E.E.O.C. my B.U.T.T.

  
Sassafras. This really pee-pee soaks my cheerios. Recently i've been in the market for a job (joyous), and just got thrown under the short bus. A former employer of mine is well known in the hospitality business here in the Northwest, and makes for a pretty stellar reference. I'd used her before, so i didn't think twice about listing her again.

However, i was nothing short of flabbergasted when she revealed to me later  she felt morally obligated to disclose my personal medical information to my prospective employers. (And this was my dream job we're talkin' about here, darlings; suits me to a T and a U-V-W-X-Y-Z.) Sheesh.

Based on what i'd known of the hiring/firing process, i assumed there was no way she was legally allowed to divulge that sort of thing. Yet, lo and behold, to my chagrin, not all employers are covered by ADA mandates: discriminating against a person based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, disability or genetic information is perfectly okay if the business has fewer than 15 employees, or they've worked less than 20 calendar weeks in the last 2 years. Neat. 

Yeah that's not blooping arbitrary or anything. Feel free to screw over 14 employees, but 15? God forbid 15.

I feel duped. Especially since my boss has become somewhat of a mother figure of mine. It's a seasonal job. I left on great terms with plans on returning, but the position was axed by the ranch owner (not my boss who's just the manager). We've had what i'd perceived an awesome working and personal relationship for the past six years. How do you not take it personally?  

In any case, i'm ready to storm the castle (the white one) to eliminate the asinine, schmegsaucy loops in the system. It isn't right. Equal my beakwul. I will fight them.

I love this place i live. 

The camas is blooming. Blue blue blue

In our neck of the woods we have a trail that winds through an expanse of rolling hills, prairies and farmlands. It winds up to a forested summit and plummets back down through trees and moss and ferns to the next little Idaho logging town.

Naughty, Spicy Bean Curd

Saw this at the Asian food mart the other day. I didn't buy it. (???)! I went back today, because the intrigue got the better of me, but they were SOLD OUT! The lady said they'd been selling like hot cakes (Of course they were!) and now I may NEVER know if they are in fact as naughty and spicy as they claim to be.

I'd at least like to take a gander at the ingredients. They say tofu takes on the flavor of whatever it's with. Who knows what you'd need to marinate your bean curd in to get it to taste sufficiently naughty. Maybe i can just find solace in the fact that i may never know. hmmf.

I Wanna Be a Bear

Painting by William Beard

I want to be a bear. It's really more my style.

And when the world turns cold and harsh, I'll hibernate a while.
I'd revel in a mountainous, riparian milieu-
picking berries every day until my tongue turns blue!
I'd take my time a-lumbering. I wouldn't have to rush.
I'd stop and sniff the flowers in the meadow sweet and lush.
I wouldn't need no bear friends, as they tend to let you down.
I'd befriend ol' Mother Nature, as she'll always be around.

As a bear I might even consider procreating,
as mama bears give birth to cubs while they are hibernating.
The baby bears are walnut-sized. You'd be surprised how small.
Not like baby humans barging out like bowling balls.
And you had best believe I'd be a badass mama bear-
hurt my cubs and you'll be disemboweled beyond repair!

But... I guess I'm only fronting with this talk that I'm so tough.
I'd really be a teddy filled with soft and squishy stuff.
And a life that isn't shared, is a life that is without.
I'd long for other bears that I could love and care about;
to snuggle with and cuddle with and comfort when their blue.
I'd give them all my stuffing, just to dry a tear or two.
It's true that life alone is less fulfilling, kinda boring.
It's best to have a pal around to play and go exploring.
But, sometimes life is hard, and bear friends have to leave
and hearts are left all by themselves alone to think and grieve

It happens to the best of us. So brace yourselves my sweets.
Even bears are not immune to heartbreak's claws and teeth.
I'll tell you of a gorgeous bear who thought she'd never mend
when life was such her partnership had reached a sudden end.
She sulked back to her cave to get over feeling sad
and dreamt about the time they shared and all the fun they had.
But when her stomach grumbled, and the birds began to sing,
She stumbled from her den into a brand-new, brilliant spring.
She soaked up sunshine kisses and the scent of flower blossoms,
returning to her first true love, so warm and sweet and awesome.
In mother nature's arms once more she found herself secure,
swept away and smitten by her beauty; wild and pure.
She realized that she'll be okay sans mortal, earthly love
with all the heaps of blessings that are sent from up above.

That is, until on day, while savoring a berry.
She saw great big boulder that was brown… and kinda hairy.
She was downright astonished when it moved all on it's own
and when a face popped out, she swore the handsomest she'd known.
He smiled at her surprise and sent her pulse into a flutter.
Her stomach filled with butterflies so wide they made her stutter
… "Hi" she finally managed, and he laughed as he replied, "Hi"
… and then she realized she'd been lost inside his big brown Bambi eyes.
"Would you like to pick some flowers in that meadow there with me?"
She said, "Why yes, I'd love to." And the rest was history.

So whether you are human, or whether you're a bear,
so long as your heart's beating, it is not beyond repair.
And like there's lots of fish out there in that gimungous sea,
there's plenty bears out in those woods, you'll find eventually.

Posta Primavera

Photo credit: tanakawho

Phew. Where to start? At Romanesco broccoli, (of course). Nearly perfect, exquisite fractals. First described in Italy during the 16th century. Natural expression of logarithmic spirals. Fibonacci series. Mother Nature's recursive helical arrangement of cones. I can walk down to my co-op and pick some up even here in Idaho. This world we live. Ain't no shortage of things to make you go "whoa."

Gratitude, gratitude. Like a heart beat. Gratitude, gratitude...