Yes, I'm alive!

Another post to follow in a couple of days. Things have been busy, but I've been thinking of all of you!!!

This is why I started this blog

Thanks to all of you who expressed concern for my near-death experience. It's so nice to know that all of you out there that I've never met care what happen to me! :)

Anyway, I thought I'd recount a happier experience that defines why I started this blog. In other words, "Things that only happen to me."

I went to a bar last weekend, Lebo's... a not-so-hole-in-the-wall bar that's either in Ohio or Kentucky. I actually don't know, because going there you cross over the OHKY border about five times.

Anyway, I'm watching all the karaoke madness when Slash from Guns-N-Roses gets up and does a song. A Guns-N-Roses song, natch. Only in Kentucky. Hello, who else does that happen to?

While checking out the assorted crazies in the bar, I notice a man that is particularly attractive, except for the giant nipples protruding from his overly tight t-shirt. Regardless of his freakishly large nipples, he's still a good looking fellow, in that dorky way that I'm a fan of.

He ends up sitting at the table next to Rebecca and I and starts talking to us. When he asks if we're singing, Rebecca informs him that I, in fact, am up in a few minutes. He asks what I'm singing. I tell him "Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield.

"You can sing that song?" he asks?

"I can sing the shit out of that song," I reply. Partially because it's true. And partially because I'm pissed off that he would question it. I mean, it's karaoke for God's sake, not American Idol (which, okay, is a glorified karaoke competition, but gimme a break, I'm trying to tell a story here!)

So I get up and sing. I sang the shit out of that song.

When I get back to my spot, the guy compliments my singing. Then he starts asking what I do, do I ever write songs, what kind of music am I into... assorted questions that don't have much to do with karaoke.

Then he offers me a spot in a band that he is putting together. Apparently, he is a local producer and is looking for a girl vocalist to join this group he's producing for. Swear to God, I'm thinking I just got discovered. He gives me his information and suggests I try out for the rest of the band.

Turns out, this band is a hard-rock, alterna, angry punk rock country band. In other words, they have no actual musical style to speak of.

I didn't call him.

Lucky to be alive - literally.

I'll admit that I was going a little too fast when I headed into the curves on Columbia Parkway. I was going the speed limit, technically, but the roads were slick from rain that had just fallen. This was the first time that I had taken Columbia Parkway, so I didn't know my way around just yet. But I felt confident that I knew where I was, what I was doing when I went into the curve.

I felt the wheels slip underneath me. They gripped hard at the pavement, then slid away.

I felt my back end fishtail to the left. Then to the right, as I overcompensated. I headed for the cement median, then swerved back towards the 13-foot high cement wall that separated the car from the side of the hill. I fishtailed once... or was it twice? My car spun around me, facing oncoming traffic, turned all around.

Did I ever feel panicked? Did I ever feel scared? I'm not sure. It happened so fast, but so slowly at the same time. Did I scream? Shouldn't I know that?! I can't remember if I screamed.

Actually, I'm pretty sure I didn't scream. I was scared. I felt certain that I was about to die.

I'm not sure how my car came to a stop, two feet from the wall, at a 45 degree angle from it, strewn across two lanes and almost facing the wrong way on the street. I wasn't even aware that my foot was still on the brake. I'm not even sure if my hands were still on the wheel.

I reversed away from the wall, got back into my lane. Just as a truck came barrelling around the curve. It swerved into the other lane, missing me by inches. Five extra seconds, and he would have T-boned me.

The adrenaline came first, pumping like cocaine through my system. Then the hysteria. The shakes. The tears. The hyperventilation, the nausea, the lightheadness.

I don't remember that 20 seconds or so that I lost control of my car. I don't know how I managed to swerve and fishtail and 360 my way down 100 feet of empty highway, as the traffic on the other side of the median flew by.

Had there been another car on my side of the road... or just before me... or just behind me... and I would have hit them. A few less seconds of time, a slower reaction, non-anti-lock brakes and I would have slammed into the concrete wall - perhaps not just once. I very well could have died today.

Unlike a similar post that I put up recently, this was not a dream.

"Hyde" and go seek

This weekend is the BIG MOVE from Dayton to Cincinnati - specifically, to the Hyde Park area of Cincinnati. Think schi-schi, old money combined with young families and professionals. A dichotomy, to be sure. But it is very safe, the house is nice, the landlord is hot and lives above me (be still my heart) and it should be a good time.

I'm very excited about the move and will post pictures after everything is all set up. I've been painting select rooms all week and so far it looks great!

What I'm most excited about - and this is pathetic - is the fact that the digital cable/high speed internet provider is coming first thing on Saturday morning so I'll be all set up by later that night. That means finally being able to post from home, instead of composing at home and typing in at work. Hooray!

"R" you ready?

All the cool kids are doing it, so I jumped on the bandwagon and signed up. Basically, I was assigned a letter by the lovely DawnMarie. I have to write things that I like that start with the letter. Then, if other people want to participate, I have to assign them a letter, and the cycle continues. Get it? Rachel, Carly, and Dawn all gave their 2 cents. And now it is my turn to chip in.

So without further ado, I give you the letter "R".

Rachel - I must give e-props to the girl who started this whole thing. Also, Rachel was my favorite character on Friends.

Ravioli - Pasta stuffed with cheese. Or meat and cheese. Or vegetables and cheese. Or sometimes potatoes and cheese (although that is technically called a pierogi...)

Red - One of my favorite colors, and also the color of my new couch. Red is fiesty and passionate and ALIVE!

Romance - I refuse to believe romance is dead, and although I hate really mushy, overly-romantic gestures, I do love being romanced in small, simple ways. Like buying me flowers for no reason. Or doing my laundry.

Roses - Yellow ones. I like the way they smell.

Reading - I LOVE to read. It doesn't matter what the genre is, as long as it has words and pages I'll give it a try. I like to be recommended different books and I like to swap back and forth. Which brings me to another topic, the Virtual Book Club... this is an idea inspired by Carly and her love affair with the written word. Check it out.

Riviera - The French Riviera, that is. I've been there once, to Nice for two days and Monaco for one. The water was so blue and endless! And I witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen while I was there.

Rolling on the floor laughing - C'mon, who doesn't love a good belly laugh every day? Laughter is vital to my existence.

Rutabagas - Okay, I actually don't like rutabagas all that much. For those of you not familiar with the vegetable, it is a root vegetable similar to a turnip but it is yellow and has a consistency more like squash when cooked and mashed up. And although I don't like rutabagas, we have them every year at Thanksgiving. It is a tradition that comes from my mom's side of the family. And Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. So thinking about rutabagas makes me think of my family and that makes me happy.

Which leads me to relatives - I love mine. Every last, nutty one.

Rectangles - I really like geometric patterns and would love to experiment with painting different-sized rectangles all over the walls of my apartment. I know, that one is kind of a stretch, but bear with me here! This is harder that it looks!

Rudolph - Think about it, no Rudolph has ever given up. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer? Check. Rudy from that movie Rudy? Check. Rudy Giuliani? Check.

Anyone wanna play? Since most of you read the same blogs as I do, I'm guessing the pool of applicants will be small, but I'm putting it out there anyway! Let me know and I'll assign you a letter.

America, the beautiful

What makes America so great is the fact that even illegal immigrants have the freedom to protest when they believe they are being treated unfairly.

It is that sense of "Devil may care" that built America, and that sustains it.

And while it is true that it is every citizen's right (as per the Bill of Rights, that is) to assemble and protest, the key word in that equation is CITIZEN.

If the reports are true, America is in for a heapin' spoonful of trouble when immigrants around the country march to protest proposed crackdowns on illegal immigration.

It is no secret that America was built on immigration. The beauty of America is the fact that so many colors, nationalities, languages and cultures create the fabric of our country.

What I question is whether people who are here illegally - regardless of their nationality - deserve the fundamental rights that the rest of the American population enjoy, when they are not here through legal channels. I simply don't think it is fair to the immigrants who came before them, who toiled, struggled and achieved legal citizenship.

Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner stirred the pot when he introduced legislation that would make it a felony to aid illegal aliens. According to Sensenbrenner, his goal is not to oust every illegal immigrant in the country - how could you accomplish that task in the first place, with nets and tasers?! - but to stop illegal immigration at its root, with the employers who give illegals reason to come to America in the first place.

Sensenbrenner's bill is what set off immigration watch dog groups and set the wheels for a massive immigration protest. It is presumed that these protests will have a great impact on America's economy. Is that true, or will the disruption of daily routine be felt mostly in those cities (i.e. Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, most of Texas) that have large pockets of illegal immigrants?

I'm not sure than anyone questions the impact of immigrants on our society... the question becomes whether illegal aliens are disrupting the social and economic balance by taking jobs away from legal citizens. While the government is trying to figure out the answer to that questions, millions of legal and illegal immigrants are out flooding the streets, to make the point that they belong here, too.

Of course, for every illegal immigrant out protesting, another four are waiting to replace them.