Mad Men

Once again, Michael Beirut has turned me on to something truly great. This time, it's a smart, sassy television series from AMC titled "Mad Men."

i hate adulthood

Seriously. why must everything be so darn complicated? Like changing banks, for instance. Online banking has spoiled us - there's no need to write any checks, no need to ever buy stamps; all you have to do is enter your account number, remember your password (which is another rant) and off you go, ready to pay bills at the push of a button. And automatic withdrawal - heavens, that's even easier!

But, heaven forbid you change institutions. It's more complicated than divorcing and changing your name back!

I've just spent an hour and a half online, changing routing numbers, account numbers, confirming passwords, confirming addresses, copying secret words to verify that I am indeed a real person ...

i'll tell you what's confirmed.

I. Hate. Adulthood.

can't we just play all day? after all, isn't that why i'm a designer?

the speed of government process

now, there's an oxymoron if ever i heard one.

really?

so, i spent the past two days with my parents in the small town where i grew up, and it's always an experience. i love my parents, don't get me wrong, but there's a reason that children grow up and LEAVE HOME. visiting is great - it's where i grew up, after all, and i love the house and the woods and...but, i digress.

so, we spend the weekend going through old things - quilts, boxes of dishes, pictures...and some of it is wonderful, evokes memories of my childhood or of grandparents and family who have passed. and some of it, well, some of it holds no sentiment except maybe embarassment or confusion (seriously - i wore that? i liked that?) at any rate, it was a good weekend. always a good time to let mom & dad pamper me, eat food that's bad for me, and be in the middle of nostalgia and comfort.

and then, i come home. i'm all fired up about rearranging, purging, organizing...within an hour i have broken one of my favorite flower pots and one of my favorite glasses. is this a reminder that things are just that - Things? i have never been extremely materialistic - i wasn't raised that way, and my parents raised me to value memories, not material things.

But things DO hold memories, and that's what makes them important. Not because of what they are, but because of whose they were.

so, all in all, it was a good weekend. and, i break things a lot - i'm pretty clumsy. it's okay. after all, i keep saying i want to get rid of some of my stuff, right?

independence day, indeed.

i find it funny that the older i get, the more i enjoy myself without any outside stimulation or provocation. a day full of laundry, filing, sweeping, dishes and walking the dog is comforting, liberating. a near perfect day. *sigh*

Happy Independence Day.