sunny blizzard

~E~ On our first day in Ireland, my parents and I forced ourselves to wash up and make our way out of the B&B and into the real world. Our eyes sandy and bleary from the long plane trip, feeling rumpled and in need of a shower, we stumbled down the stairs and into our rental car. Our destination was downtown Ennis. The city was having a fleadh that weekend, a fine arts festival that involved the entire city. It included plays, concerts, dance exhibitions and was a perfect start to our stay in Ireland. Having found out there was a parade a bit later, Mom, Dad and I staked out a spot on a curb to watch. The sky, surprisingly (haha) was a bit cloudy but we stuck it out anyway. The parade did eventually begin. It was kind of a sorry affair, and we heard people talking about it and saying that not every one had shown up. They stopped the parade a few times because of rain, and finally just gave up on it altogether. It wasn't disappointing at all - we were in frackin' Ireland, pe...

~E~ Remember that feeling of righteous indignation you had at age 13, when the teacher refused to believe it was not you talking and giggling at the back of class? Yeah. I was at an intersection I've driven through thousands of times, waiting to turn right. I had a red, and the traffic coming on the left was reaching the end of it's cycle; I watched as their light turned yellow, then red. I waited a few moments to let the usual fly-thru-the-light jerkoffs go through, then I pulled out. And suddenly there was a car there, a small scrunch sound and I thought what the F?? They pulled over, I pulled over and before I was even out of the car the guy was calling the police. Who actually came. I looked at his brand new expensive van and I couldn't see any damage, just a spot that looked like maybe a very VERY shallow scrape. I asked which direction he had been coming from, and when he told me I said "you ran the red light!" which he of course denied. Him and his stupid l...

~E~ What are cats really doing when they lick themselves all over? How many times a day do they do it? It seems like seven or eight. And it only follows that every time you pet a cat, you get a handful of cat spit. There are many things that have fascinated me over the years, but I've never followed up on them. Geology seems very cool. I would like to know the thousands of different types of rocks and crystals and minerals and where they occur and how they got there. I wish I could read music. I wish I could speak Italian. The depths of the ocean are very much a mystery to us even now. I want to go there. I want to know all the history there is. I want to learn about all the women who did great things and were never recognized for it. Someone once told me that she believes every person is here on earth for a reason. I wish that were true, but I don't think it is. There are just too many people here for it to be true. Why are women seen as a special interest group when we a...

~E~ I laughed, I cried, I give it a thumbs up!

~E~ People who know the whole story would say I have every right to hate my ex. I don't. Why bother? It's a waste of my energy and I'd rather concentrate on the positive. Apparently he does not (surprise!) share the same outlook. He called last week to discuss something relating to the kids and when he was done, I asked him if we could talk about something else. I told him that I didn't hate him, I tell the kids funny things about him. I told him that we had some good times; I asked if we could just put the past behind us and be civil to each other for the kids' sake. They feel and hate the anger that glows from him. He has a spinal cord injury that causes him pain. I told him that when I stop over to pick up the kids, I never know if he's disgusted by the sight of me or if he's just in pain. It's hard to tell. He immediately started ranting at me that I will never know what he's going through, as though I hadn't lived right there with him durin...