Saturday, October 25, 2008

Donuts

Occasionally, rarely, on my most dreamy mornings, I get donuts at my little donut shop up the street. Always donut holes. They seem pretty innocent, as bite-sized foods usually do. (But just like other bite-sized food, I realize they're dangerous!)

My donut shop has had several different owners over the years. But all of them have been Asian, and all cute, lean women- and one man! They are surrounded by donuts every day, but they don't look like they eat them. Or even do any taste-testing while they're working!

So I'm wondering, not just, "How do these people keep from becoming doughy around all these donuts?" but also why most of the people I've ever seen that own donut stores are Asian? Does anybody have an answer?

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Talking to No One

I am currently at the Dallas Public Library- One of my favorite places. I love being surrounded by books,magazines, cds and dvds- all for the taking- FREE!

I am also currently sitting across from a woman talking to herself. She has her phone in her hand, and she's about to make a phone call. I guess she's preparing herself for the upcoming phone call. She sounds mad. Just now, her 4-ish year old, Dane, has come up to her, wanting to sit in the chair with her while he looks at the book he's picked out. She tries to shoo him away saying she's about to make a phone call. But he disregards what she says and stays and smooshes his little body in the chair with her. Her phone call is going to be something big, I can tell. And I'm especially glad to be at the library today. I'll admit it, I'm a voyeur and I like to see what people are doing when they think no one is watching.

Oh no. She's really just calling around for a DVD. The library was suppose to hold it for her, but apparently, they did NOT. This is an outrage.

As soon as she hangs up the phone, she makes comments about the conversation, that I'm pretty sure Dane cares nothing about. It's sort of the equivalent of talking to herself. Except Dane just happens to be beside her and now it doesn't look quite as strange if someone were to walk past her.

I've always been so fascinated by people who talk to themselves. Do they realize they are doing it out loud?

She just got up and walked over to look at the books. And now she's talking either to, or about, the books. Dane is still here by me, so the words coming out of her mouth aren't directed to him. Or anyone. I just hear her mumbling away.

Is Dane going to grow up to be a man that talks to himself? Does he find it odd that his mom talks to herself? He doesn't seem to notice. I guess this is normal for him. And for her. How does he know when he's suppose to listen to her, and when he's suppose to ignore the conversation she's privately trying to have with herself?

She's ready to go now. So her and Dane are off. No more mumbling. The library is quiet once again.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Glad

I'm glad I went to the Texas State Fair yesterday, rather than waiting until today. It is pouring down rain today!

I'm glad it's raining. I'm glad it's a dark, drizzly morning, and that both of my doggies are laying nearby snoozing as I write this.

I'm glad I recorded my "50 songs in 90 days" on my digital recorder because there is no way I could have remembered most of the songs I wrote otherwise. I'm glad some of the songs, most of them, are worth wanting to remember.

And speaking of the fair, which I was at the beginning of this post, I'm glad I didn't eat any of the foods they have to offer out there. I might be feeling sick today if I had. I'm glad other people ate those big turkey legs tho, and I got to watch. I'm glad the State Fair is in Dallas. I'm glad there are so many interesting people to watch. I think that's my favorite thing about the fair, actually...the people watching.

I am just glad, glad, glad...
Life is good.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Bread


I used to be a 1st grade teacher. It may sound funny, but back when I was a teacher I was at the peak of my financial earnings. If as a musician, I could make what I made as a teacher, I'd feel RICH.

That isn't to say that my life doesn't feel rich. In many ways it does. But I do sometimes feel a little sad that I don't bring more bread to the table. Or that I don't bring home more bacon to fry up in the pan.

My husband is nothing but supportive and never makes me feel inferior about my meager earnings. But it must sometimes feel to him that he lives with a teenager making minimum wage. I sometimes feel that way about myself.

I try not to buy into the starving artist mentality. But if I had only my earnings to live on, would I starve? Or would I just go back to teaching and once again, be rolling in the dough?

Monday, October 6, 2008

The Guide


I've heard the (print) newspaper is a dying breed. I still subscribe to the Dallas Morning News, and read it every morning. Altho it's now so easy to get news online, I still like holding it in my hands, rather than reading it off a computer screen.

For the past few weeks, the DMN has been getting me all worked up about the NEW GuideDaily section they kept advertising was "coming soon". They made it sound like it was going to be a big improvement from the current Guide. It became a little joke once I pointed out the advertising to my husband. It was going to have all my favorite things: book reviews, movies, cartoons, advice columns, concerts, and fun stuff to do. Everyday, there was a count down of when GuideDaily was launching.

This past Sunday was the BIG day. My husband woke me up by holding the GUIDE section in my face saying, "KERRI! IT'S HERE" I jumped out of bed and followed him and the Guide to the kitchen table.

WOW. They cleverly combined what used to be the Living section (comics and advice columns) with what used to be the Guide section (mindless Hollywood trivia, movie times, occasional book reviews,...) and now they call it GuideDaily. It was definitely worth the wait and anticipation!

And now I have a better understanding why the newspaper is a dying breed.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

SPCA

"If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans" ~ James Herriot

Today a friend and I decided to go pet some dogs at SPCA figuring we needed it as much as they did.

When we walked thru the door, it smelled bad. Like there had been a few accidents in the place. But then I saw puppies, got distracted, and the smell went away pretty quickly. There were two main litters of puppies, and as pretty much all puppies are, they were adorable. I feel sure they'll all find homes.

It's the older dogs I worry about. After seeing the puppies- because that is what you see when you first walk in- we went back to pet the dogs. Every single cage was occupied. I think I pet each dog there, and all of them were sweet and gave me a look that seemed to be saying, "Please take me home." I noticed there were so many "black lab mixes". What is the deal, people? I read an article about "black dog syndrome" in the paper about people not wanting black dogs. The SPCA seemed to be proving that true. The more I pet, the more I felt sad. I wish I had a huge ranch and could take all of the dogs home and give them a happy life.

On our way out, I saw a woman adopting a little dog that walked with a limp, and had a crooked mouth. I asked the lady what was wrong with the dogs mouth. She said, "Oh she only has a few teeth, and she's about 11 years old..." and mentioned a few health problems the dog had. She told me that she likes to adopt the oldest and most troubled dog and even if they have only another year or two to live, she wants it to be the happiest year of their life.

I'm not sure that dog would've been adopted had it not been for this woman. Lots of people wouldn't even be in the financial situation to take good care of that dog, let alone pass up all the younger and healthier dogs also in need of a home. So finally, it was that dog's lucky day.

Anyway you slice it, all those dogs need and deserve homes. Whether they're puppies, dogs, healthy or not, big or little, black or white,...

Like I said, I felt sad being there. I felt helpless.
But then I returned to my house and was happily greeted by Zoe and Scout. And THAT made me feel grateful.