I’m Just Saying

What More Can I Say?

/ Ally Bean / 14 Comments

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Try as I will to make myself believe that Valentine’s Day is a Big Deal, I cannot do it.  I understand that it’s a holiday and that it’s based on love & friendship.  Love is good.  Friendship?  I’m all for it.  

And  I get that many people think that it’s the most romantic time of the year.  I’m happy for them.  Enjoy.  

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But to me it’s just another day in the middle of February– and a good excuse to buy a pretty bouquet of red/pink/purple flowers.  And maybe eat some expensive chocolates.  Nice things to do, but not all that compelling.  

I don’t have any specific reasons why I feel indifferent to Valentine’s Day, but I do.  So instead of pretending otherwise, I’ll just end this Valentine’s Day post with the wisdom of Eeyore.  I think that he sums up my thoughts beautifully.   

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“We can’t all, and some of us don’t. That’s all there is to it.”

~ Eeyore 

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It Takes All Kinds To Make The Holidays Go Round

/ Ally Bean / 15 Comments

Every so often I cross paths with a certain woman who I respect professionally but wonder about personally. Frequently I find that her thoughts on various matters challenge my preconceived ideas.  I like talking with her because she always gets me thinking.  Which I like to do.

So, when I saw her this last time she was opining about Christmas.  Specifically she was talking about presents (give gift cards only) and alcoholic drinks (a must for all festive meals) and holiday greeting cards.  It was this last point that caught me by surprise.

This woman hates holiday cards.  Thinks that they’re a complete waste of time, money and resources.  In fact, she shared with me, that when a friend sends her one, she doesn’t even open it and just throws it away.

That’s how much she dislikes holiday cards.

I’m fascinated and appalled by this woman’s cavalier approach to holiday cards– and by extension, I believe, to friendship.  I like receiving cards of all sorts, so it has never occurred to me to not at least open a card addressed to me.

Yet here was someone I’ve known for years telling me quite casually that a card from a friend is of no consequence to her.  That the effort involved in sending it means nothing to her.  And that her friends should really know better and not bother her with holiday cards.

I don’t know that her point of view is going to change my card sending behavior;  I’ll continue doing what I do.  But she did remind me to not make any assumptions about anything.  No matter how innocuous it may seem to me, I now realize that there is a possibility that someone somewhere is tossing aside my gift of friendship holiday card… unopened.

Duly noted.

Does This Never End?

/ Ally Bean / 10 Comments

I’m bummed.

I thought that Tuesday was the last day of November… and that would be the last day on which I would need to post something here on my sweet little bloggy.  But I was wrong.

Apparently, November continues on until Wednesday this year.  Humph.

Okay.  Quick show of hands: who can’t read the calendar?

Knowing that I have miscalculated the end of this NaBloPoMo project and that I have nothing worthy of note to say on Sunday, worries me.  If it is this difficult for me to find something to talk about today, then whatever will I blather on about tomorrow?  And the next two days after that?!

I guess that we’ll all find out together, won’t we?

Because right now, I haven’t a clue.

…Whose dumb idea was it to do this anyhow?

A Glimpse Within

/ Ally Bean / 5 Comments

In the course of getting to know a person have you ever seen a photo of the inside of his or her home and:

  1. knew immediately that you two were on the same healthy wavelength & moving to the same vibe?  Or,
  2. knew instantly that this person was not mentally balanced & that it was time to walk away from the relationship?

I’ve had both situations happen to me in the last month.

I’m not talking about judging the decorating style of a home as acceptable or unacceptable according to your own vision of beauty.  That’s subjective.

I’m talking about seeing how things are put together in someone’s home and realizing that this is not how self-aware, sane people do things.  That all your vague, non-specific doubts about this person have been confirmed by one glimpse within his or her home.  That he or she is, indeed,  just as crazy as you sensed he or she might be.   

My message here?  Pay attention.  Trust your gut.  Live happier.

If only I’d known this at a younger age, I could have avoided lots of awkwardness and craziness.  But I didn’t.

Now I do.