Happy Half-Price Peeps Day!

An unexpectedly musical day yesterday.

Heading out to Sis' house for a very small, quiet Easter visit w/dinner - I was given the cook's tour of the new electronics in the house, thanks to "the bonus" for this year.

Two really BIG HD plasma televisions (w/BlueRay DVD players), and a new washer/dryer set. Front-loaders. Much impression had.

But Sis wanted me to hear what the home theater system did with Phantom of the Opera. So, I did.

Wow.

And now I am humming the melodies again...damn earworms. Also proof-positive I stopped learning songs about fifteen years ago by not singing them, hence the incredible amount of frustration trying to do something karaoke. I don't have the stuff loaded in my memory - my actual performance memory.

Don't ask me to sing Phantom songs, though. You do, you get what you deserve. When I can't even sing alone in the car because I can't stand the sound, you've got the clue, right?

THEN - after prime rib, potatoes sopping with greyere cheese and cream, asparagus with hollandaise and homemade cheesecake with hot fudge sauce - I handed off the family to Jim coming off work and went into Hollywood to catch four out of the six acts for Japan Nite at the Knitting Factory.

I may go back there, just to catch acts - it's a GREAT venue. Snagged a table right by the door, with chairs and had a mighty fine time. Bought a CD for Scandal, caught Petty Booka (and I have to give them hutspa points for playing bluegrass ukelele in Hollywood in the middle of a rock/ska/punk set), endured Petty Booka (the chipmunk factor was...just was....) and then really liked Ketchup Mania, liked Detroit 7 just a bit less. (Balancing the bass to create a standing wave in the back NOT cool...thankfully, they corrected that by the last three songs in the set. Ow.)

Went home. Drive home only eventful in that it was late, I was tired and I had to keep reminding myself that I used to drive airport shuttle and this was old home week. Yar, yar, I be tough!

Truly, not a whole lot later to bed than staying up playing games to midnight - a bit more expensive, though.

Get to do it all again Wednesday for Jim's birthday Wednesday - Paul Potts at the Wiltern, doncha know.

Happy Half-Price Peeps Day!

An unexpectedly musical day yesterday.

Heading out to Sis' house for a very small, quiet Easter visit w/dinner - I was given the cook's tour of the new electronics in the house, thanks to "the bonus" for this year.

Two really BIG HD plasma televisions (w/BlueRay DVD players), and a new washer/dryer set. Front-loaders. Much impression had.

But Sis wanted me to hear what the home theater system did with Phantom of the Opera. So, I did.

Wow.

And now I am humming the melodies again...damn earworms. Also proof-positive I stopped learning songs about fifteen years ago by not singing them, hence the incredible amount of frustration trying to do something karaoke. I don't have the stuff loaded in my memory - my actual performance memory.

Don't ask me to sing Phantom songs, though. You do, you get what you deserve. When I can't even sing alone in the car because I can't stand the sound, you've got the clue, right?

THEN - after prime rib, potatoes sopping with greyere cheese and cream, asparagus with hollandaise and homemade cheesecake with hot fudge sauce - I handed off the family to Jim coming off work and went into Hollywood to catch four out of the six acts for Japan Nite at the Knitting Factory.

I may go back there, just to catch acts - it's a GREAT venue. Snagged a table right by the door, with chairs and had a mighty fine time. Bought a CD for Scandal, caught Petty Booka (and I have to give them hutspa points for playing bluegrass ukelele in Hollywood in the middle of a rock/ska/punk set), endured Petty Booka (the chipmunk factor was...just was....) and then really liked Ketchup Mania, liked Detroit 7 just a bit less. (Balancing the bass to create a standing wave in the back NOT cool...thankfully, they corrected that by the last three songs in the set. Ow.)

Went home. Drive home only eventful in that it was late, I was tired and I had to keep reminding myself that I used to drive airport shuttle and this was old home week. Yar, yar, I be tough!

Truly, not a whole lot later to bed than staying up playing games to midnight - a bit more expensive, though.

Get to do it all again Wednesday for Jim's birthday Wednesday - Paul Potts at the Wiltern, doncha know.

Happy Half-Price Peeps Day!

An unexpectedly musical day yesterday.

Heading out to Sis' house for a very small, quiet Easter visit w/dinner - I was given the cook's tour of the new electronics in the house, thanks to "the bonus" for this year.

Two really BIG HD plasma televisions (w/BlueRay DVD players), and a new washer/dryer set. Front-loaders. Much impression had.

But Sis wanted me to hear what the home theater system did with Phantom of the Opera. So, I did.

Wow.

And now I am humming the melodies again...damn earworms. Also proof-positive I stopped learning songs about fifteen years ago by not singing them, hence the incredible amount of frustration trying to do something karaoke. I don't have the stuff loaded in my memory - my actual performance memory.

Don't ask me to sing Phantom songs, though. You do, you get what you deserve. When I can't even sing alone in the car because I can't stand the sound, you've got the clue, right?

THEN - after prime rib, potatoes sopping with greyere cheese and cream, asparagus with hollandaise and homemade cheesecake with hot fudge sauce - I handed off the family to Jim coming off work and went into Hollywood to catch four out of the six acts for Japan Nite at the Knitting Factory.

I may go back there, just to catch acts - it's a GREAT venue. Snagged a table right by the door, with chairs and had a mighty fine time. Bought a CD for Scandal, caught Petty Booka (and I have to give them hutspa points for playing bluegrass ukelele in Hollywood in the middle of a rock/ska/punk set), endured Petty Booka (the chipmunk factor was...just was....) and then really liked Ketchup Mania, liked Detroit 7 just a bit less. (Balancing the bass to create a standing wave in the back NOT cool...thankfully, they corrected that by the last three songs in the set. Ow.)

Went home. Drive home only eventful in that it was late, I was tired and I had to keep reminding myself that I used to drive airport shuttle and this was old home week. Yar, yar, I be tough!

Truly, not a whole lot later to bed than staying up playing games to midnight - a bit more expensive, though.

Get to do it all again Wednesday for Jim's birthday Wednesday - Paul Potts at the Wiltern, doncha know.

Your Rock Band Moment of the Day -

Somewhere in the cubicle farm that is my department, somebody brought a sackful of harmonicas. You could hear the chatter and the random toot-toot.

Then someone started playing. WELL. Finished.

And the whole department applauded, still in their cubes.

I love where I work.

(And yeah, I went looking, holding my own Cracker Barrel special, looking for lessons.)

Your Rock Band Moment of the Day -

Somewhere in the cubicle farm that is my department, somebody brought a sackful of harmonicas. You could hear the chatter and the random toot-toot.

Then someone started playing. WELL. Finished.

And the whole department applauded, still in their cubes.

I love where I work.

(And yeah, I went looking, holding my own Cracker Barrel special, looking for lessons.)

Your Rock Band Moment of the Day -

Somewhere in the cubicle farm that is my department, somebody brought a sackful of harmonicas. You could hear the chatter and the random toot-toot.

Then someone started playing. WELL. Finished.

And the whole department applauded, still in their cubes.

I love where I work.

(And yeah, I went looking, holding my own Cracker Barrel special, looking for lessons.)

Brave? Sure. New? No. World? Define 'World' -

This whole process, from trying to get pregnant to being pregnant, has been a challenge for us. The first doctor we approached was a reproductive endocrinologist. He was shocked by our situation and told me to shave my facial hair. After a $300 consultation, he reluctantly performed my initial checkups. He then required us to see the clinic’s psychologist to see if we were fit to bring a child into this world and consulted with the ethics board of his hospital. A few months and a couple thousand dollars later, he told us that he would no longer treat us, saying he and his staff felt uncomfortable working with “someone like me.”

What's the deal?

No, Mom's not a lesbian.

Mom's a transgendered man. Legally male.

Hardly the first case I've known of. While I put aside some very basic 'yeah, entitled much?' reaction to this, my larger gut check is the basic assumption they're both making that this kid is going to have Mom and Dad and happily ever after.

Until 'they' wants to go find their biological father. Which they are completely within their right to want, need and have.

*facepalms*

In the midst of 'can we do this?' - why, why, WHY is there no realization of basic biological rights being breached here on the part of the kid they are so anxious to have?

I'm not saying it's wrong. I'm saying there's some real basic 'I got mine, screw you' involved here...with their own kid!

You think sealed adoptions do some really tweaked things with identity...just get me started on pregnancy by donor.

Yes, I investigated it while Cliff was alive. And was rocked off my feet.

If I had so chose -

Nobody would have known if any children resultant? Weren't his. Even the birth certificate would have had his name on it, no mention of the pitch hitter. Anywhere. Original. Birth. Certificate. Full stop. Kid could have claimed survivor pension benefits, and nobody would have blinked. To age 18 and beyond, if in college. Wrap you head around that.

Yes, I was interested in donors who could be contacted, primarily. Holy chrome. Like I would take that away. Keep that a secret. (I hate secrets. I'm lazy that way.)

I haven't had a lot of first-hand experience with these "half-adoptees" - but there are plenty out there in the blogsphere. And as you might expect, the ones who have the most to say - are also the ones most in pain.

The records on their biological fathers simply weren't kept well enough to find later. Like my mother's records while she was pregnant with my sibs - we can't know exactly if we're all DES kids or not. Maybe Sis and I. Maybe just Sis.

There's no original birth certificate. There's no adoption record, sealed or unsealed. There's nothing - and all of a sudden, the appeal of going that route just vaporized.

There's no way they're going to keep this a secret. Reproductive tech is good, but it can't make an embryo with two eggs. Not yet.

This feels like it might be a continuing series. I hope so. I also hope they discuss this at some point, and how they plan to handle it. Someone made them jump through some counseling hoops - and then dropped them like a hot rock (know that one personally, at least) - this is a valid concern.

But new? First transgendered man to carry a pregnancy? PLEASE.

I ain't naming names...unless they come forward on their own. But there's at least one on my FL. Maybe two.

Brave? Sure. New? No. World? Define 'World' -

This whole process, from trying to get pregnant to being pregnant, has been a challenge for us. The first doctor we approached was a reproductive endocrinologist. He was shocked by our situation and told me to shave my facial hair. After a $300 consultation, he reluctantly performed my initial checkups. He then required us to see the clinic’s psychologist to see if we were fit to bring a child into this world and consulted with the ethics board of his hospital. A few months and a couple thousand dollars later, he told us that he would no longer treat us, saying he and his staff felt uncomfortable working with “someone like me.”

What's the deal?

No, Mom's not a lesbian.

Mom's a transgendered man. Legally male.

Hardly the first case I've known of. While I put aside some very basic 'yeah, entitled much?' reaction to this, my larger gut check is the basic assumption they're both making that this kid is going to have Mom and Dad and happily ever after.

Until 'they' wants to go find their biological father. Which they are completely within their right to want, need and have.

*facepalms*

In the midst of 'can we do this?' - why, why, WHY is there no realization of basic biological rights being breached here on the part of the kid they are so anxious to have?

I'm not saying it's wrong. I'm saying there's some real basic 'I got mine, screw you' involved here...with their own kid!

You think sealed adoptions do some really tweaked things with identity...just get me started on pregnancy by donor.

Yes, I investigated it while Cliff was alive. And was rocked off my feet.

If I had so chose -

Nobody would have known if any children resultant? Weren't his. Even the birth certificate would have had his name on it, no mention of the pitch hitter. Anywhere. Original. Birth. Certificate. Full stop. Kid could have claimed survivor pension benefits, and nobody would have blinked. To age 18 and beyond, if in college. Wrap you head around that.

Yes, I was interested in donors who could be contacted, primarily. Holy chrome. Like I would take that away. Keep that a secret. (I hate secrets. I'm lazy that way.)

I haven't had a lot of first-hand experience with these "half-adoptees" - but there are plenty out there in the blogsphere. And as you might expect, the ones who have the most to say - are also the ones most in pain.

The records on their biological fathers simply weren't kept well enough to find later. Like my mother's records while she was pregnant with my sibs - we can't know exactly if we're all DES kids or not. Maybe Sis and I. Maybe just Sis.

There's no original birth certificate. There's no adoption record, sealed or unsealed. There's nothing - and all of a sudden, the appeal of going that route just vaporized.

There's no way they're going to keep this a secret. Reproductive tech is good, but it can't make an embryo with two eggs. Not yet.

This feels like it might be a continuing series. I hope so. I also hope they discuss this at some point, and how they plan to handle it. Someone made them jump through some counseling hoops - and then dropped them like a hot rock (know that one personally, at least) - this is a valid concern.

But new? First transgendered man to carry a pregnancy? PLEASE.

I ain't naming names...unless they come forward on their own. But there's at least one on my FL. Maybe two.

Brave? Sure. New? No. World? Define 'World' -

This whole process, from trying to get pregnant to being pregnant, has been a challenge for us. The first doctor we approached was a reproductive endocrinologist. He was shocked by our situation and told me to shave my facial hair. After a $300 consultation, he reluctantly performed my initial checkups. He then required us to see the clinic’s psychologist to see if we were fit to bring a child into this world and consulted with the ethics board of his hospital. A few months and a couple thousand dollars later, he told us that he would no longer treat us, saying he and his staff felt uncomfortable working with “someone like me.”

What's the deal?

No, Mom's not a lesbian.

Mom's a transgendered man. Legally male.

Hardly the first case I've known of. While I put aside some very basic 'yeah, entitled much?' reaction to this, my larger gut check is the basic assumption they're both making that this kid is going to have Mom and Dad and happily ever after.

Until 'they' wants to go find their biological father. Which they are completely within their right to want, need and have.

*facepalms*

In the midst of 'can we do this?' - why, why, WHY is there no realization of basic biological rights being breached here on the part of the kid they are so anxious to have?

I'm not saying it's wrong. I'm saying there's some real basic 'I got mine, screw you' involved here...with their own kid!

You think sealed adoptions do some really tweaked things with identity...just get me started on pregnancy by donor.

Yes, I investigated it while Cliff was alive. And was rocked off my feet.

If I had so chose -

Nobody would have known if any children resultant? Weren't his. Even the birth certificate would have had his name on it, no mention of the pitch hitter. Anywhere. Original. Birth. Certificate. Full stop. Kid could have claimed survivor pension benefits, and nobody would have blinked. To age 18 and beyond, if in college. Wrap you head around that.

Yes, I was interested in donors who could be contacted, primarily. Holy chrome. Like I would take that away. Keep that a secret. (I hate secrets. I'm lazy that way.)

I haven't had a lot of first-hand experience with these "half-adoptees" - but there are plenty out there in the blogsphere. And as you might expect, the ones who have the most to say - are also the ones most in pain.

The records on their biological fathers simply weren't kept well enough to find later. Like my mother's records while she was pregnant with my sibs - we can't know exactly if we're all DES kids or not. Maybe Sis and I. Maybe just Sis.

There's no original birth certificate. There's no adoption record, sealed or unsealed. There's nothing - and all of a sudden, the appeal of going that route just vaporized.

There's no way they're going to keep this a secret. Reproductive tech is good, but it can't make an embryo with two eggs. Not yet.

This feels like it might be a continuing series. I hope so. I also hope they discuss this at some point, and how they plan to handle it. Someone made them jump through some counseling hoops - and then dropped them like a hot rock (know that one personally, at least) - this is a valid concern.

But new? First transgendered man to carry a pregnancy? PLEASE.

I ain't naming names...unless they come forward on their own. But there's at least one on my FL. Maybe two.

Yes, my sense of humor has a mean streak -

Yes, verily it does.

Bad Baby Names Blog.

^^

Yes, my sense of humor has a mean streak -

Yes, verily it does.

Bad Baby Names Blog.

^^

Yes, my sense of humor has a mean streak -

Yes, verily it does.

Bad Baby Names Blog.

^^

Right Next to The Other One -

6. Cozy Inside - Joni Marie Newman.

Billed as "delicious & comforting cruelty-free recipes" - it looks like someone published their blog. Seriously. HUGE type, one recipe with magazine-style photography per page...and only 98 pages WITH indexes...you get the drift.

And one major turn-off for me, most of the recipes are re-works that "taste LIKE THE REAL THING!!11"

Uh. I eat vegetarian chow because I like the taste. The nutrition. The economics. The taste. This is my taste and opinion, but being chuffed because you're suffering to feed your ego instead of your tastebuds just turns me off. Part and parcel of a religious faith? Sure - because it's only part of a whole picture (which in most cases is just plain neat and makes people you like to be around) - instead of simple ego-inflated tweaks. You've met one. So have I.

I might slim down some recipes, and even not make some of them often (what, no fettuccine alfredo every night?) - but I don't take pride in making mock anything. I mention this because in this case, it's almost the entire book's stock in trade.

If that floats your boat, I got a good resource for you. And I may just rename a bunch of stuff if I make it anyway...they're good recipes.

But - up on the shelf with you. Onward!

Right Next to The Other One -

6. Cozy Inside - Joni Marie Newman.

Billed as "delicious & comforting cruelty-free recipes" - it looks like someone published their blog. Seriously. HUGE type, one recipe with magazine-style photography per page...and only 98 pages WITH indexes...you get the drift.

And one major turn-off for me, most of the recipes are re-works that "taste LIKE THE REAL THING!!11"

Uh. I eat vegetarian chow because I like the taste. The nutrition. The economics. The taste. This is my taste and opinion, but being chuffed because you're suffering to feed your ego instead of your tastebuds just turns me off. Part and parcel of a religious faith? Sure - because it's only part of a whole picture (which in most cases is just plain neat and makes people you like to be around) - instead of simple ego-inflated tweaks. You've met one. So have I.

I might slim down some recipes, and even not make some of them often (what, no fettuccine alfredo every night?) - but I don't take pride in making mock anything. I mention this because in this case, it's almost the entire book's stock in trade.

If that floats your boat, I got a good resource for you. And I may just rename a bunch of stuff if I make it anyway...they're good recipes.

But - up on the shelf with you. Onward!

Right Next to The Other One -

6. Cozy Inside - Joni Marie Newman.

Billed as "delicious & comforting cruelty-free recipes" - it looks like someone published their blog. Seriously. HUGE type, one recipe with magazine-style photography per page...and only 98 pages WITH indexes...you get the drift.

And one major turn-off for me, most of the recipes are re-works that "taste LIKE THE REAL THING!!11"

Uh. I eat vegetarian chow because I like the taste. The nutrition. The economics. The taste. This is my taste and opinion, but being chuffed because you're suffering to feed your ego instead of your tastebuds just turns me off. Part and parcel of a religious faith? Sure - because it's only part of a whole picture (which in most cases is just plain neat and makes people you like to be around) - instead of simple ego-inflated tweaks. You've met one. So have I.

I might slim down some recipes, and even not make some of them often (what, no fettuccine alfredo every night?) - but I don't take pride in making mock anything. I mention this because in this case, it's almost the entire book's stock in trade.

If that floats your boat, I got a good resource for you. And I may just rename a bunch of stuff if I make it anyway...they're good recipes.

But - up on the shelf with you. Onward!