Random Thoughts 27

Sometimes I wonder if I should get another Twitter account instead of making these Random Thoughts blog posts.  If I want to write micro-blogs in addition to my longreads, I should be on a micro-blogging site.  If I don't feel these observations work for Facebook, then maybe I should have them on a site where they do work.  Does it make sense to write snippets on a long-form site that I eventually link to Facebook?  While I'm at it, I sometimes want a new Instagram account. I'm always finding unusual things I would like to share photos of as I go through my day.  My new Instagram would be my visual collection of oddities.

Won't do it.  I have scrolling addiction issues and I can't feed the habit by subscribing to multiple sites. I'm trying hard to keep Facebook to a minimum as it is.  I learned it's not good for me to subscribe to more than one social medium at a time.

(I miss MySpace.  It was the perfect feed format for long-form and micro blogging - just saying.)

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If criticizing Trump's bad policies, if pointing out the truth of his corruption in business, if observing his detachment from reality, if being concerned about what appears to be mad grabs for power, if seeing the truth of his insincerity when it comes to his pandering to certain groups, if pointing out his blatant racism, are all considered "deranged" (as in the right-wing trope "Trump Derangement Syndrome) then I don't want to be sane.

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Speaking of TDS, if you ever expect me to consider your political arguments to be valid, reasonable, or intelligent, don't use any of the following terms: TDS, Obamacare, Democrat Party, woke (or woke mob or wokeist), antifa, SJW, cancel culture, or cuck and don't toss around terms like "socialist" and "communist" without knowing what those words mean.

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My maternal grandmother was always cold.  She was so cold she could never believe anyone around her wasn't cold too.  "Are you warm enough" was a common refrain throughout my childhood.  I had to be careful to never say I was cold or I would be dealing with the panic over an imagined case of pneumonia.  Anyway, I can remember Grandma sitting on the couch on a scorching summer day reading or doing crossword puzzles with an afghan over her lap.  I would tease her about how she was always so cold that she would put a blanket on herself on a hot summer day.  She would respond, "My feet are cold."  Now in July on days I am working from home, usually barefoot, I find myself with cold feet and go running for a pair of socks between meetings.  I am officially old. 

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All the summer haters on Facebook love to say how they can't wait for fall because the bugs will go away.  Look, I hate bugs too.  It's one of the few things I don't like about the season.  You know what?  Insects don't have calendars.  They don't say, "It's September 22nd, so I'm going to die now." They certainly don't die after Labor Day.  Bugs keep on going through September and October and while they might not be as active as they were in August, if you spend as much time outdoors as I do, you will know they are still there and they are still annoying, and they will still bite. 

(Also, they keep saying how happy they are the hot weather will end when Labor Day weekend comes.  It doesn't.  Summer ends September 21st and it's likely to stay hot for a few more weeks.  Find a pool, lake, or beach that's still open and enjoy it while it lasts.)

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Do people truly “love fall” or do they love the month of October?   I agree October can be lovely (with the exception of Halloween, pumpkin everything, and the leaf peeping/apple picking traffic).  All that stuff about the leaves and the nice weather is true.  Plus in October I celebrate my anniversary and the birthdays of my father, niece, and husband. However, most of fall is November and December.  Those months deserve the hate (as do January and February). The weather stops being nice.  It becomes gloomy, dreary, cold, and damp.  The pretty leaves have fallen leaving ugly bare branches.  Everything dies.  The best produce offerings are gone from the farm markets.  The days are unbearably short.  This is fall as much as October is and there is nothing special or enjoyable about it.

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I know I have a tendency to be contrarian about everything.  I can become easily annoyed when something becomes too popular and everyone keeps talking about it.  I realize it makes me seem obnoxious, as if I'm trying too hard to be "NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS."  I worry sometimes I blur the lines between letting my weirdness flag fly and trying too hard to be quirky.  I promise, I realize I'm not as different from other girls as I like to think I am.  Everyone is quirky in her own way.  

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I may get grumpy when I talk about Halloween, but I don't hate it.  I may dress up in a costume if the occasion arises (I'm holding on to my blue dress with the flowers on it so I always have an Elaine Benes costume handy).  I go to parties when invited.  I even enjoy a good haunted house. I simply don't understand why adults spend so many weeks anticipating it and going crazy over it. I just can't join in on that excitement. What's the big deal?  I don't get it.  I refuse to spend hundreds of dollars on décor and costumes  (including costumes for pets and babies who have no clue why they are being forced to wear these uncomfortable items and have no idea what's going on).  I also am not going to waste my time wishing one single holiday day will hurry up and get here.  I live life in the present. (It's true I did a whole long form blog post about this, but I doubt anyone read it and this says what I needed to say in fewer words.)

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I would never call a single woman a “guy", but I will call a group of women or a group of men and women "guys".  I remember when I worked as a day camp counselor, I always worked with groups of girls and I often addressed the group of them as "guys".  I know this is a common thing in US English vernacular.  It's an interesting idiomatic quirk, isn't it?

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I am happy for Britney Spears that she was able to free herself from all the constraints her family put on her.  I'm glad she is finding peace and mental health and creating a fresh start for herself.  I understand she is another victim of an industry that chews women up and spits them out. I hope she finds happiness and success in the future.

Is it still okay to hate her music?