Generation Exhausted

If I'm not here, I'm there

Blogging has recommenced at Remember The Magic. And tomorrow, I'll have something pithy to say here too.

There goes my baby...

We love Disney so much, we're giving them our kid.

Looks like I might just have to get back to my own long-forgotten Disney blog.

Will wonders never...

An awful stomach bug whipped through here this weekend, flattening most of us. As a result, I slept lots, and now I'm wide awake. Luckily, inspiration has struck, and I've hit the keyboard.

I'd really like to blog about having written something, because it's been a while. So I'm going to go do that now, and then I'll be back.

Pinky swear.

This week in Inspiration

This week, I actually put information into my new day planner. Not much, just a little task list, which, after a day, I've been able to go halfway through with checkmarks.

This week's day planner "theme" is Success. It is accompanied by a picture of an empty canoe, in serene waters, with snowy-looking mountains in the background. The quote reads: Success is not reached by chance - it is reached by choice.

It occurred to me tonight that I've forgotten what I used to spend my Internet time on, in the days before Facebook became the Centre of the Universe. Obviously, I blogged a lot more. But I also read blogs, and sought out sources of interesting information, and looked for ways to grow into who I'm meant to be. Must get back to that, I think.

Many of the blogs I read are written by incredibly insightful individuals who also happen to have a gift with the written word. Today, on two of those blogs, I found phrases that "struck" me - phrases that said to me, "There! That's exactly it!" And then I wondered if I would ever be able to put words together in quite that way, if I would ever be able to take someone's breath away with a thought expressed. On two entirely different topics.

From Dooce: (some paraphrasing mine)

And however asinine it sounds, it helped yesterday thinking that you were sent to me for very specific reasons, that something inside of me is supposed to be called upon in regard to who you are as a person... And maybe I'm the one who is supposed to be able to see through all that...And not just because we are bound together by blood...It's a comforting albeit fantastical thought that maybe you knew before I did that you'd really need me. So just in case, I want you to know that I'm honored you had so much faith that I was up to the task.

She is talking about her daughter, and though her reasons (and her daughter) may be different from any of mine, this is exactly how I feel sometimes. Only I didn't know it.

And from Joshilyn Jackson:

...because in terms of how we choose to live and make the earth a better place or a worse one, how OLD the dirt we make these choices on matters not a whit.

How do they DO that?

Home is where the heat is

Had I been live blogging the last couple of days, it might have looked something like this:

Late Thurs afternoon: Piled stuff in car and hit the highway to take grown up daughter to big city for summer internship interview. Discover that it is possible to defy all known laws of modern-day culture and NOT see a Tim Hortons exactly when we wanted one.

Thurs evening: Have been off of freeway and in big city exactly 90 seconds before first panhandler approached car.

Later Thurs evening: Heat in over-priced national chain hotel room does not appear to be working. The front desk is sending "someone" up to look at the thermostat.

Ten minutes later: "Someone" has gotten thing on wall to blow cold air into the room. "Someone" says don't touch the controls and that it will warm up soon.

Twenty minutes later: Have ordered pizza from national chain pizza place, which will take "more than an hour." Pizza place has refused to take cell phone number and insists on hotel's phone number.

Thirty minutes later: Over-priced hotel hot tub is not hot, but tepid. Apparently hot tub is not even supposed to be re-opening until tomorrow, after its annual refurbishment, ergo, it has not "warmed up" yet. The halls are cold too.

Thirty-five minutes later: Room has not "warmed up" yet either. Go down to desk to express displeasure. Am offered new room. Am not offered assistance in moving, but front desk helpfully informs me that our pizza has come early and gone away, since we were not in our room.

Move bags to new room, with door that requires a "shove" to close. Call pizza place with new room number. Pizza arrives. We eat accompanying salad with our fingers.

Go outside for "air". Am instantly approached by two more panhandlers.

Three hours later: The Apocalypse, in the form of major snow storm, is due to arrive in town soon. Peek out window to see if snow has started. Window blind falls on head.

Five hours later: Wake up feeling as though I am being interrogated. Turn heat down.

Heat does not go down.

Friday morning: It's the Day After Tomorrow outside. As a sensible person, I am now stuck in Big City another night. Over-priced hotel is now booked solid for Friday night. This is not a bad thing.

Thankfully, the rest of the trip was reasonably uneventful, except for the fact that the snow discouraged us from doing any urban exploration. The interview went well, dinner was enjoyable, and the second hotel (just down the street from the first) was worth every penny. Their hot tub was hot, their breakfast was free. And Oldest and I didn't bicker at. all.

But gosh, it's good to be home.

It's been HOW long?

Where does the time go? When I was a teenager, most of the company I kept (including the hubby) was part of a demographic known vaguely as "older kids" and I remember waiting patiently as one after the other they turned 16 and 18 and 19 and so on, whilst I remained, to my chagrin, "younger".

Ha ha.

Beginning with Ms. WlsonWorld earlier this month (Happy Birthday!), the  "older kids" have all started turning 40 in 2008. It's an entirely different perspective - I'm feeling much more patient that I did when I was 15.

But time, she passes. Much, much more quickly than I can wrap my head around sometimes.

Hot on the heels of my shock this week at realizing it's been almost four years since the last episode of Friends, Danigirl has blogged a nice little post about Generation X cultural anniversaries. I particularly like her inclusion of the one about Darth Vader. Who can forget the ages-long wait for Return of the Jedi to find out if it was in fact true? ROTJ was the first time I ever lined up for a movie that sold out before I got to the ticket window.

Here's some of my own additions:

22 years this month since the space shuttle Challenger tragedy

23 years since Live Aid

24 years since Clara Peller first demanded to know "Where's the beef?"

20 years since Rob Lowe got into hot water at the Democratic National Convention

24 years since Purple Rain debuted, complete with pre-Internet text speak (I would Die 4 U)

26 years since the bar where everyone knew your name opened up and 15 years since its doors closed

20 years ago this month that I first fell in love with the guy I still wake up next to every morning. We've both got a little less spring in our step, and a little more grey in our hair, but life is just as interesting.

Now go make your own list - you're not getting any younger!

Excellence

That's the title of the picture featured on this week's agenda page. It's a picture of a bowling ball making what appears to be a strike. The accompanying quote:

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in the impact of your determination."

Hmm.

Notice that it does not say "in your determination" but rather "in the IMPACT of your determination." That's a slightly different philosophy than is usually spelled out in the do-anything-you-set-your-mind-to-all-it-takes-is-a-positive-attitude popular positive thinking culture that is prevalent, especially at this time of the year.

As I mull this over, I'm struck by the escape clause it provides to those who might be looking for one. On the surface, one might say, "See? All the determination in the world isn't necessarily going to effect a change. Says so, right there. So why bother?"

And on the surface, the cynics are right, a little bit. Let's say you want to hit a homerun in baseball. With a golf club. You might figure out how to actually hit the ball without snapping the golf club's shaft, but chances are you won't be able to homer that way. No matter how determined you are.

Anyone caring to scientifically disprove that can go right ahead. Have fun. Let me know how it turns out.

Probably not going to get a strike rolling a softball down the lane either.

How many times have we told our children - or ourselves - or been told by others? "Try harder." And sometimes, it IS a matter of trying harder. But I'm learning lately that harder isn't always what's required. Sometimes, you need to try different.

Impact comes from a lot of different things - not just how hard you swing the bat or hit the ball, or whatever. When I bowl I tend to wing that ball down the lane with all the power my 100 lb. frame can muster. Sometimes I get three strikes in a game.

Sometimes I wind up on my butt and the ball goes into the gutter.

Determination counts - it's definitely a place to start. But aiming in a specific direction, and using the right tools for the job - i.e. a bowling ball instead of a softball or a bat instead of a golf club - increase the likelihood that your determination will have an impact.

Something to think about.

**Side note: Has January become the new February? I can't remember a January that has felt as grey and bleak as this one so far. Or is it just me?

I may have to find something else to do in the evenings

It's not like this TV season was going to be stellar to begin with - with shows like Jericho, The Class and Gilmore Girls gone, and the new replacements looking pretty dismal, I'd resigned myself to reading more, and perhaps getting past Level 12 on my plug 'n' play version of Mappy. But at least there was the promise of more Corner Gas, and maybe I'd get the hang of Grey's Anatomy.

Well.

First of all, Corner Gas appears to have vanished. Early in the season, it was absent more than it was present on Monday nights, and followed something called Dancing With The Stars, a show whose draw seemed to be Marie Osmond fainting and that hunky guy from All My Children. This was very disheartening - last season's Corner Gas finale was brilliant, and it seemed like the show had finally hit star status. And then, fall rolled around and it couldn't be found. Likewise, Degrassi. Why do networks DO that? I submit to you that not so many shows "jump the shark" as are perhaps fed to it piece by piece.

And then, the Writer's strike. I'm already worrying - I caught the Guiding Light a few times over the holidays and couldn't help but remember the Sonny/Solita madness of the last Writer's strike. However, soap operas being what they are, a little madness is passable.

But prime time is suffering. Last night I found myself with the choice between American Gladiators and something called Dance Wars with Carrie and Bruno.  This is v. v. bad. The TV went off, and I went to bed early. Like, WAY early.

A while back, we were watching so much PeachTree and Deja that I figured we probably wouldn't miss network TV. I was wrong. Hopefully, when the writers come back to work, they'll come back better than ever, and I never will have to try and understand why Carrie and Bruno are at war with each other.

The paper boy is an important part of my morning

I've been reading the local news online for a couple of years, and while enough to keep me sufficiently informed, actually receiving a newspaper is a whole 'nother kind of experience. That's why it was v. cool to receive a four-month subscription to the local paper from my sister for Christmas.

So I'm trying to remind myself that the 12 y.o. who delivers the paper is also on HIS holiday break and I should probably cut him some slack for the paper not being here by 7 a.m. this morning. After all, my first choice wouldn't necessarily have been to be up this early either.

Except while I wait, it's hard to resist the temptation to surf on over to the Web site and read it all before it even gets here. Guess I'll have to be content to blog instead.

I can start my day over as many times as I want

Happy New Year one and all! 2008 seems perilously close to 2010, which seems very...twenty-first century-ish. When did the future get here, and why don't I feel more prepared?

My first conscious thoughts upon waking this morning were not positive or constructive ones, and were immediately followed by sadness that I should begin a brand new year on a negative note. When I'm done blogging, I may go back to bed and start over.

I opened a brand new agenda this morning, and each week in it is headed by a motivational quote. Here's the first one:

Go over, go under, go around or go through. But never give up.

Should have been my theme song for the last year perhaps, so maybe I'll start singing it a little more often. 2007, mostly, was nothing that I imagined it would be. That's not to say it was bad - but it was definitely a year of growth and learning, which is always a challenge. And any year -any day - in which you learn and grow deserves the label of successful.

Here's to 2008 - as soon as I've had a few more hours of sleep!