Tuesday Morning

Tuesday Morning
Written by Melissa Etheridge & Jonathan Taylor

Up and down this road I go
Skippin’ and dodgin’
From a 44

10:03 on a Tuesday morning
In the fall of an American dream
A man is doing what he knows is right
On flight 93
He loved his mom and he loved his dad
He loved his home and he loved his man
But on that bloody Tuesday morning
He died an American

Now you cannot change this
You can’t erase this
You can’t pretend this is not the truth

Even though he could not marry
Or teach your children in our schools
Because of who he wants to love
Is breaking your God’s rules
He stood up on a Tuesday morning
In the terror he was brave
And he made his choice
And without a doubt
A hundred lives he must have saved

Now you cannot change this
You can’t erase this
You can’t pretend this is not the truth

And the things you might take for granted
Your inalienable rights
Some might choose to deny him
Even though he gave his life
Can you live with yourself in the land of the free
And make him less of a hero than the other three
Well it might begin to change ya
In a field in Pennsylvania

Now you cannot change this
You can’t erase this
You can’t pretend this is not the truth

Stand up America
Hear the bell now as it tolls
Wake up America
It’s Tuesday morning
Come on let’s roll

As an American, 9/11 impacted my life in ways I did not realize right away. I think all Americans (as well as much of the world) were affected by the events of that day and the events to come. In fifty years, I know Americans will still be talking about how they heard about the events of that day. I know I do not have the best story about that day. I did not know anyone personally in the Twin Towers or the Pentagon. I did not know anyone personally on any of the four planes. I did not even know about the events until more information had come in. I am still going to share what I experienced that day in efforts to show how the information affected me and what I observed in other people.

In 2001, I was already working nights and living the scheduled I currently keep. I sleep later than "normal" people do and I am also a person who has never been a fan of television. I had not turned on a TV or listened to a radio that morning. Even if I had gotten up early that day, the chances of tuning into the news would have been few.

As I slept, my phone started ringing. Timeframe wise, this is right after the second plane hit the Twin Towers. I figured someone just wanted to call me and didn’t realize I was sleeping. I did not get up. The phone rang a second time. Still, I stayed in bed. My message alert went off a few moments later and I decided to listen to the message when I was ready to get up.

About two hours later, my phone started ringing again. My alarm clock was not set to go off for another hour and a half. Again, I stayed in bed. The caller tried a second time. I had the semi-conscious thought, ‘If this person wants to talk to me this badly, they’ll call a third time. Then I’ll figure it’s important enough to get up.’

Sure enough, the phone rang a third time in a row. I stood up and wandered over to where I had my cell phone plugged into the wall.
I check the caller ID and saw it was Adam (side note for those who don’t know, Adam is one of my best friends and the person I shared an apartment with for two years).

"Hello?" I said as I rubbed my tired eyes.

"Would you just turn on a TV already!" Adam doesn’t normally dictate what I should do. Also, he knows I don’t normally function at this time of day.

I find a TV in the house and Adam fills me in on his morning. He had dropped his cousin off at the airport a few minutes before the first plane hit and got just away from the airport when she called to have him come back to pick her up. He told me to check in with work to see if I should go in (we worked in a downtown location in close proximity of another World Trade Center). He was going to work at our other location for the day (the beauty of call centers – the work can travel).

After Adam hung up, I sat staring at the TV. I couldn’t believe it. Denial is the first stage of dealing with grief. I watched for the first time as a plane crashed into the Twin Towers. The video footage kept replaying. TV anchors were sharing all facts coming out. Two planes have flown into the World Trade Center Twin Towers. A plane has crashed into the Pentagon. Wreckage has been found of another plane in a field in Pennsylvania. Airports have cancelled all flights. The first Tower has collapsed. The second Tower is about to collapse.

Through all this, I sat there, my eyes wide, my mouth hanging open. When my senses had enough, I turned off the TV. I called up my voicemail to listen to Adam’s message. I do not have an exact transcript but this is close:

"I dropped my cousin off at the airport and I’m now on my way back. Airplanes have flown into the Twin Towers and there are car bombs going off all over the place. People are panicking and everyone’s scared. Call me as soon as you get this."

Remember that Adam left this message right after the second plane hit. The news reports were trying to alert America to what had happened without knowing completely what was happening. The first hours were full of horror and fear. By the time I spoke with Adam, the news was reporting only the planes (because as far as I know, there were no car bombs that day) and the news was getting closer to accurate. People were starting to realize this was a terrorist act and not just a misguided plane. I mentioned that denial is the first stage of grief. I remember thinking, as I first sat down to watch the footage, "It’s not terrorism. Maybe one plane just went the wrong way." That’s how unbelievable this event was to me.

Because I did not hear the news of 9/11 the same time as most Americans, I was spared the hours of worrying if the entire country was under attack. I listened to Adam’s message trying to understand the other facts he stated and trying to figure out why the news wasn’t mentioning them. It was then that I realized the not knowing what was going on is harder than knowing what was going on. Panic struck the country and no one knew the entire story.

I called my manager at work and was told I didn’t need to come in that day. There were a lot of people coming in to the other center and since I had no idea how to get there, I could spend the day watching the news. I called Keem to see if she was going to work. She was also told to not come in that day. To deal with the tragedy, Keem and I agreed to meet for lunch. I learned that day that times of turmoil are the times when people truly need each other. I could sit by myself and watch the news, confused, angry, lost, but by sitting with Keem, I could watch the news, still confused, angry, but not as lost. We could talk about the events. We tried to understand them together. We did sit together at a local restaurant, watching the footage again and again on the big screen TVs. The atmosphere of a commonly jovial place was muted. People held quiet conversations, dealing with the news in their own ways. I saw few smiles on people that day.

The second stage of grief is bargaining. I don’t remember going through this stage. It may have been because there were no bargaining chips. If I could have found a way to take back the events of that Tuesday morning, I’m sure I would have done it. I’m sure most Americans would have.

I remember the anger starting to slide in. As Keem and I were talking, our discussion kept moving from the tragic loss of life, the fear we were feeling, and trying to see what the retaliation would be. How would our leaders respond to this awful event? We knew America wouldn’t just sit back and let this happen. The question was who was the enemy? We know now that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda planned the attacks and executed them. We didn’t KNOW that during that first day.
The desire for more information became intense. We watched the news, we bought the newspapers coming out (special editions, headlines screaming: TERROR), and talked to everyone possible. Did someone else hear a fact we didn’t know yet?

Keem and I hung out until Adam got off of work. We met up with him and his cousin. At this point, our senses were overloaded and we wanted to get away from television. It was almost, "Enough already! We can’t take anymore bad news." We sat together and talked. We all had moments of despair, the fourth stage of grief. Tears welled up in our eyes, I know I had moments by myself in the bathroom, wiping tears from my face. The questions still raced through my head. ‘Why would someone do this? How could someone do this? What causes a person or group of people to hate this much? How did this happen? What are those poor families going through?’

Acceptance is the final stage of grief. I hope the families of the victims have found their acceptance with the loss of their loved ones. I don’t think America can ever just accept what happened. We can deal with it, we have troops overseas, and we have alert systems in place. The country is more aware of what could happen. The feeling/thought, "This would never happen here," has been replaced with, "Let’s make sure this never happens here again." I think acceptance comes to dealing with the loss of individual lives. Acceptance is found in many forms. We don’t accept that acts were justified, we do accept the decision to live, learn, and move forward.

There are two reasons I chose to share this Melissa Etheridge song today. The first is simple. The song talks about the events of 9/11. The day was a tragic day in American history. Americans realized this day that this country is not immune to terror. In the aftermath, I’ve seen people afraid of terror, but also stronger. The strength comes from overcoming the unknown, from finding the good in the bad, from learning how to live. The day awakened the country and brought a nation together.

The second reason I chose to share this song is one I will be writing about later this week. I am delaying the rest of this post due to the length. I do promise to discuss the other theme of the song later this week.

3 Comments:

At 11:49 AM, The Lioness said...

Not "much of the world". The whole world. I walked into my parents house in time to see the second plane hit the Tower live. There are no words. The number of victims and the terrible brilliancy behind it makes it more poignant. The fact that it happened in the US was even more dramatic because the US had acted until then as though they were an untouchable nation. In Europe we pay attention to what is happening in America and the rest of the world. America didn't, not really. I don't think it felt it needed to, being so self-contained and powerful. (I don't mean to be insulting at all. I've long felt we should all get to vote for presidential elections because it does affect us all.) And it is ironic in the most horrendous way that the same people it had helped arm and train turned against it but that's the price to pay in politics, I suppose. There is no evil involved in the sense that it is all people, people with agendas, disturbed, at times geniously so. I lived in Israel for years. I lived in fear for years but in a way that is almost subliminal. You check objects, people and actions automatically. You may choose to avoid certain places on Shabbat (or not. Many don't). It is no big deal to be in a club with a soldier on leave in civilian clothes and a machine gun on his back, or have lunch on the kibbutz with a pistol on the table. You learn the words for "bomb", "bomb attack" and "suspicious objects" before you learn the colours. You are recently traumatised. In Europe, we've had to deal with IRA and ETA for decades. It will eventually reach every single country, I'm sure. There's a before and this after. We are all changed and this is the new world children will know. But you get used to it. And that is, I think, the saddest part.

At 9:01 AM, CarpeDM said...

I remember this day clearly. I stopped at Walgreen's before work to fill a prescription and overhead a conversation between the pharmacist and a customer. Some word caught my attention and I asked what they were talking about. I was told me a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center.

At that point, it was thought to be an accident. When I got to work, it was a different world than usual. A television had been set up. In the few minutes it took me to get to work, another plane had crashed. The word terrorism was mentioned.

We watched the news coverage, we prayed, we cried, we tried to answer calls. The decision was made to close the phone bank and move to the other location. The place emptied out quickly. I said I would go to the other location with Mike, my manager. The managers had a hurried meeting and I answered the phones to the help desk to say that our location was closed.

It's funny I remember this because it's so trivial but I remember playing Alchemy while I was waiting for Mike and Ed, the new center manager, walked by. I was waiting for a comment about playing games on the internet but he just smiled and thanked me for staying. I found out later that it was his birthday.

It was an awful day, awful weeks that followed. A friend of mine told me about her brother-in-law, an officer at the Penthouse, was supposed to be working that day. Instead he was on a father-son event in another state. His office was one of the ones destroyed. Thank God. It got to the point that I couldn't turn on the television without bursting into tears.

I love this song and I'm glad you introduced me to it. We should always be aware that this could happen again. And we should never forget the people who died. One of the best lines in Love Actually is when Hugh Grant talks about all the calls that were made from the planes on 9/11, when people knew what was happening, that the calls were all about love.

So yes, this can happen again, we are not the impervious nation we once thought we were, but we should never forget to love one another. That's important as well. Thanks for your post, Beth.

At 9:20 PM, angelia said...

I remember the grief as well. It was my first year as an interpreter in an elementary school. I left the kids outside for gym, and ran into the school for some water. Bob, another 6th grade teacher came running down the hall and told me that we were under attack and one of the twin towers was hit. I didn't believe him. I didn't understand why he would play such a cruel joke on me. It was hard to take the news, but I was there to relay information. It was hard to explain to a group of 6th graders what happend and what was happening as we watched the news. I remember Amber, the home room teacher crying in front of the class, and I remember praying to God that I could interpret the information without showing my own emotion so that I could be professional. It was hard. I think everyone will remember what they were doing on that day, who they were with, where they were, and how they felt. The pain is still there, and I think that it will always be.

Who am I gonna call?

I think my apartment is possessed. Maybe not the entire apartment, just my bedroom. It could also be electrical surges. Whatever it is, it's freaking me out.

Last night (or very early this morning for most people) as I was just about asleep, my TV turned on for five seconds and then turned off. I was across the room, the remote was resting peacefully on the nightstand, and the TV decided to just turn on and off. This was weird.

This morning (or early afternoon for most people) I hit the snooze on my alarm clock. Instead of having Rob Thomas sing to me nine minutes later, my alarm clock freaked out, stopped showing what time it was and the radio came on with the power off. I actually had to unplug the alarm clock to get the radio to stop. When I plugged it back in, all was normal.

I think I need the Ghostbusters.

2 Comments:

At 2:28 PM, Heather said...

I need the ghostbusters too. My house is a well known haunted house. It was built in 1885 and is freaky. I have lived there for 3 months now. It's freaky cause I see a cat running around. I hear people in the bathroom and then go look and no ones there. And no ones on the ground below my window either. I've had a similar tv thing happen too. So if you get the # for ghostbusters, pass it alone. www.latanyasmind.blogspot.com

At 7:40 PM, CarpeDM said...

Hey, at least it's not Rush Limbaugh again. Anything's better than that. But this is pretty weird.

Hmm, I have something to blog about now. Thanks, Beth.

In the spirit of randomness, here's the traveling gnome Dana and I ran into on our trip to Vegas. The gnome seemed to have celebrity status. I had to get a picture of him at the Flamingo.

1 Comments:

At 7:34 PM, CarpeDM said...

The gnome! I love the gnome!

He totally made up for the lack of Elvis sightings.

Picture of the Day

While Dana and I were in Vegas, the Bellagio was hosting an exhibit featuring Claude Monet. My favorite form of art has always been Impressionism, I love how light plays a large role in how we view the world and how Impressionism captures this. In the conservatory at the Bellagio, they focused on Money and recreated the Japanese footbridge he painted so often. Here's what I captured with my camera.

1 Comments:

At 5:26 PM, Matt said...

I love that picture Beth, I really do. I have also really liked light and shadow and the way they play off of each otehr, however my feeble mind never knew that he was looking at Monet until you showed me the "light" to coin a phrase. I will talk with ya later Little Sister, Take care!
Big Brother

Stress level rising...

I did myself the worst favor tonight. I looked at a calendar.

Due to financial limitations, being Internet-free for a period of time, and an upcoming move, I decided to take a break from school last January. I had to commit to a date to return to school (I go online) and I picked September. I realized today how the day of going back is quickly approaching. AHHHHH!

I enjoy school, I really do. I love school supplies (I've discussed this before) and I love learning. I am apprehensive about the class coming up. It's part two of a class I finished in January. I wish I had realized this was a two part class. I would have done both together. Now I'm trying to remember how statistics work and trying to determine how I'll afford going back to school. I'll figure that one out.

I bought a new computer last month, so I also need to call the tech support at the school to figure out how to configure Outlook Express to go to class again. #1 priority in this - figure out the phone number for tech support. It only took me a half hour to find the student website again. Bookmarks, like phone lists in cell phones, create a crutch and I can't remember a web address to save my life. I take that back. I can remember some. Like anything where you can insert the company's/owner's name between 'www.' and '.com'. I just have problems with sites that seemingly read as, www.blahblahblah.zyxwvut.345%&678.com

I don't know why I shared this tonight. Maybe to explain why in two weeks I'll be spending two to three hours a night at my computer, but unable to do an extensive amount of blogging. It will be my escape though. Wish me luck!

3 Comments:

At 10:13 AM, rod said...

good luck!!!!!

At 8:18 PM, CarpeDM said...

Well, just think, if your classmates this time are as annoying as the last class (or the class before), think of the moron mouth blog about college.

Good luck with school. You will be fine. I have faith in the powers of Beth.

At 11:28 AM, CarpeDM said...

As always, my best wishes are headed your way. My goodness, I am such a dork.

On a lighter note...

I had a great weekend. It was the normal days off for me, but as I wrote before, most people had today off for Labor Day and so a large group of my friends were able to go out last night. Dana had Sunday and Monday off (she usually works both days) and so we spent the weekend scrapbooking, blogging, talking, going to karaoke, and going to IHOP. (Side note - I've recently become addicted to IHOP. I love it!)

I dyed my hair this weekend. Not that I hate the color it is, I just am mentioning this because it didn't turn out like I had hoped. The team I help manage at work won a contest a couple of months ago in which I had to dye my hair red. Not auburn, not strawberry blonde, RED. Well, I did it and I've been thinking about going back to my natural wheat-colored blonde. My roots were getting pretty long and since I didn't have enough time to go to the salon, I decided to pick out a dye at the local retail store. Knowing that I couldn't go from red to blonde with a store kit easily (believe me, I've tried before, it's not a pretty sight), I tried a color I thought would just blend my roots into the faded red my hair was. I thought I'd end up strawberry blonde.

I now have intense red hair. I think the color is actually darker than what it turned out when I dyed it pure red. Once I get an actual decent picture, I'll post it. The only one I have has some major red-eye going on and I'm not sharing that. My thoughts of blonde are drifting away...

Thank you Mr. Silver, for proving my point

Yesterday, I posted about four individual people helping to strengthen the world's stereotypical views that Americans don't learn about anything outside of America. I started the post by discussing how people can avoid looking stupid by asking for clarification instead of assuming they know what they're talking about. My specific examples of these people assuming facts were:
1. "Do you have any cigarettes made in Europe?" to which the man replied, "Yes ... from Canada." This individual stated outright that he felt Canada was in Europe. Instead of saying, "No, we don't. We have a Canadian made brand" or in case he doesn't really know where Canada is, "I don't know. Which countries are in Europe? or Where is Canada?" These questions would have shown him to be an individual willing to learn. This does not make him look stupid.

2. The nurse, "Europe? Oh, I know that country!" This woman stated outright that she felt Europe was a country. This is an inaccurate fact. She could have avoided looking stupid by saying, "I'm familiar with Europe. Ukraine is a country in Europe? Can you explain further?" This would have been better than assuming she was correct.

3. About the person thinking India did not have cars: "Well, they don't in those Indiana Jones movies." This person came out and explained their assumption comes from a movie. What they could have said was, "I don't know much about India, could you explain it to me?" This shows a willingness to learn and doesn't base reality on a fictional movie.

4. The girl traveling to Europe, telling the banker that first she was going to the country of Europe and then stating that Paris and Frankfurt were countries. The banker kindly asked for clarification about which countries in Europe and the girl actually got mad at the banker. She could have said, "I'm going to Europe and I'll be staying in Paris and Frankfurt. Do you know which are countries, which are cities, and which is a continent?" People are willing to help others learn. People find amusement in the ignorant views of individuals.

In these four examples, I was stating, "Through my life, I've run into some pretty ignorant Americans. People who assume facts and share their inaccurate views with others, proving how little they know." Let's break this down.

First of all, I said, "I've run into SOME pretty ignorant Americans." This does not say all Americans are ignorant, nor does it say that all other nationalities are not ignorant. It is saying that SOME people living in America are ignorant. Ignorant, defined by Webster's dictionary: 1. lacking knowledge or experience 2. cause by or showing lack of knowledge 3. unaware. These people showed their lack of knowledge. This does make them ignorant about the subject of global geography.

Going further down the ignorant pass, I posted, "People assume facts and share their inaccurate views with others, proving how little they know." This is them showing lack of knowledge. It means pretty much the exact same thing.

All of this is fueled by a comment left to the post. Here is the comment:
"Feeling a little racial?

The problem here is that they don't know where places are, not that they pretended to, as you attest-- unless you're reporting your stories inaccurately.

I think it's a good idea to can anti-Americanism, and call it what it is: RACISM.

~Jason Silver "

My comments about this:

About the part, "Feeling a little racial?" Racial, as defined by Webster's is: of or characteristic of a race. Perhaps, the word Mr. Silver was looking for was radical, meaning: 1. of or from the root; fundamental 2. favoring basic change, as in the social or economic structure -n. 1. a person holding radical views (Note - I'm leaving out the definitions pertaining to math symbols and scientific processes about atoms). Maybe he was looking for the word racial. I won't assume this isn't what he means, I'll just state it does not describe what the rest of his comment suggests. If I was feeling racial, I would be feeling like an American, Caucasian woman. I would be feeling as if I live in America and have light skin and breasts. I'm not sure this is what I was feeling.

These people were pretending that they knew these facts. They did not say, "I don't know what I'm talking about, can you help me?" Yes, they are mistakes the people made, it is used to show how asking for help or clarification can go much further than speaking as if you know about a subject. When you assume your information is correct without knowing that it is, you open the door of risk of showing to the world your lack of knowledge. This makes you ignorant.

There are some extremely intelligent Americans in the field of global geography. In no way am I saying all Americans are stupid. I don't believe that in any way. I'm not saying I'm an expert in global geography. I did say I took classes in college to increase my understanding of the world. In the post, I never put an assumption of where some place was located or the defined term to describe that place. I did state, Europe is a continent. True. I did state, France and Germany are countries. True. I did state, Paris and Frankfurt are cities. True. I did state Ukraine is a country. True. I did state that Canada borders Minnesota. True. These are facts that I KNOW and can be backed up by looking at a, say it with me here, MAP.

In the fact that I did not say ALL Americans are stupid, I find it hard to believe this is "Anti-Americanism". I will admit my opinion of these four individual Americans was lessened by their "showing lack of knowledge". These were specific events and ideas presented by four specific people who showed they didn't know what they were talking about. My opinion of these four people is that they should think before they speak. It is not racism in the fact I am not saying that ALL Americans are stupid. The term "American" in my post is a descriptive word to define the nationality of these people. They live in America. I do too. So do people responding to the post. I don't think they are ignorant. I especially liked Rod's post, explaining his trip to Moldova (which, on a lighter note, I've met many individuals from Moldova and did do a report on the country in my Post-Soviet States geography class - it's a wonderful country full of culture, pretty much like every other country in the world - you know, the full of culture part) and how he described where it is located. He had a correct fact and shared that he KNEW what he was talking about.

So, I need to say, "Thank you" to Mr. Silver. I enjoyed how your comment posted assumptions about my "vant". I did explain in my post that these people "pretended to" know where places were. I did not write about "Anti-Americanism". I wrote about four people living in America sharing their ignorance with others.

The general theme my post was how people can appear smarter by admitting when they don't know something. It is about how pretending to know something can make one appear ignorant. When you act like an expert on everything pretty soon you'll show that you're not. Be willing to learn. Throw your assumptions out the window. If you don't KNOW, find out.

8 Comments:

At 6:20 PM, CarpeDM said...

Ah, the fiery wrath of Beth. How I enjoy it when it is not pointed in my direction.

Mr. Silver, thank you, thank you, thank you for setting Beth off on a vant of almost Biblical proportions. Thank you for proving your ignorance of both her post and also of Beth.

You see, Mr. Silver, Beth is many things. She is, as she stated an American with light skin and breasts but she is also possessed with a keen intellect and a unique and logical argument. She is continuously asked if she has considered becoming a lawyer. She is compassionate and very strong in her beliefs that all Humans should be treated equally, irregardless of race, religion, creed or sexual preference. She is my friend and a champion to those who are oppressed and downtrodden (including me).

So when you attack Beth, it is a good idea to have a dictionary and a well thought argument. There is an old saying, perhaps you've heard it, "I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person." Perhaps you should think before you speak, or in this case, type. If Beth has a fault, it is a fault that many other people share, in finding stupidity and ignorance to be amusing. Wow. What a bitch. Oh, wait, that's a fault I share, since I found her post about these 4 individuals to be amusing, certainly not racial (dude, get a dictionary). So I must be a bitch as well.

Thank you for pointing that out to me. Anyway, thanks for a good laugh, Mr. Silver. You idiot. Oh, sorry, that was the bitch part coming out.

At 7:08 PM, The Lioness said...

And to think I was controlling myself while I wrote my first comment because I didn't want to be too impolite in someone else's blog! Let me just get it off my chest then please please please!

Silverman,you're a waste of ethernet. just SHUT UP. (I too am a bitch. I even warn people about it in my profile.)

At 8:37 PM, Anonymous said...

Well, I'm sorry for misunderstanding. I've lived in the US for five years, and often hear Canadians bashing them. I guess I jumped to conclusions.
Sorry again,
~Jason

At 9:00 PM, brooksba said...

To Jason,

Thank you for checking back in and taking the time to read my response to your comment. I appreciate your willingness to listen to (or read) my justification. That means a lot to me.

Thank you for taking the time.

Beth

At 9:13 PM, Anonymous said...

You're welcome. I find it all quite amusing.
If we can't communicate openly with each other, why are we blogging, right?
~Jason

At 10:04 PM, CarpeDM said...

Jason,I must apologize for my comment. As Beth rightfully pointed out after she read it, she attacked your words in a logical manner, I attacked you in my cheerfully illogical vanting style. For that, I am sorry. I read your reply to Beth and understand where the confusion came from.

I have climbed off of my soapbox and also agree that, if you have a blog, I would enjoy reading it. It would be interesting to get a Canadian's point of view about living in America. So if you don't have one, you should get one. Now.

At 10:18 PM, The Lioness said...

I came in to apologise, read recent comments and am now even more embarrassed than before, which serves me right. I do apologise for ranting about stuff that is none of my business on someone else's blog, for not exercising my usual sleep-on-it caution and for general misdirected bitchiness due to things that none of you could possibly care about. For all it's worth, I'm impressed by all of you (Beth, Jason and DM), you did it all so gracefully.

At 6:58 PM, Anonymous said...

aww sheesh, now I'm blushing! ;)

Thanks everyone. Good dialogue!

~Jason
CrookedBush.com and the domain has nothing to do with George

Sometimes you have to deal with stupid people...

Jokingly, my dad said to me once, "For every smart person a company hires, they are required to hire at least two stupid people. It's a law." If you get it, you're one of the smart ones.

My "vant" today is in regards to Americans and global geography. I'll admit, I'm not an expert on where everything in the world is, but I don't pretend to know facts just to appear smarter. The problem with pretending like you know is that you come off as really, really NOT knowing. I did take a few geography classes in college (I almost had a minor in geography - that's useful in the real world, isn't it?). The classes were part of my desire to know more about the globe. Throughout my life, I've been interested in other cultures and other ways of life. I've been determined to understand the people I came into contact with. In high school, I took two different foreign languages, spent three weeks on an exchange to another country, our family hosted interns from the Post-Soviet states, and I liked to read about different parts of the world. I wanted a picture of what life was like for the average John (Ivan, Muhammad, etc.) around the globe.

Through my life, I've run into some pretty ignorant Americans. People who assume facts and share their inaccurate views with others, proving how little they know. I have four examples I'd like to share with the world.

Example #1: I have previously written about Alex. He visited our home from Ukraine. His visit may have been my first eye opening experience in how moronic Americans can be. Alex is a smoker and he did not like the fact that cigarettes produced from America are weaker than what he was used to in Ukraine. This led us to a tobacco shop, looking for European made cigarettes.

I asked the man behind the counter for help. "Do you have any cigarettes made in Europe? My friend would like an import brand from Europe."

What I got?

"Yes, we do. We have this brand. It's from Canada."

What? Canada? We're in Minnesota! Canada actually borders our state! I don't think this man had any clue where Europe even was. We left the store, shaking our heads in disbelief.

Example #2: This example is also from Alex's visit. While he was in the hospital (see the link from above), a nurse noticed his accent (ah, his accent...I digress). She asked him where he was from. Normal, everyday question right?

Alex replied politely, informing her he was from Ukraine.

Her response, "What country is that in?"

Here's the thing America. Ukraine is a country, it's a large country. Ukraine is actually the second largest country in Europe, second only to Russia.

He replied, "Ukraine is a country in Europe."

She took it to the next level. "Europe? Oh, I know that country!"

This was a nurse, an 'educated' woman unable to understand the difference between a country and a continent. It's times like this where I'm ashamed of being American.

Example #3: During my stint at the local college, I met a nice (hot!) young man named Rahul. He was from India. He was witty and extremely intelligent. We had three classes together so we chatted often. One day, he was explaining to me the stupid things people assume about him because he talks with an accent and is from India.

Laughing, he says to me, "Today someone asked where I was from. I told them I was from India. Their response was priceless in it's stupidity. 'Oh, have you ever seen a car before you came here?' I explained that, 'Yes, we have cars in India.' They told me, 'Well, they don't in those Indiana Jones movies.'"

This had us rolling for twenty minutes. First off, I'm pretty sure only one of the Indiana Jones movies took place in India. Secondly, those movies are set 60 years in the past! Thirdly, India is not populated by bushmen. Technology is a part of the daily life in India.

Example #4: About a month ago, one of the bankers at work took a call from a girl traveling overseas. She was calling to inform us that she'd be out of the country. The banker is filling out some information about the trip and asks the girl, "What country or countries will you be staying in?"

The girl replies, "Europe."

Yes, another one of those people.

The banker says, "Okay...Which countries in Europe?"

Irritated, the girl says, "I'm staying in Europe! That's where I'm going."

"I understand. Europe is a continent. Which countries in Europe are you going to be in?"

Frustrated, the girl replies, "I'll be in Paris and Frankfurt."

The banker says, "Okay, I'll put France and Germany on here then."

The nurse from example #2 may have been educated, but at least she wasn't planning a trip to the "country of Europe." This girl was actually planning on spending time in the countries of Paris and Frankfurt. Those poor natives of Germany and France. They had to put up with her.

9 Comments:

At 8:24 PM, CarpeDM said...

And then there's me, who took a test in geography in 8th grade and accidently wrote South America instead of South Africa. Ah, memories of why I never joined the Diplomatic Corp.

This was great!

At 8:40 PM, EB said...

And there you have in a nutshell why so much of the rest of the world fears the U.S. It's not just our military might and mindboggling national wealth. It's that we don't, as a whole, have any clue of the rest of the world or its peoples, so we can't be trusted to use that power and wealth wisely.

Nationalism + power + ignorance is a scary cocktail.

At 3:54 AM, rod said...

a couple years ago on my way to Moldova (between Ukraine and Romania) I was layed over in Brussels. While I was patiently awaiting my flight, I witnessed a very large man in Stetson and cowboy boots and extremely tight wranglers being escorted by two customs officials, one under each arm, and one carrying a large knife (at least 18 inches). As they passed my chair, I overheard the cowboy say in thickly accented English, "but that there knife was made in Germany, don't that count for nothing?"

At 4:27 PM, Anonymous said...

Feeling a little racial?

The problem here is that they don't know where places are, not that they pretended to, as you attest-- unless you're reporting your stories inaccurately.

I think it's a good idea to can anti-Americanism, and call it what it is: RACISM.

~Jason Silver

At 6:15 PM, The Lioness said...

EB, absolutely right. In Europe we do fear Americans and a lot of it has to do with what you said. Jason Silver, I don't even know where to start. You have your sociological and anthropological concepts all mixed up. And Beth was pretty clear. The problem indeed IS that these people did NOT know. So basically you were bothered that she portrayed Americans in a bad light. Shame on her. People are entlited to their own opinion, even if it means belittling their own country, or feeling ashamed of their countrymen. It's one of those 1st Amendment things. Your implying she made things up is pretty weak. Especially considering I've explained to many an American, while in Portugal, that yes Lisbon is a capital, no, we are not part of Spain, no, we are not a colony of Brazil, yes we do have our own language (called Portuguese), and yes it's Cornflakes they see. I have met some interested, interesting, well-informed Americans all over Europe. But trust me, they are by far the minority. And now you'll force me to say that some of my best friends are gay and black (actually, only one gay and I don't really have black friends but I once had a crush on this black guy, does it count?), I'm Jewish, female, I live in a 3rd-world country so no, I am not feeling racial. Funnily enough, I never really do - unless you count stupidity as an ethnic trait.

At 9:09 PM, Anonymous said...

Hi Beth,

I misunderstood, because I didn't read carefully enough. I found your like from a Canadian blog and wrongly assumed you were Canadian like me. Canadian's are all too quick to rant against Americans, and since I've spent some time in the US, I feel like it's partly my responsibility to assure Canadians that all Americans are not loud, arrogant, biggots.

I see I've started quite a tidal wave. My apologies again.

~Jason

At 9:29 PM, brooksba said...

Jason -

Do you have a blog? I'd love to read it. Thanks!

Beth

At 6:55 PM, Anonymous said...

I'm a little gun shy, but okay...

Can I do HTML here?

CrookedBush.com~Jason

At 1:36 AM, Thrillcekr said...

I'll start out by saying that, as an American, I have encountered tons of the same type of ignorance that you speak of. I've travelled to numerous countries all over Asia, Africa, South and Central America etc.. In these travels I've ran into numerous idiots from those countries and travellers from Europe who don't know shit about anything outside their own continent. Obviously, if you aren't American you most likely wouldn't know about a lot of the ignorant statements and questions your own countrymen and women make when they run across a visitor from the U.S.. I welcome it myself though. Nothing is more fun to me than carving up some loud mouthed Frenchman in front of his friends when he tries to engage with me in a political or geographical debate. Often times they aren't nearly as knowledgeable as they think. I can't tell you how many times I had one of those morons speechless when I quoted some events of their own country's history that they didn't even know.

I had the pleasure of shutting up an Englishman just about two weeks ago that I ran into in a nearby restaraunt. He started in on the "dumb American" crap. I overheard this and pulled up a chair next to him and his friend. He then thought he would freak me out with a reference to the Crimean War. That was a big joke. He didn't even know what a Crimean Tatar was and had never heard of Sevastapol much less be able to identify it on a map. Things only got worse for him from there until he realized he'd bit off more than he could chew. Carpathian mountains? He didn't know where those were either. Then I had a good time making fun of how the sophisticated English snatch those stupid tabloid newspapers up like a fat lady in the candy aisle. After I helped him get over himself and his arrogance we actually ended up having a good time.

Last week I had to help a guy from Pakistan find Tasmania on a map because he couldn't locate it and was preparing for a test. It helps when you start looking in the correct ocean. I had a real interesting conversation with a Scotsman in L.A. after the Oklahoma City bombings. He was a self proclaimed expert on the subject yet he didn't have a clue where Oklahoma City was. Then he said he was going to Detroit and that, since Chicago was only a few miles away, he was going to rent a car and drive there for a weekend. When I told hime Chicago was over 300 miles away from Detroit and that he should go check out Canada instead because it was right across the bay he told me I was full of shit.

If you ever get a chance, go visit a site called Mates Up Over. It's a message boards for Australian expats here in the U.S.. These people have mostly lived in America for years yet their information posted on their site and their knowledge of this country is way off the mark.

There are definately some Americans that don't know their geography but I can guarantee you that there are an equal amount of fools elsewhere around the globe. At least, in the case of the guy from India, the person who asked him the dumb question most likely has never been there. Many of the stooges I've encountered have been residing here in America for years and still don't have a clue.

This is Chocolate Chip, better known as Chip! Or "stomach on legs" as we so caringly referred to him as a puppy. He's my sweet baby and he lives with my mom. I love him very much and miss seeing his happy face and wagging tail everyday. My mom has to be careful when talking about me, he will cry for hours thinking I'm coming over to visit.
Posted by Hello

Just a close up of the same. Matt gives it his all. And he is "Whoo-worthy!"
Posted by Hello

With a little help from my friends... This is my big brother Matt. He sings Joe Cocker's, "With a Little Help From My Friends" at karaoke and he pours his heart and soul into the song. Anyone listening knows that Matt's bonds of friendship are strong. We're still waiting for the vein in his head to burst!
Posted by Hello

My day...

A long weekend coming up...for everyone but me. I work Tuesdays through Saturdays, so having Monday off is really not a big deal for me. What is fantastic to know is that most of my friends now have Monday off and this means Sunday night will be one filled with friends and fun! Dana put an open invitation to karaoke on her blog (check it out here). If anyone is in the Saint Paul, Minnesota area this weekend, come to karaoke!

I wrote last night about my big brother being missing. He made me worry when he didn't show up for cards with Dana and I. What scared me more was the fact he didn't answer his phone when I called. I found out today that his youngest wanted to cuddle and he fell asleep. I forgave him, his little one is so gosh darn cute! And it's great to hear him connecting and enjoying those moments now. He should treasure it while he's got it. Kids grow up so quickly and their independence jumps in leaps and bounds. (Dana - this is the answer to your question on whether or not I heard from Matt.)

After work, I met Matt for dinner at an all night restaurant. I won't say the name but I had some wonderful "pancakes" in a "house" that seemed "international". While we sat there, a table behind us made a comment which bears repeating. I'm not sure why it bears repeating, other than it is amusing.

These two men (boys) were sitting across the table from each other. The first is covered head to toe in hair. I'm sure he was wearing clothes (I'd have noticed a naked man in public - I'm pretty sure of this) but all I noticed was the greasy, matted hair all over his body. I think he had a pony tail, except it was on the side of his head. You know, lop-sided and sticking out in an unsymmetrical way. The other man was clean shaven and I noticed his attire. He was wearing black shorts with his shirt tucked in. His white legs reflected the overhead lighting, blinding me at one in the morning. To contrast the pale legs and the pitch black shorts, he had pens lined up in his pocket.

Now, I love pens. I probably have 10 in my purse alone. I'm addicted to office supplies and I'll also admit to some obsessive-compulsive behaviors (organizing my socks, etc). I have never lined up 9 pens in my pocket by type, color, and functionality. This guy had three roller ball pens starting at the left, red, green, and blue. Next came the Sharpies. There were five, in rainbow order: red, orange, green, blue, then black. Finally, there was a regular Bic pen (pretty sure it was blue). This struck me as too much work.

Here is the phrase we overheard:

"I am a man! I play Dugeons and Dragons! Women want me, of course I have to be careful. Mom might wake up."

I was barely able to stay in my seat, I wanted to jump him right then and there.

(I'm pretty sure the sarcasm came out there. If you didn't catch it, I was kidding.)

Oh baby, oh baby, oh.

That's all for tonight. More adventures to come this weekend!

Picture of the Day, September 3, 2004. I took this picture outside of work one day. The sunlight fighting its way through the clouds reminded me there is beauty in everyday events. What does the picture make you think of?

1 Comments:

At 11:31 PM, CarpeDM said...

Not everyone is going to agree with me about this but I have always felt, when I saw a picture like this or witnessed the real thing, the sunbeams breaking through clouds, was that God was smiling at me. Or beaming, if you will.

Yes, I know that's a bad pun.

A random picutre, but one I liked. This is the front of the Coca-Cola store in Las Vegas. I was surprised by this picture, I think it was because it turned out so similar to a postcard I had seen. The subject is simple, just a giant glass bottle gleaming in the sunlight.

1 Comments:

At 12:50 AM, The Lioness said...

If it weren't Avodah Zarah, this would be my place of worship! COKE!!!!!!!!!!

Ode to an old friend

I got home late this evening, playing cards at the late night restaurant with Dana again. I'm still worried, my big brother didn't show up. =( I hope everything is okay with Matt.

I was goofing off (surprise, surprise right?) and I made an eagle claw with my hand. I was thinking of Kill Bill. Dana started laughing and reminded me of an old friend.

Years ago, I was a regular at the pool hall. Each night, my destination after work was not home, it was to check in with the other pool hall junkies. We did actually play billiards much, we stood around, laughing, playing music, and dropping quite a few quarters in the video games.

One of the other regulars was Bob. Bob is a natural comedian. He loves making others laugh and smile. He's a very down-to-earth person with tremendous energy.

Bob had a bit to make you smile. He would come at you, his hand in the eagle claw position. You know, the two fingers curled up and the thumb curled on the bottom. He would yell, "EAGLE CLAW!"

Next, Bob would add a curled finger and yell, "BEAR CLAW!"

Continuing on the road house kung-fu movie kick, Bob would turn his hand (which I can't explain) into his, "TIGER PAW!"

And then, sweet as pie, he'd put both hand up above his shoulders, walk back and forth sideways, making pinching gestures with his fingers, and yell, "THE CRAB!"

It's so simple, yet I laughed every time he did this. You just have to imagine this medium sized, meaty man meandering back and forth with this goofy grin on his face pretending to be a crab.

I miss Bob.

1 Comments:

At 11:27 PM, CarpeDM said...

Oh, God, I just started laughing all over again. And you were worried you wouldn't be able to describe it...or, perhaps, I'm just imagining you doing the routine again.

I miss Bob as well.

Have you heard from your brother?

Just an update

Today was a strange day. I've been having difficulties sleeping lately (I think it's the fact whenever the people above me run their air conditioner, something vibrates in the wall creating this constant, annoying buzzing noise - shut up Matt). The weather here has finally reached summer and this causes me to hear this pulsing noise all night long. I slept badly last night and woke up unable to concentrate on anything. Even with eight hours of sleep (on and off), I felt as if I hadn't slept in three years.

Side note: I love to sleep. It's not just the building energy back up part, it's the dreaming (which are usually more interesting than T.V.) and the waking up in a warm, secure place. I've been a person needing at least eight hours of sleep my entire life. I don't understand people who can get by on four hours or less. But then, my experiences have show me those people are usually quicker to crack a sarcastic joke or get really angry. I sleep to make sure I'm refreshed the next day, involved in the conversations going on, and allowing my attention to stay focused on the points at hand. I could sleep for twelve hours a day, it's just I couldn't get everything else done that way.

Since I slept so terribly last night, I did not go to work today. I know, this is bad. I felt horrible though and so I called in. Since I didn't show up for work, Dana called me to see how I was doing. It was nice to talk with Dana for a bit. She's so sweet and a great friend (yes Dana, you are).

I have written a little before about my lack of randomness. Dana is the opposite of that, she can come up with some completely random thoughts. This brings me to something she said at karaoke a couple of weeks ago when we were discussing athletes.

"But your mom, no not your mom, Sarah's mom, no, someone's mom said, 'he's not your type,' wait, that was Nora Roberts. That's fiction."

I still don't get this. But I love her. She's terrific.

Not all that blog-worthy, but I am going to write about it anyway. I'm looking forward to tomorrow evening. I'm going to meet Matt and Dana for cards after work, our Thursday tradition.

We'll be playing the game I named my blog after. Sheepshead is a trump game resembling a cross of spades, hearts, and euchre. It's not the game which keeps the Sheepsheadians together, it's a reason to get together and laugh for hours. I love the time spent with the other Sheepsheadians, they are my friends and the reasons I love my life. Friendship is the most important thing in my life and I am fortunate to have great friends. That's what keeps me positive, keeps me enthusiastic, and keeps me smiling.

Not too much in the brain tonight, this is about the most concentration I can manage. I did figure out the photoblogging thing today and I'll be posting pictures regularly now. This is because of my love of photography. I'm open to thoughts about the pictures I post, I'd like to know if any of them are any good.

Good night.

2 Comments:

At 11:36 AM, Matt said...

Little Sister, What ever do you mean shut up? Like I would say anything about vibrating noises, I don't know what you are talking about. I am looking forward to the Thursday tradition as well. Can't wait to see you there tonight, take care today and I will see you and Dad tonight.
Big Brother

P.S. Was the sound followed by screams? Or the strange smell of some illegal? Just wondering.........

At 4:52 PM, CarpeDM said...

Matthew!

I am shocked and stunned by your blatant disregard for your sister's request that you shut up. Didn't your mother and I teach you better manners? I am appalled.

You just wait until I see you tonight, young man, there will be heck to pay!

Love,

Dad

September 1, 2004

Photo of the Day

Last year, I bought myself a pretty decent digital camera. I'm finding more and more uses for the camera and it is now one of the best purchases I've ever made.

The view in this picture is out front of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dana and I went to Vegas for vacation last March. Our goal on vacation: take tons of pictures to scrapbook. We achieved the goal. I am going to try to post a photo on this site (hopefully daily, but I may not make it each day) of sights I enjoyed, events that made me smile, or photos that just turned out well.

I would like to try a photography class, not as a career, but just to learn a few more tricks to make great pictures and how to capture the moment.

"We do not remember days, we remember moments."

1 Comments:

At 4:48 PM, CarpeDM said...

I remember standing in this spot, the sun in my eyes, looking at this fountain and just thanking God that I was back in Vegas, not sick and sharing all the sites and fun with you.

Thanks for this memory.

I love photography and scrapbooking. Dana and I went to Las Vegas in March and this is a picture I took at the Bellagio's Conservatory. I see this picture and think beauty in simplicity.

1 Comments:

At 4:45 PM, CarpeDM said...

Pretty.

My mother finally became Blog worthy

I have refrained from posting some stories about my mom. She's a wonderful mother, I love her dearly. Like any daughter, I fear becoming her. The other day, she called me a few times and I need to share the conversations.

5:00 PM, I have been talking to her for 45 minutes now about the cat, the dogs, work, the Olympics, etc.


M: Are you scrapbooking?
B: No, I was getting dressed. (She heard the deodorant can.)
M: Do you have a guy over?
B: What? No.
M: Why are you just now getting dressed?
B: Because it's my day off, I've been awake about an hour now and decided to change out of my pjs.
M: I hear someone. Who's that?
B: Fred LeBlanc from Cowboy Mouth playing on my stereo.
M: Are you sure you don't have a guy over?
B: Pretty sure.
M: It's okay if you do.
B: Well, that's good to know that I have your permission after 25 years of life to have a person of the male gender hanging out in my apartment that I pay for.
M: Okay. (She is smiling here, I can hear it in her voice.)

We talk about 10 more minutes and then she has to go. I had plans to go to my dad's for dinner so that's where I go.

About an hour later, my mom calls my cell phone.

M: I forgot to tell you that the cat is now 18.2 pounds.
B: Wow.
M: Where are you?
B: I'm at Dad's.
My dad says something in the background.
M: Do you have a guy over?
B: I'm at Dad's.
M: I KNOW I heard a man in the background there.
B: Yes, that would be Dad, the man you were married to for 25 years.
M: It's okay if you have a guy over you know. I wouldn't mind.

Here's the thing, if I did have a guy over, I don't think I'd be running to my mom for approval. And if I did have a guy over, do you think I would spend 45 minutes talking to my mom about the fact the cat's neck is bigger than it's head and this is why it can't have a collar? Would this impress anyone???

I get the logical part of my personality from my dad. I get the impulsive part of my personality from my mom. Being the daughter I am (mostly a daddy's girl) and being afraid of turning into my mother, I try to suppress my impulsive tendencies. This is probably why I come out as the neutral sheep. And why Dana thinks I'm Spock. (Forget the fact that when I was in kindergarten and we had playtime, I was always playing Spock. Yes, I admitted it, I liked Star Trek as a 5 year old and I thought the logical alien was cooler than the impulsive captain. I also have one pointed ear (my ears are different shapes) and can do that whole V thing with both hands. Why did I just share this?)

Oh well, Live long and prosper.

5 Comments:

At 7:11 AM, rod said...

ok, bad news: you will become your mom. You will work very very hard at identifying each little quirk that rears itself and then squelching it, squashing it, squishing it. But then one day something will distract you. Something will take your attention away from not becoming your mom. It might be (heaven forbid) that you have a guy over. You take your mind off the eternal task at hand. You look in the mirror and ... there's your mom. Oh man, I stopped paying attention for a fraction of a second. She'll look back at you from the bathroom wall and say, "now dear, you just go and live your life. Don't you worry, I'll keep an eye on you from right here."
Not that this should scare you. In order to become yourself, you've got to be made of someone. Better that it should be this way. If you became your dad, you'd have to deal with the hairy chest and all. Anyway, live long and prosper, whichever parent you become. If you are lucky, you may not even realize it until your kids say, "mom, did you learn how to love me from grandma?"

At 9:02 AM, Matt said...

Little Sister,

I am not afraid of you becoming your mother, because I cannot see you in the back yard yelling at the neighbors while.....well you know the rest of the story. I can however see you having Spock as a childhood hero, not because of your logical personality, but because of your father's album collection I saw. That says it all. Talk to you later,
Big Brother

At 4:42 PM, CarpeDM said...

Ah, who knew providing your mother with my cat would lead to many, many enjoyable conversations about him. I love hearing stories about your mom, Beth.

At 3:35 PM, Firebear said...

Hmmm, Did you have a guy over when you wrote this post? Its ok if you did.

At 7:16 PM, The Lioness said...

LOL, and Firebear - LOL!

School Shopping Extravaganza!

No, I was not school shopping tonight. I'll do that closer to when my classes start back up again. What I did do was stop at a retail store before meeting some friends for food (and having to wish someone good luck with their cross-country move. I'll miss you lots Cindy!) The number of families with little kids running around the store reminded me of those back-to-school days of shopping with my mom. I love shopping for and buying school supplies. This is something I've discussed before (Writing Utensil Update). It is frightening how much I love paper, pens, pencils, binders, etc. This may be why my job at the office supply store put no money in my pockets. I digress.

There are about 8 mazillion (yes, I made up a word. This is from karaoke one night and I don't know how much a mazillion is, but I'm sure it's a lot) kids running around the office supplies aisle. I dodge a couple as I grab two notebooks (one for score keeping while playing cards and one to carry around in my purse for notes). I stop over in the toys area to pick up a couple of decks of cards to replace the Coca-Cola cards I bought in Vegas last March. Since I only have four items and since the store has been overrun by families purchasing carts full of paper, crayons, rulers, etc., I decide the express lane is a good idea.

This was my first mistake.

I am third in line to check out. The gentleman in front of me has three items, dog food and a couple of small things I didn't quite register. The woman in front of him has seven, yes SEVEN, children with her. In the check out aisle for ten or less items this woman decided to purchase $140 worth of school supplies. Notebooks don't cost $14 each. Obviously, this woman cannot count to ten. Maybe she should go back to school with her children.

I am not bothered about how much this woman is purchasing, I'm just explaining that she's in the check out lane for ten items or less. This might bother some people. Such as the woman who stood behind me.

This woman runs up behind me, ready to run a marathon, complete with the lycra biker shorts and black tank top. Her pseudo-brown hair hangs from her hair in snarls. In her right hand is a cigarette, previously lit, but obviously not finished. Her left hand holds a $5 bill. Knowing the line I'm standing in is closest to the cigarette racks, I'm sure she needed to buy a pack of cigarettes.

Biker chick stood behind me, rocking back and forth. As we stood there, her definition of personal space and mine collided. I guess the crappy merchandise in the end caps has the power to become the most fascinating images on the planet while waiting in line. She needed, couldn't live without, to put her chin over my shoulder to look at the lollipops on sale at this time. Waiting the two minutes it would take to move forward in line was too much to ask. She became my own personal "space invader". Her arm lunges out and grasps this bag of candy on top of the rack.

The woman with seven kids is now paying for her stuff. Here is what I heard:

"F*ck! I'm like the world's most impatient person. F*ck, my stomach hurts. Oh!!!! What's the cashier doing?"

Here is my next mistake, I responded. "It appears the cashier is providing change to the customer."

"F*ck! This is taking too long. Hurry up!"

Thankfully, the line moved forward and I was quickly away from the retail store, scared from this woman and scared for anyone who has to deal with her. I'm wondering how she's made it this far in life that she can't handle being in line for five minutes.

3 Comments:

At 9:07 AM, CarpeDM said...

"It appears the cashier is providing change to the customer."

God, I love you. I got this flash of our whole Star Trek thing and could imagine this.

"Fascinating, captain. It appears that this human is suffering from an inability to recognize what people are doing. Let me explain this to her in a logical fashion."

Mmm, notebooks. I love back to school as well. If it weren't for all the damn kids.

At 3:20 PM, Matt said...

Yes, for some reason I am also bothered by the kids running around the aisles, thank God I don't have any......wait I do. Never mind.

As for the whole Star Trek thing: "Damn it Spock, can you not.....just for once.....harsh my buzz" I just needed to do it.

I love you Little Sister, take care.

Big Brother.

At 7:19 PM, The Lioness said...

"I love shopping for and buying school supplies. (...) It is frightening how much I love paper, pens, pencils, binders, etc."

Me too! Me too! I thought I was a lonesome freak!

Since I'm trying to increase my randomness

After taking the test to see how random I was, I determined myself to expressing myself in a more random way. In the past, I've discussed with my former roommate about how things I say can sometimes sound random, it's just that there is an entire train of thought reaching up to this. Like last night. I had a conversation with Michael at karaoke about that signifies my seemingly random thoughts, that aren't random at all. Here is that conversation:

M: You like this song.
B: Yeah, Dean's great. (Wow, I'm quite the conversationalist! Yeah, right. Dean was rapping Ice, Ice Baby. I don't like rap, but Dean is an amazing person and fun to listen to.)
There is a pause in the conversation.
B: Bryan did a terrific job at Getting Jiggy Wit It. He made it his own song.

Michael stares at me blankly. Yes, we had been talking about rap, but not Bryan, or that specific song. And the comment I made was to justify people trying rap songs at karaoke.

I look at Michael and explain.
B: I just left out something. What I meant to say before that was, 'I have trouble enjoying rap. Dean is the only person I can listen to at karaoke because he adds his own words to the songs during the musical breaks and he can speed up the songs and still sound clear. I don't like to listen to anyone else. Except Bryan. [Insert what I actually said here.] He sang it like Frank Sinatra would and added class.'

No wonder Michael looked so confused. It seemed random, but I did not randomly make it to that thought.

In other words, I'm trying to either improve what I explain or try to be truly random. Like Dana. Dana is a random person. Or seemingly random. What scares us is when I can understand her train of thought and associations bringing her to the words she just said. (Oh, I like Paul Simon, who's that guy I don't like?)

What brought me to discussing my randomness (or lack thereof)? I was blog surfing again. I love this Next Blog link at the top. It's so much better than having advertisements for pens at the top of my blog. (Matt gave me new pens! Hurrah!)

I find many blogs I have no interest in reading. It's usually because I don't have the skills in certain foreign languages to read them. There are some that bother me grammatically. Here's my vant about the grammar.

The word 'peoples'. As in "Hey peoples!" This just irks me. If you're going to be seriously writing, be serious about what image you are portraying through your words. When someone is reading your works, they are getting a picture of who you are. Presenting yourself as an uneducated individual does not make others want to read your expressions.

Using the font/program (I don't know how people do this) that capitalizes every other letter. Such as, "wE wEnT tO tHe StOrE." Again, this shows no grasp on the English language. I can handle some grammar issues. Just not blatant disregard for the language.

My last vant about grammar. If you are going to bother with punctuation, bother to capitalize I. Examples are: "i went to the store. i stayed home. i went to work." All this does is show how lazy someone is. Pressing the shift key is not difficult people. Unless you only have one digit total on both hands, there is no excuse for this. Our language has capital letters and punctuation for a reason. It helps designate importance, breaks in trains of thought, context, etc. Grammar includes the tools we use to communicate. If I said to you, "sToRe went me," you may understand that I went to the store, but you're going to think less of me. Grammar makes it easy for others to understand you. Please use it!

Okay, back to my normal state of bliss. I'm not just trying to express my displeasure in the writing skills of the general public. I found a site today which I loved. It may be one of the best written sites I've had the pleasure of finding. This man is well-written, he is descriptive and still grasps the concept of expressing action. His posts are interesting, creating a picture in my mind. The technique does not hinder the story he is weaving. The site is The Cyberdeck Dialogue. If you are interested in good writing, check it out. I recommend it highly.

I guess I'm not that random, am I?

To be completely random:

An update to my undying desire to possess the next Dark Tower book by Stephen King. The dreams have started up since the release date (and my next day off of work - I can't believe I took a day of vacation to read a book) is only 23 days away.

I had a dream last night where I held the new book in my hands. It was the day it came out. The book was thick, as I wish it will be. It boasted over 900 pages. The epic adventure concluded with an epic itself. I check the back page to see the actual page content (not to read the last sentence). I notice it looks like an index. This seems odd for fiction. Puzzled, I ponder why an index would be in a fictional story. Thinking it may be the concordance for the stories (which the second concordance of the Dark Tower series, assembled by Robin Furth, covering the last three books, will also be released with the final book), I try to determine how many of the pages this index covers. This is where the dream becomes a nightmare. I see that the index covers over 680 pages! Ahhhh! The story itself only covers 219 pages. (Yes, the number 19. My desire to see the significance of this is growing.) I am so disturbed by the lack of story, I wake up.

I am officially a tower junkie.

1 Comments:

At 9:02 AM, CarpeDM said...

I am so confused. I try to follow what you are saying but your use of logic to explain randomness makes my head hurt. Ow.

Okay, actually, I took my break early because I had a headache already.

You scare me with this whole tower thing. I don't get the 19 reference. Tell me what it means! Tell me! Okay, head hurts more because of furrowing of brow.

Ode to another week

Ah, the feeling of being home. I wrote a little about my week and it wasn't bad, but I'm glad to finally come to the weekend. Knowing I don't have to be back to work for another 62 hours is nice.

Our team is having fun and doing well, we're still trying to find the groove we had last quarter. Eke! I feel as if the bar was raised and we forgot how to jump over it.

The Olympics were cool for a week. I want my Conan back! I think Conan O'Brien is back on starting Monday. Let's sing hymnals now! I'm excited at least.

Thursday was a crazy day. Besides having to be at work an hour and a half early, I had three meetings. I lead two of them. The first involved the upper management staff appreciating the assistant managers (surprise, surprise - okay, Dana and I knew what was going on because we've been there long enough and we're observant). Still, it was cool. The teams put together posters for their leads. My team made a card. One of my bankers even drew a picture of Clint Eastwood for me. This is because of my Dark Tower obsession and watching a ton of old westerns lately.

After that meeting, I lead a team meeting. I had to come up with something cool to keep people involved for an hour. I found some training packet on this new regulation "Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act". You might hear of it being called Check 21. Just in case anyone relies on the time from when you write the check to when it clears, forget this practice RIGHT NOW! And don't blame your bank. This is a regulation being passed by the Federal Government to allow expedited funds clearing and help in detecting fraud quickly. It's the 21st century now (surprising from the name of the Act huh?) and technology has made it so your checks don't need to travel the Pony Express to clear. Have the money before you spend the funds. Okay, off that soapbox now.

I stayed late at work 3 nights this week. One was completely unplanned but when you're the closer, you get to wait for the last banker to get off their call. So I was late meeting Matt for cards. He's sweet. He bought me a movie! That made me feel special.

I just started thinking about the movie Matt got me. He bought me Kill Bill Volume 2. Maybe my mind is going to far. Thinking of me, he picked up a movie about a woman who goes on a rampage and starts killing all of her enemies. I don't think he's comparing. Hee hee.

I cried this week. One of the bankers from my team had to move out of state and quit suddenly. I didn't get to say good-bye at work. She signed the card my team made for the recognition event and then her final calls came in from being monitored for quality assurance. She did fantastic. This made me cry because she is so awesome and no longer at work with me. Imagine me with a big lower lip sticking out and tears in my eyes. That's what I feel like.

I got addicted to Zelda again. I've accomplished nothing at home. Oops. Also, this is the reason for lower blog activity lately. I am also enjoying the next blog feature. Blogs with weird cursors and music bother me, I've written this before. I found a couple of good ones tonight. One made me cry a little. This woman has been trying to have a baby but just miscarried. It's unfortunate. Here's her blog. I admire her for sharing her story. The other one that intrigued me tonight was this one. I think I just liked the title of her blog. And the information is a different perspective on life. I liked it.

Looking forward to karaoke tomorrow night. Time with Dana and Matt! I should call Karen and get her to join us. I miss hanging out with Karen. She's way cool.

My back hurts. My belt's too tight. I'm shaking my booty from left to right. Sorry Dana. I still think of that cheer Lisa used to drive you insane with at work. But my back does hurt. Don't know why I'm sharing that here. I'm just on a random chain of thought.

Went shopping online last night and today. I placed an order for scrapbooking stuff last night. Lots of fun stuff! I can't order the really cool stuff until next month, but there are some great new products coming in the mail now. The other thing I bought arrived in my email inbox tonight. I'm excited for a concert in September where I'll be laughing and screaming and singing along with Matt, Scott, and Dana to a wonderfully powerful singer, Melissa Etheridge. I went to one of her concerts when I was in high school and it was amazing. It was also the best seats I've ever had for a concert (besides a street show).

On the subject of Melissa Etheridge. She is an amazing performer. Her voice is so powerful and true. The fact that I enjoy her music does not make me gay. I wish people could just understand that accepting others for our differences is essential for life and humanity. I can understand if someone doesn't appreciate the music because it's not their desired genre of songs, but to not appreciate a musician or artist just because of their sexual preference is ignorant. Why deny yourself the joy of great art, music, or performances because of the star's choice in the bedroom? Who loses? All of this is spawned from a comment someone made to me when I mentioned purchasing a tribute album because Melissa Etheridge was a singer on the album. I was told, "Hanging out with gays is making you gay." What? I responded politely, "I enjoy the music because it's good. And it's narrow-minded individuals like yourself that make me want to avoid straight performers. Are you really that self-centered?" Okay, getting off soapbox again. Maybe I should put that away tonight. Then I can't hop back on.

So, our check with our bonuses is coming on Tuesday. I wish the company would cut a separate check for the bonus instead of adding it to our regular salary. I'm paying a ton of taxes on this check. Here's a clue, the deductions actually total more than more normal paycheck. Oh well, Uncle Sam is going to be giving me back a lot in February. Just in time to payoff Christmas. It's like a forces savings plan. Without the interest. Oh well, interest rates for deposit accounts suck. Here's what the Feds are thinking, "Let's fuel up the economy by making people buy lots of crap and putting themselves into debt. Then the national debt will decrease because Americans will just have it be personal debt." Maybe that's not what they're thinking, it's just that with the lower interest rates on borrowing money, people spend more and can't pay it off. And when credit interest rates are down, so are deposit interest rates. Fact of life.

That's enough randomness tonight. Later!

1 Comments:

At 11:41 AM, CarpeDM said...

I like it when you're random. It's fun.

Yay! Melissa Etheridge tickets! This is so cool.

Yeah, well, I got called sir. I'm sure the individual who made that sweeping statement would probably think I'm gay as well, just because of the haircut. I hate sterotypes.

Yet another reason I love you (in a platonic way, of course (couldn't resist)), you are not afraid to say what's on your mind. Too many people would back down from that statement.

See you tonight! Call me!

Surfing Blogs

Am I a horrible person? It seems to me that I might be lazy or that I just don't like a lot of distractions.

Blogger now has this link at the top of each page to go to the next blog. This is rather cool and I've found a couple of blogs worth reading. As I was clicking through tonight, I realized that I don't like it when I get to a blog with tons of extra stuff on it.

I'm talking about having music play or what really annoys me, having something follow the mouse around. I hate those date, time, et cetera things on the end of a mouse pointer. It makes me disregard the blog and move on.

I found a blog I enjoyed tonight. The refreshment of an ice cube, only made of words. I enjoyed his Eulogy. ish post. I have to read more and see if it will become a constant hit. He reminds me of me and also of Dana. And then he's completely different. That made sense, didn't it?

Random stuff:

I have a meeting tomorrow at 1:30. This may be a problem since I usually get out of bed at 1:50. I really should be going to bed now.

I gotta talk to Matt. I wonder if he wants to hang out tomorrow night. Reminder to self to call Matt. (Or if my big brother is reading, call me! Just not before 1 in the afternoon. I'd prefer you call me at work. That's where I'd call you from.)

I started a new book. I'm reading Bag of Bones by Stephen King. Haven't gotten too far yet. It's interesting and I guess it's tied to the Dark Tower series. 27 days left until the final book comes out. I'm thinking of creating a countdown calendar for my desk at work. This might be slightly obsessive.

Got to talk to Matt about Saturday afternoon. I asked Dana already and she's interested in going to an event in September. I think Matt will be too. That made no sense. I'm sure of it.

I'm starting to get caught up at work. I've spent the last couple of nights figuring out disputes with the quality monitors. I seem to enjoy the arguing with the authorities to help the bankers perform at higher levels. I don't know if I'll get anything back this month, but I'm trying. Our team is suffering and it's driving me crazy.

My pile of scrapbooking stuff seems to be growing. I need to get the Vegas album completed. Then I could probably organize a little better.

I found the cord for my N64! It was in a cooler. I used very interesting things to pack stuff when I moved. Why this cord was the only one not with all my electronics is beyond me. But I got to play Zelda again. Thank you to Adam for giving me the game!

I got extremely upset at my computer tonight. I had a post for Out of the Mouths of Morons completely written and tried to run spell check. Some goofy pop-up blocker showed up and erased my entire post. ARGH!

That's enough random information for tonight. My brain is fried.

1 Comments:

At 7:45 AM, CarpeDM said...

I wrote a comment last night and then the computer froze up on me. Anyway, no, you're not a horrible person, I don't like blogs with a lot of distractions either. I have no problem with stuff off to the side, like links and guestbooks and stuff like that, it's the blogs that have the snow falling in the background or the dancing things at the bottom of the page that irritate me. I've tried to read them and they are in this odd code that makes absolutely no sense. Like using the letters "U R" instead of "you are." Drives me crazy. This is not a text message. It's a blog. You have an actual keyboard. Try using it.

I liked Bag of Bones. Apparently the critics made this big fuss about it being his first literary novel. Which amused me because it's not my favorite book by him at all.

You know what I liked best about the meeting yesterday, Beth? The fact that all we have to do is exchange a glance and we right away know what the other is thinking. It's nice to know that our psychic powers work away from the bar.

Anyway, yes, I'm working overtime today. I'll see you later.

Adios, mi amiga

Olympic hopeful?

As a child, disillusionment was my forte. For some random reason, my parents and I felt I could be athletic. It took many years before the realization set in about which sports I could enjoy.

Swimming - Have you seen Michael Phelps? I'm sure you have. The hype is strong and this 19-year old won 8 medals in the Olympics. I must say, he's kind of cute. He is a great swimmer. I am not.

My mom enrolled me in beginner's swimming when I was 5. At the age of nine, she told me I did not have to go anymore. I was still in the beginner's swimming class. Four years in a row, I failed beginner's swimming. If I go near a pool today, I still can't swim. I can splash around in the shallow end, but if I put my head under the water, I start drowning immediately.

I am terrified of water. The diving board also made me fearful of heights. My mom is mean.

Since swimming was not the best choice for me, other sports were added to my schedule to see which I could become an Olympic hopeful in.

Gymnastics - Angi's blog discusses her adventures with being a gymnast. Her adventures lasted much longer than mine did. (And they are more interesting. Check out her blog.) I went to one gymnastics practice when I was 5. One. When talking to my mom about this, she doesn't even remember enrolling me. She told me, "You were a chubby kid. You wouldn't have been in gymnastics." My dad's memory was much better. "Yeah, you went to gymnastics. You were always doing somersaults around the house." Why did I only go to one practice? Because my ride got kicked out. My Olympic dreams (and the dreams of being physically fit in my adult life) plummeted.

What did my family decide to do with this failure? Give up on sports? No.

Figure skating - My dad spent many years playing hockey. He never played professionally but only because the state we lived in did not have a professional team. He would have tried out for it if there had been a way to play and still be close to home. Because he spent so much time on the ice, it was a natural idea for me to try figure skating. Unfortunately, girls playing hockey was not common when I was little and figure skating is what I tried.

Figure skating was not the entire disaster that swimming was. I fell down many times (that ice is cold! Duh, like I need to explain that ice is cold.) The time came around where I became better at skating around the rink. It was the spinning and jumping I never accomplished. I had a better time chasing people around trying to body check them. Yeah, hockey would have been better.

Basketball - I did this for two years. My first year in basketball was horrible. I was the youngest on the team and everyone else had played for a couple of years before me. They did much better and I did not get many chances to play. In this season, I got the ball 3 times. That's right, 3 times the entire year. The first shot I took went a little bit short. Okay, a lot bit short.

The second attempt was not short. It went long. I hit the wall behind and above the hoop. I learned from my mistakes. The third attempt made that wonderful swoosh! sound. It was enough to get me enrolled the next year.

The second year of basketball was much better. I played in every game, I made many baskets. I was actually one of the better players on our team. I guess I was a natural for fighting for the ball (you know, the hockey roots in my blood). Considering how influential basketball was at my high school, I could have stayed in the sport and probably been an athletic star at my school. (The girls' team usually traded state championships with one other school each year.) Did I stay in basketball?

No. The games were on Saturday mornings and I found a new sport to take over that time slot. Before I go into that sport, I am going to discuss a couple of other failures.

Softball - I played in four games of one season. In the fourth game, my coach decided to let me try pitching. Since I cannot hit the ball, he figured maybe I could throw it. I can't. I walked 20 people in a row. That's right. I pitched 80 times and pitched a ball each time. That was my last game of softball on an organized team.

Volleyball - We played volleyball many times in school. Again, it was not my specialty. I decided against trying out for the team when my nose was almost broken. I used my nose to save the ball from hitting the floor. This was not intentional.

Soccer - We also played soccer in school. I loved running back and forth on the field and I was pretty decent at it. The guys would usually pick me first when choosing teams. I think this was because hockey was in my blood and the guys were afraid I'd be on the other team. My dreams of playing soccer were crushed when the guy who slammed my nose with the volleyball did the same thing to me with a soccer ball. It's amazing my nose never broke. This guy, David, was over six feet tall in eighth grade and weighed about 230 pounds. His spike over the net hurt but the kicking of the soccer ball was even more painful.

Track - Not even a chance. I tried to run. Sprinting wasn't so bad. I can run fast for very short distances. Unfortunately, my school didn't really focus on this. I could run the first lap around the track just as fast as any other person at school. Then I would have to sit down for a long time. Distance running is not something I was blessed with. I never tried out for track because I knew I would be laughed at.

I see now that badminton and trampoline are Olympic sports. I did have a trampoline as a kid. I got hurt quite often. The badminton net was something in our backyard and I had a lot of fun with it. I never knew this was an Olympic sport, otherwise I might have tried to do more with it.

I also took my turn at karate. I think this is an Olympic sport. I did well. I graduated with my class the first year. The white belt was replaced with a yellow belt. Then my school discontinued the program. My dreams were 'crushed' again.

What is the sport I finally fell in love with, you ask? Bowling. I loved it. I still do. I just work nights and can't join a league. I spent every Saturday morning at the bowling alley from age 10 until I was 18. In high school, I joined the high school team. This allowed me to go to practices on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. We had tournaments and meets on Thursdays and Fridays. I still went to the other league on Saturdays. Then I would spend Saturday afternoons in other tournaments and bowling for fun. On Sundays, I would go bowling with my family. It even got to the point that my friends and I would go bowling on Friday nights after the tournaments. I lived and breathed bowling.

I lettered in bowling four times. I was the first student at my school to do this. I made many friends and I was even the captain of the high school team for three years. It was my personal goal to keep the sport going at our school. The first year I joined the team, it was Steve and I from our school. Our team was filled out with members from another school. The second year, we were up to six players. By my junior year, I had two teams going with six players on each team. I will post some stories about that happy time of my life. I met my first boyfriend from bowling. I met my second and third as well.

When I graduated high school, bowling in an youth league was no longer an option. I joined an adult league and met lots of great people. My interest in sports increased, I just realized which sports I could do. I turned to billiards and darts.

I'm athletic. I believe this. I'm just athletic when it's okay for people to drink and laugh and talk. I like social sports.

The Olympics are something I will never experience personally. Am I okay with this? I guess so.

2 Comments:

At 10:32 AM, CarpeDM said...

Cute story! Well, I'm fond of you, even though you'll never compete in the Olympics.

And, if it makes you feel better, you can continue to kick my ass every time we go bowling, billiarding or darting.

I know billiarding isn't a word. But I like to verb.

At 6:04 PM, angelia said...

I can't bowl, I can't play pool, I can't play darts (and I have an electronic dart board). I envy your abilities.