I've been driving since I turned 18, and I'm waaaaaaaay past that age now (several decades). In all that time, I have not had a single ticket (okay, I've been warned a couple of times) and only one accident - and that was a spinout on an icy highway, with no-one injured except my car. I've driven across the U.S. to Los Angeles on Route 66 and back again. I've driven in driving snow squalls with zero visibility, wailing thunderstorms while passing trucks threw acres of water onto my windshield, sailed through the balmy climes of Texas and the wind-driven cliffs of Colorado. So I can drive, is what I'm saying.
What my husband fails to believe, however, is that I can drive the three minutes it takes to get from the Metro North railroad station to our home a few blocks away. He angles his head a la Linda Blair to ensure that no car is coming up our left side when making a right turn, even though I've done the check and am already on my way. His head is constantly swivelling to check mirrors and side views. He winces if I hit the edge of a high manhole and gasps if I make a swift turn to another lane. Most people would wonder why I deign to get in the car with him at all. Here's my answer: I feel sorry for him. If you're always worrying, always checking, you never know what it's like to relax and enjoy the ride. Then again, that might be his overall challenge in life.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Children as Experts
I've spent a lot of time and error - as have my friends and family - finding my way to what I consider "the best" foods, clothes, movies, cars, services for my money. We've all suffered through the car that needed thousands of dollars of work in its first year, the travel company that failed to stand behind its special offers, the cleaners who "cleaned" our suits to the transparency of fine china.
So it greatly annoys me to watch some pre-teen on television without an iota of real living yammer on about the wonders of a certain grape juice or the technical aspects of cable service. I admit that some of these little ones are humorous and can actually carry off the dialogue with a certain amount of sincerity (because nothing's worse than a kid who knows they're cute and banks on that). I will even admit that I look forward to the odd commercial with children, especially the one with the three toddlers and the crazy dad who watches in despair as his fancy watch gets flushed down the toilet - but hey, that's a likely situation, unlike my five year old granddaughter espousing the culinary merits of a cheese sandwich.
No, what I hate is when the marketing reps for these products fail to come up with a premise that I, as an educated, literate and informed adult can "buy". It might be charming to use a child but it's lazy. When you resort to children for anything but a child's product, you're resorting to the literary equivalent of chick-lit. You're risking alienating a great portion of your audience just to drag in the few who don't mind doing the same thing again and again because it's easier than seeking out true quality. This isn't rocket science. This is marketing. I wish we could see more of it.
So it greatly annoys me to watch some pre-teen on television without an iota of real living yammer on about the wonders of a certain grape juice or the technical aspects of cable service. I admit that some of these little ones are humorous and can actually carry off the dialogue with a certain amount of sincerity (because nothing's worse than a kid who knows they're cute and banks on that). I will even admit that I look forward to the odd commercial with children, especially the one with the three toddlers and the crazy dad who watches in despair as his fancy watch gets flushed down the toilet - but hey, that's a likely situation, unlike my five year old granddaughter espousing the culinary merits of a cheese sandwich.
No, what I hate is when the marketing reps for these products fail to come up with a premise that I, as an educated, literate and informed adult can "buy". It might be charming to use a child but it's lazy. When you resort to children for anything but a child's product, you're resorting to the literary equivalent of chick-lit. You're risking alienating a great portion of your audience just to drag in the few who don't mind doing the same thing again and again because it's easier than seeking out true quality. This isn't rocket science. This is marketing. I wish we could see more of it.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
THE NOTHINGNESS OF A JOB SEARCH
I'm writing this from the depths of despair today. It's been 8 months since I left a job that paid well but took far too much out of me, and it is with absolute dismay that I sit here and realize how many months I've been looking for something else.
I'm qualified. There have been times when I've been overqualified or just-a-bit underqualified. However, 95 percent of the time, I've had EXACTLY what they require for the position and NOTHING. Not a word, not a call, not an interview, nothing. I can only assume that it's "hire americans first" because my letters are articulate, my resume is solid, and I've had both reviewed by those who should know. Nothing.
The problem is that it's getting more and more difficult to sit here every day and research the job sites. I am intimately involved with everything from monster to media bistro, career builder to the Boston Globe, and every individual work site in between. Nothing.
So how does one continue to do this? Where do we find the drive to keep going? I have the luxury of living with someone who supports me, financially and emotionally. But I have a strong and complete awareness of how this situation can drive you to drink, drugs, malaise and apathy. Nothing is the hardest thing I've ever done.
I'm qualified. There have been times when I've been overqualified or just-a-bit underqualified. However, 95 percent of the time, I've had EXACTLY what they require for the position and NOTHING. Not a word, not a call, not an interview, nothing. I can only assume that it's "hire americans first" because my letters are articulate, my resume is solid, and I've had both reviewed by those who should know. Nothing.
The problem is that it's getting more and more difficult to sit here every day and research the job sites. I am intimately involved with everything from monster to media bistro, career builder to the Boston Globe, and every individual work site in between. Nothing.
So how does one continue to do this? Where do we find the drive to keep going? I have the luxury of living with someone who supports me, financially and emotionally. But I have a strong and complete awareness of how this situation can drive you to drink, drugs, malaise and apathy. Nothing is the hardest thing I've ever done.
Monday, June 4, 2007
WRITERS
I was watching Dustin Hoffman on the Actor's Studio (with that awful man, Lipton, but the concept is good) and he was relating the story of Olivier's last dinner with him. When he asked Olivier why he "did what he did", Olivier leaned over the table and said "Notice me. Notice me. Notice me."
And the funny thing was that it took me back to my first play and a line in it that was so true, it startles me even now. I wrote "Osmosis" in the first person and the line I remember was "Notice me, but don't let me see you do it." And that is the difference between actors and writers. Actors live for the attention. Writers live for the attention once removed. But we both need it. The attention.
And the funny thing was that it took me back to my first play and a line in it that was so true, it startles me even now. I wrote "Osmosis" in the first person and the line I remember was "Notice me, but don't let me see you do it." And that is the difference between actors and writers. Actors live for the attention. Writers live for the attention once removed. But we both need it. The attention.
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