I slept all morning, and then woke up bored and hungry. Since I've been sleeping non stop practically since 2 pm yesterday and not eating, I helped myself to a bowl of vanilla ice cream by Dreyer's Dreamery and low fat Smucker's chocolate sauce. Yummy!
The ice cream stayed down and didn't upset my stomach, so I guess this means whatever bug has been attacking my system is now gone. It's either that, or the flu bug loves ice cream.
Then I decided to load Turbo Tax on my computer and start on my taxes. I made a ton of charitable contributions this year and gave away a bunch of stuff, so I'm getting a huge tax refund. YEAH!!! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the extra money. I'm tempted to put the money towards paying off some debt, but another part of me is saying no, spend it on something you've always wanted like a laptop. I have money to buy a used laptop. I couldn't get a 3-4 pound laptop that I've been wanting with a new chip, but I could get a decent 5 pound laptop, with a decent chip brain. It's tempting, very tempting.
There are other things I could also buy like a new ring for my right hand. I had to give my pretty blue topaz ring away to a friend of mine, since I suddenly became allergic to it. Then there's those Dansko Mary Jane shoes I've been dying to have.
It's nice to have a huge tax refund, but I'm only getting it because I donated and gave away more than the standard deduction. If you don't own a property or a business like me, the only tax breaks most people have left, taxes totally kill you. I had charitable contributions of almost $700 last year, and still it wasn't enough to get me past the standard deduction. I hate that!
Thursday, January 30, 2003
I'm taking a sick day today, and I'm at home. I should have taken a sick day yesterday, but I went in and ended up leaving at 1 pm. My body is fighting some kind of flu, I think. I'm getting the chills, I'm sweating, and my tummy is cramping. Since I've been trying to beef up my immune system, I don't get normal flus or viruses, I get them in halves. When I had the Norwalk virus, I went to the bathroom a lot, but I wasn't throwing up or feverish. The last time the flu went around the office, I got a stomach thing, but no runny nose or other cold symptoms.
I mean, I'm glad my body is working to fight off illnesses, but since I only get half the symptoms, it's hard to diagnose what is ailing me. Oh well. At least it's not a full blow nasty flu; those are the worst.
I mean, I'm glad my body is working to fight off illnesses, but since I only get half the symptoms, it's hard to diagnose what is ailing me. Oh well. At least it's not a full blow nasty flu; those are the worst.
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
A weird thing happened to me on Friday night, January 24. I fell asleep listening to a radio program on KSFO, Coast to Coast, and woke up to hear this different talk show host talking about Covenant Network. The executive director of Covenant Network is a member of my church, and she's in my Kerygma bible class on Wednesdays. I was on a committee with her for a year, and have known her for several years. She's a Wellesley grad, was a college classmate of Hilary Rodham Clinton, and I think she used to be a book editor at Random House.
It's so weird to hear my friend's organization talked about on the radio. The conservative radio talk show host was talking about a couple of presbyterian churches in Hayward and Castro Valley inviting a transgender presbyterian minister from Georgia to talk to them, so they could have a greater understanding of transgender people and issues since the slaying of Eddie "Gwen" Araujo Jr. -- the 17-year-old transgender teen slain last October. I guess Covenant Network helped to sponsor the event or something.
From the Covenant Network website, here's what they're about.
"The Covenant Network of Presbyterians is a broad-based, national group of clergy and lay leaders working for a church that is simultaneously faithful, just, and whole. We seek to support the mission and unity of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in a time of potentially divisive controversy. We intend to articulate and act on the church's historic, progressive vision and to work for a fully inclusive church.
We seek to live out the Reformed faith found in Scripture and our confessions, and in our life together to follow the principles laid out in the Call to Covenant Community. We strive to proclaim and embody the gospel as we have learned it from the life and ministry of Jesus; we affirm the centrality of the Bible in our church; and we value the dynamic tension between unity and diversity. The Call to Covenant Community has been affirmed by more than 2,500 ministers, 2,000 other officers, 19 former Moderators, 300+ sessions, five presbyteries, and the Synod of Lakes and Prairies.
Covenant Network was founded in August, 1997 to support the passage of Amendment (97)-A, the "Fidelity and Integrity Amendment." Its founding Co-Moderators were Robert Bohl, Pastor of Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas and Moderator of the 206th General Assembly, and John Buchanan, Co-Pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago and Moderator of the 208th General Assembly."
It's strange to have one's personal life and a hot news topic come together on a conservative talk show program in the wee hours of the morning.
It's so weird to hear my friend's organization talked about on the radio. The conservative radio talk show host was talking about a couple of presbyterian churches in Hayward and Castro Valley inviting a transgender presbyterian minister from Georgia to talk to them, so they could have a greater understanding of transgender people and issues since the slaying of Eddie "Gwen" Araujo Jr. -- the 17-year-old transgender teen slain last October. I guess Covenant Network helped to sponsor the event or something.
From the Covenant Network website, here's what they're about.
"The Covenant Network of Presbyterians is a broad-based, national group of clergy and lay leaders working for a church that is simultaneously faithful, just, and whole. We seek to support the mission and unity of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in a time of potentially divisive controversy. We intend to articulate and act on the church's historic, progressive vision and to work for a fully inclusive church.
We seek to live out the Reformed faith found in Scripture and our confessions, and in our life together to follow the principles laid out in the Call to Covenant Community. We strive to proclaim and embody the gospel as we have learned it from the life and ministry of Jesus; we affirm the centrality of the Bible in our church; and we value the dynamic tension between unity and diversity. The Call to Covenant Community has been affirmed by more than 2,500 ministers, 2,000 other officers, 19 former Moderators, 300+ sessions, five presbyteries, and the Synod of Lakes and Prairies.
Covenant Network was founded in August, 1997 to support the passage of Amendment (97)-A, the "Fidelity and Integrity Amendment." Its founding Co-Moderators were Robert Bohl, Pastor of Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas and Moderator of the 206th General Assembly, and John Buchanan, Co-Pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago and Moderator of the 208th General Assembly."
It's strange to have one's personal life and a hot news topic come together on a conservative talk show program in the wee hours of the morning.
On Thursday, January 23, I took advantage of Dine About Town and had dinner at the Pacific Restaurant at the Pan Pacific Hotel. The restaurant had decent reviews on CitySearch, and since I've been curious about what the inside of the Pan Pacific Hotel looked like, I booked a reservation.
First of all, the restaurant is way overpriced. Entrees were in the $20's, which is high considering the quality of the food is average. I thought the food was similar to the Daily Grill, which is much cheaper. I had the salmon, and it was drowning in oil. The Daily Grill serves their fish this way too. I know some people like their fish drizzled in olive oil, but I find this technique unimaginative and so five years ago.
Secondly, since the restaurant is overpriced, the place was empty yet the hotel was overflowing with guests. Usually hotel restaurants are full of hotel guests, because it's convenient and a guest can charge the food to their room. I don't know if the restaurant was empty because of the bad economy and the visitors are watching their pennies carefully, or that even the out of town visitors knew the restaurant was no bargain.
The only saving grace of the restaurant for me was listening to the few diners that were there. A beautiful, immmaculately coiffed white haired woman was sitting a few tables from me. She looked like one of those older society matron types, with her Bottega Vanetta bag, her silk shirtwaist dress that perfectly matched her green eyes, her rings, her double strand huge baroque pearls and the fine italian wool navy blue blazer with the gold buttons. The silk dress was definitely designer or off the rack designer, probably bought sometime in the 70's, but which still looked timeless and classic.
The society matron had beautiful unlined skin, and was still very thin, but she had all the tell tale signs of old age; arthritic looking age spotted hands, severe lines around the mouth, a crepey neck, clouded eyes, stained teeth, bad eyesight, and of course the lifeless white hair. However beneath the ravages of age, you could telll that this woman was quite the refined blonde bombshell in her youth.
The society matron was crying and telling the french waiter that his accent reminded her of her french husband. She had lived in France with her husband during world war 2, and had kept a journal of her experiences for her grandsons to read. The woman's husband's family had been in banking, and they were killed by the Nazis during the war because they had refused to give up the combinations to the vaults.
The french waiter told the society matron that while he was growing up was Lyon, he had met an old man who told him a story about the Nazi occupation of Lyon that he witnessed. Apparently, there was a Nazi in Lyon nicknamed "the butcher of Lyon". This Nazi, whom the waiter said was caught 10 years ago, had sent a whole school of 40 children to their death at Auschwitz.
Great story huh? The society matron knew all the waiters and they knew her, which must mean she's a regular eater there. I love hearing people's stories. Everyone has such an interesting story to tell, and if you just shut up and listen, you'll discover whole new worlds.
Tomorrow, my review of American Buffalo.
First of all, the restaurant is way overpriced. Entrees were in the $20's, which is high considering the quality of the food is average. I thought the food was similar to the Daily Grill, which is much cheaper. I had the salmon, and it was drowning in oil. The Daily Grill serves their fish this way too. I know some people like their fish drizzled in olive oil, but I find this technique unimaginative and so five years ago.
Secondly, since the restaurant is overpriced, the place was empty yet the hotel was overflowing with guests. Usually hotel restaurants are full of hotel guests, because it's convenient and a guest can charge the food to their room. I don't know if the restaurant was empty because of the bad economy and the visitors are watching their pennies carefully, or that even the out of town visitors knew the restaurant was no bargain.
The only saving grace of the restaurant for me was listening to the few diners that were there. A beautiful, immmaculately coiffed white haired woman was sitting a few tables from me. She looked like one of those older society matron types, with her Bottega Vanetta bag, her silk shirtwaist dress that perfectly matched her green eyes, her rings, her double strand huge baroque pearls and the fine italian wool navy blue blazer with the gold buttons. The silk dress was definitely designer or off the rack designer, probably bought sometime in the 70's, but which still looked timeless and classic.
The society matron had beautiful unlined skin, and was still very thin, but she had all the tell tale signs of old age; arthritic looking age spotted hands, severe lines around the mouth, a crepey neck, clouded eyes, stained teeth, bad eyesight, and of course the lifeless white hair. However beneath the ravages of age, you could telll that this woman was quite the refined blonde bombshell in her youth.
The society matron was crying and telling the french waiter that his accent reminded her of her french husband. She had lived in France with her husband during world war 2, and had kept a journal of her experiences for her grandsons to read. The woman's husband's family had been in banking, and they were killed by the Nazis during the war because they had refused to give up the combinations to the vaults.
The french waiter told the society matron that while he was growing up was Lyon, he had met an old man who told him a story about the Nazi occupation of Lyon that he witnessed. Apparently, there was a Nazi in Lyon nicknamed "the butcher of Lyon". This Nazi, whom the waiter said was caught 10 years ago, had sent a whole school of 40 children to their death at Auschwitz.
Great story huh? The society matron knew all the waiters and they knew her, which must mean she's a regular eater there. I love hearing people's stories. Everyone has such an interesting story to tell, and if you just shut up and listen, you'll discover whole new worlds.
Tomorrow, my review of American Buffalo.
Monday, January 27, 2003
I wonder what would happen if the White House were to show the world evidence that Iraq has biological and chemical weapons. Personally, I think it would cause mass hysteria and panic around the country and people would be freaking out. I know I would. Is that why Bush isn't showing us the evidence?
Some people are saying that if Clinton was in Bush's position, there wouldn't be as much opposition from the left. I wonder about that too sometimes. When Clinton was in office, we sent troops into the Baltic regions and no one said anything. Hmmm.
Some people are saying that if Clinton was in Bush's position, there wouldn't be as much opposition from the left. I wonder about that too sometimes. When Clinton was in office, we sent troops into the Baltic regions and no one said anything. Hmmm.
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