DIY

In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.
~Dr. Laurence J. Peter quotes

Why do I get so annoyed when people don't seem to "get it"? How many times have I been confused or frustrated because I couldn't do something? Just because I understand something doesn't mean some one else is an idiot because they don't. There are plenty of things that I have no clue about. What I wish though is if a person is unsure aout something or flat out doesn't know how to do it just speak up. There is always another willing to share their knowledge.

I need to be more patient! What if the people that cared for Nick treated him like he was an idiot. I would have to hurt someone!

We Are What We Drive

The car has become the carapace, the protective and aggressive shell, of urban and suburban man.
~Marshall McLuhan

It seems, in California anyway, that people get their identity from the type of vehicle that they drive. In the movie Swingers while at a party some high maintenance type girls ask Mike what kind of car he drives. When he tells them he drives a Cavalier he simply becomes invisible to them. Even his claim that it was red doesn't generate any interest in him. Have we become that materialistic that we are only what we possess? I don't have a Coach bag, I don't wear Prada shoes, I drive a Honda Civic and wear t-shirts that I bought at Target. What does that say about me? Not much except that I'm thrifty. I hope that I don't ever become so impressed by "things" that I forget who I really am.

Cats

God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying other things.
~Pablo Picasso

I don't know if I mentioned that I have 4 cats. They all found me I did not set out to be a weird cat lady. But here I am a middle aged woman with a bunch of cats that I actually talk to. Living with any pet is less lonely than living alone. I have a boy who can't talk so it can get pretty quiet around here. Sometimes I have a lot to say and I just have those little furry friends to converse with. I guess I'm not the only one. Check out Crazy Aunt Purl she's fun and funny and has cats!

Time

The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.
~Albert Einstein

I wish time could just quit racing by me like it has been. How can January already be gone? I have been working on a rag quilt now for more than a year. the whole cutting out process took from last winter...then it got to hot and was shoved in a box under my bed...until this winter. I finally dragged out my sewing machine and started putting it together. Yet, still, time passes and it remains unfinished. Just like all my unfinished business. Boxes untouched in the garage for eight years, my will that needs a desperate revision before something unfortunate happens. Is it just that I don't have time management skills or am I just that skilled at wasting time?

Back to School

Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.
~Albert Einstein

Going back to school again in 2004 was inspired by the realization that I wasn't going to live forever. I don't really know why this is something I want to achieve in my life. I've always been told I was smart and during elementary school I consistantly was on the honor roll. It came so easily to me that I felt as if surely I was somehow cheating. But sometime during junior high it became uncool to be smart and I began messing up just because I didn't want the "brainy" lable. I barely graduated from high school, not because I couldn't do the work but because I didn't want to do the work. Then there were the years after high school that I believed I wasn't very intelligent. If you're reminded of something often enough it becomes your reality. I went to college off and on during that time period and my grades were good but I never had any direction, my major changed everytime I enrolled in a class. I still always wanted to get my degree, so in 2004 I went back to school and that goal is now just three classes away. It hasn't been easy and I've wanted to quit more often than not, but now with the light at the end of the tunnel, I know I won't. In fact in 2010 I will actually walk and receive my degree in New York!

The Key

I remember things that happened sixty years ago, but if you ask me where I left my car keys five minutes ago, that's sometimes a problem.
~Lou Thesz

Here's something funny that says something about technology and the like. I'm not sure what it says but just listen to my story.
I got to the gym this morning and as I was walking away I did my usual over the shoulder flick of my keyless car door fob thingy. Low and behold no annoying beep to let me know that my car was locked. Well what's up with that? I turned and walked slowly back to my car all the time clicking the little lock button. I even examined the little pictures next to the buttons to make sure I was pressing the right one. I get to my car and stood in front of it. Woe is me, what do I do??? I certainly can't leave my purse out here in an unlocked car, and I really don't want to bring it in the gym with me. Putting it in the trunk is no better and what if someone saw me put it in the trunk, then they could easily retrieve it while I'm sweating on a treadmill. Well do I just not go to the gym? I really wanted to go to the gym, so this was a huge dilemma. What in the world could I do? Should I just sit in my car and wait for Target to open and then go buy a battery for the stupid thing? What if Target doesn't carry those kinds of batteries. On and on it went in my head. Until...wait what's this??? Oh my gosh, my car actually has a little silver circle on the door and I can insert the key, turn it and voila, the door is locked! Oh brother, what a knucklehead!

Sweater Girl

If some sissy chick tried to kick my ass I would say hey, missy, go knit me a sweater before I slap you in the face!
Eric Cartman

I cannot believe how many sweaters I have. I went on a little eBay sweater buying binge and I now have this huge collection of sweaters from the 40's and 50's. I got particularly hooked on "Darlene" sweaters, which have really cool watercolor floral prints. From what I could find out they're from the late 50's and that's totally apropos since I was born in the very late 50's. I must have developed an affinity for these sweaters while in the womb. Really though, this is more than a collection, they don't sit wrapped in plastic on a closet shelf waiting for a special occasion. I actually wear them, on practically a daily basis. Not that I dream of being a Betty Page look alike, but call me a sweater girl anytime you want and I won't deny it!