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The Time Traveler's Wife

The art of patience is one that I have never managed to master with much grace. My millennial nature pushes me to seek the instant gratification sort of endeavors. Niffenegger's, The Time Traveler's Wife, rakes me over the coals of frustration for a character who spends a lifetime forever playing the waiting game. The author's treatment of time travel is unlike any I've ever read - cerebral sci-fi. My analytical self itched to plot the chronology of Henry's jaunts through the timeline of his life. But it's Clare and Henry's love story that pulses through this haunting tale.....and the theme of waiting....it leads me to wonder what Niffenegger is trying to say ever waiting Clare? Is she a woman to be admired for her strength and absolute belief of her love for Henry? Or is she a sad creature for not having the strength to move away from the single source of chaos in her life? This jury is still out.

Regardless of whether you believe this to be a story about the awe-inspiring power of love, or a tragedy of a woman trapped in a damaged relationship - you cannot help but be immersed. If you haven't jumped on the band wagon (lord knows it took me long enough)......this is a wagon worth the jump.

Image Source: www.barnesandnoble.com

La vie en rose

Every moment of my experience in Paris was surreal - the city, the sights, the food, the company. Perhaps it was the effects of jet lag, but every instance was filled me with wonder, excitement, thrill, and gratitude. Being amongst buildings that existed for hundreds of years, streets that were once trod by characters vivid in only history books - it reminds me that my existence was a tiny speck in the continuum of time and universal life......but in a really good way.......I was happy to know that in another hundred years Paris will still exist for someone else to be in awe of. It's easy see how the city would inspire a la vie en rose sort of life.

Wall Street and Haiti

In the news - Goldman Sachs set aside $16.2 billion for total compensation.

Also in the news - Governments from around the world have pledged nearly $1 billion in aid to Haiti.

Wall Street, $16.2 billion.

Haiti, $1 billion.

Seriously?

D23

Tomorrow is the official opening of D23 Expo. Held at the Anaheim Convention Center, this event promises to be a heaven (and even haven) for the eclectic lot of "Disney affinity guests".

The D23 Expo touts the very ambitious tag line of "The Ultimate Disney Fan Experience". That sets the bar way high....particularly since this is Disney we are talking about here. After all, this is the same Disney that offers pixie dust, happily ever afters, and all that enchanting bibidi babidi boo.

It has been a while now since I've set foot on hallowed Disneyland grounds. Seems these days news of despairing unemployment statistics, divisive healthcare debates, looming state budget crisis echo incessantly in my head - leaving me too sobered and paralyzed to think of diversions of places as Disneyland. But perhaps in times such as these, it's even more important to connect those places that bring back safe and fond memories; to soothe one's soul and think that maybe (just maybe) there will be a happily ever after for us all.

So tomorrow I go to have myself the Ultimate Disney Fan Experience and sing that happy song.........M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.

Just plain funny

My friend D sent me a funny list last night. This list particularly tickled my funny bone. I had to share. It is especially entertaining after a few glasses of wine....

1. While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

2. The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

3. Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?

4. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

5.Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or faq's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

6. There is a great need for sarcasm font.

7. I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

8. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

9. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

10. A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

11. Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say

12. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

13. Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

14. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

15. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

16. Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

17. I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

18. Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

19. Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

20. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

21. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

22. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

23. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

24. I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

25. I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

26. It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

27. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

28. I think that if, years down the road when I’m trying to have a kid, I find out that I’m sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.

29. The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There’s nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

30. My 4 year old son asked me in the car the other day, "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

Something personal

The entire country is up in arms about President Obama's health care reform. Everywhere you turn someone is giving their two cents on the matter. Most of them don't even have the facts - because the facts are not all available.

I can't claim to know very much about the matter. Everything I know comes from NPR, google news, or whatever talk show host is ranting in support or in opposition to the matter. I hate politics. I just wish to have access to the real facts so that I can actually think about the impact and consequence. The riotous public ready either worship or vilify the President's plans all carry with them a bit of luggage that makes their POV so impassioned. I think perhaps if people would just stop hurling accusations and started listening to each other, perhaps they might learn something about the needs of their fellow citizens of this country.

I don't have a POV regarding health care legislation. On one hand, I am part of the population that is fortunate to have employer based health care. On the other hand, I also pay a hefty sum to cover the insurance of an aging parent (at $300 a month) - this insurance does not cover primary care or preventative care. A basic doctor's exam that I pay out of pocket will run about $80 a visit - for a primary care physician. Dental care, and optometry care is, of course, also out of pocket. It will be another ten years or so before my mother will quality for medicare or medicaid. But again, I am fortunate.....because I have a job and am able to support these costs.......and I am also a relatively well paid member of society. I have to wonder about those in the same situation who may not be as fortunate.

It wasn't that long ago that my family was a part of that "not so fortunate" sector of the population. My father was self employed. My mother was a housewife who worked sporadically on odd jobs. Their lack of extensive English speaking skills was a barrier to better opportunities. But still......they made enough money for the family to live on and saved a bit for my college fund. The money wasn't enough to cover health insurance for the family. So we never did have it. Whenever anyone would get sick, it would be remedied through self prescribed OTC medicine....or inexpensive herbalists. Seeing a doctor was simply not an option. There were no annual check ups - no such thing as preventative care. My father got sick the summer before my senior year in high school. He was alarmingly sick.....so much so that he did finally go see a "real" doctor. It cost $500 for lab tests and the doctor to diagnose him with stage four liver cancer. Without insurance, treatment was in the sum of money that we simply didn't have. My parents didn't have a choice but to leave the US and go back to Taiwan to get affordable treatment for his disease. My last memory of my father alive is of him passing through the security gates of LAX and waving good bye. His cancer was too far along that treatment options were limited - even if they were affordable in Taiwan. I have never stopped wondering - had my family had access to affordable health screenings and preventative care, would my father perhaps have had the chance to watch me graduate high school, college, and graduate school?

There are a lot of people who are concerned about the tax implications of having some sort of a public program for health care. I don't know if the current proposed health care legislation is an effective way to solve the nation's health care issues. But doing nothing cannot be an option.......this country is filled with families without access to affordable health care....families who cannot get check ups....cannot afford medicine........I suppose because I carry around the baggage of my family's experience of not having had access to affordable health care in the US.......I have more empathy for those "have nots" members of society than those who "have". I don't have all the facts......and can't clearly choose a "side" on this debate, but all I know is that the price of not being financially plentiful simply cannot be a human life.