Winter Ramble

Years ago, when I participated in WordPress’ Post-A-Day, I would occasionally wake with no inspiration for the day’s post.   On those days, I would post what I came to call a Ramble, a post that starts with no place to go and often stays that way.   Here we are on the sixth day of January 2023, a year in which one of my (unwritten) resolutions is to post more often.   In 2023, I have posted exactly once.   If I go back and look at my list of posts for 2022, I find that I posted fifty-five times last year, which means I posted on average, every 6.6 days … so six days into the 2023, I find myself on the verge of breaking my resolution to post more.  Therefore, dear readers, you get a Ramble.

Sick and Tired

I’ve had it. I’m sick and Tired. Of reading about COVID-19. Of reading about the election. Of seeing statements in the news that anyone with an ounce (a gram!) of critical thinking would know is a falsehood. I am tired of getting twice-daily solicitations from politicians even though I’ve already given more than I ever have before. By the way, I am tired of getting thank you notes for charitable contributions that include a request (and envelope) for another. I am tired of the news and knowing exactly what position each source will take on any given issue. I am tired of opinion masquerading as news and of people dismissing what they don’t want to hear as Fake News.   I am tired of listening to people’s opinions on subjects that require expertise they don’t have. I am tired of polarized opinions, even mine. I am tired of politicians. CEOs. So-called reporters. I am tired of Facebook and disgusted that the ultimate dumb idea, Twitter, is so influential in our society.

Rambling

I’m sitting at my desk in the middle of a hot Utah Saturday afternoon.  I’ve already walked (South Jordan River Trail), journaled, gone to the store (dinner and sundries), picked up the mail (our mailboxes are all in a not-so-central location), filled up my gas tank (I smile each time I get to see again how little gas costs here compared to California), and cleaned up the mess it made when I didn’t close the freezer all the way (how many times is he going to do that?).   I’ve fed my cat, Tyson, twice and groomed him.  He is prone to cat-dandruff, you see.  Yes, he’s spoiled.  I think every rescued cat should be spoiled to make up for their bad luck in being abandoned. I thought I was tired enough to nap but after 15 minutes on the sofa, it didn’t happen, so here I am, at my keyboard with a hankerin’ to post and not a topic in mind.  When that happens, you get a ramble.  What’s a ramble?  Reread this paragraph for an example.  It’s a post that is basically (roughly) 600 words of stream-of-consciousness.  Or maybe unconsciousness.  You decide.

Being Bud

This week, three people posted on my Facebook page about the latest hurricane being named Hurricane Bud. My first thought was, Really? When did they start naming Hurricanes after men? After all, one of the riddles of my childhood was, Why do they only name Hurricanes after women? The (hilarious) answer was, of course, Because if they named them after men, they’d be himmicanes. Actually, they started using men’s names (along with women’s) in 1978. So here’s a thought … given the general confusion our species seems to be undergoing about gender, how long is it before we have gender-neutral names. And will we then have to use those names for tropical storms. And will they be called theyicanes?    Having a hurricane named after me left me feeling a bit conflicted. Most of my life I’ve been a very good student … A’s were preferable, as long as they didn’t take too much work, and anything below a B embarassing. So, shouldn’t I want my hurricane to be a Category 5 (156 mph winds), or at least a Category 4?  But do I want to have to see the devastation I caused on the evening news? I felt a little relieved when I read that I would probably blow myself out before I made land fall … but the notion was a little deflating, too. I was pleased to read this morning that I may bring desirable rainfall to Southern California in the next few days. Who doesn’t want to be desirable?

Rainy Ramble

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a Ramble here on Older Eyes – Buds Blog. In case you haven’t been around here long (who has these days), a Ramble is a post I write when I want to post but have nothing in particular to say. Or sometimes … like today …when there are serious topics I don’t feel like writing about right now. It is raining here in Socal, heavy rains predicted through tomorrow. The locaL news here treats every incoming rain storm like a major event but there is some cause this year … the possibility of mudslides in areas affected by the fires last summer, including Anaheim Hills where Mr. and Mrs. Eyes live. Mandatory evacuations have been issued in nearby Corona and voluntary ones a five minute walk away from our house. We are about a block from the fire line so we will probably not be evacuated. I am sitting in my car in the park. Yes, my phone is on so I can get any evacuation news.

Twelve …

Sunday, a friend posted a video on Facebook offering Twelve Tough Truths About Life No One Wants to Admit.  To me, it seemed to pretty much summarize how I’d like to live my life.    Here it is, in case you are interested.

Hmm, my Inner Mystic thought as we watched it.  There’s that number again.  Twelve truths.  Twelve Steps.  Twelve apostles.  Twelve days of Christmas.  Twelve months in a year.  I wonder if there’s any numerological significance to the number twelve.

Friday Ramble

I woke up this morning, determined to get my annual blood work and urine screening done.  The good Dr. Garces ordered it over a week ago, but I wanted to be good for a week so my numbers wouldn’t be too bad.  I know, I know.  After a zillion years as a student, I still want to pass every test.  In this case, being good consisted of a week of the South Beach Diet, Phase 1.  Translation: Almost zero carbs.  Don’t worry too much, Dr. Garces always orders an A1c test which measures average blood glucose over roughly the last six weeks, so if I’ve been bad, he’ll know.  The lab was relatively quiet this morning … I was in and out in 15 minutes instead of the usual 45. I stopped at McDonald’s to pick up some breakfast to take to the park, choosing two Egg McMuffins and a large coffee.  I know what you are thinking … blood work over, back to his evil ways. Wrong!  I ate only the egg, Canadian bacon and cheese, which, of course, left me with two perfectly good English muffins.  Rather than throw them in the trash, I tossed them out my car window onto the grass next to my favorite parking place where somebody .. probably a goose, duck or squirrel … might find them.  Waste not, you know?

Wednesday Ramble

When I bought my Google Nexus tablet, I knew I was buying a toy, something I really didn’t need, something I just had to have because all the other (big) (old) kids had one.   Even though it’s become my e-reader of choice (except when I’m in really bright light, where my old Kindle is better) and my preference for Googling on the move (except when I’m not near wi-fi), I’m still not lost when I momentarily can’t find it or leave it behind.   There’s always my smartphone or the computers distributed through our house.  But I really appreciate my Nexus in the morning when I set it up on the table so I can read the news during breakfast at the kitchen table instead of eating breakfast at my desk.  My computer keyboard is grateful, too, to be spared coffee spills and toast-crumbs.