Said Right about the Ecomony’s Effects on Citizens

“For every person out of work, for every family facing foreclosure, for every small business facing a credit crunch, the recession remains alive and acute,”

– Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner

I’m still on that sad boat with no end to my unemployment journey in sight.  To be honest, I think nothing of the 3.5% GDP growth last quarter and I’m waiting to hear the revised figure that will come out in a few weeks, as well as a figure that doesn’t take into account programs like cash for clunkers.  I guess I don’t think something can “grow” by eating itself, seeing as how there’s that messy thing called “entropy.”  Anyhow, even if it’s only words, I do admire the sensitivity Secretary Geithner has expressed.

Saturn/Penske Deal Fell Through

I felt a little dagger go through my heart as I read the headline.  My second car was a Saturn.  I got it at the end of my first senior year in college.  It was a little gold SL1 that I named “spud” because it looked like a potato on wheels.  I always loved the Saturn concept and felt had wiser and smarter heads prevailed, the Saturn brand could have been the car equivalent of Apple.  But alas, GM is GM, and I don’t have anything nice to say about the company.  He’re a link to a story about Saturn’s demise:

link

I seriously feel like I’m going to cry because in my heart I know this may be the end of automotive innovation within the US.  Of all the parts of GM I wanted to survive, Saturn was the only one I was really pulling for.

Quatchi!

Plushies!  So cute!!!  Quatchi’s on the right.  So huggable!!!

The Death of Michael Jackson — My Experience

I first learned about the death of Michael Jackson via Twitter.  At first I though it was a joke because news broke within a few hours of Farrah Fawcett’s death.  I never expected Michael Jackson to become an old man, but it was still a shock.  So who was Michael Jackson to me?  Well, when I thought about it, I realized his music was a prominent part of the soundtrack of my life.  Considering the length of his career, I was probably listening to Michael Jackson as part of the Jackson 5 while in the womb.  I remember as a tot listening to “Rock with You” in the car with my 2nd cousin, with my aunt, and whle skating around the roller rink.  I remember eagerly anticipating seeing the entire “Thriller” video on Halloween.  I remember watching the debut of the “Moonwalk” on TV.  I remember the excitement in the living room, my Mom loudly clapping her hands, cheerfully yelling, “work it, Michael!” as if he could hear her through the TV.  I have dear, dear-sweet high school memories of seeing “Captain EO” at Disneyland with my best friends.  I remember taking the time to see the debut of the video “Do you Remember the Time?”   I remember the music, the dancing, his charity.  I remember singing along with Michael Jackson with my family and friends.  I grew up with Michael.

I also remember Michael Jackson’s eccentricities.  No, I didn’t like the way he changed his face — I actually had a crush on the pre-surgery Michael and thought he was very cute.  As for the salacious matters, honestly, I never paid them much attention — I figured it to be the cost of celebrity and letting opportunistic people into your home.

I look forward to watching Michael Jackson’s memorial on TV or over the Internet tomorrow with my family.  I also hope some entity is able to piece together the footage of Michael’s comeback concert dress rehearsals so we fans can all experience what Michael had planned (It would be nice to see it at a movie theater).   I will continue to remember and honor Michael Jackson by listening to his music.   And to the haters:  poo-poo on you.  Let the man rest in peace and acknowledge the joy and good he brought to the world.

Trying to Embrace my Inner Housewife

Apparently she doesn’t exist in me, so there’s no one to embrace.  Ok, so let’s say I’m trying to nuture an inner housewife within me … augh.  After 10-yrs of conspicuous consumption, my husband and I have gathered a lot of junk.  I’m tackling the large pile of stuff that’s in what should be our dining room (we never bothered to buy dining room furniture because formal home dining has never been a priority for us) .  Over time what has built up is all the stuff we’ve picked up from going to various conferences and offsite training sessions over the years.  I recovered 6 t-shirts and at least 10-cloth bags (great for groceries).  Also buried in this pile was the residue of my former work-life — pens, pencils, paperclips, plush-toys, and old calenders.  Sigh … where to put all this wonderful stuff now that I have no cubicle?  And then there are random things in the pile like hand tools, umbrellas, ancient mail, ancient magazines, and somehow my art and supplies managed to be the foundation of this pile.

Rewind back to last week, I beat back the laundry hydra and cleaned up the family room.  I also researched and purchased a pressure steamer to clean my ~1200-sqft of ceramic tile.  I didn’t enjoy one bit of it, but I did enjoy the resulting clean and uncluttered space in the family room and kitchen.  I even cooked!  Mr. Kuroneko003 was very happy.  The day I finally got everything clean I went to Ikea with my retired Dad to look at organization possibilities.  Mr. Kuroneko003 got home before me and said he thought I had rehired the Molly Maids and then was kidnapped.  Hahaha!!!

Cleaning the big mess initially is always the hardest part.  I’m seeing, though, after cleaning, as long as I’m vigilant, then upkeep of the cleaniless only takes ~1-hr a day.  In this sense, I’m excited about cleaning the entirety of the house, including the garage, so I can have some control.  Either way, it does nothing for my inner housewife.  Rather, I want to get stuff clean so I don’t have to worry about it anymore and I can have that ~1-hour/day to clean.  Regardless, still I hate cleaning house.  I can’t wait to get a job so I don’t have to anymore.  Augh … I feel like I’m going nuts.  Vacuuming and mopping suck!!!

I hope by next week to have the junk sorted into stuff that can be donated for reuse and stuff that can be recycled.  I plan to get rid of the stuff by calling an electronics recycler, a junk hauler, and someone to pick up the old car sitting in our driveway.  After than I can secretly start working on the yard.  My plan is hire a gardener to ever so slowly transform the yard into a rock garden — sorta ease my husband into it while keeping well within our means.