The Official 40 Before 40 List

40 Things I Will Do Before I'm 40

I should have started this list long ago...many of the suggestions I've gotten are things I've already done.

Learn to Scuba Dive

See Mt. Rushmore

See a Space Shuttle Launch

Learn to knit

Fight a fire

Go to a Phillies/Flyers/Eagles game/NASCAR race

Be in the paper

Be on the news

Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer!

Become an organ donor

Join the NRA

Swim with sharks (literal and metaphorical)

1:  Hire a housekeeper

2:  Be a "Groomswoman"  (cheater alert...I will be on 11 Aug.)

3:  Start my Post-Grad work

4:  Re-read at least 3 classics

5:  Finally start learning a new language

6:  Volunteer...because you should ALWAYS give back

7:  Not get ANOTHER speeding ticket

8:  Fly from John Wayne Airport (SNA) to Reagan National Airport (DCA)

9:  Visit the Ronald Reagan Foundation and Library

10:  Lay a rose at Ronald Reagan's grave

11:  Lay a rose at John Wayne's grave

12:  Have a better health regimen

13:  Be a better friend

14:  Have a matching pill box and flask...definitely pink, preferably monogrammed

15:  Make Sitch Happen

16:  Have a pink, monogrammed knife (any and all weapons fall under this umbrella)

17:  REALLY clean out my shoe wardrobe (throwing out one pair and calling it day doesn't count)

18:  Purge my house

19:  Spend more time with old...scratch old...longtime friends

20:  Shop (a little) less for things I don't really need

21:  Accept that women of a certain age and station, with the initials CAT, will inevitably be called Kitty

22:  Have tungsten rings engraved at Tiffany's...a la Holly Golightly

23:  Give up trying to explain to people that, in the book "Breakfast at Tiffany's," they're prostitutes...people!!!  Yes, I'm going to let that go...

24:  Clean up my language

25:  Be less judgmental (never going to happen)

26:  Get my Cartier Love Bracelet

27:  Be grateful, every day

28:  Create the perfect pink cocktail

29:  Be a stronger woman

30:  Learn to refinish that gross table in the garage that DH has dragged everywhere since the Colorado School For Wayward Boys

31:  Start taking yoga classes

32:  Learn how to get my car to talk to me (No, I don't read instruction manuals...don't judge me)

33:  Have a better poker face

34:  Learn to play poker

35:  Stop stockpiling things (unless they're on sale or hard to come by)

36:  Finally learn how to use my Kindle Fire

37:  Stop taking things so personally

38:  Clean out my email 

39:  Start a 50 by 50 list

40:  Look much younger than 40!!!

And the list goes on:

1:  Visit the Vatican

2:  Go to the World Cup

3:  Learn to Fly a Plane

 

 

You Need to Read This

I originally posted this as a facebook status...but I feel like that's not enough.  People need to be aware...

"Time for a little reality check:
Statistically, there are 10 suicide attempts for every 1 suicide.
Our servicemen are committing suicide at the rate of nearly 1 per day.
That's about 70 servicemen attempting suicide per week.
How many is enough?
Meanwhile, in Post-Cold War news, Putin has provided free travel for Russians with Euro 2012 tickets.
Just something to think about..."

Last night, DH read an article that said our servicemen are killing themselves at a rate of nearly one a day.  I was mortified!  So today, I did a little research on the matter and I thought I'd share.  The estimates I have provided are on the conservative side and are the highest in history to include Vietnam.

Then I was minding my own business (read:  screaming at my TV) watching the Czech v Russia match of Euro 2012.  I thought surely I'd been mistaken about what I had just heard...Russia...the FORMER Super Power was providing free travel to all it's citizens with match tickets?!?  Sure enough...a little research and it's true.

Make of this what you will...all I know is, my beloved Ronald Reagan is not resting in peace today.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

As most of you know, regardless of my feelings about a particular administration, I will NEVER speak out, publicly, against them.  I have the utmost respect for our Nation, our Constitution, and the Office of the President of the United States of America.  That said, just like anyone else, I have my favourite.  And again, as most people know, my all time favourite, the President that every other President should strive to emulate...is RONALD REAGAN.
Today would have been his 101 birthday.  In, what I considered to be a shocking turn of events, on 28 July 2010, California officially dedicated 6 February as "Ronald Reagan Day"!  It is now my favourite holiday and I am of the opinion, and I know you will be utterly flabbergasted...I do, in fact, expect prezzies.  I know...someone could knock you over with the feather that I would expect prezzies on a holiday...but that's how I roll!  (Yes, I am aware that I can not pull off the phrase, "That's how I roll.")
Those of you who follow me on Twitter (@PrincssPrepPink) or are Facebook friends know that I spend the week sharing my favourite Ronnie quotes.  I also wear a T-shirt with a picture of my beloved Ronnie and the phrase, "Sometimes the world needs a cowboy."  There are so many things blog-worthy about him...but I have chosen to share how he touched my life, personally.
Let me preface this by saying, I shall NOT be mentioning my age at the time...but on 19 June 1986, Ronald Reagan become the first sitting POTUS to give a high school Commencement Address.
Whilst it wasn't my graduation, I was not in the auditorium to witness his speech first hand, only through the loud speakers set up outside. That said, I was lucky enough to be right up front as Marine Corps One land on the athletic fields and he made his remarks outside the school preceding the graduation ceremony.  To this day, I swear we made eye contact...it felt as if he was speaking to me, personally.  I'm sure most people who have been in his presence at some point felt the same way.  He truly was the Great Communicator.  And though most people FEEL that way...I KNOW we made eye contact...I KNOW he was speaking to me.  The voices in my head agree. 
That was the day I fell in love.  Ronald Reagan is one of my heros...and I assure you it is a very short list!!!  The world was a better place for having him in it...and his passing was part of the end of an era in which America had a breed of cowboy that defined us.  Thank you, President Reagan.  Thank you, John Wayne.  Long live Clint Eastwood...

XOXO
~CAT

My Cupcake cost $1.75

On some level I've always known that there must be at least a few Republicans at UC Berkeley, the Holy Grail of liberal academia (no judgment, merely a statement of fact).  I assumed perhaps a few legacies...maybe a handful of students trying to gather intel on the enemy...sleepers, if you will.  But enough...and out at that...for a CLUB?  Never, in a million years, would I have guessed!!!  As it happens, however, a club there is...and active, too!  When the Berkeley College Republicans caught wind that students were setting up a phone bank on campus to flood Governor Brown with calls to sign the, already passed, SB 185, they knew they needed to hold a counter-"demonstration," in so much as Republicans are capable of holding a "demonstration," rally, protest, etc...

California SB 185 is essentially an end-run around Prop 209 which prohibits "affirmative action."
It would “authorize the University of California and the California State University to consider race, gender, ethnicity, and national origin, along with other relevant factors, in undergraduate and graduate admissions."  What it doesn't do, is provide for any guidelines as to how this information is to be used or require the student's socioeconomic background, or any other factors, be considered as well.  CA SB185 eliminates accountability in the school's admissions process and offers preferential treatment based solely on race, gender, or anything else the school or, frankly, an individual with an agenda on the admission committee, chooses creating an incredible potential for abuse! 


Realizing this, though how the California Legislature missed it I'll never know, the Berkeley College Republicans organized an "Increase Diversity Bake Sale."  Anything that in any way gives one race treatment different than that of another, is, by definition, racist.  The BCR decided to illustrate blatant racism in CA SB 185 with CUPCAKES!  Ok, they had cookies and other baked goods as well, but...I'm all about the cupcake.  The baked goods were sold to "white men for $2, Asian men for $1.50, Latino men for $1, black men for 75 cents and Native American men for 25 cents. All women received 25 cents off those prices."  Wow, SB185 supporters, when you look at it that way, it does appear a little racist, doesn't it though?  For the record, as self-reported by UC Berkeley, White students:  31.7%  Asian:  45.7%  Latino:  11.5%  Black:  3.4%  Native American:  .08%  By the way, I thought they were "Indigenous Persons to North America" now...no?  I can't keep up.

How is this supposed to work?  I wish I could be friends with you, Skip, but you'll have to wait.  It would appear I need to add an Asian guy and a Latina first.


So here they are, middle of Berkeley, phone bank encouraging racism being "protested" by cupcakes.  Not to be outdone, the SB185 supporters stage a counter-counter-"demonstration."  Naturally, as it was in their wheelhouse, they started out far more traditionally...marching and signs and the like...lots of Birkenstocks and patchouli.  Clearly the geniuses failed to take into account the fact that all of their marching and shouting and protesting would make it a bit difficult to hear over yonder at the bank.  Soon enough the phone bank got a reprieve from the noise.  Gone are the days of our parents having to step over the unwashed masses staging a sit-in...at noon, whether as part of their protest or as a sign of the times...and laziness...they held nap time!!!  Are you joking?!?  A group, all dressed in black, comprised, statistically of more than 75% white and Asian students, lying down in the middle of campus, during classes, as a form of social protest?  Right.  Nothing about that seems in any way inappropriate or lazy.  Really, really lazy.  Make a little effort.  Though I suppose asking the tie-dye set to make a little effort is shooting for the moon considering their relationship with personal hygiene.


What the SB185 supporters never saw coming?  Let's not make a list...I'm referring strictly to the loud background noise making phone calls difficult thing.  Ok, and the lying down and taking a midday nap being a ludicrous form of "protest" too.  But there was someone who wasn't quite done yet.  The one man, THE MAN, who, above all others, needed to weigh in on the issue, stepped right up to buy his $.75 cupcake!  The UC Board member, the man behind Prop 209...that which prohibits "affirmative action," the founder and chairman of the American Civil Rights Institute...Ward Connerly himself.  (LOVE him!  He's no Oliver North or Colin Powell, and he's certainly not the Duke, the Holy Father JPII, or Ronnie, but...LOVE!)  Take the hint, SB185 supporters, the very successful and influential, and in case no one noticed Black, Ward Connerly is buying a $.75 cupcake because SB185 is racist...just sayin'... 


I still can't quite decide my favourite part.  The cupcakes?  The counter-demonstration?  The counter-counter-demonstration?  The fact that Ward Connerly showed up and the dear, misguided, Berkeley types are still missing the fact that they're supporting racism?  Or...no...I think this is it...the fact that a good number of the students supporting SB185 are from any state but California, therefore, Mummy and Daddy get no tuition breaks as they write each check to what they consider to be a cringe-worthy and laughable educational institution...which sonny-boy is only going because he felt the need to "rebel," against his oppressive, dreadful, and otherwise horrific, Jake Ryan-esque, life...so he opted for UC Berkeley...from where, upon graduation, he hit the real world.  Sonny boy lasts about 5 minutes before running home and makes VP of Nepotism at Daddy Warbucks, Inc. by 27 with a mid-6 figure income and a maid that is...kind of, sort of..."undocumented," shall we say, whose son he wants her to home-school so that he won't be eligible for a free education, via the Dream Act, at Sonny boy's Alma Mater. 


And in true Disney fashion, I leave you with this,
"It's the circle of life..."


XOXO
~CAT

Naughty List, Vol. I

I feel like I've been a little bit...what's the word...NICE(?)...lately.  I mean, I am always kind and benevolent to my minions, it's not that to which I refer.  It's that my acid tongue...or fingertips, if you will...feel a bit dry.  I don't know how I let this happen.  I haven't written a manifesto or jumped up on a high horse or a soapbox or even shared a good rant with you in a while...and I apologize...I have been remiss.  You expect...and deserve...better from me.  
I've spent a little quite time with some sugar free Red Bull and an exercise bike and picked out just a few teeny, tiny, little things that make me want to, among other things, refer you to my Anger Management post.

Following is a list of those with whom I need to have a "Come to Jesus" talk:

Pool Guy

Landscapers

Random 20yr old Illegal Alien/UCLA Student

Jeff Lurie

Governor Brown & the California Legislature

Depakote

Listen up, pool guy...just because you're the only game in town, doesn't give you the right to take my money and continue to NOT BOTHER TO SHOW UP!  Owner of pool guy, blaming your employees for being slackers just doesn't cut it.  I do not find your ZZ Top meets gnomes beard amusing.  We will not become pals by your attempts to bond over Rheumatoid Arthritis...or your use of vodka to self medicate.  Do I REALLY NEED to know that?!?!?  I'm thinking no.  Do I WANT to know that?  I do not.  I mean, I really, really, couldn't care less...except that I care enough to decidedly not want to know anything about you...because, you know...ewwww!!!

To the wonderful landscaper who spoke enough broken English to understand me when I ran to him like a raving lunatic because my adorable, sweet, precious, little, girly, fluffy, white, princess, half American Eskimo/Half Coton du Tulear, Lilac Water brought me a not entirely dead, ginormo rat and ran behind the couch with it, for actually being in the backyard doing your job and for being kind enough to come in to help, what you were sure was an hysterical, exaggerating, housewife, until you saw the size of the rat...which, I am quite certain could neither cook nor make dresses (damn you, Disney)...and you spoke the words forever etched in my memory with a chuckle and your eyes as wide as saucers, "Little dog, BIG RAT," you have my unwavering, eternal gratitude.  HOWEVER, to the OWNER and all his other employees I would like to raise a nice big flute of YOU SUCK!  I have a front yard AND a back yard!  I have Italian Cyprus trees that you were supposed to fix the last time it snowed in this God-forsaken desert!  As an aside, "the last time it snowed in this desert," is NOT a euphemism a la "since grandmom had her period," it is quite literal.  It ACTUALLY snowed here a few years ago.  The damage on the trees continues to worsen because of the wind.  I want desperately to add new landscaping, but as I can't trust you to weed and mow on a weekly basis, I am still holding off.  When I'm done with Pool Guy, I AM COMING FOR YOU!!!!

On the news a few days ago, in reference to the Dream Act, a random, 20yr old, illegal alien/UCLA student was being interviewed.  In my (never to be confused with) humble opinion, he was an incredibly poor representative of both Illegal Aliens AND UCLA students.  This young man felt, and we will deal with my feelings on this when we cover the California State Legislature and Governor Brown, that the Dream Act was only fair because he shouldn't be held responsible for his parents' actions.  WHAT?!?  Ok...let's say I'm willing to accept your premise, Random...that a child shouldn't be accountable for the actions of the parents...then perhaps what we need is to define some terms...or one term...before we address the whole of your statement.  Child- "The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority."  So let me, if I may, and I may, because, as I often point out, this is my blog, rephrase our friend Random's sentence using this definition...the Dream Act is only fair because a minor...younger than the age of majority (18 in the state of California)...shouldn't be held responsible for his parents' actions.  Again, assuming I am feeling generous and willing to accept Random's premise...would that not hold true only through his 18th birthday?  And if, in fact, that's the case, then logically speaking, several things follow.  Random committed no crime prior to his 18th birthday.  (None relevant to this discussion, anyway...let's not judge.)  HOWEVER, upon turning 18 he made a conscious decision to break the law of MY country, God's country, the BEST country in the world (despite any evidence to the contrary), the United States of America!!!  (Cue the fireworks, confetti, and Kate Smith!)  If, on his 18th birthday, he had walked into INS and began the process of applying for citizenship, then I would support Random's statement, Random's application to college, his application for financial aid, and Random's income and property taxes as well!!!  Call me conservative, but Ronald Reagan called and said that our friend Random needs to take the good with bad or get the hell out of Dodge!   

WOW!  Someone certainly has a lot to say!  I'll give you all a break and save Jeff Lurie, Depakote, and the Dream Act for tomorrow.  See what happens when I'm NICE for too long?  I won't let that happen again...someone could get hurt!!!

XOXO

~CAT

What's the Plural of Jesus?

In case you haven't been paying attention...well...WHY NOT?!?

I thought I'd take a little timeout and give you a few updates on people and situations we've met along the way...

Where to begin?  James Joyce?  Still dead.  Charlie Sheen?  Alive at the moment, as far as I know, but no one cares.  Bryan Stow remains hospitalized...there was an arrest...of the wrong man...and now they have the  two that beat him in custody.  The Dodgers are still broke.  Awesome donut shop?  Still a B rating...still DELICIOUS!!! Armageddon?  Not here yet.  Good, I still have time to pick out shoes!  

Crazy Creeper Lady has gone right over the edge...make of this what you will, but when I got back to PT from Daytona, she came walking into the gym with a truly frightening version of a pixie!!!  I couldn't believe she had actually done it!  She said she wanted to...but come on, really?  Suffice to say she did NOT go to A to have it cut!  Tres bizarre, no?  My sweet LAM is still as super fab.  IBS inspires me more than ever!  

The "plume" of chromium tainted water in Hinkley continues to grow...and for some reason I can not fathom, people continue to live there.  Even if there were no plume...living on that patch of dirt on purpose is beyond me!  There is no Hinkley...no town...and it's POISONED!!!  Seriously?  Eat many apples, Snow White???  Unincorporated Land?  I still think someone made that up to mess with me...sort of like pumping gas.  I don't know what it is with people from states other than NJ (that's right...proud of where I'm from...ring any in state tuition bells?) with your towns that aren't towns and pumping your own gas...not part of my reality.  Disney World doesn't have unincorporated land between England and Canada in Epcot Center, do they??  NO!  They do not.  Do you know why?  Because there is no such thing!!!  If it was REAL, clearly Disney would have it...would Disney make things up???  I think NOT!  I like my reality just the way it is, thank you.  What?  What's that you said?  Not realistic?  I beg to differ...I needed gas...DH is away...as some of you know, I took a poll on Facebook and Twitter, asking if, considering it's me and I have heard that rumor about me being entitled AND that may be something of a sociopath AND that I'm from NJ, where it is illegal to pump your own gas.  The votes were in and I texted this gentleman I call "Beige Bear" that Friday morning to have him come get me gas.  Yes, I absolutely know that he can not take his phone into the building in which he works and it would therefore be impossible for him to get said text until the end of his work day...but I wanted that timestamp.  By the time he got to his car and phone that Friday, he already had somewhere else he had to be.  Big shock that by that time he had plans and couldn't come do it that day...but I was able to point out that, strictly speaking, I had asked before he had other plans.  He was here the next morning with a Sugar Free Red Bull peace offering.  How fab is Beige Bear?  

Oh dear!  I just realized that I'd never introduced you to our Mayor(s)!  Can it be???  Ohhh...I'll have to give you fill in!  Not tonight tho...already rambling on and have a topic planned for tomorrow...I think.  I found airline bottles of Absolut still in my purse.  


I still adore Ronnie and my first "celeb" crush remains Oliver North.  Don't judge me...I have a handbag full of vodka and you don't!

Mr. Rogers?  Still dead.  Still sad...moment of silence for Fred...

And whilst we're on that moment of silence-y topic...if you're reading this at 11...you know what to do!  OMG!  I'm assuming that if you're reading this you must know...but perhaps this is one of those "teachable moments"...so from the list of men throughout history that I adore...I would like to introduce you all to Charlie Mopps:

Lyrics below are from the Clancy Brothers recording:

A long time ago, way back in history
When all there was to drink was nothing but cups of tea
Along came a man by the name of Charlie Mops
And he invented a wonderful drink and he made it out of hops

(Chorus)

oh he ought to be an admiral, a sultan, or a king

And to his praises we shall always sing

Look what he has done for us, he's filled us up with cheer

lord bless Charlie Mops, The man who invented beer

The Jury's Bar, the Clancy's Pub, the Hole in the Wall as well
One thing you can be sure of, it's Charlie's beer they sell
So come on all me lucky lads at eleven O'clock ye stop
For five short seconds, remember Charlie Mops
One, two, three, four, five

Chorus

A bushel of malt, A barrel of hops, you stir it around with a stick,
The kind of lubrication to make your engine tick.
Forty pints of wallop a day will keep away the quacks.
It's only eight pence ha'penny and one and six in tax
One, two, three, four, five

Chorus

The lord bless Charlie Mops!

As updates go, I think I've covered everything I need to for the need...ohhhh...one last thing...
 
I still think it's REALLY funny to ask a priest what the plural of Jesus is...
"There is no plural of Jesus, God gave us His ONLY son..."
"Yes, Father, but what if you have more than one?  Then what's the plural?"
"You can't have more than one...He is the ONLY son of the Father..."
"Yes Father, but just say, hypothetically, if you DID have more than one..."
This or some iteration of this can go on for as long as you're having fun/not going to hell.  Then...it's time for the rope-a-dope...gets them every time!!!  
"OK, but really Father, 'cause here's the thing, I have more than one, you know, because I have several Nativity scenes and I always put the (air quote here)"Babies" in a drawer because they weren't born yet...so you see, I really need to know the plural form of Jesus."  
The key here is not to pause in between...it's all about the flow...
"Because personally, Father, I think it's Jesi...to be grammatically correct...and seriously?  Those grammar rules all come from Latin roots and all and Latin is a total Bible language, so really it only makes sense....but Husband/Sibling/Parent/Friend SWEARS it's Jesuses...which is not only wrong grammatically, but it sounds absurd, and I really don't think the Almighty would want that for His son..."

And on that note...

XOXO
~CAT 

Monday Manifesto: A Day Late and (California's) a Dollar Short

Welcome to my new feature...tho it's a day late...

Monday Manifesto

To be honest, I only came up with idea today...after getting screaming/yelling/throw things mad at the news this morning.  By way of an introduction, let me explain my premise...I, absolutely, positively, without question, end up in what I like to call, "The Land of Rant," at LEAST once a week...though once may be a bit of an understatement...I have frequent flyer miles to Soapbox like you wouldn't believe!  Soooo...from now on...well, more ON than NOW as today is not so much a Monday...I will be bitching, sounding off, blustering, haranguing, and/or on a tirade about whatever it is in the world that has irritated me...or you...oh yes, I'll happily take requests...the most, each week.  

Without further ado, I give you, the inaugural: 

Monday Manifesto:

A Day Late and (California's) a Dollar Short

California passed the first part of the Dream Act yesterday.  In a nutshell, this first part means that illegal immigrants attending public colleges are now eligible to receive private scholarships and financial aid.  The second part is still to be voted on in Sacramento and would add public sources of financial aid to the monies that can be received by illegal immigrants to offset the cost of an education at a state school in California.  These are the same scholarships for which legal, American students are competing...the same financial aid for which they are applying.  How can this be?  How can California, in essence, take scholarships and financial aid away from the citizens for whom it was intended???  Oh yes...and did I mention...PAY IN STATE TUITION?!?!?

Now, before anyone says word one about what I said just a few lines ago...competing...as a rule, let the best student win.  Let me assure you, I agree completely!  Winners and losers, no trophy for second place...and to quote a wise man, "If you're not first, you're last!"  That's right, I went there!  My blog, I can do that, remember?  BUT...you have to follow the rules.  Rules are good...rules are our friends...you should never go under the bus for any reason!  (Choose your favourite commercial tag line about rules from your youth and insert here)

There are rules one must follow when:

Being a foreign citizen interested in attending a US college

Working in the US

Living in the US

Becoming a US citizen

Shall I go on or are we sort of getting a feel for where this is going?  Ohhhh...that's right...one more thing to cover before we move on ...The New Colossus...I won't quote, you all know it...Yes...all our families immigrated to the United States at one point or another...the "Melting Pot" such as it is (damn, now I want fondue)...unless of course we choose to trace our lineage to, somewhere along the way 1/16th "Indigenous Persons to Northern America"...but we are not even going THERE right now!  I am proud to be an American, as all of you well know, and I celebrate that everyday as the wife of a USAF Lt Col.  I am also proud to have been born and raised in South Jersey...just ask any Cowboys fan that's ever had the misfortune of sitting next to me at Texas Stadium...or anyone who's ever met me!  My parents are proud of their hometowns...my grandparents...greatgrandparents...their hometowns in whatever country they may be...as am I, because it is ALL a part of me.  But every one of them immigrated here legally...just as when I move from state to state...and BELIEVE ME...giving up my NJ driver's license broke my heart...but GETTING a California one nearly killed me...I follow the LAW...even though it is a huge pain and not without expense...and become a resident of the state in which I live.  

So as we go on...MAKE NO MISTAKE...I am not holding anyone to a standard than that to which I hold my family or myself.

Sweet Lord!  Are we to the point yet???

YES!!!  That was a lot of rant to get to the point...but I wanted to make sure we were clear...and I felt like ranting.  So, I did.  Five days a week I wake up early and watch (listen to) Good Day LA while I'm showering and getting ready for the gym.  Often this spring, there were on location reports from various public colleges in California of what I can only describe as "sit-ins" by groups I will avoid calling "dirty hippies" because surely they have a more PC name...and I'm guessing it isn't "Prius driving, patchouli reeking, tree huggers" isn't it either...so I shall call them students...because their tuition was being raised.  Clearly, I'm not a fan of civil disobedience or plug in cars, HOWEVER...one morning I noticed one of the students was WEARING PEARLS!!!  It was at this point that I looked further into what they were...Ronnie forgive me...protesting.  After a LONG talk with my pretty pink computer and the promise of online shopping following my research, I looked it up.  One by one a majority...and that was this spring, it is likely more now...I did NOT check every public college before writing this blog post...were increasing their tuition an average of about 10%.  Now...I can't lie, part of me thought...cost of doing business...part thought...that's what you get for even considering going to school off the East Coast...unless it's the Colorado School for Wayward Boys, you're Catholic, or you're a huge a college football fan!  If you don't understand these exceptions, they do not apply to you.  But...for arguement's sake...let's say I'm willing to consider that there is some perfectly valid reason for choosing a west coast school and there is this tuition hike.  I have been accused, on occasion, of not knowing the value of a dollar.  Here's what I know...even a valet doesn't want A dollar and no one carries cash...sorry Mother.  I don't have kids...I'm not looking forward towards tuition...I have no clue what it should cost!  I assume it's entitled people bitching because really...you draw on on what you know, right? 

Here's what I learned...for the 2010-2011 year:

Out of state tuition and fees for UCLA:  $33660

In state for UCLA:  $10781

Colorado School for Wayward Boys:  $0

Harvard:  $35051

Clemson out of state:  $26900

Rutgers out of state:  $24433

Princeton:  $36640

Notre Dame:  $39919

Interesting spread, no?  Not necessarily related to where each school is ranked by education or popularity...still...now, an illegal immigrant can pay IN STATE tuition for UCLA.  Let's say that I wanted to go to UCLA to get my SJD.  The tuition difference is $15102...

Well, well, well...I just get rolling and look at that...DH reaches out from Texas and "suggests" I might want to continue this tomorrow...

I do hate when he's right...but this is getting long...

And I feel bad...you're not used to me getting...and I use this term VERY loosely..."political"...as you all know where I stand and that I will not speak out against any of our elected officials.  That said...I hope I haven't bored you...and I hope you'll be back tomorrow...where I can tell you everything about this tuition/education craziness...and I hope to have your feedback!!!

XOXO

~CAT

ME.

Well, this is awkward...

As a rule, I am, in fact, the center of the Universe...yes, Mother, the World does revolve around me.  I have always known this and am very comfortable admitting it.  They say admitting the problem is half the battle...but, here's the thing, I don't see it as problem...and who are THEY, anyway, and who says THEY get to judge?  Not me, and as the center of the Universe, my word is rule...HA!  As such, I generally love when things are all about me, as they usually are...and if they're not for too long and I get bored, I make them about me...no, I swear, I've done that once or twice...but it's always in context.  Staring at a blank screen trying to figure out what I could possibly say about myself here that you'd care to know is positively overwhelming!!!

I mean, do you care about the time that I was little and my Parents were having a party and my Father told me that if I ate one more cracker he would smack hand...so I looked from him to the crackers and back, walked over, got a cracker, walked back to Daddy, ate the cracker, and held out my hand to be smacked?  My Parents seem to think everyone wants to hear that story!  Or that Dad taught me to say "Help, I'm being kidnapped," whenever he pointed at me, which he quite liked to do when Mother had me in a shopping cart and Daddy was hiding at the end of the aisle?  I'll never understand why those two crazy kids couldn't make it work!  Ha! 

As I just used the word "whenever," I'd like to take a moment to remind the world that WHEN and WHENEVER are NOT the same word and DO NOT mean the same thing.  As much as it makes me want to pour acid into my own ears so that I will never have to hear "whenever" misused again when young people say it, I can at least point to a failure somewhere along the way.  HOWEVER, when I hear adults say it...adults, who, until 5 years ago, were perfectly capable of differentiating between WHEN and WHENEVER, have been, what?  Suddenly struck dumb in the face of a Bad Grammar Trend?  Really?  How is this happening?!?  It makes me want to make Cold War Reagan look like Carter! 

Which brings us neatly to...I LOVE Ronnie!  Adore!  If we were a cannibalistic culture, I would have wanted to eat a piece of him after he died to make him a part of me!!!  Sick and twisted?  Maybe, kind of...but not if we lived in a culture where that was standard practice.  I'm an outside the box girl, kids!!!  You've been warned!  OMG!  I just sounded like Charlie Sheen when I said, "You've been warned," and I really want to delete it, but I promised myself I wouldn't edit random stuff like that out.  Damn!  Sorry, I'm not a warlock, nor am I devolving on a pathetic, albeit entertaining, spiral.  Where was I?  Yes!  Cannibalism, right!  You scoff and think it sounds creepy...but check this out...and if you ever get bored...feel free to do this yourselves, but I want credit!  I must preface this by saying I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic school, mean to be a practicing Catholic tho I often fall short, collect Rosaries..I follow the Vatican on Twitter...just so you understand that I have a healthy Faith and respect for my Church.  Are you a little scared of where this might be going yet?  I don't blame you.  For those who aren't Catholic, one of the many things that sets Catholicism apart from other religions is that we believe that Communion, that is, eating the wafer and drinking the wine...that's right, people, Catholics get Cocktail Hour at Mass...we believe not as in the other religions that do some sort of Communion, that it Represents the Body and Blood of Our Saviour, but that it BECOMES the Body and Blood of Our Saviour.  Do you see where I'm going with this?  Try asking a priest if that means the Church encourages cannibalism!!!  And if you REALLY want to take it up a notch, ask him on Ash Wednesday, because you take Communion, but it's a day of fast and abstinence (one meal, no meat)...Just make sure you're asking a priest with a good sense of humour!!  Also, it doesn't hurt to have a confessional nearby...HA!

Wow!  I am making really good time covering the topics one ought not discuss, wouldn't you say?  And to think, I thought I had nothing to say...well, in an About Me list, sort of way.  But who does, really?  I mean, can any of us really be defined by a bunch of bullet points or one of those stupid emails that people forward and want you to add your answers and send back to them and forward to everyone...which, for those not paying attention or under 30, are really just a high-tech knock-off of that note that Samantha drops on the floor by accident in 16 Candles...but I digress...again...are we sensing a theme?  What was my plan when I said I would do a Getting to Know Me Post?  I have no idea.  Would you really know me better if you knew my favourite colour was pink?
That my eyes are green?
That I've been married 12 and half years to my best friend?
That I shout obscenities such as have NO BUSINESS coming out of the mouth of a lady at sporting events...televised or live...at home or in public?
That I don't work out everyday for vanity's sake, but rather because I am sick with a nasty combo of auto-immune diseases?

That I can't really drive a stick?

But I'm more than that...we all are.  I was watching TV the other night with Husband and they were doing one of those, "I'm so deep," broody, thinky, Morrisey, wrap things up voice overs at the end and I just couldn't stand one more!  I may have gone off just the tiniest little bit.  It definitely involved all the words I just used, and I believe I went on to apply them to a broader range and include all people that are "deep."  You know the type.  They're always thinking about something...Yes, I know, we all are, but with DEEP people it's always something earth shattering and they always want to emote...and it's all "Girlfriend in a Coma" and "Meat is Murder" all day, all the time and you just want to feed them a proverbial cheeseburger!  Not everything, not every emotion, requires deep thought!  Somehow the conversation ended up with us being grateful I'm not deep?  Wait...ummm...does that make me shallow?  After 15 minutes or so of ridiculous laughter to include some really messed up Shakespeare quotations...and one translation, "the Wife of Bath is a Dirty Whore," I guess you had to be there...needless to say, I never did get a ruling and may or may not be about as deep as a Tweedlebug's tear, but I'm me...so there's that.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Oh, God...did I just say that?  That was so thinky, wasn't it?  Sorry.  I don't know where that came from!  Ha!  Not to worry, I'll stick to my earlier apologized for, James Joyce-esque, stream-of-consciousness, nonsense and hope that you'll enjoy it...or at least come along for the ride.


XOXO
~CAT