Friday, March 30, 2012

Mercury Retrograde

I'm up fretting in the night over real estate contracts.  Hopefully, I'll finally sign the contract today for my room with a view so that I can move forward with buyers remorse.  There has been much delay over clauses about making sure the tenants are out in a timely manner so that if we wind up with the worst case scenario and they decide to stay until King Kong himself pulls them out the window, I can walk away without penalty.

As it stands, though, I may still be stuck having to put my stuff in storage while I live in Gigi's sublet for the month of June AND pay $155 per week to extend the terms of my loan.  I'm happy as can be that I have the letter of commitment from the bank, but the clock is seriously ticking now.  My queazy gut tells me that after all we've been through to convince the sellers' attorney (who has been working from Shanghai) that there must be a "drop dead" date for closing - so that I'm not sitting here in September wondering WTF - it's a pretty safe bet that the tenants are going to tell the owners they intend to move at the end of April.  Then they will be pushing to close early because they'll have to carry the apartment until closing and pay the rent on their place in the suburbs in May.

This whole process illustrates, once again, what happens when everyone is motivated by Fear.  I know that lawyers are supposed to dwell on worst case scenarios, and it pays to be protected.  That's the way of the world.  It's just that this Fear extends in so many directions that we wind up with War and cantankerous, aggressive governments like the Israelis - and then there are grasping, aggressive hoarders like our own government who take over countries and shoot little kids for kicks like we have done in Afghanistan where Dick Cheney and the boys want control of the Lithium in the hills.

Lithium and other minerals necessary for computer batteries, cell phones not lithium for manic depressives. Dick Cheney doesn't care about anyone's health, mental or otherwise.  And now that he's got another heart - that we probably paid for - he can continue to lead a charge against We The People that was born back when Dick and Karl Rove were hunkered down in the bunker with Richard Nixon.

I still think, though, that the trouble with Rich People and Fear Mongering for profit goes back for centuries.  Just look at the Catholic Church.  But these days and in this country, we see it mostly from Rich White Guys like Newt Gingrich who pontificates from podiums as if he were Massa addressing his buddies, all sitting around a mahogany dining table over port when the ladies have taken themselves off to the drawing room.  Or from Mitt who is more like a Lord addressing his buddies over port at the club.

Either way, it's the same people who thought slavery was a good idea.  I also maintain that those guys have figured out that turning women into breeders will lead to beaucoup bucks through the private adoption of white babies and orphanages filled with brown ones to provide cannon fodder and cheap labor.  And Obama works for them as surely as Newt does - he just has the oratory skills and the looks necessary to convince the public that it's perfectly fine and civilized to fire drones anywhere we choose in the name of National Security - and that brings us back to Fear again.

I suspect I'm queazy because of all this bullshit too.  Anywhere you look in the news you'll find enough to make you queazy - and that's been the case for years and years and years.  Even before Rupert Murdoch and Rush there was yellow journalism and propaganda.  It gives me a headache.

Could be, though, that all the trouble with real estate contracts is simply the result of Mercury Retrograde which always makes life feel like we're walking through molasses, never getting anywhere.  On a more positive note, I may have a date with Mr. Wisdom next week.  We'll see if he actually calls or if he gets busy and forgets.  I contacted him the other day when I was feeling particularly bummed out and in need of a hug, and the man responded instantly.  He's been down in Tennessee filming real life murder mysteries.  Now he's off doing more of the same in New Jersey.

I'm not even going to speculate on how fear sells murder as entertainment on cable television.  However, I will speculate on how making a living by interviewing people who are talking about the grizzly murder of their loved ones could have an impact on a man's emotional sensibilities.  Specifically:  Was he an emotional retard in the first place - and that made him particularly good at turning tragedy into television or did he become immune to the emotions once he got involved in making murder mysteries kind of like cops and journalists develop a protective shell?

I also have to wonder if I just got lucky so that my email reached him at a moment when it was easy for him to respond - or was the tone appropriately earnest, submissive and solicitous which meant he had control?  He's a Leo, after all, and they like Control.  There are plenty of people who prefer to be in control who are not controlling assholes.  Since I'm not a person who seeks control, it's hard for me to tell the difference sometimes.

You can't be controlling and be a preschool teacher without perpetually going crazy.  There's no controlling two year olds.  You just have to give them the facts in a straight forward way and show them how the consequences of their actions and choices consistently lead in the same direction.  For example, when you roll around on the floor disrupting circle time - or you prolong a conversation asking questions when you already know the answer - the teacher gets irritable and bitchy.  When you quit fucking around and sing Good Morning, the teacher has a big cheery smile, we all go outside and play and you'll probably get apple juice and Cheeze-Its for snack instead of soda crackers and water.  It's very simple.

I've been on Spring Break for nearly two weeks now and am clearly missing my kids.  Grown-Ups suck balls and are generally no fun - especially the lawyers.

3 Comments:

Blogger Cali said...

Being a Leo, I resemble that remark about being controlling! That being said, with maturity comes the ability (if not actual willingness) to relinquish control, at least some of the time. It's a steep hill to climb, but maturity teaches us that it's worth the sacrifice-- and it is a sacrifice for us. We usually learn through a series of painful interactions with Virgo or Scorpio types. In my case, my mother has Virgo rising and my ex-husband was a Scorpio. I had a Virgo boyfriend a couple of times, too. Same guy, decade gap in the middle of the relationship. He's how I learned that trying again with exes doesn't work.

Interesting that your themes are fear and control, because they are really opposite sides of the same coin. When we aren't in control we fear those who are, and when we are in control we fear losing control. We tend to keep hold of our control by using fear on those whom we control, that is, those who are not in control. So, what it all boils down to is that most people operate every day from a place of fear. Every interaction is tinged with fear. "Bowling for Columbine" taught me a lot about fear and what really motivates us.

April 1, 2012 at 4:12 PM  
Blogger PENolan said...

Whew! Bowling for Columbine was intense. Haven't watched it in years - but you're right. It provides an excellent illustration of what motivates people and the ways of the world.

I don't know what to make of control. As a Gemini, I'm not particularly controlling because I like it when somebody else is in charge, but I've got the Virgo rising. It's actually a great combination for a relationship with Leos. It's funny, though, because female Leos are much easier to get along with than male ones, for me anyway - but I have a feeling that's just because it's easier for me to get along with other women no matter what the horoscopes say.

April 4, 2012 at 7:35 AM  
Blogger Susan Tiner said...

I've noticed this controlling aspect of Leos before but I'm sure it really depends on the person.

Martin and I are both Pisces so we're pretty much always bending over backwards to accommodate each other and other people.

Your approach to working with small children sounds like an excellent one.

April 26, 2012 at 1:41 PM  

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