I Hate Political Correctness

Very rarely will you find me reading the 'advice' columns, ala 'Ann Landers.'  Once they were a regular part of my newspaper-reading experience, but quickly fell into disfavor with me when the answers given began to be more 'all-inclusive' rather than 'morally, socially correct.'  It seems as if these advice columns were politically correct even before the term became common.  And I find that they are absolutely unreadable today.  The advice given is usually what 'should' be done in a 'perfect' world--something that does not exist in reality.  Anyone could be an advice columnist these days--all you have to do is open a copy of "Political Correctness for Dummies" and use it to guide your answers.  You certainly don't find the "Wake up and smell the coffee." advice of years gone by.

For one reason or another--not that I can remember why--I found myself reading 'Dear Prudence' on Slate one day a few weeks ago.  And I read a letter and answer that absolutely astonished me.  I believe this is political correctness gone WAY too far.  I will post the entire thing here:

Dear Prudie,
I have a fifth-grade son who is white and plays basketball on a mostly black team. He has made friends with many of his black teammates and hangs out with them a lot. I’m happy that he's so colorblind, but then I heard him call his new friends "my niggas." I was horrified and immediately talked to him about it. He said that his black friends use the term all the time and told him it was OK for him to use it with them, too. He said that he understood the history of the word and knows that it can be hateful when used wrongly. My son clearly isn't intolerant, but he could get in a lot of trouble throwing that word around. I don't even know if it’s OK for a white kid with black friends to use that word if they all do, and no one means it in a bad way. I usually feel confident guiding my son, but on this one I have no idea what to tell him.

—Stumped

Dear Stumped,
If only our 10-year-olds could stay so innocently well-intentioned. Unfortunately, even though you’ve had one conversation about this, and your son knows some of the history of this word, you have to revisit this so that your boy doesn’t find himself the subject of a complaint and the object lesson in a lecture at a school assembly. Perhaps when he was tiny you had some comic, endearing names for your son such as Mr. Stinkbottom or Sir Droolsalot. (If not, pretend you did.) You can tell him that within families people can call each other things that might be insulting if said to an outsider, but among relatives it’s done with a tone of teasing affection. That’s what’s going on with his friends on the team. Yes, the whole team is a kind of family, but for many people their ethnic or racial group also has the feel of a family. Because of that, there are things that the black players can call each other but which sound very different coming from his mouth. You can say you know his teammates have encouraged him to say it, but if a teacher, parent, or coach heard him, it’s likely that person wouldn’t understand. It’s possible that a parent of his teammate could be offended and report his remark, no matter how affectionately it was said. Say you know this doesn’t seem fair, but the history of this word still has the power to cause great pain. So as a sign of respect to those who might be hurt by it, he needs to understand that his friends can use the phrase with him, but he must refrain from returning it.    

—Prudie

I understand the reasoning behind telling the kid to stop using 'that' word, but how sad is that he has to be frightened for his safety when he's done/doing nothing wrong?  I can't help but think of a foster/adopted family situation where there might be kids of different races NOT being allowed to tease each other or use 'improper' words while talking to each other.  Things are just getting so out of control!

This reminds me so much of the problem we had with our local high school's logo/mascot/nickname a few years ago. The logo is a Native American in full headdress and the nickname is 'Redmen.'  (The nickname has NOTHING to do with Native Americans--it is in reference to the color of iron ore that is mined in our county and the fact that the miners were 'red' after a long day's work.)  As in so many other communities, the usage of a Native American as a logo upset some people.  There was a drive to get the high school to abandon the logo and nickname and it divided our community and caused long-term bad feelings amongst many.  My youngest was in school at the time, so we watched this very closely--the meetings were even broadcast on our cable system for those who couldn't attend.  When it was finally all done, the logo/mascot/nickname remained the same, despite the efforts of a certain group of people--and I believe the community is happy with the results to this day.

So, how did we manage to keep a politically INcorrect logo for our school?  I believe it boiled down to one thing:  the people/group who were opposed to it in the first place.  As it turned out, the people who were 'hurt' by this were part of the university community and NOT natives to our town /county/community.  Someone decided that this was disrespectful and got a bunch of PC supporters to make a protest about how horrible this entire thing was.  This, in turn, got the school board to run scared and decide that 'something had to be done about this atrocity!'  Funny thing is, very few of the locals--which includes a large group of Native Americans--had ANY problem with the logo, whatsoever!  So, a problem that WASN'T a problem, became a problem and was solved through a lot of unnecessary fighting, yelling, and tears.  How sad.

How did we get to this point in this country?  When did EVERY community have to be exactly like every other community and have to think and do things the same way?  What made this country so exciting and vital was the fact that anywhere you went would be an adventure--you could find something you were unfamiliar with and learn something new.  It seems as if we are slowly being forced into a homogeneous blend of absolute mediocrity--NO segment can be any more colorful/interesting than any other segment of society.  And some people won't be satisfied until there are actually NO differences among us.  Again, how sad.

"Just Sayin'..."

The other day, one of my Facebook 'friends' posted a bunch of videos from a drag show she had attended.  She also posted this:

"If you do not like the videos I am posting, PLEASE keep ur comments to yourself, these are friends of mine!  Just Sayin'...thanks!"  

AND:

"...if someone is thinking about it, they better stop before they even do, cuz if ur gonna bash 'em, that is bullying & cause for me to delete ur a$$ for being ignorant!" 

This got under my collar a bit and I was getting ready to send her an email in response, but decided against--she is a family member, so I didn't want to start a war.  ;)  Instead, I will post my thoughts here for all to see.


An Open Letter To The Internet

Dear Interwebs User/s,

There is NOTHING you can put online that will keep everyone happy.  Everything you post will have at least one person disagreeing with you.  (Hell, I can think of two or three people that I know who would argue with me if I said "The sky is blue."!!!!!)  And then you go and post something provocative and expect NOTHING to be said.  What the hell century were you born in?!?!?!  You are just looking for a fight, right?  And just because you add "PLEASE keep your comments to yourself..." etc, doesn't mean you won't hear things you don't want.  Right, wrong, or otherwise, not everyone will agree with you on everything, nor will everyone like the same things you do.  And you KNOW this, otherwise you wouldn't have written any 'warnings' to detractors.  If you don't want to hear anyone else's opinions about things, then STFU!!

I would like to ask, once and for all, WHY someone not agreeing with you is bullying and not to be allowed?  YOU are stating your opinion, so why can't someone with an opposing viewpoint state THEIR opinion without getting bashed for it?  We do have the right of free speech--for the time being, anyway.  Aren't YOU, in turn, doing the same bullying that you accuse others of?  I really don't understand this mindset.  I have quite a few friends/acquaintances who do NOT share my beliefs on a number of very serious topics.  I try not to step on their toes, as I am sure they try not to step on mine.  (And we DEFINITELY don't call each other 'ignorant'--even if we think that's the case!)  We have an understanding--spoken or not--where we will agree to disagree on certain subjects and not discuss them.  Case closed, problem solved.

However, when and if I DO post on a sensitive issue, I expect to have disagreements--or, at the very least, comments from those who oppose my beliefs.  And that is fine--otherwise, *I* would keep my thoughts to myself.  I still believe all are entitled to express their own opinions, despite the fact I may get angry with said opinion.  If I didn't want to hear opposing views, I would stay quiet.  And then I wouldn't have to issue any 'warnings.'

So, grow up already.  It is not cool to try and provoke people into fights.  If you want drama in your life, I'm sure there are other ways of getting it--but you probably are a wuss and don't want to have any kind of confrontation in person.

And believe it or not, if you read this carefully, it can apply to ANYONE, no matter WHICH side of the liberal/conservative line you happen to fall.

"Just Sayin'..."

As always,
ME

Crisis Averted

I have been blaming my trouble understanding people with accents to my hearing loss.  Thinking about this, I realize that I have ALWAYS had problems with accents.  (With the exception of Finnish accents--which the accents around here are based on.)  And one time this problem came very close to me being embarrassed beyond belief.

After I graduated from high school, I tried college for about a minute and a half.  Realizing that this wasn't quite what I wanted at the time, I quit and looked for work.  Finally, after several months, I was hired to work in a dental office as an assistant.  This office, for some reason, was the one recommended whenever any of the students at the university needed dental work.  The university is (and was) a world-class engineering school and attracted students from all over the world.  One day, I had one of these foreign students as a patient.

I don't remember the young man's name--and it doesn't really matter in the telling of this story.  While waiting for the dentist to come in and do an exam, I tried to make the young man comfortable and less nervous.  We began talking.  I found out that he was from Kuwait and that he was to return home shortly, after getting his degree.  His country was paying for him to attend school, as they did for anyone who wanted an education.  The only stipulation was that they must return home after getting their degrees.  He either said, or implied, that money was very plentiful for him.  While talking, he made a remark about how much he liked blonde hair, indicating my waist-length hair.  For the most part, I was pretty sure I understood everything he was saying, even with his very strong accent.  However, I did do some of the 'smile and nod your head like you understand' thing that most people do when they don't want to ask someone to repeat what they are saying.  It was shortly after that I realized I didn't quite 'get' all that he said, that he was telling me how he was looking for a wife to bring back home to Kuwait with him.  I also realized that he was implying that I would be a good candidate for the job!  It most certainly didn't take me too long to let him know that K was very much in the picture for me and that we were serious about our relationship.  Undeterred, the young man invited me to visit him in Kuwait whenever I wanted.  He promised to give me a camel as a gift if I ever made it to his country.  Obviously, I never made it to Kuwait, but I sure wouldn't have minded having a camel as a pet.  :)

A Little LOL...

I have documented my hearing struggles several times on this blog.  K, on the other hand, doesn't have any (much) hearing loss.  This is quite surprising, considering his father wore a hearing aid and the noisy places K has worked over the years.  One thing he has been SO good about, is using hearing protection--something that he is FANATICAL about.  Even when he mows the lawn or uses the snow blower, he will wear ear plugs.  I never felt the need for ear plugs and I'm sure that is part of my problem.  However, despite K's good hearing, we DO have many conversations like this:

(click on the image to read the entire thing)

And Then My Brain Went For A Walk...

I'm not sure how many people's minds work like mine, but I think mine is rather unique--even if it isn't.  (I like to think of myself as special--it helps my low self esteem.  ;))  Most of the time when I have a quiet moment, my brain will go off on its own and lead me to places I wouldn't dream of going by myself.  I kind of have a game of 'six degrees of separation' going on all of the time and it is quite interesting.  Most of the time when I'm in the shower, my mind takes a break--that is why I'll get out of the shower and not remember whether I rinsed the conditioner out of my hair or not.  And that will lead me to get back IN the shower and re-rinse, just to be sure.  But I digress...

The other night, I was thinking about how most people have a favorite movie, favorite song, favorite actor, etc, etc.  I tried coming up with ONE favorite to fit each category and it just didn't happen.  I tend to have a lot of 'favorites.'  There are a number of movies I will watch over and over again, but not one of them is my absolute 'favorite.'  I could tell you my top 10*--or any random number--movies that I love, but couldn't narrow it down to just one.  So this got my brain to working and I came up with a DIFFERENT way of telling you all of some of my favorites.  So, here goes:

--The first movie I remember sobbing about until I was sick is:

        Brian's Song

I know this was a made-for-TV movie, but it is categorized as a movie, nonetheless.  While other movies have made me cry, this one just did me in--and it continued to make me sob every time I saw it for the next several years.  I watched it again a few years ago and it didn't have the same emotional edge that it had years ago, but it WAS a good crying-time movie.

--The first movie to make me LITERALLY jump when I watched it:

Aliens

This was the first of the Alien movies with Sigourney Weaver and by far the best of the lot.  While Psycho was OMG! frightening--and kept me from showering while alone in the house for YEARS (I STILL have a hard time showering when I'm alone)--Aliens just made me jump right out of my seat.

--The movie that made me fall in love with Al Pacino was:

Serpico

He was so drop-dead gorgeous in this movie!  I had already seen him in 'Panic in Needle Park,' but this movie was why I have the biggest crush on him.

--The first movie I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants AND that I quoted for weeks after:

Young Frankenstein

To this day, I'm not sure I ever laughed as hard at another movie.  And I still haven't found another one with  as many funny quotes as this one had.

And that concludes my very short list.  My brain had to stop its wandering because I was done with my shower--AND I remembered to rinse the conditioner out, so I didn't need to reenter.  This brings a couple of questions for you:  Do you have a favorite movie, or several?  Does your mind take off and invite you along for the ride?  And are you ever afraid your mind WON'T come back when it's done walking around?  ;D

*The movies I will watch over and over again:

Slap Shot

Miracle

Mystery, Alaska

Jeremiah Johnson

Blues Brothers

Animal House

Arsenic and Old Lace

Secondhand Lions

Anatomy of a Murder

Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House

And that is only a partial list.  ;D

Love and Forgiveness

In 1970, the movie 'Love Story' came out and it brought to the world one of the most famous taglines ever:  "Love means never having to say you're sorry."  In our minds, that was one of the most profound and wonderful things that we had ever heard.  Considering we were probably sobbing so hard that our brains were muddled or we were on an acid trip and EVERYTHING seemed wonderful, I can forgive everyone for thinking this.  However, through the years I have come to realize that the statement is just so much bullshit--sounds good and means absolutely nothing.  (Kind of like politicians...)

Let's look at this a little further.  Forgiveness is pretty much part of the foundation of civilization.  We do something wrong--big OR small--and we are expected to feel remorse and ask for forgiveness from the person/people we wronged.  We see this in our courts and we see this on television and we read this in print.  Entire crime/law shows are written just so we can see the criminal allocute in court--and the criminal usually gets a lighter sentence for confessing, feeling remorse, and saying "I'm sorry."  How often have we seen politicians or celebrities take to the airwaves and apologize for saying or doing something the rest of the world sees as wrong?  And then the person usually goes off and continues with his/her career as if s/he did nothing wrong whatsoever--and we allow it because of the "I'm sorry."  (The Chris Brown 'incident/s' come to mind, however, I'm not 100% sure he ever used the words "I'm sorry.")

How often have we been wronged personally?  When our child lashes out at the age of three and slaps us, we INSIST on an apology and a promise to never hit again.  How many more divorces would there be if a spouse never apologized for wrong behavior?  Anything from leaving the wet towels in the middle of the bathroom floor to an affair can be rectified by a heartfelt "I'm sorry and will never do it again."  So, where does the statement "Love means never having to say your sorry." fit into anyone's concept of a loving relationship?

Therapists tell us--and clergy people, as well--that we CAN move forward if someone doesn't apologize for wronging us--we just need to forgive and move on.  This is something I have tried to do with The Family, and while I haven't been able to as of yet, I'm working on it.  To forgive a person's bad behavior when s/he doesn't think s/he did anything wrong takes a very strong person.  (I haven't become that strong, yet.)  We always like to have our feelings validated, that we were hurt in some way--and when the person doing the hurting doesn't see this, it minimalizes our feelings and shows just how little the wrongful person feels for us.  Causing hurt and pain to another person DEMANDS an apology and when that doesn't happen, how can a relationship continue in a loving way?  Instead of "Love means never having to say you're sorry" it should read "Love is saying you're sorry--and MEANING it."

A Favorite Recipe

Everyone has a favorite food that MUST be prepared for the holidays.  Whenever we serve ham, this is something that I have to make to go with it--and I believe there would be a total rebellion if I ever forgot.  This was my m-i-l's recipe and I have--without guilt--appropriated it as my own.

MUSTARD SAUCE
(you can 1/2 this recipe and it works out just fine)

1 cup vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 can tomato soup (I ALWAYS use Campbell's)
1 cup mustard
6 egg yolks

Cook--stirring with a wire whisk--until thickened, using a double boiler.  When cooked thoroughly, remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup butter.  Store in covered container in refrigerator.  Serve warm or cold.


Many people don't know what to do with this sauce when they first see it--and a lot will never make it without tasting it first.  To explain this the best I can is that this is a sort of sweet-and-sour type of sauce.  As I said, we use it as a topping for ham, but many people use it other ways.  This can be used in sandwiches--ham or otherwise--and as a dipping sauce for chicken fingers, for example.  I will dip pretzels in this sauce, also.  There is an unlimited amount of ways this sauce can be used--try it and see if you like it as much as we do.

Another Step Toward Old Age

I believe everyone gets a little hard of hearing as they age.  Just as the rest of the body doesn't stand up to time, neither do the ears/eardrums.  And things go south rather quickly when there was a problem to begin with, as it is with me.  Until about seven years or so, I never knew that I had a hearing problem that quite possibly has been with me since I was young.  While I passed all of my hearing tests in elementary school, I never had a hearing test again until seven years ago, so I have no idea how long things have been going bad.  A genetic problem+aging=needing to look for a solution.

Yesterday I went for an appointment with the ear specialist and the first thing that was done was the hearing test.  And things are just a bit worse than they were seven years ago.  And both the doctor and audiologist say it is time for me to get help.  Now comes my search for the proper hearing aid/s.

I've done some research and am completely confused--there are a lot of different hearing aids out there.  And they are EXPENSIVE!  I don't think I will be able to get ONE for less than $1500!  Yikes.  And, of course, insurance companies don't pick up even part of the tab for these things.  >:-(  But, if the need is there, we will do what has to be done.  And I think I really need to get one/two of these gadgets.

One good thing about needing an aid these days is that they are VERY different from what my great-grandmother had to use.  Her hearing aid was about the size of a cigarette pack--she had pockets sewed into her undershirts so the aid could be placed there--and the earphone was attached by a cord.  There was no disguising this thing, even if you had long hair.  Today, hearing aids are pretty invisible--even the ones that sit outside of the ear.  While I would want one that sits in the ear canal completely, I probably would be best served by the type that sits on the top of the ear, with the main part behind the ear and a small wire going to the ear canal.  But, until I see a hearing aid specialist, I won't know what I'll end up with.  {sigh}

If it isn't apparent, I'm not looking forward to this and have been putting it off far too long.  (I was told it was my decision seven years ago as to whether or not I wanted to try aids.)  While I would LOVE to be able to hear well, I just don't want to get aids.  For someone who is completely NOT vain, the thought of wearing something that SCREAMS that I'm getting older just kills me.  This is so unlike me and I'm trying to get a grip--but I'm not succeeding.  I have varicose veins, I wear reading glasses, I have wrinkles, I'm very overweight, and I groan when I move my joints, yet hearing aids are what are going to make me feel old and depressed.  An attitude adjustment is definitely in my future.  And being able to hear well WILL prevent things like this from happening:

:D

****I do realize that I sound ridiculous, terrible, and ungrateful.  I know there are people who would be so happy to have my problem and I should be thankful that my problems are not worse than they are.  I apologize for my bad attitude and WILL get over this.  Bear with me, please.****

And Furthermore...

To give a little perspective on the last post:

The town I grew up in had 960 people.  The town K grew up in had less.  Our graduating class had less than 50 kids.  Our ENTIRE high school--grades 6-12--had LESS kids than The Youngest's graduating class.  The biggest town closest to us--8 miles down the road--had less than 10,000 people in it.  So, as you can see, a city with almost 25,000 people was/is big time for us.  ;)

I almost freaked out when we went to see Eric Clapton because the Xcel Center--where the concert was--held at least 25,000.  The entire population of our city could have fit in the place and still there would have been seats left empty.  Is it a wonder I get a little panic attack whenever we go to REAL cities?  ;)

Living In A Small Town--Otherwise Known As 'The Police Log'

I've mentioned the we live in a small city--population somewhere in the 20,000-25,000 range.  This is the most populous city in the UP, but still, as far as most people are concerned, this is a small town.  For anyone familiar with my on-going 'police log' posts, you can tell just by the subject matter that we are nowhere close to big city-type problems here.  And as I've said before, I'm very okay with that.  However, the problems we DO have make for some amusing reading.  These are some police logs that I collected over the past few weeks:

--2:00 AM, Subject reported footprints leading to his front porch, along with missing white plastic chair;  footprints followed, no chair observed at suspected residence.
I'm certain this HAS to be a little old man with too much time on his hands.

--1:19 PM, Suspicious items found in woods;  nothing suspicious, small animal remains.
MORE people/person with too much time on their hands.

--4:12 PM, Men reported lying on ice and in a rubber boat;  OK, ice rescue training.
This completely perplexes me.  We have a Coast Guard station here and we ALWAYS witness rescue training.  Again, some people have too much time on their hands...

--8:07 PM, Complaint of drug use; no one would answer the door.
???

--10:44 PM, Deceased black and white cat placed into freezer at Department of Public Works.
I'm assuming they are waiting for it to be claimed by the owner/s?

--1:04 PM, Snow left on bike path from sled dog races.
Oooooookay!?!?

--3:42 PM, Suspicious subject behind the counter at a closed business;  all OK, worker installing countertops.
The joys of living in a small town where everyone pokes their noses into everyone's business.  ;)

And the best was saved for last:

--9:40 PM, Possible breaking and entering in progress;  noise heard was borrowed alarm clock.
Do I even NEED to comment?  :D

At Least I Thought It Was Interesting...

Quite an interesting article here.

The first time I heard/read of hair receivers ^ and human hair jewelry was when I was much, much younger.  I'm sure they were referenced in some Victorian-set novel that I read.  I found the whole thing rather fascinating, probably because I--like anyone else my age (males included)--had very long hair at the time.  It has been years since this subject crept into my mind, but with the interwebs at our fingertips, strange and intriguing subjects are always just a click away.  And for some reason, this subject came to me a couple of weeks ago.

Hair receivers were a common item on a woman's dressing table during the Victorian era.  Most women never cut their hair at the time and hair was considered a woman's crowning glory.  Also, women were taught to brush their hair 100 strokes every evening, so there was quite a bit of hair floating around.  All of this led to hair receivers--a place for a woman to put the hair she removed from her brush.  The hair was then gathered up to make 'poufs' (rats) for hairstyles, stuffing for pillows, or jewelry.  By the Roaring Twenties, this fad had pretty much played itself out--most likely because women were bobbing their hair and there wasn't product to use anymore.

The most interesting part of all of this 'saving of the hair,' is the hair jewelry.  Human hair watch fobs, necklaces, bracelets, brooches were all commonplace.  (Hair also was used in 'mourning jewelry'--a way to remember a loved one who passed and keep a part of him/her with you always.)  Today there are collections in museums showing some of the work that was done with hair in the past--such as here.  (There are quite a few articles to read, should one be interested.  As usual, do a Google search.  ;))

Human hair necklace that is part of the collection at the Minnesota Historical Society.

For some reason or other, human hair jewelry creeps me out.  I understand and have no problem with human hair wigs, but the thought of wearing jewelry made out of someone's hair just doesn't seem right.  While some the examples I've seen are quite lovely, I don't want any--even anything made from my OWN hair would give me the willies.  And, of course, there are people trying to bring back the craft--again, search Google.  OR you can go here to see what is happening in the world of hair jewelry today.  I did find the prices that people were selling their hair for quite amazing--hundreds of dollars, as a matter of fact.  However, when/if I cut my almost waist-length hair again, I believe I will just donate it to Locks of Love or something of that nature.  I most definitely don't need to be selling my hair for profit just so someone can wear it on their wrist.

Updating...

Wow, it has been a while since I last posted.  Even though not that much interesting stuff has happened, I will still do an update.

The last time I posted, I was prepping for a colonoscopy.  Last Monday morning, I went in and had the procedure done and it went very well.  After having to go through the prep, the thing I worried about most was having the IV inserted, but the nurse who did it was WONDERFUL and I barely felt the needle go in.  I knew NOTHING after about 30 seconds of the Demerol and Versed* being put into the IV--unfortunately, I didn't know too much for the next couple days, either.  Demerol leaves me with a terrible drug hangover--it always has.  So, I slept through Monday, Tuesday, and part of Wednesday.  Actually, I didn't feel 'like myself' again until this past weekend.  But, I got the results and everything was fine--with the exception of finding one polyp and I continue to have my 'Preparation H' issues.  Because the polyp was the type that doesn't become cancerous, I won't need to go back again for another 10 years.  YAY!  I left the hospital with a handful of papers, one of which had three pictures that were taken during the procedure:  one of the very top of my colon, one of my polyp, and one of my other 'issue.'  Now I have more inappropriate pics for a bathroom gallery, should I decide to do one.  ;)

**********

So, for whatever reason, last week was my time to have medical procedures done.  On Wednesday, I went and had my mammograms.  As far as medical tests are concerned, mammograms are one of the easiest to go through.  I have always been pretty lucky with the techs who have done my mammograms, as they have caused me very little discomfort.  I know some women have a difficult time, but it has always been rather straight forward for me.  And things are even faster and easier than they ever were with the new digital imaging equipment that our hospital now has--I was in and out within 30 minutes.  You can't ask for any better than that.

**********

I don't know how many people pay much attention to the weather in other parts of the country from where they live.  But if you HAD heard about us last week, you would have found out that winter paid a visit--pretty much for the first time all season.  The last weekend of February found us getting hit by tons of wet, heavy snow and then last Wednesday we got another dump-on.  In total, we got somewhere in the neighborhood of two feet of snow in a few days.  While some areas did experience power outages, things went pretty well here in the UP.  Of course, school was called off for most of the peninsula for most of last week and some of the days it seemed like the entire UP was closed for the duration.  But as much as it wanted to be winter still, the calendar just doesn't support it--the last couple of days have had very spring-like temps and a good amount of the snow has melted already.  This, of course, has brought new problems: lots and lots of running and standing water.  K had to put the dehumidifier going in the basement because of how wet it is.  Oh, joy.

**********

Of course, just as the temperatures are heating up, K had to get sick.  Yesterday he started feeling pretty lousy and it seemed as if he was getting a sinus infection.  Unfortunately, he wasn't able to see the doctor until today and I think the delay in medical attention let this get hold of him and he's much worse than he would need to be.  BUT, I'm very thankful that the doctor gave him antibiotics, despite the CDC saying they do nothing for sinus infections.  I really am having a very hard time with this ruling by the CDC.  Is there anyone who has ever had a sinus infection that HASN'T gotten better, quickly, as soon as they are put on antibiotics?  Before I started on allergy meds, I would get at least two sinus infections a year.  Whether I went to see the doctor after two days or a week--sometimes I tried to fight it off by myself--I was much, much better within 24 hours of starting on meds.  I'm not understanding this, at all and this is definitely something I will have to get straight with my doctor.  Or I will just have to not get another sinus infection for the rest of my life.  ;)

**********

Other than the temperatures, I'm seeing other signs of spring coming.  These days, a lot of my time is spent watching a grey squirrel build a nest.  Well, I can't actually see the nest itself because it is in the topmost branches of our neighbor's tall fir tree, but I watch the critter gathering nesting materials.  Just before the snow came, I saw the squirrel running through our backyard while carrying a newspaper-sized piece of  newsprint.  Even though I saw it with my own eyes, I'm still not sure how the squirrel managed to get that paper up the tree.  And a couple of days later, it did the exact same thing with MORE newsprint.  I can't imagine where the paper was coming from.  I also saw it bring a few mouthfuls of dead leaves up the tree.  Today I watched as the squirrel ran around our yard 'fluffing' the dried, dead grass in several places.  It then went back to each spot and stuffed its mouth full of the grass and went up the tree.  At the rate this nest is being built and the amount of material going into it, the thing will be as big as an eagle's nest before we know it!  One thing I'm betting on, though, with all this building going on is that I WILL get to see baby squirrels this year.  That might prove quite interesting.  

I also got to see my first chipmunk of the season today--a sight that DID NOT make me happy.  I wonder if the squirrels might drive away the chipmunks?  Not my luck, though.

**********

We received very big news here in this area a couple of days ago.  Our hospital here in town--which is a regional medical facility--is being purchased by Duke Lifepoint Healthcare.  Not only is this supposed to improve healthcare, but they are talking of adding 64 new doctors in the next five years. They are also proposing to construct a new state-of-the-art outpatient surgical center and other improvements to the hospital.  While the thoughts of many new jobs being created by this acquisition is much welcome, the biggest change to this city will be the hospital going from a non-profit, non-tax paying status to a for-profit, tax paying entity.  The boost to the tax base of our city will be phenomenal.  And I certainly hope and pray that this comes to fruition.

********** 

*While the Demerol/Versed combo for sedation works wonders, if you ever need sedation like this, ask for Propofol instead.  From what I understand, you are back into the land of the living within 30 minutes of the procedure being finished.  I believe the reason Propofol isn't quite as widely used as the cocktail I had is because Propofol has to be administered by an anesthesiologist, whereas the cocktail can be given by an RN.  Also, I guess there is a shortage of Propofol right now because it is the drug of choice if there IS a choice.

TMI and FYI

I know a lot of people are excited over the fact that the Oscars are on tonight, but I am left quite cold about it.  I don't believe I've seen any of the movies nominated and I KNOW I have never even heard of most of them.  And I really don't mind.  If I get interested, I'll just watch the movies I want to when they make it to HBO, Showtime, etc.  I have a few other things on MY mind tonight.  Now on to the TMI...

Already I have started my prep for my colonoscopy tomorrow morning.  Oh, yay.  Ten years ago I had my first one--it was done earlier than a 'normal' baseline colonoscopy is done because there were some 'issues' that needed checking out.  So, here we are, years later, getting ready again.

I began my 'prep' five days ago.  The first thing that I had to 'give up' were some of my meds and supplements--namely, the baby aspirin I take and my iron pills.  Then, three days ago I had to stop eating anything with 'bulk'--fresh fruits and veggies, whole grain foods, etc.  I have been on only liquids since midnight and won't be eating any solids until after the procedure is done.  I WON'T go into more details about the prep other than saying it involves taking pills and drinking Powerade that has powdered laxative added, in ENORMOUS quantities.  Needless to say, I'm not going anywhere until I leave the house to go to the hospital in the morning.  I KNOW this prep is different than the one I did before and I'm very pleased that it is a bit quicker than the last one.  And I keep telling myself, "Tomorrow at this time it will be ALL OVER!"

The other day I was thinking about when I had this procedure the last time and couldn't remember the name of the doctor who I saw.  Actually, he probably isn't even in the area any longer--the turn-over rate for some doctors in this town is astounding!  This, of course, made me start thinking about how I would even find out who did the exam the last time and it got me remembering something that I found out at my PCP appointment in January--and this is where the FYI comes in...

Over the last several years, I have had to find new doctors a few times.  I have had some difficulties in getting my medical files transferred to the new MDs and I STILL haven't found my GYN files.  While talking with my PCP this year, she asked me a question about what my last doctor prescribed and why.  I assumed she could just look up the info in my file, as my old doctor had been in this same office before he moved on.  Come to find out, this office only has my medical records for the last 5-8 years--or whenever it was that he moved in from his LAST office.  He was not allowed to take my records with him, as the last practice 'owned' them.  I wasn't aware of the fact that medical practices 'own' your records and don't necessarily move with your doctor if s/he goes into another practice.  While I THINK you can get copies of your records for yourself, I don't think I want to pay what would be charged for 35 years worth of medical records.  And this is assuming that I could find all of my records.  It's unbelievable to me that there is that much private information about me, SOMEWHERE, and I don't have access to it--and I don't know WHO has access to it.

When I got a bit upset over the 'losing' of my GYN records, I was told by the doctor (or nurse, I don't remember) that it REALLY doesn't matter that they don't have them:  They only worry about looking at the last couple of years worth of records and don't bother with the rest.  (And this is the main reason why you shouldn't 'doctor shop' and should find one MD and stay with him/her--as s/he knows you and your issues.)  While I DO realize that the pain in my right foot that I had 25 years ago probably isn't relevant to anything going on with me today, it doesn't necessarily mean it ISN'T something that the doctor should be aware of.  For example:  Almost anything that occurs during pregnancy--gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, etc--will show up as a medical issue at some later time in your life.  I do think it would be a good thing for your current MD to know exactly what the MD had to say about the issue that many years ago.  (I KNOW that doctors talk differently to their patients than they do when dictating their notes--so records are going to be more relevant to another doctor than what a patient might have to say.)   And frankly, I have no idea what some of the meds are that I have been on over the years--and I'm talking about all antibiotics, anti-depressants, pain meds, etc.  How many of us have a list of all of the meds we've been on?  Don't we just assume our MDs will take care of knowing this?

With all of this, I will now give my advice.  If you haven't started yet, write yourself a medical history that you can update as time goes on--and put as much info into it as you can, with dates, if possible.  A few years ago I did just that and keep the document on my phone.  I am amazed at how many times a year I am asked "Did you get a flu shot this year?" or "When did you have your last tetanus shot?"  My memory is getting so bad that I can't remember the answers without them being written down.  Also, it is hard to remember exactly when these every 5, 10, 15 year procedures have been done.  For the last four years I have been 'sure' that the doctor was going to send me for my next colonoscopy because 'it's been at least 10 years since the last one.'  The memory just isn't good enough to rely on it if you have to give some (potentially) life threatening information.  We are constantly told that we need to be good health consumers and being able to have relevant information at hand when needed is a good start.

Wishing For a Time Gone By

The other day found me out and about--the cupboard was quite bare, so I needed to do some shopping.  As usual, my shopping trip started out at Walmart--a one-stop shopping experience for an awful lot of what I use. I spent a bit of time wandering around, as I hadn't been in the store for a while--AND the Easter candy was on display. ;)  Just before I went into the checkout line, I saw something that led to an impulse buy:  an AHHH! Bra. I have thought of trying one of these for some time, as I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hate wearing bras, so I was hoping this would be comfortable for me.  When I left the store, I had an AHHH! Bra in my possession.

I got home after spending far too much money at the grocery store and began to put away all purchases.  (Does anyone else feel as if the WORST part about shopping is putting everything away when you get home?)  I finally got everything squared away and took the box with the bra so that I could try it on.  I opened the box, looked inside, and...IT WAS EMPTY!  I just had spent $20 for an empty box.  What to do, what to do?

The first thing I thought was, "I will take this back to the store and get my money."  But the next thing I thought was, "HOW will they know that I wasn't the one who took the bra out of the box, kept it, and am now trying to return an empty box?"  After thinking about it for a time, I decided to call the store and find out what they would recommend.  As it turned out, I talked to a very sweet girl and she said that she would leave a note at the customer service counter explaining the situation so that there would be no problem when I went back for a refund.  I'm sure this is a problem that has come up before, so they have dealt with this in the past.  But I know from now on I will be much more observant before making a purchase--this box looked as if it had never been opened and the tape-tabs hadn't even been broken!  It's just too sad that we have to be so cynical and untrusting about everything these days.

What????

As our society ages, I am finding more commercials on TV aimed at the 'seniors' in the viewing audience.  Of course we have a scunge-load of erectile dysfunction ads, but we also are seeing ads for bladder problems, reverse mortgages, and senior dating sites.  One very prevalent commercial these days is for Life Alert, or similar products.  I'm sure we all are familiar with the "I've fallen and can't get up!" commercial of several years ago and the ones being made today are not much better.

However, the one I saw the other day just made me shake my head and go, "HUH?!"

For those who might never have seen  the product, Life Alert--or generic equivalent products--is a necklace type emergency alarm that a person will wear.  There is a button on this device which can be pressed in the case of a medical emergency.  Pressing said button will summon help and this allows an elderly person to continue being self-sufficient, and live alone, for a longer time than normal.  I very much see the benefit to these devices, but I really wish they would advertise them in a better manner.  Most of the ads for these things are testimonials--and I think they scrape the bottom of the barrel for the people they get for the commercials.  The commercial I saw the other day was person after person telling how "Life Alert saved my life!"  Basically, they all said the same thing:  "I was having a heart attack, fell down, felt dizzy, etc, and I pressed the button for help."  Then they went on and said how they would never be without Life Alert.  This was all cut-and-dried until one woman came on.  And this is what she had to say:

"I will give up bread, beer, wine, and soda, but I WON'T give up my Life Alert!"

I almost wet myself from laughing!  Unbelievable.





***Now, an added bonus:  "I've fallen and I can't get up!" has become a much ridiculed and spoofed phrase for many years.  Of course, the interwebs have helped this along.  Here are some of my favorite uses of the phrase--enjoy.

I Love Furry Dogs, But...

I have always said that if I owned a dog, it better be BIG.  I'm not too thrilled with 'pretend dogs'--although I think Westies are about the cutest damn things I have ever seen and would seriously consider getting one.

But, if I had my druthers, I would LOVE to have a dog like Banshee (see last post), an Alaskan malamute.  Other than being rather large and needing quite a bit of exercise, malamutes have one other thing that is annoying and that's the fact that they 'blow their coats' every year.  Now, my long-haired cat sheds, but when a malamute blows its coat, that is another thing altogether.  And if you have never experienced this, it is hard to imagine, so here is a picture of Banshee being brushed by her mom when she is blowing her coat:

 All of that white in the picture is NOT snow, that is her fur.  And the dogs that shed like this need to be brushed multiple times per week--especially during this phase.  This is just one more example of how important it is to research the type of pet you want to get before actually doing the getting--it would save a LOT of animals from being brought to the shelters.  AND this is one reason why I DON'T have a dog like this:  FAR too much upkeep.

Dog, Dogs, and More Dogs

This weekend is the annual dog sled race here.  With our lack of snow this year, the race won't be starting downtown as it usually does, but that doesn't mean the activities will be any less than other years.  There WILL be a ceremonial start in town, but the 200 mile race will have to start where there actually is snow.  It has been a strange, strange winter.  We don't battle the crowds to go and watch the start of the race, simply because it is much too cold to stand around just to see the sleds take off.  That doesn't mean we don't get some of the effect of having the dogs in town--their presence is felt all around.  It is fun to pull into a parking lot and see the trailers with the dogs in their cubbies--and you see this a lot in the week leading up to the race.  The local newspaper and TV station have daily stories--with pictures--about the dogs and mushers.  This is a nice 'celebration' during the long, cold days of winter.  And the best thing about the race is the dogs.  I have NEVER seen happier dogs than ones pulling a sled during a race:

Just LOOK at those faces and tell me they aren't doing EXACTLY what they want to be doing!  I LOVE sled dogs--the bigger the better.

Banshee is the official mascot of the race and she has her own Facebook page here.  If you have a bit of time to kill--or just love looking at some GREAT pictures of dogs (and her 'brothers'--two cats and Seamus, who is in training to be the new mascot)--go on over there and spend some time.  I don't know if there is a happier dog around than Banshee--and she is quite good-looking, as well.

Both pictures I 'lifted' from Banshee's Facebook page.  I don't think she'd mind, though.  ;)

Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's day--or, if you don't celebrate, a nice day.  Period.  The Red Wings broke an NHL record, so my day was very good.  ;)

This year I saw an interesting trend:  people apologizing.  If someone wasn't apologizing FOR celebrating the day, then they were apologizing for NOT celebrating.  My goodness, I thought the only day that caused THIS much guilt was Mother's Day!  (Or Good Friday if you're Christian.  ;))  I don't apologize for the years we celebrate OR for the ones we don't.  This year, we had a mixture of both.

For the most part, K and I tend to be a little casual about most holidays.  We pretty much have had to, as the first few years we were married, he was off sailing the seven seas, so we were apart.  Then he got his job at the power plant and was at work more times than he was at home for holidays, because of shift work.  So, we celebrate at OUR convenience and not necessarily on 'the' day.  This year, he is working night shift for Valentine's Day, so we didn't get to do anything special.  However...

About a month ago, I ordered K's gift for the day.  It was personalized M&Ms and a small bubblegum dispenser to put them in.  Despite the expense--personalized M&Ms are NOT cheap--the dispenser is a great addition to the hockey cave.  And the Wisconsin Badgers colors are red and white, so we can get 'team color' M&Ms from Sam's Club often enough to keep us supplied.  ;)  He likes his M&MS, so he was more than pleased.

I knew I wasn't going to be making a special meal for the day, so I pulled out the old cookbook/recipe cards to see what I could do instead.  When I came across my recipe for red velvet cake, I KNEW I had to make one. I used to do this every year for February 14, but haven't made one in many years.  I forgot how much work was involved--probably the reason I quit doing it--and I ALSO forgot how great tasting this cake is.  YUM!  I may have to make another one before the year is up.  K was very appreciative, as I'm sure he had himself convinced that he would never get another one in his lifetime.

Hopefully this looks as good as it tastes.  The picture doesn't do justice to just how red this cake is, however.  You DON'T want to eat too much and forget that you did when you go to the bathroom--it can be scary.  ;)

Kind of surprisingly, K didn't get me anything for V-Day.  I don't think it had anything to do with his not being thoughtful, however.  He most definitely gets a pass from me because he was extra-special good to me for our anniversary (October), my birthday (November), and Christmas.  (All gifts were jewelry, by the way--and he is very good at buying jewelry.)  Also, this past weekend I bought myself another NOOK, so I kind of look on that as my V-Day gift.  But I think what K DID do for me was just as special--if not more so--than any gift he could have bought:  before going to work, he made sure to tune the living room TV to the secondary station where the Wings game was being broadcast, so I wouldn't have to search for it.  Now if THAT isn't love, what is?

Far Too Early

I don't agree with the statement that only old people read the obits.  While I may be old now, I have read the obituaries for many, many years.  And since the paper 'back home' came online, I have read THOSE obits daily, also.  This is the only way I find out things, as I don't have  anyone to let me know any other way.  The last few days of obit reading in our local paper have been very disturbing, indeed.

On Monday of this week, among some very elderly people, there were five very young (and 'young' is a relative term) people who passed.  Their ages were 24, 50, 54, 58, and 59.  On Tuesday, four more young people were listed.  Their ages were 21, 50, 53, and 58.  Today we found three more.  The ages were 32, 59, and 59.  At least each day has less than the day before and we can only hope that by the weekend there will be no deaths reported of anyone under the age of 60.

I'm not obsessed by this deluge of early deaths, but I find it very strange.  It will be interesting to see if it continues.  Hopefully, it won't.

Haters Be Hating

COMIC SANS FONT

The last time I really worried or thought about whatever font I was using was when I was the superintendent of our Sunday School.  I used to do a 'talk' every Sunday and used visuals whenever I could--and this included computer generated visuals.  I also did posters and other displays for the walls of the Sunday School and the classrooms. At the time, I wanted to do something 'different' as often as possible and I am certain I used Comic Sans at some point.  I never thought too much about what font I was using, only that it was something I didn't use the week before.

I don't know if I would particularly want to read an entire book published in Comic Sans, but I certainly don't hate it.  I find it easy to read and pleasing enough.   However, I think there IS a time and place for its usage, but even if it IS used poorly, I don't feel as if that is any reason for the pure venom that some pour out over this issue.

For some time now, I have read about all of the hate people have for the font.  In some circles, I would fear for my life if I even mentioned 'Comic Sans,' so I decided to do some interweb searching to find out just what was wrong with this font.  And I have come to one conclusion:  there is nothing wrong with i.

It seems as if most of the people who hate Comic Sans have no real reason for it.  Most of these people are sheeple who are hating because other pretentious idiots are haters.  The biggest reason that anyone will give for the hate--IF they give a reason--is that it is overused and used in inappropriate places.  Now, I can understand the not liking something that is used inappropriately, but the hatred goes much, much deeper.  There actually are entire websites devoted to the hating of Comic Sans.  Some people are trying to get it BANNED forever from the world.  Many haters seem to be 'designers' (or something) and are so pretentious that they must have a hard time breathing the lofty air where they live.  And we wonder what is wrong with this world when far too many are concerned and consumed with hating a fricking FONT!  Give me a break!

I also found it far too often that many of the haters seem to be haters of Microsoft--the company that brought Comic Sans into this world.  And I wonder if THAT isn't the big reason why the font is hated:  its association with Microsoft.

Don't Ask and I Certainly Won't Tell

K had to go to the grocery store before work today and he came home--as he does, at times--with a couple of lottery tickets.  As he was leaving for work, he told me to scratch the tickets, but "If you win, don't tell anyone. At least until we have the money in our hands."  I DID have to chuckle--as IF we would ever win enough to HAVE to keep it a secret, but, we can dream.  ;)

K and I aren't what you would call 'gamblers.'  He will get in the football pool at work and buys lottery tickets on a semi-regular basis.  We have been to Las Vegas once and a couple of times a year we will go to an Indian casino and 'donate' some money to the Native Americans.  ;)  As we don't go out to bars, etc, and spend money that way, the money we spend at the casino is for a form of entertainment--and cheaper than some other forms, actually.  If you can curb your spending, sitting in a casino isn't really all that expensive.  And who knows, you just MAY win some money.

Every so often, we will go off on a flight of fantasy and discuss what we would do if we won a lot of money.  First thing, I would NOT want a lot of people to know about my winning big--I just don't need that kind of attention.  K has a definite number in mind that he would need in order to quit work and if he won that amount, he would only go back long enough to sign his retirement papers.  Neither one of us has a lot of material things we would want to buy.  A new (modest) house and a couple of new vehicles and we would be pretty set.  Really, $1 million would be more than enough for us to elevate our life style!  (And $1 million doesn't buy nearly as much today as it once did.  ;))

Of course, if we ever won A LOT of money, then we would have some decisions to make.  We would need to decide who would benefit from our winnings, besides us.  We would want to 'do' for our kids and their families, naturally.  And several charities would benefit, as well.  But after that, just who do you 'help?'  I have always been family-oriented, but being estranged from my parents and brother would keep me from wanting to 'spread the wealth.'  We probably would help out my parents and K would want to do something for his oldest sister, at least, but beyond that, we would have to think long and hard about who else.

One question that has come up when talking the 'winning' scenario with friends is "HOW would you help your kids?"  I would be too afraid to give enough money for my kids to never have to worry or work again, but I definitely would want to ease their burdens.  I would like to set up a trust fund--or whatever it would be called--that would pay their bills and allow them to live a comfortable life, but not give them enough to become lazy and entitled.  I would want them to HAVE to continue working, if for nothing more than all of the 'extras' they would want to have.

So, have you ever done the 'what if' game?  How would you spend your money?

They Gave YOU A License To Drive??

Our local Walmart is accessed from the main highway.  On the other side of the highway is Target.  To help with traffic, there is a 4-way traffic light.  This, of course, isn't the most efficient way to keep traffic flowing on a highway, but when you don't have freeways or interstates, this is the way things are done.  (Also, the closest thing we have to four lane highways for the majority of the UP are stretches of 'passing lanes.')

I went shopping earlier and the first place I had to go to was Walmart.  When I got to the traffic light for my turn, there was one other vehicle in front of me and the light was just turning red.  I got into the left-turn lane and proceeded to wait for the green light.  However, the driver of the vehicle in front of me decided he didn't want to wait and MADE THE LEFT TURN ON A RED LIGHT!!!!!  This absolutely left me flabbergasted--which I don't understand because this is AT LEAST the second time in the last year that I have seen the exact same thing.  It was just sheer luck that there were no vehicles coming down the highway at the time the guy made the turn.  This could have turned into one bloody mess.

I am nowhere close to the world's best driver--actually, I could be better and I know it.  I have had brain farts while I've been driving and I certainly hope that is what happened to the driver tonight.  Otherwise, this person IS going to be the cause of someone's very serious accident at some time in the future.

Those 'I Feel So Bad You Can't Understand' Blues

We have all been sick, hurt, or in one way or another, in some sort of discomfort.  And these are times when we manage to say some very silly things.  And I have stories...

--The Sister-in-Law was in the early stages of labor with her first child.  She was at her parent's (my in-laws) house waiting until it was time to go to the hospital.  After a slightly uncomfortable contraction, she looked at my mother-in-law and said, "But you don't KNOW how much this hurts!!!"  My m-i-l just rolled her eyes and shook her head:  She had given birth to FIVE children, herself.

--The Second Granddaughter was experiencing some menstrual cramps.  This is the one who happens to be Miss Drama Queen.  After moaning and groaning all day long, she looked at her mother and said, "But no one has EVER felt like this!"

--Yesterday, The Son-in-Law had a hernia repair.  As surgery goes, this was quite minor--and the only incision was a small one made in the navel.  He was given a 'twilight' anesthetic and was in the hospital only three hours.  From the way he was acting, The Oldest said you would assume he had been in the ring with Mike Tyson for 8 rounds.  And he told The Oldest, "But you have NO IDEA how much pain I'm in!!!!"  The Oldest has given birth 8 times--five of which were by C-section.

Thank goodness we love those we take care of and are taken care of by people who love us.  Otherwise, I think there would be quite a lot of slapping upside the head going on.  :D


***I'm VERY thankful that there hasn't been a camera going while I was sick, in labor, or recovering from surgery.  I'm certain being around me wasn't any walk in the park during those times.  ;D***

Police Log

Guess what?  We finally have a few good stories to pass on!

(These all happened on different days.)

--1:43 AM, subject on the roof refusing to come down.
Just one thing to say about this:  IT IS THE MIDDLE OF THE FREAKING WINTER!!!!!  I don't think I WANT to know why s/he was on the roof.

--9:41 AM, report of neighbors banging on walls, was just ice falling.
I kind of have the feeling that the person doing the reporting has some ISSUES with the neighbors.  ;)

--6:07 PM, two subjects arguing, throwing snowballs at each other.
So now we can't do snowball fights?  {shaking my head}

--6:30 PM, complaint that a snowman in front yard has male genitals;  removed by builder.
First of all, just wait two days and the genitals will either be covered with snow or will have melted enough that they would not be evident anymore.  And secondly, WHO examines a snowman enough to actually tell that it has male genitals?  Unless the builder made them so big that they couldn't BE ignored...  And I'm not too clear on WHAT was removed by the builder:  The snowman or the genitals?  :D

A Working Dog

Almost every time we take one of our road trips--like we did this past weekend--I visit one of the 'named' pet stores in the town.  Our cat is a bit picky in her eating habits, so I have to get to a bigger store with a better and larger selection of food.  The strangest thing about our cat is that I cannot buy the same food two bags in a row--in other words, she will be happy with food for one bag's worth and then needs something new.  At least these days she WILL eat seafood--something she wouldn't touch when she was younger.

When I get into the pet store, I must walk all through it, just to see what is new.  I always enjoy looking at the animals they have ready for adoption from the Humane Society--and those animals are almost always cats.  This past Sunday there were six young cats--not kittens, though--ready for adoption.  I loved seeing that none of them were distressed in any way.  Some days when I go there, some of the animals will be crying for attention, where these cats seemed to be quite content to wait for someone to take them home.  They all were healthy looking and very calm.  If we lived closer to this store, I would have a hard time not to take every one of the animals home with me.  And it was very hard for me to leave one of the cats:  a Russian Blue mix.  Kind of like this:

Just look at that face!  But, our cat will not tolerate another feline in the house, so I can't even think about adopting.

A lot, if not most, pet stores will allow pets to visit the stores with their owners.  It is always fun to see the different pets shopping and be able to pet and talk to different breeds than what I normally get to see.  On Sunday, I saw a real working dog--and he was gorgeous.  He was a German Shepherd and was wearing a 'drug detection dog' vest.  The handler also said that he was a cadaver dog and had been in some disaster areas doing his job.  

(The dog looked a LOT like this.)

While I love the look of German Shepherds, I do have a healthy respect for them--as well as a bit of a fear.  I was shopping on the other side of the store from the dog  and all of a sudden I heard a very deep, loud, and frightening barking--which I assumed was the drug/cadaver dog. I know for a fact that if I was confronted by a dog barking like that I would confess to anything--including the crucifixion of Christ!  But, when I got to the checkout, the dog was laying down calmly and a three-year-old boy was petting him--so, obviously, he only sounded vicious.

It seems as if most working dogs that I see--seeing eye dogs, for example--have a look about them that makes me want to cuddle them.  I know you are not to talk to or distract a working dog without asking permission first, so I usually just leave them alone.  But I find it very, very hard to do.  Anyone else just want to touch and talk to working dogs, too?  And why is that?  Do we respect what they do so much that we want to 'reward' them with some affection?

Is Someone Watching Me?

The other day I was reading some comics online and came across this:

I couldn't help but wonder who is spying on me.  Remember this post?  :D

If we can't laugh at ourselves, we'd spend all of our time crying, right?

Bite Me!

The first thing I had done to our cat when she came into our home, was to bring her to the vet to have her 'fixed' and declawed.  Most people would applaud me for being a responsible pet parent by having her spayed.  However, a good many of these same people would vilify me for the declawing.  It seems as if the declawing is actually the amputating of the first joint of the cat's toes and not just removal of the claws.  I'll accept this, as I know nothing to dispute it.  However, all of the 'side effects' that people say a cat has to live with because of this procedure haven't cropped up in my cat--as far as I can tell, that is.  She has always been a HOUSE cat, so she never needed her claws for defensive purposes or to hunt.  (And she has never given the impression that she ever WANTED to hunt, so...)  I believe she has been a happy animal for her entire life and I know she has lived a good, long life BECAUSE she has been declawed.  I KNOW I never would have put up with this:

:D

Days of Our Lives

Every year, between Christmas and New Years, my 'big' project is getting the new calendars ready for hanging.  I transfer all of the birthdays and special days and whatever appointments we already have scheduled.  The biggest task is blocking out K's work schedule--something that I MUST do because it is crazy.  Even though his work days rotate through the same 28-day rotation, I can't figure it out in my mind and HAVE to have it written out for me to look at.  And so, I sit and 'take care of' calendars the last week of every year.

This past December, I took all of the calendars that I needed to get ready and decided to get the job done.  It seems as if I'm adding more calendars every year and the task takes longer each time.  This year, I had four to work on--one for the kitchen, one for the computer room, one for the sewing room, and one for the bedroom. I got myself situated in the kitchen and proceeded to work on calendars while I watched the hockey game.  I had a 'master' calendar that I used as a reference for copying onto the 'permanent' ones.  Everything went well through the first three calendars--and then I got to the fourth one.  The 'Bunny Suicides' calendar.  I pulled out the gel pen and started to write in the upcoming special days for January when I realized things didn't look right.  K's birthday is on 4 January--a Wednesday in 2012--but 4 January was in the TUESDAY space on the 'Bunny' calendar.  WHAT?!?!  It took me a minute or two to realize what was going on:  The 'Bunny Suicides' calendar started the week on MONDAY and not on Sunday.  Who does that?  I know that 'Bunny Suicides' is a British thing, so is this a common practice in Europe?  Or is this common for business?  After all, the business week begins on Monday, not Sunday.  Needless to say, a thankless, annoying task was made just a bit more complicated by this--and I will try my hardest to NOT go through this again.  Sadly, no more 'Bunny Suicides.'


***I bought this from Barnes & Noble and there was no mention of the format.  Last year's calendar had the days in the 'right' order, so I never expected any problem.  Even though reviewers mention this fact on Amazon, it would never have helped me, as I had purchased this early.  I just have to remind myself of the format each time I look to see what day it is.  :)***

A Different Time

A lot of people entertain their children by allowing them to play with their cellphones.  I realize that smartphones are much, much more than just instruments to talk on--I have one myself, after all--but this is something I don't understand.  To begin with, smartphones are HELLA expensive and not what I would want a one-year-old to play with.  I am almost OCD when it comes to my electronic gadgets and the thought of letting ANYONE, much less a child, mess with them makes me break out in a cold sweat!  (As an aside, after two years of usage--when I go in to replace my phone and extend my contract--the sales reps are astonished that it isn't a right-out-of-the-package, brand new phone.  I take extra-special care of my gadgets.  ;))  I pay insurance on my phone monthly--something I felt was prudent on my part--and still I would need to cough up $100 for a replacement phone, if need be.  And how often would you need to replace a phone that a child played with regularly?  I also cannot imagine trying to pry the phone away from a kid who is engrossed in his/her game if a call came.  Talking on a cellphone is difficult as it is, if you are around a lot of noise, and it would be TRIPLE difficult if your child was having a tantrum because the phone wasn't in his/her hands anymore.  Because I don't have any children messing with my phone, I don't know how many parental controls can be utilized.  So, can the child make calls to China without your knowing?  What about buying apps that you don't want to pay for?  And, of course, there always is surfing the interwebs on the phone.  While I have an unlimited data package for my phone--something most carriers aren't giving as options anymore--most people don't.  How much would someone be paying in overage fees, etc, if a kid got his/her hands on the phone?  And do people even think about this stuff, or care?

When I was a kid--yes, I went there ;D--the telephone was something that was not played with.  I barely knew how to use the thing, but it didn't matter because it WASN'T a child's toy.  Of course, those were the days when you paid for every long distance phone call and even your local calls, after a certain amount.  And the calls were charged at different rates according to what time it was.  This all was confusing enough for adults to remember, much less kids, so the phone just was off-limits to the young-uns.  And the biggest reason why kids didn't use the phone as much as they do today:  NO call waiting!  In the parent's house, the phone was a lifeline and for any kid to tie up the line for hours at a time was a big no-no.  When we WERE allowed to use it, we would make our call, say what was needed, and hang up.  The amount of shit I got into as a teenager when I had marathon phone sessions with boyfriends, was unbelievable.  Do kids even HAVE limits these days?  And if we needed to say something to the person in the next room, next door, or even a couple of houses down from ours, we would just go TO them and talk face-to-face--a concept I don't think kids even understand.

In so many ways, I just don't recognize the world today.  I'm not saying that things were 'better' when I was young, just much, much different.  The kids who had their own cars, extension phones in their own bedrooms (I would have KILLED for a princess phone), and access to the 'pricier' stores to buy clothes were considered 'spoiled.'  (And the rest of us kids were jealous as hell.  ;))  In the world today, our local high school had to expand the parking lots because so many kids felt 'entitled' to drive their own cars to school and kids as young as 10 have cellphones plastered to their ears, constantly.  Far too many kids would give you a 'if looks could kill' glare if you even suggested they went to Walmart to look for clothing.  Every kid has at least one computer--sometimes two or more--at his/her disposal at all times and they wouldn't have it any other way.  In our fast-paced world, there is no such thing as the word 'wait' for kids.  They believe in instant gratification and won't accept less.  But then, how many adults are the exact same way?

Change Isn't Always Bad

I was watching 'House' earlier today and realized something:  I don't miss the character of 'Cuddy' at all.  There were many things I never liked about the character and I'm really not sad to see her go.  First, this was a woman who was supposed to be at the top of her game, a professional in a very demanding and prestigious job.  Yet, she dressed in a way that would be frowned upon in the 'typing pool!'  Really now, how many professional women dress with their 'girls' hanging out like she did?  I'm not saying that the character had to dress in turtlenecks and long skits, just in a more professional manner, is all.  I also didn't like how she was so wishy-washy.  She would piss and moan to House about how he shouldn't be doing what he did, yet she never punished him in any way.  Everything she did was with reluctance.  And when she finally showed some backbone when she stood up to the rich guy over House, she pissed and moaned about it.  Every chance she got, she let House know that she threw away millions of dollars and it was his fault.  These are just a couple of things I didn't like about her.  Looking back, I don't think the character was all that well written and I am not missing her in the least.  So, what do you think?