Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Happy Halloween

Halloween Tidbits
*Halloween, as with many holidays, overlaps with Samhain,Feralia, and Pomona and leads up to All Souls Day and the Day of the Dead. It is a holiday that focuses on the changing of the seasons, the end of the harvest, fading of the light, death and the cycle of life, which death is of course a part.
*Some traditions believe that this is the time of year when the dead get to transition to the next phase, be it their place of rest or their next incarnation.
*Halloween's current position on our calendar, is a result of Pope Gregory III shuffling the Christian holdays (All Hallows and All Saints used to be celebrated in May).
*The idea of dressing up ghoulishly originated in Europe after outbreaks of the plague led to a lot of people having a lot of dead people to celebrate. In Celtic cultures, people dressed as animals to lead the dead (who they thought had been turned to animals) home.
*Trick-or treating is - depending on who you talk to - either a off shoot of the original Celtic hunt for soul cakes or a variation of the Guy Fawkes celebrations that shifted to a day that people were actually celebrating in the US. (Guy Fawkes Day is November 5th).
*Jack-o-lanterns used to be made with other vegetables, but they weren't prevalent in the US when the holiday caught on, so pumpkins were substituted.
*The candles - be they in pumpkins or not - are to help light the way for the dead. *Some culture's believe that god dies on Halloween and is reborn at Yule. (Which also coincides with the winter solstice and the days getting longer again.)

In whatever manner you choose, go forth and celebrate. (And remember holiday candy has no calories. For real!)

Thanks to belief.net and Wikipedia for helping me check my facts.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Sing!

I sing constantly. Even when around others - although sometimes I try for some internal singing. My brother threatened me when we went to see "Les Miserable" because he was concerned I would sing along with the actors. (I did not - alhough there was some toe tapping and mild seat dancing). Certain words trigger songs in my brain - I think the word crazy, and sing, "Crazy, crazy for feeling so lonely." There are others.

So - of course I sing in the shower. And as we all know the acoustics in the bathroom are great. Certain experts hhave suggested singing while washing your hands or brushing your teeth to help keep you doing it for the amount of time you are supposed to.

Well, in Australia, they are advising differently. They are suggesting people sing shorter songs in order to complete their shower more efficiently and conserve a bit of water. Here's the thing - maybe my experiences or off - but I have never once stayed in the shower because I wasn't done with the song I was singing. Is this really a big concern? Are people really not willing to cut off the song, or finish it while drying off? It just seems a bit silly to me. And I am against the stifling of singing in a place where it does not bother other people, and let's face it - this is one of a few.

Knitters Tea Swap

Between travelling, computer issues and blogger picture issues, it has taken me this long to properly give thanks to my Knitter Tea Swap Pal.

This is what I saw when I opened the box!

Inside we have Halloween dishcloths, tea (green, black, and herbal), cookies (chocolate covered and not), a yummy honey scented-candle, and candy corn! I am going to have to bring the candy corn into work so that I don't just snarf up the whole bag. And last but not least, some lovely alpaca navy yarn. I haven't quite worked out what it will become, but of the possibilities!
So thanks so much, Kat!

Thursday, October 26, 2006

The Power of Fake News

A while back I purchased a Glarkware shirt that proudly proclaims, "The Fake News is All I Need". It is, for me, part toungue-in-cheek, and a bit true. I tend to avoid most television news, finding the presentation not to my liking. I get my news on the internet - from blogs and newspapers and news magazines. I listen to NPR on my commute. And I watch "The Daily Show". And occaisonally (it's on really late for me) "The Colbert Report". I love Better Know a District.

Well, apparently a recent study found that the fake news gets you pretty well informed as far as national news goes. And apparently, with elections looming close, politicians are increasingly leary of appearing on Better Know a District. I get it, much like advertising, it is unclear which things help more than they hurt or hurt more than they help - so sometimes no action seems better than wrong action. But seriously - we are talking about a ten minute interview that everyone watching understands is a bit of fun. Sure - it's not much fun for the object of the fun, but hey - Eleanor Holmes Norton got the not being able to vote thing in and I have to imagine that many who watched that (on TV or on the internet) hadn't known about it. So that makes me happy. Even if it was only three people who didn't know that, that's three more people. (Hopefully three more voiting people).

Thanks to ALOTT5MA for the links.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Too Cute!

Check this out - the nicest hijacking of a blog ever.
Thanks to Craft blog for the link.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Dear Folks #3

Dear Teens:
I adore teenagers, really I do. And I want to point out that I am not picking on you because you are teenagers. But, it is important to remember that a metro car is different from a school hallway. While you may think your comments (insults) back and forth are extremely clever, and even if they are, we should not all need to listen to them. If you want to converse, you should place yourselves in a proximity to one another, rather than standing (unnecessarily, since the car was not full) at opposite ends of the car, necessitating large volumes. Indoor voices should be a concept you have long since mastered.
Sincerely,
Your Fellow Rider

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Flat Stanley and Flat Scout

I recently (and a bit belatedly) stumbled across this: Flat Scout who is journeying across the globe visiting fiber fun people. So cool!

So, it brings to mind my Flat Stanley story. My mother used to read to us while my sister and I ate dinner. It was likely a clever way to consolidate the bedtime story and get us to sit at the table for a reasonable amount of time and prevent us from turning on the television all at once. One of the stories that we enjoyed was Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. My mother was also a teacher for many years so had quite a mental file when it came to children's books. For those who have not had the pleasure (go read it!), Stanley was flattened by a bulletin board and had a number of adventures facilitated by his flat status, including being mailed to see his grandparents.

A decade or so later we were in Connecticut and my mother was introduced to this lovely gentleman named Jeff. He mentioned that he was a writer, but Jeff Brown is a common enough sounding name that she didn't quite put it together right away. Several minutes later she said, "You wrote Flat Stanley!" He admitted that he had and they had a lovely time talking about it. I wouldn't say our families became close friends, but certainly friendly. I babysat for his son. And we had the pleasure of listening to Jeff read Flat Stanley aloud at the Stonington Free Library. (It is so funny, funnier for adults.)

At one point Jeff mentioned that he had published several sequels but they were harder to find in the US. We snatched up those we could get, and I bought the final one in the UK (where they - as they should be - are all available).

Sadly, Jeff passed away in 2003, so there will be no more tales of the family Lambchop. But the Flat Stanley project - to help schoolchildren with letter writing - and other variations live on! Maybe I need a flat me to do all the holiday travelling!

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Leave the Cookie Alone

I love fortune cookies. Okay, they don't always taste that great - nothing like a milano - but still they are a ritual of sorts. They signal the bill paying and the end of a good meal (hopefully). And it really ticks me off this current trend where many of the so-called fortunes are more proverbs. "You will find something you have been looking for," is a fortune. "You are good at finding things," is not. It is a fortune cookie because it contains a fortune. I don't need a cliche cookie, or a proverb cookie, or a lucky number cookie. Or an election cookie. Because, apparently in Austin, that's what you get. So - we must stop the madness. Perhaps a People for the Protection of Fortune Cookies is in order here? How else will we make them understand?

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Bad Parents

I really do, for the most part, try no to tell other people how to raise their kids. But there are some situations where I can't keep quiet. A woman in Iowa was trying to buy a wedding dress. As we all know wedding dresses tend to be outrageously expensive. She paid for part of the dress and then offered her son as collateral for the balance. (I'm not sure whether it is better or worse that she apparently offered up only one of her two children.) She has been charged with sale of an individual, which is thankfully illegal in the US.

Monday, October 16, 2006

When Spell Check Gets You

One of my biggest problems is that I often type form instead of from and because it's close I usually don't catch it, and since it's a real word spell check won't catch it either. This is why, with important documents, it's good to have several people check it very carefully. And sometimes even that doesn't work.

In Michigan, they are having to redo the ballots after is was discovered that in a ballot initiative the word public was spelled without the "l". Hee.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Week 6 Picks

Note: Contains reference to racist sports team names.

Philadelphia Eagles at *New Orleans Saints - Philly's strong right now, but I think the Saints get underestimated.
*Buffalo Bills at Detroit Lions - Detroit will win eventually, but I don't think this week.
Houston Texans at *Dallas Cowboys - Houston finally won last week. It won't be two in a row.
*Carolina Panthers at Baltimore Ravens - Amazingly this is the first time these two teams have faced each other. Carolina's defense is struggling as is Baltimore's offense. It'll be close, but I think Carolina leave with the win.
NY Giants at *Atlanta Falcons - The Giants won't get off easy this week.
Tennessee Titans at *Washington Redskins - Both teams had disappointing losses last week, the home team will rebound better.
*Cincinnati Bengals at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Tampa Bay's newbie QB did well last week, but it'll be tougher against a rested team.
*Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams - The battle for first in the division should go to the 'hawks.
*San Diego Chargers at San Francisco 49ers - SF should capitalize on a really good win last week.
Kansas City Chiefs at *Pittsburgh Steelers - Normally I would pick the Chiefs, but I think three in a row is all anyone can expect the Steelers to lose right now.
Miami Dolphins at *NY Jets - Another division game, tight but should go to the home team.
Oakland Raiders at *Denver Broncos - The Broncos defense is making it tough right now.
*Chicago Bears at Arizona Cardinals - The Bears continue to rock. (Poor Colbert.)

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

When Not to Talk

I'm a big talker, as you may have noticed. I talk to people live, on the phone, and on the internet. I talk in blog form, participate in discussion boards and forums, comment on other blogs and so on. But there are times when it is better not to talk. We all know that gossip is bad. But it's a bit like caffeine, sure it's not healthy but it's so much fun while I'm doing it. And of course there is such a fine line between sharing information and gossiping that you can be over the line and around the corner before you know it. If I share with a friend that another not present but mutual friend is getting married, it's not gossip. But if we start talking about how she's made a bunch of crappy choices in men and we hope this one works out better, gossip. So my straddling the line kind of solution has been to try not to say anything that I would mind circling back. This is not to say that I always succeed, but that's what I'm trying for.

And of course there are scenarios where confidentiality comes in to play, either professional or personal. My job carries with it fairly basic confidentiality and it mostly surround the data I have access to. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to tell work stories if my job required stricter confidentiality. And there's always when we receive information in a scenario where we have promised to keep quiet. And that can be hard, because other people may ask you innocent questions and you may get to parse out what you learned when and where and what can you safely say.

In a similar vein, I try to be cautious about what I share about people I actually know since this is my blog not theirs. And - unless they do something newsworthy - they have not agreed to make their lives available on the internets. Now there are exceptions, I have certainly talked about family members, but usually in a direct context to me, rather than so you'll never believe what my brother did. Which has been interesting for me, trying to figure out where that line is between stories about me that involve other people and stories that are the other people's.

And then there's other stuff. Stuff I hesitate to talk about because I don't want to add to it. Some people seem to make really good careers out of saying things just to raise ire. On forums and discussion groups these people are called trolls, but if you get paid to do it people don't seem to call you that so much. And sometimes, I just don't want to give it any more time - not mine or yours. Certainly I am not under any impression that my little blog is being monitored by pundits and newsgatherers, but I don't want to keep it out there sometimes.

As a younger person I firmly felt that it was my duty to correct any errors I found and to try to educate all the misguided people. I have softened a bit now. So now I try to find the balance, trying to talk and educate in a way that is helpful rather than superior seeming. To recognize that there will always be people who feel differently than I, and just because I don't agree with their reasons doesn't mean that one of us has to chang eour minds before the conversation can end. And that some people, don't want to learn more. (Some people do, I'm just trying to figure out which ones.) And diversity of everything, including opinions, makes this world so much fun.

What a Coincidence!

I grew up in a house two blocks away from a grocery store, and a mile away from the first school I attended, where my mother later worked. It was typical to go to the grocery store and run into someone my mother knew, if not someone I knew. All this despite living in a city with a population larger than that of Wisconsin. So, while it fascinates me that the last three times I have attended the Maryland Renaissance Festival that I ran into a co-worker, two teens from a church committee, and another advisor from the youth group (in addition to the normal wenches, privateers, and such that I expect to find there) - it doesn't completely surprise me. Which doesn't mean I don't make particular note of such things. But it did remind me of two scenarios where it was a little unusual.

I was in Salzburg staying in a hostel (which I wish I could remember the name of because it rocked, it was on a cliff overlooking the city). Since people in hostels are living communally, we were all doing the where are you from bit. It was June so there were a lot of college kids or recent grads backpacking about. One woman said -that her friend's girlfriend is/was from there. So she got her friend who tells me yes his girlfriend is from DC but she went to high school in some snooty girls school in Maryland. Hey - I resemble that remark. Turns out his girlfriend was a grade behind me, and yes I knew just who she was.

The aforementioned school had a uniform. Since it saved me a lot of fashion worry (at least for most of the days of the week), I kind of liked it. Yes, we had a plaid skirt we had to wear. But it was the Gordon tartan - aka generic plaid - so it was fine. Well, it my first week of college, and this guy (who I had previously run into at other events) is wearing a plaid shirt. So I tell him that I like his shirt and that I went to a school that had that same plaid. (Yes, I'm an oversharer.) He nods politely. Several minutes later he turns to me and tells me that he took guitar classes at my school. This is particularly strange since He was from New Jersey (turned out he moved a few times).

Ugh, Part Two

I sent an email to the Greater Washington Initiative about their ad, and got a we're sorry it bothered you response. The response included the following, "It was only meant to be promote the region's highly educated workforce, to be humorous, and not to offend anyone." They responded smilarly in the article in the Washington Post*. (In fact the quote there implies that most people are smart enough to understand, just in case I hadn't felt insulted enough with the ad itself, now they are telling me it's my stupidity holding me back here. Thanks.)

I get it that the people at GWI** want to market the coolness of the DC metro area. And apparently the DC metro area has a highly educated workforce and sure that's a great beenfit to a business looking to expand into this market. And I understand there's going to be an element of superiority in any campaign that is trying to compare highly educated people to not highly educated people. So whether they chose a different book, or had the lesser educated person not reading, or sleeping there are always people who are going to identify with the lesser educated person and therefore feel slighted.

That is why I think it was a misguided idea. The DC metro area totally rocks, but do we have to demonstrate that by being better than somewhere else or could we maybe just emphasize our own merits. Studies seem to show over and over that voters hate negative ads, and yet politicians keep running them. How about you tell me what you want to do for my city/state/country? And then I'll decide from there. I think most people understand the concept of an election, I don't need to be told you want my vote, I need you to use your time telling me what you want to do with it. And if you spend all that time telling me someone else is evil, how does that convince me that you are worthy of my vote?

So, I feel sad that the GWI feels that the area can't just be touted for it's own merits. I feel sad that they don't see the harm in making fun of the largest batch of readers in our nation. I feel sad that the apparently think that reading Plato demonstrates a higher level of education than reading anything.

*Registration required
**This is my abbreviation for them.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Birthday Swap

I got my package from my birthday swap partner, Kate! It was beautifully wrapped in pretty pink tissue paper and some of the items had pretty yarn as ribbon.

So, here's the swag:

Noro yarn!
Knitting book!
Boston cookie (it's the shirt cookie, I have it the wrong way in the picture)!
Tea!
I'm so excited, I can't wait to knit and read (more about how to do that some other time) while sipping tea and nibbling on the cookie! Yay!

Friday, October 06, 2006

Thanks!

I just wanted to say thanks for the birthday wishes!

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Someone Else's Article: Ugh

Are romance readers dumb or is the people who don't read romance we should be worried about? Check out this over at Smart Bitches.

Week 5 Picks

Note: Contains reference to a racist sports team name.
Detroit Lions at *Minnesota Vikings - Struggling teams but the Vikings should take this. Yep. 1-0
Tennessee Titans at *Indianapolis Colts - The Colts had some issues last week, but I think they can work on them successfully. Just barely. 2-0
St. Louis Rams at *Green Bay Packers - Both struggling, and when in doubt go with Favre at home. (Usually). But not this week. 2-1
Buffalo Bills at *Chicago Bears - The Bears are the last unbeaten team and I'm sure they want it to stay that way. Oh yeah. 3-1
Cleveland Browns at *Carolina Panthers - The Panthers are on a roll. That's it. 4-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at *New Orleans Saints _ TB is short a QB, so NO will go. Close though. 5-1
*Washington Redskins at NY Giants - It'll be a tough defensive battle but the Redskins should prevail. So sad. 5-2
Miami Dolphins at *New England Patriots - The Pats are doing better than the Dolphins right now. Yep. 6-2
Oakland Raiders at *San Francisco 49ers _ Two struggling teams, advantage home team. And they took advantage. 7-3
NY Jets at *Jacksonville Jaguars - The Jaguars are pretty sad about losing to us last week. They should feel better. Quite a bit better. 8-3
*Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals - The Chiefs crazy offense is in gear. Althought AZ didn't look so bad there. 9-3
Dallas Cowboys at *Philadelphia Eagles - Should be a nasty game with TO back in town. Oh yeah. 10-3
Pittsburgh Steelers at *San Diego Chargers - The Chargers are out for blood after last week. And they found some. 11-3
*Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos - Big defenses, but I always count on the snake being unreliable. Apparently I should stop doing that. 11-4
Updated with scores.

Don't Mess With the Comma

President Bush recently said that when we look back, the Iraq War (part the second) will be nothing more than a comma. There is a lovely editorial on NPR as to the ridiculousness of calling a war a comma - so I will let you check that out. But I want to stand here in defense of the comma.

The comma may be little, but it is important. It can not only clarify a sentence, separating items, indicating sequences or pauses, but also change the meaning. (The title of the book Eats, Shoots and Leaves is based on that very premise.)

But the comma has a spiritual association for me as well. The United Church of Christ (UCC) partnered with the Unitarian Universalist Association on the Our Whole Lives sexuality education program. At the time i did the training I was unfamiliar with the UCC - this was before their recent ad campaign. One of the UCC people in the training shared a saying that is used a lot within the UCC: "Never place a period where God has placed a comma." (Attributed to said Gracie Allen.) They have used this phrase, along with their, "God is still speaking," campaign (note the comma after the speaking). The idea is that faith is a continuous thing. God didn't stop talking to us - not just on the little stuff, but on the big issues also. And I find this so appealing. I certainly don't want to step on anyone else's faith, but the idea that faith and my and our relationship with God is continuous really appeals to me. That God didn't make a bunch of pronouncements way back in the day and then disappear, instead that the conversation is ongoing. So don't minimize commas.

Season Passes - The Story So Far

In an attempt to talk about something a little lighter, we have television. I invested in a dual channel Tivo over the summer and boy has it been getting a workout. I expect as the varous shows progress things will drop or move but here is the status so far.

Returning Shows with Season Passes:
Veronica Mars: Did you watch it? It was really good.
House: On a baseball hiatus alreadt, but the show is still good.
The Office: My roommate sucked me into this one last season.
How I Met Your Mother: Really enjoying the play with the storylines here.
Gilmore Girls: God they irritated me last season. But it seems to be working (under new management) for right now. But they are on notice.
Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County: I know, I just can't look away.
Project Runway: My kind of reality show.
Battlestar Galactica: I heard great things over and over about this show last year, so I tuned in and was instantly hooked. Restarts soon!
Intervention: Addictive. (Yeah, I know - that was bad.)
Grey's Anatomy: Popcorn.
The Amazing Race: Got sucked into this last season (yeah, I'm late to the party). Really good teams this year.
(I also have some summer shows - Psych, and The 4400 that are on hiatus now).

New Shows:
Six Degrees: Already deleted - too many cliches for me. Not even Campbell Scott was enough to keep me going.
Vanished: Also deleted, they were trying to hard to keep me interested and sacrificed things like plot and good storytelling.
Kidnapped: Enjoying it so far. I'm a fan of Dana Delany, as well as Timothy Hutton and Delroy Lindo.
Friday Night Lights: A football show made me cry. Awesome.
The Nine: I'm intrigued.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: I'm a huge Aaron Sorkin fan, and I hope they are still settling a bit. I never really saw the preachy in West Wing - at least not for a while. Or it worked in that setting. It's getting on my nerves here. So, still there, but on notice.
Runaway: Not sure about this. The family dynamicas are interesting but they are being chased by some pretty incompetent folks which reduces the tension. So we shall see.
Heroes: I wasn't sure after the first episode, but after the second I think I'm hooked.
Ugly Betty: It was cute. We shall see how it progresses.
Brothers & Sisters: I'm enjoying it but the pacing is such that I keep spending too much time wondering if there going somewhere predictable with all of this. (Which may say more about me than the show.)
Eureka: Which actually just ended (ssh - I haven't watched it yet) but good show. Similar to Battlestar Galactica in that it's sci-fi but not overly focused on the sci - more on the people.

Shows That Haven't Started Yet:
30 Rock
Knights of Prosperity
The Game
(Okay it has started, bu I haven't watched it yet).
Top Chef: Mixed Feelings about the first season, but in the end I enjoyed it.

Stay Tuned.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Clearer Things

In light of recent events, it becomes clear that people are either unaware or ignoring some facts about sexuality. So, let me share. Being homosexual is not the same as being a pedophile. It is about as similar as liking cars and liking sports. There are people who like cars and like sports, but their like of the two things is not always related (unless of course they are NASCAR fans). There are plenty of heterosexual people who molest children.

Being sexually attracted to teenagers is not the same as being sexually attracted to children or babies. Without getting to deep into the psychology of it all, there are people who feel the desire to molest children who are not interested in teenagers and the reverse is also true. (Where this can get murky is if a person starts their sexual relationship with someone and they grow out of their age range they are sometimes able to continue the attraction by recalling the person as being younger.)

We have set ages of consent for sexual behavior in this country. The reason behind this is that adults (over the age of consent), particularly those in a role of authority over a child, can convince children to engage in behavior. From a legal perspective, we have made the decision that people under this age are not able to make appropriate decisions about such consent, and therefore all behavior is illegal. Is it somewhat arbitrary: yes. Does it vary from state to state: yes.

Another point that seems to get lost, is that while we all agree that under the influence of chemicals - legal and otherwise - we make different decisions than we might make without that influence, in the end we are legally responsible for those decisions. If I run over three people I am responsible for their deaths whether I was drunk or sober, high or straight. The same applies to any decisions I might make about sexual activity. Or about sending dirty emails.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Muddled Thoughts

I am in the process of reading From Chocolate to Morphine Winifred Rosen and Andrew T. Weil and one thing that struck me was the similarity between guns and drugs. In both cases we have something - in one case a weapon, and in another case a chemical (or chemicals) that can cause harm to people. We have used - for most chemicals - a legal approach that bans most chemicals and targets not only those that commit violence under the influence of these chemicals but also targets those who buy and sell them. In the case of guns I initially thought of the legislative approach as different. Guns are constitutionally allowed (although it is an amendment which suggests even the founders thought adjustments might be necessary). Guns are legal and most of the restrictions surround age, and type. But really it is the same with drugs, certainly there are plenty of legal substances - alcohol and tobacco being the most notable that are allowed and yet restricted.

This is interesting to me because while my grandfather hunted and my mother and brother were on high school rifle teams, I had considered myself - not anti-gun completely - but certainly in favor of serious restrictions on guns for personal use.

Coming up with this parallel has given me a perspective to chew on a bit. After all while I feel many of our laws about drugs focus on the wrong things, I do realize that since the drinking age was raised the number of alcohol related deaths among 18-20 year-olds has decreased. So there is some effect.

This is a timely introspection, although for the most tragic of reasons. The recent spate of school shootings will I imagine bring to the forefront the debate about guns. It is particularly sad that the Amish community, a group that eschews electronics, to say nothing of guns has been affected by this. (This is of course not meant to diminish the sadness that all of these communities are experiencing).

Certainly those who are determined to harm themselves and others will always find a way to succeed. That is a sad fact. But somehow it would hurt more to know that these various people were able to easily access the various weapons they decided to use. Particularly in a day and age where we restrict access to birth control - where often the lack provides more harm and poses the greater risk.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Dishcloths

I have completed some dishcloths. It has been posted on the Dishcloth KAL blog.

Dear Folks #2

Dear Person In the Car Behind Me,
I am aware that when the light turns green you get to go. However, in our country it is frowned upon to run over pedestrians. Since we were in a right turn only lane, I can only assume you were unaware of this rule, and that is why you felt the need to honk at me repeatedly while I waited for the people who were crossing with a walk signal in a crosswalk to get out of harm's way. I hope that thrity seconds didn't seriously impact your day.

Dear Furniture Delivery People,
I appreciate that you arrived in advance of the set time window in which I had been told to expect you. Where things got sticky was when you suggested that I owed you special consideration - wink, wink, nudge nudge - since you had to wait for me. When I am told my furniture will arrive between one and six, since I have a job, I try to go to it for the first part of the day. I planned to be home at one-ish, and since my first contact was when you were already in the hallway of my building (before one) - I appreciate that it might have appeared to you as if I was late. In actuality I was not late until one. (At which point, I wasn't quite there yet, and for that I apologize). And pointing out that you hadn't had lunch yet, did little for me, since neither had I in my race to get home to open the door for you. But that's okay, you guys placed the couch with it's back to the television which I'm sure made you feel a little better.