Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm very thankful for my family and friends, and for living in our great country. I'm also thankful for being able to attend college and become a nurse, even if I'm tearing my hair out because of end-of-semester stress.

I'm also very thankful for all of you who read my blog, despite the fact that my posts are now few and far between.

Have a very good day!

Dear Catholic Church Hospital Volunteers...

I'm sure the Catholic patients at the hospital appreciate the offer of receiving Holy Communion, and I'm sure you're nice folks, what with volunteering your time and all, but for the LOVE OF GOD, please respect the privacy drape when it's drawn across the room.

Sticking your head AROUND the curtain and asking brightly, "Is now a bad time?" is likely to get said head bitten off, if not by my naked patient, by ME.

Thank you.

Sorry...

I'm in almost-end-of-semester HELL and I really haven't felt motivated to blog at all. Plus, nothing really interesting has happened here, unless you want yet another rant on New England drivers, traffic in Boston, ultra-liberal campus bullshit, total burn-out/fatigue, or stingy massage clients.

*YAWN*

Inorite?!

Anyway, I hope everyone out there in cyberland is doing well, and I wish all a truly wonderful Thanksgiving.

Because quality snark is in short supply...

Summer of '06 I was lonely. I was working full-time, going to massage school four nights a week and on Saturdays, I never saw my kids, and I had ZERO social life.

I used to lurk on Baen's Bar, just to feel like I was having some kind of interaction with other (mostly) like-minded folks. One day, somebody posted something to the effect of, "Women who like guns! You guys HAVE to check out these blogs!" And linked to Adventures of Mauser*girl and View from the Porch.

At this point, I didn't even have a clue what a blog was. I literally had to google it! Then I clicked over and started reading....and reading...and reading...and eventually commenting...and clicking further to other folks' blogs...and reading...well, you get the picture! A few months later, I started my own blog and the rest is history. Along the way, I've virtually and in meat-space met the people I truly consider my family. Blogging has quite literally changed my life.

And without those initial visits to Tam's and Chris' blogs, it never would have happened.

For me, Tam is an unending fount of wisdom, humor, news, and especially SNARK. I've had the honor and pleasure of meeting her in "real life" and spending time with her, and she is a very special lady.
Unless you've been living under a rock (or don't know what a blog is, in which case, how did you find ME?), you must know that Tam was just diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma. Unfortunately, she has no health insurance (been there, NOT fun) and is looking at potentially a mountain of medical bills to get this resolved.

So, please, if you have even a few bucks to spare, head over to her blog and donate (the button is on the sidebar). Not only will you be helping out a truly wonderful person, but you'll be entered into a raffle to win some pretty awesome prizes. Many other bloggers are on top of this, so go visit them to get more info on the raffle(s)!

Thank you! Let's keep the snark coming!

Update: JayG from MArooned had the latest and greatest on the raffles, go forth and donate!

Thank you.

To all who've served in our military, THANK YOU.

You will never be forgotten, at least not by me.

Happy Veterans' Day.

Surreal Moment

I headed to the university library early yesterday to study for an exam. I made my way to a more lounge-like space that I hadn't visited before. Imagine my shock and pleasure when I found my favorite poem EVAR painted on the wall:

Hälfte des Lebens
 
Mit gelben Birnen hänget
Und voll mit wilden Rosen
Das Land in den See,
Ihr holden Schwäne,
Und trunken von Küssen
Tunkt ihr das Haupt
Ins heilignüchterne Wasser.

Weh mir, wo nehm’ ich, wenn
Es Winter ist, die Blumen, und wo
Den Sonnenschein,
Und Schatten der Erde?
Die Mauern stehn
Sprachlos und kalt, im Winde
Klirren die Fahnen.

It's a poem by Friedrich Hoelderlin from the early 19th century. I adore this poem and have since I was a kid. I memorized it in 8th grade, just because, and I can still recite it at will. Translating it doesn't really do it justice, but to me, it's about the changing of the seasons, the coming of winter, and the melancholy you (might) feel as you age, looking back at your fleeting youth. Yeah, so I was emo before that was even a word, so what? ;) And the language is just BEAUTIFUL. I get goosebumps when I read it.

Anyway, it was a very bright moment in a day filled with nasty, cold weather, exams, lab, bad news about financial aid, riding on jam-packed public transportation, and exhaustion barely held at bay by copious amounts of caffeine.

I know now where I'll be doing all of my studying in the future.

"I'd like it without blistering, pain, and scarring..."

I was just hitting the drive-thru at Dunk's* a few minutes ago, and the nice gal obviously misspoke when she asked me, "How hot do you want that coffee?"

*blink blink*

I replied, "Not hot enough to give me third-degree burns, please!"

She could barely stop laughing long enough to tell me the total.

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*d'you see how I'm going all local and shit? Calling it "Dunk's" instead of "Dunkin Donuts"...next thing you know, I'll be pahking my cah and calling everyone retahded.