- Verbal Filters: "What has happened to the ability of people to use "filters" before speaking?" Maybe it's my age, but I do not recall knowing as many people as I do today who begin talking before they engage their brain as to what the impact of what they are about to say will be.
- Drivers: This is frightening -- I seriously think there are an abundancy of drivers on the road who don't consider reckless driving kills people. Going around a corner at 70 mph is not "cool." Suggestion: go ahead and pretend to be speed racer in a parking lot instead of possibly taking out an innoncent person's life..
- Toilet Paper: I don't think anyone in the house has been trained to replace a roll. The empty roll will sit on the roller until I replace it. This same concept applies to paper towels in the kitchen and any and all trash bags throughout the home.
- Children and Money: Consider this THE official memo that your parents are not the Rockefellers and any and all Christmas should not begin pre-Halloween.
- Manners and Politeness: When entering a room one says "hello" to a family member (i.e., mother and father.) When leaving the house one says, "Goodbye" to same people and does not ignore their existance. These people are your sole support and until you begin earning a salary, treat them as human beings.
- Laundry: When one begins laundy, please continue the process by taking the wet clothes out and moving them to the dryer or to hang to air dry. Do not leave laundry in a stagnated state (both process wise and smelling wise) thereby holding up others who would like to have the opportunity to launder their clothing.
- Texting: Don't text me and then NOT pick up the phone if I have a question regarding the text you just sent. I know you have your phone, PICK IT UP AND ANSWER IT -- you would if you it was a friend.
- Politics: How about "just say no." It's waaaaaay too early in the election process to have to hear other people's opinions on any candidate. Also, another biggie -- media commentators: please refrain from sharing your solution(s) on how to fix everything in this terrible economy. It would probably be more productive to pen a letter to the White House, perhaps in care of President Obama and see if he'll/they'll consider it. Good luck with that.
- Pay kindness forward: This is a postive note in the blog. Most of us have been blessed beyond expectation with precious friends and family, and the way to be thankful for that is to pass it along. Do something nice for others on a frequesnt basis. It's a good thing and tends to be contagious.
- Hold your tongue/keypad: If someone says or writes a nasty or unkind thing about you, my mantra is, "Silence is Golden." Don't engage those types of people with buying into their unhappiness or gripe. Kindness works wonders with unhappy people. I KNOW this from direct experience with the public and it works wonders. Just be kind...it disarms angry folks.
- People: Most people are wonderful and generous. It's just the few bad apples that get the attention. Count your blessings on the wonderful friends and people you presently know and will come to know. It's one of life's great blessings.
- Laughter: This is the final topic for today. Laugh as much and as often as you can. In my opinion it truly is the key to survival and sanity. Plus, it's pretty fun :)
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Topics I Never Got Around to Writing
It's been awhile since I've blogged, but that doesn't mean I don't have at least a dozen topics each week that I think are worth writing about. Here's a summary of some of the ideas I've had and didn't elaborate via the blog.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Our New Tenants
It seems like just last fall we were driving to the university campus to drop off our daughters. Sure there were milliseconds of parental sadness, but we quickly became members of the empty-nesters club. It’s a sweet little organization where everything you own is yours and no one secretly breaks, touches or moves anything. The mantra is simple: r-e-s-p-e-c-t.
Just as we were becoming cozy, our utopia was interrupted by the return of our sweet cherubs, whose move home included multiple bedrooms with clothing cast in hurricane-like patterns; a broken refrigerator drawer left dangling in the breeze; and if that’s not enough evidence, how ‘bout the mountains of laundry which never actually rotate through a complete cycle without a little parental push, or the sinks full of dishes awaiting the secret dishwashing fairy? Alas, the sweet taste of empty-nest joy has been interrupted by our new tenants. One difference – our tenants don’t actually pay or offer any rent. As our children, they seem to think they’re entitled to utilize as much free stuff as possible while copping an “I hate your guts” attitude pretty much 24/7. Envious? Yup, I thought so.
The collective thinking of our tenants is that whatever belongs to their parents belongs to them. Lost your hairbrush? No problem, they just help themselves to yours. Need a cell phone charger? Just rip the one that mom uses out of the wall – and please…don’t you dare leave a note! The icing on the cake is to act completely stupid or annoyed if confronted with any of the above while posing a “How dare you suggest such a thing!”
Uggggg…how many days ‘till school begins?
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Our Beloved GB and the Blue Toolbox
They say there are special folks one meets in heaven... if that is true, I hope George is there for me. We lost him very quickly and celebrated his life today at LBPC. God Bless you George, I will love you forever!
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George’s Blue “Makita” toolbox has been a fixture in this church for years. It’s usually perched on a table in the social hall as it silently whispers and waves, “Hey, George is here -- he’s working on something again!” Occasionally, hours would whiz by without the slightest glimpse of George, but he was present; after all the blue tool box wouldn’t lie. Eventually he would emerge from his latest endeavor and pop into the office to check in and say “howdy” knowing there’d be a possible stack of documents waiting for his signature. Like the old TV character on Mash, I felt like “Radar” always following around “Henry” for signatures on documents. And like “Henry”, George quickly examined the documents he was about to sign, knowing things were in order, because we were a team. And that team was and is part of a larger family; a family who deeply loves and supports each other throughout all of life’s challenges.
The blue tool box has now become an icon. Its definition is simple: “Things are going to be okay.” If something is broken, we’ll fix it. If something is worn out, we’ll replace it. If something needs to be invented or engineered…w-e-l-l, that one might not be as easy. George has taught us so many valuable lessons about how to simply live and treat each other just the way God would want, and he demonstrated that through his service by joyfully volunteering for countless hours to his “two loves”, his Church and Canine Partners for life.
George will remain in our hearts and minds forever, and that blue tool box, well, it’s still whispering to us quietly and this time, it’s reassuring us, “George is here!” He is in our church, our minds and hearts. We will love him forever!
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George’s Blue “Makita” toolbox has been a fixture in this church for years. It’s usually perched on a table in the social hall as it silently whispers and waves, “Hey, George is here -- he’s working on something again!” Occasionally, hours would whiz by without the slightest glimpse of George, but he was present; after all the blue tool box wouldn’t lie. Eventually he would emerge from his latest endeavor and pop into the office to check in and say “howdy” knowing there’d be a possible stack of documents waiting for his signature. Like the old TV character on Mash, I felt like “Radar” always following around “Henry” for signatures on documents. And like “Henry”, George quickly examined the documents he was about to sign, knowing things were in order, because we were a team. And that team was and is part of a larger family; a family who deeply loves and supports each other throughout all of life’s challenges.
The blue tool box has now become an icon. Its definition is simple: “Things are going to be okay.” If something is broken, we’ll fix it. If something is worn out, we’ll replace it. If something needs to be invented or engineered…w-e-l-l, that one might not be as easy. George has taught us so many valuable lessons about how to simply live and treat each other just the way God would want, and he demonstrated that through his service by joyfully volunteering for countless hours to his “two loves”, his Church and Canine Partners for life.
George will remain in our hearts and minds forever, and that blue tool box, well, it’s still whispering to us quietly and this time, it’s reassuring us, “George is here!” He is in our church, our minds and hearts. We will love him forever!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Techno-Meltdown 101
On December 28th, I finally had the opportunity to attend my niece’s high school basketball game. The plans came together so well it was like b-u-t-t-a-h. (Yes, Ellen, I can spell butter.)
My luck began a downward spiral with a simple visit to the ladies’ room, when my cell phone decided to make a direct exit from my coat pocket and perform an Olympic dive into the toilet. A mistake that I SWORE was never going to happen ever again after the first time about five years ago. And, NO, adult beverages were not involved; it was purely a result of my own dysfunctional ability to keep my phone in a safe place. Frantically attempting to dry my phone, I agreed to meet the family for a pizza dinner, following a detour to the supermarket to secure a bag of white rice in which to place my saturated cell phone.
Post pizza dinner, I headed home to research additional methods to dry out a cell phone. Phone securely encased in a zip lock bag of white rice, I booted my laptop to begin research. Seconds later, the computer displayed a black screen. What the “H”????? Not only did I have a soaking wet non-working cell phone, but add to that a black-screen-of-death laptop computer. In pure Scarlett O’Hara fashion, I decided to think about it tomorrow – one of my most beloved mantras.
The following day, I left for work with the knowledge that without question, hubby, who is totally addicted to the use of my laptop computer, would research and identify the new hard drive to be purchased. Beauty! As hubby installed the new hard drive, he disregarded my instructions read directly from the box, “….professional installation recommended.”
Hard drive installed, and recovery disks in hand, I was anxious to get all things computer back to normal. Recovery disk #1 inserted in the DVD drive….nothing. The new hard drive passed all tests. What now? What limited computer knowledge I possess told me all I needed was a new set of recovery disks, but I didn’t listen to myself and called HP customer service a/k/a I-N-D-I-A. Heavy-hearted I admitted defeat and thought, “ Welcome to the dark side.”
The INDIA experience can be summarized as follows:
The next morning our phone rang and the caller ID read, “HP Customer Service.” OMG!! I actually spoke to an American HP customer service representative who was very apologetic regarding my dilemma and not only refunded my $99 but was planning to FedEx the recovery disks to me free of charge for my trouble. Ahhh….there is justice in the world.
However, my joy and redemption was short-lived as I informed youngest-college-daughter-on-break that she needed to be at home to accept the delivery, due to the face that I would be at work earning a living.
“OMG…” was her whiny reply, “I wanted to go to the mall then.” Fortunate for me that FedEx delivers before she even gets out of bed.
My luck began a downward spiral with a simple visit to the ladies’ room, when my cell phone decided to make a direct exit from my coat pocket and perform an Olympic dive into the toilet. A mistake that I SWORE was never going to happen ever again after the first time about five years ago. And, NO, adult beverages were not involved; it was purely a result of my own dysfunctional ability to keep my phone in a safe place. Frantically attempting to dry my phone, I agreed to meet the family for a pizza dinner, following a detour to the supermarket to secure a bag of white rice in which to place my saturated cell phone.
Post pizza dinner, I headed home to research additional methods to dry out a cell phone. Phone securely encased in a zip lock bag of white rice, I booted my laptop to begin research. Seconds later, the computer displayed a black screen. What the “H”????? Not only did I have a soaking wet non-working cell phone, but add to that a black-screen-of-death laptop computer. In pure Scarlett O’Hara fashion, I decided to think about it tomorrow – one of my most beloved mantras.
The following day, I left for work with the knowledge that without question, hubby, who is totally addicted to the use of my laptop computer, would research and identify the new hard drive to be purchased. Beauty! As hubby installed the new hard drive, he disregarded my instructions read directly from the box, “….professional installation recommended.”
Hard drive installed, and recovery disks in hand, I was anxious to get all things computer back to normal. Recovery disk #1 inserted in the DVD drive….nothing. The new hard drive passed all tests. What now? What limited computer knowledge I possess told me all I needed was a new set of recovery disks, but I didn’t listen to myself and called HP customer service a/k/a I-N-D-I-A. Heavy-hearted I admitted defeat and thought, “ Welcome to the dark side.”
The INDIA experience can be summarized as follows:
- Call to India: $99.00 (due to expired warranty)
- Hours on the phone to India: Five
- Times placed on hold by customer service person who never returned: I lost count
- Frustration level: Off the scale and very appreciative that I DID NOT have a gun
- Actual assistance given: Zero
The next morning our phone rang and the caller ID read, “HP Customer Service.” OMG!! I actually spoke to an American HP customer service representative who was very apologetic regarding my dilemma and not only refunded my $99 but was planning to FedEx the recovery disks to me free of charge for my trouble. Ahhh….there is justice in the world.
However, my joy and redemption was short-lived as I informed youngest-college-daughter-on-break that she needed to be at home to accept the delivery, due to the face that I would be at work earning a living.
“OMG…” was her whiny reply, “I wanted to go to the mall then.” Fortunate for me that FedEx delivers before she even gets out of bed.
- Computer situation: back to normal, thank God for back-ups.
- Phone situation: up and running, thanks to the rice (plus days of drying out on its own…) Seems like I didn’t HAVE to rush and purchase that new cell phone. On the bright side, I have a backup for the next “wet” cell phone encounter.
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