The power of the Vibe-o-Meter

It’s a friend’s first day of work. Maybe your sister is driving home through the season’s worst blizzard or your best buddy is sitting in the hospital with her ailing mother. There are so many occasions when you want to send warm fuzzies or “Be Strong and Brave” vibes.

Enter the Vibe-o-Meter.

After an initial simple calibration, the Vibe-o-Meter will deliver --with variable intensity—bolstering vibes suitable for any occasion. Perhaps your friend is mourning the death of someone special. Set the dial on HI and she will feel your warm and supportive hug across the miles.

Your son is asking his boss for a raise today, so you set the Vibe-o-Meter on LO, because you don’t want him swaggering into that office like Steven Segal – he just needs a little self-confidence.

A good friend told me her daughter was having dinner with a guy she’d admired for a long time and was very nervous. I told her I’d dust off the Vibe-o-Meter, get it recalibrated and have it ready to go at 7:30. She said, “Don’t turn it on too high. We don’t want her coming home pregnant!”

Ah, the well-known power of the Vibe-o-Meter.

I’ve yet to have anyone phone me from the bar where they’re dancing on the table to ask me to turn the danged thing down, but it does pack a punch. Caution is advised. You don’t want your niece deciding to skip the parachute on her first sky dive because you’ve got the Vibe-o-Meter set on HI and the little minx is just way too comfortable with jumping from a plane.

Next time someone says they are facing a scary, sad or otherwise difficult situation, you can help. And, later, when they report how smoothly the event went, or how confident they felt, you can sniff smugly, shrug and say, “Yea, well, that was probably me and my vibe machine. Just glad to help.”

Behold, the power of the Vibe-o-Meter.

Emily's junior high Mardi Gras dance

My niece is a sweet peach -- although you probably can't tell it from this photo!

She and her friends got together to get ready for their Mardi Gras dance and this is the result.

I remember junior high very well. I felt brave as long as my friends were doing the same thing. Is junior high the beginning of that feeling of "safety in the pack?"

I have to admit that Emily has never been afraid to be her own person.

Watching her grow up is a delight.

Down with night classes

How was my Photoshop class last night? Let me just say, a three-hour night class is not a good time for me to learn anything technical – or non-technical. I start to shut down about 8 p.m. The doors and windows are locked and nothing can get in. Nothing.

Imagine me on a date. A guy’s got to make his suave moves while we’re looking at menus if he wants to leave an impression. Any later in the evening and cleverness is wasted on me.

Last night I felt like a zombie during the final hour of the class. The young whippersnapper instructor led us through a series of Photoshop projects and I was keeping up with everything very well until about 8. In the middle of the last project, I made a mistake and erased everything on my screen. I stared blankly at the screen. Fudgebiscuits.

Then apathy set in. I stifled a yawn.

Instead of asking for help to get restore the project, I just sat there and pretended I was done with it. I allowed myself to look around the room smugly, in fact, just to complete the illusion. I knew there was no point in getting help because my brain already had its jammies on and was starting to wash its face.

Sue glanced over at my screen. “Are you done, already?”
“No. I erased it by accident,” I hissed.
“Why don’t you –“
“No,” I said, shortly.

She peered at me, saw the Zs circling my pupils, and mentally handed me a fuzzy blankie.

She's a good friend, that Sue.
ZZZzzzzzzz

A teeny morning adventure

I was standing in my dark kitchen this morning, filling the coffee maker, when I happened to look out the window over the sink. There, hovering just above the arborvitae shrubs outside, the big full moon and wisps of silvery clouds were caught in a patch of silvery sky. I was entranced. In the cold dark morning, it looked magical.

I dashed out into the 12-degree darness in my jammies to start my pickup. Inside, I grabbed my camera, the first dribbles of coffee and my coat. My heart was beating like a snare drum. I was going to drive out of town and sit in my warm pickup in my comfy jammies, drink the first cup of coffee of the day and watch the moon set. It was going to be lovely and I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about it.

When I got outside to my pickup, I found all the windows iced up. Fudge. I looked around the side of the house…moon was still there. OK, so I quickly scraped little holes in the ice and jumped in.

Somewhat speeding down my sleeping street, I looked west at each intersection to make sure the moon was still there.

Before I got out of town, however, which is only a matter of three minutes, the silvery moon was gone.

I turned around and came back home.

Was I disappointed? A tad. But, mostly, I was happy. I was happy that I am the sort of person who will jump in the rig to go watch a moon set at 5:30 in the morning. I was happy that I live in a little town on a prairie, so that experience is possible.

I was happy to be me. In this life. Right now.

Danger of middle-aged learning

Maybe it is just because I’m 48 years old and learning a lot of new things after years and years of thinking I know everything. I’m learning how to blog, how to manage a Web site, doing a lot of writing and learning how to be successful at two new jobs. Sometimes I feel as though my brain is actually swelling. I’ve been periodically checking the mirror and everything looks the same, but I’m feeling unmistakable pressure.
Any day now, I expect my skull to split under the pressure and sort of mushroom. I hope my hair still fits when that happens.
Hey, think of the fringe benefit: All the wrinkles around my eyes and mouth will be pulled taut as the skin expands to accommodate my larger brain and skull!

Get Out of Day Free card

You know how sometimes you wake up feeling rested and fine and then you remember what is on your plate for the day?
Maybe it is something truly awful like going to court, or saying goodbye to someone special or moving. Maybe it is starting a new and challenging job or getting through your last day at a job you love.
Maybe you’re feeling fat and all your pants are a size too small. Maybe you used self tanner over the weekend and are somewhat stripey.
Maybe you’re just feeling crappy and don’t have any enthusiasm for the duties ahead of you today.
Whatever your excuse, serious or trivial, I have something for you: a Get Out of Day Free card, courtesy of Pig in Flight. (You are quite welcome.)
This card practically requires that you stay in your jammies and scuff around your house all day, take frequent naps, watch old movies and not answer the phone.
It will permit you to step out of the world temporarily to rest and regroup and should be used without guilt. In fact, guilt will cause the card to melt and render it valueless.

Enjoy!

Rose hips on Kooskia Tram Road