Today is starting up just peachy. Had to repair the flush mechanism on one toilet and unclog the other. Meh.
1. If you could assign any reading to a current law student, what would it be?
America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction, by Jon Stewart
2. What do you want to do when you “grow up”?
Growing up. What a concept.
3. Catch us up- how do you spend your time outside of work?
I am at home raising kids --- time outside of work? Well, yes I do have some. Other than time spent with church and friends, I am currently keeping up my Live Journal (http://www.livejournal.com/users/patgreene/), re-re-re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to determine if Snape is really evil, and pondering the meaning of existence. In October 2004 I placed second on Jeopardy!, thereby becoming a member of the select “I was whomped by Ken Jennings” club. (Nice man, Ken.) I was also a legal volunteer with Election Protection in Tampa, Florida, during the November election.
America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction, by Jon Stewart
2. What do you want to do when you “grow up”?
Growing up. What a concept.
3. Catch us up- how do you spend your time outside of work?
I am at home raising kids --- time outside of work? Well, yes I do have some. Other than time spent with church and friends, I am currently keeping up my Live Journal (http://www.livejournal.com/users/patgreene/), re-re-re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to determine if Snape is really evil, and pondering the meaning of existence. In October 2004 I placed second on Jeopardy!, thereby becoming a member of the select “I was whomped by Ken Jennings” club. (Nice man, Ken.) I was also a legal volunteer with Election Protection in Tampa, Florida, during the November election.
I would like recommendations. What political blogs are you reading? I favor left-leaning ones, of course, but lately Daily Kos has struck me as rather shrill. I understand the tone, given that there is much to be shrill about (and I have, of course, occasionally been really shrill myself), but I need calmer voices these days.
When those of us on the left talk dismissively of "Red State America," often in tones usually reserved for pond scum, we are doing the same thing as when they rant about "the liberal elite." No, we don't call them traitors, we say they are stupid sheep. Which will, of course, make them much more likely to listen to what we have to say, right? After all, when people call you stupid, you assume they must know what they are talking about. Right?
Repaired the toilet tank lever this morning. Made the kids do reading and theory. Finished my reunion page and sent it off. Went to the pool for two hours (I was in the pool for an hour of that -- walking for forty minutes, then treading water). Came home. Drove to Stanford to fill out paperwork at the sleep clinic so they can fax my prescription for headgear (will someone kindly explain why the hell you need prescriptions for this stuff?) to my DME vendor so that *they* can bill my insurance company.
Came home. Toilet tank lever broken again. Decided it was hosed -- my efforts at cutting off rusted on screw and filing bolt had not been sufficient to allow the lever to remain fastened. Decided the entire flusher had to be replaced.
Took James to cross country practice. Listened while he agonized about how he hadn't been training enough and he was sure everyone would laugh at him.
Went to OSH. They did not have the Kohler hardware I needed. Bought a "universal handle" which costs all of three dollars.
Picked up James. He wasn't the worst of the group (I could have told him that), in fact, he was a little bit better than most of the other JV runners. Made him leave his window open as we drove home -- after him having done yard work all day with practice in the afternoon, his shirt would probably be banned by chemical and biological weapons treaties.
Got pizza from Costco just before they closed. Got it home to discover that instead of a cheese/pepperoni, they had given me a combo/pepperoni. Grabbed a couple of pieces, then headed off to Home Depot, who had even less selection of toilet hardware than OSH did. Headed home. On way, got call saying that David had "accidentally" eaten a piece of mushroom and now was "feeling dizzy." Determined that he was still breathing okay, so opted not to panic.
Went home. David is still "dizzy" but I sent him to bed. (I will monitor his progress -- if he does have an allergy like his father's, he's going to be a very unhappy camper, but won't need to go to the hospital or anything. I just went in to check on him and he was sound asleep, and although he can be roused (rather grumpily) he refuses to get down from the top bunk and sleep where I can observe him. It's been an hour since he ate the mushroom (or more), and he says his breathing is fine and all he wants to do is sleep, so I'm letting him alone.)
Replaced handle on toilet. It's not a great fit -- it's a little loose, for one thing -- but it will work until I can get a better (i.e., Kohler) handle.
Drinks next on agenda.
Came home. Toilet tank lever broken again. Decided it was hosed -- my efforts at cutting off rusted on screw and filing bolt had not been sufficient to allow the lever to remain fastened. Decided the entire flusher had to be replaced.
Took James to cross country practice. Listened while he agonized about how he hadn't been training enough and he was sure everyone would laugh at him.
Went to OSH. They did not have the Kohler hardware I needed. Bought a "universal handle" which costs all of three dollars.
Picked up James. He wasn't the worst of the group (I could have told him that), in fact, he was a little bit better than most of the other JV runners. Made him leave his window open as we drove home -- after him having done yard work all day with practice in the afternoon, his shirt would probably be banned by chemical and biological weapons treaties.
Got pizza from Costco just before they closed. Got it home to discover that instead of a cheese/pepperoni, they had given me a combo/pepperoni. Grabbed a couple of pieces, then headed off to Home Depot, who had even less selection of toilet hardware than OSH did. Headed home. On way, got call saying that David had "accidentally" eaten a piece of mushroom and now was "feeling dizzy." Determined that he was still breathing okay, so opted not to panic.
Went home. David is still "dizzy" but I sent him to bed. (I will monitor his progress -- if he does have an allergy like his father's, he's going to be a very unhappy camper, but won't need to go to the hospital or anything. I just went in to check on him and he was sound asleep, and although he can be roused (rather grumpily) he refuses to get down from the top bunk and sleep where I can observe him. It's been an hour since he ate the mushroom (or more), and he says his breathing is fine and all he wants to do is sleep, so I'm letting him alone.)
Replaced handle on toilet. It's not a great fit -- it's a little loose, for one thing -- but it will work until I can get a better (i.e., Kohler) handle.
Drinks next on agenda.
My current exercise is walking in water. The problem with this is that it becomes very hard to monitor how much you've done. If you wait until your muscles say "I'm tired" as I did today, when you get out of the pool your muscles say "OH MY GOD, GRAVITY -- I AM GOING TO DIEEEEEE."
My arms and legs just hurt.
My arms and legs just hurt.
.