Musings,Meanderings & More

My computer and I ’struggle and butt heads’ on a daily basis, if I were a bit more tech savvy there wouldn’t be a problem. I would know right off the bat, what is ailing her … but I’m not and I don’t know, so both of us are drowning in downtime misery.

So, anyway while I was waiting for my ‘little darling’ to come around, I was browsing something else that is also near and dear … although a bit more dependable … my picture tube.

And who to my happy surprise should appear … none other than one of my now, not only favorite, but also inspirational celebrities … Susan.

Now, I really needed a reprieve and I really needed a little something to cheer me up and she supplied both.

Gosh, what an ‘unlifting few moments’ … so after indulging in a dish of ‘food for the soul serenade’, I will be returning to my little tortured piece of technology and together we will find a way to achieve my dream.

Oh, and this little ditty, was hammered out using my notepad while my little sweetie is still struggling with responsivity.

Toddles…

What were you doing on the night of March 27, 2010 at 8:30 PM.  Well, I hope you were just one of the millions, that participated in Earth Hour 2010, that was taking place globally to demonstrate the participants concern about the health of the planet.

Personally, I felt as though I was involved in something groundbreaking … in essence, like-minded folks were coming together in a easily recognizable way, displaying non-violently their concern and outrage, indicating the immediate need for a call for action from our government’s, corporations and officials to act aggressively to find alternate methods to counter the deteriorating effects modernization is having on our home.

At the very least, I would never have imagined that those that didn’t join in, would feel any measure of animosity for the folks that did.  After all each of us has a vested interest in the viability of this world, after all it’s our only home.

But was I ever wrong, I stumbled upon a site and a post that ignited a flood of ill-willed comments targeted at the movement, those that supported it and anything that had to do with ‘greening’.

This again, is something else that I just don’t get. The air we breathe is polluted, the oceans are tainted, animals are unnecessarily dying because of our screw-up’s, garbage is piling up [has anyone seen Wall-E], people are contracting illnesses that cannot be contained, the polar caps have melted and there is a menagier of other ills that have erupted as a result of our inaction.  Things are not OK!

And WE the sympathizers are considered ‘loonies’.  What gives…

Luck Of The Irish Be With All You Lad’s n Lassie’s

On this leg of his journey, in order to discover where the exodus traversed … Spencer had to do a little researching.  He spoke with a number of notable figures that studied our/man’s history in depth.At this point he had a ‘boat load’ of questions. So before venturing any further … consulting with respected fellow authorities was paramount.

So, we are taken into the caves of France, to further learn the additional secrets of man’s travel route from the interior of Africa.

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Spencer has discovered that a little backtracking is unavoidably necessary.  Australia failed to produce either archeological/or DNA proof that this continent was man’s next arrival port.  He is now convinced the ancient traveler’s path must have taken a route through India … but in order to support that theory, he had to locate the DNA trail.

The burning question … how did man reach Australia … which path did he follow,  where are the markers buried???

Today, I think I’m gonna stir my Monday Movie Musings up a bit.  Normally I would take a moment to write about a movie that I really enjoyed watching. Well, today I’m gonna show you a YouTube flick that I found and thought was spectacular, heart warming and precious (all at the same time, imagine that … 8o)

WARNING: Some of you guys/gals may not care that much for the music or the video in the background, look beyond that … it’s the ‘little bundle of joy’ that captured my heart.

Music is magical and watching this vid and this little ‘adorable munchkin’ was magical …

Yesterday, my daughter and I signed a lease for an off camp apartment for her … the location is ideal, the ameneties are amazing.  Everything was happening splendidly until I asked some very basic questions and that’s when the crap hit the fan.

This was our second visit to this property and along with the signed lease a deposit of $150 was needed.  Now, we were OK with this because a security deposit wasn’t required.  Everything was all smiles until I asked about the $150, I wanted to know if it was applied to the first months rent.  And I wanted to know when and exactly how much was due at move-in.

The Misdirection Begins Here

I was told that the $150 was used to cover lawyer fees, apt prep, planned activities that were sponsored within the community and so on.  Now as far as I know most Property Mgmt Corp have lawyers already on the payroll, and they have housekeeper’s and a maintenance team that are salaried employees … they are not paid on a commission basis.  The apartment preparation is included in their job description … and what did she mean when she stated that I was responsible for financing their planned gatherings … isn’t that something that I should be able to offer some imput on, especially if I am expected to finance these events.  In any case, I knew I was being fed a bit of ‘hog wash’.

Fluff Was Added

Then we were told that the ‘move in date’ was in the middle of the month, however the rent for that same month was due on the first.  So, naturally I said the following …  this is why a security deposit wasn’t required because we were paying for a full months rent in an apartment that would only be available to each resident in the latter half of the month.  She said oh NO NO NO, that it worked out at the end of our stay because once we made the final monthly payment we would be allowed to stay that full month.

This Deal Wasn’t Sealed

Did she honestly believe  that I would ‘buy that explanation’, or even worst … did she actually believe that the Mgmt was really giving us something.  I really couldn’t tell, she may have believed what she told us or she may have believed that she had ’sold the deception’.  In any case, with the deposit and the unused days that we were paying for, they actually had that security deposit.

As a matter of fact, we actually would have been doing ourselves a favor by moving into an apartment that required a security deposit, because at the end of the lease we would actually get those funds back.

Just another random thought to ponder: It seems as though misdirection is being ‘dished out’ in abundance lately … this wasn’t the first time I have encountered individuals that have tried to coerce me into believing a complete falsehood using truthful elements as a smoke-screen.  Needless to say, this is demeaning; demonstrates a shabby business ethic … and leads to distrust and a lack of respect.

I am not going to ‘let this sleeping dog lie’, I am going to do a bit of researching and then I will push this issue with management as far as I legally can.

So,  I just thought I’d share this random thought on this otherwise beautiful Tuesday that you could ponder.

Are you looking for a warm n’ fun, actioned packed, adventurous flick that can be enjoyed by your entire family … well, look no further than ‘Horton Hears A Who”. This lovable elephant will steal your heart away as you follow him on his quest to save the inhabitants of Whoville.

This adventure began when Horton thought he heard a yelp eminate from a speck that was blowing in the wind.  He followed this tiny bit of dust and learned that people were living on that speck and from there he decided on assisting the Whovillites on a mission to save their home.

Now, I don’t want to give too much of the plot away … otherwise it will spoil this entire fantasy for you.  And by gosh, no-one including myself wants someone to reveal those juicy tidbits and highlights of a story before you have even seen it.  But I must share this, I found myself smiling through out this amazing CG animation, and have seen it twice since my first viewing.

So, happy movie time to all … until the next Monday Movie Musings … ciao

Have you ever noticed the AD’s that reveal the IQ’s [supposedly] of the celebrities and then challenge you to compare your scores with the celebs.  Then after clicking the advertisement and answering a few questions, those sites then request your ‘cell phone’ number and who knows what else before they let you know how you rate.  Do you really want to know you IQ, well … read on.

Earlier today I thought I would click one of those AD’s, but when they started to get personal … that’s when I closed the page and started searching for a site that offered a fast, free n’ fun IQ test that I could take just for a laugh.

I found one but it turned out to be quite a challenge … you have exactly 40 minutes to answer 20 questions that range in difficulty from thought provoking to  ’I haven’t got a clue’.  So, today I took a bit of ‘me time’ and spent roughly 19 minutes on this quiz, I answered 12 questions during that time … 8 were correct … which really surprized me, I thought I had fewer than that right.

Anyway, it was fun and when I have a full 40 minutes to spare, I am going to retake it … I doubt if I will do any better, but it was a HOOT!

Give it a try, it’s free and there are NO STRINGS!

Want To Know Your IQ?

Have you ever had a few things happen to you that just didn’t make any sense at all … sure you have, things happen … life happens and that’s how it is.

Well, yesterday was one of those days for me, it started out just fine but as life would have it, I needed a few things from the grocery store.  So, I took what I thought would be a short ride down the road to quickly grab those items and be back in time to watch a little NCIS.

The theory was sound … but that was as far as it went.  On my way back home, after picking up the few things that I needed from the market, that’s when things started to go awry.  My car would not start,  it cranked up and I put it in drive but as soon as I was in the middle of the lane, even before I could initiate a complete turn … she stalled and turned off.  Their I was in a stalled automobile,  almost completely blocking 2 lanes of a very busy shopping center.

Did I panic, well not immediately … I tried time and time again to get her started, each time that I turned the key it sounded as though she was about to turn over … but after about 15 minutes of failed attempts, I panicked a bit.  At first people were just passing by and looking at me curiously.  No one stopped and asked if there was a problem, if anything their glances indicated that they thought I was the problem and not my car.

I quickly called a couple of people via my cell to ask for suggestions, any quick remedy that might help crank-her-up, before calling AAA.  Meanwhile, not only was I getting ‘the look’ but folks were now trying too exit the shopping center by way of the aisle that I was blocking.  Now, keep in mind I was completely blocking an SUV on my passenger side of the car from exiting from the lane that I was in.  However, there were other lanes that any other out-going traffic could easily access.

This was a multi-lane shopping center.  Since I was close to the CENTERS main road, people who now were entering the shopping center and decided that they had to park in the lane that I was unavoidably blocking, were patiently/impatiently waiting for me to move so that they could pull in.  Numerous times I had to stick my head out of the window and direct traffic, oh … and my hazzards  meant absolutely nothing.

There was an empty space in front of my car to the right in a handicapped parking zone, a little old lady without any noticeable level of difficulty navigated her auto into that space [she did park a bit on an angle, by the way] and she then bounced out of the car and into the store in a flash.  Now, there were 2 other available spots for ‘handicapped parking’ located opposite to that spot that she could have taken, but ‘no’ she had to add to the chaos.

Folks pulled up behind me and waited for me to move, some honked me but all looked extremely irratated, in either case all I could do was inform them that I was unable to move, and in a snap they found another way out of the lot.  And the huge SUV that I was totally blocking, just drove straight ahead to exit, while everyone else seemed to think that backing out to access the blocked lane … was mandatory.

Now, all of this was happening while I was talking to an AAA representative … me directing traffic, people honking me, mean looks and what felt like utter and total chaos.  And during all of this, the little old spry lady bounced out of the store and into her vehicle, and circumvented my disabled car like a PRO.

Meanwhile my son was on the way, as was AAA … I hoped.  You see, I called them and  after strenuously trying to explain my situation and my location to AAA [you see I was still directing traffic] … I was told that a vehicle would be there in an hour and 30 minutes to tow me away.  Okay, guys/gals that when I totally caved.   I was on the verge of screaming but I still managed somehow to hold it together.  In much detail I re-explained my current location and situation and predictament too the operator at length, with the hopes that I could acquire a vehicle in under a hour and a half.  She then told me she would relay the urgency of the situation to her supervisor and hopefully someone would be there sooner.

So, here I was still trying to hold it together, when this lady in a small little red thing that was across from me slightly facing my left entered into this little drama.  She had been sitting in her car for about 10 minutes, I didn’t have any idea what she was doing but she suddenly turned around in her seat, shrugged her shoulders … as if to say DUH, what is your problem, get that vehicle out of the way.  That’s when I started screaming … and I quote, THIS CAR ISN’T MOVING … IT’S DISABLED, GO AROUND ME!  I think she got it, cause that’s what she did.

The only redeeming thing that occurred during this whole insane episode, was that a lady approached my car and asked if I needed a push.  At the same time, a friend called and suggested that I try something I hadn’t and ‘lo and behold’ my car started to idle, I tried to let this lady know that I was okay, but AAA’s contact was also calling … I asked both him and my friend to hold just a moment so that I could end the conversation and thank this lone concerned citizen … when the fellow on the phone started too act out on the phone because I had asked him for just a minute.

I didn’t thank that lady and I really should have … and that so bother’s me!

When I got home I was so wound-up, I had to walk it off.  I did about two miles before I started to feel almost normal again …

Things happen … and sometimes there just isn’t anyway to prepare for them.