August 2006

The Effect of Living Backwards

2006, Books in Bed, Fiction /

I got a Barnes & Noble giftcard awhile back, from some Judy’s Book promotional thing I participated in so I went in search of some inexpensive but unusual books – things I would probably never read otherwise. The Effect of Living Backwards is one of the books I bought (Mrs Shakespeare is another). Boy was it something I’d probably not have read otherwise.

Odd. Book.

What if your childhood was all a big misunderstanding? An elaborate ruse?

That is only the beginning. What if your whole life was like that. Events that happened, they were all set up, part of a big experiment. What if you were on a plane that was hijacked and lived through this whole ordeal only to find out it was a set-up, a game, an experiment? How would you ever know what was real and what wasn’t real? Particularly if you joined the terrorist academy – or anti-terroist academy (depends on your perspective as to which it is).

Weird, weird book. But I almost enjoyed it, particularly the last half of it – after I settled in and figured out what was going on, well what was going on and what might have been going on and what could have been going on.

Weird book.

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Daily Dose of Idiocy

19 Comments / Health and Wellness /

So it’s been awhile since I didn’t something really stupid, well besides the 3 tiny glasses of wine at Blogher – which really was stupid but that’s an old story that you’re all tired of hearing about.  This is bigger and dumber.

Meet the teacher day for the three little children.  The elementary school first.  I was thinking we got out of there without a scratch and actually about to say such a thing as we were walking through the parking lot to the car.  Jinx!

I stepped off the curb and BAM, CRACK, POP went my ankle and I crumbled to the ground.  Boy it has been a long time since anything caused me to crumble, and in the past it has usually been my knee.  It’s been a good 30 years since I had an ankle problem.  I guess I’m over-due?

I handed the keys to TW and limped my way across the parking lot, trying not to black out or vomit.  Moms of 5th graders, particularly lesbian moms of 5th graders, really need to try not to vomit in their kids’ school parking lot.  It sets a bad tone for the entire school year.  So, I was careful and made it to the car.

TW said "home or North Florida?"  Ha, "home, duh."  I do not do hospitals.  They are dirty places and they are expensive and time consuming and there is NO HOT SPOT at the hospital. 

So, I am home.  With my ankle wrapped and iced.  I’ve taken tylenol because I don’t take other people’s medications.  I would really like to head to the front porch for what we call "fresh air" but I don’t think that’s a good idea.  The walking, I mean.  The "fresh air" would do me a world of good, I’m sure. 

I’m an idiot, but at least I got out of the second "meet the teacher" event and I didn’t have to go to the grocery store for cat food.  The silver lining, always look for the silver lining.

Here’s the follow up – I did go to the ER…

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Daily Dose of Political Videos

Kid Talk, News and Politics /

I’ve been trying to get the big kids to do something interesting and useful with the video cameras they HAD to have.  So far, I haven’t had much luck.  I’m wondering if they would be interested in doing something like this: TAKE BACK THE CAPITOL.  It seems to be right up their alley, ya know?  They have strong ideas and feelings, maybe this is a good way for them to put them to use.

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Daily Dose of Women – Jealousy

4 Comments / Daily Dose /

OK I’m going to link to Dooce – be prepared.  It can’t be helped.  There is a good reason for it, besides the fact that she is tall and beautiful and funny and successful and she’s got a cool dog which is saying something since I don’t like dogs.  Here we go… brace yourselves…

So, I was reading Dooce just now and I was laughing, like I always do.  Because, well, she’s funny.  TW said, who are you laughing at and I was slow to respond because I was still reading and laughing and as I said "Dooce," TW said "I should have known, because that was your Dooce laugh. And, when I hear your Dooce laugh, it makes me a little bit jealous." Heh.

I have a Dooce laugh which is not the same as my Big Yellow House Laugh Notes From the Trenches.  Who knew?  And, who knew it made her jealous?  Women are weird.

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Booking Through Thursday

3 Comments / Meme /

Booking Through Thursday

  1. Do you plan ahead for your reading? Work off of a to-be-read pile? A reading list? Or do you wing it, chooe whatever you’re in the mood for? I planned ahead for the summer and I’ve really not enjoyed it – at all. Other than that, I only plan ahead if my to be read stack is huge and the deadline for library returns is looming.
  2. If you do plan ahead, how far ahead? Do you have two or three books waiting in queue? Or are you backed up by dozens of volumes waiting their turn? I generally pick up 10 books a week from the library, sometimes more if TW is on a serious role. I’m always behind, so there are 30 or so for me to choose from.
  3. If you do not plan ahead . . . well, never? What about if you’re reading a series? Or someone gives you a book for a present? I don’t understand how you can never do SOME planning. If you didn’t somehow plan, wouldn’t you run out of books and find yourself re-reading something or roaming around aimlessly because you don’t have a book to read?

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Daily Dose of Traffic

2 Comments / Day to Day, Pet Peeves /

There are about two weeks out of the year when driving on the UF campus is not a nightmare – this is one of those weeks.  I can’t even enjoy it though because I’m still thinking about the summer madness and dreading the fall madness.

In the summer, traffic headaches are numerous – all of those preview mommies (yes there are some daddies and of course there are students, but the mommies are the worst) those huge gangs of preview people who block traffic by crossing by the hundreds right in front of the bookstore.  Why can’t they direct them to cross at the light instead?  Those mommies who choose to wear the WRONG shoes for a full day of preview walking, they are stumbling and slow at 8am having only walked a mile from the parking garage to the Union.  And then there are the mommies who carry these huge bags, bigger than anything their kids will ever need to carry as students on this campus, and feel some need to dig their cell phones or their lipsticks out of their bags in the middle of the crosswalk – holding up traffic because they cannot walk in those shoes and dig stuff out of their bags at the same time. 

In summer, you’ve also got the camp kids – 4H, dance camp, volleyball camp, golf camp – you name it, there’s a camp.  Gangs of kids with surly looking adults crossing everywhere and anywhere, often against the light (if they even bother to cross in the crosswalks).  Summer, I hate summer on campus.

In the fall, the back to school unloading of stuff.  Oh the stuff college kids bring.  Oh the parents who park alongside the road, in the bike lanes.  I’m so not looking forward to that mess. 

And once everyone is all moved in, then there’s the bike lane issue.  Don’t flame me for this, or go ahead and flame me… what makes 18 year old girls who haven’t ridden a bike regularly since they were 12 decide they must ride a bike on campus?  It’s dangerous.  I mean really dangerous.  They are all wobbley, they can’t make it up the big hill, and going down that hill, that is just a nightmare waiting to happen.  They can’t cross the street properly on those bikes and they aren’t good at paying attention to right turning cars and pedal at the same time.  Nightmare. 

Let’s not forget football mayhem, leading into basketball mayhem.  Oh the traffic, the traffic, the traffic.  Go gators, bah! 

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Daily Dose of Cars

3 Comments / Day to Day, Money Talks /

I got in the car today at 3pm and the temperature was 105.  Now that might not be hot enough to bake some cookies but it was hotter than I wanted it to be, considering I didn’t have time to let the AC cool things down – I was already running late and I really hate running late.

Maybe one of those Auto Cool Solar Car Fan thingies would be a good idea?  Has anyone ever tried one?  It is a "TV product" and surely someone out there is as addicted to those as TW is…  If you’ve tried this, I want to hear about it.  TW’s birthday is coming soon!

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