The Things We See and Hear...

Things I witnessed on my Lunch Hour:

• woman driving a minvan while dressed as a cow and talking on her cellphone
• the song Thriller on 3 different radio stations
• 4 guys playing hacky sack in front of a tattoo shop
• woman wearing a shower cap and rain boots...NOT dressed up for Halloween
• a customer service lady wearing a green t-shirt and with a green soul patch. really not sure what she was supposed to be...

Thriller will absolutely be stuck in my all day now. It's definitely kickin' right now. And I posed this question to my friend earlier who said she loved Halloween music. What songs are there besides Monster Mash and Thriller?

rich vs.poor vs. poverty

In the words of the great Steve Martin in the movie The Jerk:

"I was born a poor black child.'

 Now, like Steve Martin, I was not actually born a poor black child. But for most of my life, I've lived at or below the poverty line. Growing up, I didn't really know this. But that's because of the reliance of my parents on the great evil that is credit cards and also because of the charity of others. Quite the combination. But, I was well dressed and there was food on the table. And a VW bus that the sliding door fell off of. My brother would often have to ride gripping the door handle to make sure it didn't fly off. Good times and character building. 

Growing up in the 80s, it was a material world, and that helped me to think I was a material girl. I'm a tomboy and pretty kickback but when I get things, I tend to want the best. I'm cursed with good taste (but luckily not in everything. I'm not ashamed to shop at the dollar store or list Taco Bell as a favorite restaurant). I got into a bit of trouble my freshman year at college. I had a Nordstrom card and South Coast Plaza was literally 5 minutes away. Plus, I was feeding a growing Roxy addiction...hungered by the close proximity to the beach (not that I surfed). 

My sophomore year at college, events happened which led to my dad losing the house and pretty much all of my childhood possessions. I was obviously devastated. Plus, I now had no home to go home to. Pretty rough. But here's the thing, even then I knew that it could be worse. I know that there will always be people worse off than me. Even after I lost my job as Director of Fun and spent 9 months unemployed, I knew that I was still fortunate to have all that I do.

The way I've looked at it, I've been houseless, but never homeless. I've been blessed by people who love me and help me and feed me. What I learned at my Americorps orientation is that means I'm rich in Social Capital. Which is the truth. I'm blessed. 

My new job requires me to live at the poverty line. When I told my uncle this the other day he was positive that it was illegal and couldn't be done. But I understand it. I'm working with refugees who are coming to America with nothing but a small bit of social capital. They've got a friend or family member who is taking them in. But the goal is for them to become self-sufficient. And really, that's my goal too. I miss having money (not that I ever had a ton to begin with). I miss paying all my bills on time. I miss being able to get in a car and drive somewhere spontaneously. I don't always have the right attitude and I've done my share of complaining and stressing, but in the end, I know I'll be a better person having lived this experience. I have my own place, I'm technically employed, I have a car that is still running (through I'm convinced the power of prayer), and I have a computer to be writing this on. I'm infinitely blessed. 

I know it's not Thanksgiving yet, but I'm thankful. Be thankful for all the blessings you have in your life, no matter how small.

What Netflix Thinks About Me

Ever wonder what your Netflix choices say about you? I got a taste of that today. I was a bit caught off guard when I actually looked at the categories Netflix decided I would be most interested in:

• suspenseful independent comedies
• goofy Action & Adventure
• imaginative Sci-Fi & Fantasy
• visually striking Dark movies (and yes, the Dark was capitalized. what does that mean?)
• Emotional 20th Century Period Pieces

I am a weird weird person...at least according to my movie tastes...just proves I'm eclectic...and a former Film Major.

But honestly, I don't know about you, but I tend to netflix the things that either no one else will see with me in the theater, or that I don't want to spend money on seeing in the theater, or old movies that I never saw in my childhood or haven't seen FOR-EV-ER. So, apparently that leads me to liking these types of netflix choices.

Oh well, I suppose it could be much weirder, right?