?`s and ANNEswers

Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Home Report

Posted on May 16, 2008

Our house is officially on the market, and it never looked better. Even though we’ve always preferred a manicured look, we’ve outdone ourselves for the buying public. In doing so, we’ve made it a house rather than a home. It’s sad in some ways.

I have removed every single framed photo of any family member, so that our personal lives don’t distract visitors. We’ve rented a storage locker and filled it to capacity — thanks to Earl’s diligence — with things we don’t need but which appear as clutter to this all-important visitor. We are fastidious about keeping our clothes hung up, the bed made, the cocktail table clear of papers, the lawn mowed, the flowers dead-headed, the driveway and deck blown free of errant leaves.

I suspect no other owner will tender the loving care to this home that we have. Of course, if it doesn’t sell in a timely fashion, between the two of us we have privately reserved the option of taking it off the market and staying put. Of cancelling our reservation on the condo we hoped would be our next home. The one with less maintenance because the outside work would be done by others and paid for in the association fee.

If we did stay put, it would mean all the photos go back up and the storage locker is vacated and I could skip making the bed once in a while. It would also mean we’d continue paying a gardener, a tree trimmer, a lawn mower guy, and a sprinkler system guy. Come to think of it, one reason nobody else will keep the house and grounds the way we do is that nobody else wants to be a cottage industry.

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Backing Off

Posted on May 15, 2008

On January 2, I began my participation in the current political world. Started paying attention to the various campaigns for president; tuned in to endless debates; stayed up late watching primaries. And, as much as I dislike talking heads, I tuned in to Bill O’Reilly, Anderson Cooper, Keith Olberman, and the like.

It is only four and a half months later — and we have almost six months to go until the Presidential election — but I’m exhausted. I’ve heard the same messages, most of them with little substance, again and again. I’ve seen Hillary jabbing her finger in the air and heard Barack’s unique intonation and noticed John, even though the media isn’t paying that much attention to him at the moment. I’ve felt their pains.

For now, however, I’m scaling back my grandiose plan of total immersion in Campaign 2008. It’s too much; it grates on my nerves; it makes me surly. At the same time, I don’t know how a couple of my friends do it.

The two I’m thinking of in particular might categorize themselves as “political junkies”; they were interested long before my starting date of January 2. One of them has read Obama’s books; the other actually went to Ohio in the last presidential election to make sure the voting process was conducted properly.

I admire their interest and wonder how they do it. My saturation point must be much lower than theirs, as about the only thing I’m passionate about regarding politics at the moment is that we have spending limitations and time limitations put on campaigns.

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Use It Up, Wear It Out

Posted on May 13, 2008

Some people, when they buy a pricey item, tend to put it under lock and key. If it’s an emerald ring, they consign it to the lock box at the bank. If it’s a fur coat, they hide it away in a storage facility. And if it’s the genuine article in leather boots, they wrap them in boot stockings and hide them on a shelf. Hey, if this works then so be it.

I have a different perspective. I wear the fancy jewelry I own. Every single day. I don’t have a fur coat, but if I did you can be sure I’d wear it in season too. As for the genuine article in leather boots, I do own a pair. And, rather than save them for some boot skootin’ occasion, I’m prone to wear them whenever the mood strikes.

Perhaps the people who purchase such items and then refuse to wear them feel that ownership is reward enough. Perhaps they feel that keeping the item in pristine condition is their duty. I don’t know. I only know I believe in using those treasures I have.

So what if a ring gets lost, as one of my favorites did last fall. I lost it at a funeral and shall forever remember that day. I didn’t discover that the ring had slipped off my finger until I was on the way home and there was nothing to be done about it as the funeral was two hundred miles down the road. Of course, the ring was insured; so I was able to replace it. But that ring and the death of someone I knew will forever be intertwined in a special way.

The leather boots are another case in point. I bought them on a whim at Lucchese Boot Company in San Antonio a few years back. Believe me, they are the priciest by far of any shoe or boot my feet have ever had the privilege to wear. They are real ostrich, tooled with inlay, and wearable without socks. So why shouldn’t I wear them, even if they become wet with dew, dirty with mud, or cracked with time? Just think of the memories they’ll accumulate.

Which is what it’s about for me. Why not use one’s treasures to fill a life with memories? Wear that expensive bottle of Shalimar daily instead of just for special occasions. Eat Godiva chocolate whenever the mood strikes and the pocketbook can handle it, instead of waiting for a particular reason. Tromp in the garden in those leather boots rather than wait to wear them at a fancy hoedown that you may or may not be invited to. In other words, use it up or wear it out.

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Morning Person

Posted on May 12, 2008

A morning person is one who wakes early, feels great, and bounds out of bed ready to greet the day. A night person is one who comes alive after sunset, stays up way after the evening news, and doesn’t understand morning people. I fall into the latter category.

Yet, the other day I had an opportunity to see the benefits of being a morning person. Earl and I had spent the night at his daughter and son-in-law’s home, and we needed to be back in our own home by 9 AM the following morning. It meant rising on a Saturday at 7 AM, throwing on our clothes, and driving the almost fifty miles from their door to ours.

The sun had already risen as we pulled out of the driveway and headed back to St. Joe. It draped the landscape with golden rays that warmed the lawns and trees and spring flowers and caused a gentle mist to rise. There were few cars on the road besides ours, and the drive was most serene.

We arrived home as planned and I saw I still had the entire day ahead of me. Had we slept in our own beds that night, I would just be getting into gear. Only at an hour or so later. I wouldn’t have missed anything in terms of what I wanted to accomplish that day. . . but I would have missed the beautiful awakening of the morning.

It won’t turn me into a morning person; but when circumstances require and I temporarily become one I’m aware that I’m always treated to something special.

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Things I’ve Noticed Recently

Posted on May 9, 2008

Professional manicures don’t hold up like they used to. But professional pedicures still do. I supposed it’s because one’s feet are frequently covered by socks, while one’s hands bear the brunt of dishwashing, keyboarding, cooking, and the like.

We had two trees taken down from the back yard, and it’s confused the squirrels and birds that once lived in them. They’re probably wondering where their home went. I see a couple squirrels have already taken up new residence in a nearby sycamore.

The hummingbirds have found the feeder I put up just outside my office window. This feeder replaces the one I used to hang that attracted not only a bevy of birds but also a squadron of squirrels. It is squirrel-proof, however, since it’s filled with sugar water. I don’t think squirrels have a sweet tooth.

Keeping our house picked up because it’s on the market isn’t that difficult, which goes to show that Earl and I are pretty much neatniks to begin with. I have taken to showering at the health club, however, because I don’t like to squeegee the shower doors.

I am finally finishing the baby stroller blanket I’m making for a friend’s new granddaughter. While it’s about a third the size of a regular afghan, it’s taken me almost as long to crochet as the full sized ones I usually create. Maybe it’s because the yarn is so fine. Or maybe it’s because I rarely make the same pattern twice, so I’m always having to learn new stitches.

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The Night Before Indy

Posted on May 5, 2008

Twas the night before Indy;
And all through the state
Not a vote was discounted,
Not a vote was too late.

The candidates were seen
With smiles that seemed thin,
In hopes that their rhetoric
Would bring the votes in.

Obama or Clinton,
Who will it be?
The working man’s vote
Could decide destiny

Yet, will it decide
The race that’s still on?
For when Indy’s over
And the battle is won,

The winner is still
Just short of the prize,
Which means that all eyes
Will be mesmerized

On to Nebraska,
West VA and more
Until the route’s run.

I, for one, can’t endure.

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Hiding

Posted on May 4, 2008

It feels like hiding to me. We’re putting our house on the market, the only house I’ve ever felt one hundred percent safe in, even though I’ve lived in over thirty places: houses, apartments, condos, you name it. They’ve all felt comfortable, but the house I live in now takes First Place among them. It’s my sanctuary.

Maybe that’s why I feel the need to occupy my time as we meet buyers and their agents, negotiate a contract, keep up the yard, etc. Maybe that why I’m turning more introspective these days. I’m in hiding.

I play piano because it’s one thing I don’t do easily, and I must focus all my attention on hitting the right notes. I cannot be thinking of something else. I read fiction because I can immerse myself in the story and pretend I’m in that world instead of my own. I write for the same reason.

Of course this penance is self-imposed. We don’t have to sell our home; rather we see it as downsizing to be able to do other things. Like travel. Or like using our monies differently. Intellectually I accept all this.

At the same time, I am conflicted. Which means that my mind is on board, but my heart is having difficulty with the decision.

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Piano Forte

Posted on May 2, 2008

Last night Earl and I attended a free dual piano concert at our local community college. It was free because it was billed as the dress rehearsal for two local pianists who are performing a week from tonight in New York City. For a small town in Michigan, that’s pretty impressive.

I had mixed feelings about going. After all, I began piano lessons in middle age and will never achieve the skill level that I knew the two pianists would demonstrate. Watching them made me wish even more that I’d been exposed to serious piano in my youth. Observing a really good pianist always evokes this in me.

At the same time, watching them made me appreciate the music a piano can produce under the right tutelage. And these two pianists certainly made their instruments produce. Their program was devoted to classical French composers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. While it might sound heavy, it was quite the opposite. Even Earl, who accompanied me although he doesn’t like classical music, was impressed.

Walking to our car after the performance, I noted for the umpteenth time my own limited piano abilities. Earl, always supportive of my musical hobby, listened and tried to make me feel better. In fact, he’s offered to rent Carnegie Hall anytime I’m up for it.

So this morning I was back at the keyboard with renewed commitment working on “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

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Hillary and Bill

Posted on May 1, 2008

Hillary Clinton has a new Bill in her life. No, it’s not revenge for Monica Lewinsky; it’s calculated politics in her bid for the White House. His last name is O’Reilly.

I had heard Hillary was going to be on O’Reilly’s show and I debated long and hard whether to watch or not. These are two people who don’t make my A-list of favorites, so I thought the viewing might be painful. At the same time, I believe it’s better to feel temporary pain and hear things from the speakers’ mouths than to hear sound bites later.

So I gritted my teeth last night and watched. However, I thought the first segment was the only time Hillary was going to be featured. I was wrong, which means I saw only about ten minutes of what — I learned later — is a two evening love fest between Hill and Bill.

Actually, I felt Hillary held her own against Mr. Fair and Balanced, even using humor a couple times to her advantage. She seemed relaxed and confident, as well she might feel given her opponent’s current struggles with Jeremiah Wright. She didn’t whine at all, and I like her much better when she doesn’t.

O’Reilly was his usual self: interrupting, goading, trying to get the guest to agree to his point of view rather than providing a platform for intellectual discussion. He had once gone on record as saying the candidates were afraid to come on his show because he would ask “the hard questions.” In the few minutes I saw the program, I didn’t get that impression . . . but then just maybe he was gearing up for tonight.

Regardless, that first segment was enough to form my impressions, and I’m not returning tonight for second ones. I’m breaking my own rule and plan to read about it in the morning.

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Update on www.gethuman.com

Posted on April 27, 2008

Last August I wrote a blog about a website that is filled with useful information for those situations where you need to contact a company by telephone and you wish to speak with a real, live customer service representative about some issue. If you’ve ever been stymied by an automated telephone system, you know the operative phrase here is “real, live.”

I am thrilled that the site (www.gethuman.com) is not only still in existence but is also growing and thriving. Now, in addition to the valuable list of telephone numbers for all kinds of companies and the tips for reaching a human at each of them, you can also learn how to obtain a toll-free phone number, why companies prefer automated systems that annoy customers over human systems that can solve problems, and what standards the general public has a right to expect in telephone communication with companies.

The funniest part of the site, however, is the translation guide for those automated phrases we hear all the time. When a company says, “You can access our website to answer most questions,” it’s really saying “We are too cheap to hire enough customer service reps, so we’d rather you do the work instead of having us help you with the problem our product or service has caused for you.” Or when you hear, “Your call may be recorded for training purposes,” what is really being said is, “We can use this recording against you for any future purpose we want.”

Finally, there’s this phrase: “You call will be handled by the next available representative.” Makes you feel better, right? But the fact is the next available representative will handle the caller who’s waited the longest. You are next only if that person is you.

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