A Void

A co-worker of mine passed away on Friday night. He was 33 years old.

It all happened so fast. I can hardly believe he's gone. It was only 5-6 weeks ago that he started feeling sick.

He went to the doctor, and they kept him in the hospital. They ran tests, and the next thing I heard, he had started chemo. Advanced lymphoma...

On Monday of last week, they let him go home, and from all accounts that I heard, he was doing well--or at least, the doctors seemed optimistic. But on Wednesday, he was back in the hospital. And on Friday night... he died.

I wouldn't say I was close to him. We joked around and chatted at work every now and then, but that's about it. Still, I'll miss him. And when I get to work later this morning, I'll see the silly little note he scrawled for me one day, and which I taped up in my cubicle: "Proofreaders fight the war on error."

I'll smile, but I'll be a little sad, too.

I Love The Smell Of Sulfur In The Morning...

So, the Venezuelan president, Mr. Hugo "El Lococito" Chavez, had some choice words for President Bush at the U.N. this week. Calling Bush "the devil," he said that he could still "smell sulfur" at the podium the day after Bush's U.N. address.

Personally, I think maybe Bush just had a few too many beans in his breakfast burrito, or something. The idea that he could be the Angel of Darkness incarnate, masquerading as a long, tall Texan with a speech impediment (elpublico nilcomprenditis, I believe it's called) is tantalizing on so many levels, but I reluctantly admit it's unlikely.

Sigh.

I was actually quite irritated by El Lococito's remarks, because he has forced me into the position of defending a man (Bush) that I don't even like. But for all my criticism of our current administration, I find it appalling and reprehensible that a foreign leader would come to a solemn assembly of the United Nations and viciously insult the host nation's president--our president--in front of the rest of the world.

To call his behavior "unprofessional" is an understatement on a par with calling Vietnam a "skirmish."

Not to mention the utter irony of people like Chavez and, God help us, Ahmaisndgagkhjhasdbgebd, or however you spell the name of Mr. "I Am A Logical, Reasonable Man Who Loves Everyone, So Don't Take It The Wrong Way When I Say 'Death To America!'" Iranian president, calling Bush on the carpet for being a tyrant and a dictator and flouting human rights all over the place.

Is Venezuela or Iran such a beacon of democratic light that they can really pretend to shine the beams of their enlightenment on our woefully benighted society? Please.

But perhaps I am being uncharitable. Maybe these two vitriolic psychos (El Lococito and Mr. Nuclear Love) just need to take a break from all their efforts at inducing the birth pangs of World War III and come chill out on the west coast for a bit. Have a margarita, kick back on the golden beaches, and watch a pretty sunset. Get a new perspective. Maybe they'll even try surfing!

Hopefully without any napalm or valkyries to accompany them...

Arrrrrrrre You Ready...

...for International Talk Like A Pirate Day?

Well, be ye ready or no, 'tis a day that has crept upon ye like a scurvy knave on a black night! Aye, me hearties--today be the day when English grammar be thrown to the four winds of the seven seas!

But if it be lessons ye're needin', on how to speak like a proper miscreant pirate wretch, sail on over to this video and watch Cap'n Slappy and Ol' Chumbucket pontificate on the finer points of pirate language. Such as, the meaning of "Ahoy!" (trans: "Hello!")

Yo ho ho!

A Study in Surreality

I received an e-mail from my brother the pod person today, an e-mail that went out to all my brothers and sisters as well, which had the simple subject line, "just thought you should all know." Here's what it said:

"i am a lebanese detainee in syria."

Followed by a link to a page showing names of Lebanese detainees--with my brother's name very clearly in the list.

This came as a surprise to most of my family, as you might imagine. For one thing, we all thought he was in California. I mean, I even went so far as to believe he and I were living in the same house. In fact, I was convinced I had seen my brother just this morning before I headed off to work, and before I ever got his e-mail. He didn't seem like a detainee then, nor did he appear to be in Syria.

Unless... well, unless I am also in Syria without realizing it.

Hmmm. The plot most definitely thickens.

Logically Delicious!

Sooooo, let me see if I get this straight. The pope recently gave a speech in which he referenced some emperor as saying that Islam is "evil and inhuman" and spread faith "by the sword."

Then an extremist Islamic group has the following reaction, which is, of course, entirely rational:

The group said Muslims would be victorious and addressed the pope as "the worshipper of the cross" saying "you and the West are doomed as you can see from the defeat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and elsewhere. ... We will break up the cross, spill the liquor and impose head tax, then the only thing acceptable is a conversion (to Islam) or (killed by) the sword." (quoted in an article on CNN.)

Hmmm.

It would be laughable if it weren't so damn scary.

Home Sweet Home

I have always had trouble feeling "at home" anywhere.

Of course, it doesn't help that I am sadly deficient when it comes to the "nesting" impulse. I do not know how to decorate, nor do I much care what a room looks like, as long as there is room for books, a bed, a place to keep my clothes... you know, the necessary things.

Sometimes, I do wish I was more domestically inclined. Perhaps I will be someday. I already clean slightly more often than I did when I was much younger, which is not saying an awful lot, but hey, it's better than nothing, and gives one hope that improvement is not entirely out of my reach. I can also cook a little.

But I feel like I am still waiting and longing for that place to call home. I just wonder how I'll know I've finally found it.

Bleah

I have a sore throat today. Wah.

In other news... hmm. Well, I don't actually have any other news. Long day at work, and I'm tired. Also a little depressed.

Thankfully, I don't have to go in to the office until 12:30pm tomorrow. I am so sleeping in.