Sunday, July 29, 2007

Too Pooped to Post

I think this is the longest I've gone so far without posting. I've been so busy with my new job that I haven't been online in ten days. I'm so tired when I come home that I have no energy to blog.

The job is going fine so far except for one thing: I've hurt my back. Nothing serious, but with all the bending and lifting that I do, I've pulled a muscle in my lower back. And the smaller movements seem to set it off more than large ones. Like I can bend down to pick something up off the floor if I do it slowly, but if I laugh, sneeze, yawn, or even shift my weight, I get a twinge of pain in my lower back that feels like it goes right through to my front. Dang. I think my body is telling me that I'm too old to return to retail after a 15-year hiatus. I'm going to see my doctor on Wednesday to see what he tells me. In the meantime, I've been popping Advils like they're M&Ms. And unlike M&Ms, Advils do melt in your hand.

I've finished reading "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." I'm satisfied with the outcome. That's all I'll say, so as not to spoil anything for those of you who haven't read it yet. Now I think I have to re-read all the Harry Potter books from the beginning, now that the series is complete. I've forgotten so many little facts over the years that the books came out, so it will be great to be able to read them all in succession.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Three Days and Counting



Actually, it's 2 days, 4 hours and 20 minutes until midnight of Saturday, July 21st. That's when "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will be released. My local independent bookstore is having a day-long series of Potter-related events on Friday, ending with the release of the book at midnight. And being the nerd girl that I am, I've pre-purchased a copy and will be picking it up at 12:01 am Saturday morning, along with many other Harry Potter fans. Of course, I'm not completely geeky -- I could show up dressed as a character in the book -- but I won't. That would just be weird, although I could very easily make a Hogwarts school uniform out of the grey flannel J. Crew mini-kilt, grey cardigan sweater, and white button-down shirt that happen to be a part of my wardrobe anyway. And I do own a magic wand (it was a gift, okay?). The British edition of the book is expected to be 608 pages, while the American edition is 784 pages. Why is that? It's the same book, after all. Does the American edition have bigger type? Is the eyesight of American children collectively that much worse than that of British kids? (I blame video games). I love the American editions if only for the wonderful illustrations by Mary GrandPre (see above) used by Scholastic, the American publisher of the Harry Potter books. They're charming, and they appeal to both the children and adults who read the book. The British publishers release two versions of each book, one for children, and one for adults with a less juvenile-looking cover.

I saw "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" last Thursday. I enjoyed it, but I left the theater feeling that something was missing. I was a bit disappointed that some of my favorite scenes from the book were cut from the movie. Oh well. That's not going to stop me from seeing it again this Sunday. Then again, maybe I should just stay home all day Sunday and start reading "Deathly Hollows." Now I'm conflicted.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Tea Lady



I got the job at the tea shop. I start tomorrow. I had a one-hour-and-fifteen-minute interview on Friday, during which time a vicious thunder-and-lightning storm came through, all while we were safe inside. By the time my interview ended, the sun had come out again. How deliciously metaphorical.

I was really nervous about accepting this job, only because my confidence is a bit worse for wear after my last job. But as I look back on my employment history, it appears that my gut instinct is lousy. I seem to have made decisions that were the exact opposite of what I should have done. I've accepted jobs I shouldn't have, and turned down jobs I shouldn't have. And when I had interviewed for my last job, I came away from it really, really wanting it. I thought the people were great and it would be a fantastic job. Boy was I wrong on that one. So I should take a page from Seinfeld's George Constanza's book and do the opposite: "It all became very clear to me sitting out there today, that every decision I've ever made in my entire life has been wrong. My life is the complete opposite of everything I want it to be. Every instinct I have in every aspect of life, be it something to wear, something to eat... It's often wrong."

It's frightening that George Costanza has become my unemployment idol.

And when I'm plagued by self doubt, I just repeat the mantra of Saturday Night Live's fictional self-help guru Stuart Smalley: "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me." Truer words have never been spoken.



Two Dubious Role Models: George Costanza and Stuart Smalley

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Doctor Woo-Hoo!



Tomorrow night is the much anticipated (by me, anyway) American television premiere of the third season of Dr. Who. I must stress that I am not usually a Dr. Who fan, but ever since they brought it back, and especially when David Tennant took over the role from Christopher Eccleston, I have become addicted. But I bet Dr. Who has many new fans of the female persuasion because of David Tennant. Of course, the entire third season has already been shown in Britain, which means that I sort of know what happens in the end because I've been reading blogs of British fans like Project 76 and Struggling Author. But that's okay. As long as I get to watch David Tennant for an hour, I'm happy.

Tomorrow's debut is a double feature. It starts with last year's Christmas special, The Runaway Bride. I haven't even seen it yet and recent Dr. Who news in Britain is already revealing that this year's Christmas special's guest star is Kylie Minogue. Will Kylie and the Doctor fall in love? She should be so lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky.... But I can't wait to see The Runaway Bride. I've been waiting since last Christmas, when I followed the official Dr. Who BBC website and downloaded photos of the dishy doctor and comedienne Catherine Tate. It's nice to see a (fellow) big-boned, redheaded woman as the Doctor's companion, albeit temporary. The double feature continues with the first proper episode of the season, "Smith and Jones," where the Doctor meets his newest companion, Martha Jones. Martha looks cooler than the Doctor's previous companion, Rose Tyler. Not that I didn't like Rose, Martha just looks like she could kick more ass.

It will be nice to have this distraction tomorrow night, as I have a job interview tomorrow afternoon, and I'll need something to relax and unwind to in the evening. I've got an interview for the manager position of the local tea shop in town. I love going there as a customer, and it would be like a little bit of heaven to have a short commute to a job I genuinely enjoy. So fingers crossed.

Hmm, Dr. Who and Tea, two uniquely British things. Maybe these two worlds colliding on the same day could be a good omen of a successful interview?

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Breakin' The Law



As of this past Saturday, I am in violation of the newly enacted state law that requires all residents of Massachusetts to have health insurance. I had insurance when I was working, but now that I'm unemployed I can't afford it. I am entitled to continue my health insurance through my former employer through COBRA, but the payments would be $300 a month. And I just can't swing that on unemployment, as having health insurance would mean that I would be $300 short for rent each month. Let's see, which do I choose: health insurance or rent? Sorry, rent wins. Rent always wins. But if I don't purchase health insurance I'll have to pay a penalty in my 2008 state income taxes.

The growing costs of health care has always been a problem in America. While many industrialized nations offer nationalized health care to its citizens, the American government has always been wary of it because they feel it smacks of socialism, which in their eyes is one step away from Communism. (It's for this reason that our railways aren't nationalized either, and thus why Amtrak is always in financial crisis). And these nations with nationalized health care do tax their citizens to cover the cost. But I feel for a state to require all residents to have health insurance is penalizing many innocent people for the trangressions of a few who abuse the system. There are a lot of people who can't afford even low-cost health insurance, or people like me who are unemployed. And today I've started seeing commercials for new companies that are popping up, offering "affordable" health insurance in the same way that companies like Geicko or Amica offer low-cost car insurance. They seem kind of suspect to me. It's as if this new law is opening the door to many fly-by-night companies. All they need now is a humorous spokesperson or anthropomorphized mascot in a witty 30-second commercial. Maybe if the Ditech.com cavemen aren't busy they could break a leg or get into a car accident and appear in a health insurance ad. But do I really want to put my health in the hands of these people?

This new law doesn't do anything to try to reform the health care industry. I'm skeptical that it will lead to the establishment of new companies that really do offer quality affordable health insurance. This law protects the health care industry, at least in Massachusetts, by making sure that it doesn't lose money. I know it's a problem for them, but the skyrocketing costs of healthcare, and the overwhelming costs that can accrue if someone is sick or in an accident, can literally bankrupt people. My mother is in tears on an almost daily basis because, as a retired widow on a fixed income, she is overwhelmed by bills for her breast cancer treatments, including biopsies, a life-saving lumpectomy, and radiation treatments. Medicare only pays a small portion, and doesn't cover the cost of the radiation pills she'll have to take for the next three to five years. In fact, Medicare doesn't cover the cost of prescription medications, and many elderly people take multiple prescription medications.

Coincidentally, Michael Moore's new documentary "Sicko" opened in limited release this weekend. It deals with this very issue of unaffordable health care for Americans. Being in my current predicament, I would normally applaud this effort, but I don't like Michael Moore. His documentaries are always one-sided, and it appears that he manipulates them through what he chooses to show or, conversely, not to show, in order to sway the viewer to accept his subjective viewpoint as fact. In fact, I saw an interview with him on CNN today, and the anchorman asked Moore why he didn't have any representatives of the health care industry defending their side in"Sicko." Moore's answer? I'm paraphrasing, but basically he said that he didn't need to because Americans already know what the health care industry is doing to them. In other words, he really didn't justify his ommission of opposing viewpoints. To be fair, I haven't seen "Sicko" and I don't plan on seeing it, so I could be wrong about it. But I doubt it.

I'll get off my soapbox now. I just hope I don't fall off of it and injure myself before I get insurance again.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Karmic Graffitti

I got back on Saturday from visiting my mom last week. She was still a bit upset in the beginning of the week, but having one of her children home for a week seemed to help. We went out several times during the week, including the mall, our favorite Chinese buffet restaurant, and our favorite pizza place that we'd been going to for over twenty years. I went with her to her radiation treatments at the hospital. Everyone there was really nice and I know they're taking good care of her. She only has about three weeks to go, and I think once her radiation treatments are over she'll feel like she can get on with things, like selling her house and moving up here to be with her children.



This is a section of sidewalk in Salem. The graffitti reads "Be Happy Please," which is an odd thing for a person to write in wet cement. Usually you see things like "NG Was Here" or "NG ♥ DW." I've never seen a request in wet cement before. The word "please" makes it particularly poignant, as if it is a plea and not merely a "Don't Worry Be Happy" brand of optimistic sentiment. I first saw this seven years ago on my first visit to Salem as a tourist. I was in a major funk at the time, and even though I was thoroughly enjoying my vacation, I found myself sitting at a sidewalk cafe with a cup of coffee and crying for no reason. A few minutes later I walked along this sidewalk and found this message in cement. I had a friend in college who was really into psychic phenomena, and she believed that if she saw something like a motto on a billboard, or on the side of a truck, for example, and it was relevant to her situation, she took it as a sign. I couldn't help feeling that this message in cement was a sign to me. Being that I was in what is arguably the psychic capital of America made it seem even more significant. This message is still there, seven years later. When I first saw it, I would never have imagined that someday I'd be living in Salem. But here I am. My funk is long gone now, but this graffitti in cement still serves as a message of hope every time I walk past it.