hippiechic

I am an avid reader - and have done some serious making up for lost time in the past few months (read: no longer in school…). I have been a James Patterson fan for as long as I can remember - I started the Alex Cross series back in high school and have been addicted ever since. His newest
series is a teen series, but having loved his work for so long, the genre didn’t really bother me. Plus, even though he claims that there is no connection from his teen series to one of my favorite novels he wrote, the story was similar enough to have me intrigued. So I downloaded the first three (audio style) earlier this year and breezed right through them (they had been out for a while, as the fourth one was due out soon) - they were great. A little tough to get in to if you aren’t willing to “think” like a teenager - it is very much written as a first person perspective from a 14 year old, and that in itself is irritating at times…..but a good set of stories just the same. I just finished the fourth book this morning, and well, I am more disappointed than I probably should be! It was shorter than the other three, and just not as fun. Granted, I sort of felt at the end of the last one that “this is it - they have been fun, but without getting ridiculous it should probably be done”. But this lacked a lot of the sustenance that I have grown used to over the years, and even left it open for a book 5. The one part that really got me though - is that a good chunk of the book is all about how bad global warming is. I am not a staunch “for it” or “against it” person, but in all honesty, it seems like no matter where I am or what I am doing, I am being lectured about the “American lifestyle”. “If every household in America were to replace just one of their bulbs with the new eco-light bulbs, we could save XXXX energy every year” and on and on - I am sure you have been there too. Thing is - I don’t need the lecture again and again. We are very conscious people - we make our own laundry soap, dishwasher soap, shampoo…..and buy natural products when we can’t make them, and every one of our lights is eco-friendly. We turn off the lights when we leave a room, we keep our house cool but just above comfortable in the summer and just below comfortable in the winter…… I do what I can - and would take public transportation to and from work if it wouldn’t require a two hour commute each way - to go 12 miles! Anywho, I am sure that once #5 is out, I will be suckered in to that one as well, but I will not be waiting in anticipation - and will definitely wait until it is available for free!

TTFN,

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark
to read. ”

-Groucho Marx

As Platy so elegantly stated, we did indeed have some trouble with the company jet on our way to our destination. Nothing like hearing “We have shut down engine three and are landing a few hundred miles from our destination” to make you think - how many engines does it take to land this monster?! Anyway, they were kind enough to let us off of the plane while they attempted to figure things out, and yes, sitting in a tiny room on the floor is somehow more comfortable than hanging out on a jet!

The rest of the trip was no better, but at least it was to be expected……this type of trip, is the type that makes every one of us in this line of work wonder if this is truly what we want to continue doing. Then, the week of misery is done, and we all realize that a terrible week out of every few years shouldn’t affect what we feel about our every-day jobs.

I spent the week working in an area I have never worked before, and gained a respect for that section, while deciding that anyone who chooses that job is a total nut…..there is nothing fun about it, and they work harder than anyone else in these situations - while still proving that the chosen quote isn’t necessarily true. Some people complained the entire time, and others just pushed themselves to their limits and are now sitting like me wondering “how do you get a bruise there“?!

Anywho, I am home - trying to adjust to working days again, waiting for my body to no longer feel like an old lady’s and for the head to toe heat rash to stop making me want to rub my back against the door jam!

TTFN,

“Everybody loves some fun, back-breaking manual labor!”

-Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata, Animal Crossing: Wild World, 2005

So, last week, I spent an unscheduled 8 hours hanging out in the smallest terminal of the LaGuardia airport on my way home from a business trip, and though it was disappointing, I can honestly see this cluster of delays and sudden cancellations being the future of all air travel, so I was level-headed about it. Why do I bring this up? Because I am leaving again soon, and the Little One asked me tonight “Are you going to be late coming home again this time?”. It made me laugh at the time, but once I sat down and really thought about it, even though this trip is an all expense paid - company jet included type……yes, I could very well be late coming home this time, but instead of having a terminal to hang out in……well, it would be a much smaller place with nothing to do and no place to eat! So who knows?! You will. Once I get back. Have a great week - and Happy Father’s Day to all of the wonderful Fathers who are venturing through.

TTFN,

“”The saying “Getting there is half the fun” became obsolete with the advent of commercial airlines.”

Henry J. Tillman

So today’s is quote led… I am the type of person who loves to help others
whenever I can. Be it a quick favor at work, or an opportunity to travel
and really do some good, I am on board whenever I can make it happen. I
have done two such major trips in the past three years, and 1-2 smaller in
my own state…. Well, the quote made me laugh, because I am leaving for a
business trip on Monday, and even though it has been over a year since I
have been on any type of humanitarian trip (and almost a year since my last
business trip), Beautiful asked me “Are you going to save people again?”.
With a smile, I told her that, alas, I was going to a class and not to save
people. To which she quickly replied “Why don’t you help people anymore”?!
It made Platy and I laugh, and reminded me that everything I do affects her
view of so many aspects of the world.

TTFN,

“Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring and integrity,
they think of you.”

- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.