Sharon's opinions

Sharon's opinionsToday, Salt Lake City had all it's demonstrations. I'm glad to report there were only 5 people at the "Down With Isreal" demo. Sort of restores my faith in my fello citizens. President Bush said all the things he usually says, nothing new. I guess that's to be expected. Looks like Salt Lakes 15 minutes of glory is over and we survived. All in all, I prferred the Olympics.

President Bush to Visit the Reddist of Red States

It's that time of year again, the American Legion Convention. This year, President Bush will speak, as he did last year. This year we even get Sec Rumsfield and Sec Condi Rice. Both spoke on Tuesday, saying the usual things about the war. Mr. Rumsfield thinks that anyone not in favor of the war in Iraq is morally confused. He said these were the same kinds of people who tried appeasement with Hitler. (same old rhetoric) Sec. Rice was more diplomatic. That is, after all her job. She admitted there were some unhappy things coming out of Iraq. She also said we had the right to protest. (tell that to the Utah GOP) She was upset that people were saying bad things about her boss, the President. She believes he is a truthful, moral man. I suspect Pres. Bush believes that too.

We here in Utah have around 5 demonstrations scheduled for today. One at least pro Bush, one against the war, one pro imigration and one called "down with Isreal". That last one bothers me a bit. Still, they got their permission, went through all the proticals, so they've the right to express themselves.

Lots of people in the state don't believe our SLC mayor Rocky Anderson has that right though. He's supposed to be the office,welcoming the federal office. Just play nice. The GOP in this state thinks their the only party(they almost are) They took out radio ads asking people to flood the city phone lines with protests. The city added people to answer the phones. When someone called the Republican party headquarters to ask some uncomfortale questions, the receptionist hung up. Such is politics in Utah. Can't wait to hear what Pres. Bush has to say, assuming it will be any different from previous speeches, of course.

On Being My Own Worst Enemy

In my last post, I talked about needing to find a job. I am actually doing some looking and doing some online applications, but many want a resume. There's where I'm shooting myself in the foot. I have it started, but I just can't seem to finish it. I'm using a different program, so when I get problems, I try once or twice to get past them, then throw up my hands, save what I have, and quit. I have an interveiw on Thursday and thought I should go get my shaggy hair trimed today. Instead, I took a nap. Of course, getting awakened by a fire engine and an ambulence at 3 am this morning didn't help. There I go making excuses for myself again. At least I got my daughter-in-laws birthday gift shipped yesterday. Maybe if I recognise the things I do get done instead of carping on and on about my failings, I'd start doing better, ot at least feeling better.

Changes -But I Don't Want To!

I've been home, not employed for over 2 years now. The first 2 years I was the primary caretaker for my 80 something Mom who needed dialysis 3 bdays a week. I was'nt just sitting around, but I had time to keep up the house work, do some reading, play on the internet, etc. I had my early retirement money and the severance package my company gave me when I was downsized, plus Mom's social security and what we'd managed to save. By the time Mom passed away,we'd gone through quite a bit of the money, but not all.

After Mom died, I didn't know quite what to do with myself and I was more depressed than I expected. I figured Mom had been released from a lot of suffering that last 6 months so I expected to bounce back. I didn't really and I made some bad decisions with money.I bought so many things that were going to get me earning great money on the web, but either did'nt work. I couldn't understand, or I didn't follow through on.

The result is, I need to go back to work. On the one hand, I'm okay with that, but on the other, I'm as scared as I was when I had to take care of myself after my divorce.There's the added problem of being embarrassed and a little ashamed of myself.

I'll survive, but It's a pain too. I guess some things we don't seem to outgrow.

Early Mornings are Worth It

I usually get up early every morning because my cat insists on being fed. Imagine that! He's very persistant, first patting my arm or face, then jumping on me. I usually grope my way downstairs and feed him, then make coffee and sit, half asleep waiting for it. Yesterday, while on my first cup of coffee, I looked out to the east through my patio door and became mezmerised with the unfolding of the sunrise. I live in a valley with mountains on both the west and the east so both sunrise and sunset can take a little time.
Yesterday, there were just enough clouds to really hi-light the changes in the light. First the lower surfaces were a deep pink with small spots of white on top. Gradually,the pink lightened and spread higher in the sky and farther west with the cloud tops brightening. Within minutes, the clouds closest to the mountain became rosy gold and pink spread farther across the sky. Amazingly, hundreds of small birds chose this time to leap into the air, flying toward the mountains as if welcoming the sun. By now, the clouds on the east were bright with sunlight.
The fun part is, it can happen again tomorrow, different each day, but always the same.

Fish Tank as Decor

At this years National Kitchen and Bath Assocciation Show in Chicago, HGTV showed some of the new ideas. One of those ideas turned out to be an aquarium of fish as an island in the kitchen. They showed it with colorful gold fish, illuminated to show it off. There's a small opening on top with a lid which allows you to feed the fish. They didn't mention if you were also expected to clean the tank through that small opening too.

Another company showed a toilet with a clear,double tank which also held goldfish. Due to the double tank, the fish don't get flushed.I imagine feeding and cleaning are still problematic.

Deconstruction versus Demolishing

I read an article in the Sept issue of Better Homes and Gardens about a couple who discovered a way to get the bigger space they needed without betraying their principles on recycling. They didn't want to move as they enjoyed their location living on the shore of a lake. They looked at their options and dicovered a deconstruction company that would carefully dismantle their present one level home and save the reusable material for their new contruction or save it for someone else's construction.

They ended up with a new 2 story home with more size and they even got a tax credit for the deconstruction. They used some things from the old home and other things from elsewhere. They even carted up stones from their lake front to build a new fireplace. Considering all the deomolition and construction material that ends up in the nation's landfills each year, this was a great solution.
If you want details, go to Better Homes and Garden, Sept issue or try their website at http://www.bhg.com

People and Reality

I just read in the news that nearly 50% of the people polled believe that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq before we invaded. The article went on to wonder how so many people could have such a disconnect from reality. My simple answer to that question is that they choose to disconnect, from a reality they find uncomfortable due to currant news from the war, or wanting to disconnect from a reality where they might have to feel some bit of responsibilty for keeping the Bush administration in office. I think some of these people only pay attention to news sources that will bolster their version of reality, like Fox News and conservative talk radio and blogs. If you don't open yourself to anyone who might disagree with you, you don't have to change your mind or feel any guilt. You can remain somewhat comfortable. I'm afraid that sooner or later, reality will intrude though. (hopefully before 2006 elections.)

Sharon's opinions

Sharon's opinionsI was noticing recently, that Govenor Arnold Swartznegger of California has joined Tony Blair of Great Britain in trying to do something about global warming.I guess it's no surprise since California has been working on it for quite sometime. Our Mayor of Salt Lake City, Rocky Anderson has been making changes in our city for quite awhile. We've already met and in some cases surpassed goals for lowering greenhouse emmissions. Too bad Rocky isn't running for a third term.
It seems to me that even if you believe that this climate change is just part of a normal cycle, it still is a good idea to lower greenhouse gas emmission if only to give us cleaner air and better health. As far as I'm aware, this our only planet at present and we all have to breathe the same air, plenty to go around, just not very clean or heathful.

Sharon's opinions

Sharon's opinions It was a busy weekend and I hardly touched my computer. After all the heat we've had lately, we got a pleasnt change today. It was in the low 60s this A.M. and I actually had to close mybalcony door. We got a huge rain storm this morning, one of those "frog stranglers" you may have heard about. Really nice. Of course I like rain storms. I just wish I'd had my car out of the carport to get washed, but by the time I thought of it, I'd have gotten washed too and I'd just got dressed. Oh well.