I’m currently in my new bedroom, which was my old bedroom (the walls are a different color since the last time this was my bedroom), with the window a/c unit cranked while I lay about on most of my new bed (the headboard is large and heavy and still downstairs). The room that was more recently my bedroom will become my office. Again. When I have the energy to move the desk and computer back into it. And all of this furniture and junk is just going to have to be moved, yet again, when the hardwood floors are refinished. Life just seems like a bunch of busy work sometimes.
So yesterday I went to a birthday party. Yes, for someone who was born on the Fourth of July. Before that I’d attended a family function and after that I walked out on The Transformers movie. It was so very dreadful. Ebert must’ve been high on pain meds when he reviewed it. It was definitely an eventful 4th of July for me, but not necessarily one of my best.
Tomorrow will also be eventful, but hopefully better. The little man’s childcare program is still closed. Thankfully a friend is available to watch him so I can go to work. And after work we’ll get to hang out with other friends, Monica and Wuy, who are visiting from San Francisco. I mentioned this to the lad. He started talking about another time they came to visit a couple of years ago. And about how Monica is vegan but Wuy isn’t, and how, when we went out to breakfast with them, Wuy had eggs, but he didn’t eat the garbage. Took me a minute to puzzle it out but the garbage he was talking about = egg shells. Funny coming from a lifelong vegan. Talking about non-vegan foodstuffs, it’s like a foreign language for him.
Sometimes when I go look at my contacts page on flickr there’s a strange synchronicity, an unspoken theme that all the photogs seem to be grooving on. It could be cupcakes or kitty cats, concert shots or…breasts. Yeah, often there are a lot of boobs involved. But not always in the way you might think. One day there was a nude (taken during a class on lighting) next to a shot of a mom nursing her newborn right alongside another contact who was showing off a new shirt next to a woman showing off a new tattoo next to another shot taken of some GLBT folks at Pride. It’s all random, but not. Kind of like this post.
Bonus: Patrick Stewart on Extras. So so funny.
Plus: I can’t win. It’s all killing me softly: “Researchers in the United Kingdom have found that increased exposure to cat allergen is associated with greater bronchial responsiveness (BR) in people with certain common allergies, even if they are not specifically allergic to cats. This suggests that reduced exposure to cats may be beneficial for allergic individuals, regardless of their specific allergies.”
And: Also? The Dark Side of Soy. Sigh.
Thanks to a potent combination of hormones and a summer cold, I am a weepy sniffling feverish mess. Have had to cancel all of our weekend plans - the getting-things-done plans as well as the fun ones - and force myself to stay in bed instead. Even confining myself to bed, the damned room won’t stop spinning. The little man seems to be on the mend (from an ongoing viral infection) but his barking cough lingers. Before we were so stricken I had been all set to post something more upbeat, about how the good of late has been pure awesomeness, while the bad has just been moderately annoying but not mission critical.
Good things:
- After a stretch of oppressive heat the weather broke. The day that it was especially dry and cool I was so very happy. If only it could be like that year-round. Oh, it is. In Berkeley.
- Our childcare program re-assessed the little man’s needs and is moving him from the 1:4 ratio to 1:10. Which means the rates will drop from the new $80/day high to a more reasonable $48/day. Phew.
- Free flowing traffic. I worked from home one morning last week to avoid construction-related rush hour woes, and then we stayed overnight at J’s one night, again to decrease our commute time.
- Calvin Johnson and Julie Doiron. So glad I was able to see them Thursday night.
- Assorted music I received for my birthday. Who woulda thunk that I’d enjoy a little Jay-z?
- I have the best ex ever. And not just because he came over here yesterday, to take care of the lad and I. But it was pretty awesome that he brought food and The Bourne Identity. And washed my dirty dishes. And took the kid down to the playground, gave him a bath, read him his bedtime story and put him to bed. All while I was flat on my back in my bed.
- Posted some more photos taken by the little man, including the unflattering shots of me.
Not-so-stellar:
- Being sick sucks. Being sick while your kid is also sick sucks even more.
- The little man’s childcare program is closed all this coming week. So far I don’t have a Plan B.
- We haven’t purchased Veggie Booty in a while, but we do eat a lot of Tings, made by the same company.
- Olive has some neurotic cat litter box issues. For some reason she shreds the plastic liner and pulls on it so that it covers the litter box completely. When this happened the other day she opted to use my favorite comfy chair as an alternate litter box. Grrrr.
- Another cat, Oliver (who originally came from my backyard but was adopted by friends) had to stay at the vet overnight, for a biopsy. The results won’t come back for another week or so. My fingers are crossed that he’ll be all right.
- The last week was chock full of miscommunications and frustrations.
- I’m way behind on laundry and too lethargic to do anything about it.
- We missed the birthday party of one of the little man’s classmates and my co-worker friend’s housewarming party. That equals total suck.
- We haven’t been to the gym in weeks.
Going to try to salvage this weekend, just a little bit, by taking the lad to see Ratatouille. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to handle sitting on my ass in an air-conditioned theater. But it’s been a while since I’ve been upright for that long.
I have no shame. As soon as I got home from work I changed into pajamas. And then ate some leftover sweet and sour mock chicken, cold, right out of the to-go box, while sitting on the stepladder in my kitchen. The little man? He wanted cereal for dinner, instead of his Evergreen leftovers, and I said sure. It’s too damned hot and I’m feeling more than a little pitiful. But the commute home was especially brutal tonight. Traffic was hellacious due to construction, and then the gas light came on so I pulled off the freeway in search of a gas station, which only led to getting stuck in a different corridor of construction. And the whole way the little man was all pissy because I was listening to music other than his beloved Black Mission Goggles on repeat.
Bleah.
Maybe I’ll be less cranky if I sleep with my bedroom door closed tonight. The last two nights Olive has been insane. Sunday night she was yowling at 4am and sliding around on the rug and hardwood floors in my room. Last night, around 2am, I woke up because she was BITING MY ASS. Her favorite catnip-filled mouse toy was on top of me. I guess she missed.
Bonus: I came across an article in the New York Times about the infamous Renegade Craft Fair: “So while the sparrow and the owl — last year’s favored animal and the symbol of the fair — are out, the octopus, a burgeoning contender for creature of the moment, has been joined by other sea dwellers, like the squid.” I guess I was ahead of the curve on the cephalopod-love, but I don’t want it to get out of hand.
Plus: More things I like but don’t need, little monsters from Treasures from the Cabinet of Curiosities.
And: How did I miss sauntering day? I don’t think I sauntered at all that day. I did walk an awful lot the next day, but that was on my son’s field trip and it was really more like a forced march.
Happy Birthday to me! And to my Dad (I was born on his 29th birthday). Started the day out by delivering a cupcake to the police station, where he works. After that it was on to a parent/teacher conference. I met with the little man’s special ed teacher, who brought up something of a downer. She was talking about how kids like mine - who have PDD or Asperger’s and enjoy dressing up in costumes - well, they’ll continue to dress up as they get older, long past the point where it’s considered cute, because they aren’t clued in to the “hidden” curriculum behind a lot of social interactions. When I mentioned this to J his response was brilliant. “We can just send him to lots of sci-fi conventions.”
I did go in to work today, but hey, free Pizza Luce lunch. Can’t complain. Later on the lad and I went over to J’s. The three of us took a walk down to Evergreen, where we met up with his family. The original plan had been to dine at Namaste but they’re closed on Mondays. That wouldn’t have been nearly as kid-friendly anyhow. Too zen or something.
Yesterday’s potluck thingie was pretty awesome. J’s cupcakes were a huge hit, as were the little man’s water balloons, squirt guns, bubbles, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle sprinkler. Unfortunately too many of my lovely lady friends were stuck working. But we still had a decent turnout. And people sort of came and left in waves, ensuring the place wasn’t too packed at any given time. Now I just need to finish cleaning up the messes we made. Doh.
Bonus: I’d heard the name before, but hadn’t realized how amusing Maria Bamford really is. Especially her impressions of her mom. And her impressions of other people doing impressions of her.
Plus: Neil Gaiman’s daughter Maddy has been guest-blogging on his site, during their stay on the set of Hellboy 2. I feel like way too much of a fangirl reading these posts, but it gives an interesting behind-the-scenes sort of look into the life of one of my favorite authors.
And: Note to self…catch up on Mimi Smartypants, when you aren’t so tired. Can’t stop yawning.
Frustration levels are so high I feel like screaming. This week has really been up and down. But I will try to focus on the up with people aspects.
- The lovely Zophia is thirty years old today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
- J is planning to make 60 cupcakes for my birthday. SIXTY. That is a lot of cupcakes.
- The ever amazing Emily sent me some seriously awesome birthday presents. A t-shirt from one of my fave Chicago stores, Rotofugi, and a super cool cephalopod necklace (photos to come).
- Wednesday night I saw an advanced screening of Eagle vs. Shark. Finding love was never so…awkward.
- It’s now been eight years since I closed on my house. That’s just crazy.
- Finished reading Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. Now I’m ready to start in on The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds.
- I chaperoned the little man’s class field trip to the Arboretum. It was exhausting but fun. One of my favorite moments? A kid didn’t like the taste of the drinking fountain water and loudly declared that it was zombie sweat.
- I was reunited with my powerbook (again).
The little man says the strangest things. Last night, as he was getting ready for bed, he walked into the room in his boxer shorts and announced “a machine touched me and took my pants.” Umm, yeah. I blame his current obsession with Modern Times.
Bonus: I already loved the song, but the video for Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) makes me even happier. Watch it and you’ll be bouncing around too.
Plus: Service Works - a totally neat idea from an artist/waitron.
And: The summer asian film series continues at the U. There is only one film, Pom Poko, that could conceivably be kid-friendly, but for this “it’s worth noting to Western viewers that prominent testicles are an integral part of the Tanuki folklore, and they are shown and referred to throughout the movie, and also used frequently in their shapeshifting.” Spectacularly testicular!
So I splurged on something. My old metal bed frame had been with me for fourteen plus years, but after enduring two failed marriages and other relationship-like mishaps, it was time for retirement. It had become so rickety and awkward. Even from the beginning the footboard stuck out inconveniently. I was forever bumping into it and bruising my thighs or catching my clothing on it. More recently one of the slats of the platform part was broken and more were about to follow suit. Just one more good morning piledriver from the kid and it would’ve been done for. My queen size mattress is currently resting on my bedroom floor, like some college student’s. It is oddly cozy. But the replacement bed frame is on its way. The headboard arrived today. Then it’ll just be a matter of assembling it…
In other news, it seems I’ve only half-trained my son. He remembers to put the toilet seat back down, yes, but he always leaves the bathroom light on. Could be worse. He could be out peeing on trees in broad daylight. Oh wait, he was! This afternoon I allowed him to play outside with some of the neighborhood kids. In the span of just thirty minutes he a) scraped his knee rather badly b) one of the swings on our swingset was torn asunder and c) and this I only found out about later, but apparently the other boys talked him into peeing on one of the boulevard trees out front. He says he didn’t want to do it. I had to have that talk with him again about saying no and that made me sad. The boy is so very vulnerable.
Bonus: Somehow I’ve only just discovered BusTales.com - which is definitely my kind of thing (collaborative web projects have always made me squee).
Plus: VerizonMath = extreme nerd humor. Back story here and here.
And: Keyboards made of waffles! Totally my type of appliance.
The weekend started off well enough. Last night the little man and I had a sleepover at J’s place, which involved Everfood for dinner (leftovers from two of our fave restaurants, Everest and Evergreen). Yet another viewing of Howl’s Moving Castle. And to top it all off? Some vegan cupcakes, that could possibly take over the world. Mmmm, buttercream frosting.
Today too started off well. We had a morning walk over to Caffetto for coffee, chess and Battleship. Then we hung out at a playground that happens to be directly across the street from the condo I am currently obsessed with. Which I walked through today. No, I didn’t break in. There was an open house (and damn, that condo would be perfect for the little man and I). But then we left the bliss of Minneapolis and headed home to St. Paul. Since our return a dark storm cloud has been hanging over our heads, literally and figuratively. Frustrations abound. The server hosting one of my email accounts has been up and down all day. My powerbook is broken and lifeless. And I would’ve taken it into the Apple Store, but the little man spent the afternoon napping fitfully, mostly denying he was sick but then giving in and telling me he didn’t feel so well. But not until after our urgent care clinic closed. We’ll have to play it by ear tomorrow.
Bonus: “Top 10 science fiction novelists of the ’00s — so far” - I’ve read a number of these authors. Well technically I read their books, and enjoyed them a great deal. Going to have to hit up recent works by the authors I liked the most. Richard Morgan in particular.
Plus: A fetish for everything…I give you BikiniRama, featuring German women in bikinis beating up on electronics.
And: Joe shares my apprehension.
Some old friends, a couple, are helping me get my house prepped and ready to sell. She’s a realtor. He’s a lot of things, including something I am most certainly not - handy. He’s got a key to my place and has been doing this and that. Plastering, priming, painting, etc. Yesterday he called from my house, to go over our To Do list. But he also made an offhand remark about my bedroom. Something about what he’d come across while moving the books off the bookshelf. Some incriminating photos. They were, umm, polaroids. I had a little panic attack. He went on to say that, judging from what was written on them, they appeared to be from 1987 and 1989. And I knew immediately what they were.
Phew.
Bonus: Feeling pretty ambivalent about the apple.com/trailers redesign. But the teaser is up for I Am Legend. I sound like a broken record but, once again, I am apprehensive about a film adaptation of one of my favorite books. Time will tell.
Plus: There are so many brilliant web comics out there. My current fave? “A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.” Especially this one and this one.
And: I’ve had my phone since the beginning of the year. I bought some cheap ass car charger to go along with it. Damned thing died today. I hardly knew ya.
It’s crazy hot out, like August-style, and when I’m inside my too-warm house all I want to do is sleep…but when I sleep I only do so fitfully. Outside of the artificially cool environs of my office I am useless. But just this morning I was thinking that life is good. That, for the first time in a real long while, I am generally content. But then. As usual. A quick succession of sucker punches knocked me back down to earth.
- With nearly no notice, the little man’s childcare program is raising its rates. From $59/day to $80/day. Ouch. That one is below the belt.
- Came home to find another letter from the I.R.S. - this time State, not federal. But we need to pony up for that by July.
- Flickr, a service I usually find solace in, was effing with me with me all afternoon. I do not enjoy being effed with, especially not by my beloved flickr.
- Friday’s migraine made a re-appearance.
But not all is dire. Some things are in the in-between:
- For days now the little man has been wearing a superhero cape. Bright orange. And made of polar fleece. Yes, in this heat. Nothing I can do or say will dissuade him. He claims his superhero powers make him impervious to heat. Handy, no? All I can do is get him to drink more water. And to take long, cool baths, without said cape on.
- Tomorrow night I have to choose between two really awesome looking and somehow free movies. One, the kitschy Thai cult film, Tears of the Black Tiger. And two, Eagle vs. Shark. Which do you suppose will win? Vote now!
- Also tomorrow, I won a free lunch for ten at one of my favorite restaurants in town. The downside? We will be subjected to the schpeel of some financial planner guy. But he claims he will bail before the food even arrives.
And finally, something that is straight up awesome:
- Yesterday 825 TUBS finally hauled the dumpster out of my driveway, after it had been blocking said driveway for over a week. And my neighbors didn’t throw any of their junk into it this time! Yes, I realize that it’s kinda sad that this is the best I could do for my big happy happy news. I’ll try harder next time.
