Final Product

Finished the movie project. I'm off work this week which is so nice.

Work in Progress

 This is a work in progress, not nearly complete but I thought I would post it anyway. About 12 min. long. 

Ugh

See to the left. My sister Susan talked me into posting this. That is me in the hat acting like an Ass in the 80's...sweeet.

Mason Basketball

Exhibition game last night, the result:

George Mason 72

Randolph Macon 73

...who is Randolph Macon, you ask? a small DIVISION III school in Virginia. Yup, D3....it is going to be a long year.

Glory Days

Been working on another film project, I ran across this old grainy footage of me playing soccer circa 1977 or 1976. It was shot by my dad on an old 8mm camera. I put in on my Mac and tried to clean it up...still pretty grainy. I do remember it was like 20 degrees that day....hence all the warm clothing. Not much skill at that age but it is fun to watch.

And Speaking of Voting.....

My Grandma was featured in the local paper in Indiana casting her vote for President. She is so cool.

My Pet Peeves….a small rant

OK, it is time for me to vent a bit about some things that bother me lately. First, I live in what can be considered a small town. Yes, I know, it is somewhat populous. But, when you grow up in DC and live in other cities like Philadelphia and even Orlando, Melbourne/Palm Bay is small time. The thing about where I live is that most people fall into three categories. They are: white/hick/country folk (about 50% in my estimation), black/Caribbean (25%) and transplants/beachside raised (remainder). Now, don’t take offense if you are one of the former class of white folk but I swear to Goddess that if I see another Rebel flag hanging from a pickup truck with a NASCAR sticker on the back, I’m going puke (I you are a NASCAR fan don't get huffy, it is an intentional generalization. I realize there are many educated, intelligent NASCAR fans...lighten up). I have run into more uneducated hicks in the past four years than I care to remember. Which leads me to my real point; these people can vote. Scary, I know. I don’t really care if you are Republican or Democrat but knowing that the majority populous in my town can vote actually terrifies me…I’m not kidding. It is their right, yes. However, isn’t it really an obligation and not a right? Aren’t people obligated to educate themselves on the candidates and issues and not just vote blindly because your tobacco chewing husband/mother/father told you to or conditioned you to?! You don’t vote/not vote for a person because they are a woman/black/Muslim/Jewish etc., right?! Not down here. I kid you not, there are people down here who have disseminated e-mails (at work) claiming that Obama has ties to terrorist, or, is a Muslim (if he were, why does religion matter anyway) or is, yes this is true, he is the reason the economy is in its’ current state. I am not bullshitting you, I got an email detailing the reasons. Who knew a first term Senator wielded such power. Which brings me to my second pet peeve…

…people using company e-mail to spread ridiculously infallible opinions that are claimed to be ‘facts’ and ‘truths’. Since it is near election time, I have been getting e-mails regarding the afore mentioned about once to twice a week. Some are light hearted jokes while others are down right slanderous rhetoric generated by right wing extremist. It really annoys me when people use company e-mail to spread an agenda whether it be a religious ‘God loves you’ emails or a politically inspired e-mails, they have no place in a work environment. The same can be said for networking websites such as Facebook and Myspace. When you ‘allow’ somebody to be in your network, it is for social reasons unless it is a specific group that you have joined. Don’t use your friends to spread your agenda. I know, you are thinking, “Cathy you are ranting on this very blog”. Yes, you’re damn right I am, and, it is MY blog. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. I use this blog mainly to update family and friends of life down here in Florida but I know I get 'anononymous' readers from across the country who tend to re-visit often. But it is their choice to visit my blog. I’m not tagging e-mails and sending them to everybody’s inbox or Facebook page. This leads me to my last pet peeve….

… almost everyone at my office (some 7,000 strong in the Melbourne/Palm Bay area ) tends to assume that all people who work here are two things. 1) Christian (specifically Baptist and if you want to hang with the right crowd, attend a certain large church in the area), and 2) Republican. If I had a dollar for every time I had to listen to anti-democrat comments in a meeting or in the hallway, I could retire. I remember the good ol’ days up North where they are so politically correct that religion, politics and race are taboo subject and rightly never discussed at work. Here, one upper level manager actually asked me if a certain gas station attendant was, I kid you not he said this, an “Ali Babba”. I stood there with my mouth opened because he said it with such ease in front of a conference room full of people. I didn’t respond, mainly due to shock. I can only imagine what is said in that man’s house behind closed doors. About a year ago a man in the hallway told me to, “Smile, God loves you” (he had a “Jesus” badge holder). When I ignored him he stopped and yelled it louder thinking surely I must not have heard him. So, I turned around and said to him, “How do you know your God loves me?!” and then kept walking. When I responed negatively to a fiery innaccurate anti-Obama e-mail recently send out to a long list of people (including me), one woman responded to me and said "it is all fact" and I should believe her because she has "two degrees". "Wow", I responded, "two degrees, you must be smart!" (which pissed her off further, hey, don't email me shit and expect me to continually ignore it). Don’t get me wrong, I have respect for people’s beliefs, I really do. But, keep them in your home and never assume that your co-worker thinks like you do.

Well…that is all for now. I just needed to jot down my yearly “Rant”. I guess I rant because the above mentioned has me seriously considering re-locating to a larger more diverse city. I don’t think I’m cut out for life in the small city.

On a lighter note, check out Mitchell busting a move at six flags and Matthew enjoying a book.

Surviving LA LA Land

I spent the week out in LA on "business". I put Business in quotes because I didn't accomplish everything I wanted to. But, we did get to Huntington Beach, Marina Del Ray, Venice Beach and Rodeo Drive etc. We even went to see a live taping of the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at CBS Studios (who is damn hilarious, if you can decipher his scottish accent). His guest was Russell Crowe, so double bonus...Russel is shorter than I  thought but still a damn hottie. Here are some pics of the trip.

                                                                    

Also, Barry's friend Mark (McCain lobbyist) got outed and made Doonesbury (big time). I'm an Obama fan but I absolutely to NOT support any group "outing" an individual for a so called "greater good". Those who do this become the very people they loathe (Nazis, dictators...etc.). 

I got really sick while there. Nothing better than flying the red-eye back from LA with a head cold and sore throat. At least I got to watch movies on my Iphone. My Iphone ROCKS!

HEART BROKEN

I don't know what to say. This is the biggest disappointment I ever have felt as a Cubs fan. Sure they have lost before, but never with a team this "good". This was the year they had it all, hitting, starting pitching, bullpen, coaching....sigh.

I guess I'll root for a Phillies vs. Rays World Series. 

Not much going on today. I'm leaving for LA on business tomorrow for the week....yuck.

My Work Here is Done

I just got finished watching the Redskins beat the Cowboys on Sunday when my sister Lynda called. We were talking about the game and my nephew Matthew got on the phone to whoop it up with me about the Skins win. He was talking about dreading school so I told him to fake sick tonight. He said, "I think my Mom is too smart for that". I explained that he needs to start coughing that night, during a commercial or as she is walking into the room. I stressed the importance of not "over doing it" and just to cough with no explanation. "You see Matthew", I explained, "it is like if you are dealt a full house, you don't go all-in on the first bet, you have to be subtle." He said he'd give it a shot. Then he wanted to talk to my dad. My dad asked him if he was going to get all A's. I got on the phone and told him, "don't listen to Grandpa, he got all C's when he was your age." Matthew's response, "Well, he is a very successful man for getting all C's!" "How astute Matthew", I said, "but you are missing my point. When you parents give you a hard time for getting a "C" just tell them that Grandpa got all C's and he is a very successful man." "OOOHHHHH, I see, that is a good one Aunt Cathy."

....my work here is done.

Revenge is a sweet thing

Last Saturday I went to the local Vietnamese nail parlor to have my eyebrows and upper lip waxed. This is one of those chores that women endure on an approximately monthly basis. Now this time I got somebody who hadn't performed this particular ritual on me before. The woman must have still been holding a grudge from the Vietnam War. I say this because she took a bit more time, a second or so, than necessary when pulling the strips off of my eyebrows.  When I peeked out of one eye I swear I saw a sinister grin hidden between her lips as my eyelid stretched and my teeth gritted with pain. Then, she plucked the stragglers at particularly glacial pace as she giggled with pleasure. Well, I guess it made her day. I was in considerable discomfort the remainder of the day.

I was at Hooters for lunch the other day and as I observed all the old men staring at the young college girls breasts in their skimpy tops, I wondered what kind of business could I start that exploited beautiful young girls. Then it struck me, an all female oil and lube joint. Sure, guys could be in the pits but young scantily clad girls in high heels could check the customers in and wash their cars...hmmmm....just an idea. 

CUBS WIN CUBS WIN CUBS WIN CUBS WIN!!!!!

Somewhere I can hear Harry Caray screaming at the top of his lungs. 

Jim the Squirrel

There is this squirrel that hangs outside my office building and he is exceedingly friendly. Apparently, the receptionist and other ladies began feeding it and now he is so used to people he just scampers right up to you. The other day he ran right at me and perched on my foot. I gave him a cracker, which he took right out of my hands, and he took it up a tree to his nest. I don't think it is a good idea to feed wild animals but I have to admit the little guy is adorable. Although he can be pretty persistent if he is hungry and demands food. The only drawback is that the ladies named him "Jim". Jim was an old dear friend of mine whom I miss tremendously, so I get a little sad every time little "Jim" greets me at the front door. I'm thinking a five iron to little Jim's head should solve the problem....just kidding, look at his face!

My sister is a Gay Man...Dude was Trippin

Question: Who owns a purple Ipod with Madonna on it and an engraving saying "Judy Garland Forever"...Perez Hilton, Richard Simmons or George Michael?? Nope...my sister Susan. She is truly a lost cause.


One of my favorite songs of all time is Moonage Daydream by David Bowie. It was playing in my car on the way to work and I realized I didn't know some of the lyrics. So I looked them up and MAN THE DUDE HAD TO BE ON LSD! Great song.

Moonage Daydream (Bowie)

I'm an alligator, I'm a mama-papa coming for you

I'm the space invader, I'll be a rock 'n' rolling bitch for you Keep your mouth shut, you're squawking like a pink monkey bird

And I'm busting up my brains for the words

Keep your 'lectric eye on me babe

Put your ray gun to my head

Press your space face close to mine, love

Freak out in a moonage daydream oh yeah!

Don't fake it baby, lay the real thing on me

The church of man, love, is such a holy place to be

Make me baby, make me know you really care

Make me jump into the air

Keep your 'lectric eye on me babe

Put your ray gun to my head

Press your space face close to mine, love

Freak out in a moonage daydream oh yeah! Yeah!

Keep your 'lectric eye on me babe

Put your ray gun to my head

Press your space face close to mine, love

Freak out in a moonage daydream oooooh!

Keep your 'lectric eye on me babePut your ray gun to my head

Press your space face close to mine, love

Freak out in a moonage daydream oh yeah!

Freak out, far out, in out....

I Just Threw Up in My Mouth!!

My friend Jon told me that her husband said he wanted to die the day BEFORE she died because he doesn't want to live a day without her.


...I think I'm gonna be sick...

I Saw Dad Smile

Not a lot has been going on at the Reeder house. Hurricane Ike is threatening to hit south Florida and as long as it stays towards the south, I think we will be OK. I hope I don't have to put the shutters up and board some windows...what a pain in the ass.

The Cubs are breaking my heart! They have lost six straight and if it weren't for the fact that the Brewers have been equally as horrible, the Cubs would not still be in first place. This is the year. It has to be. Susan thinks she is a jinx. At first I laughed but every game we have been to this year they have lost (one in Tampa and two in Miami). So, I can only deduce that Susan is indeed a jinx. 

Well, at least she is good at something.  I told her we could sacrifice one of her hair ball barfing, pooping, shedding mongrels to the great God of the Billy Goat curse...but she defiantly refused...BITCH! Just for fun...which one do you think should mysteriously disappear in the middle of the night ;) Pick a Cat....ANY CAT...PLEASE! VOTE in the POLL on the left of this page.

Now, as to the title of this post, I found a TV show (particularly a character) that makes Dad ACTUALLY laugh. Dad laughing is an unusual departure from his ranting,

cussing and chicken throwing behavior. The show is HOUSE and  has been on a while but I never watched it until now. It's a drama but has enough humor that makes it a perfect mix. And, bonus points for not being a Law and Order. The problem with Dad watching that show is that because Dad's memory is failing, he can watch the same episode a hundred times. That makes it difficult to sit and watch TV with him (without consuming a vast amount of alcohol...that I generally do). So this new show is a "win/win" situation for me and Susan. And, as a bonus, no chickens get harmed. 

BlackJack, Cubs and Floods...OH MY!

First off, my health is much better. I seem to have my blood pressure under control and no more headaches so things are going well on that front.

Susan and I spent last weekend in Miami to see a couple of Cubs games. We stayed at a hotel right by the stadium and Calder racetrack. The hotel was a two star, at best, and seeing that I am a hotel snob I can tell you we won't be staying there again. However, we did have a great view of the track. The balcony bordered the first turn and you could hear the horses stampeed by during the race. We did not attend the track during the day opting for the Hard Rock Casino instead. They now have table games, not just poker nad slots. I played blackjack of course. A near fight broke out at my table between the guy sitting next o me and a lady at the end of the table. She was playing like a 'boob' and it really pissed the guys off. The pit crew had to come break it up. It was worth losing just to witness the fight. He was a small hispanic guy about 5'5" weighing about 120. She was black weighing about 220...it was great. My money was on the 'boob' if it got physical but the casino crew was al over it, kicking the guy out. They have no sense of adventure.

The Cubs one the game of Friday but lost Saturday. My camera battery was wearing down so I couldn't take really good pictures but see below. Our seats were great! As a bonus it was Star Wars night...like it was meant for me to be there (geek alert, as Susan would say). We had a good time and a nice "dad break". Dad and Cindy bonded.  I think she gained five pounds in just the weekend. Lord knows hat he fed her. I suspect she feasted on chicken salad and lasagna...at leaset he didn't feed her chili this time...at least I don't think so.

 

We also survived tropical storm Faye which was quite a bit nastier than predicted and caused all kinds of flooding. The waters flooded my neighborhood but not my house, thankfully. See pics from my front yard. Kids were rafting in the streets. I wanted to play too but Susan said it would just look ridiculous. You think?! Kids get to have all the fun.

  

My Aching Head...Say what??!!

Soooo....last Monday I left work with what seemed to be another bad headache that I have occasionally. But this one gradually got worse. I endured two days of being in bed with the most horrendous, painful and grueling head pounding (seriously...it hurt to blink) and throwing up everything I put in my mouth. Susan made an appointment with my Doctor, dragging me there Wednesday evening in my slippers. I thought, great...I'll get a shot for the nausea and some prescription Motrin or Tylenol. The gave me the shots (in my butt no less) but wanted to do an CT scan just to be careful. Next thing I know, I'm on an ambulance headed to Holmes Regional Medical Center. Apparently I had a "small bleed" and they were furiously racing to the hospital to make sure I wasn't having an aneurysm. Now, I was a bit concerned.  Even when the Doc told me of the CT scan I was like, "Cool, my sister can drive me to the Emergency room?" The Doc was like, "um...yah....no....I think you should ride in the ambulance, it is an extra cost however." WHAT THE FUCK! I said, "Doc, should I, in your opinion, take the ambulance or not, you are the doctor!?" He was like..."Yes, you should. "OK then let's go." 

The good news, no aneurysm. But, I do have an old benign cyst at the base of my brain that I was probably born with and over the years the ventricles around the cyst have enlarged. When my blood pressure gets high....the pressure can cause the most painful headaches. The Docs gave me migraine medication (won't be as good as the morphine they had me on in the hospital) and have ordered different BP medicine for me to better control my hypertension. And they say....no stress....right...they should live my life! Oh another bit of advice to the Doctor in the ER, don't come back with your MRI and CT results in your hand and open the conversation with, "I see you marked down Catholic, would you like to see a priest?", Cathy, "No, unless you think I need to." And then and hour later followed by, "Did you you know you had a benign tumor in your brain?" Cathy, "uh...noooooo...should I have????" MD's should have to take a class in bedside manner.

Susan was a great nurse and took care of me both in the hospital stay and at home as well as performing all "Dad duties" She even bought me those slippers in the picture to the right for my hospital stay....way cool. Of course, now that she has demonstrated she is more that capable of performing such duties...I told her I expect more from her from now on...LOL! I follow up with my Doctor tomorrow, still not 100%.

The fun never ends and La Casa de Cathy!

GROW UP!!!

OK, I am admittedly an Xbox geek who sometimes gets into games and plays for hours. So, it is a little embarrassing when you buy a game from Best Buy entitled “Grand Theft Auto IV” and the pimply faced teen at the counter says, “Ma’am I need to advise you that this game has a ‘mature’ rating so you may want to look at it before you give it to your son!”…..sigh. Got it kid, the game is for me and I have no son…Next up, “Call of Duty 4”. Say what you want but shooting, stabbing, punching and kicking people but it really helps me relieve my angst. Then again, I’m not a teenager anymore so shouldn’t I have gotten rid of my angst years ago…and what is causing it?

Speaking of what is causing it, Dad is doing fine (I joke). Took him for his check up and he checks up categorized as “living”. His blood sugar is under control and his blood pressure is ok but the doc wants Susan and I to monitor that too. Weeeeeh! Now not only do I get to check his blood sugar, I get to monitor his BP…next up, I’m giving him a hair cut this weekend…the fun never stops at my house. I’m thinking about giving him a mow hawk…just a subtle one…come on that would be funny. On a serious note, He may need to get an outpatient procedure to have cortisone put in his spine as his lower back is really bother him and his spine is a bit mangled. For those of his children who NEVER call (you two know who you are) it would be nice if you called him once in a while to say “hi”. (guilt trip?!….)

My company is offering ‘voluntary’ retirement packages to people....that usually means there soon may be to lay-offs. If we don’t win a few big jobs that we are bidding on, lay-offs could be not so far off. I believe the division I work for is doing o.k. but it sure makes for some interesting whispering in the halls. Speaking of work, today is “bring your child to work day”. Which basically means you can’t get any work done and people walk around trying to impress their kids about how important they are…there is one person here who talks non-stop about the perfect kids he/she has. I’m going to greet them by saying, “Gee “x” I didn’t know you had any kids, you never talk about them”….mean I know…

The Cubs better start winning. That is all I’m going to say. Check out this brawl the Cubs "A" team in Peoria had last night, out of control: http://www.veoh.com/videos/v15260418Js5dk9yp?rank=4&order=mr

Test

This is a test post via my iPhone to test mobile blogging feature.