Personality Test

Everyday I read my horoscope. Some day's it is dead on accurate, and some day's it's like they are talking about someone from another planet. Nevertheless, everyday I read my horoscope looking for some sort of psychic lead. So I have to wonder, if I, a reasonably intelligent woman, look to the teachings of the astrological sign I was born under for daily guidance, how accurate are Zodiac signs in predicting personality?

Using myself as an example, let's put it to the test. My sign is Sagittarius. A quick google check reveals:

"The symbols for Sagittarius are the hunter and the centaur, a mythical half-man, half-horse. This sign symbolizes the search for wisdom; this is the sign of the philosopher and the explorer. They have an appetite for learning and travel. "

Half-man, half-ass, so far-check. Since I posses a Master's Degree, I guess you could say I am interested in learning and my mother always teases me that I am the first to pack my bag and wait in line at the airport, so I would agree that this is accurate.

"They concentrate all their attention on whatever they are doing at the moment, and seem to see no other way but theirs until their effort is made. "

Focused and determined are traits I posses. I never give up. I beat that horse till it has died many deaths.

"They are often the great workers; such people never seem to tire until they drop with fatigue. They would rather learn on their own, through travel and experience, than endure structured classroom environments and routine work assignments. "

I always said the best way for me to learn Italian is to move there for a year or two. Really.

"High spirited and congenial, they are a gifted conversationalist, a wonderful storyteller, and a born entertainer. Nearly all of them are devoted to music. They often make brilliant musicians. It is also writing, publishing, TV, communications and enterprises where there are many representatives of this sign. "

I never had an aptitude for a musical instrument until later in life when my daughter did not want to take piano lessons. One day she cried when her teacher showed up. I was embarrassed, so I had the teacher give me the hour lesson, only to find that I enjoyed it. I became quite good. Who knew? I was the oldest person at that year's piano recital where I played "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin. My undergrad focus was communications and my Masters is in Journalism. I worked in television for the first seven years after college and loved every minute of it.

"The women born in this Sign are, as a rule, the nobler of the two; they love to make their husbands successful and will sacrifice everything to that end. They are usually great church-goers."

Noble?

Church goer?

They must be talking about that alien again..

"They venerate law and order and make the best of mothers. People born in this period, even when successful, should never cease to be actively employed inactivity for them would mean despondency and an early decay."

While I try my best, I will take the good mother thing for my own although Frick and Frack may beg to differ. I always thought I was too smart to be just a lady who lunched. I guess this validates that.

"Their most favorable stones are amethysts and sapphires"

Huh? I don't think I own any. All of my jewelry was stolen in Sept. 2005 when my home was robbed.

So just in case any of you want to get me a little something for my birthday......

Q& A With A Basketball Fan

Q: So Candy, what did you think of Lebron James' "Big Announcement" last night?

A: I'm so surprised by all the hoopla. And I don't mean that tongue and cheek. Really? Is my life effected by last night's big announcement that Lebron will sign with the Miami Heat? Yes and no.

Q: Yes and No? How so?

A: No. I really don't give a good Goddamn where King James chooses to play the rest of his years out. BUT, will it effect my life? Maybe. Come next June when the Celtics are in the playoffs, maybe I will care when Boston has to face the stacked Miami Heat in the playoffs. I cannot lie.

Q: Are you worried about the prospect of a new "Big Three" (James, Wade and Bosh) in the Eastern Conference?

A: Listen, if James were coming to the Celtics, this would be a much different post. But the fact of the matter is, three years ago I felt the same electricity the people of Miami are feeling right now. AND we have a World Championship to prove it. Am I worried? Sort of. Do I blame Lebron for wanting a World Championship? No. How could I? The supposed Best Player in the NBA has shocked the world by leaving Cleveland and let's face it, the dude didn't have the team behind him to take home the banner. So he has made a decision to put himself in the best position to be part of a championship team. It's what little boys dream of and fans alike. No, Lebron James has a dream. I don't blame him at all.

Q: Do you think the Heat will dominate the league now?

A: Maybe. Only time will tell. If they don't there are going to be a lot of people who will love every minute of it.

Q: Do you think Lebron is worthy of all the hype?

A: Look, I am a Celtic's fan first, and all other b-ball played throughout the season is a highlight on Sports Center or a blurb in my beloved Boston Herald. Lebron is an above average player who has not yet realized his potential. If that is measured in World Championships, then he has been a huge disappointment. But he is no Michael Jordan. Sorry. The press and the drama surrounding this announcement has been nothing short of ridiculous. AND no, I did not watch it live. I have been listening all week to sports radio and by Tuesday I was already over the whole thing. I love basketball as much as the next guy, but James is nothing more than over rated in my book. If he makes an impact then I will be the first to eat those words. As much as it pains me to say this, I think Kobe is a better player. James is nasty on the outside shot and making the drive to the hoop but Kobe's got the whole package. And don't think I enjoy admitting that.

Q: You mean King James dosen't deserve that title?

A: Lebron has won the league MVP for the last two years but has he made an impact and transcended the game like Michael Jordan? No. Not even close. Just my opinion. When Jordan was playing he "floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee". You know where I am going with this...James has to prove himself to hold Jordan's jock strap. For sure.

Q: Candy, tell us how you really feel?

A: Sick. Really Lebron? Why couldn't you have just announced it with your new teammates, Wade and Bosh. I gotta ask you, who the hell do you think you are? The King?
Make no mistake, there was only one King and he died sitting on the hopper on August 16th, 1977.

Just Plain Weird

So I'm reading a magazine yesterday, an old US Weekly, (riveting, I know) and I come across a small story that literally left me numb for a moment. It was one of those little blurbs in the news-y section of the mag where they announce things like pregnancies and births. It said simply,

"Patrick McDermott, former boyfriend of Olivia Newton John who disappeared in 2005 has been found alive and living in Mexico after faking his own death."

Now believe me, I have more pressing things that send me into a tizzy in my life, but this one had me fascinated. I remember watching a Dateline about his whole disappearance and they even interviewed Olivia for the broadcast. She said she was devastated by his "death". She spoke about how much she loved him and how they were connected, and she later took the news crew out to her backyard where she had erected a large rock garden in his honor. She said it brought her peace to go there and pray for him and talk to him and it helped her through her grief.

And the dude faked the whole thing.

So I gotta ask myself, how connected could they have been? The man faked his death to get out of reportedly $30,000.00 debt so his son could recover the $100,000.00 life insurance. Are you kidding me? I'm sure O-New-Jo spent more than $30K on her rock garden. $30K seems like a drop in the bucket for her, so if they were so connected, why didn't he just ask her for the money?

Something seems fishy here, or is it just me?

And why in God's name, did Dateline NBC hire private investigators to find Patrick McDermott? What did they stand to gain, beside a "news scoop"? Was it worth it? How much money and resources were spent to find this elusive man, who obviously did not want to be found, when that effort and money may have been better spent looking for dangerous fugitives or missing children. The whole thing is just plain weird, and now that they have found this guy, he says he does not wish to be "hounded" by the media or investigators.

Yeah, just let him live out the rest of his lie in peace.

Whatever. I'll still be facinated if I see the follow up to this story in print, but it sounds to me like the guy just wants to disappear. After he repay's his debt and answers for the faking his death thing, I think he should be allowed to go back into hiding, or obscurity, or whatever it is they are calling it now.

Grifters tend to like it that way.

The Thief

Let's have a debate today. At issue:

PRO SIDE: Lindsay Lohan is a young, troubled girl who should not be sentenced to jail time, but should be sentenced to a rehabilitation program for 90 days to try and cure her addiction to alcohol and illegal substances. She has tried to do what was asked of her, but she has to work to provide for herself and her schedule is very difficult to balance. She claims that this is not a joke, that she took it very seriously. She was under the assumption that it was OK to miss the court appointed classes because she was working.

CON SIDE: Are you F*CK-ing kidding me?? She's just like the thief who's not sorry she stole, but EVER SO SORRY she got caught. Welcome to the real world Lindsay, the one where no one gives a good goddam who you are. She has had more than enough chances to "take this seriously". 90 days is nothing for to the balls she has shown in thinking that the law does not apply to her, because at one time she had a promising Hollywood career. And, "working" as she calls it, is not jet setting all over the world, snorting cocaine and taking pictures with the paparazzi. Game over sister, thank God.


What do you think?

Fab Ad

It's early Tuesday and I'm off to the golf course but I wanted to share this commercial that I saw yesterday with you. It actually caused me to laugh out loud....literally and I love it when that happens

It is brilliant in it's execution and the people at Doritios made me root for the cute little old man in this ad.

I actually wanted him to get the Doritios.

What happens here is pure brilliance.

July Moves Forth

Happy Forth Bloggers!

I'm taking off today, (after work) to Cape Cod for a long weekend to observe the holiday with my loved ones. I'll be back here on Tuesday morning.

I want to give a BIG BLOGGER shout out to my friends Cora and Scope as they enter into the bonds of holy matrimony on Saturday!!!! I'm so happy for you both. God Bless and enjoy every minute of your big day. (I wish I could have been there)

I also want to say best wishes to my best friend, who decided to pull off her wedding this weekend. It all happened in a week and sometimes that 's the best way to do it. I'll be there to witness your moment, shed a few happy tears and toast you and your groom into a new life. I can't wait.

As July moves forth, life does too and we come to realize how precious it really is when you share it with someone you love.

So share your forth with the love of your life and cherish the memories!

Peace.

Fore Crying Out Loud

Yesterday's post was about Frick, (and she arrived in London safely last night, thank God), today I want to talk about Frack.

In case I never told you before, Frack is golfer and has been since he was 1 yr old. Yes, you read that right, 1 yr old. When Frack was two, he was featured prominently on the front page of The Boston Herald hitting a golf ball. The world then came-a-calling. People heard about my little, tiny, baby through word of mouth. My EX used to take him to an indoor driving range and because the little bugger hit the ball like you wouldn't believe, word spread and the newspaper called us to do a story.

Great, we thought at the time, a cute story in the newspaper for his scrapbook. We had no idea what would follow. During that year we regularly got boxes from golf companies containing balls, clothes, shoes, you name it, anything for him to wear while on his media frenzy. He was featured on the Conan O'Brien Show, The Howie Mandel Show, Prime Time Country, a Japanese newspaper, and Inside Edition filmed his second birthday party.

Frack even got a hole in one at the age of three. Yup, my EX let him drive a ball from the ladies tees on a 83 yard hole. Two golfers were putting on the green at the time, and the golfers began screaming. My EX wasn't quite sure what had happened exactly, he thought they were mad because the ball rolled onto the green, but they were yelling because it went into the hole.

Safe to say that Frack hit his golf stride at a very young age. The years went by and Frack began winning local tournaments and being from MA, he was certainly a big fish in a small pond. As he began to grow, so did the kids around him, and eventually, around the age of 9, they caught up to him. This coincided with the breakup of my marriage and it wasn't very pleasant for any of us. I think Frick and Frack bore the brunt of the negativity, and from around the ages of 9-13, Frack began having difficulty on the course.

Now I'm not blaming anyone-because anyone who competitively plays this game knows that golf is a game of the mind. Control in your brain is key. During the past 4 tumultuous years, Frack and his dad put a lot of unnecessary pressure on my boy to win. I watched as he suffered one loss after another and he couldn't quite figure out why this gift he had been given had deserted him. He was beyond frustrated and it effected him dramatically. He never gave up though, I have to give him that. A better man may not have subjected himself to the constant disappointment.

In the past year, Frack has grown, not as much physically, as mentally apart from his father and myself. The last year saw him playing in tournaments without a caddy, and it may have been the best thing for him. This year he began his season, as he always does, with the pack of kids he knows from years of competitive play. At 14 years old, those same kids are now all much bigger than him, as they have hit their growth spurts and Frack has not. (He's still wearing the same clothes from last year) Those same kids now out drive Frack on the tee box by 20 0r 30 yards.

Oh no, I thought, another season of frustration for Frack, but this year I saw something is different. Frack's attitude has improved greatly. He seems to be in control of his emotions and thinking a great game. BY GOD, he's having....dare I say it....FUN! And two days ago he shot the round of his life and won the tournament. It's still early in the season and he's got all summer to play more tournaments, but I think Frack has finally figured out how to play golf for HIMSELF and no one else.

He's shooting great golf right now, best he has played in seven or eight years, and I see a whole new kid. I couldn't be more pleased. I think Frack has figured it out and I see that love of the game in his stride again. The best part? He did it all on his own. With no one breathing down his neck, pushing him. No matter what happens, I'm glad he's working hard because come fall he will enter into something he has been waiting for since he was two years old. The high school golf team. Last year our school won the State Championship.

But forget all that.

All I care about is that the fun and the confidence is back in his game. The end result really does not matter. After Monday's round, where he finished in third place, he said to me when we got in the car. "Mom, when I get as tall as all of them, those guys are in for a rude awakening."

Like I always told him, "The world steps aside for a man who knows where he is going."