THE REGULATORY MIX AND BLOG ARTICLES

When I was 10, my dad's dream of owning a place in the country came true when we moved to Christmas, FL. Yes, the name of the town is really Christmas, and it is located about 20 miles east of Orlando. It rarely snows, but festive nonetheless with Santa Claus and a decorated tree that remains year round. This time of year is bustling with activity as people come from miles around to the post office to have their holiday cards postmarked "Christmas, FL."The community was originally called Fort Christmas, named after the fort built around Christmas time in 1837 during the Seminole Indian War. A replica stands on a 25-acre park, a fun place to visit and picnic with the family.

If you grew up celebrating Christmas, you remember that feeling you had as a kid when the big day arrived.  You woke up as early as possible and tried to sneak a quick peek at the tree and what was in store for you and your family. Then, if you were like my family, you had to attend church before you were able to get back home to tear into those packages, thinking how mean your parents were to not let you just open your gifts early (especially since you had been up since 3 AM).

Much is made this time of year for the need to express what we are thankful for. That proposition is a bit like asking people, “Are you a glass half full or a glass half empty person?” My question is why must there be a glass or fullness involved? Why is everything reduced to measurements of a physical equation involving mass and volume? Is it useful or fair to reduce emotions, attitudes, and one’s circumstances to such equations? Perhaps not, but in the days of Smartphones, Twitter, Facebook, and multi media outlets to share the oddest aspects of ourselves with everyone, it is hard to remember if we have ever had an unexpressed thought or digital emotion. So much is spilled through these channels daily that we have become hardened to real expressions of passion and enthusiasm and deem those emotions as false or too impossible to be real.

The Discovery Channel features “Shark Week” each year that allows viewers to witness the migration and eating behaviors of frightening sea creatures via our television screens, smart phones, and other electronic devices. However, that carnage has nothing on the Thanksgiving Potluck Luncheon that we put together every year at Technologies Management, Inc.!

 

I am a horror movie addict! There I said it! They say the first step to realizing you have a problem is actually admitting to it. Every year I go to horror movie conventions, film festivals, Halloween horror nights at Universal Studios Florida, etc. If it is scary, I will be there with bells on. Whenever I tell people I am obsessed with horror movies, I am almost always given the same look; someone’s head tilts to the side and their eyes squint like they are trying to “figure me out.” I guess in their mind, someone who would be obsessed with the genre would be perceived as odd, scary, or the making of a future psychopath. Let me explain, when I was growing up I would get together with my cousins and watch nothing but horror movies. All of us huddling together gave us a sense of security and brought us closer together. I have nothing but fond memories of my cousins, and now we often will get together and re-watch the same movies we grew up on together. A few years ago, I had an incredibly horrific day at work and began to stress eat. I turned on the most recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre flick and the scene that played made me drop my food on my plate. My stomach turned in disgust; the very thought of eating after watching that made me sick. I couldn’t eat, or think about my daily life for the duration of the movie, I was terrified and shocked at what I had just witnessed. That night, I had a nightmare where I was running through a basement and “Leather face” was running after me with a chainsaw. I woke up in a cold sweat, scared and grateful to be warm in my bed. As if that wasn’t enough, the following night I dreamt that I was running through the same house and Freddy Krueger was chasing me in a cowboy outfit. Yes, you read that right, a cowboy outfit. Why a cowboy outfit? Who knows, your guess is as good as mine. But I realized that night, that my life was not that bad!!! I began to see the world in a different light. Whenever I would watch horror movies, whether they are based on true events or not, it got me thinking about my current situation in life, and forgive me but I hardly believe that anyone’s problems including my own are remotely close to what the victims are experiencing in that movie or life story. For me, its approximately 90 minutes of very inexpensive therapy, I am completely engulfed in that world and when I leave I feel just a little bit better about whatever wrong is occurring in my own reality. Not to mention, the creative genius that goes into these movies. Think about the special effects that are used to trick your eye into thinking its real. Or even the amazing acting abilities of the person on screen pretending to be in fear for their lives. I truly enjoy watching makeup artists transform a normal person in to The Walking Dead.

 

The subtle changes in the weather for October through January in Central Florida are lovely. As a non-native of the land of eternal summer, I have come to appreciate the softer, more romantic angle of the sun. The shadows it now casts are quite different from what we see during the very long, hot summer months. While we cannot experience the explosion of color from the changing of Maple, Oak, Dogwood, or even golden Aspen leaves, we can enjoy one thing that all gulf coast states and the peninsula of Florida can truly appreciate . . . THE DROP IN HUMIDITY LEVELS.

 

Why are the humidity levels so important, you ask? Florida is one of those sticky locations where you can actually grow broccoli in the shower if you are not diligent in guarding grout against this extra steamy environment. Other surfaces are under constant attack from mold and mildew during the summer months like concrete patios, driveways, roof tops, siding, leather goods (shoes, belts, hats, and handbags), books, and more. Even wood and stone surfaces feel damp in the most drastically artificially cooled locations.

You may know me as the mild mannered Co-Manager of the Compliance Reporting Department, Compliance Reporting Specialist, and the Secretary of StateLady (yeah, I do wear a lot of hats) but in my off time…I ride. Bicycling in Central Florida is wonderful this time of the year – who am I kidding – it’s awesome any time of the year!

 

You know the Humane Society commercial with Sarah McLachlan's lyrics playing in the back ground and those adorable animal faces with their eyes that reach deep into your soul?  Sure you do.  Many of my co-workers, including myself, have adopted rescue pets.  I rescue Collies.  You know, the ones that look like Lassie?  I have had three (3) Collies in the past 30 years, two (2) of them were rescued from local Orlando rescue leagues.  My first two Collies lived to the ripe old age of 14 years old.  We rescued our current Collie when he was three years old and he is now seven.  We are hoping he also reaches a ripe old age.  You can't find a sweeter, more good natured dog. 

I am not a Luddite and do not long for the days before computers, cable TV and VoIP. But Fran Martens, one of our senior analysts, is always sure to copy me on copper land line issues. She knows I am one of those people who cares about retaining this option. My other colleagues, within TMI and outside of TMI, assure me that I just need to get used to the idea that copper wires to our homes and offices will become obsolete when voice-as-an-application over broadband is the standard. Maybe the transition will take a decade or more – but obsolescence is assured nonetheless.

Have you ever waited until the last minute to pack for a week-long vacation? Or do your grocery shopping for Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night at 8 pm? Waiting can cause unnecessary headaches – like searching for a 20 lb turkey and no store having one close to that size. Then you find one, but it’s frozen, and you have to defrost it by 10 a.m. the next morning to get it into the oven. And then, after your hair grows back, you ask yourself, why did I wait that long to get prepared?