It is a medical based drama. A baby was born at just 24 weeks (they are supposed to cook for a full 40, or as close to it as possible) and less than a pound. The doctors said the preemie wouldn’t last 48 hours. But the couple was still so positive and happy. Getting pregnant had been a struggle for them. They had tried for years to have a baby that they could take fishing and make root for the Green Bay Packers.
With the prayers of all their friends and family and Facebook friends, the baby boy made it past 48 hours. He then made it past 72 hours. They called him their little fighter, their little angel.
I couldn’t help but be envious of their positive attitude. I had to send my own son off into operating rooms three times in the past, every time I was almost hysterical and convinced I would never see him alive again. And he was six months old and a healthy weight the first time that happened.
The thing is, this wasn’t a new television show or a Hollywood movie. This was the child of my former neighbors.
Neighbors are a weird thing. We are in the city. We lived close enough that our driveways and back doors are only a few feet apart. We would help each other look for our lost dogs in the dark. We would hear each other arguing with our spouses, either outside or when the windows were open. We would reveal things to each other in passing. For example, they were the third people to find out when I was pregnant with my own son. Only because they happened to be outside that night.
Yet, when all this happened, we aren’t technically close enough to them to help in any meaningful way. All I could give them were thoughts and prayers.
That wasn’t enough. The baby passed on after 4 days.
I know from my own limited experience with a child in the hospital that their lives must have revolved around that baby and that hospital for that period of time. A hospital is not a nice place to live. Especially if you are not the one who is being treated. I have never lost a baby myself. I can’t imagine how horrible it will be for them to return home after this ordeal, empty-handed.
What I learned this week is that I am not good with birth. Or death. And that we never appreciate what we have.
I didn’t get that shining moment when you hold your baby and smile at it. I was busy puking while someone else was trying to tape a bag to his tiny nutsack so they could get a urine sample.
I live in denial about death. I try not to think about my hamster who died over ten years ago. I compartmentalized my gramma’s death. Part of my brain just thinks she is still off in the nursing home.
I think we are just programmed as humans to not be able to realize how lucky we are. It is so easy to get in an argument with my 3 year old son over eating his breakfast or sitting on the potty. I should be so happy that he is here and healthy. But, I guess, if I remembered that, I would also never discipline him and buy him Thomas toys until we are broke, bankrupt, and foreclosed on.
Life balance is hard. Maybe we should just spend a few minutes every day realizing what we really have.
This is all painful. It is not my story. That is why I haven’t included any names or dates. But a lot of my past week was thinking about this little peanut, and I felt like I had to spill it out of me.
When I first heard there was such a thing as doggy daycares, I thought it was a GREAT idea! Cute little dogs, running and playing all day while their owners were at work. I didn’t have a dog at the time. And when I did get my furry daughter Dave, I couldn’t afford to enroll her anyway. There was one in the city I worked in, but not in the city I lived in.
Then I got the great idea to start my own doggy daycare. I could take my dog there with me, to work every day! I wouldn’t have to miss her! I wouldn’t have to pay to enroll her! I could be making money off other people’s dogs! I could have it right in my own town and alleviate my two hour daily commute!
Why, Dave could be my mascot! She could also be my mascot for my dream of a Jennifer’s Wiener Hut. Hmmm. There must be someway to combine the two business ideas. Customers who don’t pay up, their dogs get ground into hot dogs! Wait, too gruesome? Scratch that. Just a cost-cutting idea 😉
My Dave, the mascot of my dog empire, featured her in an early mock-up
I love organization. I could have spreadsheets about what dogs get fed how much and what kind of food. I could make forms for prospective clients to fill out and submit with their proof of vaccinations and emergency info. I could keep have a file full of dates when I need to nag the owners to get me new annual shot records.
I made a mental plan to get a job at a doggy daycare for a while so that I could get paid training and pilfer their best practices. I looked up all the closest ones online. I watched their job postings. I even took an American Red Cross Dog First Aid class (required or highly recommended to work for most of these places).
My American Red Cross Dog First Aid card
At one point, I even had a job offer from one. At the time, it did not fit the requirements I needed for a job to support my family’s needs. Which, was kind of a huge bummer.
It seemed like a great plan and I held on to that dream for several years. But I finally gave it up. Mostly because our Pointer Parker is such a troublesome dog, he turned me off to spending all day, every day, with dogs. As I speak, Parker is pacing through the house. He will momentarily pee on the floor is I do not jump right up and let him out. It doesn’t matter that he just went out two hours ago. Or that I purposely left his water dish empty since breakfast so that he would not drink the whole thing all at once. I really do not like him. And part of that could be that he took my dream away from me. One of the few I ever had that seemed like I would be able to make it work.
This is the horrible Parker dog who has stolen my dreams from me. Don’t let the Santa hat fool you.
There. I just let him outside, and back in again. Of course, while he was out there, he danced the Riverdance in the mud puddles. He comes in covered in mud (and I know what else) from head to toe. He is entitled and ungrateful. He is actually a cat.
Cats would never be allowed at Jennifer’s Doggy Daycare.
I have returned to my ultimate dream: early retirement. I might need the help of the lottery to make that one happen.
This week I got to see the movie Divergent. I have been waiting to see this movie for eight months! From the very first time I had ever heard of it in Entertainment Weekly. You can read more on the birth of my obsession here. My primary motivation for reading all the books and anticipating the movie release is because of Theo James’s good looks.
Theo James as Four Photo: Summit Entertainment
My asbestos friend pointed out that Theo James, who plays Four, looks a lot like the boy I had a crush on all through school. Except that Theo is British. And Theo is probably a good 5 inches taller and 9 years younger than the boy I liked in school. And Theo has amazing model/actor good looks.
Now that I have given you a little background, I will share with you that…
This week I learned that the only actor I liked in Divergent was Theo James.
Oh wait, that’s not true. I liked Mekhi Phifer as well.
It was a good movie. A very faithful adaption to the book about a teenage girl, Tris, choosing her future in a dystopian world. Of course, some things had to be cut for time. Many things I thought would be cut were still included, which was nice. They cut out the scene where Peter stabs someone in the eye. Removing that scene makes it seem uncalled for later when Tris shoots Peter very deliberately when she and her crew are sneaking back into Dauntless headquarters.
I just find that Shailene Woodley bothers me. She has a squeaky voice. I don’t enjoy watching her on screen. (It took me seven years to decided that Kristen Stewart was a bad casting choice for Bella in Twilight. But I knew right away about Shailene.) The actor playing Al wasn’t fat enough. Zoe Kravitz was alright as Christina, but she had a much smaller part in the movie compared to the book. I don’t like Ashley Judd. I don’t like Tony Goldwyn (He will always be the bad guy from Ghost to me!). I don’t like Kate Winslet. Maggie Q is not the look I pictured for Tori. I pictured Tori as Caucasian with blond dreadlocks, and a little chubby.
None of these actors did a poor job. It is just not the casting I would have chosen. And that greatly distracted me while watching the movie, except for scenes that Four was in. He keeps you glued to the screen.
Also this week, “U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman on Friday ruled that the state [Michigan]’s ban on gay marriage, approved by voters in a landslide in 2004, the ballot box is no defense to a law that tramples the rights of same-sex couples.”
This made me happy. (I voted against that law in 2004. The vocal man in front of me in line that day did vote for it.)
I thought that some other law would have to be passed in order for gay marriages to proceed in Michigan.
Nope. Apparently, we just needed to REMOVE the law that was PREVENTING it from happening. On Saturday, some county clerk’s offices around the state had special hours to perform the state’s first gay marriages. My county was not one of them (Not a big shocker). But, when I followed some links from a news story about the topic, I did find an officiant in my county that would perform such ceremonies.
I was SO PLEASED to see that it is the same woman who performed my wedding back in 2003! I knew she was open-minded about getting married in jeans, but I am happy that she is open to all types of love as well.
I tell my son that I don’t care if he grows up to be gay, but it would be a lot easier on him if he didn’t.
Three weeks ago I started watching the TV show Veronica Mars, which aired on UPN and The CW, form 2004-2007. I watched it because I wanted to see the Veronica Mars movie, currently in theaters. I wanted to see the movie, not because I really gave a damn about the character of Veronica Mars, but because it was the first big movie to hit theaters financed through Kickstarter. And I wanted to totally show the studio system that movies based on [good] cancelled TV shows will draw people and CAN make money. To paraphrase one of my favorite dead dad movies, make it, and they will come.
I am so excited about this idea possibly working for other cancelled TV shows, that I almost contributed to the Kickstarter campaign for the Veronica Mars movie, even though I had never watched a full episode. I didn’t contribute, so I will have to provide my support by purchasing a theater ticket and/or digital download.
I was already contemplating watching the series when my beloved Entertainment Weekly did a cover story on the VM movie. I read the whole article, totally clueless as to who these characters were. I figured, if I am going to go see the movie, I might as well find out who the hell they are. Not wanting to spend much (any) money, I used a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime.
I really love high school based dramas with some humor, especially those with chicks as the central character. So why didn’t I watch VM the first time around? I am not big on mysteries. I don’t want suspense. Just let me watch the event happen, then let the aftermath play out. I don’t want to have to “solve” anything.
Also, I was probably busy watching another high school drama set in sunny California featuring tensions between the rich and the poor, Fox’s The O.C.
I kept watching VM this time because she had a cute, flippy haircut that I wished I could pull off.
Cute hair. Photo: Warner Bros.
I really like the theme song “We Used To Be Friends” by the Dandy Warhols. But, I heard it on The O.C. first.
After watching about four episodes, I went back and reread the Entertainment Weekly article. The article talked about how all the fans wanted her to end up with some Logan guy, played by Jason Dohring.
WAIT AN F’ING MINUTE!
The asshole who just tormented Veronica for four episodes? He is mean, evil, possibly mentally disturbed. The guy who knocked both headlights out on her car AS SHE WATCHED?!
I’m sorry, but if you f’ up my car, I am not going to forgive you and start dating you six months later. This information made me very eager to see how the show would make such a leap. I did not believe it could be done. I was very stubborn in my convictions that no matter what, I would never believe that she should be with Logan.
But by the first season finale, I realized it HAD happened. I now wanted them to be together. Oh, he was still an asshole. But the writers set it up that his whole life was falling apart around him. And they showed that he could feel love. So, I guess a mixture of pity and showing love towards Veronica won me over. I kept waiting for his voice to change in future episodes, but it didn’t. It is very high and smarmy. He needs a black mustache to twirl as he makes his snide comments.
I swear to God I found this photo AFTER I wrote the statement above. What are the chances? Photo: Warner Bros.
I have read where the creator Rob Thomas didn’t first intend for Logan and Veronica to get together. Apparently, when Logan and Veronica were on screen, everyone with the show saw the chemistry and said, “Ya, we want to see more of that.” The problem is, the times when Logan and Veronica were dating, they actually had LESS screen time together to do their finely-timed wordplay and flirty looks. The times that they were dating, Logan just sat around and mooned for Veronica, waiting for her to stop by his penthouse. The times they were broken up, he just sat around and brooded. It was like dating Veronica turned him into a eunuch. It actually made me miss him being a giant asshole. At least he was more interesting then.
Veronica Mars is not the type of show you expect it to be. A lot of the episodes are about a student you have never seen before, and how Veronica helps them solve their problem. It is pretty deep. People are raped, people die, those dead people come back and haunt the living. There is also a class war in Neptune, between the haves and the have nots. It just seems too ambitious for a show about a little blond high school girl.
Most TV shows I can predict what will happen before it does. That is not the case with VM. That is both a compliment, and probably the explanation for why it was cancelled. People like predictability. That is why Survivor and America’s Funniest Home videos are still on the air.
Veronica drives an older convertible that she uses to bop around town and trail people. It is quirky and I like that. It represents that she is a have not. But it is badly damaged in the season one finale. How is it that she is still driving it, fully intact, in season 2? I think the insurance company would have totaled it, with all that front end damage.
I found it interesting that they cast the show with what I would call an unconventional cast. Neither Teddy Dunn, who played Duncan, or Jason Dohring, who played Logan, were guys you look at and instantly think they are superhotties who could be magazine models. Don’t get me wrong, they were not trolls either. And Kristen Bell, while great in the roll, stands at only 5” 1’. Without acting talent, it would be very hard to get a part at that height. (I am short, and I have another 3 ¾” on her!)
“Annoy, tiny blond one, annoy like the wind!”
–Logan to Veronica
The O.C. always ended every episode happy to a kick ass song, with everything more or less everything resolved (Marissa letting Volchok slither into her trailer would be an exception. EW.). Veronica Mars ended almost every episode with a cliffhanger, which is kind of annoying when it is already 2AM and you need to use will power and turn it off and go to bed. VM had some songs in it, but they just didn’t strike me as impressive as the ones used on The O.C. Maybe because watching it so much after the fact, the songs are no longer timely? I don’t know.
Haven’t I seen this on The O.C. a half dozen times? Photo: Warner Bros.
Sorry I keep comparing VM to OC, but it seems as though even the staff at VM realized the similarities. Season 3 of VM the credits were even redone in orange and bars, very similar to The O.C. opening credits. Probably a suggestion by the network to emulate the more popular O.C. Except that The O.C. would sadly only last another year itself. There is a quick reference to The O.C. in the VM movie as well.
I liked Veronica Mars. A lot. But I still wouldn’t put it in my Top 10 shows. It is a good show, but mystery just is not my genre. It might make honorable mention in the Top 15. I just can’t identify with her enough. She is too sassy and strong, two things I would never be mistaken for. Even on The O.C., I could see some of myself in geeky Seth Cohen.
“FYI? If cuddling is the best part, he didn’t do it right.”
–Logan to Veronica
Ryan Atwood and Logan Echolls both got in tons of fights. Somehow, I just was always rooting for Ryan, and his motivation always made sense to me. Not so much with Logan. While I grew to enjoy Jason Dohring’s stage presence and quippy one liners, my heart will always be with Ryan, his wife beater, and his stare that could shut up Seth with one glance.
While Veronica does not make my Top 10, she is way better than most of the stuff on TV today.
Old boyfriend sees Veronica with new boyfriend. I feel a fight coming on. Photo: Warner Bros.
I am glad I watched the series before I watched the movie. There were parts in the movie referencing the series that made me laugh out loud and others that made me say “aww” and brought some extra fluid to my eyes. I like it when I am able to get inside jokes. Although so many people went through Neptune High School, that half of them I can’t remember. All the blond girls look alike.
“Our story is epic.”
–Logan to Veronica
The movie was pretty much like watching an extended episode. Maybe it would have been more impressive watching it on the big screen in the theater, which is what I wanted (and still might do). But, well, I didn’t want to drive and hour and fifteen minutes away to a theater that was showing it. And I didn’t want to wait. So I downloaded it from Amazon. This whole experience has made me realize that I have a more addictive personality than I first realized. It is a good thing I desire pop culture and chocolate, and not alcohol and drugs.
If I watch too many episodes of VM in a row, it makes me feel very snarky. Which isn’t good when I am at work getting paid to provide excellent customer service. Extended viewing makes me feel bad ass, and makes me want to wear my pony tail higher.
[Veronica is trying to change a flat tire]
Troy: Flat?
Veronica: Just as God made me.
The movie adds Jerry O’Connell as the current sheriff. Tina Majorino reprises her role as “Mac” from the VM series.
POP QUIZ: What 1992 series that I loved featured Jerry O’Connell and Tina Majorino?
CLUE #1: Also starred Jay Mohr.
CLUE #2: Also featured future two-time Oscar winner Hillary Swank.
ANSWER: Camp Wilder!
I can’t resist including a totally off-topic clip from the show, featuring Hillary and fellow recent Oscar winner Jared Leto…
My parting thoughts? I am busy being amazed that I can watch a 10 year old TV show, one episode after another, and then download the movie instantly four days after it came out which was only made possible through personal donations by fans. What a crazy world we live in today! It is times like this that the Internet and so much technology seems like a good thing.
I totally cannot get the song “We Used To Be Friends” out of my head now.
A year ago, I was desperate for a job. But even then, there were some things that turned me off to certain jobs.
I applied to many jobs that required a drug test. Only one actually was interested in me enough to want to send me for one. But, as I got a concrete job offer from a different business, I took the concrete job offer. The place requiring the test had not given me a job offer. I was just in a big cue with a bunch of other desperate applicants. Mostly, I did not want to take the drug test. Now, Lazy Hippie Mama will vouch for me, that I am the squeakiest clean girl out there. Actually, she laughs at me that I don’t want to take one. The test would not have found anything. But I don’t really want any job enough to give them my bodily fluids. Unless, say maybe Edward Cullen is looking for blood donors.
I feel the same way about being finger printed for a job. A background check on me would turn up nothing that I would need to hide. But, if in the future, I want to start committing crimes, I want to have that option open. I want my fingerprints to be some of those that have no match in the CSI database. (I also don’t want to get a library card–just another way the government can track you!)
It is like in high school when my favorite teacher asked me why I wasn’t going to join the school’s anti-drug program. He must have been curious. He knew I was a good kid, did my homework, co-editor of the school newspaper, of which he was the adviser. Aside from the obvious fact that it was a big phoney club full of students who most definitely did do drugs, I told him the truth: I told him that I wanted to keep my options open for illegal drug use in the future. I still have that viewpoint.
So, that brings me to the purpose of this post. I have never been big on dress codes, but realize that in some positions they are made a necessity by the management.
My manager wants me to wear…
Ugh.
I can’t even get the words out.
Matched socks.
Not only that, she wants them to be black!
YOU: Why DON’T you match your sox? MY REPLY: Why SHOULD they match?
Now, when I was hired a year ago, I gladly agreed to wear black, closed-toe shoes with black pants and a work shirt. They never said anything about socks. There is nothing about socks in the employee handbook. At one point, my manager’s manager saw my socks, and we had a whole conversation about why I mismatch them. She never indicated that this was a bad thing. With new faces at the top of our local rung of the corporate ladder, we have now been instructed to wear black shirts under our work shirts, and black blazers over them. Now, mind you, we have to buy EVERYTHING but the work shirt ourselves. And if the minimum wage were to be raised to the value that the President of the United States has thrown around in the press since his State of the Union speech, I would stand to get a raise of over a dollar. I would be really upset about the blazer thing, if I did not already have one. And since I don’t have any black shirts without Twilight logos or characters on them, I had to buy one of those just to wear for work.
But this sock thing really irks me. Afterall, mismatched socks IS MY THANG! And, I mean, no one is probably even going to notice, as my pants meet the tops of my shoes. But I feel like there will be secret sock patrols out to catch me! I feel like I do my job pretty well. But part of me wonders if they would fire me over non-conforming socks.
THEY ARE SOCKS!
They are not like a ring in my nose or a tattoo on my forehead. Although, what would really be so wrong with those things either. Socks are a personal, private thing between a person’s feet and their shoes. Socks are like underwear. You wear them under your pants and shoes. I would not work at any job that tries to legislate my underpants and bra.
And if they did fire me over socks, it just might be worth it. I would still have my self respect. And imagine when I fill out future job applications. They will say “Reason for Leaving”, I could put “I wouldn’t wear black socks.” Some might see that as stubborn or not a team player. But some future employer might see it for the ridiculousness that it is.
I'm not stalking you. 