Category: Why yes I do GLOW

The First Signs of Christmas

On By AngeliaIn Why yes I do GLOW50 Comments

I don’t know about you, but the first sign of Christmas for me is NOT the stocking of shelves in OCTOBER. For shame!

Nor is it the mad shopping flees of Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. Although, I wholly embrace pre-black Friday shopping. Heh.

But no, it is most certainly NOT those events.

For me, the true beginning of the Christmas Holiday is the hauling of the red and green tubs into the living room. Where every Santa and every reindeer gets placed on proud display while Christmas music plays in the background. Then, there is the ceremonious unraveling of the ornaments with oohs and aahs over every precious one.

Every surface gets covered in paper and tiny gold strings. Stockings are strewn by the chimney uncared. And Yes, even the dog is wearing her Santa hat.

And if it’s not that…..

Then maybe, it’s the twinkle from across the way…..

A neighbor’s joy of illumination. And not the Griswolds that decorated November 1st.

NOT those. But the ones…..

That are just starting to peek through the darkness……

If the sign isn’t the glimmer…. Could it be the glow? A circle of spirit, day or night, it’s the Wreath of Christmas Adorn. The one that jingles with tiny sleigh bells upon every open, and close. Proclaiming an Angel gets her wings or something like that…..heh.

Then we have the tremendously helpful, and most rewarding sign of all. The advent calendar.

Yes!

It is the marking of every Christmas day. Weee! The opening of every little door to secrets and treasures – a true wonder of delight. Ohhhhh violating the nut cracker! Ha!

But that’s not all. Oh no.

The Herald of the Tree comes next.

The HERALDING!

When all the ornaments fall into place, and we stand in awe of her greatness. We bow on one knee in front of the camera on the tripod and look for presents.

TA-DA!

Isn’t she a beauty?

Everything brightens in her presence.

The hearty cheer is unmistakable, and we clamor giddily over those circles of light bouncing off every reflective surface. Bokeh! Bokeh! Bokeh!

The tree is a messenger of Christmas in itself.

But do you know what my FAVORITE sign of Christmas is?

I bet you can guess…..

It’s Christmas in a cup.

That wondrous first cup of Starbucks Christmas blend. Oh yeaaaahhhh….

MmmHmm.

Good to the last drop.

And the hot chocolate ain’t so bad either.

That might have been hot chocolate in the cup. Shhhh!

No matter what sign you seek, or find. I do hope you are enjoying, the beginning, the middle, and the end of every Christmas celebration coming your way.

And if you haven’t seen Christmas yet………..Here’s your sign.

The Other Woman

On By AngeliaIn Welcome to my data world, Why yes I do GLOW16 Comments

Her name is Eve.

And yes, I know all about her.

I know he dreams about her during the day and steals moments with her at lunch. He spends his nights with her too. I know. And it is devastating.

His heart longs for her. She captivates him.

And after three months of marriage, I can’t compete.

So…she wins. I lose.

She wins his love, his attention, and most importantly his time.

What is a new bride supposed to do? How do I compare to this?

Jason playing with "her".

Ships, lights, graphics, missions, and let’s not forget the battles.

I mean really? Are you serious? You can see how she is so much more interesting.

And in reality, it’s probably not a real girl, like Weird Science type bombshell. I believe EVE is the acronym to the game (but what fun is that?). Besides, she might as well be the other woman. He loves her. Heh.

For his birthday, I even supported his affair. I bought him a state-of-the-art headset with super sound (ships firing off into space) and a microphone to talk to his shipmates. He apparently plays poker, mines the moon, and plays drinking games. At least……I think that’s what he does? Maybe a few rat barbecues. This is a man’s domain (mostly), except it’s called by a girl’s name, and they do manly space things. Mkay?

So, I don’t ask (much) and I don’t know the details (all). Only that you can get killed, but you don’t die. See, your clone takes over and you are still you, but your clone. Get it?

Yeah, me either. If all the fun is in battles and taking over moons to mine, and your best day is killing another dude that doesn’t actually die?!? Well, that’s just seems wrong. And if your worst day is you die, but you don’t? Heck. I think EVE should be a hot chick. That might be more fun.

But in all seriousness, he loves it. It’s his favorite hobby and it really does look cool. So I guess she can be a fling…..for now.

Goodnight Jason.

Goodnight Eve.

Controversy or Confidence? My take on TSA.

On By AngeliaIn Don't ever leave the house, Life is what you make it., Why yes I do GLOW43 Comments

I’ve been a travel agent since January 1990. As I approach the dawn of my twenty-second year, I must say, things have changed……from smoking on airplanes to meeting friends at the gate…..and everything else in between.

Those days are gone.

We can wish, want, and cry for the good ol’ days, but it won’t bring them back to life. Not even a spark of it.

You know what? I wouldn’t want them to.

Why?

I’ll give you one reason – September 11th.

And that should be the end of my post. But nooooo. With every new unveiling of more security measures comes what? CONTROVERSY.

It started with the shoes, the liquids, and date of birth implementations.

Now, the latest being Advanced Imaging Technology at the airport. Travelers believe this is invasive of their privacy (parts) and harmful due to the incredible imaging the machine provides.


(source)

The alternative? Being patted down.

The uproar? Being patted down. The alternative? The imaging machine. The uproar? The subject’s privacy (of body parts being viewed). The alternative? BEING TOUCHED pat searched (professional and non-invasive). The uproar? The damaging radiation machine (alleged). The alternative? Same gender pat search!

Do you see the dilemma?

For me, I don’t even have to think about this one. Yes, I would go through the machine. No, I don’t think it’s harmful (no more than holding an iPhone to your head while standing in front of a microwave). What I do have a problem with is boundaries. I have a personal space radar and would prefer not to be touched patted (if say, I had a choice) (by going through an imaging machine). And thank GOODNESS there is a choice now.

My travel career includes a time when passengers were not just afraid, but downright terrified of flying. I would get calls (more than one) after 9/11 of being in the gate area and seeing a man wearing a turban awaiting the same flight. They would insist on being moved to another airplane. A bit much? Of course, it was a major overreaction, but that is what fear does to people.

How do you combat fear? More security measures. More safety. More assurance; enforcement of I.D. checks, baggage scanning, birth dates, boarding passes, x-ray of shoes, laptops, people, and anything else they can think of to make it safer (backscatter machines).

I had my purse checked more than once for a bomb. Was I carrying a bomb? Or bomb materials? No. Did I look like a bomber? I don’t think so. Was I offended? No! Why would I be? I don’t think on 9/11 any one person stood out. No one seemed threatening or suspicious that I know of. But then again, I probably couldn’t pick a terrorist out of a line-up that was trying not to look like a terrorist. I hear a lot of noise about seniors, or handicapped travelers being put through extreme security measures when they are harmless individuals. Listen…threats do not come packaged as threats. Just like drug smugglers don’t carry hash over the border in a ziplock bag (do they?). They are smuggled and hidden, and honestly? If it were my job, I wouldn’t want to be the THAT guy. The one to put 200 passengers in danger. I don’t think you can be too careful and I don’t understand why more people don’t get that.

Can you hand-pick a threat out of crowd? How do you choose? How do you exclude?

Controversy or confidence?

Let’s not be part of the problem. Let’s be part of the solution. Confidence to fly without fear.

Stick to the guidelines that a team of aviation security has designed to define safer travels, or don’t fly. It’s that simple.

I’m not just talking the talk on TSA. I’m walking the walk (x-raying the walk?). I’ll be flying to Chicago this weekend……I’ll probably be going through an imaging machine at DFW airport.

Smile for the camera…


(source)

Haha.

Edit

Please know, this is just my stance as a corporate travel agent, and a very laid back person.

I can be as skeptical and fearful as the next person. Maybe, I do trust more than I should. I believe flying is safer today. I believe there is more evil plans by terrorist than ever. I believe EVERYONE is entitled to their views and I absolutely respect that.

P.S. I found a great CBS news article on the radiation of the ATI machine. You can read it on the link below.
TSA Airport Scanners: Radiation Truth & Lies

This post part of Mama’s Losin’ It writer’s workshop. I choose prompt 3.) CONTROVERSY! Are the new security measures performed by the TSA really that bad? Take a stance!

SIGNS – What do you believe?

On By AngeliaIn FAITH, FAMILY, Why yes I do GLOW66 Comments

A few years ago when I was single and having – oh so much fun – in conversation with, shall we say, a person very direct about their beliefs. He was a devout youth minister who expressed his ways in a very upfront manner. No secular music. No mark on your record. No sin whatsoever – you get the idea.

He was a nice enough guy, it was interesting to hear his views, as long as he knew I had some of my own (ahem). I think that was against his *rules*, but I digress.

In one of our last phone conversations the question came up, what was my favorite Christian movie? My answer, with no hesitation at all, SIGNS with Mel Gibson. He said, “Excuse me? Do you mean The Passion of the Christ directed by Mel Gibson?”

A little unsure of why he wouldn’t think SIGNS one of the greatest Christian movies of all time, I answered, “Um, no, I mean SIGNS with the aliens in it.”

Long pause.

In an effort to give me a chance to change my answer confirm what my favorite CHRISTIAN movie is, he says again, “SIGNS, the syfy movie?”

Aha, now he is getting it, err no, he sounded a little disgusted by this answer. Yep, I definitely hear the sneer. Imagine all the dating, romance, soul mate dreams come hurling from the sky (like an alien ship- ha) crash burning to the ground in a fiery pillar of smoke and blue flames. Phoooosh!

Oh well. I’ve given worse answers than that, I am not perfect and you know what? I stand by it. To me it’s a Christian movie, whether it has aliens in it or not. I am not ashamed to say I am a HUGE syfy fan. It passed down from my step dad when we would watch Star Trek together. I love it. I love the imagination. I love the other-worldly-ness. Does that make me a bad Christian? I don’t think so. Wasn’t Mary supernaturally impregnated? Aren’t Angels supernatural beings? Didn’t Jesus supernaturally rise from the dead? Is syfy really such a bad thing to believe in? Can’t we all just get along?

SIGNS is my favorite Christian movie because it is a movie about faith. Faith being tested. Faith picking a side. Determining what you DO or DO NOT believe.

Do you believe in SIGNS?

Let me give you a quote from the movie, this is Mel Gibson speaking who plays a former pastor. He has turned from his faith after a tragic loss in his life. He does not believe in God anymore. Alien ships have shown up and his family is questioning what will happen to them. He gives them this answer to decide for themselves what they believe, and to decide for themselves, what will comfort them.

People break down into two groups. When they experience something lucky, group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence, that there is someone up there, watching out for them. Group number two sees it as just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance. I’m sure the people in group number two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the situation is a fifty-fifty. Could be bad, could be good. But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they’re on their own. And that fills them with fear. Yeah, there are those people. But there’s a whole lot of people in group number one. When they see those fourteen lights, they’re looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that whatever’s going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope. See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?

Do you react to the scary things in life with fear? Or hope? Is it luck? Or more than coincidence?

I’ll tell you this, the last month has been very scary for me. I’ve had cold feet – from marrying the greatest guy in the world – I know, WHAAATTTT? I believe it’s psychological. I had an abusive spouse that I freed myself from. My safe haven is my current home, and now to give that up for my new husband in October…..well…..It feels like I am giving up my new-found freedom. My “safe” place.

And then what? Am I back in crazyville? Oh heck no! Not doing that. Nuh-huh. So, I get anxious and teary – more than a few times. Maybe, even a little nit-picky about my new mate. A little harsh. I am scared. Literally frozen. My heart thumping out of my chest to even consider writing the 30 day notice to my duplex and moving my things. Taking this giant leap of faith felt more like a free fall or being a rabbit about to dart away down the rabbit hole, just missing the steel trap door closing on it’s cute powder puff tail. But I AM free, either way, either house. I am still free. Not only am I free, but Jason would never treat me badly. I know this, so what’s the deal, right? Maybe I wasn’t looking at the signs.

Here is what I see looking around.

Despite my turmoil at the time, I celebrated our second anniversary meet date and wrote a blog post about how we met. The how we met post. That post became one of the most viewed – ever.

Then at work, I win the drawing for a round trip Continental ticket to anywhere they fly in the US48, Canada, or Mexico and guess what? It includes a companion pass with it. Honeymoon tickets anyone? This happens on the tail end of financial difficulties from my past (ex #2) that cut the wedding budget to bupkis. Better than that, I discovered I have a plethora of hotel points through Radisson. I have never collected points of any value, but this year I did. Over 200,000 and that puts me right at a free hotel room stay – four to five nights long. TOTALLY FREE.

Finally, couples are supposed to be complimentary right? I was diagnosed with a hyperthyroidism in December. I have to take medicine to make my thyroid stop producing. Jason texts me a few days ago. He now has a thyroid problem too. He has hypOthyroidism which means – his thyroid doesn’t work. Mine overworks; his doesn’t work. If only we could be each other donors.

After this week of signs, my feet warmed right up. I know exactly where I am, and what I am doing. I have nothing to fear. And do you know what else? I see miracles.

SIGNS, I believe them. I believe there are no coincidences and I believe we are in a supernatural world.

What do you believe?