Mathoms, etc.

I was so incensed by a ditzy patient on Tuesday. First of all, she's a woman. Second of all, she's Asian-American. She said she doesn't understand why we celebrate Martin Luther King Day. All he was "was some guy who made a lot of ruckus." I was so stunned all I could say was "Do you really believe that?" She answered yes. I had to bite my tongue. All I really wanted was to tell her about the evils of slavery ( I had been watching The Abolitionists on PBS.), how women fought for suffrage, how women are still being oppressed worldwide, and how white males rule the world. No wonder this country is in such a state as this.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

In 2008, Pinky gave me Lance Armstrong's book It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, as well as a Livestrong baseball cap. Even then, I had a bad feeling about this dude. He came off so arrogant and unlikeable. I felt like I had to get rid of the book. So I donated it to the library.


Lance Armstrong Debuts Evil, Fan-Taunting Persona 'Killstrong'

Gun Appreciation Day on the weekend leading up to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day? What kind of National Day of Service is this?

I wasn't much of a Bradley Cooper fan until I saw this interview with Craig Ferguson.  I think even Craig was smitten. Anyhoo, I've been trying to decide whether I should see Silver Linings Playbook, it being awards season and all. Then I caught the tail end of one of my favorite movies of all time, The Shawshank Redemption, on TV last night. I went to bed early because I was tired. The first part of the the dream, I was in the Philippines. My Mom had started a restaurant, and I couldn't decide whether to get merienda like pancit palabok or a full meal with rice.  I don't remember what I got but our former maid Bella served me my food.  For some reason, Bradley Cooper (BC) showed up, then we were getting a tour of the restaurant.  We were shown a kitchen and were told this was the original Goldilocks bakery. Small kitchen, but what caught my eye was a foot shaped cake. Who would want that? A podiatrist? What was even stranger was that Morgan Freeman was making the cake.After the tour, BC asked me if I wanted to see his room ( a line in the musical Once). I told him of course, because this would be the first and probably only time that Bradley Cooper would ask me to see his room.  We never went to his room, we were just walking around what looked like Avenida in Manila, but  we were holding hands (what!) Then we went to a restaurant and he paid for my food.  It seemed like we just kept having meals together.  Then I woke up.

When I fell back asleep, I was in some resort with Debbie and Christine (former co-workers).  It looked like we were going on an excursion.  I don't think we ever went on the boat ride, but we did manage to see the beach, some weird but interesting architecture  around the resort. For reasons unknown, I alienated BC and he had ditched me.  We had an awkward meeting at the restaurant where I offered to pay for all my meals. He insisted it was all on him, although I looked at the bill ($117) and resolved to send him a check. I wondered where I would send the check.  While he sat at a table being quietly judged by my friends for being a jerk, I sat in another table with Aileen ( a college friend) who kept giving me relationship advice.  Even her dad joined in. Finally, BC couldn't take the scrutiny anymore and just left (sigh).

Then my high school friend Maan came in and said we were leaving.  We got on a boat to get off the island and I saw a large black object swimming behind our boat. Nessie? I wished. But when we docked, it turned out to be a huge black dog(Padfoot?), and he joined the seals on shore.  We got on a bus and it looked like we left Neverland. Breath taking view of the ocean, huge ships with sails, mountains, and even some ruins of a Greek temple.  I realized I hadn't taken a picture at all and managed to take out my camera and take exactly 3 photos: the island, the temple with the mountains behind it, and the cityscape in front of us. (Maan lives in Singapore, and we seemed to be in Singapore now.)  Then I was watching a live show about the Wicked Witch of the West. It wasn't Wicked, but I was in Toronto, and some of the songs sounded like they were from that musical.

Then I was back to work trying to decide what to eat for lunch, discussing it with Sandra.  Aileen and her dad were still there. My last thought before I woke up was why we were getting lunch when it was dark out.

I think I will go see that movie now.

Jon Stewart on gun control:

42 years as a Catholic, and I learned something new in church today during the Epiphany vigil mass.  Tradition states there are 3 Wise Men who visited Jesus, but it could have been as many as 6.  Melchior was the oldest Magi and has the longest beard.  He brought the gold.  Balthazar brought myrrh, and has medium length beard.  Gaspar was the youngest, had no beard, and brought the frankincense.  Gold for a king, incense for a deity, and myrrh to symbolize death. It's a spice/oil used for embalming.

Strange gifts for a babe.

"As the snow creates a softer, kinder world, so too may we all work to create softer, kinder spirits within ourselves, moving forward as the calendar page turns once again, a new opportunity presents itself and a new world emerges."