Life in Points: Alex, Super Bowl, and Choice of Socks

[dawn_felagund]

• I am making my Super Bowl prediction now. I think that Da Bears are going to take it. My reasons are threefold.
  1) Defense wins Super Bowls.
  2) Defense wins Super Bowls.
  3) Defense wins Super Bowls. I just have a feeling about Da Bears. I hate to say that they want it more, and I hate to bring up the fact that Peyton Manning seems jinxed (or chokes, depending on how much you like the guy), but...I just have a good feeling about them. Bobby says that they remind him of when the Ravens won the Super Bowl six years ago: the constant nay-saying as they face off supposedly insurmountable opponents whom they manage to thoroughly thwart yet never manage to convince people that they're actually good...so yes, I'm picking Da Bears.
• I often wonder why Bobby and I spend money on dog toys. Yesterday, Bobby got a package in the mail in a big cardboard box. He gave the cardboard box to Alex, who has been happier than a pig in slop ever since. Currently, he is chewing the box. Last night, Bobby had him in the box for a while, would loosely close the flaps, and then out pops Alex! Alex-in-a-box!
• Alex is also really dumb sometimes. He insists on tormenting himself. He knows that he is not allowed to lick the stuff in the dishwasher, yet as soon as the dishwasher opens, there he is, staring mournfully at the dishes that he is not allowed to lick. What is reinforcing about that? The temptation must be terrible, and he gets yelled at if he even gets close to licking the dishes. Still, he continues to torment himself.
• Congress is proposing a 9% raise for federal employees! Woo!
• And Bobby's miserly agency actually sprang for some really nice shirts for them that say, "CBP: Department of Homeland Security," and look all important and stuff. Bobby wore one last night and won the admiration of a really enthusiastic young man working at CVS who hopes to go into intelligence someday. Bobby got to play the role model and give the guy some advice on breaking into the field. It was cute. :)
  My advice: When they tell you that the clearance will only take two months, don't believe them. o.O
  The WAU gave me shirts long ago, but I've never worn them. Wearing a shirt that says "Department of Homeland Security" tends to win awe and admiration; wearing a shirt that says "Warrant Apprehension Unit" gets you shot.
• Alex is still making a fuss with that stupid box.
• We're having quite a crowd for Super Bowl tomorrow, which is odd, since whenever we plan parties, no one comes. When we make casual invitations thinking one or two might show up, then everyone comes. There's a lesson to be learned here, I think.
• I am wearing Christmas socks.
• Bobby had his final apprenticeship at the Aquarium this morning. I still have one left to go. I think that I shall have to email my aquarist and remind her that I exist.
• I am making some sort of ice cream treat for the party tomorrow, but I have not decided exactly what.
  Also, I was really excited the other day because my ice cream maker was shown on the Food Network.
• Besides the Christmas socks, my outfit is generally misguided. I am wearing my long black skirt with the sparkly bits at the top, a long-sleeved black shirt, and a silky pink tunic-type sleeveless shirt with a giraffe print over top of it. Of course, that sort of thing tends to happen when one puts together outfits based on what is lying on the chair because one is too lazy to rummage through the closet and also knows that wearing the clothes on the chair means that one can throw them in the laundry rather than hang them back in the closet again.
• I was insulted personally in another author's comment forum on the Pit of Voles. *sigh* One day, I will write a book--no a trilogy!--about all this. The first book will be called Fandom. The second book will be called Wank. The third book will be called Get a Life, You Stupid Asshat. Seriously, though, isn't this supposed to be fun?
• My condition is--I have learned--an excellent opportunity to work on getting over that pesky blood-phobia thing. And before you roll your eyes and call me a melodramatic fool for being "afraid" of a tiny little wound, keep in mind that phobias are by definition irrational, and don't think that that doesn't drive me nuts. Telling someone to "get over it"--meaning a phobia--is like saying, "Get over being female and grow a Y-chromosome, you whiny bitch!" At least, in the case of blood-injury phobias, there is evidence of genetic predisposition. Thanks, Dad.
• I am teaching Alex English. Meaning, I am teaching him to respond to certain words. So far, when I say "Football!" he gets his squeaky football. I am working on teaching him "Yellow!" (for the fuzzy yellow football), "Tire!" (for his tire tug-toy), and "Christmas!" (for his stuffed Christmas toy). Also, he knows, "Up the stairs!" and "This way!" And of course, sit, down, front, stay, wait, outside, go potty, and off, which are more useful commands, though not usually as much fun.
• Last night, I had a dream that I was arguing with Bobby because he wanted to see Hostel 2, and I didn't. That there is even going to be a Hostel 2--and worse, a The Hills Have Eyes 2--makes me slightly embarrassed to call myself a horror fan. Also, there was recently an advert on television that called Saw 3 "the scariest Saw movie yet"...the key word there being yet. Which leads me to believe that there might be a Saw 4. At which point, I officially give up.
• Oh, and the Maryland weatherpeople effed up again. We didn't get any snow. We did get what is commonly called in this area (I wish I was kidding) "a bag of wintry mix." Now, that makes me think of a snack consisting of cashews and peppermint pieces. But a "bag of wintry mix" basically means enough to make the parking lot slippery (and double the fun of walking Alex when I can only use one side of my body) but jackshit in terms of getting off of work. Boo.