April Fool

Where did the month of March go? It’s April already and why did I just hear "March Madness" coming from a sports broadcast, when it’s April already.

I wasn’t going to post today, because I had nothing to fit the topic of April Fool’s Day; but then, the Universe gave me a fool to talk about when I spotted the "I'm sick I need peace and quiet" Karen out in the wild early this morning.

I eventually did see the cat was there and, during the video, you’ll hear me repeat the refrain of a particular song, only I changed a word to "cat".

A gold star and mad respect to the first person who can name that tune.

Though I still would like to see Will Smith’s punishment as loss of his Oscar and future roles, a commentator has me viewing the incident in a different light.

It was said Smith's behavior is not an aberration. That his behavior was so extreme as to indicate it wasn’t unusual, but is a pattern not previously known by the public. The commentator cautioned that we are not to be surprised if previous incidents begin to surface, be talked about, exposed.

Sure enough, that old vid of Smith mocking a bald man resurfaced and now, a prominent actor on the Mohamed Ali set spoke on how cruel, mean, destructive to the career of that actor Smith had been. Not because of anything the actor did, but because someone else pissed Smith off and instead of confronting that person, he instead turned on the actor.

Sound like the same thing Smith did in the slapping incident. He chose Chris’ mild joke as an excuse to assault Chris rather than address all the horrific things others have said about Jada.

I believe it’s called "Projection".

At any rate, I’m now seeing the whole thing as a necessary Times Up for Smith — the Karma train coming around to bite him in the butt, expose who he is, what he's gotten away with.

As a Contemplative, I’m taught and trained to not get caught up in the optics, but to always look for the deeper meaning.

Sadly, I did get caught up in the optics at first, because the optics were so shocking, but now that I’m back to center I can see the deeper meaning.

It’s like the saying I apply to my life when things seem to go wrong — that there’s a cosmic reason for everything. The deeper reason here is the Universe exposing Smith for who he really is. His Times Up moment, Karma Train returning to the station. Stop him from getting worse, as he surely would have, thinking he was now completely invincible because of the Oscar win.

I’m just sorry Chris Rock and the Oscar Ceremony were used as the instruments for Smith's reckoning.

Happy Easter April Fools Day

Not much going on since the egg coloring party. Mainly, because it took two days of lying flat on my back, on the couch, to recover from spending three hours in the presence of young children. 

For a while there, I thought one of the kids had given me something, because I woke up the day after with a sore throat. My body went into recovery mode that day and, after breakfast, I sat on the couch, working on the needlepoint project, and next thing I knew I was waking up – still sitting up straight, needlepoint in one hand, needle poised mid-air in the other, waking up from having suddenly fallen asleep for I don’t know how long.

Realizing I was in no shape for needlepoint, or anything else that morning, I put everything aside, lay back on the couch and next thing I knew it was 3:30 in the afternoon.

The throat began feeling better late afternoon Friday, my energy returned, so it’s been business as usual since.

Activity Director is hosting an Easter Potluck this coming Tuesday. That’s two days after Easter and not necessarily as an April Fools gag, but because that’s how she rolls --- inept.

My buddy Apache keeps sending me images of Easter-themed deviled eggs, but in your dreams my friend. I’d actually planned not to attend at all, but being as how that's also Pizza Tuesday and I'm curious to see if pizzas have ended, and find out the latest on the pit bull -- as there was an incident yesterday, I’ll pick up ice cream as my contribution and head down for a bit.

License plates for the Jeep arrived earlier in the week. Even though I didn’t get around to putting them on until yesterday, I was happy to see them arrive, because now the car is not now so conspicuously new and I can stop being made to feel guilty about being fortunate when others here are not.

Of course, not everyone here is living with less. There are others way more fortunate than I but, for some reason, a new car in my spot garnered so much attention that it made me feel uncomfortable, embarrassed even that I could afford it.

One resident, who lives all the way on the opposite side of the complex, approached me in the Community Room one day and said, “I look at carports”.

“Huh?”, said I.

“I look at carports”.

Took me a second to compute what she was trying to say, but then it hit me. She meant she noticed a new car in my parking spot.

Wow! How did she even know which spot was mine?

Another resident, overhearing the conversation felt compelled to tell me, “I don’t make much money. I only get $700 a month”.

I’m assuming she meant social security, but Holy Smokes! How does she manage? And why did my good fortune prompt her to disclose her financials?

And a few days ago, the resident who lives upstairs, across the quad, next door to the new guy that’s battling cancer, she stuck her head out her patio sliding glass door and called my name as I was walking back to my unit. I turned, looked up to her voice, and saw she had her phone at her ear. She told whomever it was she was talking to on the phone to “Hold on”, then she asked me, “Did you get a new car?”

Seriously. She saw me walking by, rushed to the patio, and interrupted her conversation to ask about my having bought a new car.

It may be my imagination, but I’m even feeling shade and side-eye coming from next door neighbor.

At any rate, plates on, the car in need of wash, maybe the Jeep and I can blend back in.

Happy Not My President’s Day

With enough Pokéballs in my virtual backpack to get me through to the 24^th, when I’ll hit the University Campus to see what the game has to offer at February’s PokémonGo Community Day, I’ve no special plans for today (which is a good thing because it’s another wet and rainy Monday) and actually have not had to leave the unit since Thursday.

Except I did make a run by the market yesterday for supplies.

While there, I observed something strange in the parking lot.

I thought it was a creepy clown cover on the passenger side and, inasmuch as I’m always taking photos of things I see while out and about, for posting to Facebook or Instagram, I positioned the cellphone to capture the strangeness.

The strangeness waved at me.

So not a car seat cover.

I froze, but got the picture before the car drove away.

Later, showing the photo to Apache, he said, “That’s not a creepy clown, that’s Anonymous”.

He's entirely correct, and I should have known that; but Anonymous, the good guys, is creepy looking in person.

Also, while in the market, I checked out the Potato Chips isle.

Not that I wanted or could have eaten potato chips, but to take a look at the Smile Bags.

Lay’s Potato Chips is running a marketing plan called “Operation Smile” – “Every Lay’s Smile Bag purchased helps us reach our goal of a $1 million donation to Operation Smile, an organization that changes lives one smile at a time”.

Based on all the awfulness let loose in the world right now – the lies, double-dealing, greed, self-interest, I’m not at all sure this is a philanthropic endeavor or just a clever marketing scheme to sell chips but “smile, snap, share” seemed like a fun thing to do, from a pop culture standpoint, so off I went to check out smile bags.

If it’s a marketing thing, I’d have to say it’s brilliant because smile bags were flying off the shelf, selling like hot cakes. One smile bag had already sold out. I can’t tell you which smile it was, because that particular slot was completely empty.

I managed to find a bag with an image I could work with, and should I be tempted to eat what was in the bag and set off a gut episode, I made sure to choose a flavor I thought disgusting – Wavy Ranch.

Smile Snap Share ##SmileWithLays

One last strange thing before yet another unstoppable Windows update, that's about to run, kicks me off the computer. Looking at the calendar, unless I’m mistaken, Easter falls on April Fool’s Day this year.

How odd is that?

No Means No

It’s April Fool’s Day, and I was hoping to wake up this morning to learn the orange fellow’s presidency had all been a monumental prank.

No such luck.

Since I don’t plan to see anyone today, I don’t imagine I myself will be pranked, but I just gave myself the giggles remembering how I once pranked the office, by posting a note to the copier that it had been upgraded to voice activated, and caught the boss, standing at the copier, looking perplexed, trying to figure out the right words to say to the copier.

I don’t recall him finding it funny, but he wasn’t angry either. More like embarrassed, caught with his pants down, because it brought attention to him doing something he felt inappropriate – making copies of his daughter’s homework … as if anyone really cared.

The April Calendar of Events indicates a Spring BBQ on the 14^th here at the complex -- hamburgers and hotdogs.

The plan is to bring my own turkey dogs and sign-up for deli potato salad.

Heading to the sign-up sheet in the Community Room, after leaving optometry yesterday, I walked in on a group of about six residents having a meeting, looking to be spearheaded by next door neighbor.

“Come join us”, she said. “I’m collecting ideas on the types of activities we’d like to have”.

Surprised, but impressed that next door neighbor had gotten off her soap box and was actually doing something, instead of complaining, I replied “No thanks. You guys look and sound like a volunteer committee, and I want nothing more to do with volunteering”.

She insisted, “We’re just collecting ideas now and want your input”.

“Unh uh, no, never again”.

“Maybe we can get you to give residents classes on scrapbooking and needlepoint?”

“Did you hear the part where I said ‘Unh uh, no’ to volunteering?”

It was all good-natured back and forth. Others at the table were laughing, but I made it clear that, “After that last Pizza Tuesday, I will never volunteer for anything ever again”.

Finally getting to walk over to the sign-up sheet, I saw The Baker evidently doesn’t want to cook either, because she’d already signed up for potato salad.

After some quick thinking, I signed up for condiments.

That should be quick, simple, easy -- especially since I later found a condiment food hack using a muffin tin.

Clever, isn't it?

After signing up, I headed for the door but, before I could get out, The Seer yelled out from the group, teasing me with “I’ll call you later”.

“If it’s about volunteering, I won’t be answering the phone”.

She didn’t call, but The Baker phoned to let me know of an event not on the calendar, because it was late decided upon – Egg Decorating on Friday, April 7.

After thinking about last year’s Egg Decorating, and how I was stuck with eggs too cute to eat, too cute to toss, and ended up giving them to a little girl I saw walking the property with her grandma, I decided I didn’t want to get stuck with cute eggs again; thus, probably not participate.

But then, out-of-the-blue, something said “wooden eggs”.

Never heard of them before, had never seen them before but, after Googling and looking at a few on Pinterest, I’m all in.

So off I am today to Hobby Lobby for wooden eggs, chalk paint and paint pens.