Singin' to the Oldies

Hauled the kids along to Joel's softball games last night, where we met up with some of my book club gals and their babes as well. What a fun time! Despite the constant threat of getting beaned by foul balls, the kids jumped right in to playing together. There were seven kids aged 3 years to 2 months -- the older ones played on the jungle gym (well, except mine, who was content to sit in the rocks and sift through them) and chased each other around the pavilion (which Lu DID partake in). Us moms actually sort of got to talk to each other! It was great.

Lisa and I volunteered at the Roseville Presby Home yesterday at lunch. Usually we just push the wheelchairs to and from chapel, but this time Lisa and I led the singing. We did "Amazing Grace" and "For the Beauty of the Earth" and we skipped the third song because we were unfamiliar. We were a little rusty but it was very fun, and we apparently get to go do it again next week!

In other news... there is no other news. Looking forward to a lovely autumnal weekend.

We're On.

Our house is on the market. I still can't really believe it. (Link has been removed. If you would like to see the listing, please email me.)

There are a couple errors (i.e. the square footage) that will be corrected ASAP (I hope!).

This will be boring if you are not, like, a relative. And maybe even if you are. Sorry.

Realtor cancelled/changed not one, but two appointments this weekend. Yaarrrr.

He and his realtor-buddy came over late Saturday morning to hang up pictures and move furniture just-so. They blew lots of smoke up our be-hinds about how "adorable" the house is -- blah, blah, blah. The house is now devoid of any sign that actual humans live there. Honestly, it looks great!

It rained miserably all day Sunday, so JG and I dropped Lu off at Jean's house for naptime and took Eddie to nine (count 'em!) open houses. Oof.
#1: Very nice, but wayy too cramped for space.
#2: A disaster -- destroyed hardwood floors, unfinished cabinets in the kitchen, cat urine upstairs, totally gross and priced ridiculously high
#3: I didn't actually go in this one (Ed needed to eat). Similar to #1.
#4: Actually loved this one. Not GOBS of space, but well-laid-out and a nice yard.
#5: A little spendy, but TONS of space.
#6: Nice, but a little cramped -- and so cluttered it was really hard to tell what the potential was.
#7: Cute, but way too much like our current home.
#8: Bizarre doll-house -- the 1/2 story upstairs had seriously a 5'5" ceiling. And the basement felt like it was going to cave in at any moment.
#9: Kind of nice, but a little too chopped-up space on the main level. Teeny yard.

I can't believe I remembered all that! Wow. Jamie came over to babysit in the evening so JG and I could go out but we were thwarted once again -- this time by me being so exhausted and frustrated from the last couple weeks that I couldn't stop crying. Arrgh.

Our photos got rain-delayed. With luck, we'll be able to reschedule soon.

In kid news: MAN are our kids neat. Ed slept great the last two nights -- he's (finally!) learned how to sleep on his tummy, and we even found him with his bottom up in the air (a-la-Lucy) on Sunday morning. He's also just starting to get up on all fours and "rock." I don't remember Lu doing this, but it's hilarious.

Lucy herself is just awesome. She sings along with her crazy Karaoke machine, and she serves us tea, pizza, and lettuce from her little kitchen. She continues to be gentle and loving with Ed... and to exert her will upon us at every available opportunity.

She likes to go down stairs by herself now. If I even make the slightest motion to help her, I get "MY do it, Mommy." Or, occasionally, "Mom," which sounds so serious and makes me giggle. Oh, so she gets to the bottom of the stairs, and the railing runs out, so she grabs the wall to get to the bottom step, and then reaches for the railing again, which is now out of reach, so she goes back UP a step to grab the railing, and then tries to get back to the bottom step... I can see she's confounded. Like, "I know I have to use the railing. So I go up to get it, but then the bottom of the stairs gets farther away!"

Joel took her to Menard's over the weekend and she was a little scared by the Halloween display, and told me so when she got home.

Oh! I'm sorry, one more thing she's into now: "Hide!" She gets all excited and runs around the house, yelling, "Hide, hide!" And then she pulls a blanket (or a curtain, or my shoe) over her face and stands there waiting for you to find her.

Made it through the weekend. Barely.

This is not my finest writing. Really, I just wanted this weekend documented somewhere.

Realtor came over on Friday night to drop off some paperwork and go over the "Competitive Market Analysis" which will determine the price of our house. He brought spaghetti, we ate in the gazebo, and he convinced us to paint our 1/2 story upstairs. And the kitchen cabinets.

Saturday morning: made two trips to Menard's before 11AM. Jean saved the day by stopping by Hirshfields for us and by spending the Entire Day helping us paint and watch the kids in rotation. We painted the kitchen and my folks arrived at noonish, bearing Subway (mmmm, perfect timing).

My memory of Saturday afternoon fails me. Alas! Saturday night, I made cupcakes and prepped egg bakes for Lucy's party on Sunday. I think we may have started priming the upstairs walls on Saturday night.

Sunday: Joel's p's arrived at 8AM and then met my family at Jan's to help them move her belongings into storage. Everybody came to our house around noon for Lucy's bruncheon party -- which went swimmingly. Papa and Gramma G and Grampa & Gramma Books (we are at a loss for nicknames here) were there, as were Jean and my Uncle Bill, and Grandma Jake. Ed slept through the whole thing, which was probably good because there wasn't any extra room in the gazebo for his high chair! Lucy was a total doll and received an embarrassment of riches in birthday gifts. She spent the rest of the day playing as though she's been waiting two years for some decent toys.

Everybody except Donna and the kids and I made another trip to Jan's to unload things. Donna did all the dishes and watched the kids while I finished some laundry and tried to put away some of the bday gifts.

Sunday night: Joel and I really tried to finish the kitchen cabinets but we were so tired I ended up goofing them up.

Monday: Joel went to his fantasy football draft, and the kids and I hung out at home. We tried to hang some of the kitchen cabinets and then we all took much-needed afternoon naps (except maybe Joel). The Dalys stopped by in the afternoon, and I don't recall much except that Carol's hair looked really cute. In the evening we decluttered much of the upstairs as well as Eddie's room; after the babes retired, Joel and I finished priming the upstairs.

I am covered in paint and am, surprisingly, neither tired nor divorced today.

Fun conversation from the weekend, repeated several times:
Jean/Me/Joel/Anybody: Lucy, how old are you?
Lucy: Cakecups!
J/M/J/A: No, honey, two! You're two!
Lucy: No. Four!

Oh! And something else. Joel and Lu were watching Nemo the other day. Guess what Marlin (the daddy clownfish) says to Nemo? You guessed it:
"Nemo, GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Correspondence

Dearest Lucy:

My darling baby girl, you are going to be two years old tomorrow! I feel terrible that I have not properly prepared you for your birthday -- I forget that you don't comprehend things like that yet. I often forget that you're still so little. You do understand so much, and it's so fun talking with you now. The other day you told me "I'm going to take a bath now." Do you know how awesome that is, that you can say that? Do you have any idea how much my heart melts every time you say "Mommy"?

You're the big sister now, and you are so perfect for that role. You're so assertive and yet so gentle. Daddy and I love how you cup Ed's little chin in your hands and kiss him. We love how focused you can be (like selecting rocks to pick up), and we love watching your thoughtfulness when working through a problem (like whether or not to let me cut your toenails).

I adore you and look forward to growing and learning and building our relationship together. Happy Birthday Baby.

Love,
Mommy



Sweet Eddie:

You are the easiest-going little guy -- you have made life so wonderful for us the past 6 months. You're sensitive, loving, and eager-to-please, and it's amazing how much we can tell about you already. Yup, we sure we have you pegged -- so don't go proving us wrong!

You, too, are getting so big, so fast. We had to move the seat of your "office" up not one, but two notches the other day. But you're still such a little guy. Last night you were fussy around 10pm, and I swear it wasn't that you were very hungry; you just wanted to nurse a little. I'm so happy we could share that time together. Of course, you were fussy again at 3AM, and then again at 5, and you could cut all that out any time.

I am so excited to continue to get to know you, and I am so filled with joy that you are a part of our family.

Love,
The Milk Truck



Dear Joel:

You're not so bad yourself.

Meg

Oh, and my psych class is fine too.

Lucy loves yogurt. She calls it "why-gurt." Or, maybe, "Y-gurt." Kids today and their slang!


Here's the sitch on our house, for those out of the loop. Which is probably you, since even Joel and I are barely hanging onto said loop.

Background:
We're not 100% sold on selling. And we have not found a new place to go.

Story:
We are putting our house on the market sometime betwixt September 8 and 12. We're going to give it a month or two, and if it doesn't go, then we'll sit tight and enjoy our newly-clean living space for a few more years! If we get anything resembling an offer, we'll start looking for places in South St Paul and West St Paul.

So Now:
We are madly cleaning and touching up paint and tightening pipes in preparation. We know the market is lousy. We are sticking with our Realtor, who was starting to worry us a bit but we realized is just kind of a "creative," with which we can deal.


And finally...
Apparently, you CAN take the City out of the girl.

Well, I've lost my mind. (This is not news.) Went downtown Minneapolis yesterday afternoon, around 2:00, for a work get-together at Brit's. I often complain about Minneapolis: how it's "scary" and how I avoid it. I thought I was kidding. Until I tried to go home after Brit's and:

1. Couldn't find the parking garage
2. Didn't have a check or cash with which to pay for my parking
3. Nearly lost a hubcap and even-nearerly killed a pedestrian trying to get out of the ramp after some kind anonymous good Samaritan behind me offered to pay the remaining $4 I owed after I scraped together $3 in change from under the seats in my van

I mean, really, you would think I'd never been off the farm before. I was so dreadfully embarrassed and SO ashamed about the parking (how can a place that charges $7 for 2 hours of parking not take Visa!?!?). And I get to work this morning only to discover that my "anonymous good Samaritan" was none other than my friend Kate from work! Kate, with whom I'd just been lamenting a few hours earlier that I hated going downtown and paying for parking. What are the chances of that? That of all the ramps downtown and all the people using them at 4:15 on a Tuesday, the person behind me ends up being Kate. Who happens to have $4 on her person when she goes downtown, because she was not raised in a barn. Wild.

Hives, Attitude, and Ed keeps smiling

Brief report: Since last Thursday, Lucy has this recurring rash thing all over her legs, arms, and occasionally bottom and face. It looks like hives (raised, irregular, with yellow/white centers), it's hot to the touch, and it comes and goes mostly in the evening. Took her to urgent care Friday night because she also had a 102 temp at the same time (that was our "date", hooray) and the doc said it was a virus that would come and go over the next few days.

No rash all weekend -- but yesterday evening it came back. And then went away again, within a couple hours.

Also, she's been screaming. And not just a wordless scream (which would be bad enough), but she's actually screaming unkind things like "GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW MOMMY!" and "NO EAT NOW NO WAY JAMIE!" in a very nasty tone, like you or I might use if our child was about to run into oncoming traffic. Not a scream to be used lightly. So, obviously, she's hearing this language and this tone somewhere.

So we're a little freaked out by these developments.
And we're supposed to put our house on the market in 2 weeks.
And Joel's out of town this week.
And I'm starting class this week.
And Lucy is turning 2 next week. Can you believe that? Two. How did that happen.

Hah!

Fed Eddie cereal for the first time last night.

Or, that's what would have happened in a normal family.

What actually happened was: Ed was fussing at dinnertime and Joel thought maybe it was NOT because he was desperately tired, but rather because he liked the looks of the leftover-chicken-and-veggies that the rest of us were eating. However, I hadn't actually purchased any baby rice cereal, and all we had was a jar of "Stage 2" turkey puree.

Which we fed to Eddie, only microseconds after I found the camera and deleted a bunch of old pictures because the memory card was full and he may be the second child but I'll be danged if I don't get a picture of his first bites of people-food.

Anyway, he hated the turkey (and who wouldn't? It's GRODY!) and I'm going to Target to get some rice cereal today.

P.S. Lucy, sometime between teeth-brushing and bedtime last night, put on her own Crocs (this is new) and insisted upon wearing them to bed. I love that.

The Joel Annals

That's ANNALs. With TWO "n"s.

Okay, so Jean and Joel and I are driving home from Rent last night. It was at the Ordway (which is right downtown St Paul, so we just take 3rd street all the way down. And it was so good. I cried lots.). So anyway, we're driving home; it's 10:45 PM. Now, 3rd Street between downtown and our house is NOT the best neighborhood. Nay, it's maybe one of the worst two neighborhoods in St Paul. But, you know, we just keep driving; it's not like it's the South Side of Chicago; don't-live-your-life-in-fear, all that rot.

So Jean's driving, and Joel's shotgun.

Joel: "How fast are we going?"

Jean: "30."

Me (piping up from the back seat, because that's the only way to talk from the back seat): "Joel thinks he can run this fast!"

Joel: "No!! I said, like, 20!"

(Aside: this is referencing a conversation Joel and I had a couple months ago, in which he claimed that, at his top speed in like high school, he could hit 20 mph. Or maybe 30.)

Me: "Well, either way, you can't run that fast."

Joel: "Can too!"

Jean: "Here, Joel, get out of the car and run. We'll drive next to you and tell you how fast you're going."

At which, Joel actually unbuckles his seat belt and pops his door open. Mind you, we are still driving. Jean quickly pulls the car over to the curb, and Joel hops out and takes off down the street ahead of us. I don't know how Jean is able to drive, because I am laughing so hard my face is starting to cramp up. But she starts the car moving, and soon is going about 10 mph.

I stick my head out the window to holler our speed at Joel, who is tearing up the street in his dress shirt, dress pants, tie, and dress-shoes-with-the-holes-in-the-soles-because-he-won't-take-himself-shoe-shopping.

Me (as we approach him from behind): "10! Honey! We're going ten miles per hour!"

Joel: "Ten!! No prob--"

At which point, of course, Jean and I had already FLOWN by him, zipping by at the blazing speed of, of course, ten miles per hour.

But was Joel discouraged by the fact that his top speed topped out around 4 mph?? NO! He immediately (and joyfully) started handicapping himself.

"Well!" he says triumphantly, hopping back into the car, "that was in dress shoes. With holes! AND I have that broken ankle. There's 6 or 7 mph right there! And I was only jogging -- my top speed is at LEAST double that."

Within about 15 seconds he managed to talk himself back up to "about" 20 mph again.

I love that guy.

Heavy for a Friday!

I'm getting a lot of forwarded emails these days with this quote appended at the bottom:

"If you can read this, thank a teacher! If you are reading it in English, Thank a Veteran"

I totally agree with the first part.

But.

Countless thousands of U.S. Veterans have given their lives so that us Americans can enjoy Freedom: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. All rights, which were self-evident to Thomas Jefferson 230 years ago and remain so today.

Notice that "The English Language" doesn't appear in the Declaration of Independence, nor the Constitution, nor the Bill of Rights. And last time I checked, English is not the official language of the USA (I'm not even sure it's the official language of England, but that's another Wikipedia search, for another day). It's pure happenstance that English is the language that Americans speak today. There's no reason to believe that the American version of Democracy (which I believe, is what our military is defending), could not have sprung from people who speak French. Or Mandarin Chinese.

English is not, in and of itself, superior to other languages. It so happens that in the world today, English is a "common language" that many people around the world learn as a second (or third, or fourth) language -- this is mostly due to American culture permeating the entire globe. So what if American culture spoke Arabic instead?

I guess the reason the little quote bothers me so much is, it sounds like xenophobia. Which leads to racism, stereotyping, misunderstanding, and fear of people different from "us." Which leads to problems. More war. More bigotry. More senseless hurt.

Maybe this is more appropriate: "If you're reading this without fear, thank a Veteran." But maybe that's too esoteric of a concept for an email forward.

Preserve your mammaries

I swear, I don't mis-hear things on purpose. But I was half-watching TV, half-reading about the Twins and I heard that in the middle of a commercial for a scrapbook or something.

Saw the Dalys (Dalies?) tonight for only the second time since their new bebe was born. I miss them! We've been seeing a lot of the "Wats" recently too -- trying to cram in as much face-time as possible before they move to the 'burbs. The kids are all so adorable together. Toddlers are just incredible.

I've been chewing my fingers off this last week, stressing about work and the house. When am I going to learn not to sweat it? Why can't I just accept that things happen in due time, and that I can't control everything? Anyway, to console myself I am attending a Twins game on Friday and Rent on Saturday. I cannot decide which I am more excited about. Plus I have book club Sunday. Our Realtor is after us to repaint the kitchen and our bedroom, but I'm sorry, two people (and by two, I mean Joel) can only do SO MUCH while holding down a 40-hour-a-week job and keeping two babies clothed, diapered, and fed. At some point we have to simply say: this is it; this is the best we can do.

There is a lovely breeze in our living room as I type this. We don't get a lot of lovely breezes in our house. I'd better go do some dishes. So goes the battle.

"Projects... We Got Projects"

Or... "Would You Buy A Book Full of Little Anecdotes Like This?"


We own three good towels.

They’re not GREAT towels. I think I paid $10 apiece. But they’re big, and fluffy, and red. The red that matches our shower curtain. The red that is the accent color of the bathroom.

So we needed to paint the bathroom, and Joel took some time off work to do so (in addition to tackling about 35 other projects… and if you think I’m exaggerating, I will list them for you). And when I got home to inspect his work, I found that the paint looked fabulous on the walls (and ceiling, long story) of the bathroom.

I also found that the paint did NOT look quite as fabulous on my towels. And on my shower curtain. And all over the sink. And the toilet. And various other bathroom toiletries and accessories that were apparently too much trouble to remove from the bathroom prior to beginning a painting project.

So, like, the toiletries and shower curtain, I could see -- because the shower curtain can be bunched up in the middle of the rod, away from the walls and, ostensibly, safe from paint splatters -- and, oops, a big splatter, oh well. And paint, of course, can be scraped off a sink, floor etc.

But the TOWELS!?!? Need I remind you, we do not have some wild uber-high-tech bathroom where towels float in midair. Nay, when they are not bunched up in a puddle on the floor, our towels generally HANG FROM THE WALLS.

As a side note to other husbands who may be tempted to try this trick: interior latex paint does not machine-wash off of terrycloth.

Someday, Joel is going to be arrested and charged with murder or some other heinous crime. And he will be found Not Guilty by reason of Chronic Insanity. And all it will take... is my testimony.

OK, OK catching up...

My darling, darling son's new fun trick is waking up every two hours throughout the night. 11PM, 1AM, 3, 5... yessir, just like the sweetest little alarm clock you ever did see. He's also learned to grab things and jam them in his mouth. Which is adorable when it's his own foot, or his shirt or blanket. Less adorable when it's my hair or glasses, or the sewing shears Lucy left on the floor.

Lucy (besides being a precocious seamstress) is... Lucy. A little volatile, a lot wonderful. Her Cabbage Patch Baby is her obsession. Baby eat now. Baby ni-night. Baby milk. Where Baby? Baby soap. Baby eat again. She puts Ed's diaper on Baby, then takes it off and wipes Baby's bottom, then pantomimes putting Desitin all over Baby, from bee-bo to be-hind. We have to keep reminding her to use "pretend wipes" and "pretend soap (Desitin)", but she's awfully good about it. At dinner time, Baby sits in Lu's booster seat and gets a plate too. Lucy's lots into the pantomiming: pretending to eat cookies, drink milk, etc. which is very fun to watch and play along.

What else? Oh, we're getting the floor refinished in the living room and hallway today. And Joel's on a Projects Rampage, working late into the night finishing up the basement bathroom and various other jobs we've been putzing on for the last couple of years. He's great, albeit tired. It's been raining for the last 12 hours or so here, and it's cooled off beautifully outside. And... that might be it for now. Happy Wednesday.

Meg is an Idiot

Chapter MCMLXXVI
In which I attempt to burn down my house and kill my entire family in their beds

Replacement breast pump parts: $30
Replacement baby bottles: $13
Replacement favorite nonstick 8-quart soup pan: Who even knows; it was part of a set.
One call to Poison Control: Free, actually, it's a toll-free number.
Waking up to the smell of noxious fumes and thinking "why does my bedroom smell like noxious fumes?" and going back to sleep for a couple hours: Priceless!

Need I continue, or are you getting the gist? I got home from softball last night at 10:45 and thought it would be a good idea to sterilize my pump parts, plus some of Ed's bottles, while I showered. Only, I forgot to turn off the stove, and went to bed.

Where is tall-man?

Ed had his 4-month checkup today. He's fabulous (and very handsome, according to the doctor). 17 lbs, and a whopping 28.75 inches tall. Which explains why he's dangling out of his car seat AND why we had to raise the level of his "office" yesterday.

Update: I am NOT taking Chem this fall; I am taking Lifespan ("Developmental") Psych. Only one night a week for three hours (rather than two nights a week for eight total hours) -- MUCH better.

Other than that, we're just taking everything one day at a time -- working hard at communicating with the Pants (small victory today: she was eating a banana in the car on the way to the doc and then decided to drop the banana on the floor. But then immediately realized that that meant she could no longer reach, nor eat, it. She had a FIT and I explained that she could have the banana back once we got to the doctor's office. And that if she wanted to eat it, she shouldn't drop it. And I swear she stopped crying and said something like "Don't drop 'nana, can eat it." And I was like "YESSS!")... and enjoying our soon-to-be-departed neighbors and our Twins victories while we can. Happy Thursday!

Go Gone Went

Congratulations to Carol and Pat and Josie, who have a new baby (and sister, respectively)!
Genevieve (Eve) (not sure if I'm spelling that right) was born late Monday. Mom and baby are doing great!

Here's a quote I liked, found on my cup of Starbucks yesterday:

Wrangling fear is the biggest challenge the world faces now and the challenge we all face, now and again, at our crossroads, in the dark moments, at those times we are asked to compromise, at those times when we know deep down that we must revolutionize our own lives.
-- Holly Morris, Author of Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for a New Kind of Heroine.

I have one of those air-conditioning colds I sometimes get in the summer. After three whole winters without a cold, it's an unpleasant surprise.

Lessee, what else is new?

Ed is still the wiggliest little guy. He flips himself onto his tummy in his crib and then gets mad when he can't get back over. He squirms over to the edge so he's sleeping with his legs hanging out between the bars. He's getting a little fiesty while feeding too -- pounding me with those tiny fists, and writhing his whole body. The other night he was playing this game while eating -- he'd look up and over to where Joel was sitting, wait for Joel to look at him, then smile a huge grin and quickly latch back on.

Lucy started saying either "I hate you" or "I hit you" last night. She said it (whatever it was) very clearly to both Joel and me, on three separate occasions. It was very creepy.

Happy Thursday

Okay, sorry if I got anybody too excited: that is not really Lu and Ed on Time. It just really, really looks like them. ***Dreaming of royalty checks...***

Get this: Eddie DID roll over last night. Back to front. Grampa R was there to witness. Yay Ed!

JT and I are going to see Liriano pitch tonight and we are BESIDE OURSELVES with excitement. Go 'Cisco!

Oh! And just in case you missed it...

My kids are on the cover of Time this week!

Really, though, the resemblance is kind of striking.

Hold me closer, Tony Danza.

Eddie is STILL not rolling over. Both Grandmas have told me, in no uncertain terms, that it'll be "any minute now." I think he's strong enough, but it's really just a question of motivation. He'll do it when he wants to.

I forgot to mention that when G&G Ryan were in for my bday, Lucy went tinkle in her little potty. Once. Under Gram's gentle encouragement. We were VERY surprised and delighted, though we have not yet been graced with an encore performance.

We can really understand what Lu's saying about 85% of the time now. It is truly amazing. Yesterday we were in the living room watching Elmo and I was feeding Ed, and Lu says, "Mocha-meese?" Which means, milk please? And I said, sure, honey, you left your milk on the kitchen table. And she said "Mommy get?" And I said, no way no way, if you want it, you get it yourself little darlin' and she sat there for a bit and thought, and then got up and got it. So cool.

I've been listening to Elton John at work this week. MAN do I love his songs! And they put me in SUCH a better mood than the 1979 recording of "Sweeney Todd."

So I'm registered for a Chemistry class (lab and lecture) at Century College this fall. Am I mental? Anyway, I had to get my old WSU transcript in order to enroll, and it was SO interesting looking at that thing. I took some weird classes. In fact, there's one class on there I have NO recollection of. Some Hallmark thing for Advertising... three credits and I got an A. Fall of 1997, I think. What??

Also! Remember Erin Davidson, who was in our wedding? Right, I barely do either. Anyway, Ellen apparently saw her on some crazy cable-TV "Pop Culture Tournament" or something, competing for like a quarter of a million dollars. Honestly, if there's anybody besides Stu who KNOWS pop culture, it's Erin. Or it was, when I last talked to her 6 years ago. So I hope she did well.

Pressure

I've been reading "Pride and Prejudice" for the first time; or rather, trying to read it. I'm sure it's an awesome book and I know it's a classic but for some reason I can't hardly make heads or tails of what half the sentences mean. I guess it's been a long time since I really had to concentrate on reading comprehension, and I can't say it makes for especially pleasurable entertainment. But I'm getting the gist of the story (I think) and I really want to see the movie(s).
Good God, someone rescue me, I've been swallowed by pop culture. I swore I'd never say "I can't get the book... bring on the movie!" Egads.

The 'Stones song "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is on the radio right now. This song always reminds me of a tongue-in-cheek radio conversation I heard once, where they were debating what exactly the refrain ("Jumpin' jack flash, it's a gas gas gas") was about. E.g. "Jumpin' jack flash is neither a solid, nor a liquid" or something like that.

I am so sorry I've been such a bad blogger. Life just isn't easy these days. "No one said it would be easy... but no one said it'd be this hard" is the Sheryl Crow line that keeps running through my head.

Let's talk current events for a stitch here. The death of Ken Lay really has me thinking. For one, I'm thinking maybe he faked it. That aside, let's say he really did pass away yesterday. What are we supposed to learn from this? That yup, you should go ahead and steal from your employees because you could die before you get sentenced? Isn't that terrible? I know the government is still seeking something like $45 million in damages from him. What happens to that, now that he's gone? What about the decades of prison time he was facing? Am I really to accept that it all just gets wiped away? I don't know, the whole thing really has me down on our justice system, and the justice of life in general. Of course, life's not fair. Worse people have probably gotten away with worse. But it really discontents (I looked it up; it's a transitive verb -- who on earth remembers what that is?) me. I'd be interested to hear what your thoughts are on this -- whether from a religious standpoint, a moral standpoint, or just a concerned-citizen's standpoint. I know my thoughts aren't really well-thought-out, for which I apologize.

This looks like enough for a post. More later, perhaps?