Bordering on brilliance…
There you have it!Archive for November, 2006
Reflections
There are certain triggers throughout the year that cause me to reflect. Squid’s 14th birthday was one. I was wrapping her presents last night, after a long day of prepping, then actually having her party…and a skating one at that. Does that start to bring back memories or a feeling of familiarity for anyone?
Anyway, I always write something somewhat sentimental in her card, and although I always get her some of the forgettable things I know she wants, I always get her something meaningful or plan a memorable activity as well. The kids especially get so many gifts around their birthdays and at Christmas. If you’re lucky like her, you’ve got birthday and Christmas practically back to back. Now keep track of who got you what, and let’s not forget about the grandparents who buy out entire stores for each event, and you see how that can all start to run together.
What you don’t forget, however is the year of your 12th birthday when a family heirloom was passed down from a great grandmother, or the year a whole surprise evening was planned involving tickets to the Nutcracker (for the first time) with a very good family friend (almost Aunt-like) and dinner. You don’t forget the whole rite of passage on your 13th birthday when you go for your first pedicure with “the girls”, got your furry phone for your room, and amongst a variety of necessities for sleepovers including furry frog slippers and cool pajamas, sparkly makeup followed a bit later by another surprise personalized instructional visit with a very cool makeup professional. I could continue but you get the general idea. The point being, you forget and eventually throw away the sparkly pens, the stuffed animals, and other miscellaneous stuff, but these other things stick with you forever.
So as I was writing her card, I started thinking about when I was pregnant with her, the labor & delivery, her as a toddler, etc. , and how overnight she went from looking and acting like a kid, and for a while with one foot in the land of teen and the other still watching the Disney channel, and all of a sudden she grew about a foot in a week and the kid is completely gone. She’s a teen now. How fast the time has flown by. Maybe not while it was all happening, but definitely so in hindsight. Kinda started to freak me out a bit, and yes, quite choked up.
It was quite humorous watching her friends at the party too. I remember being that age, the things that were important to us, whatever drama was going on, who my friends were, who was really, really cute (“hot”wasn’t the term yet), and overall just “knowing” we were cool. As if there was any doubt.
Funny how things change and yet stay the same. MTV had just come out, funny it’s still in, but boy, has it changed! Parents are still in an uproar over it’s content and vulgarity. The scary slasher movies are still in, but notice they’re remaking everything. Nobody aside from Stephen King has any original ideas? We had a whole genre of movies including the Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles (who could EVER forget that one), Footloose, etc., that all covered teen angst (what girl wouldn’t have given everything she had to be on the table with Jake Ryan blowing out those candles?) and all the other issues that were meaningful to us. The kids now don’t have that. Theirs now revolve now around being hateful toward their families and even more so to each other in school. It’s too bad. Maybe they should create a new bratpack and start remaking those classics!
To punish a teen then meant being grounded from the phone, now you take away their cellphone and make them use the home phone (you know, that thing we refer to as a landline) and their whole world is crashing down around them. Instead of being grounded from tv, you take it out of their room.
Did I go off on a bit of a tangent? Be grateful for the distraction. It was better than pondering how I got a 14 year old kid who keeps getting older and I’m not. That’s truly scary.
The Market’s changing…
This seems to the hot phraseology lately. Every time I turn around I hear about how this market or that is changing. It seems to be a universal thing at the moment.
In both of my occupations I’m hearing this as well, particularly in the real estate side of things. This past year or so has been extremely hot in the housing market in the greater Seattle/Eastside area. Prices have been unbelievably high, people bidding significantly over the asking prices, houses moving before a listing sign can be placed in the yard, and the condo market has been out of control as well. Now the market’s changing…things are slowing down, prices seem to be correcting a bit, and it’s not only taking longer to sell a property, but now incentives are being thrown in as well. Driving home today, I saw some brand new model homes with new cars in the driveway. The signage indicated a free car with the purchase of the home.
This trickles down to the places you’d never think you’d hear it. The yarn shop. Last year I made these very cool scarves for a few of the ladies in my life and was going to make one for a Christmas gift this year. So I confidently went into the yarn shop with exactly what I wanted in mind, and would you believe the whole family of yarn I was looking for is dwindling. Apparently the trend is not so much in these cool yarns that make one’s projects unique masterpieces, but back to the basics, which I find quite unmotivating. You’ll love this. The manager of the store told me word for word “the market’s changing”.
Good grief already…I’m ready for a new phrase. Preferably something indicating something positive and uplifting. I did get complimented on my hair twice yesterday and was told I was glowing. That helped a bit. Ü
What the ?!?
What is this country coming to and when will it end? Last night I went to the ATM at my bank. Instead of choosing between English & Spanish, which has everybody fired up, they’re now offering to proceed in what appears to be either Japanese or Korean and something that appears to be possibly Russian.
My company offers materials in English and Spanish, and believe me, I’ve gotten my ass chewed off by a few clients who somehow think I’m personally responsible. I’ve also been asked if we’re going to start producing them in Korean. I’m thinking Swahili should be next.
What the hell, people?! I know we’ve had this conversation more times than we care to count, but if you come to this country, make sure you communicate in our language (and no, Spanish should most definately NOT be our national language). Oh yeah, if you don’t like our traditions, customs, and way of life, stop b*tching and go back where you came from!
‘Nuff said.
Thom Pain
Apparently I didn’t read the description very well. I thought it was an entertaining play about the interaction between men and women in a romantic relationship. I was horribly disappointed to discover that it was a monologue of sorts (and somewhat monotone). More like an hour & a half long stream of consciousness, one that wasn’t very interesting either. His consciousness was boring as hell and the guy wasn’t even cute. What a waste!
The highlight, and also what kept me from falling blissfully asleep, was watching Keven’s bobbing head as he slept through the entire thing. Marla and Squid admitted napping through parts of it as well.
I give it an 8/10. Check Keven’s blog to see what his rating is. Hopefully he won’t waste even a miniscule of his life bothering to write it up! LOL! 
Cardio Seattle Style
For those of my friends reading from another state of consciousness, known to the rest of us as California, this will explain a great deal.
Friends of mine that live in O-town always know I’ve lost my mind for real this time when I come to visit. I’ve been caught sitting in Ruby’s yard which, thanks to James’ hard work and dedication, is like sitting on prime golf course turf only nicer, if that’s possible. She’s come home many times to find me sitting in the yard in full sun with my double tall Americano with chocolate & cream easy ice, my beloved crossword and the phone. Each time she looks at me like I’m crazy and asks if I’ve been locked out of the house. She doesn’t get that in Seattle when the sun comes out, we all get outside even if for the briefest of moments.
Although it really doesn’t rain here as much people think, there are days like today when there is massive flooding in the very, very rural areas (some places had 8+ inches within the past 48 hours), and it’s been monsooning all freakin’ day long, that it seems like it almost never ends. Always happens on a good hair day too!
So on a day when there is even the slightest sunbreak, even if it’s only 2 degrees outside, people come out of the woodwork and head out to the local hotspot for running, walking, biking, rollerblading, dogwalking, fishing, boating, soccer, swimming, and any other form of exercise you can imaging, aka Greenlake.
It’s about 3 miles around and quite the scene for people watching. Every breed of dog is represented. You can say the same for the kids, all ages, sizes and energy level. There are people in wheelchairs, with walkers…just about anything you can imagine, but everybody’s there. Yesterday there was even a woman Keven and I assumed was Russian, dressed for nightclubbing, in tight pants, very high heeled, close to knee high (and somewhat slutty) boots with lots of straps & buckles and a jacket I can’t remember well enough to describe, with her assumed hubby and a little boy with a bike.
Even though it’s not too terribly close to our houses, Keven and I have taken to “doing” Greenlake on weekends. In spurts, I should say. I should probably mention there’s usually quite the breakfast to follow! Honestly, that’s my total motivation for the entire walk.
You know who belongs here, who’s transplanted and who’s visiting. True Seattleites, and even transplants, are often seen doing their laps espresso in hand, myself included. It is a beautiful sight and warms my heart immensely.
Classic example of Karma
An atheist was taking a walk through the woods. “What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!” he said to himself. As he continued walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes Turning to look, he saw a 7 foot grizzly charging towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. Looking over his shoulder he saw that the bear was closing in on him. His heart was pumping frantically and he tried to run even faster. He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw the bear raising his paw to take a swipe at him.
At that instant the atheist cried out: “Oh my God….!”
Time stopped.
The bear froze.
The forest was silent.
It was then that a bright lightshone upon the man and a voice came out of the sky saying:
“You deny my existence for all of these years, t old others I didn’t exist and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?”
The atheist looked directly into the light and said:
“It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps, could you make the BEAR a Christian?”
“Very well,” said the voice.
The light went out, and the sounds of the forest resumed.
And then the bear lowered his paw, bowed his head and spoke:
“Lord, bless this food which I am about to receive and for which I a m truly thankful, Amen. “
