Limbaugh Lunacy

I've been nice and have not been gloating over the return of the liberals to political power. But, excuse me; isn't it a bit early to start Obama bashing? I mean, a couple of executive orders do not make a legacy. And how can anyone start bashing when the conservative philosophy has been soundly rejected by a clear majority of the American people, at least for the present? I find it interesting that the conservatives are already spreading viscious vitriol about Nancy Pelosi and less so about Harry Reid, though I do not maintain a high opinion of the Senate majority leader. Nancy may be about as liberal as they come, but the right forgets that she was bred in the world of politics and is probably much smarter than some of her male colleagues. BTW- when Obama stopped in Baltimore during his train ride, Nancy came home. I think she should come home more often and highlight her roots here in Bal'more. Limbaugh is a lunatic anyway. His rantings make no sense. He feeds the conservative yearning for slogans and quick quotes of little substance. He demonstrates what I believe is the chief flaw with conservatism: the inability and unwillingness to look beyond that which is already known to analyze or synthesize anything that might provide a new and better way of thinking. That flaw got us into Iraq under false pretenses and that mess has been left for the liberals, because the conservatives couldn't think beyond, "bomb 'em!" Not only will the liberals get us out of Iraq, if they do their best work, they'll succeed where the conservatives could not find a way to go. And perhaps in the process, they might find better ways to re-build the economy. And I'd like to know exactly how many republicans are really angry that W came into office with a budget surplus and left with the economy in depression. Someone PLEASE explain to me how republicans are good for the economy!!!

It's not easy being green

I seem to be developing a habit. When I spruced up the kitchen, I decided to go with two colors instead of one, not counting the wallpaper wall. Since my bedroom has a chair rail border, I decided to do a light color above and a darker shade below. So the painting is completed and the window frames look a mess. Now what to do. Color choice fobia. My upstairs woodwork is already slate grey. I can't do the window frames in white as theya re everywhere else in the house. I've just added new green colors to the bedroom; I must do something with the window frames; I don't think that slate grey is the right choice for window frames. NO problem, I've discovered a new online tool: Behr.com. I can go there, enter my green wall colors and add the slate grey woodwork trim and see what they suggest as another coordinating color. My tastes are predictable: Musical Mist in the kitchen, Southern Breeze in the bedroom. So, what does Behr recommend to complement my bedroom palette? Silver Screen. Appropriate color for a Boomer, I think. I just keep wondering why with each small project accomplished in the bedroom, more keep popping up. I really had no intention of painting the window frames. But alas, I couldn't return the curtains until the window frames look fit to be covered. A fresh coat of paint is always an easy fix. Anyone for the next holiday week-end when I finish this project?!

Trashy friend

2009 begins with me on the road to becoming one of the trashiest people in Eas' Bal'more, hon'. SO what's new? OH, just many contractor bags containing the piecs of the rug and the padding removed from my bedroom and countless other things that seem to have been hidden among the accoutrements therein. I've been lining up the bags in the basement and taking out three each time there is a trash collection. Ah, one of the small advantages of paying city taxes: we still get trash collection twice a week. Interesting that I've not had any allergic reactions from removing the rug that has been in place for 14 years and disassembling and moving the wall unit that anchors the bed. I just can't figure out how it can be so that semingly the more time I have, the longer it takes for me to get things done. At my check-up today, the doctor said everything is looking good. She better say that, because I am feeling excellent these days, only dreading the return of the allergy season. Perhaps now that I know about it, I'll be able to avoid the displeasure. But right now, I can't get over the trash. One would think that I'm a bit over-the-hill to be so trashy! I said it - so don't trouble yourself!

Historical Moments

Life keeps reminding me that I am getting old. There is the Obama inauguration celebration concert at the Lincoln Memorial and I don't know who most of the performers are. And I'm not all that interested because they are current pop icons and I think presidents should have more exalted entertainers, though Renee Fleming was on hand. Renee could have been the entire show as far as I am concerned. And there was a day when I would have wanted to be in the middle of it all. Now CNN will do fine, if they would just stop punditing everyone to death. But pundits give me a chance to get on with the home improvement project. Ah, yes, I will remember the inauguration because I had a home improvement project that kept me from being a couch potato. This is a good thing. And alas, the Ravens won't go to the Super Bowl. I can't stand football, but I'll always root for the home team, especially when they are in the home stretch. But I guess political history will be the most prominent this week. Go for the underdogs for the Super Bowl. That's always more fun, even if you know nothing about the sport. Annual check up with the primary care physician tomorrow afternoon. What a way to spend a holiday. Why is it that home improvement projects always mutiply the list of things that need to be done? Ah, but there will be wall painting in the morning! Pray there will be no discoveries this year that will lead to yet another surgery. I seem to be setting a pattern of discovering during odd years things that need surgery. Bone spur, Jan 2006; prostate Jan 2008; nothing, Jan 2010; speaking of historical moments!

The Truth about Retirement

I have it figured out now. People retire because the aging process means it takes longer to do everything. Because it takes longer to do everything as we age, people just run out of time and can no longer work because home and personal necessities take more time. There is just not enough time to work. Those who work into their old age are skipping the other responsibilities. I knew it was going to take a month to do my bedroom! Even with a holiday week-end, there is not enough time. I had the great pleasure of dropping my spackle container while I was spackling the ceiling. The container split which means it goes to the trash. Such a waste. It was a large container from the great closet/pantry adventure. Hopefully my bedroom will be the last home improvement project for a few years. BTW - true to form - my chosen wall colors in the bedroom are Southern Breeze and Mystical Sea (shades of green) . Perhaps when the bedroom is done I can give up home improvement until I retire...unless I find a way to get everything else done more quickly.

Big Fish

Having recently taken on additional duties at work, there are some things I am learning in the context of those duties. Yesterday, I attended a meeting I had not attended before with mostly people who were new to my professional world. There was a standard go around the room and introduce yourself beginning. I almost had to laugh out loud because person after person said I'm mary or John Smith and I'm the Director of __________. Well, I thought surely I had unwittingly fallen into the company of more elites than I might ever care to know. And talk about a check on the old ego. I am the director of nothing. And most of these people appeared to be younger than I. How had all these people achieved such an exalted status? How many directors does this world require? How many directors can the US afford in the context of this economy? Ah, but wisdom would unravel the mystery. It is part of the American ideology. You see there are no Indians who do altruistic work to contribute to a greater good any more. All Americans who work want ot be chiefs. So, in order to get Americans to take responsibility in the work place, they must be given the title Director. A Director is a person who is given a responsibility to achieve something - except in the financial world, of course. Apprently, the biggest job in the financial world is to figure out how to accrue as much individual wealth as one can without running afoul of regulators. I suppose I should aspire to become Director of something before I retire. I have a while to work on it.

No Count Corruption

So the Mayor of Baltimore is indicted with 12 charges and it is reported as underwhelming. It is also reported that the majority population of Baltimore City, that being black females, will support the mayor no matter what AND the mayor need only be concerned about the perception of the white population. Excuse me, but when did corruption become acceptable among any population? I thought we were supposed to have entered the era of post-racial America with the election of a president who happens to be black. I suppose using gift cards intended for other purposes and having employees use their personal bank accounts to cover up malfeasance does not rise to the level of trying to sell a Senate seat. But isn't it interesting that at least some the unauthorized use of the gift cards and the spending sprees took place in Chicago? Perhaps Madame Mayor was studying corruption since there is less urgency for her to study war, as the old gospel song might indicate. Wouldn't I love to sit on the jury for Madame Mayor? But her trial will seat a jury of her majority peers, and it will all go away. After all, the charges are underwhelming, if one is to believe the local reporting. No wonder I go into fits every time I get a new jury summons! No defense attorney in his or her right mind would seat me on a jury in Baltimore City! It can't be possible that Madame Mayor is corrupt! Gosh, the prosecutor's office has only been investigating her for 10 years or so!!

Creative Finance

So, you may have heard that the governor furloughed all state employees on December 26 and Jan 2. Now, let's not even talk about the lack of notification for sufficient planning for those dedicated employees like myself and my sister who always are scrambling to use or lose leave time at the end of the year. But today we received a memo from our personnel director. It seems the governor has declared that we were not furloughed on the above mentioned dates, but were given paid administrative leave for those two days AND our salaries are reduced from now through June 30 by an amount equal to the pay we earned for the two days that we did not work. Now call me stupid, but if our salaries are reduced by an amount equal to two days' pay, how is it that we received PAID administrative leave? ONLY in government!
OH, and don't ask about the other furlough days that must be taken before June 30. We REALLY will NOT be paid for those, BUT that does NOT constitute a salary reduction. Gee, I thought that the definition of salary is equal payments of money over time. If I receive less money than I have been receiving for a period of time, that is NOT salary reduction? Math was never my thing, nor am I particularly adept at things financial. However, I have never had a problem with mathmatical concepts like greater than or less than, especially regarding money. Give me a break! Of course there will be no cost of living increases either this year while the recovery of the economy will increase the price of everything. This is one HUGE disadvantage of government work. The purchasing power of Maryland state employees is among the top tier for erosion over time. Maryland has some of the highest taxes in the country and some of the lowest paid (proportionate to taxes) state employees in the country. I love it!

Double your pleasure

OK - trick question: what happens when you empty any storage container of its contents? Now think about this carefully! Well, obviously you end up with the contents and the container, both of which require equal space. So, how does one disassemble a bedroom wall unit that has been used for storage - since old houses such a mine have precious little closet space - move everything out of the way to prepare for painting walls, and still know where everything is that you might need, besides moving the actual storage units out of the way? Thankfully the wall unit is modular so it comes apart - but, alas, there is not enough room in the opposite bedroom to store the wall unit pieces AND its contents AND other furniture pieces besides the bed. OK, I am a bit of a cothes horse. Most of my clothes normally reside in the spare bedroom. It is almost impossible to fit all the clothes ALONE in the spare bedroom, to say nothing of other storage pieces. Don't ask about cleaning behind a wall unit that has not been moved in 14 years. Don't ask about ripping up a rug that is almost as large as the room that has never had furniture removed from it for 14 years. Another garbage bag becomes the new receptical for dirty clothes. I need the regular laundry basket to store clean clothes that I can see! My spare bedroom is now a jumble of contractor bags of clothes and wall unit storage pieces. I fear I will forget where everything is in the contractor bags. Double space requirements are rather more than such a small house can take. What would I do if I weren't consigning so much to the trash? Perhaps I shouldn't wait 14 years between bedroom renewal projects.

A new year...

...a new home improvement project. Blame it on the siblings. What am I supposed to do when I get gift certificates for Home Depot? I hope you all have stock in Home Depot. I spend enough there for any number of sane people. But I've been avoiding it for months, and the kitchen gave me an excuse to ignore it. And the race is on! How fast can I Get rid of the rug in my bedroom, paint and return the room to mormal living conditions? Did you ever notice (those of you older than 30) that when you embark on a project, the steps and the investment of time and effort simply multiply as you proceed? I bought the paint, using my gift certificates so that I could become inspired and determined. The hard part is figuriing out where to put things so they are accessible during the improvement. I thought I would do the moving today and the painting tomrrow. NOT! This is going to develop into a month-long project. I can see it. Thank God for Martin Luther King Holiday - another long week-end on the horizon to help in the accomplishment of the project. How many contractor bags do I need to move clothes and trash? How did so much trash get into one bedroom? Why didn't I see it before I started to move things? How many sweaters, seasonal clothing, and such does one man need? How many pieces shall I cut the rug into to get it out? O fret not! No one would want it. Celery green - VERY passee. And much of it has been underneath my bed for 14 years. What dust? Hardwood is easier to keep clean under the bed any day! Something to look forward to. Completion date? Three bags of trash and first piece of rug gone today - but I got a late start to get in supplies - contractor bags & paint! Keep those contractor bags moving! Each one demonstrates progress! And by the time I get it all done it will be time for the senior center! Oh joy!