Category Archives: Uncategorized

Of light vs. dark

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Isn’t it odd how we never stop learning about ourselves?

I just returned from dropping My Favorite Domer off at Notre Dame for Summer Term (more on this tomorrow). Anyway, it’s the first time I got a hotel room away from the main lights of the city.

So it was dark. Really dark. The kind of dark that leads your imagination to play all sorts of tricks on you.

Like when you hear funny noises and imagine creepy critters scurrying about. Or when you see looming shadows and know you’re next.

I thought about leaving a lamp on, but no way can I sleep with that much light.

At home, nights aren’t that dark because there’s plenty of light from streetlamps and our neighbors.

Not in the hotel, though.

So I decided to leave the TV on. I turned the volume way down and aimed the screen away from the bed.

But the station kept switching scenes and the resulting flashes were anything but restful.

I jumped up and changed to a steadier channel.

Still no luck.

Frustrated, I jumped up again and turned it off.

Now hunkering beneath the covers in my dark room, I started to itch.

Probably just the Lysol I sprayed onto the pillow, I thought.

Or maybe it was bugs.

I jumped up again.

Nothing.

I swear I was more tired after “sleeping” eight hours than I would have been if I’d just stayed up all night!

So next time, I’m going to pack a nightlight and my own sleeping bag.

Can’t be too careful now, can we?!


Oh, the joys of getting your car serviced!

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Am I just being fussy, or do others hate taking their cars in for service, too?

It doesn’t much matter whether your wait-time is long or short — it’s far from fun.

Here are my pet peeves (how many agree?):

  • Boring choice of reading material. Haven’t the-powers-that-be ever heard that women take their cars in for service, too? How many women do you know who enjoy reading magazines about electronics, mechanics, building trades, etc.?
  • The ever-present blaring TV. Everybody’s afraid to change the channel that’s on when they arrive, or to turn it down; and what’s with the pompous guy who commandeers the remote and acts like he’s in his own den?
  • Cramped quarters. No, I don’t like sitting side-by-side with a perfect stranger!
  • Stuffy air. The place is invariably too hot or too cold, and you can’t find a good fan to save your life.
  • The smells. Yep, I’m talking about what looks like week-old popcorn and day-old coffee. Do they really expect us to make our own food and drinks? If I wanted to wait on people, I’d get a job where at least I’d get paid to do it!

Now what makes the wait particularly irritating are the other customers. You know who I’m talking about:

  • The chatterbox. This is the guy or gal who can’t shut up! They chat with other customers and the salespeople; they haul out their cell phones and give the rest of us a glimpse into their lives that we’d rather not see.
  • Hospital Holly. The person who should have stayed home, in bed. Instead, they drag themselves to the dealership, sigh and moan about their ailments, use half a box of Kleenex, and make sure the rest of us get what they’ve got.
  • Daddy-with-the-kids. Does he really expect any woman waiting for her car to help him babysit? He drags in 3 or 4 toddlers — one at least with a full diaper — then parks himself behind a magazine while the kids run wild through the showroom, leave gooey fingerprints everywhere, cry and scream uncontrollably, or spill juice on the carpet.
  • Miss Thrift. Hear that ripping sound? This one helps herself to coupons from the magazines. Who said those things were free?
  • Office Ollie. He busts out his laptop and proceeds to conduct high-powered business, spreading out dozens of file folders and papers over several surrounding seats. On second thought, he’s probably just trying to avoid having strangers sit next to him!
  • Slick Mick the pickup guy. He thinks any female would be delighted at his attentions and does his darnedest to snag a date for the weekend.

I’m positive there are others. Which ones creep you out?

How to pass a rainy day

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It rained and stormed much of yesterday.

Yuck — boring.

So, I decided to pass some time doing one of my favorite hobbies — beading jewelry.

There’s something wonderfully relaxing about rolling different shaped beads between your fingers. About matching (or contrasting) different textures and colors. About fashioning glass and stones and metals into earrings, bracelets, or necklaces.

And it’s fabulous having unique pieces to wear! When I get tired of something, I just break it apart and re-create it into something else. Or make something new to go with a new outfit. Or “copy” a cool design I saw in a magazine, giving it my own special touch.

I’m surprised at how many compliments I’ve gotten on my handmade creations, too. People tell me I should open up a little business, maybe on the Interwebs, and sell my stuff.

I don’t know. That sounds like a lot of work.

I’d have to line everything up, take individual pictures (of hundreds of items!), edit those pictures, design a Website (complete with shopping cart for orders), monitor the incoming orders, package the orders, ship the orders, handle any customer complaints — gosh, I get bleary-eyed just thinking about it!

I think I’ll stick with Web design and writing.

But for those interested in what I came up with, here’s a photo:

This is a Y necklace with a silver lobster-claw fastener. It measures 22 inches around the neck, with a four-inch “tail.” I used a combination of green Russian jade, tiger’s eye, pink zebra jasper, and fire-polished crystals, interspersed with mostly silver spacer beads.

What’ll they think of next?

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Sometimes e-mails can be so annoying!

There are those “chain letter” messages, which promise something dire will happen if you don’t forward them to 25 friends. Then there are those sugary-sweet missives, complete with “awww” pictures, that you’ve got to pass on. And don’t get me started on e-cards or spam about cheap meds, hot chicks, or free I-pods.

But e-mail has its good points, too. Take today, when I received a forwarded message from a friend telling me of the new “bottle bombs” kids are planting.

Never heard of a “bottle bomb”?

Me, neither.

Turns out, it’s a pretty scary thing, and I can’t imagine having so much time on my hands to stir up mischief.

Nor can I imagine anybody thinking this would be funny.

Apparently, the perpetrators take an empty 20 oz. soda bottle and add Drano and tin foil, then leave it on somebody’s lawn, in somebody’s mailbox, etc. The gases combine in a chemical reaction, exploding the bottle (and leaving the finder with blindness, loss of fingers, and 2nd and 3rd degree chemical burns).

Not so funny, is it?

Nor are the penalties if one is caught:

  • Possession without causing damage, 15-year felony
  • Possession causing damage, 20-year felony
  • Possession causing physical injury, 25-year felony
  • Possession causing serious injury, up to life in prison
  • Possession causing death, mandatory life without possibility of parole

I know kids will be kids. I know kids decry many towns because there’s nothing to do.

But when I was a kid, moping around complaining just earned me unnecessary work — like moving a pile of bricks from one side of the yard to another, or washing windows, or pulling weeds. . . .

Ah, the good ole days!

Why I Work for Myself

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There’s something simply splendid about working for yourself!

  • No nit-picking boss (just nit-picking clients!).
  • No dress code (unless you include every-day-as-casual-Friday!).
  • No required starting time (nobody running you off the premises, either!).
  • No putting in requests for vacation and days off (what, you mean other people DON’T work round the clock, even on holidays?).

But there are some downsides, too.

Take, for instance, that last bulleted item. Go ahead, we’ll wait while you read it over again.

Working round the clock. That’s a big part of being your own boss.

If you can’t manage time, if you don’t have an innate sense of responsibility to do what’s necessary to get the job done (right and on time, too!), you might as well forget it.

Go back to being somebody’s minion.

If you consistently feel the need to socialize, or shop, or go golfing, or read a good book poolside — again, forget it.

Those things, when done in moderation, can be wonderful brain-cleansers. They can even help your business if you run into people who need your services — or if you make time for casual networking.

But most entrepreneurs will admit they work harder for themselves than they ever did for a boss or a company. Even the perk of stock options from a company isn’t the same thing as being self-employed.

With only yourself to rely on, you have to be the sales force, accounting department, collections agency, legal department, marketing department, secretary, chief cook and bottle washer, even janitor!

Admittedly, it’s not for everyone. But those of us who do it love it.

We invest so much of ourselves in our business. The business becomes our “baby,” and we have a driving need to see that baby succeed. Our reputation is on the line (and maybe a bit of our pride, too!).

Who doesn’t want to prove — to someone, somewhere — that, despite the odds, they “made it”?!

It says Stop, not Park!

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Why is it that some people just can’t drive??

I’m not talking about the really old — though goodness knows, they contribute to the problem by creeping, then slamming on their brakes every other minute.

I’m not talking about the really young — though they seem to be in a BIG hurry most of the time and are distracted with putting on eyeliner, talking on cell phones, fiddling with IPods, etc.

I’m referring to your average, run-of-the-mill driver, the one who never figured out what to do about Stop signs.

They get there and stop.

And wait.

And wait some more.

C’mon, people, why’d you get behind the wheel if you didn’t have any place to go??

Here’s a refresher on how it’s supposed to work:

  • If you’re the first one to get to an all-way intersection, you stop. And you go. Simple.
  • If you arrive at said intersection and others are already there, you have to wait until they’re all gone.
  • And if you get there at the same time as somebody else, you yield to the guy or gal on your right. Then you can go.

Don’t muck up the works by signaling somebody to go when it’s your turn.

You might think you’re being polite, but you’re just being confusing.

Don’t throw your car into Park and camp out for a spell, either.

That’s annoying.

Unless, of course, you like to have other drivers honk at you.

It’s a lesson everybody should have learned in kindergarten — take turns.

Give a little to get a little

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Well, it was bound to happen.

I almost had to fire my first client yesterday — not my first client, but the first time I came close to severing ties with any client.

We started off fine. He wanted a Website redesign and “X” was the amount he was willing to spend. I assured him I would do it, even though it was less money than I’d normally charge. Half a loaf is better than nothing, right?

Not always.

Then the project grew. He wanted:

  • photos — lots of ’em
  • contact information on every page
  • and new copy — keyword-rich copy that would propel him to the top in the search engine listings.

Now I never promise results in Website design. There are just too many variables with page rankings, and the darn search engines keep changing their parameters.

But I got busy and designed a killer home page. He loved it. Problem was, his cash flow had dried up, and he was going to have to scale way back.

Uh-oh.

Having already invested hours on this project, I wasn’t a happy camper.

When he suggested I “hook up the new home page with the old other pages” and we’d be done, I hit the roof.

I explained that aesthetically, a Band-aid approach wouldn’t fly.

He wasn’t listening.

So I slapped together the remaining pages, not wanting to expend any more time or effort on something that wasn’t paying squat.

Late that night, I got an angry message from him.

The next time we talked, we “duked it out.” I again explained what he needed and told him I couldn’t do it under such a meager budget. I volunteered to return his deposit, remove the pages I’d published for him, and turn him loose to find another designer.

Whoa, he said.

After much haggling back and forth, we finally agreed to finish the job we started.

I’d get more pay, he’d quit micro-managing, and I’d do him an awesome job.

Now that‘s what I call win-win!

Planned obsolescence

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Does anybody out there have the definitive answer to this one?

I’m wondering, is it better to:

a) leave your computer turned on and plugged in 24/7, or

b) turn it off and unplug.

I’m referring particularly to overnight, when you aren’t planning on using it for several hours and bad weather’s on the way.

The very night I posted my last blog, complete with photos of Spring foliage, we had a really wicked storm. Flashes of lightning, rain, and smacking thunderclaps — the whole ball of wax.

The weather forecasters had already predicted storms, so I turned off my computer and unplugged it, confident it would be safe from any jolt of electricity surging through the lines and wiping out my hard drive.

After all, something happened to my last computer’s motherboard, and I sure don’t want to go through that again!

Then I talked to one of my writer-friends, who said her computer-guru advised her to leave her machine on ALL the time.

Turning it on and off wears out the components, he said.

Huh?

How long will a computer last if you don’t wear out its components?

I might be wrong, but it seems to me that everything you buy these days comes with “planned obsolescence.”

Cell phone — 2 years, same as your contract.

Laptop — 3 years, maybe.

Car — 5 years, or the amount of time it takes you to pay off your note.

Even light bulbs.

My mom’s house, for example, was built 40-odd years ago, and the workers put in new light bulbs, some of which have never been changed! Try to say that about today’s light bulbs!

So who knows the answer to my question about computers — turn off and unplug, or leave on and plugged at all times?

“No Problem” . . . “Here Ya Go”

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Time for a little quiz, OK?

1) You’re clerking in a department store when a customer approaches and asks you to help her reach something hanging way up high. You do, she thanks you and you say, “No problem.”

Right?

Wrong! Your proper response is simply “You’re welcome.”

Thank you and You’re welcome — they just go together, y’know?

Same thing for flight attendants and waitresses. Customer asks for a refill, you provide it, he thanks you and what do you say?

“No problem.”

No problem? It better not be — that’s your job, isn’t it?

Let’s say it together — “You’re welcome.”

How about this one:

2) You’re a teller at a bank. A customer comes in, deposits a sum of money (doesn’t matter HOW much), and you complete the transaction by handing him a receipt and saying, “Here ya go.”

Right?

NO! This time, it’s “Thank you.”

Work with me here.

3) You’re a receptionist at a doctor’s office and you’re on the phone when a patient walks in. You ignore her until you’re finished with your call.

Right?

Of course not! Acknowledge her presence with a smile and a nod, complete your call as soon as possible, then apologize to the walk-in for making her wait.

Whatever happened to simple manners?

Who’s training employees these days?

Am I the only person bothered by stuff like this?

Admittedly, I’ve not worked in all of these service-type jobs, but common sense alone tells me it doesn’t cost anything to be nice to those you’re interacting with!

Fellow workers and the boss, to be sure, but especially paying customers, clients, patients, whatever.

C’mon, people, unemployment is pushing 10% nationwide (and in many states it’s 14%). Isn’t that a big enough pool that you don’t have to resort to hiring those who are crass, inept, complaining, and downright rude??

Stacks of stuff

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My Favorite Domer was home for Mid-Term Break (what other schools refer to as “Spring Break”) two weeks ago, and I noticed something I’d never noticed before.

He’s a stacker.

By “stacker,” I mean he stacks things — coins, papers, CDs, books, whatever — in little piles all over the rooms he frequents most.

Now obviously this tendency to stack didn’t start overnight. He’s been doing it for many of his nineteen years.

I just never realized it before we got new carpeting.

Whoa, new carpeting?

Yeah, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Back to the stacking.

As a child, MFD stacked Pokemon trading cards, Nintendo game books, Lego boxes, board games.

He even stacked an unseemly number of plush Puffkins in a colored rollaway bin.

He grew, and so did his stacks — certificates from whatever activity he was involved with, textbooks, video games, guitar books.

He’s a hoarder, too, but that’s another story.

You’d think I’d have noticed all those stacks, but I didn’t.

They appeared so gradually that I didn’t realize they were there. Kind of like the story about the frog who doesn’t notice his water is getting hot if you add it a little bit at a time, but he WILL notice if you just dump him into a bucket of hot water!

So, back to the carpet.

We finally decided to yank out the old carpet that was in the house when it was built and replace it with a new version.

It was way time to upgrade.

The old carpet had lasted 40 years — yeah, even the flooring guys had a tough time believing that! — but it had one major problem.

It was 100 percent cotton, meaning that, if you sat down on it, you stood up looking like you’d rolled in fur!

Everybody blamed my Sheltie; turns out, it wasn’t his fault at all.

Take that, all you blamers!

The new carpet, besides being a different color, is a new material. You can sit — heck, you can roll from one room to another! — without fear of fur.

The vacuum cleaner loves it, and so do we.

But something happens when you’re forced to clean your living spaces all at once. You notice things you never noticed before.

Things like stacks.