Those wacky kids. Meant to post a heads up yesterday, but we were having too much fun in the sun. Minneapolis had its second flash mob last night. I’d considered stopping by…more to observe folks trying to figure it out than to participate, as I can’t imagine the little man going along with the agenda. Even if it only lasted ten minutes. His attention span is severely limited in scope (he’s too much of, umm, an individual to subscribe to a mob mentality). Reports of last night’s event have been favorable thus far. A large turnout + no trouble to be had = success. Photos can be found here.

Replenishing my claritin supply has made all the difference…this wonder drug has magically lowered my susceptibility to irritation of any kind, thus allowing me to have a fine day. And despite the forecast of rain, the weather has been hot and sunny. So we headed to Lake Calhoun, to play and enjoy a leisurely two hour picnic. Even managed to score a shady spot under a big beautiful tree, and the light breeze kept us even more comfortable. Ah, this is the life.

This week is off to a sketchy start. For one thing, I’ve been avidly avoiding my to do list. Coming up with odd chores to complete in lieu of more pressing matters. Like sweeping cobwebs out of unused corners in the basement rather than scheduling an appointment for my annual exam. Or cleaning out my bedroom closet instead of my car…the latter needs to be sold soon, the former isn’t going anywhere. And crankiness is in the air. The sniping and griping of the construction workers next door (a new house is being built on the formerly vacant lot) has been wafting into our windows…causing the little man to scold and shout at these strangers on a regular basis. He hasn’t been a bundle of joy himself. We’ve been visiting a number of playgrounds (three in the last two days) and at each he still requests to be seated in the baby swing. This boy’s size has always been off the charts. While an average-sized three to four year old might fit just fine in one of these swings, mine becomes stuck such that he is wearing the swing more than sitting in it. So I’ve taken to denying this demand of his, which has been met with a very low approval rating. I’m hoping he will soon accept his fate and move on. The hellacious hissyfits being something we could all do without. But it hasn’t been all bad. Some good times have been had, honest. And there are blue skies ahead. Or something. Maybe mommy just needs a little lie down. And then I’ll tackle that to do list. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Today is off to a better start. The little man slept through the night, and slept in. The sun is shining and the humidity is lower. For our breakfast I whipped up some tasty french toast, using a loaf of ciabatta, fresh strawberries, and 100% maple syrup. Do we really need to get out of our pj’s? Naw, not yet.

Such insolence. Filthy humans. Hardly a day goes by that doesn’t lower my opinion of one or all of them. The scope of their transgressions varies a great deal. In general I agree it’s best not to sweat the small things…but sometimes the small things can get you dead. I was driving home this evening when my car was nearly struck by a driver engaging in not one, but two distressing activities. Either alone would be ill-advised, but the synergy of the two was nearly calamitous. This woman was conversing with cell phone in one hand, and eating an ice cream cone with the other. While driving. Or attempting to drive. Who does she think she is, Shiva? I only saw the two arms with the two hands too burdened to handle the steering wheel. Where’s the fire? Really, if you were in such a mad rush, wouldn’t you at least chuck the cone? If there’s no emergency, or at least urgency, wouldn’t you just pull over and polish off your ice cream? And hell, finish off that conversation while you’re at it. Grrr.

Feeling restless and unrested. The little man and I are a bit under the weather. And the weather is muggy at the moment. Ran the a/c last night…something I rarely do. And moved the monkey’s bed into my room, to share the frigid air with him. He fell asleep early but I had trouble turning in. Tried once or twice, but got up to putz around the house. Made a few attempts to distract myself. Read for a while but couldn’t concentrate. Got online but couldn’t think of anything I wanted to see. Tried to watch “Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth” but it was incomprehensible. Guess I should have seen the individual episodes, when J had them from Netflix. It finally occurred to me what I should be spending this free time on. Poring over “The Codex Seraphinianus“, the book J surprised me with on my birthday. I don’t dare look at it while the little man is awake. After he’s safely asleep I carry out my ritual. Carefully washing and drying my hands before creeping into the computer room to take out this rare volume. I need to obtain additional protection though…archivist’s gloves, and a fireproof security box. Last night I spent hours flipping through the pages at random, then focusing on whatever illustrations caught my eye. Took out my camera to capture a few. I’ll put something more comprehensive together soon. When I have the energy, and the computer room isn’t so stifling. For now I’ll post a teaser photo.

Truth be told, all is going surprisingly well with J’s eye. The surgery went smoothly, and afterwards J wasn’t so out of it as we were expecting. Likewise the little man is behaving better than expected. I was worried he’d try to pull the bandaging off or want to roughhouse. Instead he points out the owie on J’s head and keeps his distance. It’s just as well. J won’t be allowed to pick him up for many more weeks, and then we’ll have to keep the rassling to a minimum, until the doc indicates otherwise. Yesterday he went in for a checkup with the surgeon. The bandages were removed for the first time, and replaced with a clear plastic shield (with bonus old lady sunglasses for outdoors). Despite being incredibly bloodshot, the vision in that eye checked out at 20/80 yesterday. Recently his corrected vision (with a contact lens in) was 20/100 but the cornea was bulging so much that contact would pop out anyhow. So 20/80, uncorrected, is a pretty big deal. But it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Apparently the donor skin over the cornea is going to slough off soon (ew) and J’s skin will be growing over it.

I’ve been postponing this particular post for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it totally creeps me out, but now it’s staring us in the face…so to speak. J is slated to have a cornea transplant tomorrow. Not even 30 and he’s already got to swap out body parts. The poor guy has an eye condition called Keratoconus It affects both eyes, but has worsened in his right one such that surgery alone can correct it. So this is a week devoted to doctor’s visits. Yesterday it was a pre-surgery physical. Today a pre-surgery eye exam, where we’ll find out whether or not a donor cornea is available. If so, tomorrow will be the big day. Followed by a check-up on Thursday. Naturally we’re both a bit nervous. But I’m sure it will all be fine. Though after he’s recovered J will be seeing what I really look like for the first time. Hmmm.

On this fine Monday morning I am:
Regretting “The Hulk“. We should have known better. Honestly.
Reading Margaret Atwood’s “The Blind Assassin“. It’s off to an excellent start.
Eagerly anticipating Robin McKinley’s “Sunshine” and Neal Stephenson’s “Quicksilver“, both due out in the Fall.
Intrigued by Vertigo’s “The Last Man“.
Suffering from seasonal allergies…and being aggressively hugged by the little man.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Bruce Lee’s death. But I’m feeling like he kicked my ass last night. A friend called to remind me that The Strike was playing at the Triple Rock. I hadn’t been to the new venue yet, nor had The Strike played in town for years so I decided to go. I walked in to a full house. When I could get a good view of the stage I found an old friend of mine was on it, singing for a band called The Butchers. Highly entertaining stuff, that. In between bands I spotted a couple of dozen people I hadn’t seen in ages…a few I wanted to talk to and a few I didn’t. After some socializing I reclaimed my position so I could see The Arrivals. Overall they were a lot of fun, but what really won me over was their cover of Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher”. I had a huge smile on my face for the entire song. Round midnight The Strike took the stage, all three original members plus a new guitarist. Not sure what the scoop is on them…if they’re still living in Chicago, if this was a one-off show or if they’ll be playing out again. Sounds like they’re writing new material together, so I think we’ll be seeing them again. Anyhow, they opened with a cover of The Beatles “Back in the USSR” (complete with a slideshow of communist posters in the background) before playing their own classics. When they got to “Danger”, however, it turned out to be a little too appropriate. Some attention drifted from the stage as we watched a drunken and dazed punk being dragged away, bleeding profusely. Other than that, it seemed a good time was had by all. They closed with their rousing anthem, “Kicking Ass”, which even I sang along to. I was left thinking about having my turntable fixed, as I’ve only got their goods on vinyl. Went to bed soon after getting home, but I didn’t get to sleep until 3ish. Naturally the little man woke up around 6ish. I’m hurting today, but the ass-kicking was well worth it.