By "blue" I don't mean sad or depressed. What I mean is that, sometime last week, for some reason, I had the urge to wear some bold blue nail polish (fingernails and toenails) that I had gotten this past Christmas and which I put on Tuesday night, and then Wednesday and Friday, days that I do my volunteer work at a local thrift store, I dressed in a way that somehow involved the color blue. Wednesday, I wore a long dress with some blue in the floral pattern, and Friday, I wore a blouse with blue stripes.
There's a tan and black dress that I normally wear to church on Sundays. However, I questioned how well my polish, which I didn't really feel like taking off, would go with said dress, so instead, I wore a black skirt and a light blue top. One man in the congregation wore a blue-and-white striped polo with his black slacks today, and one lady's ensemble involved a blue cardigan. I joked with both of them they they evidently got the "blue" memo as well. Tomorrow, I might wear a top that has some blue in it.
Thinking about all of this blue business today has inspired me to look up this song which I haven't heard in a long time.
So, what about you? Do you ever have moments where you gravitate toward a certain color or style for a while for no apparent reason?
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Too Busy to Say Much...I Think
As you may have noticed, I haven't really been blogging here much. Sure there were things that have gone on in the last couple of months I could've talked about such as the Casey Anthony trial, the demise of Amy Winehouse, the trend of some restaurants and other public places in becoming child-free zones, or even something along the lines of the heat wave that has been occuring in my hometown.Yet, I haven't blogged here much since May 21, the predicted Judgement Day, came and when without incident (at least where I live anyway).
It's not that I would not have had anything to say about any of the above subjects. Rather, I think it's been because I've just been so busy. As of June, I started making it my business to accomplish certain things every day, such as spending some time (more specifically fifteen minutes) editing each of my three novels that I have on my computer and reading a chapter of whatever book I've been reading. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I still do my volunteer work at a local thrift store. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I often have job applications to pick up and/or drop off, cans and bottles to take over to the college campus recycling bins, surveys to fill out in hopes of earning some cash (especially since I STILL have yet to find a job), laundry to do on one of those days, and depending on time, cleaning out one of my inboxes. Then evening will roll around, and I'm lucky if I can get myself to do something besides hang around Facebook.
On top of that, I have recently re-connected with an old boyfriend from high school. Ever since he accepted my friend request on Facebook, he and I have chatted a few times. That's taken a couple of hours at a time usually, and this coming Thursday we're planning on getting together in person for the first time since we had broken up (which was a little over eight years ago). Where things between us will go from there has yet to be seen.
Maybe things will get less hectic for me further down the road. Or maybe I need to get myself motivated to say more here. Whatever the case, I just know I haven't said much here latey, but I really ought to try harder to keep this blog updated so that it doesn't go cold.
It's not that I would not have had anything to say about any of the above subjects. Rather, I think it's been because I've just been so busy. As of June, I started making it my business to accomplish certain things every day, such as spending some time (more specifically fifteen minutes) editing each of my three novels that I have on my computer and reading a chapter of whatever book I've been reading. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I still do my volunteer work at a local thrift store. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I often have job applications to pick up and/or drop off, cans and bottles to take over to the college campus recycling bins, surveys to fill out in hopes of earning some cash (especially since I STILL have yet to find a job), laundry to do on one of those days, and depending on time, cleaning out one of my inboxes. Then evening will roll around, and I'm lucky if I can get myself to do something besides hang around Facebook.
On top of that, I have recently re-connected with an old boyfriend from high school. Ever since he accepted my friend request on Facebook, he and I have chatted a few times. That's taken a couple of hours at a time usually, and this coming Thursday we're planning on getting together in person for the first time since we had broken up (which was a little over eight years ago). Where things between us will go from there has yet to be seen.
Maybe things will get less hectic for me further down the road. Or maybe I need to get myself motivated to say more here. Whatever the case, I just know I haven't said much here latey, but I really ought to try harder to keep this blog updated so that it doesn't go cold.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Three Months Until the (Supposed) End of the World
It's been two months since the day when the day that was "supposed" to be Judgement Day consisted of a "spiritual" judgement rather than a physical one.The latest I had heard about Harold Camping, who was behind the May 21 prediciton, was that after his stroke in June, he moved to a nursing home and his show "Open Forum" was cancelled at the end of the month. Whether or not he will be around to even see October 21 remains to be seen.
If we only have three months until the end of the world, then I only have three months to worry about looking for a job (which I have yet to have any luck with), three months to clean out my gmail box (some of which I did today), and three months to read all five books that I have in my reading pile, including the one I'm currently on. (I currently read one chapter per day, except during end of the month read-a-thons.) And that month will be my last chance to have any of the novels that I'm currently in the process of editing published. (I generally do fifteen minutes per draft per day.) In short, I have a lot to do.
But that day has yet to come, so it remains to be seen whether or not it will truly be the end of the world.
If we only have three months until the end of the world, then I only have three months to worry about looking for a job (which I have yet to have any luck with), three months to clean out my gmail box (some of which I did today), and three months to read all five books that I have in my reading pile, including the one I'm currently on. (I currently read one chapter per day, except during end of the month read-a-thons.) And that month will be my last chance to have any of the novels that I'm currently in the process of editing published. (I generally do fifteen minutes per draft per day.) In short, I have a lot to do.
But that day has yet to come, so it remains to be seen whether or not it will truly be the end of the world.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Four Months Until the (Supposed) End of the World
It has been a month ago today since the rapture and earthquakes which were predicted would happen as a prelude to the end of the world didn't happen. Supposedly, God had come in "spiritual" way rather than a physical one, and the prediction for complete destruction of the world on October 21 of this year still stands.
Believe it or not, Harold Camping, who is behind all of these predictions, suffered a stroke earlier this month. As far as I know, he's still alive though. I don't know whether or not he saw said stroke coming. If he didn't (which is what I'm assuming), then it would seem that there's little point in trying to predict the end of the world or anything else that is probably a long way off if you can't even forsee more immediate crises. And besides, if he is still alive when October 21 comes and goes, and it turns out nothing happens then, I'm sure he will be more embarrassed than he was a month ago.
I won't really talk as much about the end of the world stuff as I did during the week leading up to it. However, I might say something in regard to it when the 21st of the next four months rolls around.
Believe it or not, Harold Camping, who is behind all of these predictions, suffered a stroke earlier this month. As far as I know, he's still alive though. I don't know whether or not he saw said stroke coming. If he didn't (which is what I'm assuming), then it would seem that there's little point in trying to predict the end of the world or anything else that is probably a long way off if you can't even forsee more immediate crises. And besides, if he is still alive when October 21 comes and goes, and it turns out nothing happens then, I'm sure he will be more embarrassed than he was a month ago.
I won't really talk as much about the end of the world stuff as I did during the week leading up to it. However, I might say something in regard to it when the 21st of the next four months rolls around.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Paying in Pennies?
Let's say you had a bill to pay, say, of $25 (or whatever amount you wish to imagine) and you opted to pay "cash". Would that include paying in pennies? If you were on the recieving end of the payment, how would you react?
A story I came across in Yahoo today was one about a guy in Utah who was fined after trying to pay his medical bill in pennies. According to the article, the guy owed a medical clinic $25. He didn't agree he owed that much but came to pay the bill anyway. After it was confirmed that the clinic staff accepted cash payments, he dumped $25 worth of pennies on the counter "and demanded they be counted in front of him."
After that, the clinic called the police, and he was arrested on the charge of "disorderly conduct" for which he faces a fine.
As someone with cashier experience, I'm kind of split on this. On the one hand, counting all of those pennies probably would've been annoying (not to mention I'd worry about losing count), and I'd hope that a long line does not form as I do the counting. (I'd probably form groups for every ten pennies or something, though.) I don't think I would've called the police, though unless, say, a gun was involved. I would've just counted the pennies and been done with it. Depending on how many pennies are there, they may not all fit into the register, but depending on how many are there, they can always be cashed. Plus, there have been times when I or someone else on register has run out of pennies or some other currency. (There's a reason some businesses, depending on their nature, will not except anything higher than a twenty.) Whereas, there are ways to get around running out of dollar bills, for instance, there's no way around running out of pennies. So, if I had been on the recieving end of a bill paid in pennies, that would solve or prevent one problem, provided that the bill is paid in full. (THAT's the important part.)
As for the customer, aside from creating an annoyance by insisting on paying in pennies, surely so many of them would make the jar, bag, or (fill in the blank here) they are kept in heavy to carry. A Coinstar commercial I saw awhile back comes to mind. It's where the tooth fairy falls after trying to carry a bag of coins. While she's buying band-aids, she sees a Coinstar machine. She puts the change she still has into that machine and walks out with cash (which the voiceover refers to as "lightweight") and an empty sack, but I digress. Looking at the aforementioned article, I have to wonder if the guy couldn't have stopped by a coinstar machine and exchanged the pennies for cashed. Not only would it have been easier on whoever was on the recieving end of his bill, but surely it would've been easier on him. (I doubt that all 2500 pennies would've fit into his wallet, so I'm assuming they were in a bag or jar. And seriously, who walks around with a bag or jar of change unless they are going to cash it out?)
Then again, it was my understanding that this guy did not agree that he owed $25, so the penny thing could've been a protest. If it were me, and I didn't agree with a bill I owed, and yet, I lost the dispute, I'd just pay the bill in the reasonable manner and move on. If he was really upset with those people, didn't agree with the bill he owed, but was losing the dispute, couldn't he have just gotten the payment over with in actual bills and refuse to do business with them again rather than cause a scene.
The other possibility is that he didn't have access to a Coinstar machine (or other means to cash out the pennies in question) and therefore had no choice. In which case, a polite "You might want to count that to make sure it's all there" or something along those lines would've sufficed, rather than "demand" that it all be counted.
In closing, to be paid strictly in pennies, however annoying, should not be a reason to call the police. And while it is more convenient to pay a mult-dollar bill with actual dollar bills, if you must pay it all in coins, at least be polite about it.
A story I came across in Yahoo today was one about a guy in Utah who was fined after trying to pay his medical bill in pennies. According to the article, the guy owed a medical clinic $25. He didn't agree he owed that much but came to pay the bill anyway. After it was confirmed that the clinic staff accepted cash payments, he dumped $25 worth of pennies on the counter "and demanded they be counted in front of him."
After that, the clinic called the police, and he was arrested on the charge of "disorderly conduct" for which he faces a fine.
As someone with cashier experience, I'm kind of split on this. On the one hand, counting all of those pennies probably would've been annoying (not to mention I'd worry about losing count), and I'd hope that a long line does not form as I do the counting. (I'd probably form groups for every ten pennies or something, though.) I don't think I would've called the police, though unless, say, a gun was involved. I would've just counted the pennies and been done with it. Depending on how many pennies are there, they may not all fit into the register, but depending on how many are there, they can always be cashed. Plus, there have been times when I or someone else on register has run out of pennies or some other currency. (There's a reason some businesses, depending on their nature, will not except anything higher than a twenty.) Whereas, there are ways to get around running out of dollar bills, for instance, there's no way around running out of pennies. So, if I had been on the recieving end of a bill paid in pennies, that would solve or prevent one problem, provided that the bill is paid in full. (THAT's the important part.)
As for the customer, aside from creating an annoyance by insisting on paying in pennies, surely so many of them would make the jar, bag, or (fill in the blank here) they are kept in heavy to carry. A Coinstar commercial I saw awhile back comes to mind. It's where the tooth fairy falls after trying to carry a bag of coins. While she's buying band-aids, she sees a Coinstar machine. She puts the change she still has into that machine and walks out with cash (which the voiceover refers to as "lightweight") and an empty sack, but I digress. Looking at the aforementioned article, I have to wonder if the guy couldn't have stopped by a coinstar machine and exchanged the pennies for cashed. Not only would it have been easier on whoever was on the recieving end of his bill, but surely it would've been easier on him. (I doubt that all 2500 pennies would've fit into his wallet, so I'm assuming they were in a bag or jar. And seriously, who walks around with a bag or jar of change unless they are going to cash it out?)
Then again, it was my understanding that this guy did not agree that he owed $25, so the penny thing could've been a protest. If it were me, and I didn't agree with a bill I owed, and yet, I lost the dispute, I'd just pay the bill in the reasonable manner and move on. If he was really upset with those people, didn't agree with the bill he owed, but was losing the dispute, couldn't he have just gotten the payment over with in actual bills and refuse to do business with them again rather than cause a scene.
The other possibility is that he didn't have access to a Coinstar machine (or other means to cash out the pennies in question) and therefore had no choice. In which case, a polite "You might want to count that to make sure it's all there" or something along those lines would've sufficed, rather than "demand" that it all be counted.
In closing, to be paid strictly in pennies, however annoying, should not be a reason to call the police. And while it is more convenient to pay a mult-dollar bill with actual dollar bills, if you must pay it all in coins, at least be polite about it.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Hopefully, There Will Be Less Drama in June
Today is the last day of May. There has been some drama going down this month.
This month, there was the scare about there being a rapture and a worldwide earthquake on the 21st. Obviously, that didn't happen. The same guy behind that prediction is now saying that those things will happen on October 21 of this year. Um, yeah, we'll see.
The day after what was supposed to be Doomsday, Joplin, which I live up to maybe an hour away from as far as driving distance is concerend, got hit by a tornado which killed and/or injured a lot of people. One of the injured people was someone I knew since middle school. As far as I know, she's still alive, but her house and car have been destroyed. From my understanding, it will take months, if not years, for Joplin to get everything back in order. The controversial Westboro Baptist Church had planned on picketing in Joplin on Sunday, saying that the tornado was God's judgement on Joplin, but it's my understanding that their plan ended up not working out. (That reminds me, some of you reading this might be interested to know that yesterday, when they were protesting at Arlington Cemetery some members of the KKK were part of the group of counter protesters. And no, I don't generally care for the KKK either.)
Also, last week, someone from an online book club that I was in had been going through a lot and had mentioned wanting to die. It has been five days since said person has posted on any of the forums, and I'm hoping they're okay.
I'm hoping that this month, there will be less drama. Here's hoping for no natural disasters, no more end of the world scares, or anyone getting depressed or anything like that.
This month, there was the scare about there being a rapture and a worldwide earthquake on the 21st. Obviously, that didn't happen. The same guy behind that prediction is now saying that those things will happen on October 21 of this year. Um, yeah, we'll see.
The day after what was supposed to be Doomsday, Joplin, which I live up to maybe an hour away from as far as driving distance is concerend, got hit by a tornado which killed and/or injured a lot of people. One of the injured people was someone I knew since middle school. As far as I know, she's still alive, but her house and car have been destroyed. From my understanding, it will take months, if not years, for Joplin to get everything back in order. The controversial Westboro Baptist Church had planned on picketing in Joplin on Sunday, saying that the tornado was God's judgement on Joplin, but it's my understanding that their plan ended up not working out. (That reminds me, some of you reading this might be interested to know that yesterday, when they were protesting at Arlington Cemetery some members of the KKK were part of the group of counter protesters. And no, I don't generally care for the KKK either.)
Also, last week, someone from an online book club that I was in had been going through a lot and had mentioned wanting to die. It has been five days since said person has posted on any of the forums, and I'm hoping they're okay.
I'm hoping that this month, there will be less drama. Here's hoping for no natural disasters, no more end of the world scares, or anyone getting depressed or anything like that.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
A Lot of Drama Going Down
First off, there was that whole controversy about how the beginning of the end of the world was supposed to end on Saturday but didn't. I didn't clear out my possessions or anything like that (but I heard some people did), but once the prediction had come to my attention, I couldn't not have it float around in my head.
Second, Joplin, which I live maybe an hour or two at most from, got hit by a tornado. I've never lived in Joplin, but I have taken the occasional shopping trip there. The mantra in my family was if we couldn't find what we wanted/needed in our own hometown, there was always Joplin. Now, with all that has happened over there, I won't be able to look at that town the same way again.
This morning, it came to my attention that someone in an online bookclub that I'm involved in has been through a lot lately and wants to kill herself and has asked us about painless ways to go about it. Those of us who have begged her not to kill herself, to get help, etc. This person is, from my understanding three years older than me and one year younger than my sister. I don't know her personally, but the thought of her resorting to such drastic measures scares me. If I lived closer to her, I'd maybe ask her for her number so that I could check up on her and/or in case she needed to call someone and vent. I might ask one of the other members to check up on her. I am hoping that she is simply blowing off steam at this time, but I've heard stories of people threatening suicide and following through (at least one anyway; the guy was 19 at the time and did it via an online telecast even).
Hopefully, all of the this will pass. It is all a lot for me to process at this time.
Second, Joplin, which I live maybe an hour or two at most from, got hit by a tornado. I've never lived in Joplin, but I have taken the occasional shopping trip there. The mantra in my family was if we couldn't find what we wanted/needed in our own hometown, there was always Joplin. Now, with all that has happened over there, I won't be able to look at that town the same way again.
This morning, it came to my attention that someone in an online bookclub that I'm involved in has been through a lot lately and wants to kill herself and has asked us about painless ways to go about it. Those of us who have begged her not to kill herself, to get help, etc. This person is, from my understanding three years older than me and one year younger than my sister. I don't know her personally, but the thought of her resorting to such drastic measures scares me. If I lived closer to her, I'd maybe ask her for her number so that I could check up on her and/or in case she needed to call someone and vent. I might ask one of the other members to check up on her. I am hoping that she is simply blowing off steam at this time, but I've heard stories of people threatening suicide and following through (at least one anyway; the guy was 19 at the time and did it via an online telecast even).
Hopefully, all of the this will pass. It is all a lot for me to process at this time.
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