So, I just celebrated my 29th birthday ... well, I wouldn't exactly say "celebrate," cause I hate the idea of getting older. But as us Buddhists believe, it is inevitable ... old age, sickness, death, suffering, etc.

I've been totally captivated by the whole "Miracle in Missouri" story, and was so happy to hear that they found those two boys. I saw the older one (who was missing for 4 1/2 years!) today on "Oprah" ... you could see in his eyes that he's been through hell. I even cried when he got to meet for the first time the two cops who spotted the truck and notified the FBI ... he literally melted into their arms when they hugged ... it was sooo sweet! However, I was disgusted when I found out that the penalty for a Class B Felony Kidnapping charge in Missouri (which is what that creep is being charged with against the older boy) is only 5-15 years of prison time! That SICK BASTARD deserves to be locked up for the rest of his pathetic life. It hasn't come out yet whether there was any sexual abuse involved (although the older boy's parents said on "Oprah" that they believe he was molested), and if it did happen, that scum should be castrated. The state of Missouri definitely needs to toughen its laws. 5-15 years for what he put that poor kid through is shameful ... absolutely shameful.

On a happier note, I'm very honored to have received so many nominations for the 2006 GA Members' Choice Awards for SOOTB. It was a fun (albeit difficult) story to write, and I do have something else in the works.

And while I'm here, I need a little computer help ... somehow I managed to get the toolbar at the bottom of my screen (you know, that has the "Start" button and all) moved from a horizontal position on the bottom of the screen where it should be, to a vertical position on the right side of the screen ... how in the heck do I undo that? I didn't see any way to move it back when I right-clicked over it and it had options for the tool bar, and re-starting the computer didn't put it back in its original position ... HELP!!!!!!