Nickie’s blog

Do you have a pet? What kind of pet do you own, and why did you choose it? 
Submitted by Brendz.  

I don't like dogs.  I have three.  Before I met my husband, Matt, he bought a dog, Maximus.  Maximus dug in the yard too much.  He was a lonely puppy.  So, my husband bought him a friend, Turkish.  Maximus stopped digging in the yard becuase he was happy.  But, Turkish digs because he is a Beagle. 

A year later, Matt and I moved in together and decided to buy a kitten.  Unfortunately, Matt is allergic to cats.  So, we decided on a small dog.  The small dog hated Maximus and Turkish.  So, we gave her to my mother and got Trinity, who grew to 70 pounds.

So, now we have Matt's dog, Maximus; Maximus' dog Turkish; and my cat, Trinity.

So, um, if you've ever wanted to bathe in noodles, now you can...

So, I didn't know that you could bury a word.  But, congrats to the NAACP for trying.  The NAACP had a march or protest or something to put the n-word to rest once and for all.  It would have been great if more people knew about it so that it could have a greater impact.  But, I've got to wonder if this will work.  You can't grab everyone's brains and kill off a word.  It's not like sentencing a person to death.  It still exists.

The more I think about it, the more I think this was a waste of time.  Great that they want to stop using the word.  It's certainly better than "reclaiming" it.  But, it would really be better to just let the word fizzle out instead of bringing so much attention to it.  We all know it's bad at this point.  Just move on and stop saying it.

Why do you live where you live?
Submitted by memtony.

I live in Loudoun County, VA, the illustration of the word "sprawl."  It's not at all where I thought I'd end up.  When I lived in my trendy Capitol Hill townhouse with three other girls, I met a great guy who lived in the VA suburbs.  Then, I got a great job at an environmental non-profit out that way.  Fast forward a few months of shlepping back and forth.  I moved in.  We've lived "happily ever after" in our Stepford community.  (Of course, the job thing is another story.)

Random times, random times.  I found myself in San Diego over the weekend at a conference at Paradise Point Resort.  There was also a radio executives' conference at there.  And, Joss Stone happened to be singing live. It was a small, intimate location outside by the water. We were within a stone's throw of her.  Joss Stone was absolutely amazing.  She has such depth and vitality.  I thought that would be the highlight of the weekend. 
Then, we went to the bathroom after her set.  Washing our hands and Joss Stone walks in with no shoes on.  Holy shit!  What a wonderful person.  She didn't even flip out when others followed her into the bathroom.  Poor thing can't even pee in peace.  But, we took pictures, too...

It's Not About You

Sometimes it's not about you
I can sit and cry
Or wake up screaming
Or just need to get away from the
The tv the dogs the how-was-your-day

And it's not about you

Sometimes I can open my eyes
And want to close them forever
And hear the waves crash against the brick
No more snow or cars or deadlines
And stars replace the fluorescent lights

It's not about you

Sometimes I can hate it all
Even when it's textbook right
And the promotions the sex the money
And even the marriage are going
Exactly as I've always wanted

And although it's not about you
It's you holding my crazies together
It's you I turn to
It's you I count on
It's all about you

So, life has been in limbo-land for a while for me.  I think I'll share...  I got a great new job; but my husband's job went completely wrong and he finally agreed that we should move.  It was exactly what we'd been planning for years, but with awful timing. 

I found a lump in my breast two weeks ago and my doctor said he thought it was a tumor.  The question was whether or not it was benign.  So, I had to get an ultrasound.  I spent two weeks thinking about the meaning of my life and what I could do to improve things.  I evaluated each aspect of my life and came up with very few drastic changes that I'd need to make if I had cancer.  I figured out a healthier way of eating and exercising if it turned out to be the benign tumor that's harmless yet doubles your chances of developing cancer later.  And, I cried with my family over how scared shitless I was.

And now: My husband was offered both a job in Durham, NC and a promotion at his current job on the same day.  We talked for a long time and decided to stay here.  I think I'm finally ok with this area.  I've decided not to question the fact that work is so important to both of our senses of being.  We've finally made a freaking decision that feels right for both of us.  And, the ultrasound showed nothing.  Neither the technician nor the radiologist could feel or see the lump.  And, I don't feel it anymore either.  Hopefully I can stay on this healthy diet and keep exercising.

Things just seem to work out when they are supposed to.  It reminds me of this verse by Rilke:

I beg you... to have patience with everything unresloved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language.  Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them.  And the point is, to live everything.  Live the questions now.  Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer...

If you could make a magic wish for a futuristic gadget or high-tech innovation, what would your item do? 
Submitted by Red Pen.

Well, at this moment, I'd make a human scanner that inexpensively detects malignancy in the body and delivers the correct amount of antibiotic/radiation/medication to permanently get rid of it.

And, then, I'd create the point-of-view gun that was in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. For those who haven't seen the movie: The shooter fires the point-of-view gun to force the "victim" to implicitly understand her point of view.  I'd require the shooting of all politicians and terrorists (not that they're in the same league - they just all really need to get their heads out of their asses).

And, I'd make a time-stopping device for only myself.  But, that's a whole other discussion.

palpable threat

you were beautiful then
lush lips round ass and perfect breasts
flexible and energetic
nothing could stop you

I expected the sags
the fine lines and spread of the hips
the limbs on your tree to branch out
and an eventual gray hair

but you have betrayed me
you attack me without warning
lumps here and there needing
testing too soon too soon