Tuesday, October 30, 2007

shakin'

here i am, trying to enjoy "it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown" when this startles me.

startled. maybe a bit stronger. i'm literally shaking. but i lived through the 1989 quake, and this 5.6 is peanuts (appropriate, given that i'm watching "charlie brown") compared to it. i remember coming home after shopping for my halloween costume that year and sitting down to do my math homework when the shaking began. ugh.

i actually thought it was my annoying upstairs neighbors tonight, until i realized even their insane children can't shake the building that much.

they've classified it, according to the richter scale, as moderate. moderate, maybe. but i have glass on my carpet from a picture falling off the wall. and it seemed to go on for-EVER.

i'm not looking forward to the potential aftershocks tonight.

good news? everyone i know is safe and sound.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

six word sunday: coming in second was no consolation






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Thursday, October 25, 2007

stylin'

best email exchange of the day:
me: (blathering on about my frustrations with our POS at one of my locations yesterday to our office manager)
office manager: Oh whoopee, guess you're not excited today!
me: what gave that away?
office manager: it came in "bitter" font
me: "bitter" is the new "times new roman"


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Wednesday, October 24, 2007

he's got rhythm!

cutest thing i've seen all week.

and what a week it's been.

all things considered

i'm not saying a negative outlook is preferable, but dangit, there are sometimes when you just need to process things and a positive outlook just ain't gonna happen.

and of course, the author has put it into far better words than i. the article can be found here

A POSITIVE OUTLOOK IS OVERRATED

All Things Considered, October 22, 2007 · Many Americans insist that everyone have a positive attitude, even when the going gets rough. From the self-help bookshelves to the Complaint-Free World Movement, the power of positive thinking is touted now more than ever as the way to be happy, healthy, wealthy and wise.

The problem is that this demand for good cheer brings with it a one-two punch for those of us who cannot cope in that way: First you feel bad about whatever's getting you down, then you feel guilty or defective if you can't smile and look on the bright side. And I'm not even sure there always is a bright side to look on.

I believe that there is no one right way to cope with all of the pain of living. As an academic psychologist, I know that people have different temperaments, and if we are prevented from coping in our own way, be it "positive" or "negative," we function less well.

As a psychotherapist, I know that sometimes a lot of what people need when faced with adversity is permission to feel crummy for a while, to realize that feeling bad is not automatically the same as being mentally ill. Some of my one-session "cures" have come from reminding people that life can be difficult, and it's OK if we're not happy all of the time.

This last point first became apparent to me in 1986. I came down with the flu accompanied by searing headaches that lasted for weeks afterward. Eventually a neurologist told me that a strain of flu that winter had left many people with viral meningitis. He reassured me that I would make a full recovery, but I was left traumatized by the weeks of undiagnosed pain. I really thought I had a brain tumor or schizophrenia. Being a psychologist didn't help; I was an emotional wreck.

Fortunately it happened that my next-door neighbor was a brilliant psychiatrist, Aldo Llorente from Cuba. I asked him, "Aldo, am I a schizophrenic?"

"Professor," he pronounced, "you are a mess, but you are not a mentally ill mess. You are just terrified."

I told Aldo that two of my friends insisted that I cheer up. I tried to be cheerful for a week, but that only increased my distress. Aldo told me, "You say to them: 'Friends, I would like to be more cheerful, but right now I am too terrified to be cheerful. So I will let you know when I am not terrified anymore.'"

The moment I delivered Aldo's message, I felt better. Aldo had made it OK for me to cope in my own way, to recover at my own pace, to be my own mess of a self. That is when I began to realize that I had been tyrannized by the idea that everyone must always have a positive attitude.

Having flourished in my own authentically kvetchy way, I believe that we would be better off if we let everyone be themselves — positive, negative or even somewhere in-between.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

bidding war

i'm currently the high bidder on this great little mid-century modern chair on eBay. i'll post a pic of it whether i win it or not (fingers crossed it's the former) cause it's got such great style.



i've not yet purchased furniture on eBay (please, no horror stories) but the freight shipping charges seem reasonable, considering it's being sent from middle america and is an awkwardly shaped item.



the auction doesn't end for a few more days and the thought of having to wait that long to see if i win is nearly driving me insane. what's driving me even crazier is wondering how much higher than my current bid il'l have to go to win it. for those that have shopped on eBay for a coveted item you hear me when i say one's absolute-highest-okay, really THIS is my highest-bid changes the closer the end of the auction approaches.



let's hope it doesn't come to that.







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Sunday, October 21, 2007

six word story: he discovered a shortcut to china.






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Wednesday, October 17, 2007

cash grab

i went to tahoe/reno over the weekend, and for the first time, i flew. (and boy, are my arms tired!)

i fear it's spoiled me for future trips, as the take-off to touch-down time is 55 minutes, with just 38 of that being flying time.

i was doing well friday night, two-and-a-half hours at the roulette table followed by an hour at a single deck $5 table (!) and fueled by shots of patrĂ³n (no chaser, thanks) with a couple of beers mixed in for good measure.

saturday was a downward spiral. maybe one winning hand, total? goes to show -- gotta quit while you're ahead.

the plane ride home was uneventful, save for him being on my flight.

oh, and standing next to him while he boarded the flight ahead of us to LAX. it made me giggle that he had a barney (as in the purple dinosaur) tote bag as his carry-on.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

six word sunday: faster and faster, higher and higher






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Monday, October 08, 2007

flyin' that plane solo

When Jewels and I lived in our last apartment, we had a mysterious guy living across the hall from us. He seemed to come and go at odd hours and had random women over frequently at odd hours, among other things.

I also found him to be extremely attractive.

I can't leave well enough alone, so when his Wall Street Journal continually got delivered to our apartment by mistake, I took it upon myself to take a peek at his name. (No, I'm not a stalker!)

Jewels surmised he was a pilot, as we lived near an airport at the time, and thus kept odd hours.

I'd smile when I passed him on the property, but nothing more than a "hello" was ever exchanged between us.

When I started my current job, I moved to a different apartment and began living by myself and promptly forgot about our mysterious pilot friend.

Until one day as I was driving near the airport and saw our former neighbor, standing alongside his car and a tow truck.

A few months after that, I was wandering around the courtyard that surrounds one of my restaurants, and guess who was there? Our mysterious former neighbor.

Each time I'd see him I'd get a kick out of it, because surely, he'd have no idea who I was. So when Jewels and I were at Barnes and Noble a few months ago and she starts convulsing and saying,"The pilot! The pilot!" like she was on "Fantasy Island," I looked at her strangely. Then I turned around, and there he was.

Perhaps my taste in men has changed, or he's aged badly, but the guy was looking like he'd seen better days. It didn't stop me from passing a couple of two (okay, three) times just to get another look.

I love trips down memory lane.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

six word sunday: the party was a great success.




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Tuesday, October 02, 2007

benched

from this:







to this:



thanks, jewels and cy!

Monday, October 01, 2007

wino.



when i was born, my father purchased a bottle of wine to be opened on my 21st birthday. we neglected to drink it then, and instead waited over 6 years beyond that date, until thanksgiving of 2006. and my goodness, was it a good bottle.

interesting to me, and, if you know me, perhaps you'll find it to be also, that the label illustration is of a seaside motif. i guess even at my birth i was emitting an ocean-loving vibe.

i saved the label using a label remover because i'm sentimental like dat.