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StalkedByABunny
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Name: Abi
Gender: Female
Interests: Reading, classical music, counseling, laughing, good long talks about interesting subjects, words and language, volleyball, snow, singing under Urie, teasing my cat, taking Elijah classes, hangin' with my homies, making friends, staying home with my family, relaxing in a cozy chair, long walks(including along empty beaches), sketching, enjoying a nice cup of tea,
Expertise: Do I have one?
Occupation: What's that? :-)
Industry: Um. Somewhere?
Message: message me
Member Since:
6/8/2006
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| She was talking about a neighbor who used to freeze summer fruits and veggies.
She said: "She had two ice cream freezers *gestures back and forth* y'know... the kind they put ice cream in."
Mm-hmm. That kind. I always get those confused with the ones they put Lear jets in.
Later...
She said: "I'd better take it easy with this drinking!"
I'm just wondering what she's drinking! That totally explains why she feels so draggy in the mornings!
I know she doesn't mean what she says. But it really is very funny sometimes! 
So, not that funny today, but that's okay; you get to read it anyway!
Deo Gratias, my friends.
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| You know how people make fun of fishermen for exaggerating the size of "the One that Got Away?" Yeah... well, Mz. Jay isn't a fisherman, but today I experienced some amusement at her exaggeration!
We were speaking of Halloween, since it is That Time of Year.
She said: This year, I'm not going to answer the door for trick-or-treaters... Well, we don't have very many children in this neighborhood anyway. But one year, I opened the door and there was this older kid there who... and he wasn't in costume either! So I don't think I will this year.
20 minutes later...
She said: We don't have very many children around this neighborhood anymore... Although there was one time that I opened the door and instead of children, there were a couple older kids... they weren't even in costume! So I don't think I'll answer the door this year...
30 minutes later...
She said: Well, one time, I answered the door and there was a group of older kids...not even in costume! And they weren't from this area! I didn't know who they were. So I don't think I'll answer the door this year.
As I was walking out the door (seriously!)...
She said: Well, this year-today is the trick-or-treat day, right? Yeah, well I don't think I'll answer the door, cause a few years ago, there was a gang that was going around our neighborhood, and uh... They were all older kids who didn't have any business asking for candy!
No, in all honesty, give or take 5 minutes. I timed it. I wonder how much intimidating the group would have gotten if I had stayed longer... Could be that eventually it would have become a biker gang. Well, maybe not.
The joys of quirkiness and eccentricity...
Deo Gratias, my friends!
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| While listening to a certain person ramble today....
"I started on the needle while I was young!"
(Exactly which needle was that? Opium? Marijuana? Ohhh. Sewing! Common mistake.)
"I grew up in what we called the Depression; I'm sure you've never heard of that."
(You're so right! I grew up with my head in the ocean: all I heard about was the Expression of whale song.)
"A century ago, we didn't have things like that!"
(It's "The New Math!" 94 = 100!)
Okay, so maybe what popped into my head were pretty sarcastic responses. But give me some credit here: I didn't actually say what I was thinking. Of course, the duct tape over my mouth might have had something to do with it. I can still nod and say, "Mmm-hmm" just as well with it on.
I hope I'm as amusing when I get old and funny. I'll talk about when we still had to actually drive our own cars, and make references to "young whippersnappers." I'll clack my teeth at small children and dogs, and coo at babies and young men. I'll go racing in my wheelchair and menace the old men with my walker. I'll serve beans at my luncheon and get whoopee cushions to put on stuffy people's chairs! In short, I'll be a terror in my second childhood!
Oh my. May I never stop having fun and causing other people to laugh at my ridiculousness.
Deo Gratias, my friends.
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| For the past few weeks, have been working for a dear little old lady, Mz. Jay. I go to her house for three hours (4 days a week) to keep her company, do laundry, a little cleaning.... whatever needs to be done. Now, Mz. Jay is 94 years old, but is still spry and in very good health, considering her age. However, she has degenerative macular disease, and so is getting rather blindish. She can still see shapes and colors, but not details. If she sets down her glasses and forgets where they are, she would have a time finding them again. But she can see ants on a white counter. I think it has something to do with the contrast. Anyway. She also suffers from short-term memory loss. This makes life very interesting.
The first few weeks that I was there, the conversations would get stuck in loops. She would tell me about her childhood, and how her mother used to make rolls, "...yeast rolls! And she would spend all day baking them. The kitchen would be *chucklechuckle* covered in pans with these yeast rolls rising!" And she would tell me the filling, "...sugar, butter, crushed nuts, and maybe some cinnamon..." and how her mother would roll them up, then place them in pans, and "...the kitchen would be *chucklechuckle* covered in pans with the rolls rising!" From there she would hint that "many of the church families had variations on the same recipe," only to come back to "Now my mother's filling was nuts, butter, sugar and a little bit of spices." From there moving on to her mother making a "huge pot of soup for us to eat on days when she would bake because the kitchen would be *chucklechuckle* covered in pans with those yeast rolls rising!"
I kid you not.
Oh, she is a dear lady. And she remembers so much from her life long ago. Stories of the depression, the war, Before Telephones, when she lived in Pittsburgh as a little girl... all kinds of interesting stories. It just takes a little bit of patience to wait for a new story in the midst of all the ones I've heard 4 or 5 times.
Subject Shift:
Today, I washed up all the dishes, put away the lunch food, and had the kitchen generally clean. I walked into the family room and said, "Okay! I just finished washing the dishes and putting the food away, so you're good to go!" Mz. Jay replied, "Oh that's great! Now, before I forget, will you please make sure that you *very precise speaking to make sure I understand* rinse all the dirty dishes. You don't have to wash them, just a quick rinse."  
Oh what to do!
The other day, she changed subjects three times in one sentence! She started with "I think big families had it easier back then, because they could eat good wholesome food and um..........I um.....I got a job right out of college...because I HAD to you know... and I-.......um.....but I've always had good teeth!"
Bless her heart!
The only thing to do is laugh and shrug and move on and wait for the next exciting thing to happen! She is a very unique and sweet little lady, even though she does try my patience at times. 
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| What exactly is culture? Everyone talks about it and seems to know what
it is.... I'm afraid the more I see of the world, the more confused I
am.
Southern culture
Mexican culture
Eskimo culture
Secular culture
Jewish culture
Techno culture
Yogurt culture...
That last one was intended as a joke, but maybe culture is more like
yogurt than I originally thought. More on that later... maybe.
I'm trying to become re-acclimated to Delaware. After being isolated
from the world for 6 months in Conservative Mennonite culture, then
jumping into Western-coast culture for 2 and 1/2 weeks, to finally come
to roost in DE for a while is rather intense. I'm trying to decide
which culture is more godly.
The other day I was watching the store for my mom when a good friend
came in to
visit. Petros is from Greece. I think our family first had contact with
him about 22 years ago. The vague impressions I had from when I was a
child then were that he was old. He probably wasn't, it just seemed
like that to a young child. He's probably 60 or so now, I don't
know. Petros still is energetic; his whole being is involved in
conversation. His face constantly changing as he speaks, carefully
watching to see if you are following him, arms and hands waving to make
points, even his posture telling another facet of his speech. In spite
of that, his broken English is hard to understand at times. His love
for our family, and his doting on me is not so difficult to comprehend!
Every time that I see him, I get a huge smile, a bigger hug, and many
sand-papery kisses.
People talk about personal bubbles. It's not possible to have one with
Petros. Nor would I want one. His love is expressed through those hugs
and kisses. It's the only way he can really show his love for me.
Perhaps it is his effusiveness that touches my heart. It certainly is
not "appropriate" for some cultures. Depending where that would happen,
I could lose respect, reputation or even my life.
The conclusion I come to is that personal bubbles are a cultural thing,
and as such are situational. Call them "situational bubbles".
There are some cultures and situations where they may need to exist.
There are others where they should definitely NOT exist. So then,
people essentially are chameleons, changing bubble-size to fit the
situation. I know that there are times when bubbles need to be adjusted
to an extent that may not be comfortable for the person. I'll admit
that the first time I got a hug from Petros, it was a bit awkward, but
it was because I didn't know how to receive, not because he was doing
something culturally backward.
In my life, I have found that adjusting to the 'weaker brother' is
irritating and annoying. But it can be done. And it should be done. At
least, I think so. If bubbles would cause someone else to stumble, I
would change my bubble.
(Bunny trail: "stumble or be offended" -- as I understand it doesn't
mean to simple take offense, but actually lose one's salvation over
something. That's a serious charge of which I do not want to be guilty.
The question is, what to do when a brother 'is offended' by something I
do.)
It is true that we need to be aware of our brother's spiritual
condition, but is there something to be said for "A chain is only as
strong as it's weakest link"? Should we all become weak links in case a
brother "might be offended"? (Note: I'm not speaking of causing one to
lose their salvation. I mean the other definition.  )
I hope you aren't looking for any theological answers, because I don't
have them. Honestly, I'm not sure that you will find chapter and verse
as an answer to this either. I think God gave us a brain, common sense,
and the Holy Spirit for a reason. Sometimes we use the first and
second, but it we're honest, the third we utilize only rarely. The
Spirit-led life is where the answer can be found for culture and
bubbles. It isn't in rules or schemes or plans or programs, but in
seeking God for the Answer, not looking to others for answers.
Culture is good. Yogurt is good. Yogurt needs a certain amount of
"souring" in order to be yogurt (technically, it's milk that ferments,
but you get what I mean). If too much fermentation happens, it's not
good anymore. To much of a good thing is not good in this case. Too
much of a good thing makes gray-green mold grow on perfectly edible
food.
There are good things in every culture. The problem comes when that
"good thing" gets out of hand and goes wacko. Anything that God created
can be twisted into something that is totally opposite of His intention
in making it. ConserMenno culture has things in it that are "too much
of a good thing." Liberal Menno culture has things in it that are "too
much of a good thing." Secular culture has things in it that are "too
much of a good thing." But each one of these has some part of culture
that the others should learn. Yes, ConserMenno should learn from
Liberal Menno and Secular (gasp), and (amazingly) Liberal Menno should
learn from Secular and ConserMenno, and Secular should learn from
ConserMenno and Liberal Menno.
That's enough thinking for tonight. As the title said, this was to help sort out my thinking, not to make a point, or speak wise words into the blogosphere, or to sway people's opinions.
Deo Gratias, My Friends...
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