Spo-Reflections

The Book of Faces keeps inviting me to join groups and influencers (if that is what they are; they look disreputable regardless). I take pleasure in deleting them and sending feedback to Mr. Z what I feel about them. He’s a persistent one; now he is trying to get my attention with reels, which so far as I can see are seconds-long views of people mostly shooting their mouths off or dancing.* They seem to be in one of three categories: cooking hacks, dog doing funny things, and hirsute muscle men, mostly shirtless. Where does he find these I wonder? The trouble is I foolishly tapped on one of them in the third category and now the man within won’t leave me alone. Every time I go on FB hoping to find something actually from friends a Mr. Harvey Colbran steps into view and waves at me to click on his reel. I have to push him aside to get to my cousin or my grade school chums. I have over two hundred so-called friends on Facebook and so far as I can tell only four of them actually post anything these days. It is all funny dogs, food hacks, and Mr. Colbran now. He’s become a bit of a nuisance and a crashing bore too – the suggestive raising of eyebrows with the slightly opened shirt can only go so far. But I suppose this is all he is allowed to do on The Book of Faces, worse luck.

Last Sunday I attended a delightful tea seminar at the Irish Cultural Center. The host Lorraine, who was well over four feet, introduced us to Irish tea, particularly Barrys, Thompsons, and Lyons. Interesting that I can taste the differences among tea but not coffee, which tastes like coffee – with the exception of Starbucks, which tastes like someone inserted a burned stick into the sludge. Back to the tea, I learned The Irish drink their tea strong, bitter, and with milk to cut the tannins – like my men. On the whole I preferred Lyons and I plan to get some. Lorraine (the dear!) said The Irish take their tea seriously and you are either a ‘Barrys’ or a “Lyons” house and the two mix as well as The University of Michigan and That School in Ohio, minus their charms.

Tomorrow is tax day and I am on tenterhooks if we get a refund and if Someone gets them done on time. I am fairly certain of the latter as he isn’t fretting as he does when he’s not on top of things. I am not as sure about the refund. When Someone told me how much money we made last year I was gob smacked. The downside to increased wealth is we will have to pay some taxes for it. My late Father disliked refunds on the grounds it means you gave the government a free loan. He had a point.**

If there is a refund I may contact The Good Car Salesman who badgers Someone to consider a trade-in whenever he takes the Hyundai in for a check up. If the salesman is so persistent with a ‘no thank you’ person like Someone, imagine what he might be with Urs Truly, who is actually interested in a new vehicle. He might become as pesky as Mr. Colbran, although if he has the same features I may not mind too much.

I have the car just for you!

*If you want to call it dancing. Mostly they bounce around a bit and wiggle their behinds.

**Update and news: Someone says we will probably pay 10K in taxes this year. Oh the horror.

After I typed the title I paused to perhaps change it to men and women or humans or mankind no make that something else until I decided to keep it. Thems with complaints can write The Board of Directors Here at Spo-reflections and good luck with that. Spo.

After shrinking heads for thirty years and being alive for sixty you would think I could no longer be shocked or surprised by the folly of my fellow human beings, yet I do all the time. I know ‘why’ people fall for scams and eat french fries rather than salads, but my eyes still cross with aghast with why don’t they know better. This morning while talking a stroll I heard a podcast about how gambling apps are designed to get people (mostly young men) to bet their savings away, Yes, it is a man’s choice and right to do what he pleases with his money, but it is also morally wrong to set up situations nearly guaranteeing he does. Anyone who has had a teenager knows the frustrating futility trying to get them to see sense and not do X,Y, or Z, but they do anyway. It is like throwing life rings at someone drowning who won’t take it. Alas, Babylon! Humans are frail creatures and we don’t seem to change and we don’t seem to grow either.

Perhaps I am just wired differently. I lack the genetics towards substance abuse nor do I have ‘an addictive personality’. I grew up oh-so-sensible and take the conservative choice and when in doubt, don’t. It is an example of how being boring saves my life and my money. This isn’t a holier-than-thou statement. It is about not understanding the desire to drive fast, invest in risks, gamble, and vote for sociopaths promising to fix all problems – as so many do.

Mind! It is always the best swimmers who drowned and even the most prudent are known to be imprudent. I know of a man who was a prominent professor in his field, a leader in his community, known for his cool head etc. Then the allegations arose including one of his students who was pregnant. The general emotion was along the line ‘what on earth was he thinking?’ and ‘how can a brilliant man have been so stupid?” Human folly! It strikes everyone.

I try to live an oh-so-sensible life. I drink lots of water and eat right. I talk to people; I get in regular exercise. I avoid lottery tickets, crypto, and online get-rich apps. I question the so-called ‘facts’ and I don’t take advice or listen to narcissists and sociopaths. I try anyway . It is the folks who don’t believe they can’t be conned who more likely to be swindled. I stand on guard. I don’t deny my Shadow but keep tabs where it is.

And I don’t buy no Hostess chocolate cupcakes even though Someone ate mine last night. Otherwise Mr. Spo-so-virtuous would have done it.

Alas, Babylon! The Muses (or someone like them) have flown the coop and gone to some better place than the recesses of my pumpkin. Perhaps they scammed as there is nothing to write about. I lead a dull life. I feel I ought to write something, especially when I am under Contractual Obligation to do so. . Spo.

The Boss came to town from northern Arizona the other day, to pick up the mail from the offices I’ve gathered up over the weeks. I showed her where the keys are kept and gave her the office laptops I found while rummaging around looking for a stapler.* She was most grateful and christened me the new Office Manager. She gave me a bag of collected sweets as a thank you for my industry, which included a single hostess cupcake. Patience above! I haven’t had one of those since grade school! It still has loopy white frosting on top, although I remember they came in twos, so where was the other? In fourth grade The Best Friend Charlie Thomas, ate Hostess cakes that looked like a pink fuzzy tennis ball that had been cut at the equator and wrapped in plastic. I believe they had coconut flakes and sooner I’d eat rats at Tewkesbury than consume such monstrosities. No one but Charlie liked them. Chocolate Hostess cupcakes were hot currency good in grade school, just right for trading at school lunch hour, but why would you? Several kids had apples or bananas rather than things of real value to eat and they couldn’t trade for love or money. This evening after Someone and I have our supper I plan to split the cupcake with him although there is a part of me that hopes he doesn’t want any, so I can eat the whole thing with relish.

Last night we drove to the Mesa Arts Center to see “Hadestown”. It was quite loud and there was a lot of shouting. Youngsters at the theatre behave as if they are at a rock concert, shouting and standing and making a general nuisance of themselves while I am straining to both hear the lyrics and stifle the volume. I know ‘Orpheus and Eurydice’ and ‘Hades and Persephone’ well, and Hadestown took some liberties with both tales. Near the end I was wondering if they were going to fix the ending (which ends badly) but they did not.**

Saturday seems to have a ritual going starting with going to Einstein Brothers for a bagel, then to the gym, and afterwards the car wash. I would have added Costco but I forgot my card. Going to Costco on Saturday morning is not for the fearful but I was willing to brave the beast as I am out of kimchi. I’ve grown quite fond of the stuff and I try to eat some with each dinner, on the grounds the wee-beasties therein are good for the digestion. Since I usually have a glass of wine with my meals I wonder if I am doing myself a disservice killing off the bugs before they can pow-wow with the indigenous flora to do what magic they are supposed to do. Someone dislikes the idea of bacteria in food whether kimchi, yogurt, or sauerkraut. Then again he often has bad bowels and serves him right.

Tomorrow The Irish Cultural center is doing a seminar on the history of tea in Ireland which includes a demonstrations of proper brewing and with our tea Irish Soda biscuits will be served. I wonder what they will say about cream and sugar. People get awfully queer about their tea this way. If there are ructions, I will tell you Monday.

Well that’s all the new that isn’t. While pillaging the offices I found two thermoses. Patients leave their water bottles behind on ar regular basis and after a month if they are not claimed they are gathered up and given to Goodwill. I would like to give them the keyboards too but they don’t like that sort of stuff. I suppose they are property of The Overlords but if I am going to be House Manager in spirit I get to make executive decisions, no?

*I managed to find an eight unused keyboards (some brand new in their box), countless pens and post-its, and enough white-out to white wash a whole book. Does anyone still use white-out these days – or keyboards for that matter. The multi-color collection of post-its should still be useful. Urs Truly luvs himself some post-its. While they look a bit stupid placed on the boarder of my screen, they serve their purpose not to forget things.

**In the original Greek story Orpheus is later torn to bits either in a ‘suicide by cop’ maneuver or by all the women fed up with his grieving. Like Bugs Bunny is ‘what’s opera doc?” what do you expect in a greek myth, a happy ending?

Note: the original title of this piece was ‘Urspo pinches his pennies’ but there are no more pennies. Getting rid of them is the only thing for which I applaud The Felon as well done. Spo

Last time I looked our savings was down by $50,000 and the price of gas was up to five dollars as gallon. Worse, the price of diesel is noe over six dollars per gallon, and looking to go higher, which the truckers and airlines pass onto consumers by raising the price of everything. If I listen to my rightwing-Trump loving* cousin, she poo-poos this all as liberal rubbish. She points out her beloved Fearless Leader says inflation is down and the economy is good and he’s responsible for it all.** On the last point I agree, but I digress.

Mind! I am far better off than most folks; many are feeling the pinch far worse than I; they are having to choose between paying the bills or filling the gas tank or buying food. With this admittance, I am trying to cut back on expenses. I am starting with the little things, which probably doesn’t saves much but it feels good to do something, along the line control the things you can control and not what you can’t. For example, coffee. On a recent walk I heard tell the price of coffee is growing and soon a cup of Joe at Starbucks will be 5 to 10 dollars. At work I am Coffee Master, but there are ways to do with less. At the end of the day I regularly toss out half a pot that wasn’t consumed. I can make less in the morning. When the current can of Chock-full-of-nuts runs out, people can use that funny-looking coffee machine in which one puts into it something that looks like a plastic dixie cup that someone makes one (and only one) cup. No sharing but each makes his own cuppa. We have heaps of these plastic containers as no one is using them when a fresh pot is available. Everyone can use these, thank you very much, and ff there are ructions I will tell them to buy some grounds for once (I do all the coffee purchasing). I always have my beloved tea; I have enough to keep me caffeinated until the summer months.

I am being more mindful of how many trips I take in the car, bundling up tasks into fewer outings.

At Uncle Albertsons we are buying less and when we do we are purchasing more store-brand alternatives to the national brand names. They are cheaper and they seem OK enough. We stopped buying hamburger and beef. We are eating out less; lunches are cans of soup more often than not. Restaurant and to-go food prices are the worst and arguably the area we can save the most.

The real savings is cutting back on future plans. Alas Babylon! Some summer trips and travel won’t happen as this means gasoline for car trips (or worse) airplane tickets. Some home projects won’t happen as hoped. We’ve gone this long in disrepair so another season won’t matter. A new car is right out. If the Elantra should suddenly die (worse luck) I will get a used, not a new car.

The ‘R’ word is being whispered online viz. Recession, and that ain’t good ! Us canceling things, putting off projects, and buying less isn’t good for the economy but screw you, economy. Fix yourself first.

How are you doing in these times? Are you cutting back? Are you hurting?

*Curious, when I typed ‘Trump loving ‘ spell-check anticipated this as Trump lying. I had to correct it to loving.

**She believes Trump was sent by God, to which I wonder why, did He he run out of locusts?