If you look at the dates around here it is pretty clear I was gone for a good six months. It was supposed to be a sabbatical from writing and refresh my brain a bit. I was bitter and angry over many things that you can read about at length below. Instead, I grew depressed and at was if my mind was sucked dry of all intelligent thought. My brain turned into a run away chemistry experiment and I finally made a concerted effort in cognitive behavioral therapy. I was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. I wrote a lot as part of my therapy but it was self-serving, traumatic and of a horrid quality. Anyone who has truly made an effort at therapy knows there is no laying about purging your negative thoughts. It’s more about walking into those dark places that terrify you and confronting whatever terror resides there. You leave a session feeling a little bit like you do after you vomit. Still sick but a little bit better than you were a few minutes before. Then as soon as your mind finds a quiet place, the illness creeps in again. Now instead of your therapist telling you to breath through it and use your progressive relaxation, you are alone staring into the abyss and about to fall over the side.
I did learn two very valuable lessons. First, there is nothing in that abyss that I didn’t already survive and while it may be unpleasant to look into, it can’t harm me. Second, the proper dosage of the proper anti-depressant is the psychological equivalent of wearing sunglasses on a really bright day. It is a filter for your psyche.
Armed with this knowledge I return to you. I am still sarcastic, snarky, angry and bitter; but, it’s what works for me and keeps some of you coming back for me. So faithful readers and kindred spirits, leave me a comment about what’s pissing you off today. Consider it a therapy session that doesn’t cost you several hundred dollars.
SVG redraw of Image:Euphoniumrange.png (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
- Baritone (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
We’ve all seen the bumper stickers that grace a multitude of mini-vans and SUV’s across this great country. You know the ones proclaiming a parent’s pride in their progeny’s ability to rise above their peers and grace the coveted Honor Roll. I have two honor roll students and I even own the requisite SUV. Honestly, the SUV has less to do with the kids and more to do with Pittsburgh traffic. Primarily, the disturbing and willful ignorance of turn signal etiquette. It’s a matter of survival when your fellow motorists merge across three lanes and slam on the brakes for no discernible reason. You want as much American made steel, a V8 and 4 wheel drive between you and them. The only logical reaction is to drive over them, lest one go over a cliff or land in a tree. The only thing I can’t handle is a semi or a bulldozer. So if you are rolling on the Parkway and a big, shiny, black Chevy with limo tinted windows tries to drive over your Hyundai because you cut them off, it may be drug dealers or a pissed off housewife. I’ll let you decide which is more dangerous. I seem to have taken a wrong turn with that little rant, so back to the bumper stickers.
As I said, I have two children who have both been on the Honor Roll since kindergarten. This is thanks to an excellent school system(Thanks WASD!) and my occasional pop quizzes on various topics. Nothing breaks a cartoon trance like your mom asking, “Quick, tell me everything you know about obtuse angles”. I am very proud of their academic accomplishments and this week I learned I am also a proud parent of a band nerd. Now my geek and nerd roots go back to my own school days and for years I thought I would encourage my children to follow a more conventional route. As I got a bit older, I came into my own and realized that nerdy girl who was so self conscious is now comfortable in her own skin and proud of her high school letters for academic decathlon. I can help my kids with their homework. My son actually reads my emails because most of them are about Star Wars. My daughter and I discuss hair and jewelry, but we also talk about butterfly migration and super-cell formation. They watch documentaries(voluntarily) and play video games with my husband and I. As a result, I think we have a stronger bond as a family. Besides, they’ve taught my 4 year old the scientific name of every dinosaur they’ve encountered. She is obviously well on the path to being a geek in her own right.
At the end of the last school year my son was asked if he wanted to take chorus or band this year. We encouraged him to try out for band as it would be a good challenge for a kid that is too smart and gets bored easily. I was pleased to have the band teacher say that he was quite good. That was before the baritone horn arrived. My son comes in from school lugging an instrument almost as large as he was. Those first few practices had me eating ibuprofen like candy and pondering whether or not the shed could be converted to a practice space. Gradually, what at first sounded like a cat being strangled transformed into discernible notes and eventually entire songs. The spring concert was earlier this week and we were all astounded. There was my son and he had a flawless solo. I cried, I was so proud. The baritone has now returned from whence it came and next school year will bring with it an even larger and louder horn.
I regret that I ever thought I wanted my kids to fit in. I want them to stand out. I can talk them through the teasing and woes of adolescence. I have been blessed with three remarkable minds and souls to watch grow and they surprise me everyday. Today it was how a 10 year old knew who Pablo Escobar was. I look forward to the challenge of keeping up with these three young minds that are so much smarter than mine. Give me my bumper sticker. I am the proud parent of a band nerd.
Finally Kiddies remember geek is chic.
Image by wools via Flickr
Comments will be down for a short time for some routine clean up. They will be back up and running later today. My apologies for those of you that will have to find someplace else to to troll for a few hours. Time to clean the tubes.
Image via Wikipedia
I’ve obviously pissed someone off with what I said. That doesn’t bother me in the least, it actually is the most fun I get to have. However, It’s now almost 1900 EST and I’ve been trying to repair the shit you broke since 0100 EST. It costs me money to do this. This is therapy for me and I pay for the privilege of being critiqued by pseudo-humans who could be outwitted by an earthworm. You took something that kept me from wanting to punch people in the throat and destroyed it. Now I wish I could reach through the CAT 5 cable and hang y0u with it.
There are two reasons that I find it almost impossible t write anymore.
- The pervasive lack of intelligence that is destroying the Internet that I have loved so dearly since the days before Netscape.
- Selling my soul to write trash for people who carry more about keyword density than content, ” It doesn’t have to be good, just get me my metrics keyboard monkey.”.
That being said, lets get a few things straight.
- If the site doesn’t render perfectly in your obsolete browser that is older than fossilized dinosaur crap, too fucking bad. Join the rest of us here in the 21st Century or stick to whatever seedy, crack den like websites that cater to your kind.
- I am not dude or bro or man. I’m a woman you dumb-asses. No Y chromosome here boys. I have kids and the stretch marks to prove it. That doesn’t mean I can’t beat your ass at most video games, solder a better joint or be smarter than you. While your pasty, fat 45 year old ass clad in nothing in tighty whiteys begs to see just an inch of my skin remember that I’m damn near 6’0″ tall, can wear all those little outfits you dream about and the lack of UV light gives me a complexion that would be the envy of most of vampire goddesses. I almost forgot, all my ink and piercings are real. So a little decency would be really appreciated.
- Finally, I am neither republican or democrat. I am registered independent and they both piss me off. Our country is falling apart and they are fighting over the scraps like junkyard dogs. that annoys me to no end.
Here’s the plan. I’m going to sell out an go start a porn site to cater to some bizarre niche fetish( Don’t worry, I’ll be management not talent.) and than maybe I’ll have the cash flow to make the site run faster. How’s that sound? I’m pissed, I’m tired and I have some stomach bug that will likely start the zombie Apocalypse
so i’m going to rest before the CDC and FEMA arrive…..Patient Zero
P.S. Next time you go after my site, at least try something original. The only reason it took so long was my own fault. I subscribe to the BOFH school of backup routines.
Image by Toban Black via Flickr
Now many of my posts lately have focused on the occupy protests and most of the other info you are getting is also coming from various blogs. The mainstream media is ignoring this as much as possible. What they will show you does not represent the majority of what is happening, but all this is irrelevant. If we learn nothing else from all of this it has to be that the mainstream media should not be just taken with a grain of salt but essentially disregarded as little more than entertainment and not reliable sources of information on anything.
That’s my lecture for today but to swallow your bitter dose of
Image via Wikipedia
Just a quick question that is giving me some pause? How will Occupy Pittsburgh and the Steeler’s home game against Jacksonville effect each other? I mean we are a football town but we are also passionate about Occupy Pittsburgh. Where shall the two meet? Just curious is all. Please let me know in the comments.
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Image by happy via via Flickr
As the Occupy Pittsburgh movement swung into motion yesterday the actions of the Pittsburgh Police provided a stark contrast to departments in other occupied cities. After hearing stories of pepper spray, kettling and mass
Image via Wikipedia
Via occupypittsburgh.org
Here is a press release that is a decisive victory for Occupy Pittsburgh protesters:
Here is the tumblr. tag for Occupy Pitsburgh:
Occupy Pittsburgh on tumblr.
