Now that's just weird

A mother that I barely know -- as in I've spoken to her four times in two years -- just asked whether I would bring her child home with Abigail from school on Mondays. I understand being worried about how to handle working and picking a child up from school, but our school has an after care program. Whyyyy would you ask someone you don't know well to take your child home? Especially since she was just asking for once in a while when her family couldn't help out? I find that very, very strange.

Just 24:59 to go

So I'm stuck in the abyss of waiting for gigantic photos to upload to an FTP site. I've been doing this for HOURS today. And I am burned out on my normal Web sites. I've never been a good surfer, either. And I'm honestly done with everything else for the upcoming issue. Well, then, I must blog.

But I have nothing to say.

It's been hot. I can definitely say that. I don't know if it officially hit 100 today, but it sure as hell felt like it. And yesterday. And for the next week. It's JUNE for crying out loud! If it's this oppressively hot now, will it be 120 in August?! Ugh, and Abigail is going to want to play outside this summer. I was not made for Southern living. You sure you want to move here, Smitty?

Hmmm, what else ... I want a new car. I probably won't get one for two more years, but I am suddenly quite tired of this one. The sun visor has dry rotted to the point of holes. The reflection of the Honda symbol has burned off a square of paint on my bumper. My automatic door locks do not work if the driver's door is open. The antenna is disconnected somewhere in the car frame so I have no radio. There are small rust spots on the hood from parking under oak trees at the last apartment. And I just noticed yesterday that the top of the back seat is also dry rotting. I loved my little car, I will probably get another Civic, but this current Civic is tired. As Brad and I have been saying all week due to heat and lack of sleep, my little car is o-pressed. It still runs fine, only has 103,000 miles, but it has parked in the full sun for four years and it is o-pressed. As I have told Brad, I will consider us made when I have some kind of structure to park my car in.

And I think that's it for now. Hopefully I will have much more interesting things to say another day.

Almost well rested

And with this Monday morning, Spring Break ends. Abigail was at the beach all week with Nana, and was I productive? Of course not. Well, I was with the magazine, but not with the house. I read a book -- in one night. The husband and I went out to eat and saw a movie in a place called a "theater". I napped a lot. I slept every morning until at least 8 a.m. I call that a good vacation.

The book was "My Sister's Keeper," and it was surprisingly good. I'm giving my book club till the end of spring since they're nice ladies, but the book selections leave something to be desired. But this was actually good. It tackled lots of interesting ethical dilemmas and didn't try to say one side was right or wrong -- which really, in the cases presented, there wasn't a right, just varying levels of wrong and painful but necessary. The writing was decent, though not many amazing passages, but it was a compelling story. I just wish the author hadn't copped out finally and ended an otherwise complicated story with something too pat, too "deus ex machina."

The movie was "Stop-loss." It was pretty good, some flaws in continuity and some unbelievable side stories, but definitely a powerful view of the torment soldiers may be going through. And it was interesting to hear Brad's thoughts as a man, about under what conditions he would fight and why.

Resuscitated

So, hi. Yeah, I know, I've disappeared. Frankly, nothing earth-shattering has happened. I'm working away at the first issue of the magazine (if my designer would ever get her s*$% together and send me pages!!!), and we're fleeing the country in six days. I seldom think to visit my blog, or any of yours, dear readers, since it's not my homepage on the work Mac. And I'm hardly ever on at home, though if I am it is generally to be sucked into my addictive mommy forum. (A., have you tried centralpiedmontmommies.com? Jenny, there's an indymommies.com! You will waste inordinate amounts of time, but it's fun!)

The fam is doing well. This week's big news: Abigail read me "Green Eggs and Ham." I'm so incredibly proud! A real, long book, not just a little easy reader! It was very, very exciting, and we've since added "Hop on Pop" and a couple other longer beginner books. She's done loads of other interesting things, too, including a few days in January of playing The Blitz after falling in love with a book about London history her Auntie Manda gave her. Nothing like hearing pretend explosions all afternoon!

She also really likes my Mac and the many special effects of Photo Booth





So the family is good. I'm good. The magazine is overall good. Some of the writing leaves a bit to be desired, but I think that will improve as time goes on. I'm really excited about the next issue, which will have a green-ish theme. The stories should be even more interesting. If all goes well, I'm happy to mail copies to anyone! If all doesn't go well, we never spoke of this ...

And now, to make this even longer and more random, a fabulous meme I stole from Jenny!

Create your own band.
1 - Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to Random quotations: http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Go to flickr's "explore the last seven days” http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
Put it all together, that's your first album

Catch the debut release by Neoschumannia kamerunensis entitled Rarest Thing I Know

Available for a limited time only on this Web site!

Geriatric jail bait

Why? Why do I still attract older men? In college, it was men in their 40s who would offer me drinks at the bar. Then it was French men in their 40s who would try to chat me up in a park.

And now? Now it's the late-60s gentleman who I say hello to at the park! Today he told me how pretty I looked in pink. In the same pink sweatshirt I've been wearing for two months, with my unwashed hair pulled back into a ponytail and yesterday's eyeliner still smudged under my eyes. Yes, I'm gorgeous.

That's what I get for telling the most cheerful man on my walking route how much I appreciated his friendly "good morning."

The Strode Tower of Power!

This gorgeous edifice is the home of the Clemson University English Department -- and Department of Languages, and pretty much every other department I was heavily involved in. It was ancient and musty and had the most terrifying elevator, a tiny contraption that fit maybe four people and sounded like it was held together with rubber bands. When the door opened, you heard a creaking succession of pings, like plucking a rubber band instrument very slowly. Visiting your adviser was a death-defying feat.

I show you the fabulous Strode because I got the best postcard yesterday. (I must confess my title was stolen from the card, which has a stylized picture of Strode on it. ) "English Majors? Tailgating?" They're doing a pig pickin' for homecoming! Now, I didn't have a whole lot of friends in English, actually, and the ones I did have probably won't be there, but I really want to go! Just to see how English majors tailgate! It would just be way too amusing. Plus several friends are going to homecoming anyway. But alas, that also coincides with mom's visit, and unless kickoff is at noon, there's no way. And that's just too much rushed driving. Oh well, maybe they'll post pictures online!

EDIT: Wow, I just went to the Languages site, and I don't know ANY of the profs! Anyone I ever had is gone, and all but one of the profs my friends' had are gone! Crazy! I know I'm getting old, but it's only been eight years! Comfortingly, I did know several English folks still. The only ones missing were a couple that really needed to retire and one that I know passed away. Good ol' English.

Trade ya!

Oh my goodness, I have a new favorite place: Trader Joe's. What a fabulous store! (The first one just opened last month in Charlotte, for those of you who live in hipper places and are laughing at me.) I wanted to buy everything, all the international sauces and the delicious-sounding prepared foods and the marinated meats and the WINE! Oh my, the WINE! I actually caught myself staring with my mouth open at the insanely cheap prices!! I can justify a 25 minute drive once a month or so for that!

A., have you been yet?!?! You would LOVE it! We should go some preschool day and just spend a couple of hours oohing and ahhing!

Answer: 480 out of 25,000

Question: What is the number of people chosen as Jeopardy! contestants each year out of the thousands that audition?

That's your factoid of the day. I haven't posted in a while, have little to say and am valiantly resisting Jenny's meme, so this is what I came up with. Yes, I did get sucked into a few minutes of a Jeopardy! behind-the-scenes show on TV Guide channel last week, and the number above was an interesting tidbit, so I thought I'd share.

By the way, in a totally unrelated comment, 12 days till we go to L.A.

Swedish delights

The most thrilling news in ages came across NPR today: Charlotte is getting an IKEA!!! I'm so excited! I know some of you live near one already, but it's been years for me. I fondly recall my first visit to an IKEA back in Chicago as a preteen, though I was probably feeding a lot off my sister's excitement. Sigh, inexpensive design, how delightful. And a., you lucky thing, it's going in at City Boulevard and I-85!

Beta blahs

There's a reason we got rid of Beta VCRs, right? I'm still awaiting a reason not to get rid of this Beta Blogger! I'm in the middle of a post with pictures from Abigail's birthday, but Flickr can't find my blog now that I changed to Beta. And you can't change back! Grrr.

Anyway, to tide you over, I offer yesterday's phrase from "Forgotten English": with squirrel, a euphemism for being pregnant from the good ol' hillbilly days in the Ozarks -- which means it probably still exists out there. Thought that would be of particular interest to ams. Maybe you could be with hedgehog :)

Also, I think I'm going to yet again abandon my poor French novel unstarted. All this reminiscing about books has me eyeing "Anne" again ...

Later: Oh, screw this new Blogger!!! And I can't go back!!! It's screwed up my lovely book links and I don't know how to make it link to images!! I hate when software tries to be smarter than you are and make you do something you don't want it to do! I know HTML, dammit, let me use it!!!!

Even later: Now Firefox has decided to forget that I have been using it for two years. I just had to create a profile and the damn thing at all my bookmarks! ARGH, TECHNOLOGY!

Mommyflix

Our YMCA is ridiculously expensive, so I'm going to try out some workout videos from Netflix to see if there's anything I can tolerate. Well, a bellydance video linked to Carmen Electra workout videos, including striptease and lap dance. I did not add those to my queue (sorry, dear), but I did find it interesting that another title under "Members who watched this also enjoyed" was a Baby Einstein video. Hmmm, wonder what general population is trying to lose weight, reinvent their sex lives and eek out some sanity? :)

By the way, ams, I have two great Baby Einstein DVDs if you'd be interested at some point. Abbey outgrew them a long time ago, but they were good for at least a shower!

This consumer's report

Time for my own product review. While not as exciting to the common 20-something as a new Mac, I have a new toy. A new vacuum!! Now we are so happy, we do the dance of joy!

It's a lovely red Kenmore, which is absolutely leaps and bounds ahead of my old vacuum, that which shall not be named. I had to empty the canister after every room -- and I've now vacuumed two days in a row! How exciting. How disturbing, too. What kind of filth were we living in the past few years, the exact years that my child was most likely to be playing on the floor? But hooray for my Kenmore, which has a lovely self-propelled action and very easy canister removal and replacement, plus a snazzy little flicky thing for cleaning out the hepa filter. A definite thumbs up.

More posts on the way. Long holiday weekend + visiting mother = several thoughts not put down on "paper."