Seven.Caged.Tigers

I’m definitely a child of the late 1970s and early 1980s. One thing that sets this generation apart is that both boys and girls were cleared to wear pop culture themed Underoos. The boys certainly had a better selection, but girls had some choices also. A little research online shows that among the choices for the ladies were Spider-Woman, Batgirl, C3PO, and Wonder Woman. My two polyester under-duds of choice were C3PO and Wonder Woman. Here are images of those two packages to give you an idea (especially ridiculous is the C3PO–but I was a nerd then as I am now):

Need proof of my nerdiness? My parents were kind enough to document my first broken finger. I think I was in pre-school which would make me about 4 years old. I broke my finger while bowling at the local lanes with my aunt. She thought I was making it up. Of course to this day I’m still clueless why photos of the aftermath were taken while I donned Wonder Woman underroos. In any case, marvel of this proof positive of my retro nerdiness:

My whole “music review writing” bit is starting to gain momentum. I started to solicit record companies about two years ago. That didn’t work well because (lo and behond) record companies don’t handle music PR. Those PR companies then began to randomly knock on my door about a year ago. I’m up to about 2-3 new REAL promos a week. In the past week I’ve gotten music from Megadeth, Sugar Ray, and Anthony Hamilton. Broad, I know, but truth be told there is something in each of them I enjoy. What I enjoy even more is that this music reviewing gig is finally starting to pay off. Not in money, mind you, but in free and real music.

Not that I’m bragging. If any of ya’ll want to get involved in something this home-grown may I suggest looking somewhere else? It’s kind of a random thing. You never know if anybody will pick up on you. I get the drift that individuals in PR companies don’t share their contacts. They want to hold on to you and love you so that you treat them good and write about their clients. Again, not that I’m complaining–heck, maybe I’ll get so good at this end of things that I’ll become a music PR sort some day! I mean I haven’t really decided what I want to be when I grow up yet. I know it isn’t “computer girl” so that doesn’t leave a heckuva lot.

In any case you’d be surprised at all the goodies that show up on my front porch. John Lennon, REM, The Cure, Sex Pistols, Flaming Lips, Van Morrison, Son Volt, and herds upon herds of others you’ve heard of.

Oh yes, and because I’m a nerd:

By the way, I completely realized that I didn’t even say where I write. Duh! For those of you who don’t know I write at Epinions and also post my reviews at my site Rock Reviews.net. Enjoy (if you dare!).

Blah, blah, blah. Sometimes I get a major kick out of various boards/forums on the web. Some of you may know, but I am the admin (owner, Queen Bee) of one pretty laid bad board. There is the occasional jackass, but generally it’s a cool and happy place with cool and happy people around who love music.

So there is an unnamed place where I lurk. I rarely say anything there because it’s populated by 16-year old bitches who think they are the world. This one little girl (who admitted to graduating high school LAST FREAKIN’ YEAR) has an icon with Cillian Murphy. No big deal–now that he’s in Batman Begins he’s everywhere. Of course being a huge fan of horror and the obscure, I saw him in 28 Days Later when it was in the theater. That was the first time that I and the rest of the US became acquainted with him. He’s short and weird and according to my sister on a good deal of something rather…good if you get the drift. Not exactly the heart-throb type for all you little girlies out there.

In any case, I find myself annoyed as all hell with “fans” who have this jack-ass mentality:

Yeah. I think everyone is jumping on the Cillian wagon (I wonder if they even know how to pronounce his name!). I have really old articles of him, that sex bomb Cillian. -swoon-

No offense people! Better to be a new fan than not a fan at all I suppose… (i’m so contradicting ;P)

How freakin’ annoying is that. I of course am still lurking, but may I suggest to all you fan-girls and fan-boys out there that just because you (at apparently age 12) became a fan of an obscure, weird, and not at all attractive little man that you don’t need to yelp “I’m cool because I know who he is and you don’t” crap at other people. It’s just stupid and ridiculous. You may have “really old articles of him” but they’ve only been collected since 28 Days Later and from England. Really people–be serious.

Don’t get me wrong. I can become infatuated ever-so-slightly by hot Hollywood heartthrobs, but I’m not about to pretend that I know them, I love them, or that they are any part of my life. Girlies annoy me. Can you tell? It’s almost as bad as flaming–the act of silent, stupid, and generally unprovoked people who in their infinite wisdom decide it’s okay on the web to adopt another persona and be a (get this) Jackass.

I come from a tiny place. I call it G-Town for short as I really don’t want everybody Googling the town’s name and ending up here. That’s a terrifying thought. G-Town is one of two towns in the whole of G-county. There are two towns, two small-ish high schools, and a total of four stop lights (there were two up until five years ago) in the all of the county. It’s pretty incredible. There are lots of cows, farms, pairs of shit-kickers, horses, and Amish. It’s a unique little place to be from (but not to live).

It seems that G-county has finally hit the big time. The other town, Beaverton (no joke, folks), has yielded a guy who could be the next lead singer for INXS. He’s one of the finalists for that Rock Star show. I have some memory of Brandon Calhoon if only because he was a big athlete stud type of guy. He played basketball. That’s the bit I really remember. In any case, he is three years older than little ol’ me, but athletes all kind of know of one another in G-county. Actually, looking at the CBS site he’s exactly three years older.

Also, I have to wonder if the 80s cover band he was the lead singer for is the M-80s. They were seriously GREAT and played at pretty big places around Detroit for years. I saw them a few times. It’d be really funny if he was. In any case, Beaverton has hit the big time & you gotta get a kick out of it.

Rural Michigan RAWKS!

I’m on vacation. Because of that I’ll be pretty MIA. And when I say “vacation,” I mean not working and sitting on my bum at home. I can’t think of anything better to do right now…

It seems that researchers at University of Michigan have discovered a way to deliver chemo drugs via nanotechnology. It’s supposed to lessen the side-effects of the drugs because it is very targeted rather than a system-wide treatment plan.

Testing has been done on animals, and it seems that it has great potential in people.

As a survivor of cancer (I was actually treated at U of M) who went through a chemo treatment called CHOP (a nasty cocktail of cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin, Oncovin and high doses of prednisone) I can completely see and understand and feel the difference that nanotechnology could make in cancer. My side-effects were nasty. I was nauseous but had the munchies, I lost all my hair, I lost my attention span and short term memory, I had infections in various parts of my body (phlebitis, oral thrush, etc…), and I couldn’t stay awake. It was really pretty horrible. If they could cut those things in HALF it would mean the world to patients.

By the way, if you were wondering, the only lasting side-effects from the chemo thus far are nerve damage (cold hands/feet) and memory/attention span problems. The docs also are carefully watching me for heart problems because at least two of the drugs are known to cause them.

Yeah for nanotechnology!!!

I’ve always, always, ALWAYS gotten a kick out of what strange ways people get to 7CT. After over four years, I’ve used just about every word in the dictonary. Okay, not EVERY word, but lots of ‘em. Here are some of the weird searches for this month thus far. Let me know what you think. Have any favorites? I know I do.

slut clothes [um, check Rave or Forever 21]
janice dickinson crotch [you really wanna see that?]
shemale photo [again, you really wanna see that?]
how much does tyra banks weigh [too much to be telling girls they are fat]
detroit girls escort [check 8 mile]
neighbor sunbathing [not much of a voyeur are you?]
don t know if i need root canal [go to the dentist for christ’s sake]
rogue gambit pregnant [comic book characters just can’t, so there]
things to do for a 30th birthday in michigan [use your imagination]
nail biters fetish [I’m not letting ANYBODY watch, nor am I taking pics]
ass ram my wife [I’m sure she’d be pleased you’re looking this up]
buck teeth from thumb sucking [Yes, related, my four years of braces tell me this]
tyra banks looks like a horse forehead [Can you be more obvious?]
emachine won t turn on [Serves you right for buying a shitty computer]
naked shelly [errr…you’re barking up the wrong tree, buddy]
chain saw crotch pic [Hmph. Not sure I understand this request]
kitty bloating [Personal experience tells me that a bloated kitty is a fat kitty]
frog greazy pictures [Greasy frogs? Uh. Yeah]
how to loose 10lbs in 1 month [Two choices–exercise and diet or bulimia]
volunteer urologist [I so am NOT going to a volunteer urologist]
deer-like chihuahua [Until these stubby dogs grow a few feet, I just can’t see the resemblance]
i is the demented cow [good for you]
anti-social boring husband [too bad for you]
skimpy guy clothes [Errr…this isn’t a retailer of any kind]
how to be bulimic [finger meet throat]
why did the rock bank creed breakup [Don’tya know? They SUCKED!]
house chemicals to get rid of moles in the yard [Personal Experience talking — IMPOSSIBLE]
sault ste. marie porn [I lived there long enough to say “ew”]
how much will i get for a billboard in my front yard [How the HELL would I know?]

My grandpa has Alzheimer’s and lives in a facility not too far from my house. He’s been getting worse and worse for the last five years, but as fortunately outgrown the violent phase. That was especially difficult a time since he was a very kind and mild person prior to his disease taking hold.

In any case, yesterday he was wheeling another old man around and put him to bed. My mom figures he thought it was grandma. Nobody’s gonna tell him any different, either. As he turned around to open the window for the old guy he was confronted by another old dude. The old dude is the husband of a resident. An apparently coherent guy. In any case, he yelled at grandpa because he put the old dude to bed in his wife’s bed. My mother said the other guy was probably screaming obsenities. That’s one thing that always set grandpa off…

In the end, grandpa came out well. He had just one small skin tear on his hand that doesn’t require stitches. The other old dude who picked the fight ended up pretty bruised and battered. His response when the staff asked what he was thinking picking a fight with a resident was “I didn’t know he was that big!” Grandpa’s response was “I was cleaning off the driveway and a rock fell off the house.” By the way, grandpa is still about 6′2″ or so.

The old guy that picked the fight is banned from the facility. He’s had run-ins with staff, but I’m sure run-ins with residents makes him a big liability. Guess his wife will probably be leaving also.

That is SERIOUSLY the funniest story I’ve heard in a long time. My grandpa (who is clearly sick with Alzheimer’s beat down a “healthy” man for swearing. I’m sure grandpa was also hurt because he was doing so in front of “grandma.” The in-charge staff (nurse?) said that they’d never had an incident like this. Ever. She called her boss and her boss responded “you’re not serious.” My grandpa kicks ass.

Ironic, isn’t it? I mean we had vaguely cool weather which was somewhat comfortable for a while. I wanted it to be warmer, but didn’t figure that 90 degrees was appropriate. For the last week we’ve been hitting highs of anywhere between 90 and 100 depending on what part of the area you are in. It’s obnoxious–especially for this girl who lives in a 100 year old house sans air conditioning and a hubby who refuses to put the window air conditioner in because “it’s just too early.”

Guffaw.

In any case, I can’t help but be happy that this week is over. It’s been too long since I’ve gotten to physically and emotionally relax.

The good news is that because of the heat assuming I can keep things watered, the plants are looking beautiful. The yard is horridly burned but the flowers are happy. Proof:

My, my, my. I’m amused. My place of employment has spent the last year “slaving” over this major job reclassification project which entails new job titles and the like. I’ve always been a “Computer Systems Specialist II” which I found to be funny because there wasn’t a I or a III. I knew my title would change.

Guess what I am now? Desktop Support Specialist - Intermediate. To me that sounds like they took my title, got out a thesarus and changed a few words. In the end, my title says the same damn thing it did before.

Like I said, it’s funny stuff. I bet nearly all of the other 15,000 employees are just as humored by the whole thing. I’m not complaining though, I think the title is appropriate and it makes slightly better sense. I just can’t believe we went through all this CRAP and that’s all the better they could do. Hmph.

Have the whales swallowed it up? Are the deserts flooded? Are the oceans thirsty? I’m getting really angry right now at the rain gods as they haven’t dropped their sweet, wet treasure on my house in quite some time. The weather guys keep on telling us that there’s a 30% or 40% chance of rain. You’d think that eventually that would add up to receiving some. Law of averages would suggest that, no?

In any case, last night we got a “storm.” It was supposed to be “bad,” and save for some howling 70MPH winds it was pretty mild. The temps over the weekend jumped from 65 or 70 degrees to 95 so I think that had a little something to do with the storm. However, most unfortunate is the fact that it didn’t come with much rain. We haven’t had any rain really in at least a month and maybe more. I saw on the news we had 45% of our normal showers for the past month.

It’s pretty dire. But in good news, I bought six new daylilies, a coreopsis, a columbine, a light green hosta, and something else I can’t remember from my favorite perennial garden. If you didn’t know it already, perennials are the WAY to go for planting gardens. You can buy annuals, but don’t buy too many. If you’re spending more than $200 or so you need to beef up your perennial plants.

I just got the news that my cousin Jeff and his wife Sara are pregnant with their second child. Their eldest is just a year old now. Wow. Talk about a fast turn around. In any case, when my aunt called my mother (who in turn called me) it was relayed that Sara didn’t want to make Jeremy and I feel bad. Seriously–if I felt bad every time somebody I know got pregnant I’d be on a 24-7 pity party. In any case, I’m excited for them–I hope they get a little girl and then they’ll have one of each.

Maybe, some day, things just aren’t working out the best for us right now in that department. At least we can live vicariously through those folks who can have children the normal way. It seems that nothing is “normal” about us. Of course, people have been telling me I’m weird for years. This just further solidifies that fact.

This weekend, JT and I are headed for G-Town to visit with my parents. We’ll be there for two nights. I’m not sure that my mom and I have any plans, but I know my father intends on getting Jeremy to go fishing and also to help paint the shed (aka a gabled roof barn thing). Jeremy is seriously the son my dad never had. Poor guy.

When I was in high school, there was little in this world that I could see less use for than selfishness. I thought that selfish people were the worst of all–we should be charitable when we could, we should be open-armed when we could, we should watch out for our neighbor whenever possible. And while all these things are still true today, I’ve also learned to be honest with myself and I’ve grown some girl-balls.

I am selfish. We as human beings are selfish. If not for this trait we would not have survived. It is selfish to lock our doors at night and not let people without homes have a roof–selfish, but smart. It is selfish to take vacations to the ends of the earth instead of donating that money to a charity–selfish, but relaxing. It is certainly selfish to buy that $300 bag when the money could be better put toward making somebody else’s life better–selfish, but rewarding (though not for me). It is selfish to buy the gas-guzzling SUV that clearly depleats our natural resources–selfish, but quite possibly handy.

We are ALL selfish human beings. Sure, “selfishness is what is wrong with the world” sounds good, but I dare you to be unselfish in everything you do. Try it. Heck, there is even the argument that feeling good is selfish. Why? Well, can’t you spread that (free) joy to others who aren’t so happy?

I invite everybody to think about the topic of selfishness for a moment. I know folks who don’t think they are selfish, but in the end they are even more than I am. Why? Because they THINK they are not and they can’t see selfishness for what it really is. Selfishness is a part of human nature–natural selection is selfish, survival of the fittest is selfish, grilling on your BBQ outside is selfish.

Next.