weapons of massdistraction

Today was our first full day without Jasmine. It was a rough one (I still catch myself looking around the house for her). But it was also notable in that today’s date bore the number of the beast. People do get worked up about the silliest things. But hey, growing up Catholic, being superstitious was second nature. I’ve since moved on. Mostly. Anyhow, work helped keep my mind busy today. If I’d stayed home I might have moped, and I’ve done more than enough moping this year. After work we forged on, by dining on grilled tofu and veggie kebabs at the little man’s grandparents’, on their deck overlooking wooded hills. It was lovely. Now that we’ve returned to our rather empty-feeling home I’m seeking out other distractions. Preferably things that might make me smile, like Gaijin a Go-Go. Just check out those names! Mikasa S. Sukasa is my favorite. And I’ll have to show this to the little man tomorrow morning: the Nintendo Amusement Park, where you can be the best Mario you can be.

Speaking of the lad…he knows my birthday is coming up, so this morning he asked what sort of theme I was going to have for my birthday party. A logical question, since he very carefully chooses one every year for his own. I told him I hadn’t planned on having a theme, but he was full of suggestions. “Disney?” he prompted. Oh noooooo! “How about Snow White?” Yeah, and maybe I’ll don a pink tutu and a tiara and ask everyone to bring me Barbie dolls and Polly Pocket toys. I blame the little girls in his kindergarten class. Not a single tomboy among them. Geesh.

Bonus: Recently we watched season one of Creature Comforts. Some of the humor was too subtle and/or over the little man’s head, but there was enough fun-for-everyone that we all enjoyed it. Highly recommended.

It was another week of mixed emotions. The little man and I spent two days at the Children’s Hospital, so that he could undergo a re-evaluation with his psychologist. Day one he was completely co-operative. Day two he wasn’t difficult, per se, but extremely distracted. Which was a good thing, actually, as it helped give his doc a more complete picture. In a few weeks the husband and I will go back to meet with her, to discuss her findings, but she did give me a heads up. She’s planning to change his diagnosis from PDD-NOS to PDD. You’d think that losing three characters of the acronym would be a good thing, but it actually means his condition has been upgraded (or downgraded?) to place him more squarely on the autism spectrum. When I broke the news to the husband he paused and simply said “that makes me sad.” Yeah, me too. It only makes me worry more about the little man’s vulnerability, and about his future. But I need to focus on the now. The upside? This change in diagnosis means we have a better shot at getting our health insurance provider to pay for the help the little man so desperately needs - like one-on-one occupational and speech therapy. Keep your fingers crossed.

Also depressing…Jasmine’s condition is steadily deteriorating. Not that I expected anything else, but it’s been awful bearing witness to her decline. At this point she is only able to eat baby food (and yes, it gives me pause, as a vegan, to be purchasing pureed turkey, but it’s no worse than the cat food I’ve been buying for years) and she is no longer going up or downstairs. Instead she is living out the last of her days on the main floor. So I bought another litter box, placing it where she could easily access it. Instead she is relieving herself wherever she happens to be. Thankfully we have hard wood floors. Sigh.

And another thing…I’ve been torturing myself by looking at real estate listings in Minneapolis, though we’re nearly a year away from any sort of move being realistic. We’ve still got a long To Do list of repairs to make to our current house, and we have to straighten out some financial/credit issues. But commuting back and forth daily is driving me crazy. And it’ll only get worse come winter.

Thankfully there have been good moments this week as well. The three of us had a good visit to the Children’s Museum. And the little man and I had a lovely walk to our neighborhood library one day, and went on a riverboat ride down the Mississippi another. And yesterday the husband joined us, for the first time, for the little man’s weekly swimming lesson. It was fantastic. I wish he could come along every week.

When I first heard about Carl Honoré’s book, In Praise of Slowness, my life was out of control…to the point I constantly felt overwhelmed. It took a tragedy for me to slow down and take stock. Over the last few months I’ve made some pretty big life changes, and have had more time to slowly digest this book while putting some of its ideas into practice. That doesn’t mean I’ve achieved perfect balance yet. Far from it. I am still incapable of pacing myself in certain situations. I can’t always stop myself from racing through the things I enjoy (Friday night the husband came home with a book I wanted to read - I devoured it overnight). The inverse is true for tasks I don’t relish, but still need to take care of. But hey, I’m a work in a progress.

Now for some fluff. I’ve been a tomboy since I was a little girl, but I have always loved shoes. Yesterday I stumbled across the dreamiest pair. Italian, of course. These lovely open-toed slingbacks have wedges made of real wood, and the uppers are the perfect shade of green (ficus leaf, according to the description). But a) they’re leather and b) sticker shock, they’re $395!? Why can’t someone - I’m looking at you, matt & nat - replicate these for me in a vegan-friendly synthetic leather, for oh, about 1/10th the price? A girl can dream.

Bonus: Let’s see how often I can post about Iceland. Obsessed much? Well, Jimbus just took a trip there and the Iceland Airwaves Festival is right around the corner, in October. Naturally I would love to go.
Plus: Another place I’d love to visit…Portland, in general. But the Out’n'About Treesort, in particular (a lucky co-worker of mine took a dream vacation there a while back). I made the mistake of showing the site to the little man. I mean, this is the kid who wants to live in the Ewok Village (who doesn’t?) so yeah, of course he would like to stay in some amazing treehouses. Looks like we’re not the only ones interested. Soon reservations will be taken for the summer of 2007. Doh.
And: Another co-worker sent out a link to this bizarre mash-up, Cosby Bebop, from YTMND. Even creepier than House of Cosbys, because it co-opts my beloved Cowboy Bebop.

Sometimes I envy the husband, and the fact that he works from home full-time. These feelings surface in very specific situations. Say, when I have to leave extra early in the morning because there’s a snowstorm to slog through to get the little man to his bus stop on time, and myself to the office. But winter has passed. And I am a far more social creature than he and revel in the company of my co-workers, so I enjoy working in our lovely office space. And I’ll be enjoying it even more this week. The roofers are coming, to completely replace our roof and gutters. The computer room is in the upstairs of our house so I imagine there will be much distracting activity overhead while the husband attempts to work. But this will all be over with, allegedly, in two to three days. Though we’ll be paying for it for a while longer than that…

Bonus: For my fellow Firely fans…Operation Rescue: Ariel Ambulance reached their initial fundraising goal and acquired the ambulance prop from the Ariel episode. Expect to see it at cons sometime in the near future.
Plus: Recently the husband had been telling me about the Nintendo Wii, and it’s strange wireless controllers with built in motion sensors. But seeing it only reinforced my reservations. I fear the little man will a) accidentally whack someone in the head while playing; b) lose the controllers; or c) both.

It’s been a weird week, to be capped off by an outrageously busy weekend. I should be doing much to prepare for it. Instead? I’m still in my pajamas and haven’t accomplished much more than having breakfast (and losing some more of my life to flickr). But some days are just like that. The little man is on break from school, from today through May 31st. The year-round schedule has its benefits, but the big breaks at random intervals…that takes some getting used to.

Friday:

• The lad has another of his dreaded swimming lessons this afternoon.
• Art-A-Whirl begins. In particular I want to see Sean Tubridy’s amazing work, and an aerial performance by Xelias (as we do every year).
• Initial D shows at the Riverview Theater at midnight.

Saturday:

• A day of festivities to celebrate the grand opening of the Minneapolis Central Library.
• The full 411 on Pillow Fight Club has been revealed. 2:00pm at Logan Park (Broadway and Monroe) in Minneapolis. Be there or be square. Or something.
• Artful Super Saturdays at Intermedia Arts. Always fun for the whole family, and this time with shadow puppets. Neat.
• Signal to Trust is at the Turf Club.
• Mogwai plays the main room.

Sunday:

• My long-time internet friend Shokufeh is coming to town, and we’re going to meet for the first time. Yay!
• It’s Family Art Day at the Minnesota Museum of American Art, complete with balloon sculptures.
• Somewhere in this hectic weekend we have to squeeze in the Xelias performance. Maybe Sunday at 1pm?

Phew. I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but that is more than enough to keep us occupied.

Bonus: Kylark has pointed out a book I should pick up. Mindblindness: An Essay on Autism and Theory of Mind looks like a fascinating read (even if the cover is creepy).
Plus: This Stone Golem suit is absolutely freaking amazing (via boingboing).
And: “The Eco Kettle makes it easy to boil only the amount of water you actually need, so you can save energy, save water and save time, making it better for the planet… and you still get to have a great cup of tea.” (via PopGadget)