Here's What I'm Thinking

Saturday morning, January 24, 2015

I usually do not post anything on Saturdays, but since I am waiting for the weather to warm before I hit the golf course, I decided I would.

Did you read Bowrag’s blog about naming of children?  Made me almost spit out my coffee laughing.

When I was a child I walked around for several weeks saying “I’m Tallulah Bankhead.” It never caught on with my parents.

I once had a student named “Boy” and a female student named “Seven.” I did not inquire if there were siblings below named Eight or Nine. BFF in Navasota, TPM, once had a set of twins in her class – Dean and Sean (pronounced SEEN).

An old family story has some cousin’s family that either ran out of names because there were already so many children or in my family where the gene pool shallows significantly, they probably couldn’t think of a name. But as the story goes, the child, a girl, was called Baby until her twelfth birthday. As her birthday gift she was allowed to pick her name. She chose Mattie.

Back in the day when email communication first began among educational entities in the late 1990;s (now doesn’t that make you feel old?) it was the job of one of my colleagues to check submitted email addresses for accuracy and other reasons perhaps undetected by the requestor. For example, Carol Ann Jones @network.edu requested her initials C A and her last name Jones. Thus it became cajones@network.edu. Thus her email address translated into Spanish was testicles. And RL had to call her and explain. She was mortified, embarrassed and everything else, and immediately requested something else.

As in all social media the name says much about you. Employers tend to cringe when they see an email such as “pinkmini1” or “trainedmonkeybutler.”

I am certain Tula Does the Hula From Hawaii would make data entry clerks cringe with each key stroke.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Is it raining where you are?  I am currently looking out my office window which overlooks Lake Back Yard.

The other day I went to the pharmacy to pick up my maintenece medications. FYI – When BFF Troglodyte told her 11 year old grandson they had to run by the drug store, he thought it was where people went to buy drugs like the ones purchased on the streets and in dark alleys.  Consider that a language update. Drug store vs pharmacy.

When I went to pay for my maintenance meds the clerk said “That will be $279.78.” I almost fell to my knees in a dead faint, but then I remembered I did not have my 2015 prescription drug card with me.  The following day I returned to the pharmacy with new card in hand.  After the clerk entered all of the new data that help increases my entry into The Matrix and lessens my privacy, the bill was $17.69. Once again I almost fell to my knees with a big prayer up with thankfulness for having benefits. And then I threw in another prayer that mine are paid for.  It makes me wonder what the have-nots do.

It was Sunday morning so most of Bryan was in church and most of College Station was hung over, so the store was not crowded. While I was in the pharmacy I remembered that I was going to try to pay a bit more attention to personal hygiene this year.  Actually what that means is putting on a bra more often and taking a shower more frequently. If I have to think “when was the last time I took a shower, I probably need one” I am thinking showering more should be done.

Finding a deodorant was pretty easy. I was surprised to find pretty much the same brands as years ago. But finding a can of hairspray proved more difficult. There was one called Bed Head or Party After.  I bet this puts many at ease after a walk of shame.  I usually just wear a baseball cap for bed head and have no use for a after party hair.

There were so many brands for different types of hair, different occasions, it was becoming an aerosol fog. When did hair spray cost $20.00? I finally settled on 1.5 oz can of something called Sharper Zero Gravity because it was in my price range.  The title makes wonder though. How can zero gravity be sharper? Isn’t zero an absolute? Oh well. All I wanted was a cheap can of hair spray. Whatever happened to Aqua Net? I miss Aqua Net. And I miss Ann Richards too.

Thursday, January 15 – The Heart Break of Periphrasis

I realized today that I am suffering from the heart break of periphrasis.  It is defined as “the use of an unnecessarily long or round about form of expression.”

While yesterday’s entry received several comments of its most excellence, it was way too long.  These postings were originally designed for a quick read. Today’s entry is shorter.  In fact, I’m finished.