A Rose Colored Post

I was tagged by Rose, over at Lessons Learned. If you haven't clicked on the link over there, now is the perfect time. She's a good read and, like Dagoth, a very peaceful voice in what can often be a vitriolic place and time around cyberspace. (And you do have to click over there because as I am trying to link it here in this post, blogger is acting wonky.)

So, the tag is to explain where my blog title and name came from and why I chose it. Then, tag other bloggers with interesting blog names and titles in order to find out about them.

Therefore, here we go:

While I was growing up, my parents introduced BioSis and me to all kinds of poetry. Being somewhat absurd children, we both were drawn to the absurdist poems the most. Her favorite was the Jabberwocky. Mine was The Pobble Who Had No Toes, by Edward Lear. As I became an adult, I admit my enjoyment of poetry has waned. It's gotta be really good for me to be moved or even want to finish it. The Pobble, however, stayed my all-time favorite poem. When I decided to start blogging (thanks to the Lovely Cats), I knew I wanted a name as quirky and unusual as I am ~ and yet didn't sound as if I take myself too seriously, either. And I remembered The Pobble. Intelligent enough to have been written by Lear; absurd enough to be about a Pobble who loses his toes at sea because he doesn't keep his nose warm and dry. Perfect! At the time I started blogging, I was holding onto Boston for dear life because it was the only safe place I had so I knew I wanted to incorporate Boston in there somewhere. The title was almost Boston Ramblings but that sounded as if I would be writing about Boston or Pobble Ramblings but I didn't like the way that sounded. And afterall, they wouldn't be ramblings as much as they would be...thoughts. Pobble Thoughts. And which Pobble? Not Lear's Pobble but the Boston Pobble.

And that, boys and girls, is the story of how this blog got its name.

As for tagging, Dagoth, you're up. You, too, Cracker Lilo. And finally, someone I don't have linked but I read and believe he reads here regularly, Speaker for the Bread, because, dude, I really want to know where that one comes from!

Those are Pobble Thoughts ~ and you even know why. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Thanksgiving Recap

I had no idea it could be so easy. Seriously. BIL and I simply didn't stress. It was just the two of us. What time should dinner be? Eh, about an hour and a half after we got hungry because that's how long the game hen needed to cook. What should we do? Eh, maybe watch a movie or play some XBox. Getting a little cabin-feverish? Okay, let's go for a drive and see what's open (a surprisingly many stores.) You want some time for a phone call from BioSis? Take it; I'll go nap. I want some time for a phone call with Lithus? Cool, he kept playing XBox. No way do we want to hit the malls or shops on Black Friday? Let's go into town and discover Chinatown instead. So what if it's already 8:00 p.m.? Stores are open late tonight. Let's go window shopping and out to dinner now, since the crowds have probably thinned out (they had.)

It was lovely. I'm truly thankful.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Hee Hee Hee

Okay, so I shouldn't be writing this...but I'm gonna.

Timber has his first date.

They both work in the school office together. She has invited him over to the house to have dinner with her family and then watch movies. How much do I want to scope her out? I won't. I will leave it to Lithus to go in and meet everyone, find out what time we need to pick him back up, all that. But seriously...how much do I want to scope her out??????

Hee Hee Hee

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

A New Holiday

When my father died, I lost my family holiday traditions. For the first several years, it was as depressing as that sentence makes it sound. Then it became more or less okay. Over the last few years, I have created other traditions. I go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas and spend the holidays with my family ~ just not the way most people think. I spend Thanksgiving in New Jersey with the Divine M and the Grill Master. I spend Christmas in Connecticut with the Lovely Cats, et al.

Until this year. This year, I am 3000 miles away from them, have Lionel and Daisy who are done traveling, thankyouverymuch and am pretty much broke. And Lithus is on tour in another state. So...

So, I am making new holidays. BIL arrives on Wednesday. It will just be the two of us. We may even just bring in dinner from the grocery store (because yes, GNGirl, you can do that!) He is looking forward to spending all day playing XBox. I have told him he has to give up the television long enough to let me watch the Cowboys game. Otherwise, he can play as long and as violently as he wants. No kids; no schedule; just XBox. I think he is beside himself with joy, honestly. Then Friday we will explore Chinatown. He is psyched because it's been so long since he's been to a big city's Chinatown. I'm psyched because I explore better with another person along for the ride. It won't be typical. It won't be anything I'm used to. It will be Thanksgiving with someone I love. And that's really what matters.

I am surprisingly thankful.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Ah, the Democrats

Last night, I watched my first debate of the season (yeah, I'm behind the times ~ I had really wanted to see the dems debate on Logo but missed it. poopies) and it happened to be the democrats.

How much would I love to see a world where Dennis Kuchnick (I'm not even sure I'm spelling his name correctly) could actually be elected president. "You voted against the Patriot Act immediately after 9/11." "Yes, because I read it." Beautiful!

Joseph Biden would have made a pretty good president back in the 80s when he made a pretty legitimate run for the nomination ~ so long as he knew then what he knows now. I was young enough that I don't remember if he did or not.

My favorite, John Edwards, lost some points with me because of the nasty asides and the "gotchas" directed at Hilary Clinton. Now, I don't mind talking about factual inconsistencies of another candidate and don't consider that mudslinging. But there were three times he spoke that I put my head in my hands and groaned at the unncessariness of his statement/"joke."

I still feel about Hilary Clinton the way I did prior to the debate. I don't like her inconsistencies. I don't care for her foreign policy. I am resigned to the thought that we will have her as a president. And I do think she presented really really well last night.

Everything I've heard Barack Obama say has been Absolutely Consistent and I really appreciate that. The only other candidate I feel has been that consistent is Edwards ~ and Obama didn't make the nasty asides. Points to him!

Sadly, I cannot remember anything about Christopher Dodd or Bill Richardson. At all. Nothing. Except that they were there. Which almost tells me more about them than anything they could have said.

As always, I welcome respectful comments and disagreements in my comments section or email inbox. I do want to know what you think...

Now, bring on the republicans and let's see what they have to say to me.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Losing Isn't Winning

(Editorial note: This post is entirely out of context. If you don't have the backstory ~ and I have not posted on it so most of you don't ~ it will make very little sense. I have realized, however, that if I don't get it said, I will probably not post again because this is all I can think to write. Also, please remember that if you are reading it here, it's probably not about you. If it was about you, I would have vented elsewhere first and then brought it to you once I was calm. Now then, some out of context ramblings so we can all move on...)

The title seems pretty reasonable and obvious, doesn't it? Apparently, it's not quite a straight forward as that all the time. See, I have recently made a decision that many people in my life disagree with. So be it. In case you hadn't noticed, I don't much care what most people think. Even my friends, as much as I love them and value their opinions, at the end of the day...well, I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do. And yes, it makes me somewhat sad that there are people I love and care about who do not support this decision that I have made. I'm human and therefore would rather have the support (and inherent respect therein) for my decisions from people that I love. Because it is a respect issue for me. Even if people don't understand why I've done something, even if they wouldn't have made that same choice, I've earned myself a reputation for being a sensible adult and deserve to be supported in my decisions ~ even if they seem to be wonky. When I don't get that, it bothers me a bit. Again, I'm human. It just doesn't keep me from doing what I'm going to do.

Have you figured out what the key phrase in that long, rambling first paragraph is? It's this one: I don't much care what most people think. Which means there are a few people who I do care what they think. Not many ~ but a few. One ~ possibly two but I'm giving the second one the benefit of the doubt for now ~ of these few people is really, really upset with me for the decision I've made. Really upset. And that hurts. And it pisses me off.

Because, goddammit, there is more to life than holding onto rules. Because there is more to life than holding grudges. Than living from anger. Because if you lose just to ensure someone else loses, too, guess what? You've still fucking lost. The other person may have as well but guess fucking what? So did you.

So don't get pissy with me just because I refuse to lose in order to prove a point. Don't think less of me because I allow people to make mistakes and learn from them. Don't disrespect me because I didn't make the same choice you would have.

Because I miss you...

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.