So arabrab, you are definitely going to attend, right? Thanks for sharing! Evidently I am very unimaginative in my dimensions!
Is that the dimension in which we will find the bus?
Indeed, I suspect that’s the dimension in which we find the bus. Its also the dimension where I actually finish working at 5 p.m., and where the mothership will come to bring her good daughter home 
Speaking of which, not only is tomorrow the first day of spring and Blood Moon, it is also “Alien Abduction Day” Mch tells me. (He would know.:))
So just in case, I’ll catch y’all in the next dimension, where maybe McSon will say to me all the nice things Shawson says to Shaw
This was just a break. I need to get back at Er, since I’m not sufficiently “quantum” it would appear!
I think that seminar could only take place in a few places (Boulder being one of them, but also Kripalu, parts of California and maybe Oregon plus Sedona).
I’m sitting on the 45th floor of a building overlooking the World Trade Center site. Views of the indentations where the buildings were, bridges, water, really nice view as the sun is setting.
D has said that the sunsets have been very nice this week – you could just about wave to her, Shawbridge. Her apartment has a great view of Freedom Tower.
And, yeah, we live in woo-woo central.
I need to find the special dimension where papers magically manage to find their way into the correct files. I am still looking.
Makes me wonder if Caroline Kennedy is a smoker. I saw a picture of her on line a few days ago and while she is still very attractive, her skin is horrible.
My father was very wrinkled early and he smoked. he died at 52, and he already looked like yoda. I agree with the cheekbone thing.
I wish I could go to another dimension, I have become more woo woo but not to that extent.
I know my kids have listened to me. In their HS chapel speeches they kept talking about things I had told them. But they don’t say it, as I was quite surprised.
Still studying, this is not going to be a good test.
dt–super intelligent dust sent your way.
Colonoscopy today. I am fine and hoping that in 10 years they have come up with a more humane cleansing procedure. The GI looked like she was in H.S. Very professional but still seemed so odd. All of our regular docs are retiring it seems. The nurse who put my IV in was a total jerk. He seemed to understand that H and I were not pleased and tried to make pleasant too late in the game. When he came back after and asked if my IV was OK and I said that it still hurt he said," you have tiny veins" (not really) and “that is too bad”. uh…what? How about a good old fashioned “I am sorry” and “oh, I never got you the hot pack I said I would get for you”. grrr. Luckily the rest of the nurses and staff were great.
H had his super GI guy consult. Only the second time GI has ever seen this issue. Which I do not remember the name of now but at least he told H he must gain weight (and not from me!). So the Italy trip is on. Of course some “stuff” has come up at my office so please send “go away problem” dust my way. I am a worrier and this is hanging around making focusing on the trip difficult.
As for name changes-- I kept mine until we needed passports. Given S is an international birth it just seemed easier.
I do have all three names on my drivers license and on my passport. One time H was flying to Canada and I had dropped them off. The airline had me drive back the 25 minutes to sign papers for H to take S out of the country and they had the same last name. It is a good policy but they had not ever made it clear some 15 years ago.
mp, second cousin and wife just left after 10 days staying with us. I thought of you often. I do not like house guests for long and detest being one.
They are 27 and have great manners and were so grateful to have a real bed v.s. a couch that it was hard to resent them. Plus I forgot how much fun staying up late having a few toasts could be.
I have decided it is harder when the guests are visiting to be with us as they were here to vacation. H and I were a free bed and gave good travel advice, along with a car to drive.
It seems that I have taken his grandmother’s role (my Aunt Dot who died this year) in his life.
arabrab – I’ve been spending many of my snowbound hours this winter (which seems determined to go on and on and on …) tracing family history. (Sorry if I’ve already mentioned this.) I actually thought the same thing about maiden names and the fact that I kept mine. Maybe my mother was thinking of it another way??? Not sure. As for the weekend conference – I doubt I’d understand ANY of what was talked about the entire time. But perhaps it would be worth going just to find out if there’s a way to free the bus from that dimension!
oregon - agree about the colonoscopy prep. I’ve had 1 and was very happy when the doc said I didn’t have to come back for 10 years.
I’m finally getting around to trying to find a PCP here in the Boston area. H has been been getting annual check-ups for the last 5 years or so, but I haven’t had one in 10+ years. I have been going to other docs for more specialized check-ups, but no annual physicals. I started with the physicians list on our insurance website, checking all my preferences (female, accepting new patients, etc.) Then I cross referenced that list with doctor ratings on Healthgrade. Finally I start making calls. So far I’ve tried 3 doctors and NONE of them are accepting new patients. Grrrrrr!!! Very annoying.
I’m off to walk around the local reservoir – my celebration of the first day of spring, even though there’s snow in the forecast.
Happy spring, everyone. What does it say about my personality that I was born on the last day of winter vs.the first day of spring? It’s kind of sad to be the one remembered for not liking company, but the shoe definitely fits.
After older D’s spring break in Mexico, she and her three apartment mates are having a one day/two night layover here. I’m pretty up for that, as it will be a very quick blur. But then H’s brother (the one we like) and his son invited themselves to spend 5 days with us over their spring break. They wanted to overlap with the girls and H didn’t say no off the bat…I insisted that they not arrive until the next day but who knows. The thing is,they will be here during Holy Week, which is singer H’s busiest week of the year. So every evening I will be alone with them. I like them both, but certainly don’t want to cook and entertain after a long days’ work.
So yes, my rep as the one who dislikes overnight guests is appropriate.
CBB, I also need to find a PCP…I feel ashamed when I go to specialists and I have to write “none” on the form when it asks for the name of my PCP. Through work, we have a company that supposedly finds doctors for us. The last time I asked them to search, of the three that sounded decent and were taking new patients, 2 of them worked 4 days a week, and one worked only 3 days a week. I thought that I would be likely to end up in Care Now anyway, given their limited availability. But yes H has had a PCP for many years.
Our old PCPs either retired or were very busy. There were new younger PCPs coming online, but we opted for a concierge doctor. Probably worth it as she is a very good diagnostician – actually seems a bit Aspbergersy and obsessive,which means she really tries to run everything down until she is comfortable. She is not such a good explainer. But we have essentially 24 hour access if anything is important.
Two of my friends said a concierge doc was great insurance and both had a story to point to of serious long-term consequences avoided by having nearly immediate access. In my case, she got to the bottom of a bunch of hard to figure out symptoms with a diagnosis that had eluded doctors for over 5 years.
CBB my friend sees a doc she likes. She is going to text me the info then I will send it to you by PM
^^^ Thanks dte. I did finally find a doc taking new patients who is well rated on Healthgrades. She’s in the same practice as my first choice, but that doc wasn’t taking anyone new. I’m not anticipating any issues – I always go under the assumption that I’d know if something was really wrong …
We have friends visiting for the weekend. Last night we went to a place nearby for dinner and live music – an open mic night with 32 different singer/songwriters. It was set up like a March Madness competition with people being put randomly into brackets. There were 3 judges; after each bracket the judges picked a winner who then moved on to the next round. It started at 8:00 PM and took 3 hours to get through the first round. We bailed at the end of round 1 – hey, we’re old! 
Anyway, we heard some great music!
Good morning.
Went to mcson’s old HS auction this weekend after skipping the last year or so. Kind of a strange experience but fun to catch up with other “alumni.” I almost won the principal’s parking spot, which I was going to give to his secretary At least I got the bid up a good deal
What irked me was to notice how many parents treated the silent auction like a shopping/get-a-deal experience as opposed to the “this is a donation to the school” focus. I’m sure this has always been the case, but among my little gaggle, we’d had years where a jar of spicy pickled beans made by another alumni were auctioned for hundreds of dollars. I think the fact that they discontinued the live auction part shifted this “flavor.”
There were a least 4 local artists, one who me for sure is a fellow parent, who’d donated work that nobody was bidding on. I’m a sucker for not making artists/donors feel bad, so I’m the proud new owner of 4 pieces of artwork I don’t know what to do with I also nabbed mcson and GF a nice weekend at a resort a few hours from here for gf’s upcoming birthday.
So it wasn’t like I didn’t “get” anything for my donation. I just found the nuance weird. A good auctioneer makes a world of difference. I’d like to tell the committee how they can make money like we did in the old days, but suspect that would land as alumni busybody stuff.
Happy Monday. For a few hours yesterday, all 5 of us were under one roof. My kids are a bad influence on me…I pretty much ate Mexican food, drank and watched basketball all weekend, despite a mile long to do list. (For me, heavy drinking over the course of Friday night-Sunday was a total of 4 drinks.)
Went to the first wedding among older D’s friends. (The college senior crowd.) It was sweet and fun. However, this was the church crowd where I knew all these kids since their moms were pregnant with them…quite sobering to think of how time races by. (Which was also affirming of my decision to hang out with the kids rather than pursuing the to do list.)
Time does feels like it is moving fast. It was an interesting thought that I may only have one more colonoscopy to get through in this lifetime. Nearly 65 now, next one 75 and who know if I will be around for one at 85.
My PC and I were discussing the experience of being 60 plus. She is in her 40’s but found it interesting. At 50 you think you have 30-40 years left but at 60 it is 20-30 and at 65 reality sets in watching peers die and suddenly it is all real. Now H and I talk about being lucky to reach our early 80’s. And we are very active and eat a healthy diet.
I do not find this morbid but fascinating. I had wanted to work with dying children after hearing Elizabeth Kubler-Ross speak in the early 70’s. I think had I lived where there were teaching hospitals I might have followed through.
Has anyone read that the people in the know (BBC News) believe there are 6-7 common dying experiences?
The while light is just one.
At any rate, spending time with anyone young is the best use of any of our time. It enriches us and they get to expereince mature adults and gain information.
;)) . Or at least what not to do…pretty sure that is why they hang out with me in any event. They thankfully seem so much better put together than I was at their age, and much tamer.
On a lighter note it is just days,16, until we leave for Italy. I still have no shoes and no pants. I have lost 7 lbs and would really feel great if I manage another 4-5. It would save buying new pants. Z****s must be ready to cut me off.
Boxs arrive daily. One fit out of 2 dozen pairs. More to arrrive today. Problem is I do not like athlectic shoes for walking unless it is cold out. I become overheated and I feel DORKY. They are right up there bows and ruffles.
Spent the weekend helping ShawWife – the husband of a good friend of hers died unexpectedly and suddenly. Today were the funeral services. He is the third 61 year old friend who has died in the past year. I didn’t really know him well – typically met him in group settings and he was quiet but from the service, it is pretty clear that he was quite a character. Two of the three had had health issues when much younger. But, we should be thinking about limited lifespans and how we want to live our lives given that.
ShawSon is home for the week. Great to see him. He’s tired but happy. We took him out last night for his 25th birthday. ShawD couldn’t come as she is training (orienting?) in her new hospital job. ShawWife and ShawD will have a party with him and our circle of friends, although I will be in London. It is also nice to hear how ShawSon turned an awful first half of the quarter into a nicer one – 2 hours of basketball a day, intense work, two dates on weekends. He showed us pictures of the two young women he is dating. The one he likes best has some of the looks of his first GF (imprinted?) and maybe a better personality. The second one is indeed extremely pretty but he is dumping her. Not enough fun to be with and not as interesting. I don’t know if that just opens up another slot or whether he is heading into a more serious relationship with #1.
After the funeral (at a shiva-like event at our friend’s house), we ran into a guy (professor of psychiatry, in fact) whose son was in ShawSon’s preschool class and whose now ex-wife (whom we really like) gave us a fair bit of guidance on dyslexia and how to help him over the years. He asked me how ShawSon was doing and when I told him what ShawSon was doing, he said, “You always believed in him. I was worried that you might be pushing him to try to succeed at things he wasn’t going to be able to do. But, it worked.” I always knew how bright he was but helping him get to the point where he could demonstrate it was quite a bit of work. (He still hasn’t gotten less than an A- taking hard to really hard subjects at elite institutions). A neuropsychologist who tested ShawSon over the years (from 2nd grade through senior year in college, I think) said he had never tested a kid who had a strong a belief that he could shape the world to suit his strengths and that is something I taught him. If you play the wrong game, you aren’t going to win no matter how hard you try but if you play the right game and put serious effort in, you will do well and probably win.
Very late for work this morning … my mom has what must be a computer virus and I spent almost an hour on the phone with her trying various unsuccessful fixes. Alas, what new ubiquitous technology that we won’t understand will be out there to bedevil our lives 20 years from now?..should we live that long…I think the key will be to always have a kind hearted, tech savvy, lawnmowing grandchild within a 30 minute drive. I wonder which of us will be able to arrange that?
The problem with the kind-hearted, lawn-mowing, tec savvy grandkid is that in my imaginary future if I don’t adapt quickly enough to what he explains to me, karma will have him “fire me.” Kind-hearted only goes so far
I say this because I have “fired” my mom from tech help for poor compliance. I have explained one too many times about security, her wireless network, things not to do, etc. I have begged her to run cloud backups. Ad nauseum. She then will promptly do something to mess it all up However, she is a much less frequent flying on the free by blood 24-hour support plan since I’ve explained that she was fired and that I would like to have a relationship not based on exploiting ready access to tech help, that i would like the fraction of time we spend speaking or visiting to not be clouded by the very work-for-me 9th circle of computing hell…and that given her resources, she ought to be able to find reliable local help (or buy a Mac…)
She has accepted my position and increasingly seems to be learning the ropes a bit. Give a man a fish and all that…
Mch, on the other hand, PAYS a guy to go over to his dad’s now and not only sort things out when there’s trouble, but keep things maintained. He does this now because I complained that every time we go over there it seemed dinner or visit was dominated by some ridiculous networking issue or other irritant that made the visit not about the humans, and that life really should be about the humans, particularly on our day off.
His bloody sister though, thousands of miles away, still calls in the middle of the day, with no regard to the fact we’re running a business and are with clients. If she doesn’t reach him, she’ll call my extension, then the cells, etc., because it’s “urgent” that she figure out what’s wrong with her computer. She is retired and has absolutely nothing to do but talk about her computer. It drives me crazy. One time she called me asking if everything was ok because mch had not called her back after she’d called five minutes ago. I explained he was in the boardroom in an important meeting. She asked if he could call her right away. I said it was unlikely, given that we had back to back meetings that day.
I think that might have been the first time she realized that mch actually WORKS
^the foregoing is why when mcson wants to “help me” with something he’s faster/better at than me (and he’s faster and better at a lot of things) I instead make him show me, even though it drives him crazy. I make him show me so that in another ten or 20 years, I will still hopefully have a clue or at least be able to buy a vowel