Cattula

They Should Extend HIPPA Protection to the Grocery Store

Just got back and the clerk commented to me that the lady in front of me had too many carbs and too much sugar.  Then he said he recognized me and appreciated that I usually work in some vegetables.  But, he acknowledged, I had more freedom with cooking since I have no kids.

I thought living in a large urban area met I had a certain level of anonymity.  I'll have to start sneaking around to get my Ben & Jerry's.  Got to keep the sugar addiction on the down low.

Gratuitous Bragging

I was so happy when I bought wine at CVS ( a real perk of living in Virginia) and the clerk gave me a suspicious look and asked for my ID and even pulled it out of wallet because he was sure I was lying about my age - because somehow - at the age of 34 - he wasn't quite sure I was 21.

The Power of Language

A fellow blogger recently wrote a post on religious holidays without the religion - which got me thinking about language and categories and how we attempt to use language to classify and understand each other.

I describe myself as a Christian, and more specifically, a Catholic.  But I by no means agree with everything the Catholic church does.  I think it some ways it would be clearer to say I am "generally Catholic."  But if you read any studies on the topic, you will find most U.S. Catholics could say the same thing.  I heard a Bishop on NPR the day after the Presidential election expressing surprise that so many Catholics had voted for Obama, when the Catholic church had been pushing for McCain (without explicitly saying so - I don't want to give the false impression that the Catholic church made an explicit political endorsement).  But that's just it - U.S. Catholic are a finicky group - who prefer to make their own judgments and come to their own conclusions.

And I think it would help all of us if we could look beyond the labels.  I'm not going to advocate that we give up  labels - that would be crazy.  We need to categorize our experiences to some extent.  But often the reality is more complicated than the label.  I am a Catholic - but I think gay marriage is fine and I think women should be allowed to be priests.  Similarly, I can't assume I know everything about how a person without faith feels.  I need to ask, and seek to understand.

On a related note, I saw a weird phenomenon occur recently on a message board I like to visit.  The board is centered on supporting people in a particular difficult situation.  Some members began to assert that their pain was in some way deeper or more real than others - that there are levels of pain and the board should split off into about ten different boards.  I can kind of see this - just as there is a difference between having  stage 1 cancer and stage 4 - but at some point, we need to put aside our differences and support each other.  You can spend all day delineating the many ways in which your pain is so different, so unique, that no one else can understand.  Or you can use your pain to allow you to connect more deeply with those around you - who no doubt have suffered - maybe not the same pain as you - but in this life no one gets off scott free. 

My Search For Happiness...

aka as my google search history for the past few days:

• TV shows
• Bored at work
• TV shows available over the web
• Weffriddles
• How long to stay in a job
• Weffriddles spoilers
• Happiness
• Happiness at work
• The Nest
• The Nest = Happiness
• Hope

So there you have it - my search for nirvana in bulleted form...

An End to Slackerdom...

I wish that referred to my job - but it does not. I still persist with little work to do - certain that at any moment NBC news will show up at my office to do a "Fleecing of America" segment on how the taxpayers spend too much money for me to troll the Nest, plotting for the creation of a character named "KnockedUpBitch592"

It does refer, however, to my lack of posts. My liteny of excuses is long and boring, but I promise myself - and all of you - that I will break free from my perfectionism for one week and actually write something every day, or every weekday, or um...more than once.

So...what have I been up to lately? Well, this weekend the husband and I put in a real, live offer on a house. It is a cute townhouse within walking distance of the suburbs. Since it is a short sale, it could be a while before we know anything. And according to our real estate agent, "a while" equals up to one month.
So keep your fingers crossed....

In the meantime I'll be dreaming of my new life...you know, the one where I put all my clothes away in that fancy new closet instead of just strewing them across my floor like I usually do, the refrigerator is full, and I actually enjoy dusting...