Monday, March 24, 2008

Relief.


Today I began my "new" job at the Hamlet's City Hall.

That's right-- no more dust, no more dirt, no more feta cheese-covered keyboards.

Instead, I was greeted with a lovely vase of daffodils on my desk, a funny card bidding me welcome, warm smiles, sincere thank you's, positive words and pats on the back.

In my new office, the carpet is vacuumed. The trashcan is emptied. There are no disgusting unisex bathrooms with urinals and deodorant cakes.

I am thankful. I am relieved. I am grateful!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Happy Easter

Sacrelige. Peep Show.


Have a happy Easter, everyone.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Something I've Decided.

Let's stop using the phrase "OUT OF WEDLOCK".

First of all, ain't nobody's bidness if the child's parents are married or not. The child is here sharing space with us. The lack of a wedding doesn't make the kid "OUT" or "IN" of anything; it just makes the child HERE.

Secondly, the use of the archaic word "WEDLOCK" in our modern age is just silly. The word "wedlock" insinuates marriage is some kind of granite-like, terribly superior contract; that if the contract is broken, a malignant chaos will creep in and infect the clan for generations to come.

Finally, using a phrase that easily draws a picture for those not in the know about the kid's background is cruel. The kids will be thrown to the lions soon enough, people. Give them a few brief years of blameless enjoyment before they realize life is tough and people say mean, mean things.

Just had to get that off my chest. That is all.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Sara Teasdale, Two.

Life has a loveliness to sell-
All beautiful and splendid things;
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Climbing fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has a loveliness to sell-
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count for cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstacy
Give all you have been or could be.

Hitting the Delete Button.

Yeah, I deleted my last post.

In case you didn't read the post, it was about a really naive idea we had at work and how we thought we'd try to open up discussion with management about our concerns. Suffice to say, it didn't come out very well.

Truthfully, I'm sick of thinking about the whole situation and didn't want to sully my blog, or your mind, with all the crap that followed.

So I hit the delete button.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

I Am Really Pissed.

Each morning on my way to work, I pass a little house, ramshackle and run-down. The house is enclosed by a combination chain-link and wood fence, with the side yard visible. The yard is a sad sight, worn down to hard-packed dirt and rocks, diseased-looking scrub oaks and tufts of dead, straw-like weeds.

I take particular notice of this yard every day, because the idiot that lives there has three dogs, all of whom apparently live outside. These poor animals are out there all day, every day, in the rain, shine, snow, wind, freezing cold, or blistering heat.

The alpha dog is a beautiful German Shepherd, who acts in typical German Shepherd fashion when I drive by. He rushes the fence and leaps upward while baring his teeth and barking. He is also wagging his tail during this show of ferocity. The second, a mixed breed, is very mellow and kind of stands at the fence smiling, also wagging his tail. The third, a Husky, just sits and stares quietly.

During a recent cold spell, I drove past the house on my way to work and reflexively turned my head to see how the dogs were doing. That day, they weren't at the fence; they were in a pile against the house, trying to keep warm. Imagine-- the stucco of the house was warmer than the air outside.

*****

Sitting in The Hovel writing, I heard a dog yipping and crying. I looked out my window and saw a dog tied up outside the restaurant across the street. Being a shorthaired pointer of some kind, I know he was cold; sleet was falling from the sky and freezing on the streets and sidewalks. I'm supposing his owner just couldn't wait to get some crappy Mexican food, so he had to tie up his dog outside the restaurant in the atrocious weather, get inside where it's warm and order his stupid crappy lard-ridden food and then eat it in front of the restaurant's fireplace. While his dog is outside, yipping, crying, freezing.

*****

Looking around on the internet, I saw a headline on CNN today that a Marine was taped throwing a puppy off of a cliff in Iraq, and the tape is now on YouTube. I studiously avoided the headline, making a mental note not to let my mouse anywhere near the story, lest I open it by mistake and then... I'll have it in my mind forever. Some things you just can't undo, you know?

So I was taking my daily journey over at Jezebel, and they'd posted a still of the smiling asshole, weapon in hand, sunglasses and kevlar helmet on, holding the puppy by the scruff of its neck. Whammo!!! There it was for unsuspecting me.

Naturally, I didn't open the link. But that still is in my head. Oh, that I could erase it.

As a child (and I still do this sometimes), when I didn't want to hear something, I'd put my fingers in my ears and say, "LA, LA, LA, LA, LA" really loud. It worked.

Now I wish I had something like that for my eyes.