Some Things Friday for July 9, 2010

Last night's dishes are finally in the dishwasher. The first of maybe five loads of laundry is almost done and ready to go in the dryer. The kitchen floor is mopped. TGIF.

I've been doing a lot of thinking. Maybe too much. But I'm an introspective person so that's what I do. It's a skill I learned in response to the vacuity in which I was raised (or is the correct word "reared"?...whatever).

I know I haven't completely finished my thoughts from my last post, but I have been preoccupied this week with the economy on a very personal level. This week reminds me of a time many years ago when Tom had finished a project and submitted an invoice to the construction company for payment. After over 30 days and many phone calls with no results, Tom was finally able to speak directly with the controller to see if he could determine why he had not been paid. A brief, but heated discussion ensued and, in apparent frustration with Tom's perceived ignorance, the controller said, "Clearly, you do not understand cash flow." To which Tom replied, "I understand it completely. There's no cash flowin' my way." He was paid by that company shortly thereafter, but lately "no cash flowin'" our way has created some anxiety.

Tom has been working this year, though not nearly as intensely as prior years. We didn't feel too bad. In fact, we felt pretty lucky that he was working at all, considering everyone else in construction was just scraping by or sitting idle. We had savings and filled in the gaps.

Two weeks ago, though, work just stopped. Tom piddled with a little of this and a little of that, but quickly became anxious (read: panicked), as did I. Finally, yesterday two calls. It's only two calls, but it's a start. We can keep our head above water for now. We'll see how things go after that.

Some Things I Love:

1. We have decided to move. I don't know exactly when, but we are going to move, that we know for sure.

2. Florida governor Charlie Crist, the Republican who turned Independent in an effort to keep his seat in this upcoming election. Is he now becoming a Democratic? First, he vetoes a very controversial anti-abortion bill, now he wants the people of Florida to vote to ban offshore drilling in Florida waters. What's this? The PEOPLE get to decide? What a concept.

3. It's cloudy today. Cooler, but not cool. We're supposed to get some rain. That would be a good thing. After the wettest May ever recorded, June has been more like August: HOT with little rain. I'm all for a good soaking.

4. We've had AT&T U-Verse for about two weeks or so. The picture is so much better than Directv, and I love being able to watch a recorded program in any room of the house.

5. I love my iPhone. I loaded a bunch of photos of my grandkids and I rotate them as my wallpaper. I smile every time I have to answer a call or check my email because I have a sweet face looking out at me.

Some Things I Hate:

I am leaving this portion out this week. I'm not feeling particularly hateful. I am, however, feeling a bit like the proverbial 'anger ball' at the likes of Sarah "Mama Grizzly" Palin, Sharon "Lemons-to-Lemonade" Angle, Glenn "I-Need-A-University-Named-After-Me-To-Validate-My-Existence" Beck and Rush "Obama-Payback-for-Blacks-Demagoguery" Limbaugh, but I will leave those topics alone for now.

Some Things I Just Don't Get:

1. Poor suffering Lindsay Lohan. Sentenced to 90 days in freaking jail???? Oh nooooo!!!! Cruel and unusual punishment !! But, personally, I think when Lindsay went to court that morning she was already in a mood. Did you see the photo of her  pre-court appearance [ahem] manicure?

Photo from Huffington Post

Lohan's attorney cried foul and said the sentencing was "harsh." Perhaps, after admiring Lohan's special manicure from her vantage point on the bench, the 90-day sentence was the judge's way of saying "f**k you, too." Ya think?

2. The whole LeBron James hour-long-drama-media-hype-announcement thing. Now, although I don't get into sports much at all, I get how some people can get really into it ~ football, baseball, basketball, soccer, etc. ~ but folks, we're not talking a presidential election, coronation or the announcement of an invention that will change the way we live our lives forever. We're talking about a GAME, you know, like we used to play in school or after school on the playground or in the street on Saturdays? James' job is PLAYING A GAME, albiet a pretty good one, but I think I've mentioned it's a GAME nonetheless. Let's not get our panties in wad over WHERE James is going to play a GAME.

3. More drugs for kids. Did you know that a cholesterol drug produced by Pfizer was approved for use for kids in the U.S. in 2002? I didn't, until this week when the same drug was approved by the European Union. Hmmmm. I guess it's easier to shove a pill down your kid's throat than it is to wean her off of fast food, video games and television than to insist on healthy eating habits and regular outdoor exercise. Geez, where were those pills when my sons were skateboarding, swimming, surfing, water- and snow-skiing and riding bikes, then having to come in after a full of that to learn how to cook meals from scratch? They would have had a much easier life.

4. Why I even watch Anthony Bourdain's 'No Reservations'. He's so crude and sometimes rude, but he's still lovable. He eats and drinks the beyond normal human capacity, but remains skinny. And I'm jealous of his hair.

5. For a mere $999 you, too, can send your 10-year old daughter to modeling camp where, in a short 4 days, she will learn the ever-important skills of walking a runway and applying make-up. Once mastered, these skills will allow your daughter to develop the self-confidence and social skills needed to function as a happy, confident and productive person for the rest of her life, provided, of course, that she becomes a successful model and narcissistic boob (otherwise winding up a miserable model-wannabe coping with life-long personal rejection). Or you could send your daughter to Y-camp every summer for half the price, where she will camp, raft, swim, fish, hike, ride horses and cook over a campfire in an environment that not only tolerates, but encourages fun, laughter, sharing, team work and personal challenge on the off-chance that your daughter will use those experiences to develop into a well-rounded human being. Tough choice, huh?