Political Nutrition

Especially when you live in Arizona. And no, I'm not aiming for a political metaphor. With few exceptions, you don't find too much grass in Southern Arizona. No sounds of mowers humming or smell of freshly cut grass on a Saturday morning. No lush green manicured lawns to envy. No sprawling out flat on your back in the park and making animals out of clouds on a spring day. In fact we have no spring. Don't really have seasons. We have Summer, which is hot. We have winter, which is not as hot. We have the rainy season, which means a 10% chance of rain on any given day rather than 0%. Umbrellas aren't a common household item by the front door. Sure it's pretty in its own way day here. Some people find the desert beautiful. I'm just not one of them. I'll admit I was lured by the swaying palms and crystal blue pools surrounded by a manicured lawn...at the hotel we stayed at that first time. I said "I can live like this." No Tornados. No Earthquakes. No...

It's starting to feel like we're trapped. Trapped in the desert with no way out. What was once a beautiful place to live and raise our kids has become a desolate, mean spirited place. Where people boast openly about being bigots. Brag about being cheap. Proudly wear their low moral character like a badge of honor. Not my friends, of course. I choose them wisely. But it seems the "majority" here that keep skewing the polls actually exist. I thought it was the media at first. Then I blamed faulty polls. But in all honesty I think it's safe to say Arizonans, for the most part, are just pretty bad people. The majority want all the "illegals" to leave. They love that word. Makes those who's visas have expired common criminals. Great. This same majority doesn't want higher property taxes. They don't want any more taxes at all. They'd rather see our schools shut down. That'll teach those wasteful school administrators a lesson. Um yeah. A...

OK. So the news hit the streets that the infamous iPhone upstart, Android, has now gained 28% of the US market share, quickly shooting past iPhone in less than a year. Apple cries foul! You are giving away your phones! Market watchers agree, saying that this is not a true sales indicator. Well, duh. But so what. Marketing 101 people. It's not a question of how many phones using the OS are purchased, those are simply one time sales numbers. It's about how many people are using it. So if you give one phone away for every one purchased, twice as many people will be using it. For 2 years at a pop.  And that will generate significant future sales through upgrades. Not of the OS, which is free, but the phone itself. Apple could give away iPhones if they wanted to, but they didn't, and they won't. For Apple it's about the integrity of their price points. It's worked for them so far. Better product, quality rules, and so forth. But then along came Android. And a t...

Mother's Day. I will put aside every bit of stress and angst and pent up hostility at the idiots we have elected to office and focus on family. Today it's about being a mom. It's about my mom, who raised 6 kids in a crazy place and time and we all managed to turn out ok. Of course the term OK is relative. And yes of course my dad was there too, but this is MOTHERS DAY. So it's about her. She did well, and now that she has finished that phase of life she is finally free to move on to her next phase...the active senior lifestyle. No, not golf, or Mah Jong. Uh uh. My mom is out there venting all that pent up frustration and angst and stress about those idiot elected officials. You go mom. She's still looking out for us. And we've yet to really show our appreciation. Meanwhile, I have spent a relaxing day reflecting on my biggest achievements. My daughters. They are two of the quirkiest, most joyous, adventurous, cynical, imaginative young women you'll ever ...

Guilt is a really sucky thing to feel. Especially when it's a result of doing what has to be done. I need to sell my house, and I am running a facebook ad. One most of my friends will never see. Because i'm doing some very careful marketing. Keywords having nothing to do with buying a house. I mean really. This is facebook. And who wants to move to AZ? Well, Tea Partiers would love it here. So would the NRA. Or the Right Wing Conservatives and the Fox Noise viewers. There are millions of people who think Arizona is just a slice of heaven. Well, they're welcome to it. I'm getting quite a few hits on my ad for my house. No bites yet, but we'll see. And thus we have the guilt. If any of these morons actually buy my house, there goes the neighborhood. And I like my neighbors. A lot. And it's not right to burden them with crappy, ignorant, narrow minded bigots for new neighbors. It's wrong on so many levels. But living here and raising a child here is also wron...

So what is it with us Americans and our fervent desire to be safe from everything. Literally. Just the idea that we might be at risk for some unforeseen danger will stop us in our tracks. Surely our ancestors would not have gone very far or lived very long with this obsessive compulsive risk disorder. But yet here we are, rational, thoughtful human beings so intent on being secure that we've created the gated community. As we drove by one such neighborhood this evening, I happened to notice a lovely couple out walking their dog, returning, evidently to their home in the community. I waited, breath held, to see if they were going to punch in a code and open the gate, or use the new scanning devices I've seen. They did neither. They simply walked along the sidewalk to the right of the gate. Sooooo, the gate only keeps cars out. Not your more astute burglar who may simply park in the lot next door and use the sidewalk as well. Reminded me of the private high end country club in an...

I really am trying hard to keep a positive outlook on this whole sell the house find a house thing. I've just been through it too many times. And though each time I vow never again, it's meaningless. So here we go again. I have spent countless hours online searching for our next perfect dream house. In the perfect place. I don't have a short list of absolutes, not after 4 apartments and 4 houses I don't. I have a list that stretches from my front door to the Atlantic Ocean. Maybe a few feet further. Like most people, we started our marriage out in a modest, perhaps one might say ridiculously modest apartment, and 23 years later, can finally say "we love our home." We'll start with the fact that our current house is our dream house. Or pretty close. It has everything. From the fabulous stone facade and courtyard entry to the 2-story living room and huge master suite. And the all important ATTACHED GARAGE, 2 car. We wanted 3 but gave it up so the kids cou...