I was at a client’s location today to check on a couple of minor problems they are having with their new computer system.  The owner of the business hired a new person who was having a hard time adjusting and wanting to use certain programs. After some discussion between me and the owner, the new employee became aware that I was working to be able to give her the programs that she was used to using.  The conversation went something like this:

New Employee:  I love you.  I’m Jane.*
Me: Uhm… I think love is just a little too much, too soon.  I think we should at least know each other’s names first. I’m Mark.
N.E.: Oh, Ok.  I’m Jane. I love you.

The owner and another worker were there and were laughing at the whole thing; which I also thought was funny.

* Name changed to protect the innocent.  Or… the not-so-innocent, whichever the case may be.  🙂

My sister is moving into a house she bought.  I took the trailer yesterday to get some used fencing for her.  After the fencing was delivered, she wanted me to look at the inside of the house.  I hadn’t eaten all day and was hungry, but I still took the time to look.  She then wanted me to look at a wall to determine if it could be moved.  By the time I left, I had spent an hour or more there.  I have a problem being around people who are smoking.  It affects me physically.  While I was there, there were about 3 or 4 people smoking in one room.

I woke up this morning feeling awful.  Ugh.

I like to read “Tongue Tied” on Foxnews.com.  It amazes me how supposedly normal human beings can come up with some of the “Politically Correct” nonsense that they do.  Tongue Tied is also available at http://www.tonguetied.us

Here are a couple of recent examples:

^{Amherst Regional High School will stop using the term “freshman” to refer to ninth-grade students because the term is not inclusive enough for some members of the faculty there, according to the Concord Monitor.}

^{Students in ninth grade will now be referred to as … wait for it …”ninth-graders” in all official documents and morning announcements.}

^{ARHS Assistant Principal Marta Guevara, who pushed for the change, said the decision to move away from “freshman” came about after a production of the The Vagina Monologues two years ago.}

^{Guevara said the school wants to make students “aware of the possible misogynistic, oppressive or non-inclusive language.”}

One thing I didn’t see being addressed anywhere is why there was apparently allowed to be a presentation of “The Vagina Monologues” at a high school.  Besides that, I think that the term “principal” should be disallowed because it will make the students feel inferior to the… uhm…. Assistant Director And Leader Of The School.  Or maybe they should just call them all cry-babies.

 ^{A high school paper has refused to run an ad from a local Korean-owned restaurant because it says imagery used in it promotes stereotypes and puts a minority group in a bad light, reports the Oregonian.}

^{John Lee, owner of the Hawaiian Grill restaurant in Cedar Mill, Ore., uses an illustration of an Asian man in his ads because it resembles himself. Administrators at Sunset High, however, say it is offensive.}

^{Lee, who immigrated from Korea at age 10, says he has been using his logo on signs and menus for years with no complaint. “I’m Asian American, so why would I want to make fun of Asians?” he said. “Why are we pushing the racial issue to the farthest extent?”}

So… are the administrators saying that Lee is offensive?  Since his ad “resembles himself”, one could extrapolate that.  That would make the administrators racists, hmmm?

^{Supporters of Transgender rights will kick off what’s being described as the first “Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color Job and Education Fair” in New York in December, according to Reuters.}

^{At least 10 companies already have signed up for the fair, organizers said, and as many as 25 might show up. One of the main things on the agenda, they say, is that pesky male-female that unfairly dominates public discourse in America.}

^{Damien Domenack, a landscaper, says society’s “two-gender system” poses a problem in everything from job applications to drivers’ licenses to health-insurance forms. He wants a third option, to describe gender preference.}

^{“We’re limited to two boxes, male and female,” said Domenack, 24, who was born female and calls herself a “transman.” “There’s just two options, and I can’t put my true identity.”}

Your “true identity”, Damien, is female.  Get over it.

I have often been amazed at how clueless some women can be.  I readily admit that men are largely pigs AND clueless; but that doesn’t mean women are any less so clueless with their own brands of idiocy.  Yes, there are both perfectly fine men (I like to think I’m one) and perfectly fine women.

The reason I mention clueless women is because of a guest that was on the Dr. Phil show.  She said something that completely amazed me.She was pregnant — for the second time — by a complete louse.  He was a perfect example of Man-Pig as can be found.  They had been engaged more than once and obviously in a horrible relationship. The first time she was pregnant he toldher if she got fat while she was pregnant, he would cheat on her.  So, she “terminated the pregnancy.”They outlined a bunch of the problems and she wanted to know if she should “kick him to the curb.”  Then, when Dr. Phil outlined some of the thing the Man-Pig had said and done, she says something like, “Well, he hasn’t really taken the time to get to know me.”

WHAT?!?  SO WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN BED WITH HIM, THEN!!!  Ahem… Excuse me.  But, seriously…. can a woman be so clueless that she doesn’t see that she shouldn’t be pregnant, AGAIN, by an obvious man-pig, who has proven that he’s a man-pig, and celebrates his man-piggishness? 

Oh, dumb question.  Obviously she can, since I just saw one on the Dr. Phil show.

Sigh.

Although I rarely read fiction anymore, one of my favorite books is, and has been, a piece of fiction that I first read somewhere around the 7th or 8th grade: Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes.  It is an excellent read.  It’s  tear jerker with profound lessons. I see that Amazon has:

A softcover student edition: Flowers for Algernon : Student Edition 

and a hardcover edition:New Windmills: Flowers for Algernon (New Windmills)

By extension, I liked the 1968 movie Charly (with Cliff Robertson in the role of Charly) except for a short bit of 1960’s psychedelic rambling that didn’t seem to fit in place.

Charly

There was also a TV version titled “Flowers For Algernon” with Matthew Modine (a seriously under-rated actor, in my opinion) that was from around 2000.  You might remember Modine from a few different movies, including: What The Deaf Man Heard, Birdy, and Jack and the Beanstalk – The Real Story.  That TV version is apparently not available for purchase, however. I thought that it was true to the book and was worth watching.

I think I’ll pick up the book and re-read it.  It has been many years since I’ve read it; but it has stuck with me.

One thing I don’t think I will ever understand is the concept that someone has to know a person before going on a date.  The common wisdom these days says that a person can’t ask someone to coffee, or lunch, or whatever…. unless you know them. Well….. my logic says I’m asking you to coffee because I **don’t** know you but want to know you.  I want to go on a date because I want to get to know you to see if you are someone with whom I would want a romantic relationship.  I want to go on a date to see if you want to get to know me. 

The typical conversation goes something like this:

Me: There’s a woman that works at the bank I’d like to ask out. 
Other Person: Well, get to know her a little and then ask her out.
Me: Uhm…. how do I get to know her without asking her to coffee or lunch?
O.P.: Well, you talk to her some.
Me: But, I thought that’s what the coffee was for?  I thought we go to coffee to get a chance to talk?
O.P.: Oh, no…. you can’t just ask someone out that you don’t know!
Me: But, how do I get to know her without getting to know her?

As you can see… it goes nowhere.  I have asked out a couple of women from places such as the bank or the store or the dentist’s office:women that I see regularly and would like to get to know more.  Because it is a work environment, the regular conversations with them can’t be much more than things like, “How are you today?” 

Anyway, I’ve had a couple of conversations with friends like this, too:

Me: I asked out the woman at the bank.  She said, “No.”
O.P: You didn’t!
Me: Yeah.  Why not?
O.P: Well, you can’t just ask someone out!
Me: Uhm…. why not?
O.P.: Because, you just can’t.  You have to get to know them first!
Me: But, how do I get to know them if I’m not allowed to get to know them?!?!

I now refer you back to example one. Sigh…..

Seriously…I don’t go to bars.  I don’t go to sporting events.  I don’t go to the gym. Even if I did, I’d have to make sure it was an “approved” place to meet someone.  It’s just too much.

I repeat…. Sigh…….

Over on LJ a couple of days ago, a “friend” took exception to my complaint about her deliberately, actively, and directly ignoring me when I sent an email asking about her well being.  All kinds of excuses were made and then attacks on me, rather than simply accepting and owning up to the wrong.  In her mind,my complaint was about everything else except what I complained about — mistreating a friend.  She knew how I felt about being ignored because she had done it before and I mentioned that it was a wrong way to treat someone.  She knew I felt it was disrespectful and uncaring.

Today, I saw a friend come online who is having a hard time with a relationship.  I instant messaged a “Hi” to her.  She replied, “mark.. in the middle of something.. I’ll touch base with you later..” and a sentence explaining that things weren’t going well. 

This friend gets it.  She understands that even when you are in the middle of a bad time, you treat your friends like friends… you treat them with the respect they deserve instead of ignoring them.  She understands how hurtful it is to have someone you care about (and who you thought cared about you) to treat you like you don’t even exist.

Even crap on the bottom of your shoe gets acknowledged; and it doesn’t care about your well-being one whit. Why would you not treat your friend better than crap you step in?

When I happened onto WoofNanny’s blog, I was reminded by her crafts related posts that I used to do quite a few crafts.  I once ran a ceramics shop, with my brother and sister, in which we taught ceramics and macrame.  We did all kinds of arts and crafts such as silversmithing, photography, photo matting, painting, candlemaking, and more.  I once had a photo accepted into the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh,  PA.  I also had one in a festival in Charleston, WV that was tied for the best of show award, which would have been awarded a display in the Capital Building Rotunda for a year.  But, it lost out to life-sized soft sculptures.   We all had awards from the Columbus, OH ceramics show.  In addition, we did a set of four bicentennial plates that were sold in Kaufman’s Department Stores.  I don’t remember how many sets we did… but I remember it was a lot.  It was a lot of work.

I had a client call me this morning to check on their computer.  I had completely forgotten that the computer was here.  I can’t believe it.  Even when she called, I didn’t remember it was here.  I thought she was calling to schedule and appointment or something.  Until she asked what I found out, I completely had forgotten it was here.

I guess with so many things going on, it’s not hard to forget things; but I still don’t like forgetting like that.