?`s and ANNEswers

Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Harbinger of the Future

Posted on January 10, 2015

It was a sunny afternoon, so Earl and I decided to visit some of our favorite haunts – if you can really call Costco or Talbot’s a “haunt” – in South Bend. Of course, these trips always include a meal at one of Earl’s favorite eateries: either Olive Garden or Famous Dave’s.

It was a tough decision but endless garlic rolls and salad won over barbecued brisket and baked beans. It also meant Earl first had to forego his quarter pound hot dog AND his slice of pizza at Costco.

We were seated immediately even though the parking lot suggested it might be otherwise. A server passing by acknowledged us and said she’d be right back as we got comfy in our seats.  And that’s when I noticed it: a computer the size of a tablet in a stand on the corner of our table. The word ‘ZIOSK’ was written on the bottom of this intruder.

I checked the definition on Google® and learned that ZIOSK is the “first pay-at-the-table and entertainment device for the restaurant industry.” And according to its website it has already made the acquaintance of 350,000,000 guests.

With it you can order drinks and food, play games, and swipe your credit card as payment at the end.  According to Tabitha, the server who did return, it’s supposed to provide better service when the staff is super-busy. So far, the only thing you can’t do is order your entrée, so there is some human interaction possible.

Tabitha said the Olive Garden instituted this program about two months ago, and she likes it; although I wondered if someday soon she might be out of a job just as ATM machines have replaced tellers and automated voices have replaced switchboard operators. I didn’t ask.

Earl was curious and spent a few minutes playing with ZIOSK, while I looked around the dining room.  At one table a young girl was playing with it, while the two adults with her ate their meal.  At another table a young man was explaining it to his tablemates. At yet another, a patron was waiting for his receipt to burp forth from the device.

Do diners eat more when they can order without waiting for service?  Does this translate to great profit for the establishment? And what happens when the machine runs out of paper, like the self-serve pumps at gas stations do?

I don’t embrace the concept of constant connection with one’s technology, and I wondered if ZIOSK had the ability to record conversations or film us. Is the IRS or the FBI involved?  Call me reactionary, but I turned ZIOSK around so that it could film others.

Next time we visit South Bend I’m calling ahead to see if Famous Dave’s and ZIOSK are acquainted.  If the answer is “Yes,” then I’ll join Earl at Costco for that hot dog.  As of today, you still ordered from a real person there.

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Hibernation

Posted on January 9, 2015

I don’t know what chromosome is responsible for the hibernation gene, but I certainly inherited it. Probably from both sides of my family too.

This week is Exhibit A. We’ve had swirling snow and bitter cold for the past five days, and I’ve managed to cancel every engagement (with the exception of book club and my piano lesson yesterday) to stay home. It’s the law of diminishing return at work. I’m not a sissy when it comes to driving in these conditions, but I’m not willing to spend twice as long to get where I need to go when the roads are not clear. I’m not willing to take twice as long to don winter wear either.

Besides, I love staying home. The fireplace is sizzling as I make a batch of split pea and ham soup. I’ve already played piano and am about to give myself a manicure.  I’m starting on my builder’s license class in a little while and look forward to getting a couple lessons done without interruption. Maybe my son who is coping with blizzard conditions in North Dakota or my son who’s doing the same thing in upstate New York will call to commiserate. Then there’s the possibility of an afternoon nap, a cup of cocoa, and a good book.

No bear in her cave has hibernation down to the science that I do.

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B4

Posted on January 8, 2015

I belong to the B4 book club.  If you’re wondering, the B4 stands for “Broads and Books Beyond Belief.” We’re definitely B to the fourth power.

Today was our annual organizational meeting where we chose what we’ll read for the coming year.  It may sound too organized to plan an entire year’s reading in advance, but it works for us. Trust me on this.

Everyone brought the name of a book she’d read in the past year and would recommend in the present one.    There is a mix of fiction, non-fiction, and historical fiction, as our tastes run the gamut.  But always, the books entertain and inform. (Well, there were a couple that weren’t so good, but I won’t go there.) The caveat is that if your book is chosen to be read, you lead the discussion.

At the end of the day where did we stand?

We have a selection for every month taking into account that those who travel need to lead discussions when they’re in town, that December is always a short book in terms of length because of so many competing holiday activities, and that I wanted to revisit poetry as it had been a while since our last foray into this genre.

I volunteered to be the scribe for today’s meeting, so I’m currently assembling the months and leaders and books into something worth distributing. In the process, I’m getting a firsthand glimpse of what is to come.

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Small Plate

Posted on January 6, 2015

Over the last fifty years, studies and styles show that the average dinner plate suffers from the same malady as the humans who eat from it.  Both are becoming considerably larger.

According to www.vegkitchen.com, a dinner plate was approximately nine inches in diameter in the 1960s; while today it weighs in at a hefty twelve inches or more.  It needs to go on a diet.

Consider now the figurative object of the same name, the one people mean when they say, “I’ve got a lot on my plate right now.” In other words, the speaker is extremely busy with myriad commitments and not enough time to fulfill them without feeling harried.

I know.  I’ve been that speaker.  More than once.

But as the old year faded and I took stock, I realized that many of the projects on my figurative plate are completed.  My volunteer activities have wrapped up. I’m no longer a landlord, as we sold our last investment property in late December.  Heck, I’m not even gainfully employed. My family members seem to be in fairly good places too, so I’m relieved from serious worry about them.

It’s a wonderful feeling.

It doesn’t mean I’m sitting around eating chocolate truffles.  Rather, it means I’m going to follow the lead of some restaurants who are offering what they call “small plates.” I’m reducing both my dinner plate and my metaphorical plate accordingly. I may not eat as much or accomplish as much either, but I’ll feel full nonetheless.

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Ill Wind

Posted on January 5, 2015

As we mall walked, my two friends and I reminisced about 2013 when snow arrived before Thanksgiving.  We were also patting ourselves on our backs that we escaped the last months of 2014 without any measurable amount of the fluffy, white stuff. As if we had anything to do with it.

That was yesterday. Today we struggled to make it to the mall, as Winter arrived with a windy, snowy vengeance.

I woke to the sound of snowplows clearing our driveway.  Rolled over and tried to ignore the significance.  But the noise continued. And when I rose, I knew my day would be re-arranged.  Lunch plans were scratched.   So was working out with my trainer.  It wasn’t the amount of snow that cowed us; it was probably the unexpectedness of it.

Still C and S and I managed to avoid black ice, stalled vehicles, and fender benders to meet and walk. We arrived dressed like Russian peasants and changed from boots to gym shoes, stored our outerwear in a locker, and began to thaw as we walked the perimeter of Orchards Mall.

For the record, we started mall walking on February 18 last year. Since then we’ve been fairly consistent, except for when someone is out of town. So even if it was an ill wind that dumped winter on us, we should be proud of our determination and accomplishment. Take that, Old Man Winter.

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Final Holiday Event

Posted on January 4, 2015

My friend Judi and I talk every other Sunday; we’ve done this for I-don’t-know-how-long.  It helps nurture our friendship, since we don’t live near each other and only get together a couple times a year.

She’ll be calling soon. And we’ll relive the past two weeks:  her husband’s health issues and resolutions; her grandchildren and their activities; quilting projects she’s working on; my family holiday; upcoming plans; and the books we are reading.

We’ve known each other since 1971, when my husband of the time and I moved to Arlington Heights, Illinois.  She and Hugh were already there.  They still are, while I’ve moved hither and yon. In fact, there was more than one time that Judi and her husband hauled boxes from one place to another on my behalf.

We’re in our seventies now, and when Earl and I move these days we hire it done.  Still some things don’t change. Judi and I talk regularly, and the sound of memories in her voice makes me smile. When the telephone rings in a few moments, we’ll regale each other with the most recent of memories.

Then, in spite of what I said yesterday, this is truly the final holiday event.

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De-Christmas-ing

Posted on January 3, 2015

We’re putting the holidays to bed.

We’d intended to do it on January 1, but I wasn’t ready.  It was too close to the time when my family was here, and I still heard their voices. So I wanted a couple more evenings reading with the lights on the tree twinkling nearby. They reminded of the wonderful holiday just passed.  And I also wanted to revel in the potential for the coming year without actually facing it.

But today we dragged out the boxes for ornaments and lights and other sundry decorations.  Also found what we call the “body bag” for the tree and its stand. Earl began removing ornaments while I collected accessories from various locations, all to be boxed and stored until next year.

It’s not as arduous a process as putting up the decorations, but still it takes time. We label everything to make it easier next December. We also discard things – like lights – that no longer work or no longer appeal to us.  This year, we jettisoned some Santa Claus wine sacks that had hung around for a while and were never appreciated.

We’re not done, but we will be by this time tomorrow.  In the meantime, I’m going to read the last thirty pages of a book and sit by the tree with its lights still twinkling but with all its ornaments gone to storage.

The lights will come off tomorrow, and I’ll be ready to say goodbye to Christmas, 2014.

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Resolution

Posted on January 2, 2015

It was off my radar, but once I thought about it I decided that one of my New Year’s resolutions is to obtain a State of Michigan Builder’s License.  And write about the experience.

After all, my philosophy has always been that “When it’s time to paint, it’s time to move.”  Which accounts for my living in 34 different homes in 70 years.  For the record, we’ve lived in our current home five years; and it’s time to paint.

So, I’m back in school taking sixty hours of building construction instruction online to apply for a state license.  I’ve already found a home I’d like to build, and Earl is on board. It remains to be seen where this will go . . . but for now, I’m excited.

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Happy New Year

Posted on January 1, 2015

The holiday season isn’t quite over; there’s one more weekend before the world returns to normal on January 5.  But I’m getting a head start.

Spent the afternoon organizing receipts and getting ready to file our taxes. Pulled several boxes of documents from my former business life to be shredded. Thought about what I want to accomplish in the New Year.  And took a nap.

It’s not that Earl and I reveled crazily as the ball dropped at midnight in Times Square. Heck, when he asked me if he should run out and buy goofy hats and horns, I said “No.” Instead, we had an early dinner at a favorite restaurant last night and settled in to hibernate as 2014 disappeared. We didn’t even make it to eleven o’clock.

We’re still in hibernation mode today. It seems most appropriate after the whirlwind Christmas holiday with my family and Earl’s last week. I had cleared my December calendar to focus on preparations so that I could enjoy every single moment unruffled.  It worked.  It was wonderful. It was the Best. Christmas. Ever.

Which is why organizing tax receipts and clearing closets might seem anticlimactic but really is a way to return to reality after the magic.

Happy New Year to all.

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Back . . . and Forth

Posted on December 31, 2014

I’m back, not only to blogging but also to new ideas in the coming months.  As a rule I make a list of goals for every year, even though I rarely accomplish most of them.  Still, I make the list and hope that some of it sticks.  It usually does. This year is no different.

So . . . going forth into 2015, I want to write more with a couple specific projects in mind (More to come on this later.). I hope to learn more in the building contractor world and keep in touch with family on a more regular basis. I plan to use less salt and more wisdom in terms of eating; less whining and more action in terms of working out; and less stalling and more practicing regarding piano.

According to organizational gurus, these aren’t very specific in terms of goals. For instance, I should list the writing projects, detail how many words per project I will write in a given week, and turn off my phone to make this happen.  I should monitor the number of minutes I practice piano each day, and decide to call extended family a certain number of times per week or month.

I’m not there yet.  Besides, I still have three hours before New Year’s Eve strikes midnight. I won’t have the particulars down by then, but that’s what tomorrow is for.  While Earl watches bowl games galore, I’ll refine my list of goals and get ready to sally forth.

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