I hadn't realised how long it's been since I posted

It's been a little busy.   The 30th of March YKWIA, Brenda, and I all went out to Masala for a birthday buffet.   I had my actual birthday on Tuesday, April 2nd, and while it was just another day at work, it all went well.  Last weekend Brenda and I went to the Central Kentucky Home and Garden Show, which was all well and good, but we were disappointed in the sheer lack of garden stuff (there was a plant sale of mostly generic geraniums and a few plants at a few booths, out of three major arenas).  But hey, it was free, as we got coupons out of one of those coupon envelopes you get in your junk mail that turned out to actually be useful.

My car has a vacuum leak and has been getting steadily worse.  Yesterday I went to pick up my contact lenses from the optometrist, and the car died as I pulled into my parking spot--not just idling at a light or something.  So today I'm on the bus.  Not sure how to get all I need to get done today, but I'll try.  But even though I came a little early I'd better get off of here and clock in, as it's just a few minutes away.  I'll try to write later.

Time to close the windows

turn out the lights, put on the fan, and head on to bed. It was a somewhat unconventional birthday, but a good one nonetheless. Here's to 48 years so far. It's back to work tomorrow. Good night.

Kind of pooped

I got over to the auto repair place around 2:30. As soon as I got off the bus it rained, but by the time I got down Industry Road, it was sunny, although lightning in the distance. I decided to go to Gumbo Ya Ya for lunch, seeing as I wanted somewhere cheap and tasty, and I just wasn't in the mood for anything heavier, like salmon and baked potato from Texas Roadhouse. I hadn't eaten since about 8:30 this morning, and was quite hungry. I had a large spinach and mushroom étouffée, two pieces of French garlic bread, a drink, and a praline, all for $11. Not too bad, hmmm?

As soon as I got home, I decided to move the geraniums at least temporarily outside (it's not supposed to get to freezing in the near future, but it's close over the weekend, so I may bring them in at night). I cleaned off the dead parts, turned the pots so the greenery would grow the other direction (they've been pressed up on the other side of the window). I added some dirt and watered them thoroughly, so hopefully they'll stay in place even with the wind.



So I've had the brakes fixed, had my birthday lunch, and started the re-potting process. I need to clean the house and do the other re-potting, go to the grocery store, fill the fish tank, etc. But for right now, I'm going to take it easy. I have already walked 9,444 steps, which is 4.58 miles. I need a break!

Having just come in drenched from a thunderstorm, this made me incredibly happy

My very own Google Doodle, presumably because I'm signed in to my Google account on Chrome. :)



I went this morning and got some $1 bills for the bus, got some gas, stopped by McDonald's for a couple of egg and cheese biscuits, and then dropped my car off at Mitch's Auto on Industry Road. There were several cars they had for that day, so it will be awhile before they can get to mine. I walked over to Eastland Shopping Centre and the bus came just as I was coming up to the stop. The bus driver was one I knew and we talked for awhile. Then I got down to the transit centre and transferred to my route's bus, and it started raining just as we pulled out, then thundering and lightning. By the time I got to my stop, a very cold rain (what happened to getting into the 70s today?) was coming down. My little umbrella that fit into my bag tried valiantly to keep the rain off, but my feet got drenched and my blouse and pants were pretty damp by the time I got into my apartment. The wind was such that even with being careful, the umbrella went inside out once, but recovered. Now my shoes and socks are off, and I'm going to take a bit of a break before starting on the house, as I've already walked almost three miles today, and anyway, some of what I was going to do (the re-potting and taking the trash and recyclables out) involve the great outdoors, which isn't so great at the moment.

Tomorrow I'm off work for my birthday

These are the things I need/want to do:

1. Have my brakes inspected and fixed if need be.
2. Get some gas.
3. Work on the apartment:
   1. Take out the trash and recyclables.
   2. Do dishes, both the ones in the dishwasher and hand-wash ones.
   3. Clean the kitchen counters and stove.
   4. Clean the bathroom.
   5. Sweep and mop the kitchen and bath.
   6. Straighten up the living area, dining area, and bedroom.
   7. Vacuum the carpet.
4. Go out somewhere (nice, but cheap) for lunch.
5. Go to the grocery.
6. Re-pot some houseplants.
7. Watch some DVDs or maybe Netflix (I would go out to the movies, as I have free tickets, but there's not much I want to see, except maybe Home.
8. Fill the big aquarium up with water (I did do the small one, but the goldfish are still dealing with only having about 15 gallons of water).
9. Read John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things.

Class was great tonight; we had guest speakers and had great participation. There were some volunteer opportunities and an evaluation. I signed up for potential volunteering, including training to possibly teach a class. Next week we graduate and have our potluck, and discuss advocacy. So I'm kind of hyped up for that.

Okay, I think I'll spend some quiet time before bed listening to some soothing music. Good night.

Time to wrap up birthday number forty-seven

Today I:

1. Got a card from my co-workers
2. Got to celebrate at lunch with a cake a co-worker made with sugar-free and fat-free ingredients, so not so much guilt, plus there was plenty to share with YKWIA and A later
3. Had a lovely home-cooked meal thanks to YKWIA. I made garlic mayonnaise (I'm better at an electric mixer than he is, apparently a skill I picked up in home oeconomics). We had borscht, asparagus with hardboiled eggs, and a salad of Boston lettuce, avocado, and goat cheese. Plus the cake and strawberries from work. :)
4. Talked to my mom, who sent me a gift card to Amazon. One bit of bad news; my grandmother's 15-year-old dog, Bo, died the other day. He choked on a piece of food and even though my mom tried to give him rescue breaths, it didn't work. Poor Bo. He was a good dog, looking like a miniature corgi in black and tan.
   
   
5. Got e-mails from my aunts and uncles wishing me a happy birthday.
6. Laid out an outfit for tomorrow. With the exception of jeans day (Friday), I plan to wear a skirt or dress each day this week. I found a nice combination for tomorrow, I think.

Okay, going to bed now. I'm happily stuffed and sleepy.

Here's a fun Facebook game: Who would be on your zombie apocalypse team?

Go with your birthday and your current shirt colour, if any. Mine would be Dana Scully from X-Files, comedian George Carlin, and the Incredible Hulk. I could live with that. :) Who would be on yours? (Click on the image below to make it more readable.)

Tomorrow

I have a day off. Here's the plan:

1. Take a slew of books back to the library before they open.
   
2. Go to the bank.
   
3. Go get my driver's licence renewed.
   
4. Go see The Hunger Games.
   
5. Do laundry.
   
6. Work on the house.
   

Too ambitious? I'm kind of bored now. I could get a jump on things, but I think I'll read instead. :) I'm reading Catching Fire.

Not a bad birthday

Although I'm not used to this being 45 thing yet. I'll probably get used to being in my 40s about the time I turn 50.

So anyway:

1. It was a quiet day at work.
   
2. I got a ride home.
   
3. I took a nap.
   
4. I watched an episode of 'Supernatural'.
   
5. I watched most of the NCAA basketball championship game. (Really.) Nice to see my alma mater's team win.
   
6. I'm going to bed now.
   

I'm taking off Thursday to actually celebrate my birthday, plus go to the bank and get my driver's licence renewed. I'll try to work in the movie The Hunger Games. Oh, and today's free application of the day from Amazon was an international clock, which I downloaded because we're constantly trying to figure out the time difference between various places in the game and the math hurts our brains. Now I can just plug it in and tell. And yes, my illustrious game master, I am still working on those holographic touchscreens. :) The one fun thing I did today? I painted my nails so they're all shimmery and glittery. Not the most professional-looking, but since I'm going to wear my butterfly shirt, which has sequins on it tomorrow, I suppose it'll work. I can always take it off later. Okay, off to bed. I'm over halfway through with Catching Fire, but I don't think I'll do any reading. I'm more than a bit sleepy.

I had a pretty nice birthday

John and Momma came and got me. Momma and I went to Peebles and we found a couple of blouses for me that are summery and cheerful, one of which is very much my normal style and one of which I like a great deal but would not have normally chosen. Still, I crossed several racks in the store when I saw it. Then we got some fish at Long John Silver's and went to visit my grandmother, who is not doing very well. At one point both my mom and grandmother fell asleep and so I read some more of the novel I've been working on. Turns out my mother used my gift certificate at the holidays towards a Kindle, so I finally got to hold a Kindle 3 in my hand and compare it to mine. It's so small, it doesn't look real. :) We visited for awhile and then headed back home. I got back about 4:30 pm. I finished up the notes (I'd gotten about a quarter done already) by about 6:30. I've worked on the house a bit (mostly shuffling things, around I'm afraid) but getting rid of stuff, too, waiting for dark so I could call YKWIA (it was sabbath). Now, due to my lack of sleep, I'm starting to get tired. I may go on to bed, although I'd kind of like to watch a movie--but I'm not sure I'll make it through it.

Thanks to everyone who wished me happy birthday with their texts and Facebook posts.

The rain is really hitting the windows

I came in from getting a drink in the laundry room just five minutes ago. Good timing.

So happy that today's 'book talk' comic for Unshelved is about a favourite series of books by Lloyd Alexander, starting with The Book of Three. They are probably my third favourite fantasy series aimed at children. Number two would be Harry Potter. Hands down number one, and the series that got me interested in fantasy to begin with, is Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising. It also got me interested in Arthurian myth, Celtic culture, and ultimately, paganism. [Okay, maybe the crazy Christians who are convinced JK Rowling will turn their precious children into witches aren't...quite...wrong. ;) That's a joke for the unwary.]

Tomorrow I am going to Danville very early. My mom and step-dad are supposed to be here around 8 am. Not sure why so early, but that's fine. We'll go visit my grandmother and see how she's doing.

I suppose since I'm going to get up so early, it wouldn't be amiss to go on to bed, even though it's about 10:30. I'd like to get a few things done before they get here. I have a couple of old CRT computer monitors I want to see if John can use, for example, so I need to get those out.

I have a project that is going to take a laptop. I realise this, but I do not own a laptop. Fortunately they've been ridiculously cheap lately. We're talking less than $300 for a basic-no-frills one, which is fine for what I need. If things go well I might be able to swing one in May or June. If that's the case, I checked, and the licence for my Office 2010 covers a stationary and a portable device, so I can have a desktop and laptop running the program without violating the licence. Considering I lucked out and got the professional suite for $9.95 through work, I really didn't want to have to spend a lot of money for a second copy, so yay, especially as this project will definitely take Word. But first I have to get through tax season. And if I'm lucky after that, I might be able to swing a little money into a car fund a month, although most everything will be going to bills, the IRS, and student loans. But maybe $150 a month savings is doable. Maybe.

That was sweet

And this is one reason YKWIA and I are friends. Who else to do you send birthday greetings full of drag queens in showers to? (Well, I'm sure a lot of people, given the quickness of that coming up on Google, but you get what I mean.) I love the Kinsey Sicks. And look at that eyebrow action...



Two more days till I'm 44. :) Thanks YKWIA for the video card. :)

I have spent the last two and a half hours tossing in the bed, itching

It's from my neck to my ankles. No rash or bites, just a pervasive itch. At first I thought I may be having a general reaction to that Apidra, which causes a localised reaction on me, but I don't think so. It may be diabetic dry skin, or it may be my bodywash, although I changed that over a week ago. Still, it could just now be causing issues, as your body has to be sensitised to something before it reacts.

YKWIA, who has a medical background, suggested a cool bath, which has helped. I went ahead and shampooed and used my old bodywash, which still had some in it, because it is Aveeno and I thought it might soothe the itch. Then I slathered everything I could get to with an odourless intensive overnight moisturising lotion to see if it would help. So far, it seems better. I thought I had some children's Benadryl somewhere, but it turned out to be a diabetic generic Robitussin. Useful if I had a cough, not so good with an itch. :(

YKWIA called me up because he was having trouble remembering how to spell the name of a syndrome with a French name. Fortunately the medical librarian was familiar with the syndrome and was dead on with the spelling. So I paid him back for his suggestion.

Okay, I'm going to try to get up super early because I was supposed to do something online for a friend tonight and never got to it because of the itching. He'll probably call again tomorrow morning and I already put him off today. I really meant to do it tonight, but it was just maddening the way the itching continued. I also need to work on game notes since I'm going to Danville on Saturday for my birthday and I need to go to the bank before work.

That reminds me: One of my fellow librarians in the system, Laura Mueller, sent me a wonderful birthday card of the Little Mermaid. She knows my birthday is the same as Hans Christian Andersen's and that I'm a fan of his work. It's also International Children's Book Day (instituted the year I was born), and years ago she sent me a poster that hangs on the inside of my apartment door. It's an appropriate birthday for a librarian, don't you think?

Yes!

To continue on my Doctor Who-themed birthday, I went through and deleted some of the other things I had on DVR that I've now seen and a couple of the things like the End of Time now that I have it on DVD, and then checked ahead on the guide for the cable, where I have Doctor Who set up as a series recording. On the 17th BBCAmerica is having a marathon that included 'Journey's End', which I really want to see and didn't manage to get on DVR. There's also a special on Doctor Who mythology already set to record...and, the fifth series premiere with the 11th Doctor called the 'Eleventh Hour'. Yay!!!

I must say, Doctor Who saved my birthday. I can barely walk on my knee (and don't know why; I just woke up like that yesterday). I won't be able to see my doctor till Monday or Tuesday, and I have to work tomorrow, so Angelica is going to take me to Walgreens to get a knee brace and crutches so I can at least make it around. I can walk if I keep my leg very, very stiff, and it feels like the back of the calf is exceedingly tight. I really haven't even been able to pick up around here because of the pain.

Then there was the discovery that--and yes, this is my fault for procrastinating so long--the Kentucky State Department for Revenue decided to take $488--which had been earmarked for my rent--out of my account today without warning, leaving me about $30 to my name. The good news is they're paid in full plus any fees...but I'll be late on my rent for the first time in a good long while, and so whereas I was looking at having some extra money next week I'll now be putting it to my rent, plus the late fee, and really have nothing left, as I'm only getting 14 1/2 hours of work at the store lately. I think I'll be okay overall. I get paid at both jobs again the 22nd and my bills will come mostly out of that. Of course I'm the one who didn't pay my taxes. But a little warning would have been appreciated, and if it had been any other day than my birthday, I'd have felt better. They are much more aggressive than the IRS, I've found.

I think I'll do my taxes tomorrow night. I probably will have to pay the state (again) this year, as my W-4s were off, but I got the federal fixed. I still owe them from last year, too, but I'm hoping that I can offset that with my refund rather than their doing the same. I can absorb one. I can't absorb two. I was just getting to the point where I could send them $75 a month each, but I guess that's moot now.

At least this has been a better year than last...but if I don't start getting some hours back at the store, I may have issues again. That stability was hard-won and even then I was still in arrears on the tax front. Nothing else is pressing. But still...there's a difference between working 28 hours a week and 14. And where I had a little cushion, I don't now. I so should have paid my rent a couple of days ago. Now it will be $55 extra since it won't be until the 8th. On the other hand, they didn't overdraught my account. So there's some small favours there.

Oh, well, it's almost the end of my birthday. It was kind of sucky. I spent it alone (although five people called, texted, or posted birthday wishes to me at least, and that was nice). I was in a lot of pain if I moved. I didn't really get anything accomplished, and I still have notes and cleaning to do. But...it was okay, all in all. And it's not the end of the world. I'll celebrate a bit with my family and I'll get together with friends at a better time, and money won't always be a problem, and in the meantime there's Doctor Who. I'll work on the notes tomorrow morning and clean sometime before Monday and I don't know, I'll survive. It's not like it's a special birthday, really, I'm turning 43. I've had better, I've had worse. But this is rather in the lower third as birthdays go. :)

You know what my best birthday present ever was, though? A divorce. Isn't that both sad and in my case wonderful at the same time? That was 1992, right before I turned 25. It seems ages ago, now. I remember I burned the handfasting cords and finally felt free. I'd have burned the marriage certificate, but it's a legal document. And right before I turned 30 I got my job at the hospital, so that was a nice one, although my friends nearly faxed a poster to the the workplace saying 'this librarian's ovaries are withering--date her'. Thank the Gods that they didn't know the fax number. It could have been worse. There was talk of my face on a bus.

It's so strange that that much time has gone by. I'm middle-aged now, older than my parents were when they divorced, when I thought they were pretty old (but hey, I was 15; they were 35; we were worlds' apart in how we thought). My mom's almost a senior citizen now.

Remember when you were a kid, and time seemed to flow so slowly, especially during summer vacations? Now it seems to zip by. I don't know if that's a factor of getting older, or if our society is just getting faster and faster, too. Do kids today find time to read six books a day? I used to. Do they spend dawn to dusk playing outside? Not anymore, I bet. I watched TV on Saturday mornings and a little during the week. Kids today play video games, watch TV, and surf the net. Do kids go outside anymore? Are they glued to their technology? Are their parents afraid to let them play except on scheduled, chaperoned play-dates? Things are so different than when I was a kid. I don't know if it's for better or worse.

Oh, well, it's 12:01 and I don't have the answers. End of birthday. But here's to a great year, even if it didn't start out the best. Good night.

I'm not sure how to have fun

I've been told that before, but it came up again because it's my birthday, my original plans fell through, and I haven't figured out what to do. I thought about going to a movie like I did last year (Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D; I loved it), but didn't see anything at the regular cinemas, dollar theatres, or art places that I liked. Today's the opening day at Keeneland, which I've never been to, even after living in this town for twenty-six years (Gods, has it been that long? Since 1984?), but it'll be packed between being opening day and the beautiful weather, and besides, part of opening day at Keeneland is being seen in your finery. I don't really have finery. :) My friends called earlier to wish me a happy birthday (one sang, beautifully) and the other suggested I go bungee jumping sometime before I die. Um...no. So what do you consider fun? What should I do?

Quiet, at home

after a day of work followed by getting together with Angelica for dinner at Golden Corral and then going and seeing Teressa, who couldn't get off work. Teressa's son's helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan but he just had some minor scrapes, thankfully. But she had terrible news about someone we used to work with; her mother was run off the road in Florida by a semi and drowned trying to get out of the car. My thoughts and prayers are with Christin and her family.

That's just so awful, and it puts some of my issues today in perspective. I woke up in a lot of pain (especially my neck and knee). I must have slept wrong or something. The neck is better, but I can barely put weight on my knee. I think it's my arthritis. My body just feels like it's breaking down, and of course my weight is a big issue. I turn 43 tomorrow, though, so I guess it's normal to have some aches and pains. I elevated and iced my knee for awhile a couple of times today, and that helped. It's worse when I first stand up, then gets a little better as I walk. I hope it eases up before I work on Saturday.

Tomorrow I'm off at both places and my original plans for my birthday fell through, so I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do. I checked and there's really no movies I'm dying to see. I need to go to the bank and get my rent paid tomorrow, and most likely should stop by the library, but otherwise, I'm not sure what to do. I guess I'm not used to having fun by myself. I may go on out to eat anyway. Any ideas?

I work Saturday and there's the game Sunday. I need to work on the notes tomorrow; I've only gotten a bit done so far, even though I've had two weeks to do them. And I suppose even though I said I didn't want to clean on my birthday (I've been cleaning my apartment and a friend's house all week), I still have the kitchen and part of the living/dining area to go. Maybe I'll watch some movies or shows on cable or DVD (although for the latter, I'll need to use my computer; my connexion to my DVD player is out because my VCR died) and pick up things as I go.

Monday evening I'm going to go spend the night with my grandmother in Danville, then come back home on Tuesday. This time I will remember to take the CPAP machine (the Christmas visit was a disaster as far as sleep went because of this).

I inadvertently got myself a birthday present the other day. I watched 'Doctor Who: The End of Time' Parts 1 and 2 last Saturday, which was about three hours' long and very, very good. It was the last appearance of David Tennant on the show and the first appearance of Matt Smith, who's to play the 11th Doctor come later this month. I cried for about the last half/third of the show. Now, YKWIA has several of the DVDs, but I didn't think he had the one with the specials, including this one, so I went onto Amazon and ordered it for him. I was being really good at keeping a secret until about three days later when he asked me to put an insert back into a DVD case, and lo, it was the specials DVD. So I confessed that I'd gotten it for him and it was on its way for Game Master's Day (which is March 4th, but at least I was ahead from last year, when he got a gift certificate to the Rusty Scabbard in December). At least the thought counted. So I got the DVD when it arrived, and I'll get the other seasons as I can. I've not really seen any of the Christopher Eccleston ones, but I've seen several with David Tennant and really love them. I also wish there were more Tom Baker ones out there, but they tend to be released as an episode or two, rather than a whole season. I think BBC Wales has done an excellent job with the newer seasons, incidentally. It should be interesting to see what kind of Doctor Matt Smith turns out to be.

Okay, I guess I should sign off here. I think I'll go ahead and go to bed, and wing tomorrow. Good night.

Happy Birthday to Brandon

who, along with his twin sister, turns 27 years old today. He's a great co-worker and regular reader of this blog. So here's to a special day for him and his family.

Today we celebrate the birth of a genius

Today is the anniversary of Nikola Tesla's birth. Google has a great graphic for today:


Tesla was a Serbian-American (born in Europe, he eventually applied and achieved American citizenship) known for his inventions and scientific genius. You can thank Tesla for the very electricity powering your computer; he is the one who worked out the principles of alternating current. He was quite remarkable.



Here's a photo of the scientist at age 40. Eccentric and misunderstood, he was often regarded as a mad scientist who, among other things, supposedly actually invented a death ray. He didn't really profit in the long run from his inventions; finances were not so important to him and he died impoverished. What a mind he must have had!

I had a really good birthday

And no, I'm not still up in the wee hours of the morning--I just fell asleep in the comfy chair and woke up a little while ago and thought I would catch up on some news/blog before going back to sleep.

Let's see. As I told you before, I slept in a little and had a nice bath. I did some web surfing and blogging. Then I went to see Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D (warning, plot section contains spoilers in the Wikipedia article), using a gift card I'd been given for Yule. It was great! And it was so worth the extra $2.50 to get the 3D version. It really looked like you could just reach out and touch some things. 3D has changed a lot from the paper glasses with red and blue lenses. These looked like regular plastic-framed glasses, sort of like a pair of clear sunglasses, and you could recycle them at the end. I'm not sure what you're supposed to do if you actually wear glasses, as I don't know if they would have fit over all regular prescription ones (here's to having just gotten contacts!)

The movie had a decent plot, great special effects, humour for both children and adults, lots of sci-fi references, and even a little character development. How can you go wrong with a 50-foot tall woman (okay, 49' 11 1/2"), a blue blob, a mad scientist cockroach, an oversexed amphibian, and a giant grub, not to mention an evil overlord? They left plenty of room for a sequel as well. Well, as long as one little detail is averted. Oh, and it was so like the game in some ways, like when people get hung up on them destroying the Golden Gate bridge when they saved the world--that sort of thing.

The voice cast all do an excellent job, and the main cast is great, although Stephen Colbert's president tries to steal the show. This is definitely one for getting on DVD, for taking your kids to, for just going by yourself and having fun for an hour and a half, that sort of thing. Be sure to get the glasses if you can.

Then I went over to a friend's house and he took me out to eat at Masala, an Indian restaurant on the southwest side of town. It was great, as always. He urged me to try something new, but I really wanted the pakora, korma, and pishwari naan I normally have. Maybe next time. I have quite a bit left over for lunch tomorrow, too.

I got home a little after 10 and did some things around the house until about 11:15, when my mom called me and wished me a happy birthday. Then I went and got A from work, getting back around 12:30 am and falling to asleep in the comfy chair until about 4:30 am. Now it's time to go to bed.

So it really was a nice birthday. Food, friendship, and giant invading robots. Yay!

PS Here's the trailer for Monsters vs. Aliens for your viewing pleasure:

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me

So today's my 42nd birthday. Does that mean I get the answers to life, the universe, and everything now? (Sorry, geeky Douglas Adams humour, there.)

So far it's been nice. I'm off both jobs. I slept in until 10 am (normally I have to get up by 9). I took a nice long bath. I've been listening to meditative music and looking up some stuff online. My plan is to take a gift card Margaret gave me for Yule and go to the cinema and watch Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D. Later in the evening a friend and I plan to go out for Indian food. Yay for vegetable pakora, korma, and pishwari naan!

Last night I treated myself to two very nice African violet plants from Kroger. One is a dark purple; the other a pretty medium one. They were 2/$5. I think I'll keep them at home rather than take them into the office and see how they do here. They've each got quite a few buds on them. Violets are so perky and uplifting, don't you think? I have one at the office in rest mode (not-presently-blooming) that has white blooms with purple edges, so they're all different.

I came across this true-crime story today (it's several years old now; I think the killing was in 2004)--and yes, I'm a true-crime junkie, I know. I cannot imagine a jury convicting the killer at all. I think justice was served--she plead guilty to manslaughter, was given credit for time served in jail awaiting trial, and was put on five-year probation in lieu of a 10-year sentence. I certainly don't believe she deserved life in prison or the death penalty. In 'He Was Never Going to Harm My Daughter Again', they give the details of the case. It was also presented on the show 'Snapped'. Her teenage daughter had accused her stepfather of sexually abusing her, but he convinced everyone, including the social workers, that she was lying--so well that the daughter was prosecuted for making a false claim. But a year later the daughter, now seven months' pregnant, told her mother about a videotape which the mother viewed which did, indeed, show him to be abusing her daughter. The woman took a 20-gauge shotgun and shot him in the head whilst he slept. Once the police found the tape, they let her go, but prosecutors brought the case forward, eventually making the plea offer, which she took. I think she could have gotten out of it without any conviction--a jury would not have convicted her of either murder or manslaughter for that matter, in my opinion. Especially since 1) her lawyer interviewed his sisters, whom he'd also sexually abused as both minors and adults and 2) the DNA test on the son born to the daughter showed that the stepfather was the father. He was a sick, sick bastard and although I hate to say that some people just need killing, this is a case that would be hard to argue against. I hope the family has been able to get a great deal of therapy. I know there was a potential lawsuit against the professionals who failed to believe the girl and remove the danger of more abuse, but I don't know how that has come out.

I do know I'd never agree to convict her of murder if I were on a jury, given the evidence. Yes, she did it, but given the abuse--both the heinous nature of the abuse against the daughter and then also the isolation and abuse the mother had endured, I can't call what she did cold-blooded murder, although of course she did kill him, and given her mental state at the time, manslaughter is probably appropriate. My opinion would be to let her walk, but I'd have had to have gone with manslaughter given the evidence. One thing I've learnt through jury service is you have to very carefully weigh the evidence and not let emotions sway you. Still, I'm glad I've only served on a civil case and not a murder trial. Not all cases are as easy as this one.

She was just a year younger than me. I understand how isolation and abuse can mess with your psychology--I've been there, trust me--and she's right, emotional abuse leaves some of the worst scars, even though many people see physical abuse as worse than mere words. But that's not necessarily the case at all. In my opinion, sexual abuse is the worst, but emotional abuse is a close second. It erodes self-esteem, changes how a person thinks and interacts, and can make someone nearly incapable of taking their fate into their own hands. But it's so freeing when you do get out from under the abuse, let me tell you. I'm just glad that in my own past I've been able to walk away, cut off ties, and not had to worry about being pursued further. Most abusers are cowards. But then you get the psychos who won't let go and do things like shoot up nursing homes trying to kill their ex-wife, that kind of thing.

And it's not just men--I once got caught up in a scary divorce where the wife snapped and 1) presented a false claim of threat to get an emergency protective order, listing me as a witness when there had been no threat of violence at all, 2) stalked her husband all around town (that EPO needed to be mutual, or at least against her, let me tell you), and 3) she even stole paperwork out of the records office and scribbled madly over the divorce documents, then got the commissioner to try to blackmail me into giving her back a repossessed car (she'd not made payments on) before the divorce could proceed. Fortunately everything worked out well in the end and she was exposed as the psycho crazy woman she was, the husband was able to get his divorce/remarry, and I got to keep the car. Moral of the story, never get involved with crazy people's divorces. By comparison mine was a piece of cake.

Gee, I've known a lot of crazy people in my life, people who make me seem terribly sane and rational. Fortunately they aren't in my life anymore, and let me tell you, that's a blessing.