MAKING PEACE WITH THE PAST

By Debbie Bulloch



My mom recently underwent surgery to remove a cancerous growth. As those of you who follow this blog know, as a young woman I had a troubled relationship with my mom.

Traumatic events, like a medical emergency, have a powerful way to focus our attention on the important things of life. Mom’s recent illness has helped me--and her--to put the events of the past into an entirely different perspective. Resentments that fueled feelings of bitterness that kept mom and I apart, no longer seem to be so important. Instead of wasting precious time living in the past, she and I look forward to a future free of the chains that held us back for so many years.

I am learning not to let past pain and hurt keep me from enjoying this moment in time. I know that making peace with the past will change the rest of my life for the better.

You should try it!

BEATLES – She is Leaving Home



She is Leaving Home (lyrics)

Wednesday morning at five o'clock
as the day begins
Silently closing her bedroom door
Leaving the note that she hoped would say more
She goes downstairs to the kitchen
clutching her handkerchief
Quietly turning the back door key
Stepping outside she is free

She (we gave her most of our lives)
is leaving (sacrificed most of our lives)
home (we gave her everything money could buy)
She's leaving home after living alone for
so many years (bye bye)

Father snores as his wife gets into her dressing gown
Picks up the letter that's lying there
Standing alone at the top of the stairs
She breaks down and cries to her husband
Daddy our baby's gone
Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly
How could she do this to me

She (We never thought of ourselves)
is leaving (never a thought for ourselves)
home (we struggled hard all our lives to get by)
She's leaving home after living alone for
so many years (bye bye)

Friday morning at nine o'clock she is far away
Waiting to keep the appointment she made
Meeting a man from the motor trade

She (what did we do that was wrong)
is having (we didn't know it was wrong)
fun (fun is the one thing that money can't buy)
Something inside that was always denied for
so many years (bye bye)
She's leaving home (bye bye)

HALLOWEEN BALLET

By Debbie Bulloch



Once again, Between Homes residents Karinna Praga and Teressa "Tess" Adamski starred in another production by Second Life's Little Princess Ballet Academy (LPBA). This year Halloween came early to SL as LPBA staged a production of their Halloween Ballet.











Here are some scenes from the ballet:

(Please click on picture for a LARGER image.)



First row (by the fountain), second from left - Tess Adamski
First row (by the fountain), third from left - Karinna Praga





Top row, with black hat, first from the left - Karinna Praga
Bottom row, second from the left - Tess Adamski

The Halloween ballet was produced, directed and staged by Guy Wardell. He and the entire company did a great job. Bravo! Bravissimo!

If you get a chance, contact Tess, Karinna and Guy and congratulate them for another standout performance!

ARE THE FRENCH LAZY?

By Debbie Bulloch



For the last few weeks, the world has watched as French workers, opposed to President Sarkozy’s proposed austerity measures, including the raising of the retirement age from 60 to 62, have taken to the streets in protest. Some of the protests have been rather violent, leaving large sectors of the French population in a state of paralysis.

The widespread strikes, over something as seemingly trivial as raising the retirement age from 60 (already the lowest in the industrialized world) to 62, have caused people in other nations to ask:

Are the French workers lazy? Are the French people strike-happy? Is the French economy going to collapse?

Well, it is now time to debunk the myth of the “lazy” French worker!

Please read below for some general facts about the French economy, French workers and France in general. These facts may surprise you.

Strikes: The world leader in days lost in strikes in 2009 was … Canada. Its score was 2.2 million, according to the UK journal The Economist. Next, came South Africa with 1.5 million. France came third with 1.4 million. France comes top of the European league table for the period 2005-2009, according to the European Foundation for the improvement of Living and Working Conditions. But in 2008 its efforts were dwarfed by Denmark, thanks to a strike wave, one of whose demands was a 35-hour working week. The damage to the economy is not as high as might be expected, judging by statistics from 2005 when a three-week strike cut 0.05 of a point from the growth rate, according to the Finance Ministry.

In typical French fasion, two young lovers kiss on the streets, while riot police look on.



Photo copyrighted by Reuters. All rights reserved by the copyright holder(s). Photo used here only for illustrative purposes only. No commercial use is intended, either explicitedly or impliedly.

Hours worked: French workers work an average of 1,453 hours a year, well below the OECD group of developed nations' average of just over 1,700 hours a year but above Germany and Norway (1,337), Sweden (1316) and the Netherlands (1309). South Koreans work the longest hours in the OECD at 2,390 per year.

Retirement: At present French women can retire at the same age as women in Italy, South Korea, Hungary, the UK, Greece and Poland but earlier than Turks and Czechs. Men have the lowest minimum retirement age in the OECD. The government's proposals will bring them in line with Czechs and Hungarians and raise the age that retirees can claim the full pension to 67, provided they have paid over 40 years of contributions.

GDP: France’s Gross Domestic Product has doubled in the last 20 years. It was over 2000 billion Euros in 2009, according to the IMF and the World Bank. That puts it fifth in the world league table, behind the US, Japan, China and Germany and just ahead of the UK. Over the same period, there has been a 10 per cent shift of the share of GDP from salaries to profits.

Productivity: French workers’ productivity has risen five times since 1960. Although it has fallen slightly over the last two years thanks to the recession, it is expected to double again over the next 20 years. GDP per hour worked is lower than in the US and Ireland but higher than in many countries, including the UK, Germany and Japan.

Debt: France has the sixth highest public deficit in Europe in percentage terms, at 8.2 per cent. The US’s deficit reached 12.5 per cent in 2009. The debt of French households was 89.1 per cent of income in 2006, according to the OECD. In Britain and the United States that ratio stood at 168.5 percent and 139.7 percent respectively.

Unemployment: French unemployment stands at 10 per cent, the average for the Eurozone. As in other industrialized countries, the figure has been pushed up by the recession but was already relatively high at 8.2 per cent in 2001. US unemployment stood at 9.6 per cent in June 2010.

So next time that you may tempted to refer to the French worker as a "lazy slacker" and France as a "lazy" country with a stagnant economy, be sure to refer to the facts listed above.

The Sleeping Beauty Ballet At Second Life

By Debbie Bulloch



Two of our very own Between Homes residents, Teressa "Tess" Adamski and Karinna Praga recently starred in "The Sleeping Beauty" ballet. The ballet was presented, over a span of four weeks, by the Little Princess Ballet Academy.

Both Tess and Karinna spent long hours in rehearsals, getting ready for their performances. The ballet was directed by prima ballerina Miss Kaysie Knoller. Several BH residents, including Brea Zadark, Xanadu Dominquez and yours truly, attended the ballet.

All the dancers worked very hard and turned out great performances. Please take a minute to congratulate Tess and Karinna on a well done job!

And be sure to also drop Miss Knoller a note and let her know that you appreciate her efforts to bring a measure of entertainment and culture into the SL experience. It is heartwarming to see someone spend so much time and energy to bring quality entertainment to SL residents. Thanks Kaysie!

Kudos all around...bravo, bravissimo!!!

Second Life: The Sleeping Beauty by Little Princess Ballet Academy

THURSDAY NIGHT BIKE RIDE - AGAINST THE WIND

By Debbie Bulloch



Yesterday I went for a bike ride after work. It was a short ride, only 20 miles. Now that the sun is setting earlier and earlier, the hours of daylight are becoming scarcer by the minute.

We have been having some crazy weather in Southern California. On Monday, temperatures reached in excess of 104 F (40 C) in normally cool Ventura. The on Tuesday, we were treated to one of Nature’s finest shows as thunder and lightning pounded the region on the hours right before sunset.

In the aftermath of Nature’s recent crazy behavior, we have been left with weather conditions that give rise to strong afternoon onshore winds. Yesterday, during my bike ride, the winds were blowing at a steady 10 miles per hour (16 kilometers per hour) with gusts in excess of 15 mph (24 kph).

Riding against a strong headwind is never easy. Like mountain climbing, a steady headwind can zap a rider of energy as she fights to keep the bike moving forward. Normally, riders on a road bike can take advantage of the road bike’s many aerodynamic features, including a smaller profile (to face the wind) and much lighter weight. I, however, was riding my mountain bike. As much as I love my ‘Dale (Cannondale) mountain bike, that beast has to be one of the least aerodynamic two-wheeler in existence. On top of that, my ‘Dale weighs nearly a ton (well I exaggerate a tad here). Whereas my light weight road bike feels like an Italian race car, the ‘Dale feels like a Mack truck.

During the last ten miles (16 km) of the ride, the wind just kept pounding me. To make it harder, it was getting darker as the sun was making its final descent into the Pacific Ocean. To keep me inspired (and moving) I “played” Bob Seger’s “Against the Wind” in my head. Bob’s beautiful voice and haunting lyrics were just the inspiration I need to hammer my way back to my car.

When I finally ended my ride, I was treated to the sights of yet another spectacular sun set. Watching the sun setting against a background of a dark ocean and fiery clouds made me forget all the wind-fighting, sweat and effort that took to finish the ride.

Here, for your listening and viewing pleasure, Bob Seger’s “Against the Wind” and a few images of a California sunset.

Enjoy!

BOB SEGER – Against the Wind

















Have a wonderful weekend!