Life is unfair

Well, what I was afraid would happen, did happen. I never heard back from my friend. At least, not yet. Which of course means I did not get the chance to see her when I was up in her area this past weekend.

C'est la guerre.

And, like everyone else, when things don't go the way I would like them to go, I complain about life being unfair. Which it is, and we all know that it is. It's one of the first things our parents teach us. How many of you remember the first time someone asked you "Who said life is fair?" after you complained about life being unfair?

But then, that's it human nature - whine about the unfairness of life simply because things did not go the way we wanted them to go. But have you ever stopped to think:

What if life were fair, and that everyone got exactly what they deserved?

Wouldn't that be a truly terrible thing. Think about it. We only complain about the unfairness of life when we don't get what we want. What about all those times we got stuff we didn't deserve? What about all those times we "got away" with something?

If life were fair, then every time you exceed the speed limit, a police officer would be there to stop you and give you a ticket; every time you ran a stop light or stop sign, you'd get a ticket - or worse, you'd get into an accident.

What about all those "little" things you do in secret - the ones nobody knows about - what do you deserve for all of those?

I, for one, am thankful that life isn't fair. Of course, this doesn't mean that I'll stop complaining about life's unfairness when things don't go my way. But every time I do, I will stop and think about how terrible it would be if life were fair.

Life is unfair...that just may be the second most comforting thought in the entire universe.

A serendipitous event

Do you ever sit and think "I wonder whatever happened to so-and-so..." and then decide to Google them to see if you can find anything? How many times have you found absolutely nothing? How many times have you found everything you could possibly want to know about someone else with the same name? And how many times have you actually found only items related to the person for whom you were looking, even though previous searches done sporatically over the years came back with nothing?

The latter is what happened to me this past week. I actually found a friend of mine, whom I have neither seen nor heard from in (*counting on his fingers...and toes*)...17 years (WOW!!! Has it really been that long?). I have done Google searches for her before, always finding nothing.

Now, you may think "That's amazing!", and you would be correct. But wait...there's more...

It turns out that my family just happens to have plans to go spend a few days during Memorial Day weekend in a little town about 20 miles from where she lives.

Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "No way Tuba, you MUST be joking!". No, I am DEAD serious. It's true, I tell you - every word.

I was absolutely, totally, and completely giddy. I could feel this huge grin on my face and there was nothing I could do about it. Ah, but all is not roses and champagne - at least not yet.

While I did find an e-mail address, and I sent an e-mail, querrying whether or not she actually WAS the person I knew, as of this writing, I have yet to recieve a response. Of course, even if she IS the person I knew, there's no guarantee that she would remember me. Hard to believe that anyone who meets me could forget me, but it is possible.

I have since found a different e-mail address for her, and based on the date of the web page in which it is posted, it should be current. But I have not sent anything to that one, yet. It's only been a day or two since I sent one to the other e-mail address - if she does happen to check that one and then found another one at the new address, how would that look? I mean, if that would happen to me, I'd think "cool - someone's looking for me" - but then, I'm a guy. I mean, I don't want to come accross as a "stalker" or anything - what if she DOESN'T remember me? What if she DOES, but doesn't want to have anything to do with me? I'm pretty sure that last one is just my insecurities popping up - I don't think she'd have any reason to think that way...then again, she IS a woman.

Now, don't get all huffy on me for that statement. I have, through personal experience, seen first hand how SOMETIMES, some women can, and do, come-up with what we simple-minded men-folk would consider the most minor of offences and blow them so far out-of-proportion that a molehill comes out looking like Mt. Everest. Be honest - you KNOW it does happen. Yes, men do this on occasion as well, but let's be honest - you hear more stories of women doing this than men. At least I do. But I digress...

My hope is that I will hear from her in the next few days, it will actually be her, she will remember me (in a positive light). If so, I hope that she will be available and open for us getting together for lunch or dinner or "whatever" while I happen to be up in her area. That would be way cool.

I still have a few days to try and connect with her. I'm going to wait until tomorrow before I send an e-mail to the other address - I want to give her a chance to answer my first one, afterall. I hope it works out.

I'll let you know...

Doggerel Blatherskite

Here I sit, staring at keys, not knowing what to say.
Thoughts running through my head, but there they will have to stay.
For dark as night are my thoughts today, and I do not wish to share,
For to bring you 'down' is not what I want, so I'll just not go there.

Searching my mind for a happy topic may be, for now, beyond me;
A neutral one is what I need to make a transition - guess we'll see.

The house is a mess, dishes piled-up, but they will have to wait,
For first on my list is to mow the lawn - a task that I really hate.
Ok, "hate" may be strong, but I don't like at all, it truly is my bane;
An excuse I could have, at least for a day, if it would only just rain.

***

Well, "half" the lawn's done, the rest can just wait - I'm tired and I need a rest,
I'll wait 'til the morn, or perhaps later today, before my restarting the quest.

Shopping for clothes is a task I should do, for shirts and pants need I,
Though it, too, my favorite chore is not. But first, down I will lie
And catch-up on taped shows, watch some TV, and eat a bit of lunch,
For hungry I am and tired I be. Man, I wish I had pizza to munch.

Well, enough of this prattle, enough of this verse; it's time for me to go.
So good-bye for now; Auf Wiedersehen! (leave a note and say "Yo!")

Format Change

Well, if you have visted here before, you can see that I have a new layout. This is closer to what I have wanted from the begining - a 3 column layout. It's still not quite right, but it is closer. I'll have to do some more playing around with the settings later.

On another note, I'm feeling a little better today - I only feel 102 years old. I still need a vacation, but I do have one scheduled at the end of the month. Only time will tell if it will be enough...

I wish it would rain...

So, here it is...Sunday, May 7th. Yesterday was a full day - in the morning, I helped my mother move some heavy items from one apartment to another; in the afternoon my oldest sister had a "drop-in" celebration of her 25th wedding anniversary (which isn't actually for another 2 weeks), and I had "shuttle duty" for an hour or so; my mother planned a very small birthday celebration for my grand-mother (she turns 90) in the early evening; and my brother and I finished moving the last 3 heavy items later that night. I'm tired. But I still have laundry to do, bills to pay, work tomorrow...not to mention the house is a mess, the lawn needs mowed, my yard perimeter is full of weeds, trees need trimming, blackberry vines need hacking...

But then, I wasn't going to mention them.

I need a vacation.

They say you're only as old as you feel. Most days, I still only feel 26, even though I haven't been 26 for sometime now. Not today. Today I feel 197. I feel exhausted, worn out, spread thin...in a word, "old". Seems like everyone's wanting something from me. "Can you do this?" "I need your help with that." "Would you mind helping out with this?" "I could really use a hand with that." It's not that I mind helping - I don't...really. But there is only so much one person can do before they disintegrate into a pile of dust.

I'm not there yet.

At least, I don't think I am.

I should get out of the house for a while. Maybe go for a walk. Yes, that would be nice. A nice walk in the rain - I like those. But alas, it's not raining. 'Twas supposed to rain today though - but it hasn't. At least not yet.

Ah well, 'twould be a cold rain anyway...

Disclaimer

Well, it seems like just about everyone and their mother either has a disclaimer of their own, or link to a "canned" disclaimer elsewhere. So, I guess I should probably have one myself. For now, I will write my own - I may link to a "canned" one later. Here goes:

Item 1: This is my blog. I believe in the right of "free speech" and I will exercise that right however I see fit. I also believe in "free will" - no one is forcing you to visit, stay, or return here. And while I am not actively out to offend anyone, chances are I will offend someone at some time. Get over it.

Item 1a: While you also have the right to free speech, that does not mean I am required to listen. Nor does it mean I am required to keep your comments on my blog, if I don't want to. If you really want to express your own opinion, go get your own site; there are plenty of free blogging services out there (Blogger and Diaryland are but 2) that are just waiting for you. Shameless plugs, I know, but I refer you to Item 1. Too bad I'm not getting paid for the advertisement. But I digress...

Item 2: Any "original creations" (i.e. images [pictures], poetry, quotes, excerpts, other written works, etc.) posted here are done so under honest belief that one or more of the following bases* apply:

A. They are part of the "public domain".
B. They are being used under "fair use" laws.
C. They have been made available for my use by permission of the "owner".
D. I own the rights to them (that is, they are mine either because I created them, bought them from the owner, or were given them by the owner).

If in the unlikely event that an original work posted by me here is found to violate someone else's copyright, please politely inform me and I will remove them in a timely manner (my goal would be within 24-hours of my being notified, though it is possible it may take longer as I cannot guarantee that I will have access to the internet).

Should you wish to use any picture (or other work) posted here, please ask me first - I will let you know whether they are "public domain" (as far as I know, that is) or not.


Believe it or not, that's it. I may have to come back and amend things, but I think that pretty much covers everything.

Tschuess!

*Pronounced "BAY-sees". Plural of "basis", meaning "foundations" or "underlying principles".