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February 29, 2008
A picture is worth a thousand words...
But it could be....
(tyvm to curious george)
Posted by Anna at 9:21 PM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2008
Marriage and Memory
Amazing Memory Man Never Forgets
So, I'm reading this story, about a 51 year old guy in Wisconsin who can recall with remarkable detail the most minute details of the last 40 years. When asked how he does it the befuddled scientist who is studying him answers:
"You want the Nobel Prize right now? Tell me that answer and I'll publish it," said Dr. James McGaugh, who has studied Williams since last summer. "We don't know. We do know that he carries this information with him, that it's detailed, that it's just there. That's what we want to know -- why is it there?"
And I'm thinking, this is no mystery, the guy is not married, he can afford to remember all this stuff. If he were married, his wife would be hounding him all the time "Why is it you can remember eating scrambled eggs for breakfast in the middle of nowhere on June 19, 1978, but you can't remember Junior has soccer practice at 3:15 every Tuesday?" "How do you manage to remember who ran for city council 30 years ago, but can't remember to take out the trash 15 minutes after I ask you to?" And, of course "Did you remember today is my mother's birthday, and she's coming here for dinner?"
Posted by Anna at 12:59 PM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2008
Never sign blank checks...
In a moment of desperation this week, my boss told me if I finished a task which I was going to get stuck doing anyway, he would be forever indebted to me. An hour later the job was finished. I have wasted no time in finding ways for him to pay his infinite debt. Now he's calling me his worst nightmare. Can you imagine?
Posted by Anna at 3:36 AM | Comments (0)
February 18, 2008
My first live blogging event....
I am currently stuck on hold with "customer care". I am going to need psychtropic drugs by the time I get my prescription refill ordered. Seriously, if they cared about their customers they would get better hold music. This is like listening to an AM radio station with poor reception, except I have no way to change it. I just have to sit here, stuck, listening to "Horse With No Name" fading in and out. Somebody rescue me.
Posted by Anna at 2:00 PM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2008
Stepping back in time....
In my mailbox today was a quarterly magazine I receive from my insurance company. The cover photo showed a typical southern belle, properly dressed in hoopskirt and sunbonnet smiling shyly at the camera with her hands appropriately crossed in front of her. I'm sure many who read the story will develop nostalgic images of days long gone, a time when females were, well, feminine. As my eyes dragged over the words on the page my stomach turned in knots. A one week school where young ladies can learn everything a proper young lady needed to know in 1861; ballroom dancing, penmanship, needlework, mourning customs, the list goes on. The final paragraph ends by quoting a faculty member "It's a privilage to act as our ancestors did and learn how they lived their lives."
I don't know much about 1861, as far as I know I wasn't there, but I find it hard to believe life was gentler or kinder for most young girls in the days before the abolishment of slavery, or the existence of child protection laws. My mind has gnawed on this all afternoon, what was life really like for the average girl living in 1861? When women and children were considered chattel of their husbands and fathers? Three years before the abolition of slavery, seven years before the Fourteenth Amendment bestowed civil rights on blacks and other racial minorities? Thirteen years before the first child abuse case was brought to light? (Which was prosecuted under animal cruelty laws, because there were no child protection laws at the time, stray dogs and cats had more rights than children in 1861). Fifty-nine years before women were granted the right to vote.
For each privilaged young lady practicing her penmanship, how many more young ladies lacked the ability to read and write? Education was not necessary for their future careers of house cleaning and child rearing in 1861. As they spent their days learning ballroom dancing and parlor games how many other young ladies were scrubbing the same floors, washing their underskirts, growing their food and preparing their meals? Are young black girls who attend the school taught the etiquite of not making eye contact with their white elders, and which door they should use to enter the rectory?
At Christmas last year I found myself in a conversation about whether the world was indeed going to hell in a handbasket, based mostly on the perceived encroachment of racial minorities into local neighborhoods. The 90 year old relative who had made the declaration turned the spotlight on me "Don't you think the world is getting worse?" She asked. I hesitated before finally saying "No, I don't think the world is any worse". Was there ever a time in history when all was equal? When there was enough for everyone? When majorities did not repress minorities?
That is my hope. For every young girl, today and beyond.
Posted by Anna at 8:18 PM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2008
Judging from the number of people who find my blog by searching for "unconventional valentines" I am not the only person who resents the compulsory showing of affection forced on us annually by mass merchandisers. I honestly believe if you love someone you do not need to be guilted into showing your affection by someone who stands to make a profit from it. You should just give her chocolate all the time.
In the midst of all the red and pink heart-shaped products screaming at us from December 26th through February 14th and beyond I have found one product which captures the true spirit of Valentines day. Bittersweets, brought to us by Despair.com. These are the same chalky-tasking, tooth-breaking conversation hearts available in fine gas stations everywhere, except the message they carry gets right to the issue. Some of my personal favorites from the "Dejected" collection; "Answer Phone", "Easily Broken", "Strike Three", "Not Again", "Dork Magnet" and "I'm Hot Inside". The only thing that would be better than getting these for Valentines day, would be getting them the day after Valentines day.
Posted by Anna at 12:43 PM | Comments (0)
Winter Thoughts.....
I awoke this morning to a world dressed in wintery white. I am not a fan of winter.
My first thought was to head straight for the tanning salon, because what else would you do on a snowy day in February? The road between my little house and town is one of those windy, curvy rural roads where McMansions are slowly pushing out the worn down trailer houses and cow pastures. As I drove along, I found myself thinking "Even the cows look pissed".
Posted by Anna at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)
February 5, 2008
Nothing like a good, old fashioned inquisition....
Inquisitor: "Do you live with your mom?"
Me: looking at him like he has three heads "No."
I: "Do you live in a house or an apartment?"
M: "House."
I: "Does your mother live around here?"
M: "No."
I: "Are you married yet?"
M: "I'm smarter than that, give me some credit."
I: "Do you have a boyfriend?"
M: "Why, do you have one you want to get rid of?"
Posted by Anna at 3:22 AM | Comments (0)
February 3, 2008
We interupt this weekend for tax filing.....
God bless H&R Block's free file. The hardest part? Figuring out where my 1098's had wandered off to.
Now back to our regularly scheduled program.
Posted by Anna at 1:40 PM | Comments (0)
February 1, 2008
What's wrong with the American Voter?
With "Super Tuesday" looming many voters are feeling dispassionate about the array of politicians vying for the presidency. The problem, as I see it, is not so much one of facing an uninspiring palate of candidates. The problem is that the American voter has allowed him/herself to fall completely out of touch with the media.
Most voters remain fixated on trivialities; the economy, war in Iraq, unemployment, social security, health care, etc, in spite of the media's attempts to turn our focus to bigger issues; race, gender and who can solicit the most money from special interest groups. Who can make a responsible decision at the voting booth when they aren't even sure which demographic they fall under?
As an example of the growing rift between voters and the media, I was in a meeting one day just after a key primary. One of my associates was voicing his irritation over the previous evenings election coverage being interrupted for a special news bulletin on Brittney Spears' hospitilization. This man, who is obviously out of touch with the crisis going on in the young pop stars life, will be making decisions which will affect his children and grandchildren.
My voting strategy will be to vote for the candidate with whom I vehemently disagree. Then, when they proceed to do everything completely opposite of what their campaign promises were, I will be happy.
Posted by Anna at 2:17 PM | Comments (0)