Tuesday, November 17, 2009

OK, I admit it, I'm a Twi-Hard



Not that it is any big surprise to anyone who regularly reads here, but it became clear today. Burger King has a new promotion to tie in with the release of New Moon. They have special photo cards available when you buy their six pack of mini burgers. They also have New Moon cups, crowns and four different photo gift cards.



No problem, right? Well, not if you happen to live in a town with a BK. That does not include me. The nearest one is almost an hour away. I very rarely drive anymore thanks to the migraines and all the meds and never drive more than to the grocery store downtown and back. However, I couldn't con anyone into taking me, so when Trevor got home from school, I promised to get him a new video game if he went along for the ride.

Off we went and I am now the proud owner of all the neato new New Moon swag that BK has to offer. You need to order their special water bottles on line and I did that last week. Hopefully, they'll be here soon.

The movie will be released at midnight on Thursday. I have to cover a meeting over an hour away. I'm trying to figure out a way to get out of there in time, write the article as we drive back, find a place with wi fi to send it to the paper and still make it to the movie for the midnight showing. I know, I may look into a 12-step program, but not this week. :)

How far are you willing to go for your addictions? Obviously, my inner fangirl has no boundries.

Labels: , ,

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

My experiences with foreign nationals and interviews

I was scheduled to interview a Saudi Arabian business representative today. It had been scheduled for over a week now. No problem, I have LOTS to ask about their country, etc...

I get there a littler early and had a muffin while the rep got set up. When I get back to her table, she asks when the story will run, I said tomorrow or Saturday, whenever there's room for the feature. Then she drops this tidbit, "It has to be approved by the commission (insert government there)." HUH??? You wait til NOW to tell me that? Well, not gonna happen in this life or the next. This is America and we DON'T play that game. Only my editor sees articles before they're printed.

The hostess of the export program came running and checked with others and it's true, those are the rules. Would have been nice to know that oh YESTERDAY!!! I felt bad for her, she was so embarrased. It wasn't her fault at all. Nobody could have anticipated that. I've never been faced with that situation before. I obviously said, it's not going to happen. Got me thinking of what it's like to be a "reporter" in that country. I can't imagine having to have the goverment approve every word I write. It's truly an eye opener for those of us in the business. Have any of you been faced with that situation?

The hostess was wonderful and immediately took me over to speak with a business rep from Chile. He was fun to talk to and gave me all sorts of information about the country, how the program works, etc... I'd happily interview him any day of the week and will continue to cover the annual event. I always enjoy meeting the various reps and learning more about their country and culture.

Just wanted to share my experiences and get some feedback on how you would have handled it. Would you have given in and done the interview with those rules? Would you have walked away, too?

Labels: , , ,

Happy Birthday, Trevor!!!!

Happy Birthday, my beloved little man! My Trevor is 15 today. Where did all those years go? Seems like only yesterday when he was born, but now I have to look up to see his handsome face and stand on a chair to give him a kiss. It's not that I'm THAT short, I prefer to say I'm fun sized. :)



We took him to Ruby Tuesday for dinner and gave him all his gifts there. Can you believe they aren't allowed to sing there? They got too many complaints from other patrons, so had to stop it. How insane! They also aren't allowed to decorate or celebrate Christmas. Insanity!!!

Labels: ,

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

New pics of our newest family members



Meant to post these on Sunday for Camera Critters, but wasn't able to get on line long enough, so I'll post them now. They're just to cute not to share. :) They love to eat slices of apples and slices almonds. Watching them hold the food in their wee teeny hands makes everyone go "AWWWW!!"


Labels: , , ,

Monday, November 09, 2009

Hi All!!



Had a couple rough days, so I haven't posted enough lately. The doc changed my meds AGAIN and I'm having trouble with it. It's for the dizziness, but all it does is put me to sleep. Not good when I want to drive. My 17-year old daughter has to play taxi for me. She doesn't mind, but it makes me feel useless. What kind of mother can't drive her kids around and depends on them to do it? :( Another med, he changed to every other day because the doseage was way too high for a tiny person. Of course, I say I'm not short, I'm fun-sized.


Hope everyone is doing well!

Labels: ,

Friday, November 06, 2009

Skywatch Friday




While I was on my way to work the other night, I saw this scene and had to snap a few shots. Looks like someone is watching over us. :)

To see more sky scenes from around the world, stop over at Skywatch Friday central.

Labels: ,

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Remember to Vote today, America!!



Today is an important day for Americans. We get to exercise a right that many shed blood to get - a chance to vote. Whether or not you believe your vote matters, it truly does. This is mainly for local elections and every vote is crucial!

Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.

The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.'

They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air.

They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women. Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms.

When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/suffrage/nwp/prisoners.pdf So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because - why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining? Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder. All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote.

Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient. My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked angry. She was--with herself. 'One thought kept coming back to me as I watched that movie,' she said. 'What would those women think of the way I use , or don't use, my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' The right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her 'all over again.'

HBO released the movie on video and DVD. I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock therapy is in order.

It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized.

And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave.

That didn't make her crazy.

The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'

Labels: ,