Old...

Since I only have one reader, I will use this post to tell him about the oldest member of our family. Poor Granny! She fell yesterday and has a broken nose, broken shoulder/arm, neither of which the doctor can do anything about because of their locations and 9 stiches in her lip! She is bruised and battered. And poor Auntie is tired! She tripped over the sidewalk and faceplanted in the side of the car.

The only good thing is she probably cant remember how she fell! Poor, poor Granny!

The end of youth!

Today Smirk has moved from a student in her prime of her youth to a burgeoning working stiff like the rest of the grown ups! She got a job! A real job!!!

Finally after applying everywhere, someone finally hired her! We have filled out more applications on company websites than there are birds in the sky! Every store in the mall, all of the big box stores, restaurants, warehouses, security companies. Everything that we could find, she filled out an application! This was the first time she even got a call back.

Not only did she get a call back, she got an interview. Then yesterday she got the call for a second interview. Today she had the interview and they said they would call next week. She got home and about an hour later, she had an email stating she had been hired. There was an offer letter and a link to start paperwork!

So on Wednesday at 11am, Smirk will be starting at one of my favorite stores...

Employee discount here we come!!!!

Ennui

Hello all,
Today as with the past weekend we at the amused house are feeling a bit melancholic. Friday marked the end of an era for us and many around the world. I refer to the Harry Potter Phenomenon.
When these fantastic books came out, Grin and Smirk were 5 & 8. We did not start reading them until 1999 when they were 7 & 10. But wow are we glad we did. Ever since then they have been immersed in the wizarding world. I would read the books out loud to them and their friends using different accents for each voice. Before the movies we would frantically wait up for the book release parties at local Barnes and Nobles, then when the movies started coming we would wait and see them at the midnight showings. This final one was no different! Grin and Prince Ali camped out on Wed night as the line had been set up since SUNDAY! They stayed in a tent and Smirk and I joined them in the wait on Thursday afternoon. The line was crazy, people were dressed in costumes, but they were good natured and most were having an amazing time.
When the movie finally started, we were left breathless and most in the theater were crying. At one point Grin waved for a tissue, as did Grin's friend. Smirk had them on her lap and she kept handing them to me. And all of a sudden, someone tapped me on the shoulder and reached their hand down in the traditional wave and asked for a tissue... Total stranger, but did we say anything, nope... Just handed them up!

There is one thing to be said for this young generation... We have had Gen X, Gen Y, Baby Boomers and all have their trademark. This generation has got to be named Gen I. If there is one thing they all have in common is imagination. What other group of people could bond so adeptly with a book. These are fiercely loyal kids. They have embraced JK Rowlings vision of a fantasy world with vigor and complete abandon. Groups have started Quidditch as a sport in colleges and schools. People write fan fiction (actual website.. pretty amazing too... fanfiction.net) where these ingenious people write their own alternative stories to popular tv shows, books, etc. They do this because the either don't like the ending or have so much talent that they think of things that should have happened but did not get included in the book.

There is a new book, it wont have the same impact as Harry Potter, but it is very highly regarded. I have read it and it is very good. It is called the Hunger Games. It is a trilogy that will be made into a movie. It is about a girl who is reaped into the Hunger Games, a murderous sport that takes place in North America after it has crumbled. She prevails and shows the authority that the people are not going to go easy and just kill for their personal sport. It is a great message and fantastically written book. But yet again, the creative talent of Gen I have expanded on that. There is a web game, that is the Hunger Games. Those wishing to play put their names in to a random number generator. If they are chosen, they are give a district, then a mentor, then troll for sponsors, just like the books. Grin has been chosen and last night she had to make her first decision... Does she kill one person or two? Does she form an alliance and she should choose carefully...

While this does personify violence, so many things in our world to do, this also teaches them to show loyalty, and work for a common goal. Grin has formed an alliance with several people and they are working together to win... In short, teamwork and strategy...

I am very sad that Harry Potter has ended and thus symbolizing that my own brood are now entering adulthood, but at the same time, I cannot wait to see what the future can hold for these talented, creative and amazing people of the Generation Imagination.

Today in history....

Did you know that July 12 is a that will go down in history?? It is already historically amazing...
In 1389 Geoffrey Chaucer became chief clerk of the Court of Richard II.

1861 saw Wild Bill Hickock in his first shoot out, he shot 3 men in a duel in Nebraska.

In 1957 Eisenhower became the first president to ride in a helicopter.

Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman vice presidential candidate in 1984.

Angelina Jolie gave birth to twins in 2008.
Grin Got Her Driver's License!!!

Amazing isn't it!!!! She passed first time out!! She got 9 marks off, mainly not being able to back up in a straight line and not sufficiently looking while doing said backing up, but she PASSED!!! We are all so very happy!!!

All things considered...

As I sit here in my office, bored out of my skull, I think back to the All Things considered story I heard on the way home the other day. Side rant.... Yes, I listen to NPR and I watch PBS. But I am not old and I also listen to Rap, Pop, Country, Classic Rock and Classical music... This does not make me old but it makes me well informed and cultured.... Side rant over...

I was listening to NPR's All Things Considered. Interesting tidbits on the news topics of the day. This particular interview was with Tom Hanks, who was speaking about his new movie, Larry Crown. This upcoming release if you haven't heard anything about it, is about a man who gets fired for not going to college. So Larry goes back to college. It looks to be a rom com. And it could be funny, Mr. Hanks is funny! Julia Roberts is a great actress.... Not sure I am running out and paying $12 to see it, but could be a good video rent eventually.

Anyway Tom was asked the question "If you hadn't made it into the movies, what would you be doing?" He told this very sweet story of the Circle Line in New York City. The Circle Line is a sightseeing cruise that goes around the NY harbor. The story was of an old tour guide who told the story to the passengers of days in the past when the Maxwell House coffee factory was in production on the Jersey side of the river and the winds would blow making most of lower Manhattan smell of coffee. Tom said that just for a moment, this man's story was so consuming you could almost smell that coffee right there on the river. That would be the kind of job Tom Hanks would be doing if he wasn't a world famous actor. He thought he would like to be a docent in a museum or a operator on a sightseeing boat.

This story got me to thinking... If I could just ditch it all right now, what would I want to do? The options are limitless. I know I would love to work in a museum, like the Met or Le Louvre. Or a gardener at Versaille. Or maybe a tour guide on a bus tour of Italy, Greece or France. How about a winemaker in a chateau in Burgandy. Ski patrol in the Alps? Lifeguard on a beach in Positano? Blackjack dealer in Monaco? Snorkel washer at a resort in Vanuatu? Nature photographer who gets to travel the world to take pictures of well, everything?

What would you do, if you had no limitations, no worries and no responsibilities?

Scents...

Does a smell ever make you think of things long ago or even a happy event. I know that if I smell baby powder, I smile. If I smell wet sagebrush and honeysuckle I think of summertime in the fields behind my house growing up. When I first moved back to Southern California after high school this area was certainly different than it is now.

Moving back almost 25 years ago, driving through Irvine was pleasant, it smelled of oranges, strawberries and eucalyptus trees. As the years went on and urban sprawl took over the oranges and strawberries became fewer and fewer. About 5 years ago, driving through Irvine you could smell the overwhelming scent of eucalyptus and freshly sown manured dirt.

Now when you drive through Irvine in the heat of the day, you have to hold your breath. It smells of stale stir fry oil, fish and bad chinese food...

Now I realize this post makes me sound ridiculously old in a "I can remember the good old days" granny voice, but I really do remember the good old days when you didnt have to hold your breath for a mile just to get to work without throwing up your morning coffee... I never thought I would wish for the smell of vicks and cow poop during my morning commute!

Southern Gentility!

Yesterday Grin and Smirk went to Los Angeles. Their mission was to find something to wear to the Harry Potter premiere next Thursday at midnight. So they trolled around the thrift shops and found nothing... Saddened, hot and hungry they returned home. I fixed them dinner, and we sat basking in the breeze of the fan. One of their friends arrived at the house. Lets call him Prince Ali. He wanted assistance writing a song. Grin was sitting on the floor computering, she had sufficiently rested and had been fed. So Prince Ali burst into the room and said Grin, meet me upstairs in your room, I need your help! and he proceeds to run up the stairs.

Grin jumps up and does a little half skip in the air, puts her hand to her lips and in the most exaggerated southern accent says "Oh my, a gentlemen caller!!" Then runs up the stairs!

Smirk and I burst out laughing so hard that Grin almost falls down the stairs as we startled her....

I sometimes wish we could have our own reality show, just for priceless moments like that!

Reading people's minds?

Hello dear readers, also known as my father and auntie... Although since it has been so long, they may have given up on me...

Today's post is a mild rant on people... Why are people sooooo strange? As you both know, I have a new job. Fun stuff, working for a guy I dont like, doing things that are so boring I can barely keep awake in the office. I am promised each day there will be more, but that has yet to materialize. Today something came into my inbox and it read like a bad grammar sentence used to teach small children how not to write.

I think the person doing the writing believed I could read his mind in the words he typed.

Literally, here is what he wrote

Please filter this by Socal only then filter by q2 and then send it out to all Dealer IAE’s and ISM. CC xxx, xxx and myself

Along with this go into the closed door list and list the most recent doors termed and say this are the dealer that should in process to archive contracts

Sounds easy right??? And trust me I know how to use excel and filters and all of that, but... There is no list, no filter that would show me Socal, no closed door list, no most recent doors termed... In otherwords, I am supposed to magically jump inside his head and figure it out...Oh and when questioned, he is too busy to tell me what he wants and we will discuss tomorrow.

So again another day with no work, no projects, no fun, just sitting in the office counting down the minutes until I can bolt out the door and go home.

By the way, I really miss my living room and the fun I had working from my couch! I hope both of my readers are well and now that I have nothing to do during the day, maybe I can post more! Tomorrow, a Grin story to laugh at!