the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day

When I was in 7th grade, my english teacher had one of those "to corny to be cool" moments and read to the class from "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day". It was one of those What a Dork moments - we could not believe our previously very-cool teacher was reading to us from a preschooler's book. And yet....

That book stayed with me. It was a book I hadn't heard when I *was* a preschooler. And I don't know what combination of brain firings made that book stick out in my mind, but somehow for 20+ years, when I am truly having a rotton, nasty, crawl-in-bed-and-pull-the-wine-bottle-after-me day, the first lines of that book echo in my ear.

"I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboad and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terible, horrible, no good very bad day.

...

I think I'll move to Australia."

Yes, today was one of those days. But it will pass.
I do wonder though, if Alexander ever made it to Australia.

My heart is sad from to much CNN watching today. While my New Orleans friends and family are 95 percent accounted for, the devestation has hit me deeper than I expected it would. While grocery shopping I found myself grabbing battery packs off the shelves in large quantities today; pulling flashlights out of cabinets to make sure they were there; doubling our bottled water stash. I walk away from the tv (and am grateful for the first time that the office tv broke several months ago and hasn't been replaced), but then find I'm refreshing the same news links on my pc trying to find the most current news.

I keep trying to find a scale to measure it all against, and feel as if I'm weighing elephants with a kitchen scale.

Where do these people go? If they are lucky enough to survive the shelter that is now more of a refuge camp, the rampant looting, the car jackings. The majority of people who are stranded in New Orleans are there because they have no means to get somewhere else, even if they have a somewhere else to go. What will they eat? Where will they find shelter?

There are over a hundred thousand people in New Orleans alone who will be months without homes. (And I do not mean to focus on New Orleans, but it is the only city I have personal ties to of the many communities effected.) Many of these people assuredly did not have any form of hurricane insurance. If they escaped with their lives, and possibly the lives of those they loved, that is all they will have to call their own for many days to come.

Sad doesn't begin to cover it. To say I am devestated would make a mockery of the people who truly *are* devestated. But my heart weeps for them, and their loss.

WWL in New Orleans

Not enough coffee in the world

Samantha decided she wanted to play last night. Really, it was this morning. About 2:30. And so she did, tucked up nice in her dark room, until about 5:30.

Baby monitors are a wonderful torture device. I *can't* turn it off - what if she needed me? But that means I laid there for 3 hours going back and forth between "why can't she go to sleep" and "isn't it sweet how she'll lay in bed singing songs to her bears for 3 hours?"

She finally dozed off a few minutes before 5:30. The alarm went off at 5:41. Another week has begun.

Catastrophic Katrina

This monster of a hurricane is still 12 to 24 hours from landfall, but like many people in the country - and I'd say most people in the south east - I've become fascinated with this history making storm.

Disclaimer - I am not the person that slows down to get a good look at the traffic accident on the side of the road. I'm the person riding your bumper, blowing my horn, and cursing you for slowing down to get a good look. And blowing past you as soon as the accident-closed lane becomes an open lane in front of us - likely giving you at the minimum a dirty look as I leave you in my rear view mirror. I despise the voyerism of the masses.

But nothing screams raw power like Mother Nature. While I understand that the Weather Channel - and CNN, and MSNBC, and the rest of the acronym networks as well - want to put a human face to a storm of "catstrophic proportions" what I'm watching for is the science. I want to see the charts, the graphs, the statistics of where Katrina ranks in terms of storms before, and anticipate it's place in our history.

Flood proof bridges; a superdome built to withstand 200mph winds; a pumping system to drain a flooded city. 2 million people to evacuate on 3 roads.

New Orleans, our eyes are on your low-lying beauty. Good luck to you - and get the hell out of town if you can.

Yay I won a trip.... oh damn I won a trip

So I've had a bit of fun entering some sweepstakes this summer. There's this nice site that breaks down all these sweepstakes into different categories, and it all started with a combination of my mom getting a great win, and me wanting to win a new computer. The Alienware contest is long over (and won by someone else), but I still spend between 2 minutes and an hour several days a week picking out things I'd like to win. Hey, you never know, right? It's free to enter, and my only rule is it's got to be something I'd like to win - either something I'd use, or I think I could sell for a few $.

So after about 6 weeks I had a nice win. A Media Player and Wireless router from D-Link. Of course it's still sitting in my dining room in the box while I decide if I'm going to keep it or sell it, but the thrill of winning ... yay!

Then yesterday I got my second win. A trip. To Cancun. 6 nights, which means with travel a full week. Yay! but .... mmm. The hubby just can't take a week off. Ever. So, what to do?

I know! My son and I will go. We've not had a chance to really do much fun stuff together in ... well, since my daughter was born really. I miss the fun stuff we used to do together, although I admit this 7 day trip to a foreign land is a bit more exotic than any of the fun stuff we used to do. A dinner date to share fajita's at a Mexican place used to be more our speed. But this time, real Mexico! Except.

Except that after reading the fine print, and some extensive research online, it comes out that this fabulous resort that we have won the trip of a lifetime to is "adult". Adult, in most foreign places, means nakedness - at least on the beach, and probably around the resort as well. Actually, someone on a message board posted that she went to this place on her honeymoon and had a fabulous time - but there was much nakidness to be seen. Definately not what I had in mind for my 11 year old son as a bonding experience, although I think it would for sure make some lasting memories. (Their web site actually says they don't allow anyone under 18, so please don't think there's any chance he's going to get to have this experience.)

I'm still waiting for the rep to call me back so we can discuss this. I *want* to go to Mexico. While I have no desire to share my bewbs, or see those of others, I can turn a blind eye on my way to that gorgous beach. But really, truely, I'm hoping that they'll transfer us to that family style resort owned by the same company, right around the corner. Where the only naked chests will belong to the cabana boy bringing us our orange juice on the beach. That's my kind of nakedness.

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina has wobbled onto shore about 350 miles south of us during the night, dumping rain, blowing off roofs, and causing the deaths of at least 4 people. Media coverage here has been light, since we were only due to get a little rain and some light winds from the storm system as it came ashore, but over the next few days we'll be watching it more - the storm has crossed the state and is picking up steam out in the Gulf. Second landfall should hit the panhandle early next week; we'll not likely see more than rain and winds again, but an early curve in the path could mean much much rain instead of just light rain. So we'll watch.

Outside today there is a steady, light breeze off the ocean, just enough to be keeping the humidity pushed back in towards town. The air smells fresh, and it took me back for just a second to that smell in the air after Hurricane Frances brushed us with her northern tip last September. That storm, we lost power for 36 hours and spent days clearing out the damage to the yard. Of course, landfall was much much closer with Frances. This time there was just enough rainfall (just over an inch) overnight to get the thirsty yard a good wetting, and breeze enough that my unsupported patio umbrella was at a almost-breaking-point slant. Here in NE Florida, we were again lucky to be far from the threat of damage - my thoughts are with those who weren't so lucky.

Carpal Tunnel?

After 6 weeks of my right wrist / arm being sore, I am finally over it enough to spend part of the morning googling it. And most everything is pointing to carpal tunnel syndrome.

Ick.

I've had much more computer work the last few days than I've had most of the summer - actually, I spent a very large part of the summer afk. And now that I'm back at the mouse and keyboard, after 2 hours my arm is throbbing, burning, aching.

I'm going to look up some stretches and exercises. Hope it helps.

the Provacateur (52% dark, 30% spontaneous, 42% vulgar)

your humor style: VULGAR | COMPLEX | DARK You'll crack on anything, and you're often witty, even caustic, about it. Therefore, your sense of humor is polarizing. You're transgressive, and you've got a seriously sharp 'edge'--maybe too much for some folks. If they get you, people think you're one of the funniest (and smartest) people in the world. If they don't, they think you're an ass. Whatever, right? While some might question your judgement, your comic intellect is unquestionably respected. PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Chris Rock - Lenny Bruce - George Carlin

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 68% on dark You scored higher than 7% on spontaneous You scored higher than 52% on vulgar

Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on Ok Cupid

Summer almost gone

To me, this is the end of summer. The kids are both in school. My summer visitors are gone, and the guest room will spend the next 3 months accumulating odd shoes, balls, boxes, broken electronics, spare computer parts, and things that should be thrown away but that I feel guilty if I do.

Yet it is hot. And so while my summer fun days are gone, I have weeks and weeks still til the days cool off and I don't cringe at the thought of the 30 foot walk from my air conditioned house across the pavement to my black, black car every time I leave the house. Oy.

My pity party will end as soon as I have finished the last load of sheets and pool towels (once again, I used the excuse of having family in to avoid my washing machine for 3 days. And then couldn't find it buried under the mess when Monday morning rolled around). Our day's have flowed easily into an early rhythm of waking the kids, making breakfast, shopping at 7:40 in the morning after dropping Montgomery off - the stores are all but empty, and I can let Samantha run the aisles besides me without worrying she'll knock over some little lady that is lingering by the end display. The 4 hours Samantha is in school are peaceful, quiet, productive. Freedom.

Summer being over isn't a bad thing.