Observations of an Idiot

I'm done commenting on the political stuff- so if you're looking for that, go away. And if you're not, it's safe for you to come back. Wait- just one tiny thing, then I'm done. All I'm gonna say is: McCain really dropped the ball the other night. What a wasted opportunity. And not a speech for people with A.D.D., that's for sure. All they got out of it was "Boring, boring, wow he's really old, boring, he really is shockingly white, irritating voice, blibbity blah, boring, do we have popcorn, he's still talking, I wonder what's on TV Land." Don't ask me how I know, I just do. Truthfully, all I could think of during the speech was the happy dance Nicki was probably doing, in her little "I Heart (that other guy)" t shirt. You were doing a happy dance, weren't you, Nicki? I was embarrassed for the guy. And his wife. But you can find better commentary on their speeches all over the place, so I'm moving on. Still not voting for that other guy (He that shall not be named), though. OK- there. Now I'm done.

Today's post is better than politics. It's about the stuff that really makes this country great- deeply intellectual, important stuff, like TV. I always catch myself accidentally typing "TB." If one slips through, don't be confused. This post is not about TB. TB is something entirely different.

I have a love/hate relationship with "House." Does anybody else watch this ridiculous show? If you don't, this post won't make any sense. I think it's funny, but probably not for the reasons I'm supposed to. I'm not a die-hard fan, but I've seen it enough to know that it's one of the most implausible and predicable shows on TV. Every week is the same thing:

1. Dr. House and his team have a patient afflicted with some odd and mysterious malady.

2. Dr. House is supposed to be brilliant and you would think that after several seasons has pretty much seen it all, yet he never knows right off the bat what's wrong with the patient.

3. Dr. House and his team toss out various possibilities, which always include autoimmune, sarcoidosis, and cancer. Here's a hint to the House team: It is never autoimmune, sarcoidosis, or cancer! Don't you watch your own show? Stop guessing those things! Pick the least obvious, most rare and obscure thing you can think of and choose that first- like a tick bite. TWO patients have almost died now from a flippin' tick. Stop with the sarcoidosis already.

4. Dr. House and his team try every cure known to man for autoimmune, sarcoidosis and/or cancer, while continuing to test for other things, just in case they're wrong (since they are always wrong) and almost kill the patient in the process, which doesn't bother Dr. House in the least, because without the treatment, the patient is dead anyway... and besides, Dr. House hates this patient even more than he hated last week's patient.

5. Someone on Dr. House's team will go against his orders because they just know he's wrong. Dr. House will go against Cutty's orders because he knows she's wrong. Everyone goes behind everyone else's back, ordering tests and treatments, and using lots of big words. Someone is still convinced it's sarcoidosis.

6. Dr. House is allowed to berate, insult, and humiliate his patients mercilessly without consequence, because the poor guy is addicted to drugs and in pain and, heck, who isn't? So we should all understand. Besides, he's brilliant- he's got that tortured genius thing going on.

7. Dr. Cutty, dressed in a skirt that's too tight, and a blouse with one too many buttons undone for a woman in her professional position and just a tiny bit of bra peeking out, gets mad at Dr. House for almost killing the patient, all the while giving him looks that say, "Take me, big boy."

8. Dr. House will remain stumped until the last five minutes of the show, when a completely unrelated conversation with Wilson will cause him to suddenly figure out what's wrong with his patient. He will swoop in and save the day right as the patient is about to take his dying breath, leaving his team stupefied and in awe of his brilliance. No one ever seems to notice that if he were so freakin' brilliant, it wouldn't have taken a completely unrelated conversation with Wilson to make him suddenly figure out what's wrong with his patient.

9. The patient is so grateful for being alive that he doesn't sue the crap out of Dr. House or the hospital for performing countless wasted procedures, almost killing him, and treating him like dirt.

10. Dr. House limps out of the hospital at the end of the day alone with a little smirk on his face.

11. I sit and wonder for the umpteenth time why I am still watching this silly show.

If you've seen the show, I'm curious to know what you think. Somebody must think it's good because it keeps coming back for a new season. If you haven't seen it, why did you keep reading this post? How sad I am for you. You could have been watching TB.

Are We Still Friends?

Well, I hope I didn't make everyone hate me after yesterday's post, but I make no apologies for who I am. Actually that's not true. I apologize all the time for who I am. One of the drawbacks to having little to no self confidence, apparently. Yes, I am a Bible-thumping, creation-believing, abortion-opposing, homeschooling, conservative Christian and... (Gasp!) a Republican (most of the time), who doesn't really enjoy politics and doesn't trust most politicians. BUT... I am also sooo many other things. I'm a bad dancer, for example. I'm fat. I'm a pretty darn good baker (which explains that whole fat thing). And a semi-professional ventriloquist. Okay, that one was a lie, but I'm trying to sound interesting here. I like long walks on the beach at sunset. Which makes living in the Midwest all the more unfortunate.

Anyway, I appreciated your comments yesterday, as always! I don't mind opinions that differ from my own and I trust most of you don't either. We all have our big girl panties on, right? If I expect you to agree with me, I will warn you in advance.

The big news for today is that Plan B has just become Plan A. Darrell and I have decided to fill out an application with a new agency and continue this adventure with a new program. Scary! But thrilling, too. I'm so excited, but trying to keep my feet on the ground at the same time. It's hard. No more details than that yet, though. I'm bursting at the seams to tell you all about it, but if I learned anything at all from our Vietnam experience it's not to shoot my mouth off so soon. Counting the chickens before they hatch, and all that. I promise I'll fill in the blanks when things start falling into place. There's going to be so much to do pretty soon- I'm sure we'll need a revised homestudy done, which will mean getting my house to that obsessive level of clean that drives my family crazy and makes me feel a little like a drill sergeant... in a fun way. We have to submit pictures of Darrell and I with our application, which will mean losing 35 pounds in about a week or so, and doing lots of test shots to see which poses camouflage most of my chins. I have to find out how to change the I171H. Frap. I don't know how to begin with that. It just expired, so it needs to be renewed, plus it needs to be changed to the new place. Do I just need to start over and get a new one? Alex is now 18, so he'll need to get fingerprinted, too. Frap again. Then there will be a new dossier to put together. Do I sound like I'm talking fast? Because I feel like I'm talking really, really fast... Oh.My.Gosh. I haven't been this happy for months. I'm so excited to be actively pursuing the path to our child again. The disappointment of Vietnam is certainly not going to go away anytime soon, but this is definitely renewing my sense of hope. Pray for me, though- it's obviously impossible not to get excited, even though I know I shouldn't. If this thing goes belly up too, I'm going to be devastated and you will be able to find me in a Baskin Robbins with my head buried in a 5 gallon bucket of ice cream.

The Right Side

There's been a lot of political talk on the internet lately, and it's been fun (and sometimes infuriating- :P) reading all the different posts and comments. Here's what I've been wondering, though, as I read those comments... Why is it so acceptable in our society to trash Christians and all they stand for? You rarely hear or see people talking about how ridiculous the beliefs of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, or other faiths are. But it's perfectly okay to belittle, attack, and make fun of the Christian faith. Why does any and every other belief system (including Atheism) deserve a certain level of respect, but mine does not? I'm not allowed to express my faith publicly, but you are allowed to publicly attack it. If I say anything against you and what you believe or support, I'm guilty of "hate speech." You, on the other hand, can call me and all the things I value most every hateful, degrading name in the book. And the funny thing is, you do so while calling me a hypocrite! Seriously?

And as far as the idea that religion has no place in politics? I do not believe it is possible to separate one's beliefs and values from their political views. If you are able to do that, then you must be pretty wishy-washy with your beliefs. If I believe in something with all my heart, then my conscience will not allow me to vote for a political candidate whose beliefs, actions and platforms are in direct opposition to my beliefs. I don't see why that's something to be made fun of. I really don't. Can someone explain it to me? The same people who laud themselves for standing up for what they believe and speaking their minds on issues of importance to them mock me when I do the very same thing. You're convictions are so strongly held that you'll scream them from the rooftops. Great! Mine are so strongly held that I take them with me to the voting booth. What's the dif?

It also seems hypocritical to me, and pretty flippin' amusing, to hear the other guy's loyal minions attacking my political party and its candidates for not having any integrity... Do I really need to bring up some of the dishonest, insincere, indecent, unprincipled snafus of your party? I hope not, because the list is quite long and my fingers will get tired.

The truth is- there are probably not many politicians on either side with much integrity. Even if they come into the process with high ideals and a true desire to change things, I think they are quickly caught up in the corruption and bullcrap that is Washington. I don't hold a very high opinion of politicians and certainly don't trust or believe them, regardless of the party they support. They all have writers crafting the perfectly worded soundbite. They all tell you what you want to hear. They all choose running mates based on who can help manipulate a vote from you. I know I'm cynical and pessimistic, but I've come to believe they are all liars who will say anything to get in, and once they are, they screw us over without losing a minute of sleep. That characteristic seems to have no trouble crossing party line. If you truly believe your guy is sincere, genuine, transparent, and real, then I think you're the one living a fairy tale and believing a myth.

One more thing... If you find my beliefs so laughable because you believe there is no God at all, I hate to tell ya, but you are still a person of faith. You're choosing to believe something you cannot prove or see, just as I am. Only you're taking a much bigger gamble.

Moving On

Chandra, at Table Pho Three, has a post up today that I hope you will take time to read. She sums up everything I'm thinking and feeling about the Vietnam situation so much better than I could have done. My heart goes out to her and all the other Vietnam families.

I'm thinking that the name of this blog should change. Not the url- I don't want to start another new blog, just the name... I have no idea what to call it, because I really don't know what kind of blog this is. What category does it even fit into? It's sort of an adoption blog. Even though Sam didn't join our family, we still have two adoptees to talk about. But then again, it's sort of not. It's sort of a mommy/parenting blog, but not always... What is it?

Anyhoo... I'm open to suggestions. Tell me what you think. How would you categorize my blog, and what would you name it? Keep it clean, please.

If I don't get any responses, maybe I'll just rename it: "Ellipses, Commas and Dashes," because I use too many of these: "...," ",,,," and "----". How's that? :-D