I meant to post a link the other day to an Oregonian article about a couple that paid off nearly $70,000 in debt.
It was pretty easy to tell by the phases used in the article, and the title of their blog, Beans & Rice, Rice and Beans, that the couple followed the Dave Ramsey plan to get out of debt. The story didn't actually credit Ramsey, but the writer of the article did confirm that Ramsey was an "influence."
I wish I was doing so well at documenting my process of getting out of debt. One complaint, though, about the blog, is that the blog cannot be sorted by date, only by topic.
It is good to hear, and read, the stories of people who have reached their debt-free goal. It make the journey more bearable and serves as inspiration.
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Monday, March 26, 2012
Monday, January 09, 2012
Return to 'normal' not a good sign
The Fed reported today that Americans increased their spending in November. Some might see that as good news and a sign of economic recovery, but because that spending increase was on credit cards and through auto loans, that doesn't strike me as a good news.
In fact, that sounds like whatever lessons people learned about cutting debt and increasing savings have been forgotten.
I held out some naive hope that I was part of some new trend, a wave of Americans cutting up their credit cards and getting smart with their money. To further my delusion, I thought that if Americans could get their spending under control, maybe we would be able to expect our government leaders to do they same.
I guess that dream was nothing but a delusional fantasy.
On the positive side, I take some comfort -- pride even -- in the fact that I didn't turn to plastic over the holidays. If you did, and you have been working to get out of debt, I hope the decision to take a big ol' snort of unsecured credit represents a temporary slip.
Cut up the cards and dedicate yourself to paying off your bills again.
In the Associated Press story linked above (and here), include the following section:
I am still paying the same amount each month to credit cards that I was a year and a half ago. The difference is, I am paying that money to fewer accounts and paying down the principal on one account at a must faster rate than I was before.
I still worry what might happen if I joined the ranks of the unemployed. But now, I know if that happens, I can't and won't turn to credit cards to tide me over until I get a new job. Getting deeper into debt at I time I may not be able to pay my bills would be profoundly stupid. But at one time, that was my back-up plan. Of course at one time, I convinced myself it was a good idea to take a cash advance against one credit card to pay the monthly payment on another one. Yea, I did that. Several times. Financial panic did not lead me to make smart decisions.
You don't have to use my plan. But you do need a plan and the willpower to stick to it, whether the holidays are approaching or not.
In fact, that sounds like whatever lessons people learned about cutting debt and increasing savings have been forgotten.
I held out some naive hope that I was part of some new trend, a wave of Americans cutting up their credit cards and getting smart with their money. To further my delusion, I thought that if Americans could get their spending under control, maybe we would be able to expect our government leaders to do they same.
I guess that dream was nothing but a delusional fantasy.
On the positive side, I take some comfort -- pride even -- in the fact that I didn't turn to plastic over the holidays. If you did, and you have been working to get out of debt, I hope the decision to take a big ol' snort of unsecured credit represents a temporary slip.
Cut up the cards and dedicate yourself to paying off your bills again.
In the Associated Press story linked above (and here), include the following section:
The rise in borrowing comes as many consumers are seeing little to no growth in their paychecks. Inflation-adjusted, after-tax incomes shrank by nearly 2 percent in the July-September period.I can relate to the stagnant paycheck status. However, I can also tell you that I have much more discretionary money to spend now than I did when I started this process of working to get out of debt. In the beginning I had about $50 each month that wasn't either going to minimum payments, paying housing expenses, covering fuel costs for my car and buying food. Today, I have about $550 per month in my debt snowball, which can go to other costs if necessary. That's how I paid for Christmas without using any credit cards.
I am still paying the same amount each month to credit cards that I was a year and a half ago. The difference is, I am paying that money to fewer accounts and paying down the principal on one account at a must faster rate than I was before.
I still worry what might happen if I joined the ranks of the unemployed. But now, I know if that happens, I can't and won't turn to credit cards to tide me over until I get a new job. Getting deeper into debt at I time I may not be able to pay my bills would be profoundly stupid. But at one time, that was my back-up plan. Of course at one time, I convinced myself it was a good idea to take a cash advance against one credit card to pay the monthly payment on another one. Yea, I did that. Several times. Financial panic did not lead me to make smart decisions.
You don't have to use my plan. But you do need a plan and the willpower to stick to it, whether the holidays are approaching or not.
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Credit card borrowing down for 27th month is news our budgets can live with
The Federal Reserve reported on Friday that consumer borrowing rose in November for things like cars and college loans. However, the Fed also reported that people are actually saving more and spending less on unsecured credit, meaning credit cards.
We, the people, borrowed 6.3 percent less in November on our credit cards. It's the 27th straight month that consumer borrowing declined.
An economist the the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubish said consumer borrowing was down 2.2 percent in November, from November 2009.
"Household attitudes toward the use of credit cards soured during the Great Recession and it's going to take time before many people get comfortable with using them again," Ellen Beeson Zentner told the Associated Press in a story release Friday.
"We have a long way to go before credit normalizes," she said.
For me, putting the brakes on consumer credit IS the new normal. For one thing, the credit card issuing banks have not returned the interest rates they charge to "normal" either. Whether it's their intention or not, they taught me that I had far too much credit and had tapped far too deeply into it, and when the banks increased interest rates, it wiped out any discretionary income. So, when I get out of this mess, I don't ever want to get back into it again.
So, don't count on me, and people like me, to do more to fuel the economy. The available funds I have are not increasing.
Sure, some of us will undoubtedly start using credit cards again. But not all of us. For those of us committed to paying only for things we can afford now, this is the new normal, and the banks better get used to it.
We, the people, borrowed 6.3 percent less in November on our credit cards. It's the 27th straight month that consumer borrowing declined.
An economist the the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubish said consumer borrowing was down 2.2 percent in November, from November 2009.
"Household attitudes toward the use of credit cards soured during the Great Recession and it's going to take time before many people get comfortable with using them again," Ellen Beeson Zentner told the Associated Press in a story release Friday.
"We have a long way to go before credit normalizes," she said.
For me, putting the brakes on consumer credit IS the new normal. For one thing, the credit card issuing banks have not returned the interest rates they charge to "normal" either. Whether it's their intention or not, they taught me that I had far too much credit and had tapped far too deeply into it, and when the banks increased interest rates, it wiped out any discretionary income. So, when I get out of this mess, I don't ever want to get back into it again.
So, don't count on me, and people like me, to do more to fuel the economy. The available funds I have are not increasing.
Sure, some of us will undoubtedly start using credit cards again. But not all of us. For those of us committed to paying only for things we can afford now, this is the new normal, and the banks better get used to it.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Is there such a thing as a macro micro?
Depending on your perspective, the news today that Widmer Brothers Brewing and Red Hook Brewery are merging may be either a cause for a prost or a reason for microbrew aficionados to drown their sorrows.I was fortunate to come of age and develop a taste for beer, particularly Pacific Northwest microbrews, in the 1980s. I don't remember the first time I had a Red Hook ale or a Widmer Hefeweizen, but its (fortunately) quite difficult to find a bar in the Northwest that doesn't have a Red Hook or Widmer beer on tap. The only exceptions might be bars and restaurants that brew their own beer.
When I moved to the California's Mojave Desert in 1995, I loved the place, but found it to indeed be a sparse landscape virtually devoid of microbrewed liquid refreshment. California may be seen as a trendsetter on many things, but it was sadly behind the times in the microbrew revolution. It was as if the distributors' beer trucks ran out of gas when they reached Bakersfield.It took the better part of a decade for Southern California to catch up with what Portland and Seattle had known for 20 years, that breweries like Red Hook and Widmer made fuller-bodied, more flavorful beer than that domestic piss-water pilsner rotting tastebuds by national breweries. Actually, the Northwest's heritage as a beer making and drinking region stretches back much further than the rediscovery that exploded in the 1980s.
But are Widmer and Red Hook (or perhaps I should say Craft Brews Alliance) now becoming victim to their own success? Will the new bigger company become a big brewery just like those to which the separate companies were formed to be an alternative?
To be honest, I've never cared much for Red Hook's signature ale. I am a fan of Widmer's Hefeweizen and Drop Top Amber Ale and Snowplow Milk Stout. They also used to make a Black Bier, which I was very fond of and still look periodically to see if it is available as a seasonal beer at least.
I have no intention to stop buying Widmer-labeled beers -- as long as their maintain their finely crafted taste. If it goes the way of Henry Weinhard's Blue Boar Ale, which doesn't taste the same as I remember from my college days when it was a regular resident of my refrigerator. Maybe my taste buds have changed. But I am convinced that Weinhard's Ale does not taste the same -- doesn't taste as good -- as it did when Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Co. was a real brewery, not just an affiliate of conglomerate SABMiller.
I know in the world of business, growth is imperative. If Red Hook and Widmer had not grown as fledgling breweries, they would not have survived. If that growth had not occurred I would not have been able to find my beloved Hefeweizen in my favorite Southern California bars and eateries for my last few years in California. Growth is often good. Bigger is quite often better. I certainly hope it will be in this case. It may still be good, even great, beer. But I don't think it the beers are correctly classified as microbrews anymore (Check out the comments on the Beervana blog).
Monday, October 29, 2007
Getting hosed
I noticed the change on my way home from work. The sign on the Shell gas station reader board spelled out the bad news. Gas is over $3 a gallon.
The reason it jumped out at me is because when I drove to work this morning I made note of the price on the same sign at the same gas station. The price, on the day the price of a barrel of oil closed at a record high over $93.50, also went up about 7 cents a gallon at one local gas station.
It was a telling sign, just one of many illustrating that ordinary Americans are pretty well screwed. I don't expect a return to economic giddiness anytime soon. Wall Street may be waiting for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this week so they can go on pretending a recession can be avoided, but ordinary Americans won't benefit from a little rate cut from the fed. The costs of too many of the things we need to get through our daily lives are going higher, not lower. Gas prices are up. Energy prices are up. Credit card interest rates are up. And God help anyone who is the the same boat so many of my family and friends who are first-time home buyers with an adjustable rate mortgage, which has also gone through the roof. I don't think the failed mortgage/credit/housing crisis is nearing its end, I fear it is only getting warmed up.
Bend over Americans a big financial dildo is taking aim at your backsides. And if you think anyone brought the lube, you are in for a painful surprise.
The reason it jumped out at me is because when I drove to work this morning I made note of the price on the same sign at the same gas station. The price, on the day the price of a barrel of oil closed at a record high over $93.50, also went up about 7 cents a gallon at one local gas station.
It was a telling sign, just one of many illustrating that ordinary Americans are pretty well screwed. I don't expect a return to economic giddiness anytime soon. Wall Street may be waiting for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this week so they can go on pretending a recession can be avoided, but ordinary Americans won't benefit from a little rate cut from the fed. The costs of too many of the things we need to get through our daily lives are going higher, not lower. Gas prices are up. Energy prices are up. Credit card interest rates are up. And God help anyone who is the the same boat so many of my family and friends who are first-time home buyers with an adjustable rate mortgage, which has also gone through the roof. I don't think the failed mortgage/credit/housing crisis is nearing its end, I fear it is only getting warmed up.
Bend over Americans a big financial dildo is taking aim at your backsides. And if you think anyone brought the lube, you are in for a painful surprise.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Paris Hilton: The real crime of lack of punishment
Everywhere I turned today was the "big story" about Paris Hilton being released from jail in Southern California. I don't get the fascination with her. She's not even the pretty one of the Hilton sisters. She's actually a bit freakish looking.
But I guess people like a freak show.
Now the Superior Court judge who tossed Hilton into jail is making noise about contempt of court for the L.A. County Sheriff for letting her out?
People are bitching (and here and here, etc.) thinking Hilton is getting special treatment because she's a celebrity. Maybe people should take a look at jail and prison crowding conditions around the country, not just in L.A. or California, and find out just how hard it is, not just to get thrown in jail, but to be kept their once you are in there in in places like Denver.
Hilton was on probation for reckless driving then later got stopped for driving under the influence. She was tossed in jail then for violating probation. But if people looked, really looked, at their local justice systems they would find that jails are letting people out all the time because they have so many people sentenced or waiting for trial they have to let some people out just in order to keep the really hard core people accused of murders and rapes and the most violent of crimes locked up. And you'd be shocked to learn some of the crimes people have been accused or convicted of that still get let out.
Hilton isn't getting special attention from anyone but the media and the celebrity obsessed public who have turned pop culture icons famous for merely being famous into American royalty and made the pathetic reality of "reality" TV something to not only waste their time watching, but dreaming of being "reality" stars themselves for who they date or marry or share a house with or compete in games on an island with or each eat bugs with.
Paris Hilton needs a life outside the public eye and house arrest would be a fine place to start. But it's all the other idiots under self-imposed house arrest in front of their TVs and computers who make moron's like her popular. We are the ones who are in the biggest need of finding something much more important to care about. Like, maybe, how ineffective it is for society to say "lock criminals up and throw away the key" then turn a blind eye to what's happening in jails and prisons. That is unless a celebrity gets tossed into one.
I was tempted to say that people should get a life, but it's more than that. People need to get involved with their communities and care about more than just frivolous celebrity crap. Oh, but that might cause someone to think a little too much made some tough decisions about things.
Oops, got to go. Reruns of "Frasier" are about to start.
But I guess people like a freak show.
Now the Superior Court judge who tossed Hilton into jail is making noise about contempt of court for the L.A. County Sheriff for letting her out?
People are bitching (and here and here, etc.) thinking Hilton is getting special treatment because she's a celebrity. Maybe people should take a look at jail and prison crowding conditions around the country, not just in L.A. or California, and find out just how hard it is, not just to get thrown in jail, but to be kept their once you are in there in in places like Denver.
Hilton was on probation for reckless driving then later got stopped for driving under the influence. She was tossed in jail then for violating probation. But if people looked, really looked, at their local justice systems they would find that jails are letting people out all the time because they have so many people sentenced or waiting for trial they have to let some people out just in order to keep the really hard core people accused of murders and rapes and the most violent of crimes locked up. And you'd be shocked to learn some of the crimes people have been accused or convicted of that still get let out.
Hilton isn't getting special attention from anyone but the media and the celebrity obsessed public who have turned pop culture icons famous for merely being famous into American royalty and made the pathetic reality of "reality" TV something to not only waste their time watching, but dreaming of being "reality" stars themselves for who they date or marry or share a house with or compete in games on an island with or each eat bugs with.
Paris Hilton needs a life outside the public eye and house arrest would be a fine place to start. But it's all the other idiots under self-imposed house arrest in front of their TVs and computers who make moron's like her popular. We are the ones who are in the biggest need of finding something much more important to care about. Like, maybe, how ineffective it is for society to say "lock criminals up and throw away the key" then turn a blind eye to what's happening in jails and prisons. That is unless a celebrity gets tossed into one.
I was tempted to say that people should get a life, but it's more than that. People need to get involved with their communities and care about more than just frivolous celebrity crap. Oh, but that might cause someone to think a little too much made some tough decisions about things.
Oops, got to go. Reruns of "Frasier" are about to start.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
A lesson in dying
I heard the news at a Jack In The Box restaurant. It's not the place I would ordinarily expect to get the latest celebrity news and gossip.
A woman sitting on the other side of the restaurant blurted it out. Anna Nicole Smith died.
I turned to look who said it. In an instant I made a judgment. This woman was full of crap. This young woman didn't look like she even knew how to read. Well, maybe there was a bulletin on TV or something or she heard something on the radio. But I remained skeptical.
Never the less, as soon as I got back to my office after lunch I hopped onto my computer to see what I could find. I saw a headline from CNN which said that Anna Nicole had collapsed. And before I could even pull up the story I thought to myself, "see she only got part of the story. Anna Nicole isn't dead. She was just taken to a hospital."
But when the new page loaded, there was an update headline that confirmed the former Playboy playmate was dead.
I'm not a big celebrity gossip follower and I've never been a fan of Anna Nicole Smith's but I like to think I stay pretty well attuned to current events. But I learned something today. I learned that sometimes I judge to quickly the reliably of an information source based on superficial appearances. And I learned that you can get more at a Jack In the Box than burgers and fries.
I'm sorry for judging you young lady.
A woman sitting on the other side of the restaurant blurted it out. Anna Nicole Smith died.
I turned to look who said it. In an instant I made a judgment. This woman was full of crap. This young woman didn't look like she even knew how to read. Well, maybe there was a bulletin on TV or something or she heard something on the radio. But I remained skeptical.
Never the less, as soon as I got back to my office after lunch I hopped onto my computer to see what I could find. I saw a headline from CNN which said that Anna Nicole had collapsed. And before I could even pull up the story I thought to myself, "see she only got part of the story. Anna Nicole isn't dead. She was just taken to a hospital."
But when the new page loaded, there was an update headline that confirmed the former Playboy playmate was dead.
I'm not a big celebrity gossip follower and I've never been a fan of Anna Nicole Smith's but I like to think I stay pretty well attuned to current events. But I learned something today. I learned that sometimes I judge to quickly the reliably of an information source based on superficial appearances. And I learned that you can get more at a Jack In the Box than burgers and fries.
I'm sorry for judging you young lady.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Going ballistic
A relic of the Cold War, originally designed to carry nuclear warheads, has been retired. And in a warped and weird way, I'm sort of going to miss it.
The Titan IV rocket was launched from the last time this week from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The rocket has been one of the staples of the classified space satellite business.
I've never seen one of these 16-story monsters up close, well unless there was one on static display at the Kennedy Space Center when I was there. But, I've seen several launches or their aftermath from California's high desert.
For whatever reason, sunset seemed to be a popular time for missile launches. And even though Vandenberg, which is on the California Coast, is a long ways from Victorville, which is in the Mojave Desert, you could see the flame from these missiles rocketing skyward in the twilight sky quite clearly on a clear evening. And the missiles left some spectacular contrails through the sky.
It rarely failed that whenever there was a Vandenberg launch of some big missile (not always a Titan), people would call the newspaper where I worked. And many times those callers were convinced that we were under attack from Russia or that aliens were invading from outer space. Those launches at or after sunset can sometimes be seen as far away as Tucson, Ariz.
There is something about people who choose to live in the desert, particularly some of the outlying areas in the Mojave Desert. I'm not sure if too much time in the relentless sun makes people crazy, or if the remote barren landscape and hardscrabble existence is a magnet for those on the psychological fringe. Maybe it's both. But desert rats are professional conspiracy theorists and a few Joshua trees shy of a forest. They believe in UFOs, Area 51 government coverups and mythical creatures called chupacabras.
So Cold War missiles like the Titan, Minute Man Delta blasting into space at sunset had a way of getting people's attention. The contrails in the evening sky made for some oddly surreal photos like this and this and this.
And perhaps it is surreal that I would say I'll miss a missile first designed to rain destruction down on civilians. But I will.
Vandenberg Air Force Base
Titan IV
Missile launch
California desert
The Titan IV rocket was launched from the last time this week from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The rocket has been one of the staples of the classified space satellite business.
I've never seen one of these 16-story monsters up close, well unless there was one on static display at the Kennedy Space Center when I was there. But, I've seen several launches or their aftermath from California's high desert.
For whatever reason, sunset seemed to be a popular time for missile launches. And even though Vandenberg, which is on the California Coast, is a long ways from Victorville, which is in the Mojave Desert, you could see the flame from these missiles rocketing skyward in the twilight sky quite clearly on a clear evening. And the missiles left some spectacular contrails through the sky.
It rarely failed that whenever there was a Vandenberg launch of some big missile (not always a Titan), people would call the newspaper where I worked. And many times those callers were convinced that we were under attack from Russia or that aliens were invading from outer space. Those launches at or after sunset can sometimes be seen as far away as Tucson, Ariz.
There is something about people who choose to live in the desert, particularly some of the outlying areas in the Mojave Desert. I'm not sure if too much time in the relentless sun makes people crazy, or if the remote barren landscape and hardscrabble existence is a magnet for those on the psychological fringe. Maybe it's both. But desert rats are professional conspiracy theorists and a few Joshua trees shy of a forest. They believe in UFOs, Area 51 government coverups and mythical creatures called chupacabras.
So Cold War missiles like the Titan, Minute Man Delta blasting into space at sunset had a way of getting people's attention. The contrails in the evening sky made for some oddly surreal photos like this and this and this.
And perhaps it is surreal that I would say I'll miss a missile first designed to rain destruction down on civilians. But I will.
Vandenberg Air Force Base
Titan IV
Missile launch
California desert
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
What's the news?
Why is the murder of attorney Daniel Horowitz's wife in the Bay Area of California getting so much media attention?
Any murder is tragic. I'm not unsympathetic to the victim's friends and family. But why doesn't the media work so hard to get at the story when someone poor or black or Latino is killed?
My theory is the media are following this story on the chance that the high-profile attorney gets arrested on this one.
Are viewers and readers really paying attention to this story? If so, why? Is it more interesting because the attorney has been on TV and obviously is wealthy?
I'm sorry, but I'm more interested in the weather.
News
Crime reporting
Media
Any murder is tragic. I'm not unsympathetic to the victim's friends and family. But why doesn't the media work so hard to get at the story when someone poor or black or Latino is killed?
My theory is the media are following this story on the chance that the high-profile attorney gets arrested on this one.
Are viewers and readers really paying attention to this story? If so, why? Is it more interesting because the attorney has been on TV and obviously is wealthy?
I'm sorry, but I'm more interested in the weather.
News
Crime reporting
Media
Friday, October 07, 2005
They eat their young don't they?
President George W. Bush appears to be drawing more fire for his Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers from within his own party than from Democrats.
I was just listening to some GOP wag on the "Today" show suggesting that Miers should decline the nomination.
Isn't it ironic that Republicans were giving Democrats grief for holding up Bush's judicial nominations and now this nominee is facing the biggest threat from members of Bush's own party. Will the Republicans give Miers an up-or-down vote in the Senate?
Big time politics could be high comedy if all these idiots from both parties didn't have control over our taxes and weren't responsible for our national security.
Politics
Supreme Court nominee
Harriet Miers
I was just listening to some GOP wag on the "Today" show suggesting that Miers should decline the nomination.
Isn't it ironic that Republicans were giving Democrats grief for holding up Bush's judicial nominations and now this nominee is facing the biggest threat from members of Bush's own party. Will the Republicans give Miers an up-or-down vote in the Senate?
Big time politics could be high comedy if all these idiots from both parties didn't have control over our taxes and weren't responsible for our national security.
Politics
Supreme Court nominee
Harriet Miers
Saturday, September 10, 2005
A perhaps brief return from exile
I haven't made a post here in more than a week. I wish I could say I've just been busy. But the truth is I've been, well, disengaged. This just hasn't seemed very important.
It's not like there haven't been things I've thought about posting about, like the morning I discovered on my way to work that a SWAT team was a few doors down in my apartment complex, guns drawn and looking all militaristic. Although, that wouldn't have been a very interesting post because I never found out what all the commotion was about.
I also learned this week that one of my friends from Eastern Oregon, one of the few people from home I've seen since I moved back to Oregon, was deployed with the National Guard this week to help with hurricane relief. I tried calling his cell phone because he was supposed to be here in Salem for a few days before being shipped out, but I go a busy signal on his cell phone.
As I mentioned in my last post, I have friends and people who nearly became part of my family living in Hurricane Alley. Most of them are in Florida and have been spared the wrath of Hurricane Katrina. But then this past week Hurricane Ophelia was lingering off the east coast of Florida, dropping rain all over the area I visited in the spring of 2004, where my ex's sister and nieces live. It was just hanging off the coast parallel to the city where my ex moved.
I was doing pretty good for a while, not thinking about my ex, but her birthday was in late August and then all this hurricane business. And yesterday I saw a job posting on the Internet for a job that looks to be the one she took almost exactly a year ago when she moved back to Florida after our break up. So, yea, she's been on my mind, so much so that I woke up this morning dreaming about her moving away again.
I don't know if women spend much if any mental energy thinking about past loves, lovers, boyfriends or whatever after a relationship ends. They seem, as a gender, much more adept at walking away than men are, or certainly than I have ever been.
I can honestly say I don't want my ex back. And for many, many months after our break up I would have taken her back in a heartbeat, no question asked, no hesitation. But that does not mean I don't care about what happens to her or her family. There are people I was ready, eager even, to make part of my family. And the ex was already more deeply interwoven into my life than I imagined or could understand at the time. It was only once I realized that was all gone and not coming back that I knew I had quit being and I and had become a we.
It took quite a while to get back to thinking and being singular again. And in recent weeks I've admitted to myself, a few people close to me, and I think even to readers of this blog that I am ready to now open myself up to the prospects of a new relationship again. So why do thoughts and worries and wondering about my ex and her family make themselves so stubbornly prevalent now?
I sent an e-mail last weekend to my ex's stepdad. I just wanted him to know I was thinking about him and his family. He was kind enough to write back and filled in a few details of happenings with his family over the last year. He didn't offer any information on my ex, except to make it clear that she was well. And I didn't ask. He and I grew fairly close in a few short visits in a fairly short period of time. It seems so unfortunate that we can't still be friends.
So, anyway, I'm sorry I haven't been around much to make posts or read your blogs for that matter. And next week about midweek I'm heading to Eastern Oregon for a business trip. I'll be attending the world famous Pendleton Round-Up for work. It's a rough gig, I know, but someone has to do it.
The Round-Up is a rodeo, for those of you not familiar with it. But as much as anything it is an excuse for a big-ass party. So I play to work a little, and hopefully, party a little as well. I'm hoping to run into some old friends while there.
I am taking a company computer along, so perhaps there will be opportunities to make some posts. But I make no promises.
Blogging
Relationships
Hurricane Katrina
Pendleton Round-Up
It's not like there haven't been things I've thought about posting about, like the morning I discovered on my way to work that a SWAT team was a few doors down in my apartment complex, guns drawn and looking all militaristic. Although, that wouldn't have been a very interesting post because I never found out what all the commotion was about.
I also learned this week that one of my friends from Eastern Oregon, one of the few people from home I've seen since I moved back to Oregon, was deployed with the National Guard this week to help with hurricane relief. I tried calling his cell phone because he was supposed to be here in Salem for a few days before being shipped out, but I go a busy signal on his cell phone.
As I mentioned in my last post, I have friends and people who nearly became part of my family living in Hurricane Alley. Most of them are in Florida and have been spared the wrath of Hurricane Katrina. But then this past week Hurricane Ophelia was lingering off the east coast of Florida, dropping rain all over the area I visited in the spring of 2004, where my ex's sister and nieces live. It was just hanging off the coast parallel to the city where my ex moved.
I was doing pretty good for a while, not thinking about my ex, but her birthday was in late August and then all this hurricane business. And yesterday I saw a job posting on the Internet for a job that looks to be the one she took almost exactly a year ago when she moved back to Florida after our break up. So, yea, she's been on my mind, so much so that I woke up this morning dreaming about her moving away again.
I don't know if women spend much if any mental energy thinking about past loves, lovers, boyfriends or whatever after a relationship ends. They seem, as a gender, much more adept at walking away than men are, or certainly than I have ever been.
I can honestly say I don't want my ex back. And for many, many months after our break up I would have taken her back in a heartbeat, no question asked, no hesitation. But that does not mean I don't care about what happens to her or her family. There are people I was ready, eager even, to make part of my family. And the ex was already more deeply interwoven into my life than I imagined or could understand at the time. It was only once I realized that was all gone and not coming back that I knew I had quit being and I and had become a we.
It took quite a while to get back to thinking and being singular again. And in recent weeks I've admitted to myself, a few people close to me, and I think even to readers of this blog that I am ready to now open myself up to the prospects of a new relationship again. So why do thoughts and worries and wondering about my ex and her family make themselves so stubbornly prevalent now?
I sent an e-mail last weekend to my ex's stepdad. I just wanted him to know I was thinking about him and his family. He was kind enough to write back and filled in a few details of happenings with his family over the last year. He didn't offer any information on my ex, except to make it clear that she was well. And I didn't ask. He and I grew fairly close in a few short visits in a fairly short period of time. It seems so unfortunate that we can't still be friends.
So, anyway, I'm sorry I haven't been around much to make posts or read your blogs for that matter. And next week about midweek I'm heading to Eastern Oregon for a business trip. I'll be attending the world famous Pendleton Round-Up for work. It's a rough gig, I know, but someone has to do it.
The Round-Up is a rodeo, for those of you not familiar with it. But as much as anything it is an excuse for a big-ass party. So I play to work a little, and hopefully, party a little as well. I'm hoping to run into some old friends while there.
I am taking a company computer along, so perhaps there will be opportunities to make some posts. But I make no promises.
Blogging
Relationships
Hurricane Katrina
Pendleton Round-Up
Friday, September 02, 2005
Basic necessities
So, when you can't sleep and you can't blog, what do you do? In my case I watch cable TV and play Monopoly at Games.com.
I was thinking a lot today about the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Things sound like they are getting pretty desperate in the gulf region devastated by the hurricane, particularly in New Orleans.
I have no desire to belittle the tragedy, so please, I hope no one takes it that way. But I am stunned by how the world for the survivors of that tragedy has changes in just a few days. All our modern conveniences don't mean shit right now. Fuck cell phones and pagers and computers and DVD players and cable TV and, well, frankly anything that runs on electricity or needs gasoline to operate. In the blink of an eye the clock has rolled back more than a century in time. It is Darwinian survival of the fittest.
People who survived the storm are dying in the streets and in attics and in rescue shelters. Our society has gotten so soft that we can't get by without air conditioning and refrigeration and electricity. Live is prolonged by modern science, medicine and other conveniences that we have all come to take for granted. I'm not sure I could survive in the post apocalyptic world the unfortunate citizens of New Orleans and other Gulf communities now find themselves in.
Fuck the ATM, people need to know how to hunt and gather and find water and shelter in a place where all such things are in short supply and mobs rule the streets.
In a strange way, I admire the people who are doing the unthinkable just to survive another day. God bless those people and may the cavalry arrive to carry them to safety as quickly and efficiently as possible.
It was not so long ago that I had never been east of the Mississippi River. But in the last few years I had the great fortune to visit Georgia, Tennessee and Florida and meet some wonderful people. I have also had several friend and coworkers from my last few jobs relocate to jobs in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and the Gulf region.
For the last few years the threat and reality of hurricanes has meant much more to me than the ever have earlier in my life, in no small part because I have friends who now live in harm's way each hurricane season. And the hurricane seasons of last year and this year have been so frightening and devastating.
My heart aches for my friends, and those who nearly became part of my family, and the talented former coworkers and colleagues who are far too close to this devastation. I miss them all and my heart aches for them, their families, and for those in and around the most severe devastation. May you find the comforts we all take for granted very soon: the comfort of friends and loved ones, a safe place to sleep, food to eat and water to drink.
And may the rest of us never take for granted those simple things, usually so easy to find, which can mean life or death when they are not so readily at hand.
Hurricane Katrina
Insomnia
I was thinking a lot today about the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Things sound like they are getting pretty desperate in the gulf region devastated by the hurricane, particularly in New Orleans.
I have no desire to belittle the tragedy, so please, I hope no one takes it that way. But I am stunned by how the world for the survivors of that tragedy has changes in just a few days. All our modern conveniences don't mean shit right now. Fuck cell phones and pagers and computers and DVD players and cable TV and, well, frankly anything that runs on electricity or needs gasoline to operate. In the blink of an eye the clock has rolled back more than a century in time. It is Darwinian survival of the fittest.
People who survived the storm are dying in the streets and in attics and in rescue shelters. Our society has gotten so soft that we can't get by without air conditioning and refrigeration and electricity. Live is prolonged by modern science, medicine and other conveniences that we have all come to take for granted. I'm not sure I could survive in the post apocalyptic world the unfortunate citizens of New Orleans and other Gulf communities now find themselves in.
Fuck the ATM, people need to know how to hunt and gather and find water and shelter in a place where all such things are in short supply and mobs rule the streets.
In a strange way, I admire the people who are doing the unthinkable just to survive another day. God bless those people and may the cavalry arrive to carry them to safety as quickly and efficiently as possible.
It was not so long ago that I had never been east of the Mississippi River. But in the last few years I had the great fortune to visit Georgia, Tennessee and Florida and meet some wonderful people. I have also had several friend and coworkers from my last few jobs relocate to jobs in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and the Gulf region.
For the last few years the threat and reality of hurricanes has meant much more to me than the ever have earlier in my life, in no small part because I have friends who now live in harm's way each hurricane season. And the hurricane seasons of last year and this year have been so frightening and devastating.
My heart aches for my friends, and those who nearly became part of my family, and the talented former coworkers and colleagues who are far too close to this devastation. I miss them all and my heart aches for them, their families, and for those in and around the most severe devastation. May you find the comforts we all take for granted very soon: the comfort of friends and loved ones, a safe place to sleep, food to eat and water to drink.
And may the rest of us never take for granted those simple things, usually so easy to find, which can mean life or death when they are not so readily at hand.
Hurricane Katrina
Insomnia
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Feeling small
I had a bad day. I'm feeling small and pathetic given the thousands on the Gulf Coast now have no homes, no food, no fresh water, no electricity, no jobs, no nothing if they were fortunate to survive.
I'm happy to have small problems that in the grand scheme of things don't mean a damn thing.
Hug your loved ones people.
Bad day
Hurricane Katrina
I'm happy to have small problems that in the grand scheme of things don't mean a damn thing.
Hug your loved ones people.
Bad day
Hurricane Katrina
Friday, July 01, 2005
Blogging news
Chalk another one up for bloggers. I discovered the breaking news this morning about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's resignation from the nation's highest court, not from TV or radio or even a traditional media Web site, but from a blog post.
I was taking a quick scan of the ORblogs site, when I learned the news. The site features a summary of blog headlines, at it was the one from Persistent Illusion in which I learned the news.
Of course, as soon as I got to work, I turned to more conventional media sites to find out the details. We bloggers are cool and all, but on things like this, bloggers are mostly parroting back information they got elsewhere. I haven't completely abandoned conventional media for the blogosphere, but the blog universe is a lot more fun.
News
Sandra Day O'Connor
Blogging
I was taking a quick scan of the ORblogs site, when I learned the news. The site features a summary of blog headlines, at it was the one from Persistent Illusion in which I learned the news.
Of course, as soon as I got to work, I turned to more conventional media sites to find out the details. We bloggers are cool and all, but on things like this, bloggers are mostly parroting back information they got elsewhere. I haven't completely abandoned conventional media for the blogosphere, but the blog universe is a lot more fun.
News
Sandra Day O'Connor
Blogging
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
That didn't take long
The Catholic Church has a new pope. There was white smoke and the bells rang at the Vatican.
The world can now return to its regularly scheduled programming.
Pope
The world can now return to its regularly scheduled programming.
Pope
Friday, April 08, 2005
A fine farewell
Catholics know how to throw a funeral.
I watched part of the funeral of Pope John Paul II because I was up and because, well, it seems like one of those events that should be witnessed, even if on TV via satellite.
In typical Catholic fashion, it was solemn and full of pageantry, ceremony and colorful vestiments. But the most striking thing of this service was not the official aspects, but the emotions of the crowd. There was applause for John Paul, several times. Love and reverence and tears, to be sure, but applause, and signs and flags and chants from the crowd calling for the pope to be recognized as a saint.
Pope as rock star.
Thousands upon thousands, million perhaps, offering ovation after ovation. For I while I forgot that this was an event attended by heads of state from around the world in expensive suits and dresses. It was the people in blue jeans and T-shirts that left the most lasting impressions. The people's pope got a rousing sendoff from the people of the world gathering in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.
Now I know what they mean by celebrating a Mass.
Pope John Paul II
Religion
Ceremony
I watched part of the funeral of Pope John Paul II because I was up and because, well, it seems like one of those events that should be witnessed, even if on TV via satellite.
In typical Catholic fashion, it was solemn and full of pageantry, ceremony and colorful vestiments. But the most striking thing of this service was not the official aspects, but the emotions of the crowd. There was applause for John Paul, several times. Love and reverence and tears, to be sure, but applause, and signs and flags and chants from the crowd calling for the pope to be recognized as a saint.
Pope as rock star.
Thousands upon thousands, million perhaps, offering ovation after ovation. For I while I forgot that this was an event attended by heads of state from around the world in expensive suits and dresses. It was the people in blue jeans and T-shirts that left the most lasting impressions. The people's pope got a rousing sendoff from the people of the world gathering in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.
Now I know what they mean by celebrating a Mass.
Pope John Paul II
Religion
Ceremony
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Even cowboys get the blues
“… a worn out tape of Chris LeDoux, lonely women and bad booze seem to be the only friends I’ve left at all”
Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old) by Garth Brooks
And I’m feeling older today. Championship cowboy and country music singer Chris LeDoux died today in Casper, Wyo., according to the Associated Press. He was 56.
Rest in peace Chris. And thanks for the ride.
Chris LeDoux
Country music
Memorial
Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old) by Garth Brooks
And I’m feeling older today. Championship cowboy and country music singer Chris LeDoux died today in Casper, Wyo., according to the Associated Press. He was 56.
Rest in peace Chris. And thanks for the ride.
Chris LeDoux
Country music
Memorial
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Overwhelmed by the tsunami
I admit it. I'm overwhelmed by the devastation of the earthquake and tsunami that has killed more than 137,000 people in the Indian Ocean basin.
I don't know what to say about it.
The loss of life is just too much for my small brain to calculate. It's just too much.
I'll leave the analysis and insightful posts to people with more cognitive power than I can muster.
Yes, it's a big story. A huge story. And yes, I'm in the news business. But I can't pretend to know how to address that carnage or the efforts of ordinary folks to try to do something to help.
I only hope that all the money being raised and relief supplies being shipped get to the people who need them. I won't be surprised if in a few weeks, or months, we hear about millions, or billions, of dollars in cash and supplies that were wasted or went to line some opportunistic bastards' pockets.
So, this may be my only mention of the tsunami. It's not that I don't care, I just don't know how to do the topic justice from so far away.
I don't know what to say about it.
The loss of life is just too much for my small brain to calculate. It's just too much.
I'll leave the analysis and insightful posts to people with more cognitive power than I can muster.
Yes, it's a big story. A huge story. And yes, I'm in the news business. But I can't pretend to know how to address that carnage or the efforts of ordinary folks to try to do something to help.
I only hope that all the money being raised and relief supplies being shipped get to the people who need them. I won't be surprised if in a few weeks, or months, we hear about millions, or billions, of dollars in cash and supplies that were wasted or went to line some opportunistic bastards' pockets.
So, this may be my only mention of the tsunami. It's not that I don't care, I just don't know how to do the topic justice from so far away.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Print no news before its time
President Ford is in the hospital. Or he was. He has been released already, according to what my newspaper is reportering online today. We knew he was there last night, but couldn't report it because we couldn't confirm it.
I say we knew it, because there were several strong hints and clues, but nothing solid enough to tell people in their morning paper. So, we had to hold off on the story until today.
Ford is the nation's oldest living former president, a position he assumed after the death of Ronald Reagan last year. Now there is plenty of speculation that Ford's health is rapidly declining. Hell, at 91, the man looks like he gets around pretty good to me, athough his doctors have told him not to travel any as much, if at all, anymore. He still gets around better than my grandmother who turned 90 last year. Ford didn't attend the opening of President Clinton's library in Arkansas, and he skipped out on a holiday tree lighting in Vail, which has led to the speculation about his declining health.
One article I found online has a writer predicting Ford will die this year.
Aaron Goldstein has a piece on the Web site www.intellectualconservative.com called "Ten things to watch for in 2005" and No. 9 is Ford kicking the bucket.
That all seems a bit morbid to me, predicting someone's death. But, with Ford's age, it's not like the guy is going out on a huge limb there.
I got the opportunity to meet President Ford a couple of years ago when he talked to our editorial board at the newspaper. This was after he had suffered a couple of small strokes at the 2000 GOP convention. His speech was a little slow and slurred, but he still had an amazaing grasp on world affairs and local issues. I hope I'm in half as good a shape if and when I reach my late 80s or early 90s.
I was too young to vote when Ford was in office and seeking election to the presidency in his own right in 1976. So, I don't know if I would have voted for the man or not. But I can say that I admire Ford and President Carter for the things they have done since they left the White House. Former President Gerald Ford and former first lady Betty Ford have been a tremendous asset to the Coachella Valley in particular and ambassadors of this community to the world. Rancho Mirage has the nickname "Playground of Presidents" but once Ford is gone the nickname will have to be the former playground of presidents, unless Clinton or one of the Bushes opts to start spending time out here.
I say we knew it, because there were several strong hints and clues, but nothing solid enough to tell people in their morning paper. So, we had to hold off on the story until today.
Ford is the nation's oldest living former president, a position he assumed after the death of Ronald Reagan last year. Now there is plenty of speculation that Ford's health is rapidly declining. Hell, at 91, the man looks like he gets around pretty good to me, athough his doctors have told him not to travel any as much, if at all, anymore. He still gets around better than my grandmother who turned 90 last year. Ford didn't attend the opening of President Clinton's library in Arkansas, and he skipped out on a holiday tree lighting in Vail, which has led to the speculation about his declining health.
One article I found online has a writer predicting Ford will die this year.
Aaron Goldstein has a piece on the Web site www.intellectualconservative.com called "Ten things to watch for in 2005" and No. 9 is Ford kicking the bucket.
That all seems a bit morbid to me, predicting someone's death. But, with Ford's age, it's not like the guy is going out on a huge limb there.
I got the opportunity to meet President Ford a couple of years ago when he talked to our editorial board at the newspaper. This was after he had suffered a couple of small strokes at the 2000 GOP convention. His speech was a little slow and slurred, but he still had an amazaing grasp on world affairs and local issues. I hope I'm in half as good a shape if and when I reach my late 80s or early 90s.
I was too young to vote when Ford was in office and seeking election to the presidency in his own right in 1976. So, I don't know if I would have voted for the man or not. But I can say that I admire Ford and President Carter for the things they have done since they left the White House. Former President Gerald Ford and former first lady Betty Ford have been a tremendous asset to the Coachella Valley in particular and ambassadors of this community to the world. Rancho Mirage has the nickname "Playground of Presidents" but once Ford is gone the nickname will have to be the former playground of presidents, unless Clinton or one of the Bushes opts to start spending time out here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)