Thanksgiving 2006

Obligatory List Warning!

This is just a partial list…I could go on all day about what’s good in my life right now. If that sounds like I’m bragging, I’m not. It would be very easy for me to wallow in sorrow and claim that I have nothing to be thankful for since my son died. But I would be lying to myself. I still have a lot to be grateful for.

• Hot showers in the morning…aaahh!
• My loving, supportive husband.
• Bright sunshine, even when it’s 112 degrees (it’s a dry heat).
• Having enough money to pay the bills every month and a few bucks leftover.
• Two annoyingly crazy cats…they bring a smile to my face every day.
• No major health problems for me or hubby.
• Our big screen TV. Oh yeah!
• Friends and loved ones; though the list is growing shorter, I consider
myself fortunate to have so many people in my corner.
• Having a full belly and a roof over my head in a world where millions are
hungry and homeless.
• The right to keep and bear arms.
• Holiday leftovers. (Yummy! )

Happy Turkey Day!

The Devil You Know

There was an article in the paper today about a fifteen-year-old local boy who is in a coma after overdosing on Xanax, Morphine and Ecstasy. His family doesn’t know if he took large quantities of the drugs accidentally or if he intended to end his life.

The family is heartbroken over the thought that he was possibly suicidal and over the fact that he was abusing drugs without their knowledge. (Friends told the parents that this was not the boy's first encounter with illegal drug use.)

My son was a teenager when he died and reading this article made me wonder: is it better to lose a child and know the reason why or to sit at the bedside of a comatose child, not knowing what the outcome could be?

As depressed as I am over my son’s death, I wouldn’t want to face the alternative: to spend the rest of his life sitting by his bedside while he lays in a coma, watching him waste away, fearing that I may have to decide one day to “pull the plug”; or maybe he would wake up from the coma and struggle with severe brain damage for the rest of his life. These hypotheticals seem even worse than the reality that I live with.

The family in the article could be facing these scenarios. I would not want to trade places with those parents and I’m sure they wouldn’t want to trade places with me.

Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know? I don’t know. Maybe there is hope for this family. Or maybe there is only more tragedy yet to come.

Time will tell.

Give Me A Break!

Hubby left on a business trip this morning and as I dropped him off at the airport I felt a sense of relief that he was leaving for a few days. I really need a break from that man!

After 21 years of marriage, I guess it’s normal to need some space. Last month we had a stressful trip to PA to visit relatives and yesterday we had a fight about the downloading issue. (See yesterday’s blog entry.) Too much pressure in too short a period of time…something had to give. The timing of this business trip couldn’t have been any better.

Usually hubby and I are quite companionable…we enjoy spending time with each other. We have similar interests and hobbies we can share; even if our activity is sitting on opposite ends of the sofa reading books, we are pretty good at being in each other’s company. And we know the value of letting the other person explore their own interests alone. But every relationship has its rough patches. I’m not concerned about this one. By the time he returns, we’ll be happy to see each other again.

Until then, I’m going to enjoy a little “me” time.

Downloaders Beware! Update

Well, folks, it happened again. Cox Cable suspended our cable internet service because of a complaint regarding BitTorrent downloads on my account. Hubby downloads TV shows from file-sharing sites so we can watch all of our shows in high-def without watching commercials. He stopped downloading pay-TV programs from HBO because they lodged a complaint back in September.

This time it was NBC that complained. NBC?! We pay for cable; we pay to receive NBC programming. If we miss a show and want to download it, I don’t see the problem. We’ve already paid for the privilege of watching the show, haven’t we?

The Cox Cable has a “three strikes and your out” policy; three complaints and they shut off your internet service permanently. We’ve already had two, so we’re shopping for alternative arrangements.

Hubby and I had a huge argument over this. I think that he should stop downloading programs. He thinks the cable company is in the wrong. Personally, I don’t feel like spending money on an attorney just so he can demonstrate how right he is and how wrong the cable company is. It’s not worth the time, money or trouble. This particular issue is not important enough to me to fight the system.

We were able to cope before BitTorrent came along. I say we bail on BitTorretns until the networks stop hassling people for using the technology.

There are other ways of getting any programs we miss, such as using our DVR, recording with My HD-130 HDTV computer card, or signing up for TiVo. If we decide we need to see a season we missed, we could wait until the show is released on DVD.

This issue makes me sick, and it’s not just the TV networks who complain. The recording industry has sued thousands of people for sharing music files, including a woman who claims she is “internet illiterate ”. Are lawsuits from the TV networks far behind?

I think I’ll go read a book.

I Voted Today

OK, I didn’t really vote today…I had an early ballot and mailed it in over a week ago. I’m too lazy to stand in line at the polling place, show three forms of ID, and fill out a long, confusing ballot with no chair to sit in while I refer to my notes to assist me. I actually researched the ballot issues and it took more than a little bit of time. In Arizona there were 19 ballot propositions, a bond issue, judges from County Superior Court, State Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals up for re-election along with the Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, etc; the list goes on and on. Who are these people?

I am a registered Libertarian. I know that most (all?) of the Libertarians on the ballot in my state will not win the seat they ran for, but even if my votes were merely s symbolic gesture it was still worth my time to vote. The Republicans and Democrats are doing a shitty job of running things. Libertarians believe government should take a smaller role in people’s lives. Here’s a quote from the Libertarian Party website:

"What is a Libertarian?

Libertarians believe that you have the right to live your life as you wish, without the government interfering -- as long as you don’t violate the rights of others. Politically, this means Libertarians favor rolling back the size and cost of government, and eliminating laws that stifle the economy and control people’s personal choices."

Libertarian Party Website

If we all took a little more responsibility for the world around us, instead of relying on the government to take care of us (and complaining about it when they do a lousy job) the world would be a better place.

I hope you participated in the democratic process today, no matter who you voted for.

Time Waits for No Cat

A few months ago, my cat Misty began tucking me into bed at night. I get ready for bed around 10:30-11 o’clock nearly every night; after I brush my teeth, I climb under the covers with a book and read for a few minutes before turning off the light. Misty sits on the bed while I brush my teeth and then joins me while I read. Some nights she lies on my stomach and purrs, which is really nice. All cats should offer this service.

Last night I stayed up a little later than usual because hubby and I were watching a movie. At 11 p.m. Misty came into the living room, sat on the floor and stared at me for a few minutes while I was watching TV and then she started to meow…loudly.

Misty: Meow!
Me: What’s-a-matter baby?
Misty: Meow, meow! (Glances toward bedroom.)
Me: Yes, I know it’s time for bed. I’ll just be a few more minutes.
Misty: Meow. (Walks into bedroom and sits on bed.)

I swear she can tell time! She sat there and waited for me to go to bed. I’m not sure, but she may have been giving me disapproving looks!

Misty also wakes me up in the morning by jumping on the bed, meowing, and walking on me (or sitting on me) until I wake up and pet her. Once I’m up, she heads for the kitchen to wait for breakfast. If I sleep late on the weekend, she is very put out. I guess she doesn’t understand the concept of weekends.

This is not the first time I’ve noticed Misty’s time-telling ability. When hubby is late coming home from work, Misty sits sentry near the front door waiting for his arrival. Once he arrives, she meows excitedly and follows him around as if berating him for being late.

Women don’t like to be kept waiting and, apparently, neither does Misty.