Something else I had started doing lately: rekindling old friendships. I’ve been getting in touch with people I used to be really close to, trying to get back in touch with those who meant a lot to me.
One whom I have not yet been able to locate is someone who has been one of my very best friends for 8 years: Reggie Swain. We were both programmers for MACESS. He was (and still is) the older brother I never had … and sometimes never wanted. *grin* He helped me when I needed it; always quick with big-brotherly advice or sympathetic ear, a shoulder to cry on, or a couch to crash on.
He left for Tennessee a long time ago. Having been laid off from his job, he had nothing to tie him here; so he packed up his belongings and moved up there to be with his chickie. I wished him all the happiness in the world, and still do. But I have no phone number for him, the email I had doesn’t seem to be working anymore (never has, really), and he’s never on IM. *sigh* How come in this digital age when there are so many ways to reach someone you can sometimes never REACH someone?
Anyways … Reggie, if by some miracle you see this: Give me a call, you fat bastard. I miss you. And I would love for you to meet my family.
I had been meaning to post this for the last 3-4 days, but have kept so busy that I am just now sitting down to write (or type, as it were) …
A few weeks ago, I decided to give my quack doctor the boot and find someone else. I was referred to an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) at BHS-Shelby. Dr. Halvorson certainly wasn’t what expected. First of all, I was nervous. I’ve never been fond of doctor’s offices, and the room to which I was led then left, was filled with all sorts of probes that looked … for lack of a better word, painful. A few minutes later, in walks this gigantic build of a man: bald, big, and wearing big black cowboy boots. *laughs*
Dr. Halvorson was very friendly, and made me feel at ease right away. I explained my symptoms and he diagnosed me with chronic sinusitis. However, to be on the safe side, I have to have a CT-Scan this week prior to my next appointment to check for infection, fluid/congestion, etc.
He prescribed me some medicine, and the difference has literally been night and day. I have felt better in the last 4 days than I have in the last 2 years! My head has been clear, I’ve stopped sneezing and coughing every 20 minutes. My seemingly-chronic heartburt has all but diminished (which he said it would).
I owe that man a big hug!
The only side effects I’ve suffered are slight headaches and dry mouth, but even those are very mild and are nothing compared to what I’ve been suffering through for the last 3-4 years. (Dr. Halvorson joked that I must have really been hurting to go see a doctor *grin*)
So needless to say, I have been in a super-giggly-gracious and just all-around good mood the last few days. In fact, I mega-cleaned my house this weekend. Poor Jessie, I put her little heiny to work. *laughs* We cleaned the kitchen top to bottom, and all of the dishes; I re-arranged all of the cabinets, the pantry, the refridgerator, and the freezer. I washed nearly every stitch of clothing, bed sheets, blankets, and pillows in the house. I vacuumed and shampoo’d the carpets, mopped the floors, and stopped myself just before cleaning the light fixtures. (I mean, really, let’s not go crazy!)
I doubled Jessie’s allowance for this weekend because she earned every penny, and we had a lot of fun doing it too. Poor little dear slept good this weekend too. *grin* I even made a huge breakfast yesterday too: fried hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, fried sausage, biscuits, toast … you name it, I could have cooked it.
I love to cook. I have a hard time keeping up with recipes though. I have them taped inside various cabinets and cookbooks all around my kitchen. The problem is that any new recipes are easily lost if they are not inside my cookbooks, so I decided to create my own cookbook — of my favorite “new” recipes, or those published after 1975. hehe, my ‘main’ cookbook is an old Betty Crocker series that I picked up at an antique store on the southside of Birmingham — it’s the exact copy of one that my mother has. Since I can’t copy her books, I bought my own copy of the complete set.
Anyways, the online database I created is for any “loose” recipes in case I lose the original paper on which they’re written. I’ll hopefully be adding to it in my spare time over the next few weeks.
It’s funny the daily rituals many women endure to make themselves more “beautiful” to the outside world. Why do we do this to ourselves? Several reasons really …
1.) Sex.
Plain and simple, we wouldn’t be caught dead outside the house without at least a slap of makeup or our hair fixed and/or appropriately shaped if we are trying to catch, impress, or otherwise cajole the opposite (or same) sex … not if we want to get some.
2.) Competition.
By nature, we females are very competitive when it comes to catching (or sometimes keeping) a mate. We often feel that we have to “out-look” any surrounding females — to appear to be the best “catch.”
(See also, #1)
3.) Neurosis.
That’s right, we’re neurotic. From early childhood, it has been bored into our little heads that we have to always look our best and wear the mask of outer beauty, grace, and charm. To always appear prim and proper, and fully prepared for anything. We are to appear confident, but not too bold or empowered.
But we rarely achieve that … why?
Think about it, we women power the cosmetic industry alone. Billions are spent every year on things that supposedly make our physical appearance “more beautiful” …
Example: I was shopping for the final touches to my Halloween costume this weekend, and was looking at nail polish on sale. I’ve always loved doing my own nails, and pride myself on the varied rainbow of colors, tones, and textures in my collection. (especially glittered ones, I love glitter! but it’s a bitch to remove and glitter polish removers are harsh on your nails … but I digress … )
I didn’t see anything that screamed “You *have* to have me!” until I read the name of one of the colors: Naughty. The color wasn’t anything I didn’t already have: a deep crimson, a staple in my virtual nail palette in fact; but upon reading the name, the inner teenager in me instantly jumped up and down franticly screaming “I want, I want, I want!”
Nothing makes a woman instantly feel the need to have something faster than a mere title that inspires feelings such as: empowerment, intrigue, or the air of sensuality. Naughty is just one of those words. I don’t care who you are, at one time or another every woman wants to feel naughty … whether she admits it or not.
By nature, we are sensual creatures. It is only natural that we would want to feel “wanted” by someone at one point or another. As would we desire to feel attractive to our mate, or potential mate(s).
I mean, really … would this nail polish make me any more attractive to Jim? No, but for a fraction of a second, I felt as if my psyche needed that nail polish as validation or accreditation.
So why do we let ourselves continually be exploited by the industry? And made to feel inferior? And be told how we’re supposed to look by someone who probably wouldn’t know a real woman if she came and slapped them across the face?
Because we’re neurotic, and we’re needy, and we’re human. And these traits are what makes us desirable.
My favorite pen is a silver ballpoint that Jessie gave me a couple of Christmas’s ago. She had bought it on her own (at school) with her own money and put it in a nice box that she had decorated. She was so proud of it. However, she couldn’t read as well then as she does now, and apparently never knew that the pen said “#1 Grandma” instead of “#1 Mom”. *LOL* I didn’t have the heart to tell her, and it’s the thought that counts.
