No Sir

The older I become, the less I am inclined to require the use of the word sir when directed towards me by a person past a certain age (usually around high school graduation). I'm not really sure of the reason. Maybe it's the fact that I am still single and am not in a position of high authority at work. Or it could be that it makes me think I am older than I feel. Whatever the reason, I tend to cringe when I hear that word aimed in my direction.

I prefer such words as friend, buddy, dude, or even son (most often heard from people from the Sanford area). To me, these words convey just as much respect as sir. Of course, the tone of the speaker also has a lot do to with the meaning, and one can still be disrespectful using sir.

I still use sir myself when I talk to someone of authority or someone who is a lot older than I am, but my personal preference for myself is what I would call casual. I don't like being fake or "putting on airs" and using sir in reference to me makes me feel like someone I'm not.

Does that sound crazy? Maybe so. But it's who I am.

Dogs

In my last post, I discussed my love for cats and expounded a bit on the reasons why. I ended with a line from the musical Cats that summed up my feelings. In this post, I will now expound on the reasons why I don't care for dogs. It's not that I absolutely hate dogs nor wish them harm, but, for me, dogs are a little lower on the pet chain.

Dogs have been considered "man's best friend" for many, many years. They are seen as faithful, trusting, playful, and reliable. These traits are all wonderful and are very nice to have in a pet, but when I look at dogs, I see a tame wolf that hasn't grown up. Yes, that's right. They are wolf cubs in an adult body. Now before anyone gets their dander up, I am speaking of dogs in general and not intentionally maligning any one's beloved pet.

When man began the process of domesticating dogs, he chose to keep certain cub-like characteristics and the result was a neotenic animal. Below are some of the youthful traits that are seen in dogs:

1) Subservient to humans--cubs and young adult wolves are always subservient to the alpha male and female wolves in a pack.

2) Playful--adult dogs are still very playful when compared to adult wolves.

3) Very vocal--adult wolves do not vocalize very often.

4) Retention of cub-like physical features--soft fur, large heads, floppy ears.

With these traits in mind, I see dogs as immature, noisy, clumsy creatures that can in no way be compared to the mature, quiet, agile cat. Who wants to always contend with childish behavior when one can have a pet that acts its age?


Certainly not me!!

Cats

Yes, I will freely admit it. I am a cat person. I prefer cats over dogs any day of the week. Today's entry was sparked by the recent report that cats use a particular sound, called a "purr-cry" by the researchers, to elicit a response from their owners when they are hungry. Ten cats were recorded by their owners when they made this sound. The recordings were then played to other people (some which had never owned a cat) and each time, the other people felt that the cats needed to be fed. The conclusion was that cats use this cry to control their owners and to get what they want.

All I have to say is...

So what???

Yes. Cats may be controlling, demanding, distant, and somewhat distrusting . But isn't that what makes them lovable? In order to be the friend of a cat, you must earn their trust and love. What better way to build a lasting friendship than that? Certain other pet types trust before making sure the person is worthy of the trust. Who wants something that acts before thinking?

Instead, one should focus on a cat's positive attributes. Loyalty, intelligence, cleanliness, affectionate, quiet, and relatively low maintenance are all qualities found in this wonderful pet. All of these attributes combine themselves in such a way that they produce a fluffy, cuddly bundle of joy.

One of my favorite musicals is Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats. In it, there are several funny and very realistic sketches describing the different types of cats. One sketch describes how cats have 3 different names, with the third one known only to each cat and upon which it ponders both day and night. Another one describes the quintessential tomcat; while others expound on the wise, old cat; the nosy busybody; and the mischievous buggers that cause all sorts of trouble.

But the most funny and definitely true statement about my most beloved feline is from the song entitled "The Ad-dressing of Cats". In it, the question is posed as to "how would you ad-dress a cat?" followed by this reply...

So first, your memory I'll jog, and say:

A cat is NOT a dog!

Can I get an amen to that?!!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Everybody wants a little ree-ree-ree-respect (just a little bit...just a little bit). But not everyone deserves it. In my humble opinion, respect must be earned. Just because one is in a lofty position, doesn't mean that he or she should get the respect that the position should afford them. There have been some recent politicians that have exhibited many actions that lessened their respect level in my eyes. A former president let his wondering eye lead him into a sordid tryst in the Oval Office of all places! And several other people that should be acting in a manner deserving of respect throw that responsibility out the window for cheap thrills or a bigger ego. Such is the case for the idea for this post.

A upper-level manager at work has a bad case of the "look-at-me-because-I'm-important" syndrome. Several of the women that have worked there longer than me told me that they trained him several years ago. Everytime he walks in the room, he expects people to gaze upon his well-formed body and shiny, bald head. I ignore him.

One of the characteristics of people that annoy me the most is a stuck-on-myself attitude. It's boring, trite, and downright rude. No one should feel that he or she is better than anyone else because of position, fame, money, or anything else. When those feelings start showing up in an individual, my respect for them starts plummeting.

Yesterday, this particular individual left me a voicemail while I was at lunch for me to return his call. His message was the fourth of four and I was taking them in order when I returned. Before I could return his call, he called my manager and asked him the same question he was asking me. My manager immediately turned into a sycophant and about broke his neck to accomplish the requested task. He was stumbling all over the place and couldn't have my co-worker look up the part and deliver it fast enough! The higher-up had the audacity to ask us to deliver it to the next building. I am sure he was busy saving the world. Of course, I had to make my feelings known. My manager just rolled his eyes at me and gave me a "shut-your-trap-because-we-need-to-stroke-his-ego-so-he-will-think-better-of-us" look. I grudgingly relented, but what little respect I had for the "egomeister" lessened a great deal.

In short, just because one is in a higher position doesn't mean he deserves the respect of that position. Respect must be earned and maintained. Let us all try to earn respect in a manner that benefits all of mankind.

Cheesecake

Today I feel inspired to talk about cheesecake. To me, this wonderful confection is the epitome of dessert-dom. What better way to finish off any meal than with a large slice of cheesecake? I can think of none. (Of course, I would never be talking about a fake "cheesecake" from a box! Those fakes do not even register on my "cheesecakeometer"!)

To sing the praises of cheesecake, I will use several adjectives that always come to my mind when I ponder its charismatic characteristics.

1) Look--When my eyes first behold this dessert, they light up as if I had my finger stuck in a socket. The smoothness of the top and the thickness of the pie send shivers of expectation up and down my spine with anticipation.

2) Taste--There has never been a cheesecake that hasn't sent a cavalcade of flavor trotting across my taste buds . From the classic to butter pecan, no variety is off limits. Each one has it's own distinct flavor, but there is always that taste of cheese that brings it home.

3) Feel--For me, the texture of cheesecake is best summed up as a creamy, velvety, dense piece of heaven that has a contrasting crunch from the crust. Nothing takes me away more than the cool caress of a perfect bite of cheesy goodness on my tongue.

Not only do I love eating them, I also love to make them. I have made several over the years and realize that they are not really hard to make. They do take time, but most of that time is spent letting it come to it's full, and very real, state of potential ecstasy on a plate.

Now I need to make one!!! Hmmm...which one do I choose????

Orders, Voicemails, and Whines

Today was one of those days. Questions, additional work, voicemails, emails, etc. filled my day with what seemed to be an overabundance of work for one day. Don't get me wrong. I do like to keep busy but at a reasonable pace. There were several times I wanted to charge my stupid fee. But prevail I must and prevail I did. When the time came to bolt like lightening, my rear end was out of there faster than two jerks of a sheep's tail.

The day started off innocently enough. There were a few orders left over from yesterday and I proceeded to take care of them first thing. After my co-worker arrived, the newer orders started coming in at a fever pitch. After working together for a while, I sent all orders to him because my manager asked me to key in a few semi-large orders for a few of our customers. As I was doing that task, my phone kept ringing and my co-worker was getting more and more inundated with work. Once I finished with the orders, I listened to all the voice mails and before I could delete them all, more were waiting for me. In addition to all of that, the internet at work was slow today causing us to take more time to order parts and ask questions. I ended up going to lunch 30 minutes later than I normally do which put my co-worker later as well. While he was away, I tried to catch up as much as I could, but I never could stop my tires from spinning in the mud of the day.

The icing on this cake of a day was when a customer in Mississippi had called in looking to see if a certain part was available. There was a big note on the slip that said the "customer was waiting". I usually ignore those notes and put them at the bottom of the pile in the order that they arrived. They are no more important than the people that called in before them. When I finally got around to looking for the part's availability, I found out that it was not at the online location and had to call in. It was available at the supplier and being armed with the facts, I called the customer back. She proceeded to tell me that she had already waited an hour and that she had gone ahead and ordered it on the online system. I about crawled through the phone line to ring her jaw. Why in the world didn't she just order it from the very beginning instead of calling in with a demand and wasting my time? Obviously the answer was at her fingertips the whole time and she didn't need to call it in. People like that drive me absolutely crazy!

Another issue was the a particular Midwestern DC. This DC nitpicks everything and is always calling in the ask why we did such and such or why we didn't do it that way, etc, etc, etc. It seems to me that this DC and several others have given up what little customer service they had and have "transferred" it all to Raleigh. They expect us to do everything just like they did before the change. How can we, being up to 1500 miles away, know what is going on in their area and how to service their customer better than they could there?? Their excuse is that they are low on staff. So what? We aren't fully staffed for all the work we have to do, but we do it anyway. They need to keep in mind that they are still working in customer service and that taking care of the customer, no matter how trying, is important. Quit passing if off on someone else.

Thanks for reading. I had to get that off my chest. I could go on and on and on, but you would fall our of your chair with boredom.

Until next time, have a blessed day!

Forget-me-not

Forget-me-nots (Myosotis) are species of flowering plants in the borage family. They are usually a beautiful blue color but sometimes come in white or pink. Their unusual common name is the subject of two legends. One German legend has it that the original plant cried out to God "forget me not, O Lord" and God said that shall be your name. Another legend tells of the time when Adam and Eve were leaving the Garden of Eden and the little plant cried out for them to "forget me not!". As I was listening to the sermon this morning, I thought about these plants and how it should apply to us.

American today has largely forgotten God. No more are we a nation that has God at the forefront of our collective thoughts. We marginalize Him to the outermost edges everyday by not thanking Him as we should, rewriting Him out of our history, demanding "separation of church and state", not teaching Creation in the schools, and going about our daily lives as if He doesn't even exist. While America hasn't yet gone the way of the pagan nations of the past, if something doesn't change, we will certainly be among them. It is certainly a shame that a country that started with such promise would be reduced to ashes and ruins by forgetting the very God that allowed her to be as great as she is.

America, in general, needs to forget her forgetfulness and return to God in a broken-hearted spirit and humbly beg His forgiveness. If not, I fear what will happen to this great nation I call home. It is deeply troubling and saddening to see it in this state of decay. May we all turn from out pridefull sin and fall on our knees before His Majesty and seek His will for our nation before it's eternally too late.

Judges 10:11-14
And the LORD said unto the children of Israel,
Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and
from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon,
and from the Philistines? The Zidonians also,
and the Amalekites, and the Moabites did oppress
you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out
of their hand. Yet ye have forsaken me, and have
served other gods; wherefore I will deliver you no more.
Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let
them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

Let's pray that a time such as that will never come to America. God will hear our prayers and will see our humbleness. Let's do it before it's too late

Summer Jammin'

Well, today was the first day in this year's self-imposed exercise of forcing my sister into the kitchen. I gently, but forcibly, push her into doing things she never would do because she needs it. She is always thinking she can't cook or doesn't enjoy cooking, but I know better. Down deep she really does like it (love will come, I am sure!) because I have seen it in her eyes. Anyway, today's task was to start on this year's jam/jelly making for the fair.

The day started out well enough. She first made Festive CranStrawberry Jam. We did have to scrounge around for some cranberries in July, but we were able to find some in the deep, frozen wasteland known as the bottom of the freezer! I thought it would be a very pretty jam and it turned out very well. It was also very tasty!! (We always have to sample the goods!)

Secondly, she took a turn at Spiced Plum Butter. It was her first fruit butter and I thought she did pretty good with it. She is a bit slow with the slicing and dicing, but she adamantly refused my help! After cooking the fruit, it was time to pulse it in the food processor. Never has her food processor received such a workout! After the fruit was smooth and it was time to pour, we quickly found out that the processor bowl was a little too full. After some quick maneuvering and slightly burnt fingertips (mine!), we managed to get it into the pot for cooking. Since I have only made a fruit butter once before and am still in the learning stage with that wonderful spread, we managed to overcook it slightly, and it was a bit sticky. But it still tasted good! Next time, we will know how long to let it stew into a spreadable, edible delight.

After that, I was able to help her a bit with the processing of the third one--Orange-Peach Butter. (Yes, another butter!) This recipe, however, told us the length of time to cook it. I did find out that she is a better peeler than I am. Who knew? I helped a bit with the oranges, but she did most of the work again. After it was cooked, she ladled it into the jars. I was helping her with the lids and while trying to pry one off a new jar, it flew through the air and landed in a pot of grease that was waiting to be thrown out! I quickly rescued it from it's oily resting place and immediately gave it a hot, soapy bath before placing it on it's prospective jar. This time, we cooked it just right and the color and taste of this butter is absolutely wonderful!

Our final one for the day was Blueberry Jam. It was pretty straightforward for a jam--blueberries and sugar and pectin, cook, jar, bathe. She did have a slightly difficult time finding something to mash the fruit, but she ended up doing fairly well with one of those wire potato mashers. After cooking the jam, she jarred it, put the lids on, and gave it a water bath pretty much by herself. It was time for me to leave and I knew she could handle the job.

All in all, she did well today. In a few more days, we will have round two to finish up the rest of the recipes I have planned for her to make. We might even try another round of Spice Plum Butter!

Until next time, have a "jammin'" time!