The 7-year Itch

I think I finally understand the idea of the seven-year itch, and no, I don't mean the movie. 

It's not just some random number that people throw out in conversation, nor is there anything magical or supernatural about the number itself. At the end of the day, it's just about the amount of time it takes for it to sink into a human's brain exactly who they're living with. Some people are slower on the uptake while others are a bit quicker, but seven's a nice ballpark figure to go with.

Not that there's something wrong with the other person, per se. But there are always little things, pet peeves or minor irritants, that a newlywed thinks will go away, will change, or will in some way miraculously become, if not palatable, then at least bearable. 

After seven years, however, it finally hits the no-longer-quite-a-newlywed that the problem didn't resolve itself on its own, and neither did the other slew of annoyances. In fact, as a few may begin to realize, if any change at all is to occur, that change must come from within. 

Most people, however, are unwilling to accept any such responsibly and, therefore, look around for the closest new person that they could conceivably find attractive in the right light.

These unfortunate people believe that their problem is their partner and, moreover, that if they choose a new partner, these problems will disappear. However, unless they accept their own responsibly in their next relationship, similar problems will resurface after seven years (if not sooner).

Google Chrome Issues and Why They're Not

My husband and I have recently been arguing about Google. Essentially, he thinks that Google is the pinnacle of perfection, whereas I think ... well, I just think he's wrong.

Therefore, when my Google Chrome browser began experiencing problems that lagged the Internet throughout our entire household, eliciting screams of despair from three males at once, I blamed Google. Little did I know at the time that I was actually correct.

As it turns out, Google Chrome has a little issue with Adobe Shockwave Flash. Basically, when I was perusing multiple open Chrome browser tabs at once, Chrome was apparently also trying to run multiple instances of Flash at once, causing severe lag and leading to eventual Flash crashes on all of my open windows.

After I looked up this problem, I discovered that the best solution appears to be setting all of my plug-ins to a sort of use-on-demand state, where I can choose to either turn a plug-in on or keep it off on a given tab, as per my whim. (You can do this in Google Chrome's advanced settings under "Privacy." Click "content settings," scroll down to "Plug-ins," and select "Click to Play".) For me, this means that Flash does not attempt to run every time I open a browser tab in Chrome, thereby bypassing the whole "Flash crash/super lag/male screaming fit" thing.

After making this change, I can now peacefully open multiple browsing tabs using Chrome without causing a masculine meltdown. But, more importantly, this whole debacle reveals just one more chink in Google's armor. Take that, husband!

A Brief Thought on Credit Cards and You

So, I discovered that Modest Money has a page where you can compare credit card offers to find the one most suitable for your purposes. While some people are against the use of credit cards, I believe that if the person using them is responsible and handles them properly, credit cards can actually be good for people to use.

For instance, I have used Discover card for nine years with absolutely no problems. In fact, I receive one percent cash back from Discover on every purchase that I make with my Discover card, and I receive five percent cash back on certain purchases. Since I never spend more money than I would otherwise be spending (and therefore, never more money than I have to spend), I am able to pay off my credit card bill every month, thereby avoiding interest charges and late fees.

In this manner, I essentially earn a free 1-5% cash back on all of my purchases, just by using a credit card. This has been a very lucrative arrangement for me, although I'm sure  that it would not work out for everyone. I think everyone responds differently to credit cards, and different credit cards are best for different people. The key to using credit cards to your advantage is to make certain that you never spend more money than you otherwise would spend.

Crazy Lady at the Gas Station

Down the road from my house lies a Taylor gas station. I frequently visit this gas station so that I may procure their awesome sodas for my offspring and myself. I firmly believe that their carbonation/syrup mix, combined with their crushed ice is easily the best drinks in town.

Today, I went there and began the slow and arduous task of unbuckling my 2-year-old son and 6-month-old daughter. Since this includes finding and replacing the shoes and socks that my son has taken off during the ride over, this can take a while.

While I was thus occupied, I overheard a woman at the pumps. Her mouth must have been a blur of action as she emitted strings of cursing. Among other things, I overheard her call someone a ... well ... I'll be PC here and say "the N word."

I did not know what was going on, and frankly, it was none of my business, so I continued unbuckling the children. At this time, I noticed a large black woman waddling in my direction. She was muttering things as she came, and I was under the impression that she was talking to me.

As she passed me by, she very loudly said, "white trash." Although I was by now almost certain that she was talking to me, I ignored this comment, as I had children to consider and she was clearly insane. Therefore, I went into the gas station.

The black lady stood near the front of the store surveying the other people in the gas station.I hurriedly filled my cups and made my way to the checkout counter. Sadly, there was a line.

By now, a Mexican woman was at the drink fountain near the back of the store. The black woman waddled over to her and said "Mexican _____." I had never heard the word that she uttered, but it must have been some slang that was very, very bad.

The Mexican woman stood in shock while the black woman made her way back toward the front of the store. Then, the Mexican woman said, "Excuse me. Are you talking to me?" The black woman said, "No, I ain't talkin' to you -- why would I be talkin' to your Mexican a**?"

At this point, although I was up to the counter and trying hard to get the cashier to hurry, she was distracted, and I was stuck.

A bald, buff man who might be considered a Neo Nazi came over to me. He said, "I'm sorry, but this woman scares me. I want to protect the kids." I thanked him for his consideration, as I was quite certain that this woman was insane, and dangerous.

Meanwhile, the yelling had continued between the Mexican woman and the black woman. Amid threats of physical violence, the Mexican woman said, "I'm going to call the cops on your a**!" In response, the black woman wisely chose to make a quick exit.

After the door closed, the people in the gas station looked like survivors of World War III. The unfortunate Mexican lady was confused asking, "What did I do to her?" I answered, "It wasn't your fault. That woman's crazy."

"Really?" she asked.

"Definitely," I replied and, having paid for my drinks, I vacated the premises.

More Random and Sporadic Life Events from Yours Truly

Well, the youngest kid is crawling. Meanwhile, the 2 year old has learned the impressive skill of taking off his diaper and throwing it in the toilet. While I appreciate the thought, I can't say that I honestly appreciate the action.

I believe in my heart of hearts that the throw-the-diaper-in-the-toilet trick is a direct result of the training that he has received from my husband. And before you ask, no, my husband does not throw his own diaper in the toilet. Instead, whenever my son has a dirty diaper, my husband takes the diaper to the toilet, where he proceeds to transfer the contents into the toilet. He has some strange belief that our son will see this action, and form a connection between the excrement and the toilet. Instead, I believe he has formed a connection between the diaper and the toilet. So I end up fishing sopping wet dirty diapers from the toilet all day. Which is less fun than it might sound.

In other news, I have begun doing some freelance writing and editing for a site. It has been going very well, but keeping me quite busy. As a result, my blog posts have been even more random and rare than ever before. Nonetheless, for the last few days, I have been making a concerted effort to make posts here and there on my blogs. My conclusion is that I have too many blogs to maintain them all very well. However, I am loathe to delete any; therefore, my posts to all of them will continue to be rather random and sporadic, only more so.

Although there are many more things going on in my life, I think I hit on all the key points. Let's see...crawling, dirty diapers, and editing...yep, I think that pretty much covers it. How is your life going?

Basking In The Luxury Of Life

Ah, the sounds of my life. A screen door banging against the frame, its handle long gone. The sounds of the neighbors driving their odd machines up and down the road, heedless of what time of day or night it might be. Dogs barking for reasons that are unclear. My son snoring in my lap peacefully after a morning of uncertainty.

And as I sit here, relishing these moments, I understand that they will not last forever. Time passes more quickly than I could have imagined as a child. It seemed that life would last forever; then, before I knew it, I was grown with children of my own. I see my father, and I realize that he has few years left. I treasure every moment with him. Always, in the back of my mind, I fear that I will not see him again.

Every moment that passes is a moment that will never come again. When it comes down to it, that is what matters. A person's race, religion, political views, opinions, job, level of wealth ... all rubbish. Enjoy life by the minute, without prejudice, without anger. There is not enough time for that sort of silliness.

Let's live.

One Tweet, Two Tweet, Three Tweet, Four

Have you ever noticed how one tweet often leads to another? Sometimes, I'll be scanning my twitter page and see someone's tweeted response to someone not on my list. I then find myself clicking that person in order to follow the conversation. But then, when I get there, I see something that the second person said to a third person. I click that and it goes on and on.

Today, while doing this, I happened upon a person's page that I was not expecting. It seems that a sexually charged married young woman uses twitter as her outlet for her sexual desires.

Many things I think in response to this, but I think the most pertinent is "What are you thinking?!? Don't you know your husband is going to find this?!?" But then, maybe he should. Maybe, if he does, he'll realize that he's apparently...ahem...not keeping up his end of the bargain. Or, more likely, he'll just be really angry, and it will cause even more marital problems than already exist. Seriously - marriage counseling - try it.

I have recently discovered that orange chicken is very good, while being much less sexually charged than some people's twitter pages. I have also found that the Chinese place down the road gives about twice as much food on a plate than I could possibly eat...in a day. Which is awesome. Leftovers are yummy too. So, for a grand total of $8, I can have two days worth of meals or one day worth of meals for two people. How cool is that, I ask you?