The title comes from Cut to the Quick; Kate Ross. Those four books of hers were eminently quotable (as is made obvious by the quantity of quotes on my books quotes page). And the title is something I’ve always thought myself… I can’t ever quite wrap my head around it when people say they’ve retired and have enough money not to have to work at all – – and they’re bored. ! The times in my life when I’ve been out of work would have been idyllic if I hadn’t been scared silly about … being out of work. If money was no object, there’d be no problem. Work after hitting a big lottery? Are you mad? When there are books to read and books to write, places to go and paintings to see (and paint)… Bored? Never!
I also never understand how someone can go somewhere they know they’ll be waiting a long time – namely, a doctor’s office – and not bring a book. I know, I know – I’m told that some people don’t like to read. Go figure. But – they’d rather sit and stare at nothing? Sheesh.
“I don’t mind people going about unobtrusively doing good, but I can’t stomach moral indignation.”
– Another lovely quote, ditto source. It reminds me of the parable of the widow’s mite: While the bigwigs were tossing large sums into the collection plate ostentatiously and for the biggest audience possible, large sums they could easily afford, the widow quietly contributed two small coins, which was a true sacrifice for her, and crept away. Unobtrusively. The lesson being (and I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong in my interpretation, the internet being so valuable for such): do good, do as much as you can – but if you do so and trumpet it about you devalue your contribution, and any benefit you might have gained from it fades. Plus you annoy the hell out of everyone around you. This is one reason I don’t like going around saying “I’m giving blood today!” or “I joined Literacy Volunteers!” To me, it’s the least I can do, and nothing to toot my own horn about. Giving blood? Pfeh. That’s nothing, no real sacrifice, except of time; go in, answer embarrassing questions (I never do know where to look, even with full awareness that the nurse has asked these questions umpty million times, and probably hears answers a lot more mortifying than mine), sit and wait (with a book, if you’re smart!), endure a needle stick that hurts for about a second and a half, and lie there and wait some more. And then they feed you atrocious sandwiches and worse coffee (or Tang!), and it’s an hour or so later and you’re done, with the astonishing realization that that hour saved lives. Heady stuff. They said on the news recently that only about ten percent of people give blood. That’s insane. I’ve heard the excuses reasons – including “They won’t want my blood – I take too many medications.” I’ve heard that from a few people. But there’s a short list of prescriptions that they actually ask you about, and if I had the faster internet connection I’d promised myself I would look it up and add it here. (I’ll come back to that.) Hopefully Obama’s influence is making a difference in volunteerism – based on the folks I met at the training for LVAGNH (Why is it LVAGNH when it stands for Literacy Volunteers OF Greater New Haven?), it may be.
ETA: Apropos of blood drives, click here…
That word counter right below this line as I type is quelling. It’s like a conscience. “My lord, but you’re wordy.” Bloviating verbosely… Or, as President Bartlett on West Wing once said, “Never say in one word what you can say in 100.” That’s my motto.
There’s a movie quote tantalizingly just out of reach along the lines of “Furthermore and in con…clusion”… which will drive me mad until I figure out what it’s from.
Internet. The gym membership I never used is finally running out soon (the gym membership about which, when I was let go from my job last year, I called the facility manager to ask, and when that didn’t work, to beg that I be let out of the contract… Pointing out, with very little exaggeration, that my circumstances had changed drastically and it might come down to a time when I wouldn’t be able to pay my mortgage or buy groceries because he was so inhumane as to not make an exception… I even dragged my 81-year-old mother into it. North Haven Health and Racket, you’re evil and I hate you still) (but, unsurprisingly to those who know me, I digress) – – and I promised myself that when it does I’m going to finally (finally!!!) make the break from dial-up. My choices appear to be fewer than I had thought they would be: Cox is unavailable in this area. (I always remember Larry from a past job practically blushing every time he gave out his email address, @Cox.net. I miss Larry.) The Comcast “Double Play” bundle which I thought would be a good idea is unavailable, not in this area but to me because we already have digital cable. So… We’ve had Comcast for decades, we’ve been good customers – and we’re rewarded by being excluded from a deal. T’anks. “But wait!” The non-American customer service rep told me. I can get DSL for the super-low price of $19.99 for three whole months, and free modem and yada yada etc. And how much after three months? Only $42.95. To quote Bill Cosby’s Noah, “Riiiiiiiight.” I said I’d have to consider it. “But!” he cried – this spectacular deal was supposed to be over, but has been extended in certain areas, including, by the most stunning luck, mine. When was it supposed to end? Er – yesterday. When will it end? Uhm – not sure, but – – tomorrow? How convenient. Bye now. Now, I currently have MSN, and I lik- Well, I don’t hate it. Except when it’s excruciatingly slow. Which is … usually. But isn’t that why solitaire was invented? To pass the time while waiting for a page to load? So I looked for a link on what deals MSN might offer on DSL/broadband… and … nothing? There’s no option to upgrade? I looked for an hour (intermittently), and … nothing. And, even more odd, no link to live help. On the AT&T and Cox sites I was able to bop onto a chat with someone, ask about what I wanted to ask, get an answer, say thank you, and move on. Maybe I’m just missing something … There’s a very accessible link to closing my account – that’s different; usually they make that fairly hard, and then you find out you actually have to call a toll-free number to do it… but I’m not trying to quit (yet), I’m trying to give them more money each month. Shouldn’t it be a little more obvious how to go about that? You can’t tell me they don’t offer broadband -! MSN – the M is for Microsoft, no? Which is all but synonymous with “computer”? So then there’s AT&T, which I don’t think I’ve ever used before, and which seems to have a pretty good deal. So it’s looking like we have a winnah.
Who knows – I may be surfing at lightning speeds before the month is out. Woo hoo!
Related articles
- What to Do When You’re Bored [The Weekly 10] (collegecandy.com)
- More Than 15 (Mostly)Free Ways to Beat Summer Boredom (wegetgeek.com)
- Whenever someone tells me they’re bored. (imgur.com)
Stewartry 
I would love to donate blood….if I knew where to do so. :-)
Was I snarky? I didn’t mean to be snarky!
Go here to find a drive that works for you!