Weddings

Weddings.  They're full of stress and drama and headaches.  They require planning -- LOTS of planning -- that you really don't want to worry about, and pleasing people other than yourself.  You spend all this time and energy and money putting this massive shindig together all for one day, when all you want to do is GET MARRIED.  You spend the last three weeks sick as a dog because your immune system is all run down.  You end up going to Urgent Care because you've developed this weird topical rash and are convinced that it's psychosomatic and that you desperately need some Valium when all it is is poison ivy.  And you're terrified that either A) a hurricane will blow up the coast and rain out your special day, or that B) it will be the wrong time of the month, and you'll end up like What's-her-name in Sixteen Candles, passed out in the dressing room because you're so full of muscle relaxers.

In short?  They are EXHAUSTING.

But in the end, SO TOTALLY WORTH IT.

A Thought

Went to see 42 the other day.  Great movie.  Go see it if you haven't already done so.  But afterwards, I was talking to the Soon-to-be-husbeast, and the following interchange occurred:

STBH: Did you enjoy 42?
Me: Yes.  I know it's not exactly your cup of tea though.
STBH: No....how about Superman?  I really want to see that.  How about we go see that together?
Me:  Ummm...how about you ask A to go with you instead?
STBH: You don't want to see Superman?  But it's about a real American hero!
Me:  42 is about an American hero.
STBH: Well...I suppose...but Superman is a real SUPERHERO!

Now, I realize that part of this is because the STBH has a very narrow definition of the word "superhero" (i.e. one needs to have special powers that normal ordinary mortals do not have, such as flying, turning invisible, etc).  But it got me thinking, especially since when I tried to explain how Jackie Robinson was indeed a superhero, even if he couldn't actually levitate himself off the ground and fly, and the STBH simply said, "So?"

(Please be aware that the irony that the STBH is black is not lost on me here.)

Have we come so far in the past 60 years that people simply don't realize anymore how much we've changed in terms of discrimination and civil rights?  Is the idea that you could be looked at weirdly just because you look different from everyone else around you truly a foreign concept to some people?

Well, we have come far.  The world is a totally different place now than it was in 1947, which is a REALLY GOOD THING.  But I don't think we've come so far that we should be forgetting from whence we came.  Or how life was like before all the pioneers and trendsetters came around.

George Santayana once said, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."  He's usually quoted in reference to the Holocaust, but it's equally applicable here.  If we choose to forget, if we choose not to remember how far we've come, if we choose to ignore what life was like back in 1947, then someday we will probably end up reverting right back to it.  To a world where people are second-class citizens just because of the color of their skin, or what lies between their legs, or how they decide to worship a higher power.

Jackie Robinson.  I don't care if he couldn't actually fly.  He's a real American superhero in my book.  And we should never forget it.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm....

Questions

1.  Cater or potluck?

2.  Long train or short?

3.  Sleeves or not?

4.  Do the invitations have to include the color scheme?

5.  Roses or azaleas to go with the morning glories in the front yard?

Sunday night television stinks.

Opening Day is this week!!!

Random on a Monday

This weekend, I finished the Mr. Greenjeans sweater.  It fits perfectly, but I wish I had positioned the button higher.  Can't decide if this needs to be fixed or not.

Oreo's library commercial last night was downright the funniest thing I've seen in a very long time.

Second choice was the Tide commercial.

Jeep's salute to the Armed Forces just about made me cry.

So did the Clydesdale commercial.  (Don't they always?)

Great job, Ravens.  Now, let's do it again in ten months, shall we?

Can one find ice cube trays at Target?

I have finished the beaded section of the shawl I'm working on.

This would call for a celebration, I think.

Ten more days to pitchers and catchers report.

Not that I'm counting or anything.

Random Thoughts

1.  I finished my goal of 12 sweaters knit in 2012!  Go me! 

2.  Five of them were baby sweaters.

3.  I don't care.  It's still 12 sweaters.

4.  I have a horrendous head cold right now.

5.  That I do care about.

6.  I'm hoping the head cold will leave by the time I go back to work on Wednesday.

7.  How much does the first day of a new year mean to you?  Tomorrow will be the very first day of 2013.  Is it just another day, or is it the start of something grand and exciting?

8.  I miss hockey.

9.  I wish the owners and the players would get their butts together and stop acting like spoiled children.

10.  The same can be said about Congress.

11.  Kudos to whoever it was on SOR that came up with calling Adam Jones an "Awesome Biscuit of Manliness."  I think I shall refer to him as such from now on.

12.  Happy New Year, Y'all.

Book Review: The Whole Story of Half a Girl

The Whole Story of Half a Girl
By Veera Hiranandani

Sonia’s father loses his job, which means Sonia has to switch schools (no more private school for her) and adjust to the unfamiliar world of public education. At her new school, she has to navigate the world of receiving grades, being asked questions about her ethnicity, and who does and does not belong to the “in” crowd. All of this is on top of how she has to adjust to having a depressed, out-of-work parent at home. And then one day, her father disappears….

I really don't know what to think about this book. Sonia's issues of having to deal with a new school and new friends are all too real, and they're things any middle school girl can relate to. And in today's economy, the presence of a parent losing his or her job and having depression are, unfortunately, also things many middle schoolers can relate to as well.

But there just seemed to be too many....details that didn't seem to work somehow. The characterization of Sonia's mother doesn't seem to jive with someone who would send her daughters to a private school that doesn't give out grades. The only thing we ever know about Sonia's sister Natasha, is that she's six, and she plays the drums. Apparently there isn't anything else for the reader to know. And then there's the title. Seriously? This is Sonia's WHOLE STORY?

And sometimes, there are simply characters that, for no good reason, don't sit well with you. At one point early in the book, Sonia's father calls her a spoiled brat. And while calling one's offspring that is certainly not to be emulated, I couldn't help but think the exact same thing as I read: that Sonia IS a spoiled brat, and that all she wants is to go back to her prestigious private school where everyone liked her.

That isn't to say that this book doesn't have merit. As I said, I have mixed feelings about it. And sometimes, logic doesn't always come into play regarding a book.

For someone wishing to read about moving to a new town or a new school, this could be a good read.

As well as someone who just wants some mindless chic lit.

A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That

Some random thoughts...as I type feverishly to get this posted before midnight so I can have two blog posts for the month of November.

Today is the Feast Day of St. Andrew. Did you ever wonder how those feast days came to be? I mean, did St. Andrew really die on November 30, or was that simply the date the Church assigned to him? And if it's the latter, how did they choose November 30?

According to my friend S, I am evil, because apparently it is her fault that she is now hooked into knitting the Advent Calendar 2012 scarf. Earthling also apparently thinks I am evil, but for a different reason.

There is, apparently, a Maryland Alpacas and Fleece Festival that takes place every year in November at the Howard County Fairgrounds. I am appalled that I did not know this. How could I not have known this? I think my knitting friends have been holding out on me.

I made an attempt to go for NaNoWriMo this year, but, alas, it shall not come to pass. I was 10,000 words behind a week ago, and there's just no way the story could have gotten done in time. Maybe between now and the end of the year, it can get done?

The Birds have non-tendered Mark Reynolds, which means he's probably on his way to another team. *sigh* I can't say I shall miss his strikeouts, but I shall miss his Magic Toes.

Advent starts this Sunday!