On Hobbies

I was in the grocery store (Weis, for you locals) tonight and was witness to an artist at work. Deb was her name and my, can she pack a grocery bag. Like all good artists she was very deliberate and focused as she worked, getting all the details JUST SO. She had short term goals and long term goals. Looking down the conveyor belt, murmuring to herself ("apple cider, mmmm... parmesan... mmm...squash...") and only then would she take on the next item and put it in it's proper place. It's proper place would be one of several categories that spanned in a crescent around her own rotund self. Sometimes it took many seconds of hard discernment but eventually the item would find its rightful place. And then, like a true artist, she would turn from this detail back to the big picture and determine her next step ("cream, mmmm...eggs....peaches...OK, right, toothpaste"), reaching for the item that made the most sense given the overall scheme.
Had I had children with me I may have been distracted and frustrated and therefore missed this opportunity to admire her diligence in this labor of love but thankfully I was in no rush to get home to aforesaid children and so used the opportunity watch a genius at work...albeit with some amazement that Deb is able to make a living off of this particular art form.
All of this to say that Deb and her grocerybag art and me and my life are rather similar. I am in no rush with this blog...Love Life is a hobby, just one item in a much bigger picture - the actual Loves' lives. It's something that takes some creativity and energy to keep up and therefore ebbs and flows along with my life. I sincerely apologize to those waiting in my line if it moves at a slower pace then is comfortable (Deb did not apologize for her own style but I think that we must diverge paths on this point, sorry Deb - every analogy fails at some point). I would prefer to be steady and reliable (Stay Calm and Blog On) but alas, I do not think it is to be. My long term goals often push the blog to the back of the line and it just doesn't make it in the bag very quickly. But it's been 4.5 years or so of fits and spurts and we keep putt putting along so I think we're here to stay. Sometimes more and sometimes less but Deb and I aren't going anywhere. And we thank those who encourage us to keep up the project, we love to hear that people want us to speed up because that means that they appreciate the final product. Sadly, we don't often have the energy to do all that we'd like to do and that is why neither Deb or I will ever take this project to the next level. It's a hobby. Oh wait, there goes that failed analogy again. Poor Deb...are there amateur grocerybag artists? Because I don't think that deadlines are really our thing...

Pet Peeves– “Going Digital”

Rant in progress…

1. All the binging. While you may need to know the very second that you’ve been emailed or Facebooked or tweeted I do not. One word: vibrate.
2. Here’s a sample conversation that drives me nuts. NC = Not Connected  GD = Gone Digital
NC 1: I haven’t been out with my husband in a long time.
NC 2: I hear ya, sista’! The last time we went out was when Spider Man II came out. So a few years ago.
GD: (Pulls out a small electronic device and retreats into silence for about 1.5 minutes)
NC 1: Well, it hasn’t been that long for us but it’s about time we get out. Oh! I was talking to Susann the other day and she told me about this sale -
GD:  2004.
NC 1 and 2: Huh?
GD: Spider Man II – 2004.
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
3. Doing things fake that should be done real. If you have hours to play Guitar Hero just LEARN TO PLAY GUITAR!
4. Apple in general. I’m a proletariat and PC is good enough for me.

I say all this as a personal warning to myself because I am getting an Ipad2 for my 30th birthday from the Love Doctor! And therefore am in serious danger of becoming my own worst enemy. But danger is the way to live! Any iphone/ipad app suggestions? I still have 8 days to wait and I’m just dying!