Life

Irritating, aggravating, annoying, disappointing, frustrating, disturbing, confusing, maddening, exasperating, saddening, infuriating, irksome, exasperating...often lonely...

Sometimes beautiful, fun, delightful, blissful, and joyful.

But not as often.

life progresses

Ok, so I didn't come back and tell you how much snow we got - it wasn't all that bad. Yeah, we worked from home that Thursday, but everything was clear by Friday. I just felt really bad for the people who got caught in the disastrous drive home that night. I heard horror stories, I tell ya - 10 hour commutes, TWELVE hour commutes!! People stuck in their cars for hours on the interstate....thank goodness I don't have a car commute!!

Today's weather is quite nice, and tomorrow and the next few days are supposed to be even better - highs in the 50s to near 60!! WOOT!!

I've started reading some more educational stuff - a grammar book (to both brush up for work, and for my Voice Over work); and two Voice Over books (to help me do even better at a skill I think I have some promise in).

Not much else is happening. Still like my job a lot (got another compliment from my boss!!), still feeling rather healthy (been walking more with Hubby). Still wondering how the rest of my family is doing - my 3 brothers, 10 nieces and nephews (and each niece/nephew-in-law!!), and my wonderful mom. Spoke to her a while ago - she's dealing with the delightful snow that Michigan's been getting...and considering a move South!! I think it'd be good for her to get out of Michigan...

Anyhoo. I'll probably have an update for later today - when Hubby sends me a link for his Kickstarter campaign.


Cheers!

UPDATE: Go here!!! Help produce an album!!

here come da snow...

again. Earlier "they" were predicting 6-10" for DC....but I think we're squeaking by that with only 4-6"...which still sucks. I am SO ready for Spring/Summer. I want WARMTH!!!

oh well...I'll let ya know what our totals are sometime tomorrow. Hopefully the Fed. Govt. will be closed tomorrow.

Cheers.

Mundane

There are some days when I don't think magic exists. That it was/is all a fantasy. When this happens, I fall into a deep black pit with the only thought being that . . . . this is all there is - nothing is special, nothing is magical, and there's no way I'll ever be more than just a 40-something editor.

I just want something magical to happen - either to me or somewhere near me. Please? I want to believe in the impossible again.

Differences

I've realized something...it's not really a new idea, and I have "realized" it before. And I know others have heard/realized/thought of this too....

But you know what the trouble is with the world? Differences. We all learned when we were little, and it has been reiterated throughout the years, that tolerance is good - that everyone is different - that diversity is a very good thing.

Yet, wars are being waged. People are being killed. Others are homeless, jobless, unable to obtain proper health care or education ... all due to differences. Whether it's their color, their religion, their gender, their sexual orientation, their manner of speech, their age, or some other physical or perceived "class" difference.

Why? Is it a crime to be different? From what I learned in school and church, no. Some say God created all men (and women) equal. The civil rights act of 1964 (it took till 1964!!!!) attempted to reinforce that equality.

As for diversity, I found this on a simple google search:
Definition of Diversity

The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect.
It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. It is the exploration
of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual.

And how about this....in the UK there are:
The Equal Pay Act 1970
The Sex Discrimination Act 1975
The Race Relations Act 1976
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995

All these laws and acts and such to try and get people to treat others with respect and dignity. I feel it is a very sad thing that we must TELL everyone to be nice. (And at this time I won't go into the question of - who has the RIGHT to say how others are to be treated?) I understand that there are powerful people, and power-hungry people, and of course there are people who decide to do harm and evil. I know that there is no such thing as a utopia where everyone is happy, healthy, friendly, and content. Progress cannot be made if there is not some sort of impetus to CHANGE something - whether it's improving food, housing, transportation, entertainment, etc. - but must that change always come with contention?

I know we are all emotional beings....but what a beautiful world it would be if we were all "color" blind, "gender" blind, "religiously" blind, "socially" blind, and just accepted everyone as special, unique, impressive individuals.

Open your heart and mind to your fellow human beings...after all is said and done - we all live on the same planet. Happy Holidays.

Dreams and Storys

Every now and then I have really involved, realistic, and ultra detailed dreams. Ones I'll wake up thinking about, and later - maybe in the day, in the week, or even later - I'll catch myself thinking about a specific scene from the dream. I even have "flashbacks" to dreams I had months ago.

In one, I was driving on a road that went along a lake/ocean, with long grass on either side of the road....I still see that scene in my head.

Another one - dark woods, with a house where I have to stay, even though there are other houses near by.

As usual, the words I write here just don't express the vividness and views of the dreams. And that's something that riles me. I mean, I've had stories in my head forever....And while I've tried, and almost succeeded at times, to write them down so others can share them - I never can figure out how to really get the story down, to put what is in my head down onto paper....and that riles and saddens me at the same time, because I think people would really enjoy my stories.

So - any advice on how to put dreams down onto paper?

Oh, and happy holidays. How are you spending yours? What are you celebrating (Hanuka, solstice, Christmas)??

What do you do?

On a recent weekday I had very similar situations happen on both my morning and my evening commutes, and it got me thinking.

I rode my first bus down, got off and transferred to the next bus. I chose a seat mid-way back, noticing that the front, center-facing seats were rather empty but for two men. Shortly after the bus started moving, one man (the rather gray-haired white man) started just yammering about black people and how they were not treated right and that Jesse Jackson had some good things to say...and that black people weren't less intelligent - that his nurse told him that you shouldn't judge someone on their IQ, because everyone was human....

This went on throughout the rest of my ride on the bus. People got on the bus, heard him ranting, and moved to the back of the bus. He tried to make eye contact with people, but they (and I) looked away - unsure what to do, or just uncomfortable with the situation.

Then, that evening--again on the 2nd bus--I got on, found a seat, and promptly was treated to a similar situation. This time it was a black guy just ranting - at and about anything...how the bus was being driven, who had gotten on, what the weather was like...all at the top of his lungs with a LISP. And again, he tried to draw people into his world. I tried not to look in his direction - which was kind of hard, since he was directly in front of me and facing my direction.

I know these people are people, harmless more than likely. They deserve respect, honesty, and caring....but when you're on a bus confronted by them....how do you respond? If you speak to them, sometimes they just get more vocal, more into their delusion. But if you don't, if you ignore them....does that make you unfeeling? Uninterested? Uncaring?

It's kind of sad in today's world that these people, who probably should be someplace caring, taking the proper meds, getting the right counseling, being cared for...that they're out in the regular world usually because they can't afford proper treatment. That's the majority of our homeless situation (that, and the delightful economy taking people's homes and jobs)....institutions and hospitals who can't keep someone where they need to be because insurance or other funds are not willing to pay anything any more.

Anyhow. I'm just curious about how other people would handle these situations.