Last Sunday at church the speaker mentioned our living in a complex world. Steven leaned over to me and said, "So, would that be worldi?"
I spent the next few minutes wondering what negative world squared would be like.
And that is why we're married.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Ace is the Place
...at least if you value customer service. I have never had a good customer service experience at Lowe's - quite the contrary. Every time I go - every single time - I end up frustrated because:
1) I can never find anyone to help me
2) When I am actually able to find someone, they are decidedly unhelpful: usually rude, unknowledgeable, indifferent, and lazy
3) It takes contacting at least 4 of these people to actually get someone who has any idea what I'm talking about. And I have to find all of them myself - they certainly will not put forth any effort to find each other.
I do like Lowe's Valspar paint. That's about all I like about their store.
In contrast, every time I've gone to Ace, the people have been friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. I am willing to pay a few dollars' price difference, if that, to get someone who is willing and able to help me.
1) I can never find anyone to help me
2) When I am actually able to find someone, they are decidedly unhelpful: usually rude, unknowledgeable, indifferent, and lazy
3) It takes contacting at least 4 of these people to actually get someone who has any idea what I'm talking about. And I have to find all of them myself - they certainly will not put forth any effort to find each other.
I do like Lowe's Valspar paint. That's about all I like about their store.
In contrast, every time I've gone to Ace, the people have been friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. I am willing to pay a few dollars' price difference, if that, to get someone who is willing and able to help me.
Friday, January 30, 2009
A return to nice
When did people decide that it was okay to be jerks to each other?
I remember when, as a teenager, I brilliantly deduced that I could and should act however I felt inclined because it would be "dishonest" not to. Meaning that, if I woke up and felt like a grump, I was perfectly justified in behaving like a grump, because to try to disguise it would be a lie. If someone asked me a question and I didn't feel like answering, I would just ignore them. If I didn't feel like smiling (and most of the time, I didn't), I wouldn't. Logically, it worked out. Kind of.
The problem is that, when you get down to it, logic and rightness - and even honesty - aren't what life's about at all. They're things to think about and occupy yourself with, but they don't make up the meat of what living actually is. I was very grateful to grow up and rediscover that all the importance in life comes from our relationships and happiness, in feeling happy and making others feel happy too. It seems ridiculous that I could have lost sight of this, since I've always liked feeling happy and appreciated others who treated me with kindness. I guess I'm using a lot of words to try to describe a simple concept: Me like happy. You too?
So, it really bothers me when I hear or read things that are meant to make someone else feel bad. Political mudslinging or slams; digs on online forums; nasty comments made under the cloak of online anonymity; hateful, self-serving protests - there's a whole accepted culture of meanness. It makes me assume that these individuals haven't grown out of the same kind of adolescent funk I was in, and feel impatient for them to do so. Why can't we all be honestly, intentionally nice to each other?
I remember when, as a teenager, I brilliantly deduced that I could and should act however I felt inclined because it would be "dishonest" not to. Meaning that, if I woke up and felt like a grump, I was perfectly justified in behaving like a grump, because to try to disguise it would be a lie. If someone asked me a question and I didn't feel like answering, I would just ignore them. If I didn't feel like smiling (and most of the time, I didn't), I wouldn't. Logically, it worked out. Kind of.
The problem is that, when you get down to it, logic and rightness - and even honesty - aren't what life's about at all. They're things to think about and occupy yourself with, but they don't make up the meat of what living actually is. I was very grateful to grow up and rediscover that all the importance in life comes from our relationships and happiness, in feeling happy and making others feel happy too. It seems ridiculous that I could have lost sight of this, since I've always liked feeling happy and appreciated others who treated me with kindness. I guess I'm using a lot of words to try to describe a simple concept: Me like happy. You too?
So, it really bothers me when I hear or read things that are meant to make someone else feel bad. Political mudslinging or slams; digs on online forums; nasty comments made under the cloak of online anonymity; hateful, self-serving protests - there's a whole accepted culture of meanness. It makes me assume that these individuals haven't grown out of the same kind of adolescent funk I was in, and feel impatient for them to do so. Why can't we all be honestly, intentionally nice to each other?
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Cause graph
This morning when I woke up for good at 4:00 am - for the third time this week - and started thinking about life's injustices and potential blog posts - also a repeat experience for that hour - I came up with this (based on Indexed):
Monday, January 26, 2009
Awww
Last week I had to get up early to go to a doctor's appointment. I looked like this:
After showering, I went in to get Olivia. She looked like this:
All cuddled up with her blankie, and with her little feet curled up together...I wanted to wake her up, but I just couldn't. I left the door open and she woke up in just a few minutes, but even that made me sad.
This is week 37 for Baby Girl and me, which means that she could come any time. Olivia showed up a week before her due date, and that's kind of what I'm shooting for again. I've been alternating between feeling pretty comfortable where I am in this pregnancy, and feeling not so comfortable at all.
The whole concept of delivering another independently living creature into the world is so incredible. I'm very excited to meet her.
And, while I'm talking about pregnancy, here are a couple of my dirty little pregnancy secrets. Don't tell my OB, now.
* I don't take "prenatal vitamins." Those things are huge, like horse pills, and I just don't like swallowing them. Instead, I eat fruity-flavored children's chewable vitamins (plus folic acid) and make sure I have a balanced diet. It worked with Olivia, and it's worked with this baby - I've never had a checkup or a test that found anything lacking with my system. I figure it's better for me to take something that I actually feel inclined to take than grudgingly force myself to swallow vitamins that I hate and am tempted to forget about. So, when my doctor asks if I'm taking my prenatal vitamins, I just think, "Well, I'm prenatal, and they're vitamins," and say, "Yes. Yes I am."
* I think it's fun to give my baby "earthquakes" every once in a while - just jiggle her up to make her move. I've also noticed that she responds when I scratch my belly, and then I like to scratch her little feet-bumps.
* I believe in going jogging to induce labor. My mom's getting here on February 7th, upon which you may expect to see a big belly in little red running shorts doing a fast waddle all over Humble.
After showering, I went in to get Olivia. She looked like this:
All cuddled up with her blankie, and with her little feet curled up together...I wanted to wake her up, but I just couldn't. I left the door open and she woke up in just a few minutes, but even that made me sad.
This is week 37 for Baby Girl and me, which means that she could come any time. Olivia showed up a week before her due date, and that's kind of what I'm shooting for again. I've been alternating between feeling pretty comfortable where I am in this pregnancy, and feeling not so comfortable at all.
The whole concept of delivering another independently living creature into the world is so incredible. I'm very excited to meet her.
And, while I'm talking about pregnancy, here are a couple of my dirty little pregnancy secrets. Don't tell my OB, now.
* I don't take "prenatal vitamins." Those things are huge, like horse pills, and I just don't like swallowing them. Instead, I eat fruity-flavored children's chewable vitamins (plus folic acid) and make sure I have a balanced diet. It worked with Olivia, and it's worked with this baby - I've never had a checkup or a test that found anything lacking with my system. I figure it's better for me to take something that I actually feel inclined to take than grudgingly force myself to swallow vitamins that I hate and am tempted to forget about. So, when my doctor asks if I'm taking my prenatal vitamins, I just think, "Well, I'm prenatal, and they're vitamins," and say, "Yes. Yes I am."
* I think it's fun to give my baby "earthquakes" every once in a while - just jiggle her up to make her move. I've also noticed that she responds when I scratch my belly, and then I like to scratch her little feet-bumps.
* I believe in going jogging to induce labor. My mom's getting here on February 7th, upon which you may expect to see a big belly in little red running shorts doing a fast waddle all over Humble.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Ready
I have been in major nesting mode lately. I didn't really get a chance to nest when I was pregnant with Olivia. I was so busy trying to get annual reports written in time for my job that I didn't have extra time to do much of anything, and she came a week early - pretty much as soon as I'd finished.
The downside of that was that when I came home from the hospital, I bawled and bawled because our carpets weren't clean - how could I bring home a new baby to a house with dirty carpets?
Anyway, on Friday I called the carpet cleaners. Now that ugly spot in the library is gone, and all our rooms feel so light and fluffy I could just cry with happiness. At least we won't have to worry about that!
The downside of that was that when I came home from the hospital, I bawled and bawled because our carpets weren't clean - how could I bring home a new baby to a house with dirty carpets?
Anyway, on Friday I called the carpet cleaners. Now that ugly spot in the library is gone, and all our rooms feel so light and fluffy I could just cry with happiness. At least we won't have to worry about that!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Inflation
I have a monthly prescription. For years, it has not changed. It’s the same medication, in the same amount, in the same form, and the same quantity gets refilled every time. And, up until a couple of months ago, these refills all came in about the same size of bottle.
Look at that last one! With every refill, the bottles kept getting bigger and bigger. I was fully expecting to get a 10-gallon bucket one of these days, just for 30 tiny little pills. (We’re finally back to normal size, though.)
Look at that last one! With every refill, the bottles kept getting bigger and bigger. I was fully expecting to get a 10-gallon bucket one of these days, just for 30 tiny little pills. (We’re finally back to normal size, though.)
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