I had the occasion to drive a rental car for most of the day. This is the second time, in my life, that I have been the renter of a rental vehicle. Most of the time it is Capt. SO that secures the vehicle. I'm usually just a passenger and pay little attention to the process.
The rental car was arranged by the automotive repair shop because my vehicle, which I had to have "there" by 7:15 a.m., would be out of commission all day. Not only out of commission, but I knew, in advance, that the bill would be frightfully expensive, which it was. At least I had been pre-prepared (my word) and did not fall faint upon the cement floor when picking up my car, thereby necessitating an ambulance ride.
The small, red, rental car was cute enough, although I think it had a four-cylinder engine. If it had a six-cylinder engine it was the most sluggish six I've ever driven. This little car had all of the acceleration power of ten squirrels and that might be an exaggeration! However, I should not complain. It was a luxury to have a vehicle available to me today so I could run my errands hither, thither and yon. And, hither, thither and yon I did go!
Driving a different vehicle is not something I do very often and today I realized why. We consumers become so accustomed to our own cars, trucks, and mini-vans that we could find most of the interior's gadgets, buttons, gizmos, whatchamcallits, knobs, levers, and thingamabobs blindfolded, could we not? Well, today, nothing was in its customary place. I never could figure out how to lock the car's doors once I was in the car. Every time I tried, the panic alarm went off so I dispensed with that habit for the day. The key was not the kind of key that "disappears" into the key fob thingamajig and because I had at least a dozen stops that I had to make today, I spent at least three tries per stop to get the key to fold back into (or out of) the key "thing". Even at the point of rental return, when I got out of the car to walk into the rental-car building, I automatically pressed some imaginary button that would make the key fold inward! Talk about a creature of habit!
In their defense, I must say that those ten squirrels were quite fuel efficient. The only cost I had to foot was to return the fuel tank to full. One dollar and fifteen cents was what the gas pump registered when the auto-flow valve clicked off to indicate full! I should be nice to those ten squirrels!
I think I could get into this car-rental experience. I can see myself flying to a desired destination and renting a sports car that I could go zoom, zoom, zoom in. As long as I can rent a vehicle that has a disappearing key, has a tilt steering wheel, and is able to be locked when the key is in the ignition, "it" and I would get along famously.
Where should I go? The possibilities are endless, as are the car-rental choices!
Ancora imparo
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
What Have You Learned?
Once again, the fodder for this posting is coming from a recent conversation with friends. A friend, who is an Ancora imparo follower, quipped not too long ago, "You are in a lot of conversations!" Well, yes, I guess I am but I count myself lucky and I learn so much from talking with others.
The topic of a recent conversation that inspired the posting's title was "what had we all learned so far in life?" Participants in this chat were all female and ranged in age from probably fifty to close-to-seventy years of age. Most were in long-term marriages but one was divorced and single, two were widows and another woman was divorced and remarried. As one might expect, there was little pause in discussion and words flowed freely with much ensuing laughter. We laughed heartily and there was the occasional misty-eyed response.
The women's answers, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous to the subtle to the poignant, created quite the portrait of life in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Women's lives that had seen tremendous social and societal changes. Women's lives that had seen tragedy, triumph, treachery, turmoil yet tranquility. It was fascinating to listen to what everyone had to say. In fact, I listened so much that, at one point, one of the women turned to me and asked me when I was going to contribute any life-lessons. I made some glib remark that made everyone chuckle, then another woman made a comment and the group dialogue went on. I was, truthfully, thankful that I did not have to contribute any words of wisdom then. Later, and subsequently even days later, I have had the opportunity to mull over just what I would say and I realize that to narrow down my life-lessons to anything less than the length of a novel would be a disservice to myself and those that I have learned from.
I will, however, throw out the question to those who read Ancora imparo. "What have you learned in or from life?" Anything you'd like to share with me or with others? I would love to hear what you have to say. I might just learn something because, as the title of this blog translates, "still I am learning".
Ancora imparo
The topic of a recent conversation that inspired the posting's title was "what had we all learned so far in life?" Participants in this chat were all female and ranged in age from probably fifty to close-to-seventy years of age. Most were in long-term marriages but one was divorced and single, two were widows and another woman was divorced and remarried. As one might expect, there was little pause in discussion and words flowed freely with much ensuing laughter. We laughed heartily and there was the occasional misty-eyed response.
The women's answers, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous to the subtle to the poignant, created quite the portrait of life in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Women's lives that had seen tremendous social and societal changes. Women's lives that had seen tragedy, triumph, treachery, turmoil yet tranquility. It was fascinating to listen to what everyone had to say. In fact, I listened so much that, at one point, one of the women turned to me and asked me when I was going to contribute any life-lessons. I made some glib remark that made everyone chuckle, then another woman made a comment and the group dialogue went on. I was, truthfully, thankful that I did not have to contribute any words of wisdom then. Later, and subsequently even days later, I have had the opportunity to mull over just what I would say and I realize that to narrow down my life-lessons to anything less than the length of a novel would be a disservice to myself and those that I have learned from.
I will, however, throw out the question to those who read Ancora imparo. "What have you learned in or from life?" Anything you'd like to share with me or with others? I would love to hear what you have to say. I might just learn something because, as the title of this blog translates, "still I am learning".
Ancora imparo
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Walking The Pool
Have you ever heard of "walking the pool"? I had not....until this afternoon. I was outside, reading, and was hailed by a friend who asked, "Would you like to walk the pool with me?" I must have had a confused look on my face because she said, "You know.....walk back and forth from one end to the other?"
This was a new concept to me. I avoid pools like the plague - for a variety of reasons. I'm not fond of chlorine and I don't like chlorinated water in my eyes but it did seem like something that could be fun and I knew I'd enjoy the conversation. Plus.....I have a new bathing suit for this season - one that I might actually allow myself to be seen in by the general public. I usually view wearing a bathing suit as similar to having root canal. I scurried around, actually found the bathing suit, actually donned the bathing suit, and actually stepped out into the sunshine with it on. Of course, I had a pool cover robe on, but still.......this was a big step for me.
Because this is a weekday, the pool was deserted when my friend and I opened the pool gate. "Great," I thought to myself. "All to ourselves!" I followed my friend's lead and for the next hour and forty minutes (I am not exaggerating!) she and I were in continual motion from one end of the pool to the other. Back and forth we went, either walking with constant arm movements, or swimming when the depth was more than tippy-toes could manage. Conversation flowed easily and I was floored when she looked at the pool clock and announced how long we'd been at our water exercise. Now, I must admit that I am one tired puppy. All the fresh air and exercise have made me unusually mellow and very sleepy.
My friend and I had a goal this afternoon. We were hoping that after all that exercise and water making our skin shrink, that we would be size sixes.
The jury is still out on that one.
Ancora imparo
This was a new concept to me. I avoid pools like the plague - for a variety of reasons. I'm not fond of chlorine and I don't like chlorinated water in my eyes but it did seem like something that could be fun and I knew I'd enjoy the conversation. Plus.....I have a new bathing suit for this season - one that I might actually allow myself to be seen in by the general public. I usually view wearing a bathing suit as similar to having root canal. I scurried around, actually found the bathing suit, actually donned the bathing suit, and actually stepped out into the sunshine with it on. Of course, I had a pool cover robe on, but still.......this was a big step for me.
Because this is a weekday, the pool was deserted when my friend and I opened the pool gate. "Great," I thought to myself. "All to ourselves!" I followed my friend's lead and for the next hour and forty minutes (I am not exaggerating!) she and I were in continual motion from one end of the pool to the other. Back and forth we went, either walking with constant arm movements, or swimming when the depth was more than tippy-toes could manage. Conversation flowed easily and I was floored when she looked at the pool clock and announced how long we'd been at our water exercise. Now, I must admit that I am one tired puppy. All the fresh air and exercise have made me unusually mellow and very sleepy.
My friend and I had a goal this afternoon. We were hoping that after all that exercise and water making our skin shrink, that we would be size sixes.
The jury is still out on that one.
Ancora imparo
Displacement Speed
I have boating terminology on the brain - perhaps because I have been living on our little Aqua RV. As part of my feeble (and somewhat unsuccessful) effort to learn how to operate Das Boot, I've had many tutorials and discourses, as of late, on the engines, their optimum speed, care and feeding. Capt. SO has tried to be patient with me as I learn, forget, re-learn, re-forget.......ad nauseam......how to warm up and cool down the engines by putting the transmission into neutral so the rpms can be raised without Das Boot moving forward. I'm certain that my inability to understand and remember the mechanics of this process must be vexing to Capt. SO, to say the least.
As another "chapter" of my boat learnin', I am spending more time behind the wheel as Capt. SO endeavors to teach me how to operate Das Boot in the event that there was an emergency and I had to take the helm. My "comfort" speed is just slightly faster than eight knots, which, if you know anything about power boats, is true displacement speed - or - about the speed of a turtle on steroids. At displacement, I can mange to navigate through rougher water, multiple boats, PWC's and boats pulling skiers or tubers (No, not potato tubers.) without throwing up my hands and covering my eyes.......not a positive trait for someone at the helm. I have learned that there is a nether-world for planing hull boats (at least ours) that is between 900 and 1599 rpms. At this range, our planing hull boat simply pushes water, creating a huge wake, and taking fuel efficiency into toilet territory. Unfortunately, for this helm novice, the range of 900 to 1599 rpms is right in my comfort zone. However, I am becoming more comfortable at 1800 rpms, which, for our Aqua RV, is about 19 to 20 knots. This speed puts the bow down and enables Das Boot to slice through the water, rather than plow through the water. This is a speed that I could safely navigate at, in an emergency, and get Das Boot back to a place of refuge.
But.....yes, there is a but.....I like displacement speed - both for the Aqua RV and life, in general. Displacement speed is like slow and steady, organized and methodical, safe and secure. I do understand that, by moving faster, one does not have to sacrifice safety, security, organization or methodicism (my word). With proper training and preparation, life can go by at tortoise speed or at a Road-Runner pace, but sometimes, displacement speed just feels better, does it not? There may be days when I have to plow through the hours at a speed between 900 and 1599 rpms but, when my head hits the pillow at night, I'll know that my efficiency was compromised. I think the best solution is a day when there is a little of both displacement and planing-hull speeds. Time to take it slow and time to push the throttles forward and move at 2400 rpms. "For everything, turn, turn, turn, there is a season, turn, turn, turn........."
My coffee is gone. Time to move those throttles forward.
Ancora imparo
As another "chapter" of my boat learnin', I am spending more time behind the wheel as Capt. SO endeavors to teach me how to operate Das Boot in the event that there was an emergency and I had to take the helm. My "comfort" speed is just slightly faster than eight knots, which, if you know anything about power boats, is true displacement speed - or - about the speed of a turtle on steroids. At displacement, I can mange to navigate through rougher water, multiple boats, PWC's and boats pulling skiers or tubers (No, not potato tubers.) without throwing up my hands and covering my eyes.......not a positive trait for someone at the helm. I have learned that there is a nether-world for planing hull boats (at least ours) that is between 900 and 1599 rpms. At this range, our planing hull boat simply pushes water, creating a huge wake, and taking fuel efficiency into toilet territory. Unfortunately, for this helm novice, the range of 900 to 1599 rpms is right in my comfort zone. However, I am becoming more comfortable at 1800 rpms, which, for our Aqua RV, is about 19 to 20 knots. This speed puts the bow down and enables Das Boot to slice through the water, rather than plow through the water. This is a speed that I could safely navigate at, in an emergency, and get Das Boot back to a place of refuge.
But.....yes, there is a but.....I like displacement speed - both for the Aqua RV and life, in general. Displacement speed is like slow and steady, organized and methodical, safe and secure. I do understand that, by moving faster, one does not have to sacrifice safety, security, organization or methodicism (my word). With proper training and preparation, life can go by at tortoise speed or at a Road-Runner pace, but sometimes, displacement speed just feels better, does it not? There may be days when I have to plow through the hours at a speed between 900 and 1599 rpms but, when my head hits the pillow at night, I'll know that my efficiency was compromised. I think the best solution is a day when there is a little of both displacement and planing-hull speeds. Time to take it slow and time to push the throttles forward and move at 2400 rpms. "For everything, turn, turn, turn, there is a season, turn, turn, turn........."
My coffee is gone. Time to move those throttles forward.
Ancora imparo
Monday, June 27, 2011
Stress, Strudel, and Stroganoff
How do you deal with stress?
Books, television talk shows, movies, documentaries, lectures and seminars are among the media dedicated to this topic. The pharmaceutical industry must rake in billions just in anti-depressants, mood altering-drugs, and anxiety-reducing meds all in an effort to lower the stress levels of humans world-wide. Let's face it.....life can be very stressful and pharmaceutical executives are probably smiling all the way to their Cayman Island bank accounts.
For the lowly plebe who feels stressed and either doesn't have access to health insurance-provided prescription coverage or doesn't need heavy-duty drugs to weather the stressful storm, the variations of relief-remedies is vast. Herbalists will tell you that ground up roots and leaves can provide a sense of calm. Certain medical providers will insist that by pressing on this or that nerve, either manually or by acupuncture can relieve pain and stress. Health and wellness experts proclaim that exercise and meditative motion will provide lower levels of stress, if not eliminating stressful feelings completely. Prominent world religions proffer that by following their "deity" one can find inner peace and understanding.
Then there is the food factor. Unfortunately, food can be a very real "drug" with which people can attempt to feel less stressed. I am one of those unfortunate folk who use food as a stress-reliever, only to find that once I've felt better for the seconds or minutes that I was eating, even more stress returns in the ugly and non-productive form of guilt. If I thought that stress was the fodder that entire industries are built upon, then guilt is right there with stress. Guilt can be thought of as the fire-starter for stress.....but then that is another blog topic all together.
For now, I'm sticking with my posting title: Stress, strudel and stroganoff. Two of the three are definite winners for instant stress-reduction, although strudel and stroganoff will also lead to guilt.....but maybe they are simply guilty pleasures????
Ancora imparo
Books, television talk shows, movies, documentaries, lectures and seminars are among the media dedicated to this topic. The pharmaceutical industry must rake in billions just in anti-depressants, mood altering-drugs, and anxiety-reducing meds all in an effort to lower the stress levels of humans world-wide. Let's face it.....life can be very stressful and pharmaceutical executives are probably smiling all the way to their Cayman Island bank accounts.
For the lowly plebe who feels stressed and either doesn't have access to health insurance-provided prescription coverage or doesn't need heavy-duty drugs to weather the stressful storm, the variations of relief-remedies is vast. Herbalists will tell you that ground up roots and leaves can provide a sense of calm. Certain medical providers will insist that by pressing on this or that nerve, either manually or by acupuncture can relieve pain and stress. Health and wellness experts proclaim that exercise and meditative motion will provide lower levels of stress, if not eliminating stressful feelings completely. Prominent world religions proffer that by following their "deity" one can find inner peace and understanding.
Then there is the food factor. Unfortunately, food can be a very real "drug" with which people can attempt to feel less stressed. I am one of those unfortunate folk who use food as a stress-reliever, only to find that once I've felt better for the seconds or minutes that I was eating, even more stress returns in the ugly and non-productive form of guilt. If I thought that stress was the fodder that entire industries are built upon, then guilt is right there with stress. Guilt can be thought of as the fire-starter for stress.....but then that is another blog topic all together.
For now, I'm sticking with my posting title: Stress, strudel and stroganoff. Two of the three are definite winners for instant stress-reduction, although strudel and stroganoff will also lead to guilt.....but maybe they are simply guilty pleasures????
Ancora imparo
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Hydro Therapy
Therapy can come in differing forms. Sometimes it appears as four-legged creatures, young and old, large or small. Happy canines that are just glad to see you and aren't afraid to let you know. Sometimes therapy is reading a book, talking with a friend, taking a walk, reading to a grandchild, hugging a grandchild, being hugged by a grandchild, or maybe taking a nap.
Today, therapy came in the form of two Volvo diesel engines, four-hundred-seventy-six hp each, cranked up to two-thousand rpms, skimming across the water, working in tandem together to provide a powerfully smooth ride, despite the three-foot waves The sun, wind and temperature cooperated in unison, for once, to create a rare day on the water. Even the tiny Aqua RV got its time on the water, little 3-horse engine running smoothly, although it preferred newer gas to the older mix.
There is nothing like the wind blowing your hair about, a little water spray to keep a body cooled, and the sound of the diesels as they kick up the water, creating spray and wakes that ripple through the water farther than the eye can see. In a larger body of water, it is not unusual to run for several miles before encountering another Aqua RV. Often these sightings are miles apart - so far will the other vessel be from yours that it is difficult to tell the size of the other vessel, other than you know it must be somewhat large or you'd not be able to see it at all. An occasional PWC will find you and cavort about from side to side, crossing the wake at the optimum time in order to catch "air". Yes, I am pootered (my word) but it is a good feeling. Perhaps I'll sleep soundly tonight instead of the restless and interrupted sleep that I so often experience. Perhaps I'll fall asleep with the sound of the diesels in my head.
Hydro therapy. Not a bad thing at all.
Ancora imparo
Today, therapy came in the form of two Volvo diesel engines, four-hundred-seventy-six hp each, cranked up to two-thousand rpms, skimming across the water, working in tandem together to provide a powerfully smooth ride, despite the three-foot waves The sun, wind and temperature cooperated in unison, for once, to create a rare day on the water. Even the tiny Aqua RV got its time on the water, little 3-horse engine running smoothly, although it preferred newer gas to the older mix.
There is nothing like the wind blowing your hair about, a little water spray to keep a body cooled, and the sound of the diesels as they kick up the water, creating spray and wakes that ripple through the water farther than the eye can see. In a larger body of water, it is not unusual to run for several miles before encountering another Aqua RV. Often these sightings are miles apart - so far will the other vessel be from yours that it is difficult to tell the size of the other vessel, other than you know it must be somewhat large or you'd not be able to see it at all. An occasional PWC will find you and cavort about from side to side, crossing the wake at the optimum time in order to catch "air". Yes, I am pootered (my word) but it is a good feeling. Perhaps I'll sleep soundly tonight instead of the restless and interrupted sleep that I so often experience. Perhaps I'll fall asleep with the sound of the diesels in my head.
Hydro therapy. Not a bad thing at all.
Ancora imparo
Friday, June 24, 2011
New Is Nice
Some very special people just bought a new vehicle. As I was texting and speaking with "them", as well as seeing pictures of the new vehicle, I was reminded of all of the new vehicles I've experienced in my lifetime.
My parents were Ford people. Growing up, the families that I knew seemed to find a car company they liked and they would become customers for life. My cousins' family was a "Chevy" household and our backyard neighbor, George, was a Chrysler man. I do not remember brand "hopping" back then, whereas today, brand "hopping" is very common.
My parents always bought the largest Ford station wagons that Ford produced. Our station wagons always had eight cylinders and were built like Sherman tanks. They were purchased to haul massive amounts of stuff to and from our lake property in northern Michigan and I used them plow through massive snow drifts in the country roads to and from my sister's home. My goal was to be the first set of tracks through the snow drifts (still is) and I never got stuck.
Capt. SO and I have purchased many new vehicles in our life together, but we have not been a one-brand household. Our purchases of new vehicles have been Chevy Nova, one of the first Honda Civics (the very tiny ones), a Toyota pickup, a Plymouth Volare, Buick Regal, numerous Pontiac models, a Ford Aerostar, a GMC Safari, a Chevy Tahoe, a Chevy Suburban and a Volvo. Quite a variety, if I do say so myself. Our later purchases had everything to do with hauling kids, lots of stuff and boats. Now we're more into comfort. Our last purchase, the Volvo, was made purely on the fact that its seats suited my body the best.
We're not too far away from needing to purchase one or two more replacement vehicles and I'll be very curious to see what we settle on. We've been having a great time brainstorming what we'd like to purchase. We have not yet decided if hauling is still in our future, if we'll opt for comfort, or if we'll move in the luxury direction.
What I do know is that new is nice. There is just nothing quite like the smell of a new vehicle's interior, or the feel of its pristine exterior, with its smooth-as-glass surface that you really hate to see get wet or dirty. As I wrote about recently, I do bond with my vehicles and it will be difficult to think of either one of ours being in the hands of another party.
But then, new is nice.
Ancora imparo
My parents were Ford people. Growing up, the families that I knew seemed to find a car company they liked and they would become customers for life. My cousins' family was a "Chevy" household and our backyard neighbor, George, was a Chrysler man. I do not remember brand "hopping" back then, whereas today, brand "hopping" is very common.
My parents always bought the largest Ford station wagons that Ford produced. Our station wagons always had eight cylinders and were built like Sherman tanks. They were purchased to haul massive amounts of stuff to and from our lake property in northern Michigan and I used them plow through massive snow drifts in the country roads to and from my sister's home. My goal was to be the first set of tracks through the snow drifts (still is) and I never got stuck.
Capt. SO and I have purchased many new vehicles in our life together, but we have not been a one-brand household. Our purchases of new vehicles have been Chevy Nova, one of the first Honda Civics (the very tiny ones), a Toyota pickup, a Plymouth Volare, Buick Regal, numerous Pontiac models, a Ford Aerostar, a GMC Safari, a Chevy Tahoe, a Chevy Suburban and a Volvo. Quite a variety, if I do say so myself. Our later purchases had everything to do with hauling kids, lots of stuff and boats. Now we're more into comfort. Our last purchase, the Volvo, was made purely on the fact that its seats suited my body the best.
We're not too far away from needing to purchase one or two more replacement vehicles and I'll be very curious to see what we settle on. We've been having a great time brainstorming what we'd like to purchase. We have not yet decided if hauling is still in our future, if we'll opt for comfort, or if we'll move in the luxury direction.
What I do know is that new is nice. There is just nothing quite like the smell of a new vehicle's interior, or the feel of its pristine exterior, with its smooth-as-glass surface that you really hate to see get wet or dirty. As I wrote about recently, I do bond with my vehicles and it will be difficult to think of either one of ours being in the hands of another party.
But then, new is nice.
Ancora imparo
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