Warning: Free Thoughts ahead

Found this on FA's Link of the Day and had to share it here.  Completely awesome.http://gonintendo.com/?p=40710

More to come later :)

Finally, someone making a fuss over the treatment they got in the armed forces regarding religion.  From today's KSU Collegian.

Soldier sues Army, says they didn't protect religious rights

By: Scott Girard

A Fort Riley soldier has sued the U.S. Army, claiming his right to religious freedom was infringed during his service in Iraq last year.

Jeremy Hall, 23, claims that he was abused and harassed because he is an atheist.

According to the Associated Press, Hall filed a federal lawsuit in Kansas City, Kan., on Sept. 18, 2007. Later in the year, the Army sent him to Fort Riley because they could not protect him from future attacks.


Link to full article here:  http://media.www.kstatecollegian.com/media/storage/paper1022/news/2008/05/08/LocalNews/Soldier.Sues.Army.Says.They.Didnt.Protect.Religious.Rights-3367491.shtml?reffeature=htmlemailedition


Edit 10:15 am

Ha!  This is totally awesome!  Only partially posted, but I agree with it completely.  I love watching people walk into the doors at Cardwell--makes my work-night so much more bearable :)

Swinging door: Students should be able to open doors hassle-free

By: Jesica Hensley

Do you know what my favorite building on campus is? Cardwell Hall. Why? Because almost every day I get to watch some unassuming student walk smack into a closed door because a: the hinges were on the other side of the door, and/or b: the door swung in the other direction. Honestly, watching people try to figure out how the doors operate is the only thing that makes going to math class bearable.

Full Text here:
http://media.www.kstatecollegian.com/media/storage/paper1022/news/2008/05/08/Opinion/Swinging.Door.Students.Should.Be.Able.To.Open.Doors.HassleFree-3367404.shtml?reffeature=htmlemailedition

For those who ask, yes, I'm doing better. I took Wednesday off class and work and just rested and took some time for me. My shoulders stopped being tense and hurting, which helped my head stop hurting, and my sinus pressure headache eased up later in the evening (around 9 or 10).

I'll have to upload the pictures of the bizzare item I found in the trashcan at work this past Thursday. It took me two days to figure the mystery out :P

Oh, and tell the story of the ratsnake I had to help get off of the Ornithology van :P

From your cheerful bat,



Silver

P.S.--Alex and I have Mario Kart Wii now--I'm no good at racing games, but he seems to be enjoying it XD

Ugh...Stress...

Headache, stuffy nose, work suckage, and inability to know what the hell is going on around me...

Those of you following me lately will know exactly what I'm talking about...

From your stressed out bat,



Silver

Dammit today has been blown to hell.  Woke up at a truly ungodly hour for people working second shift to go the dentist.  Now it's been a little while since I've gone to one, but I've tried to keep up with the brushing and flossing bit.  Still had that nasty tartar shit though.  So they had to debride my teeth.  For those uninitiated, it is where the hygenist takes a ultrasonic-creating scraper and blasts the stuff off your teeth.  Good GOD IT'S TORTURE!  First off, the thing is pointed, much like the usual metal scraper they use in a normal teeth check/cleaning, so when they stick this against your tooth or dig it against your gums it already is causing you pain.  Then they turn on the noise--it's in your head and in your teeth and it just makes you want to die...

So she's poking me with this thing and blasting me with this noise that pierces my eardrums from the inside-out, all the while telling me I need to sit still.  Bullshit...stop digging that thing into my gums and it'd help.  Stupid thing actually reduced me to tears on my front lower teeth it was so bad--I had to actually get her to stop for a few seconds just so I could catch my breath and calm down enough to stop crying.

Lord it was awful.  And now I have to go back in in another 2 or 3 weeks to finish it off and get the regular checkup.

This week is going to shit really fast...I'm already tired from lack of sleep lately, my wonderful hormones are going nuts, which isn't helping at all.  I had this crap at the dentist, which delayed me and made me miss my quiz in Biology (the only way they count attendance and class points--thanks for making me lose percentages, jerks), and left me with sore, highly unhappy gums.

And I still have the joy and wonder of work to look forward to... </sarcasm>

Right now the world needs to screw off and leave me alone--and maybe stop heaping health problems on top of me at th same time...that'd be nice...

From your grumpy, sore bat,



Silver

Okay, so there's a REALLY good furry artist that lives here in town.  He goes to AC every year to sell his awesome badges and such (well worth the money).  Well the guy he's rooming with here in town apparently ran out of room in his car for him.  So anyone in the KC, Topeka type areas who is going and can give a ride to a skunk and his artsing, PLEASE let me know--it wouldn't be the same going to my first AC without Baka :(

So here's the newest chapter in the Stone House saga.  My supervisor, as well as her boss both went out there today to meet with the upper management types about the messes they've been leaving behind for us to clean up.  Stuff that they should have been taking care of, really--like pee dried onto the toilet seats and food mushed into the linoleum and allowed to dry there, and just leaving the rooms a horrid mess.

Monday is my half-day at work--which slightly comes into play here.  I work only 4 hours that night--leaving precious little time to do hardly anything out at Stone House save a whirlwind cleaning where I just do the bare-bones basics and leave the rest for later.

Now Monday the Early Childhood Interest group had a meeting, so I was upstairs working.  Now Monday, apparently, the kids had eaten green beans with lunch--which some of them ended up mushed into the floor.  Okay--quick, what would you do?  Leave it behind for the janitor to clean up almost 8 hours later?  Or take two darn seconds and wipe it up then?

They decided to leave it.  Now for the uninitiated, a dried green bean, or pea for that matter, takes about 5 or so minutes to pick off the floor.  Now I find these things at least 10 spots in each room, around 3 or 4 nights a week.  Not to mention paint, soap smears, etc.  One room's bathrooms alone take me over 30 minutes, without even the floor work!

Now since this had been going on for so long everyone (including me) is fed up completely with it.  So I've started taking pictures with my digital camera of the messes left behind.  Now some is okay--these are little kids under the age of 5 after all, so dirt naturally latches onto them...but the messes I'M getting are 10 times as bad...Then LuAnne (one of the 3 admins there) got on my case about the pictures--when I explained why I was doing that, she asked to see them.  When I turned the camera around to show them, she said "no, I would like to look through the camera myself".

Yea, you're damn right I refused that--I swear they think I was born yesterday!

Today, when my uppers went to talk to their uppers, they try to pin all this stuff on me!  They claimed I wasn't filling the paper towel dispensers (which my boss new was B.S. because I take 3 boxes out there every week and there's MAYBE 3 packs left by the end of the week), I wasn't mopping the floor, and I was slacking off/hiding at work, because once they saw me sitting down while at work.

Now, the floors--their justification there is that when one of them went to clean something up with a wet paper towel (somewhere in the middle of the day I might add), they got some dirt on the towel too.  Yea--I know--Duh...

As for the "slacking off", my boss asked what time of night that was, and they said, "Oh, about 7:15 or so"--which is smack dab in the middle of my LUNCH BREAK!  Lunch break provides me with 30 minutes to do whatever the hell I damn well please :P  So typically I sit in the cooler, quiet college classroom in the basement and read, or do a crossword, or talk to my husband on the phone...

Another claim they made is that one night, they saw the state truck outside the building, and went to find me for something (never did say what, which is red flag 1), and looked for like "an hour" but never found me.  When asked when THIS occurred, they couldn't give an answer (big red flag anyone?)

So yea, I'm giggling about this now--they're SO squirming because they know us "stupid janitors who just push brooms and clean up pee" are actually in the right--and they're not holding up their end of the deal...We'll see how this pans out :P

From your giggling bat,



Silver

Mr. Heston, your death is a true loss to the world of acting, and the world at large.  May your soul find bliss, and you receive your every eternal reward.

When I found out he died last night, I was so sad, despite knowing he was 84 and had been suffering from Alzheimers for many years.  He as a wonderful actor, and several of my favorite movies he stars in.  I hope his family knows how much the world is going to miss him.  He was an amazing man.  He never made tabloids for wild antics, nor did he ever let his sucess go to his head.  In fact, once, when he came to Wichita to speak on behalf of the NRA, I almost got to meet him.  Since I missed him, my mother and I left a note with his pilots.  I figured he'd just discard it.

But he wrote back!  He thought in the note my name was Peggy...but he wrote me back!  And sent a picture!  What a testament to his nature that he would take the time to write back like that.

He was a campaigner for the First Amendment, and campaigned for Civil Rights--highly outspoken and determined.  I believe he even served in the air force for part of his younger life.

The world is a little darker today with his loss....My deepest prayers and condolences to his family and loved ones.

I want a Zen Zap... :(

So I was going to type this huge rant/bitch-fest about how much work sucks lately...But I don't have the energy anymore.  My help at Stone House is slow, but decent thankfully...when you can get him off his butt and working instead of taking early breaks and smoke breaks...

I just want to get out of this place.  And I think I finally figured out why I've been so restless lately.  For those of you with Tarot decks, you can follow along.

I did a celtic cross layout, asking the cards why I felt so restless and dissatisfied with my life as of late--Here is the cards it gave me:
1)  King of Wands
2) Knight of Wands
3) Kings of Swords
4) The High Priestess
5) Knight of Swords
6) Eight of Cups
7) Six of Wands
8) Page of Swords
9) Wheel of Fortune [inverted]
10) Three of Coins (Pentacles)

I spent a good deal of time on this one, as there were several linked cards confirming what previous ones had said.  For example:

The King of Wands, Knight of Wands, Knight of Swords, inverted Wheel of Fortune, and Three of Coins (Pentacles) all reference challenges, adventure, patience, building progress, new ideas, etc. etc. etc.

The Eight of Cups mentions cutting ties to the past, as does the King of Swords (obliquely, but it's there).

The reading in it's entirety confirms what I've been feeling.  That I've outgrown my current situation--I'm wanting to move on, to expand.  If things keep going the way they do, maybe Alex and I will go to Montana after all...Knock on wood and such :P

From your Tarot-reading bat,



Silver

http://www.kwch.com/global/story.asp?s=8003374

This link will lead you to the most bizzare story ever--just so you can see that I didn't just make this up.  Here's the text below so you can marvel in the just...honest...WEIRDNESS of the world at times...
Sheriff: Woman Sat on Boyfriend's Toilet for 2 Years

Posted: March 12, 2008 08:30 AM

Updated: March 12, 2008 01:32 PM

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A 35-year-old woman who apparently spent two years in her boyfriend's bathroom in Ness City had become stuck to the toilet seat.

Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said today that she was physically stuck to the toilet seat by her body, adding that it appeared her body fat had grown attached to the seat.

Whipple said authorities plan to present their report to the county attorney later today to see if any charges should be filed against her 36-year-old boyfriend.

Whipple said the boyfriend called police on February 27th to report that "there was something wrong with his girlfriend," never explaining why it took him two years to call.

He said the boyfriend had brought the woman food and water during the two years and told investigators he asked her daily to come out of the bathroom, but she would not.

She refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced that she needed to be checked out. She was taken to a hospital in Wichita, where she has refused to cooperate with medical providers or investigators.

A neighbor tells the AP that he had known the woman since she was a child but said he had not seen her for at least six years. He said she had a tough childhood after her mother died at a young age and apparently was usually kept inside the house as she grew up

So the drama at work continues...wheee....

I had a test today in Biology.  Thank goodness some academic-loving god up there helped my work schedule and my class stuff line up so utterly perfect.  Every Monday is my half-shift day, which means I go in at 7 and get off at 11 pm.  Every other Monday is Biology tests at 5:30--so it couldn't have worked out any better.

Anyway, I go about my day as per my usual--I enjoyed it more because Spike had a C.S.I marathon all day (Thankfully no "Fur and Loathing in Las Vegas" showings) :D  Made for an awesome afternoon of utter, contented laziness.  Go to my test (got a 70, but I'm contesting a couple questions that I think I got right), then go to work.  About halfway between getting home from the test and going to work, I have the unbidden thought "I hope everyone showed up at work", followed by a small, back-of-the-mind assuredness that they didn't.

Turns out the old gut was right.

Tina, the girl that works Stone House (my old building) was a no-call, no-show.  With an already spotty record, that's a really bad mark on her...In fact, the Assistant Director and the "Super-2" (my boss' boss) want to talk to her before she returns to working at KSU.  Heavy stuff.  So I get hustled out to the Daycare to get started--which was TRASHED OUT.  No big surprise there, it's been going to shit steadily since Lou (a lady who used to be in charge out there) retired.

Add in the fact Tina has been letting things slide and not doing things she's supposed to do, and you have one royally messy building on your paws.

I even was asked to stay an extra half-hour.  No biggie.  It means I get a whole hour for lunch tomorrow :P  I can't complain too much about that.

Anyway...Depending on what happens next, I might get moved--temporarily--back out to Stone House until they find yet another person to work out there.  It's seriously getting to the point no one wants to go out there because of all the B.S. between users and janitors.  I really want to sit them all down and show them the differences between Janitors and Maids.  Anyone wanna make a showing in a French Maid getup? :P

Just Kidding--Management would have my head for that.  Probably my butt, too.

Anyway, I'm gonna con a footrub out of Hubby and hit the sack--that building just kills ya!

From your hard-working bat,



Silver

Wheeee!  I'm a happy bat.  I got onto Yahoo last night only to find out Baka (A good furry friend of mine and an AMAZING artist) was back in town!  I tell you, I don't think I've ever hustled my fuzzy butt over to that apartment building so fast.  I had a great time hanging out with him--and even put a long-lasting issue behind me finally.

Aslan, sorry I've been ignoring you lately.  Baka made a good point when he told me that everything that happened to make me mad was old news, it was far in the past, and should be put behind me and out of my mind.  Turns out it was exactly what I needed to do.

But off that note--now that I have all my friends back in good stead (but not back in town, sadly) I think I'll get much more of that needed randomness in my days.

From your chaos-loving bat,



Silver

The skies above unclear again...

Okay, enough of that nonsense :P

Just making a quick entry as I wait on my boss to return with the truck so me, her, and another co-worker can go clear snow on campus.  Also, yes I'm alive--just busy with work, school, and clawcast forums :P

From  your salt-spreading bat,



Silver

Stupid immune system not fighting off these constant colds...

I'm sick yet again--hopefully I'm almost over it though...Hurrah for Tylenol Cold and Sinus :)

Oh My God!  I officially love the Fitness channel.  I was looking for something to do tonight and ran across a show called "Shimmy" on FitTV and checked it out.  Who'd have known they have Belly Dancing now?

I'm so excited!  I've always wanted to try belly dancing--and here's a way I can without even having to travel anywhere--and thanks to the wonderful technology called DVRs, I can record it if I'm busy or out elsewhere and catch up whenever I have an extra 30 minutes or so. 

This is both simple and advanced stuff...I caught on pretty quick to most of it.  Thankfully they show you how to step through it before speeding it up.  A few things went past me--thankfully the narrator (I guess that's what you call it...) said yes, it is advanced, so it'll take some practice, so at least I didn't feel like a total moron like most of those other workout shows.

So yay!  Between that and the namaste yoga show I discovered as well, maybe I can skinny down a little bit before AC--that'd be a fun reward :D

Wish me luck!

From your hip-poppin' bat,



Silver

Well I've survived for 22 years now...I'm startin to feel it.

Let's see how the coming year pans out...

Oh, and thanks to Satoshi Kaxeno for being a sweetheart and calling me at midnight to wish me happy birthday :)

So I was watching the CNN New Year countdown just a second ago and got a good laugh despite the combination of illness and having to endure Kathy Griffin as a co-host.  At least Anderson Cooper was worthwhile--mostly because he kept needling her on camera.

But they showed what looked like a web-cam feed of Varneys in their usual "Big Apple/Little Apple" bit they do every year--and Cooper and Griffin had no clue what it was.  I just had to laugh, seeing as this is one of our only times Kansas is mentioned on national news for something other than right-wing stupidity or horrendous weather. XD

Happy New Year everyone!  I won't be around much tomorrow--if my illness bout follows my husband's at all, I'll be feeling pretty shitty tomorrow, and the day after that (cold or not) I have to go to my first Grandparent-in-Law's funeral.  Sucks....

From your addle-brained Midwest bat,



Silver

You know, I've noticed something today...again, as it were.  Consumers and retailers are totally out of touch with each other.  All those damn commercials with Billy Mays  and his irritating voice, or some other equally irritating voice-over?  Have you ever watched those things when they're showing how horribly hard it is to do basic jobs (ones we've done all our lives) without whatever piece of Taiwan-made dollar piece of crap they're selling for 20 bucks or more?

Seriously, I saw two just today that really torqued me off.  One was for this knife sharpener that Billy Mays was selling.  Okay, fine, knife sharpeners are a good thing to have, but there was a couple things wrong with that commercial.  One thing is that, it showed a person cutting a tomato and having a horrible time of it, mushing it all up and stuff.  The person was just pushing straight down on the knife!  Not a single cutting motion or back-forward stroke to start anything.  HELLO!  Duh, of COURSE it's gonna mush up if you try to cut it like that, you dumbfuck.  The second was, later, after they demonstrated how great this sharpener worked, the showed another tomato-cutting example.  The guy was using a CAMP HATCHET to slice this thing!  Who the hell does that?  Seriously!

The second one was for this photo cutter thingie that does all these cuts and borders and shit.  Their whole selling point was that if you use this, you'll never have to be a retarded lump of degenerate brain matter who can't cut a straight line or see what they're cutting before it's a finished cut.  This commercial, I swear on all that is holy, was nearly 5 friggin minutes long!  I was starting to get pissed because I was watching one of my favorite TV shows and thought someone at the station had preempted it for a infomercial.

And another thing--what the hell is with Hollywood and TV these days?  So many people are fed up with Hollywood's idea of "attractive stories".  Hell, from what I hear the Eragon story was murdered and mutilated just because they thought it would bring in more audience.  Hell, most of the movies the critics totally bash turn out to be the blockbusters, and  yet they're always surprised at this.  Same with the way they hype up the most horrible movies and are shocked when everyone hates it.

Bah--the world is populated with idiots, and it seems lately they're the only ones that are breeding...

Me?  Cynical?  Why never :P

Not to mention on top of all of this societal crap, I heard my husband's grandpa died early this morning of pneumonia.  I'm just a little pissed off about things like that right now--he was a wonderful man that didn't deserve such a lingering, unpleasant death as he got...Fucking aging and shit...

From your societally cynical bat,



Silver