Two Posts in One Day. Holy Crap!

There's not much happening today, obviously - because here I am again.

My faithful readers and droves of close personal friends (snark) know that I have been concerned not only with breathing life back into this blog, but in also rebuilding a fun little network of blogfriends again. In light of my new inspiration to rebuild and revitalize my dusty old blog, I have been running through my blogroll only to find that many I had marked on there have either deactivated comments (what's up with that?), fizzled out or have been deleted entirely. I've spent a small chunk of time subsequently revising said blogroll.

I was thinking about how I started meeting other bloggers in the first place. I mean, when I started this blog I didn't really know a soul in this community. Initially I started out by clicking the "next blog" button up there at the top. See it? If you click on it, it will take you off to another randomly selected blog. NO NO NO, DON'T CLICK IT! I don't want you to go yet.

But anyway, I thought I'd do a little next-blog surfing just for old time's sake. I ran across a few fairly cool ones. Some of them I even commented on. Then I hit like 37 in a row that were in foreign languages I couldn't even begin to guess. No kidding. I was trapped in such a painful streak I just quit next buttoning altogether.

I know there are plenty of people in the world who speak other languages. But It just got on my nerves, that's all I'm saying.

Patience has never been one of my stronger virtues.

Today's Conclusion: Rome was not built in a day. It will all come together again in time.

Mom Would Be So Proud.

I can't tell you how many times I've been called a geek, nerd, dork, brainiac, or poindexter in my life. Especially in middle school. But I know it's only because people are jealous. *indignant sniff*

I mention this because I took this Geek Test on line - which in and of itself speaks volumes, I am well aware - just to see how geeky I really am. There were a lot of computer questions and comic book questions and online role playing game questions, all of which I am fairly inept. But I was also delighted to see there were lots of questions to which I could definitely relate. Questions about learning stuff just for fun, voluntarily going to any kind of museum, knowing 5 or more names of Star Trek and/or Star Wars characters (from each series), whether I'd ever been in a fan club, whether I had ever operated a ham radio, and whether I knew the difference between fission and fusion.

I am proud to say I scored dead center between Total Geek and Major Geek. They even gave me this neat and very hi-tech looking HTML code to show off this fact on my blog. So it seems I am geeky enough to be annoying and secretly admired (I know it's true), but not so geeky that I am socially inept and am faced with a lifetime of virginity. That there is what they call perfect balance.

I really think there should have been some questions about Greek and Roman mythology, though. They ostracised a whole genre of geekiness by not representin'.

Worry ... Worry Worry Worry Worry

That's my impression of Ray Lamontagne. Pretty good, right?

And now for my impression of the Apostle Paul:

"Do not worry about anything, but pray about everything - and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds." - Philippians 4:6&7

... Actually, my impression of the Apostle Paul sucks. I can quote him as well as the next guy, but my application is sorely lacking.

I've been completely stressed out lately. So much so that I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack any minute. I never used to - but lately, I just worry holes right through my skull. About EVERYTHING. It makes me tense, crabby, edgy, and extremely preoccupied no matter what I'm doing. It's like I'm PMS-ing all the time. And nobody wants that.

Spring is the quintessential season of rebirth, so I am going to celebrate by throwing some fertilizer on the flowerbeds of my soul. There are two things I'm now trying to (re)apply to my life. I'm thinking these actions will help with this bad habit I've developed.

• When I spend time with God, the rest of my life becomes more serene. I'm going to get back into the habit of going to church and more consciously praying. (See Paul's words above)


• When I spend time nurturing my creativity, the rest of my thoughts are less harried. I used to spend frequent time doing something creative. I used to post some creative writing here daily, sometimes twice a day. I used to draw, paint, and make things just for the enjoyment of it. Somehow I've let that part of me fall away. I miss it.
  

I love spring! :)

Footnote: This is my 400th post. My how many thoughts, creations and exchanges have come through this site in the last 5 years. Thanks for visiting, friends.

The Audacity of "Hope"

So I guess I was a little fired up, not to mention disgusted with how narrowly many are blinded, with my last post (which I have now tucked away in my "drafts" in favor of posting this one, because I have always said I don't want this to be too much of a political blog and one at a time is enough). I just get aggravated at how quickly and voluntarily people will give their freedoms away for so little in return. How easily many will go along with a giant snarl of infringements when only a few points are outlined. What about the fine print? What about the divine liberties that our forefathers gave their blood and their lives to provide us, that are discreetly reversed within those thousands of pages no one bothers to read and are wiped away with the stroke of a presidential pen? What about the crushing financial and civil weight it will bring to us and our kids in the years to come?

Being against the government having complete control over and access to EVERYTHING in our lives does not mean I am heartless and cold towards those who need help. What people won't understand is there is not just one big huge matzoh-ball answer or nothing. It doesn't matter at this point that whoever woula-coulda-shoulda didn't when they "had the chance". There's plenty of blame to go around for that. What matters is here and now, and what matters even more is the ramifications in the future. I will NOT allow my son's life to be ruined by this asphyxiating package if I can help it.

This health care issue WILL make our entire country collapse on every level. We think it's bad now? Pssh.

America has hit hard times before. But the difference is that capitalism provided the foundation for rebuilding and fiscal rebirth. There was always that fire we could reach toward again. The poison buried within this healthcare package will obliterate that flame - and when those promises are gone, there is no hope to recover the way of life we've taken for granted. NO hope.

I can't believe so many don't give a shit about that.

An Exciting Evening!

Thanks to an invaluable perk, we are very fortunate to be able to have Incrediboy attend school in the highest rated district in the state. I mean head, shoulders, and elbows above the rest. The community is made mostly of wealthy entrepeneurs and white collar professionals. They pay dearly in school taxes and the kids really do have the finest of everything in both resources and opportunities.

The past few weeks, the kindergarteners and first graders have been working on an artist-in-residency program with the capital city's jazz arts group - an association of professional jazz musicians and vocalists. The project consisted of the children creating their own song from scratch, built on the 12 bar blues form and AAB rhyme scheme, and to perform the original compositions at the end of the residency. The kids brainstormed their own topic and lyrics, and then decided what tempo, styles, and solos they wanted to utilize. Next, each student was assigned a glockenspeil, xylophone, rhythm stick set, or egg shaker - each to be incorporated into the piece.

In addition to the obvious musical benefits of this project, it also allowed the kids to explore organizational strategies, writing, composing, performing, and mathematical standards through predicting and discovering the sequence of sounds and patterns within the music form.

The project culminated last night in a performance for the parents in the community's performing arts center, accompanied by the jazz musicians. The first graders composed a cute song about missing the bus and riding their bike to school instead. Incrediboy's class composed a jazzy little number called "Blues for a Cruise". The lyrics are as follows:

Seas, trees, and the Florida Keys.
Seas, trees, and the Florida Keys.
Seas, trees, and the Florida Keys.
Seas, trees, and the Florida Keys.

Ready to go, wanna leave the snow.
Wanna have fun in the sun!
We've got the blues for a cruise!
There's no time to lose
Let's kick off our shoes
And cruise away the blues!

We're all packed up
And our shades are on
Gonna make a run
For the sun!

Let's go someplace
With seas and trees.
How 'bout the Florida Keys!

Lookin' for waves
Dolphins play games,
Can't wait to swim with the fish
Can't wait to swim with the fish!

The individual class songs were followed by group performances of all the classes of Ella Fitzgerald's A-Tisket, A-Tasket and Duke Ellington's C Jam Blues.

Grammy-worthy? Far from it. But man, what a fantastic opportunity - to learn about music composition from the ground up with real live jazz musicians. I never had the chance to do anything remotely as amazing as that, even in high school. I wonder if in good time these kids will ever realize how cool that was.

Road Rash Throat

My throat hurt so bad last weekend.

I'm typically not a whiner, but I'm going to go on about this for a bit. Because seriously - I have rarely if ever had a throat this destroyed.

I woke up Friday with a mildly swollen, mildly sore throat, and feeling kind of crummy. By Friday night I was totally wiped out. I didn't even go to Incrediboy's karate class (and I really wanted to, because he was getting his blue belt - a very big deal since blue is his favorite color - but I digress). When I woke up Saturday I was a dead woman. I was feverish and my throat was completely destroyed from my sinuses to my lungs - it felt as if I'd swallowed hot asphalt. I could not eat, drink, talk, or even swallow my own spit. When I looked in my mouth with a flashlight, my whole throat was nearly swollen shut - not to mention red as tabasco sauce and covered with white splotches.

Gross.

I laid in excessive misery until Monday when I could get in to see the doctor. I thought for sure I had strep. After an excruciatingly agonizing throat culture (I literally grabbed my doctor's arm and forced the swab out of my mouth before I even realized I was doing it - and I'm not normally that kind of patient), I learned I did NOT have strep. I was diagnosed with tonsilitis and pharyngitis - which is a fancy term meaning that besides my tonsils being all botched up, the rest of my throat was a completely infected swollen mess as well. So much so that along with a super-duper strong scrip for antibiotics, my doc also gave me a scrip for steroids.

I got my meds filled at the local market, and picked out an assorted array of throat numbing agents, some comforting flavored tea, and a can of soup for my first meal in 3 days.

On the pharmacist's suggestion, I didn't start the steroids right away. He advised taking them in the morning since they tend to make you jittery - and taking them in the afternoon could keep me up that night. I didn't want that. I took two antibiotics during the course of that day and was thankfully feeling much better by morning. God bless whoever discovered the healing properties of all those darling molds.

Since I was feeling on the mend, I decided to skip the steroids altogether. I'm not a fan of steroids ... They help jumpstart your healing initially, but significantly lower your immune system for about a year afterwards. I'm not real fond of that idea. Plus they screw you up with the jimmies while you're taking them - and more often than not swell you up like a tick on a hound dog. I figured if I don't need to, I'm not going there.

Tomorrow will be a week since I fell to the tonsil demon. I almost feel normal again, although my throat still feels kind of scratchy and weird. At least I lost a few pounds during the ordeal.

Now the Hub has come down with it. Bless his heart, the poor guy. I hope we can keep it away from Incrediboy.

Butt Hat

Incrediboy informed me last night that I am a Butt Hat. Promptly cracking up with laughter.

I should probably have frowned upon that, but I couldn't help but laugh too.

That kid is going to get out of SO MUCH trouble just by being funny and cute. I'm lucky he has such a sweet disposition. Hopefully he will continue to use his powers only for good.