I know I do this a lot but anytime I want to say a bunch of things, I just kinda bullet point them. I hope nobody get annoyed by it. But here goes:

-So I have a phone call with the HR lady on Monday. It was supposed to be Wednesday but got pushed back. I did talk to her and I asked her what kind of feedback she was getting. She said "mixed" whatever that means. She said there were a few mistakes and others were saying I was doing a great job. Now, of course, that got me freaked out. I have to go through an approval process. But I mean, given how things have happened in the past, like I'll think everything's fine and then next thing I know, I'm out of work. So far, all the higher ups have told me more than a few times how "great" I'm doing. I've been here 3 months and I figure that if they really weren't going to make me perm, they would have told me. I hope anyway. But I got myself worked up, then did some praying, deep breaths, saying "It's going to be fine" and my whole "Serenity Now" thing I do (I kinda have a Serenity Now person I think of) I've been given every indication that I'm staying here, and even got some new responsibilities last week. But I'm kind of a perfectionist and when I hear "mixed" reviews, it sets me off. I know some of those mistakes have been rookie ones, not costly ones, and others weren't really my fault. That being said, I'll see how this call goes on Monday and how this approval process works. And I'll do whatever I have to do and keep working my butt off.

However, if the worst happens and if somehow I am out of yet another job, I am conceding defeat to this recession, not renewing my lease, packing up and moving back in with my parents. And at the age of almost 30, that will be really humiliating. But the unemployment numbers are likely to go up and this recession keeps getting deeper and deeper, there are no jobs. None. But that's not going to happen, I have no reason to believe it will.

-That brings me to my next bullet post. Things keep getting worse for this country and now because the stimulus isn't working, it's no longer on Bush. I have been watching MSNBC, listening to Smerconish, the kool aid is wearing off, fast. People are angry, they want to know where this money is going and why the administration keeps spending all this money and why the stimulus isn't working. It is downright scary. I think people are getting impatient too quickly, because we still have to see what happens. But we don't need a second stimulus and the health care stuff hasn't gone anywhere. And now alll these people who thought things were going to get better overnight after Obama was put into office, are lashing out. I'm seeing it. I come home during lunch at around 1 and I start off with Andrea Mitchell Reports but I flip to the Live Desk on FOX and Ali Belshi on CNN, just to get a broad scope of what everybody is saying, and the things I'm hearing are NOT good. Yesterday, the very liberal Andrea Mitchell was GRILLING NJ Gov Jon Corzine (D) (much to my enjoyment I might add. I cannot wait to see him get his ass whooped in November. He's already down almost 20 points to Christie in polls). By the way, he seems to think that having Obama come to campaign for him in NJ will help. Well Obama's numbers keep falling and while they're still high, I'm skeptical of what kind of political capital he can spend there on a candidate whose down 20 points. Personally, I'm not rooting for any of this, I'm more concerned and scared than anything. I have my own economic issues to worry about. I want this recession to be over, I don't care who gets it accomplished because I'm sick of it. It's affected me, it's affected other people a lot worse. I'm frustrated but I didn't vote for the "Hope and Change Express" so I'm just watching those who did, bitch and complain about why things are still bad. Even Joe Biden said the administration "guessed wrong" on how bad the economy and unemployment was. Well hindsight is 20/20 I guess. Unemployment is now at 9.5% and it's most likely much higher because there are people out of work who aren't claiming. But we shall see how the rest of the year goes on. I just find it really interesting that everyone's upset with the administration now, or at least seems to be by all the news I've been watching.

-On another note, I heard the funniest thing on KYW1060 last night. The reporter was saying that Benjamin Netanyahu had reached his First 100 Days in office and that he was "enjoying a 49% approval rating" So apparently, Bibi is happy that more than half of the Israeli people don't approve of him. I guess maybe given how poorly his last time in office was, that could be an improvement and he's happy about that. It just killed me, I was laughing so hard.

-One person who DOES have a high approval rating is SHANE VICTORINO!!!! My fingers are still recovering from clicking so much. He ended up winning the Final Vote for the All Star Game and got in. I was so excited, everyone was. He totaly deserves it. Phils took 3 out of 4 against the Reds and have the Pirates coming intoday before the All Star break next week. GO PHILS!!

Yeah, that's really about it. I have a ton of schoolwork for the weekend and I have an appt to take the Kia in tomorrow for Service (heh). Other than that, just chilling with the Bean. Fun times. Have a nice weekend, everyone!!

Text of the day:

Me: "Shane won!"
Mom: "No shit, my little guy"
 

My ears started bothering me yesterday and I thought I was getting an ear infection. Turns out it's just allergies and the allegra's been helping. Everyone's been feeling yucky lately, it's like a second go round of bad allergies. I just got worried because my ears had never bothered me like that.

Not much to report. I tried watching the memorial yesterday but every time I went to sneak into the conference room, I got kicked out because somebody needed it. The internet feeds were all freezing (probably from overload) so I saw bits and pieces and then caught up last night on CNN. It was very moving. His daughter had me in tears. :(

Phils couldn't repeat their performance on Monday night, last night, and lost 4-3. Glad we went to the game on Monday. Everyone was talking about that game yesterday, it was awesome, I was all "Yep, I was there. It kicked ass" LOL.

I have a call with one of the HR people today at 4. I'm nervous, because I'm not sure what she's going to tell me regarding going perm here. *fingers crossed* Wish me luck.

We're in an all out campaign to get Shane Victorino to the All Star Game. He's up for the final vote 33rd player. They've been doing tons of stuff to promote him at the games. They even brought out the Hawaiin hula dancers. Mayor Nutter went canvassing with him yesterday and Gov. Rendell and Gov. Lengal of Hawaii have a bet going to see which state can get the most votes for him. If Hawaii does, we're sending them a carton of cheesteaks. If PA does, she's going to send us a carton of pineapples. It's fun. And yesterday they had the World Series, Super Bowl and Stanley Cup trophies featured at the statehouse in Harrisburg. I saw clips of it, it looked awesome to see them all together.

Anyway, I've voted for Shane like a billion times already. He's in a tight race against some player from San Francisco. Hopefully we get him there. Vote Victorino! He even did a campaign ad and he had Obama in it since he's from Hawaii too. I would love it if Obama could help but he's got a lot more pressing issues he's dealing with right now..lol. But his tag line is 'Speed you can believe in" It's just hysterical. 

I have no plans this weekend other than getting the Kia serviced (heh). Boring, I know. Such is life.  I'll have schoolwork to keep me occupied.

Anyway, peace out. Happy Wednesday! Tom, if you read this, I hope your dad is okay. I'm thinking about you, I just haven't had the time to call and I figured you were busy helping your dad. *hugs*

And if votehillary08 happens to read this, I couldn't respond to your PM (it wouldn't let me for some reason) but wanted to say "you're welcome" and your message was very sweet, it made my day. Thanks :) Good things come to those who wait and sometimes when you've lost hope, it happens. Happened to me, just took 12 years. Hang in there.

I have a friend on one of m horse racing forums whose husband plays for the Cincinatti Reds. So we had been in touch and she said that if I wanted tickets when they were in town to play the Phillies, just let her know what game. They have a four game series and I can't do Weds and Thurs. games due to class so I picked tonight. We didn't have to pay for the tickets (obviously) and I got food at Wawa to bring in so I ended up spending $11 for the whole evening. And the seats we got were incredible. We were right behind home plate. I took Andi (who has become my Phillies and FM travel buddy..lol). The weather was fantastic.

And then the Phillies went on to win 22-1. LOL. Seriously, it was nuts. They couldn't update the scoreboard fast enough. It was 17-1 in the 8th, bases loaded, Jayson was up and I said "Wouldn't it be funny if Jayson Werth hit a grand slam right now?" next thing I know, he does.  The last game she and I went to was in April where the Phils won 11-4. I'm thinking we might need to go to more Phillies games. Too bad I can't afford it.

It was super nice of my friend to do this for me. I'm on cloud nine. It was just incredible. But kinda embarrassing for the Reds. :(

In other craziness of the evening, Dad finally FINALLY broke down and bought a flat screen. Not just any flat screen, a 46 inch..lol. After he'd been dragging his feet for so long, might as well have gone all out..hahaha.

That's it, it's past midnight on a work night. Going to bed.

Boy does time fly! June flew by but mostly because I didn't stop. I ended June by going down to Sea Isle on Saturday for the night to spend some of Mom's birthday weekend with her. We had dinner at the house with Dee, Bob and Nancy. Then we walked the promenade and got ice cream. Sunday morning I got up early and went for a run. I love running on the beach down there, it's nice and quiet. Kevin came down later and we went around and did a few things, got mom a birthday present. It was the first nice weekend we'd had all summer, but didn't get to the beach. I came back here late Sunday afternoon and Kevin stayed to have dinner with mom and dad. It was a nice weekend.

Work's been pretty quiet this week. Lori is off so I've been holding down the fort for her. Nothing really eventful has been going on, but it's a short week and tomorrow is like our Friday because we're off Friday for the 4th. I had my first 2nd term of classes start tonight. I have class tomorrow night so I'll be staying here and going home Friday morning. I am going to a party on Saturday at Phyllis and Tom's, that should be a lot of fun. Other than that, now that school started again, I'll be busy doing schoolwork.

I watched Vicky Christina Barcelona the other night that I got on NetFlix. It's really good, and Penelope Cruz won an Oscar for it, she's excellent. If anybody gets a chance to see it, I recommend it. Javier Bardem is awesome and not freaky like No Country for Old Men.

Looks like my decision to ask for the cruise for my 30th birthday instead of my backup Phillies tickets was a good choice. Because we suck right now. We suck monkey balls. And you know what? I just don't care at the moment. The fact that we're still in first in the division yet suck so badly is because the rest of the division sucks monkey balls too..LOL.

In other news, Steph is coming in for the Haskell!!!! WOOO HOO!!! That's going to be soooo much fun!! *does a happy dance* I went to my first Haskell last year with Tom and his dad and we had a blast. So with Steph here, it's going to be that much more fun. Yay! And if Rachel ends up going to the Haskell, I will freak out..lol. 

Oh and I've also been working on the LJ community I started. In case anybody's interested.
wjc_love 

Quotes of the week:

Dad: "When it comes down to it, Brooke, it's just a number"
Mom: "It's a pretty big number"

Mom: "Aunt Bonnie asked me if we were doing anything for your 30th birthday and I said I felt the cruise was enough, she wondered about a party"
Me: "I didn't want a party. But if she wants to throw me one, I'll more than gladly attend"

My goodness, what a bad day. I was beginning to wonder what was going on. I guess it started at noon when Lori came up and announced that Farrah Fawcett had passed. The office was abuzz about that. An hour later, I found out Irv Homer died and I was one of the few people who knew who he was. He was a local Philly radio talk show  host who would always be on after Jay Lamont's show "All About Real Estate" My dad used to listen to him all the time. So that was sad.

Then around 4:45, Lauren texts me with "Michael Jackson apparently suffers cardiac arrest" I went "OMG. What the hell is going on today?" So when I got home, after a bit, I turned on MSNBC. They had been reporting that he'd been in a coma. TMZ was saying he'd died but the LA Times had a different story. Finally after about 5 minutes, they broke in and said "He's dead" I just sat there in shock. Like everybody else. I decided to go up to Applebee's for dinner and in the car, every radio station was playing his music.

These are my thoughts I posted on another forum:

A huge icon of my childhood is gone. I was stunned yesterday when I heard. I turn 30 in August and I grew up in the 80's with his music, his videos, his talent. That's what I remember. There will be time to remember the bad and weird stuff, but right now, is not the time. I used to try to do the moonwalk with my brother on our kitchen floor. We had Thriller on VINYL and we used to have this record player with a tape player and a microphone and as kids, my brother and I would sing his songs into the mic. My mom's favorite MJ song was "Billie Jean" and we'd try to do the dances and watch the videos. I was in choir in 4th grade and we sang "Man in the Mirror". A lot of people also remember his Jackson 5 days and "I Want You Back". I think it depends what MJ you grew up with.  My brother and I used to watch the Smooth Criminal video all the time. I just loved watching him dance, just loved it. So yesterday and today, that's what I remember and the Michael Jackson I will always have with me.

His was a very tragic story, obviously, and troubled. He had such incredible talent, and he was such a cute kid, then handsome young man. And it is very sad.

And you know, we all know the allegations, but these people were out for money as well. Any parent that would allow their child to sleep at Neverland ranch should have been brought up on child abuse charges, especially knowing MJ's history. But they were out for money, not protecting their children. Sure, it wasn't right of Michael to be inappropriate with these children, but these kids' parents willingly put their children at risk and deserve some of the blame too, sorry.

Apparently, Lauren said FOX News spent much of the time talking about the bad stuff. I didn't see it, but it doesn't surprise me. This was also the station that had labeled Mark Sanford a (D) next to his name and did the same thing with Larry Craig and always says it was an "oversight" Riiiiiight. Remind me not to put on FOX News when my hero passes because they'll be busy covering the huge party Rush Limbaugh will be throwing and bringing .

In other news, this crazy week from hell is finally over and I'm going to the shore tomorrow. Woo!! 

This week has been swamped. School hasn't started back up again but work has been hellishly busy. We have a sales meeting going on and there have just been a billion people in here all week asking for 500 things. Yesterday I wasn't even able to really take that much of a lunch. They let me order something from the place we get food from and I ate a salad and then Lori told me I could run out, so I ran out at 2:30 to go to DD's and to run an errand for the office. But I needed to at least get out of the office for 20 minutes before I killed myself. Today's not much better but at least I'm being able to have some peace and quiet.

This past weekend was nice, for the most part. Weather sucked on Saturday. Friday night was Andi's graduation dinner at Famous Daves which was a nice time. I love her family and they have made me feel so welcome. Thank God for Lindsey Buckingham for bringing us together...lol. Saturday it poured most of the day, but I was able to get out and get a haircut and run a few errands. I needed my hair done badly. Sunday was Father's Day and we took Dad out to lunch, just the four of us, it was nice. I got him a shirt from Kohl's and Kevin's taking him on this advanced go kart thing in Millville that looks like a lot of fun. Kevin has been home a lot during the week and he's really working on his relationships with everyone. We just laughed and talked and had some quality family time. Something that doesn't happen very often.

Other than that, things are okay. I had to call and bitch at All State and Comcast because of my bills going up and somehow I was able to get them both back down. Go me. I can't talk the DD lady into letting me use a 99 cent hot coffee coupon for iced coffee but I'm able to do that. Here I thought I'd lost my touch. I guess not.

I really am now starting to resent going home on the weekends to take care of Soybean. Because the past two weekends, she's been so bad, biting and snapping at everyone. She did it to me Saturday and I put the muzzle back on her. I don't have any idea why this is happening, but it's upsetting and frustrating. It only happens when I try to wipe her eye or something. But she just doesn't stop when you move your hand away and then I'm scared to go near her. We're convinced it's because her eyesight is bad and she can't see and is getting cranky and frustrated. But it makes me want to cry because if she keeps it up, it's going to be really hard for us to want to keep her around. She has never been a nice dog but I have sacrificed every weekend for 3 summers now. taking care of her and when she does this, it infuriates and upsets me. For a bit, I would just laugh it off and make fun of how she looks but I don't like having to put the muzzle on her, but there's nothing else I can do and I refuse to hit her. Saturday when I let her in the house, I had to put the muzzle on her just to take the leash off because she started to growl and snap at me just when I reached for the leash and I didn't want to get bitten. And then I cry and lay with her and tell her I don't want her to be bad anymore. I try ignoring her but she just follows me around the house and looks at me wanting me to pet her, and then I feel bad. *sigh* I think everyone who knows me knows how much this dog means to me and how much I do for her. So you can imagine how heartbreaking this has been.

Anyway, Phillies won last night, on the road. They can't win games at home for shit, but they're like 24-5 on the road this year. And nobody knows why. We still own the Tampa Bay Rays though.  And Jamie pitched so well last night. That's my man. 

So they're looking for mods at one of my favorite forums I've been very active in for over a year. I put my name in for consideration and I've got a bunch of people behind me. I hope I get it. I would love it *fingers crossed*

I just nearly had a heart attack about an hour and a half ago. I found out about the DC Metro crash and I immediately picked up the phone and called Andy W to make sure he and Katie were okay. He must have gotten a billion calls because he answered the phone and said "We're okay, we're out to dinner, I'll talk to you later" . But holy &$%^#!! This is crazy. They're saying 6 people are dead, there are 70 some injuries. It was on the Red Line between Takoma Park and Fort Totten. The pictures are horrific. A train was sitting on the tracks, not moving and another train slammed into it and like leap frogged the train. It just looks horrible. I remember when the same thing happened at Woodley Park in 2004, it was on Election Day actually that year. But this looks much much worse. Originally I thought maybe a train jumped the tracks by accident and ended up on the other side. But usually the trains stop right there if there's a train in the station ahead of it, to wait. That must have been what was happening and a train behind it slammed into it.

If it turns out the Metro conducter was texting or something, heads will roll.

But my god, people died. And had I still been living down there, I could have just as easily been on one of those trains *shudder* I took that direction every day, twice a day, for 5 years. I don't even want to think about it. My prayers go out to those who died, their families and the victims.

Fort Totten is a transfer station so it's usually crowded that time of the day. The direction goes to Glenmont and Silver Spring (where I used to live) so I know exactly where it is. I mean, exactly. Like I can easily remember napping on the train on my way home from work. Or looking out the window and unwinding, listening to my ipod.

And it's always the Red Line. I mean, always. Every time shit happens, it's the Red Line. Ugh.

Well, another crazy week of June in the books. Work's been pretty busy this week, which is good. Next week it'll be even busier because there's a huge sales meeting here and all the big guys will be here. Nothing too crazy for me though this week other than work. Monday and Tuesday I had to finish up first term stuff, a paper, a final, etc. I have one term down and three left before I am a certified paralegal. Yay!

I also got a few workouts in, cleaned the apt, watched my crappy Phillies (Ugh, swept by the Blue Jays and Ibanez is out). Last night we had a work event at the Trenton Thunder game. We were worried about the weather but it turned out to be a nice night and a lot of fun. Lately the weather here has been awful, it's done pretty much nothing but rain and it's not even been that warm. Today doesn't look all that bad right now but there's rain due tonight, tomorrow and Sunday. Yay. Fun. Not.

My weekend is pretty busy (shock I know). Tonight I have a graduation dinner for Andi, tomorrow I have to get a haircut and do a few things. Sunday is Fathers Day so Kevin and I will be going to Sea Isle for the day to see mom and dad. That should be fun.

Speaking of my mother, she has a new broken arm buddy, Hillary. :( I can't believe my two favorite women managed to fall and break their arms within a month of each other. So sad! I think the two of them should get together and comiserate and let their families take care of them. I can imagine Hillary's in a lot of pain and that makes me quite sad. She's having surgery next week. I hope the pain meds are helping her because they certainly didn't help mom. Mom broke hers right before Mothers Day, and Hill's was before Fathers Day. So I guess instead of it being his weekend, BIll will be tending to his wife. And if Hill is like my mom, she's probably not happy and sniping at him and Chelsea..lol. I hope not. Anyway, I hope she feels better and if I could do anything to help, I would. :)

I wanted to write about the Iran stuff and all but I really don't think I am in the mood now. One thing I will say is that I don't understand why for years, people were saying "We have enough problems here, we don't need to be getting involved in other countries' problems" and now people are angry because we're NOT getting involved. I don't get it, it's a no win situation anyway. If we'd gotten involved and meddled, people would be all over it. The Republicans especially wouldn't like Obama's response no matter what it was. If he'd decided to get involved they'd be attacking him for that too. So really, what's the difference? I'm quite inspired by what's going on in Iran, I think the whole world is. Power to the Iranian people!

Anyway, back to work, I've got stuff to do. Have a great weekend everyone!!

Quote of the week:

Tom: "We have enough problems. The Middle East is going to have to take a number"
Me: "I'd like to hear someone tell Bibi Netanyahu he has to take a number"

Sup everyone? Hope everybody had a nice weekend. Mine was good, very busy, but good. Friday night I came home and didn't do anything other than watch the Phillies lose to the BoSox in 13 innings. Tim called while I was in the car. He went to see Bill at a fundraiser in Mass. He was giving me the run down. Our conversation went something like this:

Tim: "Brooke, you will never believe what he talked about"
Me: "Middle East Peace"
Tim: "Yep. I totally thought of you"
Me: "Son of a bitch. That is so not fair"
Tim: "He was wearing this ugly outfit too"
Me: "Not surprised, he's one of the worst dressers I've ever seen in my life"
Tim: "I shook his hand for the 4th time"
Me: "No, I think you're one ahead of me, 5"
Tim: "Really? Oh, you're right!"
Me: "Yeah, for someonen who claims not to like him, you certainly seem more stalkerish than I am"

Saturday was fun. I went to the chiro, ran some errands, got my sushi lunch, did some schoolwork before Andi and her fam came to get me for the concert. We had such a great time, just getting there, going, and then getting home. We just kept on laughing, the whole night. The show itself was amazing, as usual. Lindsey was on, man, he's always on. I'm not sure the man turns off at anytime. At one point he threw himself on the floor and then it looked like he was crawling to get up. Andi thought maybe he hurt himself. I said "Nah, he's used to crawling, he's got 3 kids" Our seats were pretty good but we got a better view of the big screen this time so I was watching that. I have decided that "Storms" is my new "Beautiful Child", it just gets me choked up. I was more prepared for the back to back of "I'm So Afraid" and "Stand Back", but I still think they're trying to kill me..lol. They took "Silver Springs" off the set list. I have NO CLUE why. So instead of ending with it, they end with "Don't Stop", which is fine by me. :)

There are a small handful of things in my life that I have loved for nearly 2 decades. Now that I am almost 30, I have accepted that I will love these things forever. Fleetwood Mac is DEFINITELY one of these things.

And you know, I am tired of hearing how badly Atlantic City is hurting. That's bullcrap. Maybe because it was a Saturday night, in the summer, and there was a concert, but I have never seen so many people in my life in the casino. It was ridiculous. And plenty of people gambling at the tables, slots, etc. (not us..lol).

So, I got back late on Saturday night. I took Soybean for a walk at 12:45 and it was pitch black out. I noticed her crouching down on the street and I'm like "Oh god, I think she's doing a #2 in the middle of the street" but I couldn't see anything. Sunday morning I went out there and yep, I had a mess to clean up. How many dogs take craps in the middle of the street? Weird!

That was only the beginning of my Soybean drama. Phyllis came over and we went to Applebee's for lunch and then got ice cream. I came home and watched the rest of the Phillies game (which was incredible, btw). And I was trying to get the yucky stuff out of her eye. She didn't like it and snapped and tried to bite me. Then when I wasn't touching her, she was still hissing, growling, snapping and she lunged at me. I didn't even do anything. Finally, I got so pissed off, I took her balls and I hid them. Then I thought "There's gotta be another way to punish her" and I went, got the muzzle out of the drawer and put it on her. I let her sit there with it on for 10 minutes. I said "Ha, you wanna be a bitch to me? This is what you're gonna get" It was all I could do without hitting her. She sat there swinging her head to get it off a few times and then gave up and just put her head on the floor and pouted, looking up at me. I said to her "Soybean, I have sacrificed every single weekend now for 3 summers taking care of you. You are NOT going to be nasty to me and get away with it. I don't think so!" So I'm going to ignore her when I come home. It's hard because then she gets all lovey, her ears go back, she follows me around, kisses my face. The next minute she's trying to take my hand off. Fucking psycho dog. Seriously. She does the same for mom. We just try to help her and she tries to bite us. Mom took her to the Vet yesterday and she tried to do that to one of the technicians. Real nice. I love her to death, but she's the spawn of Satan. And at this point, she's 14 and a half, I'm not even sure if punishing her will even teach her.

Anyway, I am nearly done my stuff for this term. I have a quiz and a final to do today. Then I'm going to have to clean the apt this week.

Quotes of the weekend:

"Lindsey's got his O face on again"-Me

Phyllis: "Do you think you'll feel old when the big 3-0 hits"
Me: "I don't know. I can tell you one thing, I'm sure my parents will"
 

By EDITH M. LEDERER – 31 minutes ago

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's tough terms for a Palestinian peace deal are just the opening moves in a drama that will have a few more acts.

Clinton said it was a good thing that Netanyahu, who leads a hardline coalition, went on the record in support of "any sort of two-state solution."

A week after President Barack Obama addressed the Muslim world and strongly reiterated U.S. backing for independent Israeli and Palestinian states living side by side in peace, Netanyahu endorsed Sunday an independent Palestinian state beside Israel for the first time.

Netanyahu had previously refused to agree to negotiate a two-state solution, reversing the position of the previous Israeli government, which backed the road map to Mideast peace unveiled by the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia in 2003.

But Netanyahu attached conditions that were immediately rejected by the Palestinians — including recognition of Israel as the Jewish state, essentially means Palestinians refugees must give up their goal of returning to Israel. He insisted that a Palestinian state be demilitarized, and demanded that Jerusalem remain the capital of Israel. He also refused to freeze Israeli settlements in the West Bank, as the U.S. is demanding.

"Based on my experience with Mr. Netanyahu, he did what he thought he had to do to keep the ball rolling and not completely alienate the United States initiative," Clinton told reporters at the end of a news conference on his new role as the U.N. special advisor on Haiti.

"This is the opening play," he said. "This is his response to the Obama administration's first move."

"It's just the beginning, and it's a drama that will have a few more acts," Clinton said.

Reporters burst into laughter when Clinton said he hadn't gotten his talking points from the U.S. State Department and was speaking only for himself. His wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is secretary of state.

Clinton, as president, brokered Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Maryland in 1998, at Camp David in July 2000, and in Taba, Egypt, in January 2001 — all to no avail.

He said Netanyahu's proposal on Sunday was "completely unacceptable" to the Fatah-led Palestinian government, which controls the West Bank and would not lead the rival Hamas faction, which controls the Gaza Strip, "to give up violence and try to join the coalition government."

Israeli and Palestinian politics are also "more fractured" than they were during his presidency from 1993 to 2001, Clinton said. "So we're a long way from where we need to be," he said.

On the other hand, the Saudi peace initiative proposed by King Abdullah in 2002 and relaunched in 2007 "has the support of the entire Arab world — save Syria — and other Muslim countries."

It offers pan-Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for the return of Arab lands captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war.

Clinton said Obama, his secretary of state, and Mideast envoy George Mitchell "are basically taking the right position in trying to work through this in the right way."

"What would have been a disaster is if Netanyahu had not endorsed the possibility of a two-state solution," Clinton said.

I guess I took my Lindsey icon off my list so I'll settle for the World F****ng Champs who are now 4 games ahead in the NL East after taking 2 out of 3 from the Mutts. Boo yeah. Hate the Mets. And David Wright, what a toolbag. Seriously. Getting caught twice trying to get to 2nd by Ibanez's throw from the outfield, what a moron!

Just a few things:

Happy Ticket died. This really upset me. I loved that mare. I'll never forget her Azeri against Round Pond. She apparently had some foaling complications and it was a rare thing. It's very sad.

I am done with my first term of classes..woo! I still have a final, quiz and a paper to do, but no more classes. It's perfect since next Thursday our company has a luxury box at Trenton Thunder and I'm going after work. Should be fun.

( Read more..it's long so I cut it )

Last weekend we were watching George Carlin and he was talking about "Soybean futures" I was sitting on the floor and I looked at Soy and said "Soybean futures?" and dad goes "Soybean doesn't have much of a future left" It was funny and not at the same time..lol. Poor Soy. My friends on Sunday couldn't believe it when I told them she was still around.

Anyway, have a great weekend all. Tim's going to the McGovern fundraiser tonight. I am so dearly hoping he doesn't embarrass me. But I am very jealous.

Yes, time to get pumped for another Mac Attack. My god, what is this? Number 6 for me. That's right. I'll be happy when I reach 10..hahaha.

Anyway, some randomness on a Wednesday

-I talked to my bff Lauren on IM on FB last night for the first time in I have no idea. I realized how old we've gotten when we both signed off at 10:30. Used to be like 2 in the morning..hahaha.

-There's a guy who works here who does nothing but talk on his cellphone and take a billion cig breaks an hour. I wish I could do that and still get paid. As someone who works her ass off and has been laid off twice, watching someone take complete advantage, royally pisses me off. Not to mention that there are so many people out of work who would kill for a job and I see people just slacking off all damn day.

-One of the things that makes me feel awesome is when I meet people from New Orleans and I tell them about my dad being down there after Katrina and they all say the same thing "Please tell him I said 'Thank you' It puts a huge smile on my face. Somebody a month or two ago said it to me (don't remember when or where) and then Ben said it to me on Sunday as we were all saying goodbye. I just think it's awesome and I get very proud of my dad.

-There are pics of the wedding on my FB page, I was tagged in a few pictures, but I haven't gotten around to uploading mine. I think they turned out okay.

-I wil never run for office in Virginia. They apparently really don't like Cintonites down there. Last year's primary and this year's governors race just proved that. Sorry Terry, better luck next time. You still rock my socks.

-I hate losing to the Mets. Last night's game was fun to watch, but would have been more fun had we been able to win. Blah.

-I've been watching MSNBC in the mornings before work, so when I come home and turn on the TV after the gym, that's the channel its on. Last night I turned it on and Hardball was on and Joe Scarborough was on, talking about his book. And Chris just started going off on him for the stupidest shit. They're on the same network and they were yelling and screaming at each other. How fucking retarded. I only had it on for a minute before the Phillies game started and I quickly switched. I don't go near that channel at night because I can't stand anybody on any of those shows. They're all ridiculous, IMO (I have friends who swear by it so I apologize).  If it wasn't for my love of Joe Scarborough, I'd probably never watch. But I want to read his book, seriously. Oh, and my love of Chuck Todd. I love me some Chuck Todd..MMMHHMMMM. Get me a piece of that.

-Tim is going to see BIll on Friday night. So not fair. He doesn't even like him and he's spending $125 to see him. Mmm-kay. Makes sense to me. Not! Wish he would just come out and admit he's a fan. That after 9 years of being friends with me, something's rubbed off.

**Edited at 2pm: Shooting at Holocaust Museum in DC. Someone with a rifle walked in and shot a guard. CNN and MSNBC have been breaking the news. People are fucked up. The Mall is overloaded with tourists right now too. And how does someone hide a rifle and walk around that area, there are cops everywhere. I used to work right near there, so I know this area well. And I've been to the Holocaust Museum about 5 times. Ugh.***

This is what happens when you decide not to run at Belmont Park before the Belmont. Way to go, Calvin. You just cost yourself your own Calvin Crown. Brilliant.

I am so f***ng glad the Birdstone Triple Crown is over. Thank you, Rachel for being the only thing I enjoyed from this campaign. It just figures when I finally started to root for MTB, the other spawn wins. I even started calling Soybean "Mine that Bean" for the hell of it.

And while I'm at it, can I say f***ng Dodgers and Brad Lidge too? Two days in a row, he blew the save and lost the game. Ugh.

Only good part of the day was watching John win Race 1 at Belmont and Uncle Nick won Race 2. Oh yeah, and I'm happy Kent won.

Special props to the PA bred, Fabulous Strike. He loooves Belmont and proved it today. Woo hoo!

And was it me but I could have sworn Mark Allen was drunk off his ass in that pre race interview.

I'm sending this jackass a piece of my mind. How dare anybody in this city write such garbage about the BEST thing that has EVER come out of Philadelphia.

You did NOT fail us, Smarty. If anything, we failed you. Philadelphia will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS LOVE YOU!!!!! The comments are bashing the writer too and showing support for our CHAMPION.

However, 5 years ago today, was one of the worst days ever, June 5, 2004. And yes, I was there with 120,000 other devastated Philly fans.

**Edit: Tears for Fears "Break it Down Again" just came on my Pandora and I want to cry. They played this song the day before Smarty's Belmont because it's about horses and dedicated it to him *sniff* **

The Day That Smarty Jones Failed Us

By  DAN STAMM

Updated 11:45 AM EDT, Fri, Jun 5, 2009

Related Topics:National Basketball Association | NBA Atlantic Division | NBA Eastern Conference | Philadelphia 76ers | Smarty Jones | Basketball | Horse Racing | Men's Professional Basketball | Sports | Triple Crown

Five years ago Friday was when Smarty Jones, the first of the great "Philly horses," realized where he was from and did what Philly athletes always did -- choked.

June 5, 2004 will forever be remembered as the day that the great Smarty Jones failed his hometown as he faded in the final strides of the Belmont Stakes to lose the Triple Crown. It was a tearful afternoon as even casual Philly sports fans felt like they had their heart torn out.

"For the rest of the country, it was a minor disappointment that was quickly forgotten about. For many Philly sports fans it was yet another heartbreaking entry in the long list of beloved Philadelphia athletes unable to win the big one," wrote The 700 Level.

Fans outside of Philly still don't get why Smarty Jones failing to win horse racing's Triple Crown is still so painful for Philadelphians. Heck, he was only a horse that could run -- he had no idea the championship dreams of an entire city rested on his broad shoulders on the June day in Upstate New York.

The reason why it still hurts is that it was the heart of the streak -- the Curse of Billy Penn hung heavy over the City of Brotherly Love. (Remember there was a time not so long ago -- like before last fall -- that Philly was known for losing.)

The city hadn't seen a major championship in a generation when Smarty galloped onto the scene. With each gallant stride Smarty gave hope to all Philly sports fans that if we couldn't win a Stanley Cup or a Super Bowl at least we could win a Triple Crown.

Smarty was a thoroughbred version of the classic Philly athlete except unlike guys like Allen Iverson, Randall Cunningham and Eric Lindross he was a winner. The horse born and bred in Chester County, Pa. entered the Kentucky Derby as the favorite and won.

That's right he lived up to the hype and built on it in the second leg of the Triple Crown. He solidified his hero status when in front of a very pro-Philly crowd he dominated the Preakness Stakes by a record 11.5 lengths.

But, Smarty soon epitomized what A.I., Cunningham and Lindross did -- losing.

Five years ago today a 36-1 long shot named Birdstone came from seemingly nowhere to beat the first great Philly horse. He dashed the dreams of the city and started the final series of Philly losing that included a Super Bowl loss by the Eagles.

Add the fact that Smarty was the first of three straight Philly horses to sniff Triple-Crown glory and fail. By the time Barbaro broke down it was almost expected because Smarty Jones couldn't even overcome the Curse of Billy Penn.

So today if you can handle reliving a painful memory watch the two and half minutes that left Philly lost.

I can't freaking believe it's June already. Yikes. Well I hope everybody's week is starting off well. Things have been busy here with school and work, same old same old. I spent the weekend at home, got my outfit pressed and ironed for the wedding and ran a bunch of errands on Saturday. I met my aunt and grandmom for lunch, which was nice. Got my nails done, went to the chiro, picked up some stuff for the house, just odds and ends. Bubbe gave me gas money. She's always trying to shove $20 in my hand so nobody sees, it's kinda funny. I tell her she doesn't need to but she likes to give me a little something. And I'm not going to pass up gas money, even if I only spend $20 a month on it now..lol.

Steph told me yesterday the last Titanic survivor died. That makes me sad. Milliva Dean was 97. She had just gotten donations for her medical expenses from James Cameron, Kate and Leo too. :( I can't believe that now there is no longer anybody living from that tragedy. I guess since it's been 97 years, there really wouldn't be anybody left, but it's still sad.

Anyway, this month is going to be crazy. Here's my wacky schedule for anybody interested (or for you stalkers out there, you know who you are..kidding):

June 6-Belmont (not going, but not free to make plans unless it involves watching racing)
June 7-Maggie's wedding (going to DC for the day. It'll be a long day but it's easier)
June 13-FLEETWOOD MAC!!! (Atlantic City for the day with Andi and her peeps. Their treat, it's the only way I'm able to go)
June 19-Andi's graduation dinner (South Philly, Famous Dave's)
June 21-Father's Day (and I've already got a present, I'm on top of things for once!)
June 29-Mom's birthday (I'm not really on top of that quite yet..lol)

Somewhere in there, my first term of school ends and second one begins. It's hard to believe I'm already a quarter through my certificate program. And then it's July and this job finally turns perm and I can have a little bit more flexibility in my finances.

Last night I was on the phone with Steph, it was late, but the Phillies are out west so I was up for a bit, trying to see a few innings. I said to her "It's 2-1, maybe if I go to bed while they're winning, I'll wake up and they'll have won" Guess what? It worked. Final score was 5-3. Nice job, Joe Blanton. I need to do that more often.

My friend from the consulting program, Michelle, IMed me on FB the other night. We hadn't talked since March and she felt so bad about that. She just said it was awkward because she knew the day I was getting laid off and all. I said it was no big deal. Turns out she got laid off a month later and isn't working. It was good to talk to her. But I asked if she was temping, she said they haven't had anything but she couldn't take a temp job because she can't live on it. Meanwhile, she was telling me about the 4 Depeche Mode concerts she was going to. Um, priorities. Sure, I'm going to another FM concert, but the first one was paid for while I was still making enough money to afford it and this one is a treat. I wasn't planning on going and my friends are getting me a ticket (plus, we're doing the $60 ones this time). I wouldn't be going otherwise because it's not a luxury I need. But she was telling me about the show at the Borgata she's going to and all that. Yeah, whatever. People's priorities are a bit different than mine.

Then again, I dropped $5 on Sunday's NYT, just for the Magazine inside. But um, yeah, it was something I needed:

I wanted this at 13, still want at (almost) 30. Something is wrong with me. But eh, don't really care. I fell off the wagon last year. Well I jumped off the wagon I guess. I think this time I'll stay off. If it happens to bite me in the ass again, I'll live.

Quotes of the week:

Me: "I've developed an old man crush on Jamie Moyer"
Aunt Bonnie: "Brooke, you're almost 30. He doesn't count as an "old man" crush anymore since he's only 16 years older than you"
Me: "Good point"

Mom: "Soybean's not going to have any friends when she goes to doggie heaven"
Me: "Yeah, she'll have no social skills. She'll be standing in a corner by herself"
Mom: "Or looking for you"

Mom: "The hand hurts when I wake up"
Me: "I'll bet"
Mom: "Waking up is hard to do"

(While watching the Phillies game)
Me: "That little girl looks like me when I was a kid. But I never had seats behind the Phillies dugout though"

Jamie Moyer got his #250th career win today, it only took 6 tries, but he did it. Phils swept the Nationals in three games and now head on the road. Congrats, Jamie! We're all very proud of you, old man ;)

My Ryan had an incredible game last night, hitting two HRs, one of which was a grand slam in the third deck of CBP. Nice job, Phils. Still in first.

I keep meaning to get in bed earlier and it never happens. Oh well. This week's good, no drama, for once and thankfully tomorrow's Friday. I am going to be home this weekend, getting my outfit together for Maggie's wedding next weekend. Hard to believe it's next weekend already. I also need to get a pedicure, badly. One of my acrylic nails came off and I need to get it redone before I can wear sandals, seriously.

So, not sure how many of you guys have seen this story this week (It made the Today Show, GMA, etc), but we had a Bucks County woman fake her own abduction. It was freaking nuts. Tuesday night around 8pm there was an Amber alert issued. I saw it come across my TV while I was watching the Phillies game. A woman from Upper Southampton Twp. claimed she was struck from behind on Street Road by two black men, who then abducted her and her 9 YO daughter. It sent everyone into a panic and fear among people here, especially those of us who live off of Street Road. The more I learned about it though, the more I was confused. I didn't understand how an accident and abduction could happen on such a busy road in broad daylight. The intersection she claimed it happened at, I know for a fact is incredibly busy, I've driven through there a million times. It happened at 2 supposedly and the Amber alert came over at 8. The 911 call bounced off of towers in Center City. And they found her car, undamaged downtown. Nothing added up. Plus, it didn't make any sense to me that people would drive all the way up to Bucks County to abduct a random woman and drive back to Philly. Some were speculating it was something to do with her ex husband.

Anyway, yesterday, they found her. In Disney World. She was never abducted. She stole her co workers drivers license, stole some money, and headed off. She apparently had domestic and financial problems. Like, wtf? Her daughter is perfectly fine. It was like Susan Smith all over again. They caught them on survelliance at Phila. International Airport. So now she's charged with theft and misleading police, identity theft. Shit, if there was another real abduction that happened during that time, she should be charged with that. I mean, sure, nobody's really shocked, but it's just crazy that people could do such a thing. All the resources that were wasted looking for her, the Amber alert, the FBI getting involved.  What pisses me off the most is her claim it was "two black men". I mean, racist much? Like she had to say it was two black guys to make her story believable? Her story was full of holes to begin with! It just turns my stomach. This world is really f***ed up.

Meanwhile, in other PA news of the day: JOE SESTAK IS RUNNING FOR SENATE AGAINST ARLEN SPECTER!!! WOO HOO!!!! I'm sooo freaking excited! I have very few Democrats I get excited about anymore, he's one of them. Yay, another campaign to work on. Happy Brooke :) Go Joe. Navy represent! And then in 2011, I'm gonna help Michael Nutter get re elected mayor of Philadelphia. Fun times.

Oh, and this was the saddest tweet I read today:

JamesPMorrison: "To my 24 brothers and sisters starting up Day 8: I miss you. Rock on! (If any in your new cast needs a Talking on Phone Clinic, give a shout"

*sniff* :(

Weirdest thing I saw today: Two maintenance guys doing "rock paper scissors" in the parking lot. Probably deciding who was buying lunch. It was freaking hysterical.

After nearly sweeping the Yankees in their stadium, the Phillies drop 2 out of 3 to Florida at home. Oy. And Myers needs hip surgery. As if our pitching staff isn't already having problems *sigh* Nationals are in tomorrow, should be an easy series. Jamie pitches on Sunday and if he can't get #250 against the Nationals, well, then we have a problem.

Stephanie Nicks turns 61 today. And looks AMAZING!!! Happy birthday, Stevie. Love you, and will see you again in a few weeks down in A.C. with your hot ex boyfriend and company ;)





Also a very happy birthday to two dear friends, Janell, and Jared, both who have birthdays today as well.

Which is too bad because
A) He pitched very very well
B) My boy, Ryan Howard, had a great game. Unfortunately the offense only consisted of him.
C) The home plate umpire tonight was a little bitch who seriously needs his eyes checked. Wes Helms never should have hit that HR because he should have been down on strikes one pitch earlier. Jamie had him at 2-2 and threw the most PERFECT pitch I've seen and the ump calls it a fucking ball. Um no, it was strike 3, dumbass. Phils end up losing 5-3 after Uncle Charlie decides to go to Ho Chi Min in the 7th.

Jamie's next start is against the Nats this weekend. He HAS to get it then. By the way, I learned over the weekend that Jamie's mother in law teaches at AU. How weird is that? I know who she is, too. Crazy.

Hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day and remembered those who served. I got to see the Arlington Cemetary Ceremony this morning. I have been to the Tomb of the Unknowns and it's incredibly moving. I always remember. Didn't really do anything other than hang out with Soybean all weekend and watch TV, run some errands. But it was nice and quiet.

Oh and I joined Twitter, I kinda gave in because I found some friends on there. I'm not overly psyched about it, but it's kinda fun. If anybody wants to follow me, I'm at www.twitter.com/BDavis820.

(I totally had a giddy fangurl moment though when I got two responses back from a tweet I sent to a certain former 24 cast member. That was exciting). :)

Zenyatta rules. She just freaking rules. That's really all I have to add. I have the house to myself, which is so nice, just me and Soybean, hanging out. I went and got a bottle of wine and been working on that for some time.

Phils won last night, but lost today. They could win the seires tomorrow: Hamels vs. Sabathia. Great matchup.

And speaking of people who rule, Steph totally rules *hugs* I love you.

If Soybean doesn't stop getting up and down, I'm going to throw her out.

Quote of the night:

"Well to be fair, not ALL the Clinton years were great. I'd like to take a stick of C4 to 1998 and blow it up"-Me