Friday 19 October 2012

POTLUCK FRIDAY


As it’s Friday and my brain is mush – I am an insomniac with a son who insists on waking at 5:45 a.m every morning; when is my brain not mush? – I thought I would do a potluck blog; nothing like a motley bunch of bits and pieces to take us into the weekend.

I voted today (absentee ballot). I love voting.  I know it sounds a tad random or idealistic (a rarity for us cynics of the world), but there is nothing better than doing something that those before you fought so hard for, and the women’s suffragette movement deserves a lot of credit. Think of all those pigheaded, myopic men they had to deal with back then. :-) A little fact for your water cooler talk (do offices even have water coolers anymore?), New Zealand was the first country to extend the right to vote to all adult women. I do have a theory that nation’s with incredible landscapes are the most progressive and open minded. Then again, I just have an aching desire to go wandering through the mountaintops like a hobbit, so I’m partial to those down under. So whether or not you like the candidates, or downright detest them, pick an issue, a reason, a cause…hell, just pick a) or b) and exercise your right to vote.

On to less positive topics, it is not a good week to be Lance Armstrong. In fact, I’m thinking this week will go down in his diary as the worst week ever. I was a big fan of Armstrong and an ardent supporter. I used to debate my husband endlessly about the criticism surrounding him and the whispers that followed his career. I know a fair bit about cycling (my bro in law is an ex cyclist) and the reality was not lost on me that the sport had its fair share of skeletons in its closet. Saying that however, as far as I was concerned, if Armstrong never tested positive during his racing career, well then, that’s just tough luck for those aiming to end his career. Conjecture, rumors and innuendo were not enough for me to bring a man down, especially a man that so tirelessly fought for a cause as devastating as cancer – and to be honest, despite all that is going on, I will forever commend him for his fight for a disease that affects so many. 

But, and this is a big BUT, I suppose the other biking shoe has finally now dropped now hasn’t it. My husband brought home the 100 page case report against Lance Armstrong the other night as a little light reading. [There is nothing more my hubby loves than uncovering a conspiracy]. By the time we got to the end of it, the news had reported that not only had the majority of Armstrong’s sponsors dropped him, but also he had stepped down as the head of Livestrong. I’m thinking by what is contained in that report that was a very smart move. It's not pretty I assure you....Do I care if athletes dope, sure….do I think they all do it and most sports are rife with athletes that pad to their talents with an extra this or that? Most definitely. In my view, it’s kind of like getting guns off the street - a very good idea, but damn hard to execute. 

And lastly, a nice little story to show you the world is still karmically sound, at least some of the time. A 22-year-old man from Hyannis just won 30 million dollars after buying a lottery ticket 24 hours ago. And what’s even better, he was recently dumped by his girlfriend and was heartbroken. Was being the operative word. I’m thinking 30 million goes a long way to heal the heart. Not one for flashy statements, Sandeep Singh plans to spend most of the money helping his family (he’s been working two jobs for quite some time to help support them), pay off his mom’s mortgage and donate a large amount to helping the community. I’ll put money on his ex girlfriend drunk dialing him quite a few times in the next few weeks/months/years. 'Baby, I swear it was me, not you!'

Happy Friday.




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