Updates!

Once again, I apologize for my lack of posts. I'm a boring writer with no social life and nothing nonfictional to say for the most part. Therefore, I often run out of nonfictional subjects on which to post. I sit at home all day. I spend time with fictional characters until my husband gets home. I go upstairs and spend time with my nonfictional characters. Then I go to bed and fall asleep watching a certain animated show on Hulu.

That's my boring life, and I'm okay with it, although sometimes I wish it were more exciting. (I'm getting too old for excitement and adventure to be honest.) Anyway, on to the real reason why you're reading this post, the updates!

I know what you're thinking...

Let's go back to September, where the real action began. (July and August were slow, aside from our fireworks extravaganza with loved ones.) September was the Perry Stone Conference. I look forward to that every year. This year, however, I was rather disappointed. Before I continue with why I was disappointed, I just want to say that Perry Stone is my favourite person ever. I love what he has to say, and I agree with a great deal of it. I always learn something new, and I love learning, which is one of the many reasons why he's my favourite. This conference, however, was a disappointment.

First of all, during the first morning service, he contradicted himself concerning what he had said about Barak Obama during the 2008 Prophetic Update before the man ever became POTUS. He said, "Obama has a teachable spirit." Perry Stone has never told us who to vote for. He simply presents the facts. That year, he had very little to say about the Republican candidates, which were McCain and Palin I think. (I care so little about politics that I almost pass out any time someone mentions them.) 

The first morning service of 2015, he said he told us that Obama would destroy this country if he was elected in 2008. He NEVER said that, not at our church, and at least not in 2008. I'm seriously considering sending my notes from the 2008 conference along with the notes from the first service and asking him about it.

Secondly, the entire conference, all Perry did was sing the praises of Kim Davis, the circuit county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to ANYONE, not just homosexual couples, but heterosexual couples as well. The news stories did not give out that piece of information. They made the focus on her refusal to give out marriage licenses to homosexual couples. Perry Stone kept singing her praises and talking about how she chose Jesus over the law. I disagree. I think this woman may have started out with the issue being her convictions, and I applaud anyone who stands up for their convictions, but in the end, it seemed more like she wanted her fifteen minutes of fame, and what's worse is that people kept giving it to her. Unfortunately, the last I heard about that whole situation was that a few other legal officials have decided to follow in her footsteps.

I know a lot of my church colleagues (for lack of a better word or phrase) are going to freak out upon reading this, however there are scriptures to back up what I am saying. I've thought about this from the moment I saw that woman's name in the news. Romans 13:1 Paul writes "Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities." EVERY PERSON. It doesn't say EVERY PERSON EXCEPT Kim Davis. Yes, there are conditions. You are subject to governing authorities unless these laws will cause you to violate a commandment. Sorry, but the ten commandments say nothing about marriage licenses and homosexuality. The commandments include adultery, but nothing else pertaining to marriage. The other condition is that you are subject to the law unless you are being forced to commit an unethical or immoral act. Handing out marriage licenses is not unethical or immoral. This circuit clerk was elected to perform duties and responsibilities for the county, which entails issuing marriage licenses. Does this clerk have to support gay marriage? No, she does not, but she has to do her job. Doing her job does not mean she condones gay marriage. It means that she is showing the people who elected her that they elected the right person for the job. If I had voted for her, I'd be disappointed right now, but thankfully I do not live anywhere near her district.

The bible also says that it is not for us to judge others. In Matthew 7:1-3, it says, "Judge not, that ye be judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" Think about that. It is not our place to judge ANYONE. ANYONE. If you're perfect, please raise your hands. I didn't see any hands. I couldn't raise my own hand. I'm not perfect, therefore I cannot judge anyone. Also, in Romans 12:19, it talks about how vengeance belongs to the Lord. The circuit clerk had no right to punish those, gay or straight, who wanted marriage licenses. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. It is between those seeking marriage licenses and God, and only God is our judge.

The only thing this whole gay marriage issue did was bring out the worst of some of the people at my church. There are people I looked up to, but when the law allowing gay marriage was passed, I was shocked by some of the status messages filled with hate that were posted by people with whom I go to church. This brings me to the next point. Matthew 22. The greatest commandment is love. Love the Lord you God with all of your heart and mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. (I'm paraphrasing Matthew 22:36-40.) Who is our neighbor? The scripture isn't talking about those who live in close proximity to us. It's talking about people you pass on the street, the people with whom you interact each day, everyone. EVERYONE. Where was the love in those status messages? Are gays so repugnant that they are unworthy of the greatest commandment, which is love? Do you really think yelling the scriptures at anyone in the LGBT categories is going to make them feel loved and welcomed into a church? NO! It wouldn't make me feel loved or welcomed, and I've been to that church! I've been there! I was called an adulteress and an abomination by the corrupted shepherd himself, but I went to that church and I did everything by the book, and I was still called those things! Why don't you try loving others for a change? And for the record, Kim Davis is our neighbor. I'm not trying to judge her. I'm simply stating scripture concerning the situation. I understand she has convictions. I really do. What I don't understand is why she is seen as a hero in the eyes of many Christians when she violated not only the law of the land, but several of God's laws with her actions. I don't get it. I also don't get why it's okay for Christians to hate gays, which is a sin according to the bible, but they can love all of the other sinners with no problem? I just don't get it.

Back to the disappointing conference, I was just shocked, but I stuck it out and I tried to remain as objective as possible despite how betrayed I felt. Every single time he sang the praises of Kim Davis, I shut down mentally until he got back to the subject at hand. It was difficult to sit through. Then to make things worse, a few days after the conference, one of my friends got on Periscope and followed Perry Stone, and she was telling me that he was talking about boycotts. Several times he has said from my church platform that he wasn't the type of person to tell others to boycott things, and that the things he boycotted were for personal reasons, not for him to get up there and tell us why we should boycott as well. Now he's on Periscope telling his followers to boycott Frito Lay and Starbucks? Really? (The boycott claims were second hand information, so I'm not certain of their validity. I've listened to him on Periscope several times and he hasn't discussed it during those sessions.)

If you boycott every single company that holds beliefs that are different from yours, you will have to grow your own food, make your own clothing, hand soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, cosmetics, and shoes. Boycotts are ridiculous, and they NEVER WORK. I have boycotted several companies for bad service, but those companies are still in business and doing better than ever. I even wrote letters as to why I wouldn't eat/shop/etc. there, and I received no response. I wasn't rude in my letters. I didn't use profanity or threaten anyone. I calmly explained the problems I had experienced as a patron, but I received no response. People boycotted Chic-Fil-A because the CEO or whoever it was shared the opinion that marriage is between a man and a woman, and guess what? Chic-Fil-A is still open. BOYCOTTS DO NOT WORK. And putting boycott information out there on the world wide web only brings in more customers for the company you're boycotting due to the drama, because people love drama, and they thrive on it. They're going to go check it out and see what the hype is all about. So congratulations, you just got the company you abhor more business. Good job.

I could go on. I've had several people ask me questions concerning gay marriage, like why I'm not outraged by the law being passed, or why I won't give an opinion on it, or why I didn't support the bakery who refused to serve the gay couple. (Spoiler alert: it was because the bakery was fine serving the gay couple cookies until the couple requested a wedding cake. Double standard anyone?) I don't feel like getting into answering the questions I've been asked in this particular post. This is simply a post updating the events and happenings in my life. I would compose a separate post concerning these questions, but I don't know how well it would be received, and I'm not about to get into an online battle with anyone, especially not those who have an extreme hatred toward anyone in the LGBT categories.

After the disappointing conference that I look forward to every year, we went to visit family the following week. Our first stop were to see my new loved ones in DC. I met them for the first time in March. I LOVE Doug's family. They're great. I love visiting with them, especially my canine cousin.

Me and Johnny Angel

We had a nice visit consisting of dinner and entertainment. As always, the visit was way too short. It's a shame we don't live closer. We bid them adieu and headed for our hotel.

The next day, we drove to my mother's, which is two hours away from where we were. We got a room at the Red Roof Plus +, which I will never stay at again. We had a nice visit there, but our experience with the Red Roof Plus + was horrible. What happened was the reservations were made at another Red Roof that was further away from my mother's, and we had to go to the Red Roof ++ to get a room there. After giving our check out date, we were told everything was fine. It wasn't. I think what happened is they didn't have a room for that amount of days, and they didn't want to lose our business, but they've lost it for good now.

The first night, we had trouble getting into our room. The second night, my husband had to go to the front desk and ask them to let us in, which they did, all the while saying nothing about how we were supposed to have checked out that morning. The third night, we couldn't get into our room at all, and they refused to let us in. They took OUR THINGS out of the room and rented it to someone else. Understandably, Doug was angry, because this is information they could have given us THE DAY BEFORE. The desk clerk threatened to call the police on Doug for trying to get our stuff and leave. She wouldn't let him touch OUR THINGS. I walked out, because all I saw was red, and I didn't want to let my anger get the best of me.

We got a much nicer room elsewhere and it was over, or so I thought. It only gets worse from there.

While Doug was demanding that woman give us our things so we could leave, some guy and his girlfriend were trying to check in. The guy began stalking me on Facebook. I posted a review detailing all of this, and he commented that my husband cussed out the desk clerk and tried to hit her. I knew this wasn't true. For starters, Doug doesn't use profanity. Also, Doug would never hit a woman, no matter how badly she was treating him. But this guy insisted all of these things actually happened. He made fun of Doug's weight, my weight, (he accused me of doing drugs and called me a crack whore) and just got real personal about it. He Facebook stalked me for an entire day, called me a liar, and said I expected to stay at the Red Roof Minus - for free. It was ridiculous. We got into an all out war, which he started, and he finally backed out when he saw I wasn't going to let it go. I wasn't. I did nothing wrong, and yet he continued to harass me over something that wasn't even any of his business.

People really need to mind their own business. One of these days, that guy is going to stick his nose where it doesn't belong and interrupt a drug deal, a robbery, or a murder, and end up caught in the crossfire. It's scary. My philosophy, especially in certain situations where weapons or giant muscly looking people are concerned, is, "Just Keep Walking."

Other than the ridiculousness with the Red Roof Minus - we had a nice visit with my mother and Arlene and Honey. We ate way too much good food. Then we headed back home and got there in time for the first Judgement House meeting.

The view from Shellye's office window. 

No colored leaves for Shellye.

So Fall has arrived...sort of. The leaves are refusing to change. Why? Because Shellye doesn't get to have Fall. Shellye moved to a bigger house with a forest behind it, and the leaves are still green, and the green leaved trees are laughing at Shellye and pointing their non colorful leaved branches as they whisper. Shellye doesn't get to have Fall. Shellye didn't get to have a dry Fall last year. Shellye doesn't get to have a colorful Fall this year. Shellye had a rainy fall with no leaves last year.

Since the leaves have refused to change, my office has been transformed into a Fall paradise.

It looks like the leaves aren't going to change any time soon. They'll probably change and quickly drop off of the trees when I'm too busy to see them. Story of my life.

Doug and I did attend the Milton Pumpkin Festival this year. It rained during most of it, so he decided we'd go on Sunday. That was a huge mistake. It was 70 and sunny. I was hot and miserable. It certainly didn't feel like Fall. Half of the vendors that were present last year were not there this year. It wasn't as fun as it used to be, but we got a few things and headed home.

While we were there, this local chiropractic company was giving out free screenings, so Doug talked me into it. It's how I ended up with my previous chiropractor. I filled out a thing and won a free visit, including x-rays. Unfortunately, this chiropractor, who after nearly a year claimed that I owed money, and since I didn't think I'd need to keep the receipts to prove that I paid each time, dumped me. (Most doctors end up dumping me. Usually it's because my test results are pristine despite my symptoms. If they can't find a reason, they make one up.) 

Back to the free screening. I went through with it, filled out paperwork, and made the appointment, I didn't think anything of it. My previous chiropractor had said I had a mild case of scoliosis, which runs in my family. No big deal. I simply presumed that a few adjustments would do me some good. I had no idea what I was getting into.

I went to my appointment on Monday, just five days ago. Thankfully Doug was able to go with me, because it was very involved. There were actual tests, not just x-rays, but tests, range of motion tests, and muscle tests, and I had to put on a gown and everything. This chiropractor wasn't playing around.

It felt strange without my wedding rings.

I had to remove all of my jewelry, including my wedding rings. I think I impressed them based on the fact that I could remove my wedding rings. Apparently most people can't these days, not when they've been married as long as I have.

The x-rays were long and tedious. I had to sit in a chair for the first session. I had to close my eyes because the lights were too bright. I had to stand in positions that a normal person would never stand in and hold my breath. I don't remember the x-ray session at my previous chiropractor being so involved. This one was more like a photo shoot! I almost expected someone to bring in a fan and the song Freeze Frame to start playing. (I guess it was an eighties photo shoot.)

The x-rays were finished, and all I wanted to do was change back into my clothes and go home. I was exhausted! I was taken to a VERY COLD room, where I was given blankets (the staff is super nice there) and waited to see the chiropractor. I thought for sure we were going to go over my x-rays and scans and range of motion, but after showing Doug that my body is severely out of alignment, he asked us to come back tomorrow and discuss the results. 

Tuesday, we returned to the chiropractor. Did I mention they have hot chocolate there? I grabbed a cup while we waited. (Yes, I know, ADD moment.) We were taken to the cold room to discuss the test results. They started with the range of motion tests, and apparently I have no range of motion. I was completely unaware of this. The numbers were in the single digits on the majority of the results. I had to wear a sensor during that test, so the sensor determined the results, it was not a guesstimate from any of the staff. That was shocking. Then the muscle and lumbar sensor tests were discussed, and the results were even more shocking. I scored in the red and black. Let me see if I can remember this. White is normal. Green is mild. Yellow is moderate. Red is severe. Black is beyond severe. All I had were red and black results, and majority of those were black. And just when I thought I couldn't be shocked any further, he put the x-rays on the screen, and I felt like sobbing the moment I saw them. I'm no doctor, but I know what a back x-ray is supposed to look like, and mine was ridiculously bad. My previous chiropractor told me that I had mild scoliosis. I had adjustments once per week. That was 2012. Fast forward to 2015. How did things get this bad?

The look on the chiropractor's face said it all. I couldn't speak for a moment, and I wasn't sure he was going to, but then he said something that was even more shocking than any of the results. "I'm really surprised you're able to function at all just by looking at the results." My inner monologue: How did things get this bad? "The fact that you walked in here is amazing." How did things get this bad! "The fact that you have any range of motion is surprising." How did things get this bad?!? "No wonder you're having migraines." HOW DID THINGS GET THIS BAD?!? That was all I could think with each thing he said. How did things get this bad in just three years? Did my previous chiropractor miss something? Was he not thorough? Did three years without chiropractic care contribute to this?

The x-rays showed just how misaligned my body is. The left side of my body is ridiculously higher than the right. My shoulders are nowhere near matching up. And while this really isn't funny, I can't help but giggle every single time I say this. My head isn't on straight. *LOL* Do you realize just how often I can use that excuse and get away with it? The best part is I wouldn't be lying! My head and neck are actually tilted. My upper body is the worst with the misalignment. At this point, nothing is ever going to be perfectly parallel again. 

My lower body is just slightly off. (My results explain why every single staff member kept asking me if I had sciatica.) My left leg is significantly longer than my right leg, but my hips are not anywhere as misaligned as my shoulders and neck. With adjustments, my lower body could possibly be perfectly parallel again, but my upper body will never line up properly again. I had my first adjustment, and I had to lie down in a room for twenty minutes after the adjustment, without moving my head. That was difficult. We went up to the front and paid, which cause our first real argument with the insurance company. 

I need adjusted three times per week. My copay is ridiculous because I haven't met my deductible for my ObamaDoesNotCare plan. We can't really afford the adjustments, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do, or if I'm going to be able to fix this new mess life has generously bestowed upon me, because I know I didn't purposely do this to myself, however my head isn't on straight. *lol* Well it isn't! It's okay to laugh about it. It's pretty funny actually, the whole "head not being on straight" thing, not the fact that I can't afford treatment for it.

I ugly cried all the way home while Doug complained about how much this was going to cost and how we couldn't really afford it. He's right though. Being chronically ill is expensive.

But this is my life. I'm not going to fight it anymore. I'm just going to accept it and move on. What else can I do? I can't go through the five stages of grief like I did with thyroid disease. I know people say that you're more than you're illness or fill in the blank of whatever you're more than, but at this point, I am an illness. I'm a walking illness just waiting to collect more illnesses. (Why is that the only goal I can accomplish?) I have too many issues to say I'm more than my illness.

I'm done doing that.

Wednesday I felt horrible, but I simply assumed it was due to the adjustment. The chiropractor warned me that it would hurt. He wasn't kidding. I spent most of the day fighting the urge to cry until it was time to get ready for my appointment. I made it through that and began to feel better that evening, so I continued to assume it was the adjustment and sucked it up like a big girl.

Thursday, I had breakfast and worked. It was a seemingly better day with less pain. Then around three o'clock, I began having chills and aches. I went upstairs to lie down until I had to get ready for Judgement House practice, but I kept feeling worse. I took my temp and discovered I had a fever. (As if I didn't have enough problems.) I messaged Doug and said there was no way I could make it to practice. Then the fever kept climbing, and Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to the doctor we go. (There was no happy tune whistled that followed.)

I didn't want to wait five hours in a packed ER, and there's a UC basically in walking distance from our house if we had to hoof it. We went there. This prompted our second argument with the insurance company. They said our insurance policy was canceled. The best part about that was that payments are automatically taken from our account, so our supposedly canceled insurance policy has been paid for on time each month. The company claimed it was inactivated for nonpayment. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Doug got on the phone and argued with someone, who said the policy shouldn't be inactive and that the last payment was received on October 18th. It took so long and I just kept feeling worse and worse, so he relented and we decided to pay the bill out of pocket. I was taken back to a room. By the time Doug got back there, he had been able to prove that we had insurance and the payment was refunded. That was one good thing in the midst of this second mess.

The staff at the UC was REALLY NICE. That was the second good thing. I had some tests ran and I was shocked to hear the diagnosis. I have a urinary tract infection. The worst part is that I've probably walked around with this infection for almost two years! I only had one noticeable symptom, which was frequent urination, which I presumed was overactive bladder, for which I was going to make an appointment. I probably had more symptoms, but it's easy for someone who has daily aches and pains to ignore pain. My low back ALWAYS hurts. I sleep wrong, it hurts. I get up wrong, it hurts. I sit or stand too long, it hurts. How was I supposed to associate that with a urinary tract infection? I didn't have any other symptoms to indicate such an infection until earlier that afternoon. I fell apart, mostly because 1. it has been a bad week, and 2. I felt like a complete idiot. 

Still I had no fever, no nausea, no abdominal pain, and no new back pain, but I didn't feel any less like an idiot. *smh* I was given two antibiotics and we headed to the pharmacy, where Doug spent an hour fighting with the insurance company again. We got the $10 antibiotic, but we couldn't afford the $500 antibiotic. Yay insurance!

Unfortunately, thanks to this new development, I won't be doing Judgement House this year. I have never been so depressed in my life. I looked forward to being a part of something that changed my life in 2003, and my body took it from me. My body always ruins things. It's a horrible servant and a horrible master. I used to be able to fight it, but now I have to give in. I don't have the strength or even the will to make my body work for me anymore. It's easier to wave that white flag and surrender to its demands. Fighting it is exhausting, and I abhor the feeling of giving up, but I don't feel like I have a choice in the matter.

Due to scheduling conflicts with Judgement House, and because the month of October has five weeks this year, we missed out on going to Circleville for The Pumpkin Show. This has been the worst and the lousiest Fall I have ever experienced. It's starting to look like just another horrible season for me. I'm beginning to loathe pumpkin spice everything, and the green leaves in my backyard are pointing and laughing at me as I type. I just can't wait for Fall to be over now.

Fall used to be my Christmas time. It used to be a season of hope for me, of renewal; the season where I had tons of energy and I was happy, no, ecstatic is a better word to describe it. Fall has let me down. I won't look forward to it next year. As a matter of fact, I have decided not to look forward to anything anymore, because there's a good chance something will happen and the thing I'm looking forward to will be either ruined or taken from me. I'm just going to focus on my work and go from there. There will be no more energy wasted on excitement or anticipation or hope. It will be poured into the now, into my loved ones, into my work, and into the things that I am physically able to accomplish. 

That may sound selfish of me or even cynical, but it's my way of coping. I hate feeling hopeless and depressed, and I can't choose how I feel physically, but I can choose how I feel mentally and emotionally, so if I don't give myself the ability to feel hopeless and depressed, it won't be so difficult for me when disappointments and situations arise in my life, because it's obvious those things will happen. I won't be sitting here, depressed that I can't accomplish something I've looked forward participating in for months. I will simply have expected it to happen and be able to focus on the situation instead of vacillating between feeling hopeless and angry and feeling depressed and disappointed in myself. 

It's difficult enough being a writer. Writers live somewhere on the scale between arrogance and self-loathing. As a writer, I vacillate between arrogance and self-loathing on a daily, sometimes an hourly, basis, and it's either one extreme or the other. I NEVER get to sit in the middle of that scale. (For example, at this very moment. I feel like I'm never going to make it as an author and should just give that up while I'm at it, but that feeling could change in fifteen minutes.) I've always heard you should live day to day instead of longing for the past or the future. Everyday is a gift. That's why it's called "the present". Is everyday really a gift? It wasn't this week, at least it wasn't for me. That I can say with complete confidence.

That's how things have been going. As the author of Dormiveglia, I should know that not every story has a happy ending. I had hoped this one would end differently, but it didn't. These days, it never ends differently. My life is a huge mess and I don't have the means to fix it. Instead I just have to somehow work around it. Maybe things will be different one day, and maybe they won't. *shrugs* What I do know is that this is not the life I had planned to live, but here I am. I'll figure out how to go about it one of these days. Until then...

Sorry. I have no cheers to give. I must go to a field and harvest some for next time.

Vacation All I Ever Wanted...Or Was It?

Greetings and Salutations!

Before I forget...

I'm not a fan of Spring because the insects return and Summer is just around the corner. That's when the depression kicks in and I don't want to leave my home. I just want to stay in the air conditioning and pray that the wasps don't enter my house. Nobody cares, so I'll belt up.

I'm finally getting a chance to write about my long, strange trip to Washington DC. I have mixed feelings about our nation's capital, and I'll get to that in a moment. I will say it is something everyone should do once. If they are made of money. And healthy.

As most trips go for us, they are required to start out with a bit of drama. We ALWAYS have drama with the rental car company. We thought we could avoid it by using the same company we used last time, but it didn't pan out. They changed the rules since we last rented a car from them. We tried several others, which put us hours behind, so we finally had to take our car, which is on its last legs. I must say I'm proud of how well it did!

They're telling the truth. It Hertz to rent a car from their company!

The day we left was my nephew's fourth birthday! (This is also my cousin Heather's birthday and PI Day, 3/14.)

My sister-in-law Stacey made this collage of Pauly's birthdays!

I can't believe he's four now!

The trip up went well. It was beautiful! I saw real mountains! (They call WV the mountain state, but do you know there are actually no mountains there?)

Some of the views we witnessed on the way to Washington DC.

I was thrilled when we made it to the hotel so I could just lie in bed and do nothing. The hotel was spectacular! It even had a mini fridge so Doug could grab frappies for me. We never know what the coffee situation is where we stay, we have provisions on hand. (If the hotel had a coffee shop. then I would use it instead.) We sat in the room for maybe thirty minutes. Doug called his paternal cousins, who I have never had the privilege of meeting, and we went over to visit with them.

ROWHOUSE!

There are a lot of rowhouses in DC, but don't let the outside appearance fool you.

They're spacious and gorgeous inside!

Meeting the paternal side of the family was the highlight of my trip to Washington DC. They were such nice people, and they treated me like one of their own. I also found out that I have two die hard fans of my book, Dormiveglia. That means so much more to me than the money I've made thus far. We had pie. One of them was "pi r squared", which made me giggle. We spent the majority of the evening visiting with them. I had the best time!

The next day, this is where the trip gets complicated, we slept in. We were exhausted. Washington DC should come with a warning label. There are things no one will tell you about visiting the nation's capital, so I'm going to be nice and give you helpful hints, tips, and advice. You may plan to go there, and you may not, but at least you will know in advance.

How to Properly Visit Washington DC. Tip #1:

NEVER SLEEP IN. 

I'm totally not teasing. If you sleep in, you will miss passes to EVERYTHING!

The plan was to go to the United States Holocaust Museum. Both entrances had lines longer than any I'd ever witnessed at King's Island. I'd be willing to wait in a line at King's Island now. Maybe not, but it certainly made the lines at the amusement park look small!

This brings me to my next point.

How to Properly Visit Washington DC. Tip #2:

HAVE A METRIC CRAP TON OF MONEY.

The good news is that most places take plastic, so you don't have to carry tons of cash on your person in the middle of a crowded city. That was convenient. Doug doesn't like to carry cash unless he needs to use it.

This brings me to the next point.

How to Properly Visit Washington DC. Tip #3:

REALIZE THAT THERE ARE NO PLACES TO PARK EVER. AND THE LOTS AND GARAGES WHERE ARE YOU CAN PARK ARE BLOCKS AWAY FROM MONUMENTS, ATTRACTIONS, AND MUSEUMS, AND THE MINIMUM COST IS $22.00.

I wish I was joking, but I'm not. By the time we found a place to park, the line at the US Holocaust Museum was gone. We decided to go in and check it out. We had to go through a metal detector and and there was security everywhere, but I can totally understand and agree with that.

Most everything, aside from parking, is free in Washington DC. The problem is that if you sleep in (See point #1) by the time you get to your destination, they're out of passes. We saw a couple of exhibits that didn't require a pass, then we walked to the Washington Monument.

This was the one of the only monuments we saw.

Our first day was just lousy. It was supposed to be fifty degrees. I don't think it ever made it past forty, and the wind was 40 mph. No matter what direction we were walking, it was hitting us, pushing us back, and merciless. The best part was even though it was hitting us, no matter what direction we were in, my hair was in my face. I had to look at Doug's shoes so I could see to follow him! It was ridiculous! I was cold and tired and annoyed. To make matters worse, the monuments are miles apart.

And here we are at the next point.

How to Properly Visit Washington DC. Tip #4:

YOU MUST BE YOUNG AND HEALTHY TO PARTICIPATE IN SIGHTSEEING.

Again, I'm not joking. You can be older, but the point is that you have to be healthy. You have to be able to walk a minimum of ten miles without breaking a sweat. I am not young. I am not healthy. I thought I was doing pretty well until this trip. Then I was reminded that I'm not in the best health or shape. It was a revelation I didn't need. (It's not like my self-esteem needed more kicks to the head.)

Doug wanted to walk to the Lincoln Memorial. We couldn't even see it from where we were standing! I decided to give it a try. We made it to the World War II Memorial, and we could finally see the Lincoln Memorial in the distance. It was still too far away. I shook my head and I told Doug I had to make a choice. I could either make it to the Lincoln Memorial, or I could make it back to the parking garage. I couldn't do both. So we went back to the car. The wind was whipping around us. I actually got shoved back against the curb and almost fell into the street as we were less than a block from the parking garage. The wind was getting worse and worse as the day progressed.

The fountains weren't on while we were there.

The World War II Memorial.

Can you even see the Lincoln Memorial in this picture?

That's how far away we were!

I'm assuming this is the view from the Lincoln Memorial.

I wouldn't know. I never made it there.

This shows just how far away it was.

The reflecting pool was empty during our trip.

Everyone knows that Huntington WV is Barboursville WV's parking lot, but after my first day in DC, I have a little more respect for the city made almost entirely out of parking lots. (This city has torn down nice buildings to make parking lots! I used to HATE them for it!) You never have to walk far. You pay a minimum of five dollars to park.

We returned to visit the family, which again was something to which I greatly looked forward. On the short drive there, I fought to pull my purse sized compact brush through my wrecked from the wind hair. It took me the entire trip. By the time we got there, the wind had stopped. Ironic, huh?

We had dinner with my new loved ones, which was spectacular! I finally got to do something on my bucket list. I got to try scotch. I think it was fifteen year old Glenfiddich. My wanting to try it has to do with my career. I try to experience things that my characters do in order to properly write about them. I had a teeny tiny glass. I took two sips and I do not understand how my fictional character Peter drinks it! (I think he drinks Glenlivet or Laphroig, but I could be wrong. He prefers twenty year old scotch too. I can only imagine how strong that is!) It was so strong, and it burned! It is definitely an acquired taste. My fictional character must have no taste buds, or maybe he can just handle it better than I can, but kudos to him for being able to drink it!

Glenfiddich Scotch Whisky.

We visited after dinner, and had more pie and coffee for dessert. Then we had to call it a night. We took pictures and said our goodbyes. It made me sad to leave them. I would love to go visit them again. I'm even willing to brave the trip and DC just to see them again!

We returned to the hotel, where I proceeded to crash and burn. We had to get up early the next morning and try to make it to the US Holocaust Museum before the passes were gone. I could barely move when I woke up the next morning. I kept limping around, trying to get ready. Standing in the shower was fun. I would have had a bath, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get out of the tub!

We left early, but not early enough. (See point #1 again.) The garage we went to the day before was full. (See point #3.) And we had to find somewhere else to park, which was farther away. (See point #4.) Thankfully it was the same amount of money to park there.

I felt like sobbing as we walked to the museum, because my hips felt like they were going to break or dislocate with each step. We made it to the museum. There were passes still available, thank God. We sat and waited for our turn.

Before we were taken up in the elevator, we were given a small booklet. In the booklet was a name and a picture of someone in the holocaust. They were given according to gender. A woman who worked at the museum talked to us before our elevator went up to the exhibit. Her parents had both survived the holocaust, which was why she worked there. Then we were sent upstairs. Did I mention I'm not a fan of elevators? I'm even less of a fan of crowded ones! But it was a very short trip to the next floor, and we were not packed in like sardines like we were in King's Island's Eiffel Tower lift.

The first part of the exhibit was encased in glass. We stood in a long line and read the descriptions. There was so much reading, and I wore my contacts, which was a bad idea, but it was sunny and with my wonderful severe light sensitivity issues, I knew I would need to wear sunglasses while in the car. Halfway through the exhibit, I was going cross eyed from all of the reading and straining to see through the glass cases with the reflections of people in the glass behind me. I gave up and began reading what was important. An hour of our time was spent trying to read everything.

No matter how many books I've read, pictures I've seen, and stories I've heard of the holocaust, they are still shocking to me. It's something to which I have not built a tolerance, or to which I'll never grow accustomed, desensitized is the word for which I'm searching. It just amazes me that one person started the hatred of a religious and ethnic group that carried on for over a decade. One person. That's all it took.

Another thing that is rarely mentioned about the holocaust is the fact that the Jewish people were not the only ones persecuted. Political prisoners, homosexuals, and the developmentally handicapped where tortured and killed. The homosexuals were forced to wear a black dot or a pink triangle on their clothing. Lesbians were punished to a lesser extent.

The pink triangle that gays were forced to wear.

While none of these groups deserved torture or death, I think what upsets me the most about this was the killing of the developmentally handicapped. People who hurt the developmentally handicapped, children, animals, and the elderly are just the lowest of the low in my opinion. It doesn't get any lower than that.

By the end of the first exhibit, we found benches, thank God! I had to sit. My body was screaming at me at this point. Once we rested, we went down a two mile long hallway, part of it was a sunway (for lack of a better word) of sorts, a hallway surrounded by windows all around. We ended up in a hall of pictures of those who were in the holocaust. Some of the pictures were so high that we couldn't see them. At this point, we had been in the museum over an hour, so I was thankful that there were restrooms along the way. Another mile long hallway took us to a more interactive exhibit, where we saw the replicas of gypsy wagons (gypsies or Roma were another group persecuted by the Nazis, as were blacks) and even a cattle train that shipped two thousand people at a time to the camps. Patrons could walk through the train. It was so small, I doubt two thousand people could fit comfortably in one of those train cars. I can't imagine how horrible it was.

Another mile and now a staircase (oh goody) took us to another part of the exhibit. Then another mile and another staircase and another mile, and more stairs, and so on and so forth, and my body was less than thrilled. There was so much to see. One area had thousands of shoes encased that where taken from the Jewish people. And the exhibits went in order for the most part, except for the first room. You had to read to figure out if you were going in the correct order. They were oddly placed.

There were also rooms with short films about the holocaust. We didn't go into any except for one, because they were all crowded. The one we watched was awesome though. One female survivor shared a story that made me cry, about how she met her husband. He was an American Jew who came to rescue survivors. He found her. She was with a group of female survivors. He called her and the other female survivors ladies, a term none of them had heard in years at that point. Doug already figured out that the man and woman sharing this story would end up married, but it was a surprise to me. Another guy, I can't repeat half of what he said, was part of the resistance. He was found out to be Jewish in a very crude way, again I'm not going to repeat it. But he survived. He was definitely a tough guy. I wouldn't mess with him!

And just when the end of the museum seemed so far away, it was over. Doug and I read our booklets. We both ended up getting stories of survivors! I had really hoped for a survivor, but for us both to get one was the best part!

The person in my booklet hid in the woods until the holocaust ended. She and her family actually hid underwater when the SS came to take people to the ghettos and the camps. Her mother disappeared. The story never went on to say what happened to the rest of her family, but it was written that she never saw her mother again. She hid in the woods and survived.

Doug's person worked with jewels, diamonds predominantly. He and his family were taken to a concentration camp, and he and his father were separated from the rest of the family, who were taken straight to the gas chambers. He and his father were kept alive in case the Nazis needed diamonds. They were liberated from the concentration camp in 1945. We were both elated to get survivors, as the woman who spoke before we went up the lift said many of the victims perished.

The US Holocaust Museum was the one place I wanted to go, so I'm thankful we finally got to do that. What I was not prepared for was all of the walking. I used up all of my energy fighting the wind on the first day, so we kept having to stop and rest along the way, me mostly. Doug kept wanting to get through it faster, but it was all I could do to get through it. I hope to go back some time when I have more energy to see everything, but I did see a great deal of it.

After we were finished at the museum, Doug wanted to go to some monuments, but I couldn't do it. All of the monuments we hadn't gone to were too far away. He wasn't thrilled, but I just couldn't do it. After he perused our options, which we could have taken a bus tour, but in order to catch the bus, we had to walk something around fifteen blocks, and I couldn't do that either, we headed back toward the car. As I stopped to rest, we saw a Starbucks, so Doug took me in to get coffee. We sat there for a couple of hours, drank coffee, and I rested. Then we made it back to the car.

From there, we had to find a store so Doug to get a few things he either forgot or didn't have at home when we packed, so we found a Walmart. Then he had to go to Office Depot. I was exhausted, unhappy, and hungry. I thought I was going to throw a party when we got back to the hotel. We had dinner and crashed.

The next day, I went to the mall. I bought books and sunglasses, my go to items. I was too tired to try on clothes. That just wasn't happening. Then we made the drive to visit my mother! That was the second highlight of my trip! Seeing my mother! I refused to be a little over two hours away and not go see her and Arlene. It was totally worth the extra trip. We had a nice dinner and visited before we had to leave for the hotel. Then we met her for lunch the next day. We went to a place called Pure Bread. They had soups, salads, and sandwiches named after dogs. *lol* Hence the name Pure Bread. (I looked for the Johnny sandwich, but I couldn't find it! Johnny is my favourite canine cousin!) It was packed. We had lunch before my mother had to return to work, and we had the long drive back.

It was sad having to leave her. I know, I'm in my thirties, and I still can't watch my mother drive off, or I'll sob uncontrollably. That has happened since I was three. I made the mistake of watching my father, with my mother in the passenger seat, back out of my grandmother's driveway and drive off, and I sobbed, and my grandmother had to call them to get me to calm down. And I loved staying with my grandmother and Janet, but watching my parents leave messed me up! I know better than to watch her leave now. I didn't have the energy to cry as it was.

We made it home around 9:30. One of our loved ones was kind enough to stay with our kitties, give Moo Bear his medicine, and just watch the house. It was like a vacation while we were on vacation! (I thank God for this person!) We visited for a bit before returning them to their home. Then we crashed and burned! I am still exhausted. I need a vacation to recover from my vacation!

Let's sum up what we've learned today!

• Washington DC is overrated, but everyone should visit once.
• Washington DC is a city for young, healthy rich people with tons of energy. 
• I do not fit into the young, healthy, or rich categories.
• There is no parking, and what parking is available is expensive.
• Monuments are no less than ten miles apart.
• Museums are free, but you have to get there at the crack of dawn to get passes.
• West Virginia is referred to as "The Mountain State" but there are actually no mountains.
• I miss my mother, Arlene, and Honey. (Honey is my canine sister.)
• If I ever visit DC again, it will be to see my new loved ones...
• Unless Doug can carry me around to the monuments.
• I miss my new loved ones.
• I'm still exhausted.

The end!

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: DORMIVEGLIA PREMIERS 31st OCT 2014!

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The day you all have been waiting for is coming this month! The long-awaited first book by S. H. Townsend, Dormiveglia will be published and released on October 31st 2014. It will first be available as an Amazon Kindle e-book with a printed version soon after.

Dormiveglia is a book of fictional short stories based on dreams experienced by the author and others. This is sure to appeal to adults of all ages who like to escape the real world and jump into a dream every now and then. Just remember, not every story has a happy ending

Check back here for updates and more info as the month progresses. Thank you for all of your support and please invite your friends to like this page.

All That Glitters...

Not everything is as it seems. I've sure you've heard the phrase "all that glitters isn't really gold" at some point in your life. Maybe you've heard, "what you see isn't always what you get" or "if something looks too good to be true, it usually is". I experienced a lesson in this area today.

One of my closest loved ones, Allison, came over this morning. We went to Target. I don't normally shop at Target, but we had a reason to go. Target has pumpkin spice flavoured M&Ms. We looked through the clearance section in the clothing and we each found a shirt. She got a couple of things for her children, and when we went up to the register, we saw the pumpkin spice M&Ms. We each grabbed a bag and went through the check out line. When we got to Allison's vehicle, she tore her bag open and handed me some of the pumpkin spice M&Ms.

When I first heard of these pumpkin spice flavoured candies, I had my doubts. Do pumpkin and chocolate go together? It does not sound like a great flavour combo. Mind you, I have had pumpkin chili, pumpkin burgers, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin fudge, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin kettle corn and toasted pumpkin seeds. I have never had anything that combined pumpkin and chocolate. I'm willing to try anything once. And I looked at the candies in my hand, and I anticipated that I would taste pumpkin spice. So I ate one. And it didn't taste like pumpkin spice. I ate the other one, and it wasn't getting any better. By the third M&M, I realized two things.

1. We had either been ripped off...or
2. The chocolate must have overpowered the pumpkin flavour.

They tasted like regular M&Ms. And they were $2.99, and I think we simply paid for the bag, because the company who makes these M&Ms lied to us. There was no pumpkin spice flavour whatsoever! None! Because of this, I'm not so willing to try the pumpkin Oreos. I will probably just be disappointed once again. YOU CAN'T PROMISE ME PUMPKIN FLAVOUR AND THEN NOT GIVE IT TO ME! WHERE'S THE PUMPKIN FLAVOUR?!?

Now that I've thrown my tantrum, here's a warning. Do not waste the gas taking the trip to Target or the money to purchase this travesty...this poor excuse for a pumpkin spice flavoured candy. It's not worth it. You're just buying regular M&Ms in a pretty bag that claims them to be pumpkin spice! It's a trap!

(I'm fairly sure he wasn't a philosopher.)

Let's move on from one rant to another.

After the disappointment of the M&Ms, Allison and I went to Starbucks to get drinks that REALLY CONTAINED PUMPKIN SPICE FLAVOUR. *ahem* It's across from Target. It wasn't a very long trip, maybe 75 seconds depending on traffic. (Perhaps I'm being generous here.)

Allison and I walked into Starbucks. I made a beeline for the loo, (forgive me for the TMI that I'm about to share) because I piddle enough for three people. I have had my glucose checked and have undergone glucose tolerance testing several times since diabetes does run on my maternal side of the family, and my glucose is usually low, around 80 or 90, something like that. One time it was normal, which was a first. *shrugs* I'll take hypoglycemia for $500 Alex. It's better than type 2 diabetes. Allison was nice enough to wait for me before ordering. I hadn't expected her to wait, but she did, because she's awesome like that. She had let this guy go in front of her.

Now we're getting back to the title of the post. I know, I take forever to get to my point. I'm a writer. We are short spoken, but long winded when communicating in written word. This guy, he just looks like a guy, He's in good physical shape for someone who has to be in his fifties. He seemed downright chipper when he entered the establishment. But when I walked over, he was ordering the girl behind the register around like she was beneath him. It took me every ounce of willpower I had to keep my mouth shut.

Before I continue, let me say that I'm not the nicest person in the world. I'm not. A lot of people seem to think I am, but the truth is, I have my nice moments. Most of the time, I want to scream profane words while stapling things to people's heads. (This might be an exaggeration, but it's close to the truth.) People have admitted that they see me as intimidating and not easily approachable. I like my personal space, so I'm okay with that. Then there are the people who know me, and realize that I'm just simply an aloof person.

(How some people would describe me.)

But to tell you the truth, (there's no reason to lie about it) I'm not a nice person 24/7. I've just gotten better at being less mean. Just yesterday, Doug kept talking to me while I was finishing up one of the short stories for Dormiveglia, and I somehow refrained from shrieking at him to go away and leave me alone. He wasn't doing anything wrong, but I was in the zone, and I hate being interrupted when my head is that deep into the story. My body may have been sitting at my desk, but my mind was elsewhere.

John Pinette talked about having a cherub-like demeanor and how often he lost this cherub-like demeanor. (This mostly happened to him while waiting in line and people held up the line asking stupid questions.) I can relate to that. Sometimes, my cherub-like demeanor just does not exist.

Despite the fact that I just admitted that I'm not the nicest person in the world, I am not rude to people. I don't enter a store or a restaurant and start shouting that what I wanted should have been handed to me on a silver platter yesterday. I don't do that. I'm not mean to anyone unless they are mean to me. I'm not prejudice of anyone for any reason. I certainly don't feel like anyone is beneath me. Even the most annoying person that I have encountered on any given day that I might entertain fantasies about punching, I'm not better than that person. It just doesn't work that way. Personally, I'm the one who feels like I don't measure up to everyone else. 

I just stared at this man with anger and disbelief. Who was he to order the girl at the register around like she was a servant in his mansion? I bit my tongue. I thought I was going to make it bleed by biting it so hard.

This man, let's call him Jerky McJerkface (why did I make him Scottish) was going through the steps on how to make his drink, talking to this girl like she was stupid. 

(He must have thought she was.)

I kept reminding myself not to say a word. My heart just went out to her. I wanted to knock Mr. McJerkface unconscious and rid everyone of having to witness this ill treatment of a Starbucks employee.

Before I continue, I must admit that I'm very particular about my food and drink, but that's why I give specifics when I order. I don't leave the person taking my drink order guessing. I often order an iced venti nonfat chai tea latte. It's as simple as that. They don't have to ask questions. I trust them to make the drink from there. I don't care how much nonfat milk they put in the cup, as long as it's nonfat. Mr. McJerkface was telling this girl the exact amount of milk to put into the cup.

After ordering the girl around, McJerkface turned around, smiled, and thanked Allison for letting him go in front of her! So here comes the double standard. Apparently, only people who stand behind registers at coffee shops are beneath him. I have a feeling that he treats fast food employees, restaurant servers, and retail employees the same way. Allison and I weren't behind the counter, so apparently we deserved the niceties that he so generously lavished and bestowed upon us. I guarantee if it were one of us behind the counter, we would have been spoken to by Mr. McJerkface with the same condescending manner as if we were idiots who were desperately in need of his guidance.

I stuck around to wait for my drink, and McJerkface was at it again, berating the poor girl making his drink! You just don't do that to people, and you definitely don't act that way toward those who are handling your food and drink. I'll bet Mr. McJerkface consumes a lot of other people's saliva. I know that's a repugnant thought, but it's the truth. Think about it. 

This is how the exchange between Mr. McJerkface and the barista went:

McJerkface: I SAID I WANTED 2% MILK!

Barista: The ticket said nonfat.

McJerkface: I KNOW WHAT THE TICKET SAID, BUT I WANT 2% MILK! YOU'RE PUTTING TOO MUCH MILK IN THERE! YOU PUT TOO MUCH IN IT! THROW IT OUT AND START OVER AGAIN!

That's when I took Allison's bag and announced that I was going to find a seat. It wasn't so much that the remodel of this Starbucks location left less seating, but it was the fact that if I didn't walk away, I was going to defend the barista to the death. I'm an extremist. It's all or nothing, and I would have fought until one of us went down. I found a place to sit, and I sat there, and I just felt bad for the barista and the girl behind the register.

(It certainly didn't make McJerkface look any smarter treating the girl like she was stupid.)

Allison was kind enough to retrieve my drink for me. She sat down. We focused our attention on just catching up. As Jerky McJerkface made his way to exit, he looked chipper again. He even flashed a smile in our direction. I was stunned. I watched him leave and was glad he was gone. I was surprised that the Starbucks employees did not start applauding when the door shut. I know I almost did!

(This was pretty much the look I gave McJerkface when he smiled at me as he walked out.)

Despite the disappointment of the not so pumpkin spice flavoured M&Ms and Mr. Jerky McJerkface, Allison and I had a great time. We talked. We gazed through the windows of Starbucks at the beautiful day. Some of the leaves are finally starting to turn. They're taking their sweet time, but I'm seeing more and more evidence of fall in them, and in the robin's egg blue sky that made the clouds seem brighter. 

Thankfully, the beauty of the day and the laughter I shared with Allison helped my cherub-like demeanor remain intact. I took the day off today, since I finished one of the three stories for Dormiveglia yesterday. (I worked fifteen hours straight yesterday.)

My honorary son is coming over to hang out, and I'm beyond the valley of thrilled to see him! We're going to eat in front of the television and go into our respective food comas and possibly experience laughter induced syncope while watching something of a comedic nature.

How do you deal with the Jerky McJerkfaces that you encounter? Maybe you've not had the unfortunately privilege of encountering one, but when you do, you'll know.

So, to Mr. Jerky McJerkface, I hope in the future you learn how to better treat employees that earn an honest living to serve you food and drink, because mark my words, sir, one day a bystander won't have the filter or the willpower to keep from speaking out against your mistreatment of an employee. You are no higher on the caste system than they are (and there's no longer a caste system in case you don't know), so get over yourself. 

Have a nice day.

Cheers!