Thirteen for Thursday

OK, apparently you're supposed to make a list of 13 related things on a Thursday (or so I've read in other Blogs). Since I'm on the lazy side, I figured why not? Lists are easier, right (somehow, I think I'm going to regret those words). So anyway, being a DVD addict, I figured I'd list the last 13 things I watched on DVD or DVR (hey, I sometimes DO actually watch what I record). So without further ado, here's my Thirteen:

1-5. Grosse Pointe's first five episodes - this show is almost a must-watch for anyone who lived through the 90210 years on television. It's a farce about what went on behind the scenes. From the bitch-on-wheels Hunter (who, it turned out, was bitchy because she was hungry) to the pervy dad to the bald heart throb, this one never failed to go for the jugular (so much so that it never made it through a full season). At first, I couldn't decide whether it was too nasty or not, but I have to say when I got to the Halloween episode where they were ripping off Buffy, I was hooked.
6-9. Bones' first four episodes - What can I say? My mom was visiting, and it was about the only show we had in common. I bought it because of David Boreanaz and because it was cheap. DB is still great looking (actually, I have to say he's better looking than when he was on Angel), but the show? Well, I wanted to like it, but not so much. I don't usually watch procedurals so it kind of felt like I was watching the same show 4 times in a row. Maybe they aren't so bad spaced out, but there's no character development, and it just feels like deja vu every week.
10. Veronica Mars episode with Paul Rudd - hate to say it, but I'm kind of glad the show is going off the air. It took me awhile to get into the show, but once I did, I thought it was the 2nd coming of Buffy. But each year the writing seemed to falter just a bit more. And each year, they featured the characters I liked less and less. Hey, maybe it's more like Buffy than I thought.
11-13. Supernatural - couple of non-descript episodes from Season 2 and the end of season 1. Leopards don't change their spots. I think this is my new must-see show. I like the interaction between the brothers (the fact that they are very nice to look at doesn't hurt). I like that they don't take themselves too seriously, but still manage to bring the scary. Very glad that I'll have another season to see the brothers Winchester. And was I the only one who liked their dad?

Too Many Plans

Well, I survived the family and everyone seemed to enjoy it, so I guess everything went ok. We have the memorial service for my father-in-law this Friday, two soccer games over the weekend, and then I go away for business for a couple of days (feel my joy). After that, it's field day at school, Memorial Day weekend and then Bookfest. We got tickets to see Mamma Mia in New York for the whole family because nobody appreciates Broadway as much as a six year old. Heck, I didn't get to see a show on Broadway until I was twenty-something, so it may be jealousy talking, but I really gotta wonder at the wisdom of taking a kid who's bedtime is the same time the show starts to a Broadway show. Last two times we tried concerts, she fell asleep during them - and one of them was mid-afternoon. Yeah, I'm feeling this is a good investment. But at least she can say she slept through a BROADWAY play, right?

Words, Thoughts or Actions?

This has been a bit of an interesting week for me as my mom is visiting, and over the weekend, my mother-in-law was here too. Kind of made me wonder, what matters more, what you say, what you do or how you think about it? You see, I drove several hours over the weekend to pick my mom up and then drove several hours back to my house. I was feeling bad that she never got to see the kids events at school and all, so it seemed like a good idea at the time - but to be honest, I really didn't want to. Add on top of that some inevitable tension when you have two additional mothers in the house, and ... well, my thoughts were probably not the most charitable in the world. I think I kept my words pleasant - or to be more honest, tried not to say much, but the thoughts? Eh, not exactly kind. Does that negate everything else? And how much did my thoughts bleed through to actions, despite my best efforts? Oy. At least we're halfway through the week.

Civility

Just was trolling around, looking at some other folks blogs, and something started really bugging me. What ever happened to civility? When did it become acceptable to mock someone just because you disagree with them? Now trust me when I say, I'm about as liberal as they come politically, and to say that I really don't care for our current administration is an understatement. But the harrassment Bush is getting because of a minor flub in a speech? Come on, already. Like you never screwed up when you were talking. I'm referring to Bush's reference to Queen Elizabeth being around in 17 ...er 1976. Look, wanna rip on him for Iraq? I'm there. Our pathetic stance on global warming? Right there with you. But why bother cutting on the guy for a minor verbal miscue. Yeah, he has a reputation for not being the brightest bulb in the pack, but you know what? This was just a simple slip of the tongue. Good G-d people, give the guy some slack. I just don't get it.

Yes, I'm Alive

So, like is there a prize for being the lousiest at updating? If so, I think I have everyone beat. It's not that I haven't had anything to talk about; it's more that I'm incredibly lazy. Anyway, let's see, what's new and exciting. OK, well then how about new? Katherine has started gymnastics and seems to really love it. We've also enrolled her in art classes. She seems to be a bit insecure, not willing to try new things because she wants to be the best, so we've been taking the spaghetti approach with her (throw a bunch of stuff against the wall and see what sticks). She learned to ride without training wheels this weekend (mainly because they got twisted and I was too lazy to fix them, so I worked with her to ride without them - aren't I a good mom?). Her class play will be in a couple of weeks - apparently, she's doing pretty well with memorizing her lines (a major concern with the kindergarten set, if you can imagine).

Sarah is taking acting classes. She's going to start gymnastics this summer which could be very interesting, mainly because she'll be in a class with her younger sister who is 1) more flexible 2) has already had a session and 3)more athletic. It'll be interesting to see how Sarah reacts to not being the best at something. She's usually pretty cool about - a more laid-back kid you've never seen - but I wonder how she'll feel about her little sister being the one who's better. Who knows, maybe she'll surprise me? Feeling a bit guilty about not getting her into the art classes. We'll have to sign her up next year.

Oh, soccer season started again. Have I mentioned how much I loath soccer season? At least they practice on the same night this time. Unfortunately, Sarah's games are on Saturday and Katherine's are on Sunday. Yeah, weekends are fun. The good thing is that we get to take pictures again. I kinda like taking photos as the game. And am I a real schmuck if I say that it kind of annoys me that everyone assumes that all of our soccer pictures are from my husband. Yes, he's a great photographer, but I'm not that bad myself. *sigh* The continual struggle to find something that I'm good at.

Out of Phase

Nearly every sci-fi show that has ever existed has done an episode where the hero gets caught out of phase with the rest of the universe. They either shift to an alternate universe that is almost-but-not-quite right (or one that is totally opposite) or speed up or slow down or have something happen to them that makes it difficult to communicate with people from their own universe/time/whatever.

Anyways, I'm having one of those out of phase kind of weeks, where things just aren't quite fitting right. It's kind of like trying to zip a zipper when you can't get it lined up just right. Nothing bad has happened, I just feel a bit cranky or ... off. It's one of those weeks where I just feel like I just don't get it. Couple of silly examples? Went to see "Light in the Piazza," which is supposed to be some super-special romance or something, and I totally wasn't feeling it. The basic storyline is that a girl and her mother go to Italy, the girl meets and falls in love with a local boy and they all live happily ever after. The kicker is that she had an accident as a child and cannot mature past a 10 year old level. OK, so we're supposed to root for the couple, right? And all I can think of is 1) Why the hell don't they just tell the guy the truth and 2) How much "in love" can he be that he doesn't notice (I think he just wanted to schtup her, but that's another story) and 3) Boy is their wedding night going to be interesting. I think I missed the point somewhere - either that or I'm just a crotchety old lady.

Oh, and it doesn't stop there. I'm listening to the news, right? And two stories are on the air. The first is about a group that "helps" gay people go straight. And there are protesters all over the place. All I can think is if people want to go to these meetings or change, it's kind of their business. How is it threatening to these other folks? Don't they have anything better to do? Ah, but they say that it's wrong to try and change. Bull. People change or try to all the time. It's simply not their business. I guess this makes me a crotchety old conservative, right? But wait. The next story is about a guy who was the town manager for a place for 14 years and got fired because the folks in the town found out he was going to have a sex change. Again I say, who cares? So long as he (or she, as the case may be) is doing the job, why does anyone give a dang? People really need to stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. So does this now make me a liberal again? Or maybe a libertarian? Or maybe just out of phase?

Storytime

About 20 minutes after she was already supposed to be in bed, our older daughter informed us that she still hadn't finished her mystery story that was due the next day. Thinking she only had to type it, we let her stay up to finish it. 30 minutes later, she informed us that it couldn't be longer than 500 words, and her current story was 625. No problem, right? Just needed a little editing, right? We could help her with that, right? *ahem* Then we read the story for the first time. Oh. My. It was supposed to be a mystery. She had decided her main character was going to be kidnapped and taken through a black hole into a dungeon. Oooookkkkk. But she neglected to explain the black hole thing in her already too long story. Ouch. So now it's an hour past her bedtime, and guess who gets the "editing" responsibility? Except it's not so much editing as re-writing. Heaven forbid she would have worked on it or talked to us about it last week when she was off of school most of the week. So at 10:00 at night, I'm furiously re-writing her story while trying not to rewrite her story. At least I got rid of the black hole of suck (my not to affection name for her plot devise). Thank heavens her grade isn't totally dependent on this one.

End of Winter

Haven't been super motivated to write anything in here lately. Not much going on, I guess. My father-in-law did die, but it's weird. He didn't have a service, and it's kind of like witnessing a traffic accident - you look, say "eh" and move on. I don't know that I feel anything about it. Which is sad, I guess.

Girls are back in school after almost a week off between holidays and snow days. I miss gratuitous holidays. I would love to have President's day and Groundhog's day and Winter Solstice and any other thing I could think of off. Not that I would do much. I just like sleeping in. I also love staying inside when it's really cold and sucky outside. No better time to read in front of a fireplace until you get so hot that you want to go out in said sucky weather to cool off. And of course, there are the marshmallows. Anyone for a s'more?

In Defense of Businesspeople

Just read in another person blog a lament about the comic strip "For Better or Worse." Seems as though the cartoon character just got a book deal, and the commentator has a bug up their arse about how unrealistic it is. Biggest complaint is how quickly everything has happened. Leaving beside that we ARE talking about a cartoon character, I have only one thing to say: Get over it. I mean, really, gimme a break. They're whining because a cartoon(!?) is making their profession seem easier than it is? Cry me a river.

Try being a business person. I have yet to see an honest portrayal of the busines world in ANY movie, book, or play that I have EVER seen. If you listened to pop culture, you'd think that every business person is a greedy bastard who wears nice suits and spends their days in a luxorious windowed office on the 40th floor, trying to figure out how to screw the average man. They then take their beamer to their penthouse for a quickie at lunch before returning home to their alcoholic wives. Oh, and lest we forget, unless it's the fashion industry or perhaps some touchy-feely social welfare thing, they will ALWAYS return home to their wives because they are always male. Um, yeah. That's the way it happens for 99% of the folks out there. Pity my office is in the 1% that isn't like that. Most business people work their asses off to make things run smoothly in this world. Without talented business people, most folks would at best not have half the pretty playthings that make life worth living, at worst not have enough food or a job. Yet is the business person EVER the hero in a movie/play/tv show? Um, no. Just once, I'd like to see a show like LOST feature the heroic businessman saving the day while the evil doctor hides in the bushes like a helpless little bunny. Grrr. Arg.

On Death and Dying

The doctors told my mother-in-law today that my father-in-law has only a couple of weeks to live. He's still pretty much in denial, still wanting to go car shopping or whatever. I hear his actions and shake my head, thinking why would you want to spend your last days like that. It's easy to be superior when it's not you in the situation. I look in the mirror, frown at a few more wrinkles, worry about the hair I find in the sink and my ever-expanding waistlline, but turn away and figure I have years before I have to think about dying. I don't feel any different than I did when I was twenty, so I can't be that old, right? But ...

But what if you did know you had only two weeks to live? Would you spend those two weeks in denial? Would you rail against the unfairness of it all? What difference would your faith make? It's easy to say what you would or wouldn't do when you really don't have to face the situation, but I'm guessing it's quite a different matter when it actually is you. My mother-in-law has a great attitude, particularly when you consider that she and my father-in-law probably should have divorced years ago. She says she just wants to enjoy him while he's here. Hubby snidely suggested she might mean tolerate, but she corrected him and said, no, enjoy was the word she meant. It's kind of interesting and nice to know that she still remembers that at one time she loved him enough to marry him. I hope I'm that way if need be some day (I hope even more that I don't have to be, but that's another rant).

Oh, and for the record, while I really don't have to think about it seriously, if I ever get to the point that I definitely only have a couple of weeks left? I'm going to go to Santorini, Greece, and sit on the beach.

Owning Up to Your Feelings

I was raised in a family where ugly emotions were ignored. Oh, there was the regular shouting, but that wasn't because anyone was angry - they were just trying to get your attention. Riiiiight. No one was allowed to be sad or angry or jealous or selfish (except when they were, and then the rest of the family was supposed to make up excuses for why a particular person behaved the way they did). I've carried that notion thoughout my life, which made it really hard to determine if my reactions were normal or overreactions to situations. I would sit and analyze the situation until I could warp it around so that it really wasn't the way I thought it was.

So anyway, as an adult, I have trouble dealing with negative emotions in myself. I'm sure that I'm overreacting. And heaven forbid I should ever admit to one of the negative emotions. Like right now, I'm jealous and feeling disrespected. Mainly because I wasn't invited to a meeting at work. The real crazy thing is that I really don't want to go to the meeting, yet I feel envious of those who are in the meeting. They are the "important" people. And what am I? Chopped liver? How cracked do you have to be to think like this? I mean, there are people in positions that I have zero respect for, but I'm still jealous of them. All because of my own blooming insecurity, that I'm not good enough and this proves it. I can logically look at the situation and say I'm cracked, but yet I still feel dissed. Strange, no?

Last Things

And another week goes by. Not doing as great as I would like to on the New Year's Resolutions thing, but probably doing how I expected. It's funny but a lot of my goals are really based on the fact that I figure I got years left. I mean, really, if you knew you were going to die in a couple of weeks, would you really deny yourself chocolate? Would you waste your time exercising in a smelly basement? What would you do?

Seems a strange question, but I've been thinking about it a lot more lately. My parents/in-laws generation is starting to creep into the not-to-many-years-left zone and starting to decline in health. Two things in particular brought the subject up. The first is my father-in-law, who is dying and knows that he's dying. Given that, you'd think he'd spend his last couple of weeks enjoying life, right? Nope, he's spending it bitching about cars and trying to negotiate with a car dealer for a boat his wife will never be able to drive. Now maybe that's fun for him, but I just can't imagine spending my last days dealing with a used car salesman. The other is my aunt, who has been in the hospital for the last couple of months. She hasn't been able to eat (or hasn't wanted to eat) anything. I can't imagine that. Apparently, it happens a lot as you get older. Kind of makes you rethink the dieting thing, huh? I mean if you eventually don't enjoy eating (hard for me to imagine), you might as well eat what you can when you can. Doubt I'll go that route, but it is tempting.

In Praise of Micromovements

Well, I actually managed to accomplish my three task for yesterday and feel pretty good about myself. It's funny, I'm the queen of list making - I usually have a list about six pages long of things I should be doing. Which usually means I don't do anything because I'm overwhelmed by the list. It's kind of like Rimmer on Red Dwarf who spent so much time planning his study time that he never actually got around to studying. That's what's so great about micromovements. Anybody can find 5 minutes in their schedule. You can actually accomplish something and mark it off the list. It's amazing how good it feels to say you did what you said you were going to do. So, today's list? I'm going for another page of editing, another counter in the bathroom, and getting out paper and pencils to draw if I so choose. Baby steps, right?

Succulence

OK, so I'm reading this book "The Bodacious Book of Succulence - Daring to Live Your Succulent Wild Life" and it asked what samll thing are you willing to do that will help your life be more succulent? First question, again, is what is succulent (just call me dictionary girl)? Well, I had to combine a couple of definitions, but essentially, we're talking full of juice, highly interesting or enjoyable. Heh. How often do I think of my life as something that can be succulent? I guess it should be, but it seems like there are a bunch of shoulda's or gotta's that get in the way. Anyway, the author's point in this section is that you can make very small changes that can greatly increase your appreciation of life. She talks late about micromovements, saying that the reason we often fail is that we make our goals too large. Interesting stuff.

Anyway, so what are my planned small things? Hmmm, let's see ... I think I'm going to clean one of the counters in the bathroom tonight (not the whole thing, just one counter). I also am going to edit just one page of my book today at lunch. No more than one. Oh, and I'm going to read a chapter of a just-for-fun book while sitting in my favorite chair cuddled in a blankie. How's that sound?

On Being Glad

Was reading a book at lunchtime that asked me to list the things that make me glad. The first thing I had to do was look up the word "glad" in the dictionary. Hey, I didn't want to put down something that made me happy but not glad. I had to have the definition RIGHT. Anyway, the definition was as follows: "feeling joy or pleasure; delighted; pleased" OK, so it's pretty close to happy, but not EXACTLY the same (humor me). Anyways, here's my list in no particular order. I challenge anyone reading this to come up with their own list.

Red licorice and Swedish fish

Hiking on Hadrian's Wall (or any place else, really)

A Clean house (shut up, this is my list)

Gardening when there are no time pressures

Swinging my younger daughter upside down

Reading with either of my daughters, but particularly the older one because she doesn't really need me to read with her but likes me to anyway

Swimming or biking with my husband (particularly finishing a long ride)

Reading a good book, especially if it involves a rainy day, a fireplace and a blanket

Toasted marshmellows

And I have to admit a song from my college days came back to me as well. The phrase in particular? "Be ye glad, oh be ye glad, every sin that you ever had has been paid up in full by the grace of the Lord, be ye glad, be ye glad, be ye glad."

Creativity

Do I lead what might possibly be the most boring life? Not that I mind. I'm actually kind of partial to boring. Anyway, trying to figure out what I'm going to do that is creative this year. Part of me figures I should start writing again. Then again, another part of me figures I should edit the book I've already written and see if I can make anything of it. Of course, being a first novel it probably sucks, but hey, I read lots of stuff that sucks. That doesn't seem to stop anyone else. I've also toyed with drawing. Not that I have any talent for it, but I figure it takes less time than writing and I have no where to go but up. While being a competent but not great writer can only lead to frustration, going into something where I know that I don't have talent can only lead to improvement, from truly dreadful to sometimes, if I look at it, it can be not bad. OK, is this some of the most bizarre logic you've ever heard or what?

As for other goals, I didn't exercise last night. I did read. Learned that Salmon Chase was an egotistical jerk, and that basically Lincoln outmanuevered his rivals by being a better politician than they were. His rallying cry? I'm number 2. Hey, it worked. Kind of. If you don't count that assassination thing, that is.

So....How's It Going?

New year - day 2. One other thing I forgot to mention is that I'm actually going to try and keep this thing updated. No really. Honest. I mean it. I think.

Anyway, yesterday had the typical, New Year's clean-up. Washed the basement carpet, cleaned out the cars, cleaned one of the bathrooms. Yes, I really know how to have fun. Anyway, so far, so good in that at least yesterday I didn't eat everything that wasn't tied down and got in some exercise. I'm also going to try that learn one thing a day thing. Yesterday I learned that Lincoln asked his three closest rivals for the Presidency to become members of his cabinet. I'm reading through (or trying to) Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals" - that should help on the one-new-thing-a-day goal for awhile. I envy that woman. She's just so intelligent and such a good researcher and has an ideal job of researching the hell out of interesting subjects. Can I be her when I grow up? Oh, you mean I'm already fully growed? *sigh*

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot ...

As we approach the end of another year, I realize that I really can't think of a lot of accomplishments for the past year. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. You see, the older I get, the more I realize that I actually have it pretty good, so no real change isn't that bad. I do have to confess to being lax on definitive plans for the past year and unfortunately, my accomplishments show it. I tend to go for the nice and vague goals like "be nicer" or "be more patient." They sound good, but they are much harder to measure so they are much harder to grade as failures. I think I am learning to be a bit more patient, but I'm not sure if that's as accountable to laziness as much as anything else. Again, not that that's a bad thing.

Anyway, as I sit on the cusp of a new year, I really feel like I should give it the old college try (which is kind of amusing, given that the old college try for me was to rack up as many points in the beginning of the class so I didn't have to go later in the semester ... see, lazy). So ... what are the goals for the new year? Oh, I suppose I should start with the typical lose weight - at least that one's measureable (not that I'm going to list the goal in front of G-d and everybody because G-d? He already knows. As for the rest of you ...). I'm going to go for the reading thing again - 20 minutes a day tends to be a good goal for me (may not seem like much, but if it works for kids, it should work for me too, right?). I should go for less lazy at work (and heck, while I'm at it, at home), but I'd like to stick to attainable goals and as for lazy? See the comments above. So what else? I think I'm going to give myself a goal of doing one creative thing this year. Don't know what that will be, but I want to have a place keeper if nothing else. There are the old standbys of being a better, more patient, blah, blah, blah, but again, attainable, so no need to spell them out, right? *ahem* Anyway, I think I should go for something spiritual, but I want it to be something with teeth, so I need to think about it. I guess that's it for now. Happy New Year, everybody. I'm going to bed now.

While Procrastinating Cleaning ...

Figured since it's almost the end of November, I should provide some kind of update. Profound thoughts twice a month, whether I have them or not, that's my motto. Anyway, since I'm looking for a reason to NOT clean the bathrooms and I tend to have my most "profound" thoughts when I'm cleaning (not much else to think about), I figured I'd use this as an opportunity to procrastinate.

It's interesting what we want for our children. First and foremost, we want them to be superhuman. If that's not in the cards, then we want them to be blissfully normal - or at least more normal than we are. Then we figure, if our lives aren't too bad, that we'd be satisfied if they did pretty much the same as we did, without all the emotional baggage and crap. Genetics being what they are, and people not really changing, that's not realistic, but it doesn't stop us from hoping they don't have to go through the same crap that we did. Of course, they will. And of course, all we can do is sit back and watch them make their mistakes and be there to pick up the pieces. But why can't they be like the perfected versions of us? Why does version 2.0 have to go through the same emotional BS that we went through? Why can't we protect them from that or at least teach them that it is BS and shouldn't bother them? Maybe because they aren't robots? Oh, they won't make all the same mistakes we do - they have plenty of their own to make. But they will have bad times as well as good, no matter how hard we try to make it all good.

It's tough being a parent. We want to give our kids what they need, not just what they want, but it's sometimes so hard to tell the difference.

Rush is an Idiot

OK, you can probably guess that knowing my political leanings, I'm pretty satisfied with the election last night. I do hope that this will mean more thoughtful discussion and compromise (although I suspect it'll mean gridlock and finger-pointing). Anyway, because I'm sometimes mean, I was listening to Rush Limbaugh this morning to hear how he was going to spin the election. I love hearing spinmeisters at work. At any rate, I caught him reviewing Santorum's race in my home state. Here's his analysis: PA is full of old people who don't care about the future. They just care that money that should be going to them is going over to Iraq, that's why they are against the war. Santorum's ideas were too revolutionary for them.

Um... no. Just no. I almost truly hope he thinks that because it means the Republicans really don't have a clue. Look, PA has best been described as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, with Alabama in between. Typically Philly goes strong Democrat, and the center of the state offsets it by going strong Republican. Pittsburgh was and always has been what swings the state. Yeah, it's union, but it's full of Reagan Democrats. I grew up there, I know. Anyways, you wanna know the real reason people in Pittsburgh voted against Santorum? The schmuck was living in Virginia and charging the local government for schooling his kids. That's it. He was ripping off the local school board and folks didn't like it. You think I'm joking? You should have listened to the radio stations in Pittsburgh. He acted like a schmuck and he got caught. Nothing more, nothing less. Of course, when you think you're perfect, it's hard to see that it might have been something you've done. Let's see if the Republicans learn a lesson.