Happy Easter

Easter Dissonance

People spend a lot of time arguing about the damnedest things and, in the process, generally try to ruin things for others who don't follow their narrow viewpoints.

Case in point....Easter.

Easter means many things to many people. For some, it's a holy day. For others, it's a celebration of spring. For still others, it's a Sunday in April, big deal. For kids, however, it is a very big deal indeed and has nothing at all to do with religion...it's about candy. Easter eggs! Chocolate rabbits! Jellybeans and Peeps. It's a hunt, a hide and seek game played with a mythical rabbit that stashes goodies in the yard for girls and boys to find.

But that isn't good enough for some who insist that such activity is blasphemous to their idea of what Easter is all about. Somewhat ironic since even the name "Easter" is derived from some Germanic goddess. Then, on the other extreme, there are those who go nuts at any public display of anything that hints at a practice of religion. These are the people who rename things "egg hunts" and "spring spheres".

Above it all there are the retailers who go ga-ga in selling as much candy for the day as they can, knowing that another chance will not occur until Halloween.....a holiday that really sets the pious on edge.

Why destroy Easter? Pray at sunrise if that's your thing. Dance naked in a field if that has meaning to you. Sleep in and skip shaving if you desire. Let the kids have fun. Enjoy the start of spring. Easter is what you make of it not what you want to make it for others.

As for me.....I'm going hunting for a chocolate bunny.

Fraidy Cat

Completely off track. I finally got the wound on my leg to heal, came through a sinus infection, eased the pain of chigger bites all over my body....only to be laid low with a toothache. If it isn't one damn thing, it's another. The toothache is a particularly nasty bugger. The other ailments just involved pain; the toothache is pain on a whole different level.

Go to the dentist, you say?

Well...yeah....I will...I suppose.

Gawd, I hate the dentist though. It probably goes back to when I was a kid and had cavities filled by kindly Dr. Cherry. He really was nice but he had a bad habit of being very honest and let you know "this is going to hurt" right before he bore down on a tooth with his Black & Decker industrial sized drill.

But that was a long time ago and dentistry has come a long way. The last time I went, they gave me nitrous oxide. Great stuff. It wasn't so much that I couldn't feel any pain...I just didn't care. The dentist could have ripped out my tongue and I wouldn't have minded. The dentist that I'm going to gives some type of sedative that gets you so high you not only don't feel pain, you don't even remember going to the dentist in the first place after it wears off.

Still....old memories. Fear. Anxiety. Wait....my tooth actually feels better.

Wednesday Cat Blogging

Wall

I'm up against that dreaded brick wall...trying to break under 200 lbs. I seem to be hanging just above it; getting tantalizingly close then creeping up a couple pounds. I feel that if I could manage to slip under 200 then the weight would start falling once again and, in no time, I could reach my dream goal of 175 lbs....or maybe even my fantasy goal of 160.

Maybe it will happen this week.

Wednesday Cat Blogging

One Month

Not much difference. Well...maybe a little. Still have a couple more to go. Let's see what happens.

Grace Under Pressure

I think something is wrong with me.

My job is somewhat stressful. It requires me to think and juggle several tasks during the day. I deal with intense emotions from other people. I'm required to make on-the-spot decisions that are often seconded-guessed by my superiors if the results go astray. The paperwork load is so immense I can't go to the bathroom without writing a report about the experience. I have watched my job burn through a lot of people...some not even lasting a couple of months.

I've done it for 15 years and love it.

Here I sit after a very long and hectic day looking forward to being on-call for the next 40 hours or so and I can't for the life of me figure out why I don't seem to be affected by the same stress that makes so many others crumble. I'm not super-human. I don't have any particular skills in dealing with pressure. For some reason though....the more stressful my job is during the day...the happier I am. It invigorates me.

Like I said; I have a screw loose somewhere.

Works for me though.

Wednesday Cat Blogging

Yogurt,Yogurt, Everywhere

I like Yogurt. It use to be one of those "hippie" foods that were simple, cheap, and nutritious.

Use to be.

Yogurt has become a fad food item now, and it comes in just about any flavor that you can imagine.....and most of it is unhealthy crap. They are loaded with corn syrup, except for the low fat varieties which are loaded with artificial sweeteners. You can find a brand of Greek yogurt that has neither for the bargain price of a dollar for a little tub filled with about two spoons full.

Basically, I walk by the yogurt section in the grocery with much the same feeling I have in the cereal aisle.....row upon row of different packaging of the same junk. None of it the least bit healthy for a body.

Free Day Treat

Free day...or that one day of the week where I don't worry about what I'm eating or how much. I suppose I could spend all day eating all kinds of crap but that would kind of defeat the purpose of changing my habits; of eating healthy foods, even when I eat a lot of them. So I eat what I eat during the week but have seconds. I have treats as well, such as a delicious pint of chocolate milk.

Yeah, I know, there is a lot of opinion about whether milk is good for you or not. The chemical flavored stuff in cardboard cartons you buy in stores that come from cow factories, loaded with hormones, and spiked with corn syrup...yeah....that stuff is poison. The stuff pictured above though....mmmmm. It's from a local dairy. No additives. No hormones. Just fresh milk in a glass bottle that tastes like I remembered as a boy.

Once a Sunday. I wait all week for it.

Wednesday Cat Blogging

Wednesday Cat Blogging

I Love My Toys

Day One

Warning! Semi-nude old fat dude content toward the end.

Wednesday Cat Blogging

Wednesday Cat Blogging

Advice for Men

Men are at a distinct disadvantage in any encounter with women, and I think I've figured out why. We don't speak the same language. Most men that I know are pretty straightforward when communicating with each other. A guy comes up and says “man, I feel like shit today” I can respond by saying “yeah, dude, you look like shit too” and we understand each other....a man stated that he was a bit under par that day and another man offered confirmation and support. Try telling a woman she looks like shit and see where that comment will take you. What's good for the gander is definitely not good for the goose.

So...after a lifetime of being around women of all shapes, sizes, ages, and personality types; I've distilled a few key phrases that, while obvious when spoken man to man, take on a very different context when spoken by a woman to a man. Pay attention guys. Life is easier when you know this stuff. The first phrase is what a female will tell you. The second is the translation you should be hearing...or else.

“Nothing's wrong”
translation --- something's wrong, you have 10 seconds to figure out what

“It's not you, it's me”
translation --- it's you

“I don't care what we watch on TV tonight”
translation --- give me the remote

“I don't want to talk about it”
translation --- no TV for you tonight

“I'm not upset”
translation --- no sex either

“You're so manly”
translation --- you're a slob

“That girl is so pretty”
translation --- don't look

“I don't need a gift”
translation --- I better get a good one

“You don't listen to me”
translation --- stop arguing

“I guess it's all my fault”
translation --- last warning, quit arguing with me

“Fine then, I'm sorry”
translation --- you'll be sorry

Wednesday Cat Blogging

Snow Walk