Things that drive me crazy

On my way to work this morning, I thought of a half dozen things that drive me crazy. So I thought I would share. Perhaps we share the same gripes and maybe it will inspire you to think of a half dozen of your own.

• I cannot stand people who are not able to drive the speed limit or above in the passing lane. Yeah ok.........it is the passing lane. I am completely aware. However, if you cannot drive at least 5 miles over the legal limit (and five miles over is allowable), please remove yourself from the passing lane. Other folks have places to be....especially during rush hour.
• People (right in front of you) who take the last bit of half-n-half or skim or no fat milk and leave you with an empty pitcher staring at a cup of black coffee. Who are these people?
• Any person who is agitated enough to say "Uh uh....no she did-int" to a total stranger. Ummm.....yes she did and now is not the time to prove you're something that you are not.
• I cannot tolerate people who for whatever reason cannot show compassion or simple human decency to a person who is down on their luck. You know.....it happens a lot and from people you would not expect.
• Morning walkers. And I mean pre-dawn's early light walkers who wear no reflective clothing to highlight that they are walking in the roadway just to maintain their figure. Very frightening when you turn the corner and there they are! Eeeeek!
• The worst thing is needing a book of stamps and only having a $20 to slide into the stamp machine. Ugh......twelve dollars in change - all in dollar coins. Haven't we grown up enough now to have debit card readers on most convenience machines?

Thank God I could only think of six today..................

TA TA!

Academy Awards

Ooops.........I mean.....the Oscars. I was wondering where the name "Oscar" came from today so I decided to do a little research. I found two references to its origin......one from an Academy Award librarian named Margaret Herrick who said that the "statuette resembled her Uncle Oscar" and the second reference came in 1934 when Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky used it in reference to Katharine Hepburn's first Best Actress win. (for her role in Morning Glory)

Kate was hardly an "oscar" in 1934 but then again........who knows what the term "oscar" could have meant in 1934? Hmmmmm...........

In any case, it is another grand night of television. Full of the usual glitz and glamour of celebrities walking down the red carpet exclaiming how they "never saw it coming" and how it is "just wonderful to simply be nominated". Where would we be without Hollywood?

I have to be honest and say that I have seen only one of the Oscar nominated pictures this year. I saw "The Queen" in December and I must say it was fantabulous. I really lost sight of the fact that it was an actress portraying Queen Elizabeth II. Yes yes......Helen Mirren was THAT good!
I mean.....who can ever forget the whole Princess Diana tragedy? This movie gave you the "behind the scenes" look at this stuffy old monarch's feelings surronding the whole accident. It is not surprising how much they despised Diana. With youth fading in the distance...........its no wonder that neither the Queen or King even could mention her name without throwing up. Helen Mirren is clearly the front runner for the Best Actress award for her portrayal.

One other film that is not up for Best Picture but does garnish a nomination for Best Actress......is "Notes of a Scandal". Judi Dench picks up the nomination for her portrayal of an overly possessive grumpy old teacher who is in some kind of lesbian denial. Surprising film actually. I didn't catch the lesbian aspects until about 45 minutes into the film. After that.......it was a wild roller coaster ride until the end of the movie. Not a particularly great film but it had a good enough plot to keep pushing it along for another 45 minutes. I don't expect Judi to beat out Helen for the Oscar.

While I would have liked to seen "Bobby" pick up a nomination (for Best Makeup at least) for something, it did not. I still think it is a great "period flick" that will leave you inspired.

My picks for the Oscars:
Best Picture - Letters from Iwo Jima - this will be the long shot winner
Best Actress - Helen Mirren
Best Actor - Forest Whitaker
Documentary Feature - An Inconvenient Truth

TA TA!

Campaign dilema

Unless you live under a rock, this past weekend you saw Barack Obama declare his intent to run for President of the U.S. It was not a surprised to most of us. He is one of the most intelligent representatives that we currently have in Congress. I respect his integrity and believe that whatever he touches could definitely turn to gold.

With that said, there is only one small thing that bothers me. I'm not really sure why I started thinking about this over the weekend but I did and I don't know what to make of it.

Hillary has told us that if she had known the information she knows now back when she orginally voted to go to war with Iraq, she would not have voted for it. Barack did not vote in favor of the war. He was against it from the beginning. Both candidates have been open regarding how they voted.

Here's what bothers me. As much as I like and respect Barack Obama, I have to wonder.....do I want someone in office that may not offer me all of the security and protection when the going gets tough? Keep in mind.......both Hillary and Barack heard the same reports. Iraq has weapons of mass destruction and intends to use them. This was preached by anyone with a speck of credibilty in the White House...........including Colin Powell (who i consider to be one of the greatest leaders of this century).

So with that said, he went against the grain. It takes guts to do that, but he was not given any other information at the time. He didn't agree with the war and if Iraq did have WMD's this could be a very different war.

For me........I am concerned about how he would protect us during a time where terrorists are just dying to get us. Hillary took a stand on the information she was given. While she shares some of the same democratic beliefs that Barack does, her words lead me to believe that she would stand and defend when we need her to do so.

There are some key things that the next President must do once arriving in office. We must repair the relationships with our NATO counterparts. We need them as much as they need us and we have to cooperate with each other. The second thing is to begin removing the troops from Iraq and bring them back to defend our homeland. Iraq is not going to be more civilized and we need those troops back here. Lastly, we have to restore our credibility to our own citizens. We must turn our attention to a real plan on restoring the hurricane devestated areas here in our own nation. Millions of dollars have gone overseas that now must be returned to our own shores.

I am looking for the candidate that can ensure my basic freedoms will not be sacrificed and will step up with a strong plan to keep me and my family safe. We have a long campaign ahead and I look forward in hearing more from Hillary and Barack as we streak toward the election.