The Whole Array

I start my day with readings from several daily meditation books that are stacked on my bedside table. Each reading is only one page long, so the whole process doesn't take long; however, it's time well spent because the messages I receive from the books help me cope with the problems of the day.

After I've showered and dressed, I grab my books, sit on the bed, and find the correct page in each book. I usually read each meditation just once, although I may re-read sections if they're really thought provoking.

The topic of one of today's readings was creativity. Among other things, it said

Creativity is... spiritual energy...a way to replace negative thinking with positive action.

Later on, it emphasized that anything we do can be creative, if we try hard enough to find a new way to do it; for example, eating something different, problem-solving, or creating something from scratch. Those ideas made sense to me. However, the next sentence really made me think...

Creative energy is within us and all around us, whether we are writing a masterpiece or folding the laundry.

Folding the laundry? Creative? As I thought about that (which I guess is creativity), I decided to be creative with the doing of the laundry. Here's my load of laundry, sorted by color:


I tried to arrange it rainbow-style, but wasn't sure where khaki fit into the spectrum. The project, which I did right before I threw the clothes in the washer, only took about thirty seconds, but it DID make this load of laundry more interesting.

Remembrance

Tonight we went to a funeral parlor for the visitation of a family friend. The young man had a lot of family and friends; the room was very crowded.

Although I knew the young man well, I had never met his family. Unfortunately, Tony and I were not able to speak to his mother. She looked exhausted, and left the room to take a well-deserved rest.

We signed our names to the guest book before we left, but I wanted to do more. When we got home, I went to the obituary Website and left a comment in the online guest book. It was nice to be able to express our condolences, and share some of our memories with everyone who would read it.

The Cover Up

When my parents got married in the 1940s, their bedroom set was Hepplewhite style. It consisted of a full-sized bed with headboard and footboard, a dresser, a highboy dresser, a wall mirror, and a bedside table.

In the 1960s my dad cut off the top of the footboard, making it the same height as the mattress so my mom could throw a bedspread over it. He also use an antiquing kit to paint the whole set olive green. It stayed that way for decades. When my mom passed away in the mid 80s, I acquired the set. We stored the pieces in the basement of two different houses, because I couldn't bear to part with it.

We moved to our current house in 1992, partly so each of the boys could have their own bedroom. We needed additional furniture for those bedrooms, so I stripped the bedroom set of its olive paint, stained it a dark brown color, and gave it a coat of polyurethane. Son Tony used it until he left for college in 2003; Son Donald moved into the room until earlier this year when he moved into his own apartment.

The now semi-antique furniture has stood up well all these years. However, its current finish is looking a little worse for wear. The top of the dresser is quite scratched and there is normal wear and tear on the bodies of each piece. Today I attempted to disguise some of the damage by using the meat of a walnut and a permanent marker.

I can't remember where I heard about using nuts to hide scratches, but it really worked on the shallow imperfections. I was able to cover some of the larger ones with a well-smudged brown Sharpie, but when I was done there were still several shabby-looking places where the polyurethane is chipping off. The tops of the dressers ultimately need to be refinished, but the room will get very limited use in the foreseeable future, so I don't want to put a whole lot of effort into it.

Prospects

Today I did two activities that brought me closer to my goal of getting a new job.

My first project this morning was a job fair. Several weeks ago I filled out an application for teaching. Part of the process was to submit a college transcript and letters of recommendation. After the HR department got everything, the next step was to have an initial interview. The job fair provided that opportunity.

I got there a bit before my appointed interview time, and watched people coming and going from the building. Most of them were female and much younger than me, probably new college graduates. However, I did see a handful of people closer to my age, and a few men.

The fair was well organized. After my credentials were verified, I was ushered into a room with tables around the perimeter. Each table had an interviewer sitting behind it. The interview consisted of about a dozen questions (straight from a sheet of paper; I'm sure all applicants were asked the same things). Thankfully I had done some research on the current professional terminology. I tried hard to remember everything I had learned and use the correct phrases. I must have done an acceptable job, because I "passed" the screening process. The interviewer told me to expect a call in the next week or so to set up a more detailed interview.

However, that job, should I get it, won't start until the fall. I need to have some extra income coming in now, so after lunch I went to another location and took the screening test to be a census worker.

Every ten years the United States government takes a census, and it needs hundreds of part time temporary workers to help make it happen this time. Right now they need people to knock on doors and verify addresses so a census form can be mailed next year. They also need workers to conduct interviews. The first step in the job process is filling out an application and passing a test.

When I signed up to take the test, I was told I should allow two hours. The testing portion only took 30 minutes of that; the rest of the time was filled up before the test with registration, verification of our employment eligibility (the test administrator had to individually sign off on each person's I-9 form), and test directions. Afterwards, we got to wait until the tests were graded so we could see our scores.

There were about 60 people this session. We had 30 minutes to complete the 28-question test of basic skills, which included following written instructions, reading, basic arithmetic, and map reading. I did pretty well; actually better than I did when I took the pretest at home.

The next step for this job is a background check. I have NO skeletons in my closet, so that shouldn't be a problem. There was no mention of if or when we'd receive a call about an actual job. However, since the job's hours are flexible, the pay is good, and most people work close to their neighborhood I'm willing to wait.

Mother Of Invention

The forecast today called for a high temperature in the mid-60s, not at all what you would expect for St. Louis in early February. After lunch Tony and I decided to take a walk and enjoy the nice weather. He had some paper to return to Office Depot, about 2 miles from our house, so we decided to make that our destination.

Tony chose to wear a windbreaker, but I decided that my shirtsleeves would keep me warm enough. Since Tony is the one who bought the paper, he got to carry it. He put it in a small day pack , hoisted the pack on his back, and we were off. There were a few piles of dirty snow from last week's storm blocking the sidewalk that we had to navigate, but other than that the walk was uneventful. Partway through the trip, Tony shed his jacket and carried it. I was glad I hadn't worn an outer layer.

When we got to the store Tony returned his paper, and then remembered we needed a box of file folders for the office. Unfortunately, the new purchase wouldn't fit in the day pack, and was pretty heavy for the store plastic bag, which wouldn't make the trip home without breaking. Tony put his jacket in the day pack, put that back on his shoulders, and carried the bag in his arms. We started walking; five minutes later I had an inspiration.

I asked Tony for his jacket and the bag of file folders. I spread the jacket on the ground, set the bag in the center of the jacket, and zipped it up. Next, I cinched the drawstrings at the hood and bottom of the jacket as tight as they would go, using the cord locks to keep them that way. I hoisted the whole thing over one shoulder, tied the sleeves into a knot across my chest and Presto! Instant pack!


I carried the box the rest of the way home. It was much easier and more comfortable this way, although it looked a little funny. When we arrived home, it was easy to "unconvert" the pack back into a jacket.

Anagrams

Here are some fun anagrams. I wish I could take credit for them, but they've been floating around the Internet forever. If you like these, check out the pages at the Internet Anagram Server for more.

• PRESBYTERIAN...When you rearrange the letters it becomes BEST IN PRAYER

• ASTRONOMER...When you rearrange the letters it becomes MOON STARER

• DESPERATION...When you rearrange the letters it becomes A ROPE ENDS IT

• THE EYES...When you rearrange the letters it becomes THEY SEE

• THE MORSE CODE... When you rearrange the letters it becomes HERE COME DOTS

• SLOT MACHINES...When you rearrange the letters it becomes CASH LOST IN ME

• ANIMOSITY...When you rearrange the letters it becomes IS NO AMITY

• ELECTION RESULTS...When you rearrange the letters it becomes LIES - LET'S RECOUNT

• SNOOZE ALARMS...When you rearrange the letters it becomes ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S

• A DECIMAL POINT...When you rearrange the letters it becomes I'M A DOT IN PLACE

• THE EARTHQUAKES...When you rearrange the letters it becomes THAT QUEER SHAKE

• ELEVEN PLUS TWO...When you rearrange the letters it becomes TWELVE PLUS ONE

• FUNERAL...When you rearrange the letters it becomes REAL FUN

• AN OLD SHOE...When you rearrange the letters it becomes HAD NO SOLE

Color Talks

Everyone knows that red roses symbolize love. However, thanks to the Website Rose For Love, I learned today there's a meaning for every color of rose

• Red --Love and affection, romantic and abiding love, true love, I love you, desire, courage and passion, congratulations, job well done, respect and appreciation, honest beauty, bliss to marriage

• Dark Red--Deep passion, readiness for a commitment, unconscious beauty, dying love

• Light Pink--Gentleness, joy and grace, admiration, sympathy and gentleness, harmony and warmth

• Pink--Elegance, admiration for beauty and refinement, sweetness

• Bright Pink--Appreciation and recognition, Thank You, gratitude, admiration

• Lavender--Love/enchantment at first sight, regal majesty and splendor, wonder and impossibility

• Purple and Dark Purple--Enchantment and magnetism, opulence and majesty

• Blue and Turquoise--Mystery and ambiguity, the impossible or the unattainable, You are extraordinarily wonderful, mysterious beginnings of new things

• White--Purity and innocence, reverence and humility, heavenly and honor, everlasting love, marriages and new beginnings, I am worthy of you, beauty and youthfulness, remembrance

• Yellow and Gold--Friendship and I care, unbridled joy, promise of a new beginning, gladness, delight, warmth, good luck, welcome back, remember me, dying love

• Peach--Modesty, closing of a new deal, great cheer, sincerity and genuineness, sympathy, gratitude and thankfulness

• Orange--Fascination, passion and desire, enthusiasm and energy, pride, I'm so proud of you

• Black--Farewell and sorrow, loss and mortality, death of old habits, beginning of new things or journey, courage and resistance, Halloween

Bloomin' Amazing!

Last spring I went to an anniversary party. Each table was decorated with greenhouse azaleas that had beautiful pink flowers. At the end of the event, we were encouraged to take a plant home.

I've never had luck keeping indoor flowering plants alive, but I thought I could enjoy the flowers and greenery while they lasted. I put the plant on the island in the kitchen, but soon had to move it to the fireplace mantel because the cats showed a big interest in it. The good news is that the cats can't make it up to the mantel; the bad news is that any plant there gets no sunshine. The azalea lost a lot of leaves and became very anemic looking.

When the weather got warm the plant was still hanging in there. I put the pot outside with no expectations. We had a wet summer, so it got plenty of water. It stayed in a protected north-facing alcove on the patio all summer, and went through a few frosts this fall because I forgot it was there. When it was still alive at the very end of the growing season, I decided to bring it in.

It looked unkempt, with branches sticking out at several strange angles. However, I gave it a place on the window seat in the kitchen, where it could get the morning sun. It immediately started showering leaves, and I was ready to throw it in the compost pile. After a couple of weeks, though, the leaf drop ended, and since the plant was in a six-inch pot that didn't take up a lot of room, I decided to leave it by the window as long as the leaves were green.

I watered the plant every couple of weeks, and occasionally remembered to put some extra water in a humidity tray, but that's all the attention it got. A couple of weeks ago I was surprised to see something that looked like a bud on the plant. The bud got bigger and bigger, and today I was amazed to see this beautiful flower:

Once I started looking at the plant closely, I discovered it was covered in buds. I'm so excited that I was able to keep it alive long enough to flower again!

Chuck It

I had a pair of 3D glasses left over from yesterday (when I used them to watch the Monsters vs Aliens and SoBe commercials during the Super Bowl). I decided to use them again tonight when I watched the TV show Chuck in 3D.

I've never watched Chuck, so I needed to find out a little bit about it. According to Wikipedia:

the series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working in the CIA; the message embeds the only remaining copy of the world's greatest spy secrets into Chuck's brain.

Each episode is about Chuck's adventures as uses his knowledge to help the government and thwart the enemy. In tonight's show, Chuck ends up being a bodyguard for a rock star who would rather party than hide from an assassin. There was also a subplot that revolved around a new employee at Buy More, the store where Chuck works.

The show was moderately funny, but 3D part was underwhelming, more of a gimmick than anything else. I shared my glasses with Tony, so I ended up using them for half of the hour. Without the glasses, there were fuzzy edges around objects on the screen that I assume would have been in 3D with the glasses on. However, that's much better than I remember old 3D movies; they were pretty much unwatchable without glasses.

Fido First Downs and Puppy Penalties

Before this evening's Super Bowl viewing party, I watched a different type of "sports" programming--Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl V.

As the name would imply, is the fifth year the Puppy Bowl has been broadcast. It always happens on the same day as the Super Bowl; I've heard about it in the past, but never watched it. I had no idea what to expect when I turned on the TV.

In a nutshell, the show is just a bunch of puppies at play inside "Animal Planet Stadium", a model football stadium. At the beginning of each section of the show, five different "team members" were introduced one at a time as they came into the stadium. A graphic on the screen told their name, breed, and stats. As the puppies started romping around, an announcer gave commentary on their actions, using football terminology.

The puppies had chew-toys and bones to play with (including soft footballs), but mostly they just ran around and played with each other. A touchdown was called if one of the pups happened to drag a football into the end zone. The referee called penalties if one of the players was playing too rough or doing something they weren't supposed to. Timeouts occurred if the water bowl needed to be refilled.

I really liked the "bowl cam", which was a transparent water bowl built into the stadium floor with a camera that provided shots from underneath. Some of the puppies stood in the water, some played in it, and some even drank from it.

There was even a tailgate party outside the stadium that the cameras cut away to several times. It had several dogs sitting on chairs, watching the event on TVs, and cheering (barking) for the good plays.

Just like the real Super Bowl, the Puppy Bowl had a half-time show; it featured kittens. At the end of the second quarter, the stadium was reset with a huge scratching post and toys. A group of kittens played with the balls, swatted at the feathers, and wrestled with each other. They were very cute. The grand finale of the Half-Time Show was a confetti shower that seemed to scare most of the cats.

It was interesting to note that all of the animals came from animal shelters, so in addition to providing entertainment, the Puppy Bowl did a good job of showcasing pet adoptions.