Living In the World, Not on It

There are a lot of wonderful things in life to enjoy: a good dinner out; wearing jeans to work; a walk on the first brisk autumn day. But one of the best things in life is to have my hair washed. You may be thinking, "Eeeeeewwwww, don't you wash your hair?" Of course I do, and every day. People with hair and skin as naturally oily as mine cannot go overlong without washing. That is not what I meant. I mean when I have my hair coloured and cut, the woman who does it washes it and it is... heavenly. I sit in the chair, put my head back and close my eyes. The water comes on and is adjusted - hot, please, I hate having my hair washed in cold, cool or luke warm water. She rinses out the left over colour and then lathers up a bit of shampoo and then she digs in and scrubs my tingling scalp. Ah, that is amazing. It is relaxing and invigorating and makes me feel great. It is a very personal thing to wash someone else's hair. One is not accustomed to allowing others to invade ...

Bet you are wondering what that means! It doesn't mean nearly as much as you think, Cowboy. It means exactly what it reads. In a plainer sense, it really means that this is more mindless rambling as opposed to any serious topic. I'm just going to aimlessly write and whatever comes out, well, there it is. No specific topic. There actually really IS a perfect double semi-circle there on my office chair (the one at home, noodnick!) and there is a simple and completely non-shocking reason for it. Very often, I will sit down at my computer right after showering in the altogether as it were. I use baby powder to keep things fresh and dry and it leaves a pattern on the chair. That's it, folks. Nothing amazing or abberant there. Although it is funny, one of my coworkers called me a freak (she was, in fact, referring to my eating habits more than anything else) but she was dead-on with that description. Funny, after lunch she came to my office and apologised. There was absolutely n...

Before anyone says anything, I know it's not MY ambulance. None of them are. But aside from my husband's car, I only drive either 66-3, 66-2 or on one freaky occaision, 66-4. Those are the ambulances of the Rockaway Neck First Aid Squad. I love riding. And I love driving, and patient care, and I am good at dealing with the patients. I can't lift much which is a detriment, but I can do everything else - write reports, check vitals, do trauma assessments, be comforting to the pati ent and family, take charge when needed, do CPR, use the equipment. I have been on a lot of minor calls and some major trauma and dead people and heart attacks. I have not yet delivered a baby - but that is a matter of time. So is a gun shot wound (something I am admittedly curious to see). I love the people I ride with. I am not friends with all of them and I'm not popular (I was nominated for two e-board positions but not voted in - which wasn't a surprise although one cannot help but feel...

This is a company that I worked in from March to July of this year. I haven't been there for almost six months and it is not likely that I will be back. That is not a bad comment on me, it just strikes me as a one-time experience. And what an experience! So, it is time to talk about it. I first heard of this company while I was still working for Universal Solutions. I knew that USI was eventually going to terminate its HR staff - it wasn't at all hard to see THAT writing on the wall - and I had the agency out searching for something new for me. I really wanted to put in my notice first. As it happens, everything worked out very much for the best. When I first heard about this company, it sounded ideal. I wanted in. They manufacture fragrances and flavours, and this was for the Liquid Compounding department, which made only flavours and specialised in liquid flavours, like for soups, beverages, whatever. Tell me that doesn't sound completely fascinating. They were slow to m...

People tell me this all the time - I am selfish for not wanting children. Here is something I found and I like it - it is easy to see just who the selfish people really are... And ironically, it is mostly those who had gotten pregnant by accident and shrugged it off and now they are mired in lives that would not have been of my choosing. " Selfish? The misconception about remaining childfree that bothers many of us the most is that people who decide not to have children are SELFISH. Some data/facts on this issue: In 1992, Rathus and Nevid (both psychologists) interviewed hundreds of couples on their reasons for having or not having children. They found couples with children had 9 common answers for their decision, and that couples without children had 13 common answers for their decision. To summarize, they are: NINE COMMON REASONS GIVEN FOR HAVING CHILDREN: 1. Personal experience - to have the experience of being a parent 2. Personal pleasure - the fun and joy of r...

Actually, that depends on how much more I do with the music... I have been burning CDs like a madwoman for quite some time. I guess I started somewhere around 15:00... and it is now 23:27. This has not been ALL I have done, but it has been going on steadily for this time. Of course, now I need to start some laundry! Here is the last questionnaire I filled out about a month ago (before the one just posted prior to this): Fifteen years ago I: - I was 22 years old - was just moving in with Luis - Did not ever want children - Was happy- still didn't know what I was doing and wanted to do and hated it Ten years ago, I: - 27 years old - Lived with Luis for 5 years and we bought our first house - did not ever want children - Was happy - learned a lot but still didn't know what I wanted to do - still didn't know what I was doing and hated it Five years ago, I: - Finally figured out what I wanted to be - Learned to live with Luis' flaws and he with mine - did not ever want child...

Very often these days I receive an e-mail with "deep" personal questions, I suppose designed to make one think... I think entirely too much and am distressingly honest about myself. However, I like probing questions like those asked in these e-mails... however, I am militantly anti-chain mails of any kind so I always take out the verbiage about mailing the answers back to the originator and passing it on to the requisite number of friends. Then I send it out to those who really are close friends. No need to pass it on. So here is the latest series... 1. When you look at yourself in the mirror, what's the first thing you look at? Me. The whole thing, not any one part. 2. How much cash do you have on you? Two dollars. 3. What's a word that rhymes with "TEST"? Rest. 4. Favorite plant? Christmas tree - the pine scent is delightful. 5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone? I have no idea. I never look at that. 6. What is your main rin...