8 posts tagged “life”
How do you feel about your birthday? Do you look forward to it and remind all your friends, or do you dread it and try to keep it a secret?
Neither.
I like other people's birthdays. It's an excuse to celebrate their existence. It happens just once a year so it's special like a holiday. I don't have little kids anymore so no more parties but we still do balloons, those annoying blow thingies that unspool that the dog really hates (but I totally dig). Presents, going out for a meal of the birthday person's choice--it's a lot of fun.
For my own birthday, I tend to think of my mother and what that day must have been like for her. I'm told it took two days actually for me to arrive safely on this planet. Mom refused a C-section--no one tells her what to do, lol. I'm late a lot even now--though I'm always trying not to.
I don't dread my birthday. I tell a few people. Okay, if I announce it on my blog, I suppose there's potential of more than a few people knowing but I enjoy sincere good wishes. Who doesn't?
As far as secrets go, maybe you can keep the actual date a secret but all people have to do is take a look at you to guess how many birthdays you've had. ;)
I have to be loyal to our rescue dog, Raven. She's a Schipperke, a Belgium barge dog--a ratter. Extremely quick and quite fierce for a wee smidge of a dog. Very good watchdog. And too smart for her own good.
But if we didn't have Raven...it would be a dog with a sort of mellow temperament--a bit of a change from the Ravenator.
I would like a Labrador Retriever like this guy:
But we don't have a big enough place for him or her right now.
Besides, we would get a rescue dog and I doubt sincerely that my number one choice of dog breed will be found at the first shelter we go to like it did with Raven. I had the Schipperke breed picked out as a probable "good fit" for us but had others picked like a Jack Russell Terrier 'cos I never thought I'd find a rescue Schipperke.
Surprise, Surprise.
What's the most memorable crush you have had?
Submitted by spectacular.I'm going for celebrity crush.
David Cassidy was not my first celebrity crush but he's the most memorable because his mug in both poster and magazine page form, took up the most wall space in my bedroom.
(at right) David Cassidy, with a pretty, tired/bored-looking white dog.
I like the series of shots that were taken with him on a white Palamino horse. I seem to recall reading that at one point he kept a small stable, had a couple of horses and the Palomino was in fact, his. Anyway, to continue with this fan-wank, David looks really cute in the David w/ the White Palamino series of shots but I can't find any on the web, atm. I cannot believe that more people haven't..aww nevermind. hahah told you! :) I was in lurve!He is 10 years older than me and I remember calculating that in just 8 years I'd be a reasonable age to date him.
Somehow, I never quite got around to that. I do still kind of prefer the less manly-man types with Johnny Depp being the most prominent among them. (Yeah, I still have crushes. Love is what makes the world go 'round, baby!)
What are some things that are worth (and not worth) spending money on?
Submitted by pinejar.
Worth: Health care.
Travel/A good vacation. Even if I have to save up for a long time. I go. Or have plans to go.
My Zinc Yellow Mustang GT convertible--really wasn't that expensive IMO, but the $500 mo payments?--still worth it. The car has brightened so many of my days.
Self Care/Cosmetics: A few items can be skimped on. Due to the aging process I use a few more products than I did previously. I get my hair done by my friend for cheap even through she gets paid way more at the salon she's at.
Shoes: Can go moderate here but not cheap. Not worth it.
Gotta go.
Hope you are having a good weekend, no matter who or where you are.
xxxxC.
Pics from today. Better arranged later.
Have you figured out what your (or your kids') Halloween costume will be this year? What's it going to be?
If I were going to do anything to honour the tradition it would be more in line with the:
"many European cultural traditions that hold that Halloween is one of the liminal times of the year when spirits can make contact with the physical world, and when magic is most potent (according to, for example, Catalan mythology about witches and Irish tales of the Sídhe)."
I think I could dig the whole commune-with-the-spirits- Samhain/Pagan festival celebration.
Snap-Apple Night, painted by Irish artist Daniel Maclise in 1833. It was inspired by a Halloween party he attended in Blarney, Ireland, in 1832. The caption in the first exhibit catalogue:
There Peggy was dancing with Dan
While Maureen the lead was melting,
To prove how their fortunes ran
With the Cards ould Nancy dealt in;
There was Kate, and her sweet-heart Will,
In nuts their true-love burning,
And poor Norah, though smiling still
She'd missed the snap-apple turning.On the Festival of Hallow Eve.
That looks and sounds like way-more-fun than anything I've seen or heard of going on now.
However, this is where Hallowe'en as it is celebrated here, loses me completely--C.:
Halloween is now the United States' second most popular holiday (after Christmas) for decorating; the sale of candy and costumes are also extremely common during the holiday, which is marketed to children and adults alike. According to the National Retail Federation, the most popular Halloween costume themes for adults are, in order: witch, pirate, vampire, cat and clown. On many college campuses, Halloween is a major celebration, with the Friday and Saturday nearest October 31, hosting many costume parties./endquote
Like Christmas, Halloween, instead of being what it was meant to be has morphed into a way for retailers to make big bucks--which means that consumers are spending big bucks. Consumers, you are very stupid! Halloween though inclusive of adults and children was celebrated differently, depending on the age of the individual. Not so now--the lines are so blurred that they just look like a black and orange smudge. I'm afraid I've become so curmudgeonly due to the vast quantities of Hallowe'en goods being proffered from July onward that my attitude, if I had to chose from just one country, is much like the Australians--C.:
A visitor from overseas expecting to enjoy an Australian or New Zealand Halloween will need to prepare in advance, since most events are private parties. Trick-or-treaters are usually supervised by adults and remain in their own neighbourhoods for safety reasons, a practice often prearranged with neighbours. "Tricks" are not played in Australia, and "treats" of wrapped/sealed lollies (for safety and hygiene purposes) are generally given only by known neighbours and friends; strangers providing treats may be greeted with suspicion or hostility among parents, and discouragement among Australian law enforcement.
If trick-or-treaters venture beyond these culturally accepted norms, it is mainly in the form of antisocial behaviours by small groups to cause havoc, similar to that which occurs on Halloween in the United States, and, more recently, the United Kingdom. Destructive acts have little to do with the community spirit of Halloween, and perhaps reflect unpleasant societal realities such as unemployment, boredom or lack of social responsibility. Antisocial behaviour associated with Halloween have fomented hostility among some Australians, who see "trick-or-treating" as the mindless imitation of American customs, and a tool of an American cultural neo-imperialism conveyed by popular media. Their aversion to Halloween reflects a wider refusal to accept "senseless or commercial Americanisms."
More history of Hallowe'en courtesy Wikipedia
Scotland, having a shared Gaelic culture and language with Ireland, has celebrated the festival of Samhain robustly for centuries. Robert Burns portrayed the varied customs in his poem "Hallowe'en" (1785).
Halloween, known in Scottish Gaelic as "Oidhche Shamhna", consists chiefly of children going door to door "guising", i.e., dressed in a disguise (often as a witch or ghost) and offering entertainment of various sorts. If the entertainment is enjoyed, the children are rewarded with gifts of sweets, fruits or money. There is no Scottish 'trick or treat' tradition; on the contrary, 'trick or treat' may have its origins in the guising customs.
In Scotland a lot of folklore, including that of Halloween, revolves around the belief in faeries. Children dress up in costumes and carry around a "Neepy Candle" a devil face carved into a hollowed out Neep, lit from inside, to frighten away the evil faeries.
Popular children's games played on the holiday include "dookin" for apples (i.e., retrieving an apple from a bucket of water using only one's mouth). In places, the game has been replaced (because of fears of contracting saliva-borne illnesses in the water) by standing over the bowl holding a fork in one's mouth, and releasing it in an attempt to skewer an apple using only gravity. Another popular game is attempting to eat, while blindfolded, a treacle-coated scone on a piece of string hanging from the ceiling.
Show us what the weekend had in store for you.
I'm going to assume that what was "in store" was the fun stuff as opposed to the mundane cleaning house, doing laundry, etc. which is a part of every weekend.
My brother-in-law was recently hospitalized with pneumonia. He recovered quickly and we thought it'd be good to visit him and his wife, spouse's younger sister. Brian made his fortune in his 30's and now can play in a band for fun--not worrying about making money. Anyway, he and his friends are pretty good at what they do-- a few original songs and then lots of cover stuff of AC/DC, Black Sabbath and so on. This is them on Saturday night in a little sports bar a couple of towns away.
Sunday was our usual mini golf outing.
The weather was fantastic and my younger son won.
He was just two over par. :)
After mini-golf we got milkshakes to go at Steak and Shake and rode top-down in the GT home.
In the evening we watched the season premiere of Dexter. Sometime during Dexter's hiatus my son started watching the first season--which given the content is iffy but I'd rather watch it with him than him watch it alone (he is 15)...and it's a great show. Can you tell that I'm conflicted? My spouse says he likes Dexter because the Dexter character reminds him of himself. Should I be worried?
What experience or moment in your life have you learned the most from?
Submitted by AngieK.Two experiences that are ongoing. The first started when I was 23- years-old and had my first child. As all mothers can attest to, becoming one changes you unalterably. It can't ever again be only about you. I was pretty selfless before I had my son but being a single mom--there's almost nothing left for you after you are done taking care of of your child--especially when you have no family around to lend a hand. And whether it sounds logical or not you are a better person for it.
Second experience I'm going to copy from a post that I wrote about three years ago on my TypePad blog. My younger son figures into that one but it is not about him per se.
August 19, 1998, the day before my youngest son's sixth birthday, I was dying of heart failure.
It was brought on by a previously undiagnosed condition of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy which chose me for some unfathomable reason (bad luck? bad Karma? bad-thing-happening-to-a-good-person? It's truly a waste of time to ponder why. I did for about oh, five minutes maximum) as a good candidate to go to work on, and "it" almost got me.
My ejection fraction was down to 10%--kind of the cut-off point for sustainable life. A doctor to whom I will always owe my life, listened to my heart and though he was one of many who had done so over the preceding months as my condition worsened, he was the only one good enough to diagnose me properly. Within seconds, he looked me straight in the eye, and muttered a few words of reassurance as his expression told me that it wasn't good news. I needed to go to the hospital next door--now--he'd call ahead for me. I knew I was dying--I could not breathe without extreme effort, I hadn't slept in weeks and it was getting much worse by the day.
Even so, my son was starting school the following week and if I was going to be sick or worse, I needed to finish his back-to-school shopping. So before going home to grab an overnight bag and a toothbrush, I stopped at Kohl's department store and bought him two pairs of trousers. Unbeknownst to me, my doctor was telephoning the hospital, quite frantically checking to see if I'd been admitted yet. Well, I had to get my kid pants, especially since it may have been the last time I could. After I shopped for about 90 minutes, I went home, threw a few things in my bag, and headed to the hospital and into the frenzy of being a Cardiac Intensive Care Unit patient. What a long road lay ahead of me, but I couldn't have imagined. All I could think of was, If I die now, who will raise my boy?
What's the best thing you ever sold on eBay?
I haven't sold anything on eBay in ages nor do I intend to but I was pretty thrilled to put a First Edition (No D/J, unfortunately) book up for auction when I needed 100 bucks. I sold it in about 10 minutes . Everyone was happy.
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hard Cover
Publisher: The Viking Press, New York
Date Published: 1952
Description: No Jacket. Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall 602 pages. "Bite" appears instead of "Bight" on page 281. Interior is clean, near flawless. Green boards have light rubbing and bumping to corners. Moderate chipping to top of spine.
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