Monthly Archives: April 2009
breaking the dam
i know, i know. what’s with all the bottled up posts bursting out at once? sorry… i tend to write immediately when i’m inspired or compelled – usually when i think about something enough that the words get backed up in my brain and must be released in order to order my thoughts. this isn’t always at a time when i can polish it up with the links, photos, and “does this even make sense?” check that i’d like to before i mindcast. so it sits in the drafts. i often don’t feel any urgency to return to complete the task once i’ve satisfied my need to write about a particular topic. i know that’s not very considerate to my readers, but frankly, i think it’s obvious that i don’t do this to gain lots of readers. the very name ~~myOLIO~~ indicates the self-indulgent nature of this blog 
. however, i do enjoy interacting here with friends and family who care enough to endure my bombastic blathering, and i don’t want you to think i don’t appreciate your feedback. so i apologize for holding out on you, and will be much better about finishing what i start in the future. thanks for being patient!
LOL – pancakes & cream
a weekend trip with my brother reminded me of this story from The List. it’s good for a giggle at least. i’m afraid the laugh-out-loud factor might have a you-had-to-be-there quality, but i suppose i’ll let you decide:
IHOP is a sort of unofficial meeting place for family. it’s my dad’s favorite place to eat, so i’m sure the tradition started when my siblings and i were too small to have any say in the matter, but it’s become a familiar familial setting for us. for as long as I can remember we’ve stopped in on family road trips, saturday morning breakfasts, and countless other occasions. we even stole away to the pancake house for a precious hour the day of my wedding. suffice it to say that i have plenty of memories under the big blue roof in cities far and wide.
on one such outing we were seated and waiting to place our order (menus are barely needed). while we chatted my sister absentmindedly fiddled with one of the mini coffee creamer cups from the 
shallow bowl on the table, pressing on the sides to create a rhythmic “pop-pop, pop-pop, pop-pop” sound. i don’t think any of us really noticed, save for the distracted directive from my mother of “don’t play with that.”
“pop-pop, pop-pop, pop-SPLOOSH.”
there was a moment of silence at the table as we all took in the scene: my sister’s wide eyed face splattered with white cream, not to mention her hair, clothes, and surrounding table, seat, and window.
in an instant our booth erupted in howls and hoots at my sister’s comical condition – oh, if only i had a photo of her frozen there with the burst creamer container still suspended between her fingers.
we had just finally composed ourselves and starting mopping kel up when we were rewarded with a fresh round of laughter. while we were wiping away sprinkles of cream around our table, an unsuspecting window washer had made his way around the perimeter of the restaurant to our pane. his methodical broad strokes across the glass soon turned to vigorous scrubbing concentrated on the little white dots that wouldn’t budge.
safe inside the tinted windows, we all rolled and roared, wiping away tears as he eventually abandoned his futile task and ambled to the next window. quite a lot of entertainment packed into that tiny plastic vessel!
coming clean (green)
with earth day approaching in the u.s. (and recently observed worldwide) many people have been focusing on all things green, eco-friendly, & natural. i think the heightened awareness and education is great.
but i have a confession: my environmentally conscious behavior is motivated more by selfishness rather than consideration for the planet. don’t get me wrong, i wholeheartedly believe that we should protect the earth’s valuable resources and take care of the home that God gave us. but i also believe that His plan for eternity will not be thwarted because humans destroy the earth before He has a chance to complete His purposes.
anyway, aside from a genuine respect for all of God’s creation, i tend to focus on preserving nature because of what’s in it for me. energy efficiency is friendly to my budget as well as to the environment. conservation appeals to my frugal side as well. i drastically limit my use of toxic chemicals because of the horrible effect they have on my health, not necessarily because i’m measuring my carbon footprint. backyard gardening is an enjoyable hobby for me, plus organic veggies can be expensive and difficult to find. i try to buy local because i like to support my community; the fact that less energy is spent on unnecessary transport is a bonus. my avoidance of animal products is not really because of the industry’s huge contribution to climate change or because it promotes animal cruelty (although their treatment is appalling and reprehensible). it’s because those products are not best for my body. not to mention you could feed the entire hungry population of the world with the grain they waste fattening up livestock to be butchered. i shop with reusable bags and recycle because…well, that just makes sense. i think you see where i am going with this. i look all tree-huggin’ on the outside, but i’m really not all that honorable.
i suppose in truth i act eco-responsibly for all these reasons (selfish and selfless), and i would probably do most of it even if there was no personal reward. but i’ve always known deep down that my primary motivation is not as green as it seems, and it feels good to get it off my chest. so reduce, reuse, recycle with gusto – it’s good for you and our earthly home. and i think God would be pleased to see us treating it with care.
