IH8Winter's Blog

I don't know why I had never heard or read about this before, but I just read on CNN.com -- today -- about a soldier being removed from active duty due to his picking up an innocent puppy and then throwing the poor thing off a cliff while it yelped.  Even more disturbing the man, it reported, was laughing as he did this!  What sickens me is this was an American doing this!  I could picture a terrorist or someone truly evil (like a criminal) doing something like this but to have a member of the military (our military) harming a defenseless animal is beyond disgusting.  I should almost stop reading about these cases because I  am such an animal lover, and cases of animal abuse/neglect and stories like this make me sick to my stomach. They say what goes around, comes around.  And for the man who did this, I hope its true.

So the national average for a gallon of gas is now $4.00 a gallon!! My word. It almost seems like a bad nightmare but it's reality. I don't even own a car (haven't for a few years) or drive, but that doesn't mean it doesn't affect me. At the grocery store, everything is going up in price. A gallon of milk is now about $4.50 a gallon! Eggs are more expensive, so is yogurt, as well as even soda (like Coke) (which I drink too much of, admittedly).... It is just so infuriating that there is absolutely nothing that can be done to stop the insanity!! It does help, though, that there is an option like food support (food stamps). I used to think like five years ago, 'I'll never need food stamps..... etc.' and fast forward five years and I am now using food stamps which, I admit, does help a lot. But I will admit it does bruise my ego a bit and I don't know why.....

I think the most aggravating thing about this whole mess is that there's simply NO SOLUTION in sight! What's next, $10.00 for a gallon of milk? $5.00 eggs? And now they say that drivers could be paying $5 per gallon by July 4! That really is painful, even to non-drivers like me! I'm sure now Metro Transit, which I depend on to get around, is going to charge more for their normal fare which is somewhat understandable yet totally annoying.

I guess the only thing we can all do is just hang on tight and 'hope' things get better soon! Pretty crappy advice but then again it's the truth.

I am not going to write much except say that I am heartbroken over the terrible bus crash and the four children who died.  It's just a terrible tragedy, and I want to send my condolences to all the victims and families...  When I think back over the past six months or so, a lot of stuff has happened... the awful I-35 bridge collapsing, the terrible floods in southeastern Minnesota, and now this.

Today on the (long) commute home on the bus from work, I had to endure one cell phone conversation after another, including one woman's blabbing on and on and on and on and on and on about her kid's problems in school and why she should stop dating so and so because if they keep getting serious they will have to move in together and then she would just hate it because.... blah.... blah..... blah....  I'm not kidding, it was that bad almost word for word. I mean, how rude and moronic is that?  Why would you want the entire bus listening in to a personal conversation?? I know I wouldn't! If you choose to talk on your phone on the bus, you may as well post a transcript on the conversation on the Internet on MySpace!

My solution which will never happen: ban cell phones on the bus altogether! No one wants to hear about what you are supposed to pick up at the store, what medical condition you or someone has, where your dog went to the bathroom, etc. etc.....  At the very least, whisper!!

I don't think I'm alone on this. I'm crabby now, I think I'll go watch a video of Robyne and Jeff dancing at the fair to cheer me up. ;)

I about died laughing the other day watching Robyne and Jeff dancing during the 5 pm newscast at the fair!!  Too funny.... but don't worry guys, I'm not laughing AT you, I'm laughing WITH you... and everyone else.     :-)

I just wanted to post that my thoughts and prayers are with all the victims and survivors (and families) who were affected by that horrific bridge collapse yesterday.  I was numb with shock when I got home last night to see it on the news.  I thought it was just something minor like a traffic chase or something but my jaw dropped when I found out about the bridge.  Thanks to the brave rescuers and all the volunteers who have such a tremendously hard job.

I'm not going to write a long post today; I just wanted to say that I feel really bad for the people who have lost their homes and businesses to that nasty wildfire.... hopefully it will be put out really soon!

It was a very, very bad weekend for me personally as my beloved dog, Heidi (a mini-schnauzer) died of heart failure. We had gotten her in 1995 (where does the time go?) and she lived to be about 13 years old. Needless to say, I'm devastated by it; whenever anyone loses a loved one, you always want to at least have one more moment with them. I called her 'my little buddy' - I couldn't love a dog anymore than Heidi. So naturally, I spent most of yesterday, Sunday, grieving over Heidi; I'm literally heart-broken over losing her. Yesterday it felt like I was crying every half-hour, and I'm not usually that emotional. I was supposed to travel to Aberdeen, SD this weekend (where Heidi lived with my parents) but I no longer wanted to go since it would only remind me of Heidi. Right now I'm having a really hard time looking at other dogs, whether on TV or outside because quite frankly, no other dog could ever replace Heid. She had been diagnosed with a heart condition one year ago, but I suppose I had been in denial about her eventually dying.  I know I'm biased but she was literally the greatest dog in the world.

Heidi, I miss you and love you always!!!

I will admit freely, I'm one of those people wishing they were the ones who would win the big jackpot of Publishers Clearing House (the $10 million payday) and I'm also one of the suckers who enter online contests and the like in "hopes" of winning, though I know it's nearly impossible that I will win anything.  I know I am not the only person sucked into entering contests and giveways and the like online.  What gets me is how easily these sites con people into giving their personal information away - which is dangerous considering how prevalent identity theft is these days.

I now worry these days - is my personal information 'safe' at all once I enter these stupid things?  Or is some hacker out there able to get my info and start some fraudulent activities?  The lure of all these prizes is what has sucked me in (maybe greed too?) and I should really know better.  I should know my odds on winning anything are almost nil - the only thing I have ever won was a tennis racquet from Dunlop in 2001 for getting most of my predictions right in a tennis contest. And that was pure luck.  Now I feel I'm just voluntarily giving my information out like a moron for these stupid sweepstakes/contests/"scams".  I don't ever win prizes, but what I do "gain" is nothing but annoying spam - all those stupid advertisements and "newsletters" from third-party advertisers and the like.

 

As an animal lover, I was disgusted and outraged to hear about a dog beheading in St. Paul.  Worse yet, this bum sent this head to the poor owner who he wanted to date but was apparently refused (I heard that on FOX 9 last night).  First, my sympathies to the victim and her family; what a devatstating thing to happen to them.  Animal cruelty is definitely the one thing in life I am most passionate about, and people who commit this despicable act need to be held accountable.

That guy and any other people who were in on this evil act need to be sent to jail for a while.  If I were in charge, they would be getting 50 years to life - no parole! Pets are a part of the family, they are NOT property.  This is absolutely barbaric behavior, and I really do wonder what in the heck is happening to society when stuff like this happens?

There is no proper way to describe what a deranged and sick individual is - it's beyond cruel, it's evil and an atrocity.