Crunchy Caveman Fingers

In my family, I am the guardian of the super glue. As such, I am also the fixer of things...aka the inanimate object surgeon. I guess it is fitting because I am the only one here that has fulfilling conversations with objects. Yes. I talk not only to my family, myself, the dogs, the computer screen, and...stuff. (Hrm looking at that last sentence it was a down hill sentence huh? 《---- Haha. Digression. Yes, it is only funny if you get it.)  So yes, super-glue fix-it queen I am.

No one ever said that I did it well. While I fix the things and the rarely come back broken and I don't have to fix them anymore. I have yet to determine if it is because I slathered on the glue or that I really AM a good fixer glue it person. We may have to ask the Miles masses about that.

I frustrate myself when I come out of super glue lady mode. No matter how careful I am, it never fails that 4-6 of my fingers will be crunchy for days. Sure, ill rub them together, try various chemicals to get it off but I only make things worse. What I end up doing is running around the house rubbing my crunchy fingers on everyones arms ticking them all off. Hehehe. Gotta love cheap shots right? Well...now that the secret is out the family will probably run from me the next time I pull ou the super glue. Wow. They already about face when I have a headset on. I wonder how fast disappear happens if I put kn the ole headset and wave super glue at them. **Micaa rubs her jands together evily. Bwahahahaha...tonight...tonight super glue and I will take over the world!**

Super glue. Oh. Yea. When the super glue drues, I imagine when my fingers are rough with dried glue, that this is how caveman hands must be as they never had lotion and such. Crunchy and scrapey. Ya. They didnt need razors to shave. They just rubbed their face once over.

What do YOU think?

Why are you in such a hurry?

I have written about traffic before. I don't drive much, but when I do, what is the point of trying to push someone along the highway if they are going the speed limit?  Maybe they do not care about where YOU have to be and they are certainly NOT trying to get a ticket. For the most part, there is more than one lane and you can go around if you wish. There is just no need to rage and blare the horn and suddenly find the rest of you lead foot. It is not that serious.


The other night, I was coming home from picking up one of these things we made (ya, they are children. We love them but when they get a certain age, their bodies are taken over by some evil alien. Another blog, another post. I digress. WAIT! It just occurred to me I did NOT digress in another post I wrote this morning. ICK! I must really be sick! Anyway...) I was at a stoplight and when the light turned green I accelerated.


I must say that I do NOT drive like a granny but I most certainly did not get up to the posted speed limit by the time I fully crossed the intersection either. This car, it must have been near the size of a smart car or something (who also sat through the light behind me) started beeping and flashing their lights in my rear view mirror like I was hindering their ability to speed through life! Well lady, there is certainly a lane over there ----> and I am NOT going to change lanes in the middle of the dang intersection just to make you happy. I don't know you and your happiness fails to register on my utility meter. Further, I am not going to speed up to assist you in your horrid behavior. She finally went around me after about 3 seconds of her beeping and flashing. Goody. What kills me is that, 2 lights later, guess who I pulled up next to at a RED light?  I love that. I just smile and wave at them. That is what you get for trying to be ugly over something that is not that serious.


Besides, the direction she was heading, there was nothing that way for miles. Guess what else? I will get to where I am going BEFORE you, speedy lady AND I will be safe and without a ticket. So "colon pee" to you! (For you fogies out there, if you type a colon followed by a capital letter P, it is the emoticon for someone sticking their tongue out.)  I usually let stuff like that roll off my back because it is not worth it to get all worked up and have an aneurism over.


Road rage is not on the top of my list of things that I want to do. Not over some goofball like that anyway. Why ARE you in such a hurry anyway? If you are late, you are just that....late. If you rush too much, you will still be late anyway. Leave earlier next time. I know that sometimes it cannot be helped but don't take it out on everyone else when you have messed up timing. It is not their fault and they probably don't care. So, why waste the time getting angry?


Your song is on the radio and you are the ONLY one in that tiny car of yours. SING!!! Jeez.


What do YOU think?

The Scale Lied to Me

I found a scale in the ladies locker room at the rec center and have used it from time to time. Back story to this one is simple. My mother ALWAYS (and still does) had a scale in the house and it was a source of resentment for me because I have never been comfortable in my own skin. However, I will randomly check my weight when I visit mom or they have ones to sample at the store. In this case, it was the one at the recreation center. Now I have had "conversations" with this one because I think the calibration is off. It sticks and if you push it a few times it will stop that. However, I think it lies when it does work properly. This is one of the scales they use at the doctors office. You know, with the sliding weights on the 2 bars.

Ever since our youngest was born, I have hovered around 200. I am miserable with that. We also decided no more kiddos after that last one and I was concerned I would end up like my mother and her sisters if I did make that decision and so far, I have been right.

However, I did try to remedy that and try different things over the past seven or eight years to get below that 200. 8 months as a vegetarian and no change, Sticking with an exercise regimen at least six months with no results on at least three occasions! 1000 calorie diet for 2 months and got nowhere but starving. Counting calories, watching what I eat, Less bread, less sugar, less fat, less processed foods. Removing soda from my diet. More water. All the while, I am creeping up the scale.

Last night that damn scale told me 211.

I think it lied to me because of the fact that it is possibly not calibrated. However, it still makes me feel like shit. I am now seriously considering surgery to fix this behemoth stomach I have because that is the area that I have the most issue with. I also note that the "bigger" I get, the worse I feel. I just want to give up. I am certain that if I do, it will get worse. I have also considered having my thyroid checked and other things because there are family members I have with that issue. I am just scared to death they will find something that will cause me to be on medication that I cannot afford for the rest of my life. You know me, I HATE taking meds. Its like pulling teeth to take an aspirin for a headache.

I don't normally blog about these things but I am looking for some feedback that is outside of my family to see what other options there are to consider. There are things that I am still set against. I don't want to do banding because there are things that I will have to cut out completely that I still would like to enjoy from time to time. Starving myself wont work either and I don't have the time to workout 3 hours a day every single day for the next year.

Be realistic please. I want honest feedback.

What do YOU think?

Will there ever be a reprieve?

This is my attempt to get some variety between my channels. Most of the time, I will just copy and paste a post from WordPress to Blogger to author page. This morning, it just hit me to try something different. Besides, the more I write, the less "inflated" I feel. I am finding this post to be a little more difficult as there is usually a thought process involved before I actually sit down and write something.
This one, in the attempt to be different, is just random chit floating through my head and was intended to be a thing about money and morphed into something else just after I wrote the title. I know, I should always write the content then find a fitting title. Some say it's easier but you know me and shock value. While it is not shocking to anyone else, it is still a writer's eccentric habit and that is shocking to other writers.


I have always written or kept a journal since I was a kid. While my writing has evolved and life circumstances dictate that I write differently, the need is the same. Its like breathing. A writer is not healthy without writing SOMETHING. For me, there are things that I come across during the day that I think "that would be awesome to put out there with my skewed line of thinking." Others never see the light of day either because I forget or it is just not there anymore by the time I get near my computer. Yea, I need to get a laptop again. I avoid my office like the plague when I am not working. Too bad I don't make enough to work ONLY on my writing. I am certain there would be a lot more accomplished there. But that is the digression here and yes, a topic for another day.


The reprieve I am asking for here is because, sometimes, my fingers just are too tired from working or writing other things to type out what I have bouncing around in my head. You see, it starts off as a random thought floating into the room. That thought begins to replicate itself and then bounce around in my head until it is all encompassing and I have to "get it out."

http://favim.com/image/292169/

This is why a writer HAS to write. My curiosity is this: How much CAN a writer write before they are satisfied that they are done? Even if only for one day. I write and get my quarter machine bouncy balls out of my brain. However, once the room is clear...here comes another. Is there a way to shut the door they happily bounce from? If there is, do I WANT to have that door shut?

THAT, my friends, I do not have the answer to.

What do YOU think?



Leadership Posting number 1

I write several blogs among other things. I like to think that I am right up there with my favorite author Stephen King, with the fifty or so pages every day. I am published and am currently working on book number 2. I write for here and WordPress. I write letters to my children (for their own stories) all the time and I have a paper due for Doctorate studies each week. I have social media as well. Finally, I have a blog for work that I have started over the past year.


The following is a new feature in my work blog. Leadership posts. It is based upon the idea that good leaders have specific traits and I want to share these traits with people. Even if the reader is not interested in being a leader and wants to remain amongst the sheeple, that is ok. This will still help make you a better human being. Certainly true if you deal with the public at all.


Here it is:


One of the most redeeming qualities I have found in the leaders that have the most effective teams is that the know how to listen and can listen well. This is something that can roll over into making a customer happy. Sometimes an angry customer just wants to vent and it is most effective at someone who will LISTEN.  While you do not have to agree with them, a  great deal of supervisor calls are resolved by just listening to the frustrations of the customer. Their issue may not get any further than what the agent has already done, but the listening part is key to get them to calm down most of the time. 

(Back story because I always have one....I came across the below information cleaning out my briefcase that I found in the attic last night. For those of you who don't know me, I was a paralegal and have a PhD in Law. Yes, I like to argue. That is why I had this paper in my briefcase because listening was something that was vital when it came to flushing out the real issues in the legal field.) While I scanned it and posted a pic of the document below, I will write it out for you so that you can read it clearly as some of it is fuzzy. Yes, there is a spill. Disregard that, stupid attic weather....

HOW TO BECOME A BETTER LISTENER

1. STOP TALKING: You can't listen while you are talking. 

2. ONE CONVERSATION AT A TIME: Don't try to engage in two conversations at once. You may hear two people at one time, but you can't effectively listen to two conversations at once. 

3. EMPATHIZE WITH THE PERSON SPEAKING: Try to put yourself in their place so that you can see what the speaker is trying to get at...YES, this is not as easy as it sounds but a restatement of what you've heard or an appropriate question will often uncover areas of miscommuncation.

4. ASK QUESTIONS:  That's right, we did just mention asking questions. But it's so important it bears restating. When you don't understand or when you need further clarification, ask questions. Don't ask questions that are a form of a statement about how smart you are on a subject. If you have information to offer, make a statement. 

5. DON'T INTERRUPT: Don't interrupt when someone else is speaking. Give the speaker time to say what they have to say. THEN, and not before, ask you questions or take issue with what the speaker has said. MIND HOW YOU TAKE ISSUE WITH SOMEONE ELSE'S STATEMENTS.

6. SHOW INTEREST: Look at the speaker - Their face, mouth, eyes, and hands. All these things will help the speaker communicate with you, and this effort will help you concentrate. Eye contact is significant. 

7. CONCENTRATE ON WHAT IS BEING SAID: Actively focus your attention on the speaker's words, ideas, and feelings related to the subject. If you are in doubt as to the subject, a question is in order.
 
8. DON'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS: When you do, you tune yourself out from the rest of what the speaker has to say. You may tend to think to yourself, "Hurry up and finish because I've got your point." or by rudely interrupting and saying, "Yes, yes. I know what you mean. What else is new?" By doing either, you run the risk of misunderstanding the entire conversation because of a premature conclusion you drew. Yes, there are some people who drone on and on. At the appropriate break or pause, ask if you've got the gist or point by summarizing what you've heard. This is a polite way to test the point. 

9. CONTROL YOUR ANGER: Try not to get angry with what they are saying. Your anger will most likely prevent you from understanding what is really being said. Plus, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO DEAL WITH YOUR FEELINGS!
10. REACT TO IDEAS, NOT TO THE SPEAKER: Don't allow your reactions to the speaker to influence your interpretation of what is being said. Their ideas may be good even if you don't like them as a person or like the way the look or speak or move. 

11. LISTEN FOR WHAT IS NOT SAID: Sometimes you can learn just as much by determining what the other person leaves out or avoids saying as you can by listening to what is actually being said. Pay attention to how it is being said, also. 

12. SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR COMMUNICATION: Only part of the responsibility for effective communication rest with the speaker. You as the listener, have an obligation to actively listen to what is being communicated and ask questions when you do not understand. 

If you make note of the above tips and put them into action, your are on your way to becoming an effective leader. Even if leadership is not in your future, it still goes a long way to use some of these to listen to our customers. After all. They ARE the reason we are here!

What do YOU think?