Fri 21 Jun 2013
Observations
Posted by PJ under aging, belief, bird, birds, caregiving, cats, celebrity, dreams and dreamtime, government, Min, mom, observations, retirement, skepticism, stories, what the living do, women, work, writing
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16 May
Man, are there a lot of people who are terrified of mature women. If they can’t be sexualized in a cliché way they must be mocked & crushed.

 Mature women: http://bit.ly/10BoP22Â
16 May
And in other news, Jon Hamm’s camo wad still has the most clicks on my Bitmarks. Although “Kindness” by Naomi Shahib Nye is a close second.
Camo Wad is the name of my next band. That or Ironic Sexualization.
20 May
Ricky Gervais says, “Atheism is a belief system, like ‘OFF’ is a TV Channel.” That’s because he confuses his belief system with fact. He can’t disprove God any more than believers can prove God. When it gets to the point of foaming at the mouth, as it does with Mr. G, then we’re dealing with emotion, not rationality. Emotion is the core of a belief system.
20 May
I try to pretend things aren’t hard on me in order to save Mom from feeling bad, but some days, I’m so tired and it’s so hard the mask slips. And I always feel so much worse when she gets a glimpse and feels bad. Guilt is my constant companion. Not a boon companion, either. Not trying for sainthood, just trying to be humane as much as possible. It’s really hard.
22 May
My friend, M., wonders if insurance companies have special classes for their workers on making well-crafted “mistakes” that delay payouts. I certainly believe JOHN HANCOCK LIFE INSURANCE OF THE BUNGLING IDJITS do. I am informed that this scenario was a plot element in The Rainmaker by John Grisham. Which only tells me there are many people who have had my experiences with insurance companies, alas.
26 May
Life is good. Bird is sitting on my shoulder and hasn’t pooped yet. This will probably change soon.
26 May
“We do not decide to believe or actively change our minds.” —Dennis Gaffin, Running With the Fairies
28 May
Our neighbors in the back have chickens. I find their “bwoks” and “cluck-cluck” oddly soothing. Of course, there’s no rooster.
29 May
Pope Francis: Even atheists can go to Heaven if they do good.
30 May
Just found in Australia—giant, florescent pink slugs: http://yhoo.it/10KWkjS  If you wrote this in a fantasy, people would laugh at you.
31 May
Greenies Pill Pockets saved my life. I have to give Min pills twice a day but she thinks it’s a treat!
31 May
Celebrity gossip makes me so damned weary. It’s all smoke and mirrors.
31 May
In case you missed this Awesome Thing from CC Finlay: “My son sent me this comic about old super-heroes. Read it all the way to the end.” http://imgur.com/gallery/h2my0Â
2 Jun
I had the weirdest dream about the Magic Castle last night. Instead of being in a large Victorian Mansion it had been Disneyfied into a theme park, so instead of being able to enjoy an intimate exposure to magic and magicians, and those lovely bars, you were lost in cavernous spaces and large groups of people. I got separated from the people I was with and couldn’t contact them because the Magic Castle staff wouldn’t allow cell phones. I spent all my time searching for my companions and feeling left out instead of enjoying the show. 🙁
3 Jun
I wish Google Images had a -no -crappy -pastel -art setting.
3 Jun
Feeling extra glad this week that I didn’t get involved with Game of Thrones.
4 Jun
Another intense dream last night, a thriller: chases, betrayals, assassinations. The details are fuzzy or I might try to write it. Eh. Who am I kidding? Although at least two of my seven completed novels started their lives as dreams. Back when I was still a real writer.
4 Jun
Is it just me or does the Miami Heat’s logo look like a flaming butternut squash?
4 Jun
Reviewing a very old ms. I realized I’d used my least favorite cliché line in all of writerdom: a character not realizing they’d been holding their breath. Curse those double realizations!
5 Jun
Be careful who you diss because you might end up working for them. God help me. I don’t need this crap on top of everything else.
5 Jun
Sequestration sucks, and nobody’s doing anything about it. Everyone says, “It doesn’t affect me. Why should I care?” You know what? It will roll around to you eventually. We need to insist our Congresspersons get off their butts and do something.
5 Jun
I got this from someone on Twitter but can’t remember who. You literally are the stories you tell: http://nyti.ms/18XF82kÂ
6 Jun
Never say never. Unless, of course, it’s to say “Never say never.”
7 Jun
In the waiting room while Mom has a routine outpatient procedure. Routine, nothing to worry about, but I still do. She came through just fine. We were home by one.
7 Jun
I picked the right day not to go to work. In Santa Monica. SM College is an alma mater of mine.
11 Jun
Weird: is that memory fragment something I saw on TV or something I dreamed?
19 Jun
Things you have to be really old to remember:
“Calgon, take me away.”
Bubble Up
One Step Beyond
Carbon paper and mimeograph machines
21 Jun
I once circled a scene for three months. I couldn’t figure out why I was stuck until I admitted I didn’t want to do what had to be done: break my protagonist’s heart. Once I admitted that to myself, it came unstuck. Still not fun to write, but at least the story progressed forward. It doesn’t take me nearly as long as three months anymore. I assume. Once I write again.
21 Jun
C: Why do people act so damned weird?
Me: Because they lose track of the fact that life is short and our time here is very limited.
21 Jun
I’ve been researching retirement options that last few weeks. They are: slim, none, and hahahaha.
