E-mail Forwards

My sister (the one who introduced me to the woods) will forward ANY e-mail she receives. Most are political, and most of those are phony. Yesterday I received this e-mail from her:
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This IS THE ONLY TIME WE WILL SEE AND LIVE THIS EVENT
Calendar for July 2012 (United States)

Sun-Mon-Tue-Wed-Thu-Fri-Sat
-----------------------------------1---2
---3----4-----5-----6----7-----8---9
-10---11---12---13---14---15--16
-17---18---19---20---21---22--23
-24---25---26---27---28---29--30
-31

This year, July has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. This happens once every 823 years. This is called money bags. So, forward this to your friends and money will arrive within 4 days. The one who does not forward.....will be without money.
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Interesting. Except: 1) that's not the calendar for July 2012 (it's July 2011); and 2) that calendar configuration has occurred 12 times over the past 103 years. There's nothing unusual about it at all.

 

I can't help but wonder who wastes their time creating dumb, false e-mails like this one. I know who wastes my time by forwarding them. :P

Do you have a friend or family member who will forward anything???

Common Sense: Blessing or Curse???

I'm having a hard time remembering the last time I left my house and wasn't annoyed by someone. We all forget to think once in a while, but it's starting to feel like real life is very close to mirroring the movie "Idiocracy". 

We expect to see people do dumb things in traffic, like the fellow who wanted to go from the far left lane to the far right so he could exit.  He was going 30 miles over the speed limit and slashed through the small opening between me and the car in front of me, nearly hitting us both.  Do I even need to mention there was no one behind me for 100 meters???  I won't bother writing about the lady who crossed into my lane (head-on) because she was texting and then gave me the middle finger salute.

Does it seem that grocery store baggers have a challenge amongst themselves to see who can do the most damage?  Last week a bagger threw avacados into the bag so hard I heard them slam against the metal shelf underneath.  I had him remove them and take them off the bill--and then I gave him a lecture on proper handling and bagging (Why would you put a bottle of carrot juice on top of grapes???).

As part of our current budget exercise at work, our departments had to submit Excel and Word files for me to review and edit. The first Excel file I received was completely wrong.  I returned it (and only it) to the sender to be corrected. Instead, he revised his Word file and resubmitted that.  Of course he gets paid more than I do. 

And those wonderful people who park halfway in your parking space and make it impossible for you to get in your car.  I saw that in a parking lot this weekend...it was a work vehicle that had a sticker asking "How's my driving?"  The sticker had a phone number, so I called to suggest the company stop giving cars to blind employees.

I could go on and on with examples and I'm sure you could too.  It's just everyday life.  I used to feel bad for people with no common sense.  But now I wonder if having it is worth the frustration that comes with it.  Is it better to not think and just be oblivious about everything???


PS - I think I'm turning into Mr. Wilson (from Dennis the Menace). 

Is your name in song?

I heard an old song on the radio this week--Sara Smile. It's not a great song, but it's nice. It's much better than the song with my name (the pre-8 year-old version of my name) in it--Rikki Don't Lose That Number. They used the mongoose spelling (Rikki Tikki Tavi).

Hearing it made me wonder if my blog friend's names are in song lyrics. I couldn't think of many--blank mind syndrome got the best of me. Then I remembered an old song that had Julie, Julie, Julie in the lyrics. And there's I'm Not Lisa (coincidentally, the next line is "my name is Julie"). And there's a song called Jolene--about an awful woman, nothing like my blog friend.

There must be many others. Help me remember--is your name part of a song? If yes, do you like it???


PS - Is it just me, or does it sound like they're saying Ricky in Hey Mickey??? LOL--I know, it's just me!

Scary Drugs

The prescription kind. I don’t usually pay attention to commercials. But prescription ads got my attention—at first because I was annoyed by the thought that TV ads would just add to the cost of the prescription. Later the commercials grabbed my attention because of the horrible, horrible side-effects they mention (very quickly).

Some asthma medications may increase your risk of death due to asthma. Well, of course! Isn’t that what asthma medicine is supposed to do???

Antidepressants may make you more depressed.

Pills to strengthen bones may cause bone fractures or osteonecrosis of the jaw (don’t google that, the pictures are awful--a co-worker developed this after taking a prescription).

Some prostrate treatments increase the risk of prostate cancer.

Some diet pills may cause oily, unstoppable diarrhea. (Yes, please, I want that!)

I'm thinking about this today as I’m taking a new (for me) antibiotic. It has some interesting potential side-effects. It can make your tendons swell and pop (“If you hear a snapping sound, see your doctor immediately.”) It can damage your nerves and a cause a few minor aggravations. It can also cause hallucinations. I’ve never had hallucinations, so I was curious to see what would happen. Malaria medication didn’t cause them when I went to Panama, maybe this will be my chance.

So far, the pills have only given me a headache and made my tummy itch…nothing interesting. Maybe next time. =)

But how do you decide if taking one of these prescriptions is worth it? When is it worth using an asthma medication that may cause you to die from asthma??? Presumably only when other options won't work. Do the older (hopefully safer) medications no longer work? Or do doctors push the new meds when there are older, cheaper (generic) meds available?

Our best option is to educate ourselves and ask questions. Some doctors don't like being questioned, but that's their problem. We have to live with the consequences of whatever we swallow (including the pistashio ice cream I had last night--but that's a subject for a different post). Ask questions and keep track of how you react to medications, so you'll know what to accept and what to say no to in the future.

And if you find something with fun side-effects, let me know!


PS - My doc blog friends don't mind answering questions.

Space Shuttle

The Smithsonian is adding the space shuttle Discovery to its collections. Before depositing it at the National Air & Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles airport, NASA flew the shuttle over DC landmarks today. That's the Castle (the Smithsonian Institution Building) in the picture. A ceremony is scheduled for Thursday to mark the occasion.

The Discovery will replace the Enterprise--which was a prototype and never actually went into space. The Discovery has been out there and back again.

Cooking Fun

This is short--and hopefully cute.

When I was 15 my mom started experimenting with new recipes. The results were wonderful. She was a really good cook. One evening (when I was 18), she was in a very happy mood as we started dinner. She was acting...kind of silly. It was cute, but I was a little confounded by it. I'd never seen her act that way. After a few minutes she stopped, stared at me for a few seconds, then stared at my dad, then back at me. Then she started giggling. She giggled so hard she could barely explain why. Finally she was able to get out, "You two look just alike" (she later clarified she meant we had the same expression). And she laughed...and laughed.

I learned later that the recipe included a little sherry--only a little. As my mom prepared the dish, she tasted the sauce several times (to get it right) and she ended up sauced herself. LOL! I can't prove it, but I have no doubt that she had the LOWEST possible tolerance for alcohol.

I felt mildly insulted for a moment ("just alike" :P), but it was a really fun dinner. I'd had many opportunities to see my parents as people (and not just parents) before then, but it was a nice reminder.

My Father's Son

I'm sort of my family's historian. I listened when my parents told family stories and I asked questions. I was curious. But some things just didn't come up. And to be fair, there's plenty I didn't tell them--and I mean good things too! =) But there's a lot I didn't know.

Growing up, I often wondered why I was the one responsible for making sure things got done (digging ditches, cutting down trees, etc.), going with my dad on his SWAT maneuvers, looking out for my 3 much older sisters, minor (and not so minor) car repairs, and the list goes on. Where were my older brothers???

I just learned from a former neighbor (lady who picked me up in the nail through my foot post) that my mother told my dad he wasn't allowed to parent my brothers because he was too hard on them--one for being too meek and one too hot-headed. Today, my brothers still talk about Dad trying to instigate fights between them. They don't know it, but he hoped to toughen up one and calm down the other. They came away from the experience believing the other was Dad's favorite. When I hear them talk about it, I laugh and tell them they're crazy--that I was the favorite. I wasn't--they know it's a joke.

But it turns out I was the son he could attempt to mold without interference. Of course, he didn't completely stop parenting my brothers (he gave them grief too). But they were our mother's sons and I was his. Writing that makes me laugh, because it sounds so ridiculous. Such a weird family. But now I understand why responsibilities fell to me, why I was always the one to help him, and why my dad only lectured me (rides home from church were almost unbearable) about morals, values and oh-by-the-way, you kids need to grow up and get out. LOL!

I also found out what my dad thought of me. What I heard from him over the years was that I didn't do anything right, the decisions I made about school were mistakes, getting married was a mistake (no one is wrong all the time ;P), every job I took was a mistake (until the moves led me to a pretty cool job, then he was "glad I followed his advice"--Ugh!). You can see his attempt at "molding" me didn't exactly work. I went my own way.

But according to the neighbor, my dad was always proud of me. She claimed when I was a kid he talked often about how he only had to describe a task for me to be able to do it (like making concrete stepping stones). That I was independent. Did well in school. That I was responsible, the youngest this or the first that. Who knew???

Honestly, I'm not sure I believe it. Perhaps the lady was just being kind. It's MUCH more likely that's what she thought of me. She always liked me--and isn't above spinning a good yarn. I guess I'll never be sure.

The lesson here is don't be afraid to tell your kids (or anyone) when they do something right.

Sleeping in a Caboose

A few years ago we took a trip to Amish country in Pennsylvania. As part of the trip, we decided it would be fun to spend one night at a hotel that consisted of rooms inside actual cabooses (cabi??? ;P), so the kids loved it. Me? Not so much. But since the kids were happy, we decided to make the best of it. For a night, we had our own caboose.

Supposedly the rooms have been refurbished since then, but at the time they were...not dirty exactly, but very dingy. The main area had a double bed, sink and a TV built into a fake pot bellied stove. There was a tiny bathroom (it had to be tiny) and two built-in bunk beds in the back. I had trouble sleeping in the bed, so I tried one of the bunks. That didn't work out so well either--it had sort of an old farmhouse smell (not the good kind). I went back to the bed.

Around 3am, I started to nod off. Finally! Soon I was startled awake by a loud crashing sound. It was pitch black and I couldn't see anything. I thought someone had kicked in the door, so I ran towards the door to intercept whoever was breaking in. Was it the Amish???

Halfway to the door I tripped over something on the floor. I still couldn't see, so it could have been anything. A drunk Amish person?

When I discovered the door was still shut, I reached for the light. My opponent in the dark turned out to be the fake stove pipe from the top of the fake stove. It was oddly heavy--and would have done damage if one of the kids had been standing there.

I marched over to the office and shared the "joy" I felt about the situation. I was pretty hot, but the fellow at the counter didn't react at all. Not sorry about what happened, not upset about my attitude, he was just completely disinterested and mellow...made me wonder if there was a drug problem in Amish country.

I've never skipped out on any bill, but if they didn't have my credit card number I would have skipped out and thought nothing of it. Eventually we agreed on a 50% discount.

This story doesn't have much of a point. However, if you like trains and want to see the place (if you're ever in the middle of nowhere PA), just drive by and look at the cabooses. Don't stay there!

Emotional movie moments

Is there a particular type of movie moment that pushes your buttons and gets you choked up? Please note: Guys don't cry because of a movie. Any movie. My dad taught me that. But it IS okay to get a little choked-up, be quiet about it, and then deny it later. =)

I watched a movie last night that has me thinking about a particular type of movie moment that can stir your emotions....the type where people (or a person) put the good of the many ahead of the good of the few, or the one. Yes, that's a Star Trek reference--how could you not be moved when Spock put his face right in the radiation stream to save the Enterprise and her crew in the Wrath of Khan???

Star Trek scenes may be Greek to you, but that's okay. Those moments occur in lots of movies. The one I watched last night (that got me thinking about this) was Air Force One. Not a tear-jerker???

When that fighter pilot purposely flew into the path of a missile to save the President and his family (aboard Air Force One)...gulp! That's a great movie moment. The guy knew he had no chance of survival. Most of us would do that for our loved ones, but for someone we never met? Wow!

Of course, those are just movies. Thankfully those moments are not limited to just movies. They happen in real life too. They have happened and will continue to happen. THAT is really moving. Not sure why I'm thinking about that on such a good Friday, but it's a comforting thought.


PS - If we ever watch Bambi or Shane together, please don't try to talk to me near the end. I'll be...ah...thinking, yeah, thinking about something critical, so no talking. =)


Happy Easter!

Shipping Rates!

WTHeck! Why in the world is shipping so expensive in Canada? Is each carrier assigned only one package a day??? I once did a post on stereotypes and shared some fun facts about Canadians (to foster understanding). I may have acccidentally been correct on one of the things I joked about:

#7. Their mail is delivered via dog sled.

Excluding groceries and flashlights (a joke, but I do own an oddly high number of them), I probably shop as much on-line as I do in person. Shipping is usually free or so minimal that it's not even a consideration.

Do shipping costs influence whether you buy things on-line or not (especially you poor, extorted Canadians)??? Are shipping costs high in your area?

April Fools

I considered doing an "April Fools Day" post in which you would have thought the switch on my back got moved from good to evil. But I couldn't do it. I've never pulled a prank on April 1st. The things I think of end up sounding mean to me (or dumb), so they never see the light of day. I was going to write:

"Karma is Krap and there's no reason to be nice to people or help them. If you want to help someone, help yourself. God helps those who help themselves, so forget everyone else. Stop being a chump!!!"

And then I was going to follow with a PS revealing it was an April Fools day joke.

But, it's just not my style. Besides, there ARE times when we encounter one too many selfish, rude, arrogant or phony people and thoughts similar to my "joke" can cross your mind for a second. I haven't had one of those seconds recently--even though I DID meet with my 5 siblings last weekend. LOL!

Life is good and I hope it is for you too!

Happy April! =)