Wednesday, July 8, 2009

stuck.

You ever go to the grocery store and get completely stymied in the cereal aisle? You stand at one end, with the rest of the shelves stretching out into what seems a sugary carbohydrate infinity, trying to decide. You notice that even the simple, wholesome Cheerio has devolved in to limitless variations: honey nut, banana nut, multigrain, berry burst, yogurt burst, apple, fruity, even cheerios crunch and then there's the flakes (bran or corn?)...and the cocoa (puffs or pebbles?)...and the fiber (clusters or buds?) and...it's overwhelming.

This is the exact feeling I've been having lately. I'm stuck. The Great Ammo Crisis of 2009 has put a damper on my shooting, the library is like an unchanging Twilight Zone of putting up with other people's crap for a laughable wage, and despite my certifiable news junkie status, everything just seems so miserable that I can hardly comment. I could probably write an hourly blog post on the upcoming and ongoing horrors of the current administration and the Democrat-controlled Senate (which now includes Stuart F'ing Smalley, for heaven's sake) but others do that far better than I could and besides, my head would probably explode in a fit of rage anyway.

So I tend to sigh a lot, look out the window at the beautiful golden days of yet another short Ohio summer and decide to read a book or go play in the garden instead.

The herbs are coming along nicely.

30 comments:

Jay G said...

Amen, sister, amen...

Robb Allen said...

My cousin is from Costa Rica. His wife's first trip to the US was punctuated by the fact that in our grocery stores, we have an ENTIRE AISLE dedicated to just cereal.

Costa Rica ain't backwards, either. But there, you get Frosted / Corn Flakes and maybe Fruit Loops.

NotClauswitz said...

Shredded Wheat. They call it variety but it';s really devolution as it circles the drain. We need a big shredding machine and a ramp for the Senators to climb. My diastolic is reaching new heights, not good.

Toni said...

Take Myra out in the yard with you. It would make both of you very happy and we could get updated pictures. She is just too cute.

Anonymous said...

Pace yourself dear. We have 3.5 to 7.5 years (at least) of this mess left. God help us.

Mike W. said...

I feel ya Breda. I look at our political landscape, the next dose of "Hope & Change" and the only thing I can think to say is "he is who I thought he was."

I'm laughing at all the idiots who are starting to realize how badly they were had, but it doesn't make me feel better about the state of things.

John said...

Ah, the paradox of choice. We want more selections (how many kinds of Cheerios are there again?!?) but because we have so many options, it's almost impossible to make a choice. And even if we do succeed in making a choice, we may not be happy with the choice knowing that -- with all of those options we had to pick and choose from -- there must have been something better out there.

When my wife asks, "which one of these would you like?" a feeling of overwhelming doom sweeps over me. "NOOoo!!! Too many choices!"

Solution: I just don't eat cereal anymore.

TheAxe said...

So my brother and I used up most of my ammo on the 5th to celebrate. Then yesterday I got a text from a friend's roommate taking me up on my offer that if she ever wanted to try shooting to let me know. Now I need to find a bunch of ammo by Friday, and soon there will be another woman for whom guns aren't an object to fear :) I've felt stuck sometimes lately too; good friends with good beer have helped. Thanks for continuing to blog.

Mad Saint Jack said...

I thing the ammo crisis is starting to recede. You can also find other things to shoot, air guns (pellet) or Airsoft.

As a kid I learned to shoot with pellet guns, and I think it helped give me a foundation of basic skills.

Now I have a cheap Airsoft that I shoot in the attic.

Mad Saint Jack said...

Someone needs to make Bacon Cereal.

Sigivald said...

Naw, I just buy some Lucky Charms and move on with my life.

Anonymous said...

Hey, if you're bored, one of your compatriots is up here for the summer on an IANSA fellowship and could really benefit from a knowledgeable female perspective on firearms and victimization issues:

http://advocacynet.org/wordpress-mu/emandelman/2009/07/07/what-would-you-call-a-victim/

Anonymous said...

Reloading is one cure for ammo crises. I've been doing it since the late '70s and managed to have a bunch of components on hand for the Bill Clinton primer crisis and for the current one.

I just reloaded a bunch of .45s (target and hardball rounds) and some .41 Magnums. Haven't even gotten around to loading 9mm yet but I have everything I need to do so.

Still got a pile of .38 Special reloads from the last reloading binge...

Went out the 4th and shot for three hours and never worried about ammo consumption. The press was set up and waiting at home.

Unknown said...

I have felt the same way for the past week. Actually the fourth brought it on. Been depressed ever since

Unknown said...

Go to www.sportsmansguide.com or similar website, place the biggest order you can stomach for the least backordered ammo you can find, and sit back and wait. Continue to source ammo any other way you can, and by the time your backordered ammo arrives, it will be a happy surprise!

For reference, some ammo is available without a long backorder, so search well...

Macbrun said...

Oh Breda,
Am feeling the same way. Things will change, things will improve. Keep working towards it and believing it. But mostly work towards it.

Joanna said...

I've been wargaming my fan plans (fan as in what the sh*t hits) to keep myself busy. It's still sufficiently removed from reality that it keeps me entertained, but I still feel like I'm doing something.

I'll have to add the cereal aisle to my "who takes what section of the abandoned big box store" scenario.

TexasFred said...

Ya oughta try buying breakfast foods and being an insulin dependent diabetic... :(

Azul said...

Herbs? ;)

Buckshot said...

Breda,

You need some aromatherapy, the burned nitrocellulose smoke version!

You could try another Appleseed, the first oen has had time to soak in by now!

Or you could try one or both of these Small Arms Firing Schools. They are not too expensive, close by (relatively) and you and Mike can even spend a historic evening in a WW II POW HUT! ;^)

Ammo and firearm provided with the $30.00 (SAFS Pistol) or $40.00 (SAFS Rifle).

The housing fee (huts or modlues) would be over and above the SAFS fee.

Link:

http://www.odcmp.com/NM/SAFS.htm

There are other possabilities out thee also.

Crustyrusty said...

Our herbs are languishing on the porch; the basil is wilting, the dill looks like a dead tree, and the rosemary has taken on the image of a German pine forest with the tops dead of Autobahn exhaust.

But we got ripe 'maters :)

And yeah, I can relate to overwhelmed. I'm about to call computer vacation and try to find 40 acres somewhere to run away to....

Anonymous said...

You can come proofread the footnotes and statistical tables in my dissertation. It's only 300 or so pages long (thus far). It will take your mind off being bored at least.
LittleRed1

Jeffrey Quick said...

That garden will keep you sane.
Seriously, when the news gets to be too much (and it is, allthetime...did you hear about the NAACP demanding martial law in Philly?), Gad and the earth are the only two things you can count on.

OrangeNeck said...

Good old fashioned oatmeal, grits or cream of wheat works for me.

aczarnowski said...

You're not alone. The same hopeless apathy has been lingering around my place too.

But I'm finding that Discworld is taking my mind off things quite nicely of late. Pratchett really is amazing. He can make me smirk and shake my head but then still finish a book with some hope for us humanoids.

Mike W. said...

If you weren't in Ohio I'd recommend some beach time.

Nothing takes my mind off things like sitting on a quiet, sunny beach with a beer and my dog.

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

too bad you don't have a big revolver you can write about in a blog entry.

Bob said...

The word from "Unity" is, ".22 cal Long Rifle."
Still cheap enough for a day at the range. Get out the Ruger 10/22 or Mark II and plink away! ;^)

Old NFO said...

Go plink... .22 works to at least get a "fix" :-) And I hope those are legal herbs...

Mike W. said...

Breda, you should get one of these.

http://media.photobucket.com/image/Firestorm%20FS22/Laserlips/100_5295.jpg