Wow no
Today I picked up what is no doubt a perfectly good book. I got about five pages in before the narrator was waking across an iconic area and I was immediately catapulted right back to grad school,...
View ArticleA Totally Different Kind of No
Dear readers, I have been sick for almost three weeks. (No, it's not Main Event Plague, nor influenza, just some hell virus.) I am finally getting better and I have learned two important things:1) I...
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Five minute blogging: Mental Space
My new job (which is still great) occupies almost none of my brain power except for the actual hours I'm at work. This is such a sharp contrast to the previous 8 years of professoring while worrying...
View ArticleComplainer's Prize
Some time ago, I was expressing frustration to my mom and grandma that Aunt F had not made plans for her disabled child after her death. "He needs a special needs trust and a group living situation!"...
View ArticleSteam Mops, By Request
As requested by various parties...I hate mopping and never do it. The dirty water! The mess! The bucket! In December I bought a cheap Shark steam mop with XL tank,, and some off brand replacement...
View ArticlePlants
For Mother's Day I took myself off to three different plant selling emporia. I bought a modestly sized flat of wee plants off my list, got home, and promptly realized that what I really need is more...
View ArticleBooks I Did And Didn't Enjoy Lately
The Twyford Code. The author has perhaps only had one idea, but this one is really well executed and frankly surprising. Mystery but not violent or distressing. I won't say any more because it would...
View ArticleMore Books
Brought to you by my layover in O'Hare. All the Ashley Weaver mysteries I could get my hands on: satisfying and well-written. Young woman takes to detecting after unfortunate events.Rulebook for...
View ArticleHighly Miscellaneous
Today my spouse asked me if we were getting Eldest (14) a cell phone and I told him all my brain circuits were occupied with supplies for the incoming ball python.My boss reprimanded me (rightly) for...
View ArticleBooks Lately
Forgive me if I repeat myself. Everything Victoria Goddard has ever written. Friends, I enjoyed these so much that I bought several- a rare occurrence here. I read the Greenwing and Dart series...
View ArticleIn Which I Am A Force For... Something
Possibly chaos. In the past month, I have:Read Torah at the last minute Organized a Tree Board meeting Convinced a student to drop out of college for very good reasons (if you know me, this would be...
View ArticleNo Context Snark
Will [your relatives in Israel] be armed? Excuse me, armed? Yes, great plan, we'll hand the grannies and white collar professionals a decrepit Uzi apiece and they can shoot at rockets in the sky. What...
View ArticleWhy Haven't You Sent Them Any Messages Yet
Have your spouses committed any war crimes yet? How about their friends?Enjoying that bomb shelter? I thought everything was better there and besides, moving there is just what's best for you! How's...
View ArticleArticle 3
For only the second time in my four decades of life, I will not be seeing my parents for Thanksgiving. (The first time I was studying abroad in France.) This is due to an unfortunate convergence of...
View ArticleOn Israel and Hamas, Finally
From the Washington Post some time ago: "The decision to attack civilians and take hostages, as callous as it was, was likely designed to drive Israel to retaliate with such force that the world turns...
View ArticleArticle 1
My in laws have now told my dear spouse to not show up at all for a holiday visit, because they think that:1) Their not very bright small town doctor speaks only gospel truth2) A covid test can tell...
View ArticleNew Skill Needed
I am currently the chair of our small town tree board (everyone else flat out refused). And I have just realized that I need to learn a new skill: tactfully cutting people off and/or getting them to...
View ArticleAdulting, Latest Round
This month we must:Do our taxes Arrange for a revised will and trust, including nominating guardians and arranging a financial trusteeDeal with an electric meter code violation (possible by cutting a...
View ArticleTranslations From Recent Things I Have Said In Meetings
"I'm not sure all stakeholders here are fully aligned": Come get this dodo out of this meeting before I reach through Zoom and do violence. "There may be additional business implications": I could have...
View ArticleFive Minute Blogging
Work has a lot going on which is good (it's never dull) and bad (OMG it's never dull).I got a promotion and a 10% raise this quarter. I'll take it. My in laws are closing on their house sale in 2...
View ArticleOne Chicken Too Many
Between keeping track of the children's activities and needs, my in laws closing on a house here in a week, the city board I now run, work fires, plumbing repairs, and everything else.... well, it...
View ArticleSome Books
These Deadly Prophecies: teen sorcerer has to figure out the mystery of her mentor's death. Fun, well written, not scary. Recommend. Vaster Wilds: book club book which manages to be both grim and...
View ArticleChanges
So my in-laws are moving here permanently in 9 days and I both advocated for this and am glad. However. First, I acknowledge that I am a bossy, take-charge kind of person. But second: there are...
View ArticleWhile Constructing
Dr. S: Five wires? FIVE wires? How? WHY? One outlet, one switch, one fixture....[Somewhat later]Dr. S: What are you doing?Me: I'm filtering paint through a stocking. It's kind of old.Dr. S:...
View ArticleMore Changes
The in laws are now here. While I recognize they are not at their best after uprooting their whole lives, I'm also a bit surprised at how not-okay they are. They're tired and overwhelmed... and also I...
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