Why I Watch Letterman and Not Leno

Maybe you can chalk it up to me being a fan of smart arses from Indiana (see post titled "Sprinting to Hell with Jim Gaffigan"), but I think it's more than that.

I have to admire a man that can work the following two items into the first half hour of his show.

1) When referring to Hillary Clinton's claims to be pro-gun while campaigning in Pennsylvania: If she was really a fan of guns, Bill would be dead.

2) When giving advice to Jenna (Jena? who really cares how you spell it) Bush's fiance re: getting along with Daddy Bush: Avoid topics that will make him uncomfortable like Iraq, the economy... and his general stupidity.

What a guy!

Most Smartest HR Quote of the Day #2

Another quote from the intelligentsia:

"I was looking at our Dental program, I didn't understand the part on orthodonics. Dose it cover $1000.00 or not? I will be signing up for insurance and was wandering."

What I wanted to reply but didn't: "We don't cover orthodonics because they don't exist nor do we cover orthodontics."

At least the employee isn't singing up for insurance. Oy.

Sprinting to Hell with Jim Gaffigan

How to Tell When Your Cat's Mad at You

No one would say that my cat is sweet (except for my mom -- but she's a bit delusional when it comes to her perfect children and beyond-perfect grandcats and granddogs). He's come a long way in that you can pet him three times before he tries to bite rather than immediately trying like he used to. The only time he pretends to be sweet is when he wants fed. When that doesn't work, he tries to trip whoever is walking through the kitchen, and eventually wraps his paws around your ankle while nipping your Achilles tendon. At any rate, I digress. Long story short: my cat is neither shy nor is he hesitant about expressing himself.

Tonight we shared a new experience. I was at work until 6:45, came home for about 10 minutes, and then spent the next four hours at my father-in-law's. Apparently, that did not afford Mr. Precious adequate me-time. When I sat at the desk to check my emails and do various other things on the computer, he climbed up in the chair behind me. He does this occasionally as sitting on my lap is *completely* out of the question. Instead of settling in behind me per usual, however, I received a pretty good chomp on the behind. Now, I'm no animal communicator, but I'm pretty sure that means, "I'm unhappy with you."

So, to any pet owners out there: beware and don't neglect your four-legged furry ones. Or at least watch your back if you do.

Most Smartest HR Quote of the Day

I get to meet the smartest people working in HR.

Today's quote from an insurance agent: "My requests for information from [insert insurance company here] have fallen on deft ears since March 17."

Oh, my kingdom for a six-figure salary and talented ears...

I'm Updating Because I Have To...

All two of the people who read my blog have complained about my lack of updates. I promised to update this week and, seeing as how I'm a big-time procrastinator, I've waited until the last day.

Since my last post, a lot has changed. My father-in-law has had a brain tumor removed from his head that was the size of an egg. It was in the control center for speech and he has pretty severe aphasia. Whether that will improve over time is yet to be seen, so we just have to ride it out. He was in a rehabilitation hospital until Thursday. He was making good progress with the intense rehab he was getting, but today I could tell that he hasn't had therapy for a couple of days. Luckily, my husband pushed the local hospital to make room for him to get started again next week.

We have a caregiver coming in during the day to help make lunch, take him to appointments, etc. and someone has to be with him in the evenings and through the night. I always thought of myself as a fairly organized person, but I'm realizing just how lax my time management skills have been. I've also come to realize how totally unprepared I've been for this sort of thing. We have no idea what his insurance will cover, whether he's filed his taxes, etc.

Along with the practical questions raised by this incident, I have one philosophical question that keeps coming up: What is the point of cancer? I really hope that when I die, I get to ask God that one question. I can usually find the silver lining to most things but I just can't seem to do it with cancer.

So there we have it. My sunshine-y blog for today. Enjoy!

Takes One to Know One

President Bush's comments re: the death of Rep. Tom Lagos, Democrat and Holocaust survivor:

"After immigrating to America more than six decades ago, he worked to help oppressed people around the world have the opportunity to live in freedom," Bush said. "As the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, Tom was a living reminder that we must never turn a blind eye to the suffering of the innocent at the hands of evil men."

Truly moving words from man whose administration regards the Geneva Convention provisions as quaint. Sometimes it's better not to say anything.