7.11.14 Friday Frivolous Foolishness

Woohoo, the weekend is nigh!  Amazing that we get so excited about these things, isn’t it? As I always say, it’s the little things 🙂

Humor, it comes in all forms.  I was introduced to a very funny guy via a friend, but I warn ya, the language is not tame, for those of you with gentle sensibilities.  This guy discusses current events, but with a wit sharp as a razor’s edge.  I found his bit on food labeling absolutely hysterical.  So I introduce you to John Oliver:

Many comedians have dealt with the personality changes we undergo once we’re wrapped in several tons of steel and plastic. Louis CK is one that captures it quite hilariously. Again: Adult language profanity warning

But for me, I don’t get like that (well, sometimes, when I’m late and someone is slower than dirt).  No, rather, instead, at the moment I become thousands of times more lethal, wrapped in that rolling steel contraption, I start daydreaming.  Now, why, when I am at my most dangerous (seriously, if I bumped into you walking, no harm no foul), does my brain take a vacation?? Shouldn’t I naturally be MORE attentive? But no.  My brain goes all over the place instead. This is in my daily commute mind you, not when I’m heading somewhere new.

Do you ever watch others while driving?  We’re fiddling with the radio, we’re texting, we’re talking on the phone, we’re scarfing down food, we’re putting on make-up.  I can’t walk and text, I might trip and fall and break my neck.  But my family, often knowing I’m driving, will begin to text me. And while hurtling down the road at  70 mph, I try to READ the text. Why?  Surely if it was something of great importance, they’d call at least.  I don’t take a book with me, to prop on the steering wheel, and read while I’m driving, and both require the same fumbling for reading glasses, taking off the sunglasses, and such.

Most recently, while on the interstate, my Mom starts texting me. She knows I’m driving, as I’m coming to see HER.

Mom: Stop and get me a Mocha Frappe at McDonalds.

Me: (while driving, using voice to text via headset) Okay.

Mom: And extra whipped cream. YUM.

Worth taking my eyes off the road for, don’t you think? A call would have done the trick. But more, why didn’t *I* call her instead of continuing to text back and forth while speeding down the road? Duh.

Recently I had to get my Driver’s License transferred from another state.  Holy crap.  The last time I did that, I simply took my old license, my electric bill, ‘snap’  the automatic entry into the World’s Most Horrid Photo contest, and off I went. Now? Oh, hell no.  Now it requires an ORIGINAL birth certificate (try toting that around for 50 plus years, when I can barely find my glasses half the time). Mine’s burned at the edges – I can’t figure out if someone tried to destroy evidence of me or if we had a house fire in my lifetime that I don’t recall 0_0 Next is your Social Security card. Proof of where you live. I thought I had it wrapped up, so went to wait in line.I even set an advance appointment and cut my best vacation EVER short, to be timely. Good choice me! So I get up to the little booth, hand over all evidence that I exist, and get this question:

Clerk: Your birth certificate and your social security card names differ.

Me: Yes, I wasn’t born married. That’s why it’s called a ‘maiden’ name.

Clerk: Do you have your marriage license?

Me: (Really dense look). “My what?”

Clerk: Your marriage license, evidence of your name change.

Me: “Um, no. That was, oh, 30 years ago. Not something I carry around with me, and since we divorced, I probably burned it. Got the idea from my birth certificate…”

Clerk: I’m sorry, you’ll have to present your marriage license to get a new driver’s license.

Now, my driver’s license from the other state has my name on it that matches my Social Security card.  I’ve had a driver’s license for 36 years, thirty of those years my license has read the same name. Do they think suddenly, after all of these years, I’ve been lying? Needless to say, I left that day with no license. I  got married several counties away, in one of the last hold outs for online records processing apparently, had to expedite order a copy, my Mom picked it up and mailed it to me, and I just made it back the last day of the month before my license expired. For the record, that generated an extra 5.00 of revenue for the State, but cost two people more in gas and stamps than that, not even counting the value of our time. I suppose I might look like I sneaked across from Norway or Germany or something…  But I would like to say that, while it was a frustrating experience, I found all of the people who were also in line dealing with aggravating issues, polite, orderly, and pleasant. Even the clerks were less dry then I last remember.  

My last foolishness for the day is the weirdness of search hits terms for people arriving at my blog outside of WordPress. Had I known that a post title that included the terms ‘bobs’ and ‘sex’  would generate so much traffic, I’d have used those meta tags 🙂  I don’t know what ‘sex bobs’ or ‘bobs sex’ is/are, but people surely do search for it, and arrive here, greatly disappointed I suspect 😀 

You know, every Friday since the first one, I’m always alert for foolish or frivolous things seen or heard during the week to start our weekends off with;  yet, invariably I end up thinking (do I ever stop?) about fundamental, basic things – things that all people seem to have in common. But I think I’ll leave the title as is, in a rather subversive move – catch people dropping in for a bit of fun, and let them leave thinking.  That’s kind of bait and switch in a way, don’t you think? (evil grin)

I watched a movie last night, to take a break from reading, writing, blogging and being online. If you’ve never seen “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”, I highly recommend it.  Younger people may not get it, but it surely hit home for me. Of course, it has a widow, a gaggle of aging people and a blogger in it 🙂

It covers the topics of loneliness, whether one is married, gay, widowed or divorced.  It covers love appearing in the lives of both young and old – dramatic and declaratory for the young, warm and accepting in the old. It covers dreams. It covers second chances.  It made me think about that 42 million posts in one month found just here on WP.  Made me think of how many people simply want to be heard. So I ask…When did we stop listening? Have we forgotten how to make people feel valuable?  Is it too much effort? Are we too distracted, lives too busy, too many things to divide our attention between? When is the last time that you had a conversation with someone, not work related, that you gave your complete attention to?  Or, that someone gave you their complete attention? You know,  when you weren’t looking at your phone, or noodling around on your computer, or daydreaming out a window, or looking over their shoulder at the television? We have the attention span of gnats these days. We grow apart, or, take people for granted. We stick with things that aren’t working, for them or us. And yet, change and chance take effort.  Being honest opens one up for rejection. Showing attraction, a need for affection, our insecurities – all of that makes us vulnerable, quite a dangerous and precarious place.

Always though, people want to feel valued for who they are.  Under a successful person or an unsuccessful person’s demeanor, there is a drive to be valued.  Value someone sometime, and watch them light up inside. And I’m not talking about lip service, I’m talking about taking the time enough to reflect back someone’s value, to them. There is a line repeated in the movie “Avatar”, that says “I see you.”  To quote James Cameron, what that means is… “‘I see you”  is a phrase with a deeper meaning along the lines of “I understand who you are.”‘

So my Frivolous Friday challenge for this week to you is this:  “See” someone this weekend.

Thanks for dropping by, and have a fabulous weekend!

~SE