The Petraeus Scandal: When Supposedly Smart People Do Definitely Dumb Things

November 14, 2012November 15, 2012 / Ally Bean / 21 Comments

[Sub-titled: Keep It Zipped, People]

Because I’m smitten with this developing story…

You’re Not Going To Believe The Latest Developments In The Petraeus Sex Scandal

But you know there’s more to this than you might think at first glance…

Clusterf*ck Chart

Then you have to realize that from my laid back point of view it is entertaining that…

Woman Linked to Petraeus Is a West Point Graduate and Lifelong High Achiever

It is, of course, ironic that…

Online Anonymity Nearly Impossible, Petraeus Emails Show

If confused by any of the foregoing, then you need to remember…

General David Petraeus’s Rules for Living

Then there’s this little development…

Classified(?) Information Magically Appears at Broadwell’s House

Also, what’s a military sex scandal without a reporter named Bonk involved?

Paula Broadwell’s License Discovered in D.C. Park

Not to mention that just like in a soap opera there is an identical twin sister…

Jill Kelley and Twin Closely Tied to Top Brass

A twin sister who needed two generals to vouch for her…

Petraeus & Allen dallied as furor over Benghazi raged

And finally, the last piece of this scandal yet to be revealed…

~~WHO IS THE SHIRTLESS FBI AGENT?~~

Meet the Shirtless FBI Agent from the Petraeus Love Pentagon

Can you see why I’m intrigued? It’s RHONY + The Simpson’s + NCIS all in one story. Who’d of thought?!

[Last link added 11.15.12 – YES! I can rest now that I have all the pieces of the story.]

Sometimes The Boring Answer Is The Best One

November 13, 2012November 13, 2012 / Ally Bean / 14 Comments

I saw an acquaintance the other day. She is a serious woman who is businesslike– with her eye on the prize at all times. Not quite like me, in other words.

We stopped to talk for a while. She told me about what was going on in her life. And then asked me what was new with me.

What I wanted to tell her was that…

I’d just bought on sale at Kohl’s a new multi-color beaded necklace with a turquoise pendant on it…

that I had put on my concrete flying pig– known as Girlfriend Pig…

who stands on an antique fern stand/bookcase in the corner of our living room…

where she contributes positive energy to the room…

which, according to feng shui principles, is the bagua of our home concerned with helpful people & safe travel…

so, OBVIOUSLY, things were going pretty darned well for me.

However, I didn’t tell my acquaintance my first thought. I knew that Girlfriend Pig’s new jewelry and my subsequent good energy flow would be JUST. TOO. MUCH. for my acquaintance.

So instead I told her about our latest home decorating project– hanging mirrors, new & old, around the house. This, I realized, was a topic that she could latch onto and appreciate. Very literal and whimsy-free.

But nowhere near as interesting as flying pigs and discount baubles, imho.

What Do You Value Right Now?

November 12, 2012November 12, 2012 / Ally Bean / 10 Comments

~ • ~

I. While researching the concept of “values” I found this Checklist for Personal Values. The checklist intrigued me so I did what the author suggested and picked the 10 values that mean the most to me [in alpha order]. Then I chose which 5 values were most important to me [in bold].

change & variety
economic security
effectiveness
freedom
friendships
good health
inner harmony
nature
respect
wisdom

II. I then ranked these 5 values in order of importance to me until I had the following list.

good health
inner harmony
economic security
change & variety
respect

III. Then I sat here and thought about what I’d learned about who I am today. I realized that:

I no longer care as much about being right as I once did. Whatever, people.
I no longer care at all about status. If I ever did.
I no longer believe in as many abstract principles as I did when I was younger. What is, is.

IV. I did this simple little exercise in self-awareness just to see what would evolve from it. I don’t know that these results surprise me as much as they confirm what I already suspected about my middle-aged self. Which is that I’m pragmatic, well-balanced & curious as ever.

~ • ~

If you enjoy learning a little bit about what makes you tick and you have the time [5 minutes max], give this exercise a go. It was rather fun, I thought.