What........you're going on vacation??

People are rude! 

I am going on vacation and you would think that the world has ended.  A factoid that I did not seem to know about was that people who own businesses are NEVER to go on vacation and ALWAYS be available for the general public.....always!  (Thank you for letting me know this)  Just kidding!!!

Do not let me know this!  Do not snap at me when you phone......if you want good customer service (or even want me to return your call when I get back)......do NOT be rude to me! 

Being in business gives one flexibility.  I can choose my vacations, but contrary to some people's belief, I do not just pick and choose at a whim.  I work hard before I go and I work hard when I get back.  Somewhere in there I have to make up the time off and being that I am the only "employee" of the company, it falls to me to do that.  It's probably why many business owners think twice before they take a vacation.......it's a lot of work!

But, thankfully, I have approx 8 more days of fielding phone calls before I leave.  I will not have telephone service when I get there and limited email access, so I can truly say that I will be on vacation.  Something much needed and I am looking forward to it.

And my customers......I am pretty sure they will still be there when I return........if I return.  LOL

GermanG

Meloncholy muse

Melancholy: Depression of spirits; a gloomy state continuing a considerable time; deep dejection; gloominess.

I am in a melancholy state.   Is it the weather.....the lack of sunshine one should find in the months of "summer"....perhaps. Is it because my vacation is only 2 weeks away and instead of shedding the five pounds I had planned to I have gained five more? Could very well be!

Whatever the reason my melancholy mood will remain hidden from the rest of the world.  Why?  Because that is what I do. Stemming mostly from  being a private person where that area of my life is concerned.  Few people know me well enough to see through the "everything's great"!  Few of us (I am equally guilty) stop long enough to have a second look and see what is really swirling behind a person's comment.  We rarely glance twice as we whiz by asking, "How are you?"  Few of us listen well enough to hear when someone is saying they are not.  Again...I am just as (perhaps abundantly so) guilty as the next person.

But really, what is there to say when some problems cannot be fixed and you simply don't feel like telling the whole world.  I have never been that person to emotionally vomit all over someone else.  I like to be there for my friends, but don't have the patience for people who get "stuck"....mired down in things they don't even want to fix.  I don't expect it from others.

And so, the weather suits my mood.  It is melancholy......as am I.  And that is ok with me.

Besides......my trip to Germany (all alone) is just around the corner and sure to lift any mood I am in!

GermanG

Do we really need to legislate that??

How come cigarettes get picked on by the Canadian government?  It's their "glamour" indulgence if you will, that legislates tobacco manufacturers to post those nasty images on a package of smokes to "deter" a person from having a puff. 

First off I would like to say that I call myself a non-smoker but do enjoy a cigarette now and then, especially in the summer months.  I do not struggle with addiction in this area.  Food is my indulgence.  The photos on the package do not deter me.....nor my husband who is a hard core smoker.  Nor does the price, or even the social stigma attached to it.  Pass by someone enjoying a pipe or cigar and people will smile.  Pass by a smoker....disgust!

Now, what I am trying to get at is this......why do they pick on cigarettes, when it's clearly a persons choice that dictates their decision to smoke?  There are a plethora of items that are unhealthy.....why no disgusting photos on them???

Indulge me on this........

-All junk food should have pictures of obese people, enlarged hearts, mounds of fat......any number of things.....plastered on the bags. I mean, if they think it will work for cigarettes.....just saying.

-Alcohol....how about photos of car wrecks, torn limbs, wheelchairs, etc.

-Condoms should have photos of children weeping when families are torn apart from adultery, pictures of gonorrhea, syphilis or a person with aids. Or pregnant people...THAT"S a deterrent!

This list could go on and on.  My point is this.  We all have something called free will.  We can choose to do something, or choose not to do it.  And many who are addicted to cigarettes will not quit no matter how much we nag or legislate them to do so. 

Unless......you would make them pay for their own medical bills.  I know it would work for me.  If I got heart disease due to me constantly shoveling food in when I am not hungry, I just might re-think my motives.  Hit me in the pocket book and perhaps...just perhaps....I might not eat so much.

But we all know that will never happen.  Just as making manufacturers of cigarettes plaster nasty photos on a package of smokes shouldn't happen either.  Don't single them out unless you are going to target every other indulgence that will lead to health issues.

In my opinion.....that is discrimination!

GermanG

The week the Women went

I saw a show yesterday called "The week the women went".  It was highly entertaining though I found it extremely difficult to relate to some of the women.

First off, some of the women were crying BEFORE the even left, saying how much they would miss the kids!!  What is the matter with you!!??  They were sent to Banff at a 5 star resort to be pampered all week!!  Not something you cry over unless it's tears of joy! And when they returned the tears came again.....hardly waiting to see the kids (funny none of them said the husband).  Ok...I admit....I would be crying a bit, but only because I would be fearful of the state of the house and how much work would be waiting for me at home!

It was an eye opener for most of the men.  Surprise....we really don't sit around all day eating ice cream and watching soap operas.  Especially if we have young children.  If we have older children we multi-task and eat our ice cream in a cone, in the car....on the way to the soccer game!

Most of the men found it exhausting to work and look after the kids.  Those with older teens often pawned the younger ones off to them while they got in a round of golf.  Typical.  When I go away, it is not uncommon to phone home only to find out that our son has been shuffled off to the neighbours while the hubby "relaxes". Wait...did I say relax??  What I meant to say was "tidy up the garage", which is code for sleep on the couch all afternoon and then go to the garage for about a half hour so that technically, it's not lying. He did actually "tidy" the garage.  :P

One particularly annoying fellow on the show (a live in boyfriend) was not even present when his girlfriend returned.  He was golfing with his buddy and when interviewed later asked if he was supposed to have learned something from the experience?  I sure hope she did......leave him!

I guess I am just a horrible wife.  I don't miss the kids and I don't miss the husband.  I enjoy myself while I am away.  They will survive and perhaps even come out the other side a bit more independent......like their mom.  And when they get older, I (by my example) will have made it easier for them to leave their families guilt free. 

Sometimes it's tough being a mom.......but someone's got to do it!  :-)