I haven't written since 2012. It's 2016, so there's no way I can catch up on 4 years of life in a blog, so I won't try. Back to the Powerball. It was 1.5 BILLION dollars and to be clear, I only ended up winning $15. The largest jackpot in history at least 3 people have won. I don't normally play lottery, but I figured it was worth a shot at so much money to be able to help out our family and friends. When Jeff and I were discussing what we'd do with the money, the obvious stuff came up. Pay off all the bills for us and our families, set up college funds for nieces/nephews/God children, travel the world, donate to charities, etc...but then I had a brilliant idea that I have no idea how to make happen.
There's so many homeless veterans on our streets who need help and there's so many animals in shelters who are facing death. Why not buy some land and build a tiny home community for the homeless veterans to live in? It would also be an animal sanctuary and the veterans "rent" is taking care of the animals. There would be a building for the cats, one for the dogs and a barn for livestock and the veterans could choose which animal they wanted to stay with them in their house for the night. That way, they get some company and the animals get some love, attention and socializing. There could be a garden that the veterans also tend to that would supply some food and we could have a cow and/or goats for milk and chickens for eggs. The houses would all be built with geothermal heat/air and would have cisterns to reuse gray water for flushing and whatnot.
I'd name it after my grandfather. He was a veteran and also loved animals, so it seemed fitting. Jasper Meadows. Lucky Bastard's Village. Jack Haven. I don't know. I hadn't settled on a name yet because I couldn't figure out how to make something like that happen. Location would be important and it would need a shuttle to town for groceries and meds for the veterans, etc...but that's not self- sustaining. I wouldn't get any return for the investment without government subsidies or donations. Maybe the whole idea is a bit idealistic and a pipe dream, but then again, the same can be said for the lottery, right?
Thursday, January 14, 2016
What I would've done if I had won the Powerball. It's brilliant.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
A Bee-lievable Story.
Today, I had a random moment while outside watching Jeff build the boxes for our raised garden. Jazz, our big black dog snaps at bugs while out in the yard. Sometimes she does it so hard you can hear her teeth snap together. As she laid on the deck, a bee flew by her and she of course started chasing it and trying to bite it. The bee just sort of hovered over the table like it was waiting on something..or looking for something and that's when it hit me. I'd bought geraniums (they repel mosquitoes) last week and moved them inside on some cold nights to avoid frost. I'd forgotten to put them back out. Oops. So, I brought them back out to put them on the table and as soon as the bee saw them, he flew away. I thought it was a little odd that he didn't go right for the flowers but I said goodbye to Jeff since he was headed out for more supplies and went about my business of putting dirt in some pots for my vegetable seeds.
A few minutes later, he came back and flew over the flowers..like he was doing recon or something..and then he left again. Upon his next return..he had a couple of friends. They all just hovered there..watching me. I was right next to the flowers. I realized what time it was and that I had to get ready for work, so I went in but stayed just a moment to watch the bees. All 3 of them just hovered a few minutes and then landed, hopping from one flower to the next. I couldn't help but giggle. In my mind, I pictured the first bee bragging to his friends about the flowers only to show up and they're not there. He panics..flying all over the place to make sure this is where they'd been. They'll think he's a liar if he doesn't produce the flowers he promised. What if they kick him out of the hive? Then, there they are..as if they'd come out of thin air. He's not sure he believes it, so he does some low fly-bys. Yep..they're real..time to go get the gang. His friends are pleased. Dinner is served..if only the human would leave so they can eat in peace. =)
I love bees. Wait. I love HONEY bees. They're so important. Sweat bees can go to hell. So can hornets, mosquitoes and wasps. I've seen videos of 2 wasps completely destroying an entire hive of bees. =( So sad. Speaking of wasps, we have carpenter wasps at the house. They've dug a fairly deep hole in the wood on our shed. There's another hole in the fence and yet another one on the side porch. I hate them. Bees have a purpose. Do wasps?? I mean an important one. Their purpose cannot be to annoy people. I realize there's a food chain..but would the world really fall apart without wasps? Or mosquitoes? Maybe their only purpose is to feed bats...in which case, we need to start protecting more of them. There's a few at our house. Maybe we can take the wood scraps from our garden frame and build a bat house. Maybe that way the crows won't eat them. I've seen that happen..it really surprised me. The crows went after this tiny bat that was just squealing and they ripped it apart in mid air and devoured it. That happened in broad daylight. Little bat should've never left his cave. =(
Anyway, the flowers are in bloom, the bees are busy and we have apple trees to plant. I'm so excited to try my hand at gardening and I look forward to bountiful crops and my little bee friend bringing more of his friends around. Just so long as Jazz is too slow to catch them.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Flarp
Yes, I realize it's been 4 months or more since my last post. I've been too busy living to actually bother documenting any of it. I've also been a bit uninspired, you you can check out my Twitter if you really need to find out what I've been up to. In short: my niece's 3rd birthday, a trip to Kings Dominion which rocked, a trip to DC which was awesome, the 1 year anniversary of my grandfather's death, Halloween at work, my 35th birthday, my sister's 30th birthday, our first deep fried Thanksgiving turkey, a Christmas I spent at work, but I had multiple Christmases around actual Christmas..one of which involved a large metal chicken. Then there was New Year's sushi followed by a drunken redneck party that involved fire and guns, then there was a wedding in which I got completely hammered and fell on my face in the driveway after I got home. I met some awesome but unique people..one of which wore part of her pony-girl costume to the wedding. I won't explain. If you Google it..it's probably not work safe. I'll just leave it there. At some point I hope to elaborate on all this, but I don't have the energy for it right now. I'm at work and it's slow..and I've spent the past few hours playing with noise putty, or flarp as it's sometimes called. Goo in a cup that makes fart noises. Yep..you're never too old to laugh at farts. For right now, that is all.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
9/11/01: Ten years later
How have I not written about 9/11?? The only blurb I can find is from a post about Jack:
"Then came 9/11. I was on night shift by then and had slept that whole day. I didn't find out until that afternoon when Jeff called to tell me to turn on the TV. I was in utter shock. I went through the motions of getting ready for work but I was in a complete daze. As I reached down to pick up my socks, the enormity of the situation hit me. As I crouched down, Jack pushed himself into my arms, put his paw on my arm and rested his head against my chest. He gave me comfort when I needed it the most. He always has. I just held him there, hugging him back, amazed at how in tune he was with my feelings."
I remember sitting on the couch in our little Durham apartment watching footage of the planes hitting, of the towers collapsing and was in a complete daze. It felt like days went by as I watched when it was more like an hour. American Airlines flight 11 crashed into the north tower at 8:46 am. United Airlines flight 175 crashed into the south tower at 9:02am. American Airlines flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37am:184 victims. United flight 93 crashed in a Shanksville, PA field at 10:03am: 40 victims. There were 2,749 victims of the World Trade Towers, including the occupants of the planes. I was a newlywed, having just been married for 5 months and having just been to NY the previous January. I went in one of those towers. Granted, it was just to use the restroom..but still..I'd been there. How could it be gone? I knew people who worked in the Pentagon. Were they ok? And all those brave people who took back United 93 by rushing the cockpit and crashed it into PA to save the lives of how many others?? It wasn't just an act of terrorism, but it was a declaration of war against our country.
After getting some solace from Jack and taking my shower..I left for work. I walked out the door and remember the silence. No cars, no planes..not even birds. Nothing. In the distance, I could barely hear some church bells. There was hardly anyone on the road. Truth be told..I don't remember much of the days that followed. I remember research efforts trying to find people alive. I remember watching footage of people diving to their deaths from the towers rather than die in a fire. I remember the realization that there were still firefighters and police officers in that building. Lives of brave, courageous men and women...gone. Other firefighters and police trying rapidly to get to their fallen brothers...not knowing if they were alive and trapped or if they were just looking for a body.
I also remember walking into work and seeing the concern on everyone's faces. I work in a 911 center, so the impact is a bit different when you're imagining what the NY and DC 911 centers were going through. I've worked some crazy, insane stuff..multiple car wrecks that were fully involved on the interstate, b&e in progress with shots fired, chemical storage facility fires..and many of those things were all going on at the same time, but I can't imagine how their centers were handling what was going on. I remember a coworker who's sister lives in NY and works only 2 buildings down from where the towers once stood. She's still alive, but she suffered lung damage from breathing all that stuff in.
So what's changed in 10 years? A lot. The Department of Homeland Security was developed. The TSA really tightened down on who was allowed to fly, what you were allowed to take on the plane and really made it a complete pain to try to fly anywhere. They now have backscatter x-ray machines to take pictures of your body to make sure you're not hiding metal of any sort on you. Does it cause cancer? Maybe, but it's a LOT faster than having a full body pat down where they leave no crevice unexplored.
We waged war on the Middle East. A war that still continues. Over oil, over religion, over foreign policy and a difference of life values. We've killed Saddam Hussein and we've killed Osama Bin Laden as recently as 5 months ago. Someone's already taken Bin Laden's place and made threats to attack the US again on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. This country's economy is crippled due to the cost of this war. The cost of gas and oil has tripled. Before 9/11, gas was about $1.50 a gallon. Yesterday, I paid $3.52, which is actually down a bit. It's been as high as $4.35. There's an overall hatred of Muslims, despite the fact that many of them are just as against terrorists as the Christian next to them. Many in this country are ignorant though and stereotype horribly. It's not as bad as it used to be though. The images of that horrible day haven't been seen much in the past 10 years. There's still even new footage coming out...different angles of the plane hitting, interviews with the people who survived, the journalists, the president, etc. Even to this day, the footage is hard to watch. I still feel a sense of anger and dismay...a scream of," How dare they!?! How DARE they do this to us!! Attck the US!?! Who do they think they are?!"
Some of the hardest footage to watch is listening to the chirping of hundreds of firefighter locator beacons as they were trapped in the rubble of what used to be the towers. Everyone was just standing around helpless. Listening to the 911 stories was hard too. Phone lines jammed, endless radio traffic, trying to coordinate rescue efforts..then the 2nd tower came down and there was just silence. There was no more radio traffic because the people on the other end were gone. That lasted for about 2 minutes..then the phones started up again.
I think many are just waiting on another attack. Every year it's expected..but that's exactly why it'll never come. They know we expect it and heighten security. I'm not arrogant enough to say it'll never happen again, but it won't happen on 9/11. Will we recover? Someday..but no time soon. Will we be attacked again? I think Al Qaeda will try, but they'll meet the same end as Bin Laden. Every time a new threat rises, we'll knock them down but not at a great sacrifice of our own. We all suffer because of what happened that day. The entire country changed that day. Our entire outlook of life changed..our way of living. Even 10 years later, I feel like we're still wounded...still bleeding. In the past, the war was always somewhere else. You can't compare Pearl Harbor to this. We were already in war and Japan was trying to cripple the Navy. This was different. They were starting a war by killing 3,000 innocent people.
Yes..even today the images of that day are hard to see. So much so, that even with all the 9/11 Anniversary footage on tv recapping that day and telling the untold stories, Jeff doesn't want to watch it. He left the room, but I think it's important to remember that day. To understand this was the greatest event in our history and know we lived through it. It was the first time such a huge event happened on live air. Even parts of the war were shown on live air..the bombing of Iraq and Afghanistan. This was the first time I realized that we weren't invincible..that we may not always be on top. It was a loss of innocence for the entire country. Our bubble was shattered and looking back, I barely remember what life was like before it.
Life is described as "Pre and Post 9/11"..but the pre part is pretty hazy even though 23 of my 34 years were Pre 9/11. I just know I'll long for those days. The days of trust. Of innocence. I pray the next generation will know that innocence again, that they can overcome and keep us safe from this ever happening again. I have faith that's true. I have to, because I refuse to live in terror. Isn't that what terrorists want? Terror? Well, they won't get that from me. I believe in God and He gives me strength. I pray for the families of those who were lost that horrible Tuesday 10 years ago. I pray for our country's leaders who shoulder burdens that should never have existed. I pray for world peace and an end to terrorism. I pray for the citizens of the USA and the children who can't have the happy go lucky childhood I had. I pray for God to protect us and I thank God for the blessings he has given me because the way I see it, In God We Trust. Always.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Milo's Surgery Update
Vacation and Other things.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Milo Update
Fourth of July weekend, Jeff and I headed to the beach for Tucker's annual drunken party. We took Milo and I was so proud of him! We were around a LOT of people..it was loud, chaotic and busy..and he didn't flinch. There were kids carrying him around everywhere and he was ok with it. There were fireworks and he didn't react at all. We walked on the beach and he didn't like the water, but he LOVED running with Jeff in the sand. He's such a great and sociable little dog!