Friday, April 16, 2010

Random Observations: the sequel

And, here we go again.

-I had a dream the other night. Gus was in the dream, and he was not behaving particularly well. He was jumping up and trying to chew on my hands, just your typical, everyday, Gus-like behavior. But there was this other dog. Fairly large, and very blond. Like a straw colored golden retriever with crimped fur. Beautifully behaved dog. Understood the whole "heel" concept, didn't bark, nip or jump. Incredibly easy. What was abundantly clear to me in this dream was that this well behaved dog was absolutely not mine.

And what was the dog's name, you ask?

Life. The dog's name was Life. Lord help me.

-I made hummus from scatch the other day. If you have never done this, and you have a blender or a food processor, please get some chickpeas, some lemon and garlic, some tahini and some olive oil and make some soon. It is so good, and nothing like the premade stuff in the store. It's worth the effort. And God bless my old Logan buddy Sam for teaching me how to make it many years ago.

-Tiger Woods totally ruined Stevie Wonder for me. Blast you, you cheating...I can't think of a word that I can actually write that also expresses what a...see, I have no words for men like this. Famous or not. And the last thing I need in my life right now is another reason to believe that men will inevitably break my heart in any non-platonic situation. Shame on him. And shame on all the rest of them that seem both so insistent and so adept at giving men a bad name.

-What makes people think it's okay to move the furniture in a public place? I have a great job. Don't misunderstand me. But some of our patrons drive me batty. Like the guy who drags one of our chairs out of the window nook into the corner EVERY SINGLE DAY. I'm sure he doesn't even think twice about it. But we didn't put chairs in those corners for no reason. We very carefully measure the distance between rows and walls. We put furniture where it doesn't impede the flow of traffic, including for those in wheelchairs. Everyday, when he moves the chair and leaves it in the corner, what he never, never considers is the fact that because of his arrogance in moving furniture (THAT IS NOT HIS)and leaving it (instead of at least returning it to its place), if someone in a wheelchair comes in, they are screwed. But I think about that. And I think about moms with strollers trying to maneuver through that obstacle. I think about it, because I see them have to struggle. I see them have to ask for or accept help because of someone's daily thoughtlessness. So every morning I move that chair back to where it belongs. And I get more and more tired of feeling like some folks are being carried, and some folks are doing the carrying. And that's not a very Christlike attitude, I know.

I have a friend who says that Celestial people always put their shopping carts in the right place. I'm starting to believe her. And they don't do it because it's the rule or the law. They do it because they love other people, even people they don't know, and don't want to do anything that could hurt other people. They think about their actions, and the ramifications of those actions for someone other than themselves. I'm clearly not there yet (it would be a huge blow to my self-confidence if I was perfect and still HERE...), but I want to be, and I'm trying. And to everyone out there who carries my thoughtlessness, thank you. I'll learn.

-I wish I could keep an octopus as a pet, even though it would surely be much more trouble than Gus. They are just so cool. And really, really smart.

-Did you hear about the guy who left the super-secret prototype of the new iPhone in a bar? Bwahahahahahaha! Two words for you, dude: shirley temple. Or: bottled water. Or, just: Don't drink.

-I've given up Glee and Project Runway. I was watching PR a couple of weeks ago, and as one of the designers was discussing another designer, I just realized that these are not nice people. That's not entirely true. The guy that won this year, I actually thought he was pretty classy through most of it. But most of them are really mean to each other. I don't know if it's the producers that provoke the kind of catty meanness that pervades that show, or if the designers are just really that petty, but I realized that as entertaining as the process and the products are, I just can't rationalize watching people be awful to each other. So no more PR for me.

With Glee, my little niece taught me a huge lesson. She watched part of an episode, and she wanted to watch the rest of it. But I realized that as fun and cute as part of it is, there would be things that she would have questions about--things that she shouldn't be thinking about at seven years old. I'm not one of those people who think everything an adult watches should be appropriate for a kid, too. That's just not realistic most of the time. But I started to realize that the attitudes and ideologies that I didn't want little Susanna to absorb are attitudes and ideologies that I'm not okay with absorbing either.

I've been thinking a lot lately about where I cast my eyes. Where do I look? Because where I put my eyes is where my desires will be. My desires will shape my values, and eventually my actions. As entertaining as both PR and Glee are, I don't really want to cast my eyes on Ryan Murphy or the Weinsteins anymore. I don't want them shaping my desires, my values or my actions at all. I'm ready to sacrifice those things to cast my eyes on something better.

I really wish, though, that Project Runway could cut all the meanness and pettiness out. I think it could still be both fascinating and funny, and I love watching them work and seeing what they come up with. Oh well. We all know that's not going to happen.

That's it. I haven't been thinking about anything funny lately. Joel needs to finish law school and go back to blogging. I miss the greatest blog in the universe. Oh, and I just gotta say, it has been the most beautiful week of the year. The teacup magnolias were gorgeous, and the cherry blossoms. Oh, the cherry blossoms! And I love little green buds on trees. Don't you think we could use extended spring? I could totally give up about six weeks of winter for more of this beauty. Now, if I can just get the garden ready to plant in two weeks, all will be well with the world.

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