Oy!

It's been a month (plus 1 day) since my last post. I thought I was going to have so much free time after finishing my thesis. I must admit that I have languished in front of the television. Frequently. I can't wait for Mondays...I must be firmly planted in the La-Z-Boy with a bowl of kettle corn at 8:00 sharp in order to see THE MOST DRAMATIC ROSE CEREMONY EVER!!!! And each Tuesday I am disappointed and embarrassed and feel as though I lost 2-hours of my life. And then I go back for more. Then there's basketball. I  have Blazer fever. No explanation offered for that one. Maybe it's because it is the one thing my son and I can watch together and enjoy together.

SO...I have a pocket-full of excuses, multiple projects pulling at my sleeve, and a trip to Palm Springs looming (in a good way). If you've dropped by, j'apologise... If not, congratulations! You've not missed a thing.

Tomorrow night I'll be at Dante's to see my friends, Storm and her Balls. WOOT. I need an night on the town.

Red Dress is coming up. Don't know if I can afford the VIP ticket this year, but I can't wait! The theme is "Red Eye." Perhaps I should cover my dress from last year with GRAVY.

Giving birth--to blogs

I don't intend to be one of "those" bloggers who starts and never returns. I actually have a few "real" thoughts tumbling around in my head, but I want them to come on in an organized fashion. It has been a strange few days...successfully defending my thesis on Wednesday was the highlight of the last few years from an academic standpoint. I thought I might feel some ENORMOUS sense of relief. Instead, it's kind of creeping up on me. The very first thing I did was clean off my kitchen table...and it has stayed that way! Another thing I am doing is reading a really BAD book. That may sound strange, but I couldn't think of anything better to do after years of reading research and text books. I'm not going to tell you the name of the book, but there are vampires and lots of rain involved.

I have been burning candles, too, because I am not so distracted as to leave them burning. My FAVORITES come from Crystal at Wax Cat Candles and Soap. Divine, simply divine! Burn safely, folks, burn safely.

There should be a LOVELY story emerging in the next week or so. At least I think so. It's one that has gestated for years and is really ready to come out. No epidural required, but it may be painful, nonetheless.

Sandwich Generation

No, this is not a blog about  making lunch. This is a blog about the responsibilities we have to those around us...our parents and our children (grown or partially grown). Just when I start to feel the weight of the world is starting to lift, someone gets sick, someone else gets laid off, someone else...well, let's just say sometimes it hits the fan. Big time. And although parents and partially grown adult children are generally capable of taking care of themselves, some of us still feel that pull to manage, organize, and, er, well, CONTROL things. I'm trying to practice letting go, but I'm not very good at it. They say that admitting a problem is the first step to solving it. Yeah, right. Maybe. I'll do my best to Let It Be.

Mom and dad can take care of each other. The "kids" need to learn to take care of themselves. Maybe the best thing I can do is control the amount of control that I try to exert over any of them. 

Today was not my best day. But it wasn't my worst, either.

On a cheerier, less tangential note, we celebrated my mom's 75th birthday at Paley's Place last night. It was very lovely, and probably a bit "fancy" for most of us, but I had the razor clams and they were perfection. I'm not big on eating seafood that I haven't prepared myself, but it was worth the risk. I baked a chocolate cake and decorated it with White Mountain Frosting, which is a decadent cloud of fluff. I tried to spiff it up even further with a ring of melted chocolate, but it ended up looking rather silly. It tasted WONDERFUL! Happy Birthday, Mom!

Domestic Goddess--NOT

Considering the previous post, one would think that today I should be "Up and At 'em." Unfortunately, I pushed the EtOH limit last night, stumbled home from Kay's (ON FOOT), and today I am paying the proverbial piper. I know I will get the laundry done because I have a brand new front-loader. I wasn't sure I wanted to spend the money, but when I heard that it uses only 14 gallons per load, has about 1.3 X the capacity of my dead Kenmore, and comes with an Energy Trust Rebate and a tax credit, I was SOLD. I never thought I would see the day when washing machines had lights. Space age, for sure. My to-do list has been revised:

1. Retrieve my car (done)

2. Take a shower (thinking about it)

3. Do laundry (done)

4. Go back to bed (done several times already)

January 9, 2009: The beginning

Today I finished my thesis. This is GOOD because I have been working on it forever and it has weighed heavily on my mind. This is BAD because it completely eliminates my excuse for about 90% of the things that I  have avoided, evaded, forgotten, or delayed.

I guess that means that this is the beginning of my journey into the blogosphere (no, I don't know how you really spell it). Readers can look forward to brief snippets of insanity (which I prefer to call "quirkiness") in the form of lists because that's the way I roll. 

Today I spent the morning at The Ugly Mug. I have lived and lounged there off and on for the last three years. It's a comfortable place with free wi-fi and unpretentious baristas. The coffee doesn't suck. Even though the music isn't always my cup of tea, and sometimes the noise level is beyond jet-engine loud, I have always found comfort in the fact that not one decibel of that noise has anything to do with me. That is why I wrote my thesis there. It has always amazed me that even in an empty house the laundry, the dishes, the dust and the toilets can call to me at a deafening level every time I sit down to work on my research.

Today I sashayed up to the counter and announced to the lovely and competent wait-people that I was finishing my thesis. I was greeted with an enthusiastic Up High five and a free cup of coffee. Now I am feeling REALLY, REALLY bad that I have never even learned the names of the people who fueled my creative energy.

OK.  I'm exhausted. I'm meeting my parents for mediocre Chinese food and a stiff drink.

Go well friends and readers. Go well.