"HERE!'S YOUR #$&^ PASSWORD" by (me!) sandra, tvgp
partially inspired by cbs sunday morning segment re: passwords. -"great job!" -cracked up! here's my contribution.. a gift of validation...
the only time i've ever shared this story, was during a wine tasting lunch at concannon in livermore, when my brother, larry, was visiting.. HE LAUGHED! everyone at the table laughed, and that made everything suddenly okay..
but i'm not proud of myself.
what happened you see, is that i was working with a VERY FRUSTRATING computer program. ultra outdated for one, and with an over-kill security system for two..
outdated means, the program was written in like.. 1970 something /although i'm told it's not that old..
over-kill security means, that.. well, i will exaggerate here to make my point, but ...
"..it feels like you are FORCED to enter a username and password every three seconds! first name. -username and password. last name.. no wait! first enter your username and password. click to change page.. but wait! first you must enter your username and password.. exit -nope! first you must enter your username and password. -get back in... NOT WITHOUT ENTERING YOUR USERNAME and PASSWORD...
made me absolutely crazy.. but you have no choice.
so, every three seconds, that's what i did... username/password..
username/password
username/password.
then one day. one very dreaded day, a message appeared that i would have to CHANGE my username and password
'no, no, no,.... please no.'
but again, i knew i had no choice..
so i came up with a new username and password that i would have to enter every three seconds
only. -no surprise with this computer program, -it didn't work.
i made sure, double checked i was meeting the criteria: 7 letters 1 number; yes. verified.
"I DID!" i was yelling at the computer... 7 letters! 1 number! "I'M DOING WHAT YOU TELL ME!"
damn thing wouldn't listen. i call over a co-worker.. ask for help..
"are you sure you are putting in 7 letters and 1 number?" -is there anything more irritating...
"YES!" and i politely refrained from attempted homicide
"well, try a different one" he tells me
"I'VE ALREADY TRIED 10 DIFFERENT TIMES! I'M OUT OF IDEAS! I HAVE NO MORE 7 LETTERS 1 NUMBER COMBINATIONS IN MY BRAIN... "
my co-worker was very polite... turned his back so he couldn't actually see what i was entering as my username and password..
i mean, i didn't care if he knew or not, but this is the etiquette... don't watch when someone enters their personal, top secret, password..
so i tried again... " -THIS IS THE LAST TIME! I'VE HAD IT!"
and so, with less than no patience left, and a full plan to surrender, quit my job, and walk 10 miles home
i tried this one last time. -seven letters. one number. CLICK!
and what choice did i have but to believe in miracles again because IT WORKED!
and so i told my co-worker he could turn around, and i didn't hug him and lift him and twirl him in the air like i wanted to, but i did smile real big and thank him for his patience.
k-
'but that's not where the story ends.
because fast forward a couple weeks, and a new co-worker is by my side. awesome annie, i call her..
and awesome annie.. she only works every now and then to cover shifts for others.. she has a different full time job
and so, -she didn't have her own username and password. she had to
"i'm sorry?" i said, with my face turning a variety shades of red.. "you need MY username and password?"
well, ...
well,..
"okay, but.. i kinda need to explain something first.. have you ever tried to enter a new username and password in this thing?!"
and i sang, and i danced behind the curtain, but at some point i had to, you know..
well, -if i don't write.. if i just.. say it; whisper it
v e r y s l o w l y
she won't catch on..
so, i walked past her with the first letter..
F
and then grabbed some water, took a sip,
U
and then,
C
and then i answered the phone,
and then said,
"k"
and then,
"and then you type the word YOU
and then the number 2"
and she didn't laugh like i hoped she would... but she did type it in
and "IT WORKED!"
so there.
Password Protection for Auto & Biographers as considered by (me!) sandra, tvgp
honestly...
of the top things that bring me dread and misery: having to create new user id's & passwords. -my favorite example is
here:
but, even since then, the amount of user id's and passwords I've had to constantly come up with... staggeringly ridiculous
and we can no longer use the same one, because the criteria keeps changing [requirement for # of characters + a number + special character, etc.]
so then they added on: security questions
security questions, in theory..
/please DO NOT TELL ME HOW MUCH THESE PROGRAMMERS GET PAID
security questions in theory, are supposed to include questions/answers ONLY the person creating the account will know
it is obvious to me, thus far
that all security question programmers creating these security questions...
well,
they work for the enemy.
there has not been ONE!
not ONE question asked on these online forms, that cannot be researched and found in under 10 minutes for anyone who has even a 10 page biography written by or about them
so,
what fun I had recently when my son needed some of the answers to these TOP SECRET QUESTIONS:
my favorite poet?
really?!?
I've written a play that was performed on stage! KISSIN' THE CHOCOLATE BLUES -there are articles in newspapers... it can't be more public -how on God's good green earth did this become a SECURITY QUESTION?
if someone/anyone has a
FAVORITE POET... that is definitely not something people keep secret..
or, wait a minute..
maybe this explains the unpopularity of poems, poets and poetry circles... has it in fact, all gone underground? hush/hush... we are supposed to keep our
favorite poet....
secret? -between just us... God, and the online security question world?
but, I had great fun sharing this with my son, because he had written about it himself:
shhhhh,
don't tell anyone though, ok..
and,
my elementary school?!?
a SECURITY QUESTION?!?
I had no idea I promise you,
on every casual conversation throughout my entire life
on every first date,
with every new co-worker,
really?!? is a person's elementary school
which is most likely..um,
within the geographic location of where they spent their life age 5.. through 12...
TOP SECRET
again,
HOW ON GOD'S GOOD GREEN EARTH DID YOUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BECOME A TOP SECURITY QUESTION?
so,
you are about to gain access to my personal bank account
and all,
I don't know,
$25 I might currently have in it
/until I go to MICHAELS
oh! FAVORITE CRAFT STORE.. darn it! I just accidentally revealed another potentially top secret question/answer..
anyway,
I will reveal here
but only and exclusively to my blog readers:
/which really are top secret, by the way..
but,
here you go:
my elementary school:
where I was secretly
THE PRESIDENT OF STUDENT COUNCIL
***
and,
so, the list of question/answers of these websites where I already have a unique user name & password
well,
it's really only the wealthy autobiographers/or anyone with a biography written about them that really need to worry
and good thing Ray Orrock is already in heaven
I know everything about him from his newspaper columns
and good thing
well,
I guess young people don't read much in detail anymore
or talk in detail
or why else would they come up with such pathetic security questions to begin with?
***
/I have three tattoos
but I have no $
so,
what you have to gain from (me!)
is just the pleasure of knowing.
***
extra credit: create user id, password and security questions only Jesus would create and know the answers to
hallelujah & amen
on the topic of gender non-conformity by (me!) sandra, tvgp
I will not tip toe.
***
but I have no idea where to begin? -but WHEN did this begin?
-there is something very different going on...
different under currents,
and they are suspicious
***
my exposure was at the -awesome! all stars were out.. 44 assists! phenomenal, wonderful, Warrior Game at Oracle.. my birthday present from my sexy..
and during one of the intermissions.. on the big screen..
what appeared to me
based on 53 years plus of life experience here on earth..
as a beautiful young girl,
who was, working with young children, in some capacity -teacher? mentor? coach?
as she introduced herself,
she included in her introduction, to the population at large,
"I am gender non-conforming".
***
I could tell..
or at least my immediate read and interpretation/projection of her tone..
this is something very different from not wanting to identify or get stuck in culturally practiced gender ROLES...
but rather,
not wanting to identify with the GENDER itself.
huge distinction!
***
writers/scribes will understand:
I received this analogy and wrote it down
I jumping around, yes, I realize..
but there is quite a bit to..
and, so,
yes.
it is a spiritual practice:
seek first to understand; then be understood.
and,
so,
dear gender non-conformists,
if you are evolved enough to put that spiritual principle into practice,
I have an exercise of the imagination for you
that will help you understand..
before you insist on being suddenly, utterly being understood
imagine this please:
tomorrow,
when you wake up, and go to school or work, or anywhere
pretend in your imagination
that every time you
see a red light
that means "go!"
every time you see a green light
that means "stop."
and your entire society has been sent a letter explaining the new definition for each color
and now
live according to this new information.
because,
it is very analogous for me personally,
for my entire 53+ year life
these have been, -and still are,
visual icons
one = human born with penis
the other = human born with vagina
/and nothing to do with sexual attraction/orientation... personal character/personality, education, or anything else
visual icons which mean male or female
and!
for the entirety of my 53+ year life
red = stop
green = go
and,
when everyone is agreement, with mutual understanding
this helps us avoid a lot of accidents
but,
it's not a NATURAL LAW
that red ='s stop
it is a human-implemented definition/understanding..
in truth,
if anyone wanted to change it,
so that GREEN now means STOP
and RED now means GO..
just so long as everyone is in on it..
knows
agrees
understands..
really who cares which color means which instruction... write.
we've done much of this for convenience.. to help; not to hurt
but,
if you did want to implement the change
just for the sake of it..
how long would it take for people to adapt to the change?
my goodness..
I have to change my password every 2 or 3 months..
and,
after I do,
I still put my old/former password in several times before I remember...
and then, 3 times in a row, i'll use my new password successfully,
then backtrack, and accidentally put the old one in again..
and,
when a new year begins..
I mean,
I can't think of any person, who wrote 2019 every single time beginning Jan 1st...
most people -out of habit- write 2018, for a few weeks, until..
and that habit only last one year!
for icons/definitions/ways of being that have been practiced for decades and centuries and millenniums...
so, first understand, all of you who suddenly don't want to be referred to as a he or a she..
first understand, all of you who don't want to conform to long agreed upon/practiced ways of addressing people:
it is equivalent to waking up and starting now:
red means go.
****
there is an under-current of what is going on, that isn't sitting write in my soul...
some of this is quite recycled..
new vocabulary; dressed as if it's new..
but it is not new
***
what age was I? prior to having children of my own.. and,
uproar! about how unnecessary and restrictive and oppressive it was
pink for girls and blue for boys!
outrageous and oppressive..
and, I did, visit with my mind, all the arguments why or why not..
but,
when I did have children of my own,
and I gave birth, to a GIRL, and to a BOY;
that is to say,
my daughter had a vagina, and my son had a penis..
and in their toddler/pre-school years they enjoyed pink and blue
I let them.
I let her favorite color be pink.. when she said her favorite color was pink
and she, very much on her own, expanded her color pallet as she grew...
and my son, -with blue.
it is a who cares thing to me.. but people love to create upset/drama
over very inconsequential things.
my son,
the second born, and younger,
exactly because he had an older sister, had very direct exposure to 'girl' things..
some things he enjoyed, others held no interest..
and vice versa
my daughter had very direct exposure to 'boy things'
and some things interested her also; and many did not..
I just let them be who they were...
and watched/observed... loved, nurtured, cared, shared...
***
I would caution new parents to do the same
let your children, not the media, not whats trending, not these people so easily offended and upset over nothingness, not the academics, or experts, or scientists..
let your children show you who they are; and honor that.
-it seems to me, we are in some strange cultural climate
that doesn't want to allow a girl to be a girl, or boy to be a boy
but,
and while we may have a much wider spectrum in humanity at large
within that spectrum
there are still boys
and there are still girls.
don't forget.
***
and, the other big upset during my youth..
the use Mr and Mrs...
outrageous! discriminatory!
it's nobody's business if you are married or not.. that is your personal business only
and we have the addition of Ms.
***
I don't have enough energy for the long list...
but much of what appears to be going on write now..
just recycled
***
sexual revolution... sexual freedoms..
just recycled
***
I am interested in how people introduce themselves these days..
what they put as the most important,
because, when we introduce ourselves, we only use a few words, sentences..
what do you lead with?
if I wanted to join in on what people are saying is the most important part of my introduction today,
I might say,
My name is Sandra.. I am a white, female-conforming, heterosexual..
but,
when did that become the lead?
I've always regarded who I am, not as what color, or sexual orientation, or gender
but rather,
a proud mom, an artist, a writer...
I would vote for people to reconsider how they introduce themselves..
not because it's wrong.. what color and sexual orientation.. etc. ,
but rather,
because it's not that important really.
if the young beautiful human on the big screen
would have introduced herself as a teacher, coach, mentor
and said what name to call her
sufficient.
why all this proactively leading with...
when if you just say your name,
but,
perhaps, I will experiment with that..
"Hi. My name is Sandra,
I am a white, female-conforming, heterosexual...
and what are you?"
***
I have no issue with color, sexual orientation.. whatever...
and i'm schooled on gender ROLES
and thank the people who helped us identify the roles placed on..
and we have in fact, expanded those gender ROLES impressively!
men are helping raise their children,
women are working and financially contributing to the household
it's much more of a team-work environment..
the jobs available to women today! vs.. in my youth
outrageously impressive!
but,
and, so it just seems strange..
all this hard work,
blood, sweat and tears, and marches and rallies,
and court hearings,
and..
to help women
and now,
but their teaching women not to identify as women ..
so,
that's where im currently at in my acclimation
I totally understand not conforming to gender ROLES
and have no understanding of not wanting to conform to gender itself.
I currently think its a mis-communication, vocabulary issue
and my analogy here is roses..
like, I see every working day,
100's of roses..
and the spectrum of color,
spectrum of fragrance, or lack thereof,
spectrum of varieties,
hybrids, floribunda,
climbers, carpet, patio tree,
pedal counts and shapes can be entirely different..
there are many, many different types, flavors, if you will..
and if,
one of the roses could speak, and said,
I am rose non-conforming,
I would be like,
do whatever you want, conform, don't conform,
like it, don't like it, behave, don't behave, agree or argue..
'feel' like an asparagus, hang out with the bamboo..
change your name if you want to
but, the bottom line my friend, is that you are a rose.
it is just a convenient name, given to a living entity that identifies certain characteristics in common. nothing more; nothing less
and the habit of humans who do name/ label things
seems to be,
in a very loose, non academic, way...
it seems to be,
we start out, with one big name that captures a large population
humanity,
and then,
we find distinguishing characteristics
men, women, boys, girls, adults, children, seniors,
optimists, pessimists,
introverts, extroverts,
etc.,
we find subgroups,
and based on that new knowledge, we create new names
it's all for convenience
so we have heterosexuals, homosexuals, bisexuals, try-sexuals..
i'm sure there is a longer list..
and we have females, males, transgenders,
and -gender non-forming- ?
i'm going to go look up what that says...
bare with me..
red means go.
okay...
based on my very brief, and admittedly belated reading/research..
it really is the exact same thing
it is,
not conforming to gender ROLES.
so, I got all upset/confused about nothing really... have you ever done that? jump the gun
it IS a vocabulary thing..
had she said, I am gender-role non-forming...
that makes perfect sense.
***
but! we still have this other thing circulating..
the not wanting to be referred to as a he or she.. I remember squidmann blogging about this a long time ago.. it is also recycled... don't use he or she...
and we are back to
mostly its been for convenience
when I say, he, it's because the person I am discussing has a penis; that's it.
it does not mean, hetero, or homo-sexual.. "he" to me does not include who they sleep with, or whether or not they are feminine in appearance.. or personally identify as anything else..
and when I say "she" -its because the person im referencing has a vagina..
penis; vagina
green light; red light..
if you all the sudden wanted to call humans with vaginas men
and humans with penises women..
doesn't really matter
we are all just looking for a common and convenient way to communicate
and
another thing that is not at all new
and is totally recycled
is the fact,
that there also seems to be, always, originating where?
but someone(s) who thrive on manipulating it, so that it is even harder to communicate.
talking on egg shells..
In, Jesus walks in love,'s name... amen.
****
I think here of the passage that teaches us,
-it teaches us about not conforming.
but it teaches us about not conforming to this world, these times..
Romans 12
2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.
"Roya!" in downtown livermore.. raves (me!) sandra, tvgp
i just finished typing a passionate review on trip advisor, i think it was.. but then you have to -sign up- in order to publish..
you know i already vowed never to create another username and password for as long as i live..
so, let me just make my point here:
"Spectacular! Delicious! Magnificent!"
my date let (me!) choose where to eat, so "Roya!" was my top choice...
i had visited there last month for the first time.. lunch. sat outside on a gorgeous day.. salmon, shrimp kabob with brown rice..green sauce, red wine.. however they prepared that salmon.. best ever! texture, flavor.. and that sauce drizzled over.. heaven.
tonight we sat inside.. got to take in the art, photography, mosaics, decor.. plus the meal was delicious again and the service most hospitable and gracious.. he had the chicken kabob, i had to order an encore of that salmon.. -damn.. its just so good..
pardon me.. but darn does not capture..
anyway.. little something i learned while inquiring about the pbotography
of course i was curious who took the photographs.. maybe someone who owned or worked at the restaurant.. but no, -turns out they were just purchased..
but the one of the village.. tucked in the mountains.. the view!
and it was explained to me.. the poor people live at the top, the rich on the bottom.
-you know i've written about that here.. how it is the exact and polar opposite.. the best views go to the rich.. period. and i think, if im remembering correctly.. i pointed out that..
well, any rich people with great views here.. if you mentioned that maybe some low income properties should also be made available..
a low income person as a neighbor of someone with a great view from their mansion..
well, they'd have their attorneys paying another layer of attorneys to stop even the suggestion from floating around in public places.
i do not know this, as a fact. ive not actually interviewed any rich people on the subject
what i have done is watch several exciting episodes of city council meetings, and what i do know from watching those..
if it weren't absolutely required and mandated by law that we include low income housing in our city
-we would have no low income housing at all; period again.
but it is the law.. and so we have some... but not next door to rich people with mansions and great views..
the great views for low income people will come only from 'high-density' properties. /my very favorite euphemism for apartments.
anyway.. i must interrupt with an inconvenient truth:
even if you are living out of your car here in pleasanton..
its still amazing living, -relatively speaking.
back to the photograph at Roya's..
the reason the poor people in the villages live at the top with the great views.. and the rich people live at the bottom..
is because "there is NO WATER!". so, people at the top have to hike back and forth, hunting, gathering, and carrying...
did i not just blog about how i am swimming in blessings everyday even though i don't have two dimes to rub together...
-see.
so there you have it. a different kind of restaurant review by (me!) sandra, tvgp.
