Greeting Cards, Stephen King, and Circular Thinking

Just another one of those Hallmark moments
Yesterday, I was sitting on the couch grading papers when Carrie walked into the room. I crooked my finger at her, signaling her to come over to me, then said, "Hello, my cute, sweet, wonderful girl," and gave her a big hug. Connor, who was watching all of this said, "What about me?" So I crooked my finger at him, signaling him to come over to me, then said, "Hello, my cute, sweet, wonderful girl," and held out my arms to hug him. He stepped forward, then paused and said, "Hey, that's not funny." But it was.

A brief note about spelling (speling?)
As I was typing the section above, I first spelled "signaling" with two l's (signalling). Then I changed it to one l. Then back to two l's. Then I couldn't decide which it was, so I googled "signalling spelling" and found out that spelling it with one l (signaling) is correct in American-English, but spelling it with two l's (signalling) is correct in British-English. How about that? And isn't it weird that I actually think that's pretty interesting?

A little bit of Twilight bashing
This is probably somewhat risky, because there are quite a few people out there who absolutely love these books, because they're so wonderful and amazing and descriptive and mesmerizing and… you get the picture. I, on the other hand, think the whole Twilight series is pretty bad. I realize I'm not even close to the target audience for these books, but I've read (and appreciated) my share of chick lit, and these (again, in my opinion) are just really bad. I've always wondered, though, if at least some of this isn't fueled by my own jealousy related to Stephanie Meyer's meteoric rise to literary success, which I freely admit that I do envy. But then this morning, I was reading an interview with Stephen King (who I really enjoyed years ago, but I think has kind of fallen off in his recent efforts, and who I also envy for his meteoric rise to literary success) and he was asked what he thought about J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer, and he said that the difference between them was that Rowling was a really good writer, but, "Stephanie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good." So there you are. The King has spoken. Long live the King.

Do you ever wonder?
Sometimes I do (which often drives my lovely wife crazy - such as when I ask things like, "Why did you leave the light on?" or, "Why don't you put the oatmeal away when you're done?" or stuff like that). Here are a couple of things I've wondered about this week:
•Am I getting grumpier, or just more honest as I get older - I seem to be much more likely to say what I'm thinking without considering the fallout - and is that a good thing or a bad thing?
•Why do some of us agonize over every little thing, while other people seem to be able to face into true adversity with unbelievable grace and dignity? Honestly, my life is pretty easy, but I still find myself getting worked up about really stupid things, and then I run into people who, quite frankly, make me feel a little bit ashamed. For example, last week, I was swimming in the lane next to a woman who was probably about my age. She didn't have any hair, so I immediately wondered if she was in treatment for cancer, and as I eavesdropped on her conversation with someone else, I found out she did have cancer, and that she was terminal, and that she was told by her doctor last September that she would be lucky if she made it to 2009, but here she was in March swimming in the lane next to me, and she told the person that she wasn't ready to die yet because she's a single mom and she has a 15-year-old daughter who needs her. Never did she say anything that made me think she felt sorry for herself (although I'm sure there are times when she does). She just seemed cheerful and positive, and at that moment, I really wished I could be more like her. Maybe I can.

Facebooking
I've been on Facebook for a couple of months now, and I have to say that the whole thing is kind of strange. Not necessarily bad-strange, just weird-strange. Actually, I kind of like being able to skim around on the surface of so many peoples' lives, and it's almost like traveling (or travelling, if you're in England) in a time machine when I connect with some folks who I haven't seen or heard from since high school, but I always feel a little awkward when I'm posting something or when I send out one of those friend requests (just like I always feel a little awkward when I write one of these entries - evidenced by my inability to call this electronic posting by it's true title). I mean, what if I send a request and they turn it down? Or what if people read my update and say, "What a loser," and then forward it to their "real friends" and chat about what a loser I am (don't worry, I'm really not that insecure, I'm just hyperbolizing for emphasis). Anyhow, I'm pretty sure my discomfort is a generational thing, because the "digital natives" seem to be completely comfortable with it, but as a "digital immigrant" it all feels a little - strange. So whenever I post an update, I always wonder if anybody actually cares (and why should they?) but then I figure maybe there are other people feeling just a little awkward about this too, but they like skimming the surface of my life, so what the heck? Which brings us full circle in this analysis and gets us no further down the road than we were when we started, so I guess this last section was all pretty pointless. Oh well, I guess this is kind of like when you step up to the plate and pop one up to the infield, then walk back to the dugout with your shoulders slumped and your eyes cast down. Tally ho.

Quick update
Most of our TNT group put in 8 miles yesterday - which was the furthest distance run by several participants. I have to say that there is nothing like watching someone do something they never believed was possible. When they run in that last fifty yards, their eyes are gleaming, their faces are beaming, and their supporters are screaming. It is truly awesome. As for me, my leg is feeling much better - I still can't run very fast, but I managed 15 miles with very little discomfort so I'm feeling pretty good.

I see that it's time for me to go put in my laps at the pool, so until next time, may your Hallmark moments be memorable and touching, your attitude remain positive, and your ramblings come home to roost.