hafacenturyncounting

Motivated by a lack of material.

Archive for the month “March, 2011”

13 Mar 2011

Fairy Tales with Phosphorus

“And they lived happily ever after”….  You guessed it this is about relationships or at least ideas about relationships. My parents were married until the day my father passed away. I NEVER witnessed an argument or even  a cross word between them. It is no surprise, at least to me, that I married my “dream” the love of my life. I had a picture of what an ideal relationship would be and I got just what I asked for.  My siblings have had mixed results. My closest friend were products of , if I can steal a boxing term, “split decisions”. Now I could try to sell you on how exposure to certain relationships make you predestined to that type of relationship and that would be based solely on my experience.  Then I would have to explain the sibs, thus poking a hole in the theory.

I once heard “you have the exact love life you want”. That sounds reasonable, if you are happy. What if you aren’t? Why on Earth would someone want a relationship that isn’t perfect? Did you ever ask for something you thought you wanted, and then once you got it changed your mind. Now could you  have seen yourself with an obsessive, jealous individual. Of course not, but what about someone who is zealously attentive or someone who cannot get you out of their mind. Chew on that for a bit.

We grew up in the midst of a divorce rate that reached the 50% mark, but in the back of our minds we could clearly recall folks whispering about a marriage breaking up. The “D” word became as common as bacon and eggs yet as taboo as devil worshiping, and we were stuck in the middle wondering how we would cope. Remember now, we have the exact love life we want.  I submit this to you; we are always running, running away from or running toward something. Maybe we need to slow down and walk, or if necessary just simply stop.

Let’s return to the personal place this writer’s history; parents married till death parted them, their children all married.The end result so far 1 divorced, 3 still married, 1 admittedly with the exact love life they wanted. To be continued….

Here’s a test to see if you are paying attention; can you tell if this writer is happy, is this piece a promotion, bashing, or warning for marriage. You have to read me closely.

Finally, my “happily ever after” couple tribute. They have been a couple since high school; they are parents and grandparents, apparently he is still her football star and she is still his beauty queen. The thought of them makes me smile. I am thrilled to say I know them now, and I knew them when.

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13 Mar 2011
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Is Everything Disposable?

My flat screen television went on the “blink” a short time ago, fortunately it was under warranty. I contacted the manufacturer and began the process of getting my problem taken care of. The short version of this story is a repairman was dispatched, he came out spent about ten minutes working on the set( five of those ten minutes he was on the phone with the manufacturer) before he told me it couldn’t be fixed and Sharp would have to send me a new one. I pondered about how disappointed I was. I mean this set was only about a year old, I liked it, I was used to it and now I had to go through another procedure before I could watch television. Why, because I thought when a repairman was dispatched to see about a relatively new piece of machinery I expected it to be fixed. Hold on, I thought when I bought that set it would last more than a year before I would be faced with going out and searching for another one. Think about it what was the last thing you had fixed in your home? I remember a time in my life very clearly technicians/repairmen coming to our home to fix washing machines, refrigerators, and yes televisions. I also remember that devices such as these used to last quite a long time.

Maytag advertised that their repairmen were the loneliest peole in town. This claim was to draw your attention to the fact that their machines were so good, so reliable that you basically did not need a repairman and the poor guy was destined to a life of boredom and loneliness. You, on the other hand, the smart consumer would have a great piece of equipment to last a lifetime. Value for your dollar, who could ask for more. Wait, value for your dollar, integrity, sound and solid products, are these a thing of the past?

Disposable used to apply to paper products, items that were understandably cheaper to toss in the trash than to take time to clean or wash (i.e. napkins, plates, cups) let alone replace. I find it utterly ridiculous to think about getting a new item such as a printer instead of buying a replacement cartridge of ink, yet I recently found it to be true.

Making things that are so easily replaced, cheapens and devalues them. Let’s revisit my television, one might think”okay well at least you got a new set”, but this is the deal. I didn’t want a new set I had the set I wanted. I went shopping, I did my research and decided on that particular model. Suddenly, I am told this is no good and here is another one.  Think about it, if it is so easy to replace don’t you wonder if was made very good to begin with?Am I becomimg my parents, living in the cliche’ of “I remember when”,  and if I am is it wrong to expect something I paid for to last long enough for me to feel comfortable in throwing out the packaging it came in?

Posted in As Consumers
13 Mar 2011

I-“hafanewlife”

I haven’t written in years. My sons encouraged me to resume, but I resisted. However, once my younger son became involved in the world of writing and journalism, he became relentless and I caved. Perhaps it is as simple as the desire was always there and I was in denial.

This is my introduction and test. Me; I am in my 50’s and I am truly enjoying this part of life. Thus, the blog name hafacenturyncounting- translation half a century and counting. I will, at the very least, employ this “wordplay” in my titles periodically.

Where are we? I am not speaking of local here. I was astounded to find out even before I read a single statistic about “baby boomers” I fit the profile. Beyond the obvious of falling into the charted birth years, someone had invaded my mindset. I look, dress, live the part. I could pick “me” out of a crowd, and I don’t know if I like that. Okay I color my hair, I watch a reality show or two, I still wear shorts and quietly criticize others who I deem are not in shape to do so but don’t realize it, I have returned to Church after a religious hiatus, and I am let’s just say disappointed with politics.

I woke up on my 50th birthday and I said,” Ima do me”.  During my time in my 50’s I have stopped coloring my hair, I changed careers (although a year prior to 50) and decided I had no regrets, I cannot tell you the last time “fast food” was an important part of my life and I met one of the most fantastic little persons ever, my 1st(and hopefully more to follow since I have two sons) grandchild. I am not looking at this time in my life as a slow down period, but more of an era of absorbing and that in itself requires a bit of extra time and effort.

So stop driving around the parking lot for twenty minutes in search of the closest spot to the door, just park and walk. Watch that television program, but realize just because it is labeled reality doesn’t mean it is real, and accept the fact that YOUR 15 minutes of fame may be illuminated in light of the eyes of some special person you actually know.

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