The Neon Nurse's Charting

Spent the last two days blithering around doing Stuff, nothing all that interesting.

The first big chunk of eBay stuff has been going off today, and we've been quite pleased. I didn't know if anyone would be bothering to shop online on eBay, but apparently the answer to that is a big OH YEAH. So there are a couple more bills paid! :)

Tonight we had a very cheerful family celebration at home. We each picked a special snack we wanted--Mike got mint chocolate chip ice cream, Caro and I got chips and pretzels and dip, and we all had pot stickers for dinner! THEN we watched the videos we found at Wal-Mart--Pinky and the Brain Christmas and CLASSIC Jonny Quest! Wow, that REALLY took me back!

Then we popped some noise-maker thingies, and in just a few minutes we will go outside and scream and bang pans loudly. Happy New Year to all!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, now I will channel the happy side of my bipolar eBayness, (or maybe that's the masochistic side)....

I do like this. Nay, love it. I work here at home, for myself and my family, no commute, no time clock, no one telling me I can't knock off for a couple hours to go try to buy new inner tubes for Mike's bike. Caro helps a LOT and Mike is patient. And the yearly Free Listing Day is a mental and physical challenge, an endurance test of the kind I don't get to take part in any other way.

Free Listing Day is good for everyone involved. eBay gets a huge boost in listings to help its year end numbers (there are WELL over 20 million items for sale right now, by my estimation), and WILL get a lot of sales right off in the first quarter of the new year. Sellers got the free listing bonus (I snarfed almost $70 in free listings!) and they too will get sales and $$$. And of course the BUYERS have a field day, because with so many items up, a savvy shopper can make some super duper deals!

I am going to share some of mine here. I really do have some pretty amazing things, and some funny auctions I posted when I started getting really slap-happy. I'll just do a few at a time, though, so as not to over-load you all. I mean, there ARE ****191**** of them!!!!

(Oh, fine, if you want to see them ALL, click *HERE* )

This just kills me! El Vampiro Bug Killer tin!

Magnets made from art from OLD reading books. *THIS* is the telephone etiquette one, but Caro made LOTS of these in all kinds of special interest fields.

Batches of Georgette Heyer books, *HERE* and *HERE* . These are way cheap, by the way!

That's a few of the ones ending in a couple of days. More later!

Remember my post late Thursday night comparing the fabled eBay Free Listing Day with Christmas?

Another similarity. While they are both theoretically only the one day, you actually spend MANY days on each side either getting ready for or clearing up after the event.

I'm actually not even 100% perfectly caught up. I can't find some stuff, and keep discovering inadequate or missing photos, and we won't even BEGIN to talk about the emails I haven't gotten answered.

At least I didn't have to go take Mike to see The Cat in the Hat as desecrated beyond belief by Mike Myers tonight. We bought his bio mom a ticket and snacks and let HER do it. And she LIKED it! (Being about the same mental age as Mike.)

I should knock it off with the whining, I guess. Yeah, I hurt in odd places and have eye strain and a brain impaction and stuff, but I DID bring it all on myself. It was MY idea to get all crazed and post **191** auctions. And in a few days, when they start ending, and I have to actually MAIL this stuff to people, as though they had a right to expect such just because they sent me MONEY, like I am a BUSINESS or something...well, when I try to use the ziggedy thing on the tape dispenser to slit my wrists, I will still have to face the fact that it's ALL MY OWN FAULT.

That very special day which comes but once a year is HERE!! eBay's FREE LISTING DAY!!! It starts in three hours, at midnight Pacific time, and for one groovy day, all auction listings are free! So I will be almost entirely out of touch for the next 27 hours, typing maniacally while my family tiptoes around, only approaching to renew my IV feeding tube of caffiene.

So if there is anything you are hunting, collecting, didn't get for Christmas, etc, all next week is THE time to go looking for it on eBay. Listings often double at the site during this 24 hour period, so the pickings are excellent and it's a buyer's market!!

See you Saturday!

I have just spent nearly an hour assembling a robot spider. See me frolic with delight. Yes, I put the *SS in assemble.

This was Mike's present to himself, by the way, from the school book fair. Because he also bought one for Zach, and didn't want to be jealous of his nephew.

I know you are all hanging there on line waiting for each post from me, so you can have a vicarious quiet peaceful stress-free Christmas if yours is a little less so. Here we go with the noon report.

My butt is thawing out now. Mike's big pressie was a three-wheel recumbant bike. He has a regular bike, but due to his handicaps he only pushes around on it like a scooter. We hope that with this low to the ground, steady version, he can concentrate on perfecting the peddling thing and then be ready to move on to balance.

Being a normal 11 year old boy in many ways, he was delighted by this shiny red wheeled object. It now rejoices in the name of "Hot Wheels Away!" Despite my feeble maternal suggestions about waiting until the day warmed up a tad to try it, I have just spent the last hour sitting on frosty concrete assembling the darn thing and launching my boy into the big world.

Inside, Caro is sitting across from me at her computer, listening to her present, the CD from "Harry and the Potters", on which a pair of brothers have written and recorded a slew of HP songs. There are samples *HERE* if you want to grab an earful yourself. They are actually kind of fun, and some are quite tuneful. OK, and some make you snort pop out your nose, but that is its own kind of fun....

Best endorsement yet!


Part of Dr. Dean's Christmas message:

"The United States was founded on an ideal that we would serve as a peaceful and moral beacon for the rest of the world. Thomas Jefferson once wrote, 'Peace with all nations, and the right which that gives us with respect to all nations, are our object.' The biggest roadblock to achieving that is our own doubt that it can be accomplished.* Franklin D. Roosevelt told us that 'The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.' May today bring peace on Earth and goodwill toward everyone."
(* bolding added by me)

Not that other nations ought not to have an equal shot at being beacons of peace and morality too. Can you picture it? A world where the nations tried (peacefully) to outdo each other in being good folks? *Sighs wistfully* NOW we're talking about a FUTURE!

I've been saving this story back because it seemed like a good one to tell on a special occassion. As you probably know, I work at my own little internet business selling books, videos and collectible stuff. We hunt and gather the goods at auctions, thrift stores and yard sales, which means hauling our hineys out of bed way before 6am every dang Saturday of the world between March and November.

What I am basically saying is that we WORK to acquire our stuff, which is what helps when that mean little feeling we're all familiar with starts pointing ugly fingers. Guilt, that's what I'm talking about. "You buy something for a quarter and sell it for five bucks! You CAPITALIST!!"

I don't know what ALL Eeeevil Dealers do, but we have some policies we've developed over the years to ward off the guilties. We donate time and expertise to non-profits, such as our local library. And if we happen to buy something really really good, which sells for an amazing price, AND we remember who we got it from, we go give them a percentage as a finder's fee sort of thing. So on the whole we tend to sail along feeling pretty content with living in our skins. Magnanimous, you know? Like good solid citizens.

Well, not long ago we sold a book called "Cherry Ames' Book of First Aid and Home Nursing". When I'd seen it on a yard sale table, I had about hurt myself snatching it up fast! I couldn't remember exactly how much they went for, but I knew the 50 cents being asked was a tiny fraction of the value.

The lady I bought it from was someone I know, who was one of the absolute best nurses' aides at the hospital when I was there. Tough, plain-spoken, and 100% dedicated to her job of caring for patients. So I knew that when I sold it, I could find her again easily and give her a nice little bonus.

After I did sell it, though, I kept forgetting to look up her address and drop by. It's the busy season for sellers, and all. You know how it is. But then I ran into her at Wal-mart last week, and it seemed like a good time to give her a check.

She was tickled to see me. She hadn't seen me since at least August, right? So probably I didn't know her cancer had come back again?

I mumbled something stunned but intended to be supporting.

Oh heck, third time's the charm! Surely the chemo will whip it THIS time, she said confidently. (I should also say she was there helping her elderly and physically challenged parents with their shopping.) Well, I'd had our normal percentage in my mind, but I goosed it up several notches, writing the check. Basically as much as I dared without making her think I was offering her charity.

So I wrote it out and passed it to her, explaining about the Cherry Ames book, that I wouldn't have been able to value it properly on the day of the sale, and had to wait to sell it to give her the extra amount.

Which was only $25. But she gasped and looked as astounded and thrilled as if she'd won the lotto.

OK, grab up your kleenex.

She was really happy because she has to pay her own costs to go from Lamar to Colorado Springs for her chemo treatments, and this was going to cover most of a trip.

I don't know about you, but that made me feel like I could really stand to start thinking about the ratio of good, cool, lucky things in my life against the relatively few things that annoy and upset me.

We all have so much more than we think we do. Let's be merry, eh?

Amazing but true! We cleared a tree-sized space, plus the piece of furniture behind it (had to have a place to put the guinea pigs, right?). This task turned out to be very Christmas-apropos, because I kept finding things I had forgotten all about as I went down through the epochal layers. So it was like getting surprise presents!

I'm happily winding down now, thinking "Mine-mine" thoughts about maybe a nice hot bath with the last glitter bomb from my friend Diane that I've been saving. The sink is running like a wet greyhound, Mike is feeling better and has been in a super-sweet and kissy mood all day (awwww!), the tree is sitting on its nest of presents and all is calm, if not madly bright.

Not a picture perfect Christmas eve, but it suits us fine. :) Hope this finds y'all the same!

Found this dogs' years ago on Usenet, but I like to let it out of its file every year.


THE TEX-MEX VERSION OF "THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS"
Jim and Nita Lee (Dec. 1972)

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the casa,
Not a creature was stirring -- Caramba! Que pasa?
Los ninos were tucked away in their camas,
Some in long underwear, some in pijamas,
While hanging the stockings with mucho cuidado
In hopes that old Santa would feel obligado
To bring all children, both buenos and malos,
A nice batch of dulces and other regalos.

Outside in the yard there arose such a grito
That I jumped to my feet like a frightened cabrito.
I ran to the window and looked out afuera,
And who in the world do you think that it era?
Saint Nick in a sleigh and a big red sombrero
Came dashing along like a crazy bombero.
And pulling his sleigh instead of venados
Were eight little burros approaching volados.

I watched as they came and this quaint little hombre
Was shouting and whistling and calling by nombre:
"Ay Pancho, ay Pepe, ay Cuco, ay Beto,
Ay Chato, ay Chopo, Macuco, y Nieto!"
Then standing erect with his hands on his pecho
He flew to the top of our very own techo.
With his round little belly like a bowl of jalea,
He struggled to squeeze down our old chiminea,
Then huffing and puffing at last in our sala,
With soot smeared all over his red suit de gala.

He filled all the stockings with lovely regalos --
For none of the ninos had been very malos.
Then chuckling aloud, seeming very contento,
He turned like a flash and was gone like the viento.

And I heard him exclaim, and this is verdad,
Merry Christmas to all, and Feliz Navidad!

(Forgot to share this!)

From today's Top Five humor list:

The Homeland Security Department raised the terrorist threat
level to orange (elevated) over the weekend. This action was
taken after the administration received credible information
that President Bush might not be reelected.
(Slick Sharkey)

I'm sitting up with a sick sink. You probably know the drill, where it started off just draining really really slowly, so you pour in the gunk, which liquefies stuff that doesn't actually bear thinking about which WAS lining the walls of the pipes but NOW turns into lord knows what and totally clogs the system? So you add more gunk, and hot water, and plunger it even though you aren't supposed to, and it pretty much fails to actually improve, although it keeps taunting you with the possibility that it MIGHT?

Yeah, like that.

And also the boy is sick. He was slightly hoarse off and on yesterday, more so today, and having way too much fun with croaking at us that he was losing his voice. But he started getting cranky and feverish this afternoon. Happily he DID get his flu shot (we all did), and as he is almost NEVER sick, I am confident his immune system will kick this too. But the poor little pup, sick for Christmas. :<

*break to check sink. Why is water TWITCHING?*

Hmm, what else about today? Oh, I tried the purple henna on my hair. (No, not in the sink now causing trouble.) It's very shiny and the natural wave has been perked up, but sadly, not much purple to be seen. I think I would have to heavily lighten my hair for it to show, which would sort of negate the benefit of the henna, I think. Oh well.

Sorted another eight boxes of books. I am certain we will have a Christmas tree sized hole available tomorrow!

Back to sink. *ponders* Should I go to Wal-mart and buy more drain gunk, or blow it all off until morning?

Oh yeah, THERE'S a tough choice! Goodnight, all!

Books. I am drowning in books. Last night I was SLEEPING with books, a box of the ones heading for the Denver flea market on my bed because there was no where else to put them. Not that I *dreamed* about books. No. I dreamed about posting to my blog....

I THINK with another day's worth of hard labor we will have a clear spot to put up the live, $5 tree Mike begged Caro into buying at the Wal-Mart clearance. Then we have to unearth the Christmas decorations. Do we know how to have fun or what?

Here's a very strange case of Universes Colliding. One of the books I found tonight is called, in all seriousness, The Lure and Romance of Alchemy. It's a 1974 reprint of a 1932 work and is a genuine, serious study of the subject. From a school library. Not Hogwarts, though.

You know how I talk about my little isolated town? Well, is a picture of it from way way high up in the sky.


The patchwork-y looking squares are fields under cultivation. The big blank chunks are pastures. Lamar is there under the red thingie.



This one is a close-up of my house. The red thingie is in the road right in front of where we live. Our land goes back to that jumble of "roads" that the local kids ride bikes and ATVs and motorcycles on.

If you want to look for your OWN places, go *HERE*

OK, it's actually a .jpg....

This is granddaughter Lexi's first thank you note to me:

Mystery of the moment around here--where the HECK are these flies coming from?? I mean, hello, December?

We have actually been reduced to saying, "Well, we saw both cats today...." I've been looking and looking for anything that could be acting as a fly-cubator, but nada. True, the guinea pig cage DID get infested (Lamar drinks about 1/4 of her bottle a day and spills the rest, which makes for an ongoing dampness problem) at one point because the weather outside was too nasty for taking it out there to clean, but Caro took care of that over the weekend. It's NOT mucky now, I swear. I CHECKED!

And yet there are little flies buzzing us constantly. I kill probably two dozen a day. There is either a fly-universe wormhole around here somewhere, or someone is smuggling flies into the house to drive me mad!

The other swatting candidates are assorted folks at the Health Center, which I visited tonight in search of a refill for my blood pressure medicine AND some answers as to why they can't seem to manage the simple task of dispensing the meds they went to the trouble of establishing a dispensary to...dispense. (Yes, I lost control of that sentence, I'm sorry.)

I seem to have offended the young nurse-substitute by criticizing the center and insisting I was NOT going to pay the office call fee just to review my chart and get a refill order. Using the magic words "serious medication error" during my lecture to her had a salutary effect, though, I believe.

The thing is, I am not nearly paranoid enough to think that all these hash-ups are ONLY happening to me. And although I let my licensure expire, I am still a nurse. Being a "patient representative" is one of my DUTIES. So I am going to stick my oar in and do it, starting with drafting a letter tonight to the head of the clinic.

Whoops, dashed out of town for the weekend. Here are the highlights!

*Thurs the 11th*

Putting the FLAMING in Flamingo!

While looking for tucked away Christmas gifts, I found one Caro got me for our House-aversary last spring.



Yes, that is a picture of Howard Dean on my cupboard door, floating mysteriously over the flamingo's back.

The little sign on the next cupboard says "Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so."

*may Doug Adams be laughing and happy, wherever he is now*

*Friday the 12th*

Dazed in Denver

My original plan was to come up to Denver NEXT weekend, at the start of Christmas vacation. But my daughter's computer is possessed, and she really really really needs her semi-geek mommy. So there I went!

*Saturday the 13th*

Tired me much!

FINALLY got Damaris' computer straightened out. Still not 100% sure what caused the problem, but a combination of assorted clean-up tools (AdAware, Spybot, Norton's) and downloading a new copy of IE (?) got it all back and running better than ever. (Almost)

This means Damaris will be able to have some fun with her Christmas present. An adorable little mountain community, Georgetown, was having a library book sale to go along with the big Christmas festival weekend. She and I picked books like mad crazed bookpicking things, and I paid for them, and now she can list and sell them.

We had a really fun mom and daughter time tonight after we sluiced the gingerbread house frosting off the young ones and settled them down to watch Finding Nemo. We did a quick look up of our haul, cheering at the really good ones and mocking each other over the clinkers. Fun times. :)

*Monday the 16th*

Home again, home again...and so very glad.

From the sound, the wind is still blowing about four kajillion miles an hour outside. Now that I think about it rationally, it was a stupid move to drive home knowing the weather conditions between Points A and B were foul in spots. But a lot of little things sort of combined, in the way they tend to do, and so Mike and I went fleeing towards home.

The first half hour went okay, and then we got into the (first) ground blizzard, or white-out. This was on a highway where the usual speed is 75 mph. I had slowed to about 35, which felt reasonably safe to me. My first inkling of trouble was when I saw the Jeep approaching me quickly from behind...sideways.

You can't make sudden lane changes when the road is like that, so I didn't manage to get all the way over before he smacked into me on the left side (with his right rear corner, as he was still sliding diagonally). Now it was MY turn to do-si-do, but happily I have decades of experience with winter driving and fairly good reflexes, so I didn't ditch Dreamcloud, Mike and me to either side. Banging into me a second time helped our new acquaintance slow down too.

We got ourselves well off to the side before any more traffic happened by, and quickly exchanged info. The young man was quite polite and apologetic, which at least partly makes up for being a moronic speed-demon. I have two crunched-in doors, but at least no one was hurt who can't be readily repaired at the body shop. Tomorrow I will phone around and start the tedious part--by the time I got home I was too wiped out.

It IS good to be back home.

*Tuesday the 16th*

Javascript is over-rated anyway, right?

Dang. After at least 15 hours of tweaking, cursing, rebooting, more cursing, downloading, Googling and oh yeah, cursing...I failed to fully restore Damaris' computer.

After I had tried everything I could think of, including *shudder* talking to tech support types, we were left with a set-up where everything was functional but the Javascript function, which somehow got corrupted or something. I did reinstalls of both the browsers she uses, but that didn't help.

In the end, I asked her to choose: should I reinstall Windows XP, or would she rather gimp along with almost everything working again, and keep her extensive music collection? She chose the music. Which I think is fine, except I sort of...well, okay, pretty much expect her to change her mind and want me to come back up and mess with it all some more before much more time passes....

Unless I am just being paranoid. (WHO SAID THAT ABOUT ME?? IT WAS THE VOICES, RIGHT?!?!?!)

I expect better of my tax dollars at work!

I was just trying to fill out the online accident report at the Colorado State Highway Patrol page, and it won't work for me. The reason I was trying to do that was that when I tried to go in and fill out a live report, I discovered the office closes at 4 PM. What, not there 24/7??? Hmmph!

No major progress to report. I called the guy's insurance company and they started the claim process, even though I had to keep saying, well, nooo, I didn't get his policy or phone number.... Guess there is a good reason trained professionals are usually called in to deal with such matters. I DID get these details tonight, because the guy (Adam is his name) called me up to see how things were going. He's actually a nice kid; reminds me of our next door neighbor boy.

If I seem kind of casual about this whole sich, it's mainly because I'm highly aware it could have been SO much worse. Kind of whiny to tempt fate and then complain if the outcome is less than perfect, eh? On the other hand, I got good and pissed (not for the first time!) when I went to try to pick up my prescriptions today. The program at the clinic is almost six months old at this point, but rather than the bugs getting ironed out, they seem to be propagating at an alarming rate. If *I*, who know medical jargon and systems as a former insider, find it hard to get them to cough out my life-preserving meds on a timely basis, how in the heck are the normal people managing???

Somebody's Gonna Get A Letter. But first, Somebody's Gonna Get A Phone Call tomorrow, where I demand an appointment to not only get a refill on my BLOOD PRESSURE medicine (which I will obviously NEED in spades after dealing with these idiots and slackers!), but to REVIEW MY CHART. And I plan on giving them fair warning that I am pissed and looking to take names for my letter to the Board. *SNARL*

Ooh, a cool thinky meme! It's fun--you should try it yourself!

35 years ago:
I am in 10th grade at South High in Denver. My primary hobby is showing Cocker Spaniels, and I intend to become a big show dog breeder and maybe a vet. Star Trek is my passion; it is in the middle of the third (and last) season.

30 years ago:
Married to the PsychoFreak-ex, with a 7 week old daughter, Damaris, my first born. We are living in Springfield, Missouri, having recently returned there from Reno, Nevada, where we failed to start a new church. (PsyF-ex was an ordained but unaffiliated minister.) I am quite active in our current church, a loosely affiliated fundamental Baptist one.

25 years ago:
Back in Denver, unmarried again. Damaris is 5, and has a little brother, Sterling, who is 3. I have discovered and become active in Trek and sf fandom, a much better fit for me than organized religion was. I think this is about when I was an apartment house manager in Capitol Hill. As usual, I am looking forward to the holiday visit of my best friend and clone, Caro.

20 years ago:
The kids and I are living in a tiny house in the tiny town of Lamar with the brave and spectacularly good-natured Caro. We are in the midst of negotiations to buy a house in the country (which we do get and are still in). I am working for NEOPLAN, installing electrical wiring in buses and also doing the company newsletter. We have recently acquired our first "computer", a Coleco ADAM.

15 years ago:
We have a new family member, Kenny, a permanent foster placement who is right between the other two in age. Partly though his urging, we buy a used Apple IIe from a family friend. Kenny proposes to use it to develop an AI program.... I work assorted part time jobs, such as running a VISTA literacy program. All three of the kids and I are studying tae kwon do.

10 years ago:
More family! Mike is not quite two, and we are enmired in the special hell that is a contested adoption of a foster child. I'm married again, to the future Best Ex In The World, who at this time is in Germany taking care of his mother who is dying of cancer. We have also added the first grandchild, Zach, courtesy of Damaris. I am taking the nursing course at our local community college, working as a hotel manager evenings. I hope to test for my black belt in the spring of 1994.

5 years ago:
Damaris's twin girls, Marisa and Morrissey, have just turned two. (Sterling is about to become a dad too; Lexie will be born in January.) Still technically married to the Mysterious Missing German. I am not employed as a nurse, due to having contracted Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, though I am pulling in a few bucks as a part-time DJ for a country station. Also there is this new thing called eBay (on that crazy newfangled internet thingie), which is proving to be quite useful as an income supplementer!

1 year ago:
Amazingly, my health has been very very very slowly improving, which happens spontaneously in about 10% of cases. No longer married, but when Stefan finally showed up to sign papers, he painted the house and reroofed the barn, plus bought me the adjoining plot of land by the house, earning his title of Best!Ex!Ever! I have branched out from eBay to three other online book venues, plus my own web booksite. Caro continues to hang in there steadfastly at my side, often despite her better judgment.

1 month ago:
has finally successfully lured me to LJ. I seem to be posting about soup. Probably because I am still sick with the faux-mumps.

1 week ago:
Still working on the neverending ongoing project of clearing inventory OUT of the house, and also trying to get Christmas stuff listed on eBay.

Yesterday:
Packing stuff to mail, plus neverending ongoing project. Enjoying particularly fun episode of Queer Eye with Caro and Mike. Started reading From A Buick 8 during bathroom breaks.

Today:
Forgetting to go to an auction. Packing and mailing. Thinking about writing this! Neverending ongoing project. Also YAY! My Firefly DVD came!!!!

Tomorrow:
Pick up prescription, get groceries, pack and mail, neverending ongoing project.

Five places I've lived:
Denver, Lamar, and Pueblo, Colorado
Kansas City (born) and Springfield, Missouri

My top five biggest worries at the moment:

The happiness and well-being of my kids.
The current dangerous flu season.
The sucky economy.
Terrorists.
General politically oriented suckage.

And, not to end on a negative note, I am adding
The top five things I am looking forward to in 2004:

End of the holiday sales insanity = time to DO stuff.
A non-warehouse house like real human beings live in!
Reading/seeing assorted new books and movies.
Summer vacation touring old Route 66!
Seeing Howard Dean elected President of the US!

# posted by Susan : 10:46 PM

OK, you may have read this already. But it's a level of humor writing that rivals Dave Barry, and if you can read it without laughing out loud, you...well, you are lacking the humours of humor, my friend.

Click here and read of the Biker and the Squirrel of Death!

It's been an active weekend, but strangely interesting-happening free. The coolest thing we did was go to the Festival of Lights parade Friday. Literally coolest--it was about 16 degrees, we found out later. So maybe it was lucky there were only about 8 entries this year....

Today while I was carrying boxes of books out to storage, I did some very rough math. What I came up with is that ever7 14 trips out to the sheds equals about 1 mile hiked by me. And since I am usually carrying books or pushing a wheelbarrow full of heavy stuff, it's extra bonus workoutage!

Last night I told Caro, "I should be able to finish getting the Christmas stuff up tomorrow."

She laughed. "You know if anyone else said that, they would mean something entirely different."

It's true. I wasn't talking about putting decorations up, although we've done a little of that. I meant FINALLY getting all our Christmas related stuff listed on eBay, something which should have been done about a month ago....

*semi-commercial* Some of the stuff might be of interest to my Friends list. There are some batches of books, a first edition of The Littlest Angel, a quite nice Jan Brett Treasury, a few pretty pins, and a TON of cookie cutters. Go HERE to see what all there is. If you want. And should there be something that interests you, let me know if you bid. I give my friends special deals. :)
*end semi-commercial*

The reason we were out and about last night was to attend a program put on by our Community Concert Association, with whom we are season tickets holders. This time, instead of music, it was the Golden Dragon Chinese Acrobats , and they were AMAZING!

No doubt you've seen that sort of thing on TV. But it's just BETTER somehow, live and on the stage of the high school auditorium.

I imagine in big cities like New York they might have hot and cold running Chinese acrobats 24/7, which probably makes it less likely people will stir out to actually go see them. Here, we don't get live entertainment that much, so it's a big deal. We figure there were 400 or so people attending last night, which doesn't sound like much until you consider that's about 5% of our town's total population!

THIS little nugget of news was good for about a 10 minute rant last night, me spitting and muttering at my side of the computer desk while Caro on the other side said things like, "Yes, yes, I know you would, yes, it's terrible," until I calmed down and moved on.

The part I don't get from that article, though, is how it happened that this poor kid had to go the following week to attend an early morning punishment detail. I dunno, I guess maybe there were details not covered in the story, or the mom thought it best to comply for now. I know I let poor Sterling waste his fourth grade year and sustain more emotional damage than anyone guessed, by trying to do the right thing and work it out when he had a ghastly bastard for a teacher who needed to be kicked to Kansas City and back.

It was to Mike's eventual benefit, at least. Helps that he has well codified legal rights due to being developmentally delayed, but in my bitchy menopausal matriarchist middle age, I am one mean mom when crossed.

Anyone who ever bugs Mike about HIS two moms is going to end up very very very very very sorry.

I totally want one!

They just called with the results of my mammogram. Looks okay, so they've extended my warranty another year.

I admit, I thought the What Color Are You? quiz was reeeally reaching for it. But then I actually saw one and it lured me in. You know? It's a pretty good one!

you are yellow #FFFF00

Your dominant hues are red and green, so you're definately not afraid to get in and stir things up. You have no time for most people's concerns, you'd rather analyze with your head than be held back by some random "gut feeling". Your saturation level is very high - you are all about getting things done. The world may think you work too hard but you have a lot to show for it, and it keeps you going. You shouldn't be afraid to lead people, because if you're doing it, it'll be done right. Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.

Enter your username to see your friends colors: the spacefem.com html color quiz

If the most gripping thing I have to say about today is that we went to the dump (Free Dump Day!) and I bought two new pairs of shoes, probably that's a sign I needn't post at all.

Although the shoes are metallic navy blue, and royal blue with an irridescent snakey shape trailing up the side, hence very much cooler than any shoes I have bought in years.

Also I finished Wolves of the Calla today. Liked it. Want more.