Now that it is October, rather the middle of it, I thought it high time to drag out my Halloween decorations. In September, once we reached the fall equinox, the cold nights had set in and the trees were changing color. I found it appropriate to set out my fall decorations. I’m sad to kiss summer goodbye but changing seasons is a reality in the Midwest.
I like fall. It’s one of my favorite seasons. I love Halloween. I’m not into scary gory creepy stuff. I am definitively not into spiders or any other large insects. But, hey, any holiday that comes with candy is okay by me.
I was in the mood for Halloween after working on horror films for the last two months. One horror film was about scarecrow zombies and one was about a haunted house. I knew about “ghost rules” before but I learned a lot about zombies. For example, zombies are after brains. Who knew?
In the theme of zombies, I found a great present for a friend in another state. I always send more of a gag present for her birthday. This year I found some books that were corporation style manuals about zombies and zombie management styles. Now, that I think of it, there are a lot of zombies in corporate America. A manual is a practical present after all.
The entire time that I was outside decorating, I was actually supposed to be operating as a self employed business woman who writes articles for magazines and companies for their internet. But, my artistic child wanted to put out Halloween items. I’m a sucker for children so it was easy for my artistic child to win out.
At the moment, we have no real children home to help decorate. This is pretty much a moot point because they stopped helping me decorate for anything several years ago. Although, I do get some occasional help if that particular child has a party planned. Ours is the house that often hosts the New Years, Valentine, St. Patrick’s Day, May Day, Fourth of July, Halloween or any other party. But, I have decorations for lots of seasons and holidays and today was the day to deck our outside for Halloween.
To be fair, I occasionally get help from my husband, Pat. Actually, I get help from him whenever I ask for it. But, he’s usually far more trouble than he’s worth so it can be risky and tricky to ask for help. Besides, right now he’s recovering from an outpatient laparoscopic hernia operation. No sense risking any complications there! So, he’s inside and has happily assumed the position in the recliner with the TV remote control. He is flicking from spaghetti westerns to nerd TV programs. Once in a while he wanders across a “He Man” program.
“He Man’ programs are reality TV programs about people who drive trucks across icy roads in Alaska, chop down trees in various parts of the country, or who catch big fish in the ocean for a living. I am sure all of these programs transmit testosterone through the airwaves to the remote where it can be absorbed through the skin by the holder of the remote. This is just in case any dude needs a top off of the guy stuff.
Decorating outside was a little more fun this year because I had my IPod to keep me company. I IPod is just loaded with tunes. I’ve discovered the CDs at the library. So, I regularly check them out and add to my music library. It doesn’t get much more fun than this.
So, when my artistic child asked me “Are You Ready”, I just Cast my Fate to the Wind, while Sloopy hung on as I staked out little lighted pumpkin warriors to protect all of us from the Eve of Destruction. I found that I didn’t really need any Help with this decorating adventure. My lilac bushes are sporting little cotton ghosts which hang from a branch on a string and Turn Turn Turn whenever it is Windy. Sometimes, the wind makes the lilac branches dance and the little ghosts go bouncing, a bit like a carnival ride. But the ghosts don’t mind as they have a Ticket To Ride. At night, in the light from the moon and the streetlamp these fun little ghosts can cast eerie Silhouettes.
Okay, if any of this sounds contrived, let me remind you that exercises in fantasy are what we do around here, baby! How awesome is that?
The IPod really is an inspirational tool. I wore it while mowing the grass and worked out a number of thoughts about upcoming books and passages in books that I am writing. It allows me to retreat to a sacred space where I can create. Some really special place where time stops and writing goes on and on, free from interruptions.
One of my projects at the moment is turning a basement bedroom into my office. I am almost drooling at the thought. At the moment, my “office” is located in the dining room, where I am prey to any number of distractions. Most of the distractions come on two feet and those feet are often in rather stinky men’s size 8 and a half bike shoes. The basement will be a haven.
Further, I can turn my artistic child loose. We can nail up a creative vision board on the wall, cut out all the inspirational pictures we want, pound nail holes anywhere we want, write on the walls and do just about anything else we want. All in the name of the story. Take that corporate America! This kind of behavior isn’t permitted in cubeville, I am sure.
Actually, I recently had the “pleasure” of reading some companies human resources manuals recently. Some companies won’t let their employees put up anything at their “workstation”. Pictures of kids, pets, friends, and anyone else are contraband. The same company allowed employees to have a calendar but only one. Hmm. Wonder if it was a conflict of interest if the calendar had pictures. Sigh. Silliness. There’s only one way to combat this kind of thinking. My artistic child wants an ice cream cone right now. And this is about to become a wish come true because the last time my artistic child and I went shopping, we bought an ice cream scoop, ice cream cones and ice cream. No sense saying good bye to summer without keeping on a few of the good parts.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Abba Blabba Do
It’s another lovely autumn day. I am multitasking – updating this blog while loading my CDs onto my laptop so they can go on my IPod. Hey, just because I’m old doesn’t make me a square.
In the meantime, two of my daughters are happily flitting about Europe because all of the world, literally, is their playground. One is in England doing a semester abroad study program through her college. The other is in Ireland doing an art internship, which resulted from a study abroad program at her college.
Back to my IPod. I’m rather proud of this. I got the IPod six months ago and took it out of the package the morning of my husband’s trip to outpatient surgery for a hernia operation. I knew without daughters to keep me company and entertain me, I needed reinforcements. Electronic reinforcements will do just fine.
So now I have over 2000 tunes on my IPod and lovely noise canceling Bose headphones to listen to them. It only took me three pairs of Bose headphones to get to this state of almost euphorbia. I had a pair of Bose headphones before. I also had music on my old laptop. I liked my old laptop but it was big, clunky and heavy. Very heavy. I used it while traveling back and forth to Chicago every other week. I had to take it out of the briefcase and put it in a bin to go through security then shove it back in my briefcase and trudge to my terminal. This isn’t too bad in the Des Moines airport, but it can be challenging at O’Hare. But there were benefits – I am sure it made my wrists strong.
I also worked in a cube. I hate cubes. I hate working in offices where anyone has to sit in a cube. Cubes are basically just awful. This is why innovative companies don’t have them. Innovative companies put people in private offices where they found their employees are far far more productive. This is understandable. The “cube” concept must be a hold over from those one room school houses they had in the 1800s. The ones where children just sat in desks in the same room regardless of their grade. This didn’t work then and it doesn’t work now. It is basically distracting and an impediment to learning.
So when one works for a company that isn’t proactive enough to put everyone in a private office one simply needs noise canceling headphones. Therefore, I rescued myself from this predicament compliments of the Bose company. I loved those headphones, but I left this job and didn’t need the headphones so much. Then, my music loving artist daughter came home and discovered them. Of course, I gave them to her. She uses them regularly and loves them too.
Then our youngest daughter put a pair of headphones on her wish list. She had tried on a pair during a band trip and loved them. I think it was originally a Christmas wish list. But the problem was that she didn’t specify which kind of Bose headphones she wanted. Of course I got them for her. She tried out the ones I got and decided she wanted the other kind. Her birthday is a few weeks after Christmas, so, of course, I got those too. The end result was really a win win – a left over pair of Bose headphones. One for me! I don’t care what kind I have – just as long as they are noise canceling.
So, I put those lovely headphones to the test at the hospital. They worked just great. I was in bliss. I had transferred songs to my new very compact very portable Apple laptop. It had transferred the songs to my IPod. Pretty magical if you ask me.
There’s one slight problem. I have very distinctive kinds of music that I like. This basically means generally I don’t get to listen to my favorites in the car if anyone else is present. I like some pretty wild songs like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B” and almost all of the songs from the Disney kid shows – like “The Little Mermaid”. Another bad habit of mine is that when I really really like a song, I will listen to it over and over for hours. Sadly, this got the “Shrek” CD as well as the one from “The Little Mermaid” banned from my van. I guess my family just doesn’t understand the needs of my artistic child side.
Fortunately, I also like oldies rock and Beatles and Rolling Stones and “modern” groups like Lincoln Park and Fray. So basically, I get to listen to everyone else CDs or radio stations.
So, imagine my surprise when my IPod started playing a lot of my youngest daughter’s CDs. Like the one from “Mamma Mia”. That’s one of her favorite musicals. I like Abba but once is enough for those songs.
So, there I was, multitasking in the hospital waiting room too. It was a very lovely and comfortable room. I found a very comfortable couch across from a very lovely fireplace. I plopped down and began unpacking. I always drag a lot with me. Best to be prepared is my motto. So, I look like I’m moving in, wherever I go. I was set. I had munchies. I had my laptop. I had my IPod. I had those headphones. I had a book to read. And best of all, I had time to read it.
Back to multitasking. I quickly learned how to skip through songs. Then I discovered the most wonderful feature of all – yep, how to listen to the same song over and over and over and over. I was in hog heaven.
Then, suddenly, it was time to bring the old man home. The nurse bundled him up in a wheel chair and we trudged down the hallway to the door. I drove him home – listening to his radio station, of course. Today, he’s doing great after the hernia operation. He’s in hog heaven himself – in a rather blissful state from the wonders of modern medicine – pain killers! The Iowa Hawkeyes are playing and I doubt if he’s focused on the TV. At the moment he has a bit of a dazed look on his face and what could best be described as an idiotic smile. But then, that’s the way he looks most of the time. Unless he’s complaining. I’ll take this over complaints any day of the week.
And I am multitasking again. Loading my lovely CDs on the laptop so those wonderful tunes, like “Appalachian Stomp” and “Sing Sing Sing” can find their way on to my IPod. I’ve also discovered another wonderful feature. How to delete songs from my playlist.
Bye Bye Abba Blabba Do.
In the meantime, two of my daughters are happily flitting about Europe because all of the world, literally, is their playground. One is in England doing a semester abroad study program through her college. The other is in Ireland doing an art internship, which resulted from a study abroad program at her college.
Back to my IPod. I’m rather proud of this. I got the IPod six months ago and took it out of the package the morning of my husband’s trip to outpatient surgery for a hernia operation. I knew without daughters to keep me company and entertain me, I needed reinforcements. Electronic reinforcements will do just fine.
So now I have over 2000 tunes on my IPod and lovely noise canceling Bose headphones to listen to them. It only took me three pairs of Bose headphones to get to this state of almost euphorbia. I had a pair of Bose headphones before. I also had music on my old laptop. I liked my old laptop but it was big, clunky and heavy. Very heavy. I used it while traveling back and forth to Chicago every other week. I had to take it out of the briefcase and put it in a bin to go through security then shove it back in my briefcase and trudge to my terminal. This isn’t too bad in the Des Moines airport, but it can be challenging at O’Hare. But there were benefits – I am sure it made my wrists strong.
I also worked in a cube. I hate cubes. I hate working in offices where anyone has to sit in a cube. Cubes are basically just awful. This is why innovative companies don’t have them. Innovative companies put people in private offices where they found their employees are far far more productive. This is understandable. The “cube” concept must be a hold over from those one room school houses they had in the 1800s. The ones where children just sat in desks in the same room regardless of their grade. This didn’t work then and it doesn’t work now. It is basically distracting and an impediment to learning.
So when one works for a company that isn’t proactive enough to put everyone in a private office one simply needs noise canceling headphones. Therefore, I rescued myself from this predicament compliments of the Bose company. I loved those headphones, but I left this job and didn’t need the headphones so much. Then, my music loving artist daughter came home and discovered them. Of course, I gave them to her. She uses them regularly and loves them too.
Then our youngest daughter put a pair of headphones on her wish list. She had tried on a pair during a band trip and loved them. I think it was originally a Christmas wish list. But the problem was that she didn’t specify which kind of Bose headphones she wanted. Of course I got them for her. She tried out the ones I got and decided she wanted the other kind. Her birthday is a few weeks after Christmas, so, of course, I got those too. The end result was really a win win – a left over pair of Bose headphones. One for me! I don’t care what kind I have – just as long as they are noise canceling.
So, I put those lovely headphones to the test at the hospital. They worked just great. I was in bliss. I had transferred songs to my new very compact very portable Apple laptop. It had transferred the songs to my IPod. Pretty magical if you ask me.
There’s one slight problem. I have very distinctive kinds of music that I like. This basically means generally I don’t get to listen to my favorites in the car if anyone else is present. I like some pretty wild songs like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B” and almost all of the songs from the Disney kid shows – like “The Little Mermaid”. Another bad habit of mine is that when I really really like a song, I will listen to it over and over for hours. Sadly, this got the “Shrek” CD as well as the one from “The Little Mermaid” banned from my van. I guess my family just doesn’t understand the needs of my artistic child side.
Fortunately, I also like oldies rock and Beatles and Rolling Stones and “modern” groups like Lincoln Park and Fray. So basically, I get to listen to everyone else CDs or radio stations.
So, imagine my surprise when my IPod started playing a lot of my youngest daughter’s CDs. Like the one from “Mamma Mia”. That’s one of her favorite musicals. I like Abba but once is enough for those songs.
So, there I was, multitasking in the hospital waiting room too. It was a very lovely and comfortable room. I found a very comfortable couch across from a very lovely fireplace. I plopped down and began unpacking. I always drag a lot with me. Best to be prepared is my motto. So, I look like I’m moving in, wherever I go. I was set. I had munchies. I had my laptop. I had my IPod. I had those headphones. I had a book to read. And best of all, I had time to read it.
Back to multitasking. I quickly learned how to skip through songs. Then I discovered the most wonderful feature of all – yep, how to listen to the same song over and over and over and over. I was in hog heaven.
Then, suddenly, it was time to bring the old man home. The nurse bundled him up in a wheel chair and we trudged down the hallway to the door. I drove him home – listening to his radio station, of course. Today, he’s doing great after the hernia operation. He’s in hog heaven himself – in a rather blissful state from the wonders of modern medicine – pain killers! The Iowa Hawkeyes are playing and I doubt if he’s focused on the TV. At the moment he has a bit of a dazed look on his face and what could best be described as an idiotic smile. But then, that’s the way he looks most of the time. Unless he’s complaining. I’ll take this over complaints any day of the week.
And I am multitasking again. Loading my lovely CDs on the laptop so those wonderful tunes, like “Appalachian Stomp” and “Sing Sing Sing” can find their way on to my IPod. I’ve also discovered another wonderful feature. How to delete songs from my playlist.
Bye Bye Abba Blabba Do.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
New Skills and Battery Checks
Well, I’ve added a new skill to my list of things I can do. Now I “Skype”. This is actually rather slick. It’s an internet phone. If your computer has a video camera, people can see you. If your computer doesn’t have a video camera and doesn’t have audio, then you can type notes back and forth to someone anywhere in the world.
This is awesome because we have two children currently oversees. Our middle daughter is doing an art internship in Ireland and our youngest daughter is doing a semester abroad in England. I am not sure how either of them is living without their cell phones.
They are on my cell phone plan because mom goes in for texting and sending photos back and forth. Mom also has a national plan with goo gobs of minutes. So basically, I talk an average of 2 minutes a month. They use up the other 998. Too funny.
But, we don’t have satellite phones and we don’t have international calling. I could add it for emergencies. But my idea of an emergency is when someone has gotten on a wrong train in Europe and wound up in East Germany at some unknown city and doesn’t speak any German other than what was learned while watching “The Sound of Music”. I am pretty sure their idea of an emergency is much different and has something to do with hearing the sound of a boyfriend’s voice. On the other hand, both of these daughters are very resourceful and I am sure they can handle any unplanned adventures that come their way just fine. So who needs international calling?
I think I’ve kept up with the times pretty well. I can text message, albeit slowing and in proper English. I know how to use the internet and I am gong to tackle my IPod this week. I have an IPod that I got last March when I bought a new Apple laptop. My IPod is still in the box. This IPod is going to save me this weekend, but that’s a whole other story.
Text messaging came pretty easy to me. I figured it out all by myself while alone in the car one evening waiting for the youngest daughter and her friend. Basically, text messaging is simply an electronic version of something I was quite skilled at in school – note passing.
I learned note writing and note passing in junior high. I carried this skill with me into high school and then it has been forgotten all these decades. Now – it’s back - electronically! Text messaging was a way for me to keep in contact with my daughters while they were in school. I welcomed any contact from them, even messages complaining about how boring certain classes were.
Since my home desk top computer doesn’t have a video camera and doesn’t have a microphone, Skyping isn’t that easy on it. But Skype let’s you trade notes back and forth – chatting. I’m still into note passing and any chat the daughter’s want to have.
I’m excited about setting up my IPod too. I think it’s going to be a saving grace this weekend. You see, my husband is having outpatient hernia surgery. It’s a small hernia and he’ll have a laparoscopic procedure. So, I think all will go well and he’ll heal just fine. But, there will be moments of drama, I am sure.
Actually, there are more likely to be hours and days of drama. I’m hoping that the anesthesia and grogginess lasts a long time. Because, as soon as it wears off, my husband will seize the moment to make academy award pained expressions as he dramatically raises the remote control to change TV channels. He will feebly grasp his water glass and grimace as he slowly sips water and comment that his throat is sore from the anesthesia tube.
On the other hand, maybe it’s not an anesthesia tube. Maybe the docs figured out that if they stuff a pipe down someone’s throat, the patient cannot complain. Hmmm. Wonder if that tube can be left in for a few days....
But, like I said, I am prepared. Any weekend that my husband can’t go out and ride his bike is usually a miserable weekend for me. I get two stories, four walls and Mr. Annoying. But this time, I have my noise canceling headphones. This weekend I am hoping that noise canceling includes moaning groaning spouses. My computer is upstairs in the dining room on the main floor of our house – with a clear shot into the family room where the TV is. But, I have cleverly moved my chair and set up my large flat screen monitor. This will block my vision of his antics so I don’t have to roll my eyes as much.
I am sure that once the moaning and groaning doesn’t get a reaction from my, his next attempt at attention will be to turn the TV up too loud. Make that WAY TOO LOUD. He likes to watch movies with the “entertainment system” turned up full blast. He has been known to have it on so loudly that pictures fall off our walls.
I am prepared for that too. We have a remote control. It needs batteries. We have rechargeable batteries. None of them are charged. Therefore, he won’t be able to turn the volume up with the remote control. He is unlikely to get up out of the chair to turn the volume up. I, of course, will be working away on books and magazine articles at my lovely computer with my headphones on listening to my IPod. He will eventually get bored and fall asleep. Sleep is good for healing. I don’t see a down side to this plan. It’s a win win.
So, the plan is that he sleeps a lot on Friday right after the surgery. Saturday he can watch westerns in the morning and college football in the afternoon. Sunday he’ll have regular football games to watch. Eventually he’ll have to go back to the doctor for a recheck. Maybe I can get his hearing checked while we’re at it. Of course, then I’d just have to make sure that the batteries for his hearing aid are always charged.
This is awesome because we have two children currently oversees. Our middle daughter is doing an art internship in Ireland and our youngest daughter is doing a semester abroad in England. I am not sure how either of them is living without their cell phones.
They are on my cell phone plan because mom goes in for texting and sending photos back and forth. Mom also has a national plan with goo gobs of minutes. So basically, I talk an average of 2 minutes a month. They use up the other 998. Too funny.
But, we don’t have satellite phones and we don’t have international calling. I could add it for emergencies. But my idea of an emergency is when someone has gotten on a wrong train in Europe and wound up in East Germany at some unknown city and doesn’t speak any German other than what was learned while watching “The Sound of Music”. I am pretty sure their idea of an emergency is much different and has something to do with hearing the sound of a boyfriend’s voice. On the other hand, both of these daughters are very resourceful and I am sure they can handle any unplanned adventures that come their way just fine. So who needs international calling?
I think I’ve kept up with the times pretty well. I can text message, albeit slowing and in proper English. I know how to use the internet and I am gong to tackle my IPod this week. I have an IPod that I got last March when I bought a new Apple laptop. My IPod is still in the box. This IPod is going to save me this weekend, but that’s a whole other story.
Text messaging came pretty easy to me. I figured it out all by myself while alone in the car one evening waiting for the youngest daughter and her friend. Basically, text messaging is simply an electronic version of something I was quite skilled at in school – note passing.
I learned note writing and note passing in junior high. I carried this skill with me into high school and then it has been forgotten all these decades. Now – it’s back - electronically! Text messaging was a way for me to keep in contact with my daughters while they were in school. I welcomed any contact from them, even messages complaining about how boring certain classes were.
Since my home desk top computer doesn’t have a video camera and doesn’t have a microphone, Skyping isn’t that easy on it. But Skype let’s you trade notes back and forth – chatting. I’m still into note passing and any chat the daughter’s want to have.
I’m excited about setting up my IPod too. I think it’s going to be a saving grace this weekend. You see, my husband is having outpatient hernia surgery. It’s a small hernia and he’ll have a laparoscopic procedure. So, I think all will go well and he’ll heal just fine. But, there will be moments of drama, I am sure.
Actually, there are more likely to be hours and days of drama. I’m hoping that the anesthesia and grogginess lasts a long time. Because, as soon as it wears off, my husband will seize the moment to make academy award pained expressions as he dramatically raises the remote control to change TV channels. He will feebly grasp his water glass and grimace as he slowly sips water and comment that his throat is sore from the anesthesia tube.
On the other hand, maybe it’s not an anesthesia tube. Maybe the docs figured out that if they stuff a pipe down someone’s throat, the patient cannot complain. Hmmm. Wonder if that tube can be left in for a few days....
But, like I said, I am prepared. Any weekend that my husband can’t go out and ride his bike is usually a miserable weekend for me. I get two stories, four walls and Mr. Annoying. But this time, I have my noise canceling headphones. This weekend I am hoping that noise canceling includes moaning groaning spouses. My computer is upstairs in the dining room on the main floor of our house – with a clear shot into the family room where the TV is. But, I have cleverly moved my chair and set up my large flat screen monitor. This will block my vision of his antics so I don’t have to roll my eyes as much.
I am sure that once the moaning and groaning doesn’t get a reaction from my, his next attempt at attention will be to turn the TV up too loud. Make that WAY TOO LOUD. He likes to watch movies with the “entertainment system” turned up full blast. He has been known to have it on so loudly that pictures fall off our walls.
I am prepared for that too. We have a remote control. It needs batteries. We have rechargeable batteries. None of them are charged. Therefore, he won’t be able to turn the volume up with the remote control. He is unlikely to get up out of the chair to turn the volume up. I, of course, will be working away on books and magazine articles at my lovely computer with my headphones on listening to my IPod. He will eventually get bored and fall asleep. Sleep is good for healing. I don’t see a down side to this plan. It’s a win win.
So, the plan is that he sleeps a lot on Friday right after the surgery. Saturday he can watch westerns in the morning and college football in the afternoon. Sunday he’ll have regular football games to watch. Eventually he’ll have to go back to the doctor for a recheck. Maybe I can get his hearing checked while we’re at it. Of course, then I’d just have to make sure that the batteries for his hearing aid are always charged.
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