Evangelizing vs. Proselytizing

Evangelize: To spread the good word

Proselytize: Covert or attempt to convert someone to your belief or ideas

I am all about the evangelizing. There's a whole lot of good in the world and we should be willing to share it.

Proselytizing gets old really fast, though.

We're planning to replace some windows at home, and getting bids from a few companies.

Silly me, I thought this would be fairly easy--they come and measure the windows, show us some options, and we figure out what we can afford.

As it turns out, they bring samples and brochures and tell us about the benefits of the thingamabobs and the whoseewhatsits.

OK, I'm good with education.  (Though honestly, I'd rather just look at the website and read some reviews, then come to the person with my questions.)

And then the SALES part comes in. I understand that they are selling a product and they work on commission and the bottom line is important. And yes, they would love to make a deal. Today.

Here's where it turns to proselytizing. How they are the sensible option, how their competitors are horribly flawed, how Any Intelligent Person would obviously insist on the whoseehatsits.

High pressure sales do not encourage me to make a decision beyond "I need this person as far away from me and my checkbook as possible."

Pray for me.

Blooms

Last week's impatience involved this Christmas cactus that was budding but not blooming.

It's in full bloom now.

It's winter in Houston, a most confusing time for outdoor plants. Our azalea bushes will put out their full color on a warm day, only to have the temp drop twenty degrees at night.

I saw dandelions today--not just blooming ones, but the ka-blooming ones, ready to send their white fluff far afield.

We've been promised a few days of spring weather, while yet another snowstorm settles in up North. My impatience, I know, can't hold a candle to those who've been snowed in.

Cacophony

This morning I got a Facebook message. Usually this makes a chime noise--today it was three chimes in a quick echo.

Stranger still, my computer screen revealed a blank chat box. Reloading the page didn't seem to help.

I grabbed my phone and things there worked fine. I responded, then heard the triple chime again.

A few minutes into the (noisy!) conversation I realized I had three browser windows open, each with Facebook and some other tabs.

Not only does that explain the echo, but the sluggish response. Thankfully, it was a quick enough fix to close some windows and tabs.

And yet so often I have a dozen tabs open, on top of five documents and three spreadsheets and whatnot.  

My computer is as cluttered as that photo of Einstein's desk, and it's not simply a sign of my genius. It's more about things I keep meaning to get around to, of intentions rather than actions. I know any number of strategies to avoid the trap--I just need to use them.

Finally Sofritas!

I've been waiting months and months to try Chipotle's sofritas. The local store was slow to get them, and then we just had to find an occasion... 

Tonight a 4:30 appointment took until 7, so oh darn--no time to make dinner. We simply HAD to go to Chipotle.

The tofu is nice and firm--they say it's shredded, but I would just call it scrambled. The spice level is great, but the salt seemed over the top. According to Chipotle's nutrition calculator , it has 555 mg of sodium--more than any of the meats. (It also has more fat than most of the other proteins, excepting the carnitas.)

It goes well with the guacamole, and gives me some ideas for creating a similar dish at home.

Vaccines, Guns, and Seat Belts

"I've heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal children, who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines." - Rand Paul, ophthalmologist

If we replace "vaccines" with "handgun accident", how does that change the conversation and the risk?

I am amazed (but am glad) that we have managed to legislate seat belt and car seat usage so widely, given the energy behind other risky behaviors. Heaven knows, seat belts are not without adverse effects, and they definitely impact personal freedom.

Real life, however, rarely lines up neatly on a continuum, and indeed, there's rarely only one axis.

True Reasons I Have Done Chores

I know there are people in the world who take pleasure in a clean house and the knowledge of a chore well done. 

Me, I can deal with a fair amount of chaos as long as I can find something I want to read, there's room for a nap, and I have some way to make coffee.

And then there are the motivating factors for doing my chores. Among them:

1) All my pajamas were in the dirty wash, and I really wanted a jama day.

Covered in warm laundry, 2/2/15

2) Someone on the Internet claimed I could easily clean my oven glass, and I had to prove their method wrong.

3) Laundry fresh from the dryer is an extra blanket of warmth. (This one works best when you can convince someone else to fetch the clothes from the dryer and dump them all over you.)

4) Procrastination. 

What motivates you to clean?

The Report of My Perfection Was an Exaggeration.

I had a major fail today.  

The turkey. 

After a few days of defrosting and a dry brine, I put it in the oven to roast... and it came out horrible. I do not know if it was a freezer burn issue or it was bad before or after the freezer, but it was Not Good. 

And I found this out about an hour before the start of our Super Bowl party.  

As I broke the news to my spouse, I was sort of struggling not to scream. Instead I just had to laugh. Maybe a little hysterically. 

Then I found my shoes, got in the car, and went to the grocery store that was nearly day-before-a-hurricane busy. Marinated chicken fajitas and tortillas--mischief managed.

I got home and the turkey was still far too hot to toss. I considered a shroud. Yes, I mourned an entree.

Spouse made this note instead, reasoning that we didn't want our guests inadvertently snitching a taste.

In the end we had plenty of food and everyone was happy. And soon enough one of our younger guests put a pic of the turkey on Snapchat. "Miss Katy! Twenty-three people viewed my story!"