We've been in the middle of a nasty heat spell. Hot, hazy, humid -- that's what we've heard every night on the weather forecast since last Wednesday.
Do you believe in coincidence? Last Wednesday, the first day of the HHH forecast, a guy from the engineering section of the Facilities department showed up at my door with a memo informing me that on the next day, Thursday, the air handlers in our building would be taken off-line for a much-needed upgrade. Sorry for such short notice, we were offered. The memo went on to tell us that, the good news is, they didn't expect it to be down for more than a week. That's reassuring, since the long-range forecast was HOT, HAZY, HUMID through the middle of this week.
The LPGA is in town this week. Every year, the week the LPGA is in town, we have totally farqued up weather. Violent storms, high winds, bizarre temperatures...and this week was to prove to be no different. I think I'm going to write the mayor and ask him to UNinvite the LPGA from our fair city for future years. :snort:
So, let's take a look at this equation:
1 LPGA Tournament
1 Menopausal woman
8 90+ degree HOT, HAZY, HUMID days
0 Air conditioning
Yep, sounds like a formula for disaster, doesn't it?
And, of course, a weather forecast like that is never wrong. And so, I came to work on Thursday with shorts and a sleeveless shirt (my "overalls" shorts). The temperature ONLY got up to 86.3 on that first day. Thankfully, I'm off on Fridays during the summer, so I figured that was 3 days total I didn't have to be there while they were putzing around with the air handlers.
Friday afternoon brought a violent storm, as so often happens during these HOT, HAZY, HUMID days. Pea-sized hail, horrific lightning, deafening thunder and torrential rain. It lasted for about 20 minutes or so, but two houses down had a lightning strike on their tree in the front yard and there were a couple of times I could have sworn that lightning struck the ground (or elsewhere) on the abandoned farm behind our house. Now, I love thunderstorms, but that one even unnerved me!
Saturday and Sunday brought more heat and humidity and we got through the weekend without having a stroke. Did I mention that our air conditioning in the house doesn't work? It's an old freon unit and, of course, you can't use freon anymore. We have A/C in our window in our room, however, so we can sleep. Sunday we had a long, saturating downpour.
Monday morning, I dressed in shorts and a tank top, figuring the office had been HOT, HAZY, and HUMID for 4 days now and it wasn't going to be "as nice" as it was on Thursday. Sure enough, you could just about touch the air when I walked into the office. As I went to set my coffee mug on my desk, I noticed the water. The carpet was squishy behind my desk and I could tell that it was also UNDERNEATH the plastic chair mat. The water covered approximately a 4' x 8' area behind my desk. I called Building Services and then Facilities. I explained to the secretary in Facilities (who offered to call Building Services and have the water extracted from the carpet) that extracting the water was only PART of the problem and that the entry point of the water should be what Facilities should focus on. DUH!
Nobody from Facilities came on Monday -- no big surprise there. The Building Services guy came with his big water extractor and, when he pulled up that mat, the living entity that was the STENCH under the mat rose up out of the carpet and made it's presence known. They used some sort of anti-bacterial, anti-odor spray on the carpet, but that musty smell stuck around all day long. It got up to 89 degrees in my office Monday. Because of the water, I moved out into the front office, where it was a frosty 87 -- MUCH cooler in comparison, yes? :eyeroll: Monday night, another thunderstorm, although not as violent as Friday's. Heavy wind, heavy rain, but no hail and only distant lightning.
Tuesday (yesterday) I came in to work (in shorts and a tank top again). Yep, more water. I called Building Services again, and sent an email to the Director of Facilities (I'm a MAJOR pain in his tookas) explaining the situation and pointing out that water is only a SYMPTOM of a larger problem and reminding him of the hidden destruction water can cause. Not surprisingly, someone showed up a short while later. Of course, being that I'm just a stupid woman, they at first suggested that it was merely the air conditioning leaking. When I pointed out to them that there WAS NO AIR CONDITIONING since last Thursday, they decided to take a look.
They CLAIM that the pipes in the A/C are sweating from the humidity and the condensation has collected in an extremely shallow pan under the vent and it's dripping from there. Yeah. Uh-huh. And that explains why it's only in that one spot, right? Right.
Of course, we had no rain last night, and guess what? NO WATER EITHER! But what do I know, I'm just a dumb broad who THINKS the rain and the water leak might be related. Not like I'm an engineer or anything.
It's supposed to be a bit cooler today, "only" 80-82 degrees. When I walked out of the house this morning, it did feel a bit cooler, but the humidity doesn't seem one iota less oppressive. We'll see.
I haven't done squat at home since this heat wave hit. It's totally unlike me to be so severely affected by the heat but, then again, I've never been through menopause before, either so I suppose that accounts for something. Last night, Joe invited a girl over to watch a DVD with him and I was mortified when he told me. I said "Joe, the house is a wreck!" He went downstairs (into his domain) and picked up. When I went down there this morning to feed the cats, it looked pretty good, for Joe. That's the nice thing about our house -- his domain is the family room downstairs and he has his own bathroom just off the family room. No need to "entertain" anywhere else in the house.
Speaking of Joe, I keep reminding myself when I piss and moan about the heat that this poor kid has worked, on blacktop surfaces, every single day, all day long in this heat and humidity. For however bad I might THINK I have it, I know it's been especially bad for him.
I started a big project yesterday -- a secret one. I've designed a king-sized bed sized blanket to knit that I want to have done for Lisa by Christmas. It's quite an ambitious project and, while I languish around this hot, humid office this summer with very little work, I hope to be able to get a big chunk of it done. It's ambitious because of the design itself. It'll be ten nine-inch wide strips. The two ends will be a solid color -- I've selected a sort of dark colonial blue for the edges. The inside strips will be quilt-style with the dark blue edges top and bottom, but a lighter country blue and a multi-colored blue/white/tan mix. The light blue squares will have pictures or text in them. A house. The word "love." Two hearts. A watering can (gardening is our passion). The two woman "symbol" of lesbianism. Stuff like that. I hope to be able to take pictures and post it's progress as I go. As I said, it's ambitious. As it is, I'm knitting a black and white checked afghan for my oldest daughter for Christmas during the evenings. My days and nights will be full of knitting -- just hope my hands can hold up to this sort of task.
My lawyer informed me on Monday that he had JUST gotten the transcripts from the April deposition so he was going to move forward with the motion for summary judgment.
Lots going on out there in this country, some of it actually frightening. Like the Christian Coalition thinking that homosexuals should be required to wear "warning labels." And the banning of books that even remotely reference homosexuality from certain school districts. Anyone else think of a swastika when they hear this sort of thing?
I watched "The Patriot" yesterday (with Mel Gibson) and found myself achingly sad for the sacrifices those early Americans made for the very freedoms that are now being gradually stripped away from us. The vision those colonists had for this country have somehow all been lost in this "Me, gimmie, mine" society we've evolved into. Or should I say DEvolved into?
Can Democracy stand this test? Or will it become a distant memory?
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Are you a butch or femme?
My results:
HARD ANDROGYNE
Your score placed you in the category of Hard Androgyne. This is the "tom boy" type of ranking. You may also wish to review Androgyne and Gentle Butch, the two categories surrounding you. In a ranking across the femme/butch gamut, if 1 is femme and 100 is butch, you fall between 53 and 60 on the scale. For a review of where you fall in the overall population in numbers, refer to this chart. Your group encompasses folks of all types, genders, and orientations; it includes a large number of males and averages around 41 years of age.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most of the time you really don't think of yourself as butch or femme, but if pressured, you tend to react aggressively - either to solve a problem or to defend yourself. You aren't extremely masculine, yet are more drawn to your masculine side than your feminine side.
Security is paramount to you, and the locks on your house and tendency to monogamy reflect that. You like money in the savings and a retirement plan in place. You are nervous and insecure without that. You are a good provider, often appearing in upper management positions, and are an excellent supervisor.
Logic and mathematics fascinate you, and you have a very good memory. You are best remembering what you have seen in a video sense - sound and picture. About half of what you read sticks with you and what you hear goes in one ear and out the other. Pictures you remember very well.
You like action adventure movies and books, though you don't read a lot. You are heavily into technology, computers, and fun lil gadgets to play with.
As a parent you are strict but not overbearing, and tend to be a bit over protective. You are a staunch defender of your legal rights.
For partners you prefer a softer femme, along the lines of the Classic or Lipstick Femme. For friends you encompass everyone, though you find Extreme Butches a bit plastic and pure Androgynes indecisive.
You know, the only thing that's NOT right about this "assessment" is the very last part. I tend to lean more toward those like myself than toward the more "feminine" types.
Take the test yourself and let me know how you scored!
Butch or Femme Test
HARD ANDROGYNE
Your score placed you in the category of Hard Androgyne. This is the "tom boy" type of ranking. You may also wish to review Androgyne and Gentle Butch, the two categories surrounding you. In a ranking across the femme/butch gamut, if 1 is femme and 100 is butch, you fall between 53 and 60 on the scale. For a review of where you fall in the overall population in numbers, refer to this chart. Your group encompasses folks of all types, genders, and orientations; it includes a large number of males and averages around 41 years of age.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most of the time you really don't think of yourself as butch or femme, but if pressured, you tend to react aggressively - either to solve a problem or to defend yourself. You aren't extremely masculine, yet are more drawn to your masculine side than your feminine side.
Security is paramount to you, and the locks on your house and tendency to monogamy reflect that. You like money in the savings and a retirement plan in place. You are nervous and insecure without that. You are a good provider, often appearing in upper management positions, and are an excellent supervisor.
Logic and mathematics fascinate you, and you have a very good memory. You are best remembering what you have seen in a video sense - sound and picture. About half of what you read sticks with you and what you hear goes in one ear and out the other. Pictures you remember very well.
You like action adventure movies and books, though you don't read a lot. You are heavily into technology, computers, and fun lil gadgets to play with.
As a parent you are strict but not overbearing, and tend to be a bit over protective. You are a staunch defender of your legal rights.
For partners you prefer a softer femme, along the lines of the Classic or Lipstick Femme. For friends you encompass everyone, though you find Extreme Butches a bit plastic and pure Androgynes indecisive.
You know, the only thing that's NOT right about this "assessment" is the very last part. I tend to lean more toward those like myself than toward the more "feminine" types.
Take the test yourself and let me know how you scored!
Butch or Femme Test
Better Living Through Chemistry - Part II
I've been on the Prozac now for just a day shy of 5 weeks. As hokey as this may sound, I feel like I'm living in a totally different world. I take delight in the smallest of things -- a Dutch Iris opened up in our garden overnight and this morning when I saw it, I clapped my hands in childlike glee. As I'm walking outside, I catch myself stopping and turning my face toward the sun, just reveling in it. Food tastes better! (That MAY NOT be a good thing -- LOL!) I find myself laughing and just enjoying each day more than I ever had.
But my relationship with Lisa -- WOW! Has it changed? No, I don't think so. Is it better? No, I don't think that, either. It's more relaxed, I think. Maybe a bit less stressful for her because she doesn't come home wondering whether I'll be weepy or raging that night. And with that relaxation comes such special feelings of being together, such joy, feelings I never really recognized before. I love Lisa, always have. But I can actually FEEL the love emanating out of me toward her and I can actually FEEL the love coming back at me.
I once professed to another woman that I loved her deeply, profoundly, and would do so forever, that she was the love of my life and that, even if I found another to love, it could never be as deeply as I loved her. I often wonder where she is, what she's doing, and think fondly of her but in my heart I know that the role she filled in my life was NOT to be the love of my life, but to open my heart to love and be loved by this spectacular woman that I have found on this journey in life.
Lisa and I started off talking a lot -- I found her a fascinating person to talk to, with her knowledge of so many things, her quick wit, her childlike love of cookies and ice cream, those piercing blue eyes, and that wonderful way she has of spinning a yarn. But now, five years later, we talk just as much and just as frequently. We talk to each other on our cell phones during our commute home each night, we talk about politics, abortion, world events, local events, people, friends, our days, and I STILL find her fascinating to talk to.
And, now that I'm on the Prozac, I enjoy it even that much more. I notice more things now. Like the way I find her studying me in the evenings when we're watching television. I'll say "what?" and she'll say "Nothing, just enjoying the scenery." Sometimes I'll find her looking at me and I can TELL that she's thinking how much she loves me, and I simply say "I love you too!" She grins.
Yeah, menopause isn't so bad with a Prozac chaser...
But my relationship with Lisa -- WOW! Has it changed? No, I don't think so. Is it better? No, I don't think that, either. It's more relaxed, I think. Maybe a bit less stressful for her because she doesn't come home wondering whether I'll be weepy or raging that night. And with that relaxation comes such special feelings of being together, such joy, feelings I never really recognized before. I love Lisa, always have. But I can actually FEEL the love emanating out of me toward her and I can actually FEEL the love coming back at me.
I once professed to another woman that I loved her deeply, profoundly, and would do so forever, that she was the love of my life and that, even if I found another to love, it could never be as deeply as I loved her. I often wonder where she is, what she's doing, and think fondly of her but in my heart I know that the role she filled in my life was NOT to be the love of my life, but to open my heart to love and be loved by this spectacular woman that I have found on this journey in life.
Lisa and I started off talking a lot -- I found her a fascinating person to talk to, with her knowledge of so many things, her quick wit, her childlike love of cookies and ice cream, those piercing blue eyes, and that wonderful way she has of spinning a yarn. But now, five years later, we talk just as much and just as frequently. We talk to each other on our cell phones during our commute home each night, we talk about politics, abortion, world events, local events, people, friends, our days, and I STILL find her fascinating to talk to.
And, now that I'm on the Prozac, I enjoy it even that much more. I notice more things now. Like the way I find her studying me in the evenings when we're watching television. I'll say "what?" and she'll say "Nothing, just enjoying the scenery." Sometimes I'll find her looking at me and I can TELL that she's thinking how much she loves me, and I simply say "I love you too!" She grins.
Yeah, menopause isn't so bad with a Prozac chaser...
Thursday, June 02, 2005
It didn't pass! :-(
Sacramento, California) Supporters of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in California are hoping 'third time lucky' after the measure suffered its second defeat in as many days on Thursday.
The bill will be put to a third vote Friday in the legislature. This morning, if was rejected by a vote of 37-35, the same margin by which it lost on Thursday night.
The duplication of the vote shows that despite pleas from LGBT civil rights groups and legislators who support the measure.
The bill's author, Assemblymember Mark Leno ( D-San Francisco), said he hopes to use the remaining time before Friday's vote to try to sway the eight lawmakers who did not vote to support the legislation. Under Assembly rules any bill up for approval must get a minimum of 41 votes. Abstentions or absentees are counted as no's.
All of the Assembly's Republican members voted against the bill. During debate on the legislation several GOP lawmakers described the bill as an illegal usurpation of the will a majority of California voters expressed five years when they approved Proposition 22, an anti-gay marriage ballot initiative.
"If you want to destroy the law, mock it, call it names. If you don't have the courage to go back to the people in the proper way, tell a big lie," said Assemblyman Jay La Suer (R-La Mesa). "This has nothing to do with discrimination. It has everything to do with the destruction of the moral fiber of this nation."
Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles), one of six openly gay and lesbian members of the Legislature delivered an impassioned plea to have the bill passed.
"You cannot give me, if we are all created equal, an argument that says I cannot marry my partner," said Goldberg who has been in a relationship with the same woman for 26 years.
"You cannot tell me there is any definition other to say I am not really a human being like all the rest of you heterosexual human beings. ... Unless you are willing to look me in the face and say I'm not a human being just like you are, you have no right to deny me marriage in the state of California or anywhere else."
The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act would require local clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples but allow people opposed to gay marriage to refuse to conduct weddings.
The measure has the support of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and other key Democrats. Last month the California Democratic Party passed a resolution supporting same-sex marriage. (story)
So far Gov. Schwarzenegger has sent mixed messages about whether he would sign the legislation if it were passed.
In a January meeting with the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle Schwarzenegger suggested that this may not be the best time to push gay marriage, saying that a legislative push to fully recognize marriage rights for gays might backfire.
"Eventually in a few years from now, you can readdress it again and see what the people of California think,'' he told the paper. "You cannot force-feed those kind of things.''
Last year in a Tonight Show appearance Schwarzenegger said gay marriage would be "fine with me" if it were enshrined in state law or ruled legal by the courts. (story)
The issue of same-sex marriage also is slowly heading toward the California Supreme Court. Last month a San San Francisco judge ruled that state laws preventing gay marriage are illegal. (story)
Tuesday, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed an appeal in the case.
Meanwhile, a conservative group called the "Voters' Right to Protect Marriage Initiative" has begun collecting signatures to have a proposed amendment to the California Constitution banning same-sex marriage placed on the 2006 ballot. (story) If approved by voters it would not only bar gays and lesbians from marrying but also void the state's landmark domestic partner law.
Last week, LGBT groups and their supporters announced a broad coalition to combat the attempt to amend the Constitution. (story) On Monday, the nation's two largest LGBT civil rights groups announced a million dollar fundraising drive to help defeat the proposed amendment.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Human Rights Campaign announced they would donate up to $100,000 each as a challenge to encourage others to contribute.
The groups said they hoped to raise the $1 million by Labor Day.
The bill will be put to a third vote Friday in the legislature. This morning, if was rejected by a vote of 37-35, the same margin by which it lost on Thursday night.
The duplication of the vote shows that despite pleas from LGBT civil rights groups and legislators who support the measure.
The bill's author, Assemblymember Mark Leno ( D-San Francisco), said he hopes to use the remaining time before Friday's vote to try to sway the eight lawmakers who did not vote to support the legislation. Under Assembly rules any bill up for approval must get a minimum of 41 votes. Abstentions or absentees are counted as no's.
All of the Assembly's Republican members voted against the bill. During debate on the legislation several GOP lawmakers described the bill as an illegal usurpation of the will a majority of California voters expressed five years when they approved Proposition 22, an anti-gay marriage ballot initiative.
"If you want to destroy the law, mock it, call it names. If you don't have the courage to go back to the people in the proper way, tell a big lie," said Assemblyman Jay La Suer (R-La Mesa). "This has nothing to do with discrimination. It has everything to do with the destruction of the moral fiber of this nation."
Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles), one of six openly gay and lesbian members of the Legislature delivered an impassioned plea to have the bill passed.
"You cannot give me, if we are all created equal, an argument that says I cannot marry my partner," said Goldberg who has been in a relationship with the same woman for 26 years.
"You cannot tell me there is any definition other to say I am not really a human being like all the rest of you heterosexual human beings. ... Unless you are willing to look me in the face and say I'm not a human being just like you are, you have no right to deny me marriage in the state of California or anywhere else."
The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act would require local clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples but allow people opposed to gay marriage to refuse to conduct weddings.
The measure has the support of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and other key Democrats. Last month the California Democratic Party passed a resolution supporting same-sex marriage. (story)
So far Gov. Schwarzenegger has sent mixed messages about whether he would sign the legislation if it were passed.
In a January meeting with the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle Schwarzenegger suggested that this may not be the best time to push gay marriage, saying that a legislative push to fully recognize marriage rights for gays might backfire.
"Eventually in a few years from now, you can readdress it again and see what the people of California think,'' he told the paper. "You cannot force-feed those kind of things.''
Last year in a Tonight Show appearance Schwarzenegger said gay marriage would be "fine with me" if it were enshrined in state law or ruled legal by the courts. (story)
The issue of same-sex marriage also is slowly heading toward the California Supreme Court. Last month a San San Francisco judge ruled that state laws preventing gay marriage are illegal. (story)
Tuesday, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed an appeal in the case.
Meanwhile, a conservative group called the "Voters' Right to Protect Marriage Initiative" has begun collecting signatures to have a proposed amendment to the California Constitution banning same-sex marriage placed on the 2006 ballot. (story) If approved by voters it would not only bar gays and lesbians from marrying but also void the state's landmark domestic partner law.
Last week, LGBT groups and their supporters announced a broad coalition to combat the attempt to amend the Constitution. (story) On Monday, the nation's two largest LGBT civil rights groups announced a million dollar fundraising drive to help defeat the proposed amendment.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Human Rights Campaign announced they would donate up to $100,000 each as a challenge to encourage others to contribute.
The groups said they hoped to raise the $1 million by Labor Day.
California legislature to vote on gay marriage today
Keeping our fingers, toes, eyes and anything else crossed that this bill passes. It will be the first legislation of its kind -- passed voluntariliy by the lawmakers as opposed to by court order.
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