Confession: I’m obsessed with accents from the United Kingdom or Ireland. It’s true. Whether it be Irish, Scottish, Welsh or English, it all sounds better to these American ears. There is something magical and lyrical in their speech that seems to be missing from every day life here in the States. I can't get enough.
I love Masterpiece Theatre’s British productions in particular. Whether it is a stirring rendition of a Jane Austen novel like Emma, an updated 21st century version of Sherlock or a murder mystery like Inspector Lewis – it’s all charming in a way. I’m hooked. I wait anxiously for the start of every new season.
A lot of British television is quite appealing to me, and I've been catching up on some series courtesy of my friends at Netflix. My current muse has been the Midsomer Murders series. In every episode a murder or two takes place in some quiet little burrow amidst the English countryside, and Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby is sent to investigate. Yes, despite the idyllic landscape of lovely gardens, 17th-century estates and luscious green hills – murders happen. The most charming shopkeeper, whimsical innkeeper or harmonious birdwatcher might be the next evil villain to strike out at a neighbor, the town gossip or the village priest. It’s mesmerizingly delightful.
So yes, I’ve known for quite some time that I was a fan. This isn’t really news to me. But until recently, I had no idea how severe my condition had become. Last night, I watched the BBC evening news on PBS and discovered that even their news sounds “better” dressed in that amazing accent. I caught myself sighing and smiling at the most droll report, and it finally hit me. I need help.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The Expectant Season
OK, before the rumors start to fly, let me state for the record that I am NOT pregnant. No baby is expected in my life within the next 10 months or more honest! AHEM! I am glad to get that little agenda item cleared up.
Actually, I’m using the term “expectant” here in a different line of thought. I heard it on the radio this morning. Normally, I don’t like talkative DJs, especially in the mornings. I listen for music only, and typically I tune the talking out or flip to another station, but today I listened to some DJ chatter for just a couple of moments. K-Love was talking about the term “expectant” and asking what their listeners were expecting this holiday season, and it made me pause and think about it, and I still am. I went straight for my online dictionary this morning...
The term “expectant” means to await something, to anticipate or look forward to an occurrence. It can be something we are looking forward to or even something we are hoping for. I like Merriam-Webster.com’s discussion on the word “expect” and a couple of synonyms:
In what am I hoping?
To whom am I looking?
Actually, I’m using the term “expectant” here in a different line of thought. I heard it on the radio this morning. Normally, I don’t like talkative DJs, especially in the mornings. I listen for music only, and typically I tune the talking out or flip to another station, but today I listened to some DJ chatter for just a couple of moments. K-Love was talking about the term “expectant” and asking what their listeners were expecting this holiday season, and it made me pause and think about it, and I still am. I went straight for my online dictionary this morning...
The term “expectant” means to await something, to anticipate or look forward to an occurrence. It can be something we are looking forward to or even something we are hoping for. I like Merriam-Webster.com’s discussion on the word “expect” and a couple of synonyms:
“EXPECT, HOPE, LOOK mean to await some occurrence or outcome. Expect implies a high degree of certainty and usually involves the idea of preparing or envisioning. Hope implies little certainty but suggests confidence or assurance in the possibility that what one desires or longs for will happen. Look, with to, implies assurance that expectations will be fulfilled; [look] with for it implies less assurance and suggests an attitude of expectancy and watchfulness.”So what am I expecting this holiday season?
In what am I hoping?
To whom am I looking?
Monday, November 29, 2010
Just Another Manic Monday…
Today has not started off well, and sadly, I haven’t handled it quite as well as I would have liked. I’d like to say that I’ve let optimism rue the day, but that hasn’t happened. I’m running on empty as it is, and my emotions keep waffling between anger, frustration and sadness. I’m hoping my sense of humor will return soon, and I’m attempting to find something to laugh about by writing this down…
I arrived home on Saturday evening and found a completely empty mailbox. It seemed odd. I was expecting 2 DVDs from my Netflix que to be there, and I was pretty sure that I should have received at least one holiday card already. My cousin Julie's card and letter is almost always the first to arrive. So I went to the post office first thing this morning and waited in line to find out what had happened.
The bottom line is that my postal carrier decided that since I didn’t empty my mailbox for 3 days (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) that I must have moved, and so she had ALL of my mail marked “return to sender” without any notification to me. Yep, she simply emptied my mailbox and sent all of my mail back to the senders because quite clearly I had fled the country since I didn’t empty my mailbox of all those holiday ads while I was away in Michigan.
This has never happened to me before. I didn’t imagine that my mailbox would get full in 3 days, and if it had, I assumed that the process would be that my mail carrier would simply leave me a card indicating that I needed to pick my mail up at the post office. That’s been the process in the past. I’ve never put a HOLD on my mail for 3 days or less. 3 days is the minimum amount of days they will hold your mail anyway, and so I figured it was safe for that amount of time at least. I never assumed that over a 3-day holiday break, my mail carrier would assume I had moved.
So now I’m left wondering…
I arrived home on Saturday evening and found a completely empty mailbox. It seemed odd. I was expecting 2 DVDs from my Netflix que to be there, and I was pretty sure that I should have received at least one holiday card already. My cousin Julie's card and letter is almost always the first to arrive. So I went to the post office first thing this morning and waited in line to find out what had happened.
The bottom line is that my postal carrier decided that since I didn’t empty my mailbox for 3 days (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) that I must have moved, and so she had ALL of my mail marked “return to sender” without any notification to me. Yep, she simply emptied my mailbox and sent all of my mail back to the senders because quite clearly I had fled the country since I didn’t empty my mailbox of all those holiday ads while I was away in Michigan.
This has never happened to me before. I didn’t imagine that my mailbox would get full in 3 days, and if it had, I assumed that the process would be that my mail carrier would simply leave me a card indicating that I needed to pick my mail up at the post office. That’s been the process in the past. I’ve never put a HOLD on my mail for 3 days or less. 3 days is the minimum amount of days they will hold your mail anyway, and so I figured it was safe for that amount of time at least. I never assumed that over a 3-day holiday break, my mail carrier would assume I had moved.
So now I’m left wondering…
What mail will I never get?
Was there something important in the mix like a bill?
Will I really get mail in my mailbox tonight like I was told? At this point, it is anybody’s guess really, but here’s hoping.Right now I’m just trying to count my blessings…
1. My call to Netflix was quick and easy, and they are going to promptly resend the movies that my postal carrier sent back to them. Awesome!
2. I’m so glad that I had all my holiday purchases sent to my work address. YAY!
3. I probably won’t ever see those missing Thanksgiving holiday ads that probably over-stuffed my mailbox and prompted my mail carrier to think I had fled the scene. Yep, those MIA ads are probably gone for good. WOOHOO!!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Writing My Own Story
I was having a conversation with a colleague the other day, and she commented that she considered me to be an optimistic and upbeat personality. I thanked her for her kind words, but inside other thoughts were churning. Was that really the case? Wasn’t the opposite more apparent in my life as of late? I certainly didn’t feel like I was a Pollyanna.
OK. So I do try to be positive and see the bright side of life, but lately, I’ve been struggling to do so. My silver lining was tainted. My glass was half full, but there was a serious crack along one side, and there was most definitely a leak. The show tunes normally running through my head were less amiable than usual.
I didn’t feel pessimistic. I didn’t feel depressed. I didn’t feel much of anything really. In fact, I wasn’t participating much in my own life. I was watching from the sidelines again or letting my understudy run the show. I don’t know how that happens, but sometimes, I seem to forget that my life is my own story. I’m not just reading a novel where I have no impact on the outcome. No, I’m a pivotal character here, and I need to step in and intervene, change the tone, and make some drastic revisions to my own character before I forget my course.
Now unfortunately, there isn’t time to do a complete edit and re-write the last couple of weeks. I’m left with those filler pages. I can’t erase them completely, but I also can’t wallow or beat myself up about them either. I need to jump back into my story, savor the highs and lows, seek out new characters without forcing clear definitions, actively interact and engage in the other stories around me, and allow GOD to create an even better story line than I could ever imagine.
Hmmmm? I wonder what will happen next? It's rather exciting. Too bad, I can't read ahead...
OK. So I do try to be positive and see the bright side of life, but lately, I’ve been struggling to do so. My silver lining was tainted. My glass was half full, but there was a serious crack along one side, and there was most definitely a leak. The show tunes normally running through my head were less amiable than usual.
I didn’t feel pessimistic. I didn’t feel depressed. I didn’t feel much of anything really. In fact, I wasn’t participating much in my own life. I was watching from the sidelines again or letting my understudy run the show. I don’t know how that happens, but sometimes, I seem to forget that my life is my own story. I’m not just reading a novel where I have no impact on the outcome. No, I’m a pivotal character here, and I need to step in and intervene, change the tone, and make some drastic revisions to my own character before I forget my course.
Now unfortunately, there isn’t time to do a complete edit and re-write the last couple of weeks. I’m left with those filler pages. I can’t erase them completely, but I also can’t wallow or beat myself up about them either. I need to jump back into my story, savor the highs and lows, seek out new characters without forcing clear definitions, actively interact and engage in the other stories around me, and allow GOD to create an even better story line than I could ever imagine.
Hmmmm? I wonder what will happen next? It's rather exciting. Too bad, I can't read ahead...
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Be-Gratitudes II
Today I am choosing to be grateful for...
File Folders. Don't laugh, but I’m obsessed with organizing projects, and file folders help me do just that. I set up tiers of folders to keep me on task or sort through the files. I am just as fixated on organizing my personal files as well. OK, I don’t really function well outside of an organized system, and so I can’t imagine living without those tabbed manila folders, which help provide some measure of sanity amidst the chaos. This girl likes everything filed in the appropriate place, and that includes my email in-box. I have lots of virtual folders set-up to help me wade through my emails, too. Yes, file folders are something I am grateful for today.
File Folders. Don't laugh, but I’m obsessed with organizing projects, and file folders help me do just that. I set up tiers of folders to keep me on task or sort through the files. I am just as fixated on organizing my personal files as well. OK, I don’t really function well outside of an organized system, and so I can’t imagine living without those tabbed manila folders, which help provide some measure of sanity amidst the chaos. This girl likes everything filed in the appropriate place, and that includes my email in-box. I have lots of virtual folders set-up to help me wade through my emails, too. Yes, file folders are something I am grateful for today.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
My Name Is Khan
SUMMARY (NO SPOILER!): All his life Rizwan Khan has been different from other people, and his mother, brother, teachers and doctors in India have never quite been able to figure him out. Once he immigrates to the USA, he is diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, but he doesn’t let it stop him. He takes it all in stride and starts working for his brother’s company as a salesman. While selling beauty products, he meets Mandira, a local hairdresser. Rizwan falls in love and eventually charms his way into Mandira’s heart. Despite their religious differences (he is a Muslim, and she is a Hindu), the couple marry and move to the suburbs of San Francisco with Mandira’s son, Sam.
Their peaceful suburban life is somewhat shattered by 9/11, when the intolerance and racial hatred in their community begins to cause friction and eventually leads to a family tragedy. The couple separate, and Rizwan sets off on a quest to help him woo back his wife.
MY REVIEW: The film has an almost fanciful or fairy tale like presence on the screen. At times, it reminded me of “Forest Gump” in that way, but there were deeper themes at work in “My Name Is Khan.” The film is a bit long at 2 hours and 41 minutes, but I still enjoyed the experience.
I would rate this film at 4.5 stars out of 5. It’s not perfect, but it is definitely worth seeing. It makes you feel, and it makes you think. Both of which are important to this viewer.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Be-Gratitudes
So starting today, I’m gonna try and tackle some be-gratitudes* [pronounced: bee-GRAH-tih-toods] or things I am grateful for that are part of the mundane or average day.
*Disclaimer: someone has probably already coined the term“be-gratitudes.” I confess that I didn’t really research it much. I Googled it and got nothing, and so for now, I’m gonna claim it as a fit of my own creative “genius” and use it. Hee hee!*
Today I am choosing to be grateful for…
Meetings. Yes, I probably have too many of them in a given week. Some of you do as well, I am sure. But whether I agree or disagree with the agenda or content, whether or not I enjoy attending – fact is that in most cases my opinion is being sought, and that is not half bad. It’s nice to have someone seeking out my insight into a particular project area or pulling me in to work as part of the team. It’s a good thing to be needed and to be considered as a contributor to the process. And so today, meetings are something I am thankful for.
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