The Envelope of Doom

Why be afraid of little pieces of paper?
Considering the possible attacks that we as a society have developed to be delivered in an envelope, it’s not surprising.
To name a few:

Court summons
Parking ticket
Divorce papers
Credit card bill
Report card
Pink slip
Electricity shut-off notice
IRS audit notification
Returned submission with accompanying rejection slip

Why do we torture each other with documents?
When I’ve got [...]

Name that motor vehicle!

My husband and I have a tradition of naming our cars.
It officially began when I first met my husband, who at the time owned a white Ford Escort (I was a carless cyclist).  Though we hardly knew each other at the time, he loaned it to me while he was away for Thanksgiving (an omen [...]

First Anniversary

As I reflect on passing the one year blogging mark, I am humbled and grateful for the experience.
A year ago my husband’s best friend was visiting us from Wales. He showed me the blog he had just started ( Movie Waffle  – A more witty and intelligent film review site could never be found!) and the [...]

Starting to Sweat the Summer

Well, I made it until yesterday.
I try not to whine about the heat… try and try… for as long as I can.
Yesterday, standing over the stove feeling stickier than the muffin batter, greasier than the oil heating in the frying pan, and hotter than the pre-heating oven, I had an involuntary longing for my long-sleeved [...]

Damning Debt

How much does debt destroy a person’s integrity?  Is credit rating the new and improved way to judge a human’s worth, or is it just a shallow measure like breast size or bicep thickness?  Should I live in fear like the guy on the commercial who finds himself in a pirate get-up earning minimum wage, [...]

Noisy Chores

My chores each have a different pitch to their whine: that incessant complaint that each makes to get my attention and ruin any chance I have of doing something enjoyable until I’ve attended to the work at hand.
An unmade bed makes a soft noise, sounds kind of like, “I want to look priiiiiteeeee.”  Most days [...]

Numbers revisited

I finally watched “The Number 23.”  I think it demonstrates a couple of important points about superstition and the human imagination.
First, we interpret.  From religious texts to emails to light conversation over coffee, we filter everything through our necessarily limited sensory perception.  Aldous Huxley’s book “The Doors of Perception” is a great illustration of the [...]

On a Hill

Sometimes I remember to look at the big picture.  
How many problems would be ameliorated or indeed solved if we could remember to shift the focus of our eyeballs, currently zoomed in on the little kid finger smudges covering the front window, and pull our perspective wider to see The Whole.
Not that we can ever [...]

Spooky Numbers

In the spirit of true confessions, I would like to discuss superstition and my personal battle against it.  If nothing thus far has convinced you of my neurotic tendencies, this here post’ll do the trick.
The earliest number neuroticism I can remember is the day I found eight four leaf clovers in my front yard.  From [...]

Self-Esteem

I finally hung on the wall of my bedroom the diploma I earned from the University of Oregon: a BA in French and Spanish.  
Sometimes we just need a little mental boost, and I regret to say that, though I prefer valiant deeds of glory, sometimes it can come from a piece of paper.
On another [...]