The other day I wrote a list of things that I was enjoying. That got me thinking that an easy post to write would be the stuff that I wasn’t so happy about. In all honesty, it was much harder to come up with this list. Retirement must be agreeing with me!
1. Winter: Don’t tell me that it’s unusually warm or that it hasn’t even snowed yet. It’s still freaking cold! The mid-thirties is not balmy. The only good thing about winter is that there aren’t many bugs or snakes.
2. Extreme Couponing: Have you seen this program on TLC? It’s all about people who use coupons to stockpile massive quantities of food and toiletries without paying for them. These people proudly show off their hoard of body wash, Tabasco sauce, or toilet paper that they stack under the beds of their children, in their dining room, or on shelving units built all around their living rooms. They get all this stuff because “it’s free” with coupons, even though they can’t possibly use it all. While I love a good sale and I use coupons myself, this program glorifies behavior that borders on compulsive. I wonder how many of these families will go on to appear on Hoarders.
3. Presidential Campaigning: I’m already tired of the 2012 presidential election. Last week Newt Gingrich called the house every evening just before dinner and I don’t even live in Iowa or New Hampshire. (The spouse is a registered republican.) I hang up on Newt and never pass his message on to the spouse. It’s only January and it is disheartening to think that we’ve got eleven months of these robo-calls and negative TV ads before we finally vote.
4. Going to the dentist: I spent the morning in the chair at the dentist. I broke a tooth over Christmas eating caramel corn. These days every trip to the dentist is never just a check-up or a simple filling. Pretty soon I won’t have any natural teeth left. I have more crowns than the queen!
5. Exercise: I know I need more exercise and now that I’m retired I can no longer claim that I’m too busy. Now I complain that it’s too cold…and last summer, it was too hot!
I really had trouble coming up with five things I didn’t like, but I did think of some new things to add to my like list.
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I can totally agree with four of your items. Winter is my favorite season so I need to keep that one.
ReplyDeleteI finally joined a gym. Since they deduct the money from my account monthly, I need to go to get my money's worth. I'm the only old person and occasionally I have to ask one of the kid managers to turn down whatever is blaring so I don't go deaf listening to my own book. I get a kick watching the youngsters come in. The Y would work, too. My daughter uses her local Y.
ReplyDeleteI am not a solo exerciser. I like company, so I belong to the Y and attend classes, swim, and lift weights. I also like to hike, but not alone. I need others to motivate me. It works for me. Sorry to hear about your crown... boo!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say going to the dentist is my favorite thing but I really don't mind it. I've had everything done that a dentist can do and I've yet to experience any pain .
ReplyDeleteI agree with your list, especially the one about the elections! Oh, I just hate the phone calls and the tv ads. I don't watch a lot of tv anyway, but it will be less and less as time goes on. It's a long time til November!
ReplyDeleteI am having the same dentist woes. It's disheartening to keep having those teeth fracture off and fall out! I feel like my mouth is held together with super glue, and yes, lots of gold in them thar molars!
It's too cold to even get in the car to go exercise! I want to go, but it's so hard to get out of the house! I also need people and motivation. I've been trying to get back to the pool, but it doesn't take much to talk myself out of going.
Great list, you got me thinking!
Thanks for commenting on my latest post. I see that I am on your blog list, and I've just added you to mine. I also see that you live somewhere in Oregon? Perhaps Hermiston?
ReplyDeleteI have to confess that I enjoyed your 'don't like' list more that your likes. What does that say about me??
Nana, I think its more fun thinking of positive things, and I think that you agree. Never mind, I guess we need bad things sometimes to help us appreciate the good things - Dave
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about winter -- and in the UK it's also dark. I was surprised to find though that when we lived for a year in Washington state it was wetter than here -- I'd never seen moss growing on trees before! I am always grateful to be 'here' and not 'there' when the U.S. Elections come around -- especially the years of presidential elections! I think I'd be turning off my phone... Now you've got me thinking what my list would look like!
ReplyDeleteGee, we are on the same longitude or something like it!
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain, and agree with your selections.
ReplyDeleteI had to get a temporary crown on two teeth, side by side, clear back in September. I broke the temporary just before Christmas eating popcorn. My dentist, who is also my brother-in-law, was just leaving for Hawaii so he sent me to someone else to get my temporary replaced with another temporary. I will have to get those fixed soon. I also seem to have more crown lately than the queen. HA. Loved that line!
I don't watch TV but have heard about Extreme Couponing. Don't they have a problem with expiration dates? Fairly often I have to toss something out because it's expired, and I don't have a whole room full of stockpiled stuff. Everything has an expiration date these days. I think most of their super buys will expire before they can possibly use them! If they want to use their couponing skills to this extreme, they should donate their swag to a homeless shelter or to an area food pantry.
ReplyDeleteBrrrr, I hate the cold too - I could never live in a place that has extreme winters! That said, we do tend to have a lot of wind and rain over here. I don't mind it so much, 'cos it's a good excuse to just hole up in front of the fire.
ReplyDeletePolitics, meh! I truly don't understand the American system at all - but then that's hardly surprising, I dwell on a self-governing island with a population of 70,000, if anyone wants me to vote for them, they uusually call over in person, usually with a packet of biscuits to share (grin).
Dentists, only a masochist enjoys their visits to them, surely? We don't have that whole coupon thing going on over here, I kinda' wish we did! As for exercise (spit), I grudgingly walk the dog, surely that's more than enough, eh?
I'll go along with your list of don't likes -- altho' I'm TRYING to like exercise, I really am. As for your previous list, can't say I like Dominos and I don't (yet) have any grandchildren, but I do like West Side Story, and I LUV my comforter (the only good thing about winter).
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