Mary, Mare

It's hard getting used to being called Mary at work. I've used Mare almost exclusively (except on legal documents) for over 15 years, and Mary echos unfamiliar now. Its only a difference of one letter, but the two names *sound* very different and almost imply different types of people. I think of Mary as an old lady name; nice Catholic old ladies who give to charity and bake lemon cakes. Mare doesn't have any associations at all, other than horses and me, and the few other women who use that nickname. Because of its rare use, Mare belongs to me more than Mary does.

Still, I think it's good that I'm using slightly different name at work. It helps me compartmentalize work from life, and that compartmentalization is very, very important to me. They don't need to know what Mare is up to.

*****

When I got home from work yesterday, the befouled driveway wasn't as bad as I'd feared. The merciful rain had washed most of the vile death water away. Our household now owns a hose, which I bought at Sears. $19.95 buys you 50 feet of hearty green hose. Where'd my golf ball go?

*****

So, happy May Day, all! I wish May Day were still celebrated widely. I guess the Pagans still celebrate it, but I've never been part of a May Day celebration, which is unfortunate since I tend to like holidays. My Grandma used to tell me about May Day in the early 20th century, when the young lasses would make tiny baskets of spring flowers and deliver them to the doorsteps of friends, neighbors, and secret sweeties. What a nice little custom that seems to have disappeared in the tide of time...

Helping A Mom

So my friend, thesynergizer, is getting started with earning some supplemental income by writing sponsored posts. She's a young mother with a baby boy, and money is very tight. But she can't participate until she gets her Google rating up, and that means she needs more links on the web. So I'm helping her out:

Here is her blog.

If you're so inclined to help (parental solidarity, empathy for life on a tight budget), an HTML link like the above in your LJ or other website will help her attain a qualifying rank so she can write posts to help make ends meet.

Thanky! (Oh, and some pix of mom and baby so you can see who your link is helping.)