things i need to do
There are 86 million, but I will limit myself to the following for the moment:
1. GO TO BED.
2. Obtain money order, because I have totally caved to parental pressure and have decided to send in money for the MOST UNFAIR TICKET EVER instead of showing up in court Tuesday night (the night before I leave the country) to Fight the Man. Briefly: Ticket was issued three weeks ago when I parked overnight on the street in front of my aunt's house. There were no signs restricting parking, nor was there snow falling to justify a snow emergency, nor was I on a busy city street where parking is an issue. This was a suburban development just like the one I live in, where I park my car on the street every night! But I got a ticket for illegally parking overnight. I called the town and was informed that the parking restrictions are posted every November in the town's weekly newspaper and that they're posted at the entrance to town. I drove in at night! Am I supposed to wear infa-red goggles to see such things? AM I, YOUR HONOR?
I was all prepared to make that argument but my mother was stressing out so much about me being there for HOURS and NOT HAVING TIME TO ADEQUATELY PACK and ETC. that I finally caved and wrote a strongly worded letter to enclose with my ticket and check.
THE BASTARDS.
3. Create lesson plans for R. to work on with his girlfriend while I'm away. This may not happen because I am the WORST LITERACY VOLUNTEER EVER and I completely forgot to do this over the weekend, and now will have to frantically throw something together tomorrow afternoon, sometime after getting the money order but before I meet with him for our last session pre-my-vacay.
Note: The literacy stuff has been going very well. I got some very nice feedback from his girlfriend and would like to take a moment to encourage people to take part in this - it's been a really rewarding experience for me, and the time commitment (once you get past the training) really isn't that bad. Basically, I have two hours of lessons, two hours of lesson planning, and two hours of driving time per week, max. That's six hours, and I know that a lot of people are so busy that cramming those six hours just isn't possible and would negatively influence their quality of life (and I totally get that), but if you have those six hours and it sounds like something that appeals to you, it's a great experience.
Here's a link to find a program in your area: http://www.literacyvolunteers.org/locator/
4. Take my grandfather to the dentist, which should be interesting since my father has just informed me that my grandfather is not aware of this appointment, and may not want to go. Awesome! So that's my morning tomorrow, wrestling him into the dentist's chair.
5. LAUNDRY. And, secondary to this, MAKE FINAL CLOTHES CUT for trip. I do not need 30 outfits for a two-week trip.
6. PACK. Right now I'm bringing three pairs of shoes and three different jackets/coats. I feel I cannot narrow this down further or I will die of hypothermia or improper-shoe-itis.
7. Figure out if brother's VCR is programmable since two other VCRs have died cruel, sudden deaths. CANNOT MISS AMERICAN DREAMS.
8. Return book to library that has been missing since last November! What a glorious day it was when I found you, Bandits by Elmore Leonard. I have spent the last two months cursing myself for giving in to Library Euphoria, the malady I fall victim to when I realize that the nice people at the desk will let me just walk out of the building with ANY BOOK I WANT for FREE (plus any late fines that have accrued since our last visit). I start picking up books I have never wanted to read in the past and probably never will, but oh! I really liked Out of Sight! And this book was made into a movie too, with Bruce Willis, who I loved in Moonlighting! Why not pick it up? And then I lose it and get a threatening letter from the library telling me I owe them $28.00 if I don't bring the book back, and oh! CURSE YOU, LIBRARY EUPHORIA!
But now I have the book back and only face the late fines which will, most likely, total as much or more than the book's price.
9. Frantically order what should be comfort reads from Amazon.com so as to have something to read on the plane that will take my mind off of my SOUL CRUSHING FEAR OF FLYING. I was planning on bringing the biography of John Adams but - though I love John Adams - methinks some Georgette Heyer may be more easily processed while experiencing SOUL CRUSHING FEAR.
Ah, I so love that I am ordering these mere days before my departure! One must always create new things to stress over.
10. See Item 1. To bed!
1. GO TO BED.
2. Obtain money order, because I have totally caved to parental pressure and have decided to send in money for the MOST UNFAIR TICKET EVER instead of showing up in court Tuesday night (the night before I leave the country) to Fight the Man. Briefly: Ticket was issued three weeks ago when I parked overnight on the street in front of my aunt's house. There were no signs restricting parking, nor was there snow falling to justify a snow emergency, nor was I on a busy city street where parking is an issue. This was a suburban development just like the one I live in, where I park my car on the street every night! But I got a ticket for illegally parking overnight. I called the town and was informed that the parking restrictions are posted every November in the town's weekly newspaper and that they're posted at the entrance to town. I drove in at night! Am I supposed to wear infa-red goggles to see such things? AM I, YOUR HONOR?
I was all prepared to make that argument but my mother was stressing out so much about me being there for HOURS and NOT HAVING TIME TO ADEQUATELY PACK and ETC. that I finally caved and wrote a strongly worded letter to enclose with my ticket and check.
THE BASTARDS.
3. Create lesson plans for R. to work on with his girlfriend while I'm away. This may not happen because I am the WORST LITERACY VOLUNTEER EVER and I completely forgot to do this over the weekend, and now will have to frantically throw something together tomorrow afternoon, sometime after getting the money order but before I meet with him for our last session pre-my-vacay.
Note: The literacy stuff has been going very well. I got some very nice feedback from his girlfriend and would like to take a moment to encourage people to take part in this - it's been a really rewarding experience for me, and the time commitment (once you get past the training) really isn't that bad. Basically, I have two hours of lessons, two hours of lesson planning, and two hours of driving time per week, max. That's six hours, and I know that a lot of people are so busy that cramming those six hours just isn't possible and would negatively influence their quality of life (and I totally get that), but if you have those six hours and it sounds like something that appeals to you, it's a great experience.
Here's a link to find a program in your area: http://www.literacyvolunteers.org/locator/
4. Take my grandfather to the dentist, which should be interesting since my father has just informed me that my grandfather is not aware of this appointment, and may not want to go. Awesome! So that's my morning tomorrow, wrestling him into the dentist's chair.
5. LAUNDRY. And, secondary to this, MAKE FINAL CLOTHES CUT for trip. I do not need 30 outfits for a two-week trip.
6. PACK. Right now I'm bringing three pairs of shoes and three different jackets/coats. I feel I cannot narrow this down further or I will die of hypothermia or improper-shoe-itis.
7. Figure out if brother's VCR is programmable since two other VCRs have died cruel, sudden deaths. CANNOT MISS AMERICAN DREAMS.
8. Return book to library that has been missing since last November! What a glorious day it was when I found you, Bandits by Elmore Leonard. I have spent the last two months cursing myself for giving in to Library Euphoria, the malady I fall victim to when I realize that the nice people at the desk will let me just walk out of the building with ANY BOOK I WANT for FREE (plus any late fines that have accrued since our last visit). I start picking up books I have never wanted to read in the past and probably never will, but oh! I really liked Out of Sight! And this book was made into a movie too, with Bruce Willis, who I loved in Moonlighting! Why not pick it up? And then I lose it and get a threatening letter from the library telling me I owe them $28.00 if I don't bring the book back, and oh! CURSE YOU, LIBRARY EUPHORIA!
But now I have the book back and only face the late fines which will, most likely, total as much or more than the book's price.
9. Frantically order what should be comfort reads from Amazon.com so as to have something to read on the plane that will take my mind off of my SOUL CRUSHING FEAR OF FLYING. I was planning on bringing the biography of John Adams but - though I love John Adams - methinks some Georgette Heyer may be more easily processed while experiencing SOUL CRUSHING FEAR.
Ah, I so love that I am ordering these mere days before my departure! One must always create new things to stress over.
10. See Item 1. To bed!