From the Observation Deck

Thursday, November 26, 2009, Thanksgiving Day

• 9 a.m.

Leave house in VA. In Maryland, traffic starts to build so I take route 1 up through old towns and farms.

• 11 a.m.

I cross the Conowingo Dam. I save five bucks taking the back roads and it’s fun, try it sometime. Shortly after the dam I pass by US route 1 Bakery. Its marquee says to become a fan on Facebook. I’m fascinated that a tiny business in the middle of nowhere is marketing itself so well. Later I visit the FB page and become a fan.

• 11:45 a.m.

I arrive at my parent’s house in Pennsylvania.

• 12 noon

We commence eating snacks because its hours before the Turkey will be ready.

• 12 noon–3 p.m.

Talked to family, wrestled with kids, read, and snoozed in parent’s awesome recliner.

• 12 noon–11 p.m.

The kids all fed Grendel snacks and he licked up any random spilled food that fell on the floor throughout the day.

• 3 p.m.

Thanksgiving dinner.

• 4 p.m.

Went with family to old elementary school to play basketball and play on playground.

• 6 p.m.

Played Apples to Apples. Young Tyler pronounced one of his cards that said Catsup, “Cat soup” which we thought was pretty funny considering Tyler didn’t think twice about a soup containing any kind of ingredient that was cat related. Later he mispronounced Pinocchio as “Poncho.” His dad and I joked that this Poncho must be the famous Mexican kid who had issues telling the truth.

• 7 p.m.

Ate pie.

• 8 p.m.

Watched a movie and had to explain half of it to those who weren’t patient enough to just watch it and figure it out. Yikes.

 Friday, November 27

• 1 a.m.

Cleaned up dog puke. Cursed kids who fed the dog snacks all day long.

• 8:30 a.m.

Kids made lots of noise and kept me from precious sleep time.

• 9:30 a.m.

Mom decides to play piano.

• 9:33 a.m.

I yell down the stairs and ask mom to wait until a more reasonable hour to play the piano. She apologizes and says she forgot I was there. I go back to bed happy about the quiet but not so okay with mother forgetting my presence in her house.

• 11 a.m.

Went to bowling alley. Saw a sign that said it closed last June. I wanted to go to Charcoal Pit for lunch but was out-voted. Instead we went to a family fun center. We played arcade games and history’s fastest game of miniature golf—possible due to the freezing weather.

• 1 p.m.

Family went to snooty golf course where V.P. Biden is a member. Didn’t see him and was denied service because we were wearing jeans. Turned out okay though because we then went to Subway and got yummy sandwiches where clothes were not an issue.

• 3 p.m.

Mom and I followed my nieces through the woods, across a stream to a pond. We then went back through the woods and across the stream—twice. Along with having to bend in awkward stances, jump on rocks and over mud, we collected prickles all over our clothes. I am still aching and will never blindly follow teenagers through the woods again.

• 7 p.m.

Hot bath

• 7:30 p.m.

Played Monopoly with the kids.

• 8 p.m.

Monopoly not going well so we put in another movie.

• 10 p.m.

Bed

 Saturday, November 28

• 9:05–9:20 a.m.

Awoke abruptly to repeated siren noises from fire alarm in kitchen.

• 10:30 a.m.

Off to the bowling alley with the family.

• 12:30 p.m.

After soundly defeating the nieces, I join the family for lunch at McDonalds.

• 5 p.m.

I arrive back in VA and proceed to enjoy a nice quiet, hot bath, and then some sleep.

I started this blog after I was laid off from my job so that I could practice writing and get familiar with social media. And since then I’ve been patiently waiting. Waiting to find just the perfect fit. The job that was right for me. A company that was right for me and I for it. Okay, I lied before. I wasn’t being patient at all. I’ve had a few moments of contentment here and there but in general it has pretty much stunk.

I’ve been praying over and over and trying hard to wait on God. “Trying” being the key culprit. I’ve had amazing support from family and friends who encouraged and consoled me. And a few signs from Him here and there that things were going to work out just right.

I love when I see things around me that seem to be perfect timing for what’s going on in my life. For example, last weekend my pastor started a new series. Guess what it’s called. Waiting. Yup, finally he gives this sermon after months of stress. And the other week I went to the Army’s version of American Idol—Operation Rising Star—and this amazing singer belted out a tune that was so beautiful. It was a Faith Hill song and it’s titled, “There Will Come a Day.”

The video and the lyrics are below. The song title is ringing very true to me today because yesterday I accepted a job offer from an amazing company. I’m excited that I’ll be working with some talented and creative people in a really nice environment. The waiting is over. I’ve learned a lot on the unemployment line but am ready to get back to work. If you are waiting for something and running out of patience, take a deep breath and sing this tune. It may help.  

There Will Come a Day

It’s not easy trying to understand
How the world can be so cruel
Stealing the souls of man
Cloudy skies rain down over all your dreams
You wrestle with the fear and doubts
Sometimes it’s hard, but you gotta believe

(Chorus)
There’s a better place
Where our Father waits
And every tear He’ll wipe away
The darkness will be gone
The weak shall be strong
Hold on to your faith
There will come a day
There will come a day

Wars are raging
Lives are scattered
Innocence is lost
And hopes are shattered
The old are forgotten
The children are forsaken
In this world we’re living in
Is there anything sacred

(Chorus)
There’s a better place
Where our Father waits
And every tear He’ll wipe away
The darkness will be gone
The weak shall be strong
Hold on to your faith
There will come a day
There will come a day

The song will ring out
Down those golden streets
The voices of Earth and the angels will sing
(Hallelujah)
Every knee will bow
Sin will have no trace
In the glory of His amazing grace
Every knee will bow
Sin will have no trace
In the glory of His amazing grace

There will come a day
There will come a day
Oh, there will come a day
There will come a day
I know there’s coming a day, coming a day

I have a topic today that’s really kind of an amalgam of several observations that come together in a theme. It’s what I like to do—see patterns and try to make sense of them. So the other day I saw the latest Gap commercial on TV and I thought back to my grad school days when I (and my group) wrote a paper and gave a presentation on the GAP commercials for our advertising class. I really do love seeing the new commercials GAP comes up with each year. They are so creative and fun and I think they do a fantastic job of creating positive awareness of the brand. And I’m sure they have helped increase revenue.

This year’s commercial is about cheer—and the commercial is kind of like a cheerleading song and dance. There have been a few favorites over the years. I loved the Gap Khaki Country and the one that initiated a revival of swing dancing. But I think my favorite is the one that uses the Love Train song. You can see the commercial below.

So the Love Train thing led me to think about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. My friend posted a challenge on Facebook which I then forwarded to my friends whom I am sure forwarded on to their friends. The challenge was to update your status every day with something you are thankful for. It’s a beautiful way to live, really. It’s easy to get caught up in misery or the stressful parts of our life, especially now. To make it a point to think about the wonderful gifts God gives us and to praise Him for it makes you think about how good our lives are.

This also got me thinking about how wonderful these social media sites are and how much good we can accomplish through them. We can spread positive messages, help people in need, educate people about important issues, and share our love for each other all through the social media love trains.

See, I told you I was going to pull a bunch of things out of the air and come up with a theme. Spreading love, gratitude, happiness, and goodwill. That’s a pretty good theme. Today I am thankful that all of you are reading this and that I can voice my opinion without the fear of oppression.

So I thought it might be interesting to start a series on random, weird, interesting, fun things to do or places to go before you die. For our first installment, I’ll review one of Delaware’s freak-show; I mean side-show attractions called the Punkin Chunkin. When I first heard about it, I said, “huh?” Then I thought…awesome, I want to see that. But alas, I missed the 2009 event. There’s always next year—I hope.

I realize that some of you are still wondering what a Punkin Chunkin festival is, so I won’t delay any longer. And if you’re the game-show type I bet you already have it figured out. People build trebuchets (that’s a real fancy 50-cent word for catapult) and cannons and toss pumpkins in the air to see how far they can go.

This Thanksgiving at 8 p.m. the science channel is actually hosting a show that will honor the “engineers” that participate in the festival. Here is a blurb from the Web site.

“Punkin Chunkin covers every angle of the intense competition from growing special, aerodynamic pumpkins and determining the perfect pumpkin’s mass to the mechanics of the air cannon and the physics of catapults.”

Now that is serious stuff folks. Visit the site to get the low-down on next year’s festival, shop for chunk gear, and order the DVD of the official World Championship Punkin Chunkin. And finally, if you’re planning on going next year, practice the anthem so you can sing along at the opening ceremonies.

The Punkin Chunkin Anthem, written in 1989 by William and Dawn Thompson

      It was the end of October, the beginning of November.
     The air was cold and clear and I said, boys listen here,
     I think I can make a punkin fly.
     John said, cannot. I said, can too.
     So we put that punkin in a bucket, swung around, away it flew.
     John said, no fair. We said, hell, it’s in the air.
     So the challenge was made and the gauntlet was laid
     To build a machine to power a punkin through the air.
     John said, springs are the way to go. Bill said, I don’t believe so.
     It’s Punkin Chunkin time again.
     Come on, all you neighbors and friends.
     I’ll show you how to make a punkin fly … rain, snow, or blow.
     Them punkins are gonna go!

Here are a couple of photos from the World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association. Yup, there’s an association for this.

Punkin Chunkin fans

The Punkin Chunkin Munchkin

The headline of today’s post is one of my favorite lines from a movie I love called Elf. Will Ferrell is hilarious as Buddy, an adopted Elf who leaves the North Pole and travels to Manhattan to meet his dad. While visiting his dad at work, he answers the phone, “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?” One day, I would like to work in a place where I can answer the phone that way.

Things have been busy for me lately and so less time for “observing” potential topics for this blog. But what I have noticed lately—which is kind of hard to miss—are the beautiful colors of the leaves. The trees have been building up their food reserves for the winter and the little leaves are shriveling up and dying. But boy do they go out in a blaze of glory.

And after reading an article about colors in Marketing News, a magazine published by the American Marketing Association, I thought it would be fun to talk about how we can use colors to influence people’s perceptions of brands, buying behavior, and moods. How you decorate your living room is your own business. Various cultures have different views on colors and what they mean, but below are some general color associations that I got from a Web site called Buzzle.com.

• Red: power, passion, courage, vitality, excitement, strength, speed, love, heart and warmth.
• Yellow: light, cheer, sunlight, happiness, creativity, confidence, self-esteem, intellect, innovation.
• Blue: caring, devotion, trust, wisdom, peacefulness, serenity, loyalty, truth, coolness, harmony.
• Green: nature, fresh, growth, abundance, life, youth, renewal, hope, fertility, peace, balance.
• Orange: energy, warmth, contentment, fruitfulness, strength, security, sensuality, abundance.
• White: pure light, energy, truth, perfection, serenity, harmony, loyalty, sincerity, clarity.
• Black: formal, reserved, drive, dignity, reliability, authority, power, prudence, wisdom, glamour.

I believe that blue is the color most often used in business. And it makes sense considering how the color is perceived. Orange and red are often used in fast food—cheap and quick. Can you think of brands you like and the colors they use? Based on the descriptions above, do those colors accurately reflect how you feel about the brand? Something to think about.

And in answer to Buddy’s question, my favorite color is green. But I sure do like seeing all of the colors in nature. And while this has nothing to do with colors, I feel compelled to note that Office Max created some great buzz about their brand by developing the Elf Yourself video application through JibJab. Creativity and innovation can cause something to spread as virally as the swine flu. Try it, it’s fun.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the veterans on this very special day—Veterans Day. November 11 is a U.S. holiday that was originally established to honor the end of World War 1, when the armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. Later, it was changed to honor all veterans.

In times of war we tend to be more aware of the sacrifices that our military men and women and their families make. And since I’m right in the middle of watching the series Army Wives (through Netflix), I’ve been even more attuned to the hardships and sacrifices they make so that we and others can live free.

My friend Amy just mentioned on Facebook that she visited Pearl Harbor today. I think it’s a good idea for everyone to visit some of our national monuments and remember and honor those who have served and are still serving. Places like the Vietnam, Korean, and World War II memorials in D.C.; the World War II museum in New Orleans; Arlington Cemetery; and many local museums and memorials in states around the country are awaiting you.

Thank you veterans!

Google images are often fun and interesting and our Google friends have been going all out this week for the 40^th anniversary of Sesame Street. I finally decided to check it out and spent way too much time on the Sesame Street Web site today. What I found was some pretty funny stuff. I think I could fit right in with the people behind the scenes there. While it has always been a good show for kids, you can tell they’ve put some fun stuff in there for us adults. too.

If you go to their site you can find some videos of some bad singing but also some that are called Sesame Spoofs. They spoof Mad Men, 30 Rock, and other famous shows. I finally had to get off the site. The bright colors that are specifically geared toward little kids were making me dizzy. But I clicked back to the Cookie Monster videos one more time because he’s my favorite—even though the producers sold out to the masses and had him start eating vegetables. Visit the site and click on the video that has him singing about losing his cookie in a disco. Good stuff from the old days!

And finally, after reading the lyrics for the theme song, I think I now know why I grew up to be an optimist. I want to move back to this place. I’d even put up with the Big Bird doo doo in the streets. The lyrics are below. Happy Anniversary Sesame Street!

Sunny Day
Sweepin’ the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame Street

Come and play
Everything’s A-OK
Friendly neighbors there
That’s where we meet

Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street

It’s a magic carpet ride
Every door will open wide
To happy people like you–
Happy people like
What a beautiful

Sunny Day
Sweepin’ the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame Street…

How to get to Sesame Street

How to get to…

Some time ago I wrote a post about Bart Simpson chalkboard quotes and thought it would be fun to examine them again (and some of his other lines from the show) and see how Bart’s genius can be applied to all kinds of situations.  Yes, I’m stuck for a topic and didn’t really want to delve into a political discussion or the recent elections. So here goes.

• You’re asking the wrong guy, Millhouse. They all look alike to me.

Yes Bart, it can be hard to distinguish between our elected officials at times but  everyone  should educate themselves on the issues and vote.

• I am not certified to remove asbestos. I am not a dentist. Organ transplants are best left to professionals.

Even Bart can see the need to hire the right people for the right job. The latest unemployment numbers are scary but there are still skilled people out there so let’s get back to work!

• I will not strut around like I own the place.

I’m only adding this for the benefit of a certain neighbor of mine. Just a little reminder to all of us to be considerate to others.

• Underwear should be worn on the inside.

This was my bad. Once when I was babysitting my nephews I had to help the little one get dressed and I ended up putting his brother’s underwear on him over his diaper. Okay, it was early in the morning and I was a rookie.

• I am not a 32 year-old woman.

But if you are a cute 32 year-old man, I could be.

• You’re turning me into a criminal when all I wanna be is a petty thug.

More commentary about our elected officials and the news media. It’s funny and it’s not at the same time.

• I will remember to take my medication.

And I hope the crazy woman down the street remembers, too.

• All he does is lie there like an unemployed whale.

I know you weren’t talking about me dear Bart. I am busy doing things like coming up with lame posts for my blog and walking Grendel.

It’s a weird tradition and for some reason we go along with it. You know, candy solicitation. Last weekend, I went trick or treating for the first time since I was in short pants (that’s an old phrase meaning I was a little kid). My whole family gathered on Saturday to watch Harmon play soccer, to celebrate my brother’s birthday, and of course to watch the kids build a huge cache of sweets.

We began the day watching my seven-year-old nephew Harmon and his team play soccer. It wasn’t the World Cup but entertaining nonetheless. The coach was admonishing his son to stop jumping around like a ballerina (to which he then demonstrated the objectionable movements). And then I commented that in the midst of all these kids with unusual names like Harmon, Cian, and Zino, there was a refreshing reminder of normalcy in a kid named Joe. His dad was sitting next to me and said it was only fair because he had a long, hard to pronounce (and remember) Italian last name. I’m so glad that stereotypes are alive and well in an Italian kid being named Joe. Thank God for traditionalists.

Anyway, fast forward to just after 6 p.m. as the family walked out the front door to go trick or treating. In their usual Roadrunner-like speed, my brother’s family managed to get to the first house—next door about 15 yards away—some time around 6:45 p.m. I admit some of that time was for a photo shoot but a lot of it was taken up by Harmon’s indecision and issues with the container he was going to use to collect candy. As his parents were going in and out of the house to try and solve this dilemma, he and I sat down and had a philosophical discussion about Star Wars characters and his and Grendel’s role as said characters for that evening’s rounds.

Harmon got a bit sensitive when I inaccurately stated he was a storm trooper. “I am a clone,” he said. “I thought they were the same thing,” I replied. “No, the clones fought for the good guys—the Republic—and the storm troopers were turned by the Sith.” He then got upset because he figured everyone was going to make that same mistake. Because the Crowe kids were all garbed in Star Wars outfits (Julia was Darth Vader and Tyler was Luke Skywalker or a “rebel engineer” whatever that is) we decided that Grendel should play along, too. I thought Chewbacca was a good idea seeing how they are both furry and make the same kind of moaning sounds but once I said Jabba the Hut, Harmon was stuck on that. There was no outfit or anything, we just pointed out to the candy-givers the rolls of fur on Grendel’s neck and said, “He’s Jabba the Hut.”

When we reached the third house and Harmon announced in what I can only describe as a not-so-secret code that he had to “squeeze the lemon” I knew it was going to be a long night. And shortly after that when it started to rain and Harmon asked all the grown ups “who would like to volunteer to carry my blaster” I knew that next year I was going to go back to standing in my doorway and giving out the candy. But not like the creepy guy who made the kids sing a song and pick the candy out of the bowl he kept on his lap. There’s a fine line between being fun and being a weirdo.

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween. I was going to have a contest to vote on who had the cutest costume but only one person sent me photos, so her little ones win. Here are some cute kids in costumes.

Shannon's daughter Katherine the Cow

Shannon's son Charlie the Builder

the Clone, Luke, and Jabba