Halloween was fun for us and CP got to see some of the little ghosts and goblins when the LW handed candy to them. We had more than last year, which wasn't saying much, but it's a start. Hopefully more lights next year will do the trick. It helps that there are a few others who have kids on our little dead-end street. Next year will bring more decorations and an actual costume for CP. We expect a good time.

Soon we'll be off to Arkansas for a visit with my side of the family. It should prove to be interesting as there will be about 20 or so people in my parents' house at one time....and not all of them are really social animals. Having about 6 kids running around should make it fun though. We won't make it back there for xmas, so this will be our visit with everyone. Xmas in Mexico this year with some friends. Kino Bay and a beach baby xmas.

Watching and reading more news and views and I can't help but think sometimes that this country is headed down the crapper. The pendelum is still swinging. Our once good AZ senator, has all but sold out his last ounce of decency and pork-busting. Today a law was passed that allows indefinite detention without charge. Someone questions a candidate who is running on the family values platform about whether or not he spit on his ex-wife and he gets jumped. Umm, yeah....spitting on an ex-wife. Those are family values. Our fake-texan-in-chief seems to be moneying up to buy a 99,000 acre property in Paraguay. Do you think that mineral and water rights come with that? That's not just scenery. Maybe he'll flee there after he gets impeached and convicted of war crimes. I think there are probably some people left in that part of the world that speak German. They weren't part of a tour group either......

I called the AMTA today to renew my membership and was told that my license basically wasn't good enough to renew/upgrade my membership. I'd have to go and find my diploma and send in a copy. WTH? I had to do that to get my membership! The lady on the phone at the AMTA said that they had no record of my documents there. Nice. It seems that they didn't like the grandfathering that was done when the AZ licensure program was set up, so they won't recognize your license if it was issued before 12/31/05. I called the AZ massage state board office and the lady on the phone basically could have cared less. It wasn't a problem for her, so it wasn't a problem. She said that my problem was with the AMTA since they didn't consider the license valid. Having a license that the state issues not be recognized by one of the biggest massage therapy organizations in the country is not a problem? Hullloooooooo!! That's like someone earning a license to practice medicine in AZ, but being laughed out of the AMA. Probably wouldn't happen. I promptly wrote an email to the AMTA president and the president of the local chapter. The local chapter president was very interested to find this out and I have not heard back from the national folks. It looks like I'll be getting my membership from the ABMP. The AMTA membership decision folks can sod off, even if they do have a fancy convention every year. Oh wait, I helped pay for that for the past two years......

I called the ABMP (they support NPR) and they said that after I applied, they would check with the AZ license folks to make sure that my license was in good standing. They also said that there was no problem with my licensure in Arizona, no matter what the date. It's a state license and they accept it as such. I wouldn't be so miffed about this if I hadn't put all of that time into getting a Tucson license. Practical test, long written test, and haggling with city hall. That was back when you had to have 1000 hours of school, a medical checkup, and a TB test. Now, since AZ went statewide, all you have to have is 500 hours from some national chain community college in a strip mall and take a computer test. That, in my mind, officially puts massage therapists back down in between the hookers and hot dog vendors as far as the public's view of us is concerned. Before this, the shady folks had to set up shop on the outskirts of town.