Oct 3, 2008
Published! (sorta)
I've been quoted! I guess that's not the same thing as published, but hey - I'm excited! My name is in print.
Aug 26, 2008
Messin' with a Woman
(yeah, it is a country song title)
But besides that, it's also the theme of the night. Don't the darned sanitary pad makers KNOW that the WRONG time to mess with a woman is when that same woman is most dependent upon their product? And the RIGHT time to really impress that woman is to make that product the most easy to use and useful product she has ever had in her entire life?
Why on earth would you cut back on the quality of your adhesives????? Do you REALLY want your customer to be sitting on the toilet picking all the little leftover adhesive tacky pieces OUT of the crotch of her panties? Do you REALLY want that to be the lasting impression she has of your product - Always?
Who knew? Who knew such a thing that you take for granted every single month 12 times a year for multiple years and decades on end can suffer the same darned cutbacks and quality control measures that we see occurring in our cars and airplane flights and home electronics? Who knew someone was going to make a decision to change the product mix that creates the sticky strip that ties that pad permanently in place in your underwear until you are ready to get rid of it? And who would have thought that decision would mean that one quick jerk (like lipwaxing) no longer does the trick???
I've used this product a long time, but maybe not in the last few times, as I Always forget when I go to the store which one I use. Or, maybe the store doesn't carry it - the darned stores are getting so persnickety about what brands and "models" they carry for each brand you just can't count on Always finding your Always. (come on, WHO THOUGHT UP the g-string panti-liners? And why is it taking shelf space away from the big girl stuff?)
I could tell with this package that there was a quality control issue. Each one has been just a tad bit defective on the "catch and release" movement until the final coup de grace tonight. There I sat, on the toilet, picking at something that there was no edge to pick at! About the size of a band aid. Stuck. Do I wash it? Do I keep picking? Should I just put another one over it and pretend it's not there? "Honey - bring me my laptop - I've got to write about this one!"
I've seen it all now. I don't think the world can get any weirder.
But besides that, it's also the theme of the night. Don't the darned sanitary pad makers KNOW that the WRONG time to mess with a woman is when that same woman is most dependent upon their product? And the RIGHT time to really impress that woman is to make that product the most easy to use and useful product she has ever had in her entire life?
Why on earth would you cut back on the quality of your adhesives????? Do you REALLY want your customer to be sitting on the toilet picking all the little leftover adhesive tacky pieces OUT of the crotch of her panties? Do you REALLY want that to be the lasting impression she has of your product - Always?
Who knew? Who knew such a thing that you take for granted every single month 12 times a year for multiple years and decades on end can suffer the same darned cutbacks and quality control measures that we see occurring in our cars and airplane flights and home electronics? Who knew someone was going to make a decision to change the product mix that creates the sticky strip that ties that pad permanently in place in your underwear until you are ready to get rid of it? And who would have thought that decision would mean that one quick jerk (like lipwaxing) no longer does the trick???
I've used this product a long time, but maybe not in the last few times, as I Always forget when I go to the store which one I use. Or, maybe the store doesn't carry it - the darned stores are getting so persnickety about what brands and "models" they carry for each brand you just can't count on Always finding your Always. (come on, WHO THOUGHT UP the g-string panti-liners? And why is it taking shelf space away from the big girl stuff?)
I could tell with this package that there was a quality control issue. Each one has been just a tad bit defective on the "catch and release" movement until the final coup de grace tonight. There I sat, on the toilet, picking at something that there was no edge to pick at! About the size of a band aid. Stuck. Do I wash it? Do I keep picking? Should I just put another one over it and pretend it's not there? "Honey - bring me my laptop - I've got to write about this one!"
I've seen it all now. I don't think the world can get any weirder.
Aug 18, 2008
Where I'm At Right Now
Funny, that's a "twitter" saying......another internet 2.0 tool I don't get. I really don't.
But unrelated to my actual post.
I have to do some intense writing tonight on a topic that I don't want to deal with. So in order to procrastinate that, I'm here saying a lot of nothing on this blog instead.
Just thought you might want to know where I'm at, and why you're not being entertained by me instead. I've only got so much in me, if I give it all to you, where I have fun, then there will be nothing left to deal with the "other" writing. The work related writing. The stuff I'm procrastinating right now. As I type.
Wish me luck.
But unrelated to my actual post.
I have to do some intense writing tonight on a topic that I don't want to deal with. So in order to procrastinate that, I'm here saying a lot of nothing on this blog instead.
Just thought you might want to know where I'm at, and why you're not being entertained by me instead. I've only got so much in me, if I give it all to you, where I have fun, then there will be nothing left to deal with the "other" writing. The work related writing. The stuff I'm procrastinating right now. As I type.
Wish me luck.
Aug 14, 2008
Books I'm Reading Right Now
Just finished "Queen of the Road" by Doreen Orion. Thanks to my book club for selecting it, I never would have found it otherwise. It's a very entertaining travelogue/self-improvement book centered around a 40' conversion bus that a married psychiatrist couple drives through 47 states over 1 year. Doreen is a very funny writer, and spends a lot of time poking fun at herself and her own hangups and prejudices. She only allows the reader to see her character through that comic lens - I would have liked to know her better than that. On the other hand, we see her husband Tim through her great love for him. He is a man's man - can repair any mechanical problem AND successfully talk down a person on the ledge, so to speak.
The bus and the United States throw many problems at the couple on their journey, and we laugh along with them as they work their way through. Gentle self-help text is sprinkled throughout. I was especially struck by watching her love of possessions become less critical as their journey progresses, the highlight being an extensive shopping spree where everything is promptly returned the next day.
I know I found several points in this book that made me stop and think about my own conspicious consumerism, my desire to live a freer life, and building a stronger relationship with my significant other. All done with a light touch and a lot of laughter - I give her a lot of praise for her style and approach.
Another great thing about the book is the things I learned about various places in the US that intrigued me, such as the Crazy Horse memorial and the ferry trip through Alaska. It prompted me to do a lot of research. I discovered Doreen's website, and learned she has another book available, called "I Know You Really Love Me". I'll read that one this weekend, and let you know more about it. It's non-fiction and discusses a patient from her psychiatric career that was obsessed with her.
Last month's book club book was "Child 44" by Tom Rob Smith. Wow! What a different yet familiar sort of book this was! I thought it would be a cold-war type thriller, some espionage, some mystery. It was, but it was also a brutal look at a country's history that I knew nothing about and was not prepared to face. The famine of the early 1930's, Stalin's Gulag, the MGB - which for the longest time I thought was a fictional version of the KGB. Believe me, I did a lot of research during and after this book.
I have to give chops to the author - a first-time novel and he hit it out of the park. He took a genre that was so familiar and made it very harsh and edgy and wove a lot of history into it without slowing down the story. He took us down a path that seemed familiar in the couple's relationship, and then threw back the curtain and said Look! All Was NOT As It Seemed! And then began the difficult task of redeeming that couple to us, with success.
He introduced us to the killer, revealed him, but held enough vital pieces in reserve that I was still surprised by how it all tied together at the end.
And best of all, I finished the book disturbed, intrigued, and ready to see where he takes the characters in the next one. Because clearly there will be one! I can't give a book higher praise than it stayed on my mind off and on for a couple of weeks after as I mulled over various pieces.
The bus and the United States throw many problems at the couple on their journey, and we laugh along with them as they work their way through. Gentle self-help text is sprinkled throughout. I was especially struck by watching her love of possessions become less critical as their journey progresses, the highlight being an extensive shopping spree where everything is promptly returned the next day.
I know I found several points in this book that made me stop and think about my own conspicious consumerism, my desire to live a freer life, and building a stronger relationship with my significant other. All done with a light touch and a lot of laughter - I give her a lot of praise for her style and approach.
Another great thing about the book is the things I learned about various places in the US that intrigued me, such as the Crazy Horse memorial and the ferry trip through Alaska. It prompted me to do a lot of research. I discovered Doreen's website, and learned she has another book available, called "I Know You Really Love Me". I'll read that one this weekend, and let you know more about it. It's non-fiction and discusses a patient from her psychiatric career that was obsessed with her.
Last month's book club book was "Child 44" by Tom Rob Smith. Wow! What a different yet familiar sort of book this was! I thought it would be a cold-war type thriller, some espionage, some mystery. It was, but it was also a brutal look at a country's history that I knew nothing about and was not prepared to face. The famine of the early 1930's, Stalin's Gulag, the MGB - which for the longest time I thought was a fictional version of the KGB. Believe me, I did a lot of research during and after this book.
I have to give chops to the author - a first-time novel and he hit it out of the park. He took a genre that was so familiar and made it very harsh and edgy and wove a lot of history into it without slowing down the story. He took us down a path that seemed familiar in the couple's relationship, and then threw back the curtain and said Look! All Was NOT As It Seemed! And then began the difficult task of redeeming that couple to us, with success.
He introduced us to the killer, revealed him, but held enough vital pieces in reserve that I was still surprised by how it all tied together at the end.
And best of all, I finished the book disturbed, intrigued, and ready to see where he takes the characters in the next one. Because clearly there will be one! I can't give a book higher praise than it stayed on my mind off and on for a couple of weeks after as I mulled over various pieces.
Aug 12, 2008
When Family Reunions Go Bad.....
From 8/6/08:
Today, officially, my family reunion went bad. Before it ever happened. Oh yes, I've had them go bad at the reunion before. As a kid, I can remember screaming matches between adults, tears, and being packed up in the car and Getting Out Of There Now. I can remember doing that myself as a young adult with babies to my own parents. The 20s are such a hard age!
But I don't think I've ever had one cancelled before. Called off. Due to lack of committment. Price of gas. Cost of hotel. Length of drive. Other things on the agenda. All of the above were reasons for it. Seems some family members griped about the venue, and people actually listened to them! Don't they know? Everybody gripes about the venue. It wouldn't be Family Getting Together if they didn't! And gas? Don't get me started - every time I put TWO new pairs of shoes into ONE gas tank I just want to cry. We are all griping about the gas, but we're also all still driving. Ok, except for my one friend at work who has successfully figured out how to take the train.
Yes, some folks can't make it this year. It happens. There is no perfect date for everyone, it just doesn't work like that. It's unfortunate, but there's always next year. Right?
I wonder. This is our 2nd annual get together, and already we are stumbling. If we allow this one to cancel, will the next one even get off the ground? I fear for my family. I fear for our relationships. Everything moves so fast now. It's just so darned easy to stay in touch with the internet, free long distance on cells, email, digital photos, even You Tube! Yet we don't. We come from the same bloodlines, we share a history and a lot of memories. We're even geographically located all in the same state within 300 miles. But talking to each other is hard, getting together even harder.
We weren't raised like that. Some of my favorite memories are of being a kid and running wild at reunions "on the river" with my cousins. Some whom I only ever saw at the family reunion, but boy did I look forward to seeing them each and every year. Some whom I only met a couple of times in my entire life, but wouldn't even have had that if not for the family reunion.
And then there's all that food! We have some of the best cooks in my family, and some world class barbequers! The eatin's always good.
I can't get those times as a child on the river back, and I can't give that precise experience to my grandchildren. But I would like to give them the family reunion experience. I would like them to see their cousins at least once a year. And yes, I'll gripe about the location, and I'll gripe about the cost of gas, and I'll gripe about what my daughter forgets to bring along for my grandkids while we're at the reunion because that's who I am. My family made me that way, and I'm damned proud to be part of them all!
And I'll leave with more rich memories to add to my collection, on my own digital camera that I can share over the internet with my family. I'll mark the progress each child has made, and the progress of the waistlines and hairlines of each adult. I'll cherish every spectacle, and do my part to be on my best behavior so we all have a good time. I'll be thankful of one more year with the older members of my family. I'll tell them all how much I love them in my heart, and hope they can see it in my deeds and hear it through my words. I'll have my memories of us all 30 years ago super-imposed over the faces I see today as time folds in on itself when the family gets together. More connections will be made. Heart strings will be pulled a little tighter.
A little piece of me crumbles off every step further I get from my family. The reunion puts plaster over the hole. Here's to our 2nd annual family reunion of the 21st century.
Today, officially, my family reunion went bad. Before it ever happened. Oh yes, I've had them go bad at the reunion before. As a kid, I can remember screaming matches between adults, tears, and being packed up in the car and Getting Out Of There Now. I can remember doing that myself as a young adult with babies to my own parents. The 20s are such a hard age!
But I don't think I've ever had one cancelled before. Called off. Due to lack of committment. Price of gas. Cost of hotel. Length of drive. Other things on the agenda. All of the above were reasons for it. Seems some family members griped about the venue, and people actually listened to them! Don't they know? Everybody gripes about the venue. It wouldn't be Family Getting Together if they didn't! And gas? Don't get me started - every time I put TWO new pairs of shoes into ONE gas tank I just want to cry. We are all griping about the gas, but we're also all still driving. Ok, except for my one friend at work who has successfully figured out how to take the train.
Yes, some folks can't make it this year. It happens. There is no perfect date for everyone, it just doesn't work like that. It's unfortunate, but there's always next year. Right?
I wonder. This is our 2nd annual get together, and already we are stumbling. If we allow this one to cancel, will the next one even get off the ground? I fear for my family. I fear for our relationships. Everything moves so fast now. It's just so darned easy to stay in touch with the internet, free long distance on cells, email, digital photos, even You Tube! Yet we don't. We come from the same bloodlines, we share a history and a lot of memories. We're even geographically located all in the same state within 300 miles. But talking to each other is hard, getting together even harder.
We weren't raised like that. Some of my favorite memories are of being a kid and running wild at reunions "on the river" with my cousins. Some whom I only ever saw at the family reunion, but boy did I look forward to seeing them each and every year. Some whom I only met a couple of times in my entire life, but wouldn't even have had that if not for the family reunion.
And then there's all that food! We have some of the best cooks in my family, and some world class barbequers! The eatin's always good.
I can't get those times as a child on the river back, and I can't give that precise experience to my grandchildren. But I would like to give them the family reunion experience. I would like them to see their cousins at least once a year. And yes, I'll gripe about the location, and I'll gripe about the cost of gas, and I'll gripe about what my daughter forgets to bring along for my grandkids while we're at the reunion because that's who I am. My family made me that way, and I'm damned proud to be part of them all!
And I'll leave with more rich memories to add to my collection, on my own digital camera that I can share over the internet with my family. I'll mark the progress each child has made, and the progress of the waistlines and hairlines of each adult. I'll cherish every spectacle, and do my part to be on my best behavior so we all have a good time. I'll be thankful of one more year with the older members of my family. I'll tell them all how much I love them in my heart, and hope they can see it in my deeds and hear it through my words. I'll have my memories of us all 30 years ago super-imposed over the faces I see today as time folds in on itself when the family gets together. More connections will be made. Heart strings will be pulled a little tighter.
A little piece of me crumbles off every step further I get from my family. The reunion puts plaster over the hole. Here's to our 2nd annual family reunion of the 21st century.
Morbid Thoughts
From 8/4/08:
Funerals and death have been on my mind a lot lately. Maybe because of a death in the family of a dear friend, two actually. In my previous post I mentioned I was controlling, right? I'd like to control my funeral service - make it a gut-ringer! Here's my idea of a soundtrack guaranteed to get your cry off -
Alan Jackson's "Monday Morning Church"
and
George Strait's "You'll Be There"
all sung by a buddy of mine that plays a wicked guitar and just him and the guitar performing. Can't you just see it?
I'm really bummed as I write this list as I had another darned song, but of course I can't think of it now, and it's the one that inspired this whole darned topic in my head! Funny where the mind goes, huh?
Wonder if I could get a career as a funeral planner? Or is that just too tacky? I'm really not being flip - what an awful time, and all these darned decisions that have to be made. I like the idea of pre-paying and pre-planning. Too bad we are all so afraid to face our own mortality that we don't. Did you? I know I haven't!
Music's always been so important to me. It's the next thing to reading a good book on the top of my list. There are so many good works out there, so many wonderful stories in songs. So many songs I've listened to that inspire me to convert them into stories - full novels. This is where I begin. Here with you.
Funerals and death have been on my mind a lot lately. Maybe because of a death in the family of a dear friend, two actually. In my previous post I mentioned I was controlling, right? I'd like to control my funeral service - make it a gut-ringer! Here's my idea of a soundtrack guaranteed to get your cry off -
Alan Jackson's "Monday Morning Church"
and
George Strait's "You'll Be There"
all sung by a buddy of mine that plays a wicked guitar and just him and the guitar performing. Can't you just see it?
I'm really bummed as I write this list as I had another darned song, but of course I can't think of it now, and it's the one that inspired this whole darned topic in my head! Funny where the mind goes, huh?
Wonder if I could get a career as a funeral planner? Or is that just too tacky? I'm really not being flip - what an awful time, and all these darned decisions that have to be made. I like the idea of pre-paying and pre-planning. Too bad we are all so afraid to face our own mortality that we don't. Did you? I know I haven't!
Music's always been so important to me. It's the next thing to reading a good book on the top of my list. There are so many good works out there, so many wonderful stories in songs. So many songs I've listened to that inspire me to convert them into stories - full novels. This is where I begin. Here with you.
Company Sold
From 8/4/08:
Today my company was sold - or rather, today it became real. We've been hearing, and hearing, and hearing that this was going to happen since April. Last Monday it was officially announced, press releases put out. It still didn't sink in until today, when I rec'd my employment offer letter to work for the new company. I actually have to SIGN an employment contract - a first for me, I believe. It's pretty simple and straightforward.
Along with that came a very brief summary of the benefits I could look forward to in my new company. Never enough info - and more questions came out of that. As I'm also manager to 17 individuals, times that by 17! There's a lot of "just don't know - still working on the details" right now, which really frustrates people, especially when you are dealing with their medical insurance.
Was an interesting day - trying to reassure folks that this really is a good thing for all us, that we have wealth opportunities we haven't had before, and to just hang on and hang in. Interesting observing what's important to each - as everyone was different. One said - how do I plan? Meaning how can he plan for his financial future if he no longer knows the value of everything that might be in the bucket? Others wanted to know when we would know our insurance providers. One kept me bouncing back and forth with whether or not I should mail the packet or if they would come in and pick it up. The postal service only takes about 2 days in Dallas, max, but it was a hard decision - wait TWO WHOLE DAYS to see the paperwork or drive in to office and get it! Used every possible forum to bounce around with - text messages, emails, and phone calls!
Yet another has to make a decision to move from contractor to employee full-time. Give up a 4 day work week to start working 5? or give job up completely? Tough call...
Of course the BIG conversational topic was the options. What does that mean, how much do I get, when do I get them, when can I redeem, how does redemption work and so on and so on. Until I know the subject inside out.
One employee out on vacation for a month - will come back to a completely different company! Conversations on paychecks - how often? And paperwork, treating us all like new hires - have to go through all the "new employee" paperwork again. (guess I need to remember and go fill out my own!)
Just a small taste of my world - I'm an organized controlling person, and I hate clutter. Today was one big clutter day for me.
Today my company was sold - or rather, today it became real. We've been hearing, and hearing, and hearing that this was going to happen since April. Last Monday it was officially announced, press releases put out. It still didn't sink in until today, when I rec'd my employment offer letter to work for the new company. I actually have to SIGN an employment contract - a first for me, I believe. It's pretty simple and straightforward.
Along with that came a very brief summary of the benefits I could look forward to in my new company. Never enough info - and more questions came out of that. As I'm also manager to 17 individuals, times that by 17! There's a lot of "just don't know - still working on the details" right now, which really frustrates people, especially when you are dealing with their medical insurance.
Was an interesting day - trying to reassure folks that this really is a good thing for all us, that we have wealth opportunities we haven't had before, and to just hang on and hang in. Interesting observing what's important to each - as everyone was different. One said - how do I plan? Meaning how can he plan for his financial future if he no longer knows the value of everything that might be in the bucket? Others wanted to know when we would know our insurance providers. One kept me bouncing back and forth with whether or not I should mail the packet or if they would come in and pick it up. The postal service only takes about 2 days in Dallas, max, but it was a hard decision - wait TWO WHOLE DAYS to see the paperwork or drive in to office and get it! Used every possible forum to bounce around with - text messages, emails, and phone calls!
Yet another has to make a decision to move from contractor to employee full-time. Give up a 4 day work week to start working 5? or give job up completely? Tough call...
Of course the BIG conversational topic was the options. What does that mean, how much do I get, when do I get them, when can I redeem, how does redemption work and so on and so on. Until I know the subject inside out.
One employee out on vacation for a month - will come back to a completely different company! Conversations on paychecks - how often? And paperwork, treating us all like new hires - have to go through all the "new employee" paperwork again. (guess I need to remember and go fill out my own!)
Just a small taste of my world - I'm an organized controlling person, and I hate clutter. Today was one big clutter day for me.
I wish....
From 7/26/08:
I could remember why I wrote what I did way back two years ago. It was pretty good writing, huh? and pretty darned heart felt, but evidently not quite as traumatic as I must have thought, since I can't remember it today. Ok, I do have an inkling of what it might have been about. I'm nearly positive.
I could remember why I wrote what I did way back two years ago. It was pretty good writing, huh? and pretty darned heart felt, but evidently not quite as traumatic as I must have thought, since I can't remember it today. Ok, I do have an inkling of what it might have been about. I'm nearly positive.
Let Me Tell You About My Day
From 7/29/08:
You'd think a day that has a baby pooping all over your shirt during your lunch break had gotten as bad as it was going to get, right?
Wrong! After cleaning that mess up (thank heavens for baby wipes) I had to finish out the day with a mild stain on my shirt. I promise - it didn't smell!
Next on the plate, a long discussion with a team member that had absolutely nothing good come out of it. I'd like to say I was brilliant, but actually I was pathetic. What that person needs, I can't give.
Then on home where I settled down to write in my journal, but was distracted by TV. Law & Order - Special Victims Unit, to be precise.
I was already amused by how fast the crime investigation was being moved along when this over-used gem popped up in the dialogue:
"I used to feel that part of me was missing"....."and then I met X, and he filled that hole".
This show is so lame. I am absorbed in it, but I can predict everything before it happens. And I don't like the way that modern tv (the horrors!) has condensed these complicated cases down to a matter of minutes. Real police work and detective work takes time.
Example, they walk into the lab with a scrap of burned paper.
"There was writing on it, if only we can read it"
Up walks the perky lab assistant - "we can. Hit the lights".
She puts it under a special type of light in the darkened room, flips through about 15 different types of lights, and voila! Message now appears. Problem solved. Or rather another clue appears.
We all know lab work doesn't happen like that. Neither does "chain of custody". So yes, while highly entertaining, it BOTHERS the purist in me! Are we so desperate for entertainment that we have to see a complicated investigation boiled down to 6 different scenes and crime solved?
Ok, so the best part of the whole show was the end - it did redeem itself in the court scenes. Some good acting there, and a bitter twist perpetrated by the good guys on to the bad guys.
So truly, is ANY writing good writing? Cause I could see doing this on a daily basis. Can I be the next Carrie Bradshaw? What would be my shtick?
Oh, I owed you all my story about boot camp! I was supposed to go "try out" boot camp Thursday, Friday and Monday. Thursday didn't happen. Visited with my friend that is running it Thursday night, took TONS of abuse, and committed to being there Friday morning. Didn't. Rolled over in bed, said screw it. And was quite happy about it.
Monday came - I got up. I went - left my house at 5:15 a.m. Song on the radio? It was a sign "Go Rest High on that Mountain" - telling me to go back to bed. Not a very familiar song either, yet was playing. When it was done? Another sign sent to me via the radio waves - "Mama Don't Get Dressed Up For Nothing"! I looked down. Yeah, I'm thinking. I don't get dressed up to go to darned boot camp! Yet I still kept driving. In spite of the subliminal messages being sent. Those were the only two songs I heard - yes, I could see the ad now - "Boot Camp - Only Two Songs Away - Convenient for All".
And to prove small worlds get smaller, two neighbors were there, one from my very small reading group! Both sympathetic to my plight. We lined up, did a few stretches. Then right to it - run a lap. 1/4th of a mile. One time all the way around the football field. I jogged, and I made it 3/4th of the 1/4th of the lap. Which was much farther than I ever thought I would get, I was expecting to peter out by the 1/2 point. I was feeling GOOD! I RAN - ok jogged - 3/4 of one WHOLE lap! That was amazing for me, true progress, in my first boot camp.
From that point on I was an advocate. Nothing was too hard. Nothing too intense. I was going to do it all. And then, we "ran" the bleachers...........
Yes, I knew they did that. And yes, the drill sergeant plainly told me, in front of all, that I didn't have to do it. With motivation like that, how can you not? I ask, you - could you take that kind of peer pressure and not rise to the occasion? So UP the steps on the bleachers I went, turn at the top, right back down. "that's not too bad" I think to myself. One more time. Up to the top, turn, right back down. "still doing well". Again. Up to the top, turn, right back down. This time at the top I think I'm there when I'm not. Realize I have one more set of handholds to go. Darn. Back down is just a little bit tougher.
Next set. Up to the top - I seriously consider short cutting it - turn - walk back down.....
Last set. I'm huffing and puffing up. I drag myself, but I clear the pinnacle. I turn, I head back down. The drill sergeant is waiting for me. "Great job" she says - "you did it!. Now let's catch up with the others, we're going to RUN some more!" [go rest high on that mountain plays in my head]
Next challenge? Walk across the field on a diagonal to the other side of the track, then run back to where you started walking from around the track. Do that 3 times. I did it once, told the master sergeant I was walking a lap instead of the last 2. And did. Got my breath back.
Oh, AND THE LUNGES! How can I forget the lunges??? And ain't it GREAT that football fields have natural guidelines on them for master drill sergeants to work into their choreography? Do alternating lunges forward for 20 yards. Then do backwards lunges for another 20 yards. Then do a lunge and pick up your knee for 20 yards. Then do a lunge and kick out - for another 20 yards. (are we at the end of the field yet? If not, I forgot something). I think I walked out the last 30 yards or so, I was done with lunging.
She did let us lay down at the end once we got there. But so we could do situps! And somewhere on that field we did push-ups, but I couldn't tell you where, it became a big blur after awhile. I'm sure there was some more running, too, but that's wiped from my brain from the fun time lunging.
But you know what? An hour went by VERY fast. And I left on an adrenaline high that I loved. I could see craving that stuff. That was yesterday.
Today? Boy, it's been at the front of my mind every step. Every time I get up out of a chair or try to sit down in one. Every ache, every time I touch my shin to try to rub away the pain. Just lifting my legs a bare centimeter to spread out more comfortably on the bed while I'm typing this HURTS! See you all there on Friday?
You'd think a day that has a baby pooping all over your shirt during your lunch break had gotten as bad as it was going to get, right?
Wrong! After cleaning that mess up (thank heavens for baby wipes) I had to finish out the day with a mild stain on my shirt. I promise - it didn't smell!
Next on the plate, a long discussion with a team member that had absolutely nothing good come out of it. I'd like to say I was brilliant, but actually I was pathetic. What that person needs, I can't give.
Then on home where I settled down to write in my journal, but was distracted by TV. Law & Order - Special Victims Unit, to be precise.
I was already amused by how fast the crime investigation was being moved along when this over-used gem popped up in the dialogue:
"I used to feel that part of me was missing"....."and then I met X, and he filled that hole".
This show is so lame. I am absorbed in it, but I can predict everything before it happens. And I don't like the way that modern tv (the horrors!) has condensed these complicated cases down to a matter of minutes. Real police work and detective work takes time.
Example, they walk into the lab with a scrap of burned paper.
"There was writing on it, if only we can read it"
Up walks the perky lab assistant - "we can. Hit the lights".
She puts it under a special type of light in the darkened room, flips through about 15 different types of lights, and voila! Message now appears. Problem solved. Or rather another clue appears.
We all know lab work doesn't happen like that. Neither does "chain of custody". So yes, while highly entertaining, it BOTHERS the purist in me! Are we so desperate for entertainment that we have to see a complicated investigation boiled down to 6 different scenes and crime solved?
Ok, so the best part of the whole show was the end - it did redeem itself in the court scenes. Some good acting there, and a bitter twist perpetrated by the good guys on to the bad guys.
So truly, is ANY writing good writing? Cause I could see doing this on a daily basis. Can I be the next Carrie Bradshaw? What would be my shtick?
Oh, I owed you all my story about boot camp! I was supposed to go "try out" boot camp Thursday, Friday and Monday. Thursday didn't happen. Visited with my friend that is running it Thursday night, took TONS of abuse, and committed to being there Friday morning. Didn't. Rolled over in bed, said screw it. And was quite happy about it.
Monday came - I got up. I went - left my house at 5:15 a.m. Song on the radio? It was a sign "Go Rest High on that Mountain" - telling me to go back to bed. Not a very familiar song either, yet was playing. When it was done? Another sign sent to me via the radio waves - "Mama Don't Get Dressed Up For Nothing"! I looked down. Yeah, I'm thinking. I don't get dressed up to go to darned boot camp! Yet I still kept driving. In spite of the subliminal messages being sent. Those were the only two songs I heard - yes, I could see the ad now - "Boot Camp - Only Two Songs Away - Convenient for All".
And to prove small worlds get smaller, two neighbors were there, one from my very small reading group! Both sympathetic to my plight. We lined up, did a few stretches. Then right to it - run a lap. 1/4th of a mile. One time all the way around the football field. I jogged, and I made it 3/4th of the 1/4th of the lap. Which was much farther than I ever thought I would get, I was expecting to peter out by the 1/2 point. I was feeling GOOD! I RAN - ok jogged - 3/4 of one WHOLE lap! That was amazing for me, true progress, in my first boot camp.
From that point on I was an advocate. Nothing was too hard. Nothing too intense. I was going to do it all. And then, we "ran" the bleachers...........
Yes, I knew they did that. And yes, the drill sergeant plainly told me, in front of all, that I didn't have to do it. With motivation like that, how can you not? I ask, you - could you take that kind of peer pressure and not rise to the occasion? So UP the steps on the bleachers I went, turn at the top, right back down. "that's not too bad" I think to myself. One more time. Up to the top, turn, right back down. "still doing well". Again. Up to the top, turn, right back down. This time at the top I think I'm there when I'm not. Realize I have one more set of handholds to go. Darn. Back down is just a little bit tougher.
Next set. Up to the top - I seriously consider short cutting it - turn - walk back down.....
Last set. I'm huffing and puffing up. I drag myself, but I clear the pinnacle. I turn, I head back down. The drill sergeant is waiting for me. "Great job" she says - "you did it!. Now let's catch up with the others, we're going to RUN some more!" [go rest high on that mountain plays in my head]
Next challenge? Walk across the field on a diagonal to the other side of the track, then run back to where you started walking from around the track. Do that 3 times. I did it once, told the master sergeant I was walking a lap instead of the last 2. And did. Got my breath back.
Oh, AND THE LUNGES! How can I forget the lunges??? And ain't it GREAT that football fields have natural guidelines on them for master drill sergeants to work into their choreography? Do alternating lunges forward for 20 yards. Then do backwards lunges for another 20 yards. Then do a lunge and pick up your knee for 20 yards. Then do a lunge and kick out - for another 20 yards. (are we at the end of the field yet? If not, I forgot something). I think I walked out the last 30 yards or so, I was done with lunging.
She did let us lay down at the end once we got there. But so we could do situps! And somewhere on that field we did push-ups, but I couldn't tell you where, it became a big blur after awhile. I'm sure there was some more running, too, but that's wiped from my brain from the fun time lunging.
But you know what? An hour went by VERY fast. And I left on an adrenaline high that I loved. I could see craving that stuff. That was yesterday.
Today? Boy, it's been at the front of my mind every step. Every time I get up out of a chair or try to sit down in one. Every ache, every time I touch my shin to try to rub away the pain. Just lifting my legs a bare centimeter to spread out more comfortably on the bed while I'm typing this HURTS! See you all there on Friday?
And another one
From 7/26/08:
(had to stop and go check the link for Valerie)
Too funny! I reviewed that post, and was immediately struck by the fact that the post below it was EXACTLY two years older, to the date! I'll have to check the time. Does that mean there is something significant about July 26th for me? I don't know what it might be. Maybe I should do an astrology check on it.
(had to stop and go check the link for Valerie)
Too funny! I reviewed that post, and was immediately struck by the fact that the post below it was EXACTLY two years older, to the date! I'll have to check the time. Does that mean there is something significant about July 26th for me? I don't know what it might be. Maybe I should do an astrology check on it.
Online Again!
From 7/26/08:
Got to thinking about the various ways I could satisfy my "homework assignment" - to WRITE SOMETHING and send it out. Wondered if I still had blog pages out on the net, and came across this one - yes I do! Only a couple of entries, as it was another failed experiment that didn't work....at the time..............
Got to thinking about the various ways I could satisfy my "homework assignment" - to WRITE SOMETHING and send it out. Wondered if I still had blog pages out on the net, and came across this one - yes I do! Only a couple of entries, as it was another failed experiment that didn't work....at the time..............
When your grown children break your heart
From 7/26/06:
Hearts are interesting organs - the abuse they can take, and take and take, and still keep performing. A hard knock, a little hiccup, a slight adjustment and they go right on without missing much more than a miniscule of a beat. All an illusion, really as the "heart" itself is not truly impacted when it is "broken". So what is? What is it that clutches tightly in your chest and feels like a giant cement block? What is it that stutters and jumps? What is it in that general area - muscle reaction to a shock? Is it really that simple? Or is there a wire in your brain that is plugged right into the heart tissue that sends a jolt when it gets "tripped"?
Would that it were that easy, then we would see elective surgeries to snip it and solder the ends off just as common as the ones done to prevent unwanted pregnancies! And what would life be like then? Never to have to feel that pain, would we all become happier people? or meaner people?
Choices were made today, I would have liked to experienced them with that snip already done.
Hearts are interesting organs - the abuse they can take, and take and take, and still keep performing. A hard knock, a little hiccup, a slight adjustment and they go right on without missing much more than a miniscule of a beat. All an illusion, really as the "heart" itself is not truly impacted when it is "broken". So what is? What is it that clutches tightly in your chest and feels like a giant cement block? What is it that stutters and jumps? What is it in that general area - muscle reaction to a shock? Is it really that simple? Or is there a wire in your brain that is plugged right into the heart tissue that sends a jolt when it gets "tripped"?
Would that it were that easy, then we would see elective surgeries to snip it and solder the ends off just as common as the ones done to prevent unwanted pregnancies! And what would life be like then? Never to have to feel that pain, would we all become happier people? or meaner people?
Choices were made today, I would have liked to experienced them with that snip already done.
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