Living with headaches

Living with chronic headaches sucks.

I've had headaches all my life. My dad used to say there was no such thing as headaches. Yeah, right.

Most of the time I just ignore the pain and soldier on. It's the way it's always been so it seems normal.

I did get some neurological testing in the late 80s but everything was normal or at least, there was no tumor or anything obvious like that.

No, my headaches are more insidious, more run of the mill, more routine.

It wasn't until 2001 that I was even diagnosed with migraines. It was the aura that did it. I couldn't complete a sentence, I couldn't remember the word for tongue, I was seeing spots, my fingers were tingling. My doctor thought I might be having an aneurysm. She drove me to the ER herself.

Usually, I just get the migraine. Sometimes, I get the aura but no migraine. I prefer this. But for the fact that I can't see, I can still function. It's still a pain, trying to function when there are big blind spots in my field of vision but at least there's no pain. Once I had aura when I was trying to paint the house. It's kinda hard to paint when you can't see what's right in front of you. My peripheral vision was fine but peripheral vision doesn't work so well for house painting (0r working at a computer, etc).

Migraines suck. Trying to figure out what triggers a migraine and how to prevent a migraine sucks. It's one of those ridiculous conditions infested with contradictions and nebulous answers. Caffeine might trigger a migraine or it might forestall a migraine. What's true for one migraine sufferer (or migraineur) isn't for the next. Is the headache I have right now even a migraine?

So far, my response to this diagnosis has been basically to ignore it until the pain gets too bad, then I take a pill. This coping mechanism isn't terribly effective.

The thought of trying to figure it out makes my head hurt.

Two feet of snow in 24 hours!

Two snow days (as in no school) in a row . . .

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Wow! Read this book!

My mom recommended this book to me a few months ago and a woman on a plane next to me told me that she had just finished it and could not get it out of her mind.

I read it in two days.

In a remarkably matter of fact yet connected voice, Jeannette Walls details her childhood. As the child of a brilliant alcoholic father and an artistic irresponsible mother, Walls suffered extreme deprivation. But for all that, she never whines or blames and she emerges with a remarkable lack of anger.

I was often angry with Walls' parents but I was left marveling at the love this family felt for each other through it all.

While the book itself does not include a reading group guide, I think it would stimulate a lively book club discussion. Try the Book Browse reading group guide.

Fireworks

I watched World Cup fireworks over Aspen Mountain tonight from my front porch. I could hear the cheers of the crowd after the grand finale.

Aspen has a lot of fireworks. We're a ways from Disney World with its nightly fireworks but we've got more than our fair share.

We've got fireworks for World Cup, fireworks for New Years, 2 sets of fireworks for Winterskol, fireworks for X Games, fireworks for 4th of July, fireworks for corporate events and more.

I'm not complaining. I love fireworks. They still fill me with a childlike awe and excitement.

I especially like fireworks that involve absolutely no work on my part. In my first apartment in Aspen, I could watch the fireworks from bed. In my current house, I can watch the fireworks from my front porch or from my shower (yes, I have a window in my shower). I can watch the 2 sets of Winterskol fireworks which are staged on opposite sides of the valley first from my front porch and then from my back balcony.

If I want to experience the fireworks with a bit of company, I can walk the 5 minutes to town and watch from the base of Aspen Mountain, just below where they're set off.

I've also watched the fireworks from above by hiking partways up Aspen Mountain to a vantage point at eye level with many of the explosions.

Some in Aspen are jaded by the frequency with which we are graced by fireworks. I won't name names . . . but my husband numbers himself among them although he did rouse himself enough to watch the fireworks from the shower that first time after we moved into this house, mostly so that he could say that he had.

He really should be more appreciative of fireworks. After all, there were fireworks the day we met.

Fireworks still quicken my pulse and delight me. Hopefully, they always will.

UPDATE: The husband responds.

On Beauty by Zadie Smith

Yuck.

I want back the time that I wasted on this book.

Yuck again.

I want my money back.

Two families full of characters I either despised (Howard Belsey, Victoria Kipps) or simply disliked (Zora Belsey, Monty Kipps). It reminded me of The Corrections with no redeeming graces.

It was disjointed, with characters falling in and out of the story. Carl's here, Carl's not here, oops, Carl's here again, oh now Carl storms off for good.

There were no truths. Maybe that's an overstatement. Very few truths. Just contrivances, superficialities and exaggerations. Stereotypes.

Yuck.

Suspicious

I missed All Things Considered live yesterday and I was checking out the story listing online when I came across a story that at first blush triggered my bullshit meter. The story about fatal familial insomnia while seemingly farfetched turned out to be a true account of a "horrific disease" and I felt guilty for doubting it.

I have a suspicious nature. Not sure if it's congenital or acquired. Probably both.

My husband often gets offended when I don't immediately believe something that he's telling me, especially if it contradicts one of my accepted beliefs. It's nothing personal. I'm analytical and sceptical, both by nature and by training.

I am compelled to investigate.

I'm open to new information, I just feel the need to confirm it.

I once had a rival for a cheating boyfriend's attentions tell me in an accusing, condemnatory tone that I was very suspicious.

And rightly so. Duhhh.

My thought was that it was thoroughly justified and that if she was smart, she would be suspicious, too.

It turns out, she wasn't very smart. (hmmm, that was mean.)

Actually, I had heard that about her (from the cheating boyfriend, no less).

My friends have learned (often to their chagrin) that if you send me one of those forwarded emails, my first stop is snopes.com to search urban legends. Generally, my second stop is an email response to whomever sent me the forwarded email, debunking it. I never reply to all. I'm not interested in embarrassing anyone, just in educating.

I'm just trying to help . . .

Some people just don't understand . . .

March by Geraldine Brooks

The drought is over.

Finally, a book with which I connected.

I've been intrigued by the concept of this book since I first became aware of it right after it was released in paperback. I have no idea how many times I've held it in my hand, contemplating its purchase. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in April and it's been on my Amazon wish list since May.

Then, a week ago Wednesday, the woman next to me on the plane was holding it in her hand. I asked her if she liked it and she said she hadn't even started it yet. A few minutes later, she looked up from it and exclaimed that it was wonderful.

So I took the plunge. So many unread books in the house, but still I'm buying more.

I started it Friday night and finished it this afternoon.

Partially because it's written in the first person, partially because it's so well written and partially because I was already acquainted with the characters by virtue of reading and re-reading Little Women and Little Men, I felt an immediate connection to Mr. March (as I'm writing this, it occurs to me that I don't think we're ever told his first name) and his travails. For the most part, the plot flows naturally and does not seem contrived but for the repeated reappearance of Grace, which is a necessary and welcome coincidence.

All but four of the chapters are written from March's perspective. Those other four chapters are a surprising and illuminating look at the story from Marmee's perspective. I especially appreciated learning that certain interpretations presented as gospel from March's perspective were in fact utterly misguided. Brooks' portrayal of March's motivations for certain actions and Marmee's differing understanding of those same motivations was a masterful chronicling of the pitfalls of marital communication.

While the ending of Brooks' previous novel, A Year of Wonders (which I also highly recommend), seemed forced and artificial, March does not suffer so.

Brooks reads my mind when she states,

The thing that most attracts me to historical fiction is taking the factual record as far as it is known, using that as scaffolding, and then letting imagination build the structure that fills in those things we can never find out for sure.

Mary Reilly

I blame Rachel.

She was on a Julia Roberts kick and added every Julia Roberts movie she hadn't seen to our Intelliflix queue.

So, quite a few weeks ago, Mary Reilly arrived in the mailbox. Not a movie that I would have ordered but since Rachel did, I thought I'd watch it with her. Today, she announces that she's not going to watch and we should just send it back.

Well, I can't just do that. It's been here so long, I have to at least watch it.

Hmmmmm.

It was rather tedious. Julia Roberts' accent was spotty, coming and going to the point that when it was on, it was distracting. Glenn Close was playing 101 Dalmatians' Cruella De Vil. (Both movies came out in 1996 so I'm not quite sure why the characters are so similar. Coincidence?) The weather was staged as monotonous, always so foggy and grey that you couldn't tell day from night. Now I'm as familiar as the next person with the term 'London fog' but I've also been to London and I can tell you from experience that the sun does actually shine in London, at least occasionally. I also understand the concept of setting the mood but I couldn't help thinking that a bit more light, judiciously placed, might have increased the ominous effect. I kept wondering how Mary's garden grew so quickly with no sunlight.

The overall concept was intriguing and kept me watching. I enjoy experiencing familiar stories from new perspectives, a la The Red Tent, Ahab's Wife, Gregory Maguire's novels, and right now March. Given that Mary Reilly was based on the novel by the same name, I may be adding another book to my to-read list (although I am a bit leery of the violence and gore).

Julia Roberts' performance, other than the accent difficulty, worked. She conveyed the pathos of the housemaid, reaching beyond herself yet always aware of her station.

John Malkovich was consistently creepy as Mr. Hyde and slightly more sympathetic as Dr. Jekyll. Those sorts of roles in movies must be fun and challenging for actors. Rather like Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in Face/Off, a regrettable movie whose sole appeal was the whole Nicolas Cage playing John Travolta playing Nicolas Cage and vice versa thing.

I was interested to discover that the actor who played Mary's despicable father, Michael Gambon, is the same actor who replaced Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies.

Cinderella Man

I cried. Twice. Tears streaming down my face cried.

But, I do cry fairly easily. I've been known to well up while reading a Sports Illustrated article.

SPOILER ALERT!

Director Ron Howard did a good job maintaining the suspense, especially in the lead up to the ultimate fight. In fact, I was so apprehensive about the outcome that I paused the movie and googled James J. Braddock. All I needed was the search results page to learn that "Braddock also went on to serve honorably in World War II" which gave me enough peace of mind to watch the rest of the film slightly more relaxed.

I should have remembered that I was watching a Ron Howard movie. I've only seen 8 of his 21 (according to IMDB) directed motion pictures but every one I've seen definitely has the Opie touch. Don't get me wrong. I like the Opie touch and enjoyed every one of the 8. Although I don't specifically remember, they all probably made me cry. Crying is good.

The portrayal of New Jersey and New York during the Depression was poignant and sorrowful. At one point when Howard starkly juxtaposes the wealthy and the poor, I found myself wondering how close this country might have been to revolution.

I do have one complaint though.

It has nothing to do with the actual movie. I'm an Intelliflix member due to the fact that it's significantly less expensive than Netflix and that it was highly rated by Consumer Reports. I like the functionality of their website and the responsiveness of their customer service, especially when it comes to dealing with lost, delayed or damaged disks.

However, I am a bit dismayed by the number of disks which arrive damaged. Most of the damaged disks are totally unplayable but even more frustrating are the disks that appear to be playable only to freeze up halfway through the movie. I missed two and a half scenes of the movie this time. On the plus side, if I inform Intelliflix of the problem, they will ship me another copy but since I've already watched the end, I'd rather they just ship me the next movie in my queue. So, I'm not going to tell them it's damaged and they'll ship it out to the next unsuspecting victim.

I feel guilty . . .

Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik

An eminently readable series of essays about an ex-patriate American family of three in Paris. The French bureaucracy does not fare well but that's not surprising. Gopnik is genuinely fond of the Parisians and gives the American reader insight into those qualities which we tend to disparage.

Nice?? Me??

A potential customer recently thanked me over the phone for being so nice to her, saying that she had heard that about me. My first thought was that she must have been thinking of someone else. Nice is not the way I would expect to be described by the majority of the customers with whom I interact at work.

I work in a field where the majority of the staff are there to help, care for and nurture and the majority of the clients are there to be helped, cared for and nurtured. But my chosen field is also a business and I'm just about the only person who's responsible for keeping an eye on that. There are 16 people in my office taking care of people; I am the only person in my office taking care of the business so all those other 16 can continue to get paid.

The chips are stacked against the professionals in my field when it comes to running a business and earning a living. Our fees are a mystery to the majority of our customers, our billing is extremely complicated, our regulatory burden is overwhelming, there are too many entities involved and our customers are for the most part several steps removed from paying for the services they are purchasing.

Usually, by the time a customer speaks to me, s/he is frustrated, has spoken to several people already and is unlikely to receive the answer that s/he is seeking. I am usually in the position of having to tell people that I'm sorry they are dissatisfied but that that's just the way it is.

It is my job to say no, a lot.

I have been hung up on; I have been cursed out; I have been threatened with bad karma; I have had people try to go over my head (unlikely); I have been told that I don't know how to run a business; I have been told that my customer service ethic sucks; I've been told that I don't care about people; I've had customers try to bully me.

Thank God, I have a thick skin.

I live in a small town. Not that I expect people in town to be talking about me, but to the extent that they do, I would expect adjectives to be employed such as hard-ass, difficult, rude, condescending.

But not nice.

So, yes, it surprises me that there are customers out there who would describe me as nice.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

I think it must be me. I can't think of the last book that I connected with on an emotional level.

I found this book to be emotionally distant, dispassionate.

Not mesmerizing and definitely not "Absolutely mesmerizing" as Sue Monk Kidd states on the cover quote. I did read it quickly but partially because I started it while traveling so had nothing better to do. I found it slow to start.

About half way through, I did find myself, at bedtime, reading it for longer than I anticipated, but I have to chalk that up to a desire to find out how the secret is resolved, an idle curiosity, not an emotional engagement.

I didn't care; I was curious.

The concept of how deeply a secret can affect and ruin a family played out in a fairly believable way, given the background of the players but there was at least one plot twist involving an unwed mother which came out of left field, hung around for a while and then disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.

David's resolution was confusing to me. It was very sudden and had me flipping pages back and forth to see if I had missed anything.

I didn't like any of the main characters although I guess I identified most closely with Caroline. She was pragmatic and able to channel events so as to not allow them to destroy her.

My reaction to this book does have me questioning a reviewer's ability to separate his/her emotional state from that which s/he is reviewing. Ultimately, a review is a sort of a window into the reviewer's state of mind as much as it is about the work being reviewed.

Corelli's Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres

With a long wind up, De Bernieres provides a window into an obscure corner of World War II.

While De Bernieres does a fair job on an intellectual, introductory level, there is a remove to his characterizations which never allows the reader to feel quite the level of attachment to the cast of his novel as one might wish.

The end of the novel feels rushed and flat, especially when compared with the detail-laden, almost overdrawn beginning. It's as if the novelist tired of them or at the very least ran out of time.

All the same, due to my lack of knowledge regarding virtually all of this history, I did find many redeeming qualities and am glad that I took the time to read it. I enjoyed getting to know all the main characters as individuals whom I might have like to have known in real life.

Stranger than Fiction

Rachel and I saw this movie Sunday evening with another mom/daughter combo.

We all really liked it.

It's great to see comic actors whom we enjoy stretch and succeed in other genres a la Tom Hanks and Jim Carrey. Couple that with the comedic timing and willingness of Emma Thompson to be as unglamorous as possible and you've got a satisfying cinematic experience.

I am a discriminating Will Ferrell fan, loving Anchorman and Talladega Nights which I call smart stupid humor but not finding much to recommend such films such as Zoolander, Old School and Elf,which I see as just stupid stupid humor.

Stranger than Fiction was funny, touching, and well-crafted. I appreciated such details as the beige drabness of the IRS auditor's apartment juxtaposed with the colorful eclecticsm of the rebel law school drop-out's apartment.

There were many laugh out loud moments and even more quiet chuckles. There was also an important eyes-welling moment.

Approach Stranger than Fiction in an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (altho no where near as odd) way and you shouldn't be disappointed.

Side note: while the city in which the movie takes place is never identified and is clearly not supposed to be any recognizable city, much of it was filmed in Chicago and as a former Chicagoan, it was fun picking out the landmarks.

See also: NPR reviewer Bob Mondello's take on the movie

Family Upgrade

My co-worker/boss and I returned from our conference yesterday and we had quite the charmed travel day.

First, before we went to the airport, we were able to go on a beautiful, leisurely stroll through the woods with one of my co-worker's former classmates and his family. Beautiful fall colors, tromping on beds of leaves, temps in the high 70s. Just the ticket after three days indoors.

Our travels home necessitated three flights. Our first flight was on a small jet with just four seats across and no room in the overhead bins for any carry-on larger than a briefcase.

Just before the doors are closed, a drunk, loud, Southern, retirement aged couple boarded with way too many carry-ons and sat down directly behind me. Sensing trouble, I popped up immediately and dig my iPod out of my briefcase in the overhead bin.

I settled in, turned on KT Tunstall, then Snow Patrol, then Jack Johnson for the duration of the flight, ignoring the overhead announcements about not using portable electronic devices during take-off and landing. I mean, we're talking my sanity here, folks.

The wife proceeded to regale the entire flight with her opinions on a variety of political and religious topics, including her views on same sex marriage. I blissfully missed most of it but was chagrined to find out that she would be on our next flight also.

As my co-worker was waiting in line at Starbucks during our first layover, she was on her cellphone telling her mom all about the previous flight. The gay gate agent for our next flight overheard, misunderstood several things, including my co-worker's and my relationship and, in solidarity, proceeded to offer us the "family upgrade" to the sweetest available seats on the flight, our longest of the day.

I don't even know the secret handshake . . .

We never saw the loud, drunk, Southern woman again.

Since we were in the front of the plane, we were among the first to deplane. We had a two hour layover but as we checked the monitors, we learned that there was a flight to our destination, boarding at that moment at the other end of the terminal.

We took off running.

Doing the OJ thing through the airport (I later had to explain to my 14 year old what the OJ thing is), we leapfrogged each other to the gate, arriving just in time (and I mean just!) to make the flight.

So, we arrived home two hours early, to the beginnings of a snowstorm which may or may not have cancelled our scheduled flight, after having been pampered in Business Class, all because of the loud Southern woman whose political views, ironically, were actually extremely Blue State.

Solidarity, Sister!!

My Russian Masseuse

I'm currently out of town attending a conference. Since it ended earlier today, my co-worker and I went to get massages.

Those of you who visit this space regularly (grin) know that my last massage was quite the luxury experience. It was at Remede in the St. Regis in Aspen and pampering is the motif. While the massage itself can be as therapeutic and deep tissue as you desire, everything surrounding the massage is gentle, langorious and muted. The masseuse (in my case) moves in long sweeping motions, especially when floating around you and assisting you in changing positions.

And then there's Irina. Irina is the very Rusian woman who is the masseuse at the gym next door, to which the hotel refers its massage requests. The adjectives to describe Irina are efficient, business-like, crisp, powerful . . .

No long sweeping floating motions here.

Such a different experience. And yet, very satisfying. While I came out of the Remede feeling de-stressed in a decadent, lazy sort of way, I came out of my massage today feeling more like I feel after a workout, relaxed but accomplished.

Invigorated.

Naive?

I think I must be naive.

I can't think of any other reason for my surprise on Election night when I heard one of NPR's commentators discussing the fact that Nancy Pelosi was indicating that her speakership would be more civil than Dennis Hastert's term has been.

No, that's not what surprised me . . .

It seems that while the Republicans were in control of the House, it was standard operating procedure to either not tell Democratic committee members where committees were meeting or even when committees were meeting.

I find this appalling.

I also find it appalling that I had never heard this until Election Night.

Is it naive to believe this to be newsworthy?

Nevermind. Of course it is. This is politics, after all.

Smack Down

I just keep hearing Karl Rove's superior (arrogant, condescending, rude) tone when he talked over Robert Siegel on NPR during the White House Radio Day.

SIEGEL: I'm looking at all the same polls that you are looking at.

ROVE: No, you are not. I'm looking at 68 polls a week for candidates for the US House and US Senate, and Governor and you may be looking at 4-5 public polls a week that talk attitudes nationally.

Hmmm. Well, I guess my polls are better than your polls, huh?

and

ROVE: I'm looking at all of these Robert and adding them up. I add up to a Republican Senate and Republican House. You may end up with a different math but you are entitled to your math and I'm entitled to THE math.

SIEGEL: I don't know if we're entitled to a different math but your...

ROVE: I said THE math.

Is that fantasy math????

Huh????

I know I should just ignore him but what the hell is this supposed to mean???

What kind of political ad is this??

I think his entire campaign was a gag and this is his "Gotcha!"

Scraping the barrel

I'm taking a short trip this week.

I'm leaving on Wednesday, returning on Saturday and spending the two days in between inside in meetings.

This is definitely the sort of trip which calls for a carry-on.

When the FAA first banned liquids in August, my thought was to Fed-Ex my toiletries to my hotel.

However, now that the liquid restriction has been eased, I'm trying to figure out if I can meet the TSA's requirements for which they're using the catchy phrase, "Get the 3-1-1 on air travel."

I don't use many toiletries and even fewer cosmetics (really no cosmetics). The mountain woman lifestyle is refreshingly cosmetic free.

I basically use shampoo, conditioner, hair gel, toothpaste, body lotion, deodorant, facial lotion and contact solution. That's it in terms of liquids or gels (bar soap is not a liquid or gel, is it?).

I can't take any one container larger than 3 oz and it all has to fit in one quart sized ziploc bag.

No overstuffing allowed!

I've purchased 4 2 oz empty bottles, a small tube of toothpaste and a small tube of hair gel. The ziploc is basically full and I haven't added the deodorant.

Oh, now I'm getting creative. I'm not particularly picky about my shampoo; it's my conditioner in which I put more stock so if I use the hotel shampoo, I'll be able to fit the deodorant.

That's important. Don't want to be offending people, now do I?

I wonder what sort of increase in usage of complimentary toiletries hotels have seen since August.

Alrighty then, in an attempt to answer the above inquiry, I've found that at least as of 8/16/06, the Sheraton (which is where I'll be staying) was offering complimentary shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, hair spray, hair gel, toothpaste, and shaving cream.

I guess if I really care, I could call today to find out if they're still offering these items.

Knowing me, I probably will.

Ceviche!

I went to a potluck last night so I made ceviche.

A lot of people don't quite understand ceviche. When they hear ceviche, they think raw which isn't the case. According to Wikipedia,

In addition to adding flavor to the ceviche, the acid in the citrus marinade pickles or "cooks" the fish, so by the time the ceviche is served, the fish is no longer technically raw.

My ceviche is quite popular.

Some people make ceviche with a tomato cocktail type sauce but I prefer a lighter fresher tasting ceviche so I altered a Rick Bayless recipe for classic ceviche that I found in the 2002 Food and Wine Magazine Classic at Aspen Tasting Notes.

I almost always make it with shrimp, not fish, although we did once make an awesome batch with fresh red snapper caught an hour earlier in the Sea of Cortez when we were staying near El Cardonal, just north of Los Barriles, Baja California Sur.

Since I don't like avocado or chiles and since Steve doesn't like olives, I omit all of those but I add a whole peeled chopped cucumber in order to introduce a wonderful crisp texture. My ceviche is not as spicy as some but the lime juice gives it a fabulous tang.

While the recipe is very easy, it takes a lot of chopping so whenever I make it, I double it. The fish can be prepared the day before (it should not marinate for more than 4 hours) but everything should be mixed together the same day it is being served.

I serve it with Tostitos Scoops which, although they break kind of easily, work like little bite sized tortilla bowls.

Yum!

Blushing

I think this is a first for me. I certainly can't come up with any other time it's happened.

Someone's posted a blog entry about me. I'm very flattered.

Rachel got invited to do a Washington Summer Scholars Program at my alma mater, American University through LeadAmerica. In the midst of explaining AU's Washington Semester program to her, I decided to google a good friend whom I had met when he was a Washington Semester student but whom I haven't seen since approximately 1984.

In doing so, I happened upon his blog and was interested enough in his thoughts to post a couple of comments. He emailed me back as I hoped he would and thought he might.

What I didn't expect was to see a post about me when I checked his blog again.

Very cool! It made me smile.

(and no, being mentioned in posts by my husband or daughter, while also very cool, isn't the same as an entire post by a non-family member about me.)

(i know, we take those closest to us for granted, don't we?)

A member of the club

I posted this photo in Wednesday's post and Friday when I signed onto AOL, there it was on the sign on screen (see link embedded in the title).

I feel like I'm part of the story. Or perhaps I'm just being a lemming.

What does it mean if so many people independently seize upon the same image? It speaks to a lot of people, not necessarily for the same reasons.

I found it on someone's blog that I disparaged. Where did she find it?

The irony of the photo (probably not lost on those who created it) is that they really are stuck in Iraq. After his recent debacle, though, I doubt that John Kerry will be able to provide much assistance. That's too bad. I really wish that he had maintained his early defiance.

Rant

I'm irritated.

I'm probably just going to keep my almost $800. So there!

The Aspen Recreation Center has a discounted annual family pass available for members of the the Aspen Chamber Resort Association.

This is a very nice benefit which ACRA members can offer to their employees (although ACRA membership is not cheap).

So far, so good.

Now, if you go to the Aspen Recreation Center website, there is absolutely no mention of the Chamber discount. The fee for an annual family pass for an Aspen resident is $917.

So, you travel to the Chamber website where you find that the discounted ACRA fee for an annual family pass to the ARC is $756. You get a check from your employer for this amount because this is the advertised price. You go over to ACRA to get the voucher which proves that you are a Chamber member and then you go to the ARC to get your family pass.

You are told by the staff member at the ARC that the cost for a Chamber member is in fact $780.

Since you were planning on using the Aspen Recreation Center's facilities, you didn't bring your wallet (didn't want to tempt any opportunistic thieves in the locker room). You point out that $756 is the advertised price and even so, you offer to pay them the difference the next time you come in.

No dice.

Since you were unlucky enough to come in on a very busy Saturday afternoon when they were hosting a Fall Face-off hockey thing, the place is a zoo and there is nobody in charge.

So you leave disgusted and feeling like at $759 or $780, you're no longer interested in giving them your money. You go home, recheck all the aforementioned websites to ensure that it was not your mistake and call back to the ARC to leave a message for someone in charge to call you on Monday.

The apologetic staff member with whom you dealt earlier tells you that she asked someone else there and he told her that ACRA always screws up the ARC's prices on its website.

Your thought is well, then, why doesn't the ARC post the ACRA prices on its website????? That's what SkiCo does and there's never any issue there!

Since it's a small town, you are acquainted with the person in charge at the ARC who is going to call you back and you are on a first name basis with the president of ACRA. You will definitely be expressing your displeasure to both of them.

It's a good thing, though, that it's Saturday and you won't be able to reach either one of them until Monday. You probably need a day and a half to calm down.

America - Love It or Leave It?

The U.S. vs. John Lennon

Saw this movie last night.

I went with a twenty something and a thirty something. We each had had a different level of exposure to the events covered in the film. When presented with events which I experienced, it's strange to be discussing them with those for whom they are as abstract as, say, bomb shelters are to me.

The movie drew some predictable but satisfying parallels between the Republican administration of the early 70s and the current Republican administration. Given the similarities, I found myself wondering if, hoping that the current administration would face the same fate as the earlier one.

G. Gordon Liddy came off looking like an ass (again). Geraldo Rivera came off looking like a wannabe (again).

I recommend the movie. I wish Rachel would have come with us. I think it would have upset her (there is some graphic footage of the Vietnam War and of the 1968 Democratic Convention) but I also think it would have exposed her to an era which is far removed from her consciousness.

I do wonder what my parents' reactions would be. As adults who at the time much more readily identified with those opposed to Lennon and his ilk, I wonder how they view the era in retrospect.

As the commentators were discussing the FBI's misuse and abuse of its powers, I also couldn't help thinking of the current brouhaha over warrantless wiretaps and Congress' recent willingness to suspend habeas corpus. Anyone who is naive enough to think that the government only targets those who deserve it and only operates with the good of the country at heart isn't paying attention. To listen to the former FBI agent talking about how Hoover used the FBI to quash dissent is to be reminded that the legal protections of warrants and due process are there for those engaging in legal but unpopular activities. When we remove these protections from the "terrorists," we deny them to ourselves as well.

I'm amazed at how many people don't get this.

Wish List, revisited

Volkswagen Chameleon

I want it!!!! But since it's a concept, I can't have it even if I could afford it . . .

More Small Town Crazy Politics

It just keeps getting better.

It turns out that masturbating is not the only questionable activity in which our erstwhile Sheriff's candidate, Rick Magnuson, has been engaging.

Come to find out that he's been investigated by authorities in the Counter Terrorism Unit of Union County, New Jersey; he's been reprimanded multiple times by the Aspen Police Department; he warned his girlfriend that there was a warrant out for her arrest; and he was described in an official memo as "a possible unstable person who may be involved in terrorism living in our area."

Wow.

When confronted with the fact that he had lied to an Aspen Times reporter about being placed on probation by the Aspen Police Department, he said, "I guess I'm changing [that answer] to yes.

When duplicating his roundabout stunt in Vail, he refused a Vail police officer's request that he quit. In his defense, he called the Vail cop an example of "overbearing government."

I can't wait until someone uses that same retort against him when he makes a request in the course of his official duties.

On the same day as each of its front page articles about Magnuson's idiocy, The Aspen Daily News, to whom Magnuson won't speak because he thinks they're biased, has run a Letter to the Editor from the same poor misguided individual spouting off about Magnuson's honesty, morality and overwhelming qualifications for the job.

Stay the Course

I realize that it's probably too much to hope for but I really do hope that John Kerry doesn't back down or bow to pressure.

It's asinine that, with so much of substance to be talking about, this is the lead story. Of course, substance is boring. This is titillating.

The Bushies' focus on Kerry's remark is so ridiculous (and that's what we're fixating one here, one remark, a handful of words, not years of bad policy). Let's talk about what really matters. October was the deadliest month in Iraq. We're going backwards, the terrorism situation is even more dangerous and the Bushies just want to change the vocabulary and deflect attention. It doesn't make any difference to people dying in Iraq what John Kerry said on Monday. What matters is what the Bushies are doing.

I am so offended by the Bushies' assumption that they can change the subject so easily. It's an absolute insult to my intelligence, my ability to think critically and to my success in school.

I am equally pissed off that the strategy seems to be successful. Intelligent, thinking people should not be so easily distracted. It's an ironic proof of Kerry's comments about the importance of a great education. Here's a blog which is a perfect example of the intellectual laziness which pisses me off, this from a woman who styles herself as a freelance writer. I guess it takes less intelligence than I would have thought to be a freelance writer.

While I don't think that Kerry, a Purple Heart recipient, was referring to the intelligence level of the troops, it doesn't help the whole situation that the military just relaxed its standards (once again) in a vain attempt to meet its recruitment goals. Like all stereotypes, it begins with a grain of truth.

According to NPR:

The text of the original speech, supplied by Kerry's staff: "It's great to be here with college students. I can't overstress the importance of a great education. Do you know where you end up if you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush."

Kerry actually said:

"Education: If you make the most of it -- you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well; if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

While I'm not naive enough to be blind to the idea that the "text of the original speech" was likely manufactured after the fact as a cover, I totally agree that Bush is "stuck in Iraq" and accordingly so are we.

All of that being said, this picture amuses me.

Obscure Cultural References

We took the TV out of the house in January of 2001. I'm a pretty cranky TV viewer. I get very absorbed and I get very testy when interrupted. As a single mom, I used to videotape the shows while I was watching them, so that, if the phone rang or my very young daughter needed me, I wouldn't freak out about what I was missing.

We did bring the TV back into the house for about two weeks after 9/11. I needed to be connected visually to the rest of the world, especially here where I felt so far removed from the "real world," as we call it.

But, we quickly tired of the intrusion and the TV went back into storage. When we first put the TV away, the reality TV phenomenon was in its infancy. We're talking "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" was on every night of the week but none other of the shows which were soon to come. We've missed it all, Survivor, The Bachelor and all the rest of their ilk. I've never seen an entire episode of any of them.

No TV in the house and yet I've never been opposed to TV shows or movies. West Wing, then Charmed, followed by Gilmore Girls, Desperate Housewives and Smallville on DVD all have their places on our shelves.

And now, I'm watching Studio 60, The Nine, Ugly Betty and Heroes on the internet. I wish Gilmore Girls was available too. I love the fast talking, bandying about of obscure cultural references. The storyline is almost secondary.

But what about the commercials? I so don't miss the commercials. When I travel and I'm in a hotel room being bombarded by commercials, I'm struck by how insidious they are; by how many products there are out there that I don't even know that I need until someone is paying someone else for the opportunity to tell me so.

I do have to admit, however, that I make a concerted effort every year to see the Super Bowl commercials, either by watching the SuperBowl itself or by viewing them online. Of course, with them, it's all about the performance, not the product.