I don't think our fair city of Victoria, is different from any other city in the United States when it comes to human emotions. I'm keeping up with a very interesting and informative discussion about compact fluorescent bulbs and the old conventional ones. I wonder how much of that discussion is from not wanting to change?
Last Friday, my wife and I enjoyed our 44th wedding anniversary, I still enjoy listening to 60s and 70s music, but I enjoy reading about the latest technological advances, so I'm not completely against change. I separate nostalgia from change. Whenever we gave my parents something new, they always said “there was nothing wrong with the old one." That's fine to a point, but I remember it took me several months to get my stepfather to direct deposit their Social Security checks. He was already up in age and a traffic accident waiting to happen. It broke my heart because, when we started mowing the lawn for him; he just gave up on life. It's important to note that gradual change is best but there are unforeseen consequences that must be considered.
I guess people want the latest and the greatest when it comes to their entertainment. I don't believe there are many that went from vinyl to DVD, kicking and screaming. We transformed from bulky VCRs to blue ray players and from digital to HD TV without complaining. Does anyone still prefer a dial up connection to the Internet over DSL or cable?
We have a 100-year-old power grid and have been on fossil fuels forever, but one mention of replacing those energy sources will bring cries of “drill baby drill" and get rid of the EPA because people don't want to pay the initial costs of the new alternative energy source. We will eventually pay for them but it will be Germany, South Korea, or China, who will be supplying us with the new green energy the world is craving for. Guess what, it won't be cheap!
I have witnessed the outrage over gay marriage become a dull roar. When “don’t ask don't tell" was repealed, very few organized to protest. I haven't seen the evangelical right try to use gay marriage, as a political issue lately. I'm not saying these people still don't have strong feelings against it, but they see the eventuality of it becoming a moot point. It's one of those “if no one shows up at the protest to challenge, is it a protest?"
I have noticed traffic on Navarro beginning to pick up. I have also seen a rise in murders, and crime is a whole, so these are obvious signs of growing pains? Will Victorians accept the change or will they accept plans to stay ahead of the game? Will we start thinking about hiring more police officers or doing some traffic surveys? I have several old friends who tell me that they might move to the country or another small town because Victoria is getting too big for them.
It all comes down to how we accept change. A good example of that comes in the form of Gheni Platenburg's blog today. She is writing a blog about people not finding a job because they haven't mastered the English language. The first commenter (tafoer) stated "I look forward to you story. Please ask the question of those you might interview why they refuse to learn English." He takes it for granted these people refuse to learn English but English is hard to learn. I know several who won't speak Spanish because they're laughed that, and it's the same way with English. We can only change ourselves but if we don't, how can we expect others to change?
14 comments:
Slow news day, I guess. Lightbulbs. Now there's a controversy!
Congratulations of the 44 years! Wishing you 44 more!
I seem to equate change with efficiency. If the change is going to yield a better way, or provide a more efficient way, then I can get onboard. Otherwise, I have to say I can be rather resistant.
I do have to say I get very annoyed with folks who didn't take care of things, and now have to play catch up. Is this the attitude they have with their own possessions? Most likely not--it THEIR money then. But sadly, they forget good stewardship when it's someone else's money.
EA
Yes, the subject might have been dull but enthusiasm and civility of the debate was refreshing.
Thank you very much for the congrats.
Very good points, "change for efficiency", wise words for the weary. Good example of that is the new mandated sewer plant. The city flatly stated that our utility bills( trash & water) would increase to pay for the sewage plant. Do we immediately hit the roof, or do we find out what the alternatives are? Evidently the only low alternative we have is location and that's left up to the state. It's our money but are we playing catch up because our city council was afraid to present the issue because of blow back?
I believe it all boils down to TRUST.
Last night on KAVU Lynn Short was explaining that several years ago, for a couple of days, Victoria exceeded 75% of the current capacity. Then he said it was a "law, maybe a rule" that Victoria proceed in this direction. I'm not going to argue that we don't need a new sewer plant; I am much more distressed over the possible false imformation used to sell the citizens on this. The TRUST factor exactly!
Gee, if Lynn Short doesn't know whether it is a law or a rule, uh...
The cruise ship we were on hired people who could speak several languages. Hubby and I made it a point to ask everyone how many languages they spoke and we found people who could speak six and seven! Our dinner waiter, from Turkey, said he could only speak two when he began working on the ship, but now he is up to three. He has had so many opportunities to practice with native speakers. I was VERY impressed! America is not a place where we have opportunity to live (practice) aka learn other languages...
We are trapped on a unilingual ship! LOL
You really see a whole other side of your children while on a cruise. I felt like I was starring in a Lampoon's vacation flick - the Las Vegas one... Our oldest befriended bartenders and a group of young adults and got access to the places we didn't.
Hubby and I would be "out" for the night and we would see our son with a group of other adults. He would be laughing and have everyone's attention, ordering drinks, dropping tips... (we could watch everyone's activity via our onboard account). He even hung out in the casino and came home with a few extra bucks... like Rusty. LOL
We only saw him as he was coming in early in the morning. He would wake up and join us for dinner.
It's really hard to come back to reality. The homeschoolers are planning a back-to-school camping trip and I can't go from pamper to ROUGHING it.
(Hubby said our dinner waiter spoke three and then four languages...)
Rebecca
I remember walking into a electronics store on Times Square... In my my little10 minute shopping spree I heard the merchants and the clerks talking to their customers in Spanish, English and I assume Japanese. Victorians would become unhinged if they saw how many languages were spoken in New York City.....
I started an article but I didn't get to finish it but from what I read, it takes a lot of intelligence to process several languages at one time.
I've also read that in Luxembourg (pop. 500,000) most of its citizens can speak five languages fluently.
Rebecca
Seems like you had a real really good time but where did you go?
We've never been on a cruise but we've heard some good things and some bad things about cruises. People have told us that the food is great and so is the entertainment. Some have described it as one small city on a ship. Others have told us that the quarters were too small and one person didn't like having to wear a dinner jacket but he was a down home country bumpkin. I think we're gonna give it a try one day.... Do you to lose your wifi or 3G connection or does it really matter?
As soon as we got on board the ship, our signal was jammed. I guess because they offer their own wi-fi and network connection. We were on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas which departed out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The whole ship was wired and each deck (were there 17 or 18 decks?) had what worked like several giant iPads so that you could find out what all was going on throughout the ship and where you were.
The main decks were the Royal Promenade (shopping, dining, bars, casino entrance, and a bar that traveled up through several decks as you had a drink), Central Park (beautifully landscaped with more restaurants, more shopping, and even an art gallery), The Boardwalk (featured a large carousel and more dining and shopping), and the sports area (zip lining, two rock climbing walls, six ping pong tables, one basketball court, six hot tubs, four pools one pool area was a kid's water park, two wave runner-areas for surfing or boogy boarding, putt putt golf) and Solarium. Shopping and restaurants were on each of these decks. I can't remember which deck the ice skating rink was, there was a full spa, a gym with machines that looked out over the ocean, a casino, a game room/internet cafe, and ... Here is a slide show of The Royal Promenade: http://www.cruisecritic.com/slideshows/?ID=56
Here are live webcams of the other main areas: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/multimedia/webcam/ship.do?shipCode=OA I think it defaults to a shot of the Boardwalk with the carousel. That's where you would go to watch the water shows.
The ship was so big that 2.4 laps on the on-board track equaled one mile. Though there were 8,000 people on board, I never saw too many in one place except during dinner, which was worth the formal dress. ;) There was so much to do!
The ship was so much more fun than any of the excursions. If we ever go on the Oasis of the Seas again, we will just stay on the ship when it hits each port.
Our port of calls were: Labadee, Haiti; Cozumel, Mexico; and Falmouth, Jamiaca. We will never go to Jamaica again and we loved Mexico. We took a ferry from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen and then a bus to Xel-Ha. I love Xel-Ha! I ate chicken mole (pitched it to the kids as chocolate chicken) fried plantains, with real Mexican sour cream sprinkled with fresh copped habaneros, and a margarita FOR BREAKFAST there. =P
The kids had exclusive areas on the ship with internet cafes, clubs, game rooms, based on their age, and we could leave them there well into the night if we wanted privacy.
I was worried about Matthan, my oldest, because he was too old to hang with the 18 and under crowd and too young to have a drink. I was scared he wouldn't find a niche, but he found it quicker than any of us! He liked the casino and the surfing areas and he befriended the crowd on the ship that were staying in the nicest suites on board. Like I said earlier, he had access to areas we didn't. LOL I would comment, "How do you get there?" and he would say, "Oh, YOU can't, but I was there last night because so and so has the suite that takes up that deck."
Our rooms were ok - we had two rooms. Both had a king size bed and a couch and one had balcony access. We weren't in them much because there was so much to do on the ship!
This will be our last five person vacation as our oldest son is moving off soon, so vacations should be $mooth $ailing from here on out. In fact, we will pay almost half as much for the same cruise with just four of us.
I could go on... I hated Jamaica.
Rebecca
You would've made an excellent travel agent( are they still in existence?) because that's was a lot more than I expected. I'm glad you filled in all the details. You sold me.
I take it for granted, they head for shore well ahead of an incoming hurricane...:-)
The boat would go to another port if a hurricane threatened one of the scheduled destinations.
Yes, there are still travel agents because one booked our vacation. I will do it myself, next time.
Sorry for hogging your blog, Mike! I am still buzzing with trip hangover. =D
Rebecca
Hogging? Quite the opposite, you were a wealth of information and I'm sure you will do a great job being your own travel agent and because the client's interest will be your priority..:-)
I hope you don't mind me asking you more questions if we decide to go. I'm hoping it won't be in your professional capacity as a travel agent ..:-)..Then again, you answered most of the questions and you left the link...Thanks.
Oh, and Happy Anniversary! =D
Rebecca
Thanks a lot.
Post a Comment