Shipwrecked & Comatose

Stamps There is something I find very exciting about having new stamps on my passport. It's an official confirmation that I have been somewhere. It's an official record of both a place and time. My first passport only had two stamps on it: the trip out of the U.S. and the return. It expired before I ever used it again. My current passport has been stamped a few times, although those stamps come more from business than from pleasure. Still, it's fun to see places I have been confirmed. Sometimes after I go through customs on a trip I will stop and look at my new stamp. I have decided to break the blog up into manageable bits so readers don't have to go through an interminable amount of dull travelogue. I'm covering two days at a time, starting with the day we arrived. Day 1 - We left Saturday night for a redeye flight. We were fortunate that everything went smoothly. Our flight was on time and we managed to even snatch a few winks of sleep. As our plane landed I...

Why is it in our supposedly enlightened day and age, do we still blame the victim? Why do the media demonize the person who was not at fault? Inez Sainz went to the training camp for a story. She was there to do a job. Various Jets team members were trying to prevent her from doing her job. Why? They wanted a better look at her. Is it her fault that she’s good looking? I have honestly heard it said by TV and radio personalities that if you’re a beautiful woman hanging around a group of jocks in the locker room, you should expect to be gawked at. I have heard that she was inappropriately dressed. Sainz has said that she was dressed no differently than she normally dresses. She certainly looked hot in those pants, but she would likely look hot in anything short of a muumuu. Does she deserve to be distracted from doing her job because she committed the crime of being a good looking woman with a hot body? Why do men still feel it’s their “right” to behave in inappropriate ways ...

Kevin is convinced we have bedbugs. It all started when he developed a nasty welt on his wrist that he determined was some kind of bite. There have been some subsequent "bites" although I don't believe any were as ugly as the first one, and he complains often about his whole arm flaring up. My body is completely unbitten. I'm fine. I start to itch by the power of suggestion when Kevin starts insisting we have bedbugs, but otherwise I'm feeling just dandy. The only marks on my body are the ones I get scratching myself at night as I'm so prone to doing. I see no evidence of bedbugs on the sheets and mattresses either. Nonetheless, Kevin has called the exterminator. The exterminator agrees that we have bedbugs after hearing Kevin's side of the story. Of course he would say that. He's going to charge us just for the visit. Even if we have no bedbugs, he makes money. Let him come. I want to play with the beagle. I just wish he would calm down. H...

Since I originally posted this two years ago, it seems that vampires have not gone away. They have become bigger and bigger and more ubiquitous. Can I tell you how SICK AND TIRED I am of vampires? If I see another vampire drama on TV, I think I'll gladly offer up my own neck to the next vampire who wants to bite me. I wish I could figure out where this vampire obsession comes from. What's it all about? Why are vampires, scary, hideous, ugly, undead beasts, so sexy all of a sudden. Can't we put some kind of moratorium on vampire entertainment? No more vampire movies, comics, books, or TV shows for another 10 years. How does that sound? Unless you're Terry Pratchett or Christopher Moore of course. Then you can write about vampires all you want because it's actually funny when they write about them. ************************************************************************************* It seems the Twilight movie and the books upon which it was based ...

Since summer is my favorite season, I’m always sad to see it go, and since I’m always sad to see it go, I have to blog about it. It was a good summer. Usually it seems that summer zips by far too quickly, but this summer was different. It seemed so long and leisurely. Memorial Day feels light years away from Labor Day. I barely remember the Fourth of July. Even Chincoteague feels like last year. What was it about this summer? Perhaps it was the weather. Spring came so early this year. We were experiencing spring weather before winter was officially over. We had warm sunny weather for Easter. It felt like a real spring. Then summer arrived and it arrived on time. There were no cold snaps in June that had me reaching for sweatshirts. It didn’t rain all over every outdoor activity I anticipated. Sure we had some extreme heat, but that’s what summer is about. I’d rather relax quietly on a hot day than feel chilled and tense in extreme cold (I have to wonder if those people ...

This weekend blowhard du jour, Glenn Beck, and his air headed cheerleader, Sarah Palin, are rallying the country to "take it back." Some folks are cheering them on. Some folks are scared. Some are indifferent. Me? I'm just incredibly sad. What has this country come to? Here is a quote from Beck: " My role is, as I see it, to wake America up to the back-sliding of principles and values and, most importantly, of God. We are a country of God. As I look at the problems in our country, quite honestly I think the hot breath of destruction is breathing on our necks." From Palin: "What else do we have, at the end of the day," beyond faith in God ." Well, Sarah, that's a good question. I'm sure many of the people reading this are asking, "What's wrong with what they're saying? God is an important part of my life and how dare you tell me it can't be. You're Christian bashing." Let me assure you that I am not. I believe stro...

I’m on my way. I have booked my trip to Paris. Kevin and I will be spending October 2-9 getting fat on French food and acting like crazy American tourists in celebration of our 9th anniversary. I’m staying at Hotel Les Rives Notre Dame (once the residence of John Steinbeck). I’m hoping this hotel is as great as it looks. It’s a 10-room boutique hotel in the Latin Quarter with a view of the Seine and Notre Dame. The guide books and TripAdvisor all seem to have positive things to say about it. I’m hoping it’s as pretty and convenient as it looks online. It goes to show you that perseverance does pay off. Just a few dollars here and there really can add up to the things you want. I will admit I did have some help from my family though, and I thank them for that because otherwise I think I might have to put this trip off for a year or two. Even if that happened, I still believe I could have made this happen even if it did mean waiting. I can’t stop putting money away though. I ...