Insomnimusing: Allons-y!

Well I found out in my phone interview that my primary competitor for the new job is an employee already working there. That's bad on two fronts: A) reduces my odds of getting the job, as she'll have the advantage of being "in-house"; and B) now if I WERE to get the job, I already know that I'll be walking into a hostile situation because one of my employees will be hating me because I've taken the job she wanted. Crap.

I made the first cut for the new job I'm seeking. I've got a phone interview in less than 13 hours. The publisher said the preliminary phone interviews are expected to narrow the field to three or four. I'll keep you posted on my progress, but time for bed now.

This week's Flashback Friday is Adam and the Ants with Goody Two Shoes! What a fun song! Bonus performance video below! 1982 'performance' of Goody Two Shoes by Adam Ant on the TV show 'Solid Gold'!!! Remember that show? :) (I say "performance" because it's one of the most hideous lip-syncs I've ever seen!)

Good news in New England as the Vermont Senate passes a bill to legalize marriage in the state. Votes are set in New Hampshire and Maine as well. Another good article on it here. As usual, the opponents of this measure are basing their arguments primarily on religion, so of course I had to register at Boston.com just so I could throw my two cents in on the matter as well. I reiterated what I said in this post about the religious argument against gay marriage, namely that CHURCH LAW DOES NOT APPLY. Church law is not relevant in the question of legalizing gay marriage because it is about STATE LAW, not doctrine. Religion is as irrelevant in this argument as it would be in any other LEGAL issue. Can you IMAGINE if we had to consider church law in every legal case?! What a nightmare that would be! And which religion would get to have the final say in the matter, anyway? We don't have a state religion. There's an amendment specifically forbidding that. Until such time as that am...

I had a decidedly unpleasant flashback today. I was watching a TV show online, and I suddenly caught notice of the background music. It was a song that I'd only heard in one context before. It was on the last CD that my former love made for me, just a short time before he left me. He was at that time finally fully admitting his love for me, which I'd waited so long for. It was a game for so long, his tap-dancing around telling me that he loved me. So much so that I would tell him I loved him, and he would reply, "tap, tap." We both knew what it meant. But he'd finally been able to break through that. He said that it was hard for him as it had never been before, because it meant so much more with me somehow. I heard that song today, and I suddenly came very near breaking down in tears. That loss I'd dealt with for so long - it's been 10 months now - it all came rushing back. I was able to suppress it. I wanted to choke it back. I've moved on. I have no ...

I got to watch one and a half footie matches today, so my day started well, despite the fact that I had to work. I got to watch all of Inter Milan's victory over Reggina (or should I say IBRA Milan?) and the first half of Liverpool's hearty trouncing of Aston Villa. I can't say I'm overjoyed about Liverpool's victory (I AM, after all, a hardcore Man United fan), but I certainly enjoyed watching Inter's win. They're my second-favorite team (behind my Red Devils, of course), and I'd love to see them win Serie A. The pressure's on my Man U boys now in the Premier League, with Liverpool edging closer and closer. I so want to see them finish off this season with the quintuple cup wins! What a great first full season of European football that would be for me! (I just started this obsession of mine last May, you know. But it's my drug, and I was instantly addicted.) I was playing on my Facebook tonight and came across a couple of fun little nuggets to s...

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My little Munch turned 8 on Friday. She's my youngest, and they're growing up quickly. I have mixed feelings about this. Part of me is looking forward to the day when they're grown, because I feel that I've been only 'mom' for so long, and I've had no life of my own. Of course, the natural mommy in me is also a bit sad to see them growing so quickly, and I'm sure I'll miss the days when they were small. They're all doing so well though, and I am proud of that. Gin has turned into quite the little reader. It seems she always has a book with her to read in the car. And when she's not doing her chores or homework, she's reading at home too. There are some advantages to having disconnected the cable several months ago, that's for sure. I think it's been a big contributor to her reading. Munch once again demonstrated her kind heart and generosity. She got some money for her birthday, so of course, she bought candy. She shared this wit...

This week's Flashback Friday is The Promise by Arcadia. Enjoy!

I finally laughed out loud today. It's been a few days. I did laugh yesterday, when I opted for the most excellent therapy of watching, "So I Married an Axe Murderer." That's always good for a laugh. But today, I laughed with pure delight, over something that was at the same time completely insubstantial and profoundly significant. There are times when silliness can be quite meaningful. I've had so many nights of sleeplessness and disturbing dreams, tonight I'm going to try early. I've lightened my heart just a little bit tonight. I hope it helps.

Yesterday just SUCKED! Starting with getting up early to watch the Man Utd game, fighting to find a decent stream (which I never did manage to do), only getting to watch tiny bits and pieces of it on a VERY CHOPPY stream, and then watching them LOSE 1-4 to LIVERPOOL! I almost would have rather seen them lose to Inter, although, then they would have been out of the Champions League race. After the match, I was in a crappy mood, and the kids decided to be NIGHTMARES all day long, so it didn't get any better. Today was a bit better though. Even though the kids were still in top nightmare form all morning, after we took Book back to his dad's house, the girls and I stopped for lunch. I couldn't really afford a lunch out, but Munch starting crying and made me feel guilty that I can't give them what I used to anymore. So I took them out anyway, and they were all smiles again. If her father weren't a complete loser and actually contributed to their support, I wouldn't ...

Welcome to Flashback Friday! Today's song is Wrapped Around Your Finger by The Police. Enjoy!

I had to fight with the streaming videos all afternoon, but in the end I got to see my Man United boys take down Inter Milan to move on the the top eight in the Champions League tournament. Of course, Inter's my second favorite club, so I would have liked to have seen more of them. It was just bad luck on their part that they drew Manchester United in the first round. Yesterday's results showed the English football is clearly dominating in Europe this year. And NO Italian teams are moving on? Something wrong with that. What's happening with Italian football? Bayern Munich will be moving on as well. Their 12-1 aggregate in the round of 16 was almost embarrassing, but who cares? I get to watch my favorite player, Luca Toni, some more. No complaints about that! Hope they don't draw Man Utd for the next round though. I'll be so conflicted. I'll be pulling for Man Utd to win and Luca to score. That's the best I can do. Sorry, van der Sar. I can't hope for a c...

I generally identify myself as a conservative. There. I said it, though it's almost an embarrassment to say these days. Then I saw this story ( Frum is absolutely right on this one. It's the reason that I consider myself a conservative but not a Republican. It's the reason I've come to identify myself (if I must) as more of a Libertarian. It's the reason that my vote no longer matters. This nation is firmly and disgustingly entrenched in a two-party system - and that leaves no party for me. Republicans have left their party in droves, but I don't believe that they've suddenly switched over because their core beliefs have changed. They've switched because the Republican party has become too extremist. Times change. Priorities change. They MUST change. Failure to recognize that is not only foolish, it's dangerous. My personal beliefs have never fully meshed with the Republican party platform, but they don't fit into the Democratic side either. Tha...

This week's Flashback Friday is Eurythmics' Who's That Girl? (Did anyone notice I missed last week?)

So, the ex saw my byline change in the newspaper, and his reaction was surprisingly mild. He called me up to talk to the girls and casually said, "I saw your name was changed on your article today." (It's a column....there IS a difference...but anyway...) I said, "Yeah." He said, "So when did that happen?" I said, "This week." (Making it perfectly clear that is was a direct result of that last-straw phone call from Saturday night.) He said, "So you're changing your name now?" I said brusquely, "Yes!" He said, "Okay, that's cool." Whatever.... I got word of an exciting job opportunity yesterday, and I decided today that I am going to pursue it. I'll talk to my boss tomorrow. I'll tell you all more later, once I've got the ball rolling. Stay tuned! My new batch of wine is in the finishing stages right now, but I couldn't resist giving it a try tonight a little early. It's good! I was goi...

I am reclaiming my identity. I informed the editors at my three papers today that they'll need to change my byline. I'm going back to my maiden name. I kept my married name because my daughters have it, but I see no further need to have that stamp of my ex-husband's ownership on me. I can't wait until he reads my column. He'll probably pick up a paper tomorrow, because one of his friends got arrested yesterday (his friends get arrested on a regular basis). This particular friend of his did a stint in prison for cocaine and now has apparently been arrested for rape. These are good people, aren't they? Anyway, the ex called me to ask if I knew anything about it (working at the paper, I often get the 'inside scoop' before it goes public). I didn't, but I mentioned that if he was arrested yesterday, it will be in the paper tomorrow. (We're no longer publishing on Tuesdays thanks to our glorious economy.) My column will be in the paper tomorrow. When ...

I'm crazy busy lately - can you tell? When was my last post? Geez! Go ahead and let go with the wet noodles - I deserve it. This one's overdue... My ex-husband called me Saturday night. This would be my seven-year-ago ex-husband, mind you - and unfortunately, the father of my two daughters. He periodically gets it into his head that he might have a chance in hell of getting me back, and apparently, Saturday was one of those times. It was all the same stuff - he made a mistake; he claims, yet again, that he didn't cheat after we were married (don't believe him for a second and know for a fact that he did after our first daughter was born); swears he's changed; blah, blah, BLAH! He doesn't get the fact that I don't care if he's changed. I don't care if he's declared a saint. He KILLED every good feeling I had for him while we were together. He keeps saying he wants a second chance. He had at least a half dozen second chances. While we were together...