Chris Cavs Falling Down

Socialism is bad!

soupsoup:

quisquis:

This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the Public Power Monopoly regulated by the US Department of Energy. I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the Municipal Water Utility. After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. I watched this while eating my breakfast of US Department of Agriculture inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the Food and Drug Administration.

At the appropriate time as regulated by the US congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Atandards and Technology and the US Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issed by the Federal Reserve Bank. On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the US Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and fire marshal’s inspection, and which has not been plundered of all it’s valuables thanks to the local Police Department.

I then log on to the internet which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration and post on freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can’t do anything right.

(copyandpastedfromreddit)

TWIC (This Week in Chemo) [or how to say hello]

drew:

As you know, I’m holding back nothing here.

This week was not my best week.   Chemo #5 was on Tuesday.   7 more to go.

It whipped my butt a bit, but I’m back to about 60%, which is my new 100%.   Emotionally, I was wiped.  But you helped quite a bit with the tweets, the calls, and the support.   You have NO idea how big you guys were this week for me.   No words can explain it.

All I can say is moving forward and beyond, the #BlamedrewsCancer team will take all of these experiences and repeat it for those of you who need us.   Over and over, and we will never go away.  Do you need a pick me up?  Want to chat?  Call.  No questions asked.  (623) BLA-MEIT.

Yep, thats right.  I’m just the guinea pig.   Can’t share tons of details yet, but big things are ahead.

So back to the question I get the most…”How are you feeling?”

I don’t know, since I have nothing to compare it to.   I have been very lucky in my 29 years that I haven’t gotten sick a lot.  I had the flu ONE time.   I had gastric bypass surgery in 2005.   I always come back better than ever.

This time its different.   After chemo I kind of just get back to managable.   It’s frustrating for me, but I’m getting used to it.   Used to limits, used to taking care of myself and looking out for myself.   Sounds goofy I know, but it’s definitely a good learning experience.

So, how do I “feel”.  Well, I have likened the feeling of chemo to swallowing a hand grenade, except I wasn’t able to choose when  the pin got pulled.   I have never done such a thing, so I guess that’s not a fair assessment.

It feels like war is going on inside of my body.    I guess, because it is.

Oh well.  7 more wars to go.   Bring it, cancer.

LL_Cool_Josh Dear internet, you’re as slow as as a roasted turkey. Im gonna go ahead and #BlameDrewsCancer for this one.

Drew has me thinking. He has cancer. He’s going through a lot of pain and frustration. And he points out that his friends are helping him through. It’s wonderful that he’s got friends who are so dedicated to him.

But it makes me wonder: Why does it take something like this, like someone getting cancer (or being hit by a train, or having a donated kidney go wonky, or any number of other bad things) to make our friends finally call us up an tell us how much they care about us?

No, you don’t have to do it every day. No, you don’t have to profess your love for them. No, you don’t have to spend three hours catching up on everything that life has thrown at you. But a call or a text or a handwritten letter saying “Hey, was just thinking about you. How’s it going?” really can mean the world to someone. Believe me, I know. My friend Shelley called me the other day. Just to say hi. She does that. I love her for it. I’ll get IMs from Carl every once in awhile, just checking in. The guy rocks for that.

I just do not understand why it should take a tragic life event for us to say hello.

So I propose this: Every day this week, just say hi to one of your friends or family. Send a text, shoot an email, give a call, hell, write them a nice handwritten letter. Use a stamp even. But for seven days, from Monday to Monday, contact someone. Let them know you’re thinking about them. If it goes beyond the seven days, all the better. But just try it. You can never know how much it will truly mean to someone. Trust me.

Liberty State Park

soupsoup:

rhodyram:

Liberty State Park has got to be one of the best kept secrets in the US.  I don’t have enough of a fan base to ruin that by writing about it here…  so I’d love to safely share it with my friends and family….

Considering how beautiful and huge the park is, (1,122 acres) and with it being directly across from lower Manhattan with one of the best views possible, it’s such a mystery why it is so underutilized.

I’ve spent plenty of summer days hanging out on a beach chair at the park, without seeing another person for 45 minutes at a time. It’s those times in which it’s the most bizarre….  how the hell is this possible?  That I can be sitting there, with such an amazing view of NYC, the capital of the world..  and there’s no one in sight!?

Liberty State Park is at the southern tip of Jersey City, with eastward views of Wall Street and southern views of Governor’s Island, the Statue of Liberty, and my favorite bridge, the Verrazano off into the distance.  There are mostly open grass fields beside paved paths with benches facing Lady Liberty.  In the way back there is a humongous area to BBQ with many of those permanent grills ready and waiting for folks to throw charcoal on and cook up a rack of ribs.

Years ago as people would immigrate into the country, they would purchase a train ticket on Ellis Island, take a short ferry ride across to Liberty State Park, and hop on the railroad at CRRNJ Terminal to continue their journey into America.  As the railroad and industry declined and discontinued service the land was abandoned and became a desolate dump site. The park was revived and reopened in 1976 and has been well maintained ever since.  A true gem, and strangely so few know about it.  You’ll realize immediately how awesome the park is upon visiting it so put it on your calendar to bop over one Saturday or Sunday morning and enjoy!

* I’m only a few blocks away, so pick me up on the way!!

One of the best places in New Jersey. I loved riding my bike around the park, stopping in the middle of the ride to sit on a bench by the water & admire the amazing view.

I hate that fucking story about the violinist at the Metro station

soupsoup:

kiamatthews:

For some reason it’s making its way around Tumblr again and I have the same reaction the first time I heard it like two years ago: It’s so fucking pretentious. Oh, you don’t have time to listen to this world class violinst?  You clearly don’t know anything about beauty. Your life needs a priority check. Fuck you and fuck your violin. Is Joshua Bell going to come to my office and tell my boss: “Please excuse Ms. Matthews’ tardiness, she was just stopping to appreciate me, one of the world’s finest musicans because she can ‘perceive beauty’ and ‘recognize talent in an unexpected context’. Oh and also she can spot an unnecessarily expensive instrument with the naked eye, so obviously she’s the best employee ever, give this bitch a raise.” Every single person that ever posted this stupid story would also keep right on walking so shut the fuck up.

ALSO, who says this dude is any better of a musician than the dudes that play the buckets? Oh because he plays the violin? Fuck. Off. At least the bucket drum dudes make me wanna bust a move.

Next thing someone’s gonna tell me that the dude at the Dupont metro that does the Carlos Santana covers is actually Carlos Santana and that everyone who doesn’t stop to listen is clearly not appreciating rock/pop fusion and ponytails.

Counterpoint!

I was thinking something similar when I read the original story. Just not so…angry.