Random weird thoughts…

Between the work schedule, starting a weight loss blog, learning more indepth SEO concepts and working on the house - I have very little “free” time.

This weekend we’re working on the inside of our little home improvement project… there’s some drywall and mud work that needs doing.

The BF’s mother is coming over to help - great lady, love her to death - but there’s my point… It’s so much easier to say “the MIL” but, I’m not married, so I have to explain the relationship: my boyfriend’s mother. There needs to be some better term for that… Maybe: the NMIL (not-mother-in-law)?

Work is an interesting challenge… On the one hand, I recognize this has incredible potential. On the other, I’m not sure how well I’ll do at this interim part. It’s frustrating to say the least. Hopefully, it will also be rewarding.

Every time I reach a level where my frustration gets so intense I consider looking elsewhere, something happens to make me rethink it and wait.

I’ve reached a point where I think waiting is the best bet… But I’ve also reached a point where I’m not waiting quietly…

Back to the remodeling…

It went well, the exterior is basically done (needs trim paint…) and tonight, the jacuzzi - in its proper place, outside - felt wonderful!

I’ve been splogged again… Not on this blog, but on the weight loss one. I knew that would happen. Any time you hit popular keywords like “weight loss” you’re going to get all those spammy sites stealing your stuff. At least this one linked back to my site (as if there could be a good part to plagiarism???) but still without proper “real” credit. In fact, the “author” name wasn’t mine and linked to another site entirely.

What’s interesting is the new job has me really understanding what these folks are doing when they steal like that - which really pisses me off.

Thiefs beware - I don’t play nice when it comes to stealing my stuff!

I am always happy to share - when properly done…

And on that note - I’m so tired, so cooked by the jacuzzi, I’m incapable of stringing more coherent thought together and I shall bid everyone good night!

A Blog Was Born - a look into my amateur mind

Way back when, when I decided to start this silly thing called a blog, I really didn’t know what I would do with it. Mostly, I figured it was just an outlet for writing, spewing, ranting, holding forth and letting my writing flow without editorial effect (other than mine own…). I didn’t realize at the time it would become an obsession, a way to reach others, a way to find others and such an incredibly challenging, and yet rewarding “hobby” – and make no mistake, hobby it is. I’m an amateur by the strictest definition of the word –

1 : devotee admirer
2 : one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession

Basically, I do this for fun.

That said, there are times when it’s challenging to come up with content that is interesting, worthy of posting, etc. Sometimes I’m silly, sometimes serious, and floating around in various electronic places are snippets of posts started, thought processes began and monologues that went nowhere. Some are in desperate need of attention, and really should be taken out, dusted off and developed. Others deserve only the trash bin.

In that pile, however, are little bits of thoughts that I randomly jot down (I used to do that on paper – still do in fact but mostly it’s in my computer.) Along with those are bits and pieces of things past, memories more like a snapshot than a real memory – just the image of a single time, place or event – one image, nothing more. And let’s not forget the tidbits of trivia, random quotes and bits of songs and poetry lurking in those recesses of memory.

What to do with all of that? Where is this post going? Will it develop into something worthy of publication, or will it languish away, waiting for clearer thoughts, better words?

And what started this strange thing anyway?

This is the way my brain works…

Somehow or another, the little title “Rings-n-things” right here in my own space made me flash on the “rings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff” ala that magic dragon named Puff, which got me thinking of other “children’s” songs and poems that really were deeper than they appeared, which drove me to trying to recall that story/song/cartoon about Oblio, which started me thinking that I really need to update the movie quotes at the bottom of my profile on MommyMatter, which made me start wondering where I can find new material for quotes and my blog, which resulted in the starting of this post. And somewhere along the way, I started thinking monologues and soliloquies and Shakespeare, and all that tale told by an idiot stuff.

Whew! Nothing like a little stream of consciousness, now is there?

But now I have “Me and My Arrow” stuck in my head.

Geography makes all the difference!

On my visit to Duluth, coffee addict that I am, I discovered a coffee shop that was both incredibly cool and - for me at least - chuckle inducing.

You see, I live in Southern California, where the name of this place would be likely to incite riots.

Beaner’s Central is a cool little coffee house and small live venue for some pretty terrific music. The place has a really cool vibe and some equally great coffee. I had to buy one of their hand thrown clay mugs just to prove to my fellow Californians that such a place did exist. The place proudly proclaims that they compost and recycle everything possible.

Now, why can’t I find a great place like this locally? The closest I’ve come around here is Cosmos Coffee in La Mesa - and I do love Cosmos - great coffee, food’s pretty decent and the people watching outside is terrific, but… it’s just not quite the same as Beaner’s. Which, I have to say, is a pretty cute and clever name for a coffee shop, despite the fact that the name simply would not fly in the southwest.

Ah, what a difference geography makes!

It’s Howl-o-ween!

It’s Halloween time, my second, really, since leaving my ex – and I’m enjoying it. The first year, I was still in shock, still sort of dazed. I managed to buy candy just in case there were Trick or Treaters (there was one) and other then that, I did no decorating, nothing.

The kids go to the big Halloween carnival at the church… Sorry, it’s not a Halloween carnival, it’s City Hope or something like that, and it’s a Halloween Alternative. Anyway – it’s cool and it’s great. There are games, activities, candy, food and other fun stuff, and it’s free to the community. They also usually do the church’s big To Hell and Back sermon thingy… OK, great. Have fun, not my scene, thanks.

Meanwhile, I always loved Halloween. It’s that time of year when you get to poke fun at your fears. Maybe it’s my love of costuming, makeup and effects coming out – but I’ve always loved the haunted houses, creepy décor and eerie or gross makeup. But I spent 13 years unable to do any of that, and instead had to use “harvest theme” décor.

There were no witches, or vampires, or goblins, or things that go bump in the night in my children’s Halloween costume repertoire, nor were any of those things in my holiday décor. Nope, those things were considered “demonic”. Instead it was pumpkins, and scarecrows, and corn and cornucopia and it looked like an early Thanksgiving or something like that. I’m not into farm décor, thanks, but there I was slinging straw and gilding gourds. All I really wanted was to break out the black lights, spin some spider webs and get ghoulish.

So, this year, I decided to live a little.

My front door and patio area are adorned with wisps of cobweb. The stuff stretches all over the front door and meanders over the arch to trail along the plants and patio gate. On my front door is a sign, “The Witch Is In” – just because I thought it was cute, and propped right next to the door is an old-fashioned looking witch’s broom.

So far, that’s all I’ve done. I’ll likely do more. I’m torn between keeping it tame and borderline cutesy, as it is now, and turning it into a real ghoul-fest. I’ll probably go somewhere between, and opt for an old-fashioned, traditional haunted house look. The cutesy witch sign will make way for a cauldron (to be filled with dry ice come Halloween, for that eerie fog effect), the cobwebs will expand, and touches out of Gothic horror novels may appear. My front walk and patio area would make a perfect slice of ancient “dungeon” after all. Nothing to grisly, nothing too ghastly. No, I want the atmosphere that seeps in, not the one that slaps you in the face and becomes laughable.

My kids, meanwhile, those charming little munchkins I thought would be offended by the obvious change in style, instead love it. Both absconded with chunks of my webbing and have since adorned their beds with the gossamer stuff. (MAC even had some help from his old mom…) Their Dad would be outraged. No, strike that. He’d be quietly “disappointed” and would instead lecture, no – preach, at them regarding the deeper meaning and symbolism of using that spider web.

But not me! Nope! I’m free to enjoy being a little silly, free to grab on to that little piece of childhood that we can all still enjoy when it comes to silly holidays like Halloween. Yes, I know all about what the day is, where it came from and all that stuff. But to American children, it’s a day of silliness, or perhaps ghoulishness, where you can become the boogieman and laugh at that which otherwise frightens you. And the big bonus, you get candy for you efforts! As an adult, perhaps it’s a day to feel just a little bit like a kid again.

Yep, that’s it. I’m getting more decorations! And I’m stocking up on candy! Maybe we’ll get a few more Trick or Treaters this year, there are more kids in the complex now…

Pepper Spray - it ain’t just a seasoning…

As my kids have gotten older, and as I have learned to be less and less the over-protective parent and let them experience life, I have had to learn to let go, slowly, yes, but let go all the same. But I’m not an ostrich, I’m a concerned parent in the modern world facing the realities of safety.

I’m facing the facts that I have a teen who now wants to start riding the bus system so she can get around and meet her friends at the mall without having to worry about whether or not Mom can drive her there. Great. I like that idea. Heck, there’s even a bus that runs from just down the street to the very doors of the mall.

Then the parent in me has a heart attack. I gasp at the idea of sending my 13 year old onto a bus alone. I know I’ve taught her how to navigate public transit and she’s only going between home and the mall, and it’s during daylight hours, and … and … and …

I shudder to think that by her age, I was navigating the bus from our little rural community, into town, meeting my friends there then continuing on public transit to the beaches and not getting home till after dark. It was a different time. It wasn’t a different place. This is the same city, the same area I was in. In fact, my daughter will be going to the same mall where I would meet my friends to transfer to the next bus.

I have thought long and hard about this. I know she’s ready for this. She’s a responsible and smart kid. She knows how to stay within the limits I set for her and she’s going to be fine. Heck, at 13, she’s only a few short years away from driving. Oh yipe. So, all that is left for me to do, is get her a bus pass and a cell phone and let her go. Right?

Yeah, right. So I thought at the beginning of summer. I also thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get her a brief course on how not to be a victim. The NRA offers such courses, and they’re not about carrying a gun. And let’s see, I thought, what else? Oh yeah. A really loud whistle and maybe a thing of pepper spray.

Now, I think every person on earth has a right to defend themselves from criminal activity, especially against personal assault of any kind. I don’t care if the person in question wants to play dumb and hide, pretending they will never be a victim, or if they prefer to legally carry a firearm. That’s their right and their choice.

Now, I figured pepper spray would be an ideal thing for a reasonably mature and responsible teen to have. But first, I wanted to know the law. After slogging my way through an unbelievably complex, messy and ridiculously difficult pile of information on my state’s Web site, and finally actually having to call an attorney to find out the whole truth, I discovered some disconcerting facts.

It is not legal for a kid under 18 to carry pepper spray. Period. I don’t mean Mace, I mean Pepper Spray.

So, let me get this straight. This state will allow my teen to work as young as age 14, she can drive at 16, and be working some pretty late night hours during the summer, but she cannot carry even a small can of pepper spray?

Nope. After all was said and done, I found it was a misdemeanor for her to even be in possession of it and could be considered a felony should she actually use it, even if it was in defense of her life.

So much for that terrific idea. I’m not suggesting kids be allowed to carry spray into schools, or anything like that, but good grief, it seems you can’t turn on the news or read a paper anymore without hearing about some kid being abducted, and worse.

So, for now, the bus riding idea has been shelved. I’m just not ready for that. But I’m wondering what I’m going to do as time goes on, and she starts spending more time away from home, working, driving, etc? I can take her to all the classes available, I can make sure she has a cell phone, I can cross my fingers and pray, knowing that she’s sensible kid – but I cannot give my baby any thing else.