State Dinner and stodgy CIA types

Let me get this straight, two yahoo's gate-crashed the first State dinner of the Obama presidency and I didn't get an invitation....I'm of Indian descent!!! Geez! That is so wrong! But I'm not even concerned so much with those two idiots as I was by others on the legit guest list: Katie Couric, David Geffen, Vernon Jordan, Gayle King, Robin Roberts, Colin Powell, Blair Underwood.....ummmm and your connection to India would be???? Geez, couldn't these people have been invited to the White House for something else, I don't know, the Lighting of the Christmas tree, the Easter Day festivities. How about letting some of us common folk, you know the people who technically own that house and everything in it, experience some of the glammour of a State Dinner? Heck, I wouldn't have even eaten anything and I damn well would have dressed better than half the people there!

On another note, I am glad that the Secret Service has pie on their face. I'm not a fan of the Secret Service, since it has come out that most of the guys who work in that agency are Republicans (ex-military). I worry that they are not really working very hard to keep President Obama safe, since they don't like him (and this gate crashing incident is a perfect example).

I work with a guy (in my part-time retail job) who is ex-CIA, devoutly Republican, similar to what I imagine these Secret Service people are like. These people have absolutely NO sense of humor and they do everything by the book - like a drone or robot. It creeps me out. I guess maybe I was never raised that way, but I like to think creatively, not this guy.

For example if Corporate sends a diagram of how they want a display to look, he does it exactly as they show, but say the store doesn't have enough of some product that should be on the display, this guy will have that place just sit empty, whereas I would try to fill in with another product that is sitting in the backroom, gathering dust. In my opinion Corporate would rather have sales instead of a perfect display but no sales since a product, any product, is sitting in the back. This guy just examplfies how soliders or secret service agents can do bad things - he takes an order, doesn't ask questions, doesn't think, i.e. allows gate crashers in. I don't agree with that - its in those instances when we have situations like Abu Grahib and my My Lai Massacre. I hope the next state dinner is a better success....and I get an invitation!

A sign??

Just arriving back from a short but delightful visit to my family and friends in Northern Virginia.

I had to post as soon as I got home because of something that really startled me. My return journey to Phoenix had me traveling on Continental, from Washington DC to Newark and than connecting to a flight from Newark to Phoenix. Upon landing at Newark, I headed straight to my gate, C127. Imagine my surprise when at gate C126 the flight was heading to.......Copenhagen!!!

I was floored! I believe very strongly from signs from Allah (God) to me. Most everything, I believe, happens for a reason. And if this was not a sign, I would be shocked. But what was the sign about? I sat there and really tried to think but nothing has come to mind. I even at one point prayed to God to help me out, as I'm not super intelligent at deciphering these types of things (smile). Was it something about my past life and my future life, C126 being before C127?

I did know one thing, I was VERY close to just trying to sneak onto that Copenhagen flight. I don't know what I would have done upon landing in Copenhagen, but the yearning to go back and live there is alive and well in me (don't mind bringing the hubby, if he would be agreeable).

What was it all about? I don't know, but I reached Phoenix a lot more at peace than I thought I would be.......

CASTLE

Is anybody else watching Castle, the new Nathan Fillion starring mystery show on ABC at 10pm/9pm central?

I am so in love with Nathan, thus naturally I had to watch. I have to say the show is hilarious!!! Its one of the few shows my husband and I watch together and really enjoy!!! He endures Gossip Girl the hour before and truly I mean endure, he is not a fan, lol. But he is game for Castle. We get so into it, that we even begin to try to solve the mystery before the characters on the tv show do.

You know I never thought I would enjoy another show with my beloved Mr. Fillion after Firefly, but Castle is getting up there! It is a nice mix of humor, romance and of course mystery! The whole premise, in case you were wondering, is that Nathan Fillion plays this best-selling author, Richard Castle, who decides to shadow an NYPD cop, Kate Beckett, for one of his new books. He is a single dad, with this wacky mom and down-to-earth daughter. Kate Beckett is all business but her fellow cops are with a sense of humor, so they play off each other. Its a bit like the old tv show, Moonlighting. I'm glad ABC has picked Castle up!

Night Owl

This weekend I was in Los Angeles, with the in-laws. It was fine, though mostly for my husband than for me. One thing I did notice is how much I adore the night (the sister-in-law has a great view of the valley).

I am a self-confessed night owl. If you know me at all, you will not find this surprising in the least. I do wonder why this is?? Is there something in our genetic make-up that predisposes us to staying up late or getting up early?? I can stay awake till 2 or 3am in the morning with ease. I love that time of night after 11pm; when it seems the world has gone to sleep and you are awake. Its so tranquil, so calm. Its my favorite time of the day. Is that unusual? Well, I don't care!

How can I describe what I feel in those hours? I suppose what I enjoy most is that it is my time, everyone else is asleep. I can do what I want, as a child I could escape through books and today through a combination of books and the Internet. Even in Denmark, night was my favorite time, I would sometimes open the window and just lean out and stare at the canal down the street, relishing in the fact that it was midnight and I was living in beautiful Copenhagen.

Heck part of the appeal for me working at the amphitheater in my Virginia hometown every summer is that we always get out after 11:30pm and I love driving through Manassas at night, its one of my favorite trips to make (from the amphitheater to mom and dad's house). Everything seems so nice, in place, with no problems.

Night for me is when the clear waters come upon my soul and give me time to rest from the worries of the world, to relish in being alive.

In fact if I was Emily from the play, Our Town and given one opportunity to visit something from my past, it would be that night in Delhi, when my uncles and my aunts, my mum and my grandparents (both Nana and Nani), were alive, sitting one level below me (in my grandparents house) out on the veranda, laughing and talking. It was late at night. All of us kids were on the upstairs rooms/veranda, supposedly sleeping (but of course as a night owl, I wasn't). My cousins and sister were fast asleep and I could hear the laughter and conversation belowstairs clearly. Down the street, someone was playing music from a Bollywood film, one of my favorites. The sky was so clear, a few stars. I felt so contented.

I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day. ~Vincent Van Gogh


ps - and yes, I am NOT a morning person, a later post to come on how I hate the morning!

Virginia Elections

Turns out November 3, 2009, not a good day for Democrats in the Commonwealth of Virginia. We lost and we lost big.

I am ok with the losses (still so happy about the BIG win from last November, a certain President, name starts with an "O") but what I can't deal with is all the Republican gloating! I am just befuddled, because they are calling it a referendum on President Obama, which it so isn't! I liked Creigh Deeds but he didn't run a great campaign (vs. his opponent) and historically, Virginian's don't like the Governor of the state to be of the same party as the President of the USA. Finally Virginians tend to only have one party in the Governor's house for a maximum of 8 years. Virginia just had eight years of Democrats, before that eight years of Republicans, it was time for a change.

It is frustrating because I do feel like we Dem's dropped the ball in this race, admittedly we relaxed on our haunches after the all out dog eat dog race for President, but we shouldn't have! I just don't understand how Republicans took state delegate slots in Northern Virginia, which is a bastian of liberalism....really I think it was an all out assault by the right wing and we Progressives were not paying attention until it was to late.

Now is the time to be civil, be quiet and get ready for a massive rally for next year, Republicans be ready!

My Blog Friends

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;

When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

Josh Groban/ You Raise Me Up Lyrics

To my friends, both virtual and in person, you guys are the best - that's all I can say - thank you.