This morning, I attempted to update some apps on my iPod only to be given the message “Your Apple account has been disabled”. Seriously?!? Am I in some kind of electronic limbo until the fraud issue has been cleared up? Have I been deemed guilty until proven innocent? I don’t really care about the apps—they were freebies that I rarely use anyway. It’s more the principle of the thing. I wasn’t even notified that my account was being disabled. That’s just tacky customer service.

At this point, I’m taking the high road and not being totally pissed about the whole thing. I find iTunes to be an annoyance that I choose to put up with in order to make use of my iPod. If this doesn’t clear up soon, though, Apple will get another phone call.

Ahh . . . life continues to be amusing, from my point of view. Stay safe.

By this time, it has become painfully obvious that the computer’s objective for the day is to remind me that my time is probably better spent in other pursuits.

1. Empty bagless container of vacuum into outside trash can
2. Check mailbox again since outside anyway

The computer has revived itself—didn’t even have to give it a “warm boot.” Is that term even in computerese anymore or have I just been around that long?

1. Put away vacuum cleaner
2. Add fabric softener to second rinse of washing machine
3. Empty dryer of remainder of towel load done three days ago
4. Put wet laundry in dryer and actually remember to start it
5. Put second load of wash in machine, gagging on Simple Green spray used as stain remover

I have found it a little disconcerting that I use my computer time as a rationale for not doing other things when, in reality, those other things take very little time to accomplish and do more to enhance my lifestyle than any amount of laptop time. It probably has something to do with my basic aversion to housework and wanting to grab at any straw that will remove me, however temporarily, from said chores. And we wonder where the kids get it.

When I was growing up, housework was a threat: “This room has to be cleaned before you can watch TV.” This was really a big deal because I was semi-addicted to Saturday morning cartoons and my room was always a hopeless mess. Feeling overwhelmed, and being exceedingly distractible, everything I unearthed was truly buried treasure and required immense amounts of thought and study before it could be lodged in an appropriate place (drawer, closet, trash, wherever).

A particularly dangerous item for me to pick up was a volume of the Encyclopedia Americana. If it should (by accident) fall open, then all bets were off on the continued mucking out of the bedroom. On more than one occasion, I could be found reading a volume cover to cover having made virtually no headway into the mounds of clothing, books, toys and who knows what else populating my floor. In many respects, I have carried that same tendency into middle age, only my distractions of choice are search engines, email, and social networking, with the odd game thrown in for good measure.

But today, I think I have learned something from my Baby Dell. I can get things done and still have time for play. What a revelation!

Life continues to be amusing, from my point of view.

I signed up with the local Work Force office, received help putting together my resume and attended some workshops. I applied for a lot of jobs and got almost no response. I was asked to participate in a pilot program using on-line education courses. I had free access for three months to as many of the courses as I wanted to take. I spent the majority of my time upgrading my Word and Excel skills, often completing three courses in one day. It’s been interesting and I’ve learned a lot but I could get very similar tutorials from Microsoft and they don’t cost anything either.

The hubby and I made several trips to our house in my hometown and spent a lot of time mowing grass. We have 2/3 of an acre and have considered investing in a goat. I wonder if a goat in the yard would keep the deer and elk from stripping the apple trees. It’s very peaceful and quiet there.

I spent time with my folks helping them adjust to my mom’s knee replacement. She’s doing well, all things considered.

I’ve read a bunch of books, played a bunch of computer games, watched a lot of TV, baked bread, made some scrapbook pages . . .

I have a tentative offer of employment, again with the County, and am waiting for the results of the background check. I have hopes of being back at work by the end of the month.

Time has gone quickly. Before you know it, our out-of-town kids will be showing up for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Our family has grown since we were all together last.

Life continues to be amusing from my point of view.

Beer for the hubby, a box of Trix for me. Apples, hot dogs . . . salt-free peanut butter. It was delivered right into my kitchen and all I had to do was sign the receipt—and then put it all away. Which precipitated the long-needed cleaning out of a kitchen cupboard.

I first used Safeway.com a number of years ago when I was going through a period of extreme withdrawal and found it difficult to function. I looked forward to my grocery deliveries like a child looks forward to Christmas morning.

And I don’t mind paying the delivery charge. It’s less than what I make an hour and I figure it would have taken me at least that long, including driving time, to do that much shopping. So, it was a definite win-win. I have food in my house and Safeway has a satisfied customer.

Take care.

And I just noticed that I misspelled “metaphor” when I named the word cloud. Oh, well . . .

I’m studying conceptual metaphors right now in an attempt to dig deeper into language and how we process verbal images. I’ve always been fascinated by words and the many layers of meaning that get attached to them. One of the things I want to do is to take Biblical metaphors, e.g. I will make you fisher’s of men, and look at how they are deciphered by the modern day hearer.

So many of the metaphors/parables we grew up with projected a “warm fuzzy” feeling about Jesus and his teachings. However, the social revolution that he proclaimed was anything but warm and fuzzy. I feel there is a need to look at the deeper layers of Jesus and what he taught.

I am reading Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. It was written in 1980 and seems to be the standard for most of the articles I’ve read online. So far, it’s a fairly easy read and it is peaking my interest.

More on metaphors as I learn what I’m talking about.

I spoke with my youngest son today–the one in Army basic training. The last time I talked to him he was pretty homesick and had a hard time keeping it together. He sounded much better today. They have actually started training and he is feeling pretty confident that he can do this. His dad and I will be planning a trip to Missouri for the end of October to attend his graduation.

Take care and have a safe holiday tomorrow.

I found this cute web site, Wordle, that makes “word balloons” out of text you type in or you can give it a link to your blog and it will pull words from there to make the balloon. There are lots of options for text, color and layout and it was fun to play with. This is one that I made by just typing in words:

I don’t really have a lot to say. Just felt the need to spread the word.

Peace.

Change is coming. Our youngest son has made the decision to join the Army. While we are not thrilled with this decision, we are doing what we can to support his desire to do this. College has not worked for this young man and his need to move on and do something with his life has become very overwhelming. Prayers for his safety on this journey will be gratefully accepted.

I moved from Child Protective Services to Senior and Adult Services and am learning the ropes of this program. Very different dynamic at my new building. It is very quiet. I hesitate to take my radio to work because I’m in a cubicle now rather than an office with walls and a door . . . I don’t want to “pollute” the quiet with my need for distraction. Have I mentioned that I’m ADD?

Our oldest granddaughter just finished Kindergarten and is losing her front teeth. Inflation has impacted the Tooth Fairy–front teeth are now going for $1 a pop. My kids were lucky to get a quarter.

I’m doing a little more traveling this year. Visits to my parents are becoming a little more regular. They turned 80 this past year and I wish I were not so far away. Health concerns for both of them loom large. I want to take advantage of every opportunity I have to be with them.

In October I am going to a scrapbooking convention. I’m really excited about this. I have been doing digital scrapbooking for about two years now and am addicted. I love the creative process and the fact that there’s no mess to clean up.  So, I’m going to spend three days in Salt Lake City, Utah, meeting friends I’ve made on the messageboard and learning more about how to create art with computer files. I just have to figure out how to get my hands on a laptop before I go.

I have a lot I want to say about politics, the economy, the gas “crisis” . . . but I really don’t need to add my two cents worth to the mix. There are many eloquent folks out there saying it much better than I can. I think we need to hold our politicians accountable and not just accept the rhetoric. I think our economy would be in better shape if so much of our available resources (human and monetary) was not being squandered in parts of the world where we have no business being. The manufactured gas crisis . . . enough said.

Be kind to yourself . . . you should be your own very best friend.

You may have noticed the Flickr Photos on the page. That is a quite recent addition. Yahoo decided to dump its photo storage in favor of Flickr so I moved my stuff and am slowly figuring out what I can do with it.

The summer went by fairly quickly and it has been rather mild. We are now into the middle of September and today is actually cool and very nice outside. In August, the hubby and I went to my hometown so I could attend my 40th high school reunion. That seems like such a bizarre number. It was great getting caught up with folks and trying to figure out who some of them were. Thank goodness for nametags with the old yearbook photos on them!

We also attended the County Fair and took pictures of the woodwork pieces my dad had entered. I always loved the Fair when I was a kid and my folks didn’t think twice about just letting us run. What a difference a few decades makes.

Now comes the rant. I work in a “secured” County building. The County has a policy that does not allow signage to be posted anywhere other than on bulletin boards in specific areas of the facilities. I’m all for that–otherwise the building could end up looking like the front of my refrigerator. Another County policy is no posting of items of a political, religious, etc. nature outside individual work areas. I am also all for that–my rights of expression end where the next person’s begins.

When I came to work Monday morning, Sept. 10, I was greeted with signs in the hallways and in the public lobby encouraging me to “never forget 9/11.” Regardless of how I feel about the sentiment, this was a double no-no–signage in public areas of a decidedly political nature.

I have a problem with 9/11, Pearl Harbor, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Holocaust, and the continued in-your-face demonstrations of jingoism (look it up!) regarding incidents that we, as a nation and a world, would be much better off getting beyond (notice I did not say forget–we learn from our mistakes). I have deep feelings for the descendents of those involved in these truly global tragedies. How do they get on with their lives and make a place for themselves in the world when they are constantly bombarded with reminders of humanity’s inhumanity?

I told the hubby that I felt “politically” harassed by the 9/11 signs (I had just taken a mandatory training for County employees on harassment prevention in the workplace). And this display truly falls into the County’s definition of harassment. My own politics aside, I would urge anyone who reads this to think twice or even three times before blatantly shoving unasked for political statements into someone else’s face. That also goes for religious statements–but I’ll save that for another time.

Life is good and getting more amusing every day–from my point of view.

Peace.