God bless America (and if He could smite down the Iraqis while he's at it, that'd be great).

Not ALL Iraqis, of course. But word is just coming through that Iraqi militants killed an American soldier they have held hostage since early April. He was killed because the U.S. government did not change its policy in Iraq, as demanded by his kidnappers.

I am so, so sad. And pissed. You can't tell me that this guy would have wanted to die over Iraqi policy. He wasn't even fighting for OUR freedom (which is what he signed up to do). So what the hell is the point?

Maybe it hits so close to home because I know so many soldiers, both past and present. Hell, one of my favorite people right now is JD, a current serviceman (who claims that he signed up for the chicks, but I digress. He's still a hero to me). If anything ever happened to him (which is entirely possible, since he's stationed in New York), I would be absolutely devastated. In fact, I'm not sure that he knows how important he IS to me...so if you didn't before, jackass, then you do now.

I'M SO PISSED...and I thank yet another soldier for giving the ultimate sacrifice (though for what, I'm not sure).

Taking out the trash.

You may have noticed that some posts have been deleted. Unfortunately, I needed to get rid of some comments that were highly offensive to me and those who actually matter to me. So I'm doing some heavy cleaning.

Oh--and if you've never seen it, "Romeo Must Die" is a really, really good movie.

Prince, Collin Raye and Slaughter.

These are the last 3 CDs I bought on eBay. Yes, all at once. (My musical taste is incredibly....varied, let's say.)

I'm making new friends, too. Or perhaps I should say, reconnecting with old ones. As it turns out, my ex's (we'll call him Aaron, since that's his name) new girlfriend is someone I used to go to college (and work on the school paper) with. Imagine his dismay when he realized that we know each other--and began emailing back and forth! It's pretty funny. Some similarities: we're both named Jen, we both worked on the UDM school paper and we both went back to school to become teachers. Maybe I'll invite her out for a drink (I genuinely want to see her again, but knowing that I'm making A. squirm just a little IS a mighty appealing bonus). ;)

A good site for celebrity-obsessed people (like me).

The Smoking Gun has a section of their site devoted to performer's riders (their wish list of backstage accomodations). Some of them are really funny (Guns n Roses sure like their alcohol and porn), some are ridiculously specific (I think it was J.Lo who could only drink out of a certain size plastic cup) and some are amazingly down-to-earth.

Anyway, these riders are good reading for when you have a few minutes to kill (or for when you really DON'T have the extra time but you feel like playing around anyway).

TSG Backstage Pass--juicy stuff!

What a sexy MF.

I saw Prince at the Palace last night.

I pride myself on being a decent writer and on being able to put my thoughts and feelings into words. But there ARE no words for the show he put on last night. It was absolutely mind-blowing. Packed with energy. Personal. Engaging. (Okay, so maybe there are a FEW words...)

It was, by far, the best show I've ever seen. I heard he's adding another Palace show (tickets go on sale on Saturday, I think). If you are able to do so, then GO. It's well worth the ticket price (AND, you get a free CD of his new stuff, which is very funk-ti-fied).

Wow. I'm still blown away.

Detroit 88, LA 80.

No team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the championship.

Ever.

The only question is, will Detroit become champions in Detroit, or LA?

Oh, the suspense is killing me...

All dogs go to heaven.

My mom and stepdad had to put the family dog to sleep this morning. They've been trying to keep her alive for the last two years, but finally it just got to the point where they realized they were fighting a losing battle. Lady put up a hell of a fight, though. Still, it's pretty heartbreaking to have to put a pet to sleep like that. Lady was a really good dog with a heart of gold--so sweet and loving.

I'm glad that she gets to be up in doggy heaven now, where she's not in pain anymore. And by now, I hope she's found Missy and Blizzard up there.

I bet they're having a blast.

Pistons 88, Lakers 68.

"You do realize that the Pistons will fall apart just like the Red Wings do each year...right?"

Yeah, good call on that one.

Tell me...were you even able to SEE this game, what with your head so far up your ass and all?

;)

1-1.

Well, I do have to say that last night's game was incredible, and Kobe made an amazing shot there at the end. I won't say anything about the Pistons' effort (or lack thereof) in overtime...

They're coming back home for the next 3 (thanks for the correction, Nikki). That's all that matters.

On an unrelated note, today was the last day of school for "my" kids. Once I become a teacher with my own classroom, I should probably make sure I'm medicated for the month of June.

"The Pistons have told the country, 'Hey, we're here, too."

Well, much to the surprise of everyone except Pistons fans, Detroit won last night--by more than a few points, for that matter. I could go on and on about how Detroit has more depth and the Lakers are a two-man team (without Shaq and Kobe, they had like 20 points)...but I'll just sit back and let the playoffs speak for themselves.

This is going to be good.

Fear the 'Fro.

This topic deserves a post of its own. THE PISTONS ARE GOING BACK TO THE FINALS, BABY!! I have to say, I got a little verklempt watching the game (and the resulting celebration) on Tuesday night. I'm old enough to remember the original Bad Boys (like 14 years ago) and having the Pistons returning to their glory days is pretty damn exciting.

First game is on Sunday night, 9 pm EST I believe...

GO DETROIT!

How to get a job at Kaplan.

Thanks to everyone with your help on my "how to" dilemma. I ended up presenting "how to write a haiku," and I got the job. I'm incredibly excited. After a 20-hour training, I'll start teaching for Kaplan. It seems like a great company and I really like the people I'll be training with (those that I met so far, anyway). It was intimidating, though. I was auditioning with graduates of Princeton, Cornell and other top-name schools. And then there was me (Detroit Mercy representin'). For some reason, though, they still invited me to join teacher training, as well. It's a pretty intense training with a LOT of at-home work, as though--it's going to be a busy month. However, if the teachers don't do an effective job, then there IS no Kaplan--so I understand why they push us so hard.

However, remember that interview I had a couple of weeks ago? The one that I thought went really well? I just found out that the lady I interviewed with is not going to be the principal of the Southfield school, after all...so I need to find out who WILL be running that school next year and start the process all over again. And I'm not sure I can be charming and witty twice in a row like that.

We had Field Day at school on Friday. I was in the tug of war (go fourth grade!), the hurdles and the sack race (yes, my best event was "in the sack"). However, I'm really, really sore. Field Day is a lot harder when you're 27. (After the secretary and I ran the hurdles, we were down for the count for about half an hour.)

It was a great day, though. I'm going to miss those kids.