verbatim

Not a Strong Endorsement

I just got a new CD, Casey Dienel's "Wind-up Canary," and I can't decide whether I hate it or not. You can download a track here.

Clean Up After Your Own Damn Dog, Barbie!

OK, let me get this straight: I won't give in to the kids' ardent pleas for a dog because, despite their enthusiastic assurances to the contrary, I know I will end up being the one scoopin' the poop. I don't want to do it. So . . . I should get them a doll whose dog I have to scoop up after?! Not bloody likely.

All Clear!

I had my appointment with Dr. Hung today and he said everything is great. The holes are still there (irises don't heal), my pressure was good (12—he could have said it was 342 or 0.000007 and I wouldn't have been any the wiser), and my drainage channels are "much more open" now. Yippee! I have an appointment with Dr. Chang next Tuesday for new glasses and (I hope) new contacts—these are just fine for now but not great.

Bumper Dumper

Gee, dontcha think this would have been even more embarrassing than what I went through?

Wiki Wednesday

Time to learn something!

1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. Click on "Random article" in the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!

Never heard of this guy:

Edward Lewis Davison (1898–1970) was a Scottish poet and critic, born in Glasgow. He emigrated to the U.S. and became an academic at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he was involved in the Colorado Writers 1937 conference. The poet Peter Davison is his son.

Another Movie

I knew I left one out yesterday! "The Secret Lives of Dentists" was marred by one terrible defect: Campbell Scott's cheesy mustache. I mean it! It distracted me to the point that I could barely concentrate on the movie. Every 5 seconds I kept wondering, "What were they thinking with that thing?!" In fact, it made me think less of his character, who was supposed to be a very loving dad who fears he's losing his wife, played by Hope Davis (they're both dentists, whence comes the title). The gimmick in the movie is that Denis Leary, who plays his usual surly type of character in the role of a dissatisfied patient. He keeps reapparing in Scott's imagination, giving him advice about what to do about his wife (Leary wants him to ditch her, or at the very least confront her; Scott doesn't want to risk losing her and the family). There's a great sequence that every parent can relate to: each member of the family gets the stomach flu, one after the other. Scott trudges through the house zombie-like, holding the youngest child (who just threw up on him), fetching ginger ale for the others, bringing barrels for them to throw up into, etc. I liked this movie—it stopped short of being great, though, and I blame the mustache at least in part.

Rain Beats Fire, Fire Beats Paper...

We used to dread long car trips because whichever kid was a baby/toddler at the time would scream the whole way. Now they are pretty good travelers, even if that means we have to listen to endless choruses of "My name is Susie Alabama, PUNCH-a-rama..."—luckily that clapping game is always accompanied by peals of laughter.

The kids have modified Rocks, Paper, Scissors into a very complex game that only they can follow. Andy and I were barely listening from up front when we heard Pete say, "Lightning!" Lightning? Then a few minutes later, Steph said, "Fire!" Huh? Then we heard "Rain!" Finally at "Missile!" I had to ask what was going on. "Missile beats everything," Pete explained. Andy wondered, "Then why don't you just do Missile every time?" to which Steph rolled her eyes and said, "Well, it doesn't beat Mirror, which just reflects it back." Mirror? I dared to ask, "Then why don't you do Mirror every time!" Even Julie knew that "Rock breaks the mirror!" Next they'll be playing RPS25.

Movies

1. Surprisingly, I enjoyed "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" more than Andy did, although he generally prefers this sort of thing. By "this sort of thing," I mean sci-fi action flicks, but Andy objected to the very thing I found fun and exciting: the special effects that made it seem like a '40s-era comic book. The script was really atrocious and the acting not much better, but the camera effects and computerized stuff made up for it—for me, anyhow.

2. "To Live" was so unrelentingly depressing that it would be hard to recommend it despite the amazing acting of Gong Li. It tells the story of an average Chinese family and what they must go through just "to live" from the '40s through the Cultural Revolution. There's no plot per se; it's just the story of their lives. Really well done but crushingly sad.

3. Harrison Ford should be ashamed of himself (when he's not busy counting all his money) for making "Firewall." What a good idea, what a lousy movie. Ford is in charge of IT security for a big bank; bad guys hold him and his family ransom and force him to transfer lots o' cash to an offshore account; mayhem ensues; loopholes abound (We'll bring the dog with us when we kidnap the family! We won't actually hurt the family because we're really good people, if a bit greedy!); the ending is predictable to the letter. I don't mind formulaic shoot-em-up fun, but this ended up feeling like a waste of time.

4. Having enjoyed "Scoop" (Woody Allen's latest movie), we decided to try "Match Point," his previous London-based Scarlett Johansson vehicle (although he doesn't appear in this one). It treads the same ground as "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (a masterpiece, as far as I'm concerned) but takes much longer to get going. I kept wondering when the "Hitchcockian" stuff was going to kick in. I like Scarlett Johansson's looks, and I thought she was terrific in "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and just fine in "Lost in Translation," but she certainly didn't shine in either of these movies. This was good, just overlong. I liked the ending very much. But you might as well just see "Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Hair-Dos and Don'ts

Today I took the kids to get their back-to-school haircuts at Snip-Its. Eagle-eyed Steph noticed a poster saying that temporary color streaks and beaded braids were complimentary all week! So the girls went for the braids with three little beads at the end:
   
and Pete got blue spikes (which you can't really see in this photo, but they'll wash out in tonight's shower anyhow)

Oh, and here's an outtake, when Mr. Jones suddenly decided to try to get into the shot:

By the way, this is as good a time as any to mention that I'm very high on Snipshot, an online photo-editing doohickey.

BK

Last summer on the way up to NH, we took the kids to Burger King for the first time. (Yes, the first time! We are not fast-food eaters.) They got chicken nuggets (none of them will even try a burger) and French fries (except Steph, who doesn't like fries) and water and, most importantly, a toy! They were sold. So we've made it a tradition to go there every time we head north. I don't even think they know there are Burger Kings everywhere, even here at home!

Here are some notes on my experiences so far at Burger King:
1. Every single time we go, regardless of which Burger King we go to, our order gets messed up somehow. Every. Single. Time.
2. Last time they were all out of milk. When I ordered water, the server looked at me quizzically and said, "Don't you want them to have soda?" Not "Do you want to get them soda instead"? but "Don't you want them to have soda?" Stunning.
4. The tender-crisp chicken sandwich is not bad, and I do love French fries.
5. The giant poster featuring a quadruple-decker bacon cheeseburger made me throw up a little in my mouth.

Car Talk

Yesterday we took the kids to see "Cars." I had thought we were the last family on the planet who hadn't seen it, but the theater was packed (it's still playing at only one small local theater). I guess a rainy Sunday afternoon at the end of the summer will do that. It was Julie's first cinematic experience! She enjoyed it, although 116 minutes is really long for a kids' movie. Moi, I thought it was just OK, certainly not one of Pixar's best efforts. The guy in front of us, however, who looked like any of the other normal dads in the audience, had clearly never seen anything so funny in his life. He was laughing—nay, guffawing—with such gusto I just couldn't believe it. Trust me, nothing in this movie merited even a single belly laugh, but this guy was literally wiping away tears from laughing so hard! Throughout the whole thing! Very strange. Maybe he just got out of prison or something.

Across the aisle, another guy's daughter dumped her popcorn, so he went to get her more. But two rows down, yet another guy began scooping up the popcorn from the filthy stained carpet and eating it! I saw him do it several times! Even the pieces that had gone under the seats! And he was already holding a monster-size popcorn of his own! I was positively sick watching this.

For me the best part about animated movies is trying to guess who's doing the voices. I'm kicking myself because I couldn't manage to place Owen Wilson in the lead role, although it was easy to pick out Paul Newman and Tom and Ray Magliozzi. I missed Michael Keaton too.

Latter-Day Ozzie and Harriet

Leah blogged about the egalitarian division of labor in her household (the bottom line: it fell to Bob to remove the decomposing rodent from the weed-whacker blades), which got me thinking. My own marriage is pretty traditional during the week, mainly because I'm home most of the day and Andy's not. It makes sense that I do the bulk of the housework because I'm there to do it: laundry, cooking, dishes, shopping, errands, phone calls for appointments and playdates, chauffeuring the kids around, school-related stuff, and so on. When he's home in the evenings or on weekends, he does pretty much whatever needs to be done, regardless of whether it's something that normally falls within my bailiwick.  I'm usually grateful that he's willing to take the kids so I can catch up on household stuff. But there are a few things that he never does even when he's home, like clip the kids' nails and pay the bills and fill out the endless forms for school and various activities. He does nearly all of the household repairs because he's better at that sort of thing, although I'm better with electronics. One thing that he does that I never do is clean the cats' litterboxes—I excused myself from that duty when we first started trying to get pregnant 11 years ago and have never come back.

Didn't I See You . . . ?

One last nudiustertian detail (as well as a chance to use a great word!): Say you're on a long, windy, deserted stretch of road—say, the one that goes to Story Land!—and you haven't seen another car in ages. Why is it that as soon as you pull over to let the kids pee in the grass and decide to do a quick one yourself, five cars drive by and even have to slow down to get around your car? Why?!

P.O. Box City

As I fill out my mail-in rebate slip, I can't help wondering if there is anything in Young America, Minnesota, besides about ten billion post office boxes. I don't think I've ever sent a rebate request anywhere else.

I Can See! (Well, Sort of...)

Yesterday on the way home from New Hampshire, I called in to see if we had any messages at home. There was a message from someone at Dr. Chang's office, saying that my new lenses were in and I could pick them up anytime before 4:00. We were well on our way to make it there by 3:30 at the latest—until we hit a huge backup on the highway and came to a dead stop. We got off at the nearest exit that we recognized and took back roads all the way. I called just before 4:00 to say that we were almost there, so they waited for me. Otherwise I would have had to wait until Monday morning!

The new lenses are probably the best ones I've had all summer (not saying much, I know), but they're still not quite right. At least I can see pretty well, and the headache is not as bad as with the others. (Such a glowing report!) After I get the go-ahead from Dr. Hung next Wednesday (I hope), I plan to go see Dr. Chang to get a new glasses prescription, so I'll see whether he can do any further fine-tuning to the contacts prescription. If this is as good as it gets, I ain't happy.

So today I went out and bought some funky rainbow reading glasses (1.25 magnification). They give me a wee headache too, but not as bad as the 1.50 I tried in the store, which were way too strong. I think they must take some getting used to.
   

This is as good an opportunity as any to mention how much fun we've been having with the Photo Booth feature of the MacBook Pro! Such as:

Don't You Tell Me How Many Syllables to Use!

Deb says to write a haiku (ugh), but I'll do it for the chance to win a free book:

Never liked haikus
Just can't stand all the constraints
Greatly prefer prose

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. You Can't Resist It - Lyle Lovett
2. So Called Friend - Uncle Tupelo
3. Willin' - Little Feat
4. Dinner at Eight - Rufus Wainwright
5. All That Matters - Mark Knopfler
6. I Wish I Had a River (live) - James Taylor
7. Morning Song for Sally - Nanci Griffith
8. Mr. Bojangles (live) - David Bromberg
9. Gumboots - Paul Simon
10. Heartstrings - Alison Krauss & Union Station

Effing Camera!

As I've recently mentioned, we are really bad about taking advantage of photo opportunities with the kids, hence the purchase of the new Casio pocket digital camera. The first day I took it out, though, something strange happened: I took a load of photos of the kids' last day of swimming lessons, but when I got home, only 11 showed up. I figured I had the settings messed up somehow, but it was still strange. That was using the old card I had in my old Kodak—64 MB, if you can believe it! I don't even think they make them that small anymore. So the next thing I did, while I was at Radio Shack buying an ethernet cable so I could tap into Jerry's DSL up here in NH, was buy a 1-gig card. It was marked down from $60 to $40, with a $15 mail-in rebate, so quite a deal. Fast forward to today at Story Land, where we rode the Bamboo Chutes approximately 10,000 times and had all kinds of other fun (including having to get a maintenance guy to take apart a machine in the ball pit because Julie let her sunglasses get sucked up into the vacuum thingy). I was so good, I took photos at every opportunity. The kids posed, they were photographed at candid moments, everything. Come back and find I have only 11 shots! Again, with the 11! I finally discovered that the camera didn't know I had a memory card in there, so it was storing only 11 photos in its own internal memory, instead of the 400+ photos the card allowed. So I lost a bazillion shots and have only a few decent ones to share with you, but I'm too inconsolable right now to crop them properly and present them with clever captions. Mutter, mutter, curse, curse.

Wiki Wednesday

Time to learn something!

1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. Click on "Random article" in the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!

I hit the jackpot today!

Sesame Street Characters, by order of debut

1969 (Season 1)

    * Bert and Ernie
    * Big Bird - debuted in season premiere
    * Fat Blue
    * Fuzzy-Face, Grover's predecessor
    * Kermit the Frog
    * Lefty the Salesman
    * Little Bird
    * Lulu (Not to be confused with the Lulu from Hooper's Store and The Monster Daycare, this Lulu is Mr. Otis's Girlfriend, From Season 1.)
    * Mr. Otis
    * Oscar the Grouch, orange fur - debuted in season premiere
    * Sam Hastings from Grove

1970 (Season 2)

    * Grover
    * Guy Smiley
    * Harvey Kneeslapper
    * Herbert Birdsfoot
    * Herry Monster
    * Oscar the Grouch, green fur - debuted in season premiere
    * Professor Hastings
    * Roosevelt Franklin
    * Sherlock Hemlock

1971

    * Aloysius Snuffleupagus - debuted in season premiere
    * Frazzle
    * Gladys the Cow
    * Granny Fanny Nesselrode
    * Simon the Soundman
    * Twiddlebugs

1972

    * Count von Count
    * Sam the Robot - debuted in season premiere
    * Yip-Yips

1973

    * Biff and Sully
    * Don Music

1974

    * Rodeo Rosie

1978

    * The Two-Headed Monster

1979

    * Elmo (introduced as minor character)
    * Telly Monster
    * Honkers

1982

    * Dingers

1983

    * Deena Monster
    * Grungetta Grunge
    * Pearl Monster

1985

    * Hoots the Owl

1986

    * Placido Flamingo

1990

    * Baby Bear
    * Rosita

1992

    * Monty
    * Zoe

2000 (Season 31)

    * Lulu

2002 (Season 33)

    * Googel (Monster's Clubhouse)
    * Mel (Monster's Clubhouse)
    * Narf (Monster's Clubhouse)
    * Phoebe (Monster's Clubhouse)

2003 (Season 34)

    * Curly Bear
    * Barbara the Chicken
    * Leonard the Wolf

2006 (Season 37)

    * Abby Cadabby

God, I miss that show.

Thoughts on the Nature of War

I've been thinking a lot about War lately, and—wait! No, not real war! The card game, silly! I've been thinking a lot about the card game War because, well, I've been playing a lot of it lately. (Here's where all the people who got here via Google searches click away in disgust.)

OK, so today I did something I've never done before as an adult: I played War without cheating to cause my child to win so I could just get on with my life. Today I decided that Pete and I would just play and play and play and play and play and play and play until one of us won for real, fair and square (me, as it turned out). This will henceforth be known to all as The Game of War That Lasted Longer Than Any Other Game of War in World History. Pete kept exclaiming delightedly, "This is going to go on forever!" (to which I would just mutter, "No, it will just seem that way.") We had three ace wars—and one was a double! We had a war of deuces in which I lost an ace! He was down to 5 cards at one point and then came back into the lead! And more! I guess if you play that long, everything happens.

Anyhow, I had plenty of time to think about the game, and I'm appealing to the blogosphere to help me with a few rules. I mean, if I'm going to play the game straight through the way you're supposed to, I should know what to do. Here are my specific questions:

1. Do you just put your winning pairs (or more, if it was a war) under the rest of your cards so that you never run out, or do you put them in a separate pile and then use them when you run out of cards? If the latter, do you shuffle them? I say yes to that last one.
2. If a war is declared but one player has fewer than 4 cards left, what do you do? (Same question applies to a double war.) I say both players use the same number, whatever is available. If that results in a second war, I guess you would have to turn up the down cards and see who won that way.

Now, beyond the regular rules, my mind began to wander. To wit: What if you gave one player all the reds and the other player all the blacks so it would all start off even? Then just shuffle them up and see what happens. Or, better yet, what if each player could then just choose a card to play for each round? You'd have to have a very good memory to recall what had gone by, but it would certainly turn it from a pure dumb-luck game to a game of strategy.

I hope no one from the U.N. posts a comment.

More Mobile Blogging!

Blogging to you from the White Mountains of New Hampshire, courtesy of Jerry's DSL! Today we went again to the Whale's Tale water park (and once again with free passes from a friend—including an extra, which we bestowed upon a very grateful woman waiting in line), which was not nearly as skeevy as I remembered from last year. Julie can participate fully now, so we had a really nice day. Water slides, wave pool, hot tubs, swimming, tube-floating . . . good clean fun. (At least I hope it was clean.) If you happened to be there today and wonder who we are, we were that family without tattoos. <shudder>

I had the brilliant idea to buy a disposable underwater camera specifically for today; I had the blinding stupidity to forget to bring it with us. Shit.

Global Warming: I'm Lovin' It!

"This month McDonald's is giving away toy Hummers — 42 million of them, in eight models and colors — with every Happy Meal or Mighty Kids Meal. That's right: The fast-food chain that helped make our kids the fattest on Earth is now selling future car buyers on the fun of driving a supersized, smog-spewing, gas-guzzling SUV originally built for the military. Use the Ronald McHummer Sign-O-Matic™ to tell us what you think of this misguided marriage of two icons of American excess.

Five Reasons McDonald's Should Dump the Hummer:

1. Hummers emit high levels of smog-forming chemicals that cause or worsen asthma, which hits hardest among children.

2. Hummers are the worst example of the lack of commitment to cleaner and more efficient vehicles by General Motors and other American automakers.

3. Hummers spew the pollution that causes global warming, contributing to killer heat waves and hurricanes.

4. Hummers are gas guzzlers, helping keep America dependent on oil from the Middle East and threatened by the region's extremist politics.

5. At current gas prices, filling up a Hummer H2 costs almost $100 — money parents could spend on healthier food for their kids."

(via Nag on the Lake)

Totally Awesome Show, Dude!

(via James)

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. Just By Myself (live) - Greg Brown
2. Time Loves a Hero (live) - Little Feat
3. Two Trains - Lowell George          
4. Doors of Your Heart - English Beat         
5. Clampdown - The Clash            
6. People Puttin' People Down - John Prine
7. Listen to the Radio - Nanci Griffith
8. The Devil's Real - Chris Smither          
9. Racing in the Streets (live) - Bruce Springsteen 
10. Beyond My Wildest Dreams - Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris

Friday's Feast

Appetizer: What color is your car?
dark green

Soup: If you could wake up tomorrow with full training in another occupation and a job in that field, what would it be?
I don't think I'd want a job at a restaurant or with a caterer, because the pressure would probably kill me. Maybe a job as a wine buyer/distributor?

Salad: How many times in your life have you had the flu (or something similar)?
never

Main Course: What is something that has happened to you this week that you didn't expect?
Julie slept later than usual (7:30 or even 8:00!) a few mornings this week, which meant that I got to sleep in too! The other kids get up much earlier, but they can occupy themselves.

Dessert: How old were you when you had your first kiss?
12 or 13—it was at a Bar Mitzvah party Spin-the-Bottle game

Still Can't See

I don't know exactly what I expected out of Dr. Chang today, but it's a good thing I wasn't expecting to walk out of his office being able to see. He gave me some new disposable lenses that he said are better than the ones I was wearing; if he means that it's better to have a headache and blurriness in both eyes then he's right. He examined me and ordered yet another kind of lenses for me to try. I'm sure they'll take weeks to come in too; these custom lenses aren't normally stocked. He still won't give me a new prescription for glasses until Dr. Hung gives the all-clear, and that won't be until August 30 (the follow-up to the laser iridotomies). He did say, however, that I'm now old enough to need drugstore reading glasses on top of my contacts. Swell.

IWillNotPanicIWillNotPanicIWillNotPanic

I just updated my Recipes and Movie Reviews and they're showing up completely blank! I've submitted a help ticket to TypePad and am praying this will be a quick fix. So if you're looking for something in particular, you'll have to just use the search bar until this is resolved. Sorry!

Never mind! I fixed it all by lonesome. I'm not even quite sure what I did, but I did it.

Update: Just heard this from TypePad:

Right now there is an issue where replacing a file is causing it to become blank.  We are working on resolving this on our end.

So now I know I didn't do anything weird to make this happen.

Audience Participation

1. I'm tired of my music. From what you know about my taste, can you suggest something new I might like?

2. My Bloglines subscription features dozens of blogs that I read faithfully, but I'm looking for suggestions of other blogs you think I'll like.

3. Heard any good jokes lately?

Wiki Wednesday

Time to learn something!

1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. Click on "Random article" in the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!

Here's mine:

Latvia’s entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was chosen in a final called Eirodziesma, which was held on March 11 following 2 semi-finals in February. The winning entry was the song I Hear Your Heart by the group Cosmos. The song is written by Molly-Ann Leikin & Guntars Račs and composed by Reinis Sējāns & Andris Sējāns. Gimmicks employed by the band on the night (aside from the unusual a capella) included a rudimentary automaton who danced with the group and a heart-shaped helium balloon that was released from one of the singers' pockets at the end.

Cosmos is a group of six young Latvian performers who sing a capella. They are Jānis Šipkēvics, Andris Sējans, Juris Lisenko, Jānis Ozols, Jānis Strazdiņš and Reinis Sējāns joining in 2004. Their first album sold 12,000 copies and reaching gold status as well as gaining the title of the best pop-album in Latvia of 2003. They were also triumphant in winning the third international song contest "New Wave 2004." In 2005, Cosmos released their second album "Pa un Par", presenting 16 tracks of Latvian and international songs, as wells as original compositions.

Latvia automatically qualified for the final due to the 2005 performance of Valters and Kazha, and finished 16th with 30 points.

I think I'm officially ready for Jeopardy! now.

Movies

1. "Weird Science" falls into that same category as "True Genius": It was probably really funny when it came out, but it's so dated now that it's effectively unwatchable. I guess I missed my chance to enjoy it about 20 years ago.

2. "Summer of Sam" is not your usual Spike Lee joint, and in this case that's a bad thing. It's too long and meandering and just not sharp enough. John Leguizamo has great screen presence, and Mira Sorvino and Adrien Brody were both great, but the whole thing just wasn't tight enough.

3. "P.S." was a huge disappointment. Laura Linney, Topher Grace, Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden... what could be bad? How about a flimsy plot and ridiculously contrived relationships? The performances were all good, but nothing could save this dumb, dumb movie.

4. I needed to rewatch the 1995 version of "Pride and Prejudice" in preparation for the new Keira Knightley one, which I'm prepared to dislike (because I just don't see her as Elizabeth Bennet) but hoping I'm wrong. This production is just untouchable in my mind. I can't believe there could be another Darcy besides Colin Firth. He is Darcy. I found Jennifer Ehle perfect for the role and just delightful; all of the other characters are just as I imagined in the book. I watched this over the course of two nights (it was originally a 5-hour TV miniseries and comes on two DVDs) and was enthralled the whole time. Gorgeous, delicious, romantic, wonderful. I don't have a single complaint.

Ten on Tuesday

10 Things I Hate Doing But Sometimes Have to Do

1. Clean out the humidifiers
2. Confront people (Sometimes it can't be avoided.)
3. Get up out of my nice cozy bed to pee
4. Play Polly Pockets
5. Wipe my kids' butts (I have to do it less often than before, but still....)
6. Be in charge of a big event (I much prefer being a behind-the-scenes person.)
7. Squish bugs
8. Get shots or blood tests
9. Subject myself to various methods of hair removal
10. Chat with stupid people

10 Things I Hate Doing So Much that I Won't Even Do Them

1. Clean the toilets (Three cheers for my cleaning lady!)
2. Dust (Hip! Hip!)
3. Vacuum (Hooray!)
4. Confront people (Sometimes it can be avoided.)
5. Play Bionicles
6. Go near mustard (Make your own damn sandwich!)
7. Watch really scary movies
8. Iron clothes (We are a wrinkled but happy family.)
9. Blow-dry my hair (I don't even own a blow-dryer.)
10. Sort the laundry (I wash and dry everything together, however it comes out of the hampers.)

10 Things Other People Hate Doing But I Don't Mind—or Maybe Even Like—Doing

1. Empty the dishwasher
2. Fold laundry
3. Wait in line
4. Be in traffic (unless I'm late for something important or very low on gas)
5. Balance my checkbook
6. Go grocery shopping
7. Cook
8. Swallow pills
9. Get my teeth cleaned
10. Meet new people at parties or other events

Two for Three

Today Steph and Pete saw Dr. Bhatt for their first eye exams. Neither has had any vision problems, but colitis can sometimes cause inflammation in the back of the eye, so I wanted to establish a baseline for Steph, and Dr. Bhatt said to bring Pete along too. Both kids have 20-20 vision, and Steph has no inflammation—nor any sign of past inflammation. Good news! She wants to see Steph yearly because of the colitis, but Pete doesn't have to go back unless he has a problem at his routine vision screening at school. I told her about my recent ophthalmic excitement, and she said that both kids have "deep channels," which she said means they'll "never" need laser iridotomy. Yippee! She'll check Julie's channels carefully at her next appointment in September, since Julie is farsighted (as am I), and that's at the very least a contributing factor to narrow-angle closure..

Crushing Blow

I've just suffered a huge professional disappointment! I sort of suspected it might be coming, but it still smarts.

Back in March, I got an e-mail out of the blue from a woman who had come across Verbatim and learned that I'm a copyeditor and a foodie. She is the editor-in-chief of a new food magazine and asked whether I had ever worked on recipes. I said I hadn't but that I had experience with such a wide variety of editorial projects of all kinds and with reading and using recipes that I felt certain I could do the job. She expressed some initial concern that I'm not on the West Coast where they are but felt it could be worked around.

She then passed me along to someone on the "food team" who asked me to do sample edits of a recipe, a food article, and a little Q&A section. I worked my butt off on these! I knew I aced it, so I wasn't surprised when I heard back that they loved everything I'd done and wanted to start sending me some work in the next few weeks (which would be early April).

I waited and waited, then sent an e-mail and learned that they'd just been bought out be a Big Famous Company and were going through a huge transition, including personnel changes and moving their physical offices. I was passed along to an interim managing editor, who saw my sample edits and loved everything; she's also a Wes alum, which always helps! She said they were still going through this big transition but were aiming to get me going in August.

So I just sent out yet another feeler and heard back that they won't be able to use me after all, because they need to have someone on the West Coast who can be in their network and even come to the office now and again. I am crushed. This was like a dream come true: to get paid to copyedit recipes! Phooey. If they had even hired me to do one paying gig, I could have at least been able to add it to my resume so that I would never again have to say that I had no experience copyediting recipes or working on a food magazine.

I don't feel that they handled anything unprofessionally, or even that they misled me, just that their needs turned out to be different from what they thought at the beginning. Still sucks, though.

Books

I never mentioned that I'd read Alice Munro's short-story collection Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage. Unfortunately, I read it over the course of a couple of months in the spring—a story here, a story there—and can't really remember much about it except that I had the same initial reaction I had to Runaway: I'd already read so many of the stories in the New Yorker that I felt cheated! I just love the way she writes, the way she fleshes out her characters, and the way she describes life in her part of Canada. If you like Munro (who doesn't?), you'll like this collection. Sorry I can't be more specific!

I loved Three Junes by Julia Glass. It's a novel told in three parts, each narrated by a different character—a technique that works really well here because you get to find out about the characters through different points of view. The writing is lovely and the diverse settings very realistically drawn, but it's the characters that really made the book for me. Several of them truly "came to life" for me, so much so that I found myself thinking about them long after the book was over—always a good sign! It was light enough reading for summer vacation, but by no means "fluff."

New Camera But No Photos Yet

As I've whined before, I was unhappy with my digital camera and was in the market for a new one. I decided that I wanted one of those really little ones, because the main reason I don't take enough snapshots when we're out and about is that I don't want to shlep the camera around with me. I figured that a really small one could easily slip into my pocket or purse. I did a bunch of research (Amazon reviews, friends' recommendations, camera shop guy, Consumer Reports, etc.) and arrived at my decision to get the Casio Exilim EX-Z600. The day before we went to the Cape I drove over to Target, where it was $300. Every time I go there they ask me if I want to open a Target charge account and save 10% that same day, but I'm always either in a hurry or I'm not spending much and don't want to waste my 10% or whatever. Well, this time I did it, plus I had a coupon for $10 off any purchase of $100 at Target. So I ended up getting it for $260, which is how much the next model down (with a slightly smaller LCD screen) would have cost.

But . . . I still don't have any photos from the Cape because I didn't want to get any sand in it! D'oh!

Oh God, I Hope I Don't Have Vonage!

Does anyone else think that Vonage sounds like something you'd ask your OB/GYN about in a hushed voice?

I'll Just Read the In-Flight Magazine . . . Again

What's the deal with no books allowed on planes? I can understand no sharp implements, no liquids that could contain combinable chemicals, no batteries, etc. But books? Holy crap. Good thing I don't have anywhere to fly to.

Belated Friday's Feast

Appetizer: Tell about a toy you remember from your childhood.
Susie had a game called Mouse Trap, which was a Rube-Goldberg-esque contraption that took a long time to set up, but then you got to send something (a ball? a marble? something else?) through all the chutes and doors and such. We used to love it. I bet there's a "modern" version that is not as good.

Soup: If you could make one thing in the world absolutely free for everyone, what would it be?
Easy-peasy: Decent health care.

Salad: Approximately how many times per day do you think about your significant other?
I hate questions like that. Who can count such things?

Main Course: What is something you believe in 100%?
That most people are good.

Dessert: Name one thing you have done this week that you would consider a "good deed."
Took time out from vacation to send postcards to people who would really appreciate them, like Grandma Sophie and our elderly neighbors, Madeline and Cosmo.

All Hell Breaking Loose

I know I must have frightened some of you with my wild behavior a week or so ago, but that was nothing. I don't know how to even tell you this, so I'll just spit it out: You may recall that my June 12 issue of the New Yorker never arrived. I called and asked them to send me a new copy, and they said they would. Nothing. I waited a few more weeks and called again, and they said they'd send yet another copy. Still nothing. I took a good long look at the situation and promised myself that if it wasn't waiting for me when I returned home from vacation, I would—gulp!—skip right to the June 19 issue and continue reading, straight through June, into July, even August if I have to! And guess what: It's not here! So I'm sitting down to read the June 19 issue right now. Don't bother trying to talk me out of it, folks; I can't be stopped. I've made up my mind.

Last Post from Cape Cod

Today's our last day at the Cape! We have had gorgeous weather every day—sunny, warm, and breezy, with no humidity. The cross-breezes coming through the sunroom set the stage for a perfect nap (if we didn't have three small kids, that is...). Steph says she wishes we could stay here for a month, and Julie said she can't remember what her bedroom at home looks like. Pete's only regret is that he didn't pack his Power Rangers blaster. C'est la vie.

The only bummer for me is that my vision is still horrible. The left lens is good but not great; the right lens is practically useless. It's been hard to even read a book. I called Dr. Chang's office and grabbed his first available appointment next week, which isn't until Thursday morning. So I  have to suffer with blurry vision at least until then, and probably for another couple of weeks after that, until new lenses come in. I'm going to ask him whether the prescription for my glasses is more straightforward—not such a matter of "trying this, trying that"—and if so, I'll get a new pair of glasses made up in the meantime. Not happy.

Mom and Dad came over again last night to babysit, and that was the first we heard about the thwarted terrorist bombings in London. Very creepy, as Ale just flew home to Heathrow on Monday. Lily will fly back in a few weeks, so I certainly hope that things have settled down somewhat by then.

Overnight we had a tremendous thunderstorm. The power flickered once, so I ran downstairs and shut all the slider windows and found a flashlight. Steph heard it only because she happened to get up for the bathroom, but Pete and Julie didn't hear a thing. It might have been the loudest cracks of thunder and lightning I've ever heard in my life, and they all slept through it.

So we just finished up at the beach, now we're off to swim in Mom and Dad's condo pool and have pizza with them. And back home tomorrow! If you're a blogger and I've neglected your posts this week, rest assured that I plan a major catch-up on Sunday.

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. The River (live) - James Taylor & Garth Brooks            
2. De Pies A Cabeza - Maná
3. Slow Surprise (live) - Chris Smither            
4. Anyway - Keb' Mo'       
5. You Make It Easy (live) - James Taylor            
6. Love Keep Us Together - Martin Sexton       
7. Canned Heat Blues - Paul Rishell
8. I Hear You Knockin' - Peter Keane
9. Kisses Sweeter Than Wine - Jackson Browne & Bonnie Raitt            
10. Have I Told You Lately - Van Morrison

Wiki Wednesday

Time to learn something!

1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. Click on "Random article" in the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!

Here's mine:

KCXX, which bills itself X 103.9, is a Southern California radio station that plays alternative rock. It is one of several independent radio stations in the Inland Empire.

X 103.9 started on December 31, 1994; the first song that was played on the air was "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails. Touted as "The IE's Alternative Rock," the station has made numerous changes in musical direction over the years, both with regard to the music they play and their morning show, which changes annually.

For a time, this station was KBAV, simulcasting KACE, "V103.9". That station is now the Spanish-language oldies station KRCD, or "Recuerdo."

Anyone listen to that station?

Hello from Vacation!

This is a very significant post: It marks my first time blogging to you from anywhere other than home. Even though I got my MacBook back in April, I’ve never actually used it on the fly. Today I am at a coffee shop (with a very impressive tea selection) downtheCape, where we’re vacationing. We came down here under overcast skies on Friday (which perhaps contributed to the fairly easy ride) and then had a weekend consisting of two of the most stellar beach days I can recall—ever. Julie is finally old enough to really enjoy herself in the ocean, and the big breakthrough for Pete was discovering those “rash guard” swim shirts for him. He used to complain all the time about being cold or getting sandy. Now he just dives in—plus we don’t have to worry so much about him getting sunburnt (although I can’t say I don’t miss seeing that tan little body running around!). Steph is still the one who would spend all day in the water if we let her. We’ve also been swimming at Grandma and Grandpa’s pool, and Julie is delighted to show them that she can really swim now! It’s amazing what daily lessons at our neighborhood pool and at her camp* have done.

Yesterday we made our annual pilgrimage to our favorite toy shop, Kaleidoscope (heartbreakingly referred to by Julie as Colitis-Scope; she’s heard that word all too many times). The kids nag us about it incessantly, so we figured we’d get it over with early in the week. They so rarely get a gift “for no real reason” that it’s a huge treat for them to look forward to this. And last night we got a treat for ourselves: Grandma and Grandpa babysat so we could go out to dinner all by ourselves.

Every year I am reminded how much I love the outdoor shower here at Mark and Therese’s wonderful home. (I told Andy I want to install one at home.) That plus the hammock and ceiling fans and fried clams and Dairy Queen and happy, exhausted kids collapsing into bed every night . . . and I know we’re on vacation.

I miss Mr. Jones and Gracie, but I know they’re well cared for by our friends from across the street—who were more than happy to move in for the week and housesit/catsit in order to get away from the hell of having their house de-lead-paint-ized.

*It’s worth mentioning (what isn’t worth mentioning in this blog??) that all three kids had a really wonderful time at camp this summer. Four really happy weeks of sun and fun. I was a little worried for Steph, because she was barely lukewarm about her camp experience last summer, but things just fell into place for her this year. It didn’t hurt that she made a couple of good friends, but I think the key for her is having a counselor she can really connect with, and she did. Pete was with a bunch of school buddies, and camp is just made for someone like him. He positively thrives there. And Julie . . . I was so concerned about Julie! I feared that she’d cry when I left her with a bunch of strangers, but she loved every minute of camp. Every morning I drove away waving to her, smiling and holding hands with her counselor. Every afternoon when I picked her up, she said, “You don’t even have to ask: YES! I had a great day at camp today!” It doesn’t get any better than that for this mommy.

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. Ain't No Cure for Love - Jennifer Warnes
2. Westchester County (live) - Loudon Wainwright III
3. All This Time - Sting
4. Human Cannonball - Loudon Wainwright III
5. Rich Girl - Hall & Oates 
6. Humidity Built The Snowman (live) - John Prine
7. Mississippi Heavy Water Blues - Doc & Merle Watson
8. Friend Of The Devil (live) - Chris Smither
9. Aunt Hagar's Blues - Louis Armstrong
10. I'm Not Down - The Clash

Mostly Bullish

I'm on the cusp (of Aries), so this is about right:

You are 60% Taurus

How Taurus Are You?

(via Pam)

My Little Rockers

The kids always want to hear "This Is Radio Clash" in the car on the way to camp, and loud. Lately I've been offering up some other Clash songs for their evaluation. Steph always wants to hear "Spanish Bombs"; Pete likes that too but prefers "I Fought the Law." Then Julie pipes up from the back, "I like 'Should I Stay or Should I Go'!"

More Mel

My college pal Andy Behrman has so far been unsuccessful in his effort to erect an anti–Mel Gibson billboard in Hollywood.

In the meantime, the Poor Man answers your Mel Gibson questions.

And I remind you that I've been off Mel for more than two years now.

Eye #2? Done!

Every Wednesday I like to get a hole bored through my eye with a laser, so today I did my left one. I wasn't even a little anxious this time, after last week's relatively easy experience.

I told Dr. Hung that last time my pupil was still constricted well into the next day. He said that was normal for young people. I said, "Young?! Bless you, Dr. Hung!" He laughed and said, "Karen, most of my patients are in their 90s!"

He also said that my procedures were even quicker than some because I have light eyes; dark irises are denser to bore through. Live and learn.

Wiki Wednesday

Time to learn something!

1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. Click on "Random article" in the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!

Here's mine:

Animania HD is an animation themed network that broadcasts exclusively in High definition. Programming includes original series Pet Alien, Ratz and Flatmania as well as classic shows like the Pink Panther, Mr. Magoo and Felix the Cat.

It is one of the Voom HD Networks and is available through Dish Network.

This entry is considered a "stub"; if you know anything more about Animania HD, by all means speak up!

KidPix

Brooke took a bunch of photos of the kids back in May that I never posted. Here's a sampling: