SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

potty talk table of 4 (robert! sandra! jack! n taryn!) #magicofmacys

posted by SANDRA MICKANEN @ 11:03 AM 0 comments

give me some classic rock! lessons from the professor of.. for (me!) -sandra, topps, writeousmom

i ALWAYS bring my phone, press a button or two which allows me to play and listen to my spotify [COMMERCIAL FREE] music playlist instead of having to

click.. commercials... click.. more commercials...  click, click..  is anyone playing music? anyone...

so, 

i rarely, if ever, listen to the radio.

but what happen saturday..  , as you know, my imaginary passenger..     i held my phone near the radio in my jeep..  wouldnt link.  tried several times,  -exact same buttons i use every time, in the exact same order...   no link.   tried a few new pathways...  nothing.

this was not a leisurely drive, for the fun of it..   we have an appointment to get to.  with no time left to figure out the glitch..

  -surrendered to listening to the radio..

KLOVE is preprogrammed, but,   -there is just some Christian music that..

well, if you are currently in the pit  -the music will resonate..  it will validate...  it will commiserate..

      why are you drivin' so slow    /says you, my imaginary passenger

but let's say you've graduated out of the pit..   you are in your 'more than a conqueror' season of life..

listening to still-in-the-pit music is the last thing your heart/soul/spirit want to do..

i look at you, my pretend passenger..  glance and press the button..

"can't stand to wallow..."  i say with a smile..

and Thank God, i also have 98.5 classic rock pre-programmed   -so, with the press of a button, the vibe of our ride went from a slow, whiny wallowing...

to 

      are you trying to get a ticket?   /says you,  my imaginary passenger   why are you driving so fast?

[insert mutual laughter here]

but then,  -we started getting to learn 'about' a song that would be coming up..     a little history..

and the first wonderful thing we both loved, is that..  the radio announcer..  he explained how he doesn't necessarily like the term  'one hit wonder'

rather, he likes to call the songs/artist that fit in that well understood category lightning in a bottle.

immediate interest and respect!..    one hit wonder has a subtle critical tone  -it acknowledges a rare success while simultaneously dissin' it for the same reason. 

the attitude embedded is, unless you can do a countless number of remarkable things.. don't do anything remarkable at all

i agree with the attitude embedded in the announcer's lightning in a bottle philosophy..

if you only do one (or only a few) remarkable things   -lightning!    

while your fans may, quite naturally, long for more, the absence of it should do nothing to rob or diminish the impact of that original, remarkable lightning..

   we agreed, didn't we imaginary passenger..   and listened intently to who we know by now goes by, 

the professor of rock    -super cool name.

the professor then shared an audio clip of an interview he did with the artist of a song, he regards as lightning in a bottle..

in the audio clip, the song-writer shares how the song came to be in the first place..   paraphrase to capture the essence..

     i had done something, i dont know what, but must have pissed someone off, on the road..  then they chased, caught up to, threatened me..   i locked all my doors trying to stay safe..

the professor of rock chimes in with,  'road rage'

there is more detail..   but then, the artist and song are formally introduced..

a song we havent heard for...   forever, but is IMMEDIATELY familiar as a treasure in the archives..

and as we are nearing the parking lot, on time for the appointment..

CARS by gary numan is boomin' from the speakers..   

and we hear the lyrics, and hear the song, in a very new, much more meaningful and enriching way..

never knew ANY of the background to this remarkable, cool, very catchy song.. 

"Thank You!" Professor of Rock!  Gary Numan..   98.5...

i will make a point to find your program in the future..

and wouldn't know about it at all without that glitch..   God using all things for good,   yes..

hallelujah & amen. 

*****

will be a while before i can organize pix from our recent trip to puerto ricoOOooo; but, have a short list of fun things to write about in the interim..   the above, one of the them.

****

tbc. 

posted by SANDRA MICKANEN @ 1:21 PM 0 comments

#vellumdays in austin, texas (family vacation memories!) cont.

was recently asked, 'what do you mean by vellum days?'

we mean this:   vellum is a see through paper.  if you print out 3 calendar days on this clear paper, with 1 day = great memories;  next day = great day, 3rd day = fun plans.    and you cut them out, and place them on your calendar..    and then just slide the 3 days over, one day at a time..

captures what our vacation was like..      many great days, turned into great memories..  all in a row.

all of it tithing..

posted by SANDRA MICKANEN @ 3:09 PM 0 comments

irony of our cultures ignorance & results of non-stop asking by (me!) sandra #ladybirdjohnsonwildflowercenter

    inspired by our recent visit to lady bird johnson's wildflower center.

but, 

 

 and so, i bought that book too.   i keep it with my collection of maya angelou books.

  we entered w/a docent pointing out athena..

posted by SANDRA MICKANEN @ 10:13 AM 0 comments

"weeEEeee did it!" -passengers in autonomous driving automobile; waymo (husband, son, daughter & me!)

the most recent time i said it, my husband and i were having our boarding passes scanned at the airport; we were the only ones with paper boarding passes; the only ones not using our phones

as i handed the kind checker-in person my paper, i said with a smile, 

we're practically amish arent we.

and before that, i had a conversation with my son..  there's going to be a new colony of amish that result from this driverless car era..

the people who dare and move on..   and the people, like me, who want to remain in the driver seat.

****

i know very little about amish people, their customs, ways, history..   i only use it to describe..

well, from what i do know, they still use horses/carriages for transportation.   that might seem absurd at first..  but, if i were to place a few pictures here, of miles and miles of parked traffic, car accidents, receipts from gas stations, smog checks, car repairs.. license/registration fees..  people driving around for hours and hours trying to find a parking spot...

i see both sides.  i still would not want to clean up accumulated horse poop..  would not want to live without shelter, windshield wipers, AC/Heat, radio, a cup holder...  automatic windows..   5-75mph options, when the road is clear;   but, i respect their way of life; for them..    i would never insist on changing it.  -i am only borrowing it, if you will, to make a point

initially, before i learned about the religious history, i just thought..   the world is moving at a rapid pace  -or rather, the rotations of the earth might not be speeding up, but the technology, our ways of life, as humans beings  -the speed at which it is all introduced and employed

and obsolete with newer, faster, better technology introduced monthly  weekly   daily    hourly;

that speed.. is  -faster than some of us are comfortable with. faster than our ability to understand and acclimate.  so, in my imagination, i pictured everyone, in the early 1900's say,  -acclimating and moving together at an agreed upon pace, and then cars were introduced

and that's when a small percentage of the population said,  that's okay. you go on ahead...  we'll stay here.  -and they just hopped off the conveyor belt of life.  people who embraced cars, started driving..  forward; into the future.

those who did not, hopped off the belt, hopped back on their horses and still ride around..   & around in the early 1900's even today. 

   -it is in that context, that i use the word/term am-ish.

so, if life is more conveyor belt, than circle:  i was quite ready to jump off myself the first time i heard about driverless cars.   you go on ahead..  i'll hop off here.. in 2025..  stay in the driver seat.   -send a post card from mars when you get there, okay..

i still want to have paper and stamps and letters and post cards.. and united states postal service; can we keep those?  like, if i do start a new amish community, 

we will remain in the driver seat of our automobiles and people in the near future will marvel at how we still pen our own love letters and write our own poetry  -on paper!   but!

we keep amazon.   every amish community embraces a percentage of the modern conveniences, is my understanding.  Good God, i still can't believe how i can press a button and have products delivered to my front porch!

anyway, 

i have felt..   much like i'm riding a scooter.  this is the best analogy.  one foot rested and riding effortlessly, in perfect harmony with the speed of life and technology

the other foot pumping, pumping, doing all the work...    wanting to stay grounded.   one foot in 2025; one foot in 2000...   working to help me catch up

but!

happy to report, that i had a recent experience in which i felt quite like,  as if, 

 -there are those stretches, when you are riding a scooter, that you pump, pump.. push, push, and with enough momentum achieved  -you can place both feet in resting position and just glide effortlessly for a while..

and that is exactly what it  -later-  felt like, after having my first and currently only experience as a passenger in a

autonomous driving vehicle.    -confess to struggling here with a vocabulary that works for me..

'self' driving doesnt work..  a car is not a 'self'   -i reserve that for humans.

driverless, kinda works..    i mean, 

"My God! this is the most bizarre thing i have ever done!!"    -my reaction to watching the steering wheel move, but no one in the driver seat moving it.

literally looks as if a ghost!   -it is the strangest, strangest..    it is just undoing what i have been seeing and experiencing for nearly 60 years!

crazy.

but, also report, it never felt like an invisible robot was driving.. it did not at all feel robotic.  it really did feel as if a human being was doing the driving..  felt like a very safe, good human being driver was driving..

the subtle adjustments, turns, accelerations, slowing down... negotiating space and obstacles; honoring the rules of the road..  highly nuanced

i'm still processing the experience even as i write this..

mostly with enormous gratitude.  a first! even at 59 years old...   and more importantly, a first  -shared with my husband, son and daughter..     a wonderful experience/memory together..   not likely to forget.

my daughter had already acclimated..  i admire that; very proud of her!     -it was a first for the rest of us.

and, as it was a first time,  -we only went about 3 blocks...     -but i would be comfortable going 5..

i would do it again.   everyone would was the consensus... 

i'm seeing some great benefits..     amazing potential...

and thank here also, cleo abrams..   i believe watching her youtube/podcast where she introduced her audience to autonomous driving vehicles in san francisco helped ready me..    that, and my BMF, carla and her husband russ, who were the first friends to share video they had experienced this..  passengers in an autonomous driving vehicle.. in Arizona, i believe.   brave. 

writing a scooter on the conveyor belt of life...     working to keep up...   -for 3 blocks, all of me was in the 21st century

"weeeeeeee did it!"    -#waymo, austin texas.

all of this is a "Thank You!" prayer..      hallelujah & amen

posted by SANDRA MICKANEN @ 4:06 PM 0 comments

so, i called 911; but could not text the dispatcher these pictures (me!) -sandra mickanen

immediately the dispatcher asks me to identify..

an age, a size/weight, an ethnicity..  what clothes..     -i am not good at this.

i know my own psychology  -and my mind will, in an effort to prevent a return of PTSD symptoms, avoid 'identifying'        explanation/awareness here.

a reluctance to identify is my new cerebral/spiritual default, which i must consciously override in order to provide descriptions..

eventually, i was able to successfully relate the clothes he was wearing, etc.

BUT! IMAGINE how much more quickly, efficiently, and more importantly, accurately, the information could be gathered if i were able to just send the 911 dispatcher the picture i had taken vs. using all that time and energy to  -best guess-  his age, ethnicity, height, weight, etc.

  anyone keeping track?  in addition to hoping we can get a set time for public speaking times at city council meetings,  in addition to dignity acres emergency campground; perhaps a perfect candidate in the picture above  -who, 

wait a minute. not deceased.  -he just moved

i hope we can update our 911 system, so that we can send pictures to dispatchers.  wow!  to how helpful this could potentially be.

****

-recently returned from one of my favorite vacations of all my lifetime..   look forward to organizing pictures/memories and posting them soon...

Glory be to God's name..       let's restore everywhere, and everyone we can to magnify that glory

*****

works in progress:  letters sent certified.      -remain bewildered at how difficult to reach the appropriate person..  just to get owner names/addresses.. 'thank you awesome elva!'   i am aware, that without a attorney's/lawyers letterhead, our letter could easily go ignored; i wrote it anyway.  -but have learned, that sometimes, legal threats, are the only language some people will regard.  

To:  Barchester Silicon Valley LP  ONE CVS DR, Woonsocket, RI  02895                                  FROM:

                Re: 2514 Berryessa Rd, San Jose, CA 95132                                                                Beautify Berryessa Neighborhood Assc.

To: Safeway Inc.  PO BOX 800729 Dallas TX 75380-0729                                                           P.O. Box 610192, San Jose, Ca 95161

                Re: 2558 Berryessa Rd., San Jose, CA 95132                                                                BeautifyBerryessa@gmail.com

To: Tesoro Sierra Props LLC, 300 Concord Plaza Dr., San Antonio, TX 78216

                Re:  1140 N Capitol Ave, San Jose, Ca 95133

To: Anderson Yee  L C Trustee & ET AL,  1678 42^nd Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122

                Re:  2516 Berryessa Rd., San Jose, CA 95132

03/07/2025

Dear San Jose, Ca, Berryessa Corner Business Owners:

I write on behalf of my husband and I, and countless neighbors we have conversated with over the past several years.

Many of us only visit the Safeway at Berryessa Corners for ‘emergency’ shopping only.  We have all started to do our ‘regular’ shopping at grocery stores much further away, in some cases other cities.  The reason for this is because Berryessa Corners no longer feels clean, safe, welcoming.  It has been on a slow decline for a long time; it appears neglected.    In fact, my husband and I used to frequent the pizza parlor there; the Chinese Restaurant, a hair salon.. CVS and we now go to other plazas for all those things.

We have learned there are multiple owners for Berryessa Corner Businesses  -Not just ONE owner responsible.  We are asking ALL OWNERS of every Berryessa Corner Business to PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO A CLEAN-UP EFFORT, so that we may return to shopping at our local Safeway, and return to visiting the restaurants and salons also.  We see the following:

Retaining walls, in desperate need of repair.       

Landscaping, in desperate need of attention

Desperate need for graffiti removal (and maintenance of removal on ongoing basis)   

 Sidewalks in desperate need of a pressure wash

Walls in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint.   

Desperately need to replace old worn out signs with new modern signs

The parking lot, in desperate need of new pavement.   

 And most importantly,  Berryessa Corners is in desperate need of security to prevent panhandlers, loiterers, homeless from hanging out; sleeping; defecating/urinating on the sidewalks   -ultimately causing a huge reduction in the number of paying customers who once shopped at Berryessa Corners.

We are so grateful to Beautify Berryessa, a neighborhood association devoted to putting on the brakes  -to stopping the current decline in its tracks, and heading us all back in a healthy, clean, safe, beautiful direction.

We recognize that goal requires making contact with each of you; bringing this concern to your attention.  And asking you to take action.

.   Please Acknowledge Receipt of this letter by providing us with the correct person (name, title, best contact info) from your business, that we should contact to help us move forward.    beautifyberryessa@gmail.com

  “Thank You!”   Robert & Sandra Mickanen, o/b/o:   BBNA       

posted by SANDRA MICKANEN @ 9:39 AM 0 comments

FEAST OF ST PATRICK 2025 @ The Micks

big "Thank You!" to me family & friends..    Awesome group of human beings you are!  -for co-creating another wonderful evening   -fun in every way..     look at cha' in those irish pub fashions  THE BEST!

In honor of St Patrick..   "slainte!"     We LOVE you!  

 

posted by SANDRA MICKANEN @ 10:34 AM 0 comments

My notes from listening to Pres. Trumps address to joint session of congress (me!) sandra

open by wondering/suggesting..   every party had to start somewhere,  -write.   well, i don't even want us to call ourselves a 'party'

we are (thinking of it.....  ), i am here on my blog, this very moment suggesting a new population of voting USA citizens who will be called...

ISSUE-BASED AMERICANS.  IBA's..  #issuebasedamericans   and our color...   

red is taken; blue is taken; green is taken..  even yellow is taken..

our color is GOLD!   We do not like it when people place their party loyalty over the more important and consequential issues, policies, laws, ordinances, etc. that serve our entire nation. 

So often party alliances result in peer pressure wins, over public safety wins..    or turn our government meetings into sporting events, with radical fans, who just want to win.. and want their opponent to lose..  or we see our government like a bad, traveling vaudeville show..     booing a villian, cheering a perceived super hero  [ the villian/super hero being opposite for each side ].

****

that said, i'm a third of the way through LISTENING to President Trumps address to congress..

1)   -just listened live as his speech unfolded...

2)  -re-listened with remote in hand, taking notes along the way; lots of pause, rewind, play...  for the entirety of his speech.   and let me say, i heard A LOT MORE during this note-taking listen..

3) 3rd way i will LISTEN/UNDERSTAND, is to type bullet points from my hand-written notes..

****

for now, i just want to say,  -DENSE! PACKED! speech...     and i like the direction Trump is taking our country...

very glad to learn about GAS CARS being ok again!  "Thank You!"    -not mandatory; but we can choose..   electric, gas, hybrid...     as a JEEP owner..   this is great news.   And glad to learn about the efforts to return car manufacturing to America.     /also noted..   not like Trump doubled-down on electric only w/elon musk on staff...    to the contrary.    -yes, to interest payments on car loans tax deductible if car is made in the USA.. 

   -i've had conversations w/well educated people regarding how much energy, how rich with resources we are here,  -if not for restrictions/regulations..      so, i am remembering those conversations, when i learn about Trumps 'drill baby drill'

thrilled with any/all efforts to be tough on crime; on criminals..   go to war w/cartels..    address the fentanyl crisis..

thrilled with take it down act; consequences for these criminals.  caught & consequences..

getting repeat offenders off our streets..      grateful for death penalty if you murder police; and believe in the death penalty for rapists/murders 

i did experience/witness/observe free speech slipping away..  and am grateful for any/all efforts to preserve and protect free speech..

grateful the brakes are being put on in a variety of areas..  by way of tariffs..   by removing federal funding.    -money as creating incentives; disincentives..   this does appear to be the language many governments speak; their mother tongue if you will..

accountability for federal workers..     english as official language...    only 2 genders...     ban on men playing in womens sports...     return of skill, competence, merit based hiring/promotions..  glad about banning schools from indoctrinating children w/transgender ideology   -i believe parents should parent..  autonomy/authority/decisions belong to the parent of the child;  -unless found legally unfit.. 

LOVE the creation of, DOGE..  and grateful for any/all identification and immediate halt of waste, fraud, misuse, scams, theft  -with accountability; consequences..     [remember here our DATA DESERT.. where an audit revealed billions of dollars designated for homeless and our most vulnerable went missing..  was not tracked].

who does not want to see our inflation reduced; our national debt addressed..  who does not want to have their mortgage rates go down, have lower car payments, lower grocery bills, who does not want to protect our seniors?   what American does not want to experience more money in their pocket; in their banks, savings..   that is the new American dream..   to go back to when the American Dream was achievable with hard work, dedication

lots of talk, incentives regarding manufacturing, production, jobs returning to the USA...

Yes to tax cuts!  no tax on tips; no tax on overtime; no tax on social security benefits..

bringing shipping manufacturing back...  reclaiming panama canal..    invitation to Greenland..

plant american flag on mars.. 

a dense, packed speech!   and, my respect, love, gratitude, to each and every guest..   your bravery,  -what you have endured..  some unnecessary and preventable pain and suffering and death..

it is my observation, experience, opinion that crime, criminal behavior, violence..  every negative thing has, in fact, been on the rise for several years

i am grateful the current administration has a 'tough on crime' agenda.  -grateful for a revisit, a return to healthy values

****

it seemed to answer my question.. address my personal confusion:  the rise in homeless..  how i watched it grow, not just in one or two cities..   but everywhere we turned..

places that for my entire life were free from homeless populations; suddenly with visible homeless colonizing creekways, shopping plazas, along freeways..

it seemed to be growing exponentially..   in number and scope..   everywhere...  

i couldnt get 'covid' or 'job loss' or 'lack of affordable housing' to explain what i was witnessing..   

something is happening on a larger scale..     felt a bit like a slow, strategic, invasion.. 

when President Trump talked about the massive amounts of migrants..   Bidens open border insanity..

this matches with what i've been witnessing   -and then the temporary 9th circuit decision which tied law enforcements hands to do anything about it..

grateful that decision was rescinded!  

   i'll close here..   with love and condolences to the families who lost loved ones to violent crimes..

with love and gratitude to anyone/everyone preventing more victims..

with heart felt celebration and appreciation for our returned hostage..  for steel workers, for farmers..    and for DJ, our very brave, very strong,  newest and noble secret agent...   for all first responders.. 

****

and, for all my life..   i've witnessed party loyalty; peer pressure resulting from...  a win/lose mentality where the win benefits a party; not the people of the united states..

all my life..  in the after of a president's speech, you can watch on tv, or hear on the radio..  such certainty about the president lying..   or such certainty he is not..    and flip back and forth, and depending on republican or democrat status..   you can have your ideas validated/confirmed..

comedians can make you laugh, tell jokes..    flip channels, the punchline is anti-republican; flip channels, the punchline is anti-democrat..

each side certain they are  -write.   each side with their own evidence, stats, graphs, stories; in polar opposite of each other..

that's why i started something brand new today:  Issue Based Americans.   Our color is gold..

 i'm working on the rest...

 The 'Independent' category already got all convoluted    do you mean, unaffiliated with a party?  or

no party preference?

ISSUE BASED AMERICANS is exactly that:  We look at ISSUES; period.  The pros, cons, of any given issue.  And most importantly..  ONE ISSUE AT A TIME..  comprehensively 

no sneaky legislation ..   with these 1000 page documents that combine this good law...  but only if this bad law also gets through...  where a yes on one thing, also results in a yes on things you are a solid no on..   you know what i mean... 

and no manipulating language...  where a yes, actually means no..

ISSUE BASED AMERICANS demand CLEAR HONEST COMMUNICATION..

and we can vote in the primaries..

tbc.       God Bless America! & Amen

posted by SANDRA MICKANEN @ 2:35 PM 0 comments

UPSHOT from recent Garbage Police Visit, Part II by (me!) sandra

                               

                            and i will always advocate for a color-coded system.  universal language.  no need for text translations.  when i look at the recycle bin in the picture here  -black landfill; blue recycle; green compost..    i think, "yes! you are half way there..."    -but who wants to stand in front of a recycle bin and play match-your-item, with pictures..  not me.     so, once all items have a color dot, AND those color dots match with the bins..      now, compliance will increase significantly.  remember, humans are creatures of habit and convenience.    amen & amen. 

posted by SANDRA MICKANEN @ 12:21 PM 0 comments