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Find me on Twitter if you want. Beth explains it a bit in one of her recents blogs. My screen name is Mama Townes, if that helps.
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Celebrity Look-alike Collage

What a riot. Thanks to Beth for the idea, who actually got it from another blogger. Who doesn't like to be told they have similarities to Cate Blanchett? I thought I'd better go through them one at a time to see if I could tell why they compared me to them.

Neve Campbell: hmm. I can actually see a similarity, which I never would have guessed. Darken my features and put on the red lipstick, and voila!

Mischa Barton: not really sure here. The nose? The ash blonde hair?

Christina Aguilera: nose and lips?

Cate: I don't really care the reason, as long as there's some hint of truth to it!

Fiona Apple (love her): no idea really, unless it's the nose again. Who would have thought my nose would be so common? It must be because I didn't use a profile pic. :)

Minnie Driver: huh?

Nina Hagen: now here's one to write home about. Anyone who knew me well right after high school knows I used to actually listen to her music. Anyone out there remember "New York, New York"? As for any similarity, the narrowed eyes are all I can see.

Emmanuelle Beart: never heard of her and have no idea why they think I resemble her.

Others on the list were Amanda Peet and Holly Marie Combs, but you can only choose eight.

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Genology - Familytree

Voting early

In an attempt to avoid the anticipated mayhem that might be voting day, Ed and I went to the polls last night. It was the longest Ed and I have ever had to wait to vote. As I sat there watching people and pondering on the greatness of this country, I wondered why politics are so divisive. And then I realized that there are two things that tend to divide us as people. What are the two things that many people vow never to discuss? Politics and religion. If you think about it, those are two of the most, if not the most important issues whose ideology we can espouse. They both reach every facet of our lives. Imagine if we lived in a country where we couldn't vote and couldn't worship as we saw fit. We've been spoiled as a country to enjoy those rights, and I think it's starting to show.

Aside from that, as I sat there, watching the registrars taking names, I was pleased to see a 60-something gentleman working alongside a 20-something girl at one table, and a 20-something guy working with an older woman at another. Who knows what their beliefs about religion or politics were? It didn't matter--they were working side by side to provide this basic right to each of us. For that I was grateful. And it thrilled me to see all of us as Americans, taking the opportunity to vote to make our country better. I hope that rather than allowing this process to remain divisive and potentially become more so, that we will put our country first and our party second.

And on that note, maybe we should elect our leaders the old-fashioned way: sans electoral college. The one with the most votes becomes President, the runner-up, Vice. Might end some of the partisan politics. Or at least minimize it. We can dream, after all.

Lefties unite!

Or, "dyslexics untie!" I think I saw that somewhere once. Cracked me up. But back to the original reason for my post. Lennon has conceded that left-handedness is equally cool as right-handedness.

We shall prevail!

The Way Home

Lennon (my 8-year-0ld) and I watched a wonderful Korean film a couple of nights ago, called "The Way Home." It's about a young boy who's left with his grandmother while his Mom tries to get a new job and straighten out some things she's going through. It's a gruelling bus ride to get to this small Korean town where she lives, and she has no running water, no TV stations, and not much of anything else, either. The kid is a total brat. He calls his Grandma a retard because she can't speak, and basically makes fun of her and takes advantage of her wherever he can.

I pointed out to Lennon what a mean little boy he was, and Lennon asked, "How old is he?" I said, "Seven." To which he sagely replied, "Oh, well he'll figure it out when he's eight."

You might wonder why I think the film is wonderful, given the situation. You'll just have to watch it to find out. :)

Left or right?

I know I already posted today, but I have to let you know the latest battle at my house: left vs. right. As most of you know, I am left handed. When Lennon found that out, he was, um, stunned? I'm not sure how he felt about it, but somehow over the course of the last several months he's decided that he needs to prove to me that it's better to be right handed. Cracks me up! I'm sure I started it somehow, by stating that it's cool to be left handed, or whatever.

We now have an on-going battle about which is better. It all started with him claiming that more people are right handed in the world, so it must be better.

A typical banter:
Lennon: More people in the world are right handed, so it's better.

Me: Yeah, but that makes being left handed that much more special.

L: Well, look at all these superheroes on my comic book (pointing them out individually to me). They're ALL right handed (because each is holding some type of weapon in their right hand).

M: Yeah, but I could kick all their butts with my LEFT hand!

L: Sonic does (insert action here) with his right hand though, so it's better.

M: Then why do you bat left handed?

L: Aurgh!

It pretty much keeps me in stitches. I'm happy to let it drop, but Lennon seems set on convincing me of the error of my ways. As if I had much to do with it. ;)

I've been tagged

So my niece, Rebecca, has tagged me. I thought I needed something to distract me from my lack of work, and so I will work on this before finding other distractions (such as the Primary program, and a funny blog I'll add tomorrow about Lennon and me).

OK, the rules are listed at right. And now for 7 random and/or weird facts about me:

1. I'm a recipe addict. I think this is listed in my profile, but I'll risk putting it here, too. I collect recipes all the time, and I love them! I rarely get to cook as much as I'd like, but if I ever get the chance, I'll have plenty of recipes to keep me busy.

2. I proofread menus, billboards, flyers, etc. without realizing I'm doing it. I'm not perfect in my grammar by any means, but I certainly know the difference between its and it's. It's a sickness, but I'm a lot better than I used to be.

3. I'm a recovering Packrat addict. The new format certainly helped with this. Fellow PRers will know what I'm talking about.

4. I'm not very good at coming up with 7 random/weird facts about myself. But I am realizing that I have a few addictions/sicknesses I should give some serious thought.

5. I hate raisins.

6. If I get laughing really hard, I cry a river. I can't explain it, it just is. But I have to be laughing really hard. (I had to call a co-worker for help.)

7. I love to learn new things. Beekeeping, yoga, beadwork, etc. The only problem is, once I've "conquered" whatever it is I'm learning, I easily lose interest. That's one reason my job is good for me--it's constantly changing and challenging. Plus it puts food on our table. :)

Now the other hard part- tagging 7 others. Since Rebecca and I link to all the same family posts, it will prove difficult, especially since she tagged 5 and they're all family. Does it count if I tag them too, and they just participate once? I would tag Lauren, Beth, Brenna, Jesse, Jeanne, Kelsey (all family) and Trish (not family).

Working yourself out of a job

I am having the absolute worst time getting into my job lately. No ambition, no spark, no drive, no enthusiasm, no nothing. I sit here at my desk pondering all the things I should be doing, and just find a big, blank, empty well of nothing to draw from. I still go through the motions, mind you, but my heart’s just not in it.

A friend here at work just came in, who’s been involved in our employee compensation study. It’s been a long, painful, drawn-out process, and I really respect those who have been involved. We chatted for a bit, and I only bring him up because he’s been my sounding board for my realignment proposal here at work. Not having a degree has really hurt me in a lot of ways. Not in every way, because I’m someone who knows how to learn and can usually figure things out. However, in my proposal I suggest re-structuring the communications staff and conservation staff into one section/division/department. In doing that, we would need a new management position to oversee both facets of the division.

It makes good sense to join the two; most of our external messaging is conservation, and by myself I’m unable to keep up with external and internal needs. It’s too much. Up to now, we’ve been using an external PR firm, which, incidentally, no one in house can stand to work with except the assistant general manager, who ultimately decides whether we’ll rehire them or not. (And yes, he knows how we feel.)

Anyway, all of that as background information now brings me to my perceived source of apathy: a grandfathering of degreeless employees who have been put into positions that require degrees, but a moratorium of hiring any others into new, degree-required positions.

My boss, the general manager, is opening a window for said degreeless employees to issue a proposal on how they would pursue their degrees and what they would go after. All fine, you say, so what’s the problem? My dear husband, as mentioned in an earlier blog (see "Stress sucks"), has just returned to school himself. Adjusting to both of us working full time has been a trick; adjusting to that plus him returning to school has been painful, and the thought of me joining him is just excruciating. Only in that we have just one computer, no free time together, and our house is a disaster. My children are barely kept clothed and fed (ok, I’m exaggerating on that last one). Adding to the current work and stress load would certainly put me over the top.

So, here I sit, with this wonderful proposal in the works, basically working myself right out of a promotion. Sigh. Beth pointed out that surely I could go to school online, since I already spend quite a bit of time there. Yes, I probably could, but I just don’t think it’s in the cards, all things considered. There’s a difference in hitting the "refresh" button once in a while and having to read, study, and basically work a second, part-time job, which is what Ed’s counselors have told him he will have to consider his schooling.

The good news in all this? We are adjusting, and life is good. His schooling has not been anything extraordinarily taxing as of yet, and I’m still holding my own. Whew. I guess I’m just not ready to upset a just-balancing apple cart.

So, am I nuts? Does any of this make sense? Am I crazy to miss this opportunity? I guess I should finish this entry by stating my intentions should my proposal go through and we actually hire someone with a degree: I will work towards having part-time hours here at work and stay more at home. I like that idea, especially with teenage-boy years coming up. That, my friends, seems like the opportunity not to miss. Schools will always be around, but my young sons will not.

And finally, to bring this full circle: I suspect that my apathetic attitude has something to do with my sense of foreboding. Nothing really left to strive for; hence my lack of interest. However, as my friend who came into my office said, "I’m sure it will pass."