Coffee Addicts and Water Hogs

OK, I've had enough of Starbucks everywhere and everywhere, and everywhere....they're even in the pantry @ homes everywhere. What is it with coffee drinkers and their willingness to pay $4 or $5 for a cup of brown water. I understand addiction and I have to admit that I am a soda pop addict myself but for heaven's sake even I won't buy a soda that costs more than a 93 cent 44 oz refill @ the Quick Trip. Its a REFILL too. I am even thinking that is too much sometimes. I have been using the same cup for a couple of years now. I am not adding to the waste that might otherwise be generated if I got a new soda container each time I was Jones-ing for a jolt of caffeinated carbonated water....OK, in a restaurant with food of any kind a soda might be as much as $2.00, and I am told you can pay as much as $2 for a cup of coffee @ a Denny's or something. Even there however, you get endless refills both on Sodas and the cup of Joe. OK...but people what gives with these $4 coffee drinks, its ridiculous. I have to admit also that I am the furthest thing from an aficionado of coffee but come on...use your Mr. Coffee or your French Press to get a cup of the brown stuff and if you have to put a little milk in it, do it like this...I can make frothy milk by passing it back and forth thru my teeth 1st then spit it into my cup of coffee. Now that's a Latte'!!! This advice could save your cash for something better like a charity of your choice, a house payment, a credit card payment (you've been charging that cup of Starbucks haven't you?) and save your cash....and that goes for you bottled water drinker's too.

I work for an engineering firm, although I'm not an engineer and did you know the water you get from your tap is probably cleaner and healthier than that purchased bottle of H2O! I toured a Wastewater Treatment Plant and was amazed @ the quality of the water that came out treated and back into the river for further drinking water treatment downstream. I could have even drank the treated Wastewater poured back in the river and it would have been better for me than bottled "Spring" water. Read the labels people! If the bottle has P.W.S. (Public Water Source) printed anywhere on the bottle you are paying big money for TAP water. If its Aqua Fina, thank you, you dumb dumbs are making my Pepsico Stock go thru the roof! Oh, your bottled water may be triple filtered and reverse osmosis-ized but if you look carefully and closely into the bottle there is still something floating around in there and the microscopic stuff you don't see passed right thru that filtering process and is now in your body. Next time avoid the pretty labels and ask for an empty cup. Find a tap somewhere and draw yourself a free cup of the good stuff from the nearest drinking fountain, hose, or spigot. Not to mention the empty plastic bottle that goes in the trash afterwards....just like the coffee cups...its so unnecessary...

If you are still Jones-ing for a cup of that Joe, PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE...patronize your local coffee houses and stay away from the Chain stores. If you have to have it, the local store will prosper from your dollars much more than any huge conglomerate chain of stores that are not about the person and more about the logo...

Alright Already! Oui Vey! My Recent Top Ten

Ok, I can see by the clock on the wall (and the calendar)(October)that its been since June of this year that I have made a post to this blog. Well, a lot has happened....too much to write it all out but I can hit the highlights....and in no particular order and nothing extraordinary...well I guess that depends on perspective.

10. I've reconnected with an old friend. These things take time but we've got a solid beginning.

9. Mom's been in and out of the hospital and having procedures to help extend her life. She is in good overall health (don't let this blog fool you) if you don't consider her heart and it has been needing a little help. She is in the best of hands and I have no worries and the faith she will be around for many many years to come.

8. My sister had a job as a mother and housewife got a job in an actual business to earn a paycheck, then left that job for a better higher paying job.

7. I am still on the same job I have had since December 1989 which means I have had the same job for 18 years now. How many of you can say that....and its technically the only job I have ever had in my 42 years, if you don't count the couple of months I worked the Temporary Agency that got me the job that I've had for 18 years now.

6. I've been working on and around my house of 3 years now?.

5. I've been composing a letter (recently dropped in the mail) to hopefully reconnect with a long lost Aunt-type relative, I hope they're receptive.

4. I've seen my Niece and Nephew 2 times in these many months and they are my most precious gift ever.

3. Bought my Mom a garage door opener for her garage and now she doesn't have to open the door anymore by hand....electricity is such a wonderful thing.

2. The best news so far and to almost end with is that I am an adopted child since the age of 6-weeks and I recently received a 7 page list of "non-identifying information about my biological parents and its facinating to read about family I've never known but can feel it in my being. There is something to the Heredity v. Environment stuff. I am happily amazed and so Thankful I was given life.

1. I have secretly won the Lottery, I am about to spring it on my family and friends. It feels so good being set for life.....

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OK Postscript...I had you going on that last one didn't I? Admit it there was a momentary sense of excitement...wasn't there? Sorry about that, I am hopeful something like that will happen in my lifetime but for now I am rich in Faith, Life, Family and Friends. That's the best millions I could ever hope for.
Thanks for checkin' in on me.
Now I am going to tuck myself in and get some rest
Good Night and God Bless!

Aventures In Cat & Dogsitting

Last week I house sat for a friend that has a cat. Her name is Penny and she is deaf and hears by vibration although I wonder if she is truly deaf or not. No matter, she's a cat and a bitch and a slut @ that. She doesn't come around when I come to visit when her family is home. In fact, if she sees me she makes herself scarce....Its a different story though when no one is home though. She's a slut for attention and treats and to go outside. All in all, she's a lovable little thing when she comes around. Well Hmmmm...

I have a couple of other freinds that have 2 dogs one of whom is actually a small man in a dog suit. His name is Simon and he is the most curious of pets and a smart little dog. I have known Simon since he was a mere pup and now a grown Cardigan Corgi. I am thinking he is of 7 years now....that's 49 in people years. OK, do the math and figure it out. They also have another foster/adopted dog named Dusty. She is a smallish herding dog of some type, brownish coat. She is a bit angst-ridden, if that is the right word and they are both obsessively hungry. When they eat (twice a day) they devoured their food as if it were their last meal and they are on their way to the gallows or something or Jerry Springer is about to start and they don't want to miss a moment of the mayhem...anyway, I digress. The dogs are a quirky sort especially what I know of Simon. He will watch TV and i think he understands what he is seeing. Especially, when other animals are on the screen. He talks to you and I can understand his dog speak to a certain extent. He is also a good little cuddler. He has a charge of his own, as well. My friends have an adorable little girl the same age as my nephew (2) and Simon herds her like a hawk sometimes. He always has an eye on her and tells Mom or Dad when Sis is into mischief.

It seems when I am sitting, the dogs try to take advantage my Innocent nature and play me with those sad little doggy eyes. I am not swayed, as I am an old dog aficionado from way back and not fooled easily. They get some treats but not too many. The dogs like ice cubes and that's a non-calorie food and I am sure sharpens their incisors. Do dogs have incisors? Interesting. Hmmmmm.......

Time Away from the Blog...

I'm sorry if anyone has been expecting a post. Its been a while. The Mom's (73) been visiting the Sister (36) Son-in-Law and the Grand kids for the last half of May 2007 and I have been busy around the house fixing things up and going out of town on long weekends. Its been like going to Camp or Vacation Bible School. I still had to work and learn something new but I had fun while doing it. When the Mom returned home her defibrillator went off and now we're going from Cardiologist to hospital to get this thang straightened out. It's also the Spring/Summer Season and I would much rather be outside then in front of my computer. Soooo....I will get back to posting soon. In fact I am working on 3 other new posts simultaneously to this one as we speak.

I Keep Thinking Now I've Heard Everything...Conjugating Verbs...I'm Disgusted!

Alright, in a week of happenings, I have thought to myself before that now I've heard everything but right now skipping thru the channels, I see Dr Kevorkian being released from prison after eight years , Pris Hilton is going back to jail?, the killer of that young woman in Overland Park has been identified, and then on Fox News Channel I see a snip-it of The O'Reilly Factor and a debate over California making a ruling on conjugal visits...visits now extended to, allowed for homosexual prisoners. OK, I love the sinner not the sin but this is a little too far. Although, I have never been in prison or know anyone except my step-brother who has been in prison and..after staying in a Holiday Inn Express last night and after watching the umpteenth episode of Dateline on Child Predators or an MSNBC docu-something on prison life in-depth from the prisoner point of view...I have come to the...I am sure albeit misguided conception (pardon the pun) that its not like the homosexual doesn't get enough action in prison as it is...now he/she has a legal right to conjugal visits...

Here's what I have learned about the word conjugal. The definition of conjugal is: con·ju·gal [kónjəg’l] adj relating to marriage: relating to marriage or to husbands and wives. In addition to this there are con·ju·gal rights defined as: npl right of spouses to sexual intercourse: the rights that husbands or wives are entitled to in a marriage, especially the right to have sexual relations with their spouse. And finally there is the con·ju·gal vis·it: (plural con·ju·gal vis·its) n private visit of prisoner’s spouse: a visit to a jail by the husband or wife of a prisoner, during which the couple is allowed some privacy, for example, to allow them to have sexual relations. By the way since I keep copying these definitions from "Word", I guess I should tell you these definitions are brought to you by: Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. OK, now that's out of the way back to my point.

Although there are a lot of homosexuals in California...I am not aware that the state of California recognizes same sex marriages...but I guess they do recognize the right of domestic partners in co-habitation. Even though that may be true, I am still unclear on how can they make the jump to conjugal visits for homosexual prisoners. All I can say is Wow! I just don't know what else to say. Somebody say something! Any comments from the peanut gallery are welcome...

New Brazilian Saint for the Roman Catholic Church

Friar Antonio de Sant’Anna Galvao, a Franciscan Monk was canonized recently by Pope Benedict XVI and made a Saint. The first Brazilian Saint as a matter of Fact...I am sure there are better articles but here is one from MSN. Also he spoke out about the morays and hedonistic tendency's in our culture today. We should take heed to his words. Click here if you wish to read it.

Also, during this same visit to Latin America the Pope spoke out to Drug Traffickers about the retributions they will someday face in light of their illegal drug dealings to the young and otherwise addicted. We should all take heed and read up on this as well because I feel it is also truth. Again, I am sure there are better articles but if you wish to read more in depth about it you can click here to get the scoop.

What are You wearing....

Recently, I have read several blogger posts, magazine articles, newspaper columns, and Internet searches on the subject of what people are wearing for clothes these days. Several topics I have read are about what is appropriate to wear to church, what is appropriate to wear to work and what to wear on a date or to dinner in a fancy restaurant.

I have an opinion on this topic, especially when it relates to what to wear to church. As I have stated in previous posts, I am a former Protestant who became a Roman Catholic. It was a very personal choice for me and I spent 9 months of Catholic education classes learning about the faith. I appreciate education of any sort and I have to say that if a Protestant church had given me the opportunity of concentrating on what their particular faith was about, I might have remained a Protestant and chosen a different path within the sect. Unfortunately, I searched for months and visited in many faiths, asked many questions of their various leadership, prayed for guidance and did not find the answers that I now have. Ultimately, I believe it was Jesus, my Savior, who was guiding my heart and mind to choose Catholicism and find the Peace I now have.

Oops, back to topic, "What are you wearing to church?"my Mother used to ask me (can't you just hear your own Mom asking something similar in the back of your mind?) when I was younger, back when we went to church that is... If I wasn't wearing a tuck-in-your-pants dress shirt (either short or long sleeved), and a tie, dress slacks with a leather belt, loafers or tie up Florsheim shoes with dark socks and sometimes a jacket or the full on suit on Easter or Christmas...my Mom would first of all holler at me and then proceed to shame me into changing in my "Church Clothes" or Jesus was going to get me for it. In the end, I never went to church unless I dressed up. When I became a teenager and young adult I was consumed with Ralph Lauren Polo, IZOD, Aigner leather belts, ties from Brooks Brothers, French cuff Dress Shirts, and Perry Ellis Dress Slacks. I was very well dressed and attempted to out GQ anyone I thought was looking better than I was. In all those years, during probably all that time, I gave little or no thought to Jesus, either in church or out, because church for me was all about what everyone was wearing, their "Sunday Best" as the term relates. I remember those days, being uncomfortable. Heck, I'm still uncomfortable dressing up...not that I can't out-dress anyone today. Heck, day-to-day I'm dressed better in Jeans and a T-shirt than most people wearing Armani. Why, do you ask? Well, its because of the respect I have for myself. That's right, I have a tremendous respect for myself. This has been a long long road for me and wasn't always so. Today, if I chose to wear a G-string and Tank Tee (formerly inappropriately known as a wife-beater) I would still be respecting myself and you know what...I would expect that same respect from anyone else for wearing it no matter the occasion. Call it a wisdom I have with age, but I have learned that "Clothes Don't Make the Man" its the man alone that matters...

Although, some have written or spoken that certain attire shows disrespect for God, I cannot believe that ultimately, in my heart, God, Jesus, really cares what I am wearing in his presence. I find no dress-code in the Catechism (perhaps I have missed it). I am sure there are passages in the Bible that can be interpreted as a dress code and I respect some one's right to the interpretation, but its just that...an interpretation...If it were spelled out, perhaps I would believe differently. "Where two or more are gathered, I will be there"...is there some hidden meaning that if you're not in a dress shirt and slacks of a poly-cotton blend, God will not be listening to me or allowing me to worship him for all his majesty? I've got some late -breaking news...God is everywhere folks, in everything, all knowing, all seeing. Now, should that not mean that I should be in a necktie, silk underwear and dress pants to mow the lawn, buy some groceries or lay sick in a hospital bed? Is it the building called a church that should compel me to dress up in the eye's of God? Does the Monstrance, the altar, the pulpit, the stained glass windows...require me to dress in a shirt, tie, slacks, and uncomfortable shoes. Is the hot Rayon-Polyester fabric that makes my nether regions sweat, supposed to represent my penance for Sin? Should I be refused communion because my leg hair is exposed? Again, I come back to...Does God really care? I spent my early adult life looking down on people simply because of what they were wearing. If their clothes, weren't good enough for my standards, why on earth would I want to associate, much less even speak to them. They were too poor, or their taste in dress fabric was atrocious. My gosh, did you see the shoes they had on their feet. How shallow was I? How did I ever become the person I am today? I had a turning point on this issue, I just don't remember now where or when? As I said, it is the respect I have for myself...the respect I now have for other's...the respect I have for Jesus Christ, God, my Savior, that compels me. What I wear to worship on a Sunday, Holy Day, or any day is not important. What is is that I am thankful to just be alive, to love God and my fellow man. To spread his word and teach those things that are important in regard to saving one's soul. It doesn't make me any better or any worse than someone else just because of the clothes I choose to cover my body and my God, unless he tells me different, doesn't care either...