Code Monkey Happy Ninja Banana Surprise!

omg it was a long week. And too many things to do, too little time, and what the crap man, could there be more June babies??? To note, this past week alone was Phil’s, Lindsey’s, mine, Micah’s, Tiffany’s and Kelsey’s birthdays. And we all know each other. And we’re all connected to Dollop somehow. And… I’m the oldest. None of them do what I tell them to, it’s JUST. SO. WRONG! …. HA.

Photos are here: Tres Birfdays and that doesn’t even include the two dinners, *and* Kasey’s 25th bday partayyyyy, nor brunch at Sue’s, OR any for Kelsey cuz she’s in Peru. OMG IT’S SUMMERRRRRR!!

I didn’t even get a glimpse of Gay Pride Parade, but that’s fine – there’s always next year.

Here’s what I learned this weekend:

Sushi is really good here and they have HUGE rolls (THANK YOU, Em…)

The White Sox are good too, but we’re still atop the NL, and we will ALWAYS have the better looking field and fans… if there’s one thing everyone learned though, these two teams can beat each other up! Total combined series runs versus each other? 32-31, White Sox-Cubs.

Stevie Wonder rocks. For three hours. For free. Holy. Cow.

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On a complete different note, how much is your freedom worth? [politi-rant alert]

If you agree with the ruling by the Supreme Court, who FINALLY smacked some sense shit into the Bush League (it’s impossible to knock anything else into them) and have FINALLY supported the American way of life, which is freedom based, then you’re on the side of the Constitution. If you DISAGREE with the ruling, and have made such statements as this man has, then you’re against the Constitution, and one of the core beliefs that continues to set us apart from the rest of the world.

Find me the documents that prove we’re actually AT WAR with Iraq. We’re not. Therefore those are not POWs in Guantanamo. Therefore, under habeas corpus, they have a right, just like you and me, to ask our government to prove what wrongs they have done against our government. To be held by any government without proof of action, merely on conjecture of future actions is to show the government to be apparently psychic in its ability to determine what lies in a person’s soul, and to be able to foresee what actions one will take. In other words, a god.

Anyone see this movie?

And even IF WE ARE AT WAR – at what point does it become ok for us to show the world that we can imprison at will, without proof, without action, without any end to the term, anyone we so choose? All men are equal becomes a bullshit line with those actions. And it already has – since those we’re holding have been in there as long as six years.

Is the US government a god? Do its powers have greater reach than the power that allows us to exist, and to be created? Are any of us any more special than another? Just what do you have in mind when you say we should imprison certain individuals because they MIGHT take action against us? Just how many rights are you willing to give up in order to feel secure? Those of you that wish to do so, and agree with the idea of imprisonment without terms, agree that we should racially profile (ask your local Muslims how long it takes them to get through an airport these days), agree that we need to put up fences, and agree that the President has unlimited powers during times of war (and let’s just theoretically pretend that we are, actually, at a legitimate war) — then recognize the truth that what you really want is a dictatorship, everyone to be the same cookie-cutter shape, and everyone to behave the same, unquestioning, obedient till death. How trite and how boring. How immature.

Death itself should be proof to all of us that none of us are created any less or more than the one next to us. Unless we’re lost at sea, cremated, or otherwise disappear from this planet, we all are buried, we all erode, and the atoms that make us return to their origin, to be used again in some other form.

For you to disregard the balance between the powers that is key to our country’s freedom is to ignore what the original Framers had in mind.

For you to want the world to be all the same for you, with your insignificantly short observation of the world (what’s, on average, 75 years compared against world history??), speaks volumes about your fear of those who are different than you, believe differently than you, and choose to live differently than you.

For anyone to support a government to act as god and also claim Christianity as their belief show themselves as hypocritical, shallow, and immature. Hypocritical since frankly, not even a government is supposed to come between us and our relationship to Him; shallow, because you can’t seem to see past the skin of another; and immature, because it becomes painfully obvious that you’re forgetting key passages that exhort us to, I’m sorry? What? Feed the poor. Give to the poor. Care for the poor. Love one another. Not, make your government and your president your god. Not, kill those who don’t believe as you do. Not, kill before you are killed.

Really. Are we still THAT generation that sings about marching to war? Really?? What is that?

K. I’m now a complete year older. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee HA!

If you’re counting American, I’m two away from forty. If you’re counting Korean, I’m just ONE away from forty! EEK! So I think I’m done counting…

[thoughts in brain]
REALLY?! FORTY!? CRAP. FORTY? YEARS?!? Can ahhh git a witnessssss? CRAP.
[no more thoughts]

Here’s what I’ve learned in the past week. And yeah really, my memory is going fast, I can only remember back about seven days at a time. Figures.

First, always check the hours of a store when you decide to go at 3 a.m. … my favorite time to shop at Home Depot is at 3 a.m… the location on North Ave WAS 24/7. Until, apparently, last week. I went there to get some plants (best deal in town, fyi) and since the plants are outdoors, unfenced, I parked, and went straight away to choose some. I gathered three diff types of basil, and some parsley, and went to the entrance, where the auto-doors would gladly open to accept my entrance and my money. They didn’t open. I look down and brand new hours sign had been posted. They now close at midnight every single night of the week. Lame.

Grammar is important. That sign, when read according to how it’s typed, really does say they don’t accept any orders, including if they happen to be walk-ups. For the first time in a long time, I would tell the one that made the sign to actually USE QUOTES in this case. NOT parenthesis!

KatieB and I saw wildlife on our walk to get a Zippy. We don’t know why.

Two of the best girls at Noble Tree. Ya’ll ROCKSSSS!

Phil is also older now. And we had a surprise party for him. And it was fun. And creepy.

I know I’m on the right path because I’m following the white rabbit. Yes I’m referencing BOTH Carroll, this movie, and this movie. And I fucking OWN a white rabbit. So there.

Slightly artistic iphone photo. I’ll call it Cast Your Burdens.

Elise still rocks, even if it is for a literal 2 hour hit at Dollop. Girl, you’re harder to track more than anyone else I know!

The bestest, most funnest car EVAH is this one. That’s a NEW Mini Cooper, complete with stripes, juiced up engine, steering wheel shifters, and… did I mention stripes? Sweet.

I FINALLY found the Magic Hedge. I’ll let you Google that one.

My new fave spot in town. This is the calm before the storm for league night at Montrose Beach.

But, Billy, WHO’S FEET ARE THOSE??? One’s mine, the other is of one I dearly miss, who happened to be in town!

It officially became Summer this past weekend, YAYYYYY!!!

And the longest day of the year turned out to be absolutely stunning. And gorgeous. And really nice. And of course I had a camera around for some of it. Go here to view the shots.

First, it was, indeed, Friday, which went faster with the cake I made, some pizza showing up on 15, and the Cubbies playing and BEATING the Sox (more on that later). And then it was time to play volleyball — 2×2 over at North Ave. And…. I suck. It’s now been 18, count them, EIGHTEEN YEARS since I last truly played 2×2. Back then, I was, hmmm… younger, lighter by about 15 pounds and the same exact height. Back then I had a great partner… Megan was taller, only a couple years younger, and basically she and I conned the dudes on the beach every week. No WAY could a short dude and a girl out-hustle two beach dudes… HA. Morons. And yeah, this was before the idea of women ruling the ‘net on the beach hit the Midwest….

Now? 18 years later? Damn. Guess who’s gonna be riding/running every day this week? Yep. Yours truly. But it was FUN, and that, in the end, is what really matters. I never ever sign up for something that I know will unfun, unenjoyable, and unwhatever else is a positive word about spending time on an activity. Does anyone?

And then it was party time, as you’ll see in the photos, for Mr. Micah’s birthday bash! WOOOHOOO!! Happy BDay again, my friend. May many more occur for you!!!

Saturday was all about pain and suffering. Well, at least the first part. I got my ass outta bed (somehow, I don’t know how now) and went to volleyball drills by Art at North Ave. At 9am. Um, I only had a couple hours sleep prior. So yeah. Pain. And no, I’m not gonna say “yeah, but it was that GOOD pain”. Really? Um…. pain at 9am on ANY morning is not good in my book. It’s just pain, and… I vote “no”.

From that to a meetup with a great friend trying, STILL, to complete an interview/informational that I will post soon here. It’s about clothes. Good clothes. And hopefully, we can send some to George Bush and he can awaken from his stupor of stupidity. Or not. Ever.

CUBBIES RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah yeah, ha ha Happy 100th Anniversary to us for the last time we won the World Series, but I know for a fact that anytime the Cubbies beat the Sox it hurts them. It’s like making lots of little paper cuts on their arms and pouring freshly squeezed lemon juice on those and then having a camel lick it off. It hurts them and it disgusts them. And it makes me happy. We’ll see what happens NEXT weekend when we’re the guests in their monstrosity of a stadium. Hmmm… camel juice? Ewwwww…..

Happy Monday.