New Year brings New Changes

It's a new year in more ways than 1. On July 23rd I started a new year in life. The numbers changed and so did my outlook on life/ Then came a New Year in the Jewish calender(it's 5770, I believe) and things changed in my life. I will no longer be a medical biller for the ENT office I have been crossing Reisterstown Rd for for the past 3 years. I will be trekking 30 minutes or so to learn the front desk for the same company, just another office. I can't deny that I saw the writing on the wall. I knew that billing was not my forte from day 1. I applied for front desk and was thrown in waters with a white great white shark. I knew that but thought I had some safety nets nearby. My safety nets had holes... Aways watch your back- there are people out there who will try to eat you up alive for reasons of their own..

My Roots

My Great Great Grandfather ? TaylorBubbie and her sisters. Notice The shoes on Bubbie's feet.
Bubbie with her second husband.

Louis William Oberfeld and Mayme Taylor Oberfeld. My maternal grandparents.

My Parents Gerry Ilene Oberfeld and Lieutenant JG Stanley Lloyd Fox

Quandry

I often spend my valuable time (wasting it )pondering things that just pop into my head with no forewarning. I wonder if other people have the same experiences. Do they hear a song and remember where they were the first time they heard it? Can they recall who they were with when they heard that melody? Do they think of that person when once again that tune is heard? I do. I'll hear a song from yesteryear and remember not only the tune, but each word from the lyrics. I'll recall who I was with the first time I heard it. I'll see their face. know their name, where they lived and how we met. What I ponder is, when did we stop being friends? Why is it that people can share their deepest thoughts, their secrets, private moments, and then suddenly all those shared things are forgotten. You'll see them on the street or in a social place, and not even acknowledge them. There is no break up(usually), just a drifting away. A silence that like all those memorable times is shared. Yet no one speaks. What causes us to go our separate ways without so much as a goodbye. Kids do it all the time. They change schools, they move to other neighborhoods, they play different sports, they have different classes. The person who was your best friend and closest confidant becomes a stranger. Someone you might see on the street and nod to, but keep heading towards your destination without so much as a hello. It seems to happen over night, or over a season. You lose contact, promising yourself to call, to write(in the precomputer facebook days), but the promises are meant for the tomorrows never to come. Why is that? Yes. people get busy. Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans. There ARE faces and places you remember all your life even though they have changed. What I wonder is, did your feelings really change as well? I don't think so. Maybe we are just embarrassed by our inactivity. Maybe we are harboring bad thoughts from misconstrued conversations. I don't know. I don't even understand it. I do know that I have seen it happen in my life, and I see it happening in the life of my children. It makes me sad. And life does go on within us and without us.

The Perlin's Annual Pig Roast

The Perlin's had another pig roast and we did indeed eat pork and all sorts of other things. I ate like a pig, I do believe that pigs eat corn and I had some corn chips, but alas, the corn pudding was gone before I could get to it. The desserts were yummy. The best thing about it is that we get to see out buddies that we don't see all year. Steve Smith came with Tony, but Andrea is working very hard on her new pathology studies and could not make it this year. The Brohawn's came and Kathy shared all the good news about her boys, A new surprise couple came, and I'm sure Roger and Jane Gookin had a great time, Jane made fab cakes that are actually Maryland State cakes called Smith Island. Yummo!!! Can't wait til next year!! Gail took great photos and we have them to print and post. A fantabulous time was had by all!!!

Staycation

Stacie doing the moon bounce, too short to hit her head, or maybe that is why she is openmouthed,,,,

Staycation started with a trip to Trappe MD for a birthday party for Mandi's 30th . The ride was not fun and took way too long. Stacie drove and entertained us all by threatening the SUV next to us who obviously had a linear issue- which line did s/he wish to be in? Stacie showed him/her that little tiny fist and her flipflop and

the right left moving ceased. The dreaded bridge took over an our to get on and across for some unknown reason, making an hour + ride over 3 hours. We were still happy and excited because we were reuniting with out beach pals from decades ago. It was Mandi's birthday party and it was fun fun fun. I wore my fave red dress with a purple belt because truth be known, I do not own a purple hat..yet. Stacie and Lissa played on the moonbounce thing which I avoided as I had on a pretty thong that I did not care to share with any onlookers. Frightening people at a BD party is just not proper etiquette. I ate a nonkosher hotdog(horrors!!) and lots of sweet chocolatey things. Alas, we had to leave way too early as there was another party to attend. This time the damn bridge was over and done with before my panic could set in. Ready to go boating.

It's getting better everyday

Summer is my most favorite time of year. It's when the sun shines down on me and turns my freckles into one mass that looks like tanned skin. It's when it is safe to walk with Baxter when the sun is down and not have to wear a sweat shirt(most nights). It's when my eyes look their greenest without contacts. It's when everyone is outdoors enjoying fresh air and swatting at flying insects. It's a time when you see people you haven't seen in 300+ days, and share gossip with, and new foods. Yup ahuh, I do like summer. My only question is, why is it that when I have a day to be out, the sun is in??? Have you ever considered that people and squirrels have alot in common? No people do not purposely cause car accidents(why do you think the ad people came up with those commercials?) but they do cause car accidents. And like squirrels, people gather up their nuts and berries and store them for the winter months, disappearing only to go out foraging for more, then back in their dens to eat and sleep. Enough rambling about people and rodents. Speaking of which, I hope the mice find other lodgings this winter. My house is not a mouse hotel. They were unwelcome guests who did not clean up after themselves or leave a tip under the fridge when they left. Getting back to summer. The fourth of July is the best holiday there is. Much better than the winter holidays. Even the music is better. Christmas music is nostalgic while Sousa's marches leading to fire in the skies has everyone tapping their toes or acting like bandleaders. Fun fun fun. Of course there are people who do not appreciate John Philip Sousa and the like, and they can stay home. I can listen to Stars and Stripes Forever and the Washington Post over and over again. I'm sure when I am walking down the street marching like Robert Preston in the Music Man I start some interesting conversations by passers by. They are just jealous . And that's all I have to say today. Good night. Sleep tight.

Random thoughts

I am 54 years old, soon to be closer to 60. My hair has turned gray and silver. My right ear is turned off and doesn't work any more. My ass has gone south. My eyes are green. My skin always looks like I have been in the sun. I have lumps and bumps and if you can't get past that, screw you. I spend most of my waking hours at work, with Baxter, and very often alone with me. I have plenty of time to ponder the world around me. I have the gift of accepting dream visits and sensate visits from the dead living among us. I hear voices and it does not scare me. I look forward to those visits. Sometimes I am disappointed because visitors have better things to do than come to Earth as often as I would like.I think it is cool that when you expect nothing and get something, it is a double gift. I also have learned that on the other hand, if you expect nothing and get nothing, you will not be disappointed. I am lazy and hate to clean. I do a lousy job cleaning. I am not Superwoman( learning that was a utter shock), Samantha the witch or Tony Nelson's Genie. I bob my head and the mess is still there, I twitch my nose and the mess is still there. If I try to multi task, something gets fucked up. I love shoes but am not fond of today's fashion. I should have lived in the 40's. Great shoes and dresses back then. I sometimes wish for the impossible, but look forward to the possible. Odds baffle me, something either will be or it won't be. Odds are 50/50. See what I mean? And often times, it is what it is and there is no rhyme or reason. So live with it and move on. It will change sooner or later. We all have a purpose in our lifetime. I probably will live a long time because I still have not an inkling as to what I am supposed to do, and I am 1/2 way there. Alcoholism is a mean disease. Living with an alcoholic is like living with someone who is bipolar. And it does affect everything. I know from experience. If I could live anywhere, it would be in the South. I think I would make a really good Southern lady. Just call me Weezer- may be spelled wrong, but it's my Blog. I don't need to live on the water, but close enough to it . No need for a boat, canoe or a kayak. I do need a wrap around porch with a swing and ceiling fans. I'd like to smell camomile and sandalwood and lilacs.

This is my family. The people that I live and would absolutely die for in a New York minute. I am the woman in the purple shirt sans a red hat. Stacie is grinning ear to ear. Melissa was Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm with her braided hair, and Carlos stained his shirt BBQing. We look like this often.