Unconscious Mutterings

1. Italy :: Rome. I took an awesome class in the history of ancient Rome several years back, as a result of having been fascinated by Rome since I was a kid. I loved it. Still do, and still read up on it every chance I get.


2. Honk :: Geese. Why geese? I'm not sure, except they have the most raucous honk I've ever heard, far less irritating than the honk of the guy behind me because I didn't start driving the second the light turned green despite the fact that the guy in front of me didn't start driving the second the light turned green.


3. Shades :: Cool. "My future's so bright I've got to wear shades." And isn't it funny how that song gets associated with coolness, bright outlooks, etc., when it's really about the world suffering a holocaust meltdown of Biblical proportions?


4. Tool :: Screwdriver. So what does this mean? I don't get enough sex? I don't, but that's another story and one that's far too private to share here.


5. Modern :: Art. I love modern art. I have postcard sized Picasso prints hanging up around my cube at work. I'm trying to find a postcard book of Kandinsky as well. And yet my calendar at work is of Pre-Raphaelite works, which I also love. Go figure.


6. Tension :: Stress. I don't like stress. I can feel it knotting up in my shoulders, making my head pound, until I just want to scream until everyone around me shuts up and stops talking about money and war and hatred and murder and child abuse.


7. Conservative :: Bush. I used to be a Conservative, politically. But I have too many questions that they don't answer satisfactorily. I'm not a Liberal either. I just think for myself. Makes voting difficult, but there you have it. And by the way, if you're in Texas, just know that I have decided to vote for Kinky Friedman for governor. Go Kinky!


8. Weight :: Losing. How mundane is that? And yet this morning when I got dressed, I realized that I am getting smaller. It's not enough yet that anyone else would notice, but I notice, and it feels good.


9. Insurance :: Ripoff. I get irate to think of how much money we have paid out in auto insurance over the years. We've filed only two claims on our own insurance. One was for towing, and one was for a minor fender-bender that ended up getting dropped because the other party ended up not pursuing the issue. So why is it that legally you are required to have insurance, yet if you use it, presumably for the purposes for which you are required to have it, you can then either get charged ever higher rates or else you can get dropped? That's reprehensible. And why do you have to pay higher rates if your credit sucks? That's reprehensible as well. My need for insurance has nothing to do with my credit score.


10. Political :: Tool. Too many people in public office seem to be tools of their political parties and care too little in reality for the people who voted them in. Well, let me be more specific. They care too little for the powerless people who voted them in. The people with the money and the power get kowtowed to as always. In the words of the Kingston Trio, "what nature doesn't do to us will be done by our fellow man."