Eternal sunshine of my spotless mind

The weather is stifling, I just took a shower and am ready for another.

Questions to ponder as I swelter trying to fall asleep:

1. Will Greg get the answer he's looking for from Carla? (a friend, not a soap opera, though it may as well be)
2. Will C-Man get into preschool? (he's on the waiting list now)
3. Should I schedule my teeth cleaning before or during my sister's stay? (have been avoiding it for months)
4. Same as question 3, but scheduling my car maintenance.
5. Should I go to the reunion luau?
6. Should I pay for a song on iTunes or wait for my request to come in for my hold? (how cheap am I?)
7. When should I start watching season 3 of Veronica Mars?
8. What color should I paint my nails next?
9. What am I going to cook for 4th of July party at Mussonville?
10. Is my child asleep yet? (I hear him rustling in his bed)

My mood: tired, hot, want answers

Posted by Cora at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Have a few minutes to write while C-Man is napping. I know, it's late but he earned his nap today.

Spent the afternoon at the Ice Palace. He went ice skating and enjoyed himself fully. He even asked if he could go skating again tomorrow. Fun. I love that he's older now and enjoys doing stuff. I'm not that fond of ice skating (it's been 20+ years since the last time I had ice skates strapped to my feet), but will do it for him.

Possible visit from Sis & family this summer (YEAH!!!!!). I thought they weren't coming, but turns out they might be able to put in a few weeks of Hawaii Time. Woohoo, I can't wait to find out when (if) they're coming.

My mood: tired, but happy

Posted by Cora at 07:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This morning C-Man and I WALKED to the top of Mokapuu. Yes, I said that he walked. The entire way up and down. He was tired and we took many breaks. And it took twice as long to get down the mountain as it took to get up. We had an early start and the weather was beautiful.

Tonight we went to a surprise retirement party thrown by Grandpa's "almost former" company at Tsukiji Fish Market and Restaurant in Ala Moana. You would not believe the arguments I had to put up with just to keep the whole thing a secret and get him to go out to dinner at a crowded mall in town. The food there was actually quite tasty. My favorite was the butterfish and the tempura. C-Man only ate the ramen.

My mood: still full

Posted by Cora at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am feeling sad because my Little One is going on his last month at Auntie M's. He's been with her since he was 8-months old. We'll be moving over to one of the church preschools. He should have lots of fun there, I think he's been getting bored being with all the little keiki. He needs companions that are closer to his age and I really want him to start learning his alphabet. He's been resisting me, so maybe with another teacher he'll be more willing to try. I never realized what decisions I would have to make as a parent. Decided against the big preschool and refused to send him to a school with a uniform (he's 3, if he wants to wear Transformers, he should get to) or with a no candy/cake policy (please, he's 3! Let them eat cake! What's wrong with cake?).

My mood: clean

Posted by Cora at 09:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Why is it that at 10:00 p.m. my child is wide awake and hopping around while I am struggling to stay awake?

Quote of the day:
"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind." - Rudyard Kipling

My mood: ready to crash

Posted by Cora at 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In an attempt to get my head out of the clouds, this is what greeted me on the stairs:

This picture alone is enough to wash away the residual negativity from that last vent-fest. Happy day ahead.

Posted by Cora at 06:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pardon me, I need to vent...

The most annoying thing about ADA is that the people who are protected by it are people that are most NOT deserving of it. I am constantly appalled by the use of the "ADA card" by persons that this Act is supposed to protect. We all got a little information at our meeting on Wednesday (because someone was contacted by a lawyer of an ADA client for a possible violation), that just makes me want to find a really wealthy man and marry him so that I can quit my day job...

The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a state or local government.

At our meeting we were told:

- we could not ask if the animal was a service animal, but could only ask the person if the animal was a pet and if they say yes then we can ask them to take the animal outside. Better yet, they tell us that we should not even ask if the animal is quiet and not bothering anyone. In other words, ignore the rule

- we cannot kick out a person with a smelly service animal, although our rules say we can kick out a smelly person for disruptive behavior -- apparently odor is disruptive when it's on a human, but not an animal--- oh, wait, I forgot the "ADA card" trumps all. Ooh I raise my hand and ask: "Wait, what if the ADA person is smelly?" Response: "Don't even go there."

- if a person comes in with animal allergies and there is a service animal in the facility, we are to inform the poor allergic patron that they need to either remove themselves from the vicinity of the animal or choose to return at another time. Trump again.

- we are not required to provide care or food or a special location for the animal. What? You mean I don't need to keep Alpo in the library??? Wait, I think there might be a change coming...

- we may exclude any service animal, when that animal's behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others. For example, any service animal that displays vicious behavior towards other guests or customers may be excluded. You may not make assumptions, however, about how a particular animal is likely to behave based on your past experience with other animals. Each situation must be considered individually. So if someone comes in with their therapy boa constrictor I'm supposed to ignore it until it growls or bites someone...

- etc....

Don't get me wrong, I am really not some heartless bitch. I am all for protecting the rights of ALL people. My irritation to this whole thing is since when are one person's rights more important than another's? It's like getting an ADA immunity card. I'm covered by ADA, so the rules don't apply to me... and the most irritating thing about it is when disabled people purposely pull out the "ADA card" and trump your stupid rules and then give you that smug your-silly-human-rules-don't-apply-to-me smile.

I guess you could compare this with smoking. I give a big hurray for our no smoking laws because I find smoking repulsive, but I think the laws state that you can only smoke in your home in the closet with a special vent that sucks up the fumes so that the mice don't get cancer, only you. I was always of the theory that if I don't like the smell or want to get cancer, I should stay away from someone smoking, but if they want to smoke, it's their right.

*********************************************************************

Speaking of rights... I was reading an article in the U.S. News & World Report. In Japan, if you're too fat, the government thinks that your a health risk and they can force you to exercise and eat healthier.

There’s now a national law in Japan that requires companies and local governments to measure the waistlines of those between the ages of 40 and 74 as part of their annual checkups. The government’s waistline limits are 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women. If they also have a weight-related illness and don’t lose weight after three months, they’ll get some special education on dieting. Companies and local governments that don’t reach specific targets will be fined.

I wonder how that law would go over in the good old obese U.S.A.?

My mood: wondering why I'm up so early on a Saturday morning...

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Happy Birthday Grandpa!!!

Posted by Cora at 05:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, my reunion is coming fast. It's 3-weeks away. Ran into a classmate of mine, Kori at the mall. She's not going to the reunion. I suggested that we have an anti-reunion. Just invite the people we actually hung out w/in high school (what can I say? I'm a snob).

I've often wondered about reunions. They seem so fake. You get to act excited to see people that obviously weren't important enough to stay in touch with you over the years - people you would soon forget in a few weeks until ten years and 20 pounds later. I guess it's a last chance effort to grasp at wisps of fastly fading youth. To feel young and immature for one more day. To realize that even though you long for "the good old days," you would rather live an eternity in purgatory than relive the angst of adolescence.

Will I go the the reunion? Maybe. Probably. The trio of myself, Musson and Trini will probably make an appearance out of curiosity. We have the advantage of still being best buds, therefore even if it sucks, at least we can ditch and go to Zippy's or something.

My music: To get me in the mood, I looked up a website with songs from the years I was in high school, but I guess I was not a huge top 40 song listener (my favorite bands were R.E.M., U2, the Violent Femmes, and the Beatles), except I really loved these songs: Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me); Tears For Fears - Everbody Wants To Rule The World; U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For; Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time

My mood: nostalgic

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Happy Birthday Great Grandpa!!!

Posted by Cora at 11:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Been spending too much time couch potatoing, but at least I learned something today.

Ice reflects the sun's heat away from the Earth (about 80% is deflected). The open ocean absorbs heat (only 20% is deflected). Decades ago, the ice caps were roughly the size of the entire united states (continental). Now they're the size of the US from the west coast to the Mississippi river. As the ice caps shrink, the ability of the Earth to deflect the warmth of the sun is reduced and the ocean temperature rises. As the temperature rises, the ice caps melt faster and the Earth loses it's ability to regulate temperature. Thus the increase of severe storms, hurricanes and tsunamis. Scientists believe that there is a tipping point where global warming will become irreversible. At least, that's what National Geographic thinks and I tend to agree. Is it too late?

My mood: pointfull

Posted by Cora at 08:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pearls of summer sun
one bite can stop time and brings
me back to childhood...

My earliest memory of this "fruit of the gods" is that I was allergic to the sap. I'd have a reaction similar to eating crab. Two of my favorite foods in the world and I would break out in rash after eating them.

It was worth the pain.

This season I have been blessed by a plethora of the succulent spheres of sappy sweetness. Yum.

My mood: exhausted

Posted by Cora at 09:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Eating cottage cheese and pineapples made me want to make a listing of other comfort foods, so here it is:

- Peanut butter & guava jelly sandwich
- SOS (Sh*t on a shingle--don't ask me why it's called this it's hamburger, onion, and cream of mushroom soup) with rice
- Kraft American cheese and guava jelly sandwich (toasted, of course)
- Pork and beans
- Tuna sandwich (w/onions, relish, cheese and alfalfa sprouts)
- Miso soup (dad style w/onion, clams, seaweed) and rice
- Mochi fried w/ butter and covered with shoyu & sugar
- Ochazuke (with all those new years goodies dumped in)
- Kings sweet bread (the big round loaf)
- Spam musubi

My mood: not as sunburnt as I thought I would be, kinda tired still

Posted by Cora at 06:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love this time of the morning. The peace before the chaos of life renewed with each new ray of light the sun brings. I have random thoughts to get out. Time for a brain dump.

- Dreamed last nite of dog peeing on the floor. And getting email from a friend sleeping on a park bench?
- Gas is $4.25 a gallon at the Chevron on the corner of the main intersection. Are they crazy???
- Heard a dumb commercial on the radio that was pro rapid transit. They were talking about "Lexus lanes" that the sans rapid transit people are pushing. They said that we would be paying double because they were using our tax dollars to build the lanes, then charging people to drive on them. Hey, aren't they taxing us more to build rapid transit and then we'll have to pay to ride it right? I assume it won't be free... I mean, I'm all for rapid transit, but at least make sense when you're talking about it people.
- Finally ordered my season 3 of Veronica Mars! Amazon finally brought the price down to $24. YEAH!
- Watched Talladega nights: the ballad of Ricky Bobby last nite w/C-Man. He loved it. I had to cover his eyes during the sexual parts, but it's fun watching movies with him. I figured he would like it since we spent an hour watching formula 1 racing last weekend. Would like to try to take him to the theater, but he just can't sit still through a whole movie.
- We've been watching a lot of movies lately. Finally watched Spiderman 3, National Treasure 2 and Transformers (for the 5th time). Only downside is that I won't watch movies with bloody violence or sex or too much swearing with him up, so I don't watch those at all (not that I ever enjoyed movies like that in the first place). Funny because he thinks that Shrek is scary...
- Justin is doing backup for Colbie. That's very cool for him. I have some nice memories of him as a young boy.
- Purging is good. Got rid of lots of stuff I don't use when we went to visit Grandma. Looking for more things to pass on.
- Weekends are packed this month. I don't have any days without something already planned and I can't take any vacation from work.
- They've asked me to train a new branch manager as part of a new program they're testing out. We're the first. She's never worked for the library before and will be going to a remote location on the outer islands. Why me? I thought if I hid out in the boonies, they wouldn't be calling me to do stuff, but they still do. I should be grateful, but I'm really busy and I won't be able to do any of my work. Now I can't take a day off because I'll have her all next week and the following 2.5 weeks, my tech will be on vacation.
- My eyes are so itchy. They've been itchy for the past 2 weeks. Is it vog? I dunno.
- Have some cool new recipes. Bought ingredients to try out soon.
- Craving cottage cheese. Is that weird? So I bought a container. So far have eaten it with a can of pineapples and used it as dip for potato chips. It's a comfort food for me (cottage cheese and pineapples).

My mood: not looking forward to spending the day at the fair. More specifically not looking forward to the sunburn I will get and the crowds.

Posted by Cora at 05:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I'm driving home from the store and I am behind a green car with large old English style font that reads "THICK CHICKS"

Yeah, I really want to be seen in that car...

Posted by Cora at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For Sis...

Regular:

With cocoa powder in the mochi:

Original Recipe
3/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 cup mochiko
1-1/2 cup water
potato starch
peanut butter

Combine sugar, mochiko and water in pyrex bowl. Mix well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Stir and cover. Microwave for 5 minutes longer (or until cooked). Dump mochi by spoonful onto surface covered with potato starch. Flatten and fill each piece with a little peanut butter, seal and smooth into round shape.
Makes 12-20 depending on size.

I cannot make this without chocolate, so here is directions for chocolate lovers:
Additional ingredients:
Cocoa powder (about 2 Tbsp)?-- this goes into mochiko mixture and gets microwaved.
Chocolate chips (handful)? depending on how chocolatey you want it.--this gets mixed with peanut butter and microwaved for a few seconds until it starts to melt (20-30 seconds?)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUSSON!

My mood: exhausted

Posted by Cora at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Took a quiz on a website where you list the 50 states in 10 minutes. I was stumped at 45 (at about 4 minutes into the quiz), but managed to squeeze out a few more. The last 3 were tough. I ended up missing ONE state -- New Jersey. Damn. I thought I ran through all the "new" states, but I missed one. So my last 3 states were Indiana, Minnesota and NJ.

The next few quizes were harder: Find the state on the map. These reminded me of Aunty J. I remember we used to have a puzzle of the United States and Sis & I used to do them turned over so that we couldn't see the names of the states. After a few tries, I'm good enough that I can do the states in alpha-order.

Not bad for someone who hasn't had geography for years. It's good to brush up now and then.

Hot links:
50 States in 10 Minutes - I missed 1 state
USA map quiz - The one I can do in alphabetical order, after a dozen (or more) tries
Test your geography--USA quiz - I got 148 out of 150
United States Map Quiz - I got 98%

My mood: tired, my brain worked too hard... oh and thrilled, I bought a new pair of shoes!

Posted by Cora at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To slough off the feeling of repulsiveness from the previous post I decided to create a playlist of happy songs to bring balance again to my off-kilter brain.

1. Tomorrow - Me first and the gimme gimmies: one of my favorite songs of all time with a hard rock edge
2. Upside down - Jack Johnson: I love the video, new Curious George is so cute (so is JJ)
3. Don't stop believin' - Journey: reminds me of the care-free days of my youth
4. Dancing queen - ABBA: who can be mad with this song playing?
5. Fergalicious - Fergie: I love this song, so conceited and wonderful
6. Vindicated - Dashboard confessional: I love to sing this song in the car
7. Rock star - Nickelback - who doesn't want a star on Hollywood boulevard?
8. Only you - Platters - my most favorite karaoke song ever (don't ever ask me to sing this one or I will and you'll be sorry)
9. Taylor the latte boy - Kristin Chenoweth: I want a latte boy!
10. Bad day - Daniel Powter: good reminder that everyone has a bad day now and then

Posted by Cora at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

To say I hate her is to put it mildly. I detest, abhor, and loathe her. She frequents 3 libraries on my side. My co-workers often refer to her as Jabba the Hutt. When she compliments me I feel like I've been slimed. I feel dirty. I want her to take it back.

She has launched many complaints against the library, our policies, our staff, etc. Her newest complaint is that she's disabled and needs the library to fix or repair "her" chair so that she can use the computer to work on her court papers (she's suing the state-- ironic, since she's using state property to do her legal work), thankfully this new scheme to get her way is not aimed in my direction, but a neighbor library. The chair is perfectly usable (by normal-sized people), but because of her vastness, the chair sinks when she sits on it. She's threatening to sue. I told the boss there that they should sue her for breaking state property. Ha, ha.

At another location, one of our librarians just lost her husband (he passed away last week). She was working when Jabba asked for an extension of her computer time. The librarian told her no because there were other people waiting to use the computers. Jabba started to complain and go on and on and on. The librarian was a little sensitive and explained to her that her husband just passed away last week. Jabba said "Well at least you had a husband. I've never been married." WTF! I can't believe that she said that to her. The poor librarian started sobbing. I was outraged when I heard the story. Fortunately, she didn't slither into my library or I'd probably say something that would get us sued.

My mood: headachy thinking about the situation & trying to focus on my holiday.

Posted by Cora at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spent the day with my mommy (yes, my mommy). Drove 42 miles (which is much cheaper than a plane ticket) and we went to the beach where some family was camping. Here's a few pics from the day. The first pic is by me, the rest were taken by C-Man, a.k.a. Peter Parker (Budding photographer). I was rather impressed by his pics. I selected a few to share....

Grandma & C-Man

Miles & Cousin Halen

Lunch

Bucket

Bike

Can

Kids

Tree

Toe

Star

Beach

My mood: good

Posted by Cora at 06:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The other day C-Man was trying to explain something to Auntie M. She started paying attention to another child and he got upset. He told her that "she was distracting him and that she destroyed his words and it was all her fault."

In the car, the song Bleeding love came on the radio and he was quiet. After a few minutes he asked me "Mommy, why is that lady bleeding? Did somebody shoot her?"

His new favorite phrase is: "It's not fair!" and "It's all your fault!" usually followed by a major tantrum.

[SIGH]

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Finally got my iPod shuffle. Woohoo. Don't have to carry the big one around when I go walking or go to the gym.

My current playlist (on the non-shuffle):
Losing my religion-R.E.M.
Time of my life-David Cook
If I had eyes-Jack Johnson
New Year's Day-U2
Hotel California-Eagles
Sorry-Buckcherry
Bad day-Daniel Powter
I can see clearly-Johnny Nash
I'm yours-Jason Mraz

My mood: Friday happy

Posted by Cora at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love Fridays.
I love holidays.
I love vacations.
I love picnics.
I love strolls along the beach.
I love a great adventure.
I love sappy love songs.
I love ice cream.
I love quiet mornings.
I love happy children.
I love finding a great deal at Macy's.
I love movies that make me cry.
I love getting compliments about my haircut.
I love chocolate chip cookies.

My mood: full of love

Posted by Cora at 05:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am happy to see that the nation has a CLUE. Sort of...

We'll see what happens come November. I hope the future of the nation rests on optimism and an eagerness to move forward, rather than narrow-mindedness and fear of change.

My mood: optimistic

Posted by Cora at 07:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ingredients:
1-3/4 c flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c white sugar
1/4 c melted butter
1/2 c milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c chopped strawberries
1 c dried cranberries
Cinnamon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper (12-15)
2. Put dry ingredients in large bowl. Add butter, milk, egg and vanilla. Mix. Add strawberries and cranberries.
3. Fill muffin cups. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 25 minutes.

Sort of experimental. Next time will try adding some brown sugar and orange zest in the mix and putting cinnamon into the batter. Enjoy.

Posted by Cora at 08:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The other night my nephew was over and he had a few pieces of C-Man's Magnetix toys. Grandpa says that there was a story on the news about a little girl whose parent's are suing the company because she swallowed the magnetic balls and had to have surgery to remove them. HELLO. Maybe the parents should watch what their children are doing. Maybe they shouldn't keep small magnetic toys around the house. Maybe they should also lock up the bathroom cleaners. Maybe they should keep knives out of reach of their children. Maybe they should get fixed and not breed.

Sorry, just venting. I am always amazed at the ridiculousness of lawsuits. They wonder why Americans are the way they are. Coffee cups that need to state that its contents are hot. Please. Can I have a cup of HOT coffee? Oh wait, not that hot. Do you also sell brains in there? Cause I need one. Let's take a little responsibility for our actions. A little responsibility for our lives, our actions, and the stupid decisions WE make. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so...

I am grateful that my child never had any sort of oral fixation. He's been playing with small rocks, pebbles, marbles, Magnetix, since he was very young. I most certainly would never have given them to him, had he been known to put things into his mouth. I, of course, am a responsible parent and adult. I would never give my nephew any toys with tiny pieces because he has little sibs at home. I never let C-Man bring any toys to Auntie M's house that a very young child cannot play with. I do not assume that just because my son does not put things into his mouth, that all children will do the same.

I guess it's too much to assume that just because I have a brain and use it often, that others do too...

My mood: annoyed and getting dizzy from my head being so high up in the clouds

Posted by Cora at 06:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)