Blatherings of An Internal Critic

Earth Hour

katemac — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:35:20 GMT

http://www.earthhour.org/user/cXJV Global warming. Climate change. Pollution. The ozone layer. It's all pretty damn big. Bigger than one person can do anything about. It's scary, too. I don't care what your politics are or what your religious leanings are, I think we all want to do better on and for the planet. I've signed up. I'm pestering one of my city commissioners about getting my city behind it, too. It's one way to help. It's easy. It's free. Click the link, read the page, make up your own mind. But, please, do go look. Best regards, Kate

a dogs life

katemac — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:33:31 GMT

So, the husband is remodeling the kitchen. It's all good, I'm going to have a lot more efficient use of the space when he's done. However, it's just him and it's taking time. The living room is piled with old cabinets and plastic bins full of cookware and stuff and nothing is easy to find right now. Everything is higgedly piggedly, and cooking is something of an adventure. We have a dog. A 100 pound black lab mix. He's mostly a good dog, with a pleasant personality, but he is convinced that he's starving to death, constantly. Seeing as every time we see the vet, they lecture me about his weight, the dog is mistaken! However, there's no explaining that to the dog. He is a food thief, when no one is looking. I had to buy a metal breadbox, because of this animal. He can eat a dozen rolls faster than you can say knife. At that speed, he usually eats half the plastic bag, too. Because of this, we named him Hoover. There was a small plastic grocery sack with the vitamins and such like in it. I think it was just sitting on a crate of something else. Last night, Hoover got into two "child proof" containers. He got kid vitamins and some valerian. It's been cleaned up, and the containers tossed, and the other vitamins and such put elsewhere. Now, valerian is an herb that people use as a sleeping aid. Well, it's what I use it for. Even in capsule form, which this was, it smells pretty bad and tastes horrible. I don't know how much the silly beast ate. He might not have eaten any, because of the smell/taste. Last week, because of the same issues, Hoover got a bag of yellow split peas. You do not want to know what that looks like, coming out the other end.

Generation Whatever

katemac — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:24:34 GMT

Sometimes I feel sort of old for this Tribe thing. LiveJournal, too. So, yesterday, when someone mentioned Eons to me, I decided to check it out. It turns out that they have an actual lower age limit of 50. I'm not old enough. Remarkable.

Things That Make Me Want to Home School

katemac — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 04:19:49 GMT

When I was picking Braden (7 years old, 2nd grade) up from school Friday, this happened. Mrs. K came out of the door, towing Braden by the wrist. She said something about having to make sure he didn't run off. This makes sense, because he often does run off, as soon as he sees me. Unless I have exchanged glances or discussion with his school grownup, I always send him back in to tell them that I'm there. Unexpectedly missing children are very upsetting. Braden did not look happy. Mrs. K said to me, "Braden is unhappy because I accidentally folded his picture." Turning to Braden, she said, "That's just silly, isn't it." She shook his wrist, and said, "Isn't it silly? Isn't it? Now give me a smile." He smiled weakly. Only then did she release his wrist. She mocked his feelings and shamed him and made him smile after she did it. Then, while I fumbled for something to say, she said to me, "All the boys were drawing violent pictures, so I told them that if they drew any more violent pictures that they'd all have to wear flowers for the rest of the day." That was sexist on at least two levels. Inappropriate and wrong about the violence, too. Those boys are drawing battles and dragons and guns and similar so that they can be Heroes and kill the Bad Guys. Expecting young male humans to think and act like adult female humans is stupid. I was stunned for the second time in 45 seconds and at a loss for words and sadly relapsed into what sounded like laughing sarcasm, "You're insane." She took it as a joke, laughed and turned away. Braden and I went to the car. I asked him about the picture, and gave him a big hug and told him I loved him and didn't mind if he drew things like that. Later I sat him down and told him that his feelings are Never, Ever silly, no matter what Mrs. K says. It's gonna' be a great year. Isn't it? Isn't it?

People Suck

katemac — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 06:12:15 GMT

I'm just sayin'.

House Maintenance Becomes a Rain Dance

katemac — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 17:27:53 GMT

Brian and I decided to fix the house up this summer. All that deferred maintenance that made it affordable in the first place really needed to be done. So, we've ordered new siding. We've had insulation blown into the walls of This Old House. We've got a bathtub refinishing scheduled, too. And we're going to re-do the kitchen; as in rip out all the cabinets and replace them as well as move some appliances around. We'll probably go with cabinets from IKEA. All very exciting. On some levels... As with any project, it's one step forward and one step sideways, and three steps off catty-wumpus. One major adventure we've had is around the whole siding thing. It's a long story, but essentially, in the middle of all of this excitement, someone came along and stole the aluminum siding right off of our house. There was enough confusion and he said / she said stuff that it's possible that it was an honest mistake by a not very bright person. But the result is the same. Apparently, aluminum scrap has risen in value. I googled on it, and apparently people steal downspouts and gutters right off of houses. They cut down aluminum phone poles and cut them into chunks and carry them off. My house has no siding currently, it should not get very wet. So, because of Murphy's Law, I feel a little bit responsible for the rain we're having in August. Sorry, everybody.

FYI and FWIW

katemac — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 16:32:06 GMT

I'm spending a lot of time the past month or so on LiveJournal. Wow, people are sure talkative. I don't post much, but if you're over there, my screen name is "Sheelangig".

Air

katemac — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 23:23:05 GMT

My father has pneumonia. It's a matter of "concern", according to my stepmother. My stepmother is a "oh, we're fine" kind of gal. We're hoping it's only pneumonia, but it's bad enough. All of his siblings who have pre-deceased him have been carried off by some lung thing or another. So I might be traveling to the east coast right soon. If he's dying, I'd choose to have actually seen the old fart while still alive over just going to his funeral. On top of this, it's allergy and asthma season for me, too. All of a sudden, I'm afraid that when my turn comes, I'll die gasping for air.

Formality

katemac — Fri, 25 May 2007 22:17:19 GMT

It's a casual age, in many ways. There appears to be very little concern about what is "proper". Possibly, "normal" is the new proper. If you have seen me go on at all about my questioning the actual existence of normal, you might quite accurately predict my reaction to that idea to be something along the lines of, "shudder, eeeuw, yuck". I've always been a bit formal. I certainly do not think that it's just *really* because I'm old and crotchedy, because on these issues, I've always been old and crotchedy. I like to have a structure in some parts of my life, a knowing of what to do in a particular circumstance. I have always really, really liked Miss Manners! Respecting boundaries, privacy, politeness, respectful dealings with other folks, I like it all. As relationships grow and change, the boundaries certainly do grow and change. Please and thank you never goes out of style, but the issues being discussed can change quite a bit. A friend of mine just recently asked me about my level of Too Much Information, because they had a personal story they wanted to tell, but wasn't sure how I'd feel about it. Hurrah, hurray, calloo, callay! Let's hear it for discretion!

Money, Interest Rates and other Oddities

katemac — Fri, 04 May 2007 21:17:35 GMT

Okay, I'm flabbergasted. So much so, that I've gone to a thesaurus to get more words in that department; addled, agape, aghast, agog, appalled, astonished, astounded, awe-struck, awed, baffled, befuddled, bowled over, confused, dazed, dazzled, disconcerted, dizzy, dumbfounded, dumbstruck, flabbergasted, flipped out, floored, flustered, giddy, lost, misled, muddled, mystified, perplexed, punchy, puzzled, rattled, reeling, shocked, shook up, speechless, staggered, startled, struck speechless, stumped, stunned, stupefied, surprised, taken aback, thrown, thunderstruck, uncertain, unglued All this verbiage, why? I just came back from a bank, where I helped my 13 year old set up a savings account. They offered an annual interest rate of 0.25 percent. Let's be really clear on this. One hundred dollars, in a year, will earn him twenty-five cents. Admittedly, the rates creep up once your deposits top 50 thousand dollars. If it were not for the federally insured stuff and the convenience of him having an atm card, as well as the fact that they can't charge him any fees while he's a minor, I would have brought him away without creating the account. I understand that this is the unpleasant side of interest rates being down. If my child had more money, I'd recommend he buy real estate instead. Or stock. Or euros. At that rate, it might be a better investment to buy scratch-its. Perhaps all of this just illustrates my own lack of intelligence and sophistication, or tendency to keep my head in the sand or something. But wow. I'm going to go look into refinancing my house.

Cluster Fuck Inc.

katemac — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 17:32:17 GMT

I had one of those "interesting" weekends. I attended a "Disaster Kitchen Training", put on by the Red Cross. Now, up until now, had I been asked, I would have made positive comments about this organization. I've taken CPR classes from them. I've given them money. I even give them my blood on a regular basis. I think I'm working on my 4 gallon pin. My perspective has changed, just a tad. Now, I should probably preface my comments with the acknowledgment that it's a new training, they are still inventing it, and it's the first time that they've had non-Red Cross regulars take this level class *and*, yes, I understand that the Red Cross is largely a volunteer organization. My opinion only, your mileage may vary, don't sue me, blah, blah, blah. What a nightmare. Three instructors, with less than 20 students, could not find *anybody's" arse with 6 hands. There are no useful systems that *I* could see in place for these disaster kitchens. There are no idiot guides to the fancy, expensive equipment. There were no inventories of what was available, food or equipment. There was no hierarchy to help figure out who was doing what, and when hierarchy was eventually created, it was then over-ridden by the above-mentioned instructors. The folders full of paperwork that we were given have some useful data in them, but it was not organized in any sensible way, there was no table of contents or index. And through all of this, the instructors are laughing and smiling, as if this is somehow normal. *That* got under my skin. Screw ups happen, but if this level of stupid inefficiency is normal, that's a problem. They put me in charge of one of the teams of people, with a particular task, and then, they wouldn't let me do the job. Responsibility with no authority. Admittedly, I've been struggling with lots of my own emotional stuff lately. It's one of the reasons I'm taking these courses, I'm trying to get out of my own stuff and into the world. I was, quite literally, frustrated to the point of tears. I had to go off and have a cry in the bathroom. After that, I will admit to having a thoroughly bad attitude. Their idea of training apparently is to throw people into a situation and have them reinvent the wheel. I have to wonder if this also happens at every disaster they go to? If so, it is an amazing waste of resources. I'll continue to give blood. I'll probably occasionally update my CPR training with them. But no more of my money. And no more of my time. And I might just continue to badmouth them, as I have done here. It's a damn shame.

Chocolate Deities

katemac — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 16:12:22 GMT

Oh My Goddess. http://www.chocolatedeities.com/deities.php

Taxes for Dummies

katemac — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 18:36:42 GMT

I'm working on my taxes. Found today, on page 32 of IRS Publication 525, the .pdf version, was this short and thought-provoking paragraph: "Stolen property. If you steal property, you must report its fair market value in your income in the year you steal it unless in the same year, you return it to its rightful owner."

Skinny

katemac — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:37:29 GMT

woo hoo! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKUGltGwN3U

You may call me Sister Boot Knife of Sweet Reason

katemac — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:45:31 GMT

http://whump.com/dropbox/other/ujname.html

What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas

katemac — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 21:46:35 GMT

Well, I guess something happened in Vegas, cause I'm staying in Vegas. Our flight was all screwed up, along with several other plane loads of people. We got to a hotel at around 3am, after arriving in Vegas at around midnight. Whew! A serious case of bad management on somebodies part. Currently waiting at a gate at the airport, for our new flight in about 3 hours. Bleah. Did I mention that traveling with children is not fun in the first place? Sigh.

A Dog, A Mutt, A Pooch, Part Doo-Doo

katemac — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 15:26:24 GMT

I am no longer in the market for a dog. We got one at the Humane Society yesterday. A large black labrador mix, he weighs some 70 pounds and is about 6 years old. A little bigger than I had originally planned, but he tolerates the six year old messing with him very, very calmly. This is not a photo of our dog, but they are similar in appearance. Ours has a little white tuft of fur on his chest, about the size of my thumb. However, we need a name. Because of how he eats, we are considering Hoover and Kirby and Eureka and Oreck. We are also considering Guinness and Whitey and Dangus Dog and I'm looking for the word "dog" in other languages than English. We're Taking Suggestions for Names. Help!

a dog, a mutt, a pooch

katemac — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 18:58:07 GMT

I'm looking to adopt a dog. I've been checking the Humane Society, but I haven't found *my* dog. If you know of a dog that needs adopting, that could live in a family with small kids, I'd like to hear about it.

Emergency Blood Donation

katemac — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 17:43:10 GMT

The Red Cross just called me. I'm a regular blood donor. The local area is down from their regular supply of blood by over a THOUSAND units of blood. I'll be down at Emmanual in about an hour, oozing. If you can, please, go give blood. It's a small way to be a hero. And, in your heart of hearts, down deep, haven't you always really wanted to be a hero?

an experiment?

katemac — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 17:11:53 GMT

Okay, I apparently usually reserve this blog for major issues. I don't know if this counts. I also feel ridiculous. For those of you out there who know me, I'm looking for the whole poly deal, I'm looking for someone to date. So if you know someone who might like me, I'd like to meet him. Secret crushes can *certainly* apply! My gawd. I'm afraid to post this.

The "oh, please, no" phone call

katemac — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 02:48:42 GMT

Well, the call I've been dreading came, just a half hour ago. She's unconscious and probably won't live through the night. I knew things were bad, and I've been praying to any deity that would listen that they would either Take Her or Give Her Back, cause this half and half shit just wasn't cutting it. And now, when she's been dying for so long, she's really dying. I'm relieved and I'm terrified. I don't know what I'm going to do without her. She is the best friend I've ever had. And I don't have that many friends. I'm not that good at it. My toast, for a long time to come, is going to be, "to absent friends". Love your loved ones, everybody. Obstreperously.

feeling old

katemac — Fri, 17 Jun 2005 23:07:58 GMT

Okay. A blog. It's just so Not Like Me. If someone out there in internetland could explain the point and function of a blog to me, I'd appreciate it. I tried the LiveJournal thing a few years ago, and that felt so, exposed. If I want someone to know something about me, I'll work to arrange for them to get the data. If someone wants to know something about me, they can stir up the gumption to just up and ask. Everyone else, while possibly a fabulous human being, is still essentially a stranger. I just Don't Get It. Ah well, maybe this is the only blog post I'll ever make, saving us all some grief...