I was strolling through Kroger tonight looking for diapers and saw a huge stack of enormous bags of dog food with the brand name “Old Yeller.” I’m sure it’s been 25 years or more since I saw that movie, but my recollection is that the dog got rabies and had to be shot. I am not sure that’s the best name for a dog food, but what do I know about marketing?
Category: This and That
I Really Hate Cars
Life was undoubtedly very hard back in the old days. No convenience. You had to work on your farm during all the hours of daylight. It was difficult to get by. Lots of diseases.
After reading my Grandma Stella’s diary, though, I wish we were back in the horse and buggy days for several reasons. Life was harder, yes, but somewhat less complicated — more focused on getting by day to day.
I also really, really hate cars. Over the past five years, I have had more trouble with cars than I can remember ever having. If I have to drive very far or in the rain, I am literally shaking with fear that I’ll break down. The thing is, right now, my car seems OK. A while ago, when I went to pick up Sarah, I had to drive in the rain, which is something that is always scary to do in Atlanta, and the car was acting… funny. It didn’t act like it wanted to go, and the automatic transmission wasn’t shifting as smoothly as it usually does. So I tried not to hyperventilate.
I know, I know. I have AAA. I also don’t have money for the car to break down right now, but someone would probably help us if it came to that. Just the thought of breaking down one more time was giving me stomach cramps. So many things have gone wrong with the cars I’ve had over the past five years, almost always when I have one or more children with me, from flat tires to complete engine crapout. I shouldn’t be fazed by it anymore. But all that car trouble has only deepened my anxiety behind the wheel.
I wish I could just climb up into my buggy, grab the reins, and say “hyah.” I wish I didn’t really ever have to go more than a few miles from home so hoofing it (whether with a horse or without) wouldn’t be such a terrible outcome.
I know there are other problems I’d have to deal with if I had a horse, but sometimes I can’t help but think all these modern inventions have caused more stress and anxiety than they’re worth in terms of convenience. I somehow doubt my great-great-grandfather had palpitations and gripped the reins tightly if his horse, say, threw a shoe, or something. Maybe that’s why he lived into his 90’s. My damned car will send me to an early grave.
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Harry Potter and the Screwed-Up Body Clock
My sleep schedule has been off all summer, since I’m not working, which causes me to revert to my night-owl tendencies. I was doing okay, though, until staying up all night to read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Now I can’t seem to get back on my normal schedule.
Gah!
It drives me bonkers to keep such vampirish hours.
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Lizzie McGuire
I have discovered Disney Channel’s series Lizzie McGuire in re-runs. OK, so what — I think it’s a cute show. I am absolutely charmed by Gordo, and I think Lizzie’s mom is adorable. Her glasses are so cool, and her hairstyle is so cute.
Sigh. What’s wrong with me? Don’t answer that.
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Connected
Yesterday, I went to the grocery store. There are three Kroger stores within about three miles from my home, but like most people, I tend to go to the same one all the time. This Kroger has those U-Scan lanes so customers can scan and bag their own groceries if they want. If I can, I always use the U-Scan lanes. I think as long as you don’t get behind someone who doesn’t know how to scan, then it’s quicker. Also, I don’t really like to interact with the checkers. I guess that makes me rude, but frankly, it bugs me sometimes when they insist on being chatty. Actually, I believe it to be related to OCD. One of my “issues” is talking to people I don’t know — especially over the phone. Sometimes, it’s simply that I find the chit-chat annoying; a checker at that same Kroger asked me if I had gone to church that day (it was Sunday). That bothered me on so many levels, I didn’t know where to start, but I forced a smile and said “no.” U-Scan lanes mean I’m in, out, and back home without having to interact with anyone if I don’t want to.
At this Kroger, the same man is always “manning” the U-Scan lanes. If you don’t know what this means, basically it means he stands there in case customers have problems with checking out. I go to the grocery store at least every other day, and he is always there.
Yesterday, as I checked out my groceries, lost in my own world, I didn’t notice the flurry activity around the U-Scan Man until I had bagged my groceries and was headed out the door. He was sitting on a bench, surrounded by EMT’s and had oxygen tubing in his nose. There were two ambulances parked outside.
I kept walking, because I didn’t want to stare or make him feel weird. I come in so often, he must recognize me in much the same way as I recognize him. I kept walking, and I almost called Steve. Nah, I told myself, you can tell Steve when you get home. I thought of U-Scan Man several times. Just a little while ago, I thought about him again: please God, I hope he’s OK.
It’s odd, isn’t it? I use the U-Scan lane so I don’t have to interact with anyone, and I wind up being attached to the consistent presence of the U-Scan Man enough to pray for his health. I guess I was interacting a little more than I thought.
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Harry Pot-heads
Steve is reading the Harry Potter series. Shh. Don’t tell him I told you. I think he wants to post something cheeky to the effect that he was finally beaten down and forced under pain of torture. Well, we all knew it would have to happen in the end. There is no resisting the appeal of the Boy Who Lived. I hope he’s enjoying them as much as I did. But I get to read Half-Blood Prince first, or else he’s got to get his own copy.
In other news, I glanced at my entry calendar over there to the right and noticed I haven’t posted much in May. School will be out in a couple of weeks, and I imagine I’ll have more time. I hate to use that old busy excuse, but it’s true. That, and I haven’t really felt like there’s much of interest going on that I wanted to write about here. Also, I suppose my new genealogy blog is taking time that I might have spent here, and I have been trying not to neglect my Harry Potter blog so much.
I will leave you with a couple of interesting links:
- “I Have Dreamed of Being a Teacher…” — The Very Odd Case of Georgianne Harrell: Steve’s story about the Worth County, GA. teacher who slit her wrists in front of her class. Weird.
- Arthurian Legends Illustrated: ooooOOOOOooooo… King Arthur.
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Identity Theft Revisited
Remember last summer when I mentioned I had been the victim of identity theft?
Well, I got a letter in the mail today from the U.S. Justice Department. They actually caught the persons involved. I am fairly surprised. I don’t hold out much hope that they’ll go to jail, but maybe they’ll have at least learned that they can’t get away with that sort of thing. Actually, one of them might do jail time, because it looked like he was involved in some pretty hairy schemes.
I am not sure what all I can say about it. I haven’t been put under a gag order or told not to reveal who it was, but considering they haven’t been arraigned yet, it feels wrong. Maybe once they’re convicted.
It feels really good to know that I wasn’t forgotten or ignored and that they found the guys. It is a horrible feeling to know someone is out there trying to get credit in your name, using your Social Security Number, and emptying your bank account. Not that they managed to do much harm to me financially — my bank was really good about it.
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My So-Called Life or Something Like It
Since the beginning of the school year, I have gained about 20 pounds. Since I could probably have stood to gain some weight, it wasn’t a really big deal. The only problem is that a lot of my clothes don’t fit now. I am not worried about the way I look now, but the thought has crossed my mind that perhaps I won’t quit gaining weight — that my metabolism has changed. The women in my family do tend to start out thin and get very, very big.
Being “too skinny” has been a part of my identity since I can remember. It was how I was teased as a child. It formed me into who I am. I guess, in a way, gaining weight kind of makes me feel like I am losing who I am. Right now, I weigh the same as I weighed at 9 months during all three of my pregnancies. And like I said, it isn’t bad, and I shouldn’t complain. But that is a thought that will give one pause, right?
It was a beautiful day here in Georgia. I sat outside at school and graded papers. That’s one thing that is really nice about our campus on sunny days — we can spend so much time between classes outdoors. It is sort of set-up almost like camp. I guess whenever we move to our new building, we might lose that. I will not miss the rain, though. Our campus is absolutely miserable when it rains.
I haven’t written here in a while, and frankly, I just don’t have anything worthwhile to talk about. I haven’t been up to much. I got my oil changed. I bought a new cell phone. I tried on a pair of shoes that fit really well, but the heel didn’t look right, so I didn’t buy them. I can’t find my Black Crowes CD (The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion). I am re-reading the Harry Potter series. That’s my life.
Why are you here? There are fascinating things all over the web. Go learn something.
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Purim
In observance of Purim, my school held a day-long celebration. Judaism for Dummies describes the holiday: “Take the Christian Christmas pageant, add a down-home Halloween and a couple bottles of wine, and you start to get a good idea of the Purim festival.” I’ve also heard it called the Jewish Mardi Gras. It was a really fun day. We had good food. We read the Megillah, which was actually very interesting. Jewish readers of mine are aware of the custom of noisemaking whenever the name of Haman is mentioned. It was really different for me, because Biblical text is at once so sacred and solemn. I guess I’m not used to it being interactive and fun. I was only able to follow along with the text, which students, faculty, and others delivered in Hebrew, because I listened for the names of “characters” in the Book of Esther. I must have been convincing enough, because one of the Hebrew teachers asked me if I could read Hebrew. I said no, but showed her that my copy had an English translation. It is a mitzvah to read and listen to the Megillah on Purim.
Aside from that, we all wore costumes. Purim is associated with mistaken identity. It seems to be customary to dress as someone else or as something opposite. Many of the 10th grade boys dressed as girls. Some of the kids just wore silly hats. I dressed as Ophelia. We seemed to have a few “Esther” bunnies running around (including our headmaster).
My favorite part (and from what I can tell, the most popular part of Purim) was the Purim Shpiels. The students did an excellent job with theirs — quite satirical, very funny. The faculty shpiel was better than I thought it would be after I saw the script yesterday. I guess when you have entertaining characters like I work with, that wasn’t hard. Both shpiels mocked members of the other group; i.e., the students mocked the faculty and the faculty mocked the students. I suppose, though I didn’t ask, that such is customary at our school.
One of my students gave me gift basket. That was really sweet. As I was driving home, it occurred to me that one might even call that an “Esther basket.” Har, har, har! But seriously, folks… you can learn more about Purim at these websites:
Related posts:
Waxing Pensieve
I wrote something over at the Pensieve of which I am preening and proud — “A Defense of Harry Potter: How to Respond to the Critics in the Ivory Tower.” I no longer suck. You still do if you don’t read it. Ha. Except Tudor of course, because he read The Sun Also Rises. My essay on Potter is the shorter, quicker route to non-suckitude.