Saturday, October 31, 2015

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays.  What's not to like? Dressing up in costumes, going to strangers houses, knocking on doors, getting candy...


Candy, my downfall, especially Chocolate.  So much so that I ate a lot of it.  I guess I actually ate a lot of everything for most of my life.  But not anymore!  

But I digress...

Halloween is the time of the year when the veil between the two worlds, that of the living and the dead is so thin that the deceased walk among the living in their spirit form.  That is, if you were inclined to believe that sort of thing. 


Ghosts, spirits, spectral entities, have spooked people for all of history.  Many people believe in the spirit world and have claimed to have seen ghosts.  I have played with Ouija boards, summoned spirits, held seances, walked in graveyards at night and the like for most of my life and for as long as I have lived, I have never really seen a ghost.  

I would love to really believe in ghosts, why not, it would mean that maybe when this life ends, there is something else waiting for us.  Or maybe it's like purgatory, where only bad or confused people go?  Do you believe in ghosts?  Have you ever had an experience  that you thought was supernatural?  Tell me about it in the comments and I you may just get a trick, or a treat...

Have a Happy and Safe Halloween!





Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Autumn in the Great Northeast!

Autumn in the great northeast is usually a site to behold.  I used to love hiking by Round Valley Reservoir when I was a teen ager and in to my 20 and beyond, but as I got older and started gaining uber weight my time for hiking or even walking came to a screeching halt.  Never mind walking, I could barely get off the couch!

Over the last 14 months I have lost a total of 130 lbs after I went in for Bariatric Gastric Sleeve surgery on Sept 2nd, 2014 and that HAS made all the difference. Now I walk whenever I can get out
and since I work near a lake with trails around it, I try to walk those trails as much as I can.  I believe its about 3 miles total around the lake and back.  It really is a beautiful walk any time of the year.

For Halloween I tried to run a short story contest but because of the lack of participation that kind of fell through, Thanks all of my followers!  What do I have to do to make you comment???  I digress...

On my walk today with my good friend Pat (who btw held my hand the first time I went to the surgeon's office way back in April 2014) we decided to hit the local cemetery on the other side of Lake Etra.

It was a very interesting and very old family cemetery.  The name of the Family was/is Hutchinson.  I found this pdf file on  the internet when I did a search for this family.  You can read more about them at this link:

HIGHTSTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWS

If you would like to see more pictures of the cemetery, you can find that link here:

Hutchinson Family Cemetery

If you decide to take a walk there, just watch out for these man eaters!













Wednesday, October 21, 2015

In Time for All Hallows Eve

Hello and Good Afternoon.

I am currently looking for a few real ghost stories to highlight on my blog for
halloween.

Do you believe in ghosts? The Supernatural? Things that go bump in the night and you swear what you saw last night at the top of the stairs was REALLY a ghost...I want to hear about it.

I am looking for 1 page stories, please format them on a word doc and send them to me at JadedMage@gmail.com. by Oct 28th.  Please make sure you include your name, address and email address, with your submission, so I can contact you.

I will start to post the best ones I get on Oct 29th, 30th and 31st.  And I will even throw in a treat for the best one!


Monday, October 19, 2015

My Boys - Part 1 - Reilly

Reilly

This is my boy Reilly.  He just turned 2 on September 30th.  I got him as a puppy from a charity that saves forgotten and abused animals in Puerto Rico, these dogs are called Satos. Right now there are about 100,000 of them covering the island and there are many efforts to try to save these dogs from fates worse than death, like a place they call, Dead Dog Beach. Another component of this Charity called  The Sato Project is education.  One of the biggest problems they have is that people do not spay or neuter their animals and they end up with puppies all over the place.  So they take them to
Dead Dog Beach where they become shooting targets for mean people or just starve to death or some of the older ones are just left in crates to die in the tropical heat.  Anyway, I saw this puppy and knew I couldn't leave without him!

He is pretty smart and really fast.  when he gets it in him, he gets real low to the ground and runs around the house balls out, its a sight to see.  Right now, since he is full grown he weighs about 45lbs.  Which is average for a Sato.  Not to big and not to small that's what I always say. He is loyal and loving beyond comprehension.  He also LOVES his squeaky ball and loves to play catch.  I think that he definitely has some lab, boxer and maybe even jack Russell terrier in him.  He is extremely agile and a very fast learner.  I got him a puzzle box and ball for Xmas last year (doesn't everyone get their animals presents for Xmas?) and I believe I showed him 1 time how to use them and he does it without hesitation now.

He also has a condition called "Idiopathic head tremor", which actually sounds a lot worse than it is.  It is when the animal's head shakes up and down or side to side.  Usually it lasts a few minutes and then stops as quickly as it begins.  It is more common in the Bully breeds of dogs, bulldog, pittys, labs and so on and it's also more predominant in mixed breed dogs.  There is really nothing that can be done about it, it does not effect them neurologically, its just sad to watch because you know it bothers them not being able to control it.  Think of it like when your leg gets the jimmies.  Its about the same thing.

So in ending, Reilly now lives the life of Reilly, he is loved and cared for and in return he gives us his unconditional loyalty and devotion.  I would say to anyone that reads this blog, to head on over to The Sato Project and make a donation or even inquire on how you too can own your very own Sato!

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Conscientious Objection

Last week, we here in the great Northeast, Philly to be exact, had the historical opportunity to be a host city for the Vicar of God himself (if you are inclined to believe there actually is a God) Pope Francis.  While I will freely admit that I am an Atheist, I will say it was still kind of exciting.  Anyway, while he was here he met with the Evil Villain, Kim Davis.  Im sure you all recall who she is, the white trash woman that relies on her belief in God in order to deny someone else their rights to marry?

Well as much as I hate to admit it, Pope Francis stated that it is in her right to Conscientiously Object to doing something that is against her moral code.  I know I'm going to get a lot of Boos and Hisses here but he was absolutely right, she does have that not only religious right, but also that human right.

BUT...
In saying that and allowing her to take that path, also means that she should NOT be the county clerk then if she can not or will not perform her job as such. Regardless of her beliefs.  If your belief system interferes with another person's Rights as an American citizen, then you can not and should not be employed in such a capacity.

According to wikipedia...

"A conscientious objector (CO) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion."

So are we to believe now that county clerks are in the forefront of some sort of military action?  And if that is so, can we hold them accountable as we would any combatant of war?  And who declared this war on Gay americans and why?

I have always been in the mind that you should do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  Sometimes it's hard for me to understand the reasoning behind a movement that claims they love all and yet act like they hate everyone not like them.  Isn't it true that Jesus would hang out with the dregs of society? The tax collectors, whores, thieves and made these people into his following?

So what gives Kim Davis or anyone else for that matter, a free pass to pass judgement on another person solely because they want to live a life of love with another person who is of the same sex?  It's not ok that just because you call it Conscientious objection gives you some kind of higher ground.

In the end, everyone loses, because I think, if Jesus came back tomorrow (even though they have been waiting over 2000 years) I think he would be appalled by the behavior and misunderstandings of his teachings that so many christians believe is the high moral ground these days.  

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Why Support Groups are Annoying

I know that is has been a while since my last post, and I am sorry about that.  I really need to get into some sort of schedule to keep the viewership up there a little more.

Anyway, since my last post, my current weight lose is 125lbs.  It's been about 13 months and much has changed for me, including the first ever time that I had to return a pair of pants because they were TOO BIG!  Yes, that shocked me too. But seriously, when you are losing weight you are never really sure what size you are in.  The sad part though is that I have seemed to hit a major plateau lately.

This is actually my first major plateau since I started but it is none the less frustrating.  I so want to be under that 200lb mark and I am about 31lbs away. So I figured maybe I needed some pointers or advice, so I joined an online, facebook support group...BIG mistake!

While most people are very like me, there are a certain percentage that are...lets just say...bat shit crazy!  Then there are the ones that are just...lets just say dumb, ignorant and probably really should not have gotten this severe of an operation without further psychiatric evaluation.

While it is somewhat entertaining, it also really becomes annoying when you have people that have had this life changing operation and are sad and depressed because they cant drink soda any longer or cant eat a whole pizza, cake or tray of lasagna!  What?? Really??  You idiot, you got to BE 500lbs BECAUSE you ate a whole pizza, cake, tray of lasagna in a sitting for YEARS!  I know, I have been there!  And there are still a lot of things that I used to eat that I just cant eat anymore but you know what? I DON'T CARE, I have LOST 125LBS!!!

Oh and others that annoy me, every time I eat, I throw up!  Really?  maybe that's because YOU ARE EATING TOO MUCH you moron!  Aren't you listening to your surgeon?  Usually around 3 weeks after the operation you are put on a soft food stage, yogurt, scrambled eggs, stuff like that.  I just LOVE the people that consider soft food, McDonalds parfaits or Wendy's soft serves.  Really?  You couldn't find something else that would be better and more nutritious for you?

My all time favorites are the bat shit crazy ones.  There was a thread on this support group, I kid you not, that was made by a woman that claimed she was turned down for the surgery because she had...Multiple personalities...What? what??  What???  And it gets better, there were a number of OTHERS on that same thread that said they also had multiple personalities!  ARE you freaking kidding me!  I was just awestruck but the sheer stupidity and wackiness of that entire thread...Sometimes I think that people just make this shit up specifically for the shock value.

So I have learned that these online support groups are more or less a total waste of time, they are rife with wackos and very seldomly actually give you any real information you can use.