time off

If you work, do you take all your time off? You know, like some people are "earn it and burn it" kind of folks. Every time they get a second to take off work, they do. I get a lot of time off during the year. Besides 12 to 14 paid holidays every year, I also get 4 weeks of vacation, 6 sick days and 3 personal days. That's a whopping 43 days a year! I could almost take a day off every week! I don't though. The only time I use my sick time is if I'm actually sick, which isn't very often. Oh, I also use it for any kind of medical/dental appointments. Again, not very often. Sooooo, right now I have 39 days of sick time and 24 days of vacation time on the books.

When I first started working in the corporate world, years and years and years ago, and people would quit or retire from their jobs with a TON of time off on the books, I use to think, what the hell is wrong with you people!?!? Take your time off!!! My fella use to work for a company that made you take your time off. Take you vacation time off or lose it. They were serious about their staff having breaks! Where I work, if you don't take your time off it just builds up. But when you leave they'll only pay out 225 hours. You lose anything after that. Anyway...it turns out that I am one of those people now, who doesn't take their time off! What is wrong with me?! Geesh.

I'm going to try and do better. Take more time off. Even if we aren't going somewhere. It's good for your mental health :-) Plus, I don't want to feel dumb. Hey! I might even cheat and use some sick time for no good reason!!

Nomads

Have you ever been RV-ing? I don't just mean camping either. I mean an RV or 5th wheel or trailer. You know, something you can cook in and take a shower and flush a toilet. I haven't. It seems like a lot of work. I bet camping is easier. But normally, you can't just travel around the country, camping. You can't really live like that. Like snowbirds - They travel in their RV/trailer to warmer climates in the winter and back home in the summer. Could you do that? Live in an RV? When was the last time you were IN an RV?! They're spectacular! Seriously. If you're going to travel extensively, RV's seem to be pretty comfy. 

I couldn't to it though. For one, gas prices and mileage make it seem prohibitive to me. And it costs a lot more than you think to pull into some RV place and hook it up. Now, RV parks have amenities. Playgrounds for the kids, grassy areas with picnic benches, mini markets. I bet it's still less expensive to just drive somewhere and get a hotel! Beyond that though - could you live in an RV? I'm certain that I couldn't. Sure, maybe for a month. But that's it. I need more stuff than what I could put in an RV. Also, I have to have a home base. I need it. It's a form of stability. I need stability. I keep thinking about that movie, Nomad. Nope, not for me.

Maybe when I was a lot younger I could've done it. But now I have things. And I like it. Could you live with only what you need? Like people did 150+ years ago? It wasn't easy, that's why we don't live like that anymore :-)

Anyway, my younger brother and his wife are currently living in their RV. The goal is to travel around Nevada and Arizona and find a place they like and buy something, a small house or a condo. The original plan I think was for a year or so. It's only been a couple of weeks and he's really struggling with the plan. He hates not having a "home base."  I hope he can change his view and enjoy the next year instead. I want to try and be positive when I talk to him but I'll be lying. 

Memorabilia

Do you collect things? How much would you pay for something you wanted to have, that serves no purpose whatsoever, other than, you have it and no one else does. I have a smaller collection of beanie babies. I gave most them away. But I wouldn't pay hundreds of $$ just to have one that was rare. I also have a small collection of Funko Pop. I have all but a couple of Groot. But again, the few that I don't have are $40 and $90. I just like them. I didn't buy them for an investment. Some people have whole garages stuffed with toys and games, in boxes, brand new, that they buy and hold onto in hopes that they'll be worth a lot of $$ later on! I guess if I had a ton of expendable cash, I would probably spend more on art. I saw "a list" of the most expensive celebrity/movie memorabilia ever sold.

* The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car sold for $805k in 2011.

* Julie Andrews 'Do-Re-Mi' dress fetched $1.3 million in 2013. 

* Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball sold for over $3 million.

* The Maltese Falcon statue sold for $4,085,000 mill in 2013

* Ripley's Believe It or Not bought the dress that Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang happy        birthday to JFK, for $4.8 million in 2016!

* Robby the Robot!!! I loved him! You know, from Forbidden Planet? $5.3 million at a 2017              auction. I'd rather watch the movie - he was alive in that!

* The most expensive guitar ever sold at auction was Kurt Cobain's MTV Unplugged guitar. A         whopping $6,010,000!!! Seriously?!

* Elizabeth Taylor's tiara went for $4.2 million at auction. 

Sorry, I just don't think anything a celebrity has, is worth that kind of money. 

Scary shi*t!

Do you like horror movies? I love a good scary/suspense movie but I'm not a fan of slasher movies. A whole lot of people are though! I think there's a difference between horror, just scary, slasher and thriller. We have a son-in-law that is a huge fan of the horror genre. He's extremely well versed in it. It isn't just about the blood and guts for him. He appreciates all the little nuances and he likes that feeling of being frightened; like that moment at the top of the roller coaster, right before you plunge to your death! Hey, some people only like high school humor comedies. Some people only like documentaries. Anyway, you know I love lists. So here is the top ten list of the scariest movies of all time;

10. King Kong 1933

9. The Birds 1963

8. Repulsion 1965

7. Son of Saul 2015

6. Frankenstein 1931

5. Werckmeister Harmonies 2001

4. Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1956

3. The Bride of Frankenstein 1935

2. Rosemary's Baby 1968

1. Psycho 1960

I haven't even heard of a couple of them! The list is actually the top 100, and if you're interested, here's the link;

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/this-is-the-best-horror-movie-of-all-time-according-to-critics/ss-AAVDWOk?li=BBnb7Kz#image=2

The Oscars

Did you watch the Academy Awards?

I didn't. Not because I haven't seen any of the movies. I saw 1/2 of them. But because I got tired of being held captive while people who think they're better than me tried to force me to listen to their opinions - about politics/social injustice/war, etc. Meh. I go to or watch movies for entertainment. That's not to say that occasionally I don't watch those "based on a true story" movies. But even then, unless it's a real documentary, it's still acted out.

Anyway. I read last week that viewership of the Oscars last year was down almost 75%. WOW! Well...there was a pandemic. Not a lot of movies were made. Not a lot of theaters showed those movies, so, duh. I guess they were hoping to bring people back in. Now, all that being said, what do you think about the slap seen 'round the world?! Was that real or staged? I mean, that seems pretty out of character for Will Smith. And Chris Rock handled it remarkably well. Hmmmm. 

If it wasn't staged and it was a real moment, (brought to you by actors) why is it so hard to believe? Because they're actors? Because you think Will Smith is a nice guy? Or is it because of our fake culture? Shouldn't we be more concerned that if it was real, we aren't appalled at the violent outburst?

I personally think almost everything in reality tv, is scripted. And I don't bat an eye anymore when an entertainer lip syncs a live performance. Marketing execs used to at least try and make you believe in the illusion. Now, everyone knows that pictures are photo shopped and air brushed. Everyone knows that a Whopper will NEVER look like that one in the commercial!! And still, we accept that. There have been tv programs that show you how it's done. No secrets. People will call out obvious photo shopped mistakes on social media. It's so crazy!

It all seems pretty coincidental, doesn't it?

What has YOUR state done?

One of the channels I subscribe to on YouTube is The World According to Briggs. Briggs is a funny guy. All he does is lists. Lists about states. Top ten states with the best weather. Top ten states that no one wants to move to. Top ten states with affordable housing. Top 10 reasons not to move to Wisconsin. He does city and small town stuff too. Some of it statistical and some of it based on opinion/surveys. But they're fun. Last week he did one called, Coolest Inventions From Each State. Ready?

Alabama - the electric hearing aid 
Alaska - ranch dressing

Arkansas - movies with sound in 1923

Arizona - the taser

California - the iPhone in 2007

Colorado - the cheeseburger

Connecticut - vulcanized rubber (and nylon)

Delaware - Kevlar

Florida - air conditioning (and Gatorade)

Georgia - the cotton gin

Hawaii - surfing

Idaho - the television

Illinois - the transistor

Indiana - the washing machine in 1874

Iowa - the 1st gas powered tractor

Kansas - helicopter

Kentucky - bourbon (and the song, happy birthday)

Louisiana - Jazz

Maine - the diving suit

Maryland - bottle caps

Massachusetts - Facebook

Michigan - the automobile assembly line

Minnesota - rollerblades

Mississippi - Pine sol cleaner

Missouri - the ice cream cone

Montana - the portable heart monitor

Nebraska - the ski lift

Nevada - blue jeans

New Hampshire - the Segway

New Jersey - the lightbulb

New Mexico - the atomic bomb

New York - toilet paper

North Carolina - the airplane

North Dakota - the Kodak camera

Ohio - the traffic light

Oklahoma - the parking meter

Oregon - Wiki pages

Pennsylvania - bubble gum

Rhode Island - automatic sprinkler system

South Carolina - the military submarine

South Dakota - the cyclotron

Tennessee - cotton candy

Texas - the electric typewriter 

Utah - airbags

Vermont - sandpaper

Virginia - chap stick

Washington - Windows operating system

West Virginia - steam boats

Wisconsin - the blender

Wyoming - the first National Park

..."be nice to each other"

I'm SO excited!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Time!!!

Senate passes bill to make daylight saving time permanent!

It's time again!

You know...it happened again...changed my clocks. Ok, well I didn't actually change any of them. They all changed magically, by themselves :-) Except for the one in my car, which I don't ever change anyway because it's so complicated! I did see this year though that there is more talk about ditching the change! You know I'm all for that!!!

https://indyscootergirl.blogspot.com/2021/11/tell-me-again-what-time-is-it.html

what's next?!?!?!

-Inflation, that's what! And I'm not just talking about the price of a used car or a new home or an extra buck at the gas pump either.

You know, for the last 6 weeks or so, our grocery bill has been about $40 to $50 more. We do a full shopping every couple of weeks and fill in where necessary. As the bill has gotten higher, I've thought to myself, we're so fortunate that we can afford this increase. But last week, it really slammed  into me!! We went to the store for "some" things. We did buy a couple things we don't usually but we didn't buy any meat, and very little produce. Anyway....$151.00. OMG! It literally made me feel nauseous. $151!!!!!! Holy smokes. Then, this morning, my fella put 3/4 of a tank a gas in my car and it was $60.00. Thank heavens for teleworking. It's only 2 days a week but it's going to make a big difference. When he told me that, how much it cost, my first thought was, lots of people won't be able to afford to go to work! How freaking absurd is that?!?!?! 

I don't know how this can go much further. Some prognosticators are pretty confident that we'll see $6 + a gallon for gas. It's pretty close to that in some states already. 

I suspect Aldi and Walmart will become a lot busier. There will be less vacation travel for sure. The world we live in right now seems so precarious, in so many ways. It makes me sad.

Quilled cakes!

There's actually a category for cake quilling!

Look at these beautifully delightful cakes!!!

Wow!!!  Wasn't that fun to see?

Pandemic Life 2022

Using data from Johns Hopkins University's interactive dashboard

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed 5.9 million lives globally as of February 28, 2022. More than 940,00 of those deaths have been in the United States.

Currently, approximately 1.4% of known COVID-19 infections in the US have resulted in death. This percentage varies from state to state, however, and in some parts of the country, infections are far more likely to be fatal than in others.

These are the top 10 excuses for not getting vaccinated;

10. Hard for me to get a vaccine  1.9%

9.   Dr hasn't recommended it 9.6%

8.   Don't think covid is a beg threat  25.1%

7.   Other reason  25.0%

6.   Don't know if a vaccine will protect me  26.1%

5.   Plan to wait and see if it's safe  31.0%

4.   Don't believe I need a vaccine  35.3%

3.   Don't trust the government  39.8%

2.   Don't trust covid 19 vaccines  47.5%

1.   Concerned about possible side effects  55.6%

I was really surprised at #9.

I heard someone say the other day, it's hard to trust "the science" when it's been wrong so frequently. Good point. I stand by what I said over a year ago...if they had come out in the beginning and said, we don't know how this is going to play out, we don't know how this is going to affect people, we don't know...but lets try this fill in the blank. I think people would've responded a lot differently. If the effing media hadn't politized the issue, I think people would've responded a lot differently. Oh well. Live and learn I guess.

Reviews

When you buy things, go out to dinner, pick a doctor, do you research them and look at reviews? I do. When I'm looking on Amazon for something, I look at the reviews. I read at least a couple pages of reviews, good and bad, before I decide. I don't usually look at restaurant reviews though. That's too subjective for me. And I don't think I've ever picked a doctor based on their reviews. But I have left a couple reviews on my dentist - he's fabulous!

I think I'm pretty honest when I leave a review. I try to be. Even if it's for something I don't like, I try and find one little nice thing to say, you know, unless they totally suck! The other day, I ordered a personalized gift off of Etsy. It's really pretty. But the name is small and hard to read so I only gave them 4 stars. And I said why in the review. They emailed me and said they strive for complete customer satisfaction and wanted to know how they could've done better, so I would've given them 5 stars. So I replied...they responded with, "thank you for letting me know. I respect your comment but this font is popular nowadays so we are using this on all our products and get hundreds of compliments about it. Please make your review 5 stars, we will appreciate it."  Ummm, NO! That ticked me off. I said the product was lovely, nice quality, etc. but I was disappointed in how they did the name. humph.

Also, you have to be pretty bad for me to write a complaint to a company. I'm more about telling a company when they've done a great job. People don't hear that enough.

Last night, we went to Best Buy and bought a sound bar for the TV. We had one in mind when we went. I could've gotten it off Amazon for $2 less but I don't want to give them ALL my business. Anyway, for the first time, they were not helpful. There were 3 salesmen in that area, just standing around and I had to go to them. The man that opted to help us, was a little condescending. We ended up getting something better than what we had intended but I didn't appreciate being talked down to. Also, there was no one at the cash registers and when we asked if someone could help us, a young woman begrudgingly came to check us out. It was really an unpleasant experience all around. I'm still trying to decide if I want to let Best Buy know that or not.

This is an interesting article about fake reviews, which was really all I originally wanted to talk about!  :-)

https://www.wthr.com/article/news/investigations/13-investigates/many-of-those-5-star-reviews-you-see-online-are-totally-fake-yelp-google-facebook-false-accounts/531-f175843b-1316-494a-a746-5bdfcada43fa

guns and death

Yesterday, a landmark, historic settlement was made by the gun manufacturer, Remington. In a suit claiming that the gun manufacturer is responsible for a massacre/mass shooting, it settled out of court for $73 million dollars.

It's a slippery slope, isn't it? No matter what side of the issue you're on. I've had several questions, as a casual news reader. One is, why did they settle instead of go to trial? Did they think they would lose? Did they settle because if they lost it would set a precedent, which would be bad for other gun manufacturers. Now that they've reached a settlement out of court will other gun manufacturers be targeted? The other thing that was really curious to me was, even though this was "breaking news" when it happened, I couldn't find a single headline about it in any news outlet that was in even the top 10! USA Today, Fox News, NY Times, MSN...The way the media covers anything about guns and gun control and the 2nd amendment is so aggressive, I just don't understand why they didn't have a million words to say about this?!!?

Gun related deaths in the US topped 45,000 during the pandemic. (There was a spike in homicides.) Is that a moral issue or a gun issue?

I didn't/don't follow this case but I gathered that part of the suit against them was how they market their firearms. That made me wonder, why is it ok for Anheuser-Busch to market (target) a young audience?

Did you know, drunk drivers cause more than one third of all traffic related deaths. Alcohol related deaths, ie excessive alcohol use, is responsible for more than 95,000 deaths each year. Who is responsible? The drunk driver, the bartender who served them, the alcohol maker, the store they purchased that alcohol from?

According to CDC statistics, drug overdoses  accounted for over 91,000 deaths. Is that a health issue or a big pharma issue? What about the doctors that prescribe the drugs?

Cigarette smoking is estimated to cause 480,000 deaths annually. 

Where is the outrage, exactly??

Tiny things

When my ex-sister-in-law died a couple years ago, my youngest niece took her miniature house. She said she has some nice memories about her mom and working on that house.

Last year she started remodeling it. It needed it. It was in pretty bad shape. I've put together several miniature houses so she hit me up for tips and ideas. I obliged :-) She's doing a fabulous job too. She has a decorating flair and she's good with power tools! She's even given her journey it's own Instagram page and named her house, 918 Victoria Lane. You can find it on IG at victoria.lane.mini  

Occasionally she'll send me a text with a picture of some miniature food and say, Hi Aunt Cindy, isn't this sooooo cute?! I can't say no, so I'll make it for her. So far she's gotten this;

With more requests backed up. It's fun. I like doing it. 

Anyway, it's really made me want to do the keeper house I still have in a box in my craft room. It's 3 stories with a shop on the bottom. It's so awesome! I've had it for about 15 years!!! I don't even know why I haven't put it together. I guess it's a little intimidating.  And it can be expensive. But I even go to the Miniature House Museum's attic sale whenever they have it and but all sorts of cute little tiny things for a fraction of the cost! I really just need to jump in though. I love tiny things. I love miniature houses! 

It's hard to get started on things sometimes. 

D.E.I.

 D.E.I. stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

It's a "thing" now, where I work. We now have a DEI committee. What is their purpose you ask?

The purpose of the DEI committee is to develop and promote strategies and best practices within the realms of racial, social, sexual, and gender diversity. The DEI Committee further serves as an opportunity for non-committee members a place to provide suggestions and challenges for the DEI.

Before the committee was created, I was invited to sit in on the discussion about DEI and the need for a committee. We were given handouts. The first is the definitions and the 2nd was part another visual aid.

For now, I want to talk about the 2nd image. We were all asked if we had comments about this graphic. Almost everyone did. But the one comment that stuck out for me was, well this is a nice graphic but why are all the kids black?  Which of course made someone else say, this makes it look like African Americans are always on the outside and they don't have the opportunity to see the game from the stands. In my head, I thought, the big kid is just a jerk for not giving his box to the little guy. My next thought was, boys are stinkers, trying to watch the game over the fence. It didn't even occur to me that were black. Apparently, I'm part of the problem...that racism is so ingrained in our culture that I can't recognize that it's a problem.

The point of the graphic is; Equality = everyone benefits from the same supports. Equity = Everyone gets the supports they need.

A better graphic would have been;

Regardless, I didn't like being told that I was part of the problem because I'm white. I don't like feeling bad for black people because I'm white. I've had a couple honest conversations with black people about this. It's been interesting and sometime enlightening. Clearly, I can't know what it's like to be a person of color. I know what discrimination feels like though - because I'm a woman and now because I'm a senior. But I don't know what racial discrimination feels like. I'm naïve, I know that. I'm not that naïve though. I know there are more people than I can imagine, that still feel negatively towards people of color. I'm not one of them though. And I would be delighted to have conversations about it...but not hateful, argumentative, mean spirited ones.