Favorite Headline of the Day

Of course she should get her stuff back!!!!!

http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2006/01/31/news/news01.txt

Being Tagged

Ok, this has never happened to me before. I am a lurker. I post comments on other people's blogs occassionally, but generally I fly under the radar. I've never participated in these online games, etc. So this will be boring and it will be a dead end. Have fun at Bill's other picks. Comment to the Chief - bastid! There I was sitting at my desk, eating my breakfast, fielding questions from my staff.........screwing around online (not punched in, I have a strong work ethic), when I saw my name in your post. I almost choked! I feel violated! LOL 4 Jobs You Have Had In Your Life 1. Cashier at the A&P - in high school. 2. Clerk typist for A.T.&T. - in the days when you called it "the phone company" and everyone knew what you meant because there was only Ma Bell. The nuns almost choked when they heard I was rated "advanced". I was a terrible typist and they admitted passing me simply because my aunt was a nun and their friend. They told me if I had to type for a living, I'd starve! 3. Waitress in a chinese restaraunt - I know cool words to describe your "naughty bits". I was a great waitress when there were just a few people, I paid lots of attention, said funny things, made you happy. I was a terrible waitress when there were a lot of people, I would get completely overwhelmed and couldn't turn my tables over fast enough. It was still a lot of fun. 4. Office Supervisor for a home medical equipment/oxygen company - this is the greatest job! I get paid to flirt with old men and make them more breathless than they already are! 4 Movies You Could Watch Over and Over 1. Rio Bravo 2. The Searchers 3. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir 4. Body Heat - I will comment no further on this choice. Don't ask. This is a terribly unfair question.........I can't pick just four. I am a huge cinephile. I llllooovvveee movies. Old movies, new movies. I love to go to movies alone because I am a fussy old lady and don't want people to talk to me, lol. And I will shush strangers in movies and I have literally had a fights in movie theaters but it was a long time ago. 4 Places I have Lived LOL - now we see just how narrow and parochial Maggie's life is! 1. Boston - in the heart of the city with the most overwhelming concentration of fellow Irish Catholics. Can you say homogeneous? 2. 35 miles south of Boston in a former vacation community full of people from Boston - but there are some Italians, not just Irish! I am 500 feet from the Atlantic and just around the corner from the cottage where I spent every summer of my childhood. Done 4 TV Shows You Love To Watch 1. Fox News Sunday - I yell back at the TV the way the boys do with sporting events. I love Brit Hume and Bill Kristol. This is my favorite, but I watch and yell at them all, MTP, FTN, etc. 2. C-Span - Brian Lamb is the sexiest man on TV 3. "24" Jack Bauer rules! 4. "The Daily Show" & "The Colbert Report" - liberals are funny 4 Places You Have Been On Vacation 1. Dubai - this is the single most fabulous place on earth and I would sell the boys for medical experimentation to finance my return. 2. Disney - all day at Typhoon Lagoon, all night in the Pleasure Island AMC 24 movie theater, meet the boys for meals, it's perfect. 3. Hampton Beach - everyone from Boston goes to Hampton beach! 4. Germany and Austria with the nuns in high school. Looking back, I should have paid more attention. 4 Websites You Visit Daily 1. The Corner online at National Review http://corner.nationalreview.com/ 2. Drudge - a guilty pleasure http://www.drudgereport.com/ 3. These people, before I realized it could get me in trouble http://www.thedonovan.com/ 4. My favorite, never miss, is something I can't identify. It's a website for US naval officers and I am a lurker (with permission of the owner as long as I never post and never reveal my access). 4 Favorite Foods 1. Hersheyettes - they are better than M&Ms, but harder to come by. 2. Italian food from the North End. 3. Turkey from Bongi's Turket Farm. 4. Chicken Pad Thai. 4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now 1. A chaise lounge, with a new Stephen King book, a bag of Hersheyettes, a glass bottle of Coke, at the roof top pool of the hotel in Dubai - anticipating my scheduled treatment at the Spa just inside. 2. A chaise lounge in Typhoon Lagoon, same accoutrement as above. 3. A chaise lounge in Foxwoods on the 9th floor, again - see above. 4. Newport - the person who needs to know that, knows that. 4 People To Tag Ahhhhh. Here's our dead end. I don't know other bloggers to tag. Question - Have I submitted enough evidence to convince a jury that the Chief has missed the mark in calling me a "Wilde Childe"? I think so.

Denmark vs. Islamic fanatics

This is from The Corner OnLine at National Review this morning. I agree, support Denmark!

BUY DANISH [Michael Ledeen]

The wonderful Judith Klinghoffer has it right: we must all support Denmark against the intimidation of the crazy muslim fundamentalists. And it's one of those times when we can do well by doing good: Eat Danish! Wear Danish! Danish furniture is the coolest!Here's what Judith says in response to the Muslim boycott of Denmark, all because a Danish newspaper dared to publish a cartoon that was, in Muslim eyes, insufficiently respectful of the Prophet:
The Muslim countries have chosen to pressure liberal little Denmark in order to teach the media and governments which stand by them a lesson, which does not bode well for free speech or satire. Kuwait has joined the Saudi boycott (the Saudi market alone is worth 1.2 billion) and I suspect the rest will follow. So, here is a plea from my Danish friends: "If you americans look with this great sympathy on our case, couldn't you then raise a consumer support of DK in the US? The opposite of a boycott. A movement of: "Buy Danish!" Please? "You can easily eat and digest all our famous danish cheese at your millions of breakfast-tables from Seattle to Atlanta. Then the boycott (which is escalating fast down there now) will be harmless."Well, we can and should. In fact the idea immediately occurred to the readers of Charles of LGF who was kind enough to post the news about the Saudi boycott on his popular site. They recommended you buy not only the always delicious Danish butter cookies but also:Danish Havarti cheeseCarlberg and Tuborg Beers.Arla owns White Clover Dairy, a Wisconsin company, so buy that brand.Danish hams... baby back ribs, because they come from Denmark.You shop online at The Danish Foodshop.Posted at 09:01 AM

Monday

What a strange day. Mary Matalin was on Imus..........that's always surreal. I can only take him in small doses. God Bless Mary Matalin! She must have to hold her nose. He is so ignorant.

Popped into the gym to weigh myself........major depression, lol!

Countdown to the State of the Union.........please let W hit one out of the park!

"24" is tonight. I will watch the Sunday morning talk shows that I have on DVR, then cap it off with Jack.

What a Great Day!!!!!!!!

Mass, CCD, breakfast with the parents, dinner with my sisters and mother. Just hanging out with a good chunk of the nieces and nephews.

A really great day.

Night

http://www.grandretort.com/index.php/trackback/34/

The link above goes to "The Grand Retort" It is Sanger's essay on "Night" by Elie Wiesel. I read this book back in high school and remember how different my reaction was than that of my classmates. Some didn't care or get it, but most were so full of sympathy. I was angry. I didn't talk about it much, it was high school and I didn't want to push the fact that my opinion was different. The nuns chalked it up to the fact that I couldn't "grasp" it. That made some sense. I grew up in a very homegenous enviroment. There was nothing easier than growing up Irish Catholic in Boston in the 60s and 70s. I did not experience anything close to discrimination in my childhood. I was surrounded by people determined that I understand other people and cultures in the context that I was the luckiest of all. My parents provided a comfortable, loving childhood in the land of the free. So how could I judge Jews in Germany? Where did I get off thinking they should have fought to the death? But that was what I felt. Now that I am much older (how it pains me to say that!) and have read and heard and lived so much more than in high school, I still feel this. It's still a comfortable life in safe place so I'll keep my voice down.

Still Feeling Crappy

I have been laid low by a head cold. It is still hanging on. Anyone who wishes to bring me a chocolate ice cream soda should feel free.

My Life Is A Fellinni Film

Some things happen only to me.

Saturday I was trying to put something ungainly into my car. My boss pulled up next to my car, started talking to me and I was distracted. My passenger door swings shut on it's own and voila! My keys are locked in my car. Fine, it's not the first time, I'll go to the dry cleaners 2 doors down and get a wire hanger. My boss points out that the owner of the police and fire supply shop is there, why don't I just get a slimjim from him? I didn't want to, I don't like asking for favors and I wouldn't know how to use said tool. But fine. One of the guys I work with says he knows how to use it, Paul gladly gives me the tool in question, off we go. After a bit, I go to the dry cleaner anyway and get the hanger so I can work on the passenger side door which is not completely closed. After maybe five minutes, I have the door open. Ian is still working on the drivers side door and now his burglars tool is stuck. I go back to work. Thirty minutes later, Ian is still stuck. I have to go run an errand, so I drive home with the tool sticking out of my door. My sister's boyfriend sees this when I stop and her house and goes out to take care of it. He spends thirty minutes, takes off the inside panel of the drivers side door. No luck. More driving around with the slimjim sticking out of my door. Monday I go over to the police and fire supply and ask how much to buy it. After all, now it's going to have to be cut off with one piece always stuck inside the door.

Lessons learned:

If I am busy and my boss starts talking to me: Ignore her.
If my keys are stuck in my car: Stick with a coat hanger.
If someone makes a suggestion that I don't like: Go with my first instinct.

Frankie's birthday

Today my baby turns 18. He has been counting down since he was 10, lol. I was a different person back then. I look back and barely recognize myself. I had a regularly scheduled checkup that day and as we drove to the doctor's office I knew I was in labor. My doctor was very popular and there was always a huge wait to see him. Waiting an hour was very common. I always needed a ride because back then I didn't drive much. I got my license when I was pregnant (26) and stuck pretty much my own neighborhood. That really makes me laugh considering all the places I go by myself now. Anyway, when I got to the office I did the regular check in and didn't say anything about my labor pains. I was afraid of being wrong. I was afraid of cutting that huge line and not actually being in labor. It was just before 2 pm. As I sat in the waiting room for the next hour with my sister Grace (who was herself six months along with her Danny) and my ex-husband, other women became aware that I was in labor. Finally one of them went up and told the receptionist. I was wisked into the inner sanctum, mortified. The doctor gave me the most cursory exam and told me to get up to the hospital (1/2 mile away) pronto. Frankie was born less than three hours later. We all laugh about that now. Especially the part where I was nice, a little shy, deferential, afraid of being wrong. Who was that girl!

Anyway...............

Happy Birthday Spankie! Love Mum

My Head Cold......

......hit yesterday like a hurricane. I was miserable, cranky, whiny (all right, more than usual). I made everyone in work suffer along with me. One of the chief rules.........When Maggie is unhappy, she is rarely unhappy alone. I drowned it in juice and tea and things are better. Still, it's best not to kiss me just yet. The rotation has been ordered to stand down for the weekend. Of course, now is the time you find out if I really like you or not, lol. If you see me in the next day or two and I give you a great big hug and kiss, well.....

Memoirs of a Geisha

Went to see this movie tonight with my friend Trish. It was very beautiful, but I was unmoved by the film's big scene. Trish thought it was a bit long. I felt it flowed right along. Overall, a B.

MMMMMMMMMMM

I'm back. It was fabulous. I am off to Jennifer's, I am late for our date with Jack Bauer.

MY Respect Is Better Than Your Respect NANANANA

This was on Yahoo News this morning. How silly! Why do some people think their opinion trumps others? MLK Day is about honoring him, not about asserting your own agenda. Why not just be glad so many want to show their respect?

Yahoo! News
--------------------------------------------------------

Activists Angered by Flyover at MLK March 21 minutes ago



SAN ANTONIO - Peace activists are protesting plans for a military flyover at the city's annual Martin Luther King Jr. march, saying the gesture runs counter to the nonviolent beliefs of the civil rights leader.

The city's MLK Commission said the flyover by two fighter jets from Randolph Air Force Base is meant to be patriotic and an honor to King in a city with a strong military presence.

The Rev. Herman Price, the commission's chairman, said he was dismayed by the divisiveness the flyover was causing.

"They say the planes represent war and bombs and death, but at the same time those planes can also represent our freedom and peace," Price said.

The San Antonio march is in its 20th year and has drawn as much as 70,000 people, making it one of the nation's largest Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemorations.

The commission voted to add the flyover at a November meeting, and peace activists say an attempt to rescind it failed at a meeting this week. Some said they would stay home this year or wear yellow ribbons during the march Monday as a show of protest.

"If you're going to honor Dr. King, you have to honor the nonviolent point. It's fundamental," said Tommy Calvert Jr., who attended the meeting.

Happy Friday the 13th

45 and a half hours

I am soooooooooo looking forward to this! The polls are closed.......no Atkins this weekend! I have Hersheyettes and Cosmo. The plan is to get there early, settle into the Ladies Locker room. Get my robe and spend some quality time in the jaccuzzi. Some lounging by the pool followed by lunch in the Golden Dragon with a long tall Fog Cutter or Mai Tai. Back to the pool for some serious lounging but no serious reading. Then my body polish, mmmmmmmmmmm.

76 and half hours

from now...........body polish. I can't wait!!! Now here is our poll question boys and girls. Do I fall off the wagon and ditch Atkins for the weekend? I already know I will be drinking and most times that is the kiss of death for good behavior of any kind (insert evil grin here). So should I try to be as good as possible, for as long as possible and maybe cheat a little? Or throw off all pretense and enjoy my weekend to the fullest? Chocolate is part of the whole experience. Sitting by the pool, reading Cosmo, eating chocolate, a drink with lunch, soaking in the jacuzzi, body polish..............chocolate and tropical drinks are part of the whole thing.

So, go to Foxwoods Saturday morning knowing I will be bad until Sunday night?

Or, try to be good knowing the chances of success are small?

Munich

I went to see Munich last night with my sister Grace. Good movie, bad foreign policy.

Sam Harris

I saw this guy on CSpan. He wrote a book called "The End Of Religion". He was very interesting. One of his points was how difficult it is to criticize anything to do with organized religion. He pointed out that anyone who says Islam is a religion of peace has never read the Koran. My favorite point was when he was disputing the assertion that radical Islam is the result of oppression by Israel, the US and other Western countries. He said that if that were true there should be many radical Zen suicide bombers because the Chinese occupation of Tibet has gone on longer and been much more brutal. I thought that was great!

Movies

Went to see "Rumor Has It" with Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner. It was cute, kinda funny. and not too memorable. However, I must note, Jennifer Aniston has ugly hands. They should not film them.
For Christmas I gave Jennifer the soundtrack to "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir". I saw it on Amazon while I was buying the movie for her. I borrowed it today and I was listening on the way home from the movies. What a great movie!

Things are better

The funeral yesterday had it's ups & downs. It's always great to be with my family, no matter the reason. I take comfort from the ceremony and rituals of both Catholicism and my people. But again it was painfully obvious that more and more of my familiar world is slipping away. The current archbishop of Boston is ordering consolidation of parishes. Even though they insist that there are many factors involved in the process, there are only two - money and politics. My church won the population formula and is completely financially self sufficient. These are supposed to be two of the key factors. In real life, my church is the most valuable peice of real estate and my pastor was never "a friend of Lake Street." So very soon my church that I have attended since 1965 when my parents moved into the parish will close. My pastor was a newly arrived parish priest then and I was starting 1st grade. My brother was an altar boy, my sisters worked in the rectory, we all attended the parish school from 1st to 8th grade. The four of us celebrated our marriages there and my sons were baptised (Excuse me SouthieBoy.... baptized....) here. I teach CCD. Sis's funeral has forced us to face the fact that we will never have another wedding, funeral, 1st communion or confirmation there. Another wound. I wasn't able to pay attention to the church at the funeral yesterday, but in mass this morning, I did try to look around more, to appreciate something I know I will lose soon.
In between the tears yesterday (I did pretty good, I wasn't as weepy as my sisters)there were some laughs. I always end up driving someone and they beef about my car. This timeI had my uncle Walter and his partner Tom. Walter pointed out that I hadn't dusted the dash (which he also mentioned last time I drove him to a party) and Tom pointed out that his seat in the back was in the library (there are always books and magazines in my car). He read off a few titles out loud and proclaimed it was the reference section. I told them both that the next time something like this comes up they are to call and tell me to have the car cleaned. That if they find themselves in this situation again they will have only themselves to blame. Tom said next time they will just have me park at their house and have me drive their car.

The end of the day

How lucky I am.

After the wake I walked down to my parents house where my father was alone in the kitchen. He had his back to me, doing something on the counter. I walked up behind him and hugged him lightly. We are not a touchy family. He laughed and teasingly asked me where I had been. Then I went into the living room where my mother was sitting with her brother Jim and his wife Connie. We argued about politics, talked about old times, discussed who had attended the wake and who would go to the funeral tomorrow. We smiled about the newest of our clan scheduled to be born next month.

Tonight was difficult. To realize that Sis was the last of seven on my grandmothers side; Grace, Helen, John, Freddie, Sis, Mary and Peg. That there is only one left on my grandfathers side, Tim, the last of Owen, Tommy, John, Joe, George, Kay, Danny and Jimmy. But how fortunate was I to have been a part of this, to have known them and loved them? Very.

Of Mama Kelley's family (my grandmother Grace), my sons had the most contact with Sis and Peg. Frankie would always mix their names up and so he gave up trying. He called Sis, his "poker aunt", Frankie and Sis were wicked gamblers and she played endless games of poker with him on the porch of the cottage. He called Peg his "butterscotch aunt". She always had hard candies in her purse that she would load their pockets with candy when she saw them. They would always thank her profusely and hug her. You would have thought she were passing out gold coins. I have never loved my boys so much as on those occassions......they abhor butterscotch.

How lucky I am.

A Long Day

Today is barely underway, but it is already a long day. I overslept, Frankie and I knocked heads over the laundry. He had a point, nothing I wanted was clean either. Still, he's a jerk. He was late to school, I was late to work. I will have to leave work and go shopping for something to wear tomorrow. Jennifer has just emailed me asking me not to make her go through the line at Carr's alone. Like I would ever, ever do that! Certain coworkers are stepping on my last nerve.
So, I guess I should admit that what is probably bothering me........
Tonight I will go to Carr's Funeral Home and join my family in saying goodbye to the last of my maternal grandmother's siblings. Elizabeth, Sis as we called her, lived a good life and was much loved. She was 85, would have turned 86 later this month. Up until very recently, the last year or so, she led a very vigorous life. She lived independently in her own apartment until her early 80s. Recently her decline was accelerated. When I got the call she was gone on Wednesday, I was relieved for her. She had been placed in a nursing home a month or so ago by her family (the right decision) and I was thinking that this wasn't a bad thing. I have often professed that I want my younger siblings or children or a random stranger to put a pillow over my face if I am even in danger of going to a nursing home. Now, two days later faced with an obituary, I am overwhelmed. To see my grandmother's name in print as well as her brothers and sisters. To realize that they are all gone. To face the fact that I will stand with my mother and her brothers as they say goodbye and know I will face this myself in a few years. Frankie will be with me. By a strange twist of fate Tommy will miss it because he rescheduled his visit to next week. It is enough for me that he is upset about missing it.
Bottom line, today sucks.

****Do not comment unless you have something funny or snide to say! Sympathy will only make me worse!****

Day 3

Day 3 of getting back on Atkins is the worst. It is the day I am most homicidal, lol. Read some interesting stuff last night about the Navy Chaplain who is on a hunger strike. He feels the Navy hierarchy is stifling his freedom of religion. I watched is appearance MSLSD as Mark Levin refers to MSNBC. I am glad the Navy is trying to prevent the mess they had over at the USAF Academy.

Day 2

The suffering continues...........last night I went to the gym and spent 1/2 as much time there as usual. I was completely winded. I barely managed a shower, a little laundry, and very little reading. Boring night except for the Victor David Hanson areticle recommended at The Castle. I read some stuff at The Officer's Club as well.

I have been admonished to lighten up by someone who should know better. What is one of the chief rules here in Maggieland? "When Maggie is unhappy, she is rarely unhappy alone!"
On the bright side, we are 11 days away from Foxwoods. I could not possibly be nicer to deal with than I am when I go to the spa. My rare episodes of being nice and agreeable trickle down as well.

Banished words

Every year Lake Superior State University compiles a list of tired words that they decree should be banished. To view the list, click on the link below. Included this year.............blog.

http://www.lssu.edu/whats_new/articles.php?articleid=729

What must already be apparent

As you can see from the last two posts.........I am in a horrible mood. That's right, I am back on Atkins. The world is gray. Nothing is good. I will be nasty for days (ok, nastier). I will do nothing but point out things that are wrong or irritating for a while. Not that I have ever been Sister Mary Sunshine........but, a word to the wise, prepare for rough seas.

Fox News Sunday

Gave Bill Kristol and Brit Hume the day off yesterday. Bastards! Actually it was interesting to listen to other voices.

Disappointment

A little while ago I got several samples from Bath & Body Works. New and fun things to try. As most know, I am a junkie when it comes to this stuff....Aveda....The Body Shop....Bath & Body Works....Lily's. I was looking forward to one sample in particular........Mocha Mousse body scrub. Belgian chocolate with coffee in a body scrub. Well, I didn't dwell on the coffee part, it was the chocolate part that tickled my fancy. So this morning I opened it. Blech!!! Yuck!!! It was brown sludge full of coffee grounds. It smelled like Dunkin' Donuts. Now I realize that this may appeal to some.....after all Southie-Boy likes when I use the vanilla scrub and body cream. But I am not a coffee drinker, so this did not appeal at all. Added to this, the fact that I expected chocolate, made for a bitter, bitter disappointment.

The Arnheiter Affair

I've wrapped that one up. The story of the USS Vance was so strange it was more like fiction. It was a definite page turner. I could have gotten all spooled up in the Navy stuff but I had some assistance staying untangled. Thanks to SailorBob, Southie-Boy, and of course, my favorite Navy man - my Dad, FXM.

The Countdown Begins

14 days until Foxwoods......body polish.......swimming......sauna.....steam room......jacuzzi.....chocolate........Cosmopolitan.......dinner & drinks at Cedars. NO kids.......NO work........NOTHING serious allowed!

The countdown begins

Two weeks from today I will be relaxing on a chaise by the pool at Foxwoods. My friends will be downstairs gambling, but I will be at the Spa. I will soak in the jacuzzi, luxuriate in the steam room, sweat in the sauna. I will have a body polish, eat Hersheyettes (M&Ms are great, but Hersheyettes are that much better)and read Cosmopolitan. I am going to have to put in mad hours at work to take off two guilt free days that weekend.

Happy New Year