Need some motivation?

Create your own motivational poster. It's fun!

Of course, the poster shown is one of the classics from Despair.com.

I remember that when I first came upon the Despair site, many moons ago, I wished I could make my own poster -- I had so many good ideas (though none I could imagine fit my life as well as the Meetings one). But now that I have a generator, I'm coming up with nothing. Total blank.

Maybe you'll have more luck with it. Because everyone needs a little (de) motivation now and then.

Take that, younger siblings!

Sure, you may have gotten more of Mom's love being the baby and all but I got 3 more IQ points.

(And, yes, somehow even in my 30's, I still view quite a bit of my relationship with my sister as a competition. I know -- sad, sad, sad).

Reading past the headline.

A recent AP interview with John Travolta garnered the following headline: John Travolta says no to psychiatric medication.

And while I find this stance completely and utterly mindboggling, I read on. And bless my e-meter, but wouldn't you know that ol' Johnny T. and I agree on something?

"I have never been compelled to share with you my bathroom habits or share with you my bedroom habits," says the married father of two. "Everyone has a right to privacy, so I have never felt -- even though I am famous -- that I had to share that with anybody."

Do the rumors bother him? Does he think they've affected his career?

"No and no," he says. "What affects your career is the quality of the product. I don't think anyone can hurt me."

Quality of the product. Hear that, people? Not who he's sleeping with. Not what he thinks of psychotropic medication or Tom Cruise calling someone glib. Not even showing his nipples or manly garden on the red carpet. The quality of his work.

And just in case you weren't paying attention, that work is acting. Not doctoring. Not scientific research. Not even public spokesperson for weird religion. Acting. And as such, we shouldn't be looking for him (or Tom Cruise) to tell us what is okay in realms other than those. And when they decide to say something about those other realms (or, thanks to Tom Cruise's public comments are goaded into doing so by the press), we should just nod our heads and roll on through. Not worth getting into a tizzy over.

Thank you, John, for the reminder.

A case of the blahs.

I'm exactly where I should be. I hurried up and finished all of my work for the month so that I could have time to run around and accomplish all of the pain-in-the-arse move stuff that my husband should do but will actually fall on me and my trusty power of attorney.

But without orders, there ain't much of that to do. I'm in waiting mode.

So instead I have a rainy day, a cranky boy and a whole lot of Sesame Street in my future. It's a tad depressing. I mean, it ain't like having to tussle with Army civilian workers is necessarily fun but it is always entertaining.

A true tale of American entrepreneurship.

Want to know where should you stash pot in your car? How to avoid getting raided? Ex-Cop Barry Cooper has the DVD for you.

This would be funny, you know, if it weren't so damned sad.

This is just plain wrong.

Where exactly is the Simpsons' hometown of Springfield?

With the release of the big Simpsons' Movie, Springfields across the country are vying for the honor of being the Springfield and hosting a big-screen premiere of the film.

Don't get me wrong. It's brilliant marketing (and I think it's hilarious that Teddy Kennedy agreed to be in the Massachusetts entry).

But I like to think of I always thought the point was that it could be anywhere. That there was a Springfield in practically every state. And that worked so well, because if there is a little Simpson in all of us (and mine is the drool and unconscious mmm-ing when faced with donuts), then the Simpsons should live in every town.

You can tell I've thought way too much about this.

Army Wives

I got an email again asking my thoughts on Army Wives. I touched on my opinion in a previous post but I'll get into a little more detail.

I have no specific thoughts. I did not watch it though most of the ladies I know are getting into it. I hear it isn't so bad though a few have said they think it's too officer-wife-centric.

Frankly, I have enough Army wife drama in my normal life. I probably would watch the show and just stress out. And then wonder way too much about what's really happening in on-post housing. Like MySpace doesn't give me enough of a clue.

It's funny, I've never thought of my television watching as an escape, per se, but when I think about the shows I like to watch, there does seem to be a theme. A theme of the life I could have had if I had not married my husband. I watch a lot of medical shows -- not the sappy ones -- but Scrubs (which, I can tell you is most like my experience working in a hospital) and House. And it makes me wonder if I would be in medical school right now, or perhaps finished, if CPT Dick hadn't sauntered into my life.

But maybe the theme doesn't hold as well as I'd like -- I also like Weeds, Heroes and LOST. And I doubt very much I'd be dealing marijuana, cultivating a new super power (though, it would be cool!) or planning to ambush the Others. But you never know, I guess.

In any case, a show like Army Wives is just too much like my own life to be fair television game. The parts that resonate would be all too real and the parts they stretch for plot would just annoy the crap out of me.

So I'll continue to abstain and instead get my television fix from those dreamy doctors of my fantasies.

Best laid plans.

I had a full day planned.

I was going to go for a 5 mile run, do the shopping, pay some bills, finish up my last story of the month and then set up and attend an afternoon welcome function for the FRG.

But the thing is, the day was full in just the right way. I had enough time to do everything on my list with some breathing space in between. It would have been a busy day but not overly stressful.

Until my husband called.

HIM: "What are you doing today?"

ME: "Ummm, lots. Why?"

HIM: "Well, we have our transportation appointment. But someone has to go to the mandatory transportation briefing today at 9:30am."

And guess who that someone is going to be? I get to sit in a boring briefing for two hours and totally squeeze the rest of my schedule.

We still don't have orders. And we don't have a new place to live. But if we want to even consider the notion that we are leaving before the end of the month, not going to this thing isn't an option.

Hopefully, no one will mind me furtively typing up my story in the back of the room.

Talking the talk.

In preparation for taking on my second FRG, I've signed up for a one-day refresher course on the in's and out's of the position. And by signed up, I mean that I was signed up by the battalion Commander's wife as a favor and now have to pretend to be grateful. Yippee!

I'm sure that some of the material will be helpful. And Lord knows, the Army is sort of learning as they go with the whole FRG thing so I'm sure there will be a whole new list of things not to do that I should know about. It won't be a total waste of my time and it will give me the opportunity to meet some ladies and get to know the environment.

But I digress.

In preparation, the instructor of the course, the wife of a pretty up there Officer, sent out an email to provide an agenda for the day.

But in that email, after the salutations and niceties, instead of getting down to business, she says this:

The most important thing you should know about me is that I am a Christian.

She then expounds for a few more sentences on having the light of Jesus in her life before moving on to actual pertinent matters.

What the hell? This is an FRG refresher. Not a chapel meeting.

It seems that more and more, especially around the military, people think it is appropriate in a professional setting to start off by stating their strong religious beliefs. It is not. In no other organization or industry (barring, of course, a specifically stated religious one) is it ever apropos to do so. And you would think, in the military, an organization attracts so many people of different backgrounds, ethnicities and religions, people might stop and wonder if they could potentially put off someone by stating their religious fervor right upfront like that. But they don't. And it's becoming more and more commonplace.

I read a recent quote by Hillary Clinton where she said that she had been raised to be somewhat wary of people who wear their faith on their sleeve. I have to agree. It's a New England thing, I think, but it was always considered polite to keep matters of faith and business separate. And again, given the diversity of the world, I can't say it's a bad thing.

Now, I've met a lot of really devout Christians who are wonderful, caring people. But NONE of them told me their religious beliefs as an introduction. It's something that came out naturally through the course of other conversation. People who just slap you with it first thing make me uncomfortable. And I'm not afraid it's to say that it's because, too often, the ones who are so busy talking the talk aren't bothering to walk the walk. I feel sometimes that they believe if they say they are Christian often and loud enough, then they are exempt from having to actually act like one.

I don't know what this meeting will hold. I'm trying to withhold judgment until I get there. But if it was the instructor's intention to make everyone feel more comfortable by sharing her devotion, she missed the mark a bit.

The man behind the curtain.

The NY Times has put up a fascinating slideshow featuring people and their online avatars. It's a really interesting look at just how much people will put into their online lives.

I find, though, as I scroll through it, I want to ask these people for some details. Why pick one of the opposite gender, especially such a girly-girl? Does the fact that you picked an avatar so close to what you look like in real life mean that you are that comfortable in your own skin? For those that have selected one who is identical except for that extra 20-30 lbs., does that mean that you see your weight as the only thing keeping you from being the person you want? Why so many over-sexualized females? Enquiring minds want to know!

And then I have to wonder what avatar I would choose. As I scroll through these, I wonder about the appeal of appearing to the (virtual) world as a scantily-clad, hot chick who can kick ass and take names instead of the military wife/Mommy/misanthrope with a large post-baby ass. Would it hold any appeal? Would it make me appreciate my real life more or less?

I can't answer that question. But certainly, it's fulfilling enough for the millions of people who religiously play these games.

Interesting times, these. Indeed.