Cars and Irish Number Plates

There is nothing like flying commercial aviation today to see some bad behavior by individuals.

Take, for example, when I was connecting through Chicago en route to Phoenix (from Washington DC) - the flight crew asked repeatedly "if Chicago is your final destination, please wait to leave the plane for those people making connections." This was done largely in part because we had been delayed almost an hour and a half in Washington DC. Yet do people do that? Of course not! I don't understand it. Is it that you just really have to get off the plane, or that you really don't care? Naturally these seem people would expect me to wait for them. Thankfully, despite these people's insensitivity, I made my flight.

Than when one arrives at their final destination you inevitably have those people who forgotten where they parked in the economy lot, so why do the rest of us have to go on the search with you? I think a perfect solution to a lost car and if you are prone to those incidents, to get Personalised Number Plates. This way you would always know which one is your car. My sister has personalized car plates on her mustang (unlike me, she is working this great professional job, making big bucks and going places career wise, sigh). These plates always help my father confirm its her car when he has to drive it.

Cherished Number Plates

All in the news lately has been about the firing of the BP CEO Tony Hayward. I get the impression from the reporters that this is suppose to be some punishment for his work or bad public relations mess with the gulf spill. Yet, I don't see that - Mr. Hayward has already stated that he wanted his life back, what better way to get that life back than by being fired?? Having been through two bankruptcies with non-descript airlines, I know that firing for these CEO's is not like firing for the rest of us. Mr. Hayward will not have to go on welfare because of this - chances are more likely that he will lay low for a few months and than re-emerge with some other company. Worse comes to worse, he will get a tenured position at some business school, who wouldn't want the Ex-CEO of multi-billion dollar corporation British Petroleum on their faculty.

To me this firing isn't a punishment so much as a reward, for all the mess his company has made, I would think the least this man could suffer is being forced to man the company for a few more months, go through some more headache. To not allow him to get his life back seems a more fitting punishment. Though I suppose there are those in the media who say that this has nothing to do with reward or disciplining Mr. Hayward but instead getting the company back on track. If one was to poll me, the best way to get the company in the black is to invest in alternative energy and help push that through throughout the world.

One area that no one on the United Kingdom is having problems with is obtaining Cherished Number Plates for their car. As it really is the only major method of transportation in much of the modern world, we must use oil for our cars so shouldn't we at least get something nice out of the drive for ourselves, such as a personalized license plate that expresses our self. Now I just have figure out what I would want my plate to say......

British Royals on Flickr!

It finally rained here in Arizona - I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was!!! So elated was I, that I went walking out in the rain.

I love rainy days - and there are so few of them when one lives in a desert, you must relish the days you get.

In other news, the British Royal Family is now on flickr! Check out the story here -
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_britain_royals_flickr

This is great for lovers of all things British royalty like me : )

And finally, I could use a laugh this week and I do love the Muppet's and Sam the Eagle - enjoy!

Indian Reservation

This weekend all my cousins but me are getting together in Florida for a mini-reunion. I am completely bummed I am missing it, yet with my work schedule this last minute planned trip could not be fit in (of course I am also the only cousin on the West side of the country and air tickets are much more expensive last minute for me than for everyone else living on the East Coast so there was a detrimental cost factor as well).

But this all leads me to one of my favorite moments during my work day. When I work close at the store in the mall, I leave the job at about 9:30pmish. The road that I take to get home passes right by an Indian reservation (don't ask me which one, I have no idea, this whole Native American culture and reservations is new to me, we didn't really have that in Northern Virginia, so I'm learning about it as I live here in Arizona).

You can tell its a reservation, its sparsely populated, not built up as the rest of Phoenix is (and believe me this part of the road is prime reality, if it wasn't owned by the Native Americans it would be built up!). Anyway, there is this little outpost of homes in the distance I can see from the highway. It seems to be about five or six homes on one street.

I always look at those homes/that street and imagine that all my family lived there, all on one street, how nice that would be! We would get together in the evening for dinner and than everyone would hang out, the cousins chatting and laughing while the adults sat around and talked.

I know, I know this is an idyllic dream not reality but perhaps in my abject homesickness this is what I have come up with to help me cope? Either way, it is one of the best points of my work days.

Strange Things People Say

People say the strangest things, no?

At the store I work at, today I had at least four people come in and after I said "hello," they replied, "I'm just here for the free samples."

Um...what?! Yes that is right, we opened a store in one of the most expensive malls in America just to provide free food for the masses. Exactly, we have changed our business mission, instead of making money, we have become a non-profit. People are idiots, how do they think we provide those free samples? Like the store has unlimited money to just feed their cheap asses (as they come in with their Nordstrom, Juicy Couture, Crate and Barrel bags). I don't understand people's thinking, aye.

I heard on the news today about the bombings in Uganda, the terrorists said they did it because the country of Uganda sent in peace forces to Sudan. I know terrorists are stupid but this is a new level of idiocy - "how dare you send in peacekeeping forces?! We liked war and death!" Exactly what tenet of religion is this profused love of death and war listed? Idiots.

Personality type

Thanks to everyone for their well-wishes, I'm not much better but my mom being in Arizona taking care of me most definitely helped! I swear there is nothing like mommy care in the world, no?

Driving home from work tonight and I got to thinking about something - my personality type. My husband says its prudish, but I am just one of those types of people who doesn't find talking about sex and fart jokes all the time, or really any of the time, in polite company, is acceptable. I just don't find that stuff funny or interesting. That is really juvenile to me.

I find that my personality is such that I don't broker such conversations around me, maybe broker is not the right word, instead invite such conversation. People who would normally indulge in those discussions don't around me. Instead I like talking about current events, sometimes Hollywood gossip, books I've read, movies I've seen, peoples lives. I don't really want to know about someone's sex life, be it wild or boring and maybe I let that disapproval show??

I'd like to think that is because I'm sophisticated, but the husband says this is not a good thing. Also, I'd like to think moving in more educated circles would eliminate this gap, no?

What does everyone think?

Yoodle

Still sick - not much to write about, my life is currently so dull, there is nothing to write about, though my mum is coming out to visit for the next few days, and that is good, I could do with some mommy TLC.

In the spirit of summer and the fourth of July, I'm going to recommend some beach book reads!

1. The Other Wes Moore - by Wes Moore. Non fiction, roughly 198 pages. Such an easy read and fascinating, about two guys named Wes Moore, both born in Baltimore, around the same time, African-American, and how their paths diverged, one went on to be a Rhodes Scholar and the other is in jail for life. A great insight into sociology of our society, raising children and the impact of families.
2. Her Royal Spyness - by Rhys Bowen. Fiction, roughly 300 mass market paperback pages. For those like me who love all things England and royalty, this first in a mystery series is great! It is set in the 1930's, with all the scandal of the English Royal family (remember Edward and Wallace Simpson). It harkins to a time in English history I love, set in London with this great girl character! Super fun read, you'll finish it in a day!
3. His Border Bride - by Blythe Gifford. Romance fiction, roughly 300 mass market paperback pages. I love this author, you can pick up this book or any other of her romances and you'll have a good time. As far as romance novels go, Gifford has a real knack of making a good story in a short time, with plausible characters and good characterization/dialogue. If you want a happily ever after, this is the book to go with!
4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows, fiction, 300 plus pages. If you haven't already read this book, do so! There is a reason this book was on the best seller list for weeks on end, its just a moving tale about life in England immediately after the war (WWII) in a part of the British Kingdom one doesn't think about (only part of England that was occupied by Germany). You will zip through this book, I promise!
5. Kitchen Confidential - by Anthony Bordain. Non fiction roughly 312 pages. You have seen him on tv eating all kinds of strange and fascinating things from around the world, now read about his history, how he became a chief and his family history (french!). The book also goes into the world of cooking and kitchen hierarchy, it is very interesting and a great start off point to learn about the world of top chiefs and restaurant life!

To get these books and more, I recommend good ol'e Amazon!