a99kitten's Musings

I’m sorry but if you know your daughter has ANY type of heart issue, you do NOT let her drink a lot of caffeine. And if you know you have a heart issue, you do not drink a lot of caffeine. And sure, the doctor probably should point out that high levels of caffeine are not good.

But you know whose fault it’s NOT? The company that sells the drinks to a gazillion people without heart problems who drink them with no issue. But of course that’s who gets blamed. Because people are simply not responsible for their own condition anymore. It’s always someone else’s fault.

I have SVT. It’s a heart thing. Not a serious one. Not a big deal. I cannot die from it unless I don’t lie down when it happens causing me to get dizzy, pass out and crack my head open and bleed out on the sidewalk. But guess what? I limit my caffeine. And I can tell when I’ve had too much and know to stop having it and drink more water. I also can’t use DayQuil or any cold/allergy product containing ephedrine. Oh well. Pretty simple. And guess what? No doctor has ever actually told me that. I figured it out all on my own. Magic.

This lawsuit against Monster Beverage is gross. In my opinion, the below quote says ‘we knew my daughter had a problem and didn’t care to protect her nor did she care to protect herself. Our doctor didn’t tell us but still we should have known but are complete idiots’ *real quote* “A lawyer for her family, Kevin Goldberg, said that the 14-year-old had been aware she had an underlying condition but added that her doctors had not told her to restrict her physical activities or her caffeine use.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/business/fda-receives-death-reports-citing-monster-energy-a-high-caffeine-drink.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0

Caffeine is WELL known as a stimulant. The more you have, the more your body is stimulated. That’s why you are probably drinking it. So how do you NOT know that’s bad for you with an underlying heart condition? And if, at 14, you are claiming you are too stupid to know this then your parents should have.

It’s awful that this girl died. Of course it is. But it’s her and her family’s fault. Monster Beverage is marketed VERY clearly as a highly-caffeinated beverage. Not like they snuck it in on you.

It’s called common sense people. If you don’t have it, don’t go outside and ruin it for the rest of us.

I watched Season 1 of Homeland over the past couple weeks. It’s a Showtime show so it was a short season – 12 episodes. If you haven’t seen it but want to watch it, stop here as I will spoil the entire story for you…….

OK….

You’ve been warned…

I was very, VERY into it for the first 4-5 eps. LOVED it. Fantastic show! But when Carrie slept with Brody, that seemed a little shark jumpy. I mean come on? A CIA agent who thinks that a US Marine has turned into an Al Qaeda operative sleeps with him? (and a Ginger no less!) But OK, maybe she is THAT into catching him and thought she could get intel? Or that in need of a physical connection (we did hear her wonder to Saul if she was going to be alone for the rest of her life.) But still??? Sigh…OK, I’ll let it go. But then when they go to her family’s cabin in the woods and she basically seems to be falling for him, I have to go HUH? YOU THINK HE IS A TERRORIST. Also married with kids, but we’ll ignore that over the fact that YOU THINK HE IS A TERRORIST!!!

Then they throw us a loop with the other marine is still alive thing and *maybe* Brody isn’t a terrorist and *only* a married man with kids. But….then….nope. Terrorist. And no…the storyline we get to see about why he has turned did not warm my heart or make me think he was just confused. Sad the kid died. All the kids. Awful. And yeah – the government (including the VP) lied to the public about the op (and that never happens.) But hello – the father is a HUGE TERRORIST. Who kidnapped you, kept you hostage, tortured you and had you beat your other marine friend to a pulp. But yeah – we should feel sorry for them. And you. And understand your dilemma. And that you turned to Islam while there because it’s the religion of peace. (?)

So then the explosion and Carrie is injured, very likely some PTSD kicking in and she’s off her illegally obtained bi-polar meds. *thumbs up for the unstable, bi-polar CIA agent with a gun* But now she is a complete loon. And her loonyness seems to have been triggered by the explosion followed by being off her meds? BUT, then Brody “betrays” her (you trusted A TERRORIST?!) and she loses it. Completely.

Last we see she has agreed to electro-shock therapy as the only solution. Even after her best friend begs her to reconsider. Great plan – kill parts of your brain. Oh…and she definitely lost her security clearance (even though in reality she was 100% right with her findings even in her looniest of loon stage.) so that means she won’t be a CIA agent anymore? So….what will she do on the show?

BUT….let me get this straight….this chick who is this super smart agent and has been through so much with Al Qaeda and in Baghdad, etc etc got THAT upset by a stupid frackin’ guy??? And a TERRORIST to boot?!?!?! Ugh.

I have to say the last 2 episodes (of Season 1) annoyed the hell out of me. I loved the spy and political parts of the series. And the cast is great. But the complete meltdown of Carrie was a huge disappointment in character development.

I don’t subscribe to Showtime so I will find a way to watch the season 2 premiere on YouTube but if it annoys me as much, I’m out. I have a lot of shows and movies I’d like to watch but don’t have time for. Don’t need to waste my time on one that annoys me.

Don’t make someone a priority in your life when you’re only an option in theirs. Ever (I added that.)

Also – why dogs rule.

Yesterday I placed an order on Amazon. My first since the California sales tax BS for Amazon that went into effect mid-September. It wasn’t a huge order but a few hundred dollars so tacking on another 8.25% tax on that was annoying. I do not blame Amazon for this. They fought this as long as they could.

I already pay WAY MORE in income tax than is my “fair share”. So to then have to pay even more tax to spend the same *leftover* money is so beyond annoying it’s ridiculous. California is so mismanaged it’s criminal. The amount of money wasted in this state is criminal.

A large portion of people do not pay income taxes. Some of those do pay payroll taxes, but a big chunk of that is Social Security and medicare (which is matched by employers – actually more than matched currently thanks to the tax holiday still in place for employees but not employers). But beyond that, they are able to not pay additional income taxes and, in fact, get refunds each year.

In my opinion, everyone should pay the same percentage. You make $100, you pay $10. You make $1,000,000 then you pay $100,000. The “rich” will then be paying more *as they already do* than the non-rich. Or some set percentage that is across the board.

I work a lot. I have worked a lot since I was like..14 years old. I am decently financially successful now. But we have had to worry about our company being successful, making payroll, pay our bills, make deals to keep income coming in, work on holidays and nights and stress when things go bad. So how is that the same as some person who works a 9-5 job who punches a time clock and collects their check and demands a lifetime pension and medical benefits? And has none of those worries or concerns. I should be penalized for working hard? How is this fair? How does this make sense to ANYONE??? France just imposed a 75% tax on millionaires. 75%. How does anyone but a complete psychopath think that is fair?

I could go on and on about how this is so pathetic and unfair and gross. But I won’t, You either already know this and agree. Or you disagree. If you disagree – please move to Russia, Cuba or China and see how awesome those places are.

I love the state of California for its natural beauty. And if my taxes supported the parks, beaches, and border patrol – I wouldn’t mind. But it doesn’t. 2 of those 3 are the first things cut and the last is a constant political football. Don’t even get me started about what it does pay for.

I pay high federal income taxes. I pay high state income taxes. I pay property tax. I pay sales tax every time I go to a store. And now every time I order online? FU California politicians.

Already seeing the typical Labor Day tweets and Facebook posts from people saying how you can thank Big Labor and unions for your day off. Or to feel free to work on Labor Day if you are against unions.

You know who Big Labor can thank though? The entrepreneurs who starts companies that grow and employ a lot of people. Or maybe just 5 at your local corner store. Or the CEOs and executives who make sure employees receive good benefits, salaries and a good work environment. But you never see anyone thanking them. IN FACT, the current administration wants you to not like them at all. After all, they didn’t build anything anyway.

I’ve worked for myself or for a company that I’ve been part owner of, since 1999. Before then, I worked for a family-owned and run hedge fund that rewarded their employees greatly whenever they could. Grossly so really. And grew up with my father owning his own business and always bonusing out to employees whenever it could be afforded. But they are evil in today’s climate. Undoubtedly cheating on their taxes and ruining the lives of their employees or cheating them in some way.

I worked yesterday. I have worked today and will do more later. And I will also work tomorrow. But I would not have it any other way. Have I thought how nice it would be to never have to think about work when I left my desk at 5pm? Sure. Absolutely. But in the end – not me.

So no – I do not thank big labor for anything. Or unions. Or Obama. Or the government. I thank the people I have worked for. And myself. For working hard. And that’s it.

(That title is SO ridiculously Carrie Bradshaw but seemed to fit…)

Yesterday a friend of mine posted her engagement pictures on Facebook and changed her relationship status to Engaged. This is how we spread the news now, right? And watch as everyone on your timeline comments (or sometimes just to themselves. Or talks behind your back about it.)

I am very happy for her. I’ve known her since when she was married to a very nice guy who I am also friends with. But they weren’t happy together. They had been together since high school. You change a lot as you grow up. And sometimes you don’t change the same way together. It happens.

When they separated I was sad, since I knew that meant she’d move. It’s not like we were bast pals but we had gotten closer as friends so I knew I’d see her less with her moving away. And I ended up hearing a lot more of the guy’s side of the separation via my husband who would talk to him. But I know in cases like this there are always 2 sides. And always pointed that out to husband. And frankly, I saw her FB updates daily and she seemed really damn happy.

The rather funny thing is the guy she just got engaged to is a friend of my husband’s. We went to a Porsche event at Laguna Seca with him last fall. That was the first time I had met him and he was an incredibly sweet guy. My husband mentioned that my girlfriend was really into cars and would probably have fun at an event like this and semi introduced them via FB. And then…the rest was history. I think husband felt guilty in that he didn’t do it as a “get them together” thing and now felt he “betrayed” his other friend whose now ex-wife he just set up.

Yesterday at dinner, another couple was talking about it and I said “I know! I’m so happy for them!” And both that couple and my husband were like “oh, it’s only been 10 months of dating, it’s so soon, I don’t know.” I responded who are we to judge how they feel about each other? And how do you determine how much time of dating is “enough”? Well, maybe you realize just how much you like someone and don’t want to ever be without them or let them go? And that they are The One? And maybe that hits you 2 months in, 4 months in or 10 months in? And really, just maybe, if you need 3 years of dating and living together to figure it out, and you are still not sure, it’s likely NOT The One.

I don’t mean to say at 16 you should marry the boy you like after dating for the summer. But as you grow up, you (hopefully) mature. And you realize what you like about people, and what you like about yourself when you are with those people.

After I pointed that out, the other couple agreed and said they did seem really happy. And that is what really matters. Husband still said they should have dated longer but maybe they will have a long engagement.

I tell ya, when I’m the voice of romance and true love in the room, makes me realize I hang out with some really cynical people. But honestly, I could not be happier for my 2 friends.

On Friday I bought some fresh Ahi and Albacore tuna. Fresh off the boats over at the fish market by my house. It’s been a bad year for ahi and fresh Pacific albacore is seasonal – only available in the summer. But I got both! The guy at the fish market said he found a new hook-up for fresh Ahi so he should get it in once a week now. Yay!

On Friday I seared it. Love seared tuna but you can only use really fresh fish for it to be perfect and pink. For this I found a recipe on line and changed it up for me

Ahi tuna steak (I had him cut mine to 1″ thick)
2 Tbsp dark sesame oil
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp of grated ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
Sesame seeds

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a ziploc bag and coat the tuna steaks with the marinade, seal tightly getting the excess air of out of the bag, and refrigerate for at least an hour. I say 2-3 hours.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high to high heat. When the pan is hot, remove the tuna steak from the marinade and sear for about 2 minutes to a minutes on each side (for a 1″ thick steak.) The time will depend on how rare you like it. When you flip to 2nd side, sprinkle on the sesame seeds.

Remove from pan and slice into 1/4-inch thick slices. It’s perfect on its own, over sticky rice or salad! This turned out FANTASTIC! I think I will try some sliced avocado with it next time too!

For Saturday dinner, I did my yummy Ahi Poke salad which is here: https://a99kitten.com/?p=6345

Needless to say the poke was delicious with such fresh fish!!

I decided on the albacore for Monday dinner. It was my first time making albacore at home. Mixed 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp truffle oil and 1/2 tbsp sesame oil in a ziploc. Marinated the tuna for 2 hours in the fridge. Seared the tuna on a HOT pan for 2 mins on each side. Squeezed some fresh lemon juice over it. Delicious. Double dog delicious.

Tonight I made the shrimp that I bought on Thursday but then threw in freezer after finding all the yummy fish on Friday! Shrimp (defrosted), garlic, parsley, red pepper, a little unsalted butter (room temp) and shredded parmesan. Put it all in a foil “packet” and cooked at 400 for 7 minutes. So, so delicious.

I think I’ve turned seal. Or shark. Or bear?

So I think I had some kind of weird delayed reaction to my birthday. I usually buy something cool as a present to myself. It’s a habit I started when I turned 21. Ya know…just a couple years ago :) But this year I did not. Just wasn’t feeling it. But then…well…I bought these yesterday:

http://www.neimanmarcus.com/p/Manolo-Blahnik-BB-Suede-Pump-Black-Blahnik-Pumps/prod149710069___/?icid=&searchType=MAIN&rte=%252Fsearch.jsp%253FN%253D0%2526Ntt%253DBlahnik%252520Pumps&eItemId=prod149710069&cmCat=search

I’ve been wanting a pair of Manolos for awhile and oddly I do NOT have a classic black pump in all of my closet! A fair amount of other black heels but not this style. Criminal really. They aren’t available/shipping until October but I’m pretty sure I will love them :) Then I will have a new addiction! #oopsie

Then today I bought some jeans, some new Lulu Astro pants and some cute Niner Junkfood tees. Oh! And a dress and some cute exercise t-shirts (and frankly any money spent on exercise gear should NOT count!)  All from the comfort of my home. Internet shopping is bad, bad, bad!!!! And I’ve been SO good too. Not sure what happened – mental break, tumor? But at least I’ll look cute :)

We’ll just wrap it up with a bow and call it all a Happy belated Birthday to me. Yeah…that’s it.

Today started nicely enough. Woke up early, took Storm and Shadow out TOGETHER. First time ever for me to do myself. Fed them (separately of course.) Checked the market, answered some work email, took Shadow on a good, long hike to tire him out. Nothing crazy. Then…

As I was packing husband called and said the contractors called him to let him know that the power company came out to shut the power off at the new house where a *gajillion* contractors are working to finish the house. They told the guy to go away and come back later and they called husband who called me to yell at me that the former owner had sent me an email telling me this would happen and why didn’t I handle it. Huh? I said I never received such an email. He responded yes I did. No – no I didn’t. I instantly knew the guy had sent it to husband only and not me and husband assumed I was cced on it without looking or asking me. He called back to tell me this is what happened after looking through his email and could I please call the power, water and gas companies to fix it as they were all set to be shut off today if not re-assisgned to us. No sorry I yelled or assumed you were an idiot. OK. Whatever.

I called them all. Got it all switched over. Even after the power company said there was no way it would happen today without a signed application brought in or mailed. I explained that was not how this was going to go. Got a supervisor. All fine. OK, crisis averted. Move the day along.

Then, I wanted to start getting the car loaded for the drive to Tahoe. Shadow was sleeping in the entryway. I said come on, “let’s go” all happy-like. Luckily I had opened the front door before I did this. He charged me and bared his teeth. I backed up fast put up my knee to prevent any jumping at me and his tooth got my leg but it doesn’t hurt although he did break the skin. I was far more worried about Storm who came to the stairs to see what was happening and started to come down. Instantly I envisioned Storm getting attacked as Shadow turned around (as Storm was ah-rooing) and I yelled NO. He turned and started coming back towards me and again I said NO but to him. He laid down but I was a bit freaked out. I had Storm at the top of the stairs and me outside. I called husband who told me to start my car and pull away and that Shadow would come out to follow. I did and he only came out after I backed back into the driveway. He started coming outside so I opened the tailgate and he jumped in. I slammed it shut and left the windows open with the A/C blasting for him. Got the car loaded and Storm in the back seat and off we went.

THEN, I got pulled over by a CHP for speeding. I was speeding. I didn’t argue with him. But he was probably the nicest (and funniest) cop I’ve ever met. He approached the car and asked if I knew why I was being pulled over? I innocently said no. He said he clocked me at 81 in a 65. Hmm. Probably I thought. My car is very fast with no effort at all. He then said had he known he was pulling over such a pretty girl, he wouldn’t have. Aww. I see wjat he was doing – he disarms you so that your anger/frustration goes away/gets less. Smart. Then he went on saying how he was so sorry to pull over a basically law-abiding citizens. He said I’m sure you will get this ticket and pay it and move on, even probably not to try and speed for awhile (I laughed.) He said but later on tonight he will pull over a yahoo who won’t pay his ticket, will have a warrant issued, get arrested and spend a couple nights in jail costing the taxpayers money. He went on to say that the ticket money that I send won’t go to the police but be spent on some governement waste as usual.

Then he added how he hated this system but it was his job to write tickets all day no matter what so he would write me up for 79 instead if 81 which changes the ticket amount level. He apologized for having to write the ticket and said I could contest it if I wanted. Wha? Then after he gave me the ticket he said it was very dangerous on the road so he will clear the traffic so I could get out into it. OK….

Was quite funny. I never contest speeding tickets. I speed every time I am on the freeway. Never on city streets or residential – ever. But the freeway? Unless it’s raining/snowing – I am speeding. Have you ever tried going the speed limit on the freeway? It’s like you are driving 20 mph. So when I do get a ticket (about 1 every 2-3 years), I view it as my offering to the highway gods. But he was pretty darn funny and did take away any annoyance I probably would have felt. Excellent skills he had.

To pile onto the day, ZNGA reported their crap earnings and my position took a good digger after hours. Should be a fun morning when i check my account. I have basically written off that position, leaving it in my account to hopefully be worth something some day. But still. Jackasses. Grrrr.

I got to the house and the mountain air IS glorious. The house is a complete mess. When I mention it to husband he looked at me and said “really?” Sigh….Oh, and then he added that the realtor called with a viewing tomorrow at 4pm. So apparently I get to clean tomorrow AM. Yay! In between all the work I brought up with me. Double-yay!

Then just for a chuckle, husband says (after we were discussing a news story) “the whole reason I married you is because you’re the only girl I’ve ever met who isn’t completely crazy.” Hmm. Well, that’s probably a good damn thing or you would be dead by now.

Sigh. I am not in a bad mood at all (strangely?) but some relaxing is in order so I just opened a bottle of wine and poured myself a glass. Tonight shall be mine. Now, what’s on my DVR…

I have learned my lesson. Don’t post personal info or pics online for the world to see unless you truly don’t care what the world spits back at you.

I used to never, ever post any pictures of myself or information about myself online. My FB account is as locked down as it could be. I don’t even accept friend requests from people I do know. Just because I knew you at one time, does not mean I want to continue that. I ignore most LinkedIn requests. But twitter…for some reason I always felt more free to talk on twitter. I didn’t use my name, I certainly never used their location-tracking (had 1 real life stalker in the past, didn’t need another) and it was just silly fun blah blah anyway.

The only pics I EVER used to post were of the huskies or Star Wars related stuff. I was pretty locked down in my opinion. Kind of how I am in real life. But then I went to Comic Con a couple years ago and ended up posting a few of me with various stuff around SDCC. No harm. And no weirdness. So I let my guard down and posted a couple from Niners games or whatever over time.

Then this year I went to SDCC and posted some pics again. And I’m not sure what happened. Is it me? Did I just happen to collect a few weirdo followers on twitter? Who knows. And usually I only follow people back if they reach out to me and comment and I see their feed and they seem normal. Apparently my judgement sucks. But by the wholly inappropriate series of direct messages sent to me last night – for the 3rd time (3rd different person) – it has become clear I am going back to posting pictures of huskies and Star Wars related stuff. And that’s it. I deleted some of the pics last night and will probably go back and just do them all.

No big loss to the world, the huskies are way cuter anyway, but I really wish guys would get it through their fn heads that most girls really don’t like being talked to in a such a manner. Certainly not by people they do not know. I’ve thrown drinks in guys faces at bars for less but on twitter/online there is no drink to throw. Just block and move on.

I’m not always as cold and unfeeling as I appear to be. But maybe I’ll get there. Until then, keep the walls up.