You Are What You Eat?

In my family almost everything centers on food; so much so that I find it hard to go to my parents' house without going through the fridge, or looking through the cupboards for snacks. When someone’s birthday rolls around my Mom wants to know “What do you want me to cook?” and “What kind of cake do you want?” Not that this is a bad thing, unless you’re on a diet or trying to watch what you eat.

Some of my fondest and most vivid childhood memories are of meals at my Grandparent’s house. We’d have homemade fish and chip dinners, or homemade wontons, or just a good old fashioned barbeque. This tradition stuck with me; anytime someone walks into my house I feel the need to feed them! I get anxious if I can’t think of at least a snack to put out. “Do you want coffee? Are you hungry? Umm, I have yogurt…or chips….how about a banana? No? Are you sure? I can make muffins or something!” I know now how my Grandparents felt if a guest refused their offer of food; as if you’ve somehow failed them!

And then there are the memories of food related mishaps, like the time my Mom almost electrocuted herself by cutting the cord of the electric knife she was using to cut the Christmas ham. Nope, she’ll never live that one down! Then there was the Thanksgiving Day storm of 1983, when the power went out and we had to pack all of the partially cooked food up and take it to my Grandparents’ house to finish cooking it so we could eat. And although it’s not actually food, the memory of bottles of homemade wine exploding at my other Grandparents’ house always makes me smile. Red and purple stains on the walls and ceiling of their enclosed porch from wine bottles popping their corks; can’t help but giggle at the memory.

Food is the center of many a family tradition. There’s something comforting about sitting down to eat with people you care about. So if you come to visit me, please, have some yogurt, or a banana, or let me make you some muffins; it’ll make me happy!

Working is a Community

Working is a community. Everyday we come together to do a job; if we don’t, we don’t get paid. If we don’t get paid, we don’t eat and we don’t have a home. Not to mention that if we don’t work we don’t get to play; we wouldn’t be able to afford it. It’s kind of like good versus evil; without one, the other doesn’t exist. Without work, we can’t play. We have bosses and other types of leaders that keep us going. They give us projects to work on and goals to reach for. They lead us and keep us together, keep us focused on the same long term goals: sell more products, produce less scrap, have another clean audit, whatever your circumstance, their job is to help you get there.

We often have similar interests with the people we work with. Different industries attract different sorts of people, so the likelihood of having common interests is good. If you work in a service industry, such as food service, you likely enjoy being around large groups of people; if you work in the manufacturing industry, you may prefer activities involving smaller groups of people. The people I work with care about others. They value family and friendship, and go out of their way to help when someone is in need.

There are occasional tensions; someone thinks they shouldn’t have to do something because it’s “not in their job description”, or they “don’t get paid enough to do that”. There are also times when we are all busy beyond belief, and then someone calls in sick and the rest of us have to pick up the slack when we barely have time to do our own jobs. Times like these are trying, but we get through it. We pull together and get the job done, no matter how big or small.

My work ethics are pretty strong; so are they of the people I work with. And not only do we all get along at work, we are all pretty close on a personal level as well. We are all fairly close to the same age, and we are all at similar places in our lives. We understand what the others are going through, and we help when others are in need. This is a community that I am proud and pleased to be a part of; caring, compassionate, fun people who like to laugh, but can get anything done when they work as a team. Who could ask for more?

What's in your wallet?

What’s in your wallet? If you lost your wallet and someone found it, what would their assumptions be about you? What would they be able to tell about you, because of what they find there?

In my case, they’d see that I’m in my forties, white, am a bit overweight, and live in Granite Falls. My debit card, checkbook and two credit cards, as well as my health and dental insurance cards, would probably lead them to believe that I work, or have income of some sort. I don’t carry any pictures in my wallet, which may make them think that I’m alone, and have no close family or friends. At the very least they’d probably assume that I have no children or grand children. I have several grocery store club cards and a Costco card, I guess that means that I’m frugal, and like to get a good deal.

What about the fact that I have the card of a Snohomish County Sheriff Deputy, a local attorney, and a jeweler? Hmmm, what might that mean? I stole something from the jeweler, got caught by the sheriff deputy, and then contacted the lawyer? No, I doubt anyone would assume that of a middle aged, over-weight white woman, but why not? It could happen (and I’m it sure has)!

Since I live in Granite Falls, they may assume that I’m a Harley riding, hard nosed biker babe (I use the term “babe” very loosely in my case)! I have an enhanced driver’s license; obviously that means I ride to Canada and Mexico often! Probably mostly when the sheriff’s looking for me!

But wait! There’s a gift certificate to a hair salon! Would a Harley riding, hard nosed biker babe have one of those? I guess she has to get the bugs and snarls out of her hair somehow after out-running the cops! She writes a lot of lists – probably has short term memory loss from all the drugs. And then there’s the card for the oral surgeon; more than likely she lost a tooth or two in a brawl.

So, I’m a white, lonely, middle-aged, overweight Harley babe with a few teeth missing, short-term memory loss, in trouble with the law, that likes her hair to look good! Oh, and don’t forget that I’m frugal and have some sort of income. Pretty far fetched, but I could see myself doing that if I found someone’s wallet. It’s more fun and exciting to really reach out to the extreme when you’re making assumptions about someone. Some of what they would see would be fact: White, female, a bit overweight, lives in Granite Falls and has credit cards, insurance, and a bank account. But the rest is strictly assumption.

It’s true that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, but not in my case. I received the Snohomish County Sheriff Card on Memorial Day after my car was broken into and my purse was stolen. Yes, someone truly could find my wallet some day, as it was never recovered. The attorney’s card is one I picked up in case I decide to have him help me with a will someday. The jeweler’s card has the amount it would cost me to have a ring re-sized and altered, written on the back of it. I need to have a tooth pulled, hence the oral surgeon card. And the hair salon gift certificate was a Christmas gift.

From my wallet, no one could tell that I am a mother, and have a very close family. No one would be able to see that I tend to be shy until I get to know someone. They wouldn’t know what an animal lover I am, or that I’m not lonely, even when I’m alone. What you see on the surface is only part of the person, what’s inside is what truly counts.

Welcome to my blog!

Hi! Thanks for stopping by. As the title of my blog implies - I hate drama! I didn't really even understand what drama was until my daughter hit her teenage years......oy vay! Now I'm basically on my own and trying very hard to live a calm, yet exciting, life, with very little drama :-). So far, so good!