<p>How exciting, DTE. That is one hard election. He must be over the moon. Weird note: H’s high school yearbook from his graduation year is very expensive on ebay because a classmate was elected to the Hall of Fame. It wouldn’t occur to me to collect yearbooks of people elected to the Hall of Fame, but apparently that makes it very collectible.</p>
<p>On the recycling front, I struggle some when I go someplace that doesn’t have recycling. Much as I grump about some of the nannying, we put out way, way less trash than we used to put out. Between recyclables (paper, foil, glass, cans, many plastics), compostables (food & yard waste) picked up at the house, and the dropoffs for household hazardous waste, electronics, block styrofoam, wood, old running shoes, computer cables, random metal, books, and large plastics (like ride-on toys), we don’t often have a full trash can, and even when full it is less than half the size of the one we used fifteen years ago.</p>
<p>DTE, very exciting!
Re:recycling…when I first moved to US, it was a bit of an adjustment. Our area still doesn’t collect compost or separate recycle ables, though it does finally pick up recycling. My sisters freak out when watching me cook at the un-streamed waste I’ve definitely reverted a decade or two. I really should start my own wet-stream collection but I have enough wildlife issues without giving the turkey vultures additional cause to circle eerily above me when I’m floating in the pool but I would happily pay to have someone collect a wet-stream container if the folks in our privatized collection system could wrap their heads around it!</p>
<p>DTE - congrats to your family - as it is my estimation that good news belongs to all (while not so good news rests only with the individual). Maybe not fair but better for one’s self-esteem. :)</p>
<p>What is un-streamed wet-stream waste? I literally have no idea. We are pretty good recyclers and have mixed collection and a big container they pick up every other week.</p>
<p>I think kmcmom13 may be referring to kitchen compostables when she uses the phrase “wet-stream waste” – but I’m not certain. In our area it is a private company that picks up all trash and the recyclables/compostables, and I couldn’t be happier. They answer the phone, will send out an oops crew if something got missed that shouldn’t wait another week, will pick up big stuff with some warning (and email a bill), and have crews that take good care to leave things neat and tidy. SO much better than the Los Angeles municipal trash collection we dealt with in California.</p>
<p>^Lol. Wet-stream waste is food scraps, compostable, etc. In some municipalities in Canada they have wet-stream collection and composting, in addition to recycling, which DRAMATICALLY reduces landfill refuse It’s not a popular concept here as you can gather…</p>
<p>My sister in SF has to compost - which is made much easier by the tiny garbage can that sits just under her counter (and to which she built a special shelf that slides out whilst doing the dishes. Then there is a special container they put out on recycling days. They live in a neighborhood where all those services are contracted as a group as part of their homeowners association. As far as I can tell, it’s pretty easy. When I am at the nook, I don’t use my disposal very much as they say it directly contributes to the issues of the lake…. which of course, isn’t helped by the acid rain that comes directly our way via Cleveland.</p>
<p>Yes, I hardly ever run my disposal any more; kitchen compostables handles pretty much everything I used to put down the disposal. The bigger issue around here is not putting either trash or compostables out overnight before pickup so that the bears don’t go through it. (Or the raccoons, which can be almost as big a mess.)</p>
<p>Years ago I threw out a bag of dead hard brown sugar, and my sister was shocked a couple of hours later to see a bear happily seated below my dining room windows gnawing away on that lump for all he was worth and looking mighty happy. Now we know better.</p>
<p>We have bears at the lake. We had to install a bear lock on our trash bin. There is no recycling there. We have recycling pick up here at home every other week.</p>
<p>D1 had a strange day today. She dropped her married name during the divorce so went to SS office to make the change there. She waited in line and they said only the downtown MPLS office did name changes. She drove there and was nervous as it is in a sketchy neighborhood.She waited forever and finally sat down to talk to a crabby male employee. She handed him her official papers and he threw them back at her and said he couldn’t accept them as they weren’t certified. They are the only ones she has so now she has to call out of state and see if she can get a certified copy sent. sigh… She did get her driver’s license changed along with plates for the car. I finally see her coming around so I hope the job prospects start to open up more.</p>
<p>D2 is excited about being back to work even if it is only training. She was nervous walking through the skyway when she stayed late on Monday. Lots of homeless but it was the panhandlers who bothered her the most. Two young men followed her asking for money and she was totally freaked out about that. I make her call me as she walks through the skyway until she gets to her car. It is about a 20 minute walk.</p>
<p>NM, many years ago I did my own divorce (even printed it out on a dot matrix printer so the original looks pretty rough). I didn’t intend to change my name at the time, but when I got remarried, the form required me to use my first name (which I have never used; always used my middle name), prior surname as my new middle name, and H’s name as my new last name. I was OK with H’s name, but not the other two names. They said that was my only option because my divorce papers did not reserve my right to revert to my prior maiden name. I was able to fix it through a judge, taking my middle name as my first name and maiden name as my new middle name, but it was a pain in the neck.</p>
<p>My neighbor’s daughter passed away this morning. Other than the total heartbreak of the loss, here is what is so odd. She skipped 7th grade, and graduated from college in three years. I used to say “What’s the hurry to get out into the real world?”</p>
<p>How awful for your neighbors, missypie. My sympathies.</p>
<p>This has been one heck of a winter break for bad weather. We drove 1.25 hours to visit my niece today, and as we arrived we heard for the first time that there would be freezing rain later today. We stayed till 5, then drove home, and did not slide once, thank heaven. No rain - it was low 20’s - just light snow towards the end of the return trip. But we chose to go today as it looked like one of the <em>good</em> days to get around. Sheesh. Drove the hour yesterday to visit my Dad, as he is starting to go crazy from the weather confinement. I took him for a few errands, and boy were the roads bad in his town. Good news is it should stay warm we starting tomorrow. Hang in there, everyone!</p>
<p>I am so very sorry to hear about the neighbors daughter. I would say I can’t imagine their pain, but I can. And it is beyond heartbreaking. Crushing I am sure. But what they can say is she was living a very full life, always ready to embrace whatever came next… there are worse ways to spend a life than excelling and doing it on your own. truly, I wish that kind of motivation for my own children.</p>
<p>S has an interview tomorrow as a scribe in an ER. He is rather hesitant now after applying for it months ago. He says it might have to do with what they’re willing to pay and if it can afford him his own place etc. And then too, I know he just left his girlfriend and would likely prefer to find something in NYC to be with her more. Interestingly, a friend he graduated with put up a FB post about where she works looking for a new associate. It’s a start up in the marketing side of health care. But the weird thing to me was in the official description of what it’s like working for the company or whatever was how “cool” and laid back it all was. Beers in the fridge was specifically mentioned. And while I was thinking what kind of sketchy is this, all I said out loud was looks like i might require a little more research on their solvency before I’d fly out for an interview, let alone pack my bags.</p>
<p>Missy, so very sad. Sending hugs. I doubt its much consolation, but I have two girlfriends who have had children in serious car accidents. In the one case, we lost my goddaughter. In the other, the girl survived but with serious life-altering brain injuries that ten years later leave her with little quality of life. I honestly can’t say which situation is more devastating or painful. Perhaps the young lady’s passing was the more merciful outcome. Hard to accept. If you have the opportunity, make sure your friend finds a grief support group specifically for people who’ve lost children. My BFF says this has literally saved her own life, and that few others even know how to begin to connect with someone going through it.</p>
<p>mp - so very sorry to hear the news about your neighbor’s D. When I hear stories like this I sometimes try to think about how I would react if it was my D or S. Quite honestly, I have no idea at all … </p>
<p>And, at the complete opposite end of the spectrum … very cool news in your family, dte! </p>
<p>Sending wishes for good outcomes to NMD and ModaS, and whoever else is in need.</p>
<p>Well, I’m 3 days into my return to the gym, and my muscles are complaining. By now you’d think I would know better than to take this much time off! Oh well, minor complaints in the scheme of life.</p>
<p>H is headed to a conference in San Francisco on Monday. He’s attended this for probably 20+ years. At this point it’s all about the networking, as opposed to any actual conference content. ANYWAY, he booked his flights and hotel room months ago. Two days ago he was double-checking his plans and discovered the flight from Boston he thought left at 6:30 AM actually leaves at 6:30 PM! Way too late and expensive to change flights, so he’s had to juggle all his Monday meetings. He’s beating himself up over his “stupidity,” and actually asked me if I thought he needed to get checked out for memory/mental issues. I said no; just pointed out that everyone makes mistakes. (This is something he sometimes believes doesn’t apply to him.)</p>
<p>On an entirely different note – I just signed up for an online course through Coursera. Has anyone done this?</p>
<p>After I booked flights to Europe on the wrong day and had to pay $100 per ticket to change them, I vowed to never try to multi-task when booking flights. I now forward my phone and close my door (if making the reservations at work), to make sure I am focused when I make the reservations! </p>
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<p>That was my fear. This girl (pre-accident) was very fit; did a lot of long distance bike riding. The thought of her parents spending the rest of their lives with a child in a nursing home in a vegetative state horrified me.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure I have posted about this family before. Their son and younger D were almost like siblings from about 2-8 years old. They were always together, at one house or the other. The mom still adores younger D. I have felt bad, because their son grew up to be a jerk who wouldn’t speak to us if he literally bumped into us. (The “popular” kids in younger D’s class have been a bad lot all the way through school, quite unlike the popular kids in older D’s and Son’s classes.) Anyway, our two families were once very close and have drifted apart, but the girl who passed away was like a big sister to younger D. It’s pretty much not real yet to younger D, because the girl was living hours away. I hope younger D will be able to step up to the plate and spend time with the mom in the coming days and months.</p>
I’ve definitely reverted a decade or two. I really should start my own wet-stream collection but I have enough wildlife issues without giving the turkey vultures additional cause to circle eerily above me when I’m floating in the pool 
It’s not a popular concept here as you can gather…</p>