Random Thoughts

Thought 1 - Sunday nights, we tend to watch ABC's Extreme Home Makeover. We enjoy the show because it does tend to be rather positive and not nearly as grim & depressing as some of the other TV options out there. That & its a brainless show so we can knit, work on puzzles, paperwork, whatever while it's on.

The problem which we all have, and 1 I have heard expressed by others (right, exmi?) is that the house's built are usually way over the top & beyond the means of the person they are helping. Sure, who wouldn't love a brand new house with a pool, water features, massive rooms, new appliances, weight room, and whatever else you can fit in. But who is paying the taxes on the new house? And let's not forget the utility bills because you know those are going to leap upwards. Throw in the fact that most of these families are extremely stressed out and running around madly trying to accomplish more than most every day. S how are they going to take care of all those little, every day things like mowing their new landscaped yard and trimming the hedges and making sure the walks are edged and so on & so forth?

Thought 2 is about something I saw on the local news last night. They did a piece on this gentleman who was a wee bit unhappy with his power company. Every month for the past 4 years he would open his power bill up & write the check & be done with it till next month. Not this month. He opened it and choked on the $2400.00 bill he got. It seems that for the past 4 years his meter was running slow & finally died. When it died, the power company discovered the problem and then estimated how much the man would owe and billed him.

Naturally, he was upset and while he offered to make payments, the company is demanding everything NOW! Since he is on a fixed income, there are a few issues there, so he called the news & the Better Business Bureau. They stepped forward, talked with other power co.'s who agreed that since this is such a rare event and it's not as if the guy did this deliberately, they would just eat the cost. It's not as if it was noticed over the past 4 years after all so they would be at fault, not the customer. I mean really, can you read your own meter? And would you know if it was running slow or not? I wouldn't! Here's the link with more details if anyone's interested.

Thought 3 - I have got to find a good "gardeners soap." The dirt and general plant life that gets ground into my skin at work is really astonishing. In fact, if no one has any suggestions beyond running my nails along a soap bar to keep the dirt out from there, I am open to them all. Including how to get stains out of a white shirt. Ground in leaf is an absolute bitch to get out.

Thought 4 - Unless some major upheaval comes along, I am publicly declaring my intention of renting a motel room some day in 2007 and taking a long, hot bath. I am starting to fantasize about hot tubs and drool over bubble bath supplies at Wal-Mart. I had not realized how addicted I was until I moved in here and discovered that I can not take a long, HOT bubble bath here. It does not help that I recognize the reasons, I WANT A HOT BUBBLE BATH! Just because the tub will not hold heat for more than 10 minutes, the idea of privacy in the bathroom is a joke, I could not have an scented candles, soft misic playing, or a glass of wine because of the cramped nature of the bathroom mixed with the fact that the only time I could commandeer the bathroom is when my nephew is in bed and it's just a lost cause. So I am going to rent a cheap room & TAKE A BUBBLE BATH!

Thought 4 - In 2007, a cousin will be getting married. On many levels, I am absolutely thrilled for her & I wish her the absolute best. I think the wedding she has planned will be a spectacular event and will be a memorable event she will cherish. However, I am trying hard not to be repulsed by it all.

Why? Because she is having a full wedding mass in a Catholic church, in Washington D.C., at 7 pm, with a dinner reception afterwards. Because they have been living together for the past 6 years in a place they bought together, after dating since their freshman years in college. Because they are registered at Macy's along with Crate & Barrel, the wish list of wedding gifts are all along the lines of items I know they already have, but they want someone else to get them the newer, better model that they either did not want to pay for or are not ready to get to replace their old one. That & most of what they are registered for is well over the $150 mark, which just offends me. Mix into this a certain level of resentment because if I go, it will be just for the wedding & I will not be able to go sight seeing - AGAIN! I hate going some place with several locations I want to see - like the Zoo & Smithsonian - but be on a time & budget limit & unable to go.

And I feel awful for resenting all of her wedding arrangements, especially since this is HER day. I do not begrudge her the wedding & the extravagance, but I guess in some ways I am bewildered and contemptuous of the hoopla she is creating. I know, as I sit here typing this, that a lot of my negative emotional response is because every wedding I have been to that was "an event" has turned out to be a vile marriage, while every simple wedding I have been to has turned out to be a marriage worth emulating. I know that a lot of it is a resentment over the sheer fretting everyone is going to generating, which is going to tick me off. And I am going to have to smile and congratulate everyone, knowing that whatever I find to wear will not be appropriate because my life style does not have a thing in common with theirs.

Hmmmm, you know, that might be the biggest part of my desire not to go. I know I will not fit in. I do not go out & drop $600 on a latte machine, let alone a pair of shoes. Yet these people do. I'd rather be outside playing in the dirt, sweating like a pig, yet these people barely recognize a gardens existence.