F.Y.I ~ I shouldn't have ~

While running errands and getting myself completely lost in an area of town I thought I knew - I stopped and had lunch at a place I didn't know. Unfortunately, there was part of what I ate that didn't taste quite right and at the time I thought - I shouldn't. Now, I know I definitely shouldn't have --

There will be no post tonight (2.24) but I will post tomorrow (2.25).

Blogging Is Better Then ~

A number of years ago (in a galaxy far away) a dessert called "better than sex" became very, very popular. Of course, that lead to so many things being called better then sex.

Yesterday I ran across this delightful post by Engtech and I laughed and chuckled for quite some time (even at the party last night I was still chuckling about it).

5 Reasons Why Blogging Is Better Than Sex (With Me)
(Please don't call the SPCA)

1. Reason number one

• Blogging: I can connect anonymously with thousands of strangers a day.
• Sex: I can connect anonymously with thousands of strangers a day *IF* I move to New York City.
  

2. Reason number two

• Blogging: Technorati will show all the people who are linked to me and it doesn’t make me look like a big slut.
• Sex: Six degrees of Paris Hilton. (as one of his comments said: that's enough to make me celibate)

3 Reason number three

• Blogging: I can get the cat involved without the horribly judging eyes of friends and strangers.
• Sex: Fur is hard to clean

4. Reason number four

• Blogging: Increased visibility means more page views and a larger audience.
• Sex: Increased visibility means someone is going to call the cops

5. Reason number five

• Blogging: Googlebot will crawl your pages quite often and share them with the world.
• Sex: Googlebot never calls you back.

A Love With So Much More ~ Early Morning Thoughts

This will be a somewhat different kind of post this morning.

I don't even remember when I first discovered Yen and Jesse over at Two Lucky People. I just know that from the beginning it was one of those moments that felt as if I had known them a long time. Jesse, as I've mentioned, suffers from a very aggressive form of melenoma - very agressive. Along the way, Yen has posted with honesty, love and a sense of humor.

Recently, Jesse underwent a clinical trial for treatment...a very toxic treatment and Jesse did the best with it he could. There were reasons they stopped the treatment when they did... and for several (to me nail-biting) days he was somewhat "out-of-it." Yen was with him and then one night - Jesse basically came back out of the wherever he had been. Jesse was to be taken home. Yen picked up the story today.

After more than a week of rest at home, Jesse has recovered almost completely from the IL-2 therapy.

He is his usual self, loving and already focused on getting stronger for the next round. Most of his activities are limited to a few minutes of walking outside every day. For the most part, we spend our hours taking naps, reading, and watching TV on the couch.

I’ve hesitated to write because there is really not much to tell. Every day is an exercise in patient living. I attend to his needs: blanket, pillow, water, a peck on the cheek, a hug.

Despite our best efforts, he’s still losing too much weight, hovering at a slender 140lbs for his 6′1in-tall frame. Our diet has whittled down to occasional meals, shared Chinese take-out, ramen, sushi sometimes. He has developed a liking for fresh watermelon, which I try to procure diligently.

But there has been a change ...one that any relationship undergoing stress and strain is bound to encounter. What makes the difference is how those involved handle the changes. Yen continued today:

I miss the days of our courtship, when we walked without consequence, without time. Even in the early months of Jesse’s diagnosis, our hope was still athletic, vigorous.
Times are different now.

When hope to rekindle memories starts to wane, when your lover is changing, deteriorating, it becomes a challenge to keep loving. Every day is a lesson in patient loving. Every day you relearn how to love again.

Regardless of your orientation, Yen's love even with questions stands as a strong memorial to the power of love - of what is deep within that creates a bond or bonds that can withstand almost anything that comes against it. It is not created from outside sources - the universe doesn't have a "shop" where one can buy it. This kind of bond comes from within the individual - from deep within the heart. And while Yen is fortunate in one respect that Jesse "is his usual self, loving and already focused on getting stronger for the next round," I have no doubt that even if he hadn't come back as that - Yen would have stood with him.

I do not care if someone is gay-straight, black-white, moon-man or whatever, this kind of love is so deep and powerful, I maintain that great portions of the universe bow in honor of its strength.

But it's the last part of his posting that meant so much to me ... let me repeat it: "it becomes a challenge to keep loving. Every day is a lesson in patient loving. Every day you relearn how to love again. " This is the portion that meant so much to me. After a failed marriage I read and heard that relationships are composed of three parts: 1) infatuation,
2) romance and then
3) love. The three parts are very separate from each other - and we may go back and forth amidst them - even moment by moment. But the one that is truly the "glue" is love. Which is a conscious choice. The first two can and often do rely totally on feelings - but the third - love, is a choice. And that's why Yen (and Jesse) stand out so much to me.

So, in my own small way, I stand with Yen and Jesse - and keep them in my thoughts, prayers or healing energy (or whatever you are calling it) so that I can feel a part of their life. And maybe, just maybe someday - a love such as theirs will come my way...but - even if it doesn't I will have had the privilege of knowing Two Lucky People (the wonderful name of their blog) and the wonder of their love toward each other .

I count myself lucky as well!!

Have I Lost My Mind~ Late Night Rambling (ranting?)

Based on the news I looked at over the last several days, one would have the impression that the only things that truly mattered in the world were: 1) Anna Nicole Smith and/or 2) Britney Spears. I was absolutely stunned to realized that while some major events and a scary event were occurring...people were concerned about why Britney cut her hair (Lice? (ewwww) Her soon to be ex-husband's threat to use it for drug analysis? Because she wanted to make a statement?) and whether and why she's been in and out of rehabs - usually lasting only 24 hours.

In the meantime - seeming unnoticed by most news organizations:

Remember when Republicans ran Congress and everybody was so corrupt and then the midterms happened and the Democrats swept in with a bold plan to have ethics and all that? Well, they were just kidding.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has a great vacation planned for May: He’s going to a fancy golf & beach resort in Puerto Rico where people get “sensually awakened.” And he’s taking a planeload of lobbyists … enough to fill 137 luxury hotel suites. Doesn’t that sound nice?

But unlike Tom DeLay’s unethical golf trip to Scotland with Jack Abramoff, Steny’s seaside lobbyist orgy is completely okay because the lobbyists aren’t paying Hoyer himself — they’re paying Hoyer’s PAC
--www.wonkette.com

My local stations started their newcasts with extensive coverage of the battle over Anna Nicole Smith's body and baby. There seems to be great concern over the fact that her body seems to be deteriorating sooner than expected. Personally, I always thought that's what bodies did - but based on the news reports, I could be wrong.

However, in the meantime - no one except PBS seems to have noticed:

Innocent Americans' data is being swept up and stored thanks to the use of the "full pipe" data gathering technique. Second, that the government's Total Information Awareness Program - which was "killed" but never defunded - was being used to build domestic spying facilities around the country.

I caught PBS's NOW program last Friday by chance, and I'm glad I did. They have resources not available to this lowly blogger. What PBS discovered will chill your bones. Yes, data on innocent Americans is being intercepted and stored. Additionally, more whistleblowers have come forward to establish the existence of another secret spy room on AT&T's network, built post 9-11.

The key findings in PBS's report:

--The government is intercepting most emails sent domestically.

--AT&T is collecting most emails and sharing them with the government, specifically the NSA (this is backed up by Klein's documents).

--The NSA spy room at AT&T's San Francisco facility is only accessible to the NSA and AT&T employees cleared by the NSA.

--The NSA's interest seems to be in MAE WEST, *the* major hub of American and international internet traffic on the West Coast.

--The device installed in San Francisco is capable of intercepting 10 GIGBYTES of data per second.
In layman's terms, that means it could go through all the information in all the books in the Library of Congress in 15 minutes.
--www.crooksandliars.com

At least, after digging through a lot of news blogs/sites, I know I haven't lost my mind - I just, perhaps, have a different outlook as to what is important. Or what I feel I should be concerned about.

A Welcome Bit Of News - Yen, Jesse ~

On February 11th and 12th I talked about Yen and Jesse (the person with the aggressive melanoma) from their blog Two Lucky People.
I'll talk more about this later tonight (in Early Morning Thoughts), but I wanted to share a few welcome comments that Yen posted on their blog. Be sure to read the entire post - and don't hesitate to leave a comment for them. I have no doubt they would/will be appreciated...

After more than a week of rest at home, Jesse has recovered almost completely from the IL-2 therapy.

He is his usual self, loving and already focused on getting stronger for the next round.

There is a "however" in the post:

Despite our best efforts, he’s still losing too much weight, hovering at a slender 140lbs for his 6′1in-tall frame. Our diet has whittled down to occasional meals, shared Chinese take-out, ramen, sushi sometimes. He has developed a liking for fresh watermelon, which I try to procure diligently.

That he's home and recovering is encouraging news - and my thoughts/prayers continue to be with them...

more thoughts tonight...