Life in the Ghetto

Why do people feel the need to get louder and louder when they are congregating with friends? My neighbors had some guests tonight. Over the course of an hour and I am assuming with a couple of drinks or two…their conversation could practically be felt it was so loud. What started out as a dull roar had one hour into the gathering become an obnoxiously loud and raucous party. This entails a whole lot of cackling, clapping, hooting and hollering.

It’s almost like they have this unspoken understanding:

The one who is the loudest is the one having the most fun.

My take?

Stupid. Asses.

Ego Auto

I wonder if BMW dealers have some sort of prerequisite list that sellers must agree to before purchasing their cars….such as:

Must be willing to weave in and out of traffic in hopes of gaining a 1.3 second lead on all other cars. (only to be stopped at the same traffic light as said cars).

Must be willing to tail gate all drivers in your way (see #1.

Must be willing to have random bursts of speed and short stops (see #1.

Must act like they are superior to other drivers and have a “My shit doesn’t stink” attitude.

Must be willing to run red traffic lights.

Must insist on turning left on a late yellow/red light, even if it means blocking the intersection and inconveniencing several other drivers.

I’m just sayin’

Couple of Reasons

Last night I was vegetating relaxing in the living room while my youngest was tuned into Deal or No Deal. In my opinion, the show is moronic, but it was on so I was passively watching (as if there is any other way to watch the boob tube really…I digress). There was a perky 19 year old girl ‘playing’ while wearing what I believe was a pink tennis outfit as she referred to tennis a couple of times, but to me it looked like a cheerleading outfit (reason # 1 to find her annoying). At one point in the show she was offered $239,000.00 dollars to walk away from the impossible possible payout of $1,000,000.00. Much to my horror she turned it down (reason #2). Although, I have to say it was enjoyable watching the amount of money she was offered continue to go down as the show progressed all the while calling her a stupid ass in my head. In the end she walked away with $83,000.00. That is still quite a tidy chunk of change. But I can’t help but wonder what goes through a persons head when they say “No, thank you, but a quarter of a million dollars is not enough for me….I came here to this show with jack shit, but I will pass on the ¼ mill”. Greed is not attractive.

Music vs. The Savage Beast

Music is a lovely thing. It can transport me to a different place or conjure up memories of times gone by. That can be either a blessing or a curse depending on the particular memory. Some songs are so soulful, so poignant that they induce an ache, a yearning felt deep within without any memory attached at all. Or perhaps it brings forth emotions, dreams or desires I had forgotten about.

What If?

I watched the 1998 movie Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow yesterday. It was about the way her life may have played out if she had missed the train home vs. making the train. It wasn’t the best movie I have ever seen, but I really enjoyed it. Haven’t you ever wondered ‘what if’? A split second can change everything in your life. The smallest moment or decision can be a pivotal point. There are the obvious ones of course, like deciding to get behind the wheel after a couple of drinks at dinner or having unprotected sex. There are the ones that we don’t appear to have control over, like missing the train etc. Then there are the ever so subtle ones like ignoring that feeling in your gut or that small quiet voice inside your head. While I don’t want to go through life wondering about what could have been, I know that I have played that game more times than I care to count. The variables are just too mind boggling.

Wondering

I attended a crafts class at my sister’s neighbor’s house the other night. As I sat there I found myself admiring all the old pictures she had displayed around her house. I was struck by the beauty in both the complexity and the simplicity in each of them. The simplicity came in the form of the backgrounds and the photography itself. The backgrounds were typically simple. It was usually just a plain wall or curtain. The photography was indicative of the era, just a straight on simple shot. The complexity came from the family itself. The faces of the family, and the looks in their eye made you want to know more about them. Not that there is anything wrong with photography today. I appreciate so much of the beauty that I see captured on film. But, I can’t help but wonder what has been lost in the name of progress. With the different lenses, lighting, slr or digital cameras and Photoshop, how much of what we are seeing is true to the original picture?