So

So it's interesting learning a new job. Well not so much a new job as a new industry - agriculture. Specifically dairy. Did you know cows udders can be lopsided? Who knew? And only certain types of cows are dairy cows? I marveled at the thought! When my boss asks me if a certain picture looks ok, I say of course, only to learn my dairy-neophyte status has yet again been reinforced. Too skinny... cows with brown spots are a genetic anomaly... and of course we never want to show cows with dirt on them, or cows with (heaven forbid) flies buzzing around. So closing out my first full month of my new job, I can honestly say it challenges my brain and I learn something new every day. And the "newbie" look that everyone shoots me once in a while isn't condescending. So far I really like everyone I am working with.

So holiday time. I suppose I should touch on that. We are again taking to the southern tradition of deep fried turkey for Thanksgiving. It keeps spouse busy and out of the kitchen. My aspiring bakery-owner-child is at home now whipping up some yummy rolls from scratch. I have about six vegetable peelers (because I could never find one when I needed one), so we can all sit around the table peeling potatoes in the morning because everyone insists that using flakes means it's not really Thanksgiving. That leaves pies, green bean casserole and sweet potatoes. I think graphics daughter will be taking care of one or more of those. Am I a good delgator or what?

So I am a little bit sad that basketball daughter isn't going to make it home. I sure hope she doesn't spend it alone like she was talking about. Thanksgiving is for families, whether they're your own, or you're just adopting...

So I am making plans to get professional pictures done of our family. It's all my mom has asked for for the last three years... sigh. It's expensive, but I think it might be one of the last chances we have to do this.

Once again employed, I contemplate

Having passed the perpetual panic of unemployment, I seem to have time to go back to some of the more esoteric thoughts of life.

One of the significant people in my life doesn't seem to be able to fathom my longing for a conflict-free personal life, so I have been thinking a lot about why. Here are some of my initial thoughts:

• Conflict takes energy. I do not see myself as an energetic person, and in fact, I usually have an energy deficit just performing my normal day-to-day responsibilities. I covet personal time with my family and friends to recharge, not deplete me.
• I fulfill any need for conflict virtually these days. And mostly what I mean by that is reality TV. When this phenomenon first appeared on our tv in the form of "Survivor", I thought it was really dumb. But I find myself getting caught up in the ones where I can actually imagine myself (in another life) as a competitor - Top Chef, Project Runway, a lot of the Bravo, career-specific ones. (Believe me, running around in a remote location is NOT my thing.) I can imagine myself in the place of the chefs, designers, decorators, and even the rich housewives. Their conflict becomes my conflict, neatly resolved at the end of the season, if not the end of the episode. My desire for the mental stimulation that my amigo craves is fulfilled through the TV screen. I don't need it live.
• Conflict can be stimulating, but the negative is that in this day and age of limited restraint of expression, it can and most often is painful. Even playing the "devil's advocate" (in my experience) often devolves into personal insult wrapped up in intellectual proposition. Either we no longer have the thick skin of our forebearers who spoke for hours on end at debates in front of large crowds, or we no longer have the ability to edit what we say and do. I prefer to avoid hurting people.

Musing for today is done. We'll see what else crosses my neurons in the coming days.