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Yer Blues

Wednesday, April 7, 2004

I love my new Dr. Seuss stamps! I bought them to use as postage of course, but I also have half an idea to make jewelry with some. I have a couple of pins made with different stamps that I like. We'll see. Add it to the list.

A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has revealed that the kind of face a woman finds attractive on a man can differ depending on where she is in her menstrual cycle.

For instance, if she is ovulating, she is attracted to men with rugged
and masculine features. 

However, if she is menstruating, or menopausal, she is more prone to be attracted to a man with scissors lodged in his temple and a bat jammed up his ass while he is on fire.

Further studies are expected.

I've mentioned that American Idol is my one indulgence in reality TV, sort of a guilty pleasure. I heard on the radio this morning that Simon Cowell will be on Saturday Night Live this weekend, with Janet Jackson. I'm going to tape it because Lord knows I can't stay up that late, even on a Saturday. Hopefully this will be one of the few times it's been funny in 20 years. That's not really fair of me to say since I quit watching it years ago. I hung in there for a long time though until I realized I was fast forwarding through more than I was watching. It was like I had some kind of misplaced loyalty to my youth or something. I don't even know who is on it anymore. I'm showing my age: "I remember back when SNL was funny!"

Our washing machine has been leaking water all over the floor, but only once in a while - for about 2 weeks, I guess. I can't find a pattern to it. I've sat through an entire cycle two different times - zip. It's in the basement and we have a piece of indoor/outdoor carpeting next to it so that's soaking up most of the water, so no real harm is being done. Today the appliance repairman came to look at it and as expected it didn't leak this time either. While he was here,  I kept looking at my watch, wishing Simon would come home while the cover was off the machine. Simon loves seeing how things work and this was pretty cool I thought. 

He said to call him the next time it leaks and he'll come back and take a look. He lives nearby- so hopefully it will work out. But he put a new knob on the machine for us so I finally got to retire the vice grips we've been using for a knob for a couple of years now. Yep, $40 to have a used handle put on the machine. (He said that handle alone sells for $15 and I believe it.) His labor is guaranteed for 30 days so maybe when it leaks and I call him, he won't charge us again. Oh, how I slay me!

I was hoping to have a rousing discussion of how to find one's passion, but I'm not feeling all that inspirational today. Or yesterday. It doesn't quite feel like PMS but there are definitely mood swings involved. (Is this menopause??) Driving to work this morning, thinking about things, I was feeling so sad, I was a little teary. By mid-morning, I was doing company errands and everyone I encountered pissed me off. 

I wonder if it's the full moon?

Nah, I think it's just time for my annual "tune-up" with Debbie, my wonderful counselor I've seen in the past. Check this out. I just looked up the dates of the last times I saw her. In 2003: March, April, July and Aug. I just need some help sorting out some thoughts. I made an appointment with her for next Tuesday. Nothing serious, but she always helps me. I like her very much and am looking forward to next week. Having the appointment makes me feel better already. Or maybe it was the handful of chocolate chips I just snarfed from the pantry.

But if I was going to start a rousing discussion about finding your passion, I would echo what Gretchen said in the last comments, "Sometimes finding your passion is a process of elimination -- you just have to keep trying things and figuring out what is NOT your passion. Then you'll know it's not those things and you can keep trying new things in search of "it". At the very least, you'll have a new experience and data to work with. Plus, by trying different things, it may lead you to experience something related that you wouldn't have tried on your own."

I've heard other people suggest thinking back to what you really enjoyed doing as a kid. Did you like to read, ride horses, play sports, cook, paint, act in plays?

Something I've done over the years is take classes through the local adult education or museum programs. It's the perfect way to get a little taste of something without investing a lot of time or money in it in case it's not quite right for you.

Go to the library or book store and look through the section that most interests you, gathering inspiration. Or go to a specialty shop on your particular subject. We have an amazing cross-stitch store here that I used to visit for inspiration all the time. I had projects to work on at home, but just needed to walk around looking at the framed pieces on the walls. I barely had to set foot in that store and I wanted to turn around and go home and stitch. Actually it was on one of those trips that I saw the rubber stamp store next door and thought, "Hmmm, I wonder what's in here?" Buh-bye cross stitch.

Like everything else, I think it's all in your head. Be open to all possibilities and see what shows up for you. One of my favorite quotes is something like, "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." It's very true.

It is also beneficial in a major way if you have good role models like Gretchen and I do. Both of our parents, and all of our grandparents for that matter, always had hobbies. None of us can imagine what people do with their time that don't have hobbies.

Feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments.

Dinner:   I'm actually writing this before dinner, but we'll be having leftovers. That mostly means pulled pork, creamy dill potatoes and Boston Market garlic chicken & 4 sides from last night's dinner. Yesterday was our 4th anniversary of owning and co-habitating this house. I brought home Boston Market food because that was the first meal we ate here, before we even moved in. We all slept here on air mattresses and ate Boston Market food. The good ol' days.

Reading:   Queer Eye for the Straight Guy : The Fab 5's Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better. My copy came in at the library the other day. I'm skimming through lots of it, especially Kyan's section on products. I'm sure I'll slow down now that I've come to Thom's section on decorating. It's a good book though - to be taken seriously, though it has their usual dose of humor. I'm enjoying it.

Listening to in the car:  Music, which means a lot of button punching for me. I find I actually prefer talk radio these days. I even listened to a bit of Rush Limbaugh yesterday - and I do mean a bit. He was so completely worked up about something, I hoped that was a rerun from his drug days or something. Chill the F out, man.