End of an Era

So as 2016 draws to a close, I will also, unfortunately, be indefinitely going on hiatus with this blog. As evident in the fewer postings over the past couple of years, the time just isn't there like it used to be. Nor is the excitement (both in my life events and in my desire to blog).

That said, if I find time again, and/or something major happens that I want to share, I'll blog about it. But the era of regular blogging is done for now. I figured what better time to do such than at the end of a calendar year.

I'm still on other forms of social media, and I encourage you to follow me there.

My favorite social media is Instagram, where I have three accounts:

fl_girl - this is my main account
my_view_up_here - my shots from my time on a plane
its_a_shoe_win - my personal shoe collection

I'm on Facebook, of course: auburn.flgirl

Twitter is becoming a go-to for me more than it used to be: FLgrrl

And I am also on Redditt, though infrequently, and I'm still trying to figure it out - but I'll throw it on here, in hopes I'll start using it more: auburn-flgirl

So there you have it... I'm still out there. And of course, if you actually know me, you have my email. I can always be reached that way, too.

So peace out and love to all! Thank you to all that have kept up with me through this blog over the years - I apologize I died off the way I did, and wish I could keep it up like I used to. Maybe one day, I can get back to that. But then, there may be a whole other form of communication that takes its place, by then!

Blogging FAIL

So I have to apologize to my few loyal readers out there (my family) about my slow decrease in quality blogs. I have no good excuse... just the excuse of my life (work) being busier, which actually leads to less for me to blog about.

There's no interesting trips or life events. Pretty much just go to work and come home. When something happens, I obviously blog about it. But there's just not much going on. I'm hoping as spring and summer come along, I'll have more to talk about and not just throw boring 'blah' blogs on here like I've been doing on occasion... you know, about the weather or something silly like that. But, quite frankly, the weather gets me worked up in the winter because, well, I hate winter and the cold.

Hopefully our garage will get built and the bathroom completed. Maybe Eric can work less and we can do more fun things on the weekends. But for now, I'm just trying to get through the winter. I'm not saying I'm stopping my blog. Just know that if you see a longer gap between a blog, it's just because I'm in winter hibernation. Maybe something exciting will happen this weekend. Maybe not.

So bear with me as I try to get back into more fun stuff. We are trying to plan a few things... and surely some spontaneous fun will occur, as well. I just don't want to bore you with 'blah' just to throw a blog up here. Where's the worth in that, both for you and me? I'd rather work on quality than quality... maybe that should've been a New Year's resolution. Guess it still could be. Not a bad life motto, actually. Maybe that'll put my focus on better things, in general. Hmmm... maybe I'm on to something here.

Okay... until next time. I've got to think about this some more.

The Passing of a Legend

I debating about writing this blog for a day or so... but then realized, that's kind of the whole point of a blog. To share your thoughts with the world (or the half dozen people who read this). So, here goes...

Robin Williams, gone at age 63. By suicide, of all things. Who knew a man that could bring so much laughter to a room was hurting so deeply inside from depression. It truly shows how much depression really is a disease, festering inside some people, so much that unless you're close to them, you'd never know. And sometimes, not even those close know how bad it is.

I can't help but reflect and remember all the times Robin Williams made me laugh... he had such an amazing career, spanning decades. I remember him a bit from Mork and Mindy - I was quite young, but I still remember it. And then his movie career... I was going through the lengthy list of movies and some I forgot about. But it didn't make them any less significant. I don't know that I could pick a favorite... though I will say one of his most memorable was just his voice - Aladdin. They essentially drew the genie to match his voice and persona, and captured it so well. But his own personality shone through just about every character he played, right down to his last season on TV this past spring with The Crazy Ones. I thought that show was just hitting its stride with the cast's chemistry starting to click and was quite bummed they cancelled it. But now this... now he's gone. Who ever would've thought.

I disagree with those out there saying 'he made the choice to end his life.' While that is the definition of suicide, when depression is involved, you thought processes are no longer your own. To be frank, you're messed up in the head and your reality is nothing like the reality around you. Suicide comes in three way... (1) to make a point; (2) to get attention; and (3) because you've lost control. Numbers 1 and 2 usually end up as one reason... but number three... that is sadly a high percentage of them. And depression is usually the cause, whether it be because of the medication they give you (which makes you more depressed??) or because you're not medicated and it finally take control of you. depression is an internal battle that can only be won by the person it has ahold of. Meds don't work - they just sedate the beast. Money won't buy your way out, either. And you can have all the love and adoration of family and friends any one person could handle in a lifetime, but they can't beat depression, either. It's an inner battle and if that person doesn't want to win it, then they won't. I'm not a doctor, and I don't care what doctors say, chemical inbalance or whatever... at the end of the day, the win has to come from within.

That said, Robin Williams will be sorely missed. And as the last few movies he filed come out over the next year, the world will watch them with an aching heart, knowing that there will be no more to come. But may his laughter live on in each of us, as he taught us all that the best laugh often comes when you laugh at yourself.

"O Captain! My Captain!"

Oops!

Okay, so to my few regular readers out there, I have to apologize. It's been a crazy month at work for me this month (and still going - had to go in today) and I just realized that all the blogs I've written this month weren't published. It's just a button to push. But in my rush to just write the blogs and add the pictures, I'd hit save and then close out after I previewed. It wasn't until I had a minute to breathe that I realized my blog hadn't had a post since early May.

I'm not going to make excuses... they're all there now for you to catch up on. Thankfully, I did at least save them. There's a busy summer ahead, too!

Could I Have Been...

I assume I'm not the only one that wonders 'what if?' or "could I have been...?" when it comes to what I do in life. Sure. I'm an engineer. And from what I've been told, I'm pretty good at what I do. But just like every job, it has its high and low points. But is that true? DOES every job have high and low points?

That's what I find myself wondering sometimes. Did I follow the path I was supposed to? And when I think about what else I might have done with my life, I think back to things I enjoyed in school, early on, and aside from physics and taking things apart (maybe I went into the wrong engineering field?), I always liked writing. I actually enjoyed some of the term papers I wrote (as long it was a topic I got to pick, to some extent, I did, at least).

And then there's this blog... why would I have started (and somewhat kept up with) this blog if I didn't enjoy it. Sure, it's often riddled with errors, but that comes from the rush I'm usually in to get something blogged. But in general, I enjoy it. Especially when I have something real to write about. You know... something actually about my life...

With Facebook reconnecting me to so many old friends, I've seen a few who ended up in the journalism field. I think most are writing pieces for various magazines, but there's one that's a contributor to more of a political magazine, which is what triggered my latest wandering mind. He's writing about his life experiences, for the most part. They always say to write about what you know, which if you can pull from your own life experiences, making it personal, it's even a better piece. So what if I would have been educated in the matter and actually 'trained' to write, not just ramble on a blog?

Add that to my photographic eye and I wonder even more. I can honestly say I'd love to chronicle something (more than my own life) in words and photos. That just sounds so appealing to me.

Is it just 'the grass is greener' theory taking over my mind? Most writers have deadlines, just like I do. So that would be the same pressure. Or would it? I've toyed with the idea of writing a semi-autobiographical book... but honestly, I've yet to really know how to start it. Literally. But that would probably fill this weird void I feel. But I have no time. Which is what it always seems to come back to.

I guess for now, this blog will have to continue to be my outlet. Maybe I'll win the lottery and can take a year off of work to fulfill this supposed 'need' I have to write. Which means doing something more interesting. At least I can dream, right?

An Open Letter to Mother Nature

Dear Mother Nature,

I am concerned about your love affair with this Polar Vortex guy you've been seeing the past few months. I get that he's the cool guy on the block, but I think he's just using you to get closer to us. We've made it clear to him that we don't like him, nor do we want him hanging around our homes. He vandalizes the area, leaving behind slick walks and just howls when he sees us slip on them. And don't get me started on the cold shoulder he likes to give when don't pay attention to his antics.

I think you need to move on. I've heard Polar has a twin brother that he doesn't talk to anymore. I've been told he's way hotter that Polar, too, if you can believe that. I think his name is Tropical, though I could be making that up in my own head from things I've heard about him. He's a bright guy that's just a ray of sunshine to everyone he's met. Everyone is greeted with a warm welcome and he makes sure the days are full of fun and last as long as possible.

I've had a few friends sneak off to meet this guy over the past few months. They come back so happy, but Polar seems quick to kill the happiness. He does not like the smiles that Tropical can bring. Is that the kind of guy you really want to hang around? Is that really the kind of guy you want to expose all of us to??

I think Tropical Vortex is really a guy you could warm up to. But you have to leave Polar Vortex behind, first. They don't coexist well. Think about it. I can tell you that we'd love to see you with that golden glow only Tropical can bring... it's way better than the red nose that Polar laughs at.

Sincerely,
Kara

Now That's Funny!

Have you ever had one of those moments where you wanted to say something, but were afraid it might be too politically INcorrect, so you bite your tongue? We all have. Don't try to deny it. It seems only if you're a stand-up comic, then you might get away with it. But even then...

Well, one comedian, with the support of Chris Rock, took it to the next level with a late night show, call Totally Biased on FX.The show, starring W. Kamau Bell, premiered last night. Aside from a few teasers and previous acts on You Tube, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But I gotta tell you... he wasn't afraid of any topic! From the Olympics, the the presidential race, to the random pat downs that happen in NYC. He wasn't afraid to bring it up, and then flat out tell you what he thought... of the situation or the people involved!

Some of it even shocked me, a little bit... but I laughed (hard), because sometimes it was like he was reading my mind! It got me thinking... could I be that frank about anything, even something I was passionate about?? Maybe when I was younger... but then if I get worked up about something enough, I'm definitely not afraid to put it out there.

Regardless, if you aren't one who offends easily and gets a laugh out of today's society's stupidity, then you need to check it out. Just cause you need a laugh.

A Little Release

Haven't done a blog like this in awhile... just some random venting and observations that have been on my mind lately. Not enough to blog about individually, but just fine to blog about with other randomness...

***

First topic... political correctness is the biggest shelter we put on our kids nowadays. Shoot... we use it to shelter ourselves and it's complete BS! In my opinion, political correctness has completely bashed our Freedom of Speech. I seriously can't say something because it offends someone else in the slightest way? Really?? And have you heard the latest victim of PC... school tests in New York. Apparently, someone came up with a list of words to be banned from school tests because they might offend some of the kids. What kind of words could these possibly be?? Um, lets see... Birthdays? Disease? Dinosaurs??? Wow... really??

***

I miss the days of things being named for their location or after something significant (like Deer Creek Amphitheatre or just The Murat Theatre). I HATE how everything has commercial sponsors now, and they get their name on the venue or the event. That does not in the slightest influence my decision to use services or products from that company. In fact, it has the opposite effect and makes me want to even go to the venue less! I think it just further proves how out of whack our economy really is when places have to rely on commercial support in order to survive/compete.

***

I think society is starting to take on a mob mentality about EVERYTHING! Maybe it's the 60's protester regimen all over again, but it doesn't take much to get people to 'rally' for or against something and loudly voice their opinion as part of a group. Yes, we have that right. But sadly, so many of the 'mobs' seem to be misinformed about things and the loud voices start to sound ridiculously stupid when all the facts get thrown out there. Are we really just that unhappy about things in our society now?

***

Politics are in abundance again with the upcoming presidential election looming once again. I'm starting to wonder who's influencing who, though... I used to strictly blame the idiot politicians for convincingly playing the finger pointing game, enough to influence their constituents to do the same. But I'm starting to wonder if it's actually the misinformed constituents being so loud and obnoxious about their opinions that the politicians have to reflect what the constituents are doing. Of course, they do so in order to stay in office. I still think politics have become a pure scam. We really need to go back to the drawing board on all levels and relook at what really works and get rid of the rest of the policy and procedure when it comes to politics.

For example, I think it should be required, that in order for and politician to be elected at any level, they must have lived out of that jurisdiction, whether it be that city or that state, in order to have a better perspective on how things work elsewhere. Might help with sheltered laws some of or politicians come up with. And if you want to get elected to a national office, you must have had some form of international relations, whether it be living overseas, military experience, or acted as a liaison/diplomat in some form to complete business with(in) a foreign country. Again, it opens up your perspective about things.

***

I seem to be coming across a lot of 'chameleons' in my life lately. What I mean by that is people who literally change to fit in with their surroundings or change 'who they are' to attract someone. Granted, I know it can be tough to be yourself in an unfamiliar environment, but in the long run, it's worse if you change things up to fit in. And if you change FOR someone, what's the point?? Then you have to be this 'other you' for as long as you know that person. Unless you're a really good actor who can ultimately convince even yourself that you are actually this alter ego, then eventually it'll come out that it's not the real you. Then what??

***

Okay... that's it for now. I feel somewhat better.

Curiosity Didn't Kill the Cat

Life is a journey we all take, and every journey winds us down a different road. Some are more treacherous than others. Others think they have a hard road until they meet someone else. I’m a believer that you control the road to your own destiny… to a certain point. You can choose which road to go down, but those roads both lead you to the same point, which is your ultimate destiny… who you are and who you were meant to be. The journey you choose is simply the experiences you go through to get there. I’ve never thought my journey was one of the more difficult ones. Interesting, yes, but never one that threw me into circumstances I couldn’t handle or felt harshly defined me in some way. Nothing ever made me stop in my tracks and wonder if I was going to make it all the way down this road and make me question if I should have chosen another route.

Recently, though, I met someone who has had a more difficult journey and has had many instances, it seems, to choose the easy or hard path. She’s a recent transgender, and we’ll call her Jenn for purposes of talking here. When I met her, I knew she was a transgender, but I had no idea how she got there, nor how far along she was. I had lots of questions, though… you see transgenders on shows like Jerry Springer, but most aren’t like that. Then you have the recent publicity of Chaz Bono, which gave the transgender community even more of a spotlight. But I don’t think most jump into the spotlight – they just go about things as who they feel they were meant to be.

Needless to say, I had so many questions going through my mind that I was curious about with Jenn. But I hardly knew her and wasn’t about to ask. Never actually meeting anyone who was a transgender (either way), I was very intrigued and just wanted to know more. And since I never knew her before she was Jenn, I had no idea what she used to be like in terms of what brought her to go through such a life change so far into her life. Though it was clear she had an amazing support network based off the spurts of conversations we had in our little group.

Then I discovered she had a blog. Oh, the world of blogging, where you can ramble about whatever you want and have no idea who will eventually see it. But reading about her life since the full coming out as a female, as well as some of her stories about growing up, were like a novel I couldn’t put down. She has been through so much and growing up in a relatively small town made it even more so. It gave me all the perspective I wanted with the questions that were going through my mind upon our first meeting. Some of the internal battles she dealt with growing up, knowing from such a young age that things just weren’t right. Some of the initial battles with the outside world from small town ‘townies’ that just didn’t get it. Even following ‘standard protocol’, getting married and having a child (who’s now grown). I was most impressed about how supportive her wife was through it all – the extreme support of a spouse that shows why you marry your best friend in the first place.

In my opinion, she should turn all of these posts into a book. I know there are a lot of people out there like me that are just curious, but either don’t know anyone, or know anyone well enough to strike up a conversation of, “hey, why did you decide change you gender?” I knew there was a story behind it. But you never know if it’s a story they want to share, or if they’re of the opinion of, “That’s my past life and I want it to stay that way – in the past.” One thing I can say for sure is that it takes a very strong person to take that step and decide that it’s time to fully commit and change to the other gender. But then I also think it takes a strong person just to be in the shoes of someone that feels like that… to have to hide that side of your personality and only let it out in bursts, often in private… I can’t imagine having to live like that.

So I don’t know if Jenn will ever actually read this. But like her blog, mine is just as public. I hope if she ever does, though, she knows that her journey, though tough, is actually quite inspirational and I hope she continues to stand proud, as she has been. If anyone knows how a journey leads you to who you were meant to be, it is her. And she’s also one that knows how the roads you chose make you stronger along the way.

Told You So...

Don't want to say I told you so, but, "I told you so!"

Back in November, when the Penn State scandal erupted into the absolute insanity that it became and JoePa offered up his resignation (because he was kind of forced to, after all), I said he wouldn't live much beyond his 85th birthday in a blog about how Andy Rooney died after retiring. And today we learned he, indeed, didn't make it far past his 85th birthday.

Today, we lost a legendary man, and an even more legendary coach.

There will be a lot of blogs and a lot of stories out there about the life and career of Joe Paterno. No one can argue with his success at Penn State. No one can argue with a career and status at a University that can compare to the tenure of a single royal on a throne - not much else lasts for over 60 years, especially in this day and age. Joe was witness to the evolution of college football to what it has become today. Not too many coaches can even come close to that claim.

Some may argue his end was coming, regardless - afterall, he was sick. But I think the scandal brought it on earlier... in his shame, he gave up his fight. Anyone who has any inkling of knowledge of Joe Paterno and Penn State football knows that he is not one to give up on anything. But the media and attention brought on and aimed pointlessly at him brought on a shame that only the questioning of one's self could bring. I still say, "Shame on all the media and the University for placing so much blame on Joe"... it was like accusing your blind grandfather of not reporting a crime he 'saw' happening. Poor Joe... did what he thought was right, only to be told it wasn't enough. And then stripped of what he loved all of his life.

I can only hope that the scandal become only a footnote in his historic life and career and truly hope everyone only remembers him for what he really was... a college football legend.

RIP Joe.

A New Blog

So I got inspired to start a new blog.  This will will keep going, full force.  This is all about me and my 'release' point, as far as blogging going.  In other words, this one will remain the 'exciting one', if you want to call it that.

My new blog is all about trying new stuff, like sample of products and such, and giving my opinion about how, or if, they work.  I've been going at it for a few weeks, now, so there's a few posts to read at this point.  And I'm sure I'll expand on what I post about as time goes on... but I just found myself getting the opportunity to sample so many things... why not share my opinion on my own platform??

Anyway, it's called Love It - Hate It, appropriately enough, and you can check it out here.

Enjoy!

One Year...

I just realized (looking back) that today is my One Year Anniversary blogging on here! I guess I've seen it referred to as a 'Blogiversay'... or something to that effect. How time flies!

One thing I can say about blogging is that it has served as a great outlet for me vent, as well as share stories of my travels and life with friends and family, who I may not get to talk to very often. Or at least as often as I'd like to. :)

So here's to being here one year with more to come in the next. Thanks to all those who actually read (and comment on) my blogs. I know sometimes they may seem like a rant, but most of the time I think I share some good stuff. :)

Building a Better Blog

It was brought to my attention (by someone who shall remain nameless) that I do not blog about nearly half of the things I could be blogging about in my life.

For example, I said nothing about the Italian Fest two weekends ago. Also, I could've blogged much more about last weekends party. But in my defense, that was more of a time constraint issue. :P

Anyway... there is actually much more going on in my life than what I've been writing about so far. So I'm going to work on that. :)

no pictures...

I noticed I haven't had any pictures in my blogs lately. I apologize for that. I haven't had much to take pictures of lately. It's the typical dreary, gray, Indiana winter, and there haven't been any good snowfalls to catch on film. I have no children to flaunt. And the trips I've taken don't allow pictures (like Wicked). So I apologize. Come spring/summer/fall, there will be plenty of pictures. Until then, they may be far and few between. It is winter, afterall... that means hybernation. ;)

Looks like I made it...

So here I am... officially a blogger, I suppose. I never thought I'd get into this, but yet, it seems to be the thing to do. I started doing some blogging on my MySpace page, and figured I'd branch off here and have a dedicated blog spot. Wow... who'd have thought.

I guess I'll do a quick explaination of the blog name, "Split Time". Well, it comes with the territory, I suppose. My job requires a lot of travelling and I got to thinking about it recently and realized that when you break it all down, I only spend about half of my time actually in the state I claim my residence to be. The other half, ironically, is in FL, where I grew up (hence, my blog address).

So anyway, that's me in a nutshell. A Florida Girl who splits time between Indiana and Florida. I'd say I'm like a retiree if it wasn't for the fact that I'm in FL, even in the dead of summer! :)