Flesh Eating Face Bacteria

I have decided that I am five years old, and I'll tell you why.

I had what I thought was a pimple under my left nostril sometime around Monday night or Tuesday morning. And, being me, I couldn't leave it alone. So, I somehow got it infected. The sore got bigger and even with an over the counter antibacterial ointment, I couldn't seem to get better. On Saturday morning, I woke up to gross clear-yellow crustiness, so I figured it best to go see someone about it. I went to the Minute Clinic at CVS because I knew I'd be able to see them on a Saturday morning. The nurse practitioner there told me that I had impetigo.

Awesome. Impetigo. In case you don't know what that is, because I didn't until Saturday, it's a Staph infection that little children between 2 and 6 usually get. I suppose we all know that I am a child, but I didn't need this sort of confirmation of the fact. Someone could have just bought me a box of Legos and it would have proven the same point. (In other news, I bought myself Lego Batman for PS2 to make me feel better.)

I can't tell you how sick I am of not being well. I thought I had beaten the whole back pain thing, and now I have to deal with a super awesome infection to boot. Apparently it's highly contagious, which must be true because I spread it from the spot under my nose to my forehead before I got medications. Hooray!

Speaking of medications, I'm on a oral antibiotic three times a day for ten days, and I have an antibiotic ointment that I am also supposed to use three times a day. I'm hoping it all clears up really soon.

By the way, not only does this infection make me five years old, but it also makes me a rockstar because if you google image search impetigo (which is not recommended because it's way grosser than what I actually have on my face) you come back with a bunch of pictures of Amy Winehouse.

So... like... don't let your opinion of me match your opinion of Amy Winehouse. I'd rather you think of me as five years old and buy me a big box of Legos for Christmas.


End Blog.

Rest in Peace, Pap

George A Bareika
Born in Frackville, PA on Nov. 3, 1925
Departed on Nov. 7, 2008 and resided in Hondo, TX.

George A. Bareika formerly of Frackville, PA of Hondo, TX went to be with the Lord on Friday, November 7, 2008, at the age of 83 years.

George was born on November 3, 1925, in Frackville, PA, the son of Anthony & Sophia (Digruis) Bareika.

He was a member of St. Ann's Catholic Church, Frackville Area Senior Citizens, Knights of Columbus, Fr. James A. Hogan Council # 2580, all of Frackville and Schuylkill Assembly, Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus # 0923.

George was a veteran of WW II having served in the US Navy.

He is preceded in death by his parents; wife, Helene (Walukiewicz) Bareika; sisters, Helen Bareika, Florence Bareika, Stella Ryder; brothers, Albert Bareika, John Bareika.

George is survived by his daughters, Dolores Rickert and husband Bruce of Hondo, Elaine Blackwell and husband Raymond of Longview, Christine Barge and husband Ed of Fairborn, OH; granddaughter, Bethany Blackwell, Nicole Blackwell; sister, Anna Brennan of Frackville, PA; brother, Leonard Bareika of Ocala, FL.

Funeral services will be private. Interment will be in St. John's Cemetery #2, Hamburg, PA on Thursday at 10 a.m.

www.thomasmsullivanfuneralhome.com

I didn't know my grandfather as well as I should have and I suppose that will always be something that I regret, to a degree. His body is being shipped back to Pennsylvania to be buried with his wife, and though there will be no formal services, I feel the least I can do is try to get there for it. I'd really like to say goodbye, and be there for my mom, if nothing else. Flights are surprisingly a lot cheaper than I thought they would be. We'll see how it goes - I need to talk to my boss and reschedule some things at work tomorrow, if possible.


End Blog.

Gay is the New Black

I was happy with the election results for about twelve hours. Sure, Missouri finally went for McCain and was wrong about the new president for the second time in voting history, but that isn't the reason I'm bummed out over the state of affairs in the United States. Yes, the world reaction to Barack Obama's election was positive. It was fabulous to know that the world respects our country just a little more these days. And I was proud of this country until I got up this morning and started figuring out what happened in the elections beyond the president. And now I'm upset with Americans.

In particular, I was looking at the ballot initiatives in four states: California, Florida, Arizona, and Arkansas. Now, I know there isn't much to do about the 27 other states who had already voted on some sort of same-sex marriage ban or defining marriage between a man and woman, but when Proposition 8 came up in California this election, I was sure - certain - that it would be voted down.

That didn't happen. Proposition 8, which will eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California, has the support of 52 percent of voters. If it is to pass, it would override a state Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage not all that long ago. I mean, something like 20 thousand couples just got married! So what - now they're just going to take it away? Again?

They're still counting votes so let's hope that I'm wrong about this. Let's hope that Californian voters can restore my faith in all of America.

Similar things passed in Arizona and Florida, where voters decided that marriage is only a union between one man and one woman.

Not only that, but 57 percent of voters in Arkansas supported a measure to prohibit unmarried partners from adopting children or from serving as foster parents. The measure specifies that the prohibition applies to opposite-sex as well as same-sex couples. WHAT? Because there are SO MANY foster kids finding good homes that there just aren't enough to go around to second class couples who aren't married? WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE? Why would marriage make you a better parent?

Whatever happened to those old American ideals about equality for everyone and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

Many news outlets are reporting that we've broken racial barriers, I mean, we have a new African-American president for goodness sakes, so we must have overcome our racial bigotry. Right? What else is it going to take for people to realize that homosexuals deserve equality, too?

By the way, California also passed a ballot initiative for egg laying chickens so that they don't have to be in cramped cages. So, apparently the hierarchy of things goes something like this:

Men of any color
Women of any color
Egg Laying Chickens
Homosexuals
(oh my goodness, don't even mention bisexuals or transgenders!)

That looks a whole lot like equality to me.

Le sigh. You win some, you lose some.

Let's hope this new administration takes notice to the injustices still evident. It'd be nice to pass a federal amendment stating that you can't vote discrimination into a BILL of RIGHTS. Hopefully the Supreme Court will get involved and fix this... someday. Maybe when I'm 100 I'll be crying tears of joy over an election just like Jesse Jackson. There's still hope.


Eng Blog.

Election Day

Today is your last (or maybe only) chance to vote. Make sure you do it because if you complain about the President or any other leadership, and you didn't vote in the election that hired them, you will be killed in your sleep.

Seriously.

Vote.

If you want to bitch about it, you gotta get to the polls. Belinda agrees.

Or you can listen to a bunch of famous people saying the same thing. (Including my Halloween costume.)




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Halloween 2008

I found the perfect costume. It didn't require a lot of work, effort, or time to put together, and it was probably the most comfortable I've ever been in costume on Halloween. There were several other costumes Friday night that also looked very comfortable, but I was the only one not wearing pants. Because I was Tom Cruise in Risky Business... or anyone in a Guitar Hero commercial. And I was very pleased about the no pants thing. I'm pretty sure it's all I talked about. (I also bought men's underwear for this because you can't do this costume without them.)

Beth was turned into a zombie before the big dance and gnawed on her boyfriend Steve's arm all night. She was pretty fabulous posing for pictures.

She attacked people all night, until the most frightening costume of all arrived and kicked her butt. Her name was Sarah Palin, but I called her Tina all night.

We also had Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus show up together. I was waiting for Clark Kent and Superman to do the same, but they never did.

Battlestar Galactica also had some crew members in appearance: Starbuck (Dany) and Boomer (Brenda). These ladies actually put effort into their costumes, so kudos to them. They were pretty awesome. Brenda shot you if you tried to shake her hand. Even Steve got shot.

Alex had another comfy costume, although he had to be hot because I wasn't... and I didn't have on pants. In case you missed that part.

Comfy costume number three was actually one of my favorites. The only thing that would have made Waldo better was if Tom had made it his personal mission to get in every single picture.

Also, Zorro was there. I'm pretty sure Carolyn thought she was Dracula though because she kept posing with her cape all night like she was a vampire.

The Prom Queen of 1992 was also murdered, but came to the party anyway. I think Belinda, Beth, and Paul were the only ones with fake blood all over them. They were pretty cool.

Suppose the doctor can save Beth?

Carolyn's brother Bobby and Cherylann came as military and we had a fun trip to the army supply store to get their costumes. Sadly, I couldn't get them to buy a hand granade.

This is stewardess Linda. Her name tag said something about the Mile High Club because she's awesome like that.

Ashley and Daniel were both farmer types in overalls or flannel and fun hats. Not that Dan is in his here.

Candra came in the most ridiculous outfit of all - a designated driver. (Dan's hat is on his knee.)

And somehow I ended up with Belinda's prom queen crown. I think it looks good on Tom Cruise, don't you? Man, that popped collar is so awesome. As are my super white legs.

And Steve ended the night passed out in the candy pot.


It was a super great night and I had a lot of fun. I love the annual Anderson Halloween Bash.

Also, this took me forever to post because I got a new 16GB memory card for my digital camera and my computer couldn't read it even after I updated all my drivers and card readers. My camera had no problems with the card, but my computer's mind exploded because of it. I had to get a usb cable to hook my camera up to the computer to finally get the pictures off, and even that didn't go very smoothly. But I got them. Finally. And now I am able to share them with you.

I hope they were worth the wait.

Happy Halloween, everyone!


End Blog.

For Beth and Sean

Someone linked to my blog today because they typed "catbus pumpkin carving" into Google. I'm the 4th hit.

I thought you both should know.

Google Score = A+


End Blog.

Ballot Initiatives

Dear Kansas Citians,

If you haven't figured out what's on the ballot next Tuesday, I have a website for you. Here is a listing of all the ballot initiatives.

And this is a Kansas City Star article on the Light Rail.

Honestly, I'm torn on the light rail system. There is both bad and good in it, and the funny thing is, I should be all for it since it's basically my exact commute to work. You'd think that I was an underwriter for it or something. The trouble is, it would take 38 minutes to travel the whole route, and I can make it to work in 20 if I drive (and there is no traffic).

So, if I vote for it, maybe it'll get everyone off of the roads and there won't be traffic and I can still drive. I suppose the other main factor is that it would increase my property value. Although, I don't want my taxes to go up.

And speaking of taxes... this will push the sales tax in Missouri to something like 8%. That's a lot. I thought the sales tax was a lot when I moved here. I liked Pennsylvania and its 6%. Blerg.

Le sigh. At least all the other choices were relatively easy.

Make sure you check them out before being surprised at the polls on the 4th!


End Blog.

Pumpkin Carving Take Two

Beth had a pumpkin carving night of her own tonight so I ended up carving another one for someone else. Beth decided she was going to make "catbus" which only she and Daniel know about, along with little Japanese kids and the guy who created it. He's some secondary character in some anime cartoon, but she loves him, so it's adorable. Actually, she ended up making a super awesome pumpkin catbus.






Carolyn made another pirate pumpkin, because everyone should have one at their house. And I made a giant pumpkin eating pumpkins because Beth loved the one she made last year so much that I think it's going to become a running theme at her house. Therefore, I made a pumpkin eating TWO pumpkins and challenged Beth that next year she has to make a pumpkin eating THREE pumpkins... or a pumpkin eating a pumpkin eating a pumpkin. Because that would be the coolest, ever.






Beth made her little pumpkin vomit seeds last year and asked that we continue the trend. It's so much fun to make a pumpkin vomit and pretty cool to have this guy just gnawing on other pumpkins.

Funny that Beth's carving is supposed to bring joy and mine terror, although I still think Belinda has the creepiest pumpkin of all.

I think I'm all carved out for this year.


End Blog.

(Hmmm... it seems I somehow changed the resolution on my camera for no good reason. These pictures are huge!)

Missouri Rocks Pictorial

End Blog.

Influence

I know you're not going to believe me, but I'm so super cool that people want to be just like me. It's true. You see, Brenda ends her blogs much the same way that I end mine, and now Dany has started her own blog and has a two word sign off as well. Although hers is not quite as similar, her blog template is the same as mine. (Yes, I know there aren't that many to choose from. Also, as soon as I get around to it, I'll be putting a picture/graphic at the top of my blog. It's just taking me forever to do so.)

So, if Brenda and Dany are secretly twins, as they think, I might be their long lost older sister.

My sphere of influence is growing. Soon, I shall control the world! Mwahahaha!


End Blog.

Still Falling

Gas prices are $2.13.

I heard that the oil companies are going to cut production so that they can send prices back up, but right now they are $2.13. I think it's possible it might go under two dollars... Would anyone have imagined that this summer while it was over four dollars?

I love the world markets and their ability to crash so well.


End Blog.

Return of 30 Rock

True, season 3 of 30 Rock won't air on network television until October 30th, but you can see the first episode RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. The last section is totally the funniest, but sadly the storyline right now is very Baby Mama-esque. Although, the good news is that Tina Fey is writing it. And she gets a do-over, as the episode's title states. Fabulous.

(Thank You, Hulu)

Not the best episode of them all, but I'm super happy to have it back.

Also, Tina Fey was on the Thursday edition of SNL tonight, with Will Ferrell's George W Bush. Just another good reminder of how SNL lost all of its best talent. Especially since we know Amy Poehler's leaving, too.

Funny how the 30 Rock episodes says she's working all the time... (Maybe we can get some of Tina's new found fans from her Sarah Palin impressions to start watching her show!)


End Blog.

Slice and Dice

Here are the six pumpkins that we carved last night at Belinda's house.

Carolyn did the one on the left, Belinda the one on the right. It's clearly the creepiest of the six.

I did the one on the left, Belinda, again, the one on the right.

This is Carolyn's pirate skull, although the picture's not the greatest. It's sitting on my front porch. (The first four are at Belinda's house.)

Here is my pumpkin. I got a white one this year. They are different. They even smell different when you're cutting them up. But, since it was white, I decided to make a spider web. And I carved a spider on the back so that it'll cast an orange glowing spider on the wall behind my pumpkin, like it's coming back to its web.

I had to go back and fix the spider so that you could see its legs better, but I think it's gonna look neat. These pictures don't show it really well.

Also, I carved the pumpkin on its side because I don't follow general pumpkin carving rules. And I am awesome.

We also picked out all the seeds and separated them. Belinda is gonna toast them. I hope I get some.


End Blog.

Radio Regulations?

Dear Radio,

Why is it that in Christina Aguilera's song Keeps Gettin' Better, she can sing

"So baby yes, I know what I am
And no, I don’t give a damn
And you’ll be loving it,

Some days I’m a super bitch
Up to my old tricks
But it won’t last forever"

and the radio does not censor the word bitch, but when Katy Perry sings her song Hot N Cold, they silence it out? (In one case, I heard a little cuckoo birdie over it, which was hilarious.)

"You change your mind
Like a girl changes clothes
Yeah you, PMS
Like a b*tch
I would know"

This makes no sense to me. And Christina says it four times in her song, as opposed to Katy Perry's one. Do not use the excuse of time of day. I have heard these songs back to back during afternoon rush hour traffic sung exactly this way.

I don't think it's fair. What sort of standards practice do you have? The same rules should apply to everyone.

Love,
A concerned listener.


End Blog.

1 Month Hiatus... Stinks

It's been a month since the bee sting incident and another three weeks since the broken back thing, so I decided it was about time I got out there to mow my grass one last time for the season (I have high hopes that this is the last time). I thought, what better time than to do it now while I have sore muscles from thinking I could speedwalk yesterday?

It went well. I have a nicely mowed lawn for the first time in almost 2 months.

Remy went outside to play in the yard after I was done. She was sprinting around like a maniac, as she is known to do. I was messing with her with my broom since it was out from sweeping off the back concrete porch of grass clippings and she was play attacking it. When she got bored of that, she wandered around the yard. She always inspects it after I am done cutting it so I didn't think anything of it... until she started rubbing her shoulders into the ground.

It was actually really funny because I thought maybe a feral neighborhood cat had peed on that spot and she was masking the scent with her own. But when she came back to the back door, it turned out she was rolling in shit and now had both shoulders and her collar all gross and smelly.

Thankfully, I knew what she had just done, so she didn't get to go inside, and I gave her a cold bath with the hose right there. It was really cold. She was not happy. Maybe she learned her lesson.

At least she didn't come in the house covered in shit and spread it all over things.

She's never done that before. This better not be a new thing to do, either. Because it was icky. Do you hear that, Remy? Icky.

I suppose it's my penance for having a nicely mowed lawn. It's a lot easier to find shit in it now.


End Blog.

Speedwalking Is Not My Idea of a Vacation

So, it's finally come to pass. I quit the sports walk after completing 1.25 miles (5 laps) instead of the 2.25 (9 laps) I was supposed to complete. It was a combination of things - not wanting to totally screw my back again, being super out of shape and not being able to breathe properly, the extra poundage I carry around with me everyday now, and the fact that you have to walk... which I still think is ridiculous. It's so fast! Also, I had to slow down since my back was tweaking, and I knew that at the speed I was going, I wouldn't make it... by maybe half a lap or so. So, I accepted the fact that I couldn't do it without really hurting myself and decided that those two vacation days just weren't worth it to me, especially if my back health was at stake. My muscles are still too tight, which the chiropractor even commented on today.

I get, like, 14 vacation days and two personal days off a year. And when I'm there for 5 years, I'll get 18. Plus, I had a hard time using all my days this year. Probably because I didn't take a real vacation this year. So, with the days I took at Thanksgiving, I still had 7 left. Which means I have 7 days to take at the end of the year near Christmas, or I lose them.

Regardless, the whole point of this is to reward people who are in good shape. And because I'm not really in good shape, I think that's a bad idea. You see, they have this thing at work where you can take an hour to go workout in the middle of the day. Right in the middle of your work day. So, you're exercising instead of working and still getting paid. And by doing that, you're getting in better shape so you can complete this sports walk thing. So, you do the sports walk and get rewarded with more time off. So really, the biggest slackers at work - those who take off for an hour in the middle of the day - those are the ones being rewarded with vacation time.

Now, the hard working folks who stay at their desks, those poor slobs aren't in shape enough to win days off. Which is really a shame because they are the hard workers who deserve a reward. Those are the people there all day, everyday. It hardly seems fair.

I could be one of the people that takes off in the middle of the day to workout, but the free gym we have a membership to had a shooting in front of it. And since that happened, I haven't been back. I mean, what's more important, my health or my life?

I'm nothing if not really good at making up good excuses. Besides, I win at a whole lot of other things in life.


End Blog.

Annoying People

Today I saw a parked car with a blue ball cap inside with Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign logo on it. It was displayed proudly in the back window. Then, right next to it, there was another hat supporting the McCain/Palin ticket.

What is wrong with people?

If you supported Hillary, you can't switch sides. McCain doesn't stand for anything that Hillary was supporting! Hillary herself is going to vote for Barack Obama.

If you are just voting for the ticket with a woman on it, you shouldn't be allowed to vote. In fact, there should be a quiz on the ballot and if you can't answer basic policy questions that you're supporting, your vote shouldn't count.

In fact, screw the whole equality thing. You should have to take an IQ test before voting. Regardless of your views, Republican or Democrat, it makes no matter - you can come in and get your ballot and IQ test. Take them both, submit them together... but if you don't score high enough on the IQ test, your vote won't be counted. And you will never know.

Ah, if I ruled the world...


End Blog.

Everyday Things

You know, as I was walking down the hall at work today, I thought to myself, "If anyone else saw this, they would think it was unusual. Funny how I see it just about every day."

I was looking at a shopping cart full of long guns being pushed down the hall by a woman. (Things in the rifle/shotgun family... you know, the long kind... It's a technical term.)

The guns were coming to the lab to be logged into property, but for some reason it just struck me as odd today, though I've seen it a hundred times. It seems like something you should see The Joker doing in a Batman movie.

Anyway, thought I'd share... yay random thoughts.


End Blog.

Falling Domino's

Brenda and I got food from Domino's this weekend. I am banning them from my life now. This is even more severe than the Chipotle Ban, but that's because I don't like them as much.

I'll let Brenda explain why they are so dumb.


End Blog.

The Halloween Dilemma

My friend Beth's favorite holiday is Halloween. Every year she has a party with costumes. Every year I have no idea what to be. This year is no different. Please help me by giving suggestions as to a super great Halloween costume that doesn't require too much work, is not uncomfortable to be in all night, and doesn't require a dress or lots of makeup.

Hmmm... maybe that's why it's so hard for me to come up with something...

Meanwhile, Remy has picked out her Halloween costume. This was our conversation about it:

"Remy, I don't know what to be for Halloween."
"Aw, that sucks, Mom. I've already got my whole costume planned out."
"Really? What are you going to be?"
"I'm gonna put on a bunch of lipstick."
"That's not a costume, Remy. Lipstick isn't really enough."
"Sure it is, Mom. I'm going as a hockey mom." *

Who knew my dog was so political and super smart? She must take after me. Too bad she's not invited to the party.

Yeah... so... think of a costume for me!


End Blog.

*If you live under a rock, Remy is referencing Sarah Palin's vice presidential election speech where she told this joke: What's the difference between a pitbull and a hockey mom? Lipstick. Granted, Remy is not a pitbull, but it's still a funny costume.