Repeat, If Desired

When I get up in the morning, I am seldom very awake. It is not unusual for me to stand in the shower for 15 minutes, get out, then realize I never picked up the soap or the shampoo bottle. Or, as is more often the case, after 15 minutes, come out of my fog, then wonder what I've done. At those times, I pick up my shampoo bottle, try to observe whether it is wet, hence indicating I may have already washed my hair, and generally just "repeat", just to be sure.

This got me thinking. Remember when the shampoo bottle said, "lather, rinse and repeat?" I'm quite sure that's what it said because I always wondered why you needed to shampoo twice. Clearly this was a way to get consumers (me) to use up more shampoo. Did anyone actually follow those directions? Now the bottle reads, "repeat, if desired". Perhaps that means the shampoo marketers still want to use up the bottle but don't want to suggest there's really any need to shampoo again. Someone somewhere must have complained.

If they want to capture true consumer behavior, they should change the label to read "repeat, just in case."

Boomer Thinks Birthdays Are Special

Today is Teen's 15th birthday. I took her to piano class tonight and she was her usual uncommunicative self. But when I asked her whether anyone had wished her a happy birthday today, she opened up a bit. Apparently there was one kid at school who announced the news throughout the day and got others to sing happy birthday to her. I was secretly glad to hear a little fuss was made. Teen puzzled why people thought birthday's were a big deal. She figured the only big birthdays were 18 and 21 because those ages signified reaching adulthood in some way. As usual, thinking about how fast she can grow up. She said birthday's were just another day.

Me? I love my birthday. Always have. Growing up it was just a chocolate birthday cake and a little present or card. Nothing fancy. I only remember having one birthday party. I got a set of sparkle paints and people were jumping on the bed. In my view (here comes a view folks), your birthday is the one and only day that is all about you and that's what makes it special. Not on your wedding day. You have to share that with the groom. Not when you graduate from school because you've got to share the spotlight with the rest of your classmates. Not Christmas for sure. It's the one day you get to add another number to your age and although getting older has its downsides, as people say, "it's better than the alternative." I shared my view with Teen. On the surface she remained unconvinced.

We celebrated Teen's birthday tonight with a little vegan dessert and a nice vegan dinner. She got a couple of little presents. I gave her a mushy card. Her father gave her a silly card. I think she appreciated both. She protested when we lit the candles and started singing happy birthday, but I detected a little smile. I gave her a hug and she didn't pull away.

I hope secretly she loves her birthday.

Boomer Needs to Come Up With Views

Given my blog is called A Boom With a View, I need to start coming up with some. So I am now pondering upon what subject matter shall I focus my attention. I suppose I can keep it random. Just whatever strikes my fancy. However, if I am more specific then I can dive deep into the subject matter.

For now I think I shall stick to the randomness. Deep subject matter dives might require me to do homework. For now I'd prefer to be the non-expert who speaks only from personal beliefs and experience.

However if someone would like my view on a particular topic, I would be happy to oblige, provided I have one.