Living Through a Shift

par·a·digm (pr-dm, -dm)
n.
1. One that serves as a pattern or model.
2. A set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its grammatical categories: the paradigm of an irregular verb.
3. A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline from: www.freedictionary.com

I admired my grandmother (who lived to be 93) for weathering all the changes in her life. Born in 1906, she saw the car become the major mode of transportation, landing on the moon, the birth of television, cell phones, internet.... While she didn't OWN a cell phone or computer, she was interested in learning about them. I couldn't imagine how all that change could affect one's life. And then I realized that I am living through a similar change.
When I was little...now I'm REALLY going to date myself.... my sister and I would get up early (6am-ish) and turn on the small black and white TV set with the slightly bulgy screen to find.... white hissy snow. That would last for about 45 minutes until the test pattern and a loud humming-sort-of noise would follow. We would eagerly stop building forts with the couch pillows and plunk ourselves in front of the box to wait for the start of programing....at 7am. And then... the Texas Rangers - in black and white of course - would come on. I remember when Disney brought COLOR to TV and the Disney castle would be all colorful and magical. But there were still only a handful of channels and TV programming ended late at night (WAY past my bedtime) when it started snowing on the screen. Now, we have HUNDREDS of channels (the programming isn't much better) and it is ALWAYS in color and there is programming ALL night long. And that is a major change in the "good old days". And it slipped up on me with no noticeable effect. So, are paradigm shifts REALLY such a big deal? Did my grandmother even NOTICE all the changes that were occurring in her lifetime?
I have been feeling so progressive and superior about all the changes Mark and I are making in our new life in NoCal. I like to think of them as paradigm shifts because that sounds intellectual and progressive. But maybe they aren't. Maybe they are just sensible choices that an educated person who understands her place in the ecosystem would make (now THAT sounds superior!). We have changed our ideas about getting around... we have 1 car, Mark bikes to work and walks/bikes most other places, I own a bike and use it sometimes (well, I never said I was perfect), and we use public transportation more. If you don't count trips for business where we drove, I have only filled the gas tank twice in 2 months. That is a change from my Maine lifestyle. And I have not purchased any books but used the library and web for information and reading material. We recycle more - but it helps that San Jose makes it easy. So what is so shift-y about my new lifestyle? Maybe it isn't behavior, but a way of thinking. I am amazed at how easily my children can text on those itty bitty keys that are hard to see let alone punch. One daughter receives over 2000 text messages/month (I know because I pay the bills). AND she can text WITHOUT LOOKING! So, to be more progressive, I have tried to text more.... it is still a challenge. And I want to learn about the picture thing too. While at the Museum of Contemporary Art in LA, I noticed a group of teens enjoying a Bruce Nauman installation using TVs and closed circuit cameras. They were posing in front of the cameras and friends were taking cell phone pics of the image on the TV. And have you noticed..... ALL the coffee places - the Starbucks and wannabees - have WiFi (another new term) and EVERYONE has their laptop out and is VERY busy doing something on it. I never took my laptop out of the house. But now I will.... once I find/design a great bag to carry it in (always fashion forward!). And when I have a question, I go to the internet - not the reference books I kept in my bookcase. So I guess I am being progressive and..... what the Hell! I can even say I'm shifting.... it sounds so superior.

Coping with a New Do and Snow

Now that I am living on the West coast, I thought I should change my appearance and be a bit more upscale.... a bit sleek and sophisticated. At least that's what Erin-who-cuts-my-hair said. So we are going for the no-curl (I have had a big-curl-perm for several years) look. Now, to get this look, Erin said I had to blow-dry my hair using a special LARGE round brush. And the back should have the top 2 layers blown UNDER and the bottom layer flipped UP and I should probably use a spray leave-in conditioner and some clips to hold the hair in sections while I'm blowing a lower section dry would help. And THEN I should use a hair iron to straighten the hair on the sides to just SWEEP under my chin with NO CURL. And don't set the iron on too hot a setting or I will FRY my hair. Now, I have to give you the full visual.... Erin is very attractive with beautiful long dark hair streaked a lovely shade of teal and twisted into a very retro and interesting way with a silk rose in the back. She has dark red lipstick and dark eyes and is such fun to chat with. And then there are her tattoos.... On the right arm, she has Jimmy Dean... well, actually SEVERAL Jimmy Deans in various poses from his most famous movies with speeches from each movie wrapping around her arm. And on the left arm, Erin just had a cute retro "Mom & Dad" wrapped around 2 cupcakes above another retro style tattoo. She talks quickly as she flips the big fat round brush around behind my head and waves the blow dryer over me. And remember.... I wear glasses and am REALLY blind without them.... like get-the-seeing-eye=dog-or-white-tipped-cane-type blind. And I have my glasses OFF while getting my hair cut. So it is always a surprise when I put them back on and see what has been done to me. So, Erin is saying how easy it will be to style it like this and she knows I've worn the wash-and-wear look for years, but I should just try this and I will really love it and Target sells all the stuff I'll need and as my hair grows out, it will be MUCH easier. So I'm squinting and trying to see what she is doing and nodding slightly and saying reassuring things like "Yes, I see" when all I see is a blurry fuzzy mess! And then the glasses are on and I look..... well different.... and it's not too bad.... in fact, I think I like it! So I thank Erin and she says to call her if I have any questions about how to do any of it. Then I head off to Target to get the few things I'll need..... like the brush (my old round SMALL AND PLASTIC brush just won't do), and spray-leave-in conditioner, and a blow dryer (who thought I'd need the TWO I had in Maine and cheerfully gave away) and a hair iron (HAIR iron?? I thought you only ironed clothes... and that I do infrequently) and clips to separate the parts as I dry the layers.... I think that is all. Now I'm at home eagerly unpacking all the stuff and setting up a spot to perform the magic. I choose my bedroom... lots of light, mirror on the wall above an outlet, BIG bed just behind me (remember... it is the MOUSE house) to hold all the equipment and product. The next day, I jump out of the shower, throw on clothes because I can hardly wait to get started on the hair. I spray on the conditioner and brush it through (my OLD brush will work for this step). Then I separate out the upper layers and place a clip in to hold it after giving my hair a professional quick twist to help it stay in place. I pick up the LARGE round brush and hair dryer and begin.... Now I have to confess that my good old Yankee spirit was kicking in a bit as I blithely tossed all that stuff in my basket in Target. So I did not buy the most expensive blow dryer. And now I see why it wasn't the most expensive blow dryer.... first, it doesn't blow, it whiffs. And second, the cord is 4'6" long which means that I have to have my nose almost touching the mirror to hold the blow dryer behind my head to dry the hair back there. So I'm squinting up my nasal reflection as I whiff my hair and realize that each "little" roll of hair I'm trying to flip up is getting fatter and fatter as I pull more and more hair OUT of the clip and ONTO the BIG round brush which must be BIG so it can hold ALL the hair on your head. And I will have ONE GIANT FLIP in the back if I don't stop soon. So I try a different technique and that seems to work - NO MORE CLIPS. Now I can't see the back, but as I FEEL it, it seems ok. I have preheated the hair iron - BUT NOT TOO HOT or it will fry my hair (I did remember THAT part of Erin's directions). I grab a bit of hair and slowly slide the iron down it watching the steam (or smoke?) rise from the strand. And when I take the iron away, VOILA! The hair is straight! And not burned. And it doesn't look too bad. And I feel a bit better. But I don't have the courage to look at the back. And I have purchased an extension cord to assist me in getting a better perspective....
A quick word about the weather.... the weatherman says that it MIGHT snow in the foothills of San Jose tonight. And that HEAVY rains are expected on the peninsula.... so heavy that they are handing out 10 free filled or unfilled sand bags to all SF residents.... So Mark and I, wanting to avoid this dangerous weather, have driven down to LA for the week where we are much safer from Mother Nature.... Now if we can just live through 16 lanes of traffic, we will be just fine.