Sleeping 30+ Hours

I did it. I slept over 30 hours straight. (Well, except for getting up to pee.)

With this "chronic fatigue" that I have been experiencing I keep telling people that I'm sure I could sleep for 24 hours if I didn't have to get up and feed the dogs and cats. Now I know that's true. The dogs and cats had plenty of food and water, and I'm having a three-day weekend, so I decided to sleep the whole first day. I went to bed Saturday night and slept until Monday morning.

I don't recommend it.

It was no problem sleeping. I never once woke up and felt like I'd had enough sleep, so I'd just get up and use the bathroom when I had to and then go back to sleep. That is the essence of this affliction. I never feel like I've gotten enough sleep.

I got up at 9:00 Monday morning and I felt lousy. I suppose it was the lack of food and water, mainly. I felt like I was only about 75% there. It took some time before I felt normal. About four or five hours. I ate, drank, watched TV, got on the computer. Now it's just about 3:00 p.m. and I feel fine. I've just had an energy shot ("5-hour energy" shot) and I'm going to go out in a minute and mow the lawn.

Incidently, I could have slept longer.
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Hundreds of Spiders!

At work I've earned a reputation as a sort of rescuer of insects. I've carried a number of beetles, crickets, and spiders out of the store and set them free. Today my boss was working the front register when he noticed a spider down in the corner on the floor. He called me over. This spider was different than the usual spiders we have in the store - what I call the common garden spider. We get lots of those. They're easy to catch and carry outside. This one was not a common garden spider. When I reached down to grab it I realized at once that it was a female wolf spider. How did I know? Because bunches of tiny baby spiders that were on her back started to run! Maybe not hundreds, but dozens! I'd seen a wolf spider carrying babies before. She was larger than this one.

This mama wolf spider was hard to catch, and the more I tried, the more baby spiders went running. I was getting nowhere and, to my frustration and concern, baby spiders were everywhere. So I grabbed a bag and managed to scoop mama and what babies were left into the bag. The good thing was that they stayed put once they were in the bag, so I didn't have to worry about baby spiders crawling up my arm as I carried them outside.

I got the bag full of spiders to the grass and dumped them all out. Amazingly, they all came out quickly and easily. I was afraid I'd have to leave the bag outside, weighted down somehow, so that all the spiders could eventually make their way out.

Mama spider sat still once she was out of the bag and on the ground, lots of tiny babies still crawling all over her.

There were so many. I wonder how so many babies manage to reside on one mama spider body. I suppose her abdomen was much smaller than I realized - that the bulk of her body was actually babies.

Here's a picture of the wolf spider that was outside my house. this one was about three times as big as the one in the store.

I hope I haven't made you to squeamish reading about my spiders!!
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I'm sick of it!

I think we're all sick of it! The negative campaign ads. Take one little part of one little thing and inflate and distort it until it makes the other candidate look like the spawn of Satan. It's ludicrous. We all know it's bullshit. We're smarter than they give us credit for. Well, most of us are.

The only people who like and agree with the republican attack ads are the republicans. The only people who like and agree with the democrat attack ads are the democrats.

So why persist? Spend the money on something else.

For those of you who are paying attention to those ads hoping to learn more about a candidate, DON'T!! Look up the issue and find out the truth. If you're reading this then you have access to the internet. Use it to find out the truth. Go to the candidates' web sites and read what they say about any particular attack. Get both sides.

If you still don't know who to vote for, watch the debates. The first one will be on Friday, September 26. If you have a TV you'll be able to find it.

To the candidates:

STOP THE NEGATIVE ADS!! WE DON'T BELIEVE THEM!!!
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Get Behind T. Boone Pickens!

This is something we need to do!

View my page on PickensPlan

Dolly, Dolly, Dolly

I saw Dolly Parton on the Tonight Show tonight. The woman is 62 years old. She has huge boobs and is proud of her huge boobs. But her boobs looked incredibly fake tonight. And they didn't look like implants. They looked like helium balloons. They were too far out and too far up for a 62-year old woman. I stared like I was watching a horrible car wreck. I knew they looked fake, but it took me a while to completely figure out the weirdness of the way they looked. Helium balloons. Overinflated. Out and up. I suppose helium filled fake boobs would take a lot of stress off her back.

Can you imagine those petite 62-year old bones supporting those huge boobs? She won't fall and break a hip. One day her back will just snap.

"Freak Injury Paralyzes Beloved Performer" is what the headline will say.

Unless, of course, they really are helium balloons.

(I do love her sparkly website!)

Too Much Money For My New Toy

Okay, I wasn't going to tell you because I spent way too much, but I only have to pay $30 per month with no interest. I won't tell you how much it cost. But it's so cool I bet you'll wish you had one. (Go to ginnys.com - you'll find it.)

I bought myself an electronic thing that lets me transfer my old records to CDs!!! I guess you'd call it a CD recorder, but that doesn't tell the whole story. It plays records and cassette tapes, and allows you - me - to record them onto a CD. So the 4- or 5-hundred or so records that have been sitting in boxes in my closet for several years can now be enjoyed again!

(It's a radio, too.)

I know it's going to take a long time to transfer all those records to CDs, but I think I have enough time left!! ;-)

I'd been admiring and coveting this CD recorder for some time, but didn't decide to buy it until my brother told me he has a copy of our dad's song on a record somewhere, he just has to find it.

WELL GET LOOKING, brother, because I need to justify spending money I don't have on this thing! (And if you have any records you'd like me to transfer to a CD for you, send those, too!)

Seriously, though, I'm very excited about being able to hear dad's song and then transfer it to a CD, which will allow me to upload it to my computer, and then who knows what!!!! I also plan to send a copy to my half-sister on dad's side who is also very excited about the whole thing.

DEXTER

One of my favorite shows will be back on September 28th! I have to go subscribe to Showtime so I won't miss it. Season three. Seasons one and two are available on DVD. I highly recommend you watch them if you haven't. It's a great show. Not bloody or gory like you might expect. Michael C. Hall has been nominated for an emmy and I'm hoping he wins!

The Big Race

You might wonder who I'm backing for president. Well, wonder no longer. I'm voting for this guy.

To ask him a question, or find out where he stands on particular issues, go here.

Seriously, though, I'd be very happy if you'd go here. And thank you in advance.

The Insider

Another movie that I watched yesterday. I guess it wasn't very successful when it came out, but I thought it was very good. It's about someone who worked for a tobacco company who becomes a whistle blower. More about it here.

Okay, it's time.

I'm tired, as usual, and I don't really feel like writing. But I promised, didn't I? So here goes. I'm going to write about the trip home (to Texas) from home (California).

Once again I was flying standby on United, thanks to my brother's having worked there for a lot of years. I was trying for a flight from San Francisco to Dallas. When I got to the airport the first thing that was obvious was that it was much busier than the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport. There was a long line to get through security, but it moved pretty smoothly. I got my ticked from the machine, as before, and got in line. When I finally got up to where a person looked at my ticket, I was asked to step over to a special area. Jackpot!! I was one of the lucky travelers who got to receive special attention. I guess I looked like a terrorist. Fit the profile. I guess the fact that I was traveling on an employee ticket didn't matter. Also, I'm an overweight 55 year old woman who bears no resemblance whatsoever to middle easterners, imho.

So I took off my shoes, put all my stuff in the plastic totes, walked through the metal detector, and was taken over to where they could take a closer look.

First I had to stand in this booth thing with my legs spread and my arms out while little nozzles blew puffs of air up my clothes. I have no idea what that was for, but I thought about it being that big x-ray machine that some folks have been complaining about - the one that shows much more of your body than any TSA employee needs to see. I don't think it was that thing, though, because I didn't see anything that resembled an x-ray machine.

Then some guy had to open and look through my carry-on bag and my purse. No surprises.

Then I got to put my shoes on, take my stuff and go to the gate.

I went through a few shops on my way thinking about buying a souvenir, but ended up with nothing. When I got to the gate I bought some water and a bad blueberry muffin. Then I waited for the flight.

This flight wasn't as enjoyable as the first. I was crowded into a cheap seat. Not nearly as much leg room as the first flight. If I recall correctly, we got a beverage and a snack, but I'm really not sure. We must have gotten at least a beverage. (I knew I'd forget a bit the longer I waited to blog about it.)

The flight was uneventful - which is definitely a good thing.

My niece and sister-in-law were waiting for me outside the terminal in Dallas. We drove to their house where I had left my car. I stayed for a short time but was anxious to get back to the dogs and cats, who by now were wondering if they'd ever see me again.

The dogs were extremely happy to see me, and I was extremely happy to see them. Everything at home was okay. Everyone, including my fish, had survived.

This picture was taken about a half hour after I got home.

No Action

Thank God.

Ike took a turn to the east and didn't affect this area at all, other that some clouds. I was ready for a little rain and a lot of wind, neither of which arrived.

Now I have a bunch of D batteries I don't need.

Ike's Coming

If you've been following the weather you know that hurricane Ike is due to hit the Texas coastline any time now. It looks like it'll be in my area tomorrow (Saturday) around noon. I'm scheduled to work. I'd rather stay home, but I'll go to work. I really don't expect much more than a real bad thunderstorm. Last reports said 2-4 inches of rain with 35-45 mph winds. We've had more rain than that. The wind will bring some limbs down, and probably some trees, too. I'll post photos if anything exciting happens here.

You can check the website of one of the local stations here to see what's going on with Ike and/or what happened in this area.

If I have electricity after the hurricane, I promise to finish my story about the trip back from California. It won't be too exciting, so don't get your hopes up.

Please pray for the people and animals in the path of the hurricane.

Autopsy Results

We finally got the results of Charlie's autopsy, so now we know why he died.

He had deep leg vein thrombosis which caused a blood clot. I thought mom said that it caused a heart attack, but when I looked it up on the internet I read that the clot will move to the lungs.

"These clots are dangerous because they can break loose, travel through the bloodstream to the lungs, and block blood flow in the lungs (pulmonary embolism)."

We were told that it was a painless death. Thank God.

Closure.

Another Phrase That Means Nothing

I was putting Halloween merchandise on the shelves today. I pulled this hanging ghost thing out of the box. The label said "realistic hanging ghost." "Realistic hanging ghost." I'd like to meet the person who determined that this thing was realistic. I wonder how many ghosts he/she has seen.

(I know I said I was going to go to bed after finishing the previous post. I'd forgotten about this new meaningless phrase. I hope you'll forgive me.)

The Trip Back From California

I'm not going to write about it tonight.

I was at work today. It was almost time to go home and I was thinking, "I'm going to finish writing about the trip to California tonight." A short time later, before I got to go home, the boss came around the corner. "Sue!" He was being real nice, and that always means he wants me to do something. "WHAT?!!" This time was no different. Because we had an employee quit about a week ago, we were short handed in the Photo Lab. He wanted me to work late. I told him I would, but I had to take Rosie to the vet, so I would have to leave and come back. (Rosie's fine. It was a routine appointment.)

I ended up working until 8:40 p.m. I started the day at 8:25 a.m. I figured that was long enough.

So no trip wrap-up tonight. I'm just writing this short note, then I'm going to go have a glass of water, and then I'm going to bed. Maybe tomorrow.

Another Movie

"Something's Gotta Give" starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. It was okay right up to the part where Diane Keaton's character starts crying all the time. But just okay. The crying made me reach for the mute button. Didn't like the ending. It's nearly impossible for me to believe that a man like Jack Nicholson's character would ever change so quickly. This movie is a few years old. If you have Netflix or something similar, go ahead and rent it if you're curious. But there are other movies you should see first!

Movie

I watched "The Last King of Scotland" last night. It was pretty good, and Forest Whitaker definitely deserved the best actor oscar he won for it in 2006. It was based on the true story, but I wonder how much of it was actually true and how much was "dramatic license." Doesn't matter. If you haven't seen it you should.