it's a pattern

I like to think of myself as a "free thinker." I want to form my own opinions not just accept what I hear. And, I like to like things other people don't. Not always on purpose either. And, sometimes I like things years before all the cool kids like it. I also like to think that I'm pretty diverse in the things I like. You know, I love a lot of different kinds of music. I love a lot of different design styles - which is why it took so long to commit to RUSTIC! There are some things though, as it turns out, that I'm very particular about. Like, whenever we go to a sandwich shop, I always get a Reuben. I love Reubens. Jason's Deli makes the best Reuben. And apparently, I like a certain kind of car. I saw another car today that I thought was beautiful. I sent a picture of it to my fella and he knew right away what it was. He also pointed out that it's very similar to that Tesla and that Mercedes that I love. Huh. Go figure! Anyway, here it is;

You have to admit, it IS pretty :-)

yummmm

this is interesting...school lunches from around the world;

Entertainment

I realize that entertainment is subjective. Not everybody likes everything. 
Take me for instance...I like a lot of different genres of music, except I don't care for rap or hip hop or heavy metal.

I like to have the TV on but I don't really watch that much of it. Mostly because of my commitment issues :-) I've never watched any of the CSI or Law and Order shows. Mostly because there are so many of them - so they must not be that special. Know what I mean? I don't watch sitcoms either. Not because they aren't funny, they're just on at a time when I'm probably doing other things. And most of what I do watch, is recorded - so I don't have to watch the commercials or the fluffy parts that I don't care about.

I like regular length movies. But I waited 3 years to watch Avatar because every time I thought I might like to, I thought, "agh, this movie is 3 HOURS long!" And that stopped me. I probably should have seen it in the theater, where I would've been a captive audience. I like all kinds of movies too. Well, not slashers. And I don't really like movies with a "message" either. Those are movies you have to be in a certain kind of mood to watch. Plus, I don't want to watch a movie that tells me how I'm supposed to feel about something. 

I guess, I just want to be entertained. Like most people I bet. 

This morning on my drive into work, they were talking about the horrible ratings for the Oscars. I bet I know what the cause is too...First, it's TOO LONG! And not just for people like me either. Seriously, 3 hours is long enough but then it ran 48 minutes longer than THAT! I bailed after 2 hours. Second, has anybody even seen any of those nominated movies?? The top 10 box office movies last year were;
1. Mockingjay
2. Guardians of The Galaxy
3. American Sniper
4. Captain America
5. The Lego Movie
6. The Hobbit
7. Transformers
8. Maleficent
9. X-Men
10. Big Hero 6
(Is there a pattern???)
Other than American Sniper, none of the other movies are in the top 50!! So, that's the other reason your ratings suck. No one goes to see the movies you think are great. Hmmm. What's that tell you??

And the last thing is, I don't care about your politics or religion or sexual orientation or the color of your skin. I don't care who designed your dress/tux. Even if I agree with you, SHUT UP! If you actually have a message you feel strongly about, take out an ad, you can afford it. 

All about YOU

Remember when you used to write checks to pay for your purchases? At the grocery store, you needed a special "check cashing" card to do that. Later, your check cashing card became a "rewards" card. When that happened, they started profiling you. You started to get coupons with your receipt that were specifically designed for YOU based on what your purchasing patterns are. I remember thinking even then, this is weird. What if I don't want them to keep track of what I buy??? Ewwww. That was a long time ago. 

Now, everybody profiles you. If you have Facebook, the ads over to the right probably have something to do with something you've looked up on the internet. Other websites that you visit probably have ads too. Check them out. They are usually related to something you've looked at on another website.

If you ever log on to Amazon, the home page is filled with things that they think will interest you based on what you've purchased or looked for previously.

Even Disneyland is on board. If you want to go to Disney World these days, you can get a (data collecting) wrist band that looks like this;

Notice that they have all the vacationer's names on them.

When you are at the park, you were your magic band and wave it over a type of scanner and you can get into a ride, pay for a snack or a drink or a souvenir. The happiest place on earth can now track your every move inside the park. Hmmmmmm

And just this week I noticed that when I log into Pinterest and choose, let's say, DIY/Crafts to look at, what pops up are pins that they think I will be interested in based on what I've already pinned or looked at. That pisses me off! What if I want to see things/projects that I don't know I'm interested in yet?? And dammit, I don't want you to think for me! I don't want you, as a business entity, to decide what I need or want! I find this extremely irritating!

pretty cars

Admittedly, I am NOT a car person. I don't really look at cars and I certainly don't idly dream about cool rides. I can tell you though, the very first car that ever caught my eye. It was in 1975 and it was this car;

It was this exact car! Man I thought this car was totally farout!


It was a looooooong time before I really fell in love with a car again though. Alright, prepare yourself. You can laugh if you want but THIS car was my dream car!!! I bought it in 2001

NOTHING is cooler than that!!! I loved that car. I had it for 11 years. I miss that car. sigh

OK. Now I'm gonna get with the program. I didn't see another car that I thought was beautiful until I saw these;

These cars are like art! My fella says I've redeemed myself now.  :-)

Do you remember the first car you fell in love with??

Must love dogs!

Some of the timing on these pictures is fantastic!
Prepare to smile :-)

Life changing...

My husband reached his full retirement age last summer. 
I told him he couldn't retire yet. For a couple reasons. One because we can't afford it yet and two because I don't want him sitting around waiting for me to retire for the next ten years. So I told him he had to work for a few more years. He was OK with that - whew!

With that in mind, his employer gave him a job with a lighter workload after they talked about what he wanted to do now that he could retire. That was nice of them. Plus, it freed up his spot so they could promote a younger, career minded chap. Also, a nice thing.

I say this frequently, things change all the time. And as if I needed proof, I got an interesting call from my fella today.

His bosses brought him into their office today and told him that they need to reduce the workforce and would like to offer him a "package" if he'll retire next month. It sounds great doesn't it? But they won't be able to tell him until next week what exactly the package is. Which is fine. He doesn't have to give them an answer yet. 

So, the next few years just got a lot more interesting. At first, he was kind of tickled with the idea of not working. His job is pretty physical (20+ thousand steps a day!). A couple hours later and it feels a lot different to him. Now he's saying, I don't like the idea of retiring and being old. Shit. 
Now he's had a few more hours for it to sink in and he's got A WHOLE LOT on his mind;
he'll be the chief cook and bottle washer
he'll walk the dogs every day
he'll have to start working out
we could get another dog
he can repaint the garage doors, etc, etc, etc.
he'll still get up every day with me in the morning

Oh, this is going to be SO weird!!! 
Today our lives are lot more interesting than they were yesterday!

missing...found it!

the morning show I listen to on my drive in to work, told a hilarious story this morning. 
It was a story about one of them, Jim, who had lost a letter that he needed. His wife, Mimi, said, I gave it to you. Jim said, what did I do with it? Mimi said, beats me, but it was in a white envelope with blue writing on it. She told him that several times while he searched and searched and searched. After about an hour, he gave up and asked her to please help him find it. She went directly to his desk and found it within a few minutes. Jim said, he had taken the letter out of the envelope before putting it in his mail holder. And even though he looked at it several times while he was moving things around, he was looking for a white envelope with blue writing on it, so he didn't notice it.  
Seriously??
Naturally, all the women had to chime in  with, why is it so hard for men to find things????
That made me think about the countless times that this has happened in our house. There was the time when I responded, it's on the 3rd shelf in the pantry and my guy opened the pantry and promptly said, I don't see it. Then I heard him move a few cans around and say, no it isn't. So of course I got up, went to the pantry, moved ONE can and wallah! I know this happens in your house too. What is that? It's funny now because I don't do it anymore - if he can't find it, oh well. But when I used to get up and look for the missing thing myself, it was SO frustrating! I think it's simply because we, women, have just spoiled them. Listen here peeps...STOP IT! You aren't doing them any favors! In another 10 years you're really just going to want to smack them upside there handsome heads!!! They are supposed to be hunters for heaven's sake!

February is black history month

I know that only because when I walked to the mall at lunch today, I saw a lot 'soulful' art. See what I did there...soul...black...mwhahahaha.

Anyway, what struck me was that most of the art that's being displayed around the mall, has to do with slavery and racial protesting, etc. That made me think, no wonder African Americans can't let go of their past. They celebrate it!!! Wouldn't it make more sense to celebrate your accomplishments? Wouldn't it change your attitude and perceptions if what you remembered and acknowledged were positive things instead negative moments and images? I don't understand how images of slavery make you feel better? Wouldn't you rather recognize Rosa Parks for her courage? Or Nelson Mandela's victories? Or Maya Angelo's compassion? Or how about Alice Coachman? I would bet my next paycheck that most African Americans don't even know who she is? Even an image of Barack Obama for heaven's sake.

I would rather celebrate the people who made a difference in my existence. Wouldn't you?? I mean really, Germans don't revere Hitler or the willing Nazi's as their hero. They want to be remembered for their positive contributions to their heritage. (don't be silly, I don't mean that we should forget the Holocaust) I just think if you spend all your time grieving and being angry about the struggles of your ancestors, you never come to appreciate where you are now.

Oh I love that man o mine!

No really, I do. But as he gets older he's getting kind of quirky! 

First of all, he is all about his routine. I know we all have our daily things, but if I throw something different at him in the morning, his whole routine is blown right out of the water! He'll forget to lock the back door and turn the coffee pot off and turn the lights out and close the doggy door...all because I asked him to get the crock pot out for me! Silly.

The other thing is, he's becoming an incredibly picky eater! Where is my man who will eat anything??? Just in the last 6 months or so, he's declared that he no longer likes onions, except on some things, so now I have to ask every time I want to put onions in something if it's ok. He doesn't like Alfredo sauce anymore. which is a bummer because he already said he doesn't want red sauce (including no pizza) anymore. So that pretty much excludes all kinds of pasta dishes now! And last night, after we ate it, he informed me that he can't tolerate the smell of red meat anymore. So much for the pot roast I was gonna throw in the crock pot this morning! Maybe it's just a phase.

stupid crap

The first stupid crap I can think of for the week is...Bruce Jenner. WHAT? He is 65 years old for heavens sake - NOW he wants to be a woman??? And honestly, how could you not know, after 22+ years with someone, that they're gay. Come on. This is the weirdest freakin' story I've read in a long long time.

Next up...do you know what a pocket park is? Well, it's a little space in the midst of an urban (city) area that has grass and maybe a tree or two and a couple of park benches. I've heard that there are quite a few of these in places like New York city. I guess it's a nice thing to have in the middle of the urban jungle.

Anyway, part of my hour long commute to work, is through the ghetto. I don't just mean an area that's run down either. I mean that at least 1/2 the houses are boarded up and/or for sale. There have been murders on this street. It's bad. But I commute down this street with hundreds and hundreds of other people so I don't feel unsafe. It just so happens that there are a couple "pocket parks" in the ghetto. Spaces that were formerly occupied by homes torn down by the city. I guess some misguided politician thought it was a good thing to do but honestly, they're just a hang out for the thugs in the neighborhood. (Hold on, I'm going somewhere with this story, be patient.) There are also a couple community gardens along this stretch of my commute. The neighborhood did these on their own. And they take care of them too. And they didn't need some misguided politician to tell them they should. OK, here's the stupid crap part - apparently the city has taken notice of the neighborhoods successful little community gardens. ruh roh. This morning on my way in I noticed a small billboard type of sign, on small plop of land formerly occupied by a condemned house, that said, and I'm not kidding, "Urban Agriculture." I can't wait till Spring to see which gardens will be better!

My last stupid crap item is personal. Let's talk about the difference on Mars and Venus, when you're sick. On Venus, you typically suck it up and muddle through - or if you're really sick, you hole up in your room until you feel like a human being again. On Mars, you whine and cry and bitch and moan, ad nauseam, about how shitty you feel, for a week. That's some stupid crap right there! Oy.

February

February is An Affair To Remember month. I don't know if that means the movie or in general. Because the movie didn't really do it for me. So, in general then, do you have an affair to remember? you know, the 'one' that you look back on and remember fondly? Or is yours, your spouse? I read a little ditty somewhere about the 'things every woman should have.' It said;

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...

enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own even if she never wants to or needs to.

something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour.

a youth she's content to leave behind.

a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age

a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill and a black lace bra.

one friend who always makes her laugh and one who lets her cry

a good piece of furniture not previously own ed by anyone else in her family.

eight matching plates, wine glasses and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored.

a feeling of control over her own destiny.

how to fall in love without losing herself.

I always liked that one. I like "a youth she;s content to leave behind" too. I had a good youth. Oh, but we were talking about the 'love' month, weren't we?! But I'll wait until Valentine's Day to expound. Right now, I just want you to think about your affair to remember. It might make you smile!
:-)