Technical Issues

Last night, a breaker popped at our house, and we could not get it to flip back on. So our garage door won't open, trapping my car. Frustrating, but managable - Mom drove to work today.

Then we got to work today, and our water pressure is, basically, off. As long as water will still flow (aka toilets CAN flush), then there is no legal issue, but if your toilets can't flush, health code dictates you HAVE to leave. So far, I don't know what is going on, having not yet visited the bathroom.

On top of that, most people are having serious issues with their computers. Mine is working as smoothly as normal, so far (knock on wood), so at least I have something to do while I wait for the go-ahead to leave.

Oy.

Farmers Market

This Saturday I'm heading to a local farmers market, and I'm pretty pumped about it. Who knows what I will find - and what I'll be able to afford - but I can't wait to find out. I'm hoping to be able to plan a weekly menu from what I find, but that will reuire a) veggie focused meals, and b) food-planning on the fly. Not really sure how either of those will turn out, btu I'm optimistic.

Twit

So I have finally admitted defeat. I have joined Twitter. I had never even been to the site before today, because in my mind, it was basically a bunch of Facebook status updates. Seeing as I'm already on Facebook, it made no sense to double up.

I finally joined because, while I stand by my original analysis, I now get status updates from celebrities. That sounds so shallow and star-gazer-y, but it is fun to know what is on Nathan Fillion's mind (he recently saw Tucker and Dale Vs Evil, and loved it, for example).

I will follow some friends as I find them, but my main goal is to hear updates from performers (and the like) that I enjoy. I feel quite certain it is a waste of my time, but what else is new about the internet?

Not a Coincidence

My father was involved in an on-the-job accident in September that left him unable to do his job (or comfortably count to ten on his fingers). He was on workman's comp until the very beginning of January. When he tried to go back t work, he was told his job was no longer there.

Now, before you get all huffy (like I did), he wasn't fired. He had a contract position, and it was filled while he was out. Which is still a bit crap, but not illegal.

Anyway, he has been unemployed since January. It is a difficult time to find a job (as I'm sure many of you know), and that stress takes a toll. Apparently my father's unemployment will run out soon, so the push is even harder now. And yesterday, their air conditioner died.

That's right. June in Houston, and the AC coughed it's death rattle.

But here is the fascinating part. A month or so ago, my dad was called in for some test on his finger to see how it was healing, and his results said he had a "3% impairment". None of us knew what that meant, and we all cracked a few jokes about it and went along.

Yesterday, maybe a few hours after the devastating loss of their AC, my dad got a phone call. Because of his 3% impairment, he will be receiving another round of checks from workman's comp. For the next 10 weeks. HOURS after a very expensive, very important machine died.

Coincidence? I think not.

Sometimes, even the most faithful of us are blind to blessings. We encounter them every single day; some are obvious to us, some are obvious to others though we are blind to see, and sometimes they don't feel anything like blessings. I am happy to report that we are all aware - and thankful - of this awesome blessing. One more deep breath to keep going.

God never promises us an easy walk. In fact, I'm thinking he promised the opposite when asking us to follow the path of Christ. But he also promises never to give us more than we can handle. Every deep breath we catch as our heads burst above water is a gift from God. Sometimes we even get a raft and stay afloat for a good, long while.

Look around you at your blessings and challenge yourself to find them in the darkness. Hey, the fact that you can even SEE to look around you is a gift. Cherish it, and be grateful for "life's random moments of wonder" that aren't so random after all.

Startling Perspective

I have always told my husband that if we suddenly became stinkin' rich (think lottery), I would be ashamed to wear or drive ridiculously expensive items, even if I would allow myself a few treats occasionally. This article about the wardrobe from Sex and the City 2 explains exactly why I couldn't live with myself, especially as a Christian:

Carrie’s embellished jeans by the Blonds: $4,000

Cost to educate 400 children in Haiti: $4,000

~~~

Carries silver-and-gold Chanel lamé dress: $47,190

Cost to donate 3,775 chickens to third world families: $47,190

~~~

Samantha’s spiky shoulders by the Blonds: $5,000

Cost to assist 142 sexually exploited women in third world countries: $5,000

~~~

Samantha and Miley Cyrus’ Matching Dress by Matthew Williamson: $3500 a piece

Cost to provide job training for 280 women in third world countries: $7,000

~~~

Miranda’s Roland Mouret dress: $1400

Cost to provide safety for 700 exploited third-world women: $1400

~~~

Reported Cost of the Entire Sex and the City 2 Wardrobe: $10 million

Number of schools you can build in third world countries for $10 million: 1,176

(Prices Provided by New York Magazine)

(Snark and Sorrow Borrowed from Pajiba)

All of those figures, excluding the last one, concern ONE SCENE in the film. $64,590 just for singing karaoke, and the staggering majority of that on one dress.

There are no words...

Gleeliscious

I know I'm supposed to write about last night's (AMAZING) Lost, but I feel inspired to brag on Glee. I love this show. Really. I don't care about the hevay-handed "after school special" vibe. I go for the wonderful songs and the snappy one-liners. And last night I got a healthy dose of both.

I found on Pajiba a perfect description of why Glee is so fantastic, given by one miss Tammy:
"I truly don't get Glee haters. It's like bitching about ice cream. Sure it has little to no nutritional value - but I don't buy ice cream for its fiber content. I buy it because its delicious and makes me smile. You might be lactose-intolerant, or simply someone who hates joy and puppies, I don't know. But leave this simple pleasure be.
Is Glee groundbreaking? Of course not. But last week gave me an anger-ballet of Total Eclipse of the Heart, and this week gave me a high-school boy singing the hell out of some Mama Rose. It is the perfect cure to my Lumberg-esque work environment - and as I said on my Facebook tonight - I will cut anyone who gets in my way for NPH's appearance next Tuesday."

Beautiful, isn't it?

Also, another commenter (named That Girl...) had news on Finn's friend:
"The guest star on tonight's Glee is a friend of mine-- his name is Zack Weinstein, and he really does have the same type of spinal cord injury as his character. Everyone in my department at school is so thrilled for him-- he graduated last year, moved to LA, and landed a pretty sweet part within the year!"

That guy, while having the majority of the after school special bits (btw, don't try to abbreviate it), was awesome and believable. Plus he wasn't using auto-tune, so I'm impressed.

Plus, you know, everythign from Brandy and Monica to freakin' Gypsy!!!

Missed Connections

These things are so flippin' cute and hipster and I lurve them. Some beautiful artist (Sophie Blackall) has taken the ads from Missed Connections (presumably on craigslist) and illustrated them. They appear to be a rare treat, but definitely worth a flip through archives.



For some reason this one made me think of my brother and his girlfriend: