Thoughts, dreams and reality. :-)

Song of the day: “Hallelujah” originally by Leonard Cohen, but I’ve been having covers in my head ever since I got curious and found a whole batch of them on Youtube. Seriously, there have been oodles of people who did the song…and in many beautiful ways, I might add. Worth a spin, if you like the song!

So, yeah. Had a bit of relapse with my cold. It was gone, which had me getting back to my workout routine all excitedly for over a week of daily workouts of over 45 mins a pop, only to end up with my cough coming back full force and a fierce pain in my throat that took me three days to get rid of again. Grrrr. No worries, though. At the moment, considering I don’t have a job or anything (well, I am doing some serious writing at the moment, so that is debatable) I’m not doing my workout in one allotted time (seeing as it is a known fact that for a little while after your workout your immune system has a serious drop) but am stretching it out through the course of the day with five to ten minute exercising sessions. Annoying, for sure, but doable for the moment. Hah.

I have broadened my job search from night reception work at hotels, courier and facility management to--sit down, don’t get caught unawares—work as a jack of all trades in greenhouses. Saw an application for that recently, and thought, what the heck. I’d get to work with plants, be inside a relatively warm place most of the down, and get, according to statistics, decent pay. Now, I’m pretty sure that my resume (and lack of official qualifications) isn’t going to look very impressive to these people, but still, it’s worth a shot.

Been doing a lot of reading online lately, including on American politics. I have friends on either side of the fence, so it can’t really be helped, and considering that this is not a political blog, I am definitely not picking sides, but it is a big event in history, so it’s gotta be mentioned. Admittedly it is a fascinating thing to watch, really, hearing both sides hammering away at each other, guessing what is going to happen based on he said-she said kind of stuff. I can only think back of this blog back when the last president was picked. Basically everyone thought that finally all their troubles were going to be over and he was basically going to achieve world peace. Back then, I said it was going to be pretty tough for the guy to live up to that, and it was. With this future president, I can only say, he’s probably going to surprise people. Right now, there is such a low opinion of him that even if he manages to do one thing right, he’ll astound people, let alone if he does a couple of things moderately well.  Puts the last president at a bit of a disadvantage, but from what I understand of him, he rather likes martyrdom, so basically he got what he wanted.

As with all things, we’re going to have to wait and see what happens in the future.

The other thing I’ve been reading up on is 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd wave feminism (I know, how controversial am I today, right? I swear, I’ll keep it mild, and won’t do this a lot) and have come to the  conclusion that I am more of a 2^nd wave feminist. Serious, the 3^rd wavers are completely bonkers! The hate that is coming from them, the convoluted logic and full blown hatred toward men in general, it’s astounding…especially since these women, well, girls really are either my age, or younger than me, and have not faced the problems that 1^st and 2^nd wave feminists faced. In fact, the majority of these girls seem to have been coddled, helped at every turn, and now think that it is time to get back at the “oppressors” for the evil deeds perpetrated towards the generations preceding them.

Now, if these girls were living in Middle Eastern countries, Asia, Afrika or whatnot, I would understand, seriously, there is some evil shaite going on around the globe, but they’re not. These are girls and women in Western countries where they are protected, supported and helped by not only the law, but by the general public too. They have healthcare, the opportunity to educate themselves, work whichever job they wish to pursue, and basically live their lives the way they want, and yet they figure they have to fight the opposite sex and the establishment for rights that they already have. And all this while there are women in this world who are really bad of. I have to say that the stuff that I have seen online about these so-called feminists is nothing short of embarrassing (for me anyway), if not downright insulting toward women with real problems. Feminism has definitely gotten a bad name because of these entitled girls trying recapture the “magic” of brah-burning for a plain and simple game of “getting back at” and what can only be called an underhanded attempt at gaining power in the world over the back of men, but most especially other women.

Okay, enough silly things that thankfully don’t much affect my world at this juncture in my life, it might, at some point, but not yet. I’ve been having some seriously weird dreams lately. Several have been downright icky, in fact. Like the other day I was dreaming of this evil serial killer who used a metal garrote to literally saw the hands of a woman. He was starting on the second hand, lots of gore, lots of screaming going on, when I finally managed to wake up. I was seriously freaked out from that one, but will admit that this particular dream is going to do really well in a book at some point.

Luckily I had some nice dreams, too. One of them included grandpa still being around, which was rather nice.

So, there was a rather big storm in Spain, which had us worried about family, friends and pets for a while. Seriously, there was a red alert and everything. There were floods that caused two deaths, lots of properties destroyed, animals in distress, a tornado over sea, even, and gawd knows what else. Reassurances were a long time coming, but in the end everyone I knew reported back with an “okay” so that was a big relief. Jeez. The only plus that comes from this that the water reservoirs that have been close to empty for the past decade or so, have filled up to almost 40 percent for the first time in 20 years!

Writing wise I’ve been doing relatively well at the moment. I am doing an average of 2K-3K words a day, at least, so the book is steadily progressing. Yay! At the very least I am completely back IN the story, which certainly helps. Yay

On the cooking front I’ve been doing some experimenting lately. Made a rather interesting pumpkin pie the other day, also a lentil/beet salad that went well with the folks I made it for, but didn’t resonate well with yours truly. Hah.

Littlest brother’s visit has been rescheduled to this weekend. Something came up the last time, so that was a no-go. Considering big brother and I were still battling our colds back then, neither of us minded all that much.

So that about sums up this blog. I’m sure I’m forgetting important stuff, but that can’t be helped. I’ll be back.

Astounding

Song of the day: “In my secret life” by Katie Melua. It’s been going through my head several days now, luckily I like the song well enough, otherwise it would have driving me bonkers.

Another week gone, and we’re well into August. Before you know it we’ll be in autumn, rushing straight toward winter. Aaaaargh!...ehm, yeah, as you can see I’m not looking forward to that. Last year wasn’t all that bad seeing as we were gone most days anyway, but what with being out of work this time round, I’m anticipating claustrophobia. Grrrr.

But okay, not thinking about that yet. Summer is still here, autumn hasn’t even started yet, and winter is still nothing but the future. There’s still plenty of time for things to change, isn’t there? I mean seriously, a few years ago, when we were busily writing and editing, and restoring and building everything around the house, while at the same time rushing from here to there to take care of the old ladies, I wouldn’t have believed it if someone had said that things would turn out this way. I’m not kidding. In my mind things were completely unchangeable, probably set in stone until further notice, but there you have it. I’m not going to try to anticipate anything, I’m just going to wait and see where life takes us from here on…nothing else to do about it anyway, not yet.

So what’s been happening? Not a whole lot, although we have been busily editing a lot. It’s not going badly either, it is just that there are times when our focus is completely shot. No matter, we’re keeping at it regardless, and aren’t unhappy with where we are at the moment.

Been doing some work on my future sink. Should be doing more but we’ve had some pick up trips lately, which is taking more time than I like, and of course there were jobs to be done. Had to escort four dogs to the vet the other day (not ours, no worries). Neutering time, it had been a while in coming, but now the day was here. They behaved like troopers and seemed none the worse for wear afterward, thankfully.

Also had a cleaning up/maintenance job. Which meant working on sun-exposed terraces for four hours, sweeping them clean, hosing them down and reorganizing furniture. There was a gentle breeze that made it bearable, but it also tricked me into thinking that I wasn’t dehydrating. I was basically in the zone when suddenly I realized that I was seeing black spots in my vision. A glance at my watch told me that I’d been at it for two hours without a break, and that I really should get some water into my system; temps were hitting 100 degrees after all. Drank four huge glasses of water (was sooooo thirsty) in one go, and didn’t even have to pee afterward, hah. (I know, TMI, right?) Strange how that works.
Anyway, after that I paid better attention and drank regularly, so I was none the worse for wear…except for being sore as heck the next morning because of using the broom and mop for about 2700 square feet.
Not glamorous, I know, but it pays the bills, right?

Had a couple of turns preparing the dog food at home. That was sure nice. It’s been ages since we had time for that, and since grandpa deserved a break in that regard, I was happy to do it. Nothing like standing in the shade up in the old horse paddock, dogs around my feet trying to steal bread and veggies, chopping away with a small hand ax until it’s all done.

No big cooking events this week, though I did make a rather nice batch of chickpea patty dough. Ate them for several days. As bread replacements for breakfast and as supper with chili. Also as the meat replacement on a burger bun, and so on, until we finished the whole batch and were thrown back into less nutritious meals, like a load of pasta fungi. Hah.

As to the party plans…not a lot of changes there. I do now have a semi-confirmed guest list of 13 people, so it should get interesting. There will probably be kids there, though, so that means we’re going to have to keep the majority of the dogs separated at the very least.

I have a date with a couple of “girls” my age to go hiking next week. We’re going to meet up at a nearby parking spot, take the Land Rover into the country toward a spring and then walk along the river (if it is there during this drought) for an hour or two. Should be fun. An all-girls outing. Never did that before, so we’ll see how it goes…will be going armed, though. It’s a hunting area, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and some nitwit might think that three women are easy pickings, so it is better to be safe than sorry…thinking about that, I think I’m going to take Knight along after all. Will be good for him, and he’ll be the best deterrent for trouble. Hah.
Now I still have to think about what I’m going to make for lunch. Seeing as after the walk we’re planning on taking a dip, and have a snack. Both of them are on a gluten free diet so I might have to resort to my patties with fresh veggies on it…yeah, I think I like that.

Did have a few more nice workouts, along with a jog, but not for the past couple of days, much to my regret. The schedule was just too busy.

So, who’s worried about everything going on in the world? I mean, who is not seeing the comparisons to the Second World War when it concerns anti-Semitism? It’s scary, really. You see terroristic acts from certain parties all over the world, and yet you have the world tripping over the fact that Israel is protecting its people and borders…and all because supposedly the country belongs to the terrorists. What? Folks hate Christianity so much that they’ve forgotten the bible saying that some odd 5000 years ago it was already of the Jewish people? Just because it was conquered after that (mostly through slaughter) doesn’t change that fact. They got it back fair and square, by buying land and then reclaiming their heritage from the Brits. Basically they conquered their country back, and now everyone is complaining. Just because this only happened less than a century ago doesn’t make their claim less valid than those who conquered it 5000 years ago.
Also, folks are saying that both parties should just live together in peace, but all I hear from the non-Israeli side is that they don’t want to live with the Jews, they want their land back, and drive all the “filthy” Jews into the sea, annihilate them, erase them from the face of the earth, as claimed by various parties on the radio, TV and whichever social media you want to visit, which is apparently cheered for by the majority…I don’t see much compromise there. Added to that, it makes me wonder why no one is taking those statements/threats seriously, because the Western world must think that these claims are just hot air, or else why would they keep insisting that the Israeli people roll over and play nice? Would you try to have tea with the attacker bombing your house and threatening to slaughter your family?
I mean, let’s look at it differently. Russia won’t just be allowed by the UN to reclaim Ukraine without a fight.
If Mexico would claim parts of the US and started bombing cities, no one would look funny at America for defending itself.
If Germany declared that the Netherlands really is theirs because it was German territory way back when, everyone would tell them to F off.
How come this is looked at differently?

All this measuring with different measuring tapes is driving me bonkers sometimes, not to mention the illogic of it. I mean, if you pay attention to how the news from the Middle East is brought, you will start to notice that about 70 percent is pro terrorists…as in, “those poor backward people are just misguided. They don’t know any better. We should just give them a little more time to become more civilized, to educate them, and just sacrifice some folks for the “cause”. Insane!
This ostrich behavior astounds me at times, not to mention frightens me…especially when I hear left-wing feminists picking sides.
Do these “righteous” women not realize that women in general will be pretty much screwed if the scales of power shift toward to a culture that has not yet gone through the battle of female emancipation? At least not in the way that there is even a semblance of equality.
Astounding, that is all I can say about it, really…

But sorry, I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent on world politics there, but sometimes you just can’t help but notice such things. I’ll shut up now.

Went grocery shopping yesterday, which went well. Got almost everything on the list and kept the bill well under 100 for the next two to three weeks worth of food, yay. Do need to get some wine still, and fruit juice, but that shouldn’t kill the budget.

As to the doggies…well, no change with Knight. Kollosus (German shepherd) is in heat, meaning that Arthur (Brittany) is mightily interested and doesn’t give a fig when Knight glares at him. Hah. On the other hand the whole lot is rather happy that we’re home a little more. They’re just making a wonderful nuisance of themselves getting in the way whenever they can.

Well, my mind has been blanking out again as to the events of the past week, so I’m going to leave it at this.
Gotta go.

Writing, writing and some other stuff

Song of the day: “If I die young” by the Band Perry. It was about time that this one returned. I do enjoy it much. Hah.

I’m running way behind again, darn it, partly because most of my afternoons are now filled with writing, and, well, there’s other stuff that needs to be done as well, making me late for little things like writing the blog. So sorry. Let’s see if I can write this fast without skimming the details and still giving you a taste of my tiny little world.

Yesterday…well, it started just as usual, with me running late and going through the laundry and heading on up to start on feeding the dogs. Then, due to a rather heated discussion about politics (I know, I should just talk about what we talked about, but I have found that readers and politics don’t go together all that well. Maybe politics is just something too private. Could that be it, I wonder? I mean seriously, good friendships get wrecked over different view points on politics for crying out loud.) *sigh* So no, I’m not going blab about my views…at least not too much. I do have to say that I don’t get the whole Greece problem. Folks are complaining over there while they’ve been bailed out several times already, and are saying that they refuse to bow to austerity. It makes me wonder about where they think money comes from. I am a firm believer in the concept that one cannot spend what is not there, and though it would be nice if someone can wave a magic little wand and solve it all, the only way things will turn around if folks start thinking logically. Something has got to go. If the spending is higher than the income something is seriously wrong and yer doin’ somethin’ wrong. If ya get my meaning. Personally I would do something incredibly drastic if “my country” was in such debt. I’d probably do a press conference, show the proverbial empty coffer and say: “Folks, we’re broke. Either we continue borrowing until no one will borrow us anything anymore and we’ll leave our offspring as proverbial slaves to our debtors, or we stop all government expenditures for a solid six months. That means, no streetlights at night, no more road repairs unless people start falling into bottomless pits, no more new parks, no social security unless you’re dropping dead, and no more aid than a soup kitchen in the poor areas. No new art supplies, fancy government buildings, uniforms and gawd knows what else. Except for the bare essentials, from six months up to a year, nothing, nada, zilch.”
I know, very unrealistic, but seriously, what are the other options. I know that if my funds were in such a bad way (and believe me they were some odd five years ago) I would start some drastic cutbacks. I don’t think folks realize how little you really need to be happy anyway if stuff gets bad. I think that some of ‘m would even be pleasantly surprised about themselves afterward. I know I was.

But anyway, enough about that sort of thing. I guess it all started playing in my head while I was doing research about riots in the eighties (for my book) and read about the big riots in Argentina. It was basically the same and things got really ugly before it got better. I do know, if Spain is going in that direction, I won’t be leaving the property for a solid month as I wait the mess out. Jeez. Nothing is quite as dangerous as an angry mob. Makes ya remember that we’re not that evolved after all.

Right. There I go again. Most of yesterday afternoon (and today for that matter) was spent sitting comfortably in the shade as I wrote, wrote, and wrote some more on the new book. Got the thing up to 14 pages now and I gotta admit that I’m starting to get “into” it, if you get my meaning. Hah. Seriously, I’m smiling again during the day, and that wasn’t the case while we were hacking our way through the details of the thriller. Guess I really am too much of a romance girl to invest myself into something that would be little more than a challenge in regards to writing it. This (paranormal romance) I can get excited about. I can reach down into the bottom of my soul and do horrible things to my character that will make a reader want to weep with sorrow and wonder, “Oh. My. Gawd. How will this ever be okay again?” (I’m totally going for tear jerker this time. Hah) Don’t worry. It will be. It is romance after all. Yay!

So what else beside writing and doing Spanish. Well, there was the yard, of course. Harvesting, watering, weeding. Doing that late in the afternoons now, by the way. What with four to five hours of writing during the day, those few precious hours in the yard are during the most pleasant moments of the day, when the sun is low, the light golden and the temperatures going down. I love it.

That done, there was of course dog food to cut, and cook (today cousin Ed did the honors because big brother and I had to go out for a small donation of market items) and basically doing all those little things that we’re not getting done in time due to the writing. *sigh* Always sacrifices to be made, right?

There was cooking to be done, naturally. Yesterday part leftovers with fresh white cabbage, baked on the side, and today zucchini veggie mix on the side of baked potatoes. It was wonderful, I assure you.

I am not happy with Labhana at the moment, by the way. She is losing her hair, and her melancholy appears to be worse than usual. If she doesn’t do a turnabout, I’m going to have to take her to the vet. I am starting to recognize the symptoms of the Sandfly, and that would be a genuine biatch. Gawd, I hope that she will somehow figure out to not let her immune system try to handle it. Ah well, we’ll have to wait and see, if it gets worse, I’ll got to the vet for the test, but in the mean time I think I’m going to try the same potion as I used for Gada.

Yesterday evening we did manage a nice jog, Yay! Went a lot better than the last time. Seriously, at a certain point I was jogging, and decided, hey, I’ve got enough breath, I’m going to go a bit faster, and then again, a bit faster, and then I was running flat out feeling for just a moment as if I was actually athletic. Hah. But anyway, the jog went well, and I was pleasantly bushed by the time we got home and settled behind the computers for another short session.

And, well, that winds up the day for me, I am going to try to go to bed in time today, because, seriously, I am definitely not getting enough sleep of late. *sigh*
I’m outta here.

Hauling butt

Song of the day: “A little time” by the Beautiful South. Such a funny song, and an even funnier video. You should check it out if you ever get the chance.

Well, it’s been a rather heavy day for me, seeing as we (four pairs of hands and feet,. Ox came over to help out today. Good thing too, since it was quite a task) hauled 3 tons of clay down the mountain, through the courtyard and down the newly dug path under the wall that led to the new terrace we’re building in front of the house. (remember that wall we were working on this spring. There.)

Digging that thing was (thankfully) easier than anticipated. It took about half an hour to dig through rock, vines and dirt, place some building boards over the gaps, and voila, let the hauling commence…and it did. Time and again we went up the mountain with wheelbarrows. Heavy stuff, clay, despite the fact that it was rather dry by now. Still, we managed to get it all down within three hours, and it was exactly enough. I made pictures, but will have to add them to the string I will post some day of the wall. Sorry.

It was a little tricky, the hauling, by the way, seeing as Knight II and little brother’s dogs don’t go well together, and I had to go through the courtyard every time. We had two almost collisions with Knight II in the lower yard. Then after I decided to lock him in the empty pool, I almost got a heart attack when he got overly excited and hung from over the wall, almost falling a solid six feet down. Yikes. I ended up locking him in my cabin, which was fine with him, lazy idiot. Seriously, every time I passed, he’d be snoozing in his chair, his chin on the windowsill and his eyes closed in near ecstasy.

But anyway, as for the weather, it couldn’t have been much better than today. The sun was bright and warm, meaning I could wear a sleeveless, and the wind was cool. Tenant really enjoys that too, and the beginning of the day she sat up the mountain where we loaded up clay, and later down by the basin where we had supper together.
In one word: wonderful.

I was pretty much running on fumes by the end, but luckily by then it was time to start on supper, which I made with the help of tenant. We all stuffed our tired faces with beets and rice, over watering plants, yanking weeds and checking for bugs…which was wonderfully relaxing after that clay hauling, I tell ya.

Yesterday was mostly about hauling as well, seeing as Dani and I spent the majority of the day sorting through the tile supplies. There is a big selection of tiles going, in particular for grandpa’s kitchen. I wish the choices were less limited, though, seeing as it’s a big stretch of floor (about 24 square feet, or something). I’m just not happy with the color scheme yet. But anyway, working on the tiles took most of the afternoon, which of course followed a session in the greenhouse and the yard.

Ended up sorting through, and hauling a few hundred tiles to the other side of the old paddock. What with the embarrassing mess up there during the fire, cleaning that corner up has become a priority of sorts. We had planned to work on that again today, but seeing as we might get some rain in the weekend, grandpa thought it a better idea to do the clay before it got wet. That would have made it twice as heavy for sure. I for one am glad that we got this done. One more task before winter seen to, is always good.

I’ve gotta admit that this country living is agreeing with me. You start the year preparing for spring, then during spring you plant everything so you have stuff to eat and can in the summer, and then at the end of summer you start preparing everything for winter. It’s all rather satisfying to say the least.

Oh right, Qaddafi died today. I know that a lot of folks are happy to see him go, but I gotta say that I am ambivalent about the entire thing. Not that I’m sorry to see the guy go, but don’t care much for such public pound/drag fests. I mean, if they’d have him kneel in the middle of a square and put a gun to his head, or something, I would have gotten it. Heck, even a public hanging, or a firing squat, or someone just being fed up with him and dealing with him for once and for all. No prob! But a mass killing, people shouting in glee, shooting guns, kicking, hitting, and dragging. I saw way too much pleasure in all that exuberance in the little video, regardless of the crap the guy pulled in his lifetime. I thought humanity was supposed to have grown more civilized than back in the day when a person could get pounded to death by the masses…oh wait, maybe it’ll become a fashion trend again.

In Qaddafi’s case I’m mostly wondering if it will not be a case of “better the devil you know” in the end. I mean, really, who knows what the guy who takes his place will be like.

You sure see emotions flare up mightily for just about anything these days, and we all know that people cannot be held responsible for their actions when they’re emotional, right?
*sigh*

Better not get started on emotions flaring high. What with all the protests going on in the world, I find myself gnashing my teeth these days. I mean seriously, where do the people get the time and money to protest so much, social security maybe? (where do they think they get it from? The government they despise. Who in turn get it from hard working taxpayers…who get their money from their employers and the banks. Talking about the hand that feeds you.) I sure wouldn’t have the time and money for such folly. I’m trying to survive here, thank you very much.

Okay, that’s my rant for the day. Sorry to kinda political on y’all there (I always try not to), but I was about to burst from restraining myself. Hah.
Well, I’ve got another edit to do (yesterday’s went reassuringly well, if you must know) so I better leave it at this.

Stuff and a bit of a rant. Sorry.

Song of the day: “Did it again” by Shakira. I think it was due to a conversation I had with someone about this particular artist that brings her more prominently to mind, because the song has been invariably going through my mind these past few days.

Okay, first thing’s first. I’ve got a semi-set appointment on Monday morning (I still have to call ahead to confirm that the person I have the appointment with will be there) for signing an advertising contract. Yay. I think.
Last night, I send out two requested emails, for two companies, one in insurance and the other in linen (weird contrasts, huh) that asked me to send them the pricing ASAP.

Got that done in about fifteen minutes, and I’ve gotta tell you, compared to sending something to a publisher, which takes me about four weeks to prepare, this was relatively easy to do. Just facts, a friendly tone, and voila, all done.
It is much easier to keep a professional distance when it is not your own product you’re selling, I’m thinking. So I am definitely going to see this whole thing as practise. I will need that same attachment in my work as an author, won’t I?

Yesterday, prior to the sending of packages, it was of course grocery shopping day: though I am tempted to regale you with the particulars, I am endeavouring not to bore you to tears with this particular blog. I did add a pair of boots to my wardrobe yesterday, figuring that some neat shoes for work wouldn’t be a bad idea.

I made some business calls, while mom and the sibs were inside the specialty store, (gawd that sounds so weird, business calls. *snort*) and on the overall just went through the motions until, all of a sudden, seven hours later we were done with the groceries.

My foot, though bothersome, wasn’t too bad yesterday either, which was some relief since I had been looking up against the chore considerably. All else went as usual, with us staying within budget, yay.

Other than that there were chores, of course. Laundry aplenty. I don’t know why but there just never seems to be an end to that. Hah. A bit of a harvest, in particular peppers, which are still doing rather well. Unloading and cleaning the car. I headed into the yard to gather herbs for a new coughing syrup. Tenant’s throat’s been playing up, so a good syrup was definitely required. Lots of thyme, rosemary, a bit of basil, peppermint, and a variety of others. Added to that there was the garlic, pepper and ginger, making a rather pungent mix once I added miel the caña and put it on a small fire. Once I got home I mixed it up with brandy and lemon juice, finishing it all up.

Dogs needed to be petted, naturally. Poor darlings are getting way too little attention these days, and then I’m not even mentioning my cabin yet. This very morning I spent almost two hours cleaning up there, and I can honestly say that I have at least scratched the surface. Phew. Shelves are clean again, thank you very much, and so are the floors, yay.

While I was making her lunch, tenant walked back and forth through her cabin, on her own, this morning, which was like, totally awesome, hah. She barely even noticed it herself, so we were both a bit awed at the end.

If I can manage it, I am going to try to do some kick boxing tonight. It really is time for it, even though time seems to be so short these days.

Oh, and I wanted to say something about some sort of fuss going on, over in the states where a political news analyst supposedly did an incredible faux pas.
How is what he said any different from me saying:
“I get uncomfortable, nervous sitting beside an overly friendly Jehovah’s witness in a plane…”
“I get uncomfortable, nervous sitting beside an orthodox Jew minding his own business in a train…”
“I get uncomfortable, nervous standing amidst cheering football supporters in a stadium…”
“I get uncomfortable, nervous walking up to a white supremist, wearing his hood, and say hi…”
“I get uncomfortable, nervous at a traditional Catholic wedding…”
“I get uncomfortable as heck, not to mention friggin nervous in a bus filled with only men.” Does that mean I consider these folks bad in general, Does that mean that I think all men are bad? Does that insult their delicate constitution in such a fashion that they’d throw a hissy fit?
It would be just my personal opinion, wouldn’t it, not a new political statement that says: “woman of the world unite against those dirty men and let’s ritually hang them in the town square,” does it? *sigh*
No it doesn’t. It is just a natural response to stuff that HAS happened in the past and for some reason lingers in your mind, whether you want it to or not. I can tell myself that “those men won’t harm me…probably”. And I can tell myself to “buck up and just cheer along with the supporters, they’re just folks…probably” but it won’t change anything, will it? The feelings will stay even if my intellect denies it, or the rules forbid it.

Let’s face it: If I, an immigrant, would live in the States (cross my fingers and hope to die, or something along those lines, hah) and the locals would eyeball me, because inevitably I just look different, I would be allowed to say that “those locals make me feel uncomfortable” wouldn’t I? I would not be insulting the entire population of the country with my statement, seeing as most people would just dismiss it as a personal opinion that has nothing to do with them personally…as would be the case, for as far as I’m concerned. I don’t take it personal if anyone calls “us Europeans” bonkers. Heck, let’s face it, on the most part we are.

I know, these are a bit weird examples, but seriously, if you’re no longer able to say that you get nervous or uncomfortable by certain people or situations, then something is really off.
With everything you’re supposed to express your emotions and feelings, (to the point of annoyance, what with folks getting sent to therapists for sulking, or something) and now, all of a sudden, when it is supposedly wrong to express a particular feeling that you really can’t help yourself from having (‘cause let’s face it, who WANTS to feel that way around anyone), you get slapped in the face.
Why is it wrong? Because it was the guy’s opinion in his free time, not at the job? Sometimes I do think that the world is going a little over the top with all their rules, and cans and cannot dos, but what the hey, that’s just me.

Luckily, for now, I am still in my own little world, where, on the overall I am left alone by such silly antics. Hah. Oh wait, I wrote five pages last night, yay! Gotta go.

Strange dream and some rambling.

A strange dream flashed past this night. I remember running over rooftops during the night. Corrugated aluminum surfaces thundering under my feet, I leap, miss and slide down the sharp incline only to manage to catch myself just barely before the end of canted surface.
Breathing hard I lay there on the edge, staring at the starlit sky, wondering how the heck I’m going to get off the roof when a strange sound from my right startles me. I turn my head and see this woman, dressed in what appears to be a joker outfit. She is climbing some sort of street lantern, which starts to bend like a reed until she’s hanging right beside me, upside down. She’s laughing like a lunatic and I’m just grimacing as I look from her, down to the ground that’s at least nine feet below me.
Now, I don’t know what the heck that means, but it sure was weird. Hah.

I’m a little late this morning, for some reason I set the alarm wrong last night, but since today is not an exercise day anyway, and I was dreadfully late getting to sleep it really doesn’t matter. I hurry through the morning rituals, getting some reading done and then head to the house so I can feed Yadzia his breakfast, and give him his pain medicine.

That done, I have my own and watch the coffee percolate distractedly, needing my caffeine boost pretty bad, since I can’t stop yawning. Talk between big brother and grandpa becomes more animated with every second. Today’s subject appears to be Socialism and the way it is rapidly taking over the world.

Strange how this particular movement is gaining ground when it is basically communism wrapped in a new word. Everyone seems to forget that the worst dictators through history come from extreme left. Napoleon was for the people, Saddam, Castro and then I’m not even mentioning the disaster of communism in China and the former USSR. Heck, I believe even Hitler started out in a labor party.
Gawd, all those folks started out with the promise of a better world for all and look where it led. Eeewwww.

It proclaims caring for all, along with equality that will allow everyone, whether they work hard or not, to live in the same amount of comfort, meaning that those who work their butts off are working solely to provide for those who don’t. Talk about misguided and sneaky. Taking away wealth from the “evil” capitalists to give it to the people and then it turns out that “the people” really just means those at the top of the power chain. Smart on their part, I have to admit.

Sure, for those who don’t like to work hard it is certainly the answer since they’ll get their money no matter what, but for those who work hard to provide for their families, it is promising to be hell on earth. I mean, a social safety net is all nice and fine, but you can overdo it. There are lots of people out there who would much rather sit on their butts and get that monthly check in without effort on their part.

As is usually the case with socialism and communism, taxes for the rich (or richer) will go up, making working hard a rather useless endeavor, since you’re loosing too much of it to taxes demanded from you to support those who can’t…or won’t. For those who can’t it’s perfect, for those who won’t, well, it’ll just breed laziness, doesn’t it?
I mean, seriously, why make a million dollars through hard work when half of that will go to taxes? Might as well work less, make less and loose less when it’s all said and done.

If the upcoming trend continues to grow with present speed, I see a world rapidly degrading because there are not all that many people willing to work hard without some form of compensation. Besides, taking money from the rich (the way CNN so grandly compared it with Robin Hood the other day…idiots) and using it for present needs rather than investing it in endurable companies that’ll provide work and products for the future, is like pissing it all away. Sure, everyone will have their cake right now, but once you’ve drained the so-called rich, what then?

But enough of the ramble, such thoughts tumble through my mind at random, and I dismiss them so I can set up my computer and get to work.
It doesn’t go well today, I fear. I sit behind the monitor for hours and only manage a page or three without ever getting into the flow I so desperately need.

By the time five in the evening arrives, I give up and head for the kitchen to start on the pizzas I promised to make from what is left of our supplies.
While I start on the dough, little sister arrives and begins cutting the veggies and cheese while I pound and shape the dough until it is ready to be rolled out into the square oven dishes until we’ve got two yards of pizza crust to shove into the oven.

Pre-baking the dough, little brother mixes up a sauce, so little sister and I can start to cover the pies less than ten minutes after they were first shoved into the heat. Sauce, cheese, corn, mushrooms, onions, peas, peppers green beans and more cheese, finished off by spices and herbs before one by one they are returned to the oven and bake until a golden crust forms.

An undeniable success tonight that’s a fact. Six feet of dinner rapidly dwindles down to three. The leftovers are bound to feed us through the next couple of days. No more cooking for me in the near future, hah. This is a good thing, since today’s little exploit took almost two hours…but it was worth it, every delicious bite was.

That done there are some chores to go through, and once I get those done I settle down to watch “Medium”. It has been quite a while since we last saw the final episode of the season, but the new episode certainly offers it’s usual entertainment as the evening rapidly advances and leaves us with “Supernatural” as I get on my computer to do some more work.

This time behind the computer doesn’t go well either, but at least I get some done, if nothing other than editing. Afterwards I do some studying, too. No way around it, really. What has to be done has to be done, nonetheless. I do feel a tad stressed about going for exams again in two days.

Fortuyn has some minor blisters on his skin from yesterday’s accident with the deodorant and gas stoves, and though he is moving about tentatively, he doesn’t seem too badly impaired. He’s probably going to need some ointment to make him a little more comfortable, though.

But anyways…Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day. Lessons, groceries and more groceries, just like every two weeks. I get exhausted even thinking about it…so I won’t, until it actually becomes necessary. Hah.

Oh yes, last night I posted my review for Bitter Moon I: Triane’s Son Rising, by Amy Lane on Amazon. Very nice reading, I’m definitely curious how part two will compare, and if the author likes the review, naturally.
I do have to say that writing a review and an honest one at that isn’t all that easy. It takes time and effort to actually describe a story and the impressions it gives without writing down spoilers. It is an interesting concept, though, and considering that I still need to do several others in the near future that is a good thing.

So tonight I will probably start on a new book to review. Wonder what kind of thoughts this one is going to provoke.

Boring day, so here's a little ramble.

I’m actually not in the mood to write today, but I know that if I start to lapse in the routine I’m so going to sleaze my way out on posting at all, so I should really just rattle something down for routine’s sake.

But what to talk about? Today was really such a boring day that writing it down seems somewhat redundant.

I mean, seriously; I wake up to a semi-sunny morning, the dogs make a racket as usual and I make my way down to the house after some reading and the morning rituals.

There’s laundry, feeding Yadzia, doing some Internet stuff, study for the exams (oh Gawd that’s so darn boring) and cooking dinner.

This was a successful endeavor by the way. Fried rice with chopped peanuts, onion, garlic, curry herbs and coconut shavings, oh my. I love it! Even the canned green beans on the side, baked in curcuma and cilantro and more of the coconut shavings were good, which is a miracle considering that fresh or frozen they’re much better.

Oh, and I trimmed mom’s hair. How’s that for excitement. Perhaps I should describe the cut and make up an individual little story for every hair that was cut. Hah.

But seriously, I didn’t have any inspiration for writing today and that always depresses and frustrates me. What with the distractions of late it isn’t really a surprise, but still, it’s annoying.
It will come back once we get into the swing of our old schedule again, I’m sure, but until then I’ll just have to live with the disappointment.

So what else is there to talk about? Not much that’s a fact.
Maybe something in the news. Oh yeah, I heard a most astounding bit of news about the Nobel prizes.
Apparently Obama has been nominated for one, and in all honesty this baffles me a little…okay, a lot…if it’s true, which I find I hard to believe.

I mean, the man has grand plans (that seem to be rather unrealistic in the long run on the most part, but what the hey) and everything, but why a Nobel prize? What’s it for? What’s he done? And in case this is a pre-doing prize, what can he realistically do in a world that works globally more than anything?

He’s been in office for what now? A month…two? I can’t figure out what he has done except being elected president of the States? Is that the grand achievement that earns such a heralded nomination?
Never saw someone else get one for that reason.
And it’s not like everyone already knew him before that, and that he’s known for actual achievements that were groundbreaking.

I don’t remember him being incarcerated for fighting against unjust acts all over the world, or making grand sacrifices to achieve peace. He was a lawyer for God’s sake.
Did he create a miracle cure? Fight genocide in third world countries? Fight apartheid? Create peace between two brutally battling countries? Or anything that would warrant such a nomination? I think not.

It all comes across as giving an Oscar to a new upcoming actor before the movie is made, doesn’t it?
It just seems a little off to me, all things considered, and it also is a little insulting to those who have fought their entire lives and suffered greatly for what they thought was right.

It diminishes the bravery of many before him, sorta like saying; hey, you don’t have to hit the streets and do good deeds, and get your butt kicked for it. You can also just sit in a plush office and “talk” about all you want to achieve…but maybe that’s just me, I don’t know.

Okay, my little ramble is over now, and I really don’t know what else to write about, so I’ll leave it like this and hope that tomorrow is a better day for a Blog.

Thoughts. What else?

The day started bright and shiny, the sun having chased away the seemingly perpetual clouds that have hung over our mountain for the past week, and giving a vibrant glitter to everything around me when I wake up and let the dogs out.

They are exulting from the sudden change in weather, and for a while Chaos, the Basset, actually settles in a warm patch on my porch, enjoying the downpour of light.
The other dogs rough house about a bit, with Bommel my senior Bobtail watching lazily from the open door until I am finally ready to go down to the main house.

Though I am still somewhat tired, the complete exhaustion of yesterday has disappeared, leaving me actually cheered with the thought of my upcoming exercise for today. My muscles feel sore from the day before yesterday, but warming up I can feel the blood starting to pump through my veins, easing most of the tension that has settled in after the last time.

My usual selection of music gets turned up. The latest Enrique tunes do marvelous for a proper rhythm to bounce around on and pounce the boxing bag.
Forty minutes later, two-hundred, forty kicks, endless slides followed by crunches and push-ups ready done, I'm sweating like mad and hurry towards the shower to warm my skin and wash off the day's perspiration.

What follows is taking down and hanging an enormous amount of laundry, which has piled up during the past few days of incessant rain. It's a pleasant day for laundry, though. The sun shining through the openings of the courtyard roof and a gentle breeze playing with the few remaining leaves that still crown the battered trees all around. The fresh scent of clean nature is invigorating

I feel inspired when big brother comes down and decides to start working on my Sci-Fi Fantasy "Escape" with more enthusiasm than I'd anticipated. He's actually so pleased with the story that I decide to continue working on the sequel of this alien species fighting for survival in the wide galaxy, rather than pour myself into more editing, as was planned.

I manage a wonderful total of four pages in just a few hours, giving me a certain sense of accomplishment, the way successful writing always does. But enough about my day, more important things have occurred on this early October date, and for a moment I want to ponder it and see where my thoughts will lead me.

Apparently it was a historical day today. The first black (well, half black anyways) president in the United States was elected and from what I understand the world cheers.
I don't really understand the fuss, in all honesty. He is human, nonetheless, and to be so exultant about the matter just because of the color of his skin seems to be somewhat... hypocritical, is the word I'm looking for, I think, when it really comes across as yet another form of discrimination, neatly wrapped in the beautiful blanket of "look how civilized Western society has become. We even have a black (half) president now."

The man could have had a purple skin for all I'm concerned if I could somehow make myself believe that he could actually go beyond human nature. Since this is unlikely, if not impossible, things will pretty much continue the way they are, if for no other reason than that human nature will always win.

But anyways, if I were to believe the news reports, the headlines and the rather exultant exclamations all over the Net, TV and whatnot, I would think that the new Messiah had arrived. And that now, that this young man, this politician, is Finally going to SAVE the world from Armageddon... or something like that.

For a moment there, while watching the cheer going on, I had to go check outside if the animals of myths and legends had sprung forth and were now roaming around creating a utopia of a world for us all.
I came back sorely disappointed. Everything looked exactly the same as it had in the days weeks and months that preceded this "glorious" day.

Whatever happened to the general belief that politicians lie, cheat and pretty much sell their souls to get elected? From what I have seen over the years in movies, media reports and the likes, politicians always rate somewhere deep down the "admirable" ladder, right alongside lawyers and car salesmen.

I've followed the entire hoopla somewhat over the months that have passed, and to actually live up to the promises made is pretty much impossible... if not unrealistic. Even if everyone gave up all of their hard earned money to taxes, in time things would be just as miserable, if not more so, in short time.

A recent study in Germany has shown that if all citizens of the world, or even the majority of it, live in relative comfort, with a quality that the average hard working citizen is used to, an entire different planet would be necessary just to be able to supply all that is needed for such a feat. Since this is highly unlikely to occur in our lifetime, and even that of our children and children's children, it is a goal that is pretty much unattainable.

It worries me somewhat that in all the excitement going on -of a new government coming to the rescue by giving the people all they need whether they be rich or poor- everyone seems to forget that socialism and even liberalism (which advocate this noble cause) aren't as successful as the optimistic folks would like to believe.

Take China, the Soviet Union, Cuba and even Korea, their communism stems from the same ideal, and yet the majority of the people suffer constantly under the guidance of a wealthy elite, with no chance of ever achieving more than what they are allowed to do.
It is a beautiful thought, but in reality only the new elite actually benefit from such a government. It starts out marvelously, money pouring into places where admittedly it is very much needed, but at some point that particular resource of taking more from the rich and giving it to the poor, depletes that spring of a very convenient well.
Thus it has always been, and this time won't be any different, I fear.

I know, liberalism and socialism (even communism) are considered two different things entirely by most, but they're really not that far apart.

I come from a country that is often heralded for it's liberal and tolerant society, but with some dread I have been observing the ongoings over there, seeing a country that did so well at the start, struggle miserably as more and more of their own traditions, culture and way of life is being sacrificed in favor of tolerance towards those who want to change it to fit their own needs.

Though I am not at all conservative by nature, I do see the use of it at times.
Conservatives set borders and are willing to defend that border against all cost to preserve their identity against those who would see it destroyed.
Liberals, or socialists if you will, don't set ANY borders. Anyone and anything is free to do as they will because no one is willing to stand up for what they believe in any more.

Admittedly there are downsides to both extremes. Conservatives tend to be overzealous in their religions and traditions, while the socialists/liberals are vastly lacking in both, believing in very little except for tolerance and equality for all.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying that we are not equal, and should not be basically treated as such, but in "flatlining" everything and everyone under the "rule" of equality is killing that what would make people extraordinary.

It's something like the phrase "You're special, just like the rest of us". It takes something away from the specialness we all admired so much in the past, and that is a sad thing. In this day and age being an individual, extraordinary and "special" is just another way of equalizing everything into just ordinary, until in the end anything that does not fit into a particular box is eradicated.

But I drift off the issue. As I was saying; it scares me to see how much hope is being placed in just a single man who, even if he were Superman, could never live up to all the expectations that are put on him and those that are chosen to lead such a powerful country for next four years.

He brings hope, or so I've heard on numerous occasions. Which confuses me, since this is considered to be something marvelous.

I am well aware that hope is considered to be important and basically there to sustain us through difficult times, but hope -I often think- is a sneaky thing. Hope is an inanimate, a non-active, element that really doesn't do much of anything, except give the illusion that something might change in the future.
Hope does not make a person DO anything, since hope leaves it all up to fate and does not make anyone put in an effort, when effort and dedication is that which makes any of us achieve something.
Added to that, hope can be just as easily taken away as it is given, making it rather unreliable in my estimation.

For some reason change seems to have been a big part of the political agenda too, and I wonder about it. Change was what happened when 9/11 occurred, didn't it'. The war in Iraq was change, too. The melting poles, global warming, the latest fashion trend, all those events, occurrences and trends are a constant overflow of change that no one can stop of curb. They are a very basic cause and effect, making the world around us a badly balanced scale on any given day.

Change happens every single day, but it is either ignored, cheered or despised. In the end no one really appears to like change at all and what with this latest election, I fear that those who wanted it, are actually going to get it in spades.
The only question remains; will that change be welcomed, or hated by the time the elation has settled and reality starts to make its expensive demands once more.

Only time will tell, I guess. Perhaps this new president will be grand, and perhaps he'll be as ineffective as those who went before him. The demand for a new hope will most certainly be tested through the passing of time, as change is rolling across the globe even now.

Will hope really change the course that has been set?

Let's hope so.