We finally got the plans finalized, the permits issued, and the contractors lined up.  Well, most of them anyway.  And the noise started today.  First step?  Build a temporary staircase (pun intended).  It was so noisy, even the dog was nervous.  But it is very quiet right now.  I love silence.

In the next couple of days, they are going to start taking up parts of the foundation and putting down new pads and footers to support the new load distribution for the first and second floors.  Important stuff since we are taking down the entire back (load-bearing) wall - all 25 feet of it.  Oh, yeah, and the major interior wall that holds up the second floor is going away too.  And we started by simply envisioning a kitchen remodel.  This has definitely gotten MUCH bigger as the planning progressed.

When the concrete saws show up, I'm trying to think of how to put noise canceling earphones on the dog and the cats.  I don't know what would annoy them more - the noise or the earphones.

Anyway, wish us luck.  I'm stocked up on Aleve and my favorite anti-anxiety medication.  I'm good to go.

      

Why oh why do I waste my time watching American Idol?  Although I have to admit, I did delete some of the episodes this season from the DVR without watching them due to lack of interest.

So Lee was crowned the champ.  Really?  Compared to Crystal, he really wasn't very interesting.  Same result as last year:  Kris whats-his-face won over Adam Lambert.  Come one, Adam had so much more talent and was just plain more interesting.  But I have read that the cougars have taken over the major demographic in the voting pool, so female contestants don't stand a chance.  Sad, really.  But compare that to other things going on the world, I don't know why I waste brain cells thinking about it.

So now I can catch up on my other TV watching:  Law & Order, Criminal Minds, CSI.  Real TV.  Fake lives.  I think I need to get one instead of watching TV so much.  But how can I live without HGTV???

      

I haven't been writing much about politics lately.  Actually, I haven't been writing much about anything.  But politics has been something I've been really interested in - until the last few months.

The amount of rhetoric and spewing of vitriol has become toxic, at least for me.  I used to listen to quite a bit of talk radio, but I can't stomach it so much anymore.  I feel discouraged because we are becoming a nation of polar opposites, and no one wants to listen to anyone but themselves.  When a politician starts to talk about working with the other side of the aisle in Congress, he or she is denigrated by members of their own party as "not team players".  Seriously, aren't our elected officials supposed to talk to each other to work out compromises for the greater good?  Or am I some sort of idealistic fool?

I have heard some pretty horrible things coming from groups that are gaining a following in this country.  The tea-party folks scare the crap out of me.  And they are growing.  I have to believe that there are a lot of people like me who consider themselves in the "middle of the road", but no one is asking us what we want.  And anytime we speak, we get drowned out by the crazies.

I was at 7-11 yesterday getting a snack, and there was a homeless woman outside the store ranting some kind of nonsense.  Customers just kept going in and out, doing their quick convenience shopping.  So who do you think any of those customers will remember?  The quiet folks going about their day?  Or the crazy lady outside, ranting and raving about the cataclysm in her head?  This is what is going on in politics today.  We listen to the people with the loudest, nuttiest voices, but the everyday person is largely ignored.

      

One of my dirty little secrets is that I watch American Idol.  Okay, truth be told, it isn't the only reality show I watch.  This year is fun with Ellen on it even though I'm not a big fan of hers.  Another long story that makes me look petty, but I digress.

I've noticed this year that several of the contestants having a praying habit that they like to talk about as part of the performance ritual.  Others talk about their god in the course of their interviews.  Honestly?  I wish they would button it.  I'm so tired of hearing how god did this, and god did that.  And they wish god would do this, or not do that.  God-lovers out there, here is my message:  it's a free country.  You can do or say whatever you want about god.  But stop talking about it in public.  I really don't care about your personal relationship with it.  Shouldn't that be private?  I don't want to hear about any of your personal relationships, really.  Why do I care about your god relationship?

Let's talk about all of the dumb things that humans have done in the name of their gods:

• the holocaust in Germany
• the Christian Crusades
• attack on 9/11/2001
• Salem witch trials
• passage of prop 8 in California and similar laws in other states
• creation museum in Kentucky - are you serious??

I mean really, why do some people discard common sense and scientific knowledge in the name of some mysterious god?  I think I'll start a religion that believes in food as a supreme being.  Food gives us life, comfort, and energy.  Why not?  I'm passing the offering basket now.  Any donors to the church of food?  We'll have weekly meetings at restaurants in your area.  I'm liking this a lot!

      

I have a dilemma.  It seems that some people I know have different opinions than I do.  How can that be?  I know my opinions are well thought out and logical.  How can someone think differently?

Unfortunately, too many people think that way these days.  And no one seems to care about the opposing opinions, except to have an opportunity to argue with one another.  I like having discussions that involve rational thought and consideration for new information and other's opinions.  But that simply doesn't seem to happen that much anymore.

So I am learning to shut up.  It's not an easy task for me.  For years, I didn't think my opinion counted (this is not therapy by blog, so let's not explore why I felt that way).  So now that I have an opinion, I want everyone to know about it and enjoy it's wonderfulness.  Whether it's gay marriage, abortion, religion, politics, gun control - I can say something about it.

Facebook is a forum for everyone to share their opinions in small textual bites.  And sometimes the things I see make me cringe.  I made the mistake of responding to a friend's opinion, and I got a rather curt response.  I'm thinking a face to face discussion would have been a better idea.  So now I'm just plain shutting up.  This person has some opinions which obviously don't agree with mine, so I'm just not going to go there.  Does it shade my view of this person?  I would lying if I said it didn't.  But I think my reaction is more to the curtness, not the actual opinion expressed.

We seem to be a country invested in doing small things rapidly without fully exploring all sides.  This is true in politics, religion, and living life in general.  Multi-tasking is practically worshiped even though it has been proven that the brain can't really do two things at once.  We are a nation of distraction, not involvement.

Excuse me now, I have to go distract myself with some mindless television.

      

During this time of year, most folks are feeling mellow and sweet just because the holidays can be so wonderful.  I usually am, but this year I'm feeling a bit grouchy.  So I decided to list my pet peeves - at least the ones that I currently have.  Maybe that will put me in a different frame of mind before Christmas gets here.  So here goes:

1. I detest "mood lighting" in public bathrooms.  What's up with that?  When I'm using the bathroom, I prefer to be able to see really well what I am getting into.  Sometimes I think that they design the low lights to hide dirt.  And who goes to the bathroom to get into the mood anyway?  Turn up the lights please!
2. I get really cranky when I am following someone who is driving slow when I'm in the mood to go fast.  And I get equally cranky when someone is tailgating me when I'm in the mood to drive slow.
3. I really don't like to talking to people who only talk about themselves.  I'm pretty interesting, I think.  Ask me what I'm up to.  I'll try to entertain.
4. My dog irritates me.  He needs to eat, go outside, and he barks and whines.  His biggest crime?  He's not a cat.
5. Sales people who talk incessantly bother me.  Give me some information, then give me time to think.  If you bombard me, I am more inclined to walk away.  Even if it is a good deal.  And please laugh at my jokes.  I'm spending money, so that should buy at least a giggle.
6. I get irritated by people who don't answer the question that is asked of them.  We've all met these folks.  You ask them what color the sky is, and they will tell you that the grass is green.  Most politicians fall into this category.
7. Why do doctors think they know more about me than I know?  Okay, yes, they are highly trained in the medical field.  But I am highly trained in living inside my body.  I know what I know, regardless of what a doctor's education tells him.
8. I really don't like people who are not appreciative.  However, I'm beginning to sound like one.

That's it for now.  Happy Holidays!

      

Despite the odds, our solar array is officially installed.  I'm sure some of the HOA board members still aren't happy, but I really don't care.  My spouse is constantly teasing me because I like to watch the electric meter run backwards during the day.  And today is our first rain since the installation, and NO LEAKS!  It's the simple pleasures in life, don'tcha think?  So the water-wise landscaping is done, solar is in - now on to the big project.  Ripping out the walls downstairs.  We are still working on getting the final plans drawn and through an engineering review.  But it seems under control at this point.

Our holidays will be spent packing everything on our first floor to be sent to storage for the duration of the project.  I do mean everything:  furniture, dishes, pictures, decorations.  It's like moving, but we are only going to the master bedroom for a few months.  We are literally going to be stuffed in three rooms, cooking in a microwave in the bathroom.  I think the cats may be okay, but we may kill the dog during the process.  Me and the wife?  Hopefully we will still like each other after this is all over.

The fun thing (at least it seems like it right now) is the shopping list we need to complete for the project.  Cabinets, appliances, hardware, flooring, paint, fabrics, lighting - you name it, we have to select and purchase it.  Even down to the baseboards and toilet seat.  It's funny the things we already know we want (I have the toilet seat already selected) and the things we aren't sure about (maple or cherry cabinets?).  I keep telling myself:  it's a process, it's supposed to have a lot of unknowns at this point.  The holidays seem like a distraction right now.  But I'm getting some cool stuff, I think, so opening some presents between now and demolition day is something I think I can handle.

      

As most of you know, I tend to be a bit on the liberal side of the political line.  I got shoved there by the right wing crazies out there.  But some of my notions tend to go down the other side of the fence.  For instance...

We are doing a bunch of remodeling to our single family home.  No big deal, right?  Absolutely, as long as we get all the right signatures from folks who can really tell us whether what we are doing is okay.  Big Brother, alive and well.

First, there is our homeowner's association.  We got them to sign off on our new landscaping, but now that we have finished it, a few of them aren't so sure about our "no sod" look.  We like it:  no more "mow & blow" expenses (you know what I'm talking about), and our water usage is going way down because our yard only has drought resistant plants.  No, it doesn't look like desert terrain.  But it does look strikingly different from the rest of the neighborhood, yet it is tasteful and attractive.  In drought ridden California, you would think everyone would jump on board.  Then we had to get their approval to put solar panels on our roof.  The laws in California basically say they can't stop us, but one board member tried to throw enough stones in our path so that we might just go away.  He was worried that the glare off the panels might blind someone on the street and cause an accident.  In spite of assurances that the panels have an anti-glare coating, and the physics of light waves simply didn't support that problem.  They finally signed off, but the hoops were silly to say the least.

Then there are the building codes and the permits that have to be obtained from the city.  Like anything they say is going to prevent us from hiring and implementing crappy work from a bad contractor.  Okay, so maybe they will keep us from doing anything that infringes on our neighbors.  But even that is a tad overboard.  They are telling us how far from our property line we can build - even when we have NO neighbors in back of us.  It's a wide open greenbelt.  Why should they care???

So as we continue to pursue putting money into our ailing economy, we will keep up the good fight to get those who need to bless us to wave their hands over us in affirmation.  Where is a priest when you need one?

      

In November of last year, I blogged about my Assemblyman Michael Duvall and and an email message I received from him about the "undemocratic" protests of the those of us who were against the passage of proposition 8.  Mr. Duvall has been an avid supporter of denying the GLBT community marriage equality, to the point that he put the existing same sex marriages in quotes.

Apparently same sex marriage has not been the downfall of Mr. Duvall's political career, or put him in bed with other women outside his marriage.  Or as he is now known in the blogosphere "Spanky Duvall" (watch the video).  He was able to get into bed with these women, presumably without any gay people pushing him there.  Caught in a sex scandal where he admits on an open mike to sleeping with a lobbyist, he resigns in less than 24 hours.  Besides the obvious hypocritical nature of this family values champion, I am amazed that he doesn't see the obvious conflict of interest in sleeping with a lobbyist who has interest in front of a committee on which he serves!

This is what it is like to live behind the Orange Curtain.  Me and my wife are living quietly, paying our taxes, keeping up our property, and being good neighbors.  And this guy is sleeping around and being unethical, while trying to deny rights to my GLBT community.  My daddy told me life ain't fair, but really.  This is just ridiculous.

      

I've talked a bit about the effects that I think that Topamax has had on my cognitive functioning.  I've also had a chance to consult with an expert in the field of neuropsychology about how the brain and mind works during the aging process.  Here is a surprise (no joke here) - the brain starts slowing down as early as our 30's!  That simply sucks.  I mean really - isn't that kind of a cruel joke?  Just when I get smart enough and have enough experience, my mind can no longer keep up with it all?  I've always said that about physical energy.  It always seemed like energy was wasted on 2 and 3 year-olds.  Think of what a 50-year-old could do with that energy.  The world would be a different place.  So now I have to face the reality that my mind works slower than it did 20 years ago.  Just plain sucks.

This is so obvious to me being in a college environment.  These kids are physically and cognitively agile.  Some of them choose to use it to the fullest extent.  Others are a tad lazy.  Then I see us middle-agers, trying harder to keep up.  As my father (who now has dementia) has said to me "life simply is not fair".

So in my world, I lean back and reflect on what I have that the whipper-snappers don't have.  My car runs and is paid off.  I have a beautiful home and a small mortgage.  I am financially secure.  I know who I am in so many ways that I didn't know when I was 25.  I don't have to worry about getting pregnant.  Or not getting pregnant (take your pick).  I can afford to go out to eat just about anywhere I choose.  I am secure enough in myself that I don't need to shop to make myself look, feel, act, or in anyway seem better.  I'm not afraid to change my mind about my opinions on important issues.  I know my flaws, and although I don't like them, I've learned to live with most of them.

The moral of this story is that there is some parts of being in my 20's that I would like back.  But what I have achieved in knowledge and experience in my life, I would never trade in.  But damn, I wish I could still go through my day without wanting a nap!