Deborah Woehr

For some reason, I’ve always overlooked the Summer Olympics, preferring the Winter Olympics because of the beautiful figure skating and the luge. I’ve been watching this year’s Olympic games with mild interest, mainly because my husband turns it on.

One thing that caught my eye was the US gymnastics team. Rather, it was the girls and the tense looks on their faces on Monday. Bridget Sloan looked like she was going to the gallows. Chellsie Memmel had a disastrous moment when her hands accidentally slipped off the bar. Right after that, Nastia Liukin fell flat on her back. The only one who seemed unflappable was Shawn Johnson, who performed near-perfect routines without a hitch.

The girls got better as the week went on, but I was worried about Nastia, especially when I heard that her father was her coach and former Olympian. He had missed winning the gold medal by one-tenth of a point. It’s one thing to compete for yourself, yet another to have to compete for someone you hold dear. My heart went out to her because she had double the pressure.

Despite a rocky start, she won the gold yesterday. Read more about it in the article below.

A Family Gold for Liukin

I’ve been hemming and hawing about joining Twitter for the past several months. When I first heard of it, I thought it was another fad that would die out. I tried the social networking sites like Ning, but quickly grew tired of them because they took too much time that I didn’t have. The only time I visit my MySpace page is when someone posts a comment or sends me a private bulletin. So, why would I bother with Twitter?

Reason #1 - Several of my friends are there

Some people can walk into a room full of strangers and feel totally at ease. Unfortunately, I’m not one of them. What I do in that situation is walk up to the friendliest-looking person and start up a conversation. That’s harder to do online.

Reason #2 - Curiosity

I keep receiving emails from Internet Marketing gurus about how Twitter is pivotal in the success of their businesses. Now, I’m aware that these guys like to pour on the hype. But when John of Syntagma told me that I was missing out, it piqued my curiosity. I began reading the posts on his Twitter page and those he is following.

Yesterday, I decided to go for it. That’s when I found profiles for several of my friends. Not only that, but my oldest son signed up for an account two weeks ago without telling me. A few new silver strands sprouted from my scalp yesterday.

I set up my profile, posted a few things, and tried to pull away from the site so I could work on my latest chapter. Then I found myself distracted when my Gmail alert told me that a friend was now following me. I went back online and downloaded a Twitter alert app. Soon, I was back on Twitter, responding to my friends’ updates.

Despite this, I managed to get over 500 words written for my WIP. Right now, it’s 9:20am and the board is being fairly quiet. That’s good because I have to take the boys out for school-related errands. Yes, that time of year is coming.

I was first introduced to Joe Satriani’s music back in 1988 when I heard Crush of Love on the radio. Although I liked this song, I never bought an album of his because, at the time, instrumental rock wasn’t my thing. And, his other songs during that period didn’t compel me to spend the money on an album.

Fast forward twenty years. My music collection is horribly dated and uninspiring. The radio stations out here don’t offer much but the Top 40 and some alternative rock. So, last weekend, I spent several hours exploring Amazon’s music section and discovered Satriani’s new album, Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock. That title a mouthful, isn’t it?

One of the things I enjoy about Amazon is the ability to listen to the music before you decide to buy the album. Well . . . you have 30 seconds to decide whether or not you like the songs on the track. I liked the driving, upbeat rhythm of Satriani’s music, especially his guitar ballads. I’ve listed my favorite songs off this album in the order that I liked them.

• Andalusia
• Revelation
• Out of the Sunrise
• Musterion
• Come On Baby
• Overdriver
• Asik Veysel

My ultimate favorite is Andalusia. The introduction of this song reminded me of something I would listen to while watching a movie, somewhat melancholy and forlorn. I pictured a scene where someone is sitting in a restaurant, dealing with some kind of loss. While I couldn’t see the person’s face, I saw them sitting next to a window that overlooked a body of water at dusk. I’ve never experienced spontaneous imagery like that while listening to music. The song revs up after that, churning with emotion that held me captive.

The rest of the album was very good, although there were a couple of songs I could live without, such as I Just Wanna Rock. Music snobs have criticized this album for not “pushing new ground.” As a mainstream listener, I enjoyed this album and what it had to offer. Satriani is an incredibly talented musician.

I received a nice surprise yesterday when an old friend called to wish me a happy birthday. We talked for a good half an hour about a variety of things. Then she got on the subject of making time for your friends and how tomorrow might not come for one of us. This was after she told me about two colleagues she had lost in two separate accidents. She ended that vein of our conversation by saying that we need to get together soon.

I agreed, not because I was afraid that one of us would drop dead at any moment but because of the way she buoyed my spirit and made me laugh. She’s twelve years older than me, so she’s been through the things I’m going through now. After I hung up the phone, I realized that I felt better than I have in months.

The rest of the day went peacefully. I watched TV with my boys, played around with Bryce (a 3-D graphics software package), and enjoyed a nice stromboli dinner when my husband came home. I’ve been drooling over the latest Adobe upgrade and hinted to my husband that I wanted it.

We came away from the dinner table stuffed, and watched Big Brother (why, I’m still not sure). I waited patiently. Maybe he’ll bring it out when we’re ready for the cake. Halfway through the show, we took a break and went out back for a smoke. I spotted the cake on the counter, but no gift.

Did he forget? I tried to put it out of my mind as we talked about the show. The boys came out shortly after we did. I looked at them and at my husband. They were smiling and happy. Their faces and laughter buoyed my spirit.

But that stupid, childish voice kept whining at me inside my head. “What? Not even a card?!”

I hated that voice. It kept trying to ruin the moment with its petulant stubbornness. In the end, that voice overcame my common sense. I smiled and said, “Do I have anything to open?”

My husband gave me a knowing smile. “That’s why I tried to entice you to go out to dinner tonight,” he said. “Are you disappointed?”

“No,” I said honestly. The thought was in his mind, and that was good enough for me.

“I knew I was going to take you somewhere to get something electronic, but I didn’t want to get the wrong thing. We can go out to dinner this weekend. Then afterward we can get you some books . . .”

I didn’t quite hear the rest. As soon as he mentioned an evening out, the rest didn’t matter. We went back inside and finished watching the show. During a commercial, he commandeered the boys into singing Happy Birthday to their mother.

When I got home from work today, I found a small gift sitting on my kitchen table. The boys told me that my mother-in-law had come to take them to the movies and left this behind. My youngest was sweet enough to cut the ribbon so I could open the gift.

Once I got the wrapping off, he groaned. “That’s a happy face! Man!”

My oldest said something in response to his brother’s reaction, but I don’t remember now. I smiled at them and at my mother-in-law’s thoughtfulness. What I thought I wanted for my birthday no longer matters. What I received was priceless and special.

I’ve been keeping tabs on the X-Files movie since Chris Carter began dropping hints about it six months ago. He told the media that the movie wasn’t going to have aliens or the underlying mythology that made the TV show so popular. If the movie wasn’t going to have these elements, what was it going to be about? That he refused to tell anyone.

The movie previews started airing earlier this week. While my husband’s reaction was indifferent, I was still curious to see what Carter had produced. I went with a friend, who also was a former fan. Is the movie as spectacular as Carter promised it would be?

No, but it was a very good movie. Carter made good on his promise not to rehash the old themes, save the classic tug-of-war between Mulder and Scully over their beliefs. Neither one is working for the FBI, but they are called to assist in the disappearance case of a young FBI agent. A psychic (who also happens to be an ostracized priest and sex offender) leads the search for the missing woman.

His visions are hit-and-miss enough to create conflict between Mulder and Scully. He still wants to believe in unexplainable phenomenon while she thinks they’re working with a sick crackpot. Meanwhile, another woman gets kidnapped when a snowplow knocks her off the road. That’s when the plot kicks up several notches and things get decidedly weird.

While there is plenty of suspense, there were no jump-out-of-your skin moments. Maybe because I’ve watched too many horror and suspense films. That said, I enjoyed the movie very much and would recommend it to any X-File or crime buff fan.

I remember my childhood summers as periods where there were short bursts of fun, followed by long bouts of restless boredom. Summertime isn’t much different for my boys. Today was my first flex day since I returned from my vacation, so I thought I would treat them to a movie and some lunch.

They had no interest in seeing The Hulk, WALL-E, or Iron Man. So when I saw that Hancock starred Will Smith (an actor we enjoy very much), I decided to take them to see this movie. Based on the trailer I saw, I figured this movie would be a comedy about a reluctant superhero. Fifteen minutes into the movie, I debated with myself whether to take the boys out of the theater because of the adult themes and language. Hancock is a drunk with an attitude and supernatural abilities. Nobody likes him because of his attitude and inappropriate behavior.

At one point, he tells the son of a struggling PR man (played by Jason Bateman) how to deal with the bully on his block, using explicit language. He winds up getting thrown in jail because of all the damage he’s caused to buildings, cars, etc. While there were some funny parts, the gist of Hancock was about a man who was trying to come to grips with being different and unpopular because of his supernatural abilities. Overall the movie was good, but I wouldn’t take little kids to see it.

After the movie, we went to lunch, amazed that we were able to get a table during the lunch rush. I can thank the Apple store for that. We shook our heads at the long line of people who stood outside the store in order to buy the new iPhone. For all I know, they’re still standing there, waiting to get suckered and frustrated. My oldest subscribes to a blog from a man who stood in line for three hours, only to experience problems activating his phone once he got it. Here’s an article about today’s bumpy launch.

This year, we visited Monticello, which is the home of Thomas Jefferson. The grounds were quite impressive. Jefferson was a farmer, among many other things. Before our tour started, an older gentleman led us through the backyard and told us about the hurdles Jefferson had to face with cultivating his crops on top of a mountain. That part was interesting, but when he started delving into flowers and horticulture, we quickly became bored.

It also happened to visit on one of the hottest days with matching humidity, so we were very glad when we got to go inside the mansion for a tour. Almost everything in the house was in its original state. We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the rooms, so all I have is the outside. Virginia is a beautiful state, but I didn’t like the humidity.

Also, I noticed another thing. People around there drive so slow. Being from California, where everything is rush-rush-rush, it was hard to get used to. The friendliness of the people on the East Coast was a welcome change, however.

Next, we visited the National Space and Air Museum, which is an annex of the Smithsonian. I was good for the first five minutes, long enough to take some snapshots of my family in front of the space shuttle. Then I bailed for the cafe, where I wrote in my journal while the men looked at old planes and such. From there, we went to see my husband’s family.

We spent the Fourth at my husband’s aunt’s place in New Jersey. The kids swam all day while the adults visited and played cards. Last year, we got rained out by a thunderstorm. It rained again this year, although not bad enough where we had to cancel the festivities. My husband and brother-in-law went crazy with the fireworks because we have restrictions in our state.

Everybody had a great time. None of us wanted to go home because we were so relaxed out there. We got out of Philadelphia with no problems, however there were two men in the airport that really freaked me out. My part of the country is such a melting pot of race and culture. It isn’t unusual to see an Arab man dressed in his native clothing walking down the street. But there was something about those two strangers that made my hackles raise.

I looked over my book at the man sitting kitty-corner across from me. He was dressed to the hilt in Islamic clothing, complete with the long square beard and the hat. I started to turn my attention back to the book when I noticed a large Mr. Coffee box sitting on the floor next to him. There was no way that he could stow that box in the overhead compartments.

I watched him text message something, and then noticed that his associate, who looked just like him, was doing the same. He also had a Mr. Coffee box sitting next to him. At that point, I got very unnerved, but kept my mouth shut. My family and I boarded the plane. They stayed behind for whatever reason.

We landed in Chicago without incident and went to the airport version of Chili’s to pass the time. Shortly after we gave our order, my husband looks at me and asks if I had seen those two men. I told him that I had. We voiced our feelings about them and wondered what were they doing inside that airport. He told me that another woman was eyeing them as well, so we weren’t the only ones being paranoid and suspicious.

All of us were grateful to sleep in our own beds that night.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July. Mine was spent back East, with my husband’s relatives. We left Friday, June 27 and came back late last night. I wasn’t sure what we were going to come home to, due to all of the fires we’ve been having. This shot was taken from my backyard, two weeks before we left.

The air wasn’t much better when we left that Friday morning. In the sky, we saw the smoke trailing all the way into Nevada. Then, when we were in Philadelphia, my mother-in-law announced that 1,400 wildfires were blazing up and down the state. That wasn’t big news back there, so we heard snippets here and there.

Thankfully, our home was still standing when we got home. We welcomed the cool night (and smoke-free) air when we got off the plane. It was so refreshing after dealing with the heat and humidity all week. We all had a great time. I’ll write more about my trip later, when I’m more coherent.

This guy was one of my favorite comedians because he wasn’t afraid to defy the Politically Correct with his viewpoints on, say, abortion or religion. The above clip is his show about why he thinks religion is bullshit.

Goodnight, George.

A coworker came back from lunch and asked me if I knew the Serenity prayer. I told her that I heard of it, but that I didn’t know it. Curiosity sent me to the Internet to search for it. As it turned out, I knew the short version, which goes like this:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

–Reinhold Niebuhr

I copied it and pasted it into an email for her. She came back to my desk and thanked me with a big smile. Then she went on to say how everybody needs to print this prayer out and hang it where they can see it everyday, that people get too stressed out over things that don’t really matter in the long run.

After she left, I thought about the conversations I had with my husband last night and this morning. He asked me if I was going to give myself an ulcer over an issue that’s been bothering me for a while now. I smirked and said, “That’s not my plan.”

He gave me a big hug, wished me good luck, and went to take a shower. Twelve hours later, I’m home, and although the issue still isn’t resolved, I have a better attitude about it. At least for today. One day at a time.

Meanwhile, I found this song by Enya. I don’t have any of her albums, but I find her music very peaceful and moving. Hope you enjoy this video as much as I did.