One Pen Stroke Won't Change the Mindset of a Nation

We all get so excited cheering on our candidate in different elections.  Then once they get in office "wham" there goes an agenda we didn't really see coming.  We had our mind stayed on the one thing they promised they would do once they got in office that we were personally passionate about.

Then once the citizens don't agree with their stance they start screaming "hate".  No people aren't really hating.  They are really just standing firm on what they believe in.

From my perspective it has a lot to do with generational pain.  As I think about what year my great-grandparents were born who were still alive when I was born.  The people who had an impact on their lives.  They at least knew who their grandparents were.  You are looking at a lot of years of living and a lot of years being influenced by how the generations before you lived.

Some change is easy.  There will hardly ever be a change that will unilaterally benefit everyone. 

This is not a cloned society.  We are all unique, we are all different.  We have to throw culture, beliefs, traditions, heritages, and a whole lot of other things into the mix for each and every person. 

What happened in one household didn't happen in another household. What was tolerated in one household wasn't tolerated in another household.  I look even at my grandchildren.  One set when they come over my house looks like a tornado happened when they leave.  The set that has a habit of spilling their drink all over the place normally always wants something red in color to drink, then I have the set who has a compulsive cleaning disorder and I don't have to spend but a few minutes cleaning if at all once they leave.  The latter set be like Grandma Lynne do you want me to clean your house for you if they come over right after the tornado group.

The key thing is I love them all one and the same.  I feel my house is there house.  I don't exclude one because they go and help themselves to my clothes.  They get that from home.  I don't exclude another set because they have too much energy and tire me out.  I don't exclude the one who jumps on my back playfully I kneel down on the floor to lace up his sneakers. 

I don't shun one over the other because the older set likes to take over my laptop and desktop to play some music naming game against each other.  They been lost the devices that connect them to the internet what were those things called they at one time all had them now none of them come with them expensive gadgets anymore.  The middle set doesn't even need the Internet.  The oldest likes writing letters to her friends in MS Word.  She can start, set up, write, and design a document better than a paid professional at a very young age.  Then there are the two who share.  They have to be fussing over the same computer.  One is playing games while the other is shouting no don't select that, select that and I offer another device and they both look at me like I have horns on my head.  They are used to doing everything together, they are a team.  Just ask and they'll they will let you know.

I wish I could write up an affidavit and with one pen stroke it would immediately provide full action these are the rules and this is how things are going to be at Grandma's house.  The "G" in grandma would then stand for "get a life" if I think that is going to happen.  I can see them laughing hysterically now even it would be under their breath.

Laws can change to be all-inclusive, however, changing the mindset of a nation will not happen as quickly.  I think as long as it is viewed at as folks "hating" the change it incites bitterness.  Some changes are harder to embrace than others.  Acceptance I feel is a better approach.  Who is receptive and who is not as receptive because as we have seen with recent laws change has happened.  Change is inevitable.  I just pray we survive it on the merits on civility.

Now I'm going to get back to cleaning up from the tornado that touched down on my place yesterday. 

Not Only Do You Think You're Better than Others You Flex As Well

My road warriors had been on punishment.  They were grounded for not keeping their place as tidy as they should.  It was reminiscent of when I was a child and I would go to one of my friends homes for them to come out to play and they couldn't come out because they were grounded. 

Now me personally, I was normally given an option to get a spanking or be grounded for a week or two.  Well for me there is nothing worse than being trapped.  I had to get out so I always took the beating.  See with my mouth as a child I would have ended up with more down time.  My grandmother had a really strong personality that clashed very badly with my personality and we seemed to not see eye to eye on anything.  Of course she would win on everything, I was a child and was to stay in a child's place. 

Well, getting back to my post, my granddaughters were grounded.  I was more hurt than they were.  I tried to plea their case to no avail.  Got all indignant and outside myself.  They got grounded anyways.   I received a plea not to take them anywhere while they were grounded.  I agreed.  When what I felt like doing was dropping to the floor and crying like a baby.  Yes, a grown woman who is definitely a child at heart. I like getting out and having fun.  Heck I just like getting out.  I don't like drama and I don't like to gossip and with them I don't have to worry about either of the two.

They were finally off punishment after about a week.  I felt like we had been let out of solitary confinement.

I picked them up from their school football game, it was the middle of the week.  It was late but it was earlier than they normally finish up.  I said let's go get something to eat.  My youngest of the two asked if she could keep her cheerleader uniform on.  I said yes.  It was already after 8 p.m. 

We were headed to get something to eat and I told them to get it together so they won't be put on punishment again.  We were having a conversation and I relayed to them how I shy away from spending time with too many different folk because they always get the wrong impression that I think I'm better than others. 

Well, don't you know my little cheer leading granddaughter had the audacity to wholeheartedly agree that I not only think I am better than other people but I flex as well.  To my dismay my baby (oldest granddaughter) chimed in agreement to her sister.

My little cheerleader girl went on to recant one incident between her mother (my daughter) and myself where she felt I was acting as if I was better than my own birth given child and said I flexed on her by saying I have two degrees.

Really???

They say out of the mouth of babes come volumes.  "Not Only Do You Think You're Better than Others You Flex As Well". 

Do tell. 

Well then.  I told them I feel I am a very grounded person but apparently I have some work to do.  Their reply "Yes, you do!"

By the way, we went to eat and they fell asleep in the booth we were sitting in.  The waitress brought them to go boxes when she saw they had nodded off. 

Then I flexed and told them they can't hang. 

Are We All Getting Back to Work now that the Shutdown is Over?

Whew!  Did you think it would ever end?  Well I was on pins and needles because the guys were behaving badly.

Hopefully this will be a lesson learned and our country will never suffer such an atrocity again.  Haven't we dealt with enough individually and collectively over the past several years already?  Just when we think things can't get any worse then we create stuff.   We create our own problems.  Who does that?

Now that we can breathe a sigh of relief until mid-January is it just me or does everyone want to try and get any and everything they can possibly get done done by mid-January.  We may see this fiasco brew up again.

We can definitely remember this October as one of the most scary times ever.  For years to come we will be able to recall the October the Government Shutdown.

The biggest lesson I hope every one takes away from this Government Shutdown is that voting is crucial.  I am so thankful that I have been voting for the past few years.  Now I did miss the polls one time that I can recall.  I was a few minutes late for a local election.  Trust and believe from now on the plan will be to go to the polls before heading anywhere else for the day.

If you feel some kind of way about how things have been playing out in politics over the past few years do your part and get out and vote.  The recent turn of events more so than anything else should send a message loud and clear for us to vote no matter how little or no voice we feel we have.

I am so wound up I am thinking of ideas about how I can get my family, friends, enemies, acquaintances, and every one that breathes with a voting card to the polls.  What about a voting tailgate party, what about a breakfast get together, what about a walk to the polls, what about a election day marathon and the start and end point is the local polling booth, what about getting a celebrity or entertainer to perform all day with I VOTED sticker required for entrance.

We have to get creative with getting people out to vote.  All the photos and videos from the shutdown should make great poster images on billboards promoting elections.

We all matter, we all count, and nothing like the recent change of events helps to reinforce it.

Are we ready to get back to work now?  Yes.  Maybe sometimes we just need a reality check to see just how bad things really can get if we don't do anything to try and make a difference.

My personal goal and challenge is to go into overdrive.  You never really know how vulnerable you are until you are placed in a state of vulnerability.  A Government Shutdown impacts all markets.  Now that the market is back I'm back to making the best out of things and move towards being better prepared if some of this nature has the unfortunate opportunity to happen again, not.   I just don't care to believe anyone, especially a group of people would let it happen again.  I'm thinking pretty please with sugar on top don't let it happen again. 

I'm voting, local elections coming up soon, I'm voting!

I've been Unfaithful Too Long it has got to End!

I think I first got to know you back in 2002 or 2003.  You were the total package.  So for me, moving away from anyone or anything I love that I've had a good time with is hard.  The long days and endless nights I spent getting to know you better I thought would never end.  But end it must.

Yes I have enjoyed every moment and I've grown in so many ways because of the difference you've made in my life.  I ranted and raved about how good you were to my family, friends, colleagues, and just about anyone who would listen.  You are truly great.  Don't take my moving on as a dent in your quality at all.  It is that sometimes we realize it is a time to move forward.  Let's face it, sometimes, change is inevitable.  Yes times have changed, loyalty is out the window.  People compete for all types of affection nowadays.  Some of it is not healthy and who stops to really care how their actions and reactions are going to impact how others feel.  They don't care about our history together.  They just care about what is good for them.

I've been dabbling in the grass on the other side of the fence knowing deep down inside I really don't want to let go. It has been years and I'm really getting too old to keep up.  You may be better off connecting with someone ten years your junior so you can reinvent yourself and be adorned with the feelings of being young again.  Go back to your developing stages you have had enough years in the limelight to see what has gone wrong and what has gone right and what will never happen with you again.

However, change sometimes is not wanted but necessary to move forward.  This is not a break up which will end badly this is a cease and desist giving you the opportunity to retire if you'd like.  I've held on too long.  I'm going to finally give it up today and try and completely move forward.  It's not going to be easy I'll probably want to come back and dibble and dabble at times.  You definitely have that comeback attraction.  Who knows, things may not work out and I may comeback permanently.  Right now it is best to move on.  I'm going to try hard and be good and keep looking forward.

Undoubtedly, you will always be my first love.  I was able to accomplish so much over the years with you.  I made so much money just from using you.  There are opportunities which would have never come available to me if I hadn't been trained how to work it with you.

Tears, tears, tears, I have to stop this and just move on.  But all in all I have had a ball.

Again, letting go of something I love so much is hard.  You're the only thing I ever wanted to know.  Let me stop.  Enough is enough.  But the bottom line is for so many reasons outside of my control I now have to let go.

See this big computer software company stopped supporting you.  I hung in there hoping they would realize the error of their ways and pick you back up.  They're not.  You've been out of the mix for too long.

MS FrontPage today is the day I officially retire you from my life as my main website development tool.  I am moving on to other pastures.  I am going to make SharePoint sites and InfoPath Forms my main web tools, yes they will be my new main squeeze.

I've always been a FrontPage girl but since Microsoft stopped supporting it years ago I really need to go ahead and move on too.  We were a match made in computer heaven.  You made me whole.

I wrote this for all the FrontPage enthusiasts as me who wish Microsoft would have never let this one go.  I've always been deemed a catalyst by others but this is one change I've found hard to incorporate.  As a consumer I know I have to just deal with it.  I wish software had a more democratic life cycle.  Let us as end users and consumers decide what we want to see enhanced in lieu of being canned completely.  I often wonder how much more money companies can keep if they keep what they have rather than start a whole new product development.

Granted, I already have one obstacle to overcome when seeking employment, now being in the over 50 age group.   We also have an issue with keeping up with the latest and the greatest of the technologies to be employable.  Just maybe because I am getting older and getting a little more set in my ways I don't want to see software change so often.   I used to love Lotus and WordPerfect.  When I was learning that software and perfecting it and becoming a guru in it I never foresaw either of them going away or becoming less popular either.

FrontPage in my personal opinion you were one of the most versatile all around software applications I had ever had the opportunity to know.  You will truly be missed.

When I miss a person or group of people where the relationship wasn't good I miss them pleasantly.  I'm still dealing with how I miss FrontPage.  There is neither bitterness nor bad feelings because FrontPage was so good, however, the miss I miss in you is what I will say is laid to rest for the peace I need to move on.  Thanks for the memories!

I'm So Not Up For It Right Now!

I'm trying to get ready for an Open House.  Too bad someone hacked my website (lynneruffin.net).  Whoever it is that felt the need to install Mal-ware on my site thank you.  The only reason why I am not going to bring it back up is because I have to rinse the conditioner out of my hair and dry and style it and get dressed.  Otherwise, we would be still competing the rest of the day to see who can do more the fastest.  The internet can be a blessing and a curse.  Apparently the person types just as fast as me and I type about 100 words a minute.  The quicker I'm going to change up stuff to keep them from doing more damage to my other accounts and sites the faster they are working.  So I got to give them big ups for that.  I'm just thankful that even though I have the skills I would never use them maliciously.  And I'll say again like I have said time and time before if you would expend the same efforts helping someone the world would be a better place.


One error message has turned into another all day today.  As I was looking up why I was getting the different error messages it pointed to conversations on Mal-ware and some type of Trojan.  Ain't nobody got time for that.  For another time, if you have enough free time on your hands to create problems or issues then by golly you have enough time to do something that will help the masses.  

Websites is what I do. Can you say R-E-S-T-O-R-E-D!  There is more than one way to skin a cap but you best bring your biggest dog for this one.