Welcome
to 2014!!!
I’m
sitting in bed still at 11am…. This is a good sign that 2014 will be a better
year than 2013 was. Putting it bluntly – 2013 sucked! Far too much turmoil and
stress!
For
those who do not know me – staying in bed, for me, is something I MIGHT get to
do once every few years. – a REAL
rarity!
So
far, I have discovered that Ms Honey Bunny is having a BLAST with the 4 stacks
of boxes and plastic tubs. I have placed them strategically in piles of varying
heights. She has discovered the benefits of each box stack. The Amazon boxes –
2 stacked on top next to one creating the effect of stairs – she jumps up and
down and up and down and chews on the box. The plastic ones are just for
effect. The coup d’ grace however, is the long ceiling fan box on its side……
this one, she jumps up on to sliiiidddddeeeeeee across the top…. Rabbits are as easily amused as cats. I like
that in a furbaby!
That
said, my first purchase of 2014 will be a cat tree….. Yes, the cats will enjoy
it – however, I believe Ms. Honey will like it more!
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I
have spent the morning on the laptop, sometimes on Facebook – but, most of the
time, I have been perusing the “Vintage Children’s Book” pages of Etsy for ……………
well…. Yeah – vintage children’s books. In particular – the earlier printings
of the Judy Bolton, Cherry Ames, Nancy Drew, Penny Parker, and Sue Barton
mystery series books. Etsy seems to have
a plethora of these – almost ever time I look, I find another to add to my
collection.
No,
I am not a collector of teen novela’s of yesteryear…. I am an avid reader. And have been since the
age of 8 when my wonderful Aunt Edna introduced me to these books. They were originally
bought for her when she was a girl. Many were printed in the 1930’s. Grossett
& Dunlap were the printers of said books, all of which had hard covers and
were printed on a very thick paper – akin to two or more sheets of construction
paper. The pages are yellowed to begin with and have gotten more so over the
years.
I
am very particular about which printings I purchase, preferring the first or
second printing. I am very drawn to
these printings as they were set in the era in which they were written – the 1930’s.
Some – like Nan Sherwood – were printed around the turn of the century.
Of
these book series I have mentioned, only Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames survived
into the 60’s and 70’s. Cherry simply ‘grew with the times’ – and sometime in
the 70’s, faded into the “Land of Unread Books”. Nancy, (and her counterparts –
the Hardy Boys) survive even today. However, those two series were REWRITTEN
and reprinted several times – and modernized. I’m not sure what Nancy (is her
last name still “Drew” or did she finally marry Ned?) is driving these days but
I am positive it is NOT the ‘Roadster’ of her 1930’s days.
I
know what has been in my lifetime - If
she is driving an Infiniti I30T – you GO Nancy – but, I know what those are
like…. I’ve seen plenty. But a Roadster…..
Gee whiz! Now THAT’S a car!!! Does anyone know what an automat is? Or an
Underwood? (yeah – that thing with the keys that looks sort of like a computer
keyboard except bigger, noisier and at least 20 pounds heavier?) . Anyone
remember home-delivered groceries? Nope – not Peapod – that’s the new version
of the old scene!
Updating
Nancy & her ‘chums’ (who became ‘pals’ and then ‘friends’ and, now, I’m certain
they are BFF’s) is all well and good for sales to the current generation I
suppose. But, I prefer to read the older models. What is worse I suppose is that very few
people do prefer those – unless, of course, they are collectors of books. I
suppose you could call me a collector – but, not for the value. The monetary
value means less than nothing to me. What I LOVE is filling in gaps in my
collection – like having volumes 1-6, 9, 10, 12 and 18 – and finding volumes 7,
8, and 11! I read them as I get them first;. Then go back and read volumes 1 –
12 all inclusive! This gives me a clear picture of my heroines’ life and times!
Perhaps
I should have been an anthropologist?
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This
year, I have much to do. Retirement from the world of Big Business is in sight –
but I have not yet decided what I want to be when I grow up. I have to blame
some of the lack of decision on not knowing all the possibilities that are out
there. I am constantly amazed at the jobs and fields – things that I take for
granted. Like where do new colors come from? From companies that specialize in
color development of course….. what? Yes… color development is a science every
bit as much as mathematics. Who knew? Party planning – another career alternative.
So… no cooking? No cleaning. Just co-ordinating? Sober companions… OMG!!!! Although it helps
to have gotten sober once yourself, it is not a requirement. So… someone pays
you to stay with them after rehab for a bit and yell at them if you think they
are heading back down the proverbial slippery slope? Real estate ‘stagers”. The broker prices the house, the realtor
sells it – but will engage the services of a stager – who is kind of an
interior decorator of empty homes – in order to make the property “pleasing” to
potential buyers…. (Now, IMHO, if you
can’t see the potential in a residence without someone else decorating it for
you – why are you even BUYING ?? ) .
The
scary part of this is that our “for profit” industry of ‘Education’ has
determined that ALL career paths require extensive education beyond that which is
required by local law. And they have convinced all their cronies in other ‘for
profit’ industries that this is true. Further, they have brainwashed US common folk into
believing that this is a necessity. We actually believe that you can’t do color
analysis or decorate a home unless you have been through an institute of higher
learning – either with the core “liberal arts” courses or just the specialty.
So,
let me get this straight…. Unless you are a good student (I’m not even going to
TOUCH the subject of the outrageous cost of this excessive education) - you can’t be a good _______ (fill in blank
with your favorite job that SHOULD NOT require a degree). Hmmmmmmmm.
Ok
– I’m all for learning. I really abhor people who are stupid or ignorant by
choice.
I
believe in learning something new every day. I LOVE to learn. Which is why I
ADORE the internet … I read, I don’t know, I google. I read, I want to know
more – I google. I read several different news site daily. I read books –
primarily fiction – but, the fiction is what piques my interest in the facts
behind the fiction. All fiction has a
basis in fact – if one wishes to know if something is real or truly fictitious –
google. Or bing. Or…
Know
what I can’t do? I can’t sit in a
classroom, take notes, and learn. No, really – I can’t. Ok, well, yes, I can. But
– what this type of learning gives me is only good for playing Trivial Pursuit.
I remember (by rote) exactly what I need to… and yep, I can pass an average college
course with a decent grade. But, here is the problem…. It doesn’t MEAN anything.
What
means something: what I early on (as were many in my generation) to INFER
unknown meanings from known meanings. I can understand an unknown word from the
context in which it is used.
If
I am taught the basics and handed a good reference manual, I can solve a
problem. I understand the problem based
on what I already know about the general topic of the problem. What I do not
know, I ask about. Based on having seen
real-life answers to other problems and understanding the problem and WHY it is
a problem – I can design a solution to the problem – and carry it through to implementation..
I can do this having one 2 or 5 day class and a manual (and let us not forget
Sparky – that Mighty Brain Cell!).
So,
what did an extra 2 years of English, Mathematics, Economics, and History (all “General”
subjects by the way) do exactly to help me solve the business problem better? Not a dam thing.
This
is a subject that I could go on about all day – every aspect – and there are
MANY!!!! My bottom line? In most cases,
higher education is unnecessary and experience is the best teacher. And sadly,
one thing that life has taught me is if you want to know what the REAL root
reason for ANYTHING – all you need to do is follow the money.
Money
(kudo’s to Ms Lauper) changes everything. A sad attestation to what we’ve become.
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Sounds
like starting the New Year off on a bad note – but I’m not really. This is
today’s reality. It doesn’t have to be FOREVER reality. I, for one, refuse to accept this as a “forever
reality”. It can change. Probably not in my lifetime – but, it can change.
Perhaps
I can help start the change…….. I shall have to consider that as I contemplate
my next career. This will be one of my goals for 2014 – to figure out how to
have a second career that I enjoy AND change the world at the same time.
