hipsters

so the hipsters of the world amuse me. they are so hip. what with their vegan-ness and their messy hair. and their organic pressed juice. oh and let's not forget their music and their progressive political views, their ironic t shirts and their social causes. they're quite sweet. really they are. you might be thinking i'm making fun of them. but i'm not. i do think they are cute. as all hell.

there is just one thing that bothers me about them. and it's that they're exclusive. by that i mean that not just anyone can be one. you have to be a certain kind of person. do things in that certain cool hipster way. and i'm thinking you have to just on this side of anorexic as well. and if you're not that, you aren't one of them. let's face it, they're cooler than you. they're better than you. and they know it. and they are very secretly very glad of it.

i'm just wondering what they are going to be like when they are 45. i'm not thinking it's a very pretty picture. i hope they don't care though. i hope they'll be still too hip to care.

husband of the year

so one of my very best friends is a special education teacher, like i used to be. and she's very good (and i truly mean, very good) at what she does. she's not just good, she's gifted. and i met her on the job some time ago. and she tells the story today about how when i first came to consult with her, she liked me right away, but that she'd never met anyone who so completely had no interest in being friends. and in my defense and hers, it wasn't that i didn't like her immediately; i did. but quite honestly at the time, my life was pretty hectic. really hectic. and i simply didn't have the time. so for roughly two years, we worked together, but i was mostly all business. but she kept inviting me to do things, and eventually, i gave in. and i'm so glad i did, because quite honestly, she's been a big part of helping me recover from the state i was in. simply by being there. and making me laugh. and never making me talk about what almost killed me. in fact, to this day, what little she knows about it all was sourced from other friends. she's asked nothing and i've told her nothing. anyway, she'll tell you today that she'd never worked harder to be friends with anyone. and once she asked me why i decided i wanted to be friends with her finally. and i told her that quite honestly what won me over was how very good she was at her job. that's how good she is.

but so anyway. this story isn't about me. or her. it's about her husband. and yesterday, on facebook, she reposted something about education, that i had posted and this random jerk started in on her, citing all the lame things people have been told to think about teachers and about teachers unions. and in so many words, he called her and every other teacher (but her specifically)- stupid, whiny, overpaid babies.

i saw it and made a mild comment about how breathtakingly ignorant he was. and that was ok. but THEN, her husband chimed in with a comment back. and he WAILED on the guy. just wailed on him to defend his wife. and her profession. and it was the most artful smackdown ever! he went off the rails on the guy.

it was a thing of beauty and a testament of love. and in my eyes, it was romantic as all hell. because you know? that's what you want in a spouse. someone who comes absolutely UNGLUED when someone tries to hurt you or demean you.

and it's not like they've not had their ups and downs and fights galore. neither one of them holds back when they are angry with each other. there's none of that stupid, politically correct, polite telling the other stupid stuff about how they feel. they just full out hurl at each other. it's rather like they love each other so much, and they care enough about their relationship to such a degree that they aren't going to run away or sulk, they are going to stand up to each other and fight it out. it means that much to them. and it's messy. but. they both always win in the end.

but WOE to the person that attacks the other one like this jerk did. and for that- i nominate my friend's husband for husband of the year.

anti bucket list

so here are the things that i don't really ever want to do again in my life before i die:

i don't want to go to any big parties. of any kind. a nice gathering of friends, ok. but no big parties, i don't care how fancy they are or who is there. weddings are the only exception.

i don't want to own an animal again. not unless i have a co-owner. but all by myself, nope.

i don't want to ride on a bus again. for any reason.

i never want to shovel a driveway out in the winter again. not on a regular basis anyway.

i don't want to plan another event in my life.

i never want to schedule or run a meeting ever, ever, ever EVER again.

i never want to be in charge of anything ever again. ok myself. i would like to be in charge of myself. but that's all.

i never want to be president, Vice President, or secretary of any organization of any kind ever again.

i never want to chaperone anything again.

i never want to give a presentation or inservice ever again.

i don't ever want to drink too much or have a hangover ever again.

i never want to compete in any way ever again.

i never want to write a grant or a proposal ever again.

i never want to be evaluated or do an evaluation of anyone again.

and the good news is - that likely i'll probably never have to do any of these things ever again. one nice thing about being old, i guess. you can just say, "no."

dislike

so, there's no reason why you have to like everyone, right? it's not a sin, right? it's not even mean is it? to intensely dislike someone, it's not wrong. as long as you do nothing to hurt that person you don't like, you can feel however you want to feel, right?
you don't even have to have a good reason for not liking that person. in fact, if you want, it can be a really bad reason. or even no reason at all.


actually, i'm quite surprised at all the people who i really do like.