Have a beautiful day, Ms D!

Oh, and as for staying true to myself, I start with this one basic premise: I'm very, very, very far from perfect. Secondly, I always remind myself that despite what I know (or think I know), I could always be wrong. And third, I am wrong more often than not. With all that in mind, it gets easier not to be judgmental, and so I'm more willing to give people the benefit of the doubt or trust them before I distrust them. I also have a little something I cut out from the newspaper horoscope back on Jan 13, 2002 taped to my monitor here that reads, "Your frequent emphasis on utility and usefulness often push your appreciation for your own creative expression right out of the picture. Don't worry whether or not you can create something that can be sold. Do it just for the doing. After all, we are verbs not nouns." I'm not big on horoscopes, but it made sense and it happened to come on a day when I just turned the page and there it was, so I guess I took it as a "sign" and have tried to implement it ever since. My biggest problem right now, I think (and I could be wrong) is my pride. I hate the word because pride can get right in the way of doing something useful--you succeed, you swell up with pride, you grow complacent, you f up and fall. I'd rather be more humble and appreciate what I have and what it took to get here than plotting and planning for the next big thing, you know? Stop and smell the roses and maybe you'll see something you'd overlooked before, something you might have missed, and it'll answer a question, maybe give you that burst of inspiration like Newton and the apple. But then again I am judgmental, mostly of myself, and spend way, way too much time comparing myself with others in the family tree who came from humble origins and made something big of themselves, or more importantly, did something that had a big impact on others for the better. I know I had a point when I started writing this, but now my brain's gone kerplooey so a lame ending's better than no ending at all ...

My young ones and I were just watching The Parent Trap two weekends ago (this past weekend was devoted to comparing the Freaky Fridays--Jodie's #!). Its just trivia, but London-born Hayley Mills' maternal great-grandma was born in Bangkok to American parents (though whom she's related to fellow actress Amanda Peet). Weird how the world turns, isn't it? Kinda like an episode of Passions (that was the soap Hayley was on, I think--maybe it was her sister, Juliet). Anyway, have a great day, and go to the doctor (please).

That's awesome though...you really seem to stay true to yourself (even though other people would consider you a "black sheep".

And BTW I love, love, love old/classic movies. My grandma got me into that. I love any classic movie with Hayley Mills.

Good morning, it's a lovely morning.
Good morning, what a wonderful day.
We danced the whole night through.
Good morning, good morning to you.

I said good morning, see the sun is shinin'.
Good morning, hear the birdies sing.
It's great to stay up late.
Good mornin', good mornin' to you.

When the band began to play
the stars were shinin' bright.
Now the milkman's on his way,
it's too late to say goodnight.

Good morning, good morning!
Sunbeams will soon smile through.
Good mornin', good morning',
Good mornin', my darlin', to you!

After the deep converse & topics, I woke up this AM feeling a little more refreshed (hope you did, too), with this bit of song in my mind--I think its a hang-over (not that type!) from when I was a kid and watched Gene Kelley-Ginger Rogers movies with my grandparents. If nothing else, I hope it brings a smile to your face as it did mine! Have a great day, Ms D!

I see that ...wft is an understatement. On the one hand its more than a little creepy, on the other maybe its just someone whose lonely--naw, its the first. That's definitely crossing more than a few boundaries. Tell you what though, I'll give you my cell number for yours--oh, wait, I don't have a cell phone! Whelp, there goes that (cheap attempt at humour?). Honestly, though, I'm still using a land line--heck, I might not even have a 'puter if SSU hadn't required one, or had my thesis not gotten so big that I needed something better than my trusty old electric typewriter (which, grudgingly, replaced my old manual Underwood). I'm old school, or maybe I'm so deep into being the black sheep of the family (both of my grandpas worked in tech--one for Lawrence Livermore, the other was a manager at IBM). I actually still do long division rather than use a calculator half the time (the other half I admit I'm lazy & used that gadget). There the thing is that I'm bad at math, so I face it head on and do it just to prove I still can (take that decimal point! Curses, multiplied again ...aaargghhh!). There, a better attempt at levity (I hope). The other thing, I'd either ignore or take out laranger's hammer and do you know what. Sorry about that.

OMG...I can't believe this...someone just asked me for my cell phone number :O wtf??

Yeah, I understand re: your bro-in-law, but what a time to be called back. Still, my grandpa was overseas when my Mom was born, and my paternal grandpa was incommunicado for long periods of time when my Dad was still an infant (he was born a few months before Pearl Harbor). My Grandma told me that there was a big gap in time between letters--one time he was in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, the next thing she knew he was in the Panama Canal Zone! And with O on his way into office, and with the restrictions in the Iraqi gov't's authorization, I think he'll probably be spending more time on base, and hope he and everyone else will be back home sooner rather than later. And beyond that, you just have to respect the dedication and sacrifice, not only on his part, but also on your sister's, your mom's and yours. Hasta la vista, Ms D!

Yeah...my third or fourth biggest fan Honestly I'm sure that my brother-in-law will do okay. This is his second tour and it probably won't last 15 months since the new president will be trying to pull out our troops.

I did it! I did it! I hit the 200 posts mark and joined Ugo & tigger (maybe others) as Your Biggest Fan this morning! Whoo-freakin'-hoo, Yee-haw! I'd like to that the academy, my Mom, my manager and publicist, the producers & director ...but most of all the gentlewoman who's made this such a fun, inviting place to come and hang out at, the one, the only, Ms D! Let's hear it for her--Hip-hip-HOORAY!!!!! Have a great day, Ms D!