Who told you all that relatively tight, high waisted, pants in plaid would be flattering? I have been seeing it again and again on the trains. Young women who otherwise appear to have fairly nice figures in these pants. When did they become fashionable? Has no one told them that it is impossible not to look like they are packing huge butts with those things?
Make the bad pants stop, please. Summer cannot come too soon.
My wife had her farewell dinner from her place of employment last night. She was taken to a Mexican joint with 17 others. I gather they had a heck of a time. Her boss called me at just after 9 to suggest it was time for me to come to whisk my wife home. I gather that the timing of that call coincided with the decision to play quarters. With tequilla.
Ouch.
The wife is feeling a bit fragile this morning.
I am, too, but for different reasons. I have to stop, and I mean it, stop playing squash with people 15 years younger than I am. It is going to kill me. I played four games this morning. I think my arm is going to fall off and when it does, it will have my right knee to keep it company.
I have not had the time or the energy to do one of these posts in a long time. I'm going to start it now at around 12:30 while I wait for a client to call me back and then I am going to add to it as I go along through the day until I just call it quits and post it.
The Viking Bride leaves the work force this week. Her last day on the payroll is Friday. We are more than slightly apprehensive about the future, both economically speaking and in terms of her sanity as she shifts to become the primary care giver.
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My mother in law is taking care of the kids this past two weeks now. I came home from work to find her standing in the kitchen with the Boy Child at the kitchen table. The yellow pages was open on the counter. I said to her: "M___, why are the yellow pages open to the bail bonds section? I come home from work and find you've just been . . . " At this point, the Boy Child, who was following raptly, contributes with an emphatic nod of his head: "screwing around". My mother in law, I am happy to say, thought that was hilarious.
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A high school basketball team in NYC was suspended for the season. The school is reputed to be a tough place, although with a school graduation rate of 56%, it is above the NYC average, so the Times reported. 56% is above average? Holy crap. How is it that the NYC public schools graduate fewer than half of their students and the parents are not burning cars in the streets? Is it just that expectations are lower? How terribly sad.
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I have to stop playing squash with 26 year olds. I turn 40 this year. There is a difference between a 26 year old knee and shoulder and the 40 year old version of the same. The 40 year old version hurts more.
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The baby has begun to crawl and is so damn happy with himself that it is impossible not to watch him and feel delighted yourself.
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A Jewish kindergarten was attacked today in Berlin. Anti Semitic graffiti was sprayed and a smoke bomb, that failed to ignite, was thrown into the building. Despicable. Utterly despicable. What brave warriors to attack a building full of five and six year olds.
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The Oscars. What a load of self-referential crap. Does anyone care?
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I got sucked into a vicious political fight at an organization I belong to. I learned something very useful there. Tell the truth and act only in ways consistent with your moral outlook. It makes politics irrelevant and your choices become very easy. I'm not saying take the high road at all times, just don't act in ways that will make you ashamed. That said, it was interesting to be part of an event that had not taken place in this organization for over a hundred years. It was less fun being a target for the discontented and dishonorable opposition, however.
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My mother is currently in a rehab facility, more of a nursing home. Nursing homes are, no matter how hard they try to make it cheerful, horrible places. They are places where many people are put so that they can die with the least amount of inconvenience to their families. They smell bad and are always overheated and stuffy. I hope I have enough money as the years go by to make sure my parents never die in one of these places. They are the warehouses for the not yet dead.
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I bought a new computer this weekend. Our old laptop has developed serious and terminal problems. My wife insisted on something new. I bought an iMac, my first Apple. So far, I am chagrined to admit, I like it just fine. How long will that last? Beats me. But so far, so good. It is kind of easy to use, although I miss the "My Computer" feature from Windows. Any way to reproduce that feature?
* * *
Ok, back to work.
I am back in the office after a morning spent in the dentist's chair while he repaired my fractured tooth. I cannot feel a thing, yet. But I will, I know.
Today I mark the birthday of the Boy Child who turns four. I spoke to him on the phone as I had to stay overnight in the City last night. He sounds very grown up already. He has chosen a white cake with white frosting and a banana cream filling. Sounds like it will be a good one.
Things have been insane of late -- terrible work deadlines and pressures. Also, my mother has been hospitalized as the chemo has destroyed her white blood cell count, she is anemic, she has thrush (an infection that closed her throat) and she contracted neumonia. Just when she was ready, after a full week in the hospital, to be released, my father was struck down by the flu so she has to go to a rehab facility because she clearly cannot go home.
So, right now, the numb I am feeling is better than the frazzled I will feel shortly.
I hope you are all well and, if you are still bothering to come by and visit this sadly neglected blog, on track for good weekend!
It is too cold to write today and too cold to stay. I am leaving now. We have no heat in the office. I was planning to write today, to catch up a bit. But I can see my breath. And my hands are too cold -- soooo cold that I don't even want to try to go the bathroom before I leave!
So, hasta. I'm off to run errands before catching the train home.
We were all over the place this weekend. I had the Boy Child at a birthday party for a while and then with me at the super market. I swear, at not quite four, he seems to be adopting some of his sister's speech formalism (I blame myself). When I asked him if David and Jack were is best friends, he pulled his thumb from his mouth and replied: "It would appear so, yes". Blew my mind. This on top of his six year old older sister telling me that another much younger person called her names that were "inappropriate". Sheesh.
Where was all of this wonderful eloquence when we needed it, though? No where. The kids, this Sunday, got to meet the Norwegian Crown Princess, ("my future queen", sayeth the Girl Child) and they were so shy they were somewhat struck dumb. The Crown Princess admired the Boy Child's Norwegian/American dual flag pin and told him that she had one of those at home, too. She seemed awfully nice. It was well worth meeting her, even if we had to drive to Queens, NY to do it. Never drive in Queens if you can avoid it. Enough said.
Now, back to work. Sorry about all the silence, by the way. Just overwhelmed and it won't get much better for some time, I fear.