WHOOOOOHOOOOO!

I FINALLY got the archive to work! Now, if I could just get the RSS feed to cooperate. Then again, if it did work I'd have made a real mess of somebody's Bloglines account by republishing my entire site. Yeah, you're welcome.

A little bird told me...

Frankie's day out...


Frank Sinatra the Swinger



If I sit really still.....








Hand over the apple ...or ELSE....







At the risk of being a total pet foto nerd... I really do enjoy my silly little bird.

Be Careful What You Wish For....

Well world, are you ready for this? I am gainfully employed in the world of healthcare!

I have been hired by Yup, I'll be a hospice nurse. Now, I'm not going to go into an exposition explaining and justifying why anyone would choose to spend their time with those at the end of their lives except to say that it is the job that I've always said 'If I ever had the opportunity to do whatever nursing I wanted....' Everyone has something like that, right? It's not explainable. If you don't 'get it' then it's best just to accept it. I find end of life nursing to be incredibly interesting, challenging and most of all fullfilling. The patients I remember most vividly in my career were those to whom I attended on their journey home. Therein lies my apprehension. It is scary enough to start something new...but to actually get what you wish for? I've always had a whole list of excuses why I couldn't take a job with hospice and this place shot them all down. So now I have the job I have always said I wanted and on my own terms. Whoa. Is it getting hot in here? I've never been so nervous about a new job.

So now I'm off to go pee in a bottle. Once the drug test, license check and background check come in I'll get a start date. As boring as I am I don't foresee anything interesting there. So what changes will I make around chez Harvey? I'm not sure yet. I guess that will make for blog fodder over the next months, eh?

I have to go drink some water now...

This is not a drill!

Apparently there's a new virus (actually a trojan) out there that people are downloading. It comes as an email to your box telling you that you have a card or postcard from someone you know and directs you to click on a link in the email to retrieve the card. I'm not one to jump at these things but when snopes.com says 'real' I pay attention. Please note though...Generally only UNPATCHED Windows systems are vulnerable. Lesson: 1. Pay attention to your computer hygiene just like you do your personal hygiene and 2. STOP CLICKING ON STUFF IN EMAILS.
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp

Home of the Free, because of the Brave!

I can't do it better so I prefer to do it justice. From my nephew's blog:

Following the attacks which occurred on September 11th, 2001, I pulled my site
from the web and replace it with a memorial page. This page grew into a site
containing artwork, poetry, and other writings from me and my friends. In
remembrance of that horrific day, I am making the site available from now
through Friday. You can access the site by clicking the image above.
May We Never Forget

As for my own reflections: Note: this is a frank telling of what I experienced first hand. It is not a complimentary veiw of the 'Plain People' so if you want to preserve your Norman Rockwell image of the Amish and Mennonites then you don't want to read this one. This is probably the first time I've spoken so openly about 'what happened' to me that made me leave the church.
The morning of Sept 11, '01 I was still in the conservative Mennonite church (Eastern Mennonite Conference) but having grave doubts and concerns. The thought has materialized that I might need to leave but it was a frightening thought. Then the world I knew and trusted came tumbling down around me. I was at a large, busy farmer's market when the news of the Towers came across the televisions. The entire place was like a hornet's nest that had been shaken. No one moved a lot but they moved in groups humming and buzzing away. The facial expressions were more of confusion yet than anger. Shock but not yet horror. Out of an odd sort of fear of the crowd (or was it my reaction to the crowd?) more than the event itself, I left to go home. Mennonites ignore such public displays and 'rise above' mob mentality and I was having a very hard time doing that. On the way home I cheated and listened to the radio for the news. By the time I got home, the other two shoes had fallen; The Pentagon had been attacked and a plane had gone down in PA not an hour from me. My thoughts came fast and furious but the prevailing always was "How will the Mennonites respond to this?" I would soon have my answer.
NYC..Mennonites: well, that was a target waiting to happen and all "real" Christians know how sinful that place is. God just smote Soddam and Gommorah again. They deserved it. Me, as a nurse: So many potential patients! The hospitals will be overwhelmed! My VA license is still active maybe I could help somehow? My horror was later realized when there were almost NO PATIENTS to treat. This is the ultimate worst case scenario for any nurse to endure.
The Pentagon.... Mennonites: it's the seat of war and arrogant human resistance against each other. It was bound to fall sometime and God chose to make it an example. Me as a child of a proud Navy retiree and native of Norfolk/Va Beach: The Pentagon is the epitome of the strength and superiority of our fighting men and women. A home of honor and courage but most of all, it is impregnable. How can this icon of military strength be compromised?! I realized how devoted my heart is to those brave souls who stand between me and tyranny. The military is order, civility, courage, strength, HONOR and I was mortally offended that it would be compromised.
Shanksville... Mennonites: well had the passengers been non-resistant the blame would have been on the hijackers and the others would have died in the hands of God but now they have ruined perfectly good farmland and died in a sinful state of aggression. Well, none were "real" Christians anyway so I just pray they found God somehow before their death. Me as a resident of a foreign state, culture, and environment: Am I not safe even here? I moved here to be rid of the things that tempt me, to immerse myself in Mennonites so I'd blend in better, I'm not safe, I don't blend in and I can't feel contempt for people who don't sit next to me in church.
I actually prayed at one point that my reserve unit would be activated and I'd be forced to choose my allegiance. The more time went on and I witnessed the lack of concern - TOTAL lack of appreciation! - for the results of this cowardly act of terrorism by the Mennonite community, the farther I felt from them. As far as they were concerned it was just another typical over-reaction by a society obsessed with violence and emotion. They are not 'citizens' of this world so it doesn't concern them.
Need I say that it was a defining event in my disassociation from the Mennonites and the birth of my own self examination. I can tolerate lack of compassion sometimes, I can tolerate ignorance...but arrogance and emotional vindictiveness in the name of "christianity" is not within my ability to tolerate. The terrorists didn't destroy a part of my life, they gave birth to a renewed patriot and advocate.

America - Home of the Free...BECAUSE of the BRAVE!

Bunny office supplies?

I went on a job interview recently that sounds very much like what I want except for one little detail....I would be working in a cubicle. Yes, they are trying to box in the essence of what is "ME". So I've gotten a good bit of ribbing from the hubby and friends about working in a 'rabbit warren' of Dilbert style cubbies. Hubby offered to build a wire top and cage door ala bunny hutch style to help me feel at home. Nice. So I've been making myself feel better by checking out the incredible array of accessories for office cubbies. Of course I looked for rabbit themed stuff and didn't find much...except this. A bunny letter opener. I must have one of these for my own office. Must!