Brother-in-Laws, Magic is Might, Mums, and Celebrating

1. Dreamed about Offspring.  I mention it in the lake house kitchen.  Fred, my brother-in-law, gets this smug look on his face.   He tells me he's seen it.  One of the doctors he works with is Australian, and they watched the DVD over their lunch break.

2. Lost most of my respect for the Harry Potter Magic is Might experience.  I've been slowly losing my admiration the last month or so; but now my feelings toward it have sunk extremely low.  It seems the Magic is Might staff members spend the majority of their time scolding the participants and reminding participants that they (the official staff) put so much hard work into all of this. What they don't seem to realize is that the participants are likely putting as much work into Magic is Might as they are. I am finding that most of the Magic is Might staff are acting controlling, rude, cliquish, and unprofessional. The thing that makes me mad is it has actually diminished my love for Harry Potter.  The Harry Potter characters are now tainted for me.  I can't say I've had personal dramas with the Magic is Might staff, but I've witnessed the mistreatment of others.  So I wonder about these other people and how they're feeling.  Maybe they're okay, because they might be less sensitive than me.

The whole thing reminds me of a biological father (sperm donor). Although I no longer like the Magic is Might Experience, I did love the idea of it.  They charmed me with their initial plans and some of their initial "acting".  Then I absolutely love the characters I created for the experience.   While strongly disliking Magic is Might, I have to be grateful to them.  Without them I would have never created my Aussie Muggles. So yeah. It's like the woman who hates her ex, but she can't completely regret meeting him, because otherwise she would have never had her precious child.  

I also adore some of the other participants. Some of them are very sweet, creative, and brilliant.  

3. Went for a walk with my family to see a ranch with cows. I wore the Aussie hat that our cousin gave to Jack. Well, Jack and I took turns wearing it.  If my cousin is reading this, she's probably ashamed of me.  I'm not very good at the whole make-your-kid-wear-a-hat thing. Yeah.  I'm selfish and brought the hat for myself.  It was less for sun protection and more for Australia-love.

4. Read Andrew's post about the Jewish Museum in Melbourne.  I probably won't go. I did the Sydney Jewish museum. That's probably enough for me.  Oh....and I've read books about Jews in Australia.  So there you go.  I'm not a too awful Jew.

I did like reading about Andrew's experiences at the museum.

Can you tell I feel guilty about not wanting to go?  Guilt...yeah. I think that's part of being Jewish.   It's in our blood.  

5. Heard that my brother-in-law (the same one in the dream) said fanny in the pool. I didn't hear it myself, but Jack told us.  I think Jack was amused, because he never heard the word before. OR maybe he was amused because he knows it means vagina in Australia.   I did talk about it in the car with Tim a few weeks ago; and Jack was there.  It's hard to know, though, when Jack is listening to our conversations.  Sometimes he's in his own little world.
 
6. Read article about the Australian dollar.  I won't pretend to understand all of it, but I think I understand some of it.   There's stuff towards the end about companies being able to cheaply import stuff from other countries. This way they can have lower costs and in return have lower prices for Australians.  I guess the problem is then companies will do the outsourcing thing, and there might be less manufacturing jobs in Australia.

7. Talked to my mom about Australia's and America's economy.

8. Found myself almost typing mum instead of mom.  It's the second time that's happened to me today.

9. Hoped Australians are having a nice Mother's Day today.  Our day comes tomorrow.   It's not my favorite holiday, though.  Neither is father's day.  I think there're just too many people who can be hurt by this day. There are those who have lost their mothers, sometimes tragically young. There are those who have very painful relationships with their mother. How about women who desperately wanted children but weren't blessed with that opportunity?  How about  mothers who lost their children?  Yes, they're still mothers, but the day must be incredibly painful.   I think mother's day is a slap in the face to too many people. I also hate the stereotyping that goes on in that holiday.  Not all women like brunch and flower bouquets.   

I think what we should do is just have women's day and men's day.  We should celebrate all women, whether or not they've participated in the breeding process.  I think we also should celebrate all men.

10. Thought about Valentine's Day.  Could we say the same for that holiday?  Is it a slap in the face to single people?   Maybe.  I'm sure it's painful for some, but I don't think it's the same.  First of all, everyone is invited to celebrate.  It doesn't have to be about romantic love. You can give gifts and cards to your friends.  You can also give to your children, parents, grandparents, etc.   

11. Decided maybe we should have People Day.  This is where we celebrate all of us...humans. It won't matter about your gender, your ethnic group, the country you live in, your religion, your age, your sexual preference, etc.  We'll just celebrate all of us.  

I guess we could say Christmas counts, but no....the whole Jesus thing taints the experience. You have those who want nothing to do with Christmas because of Jesus. Then you have those who are offended by Christmas celebrations that don't have enough Jesus in it.

Well, what do I know.  If we had a People Day, we'd probably find a way to make that a mess as well.  We'd start fighting over the political correctness of People Day and soon we'd be whining that we've lost the true meaning of People Day.  

12. Practiced singing "I am Australian" while cleaning up the kitchen and then sang it with the karaoke machine. I'm trying to memorize the lyrics.