So I've barely had time to breathe lately, how bout you?
• I have officially had Hawaiian Shaved Ice. Verdict? I don't get it. It's a snowcone. Color me unimpressed. I would like to know how many they went through in that H50 episode with Kono and the kid whose dad didn't kill her mom. It's roughly Hawaii weather in Chicago right now - 85ish and humid - and mine melted in less than ten minutes.
• There are seven Baha'i Temples in the world. One is 40 minutes from my house. Baha'i are big on gardens, so the grounds and exterior are gorgeous. I got many pictures. I am not allowed to photograph inside while people are meditating. Which, you know, is all the time. GRRR! Photographer growly pants! I kept asking the tour guy if there were times set aside maybe a few times a year for photographers and he was being deliberately obtuse. Dude, just say 'no' if the answer is no, don't keep telling me to go on the internet to GET pictures. Also, while many of the tenants of your religion are remarkably UU-like, you really need to cut down on the proselytizing to the visitors. It's pretty unattractive. There's a difference between explaining the beliefs of a given faith and actively preaching them.
• The woman doing the 10 minute free massage as a pitch for a crack-toe-practy clinic was AWESOME. My back is sixteen times happier with me now than it was this morning.
• I managed to network with both my Alderman and a the school at the end of my block while at the neighborhood Ribfest. I have to follow up on both on Monday. I also have to pick up the paycheck they *promised* me would be on direct deposit when I signed up for it two weeks ago.
• They promised me my new glasses would be in in 4 to 6 days. That was a week ago. Guess what I don't have yet.
• OH! This may even be a new one for Neadods, and I'm sure she's seen just about the worst of this crap...
Driving out this morning I went through Evanston. You know, the home of Northwestern University? As I'm coming down a pretty major road, I see a metal construction-type sign that says, "Disturbing Abortion Images Ahead". And by the time you've read the sign and comprehended it, you're IN IT. There were protesters lining both sides of the street, about 10 feet apart with signs about five feet high by three feet across - pretty damn huge - of Really Fucking Disturbing Abortion Images. FOR OVER HALF A MILE! I mean I was expecting a "don't look in that parking lot" kind of thing. NOT BLOCKS UPON BLOCKS of these horrid pictures being thrust at me from both sides of the street. I almost wanted a fender-bender to break out so we could sue the group for causing a traffic menace by making people afraid to check their blindspot or something.
Now, I've never been pregnant, so I've never had to make the choice for me. And as a woman who believes she doesn't have the right to tell another woman what's appropriate for her body/lifestyle, I've always come down on the pro-choice side, but honestly, I've not given it a *ridiculous* amount of thought because it's never been personally relevant. But boy, let me tell you, if there was ever a way to turn me OFF to your cause? That was it. I know they're trying to make people Insanely Uncomfortable, and yeah it worked, but not in the way they wanted it to. It made me want to shove those signs up THEIR uteruses. uterii? All I could think of was the poor parent driving down that street with a six year old little girl in the car going, "What's that, mommy?" CREEP. VILLE.
• The Monastery was pretty decent this week despite All The Drama around me getting a physical. My runner was in the principal's office all day Wednesday and BOTH my serious pains in the asses (I-the-runner and E-the-swearer) were told to stay home until THEY got their physicals. The Tibetan twins were making me a bit buggy yesterday. They don't have a lot of English yet... well, sometimes I think they PRETEND they don't have a lot of English just to keep doing whatever the hell they want, but neither of them is as bad as I or E. And that school is closed all next week. My agency is going to see if they can insert me somewhere if someone calls in sick or whatever so I get hours.
• TWMA2YO loves me. It's nice to be loved. He told his dad last Thursday that I couldn't go home even though daddy was home. I had to stay with him. (I left and he coped, but it was nice to be wanted). We had a MONSTER Adventur on Thursday. We'll probably go back there next week because, well, it's an all indoor (air conditioned) adventur and he totally loved the place. :)
• 2U is having worship in the park tomorrow. I need to go make brownie bites again. I also need to check which bus I need to take to get there. I think it's the 145.
• My cable t.v. has been out since before I got home from Wilmette at 2:30. Comcast has no flipping clue when it'll be back. At least they didn't break the internet.
• At 7:30 last night I got a message that a spot had opened up at a photography session I desperately wanted to attend. That started at 8:30. At the time I was half a mile away from home, on foot, and I had to get out Glen Ellyn for this thing. I sent back a text going, "I'M COMING!!!!" and hit 290 like a bat out of hell. Of course, this was shooting the full moon and Jupiter through a telescope and by the time I got out there, we were completely clouded over. Grump. I'm on the list to try again in September.
*sigh* I feel like I'm forgetting more than I'm remembering, but you probably stopped reading six or eight paragraphs ago or so, so... *shrugh*
• There are seven Baha'i Temples in the world. One is 40 minutes from my house. Baha'i are big on gardens, so the grounds and exterior are gorgeous. I got many pictures. I am not allowed to photograph inside while people are meditating. Which, you know, is all the time. GRRR! Photographer growly pants! I kept asking the tour guy if there were times set aside maybe a few times a year for photographers and he was being deliberately obtuse. Dude, just say 'no' if the answer is no, don't keep telling me to go on the internet to GET pictures. Also, while many of the tenants of your religion are remarkably UU-like, you really need to cut down on the proselytizing to the visitors. It's pretty unattractive. There's a difference between explaining the beliefs of a given faith and actively preaching them.
• The woman doing the 10 minute free massage as a pitch for a crack-toe-practy clinic was AWESOME. My back is sixteen times happier with me now than it was this morning.
• I managed to network with both my Alderman and a the school at the end of my block while at the neighborhood Ribfest. I have to follow up on both on Monday. I also have to pick up the paycheck they *promised* me would be on direct deposit when I signed up for it two weeks ago.
• They promised me my new glasses would be in in 4 to 6 days. That was a week ago. Guess what I don't have yet.
• OH! This may even be a new one for Neadods, and I'm sure she's seen just about the worst of this crap...
Driving out this morning I went through Evanston. You know, the home of Northwestern University? As I'm coming down a pretty major road, I see a metal construction-type sign that says, "Disturbing Abortion Images Ahead". And by the time you've read the sign and comprehended it, you're IN IT. There were protesters lining both sides of the street, about 10 feet apart with signs about five feet high by three feet across - pretty damn huge - of Really Fucking Disturbing Abortion Images. FOR OVER HALF A MILE! I mean I was expecting a "don't look in that parking lot" kind of thing. NOT BLOCKS UPON BLOCKS of these horrid pictures being thrust at me from both sides of the street. I almost wanted a fender-bender to break out so we could sue the group for causing a traffic menace by making people afraid to check their blindspot or something.
Now, I've never been pregnant, so I've never had to make the choice for me. And as a woman who believes she doesn't have the right to tell another woman what's appropriate for her body/lifestyle, I've always come down on the pro-choice side, but honestly, I've not given it a *ridiculous* amount of thought because it's never been personally relevant. But boy, let me tell you, if there was ever a way to turn me OFF to your cause? That was it. I know they're trying to make people Insanely Uncomfortable, and yeah it worked, but not in the way they wanted it to. It made me want to shove those signs up THEIR uteruses. uterii? All I could think of was the poor parent driving down that street with a six year old little girl in the car going, "What's that, mommy?" CREEP. VILLE.
• The Monastery was pretty decent this week despite All The Drama around me getting a physical. My runner was in the principal's office all day Wednesday and BOTH my serious pains in the asses (I-the-runner and E-the-swearer) were told to stay home until THEY got their physicals. The Tibetan twins were making me a bit buggy yesterday. They don't have a lot of English yet... well, sometimes I think they PRETEND they don't have a lot of English just to keep doing whatever the hell they want, but neither of them is as bad as I or E. And that school is closed all next week. My agency is going to see if they can insert me somewhere if someone calls in sick or whatever so I get hours.
• TWMA2YO loves me. It's nice to be loved. He told his dad last Thursday that I couldn't go home even though daddy was home. I had to stay with him. (I left and he coped, but it was nice to be wanted). We had a MONSTER Adventur on Thursday. We'll probably go back there next week because, well, it's an all indoor (air conditioned) adventur and he totally loved the place. :)
• 2U is having worship in the park tomorrow. I need to go make brownie bites again. I also need to check which bus I need to take to get there. I think it's the 145.
• My cable t.v. has been out since before I got home from Wilmette at 2:30. Comcast has no flipping clue when it'll be back. At least they didn't break the internet.
• At 7:30 last night I got a message that a spot had opened up at a photography session I desperately wanted to attend. That started at 8:30. At the time I was half a mile away from home, on foot, and I had to get out Glen Ellyn for this thing. I sent back a text going, "I'M COMING!!!!" and hit 290 like a bat out of hell. Of course, this was shooting the full moon and Jupiter through a telescope and by the time I got out there, we were completely clouded over. Grump. I'm on the list to try again in September.
*sigh* I feel like I'm forgetting more than I'm remembering, but you probably stopped reading six or eight paragraphs ago or so, so... *shrugh*