I never watch House. That Hught Laurie just never appealled to me and the whole curmudgeony thing got on my nerves. Last night however I caught about five minutes of it and in that time Dr. House said something that really struck me. He said "Almost dying changes nothing. Dying changes everything."
I had to agree about that. After having nearly bled to death, I have had that experience. And nothing did change. I was still the same person, although a shadow of my former self for a while. You don't lose that much blood and not have it effect you in some way.
But the world was the same and what I know is the same except for one vital thing. I know there is more to us than just this life. As I lay in the OR after rushing through the ER in record time(less than 5 minutes) before they put me to sleep my dad was with me. Really. I didn't see him as he has been gone from us since I was 24 years old but he was there as sure as I was. Steadily watching to see that no harm came to me. Reminding me to keep my feet planted firmly on this Earth as it was not my time to join him. I didn't hear his voice and I didn't feel his touch but the peace and contentment I felt came from him.
What a gift to be given. I wish I could say that experience led me to be a better person and to do good works and make humanitarian efforts but it didn't. I don't even think I am any nicer to any degree. It just made me a little surer ever since(for the most part) and a little less scared of what I think I should do in this life. The whole experience only lasted for less than a minute but it gave me a lifetime of hope. Oh,I still get angry and disappointed and critical--let's face it I'm only human!!
I won't watch House any time soon. One profound statement doesn't mean I am hooked on the show now. But I won't forget what he said any time soon either.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Coco La Fontaine
When we were kids my mom had a friend whose dog was called Coco. It was a brown poodle and it had quite the personality. If its owner was around it was a bouncy, cute, cuddly little thing. When the owner was out of sight, the dog became "Killer". That little dog could bear its fangs and scare the you know what right out of you and then when its owner appeared, she would bounce around and look all cute and want you to pet her. My dad named her Coco LaFontaine in a moment of hilarity (sorry, the details escape me now). One of my favorite pictures is my dad sitting with CocLaF sitting on his lap and he has his hands handily out of the way just in case she turns on him!!!
Well, her namesake, Coco Chanel, had her own biopic on Lifetime this week and I taped it so I could watch it in less than 3 hours. She was quite the little personality herself. She was coy and mean, she was smart and savvy, naive and trusting of the wrong people. She carved a place for herself in a world that did not encourage women to do anything but be a wife and mother. She wore pants(!!) before WWI and got rid of corsets and constrictions. She had one great love of her life who died on his way to reconcile with her.
Doesn't that sound like the most interesting movie?? Not really, it was kind of a snooze. The clothes were fabulous. It was funny to see some critic turn up his nose at the classic fringed Chanel jacket. And I did find out where her penchant for pearls came from. But the girl who played her was boring and Shirley LaMcLaine played her when she reentered the world of fashion as an old woman. They plastered so much makeup on Ms. McL and then shot so many close ups, I thought I could see her make up peeling off! Not a good look on anyone...I'm sure Mademoiselle Chanel would have been appalled.
Mon Dieu!! Can moviemakers get nothing right?
Well, her namesake, Coco Chanel, had her own biopic on Lifetime this week and I taped it so I could watch it in less than 3 hours. She was quite the little personality herself. She was coy and mean, she was smart and savvy, naive and trusting of the wrong people. She carved a place for herself in a world that did not encourage women to do anything but be a wife and mother. She wore pants(!!) before WWI and got rid of corsets and constrictions. She had one great love of her life who died on his way to reconcile with her.
Doesn't that sound like the most interesting movie?? Not really, it was kind of a snooze. The clothes were fabulous. It was funny to see some critic turn up his nose at the classic fringed Chanel jacket. And I did find out where her penchant for pearls came from. But the girl who played her was boring and Shirley LaMcLaine played her when she reentered the world of fashion as an old woman. They plastered so much makeup on Ms. McL and then shot so many close ups, I thought I could see her make up peeling off! Not a good look on anyone...I'm sure Mademoiselle Chanel would have been appalled.
Mon Dieu!! Can moviemakers get nothing right?
Monday, September 15, 2008
An Out of Body Experience
Not really. It was just so other worldly at the new Cleveland Clinic Heart Center! We took the tour yesterday at the invitation of our son who is the computer support for the entire building!! It is a technological wonder and so clean and white it seemed unreal.
There are robotic units for surgeries, 6 television screens(or monitors) in the OR so the doctor and his team can see what they are doing even better than ever and all the rooms are private with flat screen televisions. The daily necessities of the hospital are in cupboards so the patient doesn't have to stare at them all day. Everything has been planned and designed to make the whole hospital experience the least traumatic possible.
We saw the guts of the building where the air is recirculated for maximum health benefits and the water is cooled and the cafeteria's water supply is recycled and I don't know what else was hooked up. We went up to the roof where there is a panorama of the city for patients and their families to enjoy and plenty of space to relax.
There is a massage room where a patient can schedule a massage just for comfort's sake. The television monitors will have soothing pictures and music. If you have to be sick, this is the way to go!
The patients move over in two weeks and the first surgery is scheduled for Wednesday of that week. My son is moving over there on Wednesday of this week. As we traveled the building he was on the lookout for any computers that weren't working properly so he could get right to work. His office is in another building but hopefully that will be remedied soon. He is really excited to be working there as the building is a modern marvel. It will be a lot of work but he is ready.
I have to admit it was all a little surreal. Once you left the building it was like remembering a dream. We sat at the deli across the street and wondered at the experience. I always said that patients at the hospital and their loved ones had a surreal experience(hence keeping McDonald's at the Clinic --for a touch of familiarity) and now it will be even more so!
If you get a chance to visit(and I hope not as a patient or visiting a loved one) you should. It is an amazing place!
There are robotic units for surgeries, 6 television screens(or monitors) in the OR so the doctor and his team can see what they are doing even better than ever and all the rooms are private with flat screen televisions. The daily necessities of the hospital are in cupboards so the patient doesn't have to stare at them all day. Everything has been planned and designed to make the whole hospital experience the least traumatic possible.
We saw the guts of the building where the air is recirculated for maximum health benefits and the water is cooled and the cafeteria's water supply is recycled and I don't know what else was hooked up. We went up to the roof where there is a panorama of the city for patients and their families to enjoy and plenty of space to relax.
There is a massage room where a patient can schedule a massage just for comfort's sake. The television monitors will have soothing pictures and music. If you have to be sick, this is the way to go!
The patients move over in two weeks and the first surgery is scheduled for Wednesday of that week. My son is moving over there on Wednesday of this week. As we traveled the building he was on the lookout for any computers that weren't working properly so he could get right to work. His office is in another building but hopefully that will be remedied soon. He is really excited to be working there as the building is a modern marvel. It will be a lot of work but he is ready.
I have to admit it was all a little surreal. Once you left the building it was like remembering a dream. We sat at the deli across the street and wondered at the experience. I always said that patients at the hospital and their loved ones had a surreal experience(hence keeping McDonald's at the Clinic --for a touch of familiarity) and now it will be even more so!
If you get a chance to visit(and I hope not as a patient or visiting a loved one) you should. It is an amazing place!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
This-N-That
Well, did you think that Charlie Gibson was this close to slapping Sarah Palin?? He could hardly contain his disgust. He didn't ask very many probing questions and she had the answers in the can.....as in canned responses. I loved it when he said he was lost in a blizzard of words. She did talk ALOT but she didn't say much if you ask me. She is a quick study though..I thought I could see her pageant training rear its head and I loved how she kept saying his name like that would help her !!!
I saw Tyler Perry on The View and he said "lipstick." I guess he didn't know the rule about not saying words that Sarah Palin said. I didn't hear any backlash about it so I guess he got away with it.
Speaking of The View, when are those babes going to stop yelling at each other and let each other finish their...pardon the expression, view????????? I used to enjoy watching the debate between the women and learned somethings sometimes. Now it is like watching Smack Down wrestling. Elizabeth believes anything a Republican says( come on, girl, get your own ideas), Whoopi looks uncomfortable, Joy is constantly frustrated because she can never finish a thought, Sherri looks desperately uncomfortable and Barbara is imperious. I want to watch less and less.
Remember the lady who said I was cute? Well, she and I talked about Cindy Lou for a short time. The woman told me she had to get her hair done once a week as she was on the campaign trail and had to look nice. So I kidded her that she had to keep up with Mrs. McCain(wink, wink) and she laughed and said doesn't she look like Barbie??? I said yep, OLD Barbie(since being a big Barbie fan I know she never ages). We had a good laugh over her outfit at the convention(the one that reportedly cost 300,000 dollars). I think that price might have been a little inflated...Perhaps one or two extra zeroes added on 'cause wouldn't that be dumb to wear something that expensive and over the top and still look like you were wearing duct tape??
There's a new version of The Joy Of Sex out and it has been updated for the "noughties." Don't confuse this term with the word naughty. It has nothing to do with that. That is the term that Yahoo! news used to describe the 00's. I wondered who would come up with some word to call this decade but that one never entered my mind. I've heard Willard Scott refer to the year as ought 8 but never the aforementioned "naughties." It just cracked me up.
Also heard that the number one single of all times is Chubby Checker's The Twist. I remember it was banned in the student lounge of my junior high school because it could lead to hip and back injuries. They failed to mention that it would happen IN OUR FIFTIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh well, it was a kinder, gentler time then.
Don't you just love sales?? I got a Kohl's flyer in the mail and got an extra 30% off coupon and I used it well. They hardly ever give you 30%--usually it is only 15 so I was over the moon. My daughter is the one who will get the lion's share of the bargains but that's okay. My sister and I had a lot of fun except for the soakers we got in the parking lot!!!
Well, enough rambling for now. I wouldn't want you to get lost in a blizzard of words!!
I saw Tyler Perry on The View and he said "lipstick." I guess he didn't know the rule about not saying words that Sarah Palin said. I didn't hear any backlash about it so I guess he got away with it.
Speaking of The View, when are those babes going to stop yelling at each other and let each other finish their...pardon the expression, view????????? I used to enjoy watching the debate between the women and learned somethings sometimes. Now it is like watching Smack Down wrestling. Elizabeth believes anything a Republican says( come on, girl, get your own ideas), Whoopi looks uncomfortable, Joy is constantly frustrated because she can never finish a thought, Sherri looks desperately uncomfortable and Barbara is imperious. I want to watch less and less.
Remember the lady who said I was cute? Well, she and I talked about Cindy Lou for a short time. The woman told me she had to get her hair done once a week as she was on the campaign trail and had to look nice. So I kidded her that she had to keep up with Mrs. McCain(wink, wink) and she laughed and said doesn't she look like Barbie??? I said yep, OLD Barbie(since being a big Barbie fan I know she never ages). We had a good laugh over her outfit at the convention(the one that reportedly cost 300,000 dollars). I think that price might have been a little inflated...Perhaps one or two extra zeroes added on 'cause wouldn't that be dumb to wear something that expensive and over the top and still look like you were wearing duct tape??
There's a new version of The Joy Of Sex out and it has been updated for the "noughties." Don't confuse this term with the word naughty. It has nothing to do with that. That is the term that Yahoo! news used to describe the 00's. I wondered who would come up with some word to call this decade but that one never entered my mind. I've heard Willard Scott refer to the year as ought 8 but never the aforementioned "naughties." It just cracked me up.
Also heard that the number one single of all times is Chubby Checker's The Twist. I remember it was banned in the student lounge of my junior high school because it could lead to hip and back injuries. They failed to mention that it would happen IN OUR FIFTIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh well, it was a kinder, gentler time then.
Don't you just love sales?? I got a Kohl's flyer in the mail and got an extra 30% off coupon and I used it well. They hardly ever give you 30%--usually it is only 15 so I was over the moon. My daughter is the one who will get the lion's share of the bargains but that's okay. My sister and I had a lot of fun except for the soakers we got in the parking lot!!!
Well, enough rambling for now. I wouldn't want you to get lost in a blizzard of words!!
Friday, September 12, 2008
John, We Hardly Know You
I loved this!! You all know what a McCain fan I am!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEtZlR3zp4c
Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEtZlR3zp4c
Enjoy!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Here, Piggy, Piggy
I cannot believe the brouhaha over this lipstick on a pig comment. How could anyone be so stupid as to think that Obama would make a crack like that about Sarah Palin?? How can the Republicans prey on that stupidity?
Somebody(a McCain supporter in spite of disliking Palin intensely(???????) couldn't wait to tell me yesterday about how Obama had called Palin a pig. I hadn't heard the story as it was the first thing in the morning when I was confronted but I said I thought that didn't really sound like Obama to me.
It was really interesting because on The View the other day, Whoopi said she hoped that Obama wouldn't say anything about Palin at all lest he be misinterpreted or something. And old( I mean young) staunch Republican Elizabeth Hasselback defended Obama saying he was too much of a gentleman to stoop so low.The very next day, I am hearing this story.
Anyway, the truth is that Obama was talking about McCain's policies and his kind of "change." He said that McCain's policies are the same as Bush's and calling it change was like putting lipstick on a pig---it's still a pig. I heard on the news last night that the Republicans went ballistic because Palin also used the word lipstick. Does that mean we can't use any of the words that Palin spoke? She was pretty verbose and that will really cramp my style--she said hockey mom and eBay and jet and bridge to nowhere and a lot of other stuff. Now nobody can repeat those words in any other context? They now belong to her and if we use them we are mocking her and calling her a...a...a.....bridge to nowhere??? See how silly that is?
And if her opponent wishes to use the same strategy, he could be saying that McCain is mocking him when he says "change." This could get going so that no candidate could open his/her mouth.
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM....maybe I'm on to something there!!
Somebody(a McCain supporter in spite of disliking Palin intensely(???????) couldn't wait to tell me yesterday about how Obama had called Palin a pig. I hadn't heard the story as it was the first thing in the morning when I was confronted but I said I thought that didn't really sound like Obama to me.
It was really interesting because on The View the other day, Whoopi said she hoped that Obama wouldn't say anything about Palin at all lest he be misinterpreted or something. And old( I mean young) staunch Republican Elizabeth Hasselback defended Obama saying he was too much of a gentleman to stoop so low.The very next day, I am hearing this story.
Anyway, the truth is that Obama was talking about McCain's policies and his kind of "change." He said that McCain's policies are the same as Bush's and calling it change was like putting lipstick on a pig---it's still a pig. I heard on the news last night that the Republicans went ballistic because Palin also used the word lipstick. Does that mean we can't use any of the words that Palin spoke? She was pretty verbose and that will really cramp my style--she said hockey mom and eBay and jet and bridge to nowhere and a lot of other stuff. Now nobody can repeat those words in any other context? They now belong to her and if we use them we are mocking her and calling her a...a...a.....bridge to nowhere??? See how silly that is?
And if her opponent wishes to use the same strategy, he could be saying that McCain is mocking him when he says "change." This could get going so that no candidate could open his/her mouth.
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM....maybe I'm on to something there!!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
HUH???
I had a busy day at work today. The Chamber of Commerce had a luncheon meeting and I registered guests. It was fun to put some names with faces and I got a few questions answered about a project I am working on.
I had spoken to some of them on the phone so it was fun to introduce myself to them and I even got to apologize in person to someone I accidentally hung up on.
Most everyone was in a jolly mood as they were off work for awhile and getting to do some networking.
The meeting was in the new building of the Bryant & Stratton College and it was their first day of school. I was set up right outside the bank of elevators(well, there were two) and young people just kept flowing out of those things non-stop. Of course, they all assumed I worked for the college and wanted to know where certain room numbers were(which I eventually figured out after about an hour), where certain classes were(Math and some Presentation class which I never figured out) and where the bathroom was(That was easy--they were in a hallway right by the elevators).
Everyone was really friendly and asked me why I was there and what was our meeting about and isn't it funny they had it on the first day of school? Everybody was a little nervous and a little lost so I guess it felt good to have a little conversation.
Anyway, one of our members told me I was cute today. I don't really know how I felt about that. After all, I am 58(almost 59) years old and although I was a cute baby and a cute college chick, I thought I had outgrown cute at least ten or more years ago. And it wasn't a man, so it wasn't a line. This woman really meant it. She said it twice. She loved my hair--Who did it?- I had to admit the color is by God and the cut is at Great Clips. She didn't believe me at first about the hair color. Like anyone would choose gray...I mean, silver. She loved my earrings and my cute outfit too.
At that point I really wished I knew I was going to be attending this meeting because I would have worn something different. I looked nice(remember she said I looked cute) but I was wearing capris and a white gauze top. I had a jacket too but it was too warm inside. I had pretty dangly earrings that looked a little southwest. I wouldn't have chosen them either if I had known I was going.
SO, next time I have to go to one of these things it will be slacks and a blazer and small earrings. I want to look professional, not cute. Oh, and by the way, this lady's husband is running for office--maybe that's why she thought I was so cute--a potential voter?? I know for a fact that potential voters are REALLY cute!
I had spoken to some of them on the phone so it was fun to introduce myself to them and I even got to apologize in person to someone I accidentally hung up on.
Most everyone was in a jolly mood as they were off work for awhile and getting to do some networking.
The meeting was in the new building of the Bryant & Stratton College and it was their first day of school. I was set up right outside the bank of elevators(well, there were two) and young people just kept flowing out of those things non-stop. Of course, they all assumed I worked for the college and wanted to know where certain room numbers were(which I eventually figured out after about an hour), where certain classes were(Math and some Presentation class which I never figured out) and where the bathroom was(That was easy--they were in a hallway right by the elevators).
Everyone was really friendly and asked me why I was there and what was our meeting about and isn't it funny they had it on the first day of school? Everybody was a little nervous and a little lost so I guess it felt good to have a little conversation.
Anyway, one of our members told me I was cute today. I don't really know how I felt about that. After all, I am 58(almost 59) years old and although I was a cute baby and a cute college chick, I thought I had outgrown cute at least ten or more years ago. And it wasn't a man, so it wasn't a line. This woman really meant it. She said it twice. She loved my hair--Who did it?- I had to admit the color is by God and the cut is at Great Clips. She didn't believe me at first about the hair color. Like anyone would choose gray...I mean, silver. She loved my earrings and my cute outfit too.
At that point I really wished I knew I was going to be attending this meeting because I would have worn something different. I looked nice(remember she said I looked cute) but I was wearing capris and a white gauze top. I had a jacket too but it was too warm inside. I had pretty dangly earrings that looked a little southwest. I wouldn't have chosen them either if I had known I was going.
SO, next time I have to go to one of these things it will be slacks and a blazer and small earrings. I want to look professional, not cute. Oh, and by the way, this lady's husband is running for office--maybe that's why she thought I was so cute--a potential voter?? I know for a fact that potential voters are REALLY cute!
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