D'Oh!

I went to see The Simpsons movie this morning with the girls. It was not Shakespeare, nor was it intended to be. It was fun, and I liked it. If you're a Simspons fan, you'll like it.

I am not bummed so much as I am bleh. I was expecting a call some time this week from the Other Chai so we could book the Disney trip, but it never came. I'll call her on Monday. I was also annoyed that I checked my school email this morning and there was apparently a going-away party last night for a long-time colleague who retired/resigned somewhat spur of the moment, because he got a job in the southwest where his daughter and grandchildren live, and he'd already bought a house there, so he was ready to go at a moment's notice. Even so, I would have gone last night if I'd known; he was a good pal and a terrific colleague. I'm annoyed that there are people who assume that we check our school email on a daily basis during the summer, and that's the best way to disseminate information. It's not. I'm a little surprised that the Other Chai didn't call just to tell me about the party, but it's not as if I expect her to be my social secretary, so I'm not annoyed that she didn't call or anything. I just wish I'd known. I guess I have to start checking it more often. Most of what's there is crap, though. *sigh*

Having a bit of the GERD today (urp). Not so much fun.

And that's my life, folks. R is just leaving, having spent the day with us, and I'm posting and then I have to look up a couple of websites for my sister. Not an exciting evening ahead. (Oh, I'm reading Under the Banner of Heaven, which is about Mormon fundamentalists and the Mormon church in general. Verrry interesting.)

WATCHING SCRUBS :: ENTRY #1536

Not So Much

So, did I sleep the sleep of the just last night?

.
.
.

(See title, above.)

I went to bed at 9.15, ready to sleep, with the tv on, as I always fall asleep. By about midnight, I had gotten up twice, eating both times. By 12.15, I was settling in, I thought, and then ... Da Da DAH!

GERD.

The gastric reflux, which was just lying in wait for me, woke me up within minutes of falling asleep. I guess that's why I hadn't fallen asleep in the first place. And now I know that I can't eat tomato sauce any more. Greeaaat.

My morning, which I expected to be very relaxed, was also not so much. I overslept a half hour; my alarm must have been ringing the whole time, but I was lying (if you could call it that, because I was practically sitting up) with my good ear on the pillow, so I didn't hear the alarm until I shifted around. Then I was discombobulated, just a bit, but not actually late. It was too cold to wear what I had taken out, I forgot to make the coffee for my thermos, and so on.

I got to work, and as I walked into the library, the SCM calls to me from across the room: "I left a note on your desk! Our Smart Board is here!" (A Smart Board is a kind of high tech blackboard that connects to the computer.) I got to my desk and there is a note -- from the SCM -- that says: "Our Smart Board is here!" I turned around and looked through the window into our classroom, and you know what? Big as life, there was a Smart Board hanging on the wall. Shit. He was going to be insane today, of all days.

He came over to my desk to start some harangue, and I said "You know what? Let me just warn you: I'm not in a good mood today." He backed off a little, but I told him that the shout out, the note, and that fact that a blind person could see that the Smart Board was there was all a little overkill. He didn't need all of that. Which he got, and didn't take offense, which was unusual for him, but, come on. Can't I ever find anything out for myself?

Did I over-react? I had to stop him before he seized control of my entire day.

No more about school. It sucks there.

So, home. I did manage a bit of a nap this afternoon, since I don't want to fade away before Heroes. I really hope I sleep tonight. I deserve it.

watching The Simpsons :: entry #1471

Where Is My Head?

[copied from dland]

I was so cranky yesterday that I left out the family good news as well as my continual medical report.

The Hubs has a first cousin who is about a year younger than he is, and who was married (the first time) a few months after we were, nearly 30 years ago. This weekend, he became a grandfather, making the Hubs' aunt and uncle whom I adore (Marie, whose food I was singing the praises of the other day) great-grandparents. So that's cool.

You'll remember my heartburn scare a week or so ago. Since then, I've been paying more attention to what I eat and how soon the heartburn comes after that, and I've made some adjustments and I think it's better. In the meantime, the ever nasty GERD woke me up a few times the other night, so I made an appointment to see the new gastroenterologist when I'm on spring break in a couple of weeks. See? I do know when to go to the doctor, and I'm going.

Here's the birthday resolution. K came home from class last night and immediatley -- before she took her jacket off -- apologized for being short with me in the afternoon. So that was nice. Then I raised the whole gift issue and she felt bad that she had led me to believe that she wanted me to buy her a new iPod; she had just been telling me that her iPod wasn't working, and when she got it to work a little while later, I was already asleep so she couldn't tell me. So I asked if she wanted her birthday gift a night early and she said okay, so I gave her the camera and she loved it and was all thank-yous and hugs. So, as I said, resolution. If an ungrateful child is sharper than a serpent's tooth, then a grateful child is ... well .... very, very good.

My big excitement of the day (other than K having a very nice birthday after all) is that tickets for high school's spring drama club play went on sale today. This sounds like it is not a big deal. Oh, but it is.

I think I have not talked about this before, but since I have the memory of the aged, I may have, although I think I haven't. So allow me to share (or repeat) my exciting news: the drama club's spring play has been written by none other than my own dear eldest child. She wrote a real play and it's being produced. Yes, it's the high school drama club, but this is quite a fine drama club that puts on professional quality productions. They routinely do Moliere and Shakespeare, and this time, it's ... R. She (and K as well) were quite active in the club as kids, and have always maintained a nice relationship with the teacher in charge, and she has promised to write a play for him, and she did. In the original ad, this guy basically wrote Directed by Mr. P and WRITTEN BY R. CHAI. So people are coming up to me constantly, even in town, and saying Oh, wow, R wrote the club's play? I am majorly kvelling (bursting with pride), kvelling my brains out. Mr. P. is giving us four free tickets to each performance -- there are six -- which he totally does not need to do. Today I gave him an ad for his playbill, a full page ad, which is $100. So I guess we're square. He had done a lot for my kids over the years, and now he's giving R the opportunity to see her work performed on stage.

BTW, the play will be put on in about a month. Here's what my ad looks like (more or less):

Read Shakespeare to your
four-year old.

Hey, you never know.

With great pride and much love
Mom, Dad, and K
Nannie and Gramps

and a cast of thousands.


My ILs will be able to attend, as will my sister and several of her offspring (I hope.) Her three eldest were all members of the same drama club; Oldest Nephew was quite the key performer in his day, which was 15+ years ago under a different advisor. My parents saw all his performances, although they never were able to see any of the other kids'. I figure that "a cast of thousands" will mean to R what I meant in to mean: all her cousins and all her grandparents, wherever they may be.

So that's my story. R is actually due here within the next 10 or 15 minutes, and then we are headed out, probably to the Olive Garden, for a birthday dinner.

Bye!

watching Reba :: entry #1425

What Are You Going To Do ...?

[copied from dland]

I was born during a January blizzard and have been cold ever since. Well, nearly ever since. I was cold from the minute I was born until I had my first hot flash, and then all bets were off. Now, I'm generally too warm or too cold, but rarely in between, which is not that big a surprise, I guess. Even so, I can't stand to carry around bulk. This weekend, I washed both my winter jackets -- the warm one and the really, really warm one -- and put them away. I don't care if it snows, I am not bringing those mofos up from the basement until next year.

When I was a kid, and I would bundle myself up for a trip out into the winter wonderland, my father would say "What are you going to do when it gets cold?" Keep in mind that he would say this during, say, a January blizzard when I was going out to shovel snow. He personally shoveled snow wearing ordinary clothes, a twill windbreaker, a hat that used to be known as "a Rex Harrison hat" and his Army boots. Jack did not experience cold as we know it, at least not until years later when he was taking a blood thinner and was thereafter cold all the time. Even so, this was just one of his jokes. Reminding us, in his way, that no matter how bad it seemed, it could still get worse. He grew up in New England winters, after all.

This morning, I put on a t-shirt and a cardigan, and threw my heavier weight denim jacket on over it when I went to take out some garbage. Then I left the jacket home before heading off to work. Yes, it was about 40 degrees, but it's going up to 70, they say. What did I need a jacket for?

On my one-mile way to work, I passed several people walking who were wearing down parkas, all zipped up, and wool hats pulled down over their ears. Let's be realistic, people. Seriously. What are you going to do when it gets cold?

My weekend was as dull as dishwater. Not negative in any way, just very duuuullllll. The one thing I really wanted -- sleep -- eluded me for the most part, and I am exhausted. Once again, I wake up in the morning and my first thought is I'm so tired! It's on my list for the doctor. Maybe I have some kind of iron or magnesium or some other deficiency. Maybe they'll tell me take a vitamin and suddenly I'll have energy and be like a kid again! Hey, don't laugh, it could happen.

By the by, here's the result of an itty bit of research I've been doing today. Did you know that peppermint is good for a whole host of complaints, especially stomach-aches? Well, I did know that, but never cared much because I'm not a fan of peppermint in general. Even so, lately I've been enjoying peppermint life-savers for some reason, and they have practically no calories so I have maybe one a day. Sometimes more. Now here's the kicker: did you know that if you have GERD (which is Gastric Reflux something or other) you are supposed to AVOID peppermint because it causes ... wait for it ... heartburn? Learn something new every day! I never even noticed that peppermint was on the list of foods to avoid because I avoided peppermint anyway when I was first diagnosed with the GERD. So there you go. Mystery solved. My heartburn last week was caused by life-savers, which is certainly ironic. (I actually remember having more than usual that day, because I'd had a coughing spell and was trying to soothe my throat afterwards.)

In other news, I have my new hearing aids back -- I've decided to call them Rose and Ben, after my late aunt and uncle -- and so far, so good. Everything sounds the way it should sound -- I guess; how would I really know? Okay, everything seems to sound all right. I need to wear them in many more situations before I pass judgment, but it looks like things are good.

On another note, something or other prompted a discussion in the faculty room this morning -- all *ahem* older women -- about being worried about your kids or something, and I told them the story I told you yesterday about being nuts because R's cellphone went to voicemail so naturally I assumed she was dead, and their reaction was pretty much Oh, yeah, that happens to me all the time. !!! I was not the nutso in the room! You coulda knocked me over with a feathah. I guess I am a more typical nutso than I ever imagined.

Speaking of which, K's train is due in from DC ... let me see ... now, exactly, 3.51 PM. I expect a phone call from her within the half hour telling me that she's gotten her car out of the parking garage and is about to start the ride home up the Parkway. So within a half hour I will either be a) fine, or b) insane. It's a crapshoot. We'll see what happens.

WATCHING DR. PHIL :: ENTRY #1419