Next week marks the 30th anniversary of the infamous Blizzard of '78. My parents were my age during the storm and apparently telling stories about 27" of snow falling over a period of TWO DAYS never, ever gets old. In fact, judging from the amount of coverage that this anniversary is bound to get one would swear that little green aliens fell from the sky on Feb 6, 1978 instead of a couple of inches of snow.
I understand that technology has improved quite a bit over the last three decades. With modern doppler and radar, an eighth grader could probably predict weather patterns better than the meterologists of yore. But baby boomers, seriously, do you have to keep bitching about the Blizzard?
For the love of Matt Damon, I know that it must've been tragic to be stuck inside for an entire week, especially since cable didn't come about until the mid 80's. But let's be realistic here: in the land before fax machines, the state of emergency basically guaranteed you a week of sleeping late and screwing around without your Blackberry going off every 5 minutes. Without telecommuting and the Internet, you could spend the entire week drinking Seagrams wine coolers and your boss would never be the wiser.
The Blizzard of '78 wasn't the Depression, Omaha Beach, or the Tet Offensive - it was a freaking snow storm. Either enter therapy or get over it. All of this talk about the Blizzard has my ears bleeding already.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Farewell to a Friend
I dreamt of Shzaam last night. I can't quite remember what the dream was about, only that it made me a feel a bit uneasy. He was the first thing on my mind when my alarm screamed me back into reality this morning.
I saw Shzaam on Sunday, and likely won't be seeing him for a very long time. His organs are shutting down and food intake is just about impossible. He knows that he's going to die and he's so angry about it. Dying in a hospital, a defenseless victim of the disease, wasn't the way his life was supposed to turn out.
I tried to tell Shzaam how much he means to me. I wanted him to know how much I loved him and the profound impact he's had on my life. While trying to get the words out, Shzaam (pissed off as ever) declared that his family couldn't even bring him the right flavor of Gatorade and that he just wanted to die. I quickly turned the conversation over to his all-time favorite topic: restaurants and food. A smile quickly erupted all over his face when reminiscing about the garlic fries at Flash's and the four-digit tab at Piatini. Ever the phantom gourmet, we talked about the foods that we've eaten and the restaurants that he'll never get the opportunity to try.
Shzaam made a lot of bad decisions about the direction of his life. Though this frustrated me, my friend the Queen Dee taught me to never judge anybody for the decisions they make. While I could never attempt to life a life free of consequences, I certainly learned a lot by watching Shzaam live his. When he passes the world will see him as another AIDS-stricken gay man, but to me he was so much more. Shzaam is my friend and I'm so fortunate that I got to tell him that over the past few months.
Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves. They're not always perfect and it's hard to agree with them 100% of the time. However, people of great character are hard to come by. When such a person enters your life they are truly a gift, and one definitely worth holding on to. Shzaam will be missed more than he can imagine.
I saw Shzaam on Sunday, and likely won't be seeing him for a very long time. His organs are shutting down and food intake is just about impossible. He knows that he's going to die and he's so angry about it. Dying in a hospital, a defenseless victim of the disease, wasn't the way his life was supposed to turn out.
I tried to tell Shzaam how much he means to me. I wanted him to know how much I loved him and the profound impact he's had on my life. While trying to get the words out, Shzaam (pissed off as ever) declared that his family couldn't even bring him the right flavor of Gatorade and that he just wanted to die. I quickly turned the conversation over to his all-time favorite topic: restaurants and food. A smile quickly erupted all over his face when reminiscing about the garlic fries at Flash's and the four-digit tab at Piatini. Ever the phantom gourmet, we talked about the foods that we've eaten and the restaurants that he'll never get the opportunity to try.
Shzaam made a lot of bad decisions about the direction of his life. Though this frustrated me, my friend the Queen Dee taught me to never judge anybody for the decisions they make. While I could never attempt to life a life free of consequences, I certainly learned a lot by watching Shzaam live his. When he passes the world will see him as another AIDS-stricken gay man, but to me he was so much more. Shzaam is my friend and I'm so fortunate that I got to tell him that over the past few months.
Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves. They're not always perfect and it's hard to agree with them 100% of the time. However, people of great character are hard to come by. When such a person enters your life they are truly a gift, and one definitely worth holding on to. Shzaam will be missed more than he can imagine.
Monday, January 28, 2008
For That Squeaky Clean Shine
During my stint as a waitress, part of my job included bussing and wiping down dirty tables. I worked at two different restaurants (one was a chain, the other an independent) and both restaurants supplied me with a spray bottle filled with a vinegar solution to do the dirty deed with. Using a homemade vinegar solution is quick and sanitary, and is obviously a lot cheaper than store-brand cleaning supplies.
Since I'm a neat freak, and tragically low on cleaning supplies, I decided to try mixing my own vinegar solution. I already had an empty spray bottle, though I'm sure you can use a used bottle providing it's been washed out properly. Simply mix a 50/50 vinegar/water solution and you're good to go.
Total cost per bottle - roughly 30c. It kind of makes my trips to the dollar store to buy cleaning supplies seem like an overpriced luxury :).
Since I'm a neat freak, and tragically low on cleaning supplies, I decided to try mixing my own vinegar solution. I already had an empty spray bottle, though I'm sure you can use a used bottle providing it's been washed out properly. Simply mix a 50/50 vinegar/water solution and you're good to go.
Total cost per bottle - roughly 30c. It kind of makes my trips to the dollar store to buy cleaning supplies seem like an overpriced luxury :).
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Memo to Uncle Sam: the Saga Continues
With a Democratic majority, which American do you think is more likely to get a $600 tax refund?:
Candidate A is an inner city police officer. With rising crime rates and job cuts, this officer often works 80 hours a week, giving him the ability to double his $45,000/year base pay. Candidate A pays over $25,000/year in federal income taxes.
Candidate B is a full time college student. The student works approximately 8 hours a week during the school year and is a camp counselor during the summer, earning an annual salary of approximately $3,800. Candidate B did not earn enough money in 2007 to pay income taxes and was entitled to a full refund.
What's the answer? If you chose Candidate B, pat yourself on the back and crack open your Boston Globe.
According to our talented assortement of elected officials, people who get out of bed every morning and work hard to earn a living are not worthy of being economically stimulated. Despite the fact that police officers, public school principals, and contractors routinely clear at least $87k in most American cities, these outrageously wealthy captains of industry apparently don't deserve a break. People who don't pay income taxes at all, however, will get their $600 kiss in the mail in June.
I can't wait to vote Republican this November and rid our nation of these types of asshat economic initiatives.
Candidate A is an inner city police officer. With rising crime rates and job cuts, this officer often works 80 hours a week, giving him the ability to double his $45,000/year base pay. Candidate A pays over $25,000/year in federal income taxes.
Candidate B is a full time college student. The student works approximately 8 hours a week during the school year and is a camp counselor during the summer, earning an annual salary of approximately $3,800. Candidate B did not earn enough money in 2007 to pay income taxes and was entitled to a full refund.
What's the answer? If you chose Candidate B, pat yourself on the back and crack open your Boston Globe.
According to our talented assortement of elected officials, people who get out of bed every morning and work hard to earn a living are not worthy of being economically stimulated. Despite the fact that police officers, public school principals, and contractors routinely clear at least $87k in most American cities, these outrageously wealthy captains of industry apparently don't deserve a break. People who don't pay income taxes at all, however, will get their $600 kiss in the mail in June.
I can't wait to vote Republican this November and rid our nation of these types of asshat economic initiatives.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Not Really the One Who Got Away
When I was a 19 year old sophomore at UMass, I met and fell in love with a senior classmate from Long Island. We were inseparable through fall and spring semester and continued our relationship when he moved back home to work in New York City. Eventually the logistical challenges proved to be too much. We broke up about a year after we met but remained as friendly as one can be when they lose their first love.
Still on speaking terms with him two years later, my sorority sister announces (over the phone) that she is moving from DC to NY to pursue a relationship with my ex. I was pretty hurt that neither one of them bothered to tell me, nor did they even attempt to break the news to me in a semi-tactful manner. I knew that they'd be perfect for each other but their lack of sensitivity didn't even give me the opportunity to be involved in either of their lives. I ended up losing two friends as a result.
I obviously got over it and they eventually did decide to get married. That would normally be the end of the story except we happen to have a mutual friend that was in town this weekend. Since this couple now lives in Stoughton and I'm bound to run into them at CVS, I figured that her visit might give us the opportunity to be civilized and get re-acquainted.
As women a lot of us often ponder what would've happened if they had remained with their ex. They wax nostalgically about the good times they had and how great it felt to be part of a relationship. They often forget how his much his annoying habits bugged you and that your girlfriends may have been right about him all along. While I don't think that my ex is a bad person, he definitely wasn't right for me. The memories of his NY-superiority attitude immediately came rushing back and it deeply irritated me. While it was nice to catch up with him over bowling and a beer, I was grateful that he was going home with the love of his life, and that the love of his life wasn't me.
Ladies, your relationships end for a reason. Sometimes it just isn't right and it isn't anybody's fault. Men do not have the evolutionary capability to change and it's something as women that we all have to deal with. I'm lucky that I'll always have decent memories of my first love, but I'm happy that it wasn't my last. Assuming I don't have anything incriminating in my cart, running into him at CVS may not be so bad after all.
Still on speaking terms with him two years later, my sorority sister announces (over the phone) that she is moving from DC to NY to pursue a relationship with my ex. I was pretty hurt that neither one of them bothered to tell me, nor did they even attempt to break the news to me in a semi-tactful manner. I knew that they'd be perfect for each other but their lack of sensitivity didn't even give me the opportunity to be involved in either of their lives. I ended up losing two friends as a result.
I obviously got over it and they eventually did decide to get married. That would normally be the end of the story except we happen to have a mutual friend that was in town this weekend. Since this couple now lives in Stoughton and I'm bound to run into them at CVS, I figured that her visit might give us the opportunity to be civilized and get re-acquainted.
As women a lot of us often ponder what would've happened if they had remained with their ex. They wax nostalgically about the good times they had and how great it felt to be part of a relationship. They often forget how his much his annoying habits bugged you and that your girlfriends may have been right about him all along. While I don't think that my ex is a bad person, he definitely wasn't right for me. The memories of his NY-superiority attitude immediately came rushing back and it deeply irritated me. While it was nice to catch up with him over bowling and a beer, I was grateful that he was going home with the love of his life, and that the love of his life wasn't me.
Ladies, your relationships end for a reason. Sometimes it just isn't right and it isn't anybody's fault. Men do not have the evolutionary capability to change and it's something as women that we all have to deal with. I'm lucky that I'll always have decent memories of my first love, but I'm happy that it wasn't my last. Assuming I don't have anything incriminating in my cart, running into him at CVS may not be so bad after all.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Only in Cambridge
If you grew up around here and actually work for a living, you've probably heard the occasional People's Republic of Cambridge reference. Whether it's trying to secure voting rights for illegal immigrants or implementing anti-spanking measures, the fine folks of Cambridge have always passionately supported issues that are absolutely, in no way, even remotely relevant to citizens of our Commonwealth's other 350 cities and towns.
When they're not out holding signs for Barak Obama, it seems as if a few of Cambridge's finest have found another worthy cause to back: tax evasion. Local ice cream treatery Toscanini's has been nailed by the Mass Department of Revenue for failing to pay over $100,000 in back taxes. Never an agency to fuck around, the DOR has seized Toscanini's until some type of payment plan or check for 100 large is arranged.
I've never eaten at Toscanini's and while I'm sure that the ice cream is great, people should not be rallying around a criminal who feels that he is too smart to pay his taxes like everyone else. The fact that some douchebag started a blog to raise funds for a private-for-profit business is absolutely maddening. The majority of all Americans are employed by companies that would fall into the "small business" category. Nobody, not even a bunch of self-rightous Cambridge foodies, should be encouraging small business owners to avoid their financial obligations to society.
When they're not out holding signs for Barak Obama, it seems as if a few of Cambridge's finest have found another worthy cause to back: tax evasion. Local ice cream treatery Toscanini's has been nailed by the Mass Department of Revenue for failing to pay over $100,000 in back taxes. Never an agency to fuck around, the DOR has seized Toscanini's until some type of payment plan or check for 100 large is arranged.
I've never eaten at Toscanini's and while I'm sure that the ice cream is great, people should not be rallying around a criminal who feels that he is too smart to pay his taxes like everyone else. The fact that some douchebag started a blog to raise funds for a private-for-profit business is absolutely maddening. The majority of all Americans are employed by companies that would fall into the "small business" category. Nobody, not even a bunch of self-rightous Cambridge foodies, should be encouraging small business owners to avoid their financial obligations to society.
Friday, January 18, 2008
The Tax Man Cometh
We're getting a tax refund, ya'll.
Rather than actually implement solid initiatives to help the economy, President Bush has decided that we'd be much, much, much better off if he simply gave us each an extra $800.
I've already decided what I'm going to do with my $800. Here it goes: I'm going to take $200 of it and convert it into single dollar bills. Then I'm going to take each bill, crumple it up, and throw it into Boston Harbor. I'll put the remaining $600 in a Bank of America savings account where it'll accrue about $2/month in interest.
Another solid option is to invest all $800 into the American stock market. Dollar for dollar though I'd probably be ahead in a year if I just threw 20% of my cash in the Harbor.
This nation is seriously struggling and rather than give us leadership and real life solutions, our politicians think it's ok to simply pay us off. You can give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Or you can teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime (Chinese proverb - yes this blog is outsourcing inspirational quotes).
When we all blow our $800 (and you know we will. After all, how do you think we got into this mess in the first place?) we'll still be as screwed as we were before and a new president will left to clean up the mess. President Bush, however, gets to take credit for a recession, a war we cannot win in Iraq, a failing stock market, massive unemployement, a weak dollar, foreign trade deficits, and a bankrupt Medicare system.
And all I get is a lousy $800.
Rather than actually implement solid initiatives to help the economy, President Bush has decided that we'd be much, much, much better off if he simply gave us each an extra $800.
I've already decided what I'm going to do with my $800. Here it goes: I'm going to take $200 of it and convert it into single dollar bills. Then I'm going to take each bill, crumple it up, and throw it into Boston Harbor. I'll put the remaining $600 in a Bank of America savings account where it'll accrue about $2/month in interest.
Another solid option is to invest all $800 into the American stock market. Dollar for dollar though I'd probably be ahead in a year if I just threw 20% of my cash in the Harbor.
This nation is seriously struggling and rather than give us leadership and real life solutions, our politicians think it's ok to simply pay us off. You can give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Or you can teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime (Chinese proverb - yes this blog is outsourcing inspirational quotes).
When we all blow our $800 (and you know we will. After all, how do you think we got into this mess in the first place?) we'll still be as screwed as we were before and a new president will left to clean up the mess. President Bush, however, gets to take credit for a recession, a war we cannot win in Iraq, a failing stock market, massive unemployement, a weak dollar, foreign trade deficits, and a bankrupt Medicare system.
And all I get is a lousy $800.
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