Forgot to Build the Ark

Hmmm...while dealing with water emergencies at work, I left DH to deal with our basement. I just wanted to say that spring cleaning should be easy this year - rent dumpster, remove contents of basement due to water damage, toss into dumpster. Not his fault though - he checked repeatedly, but the water level rose faster than our poor little old pump could handle. Overnight it went from a couple inches in the lower part of the basement to water in all of the basement. The tools seem to be okay, and I can't honestly tell you what else was in the basement, so I expect that it's all good.

I was watching ESPN last night and they were apparently interviewing coaches and players at Virginia Tech regarding the shooting yesterday. I have mixed feelings about having a sports channel be one of my sources of information on the shootings (don't worry, the other sources are CNN and CBS), but considering the amount of time I spend listening to scores and insights it's bound to happen. This raises the question - are sports reporters really qualified (and really, what are the qualifications?) to cover this type of story? Is their perspective valuable, or does it make a mockery of a serious incident? I cringed when ESPN News announced that it was believed that all of the football and basketball players were accounted for. I love sports, but doesn't that sound like they're putting more value on the lives of the players than the rest of the college community? The story should not be who wasn't hurt; it should be about the tragedy of lives lost before their full potential could be recognized. On my way to work this morning ESPN was ham-handedly discussing whether or not they should be covering the story at all. Self-evaluation and introspection cne be beautiful tools, but this morning the broadcast seemed self-serving and ignorant. I'm sorry to have reached my desk prior Mike & Mike. I'm reasonably confident that Greenie and Golic could cover the topic without making me want to put my foot through the radio. (Don't worry, DH was driving so this would not have created a hazard for other drivers.) I don't think that all sports reporters lack the ability to cover serious stories - I'll never forget Al Michaels covering the California earthquakes, and how many years have passed?

I have to go back to work now, but I'm likely to stay with this topic for a bit. It hits close to home or, rather, close to work.

What's In A Name?

Would a nor'easter by any other name be less annoying? No power loss is a good thing, but when most of the buildings on campus suffer some degree of flooding it's hard to look at the bright side. 24+ hours later, and my feet are still wet. I've spent my day walking in circles, cataloging damage for the insurance claim, and dealing with yet another staff shortage. Eh, who am I kidding? It's the unexpected crises that keep me doing what I do. Of course I hope to leave for home soon (and hopefully the return commute won't take the three hours that it took to get here) and deal with the water in my own basement. DH has been contemplating running a solo bucket brigade, but at last call the water was below the pilot light in the hot water heater...

I almost hate to say it this early in the year, but I'm starting to get excited about the Red Sox. Schilling seems to have found his control, Beckett is pitching with attitude, and Dice-K should be dependable-if not lights-out brilliant. Give Wakefield some run support and we're talking 4 genuine starters. It's too early for outright confidence, but my fingers are firmly crossed.

Brace yourselves now for the return of the stream-of-consciousness blog. This is a tradition (I use the word loosely) established by my twin in her blog. It involves two authors alternating sentences on a random topic to tell a story. And no, as you will see there is obviously no need for it to make sense. Without further ado, the team that presented the "Dark and Stormy Night" brings you "Is It An Ingrown Hair?" (yes, twin, this one's for you)

Is it an ingrown hair?

I found it on my elbow – a big, ugly bump – and I didn’t know what to do.

It’s really hard to look at. It’s kind of like that thing where you can’t lick your elbow.

My boss told me how to fix it. She said I needed a swordfish.

What is a swordfish exactly? Does it have ties to the Deadly Samurai Ninja Cat Squad?

Cats like to eat swordfish; any fish, really.

I once saw this cat munch on a staple monster.

Not like the ones from your office supplies. It was a real monster with big teeth and purple fur.

It used to hang out with letter opener. You know letter opener from 86th st.

There weren’t any swordfish on 86th, so I had to go fishing.

I took with me my fishing rod and a picture of my easy button.

It took almost two days to catch a swordfish. I guess the easy button has to be there – a picture isn’t worth a thousand buttons.

So back to the ingrown hair. Is it supposed to be burning like this?

I used the fish’s sword to cut it open and low and behold, there was a… what is that thing?

Ay dios mio!! It’s a senor from el casa!!

Te namos un problema!! He started dancing on my elbow, around his sombrero.

The care bear stare just didn’t cut it for me this time.

I swatted him to the floor. Maybe one of Wheeler’s ninja cats would like an hors d’ouvre.

Word on the block was that there was a new Cat looking to make a name for himself.

The moral of this story is that little men with sombreros are always bad news, it’s hard to catch a fish in the Sound, and purple fur can be sexy in the right shade.

And really, where can I go from there? I don't think there's anything else to say.

Road Trip

So, I'm fresh off a 20+ hour tour of northern New England. Yes, that's 20+ non-stop hours. The crew picked me up around 6am, and we returned to my house at 2am the following morning. My brother was scoping out a summer camp for his daughter (Mo pointed out that's what the internet is for, but he hopped right in the back of the truck for the ride) and we picked up my piano from my parents. J and I split the driving, with him doing most of it. Mo drove the U-Haul back with the piano, and Daisy slept through most of the trip. We saw a llama farm, a flock of wild turkey, deer, buffalo, and the expected cows and horses. We also ate really good seafood, so it was all good in the end. J drives like a grandpa, but we discovered that he goes faster with a full bladder, so kept buying him coffee. He feels better about the camp now that he's seen it, so it was worth the trip. As for the piano, my parents were happy to get it out of their house, but darling hubby seems to think our cat will play it more than I will.

Discussion is flying around about the last Harry Potter book. Is the Mirror of Erised the horcrux representing Ravenclaw? (remember the clawed feet?) Is Snape going to die? How? Did Voldemort have a horcrux on him when he tried to kill Harry - is this why his death curse didn't kill him when it rebounded to him?

I have a set of confiscated swords in my office and Mo is playing with them. I'd better go stop him before he amputates his own arm.

Is there a point?

So much to say, so little space and time... No, wait, that's not true. I have all the space in the world and all the time. Well, not right now since I'm at work and should be doing a million other things. I suppose my reflections on the world can wait. Yeah. I'll be back later.

Eh. Why wait? I'm actually here because I wanted to post comments for Dragon and Z. Mab hasn't posted in a while or I would have been chatty over there too. These are the people who dragged me (kicking and screaming of course) into the world of COH. Now I'm following them into the world of blogging. I'm like a sheep. Herd me. ;)

Of course, I have opinions on everything: television, books, sports, the plausibility of utopia, the implausibility of housekeeping. Stay tuned.