An Open Letter to God

Dear God,

Hi, it's me. Again.

You and I used to be closer but now maybe not so much. What's up with that?

It just seems that lately every time I've asked you for something it gets nixed. To tell you the truth, I'm getting a little paranoid about that. Am I that wrong in what I want, or think I need? Am I that far off track that everything has to be answered no so I can see clearly to the light of day? Are you going to be there at the end to help me through that?

Where are you?
Love,
Me

It Shouldn't Be So Difficult

I have wanted to posted but I was too lazy to re-enter all this information since Google took over Blogger. As you can see, it's finally done. I promise to post more often!

Happy Memorial Day! Remember, freedom isn't free. Thank a vet.

Is There A Cure For This?

I've become an ebay addict.

In the last two or three days, I have spent almost $150 -- all on dishware. But it's not just any dishware. It's Corelle's Spring Blossom/Crazy Daisy pattern and it's been discontinued. I was given a set of the stuff years ago from an old boyfriend's mom who was upgrading. I've got plates, luncheon dishes, teacups, dessert plates and even bowls and saucers. But she didn't have glasses, the gravy boat or the butter dish. And over the years, one very good friend (hi, Monimania) found serving bowls and casserole dishes which she gave me to me and I love to use. I've complimented the set with some French White pieces Corelle makes, but it's not quite the same. I've always scoured thrift stores looking for any kind of matching pieces, and have found a few plates, but I had never thought about using ebay as a source to feed my addiction until Easter Sunday.

I did a search and there it was: plates, cups, glasses, bowls and salt and pepper shakers! I swear I could hear the angels singing and feel the radiant beams of heaven shining down on me. Suddenly, I could not stop myself from bidding. Glasses, gravy boats, casserole/serving dishes, you name it, I bid on it. I figure I'm going to be doing alot of entertaining over the years and I will need to have enough matching pieces. I like to have parties, mostly dinner type parties and while my dishes may not be Noritaki, the set is priceless to me. I bid on eight auctions in all! And I won all but one. There were two auctions being held for juice glasses, one being sold as a set of four and the other as a set of six. I bid on both but at the last minute someone else beat me out for the set of four but since I really wanted the set of six, I was okay with that. The auction that ended today, the one I really wanted, was a set of NINE glasses, three of them matching the juice glasses I'd already won so now I have NINE juice glasses and EIGHT water glasses. Whoo-hoo!

Now, at least when I have people over for dinner, I can finally offer them something to drink too!

If It Matters

I'm back! Does anyone still read this?

OK, Not So Angry Now

Boy, it must be one of those times when I just need to circle my wagons to regroup. Maybe it's the hot, humid weather that I never missed when I was living in Alaska, maybe it's the long days and lonely nights of Husband's deployment finally catching up with me or maybe it's just me.

Where Is The Outrage?

The death of the two US servicemen in Iraq this week sickens me. Putting aside the fact that I have a vested interest in the War on Terror, what went on this week needs to be addressed by every American and the global community.

The New York Times can decry and call for the release of the prisoners at Gitmo in Cuba who are treated as per the rules of the Geneva Convention but two of their own fellow Americans suffer barbaric torture at the hands of these -- these fuckers, and nothing is said? What gives? In case you haven't heard all the gruesome details, allow me to fill you in. According to FOX News, the bodies were found Monday night but could not be retrieved until Tuesday morning because they were booby trapped. Daylight did not bring anything good with it. What the soldiers saw of their brothers in arms were bodies with their hearts cut out, their testicles cut off and their penises stuffed in their mouths. For good measure, their eyes were gouged out too.

Say what you want about the War on Terror, George Bush or even Donald Rumsfeld. These are Americans who were serving US and willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. Are we so immune to the news reports of another soldier dead that we don't care anymore? The media seems so intent on keeping a tally of the body count that they forget every number represents a life. Each of those lives had purpose and were loved by family and friends who will miss that life. Communities will mourn their loss and all America will be a little poorer for it.

This isn't about, "Well, if we weren't in Iraq this never would have happened." It's about fighting an enemy that doesn't follow the rules of the Geneva Convention. It's about keeping terrorism off American soil so we don't have to worry about riding the subway or flying cross country. Soldiers know what they're getting into when they go into battle. The fact that they accept they could make the ultimate sacrifice is what sets them apart from the rest of us.

But tonight, two men are dead who died a horrific, barbaric death. And America is silent.

End Of An Era

May came and went and when it went, it took my Alaska license plates with it.

The registration was up and I needed to convert to NY State. Even if I didn't want to, I would need to or I'd never be allowed on post which wouldn't be a good thing because it would mean I wouldn't be able to shop, pick up the mail, go to the library or use the gym so I had to do it and do it in a timely manner.

Certainly not to my surprise, they do things differently here. My first visit to DMV was to pick up the registration form. I was told by the clerk to bring the title, a NY insurance card and my marriage certificate since the name on the title isn't my married name. There's still a small loan left on the car so I had to call the credit union in Alaska to have it faxed to me.

I went back a second time with what I thought I needed but alas, no, the clerk told me I also needed a letter from the credit union on their letterhead stating it was okay for me to register the car in NY. Huh? The title is not enough for these people, they obviously live on paperwork and wanted me to bring them more for their after hours feeding frenzy. I get back to the office and I call the credit union again and tell them what I needed. This was our conversation:

Me: Hello. The DMV folks here want a letter from you stating it's okay for me to register the car in NY state.

Credit Union Clerk: They want what? I've never heard of such a thing.

Me: Well, that's what they said. They need a letter from you with the VIN, make and model and the okay by you to register the car here.

Credit Union Clerk: Do you have the title? That's usually all they want.

Me: Yes, I have the title but they need this letter.

Credit Union Clerk: Wow. This is a new one.

Me: Welcome to New York.

Credit Union Clerk: (laughs)

So, I finally get the letter and on my way to the third visit to the DMV office, remember that I still don't have a New York insurance card. It says Alaska. So much for being first in line at DMV that morning. I have to make a sidetrip to Geico to get the card. I have to wait for them to open and when they do, I am first in line there which makes me feel a little better but up until then, I kid you not, I was close to tears (side benefit of husband's deployment! Stress of more things for the spouse to do added to everything else I have to get done!).

So I'm finally in line at the DMV office, I have all my ducks in a row and now all they want is three forms of ID. This I really don't understand. Usually two forms of ID are enough (you can tell it's a government agency -- maybe they want three items to ensure better opportunity for the information to be stolen by an employee wanting to bring his laptop home). What convinced me of this is that most people usually submit a driver's license and maybe a social security card or something. I had to show them my driver's license, my military ID and a credit card. Try as I might to understand the reasoning behind three forms of ID, I just don't get it. Both the license and military ID have my picture on it. What gives with the extra piece of ID?

Anyway, I have the NY plates on the car now and I feel like everyone else. I blend in everywhere I go. The uniqueness is gone. No more close scrutiny of the car at the post gates when I go drive in to get the mail or shop or whatever. When I drove around with my Alaska plates, I always felt proud of the fact that they weren't NY plates. I've been someplace, they seemed to say and I'm not one of you. I've been away too long to call myself a New Yorker anymore. Living in Alaska made me independent and distrustful of the federal government. Alaska was rebellion. New York is not. Of course, the Alaska plates did make me stick out too, in ways that could have been bad had I had any serious case of road rage.

But the saddest part is now how my Jeep blends in with all the other jeeps that look just like it. So much so that I tied a yellow ribbon on the antenna, just so I could identify it in a parking lot. Me and the Jeep, we'll stick out.