Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 101
August 16, 2016
Olympic Thoughts
I've been watching a lot of the Olympics and I had a few thoughts about the event so far. First up, the television part of the event.
The TV coverage has been frustrating. I've wanted to watch the gymnastics competition, but they only show part of it early and NBC saves the rest of it until 11pm at night. My alarm goes off at 4am, so that means I either go to work on no sleep or don't watch. I've been going to bed.As I was complaining about this to a guy in my van pool, he mentioned that there's an Olympic channel. What? This would be frustration number 2. Comcast didn't really advertise its availability beyond a little box on the last channels screen, and since they've littered that with advertising, I've learned to ignore it.Which leads me to frustration number 3. So now that I know there's an On-Demand channel for the Olympics, I've been trying to watch all the events that I missed because I needed to sleep. I start the replays and they drop out and RESTART FROM THE BEGINNING. I haven't been able to make it through the 37-minute Part One of the individual all-around gymnastics despite trying three times now.Other thoughts:
That cupping thing some of the swimmers are doing, leaving giant hickeys on their body is horrible to look at. I haven't done any reading to see if it really works or if they just think it relieves sore muscles, but looking like you were making out with an enormous octopus is just...Yuck!The gymnasts look like they're twelve. Some of them look younger than that! It was a surprise to see that most of them (at least on the US team) are legal adults. O_O I saw a runner, a refugee from South Sudan, who was competing under the Olympic flag. I thought that was so incredibly awesome that athletes who didn't have a country because of political situations were still eligible. Love this! I was thinking about how many Americans were at the games and how so many other countries have few people there to cheer for their athletes. It's not just because the games are on our side of the world--the US always has a large number of people there. I think we need to remember how blessed we are compared to a lot of other countries.My favorite event started on Sunday--synchronized swimming! I love the Olympics. :-)
The TV coverage has been frustrating. I've wanted to watch the gymnastics competition, but they only show part of it early and NBC saves the rest of it until 11pm at night. My alarm goes off at 4am, so that means I either go to work on no sleep or don't watch. I've been going to bed.As I was complaining about this to a guy in my van pool, he mentioned that there's an Olympic channel. What? This would be frustration number 2. Comcast didn't really advertise its availability beyond a little box on the last channels screen, and since they've littered that with advertising, I've learned to ignore it.Which leads me to frustration number 3. So now that I know there's an On-Demand channel for the Olympics, I've been trying to watch all the events that I missed because I needed to sleep. I start the replays and they drop out and RESTART FROM THE BEGINNING. I haven't been able to make it through the 37-minute Part One of the individual all-around gymnastics despite trying three times now.Other thoughts:
That cupping thing some of the swimmers are doing, leaving giant hickeys on their body is horrible to look at. I haven't done any reading to see if it really works or if they just think it relieves sore muscles, but looking like you were making out with an enormous octopus is just...Yuck!The gymnasts look like they're twelve. Some of them look younger than that! It was a surprise to see that most of them (at least on the US team) are legal adults. O_O I saw a runner, a refugee from South Sudan, who was competing under the Olympic flag. I thought that was so incredibly awesome that athletes who didn't have a country because of political situations were still eligible. Love this! I was thinking about how many Americans were at the games and how so many other countries have few people there to cheer for their athletes. It's not just because the games are on our side of the world--the US always has a large number of people there. I think we need to remember how blessed we are compared to a lot of other countries.My favorite event started on Sunday--synchronized swimming! I love the Olympics. :-)
August 14, 2016
August 11, 2016
Up the Family Tree
Over the Fourth of July weekend, I was talking to my dad and I asked him a question about the family. I can't remember what the question was or why I asked it, but I was surprised by his answer. I asked more questions and started to make notes, trying to keep it all straight in my head. My dad pulled out folders from what he calls his memory box and the next thing I know, I'm creating a family tree on one of the online sites.
That Sunday, we stayed up until 2am and on Monday, Independence Day, we spent the entire day inputting data into the tree.
But we weren't using the big family tree site, but some other one and searching for more information became more and more irritating because everything was behind the paywall on the big kahuna. The next day, I did some searching online and discovered they did have some free databases. But as I began to search those, I began to feel like all the "good" stuff was behind the paywall.
And it probably is.
Finally, I gave up and paid. As unhappy as I was about this, I'll admit that there was a lot of good, solid information there and that they make extremely easy to add it to the family tree. With a caveat here. The more recent information--my generation and the one after me--is scarce. I also discovered that the international information is a higher fee. :-(
I'll probably end up paying that, too, since both my mom's parents emigrated and so did my dad's father and his grandparents. And all I can do now is to continue to explore the people who were born or lived in the USA.
This project, while time consuming, is a good thing, though. My dad hasn't been interested in much since my mom died and this had him engaged. He had all kinds of folders full of information out and kept consulting them as I asked for information.
Some of what he knew was sketchy and he wished he'd done this earlier. He's the third youngest of eight and all his brothers and sisters have passed away. If we'd done this before they'd died, they could have helped us because there were things he just didn't know or couldn't remember because he was too young. His father died when he was 9 and his mother when he was 12, so he also wasn't told a lot of things because of his age.
Some of the highlights I've discovered: My dad's father emigrated with his younger brother. I didn't know there was another branch of the family! My dad told me there was a falling out between the families and they didn't talk. But he doesn't know what the issue was because he was too young when it happened. I'm dying of curiosity!
The other piece of information was a maybe confirmation that my great aunt had been married before Uncle John. She was a divorcee. ::gasp:: ::scandalized:: That was a rumor that was unleashed at a family party that we missed, but to find what looks to be her marriage information? Incredible.
And this is what makes this family tree thing kind of addictive.
That Sunday, we stayed up until 2am and on Monday, Independence Day, we spent the entire day inputting data into the tree.
But we weren't using the big family tree site, but some other one and searching for more information became more and more irritating because everything was behind the paywall on the big kahuna. The next day, I did some searching online and discovered they did have some free databases. But as I began to search those, I began to feel like all the "good" stuff was behind the paywall.
And it probably is.
Finally, I gave up and paid. As unhappy as I was about this, I'll admit that there was a lot of good, solid information there and that they make extremely easy to add it to the family tree. With a caveat here. The more recent information--my generation and the one after me--is scarce. I also discovered that the international information is a higher fee. :-(
I'll probably end up paying that, too, since both my mom's parents emigrated and so did my dad's father and his grandparents. And all I can do now is to continue to explore the people who were born or lived in the USA.
This project, while time consuming, is a good thing, though. My dad hasn't been interested in much since my mom died and this had him engaged. He had all kinds of folders full of information out and kept consulting them as I asked for information.
Some of what he knew was sketchy and he wished he'd done this earlier. He's the third youngest of eight and all his brothers and sisters have passed away. If we'd done this before they'd died, they could have helped us because there were things he just didn't know or couldn't remember because he was too young. His father died when he was 9 and his mother when he was 12, so he also wasn't told a lot of things because of his age.
Some of the highlights I've discovered: My dad's father emigrated with his younger brother. I didn't know there was another branch of the family! My dad told me there was a falling out between the families and they didn't talk. But he doesn't know what the issue was because he was too young when it happened. I'm dying of curiosity!
The other piece of information was a maybe confirmation that my great aunt had been married before Uncle John. She was a divorcee. ::gasp:: ::scandalized:: That was a rumor that was unleashed at a family party that we missed, but to find what looks to be her marriage information? Incredible.
And this is what makes this family tree thing kind of addictive.
August 9, 2016
Grease is the Time
A few weeks ago as I was scrolling through Facebook, I saw saw a meme and the image was from the final scene in the movie Grease when Olivia Newton-John is dressed in tight clothes. The caption was something about changing who you are for love and it was sarcastic.
I totally see the point the person with the meme was making because it did bother me for a long time that ONJ's character of Sandy had to change from a "good" girl to a bad one to catch Danny. Why should she have to change? She's fine just the way she is and Danny loves her just the way she is, but if he's too big of an idiot to realize it, she's better off without him.
But over time, as I've thought about this, I realized something. Sandy might have changed at the end for Danny, but earlier in the movie, Danny tried to change who he was for Sandy.
Remember when he dressed in a sweater and tried out for sports? He did the exact same thing Sandy did, the only difference was that he tried to change earlier. We always recall the end more vividly than an earlier point in the movie and I think that's why Danny's attempt at change is forgotten. Something tells me that Sandy's change won't last any longer than Danny's did--like a day or two.
The other thing that occurred to me is that high school is over. Being part of the greaser clique or having a label of "good girl" doesn't mean much in the real world. I can see Sandy and Danny getting married, he gets a job, and who they are morphs. No one is the same at say 25 as they were at 18 and the hero and heroine from Grease are no exception.
You're probably thinking why would anyway waste this much time thinking through the plot of a movie and working out all kinds of theories. This is the bane of my existence. I'm always critiquing films--it's one of the reasons why I rarely watch movies anymore.
The plus side, though, is that this overthinking the movie has allowed me to enjoy it again. There was a long stretch when I was too annoyed by Sandy's transformation to watch it.
I totally see the point the person with the meme was making because it did bother me for a long time that ONJ's character of Sandy had to change from a "good" girl to a bad one to catch Danny. Why should she have to change? She's fine just the way she is and Danny loves her just the way she is, but if he's too big of an idiot to realize it, she's better off without him.
But over time, as I've thought about this, I realized something. Sandy might have changed at the end for Danny, but earlier in the movie, Danny tried to change who he was for Sandy.
Remember when he dressed in a sweater and tried out for sports? He did the exact same thing Sandy did, the only difference was that he tried to change earlier. We always recall the end more vividly than an earlier point in the movie and I think that's why Danny's attempt at change is forgotten. Something tells me that Sandy's change won't last any longer than Danny's did--like a day or two.
The other thing that occurred to me is that high school is over. Being part of the greaser clique or having a label of "good girl" doesn't mean much in the real world. I can see Sandy and Danny getting married, he gets a job, and who they are morphs. No one is the same at say 25 as they were at 18 and the hero and heroine from Grease are no exception.
You're probably thinking why would anyway waste this much time thinking through the plot of a movie and working out all kinds of theories. This is the bane of my existence. I'm always critiquing films--it's one of the reasons why I rarely watch movies anymore.
The plus side, though, is that this overthinking the movie has allowed me to enjoy it again. There was a long stretch when I was too annoyed by Sandy's transformation to watch it.
August 7, 2016
Evidence That the Future is Now
Some cool things, but I bet there are even cooler things coming in our future. :-)
August 4, 2016
The Artist In Me
One of my big regrets in life is that I'm not a talented artist. I've always wanted to sit down, pick up a pencil, and draw brilliant sketches. I just haven't wanted it badly enough to put in the hours of practice that it would take to get good at it. :-/
However, I continually try to do things that are at least minimally artistic. They rarely turn out they I envision, but it makes me happy to play around with it anyway.
On Saturday, I had one of those artistic expression days.
I was putting stickers in my planner (which I will not talk about!) and I wanted some to mark family wedding anniversaries. I hopped online and did a little searching, but seriously, the price charged for stickers can get ridiculous, and when you factor in shipping... Well, I balked. I'd already bought a bunch of stickers and I didn't want to buy more.
Then I remembered I have a bunch of blank stickers in my filing cabinet. I'll make my own, I decided!
And it actually turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. I had stickers that were 2 inches by 4, so I set it up for two anniversary stickers on one label. Over the image, I put a shape with some champagne colored fill to match the flutes in the picture and printed them out. Wah-la! Anniversary stickers!
Are they as awesome as the ones people are selling online? No, but the price was right and I had fun designing them. I'm calling it a win-win.
However, I continually try to do things that are at least minimally artistic. They rarely turn out they I envision, but it makes me happy to play around with it anyway.
On Saturday, I had one of those artistic expression days.
I was putting stickers in my planner (which I will not talk about!) and I wanted some to mark family wedding anniversaries. I hopped online and did a little searching, but seriously, the price charged for stickers can get ridiculous, and when you factor in shipping... Well, I balked. I'd already bought a bunch of stickers and I didn't want to buy more.
Then I remembered I have a bunch of blank stickers in my filing cabinet. I'll make my own, I decided!
And it actually turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. I had stickers that were 2 inches by 4, so I set it up for two anniversary stickers on one label. Over the image, I put a shape with some champagne colored fill to match the flutes in the picture and printed them out. Wah-la! Anniversary stickers!
Are they as awesome as the ones people are selling online? No, but the price was right and I had fun designing them. I'm calling it a win-win.
August 2, 2016
The Grand Search
You wouldn't think that finding some plastic place mats would be that difficult. I remember when I was a kid that my parents had a bunch of different sets. I remember seeing them in gift shops when I traveled. It should be simple to find a set now.
It wasn't.
To be honest, I really didn't want to buy any place mats. I'd bought some in Minnesota that were super cute and--theoretically at least--should have been easy to clean. They weren't. They were this woven style, peppered with holes as part of the pattern. Super cute and extremely impractical. I flinched at every drip because getting them clean was a royal PITA. I stopped using place mats all together.
Then my dad came to live with me. He's put newspaper down on my dining room table to act as a placemat. I swear! Every week when the new newspaper arrives, I make him swap it out so at least it's fresh, sort of. I don't understand why he can't eat at a bare table, but he won't and I'm tired of the paper.
Thus began my quest for a plastic place mat that wasn't designed for children. I didn't want anything woven which severely limited me.
I finally did find a few that I liked. At a price of $20 and up for ONE place mat. I was desperate, but I wasn't that desperate. This was at multiple stores, so it wasn't a case of just one store jacking up the price. At another online store, I found some that weren't horrible, but they were all under $22 and I needed $29 for free shipping. I thought about trying to find something else to make up the difference, but then I thought, no, I don't feel like it.
At long last I found some nice plastic place mats at a fair price. Do I love them? No. They're attractive enough, but they're very pastel-y and I'm a bright and bold color gal. But they'll get the newspaper off my dining room table, so I'll live with subtle.
It wasn't.
To be honest, I really didn't want to buy any place mats. I'd bought some in Minnesota that were super cute and--theoretically at least--should have been easy to clean. They weren't. They were this woven style, peppered with holes as part of the pattern. Super cute and extremely impractical. I flinched at every drip because getting them clean was a royal PITA. I stopped using place mats all together.
Then my dad came to live with me. He's put newspaper down on my dining room table to act as a placemat. I swear! Every week when the new newspaper arrives, I make him swap it out so at least it's fresh, sort of. I don't understand why he can't eat at a bare table, but he won't and I'm tired of the paper.
Thus began my quest for a plastic place mat that wasn't designed for children. I didn't want anything woven which severely limited me.
I finally did find a few that I liked. At a price of $20 and up for ONE place mat. I was desperate, but I wasn't that desperate. This was at multiple stores, so it wasn't a case of just one store jacking up the price. At another online store, I found some that weren't horrible, but they were all under $22 and I needed $29 for free shipping. I thought about trying to find something else to make up the difference, but then I thought, no, I don't feel like it.
At long last I found some nice plastic place mats at a fair price. Do I love them? No. They're attractive enough, but they're very pastel-y and I'm a bright and bold color gal. But they'll get the newspaper off my dining room table, so I'll live with subtle.
July 31, 2016
Predictions From the Past About Now
Some of these predictions were scarily accurate. Fashion? Not so much.
July 28, 2016
Updating Some Furniture
I've been slowly updating a few pieces of furniture in my house. For example, the TV cart I've been using is one I've had since shortly after college and is one of those cheap, pressed particle board things. Functional, but cheap and ugly. These updates have taken place over months, BTW, not all at once. :-)
I started with a piece in my great room. There was a spot between two French doors that called out for a sideboard or console table. I had my old, beat up coffee table there. It was cheap to begin with, but was the only one I found that would fit in the space at my Minnesota home. I'd spent months looking, but everything was either too wide or too long--I had a very small space to work with. It didn't take long before the cheap wood cracked and my laptop going on and off the table scratched off the layers of stain and varnish.
This is what I replaced it with:
It's still not an expensive piece, but I like the style and it's much more functional in the space than that sorry old coffee table was.
Next on my hit list was that TV stand I mentioned, the one I used in my bedroom. I knew I wanted something with some functional storage. The old cart had storage, but it was one big open space and hard to use for much. This time I got a media chest with two large, deep drawers.
I really like this chest. The look is very contemporary/modern and it had plenty of space for tablecloths and napkins. It's also much safer than el cheapo was. I was always terrified to move it for fear it would topple over.
My last purchase was an ottoman for my family room. I had a coffee table there--not old ugly, a new one that wasn't falling apart--but I couldn't put my feet up on it. There was also zero storage. The ottoman can be used like a coffee table, but I can also use it to kick back, and it opens for storage. That's the one thing this house needs more than anything else--more storage!
I have one more piece of furniture that I'm saving up for. I'd love to buy a sideboard for my dining room. My Minnesota house had a built-in china hutch. Sadly, every sideboard I like is outrageously expensive, so it's going to be a good long while before I have one of these.
I started with a piece in my great room. There was a spot between two French doors that called out for a sideboard or console table. I had my old, beat up coffee table there. It was cheap to begin with, but was the only one I found that would fit in the space at my Minnesota home. I'd spent months looking, but everything was either too wide or too long--I had a very small space to work with. It didn't take long before the cheap wood cracked and my laptop going on and off the table scratched off the layers of stain and varnish.
This is what I replaced it with:
It's still not an expensive piece, but I like the style and it's much more functional in the space than that sorry old coffee table was.
Next on my hit list was that TV stand I mentioned, the one I used in my bedroom. I knew I wanted something with some functional storage. The old cart had storage, but it was one big open space and hard to use for much. This time I got a media chest with two large, deep drawers.
I really like this chest. The look is very contemporary/modern and it had plenty of space for tablecloths and napkins. It's also much safer than el cheapo was. I was always terrified to move it for fear it would topple over.
My last purchase was an ottoman for my family room. I had a coffee table there--not old ugly, a new one that wasn't falling apart--but I couldn't put my feet up on it. There was also zero storage. The ottoman can be used like a coffee table, but I can also use it to kick back, and it opens for storage. That's the one thing this house needs more than anything else--more storage!
I have one more piece of furniture that I'm saving up for. I'd love to buy a sideboard for my dining room. My Minnesota house had a built-in china hutch. Sadly, every sideboard I like is outrageously expensive, so it's going to be a good long while before I have one of these.
July 26, 2016
And I'm Still Not Happy
I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing about my planner issues by now. I'll try to make this my final post about it...for a while at least. At least I've found a Facebook group that's even more obsessive about their planners than I am. They're sort of a bad influence on me, but I really needed new pens and stickers. ::innocent face::
Anyway, my new planner that I mentioned last Thursday has arrived and while there are many awesome qualities about it, there's one thing I'm totally not digging. There's no weekly view.
I've always had weekly views. I flip my planner page and I can see everything awaiting me in the upcoming week. This planner only lets me see two days at a time, sometimes 3 if one of those pages is the weekend because Saturday and Sunday share a page. This is going to be a huge challenge for me and one I'm scared I'll fail, leading to missed appointments, etc. I'm trying to mark things on the monthly view and the day it occurs, but I can't remember a month at a time and I never page backward, so I doubt I'd look at the month view a second time.
The other thing I didn't love was that the planner had typos. Several of them and they were glaring. Considering the cost of the thing, it should have been sent out to be professionally proofread.
But there are pluses. It has a hydration tracker built in on each day, as well as an exercise tracker and a vitamin tracker (or medication, I guess). It has a weekly and monthly grocery list feature, which might be good. I wouldn't take the planner shopping, but it might be a good place to jot down items as I think of them so I don't forget.
There's a nice To Do list for each day. I'm a huge fan of To Do lists. It also has sections for Goals, Projects, Personal Finances and Business Finances, and Notes before it gets into the monthlies. Each month has a health check, mini-health goals, cards/gifts, a monthly goals area and a section called "shoulda-woulda-coulda" which I think is where you carry over what you didn't get done in the previous month. The ambiguity is okay because it means a person can use it for whatever it means to them.
So the planner would totally be awesome, and is in so many ways, except I want my weekly view! I honestly didn't realize how much I would miss it until I started filling in the planner.
And before I finish this post (because I promised to lay off the planner talk for a while), I also spent way too much money on stickers for the planner and I bought new pens. It never occurred to me to use stickers before in a planner, but it sure makes things easier. And prettier.
Anyway, my new planner that I mentioned last Thursday has arrived and while there are many awesome qualities about it, there's one thing I'm totally not digging. There's no weekly view.
I've always had weekly views. I flip my planner page and I can see everything awaiting me in the upcoming week. This planner only lets me see two days at a time, sometimes 3 if one of those pages is the weekend because Saturday and Sunday share a page. This is going to be a huge challenge for me and one I'm scared I'll fail, leading to missed appointments, etc. I'm trying to mark things on the monthly view and the day it occurs, but I can't remember a month at a time and I never page backward, so I doubt I'd look at the month view a second time.
The other thing I didn't love was that the planner had typos. Several of them and they were glaring. Considering the cost of the thing, it should have been sent out to be professionally proofread.
But there are pluses. It has a hydration tracker built in on each day, as well as an exercise tracker and a vitamin tracker (or medication, I guess). It has a weekly and monthly grocery list feature, which might be good. I wouldn't take the planner shopping, but it might be a good place to jot down items as I think of them so I don't forget.
There's a nice To Do list for each day. I'm a huge fan of To Do lists. It also has sections for Goals, Projects, Personal Finances and Business Finances, and Notes before it gets into the monthlies. Each month has a health check, mini-health goals, cards/gifts, a monthly goals area and a section called "shoulda-woulda-coulda" which I think is where you carry over what you didn't get done in the previous month. The ambiguity is okay because it means a person can use it for whatever it means to them.
So the planner would totally be awesome, and is in so many ways, except I want my weekly view! I honestly didn't realize how much I would miss it until I started filling in the planner.
And before I finish this post (because I promised to lay off the planner talk for a while), I also spent way too much money on stickers for the planner and I bought new pens. It never occurred to me to use stickers before in a planner, but it sure makes things easier. And prettier.
