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Showing posts from June, 2008

Beachin' Good Time!

We survived a jaunt to Ocean City, MD this past weekend. To end of my week of between-jobs, Kim, her parents, Georgia, and I went over last Thursday through yesterday. What a glorious time to being away! G became a "waterbug" and only wanted to stay in the pool. But she also liked our visit to the beach which was filled with looking for shells and playing with sand. My back is still complaining a bit but it was well worth it for a nice summer weekend. Pics should be coming soon...

Wirelessness

So far, so good. I've survived 5 days WITHOUT A CELL! Can you belive it? My cell was the work phone, so when I turned that in Friday upon my departure of W*USA9, I entered foreign terrority: a wirlessness world! Horrors. Actually, it's been refreshing. No constant pings from incoming emails or texts. No additional ringys from whomever. While driving around for errands...yeah, there's a part of me that'd like to have a cell handy. Or while in the Highlander to Ocean City tomorrow, yeah, I'd like to have the freedom to search the web. But I can wait. My hope is that I'll get a cell with the new gig at AOL and perhaps a laptop. We'll see. For now, we're off to the OC until Sunday morning. Chow for now!

Freedom and the Long Goodbye!

I resigned from W*USA9 May 30. The next three weeks are a blur of training my staff to perform my duties and multiple goodbyes. Who doesn't hate goodbyes? Probably the only thing worse than a goodbye is a long goodbye. There comes the point you just wanna say, "Okay, time to sneak out the back door." You're ready to roll, said all the toodles you want, and your heart which hasn't been in your job for a while REALLY is ready to move on. Yet, you know you've gotta stick it out. W*USA9 will always be an important chapter in my life. I'll never doubt or regret coming to work at the CBS affiliate in Washington, DC. The opportunity presented itself at a time I truly felt that I had to "know someone" in order to get out of Jackson, Mississippi, and work on the east coast. The Lord reminded me, "Yeah, HELLO, you know Me !" Boom, I'm in DC! The last four years have been tough professionally and personally. If you've read my ea...

Bulldog Speaketh

Not expecting a reply to my note, it would seem I'm getting the "standard safe form response": ==================================================== Dear Mr. Garner: Thank you for getting in touch with me again about energy policy. You have obviously given this a great deal of time and thought ‑‑ I've learned from hearing your views. I want to be responsive to the needs of all Marylanders when I make decisions. Information from people like you is essential if I'm to reach that goal. Again, thanks for keeping in touch with me. Please let me know if I may be of assistance in the future. Sincerely, Barbara A. Mikulski United States Senator

Senator Speak: More Blah, Blah and Less Oompah

If you haven't written your Senator about issues that concern you, please give it a whirl. It's your right as a U.S. citizen and as a voter. After all, these folks work for you. The gal at the left is my Senator. I lovingly refer to her as "the Bulldog" due to her looks and basically what falls out of her face: blah, blah. If folks in politics could have more oompah, more action to their words...how different things might be. So, I wrote to Bulldog about doing something with gas prices. Her response: ----- Original Message ---- From: senator@mikulski.senate.gov To: webmonkeydc@yahoo.com Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 5:58:07 PM Subject: Responding to your message Dear Mr. Garner: Thank you for contacting me about the high price of oil and gasoline. It's nice to hear from you. Gas prices are putting a tremendous burden on family budgets at a time when they are already stretched. That's why I am an original cosponsor of the Consumer First Energy Act of...

She Did Great!

Those are three little words you like hearing a surgeon say about your daughter who had her tonsils and adenoids removed this morning at 8:30. There's something a bit scary about having your child going into surgery. Even though, she's prayed over and you have a peace that everything will be fine...there's still a little part that doesn't like the idea of your little girl being unconscious and cut on by strangers. After the quick paperwork and a few questions, G slipped into her hospital gown and bouffant cap. We spoke with a nurse, an anesthesiologist, another nurse, the doctor, and Grammie and Poppie slipped back for well-wishes. One parent is allowed to accompany the patient. G picked me. I was pleased, yet wasn't sure how this experience was gonna play out. I was already wanting to tear up about the whole thing. Soon, I was in a gown, shoe covers, and a bouffant cap. When it was time, I wheeled her into the operating room in a large plastic wagon....

Scrub Some Grass On Your Face, It'll Clear It Up!

Something about my work in broadcasting has always made me "break out" around my temples and forehead. Perhaps when I'm stressed, I just get more oily and thus the lovely pimple. So, Kim finds this stuff. Thoroughly Clean Face Wash with Tea Tree Oil and Awapuhi . Awa -what?! Tea Tree oil? Apply this stuff in the shower is like landing face first and skidding on thick grass. Not the feel...just the smell. Wow. Make the mistake of getting some in your mouth and that's worse than chewing grass. It's described as "a gentle cleansing solution that leaves your skin feeling clean and silky. This unique face wash contains natural Organic Tea Tree Oil, an inherent antiseptic. Included also are extracts of Goldenseal , Hawaiian White Ginger ( Awapuhi ) and the essential oil of Swiss Chamomile ( Matricaria ). Mineral-rich Bladderwack , harvested from the sea, nourishes the skin to leave it looking vibrantly healthy. Thoroughly Clean Face Wash ever so gently helps ...

Hot Time In The Old City...

I've truly found my nemesis when it comes to spicy. For those of you who know me, you're aware that spicy is the way I prefer nearly everything. My good buddy Preston has always warned me that one day my stomach and I are gonna seriously disagree. I've tasted many a hot sauces but Mad Dog Inferno is definitely the hottest I've encountered. Described as: "A full 20 minutes of serious burn..!" This stuff combines concentrated capsicum extract and jalapeno peppers with unsulphured molasses, garlic and clove to form an intense fusion of Caribbean flavor. One drop and you'll wonder what hit you. Extreme heat level - "90,000 scoville ." Most spicy sauces can nearly become a beverage for me but this stuff I've only been able to ingest mixing it with mayo. Next time you need a spice-off...this is the stuff that will break any opponent assuming you can handle the heat!

Gimmie A Break...

Everone's up in arms about Vice President Dick Cheney's comment delivered yesterday at a National Press Club's award lunch. “So we had Cheneys on both sides of the family...and we don’t even live in West Virginia." Cheney then added, "You can say these things when you're not running for reelection." The crowd got a nice chuckle out of it. Yet, this comment today is viewed as ignorant, insensitive , inappropriate , and disrespectful. Gimmie a break. I'm a born and bred product of Mississippi which has taken labels and jokes relating to poverty, rednecks, education, lack of footwear, cooking, hunters, weight, and even inbreeding. During Katrina, more importance and attention went to Louisiana than to Mississippi which literally had its sea legs wiped away by the hurricane when towns, cities , history, and lives were erased into oblivion. It's a joke, people! "Well, he's a public official, he shouldn't say things like that....