everybody reads raymond

Task: List ten (10) different identities for yourself and write a short paragraph describing yourself for each of these identities.

Writer seeks reader(s). Attractive NYC SWM, GenXer, Self Employed, LADA (Type 1.5) Diabetic. Enjoys Geek & Gear things. Is a Jack-of-all-trades Artist and a part-time Essayist. Can be Analytical or Humorist when not Tree Hugging or playing with Cats. Negatives include poor Son, Grandson & Brother and is currently a Renter.

1. As an Attractive NYC SWM I have learned love and pain. I know what it feels to work with all might against a more powerful tide. I know that life is a series of moments strung together loosely at best. Looking for meaning and reason in their randomness or ability to surprise is both a waste of time and an awesome blunder - causing you to miss the very wonder of it all: the splendor another person can bring to you if you simply hold still. I know that we are all crazy, self absorbed, deaf, selfish and hopeless. But, we try.

2. As a GenXer I saw Carter elected and witnessed the first Shuttle disaster - both as a kid. I played with Legos when they first came out. We had a (1) computer in school by the time I reached 2nd grade and it didn't do anything; but it was an Apple Macintosh, so that's cool.

3. As a Self Employed person I enjoy and suffer complete freedom to make my own path. If I don't want to work, I don't have to and need not worry about being fired or scolded by a boss. However, I also have no safety net to support me if I fail or go through periods of little or no work-for-hire. I often do not relate to clock-punchers as they rarely relate to me. We are in two different worlds with separate schedules and priorities. To me, the job, the deal, the task, the research is all important as it is my livelihood. At 5 o'clock, they go home.

4. As a LADA (Type 1.5) Diabetic I am pissed off and angry that I have been robbed of a life more normal. However I have learned to be patient and accepting of those things I cannot change. I manage extremely well and challenge myself to stay up-to-date and often times, more informed than my doctors. This is my life, not theirs after all. If I allow poor health to overtake me it will be mine own fault and not those to whom I can pass blame.

5. As a Gear Head & Computer Geek I feel in touch with change - demand it! Faster! I know that tomorrow brings better technology, faster and more intuitive services and real promise for a more hopeful & brighter future. As an Xer I don't get bogged down with the knowledge that my VCR or Mac will be out of date before the shipping box is carted away by the trash men. The best technology is cutting edge today! Use it now! Buy it, use it & upgrade to better tomorrow. What you make of it today will allow for you to afford it, know it and command it tomorrow.

6. As a Jack-of-all-trades Artist and a part-time Essayist I realize that I have no “completeness” feeling when creating art because I lack a refined skill in one medium which I excel. This is frustrating. Instead I must honor my passion to create through a myriad of outlets that form a mishmash collage of my creativity - none of which, if not taken in as a whole, would solicit much credit; and together barely satisfy me. Again, this is frustrating.

7. As a person who can be Analytical or a Humorist I have learned to think it through twice and act afterward. I have also found that laughter is a magical ingredient - best used when redirecting tough situations.

8. As a person who can be Tree Hugging or playing with Cats I have learned that there is a fine line between anger and discipline and what should be done to one is often confused with how the other feels temporarily. As a poor but mindful Pagan I try with all might to remind myself: do as you will, but harm none.

9. As a poor Son, Grandson & Brother I have lamented over the fact that I seem always to have little time for those around me but for a select and interchangeable few. When younger I used to say that I only had room in my day-to-day life for one or two relationships; but to them I could give a 110%. Older now, I realize that I have a better grasp of math and have become even more mindful that I share but small portions of me with those around me. Sadly, this forces relations with my family and distant friends to times of holiday or the occasional mini-break. Remarkably, and perhaps a keen indicator to my willingness to accept this, I survive quite well this way - requiring as little from them as I give in return. While I wish there was more of a connection I cannot ask for that which I am unable to reciprocate.

10. As a Renter I could say that I am unattached and could go anywhere at anytime if I so choose but I know it really means: I must try harder and make more of myself. I want for more and know that a life with someone else requires promise for and of tomorrow.

As American as apple pie, baseball and violation.

A long while ago a few "future" Americans broke into the north-eastern US and took, among other things, a continent. A short while ago, the US broke into the Middle East and took, among other things, a people's way of life - under the guise of bringing about democracy and ending an evil tyrant's rule. A few weeks ago, someone broke into my Ford Escape. They took, among other things, my baseball equipment.

While Australia sits quietly, basking in the Pacific sun, the US has become a nation of uninvited thieves - true violators of all the freedoms and privileges we enjoy and tell our children about.

When I was younger - about six or seven - I took a handful of rubber bands from a neighbor's carport. It was a holiday. I had been dragged to my grandparents and I was bored; so I played peacefully in and around my grandparents front lawn. Having kicked every rock and broken every twig, I ventured into the yard belonging to the next house to the left. In the carport I found a pile of rubber bands, like the kind discarded from a daily newspaper subscription - cool. I knew that's what they were, so I took 'em. What a great bouncing ball they would make if all bound together like my granddad had taught me! Well no sooner than I had taken my find into the house to construct my poor-man's pinky ball did my mother set into me, "Raymond, where did you get those?" I was then ordered to "march right back there and apologize for stealing what didn't belong to me."

The man next door caught on quick when I stammered through tears and the humiliation of an on looking family while I handed over a wadded bunch of useless rubber bands. "Thank you," he managed to choke out, taking my prize to what was surly a countertop just inside the door wherein the moment we'd all left, they would be tossed into the garbage...more to come.

This is a test of Writely.com's ability to post to my weblog. According to the ABC News Story: REVIEW: Writely Mostly Hits the Mark, By JESSICA MINTZ AP Business Writer:

From: REVIEW: Google's Writely Mostly Hits the Mark, but It's No Word Killer: By JESSICA MINTZ, Oct 5, 2006 (AP)

With Google's backing, Writely has a jump on its competitors, which include AdventNet Inc.'s Zoho Writer and ThinkFree Corp.'s ThinkFree Write. (There are even rumors Microsoft will jump into the online word processor space.)

But as several substantial open-source alternatives have shown, it's tough to take market share from Microsoft Word. Even with the search leader's name attached, there's little danger Writely will crush Microsoft or its pricey boxed programs any time soon.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

So,...lets test if it hits my weblog. OK. It did. But I had to go back to my usual editor: Ecto and make some adjustments to things like "category", even though Writely said I could assign them and to the Title of the post - which I did adjust in Writely, but it didn't take - and I had to clean up the line breaks a bit as well as the "quoted" text. But, all-in-all, I would say that in a pinch, or when using another computer with internet access, it works.