282 My dirty little secret

My Dirty Little Secret

It’s almost raining outside. It’s gray and humid, and I am pretending it is a snow day. I have been a slug most of the day. I did make the bed and finished a mystery book. That’s it so far today and it’s four p.m. My phone weather app says it will be raining in two hours and 35 minutes. Okay, good to know. 

Now--this is my dirty little secret. I don’t really care that it is after four o’clock and I have done nothing useful. This is what the pandemic has done for OR to me.

The old me made a to-do list and felt responsible to get everything checked off. I don’t feel that pressure right now. Unless it is an important appointment or a promise I have made, the “to-do” will get done when I doggone feel like doing it or maybe never at all.

Part two of the dirty little secret is that I do not think I am ready to go back to normal with meetings face-to-face. I do not want to regularly feel I have to go to the grocery store for virtuous healthy food. Isn’t pizza just easier? Add a few carrot and pepper slices, and I feel good about dinner. And licking the spoon after you stick it in the peanut butter jar makes a great lunch. I have gotten incredibly lazy.

Rarely do I bother to check social media. Maybe once a week now instead of every day, likely it was several times a day. I love my sweat pants and t-shirts. I do still use lipstick because I don’t like dry lips, but I do not bother to look in the mirror when it is applied. I do need to moisturize because I have dry skin, and, as the kids say, I look ashy. That’s the beauty routine.

Let me say that I do think this past year has been one of unspeakable tragedy and who will know for years what collective physical and mental health problems may arise from COVID -19. We are supposedly seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but some people, besides me, may not be too eager to return to life as it was before the pandemic. I think more people are keeping that to themselves. I thought it might be wise to be brave and print it out there for anyone to see.

Old social habits still seem disconcerting. I am not willing to go back to being around maskless people in close quarters. I have NOT really missed being hugged or kissed on the cheek or patted on the shoulder in greeting or saying goodbye. 

I like social distancing. I think it is smart. I have had one mild runny nose/cold in the past thirteen months. Usually, I have two or three a year. 

I didn’t miss Thanksgiving or Christmas gatherings. I can keep up with the relatives with whom I have connection with a couple of emails or phone calls. Even Zoom. A lot of Zoom this past year!

I wonder: Can you lose your social skills in one year? I fear my skills will be rusty. A good conversation? Hmm? Can I do that anymore? On the phone is different from in-person. I believe man is meant to socialize, to have interactions. None of us separately is as great as the whole. But I have anxiety about it. 

I have put off my teeth cleaning for three months. The poor receptionist finally said: “Call us when you feel ready to come in.” I hope I don’t get some awful gum disease, but I am not ready for someone to put instruments and hands in my face and month. I feel a tiny bit guilty, but not enough to really keep an appointment.

One other thing I learned about myself this year is that I was exhausted trying to keep up with everything I said I would do or should do. I hope we can all emerge from this pandemic gently, not asking too much of ourselves or of each other. I like naps and watching movies late at night.

If you, too, are feeling anxious about returning to normal, take solace in the fact that you are not the only one. COVID-19 affected us all.

Be well, be kind to yourself, and don’t let the world overwhelm you.

                                         Glenne

P.S, Cute joke: Will all the babies conceived this past year be known as Coronials? (Oh, well, I thought it was clever.)

281 TV commercials miss the mark

 

TV commercials miss the mark

When did TV commercials become so much more tedious and uninspiring! Some of them are so annoying that I vow every time I see them to never buy that product if I can figure out what they are truly selling. 

Sometimes it is difficult to figure out what is being advertised.  They are so subtle I wonder what it is they want me to buy or think.  Probably because I am viewing through rather bored eyes as I wish for the actual program I want to watch to start or continue.

The history of TV commercials dates back to the 1940s. The NBC-owned station WNBT in New York aired the first legal commercial on July 1, 1941.  This commercial was a short spot called the “Bulova Time Check” during a Brooklyn Dodgers-Philadelphia Phillies game at Ebbets Field Watch this ad, hit control and a click to access link   https://youtu.be/lsjc2uDi1OI 

Bulova paid $4 for air fees plus $5 for station fees which was a steal at that time, according to businessinsider.com and Slate. WNBT was the only station to air an ad on that day. That commercial was quick, to the point, and interesting.

And from that date, TV viewers have been bombarded with ads about everything imaginable from foods to insurance, drugs, and services. 

One area that is especially prevalent is the pushing of pills and drug hawking. I can definitely tell what they want me to do--hassle my doctors to give me a prescription for those wonder drugs that cure just about any ailments. Plus, these ads seem to go on forever or at least several minutes.  I have never timed them but they seem to never end. 

I know repetition is the way we all learn but please give it a break.  Sometimes the same commercial will run again in less than a two- to three-minute cycle.  Not sure what the thinking is but again I vow to never buy that product.  A recent commercial with a cow and a very cute little girl urging viewers to buy ice cream was shown twice almost back-to-back.  Therefore, I wrote them off my grocery list.

I am not mentioning any brand names in this blog, but a couple of commercials have to be called out including one where a man is part motorcycle and an emu that is run all over the country trying to convince viewers about whatever!

Insurance advertising has taken on a whole new level that viewers cannot watch for any amount of time without being berated on what one should buy.  I wonder if insurance companies could save the ad money to give clients a break on rates.

There also has been a rise of topics advertised of late with sports betting adding to the competition.  At first, I was briefly tempted but then reason took over, and I decided to forego the temptation. The fat-shrinking service still peaks my attention, but I am sure the price is over the moon.  One can still dream.

The most unbelievable claim is the pointing to get rid of junk or unwanted items.  Several companies promise that this will happen.  I would love to see this, but we all know it takes more than pointing.

Please spare us the bodily function product ads that promise earth-shattering change.  Maybe these products do accomplish what they preach, but I cannot imagine!

It really seems to get even worse after 10 p.m. as ads are repeated constantly. Witness statements fill the airwaves about how companies will buy dilapidated houses. I bet those prices are very low. There should be a warning before these ads!

To counteract the time these commercials absorb of a program, we record most shows so we can fast forward through the hype of advertisers. We mute if we haven’t recorded the program -- this at least keeps us a little bit saner as we can’t hear the information.

But we would love to see a clever ad that might draw us in, but that seems to be improbable. The Super Bowl ads seem to be the only ones that ever reach the mark.  Of course, that is once a year, and the cost is exorbitant.

If the intent of these commercials is to turn the viewers away from the products, then they are highly successful. I wouldn’t touch most of them with a 10-foot pole!

Frances