Formerly known as "I'm a Hoe" but times and people change. It was a fun and productive metaphor that I enjoyed extending too far. Now it is done. The tool shed is retired, but the vicious momma is still here. I will be making adjustments to this blog as time allows.
Well.... I did end up getting car, but it isn't American and it cost only a fraction of a brand new American car....
It is a 2005 Scion (made by Toyota) xB:
Pimped grills.
Thumpin' pimped amps and speakers. (but I kind of like that, lol)
Isn't it cute? It's my first foreign car. The guy who had it before us did all the cool customizations.
The main reason we got it, though, is because it gets 30-35 mpg which is more than twice what the beastly Expedition gets (about 14 mpg). If one is so-inclined he can accuse us of "going green", but in my world green = $$$ saved and not "saving the planet." ;-) We still have the Expedition (the beast) and still need it for hauling around all the extra kids that seem to congregate here. The xB only seats 5 compared to 8 with the beast. And it is paid for too.
Buying a car these days is almost as much hassle as buying a house, even when you pay with cash instead of getting a loan. You'd think if someone came in with a stack of cash they'd skip all the crap, but no, they still have all those forms and formalities. Blame it on the government. And it's just too bad for all the UAW people and the US automakers that we didn't buy one of their over-priced products. As I mentioned previously, we've already paid them enough (in bailouts) for a new car without actually getting anything.
And I finally got to do something that I've been thinking about for a while. I decided that the next time I have to fill out any kind of form that asked for "race" or "ethnicity" I would check the "other" box and specify that I am a "White Native American." Well, how many generations and centuries does it take to be considered "native"? I figure my people have been here pretty much since the beginning of the white "colonization" so probably I'm genetically separated enough from most Europeans to be considered ethnically distinct.
Well, not that we really want or need to take on any new car payments right now, but since we are patriotic Americans we were thinking that it might be good to stimulate the eonomy and buy new a car (my birthday is also an excuse). So I started looking online at all the different American auto-makers' sites to see what is out there. Honestly, there wasn't much to interest me. Mainly, I am not looking to replace my family car, a 2003 Expedition which I still like a lot and it's paid for, or my fun car, the Corvette. If I'm going to get a car right now it has to be something really cool and worth the trouble of a new payment.
I do like the Cadillac Escalade, but it's basically the same thing as the Expedition and I don't really want/need another SUV. I also like the Saturn Sky, but it's pretty much the same as the Corvette. The only other car that looked good was the Dodge Challenger. I like its retro late 60s - early 70s design:
So David and the boys went to look at them today while I stayed home to enjoy some peace and quiet. ;-) There must not be too much of a crisis for Dodge if they are expecting people to pay $50,000 for something. Now, I appreciate that the Challenger is their "special" model, but come on... I could buy a brand new Corvette for $50K if I wanted to spend that much. Hello? Earth calling Dodge.
The dealership was closed because it is Sunday so they couldn't talk to any salesmen, but if I had been there and they had been open they would have gotten a real good talking to about the reality. They must not be hurting too bad for sales and money if they think they are going to sell anything for that much money right now. Besides, they've already gotten a bunch of our tax money so that amount should automatically be deducted from the prices. If they really need to make a sale then they would just have to take what they could get. I mean really.
So I won't be buying a new car right now, and so there is that much less stimulation of the economy. Sorry, but if Dodge or GM or whoever is really interested in moving some inventory then they're just gonna have to do better than $50 f-in' K for some nostalgic ride.
I haven't been a good blogger so far this year. There just haven't been a lot of words or something to say... Not that there isn't plenty going on in the world, but somehow it's been better to be insulated from all of that and to concern myself with more immediate and provincial matters.
Anyway, I'm just in a quiet phase, I guess kind of like the sun sometimes, but maybe there will be some new activity soon. I wouldn't mind a little warming myself... ;-)
I am now officially the mother of a teenager. My oldest son turns 13 today, but he has seemed at least 15 for a couple of years now. At 5'8" he is already half a foot taller than me, and when he answers the phone everyone thinks he's his father because of his deep voice. He's always been pretty mature for his age.
It's a little freaky for me to watch him grow into a man so quickly because I wasn't around many boys during my early teens. And most of the boys I knew then were ice skaters and not particularly masculine. ;-) (though there were a couple of exceptions) So the beginnings of a moustache growing on a 12 year old boy seems a little startling. I have to admit to being kind of in awe of this man-boy who came out of my body 13 years ago. I gave birth to this wonder.
He's very popular at school and that's a new thing to me too. It's nice in way that he has so many friends, but I've also learned that the popular boys are usually not so popular with the teachers. Maybe he has an attitude or air about him at school that they don't like, but I know that he's respectful to them. He's also much smarter than his grades reflect. In school these days, more than when I was in school, the report cards reflect conformity and behavior much more than academic accomplishment and learning. The teachers don't even seem to notice if a student is actually smart or not.
As I've mentioned here before, my son is a kind of musical prodigy. He can pick up any instrument and play it. He's teaching himself to play the guitar, and he continues to play the piano. Any song he hears he can play it. It's amazing to me because I have absolutely no musical ability at all. But I love to hear him practice, and the sound of music in the house is delightful to me.
Well, Happy 13th Birthday to my son! And let's hope that the teenage years won't be too hard. ;-)
My animus has been drained by all of the events of the last few years, especially last year. I'm speaking of the Jungian idea of the "life energy" that keeps us going. Jung was basically describing the psychology of shamanism, so if you think he was a crackpot then I guess I am one too. ;-) His "science" wasn't that of experiments and formulas but of observation, perception, and intuition. Maybe he was more of a philosopher than a scientist, but does it really matter so much?
Human nature has changed little, if at all, since humans have become literate. We're no better or smarter, really, than the people who lived thousands of years ago. Maybe we are a little cleaner and more comfortable, but ultimately we have not eliminated our biological and animalistic instincts and urges. Through neither "behavioral" therapy nor "cognitive" therapy have we succeeded in defeating our basic nature. And why should we anyway?
Even the Bible tells us this:
The Futility of All Endeavor
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” 3 What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun? 4 A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever. 5 Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again. 6 Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns. 7 All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again. 8 All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing. 9 That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us. 11 There is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later things which will occur, There will be for them no remembrance Among those who will come later still.
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
For those who think the Bible is only full of stories of an angry, immature God, well, they just don't know.
I need to regain my health and well-being, whatever it takes. The drive of self-preservation has kicked in, so to speak. So much of my life has been spent on others - helping them heal, helping them die, helping them with whatever demons they were fighting. This is the job of a shaman after all. But even the shaman needs healing sometimes. There is a time for all things. The Bible tells us this too:
A Time for Everything
1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— 2 A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4 A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. 5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. 6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace. 9 What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? 10 I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-10
The hunter has to hunt. The cat has to prowl. The cougar has to prey. The trickster has to trick, and the joker has to joke. Jung would agree.
I'll have to think about this a lot more, but I've been reminded that one of my wishes has been to have some kind of center for advanced thinking and creativity, or some such thing. Well, since the economy sucks there isn't any funding for establishing a whole institute right now. But, it might be possible to have a short retreat, or very casual "conference," just to test this idea. Why not? Our place is big enough for a few people and we have the pool and wireless internet and it's pretty and quiet (except for the children sometimes) here which is conducive to thinking and stuff. I don't know. Maybe no one would want to come here? I'm not really much of a hostess and do have some social anxieties, but probably the kinds of people I'd invite wouldn't be too high maintenance or demanding. After all, the point would be to just hang out and talk about whatever comes up and to have time and space for writing or artwork or calculating or otherwise exploring ideas. Hmm, maybe it could be this summer. Would anyone be interested in this kind of thing?
Happy New Year! I've been away from the computer a lot over the holidays, which were nice. There is no big news and that's okay. Maybe this year will be much more peaceful and easy than last year. The world is in pretty sorry shape in a lot of ways, but we can hope for recovery and relief...
My resolution for 2009 is to take better care of myself. I mean that physically as well as emotionally. Some of the ways to do it are the usual things like exercise and eating right, but also doing things like clearing away the burdens and other clutter in my life. Life is too short to spend it feeling bad and agonizing over things.
I hope everyone can look past the terrible economy and other worldly concerns and try to make their own little part of the world a little better. I know this all sounds kind of trite but hey, sometimes the familiar is a relief from the egregious.
