a new nest

Travis has moved!
He was initially so very excited to move into the house he started the school year in but within a short period of time it became pretty clear that this wasn't the ideal situation. Last year he lived with 10 folks, a majority of them being super slobs- Travis found himself doing a majority of the cleaning. This year there are 6 others (I think) who have taken cleaning to a new level. Travis is very neat. He was frustrated when one of the housemates tried to make a chore chart. The same house mate would leave sticky notes reminding him to do certain things. "PLEASE!" It's one thing to communicate, it is quite another to be passive aggressive with your communication. As Travis said, "I'm not 5 years old, just talk to me"
On top of that the personalities in the house were "interesting". There were the passive aggressive folks, the queen bee, the tattle tale folks, and let us not forget the most effeminate gossipy girlie boy who thinks he is fooling people that he isn't gay. Let me just put it out there Daniel- if people believe you are straight, they have issues.
so, Travis and his friend Austin (who lived in the same house with Travis last year) have found a one bedroom to move into. The move saves me $$ each month. Travis is thrilled because Austin stays at his girlfriends most nights giving Travis an apartment to himself most of the time! Brilliant! Let's just hope that relationship stays stable over the next 5 months!

I'm looking forward to visiting soon- I think it looks great!

It just occurs to me that the former roommates probably were not too happy to see the television go!

technology, gone wrong . . .

I felt like I was living in a bad sitcom last night.
From the beginning. Tuesday morning, while working quietly on the computer (like this) the house alarm went off for no apparent reason. This alarm is a fire alarm, and burglar alarm. Since the burglar portion was unarmed I worried for a minute about fire and then once the worry was gone, set to disarm the alarm as quickly as possible. When Randy got home from work I explained what happened and suggested we have a company do a once through on the system to avoid this false alarms in the future. Yesterday when Randy came home early from being out the alarm was blaring, both inside and out. Luckily we had just discussed the alarm and I had reminded him of the code to silence it. After silencing it he decided it would be best to disarm them completely by pulling the electrical. (until they can be "fixed") When I got home it was evident that the battery was waning as there was just faint lights on the keypads.

I was happily sitting and knitting when Kyle came out and said to me "the alarm in your room is going off". Huh? Randy was in there asleep, how could he possible sleep through this? I got a flashlight and sure enough there was that very high piercing noise coming from the wall. I tried to disarm using the usual code but nothing . . . and Randy slept on. Meanwhile the two keypads in the living room and family room started alarming. I silenced those and returned to the bedroom- still unable to silence it. and, Randy slept on. I grabbed some bubble wrap and tape hoping to at least dampen the noise. No, this didn't work either, the alarm continued, and Randy slept on. Since he was not affected (he is wearing ear plugs) I decided to give it a few minutes. Sure enough- the other two started in with their portion of the song, once silenced I returned to the bedroom to FINALLY stop that alarm.

About 1 1/2 hours later I was finally ready for bed. While reading the alarm in the living room started. I got up, silenced it and returned to bed. 1/2 hour later it did it again. 15 minutes later, again. 15 minutes again. And, you guessed it, Randy slept on. Okay, I needed to get some of those ear plugs. It's after midnight, close to 1:00 am and I still haven't slept. I find earplugs in Randy's overnight bag and put them in. The only problem was the ringing in my ears from hearing that alarm. Within a few minutes I was asleep. I woke a few times to remove the plug and listen for the alarm. . . nothing. I will admit it wasn't the most restful night, but those ear plugs do work!

And now we "get" to spend money to have someone fix the system . . . oh yippee so much for technology.

Very disturbing

If you haven't seen it yet, please take the time to see "Slumdog Millionaire"
It is a wonderful story, brilliantly told and haunting with it's images of the slums of Bombay.

Filmed on location in Mumbai you fall in love with the children who bring this story to life. Imagine my dismay, disgust and horror when I read an article today which reveals how little the child actors who brought this to life were paid! click here to read the article

Meanwhile this film is expected to continue winning awards bringing more revenue to the producers. I am hoping this story goes viral and they are shamed into providing much more compensation for these children and their families . . .shame on them!

instant society, part deux

Remember Monday when I ended my post by saying that I was going to order a new bathing suit?
Well, I did- I ordered a new suit, new goggles and a new mesh bag for equipment. The order went in sometime late in the afternoon.
Yesterday I was suffering from a hideous cold (still am, thanks for asking) and knew I was sidelined for the day. I decided that I should check to see when I could expect my new swim stuff. Couple of mouse clicks later and I read to my astonishment "delivered"

I didn't pay for expedited shipping.
My stuff arrived to my house 18 hours after I ordered it.
a shout out to swimoutlet.com

unfortunately, due to this cold I haven't been able to use the new stuff- maybe tomorrow!

Instant society . . .

Are you as amazed as I am at how quickly we can do things now?
Constantly I am awed by the amount of information I can quickly access using my computer.
I remember being in school and having to write a paper. This took hours of research time at the library, writing a draft report and then typing the paper along with footnotes. The worst part was laying out the darn thing and then finding you didn't have room at the bottom of the page for the footnotes. Don't even get me started about typing errors! Kids these days have it pretty good. Between Google, Ask, and all other possible references online it's amazing HOW FAST information is available.
Not only information but shopping is incredible.

Case in point:
Remember in my previous post I told you about Ashley's ice encounter?
Tuesday night, while watching TV I fired up the laptop and found several options for Ashley to chose from for sturdy, good traction, cold weather boots. The next day she called me (with her cell phone from NYC- no charge for distance . . . do you remember 'long distance?') and had chosen a pair. While on the phone I clicked my mouse a few times and ta-da boots to be shipped directly to her within the next couple of days.

I can't even imagine how long this would have taken when I was Ashley's age. Think about it. We would have had to scour catalogues, called back and forth (long distance $$) and then finally found the appropriate boot.

I love this instant gratification! I'm going to order a new bathing suit now . . .

Housekeeping

Just a small note, but I've cleaned up the blog a bit. Gone is the countdown clock for George Bush- new movies for 2009 added and my recent reads also updated.
I'm hoping to be better at keeping current- goodness knows I have lots on my mind to blather about, just finding the time and energy to write it is the issue!

be sure to read the latest installment (below)
cheers!

It's a new day . . .

I'm sure you will all remember, many years from today, where you were when our 44th President took the oath of office. I was standing in Civic Center, San Francisco with 2 of my dear friends and 6000 relative strangers. Watching this event in a crowd was an unparalleled experience. In the hour prior to the actual start of ceremony we watched CBS's "pre game" coverage on the jumbo tron. As the crowd and others were panned you could hear our crowd cheer or jeer depending upon who was being shown on the screen. How liberating it was to stand with like minded people and boo without remorse Dick Cheney in his wheelchair. . . or GW (who brought the house down with his amount of boos). Equally impressive were the cheers. Diane Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi sent the crowd into frenzy but when Barack Obama was shown- it was like being at a Stones concert. The picture, though poor quality, was taken from the KGO website- (they were co-sponsors of the event)

The only damper on my day was the gnawing in my stomach worrying about Ashley. Monday, while making her way home from a day of fun and frolic with friends, she took a nasty spill on ice and hurt her elbow and knocked her head on the concrete. Immediately she called Kyle (I was already in bed) and then some very kind strangers took care of her for a couple of hours before she got herself home. Once home she called again and this time Kyle came to wake me to talk to Ashley- "she hit her head" he says. Ashley sounded terrible, tired and probably worried- I instructed her to set her alarm for 3 hours later and have her roommate wake her if possible. The next morning at 5:00 am (our time) I called her to see how the night went. Brooke had woken her, she felt okay but a little nauseated. 1/2 hour later she calls me to say that while riding the bus to work she felt worse. A little later than this I called her and found she was in a cab and on the way to the MD. I also heard her have the cabbie stop so she could vomit on the road- Now, I started worrying. To make matters even worse- I had left my cellphone in my car and had to use my friend Fiona's. A bit later Randy called to tell me that yes, she had a concussion and they were having her go to the hospital for a CT scan. Knot in stomach now the size of George Bushes head.

After the end of the inaugural ceremony we walked and found a charming little cafe'. During this time Randy called me again to reassure me that the CT scan was negative and that Ashley was on her way home to rest.

24 hours later I am ebullient about the inauguration, and my daughters return to "normalcy" She goes back to work tomorrow and President Obama also will have to buckle down to some serious work. I'm looking for some really good shoes or boots with fantastic gripping ability for Ashley- I should also send our new President some thigh high waders to get through all the crap left behind by the previous administration!

Happy New Year!

As you know I'm a terminal Pollyanna, it's easier to look at the bright side of things than to focus on the dark. But, realistically speaking, 2008 was a little bumpy.
The economy is in the tank. (avoid looking at your retirement statements, it will make you cry)
Unemployment is soaring (including a small stay there by Ashley) The dollar's value is roughly that of a small pebble.
Wars continue. Crime is rising, corruption is rampant. Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson are box office bombs.

on the upside:
I mastered my flip turn!
We are healthy, Ashley is employed again, the boys are thriving in college, we have a new President elect, Brad Pitt rocks.
oh, and the whole family is together for a few more days . . . all is right in my world.

So, sweep up those pine needles, eat your black eyed peas, give thanks for your health and hold your family close- 2009 will be fantastic! trust me . . . have I ever steered you wrong?