soliloquy on irony

I like that it rhymes like a poem. Kind of like a Haiku, only it's not 17 syllables divided into 3 lines of 5, 7 and 5. But, other than that it's very similar.

You know how you hear ads on the radio and think, 'I could come up with a better slogan than that'? Well, I've had my share of those thoughts in my lifetime. So, when I was given an opportunity last week to work in marketing I naturally turned it down. The obvious reason is that it would have been more money and...well...we all know that my goal is to get married to an artist, make less than $10,000 a year between us, build our house out of straw and mud, and live a life (happy life, of course) of abject poverty. Yet, somehow someone of authority telling me that they think I'd be good at marketing boosted my confidence. It's only been a week and I've already had several conversations where I have used the phrases "well, from a marketing perspective..." and "from my past eBay marketing experience..." to sway someone to my 'marketing' way of thinking.

bla, bla, bla...Where's the irony part of this soliloquy.

A couple of weeks ago, I used my marketing brilliance to list some rock climbing boots on eBay for my brother. He insisted that we put a $45 reserve on them just to be safe. I did so and about 10 bidders bid back and forth until they reached $41.99 at what point they stopped and the listing ended without selling. Last week, feeling all-knowing, I told my brother that I thought it was the reserve that discouraged the bidders. They didn't know how close they were to reaching the reserve and finally just gave up. I told him I thought we should list them again, without a reserve this time, and then sit back and watch the battle of the bidders!

Yesterday, I remembered that the listing was supposed to end, so I excitedly looked to see how high it had gotten. The winner from NY survived the bidding onslaught with his $1.04 bid. I can't wait to get my 10% cut!

as the blog randomly turns....

deception, thy name is February

I have lived the last 10 February's of my life with these song lyrics as my dogma:

"And February was so long that it lasted into March...."

I always reveled in the irony (is it irony, bog?) of those words because, well...February is the shortest month of the year, right? But yet, in those 10 years, I have come to believe that it really is the longest month. Every January 31st, I brace myself for the long cold February that is ahead. And the cold and snow that I brace for usually lasts well beyond Feb 28th.

This year, February seemed particularly looming considering the kind of winter we've had so far. I have vague memories of years ago when snow was piled so high next to our driveway that we could build huge hills to sled down in our front yard. I always thought my memory scale was just faulty because no recent winter has touched it. This year, of course, has been different. it has made me wonder aloud, more than once, 'Winter does exist!" But then I got tired of it snowing piles every other day. February hadn't even come yet, and I was already sick of winter. That's not a good sign.

Turn time forward to last week and you find me driving through town all bundled up in my down coat with my window down, my sun roof open and the air blowing on cold. Why did I do this? Well, I would think it was obvious. February just isn't right without record cold temps. So even though the thermometer said 45 degrees, chances are it was lying and I would still need my warmest coat.

Or maybe it's that I refuse to get my hopes up that winter is actually coming to an end. Somehow, if I never start wearing my spring jacket, I can avoid the heartache of once more, pulling out the down coat when the temps decide to plummet again.

nothing more than feelings

While drinking our favorite Korean soda last sunday at dinner, I read aloud my favorite part of the bottle to my nephew Sam. "New feeling of soda beverage" I said. He clearly liked that.

Our neighbor Margie showed up and sat down to start eating with us. She takes some soda and Sam says all excitedly to her "you get a new feeling now too!" A few minutes later he declares, "I like my new feeling...I have a new feeling of love for my family. (awwwwwww) what's your new feeling, Margie?!" Margie stammers.... "uuuuuuuh....new feeling, yes!" Then Sam's mom saves her by saying, "I have a new feeling of not being thirsty any more."

Thanks, Sam, for putting us in touch with our feelings again...no matter how uncomfortable.

weekly posts!?

Yesterday, my brother asked if I had read my mom's cousin's tribute (of sorts) to our dad. I didn't even know she had written about the funeral, etc on her blog back in November. Since I haven't written about that whole experience much, and for those who are interested in knowing more about it, here is the link to that post.

We have had so many people give us pages and pages they have written on their thoughts about my dad. KaraLyn's blog includes much of what everyone has been telling us these last few months. Who knew dad was so popular :) We were really happy that KaraLyn's whole family were able to come for the funeral. Most of them live in Southern California and I'm sure they sacrificed a lot to drop everything and come.

it's a girl!

I had my first 'Girly' night last thursday. No, we didn't watch Pride and Prejudice and crimp each other's hair....

We did go get manicures. My first ever! (results shown above...apparently I have also added some bling to my wardrobe) I have to admit that I wasn't impressed: The manicure didn't cure my hangnails and I still bite my nails just as much as ever. Neither did it cure my need for a 'man' in my life. Some of my friends did pedicures and I must say that I was a little jealous watching them in their vibrating chairs with their feet being massaged, scrubbed, lotioned and soaking in hot water. I, on the other hand, was leaning forward anxiously trying to hold my hand in the perfect claw position. I paid $16 for a kink in my neck, basically. It worked out well in the end, though...they gave me a cold greasy egg roll in celebration of the lunar new year. That kept my teeth busy and spared my new paint job from destruction for a few minutes.