Chief gripe: Too much for too little

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 25 November 2008 13:56

“Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in 12 minutes. Half-times take 12 minutes. This is not coincidence.” —Erma Bombeck



Four short years ago it took divine intervention to find a Chiefs ticket. I had to set KC Wolf dolls on my monitor, hum the Tomahawk Chop theme three times a day, brush up on typing tests to keep my words per minute above 80 and neurotically test my Internet connection to make sure I could get on the Kansas City Chiefs Web site at the exact minute ticket sales opened, then type fast enough to come away with two (three if the NFL gods saw fit) tickets for the worst game on their schedule.

And I paid $70 per ticket for the pleasure of the concrete backrest that you can only find at...

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In the end, you can only control you

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 11 November 2008 14:11

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” —The Serenity Prayer

 

The election is over. Now it’s all over but the crying, or the cheering, depending on which way you cast your vote.

Either way, didn’t you feel a sense of control when you blackened the oval in your little booth? A healthy sense of power to wrap up a year of out of control campaigning. I’m glad it’s over and I hold out hope for better things.

I always considered myself an optimist. Even through the worst things that I’ve witnessed or gone through, I have always held onto a sense of “things will work alright out in the end.”

But do things always...

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Why do our kids turn out like us?

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 07 October 2008 14:03

If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.  —C.G. Jung, “Integration of the Personality,” 1939



“Oh, Lord help that child—that is so me!” Have you ever caught yourself saying that? At times when your daughter or son (that child) does something that instinctively and immediately upsets you?

Then just as quickly you realize that whatever they have just said or done could have easily come from you because their reaction is all to familiar. Remind you of anyone?

There’s no more accurate a mirror than a child.

Our kids are our own after all. And all of our crazy issues, habits and tendencies drip all...

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A look at future jobs via Australia

Written by Shelley Plett Wednesday, 24 September 2008 00:57

“I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair, and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard, and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running, and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day….. I think I’ll move to Australia.” —Alexander from “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst



If you’re looking for job security, you might check out some Australian want ads. Surf on over to an international job site and search for “marine scientist in Australian reefs” or “census taker for CReefs.”

I don’t know much about Australia beyond it’s the homeland of that ’80s band...

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