Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End . . .

Yep, it's time . . . time to put this blog to rest, to bed, forever.

It's been fun, at times. But I need to make some changes. Big ones.

That doesn't mean I am going to stop writing blog entries, offering blunt assessments of people, things, or events, or no longer chronicle what occurs in my world. Rather, it is time for a new phase, a new persona, a new goal, a new journey . . . and it's one that's needed greatly.

And that means a new blog, too. For those of you who care to make the leap with me (which for you, the reader, only means changing the "bookmark" for my never bashful commentary), please send me an e-mail and I will assess your "blogworthiness" of being given the web address of my new blog (yes, "blogworthiness" is similar to being "spongeworthy," thank you very much).

So R.I.P. to this blog. And best wishes to the new one.

The WORST Hotel Room in Appalachia

Yes, I had to stay two nights at was has got to be one of the worst hotels ever. The property was last decorated in the Eisenhower-era, I swear. Upon entering the room, I was immediately greeted by an overwhlemingly musty odor that nearly blinded me. As soon as I recovered, I noticed the black vinyl padded headboard at the top of the bed -- I mean, c'mon, who was getting busy in here, a billy goat?

Let us also take a moment to notice the funky bedspread and wall-mirror (cracked in two places) . . . cue the bad porno music and strike up the lava lamp.

As I unpacked I began to take in the, uh, style of tha vanity/sink area . . . was it art deco, retro dorm? Who knows?! I sure as hell didn't!

Then I checked out the bathroom. See that metal grate in the photo above? Yeah, that's a heater! You turn the knob located a few feet above the toilet paper and the voila, your bathroom warms up -- or so I assume. After about 2 minutes I began to become concerned about the burning smell coming out of it, so I shut it off. Dr. J says I should have tossed a log in it and grabbed some marshmellows to toast while I sat on the throne. (He knows I love to multi-task at all times).

Ah, but then there were the sheets! I stopped counting after I noticed six cigaretter burn holes in the fitted sheet. Probably because I was distracted by the assorted stains -- thank gawd I always bring long pajama pants to sleep in when I am on a business trip as I am concerned that I would have needed some sort of shots or medical care had my bare skin come in contact with the "debris."

And before any of my beloved smart ass pals inquires why I didn't just switch hotels . . . I TRIED!!! Every other room in town was booked (I checked, and re-checked). I heard from two reliable sources that it was equally bad at the Days Inn, where "lil' critters" were seen scampering on the sheets. If I had encountered this, I would have slept in my car, due to my paralyzing fear of buggies.

By the way, I did alert the front desk about the less-than-acceptable sheets on my bed. They profusely apologized, and I did have better sheets for the second night. By better I mean only two holes, but I think they were just rips, and not from flying ashes.

I was never so glad to come back home. Within 90 seconds time, I was taking an incredibly hot shower, throughly scrubbing every conceivable inch of my body.

I'm doing laundry tomorrow. Bleach will be used, with a chaser of Lysol.

[P.S. Folks whom I shared the photos with have come up with some pretty snarky yet hilarious comments -- especially Adrian. Feel free to e-mail me your thoughts, as I will be doing a follow-up to this blog entry featuring your comments.]

"The Religion of Peace" Can Kiss My Ass

Among the thousands of innocent men, women, and 8 children those evil pigs killed was a beloved priest -- Father Mychal Judge.

So spare me any of the tolerance bullshit.

Here's how WE remember the man who now sits in Heaven,

along side the fire fighters who loved him so much.

Make a Wish

On Friday I had the honor of helping my dear friend toast her birthday at one of our favorite hot spots. As I lingered over a thoroughly yummy glass of wine, I stopped to gaze over the wide assortment of people who had gathered with the same goal in mind . . . to celebrate and give thanks for this magnificient, amazing young woman who brings such joy and comfort to all who are privileged enough to be her friend!

Then a thought occurred to me . . . HOW does she possibly balance all of these people, not to mention her own life challenges and obligations? Her life is so busy, so full . . . and yet she somehow finds time to be there, in such an intimate, soul-baring kind of way for all of us???!!!

And no matter what I throw at her, she handles it with the most perfect balance of grace, humor, and mischievous.

She is the one person who probably knows ALL of my shit (and I do mean ALL OF IT), and she loves me anyway. She makes me feel beautiful and sexy, and like I have lots of worth, even on my ugly days.

She gets me. Thank God.

And I get the gift of her . Thank God.

Here Come the Cousins -- Part Two . . . When Cousins Strike Back!

Once again, this entry is also definitely overdue. But part of the reason is every time I have TRIED to post this, the memory of this night makes me laugh my ass off so hard, I can't even type!

Sure, Emily and Rob's wedding was a great time . . . but best of all were the post-wedding "activities" with Dave and Natalie.

Of course, Dave may not remember it too clearly.

Thanks goodness we have photos to refresh his memory.

Love ya, Dave ;o)

Can't wait until Thanksgiving!

MAC Responds . . .

Incredibly enough, MAC Cosmetics has pulled the offensive Sandra Bernhard ad from its web site!

Perhaps more incredibly, MAC actually took the time to respond to my e-mail complaint! Here's what they wrote:


Dear Ms. XXXX,

Thank you for taking the time to contact Mac.

We want you to know that we have heard you. As a loyal consumer you took the time to share with us your dissatisfaction regarding the M.A.C. Plushglass video featuring Sandra Bernhard and we thank you. We have decided to remove the video from the M.A.C. website.

We apologize for any distress this might have caused you and can assure you that Sandra Bernhard's political views are not shared by our Company. We hope that our response allays any question that you may have had regarding our Company's intent and commitment to our customers.

Once again, thank you for this opportunity to respond to your concerns.

We hope you will continue to enjoy and have confidence in our quality products.

Sincerely,

Tiffany Soriente
Global Consumer Communications

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised to receive this response from MAC within a few days time, let alone at all -- so three cheers for them!!

"Intimidated, Frightened, Right-Wing Republican Thin-Lipped Bitch!"

So apparently MAC Cosmetics is allowing Sandra Bernhard to be their new spokesperson to hawk lipsticks. Fine, I don't care.

But I do care that she takes a swipe at Republican women in the ad!

They are referred to as "intimidated, frightened, right-wing Republican thin-lipped bitch" -- HUH?!?

First of all, my lips are NOT thin. And gawd knows they aren't intimidated!!! On the contrary, they are bold, sassy, and know how to work it, if ya catch my drift.

View the ad for yourself:

http://www.maccosmetics.com/whats_new/plushglass_video.tmpl

I took it upon myself to write MAC a little note telling them I was pissed off.

WHY do we need to interject politics into a friggin' lipstick purchase?!?! Gawd, am I gonna have to whip out my red-state/blue-state buyer's guide again?! I thought all that craziness had died down?!

My many Republican friends and I will instead spend lots of money elsewhere! We'll take our not-thin, not-intimidated lips over to another aisle in the cosmetics department.

Too bad, I was liking the ad until she said such ignorant things.