), Religious, or Racist emails from some asshole that my husband used to work with at TECT. This idiot believes just about every Urban Myth debunked by Snopes.com and is one of those stupid sheep-people that forwards emails that are so co amazingly culturally insensitive I have had it! Now, he sends these to my husband’s old email address that we share for joint correspondence with family members so they don’t have to send it to multiple emails. As this was once Matt’s personal email, he still gets emails from “his” past associates.

 

Well, this redneck, aircraft working, brain-dead fuck up, Keith, keeps sending awful forwards full of hate on just about everyone – Muslims seem to be his choice today. I have deleted his emails time and again, and have chosen to not read them. Yet, sometimes, when I am reading emails on the account and hit the next button, it brings up one of his emails.

 Yesterday, he ‘graced’ us with two emails which I promptly deleted after they nearly burned my retinas with their hate filled rhetoric. The first was on the stimulus package and taxes, the second was on some supposed meeting of various religious leaders at a prison that was held to try and convert prisoners from a life of crime to a more productive and religious way of life. Well, it totally slammed Islam. It made it seem like all Muslims are jihadist. It took things from the Koran and blew them WAY proportion and taking them out of context. It made the assumption that ALL Muslims were believers in the extreme stuff spouted by Bin Laden. It was a giant Muslim bashing email and I exploded! Why must I be subjected to his hate mongering? The email lambasted not just Muslims but Arabs stating that all of them were terrorists and that all terrorists were Arabs. Excuse me? What the fuck was Timothy McVeigh? Or Ted Kaczynski? Or suspect U.S. scientist Bruce E. Ivins? Are those men not Caucasian American citizens that performed acts of terrorism against other American citizens? Bruce Ivins even tried to frame Arabs in his anthrax scare mailings!

*sigh* This email was so filled with stereotypes and generalizations of all kinds I felt sick to my stomach. I deleted it and wished there was some process for not merely deleting it, but exploding it. You know, like some button I could push on my keyboard that would cause this filth ridden piece of shit to be blown into a million pieces and for a hand to reach out of Keith’s screen and rip his testicles off. Yes, that’s how mad I was, and this blog is helping me to get rid of my rage.

 

Now, I have told Matt that I do want to have anything to do with this person, and that he is never to be invited to our home. I understand that Matt has not blocked him from our email account because Keith still worked for TECT. Matt asked him to stop sending us this crap. Now, Keith has retired from TECT, and well, today I took the step myself. I BLOCKED HIM. I will never have to hear another narrow-minded, sexist, racist, misogynistic email from this lame excuse of a human being again!

Addicted?
Mood:  mischievious
Topic: Reality

To what am I addicted? That’s been an ever changing topic my whole life.

 

1. I am of course addicted to good food – explains a LOT of things about me.
2. I wouldn’t say that I was addicted to sex, like needing rehab or anything, but I really love it, and it was one of the MAJOR reasons I couldn’t stay with my first husband. 
3. Totally addicted to Coca Cola. I can go as much as three days without one right now. There was a time when I could go months without out. 1999 – 2002 during my vegetarian health kick it wasn’t a part of my life at all. I just love the taste, the bubbles, everything about Coca Cola! I don’t care if it can dissolve a raw beef patty, save your diatribes!
4. I am utterly addicted to hard rock and the psychedelic rock scenes, utterly and completely. I would do just about anything to have Jerry Garcia and Vince Welnick alive again so I could go to Dead shows and spin, laugh, throw marshmellows and hang with my other veggie burrito lovin’ crew. I think I would enjoy it much more now than I did back then without the ever gloomy and disapproving presence of my ex-husband always being the constant downer when I started to spin. I can’t wait until Nickleback, Hinder, Godsmack, or Cold come to town so I can get wild and thrash around screaming, head banging, fist pumpin and sweating to some hard driving sounds. Where or where are you Disturbed? Come play Wichita so I can ‘Get Down with the Sickness’! When will the Chili Peppers tour again Hey Oh! 
5. Sometimes, I think I am addicted to my husband. Seriously, I hurt if I don’t see him for like twelve hours. I walk in the back door and embrace him each night and get my Matt fix. If it is more than twelve hours I start getting down, moody, and surly to say the least. In six years, the first time we didn’t spend the night together was when I went to San Diego in September 2008 to help move my Grandmother to Texas. It was a living hell. I was so upset and distraught by our three day separation I was hardly able to cope and help my mother deal with my grandmother’s needs. There were many times I was close to snapping at my mom, brother and cousins for no apparent reason other than I desperately missed my husband’s cheery disposition and calming, mellow, pragmatic attitude.
6. Alcohol? No, not at this time in my life, but I could easily have become addicted to it from about 1991 to 1994 when I was seriously partying in college. I know this because at a party at “Los Guys” one night I brought a bottle of tequila for the ‘party’ like to go in a group mixer or something. Well it ended up not getting used. I crawled to my truck the next morning to drive home, with the beginnings of a very bad hangover, and was about six blocks from the house about to get on the 118 freeway when I realized I had left the bottle, turned around, and pounded on the door of “Los Guys” until Mike Arrasmith answered the door in his underwear. I pushed my way in to get my tequila afraid that Jeff (Barf) would drink it. I proceeded to drive home, open the bottle and continue partying with my roommates drinking tequila sunrises – thus avoiding the true hangover *wink*. Yeah. This is one of the many reasons I stopped partying with CSUN people and quickly switched vices to something less liver killing! 

So, am I an addict? Perhaps, yes, I am addicted to the things I listed above – at least to the ones I definitely admitted to being my vices.

 

I have shed quite a few, especially in the last six or seven years, and I am thankful to Matt & Shurree for helping me do that. I think I was addicted to the Wheel of Time for a while there. When book 12 comes out, I’ll have to test myself.

 

One thing is for certain…I am addicted to the truth.

What kind of pasta dish are you?
Mood:  cheeky
Now Playing: "Revolution Man" by Union Underground
Topic: Quizzes

You Are Lasagna

Compared to most people, you are open hearted and genuinely friendly. You go out of your way to make sure everyone is comfortable and happy. It's likely that you're a good cook, and you have a few signature crowd pleaser meals. You enjoy entertaining and welcoming guests into your home.

What's Your Word
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: "Turn me on Mr. Deadman" by Union Underground
Topic: Reality

Your Word is "Fearless"

You see life as your one chance to experience everything, and you just go for it! You believe the biggest risk is being afraid and missing out on something amazing. Sometimes your fearlessness means you're daring. You enjoy risky activities. And sometimes your fearlessness means you're courageous. You're brave enough to do the right thing, even when it's scary.