My News
Posted by Gina on Feb 28, 2008
I read the online papers in various cities every mornng while I sip my one cup of coffee and try to wake up. It is the best part of the day for me - I’m up first and the house is quiet and I can click through a dozen sites without any interrutions or distractions.
I regularly read these and have them bookmarked:
- The San Francisco Chronicle
- The Chicago Tribune
- The Tennessean
- The New York Times
- The Washington Post
I just read Gina’s post a few minutes ago
Posted by Linda on Feb 25, 2008
About how people ask “how are you” or “how are you doing” or on the phone “what are you doing” and I had to laugh.
I know that most of the time when people as you “how are you” they really don’t CARE, and they really don’t listen, and that irritates me. I KNOW they think that they are being polite, but I think that it is borderline rude to ask a question like that and then not listen to the answer and respond appropriately.
And, I don’t like LYING to people and telling them I’m fine when I’m NOT fine. I mean, if I say that I’m FINE, and then they ask me to do something for them and I can’t do it because I’m NOT fine, I don’t like to admit to them that I lied when I said I was fine! (Clear as mud, right?)
Anecdotal story to bore you now: several months ago I met a very nice lady at work. We had to spend a couple of days working together, and during that time I thought we were getting friendly. She knew I was married, had kids, yadda yadda.
Then circumstances were that we didn’t see each other for a while, and then we ran into each other for a few minutes in the lounge two weeks ago. She acted all excited to see me, and asked me how my family (and I) were. I told her we were all terrible, my hubby had been in a bad car wreck and badly injured, laid up from work, not making any money, we were going broke and losing the house, my son had had a bad reaction to some medicine the doctor had put him on and was laid up at home for over a month, and that I had been sick with a sinus infection for two months and just wanted someone to shoot me and put me out of my misery.
Her reaction? “Good Good, glad to hear it!”
Yeah, thanks friend!
And as for people that call me on the phone that ask me “what are you doing?” My stock answer is USUALLY “answering the phone, it was ringing, what are YOU doing?” or “well I WAS asleep!” Unless of course it is someone that I dearly love and then it’s usually something like “eating dinner” or “doing laundry” or “running out the door to go grocery shopping” or something a little bit less smart-alecky.
So, that’s my take on that!
Just Another Day in Paradise
Posted by Gina on Feb 23, 2008
I love to hear an original phrase or creative response to the everyday mundane questions and expressions. Like, “How are you doing?” Most people say “Fine.” But that’s so boring. Cowboy answers in his most New Jersey mob accent, “Good. How YOU doin’?” That usually gets a smile from even the jaded government workers.
In these parts people are more likely to ask, “How are you?” rather than “How you doing?” and strangely enough when people call you on the phone, often the first thing they say here after you answer with “Hello” is, “What are you doing?” I’m still not prepared for that.
A horrible tragedy during a street race
Posted by Gina on Feb 17, 2008
Yesterday there was an illegal street race going on in a nearby city. There were a lot of spectators to this race. In the middle of the race, another car (not one of the racers) plowed into the crowd of the spectators, killing eight people, and injuring six more people!
What a terrible thing to happen. So now there is a lot of local controversy surrounding street racing.
My Sweetheart Brought Me Roses ! ! !
Posted by Gina on Feb 14, 2008
When I came back from the kitchen with my morning coffee, SOMEBODY had placed a dozen red roses on my computer chair! What a nice surprise!
I almost never get flowers and I do love them. Years ago I worked for a florist for a little less than a year. I learned all about arranging them in vases, in foam forms, and in bouquets. I loved the job, but faced an ultimatum on Mother’s Day, obviously the biggest holiday of the year for florists. The store was swamped with orders and everyone was prepared to put in very long hours to help get the flowers arranged and delivered. We had put in 16 - 18 hours every day from Wednesday through the weekend and we had hired extra drivers to help. It was grueling and there was no mention of overtime pay or any bonuses, but we perservered out of a strong work ethic and pride in a job well done.
But when the manager announced that no one could leave the shop Saturday night to go home - we were required to stay all night and work through Sunday until all orders were filled - I drew the line. I needed to go home and get a few hours sleep, I was totally exhausted and I had a husband at home who was feeling extremely neglected all week. When he said if I walk out that door I needn’t ever come back, well . . . I went home and got my sleep and found another job on Monday. And that fool lost a real good pair of hands and creative force that he supposedly needed so badly on Sunday.
I still love flowers and if I could do a job without regard to money, running a florist shop would be high on my list. But in reality, I’ll be thrilled to receive roses on Valentine’s Day and maybe something on my birthday and that will be my “flowers fix.”Oh - and my African violets on the kitchen window sill. And the pansies I’ll plant this spring around the walkway. And the rosebush by the mailbox.
Wasn’t that sweet of him to think of flowers for me? And to sneak them in the house without me knowing he had them - very tough to get that by me, yet he pulled it off. HUGS!
Gina Starts Sharing
Posted by Gina on Feb 10, 2008
I am now sharing my writings online with my own web site! I have been prodded into doing this with the wordpress program, that so far is not as complicated as I had thought when it was first show to me. Special thanks to Angela for getting me off the couch and into this new blog!