Last night, rather late, I was going to make a quick post just to see if I could do it instead of the usual agonize over it for 2 hours kind. But when I tried to go online I got the irritating message “This page could not be displayed, etc, etc.”
It was a sign that I should go to bed and get some rest so I wouldn’t fall asleep over the keyboard today like I did yesterday. I need 6 hours of sleep, no more, no less. Lately I’ve been trying to get away with less.
Did you know that if you fall asleep with your finger on the enter key you can wake up and find 69 pages of returns?
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
THE PEOPLE ON THE BUS sequel to the Wheels on the Bus
People,
Like colors
Of the rainbow,
Add variety to our days
As they arc across our lives.
I can only assume that there are unwritten bus riding rules that state:
1) A single passenger entering the bus must occupy one seat of any remaining double seat until aforementioned double seats are all occupied by a passenger. Only then is a rider allowed to take a seat next to an occupied seat. This will assure that couples or close friends will not be allowed to sit together unless one of them leaves work early and walks 3 blocks to get on at an earlier stop or stands in line for 15 minutes in order to claim a double seat.
2) A single rider may sit on the aisle seat and plunk his/her bag on the seat next to them in order to keep both seats. This action may be nullified only if the bus is totally full or if some brave soul dares to ask to sit there.
But then there is George who takes a double seat and then gives it to us so dh and I can sit together. I’d like to meet George’s wife. She is brave enough to pull in front of the bus and stop so that he can get on, causing one bus driver to say, “That’s the first time I’ve been pulled over by a Camry!”
One morning we had just left the transit station when one of the passengers went to the front of the bus and asked the driver to stop. He stopped and the passenger walked quickly toward the gas station as we drove on. It wasn’t until the next morning that we found out the problem….diarrhea attack!
There are a number of approved activities for the hour long bus ride:
Sleep (with or without snoring)
Read scriptures or other books or at least start to read before you fall asleep.
Knit or crochet.
Apply make-up.
Tie the necktie which you threw around your neck as you ran out the door.
Solve Sudoko puzzles.
Play games on palm pilots.
Work or play on computers.
Conduct business on the phone.
Visit with your neighbor even if he his trying to finish an assignment on his computer.
Stare out the window.
Put on ear phones and listen to music. (Best if just loud enough for others to hear a teasing bit of percussion).
Listen to books on tape or conference talks on ipods.
Watch movies on your new minature DVD player. This only happened in January. The novelty must have worn off.
Observe other passengers.
The first and last on the list are my two favorites.
We like to give our fellow riders nicknames:
Roadrunner sits as close to the front as possible, often jockeying for departure position. He gets off at the most popular stop and takes off with a long stride that has him up to the corner and sometimes across the street before the last of the departing passengers are off the bus. We’ve seen him in the cafeteria and he eats like he rides the bus. He can down a hamburger in 4 bites.
Bag Lady gets on a few stops after us. She has long red hair, loud clothes, drags a huge bag on rollers up the steps with two more bags plus her purse. She wears ear muffs and overpowering, sickly sweet, heavy, sting your nose, “I took a bath in it” perfume. Can you tell the perfume really gets to me?
The Tall Man must get off work one minute before the bus arrives. He runs across the street (jaywalking of course) and barely makes the bus. On crowded days he often has to stand in the aisle on the way home with his head almost scraping the ceiling.
The Lawyer reads her scriptures, takes a blanket out of her bag, puts a mask over her eyes, curls up and goes to sleep. Since she’s a lawyer no one dares question the fact that she takes up two seats. See rule number 2 above. I like her because one day she loaned me an extra pair of reading glasses when I left mine in the car.
Victor (That’s his real name.) strikes up a conversation with whomever he is next to and maintains it the whole trip. He knows everyone by name even the bus drivers. He seems to have an aversion to wearing suits on the bus as he wears casual clothes and then changes at work.
Good Morning, America doesn’t ride the bus anymore. I miss him. He always got on and greeted us all with a smile and a loud, “GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE.”
I just have to add my pet peeve:
Cell Phone Users who talk at TOP VOLUME on their cell phones all the way home. They must have a better calling plan than I do. One young man stood three seats behind me and called one person after another and spoke L-O-U-D-L-Y to them the entire trip. I was about ready to ask him to put his phone on speaker phone. We might as well have listened to the whole conversation as we were being forced to hear his three-fourths of it.
I will miss our fellow passengers when we’re no longer taking the bus. We will have to occasionally make the trip just to say, “Good morning, everyone”.
Like colors
Of the rainbow,
Add variety to our days
As they arc across our lives.
I can only assume that there are unwritten bus riding rules that state:
1) A single passenger entering the bus must occupy one seat of any remaining double seat until aforementioned double seats are all occupied by a passenger. Only then is a rider allowed to take a seat next to an occupied seat. This will assure that couples or close friends will not be allowed to sit together unless one of them leaves work early and walks 3 blocks to get on at an earlier stop or stands in line for 15 minutes in order to claim a double seat.
2) A single rider may sit on the aisle seat and plunk his/her bag on the seat next to them in order to keep both seats. This action may be nullified only if the bus is totally full or if some brave soul dares to ask to sit there.
But then there is George who takes a double seat and then gives it to us so dh and I can sit together. I’d like to meet George’s wife. She is brave enough to pull in front of the bus and stop so that he can get on, causing one bus driver to say, “That’s the first time I’ve been pulled over by a Camry!”
One morning we had just left the transit station when one of the passengers went to the front of the bus and asked the driver to stop. He stopped and the passenger walked quickly toward the gas station as we drove on. It wasn’t until the next morning that we found out the problem….diarrhea attack!
There are a number of approved activities for the hour long bus ride:
Sleep (with or without snoring)
Read scriptures or other books or at least start to read before you fall asleep.
Knit or crochet.
Apply make-up.
Tie the necktie which you threw around your neck as you ran out the door.
Solve Sudoko puzzles.
Play games on palm pilots.
Work or play on computers.
Conduct business on the phone.
Visit with your neighbor even if he his trying to finish an assignment on his computer.
Stare out the window.
Put on ear phones and listen to music. (Best if just loud enough for others to hear a teasing bit of percussion).
Listen to books on tape or conference talks on ipods.
Watch movies on your new minature DVD player. This only happened in January. The novelty must have worn off.
Observe other passengers.
The first and last on the list are my two favorites.
We like to give our fellow riders nicknames:
Roadrunner sits as close to the front as possible, often jockeying for departure position. He gets off at the most popular stop and takes off with a long stride that has him up to the corner and sometimes across the street before the last of the departing passengers are off the bus. We’ve seen him in the cafeteria and he eats like he rides the bus. He can down a hamburger in 4 bites.
Bag Lady gets on a few stops after us. She has long red hair, loud clothes, drags a huge bag on rollers up the steps with two more bags plus her purse. She wears ear muffs and overpowering, sickly sweet, heavy, sting your nose, “I took a bath in it” perfume. Can you tell the perfume really gets to me?
The Tall Man must get off work one minute before the bus arrives. He runs across the street (jaywalking of course) and barely makes the bus. On crowded days he often has to stand in the aisle on the way home with his head almost scraping the ceiling.
The Lawyer reads her scriptures, takes a blanket out of her bag, puts a mask over her eyes, curls up and goes to sleep. Since she’s a lawyer no one dares question the fact that she takes up two seats. See rule number 2 above. I like her because one day she loaned me an extra pair of reading glasses when I left mine in the car.
Victor (That’s his real name.) strikes up a conversation with whomever he is next to and maintains it the whole trip. He knows everyone by name even the bus drivers. He seems to have an aversion to wearing suits on the bus as he wears casual clothes and then changes at work.
Good Morning, America doesn’t ride the bus anymore. I miss him. He always got on and greeted us all with a smile and a loud, “GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE.”
I just have to add my pet peeve:
Cell Phone Users who talk at TOP VOLUME on their cell phones all the way home. They must have a better calling plan than I do. One young man stood three seats behind me and called one person after another and spoke L-O-U-D-L-Y to them the entire trip. I was about ready to ask him to put his phone on speaker phone. We might as well have listened to the whole conversation as we were being forced to hear his three-fourths of it.
I will miss our fellow passengers when we’re no longer taking the bus. We will have to occasionally make the trip just to say, “Good morning, everyone”.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
WACKY WEDNESDAY
This was one of “those days.” Nothing was going right.
Started out with a bad headache for the FIFTH day in a row.
My hair would not cooperate. DH said I was beautiful anyway. He’s funny that way.
About an hour into the work day I was kindly informed that my blouse was ripped out in the back under-arm seam. My 2 month old blouse was literally falling apart. Not just in the arm seam but in two other seams as well. Fortunately I had worn a jacket. Unfortunately it was too hot to keep on all day. I kept my arms down and my shoulders back. Aha! New way to improve your posture.
I had a deadline to meet before 9:20. Thought about skipping prayer meeting. Not a good idea since I had the scripture thought and I need all the prayers I can get.
The headache and accompanying nausea were making it hard to concentrate, so I finally decided to take the really strong medication which gets rid of the headache but makes it hard to stay awake. The two Tylenol from earlier were not making one bit of difference.
Made the deadline (barely) but had to ask David (my sanity saver) to check it to make sure I hadn’t made any really stupid mistakes.
Feeling really overloaded and gloomy. I didn’t even feel I had time to read one single blog. Now that’s really sad!
Moved groggily on to the next deadline which was looking really overwhelming. I was close to tears.
Our supervisor came in and said, “I don’t think I have told you lately how very much I appreciate both of you and everything you do.”
Wow! It’s amazing how fast the sun can come out!
The day was still busy but it was a good day.
Thank someone today. You may change their whole outlook.
Scripture thought:
Joshua 24:15 . . . Choose ye this day whom ye will serve; . . . But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
In today’s crazy world with so many demands on our time and loyalties, it’s important to know who’s on the Lord’s side.
I’m grateful for this opportunity to serve the Lord and am convinced that all else will fall into place even on wacky days.
Started out with a bad headache for the FIFTH day in a row.
My hair would not cooperate. DH said I was beautiful anyway. He’s funny that way.
About an hour into the work day I was kindly informed that my blouse was ripped out in the back under-arm seam. My 2 month old blouse was literally falling apart. Not just in the arm seam but in two other seams as well. Fortunately I had worn a jacket. Unfortunately it was too hot to keep on all day. I kept my arms down and my shoulders back. Aha! New way to improve your posture.
I had a deadline to meet before 9:20. Thought about skipping prayer meeting. Not a good idea since I had the scripture thought and I need all the prayers I can get.
The headache and accompanying nausea were making it hard to concentrate, so I finally decided to take the really strong medication which gets rid of the headache but makes it hard to stay awake. The two Tylenol from earlier were not making one bit of difference.
Made the deadline (barely) but had to ask David (my sanity saver) to check it to make sure I hadn’t made any really stupid mistakes.
Feeling really overloaded and gloomy. I didn’t even feel I had time to read one single blog. Now that’s really sad!
Moved groggily on to the next deadline which was looking really overwhelming. I was close to tears.
Our supervisor came in and said, “I don’t think I have told you lately how very much I appreciate both of you and everything you do.”
Wow! It’s amazing how fast the sun can come out!
The day was still busy but it was a good day.
Thank someone today. You may change their whole outlook.
Scripture thought:
Joshua 24:15 . . . Choose ye this day whom ye will serve; . . . But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
In today’s crazy world with so many demands on our time and loyalties, it’s important to know who’s on the Lord’s side.
I’m grateful for this opportunity to serve the Lord and am convinced that all else will fall into place even on wacky days.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
TO OBSESS OR NOT
When I first read meme on Julie’s blog I thought she had misspelled memo. But then she tagged me. I'll get even someday.
Right now I’m obsessed with 5 things: my family, house plans, the Bible, Julie’s blog, and all the things I am not getting done. All interconnected.
1. I have a great family and I love it when we all get together. My nine children are very supportive of each other and enjoy each other’s company, so I ‘m grateful that most of them live relatively close to us. They are all grown and basically on their own. The “baby” will graduate next month from law school. There are now 17 grandchildren ranging from 11 to almost 2 weeks. I have super in-laws, too. I dearly love them all.
2. My family leads to my second obsession, house plans. When we all get together, our house is way too small, so at an age when most people downsize we are making plans to build a house with a great room and a large open kitchen. Do you have any idea how noisy it can get in a small kitchen and a 15’ x 17’ living room with 30 people all eating and having fun, with an occasional crying child thrown into the mix? We bought a lot to build on several years ago and have learned much about planning a house, developing a cul-de-sac, working with people who don’t do what they say they will do and then charging you for it, how long it takes for the city to approve development plans, etc. I have planned every square foot of our house (several times) and am convinced that once it is done I will know much better how it should have been done. The plans have evolved over a period of more than two years and are very different from what we started with. Hopefully, we can actually start building in a month.
3. The Bible keeps us busy all day as that is what our assignment is on our mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Since I spend about 5-7 hours a day proofreading the revisions, footnotes, input corrections, etc., along with making sure everything is where it’s supposed to be, I have become quite friendly with the Bible. It’s a fascinating book. The Old Testament is challenging, beautiful, ugly, poetic, shocking, frustrating and inspirational all at the same time. There is so much to learn from the mistakes and achievements of others. Isn’t that life?
4. I don’t let myself write in my blog while I’m at the Church Office Building but I do read Mental Tesserae and a few others plus the comments when I need a break. (See Blogs I've stumbled on over to the right there.) Did you know that Pres. Hinckley (president and prophet of the LDS Church) said that people over 50 should put their feet up for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon? At least that’s what I’ve heard, so that’s my excuse. It helps maintain good circulation in one’s legs. Poor circulation is a problem most of you still have to look forward to. But, I digress. I enjoy reading what other people are thinking and experiencing. Hence the blog obsession.
5. All of the above contribute to the fifth obsession: All that I’m not getting done. I was going to make a list but it got too overwhelming. Suffice it to say that paperwork, laundry, messy closets, cluttered cupboards, the garage which will not permit a car to enter and the front porch head the top of a long list. The front porch is the worst. A year ago we had a flood in the basement – of the worst kind! Sewer back-up! They call it black water, but it looked brown to me. We were standing in 3 to 5 inches of “poop water” trying to get stuff out. “Black water” contaminates anything it touches so speed was of the essence. It’s known as forced dejunking. We carried stuff out to the trash, the porch and to the neighbor’s huge garage. They volunteered. Why is there still stuff on the front porch a year later? Well, after tearing out and replacing the bottom 2 feet of the walls, repainting and recarpeting which necessitated taking EVERYTHING out of the basement, I don’t want to just haul everything back downstairs without going through it. Every time I start to go through it I don’t know where to put the stuff, especially things that aren’t mine. (The next time I raise 9 kids there will be a rule that when you move out you take everything with you.) The fact that I hate to throw away anything I might use someday contributes to the problem. So I make a futile attempt and decide to tackle it later. The only thing that saves us from being a total neighborhood disgrace is that there are large overgrown shrubs which hide most of the boxes and stuff.
Speaking of overgrown, this post is out of control so I’ll end and go make another attempt on the porch.
Right now I’m obsessed with 5 things: my family, house plans, the Bible, Julie’s blog, and all the things I am not getting done. All interconnected.
1. I have a great family and I love it when we all get together. My nine children are very supportive of each other and enjoy each other’s company, so I ‘m grateful that most of them live relatively close to us. They are all grown and basically on their own. The “baby” will graduate next month from law school. There are now 17 grandchildren ranging from 11 to almost 2 weeks. I have super in-laws, too. I dearly love them all.
2. My family leads to my second obsession, house plans. When we all get together, our house is way too small, so at an age when most people downsize we are making plans to build a house with a great room and a large open kitchen. Do you have any idea how noisy it can get in a small kitchen and a 15’ x 17’ living room with 30 people all eating and having fun, with an occasional crying child thrown into the mix? We bought a lot to build on several years ago and have learned much about planning a house, developing a cul-de-sac, working with people who don’t do what they say they will do and then charging you for it, how long it takes for the city to approve development plans, etc. I have planned every square foot of our house (several times) and am convinced that once it is done I will know much better how it should have been done. The plans have evolved over a period of more than two years and are very different from what we started with. Hopefully, we can actually start building in a month.
3. The Bible keeps us busy all day as that is what our assignment is on our mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Since I spend about 5-7 hours a day proofreading the revisions, footnotes, input corrections, etc., along with making sure everything is where it’s supposed to be, I have become quite friendly with the Bible. It’s a fascinating book. The Old Testament is challenging, beautiful, ugly, poetic, shocking, frustrating and inspirational all at the same time. There is so much to learn from the mistakes and achievements of others. Isn’t that life?
4. I don’t let myself write in my blog while I’m at the Church Office Building but I do read Mental Tesserae and a few others plus the comments when I need a break. (See Blogs I've stumbled on over to the right there.) Did you know that Pres. Hinckley (president and prophet of the LDS Church) said that people over 50 should put their feet up for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon? At least that’s what I’ve heard, so that’s my excuse. It helps maintain good circulation in one’s legs. Poor circulation is a problem most of you still have to look forward to. But, I digress. I enjoy reading what other people are thinking and experiencing. Hence the blog obsession.
5. All of the above contribute to the fifth obsession: All that I’m not getting done. I was going to make a list but it got too overwhelming. Suffice it to say that paperwork, laundry, messy closets, cluttered cupboards, the garage which will not permit a car to enter and the front porch head the top of a long list. The front porch is the worst. A year ago we had a flood in the basement – of the worst kind! Sewer back-up! They call it black water, but it looked brown to me. We were standing in 3 to 5 inches of “poop water” trying to get stuff out. “Black water” contaminates anything it touches so speed was of the essence. It’s known as forced dejunking. We carried stuff out to the trash, the porch and to the neighbor’s huge garage. They volunteered. Why is there still stuff on the front porch a year later? Well, after tearing out and replacing the bottom 2 feet of the walls, repainting and recarpeting which necessitated taking EVERYTHING out of the basement, I don’t want to just haul everything back downstairs without going through it. Every time I start to go through it I don’t know where to put the stuff, especially things that aren’t mine. (The next time I raise 9 kids there will be a rule that when you move out you take everything with you.) The fact that I hate to throw away anything I might use someday contributes to the problem. So I make a futile attempt and decide to tackle it later. The only thing that saves us from being a total neighborhood disgrace is that there are large overgrown shrubs which hide most of the boxes and stuff.
Speaking of overgrown, this post is out of control so I’ll end and go make another attempt on the porch.
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