My "new" blog

I've been using Blogger for a while, but not to any great lengths. I used to use Yahoo! extensively because the page had more "fun" things on it. Lately, many of those things have not worked, and today I lost an entire post. It wasn't one of my normal rants, either. It was a carefully crafted piece of comedy which I, at any rate, found hilarious. You may not have agreed, but that's not my point. :-) My point is that this piece is now gone forever. I can rewrite it, of course, and it will basically be the same. But it will never be the same, if you know what I mean. I have copied a couple of my posts from my Yahoo! blog here, but this one was the best in a while, if only for its spontaneity. Of course, I will try to re-create it (in Word this time, so as to not lose it again), but it has saddened me to the point that I will probably be hosting my blog here and here alone. Never fear, though. I will still try to be entertaining... even faced with the sorrow of this loss. :-) Okay, that was over the top. I hope some of my readers from the "old" blog still stop by once in a while!
Thanks for reading!

The day the Pontiac Stood Still

Well, it's been two days, actually. I was sick yesterday -- getting what I thought was about to be a nasty sinus infection. So I didn't go anywhere. Today -- my car decided it was his turn to not go. Carl the car apparently had copped an attitude that we went nowhere yesterday, and in the middle of the week. Now, I am not one to buy extended warranties (having lived with a car salesman, I know how much they make on them on new vehicles, and how often they are actually used). However, this was not a new vehicle and I was talked into it. I have had one major problem with this car already, and it only cost me $100 to fix because of this warranty, so it has pretty much paid for itself. HOWEVER, today's problem was, apparently, not covered. It was something to do with the ignition; some sensor or something. I did not talk to the mechanic myself, so I'm not knowing all of the details. The people who I have the warranty through, though, say it's not covered. Tomorrow I will go pick up my car... and my gas mileage should be great with all the weight I'll be losing in the area of my wallet! But, alas, I live in Nowhere, and work in Smaller Nowhere, which is ten miles from home, so walking is not an option, especially with -30 windchills. Well, if I did walk to work, odds are good I wouldn't have to worry about walking home!
So, I heard on the news yesterday that Dr. Jarvik is coming under much scrutiny because he is advertising a cholesterol medication that he cannot prescribe, as he is an inventor, not an acutal doctor licensed to practice medicine. Does anyone remember Robert Young?!?! Maybe you don't remember him by that name. Try this one: Marcus Welby, M.D. I remember him as an actor in commercials proposing certain products should be taken for certain ailments. Should Gerome Bettis be telling people to take Mega-Men? Who are Dorothy Hamill or Bruce Jenner to tell me what medications I should take for my arthritis? I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV." Let's leave Dr. Jarvik alone, shall we? Celebrities of all makes and models have been known to promote products in the health care field (Wilford Brimley, Alex Trebek). Why? Because, first of all, we know them. Second of all, we trust them. DUH! It's marketing, people! I could go on TV and tell you that you should take Pepcid instead of Zantac. Some of you might even believe me. Most of you won't care. But, if James Gandolfini (of The Sopranos fame) comes on and tells you that it eases his stomach, even knowing what he knows about the mob... well, heck, it must work WAY better! I may have the worst medical case of anything known to man, and it may have been cured by a certain drug... but if Oprah or Tyra do not have me on their show to talk about it, you won't care. You won't listen to me. Who am I to you? Just some crazy chick that writes about stuff that makes her crazy... just some chick you came across on Blogger!
Thanks for coming across me... and please stop back!

Sock Technology? Why not?

Okay, here's my point. We use technology for all kinds of things: RFID tags, nanotechnology. As I spent half of another Sunday doing laundry, the question came to me: Why can't socks match themselves? Really. There should be some sort of nanotechnology or something that could help the average person with this plight. At the flick of a switch, once the laundry is done, the socks should find each other so they may be folded into proper pairs. If that is not possible, then perhaps at least the ones from the same pack (as they were bought at the store) could be implanted with a small light of some sort that would glow red, green, yellow, blue, etc. based on the pack from which they came. If you are like me and buy socks in 5 or 6 packs, it does not necessarily matter that each of those socks is paired with the same sock each and every time. But, it does matter that socks from a pack you bought last week not get matched with socks from a pack you bought six months ago. Even though they may have started their lives as exactly the same socks, the older ones are changed drastically by their travels through time (not to mention the agitator, spin cycle, and dryer). They are but a vision of their former sock-selves. They wear differently, and it is not comfortable to wear a new sock with an old sock. It's not right, and it's not the way apparel-life was meant to be.
So, someone, please invent this beautiful world for me... where socks match themselves; or at least one where socks can tell you with which possible mates they may work well. There does not have to be 29 dimensions of compatibility. Let's not make this more difficult than it has to be. I just want more time in my Sunday afternoon, and sock technology will provide that to me!
Thanks,BJ

I hope this to be my most favorite blog

Hello, All.,
I've been looking for a place to put a blog. I will never forget the times I've gone through on my Yahoo! blog, and I think that is the reason that I still post there more than anywhere else. It just seems so much more animated. I wish that I could have a "serious" blog and an "animated" blog, but that is not me, truly. I am an animated person. Perhaps I just do not know how to use those features on this site. In reality, I think that if they were here, I would have some idea how to use them. This is basic blogging. I don't feel inspired by a stark white background. I understand that, although people check into my blog and tell me that "Yahoo! is dead!" that eventually I will receive less and less readers. However, it is a little more "fun" than this. I think I would rather have a blog that I enjoy writing in than one that people will read. I just can't get into this "perfect" style and font and stark look of my posts here -- no matter what they look like when I post them. Although I take the things I talk about seriously, I refuse to take myself as serious as a font or a look. It does not lend itself to creativity, in my mind. I have tried so many sites... and I prefer to host myself where I host myself. I don't know if anyone reads me, but, if you do, you know where to find me from now on.
Write On, People!
bj

Giving up the story line?

Being a new writer, I am not sure how much I can say without giving up the entire story. But then, this is one that has been in my mind for a long time, so, in the reality of life, is already "published." So far, I see it as a story about loss, dealing with loss, learning how to move on. But then, the story may end with loss again. Does it end with the fact that the next loss is easier because loving and losing has been learned? Loss is truly never easier, I do not think. So, then, does the story becomes about losing someone that you never knew you cared about, who you never knew cared about you? In my mind there is a certain time that it makes sense to lose someone. While, at the time, you want anything but to lose that person, years later, when you look back, you can see what you learned through the contact you had with that person, and what you learned through the loss of that person. I think that is what this story is about.

I think what the story will truly be about, and what I would like readers to see, is that: everyone you ever encounter will change you. Take what you have learned from having them in your life; don't hold the pain that you feel from their loss, but hold in your heart what they have taught you about living. It has taken me many years to write about loss, and I have taken some liberties with my memories, but I think that it makes for a better story... and one more easily told.

Management Styles

I have found it very interesting being an employee lately, rather than the manager or owner of a business. I suppose, in some ways, I have forgotten that businesses are still run through Tayloristic and Machiavellian means means. That was never my style. But that seems to be the case in some places, such as the one where I am now. Unfortunately, there will most likely always be people at the level on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs that will respond to this sort of management. They need a job (as we "all" do), and will do whatever the boss tells them to do. It does not matter if it is a demeaning task... because they do need to be done. However, when someone crosses an entire room to ask me to do something that they could have already had done five minutes ago (but that they feel is "below" them), there is a problem. Is any task truly below anyone? Of course, if the "boss" is too busy catching up on neighborhood gossip, then I am sure that person would need help doing menial tasks rather than accomplishing them herself/hiself.

I guess I did not realize that some managers had people who would gladly cover ther inadequacies and make sure that they were performing all of the tasks they needed to perform for that day. I have always been the last one responsible for every task that was on my plate for the day -- no matter how many or how often those things changed. I suppose this is why I am no longer cut out to be an employee. Perhaps the bar I have set for myself is too high for some others to reach. Or perhaps it is their lack of trying. I'm nothing special. I don't think that what I ask of myself is anything out of the ordinary compared to what every manager should ask of themselves.
Interestingly, this particular person that I work for now seems to think that she is in this position simply to have other people do her grunt work. It is very hard to have respect for someone who, obviously, married into the position they are in, and have decided to take advantage of that. Does this person put in a lot of hours? Heck yes!!! More hours than most normal people ever would. However, if any of these hours were used to their capacity, rather than chatting with friends and gossiping about other owners and the like, this person could cut her work time in half! It's about actually working when you are at work. It's about working smarter, not making it look like you work harder. Maybe I am wrong. I just think that work ethic speaks volumes more than so many other things when it comes to how you are perceived. Maybe not. That's just the way I was brought up. It's what I know.

McTaxes?

I caught the end of news story the other day where some municipality in California (imagine that!) was thinking about taxing soda. Their reasoning was that bad eating habits, etc. cost money. Unhealthy behaviors, in their opinion, cost too much money in health care, etc. Do we truly need the government to tell us what is bad for us? Are we not adults and able to make our own decisions about ourselves, what we ingest, and how we live?

What's next, taxes on fast food? Tax cuts for people who exercise three times a week at a government-sanctioned and controlled health facility?!? Come on, people. Let's get real.

What ever happened to being RESPONSIBLE as an adult?!? If you cannot be responsible for yourself, then I suppose we could never expect you to be responsible for the five children you have had. Nor can you be held responsible for the fact that you have allowed them a gallon of soda a day from the very day they knew how "yummy" it was. Afterall, you are "too busy" with the rest of your life to actually spend enough time with your children to instill good habits upon them. It is much easier to cave to their every whim... including soda, fast food, Twinkies (TM). Let me ask you this. Who told you life would be easy? Who told you someone else would cover for your own stupidity? If you need someone to control every aspect of your life and you are not able to handle to responsibilities of being an adult and not being a tremendous burden on the rest of society because of it, please let me know. I can give you a long list of countries to which you can relocate where your every move will be mandated from above. That is not what we are about here, people! At one point, people were intelligent enough to make decisions for themselves and their families. That no longer seems to be the case. However, I do not think I should pay an extra tax on the occasional soda that I drink because you have overindulged to the point that you are obesce, diabetic, or have a million other health problems. If you then choose to be a leach on society, then I suppose I will continue to work and pay for your sorry butt. However, there are SO many people out there who, for very unfortunate circumstances, actually NEED the help, that can't get the medical attention, etc. that they need, that I don't feel you deserve anything from anyone. If you had been like the rest of us and had to work for everything you have, you may not be over-indulging in ridiculous things such as a gallon of soda a day for fifteen years. There's a Vet somewhere that needs comparatively little help who has done more for you than you have ever done for him/her. This Vet is probably saddened by the fact that they have fought for you and that your government, for your own protection, is even thinking about a tax such as this one. The only reason for this tax is to save a certain populous from their own glutony.

My point: don't blame the rest of the country for your own short-comings. Be an adult. Be responsible. It is not the easy road. It is the right road!

The uncomonality of common sense

I do not propose to be super-intelligent. I do not propose to be anything out of the ordinary, as ordinary people go --- but where did common sense go? Am I the only one who sees certain things as common sense? Is it just that others overthink things? Or do they really not have the mental capacity with which to solve these simple business problems? Balancing the daily books for a business is relatively simple, in the big scheme of things. It's not like I'm asking them to balance the budget of the country in the week I am on vacation. I am simply asking that my management staff account for the money we have taken into our business from sales on a day-to-day basis. This should not be difficult. However, they seem to have "lost" an amount of money that I do not find acceptable. No amount of money would be acceptable, granted, but, especially with this being a slower time of year, we cannot afford to miscalculate as they have done over the past weekend. It amazes me. I wish I could say more, but I am truly losing faith in the people I have given charge of my business in my absence, and I am at a loss for words. I hope to have words, and be able to convey them in a somewhat calm tone, upon my return to work at the end of this week.

UGH~ Winter

WHOA! What a ride to work yesterday! Buckle up, Broccoli! It's going to be a bumpy ride! The half hour drive took me the better part of an hour. The highway I live on was not bad -- but the one I turn on to go the last 26 miles to work was Hellacious! At first, it was just a little slick. But then all H broke loose. Mind you that I am going to work before 5 am, and it's still dark. It started snowing to beat anything, and I couldn't see two feet in front of the car. I had no idea if I was even still on the road. I just knew that there were no trees passing too close to me, so I was probably still all good. I saw no road signs -- I had no time to even look up to see them. It's a state highway, but, up here, there are not many markers to tell you where you are.

Eventually I did meet another car coming in the other direction. Luckily that vehicle was only going about 20 mph as well, because we were going head-on into each other. Apparently this person deals with early morning commutes in the winter as much as I did, because he/she moved over a bit at a time until we could pass safely. About five miles down the road, it had snowed enough that I could actually see where other cars had traveled. I took this tracks, ruts in the snow, really, and hoped that the ones I was following didn't belong to a car that had ended up in the ditch at some point. Once you get into someone else's ruts, it's hard to get out once you realize that they have gone where no '93 Cutlas should ever travel.

By the time I got close to the town where I actually work, the roads weren't too terrible and I was able to almost drive like a real person. It's only October! I am SO not looking forward to this commute through the woods for the next 8 months! I hope we get at least a little warmer weather before all H breaks loose for good. I'd take 45 degrees, really I would -- for a few weeks. It just all came too quick and too early!