So I’ve been tracking Santa on the NORAD website today. Man, that guy sure gets around! In the 2 hours since I’ve started paying attention, he’s gone from China in the Northern Hemisphere, down to some French Islands off of the coast of eastern Africa in the Southern Hemisphere, back up to Pakistan in the Northern Hemisphere. I can’t help but think that he’s not taking the most efficient route, as he seems to be backtracking at times, but who am I to say? He has a lot more experience in tracking out his path than I do. A couple hundred years, at least.
I’m a big fan of Santa (well, except for these Santas) . When I was around 4 or 5, during the time that Care Bears were big, I of course wanted nothing more than a Care Bear of my own. Poor Santa, however, ran out of Care Bears before he made it to my house (the elves must have underestimated the demand that year, and since the US is the last country on his route it’s understandable that there were none left by the time he made it to Virginia, especially if he hit New England and New York first). Not one to be thwarted, however, he left me an IOU, promising that he’d deliver me my Care Bear just as soon as his stocks were replenished. I was greatly disappointed at the time, but good ol’ Santa held to his promise. Exactly six months later, on my birthday, I ran downstairs to see not one, but two Care Bears sitting on the table, with a note from Santa wishing me a happy birthday. I even remember who they were: Funshine Bear and Good Luck Bear. That’s commitment to a job if I’ve ever seen it!
Santa, however, went through some hard times. After we moved to Minnesota, he started to get forgetful. Still, as soon as he realized that he forgot to leave some intended items, he would always make the trip back to my house to drop them off. There were a couple of years where Santa kept visiting for a week after Christmas! So even with his memory problems, he still remained steadfast and true, making as many trips as needed to get the job done. If only everybody had the same devotion to their tasks that Santa has to his.
So as this Christmas season starts to wind down, gifts are finally unwrapped and turkeys eaten, and family members start to overstay their visits, remember Santa and his never-ending devotion to the Christmas spirit (even in the heat of a southern June summer). Even after Christmas ends, carry those feelings you’re feeling today and tomorrow into the new year. Even if you forget every now and then and have to make that extra effort to get it back, keep Christmas with you. Even if you end up bogged down in work and studies and daily living, remember the love, good cheer and happiness you felt back in December.
And with that final thought, I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas.
Hey, look at that, Santa’s now in Western Russia. I continue to be amazed
Monday, December 24, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Yet another personal post
OK, so after admitting that I was an intensely private person, here's personal post #2. I usually consider my faith to be a private thing, too, and very rarely discuss it with people (I know, I know, you're supposed to share your faith joyfully, but--Private!). These thoughts have been rattling around my head for a while now, though, and since it's much easier for me to write about things than to outright say them, I figured I'd post them and let people think what they will.
So here goes: my belief system. I guess you could describe me as a liberal Christian. Lutheran to be exact (as if you haven't already figured that one out!). Yes, I know Lutherans are sometimes described as “Catholic-Lite”, but I’ve always appreciated the liberal ways most ELCA Lutherans look at things. I especially appreciate the focus we put on Grace, taken from two separate Bible verses: Habakkuk 2:4 (any good Lutheran should know this verse), and Romans 4:13 (basically the same verse, only in the New Testament). “The righteous shall live by his faith.” Really, how can you get much better than that? Anybody who sins - regardless of what the sin is - is saved by Grace through Christ.
Another concept I try to live by is “judge not lest ye be judged” (Luke 7:1), or as the story in John, Chapter 8 states: “let he who is free of sin cast the first stone.” I admit that I’m not always the greatest at following these concepts, but I try. There are also times where I may get a little too unduly prideful about my decision to live by these concepts, at which times I have to remind myself that by thinking I’m better than others because I don’t judge is, in fact, judging. It’s a continuous struggle, but I’d like to think that on most days I’m pretty good at following it without being too uppity about it.
And lastly is my most controversial belief: Christians are not the only people going to Heaven. *Gasp!* I know, listen to me! What in the world is going through my mind what I say that?! Simply put, this idea is my personal way of coming to grips that since Christians are a minority in the world, the majority of people in the world is not going to make it to Heaven. That just doesn’t work for my tiny little human brain. I cannot wrap my mind around the idea that God would be that judgmental and unforgiving. In my mind, that essentially means that, if I were “unlucky” enough to, say, be born into a family of devout Jews or Muslims instead of the devout Christian family I was born into, my eternal fate would essentially already be sealed. That stinks of predetermination to me. If I had had Jewish parents who set the same kind of example to me that my Christian parents did, would I ever consider that I was not a member of the “right” religion? I doubt it. Thus comes my idea that Christians are not the only ones who are “right”. I’d like to think that Grace once again comes into play, and as long as a person has a relationship with God, be He named God, Yahweh, Allah, or whatever, that is what is important (kudos to C.S. Lewis in The Last Battle, which is the last book in the Narnia series. He’s the one who helped me come to grips with this idea, whether or not he ever intended it). Christians are just lucky enough to have the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christianity, therefore, makes our lot in life a little easier, because we are lucky enough to know that our sins are already forgiven. That’s not to say we shouldn’t work at living good lives, however…
So there you have it, my theories on life. Hopefully I won’t get any hate mail, now. Remember to “judge not lest ye be judged!” Also remember: these are my own beliefs, and I in no way ever want to force you to come to the same conclusion, especially since I know most people would adamantly disagree with me and others would be quite disappointed in me. It would be nice, however, if maybe I made you think a little, which is really all I would ever ask.
So here goes: my belief system. I guess you could describe me as a liberal Christian. Lutheran to be exact (as if you haven't already figured that one out!). Yes, I know Lutherans are sometimes described as “Catholic-Lite”, but I’ve always appreciated the liberal ways most ELCA Lutherans look at things. I especially appreciate the focus we put on Grace, taken from two separate Bible verses: Habakkuk 2:4 (any good Lutheran should know this verse), and Romans 4:13 (basically the same verse, only in the New Testament). “The righteous shall live by his faith.” Really, how can you get much better than that? Anybody who sins - regardless of what the sin is - is saved by Grace through Christ.
Another concept I try to live by is “judge not lest ye be judged” (Luke 7:1), or as the story in John, Chapter 8 states: “let he who is free of sin cast the first stone.” I admit that I’m not always the greatest at following these concepts, but I try. There are also times where I may get a little too unduly prideful about my decision to live by these concepts, at which times I have to remind myself that by thinking I’m better than others because I don’t judge is, in fact, judging. It’s a continuous struggle, but I’d like to think that on most days I’m pretty good at following it without being too uppity about it.
And lastly is my most controversial belief: Christians are not the only people going to Heaven. *Gasp!* I know, listen to me! What in the world is going through my mind what I say that?! Simply put, this idea is my personal way of coming to grips that since Christians are a minority in the world, the majority of people in the world is not going to make it to Heaven. That just doesn’t work for my tiny little human brain. I cannot wrap my mind around the idea that God would be that judgmental and unforgiving. In my mind, that essentially means that, if I were “unlucky” enough to, say, be born into a family of devout Jews or Muslims instead of the devout Christian family I was born into, my eternal fate would essentially already be sealed. That stinks of predetermination to me. If I had had Jewish parents who set the same kind of example to me that my Christian parents did, would I ever consider that I was not a member of the “right” religion? I doubt it. Thus comes my idea that Christians are not the only ones who are “right”. I’d like to think that Grace once again comes into play, and as long as a person has a relationship with God, be He named God, Yahweh, Allah, or whatever, that is what is important (kudos to C.S. Lewis in The Last Battle, which is the last book in the Narnia series. He’s the one who helped me come to grips with this idea, whether or not he ever intended it). Christians are just lucky enough to have the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christianity, therefore, makes our lot in life a little easier, because we are lucky enough to know that our sins are already forgiven. That’s not to say we shouldn’t work at living good lives, however…
So there you have it, my theories on life. Hopefully I won’t get any hate mail, now. Remember to “judge not lest ye be judged!” Also remember: these are my own beliefs, and I in no way ever want to force you to come to the same conclusion, especially since I know most people would adamantly disagree with me and others would be quite disappointed in me. It would be nice, however, if maybe I made you think a little, which is really all I would ever ask.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Don't Wish Away...
My high school band director once told us that he never wished time to pass quickly, even if times were bad, because once that time is gone you’ll never get it back. It reminded me of the old saying: “don’t wish your life away”. I always thought that was good advice, but sometimes just impossible to follow. Take now, for example. I would absolutely love it if time would skip ahead a week. Just one week. A week from today all will be well again. Finals will be over and I’ll get my life back, if only for a month. And if that’s time I’ll never get back? Well, I figure I’ll block it out after it’s passed anyway, so what’s the difference?
That thought struck me this morning as I lay in bed listening to my alarm go off. It struck me all three times my alarm went off, as a matter of fact. I also thought about how much I did not want to get up, and how much I did not want to go to work. I even, very briefly, thought about calling in sick. That’s the thought that finally got me out of bed. If I called in sick then law school would have won. I’d be able to call in sick tomorrow, and the next day….and after all that being “sick”, I’d still not have accomplished any studying. I’d have sat on my couch and watched tv. Maybe I would have glanced at a law book, and maybe I’d have even picked one up now and then, but I wouldn’t have been productive. After all that soul searching, I realized that I’ve hit my wall. A week too early. It’s going to be damn hard to study this week.
Not that it’s ever been easy for me to study. In all my years of schooling, I’ve never come up with a good, productive way to study. I was able to write that off in the past by telling myself that by this time I either know the material or I don’t, so what’s the point in studying? Unfortunately, the grades are too important and too hard to get this time around for me to get off easy. Darn it! So I have to struggle through another week of studying, knowing that each time I open a book that it’s not going to help me as much as I want it to, and in the end, it’ll still all come down to the fact that either I know the stuff by now or I don’t…
So regardless of not wanting to wish my life away, I’m going to do it this once. I’m going to wish it was next Monday.
That thought struck me this morning as I lay in bed listening to my alarm go off. It struck me all three times my alarm went off, as a matter of fact. I also thought about how much I did not want to get up, and how much I did not want to go to work. I even, very briefly, thought about calling in sick. That’s the thought that finally got me out of bed. If I called in sick then law school would have won. I’d be able to call in sick tomorrow, and the next day….and after all that being “sick”, I’d still not have accomplished any studying. I’d have sat on my couch and watched tv. Maybe I would have glanced at a law book, and maybe I’d have even picked one up now and then, but I wouldn’t have been productive. After all that soul searching, I realized that I’ve hit my wall. A week too early. It’s going to be damn hard to study this week.
Not that it’s ever been easy for me to study. In all my years of schooling, I’ve never come up with a good, productive way to study. I was able to write that off in the past by telling myself that by this time I either know the material or I don’t, so what’s the point in studying? Unfortunately, the grades are too important and too hard to get this time around for me to get off easy. Darn it! So I have to struggle through another week of studying, knowing that each time I open a book that it’s not going to help me as much as I want it to, and in the end, it’ll still all come down to the fact that either I know the stuff by now or I don’t…
So regardless of not wanting to wish my life away, I’m going to do it this once. I’m going to wish it was next Monday.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Annual Christmas Letter
Seeing as I'm supposed to be studying right now, I thought I'd take an idea from the Holidailie's cue for their posters today: write your version of the holiday letters that go around this time of year (or something of that sort). Since I already wrote my version of the Christmas letter and it is now in the mail, I figured I'd just cheat and post it here!
Another year has passed and I find myself sitting at the computer composing another letter for the masses. We’ve had quite the eventful year, so I think I’ll just get right to it without taking up any more letter space in this paragraph!
I’ll start with Mom and Dad’s big news of the year: they became grandparents! Well, again, because they were already grandparents to Gypsy. I’ve noticed, though, that they are much better grandparents to this new grandchild than to the old, proving that grandparents really do play favorites. Poor Gypsy, she’s so neglected. But wait, there’s more news! They continued their world travels by taking quite a few trips again this year. The big trip was to Australia and New Zealand, but they also took a bike trip to Galena and another to Michigan, Dad took his annual fishing trip to Canada, and they both went up to the lake for a couple of days. Just to report: the men beat the women at cards this year. I’m sure the poor women will never hear the end of it. They also took a trip to Vermont, but you’ll get the reasons for that little trip a little later. Upon asking Mom what else they did, I got a “well, that’s about it”, so, well, that’s about it for the elders.
I’ve got a bit of big news myself: I’ve become an aunt! And there’s more news for me, too! My reportable news started early March, when I found myself unexpectedly jobless. So I sat around for a couple of months, spoiled Gypsy and attended a few job interviews, until I finally landed a job at Small Financial Services Group as a financial planner. I’ve gotta say, Dad and I have had quite a few interesting conversations since I started there, as he tends to disagree with pretty much all of their investment philosophies. Being my father’s daughter, while I really do enjoy my new job and am learning a lot, I sometimes have trouble keeping my mouth shut when somebody says something that disagrees with the ideas I’ve grown up with. And as if starting a new job and getting all the necessary licenses for that wasn’t enough, I also decided to go back to school. Law school, to be precise. I am now officially a 1L (first year) at Twin Cities University, where I plan to study estate planning and maybe elder law, after finishing the basic bar courses I have to take this year. Having a full time job and attending school 6 hours a day Saturday and Sunday tends to keep me pretty busy, and poor Gypsy is getting the short end of the stick. Just 3½ more years to go, Gypsy!
Brother and Wife keep trying to overshadow everybody else in the Christmas letter, and once again they have succeeded. They’re really rather selfish, if you ask me. And of course, they went a little overboard this year instead of spreading it out over multiple years. I’m a little scared to think of what they’ll do next year to top this year! They took the first half of the year off, to get ready for the second half. Then, in June, it started. First, they decided to pack everything up and move halfway across the country to small New England Town, where Elizabeth started a new job as an assistant professor at Small New England Town University. It’s a military school so she is now a commissioned captain in the Small New England State Militia. Dad keeps waiting for her to have to defend the state after it invades a neighboring state. The big news, even bigger than moving to New England and starting a new job, is that they became parents! Yes, I know, I kept that secret well up until now, didn’t I? Yep, Extremely Cute Nephew was born on August 12, and is quite the little man. He’s not spoiled at all, being the first two-legged grandchild on both sides of the family. It’s really too bad, actually, that he gets no attention. So there you go, Brother and Wife just going too far this year to trump the Family Christmas card yet again. Don’t you agree that they really should have paced themselves a little better? Really, what can they do next year to top this year?
So there’s the Family in 2007. Quite a big year for everybody, all in all. As I finish this letter this Thanksgiving day, it’s quite obvious we’ve got a lot to be thankful for this year: employment, travels, education. Oh yeah, and I guess you could say we’re a little thankful for that little 14 pound drool machine, too. Hopefully you all have just as much or more to be thankful for this holiday season. Now stay tuned for Brother and Wife’s chosen Big News next year!
Another year has passed and I find myself sitting at the computer composing another letter for the masses. We’ve had quite the eventful year, so I think I’ll just get right to it without taking up any more letter space in this paragraph!
I’ll start with Mom and Dad’s big news of the year: they became grandparents! Well, again, because they were already grandparents to Gypsy. I’ve noticed, though, that they are much better grandparents to this new grandchild than to the old, proving that grandparents really do play favorites. Poor Gypsy, she’s so neglected. But wait, there’s more news! They continued their world travels by taking quite a few trips again this year. The big trip was to Australia and New Zealand, but they also took a bike trip to Galena and another to Michigan, Dad took his annual fishing trip to Canada, and they both went up to the lake for a couple of days. Just to report: the men beat the women at cards this year. I’m sure the poor women will never hear the end of it. They also took a trip to Vermont, but you’ll get the reasons for that little trip a little later. Upon asking Mom what else they did, I got a “well, that’s about it”, so, well, that’s about it for the elders.
I’ve got a bit of big news myself: I’ve become an aunt! And there’s more news for me, too! My reportable news started early March, when I found myself unexpectedly jobless. So I sat around for a couple of months, spoiled Gypsy and attended a few job interviews, until I finally landed a job at Small Financial Services Group as a financial planner. I’ve gotta say, Dad and I have had quite a few interesting conversations since I started there, as he tends to disagree with pretty much all of their investment philosophies. Being my father’s daughter, while I really do enjoy my new job and am learning a lot, I sometimes have trouble keeping my mouth shut when somebody says something that disagrees with the ideas I’ve grown up with. And as if starting a new job and getting all the necessary licenses for that wasn’t enough, I also decided to go back to school. Law school, to be precise. I am now officially a 1L (first year) at Twin Cities University, where I plan to study estate planning and maybe elder law, after finishing the basic bar courses I have to take this year. Having a full time job and attending school 6 hours a day Saturday and Sunday tends to keep me pretty busy, and poor Gypsy is getting the short end of the stick. Just 3½ more years to go, Gypsy!
Brother and Wife keep trying to overshadow everybody else in the Christmas letter, and once again they have succeeded. They’re really rather selfish, if you ask me. And of course, they went a little overboard this year instead of spreading it out over multiple years. I’m a little scared to think of what they’ll do next year to top this year! They took the first half of the year off, to get ready for the second half. Then, in June, it started. First, they decided to pack everything up and move halfway across the country to small New England Town, where Elizabeth started a new job as an assistant professor at Small New England Town University. It’s a military school so she is now a commissioned captain in the Small New England State Militia. Dad keeps waiting for her to have to defend the state after it invades a neighboring state. The big news, even bigger than moving to New England and starting a new job, is that they became parents! Yes, I know, I kept that secret well up until now, didn’t I? Yep, Extremely Cute Nephew was born on August 12, and is quite the little man. He’s not spoiled at all, being the first two-legged grandchild on both sides of the family. It’s really too bad, actually, that he gets no attention. So there you go, Brother and Wife just going too far this year to trump the Family Christmas card yet again. Don’t you agree that they really should have paced themselves a little better? Really, what can they do next year to top this year?
So there’s the Family in 2007. Quite a big year for everybody, all in all. As I finish this letter this Thanksgiving day, it’s quite obvious we’ve got a lot to be thankful for this year: employment, travels, education. Oh yeah, and I guess you could say we’re a little thankful for that little 14 pound drool machine, too. Hopefully you all have just as much or more to be thankful for this holiday season. Now stay tuned for Brother and Wife’s chosen Big News next year!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Wake, Awake
Wake, awake, for night is flying;
the watchmen on the heights are crying.
Awake, Jerusalem, arise!
Midnight's solemn hour is tolling.
His chariot wheels are nearer rolling;
He comes, prepare ye virgins wise.
Rise up with willing feet.
Go forth the bridegroom meet, hallelujah!
Bear through the night your well-trimmed light.
Speed forth to join the marriage right.
Hear thy praise, O Lord, ascending
From tongues of men and angels blending
with harp and lute and psaltery.
By thy pearly gates in wonder
We stand and swell the voice of thunder
in bursts of choral melody.
No vision ever brought, no ear hath ever caught,
Such bliss and joy: We raise the song,
we swell the throng, to praise Thee ages all along.
Any good Minnesota Lutheran may recognize the above song by F. Melius Christiansen, the late director of the Concordia College choirs. It seemed fitting to include his song in my post tonight as I spent the evening at Concordia's annual Christmas concert, which is always filled with absolutely excellent music. So, on that note, I'm going to just let the song speak for itself tonight. Remember to get out there and embrace this Christmas season!
the watchmen on the heights are crying.
Awake, Jerusalem, arise!
Midnight's solemn hour is tolling.
His chariot wheels are nearer rolling;
He comes, prepare ye virgins wise.
Rise up with willing feet.
Go forth the bridegroom meet, hallelujah!
Bear through the night your well-trimmed light.
Speed forth to join the marriage right.
Hear thy praise, O Lord, ascending
From tongues of men and angels blending
with harp and lute and psaltery.
By thy pearly gates in wonder
We stand and swell the voice of thunder
in bursts of choral melody.
No vision ever brought, no ear hath ever caught,
Such bliss and joy: We raise the song,
we swell the throng, to praise Thee ages all along.
Any good Minnesota Lutheran may recognize the above song by F. Melius Christiansen, the late director of the Concordia College choirs. It seemed fitting to include his song in my post tonight as I spent the evening at Concordia's annual Christmas concert, which is always filled with absolutely excellent music. So, on that note, I'm going to just let the song speak for itself tonight. Remember to get out there and embrace this Christmas season!
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
A Lonely Commuter's Random Thoughts
Disclaimer: If you're looking for a blog that has substance, you are frequenting the wrong site. 99% of my blogs will be mindless drivel. A majority of the time you'll finish reading what I wrote and think: well, there's time I'll never get back!
2nd Disclaimer: this is one of those blogs.
3rd Disclaimer: If I have many more commutes like the ones I had yesterday and today, the blogs are only going to get worse. There's nothing worse than sitting in unmoving traffic, because most of the time there's absolutely no good reason for it being that slow, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it except grin and bear it. Or attack your steering wheel.
I saw the awesomist license plate border on my way home today (yes, I said "awesomist" and I'm proud of it. This ain't no legal brief, after all!). It had a scrolling marquee on it whenever the break lights came on. Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to rear-end the car in order to get close enough to read what it said because another car merged in front of me. Drat those merge lanes! Anyway, I'm sure that whatever it said was quirky, because really, how can a scrolling license-plate border not be quirky?
I also got stuck behind two slow-moving snow plows who were busily plowing the clean, dry highway. Methinks the snow plow drivers doth be a bit confused. They were supposed to plow the highways during rush hour yesterday, when there was snow on them! I wonder if I should call up the DOT to let them know...
Anyway, all the time I spend on the road gives me plenty of opportunity to mull over completely pointless things (as if you haven't already figured it out!). This morning’s mulling? Names of taxi companies. What got me thinking about that particular topic was that not too far into my drive today I passed a “Green and White” taxi cab. That got me thinking about a recent case we read in our Civil Procedure class: Black and White Taxi v. Brown and Yellow Taxi. Is there a taxi cab rule out there somewhere that dictates that all taxi companies must be named after colors? Because, on thinking further, I could not think of one taxi cab company that was not named after a color. When I used to work downtown Minneapolis I’d always walk by the Red and White Taxis parked along 7th Street, and there’s also the afore-mentioned Green and White Taxi, not to mention the Blue and White taxis seen as the airport (I wonder if Black and White Taxi only sued Brown and Yellow Taxi for exclusivity purposes to cover up the fact that what it was really upset about was that Brown and Yellow Taxi had the nerve not to make one of its colors White). And of course everybody thinks of Yellow Cab when a taxi is mentioned. Come to think of it, Yellow Cab is downright revolutionary in its name, because it chose to use just one color instead of two. After that thought, however, I racked my brain to think of any taxi company that wasn’t named after a color, and one finally popped into my head: Checkered Cab. Aha! That, however, also makes one think of colors. While a specific color isn’t mentioned in the name, the word “checkered” usually makes one think of a color pattern. So, really, Checkered Cab is also a color-inspired name of a taxi company. (Just a brief aside about the Checkered Cab: Not long after I remembered about the Checkered Cab company, lo and behold I passed a Checkered Cab on the highway! In case you were wondering, their cabs are a cream color with a black and cream checkered stripe around the window-line).
So I have homework for all you folks out there who stumbled across my blog today: is there any cab company out there not named after a color or colors? (By the way, “Gypsy Cab” does not count, because that’s not a name of a company, per se, as much as just the general name of an unregistered cab.) Is there a law somewhere that forces taxi companies to use colors in their names, or are all taxi-cab owners just unoriginal? Or, here's another thought: maybe all the cabs are owned by the same company who simply paints the new cars the latest "discount" color, thus the different color names. Hmm, there's a thought to consider.
So there you have it, an example of the kinds of thoughts that run through my head while driving in the morning. I know you were all looking forward to a list of my favorite words, as promised yesterday, but my brain just wouldn’t go there today since I was so preoccupied with the names of taxis (but I will throw another cool word out there for you: conumdrum!). Believe it or not, I spent a considerable amount of my hour-long commute on that problem this morning. Here, therefore, is proof that commuting really is a waste of time, because even though you do have all that time for productive thought and ponderings, it is actually filled out with mindless drivel. But wait, would that mindless drivel happen regardless of a commute, and if somebody did not have a long commute would they waste a part of their work-day considering such things? In that case, maybe commuting IS efficient! Maybe I’ll ponder that on my way to work tomorrow…
2nd Disclaimer: this is one of those blogs.
3rd Disclaimer: If I have many more commutes like the ones I had yesterday and today, the blogs are only going to get worse. There's nothing worse than sitting in unmoving traffic, because most of the time there's absolutely no good reason for it being that slow, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it except grin and bear it. Or attack your steering wheel.
I saw the awesomist license plate border on my way home today (yes, I said "awesomist" and I'm proud of it. This ain't no legal brief, after all!). It had a scrolling marquee on it whenever the break lights came on. Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to rear-end the car in order to get close enough to read what it said because another car merged in front of me. Drat those merge lanes! Anyway, I'm sure that whatever it said was quirky, because really, how can a scrolling license-plate border not be quirky?
I also got stuck behind two slow-moving snow plows who were busily plowing the clean, dry highway. Methinks the snow plow drivers doth be a bit confused. They were supposed to plow the highways during rush hour yesterday, when there was snow on them! I wonder if I should call up the DOT to let them know...
Anyway, all the time I spend on the road gives me plenty of opportunity to mull over completely pointless things (as if you haven't already figured it out!). This morning’s mulling? Names of taxi companies. What got me thinking about that particular topic was that not too far into my drive today I passed a “Green and White” taxi cab. That got me thinking about a recent case we read in our Civil Procedure class: Black and White Taxi v. Brown and Yellow Taxi. Is there a taxi cab rule out there somewhere that dictates that all taxi companies must be named after colors? Because, on thinking further, I could not think of one taxi cab company that was not named after a color. When I used to work downtown Minneapolis I’d always walk by the Red and White Taxis parked along 7th Street, and there’s also the afore-mentioned Green and White Taxi, not to mention the Blue and White taxis seen as the airport (I wonder if Black and White Taxi only sued Brown and Yellow Taxi for exclusivity purposes to cover up the fact that what it was really upset about was that Brown and Yellow Taxi had the nerve not to make one of its colors White). And of course everybody thinks of Yellow Cab when a taxi is mentioned. Come to think of it, Yellow Cab is downright revolutionary in its name, because it chose to use just one color instead of two. After that thought, however, I racked my brain to think of any taxi company that wasn’t named after a color, and one finally popped into my head: Checkered Cab. Aha! That, however, also makes one think of colors. While a specific color isn’t mentioned in the name, the word “checkered” usually makes one think of a color pattern. So, really, Checkered Cab is also a color-inspired name of a taxi company. (Just a brief aside about the Checkered Cab: Not long after I remembered about the Checkered Cab company, lo and behold I passed a Checkered Cab on the highway! In case you were wondering, their cabs are a cream color with a black and cream checkered stripe around the window-line).
So I have homework for all you folks out there who stumbled across my blog today: is there any cab company out there not named after a color or colors? (By the way, “Gypsy Cab” does not count, because that’s not a name of a company, per se, as much as just the general name of an unregistered cab.) Is there a law somewhere that forces taxi companies to use colors in their names, or are all taxi-cab owners just unoriginal? Or, here's another thought: maybe all the cabs are owned by the same company who simply paints the new cars the latest "discount" color, thus the different color names. Hmm, there's a thought to consider.
So there you have it, an example of the kinds of thoughts that run through my head while driving in the morning. I know you were all looking forward to a list of my favorite words, as promised yesterday, but my brain just wouldn’t go there today since I was so preoccupied with the names of taxis (but I will throw another cool word out there for you: conumdrum!). Believe it or not, I spent a considerable amount of my hour-long commute on that problem this morning. Here, therefore, is proof that commuting really is a waste of time, because even though you do have all that time for productive thought and ponderings, it is actually filled out with mindless drivel. But wait, would that mindless drivel happen regardless of a commute, and if somebody did not have a long commute would they waste a part of their work-day considering such things? In that case, maybe commuting IS efficient! Maybe I’ll ponder that on my way to work tomorrow…
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Snow
I love snow. I love to watch it slowly fall outside my window. I love how it "cleans up" the drab, dirty ground after all the leaves have fallen. I love how it's all smooth and glisteny (is that a word?) in the sun. I especially love how it sparkles under the moonlight when the full moon is out.
That's what I was thinking as I left my house this morning. I was still thinking that when I saw it liberally falling outside the window at work all day today. I was even thinking it as I took 10 minutes to clean off my car before my trek home. I don't think that anymore. The &%*#@^ snow! I hate snow! It's horrible! Who ever invented snow, anyway? Did God make it to punish us?
OK, I admit, I have a long commute. It's pretty hard to find a place that is still considered part of the "metro area" that is farther from my house than my office. I brace myself for long commutes. I listen to books on tape. I burn CDs so I can jam. Lately I've even been listening to lectures on criminal law. Today I think I did it all. Apparently the snow plow drivers enjoy sitting inside and watching the snow as much as I do, because they seemed to be missing today. I may as well have been in Oklahoma for how well the highways were plowed. Helloooo? Remember this is Minnesota, anybody? Anyway, to continue my rant, while I'm prepared to spend up to 70 minutes in traffic on some days, two hours just seems a little excessive in my mind. And you know how people have those nice neighbors who will sometimes take out their snowblowers and clear off all their neighbors' driveways? Well, I have neighbors who drive on mine. Pack it down nice and hard. I've decided that I'm going to insist that if they feel the need to drive on my driveway, they really should shovel it, too. I'll keep you updated on how that goes. :o)
I also discovered today another reason why I hate to shovel: throwing the shovels-full of snow ruins the perfect symmatry of your snow-covered yard. One of the things I love about snow (oops, loved about snow) is the large areas of unmarred, smooth, sparkly white. The only site prettier than that is looking down from a mountaintop during the peak of fall. And then you take your shovel...
OK, enough ranting and raving. I'll spare you the details of getting stuck in my driveway after that two hour drive home. And I'll spare you the details of getting stuck in my driveway tomorrow morning after the plows have been by and undid all the work I did. I'll even try to spare you the details of tomorrow's commute! See how magnanimous I can be? That's what I'll write about tomorrow - my favorite words! I'll start with "alfalfa". Just love the way that rolls off the tongue. See, I'm feeling better already. Hope everybody out there stays warm, dry, and snow-free!
That's what I was thinking as I left my house this morning. I was still thinking that when I saw it liberally falling outside the window at work all day today. I was even thinking it as I took 10 minutes to clean off my car before my trek home. I don't think that anymore. The &%*#@^ snow! I hate snow! It's horrible! Who ever invented snow, anyway? Did God make it to punish us?
OK, I admit, I have a long commute. It's pretty hard to find a place that is still considered part of the "metro area" that is farther from my house than my office. I brace myself for long commutes. I listen to books on tape. I burn CDs so I can jam. Lately I've even been listening to lectures on criminal law. Today I think I did it all. Apparently the snow plow drivers enjoy sitting inside and watching the snow as much as I do, because they seemed to be missing today. I may as well have been in Oklahoma for how well the highways were plowed. Helloooo? Remember this is Minnesota, anybody? Anyway, to continue my rant, while I'm prepared to spend up to 70 minutes in traffic on some days, two hours just seems a little excessive in my mind. And you know how people have those nice neighbors who will sometimes take out their snowblowers and clear off all their neighbors' driveways? Well, I have neighbors who drive on mine. Pack it down nice and hard. I've decided that I'm going to insist that if they feel the need to drive on my driveway, they really should shovel it, too. I'll keep you updated on how that goes. :o)
I also discovered today another reason why I hate to shovel: throwing the shovels-full of snow ruins the perfect symmatry of your snow-covered yard. One of the things I love about snow (oops, loved about snow) is the large areas of unmarred, smooth, sparkly white. The only site prettier than that is looking down from a mountaintop during the peak of fall. And then you take your shovel...
OK, enough ranting and raving. I'll spare you the details of getting stuck in my driveway after that two hour drive home. And I'll spare you the details of getting stuck in my driveway tomorrow morning after the plows have been by and undid all the work I did. I'll even try to spare you the details of tomorrow's commute! See how magnanimous I can be? That's what I'll write about tomorrow - my favorite words! I'll start with "alfalfa". Just love the way that rolls off the tongue. See, I'm feeling better already. Hope everybody out there stays warm, dry, and snow-free!
Monday, December 3, 2007
About Me
OK, so a little about myself, now that I’ve got the hang of this posting-a-blog thing. You’ve probably deduced that I’ve recently become a first-time aunt and that I’m a “mom” to the “perfect pooch” Gypsy and the “killer kitty” Pete. Lastly, I’m sure I made it quite plain that shoveling is not one of my favorite activities, which is rather unfortunate as I live in Minnesota. However – surprise! – there’s more to me than that! Ohhh, so where do I start?
First, I’ll warn you that I’m an intensely private person. Why keep a blog then, you ask? Mainly for sanity purposes, I guess. I’ve always liked to write informally. In fact, I somehow corralled myself into writing the family Christmas letter every year to the point where there may be mass outrage if I re-delegate that task back to my mother (by the way – I’ll take orders: for $10 a page I’ll write your family Christmas letter! I’m always up for a little capitalism). Plus, I was probably one of the few students in my junior-high English classes who really enjoyed the quarterly “journals” that were always assigned. Unfortunately, I am now embarking on a career that is well-known for squelching the creative-writing gene in many of its scholars. In order to avoid that fate, I thought a blog would help me keep my head on. Besides, this is probably one of the most personal entries you’re going to read here – so pay attention!
Second: I’m an inherently lazy person. That’s another reason for this blog, believe it or not. I’m in the process for studying for my first semester finals of my first year of law school. What better way to put off that studying than blogging? I tend to describe myself as a good example of the concept of inertia. It’s really hard to get me going on something (like, oh, cleaning the house, making a phone call, painting my kitchen, studying…), but once I finally get that kick in the pants I will normally keep going until I’m finished. Therefore, I’m also the epitome of “if you want something done, ask a busy person.” The less I have to do, the lazier I get and the harder it is to get my off my butt. There, I admit it. That’s the first step to recovery! Someday…
Third: my biggest pet peeve is listening to people eat (I’m not too fond of watching people eat, either). All of my friends and family will attest to that. Adamantly. It’s a pet peeve I’ve had since I was in utero, I would guess, because I can’t remember a time when the sound of someone eating – particularly chewing gum – hasn’t thrown me into an internal tizzy. OK, external tizzy. I’m trying really hard to just make that tizzy internal, but you should probably ask the people I know just how successful I’ve been. Let’s just say some days are better than others. The thing that annoys me most, though? The harder I try not to let it bother me the more it does. Argh!
OK, that’s enough for one day. I seem to be listing all of my negative traits today so I better stop before I admit something really embarrassing, like my fear of the telephone. Wait, did I just say that? Then it’s really time to stop! Tomorrow maybe I’ll be upbeat and talk about the things about myself I’m a little more proud of, like, well…I’m an excellent driver? I’ll think of something, I’m sure. Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful night!
First, I’ll warn you that I’m an intensely private person. Why keep a blog then, you ask? Mainly for sanity purposes, I guess. I’ve always liked to write informally. In fact, I somehow corralled myself into writing the family Christmas letter every year to the point where there may be mass outrage if I re-delegate that task back to my mother (by the way – I’ll take orders: for $10 a page I’ll write your family Christmas letter! I’m always up for a little capitalism). Plus, I was probably one of the few students in my junior-high English classes who really enjoyed the quarterly “journals” that were always assigned. Unfortunately, I am now embarking on a career that is well-known for squelching the creative-writing gene in many of its scholars. In order to avoid that fate, I thought a blog would help me keep my head on. Besides, this is probably one of the most personal entries you’re going to read here – so pay attention!
Second: I’m an inherently lazy person. That’s another reason for this blog, believe it or not. I’m in the process for studying for my first semester finals of my first year of law school. What better way to put off that studying than blogging? I tend to describe myself as a good example of the concept of inertia. It’s really hard to get me going on something (like, oh, cleaning the house, making a phone call, painting my kitchen, studying…), but once I finally get that kick in the pants I will normally keep going until I’m finished. Therefore, I’m also the epitome of “if you want something done, ask a busy person.” The less I have to do, the lazier I get and the harder it is to get my off my butt. There, I admit it. That’s the first step to recovery! Someday…
Third: my biggest pet peeve is listening to people eat (I’m not too fond of watching people eat, either). All of my friends and family will attest to that. Adamantly. It’s a pet peeve I’ve had since I was in utero, I would guess, because I can’t remember a time when the sound of someone eating – particularly chewing gum – hasn’t thrown me into an internal tizzy. OK, external tizzy. I’m trying really hard to just make that tizzy internal, but you should probably ask the people I know just how successful I’ve been. Let’s just say some days are better than others. The thing that annoys me most, though? The harder I try not to let it bother me the more it does. Argh!
OK, that’s enough for one day. I seem to be listing all of my negative traits today so I better stop before I admit something really embarrassing, like my fear of the telephone. Wait, did I just say that? Then it’s really time to stop! Tomorrow maybe I’ll be upbeat and talk about the things about myself I’m a little more proud of, like, well…I’m an excellent driver? I’ll think of something, I’m sure. Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful night!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
My new nephew
I don't get to see him that often. In fact, I've only met him a couple of times, because I'm an unfortunate auntie who lives halfway across the country from her nephew. But I still think he's an awesome kid to have as a nephew. Isn't he just the cutest? Really, how can you resist such a face? He looks just like my brother, but on a slightly smaller scale. As you can see by his jammies, he's already a big sports fan. He likes to cheer on the Vikings, the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, Texas A&M, University of Oklahoma and the Minnesota Wild. I think that he will unfortunately become a Yankees fan, too. Oh well, nobody's perfect, even adorable little nephews.
I'm not sure how much Jordan liked me, though. Seems he tends to "mark" people he likes by spitting up on them (he's repeatedly spit up on his grandpa, for instance) but he only drooled a little on me. Maybe he was just reserving judgment. Or maybe I've already gotten good at my job of shaking the baby up and then handing him back to his parents to deal with the consequences. That's the joy of being an auntie, after all! I can't wait until he's old enough to get that drum set! There's got to be some advantage to being so far away from him, right?
Saturday, December 1, 2007
My winter exercise plan
No, this is not an exercise blog. Me exercise regularly?! Ha! My idea of regular exercise is taking the stairs down the two flights at work instead of taking the elevator. No, this is a forced exercise regime, one that hasn't been quite so regular the past couple of years. Still, it works quite well in getting the heart pumping, so I thought I'd share it in case the opportunity every presented itself to you!
OK, so the best way to start out (well, the only way for it to start out) is for it to snow. You probably need at least 3 - 4 inches for it to start to be in any way effective (thus the fact that it hasn't been quite a regular regime lately...). Aaaanyway, after you get the snow, you need a narrow driveway and the lack of a snowblower. Are you ready? OK then. First, shovel the long and narrow driveway. It really helps if the snow is really wet. Anyway, that's the first step. Once you're done shovelling you just have to sit back and wait for the next snow. Repeat. Eventually the shovelled part of your driveway will be so narrow that if you don't back out just so you will inevitably back into a snow bank. This is when the exercise plan starts to get intense.
So then the day comes when you were tired when you backed out of the garage and inevitably found yourself in the huge snowbank at the end of the driveway. You know what I'm talking about: the pile about as tall as you are due to snow plows and your own pitiful attempts at clearing the driveway. After spending a good 10 minutes in denial while you try to rock your car out, you finally realize that you at least have to get out of the car and apply a little manual labor to the problem. So you grab your winter hat, pull on your gloves, tighten your scarf and start your warm-up by walking back up to the garage to grab the towel you left there from the last time you found yourself in the exact same bank. You glance over and are reminded that a shovel would be a good idea to dig a path from the driveway around to the drivers-side door, which you were barely able to open since it was somewhat buried in the snowbank itself. In continuing your warm-up, you place the towel under the unburied front tire, dig a path to the driver's door, and get back into your car. Of course, the pitiful little towel does not give any traction to the tire, but you're still in denial so you've got to at least try. So you get back out of the car, grab the shovel, and start digging around the buried front tire. Once you've opened a path from the tire up the driveway, you place the towel under the newly dug-out tire, dust yourself off, get back in the car, and try again. After spinning the tires a little, you get back out, go back to the garage, grab something else that looks like it may fit under the other front tire, dig out a little around one of the back tires, and try again. When that doesn't work, you once again open the door, grab the dumb shovel, and start attacking the snow behind your car. At this point, your first neighbor drives by in his SUV and cheerfully waves at you. You smile and wave back, then decide you've shovelled enough and your car is sure to come out this time. Of course this isn't so, so after a little grumbling, you snatch up that blasted shovel and fling snow out from under the buried back tire. At this point you take off your hat and unzip your jacket, because you've started to work up a good sweat. Then you throw down the shovel, stomp back to the car, slam the door shut and once again spin the stupid, good-for-nothing tires. What good is front wheel drive, anyway? Isn't it suppose to have better traction, for pete's sake?! So you slam back out of the car, take off your jacket, sneer at the next neighbor who waves as he drives by in a pick-up, snatch up the shovel, practically crawl under the car you're going to sell as soon as you dig it out, and hack at the stupid snow that for some dumb reason you had though was pretty just 20 minutes ago. Obviously you weren't quite awake yet when you were thinking about how much you liked snow. But now you know better. God really had a sense of humor when he made snow. Can't figure out what the heck He was thinking. What's the point of the stupid powdery stuff, anyway?! When is summer supposed to get here, again? As these thoughts are crossing your mind, you barely contain yourself from flipping off the next neighbor who cheerfully honks as he drives by.
This time, when you plop into your front seat, you just bring all the snow with you. What's the point of dusting it off when you're just going to be back in it again in 10 seconds anyway? You put the car in 1st gear, and while you'd love to just floor the gas pedal, you remember at the last minute to ease your foot on the accelerator, and, miracle of miracles, your car moves!! So you pull the car forward, then carfully back to the end of the driveway. Of course, at this point you have to stop there, turn off the car and dig out your buried jacket. Then you go back inside. After all, you don't want to go to work after such a good work-out without showering first, do you?
OK, so the best way to start out (well, the only way for it to start out) is for it to snow. You probably need at least 3 - 4 inches for it to start to be in any way effective (thus the fact that it hasn't been quite a regular regime lately...). Aaaanyway, after you get the snow, you need a narrow driveway and the lack of a snowblower. Are you ready? OK then. First, shovel the long and narrow driveway. It really helps if the snow is really wet. Anyway, that's the first step. Once you're done shovelling you just have to sit back and wait for the next snow. Repeat. Eventually the shovelled part of your driveway will be so narrow that if you don't back out just so you will inevitably back into a snow bank. This is when the exercise plan starts to get intense.
So then the day comes when you were tired when you backed out of the garage and inevitably found yourself in the huge snowbank at the end of the driveway. You know what I'm talking about: the pile about as tall as you are due to snow plows and your own pitiful attempts at clearing the driveway. After spending a good 10 minutes in denial while you try to rock your car out, you finally realize that you at least have to get out of the car and apply a little manual labor to the problem. So you grab your winter hat, pull on your gloves, tighten your scarf and start your warm-up by walking back up to the garage to grab the towel you left there from the last time you found yourself in the exact same bank. You glance over and are reminded that a shovel would be a good idea to dig a path from the driveway around to the drivers-side door, which you were barely able to open since it was somewhat buried in the snowbank itself. In continuing your warm-up, you place the towel under the unburied front tire, dig a path to the driver's door, and get back into your car. Of course, the pitiful little towel does not give any traction to the tire, but you're still in denial so you've got to at least try. So you get back out of the car, grab the shovel, and start digging around the buried front tire. Once you've opened a path from the tire up the driveway, you place the towel under the newly dug-out tire, dust yourself off, get back in the car, and try again. After spinning the tires a little, you get back out, go back to the garage, grab something else that looks like it may fit under the other front tire, dig out a little around one of the back tires, and try again. When that doesn't work, you once again open the door, grab the dumb shovel, and start attacking the snow behind your car. At this point, your first neighbor drives by in his SUV and cheerfully waves at you. You smile and wave back, then decide you've shovelled enough and your car is sure to come out this time. Of course this isn't so, so after a little grumbling, you snatch up that blasted shovel and fling snow out from under the buried back tire. At this point you take off your hat and unzip your jacket, because you've started to work up a good sweat. Then you throw down the shovel, stomp back to the car, slam the door shut and once again spin the stupid, good-for-nothing tires. What good is front wheel drive, anyway? Isn't it suppose to have better traction, for pete's sake?! So you slam back out of the car, take off your jacket, sneer at the next neighbor who waves as he drives by in a pick-up, snatch up the shovel, practically crawl under the car you're going to sell as soon as you dig it out, and hack at the stupid snow that for some dumb reason you had though was pretty just 20 minutes ago. Obviously you weren't quite awake yet when you were thinking about how much you liked snow. But now you know better. God really had a sense of humor when he made snow. Can't figure out what the heck He was thinking. What's the point of the stupid powdery stuff, anyway?! When is summer supposed to get here, again? As these thoughts are crossing your mind, you barely contain yourself from flipping off the next neighbor who cheerfully honks as he drives by.
This time, when you plop into your front seat, you just bring all the snow with you. What's the point of dusting it off when you're just going to be back in it again in 10 seconds anyway? You put the car in 1st gear, and while you'd love to just floor the gas pedal, you remember at the last minute to ease your foot on the accelerator, and, miracle of miracles, your car moves!! So you pull the car forward, then carfully back to the end of the driveway. Of course, at this point you have to stop there, turn off the car and dig out your buried jacket. Then you go back inside. After all, you don't want to go to work after such a good work-out without showering first, do you?
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