Monday, January 28, 2008

It is the political campaign season...going on much too long. Why can't We campaign like the British do? They campaign for much shorter periods of time and spend a lot less money. Never the less, their political offices get filled. I can't see a quality difference between their politicians and ours. Therefore, We could shorten this process and spend a lot less money...money that could be used for social services or the arts.
The candidates seem much the same. No one stands out as a statesman. Differences this time around are a woman candidate and an African American. Perhaps We are making progress to be including representation for other than white males.
I considered voting for the woman, then changed my mind. There is no one on this earth who wants equality for woman more than I do. My personal experience includes blatant discrimination that stunted my career. I wonder if I was being paid comparable wages to the men holding the same position that I held. I doubt it. Since personnel information is a secret, I will never know. It isn't worth a law suit to me to uncover this information.
The woman running for the office of the President of the United States is a strong personality. Unfortunately, she represents the status quo. If she gets the office, I suspect that nothing will change. Senator Clinton's career is made with giant leaps. She was elected as senator in New York with no experience with the state at all. Just buy a house and wait out your time. Go figure the voters in New York. She has no history in that state at all. Now, she would be our president. This is too fast for me. I would rather see women in many offices. Some could be judges, some governors, some senators. When the ratio of men to women in office is about 50/50, there will be a large pool of candidates to via for the highest office. It will be easy to vote for the best candidate, regardless of gender . As of now, I can't vote for a candidate on the basis of gender. We all should be gender and color blind.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Spence came with me to the floor store. I love that place because there are many choices...too many to make a quick decision. The color scheme for my kitchen is clear to me....blue and white...like a cottage in the spring. I told the sales lady that I wanted recycled material if possible. Then I was distracted by beautiful handmade tiles. They are lovely.
The saleslady introduces us to something different: cork. Cork flooring isn't recycled, but it is a renewable material....and it doesn't come from a chemist's lab. They even make cork in colors...even a blue I like.
Playing with the samples, I learn that I can have cork tile in different sizes. That means that the pattern I liked in handmade tiles, can be duplicated in cork. Idea accepted.
I am making progress. The decision is made to lay a cork floor. The only missing piece is comparing cork to linoleum. That information isn't in yet. Both cork and linoleum are warm and resilient on the feet. I can have the colors I want. I can have a pattern on the floor. Both floors are from natural materials. That's what I want.
The estimate from the asbestos abatement people came in. I knew it would be high. I will go for it.
Now the tricky part: scheduling asbestos abatement, removal of my sink and range, and laying the new floor. The floor tiles have to come in at the right time. I don't want a ripped up floor for weeks, waiting for the new floor.

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Global warming is having a devastating effect on polar bears. The ice is melting. Icebergs are the platform the bears use for hunting. There are reports of bears drowning because there was no place for them to climb up. There are reports of underweight bears. I love polar bears, panda bears, brown bears, teddy bears...any bear, any animal.
Here's an idea for those in charge of abating global warming. Make artificial icebergs for the polar bears. It is dangerous for a ship to hit an iceberg. One of the good things about global warming is the northwest passage is opening up. An artificial iceberg or platform wouldn't harm shipping. Most kids have a memory of diving from a diving platform. Why not make platforms for the bears? The platforms would have to be bright white in color. They can be filled with Styrofoam pieces, empty plastic jugs with the tops on....anything that would hold air. The outside would have to be of a tough rubber or similar material. Make lots of them and turn them out into the Arctic ocean. We would not have to monitor their location, like We do big icebergs. They can float at will. The polar bears will find them. If a ship hits one, it would be like hitting a hunk of Styrofoam with no damage done. I bet the bears fight over them.

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A new year. New experiences.
Doing errends around town. It was noon time. I was too far from home to come home for lunch, so I stopped at Denny's for a salad and a drink. The person behind the counter asked if I wanted the order to go. I said no. The order came packed up as a "to go" order. I explained I ordered my lunch to eat it inside. She took everything out of the bag. My order was placed on a tray so I could eat it there. I looked at my receipt. I was charged an extra 20 cents for an order to go. I wasted 20 cents.
Living alone makes one hungry for socializing with neighbors. I do this by eating breakfast at my favorite diner. I'm a regular. So are many others. We great each other, read the newspaper and catch up on each other's lives. Another advantage is I don't have to cook and clean up...wish this meant that my kitchen was neat. It isn't. Kathy is my usual waitress. I gave her my order. She asked me if I wanted meat with it. I said no. When the order came...you guessed it....it had bacon on it.
The question is: Am I invisible or are waitresses deaf?
My pursuit for kitchen elements continues. Three tries for cabinets resulted in three rejections. The first cabinets were over priced. The second was at a shop requiring membership. Three thousand dollars for the privilege of shopping there? Locked into their brands? That offer got turned down. The third try was in the richest part of our state. Some one had pulled a St. Charles kitchen out, in order to put in a new kitchen. The cabinets were in excellent condition. The price was right. I said I would take them. One glitch: the corner cabinet has to fit into the corner of my kitchen. It did not. I had to revoke my acceptance, or put in kitchen cabinets with no corner cabinet. However, I learned that St. Charles cabinets are still being made..hmmmmmmm..
Because of my concern for global warming, I am trying to use recycled materials. Recycled glass tiles are beautiful, but they can't go on the floor. I will install them behind the range. I found ceramic tiles made from recycled material, but didn't like the color. Perhaps my floor will be covered with old fashioned linoleum, if it comes in periwinkle blue or blueberry.
Unfortunately for my goal of recycling, I found some beautiful handmade ceramic tiles that would look beautiful on my floor. They are not made from recycled material. Perhaps I should table the search for cabinets and finish the floor first.
This means un-installing my stove and sink. It also means I won't have a kitchen to use until the new floor is installed. The first part of laying a new floor, is to decide if the new floor goes over the old floor. My old floor has asbestos fibers in it. It would be legal for me to encapsulate the asbestos by installing the new floor over it, but I don't want to do that. I call an asbestos abatement company. Ian , their estimator, comes over. He measure the floor and discusses the process. He said He will send me an estimate via email and by letter. Several days go by. No estimate. I call the company. Ian says He sent it email. There is nothing in my in-box. Several days go by. I call the company to leave a message. No estimate yet. nothing nothing blank blank nothing happening
Another project started: My audio components are all over the living room. Wires hang out. The units are on top of the coffee table and under the coffee table. It looks like a mess. A trip to Audio Etc. They have a piece of furniture made to hold audio components. I ask myself , do I want another piece of furniture in the living room? The answer is no.
Next stop was to The Guitar Center. Yes, they have a rack system. I place my order, which the Guitar Center salesman messes up. We re-do it three times. Apparently, this guy doesn't know how to use the computer to order items from their warehouse. The supervisor comes over to finish up the order. A few days pass. In Email, I find that they have rejected my credit card...because the salesman put the delivery address as my billing address. The billing address has to match the credit card information. A second trip to Guitar Center. Another sales person. Call to billing. The address for billing is corrected. Drive home. Next day, an Email from G.C. stating that they are still rejected my order. They won't take my credit card. Apparantly when their computer system rejects a card, it can't be reintroduced. I had to give them the number of a back up credit card that I rarely use. It goes through OK. A few days later, I get an email stating that my rack is on back order. I don't know when it will be delivered.
Accomplished , so far, for the month of January: nothing.

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