How come more bloggers don't chat with each other on AIM/MSN/etc?

Maybe they just don't have that kind of time...
Or maybe it would sort of ruin the point of blogging...

Who knows.

It'd be nifty though...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 08:47 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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1 I think it's because most of us just don't like to type...

Posted by: Ogre at July 07, 2005 11:51 AM (/k+l4)

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My last three missed calls on my cell phone are from numbers I don't know. One from a CA number, one from a PA number, and one from a VA number near where I live. None of them left voicemails.

Oh man does that piss me off...

Wrong numbers? Who knows...

UPDATE: Maybe I should answer my phone more often. The VA number called back ... it was for an important interview this Friday.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 04:52 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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I am an absolute Food Network junkie. I love Alton Brown's wackiness, the factory tours of Unwrapped, trying to understand the Japanese of Iron Chef, putting Rachel Ray on mute while I try to steal ideas from her...but most of all, I LOVE Paula Deen. There is just no way you can watch her show and not at least smile a little on the inside. That woman is the cheeriest, most genuine person I have ever seen on TV.

She's a little plump (like I expect anyone telling me how great the food is should be) but doesn't ever act like it bothers her. She always has herself together, coordinated on the show, and simply does not make a mistake. She's warm and inviting...with her Savannah accent...she's the stereotype of a perfect Southern mother. Hell, I'd marry one of her sons just to have her as my mother-in-law.

I wouldn't be so convinced she's a genuine delight if I hadn't seen her wedding show. They followed her around as she was preparing to get married. She was excited about marrying her neighbor, overwhelmed with all the preparations, and discouraged about her weight when it came to the dress. Superwoman needed help and even in her moments of frazzle, she reached out for that help without acting like she was losing a part of herself.

And I simply laughed out loud when the woman making the cake offered her a sample..."You offer a fat girl cake, you think she's gonna turn it down?" What woman hasn't said that in her head?

If you haven't seen her show, go watch it. She'll brighten your day.
I hope that someday I can live up to even a fraction what this amazing woman is. And if I had kids, I couldn't think of a stronger, lovelier, more exemplary role model for them (on TV, that is).

Posted by: Princess Cat at 01:01 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Two swipes of the credit card later, I have the rest of my July planned.

Next Thursday I'll be flying back to Cali and staying for 12 glorious days. Most of them near the San Fernando Valley (ick) to sort through stuff the 'rents are storing for me but a few will be spent in beautiful San Diego. Have I mentioned how much I love going home?

Just two days after I return from that adventure I will be whisked off to lovely (?) Jackson, MS via the Memphis airport for a terrific weekend adventure family reunion.

Hopefully I'll still be blogging most of those days. Let me know if you are a blogger in any of these areas that would like to rescue me from my family grab a drink.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 02:06 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Today is the 3rd anniversary of the day I opened myself to the public eye and began writing what I then called an online journal. I didn't even know what a blog was. I had a geocities website that a few people visited now and then but I was writing for me, to keep me sane. I already had a lot on my plate but suddenly I was served seconds...

On my 22nd birthday, at a sushi restaurant with my brother and father, in the middle of one of the same blow out sibling rivalry fights I grew up with, my brother stormed out and pouted in the car. At that moment my dad told me my mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer.* A month later, I wrote my first entry that you see below because I felt I had no where else to turn.

07.05.02
21:30 PST

Music: Default – “Sick and Tired”
Mood: There isnÂ’t a word for this emotion

Do you ever have one of those moments where all you want to do is throw up? Welcome to my evening.
Talking to mom was strange. Its like nothing is happening to her, nothing is wrong; she is just going about her normal life. For all the bonding she wants to do she sure has a funny way of showing it. I know she just wants to protect us and that she worries but it only makes it harder to deal with this situation when she acts like it doesn’t exist. Chemo isn’t like getting your nails done or your hair cut. It’s a big fucking deal. It isn’t just another appointment in your life but she talks as if it were a trip to K-mart on her lunch break. I just want to scream at her, “Be real for a minute, Mom! Don’t lie to protect me and don’t hide your fear from yourself.” Of all the things I’m angry about I think I’m most angry about how betrayed I feel in this. This doesn’t happen to my family and if it does it certainly doesn’t happen like this. Sure, I have my issues when it comes to dealing with stress but don’t fucking lie to me. I’d rather see the real situation than some sugar-coated world that will only come crashing down someday. I just feel even more pushed away when she pretends. I’m a big girl and I deserve the chance to deal with hardship. How else will I know how in the future? I’d rather be cheering her up, making her laugh about her pain, giving her a hug when she cries, telling her it will all be ok – this denial is killing me. I know she is hurting and I know she is scared. I have seen the pain and I have seen the tears. But apparently her strength comes from denying those emotions, in front of other people at least. I have resigned to be non-confrontational and keep my pain from her but it only drives me farther from the person who is supposed to need me more than ever right now. My support is false, merely a presence that comforts her, and a sham of a bond that shall break with the gentlest tug – but as she wishes….

I remember that night like it was yesterday. I wish blogging had started differently but regardless of why, I'm glad that I did. Even still I get discouraged and disheartened though. So thank you to those of you who have helped keep me going all this time...Blue, Wulfy, Gecko, Fern, LW, Creav, Dom, Casper, Cowboy, Ares, Eric...even though some of you aren't really around anymore, I owe you more than you'll ever know.

*Mom is now in full remission and healthier than she's been in decades.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 04:37 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I'm fresh out of inspiration today...well, I suppose I have been for a while now...

Today, though, is day one of week one of doing whatever the hell I feel like... I think I'll go work on a puzzle. It's been a while since I worked on one of those. Perhaps something nifty to write about will pop into my head while I'm concentrating on the little pictures.

Now what the hell am I supposed to do with it once it's finished?

UPDATE (1:06p): Nothing super inspiring yet. Except, I noticed Bob Barker sounds a lot like Futurama's Professor Farnsworth when you aren't really paying attention to the TV.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 10:12 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Just in case you can't get enough of your fireworks this evening...have some at home from this site! Go click away in the black space on the page.
Just don't let the Gunner's Mate from your local Navy ship get a hold of this... I made that mistake once and he played with it for hours. The boom is kind of nice on the subwoofer though... ENJOY!

Posted by: Princess Cat at 03:35 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I got this e-mail from Capt Bourland in Iraq and could think of no better way to blog about the 4th. What better man to speak of freedom than one who knows what that fight feels like? When I asked him if I could post his letter he replied, "No problem, Go for it. Kick butt and take names." Hehehe...will do...

Happy Fourth of July! YouÂ’re Marines are conducting operations throughout Iraq continuing the hunt for insurgents and terrorist so that they will no longer intimidate the US or anyone else. Additionally they continue to rebuild the war torn country and train the Iraqi Army to defend their homeland.

That’s how I was going to start this email until I got a letter from a friend who was injured and returned to the states. He told me how “Around here you wouldn't know a war is going on” and “I really think that we will be an afterthought once we return”. How could that be I thought. I know we are not in the news much except for the quick blurp about “another service member was killed in Iraq today, now for the weather”. As many of you have said why doesn’t the press cover the good stuff of what’s happening there? You guess is as good as mine.

All of the Coalition forces here are kicking butt. Just as our for fathers did when this great country declared its independence July 4th 1776 from Great Britain. Since then America has been going strong and taking names. Your service members go forth and continue to do great things despite of what the general populace is or what people think we should or should not do. We donÂ’t write policy but we are the first to enforce it. I know my friend above probably didnÂ’t see the entire pie but the fact that he saw that piece made an impression. ALL of you are a vital piece in the success of our mission. All of you need to continue to support your troops, fight what is bad and unjust and like our forefathers and stand for what is right. Not just on the 4th of July but all the time. America is the land of the free, and home of the brave. We cant make Iraq or Afghanistan like America overnight but we will establish their country and perhaps make them feel chills when they hear their National Anthem like I do when I hear mine. You can help in doing this by supporting your warriors!

Despite what the press says or how it looks to some when they ask themselves why do we have American forces over there? We are helping other countries to be free, to be One nation indivisible and “a republic for which it stands” so they can be a free country as well. If this takes us kicking terrorist butt to do it, so be it. We are the Marines for the job and our 4th will be special in its own way.

I love this country, what it stands for, and what it will always be, America, land of the free. So when you are celebrating your Fourth of July holiday and watching the fireworks know in you heart that brave men and women will not let you down and we will keep the wolf a bay and keep America free.

Semper Fidelis and God Bless America.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 08:38 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Are any other Munuvians having a problem with their comments? Some of mine aren't emailing to me for some reason...

Little Buggers!

Posted by: Princess Cat at 08:24 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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In a search for inspiration, otherwise known as a bout of boredom, I picked up the August copy of Men's Healthy magazine off the end table and began reading. Ok...so I was really just looking at the pictures of chiseled men in skimpy clothing...but that's not what this post is about...

In an inset box on page 154 titled "Stop It. Right Now" it lists Blogging at #15. What the hell? Who is this guy to tell me I should stop blogging? According to his 16 point piece, blogging is one of those things that is a waste of time. In fact he says, "Simple: eliminate these activities and streamline your world." Uh...dude...I like my world to include blogging. I don't particularly need to streamline my life so much that I have created a time saving schedule for every exact moment of my day. I'll save time on my errands and bill paying...maybe even my exercise routines...but leave the rest of my life alone, ok?

Clearly this guy just doesn't get blogging...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 01:52 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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You Are 89% American

You're as American as red meat and shooting ranges. Tough and independent, you think big. You love everything about the US, wrong or right. And anyone who criticizes your home better not do it in front of you!

I guess the remaining percent is the honorary Asian in me...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 10:48 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I'm sure this is news to everyone else in the 'sphere but sitting here with my wine tonight I have finally realized why drinking is so beneficial to society...

You simply just don't care quite as much.

I am known to be slightly high strung at times and somewhat overly concerned with what people think of my words and actions. However, Mr. Carolina is right, I am always up for a drink. I'm not quite sure though that Mr. Alabama is right though when he says I am the "Coyote Ugly" chick of grad school with something to prove and always willing to get a little crazy. When I've had even a couple of drinks, I simply don't think about the fact that people may disapprove. Now, that doesn't make me a completely disrespectful bitch or anything...I'm just saying, I feel a little bit better about who I am without the pressures of properness weighing so heavily upon me.

So go, my readers, have a drink...your day will be just a little bit brighter...or at least mine will be...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 08:20 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Flipping through the multitude of TV channels I stumbled onto a plastic surgery show. Awesome... Except I missed all the good parts. No blood, no guts, nothing even close to disgusting... except for the people getting the surgery... They were kids.

I understood why one of the girls got surgery, she had severe facial deformaties that impeded her daily life. The youngest girl was still somewhat understandable, she had her ears pinned back because they were so prominant. But the other two girls, both in high school...they just made me sad. One had a breast reduction, the other had an enlargement. Not even 18 yet, not even done growing up, and already taking a knife to their bodies.

It reminded me of my days in high school where girls got boob jobs and Daddy's Bimmer for their sweet 16. Never being taught that they can love their bodies or that life doesn't operate at their pace. They escape the reality that they have to work for things that they want and the idea that not getting everything you want is ok sometimes. I couldn't look at these girls without feeling a little sick to my stomach.

But maybe I'm just being pushy with my sense of right and wrong...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 05:41 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Last night, much to my surprise, I got a call from blog-daddy, Eric...In fact, I was so stunned by the unexpected encounter I could hardly speak... but he was calling with great news...

The family has grown and I have a new blog-sister! Go visit her blog, Chou Chope and be nice or you'll be answering to me!

I've learned what it's like to be the baby with Christina as my big blog-sis but now I get to learn what it's like to be the dreaded middle child... I wonder if Eric can keep up with our demands for his attention...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 11:28 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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I've always taken myself to appear rather innocent on the surface. I mean, I generally don't make a grand entrance when I walk into a room...I'm quiet and generally keep to myself...at first...

I really thought that at least someone was still playing along with the innocent act. Hehehe...not so much...I apparently lost it somewhere along the way.

Yesterday alone I heard...

..."I don't buy that innocent thing at all..."

..."Innocent? I don't think so...you've got that hint of decadence about you that just throws it all off..."

..."You have an innocent act?"

..."I must have missed that act..."

..."it's not a frequent act of yours..."

Well shit...if no one is buying it anymore...wonder what kind of trouble people expect me to get into instead...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 03:36 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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'Sphere...I need your help...

I am a wireless networking newbie but the person tasked with making the new house network function...because I know the most about computers. I've everything working and did all of the set up stuff that the router said to do...but it won't stay connected.

There is a wireless network next door that the computers here are picking up, even though the signal is weak. I can't figure out why when you tell the computer to connect to our signal it will for a minute or so and then drop over to the much weaker signal and remain connected there until you tell it otherwise.

Any ideas, suggestions? HELP!

Posted by: Princess Cat at 12:08 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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