Op-Ed: What I really miss…

What I really miss…

Of course, if we’re talking about going back in time, I would say “I really miss my vigor; the health and vitality I used to take for granted.”

But, if we’re talking about things I miss that have even a passing chance of coming back, one of those things would be…roomier parking spaces.

Yes, you heard me right!

You see, public parking lots used to have a small lane that was painted in between the cars, which would allow you to get out of your car without banging your car door into your neighbor’s car.

I guess some up-and-comer figured out that they could squeeze a few more parking spaces into a parking lot by omitting this extra space between the cars.

What that hot shot failed to forecast is that cars would become SUV/tank sized (now the car doors are bigger), while the populace of the US also increased in size (requiring more room to get out of those cars.)

What we have now is a veritable extravaganza of car door dings, scratches and body work that needs to be done after trying to exit our vehicles, leading to a proliferation of business for the auto body shops.

Not to mention more business for chiropractors as we have to become human pretzels just to get out of our cars!

All I can say to the guy who designed these new parking lots is…

“Thanks a lot, pal.”

What do YOU really miss???

Energetically, Diane Tegarden

Why Friends Don’t Constantly Correct Friends

I wrote this about someone who IS NOT a member of this network, so please don’t take it personally. I just wanted feedback. Is it too strong? Does it get the message across as to why a person shouldn’t CONSTANTLY correct their “friends”? Let me know your gut reactions.

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Friends Who Constantly Correct Friends

If you find yourself alone and lonely, maybe you should assess how you treat the people around you. If you are constantly correcting other people in their opinions, their writing or their speech, remember: only a copy editor or a teacher is expected to (and paid to) constantly correct others.

It is a very bad habit to fall into, and should be avoided if you want to retain friendships. (Especially if you are correcting them when they weren’t in error in the first place!)

A friend is a person who enjoys you, and is prepared to treat you like an equal, not like an errant student who needs to be constantly corrected. Our little idiosyncrasies are what make us unique, and should be enjoyed, not destroyed.

For example: I have friends who routinely mispronounce or misspell certain words, but because they are friends, I let it go. No one wants to hang around with a “know-it-all” or show off. Know-it-alls feel the need to correct/teach/preach/lecture people, rather than simply enjoying their company.

These people feel compelled to rattle off their scholastic achievements, degrees and education, simply to prove that they are smarter than you are, and it tends to put people off.

So, if you find yourself alone and lonely, maybe it’s because you don’t treat people with acceptance and respect.

Just think about it!

I am vindicated…Daylight Savings Time is BUNK!

HA! Just as I suspected…Daylight Savings Time is bad, bad, bad news all around.

A friend of mine and I are having an ongoing discussion about the benefits/drawbacks of Daylight Savings Time. I side with those who hate the practice.

I had understood that it was originally for the benefit of school children, so that in the wintertime there would be one more hour of daylight in which to walk home. And, that it was for the benefit of farmers, who would have one more hour of daylight at the end of the day to bring in the crops. All this makes sense until you realize that it’s the 21st century and everyone uses electricity to light up homes, school yards, streets and farms. It was purported to save energy, because supposedly people would use less energy on lighting during these times.

On a personal note, I hate DST because in the Fall when we “Fall back” and lose an hour, it takes longer and longer every year to get used to the time change. Also, many of our clocks aren’t that easy to reset and I’m forever a few minutes late because my watch and the clock in my car are very touchy about resetting the time.

Well, I am vindicated! Turns out, the first ever study on the practice has just been completed and it found that, contrary to its supposed original purpose (to save energy), it actually causes energy use to rise.

Here is a link to an article about the study:
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/is-daylight-savings-time-costing-us-billions-in-electricity.html

Now all we have to do is get our moribund Congress to repeal the idiotic practice, and, with everything else they have to deal with right now, that Time will be Slow in arriving.

Almost snuffed out by speeding driver…

Tuesday I had lunch at the New Delhi Restaurant in Pasadena, met a new friend, had great food, an uplifting convo and was full of happy energy by the end of lunch. After lunch I wanted to go check out a new foot massager I’d heard about and didn’t know exactly where the store was, but had vague directions, so went off in search of the store location.

Driving cautiously westbound along Union Street, I was slowing down to turn left and saw a car speeding through the intersection against the red light. I slammed on my brakes, my car skidding to the left in the effort to stop, as the white sedan crossed right in front of me. I stopped a scant few inches away from its side as it flashed by.

My heart was thudding so hard against my breastbone that it hurt to breathe. Thank Goddess there wasn’t a car behind me, or it would have smashed into the back of my car pushing me right into the sedan’s pathway.

Without consciously thinking about it I started repeating “thank you Goddess, thank you Goddess” over and over again. I decided to go straight home, not wanting to brave more traffic and crazies for the moment.

I guess it just wasn’t my time to “clock out”, so to speak, because if I had been going a little bit faster, or if a car had been behind me and pushed me even a foot further into the path of that speeding car, I might have been seriously injured, if not killed outright.

Greet the day!!

Agonizing over the plight of being a Wordmeister…word usage and abusage

ARRRGGHHHHH!

The other day Wade pulled up to a gas station (the truck was on empty), and I sat silently grinding my teeth. Busy pumping gas, he didn’t notice until he got back in the truck that something was bothering me.

“OK, what is it?” he looked around wondering what on Earth could have gotten me so disturbed.

“Those signs,” I moaned “doesn’t anyone have a dictionary in this wretched place?”

“What signs? What are you talking about now?” He looked around the gas station and couldn’t find anything wrong.

I pointed, finger shaking in indignation, at a column with wording that instructed drivers to “Move forword to the front pump”.

“OK, what’s wrong with the sign?” he sighed, not understanding how a simple instruction could get me upset.

“First of all, there’s no such word as ‘forword’. If they mean the direction, it’s spelled ‘forward’, if it’s in the beginning of a book, they mean ‘foreword’.”

“So what? No one knows the difference.” Then he looked at me, and amended “Ok, not that many people would know the difference, or even care!”

Breathing a deep sigh of disgust, I realize he’s right. I guess it’s the agonizing plight of being a Wordmeister…

I made a promise and I’m gonna keep it!

Heh heh heh… I just made a deal with my hubby…if he helps me take two of the kitties to the vet and fix the broken curtains in Ivan’s room this Saturday….

I PROMISE: I will not make any snoid comments about the STUPOR BOWL all day Sunday…

I promise not to make fun of their uniforms, or remark on how some very big boys like playing with balls all day…or the fact that the “quarters” seem to be about 3 hours long each…or how I can feel America’s IQ slipping into the toilet per every minute this insidious sport is on TV…or how people are literally gaining thousands of pounds all across America as they snack their way through the game….or how many guys get concussed or seriously injured by playing this vicious, stupid game…

I won’t say a word…on Sunday!

Blessed be this Imbolc Day/Feast of Brigid/Candlemas Day

Blessed be this Imbolc Day/Feast of Brigid/Candlemas Day!!

“The First of February belongs to Brigid, (Brighid, Brigit, Bride,) the Celtic goddess who in later times became revered as a Christian saint. Originally, her festival on February 1 was known as Imbolc or Oimelc, two names which refer to the lactation of the ewes, the flow of milk that heralds the return of the life-giving forces of spring. Later, the Catholic Church replaced this festival with Candlemas Day on February 2, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and features candlelight processions. The powerful figure of Brigid the Light-Bringer incorporates both pagan and Christian celebrations.”

To read more about this fascinating feast day, go to:
http://www.chalicecentre.net/imbolc.htm

BTW, current tradition has changed this feast day into the contemporary holiday, “Ground Hog Day”. As with most ancient holiday traditions, the original meanings have been changed and the original deities co-opted to fit the current faith of contemporary people.

Avoiding the Christmas Crunch (money matters)

I know, I know, it’s too late to do anything about overspending this Christmas, but maybe, if you plan it out, next Christmas won’t be the final nail in your financial coffers!

For the next few days, I’ll post one suggestion a day:

In lieu of individual family gifts, have a family party where each family brings a food dish, a specialty Christmas food that you enjoy and swap recipes.

I’ll NEVER post your comment to my blog if….

I’ll NEVER post your comment to my blog if….

1. you post a comment on one of my pages, this just proves you don’t read my blog!

2. you have a website that sells products, especially drugs, shoes, jewelry or guns!

3. your website link is pointing to a blog in a foreign language…hey, I don’t know what you’re saying, so how can I endorse it?

4. I will NEVER NEVER NEVER endorse a website that promotes pornography or violence…NEVER!

If you want your comment to be published, simply reply to a blog post, not one of my pages, make sure your website that is listed doesn’t lead to products or porn, and make sure it’s in English!

Simple.

Feeling like a failure….

This is breaking my heart, but we had to take the dog (we named him “Buddy”) back to the Humane Shelter. Although he was loving, he had some serious behavior problems, some could have been corrected in time, but he’d go absolutely crazy if we tried to leave him alone. Since I’m not house bound (yet), I had appointments this week, and the dog was frantic when I tried to leave, scratching at the cement under the fence until his paws were bloody. Then, the deal breaker, he chased and barked and snapped at our kitties, chasing one of the completely out of the yard. The cat disappeared out of the yard and we were afraid we’d truly lost him. Poor Buddy, he was three years old, and someone had taught him it was ok to jump on furniture, on people and on cats, and he wasn’t socialized to spend any time alone. In three days both my husband and I were worn ragged trying to watch and work with the pup, and our cats were terrorized, which isn’t fair to them. So, we had to take him back, and my heart is breaking because I’d fallen in love with him already. I feel like a failure, both for not being able to help Buddy, and not being able to maintain a safe place for my kitties.