Didn't Feel a Thing...

I was crashing (in other words, my blood sugar was extremely low) the other day... and usually I can feel it. I get light headed, and I think I am very funny, my wife can't stand this as a low blood sugar is nothing to laugh at (of course she is right). Other times I become agitated easily. Neither was the case on this night. I went low (37 to be exact) and it can be because I took to much insulin and/or I did not eat enough carbohydrates or I misjudged who many carbs was in whatever I ate. Typically it is the later that always trips me up.

So anyway the only reason I knew I was crashing is because I was reading email and understood none of it. It might as well have been written in Chinese. Except I could make out that there were words, and could put them together as sentences, but I had absolutely no idea what was being said. It was at this point I took my blood sugar, saw that it was low, nudged my wife (god bless her) out of bed and told her I was low. She got me a bowl of cereal.

And I'm alive today because of her. And I know I probably don't show enough appreciation toward her, but I really like being alive, and so I thank her. And as for the crash with no feeling... I guess for now on if I read something but cannot make any sense out of it, that will have to be a "feeling".

Classic Film Friday: Top Secret!

This movie is sort of like Airplane! it is made by the same folks, but anyway it stars a very young Val Kilmer (in his big screen debut) who plays Nick Rivers a rock and roll boy from the USA, a sort of Elvis if you will. And he has been booked by the East German government to do a show. Yeah it is like that. The movie makes absolutely no sense at all, but that is a good thing, heck they even say it in the preview. Kilmer did really sing the songs, so it has that going for it and it has spoof after spoof. So if you want to see some 80's style footage, complete with east German antics (we were worried about them in the 80's right?) give this one a try.

Anberlin - Impossible

This is their actual video. I like it done live above better. Why? Maybe I'm turned off by the "done-ness" of their studio-production. Anyway, either way, there you go...I'll give them credit for their video bellow, with all those "balls"... but as for actual music... The top one is better in my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Those Jeans Are Kind of Gay Anyway

Mardi Gras... Again

A little Mardi Gras, for all of us working slobs that can't get time off...

Happy Mardi Gras!!!

Yeah... I know... Nobody really cares. That is unless you are an ex-patriot of New Orleans. But still I know they are having fun down there. How II wish I could be blogging live on location... But honestly, if that were possible, the last thing I would do is blog about it. I'd be to busy having fun. Drinking, maybe smoking, laughing, looking at all the craziness pass me by (like the drag queens and strippers) I also know that by now they (the locals) are ready to move on.

I went to Publix to get my king cake. It just didn't taste very good. I made me a pot of jambalaya, and I put too much pepper in it, only I and the teenager could stomach it. I guess like the Saints, it just wasn't my year, or time. I keep promising the Songbird that I will take to New Orleans her for her birthday (which sometimes corresponds along with Mardi Gras) but I'm wondering... how exactly I'm going to pull that one off. I hope it won't be too long but... it might. You know they don't let off from school around here for a holiday celebrated 800 miles away. So that means we would have her be absent (as well as my wife) and that isn't kosher.

Then I think about everything we would see. The sights, the smells, it was good enough for me... but I grew up around all of that. I mean we yearly got a spot called the "Back Door" (a gay bar) and you could sit back and enjoy lip syncing and costume contests. But for a sweet little innocent girl, who may get mauled by a crowd for some beads or a cup, or some drawers? That I don't know. I wish I could be there, but I'm scared, that once around all of that, I may realize all too quickly that it is not all it is cracked up to be.

Luckily for me, I will not be able to afford to go for some time. So I guess I will worry about all of the rest when the time comes. And remember, the very next day is the beginning of Lent. Go get the ashes in the form of a cross on your forehead, so everyone knows you are a good catholic.

Unions

There has been much said on unions lately. I think everyone must remember, how you are brought up will depend on whether you support the union or think it is a waste. I think many people get hung up on the specifics, and maybe rightly so because one slip up and it could change everything. Everyone has an agenda. Everyone. Even me I guess.

My father worked union jobs in the late 70's/early 80's. He got a union pension. It was laughably low, like here is $20,000 to $40,000 for your trouble, this included many jobs that were not-union and he had to pay union dues all the while. Also I have never had a job where I found myself belonging to a union So, my experience with unions is pretty limited. But anyway I can maybe sense their need, although I have never found any reason to be a part of one. Does that mean I'm anti-union? Hardly but I can't see a reason to make a big fuss. If I didn't like being what I am right now, I would move or be something else.

I think you have to be adaptable in today's work environment. Don't get too comfortable, be willing to move, and as always hope for the best. I hope that everyone that is in a union wants and needs the same thing that non-union people want. I think that is the way it is supposed to be... I really don't know. I do know the struggles of the textile workers here in South Carolina , I also know there are no more textile jobs here. They can make them cheaper overseas. So is the greed factor involved? Well maybe, but it is not just the greed of the textile maker, it is us as well, since we can get said products from overseas cheaper (i.e. Wal-mart) then we usually do. I can't remember the last pair of shoes I bought that weren't made in China.

But I'm getting off of the point I am trying to make. Unions are kind of like where you are born or do you like pickles, you can't tell someone who is a union man to hate unions just like you can't tell a union detractor that unions are good. You can try, but in all likelihood you are not going to change anyone's mind. I think I am more anti than pro... but again that is because of my personal experiences, which are skewed.

I know unions brought some industries up, with worker safety, wages, helping people not have to worry they would get fired, that sort of thing. I don't know if what we have today is the same thing, but you just never know. My father-in-law is a member of a union up in Pennsylvania, the way he talks, he could take it or leave it. I guess those dues are hurting, but if not for the union, I wonder if he would have the job he has now. So all I can really say about unions is pretty much nothing at all. Maybe they are good/bad, I'm sure someone who knows could point me in either direction... But it is more about where you come from or expect than a choice you can actually make. I never had to make that choice and hope I never do.