What is your quest?

This is my summer of big events! I have tickets for The Police on July 3 and Rush on September 9... but I will also be attending Spamalot in late July.



This should help me deal with the question that has plagued me for years. What is the air-speed velocity of the laden swallow???

Did you guess?

The thing that I have in common with the other people listed is that we are all ordained ministers in the Universal Life Church.

I became ordained last year to help a friend who needed an officiant for her upcoming wedding (her and her fiancé are different religions). As it turns out, another friend needed an officiant too, so I ended up performing two weddings last August!

So there you have it!

Interesting!

What do the following people have in common?

• Me
• The Beatles (all four of them)
• Johnny Carson
• Hunter S. Thompson
• Tony Danza
• Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)
• Carson Kressley (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy)
• Courtney Love
• Alanis Morisette
• Jeff Probst (Survivor)
• Orville Redenbacher
• Jerry Reinsdorf (owner of the Chicago White Sox)
• Sharon Stone
• John Waters
• Wolfman Jack

If you know, don't give it away! I will give the answer on a future post.

My virtual puppy!

adopt your own virtual pet!

Go ahead and play with her! She's a lot of fun.

Cute movie

Stranger Than Fiction. A good way to spend 113 minutes.

April is...

Alcohol Awareness Month

National Autism Awareness Month

National Occupational Therapy Month

National Parkinson's Awareness Month

What does this mean???

Okay - here's the scoop on what we know: My C-reactive protein reading is 5.7. Normal readings are 1.0 or less. My sedimentation rate reading was 39 on 2/28 and 47 on 3/20. Normal readings for a woman under age 50 is 20 or less. The problem is that neither of these tests is very specific. They both indicate some sort of inflammation or infection. Whatever. All of my other tests are normal. I would love a specific test that gave a specific result that would help us take specific action toward a specific treatment. Can I be more specific? These tests were re-done on 3/27. I am awaiting news that they are both decreasing. Otherwise, it's off to see another doctor! (Yippee.)

More music!

On Monday it was announced that Rush will return to the Twin Cities on their upcoming tour to promote their latest disk, Snakes and Arrows.

While I don't have tickets in hand just yet (they go on pre-sale on April 10), I do plan on attending. The good news is that I don't have to fly to Vegas to see them -- like the last two times I saw them in concert! The bad news is that I don't have a good excuse to go to Vegas now...

If you go to their website, you can hear the first release Far Cry. Sounds like good stuff (yeah, I may be biased, but too bad!).

Welcome back to the Cities, Rush!

In other news...

Yes, I know people want an update on my mystery medical condition, but I am going to take a moment to promote two local bands instead.

Modern Day Tragedy's music is powerful yet melodic -- check it out for yourself on their MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/1moderndaytragedy.

If you're more into fast-moving punk (like from back in the day), take a listen to the Virgin Whores. Get an earful at http://www.myspace.com/virginwhores.

Enjoy.

An update

The good news: I did not have a heart attack.

The not-so-good news: They don't know what's going on.

I have been, shall we say, a little "off" since mid-January. Two chest X-rays, three urine samples, one stress test (including ultrasounds of my heart), many EKGs, a fun-filled night at the cardiac ward of Regions Hospital, and too many vials of blood to count later, and we don't know what's wrong with me. It's stressful enough to give one a... oh, never mind.

The fun continues -- I see a new doctor tomorrow and my regular doctor Wednesday. I am sure more vials of blood are in my future. At least we know I don't have mono or malaria!

Stay tuned...

My other children

If you've read this blog, you know about Pepper, my Chesapeake Bay retriever mix, but we also have two cats to fill our home with love, purrs and more fur.

Beaujolais (a.k.a. Beau, Bosie, Bobolina, Bozalinch, etc.) is our girl. Isn't she beautiful?

She's our "cool kitty" because she prefers being in the basement where it's nice and cool. That's where the Kitty Condo is (see Beau peeking out from inside?).

Amontillado (a.k.a. Monti, Mont, Monster, Fuzzy Puck, etc.) is our "sun kitty" because he prefers warmth and can be found laying in the sun soaking up the rays. He got the nickname Fuzzy Puck by sleeping all rolled up like a big hockey puck with fur.

The cats tolerate each other somewhat... Monti is more of a bully and needs our attention more (I think he's just more insecure). Yet Beau is the one who can handle Pepper -- Monti rarely goes anywhere near the dog.

March is...

Deaf History Month

Greek-American Heritage Month

Irish-American Heritage Month

Mental Retardation Awareness Month

National Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness Month

National Multiple Sclerosis Education and Awareness Month

National Womens' History Month

Spiritual Wellness Month

The Bremen Town Musicians

This is a statue in Bremen, Germany of the world-famous Bremen Town Musicians. Yes, they are a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster (what did you expect?).

To learn about these incredible musicians, read their story.

An Update on Pepper

My baby Pepper had knee surgery yesterday (March 5) and got back home today. He does not look happy!

The band on his front leg covers the trans-dermal pain medicine patch. Hopefully it's working!

RRRRRRrrrrroxxxxxaaaannnne!

I am going to see the Police! I got tickets yesterday... just before they sold out. Whooo hooo! I get to re-live the 80s (my formative years!).

My Watch

The watch I am wearing today is special to me. I purchased it in Toulouse, France in 1989. It has a phrase on it that expresses my core belief about people.

Tous les êtres humains naissent libres et égaux en dignité et en droits.

Translation: All people are born free and equal in dignity and in rights. This is from Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ratified by the United Nations on December 10, 1948.

To me, this means that the manner in which you are born (e.g, male, female, white, black, Jew, gay, Peruvian, Bushman, etc.) should have no bearing on the dignity and rights you have.

Does this mean that I think everyone should be treated equally? No. But the important part is that how we are born is not the determining factor in how society regards us. It should be how we choose to act. Dr. King put it best when he said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." In other words, what we choose to do with ourselves should seperate us -- the content of our character.

There are good people and bad people of every color, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, etc. Goodness or badness has nothing to do with how one is born. Is this the way the world works? Yeah, right. Not even close. But it is an ideal for which we can all strive, can't we?

Who needs Mexico?

Since my wonderful Pepper is having surgery on his right back knee (torn ACL - poor baby!), we are not going to Mexico this winter (just like last winter, when Pepper had surgery on his left back knee).

We still wanted a getaway of some sort, so we headed Up North. No, it did not compensate me for missing out on waiter service under a palapa on the beach, wearing SPF 45 while the waves of the Caribbean tickled my toes. We stayed in a cabin at a resort in Grand Rapids, MN (average temperature: 10° F). The cabin was on Lake Prairie, so Dave managed to get some ice fishing in. Pepper enjoyed romping around, only slipping on the ice a few times (if he didn't have a torn ACL already, he'd have one now!).

Some highlights:

So, since Pepper does not have any more anterior cruciate ligaments to tear, we just might make it back to Mexico in February, 2008.

All About Me

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Nom de Web:	Collette
Birthplace:	St. Paul, Minnesota
Current Location:	Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota
Eye Color:	Blue
Hair Color:	Auburn (for now)
Height:	5' 4"
Right Handed or Left Handed:	Right
Your Heritage:	Italian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, English, Scottish, Irish
The Shoes You Wore Today:	Black flat pirate boots
Your Weakness:	FOOD
Your Fears:	Spelunking
Your Perfect Pizza:	Almost anything
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:	Not get fired
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:	BTW
Thoughts First Waking Up:	Man, what a strange dream
Your Bedtime:	9-ish
Pepsi or Coke:	Diet Dr. Pepper or Diet Mountain Dew
MacDonalds or Burger King:	BK
Single or Group Dates:	Either
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:	Lipton
Chocolate or Vanilla:	Depends...
Cappuccino or Coffee:	Coffee
Do you Smoke:	No
Do you Swear:	If necessary
Do you Sing:	In the car, shower, when no one else is around
Do you Shower Daily:	Yes
Have you Been in Love:	Yes
Do you want to go to College:	I did
Do you want to get Married:	I did
Do you belive in yourself:	Yes
Do you get Motion Sickness:	Rarely - when I am in the back seat of a car
Are you a Health Freak:	Yeah, right
Do you get along with your Parents:	Yes
Do you like Thunderstorms:	Yes
Do you play an Instrument:	Define "play" (I have a piano and used to play violin and viola)
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:	Yes
In the past month have you Smoked:	No
In the past month have you been on Drugs:	Illegal? No.
In the past month have you gone on a Date:	Yes
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:	Yes
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:	I wish (Double Stuff)
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:	I think it's been more than a month
In the past month have you been on Stage:	In my fantasies
In the past month have you been Dumped:	No
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:	No
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:	No
Ever been Drunk:	Yes
Ever been called a Tease:	No
Ever been Beaten up:	No
How do you want to Die:	Peacefully at an advanced age
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:	I still don't know
What country would you most like to Visit:	Kenya
In a Boy/Girl..
Favourite Eye Color:	Blue
Favourite Hair Color:	Blond
Short or Long Hair:	Whatever
Height:	Taller than me
Weight:	Appropriate
Number of CDs I own:	No idea (hundreds)
Number of Piercings:	Five
Number of Tattoos:	None
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

They're baaaaaack!

The parental units have returned from Israel. Of course, everything went well and they were perfectly safe. They highly recommended Israel to me (it's on the list, but it's a very long list).

Upon request...

... here is the most bloody national anthem (that I know of anyway...). The French national anthem (a.k.a. La Marseillaise) was written during the French Revolution, when heads were rolling all over the place. It was a bloody mess, complete with real hatred for the royals that made the American Colonies' relationship with King George III seem downright friendly by comparison.

Here are the words en français:
Allons enfants de la Patrie, le jour de gloire est arrivé.
Contre nous, de la tyrannie, l'étandard sanglant est levé, l'étandard sanglant est levé.
Entendez-vous, dans la compagnes, mugir ces farouches soldats?
Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras. Egorger vos fils, vos compagnes.
Aux armes citoyens! Formez vos bataillons!
Marchons, marchons! Qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons.

Here are the word in English:
Let us go, children of the fatherland, our day of glory has arrived.
Against us stands tyranny, the bloody flag is raised, the bloody flag is raised.
Do you hear in the countryside, the roar of these savage soldiers?
They come right into our arms to cut the throats of your sons, your country.
To arms, citizens! Form up your battalions!
Let us march, let us march! That their impure blood should water our fields.

Good stuff, n'est-ce pas?

Of course, this is the same country that gave us all the guillotine... which reminds me of a small controversy I learned of when I studied in Toulouse. Did the guillotine kill in the first blow, or did it take multiple whacks? One school of thought said that the blades were too dull to completely chop off one's head with only one try... others believed either that the blades were indeed sharp enough or that the weight alone of the blade was enough to do the trick. Lovely.

Dave and I were fortunate enough to visit Paris and the very spot where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette lost their heads (Place de la Révolution, or as it's known today, Place de la Concorde).