Wasting Time – Ban Left Turns

I didn’t give the subject of a left turn much thought until the other day. 

Jeff remarked,“ There should be no left turns.”

“Come again?” I asked. “ Did you say no left turns?”

“Yes. I did. Think about it. Do you know how much time is wasted waiting 

to make a left hand turn or waiting in the left turn lane?”

“No”.  (Wow… this is something that never even crossed my mind.)

“No left turns, Jeff repeated.

“I’m not sure that banning left turns saves time”. I answered “It might 

actually take you longer to get anywhere if all you do is make right turns.”

“Three right turns and you’re there.”

(Obviously Jeff had given this some thought. More than me.)

“Yeah, but making only right turns will take you out of your way. 

It will be less direct.” I countered.

“Sure, but faster than waiting 3-5 minute every time you wish to 

turn left.” (He may have a point here.)

Ok, but perhaps It’s just the perception that left hand turns take longer 

because you are not moving. While with right turn you at least feel like your moving?”

“No. It’s the waiting. It’s a waste of time. Not to mention unsafe. 

Do you know that more accidents happen when people are turning into 

oncoming traffic? Left turn. We need to ban left turns. 

Write something in your blog about that.”

(While I hate to admit my husband is right. I did some research on left turns.)

 National statictics back Jeff up. I’m finding out that besides the accident rate 

there are other reasons to ban left turns. UPS officially minimizes left turns. 

(Not for safety, but for fuel efficiency and time savings) 

   

And Myth Busters (One of our favorite family TV programs) confirmed that 

turning right while driving improves fuel efficiency.

Some communities and designers are giving the no left turn idea real thought. 

Some states have roads with no left turns .)

“Did you write about no left turns yet?” Jeff asked.

“No.” (I hate it when he is right!)

Unconditional Love will only get You so Far

Last week our 16 year old daughter was in no mood to be trifled with. All the signs were there… gray clouds, petulant looks, low monosyllable answers…. (Those who have teenagers know the signs.) This time even her brothers had the good sense to stay away.  Somehow though Dad missed the signs (either that or he is incredible brave).

Dad actually approached his daughter and had the chutzpah to talk to her (while the rest of us cowards stayed away).  I can’t tell you what the conversation topic was during the brief interaction. I can tell you however that it left an effect on Dad.  Upon completion of the father daughter exchange Dad was overheard muttering “unconditional love will only get you so far”.

Wow…. I wonder if our daughter realized what a close call she had?

After all… unconditional love can only get you so far.

Why Online Gaming is Good

For those of you who have children old enough to play with their friends via online gaming I thought I would list for you some reasons why online gaming is good. (This is just in case you stay up late pondering the evils of our society, and what effect all these killing/fantasy games have on your child.) Perhaps this will give you some peace of mind knowing the positive effects for you and your family.

You never have loud noisy children over anymore. 

 Since play dates are conducted over the internet. 

You don't have a lot of kids running around, and your home stays cleaner.

You never hear "I'm bored" and have to make activity suggestions.

No more straining your creative parenting skills.

Your child's hand eye coordination improves daily.

 This should help hone sport and music skills. 

Anger management is easy. 

With access to violence it is easy for your children to take out 

their frustrations elsewhere. This makes for a calmer environment.

Don't have to worry about where the kids are.

Where are they? Why exactly where you left them 7 hours ago.

The monthly food bill lowers considerably. 

Kids can't hear you calling for mealtime, therefore; they don't come to the table.

If they don't come to the table why cook? And if not cooking... stop purchasing the food.

Builds self esteem.

With all the kids online playing together your kid feels popular.

Online gaming is green and great for your yard.

Less wear and tear on trees -  no more tree climbing. 

Your grass grows greener - no more worn patches from too much running 

Flowers and small shrubs do not get trampled.

Don't have to be troubled driving them anywhere.

Why would they want to go anywhere or do anything else?

Instant babysitter. 

Turn it on and watch them tune out. 

You can holler at them and they can't hear a thing!

Love those headset. 

Since you can't get online for your anger management this is the next best thing.

I’m the cool mom!

Cher and Wyona in Mermaids
promo photo. Only photo I could
find. I mean.. what does a cool
mom look like?

My 16 year old daughter attends an all girl Catholic High School. One of the school rules is that the girls cannot have any unnatural hair color.  (I’m talking yellow, green, pink…)  My daughter has come to terms with the conditions of her enrollment, but has compensated with additional piercings to her ears.  (Not to worry there is only so much space. Or so I hope.)  My pierced princess wanted to get a band put on her ear, so we went down to our favorite piercing palace (nope it isn’t Claire’s)  to see about adding to the collection. 

When we arrived my daughter and I were greeted, and then she proceeded to the back. After what I would deem a reasonable time to get an ear piercing my daughter came out unhappily, and looked at me. “Show me your ears” She demanded.  I complied. (Her tone brooked no nonsense.) “Ok. Your ears look fine”, she announced.  “What’s all this?”  I asked. 

Well… in order to have a band in the particular place of her choice, her ear had to be a particular shape.  (Our piercing place had standards!)  (I must confess her that I really like Body Exotic – the staff is friendly knowledgeable, and professional.  I recommend them highly.) But I digress... My duaghter had obviously inherited her father's ear shape. 

Driving home I thought two things…

First, I’m the cool mom. It wasn’t me that said no. It was the cool and hip pierced tattoo guy! And second, boy, is my husband going to get an earful about bad genetics!

Dysfunctional and Rich

I must confess that I am not a fan of reality Television programming. Where do they find these people? I’m worried that these programs actually prove that our society as a whole is in decline. (Can you blame me?) These TV programs show mindless drama kings and drama queens with no relevant thoughts or relevant lives. (How sad really.)

It seems like the more dysfunctional, status obsessed or out of control these reality stars are (and I use the term “stars” loosely) these stars grow in popularity. Not only that – these idiots earn an absurd amount of money. (And there’s the rub.)

Don’t you think it a bit unfair that such a loser is able to make money in a reality TV show (and then add insult to my perceived injury) make millions more by adding a fashion, perfume or workout clothes line?  (Really? I mean is America that celebrity obsessed?)

A mother might say “Ignore them honey. You’ll only encourage them.”

(And that mother would be right!) 

The more dysfunctional and outrageous… the more viewers tune in. The more viewers tune in…. the longer the show runs. The longer the show runs…more outrageousness happens. The more outrageousness happens…the more money is generated.  The more money is generated… and so it goes on and on. (I’m tired just thinking about it.)

I read yesterday that Snooki from the show Jersey Shore said that she wasn’t an alcoholic. Snooki (to paraphrase) said she’s on a reality show – and the producers just show the bad stuff.  That is why her behavior looks bad - the show producers manipulate the viewer and the story. Now, I know enough about editing and TV  to know that this statement is true, however; I’m not buying it. (Wanna know why?)I’m not buying it cause you have to be doing a whole lot of outrageous stuff to fill up a show storyline. And have a TV show year after year. (Quite impressively dysfunctional if you think about it.)

I guess it really boils down to life, and life is sometimes unfair. In a way I’m jealous. (Who would not want to make money so easily?) I realize that I need to mend my ways if I’m going to get anywhere. (Is there a “Dysfunctional Guide for Dummies”?)

Forget Spirits - Tramps Come out on Halloween!

I love Halloween. In fact Halloween is my favorite holiday. One of the reason I really love All Hollows Eve is the opportunity to dress up. Discussions concerning costume selection start around mid summer in our house. (No prefabricated costumes for my family.) Creativity and ingenuity count big time. (Which leads me to why I’m writing today.)  

A sexy Mad Hatter.
Really?

What is up with the costumes for women and (unfortunately) girls too? It seems to me that as Halloween has gained in popularity the practice of wearing skimpier and sexier costumes has increased. (I am not a prude, but I could be getting older, because I just don’t get it.) Discounting my age - who is to blame? And what can we do about it?

Is it girls and young women with lack of self esteem? Is it those jockeying for social position by buying into popularity with their looks? Is it those who just have no clue? Or perhaps no creativity or imagination? Is it the manufacturers? Why do some women buy into the marketing and social pressures and purchase this crap?

Studies show that the oversexualization of girls correlates to depression and eating disorders. Naturally I could go on about the media today and how woman are depicted, however; that really isn’t my point. I am wondering out loud why women buy the stuff?  And why some mothers let their daughter/s buy the stuff?  

A sexy Freddy Kruger
Seriously?

I think there are ways to be sexy and beautiful without the short skirts, tight dresses, thigh-high stocking, and cleavage. (Sorry men.) I just wish that women would raise their standards and think about their self-worth before they purchase a sleazy costume. (Naturally you may be trying for the “whore” look and you would need a pimp, and then it would be OK.) And NOT only that the costumes are really ridiculous! It does not matter what it character is, as long as it's sexy. (I mean come on!) 

Personally I think Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood, and others would turn over in their graves if they saw how they are being depicted these days. (OK… maybe not their graves.) But for goodness sake women have a little self respect or just wear that sleazy costume behind a closed door with your significant other! (Ok men happy now?)

Sorry, Lost my Balance.

My sincere apologies. It seems lately that life has overwhelmed me considerably since my last post. Believe me you all have been on my mind, it's just that my priorities have shifted.  Don't worry I haven't abandoned you or my musings. I'm working on regaining the balance in my life.

Some of you may know that I stopped working out of my home and began a part time job at Stanford University. (Truly a remarkable place, and perhaps more on that at a later date.) Working part time became working full time, and then all of a sudden my relaxed lifestyle wasn't so relaxed any more.

Because we never do anything small in our family (Go Big or Go Home is our motto.) We added a new member to our family four months ago. A cute German Boxer named Tyson. (Get it? A boxer named Tyson? And NO. We did not name him.) 


The adjustment to working full time had me off kilter, and then we made the decision to add a puppy to our lives. Am I insane?  (You bet.)


Not only was I off kilter, now I had lost my balance, and was falling head long into the dark gloomy frantic abyss of "lost my mind." What little skills I had left to manage my multi-tasking life style flew out the window.  My family and I had to adjust to mom not always being there, dad taking up more carpooling duties (definitely more on that later), kids taking more responsibility (perhaps we should say...less lazy, because mom isn't around to DO everything). AND we had a high energy puppy!  

Don't get me wrong a great new job, a wonderful new puppy - it's all good. (Just so darn tiring. Let's say my recovery has been slow. Possibly due to age?)

I am slowly lifting myself out of the abyss. I have good days, and I have days where I just shrug and give up. I am determined however to regain my balance (whatever it takes). Plus .... I got some great new stories!


I want to acknowledge Blog Full of Dogs. My good friend Kimberly has been publishing this warm and wonderful blog for years now. If you love dogs this is a great blog to contribute to and to follow.