If you were to set foot into my office these days, you would find the following: One crazed-looking woman surrounded by multiple manila envelopes of varying sizes, piles of photographs laying about on every surface, empty and old photo albums propped up on the floor against every piece of office furniture, scraps of paper strewn about on the floor, and the smallish, under-the-desk waste basket filled to overflowing with discarded pictures.
I'm in the midst of what I refer to as my "Insanity Project" - an undertaking that needed to be undertaken but now that I am undertaking the endeavor I'm seriously questioning whether or not this was a good idea......which is a rhetorical question. I KNOW this needed to be started and I have done a masterful job of avoiding it for months, but it was time for the "rubber to meet the road".
Well, the "rubber did meet the road" and, as I wrote in a previous posting a week or so ago, "the truck stops here". While in Phase I, I have now emptied thirty-six file folders, fifteen photo albums, three scrapbooks, photo envelopes too numerous to mention and thrown away hundreds, maybe thousands, of old pictures. (Phase II will involve going through all of the generational photos, archived in Rubbermaid bins, from my parents and their ancestors.) I am almost over feeling guilty about all of the people who have been dissed in discarded pictures and I am trying to get over feeling guilty about throwing out all of my children's quarterly grade reports from Kindergarten through high school. The college years are another matter. Other than the fact that Capt. SO and I attended college graduations for Offspring A and B, there is no official record that our two children ever set foot on a college or university campus because they were both legal-aged adults when they "went away" and, therefore, no transcripts ever were mailed to the parents. Funny how that works.
Anyway, I digress.
Tonight, as I made yet another trek down to the storage closet to fetch more photo albums (I think there are ten left), one of the albums I brought up was the album of Capt. SO's and my wedding. The usual routine, in my Insanity Project, would be to settle into my desk chair, album on my lap, and start the disassembling process, which is exactly what I did. I opened up the official album and lo, I could not (yet) bring myself to wrench all of the marriage pictures from the safety of each page. This album just may be the most difficult to tear apart.....as if by removing the pictures from each page it would somehow what??????? Dissolve the marriage?????? Silly, I know, but I will need to chew on this for a few days. I'll confer with Capt. SO and see what his viewpoint is.
If you come across me, in a public setting, over the next few weeks and you note a certain wild, disheveled look about me or in my eyes, please cut me a little slack. A hug would be appreciated due to the wide range of emotions this process is taking me through......sometimes all within a thirty-minute time frame. I can easily go from oohing and aahing about how cute the kids were, to having tears run down my face because there are no do-overs, to laughing when remembering the circumstances surrounding a particular photograph, to trying to swallow away the huge lump that suddenly grew in my throat.
My manila mania will continue until my Insanity Project is completed. I suspect this is not the last blog posting on the project. I hope can tolerate my reflectivity.
Ancora imparo
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Change Of Course
As I was typing the title for today's posting, "Change Of Course", I realized that by adding one little comma, the meaning would be somewhat different.....as in "Change, Of Course". Both titles would, though, reflect the concept of doing something unplanned, which is what happened in the "course" of mapping out my posting content.
Today's subject started with an idea that came in the middle of a recent night. Don't ask me where the thoughts came from but I began thinking about the words snafu, brouhaha, melee', folderol and how the words had such a high ratio of vowels versus consonants. This little idea fascinated me so I got up, wrote down the idea and went back to bed. Today, as I looked at my nocturnal notes, I began thinking about what the words collectively meant.
Maybe because my office is in such disarray with my Insanity Project and these words seemed to signify the state that my office and my mind are currently in, I was motivated to look up just what each word meant. Here are the definitions I discovered with one little (maybe big) surprise.
Folderol (sometimes spelled falderal): Foolishness, nonsensical
Melee': Confusion, turmoil, jumble
Brouhaha: An episode involving excitement, confusion and turmoil
Here's my surprise.
Have you ever used the word snafu? I've heard it many, many times over the course of my lifetime and I've used it many, many times myself.......not understanding what I was saying. Snafu is actually a term that is believed to have originated in the U.S. Army, circa WWI. It is considered to be an acromym (S.N.A.F.U.)
for "situation normal: All #^&* up". I was shocked to learn that I was actually using a word that contained an expletive. The laundered version is "situation normal: All fouled up". Whichever version you wish to think about when saying "snafu", the meaning is the same: The normal situation is in a bad state.
And so, I changed course with my blog posting today, or, I could say, it changed, of course, thereby avoiding a snafu. Still I am learning.
Ancora imparo
Today's subject started with an idea that came in the middle of a recent night. Don't ask me where the thoughts came from but I began thinking about the words snafu, brouhaha, melee', folderol and how the words had such a high ratio of vowels versus consonants. This little idea fascinated me so I got up, wrote down the idea and went back to bed. Today, as I looked at my nocturnal notes, I began thinking about what the words collectively meant.
Maybe because my office is in such disarray with my Insanity Project and these words seemed to signify the state that my office and my mind are currently in, I was motivated to look up just what each word meant. Here are the definitions I discovered with one little (maybe big) surprise.
Folderol (sometimes spelled falderal): Foolishness, nonsensical
Melee': Confusion, turmoil, jumble
Brouhaha: An episode involving excitement, confusion and turmoil
Here's my surprise.
Have you ever used the word snafu? I've heard it many, many times over the course of my lifetime and I've used it many, many times myself.......not understanding what I was saying. Snafu is actually a term that is believed to have originated in the U.S. Army, circa WWI. It is considered to be an acromym (S.N.A.F.U.)
for "situation normal: All #^&* up". I was shocked to learn that I was actually using a word that contained an expletive. The laundered version is "situation normal: All fouled up". Whichever version you wish to think about when saying "snafu", the meaning is the same: The normal situation is in a bad state.
And so, I changed course with my blog posting today, or, I could say, it changed, of course, thereby avoiding a snafu. Still I am learning.
Ancora imparo
Friday, March 4, 2011
Enough Is Enough!
The month of March needs to go. It needs to be deleted from the calendar. To be sure, March customarily contains two significant dates - the first day of spring and St. Patrick's Day, plus Lent often begins in March. Other than those dates, March seemingly has no purpose other than make us long for the end of winter.
Many, many moons ago, when I was a senior in high school, our choir director decided our musical would be Richard Rodger's and Oscar Hammerstein's production "Carousel". I was cast in the part of Carrie Pipperridge, whose character and personality fit me perfectly. I can still remember many of the words to the songs from "Carousel" and one of my favorites remains, "June Is Bustin' Out All Over", which is all about getting to the summer and clam bakes. Since I'm all about summer, water and fish fries, this song really speaks to me. The first stanza of the song goes like this:
March went out like a lion,
A whippin' up the water in the bay.
Then April cried and stepped aside,
And along came pretty little May!
May was full of promises,
But she didn't keep 'em quick enough for some
And a handful of Doubtin' Thomas's
Was predictin' that the summer'd never come.
But it's comin' by gum,
You can feel it come.......
We all need a peek into spring, to believe that winter will actually blow itself into non-existence. I got a glimpse of spring today when I saw my first robins of the season. There were two of them, briefly perched upon the rooftop of the condo directly across the street from my office window, with their unmistakable rust-colored breasts proudly displayed. Seeing the robins gave me enough boost to weather through a day of gray skies and rain, with more predicted for tomorrow.
Yesterday Mother Nature teased us with warmer temperatures and a ray of sunshine from time to time. I even saw a young woman wearing short-shorts in the grocery store. At least someone has faith that March will eventually go away.
The song says June is a-comin' and that's enough for me!
Ancora imparo
Many, many moons ago, when I was a senior in high school, our choir director decided our musical would be Richard Rodger's and Oscar Hammerstein's production "Carousel". I was cast in the part of Carrie Pipperridge, whose character and personality fit me perfectly. I can still remember many of the words to the songs from "Carousel" and one of my favorites remains, "June Is Bustin' Out All Over", which is all about getting to the summer and clam bakes. Since I'm all about summer, water and fish fries, this song really speaks to me. The first stanza of the song goes like this:
March went out like a lion,
A whippin' up the water in the bay.
Then April cried and stepped aside,
And along came pretty little May!
May was full of promises,
But she didn't keep 'em quick enough for some
And a handful of Doubtin' Thomas's
Was predictin' that the summer'd never come.
But it's comin' by gum,
You can feel it come.......
We all need a peek into spring, to believe that winter will actually blow itself into non-existence. I got a glimpse of spring today when I saw my first robins of the season. There were two of them, briefly perched upon the rooftop of the condo directly across the street from my office window, with their unmistakable rust-colored breasts proudly displayed. Seeing the robins gave me enough boost to weather through a day of gray skies and rain, with more predicted for tomorrow.
Yesterday Mother Nature teased us with warmer temperatures and a ray of sunshine from time to time. I even saw a young woman wearing short-shorts in the grocery store. At least someone has faith that March will eventually go away.
The song says June is a-comin' and that's enough for me!
Ancora imparo
A Third-Grade Level
When did math cease to become math? When did "old" math become obsolete and "new" math become preferred. Doesn't two-plus-two still equal four? Doesn't the sum of A-plus-B still equal C? When did numbers stop speaking for themselves?
I am not totally familiar with what is taught in third grade these days, but I'll wager a bet that it is more sophisticated than when Dick and Jane were in the third grade, along with Spot, the dog. Two years ago, I had the opportunity to sub in a third grade classroom for the day and I was surprised with the math, social studies, reading and science curricula. The higher level of thinking that was required was impressive. Gone was my day of mimeographed worksheets, where repetition ruled. Instead, each desk had number lines taped across each top and the students had little, colored "blocks" with which to play, and lessons were presented that encouraged critical thinking. Obviously, this is a simplistic description but, on the surface, that is exactly how a lay-person could describe what I saw that day.
When well-meaning people throw about the phrase, "keep it at a third-grade level", I think we need to be very careful to not insult third-graders. Have you seen the reading list for Accelerated Readers that is provided to third graders? Dick and Jane are no longer running up the hill, chasing the ball and throwing it to Spot. No longer do we "See Dick run." or "See Jane chase Dick." Yes, illiteracy is a problem in our nation, but there are many of our citizens who are highly capable of reading above a third-grade level and would, in fact, be insulted to be fed reading material that was intentionally "dumbed down".
Before we assume what "a third-grade reading level" is, perhaps we should go to the library and see, for ourselves, just what is considered to be a "third-grade" reading level. Just because a person has been awarded a bachelor's degree does not mean that intelligence, wisdom, and common sense were also conferred upon that individual. Just because "big" words are eliminated from text does not mean that effective communication is present and that the facts have been accurately represented nor explained. Perhaps the people who write text for us adults who need a third-grade reading level, in order to comprehend, should be actual third-grade students.
Maybe adult-level reading material could just be written well; i.e. effectively, correctly, accurately, succinctly and objectively. I think we can handle it.
Ancora imparo
I am not totally familiar with what is taught in third grade these days, but I'll wager a bet that it is more sophisticated than when Dick and Jane were in the third grade, along with Spot, the dog. Two years ago, I had the opportunity to sub in a third grade classroom for the day and I was surprised with the math, social studies, reading and science curricula. The higher level of thinking that was required was impressive. Gone was my day of mimeographed worksheets, where repetition ruled. Instead, each desk had number lines taped across each top and the students had little, colored "blocks" with which to play, and lessons were presented that encouraged critical thinking. Obviously, this is a simplistic description but, on the surface, that is exactly how a lay-person could describe what I saw that day.
When well-meaning people throw about the phrase, "keep it at a third-grade level", I think we need to be very careful to not insult third-graders. Have you seen the reading list for Accelerated Readers that is provided to third graders? Dick and Jane are no longer running up the hill, chasing the ball and throwing it to Spot. No longer do we "See Dick run." or "See Jane chase Dick." Yes, illiteracy is a problem in our nation, but there are many of our citizens who are highly capable of reading above a third-grade level and would, in fact, be insulted to be fed reading material that was intentionally "dumbed down".
Before we assume what "a third-grade reading level" is, perhaps we should go to the library and see, for ourselves, just what is considered to be a "third-grade" reading level. Just because a person has been awarded a bachelor's degree does not mean that intelligence, wisdom, and common sense were also conferred upon that individual. Just because "big" words are eliminated from text does not mean that effective communication is present and that the facts have been accurately represented nor explained. Perhaps the people who write text for us adults who need a third-grade reading level, in order to comprehend, should be actual third-grade students.
Maybe adult-level reading material could just be written well; i.e. effectively, correctly, accurately, succinctly and objectively. I think we can handle it.
Ancora imparo
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Our Secret
Depending on the circle of people one is with, it is either very hip to watch American Idol or very uncool. I haven't been a consistent watcher for a number of years, usually choosing to begin watching somewhere after the top ten have been decided. If you promise not to tell anyone, I actually watched (DVD recorded) the men's and the women's live performances the past two nights. I had read that the talent was really strong this year and I wanted to see and hear for myself, if this was the case.
I do realize that there is world strife, huge unrest on American soil and that the pop culture triviality of American Idol is monumental. However, it was entertaining, albeit painful at times. Some of the contestants are downright talented and others.......well.......
My favorite comic strip, "Get Fuzzy" by Darby Conley, had content today that could be describing less-than-stellar singing. While Conley's character, Rob, is having a discussion about national anthems with Bucky Katt, the description could very well be about singers, in general. Let's face it, not all of the contestants on American Idol are created vocally equal. While I give them all huge credit for pursuing their dreams to become singing sensations, it is obvious that some sound better than others. Today, Bucky B. Katt has an apt description for bad national anthems or not-so-good singers: "You keep waiting for the real bit to start but it never does. It sounds like Chopin drank a bottle of cough syrup and dozed off while writing notes.......and forget melody. It's like someone plotted the flight of a moth on a music staff. Aimless."
Harsh? Maybe but true and quite funny. Bucky Katt hits the musical nail on the head regarding national anthem and this translates to singers as well. There are just some singers that make you want to put your fingers in your ears when they begin.....and then there are others that you would pay to listen to.......which I do dearly through my cable provider.
Will I watch A.I. again this season? Possibly.......just don't tell anyone!
Ancora imparo
I do realize that there is world strife, huge unrest on American soil and that the pop culture triviality of American Idol is monumental. However, it was entertaining, albeit painful at times. Some of the contestants are downright talented and others.......well.......
My favorite comic strip, "Get Fuzzy" by Darby Conley, had content today that could be describing less-than-stellar singing. While Conley's character, Rob, is having a discussion about national anthems with Bucky Katt, the description could very well be about singers, in general. Let's face it, not all of the contestants on American Idol are created vocally equal. While I give them all huge credit for pursuing their dreams to become singing sensations, it is obvious that some sound better than others. Today, Bucky B. Katt has an apt description for bad national anthems or not-so-good singers: "You keep waiting for the real bit to start but it never does. It sounds like Chopin drank a bottle of cough syrup and dozed off while writing notes.......and forget melody. It's like someone plotted the flight of a moth on a music staff. Aimless."
Harsh? Maybe but true and quite funny. Bucky Katt hits the musical nail on the head regarding national anthem and this translates to singers as well. There are just some singers that make you want to put your fingers in your ears when they begin.....and then there are others that you would pay to listen to.......which I do dearly through my cable provider.
Will I watch A.I. again this season? Possibly.......just don't tell anyone!
Ancora imparo
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Too Many Photos of Two Cute Kids
This look-sort-pitch-save project is not going as easily as I envisioned. (Hereafter referred to as LSPSP. I might as well leave readers with the impression that I am dealing with some funky fun here.) I can pin down the problem instantly......my kids' pictures from always and forever are too precious to part with. When there are obvious duplicates, it only makes it slightly easier to toss the copies. I still have trouble dropping those in the waste basket. Similar poses? Forget about tossing those. It would seem that my LSPSP is breaking down somewhere and this is really only the beginning. I've only been through one old photo album and there are many more to go!
It seems disrespectful to pitch pictures of deceased grandparents, great-grandparents, or even my deceased oldest sister and when any of the aforementioned happen to be holding one or both of my children in the pictures it seems even more wrong than ever to part with the pictures. I'm even struggling to part with any of the photos of our dog, Max. (It is possible that there may be more pictures of Max than the children, but don't tell them that. I'll be sure to change up the ratio of dog-to-kid photos on the final disks.)
Even if I am successful in sorting out the exact replicas (thank you Steven Wright, wry and dry comedian extraordinaire) I realize that I still must make some subjective selection decisions about the similar poses otherwise their will be dozens of disks. Favorite daughter in the lavender dress when she was a three-year old flower girl........precious! Favorite son in his bear costume holding his Darth Vader sword......priceless. Yes, there are probably ten pictures of each, and the pictures are all a bit different.......but how can I ask myself to part with any of them?
I can foresee that this LSPSP will have many phases. Phase number one will be the discarding of exact replicas. Phase number two will be to sort the pictures, perhaps first into years. Phase three will be to sort each year into subject matter and beyond that I have no clue. Might I have taken a larger bite than I can handle in wading into this LSPSP? I am confident that, if I owned every season of Seinfeld on DVD, there would still not be enough running time in which to complete the LSPSP.
Maybe I should take my project north and stake out a spot when I can view the stalemate and work on my project. That should give me enough time.........
It seems disrespectful to pitch pictures of deceased grandparents, great-grandparents, or even my deceased oldest sister and when any of the aforementioned happen to be holding one or both of my children in the pictures it seems even more wrong than ever to part with the pictures. I'm even struggling to part with any of the photos of our dog, Max. (It is possible that there may be more pictures of Max than the children, but don't tell them that. I'll be sure to change up the ratio of dog-to-kid photos on the final disks.)
Even if I am successful in sorting out the exact replicas (thank you Steven Wright, wry and dry comedian extraordinaire) I realize that I still must make some subjective selection decisions about the similar poses otherwise their will be dozens of disks. Favorite daughter in the lavender dress when she was a three-year old flower girl........precious! Favorite son in his bear costume holding his Darth Vader sword......priceless. Yes, there are probably ten pictures of each, and the pictures are all a bit different.......but how can I ask myself to part with any of them?
I can foresee that this LSPSP will have many phases. Phase number one will be the discarding of exact replicas. Phase number two will be to sort the pictures, perhaps first into years. Phase three will be to sort each year into subject matter and beyond that I have no clue. Might I have taken a larger bite than I can handle in wading into this LSPSP? I am confident that, if I owned every season of Seinfeld on DVD, there would still not be enough running time in which to complete the LSPSP.
Maybe I should take my project north and stake out a spot when I can view the stalemate and work on my project. That should give me enough time.........
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
It's A New Month
OK, so a new month is not the same as a new year but it doesn't mean it can't be a new chance to do things differently or change up a routine that may be obsolete or detrimental in some way. This month has thirty-one days in it, which gives a person one more day than the usual thirty in which to affect a change of some kind.
Should the change be physical? Behavioral? Relational? Spiritual? Geographical? Career-related? All of the above?
March is the perfect month to examine and consider new possibilities and to re-examine current and old methodologies, habits, affiliations, associations, and practices. I'm considering dropping my ages-old daily newspaper delivery for an e-paper subscription. Note I used the word considering. The offer is good for the month of March and it will probably take me that long to even consider going without my cherished daily paper. I'm also considering stopping a few other periodical subscriptions that I've carried for thirty years or more. It just seems like a good time to divest of the old and embrace the new.
I also realize that change doesn't necessarily mean dropping an activity or an established routine. It can mean adding a new activity or establishing a new habit. Who knows? Maybe I'll finally learn how to tie nautical knots and then still remember what I've learned thirty minutes later. Maybe I'll tackle sewing a garment with one of those new-fangled patterns put out by Simplicity, Butterick or McCalls. I've been told that modern patterns look totally different from when I last created a garment from scratch. I've been meaning to try my hand a quilting, too. So many possibilities and an entire month in which to ponder said possibilities.
I need March to come like the lion she is so I can concentrate on tackling March like a lioness. I need the wind to blow sharply against my face and make my body bend forward to counter the wind's energy trying to push me backwards. I need the remaining frigid air to remind me that I should move faster when I'm out-of-doors. I need March, April and part of May in which to accomplish my great winter task before warm weather calls Capt. SO and I to the Aqua RV. I need March to remind me that there is an end to winter and all of the frustrations this past (and current) winter has brought.
I need March to kick me into gear, realizing that there are only about seventy-five days until bathing-suit season.
Now there is a depressing thought. Maybe I'd rather return to February!
Ancora imparo
Should the change be physical? Behavioral? Relational? Spiritual? Geographical? Career-related? All of the above?
March is the perfect month to examine and consider new possibilities and to re-examine current and old methodologies, habits, affiliations, associations, and practices. I'm considering dropping my ages-old daily newspaper delivery for an e-paper subscription. Note I used the word considering. The offer is good for the month of March and it will probably take me that long to even consider going without my cherished daily paper. I'm also considering stopping a few other periodical subscriptions that I've carried for thirty years or more. It just seems like a good time to divest of the old and embrace the new.
I also realize that change doesn't necessarily mean dropping an activity or an established routine. It can mean adding a new activity or establishing a new habit. Who knows? Maybe I'll finally learn how to tie nautical knots and then still remember what I've learned thirty minutes later. Maybe I'll tackle sewing a garment with one of those new-fangled patterns put out by Simplicity, Butterick or McCalls. I've been told that modern patterns look totally different from when I last created a garment from scratch. I've been meaning to try my hand a quilting, too. So many possibilities and an entire month in which to ponder said possibilities.
I need March to come like the lion she is so I can concentrate on tackling March like a lioness. I need the wind to blow sharply against my face and make my body bend forward to counter the wind's energy trying to push me backwards. I need the remaining frigid air to remind me that I should move faster when I'm out-of-doors. I need March, April and part of May in which to accomplish my great winter task before warm weather calls Capt. SO and I to the Aqua RV. I need March to remind me that there is an end to winter and all of the frustrations this past (and current) winter has brought.
I need March to kick me into gear, realizing that there are only about seventy-five days until bathing-suit season.
Now there is a depressing thought. Maybe I'd rather return to February!
Ancora imparo
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