So, What's New With You, Then...

So asked an acquaintance, the friend of a friend...

I paused before answering, a habit developed long ago at the hand of a favourite teacher who was fond of telling students, "It is far better to keep your mouth closed and be thought an idiot than to speak and prove your detractors correct."

Millions of thoughts flashed through my mind, the foremost being a question about whether this individual was nosey or had some genuine concern for my well-being...

A split second later, I heard myself admit that nothing much was new, that I was getting on with things and was fine, really.

Her arched eyebrow said she was unconvinced, and as we sat for a minute longer, I told her of yet another older friend who lost a job and is now looking for work, at seventy,just when she ought to be able to enjoy some peace in her so-called "golden years."

Like many, she has a mortgage and other obligations, and cannot afford to simply bask in the glow of former careers until she leaves the planet. I have another friend whose sister trained in a new field upon being downsized, and two years later, still cannot find work. She has been rejected from retail establishments seeking holiday help on grounds of over qualification. She is about forty and nowhere near retirement.

I wonder about what our workforce will look like as more and more of us take any job just to squeak by...

My own experience shows that standards of living and expectations have shrunk for the first time in a generation. My parents never had to worry. Their jobs were secure. They worked and saved, sending me to university in the hope that I too might reap the benefits of security, an idea that grows more illusory by the day.

I rarely travel anymore, eat in restaurants, go to the cinema, visit the library or the park, or see plays, and I think twice before buying anything and only get new items on discount. I've reduced my grocery bills, and haven't run the heat during this cold snap, preferring to wear my coat instead. I've no television and no cable and have developed a coupon habit. I'm also considering getting rid of my long distance phone service and using Skype.

If any of you have experience with Skype, kindly let me know.

All of this is by way of saying I'm living differently, and will continue to examine both priorities and expectations as I think we're all in this so-called recession for much longer than anticipated.

What do you think?

Until Next Time...

I Know You're All Wondering...

The doctor's nurse called to say that my thyroid is normal and there was nothing on the scan. When I queried whether a problem was still in the offing because the bloodwork wasn't as it should be, she did not know. I asked her to have the doctor call me. No call yesterday and none today thus far...

This is good news, but the happy dance will need to wait until my questions are answered. Given the state of the U.S. medical system, that should be sometime in the next century, provided someone can find the paper on which my request was recorded...

In the interim, I venture to hospital for a workout, and leave you all with the following rather sarcastic reflections on modern life:


Whom did you think you were chasing?

Her head cocked, the question hangs in the air, unanswered...
It is clear, despite protestations to the contrary, that you are no White Knight,
Tilting at life's conundrums, gathering damsels perceived distressed...
Erudite at first glance, chinks in your facade reveal a mere terrified mortal…
Once more, a victim of your own grand delusions…

Fleeing intimacy’s final gaze…


**********************************************

One can do so much via e-mail and the Internet;
We've forgotten tact, courtesy and our grandmother's oft-uttered, "Treat as you would like to be treated."

There is the act of flaming; PLACING DESIRES, EPITHETS AND QUIXOTIC TURNS OF PHRASE IN CAPS, the equivalent of screaming, in case the person reading has suddenly forgotten that your words do have a point, and that you intend to make it, come what may.

Or the proverbial, "I can't risk talking to you in person right now because my emotions may get the better of me," leading inevitably to a mish-mash of words, which when translated result in the need for a clean break, and no further hyperbole onscreen or off.

A kiss-off Internet-style...

Tacky, and without merit as it may be, to which I say, with gusto: Amen!



Until Next Time and Still Wondering...

Tired But Re-Hired...

We finished the project at work last afternoon, a bit earlier than anticipated, so I am enjoying the three-day weekend and catching up with bills, the flat and other odd bits today. I was to have gone to lunch with a friend, but too many errands on the friends' end cancelled that, unfortunately. Now, I've two hours or so until the weekly grocery delivery arrives, laundry to put away and a nice Earl Grey Decaf, courtesy of Twinings of London, loading me with welcome antioxidants. If I could find this tea in whole leaf rather than bagged, I'd enjoy it even more.

The best news is that I've been re-hired for the next two weeks, and possibly the six weeks following which will bring me to the close of this company's seasonal work schedule. Though mentally demanding, all the work stays at the site, which means a day off is just as it should be, and my time is my own. It also means no work, no pay, so today, I am paid in the gift of time, and will enjoy the end of a French film I began two days ago, a new book and possibly, a nap. I'll also visit various blogs I've missed lately.

Until Next Time...

Working Stiff...

I know several of you have been curious as to my recent absences here. Taking a bow from Baino, I don't normally write about extremely personal matters, at least not without being a bit veiled for privacy's sake, but the walls have been coming in on me a bit and I'm trying to make some decisions about what to do and where, as well as how and when...

One of the hardest things to deal with has been the flight of people I believed to be friends. Another has been lack of employment. This week, I will take a temporary job in my neighbourhood that is slated to last about five weeks. As the work is rather mentally demanding, my posts may be intermittent at best. I did post comments to those of you who read and commented on my previous post.

This job is by no means a career step, nor is the pay rate wonderful, but it is better than nothing. It will also be the first time I venture into the world of work since getting my chair.

I wish everyone a wonderful weekend and welcome your e-mails and comments. I'll leave you with a beautiful scene...

Until Next Time...

In Desperate Need Of Mr. Toast's Geography Lesson...

It's a rainy day in the neighborhood and I decide to duck into a nearby diner/sub shop for the soup du jour. A regular for some years at this establishment, I know the owner, the handful of employees and a part-timer or two by name.

As I take a seat at the counter, extend greetings to the proprietor and glance at the door, a man carrying a small boy enters. After carefully arranging the child and his toys in a seat adjacent, he orders their lunches, then spends several minutes playing quietly with the boy.

My soup arrives, and after the first bite, I hear the man, a British expat, tell the waitress that he is going back to Europe for a visit. She, a high school graduate, responds, "Oh wow...Is Europe in England?"

I see the dimmest smile begin to creep across his face...as he says with a wink:

"Well, not all of it, only the best bit."

Methinks our high schools need to re-tool their geography curricula, assuming they still teach that...

Mr. Toast can be found at http://goodteatoo.blogspot.com. He has some lovely widgets and maps in case anyone has forgotten where they are or from whence they may have come...

Visiting his blog today brought this incident to mind.

I'll leave you to ponder...

Until Next Time...

Disappointed...

A recent call from family in California revealed that stepsister, with whom I was to stay on the previously mentioned and long-anticipated trip, has ripped her meniscus and must have surgery around the time I was to have arrived.

Since recuperation and house guests are not a good mix, she asked that we postpone the visit until all is mended and she is able to get around.

I will, of course, do as she asks. However, I am deeply disappointed as well as a bit flustered at trying to communicate this to the airline involved...

I will assuage my feelings in the hospital gym. Those of you interested in future postings will be happy to know that two are planned as I write, and include photos and interesting links.

I also have another concerning films in the offing...

Until Later...

A Librarian's Lament...

The Free Library of Philadelphia is on the chopping block and may be closing as of October 2, 2009. According to its website, all branches, regionals and central libraries operated as part of the Free Library are included. Services to cease include all inter library loans, holds for books and other materials, and classes for teens and adults, as well as all children's programmes. This includes visits to seniors, schools, daycare and community centers, ESL classes and GED preparation as well as computer and small business and other programmes, home bound services and those for persons with disabilities, among others.

With a collection of 6 million items, varied programmes and services, the shutting of this system of libraries neither bodes well for its diverse constituencies nor the legislators who have thus far failed to fund its continued existence. Those who care to can visit the Free Library of Philadelphia virtually at http://libwww.freelibrary.org/closing/ for more information. Its blog, together with links to legislators can be found at http://libwww.freelibrary.org/blog/.



Its political and financial landscape still rife with deregulation, as well as moral and fiscal bankruptcy, the U.S. may be years in dealing with the fallout of the current economic downturn and its effects on jobs, institutions and services at all levels.

Bailouts to banks, the auto industry and other entities, in the face of huge corporate bonuses, while municipal governments wrestle with closings, layoffs and cuts to already slim budgets is just the surface of an increasingly ugly and complex situation many struggle to understand even as attempted remedies fall short of expectations.

Against a backdrop of often vitriolic political in-fighting, basic needs and services go wanting. Americans have failed to answer some fundamental questions, including but not limited to: What kind of society are we? How can we bolster the working and civic lives and productivity of the people? Are our business and other models for institutions still effective? Do we need to re-evaluate our practises? Is capitalism as we have known it viable? What must we do, personally and collectively, to live within our means? If we want continued and better services, we must find ways of funding them, including raising revenue. How will this be done? Beyond these, I would ask why institutions such as libraries, which provide literacy, educational and other services to growing numbers of citizens, particularly during periods of economic downturn, find themselves always on the short end of budgets?

Sacrificing one library system in a city like Philadelphia may not matter to you unless you live there or visit regularly, but what does it say about our priorities as a people?

Until Next Time,

And Now, From The Slackest Poster On The Planet...

I have Baino to thank for the title of this posting. You're right, I have slacked considerably in the posting department...

Another blogger, Suzanne, of the Rose Cottage Studio, asked what I thought about turning fifty earlier this month as our birthdays are in the same week.

I really have not had a lot of time to think about it, but since none of us can turn back the clock, going forward as happily as one can manage seems the only solution. Have I done everything I set out to do by fifty? Not by half, but that only gives me more to look forward to. Numerous people have kindly noted that I neither look nor do I act my age. As someone wryly observed once upon a time, "You're only as young as you feel."

Judging by my joints, some days, I've a foot in the grave. Much of the time, however, I'm far too busy to worry about feeling out of sorts. While life in the last year or so has been a bit wearing, and is challenging on all levels, I've quite happily resumed a volunteer archival project on behalf of a specialised library that is part of my Alma Mater. Additionally, I hope to start an extended rehabilitation programme at a hospital gym that will strengthen my upper body and core (assuming the prescription for same can be located and faxed appropriately, a task that has taken two weeks to sort out thanks to our wonderful medical establishment). Further, a medication issue remains to be dealt with, as I've yet to get the lovely GP to the phone, despite two detailed messages...

When it isn't raining, I've been swimming. Searching the Internet and e-mailing those I know regarding job leads hasn't yielded fruit yet, but as I have no choice, efforts persist. Evenings often find me scratching my head over basic Hebrew, or plundering Netflix for British mysteries or comedies. Never a fan of American television fare, I'm dismayed at how slowly programming from the UK is released here, and how much isn't. There are several things I like that simply are not available here. Couple this with the fact that the UK and American DVD's as well as DVD players are incompatible because they are made in different regions, and I cannot play DVD's ordered from the UK, either.

Apart from that, and quite happily, the quadrupeds of this household have calmed considerably, ushering in long-sought domestic peace. How long this will last is any one's guess and I'm not taking bets at this point. In a month's time, I'll be in balmy southern California, where relations claim the weather should be cooler than the swamp I inhabit; I'm holding them to it and looking forward to the birthday celebration my niece is planning, meeting another blogger in person and seeing some longtime friends.

Until Next Time...