I’ve been silent for weeks, I know… my days are packed with balancing my part-time job with my job-search and various home-management joys. And then there’s my book which I have ignored for months… I’d say that I need more time, but the reality is, I need some inspiration in my life. Looking for a job is soul-depleting.<\/p>\n
We’re going to be on vacation Friday, June 10 through Sunday, June 23. We’re going to and from Yellowstone by motorcycle. I’m not going to be reachable via email – it’s a *real* vacation! I’ll text from my phone about our progress here on my blog. And I’m hoping that, like our trip last<\/a> year, I’ll get a mental jolt from that.<\/p>\n Until then, some updates:<\/p>\n * * *<\/span> * * *<\/span> * * *<\/span> * * *<\/span> * * *<\/span> Seriously, speaking of animals: when a city dies, it’s not just the economy that hurts: animal shelters like the one in Detroit have to put to death 90% of the that come in<\/a>. Please, please spay and neuter your pets, and please, if you don’t have a pet, consider adopting?<\/p>\n * * *<\/span> But speaking of motorcycles: a few weeks ago, while out riding my motorcycle, I came within INCHES of being hit by a driver on her CELL PHONE. And when I honked, she looked vaguely out of her window and kept right on talking, and smoking. Folks, if you drive and talk on your cell phone, just unfriend me RIGHT NOW. Don’t ever speak to me again. Because I have no time for you.<\/p>\n * * *<\/span> * * *<\/span> * * *<\/span> * * *<\/span> * * *<\/span> * * *<\/span> * * *<\/span> But here’s something slightly more plausible, and way much more fun: a guide to preparing for an alien attack from National Geographic<\/a>. It’s fun, and you don’t have to be a kid to love it.<\/p>\n
\nI have no idea what my Mexican neighbor brought me last week to eat but it smelled HEAVENLY!!! We gobbled it down greedily… I’ll have to drive that family home from the grocery store more often!!! (only the Mexicans like me here… I guess they know a fellow Oregon outsider).<\/p>\n
\nIf I had a dollar for every time Wally Smithhart made me laugh, I’d be a millionaire. I’ll miss you so much, Uncle Wally. You made me laugh after my father’s funeral. You made me laugh before and after my grandfather’s funeral. You always made me happy to come home to Henderson.<\/p>\n
\nNext time you’re in Canby, Oregon, stop the Canby Shoe Repair & Saddlery and get some leather goods repaired, but speak up, because the gun-toting owner is a bit hard-of-hearing. And no sudden moves!<\/p>\n
\nWatching The Searchers<\/a> for the first time in my life, I was freaked out to find Ken Curtis is in it. He was unrecognizable except for the accent – something about that made me look him up on imdb<\/a>. Why is it important? Because “Festus” was the first celebrity I ever saw in my life (in 1972, at the Shrine Circus in Evansville, Indiana – and I intend to some day name a dog “Festus”). I brought this up on Facebook and a conversation interrupted re: celebrities at the Shrine Circus. It was a first brush with fame for most of my friends, apparently.<\/p>\n
\nThe Pentagon’s top-secret feline special-operations program, revealed<\/a>. So hilarious.<\/p>\n
\nNo, I did not join the Kabul Knights Motorcycle Club<\/a> in 2007 when I was in Kabul, I promise.<\/p>\n
\nNot that I don’t love taking photos… but it’s so much more memorable to be IN the scene, which is why I don’t take as many as others: “Technology has allowed us to be makers of pictures, not merely consumers. Commentator Alva Noe says we now approach life with the detached eye of producers, rather than the engagement of participants<\/a>. We run the risk of missing out on the experiences we so anxiously wish to document.”<\/p>\n
\n“What makes you a total weirdo in high school is most likely the ticket to your future success<\/a>.” So why am I not a trillionaire?<\/p>\n
\nThere is only one reality show I like: American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior<\/i><\/a>. I’m fascinated by the family dynamics. And my heart goes out to Junior – I so understand what he’s going through, and I so admire the grace with which he handles it all. As for Stefan, he likes the tools…<\/p>\n
\nMy Afghan friend, Friba, is now in Australia, to study for two years to obtain a second Master’s degree. She will occasionally post about her experience at the Afghan Women’s Writing Project<\/a>. She really, really misses her family – so if you read one of her blogs, please write a comment. She is very energized by those. My short-term dream is that she gets her degree and then gets a job with an international agency, even the United Nations – outside of Afghanistan. And my long-term dream is that Afghanistan becomes stable enough and safe enough that she wants to return instead of working and living abroad.<\/p>\n
\nI am OUT OF MY MIND with anticipation for the next Sherlock series starring Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch<\/a>. Filming has begun!<\/p>\n
\nBoxer and Philippines congressman Manny Pacquiano opposes condom use<\/a>. Put me in a boxing ring with him for five minutes and, trust me, I will change his mind AND take away his boxing belt.<\/p>\n
\nDid you miss the Rapture? Me too. But here’s lots of great post-Rapture photos<\/a>. Also, James Randi did a great job of reviewing 44 of the previous rapture predictions<\/a>.<\/p>\n