GOD BLESS AMERICA

Posted on July 22, 2007 by thathobbitlady

Here’s a recent picture of me, when Russ and I went into Birmingham for a day. This is outside a fast food restaurant called Whataburger, which actually had great food, but I was most impressed by the sign on the window, and asked Russ to take a picture of me with it.

Around here, everyone is so open about God and religion. Nobody looks at you funny if you talk about going to church, or say “God bless you” for more than a sneeze. Some restaurants aren’t even open on Sunday, and Little League doesn’t play or practice on Wednesday evenings, cos of course Wednesday evenings are church time, everywhere you go!

It’s nice. Of course, my favorite sign was the billboard we saw yesterday on our way back from Montgomery: Go to Church, or the Devil Will Get You! There was even a cartoon of a red horned devil with a pitchfork. I wish I’d had my camera for that one! 🙂

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Posted on July 21, 2007 by thathobbitlady

How many times have I come here and said I’m going to start up this LJ again, only to do it for a few days, then quit? Well, here I am again, making the same vow…but maybe this time it will stick.

I had to come in here a few days ago to look something up, and as I was looking at my entries, I grew very nostalgic for the time when thathobbitlady was a big part of me life. Which is kind of silly, actually, because my life now is actually so much better than it was back then. So I’m not saying, “Oh, I wish I was back there,” I’m only saying, “Hey, that was a good time.”

But this is a good time too, the best time, and I want to be able to share this time as well, with anyone who might care to look and listen. But first, a word of housekeeping…

BACK TO THE EGG

I’ve been keeping another LJ which was specifically a means of recording my weight loss efforts. It’s been a big help to me, since I’ve been rather faithful about recording my weight and my efforts there, almost every day. I think what I’d like to do at this point is to incorporate that journal into this one.

So yes, there will be entries here which deal specifically with weight loss, eating well, exercise, etc. The name of my LJ has been “Back to the Egg,” and the icon was of a pysanki egg, and I will keep that title and that icon on all entries that have to do with weight loss. So if you are interested, you can read those entries, and if not, you will easily be able to skip them. If anyone is reading, and would like to leave a word of encouragement, or share ideas on weight loss, it would be most appreciated!

In the meantime, tho, I would like to begin with this thought. Today Russ and I took a “day trip” to Montgomery, which is about 100 miles away. It’s a beautiful ride, through green hills, lots of trees, some small towns. We didn’t really do much there except go to the Mall. HAHA! We drove one hundred miles to go to a mall. This was really a time when the journey was much more significant than the destination.

Well, expect for one thing. There is, in fact, in this mall in Montgomery, a Hot Topic store!!! There is not a Hot Topic in Tuscaloosa, and I have missed being able to go in there. So I went in, and spent about an hour looking around (Russ is so patient with me!) and I actually ended up getting something for both Mary and Joey. So kids, get ready! I won’t tell you what I got you, but I think you will like your gifts.

Anyway, this was something a little different, and it was fun. Russ is such a good traveler. We spent a lot of our time LISTENING to the first two episodes of Buffy, which he has on disc. It was actually a lot more rewarding than I originally thought it would be. Well, probably because we are both totally familiar with the episodes, we could already SEE the action in our minds. The revelation was that we found ourselves hearing things in this episode we had never before been aware of. Funny voice inflections, sound effects, the music, etc. What an eye-opener! (Pun intended).

Okay, enough for now. Hope to come back here soon.

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THE TRUTH ABOUT PURSES

Posted on June 20, 2007 by thathobbitlady

For some time now I have been laboring under the supposition that the most desirable quality in a purse/bag/pocketbook/etc., was that it should be small and light. I guess this has something to do with my addiction to de-junking and simplification. Less is more, is it not?

Well, usually….but yesterday, I had an epiphany when it comes to purses. Less is not always more! You see, I have been moving into smaller and smaller purses, but as I have done so, there are so many useful things I’ve had to leave behind.

Case in point: I am always on the lookout for the perfect daybook, something into which I can put all the information I need to have at hand at any given moment. Calendar, address book, to-do lists, etc. I have such a book, and it even contains a front pocket in which to keep stamps, envelopes and stickers, for any impromptu correspondence. But I had decided that I could not actually carry this around in my purse, because it was too bulky and too heavy, and thus I have been leaving it behind, and very often feeling completely at a loss.

Likewise, I tend to be quite an avid coupon clipper/user. But the smaller purse I have been using will not accommodate my coupon envelope, and so whenever I go into a store or a restaurant, I am always exclaiming, “Oh! I have a coupon for that! Only, I don’t have it with me.” Well, what good is that?

Yes, it would be ideal not to have to lug around all this junk on a constant basis. But it suddenly occurred to me that this “junk” is what makes my life not only efficient, but also interesting. It is useful to have at hand, in order to be ready at a moment’s notice for whatever might capture my fancy. Oh! Look at that! Wouldn’t that make a great photograph? Well, pull out the camera. Oops. No camera. My purse is too small, so I don’t take it with me.

Hmmm….here I am, waiting in line, I’ve got ten minutes to kill. Gee, I sure do wish I had my book with me. I could sneak in a little reading to pass the time. But alas…

I think you get the idea. While making my purse smaller, my life has also been getting smaller. And I don’t feel good about that. So, just now, I have moved back into a larger purse. And already I feel an increased sense of purpose, freedom and flexibility. Like a Boy Scout, I am prepared for anything! Well, almost anything. Should Monty Hall offer a crisp $100 bill to anyone who can produce a boiled egg, I don’t think I’ll find one in my purse (well, anyway…I hope not!) Still, all in all, this feels a lot more comfortable.

Oh! And one more thing! Part of the thinking behind the smaller purse is that it is better for your back, not to be carrying so much weight on one shoulder. I have to agree with that. I hate over the shoulder purses. Instead, I have found that the very best purses are those that are constructed along the lines of a knapsack, with straps that you can fling over both your shoulders. Not only do you evenly distribute the weight across your body, but it also leaves both hands free for other activities, whether that be picking up a crying child, carrying a bag of takeout food and a soda, or simply trying to open the car door while talking on your cell phone.

Bottom line: in life, there will be stuff. It’s unavoidable. Figure out which stuff is valuable to you, and have it on hand.

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ONE MILLIONS DOLLARS…

Posted on June 9, 2007 by thathobbitlady

I know it’s been a long, long time since I have written here, but perhaps I am not yet ready to hang up thathobbitlady. I would like to see if I can start to be more active here again, to keep up with what is going on in my life.

But before I do that, I’m going to start with a “What if…?” question that Mary posed in her LJ. It’s the age-old question: “What would you do if you had a million dollars?”

Funny she should ask, because I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately (especially every time I check the Florida Lottery website). Anyway, if it’s only one million dollars, that IS a limitation. It’s not REALLY a whole lot of money. I mean of course it IS, if you use it wisely, but not if you use it recklessly. So here’s how I would use it (wisely):

First, I would give at least 10% to charity. I don’t know exactly which charity. I would pray about it, and wherever God led me to put the money at that time, that’s where it would go. Actually, I’ve always thought it would be nice to have a fund of money available, so that whenever I saw something that tugged at my heartstrings, some worthy cause to which I wanted to contribute, it would be easy work to make a significant difference in somebody’s life.

Next, I would buy me and Russ a nice house, nothing fancy, nothing more elaborate than we are planning to buy anyway. The only advantage now is that we would be able to buy it free and clear, no mortgage.

Then, I would also buy a nice little two bedroom condo in Tuscaloosa, relatively near the college, so that if Mary or Joey decided they wanted to go to school here, they would have a place to stay (rent-free!) Also, if either of them wanted to go to school here, whatever scholarships did not cover, I would pay. Basically, I would do anything I could to persuade them to come to school here! I think it’s a good school, and they would enjoy their time in Tuscaloosa.

And if neither of them wanted to come to school in Tuscaloosa, that little condo would become the “guest house,” so that anyone who wanted to come visit me here in Alabama would have a nice, private place to stay while they are here. Y’all c’mon down! (or “up,” as the case may be.)

Now, with the rest of the money, I would pretty much invest it so that I could live off the the dividends. I would not want to HAVE to work, if at all possible. Well, maybe a fun little part-time job, just to stay busy. I would want to spend most of my time enjoying my house, enjoying my family, enjoying my town.

And writing novels. I would have a personal office set up in my new house, where I could go every day for several hours to write. And should I publish any novels and make money from that, I would use that money to rent myself a little office somewhere in the middle of downtown, hopefully on an upper floor with a great view, where I could go every day to write more novels. And every day at lunchtime I would come down, walk around the city streets, and find a nice restaurant where I could go have a delicious and healthy salad.

So basically, when it comes right down to it, I would use that million dollars to set myself up with financial security and freedom, better access to my family, opportunities to exercise my creativity, and a really healthy and delicious salad.

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HOMESICKNESS

Posted on February 28, 2007 by thathobbitlady

It’s been almost two months now since I got to Northport, and in that time I have not yet really gotten homesick. There have been a few isolated incidents, but no overwhelming feelings. I had another incident today. So I thought this would be a good time to review what is making me homesick.

The first time I felt homesick was early on. One day when I first got here, I walked into the local Wal Mart, that is set up exactly like the Wal Mart in Margate, and I suddenly realized that no matter how much I searched the candy aisles, I would not find my sister there.

Then, some time later, I was talking to my mom one day, and she told me that next Saturday she and Terry were going to visit Aunt Claire. Sigh. Homesickness. I wished I could be going with them.

One day, shortly after I started my new job, as I was driving into work I was musing on how much more sleep I was now able to get in the morning. Here, I am leaving the house at 7:30, whereas in South Florida, I sometimes had to leave the house as early as 6am, on the days when I would drive Joey into school. I began to miss….Joey. And those days. It was not a true “homesickness,” but rather “time-sickness,” missing an earlier stage in my life.

Likewise, whenever I see a tall, lanky boy about Joey’s age, I think of him and miss him. And whenever I drive by a bookstore, I miss Mary, and the times we would sit for hours in Border’s or Atlanta Bread, snacking and typing away at our computers on our NaNo’s and other fiction.

Now, today, here is what happened. In my office, there has been a non-functioning printer sitting beside my desk. I got permission to move it out and store it in a back room. As I began to prepare it for the move, I removed an extending tray, and suddenly realized that this printer is a HP Laserjet N5, the VERY SAME printer which I had for years in my office back at my job in Coconut Creek. So I looked at this printer, and for the first time, I missed my old job.

So, that’s about it. I wonder if these incidents of homesickness are going to get more frequent and pronounced as time goes on, or less? I’ve been so very busy these past seven or eight weeks, I haven’t had time to get homesick! But now as things are beginning to calm down, as I settle into my new routine, I wonder how much I’ll miss the old routine.

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NEW JOB

Posted on February 24, 2007 by thathobbitlady

More new stuff! I got a job.

As I had hoped, I am working at the University of Alabama. Actually, I am working in an office at the Law School, which probably sounds a lot more impressive than it really is. The important thing is that after three days of work, I think I am going to like it. My co-workers are all great, and the scope of work should keep me busy, once I get going with it.

Right now it’s more a case of not knowing what I don’t know. Soon I will know what I don’t know, and then I will learn what I don’t know, and then I will know it. I don’t know if that exactly makes sense, but what I am basically saying is that it always takes a little while to get used to a new job, and after only three days, I can already begin to feel that happening, so I’m sure I’m on the right track.

Now, here is the amazing thing to me. As I said, my goal, when I first fashioned this idea in my head to leave South Florida, was to go live in a college town and work on the college campus. Meeting Russ and finding out that he lived only a few miles away from a college campus—well, how cool is that? I mean, he could have lived in Alaska, out in the middle of nowhere. But no, he happens to live about three miles from a state university campus. First step…no problem.

So, yes, college town. And then I get here, and start applying for jobs at the University, and within 30 days of filing my application on-line…BAM! I’m going into work. I just think this is so cool. I really feel that on occasion God GIVES us certain dreams because that is what He wants to do in our lives, and so He makes us WANT IT FIRST, so that when He gives it to us, we are that much more pleased with the end results. Does that makes sense?

Anyway, just spent a little time in a bookstore with Russ, reading through a writers’ magazine. Really starting to get the urge again to write. All the pieces are coming back into place. Life is good. Now if only I could stop eating all this leftover Valentine’s candy!

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NEW LIFE IN ALABAMA

Posted on February 7, 2007 by thathobbitlady

Yes, I am still alive. In fact, my life has been so busy these past several months, that’s why I have not been writing here that much. But now everything is much changed, and along with those changes I am hoping that things will once again begin to settle down, giving me the opportunity to start writing again, and part of that means being able to keep up in my LJ.

Okay. So my life has changed. Are you ready for changes?

I got engaged. I quit my job. I moved to Alabama. Is that enough in the way of changes? Just about the only thing that has remained the same in my life is my cats and my couches.

Well, I’m being a little facetious there. Lots of my stuff came over with me. But it’s not about “stuff.” It’s about being happy, and I am.

This was a giant step for me, and I have to say that I don’t know how I would have managed it, if it weren’t for Russ. He has been an absolute sweetheart, every step of the way. I feel so safe and confident with him. To all of those who say you can’t really get to know someone on-line, I say….P-SHAAAW!! The most surprising thing to me is that I am not at all surprised by Russ. He is exactly as I imagined he would be, and so easy to get along with.

As for Alabama, it’s great! So different than South Florida. It really reminds me so much more of Gainesville (especially around the University of Alabama, which is 2-3 miles away from our house).

In some ways, it reminds me more of “up north” than of the South. The trees are dead now, in the Winter, but I’m hoping in a month or so to begin to experience a true Spring, with leaves and flowers blossoming everywhere.

The houses here remind me of Long Island. There are a lot of brick houses, and a lot of houses are built on hills, or at the bottom of hills. Some houses are really old. Like ours.

Apparently it was built in 1926. This little house is so cool, I’m going to do an entire post just on the house, but I have to mention at least this much: at one point, the “lady of the house,” (who may have been Russ’ great grandmother, if I have the story correctly) refused to get one of those new-fangled washing machines. She insisted on continuing to do her laundry on a washer board! I wonder if she also made her own soap from grease drippings!

Anyway, at the moment I am “Alabamaizing” myself. So far I have a driver’s licence, a library card, and my voter’s card is on the way. I switched my address on my car insurance and I’m saving approximately 50%! Gas is $2.06 a gallon right now. That’s the good news. The bad news is that sales tax is 9% and they tax everything, even food! But apparently property taxes are low, so Russ and I will reap the benefits when we buy a house.

I live within walking distance of:

Publix
Office Depot
McDonald’s (which has free internet!)
K-Mart
KFC
CVS
Wendy’s
Taco Bell
Arby’s

There’s more, I just can’t think of it all at the moment. Oh! And one more thing you have to know about Alabama, there are churches EVERYWHERE! You cannot drive two minutes in any direction without seeing a church.

I can see a church steeple from my living room window, and there is another church directly across the street from that. Also, the church that Russ grew up in, St. Mark’s Methodist, is within walking distance. Apparently you can’t buy liquor all day on Sunday, and though team sports for kids is really big (at least in Russ’ family), they never schedule practices or games on Wednesdays. Why not? Church.

It’s a different world.

Okay, enough for now. Just to let you all know, I’m here, and I’m psyched to be here! Tomorrow I have my first employment interview at the University! More about that next time.

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Posted on October 28, 2006 by thathobbitlady

My boyfriend is a freakin computer GENIUS!!!!!!

Thank you, Russ! : )

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DILEMMA

Posted on September 11, 2006 by thathobbitlady

Okay, here’s a dilemma. I recently “discovered” a singer I really like. A Brit pop star, Robbie Williams. Actually, I’ve known a little bit about him for a short while, because I used to hear some of his music on internet radio, back in the days when the I.T. department wasn’t so particular about people listening to internet radio at work.

But then, I kind of forgot about him, until recently for some reason I picked up one of his CD’s at the library and have totally fallen in love with his music. So, of course, I go online to find out more about him, how many CD’s does he have out, what’s he like, etc etc.

Well, its the “What’s he like?” part that poses my dilemma. Because, from the little I’ve read, he does not seem like a very nice person. He seems angry and conceited and totally full of himself, and he (or at least his lawyers) treat his fans like shit. So, not very happy with the person Robbie Williams, tho I still think his music rocks.

I know I shouldn’t feel this way, I know the music should stand on its own, but nevertheless, I’m not entirely sure I’m going to be able to enjoy the music in the same way now, knowing what I know about him. I wish I hadn’t gone on the internet and looked him up. It would have been much better that way. But of course, it’s equally possible that I might have looked him up and discovered that he was the biggest sweetheart in the world (well, except for my Russ, of course!) and then I would have been saying, “Oh! Isn’t he great!” and I would have liked his music even more.

So….was it worth taking that chance? Am I going to be able to get over all this and listen to his music without thinking about how he is this 32 year old megalomaniac who has random sex with his teenage groupies and sues any of his fans who dare to reprint the lyrics of his songs on their websites celebrating his music and his career (or at least it is so reported in various places on the internet.) I just want to enjoy the music!!! I feel like it isn’t right that my opinion of him as a person could possbily affect that enjoyment, but I’m just being honest. It does.

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CLICHE?

Posted on September 9, 2006 by thathobbitlady

In discussing the Angel episode Spin the Bottle, Mary made a comment that it was a “cliché storyline” along the lines of twins switching places, or someone with powers getting a cold that affects said powers. This gave me something to think about, and Russ and I something to talk about, so I just want to open up the floor to the question: what, exactly, is a cliché?

Dictionary definition: 1 : a trite phrase or expression; also : the idea expressed by it
2 : a hackneyed theme, characterization, or situation 3 : something (as a menu item) that has become overly familiar or commonplace.

(Well, I don’t know what that “menu item” is all about. If you go into McDonald’s and order a Big Mac, is that a cliché?)

Now, as for a cliché being “hackneyed,” I needed to go back to the dictionary to be sure I understood all the implications of that word. Here’s the dictionary definition of hackneyed:

1 a : to make common or frequent use of b : to make trite, vulgar, or commonplace

So, before we go any further, I have to say I am most disappointed in the dictionary for using this circular method of definition. A cliché is hackneyed, which is common, which is trite, which is commonplace, which is, in turn, cliché. Anyway, I think we get the idea.

But…

As far as literature (and by this, I also mean movies and TV shows), when and how does a story pass from “common” to cliché? I mean, let’s consider, there are only so many stories in the world. There is nothing really truly *new * out there, it’s just a matter of how one combines the elements to give it all a new slant.

I hate to do this (No! Actually, I LOVE to do this) but I’m going to quote NaNo guru, Chris Baty, because this little passage is so incredibly telling:

“Can someone in your story get fired? Can a marriage or relationship implode? Can someone get a disease? Can someone die? Can an unexpected windfall occur? Can someone be wronged, and set out to exact vengeance? Can someone find a precious or unusual object? Can your character set off on an impossible quest or journey? Can someone try to become something they’re not? Can someone fall in love with someone who is off-limits or wildly inappropriate? Can your character be mistaken for someone else?

If all of these questions sound suspiciously familiar, it’s because one of them…has driven the plot of nearly every movie you’ve ever watched and every book you’ve ever read.”

Wow. Think about it. Except for “Can your character have to overcome a natural or supernatural disaster?” I don’t think this list misses too much, does it? As I said, only so many stories in the world. So. When do we pass into the realm of “cliché”?

And while we’re at it, you know, there’s a *reason * why clichés exist. It’s exactly because they are common, and representative. Let’s go back to my mention of someone going into McDonald’s and ordering a Big Mac. In the movie, Bedazzled, which I re-watched recently, Brendon Fraser does exactly that. As I’m sure has been done by hundreds of other characters in hundreds of other movies. Are we going to bemoan the fact that this is a cliché? Don’t you see why the writer/director has him order a Big Mac at McDonalds? Because that’s what it means to have the McDonald’s experience.

Sure, the character could have gone in and ordered the side salad and an iced tea, but that would have distracted from that story, because we would have been asking, “What is the writer trying to say by having him order a side salad and an iced tea? Is he a health food nut? Is he worried about his weight? Is he a pansy?” No, no, no! Don’t go there! The writer doesn’t want you to go there. The writer just wants you to know that his character is at McDonald’s. Hence, he has him order a Big Mac.

Okay now…Twins switching places? Yeah, I agree. Cliché. A cold affecting powers? I don’t know, maybe I’m not watching the right kinds of shows, but I haven’t really seen that one too often. And that brings up another point! What is cliché for one person, might not be for another person. Someone who is an aficionado of the mystery novel is going to instantly recognize all the clichés of that genre, but someone who has limited exposure to this kind of story is going to see something and say “Ooooh! Cool! How innovative and creative!”

I think what I’m saying is “Cliché is in the eye of the beholder.” So who is going to set the limits on where clichés begin and end? There is an “expert” for everything in the world. Is that person the one that sets the limits? Or are we going to try to find the common ground, what “most people” are familiar with? Who is going to determine that? Is there any way for anyone to really know what everybody else knows, what they are familiar with, what they are thinking?

Finally, I think, what it comes down to, when all is said and done, is that maybe it’s not really so important whether or not something is “cliché” but rather how well the story is told.

Once again, I quote Chris Baty:

“A good plot is less a matter of innovation and invention as it is one of creative re-use; the most acclaimed books of the modern era have used the same building blocks as the worst soap operas and clumsiest cartoons. The main thing separating the mind-blowing, life-changing stories of a great novel from the treacly dreck of daytime TV is THE MANNER IN WHICH THE TALE IS TOLD.”

Now, Mary may still disagree with me on whether or not the Angel episode was well-told (and in fact, she does!), I’m just saying I wouldn’t be so quick to call it clichĂ©—at least not until we’ve got a better definition than the one offered by the dictionary!

And I’m not entirely sure that’s possible.

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