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this and that

Amazing story.

I love April Fools. There were multiple satisfactory jokes today at work, including one I was party to. It's one cool thing about my company - April Fools is encouraged, from the top down. This, however, doesn't prevent people from getting tricked over and over again, including myself.

I have been having a terrible time inspiring myself to go running lately. It's really been a struggle. I pulled my calf last week and had to take a couple of days off, and I've just been feeling incredibly lazy since then.

6:19 p.m. - Apr. 01, 2008

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neighbors. Grrr.

For the first time ever in my life, I am going to receive a tax refund. It is in fact a very large tax refund. Thank you interest deduction! Anyway, I suppose I will put it in my Roth IRA so I don't have to deal with finding money for that later in the year.

My company just got matching 401Ks. This also makes me very happy. I had been contributing to my 401K, but somewhat half-heartedly, because I was bitter that other people get matching. No more.

I was reading Chris*tina's blog about city living. It made me glad that I am not living in a city, but in the 'burbs. However, there are many disadvantages to living in the 'burbs as well. Many of them are obvious. However, I will share a few that come with living in a neighborhood that doesn't exactly come with a neighborhood associations. (In Seattle, these come at higher price ranges than I'm in.)

I used to be very opposed to neighborhood associations. I heard Becca's horror stories. I grew up in VA without one, and found the idea of someone lecturing me on cutting my grass rather offensive. And I don't care whether my neighbors cut my grass.

However, since I've been living at my fair home, I've experienced, among other things: (Obviously, not all of these would go away with an association.)

1.) Next door neighbor leaving toilets, plural, in the FRONT yard. Yes, I said toilets.
2.) Next door neighbor leaving trash all over back yard - as in, big bags of it
3.) Neighbors leaving large trash barrels directly in front of my house
4.) Next door neighbors allowing grass to grow unchecked until weeds grow all over the place and spread into my yerd
5.) ND neighbor having 5 pits bulls at once that go ballistic whenever I go near the fence. Neighbor on other side also has pit bull.
6.) ND neighbor having at least 6 cars and so always parking in front of my place and sometimes blocking my driveway. Both neighbors have at times at least partially blocked my driveway.
7.) ND neighbors (both sides) blasting bass, including at all hours of the morning. I've been woken up at 7 AM
8.) ND neighbors zooming all over cul-de-sac on dirt bike - VERY noisy.

I hate to say it, but I look forward to being rich and moving into one of the neighborhoods I drive through every day on my way to work in which I've never seen any of the above offenses. In the meantime, I'll comfort myself with my tax back.

I have to say that none of these things bother me as much as the neighbor I used to live on top of in my old apartment. The place had super thin walls, and so I heard their TV blasting every night, and all their conversations, fights, etc. And they banged on the ceiling when B so much as walked across the floor. (He apparently has a heavy tread.) Five pit bulls are way better than that. At least you can just stay away from the fence and they shut up.

6:47 p.m. - Mar. 31, 2008

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movie

Did anyone watch Fit*na? I did, against my better judgment. When I first read the article in the WSJ, I was quite convinced. Christians get insulted all the time! Free speech is important! I thought the hullabaloo over the cartoons was ridiculous and embarrassing for Mus*lims everywhere.

However, this film was very different. It didn't specifically call for genocide against Mus*lims or anything, but it was pretty bad. I felt rather than just bashing Muham*med or something like that, it bashed your average every day Mus*lim who might be minding their own business in a Euro*pean country, and that can be dangerous. That can lead to hate crimes. I believe that sort of stuff directed against Je*ws is illegal at least in Ger*many (for obvious reasons), and I guess I'm in favor of restricting free speech, not to protect people's tender sensibilities, but if it incites hate.

I suppose, of course, that we don't restrict the KKK in the US, but no filmmaker would every be able to release a film like this directed against Blacks in the US. They would be universally scorned. So maybe Fit*na shouldn't be against the law, but it should be regarded as evil and something to shelter one's children from.

When people talk about Is*lam and how it incites violence and how Mu*hammed is evil, etc., I often think about the roots of the Mor*mon religion, descibed in depth by Mr. Krak*auer in one of his books.

4:20 p.m. - Mar. 31, 2008