That's how I spent the night last night. Yelling at some deadbeats I know. Telling them off. Expressing my disappointment in them in ways that would scald their psyches if they knew how I really felt.
I am so tired. But, I am through with being angry and I didn't hurt anyone, and I am reasonable now.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
I can sit again! Hello blog!
One thing I discovered in the past few months is how hard it is to blog when you are having trouble sitting comfortably.
Yes, I re-injured my lower back again, with an awesome shot of sciatica. Fortunately, I have a nice chiropractic office that is setting me right again, slowly but surely.
It started again when I started my new job in July. It's at a small company that is expanding, and there was a shortage of decent chairs left. Bad office chairs where what set it off last time, and this time, once again I was in great pain in no time with all the bad ergonomics.
I was able to fashion a workable solution with the cube I am in, and soon we are all getting new chairs, and having test-driven one, they meet my approval.
I am glad, the new job is good and I like my work and my co-workers.
Today was the first day I was able to get back to the YMCA and work out in about 3 weeks. It felt great. I can't run yet, but I will, oh, I will.
In other random thoughts;
I am very interested in a watching-the-car-wreck fashion in the Republican debates and all the subsequent implosions. I find it unreal that Newt Gingrich is currently the best hard right winger they can get right now. Perhaps there really isn't such thing as a good hard right winger--it takes a level of douche-bagginess few can stay the course on. That man has always been a douchbag's douchebag. Newt spewed today on the news shows that he would be glad to arrest judges that seem too "elite" or "activist" (read, liberal.) Hey Newty, I think North Korea just got a new opening for a dictator, perhaps you should give it a look-see. And stop pretending you believe in the Constitution.
I am similarly not understanding the tactic the House Republicans are using with the constant threat of shut downs because they are apparently just plain ornery and don't want to give in to an extension of a payroll tax cut for the middle class because isn't cruel enough to the poor and defenseless, doesn't ruin the environment enough, and doesn't make millionaires richer.
Keep up these tactics, good ol'boys, and not even the sleaziest tea bagger will support you.
Yes, I re-injured my lower back again, with an awesome shot of sciatica. Fortunately, I have a nice chiropractic office that is setting me right again, slowly but surely.
It started again when I started my new job in July. It's at a small company that is expanding, and there was a shortage of decent chairs left. Bad office chairs where what set it off last time, and this time, once again I was in great pain in no time with all the bad ergonomics.
I was able to fashion a workable solution with the cube I am in, and soon we are all getting new chairs, and having test-driven one, they meet my approval.
I am glad, the new job is good and I like my work and my co-workers.
Today was the first day I was able to get back to the YMCA and work out in about 3 weeks. It felt great. I can't run yet, but I will, oh, I will.
In other random thoughts;
I am very interested in a watching-the-car-wreck fashion in the Republican debates and all the subsequent implosions. I find it unreal that Newt Gingrich is currently the best hard right winger they can get right now. Perhaps there really isn't such thing as a good hard right winger--it takes a level of douche-bagginess few can stay the course on. That man has always been a douchbag's douchebag. Newt spewed today on the news shows that he would be glad to arrest judges that seem too "elite" or "activist" (read, liberal.) Hey Newty, I think North Korea just got a new opening for a dictator, perhaps you should give it a look-see. And stop pretending you believe in the Constitution.
I am similarly not understanding the tactic the House Republicans are using with the constant threat of shut downs because they are apparently just plain ornery and don't want to give in to an extension of a payroll tax cut for the middle class because isn't cruel enough to the poor and defenseless, doesn't ruin the environment enough, and doesn't make millionaires richer.
Keep up these tactics, good ol'boys, and not even the sleaziest tea bagger will support you.
Friday, October 14, 2011
The 99 Percent
I am one of the 99%. We make much less than the $350,000/year to be a 1 percenter.
I am writing this to clarify what we are protesting. Because apparently, "it isn't clear."
We protest corporations now being people, and the 1% having far too much leverage to control law making, politics and the media. We protest that the bankers and finance "wunderkinds" that nearly destroyed the economy STILL have not to face any repercussions, and are enjoying the millions and billions in bonuses they got AFTER we bailed them out. We protest that the regulations to make sure they can't do it again are STILL not in place, and that the 1% is lobbying to get even less regulation, falsely claiming that "this is strangling our ability to make jobs" despite all evidence to the contrary. The 1 percenters are not job creators that for some reason should not be fairly taxed like the rest of us. They took their Bush Tax cuts and DID NOT create new jobs with them in the past 10 years, and it's not going to happen if we give them more at the expense of people in the bottom 30%.
This is what we are protesting. If you do not understand that, or if it is not clear, then you must pay better attention and get your head out of your arse.
I am not able to be one of the many doing the occupying, but I support those who are. There are far more of us than them, and if anyone lifts a hand or a club to people who are peacefully protesting, we will be out there, because the economic and political injustice is real. There are too many people suffering. Our nation was not founded to be for the rich and by the rich, but for the people and by the people. To be claiming anything else is truly unAmerican.
I am writing this to clarify what we are protesting. Because apparently, "it isn't clear."
We protest corporations now being people, and the 1% having far too much leverage to control law making, politics and the media. We protest that the bankers and finance "wunderkinds" that nearly destroyed the economy STILL have not to face any repercussions, and are enjoying the millions and billions in bonuses they got AFTER we bailed them out. We protest that the regulations to make sure they can't do it again are STILL not in place, and that the 1% is lobbying to get even less regulation, falsely claiming that "this is strangling our ability to make jobs" despite all evidence to the contrary. The 1 percenters are not job creators that for some reason should not be fairly taxed like the rest of us. They took their Bush Tax cuts and DID NOT create new jobs with them in the past 10 years, and it's not going to happen if we give them more at the expense of people in the bottom 30%.
This is what we are protesting. If you do not understand that, or if it is not clear, then you must pay better attention and get your head out of your arse.
I am not able to be one of the many doing the occupying, but I support those who are. There are far more of us than them, and if anyone lifts a hand or a club to people who are peacefully protesting, we will be out there, because the economic and political injustice is real. There are too many people suffering. Our nation was not founded to be for the rich and by the rich, but for the people and by the people. To be claiming anything else is truly unAmerican.
Monday, October 3, 2011
October Awesomeness
September always feels ripe in possibilities, October is when to start putting the new plans in motion. New Year's resolutions have nothing on the beginning of the school year for determination, no matter how old you are.
When I was a teen, the beginning of the school year was a chance to try being whole different person, a better person, a different person than I was the year before. It was like hitting "reset." Some year's personalities were better than others. I learned to love fresh starts in the fall.
Once again I am hitting another reset, and moving from one role toward another. I am no longer an at-home mom with an unusual set of side businesses, but moving toward exploring possibilities of making a difference for a small company. It's exciting.
Outside, my garden looks like hell, but it's still producing. It has been a casualty of my new schedule. The trees are about to hit their best colors, and the weather report is predicting a full week of fall perfection.
I am as excited as a school kid, because change can be so cool.
When I was a teen, the beginning of the school year was a chance to try being whole different person, a better person, a different person than I was the year before. It was like hitting "reset." Some year's personalities were better than others. I learned to love fresh starts in the fall.
Once again I am hitting another reset, and moving from one role toward another. I am no longer an at-home mom with an unusual set of side businesses, but moving toward exploring possibilities of making a difference for a small company. It's exciting.
Outside, my garden looks like hell, but it's still producing. It has been a casualty of my new schedule. The trees are about to hit their best colors, and the weather report is predicting a full week of fall perfection.
I am as excited as a school kid, because change can be so cool.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Honking at a ship that's passed
"The Rogue" by Joe McGinniss is out with all sorts of salacious details and "proof" Sarah Palin is a shallow, mean spirited human being. But who cares? It's not like anyone with half a brain couldn't have figured that out themselves just watching her the past three years. The thing is, her ship is passed, and all he is doing is honking as it passes. She even honks back, hoping someone will wave at her as she goes. But no one cares. They are on to other things.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
In which I inform Joe Walsh he is an Embarrassing Asshat
This morning I got up early to go to a local Republican Party meeting to see what it was like, to hear Joe Walsh speak, and to hopefully ask him questions and tell him my displeasure with how he is representing us.
No, despite my last post, I really am much too polite of a person to be disruptive in my social discourse. This doesn't mean I don't make myself heard, or that anyone would be wondering where I stand on something, just that I am not going to be a jerk about it.
Just about everyone there was old, as in, over 55. Everyone except one of the judge-candidates was very white.
Fully a fifth of the people there were running for office of some sort or another and looking for petition signers--mostly judges and committee people, and one state representative. A couple of the judge-candidates I quite liked, and will look into supporting.
MoveOn.org tried to organize something last minute, and everyone that showed up was civil. It was a very crowded room. Oh, so typically, during the question and answer period the republican chair person decided only to give the microphone to known republicans and ignored anyone else in the room he did not know.
This is not free speech, but he explained to me later, they had had some ugly meetings in earlier months, and he was scared things could get ugly again if he let any of the new people talk. You mean, use tea party tactics? Shocking!
However, I politely let him know that I would have been civil, and showed my civility, and he should let me speak in the future. He agreed and thanked me for introducing myself. You see? Civil.
Afterwards, Joe did go outside to the front of the storefront and shook hands and talked to people. I held up my sign which read "Your Job is to listen to us and represent us, not to make stupid sound bites for Cable News." So if I didn't get to talk to him, he would know a tiny bit of what I was there for.
But, I did get to talk to him. I had time for one recent specific item. It's all I had time for. I told him that his making a big announcement the other day that he not going to go to the president's speech because Obama is idiotic was not only disrespectful to the office of the President of the United States, it also was disrespectful to all of us in the 8th district. He was basically saying that he was not going to listen, and he was not going to be there to represent us. He does not think before he spouts off, or even if he does, it's embarrassing to have him representing us. I told him, 'respectfully,' that when he acts like that, he really looks like an asshat. That basically he is saying, "I'm Joe Walsh, I'm not going to the speech because my penis is so big!" (Well, boo, civility lost, but I said it with a smile.)
His reply was to smile and say,"I didn't say that! What would happen if I said that?" I assured him I was speaking euphemistically, and he acknowledged that.
He asked me if I thought Obama was smart. I said of course! Did I think Michelle Bachman was smart? "NO!" Did I think Sarah Palin is smarter than Obama? "GOD no. No. But she may be wilier."
"Well, then 'respectully' you see that we live in two different worlds. I think Sarah Palin is smarter than Barack Obama."
Jesus, he's not kidding. We are really from way different worlds. I think his is called "Bizarro."
Then it was time for him to leave, and that was that.
There are so many reasons to dislike and reproach this man--he's a deadbeat dad, anti-gay, a foreign policy ignoramus, anti-environment, a liar about small business, he's a tea party hypocrite, and he's just plain embarrassing. But today, for just one of his most recent embarrassments to our district, I personally got to tell him that he is an embarrassment, and that was in some wee measure, good.
No, despite my last post, I really am much too polite of a person to be disruptive in my social discourse. This doesn't mean I don't make myself heard, or that anyone would be wondering where I stand on something, just that I am not going to be a jerk about it.
Just about everyone there was old, as in, over 55. Everyone except one of the judge-candidates was very white.
Fully a fifth of the people there were running for office of some sort or another and looking for petition signers--mostly judges and committee people, and one state representative. A couple of the judge-candidates I quite liked, and will look into supporting.
MoveOn.org tried to organize something last minute, and everyone that showed up was civil. It was a very crowded room. Oh, so typically, during the question and answer period the republican chair person decided only to give the microphone to known republicans and ignored anyone else in the room he did not know.
This is not free speech, but he explained to me later, they had had some ugly meetings in earlier months, and he was scared things could get ugly again if he let any of the new people talk. You mean, use tea party tactics? Shocking!
However, I politely let him know that I would have been civil, and showed my civility, and he should let me speak in the future. He agreed and thanked me for introducing myself. You see? Civil.
Afterwards, Joe did go outside to the front of the storefront and shook hands and talked to people. I held up my sign which read "Your Job is to listen to us and represent us, not to make stupid sound bites for Cable News." So if I didn't get to talk to him, he would know a tiny bit of what I was there for.
But, I did get to talk to him. I had time for one recent specific item. It's all I had time for. I told him that his making a big announcement the other day that he not going to go to the president's speech because Obama is idiotic was not only disrespectful to the office of the President of the United States, it also was disrespectful to all of us in the 8th district. He was basically saying that he was not going to listen, and he was not going to be there to represent us. He does not think before he spouts off, or even if he does, it's embarrassing to have him representing us. I told him, 'respectfully,' that when he acts like that, he really looks like an asshat. That basically he is saying, "I'm Joe Walsh, I'm not going to the speech because my penis is so big!" (Well, boo, civility lost, but I said it with a smile.)
His reply was to smile and say,"I didn't say that! What would happen if I said that?" I assured him I was speaking euphemistically, and he acknowledged that.
He asked me if I thought Obama was smart. I said of course! Did I think Michelle Bachman was smart? "NO!" Did I think Sarah Palin is smarter than Obama? "GOD no. No. But she may be wilier."
"Well, then 'respectully' you see that we live in two different worlds. I think Sarah Palin is smarter than Barack Obama."
Jesus, he's not kidding. We are really from way different worlds. I think his is called "Bizarro."
Then it was time for him to leave, and that was that.
There are so many reasons to dislike and reproach this man--he's a deadbeat dad, anti-gay, a foreign policy ignoramus, anti-environment, a liar about small business, he's a tea party hypocrite, and he's just plain embarrassing. But today, for just one of his most recent embarrassments to our district, I personally got to tell him that he is an embarrassment, and that was in some wee measure, good.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Bite size blogging
I am thinking of going to see Congressman Joe Walsh on Saturday morning at a republican event and "encourage" at him to think Jobs for Americans not Tax cuts for wealthy people. In addition, I would like to to let him know that obstructionism for party driven reasons is NOT "working for the people" and making embarrassing sound bites to 24 hour news about how cool he is he is disrespecting the president's jobs speech is the opposite of DOING HIS JOB. If I can let him know, by the by, I think that he is a loathsome hypocritical deadbeat dad and an embarrassment to humans in general, that would be swell. This is the sort of politician that needs to be confronted, because he is a fathead.
School has started again, and the world is once again full of possibility. September never stops feeling that way. We are all getting back to the school schedule, with its early mornings. If only I could also get the hang of early evenings.
About a month ago, I started the South Beach Diet at the suggestion of my OB GYN who said it would be great for my stubborn to lose middle age spread. It's healthy, and relies on non-processed foods and lots of fiber, with few to no empty carbs such as regular pasta, white rice, white bread, candy, etc. What do you know--it's actually working. Seven pounds down, ten to go. I am not perfect on it, but the first phase of the diet made me very aware of what was making the weight go on--sugar highs and lows brought on by insulin spikes from inferior foods. My blood sugar has evened out, and I am lacking cravings for high carb foods--most of the time.
I have been at my new job for about a month and a half, and I am excited that I am learning something every day, and there is little likelihood that it will be routine. This excites me. There are opportunities like crazy, and it's a company that is actually doing well even in this economy. It was a small company that is getting absorbed into a global company, and it is going through some growing pains. This seems to some people to be frustrating and full of problems, but I hope that they will also see that this also could be an opportunity to change things that aren't working while things are still flexible, malleable. It's very interesting, and stimulating as long as you don't get upset by negativity in the moment when something is not working.
It is late. I have an early morning tomorrow. Life is good. Ciao for now.
School has started again, and the world is once again full of possibility. September never stops feeling that way. We are all getting back to the school schedule, with its early mornings. If only I could also get the hang of early evenings.
About a month ago, I started the South Beach Diet at the suggestion of my OB GYN who said it would be great for my stubborn to lose middle age spread. It's healthy, and relies on non-processed foods and lots of fiber, with few to no empty carbs such as regular pasta, white rice, white bread, candy, etc. What do you know--it's actually working. Seven pounds down, ten to go. I am not perfect on it, but the first phase of the diet made me very aware of what was making the weight go on--sugar highs and lows brought on by insulin spikes from inferior foods. My blood sugar has evened out, and I am lacking cravings for high carb foods--most of the time.
I have been at my new job for about a month and a half, and I am excited that I am learning something every day, and there is little likelihood that it will be routine. This excites me. There are opportunities like crazy, and it's a company that is actually doing well even in this economy. It was a small company that is getting absorbed into a global company, and it is going through some growing pains. This seems to some people to be frustrating and full of problems, but I hope that they will also see that this also could be an opportunity to change things that aren't working while things are still flexible, malleable. It's very interesting, and stimulating as long as you don't get upset by negativity in the moment when something is not working.
It is late. I have an early morning tomorrow. Life is good. Ciao for now.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
One Year Anniversary
August 17th last year, my mom passed away the day after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
I wasn't sure how I would react, yesterday. Turned out, I had a few moments, but mostly I hung in there and had a pretty good day.
I have a new job, and it wouldn't have been professional to moan and groan, and we were too busy anyway.
It helped that last weekend we went out and visited my Dad, and we managed to have a great time together traveling a little, going out to eat, taking the niece out to go shopping, and talking a lot. Sometimes, it really helps to remember and enjoy who you do have in this world.
We talked about Mom, and since we are on the same wavelength, could talk about her honestly and about how we talk to her from time to time and how that helps.
Missing my mom is like a pain in my chest I have learned how to ignore until I can deal with it. It's good to acknowledge it though. It will always be there.
I miss my mom a lot. I miss her every day.
I wasn't sure how I would react, yesterday. Turned out, I had a few moments, but mostly I hung in there and had a pretty good day.
I have a new job, and it wouldn't have been professional to moan and groan, and we were too busy anyway.
It helped that last weekend we went out and visited my Dad, and we managed to have a great time together traveling a little, going out to eat, taking the niece out to go shopping, and talking a lot. Sometimes, it really helps to remember and enjoy who you do have in this world.
We talked about Mom, and since we are on the same wavelength, could talk about her honestly and about how we talk to her from time to time and how that helps.
Missing my mom is like a pain in my chest I have learned how to ignore until I can deal with it. It's good to acknowledge it though. It will always be there.
I miss my mom a lot. I miss her every day.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
The calm down time
Well, I am calmer now. Since as a citizen I have no say in what Congress does or doesn't do, but I am free to say what a want about it, and I feel better for ranting a little. I am in the 96% disapproval rating camp for congress. Their leaving before fixing anything with the FAA was precious and oh so fiscally responsible. Glad someone stepped in and got those people back to work.
I have no idea if getting a lower credit rating is a terrible thing. It may not matter as much, as it didn't for Japan, or it may be terrible.
Obama did what he could by the end. I think (I hope) he knows what's going on better than I do.
I hope republicans can wise up and stop being so dragged around by the nose by crazy people who have hijacked their party. Their presidential primary offerings are just hideous to anyone. Michelle Bachman? Really?!?! Newt Gingritch? HA! Herman Cain?? What is that??!! Mitt Romney looks the part for a TV movie, but I don't know what he's about, and it keep changing.
Anyway, no need to lose any more sleep.
I have no idea if getting a lower credit rating is a terrible thing. It may not matter as much, as it didn't for Japan, or it may be terrible.
Obama did what he could by the end. I think (I hope) he knows what's going on better than I do.
I hope republicans can wise up and stop being so dragged around by the nose by crazy people who have hijacked their party. Their presidential primary offerings are just hideous to anyone. Michelle Bachman? Really?!?! Newt Gingritch? HA! Herman Cain?? What is that??!! Mitt Romney looks the part for a TV movie, but I don't know what he's about, and it keep changing.
Anyway, no need to lose any more sleep.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Angry enough to not sleep
What I am hearing about this "debt deal" they may have reached is not cool. Trillions in cuts, mostly to the poor and young and old.
I have a question. What entitlements will Congress be giving up? Will their families lose health care? Will their children and elderly go hungry? Will their children lack adequate education?
Oh, that's right. Most all of them are millionaires. They are doing fantastic, thanks. They are the annointed ones, many of them are the "Christian, right" folk who think that when Jesus said to 'take care of' those less fortunate than you, he meant Off them.
It kills me to say this, but what is Obama up to? Did he lose his spine?
I am so angry I could bite through my mouthguard. So angry, I am going to be zombie at work tomorrow. An angry zombie.
I have a question. What entitlements will Congress be giving up? Will their families lose health care? Will their children and elderly go hungry? Will their children lack adequate education?
Oh, that's right. Most all of them are millionaires. They are doing fantastic, thanks. They are the annointed ones, many of them are the "Christian, right" folk who think that when Jesus said to 'take care of' those less fortunate than you, he meant Off them.
It kills me to say this, but what is Obama up to? Did he lose his spine?
I am so angry I could bite through my mouthguard. So angry, I am going to be zombie at work tomorrow. An angry zombie.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
An open letter to my Congress People
The President asked us to contact our congresspeople to make sure they know what we are thinking tonight, and it seems that their emails are either all overwhelmed or they really don't want to hear from anyone and just follow their own agendas.
In the mean time, I thought I would voice my views on the whole debt ceiling/budget debacle. I have the misfortune of having a teabagger named Joe Walsh, who won by literally tens of votes as my "representative." The man is an embarrassment. Mark Kirk is my senator, he is a republican but not a crazy one.
Dear Congresspeople:
This is not a time for party above country, Republicans and tea baggers, I am looking at you...and rolling my eyes. It is so sad to watch you, because you think you are being so tough, but really, you are unbelievable, selfish, and serving no one other than yourselves and your corporate benefactors. And you are so incredibly OBVIOUS about it.
Of course we need to cut spending. But even if you are going to tell the lowest denominator in corn pone talk that "ya cain't spend more than ya gots" you are omitting the obvious answer to the question of how to get yourself out of debt the fastest. How? "Ya cain't spend more than what ya gots" AND "Get a source of more revenoo!" Fer instance, why not hit up rich Uncle Jethro for a raise from the 50 cents/wk he's been paying you to mow his estate? Or, in other words, get rid of the loopholes for wealthy people and corporations, and rescind the Bush freaking tax cuts which have been the worst part of our debt spiral. Well, that and Bush's two wars he lied us into. (Republicans were in charge for that one too, yes? You give me no confidence modern day republicans are for the betterment of this country with a record like that.) And you continue to f-ck up the debt talks to score penis points with each other. Shameful.
The Bush tax cuts were STUPID. I remember getting the first check and thinking, "This is it?" But to the rich, it was a whole lot more, but they all did with it what I did with mine--put it in the bank and forgot about it. No new jobs created then or now. In fact, a lot of jobs ran right out of the country, thanks to all those "job providin'" corporations shipping their jobs overseas with no penalty. It will not make a difference to the upper 1% in their lifestyles, so freaking quit treating them as so precious and delicate and tax them that miniscule amount (to them) that they won't even miss. How about some tax incentives for them to get the money back ONLY if they actually provide proof of job creation in THIS country?
I think it is important to remember that there are far fewer rich people than not rich people. And if you pander to them and forget the rest, you will be able to really hear from the American People, not the Fox News "Amuurrrican paeyple" and you will really see an uprising.
In the mean time, I thought I would voice my views on the whole debt ceiling/budget debacle. I have the misfortune of having a teabagger named Joe Walsh, who won by literally tens of votes as my "representative." The man is an embarrassment. Mark Kirk is my senator, he is a republican but not a crazy one.
Dear Congresspeople:
This is not a time for party above country, Republicans and tea baggers, I am looking at you...and rolling my eyes. It is so sad to watch you, because you think you are being so tough, but really, you are unbelievable, selfish, and serving no one other than yourselves and your corporate benefactors. And you are so incredibly OBVIOUS about it.
Of course we need to cut spending. But even if you are going to tell the lowest denominator in corn pone talk that "ya cain't spend more than ya gots" you are omitting the obvious answer to the question of how to get yourself out of debt the fastest. How? "Ya cain't spend more than what ya gots" AND "Get a source of more revenoo!" Fer instance, why not hit up rich Uncle Jethro for a raise from the 50 cents/wk he's been paying you to mow his estate? Or, in other words, get rid of the loopholes for wealthy people and corporations, and rescind the Bush freaking tax cuts which have been the worst part of our debt spiral. Well, that and Bush's two wars he lied us into. (Republicans were in charge for that one too, yes? You give me no confidence modern day republicans are for the betterment of this country with a record like that.) And you continue to f-ck up the debt talks to score penis points with each other. Shameful.
The Bush tax cuts were STUPID. I remember getting the first check and thinking, "This is it?" But to the rich, it was a whole lot more, but they all did with it what I did with mine--put it in the bank and forgot about it. No new jobs created then or now. In fact, a lot of jobs ran right out of the country, thanks to all those "job providin'" corporations shipping their jobs overseas with no penalty. It will not make a difference to the upper 1% in their lifestyles, so freaking quit treating them as so precious and delicate and tax them that miniscule amount (to them) that they won't even miss. How about some tax incentives for them to get the money back ONLY if they actually provide proof of job creation in THIS country?
I think it is important to remember that there are far fewer rich people than not rich people. And if you pander to them and forget the rest, you will be able to really hear from the American People, not the Fox News "Amuurrrican paeyple" and you will really see an uprising.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The loss of a friend
Last week, my husband and I received a shocking and saddening email from our friend, Russ:
Chuck went snorkeling out on a beach with a ferocious rip tide and/or undertow. Costa Rica is infamous for this, and it's topography is such that even a rip tide can go on for miles, and exhaust even the best swimmer. They have had over 400 accidental drownings since 2008.
Both Dan and I have known Chuck since we were in high school. We had lost touch, but figured we would be able to reconnect eventually. One really shouldn't assume there is always time...
Dan and I decided that we would go to his memorial service in Jacksonville, FL. We were so glad we did. We met his wife, who was the love of his life, and we could see she was indeed a very special person, and exactly what Chuck needed. She also has a great family that adored him. We met his business partners, who were also in shock, because they also were family. He was the head of a start up company that is just about to get to the fun part and really take off due to his diligence, relationship building with clients and frugal management of their resources. We could be there to comfort and be with Hilary, his sister, who did an awesome job at his eulogy talking about her love for him and sang the Ohio State Alma Mater beautifully. It was possibly the saddest situation ever, except we know that Chuck truly was happy and having a great life.
A few other high school/college friends made it down, and it was a bittersweet reunion. It was so good to see them. The connections from those early friendships just don't die. It was good to hang out with them, but we all would have preferred a different reason for the reunion. I love these people--they are precious to me. I wish more of our gang could have made it, but notice was very short so they could only be there in spirit.
Wondering about what Chuck was like, and what made him special? Here is is obituary, which was very nicely written but can only say so much. What made him special to me? Well, here are some of my memories from high school onward:
I met Chuck on the forensics team. Chuck always made speech tournaments fun. I had such a fun time attempting directing him and his duo partners in the acting event, dramatic duo. It was usually a lot of laughter, and goofing around with the material. Even "The Odd Couple" became highly experimental theatre.
Hardly any of us made it to final rounds while Chuck was on the speech team. Our speech coach just didn’t really care about coaching, and we rarely knew what we were doing. We had a good-natured girl named Nadia who was smart enough that she would regularly make it to out rounds in debate and get recognized at the awards ceremonies. Chuck, (with his tie around his head by this time) would stand up and shout, “Go, Nads!” and completely embarrass Nadia, even though just about nobody knew the word, “gonads.”
He didn’t respect authority, but wasn’t actually ever much in trouble either. He did run for class president with a potato as his running mate for vice president. They couldn’t stop him, there wasn’t a rule against it. He didn’t win, but he made a great story. Mr. Spud rotted on his dashboard for months.
Chuck was always a good listener. He could always make you laugh at your situation or your absurdity. He made me realize what a lot of fun using my quick wit to make him laugh could be. He loved a great joke, or a really obscure one.
He would give people rides in his junker of a car in high school, but you had to chart the course home with as few right turns as possible because the right side would rooster tail sparks on a right turn.
Dan remembers the empty holes where speakers would be that they threw fast food wrappers into until they couldn’t fit in anymore. It was almost a whole trunk’s worth, but for a long time he couldn't open the trunk. Once he could, they moved all the wrappers and boxes to Russ's locker.
In college:
Chuck started collecting 1966 and 1965 red mustangs. Rides were fun, but they had no seatbelts, and the fumes came through the back seat from the exhaust system. They were broken into way too many times on campus, even though there was nothing inside of them to warrant it.
Chuck was my next door neighbor for my junior and senior year. He was always happy to have me visit, even if sometimes I bored him to pieces with my ranting at a bad breakup or my general cluelessness. He stayed friends with everyone.
He was a great neighbor. A lot better one than I was.
He had a guitar, but I never heard him play. Apparently, he got over his shyness and became quite a musician.
He made his first entrepeneurial endeavor in polymers with plastic fake coffee poured out of paper cups. I don’t think much came of that, but those cups were all over the apartment, like a coffee shop for slobs that really liked only half a cup of café au lait.
He was an exemplary groomsman at our wedding.
Chuck is remembered by me as a friend who was kind, gentle, devastatingly intelligent, humble, quick witted, empathetic, humorous, precious and unique.
The news of his accident shocked and greatly saddened both Dan and I. He will be so missed. We love Chuck.
I just received a call from Chuck Malspeis’ wife. They are in Costa Rica for their honeymoon, and Chuck drowned on Friday. I am sorry, I do not have any more details than that. She is still down in Costa Rica working with the US Embassy to get Chuck’s body returned to the United States. She believes that they will get that squared away most likely on Wednesday, which means they may have services this upcoming weekend. Hilary has flown out to Jacksonville to be with her Dad.
Chuck went snorkeling out on a beach with a ferocious rip tide and/or undertow. Costa Rica is infamous for this, and it's topography is such that even a rip tide can go on for miles, and exhaust even the best swimmer. They have had over 400 accidental drownings since 2008.
Both Dan and I have known Chuck since we were in high school. We had lost touch, but figured we would be able to reconnect eventually. One really shouldn't assume there is always time...
Dan and I decided that we would go to his memorial service in Jacksonville, FL. We were so glad we did. We met his wife, who was the love of his life, and we could see she was indeed a very special person, and exactly what Chuck needed. She also has a great family that adored him. We met his business partners, who were also in shock, because they also were family. He was the head of a start up company that is just about to get to the fun part and really take off due to his diligence, relationship building with clients and frugal management of their resources. We could be there to comfort and be with Hilary, his sister, who did an awesome job at his eulogy talking about her love for him and sang the Ohio State Alma Mater beautifully. It was possibly the saddest situation ever, except we know that Chuck truly was happy and having a great life.
A few other high school/college friends made it down, and it was a bittersweet reunion. It was so good to see them. The connections from those early friendships just don't die. It was good to hang out with them, but we all would have preferred a different reason for the reunion. I love these people--they are precious to me. I wish more of our gang could have made it, but notice was very short so they could only be there in spirit.
Wondering about what Chuck was like, and what made him special? Here is is obituary, which was very nicely written but can only say so much. What made him special to me? Well, here are some of my memories from high school onward:
I met Chuck on the forensics team. Chuck always made speech tournaments fun. I had such a fun time attempting directing him and his duo partners in the acting event, dramatic duo. It was usually a lot of laughter, and goofing around with the material. Even "The Odd Couple" became highly experimental theatre.
Hardly any of us made it to final rounds while Chuck was on the speech team. Our speech coach just didn’t really care about coaching, and we rarely knew what we were doing. We had a good-natured girl named Nadia who was smart enough that she would regularly make it to out rounds in debate and get recognized at the awards ceremonies. Chuck, (with his tie around his head by this time) would stand up and shout, “Go, Nads!” and completely embarrass Nadia, even though just about nobody knew the word, “gonads.”
He didn’t respect authority, but wasn’t actually ever much in trouble either. He did run for class president with a potato as his running mate for vice president. They couldn’t stop him, there wasn’t a rule against it. He didn’t win, but he made a great story. Mr. Spud rotted on his dashboard for months.
Chuck was always a good listener. He could always make you laugh at your situation or your absurdity. He made me realize what a lot of fun using my quick wit to make him laugh could be. He loved a great joke, or a really obscure one.
He would give people rides in his junker of a car in high school, but you had to chart the course home with as few right turns as possible because the right side would rooster tail sparks on a right turn.
Dan remembers the empty holes where speakers would be that they threw fast food wrappers into until they couldn’t fit in anymore. It was almost a whole trunk’s worth, but for a long time he couldn't open the trunk. Once he could, they moved all the wrappers and boxes to Russ's locker.
In college:
Chuck started collecting 1966 and 1965 red mustangs. Rides were fun, but they had no seatbelts, and the fumes came through the back seat from the exhaust system. They were broken into way too many times on campus, even though there was nothing inside of them to warrant it.
Chuck was my next door neighbor for my junior and senior year. He was always happy to have me visit, even if sometimes I bored him to pieces with my ranting at a bad breakup or my general cluelessness. He stayed friends with everyone.
He was a great neighbor. A lot better one than I was.
He had a guitar, but I never heard him play. Apparently, he got over his shyness and became quite a musician.
He made his first entrepeneurial endeavor in polymers with plastic fake coffee poured out of paper cups. I don’t think much came of that, but those cups were all over the apartment, like a coffee shop for slobs that really liked only half a cup of café au lait.
He was an exemplary groomsman at our wedding.
Chuck is remembered by me as a friend who was kind, gentle, devastatingly intelligent, humble, quick witted, empathetic, humorous, precious and unique.
The news of his accident shocked and greatly saddened both Dan and I. He will be so missed. We love Chuck.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Process of Mourning
It has been a tough couple of weeks. My Mom's birthday was late last month, and last Sunday was Mother's Day. We are still in the first year of her sudden passing, and there are still lots of "First Withouts" to get through. Thanksgiving and Christmas were hard, but her birthday and Mother's Day were surprisingly more difficult. In the past couple of weeks I have burst into tears more often than in the month after she died. Even when I am outwardly calm, deep inside I feel like I am bawling.
My Mom thoroughly hated winter, and rejoiced in spring. Now when I look at a flowering redbud or crabapple tree, when I see the tulips opening and the peonies emerging, I think of her and my eyes get wet. I can only have a one way conversation with her now about what's up and planning the garden. It isn't very satisfying.
I spent Mother's Day getting my garden ready with lots of help from my husband and two boys. It's what I always do, and what my mother always did, and I like to think I felt her presence.
Mourning is a process, but it isn't even and it doesn't have an end. When I was in college, I did undergraduate work with a long term bereavement study with the university focused on how young children mourn the death of a parent. We interviewed families with children at 3 months, 6 months, 12 months and 24 months after death. It was a pretty intense interview we put them through about 2 hours in length measuring their mental state. The families were also put through physicals and bloodwork to measure their immune systems, neurological responses and other physiological markers. It was found that immune systems can suffer, clumsiness is more likely, and cognition is affected. Mourning effects the whole body, mentally and physically. What was found in the study is that there is a wide range of behaviors and experiences that fall within the bounds of normal.
It's also normal for mourning to become more intense, and then wane. Sometimes it can be like being on a roller coaster with high highs and low lows. Eventually, it evens out somewhat.
I know I am firmly within the bounds of normal, healthy mourning. It doesn't stop it from being sometimes overwhelming and even a little embarrassing. Last weekend I was at the mall in the Aveda store, and I was offered a complementary neck and shoulder massage. (I never turn that down.) Across from me a woman and her mother were sampling items and bickering playfully, the daughter encouraging her mother to get whatever she wanted, the mother protesting she really didn't need anything. It was so sweet, I started to weep, and I ended up distressing the fellow who was giving me the neck rub. I had to get myself under control enough to let him know he didn't hurt me and what my tears were about. Then I had to make a hasty exit from the store. I walked around looking down and got myself settled down. Then I had to laugh when a guy at one of the skin cream kiosks in the middle of the mall tried to flag me down with, "Hey miss, what are you doing about those bags under your eyes?" (I mean really!!!! What nerve! What a dreadful sales technique!)
So, I'm riding the ride. I'm grateful to be feeling anything at all, but I look forward to the day when I am more intergrated with this process.
My Mom thoroughly hated winter, and rejoiced in spring. Now when I look at a flowering redbud or crabapple tree, when I see the tulips opening and the peonies emerging, I think of her and my eyes get wet. I can only have a one way conversation with her now about what's up and planning the garden. It isn't very satisfying.
I spent Mother's Day getting my garden ready with lots of help from my husband and two boys. It's what I always do, and what my mother always did, and I like to think I felt her presence.
Mourning is a process, but it isn't even and it doesn't have an end. When I was in college, I did undergraduate work with a long term bereavement study with the university focused on how young children mourn the death of a parent. We interviewed families with children at 3 months, 6 months, 12 months and 24 months after death. It was a pretty intense interview we put them through about 2 hours in length measuring their mental state. The families were also put through physicals and bloodwork to measure their immune systems, neurological responses and other physiological markers. It was found that immune systems can suffer, clumsiness is more likely, and cognition is affected. Mourning effects the whole body, mentally and physically. What was found in the study is that there is a wide range of behaviors and experiences that fall within the bounds of normal.
It's also normal for mourning to become more intense, and then wane. Sometimes it can be like being on a roller coaster with high highs and low lows. Eventually, it evens out somewhat.
I know I am firmly within the bounds of normal, healthy mourning. It doesn't stop it from being sometimes overwhelming and even a little embarrassing. Last weekend I was at the mall in the Aveda store, and I was offered a complementary neck and shoulder massage. (I never turn that down.) Across from me a woman and her mother were sampling items and bickering playfully, the daughter encouraging her mother to get whatever she wanted, the mother protesting she really didn't need anything. It was so sweet, I started to weep, and I ended up distressing the fellow who was giving me the neck rub. I had to get myself under control enough to let him know he didn't hurt me and what my tears were about. Then I had to make a hasty exit from the store. I walked around looking down and got myself settled down. Then I had to laugh when a guy at one of the skin cream kiosks in the middle of the mall tried to flag me down with, "Hey miss, what are you doing about those bags under your eyes?" (I mean really!!!! What nerve! What a dreadful sales technique!)
So, I'm riding the ride. I'm grateful to be feeling anything at all, but I look forward to the day when I am more intergrated with this process.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Compost
It's not a secret. I garden.
I can't keep a manicure, I always have dirt under my nails for at least 5 months of the year. I have a tan on my back only were my shirt rides up when I bend over to weed.
I grow a little bit of everything in my 30' by 50' garden, and I keep it all mixed up so pests don't know what to go after. I use no chemicals, no fertilizers, just compost. Weeds happen. A lot. To the naked eye, it looks like a mess, but inside it is one huge cornucopia of unusual edibles. Some of the edibles are weeds.
This month I wrote my first article for the local Sierra Club chapter on the topic outdoor home composting. They really liked it, so I will probably be writing some more for them. It probably wouldn't be too cool to publish it here even though it was not with any agreement of exclusivity, but I will just brag about it a tiny bit.
I can't keep a manicure, I always have dirt under my nails for at least 5 months of the year. I have a tan on my back only were my shirt rides up when I bend over to weed.
I grow a little bit of everything in my 30' by 50' garden, and I keep it all mixed up so pests don't know what to go after. I use no chemicals, no fertilizers, just compost. Weeds happen. A lot. To the naked eye, it looks like a mess, but inside it is one huge cornucopia of unusual edibles. Some of the edibles are weeds.
This month I wrote my first article for the local Sierra Club chapter on the topic outdoor home composting. They really liked it, so I will probably be writing some more for them. It probably wouldn't be too cool to publish it here even though it was not with any agreement of exclusivity, but I will just brag about it a tiny bit.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Chasing Tornadoes
For a few years when I was little, Ohio was having a larger than normal number of tornado warnings and touchdowns.
When I was seven, we were at my brother's little league game when the clouds began to darken ominously. Just as the coaches were conferring about calling the game, a HUGE gust of wind whipped up out of nowhere. My mom was hugely pregnant at the time, and was trying to hurry to the car with lawn chairs in one hand and my hand in the other when the wind suddenly got VERY intense, and I was very nearly blown off my feet. Somehow, my mom, who was not only enormously pregnant but also challenged with one bad leg that never let her be able to run, managed to keep both me and the lawn chairs from blowing away. It was the most harrowing 2 block ride home in our station wagon, and I would have sworn to you that the picture the next day on the front of the Columbus Citizen-Journal was of our house with the tornado not quite touching down on it.
When I was eight, we began to assume in the spring and fall that dinner would be eaten downstairs around the workbench in the northwest corner of the basement because there would be a tornado warning precisely at dinnertime.
My older brother and his friend would sneak out on their bikes if they could manage it, and try to identify and "follow" funnel clouds. I thought this sounded fantastic, but I wasn't allowed to go with them. Probably just as well.
When I got older, I realized how foolish this was. I volunteered as a teenager at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), and one of my favorite places to get assigned in was a real, working weather station. We would do presentations about the weather, and the finale was shooting a pencil through a long "tornado gun" at wind speeds comparable to a tornado--150-200 miles per hour. A pencil could go straight through a piece of 2 x 4. We also had a piece of wood siding that had been pierced by a playing card that stuck halfway out of it which had been done by an actual tornado. It really brought home to me that you don't want to mess around--get somewhere underground and reenforced!
When I moved out to California, friends that had lived there all there lives were in terror of tornadoes and wondered how midwesterners could live with that as a threat. I used to joke, "Hey, you guys have earthquakes! I rather have tornadoes, at least you can hide from them!"
The pictures and stories of the supercell of tornadoes that went across the south yesterday are gut-wrenching. The loss of life seems like it should be unheard of in this century. However, an F5 or three of that caliber is hard to keep safe from, and in the south they never seem to get that they need to be more serious about storm shelters. So many people had nowhere to go even in their own houses. In all the rebuilding that is doing to have to happen, I hope that they will have the foresight to add decent storm shelters in their new plans.
And I fervently hope that there weren't any boys or girls caught out too far from home while riding around on their bikes playing 'storm chasers' or at least that they were able to find somewhere to hide.
When I was seven, we were at my brother's little league game when the clouds began to darken ominously. Just as the coaches were conferring about calling the game, a HUGE gust of wind whipped up out of nowhere. My mom was hugely pregnant at the time, and was trying to hurry to the car with lawn chairs in one hand and my hand in the other when the wind suddenly got VERY intense, and I was very nearly blown off my feet. Somehow, my mom, who was not only enormously pregnant but also challenged with one bad leg that never let her be able to run, managed to keep both me and the lawn chairs from blowing away. It was the most harrowing 2 block ride home in our station wagon, and I would have sworn to you that the picture the next day on the front of the Columbus Citizen-Journal was of our house with the tornado not quite touching down on it.
When I was eight, we began to assume in the spring and fall that dinner would be eaten downstairs around the workbench in the northwest corner of the basement because there would be a tornado warning precisely at dinnertime.
My older brother and his friend would sneak out on their bikes if they could manage it, and try to identify and "follow" funnel clouds. I thought this sounded fantastic, but I wasn't allowed to go with them. Probably just as well.
When I got older, I realized how foolish this was. I volunteered as a teenager at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), and one of my favorite places to get assigned in was a real, working weather station. We would do presentations about the weather, and the finale was shooting a pencil through a long "tornado gun" at wind speeds comparable to a tornado--150-200 miles per hour. A pencil could go straight through a piece of 2 x 4. We also had a piece of wood siding that had been pierced by a playing card that stuck halfway out of it which had been done by an actual tornado. It really brought home to me that you don't want to mess around--get somewhere underground and reenforced!
When I moved out to California, friends that had lived there all there lives were in terror of tornadoes and wondered how midwesterners could live with that as a threat. I used to joke, "Hey, you guys have earthquakes! I rather have tornadoes, at least you can hide from them!"
The pictures and stories of the supercell of tornadoes that went across the south yesterday are gut-wrenching. The loss of life seems like it should be unheard of in this century. However, an F5 or three of that caliber is hard to keep safe from, and in the south they never seem to get that they need to be more serious about storm shelters. So many people had nowhere to go even in their own houses. In all the rebuilding that is doing to have to happen, I hope that they will have the foresight to add decent storm shelters in their new plans.
And I fervently hope that there weren't any boys or girls caught out too far from home while riding around on their bikes playing 'storm chasers' or at least that they were able to find somewhere to hide.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Sharing a beautiful TED Talk
If you haven't wandered over to the site, Ted.com, you should, to hear some of the most amazing speeches on a wide range of topics. Some of them are so inspiring, and many reduce me to tears.
This one is one of my latest favorites to spring into tears by:
This one is one of my latest favorites to spring into tears by:
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Murphy's Irish Stout. Oh, I am in love again.
Tonight Dan and I went to an Irish pub in Barrington called McGonagal's Pub, just to try someplace new. It ended up being really very nice, and definitely a place we will go back to.
The atmosphere was nice, lots of wood on walls and floor, lots of room, so even though it was crowded, it wasn't overbearing and we could hear each other.
The menu was interesting, and the appetizer (smoked salmon wrapped around crab on top of a salad) and the spicy curry fries were really tasty. There is a lot of really good looking food, but we will be back to explore it more later. Tonight we were peckish.
My favorite thing on the menu though, was Murphy's Irish Stout. They had a marvelous keg of it there, properly dispensed, and it tasted like the beer you get in Ireland or Great Britain.
Murphy's is a sipping beer, one that you love to have play all over your tongue. The foam on top is extremely creamy and very thick, and the beer itself is chocolately and deep and not very fizzy at all, yet it doesn't taste flat. It could be a meal in itself, and I just loved it.
I am very excited to have found it well served nearby, and even had the rest of the restaurant experience terrible (which it definitely wasn't), I would still return for a such an authentic tasting, well-poured glass of Murphy's Irish Stout.
The atmosphere was nice, lots of wood on walls and floor, lots of room, so even though it was crowded, it wasn't overbearing and we could hear each other.
The menu was interesting, and the appetizer (smoked salmon wrapped around crab on top of a salad) and the spicy curry fries were really tasty. There is a lot of really good looking food, but we will be back to explore it more later. Tonight we were peckish.
My favorite thing on the menu though, was Murphy's Irish Stout. They had a marvelous keg of it there, properly dispensed, and it tasted like the beer you get in Ireland or Great Britain.
Murphy's is a sipping beer, one that you love to have play all over your tongue. The foam on top is extremely creamy and very thick, and the beer itself is chocolately and deep and not very fizzy at all, yet it doesn't taste flat. It could be a meal in itself, and I just loved it.
I am very excited to have found it well served nearby, and even had the rest of the restaurant experience terrible (which it definitely wasn't), I would still return for a such an authentic tasting, well-poured glass of Murphy's Irish Stout.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Making Changes, Working a Program (or app)
I have made mention of the fact that I am often not pleased with my weight or spongitude of my muscles in the spring. Usually my solution has been to train to run a marathon. However, I have decided to be a little gentler to myself this year, and instead I am using the wonders of technology to keep my diet and exercise in check.
For the past two weeks, I have been using two android apps in tandem--one called Cardiotrainer, and the other is called Caloriffic--to work towards increasing fitness and decreasing what I am eating.
Caloriffic puts foods into three different catagories; green yellow and red. I bumped it up from its free version to make it calculate out my calories for weight loss goals. It's extremely easy to use, and things are catagorized in such a way to make entry easy and quick and pretty accurate. It's a great way get a reactive effect from self reporting, and makes me more mindful of what I am putting into my mouth and when.
Cardiotrainer I have been using for almost a year, and it's great for using the GPS to tell you how far you have gone, and how fast. I love that there is a little British "man" who announces my times, my calorie burns and how long I have been walking or running or biking.
Since I have upgraded part of the apps to work together, I now get a listing of how many calories I have burned this month, and how many miles I have gone. So far in April, I have matched my total for all of March. I am shooting for 10,000 calories burned in April. I am halfway there.
Is it working? It's too early to say. It has only been two weeks, and I have worked out all but one day. My scale is very old and isn't giving accurate numbers--either that or I have gained 6 lbs. off and on this week, sometimes in the space of minutes. I do believe I will be working from the "scale of pants" until I get a replacement. The Scale of Pants says that things are fitting a skosh better, but nothing visible yet.
For the past two weeks, I have been using two android apps in tandem--one called Cardiotrainer, and the other is called Caloriffic--to work towards increasing fitness and decreasing what I am eating.
Caloriffic puts foods into three different catagories; green yellow and red. I bumped it up from its free version to make it calculate out my calories for weight loss goals. It's extremely easy to use, and things are catagorized in such a way to make entry easy and quick and pretty accurate. It's a great way get a reactive effect from self reporting, and makes me more mindful of what I am putting into my mouth and when.
Cardiotrainer I have been using for almost a year, and it's great for using the GPS to tell you how far you have gone, and how fast. I love that there is a little British "man" who announces my times, my calorie burns and how long I have been walking or running or biking.
Since I have upgraded part of the apps to work together, I now get a listing of how many calories I have burned this month, and how many miles I have gone. So far in April, I have matched my total for all of March. I am shooting for 10,000 calories burned in April. I am halfway there.
Is it working? It's too early to say. It has only been two weeks, and I have worked out all but one day. My scale is very old and isn't giving accurate numbers--either that or I have gained 6 lbs. off and on this week, sometimes in the space of minutes. I do believe I will be working from the "scale of pants" until I get a replacement. The Scale of Pants says that things are fitting a skosh better, but nothing visible yet.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Random Thoughts
I am working on my first actual essay in a long while, but in the mean time, while it's cooking I thought I would jot out some of the dross that is cluttering my brain
To the friend who does not know how to come back after a grievous mistake, just come back. Be present. We know who you are. And we know what's influencing you. Stop avoiding us. We'll tell you you're stupid, which you know already, and then we will be happy you're back in our lives. The end.
Finding the excellent job really is all about who you know. I need to get to know a lot more people.
Computers eat life.
The more the religious right asserts itself as a political concern, the more I viscerally hate religion. I don't self identify as christian anymore. God is still cool, but those people on the religious right don't seem to know Him, and too many of them preach in churches.
To the GOP, I look at your budget proposals and think--are you effing kidding. Really. You may be all about serving the corporate masters that pay for your campaigns, but remember, it's still us "little people" that vote. The real drivers of the economy are NOT the upper 2%, but the rest of us who buy and sell and work in this nation. If we are not thriving, the country cannot thrive economically, or in any other way. Also, putting the deficit reduction on the backs of the elderly and disabled and the poor while giving free money to rich people who don't need it really makes you as a group look like a bunch of self-serving, rich entitled assholes. Oh wait. Gosh! Almost all y'all in Congress are! And here is a lovely article that explains why you are such shitheads to the lower quadrants and does it all so much better than I can right now.
Everything going on in the middle east, the continuing genocides in African nations like Sudan, the never ending wars that we never should have let ourselves be LIED into, the ozone depleting 40% over the poles this winter, Japan's many crises, and the stagnation of so many things that we know really need to change, like finding energy sources that won't kill off the planet as we know it...it gets so depressing. It gets so large. I don't think most people can put their heads around it. It's all so frightening and complex. No wonder people get so easily distracted by Charlie Sheen acting like he's imploding for the masses, or Jersey Shore. It's stupid, but it's simple. It's also incredibly sad that so many people latch on to crap like this like it matters while the world is threatening to disintegrate around us.
To the friend who does not know how to come back after a grievous mistake, just come back. Be present. We know who you are. And we know what's influencing you. Stop avoiding us. We'll tell you you're stupid, which you know already, and then we will be happy you're back in our lives. The end.
Finding the excellent job really is all about who you know. I need to get to know a lot more people.
Computers eat life.
The more the religious right asserts itself as a political concern, the more I viscerally hate religion. I don't self identify as christian anymore. God is still cool, but those people on the religious right don't seem to know Him, and too many of them preach in churches.
To the GOP, I look at your budget proposals and think--are you effing kidding. Really. You may be all about serving the corporate masters that pay for your campaigns, but remember, it's still us "little people" that vote. The real drivers of the economy are NOT the upper 2%, but the rest of us who buy and sell and work in this nation. If we are not thriving, the country cannot thrive economically, or in any other way. Also, putting the deficit reduction on the backs of the elderly and disabled and the poor while giving free money to rich people who don't need it really makes you as a group look like a bunch of self-serving, rich entitled assholes. Oh wait. Gosh! Almost all y'all in Congress are! And here is a lovely article that explains why you are such shitheads to the lower quadrants and does it all so much better than I can right now.
Everything going on in the middle east, the continuing genocides in African nations like Sudan, the never ending wars that we never should have let ourselves be LIED into, the ozone depleting 40% over the poles this winter, Japan's many crises, and the stagnation of so many things that we know really need to change, like finding energy sources that won't kill off the planet as we know it...it gets so depressing. It gets so large. I don't think most people can put their heads around it. It's all so frightening and complex. No wonder people get so easily distracted by Charlie Sheen acting like he's imploding for the masses, or Jersey Shore. It's stupid, but it's simple. It's also incredibly sad that so many people latch on to crap like this like it matters while the world is threatening to disintegrate around us.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
The Saga of the Smartphones, or, Suffering Under Warranty
(This entry is very very dry. I suck at choosing smart phones. I worked within a warranty system. It sucks too. I got a new phone. Details are an insomnia curative.)
Last year, I updated to a smartphone for my birthday. I had been using my trusty Motorola Razr for 4 years, and it was just time to move into the 2010s. I had been contemplating over the iPhones for some time, but also wary of them—so many friends had cracked theirs, lost them or had them stolen. There was also the problem of dropped calls.
After much deliberation, I decided upon trying the newest thing—Motorola’s first Android phone for AT&T called the Backflip. The first deciding factor was that it was insurable, unlike the iPhone. The second was that it was a cute little thing with very interesting form function—the keyboard flipped out from the back instead of sliding in. It had a 5 megapixel camera with flash, (compared to the iPhone with 3 mp and no flash) , video camera, and Motoblur, for quick access to social networking and email.
Alas, its cuteness was soon spent with the first one because it kept rebooting itself after I took a picture, or sometimes just at random. I was still within the first 30 days though, thought I had a lemon and traded it in.
In about a month, I traded in the second one because it lost its ability to receive 3G, or internet connections at all.
In a couple of months after that, I had to get another one, because it had started freezing up or rebooting. It also was calling people at random.
I kept with the phone, though, and AT&T’s warranty system because when it did work, it worked really well for what I need. It was a breeze to text on it. I loved the camera. It had low radiation levels compared to a lot of other phones. It didn’t drop calls.
But this month, after one year of the Backflip, I decided it was time to get rid of the darn thing. The latest one started slowing down to a crawl, was overheating, and was still calling people when I wasn’t near it.
I had followed the warranty rules, and agreed to get for the rest of my 2 year agreement, a Motorola Flipside. Instead, I was mailed the Motorola Flipout.
Neither of these two phones were perfect, (but were adorable looking) and I did call warranty and told them that if the Flipout didn’t work (customer ratings on AT&T website were frought with frustration with both replacement phones,) I wanted to be able to do an early upgrade without penalty. I gamely worked with the Flipout. It was faster, it fit easily into my pocket, but it had a 6 hour battery life with moderate usage. It was adorable and small, but with my over 40 year old eyes that still don’t need reading glasses, it was a little eyestraining to use its screen. I could live with it though, it made phone calls and didn’t drop them….except that within two days, it shut itself off and would not turn back on again.
I went to my local AT&T store, where they know me quite well now, and they helped me get the upgrade I was looking for—one without penalty, to a beautiful monster of a phone, (cue dramatic music) The Motorola Atrix.
Yes, I stayed with Motorola. Why? A few reasons. My husband works for Motorola. I don’t HAVE to buy their products, but I like to be supportive. Also, as much as I think the iPhone is sexy, their ads are snotty. The Motorola phones that I have had the troubles with were out of a group that is no longer working at Motorola. It’s a shame, because the interesting form factors were intriguing, but suffered mightily from a lack of support. The Atrix though, is moving towards the future of these smart products, and has been painstakingly designed and supported.
When Motorola makes a high-end phone, it is a quality instrument. Its duel-core processor and speed are a marvel to behold. No calls so far have been dropped, and I can be heard crystal clear on the other end. I can multitask several aps at once. If I wanted to secure the phone to only work with my fingerprint recognized, I could. It doesn’t have a slide out keyboard, but the touchscreen version is sensitive and it’s not hard to type accurately. Back to a 5MP camera with flash and night vision. It works with Adobe Flash Player. I will get a dock for it and a Bluetooth keyboard that will make it possible to turn the darn thing into a computer with any HD screen. Battery life—I got 18 hours out of it despite intentionally heavy usage. It’s a smartphone work of art.
The thing I worry about though, is that it’s too much power. It does so much and I just STARE at it! It can be insidious, the attraction of this phone with so much computing power and easy access to information. I don’t want to be one of those people who gets stuck into their machine. That truly would be like going over to the dark side.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Blog on a rigged keyboard
The Apple Store has the replacement parts, but wants my laptop for 3-5 days. I will relinquish it this afternoon, but in the meantime, I found that the keyboard from my 2003 Mac will work as an extension.
The People's Four Seasons had its press weekend and survived with good mentions. We had a prop malfunction at a key part of one show, but we worked with it. We had a cast get together after one of the shows, and I met the Quest superfan, Martie. She was delightful, and the world needs more of her type.
I have been on a real job hunt, but just to be perverse, the universe is sending all sorts of voiceover bookings and commercial bookings my way, giving me a real person income for the past few months. Hey, universe, I am grateful for that. I don't mind that at all!
Yesterday, I judged a preliminary round of the 11th Annual Louder Than a Bomb Youth Poetry Festival, and that was so AWESOME! There were four high school teams, and they competed individually and in a group round. This year, there are 72 teams in all. Even in this preliminary round there were several jaw-droppingly good performances from some amazing young poets. I am going to get more involved with Young Chicago Authors. I may even approach our high school about starting a slam team. It was electric, and when poetry makes you want to stand up and cheer, you know you have something amazing going on, something empowering for the performers and the audience.
Life is sweet.
The People's Four Seasons had its press weekend and survived with good mentions. We had a prop malfunction at a key part of one show, but we worked with it. We had a cast get together after one of the shows, and I met the Quest superfan, Martie. She was delightful, and the world needs more of her type.
I have been on a real job hunt, but just to be perverse, the universe is sending all sorts of voiceover bookings and commercial bookings my way, giving me a real person income for the past few months. Hey, universe, I am grateful for that. I don't mind that at all!
Yesterday, I judged a preliminary round of the 11th Annual Louder Than a Bomb Youth Poetry Festival, and that was so AWESOME! There were four high school teams, and they competed individually and in a group round. This year, there are 72 teams in all. Even in this preliminary round there were several jaw-droppingly good performances from some amazing young poets. I am going to get more involved with Young Chicago Authors. I may even approach our high school about starting a slam team. It was electric, and when poetry makes you want to stand up and cheer, you know you have something amazing going on, something empowering for the performers and the audience.
Life is sweet.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Missing letters on the Keyboar
The laptop is getting ol . To ay for no reason, two letters stoppe working. an you tell whi h ones?
It's a little tragi . I will take it to the Apple Store tomorrow to see what the genius bar an o with it.
Otherwise, it has been a goo weeken . More etails when I have the letters.
It's a little tragi . I will take it to the Apple Store tomorrow to see what the genius bar an o with it.
Otherwise, it has been a goo weeken . More etails when I have the letters.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
A good weekend had by all
Quest Ensemble's "The People's Four Seasons" opened this weekend, and it felt very good. The audience laughed, they cried, and they stayed after to talk with us and compliment us even if they didn't know anyone in the cast.
Our high school speech student that made it to State competition in humorous interpretation made it all the way to State Finals, which is extremely difficult to do--we have only had one kid do that in the past decade! She came in 7th, but she's only a junior, so I am sure she will be amazing next year. All us coaches, past and present, pat ourselves on the back, because we all coached her and feel we helped her with something valuable to her performance.
The only bug in the weekend is that I tweaked my back again, but I am hoping it will not be a long recuperation. It's calming down.
The best thing? It's President's Day tomorrow, and I get to do stuff with the boys, who will be off school. The weekend is long, and it is good.
Our high school speech student that made it to State competition in humorous interpretation made it all the way to State Finals, which is extremely difficult to do--we have only had one kid do that in the past decade! She came in 7th, but she's only a junior, so I am sure she will be amazing next year. All us coaches, past and present, pat ourselves on the back, because we all coached her and feel we helped her with something valuable to her performance.
The only bug in the weekend is that I tweaked my back again, but I am hoping it will not be a long recuperation. It's calming down.
The best thing? It's President's Day tomorrow, and I get to do stuff with the boys, who will be off school. The weekend is long, and it is good.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Tech Weeks!
This week we start 2 weeks of tech for the Quest Ensemble show, "The People's Four Seasons." Technically it's a very complex show, but it tells a simple story of a man looking back on his life. It is done with imaginative large-scale puppetry, original music and spectacle.
I am tremendously excited about it. Andy Park, the writer and director, is a genius. He has directed Cirque Shanghai, spectacles for Lollapalooza, over 10 original shows (several Jeff recommended) and is currently the artistic director at the Shedd Aquarium. I have worked with him on some of original shows before, and he amazes me with his insight and vision. When they first approached me for being in the show, and I read the script--I actually cried. It's written in a poetic style that is just lovely, and very truthful and wise.
Right now, we are putting all the elements together, and it's rough, but you can already see how cool it's going to be. The puppets are all made, but not painted yet. It's going to rain onstage. Awesome!
The singers are sounding gorgeous, the dancing is getting worked well, and coordination of the puppetry is working very well for this stage of the production.
I hope to have pictures soon. Part of Quest's mission is to never charge admission, but instead ask for a donation of what you can pay, or what you think it was worth. This has worked very well for them, and they continue to grow. Check them out at www.questensemble.org. The show runs February 17- March 27th. Make reservations for a ticket--it's going to be amazing!
I am tremendously excited about it. Andy Park, the writer and director, is a genius. He has directed Cirque Shanghai, spectacles for Lollapalooza, over 10 original shows (several Jeff recommended) and is currently the artistic director at the Shedd Aquarium. I have worked with him on some of original shows before, and he amazes me with his insight and vision. When they first approached me for being in the show, and I read the script--I actually cried. It's written in a poetic style that is just lovely, and very truthful and wise.
Right now, we are putting all the elements together, and it's rough, but you can already see how cool it's going to be. The puppets are all made, but not painted yet. It's going to rain onstage. Awesome!
The singers are sounding gorgeous, the dancing is getting worked well, and coordination of the puppetry is working very well for this stage of the production.
I hope to have pictures soon. Part of Quest's mission is to never charge admission, but instead ask for a donation of what you can pay, or what you think it was worth. This has worked very well for them, and they continue to grow. Check them out at www.questensemble.org. The show runs February 17- March 27th. Make reservations for a ticket--it's going to be amazing!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Snow!
We had a little bit of snow last night. About 20 inches, with whiteout conditions. Since we were home and cozy, and our power didn't go out, it was just a big adventure going on outside our windows.
I love snowstorms. Last night we went out to walk around in the 45 mph winds and snow falling at 2-3 inches/hr and it was such an exciting experience. Of course, having a warm place to run back to makes all the difference.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Blessings
I have let most of the month of January go without the dreaded blog about resolutions, probably because they are pretty banal--lose weight, get more sleep, write more, exercise more, find a meaningful day job and not something that feels like running a cheese grater over my brain, etc.
For sure, there's plenty to work on--but the one resolution I keep--and one that everyone can benefit from--is to count blessings regularly. It's easy to get caught up in negativity--and even if it increases the number of hits to my blog, (eye roll, sigh) it really isn't where I live. Counting blessings keeps me grounded.
I am blessed. I have good health, and I love life.
My family is awesome. I have teenage sons who are easy to get along with, and really make me proud of them for having good sense (most of the time) and their eyes on the future, not just the present. I feel blessed that we actually have long conversations and laugh together a lot.
I am blessed that I have been married for a looooong time and it doesn't feel like it. I married the best guy, and I am amazed by him constantly for his wisdom, good sense, and wicked sense of humor. He's also a much better cook than I am.
I am blessed with a great Dad who is doing really well since my mom passed away. He's working, staying active, and jokes about cruising for chicks when he's going to the public library.
I am blessed that my in-laws all great people, and they have never once fit the stereotypes.
I am blessed that I can run again, and in yoga I can bend all the way down to put my hands flat on the floor. After a debilitating back injury a couple years ago, I can't tell you how much this makes me happy.
I am blessed to work with such awesome people on my side job with the high school speech and debate team. I feel blessed that we are focused on the development of the students instead of just priming them for competition. We develop good speakers and actors and debaters, not good forensicators. (Though it is nice when they win anyway. I won't deny that we've been ranked one of the top 100 teams in the nation out of 3000.) It is a blessing to teach kids who want to be there, and to watch them grow from uncertain children to outstanding adults. It's nice to know that sometimes, they let us know we had an influence on their lives in profound ways.
I am super blessed to have the support and freedom to pursue passions such as theatre, music and art. I can't always be as involved as I would like to be, because life/work/family happens, but there is still room, and I am so grateful! Right now I am so excited to be rehearsing a show with a new script so beautifully written it made me cry, and it's being directed by a person who is truly a genius.
Blessings lift you, and reminding yourself of them keeps the eye on what really is important. Life is very, very good.
For sure, there's plenty to work on--but the one resolution I keep--and one that everyone can benefit from--is to count blessings regularly. It's easy to get caught up in negativity--and even if it increases the number of hits to my blog, (eye roll, sigh) it really isn't where I live. Counting blessings keeps me grounded.
I am blessed. I have good health, and I love life.
My family is awesome. I have teenage sons who are easy to get along with, and really make me proud of them for having good sense (most of the time) and their eyes on the future, not just the present. I feel blessed that we actually have long conversations and laugh together a lot.
I am blessed that I have been married for a looooong time and it doesn't feel like it. I married the best guy, and I am amazed by him constantly for his wisdom, good sense, and wicked sense of humor. He's also a much better cook than I am.
I am blessed with a great Dad who is doing really well since my mom passed away. He's working, staying active, and jokes about cruising for chicks when he's going to the public library.
I am blessed that my in-laws all great people, and they have never once fit the stereotypes.
I am blessed that I can run again, and in yoga I can bend all the way down to put my hands flat on the floor. After a debilitating back injury a couple years ago, I can't tell you how much this makes me happy.
I am blessed to work with such awesome people on my side job with the high school speech and debate team. I feel blessed that we are focused on the development of the students instead of just priming them for competition. We develop good speakers and actors and debaters, not good forensicators. (Though it is nice when they win anyway. I won't deny that we've been ranked one of the top 100 teams in the nation out of 3000.) It is a blessing to teach kids who want to be there, and to watch them grow from uncertain children to outstanding adults. It's nice to know that sometimes, they let us know we had an influence on their lives in profound ways.
I am super blessed to have the support and freedom to pursue passions such as theatre, music and art. I can't always be as involved as I would like to be, because life/work/family happens, but there is still room, and I am so grateful! Right now I am so excited to be rehearsing a show with a new script so beautifully written it made me cry, and it's being directed by a person who is truly a genius.
Blessings lift you, and reminding yourself of them keeps the eye on what really is important. Life is very, very good.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Growing growing growing
Yesterday I took my youngest to buy clothes. This is a remarkably rare thing--he doesn't care if he's wearing hand me downs, and still doesn't really care about his appearance. However, he's in a tremendous growth spurt, and we don't have any hand me down pants in his current size since his brother is still wearing his gangsta style to make the legs fit. (Honestly, I would like to take him shopping too.)
I was waiting for my youngest outside the dressing room, and it occurred to me as I looked around that this was probably one of the last times, if not THE last time I would be taking him to shop in the boys section of the store. The boy has grown to be one inch taller than me, and this is just the beginning.
I am now not only the only female (besides the cat) in the house, but I'm now also the shortest person in the house (besides that cat and the bird.)
The bittersweet side is that everyone is growing up. The up side is, I will soon have an excellent wardrobe of hand me down hoodies, jackets, and sweatshirts.
I was waiting for my youngest outside the dressing room, and it occurred to me as I looked around that this was probably one of the last times, if not THE last time I would be taking him to shop in the boys section of the store. The boy has grown to be one inch taller than me, and this is just the beginning.
I am now not only the only female (besides the cat) in the house, but I'm now also the shortest person in the house (besides that cat and the bird.)
The bittersweet side is that everyone is growing up. The up side is, I will soon have an excellent wardrobe of hand me down hoodies, jackets, and sweatshirts.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Shall I be blunt...
As a youngster, I was often tactless in how I would convey my opinions. I had to learn through hard lessons and trial and error how to diplomatically convey my concerns with grace through many years of practice. I became really good at this as a sales manager, and use my skills to this day guiding my high school students.
I have been mostly successful in this, but lately, I have lost patience with some people and found myself reverting to blunt, frank expression for getting people's attention--or at least catharsis when at wit's end with otherwise smart people who are being too arrogant, too brainwashed or too idiotic. It has surprised me, because I have been out of this mode for a long time, and it only comes out with certainty on my part that disaster, minor or major is imminent. Pay attention if I am blunt with you. I don't do it easily or lightly, and I mean business, and I only do it if I AM RIGHT and you must be heading for disaster.
Here is the update to my previous post. I was probably too quickly blunt with that artistic director, but by damn, his script was a mess, frighteningly so, and it was not close to being ready for anything. I was frightened for them, really. These are not bad people. I WANT them to succeed. Sure enough, the reviews are terrible so far, and the blame for the show's failure are all being laid right on his doorstep as writer and director and no one else's. The critics could be reading my words to him EXACTLY from three months ago because they are now being brutally blunt, publicly. I was 100% right, and now his show is in jeopardy, as is his reputation, as is his theatre company (update--A grant came in. Bad show will only be a bummer. Whew.) He should have listened to me. Small comfort. This does not bring me happiness at all (except that the grant came in so they aren't ruined.)
I had another occasion this week where bluntness happened, because being compassionate an understanding didn't get anywhere and time is running out. I have a friend who is allowing themself to be pulled around by their nose by a cute looking psychopath who knows how to spin a mean mindfuck, and I can just see a really, really bad situation is just about to happen. It's like seeing someone is speeding in their car towards a brick wall, and all I can do is shout, "WATCH OUT YOU IDIOT!!!!!!!" And hope they steers away in time. I was completely blunt with the facts, which caught that person off guard, and I hope to God they got shaken out of their stupor in time to get away from a bad situation.
I don't feel that verbal "blunt force trauma" will or should become a habit. It really isn't pleasant for either party, though I am probably getting the better end of the deal. I feel like a crude Cassandra. For them, they got straight facts forcefully snapping them awake, and if they listen, good. If not, they have to deal with knowing I warned them, and now they have to pay a steep price.
I have been mostly successful in this, but lately, I have lost patience with some people and found myself reverting to blunt, frank expression for getting people's attention--or at least catharsis when at wit's end with otherwise smart people who are being too arrogant, too brainwashed or too idiotic. It has surprised me, because I have been out of this mode for a long time, and it only comes out with certainty on my part that disaster, minor or major is imminent. Pay attention if I am blunt with you. I don't do it easily or lightly, and I mean business, and I only do it if I AM RIGHT and you must be heading for disaster.
Here is the update to my previous post. I was probably too quickly blunt with that artistic director, but by damn, his script was a mess, frighteningly so, and it was not close to being ready for anything. I was frightened for them, really. These are not bad people. I WANT them to succeed. Sure enough, the reviews are terrible so far, and the blame for the show's failure are all being laid right on his doorstep as writer and director and no one else's. The critics could be reading my words to him EXACTLY from three months ago because they are now being brutally blunt, publicly. I was 100% right, and now his show is in jeopardy, as is his reputation, as is his theatre company (update--A grant came in. Bad show will only be a bummer. Whew.) He should have listened to me. Small comfort. This does not bring me happiness at all (except that the grant came in so they aren't ruined.)
I had another occasion this week where bluntness happened, because being compassionate an understanding didn't get anywhere and time is running out. I have a friend who is allowing themself to be pulled around by their nose by a cute looking psychopath who knows how to spin a mean mindfuck, and I can just see a really, really bad situation is just about to happen. It's like seeing someone is speeding in their car towards a brick wall, and all I can do is shout, "WATCH OUT YOU IDIOT!!!!!!!" And hope they steers away in time. I was completely blunt with the facts, which caught that person off guard, and I hope to God they got shaken out of their stupor in time to get away from a bad situation.
I don't feel that verbal "blunt force trauma" will or should become a habit. It really isn't pleasant for either party, though I am probably getting the better end of the deal. I feel like a crude Cassandra. For them, they got straight facts forcefully snapping them awake, and if they listen, good. If not, they have to deal with knowing I warned them, and now they have to pay a steep price.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Minor drama, for sure.
Here's an "easter egg" for anyone who is looking for dirt on a certain little "drama" unfolding in my life.
Early last year I was asked to be on the board of directors for this theatre company. I thought it might be an interesting project, but what the position entailed was never really defined, so it became frustrating.
I decided to leave when offered a part in one of the productions that happened to be written by the artistic director. This was a show that had not been shown to the board, mostly because it hadn't been written yet. I read the working draft of the show and to put it nicely, "it needed a LOT of work." It was 4 hours long and still unfinished. Plotting and characters were hard to follow and undefined. Lots of women naked and brutalized for "edginess" out of sheer misogyny and not to make a statement or more importantly, move the plot forward. I also couldn't tell who his target audience was or even what the story was really about. It was a mess.
I got "into dialogue" with the artistic director, and apparently it didn't matter what anyone said to him, it was "all going to work itself out in rehearsal." He "didn't believe" in staged readings or "feedback" before going into full production.
Being a veteran actor of one too many plays that were half finished at the beginning of the rehearsal period, I knew this was a recipe for disaster. I didn't want to be viewed as responsible for allowing it to commence (though it had in truth, never been offered for review before production, nor had we approved it as a group anyway as a new show.)
So, I quit. Wrote a friendly, tactful resignation letter. I feel sometimes people have to be allowed to make their own mistakes, and it isn't up to me help them find money or support to pay for it.
About a month ago, the artistic director must have thought that my quitting would make a great publicity angle. I'm not really sure why. I was asked for a statement, and I made a very bland, boring one; that I felt producing the show that I was shown as a mistake, my concerns were not listened to, so as a volunteer, I quit. It's one thing to have a strong difference with someone, it's quite another let him use you for some bullshit PR move. Pressed for more details, I declined.
The article came out this past week, and since I was declined to elaborate, the artistic director decided to give the magazine my resignation letter for fodder. UPDATE: This was a misguided but apparently not malicious move on the part of the assistant artistic director. Resignation letters are internal communication, and not for broadcast. They did not ask my permission. It doesn't make me look bad, it makes them look questionable for giving it over after I refused to comment. I had phrased everything in that letter pretty kindly though, so the article still didn't have much "controversy" to it.
The show opens this weekend. With the weirdo publicity angle, he has already cast doubt on his own show. This is not a good thing to do. It's still over 3 hours long. The publicity stills popping up on Facebook make everyone look lost. The set is relentlessly orange and brown, and so are the costumes. I have little hope that this is going to turn out well.
So, that has been my ordeal of "swirling controversy." Stay tuned for more "drama" as it happens.
Early last year I was asked to be on the board of directors for this theatre company. I thought it might be an interesting project, but what the position entailed was never really defined, so it became frustrating.
I decided to leave when offered a part in one of the productions that happened to be written by the artistic director. This was a show that had not been shown to the board, mostly because it hadn't been written yet. I read the working draft of the show and to put it nicely, "it needed a LOT of work." It was 4 hours long and still unfinished. Plotting and characters were hard to follow and undefined. Lots of women naked and brutalized for "edginess" out of sheer misogyny and not to make a statement or more importantly, move the plot forward. I also couldn't tell who his target audience was or even what the story was really about. It was a mess.
I got "into dialogue" with the artistic director, and apparently it didn't matter what anyone said to him, it was "all going to work itself out in rehearsal." He "didn't believe" in staged readings or "feedback" before going into full production.
Being a veteran actor of one too many plays that were half finished at the beginning of the rehearsal period, I knew this was a recipe for disaster. I didn't want to be viewed as responsible for allowing it to commence (though it had in truth, never been offered for review before production, nor had we approved it as a group anyway as a new show.)
So, I quit. Wrote a friendly, tactful resignation letter. I feel sometimes people have to be allowed to make their own mistakes, and it isn't up to me help them find money or support to pay for it.
About a month ago, the artistic director must have thought that my quitting would make a great publicity angle. I'm not really sure why. I was asked for a statement, and I made a very bland, boring one; that I felt producing the show that I was shown as a mistake, my concerns were not listened to, so as a volunteer, I quit. It's one thing to have a strong difference with someone, it's quite another let him use you for some bullshit PR move. Pressed for more details, I declined.
The article came out this past week, and since I was declined to elaborate, the artistic director decided to give the magazine my resignation letter for fodder. UPDATE: This was a misguided but apparently not malicious move on the part of the assistant artistic director. Resignation letters are internal communication, and not for broadcast. They did not ask my permission. It doesn't make me look bad, it makes them look questionable for giving it over after I refused to comment. I had phrased everything in that letter pretty kindly though, so the article still didn't have much "controversy" to it.
The show opens this weekend. With the weirdo publicity angle, he has already cast doubt on his own show. This is not a good thing to do. It's still over 3 hours long. The publicity stills popping up on Facebook make everyone look lost. The set is relentlessly orange and brown, and so are the costumes. I have little hope that this is going to turn out well.
So, that has been my ordeal of "swirling controversy." Stay tuned for more "drama" as it happens.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Christmas and New Years!
Christmas was hard, as expected, but because we limped along with what we have always done, I think it made it easier on the whole family in the long run. Having one important person missing was change enough, totally changing everything else we do would have been traumatic.
New Years Eve, my nuclear family exchanges gifts as if it was Christmas Day. This started back when my husband and I were first married and couldn't afford to fly back to Ohio and do family presents, then also give each other gifts as well. We decided that we would celebrate our Christmas one month later. It ended up working so well, we've been doing the later holiday ever since.
As we get older, we aren't going all out on gifts to each other. We have enough "stuff." So, now we do small things like edible treats, and replacement items. This year, Dan got me a microwave. The one we have is 15 years old and rusting. He made it special by wrapping the new one up, and singing me the Sun TV "I Got Me a Microwave Oven" jingle from about 20-25 years ago. It's probably up there in most annoying radio jingles--it's catchy, and back when they were running it, ubiquitous. Ask anyone who grew up in Central Ohio during the 80s and 90s--they can sing it for you.
With a polka-esque gusto:
"I got me a microwave oven/a gift for my family!!!!
My wife loves her microwave oven/she says that it sets her free!!!!!
It cooks up so much faster and better/and uses less energy!!!!!
I got me a microwave oven/I got it at Sun TV!!!!!
Don't you be a kitchen slave/get yourself a microwave!!!!!
Don't get left home on the range!!!!!
Microwave food is delicious!/ Cooks faster and more nutritious!!!!!
It's time to make the change!!!!!!
I got me a Microwave oven/ I got it at Sun TV!!!!!!"
New Years Eve was 3 days ago, and I'm still humming "I Got Me a Microwave Oven" against my will. It's a gift that keeps giving.
New Years Eve, my nuclear family exchanges gifts as if it was Christmas Day. This started back when my husband and I were first married and couldn't afford to fly back to Ohio and do family presents, then also give each other gifts as well. We decided that we would celebrate our Christmas one month later. It ended up working so well, we've been doing the later holiday ever since.
As we get older, we aren't going all out on gifts to each other. We have enough "stuff." So, now we do small things like edible treats, and replacement items. This year, Dan got me a microwave. The one we have is 15 years old and rusting. He made it special by wrapping the new one up, and singing me the Sun TV "I Got Me a Microwave Oven" jingle from about 20-25 years ago. It's probably up there in most annoying radio jingles--it's catchy, and back when they were running it, ubiquitous. Ask anyone who grew up in Central Ohio during the 80s and 90s--they can sing it for you.
With a polka-esque gusto:
"I got me a microwave oven/a gift for my family!!!!
My wife loves her microwave oven/she says that it sets her free!!!!!
It cooks up so much faster and better/and uses less energy!!!!!
I got me a microwave oven/I got it at Sun TV!!!!!
Don't you be a kitchen slave/get yourself a microwave!!!!!
Don't get left home on the range!!!!!
Microwave food is delicious!/ Cooks faster and more nutritious!!!!!
It's time to make the change!!!!!!
I got me a Microwave oven/ I got it at Sun TV!!!!!!"
New Years Eve was 3 days ago, and I'm still humming "I Got Me a Microwave Oven" against my will. It's a gift that keeps giving.
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