The Holiday Road Less Traveled

WTF Baby says: Life is harrrrd.

I am currently 3 weeks into an online class through Corsera.org called Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World. The object of the class is to read a book the professor chooses, and them come up with an essay 270 to 320 words, "that aims to enrich the reading of a fellow student who is both intelligent and attentive to the readings and to the course." I'm not quite sure what I am learning besides how to tear apart a story and look for the deeper meaning, and then condense that into 320 words where you have to convince your reader of your theory. The first two units weren't easy, but the books were mercifully short and easy to work with. Our latest unit is working with "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. I'm not sure how I am going to take all those journal entries and come up with some "deeper meaning" other than, vampires are evil, and tricky. Stay away. The end. That doesn't exactly make the 270 minimum, but I suppose I can find some filler.

Meet Henry The Hypocrite Hippo

Every single person is a hypocrite. In some way shape or form, we have told or asked some one not to do something we are guilty of ourselves. Sometimes it is out of well meant concern or just to control. These are the things we have to think about when we see someone doing something they asked you not to do repeatedly. The most common reaction is anger. How dare they! But what was the intent? A parent telling a teenager to never smoke cigarettes, as they are exhaling after a puff, is meant to warn the child of the addiction of smoking. Not to say, "you can't smoke but I can!". After many years of my parents smoking, and telling us not to, and us begging for them to quit, my sister and I are both smokers. Our parent's tried to warn us. But that differs greatly from say, telling someone not to do something because it hurts their feelings, only to have that same person do the something they asked you not to do. This is a matter of control and manipulation. This is something to be angry over. Who wants to be manipulated? Certainly not myself! But what do you do about it? Honestly, you will have to decide that. Does the crime fit the punishment, and vice versa? Make sure to think before you act. But make sure you are defending yourself as well. Being road kill for others intentions and ideals is no way to live life. Just a warning though: You will encounter a hypocrite that doesn't see that they've done wrong. It will be very hard not to be extremely upset over this. Just try your best.

This is no longer a vacation. It's a quest. It's a quest for fun.

It's almost time for my family to load up into the metallic pea family truckster, and head across Texas to our favorite vacation spot Concan, Tx. It may be just a fun place to stay the weekend for some, but for us, it is the place my family settled, and is buried. We enjoy the connection to our roots, as well as the chance to relax and let the river take our worries with it. Only we don't get to make this trip because the husband missing 2 days at work without pay is crippling to our budget. It is a serious disappointment for all of us. While there have been plenty of trips that we haven't been able to take with my family, I feel like this is the worst for some reason. I suppose my nephew begging me this past Sunday doesn't help. I'm still looking for a way to miraculously make it happen, but nothing short of winning the lotto is going to work. These are the days that responsibility sucks royally. Hopefully next year we can make it, and this years bummer will be long forgotten. I may be sad now, but how awesome will it be to hear how much fun Mr. Piggles worth had on his first cognitive vacation Concan? I can't wait to hear all about it.