Dare I even suggest ASSUMPTIONS?

We, as humans, are very complicated creatures.  People like me tend to read signs or communicate in indirect ways.  This leads to assumptions and that is OFTEN not a good thing!

Some examples I am learning from – if someone does something that upsets me, it is better to share that with the person because they may not even be TRYING to send a message, or might even be shocked to know their actions hurt me!  However, if they WERE sending a message, the issue can be addressed and maybe even resolved!  Otherwise, you end up being hurt, they are oblivious and/or the issue is not really addressed, and resentment builds.  Never good.

I have also learned in the last few days that people can send mixed messages rather easily.  Like they can share a portion of the truth, but their ACTIONS create a signal or tell you that they are moving toward something when they are NOT.  In moments like this, I have learned it is better to be direct, ask straight out, and then know what the truth is.  Try not to read their ACTIONS and put too much weight on them because you could be way off!  I always say actions speak louder than words, and at times that is very true, but sometimes people send the wrong signals through their actions……

Also, don’t assume moods or messages in MySpace or other forums are about YOU!  They might be, but what if they have NOTHING to do with you?  You could be feeling pressure, pain, or other negative emotions that are a waste of time……..

I can be very direct, but I DO have a problem sharing when my feelings are hurt or I think my truth will cause rejection or anger……so I am working on that.  And I hope me sharing my experiences with the above help at least one of you!

Hey Peeps,

I fixed all my categories – no more uncategorized posts.  So if ever you want to read specific topics (Travel, family) click the links to the side.

Enjoy!

Merriam-Webster defines loyalty as the quality or state or an instance of being loyal.

Loyal meaning unswerving in allegiance: as a: faithful in allegiance to one’s lawful sovereign or government b: faithful to a private person to whom fidelity is due c: faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution, or product.

Overall, I believe loyalty is commendable AND necessary. It is true in all relationships, whether they are romantic, platonic, related to your job, etc. And yet, I am finding out loyalty is either one sided or fickle. Maybe I am the same way too, I am not sure, but it sure irks me that loyalty is more of a theory than a common practice nowadays!

For example, it is true that my friends expect me to be loyal to them…..to honor them with honesty, keeping my word, etc. I don’t blame them. Yet, I have witnessed that when it comes to ME, excuses are often given to explain why commitments can’t be kept or why “the rules” don’t apply to them as well. But it’s not PERSONAL or anything, right? And I am realizing this “problem” is my fault too, because I let it happen and don’t stand up for myself. Something I am working on.

However, I would be remiss to not share that I have people in my life who are extremely loyal; two of whom are Martin and Kathleen. Even when I don’t remain loyal to them (I keep saying I will visit their church and then don’t!) they always check up on me, send me emails, pray for me……I can certainly learn a thing or two from their example! Thanks to both of you for being true, loyal friends. And Martin – two things; 1) I have “I’m A Man” on my iPod so that’s where I heard it, and 2) I agree with your comments regarding the Jesus pic I posted!

Challenge for the day – think about someone else today and try to act loyal, if just a little bit!

Gina OUT

Okay, I am not feeling very into creative writing right now, but didn’t want to hold off on the pics, either. No, I did NOT find the cable, but instead bought a cheap card reader!

I am also too tired to pick out one or two, upload them, format them, and get them in this post.  So instead, go here to see the pics!

Oh, and today on the way to the beach I got a speeding ticket.  22 Fwy near Euclid going 80 in a 65 zone!  Yes, I usually drive 80.  Yes, I know it was just a matter of time.  Too bad I got my car fixed….just think, if I couldn’t accelerate, I wouldn’t be in this position!  Doh!  Naw, I would find a way.  Dang it!

Gina Out!

Some updates to my loyal readers. You know who you are!  Special shout out to Martin – “I’m a Man” by Chicago I think of you!  (Note to other readers:  Not that I need reminding Martin is a man or anything like that, but he LOVES this song and told me about it once and yeah, so there you go.  It’s a great song, BTW).

THE SHOULDER – Okay, remember I hurt it about 2 weeks ago surfing? The doc at the time kind of blew me off. Said doc was a man. Now, I am NOT trying to be mean or over generalize, but women I have a question. Have you noticed that male doctors often blow off issues we have? It seems to be a trend with me…..at the time he was like, “Yeah, you probably pulled a muscle. Wear this sling and take some motrin and if doesn’t get better come on back.” (Incidentally, my male Chiro moved it all around, said “yep, you hurt your shoulder” and nothing else!). So, since it was NOT getting better at all, I went back yesterday. The FEMALE doctor was much more attentive, asked about 100% more questions, actually TOUCHED my shoulder, took x-rays, and determined I had a partial rotor cuff tear. She prescribed steroids, showed me some physical therapy moves to make sure my shoulder doesn’t lock up, and was cool. So yeah, I guess I will NOT be surfing again this summer…….lol.

HANGING WITH KEN – Kenny called me at 11:30pm Wednesday night asking if he could hang with me and spend the night Thursday. Yes, he was awake at that time and calling! LOL So we did hang out. We went on a “date” too – dinner at Red Robin and tooling around the Brea Mall. Of course we had a blast at the Apple Store, checked out the animals at the pet store (“Why didn’t you pet the rabbits, mom?”), went to Radio Shack (he loves this store and likes the remote control anythings….), and ending the fun at Champs where we got two caps for him.

Here is Ken with one of his new caps

MY CAR – Okay well my cute little car has been a little sick. When I accelerate especially, it won’t shift and then I can’t go faster and – well – that’s bad on two fronts. First of all, I could get killed. Secondly, I like to drive fast so it really crimps my style! So I took it into the shop yesterday. Since I hadn’t made an appointment, I figured I wouldn’t get a rental car so had planned to get one on my own. Sure enough, they told me they could get me one Monday. ANYWAY, turns out it is NOT my transmission, but rather my catalytic converter! I don’t know enough to really understand that, but this fix will also take until at least through Monday. They are getting me a rental car Monday morning so that is cool. AND I am having my 30,000 mile service – this is an American car people! Not dissing, but I have found you need this sort of thing to make sure they don’t die……

MY RENTAL CAR – So, I had made reservations for a car through Thrifty……it was a good deal actually. Kirstie was nice enough to pick me and Kenny up at the dealership, take us to breakfast, and then take me to John Wayne Airport to get my rental car. We get there and it’s empty except for the LONG line at Thrifty Rentals…….a line that moved about 5 feet in 30 minutes! I am NOT exaggerating! So, about that time two guys that were behind us decided to check with Avis. One guy left and then came back saying, “Hey, they have a car now and its cheaper than our quote here!” So Kenny decides to go on his own to ask them if they have a convertible! He comes back, tells me to go with him, asks Kirstie to stay in line “just in case”, and we head back…….YEP! They had a convertible for LESS money than Thrifty and I didn’t have to wait any longer in line! Kenny was SO excited because we got a Spyder and its very sporty and FUN! He cant’ wait for me to come back today to drive him around! He even hopped into the car without opening the door and was STOKED! And truth be told, I am having a blast with it too! Special thanks to Kir for calling Thrifty to cancel the reservation – LOL! AND being my taxi!

Here is my car for the weekend!

MY MAC – for some crazy reason, but CD burner is dead! I am sad! It seems the problem I am experiencing is a BIG problem for many peeps and I am sad. I have an appointment today at 4pm so we shall see.

KIRSTIE – many of you know that Kenny and I are very goofy. At times Josh joins in the ranks and lets loose a bit in the goof factor. But Kirstie? Not so much. She is more serious in nature and is usually one who is bemoaning the way we act, especially in public. It’s kind of fun to embarrass her sometimes (shhh, don’t tell her!). But yesterday she surprised me not only by putting in these gag teeth, but also letting me take a PICTURE of it!

MY UPCOMING MINI-VACATION – I was sitting here this week kind of sad that summer was coming to an end – maybe Josh’s song put this sentiment in my mind. Anyway, I got a bee in my bonnet and thought it’d be fun to take the boys to the Disneyland Resort. It morphed into getting a package and staying at the resort for a few days! Woohoo! So we are doing that next week and they are EXCITED! I am looking forward to it, too! So yeah, woohoo to summer!

Okay, that’s it for now! And hello peeps, where are the comments???? LOL

Hope lives when people remember. Simon Wiesenthal

I love history – well, maybe not so much in high school, but since growing up, it enthralls me. English history, Russian history, American history……learning from the past and reaching to the future. So, on the way to the Museum of Tolerance yesterday, I didn’t expect to be surprised by any of the facts about WWII and specifically the Holocaust. I expected to be moved, to be challenged……but not to really learn something more than I have already learned by searching out history.

Of course, you can probably tell that I was wrong! SEEING real people, their real stories, made it much more REAL to me…..not some historical occurrence that seems to have a clinical aspect to it. But these were people – it could have been ME!

I had the privilege of sitting for almost two hours listening to Mary Natan (formerly Maniusia Rybowski), a woman that, at the age of 10, was forced into a Jewish Ghetto in Poland with her family. I heard harrowing stories of how that was, her need to smuggle food back into the ghetto so her family would not starve, the horrible – and kind – treatment of Nazi soldiers, her time in the death camps…..and so much more. Part of me began to see this was not “just history”, but reality…..and not that long ago! And part of me was so amazed by this woman…….partly because I knew survivors of the Holocaust are getting pretty old (she is 80) and this opportunity would someday end. And partly because, although I heard horrible aspects of her life, she seriously was not bitter. In my own life – with trials that pale in comparison to Mary’s – I have strong areas of bitterness. Yet Mary did not. I look forward to learning more about this……

The museum also moved me…….it took this information and made in PERSONAL. I was sitting there, hearing real stories, being amazing that – yes – how could so many “ordinary people” like you and me see this persecution and not do anything? How could so many countries not want to help the Jewish People who were trying to flee from the persecution? I began to feel the helplessness that existed – something that was just a theory prior to this.

And then it got more emotion – walking into the model of Auschwitz…….a sign saying “millions walked through this gate to their death”. Standing, looking at the model with synthetic ashes to represent the bodies that had been burned, the museum volunteer explained the two ways to enter the camp – those that were able bodied and those that were not. Children, women with children, those 40 and older – they were not able bodies and would be most likely be killed immediately. I stood there, feeling a shadow of the terror that they must have felt, realizing I would be killed and the children with me would be, too. For no other reason than a decision by someone who hated me. I could not stop the tears, which got more prevalent as I viewed the whips used on the people (some still stained by blood), the braids of children who had them cut off before having their heads shaved prior to entering the gas chamber. The reality of this horror became a fixture in my heart immediately and I could not stop feeling the pain of the millions who actually lived this.

I could go on and on…….and I might write more later. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this museum! It is not just sadness, but encourages you that so many survived the hatred that was intent on ending those that did not meet “the standards”.

Yes I will write more. But for now I must go…..

Okay, I had an interesting day.  Let’s get it in words……

The Good – Gracie is an amazing dog.  She is truly this woman’s best friend!  She follows me everywhere – when at my desk, she sits under my chair (even when there are a gajillion more comfortable places to sit), when I eat, she sits under my chair there too.  When I go upstairs, she follows.  When I go to bed, she cuddles.  She is amazing.

The Bad – well, I have been recording lately, creating somewhat fun music that will never get me famous or pay my bills.  When finishing, I rolled up my mic and instrument cables and laid them on the floor next to my guitar, saying “I will put these away later”.  About 30 minutes later, I went back to take care of them……..THERE WERE PIECES EVERYWHERE!  YES, PIECES of cable!  Since Gracie follows me everywhere, she saw my reaction and looked VERY guilty!  Yep, my dear dog tore my cables up!

The Ugly – today Kenny and I had a date and had agreed to go to K1 Speed indoor kart racing.  You may remember, this is intense, and very fast.  We are both very competitive.  Yes, we really take this to a new level.  And it was great fun, except remember I hurt my shoulder surfing?  I did okay on the first race, but the second car I had was much more difficult to steer.  And further, the brakes were not as responsive and when Kenny spun out a bit, I was not able to stop quickly enough and BASHED into him!  His poor head swung forward and snapped back, and my shoulder SCREAMED in pain!  Yeah, we didn’t make it to our third and “free” race after that.  Kenny’s neck is better now, but boy my shoulder is ticked off at me!

The Amazing – as I mentioned before, I have been composing and recording music lately.  It has been very therapeutic for me.  Today Josh heard some of these songs for the first time and was VERY excited and thought I was cool.  What more can a mom ask for?  But then it planted a seed for him and he, too, wanted to write a song.  We got home late, around 8 or so, and sat down to start the process.  He wanted to record the singing right away, but I explained that we didn’t even have a melody or words yet!  So we sat there and he came up with a melody like THAT (picture me snapping)!  I found the right key for his voice and then we started on the lyrics.  He came up with the majority of them with me helping to fine tune them a bit.  I explained how verses, choruses, and bridges work in songs, and he very easily incorporated them into his!  I quickly recorded the drums and guitars and then he recorded the singing!  I know I am biased, but I think he did a great job in the time involved, for a first song, for being almost 8-years-old, and having never done anything like this before!  To listen to the song, click here.  I think it’s quite amazing really!

So, there you have it!  I am really jazzed right now, despite my shoulder!

Gina OUT!