<p>Just sit down and join me in the booth sjmom. What kind of books do you like to read when you know you just need to get over something:)? Romances? We got Italian soccer players. Murder mysteries? I always like Martha Grimes. And surprise, coincidence, they are all named after English pubs. Perhaps we could convince her to name one “Sinner’s Alley”?</p>
<p>And yeah, lime sounds good. I will have the rum later…</p>
<p>I’ve always been partial to P.D. James, but mostly just because I have a crush on Dalgliesh! I don’t read romances, but I do like adventure stories and science fiction. If you could get the attention of a cute waiter, maybe I’ll try a hot toddy for my cold!</p>
<p>I like sci-fi too. Did you ever read Asimov’s Foundation series? To this day I can remember my image of the calculation wall they had…</p>
<p>I’m a sucker for spy thrillers, detective novels, etc. If I have a good book going I will neglect my family and stay up late until I finish it. It happens to my kids too…books just jump up and interpose themselves between their eyes and their homework. :D</p>
<p>Alu–the worst thing is when you get into a useless argument with someone who turns out to be the same annoying arguer from weeks ago, under a new screen name. Sheesh.</p>
<p>I went through a serious sci fi period in HS and college, where I read everything I could get my hands on. Asimov, Heinlein, Clark and others I can’t think of now. My younger son went through a Clark phase this past summer – again, everything he could find. I just finished “The Camel Club” by David Baldacci, and I have “Ender’s Game” and “Patterns of Recognition” sitting on the kitchen island. “Outlander” is sitting on my night table, waiting for me to crack it open, but I’m saving it for an upcoming trip to Florida. If I could just stay off of CC, I could get a lot more reading done! Anyway, I’ll get out of the way here – I don’t want to get in the way of you serious imbibers!</p>
<p>alumother: I need a break from that thread too. Maybe I am just trying to justify my podunkism. More self doubt…Maybe he should have applied to MIT, Cal TEch, CMU…Maybe I should have not worried about taking out bagillions in loans. ARRGH</p>
<p>And…I’m reading a boring book. :(</p>
<p>Weenie, at least the book is one problem you can fix, right?</p>
<p>Since you guys were gettin’ all serious in here, talking about books and stuff, I went in that “other” thread and had a little fun 
Lightened up the conversation a little bit- including a very uesful discussion about frat antics in the 70s (corrected someone who thought Animal House was modelled after a frat at U of Oregon-- silly them… ).</p>
<p>jym, you were great over there. Started the ball rolling until cur waxed wist-ful about wanting to be in katliamom’s now-lost granola-save-the-world coed frat :). Major LOL.</p>
<p>Alu, can I sit next to you? I poured you some water with lime in a really pretty hand-blown glass. I made it myself. </p>
<p>I cannot believe that I am in one of those Controversial threads. But it seems to have animal magnetism. Even before jym got there to clear up which Animal is which.</p>
<p>Myself, I am having a glass of milk. It’s not warm, but maybe it should be.</p>
<p>No, not necessary. I am dipping my Social Tea Biscuits into my milk. At least as soothing as a good book.</p>
<p>thanks, jmmom (takes a bow…)
I was just having a little fun over there. In theory I like the idea of the topic, but some people sure can get huffy! Now if you guys will stop talking about serious stuff in here, I can come back and play nice in here. Did I mention s’s leg has been making this “popping” sound since that !@@##$$% drunk singer tried to sit on it in his scooter??? Pour me a double, please.</p>
<p>Oh, for pete’s sake, jym. Is the drunk singer the DS himself? Or one of his friends? Because I thought we had a Marmot Honor Guard protecting that leg from drunk invaders? But, of course, if the boy himself was a little tipsy… well, what can you expect when the mom can so often be found in a place like this :p?</p>
<p>
Always? Really? Enlighten me. I read all the Richard Jury ones for years, but they got harder and harder to follow. Finally there was one - which ended up where he was walking in the fens or some such and he knew who had done it, but did he bother to tell me the reader, NOOOOO, I was supposed to know too, but I had not a clue. It made me so mad I never read another one. I really don’t have too much patience for mysteries, I’m apt to read the end about half way through.</p>
<p>Any way don’t mind me, I just had a meeting with clients - very pleasant, but we polished off three bottles of wine between the four of us. I’m sure I must have had more than was good for me.</p>
<p>Noooo jmmom. Here’s the post from the thread about my s’s status-- from last Saturday. My s was minding his own business-- not tipsy at all:</p>
<p>" DS just told me about going to a party in his Res. college last night- They had some bands/duos, and one of the singers was pretty drunk and gave him grief from the stage (about being in the electric cart). He (the singer)then came over and said “give me a ride” and the drunken idiot started to sit down on his leg, ignoring my s’s pleas not to do so! My s had to start punching him in the back to get him off his broken leg (there is no cast). The idiot got about 1/2 his weight on my s when he finally staggered off. Geez! I don’t think I need to hear these stories."</p>
<p>He just wanted to get out and try to enjoy himself a little. What a concept, huh?? Silly him for trying to have a life! Pour be another double :D</p>
<p>
Or maybe not, I’m having nightmares about looking at a ****load of rejections…</p>
<p>Girls, girls, girls. You are all a marvel of planning and insight. All the marmots say so. The choices you made on behalf of your college bound babes were spot on. Spot on, I tell you. </p>
<p>Put that self-doubt out with the garbage and relish your unique perspectives. Life is random. Genetics are random. Some kids are born with caution in their blood and some are born with an enormous appetite for risk.</p>
<p>One is not inherently better than the other. There are infinite paths to happiness. Has been my observation.</p>
<p>Stay righteous.</p>
<p>Peace out.</p>
<p>mathmom - LOL. I guess I was using the word always in the mild meaning not the hardcoded sense of the word…</p>
<p>Let’s all focus on what matters. Jym - here’s another toast to your boy’s leg and its wholeness. Cheers - see you some day in whatever great city you choose.</p>
<p>Jmmom, can I have a blanky, a nice cashmere throw if you will, to go along with the hot toddy.</p>
<p>Phew.</p>
<p>And I still have a junior son to do this with…<em>faint sound of howling, muffled in a pillow…</em></p>
<p>I am sitting here gnawing on my lone undamaged fingernail, waiting for TSFH to get the heck out of the bathroom already and get his BUTT down here to click the last box so he can find out his Northeastern admissions decision already. In what universe is a satisfying, um, “newspaper reading session” more important than finding out an admissions decision, huh??? I ask you now, really.</p>
<p>Can we ask one of the more mischievous marmots to pass gas under the door? Smoke him out, maybe? (I suppose I should just forget about it and he’ll either tell me someday or he won’t. Before I have to write out a deposit check, I trust…)</p>
<p>OK, my fellow sinners…I am reporting in from crisis central. If anything else goes wrong with D2 this week (not to mention D1’s mishaps the prior week), I don’t know what I will do. </p>
<p>OK, new development in past 45 min. (mind you it is past midnight in the east). D2, if you recall, was stranded the entire weekend in Dallas at the airport with the clothes on her back and a laptop. Eventually made it home, but had no luggage for four days, but it was finally found. At the same time, her cell phone completely died and they are mailing her a new phone and she is without any phone access. </p>
<p>This kid goes to school most days from 9 AM to 10:30 PM. She then starts her homework around 11 PM. (she has nine classes) She also must maintain a certain GPA to stay in the scholars program (unrelated to her scholarship). The entire time in Dallas she was working on writing a paper for a class in Sociology of War, a demanding class (she is a Musical Theater major in a BFA degree program) and is currently averaging an A as she is a gifted writer to be honest. Tonight, she was finishing it up at 11 when she got home from school as it is due tomorrow. A book fell off the shelf above her desk and knocked over her mug of tea over the laptop and it shut down immediately and will not turn back on. Of course she is beside herself. She is very worried that all her data is lost (sister’s computer crashed two weeks ago and went through an expensive retrieval but all data was recovered). She said she was saving the paper as she went and had a little to go. We have no phone or email contact. She borrowed roomie’s cell. Roomie is on her computer finishing a paper too (she also goes to school all day and all night like my D, same program). She knows she must take it to an Apple store. Tomorrow is the one day she doen’t start school til 11 and goes again to 10:30 PM. She will go first thing in morning. </p>
<p>I told her she has to tell the professor and she was like, “mom, this is college!” and I know what she means as “my dog ate my homework” doesn’t cut it. And yes, he need not believe her. I told her when she is at the Apple store to ask them to write on their letterhead that her computer was brought in in the AM and would not start to verify that it is true and she can tell him she wrote the paper (is true) and had not yet printed it and the accident happened and her computer is in the shop. </p>
<p>Right now, to get moral support, we have connected her with her uncle via phone in Manhattan who is very very well versed on Mac computers. Luckily he is up at this hour. </p>
<p>So, now we have no phone contact with her, no email, no IM. Her sister is coming to visit her this weekend and I hope D2 has phone by Friday as we discussed if she didn’t they’d have to email to line up a meeting spot. Oy. Older D has younger D’s roomie’s cell number but roomie is out at school and rehearsals day and night as well and not reachable. </p>
<p>When she was home for one week in Dec, my husband saved all her data up until that point on an external hard drive. Her music collection alone is a big part of what she does. Her IPod is broken too. She relies on email and voice mail for the many college related things (beyond social) that she must take care of and cannot return any of it or receive it. I’ll try to hope for the best. </p>
<p>Isn’t this fun?</p>
<p>I think I do need a drink about now. I feel badly for my D as it has been one thing after another in the past six days. She may now have clothes but now no cell or computer or her school work! What’s next? Argh!</p>
<p>EDIT, I cross posted with Mootie and I see we are all venting!</p>
<p>OMG soozie, this is NOT your D’s week! I will hope for a prompt resolution of the Apple problem in the morning, an understanding prof (sometimes they <em>do</em> understand!), and a nice fluffy pillow for everyone tonight.</p>
<p>TSFH was just accepted at Northeastern.</p>