Fishing as a Woman

As a little girl I went fishing with my step-grandfather and thoroughly enjoyed the suspense of catching a fish. I did not quite enjoy when my hook or line got stuck in a tree or seaweed. I also was not fond of cutting off the head of the fish and scaling the fish after we caught it in order to eat it. In fact, at the time I did not even really like eating fish! Can you believe it? I really loved my step-grandfather, also called Pap-Pap. He was a very sweet man and I give him all the credit to what I know about fishing. We would sometimes go fishing in the Potomac and mostly places in Maryland. Whenever my hook or line was stuck he would fix it by putting on another hook or weight or bobber. He even made his own fishing hooks that I still have. He passed away several years ago and his fishing equipment was handed down to me. Of course, today I would rather have him with me fishing like old times.

Growing up fishing with my Pap-Pap was a great experience because he taught me eventually how to put the hook, weight, and bobber on myself. Also, I learned to fish without arrogance. My Pap-Pap was a modest man who was always happy as a clam. It was an outlet for him to fish and I have found that now fishing is an outlet for me as a woman. It has been years since I fished except for this summer. The last time I remember fishing was 8 years ago. I am glad that now I have found interest in it again and that it can be a good outlet to become calm.

In the last two weeks, I went fishing in Pennsylvania and I thoroughly enjoyed catching the fish that I caught. I had to help some kids that were with me to get their lines set up with hooks and bobbers. I even had to put the worms on because they did not want to or could not do it themselves. Then I found out that you need a fishing license so I went all out and got one. I was fishing earlier this week in PA and came across two brothers fishing alongside a creek where I was also fishing. However, I did not have my fishing pole set up yet so I was getting the line through the holes and everything and getting a little frustrated. Then there was a cute conversation that brought me to a flashback of times with my Pap-Pap:

I said to one of the brothers, "You're going to have to cut the line." His line was stuck straight up in the tree.

He said, "Can you do it for me?" and I said, "No, sorry. I can't."

Then later on the other brother said, "Did you put your line in the water yet?" and I said, "No, I just bought this pole yesterday so I'm getting it all set up."

I asked him, "What are you using for bait?" and he said, "worms." So I concluded with, "Cool." That's what I had too.

They had to leave and eat dinner at their campsite so I went to fish closer to where they had been fishing. The trees seemed more open there. Within twenty minutes I had my line stuck up in the same tree the boy had gotten stuck. The good news is if I caught a fish now I have the power to choose whether I would keep it and eat it (since I do like fish now) or throw it back and keep on fishing. The suspense of catching a fish is so cool even it does take forever sometimes to catch one. There could have been some karma in that conversation with the boy who got his line caught in the tree. When I left the creek area all by myself a little frustrated I remembered my Pap-Pap and how it can be an outlet to becoming calm. So yay! I like fishing and I have revived an old hobby.

The Value Of Tipping

What really bothers me is when someone is to cheap to give a good tip. I would have to say two things about my habits. I am well-known where I go, whether it is to the nearby nail salon, hair salon, or restaurant as treating people the way I would want to be treated. That comes from my server background. I would never serve again, though, but I give kudos to people who can serve at a restaurant and put up with people on a daily basis, from which many do not give a rat's arse that the server waits on them hand and foot just to get a stinking tip from them. I'm assuming that everybody knows but just in case you don't: servers do not get crap as an hourly wage. So that means everything you give them during that hour you were there is what will make their day or break their day. As a server I once was given two twenty dollar bills, by accident I think, and that made my whole day.

One of the things about my habit is that I disregard what people say even if they are wiser than me when it comes to money. I have heard things like, "Save it for a rainy day," "You never know when you're going to need it," and now I hear "You will need things for your son someday." I have a bad habit of spending more than I think I have. What I think I have and what I have are slightly different because I look to the future about what money WILL be coming in. It's like shooting high for the sky, going through the clouds, and for your dream. However, I tend to spend more than that when I dream and then it becomes a bad habit.

I believe in Karma, though, so when I am down on money and I decide to still go to that restaurant by myself (yes, I know. That's ridiculous to go by myself. That's a whole other story.) I give a standard 20%. Maybe I'm thinking in my line of business it would make a big difference if someone went a little out of their way to make my day. I could make this person's day too because every little bit of happiness can keep a person going. It was so nice to look forward to a complimentary drink at my piano lessons or an extra good tip at the venues where I played the piano. That little extra valuable way of saying "thanks" to me made my whole day.

The recession is an excuse for not tipping enough. All servers, present and past, should know this golden rule: Waiting on someone hand and foot needs some reward and if you are on the receiving end of it-pay that reward, please, and be nice to others as you would want them to be nice to you. I am acknowledging this bad habit of being an expensive consumer in a world full of dying businesses. But please do not think my bad habit should be yours. The better side is to think of money, not as an object, but a valuable way of saying thanks to the moments that make your day. When you have that person by your side helping you in some way to feel pampered, which includes eating out at a restaurant, getting a massage, and going to the nail or hair salon...give them a tip from me:
SENDING THANKS YOUR WAY
BECAUSE I KNOW YOU CARE
I COULD OR COULD NOT DO IT
WITHOUT THAT SOMEONE THERE

TIME IS MONEY AND MONEY IS TIME
WHEN I'M IN THIS DREAM I TOUCH THE SKY
WAKE ME UP AND I MIGHT CRY
THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME DREAM

What it means to be well-rounded

As I was teaching a piano lesson today at a home near my house I noticed a couple different things within the household that spurred a reason to write and explore deeper what I experienced. One of the family members who was school age was looking at some music (I assumed), walking throughout the house and practicing singing that music in some other language I did not recognize. Another child also around the same age was listening to the top hits on the radio or possibly another music device, like an iPod. Then the phone rang. The father answered and said, "hold on one moment." One of the boys answered the phone and said, "who is this?...oh, right. hey." That triggered in my mind the question of what would my son, who is about 7 1/2 months old, like to be if he was well-rounded.

I happen to love music in all aspects possible. When I was a little girl I did talent shows, whether it was singing and dancing to "Walk like an Egyptian", or playing on the piano, "Everything I do I do it for you" by Bryan Adams. Now that I am "all grown up" I love listening to music, playing the piano, learning how to play new songs on the piano or writing new songs, recording songs in a studio, dancing to music (sometimes just for exercise), and singing mostly in the aspect of karaoke. My life is like a song that is unwritten and as I live each day it will eventually become like a scroll from the book of love. [Inspired by Natasha Bedingfield and the movie, Shall We Dance?]

Will my son love music as much as I do? He may or may not. But the point is that I hope he finds his passion in life and becomes a well-rounded individual. I know my son is like a sponge in the sense that everything he will do, see, or learn each day will mold him into what he will become and he will soak up anything that he experiences. So far his first 7 1/2 months of life have been pretty easy for him. What I hope, though, is that someday he will be well-rounded, which to me means he would have common sense, manners, love, intelligence, physical health, a sense of humor, an understanding of spiritual connection, and knowledge of the arts and sciences. This relates to the above mentioned family because I hope that my family will also have that sense of discipline with practice, focus on passion, and still have a sense of spontaneity when someone calls you and you remember, "oh, right. hey."

What Pecans and Beets have to do with Love

So this is my first blog and already I'm feeling more confident with relaying my messages to the world. It gives me a self-esteem boost to know that somebody opened up my blog, read it, and replied with a comment. It's kind of like when I give a present to someone at Christmas and I see their face light up and how much joy I can give to someone. However, I'm not too sure how pecans and beets have to do with love but I'm going to try to tell you.

My Grandma used to make beet soup, which I just found out is spelled Borscht. I remember it was interesting that I was eating something purple for dinner. It had beets in it, obviously, and beef...and other vegetables...and even sour cream, which sometimes made it pinkish-purple. Well, for the first time ever I made Borscht the other day and I quite liked it! Unfortunately, my husband does not. But I can make it when he's not around or wait for the right moment when my Grandma is in town to make it for me.

Now here's where the pecans come in...I found out several years ago the very good qualities and nourishing aspects of pecans. They are also very special because each pecan that falls from the tree can open up and one can find a delicious and somewhat sweet nut that is awesomely designed. It takes very many of these single and unique pecans just to make a pecan pie, let's say. Pecans also have Omega-3 fatty acids in them that help improve mood and adjust someone's body cells to be more balanced healthwise.

I feel the need to tell you what I really meant to say when I stated there would be a correlation between how pecans and beets have to do with love. My father will always be a special man in my life and this year for Christmas and many other times he has shared the love of pecans with me. I know he will have many more years to come with sharing the joy of pecans with others. I also feel that my Grandma and my mom shared the love of beet soup with me and that tradition will remain in my heart and now my mind since I can recreate it in my kitchen.