35 posts tagged “life” (page 2)
Ever notice how they don't have too many male subjects on "What not to wear"? Ever wonder why?
I think it's for several reasons.
The number one is logistics.There already has been "Queer eye for the Straight guy' and the budget on this show would preclude name brand designer suits (a decent Ralph Lauren number will set you back about a grand, so what can they do? Have the guy buy two suits and a pair of shoes?) so sponsers wouldn't be too keen on it.
But the other reason would be all the social pressures against men taking an interest in fashion. It's seen as 'effeminate' in some circles, and most workplaces demand fairly rigid conformity for male dress. Guys are also conditioned to think that they are rugged individuals, free from social influence, as well. Both my son, and I,almost reflexisively, whenever we have seen that show will robotically intone how we'd defy their "rules' and would subvert the show, if we were on. Again, i'm not saying that guys are more self-guided, merely that we're conditioned to think that we are.
Yeah, i know. It's a dumb thought about a dumb show. But, give me a break, here: I'm pretty bored. My son's off to see a friend, and my wife has been asleep most of the past 24 hours, and I'm too broke to do anything but laundry, and housework.
If it'll make you think any better of me, I did also make a few compilation CDs for my commute to work....
So, yeah, today kinda blew chunks. See, first, I got up up to bring my kitty to the vet. I've just paid some bills so I'm on a limited budget, but I had to get the kitty in: her meds are running out, and quite honestly, i don't know if she'll live without them. So, I bring her in. But, even though I told the Vet about my limited budget, the bill comes back more than double what I had said I could afford. In the past they had offered various methods of payment. Not now. Now it's cash, right now, pay up sucker! And a sucker I am, because it was 3 times the amount it had cost for the same service as 6 months ago.
This set a few things in motion. See, I've pretty much been living for the chance to escape. To go on a vacation, however brief. That chance is evaporating before me. I no longer can afford to leave my soul-crushing job for even a day.
Then came the next hammer blow. My company recently relocated. Trying to be a good co-worker, I had been taking up the slack for everyone else, and even delivered everyone's time sheets off to the place where they're processed, after hours, without asking for compensation. I did deliver everyone's time sheet, except mine. I forgot it, and , today, found it in my coat pocket. Why? Because I've had too much on my plate, I guess, but maybe because I'm an idiot. This means my pay that I desperately need, will be at the very least delayed.
This leaves me a bit screwed. I've got some kinda important bills due, this week. Stuff I cannot defer. Yeah, I'm probably gonna have to ask some folks for a loan. They'll make me grovel for it, too. i know. They'll also feel that it gives them the right to point out every mistake I ever made.
Then, just when I had resigned myself to staying in for the next....month, my internet and cable TV just died. The best part: they died when I sat at the family computer. They'd worked all day for other members of my family. Nope, it dies right when I get my turn.
Now, obviously, it's working now. Here's hoping that's a sign of things to come.
I ain't asking for anyone's pity. I wouldn't accept it, if it was given. I'm a very tough cookie, and i know I'll be OK. Seriously, people hate me for how stone faced and unyielding I can be. But, I know that's what it takes for me to survive my own stupidity, and my own bad luck. I've got to draw upon the stoicism of my forefathers just to keep breathing. It's going to take a lot of that, if I'm going to make it back to daylight. Just you watch, though. I'll do it. Even if every once in awhile it sucks...
I've got an odd relationship with the notion of boycotts. I can see the logic of metaphorically taking your ball and going home. Refusing to shop at Wal Mart or refusing to get your Pizza from one chain or another can make a certain kind of sense if you feel a certain kind of powerlessness. I suppose I boycott some things, but it's more superstition than outright political gesture. A good example is in Prescott Valley, Arizona, they had some overzealous cops. I was pulled over (and cited, though it was dropped in court) for driving 56 mph in a 55. I was forced to walk 15 miles home because a different cop thought that I must be drunk (when i hadn't had anything to drink) because I was driving at 1:15 AM, fifteen minutes after the bars closed. So, I boycotted driving in Prescott Valley. I didn't want the hassle, anymore. That's the kind of thing I mean. I know that it's kind of backwards thinking: expecting a future result based upon discrete, prior experiences, so I will readily admit it's a superstition. But, then again, a fair number of boycotts seem to be based upon gossip, which would be superstition's second cousin. Don't believe me? Here's one:
A few years back I had a pair of Birkenstock sandals. Some of my more liberal friends started to give me some trouble because they were "boycotting" birkenstocks, due to the company being owned by "nazis". I kinda looked at 'em quizically, and finally said "Well, if the nazis want to give me comfortable footwear, how bad can they be?" (I guess it never dawned upon them that my family includes survivors of the real holocaust. That's a sidebar: why always "nazis"? I think there's some subtle, and not-so-subtle racism in calling people who are attempting to be authoritarian "nazis"). But, even so, how many boycotts happen because of things just like that: somebody says that Proctor and Gamble are Satan worshippers because of an interpretation of their old logo, and evangelicals go nuts, and boycott. People say that Marlboro is owned by the KKK, and folks start smoking camels. It's just gossip.
There also is the kind of half-boycott I see people doing "I buy only locally made organic produce". Well, that sort of thing isn't a bad thing, per se, but I don't know if it's always the best thing. What if your local Organic farm is benefitting from Tax subsidies they got at the expense of welfare money? What if they're introducing pest plants that will choke out the local biodiversity? I think people should look at things in a more systematic way than simple decisions. There are times when they would be better off shopping at Wal Mart, and there are times when they'd be better off shopping at a farmer's market, and there are times when they'd be better off not shopping at all.
I don't understand the need for black hats and white hats, really, and i guess that goes to the heart of my quandry with boycotts: Certainly, there are some things that are evil and need to be stopped, but i have never heard of anything good coming from painting with too broad a brush....
Yes, any time i can reference Julio Iglesias, I think I should.
Anyway, I'm home sick, today. Third day in a row away from work: two days mostly at the Doctor's, now, a day at home. It's starting to make me introspective, and all that melancholy malarky.
So, I started thinking about people who aren't in my life. I even did a google search on a couple. As per usual, that got me wondering if they ever look for me. Yeah, that's a bit creepy: to think of somebody from my past spying on me. But, then I thought that there is a message I'd want to convey to them. Here's that message, and see if you can glean anything from it, as well.
Hello. I'm sure you have news, and that your life has some excitement in it. You might even want to share that news. Please don't. Yes, I still think about you from time to time, and chances are good that some of that thinking is positive. Heck, I might even still have some fondness for you, even if you never had any fondness for me. I'm funny like that. But, I don't want a relationship with you. Not right now, anyway. It's nothing personal, it's just the nature of life. It doesn't run backwards. We cannot go back, and there was probably a very good reason why we lost touch. I hope that your life is good, and full of things you want and need, so that you don't have any desire to talk to me. I'm hoping you're reading this with only mild curiousity, much like I might have seen your myspace, or twitter page with only a mild curiousity.
To satisfy that curiousity for you, let me say that I'm still very much like you remember me. If you remember me as a jerk, I'm probably still a jerk. If you remember me as a nice guy, I'm probably still that, too. I still have tendancies for dark, depressed moods, and angry, excitable moods, with plenty of silliness inbetween.
I still play my guitar. I might not play onstage, any more, but I still play my stupid little riffs, for my own amusement. I'm still passionate about politics, still lean libertarian left. I still find minutae fascinating. I still love to speculate about philosophy, and science and pop culture. I still wear my funny little fake chin in my goatee.
Some things might have changed. I have a bit more spending money that I might have had, but I still shop as thrifty as I can. Strange things still appeal to me. I'm older, and my health isn't as robust as it was when I was 30. But, I'm OK. I've got a few less hairs on top of my head, and a few of them that remain are grey. I'm a little better with the modern world. Heck, as I type on my blog, I'm playing a DVD in the background (The Fog of War).
I'm not alone. I've got a wonderful wife, whom I love very much, and a son who is smart and strong, and makes me proud, many times over. I've also got four cats, who make me laugh. I live in a little town, and have a few friends, here, and in other places. I work in Real Estate lending. I don't like my particular job, but I like the field. I drive a little Kia.
We've got furniture (mostly IKEA and vintage) and a four bedroom one bath house. We grow flowers and berries in the backyard. In general, we're like anybody else in America.
I hope that satisfies your curiousity. I hope all is well, and if I ever look you up, you're doing at least as well as me, but in your own way. Have a nice life.....
In case you didn't already know, Blade Runner is one of my favorite movies, and I just scored the edition you see above. Why get excited about a movie i've seen many, many times, and already own on VHS, and DVD?
Because it's frickin' BLADE RUNNER!!
But, it's kinda like the caucus they just had in Iowa (which looks to be a Huckabee/Obama victory. Congrats to them). It took a long, and complicated route to get to where I want things. Just as in Iowa, they're trying to balance the needs and desires of the minority (a small state, and those without a winning candidate) with the needs and desires of the majority (the rest of the election, and those with a winning candidate) I can see both interpretations of Blade Runner.
In case you don't geek out for it like me, here's the debate in a nutshell: Is Deckard (Harrison Ford, aka the Protagonist) human?
On one side, you've got those who believe that Deckard is human. For this side, the story becomes a tale of man vs. machine, with the subtext being that even the machines yearn for what we already have: human imperfection, affection, and infection. The downside of this, though, is that it reduces the love story to a tale of a man and his plaything, as Rachel (Sean Young) is unquestionably a robot. It puts too much power into the hands of Deckard to make their connection anything better than a perversion.
On the other side, you've got those who believe that Deckard is a robot.For this side, the story becomes a tale of self-discovery, where through conflict, even Robots get a soul, with the subtext being that experience helps shape us, and lets us understand the world, but only through our actions are we ourselves. The downside of this, though, is that it reduces the conflict between Deckard and Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) to a kind of mental exercise, where Roy is more the hero than Deckard, and the audience is played for a chump, trying to empathize with the little Deckard puppet, who's just the plaything of the cops, and other forces of capital C "control".
So, you really need multiple tellings of the story so that each side can weigh in with their relative merits. The end result perfects the story: Deckard is both Human, and robot. He is both discovering what it means for him to love, to hate, to hope and to fear, and he is struggling with non-humans who are more human than he is. It makes everyone, and everything more important.
See, that's a lesson that i really hope we all can learn: to see the things that others see, and learn how that improves our lives as well as theirs. It doesn't always have to be a dichotomy. Sometimes, it can be a dialectic.
So, the holidays got alittle mixed up at Casa De Max, this Navidad. End result: we didn't really observe New Year's, but did a sort of Christmas.
First, we picked up my son at the airport. At midnight. A really kind woman running the starbucks at Dulles Airport gave him a free drink, and I tipped her six bucks for doing so.
Then, we drove home, and caught up over the events of the past week. Then, we did a late-late night, early AM gift exchange. I got a DVD (The Bourne Ultimatum) a book (Art of Modern Rock) some CDs ( All Thin White Rope CDs. They're definitely one of my top ten favorite bands of all time, look forward to a post all about them) and a leather cuff .
But, it ain't about what you get, it's about yer family, and it was good to have a family, again. A New Year can wait.
Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Blessed Kwanzaa, fruitful Eid ul Adha, Serene Rohatsu, Blessed Solstice, and Happy Day off to the rest of y'all.
I haven't been writing much due to a combination of three factors:
1. Very, very busy. Son's birthday, the aforementioned holidays, new job, new car, maintaining sanity, you get the idea.
2. Nothing nice to say. Do y'all really want to read a rant decrying everything and anything? Because that's what kind of mood I've been in.
3. Limited computer access. Between a wife who has vocational need for the computer, and a son who has academic need, my recreational need for the computer seems a bit paltry, yeah?
I'm not going to make any grandiose promises. I'll just say that I'll try to get in at least a post a week.
I hope all is well,for everybody, everywhere. Namaste.
And now, barring somebody comng to claim it, we've got five cats. We've already bought it a litter box, kitten milk, kitten chow, de-fleaing kitten shampoo, and so on. Tomorrow, my wife will probably bring it to the vet. Just in case, it's a black and white male, looking like it's about 8 weeks old, based on size, but still trying to suckle. It's got a black patch under the chin but otherwise, it's pretty much black on top, white underneath. It's got fleas, ear mites, and scratches, so, I suspect it's been on the streets for a few days, at least. It's very, very friendly, and just a little playful. It's clearly very tired, though, and might change personality after a few meals and naps. If that seems like your missing cat, let me know.
Well, I bought a car this weekend. i got a 2005 Kia Spectra5. If you don't follow the link, it looks an awful lot like a Fit. As in a little Honda, with the catchy catchphrase "the Fit is Go!".
I got it in silver, with all kinds of extras (CD player, cruise control, sun roof, etc) at a Car Max. It's got about 60k on it, but appears to be in great shape. I paid just under 10,000 for it, which means the Bank owns most of it. It seems pretty good.
Of course, I would have loved to get a Smart Car, or an Obvio, or even a Prius, but the fact is, i'm not wealthy enough, nor do I live in a metropolitan area. I'm a blue collarish guy out in Exurbia. That means i have to compromise for practicality. My 12 year old Acura died, so I needed a car, quickly. There's no rideshare program for me, no public transport to bring me to my job (If I worked in DC, sure, but I work in Frederick) . I don't have time for the next generation of cars to make it into the mainstream. If you do have the money, and the resources, I really hope you consider something like an Obvio, or a Smart car, or a Prius. I think it's really a shame that there aren't more options like that. But, I have a four bedroom house, a wife, a kid, and 4 cats. Right now, It's really impractical to buy a $20k car, andhave the nearest mechanic who can work on it be 100 miles away. That's even though Biodiesel is available in my little town of 6000 souls.
But, to make up for my inability to do the truly right thing, I promise to combine trips, to walk when I can, to really think before i drive. I promise to keep my car well maintained, so that I don't waste fuel. I promise never to buy an SUV that sucks up dino-juice. I promise that I'll do what I can to not be a jerk. I promise, most of all, to remember how lucky I am that i have the opportunity to use a private vehicle. 150 years ago, such a thing would denote me as royalty. I think we need to remember things like that. Much more than we should savor "new car smell".
