Sunday, April 18, 2010

Mother, May I?

My mom wrote this morning to tell me that she would be in town next week, and would I want to get together. Well, hell no I don't want to get together. I haven't talked to her in nine months for a reason.
But, then the remorse and guilt kick in. What if this is the last time I ever get to see her? Rubbish.
What are the positives? We could talk. Maybe talk about things that actually matter and get on the road to healing this broken relationship. What are the odds of that happening? Slim to none. Unless she really has missed me like she says she has. Not like she's ever lied to me before.
What are the negatives? Here's where it gets tough, because some of the negatives are my own. Like, my pride. I don't want to see her because I still don't feel good enough. I don't want to see her again till I'm running for President or something. Or maybe till my children are 6 or 7 and I can stick it to her, so she knows what its like to not have known someone you really wanted to, and really should been a part of your life, of course, I'd have to wait alot longer for that to be more accurate.
Then, there's the whole bit about me thinking she's a really sane person now and won't pull any of the crap she has time and time again and she's all together now.
Anyways, the negatives. She could emotionally upset me. I mean, look at what a stupid letter did. Two paragraphs compared to an hour, face-to-face? I'm going to need to take a few days off of work to recover. Also, it then becomes a fight between all the other family members I've written off. I don't want to talk with any of them either, so here I'm showing favorites, right?
I guess I still have some time to think about it.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Too Young to be Old

I think I'm getting older. No, its not just the hugely long gray hair I found yesterday, its the wanting to slow down and be comfortable thing. I've worked "shift" work my entire life. Odd hours, long days, very unpredictable. For the first time in my life, I think I'd like something different. I'll always be an adrenaline junky, but, maybe, it doesn't have to be at the expense of my health.
I was talking with a friend of mine today and she said I must be looking for stability. That I'm finally settling down. That I'm ready to be a wife, and maybe even a mom. This was from someone who has convinced herself she never wants to be a mom. So, am I old?
How is it that I go from struggling that I'm too old to have a baby, to, I'm too young to want to work Monday through Friday, 9am - 5pm? Why does there always have to be so much duality in life?
Maybe, I'm the perfect age to be a mom, say, over the next five years, and maybe, over the next five years, I can find a career, and a job, that allows me to be there for my husband and my kids, on a more "normal" schedule.
But man, that was a long gray hair!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Jealousy

I've never thought of myself as a jealous person. I can't remember ever being jealous before now. I've been accused of being jealous, but in my defense, I just wanted my boyfriend at the time to wake up and smell the coffee that this girl was not just being his friend. She was going to do everything she could to push me out of his life, not excluding trashing me every chance she got. I wasn't jealous of her or worried about losing him, I was more pissed off that he was being so naive. He interpreted that as jealousy.

I now have moments of jealousy, even though I don't think that my boyfriend is going to leave me. It would break my heart into a million pieces if he did, because I just can't imagine life without him. Maybe that's where the jealousy jumps in. Waking up and knowing that he was not going to be at my side, and that he no longer loved me, I can't imagine that. I doubt I would find the will to get out of bed. So yes, for completely selfish reasons, I don't want to ever be that unhappy, and again, maybe that's the jealousy.

I think that unless I am living in some alternate universe, or completely self absorbed, I really genuinely believe, that we have a damn good thing going. But, I also don't want him to be tempted. Nor would I want to put myself in a position where I would be tempted to mess up said "good thing". There, my friend, is my rationale for jealousy.

If I'm going to go to a bar with some male friends of mine, I would hope that my boyfriend, who I know trusts me, and at least some of my friends, would still have some reservations. And lets call that reservation, jealousy.

If my boyfriend is going to have coffee with an old girlfriend, I'm going to be jealous. What if she wakes up and realizes that she had the most wonderful man ever? See, because I know he's a wonderful man. I see it every day! I think he's the greatest man I have ever known. So what if she finally sees the light?

To keep that from happening, I guess I just have to coach him on table manners and set out his clothes for the day. If he catches on to the plaid and chewing with the mouth open thing, I'll just say its because I love him!

Friday, April 9, 2010

What's The Hook?

I just finished watching Julie & Julia, and I am filled with some bittersweet emotion. I absolutely LOVED Meryl Streep as Julia Child. Seeing Julia child in the old PBS clips brought back such great memories. At first I really enjoyed the story of Julie, the blogger, who attempts to cook Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking book, every recipe, in one year.

However, that was at first. The story of Julia Child from moment one, got me crying more than once as she achieved a goal, or came against a hardship. I loved her story and wanted more. I was so disappointed when the credits rolled. But, Julie and I got off on the wrong foot, which was somewhat my fault.

Since I can't JUST watch a movie, I found myself on Wikipedia looking up Julia Child to see exactly how tall she was, 6'2", if you're curious. While I was at her entry, I noticed the blurb about the movie, and saw that Julie Powell, had an entry of her own, so I read it. BIG mistake. HUGE!

Why? Because it tells me that Julie also wrote a second book, which BOMBED. I couldn't find a nice review for it. I won't go into the book, but, let's just say its a departure from the heart warming story we were experiencing in the movie. Now, Julie Powell, don't come hunt me down and tell me I'm a mean vindictive person that can't get a soul to read my own blog so I resort to trashing others. Thats not it at all. I just let the lines blur between drama and reality, and was sorely reminded that reality is always starker and sharper, and often grungier and more distasteful, than the movies.

OK, so that was the first wrong step. With that information in mind, I watched the rest of the movie with a sarcastic and cynical eye, feeling that instead of the women growing together, Julie, the blogger, was acting more like a leech, sucking popularity and not a little bit of financial gain from Julia Child's hard work. No wonder Julia was not pleased when interviewed about the Blog/Movie.

And to top it off, I went to the Julie/Julia Project, Julie's actual blog, after I finished the movie, and it is quite the departure from the mostly wholesome blog that is portrayed in the movie. I didn't read about any orgies, but maybe I didn't read enough entries.

But, I'm not knocking the movie, the movie I loved, and not even Julie Powell. I mean, she wrote a blog, and she can do that any way she wants. Lots of people read it. People even sent money and food! Obviously people found something that interested them there. It all got made into a movie. That is the American Way, right?

I guess every good blog needs a hook. Julie Powell had Julia Child's book, and look there's Meryl Streep. Justin Halpern (of twitterdom fame, Shit My Dad Says) had a crochety old man, and now look, there's William Shatner. There are a ton of political blogs out there, and I think I'm drowning in techie ones too. They review things, rant about things, disect the smallest rumor leaked from a Taiwanese bathroom stall... but, they have drawn an interest.

I guess that leaves me. I'm not a conformist (of course by saying that, I submit to a certain amount of conformity, don't I?). I love to write, and I love to think that people will read my blog, but, I'll write it anyways, even if CBS won't give me a show. I hope that it offers something of interest, but, I can't think what that would be. So, if you've read this, and you haven't already zipped off to some other blog, drop me a comment that says why you're here. I accept anonymous... because, well... I'm anonymous!

But, back to the movie. My grandmother loved Julia Child. I sat at the breakfast table on many occasions and watched Julia Child cook on PBS from a small 15" TV. My grandmother cooked like Julia, having as much fun as necessary and alternately treating us and punishing us with creations. Although I must say, I have a very diverse palate. Even though I hated water chestnuts as a kid, because they found themselves in all sorts of food, now I eat them fondly, thinking about chicken salad sandwiches and ice cold milk.

So, I ordered Julia's book, the 49th printing of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I look forward to making some Hollandaise Sauce and maybe, if I get really frisky, I'll try de-boning that duck.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Icebergs

Women can be like icebergs. What they "say" is whats above the surface, but what they "think" is the dangerous part below the surface.

A buddy of mine has a girlfriend. We all used to be friends on Facebook. Then one day I noticed that I was no longer one of her friends. It didnt really bug me, but I asked my friend if he knew what was up, like had she said anything? He said she hadn't said anything. Well, now, weeks later, my friend says that it sounds like she ditched the Facebook friendship because she's jealous.

Of what? I've never seen her boyfriend, in our adult lives, without her there. I've known him for almosty twenty years, but I respect her, and want her to know its nothing but a friendship, but I guess some women are beyond reason.

Unfortunately, even though I've said nothing to the girlfriend, and it doesn't bother me at all, now my buddy is taking offense to her ditching me and being jealous in general. Ugh! He says he's just about had it! What the heck? They haven't even talked about what's going on!

Its too bad.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Who's Your Momma?

Today my boyfriend called me "Momma" & it made me cry & smile all at the same time.

He was talking to the dogs and then he looked up at me and said, "Hey Momma!". I tell the dogs to find "Daddy" all the time, but I'd never heard it reversed. I loved it!!

What Matters More Than Money?

I had been looking forward to playing XBox today. Its my day off and it is my favorite way to unwind and relax. I had a group of friends lined up to play with me and I was really looking forward to the social aspect, not to mention the competitive fun.

Well, as these things often happen, I turned it on to find I had RROD, or for you less XBox addicted, the Red Rings of Death, a system error that makes your XBox a really good paperweight. I then contacted my group of friends who were already amassing worldwide, to tell them that I wouldn't be playing tonight, or in the forseeable future, and I told them why. This elicited the correct amount of sympathy from everyone. Gotta love your friends!

Then I called my boyfriend and told him what had happened. Not only was he sympathetic, but he told me to take his credit card and go buy another XBox. He always reminds me that my happiness is more important to him than anything else. How very lucky am I?