totally wired

i woke up this morning tired of the same old thing - wanting to do something different, to make a change or two.

first, i didn't hit the snooze bar. even tho it's easy to snooze until 7.58 when working from home, i got out of bed at 6.45. i made a cup of tea and walked in the yard with zoey before turning on the news. *gasp! who am i?*

then, i took a shower and resisted the temptations to both get back into my PJs and let my hair dry on it's own. i even said yes to breakfast!

i worked without allowing the little things to stress me out - and there are a lot of little things, let me tell you.when i was asked difficult questions, i didn't pass them on to someone else or put off answering them.

i also watched dr. phil, a behavior of which i'm not proud, but it's not something in my normal routine. and "watched" is a strong word. "half-listened" is much more accurate and still a change. and when lewis came to mow the lawn i volunteered to run out to the ATM so he didn't have to come back tomorrow. but he said he'd take a check because he trusts me. what a wonderful vote of confidence!

oh! and amid all of those things, i got braces. so that makes things different.

it's funny. val and i spent a number of years laughing at lisping ... we placed food orders with lisps and even wrote an entire column completely in lisp (unbelievably, it was published unedited). now, actually having one instead of always having to pretend is awesome.

hippity hope

i think that in 20 years easter will be a major holiday, second only to christmas. wanna know why? you’ll like this one ...

themed easter baskets.

extinct will be the modest baskets with 10-year-old plastic grass, peeps that no one eats, occasional sunflower seeds, peanut butter eggs that won't last thru brunch, and the crowning high-quality chocolate rabbit that i had to ask permission to eat and that mom would only chop up with a big french knife when i was allowed bites.

these days, kids can get a basket full of dora or hannah montana or power ranger or [insert your favorite mainstream fad] paraphernalia - the contents of which can be toys, candy, clothing, make-up, and endless whatnot. we feel the need to give easter presents, and i don't think i can afford it.

alicia sent me an article today that talked about why easter isn't - and may never be - as popular as christmas: cruelty and gruesomeness.

a compelling argument, i must say. it's more festive to celebrate someone's birthday than it is to celebrate their torture, death and resurrection. but in this age of imminent sodom and gomorrah, people are looking for any excuse to have a party ... or at least make money. have a look at valentine's day ...

on february 14, we give cards and chocolates to each other in the name of St. Valentine of Terni who refused to deny Christ and got his head cut off for it (thank you wikipedia).

love ya!

so, no, i don't completely agree that easter will never make the list of corporate holidays. in the easter bunny, we have a well-established pagan, imaginary (shhhhh … sorry!!) figure; in colored eggs, we have both the tree and the snack for the deliverer of presents; in the easter basket, we have the stocking ... even if it is a little hard to find - especially when someone puts it behind the piano. d'oh!

we also have chocolate makers, retailers, and their collective marketers spinning us up with specialized merchandise and sales well before the actual holiday.

all we need now is a solid date. we can't have people saying things like "easter sure is early this year" and "oh, is that this weekend?"

hmmmm ... that could prove to be easter's big undoing. if a holiday is easy to forget, congress will never get involved (e.g., arbor day).

the lack of a static date is a downfall … and so is the whole "lent" thing where we're supposed to give something up and be uncommonly nice to people before we can break out the basket-finding parties. whatever.

i'm sure we can think of a way around it, tho ... it's all optional.

got it! the lent countdown will be like the advent calendar. a piece of chocolate for every day ... but if you give up chocolate you’ll get a cigarette or something.

yes. it’s coming together now! are you with me?

then, what do you want for easter this year?

happy new year!

here's "the wishing song," as sung by gonzo to madeline kahn in 1974.

I wish I had a coat of silk, the color of the sky.
I wish I had a lady fair, and then a butterfly.
I wish I had a house of stone that looked down on the sea.
But most of all I wish that I was someone else but me.

Now I don't have a coat of silk, but I still have the sky.
Now I don't have a lady, but there goes a butterfly.
Now I don't have a house of stone, but I can see the sea.
Now most of all I know that I am happy to be me.
I'm happy to be me.