I talk a lot about my Dad, I guess, but not so much about my Mom. As Mother's Day approaches and my daughter prepares to join the "Mother" group, I am thinking about my Mom.
I got her worry gene. I need to work on NOT worrying, but I can't seem to help it. She worried about everything. She once called the gas company to ask where the bill was. She was afraid she hadn't paid it and they were going to shut the gas off.
My mom was into sewing, I am not, but my daughter is. I can knit, crochet and needlepoint. I can embroider; but SEW? Not my favorite thing to do. I can mend a tear and hem my jeans- a skill learned in Jr. high, being so short it was a survival skill. In high school, my jeans and my denim shirts all has elaborate embroidery, long before they made machines that you could use, I was designing pictures on my clothes.
I got my love of family and holidays from my mom. She was never so happy as when the whole family was in the house for Christmas. She loved Christmas and spent a lot of time decorating the house. In the past few years, Christmas has kind of snuck up on me and the house is minimally decorated. I love Thanksgiving, with it's traditional food and the warm smells of a roasting turkey or a fresh-baked pie.
I got my love of reading from my mom. She and my grandmother read to me and I started reading early. I read constantly. It is one form of relaxation. If I can lose myself in a good book, it erases some of the stress my normal day to day activities bring to my life. I plan on reading to my grandson, just as I read to his mother and just as my mother read to me.
Still, I miss my mom. I missed her the day I married Chris, although I believe in my heart of hearts that she was there somehow. I will miss her when I cuddle my grandson in September for the first time. She would be so happy. I wonder who I will see in the boy when I look at him for the first time. The kids are naming him after my father. If the baby had been a girl, they would have named her after my mother.
So, Happy Mother's Day, Mom, and Happy Mother's day to all those moms out there. If you can still hug yours, hug her for me.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Don't piss me off
I saw a meme today that said something like "I don't need to work on my anger issues. People have to work at not pissing me off." I can relate. I need to relax a bit, but things are really hacking me off these days. Venting usually helps, so here goes.
Parking. People who take up two parking spaces. I live on a street with a lot of apartments and parking can be dicey. One woman in my building parks her POS Toyota in the middle space in front of the building, effectively taking the space which COULD have accommodated TWO cars. Every. Freaking. Day. Like it's HER space. GRRRR. There was a guy who parked in the parking garage where I work who took a space on the end but parked across it so that so car could possibly park next to him and ding the door on his new BMW. What this genius failed to realize was that the NOSE of the car was hanging out in the aisle. One a corner. Freaking BRILLIANT!
Two terms that should be banned from further usage in business discussions; "reaching out"and 'transparency". I am so SICK of hearing how a business or agency is "reaching out" to the community to find out what they need. It is SO overused. It is a sad attempt to make businesses seem all warm and fuzzy. STOP. Just STOP. As far as transparency, people only use that when they feel they are out of the loop. Demanding "transparency" just means that they feel they have the "right" to know all the intimate details of something. They probably don't really need to know, but they scream "where's the transparency?" at every opportunity.
Stupid thieves. Seriously, there has been a rash of plumbing thefts recently and I am flummoxed to figure out why. At one branch, they have stolen the pipe that connects the toilet to the wall TWICE. I have to wonder if someone is repairing a house. People steal the craziest things. I realize that SOME of the thefts have to do with the price of copper. What REALLY makes me crazy is the thought of all those unscrupulous recycling agencies. You HAVE to know that these people who come in with twelve newish back-flow devices aren't working for a construction company. I wonder about the people who were stealing manhole covers. Those are actually STAMPED City of Los Angeles!
As I go through my day today, I am going to work on my "attitude of gratitude" but some days are harder than others!
Parking. People who take up two parking spaces. I live on a street with a lot of apartments and parking can be dicey. One woman in my building parks her POS Toyota in the middle space in front of the building, effectively taking the space which COULD have accommodated TWO cars. Every. Freaking. Day. Like it's HER space. GRRRR. There was a guy who parked in the parking garage where I work who took a space on the end but parked across it so that so car could possibly park next to him and ding the door on his new BMW. What this genius failed to realize was that the NOSE of the car was hanging out in the aisle. One a corner. Freaking BRILLIANT!
Two terms that should be banned from further usage in business discussions; "reaching out"and 'transparency". I am so SICK of hearing how a business or agency is "reaching out" to the community to find out what they need. It is SO overused. It is a sad attempt to make businesses seem all warm and fuzzy. STOP. Just STOP. As far as transparency, people only use that when they feel they are out of the loop. Demanding "transparency" just means that they feel they have the "right" to know all the intimate details of something. They probably don't really need to know, but they scream "where's the transparency?" at every opportunity.
Stupid thieves. Seriously, there has been a rash of plumbing thefts recently and I am flummoxed to figure out why. At one branch, they have stolen the pipe that connects the toilet to the wall TWICE. I have to wonder if someone is repairing a house. People steal the craziest things. I realize that SOME of the thefts have to do with the price of copper. What REALLY makes me crazy is the thought of all those unscrupulous recycling agencies. You HAVE to know that these people who come in with twelve newish back-flow devices aren't working for a construction company. I wonder about the people who were stealing manhole covers. Those are actually STAMPED City of Los Angeles!
As I go through my day today, I am going to work on my "attitude of gratitude" but some days are harder than others!
Monday, May 5, 2014
I don't have much to say
"thought I'd call you up anyway" It's a line from an obscure James Taylor song. "Daddy's all Gone" about being on the road and on the phone with his kids. I love James, even in his worst moments ( Think"someone" from the "one Man Dog" album, where to my ear he goes horribly out of tune and soldiers on with it anyway.)
I've been busy, too busy to sit and think and collect my thoughts. Too much on my plate, as usual and I think I need to get SERIOUS about scaling down my commitments. I always seem to end one and begin another. I am getting tired of being the person in my volunteer organizations that everyone turns to when something needs doing. I don't mind DOING if everyone else is DOING as well. It gets old, seeing only the same people doing the "boots on the ground" work. isn't that the way it is everywhere though. A small handful work toward the goal while others sit back and talk about what needs to be done.
Rant over.
I did the "Relay for Life" this weekend. It was a smallish affair, but we raised over 7,000 for cancer research. It was fun and maybe next year I will do a bit more. It might be FUN to camp out and walk at three in the morning. You never know.
I have been thinking about the Clippers owner, and even though I truly believe he is a scum-weasel whose racist leanings should not win him any prizes, I think he was kind of set up with those recordings. NOT that I am defending him and he REALLY should have known better, but c'mon! Did he really think that woman was in love with him? He looks like the Crypt Keeper. I doubt they have anything in common but his money. They are both so not worth the time and ink it takes to print the story. Dirt and salacious gossip sell newspapers these days. It's a shame. Yellow journalism is the order of the day. Newspapers and television news are boiled down to soundbites and a fifth grade reading level.
It's a shame, really. We are educating our children to pass tests, not to think critically. We cannot expect them to learn if all they are doing is regurgitating facts to qualify their schools for more funds based on test scores. I fear for the next generation and what will happen to this country as we experience the "dumbing down" of our people.
I've been busy, too busy to sit and think and collect my thoughts. Too much on my plate, as usual and I think I need to get SERIOUS about scaling down my commitments. I always seem to end one and begin another. I am getting tired of being the person in my volunteer organizations that everyone turns to when something needs doing. I don't mind DOING if everyone else is DOING as well. It gets old, seeing only the same people doing the "boots on the ground" work. isn't that the way it is everywhere though. A small handful work toward the goal while others sit back and talk about what needs to be done.
Rant over.
I did the "Relay for Life" this weekend. It was a smallish affair, but we raised over 7,000 for cancer research. It was fun and maybe next year I will do a bit more. It might be FUN to camp out and walk at three in the morning. You never know.
I have been thinking about the Clippers owner, and even though I truly believe he is a scum-weasel whose racist leanings should not win him any prizes, I think he was kind of set up with those recordings. NOT that I am defending him and he REALLY should have known better, but c'mon! Did he really think that woman was in love with him? He looks like the Crypt Keeper. I doubt they have anything in common but his money. They are both so not worth the time and ink it takes to print the story. Dirt and salacious gossip sell newspapers these days. It's a shame. Yellow journalism is the order of the day. Newspapers and television news are boiled down to soundbites and a fifth grade reading level.
It's a shame, really. We are educating our children to pass tests, not to think critically. We cannot expect them to learn if all they are doing is regurgitating facts to qualify their schools for more funds based on test scores. I fear for the next generation and what will happen to this country as we experience the "dumbing down" of our people.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month, and as a sometime writer of poetry myself, I have been thinking about poets and poems.
This one that I remember from a lit class in college; I took so many of them, I can't remember just WHICH class it was, probably "Classic Literature" or some such nonsense:
This one that I remember from a lit class in college; I took so many of them, I can't remember just WHICH class it was, probably "Classic Literature" or some such nonsense:
Stand close around, ye Stygian set,
With Dirce in one boat conveyed!
Or Charon, seeing, may forget
That he is old and she a shade.
It didn't mean anything to me as a twenty-something, but NOW, well, it resonates. The same applies to Wallace Stevens, whose work I completely get now. I was underwhelmed as an undergrad. I only took the class because 1- I needed a seminar in a modern writer for my degree, 2- the teacher was supposed to be the leading expert on Stevens and 3- IT FIT INTO MY SCHEDULE!
The cool thing about poetry is that there are so many variations that most people can find a poet who speaks to them. It's a bit like music in that way, but a lot of people are frightened of poetry, as if it is not socially acceptable to discuss poetry anymore. I personally like William Carlos Williams, who famously turned a note to his wife into a poem. He illustrates the everyday-ness of poetry. You don't have to have rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter for it to be a poem.
I live in Tujunga, where we have an actual Poet Laureate. Today is "The Passing of the Laurels" Ceremony up at McGroarty Arts Center. It's a 3:00 pm I always enjoy the ceremony and it should be an interesting day.
This Is Just To Say
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
This Is Just To Say
by William Carlos WilliamsI have eaten the plums that were in the icebox and which you were probably saving for breakfast Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold- See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15535#sthash.G4KiTEJp.dpuf
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Happy Easter!
As a person who considers herself "Plain-wrap Christian" ( meaning I follow the belief in a rather generic way) I have been thinking about the meaning of Easter this morning.
Easter, not Christmas, is the center of the faith. It is the core of Christian belief that Christ died and rose again. On the surface, I suppose, such belief is silly but there it is. The nature of faith is to believe, to take a "leap of faith" and believe. So, on this Easter Sunday, I am thinking not about Jesus, but Judas. We are all pissed off at Judas. His very name has come to mean a traitor or a turncoat. A "Judas Goat" is a goat the herds other animals to slaughter. Judas is the focus of enmity in the Christian religion, but I have been thinking about him. IF we believe that God sent Jesus to cleanse the world of sin; we call him "the lamb of God" after all, referring to the imagery of the traditional sacrificial lamb, then Judas was acting as an instrument of God. Someone had to do it. Can you imagine what that must have felt like for Judas. I remember one school of thought is that Jesus PICKED Judas to do it; Judas was supposed to have been his closest Disciple. Still, we blame Judas; when if we follow the logic, we should be grateful to him. He was the catalyst that began the salvation that is the basis of Christian faith.
For that matter, I have often heard "the Jews killed Jesus" Nope. It was the Romans. They were trying to stop revolutions in their Empire and they did so by killing off anyone who might be a threat. Sure, when Pontious Pilate offered Jesus or Barabas, the crowd wanted Barabas. He must have been better connected in the underground. Again, if we believe that this is all part of God's plan, how can we be angry about it?
So today, if you are Christian, think about the meaning of this, our most "holy" day as you hide your eggs and chomp chocolate bunnies. Somewhere along the line, they incorporated pagan Spring symbols in the holiday ( as they usually did). I will celebrate a day with friends and family, I've got the traditional feast planned . Let me know if you want to stop by! As my mom used to say "we can always throw another potato in the pot."
Easter, not Christmas, is the center of the faith. It is the core of Christian belief that Christ died and rose again. On the surface, I suppose, such belief is silly but there it is. The nature of faith is to believe, to take a "leap of faith" and believe. So, on this Easter Sunday, I am thinking not about Jesus, but Judas. We are all pissed off at Judas. His very name has come to mean a traitor or a turncoat. A "Judas Goat" is a goat the herds other animals to slaughter. Judas is the focus of enmity in the Christian religion, but I have been thinking about him. IF we believe that God sent Jesus to cleanse the world of sin; we call him "the lamb of God" after all, referring to the imagery of the traditional sacrificial lamb, then Judas was acting as an instrument of God. Someone had to do it. Can you imagine what that must have felt like for Judas. I remember one school of thought is that Jesus PICKED Judas to do it; Judas was supposed to have been his closest Disciple. Still, we blame Judas; when if we follow the logic, we should be grateful to him. He was the catalyst that began the salvation that is the basis of Christian faith.
For that matter, I have often heard "the Jews killed Jesus" Nope. It was the Romans. They were trying to stop revolutions in their Empire and they did so by killing off anyone who might be a threat. Sure, when Pontious Pilate offered Jesus or Barabas, the crowd wanted Barabas. He must have been better connected in the underground. Again, if we believe that this is all part of God's plan, how can we be angry about it?
So today, if you are Christian, think about the meaning of this, our most "holy" day as you hide your eggs and chomp chocolate bunnies. Somewhere along the line, they incorporated pagan Spring symbols in the holiday ( as they usually did). I will celebrate a day with friends and family, I've got the traditional feast planned . Let me know if you want to stop by! As my mom used to say "we can always throw another potato in the pot."
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Veganism and the Maginot Line
We have friends who are militant vegans. Well, maybe friends isn't the right word here, because recently they have taken to attacking the lifestyle choices that everyone else makes in an effort to bring us around to their way of thinking. Pardon me, but the way to get me to think is NOT to bash me over the head and while I am glad you find something that works for you and that you are passionate about, please don't sit there insulting me in hopes it will change my mind. It just makes me mad and ends any hope you may have of discussing your opinion with me.
The "you are perpetrating animal cruelty" argument got me to thinking about the Maginot Line. After WWI , the French became SO convinced that the Germans would attack from a certain direction that they constructed an immobile defense line along that way. Of course, the Germans, seeing that, attacked a different way. When you plant yourself so firmly that you are unmovable, it ceases to be a discussion. It's more like that old "Is NOT.. Is TOO!" argument you got into in grade school. Pointless. The fact that humans have been omnivores for centuries somehow escapes notice. The real "culprit" here is not the person who chooses to continue to be an omnivore, but the large corporations whose practices are the ones being pointed out. I highly doubt that the entire planet will "go vegan" on the say-so of a few very passionate people. They really need to address the problems in the meat processing industry, but sadly they won't. Maybe some will, but most will continue to berate, rather than educate.
The "you are perpetrating animal cruelty" argument got me to thinking about the Maginot Line. After WWI , the French became SO convinced that the Germans would attack from a certain direction that they constructed an immobile defense line along that way. Of course, the Germans, seeing that, attacked a different way. When you plant yourself so firmly that you are unmovable, it ceases to be a discussion. It's more like that old "Is NOT.. Is TOO!" argument you got into in grade school. Pointless. The fact that humans have been omnivores for centuries somehow escapes notice. The real "culprit" here is not the person who chooses to continue to be an omnivore, but the large corporations whose practices are the ones being pointed out. I highly doubt that the entire planet will "go vegan" on the say-so of a few very passionate people. They really need to address the problems in the meat processing industry, but sadly they won't. Maybe some will, but most will continue to berate, rather than educate.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Thinking about "country sayings"
I was thinking yesterday about the saying "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first" Now I have been known to eat chocolate cake or pie for breakfast, but I was really thinking about what this meant. I suppose you could take it literally and eat your sweets before you eat your meal, but I think it's more than that. To my way of thinking, it reminds me that because you never know what is going to happen, you should do the things you want to do most, first. Enjoy the sweet of your life as much as possible. You just never know.
For the last few months, I have been incredibly busy and although I get a good deal of satisfaction from it, I have not had the chance to stop and enjoy the sweets of my life. My own fault, really; but I had NO idea that ALL my volunteer projects would converge in the month of March. Two are over and I THOUGHT one more was over last week, but alas that is not quite the case and I am still dealing with the nastiness of people who persist in "looking for Commies in the woodpile" I really don't want to interact with some of these people when I am done with this, although in some cases I must on a limited basis. I will try to smile, grit my teeth and be a professional. I just want to smack some sense into a few of them. Some are very reasonable in their discussions. Some are just going off on a rant at me. One person called for everyone involved to be fired. FIRED? I'm a VOLUNTEER. Maybe she should look up the word. The thing that concerns me, even frightens me, is that these people are administrative level staff, the ones who are "supposed" to have an education. I just want this OVER!
Chris and I will be going away this weekend. Just the two of us. It's been a while since our various projects and other issues have taken over our lives and we have some couple time. I am looking forward to doing NOTHING but hanging out with my best friend in the world. Quality time with Chris is JUST what the doctor ordered!
For the last few months, I have been incredibly busy and although I get a good deal of satisfaction from it, I have not had the chance to stop and enjoy the sweets of my life. My own fault, really; but I had NO idea that ALL my volunteer projects would converge in the month of March. Two are over and I THOUGHT one more was over last week, but alas that is not quite the case and I am still dealing with the nastiness of people who persist in "looking for Commies in the woodpile" I really don't want to interact with some of these people when I am done with this, although in some cases I must on a limited basis. I will try to smile, grit my teeth and be a professional. I just want to smack some sense into a few of them. Some are very reasonable in their discussions. Some are just going off on a rant at me. One person called for everyone involved to be fired. FIRED? I'm a VOLUNTEER. Maybe she should look up the word. The thing that concerns me, even frightens me, is that these people are administrative level staff, the ones who are "supposed" to have an education. I just want this OVER!
Chris and I will be going away this weekend. Just the two of us. It's been a while since our various projects and other issues have taken over our lives and we have some couple time. I am looking forward to doing NOTHING but hanging out with my best friend in the world. Quality time with Chris is JUST what the doctor ordered!
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