What's more refreshing?

As I watched this video on how to make a vodka gimlet, I couldn't decide what was more refreshing, the drink or the bartender's t-shirt. ;)

Pity vs. Compassion

What's the difference between pity and compassion? Please discuss.

Old Man Grumpus Blues

Remember Old Man Grumpus from Matt Groening's "9 Types of Boyfriends" Life in Hell comic?

I am wondering whether I should accept my attraction to curmudgeons, or attempt to cultivate an interest in less aggravating guys. Since I'm pretty crotchety myself, I'm not always comfortable with the cheery.

Good News on the Loving Front

After months of volunteering at a nursing home, unsure if I was really helping anyone, I met with the new volunteer coordinator who gave me more direction. So, hopefully there'll be a lot less "Who the heck are you?" when I show up in residents' rooms to offer social contact.

The Fog of Scheduling

Okay, people in family units.

Would someone out there help me understand why scheduling get-togethers with friends winds up being so damn difficult? On the surface, it seems pretty straightforward. People want to get together. Someone picks a time or a range of times, or everyone states their availability. Then one person from the group says let's make it Tuesday at 5:30 or whatever, and people agree or disagree with that. Case closed.

But no. Nooo. Noooooo. The whole thing is apparently draped in an anxious fog of doom.

And now I will release my own vapors. Just because I don't have a lot of personal obligations doesn't mean my time is any less valuable than anyone else's. Still, I, with my fairly empty dance card, do not feel comfortable trying to schedule things with busy people without asking them when they might be free. Apparently, this is the wrong thing to do. It's even more imposing. It was bad enough of me to try to spend time with others. Now I want to know when. So, I seem to wind up selecting the times for many gatherings with people who are much busier that I am. And it has become tiresome.

"Okay, how about 3 a.m. on Monday at the corner of Are You Kidding and Woodland Avenue?"

"Oh, no! That won't work."

"No? What works for you?"

"Oh, I don't know. Whenever."

P.S. This is not intended to represent a conversation that actually took place.

Whenever has a cool, casual ring to it. "Whenever you like." How nice? But whenever is also when things happen that you don't give a shit about. Whenever doesn't really exist.

Communications technology makes scheduling worse. It shouldn't but it does because people think they can keep shifting things around and it also makes it seem better to not schedule things until the last minute.

Real Health Care Reform Now

Let's catapult our country into the 20th century! Please start writing, calling, harassing your leaders to give them the backbone to reform America's health care non-system.

We are in a position to look at what has worked in other countries for decades, pull together the best ideas, and lay a foundation that fits our nation. But wheezy blue dogs are standing in the way. Why? Why-hy-hy? It's about as radical as home computing and women in slacks.

Legislators: Get a clue, get a spine, and serve your constituents.

People are dying from ailments that have known treatments. Never mind the money that is wasted when people have to rely on expensive emergency care for problems that could have been cheaply treated or prevented if they had access to real health care from the start. It is indisputable. Come on!

A Creepy Honor

I guess I don't really want to know what's going on when people select me as a favorite on dating websites, but don't bother to contact me.

What to do with That

I think I am a loving person, but I need to figure out what I can do with that, given my situation.

There's a great need for love and affection in this world, but there are so many barriers to delivery. I don't think it's easy to give love properly. It's hard to give it in a way that it will be recognized and received. Sometimes, the love I have to offer someone isn't enough. Other times it's too much, or I don't know how to make it stick.

Maybe I'm not such a loving person, and what I had been offering was something else. Maybe it was love, but the other person saw it as something else. How can I know?

I don't know why not knowing these kinds of things still upsets me after all these years.