Speak Up

*Since Thursday, I've been unable to hear much of anything out of my left ear. Oh, I get the Charlie Brown "mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah" but not much else. The reason? Ear infection. Can you believe it? We finally get TLO's ear infections under control and I come down with one. The pain, which subsided with the use of antibiotics, surprised me. Hammer. Nail. Eardrum. Ow. Friday evening, I was on the verge of tears despite 800 mg of ibuprofen and a heating pad. Thankfully, the pain has dropped to the point of being tolerable. I still get a bit of an ache a couple times a day, but nothing like Friday. Doc says my hearing should clear within a couple of weeks. A couple of freaking weeks? It's not like I need to listen to my students or anything.

*Plenty of snow here in the corn freezer. A thundersnowstorm rolled through Friday night--lots of lightning, thunder, and snow--and started three continuous days of snow. All told, we received 13 inches of snow and a 1/ 4 inch of ice. Boy, did that make for some great shoveling. Four hours later, I finally completed the task. Guess what's supposed to roll into town tomorrow? Another day of "wintry mix", followed by two days of snow. Wintry mix seems to be the Midwest euphemism for ice storm. Wintry mix my ass. "Wintry mess" is more like it.

*Hmmm . . . I've reported on my health and the weather. What does that say about my life? I kind of feel like my blog has become almost as boring and mundane as my life. I'm in a routine--that's not such a bad thing for me--and there seriously isn't all that much going on that's worth writing about. Oh, I know a couple of my academic friends who would respond with something like, "The everyday mundane is just as magical as any other moment in our lives." Yeah, sure. I've considered taking the blog in a more academic direction, but I'm not sure I have the time to do that kind of writing (which is agonizingly slow for me). I'm home with TLO in the mornings, at school in the afternoons, spend a handful of hours with TLO and STK, and I'm back doing school prep/grading from 10-12. As it looks like I'll be getting another significant raise this year, STK and I have talked about increasing TLO's daycare hours a bit next year. I really would like another hour or two a day to focus on school. Trying to do any work when I'm at home with TLO is absolutely futile. I can read email and that's about it.

Give Her a Break.

As much as I rip on Hollywoodland and our collective obsession with stars (and the fact that we consider anything involving a star "news"), I've been watching the Britney Spears fiasco with a great deal of interest. And sympathy, believe it or not. Clearly, this is a young woman who is having no end of difficulties. She's made some really bad decisions the last couple years of her young life. Those bad decisions, I suspect, were compounded by substance abuse.

I know that it's become fashionable in the fantasy world that is LA to check oneself in to rehab whenever a public relations makeover is needed (see Mel Gibson, Lindsay Lohan*, etc.), but I can't help but think rehab is the right move in this case. Spears' behavior has become increasingly irrational and self-destructive in the last few months. I don't care what people think of her, she's not stupid or she wouldn't have achieved her present level of success. She knows how to behave in the public eye. The recent gaffs suggest something is getting in the way of that knowledge. Nothing screws up the decision making portion of the brain like a few mind altering substances. According the most recent of reports, Spears has entered rehab for the third time in four days. As someone who entered recovery at 25--Spears is 24--I hope she sticks it out this time. I really do.

So, let's give her a break. Give her the opportunity to get herself straightened out, or at least dried out, and see what she does. I can't even begin to imagine what it would have been like trying to get clean and sober with every reporter on the planet trying to get the "scoop." It's hard enough getting sober without that kind of scrutiny.

Britney, if you happen to stumble across my blog, here's my first piece of sober wisdom: If you don't drink or drug, you don't get drunk or high.

*In the spirit of fairness, I did read that Lohan is taking rehab seriously and has almost completed a thirty day program. Bravo! Don't forget to continue meetings when you get out. Nothing keeps you sober like watching the miserable who are still practicing. Note that I have my eye on the mess that is your life. Seriously, it's that simple. And that difficult.

McCain Goes Out on a Limb!

Rumsfeld was one of the worst.

Wow. Now there's a revelation.

If you haven't already, you should check out McCain's campaign website. Interesting color scheme. Is it just me or does the site invite the viewer to think Vietnam POW?

What's with the Trumpesque pink tie?

Curriculum Change II: Buddhist Perspective?

A monk asked, “The mountains, the rivers, and the great earth-from where did all of these things come forth?”

Tiantai said, “From where did this question come forth?”

-Zen’s Chinese Heritage

Revise the Curriculum

For several years now, many public schools have been asked to expand the biology curriculum to include intelligent design as a possible alternative to the theory of evolution. Up until today, I've been hesitant to acknowledge the possible legitimacy of intelligent design. In fact, I've been downright intolerant toward those who advocate intelligent design. Well, I've decided to do something I don't do very often: admit I'm wrong. I'm wrong. Intelligent design should be included in the biology curriculum of public schools. In fact, I'll pledge to be an advocate of intelligent design . . . provided intelligent designers agree to advocate the new curriculum I'd like to add to public school biology.

Intelligent Alien Design.

Evolution is simply a theory and I just can't get behind the idea of an omniscient presence guiding the development of life. What I can get behind, however, is the idea that we're all part of some cosmic Johnny Appleseed action. The Earth is part of an extraterrestrial science experiment, an attempt to spread diverse lifeforms throughout the galaxy.

Let's fire up those Evolution is Only a Theory campaigns and present our local school boards with the truth: Intelligent Alien Design.

Conversational Realities: Guatamole!

Scene: local mexican grill very similar to Chipotle

STK: Well, the real test will be the guatamole.
Me: The what?
STK: Guatamole. We need to try the guatamole and chips.
Me: Guatamole? WTF is that?
STK: You know, the green stuff? ::gives me the "what, are you some kind of idiot?" look::
Me: You mean guacamole?
STK: What did I say?
Me: Guatamole.
STK: Huh?
Me: Exactly. Gautemala. Gaucamole. Guatamole?
::By this time we're both laughing hysterically::
STK: I have no idea.

Americone Dream

I can't wait to try this flavor!

"I'm not afraid to say it. Dessert has a well-known liberal agenda," Colbert said in a statement. "What I hope to do with this ice cream is bring some balance back to the freezer case."

As TLO would day, "Mmmmmm."

I Need a Good Long Nap

We've spent the last four days in damage control mode around here. TLO is sick, yet again, and that means no sleep for the weary. 103.5 temp on Friday afternoon and grumpy toddler the remainder of the weekend on into today means equally grumpy parents. Although the temperature dropped back to normal by Sunday, TLO developed a nasty cough. Actually, he redeveloped the cough. He had a cough several weeks ago and it's back with a vengeance. After influenza/strep tests and a couple chest x-rays, the doctor diagnosed TLO with pneumonia.

WTF? How did that happen? With all the doctors we've been to see since September (every 2-3 weeks, no joke), you'd think we'd head something like this off before it developed, no? I guess not. So, he's on yet another freakin round of antibiotics. The good news is that his ears show no sign of infection. Great.

Someone cut this kid a break. I'm not sure how many more sick days he can take. Let me rephrase that: I'm not sure how many more sick days I can take.

To top it all off, I contracted TLO's illness and now have a rather nasty little cold of my own. I'm sure STK is happy I know how to blow/wipe my own nose.

Spamalot

The following just slipped by the old spam filter.

Godzilla's Advice!

Size does matter.
Link to Miracle Product*

I'm not sure whether I should be offended by the suggestion that I have a small package or thankful that there's a solution for my apparent problem.

*No, this isn't the actual link from the email.

Feast-o-licious

Appetizer--What was one of the fashion fads when you were a teenager?
Levi 501 Button Fly Jeans. I've been thinking about getting a new pair, actually. All trends come around in 20 year cycles, right? I've noticed that the preppy, popped collar look is coming back. WTF? That was the bane of my existence back in the 80s--I absolutely despised that look (and actually dated a prep for a short period of time. What was I thinking?!).

Soup--Name one thing you think people assume about you when they first meet you.
Freak.

Salad--On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how hard do you work?
Teaching: 9. Researching: 4 (lots of improvement needed in this area). Yard/Home Improvement: 6.

Main Course--If you were given a free 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl to sell anything you currently own, what would you advertise?
Peace.

Dessert--Fill in the blank: I love to ________ when it is _________.
read when it is late at night and quiet in the house.

McYummy?

I just about choked on my delicious home brew when I read the following.

Consumer Reports: McDonald's Coffee Better than Starbucks

While I agree with the assessment that Starbucks java frequently tastes burnt (I'd use the term "overroasted"}, I find it hard to believe that McDonald's produces a superior cup. Given my skepticism, I've decided to conduct my own inquiry. I'll be stopping by McDonald's for a "premium roast" sometime this weekend (yes, we do have a McD's in our small hamlet).

Here's to what I hope is a pleasant surprise.

A Shot in the Dark, er, Ankle

The MRI revealed no significant soft tissue damage. My ligaments and tendons are okay. Hooray! What the MRI did reveal is a goodly amount of fluid/inflammation. The diagnosis proper: chronic synovitis. Dr. Footwork gave me a cortisone shot in the ankle joint, which is just loads of fun, to get a jump on the inflammation. For the next three weeks I'll also be doing physical therapy about every other day. The good news is that this is a very treatable injury. The bad news is that when synovitis goes untreated, it can turn into a lifetime problem.

Regardless, I'm off the ankle for a month but can ride the exercise bike as I see fit. Once the pain of the cortisone shot wears off--the injection usually results in an achy joint for a couple of days--I'll get back on the bike with a vengeance.