It's The End of The World as we Know it...

I love the 80's. I love everything about the 80's. I love the music. I love the movies. I love the stupid ass haircuts. I love it all.

I live for 80's radio stations and 80's videos. It makes my day when I turn on VH1 Classic and they have on "We Are The 80's", which is an hour of 80's videos. And why do I love that show? Because they don't play the same 10 songs over and over. They play songs I haven't heard in 20 years. Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout, Willis!!!

I listen to the 80s station on Rhapsody all day at work. Or sometimes, I check out the new wave station because that's more obscure 80's stuff. I am so excited to get sattelite radio because I'm sure they will have some kick-ass 80's stations. I'm drooling just thinking about it.

Here is what I will not listen to. I will not listen to ANY radio station's "80's at 8" program. Why? Because it's the same 10 songs played every $&%^ing time!!!! Here is a list of songs that I do not ever want to hear again for as long as I live:

"Come on Eileen"
"Rio"/"Hungry Like The Wolf"
"Tainted Love"
"Sunday Bloody Sunday"
"Mickey"
"In Your Eyes"
"99 Red Balloons"
"If You Leave"
"Don't You Forget About Me"
"Every Breath You Take"
"Jack & Diane"
"Let's go Crazy"
"You Might Think"

And on the top of the list. The one song that I wish I would never hear again, yet somehow I manage to hear it several times per week???

The title of this entry - It's The End of The World as we Know it (And I Feel Fine) by one of my favorite groups in the universe, R.E.M. But let me tell you something. This is not the quintessential song of the 1980's. Oh my GAWD. It's a good song, actually it's a great song, but it's not a great song when you hear it every week for 20 years. It's gotten so bad that even when I see them live, I wish they would skip that song. Sometimes they do, but sometimes they don't. Sometimes, they end with it. Ugh. What a downer.

Honestly, I'd rather listen to any of those other songs on my list daily than to hear that song again. That is how much I hate that song.

So, please, I beg of you. If you are a DJ, know a DJ, a radio station program director, or anyone in that type of position, tell them immediately that if they have an 80's hour, NOT TO PLAY THESE SAME SONGS TO DEATH. It's seriously making me insane.

I Use My Children.

I'll admit it, I do. I use them to perpetuate my immaturity. As an adult, would I voluntarily go to see the SpongeBob SquarePants movie alone? Never. But, I have children, so I have an excuse to go. I'm doing it for them. SpongeBob makes me giggle. I absolutely love that show. Now, Zack is obsessed with it, so I have another reason to watch it. Because it makes him happy and who am I to deny him the simple pleasure of a great Saturday morning cartoon?

Same goes for cheesy teenybopper flicks. I see commercials for those and grin happily because I know that my daughter will jump at the chance to go see one and that means that *I* get to see one! When Mean Girls came out, I was super-pissed because she went and saw it with friends. I wanted to go. I wanted to "chaperone" them, but they didn't need that. I needed some type of excuse to go see this movie - it looked great! I tried my best and basically got told that unless I was willing to shell out megabucks for snacks for all of them, I was not coming.

Ended up watching it on DVD with Dave. It was as great as I was hoping it would be :)

I'm also a videogame fanatic. I could play videogames all day long. "Mom, can I watch you play Crash Bandicoot?" Of course, sweetie, how could I say no to that? That would just be mean. *snicker*

Ooooooh, I just saw a commercial for a new Crash Bandicoot game, speak of the devil. And my wonderful husband said to me "Honey, why don't you buy that now and we can count that as a Xmas present". Like I'm gonna turn down THAT offer. Looks like I'll be hitting Best Buy after class today. WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some People Clean up Nicely

How cute are we?? (Sorry for the fuzziness, but Sears - in all their bastardness - purposefully puts up crappy copies of pictures on their website. Thumbs up, creeps!)







and my personal favorite:



Now you've got some faces to the names.

Extreme This, Extreme That

I'm through with the constant "extreme" advertising that's saturating the airwaves and has been for a while now. Extreme sports, extreme toys, extreme soft drinks, extreme this, extreme that. Hey, extreme THIS. Get over it. It's beyond obnoxious.

And the TV ads are always the same teenage boys, not literally, but they are all cut from the same mould. At least one of them has to be wearing a knit hat for some reason, too. I think it all began with the Do the Dew campaign for Mountain Dew. They were slightly amusing at first, then they became grating. Do you know they have Extreme Capri Sun? Since when can a fruit juice be described as "extreme" anything, except nasty?

Back to the boys - their hair is usually perfectly rumpled, and they spout out the hippest phrases in between "dudes". Why aren't there extreme girls in these commercials? Cassie would be pissed if she knew there aren't girls involved in this, only boys. If there ever is a girl thrown into these commercials, she's there for the boys to gawk at.

The last straw was in Safeway where I saw packages of Extreme Jello. I'm not lying. Here's a picture because I know you don't believe me:



What on God's green Earth could possibly be extreme about gelatin? Does it become poisonous when mixed according to the package instructions? That would be extreme. You can make all the funky flavors you want, package them in colorful boxes, heck even package them in freeze-dried blocks, but that will not make Jello extreme.

It's as though the American public is being dumbed down. I understand that these ads are geared toward teenagers, but I honestly don't think teenagers are that dumb either. I don't think it's fair for adults to assume that the way in which we perceive teenagers to be is how they really are. I get this response 9 times out of 10 when I mention that I have a teenage daughter:

(Quick sucking in of air through clenched teeth) "I'm sorry" or "I don't envy you." Why are you sorry? Because you assume that all teenagers are drunk, horny, lazy, defiant, and devious non-human creatures who you should fear? You should envy me because my teenager is a really great person who is eager to help other people and likes to just sit and talk to us. She doesn't lock herself in her room and sneak around. She's funny, extremely smart, and the most pleasant of our three kids to be around on a daily basis ;)

I wonder what will be next in the "extreme" wave of advertising? I can see it now: "Extreme Pampers" Babies with their hair spiked up, wearing leather jackets. "This ain't your mamma's diaper, these are extreme diapers, dude!" These diapers are so extreme, only the coolest babies wear them. What makes them extreme? Nothing, except probably the words "Extreme Pampers" printed somewhere on them.

That would be enough to make some idiot out there buy them, I'm sure of it. I should market these - I'd make millions.

A Weird Phenomenon

I'm watching Airline. Have you see this show? It's a "reality show" (I hate that term) that follows Southwest Airlines staff and patrons. It's absolutely enthralling. My favorite situation is when people show up late for flights and then have the audacity to yell and scream at the employees to get them on another flight. Oh, and the drunk ones, they crack me up to no end.

So, tonight's episode has one of my favorites - a woman who is late. This lady is furious because she was late, the flight left, and they can only put her on stand-by for future flights.

"Lady, you were LATE. You are such a dumbass - if you wanted to make your flight GET TO THE AIRPORT ON TIME," I yelled at the television.

"Honey," darling Dave says calmly "I don't think they can hear you."

Why do I yell at the television? I can understand football and soccer, I'm cheering for my team "go go go". But, honestly, why am I yelling at this stupid woman who has missed her flight? Hasn't she had enough misery? Does she need to hear my insults? Oh wait, she can't hear my insults.

Now I get it. The television is not interactive. Go figure.

Could this be why the Niners have sucked so hard for the last few years? Yes, that's it. They can't hear my encouraging cheers. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Why Life is Unfair

I have a nasty head cold that Zack gave me. Cuz he loves me. Without medicine, I'm miserable - my sinuses ache, I can't breathe, and I'm just an unhappy camper. With medicine? I'm shaky, out of breath, and I'm just an unhappy camper. Oh, but at least I can breathe through my nose (eye roll).

Zack gets frustrated about something, so he hits me. What did I do? As I'm typing this, he's screaming at the top of his lungs for ME to find something that HE lost. Now, I'm being pinched. Threats of going upstairs are being met by sobbing, in addition to the screaming. Can you believe he had a nap today? A long one at that.

If I sweep the foyer, the kids track leaves inside almost immediately. If I don't sweep it, a neighbor or parent from the school stops by unexpectedly and I look like a slob.

Food has calories, except stuff that tastes like crap.

TV rots your brain, but it's so entertaining.

Paying bills online is really convenient, but the fact of the matter is that we still have to pay them. Banks can make it as "fun" or as "speedy" as they want, it still sucks.

Once you have a child, for the first 4 years or so, there is no part of your body that solely belongs to you. I am now a chair, a pillow, and a jungle gym.

I'm such a sap

I'm totally going through withdrawls now. I miss posting and I miss my friends. Are they missing me? A few have contacted me, so I know they do. Perhaps the majority of people are glad that I'm gone.

I wish I was a stronger person. I wish I didn't let the digs and comments get to me. But they do. That's their intent and boy can I put up a strong front, but it's all a facade, I take them all personally. I know that I'm lumped now into the group being referred to as "extreme Democrats" who "shouldn't be respected by anyone".

Should I go back, stick to my guns and fight to express my opinions and hope and pray that I can keep my emotions in check and I don't spew venom back? or;

Should I go back and rock out with my cock out as some like to say? Live up to the name CathyTheGreat balls to the wall and not take crap from anyone? or;

Should I go back, wimp out, and never discuss my opinions on anything to avoid being hurt? or lastly;

Should I stay away and wonder what's up with everyone and miss them?

I honestly don't know if I can control myself if I have access there again. I certainly don't want to give the Dems a bad name by going off on people.

But as my good friend, Carrie, says "Sometimes, you just gotta smack a ho."

Toddler Wars

There is the cutest little guy at Zack's daycare, named Jonathan. Every day when I leave after dropping Zachary off, Jonathan runs to the gate and makes kissy faces to me because he wants me to give him a hug and a kiss, like I do with Zack. It's so cute. He's always smiles and giggles when I'm there.

After all the cuteness is said and done, Jonathan likes to beat the crap out of the other kids. He's all of 2 years old now, just turned 2 a few weeks ago. I don't dislike the child, rather I completely understand the phase he's going through. He doesn't have a large vocabulary, so he gets his point across by pushing and hitting. Not nice, but he will grow out of it. He's still adorable.

The other day, I picked up Zack, who proceeded to show me that Jonathan had scratched his neck. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry, I bet that hurt," I said, comforting my little guy, who looked a little proud of his battle scars. "Yes, it hurt, mommy. You gonna get something from your purse? You gonna kill him?"

WHAT??? Am I going to KILL him??? And where on earth did he get the idea that if I were going to kill his little friend, that I have something in my purse to assist me in the venture? I've never touched a gun in my life, let alone own one. Out of the mouth of babes, I swear.

Lucky for me, I was talking to my friend Janine on my cellphone when Zack said that. She burst into laughter and apologies. "I'm sorry, but that is SO funny," she said, trying to get catch her breath. It's not embarrassing as a parent when your child says something shocking, unless there's something else around to hear it.

Time for some more deprogramming. I think we have his older brother to blame for this one ;)

Now What?

Where do we go from here? I'm tired of being so mad. I'm tired of being so offended by the things I'm seeing. I'm tired of hearing these outrageous insults. Mostly, I'm just tired.

Which reminds me, I hate Daylight Savings Time. It's stupid. Now Zack wakes up before 7am because it's light outside. Try reasoning with a nearly 3-year-old who just wants to go play with his daddy or watch TV. I can't get him to go back to sleep so now I am getting up at 6:30 every morning. I had just trained him to sleep until 8am and now we're back to square one.

Back to non-Zack-related material. I deactivated my account at one of my favorite places to post. I just can't take it. There are too many people walking around like they own the universe because this guy SQUEAKED by with a win. A win that mostly likely, and take me seriously here, don't write me off, was cheated into like the last election. The man who created the touch-tone voting machines said in 2003 that he intended to "deliver the Ohio electoral votes to President Bush." I still don't understand how they were put into use after such a blantantly partisan statement like that? Let's not forget that he did NOT win the popular vote last time. Over 50% of people 4 years ago didn't want him and this year 49% of the country didn't want him. THAT IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF AND GLOAT ABOUT!!!!!!!!!!!

I honestly just don't understand how our modern society is slipping back into Medieval Times when Christianity ruled government. It's inconceivable to me that this is happening.

I am not anti-religion. Yes, I have problems with a lot of organized religions. Because I feel that they teach hatred and intolerance. To me that is anything but Christian. However, I see it every day. It's not something I perceive or that I imagine - I have seen the evidence of it first hand. One of my closest friends in the world is very religious. And do you know what else? She's pro-gay marriage and pro-gay rights. She doesn't believe that people should be discriminated against because of their sexuality. She is a true Christian who believes that God loves all of us, no matter what. I respect her.

I have a serious problem with religion being the basis for our laws or involved in our government. There is no reason on God's green earth (excuse the religious reference) why the government should be regulating what we should or shouldn't be doing in our own homes (between consenting adults, I'm not talking about abuse). If you don't like the idea of gay people having sex, then don't participate in gay sex. It's pretty easy. But don't you DARE use your religious beliefs to change our constitution to prohibit two loving people from getting married because you are homophobic.

I do not care about the phrase "under God" being in the pledge. When I was a kid and said the pledge, I said "under God" and I didn't burst into flames. As an adult, I don't say "under God" when I say the pledge and I still don't burst into flames. Do I want "In God We Trust" removed from our money? No, I don't care. It doesn't affect me either way.

I do not, however, think that prayer in school is appropriate. I went to a private school and when we had to say prayers, I always felt so out of place and uncomfortable. If public schools were to have a moment of silence during the day for the children to choose what they wanted to do during that time, I would fully support that. Children could meditate, pray, or just rest, however they chose to see fit. When I think back on my school making me say Christian prayers when there were Jewish children in the class too seems so very disrespectful and wrong. It wasn't a Christian school, or even a religious school, but we said The Lord's Prayer every morning. Weird.

Anyway, I'm getting off on a tangent now. I think it's ridiculous when I hear people say they voted for Bush because they didn't want their Bibles banned. If anything, religious people have more rights in this country than non-religious people have. Bibles aren't going to be banned ever - that's just another scare tactic for the Bush administration to use to get votes.

So yes, I'm still a tad upset.

The Agony of Defeat

I have stopped crying long enough to collect my thoughts and try to express them in some readable fashion. I can't describe what the last 18 hours have felt like. Hopeful, excited, disappointed, amazed, devestated, despondent, depressed, hopeless, disgusted. Furious.

I don't understand people. On the news today, I heard more than one person talk about how they registered to vote for the first time to vote for Bush because he's Christian. That's disgusting. Appauling. He's ruining our country and no one cares. Well, half of the population cares, but not quite enough to take the power away from the Religious Right. They will never admit that Bush is bad for the country, no matter how much further he runs this country into the ground. I'm terrified living this close to DC, absolutely terrified. I want to move.

I live in a country that I despise. I always felt sorry for people in other countries that were run by religious fanatics. And now, I'm one of those people.

The urge to vomit has finally subsided but the taste of bile in my mouth will be there for 4 more years.

D-Day

Today is election day.

I have already voted.

I don't think I will be able to eat or sleep tonight. I'm so nervous and excited. A little scared, too. I'm so scared for our country if Bush is re-elected. Terrified, actually.

Hours to wait until we know something.

I think I need a Valium.