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Do you need to share a secret without telling anyone? This place may be of help.

Blustery Blustery Day

Its one of those blustery days that pushes the rain down under your collar and flicks the umbrella inside out in a nano second. The rain gods laugh at us, at our pitiful attempts to keep dry. "There is no DRY!"

We have spots of power outages thoughout the valley, trees down, leaves ripped from their branches before their time. Great excuses to go into work late. "My power was off...I didn't know what time it was." "A tree blocked my driveway and I couldn't get out." I've got a lot of them. If you need one, let me know.

Poor little gremlins and ghosts will be disappointed. I suspect many will not be able to go 'trick or treating' tonight. Parents might be grumbling a little, too... no chocolate for them, either. Well... unless they've stocked up for themselves.

Its so cozy in my new apartment. It feels like its time to get a second cup o coffee, cozy up on the couch with the fleece blanket, and mentally dance in my head "I don't have to go to work...I don't have to go out into the wind and rain. nanana na na na... neeener neener neeener." (I have met one of my goals... to be able to stay at home during bad weather and NOT have to come up with a, er...hmmm, 'story' about why I can't come to work.)

A Fee for Nothing

If you want to witness some really creative work then check out corporate America and all of its fees and service charges. I'm talking about bank charges in particular. What a rip off. Here's a blog article about how people get charged a fee for not getting any cash out of an ATM. Some of the comments are very interesting, too. One person talked about making a cash deposit to their account but the money was not available for 24 hours. This was a CASH deposit. What, does it take 24 hours for the people to recognize cash?? It feels like we are heading for a complete monitary system crash. And who will be crying the loudest? The greediest, that's who. grrrrrrrr

What language do you speak?

Your Linguistic Profile:

80% General American English

10% Upper Midwestern

5% Dixie

5% Midwestern

0% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

My results do not surprise me. How about yours? What kind of language do you speak?

Kindness

Here's a great read about the power of kindness. Check it out.

Thursday's Thirteen #12

Thursday's Thirteen
Crusty's thirteen morsels

1. I'm still wearing summer sandals. They are more comfortable than 'regular' shoes.

2. When possible, I buy mens sandals. They fit better since I have a wide foot. They are usually cheaper, too.

3. I need to have some work done on the car brakes but my dracma's are disappearing too fast.

4. I need to get my drivers license renewed. I am currently expired. I'm at that age where I have to take a vision test each time the license is up for renewing. My depth perception is not as good as it use to me, but I don't think it will be a problem. Not yet, anyway.

5. I don't understand how off-spring can turn out so differently when they all come from the same parents and environment. My last daughter makes some really poor choices in her life. I'm afraid she has a ghetto mentality. I hope she doesn't mess up her life too badly, but I know she'll never be able to buy anything on credit. She's about to find herself homeless and there's nothing I can do for her. She's made this happen all by herself. And of course, I don't know nothing and I am not to say anything logical to her. She doesn't want to hear it. Sigh

6. I don't want to end up raising said daughter's two boys. I will, of course, if its necessary, but I don't have the energy it takes.

7. Here's a site that can help you waste an afternoon. If you like to watch dancing, here's the place: click here and be sure to have your sound on... just move your cursor around.

8. Ooops. Number 7 wasn't about me.

9. Time flies by so quickly... I can't believe its Thursday already. Still not about me. hmmmmmmm

10. I went to a fat woman's store yesterday to buy some clothes. They didn't carry my size. Gasp!

11. I get to experience buying from a catalog. It will be my first time.

12. The more I'm forced to move (as in move my body) the better I feel. Yesterday when I went to the mall I ended up parking at one end and having to walk to the other end. It wasn't done on purpose, but it was beneficial.

13. I'm feeling restless. I may take myself to a book store to spend a few hours looking around.

Here's Leanne's thirteen and she adds the links to everyone else who is partaking. I'm a bit on the lazy side and don't keep coming back in here to add others' links. Sorry, nothing personal.

Settling In

Well, I am here. There will be no more moving of anything. I'm done and there will be no more, so "officially" I've moved. Of course, 'officially' means in my mind. I still have to submit a change of address form to the post office and turn in the key to the other apartment. And notify a few business contacts of my new address... and then it will really be done.

I am now busy with the unpacking... or packing for storage, as the case may be. And 'storage' simply means putting away the things that are not immediately useful to the back of the closet. Back out of the way. Anyway... that's what I'm doing. I don't seem to have anything else to say right now.

Thursday's Thirteen #11

Thursday's Thirteen
Crusty's thirteen morsels

1. By this weekend I will have moved six times in three years. I am so tired of moving, but it does help to keep things weeded out. Simplify Simplify

2. I'm not a "collector". Perhaps I'm too practical, but I don't feel the 'zing' in having 100 Prince Alberts in the tin sitting on a shelf. It seems to boil down to being able to say 'I have something you don't'.

3. Don't get me wrong... I do collect, but just not on purpose. I collect dust bunnies, unpaid bills, messy counters... you know, that sort of stuff.

4. The only time I can be assured of having my space to myself is if I let my daughter use my car so that she and her two boys are gone. I'm trying to reclaim ownership of my car. Its a delicate balance. (When she's home she pops in several times a day to check her email, among other things.)

5. I want to take a nap already but I also need to do moving stuff.

6. I am developing a desire to have some mustard greens. Its like instant health.

7. I would like to be able to get a newer TV.... one with a video or DVD player built in too. Oh yeah... and with a remote control.

8. When I get done with this list I need to turn off the pc and tv so I will get something done.

9. This weekend I'm going clothes shopping. I haven't done that in years. And I'm going to stock up on underwear. There's nothing like a drawer full of panties to make one feel abundant.

10. I can hear the two grandkids through the wall. I think they are playing rather than fussing. That's good.

11. Three more things... I need three more things. Sigh

12. I need to clean out my car. Its a total mess. I will do that after I'm done moving.

13. I may be off-line for a day or two. I'm just not sure yet. It won't be long enough to be missed, though.

Here's Leanne's thirteen... and she also has the links to others doing it.

Hello Wall....

I can't remember if I told anyone in my family that I have a blog. My youngest daughter, who lives next to me at this time, may know I have a blog but I haven't given her the address. And I don't think my name is anywhere on it so a google search, hopefully, would not bring up anything. I'll have to check on that. (Later... looks like its okay as long as someone doesn't know the title of the blog.)

I have another thing to worry about regarding my daughter. She's such a follower... and her friends are not upstanding citizens. One is a real bad influence and I don't even know the half of it, I'm sure. I don't want to go into details. Its her life, not mine... but boy oh boy, please take care of her, God.

Mothers never know anything. Most young people believe their parents to be stupid about 'real life' things. And that its not as bad as parents think it is. I want to scream "BUT I KNOW HOW INSIDIOUS LIFE SITUATIONS CAN BE, DAMN IT!" Maybe its the screaming part that dilutes the message... ya think?

DUH... I just had a epiphany, a connection made. I just connected a behavior the other day with something. And it makes perfect sense now. Its amazing how blind we can be if we are not looking for something specific. I always give others more credit than apparently is warrented... more credit as to being too smart to get involved with something. Duh, indeed.

Moving

My gosh, I can't believe its been five days since my last entry. Surely I could have thought of something trivial to post, but I guess not.

I'm moving this week. Moving to a newer apartment and hopefully getting my own life back. This actually means 'getting my car back' from my daughter more than anything. My son manages the apartment site and rented the small newer apartment for me. I won't have to pay rent until December 1st. The rent is $100 more than what I pay here, but my son is going to pay the difference. And to make the move as easy as possible for me, he and his wife have completely furnished and stocked it so all I really have to do is simply walk away from this one. I mean they have food in the cupboards and freezer, toothpaste and hair dryer, paper towels and iron, on and on... I mean everything a person would need... including furniture. The site also has a laundry room. Be still my heart.

Its small. The one stipulation from my son was that I couldn't have Candace live with me. (She's sucking me dry and my 'mother-side' has problems saying "no" and sticking to it.)

Here's the view from the door. In the lower left hand corner is a tip of the glass coffee table. I'm sharing that to give you an idea of how small it is. The suade couch and coffee table IS the living room.


And a view of the kitchen from the door way... viewing across the living room area.


The kitchen... with a dishwasher and garbage disposal. (00)


The bathroom is large enough that I can hold both of my arms out and not touch the walls. In other words, a normal sized bathroom. The one in the old apartment is the size you would find in a travel trailer.

You know, its not particularly easy to release all the stuff I have. I get things out, handle it, put it in a box thinking "I can't leave this" and when I think about actually moving the box... that's when I find it easier to say..."no, I'm not taking you with me." Its all stuff I haven't used since moving in, anyway.

My son said to just get what I MUST have (mostly art supplies) and to walk away. He will have his crew come in and toss everything in a trailer and take it to the dump. I'm sure lots of the stuff will be taken/used by the workers. Anyway, that's what I'm hoping will happen. Or maybe my son will know some people who could use it. He's always doing wonderous things for people.

I wasn't thinking about moving, but my son made me a deal I couldn't refuse. I haven't even listed all the things he is and has done for me. I'm very blessed.

I thought I could hang out here once the crack addicts were evicted, but no. There's still one more apartment to be cleared of addicts and one that has gone through eviction. They may have been evicted, but they are still here. There is an old car sitting on the street with household stuff in it. A couch sits up next to the wall. I think someone is living in the car. And the woman (a 'classic' addict) who was evicted was out there all night long with a few other people. I happened to see her around 3am going to a car that had pulled up... probably doing a drug deal. I also notice yesterday that it looks like someone took a dump right under my kitchen window. EEEEUUUUUUU So... no, I do not want to stay here any more.

Thursday's Thirteen #10

THURSDAY'S THIRTEEN
Crusty's 13 Morsels of Expression

1. I watched "What the Bleep" a second time. Now I'm starting to see continuity errors. The heroine is at a wedding reception drinking with a guy. Their drinks have little umbrellas in them. The scene shows many flashes... and with each flash scene the color of the woman's umbrella switches back and forth. First yellow, then pink, then yellow, then pink again. Same with the fellow-drinker's umbrellas.

2. With this cooler, grey weather I am having difficulty mentally telling time. It always feels like morning. I find myself thinking 'I can keep doing this... there's plenty of time to do other things because its still morning'. I look up and its 2pm already. Time warp, Time warp. Beam Me Up, Scotty.

3. My intention is to deep clean the kitchen. I also keep letting myself become distracted. That's the downside of not having any commitments to keep. "Oh, I can do it tomorrow."

4. I haven't been keeping up with my usual blog-jumping. I think that's a good thing for me.

5. I need to go to the post office and get some stamps.

6. I went grocery shopping yesterday. Went to put the bags in the trunk and there's no room. My daughter has the whole thing filled with her stuff. I told her she has until the end of the weekend to get everything out. I will have to remind her later.

7. I watched Martha's Apprentice all the way through for the first time.

8. A fly has gotten into the apartment. grrr I hope I'm able to talk it into going back out. I don't like to smash them.

9. What? What to put down. Currently Buster is playing on the TV. A good program to help kids (and adults) stay open-minded about people living life a little differently.

10. I'm waiting for toast to be done. Flax and Seed bread.

11. I don't have anything else to share. Besides, my toast is ready.

Review

I just had a small 'aha' moment. I was, erm ah.... I was 'reviewing' my previous entry. We all do that, don't we? I mean, at least once, right?

Anyway, I had a flash of reading my words more objectively. It didn't last long but long enough to read the entry through the eyes of a 'stanger'. You know, objectively. It allowed me to see my words in their stark nakedness. I wonder why I included some things... things that weren't necessary to understanding the comments but made the thing sound whiney. Now that's some helpful information. Okay, maybe not for you, but it sure is for me.

What The *Bleep*

What The *#$& Do We Know... I missed seeing it in the theatre. For full effect, it needs a huge screen with the sound so loud it makes your liver quiver. A day late and a dollar short, again. What can I say....

I just got done viewing it on my pc. I don't have a DVD player which is okay cause my TV isn't all that great anyway. I'm just glad my pc has a DVD player in it.

Have you seen it? If not, I highly recommend it... and if you are at all curious about the world and how everything works (some of which are theories) you will probably want to view it several times. I have not yet viewed the special features so perhaps more suprises await. I'll watch it tomorrow.

Imagine my surprise when I began seeing Portland in the background. "Hey...Hillsboro...Goose Hollow?!? This must have been filmed in Portland!" Duh, I'm real quick that way. The city looked very beautiful. Shots of the Willamette River and the skyscrapers beyond... the water fountains in Tom McCall Water Front Park... the Hawthorne Bridge... the Max mass transit system... the South Park blocks... the Bagdad Theater on Hawthorne street. None of the dirt showed anywhere. Some of it might have been filmed in other cities as well. I didn't recognize some of the backgrounds, but I don't know every nook and cranny around here... or even there.

I don't want to speak about the film message because I need to view it several more times. There are many things that I can't wrap my mind around yet. And there were other comments that made me think 'hey...that's just what I was thinking!'

I was pleasantly surprised to see the credits at the end of the film scrolling slow enough so that you could actually read them. Many 'knowledgable' people spoke, including Ramtha. (JZ looks like she might have had some plastic done... I'd like to see an older photo of her to compare... Just out of curiousity, of course. She was always beautiful, however.) I found it interesting that Ramtha was billed as the authority and JZ's name was listed after... 'channeled by JZ Knight'. To me its a sign of growth when the non-physical entity(s) is acknowledged as the presenter. The credits also stated that many of the "authorities" did not necessarily agree with each other and/or the message of the film. Say it boldly, say it proud. Don't hide the fact.

The actress is deaf. I noticed her ears were on the large size, or at least they looked large in certain scenes. I found it ironic. *Note added later: upon second viewing I see that the ear was being exaggerated on purpose by film makers.

Anyway... just touting the film long after its time. Maybe you needed a reminder that you wanted to see it, too. Your welcome.

"Hello Wall"

Call me Shirley. Shirley Valentine. She talked to walls and occasionally made friends with rocks, too. I loved her in Greece. I loved her courage and who she turned out to be underneath it all.

"Hello Wall...."

You Go Oprah!!

Oprah's on your trail, sex offender, and she's coming to get you. God bless her. Her dander's up and she's going to get some of the most stupid laws changed. If she isn't able to, then we all need to hang our heads with shame. I can't believe how so many of these sick people currently get out of jail.

And what the hell is up with these stupid female teachers having sexual relations with a student. Stick them in with the male sex offenders, too! Stupid stupid females. But thank god we have viagra so when at least the men get too old to "get it up", there's medical help for them to continue raping.

Okay....oooommmmmmmm ohmmmmmmmm breathe deeply... cool down. Ohmmmmmmmmm.

Onto more mundane things. I decided to have a spur-of-the-moment yard sale. This may be the last decent day, weather wise. I only made one sale, but it made me enough for what I needed. And besides, the day was beautiful and I got to absorb vitimin D from the sun without it being too hot.

About 75% of the houses around here are up for sale. I wonder how many of those decisions were made because the neighborhood is going down hill. Too much drug activity. There's a huge new apartment complex across the street and it looks like someone (or maybe more) living there is selling. Of course, that's just based on skeleton people parking their cars down the side street and walking to the apartment complex. In a little while, back they come and leave. Could be just coincidence. Yeah, right. And I could be a nice person, too. (soft snickering is heard in the background.)

Did you see the msn article about the remains of a 'hobbit-like' person being found? Its not the first one discovered. It made me think of Jean Auel's book, Clan of the Cave Bear. She had two different species of homo sapiens in the book. Then I thought about faries but I think they are suppose to be even smaller. Who knows... certainly not I.

I just have to say it again... What a perfect day this was. Thank you!

Moving Day!

Its moving day for one of the apartments here. Its the one that has the most activity and arguments going on 24/7. In fact this morning at 5:30am somebody stomped off yelling obscenities as she left.

'The sun will come out tomorrow...bet your bottom dollar, tomorrow...'

I know, a career in singing is not in my future.

Protection from the Protectors Needed

Who would want to go to New Orleans? I mean under normal circumstances... no hurricanes or flooding. I guess one way of looking at it is the police hold a tight rein on the public. No public intoxication allowed. On Bourbon Street no less. I thought that was the draw for the French Quarter... get down and get drunk on your drug of choice. However, it looks like the upstanding police department isn't going to allow it. They will beat you and beat you hard. And we all know how dangerous an intoxicated 64 yr old overweight man can be. The really sad part of the police beating is that it happens all over, not just in New Orleans or LA.

Police said Davis, 64, of New Orleans, was booked on public intoxication, resisting arrest, battery on a police officer and public intimidation. He was treated at a hospital and released into police custody.

Resisting arrest... that probably came as he tried to keep his leg from being broken by one of the "officers" or because he tried not to fall flat on his face as they dragged him down. Those intoxicated guys can be really fast on their feet. And 'battery on a police officer'.... I bet it was because his head bounced off the cement wall too far and it touched an officer's fist. He should have known not to let his head bounce, drunk or not. But I couldn't see anything resembling public intimidation. Maybe he mumbled something along the lines of 'watch out, I'm falling on you' just to scare them.

"...the department, long plagued by allegations of brutality and corruption..."

My question still stands..... why would anyone want to go to New Orleans?

"In Her Shoes"

Have you seen the Cameron Diaz' interviews about her recently released movie "In Her Shoes"? I came across the (book)author's blog a while ago. Who's the author you ask? Well its none other than SnarkSpot, aka Jennifer Weiner (pronounced Wyner). It looks like Jennifer is making all the promo interviews associated with marketing but so far I seemed to have missed them. She's going to be on Tony Danza Monday. I hope I remember it.

I'm enjoying reading about her success. What fun it must be!

Sunday Afternoon

Miss me? Its been a couple of days. How quickly our intentions fall to the wayside, however, there just hasn't been anything to talk about. Not publically, anyway. Actually, that's just a teaser. There hasn't been anything to talk about privately, either. How exciting can it be to take out the garbage. Yeah, I thought so too.

If something comes to mind, believe me... you'll be the first to hear about it. Enjoy your Sunday and if you don't, lie about it.

Thursday's Thirteen #9

Thursday's Thirteen
13 Morsels About The Crusty Crone

1. Its 7:21am here and Leanne's list already has three other bloggers' links posted. What time to they get up... 3am? I think Leanne and I are in the same time zone.....

2. My daughter and I had a quick "head-butt" yesterday but soothed it over later in the day with both of us seeing the other person's point of view. It doesn't change the situation any but at least we each acknowledged the other.

3. The situation is/was over my daughter acting like she has a car when she doesn't. She drives mine like it belongs to her. I'm trying to help the car last a decade without major maintenance by using it sparingly and she's driving it as though its suppose to be driven every day. Both every valid perspectives.

4. Do I want to be happy or do I want to be right? I want both! Guess I'll settle for happy and let go. The guilt of being 'mean' doesn't feel good. The idea of ending up walking to the grocery store doesn't feel good either, though. Sigh.

5. Thursday's are my best TV night. There's Oregon Art Beat followed by The Apprentice.

6. I purposely stay away from murder/crime tv shows. This means I often am watching very stupid sit-coms, but that's okay with me.

7. I use to like the Today Show but lately Katie Couric gets on my nerves. Someone must have told her to put words in people's mouths and to "juice it up". She's becoming Charlie Rose.

8. I bought some needles and thread for mending. The mending still waits for me.

9. I wanted to have a small yard sale but the weather isn't cooperating. Maybe this Sunday.

10. Sometimes my snoring wakes me up.

11. I usually sleep five hours a night and relish naps during the day. (notice the 's'?)

12. I use to be able to nap at work during lunch time. I'd close the door to my office, put my feet up on the desk, and get a cat nap in... it was very refreshing. If the weather was nice I would go to my car for the nap. Its nice to be able to sleep wherever you want.

13. I'm out of Nag Champa incense. Not good. I've been using some air fresheners I got from the Dollar Store... that will gag you!

Another day

I splurged.....

I just got back from "creative grocery shopping". Time will tell about how creative I was, but it was a good trip. I did splurge and get some coffee and one box of my favorite coffee flavoring. So I'll have my spendy coffee while supping on two cases of Top Ramen noodles. Bwah ha ha ha ha

I got the refrigerator cleaned and it didn't take a lot of effort. Its an old clunker but it seems to continue on and on.

I dropped off the rent check while I was out and asked the secretary how much longer it was going to be before the two neighbors (both apts. have crack addicts living there) have to move. She didn't know about one of them, but the other apt. folks are going to fight the eviction. (They are probably thinking it will give them a little more time.) These are the worse ones of the two... strange people milling around all day and night, arguments every day and a lot of nights. There's broken glass and trash all over the street from their cronies. People going to the front door and the back door...boxes of belongings stacked up against the back wall... people trying to sell you things that you just know they stole. Right now there's stomping going on that shakes the floors to all of the apts here (six of them). The man and woman who rented the apt started off with having a older car for her to drive and a flatbed truck for the guy. First the car was towed away and then the truck seemed to be gone. I don't wish them bad things, but I don't want to live around them and I was here first.

My grandson Darius had his second birthday Sunday. And all the parents survived having a gazillion kids in a small apt. All the kids sat around the table while the cake was brought out. One candle in the shape of a two was lit. Darius' eyes went wide as he saw it and then he started patting the table in front of him. 'Put it here...right here in front of me!' But he got all shy and covered his face when the birthday song was sung. And he did an excellent job of blowing the candle out. oh..and an excellent job opening up his presents, too. Good thing his mom bought him two things cause a lot of the folks didn't bring anything except their appetites. He had a blast, though. All those kids to play with... he was in heaven.

One moment he's a little sweetheart doing something nice...like running to give me a hug when I arrived. (birthday was at a friend's place) Then the next moment he might throw something at you. Luckily he's still a weak thrower and his aim sucks. I hope his mom makes it through his teen years.


Is it any wonder we're confused?

A Way To Fix Social Security

(This reminder came to me in an email. I was aware of how things work regarding retirement benefits but its not something I keep in my thoughts all the time. I wonder how many voters are aware of it.)

Our Senators and Congresswomen do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it. You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan. In more recent years, no congressperson has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan.

For all practical purposes their plan works like this:

When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die. Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments.

For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275,000.00 during the last years of their lives. This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two dignitaries.

Younger dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives. Their cost for this excellent plan is $0.00. NADA....ZILCH....

This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds; "OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK"!

From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer)we can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement. Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator Bill Bradley's benefits!

Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made. That change would be to:

Jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the Senators and Congressmen. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us then sit back..... and see how fast they would fix it.

Kansas' Hateful God

I saw on the news the other day that some "good christians" from Kansas brought their hateful god to Oregon. I wish outsiders wouldn't do that... we have plenty of hateful people here already. We don't need more.

One of our high schools is deciding what plays they will be doing later in the season. One of the plays under consideration is about the teenager Allen Sheppard who was beaten to death because he was gay. The "good christians" apparently felt they had to bring their hateful god here to protest it. And please remember, its not me saying God is hateful... it is these Kansas christians who say it.

Their picket signs said "GOD HATES FAGS", "FAGS WILL GO TO HELL", and their young daughter, around 8 yrs old, held a sign that said "RITA WAS PUNISHMENT". I assume it meant hurricane Rita was God's punishment. I can only wonder what mental and emotional turmoil this child will go through after she lives a 'perfect life so god loves her' and a tornado comes through and flattens her house. It will be a message that god hates her and that she is bad.

The news people talked to the mother briefly who was very confident in her beliefs. Apparently she felt the teenage boy deserved to be beaten to death and that he is in hell now because god hates him. I hope none of her children or grandchildren turn out to be gay. She might kill them.

I am always taken aback when confronted with such ignorance. Its scary, very scary. This happened a couple of days ago. I couldn't write about it then because I was outraged.

May God have mercy on their souls. They know not what they do.... but you can't tell them that! And God save me from christians.