Surgery Update

First and foremost, huge thank yous to everyone who sent comments and well wishes. I was able to read the first few to my sister before she went into surgery this morning. Late this afternoon my stepmother called and left the message that while the surgery was difficult and had taken longer than expected, my sister came through it and will be fine. She's in recovery and will be kept sedated overnight. So, I'll read her the rest of your well wishes tomorrow, when I expect I'll be able to talk to her.

Thank you!

Prayer Request

My sister has been in and out of the hospital over the last few weeks. She went back over the weekend, and is having surgery tomorrow morning. The surgery is considered "routine" but still, it's scary and the decision to actually have it was not an easy one for her to make.

So, please, think of her tomorrow morning at 9.30am EST, the surgery start time. BTW, she's in Atlanta, and has been known to identify herself on blogs as "Sheree's sister."

Send her good wishes via the comments section, and I'll read them to her tomorrow evening when I talk to her.

Thanks!

I is Educated

The other day, I bought a few things at the grocery store. My bill was $10.22. I gave the cute little cashier one ten dollar bill, one quarter and two pennies. When she tried to return the pennies to me, I replied: "I don't want the pennies. That's why I gave them to you."

She stood there for upwards of 15 seconds counting the money, then finally punched "$10.27" into the cash registered. For a moment, I thought I'd have to tell her how much it was.

She seemed surprised when "$0.05" came up as change.

Pitiful, I Know

Oh, I need new coats too. Notice the plural, as in more than one.

My coat inventory includes:
*a London Fog trench coat I bought at Good Will last year for $10
*an LL Bean field coat I bought when I moved to Boston in 1997
*an LL Bean parka I bought when I lived Western Mass and was playing in the snows of New Hampshire (circa 1995)
*a Peacoat I bought my first year of college. Yeah, in 1984.

I guess I've gotten my money's worth, but it's really time- ok past time- to buy a coat or 2.

Oh, I forgot about my current "dress coat:"
*a wool Herringbone coat that belonged to my paternal grandfather who passed away when I was in 6th grade (c.1978). And it had belonged to one of his sons before that.

And as sad as it is, that really is my coat inventory. I have 2 fleece cardigans and a fleece anorak (won at a raffle in my Western Mass days) as well as 2 or 3 cotton jackets for Spring and Summer. I know, pitiful.

But, I figured out that I can squeeze another year out of the field coat if I cut the cuffs off and reattach them because they are so frayed. And I've ordered a nice wool coat from LL Bean. It will serve as my new "dress coat" and since I'm trying to look like a grown-up these days, I'll probably wear it several times a week. I haven't had much luck looking in brick and mortar stores, so I'm doing the mail order thing.

Once I have the coat, I'll take a picture. I've ordered red!

A Sad Shoe Story

In the last few months, 3 pairs of my shoes have bitten the dust.

As in: the gf and I are walking on Bradford Street in Ptown when I feel a certain breeziness on my right foot. The sole was separating from the rest of the shoe! And by the time we walked to our friend's house, the left shoe had joined in. So, there went my brown Rockport Mary Jane's. Luckily, friend Rena had a pair of shoes to loan.

2 weeks before the Rockport separation, my beloved Dankso Professionals died. The soles split in half. In half! As for the first pair to die, they were the newest. My cute little brown Ecco mules simply gave up the ghost. The stitching became unstitched, and the leather frayed too much to have them re-sewn. And I bought those shoes in Richmond! They weren't that old.

History: I moved to Upstate NY in 2004 and lived in Richmond from 2001 until then. So the Eccos were only 5 or 6 years old- NOT LONG in Sheree's shoe life. Both the Rockports and Danskos were bought in Boston (1997-2001).

I don't get it- why don't shoes last longer?

And should I mention that the brown loafers I bought at Target my first year here are already starting to show signs of thisismylastseasonwithyou? The heel is starting to separate from the rest of the shoe. And no, I can't get them re-heeled because the sole and heel are all one single rubber piece. I know, what'd I want for $24.99?

So now I need shoes. And since I just love (can you hear the sarcasm?) to shop, Zappo's is my new favorite website. Free shipping!

I *Hate* It!

I was duped.
I bought the hype.

UGH!

My old palm pilot died, and I got a Centro SmartPhone to replace it. Good thing it has a 30 day return policy because I hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.

So much so that I bought a "regular" Palm- a Tungsten E2 instead. I'm taking the Centro back tomorrow.

My top 5 reasons for hating the Centro:
1. No graffiti ("writing" on the palm, which allows one to use sticky notes and jot notes)
2. The only way to input text is via a keyboard that's the size of my thumb. Yep, the WHOLE keyboard. Gimme a break!
3. Every time I talked on the phone, my ear touching the screen turned the damn thing off. Yeah, I disabled that feature, but what a stupid feature!
4. It lost nearly all of its charge overnight. And no, I wasn't on the phone. I charged it to 100% and the next morning, the stupid thing wouldn't turn on the charge was so low.
5. I *still* don't know what the ON button does, since the END button turns the thing off and on.


Of course, if you're really into having email and the web at your fingertips 24/7, in addition to having your address book and a phone, then the Centro may be for you. I'm more interested in the other features, like being able to make notations quickly and easily. In my world, typing on a thumb-sized keyboard is neither quick nor easy. True, I have gotten faster in the week that I've used the Centro, but graffiti/writing lets you have shortcuts so I can type in CAB for Community Accountability Board- a board I'm on that meets bimonthly, etc.

So now I'm back to having a mobile phone and palm pilot separately. Not as tiny, but infinitely more satisfying.

Dancing like White Birds

So the gf has her new computer all hooked and is she's online. She just saw my last post. Her response?

"Baby, I don't know if you're better than that."

Stop laughing!

Dance Like No One is Watching

I love to dance.

True confessions: I'm a terrible dancer. Ok, not terrible. But...
Well, I dance like, hmm....

Ok! I dance like a white girl. There I said it! I confess.


Luckily for me, some of my best friends are white girls (hehe) and the gf hasn't been too horrified while dancing with me.

Besides, at least I dance better than Snowball, although we have similar problems with rhythm. We're ok for a while, but then, we get into the music and get, well, lost.

Meghan Update

If you've been reading Grayson's blog, read it now.

Not only did Meghan get to read the new Harry Potter book, JK Rowlings herself even contacted her. So cool!

NotSoSmart Questions (even if you don't know the answers)

Who is LeBron James?
What's the Kremlin?
Why are they doing this at the Pentagon? (asked about a 9/11 commemoration being held there)

"WHO asked these questions?," you wonder.
A 10 year old? Someone from a teeny tiny island off the coast of Isle of NoWhere?

Nope. These questions were asked of my cousin, a news producer, by someone she works with.

the good news
Fortunately, that someone doesn't work with her all the time.

the bad news
That person is a journalist. Really.
An honest-to-goodness ontheTVnews journalist.

Sad, sad, sad.

=====

And while you may or may not know that the Moscow Kremlin is the Russian equivalent of our White House (it's where the Russian President lives), you knew it had something to do with Russian politics, right?

Right?

Replacing Your Salary

Have you ever thought about how you're going to survive financially if you get sick or disabled for an extended period of time? As in- several months? years?

Consider long term disability insurance.

I'm serious.


=====

Imagine:

You haven't worked in 4 months. And, you're seeing a different specialist every week, have PT twice a week and bloodwork every month, not to mention the monthly "check-in" with your PCP, who's being wonderful by keeping up with all the paperwork from the insurance folks.

the bad news:
The long-term disability insurance your company provides only kicks in if you're disabled for more than 6 months.

the good news:
No, wait. You got a better policy. It kicked in at 2 months. Yippee!

the bad news:
It only pays 50% of your salary.

the good news:
Your employer has graciously agreed to "finagle" things so that your health insurance continues uninterrupted, and without an increase in the premium because they value you and your health.

the bad news:
All those appointments are gonna cost you an extra $350 per month.

======


Can you live on half of your salary now, nevermind after increased bills?

Happy Birthday, Cass!

And yes, I do know how old you are. I was 12 when you were born. So there!

Congrats!

to Lisa K and Phiance, who get hitched in less than 8 hours.

Will Lisa K become Lisa Another Letter?

Zoo, anyone?

Last weekend was a wonder. The gf's birthday was Sunday, and to celebrate, we went to the Bronx Zoo. In any case, I hadn't been to the Bronx Zoo since I was 4 or 5; what a riot. Of course, if my back had not been bothering me it would've been even more fun.

The biggest thing I learned at the zoo is that the gf reads every (every!) sign on the displays. And looks at me like I'm a nimrod when I ask things that I could've read- like "Why is that animal sitting like that?" Hmm, clearly the sign told us that it's hind legs have evolved, blah, blah, blah. And yes, she actually reads the Sunday paper while I go straight for the comic strips and circulars...

In addition to learning that I'm a lazy reader at the zoo, I took some pictures:

Hephalumps! The gf's favorite.
(Taken while we were on the monorail. Cool, huh?)

And a sleeping polar bear. I should mention that it was 85F that day. At the end of September. In the Bronx. Poor Polar Bear.


This guy cracked me up. Just stood there, patiently (and majestically, I might add) waited while the clumsy papparazzi got what they needed.


These turtles were a riot. The middle one kept pushing the turtle in front - like it was angry at him or something. And yes, I found that funny to watch. I tried to catch it mid-push, but no luck.



In the butterfly garden


More turtles. This time, in a pond (well, running away from the pond)


Some cousins of the deer.


And last, but not least, the Okapi. I'm fascinated by these animals. I'd never seen one before. Striped legs like a zebra. Dark body like a horse or donkey. But actually related to the girrafe.


I know it's hard to see the photos. Here's a better image.

Humor, My Style

I'm a geek, I know. But tell me this isn't funny. It was in yesterday's paper.

Catching Up

For the last month, I have been, well, in a funk.

Ok, not a funk. But struggling. Emotionally. The hours at the "new" job are kicking my behind. But mostly, I've felt distant.

It has reminded me of when Mother Theresa died and an NPR commentator mentioned that she continued her good works even as she struggled in her inability to feel G*d. That even in her decades of feeling removed and untouched by G*d, she continued to do G*d's work.

Perhaps it's a sign (to me) that this very issue has come up in the last few weeks as her diaries are being published. This notion that those of us who identify as "religious" struggle in our ability to "feel" G*d. That we struggle in the "absence" of G*d.

Of course, we all know the piece "Footprints" and how G*d says that in those times of our deepest struggle is when G*d carries us, but that doesn't change how we felt in that moment.

I have hesitated to share in this forum- for all kinds of reasons. But the simple truth is that I miss the connection of having my friends (all 5 of you) read my rantings.

So there you have it.

Books about Dogs?!

Remember this?
"...I also read "wilderness/adventure" books written by a man whose name I cannot remember. It starts with a K and is likely German or Scandinavian...I think the second letter in his name is a j..."

Thanks, Bibliodiva for supplying the missing letters: Kjelgaard. As in James Arthur (Jim) Kjelgaard.

Ring any bells?

How about books like Big Red, Irish Red: Son of Big Red, Kalak of the Ice?

What's frightening is that when I read the list of his books, I don't actually remember a single one. Did I really read a bunch of adventure books (most of which were about dogs)?!

Not only didn't I have a dog, as a kid I wasn't really an "animal lover" or especially inclined toward dogs. Besides Curly, the neighborhood stray my uncle fed, I'm not even sure I knew any dogs.

No wonder my mother thought I was odd...

not in high school (or in college)

What I'm reading now: Lady Chatterley's Lover. I've never read it and It was on the bookshelf in the gf's bedroom. Besides, DH Lawrence wrote one of my favorite short stories: The Rocking-Horse Winner.

BTW, the gf is a voracious reader. Eclectic too. Oh, and have I mentioned that she thinks I'm adorable?

oh, and

this too. Take note my liBERRYan friends. It was a Blog of Note, even.

Good, Bad, Fabulous

The good news is that the long anticipated Harry Potter book is coming out at midnight tonight.

The bad news is that I was a dismal failure at getting an early copy of the manuscript for Grayson's daughter.

The fabulous news is that she's around to read it along with everyone else. Woo-Hoo!