WanderingAmylessly 2.0

...indicating personality traits, such as meticulousness, avarice, and obstinacy... Am I really? Can it be? The joke goes—if the first thing you wonder when you hear it is whether it has a hyphen, then yes, you're anal-retentive. I think that all editors, by their very nature, fit into this category. But I guess I'd like to think of myself as anal-retentive light—a third less obsessively, paintstakingly attentive than the regular, run-of-the-mill nutcase. But a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl would never, ever, ever do what I did. I went and bought myself a Franklin Covey planner refill. For a few years, I'd been calendar-crazed clean. When we moved from Utah - home to all things Stephen Covey (uber Mormon, btw)—I found it easier to resist those urges...to perfect my mission statement, to customize my tabs, to list my governing values, Then it happened. One day, as I was sitting in a staff meeting, I glanced over at a colleague taking notes. And I sa

Colorblind by Counting Crows I am colorblind Coffee black and egg white Pull me out from inside I am ready I am taffy stuck and tongue tied Stutter-shook and uptight Pull me out from inside I am ready I am fine I am covered in skin No one gets to come in Pull me out from inside I am folded and unfolded and unfolding I am colorblind Coffee black and egg white Pull me out from inside I am ready I am fine

Oct. 26, 2004-Jan. 22, 2005 Rest peacefully, sweet angel. Know that you are loved by many, and you touched many lives and hearts.

I'm not quite sure how I will get through tomorrow. Many others feel the same way. So the following is a list of lovely liberal tasks to do as an alternative to watching the horror that is Dubya's second inauguration. (At least it will be his last.) 1. Plant a tree. 2. Join the Sierra Club. 3. Enjoy an alcoholic beverage. Or two. 4. Watch Fahrenheit 9-11. 5. Invite Michael Moore over to watch. 6. Read. Anything. 7. Donate to the Democratic Party. 8. Denounce the war. 9. Start a countdown calendar to 2008. 10. Have some hedonistic sex. 11. Visit Canada. 12. Speak French. 13. Give peace a chance. 14. Speak with absolutely no hint of a drawl. 15. Read Bill Clinton's book. 16. Write a letter to a legislator. 17. Participate in a spelling bee. 18. Volunteer for President Carter's Habitat for Humanity. 19. Praise stem-cell researchers. 20. Vacation in a blue state. 21. Celebrate women's choice today. 22. Be tolerant. 23. Listen to Air America

For those of you, like me, who still haven't recovered from post-election depression, here's a way to fight back. Just say NO to the inauguration. Be loud, be proud, be Anti-Bush. From CNN.com : 'Counter-Inaugural' revving up Dozens of groups converging on Washington for protests Tuesday, January 18, 2005 Posted: 7:58 PM EST (0058 GMT) WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The committee handling Bush's Thursday inaugural is focused on pomp and pageantry, but protesters are also preparing. Dozens of groups, from environmentalists to feminists to antiwar activists, are uniting for what they're calling "J20," or "The Counter-Inaugural." "No one should underestimate the hatred that the world has for the Bush administration," said Bill Hackwell of ANSWER -- Act Now to Stop War and End Racism. He explained the rationale behind staging protests by saying, "There are two superpowers in the world. One is the U.S. and the other is

A keen observer pointed out that I forgot to post a missing person of the week last week (as I said I would do a while back when I posted info on some cold cases). And then he suggested someone to feature. Osama Bin Laden I sincerely doubt that a post about the (depending on your political and religious leanings) most reviled person on the planet or the biggest hero of Islam would do much good in finding him. Do they have wireless internet access in Tora Bora? Most likely, no. But the person who suggested it will be pleased I took his advice. So if you see Osama, call the authorities. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming: Jason Jolkowski —This adorable young man, sometimes known as J.J., disappeared from his Omaha, Neb., home in June 2001. No sign or word from him since. Some people have suggested he's a runaway, but his family says that's improbable. People do not just vanish into thin air. Someone knows something. Rachel Cooke —What a picture of t

Alfred Kinsey might be my new hero. We went to see the movie Kinsey last night, and although I'd heard the researcher's name before, I had no idea how his groundbreaking studies on human sexuality changed the world. For the better, I believe. Yeah, so I'm a way-left-leaning, bleeding-heart liberal. Not really a shocker to those who know me well. I'm sure Bush and his bible-thumping, fundamentalist buddies would vehemently disagree with me. Let 'em. Nothing's going to change their minds. The world has no shades of gray, in their eyes. I'd quote a Bible verse that they might bring up in order to prove their point, but they could twist around anyone's words to fit their own purposes. And besides, I don't quote the Bible because...well, just because. If you're just not into this topic, now's the time to bow out and visit again tomorrow for a new post. What a bunch of uptight, freaked-out, whiney, holier-than-thou hypocrits. Who lie, c

Freezing rain—that was the forecast for yesterday. And today. And tomorrow. I need to go buy one of those lamps that simulates sunlight, so I won't find myself in the midst of a Seasonal Affective Disorder episode. In lieu of the lamp, here's my attempt at brightening everyone's world. Just a little. "Sunshine Day" by the Brady Kids I think I'll go for a walk outside now, The summer sun's calling my name, I hear it now. I just can't stay inside all day, I've got to get out, gimme some of those rays. Everybody's smiling (sunshine day), Everybody's laughing (sunshine day), Everybody seems so happy today in the sunshine day. Oooh. Can't you dig the sunshine? Feel the sun and the rays. Can't you hear it calling your name? Nothing like bad '70s TV to make you feel all better.

Our dishwasher just broke. The one we've had for 13 months. Of course. Six weeks after the 1-year warranty expires. And it's not like it's some piece o' garbage el cheapo model. It's a Maytag. But now Tim and I are wondering whether we, maybe, broke a mirror at some point. Walked under a ladder. Stepped on a crack and broke someone's back. Forgot to throw spilled salt over a shoulder. We oughta buy a lottery ticket. We're overdue for some good luck.

It's so incredibly fun to make hot cocoa, play music, and decorate the house each December for Christmas, yet so excruciatingly boring to pack it all up, come January. That's my task for today: undecorate. If I were at all organized, it might be fun and easy. But my procrastination and lack of a methodical system for placing it all in bags and boxes make for a not-so-fun time to be had by all. Maybe I'll surprise myself and enjoy putting it all away, since we're in the midst of cleaning the whole basement in preparation for creating a home theater system. Maybe next year while we're repacking the wreath and bows and stockings, we'll do so while watching an in-dolby-stereo-action-adventure flick on our 42 inch plasma television and sipping fizzy-lifting drinks from our home bar. There's something to look forward to.

It snowed about a foot in the past three days. The roofing company is now telling us we owe their attorney fees and the cost of putting the lien on our house. And my kid has pneumonia. So much for a brighter outlook in '05.

Missing persons cases. Next to the BTK Strangler investigation (notorious Wichita, Kan., serial killer, still on the loose after 30 years), my biggest true crime obsession has to be those cases where people vanished, never to be seen or heard from again. If I think about it too much, I might never let my husband or son out of the house ever again. However, there are a few particularly disturbing or puzzling cases that I'd like to highlight below (click on the name for details). Granted, statistics suggest these people probably passed on long ago and are not among the new neighbors who moved in up the street from you. But you never know. You could help solve a mystery (Robert Stack, rest in peace...). Johnny Gosch —This young boy disappeared in 1982, while delivering the Des Moines Register in West Des Moines, Iowa. Amazingly enough, his mother now claims that he came to visit her in the late 1990s, supposedly telling her that he had been kidnapped by a highly organized, ver