My Random Musings | Peaches Prattlings

{February 20, 2018} 2 flights, 2 hour delays, 6 movies, some work and I’m home!

I kid you not, today was a killer travel day!

So… 4:15am alarm, oh joy! I had already packed last night, laid out my clothes, so it was just a matter of getting up, showered, dressed and to the airport. Easy peasy. Seriously, that was the easy part!

I couldn’t get to curbside check in, so it was gas, drop off the rental car, get on the shuttle, lug everything into the airport, then drop the bags. That was fun, waiting on the line, watching them take someone else. Why have two lines if you’re not going to look at this one. And this one was simpler, just bag drop. One nice thing about the wait, the TSA pre-check line was a lot shorter when I got there!

Ok, this one is on me…I mis-read the sign for the gate, which is odd because I am in this terminal all the time…I must have been on auto-pilot because I went down the escalator, down the walkway, up the escalator…A4 was back where I was when I came through security, ugh! There went my dream of getting breakfast before my flight to Salt Lake City!

I settled in, watched three movies and worked, I am just that good! I worked when I was able to get connection. Let’s see, movies, which will be reviewed later…The Man Who Invented Christmas, about Charles Dickens writing A Christmas Carol, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, with Ryan Reynolds and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Loving Vincent. I also watched the 2 episodes that made up Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie, what a mind and last was Sleeping with the Enemy until we landed in Honolulu.

We landed with just enough time to get to my next flight in SLC, Salt Lake CIty, for those of you not in the know…had I known what was about to transpire, I would have stopped to get breakfast!

I got to the gate, they hadn’t started loading the plane yet, but how long would I have? They kept saying we’re about ready…Then they only boarded rows 1-9 because they were cleaning the plane, huh? I was in row 10, can I sneak in?! Then it was people who need assistance and people traveling with small children, ok. Then it was Diamond and Platinum and first class. Wait, isn’t 1-9 first class?

Then it was time for the rest of us, that had only taken about 30 minutes, felt like an hour or more. But wait, there’s more! We are delayed due to the snow, then we need to gas and de-ice. Seriously? Then it was another 20 minutes, then we were number 8 for takeoff… Then it was two hours later and we were off. Here it was about 2pm, I haven’t eaten since I woke up at 4:15am and I’m not going to eat until we land? Which we did about 4:30pm. Ok, I snacked, but those airline snacks don’t fill you up!

The woman next to me was very nice, from Salt Lake City, she has a house on the North Shore, so we chatted for part of the flight and felt for the babies crying in the back, poor things.

We finally land and then the baggage carousels changed, but eventually I got my stuff. I grabbed a taxi, made it home, finally! Then as quickly as I could, put the food in the fridge that was in my bags, changed into my bathing suit and headed to the beach for the last hour before sunset! It was fabulous!

Then I decided, food and a movie! In the theater! So, Raman Ya it was and Black Panther. I got lucky, it seems that every theater on the mainland was sold out! Great flick! I’ll tell you about that later too. That was movie number six! Then home to write to you and zzzz! I gotta get up and work in a few hours!

Ah, the life of a road warrior!

{February 17, 2018} Sam Waterston…such a change

From one extreme to the other.

I know I’ve told you I love Grace and Frankie starring Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda, Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston. In the show, Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston were married to the Lily & Jane, had an affair for years and now they are out and married to each other.

Sam Waterston’s character, Sol, the way he is playing him, he’s flamboyant, a little over the top. The character could have been seen, pre-coming out, by friends and family, as goofy, silly, forgetful and bumbling. Since coming out, he’s all that, but add the flamboyance to it, and there you have it.

Sometimes you forget what his characters were like before this role. I am watching an episode of Law & Order and Jack McCoy is a hard arse! He is a strong, serious, non-flinching prosecutor, interesting to see him in a role like the latest.

How about this…he’s still on Law & Order while he’s in Frankie & Grace. Now, that’s talent! I think I want to see more roles!

{February 16, 2018} Gong hei fat choy

That is Cantonese for “wishing you great happiness and prosperity”. In Mandarin, you would say ‘gong xi fa cai’.

This is what you would say to someone to wish them a Happy Chinese New Year. And why? Because today, February 16th, is the beginning of the Chinese New year! It’s the year of the dog.

I found out some facts when I went online. Officially, the holiday is three days, unofficially, it will be celebrated over two weeks, I like that! Chinese New Year follows the lunar calendar, so it’s not the same date every year, hmm…sounds familiar!

The holiday was born out of the myth of Nian, which is also the Chinese word for year, who was a beast that would appear every New Year’s Eve and attack villagers, ouch! So, the legend says that to scare away the beast, villagers would put up red banners and explode firecrackers and bang drums. Does that sound like some Chinese celebrations you’ve seen or heard of?

When I was a kid, we would celebrate Chinese New Year with a family we were close with, it was wonderful, the food, the family, friends and I’ll never forget the red envelopes with cash in them. I bet I still have one of those envelopes!

Just like astrological zodiac signs, each sign of the Chinese zodiac has their own personality traits. The dog is a true companion, associated with loyalty, honestly, intelligence with a strong sense of right and wrong. They are known to be swift and passionate believers in their own personal philosophy. The dog does its best to protect high-integrity people and support their cause.

Famous dogs: Winston Churchill, Mother Theresa, Elvis Presley, Bill Clinton, Steven Spielberg, Madonna and Michael Jackson!

I wish to tell all who are celebrating and especially JCT, her daughter, ST and her mom, LaLa, Gǒu nián jí xiáng.

{February 15, 2018} Four years?! Has it really been four years?!

Wow, four years ago this week I started with my current company. Can you believe it!?

To date, I have never been anywhere more than five years and my goal is to stay with this company until I retire and that’s quite a few more years.

I was brought to the company for my experience as a software trainer, specializing in EPIC, it’s an EMR, Electronic Medical Records, application. You know EMRs, when you go to the doctor and they enter everything on the pc, no more paper charts. Much more efficient in record keeping and depending on the software at the medical office, your records could be pulled up anywhere!

It’s been quite the ride since I started with the company. I have been on six projects, five different applications and two new ones to me. All of this has made me more well rounded, as an employee, as a trainer and team member, sounds good to me.

And now, I’m looking for my next opportunity, will it be the same type of software I’ve been training on this project, will it be something I already know, something new? Where will I be? Closer to home or farther away? Will my new co-workers be as wonderful as they have been on all my other projects?

It doesn’t matter, every new project is a new and exciting possibility to try something new, learn new things and all new experiences, not only with the application, but new team members, places to explore, cities to get to know, restaurants to sample.

I’m ready for my next adventure, are you with me?!

{February 14, 2018} Two random butt dials in a day? What are the odds?

I finally remembered what it was I was going to tell you yesterday!

First, do you know what a butt dial is? That is where you randomly dial someone’s number on your cell phone without realizing it. It’s called butt dialing or pocket dialing because people would keep their cell phones in their back pocket, hence, pocket or butt dialing.

I had two random butt dialed calls from two of my sister/friends…on the same day! The first was JCT at about 7am, I answered and called her name, nothing. I’m not sure if she got my text checking on her, hmmm

The next came at 4pm, it was RJS! She answered when I said her name and then asked if she called me or did I call her?! We caught up for a minute and then it was over. It was loverly.

So, what does that say about our bond, I say it’s something special, they both had me on their subconscious, so not in their control and I love that about them! Hmm…who’s butt dialing next?

{February 12, 2018} It was so funny I forgot!

I had this great idea for a post tonight…And you get this!

That drives me crazy! I often have these great ideas and I think ‘ooh, that would be funny!’ Or ‘I really need to remember that!’ See where that got me!

I also say I need to write these things down and sometimes in the same breath, nah, I’ll remember it, it’s too good! Well, look where we are now!

Since I have nothing else to share, here are a few funnies:

What do you call ten rabbits walking backwards? A receding hairline!

Why did the Stormtrooper buy an iPhone? He couldn’t find the droid he was looking for!

Why are pirates so mean? They just arrrgh!

Have a great day!

{February 8, 2018} Just an observation

Ok, this is totally my opinion, nothing for anyone to get worked up about. There, my disclaimer.

I think I’ve told you about my guilty pleasures when it comes to tv viewing, some of the reality shows, like some of the baking competitions, Hoarders and My 600lb Life. Now, I watch it and sometimes even while I’m eating and wonder what is wrong with me, but that’s another analogy for another day.

I like seeing the success stories and sometimes there aren’t any. You root for them when they try, when they have little victories, you get frustrated for them when they have setbacks that are out of their control and you look at them and go ‘huh?’ when they cheat and say “but I’ve been working so hard, this little cheat won’t matter”.

It seems that most of the people who are on the show for weight loss help, they weigh 400 to 600 to even more pounds, they need the help. Before they can have the surgery, they have to prove to the surgeon that they can lose weight on their own, at least 100 pounds, so they start off having to lose 40-50 pounds, then another and then, approval.

Ok, the observation. The people are big, but so are their families. I would say at least ninety percent of the family members of these people are not just heavy or have a little extra, a lot of them are large, some are even obese.

On occassion, the families are right there, helping, participating, going on the airtight loss journey with them. But it seems like more often than not the person is on the journey on their own, no family support, sometimes making fun or sabotaging. It’s frustrating.

Of course, we don’t live in their houses, don’t walk a mile in their shoes, we don’t know what their lives were like, even though they give us some backstory, but they got that way somehow.

No matter what, shouldn’t the entire family work together? What can the rate of success be if they fight this battle alone?

{February 5, 2018} Take that Nikola Tesla!

I have been playing Words With Friends for a few months…this time.

I think I started playing Words With Friends years ago like everyone else and it was fun and exciting. I think I was playing Draw Something at the same time, weren’t you?

Like many games, we lose interest, something new and exciting comes along or maybe, like many others, you kept playing. Well, a few months ago, I decided to get back into the game, ha ha.

So, here I am playing Words With Friends 2, updates, new and improved. I’ve got about 10 games going with four different people, it’s fun and challenging.

Now, the title of my post, I know you’re scratching your head like “huh”? So, with this new version, there are different challenges that you can participate in. There are events, always theme based, right now, there is a Valentine’s Day theme. With the events, you have to reach a certain number of points to win a prize. The points are earned by completing so many solo games, so many words with big scoring letters, X, J, Z, Q, competing in lightening round games with strangers, things like that.

Then, the next challenge is against the game, but they make it interesting. Each challenge has a different theme, right now, it’s famous poets, the last was investors. There are a few in the bronze, silver and gold levels. Easy, medium and hard in each.

So, as you can guess, each level, since there is a theme, has to have a name. With the inventors, there was Alexander Bell, Edison and the last and hardest was Nikola Tesla.

The easy, in my opinion, is very easy. Then the medium, more of a challenge, as it should be and then the hard, sometimes not too bad, but it is harder and there have been times with the medium and hard that I have had to replay a few times. But this time, Nikola Tesla, wow! It took me seven, yes I said seven! times to beat him! It was so frustrating!

I’m sure when you play games against a computer you think it cheats sometimes, right? How does it get that perfect move, those letters, come on! Really?!

Ok, so… sometimes, when I’m playing I get a bit competitive. It’s funny, when I’m playing with real people, yes, you want to win but there are other opportunities. With the computer, yes, I can play again, but there’s a time limit, the event ends and a new one starts. But, if you know me and my race medals…I’m determined! I’m not missing out on that badge, that gold box!

So…I played Nikola Tesla, just like all the others, and I knew I was getting close, but I was cautious and that calculator… How many points do I need to beat the machine!

So… in this instance… Take that Nikola Tesla!

Hey, if you want to play me, let me know, I’m always up for the challenge!

{February 3, 2018} Grace and Frankie Season 4…I want some of that

So, you know how much I love Grace and Frankie, well, I hope you do, I’ve mentioned it a few times. So, now you do!

If you haven’t watched it, basically the women, Grace and Frankie were married to Robert and Saul, respectively and Robert and Saul have been having an affair for about 20 years, it all comes out, the men leave the women and marry each other.

Grace and Frankie only tolerated each other all these years and now, they share the beach house the two families owned together and they’ve become friends and more, they become family, if that makes sense.

Now, it’s a few years later and they are closer than ever, they are best friends and when one moved away the other was devastated then she moved back and now they’re together again.

Grace is a little more straight laced and serious, loosening up a bit and Frankie is an artist, free thinking and coo-coo for cocoa puffs. I have a feeling my friends would say I’m more Frankie than Grace. I’m ok with that!

So, I’m sitting here watching season 4 and someone points out what they have with each other and someone said “I wish I had a Frankie” her sister says “I thought I was your Frankie” and I realize, I have that with my close friends, I am so very grateful for that.

But then I started thinking…who would be the Grace to my Frankie when we’re older? Someone to live in a giant beach house with an attached studio, share things with, do nothing with, scheme, watch movies on the sofa eating junk food, take care of each other when we’re not well, hide us when we don’t want to be seen and fight for each other.

Each of my sister/girlfriends have so many great qualities, I want to live with all of them in a giant house. They don’t all know each other, but they all know me and I want to grow old with all of them. Can’t I build this fabulous house on the beach that has enough rooms for all of us and each night I get to veg out and be silly with each of them? Wait, now we sound like one of those Mormon families with multiple/sister wives! OMG!

That’s what I do with each of them in different ways and I love it! JCT and I sit in her recliner chairs, even fall asleep there sometimes; TS and I sit on opposite love seats; RJS and I sit on opposite sides of a sofa sharing a blanket, SDL and I sit at the kitchen table and drink tea, CKM and I were always out, so we had a tradition of either sitting in each other’s cars or standing between the two for hours! LBK and I sit in her recliner sofa or at the kitchen table. DLP and I sit on the sofa in front of the fireplace at the Waldorf Astoria or on the floor in her apartment and WIS and I sit for hours in different vegan restaurants. And GES, we sit on the sofa together sharing a blanket, in the kitchen at the counter or on one of our beds at her house. CWB and I don’t live anywhere near each other so our time is on the phone, but I bet we’d sit on the sofa and talk all night.

Wow, I do the same thing with each of them, in slightly different ways, but it’s the same wonderful tradition and it’s not like it’s planned, it just works out that way. I wouldn’t change a thing!

So…back to my original idea…can’t I have that fabulous house with room for everyone? I want to grow old with each and every one of them. I love you all so very much! Wow I’m lucky!!!

{February 2, 2018} Civic Duty…I did mine!

Seriously? Did that just happen?!

I was on my way to the airport and something happened I think I’ve only seen in movies. I was driving and there was a car in the next lane. Now, I said next lane, not the next lane over with a lane in between us, but right next to me. Let’s just say if there was a passenger, they could have reached out and touched the driver in that car. So, you’re with me so far, I can tell.

Then, all of a sudden, there was a car in between us. What? Yes, in between us, driving over the dotted white line…in between us! How did that car fit?! I looked at the driver, after the intruder zoomed past and we both had our mouths open and chins on the floor.

I thought, ok, an idiot. Then…I saw him do it two more times, successfully, he got stopped two other times. That was it…I dialed 911. Yes I did. As I told them what was happening, they transferred me to the state police and I told the officer what happened. I even…without speeding, we were slowing down, I was able to get his, or her, license plate number. It was a VW, so very disappointed that this driver was giving VW’s a bad wrap!

I wasn’t sure about the color, the car was very dirty, but I saw most the numbers on the plate and reported that. They said thank you and I hung up.

I’ve done my civic duty and I hope they stopped that idiot, they were going to cause an accident!

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