Watch what you say or it could bite you in the end

Budget cuts sliced our library visits to pieces. Wednesday is a short day at Nico's school so it was a given. Wednesday comes, I get him from school, pile a few of his buddies into the car and off we go to, as Nico called it, the book house.

Now the library closes two or three wednesdays a month to help put money back into the state coffers so they can blow it on, oh lets say, a big trip to China  for the Shanghai Expo for 2010. (see end of article)

Back to our outing. So now the library is closed Wednesdays and I suggest today, Tuesday, we go as it has been a long time since we last went. Nicolai chooses his friend Luke to go along with us. 

Knowing how crazy they get I remind them to behave. They nod their heads vigorously and off we go. At the children's section I once again tell them if they don't behave we will have to go home and they will not get to rent a CD. 

I'm being stern because I want to work at my computer and hope against hope that they will want to rent their CD's so much that they will keep quiet. I'm sitting with my laptop open and getting ready to do some writing. Laughing comes from the far corner. 

"Nico get over here" They both appear at the table looking anxious. "You guys better calm down or we will get kicked out. Do you want to get kicked out?" They shake their heads like little bobbles. Back they go again to their corner.

Finely I have everything all set up. I'm two words into my blog and the security guard comes over and tells me that they are now doing flying tackles behind the stacks. 

Damn. I had finely found my muse. But my word is my word. I call them over and lower the boom. Though we aren't really kicked out they see the security guard standing next to me. I tell them it's over, no CD's and they have to get their books (that's what I really want them at the library for, not the CD's) and we have to check out and go home. 

I'm bummed. I thought I would have at least 20 minutes to myself. I'm the one being punished here not Nico or Luke. But Nico thinks that the library is really for Bakugan CD's and that books are just something he has to take home in order to get his movies. 

So I take them home. Nico with his bottom lip dragging on the ground and his shoulders hunched. ( I swear their is a marker for that in our genes as my daughter, granddaughter and I did that when we were young) 

It took us longer to drive to the library then it did to visit. Disappointing Nico ruins my afternoon. I hate having to be the leveler. I drop Luke off as the rain comes down from the gray, gray skies. As we pull on to the main boulevard I try to cheer Nico up by telling him we will go on an adventure on Saturday with our cameras but his lip still hangs. 

Then I see my reward for having to put up with all this. The ground is wet, the sky is darkened with clouds and the colors on the Orchid tree are vibrant. The flowers have dropped on to the road as though to make a flowered path for me. Nothing softens a bite in the butt like a carpet of flowers. 

 

http://hawaii.gov/gov/news/releases/2009-news-releases/china-trip-update-promoting-tourism-hawai-i-exports-and-clean-energy-partnerships

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority’s decision this week to spend money on the Shanghai Expo for 2010 was a very wise decision on their part. I’m very excited about it. I’ll be there in Shanghai for that expo as well as to attend ceremonies honoring the 25^th anniversary of our sister-state/province relationship with Guangdong. It will be a much larger trip next year, we will invite members of the community, business community, education community to travel with us on that trip and we certainly hope the media will make that trip. It is going to be a very important 

Why Bother

Sometimes I wonder, why do I bother getting up when it seems the only one that is truly happy your there is the dog? No matter what mood I am in he bows to me and wags his tail and steps lively as he follows me through the house.

Sometimes I wonder why do I bother to try to communicate when the only one to listen to me is an inanimate object. Telling twitter where I am going. It listens. Talking to Pages, it takes in all my thought, helps to sort out the story going on in my head. It corrects me trying to make sure I don't look stupid. Stupid for whom? Or is it who? what does it matter, no one wants to read it anyway. 

Sometimes I wonder if I am going crazy? I'm communicating all the time. I belong to all kinds of communication groups. But who am I communicating with? My ramblings travel all across the globe and return to me in lightning speed, uninterrupted by humans. My voice bounces from one cloud to another, echoing in space and only I answer.

Sometimes I wonder when I am out doing an errand, why do I want to go home? A house full of empty people to paraphrase  the movie.  Am I intruding, should I bother relating what went on while I was gone. Who's interested. Who am I? The baby sitter, an old lady that rambles to much, someone who changes the cat box and worries that Sammy does not get fed because my granddaughter is to busy. I'm the one that worries to much for nothing. Because I've been told, don't worry it's not your problem. And I rush home to this. 

Sometimes I wonder if this is the rest of my life, why bother?

Doing nothing about the weather

Isn't it funny how the weather is always better on the other side of the fence. I would love to be bundled up and be sipping something warm. I'd be cooking a soup with the smell filling the house. My sweaters would all be airing out and I would take nice brisk walks to warm up and when I came home my face would be all rosy. 

Instead I sit in the house because the sun burns when you walk anywhere and it is so bright you need to walk with your head down and a hat covering half your face. The hat also is uncomfortable as it keeps the heat in and your hair becomes all wet and sticks to your face.

If you want to walk anywhere you must get out of the house by 5:30 am so that the sun doesn't rise before you get back home. Once you are home the house is so hot that you have to open all the windows and put on all the fans. The warmth makes you feel like a slug so you just sit because moving around causes you to perspire so heavily that you want to stay in a cold bath. On and on. Oh and no beach because the gas is at $4.17 a gallon so you don't go anywhere that is not necessary. 

A sugar day

The sky is gray, hanging low and keeping the heat and humidity floating throughout the house. I'm hoping for a storm. Thunder claps that rattle the house and ring in your ears. I'd love to see flashes of lightning that would light up a dark closet and splits the sky. Then after that show is over let it rain, pour, soak the whole island. 

Of course there is Max. That would mean that someone would have to walk him in the rain. Well it aint me babe. They bought the doggy in the window and I'm not going to feel guilty anymore. I don't care how much he loves me and follows me through the house and settles at my feet. 

I wanted the little fox terrier my sister in law wanted to give me. I would not have to worry about walking it for miles to get him to do his business. I could even use a little piddle pad. It would then sit on my lap like a peacocks feather so soft and light.

Instead Max lands on me and sinks me into the chair unable to move, licking me with his sloppy tongue, and breathing his fish breath all over me. 

The little terrier would sleep on my bed hardly taking up an inch. Instead Max jumps up on the bed trying to sleep on it with his head on my pillow and his back smashed up against me daring me to move. He then bounces off like Tigger bouncing from a tree leaving a hair shirt behind. 

Oh, so what's with the sugar day? I'm still in a mood so the sugar? Ah, it's coffee Haagen-Dazs. While the stew cooks I will stew with my ice cream and watch the debates. And when Nico finely finishes his sandwich I will let Max in and it will start all over again. 

I Blog Therefor I am

I'm thinking. A lot of people interact with perfect strangers on the web because, if the truth be known, who else will listen? I'm not even sure if anyone reads what I write but sometimes I need to speak. 

I'm getting into the years when what I say means absolutely nothing to my family. In fact the less they hear me speak the more they like me. 

A few of my unwanted words; 

I think we should not bail out the big cats. And I don't mean Todd, our fat cat. We will suffer either way so I would rather that those @#$%%^& suffer right along with us instead of hard earned money from "Main Street," as they are calling us now days, be given to them so they can further run us into the ground. 

I want to see the debate between Obama and McCain. Why do I feel like McCain has run off into a cave to put a paper bag to his mouth so that he does not hyperventilate during the parley.

I really enjoy "The New Adventures of Old Christine." I think she brings into her show some very touchy subjects with such wonderful humor. Best of all she does it by making a fool of herself but you have to love her. And her side kick Brenda is wonderful with her dead pan humor. Of course I think that they will not stay married because it will be shown that her brothers ability to marry them will prove to not be legal. This marriage though will give opportunity for so many funny episodes. 

I've not been writing so much because sometimes I just feel to stressed and I don't feel I have a place to sit and concentrate nor do I even have a place where I can look at a book and use the computer at the same time. Of course that is my fault. I'm not Main Street, I'm on he other side of the tracks. With that kind of an economy I'll never have "a room of my own."

Well, thanks for listening, or not. I will now zip my fingers back up and keep my opinions quietly to myself.

So why have a kid at all?

NPR asked this question on todays show. Can a woman be a mother while holding down a high powered job? Well I thought what's good for the goose is good for the gander. If men can be fathers and hold down these powerful positions, Why can't a woman? 

The real question should be; what kind of quality parenting can be given while holding down a high powered position? Lets see. How can you parent and still be powerful? Let me count the ways.

Let's say your child is in school. That will give you some time on your own. Oh, but you leave the house at 6 AM? Well, you can have a live in care giver. She can get them dressed and fed, and she can get them to school. Anyway, having breakfast with your children isn't really quality time as they are grumpy having to get up for school so, you really couldn't have a nice conversation.

So you've had a good 10 hours to be powerful and it's time for the kids to get out of school. Super care giver to the rescue. Of course you don't want your children to be bored after school while waiting for you to come home you can put them into, dance, music, sports are art classes. That should occupy them so they won't notice your aren't around.

After school programs and then home to do school work. And what better help could there be with homework then tutors? After all being powerful has not given you the time to know what they are learning in school so how can you be helpful. Hire the best. After all you can affford it. 

Well it's time for dinner. Hum, maybe you can make it home in time. But the problem may be that you have to entertain clients, finish up on a meeting to save the company, world, or just your job. But you have a lot of extra minutes to give them a call and say you love them, they are the most important thing in your life and to remember to do what the super care giver says to do. 

But lets say you do have time to come home for dinner? You sit down at the table after hasseling with problems all day, people talking into your ear, your cell, your email and your head is buzzing after dealing with the cares of the world. You sit down to the table and the kids start in, I need help with my new toy, game, bike, etc. Can you take me to the store I need this and that for school? 

Why can't I do this or that? How come you didn't go to my class play, PTA meeting, soccer game? You get the picture. 

You finely tell the kids to please be quiet as your head hurts. You look at your partner who also is high powered and he, she is no help. His, her, stomach is killing he, she and they need to do more work or go  back to the office etc. 

Maybe you have nice conversations at the table but it may only be an hours time. Then super care giver takes over with bath, entertainment and bed time. And so it goes day after day. And don't forget the fighting about who doesn't stay home enough to help with the kids and who is always getting stuck on weekends taking care of them. Well that's if your not working on weekends. 

So Let me see, you spend maybe 5 hours a week with the kids. And maybe one day on the weekend if the kids are lucky, so the kids are yours for 21 hours a week. The other 147 hours are taken care of by the Super Care Giver. 

I think that the real question here is; Why have kids at all? Oh I forgot you are both powerful people trying to save the world and by having children you can hire a caregiver and pay them thus your contributing to the economy. Wow, I'll vote for you.

Unless your children are just for show, they need parents. They need attention and the love that can only come from them. That is where the child gains his self worth. If you need to be taking on the world then someone else should be taking on having a family. It definitely should not be someone who is a parent in name only. 

I do believe that either a male or a female can be powerful and even rule a nation. But someone needs to be a parent. And if it can't be the father or mother and then both on weekends then leave the job to someone else. And I don't mean the Super Care Giver.

That's not Funny

I dreamed nobody wanted me to talk to them. At least I thought it was a dream. Maybe I’m remembering times when I thought I was having an interesting conversation and then I ended up talking to myself. No, it had to have been a dream.

Lately the theme that runs through my dreams and my thoughts is, I’m not funny. I only talk about serious issues.

Like my feelings on the phrase or euphemism (because lets face it who in there right mind would use the real phrase?) “New Homes at Affordable Prices.” Affordable for Whom? Certainly not the poor and barely the middle class can afford one . Ah but there I go again. I am trying to be funny, light, look on the brighter side. I really scared my friend when I went off on that phrase. I thought I was making a point but she thought I was angry enough to kill. Thankfully she forgave me after I went on about not realizing I was frightening her. After all that kind of rage was everyday conversation while I was growing up.

I remember another time when I was at the movies. Years ago. You can tell by the name of the movie. “Serpico”. It was the scene where Serpico tries to help a young girl in the park who is about to get raped. I got so upset I told to the person I was with “they should cut their balls off.” It seemed a reasonable statement. Not to the guys in back of me. They got up and moved. Were they sympathizers?

I was sitting in Borders the other day and there was an elderly gentleman sitting perpendicular to me. We started talking. We were having a wonderful conversation. He was ex-military, lived all over the world including Alaska. Oh, I thought. I would really like to live in Alaska. I even wanted to ask him if he’d ever watched the beginning of the Iditarod? No. Instead I asked him about the town nears Sitka, or maybe it was Sitka, that was cut off from civilization by a tunnel and that you could only get in or out by a train that only came a few times a week or something like that. I went on to mention having read about a woman who had moved there so her abusive ex-husband could not follow her. I mentioned that I though it was quite a tight community because everyone knew she was hiding from him and they were all able to keep him out of their small area because of that tunnel.

The gentleman stated that he didn’t approve of abuse (I didn’t think he was the type.) and he started to get quiet. When I tried to make light of the conversation by saying I was attracted to that place because everyone knew each other and that I liked the isolation he became even quieter. After a few awkward words he gently said that he didn’t want to keep me from my reading and pointed to the stack of magazines I had on my lap. He then got up and walked away. Now what had I said?

So I had done it again. Why do I insist on taking about the woes of the world as if it was the only topic on everyone’s mind? Again, I’m not being funny, light or looking on the brighter side. I can’t possibly be going through life with that proverbial dark cloud over my head.

Ah! I know. I watched two and a half men tonight. I love it. I really laughed. And the kid who plays Charley’s nephew has such good timing. I wonder what his parents think of the subject matter that is portrayed in that series? For that matter is the kid being exposed to too much sex at such an early age? I mean they talk about some …Oh wait! I’m not on topic. Light, funny, ray’s of sun.

OK, let me see. Oh I get a kick out of New Christine- ah but the subject matter. Hum. My sense of humor is being over run by my sense of morals. Or is it the other way around?

Max is a funny dog. He looks like a catfish. Maybe that’s because he keeps stealing all of the cats food, or chases them till they turn on him and give him a swat. I love the way his ear is always flipped back, sort of like Dorothy LaMoor. But I can’t imagine him in a sarong.

Nope can’t think of any thing funny or maybe for me it’s more fun to be mad. And with a blog I can shout as loud as I want and only offend myself.