Nope, never have, never will. Is it bad for me to admit this? Does it make me a bad person? I find it actually refreshing to be truthful without sugarcoating the bullshit. I’ve always known this tidbit about myself AND others are always trying to make me feel bad about it…. Bottom line is, I never lend out things because no one takes care of my things as well as I do. For instance; I never never lend out hardback books and paperbacks very rarely…. Pretty much only if I don’t care about not seeing it again, which is my assumption at time of lending. For the longest time I kept my kernel of nastiness hidden away and would pretend I couldn’t find things that people had an interest in or “forget” to bring things until the interest waned. But you know what, I wasn’t kidding anyone. Last weekend my sister and I were at a shopping opportunity together with some of my neighbors. Someone suggested that I buy something and then she could borrow it. Big dilema… But, before I could come out with any kind of excuse, out blurts my sister “oh, she doesn’t share!” Well, there you have it folks… SHE DOESN’T SHARE! In that moment I felt as if the weight of years of hiding the real me had been lifted off me. The sun shone just a little brighter, the air was just a bit easier to breath. The best thing is the freedom to have it out there for everyone to know about me. Almost as good was learning that my fabulous neighbor doesn’t share either. We are so much a like it is kind of frightening! (Ace, you make me feel better about being myself when you are near…) Want to know THE FUNNIEST thing about this phenomena of my not sharing and who put it out there for the universe to finally know, the IRONY of the whole thing? One of my earliest memories is of my sister – who as a child even my mother labeled a nightmare – being told by our mother that if she didn’t put her toys away they would get thrown in the garbage. To which my sister smugly smiled and replied, “that’s OK, they aren’t mine!” Bet you can guess who’s toys they WERE; and perhaps now we know just when I determined that sharing things might have negative connotations. Ironic, isn’t it? (Love you Sister – for always knowing the truth about me and loving me anyway!)
Author Archives: terraluft
About terraluft
National Novel Writing Month
Well, it’s official… I’m going to write a novel. In November to be exact. I heard about this National Novel Writing Month last year like the day before it started and couldn’t arrange my schedule to handle the required 50,000 words to finish by the end of the month. Not to mention that I drew a total blank on what I wanted to write about. I guess that’s a common problem. The whole concept is that people always say “someday I’m going to write a novel” and yet the someday never comes because you try to plan and you try to outline and then you get scared and then you never even start. NaNoWriMo (as it is referred to) is designed to just get you writing in a gleeful free-for-all where you just don’t care. It’s about quantity not quality. The hope is that whatever I spew out will be more than I would have written had I never done the NaNoWriMo and perhaps have potential with some editing and re-writes. My neighbor and fellow book clubber and her husband have written a novel and it really got me to thinking “hey, I could do that!”. And, as the hubby is so wont to say – usually delivered a bit scornfully and a bit on the contemptuous side as I have my nose buried in a book… “you’ve read so many books you should be able to write one yourself”. We shall soon find out!
We ARE pressing charges…
The most insane thing happened today that I believe is merely a foreshadow of the way the country is headed. The hubby drives a gas-hog V-8 truck and had to buy gas today. He wandered around town looking for a station where we can get a discount because we shop at the same chain (what a scam that is but we buy into it hook line and sinker) and probably wasted more in gas looking for a match than he could have saved just pulling into the nearest station and filling up. Anyway, beside the point. He finally picks a gas station, pulls up to the pump, swipes the debit card and starts the hemorrhage of cash to allow him the privilege of driving for another week. While the pump is running, he decides he needs some high fructose corn syrup in a cup and a wrapper (aka, a Pepsi and a candy bar) and heads inside the station. When he comes back, he finishes up the gas purchase and gets ready to drive away. But first he notices that the pump says he has pumped a whopping 27.48 gallons of gas into his 20 gallon tank that wasn’t even on fumes. Hmmm, that seems a bit strange, not to mention defies the laws of physics. Then, he notices that the bill is over $100 which is more than it has ever cost him to fill up – $90 yes, $100, no way even when gas was at the $4.05 a gallon rate. Then he remembers that as he was walking away from his pump to get his HFC, there was a Jeep that pulled up right beside him and was gone before he got back out. Conclusion… either the guy in the Jeep was a desperate kind of character – probably torn between money for the gas tank or money for food for his family – and swiped a few gallons while the pump was unattended; OR, the gas pump is off and the gas station is the one taking its customers for all they are worth and THEN some. He called the station when he got home – and by this time he was fuming mad – and the clerk says that she’s just a pee-on and that the manager will be in tomorrow and will call him back. Oh, and by the way, you’re not the only angry customer who has called to complain about this kind of thing in the last few days. After the topic coming up several times the next few hours, I finally said “Honey, either you’re mad enough that you’re going to call the police and press charges so something has to be done or you’re just going to have to stop rehashing this with me because I can’t do anything t0 solve it.” His decision is to call the police tomorrow and press charges. Hopefully that’s a civil liberty that we still have… but we’ll have to see!
Addictions
Think you are above addictions? Think you don’t have an addictive personality? I always thought that until I started taking a closer look at my life. Know what I’m addicted to? Coffee for one… which I’m trying to curb and replace with more healthy tea choices but is mostly a losing battle. The label “Possessions” covers just about everything else I’m addicted to. I am addicted to my Blackberry – don’t think I could live without it even if it goes for days and weeks without actually ringing, I must have immediate and instantly gratifying access to my email. I’m addicted to books – if I didn’t have a book in my purse and several more lying about the house to pick up on any given whim, I would think that life had come to a screeching halt. I’m addicted to movies – I don’t watch much TV but man, take away my movie watching on either the big or small screen and I will be hurting. I’m addicted to my way of life – to think about leaving my home with all its quirks that I want to change or improve and I am sad. I’m addicted to the neighbors next door – knowing that their schedule is pretty much the same day after day and that I could walk outside and most likely find them in the yard to shoot the breeze with is pretty great and I wouldn’t want to give it up. I’m addicted to the company of my husband and daughter – as much as I like to read which lends itself to a lot of alone time, if we are all home at the same time and don’t interact I am sad. Goes to show that addictions are not just for hard drugs, cigarettes or alcohol anymore. What are you addicted to? Think hard… you may not like the answers!
War
Had an interesting conversation tonight at the neighborhood book club…. We were discussing “The Book Thief” which is a novel about Germany during WWII. Inevitably, the conversation turned to that of war. Of course, being surrounded by flaming red Republicans, most everyone was saying that it was “right” of America to take over and kick butt then as well as now. I tried (like HELL) to bite my tongue but in the end I couldn’t help but point out that no matter our reasoning for going and invading Iraq – which I personally opposed from the very beginning – we always go too far. It isn’t enough to simply rid a country of a leader – be it Hitler or Saddam Hussein – who was terrorizing his people. No, we have to overstay our welcome and try to force the culture to adopting our way of life. Which, IMO, is exactly where we went wrong in Iraq. Fundamentally, we will never “win” there, because our criteria for a job well done is to have their culture completely converted to the American way of life – which is why they are on the brink or knee-deep in a civil war depending on the specific region. At what point does it all become pointless and not worth the cost of the lives of Americans or Iraqi’s? And at what point does the world begin to view our leader(s) as they did Hitler or Hussein? Bottom line, the Germans in the early 19th century thought that Hitler was a great leader and it was only slowly over time that he got to the insanity of the Holocaust. What makes us different now as we watch our civil liberties slowly whittled away and told it is for our own good to “protect” us?
Twilight… Need I say more?
I know, I know… what a cliche that I’m reading the Twilight Saga but I’m telling you don’t knock ’em until you try ’em! I just devoured the 756 glorious pages of the fourth and (supposedly) final installment of the series by Stephenie Meyers in 4 days. I resisted like any mature fiction reader would when told that “you just have to read” a novel written for the teen market. It took my sister and several others several months of hounding me last summer and I finally gave in and took the first one on loan from my sister last October. It started out a bit slow but after 50 pages it grabbed me and I haven’t been able to put them down – more often than not having to force myself to stop in the wee hours of the morning so I’m not a zombie at work. (Thank GAWD for coffee!!!) I read “Twilight” and immediately opened “New Moon” because I couldn’t wait to see how it continued. I ended up getting my own copies because after the first one I couldn’t wait to be next in line on the rotation list for loans within the little circle of readers who were passing it around. I had “Eclipse” on hand already when I finished the second and then had to wait an agonizing 9 months for the fourth, “Breaking Dawn” to be released. And, I have to say that (other than Stephen King’s conclusion of The Dark Tower Series) this is the one book I’ve known the release date of and actually purchased it ON that date as a premeditated act. If you’re looking for Pulitzer Prize level writing, you won’t get it. But, if you’re looking for a new twist on an old theme (vampires – could it get any older than the undead?) that is so fresh and interesting then this is the series for you. Can’t wait for the movie… although we all KNOW that the book is always better than the movie!
In Defense of Food
Seven simple words: Eat food, not a lot, mostly plants. That’s Michael Pollan’s Eater’s Manifesto and the premise of this remarkable little book about getting back to eating real food and solving the health problems that plague the American culture. So, I loved Pollan’s previous book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and couldn’t wait to read this follow-up which was touted as taking his vast research and putting it in more personal terms of how we eat. I was amazed at what a great book this was. Easy to read, sensible and sane concepts and very easy to manage suggestions of how to be more healthy Americans. Ever wonder why every other culture on the planet eats contrary to what our “experts” say we should eat and yet don’t have the problems with obesity and diabetes and heart disease that we do in America? Well, this little book will open your eyes. Did you know that most of what we purchase in the grocery stores couldn’t even be labeled as food until the ’70’s when the FDA and Congress overturned a rule that said if it was imitation food products that it had to be labeled as such? The first part, Eat Food, of his manifesto is amazingly simple in concept and yet pretty hard to do if you don’t pay attention to what you are really eating. The second part, Not A Lot, is also pretty simple in concept until you take a real look at food portions and compare our eating habits as a nation with other cultures. There’s something to be said about quality not quantity that will have lasting health benefits. And finally, Mostly Plants, shows how what we eat and how it has changed over time has become so different than what our bodies really have the capacity to handle – which explains why so many of us are fat and why so many of us get sick. He wraps it up with some great AND EASY rules of thumb to navigate our plethora of food choices and hopefully put people on a road back to the health we enjoyed before industrialization of food without having to leaving civilization to do it. If you’ve ever wanted to get a glimpse of the topic but didn’t want all the science, this is a great place to start! You’ll be hitting the farmers market and screaming “no high fructose corn syrup” with the best of us in no time…
Being real
Plastic or cotton?
I’m talking of course about napkins…. Another little thing in my conservation efforts that I believe will make a difference. About 3 months ago, I stopped buying paper napkins. You know, the kind that you can buy by the hundreds for pennies and probably cost us more trees than can grow in our lifetimes to produce? Instead, I invested in a dozen or so cotton napkins that match the decor of the kitchen and I wash them once a week. I’m doing laundry anyway, right? They are folded and available in the same little basket on the kitchen counter where the ugly paper ones used to sit and the difference is that when we are done with them they go on top of the washer instead of the recycle bin next to it. The only side effect I see is that now my daughter expects cloth napkins everywhere we go and is starting to get a little more vocal about it (like a princess?). The price I pay to save some trees for the next generation I guess and I think it is worth it. Yes, I know the sceptics (like my uncle!) will say that you’ve traded some paper products for wasting water and laundry detergent with chemicals in it but I think because I wash clothes anyway that the trade-off is still in the favor of conservation and I’m sticking to it.
Elantris
What a fabulous writer Brandon Sanderson is! This was July’s book club selection and from the announcement of the pick last month I was stoked since I love fantasy fiction. If you haven’t read a single fantasy book and you’re looking to expand your horizons on the genre then this is a great book to start with! There was depth to the characters, developed cultures that were diverse and compelling and a great story with enough twists to keep you guessing. The premise is that Elantris is the city of the Gods where the Gods used to be ordinary men and women (and children too!) who are randomly transformed into glowing-skinned beings who could perform powerful magic and live together in the city. However, 10 years before the opening of the book, the magic suddenly ended and the Elantrian’s are now miserable and pathetic creatures that the people who had been worshipping them now consider damned. Now when the transformation occurs, the people go through the ceremony of burial cleansing and are thrown into the city gates and locked inside. There are three main characters – Raoden, prince of Arelon, who was loved by all, including the princess he’d never met; Hrathen, high priest of Fjordell, who will convert the people of Arelon or kill them; and Sarene, princess of Teod, who was a widow before she was ever married. All three characters lives are entwined together and the story is told from their points of view. The most appealing thing about this book is that it is a complete story in the one volume. So many fantasy novels are in a series that you have to then wait for the resolution of the cliffhanger for another year until the next book comes out. (And hope the author doesn’t die before he’s done writing the entire saga like Robert Jordan did with his Wheel Of Time series.) While this book could have another written to explain elements of the world that Sanderson creates, the story in itself is complete at the end. Even the girls at the book club gathering couldn’t quit talking about this book and I think there are only 2 or 3 of us who have ever read fantasy before. Pick it up – you won’t be sorry!
A Pack of Dogs
It’s the little things
Most people when they think about conservation say “what can I do, I’m just one person” but it’s just like people voting Democratic in a blazing “red” state – everyone can make a difference if we all band together. So, I bought more cloth (read re-usable) shopping bags at the local Target tonight. They are really cool because they fold up into themselves and then fit in my purse. It felt so damn good to walk out of that store toting a cloth bag and not plastic or paper. And, I’ve put my own immediate form of recycling in place for the paper bags from the grocery store. Instead of putting the ones I got last week either in the stack in my cupboard to use around the house (which is now over flowing!) or the paper recycle box, I put them in the trunk of my car. Now, when I hit the store on the way home from the office, I can take my own back into the store and let ’em fill them up again. Maybe this time they won’t have to hunt for bags or give me dirty looks when they make the plastic assumption and have to “rebag” what they’ve already put in. I have to start somewhere and it’s the little things that will hopefully add up to make a difference in the end!
New ‘do, new you!
What is is about getting a new hair ‘do that makes a person (ok, probably only women!) feel so great? So I have naturally curly hair – don’t hate me girls, it is more of a curse than you know and curl is “in” so rarely – and not many people have the skill to deal with it. I have been bouncing around between salons and stylists since mine of 10 years (and the best on the PLANET) moved to Hawaii 5 years ago. I even drove 6 hours to Las Vegas a couple of times while she was there for a ‘do. Now, however, she has really moved on and isn’t doing hair anymore so I have to settle on someone. Yesterday I think I found her in the craziest of places… she’s my Mother’s stylist. I know, wrong on so many levels! You can’t share your deepest, darkest secrets with the stylist who might share them with your Mother, can you? Well, the proof is in the pudding as they say. I have the best cut and the best color that I’ve had in years and I feel like a new woman! Girls, if you haven’t been to a great stylist in a while, trust me when I say that it is worth it. Just GO! You’ll thank me, trust me!
Terra Luft - View From the Crystal Ball 