Sacrifices!

I gave up sweets for Lent, not for religious reasons, but because I need to cut back and drop a few pounds. (Well, more than a few.) I gave up cookies, pies, cakes, donuts, and other assorted goodies. I have allowed myself to have a trail mix that has a few pieces of chocolate in it because I'm not insane, but that's it. So far, so good. With each day, I feel like I'm making progress. I've also signed up to do a Couch to 5K in the spring. Now I'm not a runner, but I'm hoping I'll be able to do a light jog to fulfill the requirements and, again, drop some poundage. The older you get, the harder it becomes to lose weight. You could eat the same stuff you ate 10 years ago and your body just reacts to it in a totally different way. The struggle is real, folks.

In other news, I wish folks I know would stop bugging me about my decision to skip Black Panther. No offense to the movie or any of its stars, but I just don't do superhero movies. The last Batman movie I saw had Michael Keaton in it. Yeah. Michael Keaton with Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. I did see one of the X-Men movies on TV also, but only watched it because it was on. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't something I'd see at the theater. Superhero movies are just not my bag, baby. I'm glad Black Panther is out there making mucho dinero and getting rave reviews, but I'm skipping it. Even when I saw the preview for it, I thought, Thanks, but no thanks.

Abracadabra...I Don't Want to Reach Out and Grab Ya!

I was listening to the Steve Miller Band's song "Abracadabra" this morning on the way to work and wondered why this great tune isn't on the Greatest Hits CD that I have. Why, Steve Miller Band, why???? The greatest hits CD has hits like "The Joker" and "Jet Airplane" but no "Abracadabra." Frustrating! Who put these greatest hits together?? I was forced to pay for and download something I should have already had. Moving on. I also heard a song I didn't realize I like so much called "Feel It Still" by some dude/band (?) named Portugal.The Man. Band or man, that song is great and yet another tune I can add to my YMCA workout playlist. I know the song is old, but it's new to me. I'm behind the times when it comes to popular music and if you read my blog with any regularity, you already know this.

Earlier this week, I heard "Mexican Radio" by Wall of Voodoo and that song has been stuck in my head pretty much all week. Did Wall of Voodoo ever have any other hits? I can't recall any, but "Mexican Radio" is one of those songs you hear once and you keep hearing until it's replaced by some other song that takes up space in your brain and slowly drives you crazy.

Presidents' Day

Even though we don't currently have a POTUS worthy of praise this Presidents' Day, I'm willing to overlook that sad fact and think about the good things the previous presidents have done for the country. I'm also glad I had a break from my day job to do some writing. (Yes, I really am writing and working on something.) It's always nice to have a three-day weekend before you go back to the grind. Unfortunately, now the company-sponsored holidays are over until Memorial Day in May. That's too long of a stretch for me to go without a day (or two) off, so I might have to take a few days to do something with myself.

Get Yer Harvest Box!

I read this week that Donny T.'s administration wants to give the poor food boxes ("harvest boxes" as they're called) in place of food stamps. Each harvest box would come with pre-selected foods (selected by whom, I'm not sure but I doubt anyone who's ever received food stamps). The idea was to give the poor a Blue-Apron-like food service. Aside from being a totally ridiculous idea, I don't understand the logistics of how it would work. Would these harvest boxes be shipped in the mail each month or would people have to go to a harvest box distribution center to pick up said box? Does each household get the same food? What if you're allergic to some of the foods in the box? Can you substitute some items for others? Does the size of the box vary depending on the number of people in the household? If you have two kids do you get less goods in your harvest box than someone who has four kids to feed? What if you get your harvest box and the food is spoiled? Can you return your harvest box and get another one? If your harvest box is sent by mail, what if it doesn't come or is stolen? What then?

I'm old enough to remember the days of government cheese. Does the government today really want to return to the days when people lined up for free government food? Yeah, I'm sure that's a picture Donny T. wants the world to see. Try again, idiots. Try again.

Crazy in Walgreens

In today's adventures in Crazytown, I ended up arguing with a woman in Walgreens who couldn't decide if she was in the line or out of it. What is wrong with people? Get in line and stay in line. Is that so hard to do? If you need to leave the line to grab an item then, as a courtesy, tell the person in line behind you that you'll be right back. But when you have language issues on top of general attitude problems, you end up arguing because people can't read your crazed mind. I swear, people are becoming more and more unruly. Normally, I keep my mouth shut, but sometimes I can't. And lately it seems to be older women (who should know better) who are ready to pick a fight. Sad. The woman I got into it with at Walgreens had her kid with her. If she had been alone, I probably wouldn't have shown the amount of restraint that I did. I really thought she didn't speak English and asking her if she did was, clearly, the wrong question to ask because it just set her off. She told me she was born here. Doubtful, but okay. "Great," I told her. "Good for you." I should have added that Donny T. won't be able to throw her out back to whatever third-world shithole (his words, not mine) she came from then. Restraint, Kim. Restraint. I have to admit when I saw the woman and her daughter leaving in their beaten, hub-cap-missing Nissan, I felt a little better. The car totally went with her fake eyelashes, tilted wig, and dusty clothing. That's mean, I know, but you can't be nice all the time.

This Week

A few things have been on my mind as this week draws to a close.

First, Illinois gubernatorial candidate JB Pritzker is part of the Illinois machine. Hearing those tapes with him and Blagojevich (and Blago by himself talking about JB) just confirms that JB is just another cog in the awful wheel of Illinois politics. Ugh. We can and should do better with our elected officials.

Second, beaters and cheaters are, apparently, welcome at Donny T.'s White House. How many lowlifes can you fit into one administration? Once one hits the bricks, there's another one waiting in the wings to take his/her place. No person with any kind of ethics or self-respect would work with Donny and his minions, so I'm really not surprised he's scraped the bottom of the barrel to fill his staff vacancies. And, given how he behaves himself, I'm sure the beaters and cheaters feel right at home there. Ugh again.

Third, today's hefty snowfall in the Chicago area left me stranded at home, but that was fine with me. There was no way I was getting out on the roads to try and make it to the office this morning. Thankfully, I can work my day job remotely, so I took full advantage of that. I feel for folks who don't have that option and were forced out onto the streets today. Stay strong, folks. Stay strong.

Only the Best People, People!

Current POTUS Donny T. claimed to hire only the best people for his administration, but let's take a look at some of his hires. White supremacists, reality TV stars (like Donny himself), a former caddie, and now a wife beater. Great. Only the best, right? Maybe in Donny's world these jackholes are the creme de la creme. I guess it takes a  jackhole to know a jackhole.

In other news, it looks like Chicago is finally in the midst of a real winter this year. After a few years of barely any snowfall, we seem to be getting hit with the white stuff weekly this month. We really can't complain. We've had it good for the past few years and we all knew that great weather couldn't last forever.

Not a Football Fan, But...

As someone who is not into football at all, I usually just ignore Superbowl Sunday and this year is no exception. However, I will say, given the choice between the Patriots and the Eagles, I'm going with the birds. I used to live in Philadelphia, so that's why I'm rooting for the Eagles to win. Philly could use a boost. It's always been the red-headed stepchild of the Northeast Corridor, stuck between New York and DC. Also, I'm rooting for the Eagles because I'm tired of the Patriots and their white savior, Tom Brady. Ugh. He looks like the guy who asks if you need any help when you're at Home Depot. It amazes me how many plain, ordinary-looking folks like Brady, Taylor Swift, etc. become superstars these days and are lauded for their looks. I remember when superstars looked...well...super. I guess those days are over.