Thunderclouds at Stormont

A long-standing news junkie, I always try to pick up a daily or a mag in whatever city I'm visiting and read up on the local news. Long after my travels are over, I try to keep connected with the culture and people I've encountered by reading media or watching video online.

When I checked in recently on news from Northern Ireland, I became intrigued by a political scandal .

It has all the elements for the perfect recipe for a scandal:

• adultery - married well-known woman has affair with man.


• age - woman in her 60s has affair with man 40 years her junior. (she was 59 and he was 19 at the time)

• politics - woman is MLA (Member Legislative Assembly). Her husband is First Minister.

• religion - woman is also well-known for her evangelical faith, plus Northern Ireland has had this long standing thing between Catholics and Protestants.
  

• money - woman gave man money to start a business, which isn't so bad, save the fact that she borrowed it from business developers and casts ethical question because of her political power.

• gay factor - this is a new ingredient in many modern scandals, adding a bit of irony or humor. the woman has lashed out about homosexuality (fueled by her religious beliefs) to go as far as to say it is like a disease that can be cured. The irony, many point out, was that she carried out her affair while talking with a sanctimonious holier-than-thou attitude. (sometimes I wonder if there's really a gay mafia out there that plans these types of "hits.")
  

Northern Ireland-- The Troubles, especially--fascinates me. It has all the elements of human drama, struggle, and oppression, but in the end, I came to hope and pray that peace would prevail. During my visit, I noted a sense of optimism in the friendly people who loved to talk and didn't mind sharing their own opinions.

These thunderclouds at Stormont (the name of the building where the NI Assembly meets; the pic is from my visit) are hopefully just in passing.

First Day Back At Work in the New Year of a New Decade

I owned this Monday.

In spite of the freezing cold (yes, it got down to below freezing here in Florida), I managed to get up, enjoy one, two, maybe even three cups of coffee and a decent breakfast before heading out the door.

I think that breakfast made the day all the better, giving me the energy to conquer the day. For the past few months, I rarely ate breakfast, and if I did, it was a piece of fruit and some yogurt. This morning, I had a grapefruit and a Filipino breakfast of garlic fried rice, an egg, and some ham. Eating a decent breakfast was another New Year's resolution I adopted.

I moved through my task list in great time, and most importantly, I had some relief now that a new staff member was on board to help me with my program. Yay!

The ride home I felt I'd accomplished what I needed to do and felt pretty great... until I came home.

I left my foster dogs in the living room this time with the doors to the bedrooms closed. I thought they'd be fine, and I was confident that Happy Jack would be good. Pearl, on the other hand, my latest and oh-so-cute puppy, was a bet I lost. She was doing so well these last few days using the potty outside and being calm around the house, so I didn't put her in her kennel. However, today, Pearl became my latest domestic terrorist and decided she needed more fiber in her diet by chewing my coffee table. (thank God I'm more utilitarian and don't believe in fancy fu-fu furniture.)

Of course, I was mad but I was mostly mad at myself because I didn't come home for lunch as I planned (I was so energized and ate my lunch at my desk while working.) and they didn't go for a walk in the morning because it was too damn cold. So, I didn't take it out on her (entirely).

Events like these are teaching moments. It's already tough for me being a single dog-parent; I can't imagine what it's like to have to deal with real children all the time. I can't reason with a dog, so I have to find other ways to creatively teach her what's right and wrong.

I find myself growing in understanding of myself more and more each day as I work with my foster dogs. Dogs aren't human... but they have the capacity to draw out our own humanity and those much needed human qualities of patience, compassion, and love.

Tomorrow, after some play time outside, she'll be back in the kennel before I leave for work.

Oh, and pray that this positive streak at work continues!

Addendum to the New Year's Greetings

Funny how I published the previous blog entry and it published the date I started working on it... Christmas Day.

Now that's the proof how much I'm a citizen of the ProcrastiNATION.

Happy New Year!

My Christmas, er.... New Year's Greetings

Merry Christmas!

Okay, that's a little late, but I'm Catholic and it's still Christmas for us.

Um... happy New Year!

To get 2010 off to a great start, I knew I just had to dive into at least one of my resolutions. I could've started on a new health kick of sensible lifestyle culinary choices (translation = "D" word), but hell, I'm in Pensacola this weekend and there are just too many great food options that I crave and must have. C'mon... I have to take small steps. Trying to do everything at once sets me for the "F" word-- failure. And just as in my professional life--ask any emergency manager in Florida--failure is not an option.

So, instead, be it resolved that I keep my blog updated and improve my communication between all my friends and family. The "life updates" e-mail from my past had somehow faded away and I enjoyed writing them because it was so unlike the technical/academic style of writing I have at work. Unfortunately, you, the reader, have more of the burden to endure the mundane details of my life, but, hey, if you're lucky, I'll toss in some innuendo at the PG-13 level. For the ever popular R-rated version, that would require personal meet-up over coffee or some other, stronger. mind-altering beverages.

I have to confess that I was going to tackle this resolution early by sending out Christmas cards. Every weekend in December, I had in my mind sitting by the Christmas tree and cozy warm fire, sipping my infamous hot cocoa, writing out these cards. Of course that didn't happen. The idea soured when I first had to find the collection of 200 cards of Christmas past. I ransacked every room to find about 20 cards, and going out to buy more would only mean surrender, and I was not about to abandon the 180 other soldiers I know are somewhere in my home.

Eventually, I decided on sending those cards to 20 lucky people. That was hard because I surely know more than 20 people in this world, and I desperately tried to first shorten my list to only 20. I quickly learned that wasn't possible. Do I give up sending a card to my barber who magically works my hair, or that well-deserving girl I randomly hooked up with in Orlando? (The preceding comment was a joke. In no way have I ever found a barber who can magically work my thinning hair.)

Second, I thought I'd eliminate all my Facebook friends. They already know way too much about my life. I'm already a Facebook angel ordained by God to shower his friends with witty, sarcastic quips that are my status updates. And they all get to see cute pics of my nephew. That's reward enough.

Third, those who sent me cards deserved a card from me, so they were moved up on the list. After all, they invested a 44 cent stamp and the cost of an adorable card with pictures of their families and cute babies into our friendship. However, I got about 50 cards this year, so 30 people would luck out. Anyhow, there was no way I could match their cute cards with any picture of myself, where lately I've looked like a crystal meth addict left in the dryer way too long.

In the end, I gave into the Christmas spirits--Jack Daniels and Jim Beam--and they helped me settle on an e-mail Christmas message. However, I just couldn't make it nice enough. I tried to wordsmith it right, but screwed it up royally. I decided to settle on bullets:

• This year, the Claud family got together in Ft. Rucker, Alabama to enjoy the brightest Christmas for all of us in a long time because it coincides with the brightest news of the year— the birth of my nephew back in August.
  

• Benjamin is the second generation of my family born in America. There’s every indication that he’ll be an all-American boy, cheering his dad's beloved New Orleans Saints and his mom's alma mater, the Florida State Seminoles, and fishing with his Lolo (grandfather). Of course, he will always know he’s part Filipino. Lolo will teach him to cast a net and catch gallunggong. His mommy will teach him to cook rice by age 5 and open a can of Spam or corned beef (the great Filipino delicacy) for breakfast. I will train him as my sous chef to make adobo, sinigang, and rellenong manok. It might be possible that our little boy may grow up to like dinuguan!

• My nephew’s crying fits have been the most effective form of birth control I know to date, I have confined any form of parent-like behavior to fostering dogs with the Gadsden County Humane Society. Funny how the Roman Catholic Church managed to entrust her youth to me, but the State is probably a little wiser in preventing me from fostering kids. That's okay, because fostering dogs is so much easier and I can get away with so much more. When the dogs are bad, they get time out in their kennel. I learned that most people don't accept the same type of punishment for children. I have fostered Happy Jack for more than a year now, and recently began fostering Pearl in November.
  

• I am happy to see the year 2009 fade into the past, written in my personal annals of history as my annus horribilis. I have a job... for now. We have all been affected in some way by these challenging economic times; however, it’s time to let go and focus on the brighter future ahead.
  

Aside from the resolutions I mentioned above here are a few more I've decided: to surround myself with many more people with open minds and open hearts; to put more of my passion into action; to visit friends and family that I haven't seen in years.

Best of luck in 2010! May God bless all of us with great health, happiness, and prosperity!