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September 30, 2007
Snorkaluphagus
Sinus season struck suddenly, and now I basically have six gallons of mucus sloshing around in my head. Allegra doesn't work. Cortisone sprays don't work. Doing the 'salt water in the nose thing' doesn't work. Nothing works. I feel like a baby after a British nanny has expended her rage.
I didn't do any social things this weekend, as I feared that my head exploding would strain friendships. I know Miss Manners has a chapter on unwelcome mucus explosions, so I figure I'm just being polite.
So my weekend was spent reading, finishing up my paper model of the Coliseum, and doctoring plants in the house. Yes, my life is THAT exciting. I would nod emphatically, but again, my head might explode.
Posted by G at 06:02 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 24, 2007
The new job
When it comes down to it, I'm pretty much an optimist, or at least a procrastinating pessimist. Right now, I'm pretty unhappy about the new job. However, I have to hope that it will get better, or at least if I just can put off thinking about it, maybe it won't get worse.
I took a chance on this job. I'm going to be a trainer for lots and lots and lots of other teachers in lots and lots and lots of schools. This is still on a regular teacher's salary, which only normally appeals if there are kids involved. However, this job could lead in some interesting directions and gives me a lot of flexibility if we have to move.
I found some notes today from some of my students in a deep pocket of my backpack, and it reminded me how much fun teaching can be, and how much NOT fun organizing professional development, contracts, and administrators can be.
I miss teaching. Part of me feels it was a serious mistake to leave the classroom, even temporarily. Part of me hopes this year could redeem the fiasco year that was coaching in Harlem. Part of me hopes that once I get back into the schools, I'll enjoy working there, and maybe I'll even get involved with some classes where I can do some good work.
Posted by G at 08:51 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
September 23, 2007
Science Fiction Nightmare
I love fantasy and sci-fi novels. It doesn't matter if the book is good or not, and it usually is not.
Back in 1990, I cracked open a book called The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. I thought to myself, "Hey self! This is pretty good! And, by the way, when are you going to start having sex with men?" I ignored the second part of the comment, and focused on the book.
ELEVEN BOOKS and approximately 8000 pages later, I had become a bit frustrated (the same was true around 1995 about not having sex with men). The story line was so wildly complicated and populated with so many characters that I had a hard time getting through the last book in 2005. Supposedly he was claiming he was going to wrap up the story with a final twelfth book that was going to be about 1500 pages long. I was looking forward to any attempt to close out the series, as it was pretty good.
He just died, and my condolences to his family and to the thousands of nerds like me who now are left hanging. Dangit.
Posted by G at 09:48 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
September 20, 2007
If Derrick and I were strippers
Now that the Canadian dollar is equal value to the American dollar for the first time since Gerald Ford's era, you could put either one into our briefs for equal fun (again, IF we were strippers). I think I'd be more comfortable with American paper bills rather than Canadian dollar coins, just because I'm not terribly good with dancing. However, if you tipped me with Canadian dollars, maybe I'd go looney.
Posted by G at 09:23 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
September 15, 2007
Environmentally friendly
Normally I'm a good environmentalist. We recycle and buy recycled products, walk or take public transportation, use compact fluorescent bulbs, and use environmentally designed cleaning products.
I hate environmentally designed cleaning products. When I'm cleaning the bathroom or kitchen, I dutifully squirt them into the tub or sink and begin toiling away. No offense to the power of lavendar or orange juice, but they just don't cut it as cleaners. It's even worse in the kitchen, as Derrick has a knack for making really yummy dinners that also leave behind gross messes on the stove. He cooks, I clean. A few days ago, I tackled a baked carbonized stain on the stove.
After about half an hour, I realized something. SCREW the environment. I went to the grocery store and bought Ajax.
With bleach.
Just like carbon monoxide wipes out the sense of taste, Ajax wipes out my sense of needing to save the environment, instead bring back the literally heady days of scrubbing bubbles, EasyOff oven cleaner, and back-of-can toxicology reports. My mom was a bit of a psychotic cleaner, but as my sisters and I agreed, it was better for her to take it out on a stain than on us.
After about 5 minutes of scrubbing, the permanent crustiness was gone. Poof. Our stove is clean, I'm rinsing things off with environmentally approved dish soap, and we'll just keep the Ajax for cleaning emergencies.
Posted by G at 04:59 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
September 14, 2007
My boyfriend is NOT my friend
I've had a witty profile on Friendster for a very long time. Like all the other sites, I used it a lot in the beginning. Like all the other sites, I don't ever update it now. I keep it open, as friends have stumbled upon me through the site, and that's really useful, as are the reminders of friends' birthdays. Just like MySpace, though, it is unpleasant to view and buggy, and the messaging aspect is horrible.
When Derrick and I started dating, I changed my profile to 'dating.' I even found his profile and invited him to be my 'friend.'
Once we moved in together, I remembered to log on, change my profile to 'in a relationship, monogamous.' Under pending invites, it still showed my invite to him to be my 'friend.' No response.
"Haha, Derrick. That's so funny! You should sign onto Friendster and accept my invite! No, really!" He claimed that he never logged onto Friendster, and he was right. He never used it, except where he had ALREADY accepted the invite to be friends of one of my friends!!!! WTF!!!
Everyone knows I'm not obsessive. (Cough, cough). On the rare occasion I had to log onto the site, that flashing unaccepted invite would mock me, and I would click on his un-updated profile, the one that said he was still SINGLE and that I WASN'T HIS FRIEND.
Once we got domestically partnered last December, I laughingly told him he should update his Friendster profile. He laughed, and I pondered leaving him.
Finally, last week, he asked me what I wanted for my upcoming birthday. I told him I wanted him to be my domestic partner on Friendster, and he FINALLY, after ten thousand years, changed his status to domestically partnered. Everything is now perfect in the online world.
Posted by G at 08:39 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
September 11, 2007
Bears with Music
Fun was had. Music was played. Dancing was attempted.
Just like bears themselves, click to make bigger.
Posted by G at 07:18 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 06, 2007
Deadly, deadly popcorn lung
I knew I never really liked popcorn (love the smell, hate the taste, sound, and stuck kernels), but I now know that it could kill me. Mmmmm, the buttery flavor of diacetyl. I'd also like to thank the Republican-gutted EPA for keeping the study under wraps for 2 years. Thanks!
Derrick, of course, loves popcorn. He's a vegetarian, so he doesn't understand that corn should only feed beef. Thank goodness he only eats Newman's Own Popcorn.
I'm just wondering if you get 'popcorn lung' if you can start smoking and flavor it with lung butter.
Posted by G at 07:55 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack