Gnomes

As I was opening the bar yesterday afternoon, I stopped to notice that some of the cigarette butts that were outside the night before when I closed were now gone. This is hardly news, I realize this. It was a windy night, there could have been a sidewalk sweeper, the manager who was in earlier in the day could have picked them up. Lots of logical solutions.

But me, being a little bit tired and prone to random visualizations, saw something that looked more like this.



A little cigarette gnome comes along to pick up the left over cigarettes during the evening, sometimes even sticking a few behind his ear that haven't been smoked all the way down. Maybe he's fashioned some sort of carrying device that he can strap a few to his back like cross country skis.

So there I was, laughing at a gnome that didn't exist, carrying away cigarettes to line his little gnome home.

It is ENTIRELY possible that I need to drink less coffee.

I think I figured it out...

For the last few weeks, I've been experiencing a troubling array of health conditions. By troubling, I mean annoying not dangerous. I've been completely exhausted, even after a good night's sleep. I've been famishing, even after eating a good meal. I've been cold, even though I'm always warm. After consulting with the WebMD wisdom, and crossing multiple potential concerns off the list, I think I've figured it out.

I'm getting ready to hibernate.

It makes perfect sense! It's been brutally cold and we've received more than our fair share of snow. The days are short and most often, grey. With the thick hair, I have more than once been told I resemble a bear.

This is good news. It means that these symptoms should only last a few more weeks. Well...probably months. But it's better than something more permanent. The curse of living in the upper Midwest includes a few months at the beginning of the year where it's hard to remember that there will be days filled with green grass and blooming flowers. Or even the possibility of leaving the windows open. It's the part of the year that makes the other months seem so much more wonderful. It would be terrible, absolutely Terrible, to live in someplace like San Diego where there's wonderful weather year 'round. Who would want perfection, day after day? *pshaw* We're better for all of this tough living.

Right?

Not surprising...inaugaration post

When I think about the historical things I've lived through, yesterday is near the top of the list. I remember where I was when the Challenger exploded. And where I was when I heard about the attack on the Twin Towers. I even remember my exact location when it was announced that Brett Favre was retiring. Well, I remember where I was two of the many times he announced his retirement but you get the point...

It's safe to say that I grew up believing in the equality and worth of each human. I attended a very diverse elementary school and never really spent all that much time considering race until college, where I took the mandatory Minority Studies classes. It was an interesting time to reflect on institutional racism and historical oppression as it was about that time I started to question my sexuality. It would be years before I was ready to actually come out but I could see the path from oppression to tolerance to acceptance as marched by other minority groups.

Watching the inauguration, and watching all the other folks that were watching the inauguration, it was unmistakable how our culture, in a very public and societal way, has moved beyond judging a person by the color of their skin. There is no question that racism still exists in very real and horrible ways. And electing an African American President won't change that overnight. Nor will having a female Secretary of State change the culture of sexism. But it does quiet the voices that say "It can't/won't happen". It has happened. And there is still a lot of work to be done. But regardless of the president he becomes, we have changed. We have crossed a line that had never been crossed. We can't come back from that.

I think I've been buying a little too much into the media influence however. I was Very interested to see what Michelle Obama would wear last night. And, of course, she was stunning. And many of the interviews leading up to last night, including a painful one with Katie Couric, had many questions about being a father and a husband with such huge responsibilities. There's no way to answer those questions other than to be gracious and charming. But like everything else with this 44th president, it just seems a little more sincere.

Yesterday was a pretty good day.

Let's try this again

I think I'm ready.

A new year, a new semester, a new take on things. Let's try this again.

For those of you who have been missing the bloggings of this muddled mind, long no longer.

For now, it will not be quite as "personal" as before. Today was a historic event, I imagine I'll have something to say about that. I've got some good stories about running into old acquaintances and what that brings to mind.

Let's try this again.