Hey - half way through. Last night's swim was under a cloudy sky with Oliver, 7-year-old grandson, who said he didn't need my help as we swam out of his depth but within 30 seconds was gurgling, 'I think I need help.'
Today's swim is likely to be postponed as the morning started with a thunderclap that nearly turned the cat inside out and the rain is not letting up.
As much as I like, for the most part, my inherited grandchildren and my nieces and nephews, and great niece and nephew, I remain pleased that I didn't have my own kids. One, it is mind numbingly boring having to tell someone what to do all the time. Two, they don't come equipped with on/off switches. And three, I would be in prison by now for having have sold one, or given one away, before they were 5.
Gone off the subject there, although keeping my head above water might be an apt metaphor for living with a kid for a week.
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Mitzi's Day Off-Course
Today I ran up and down hills chasing the Niecelette.
There was no treadmill beneath the feet and the nearest waterway was a duck pond and a curious, odd water drainage system for the system of ponds in the park.
Technically today was a day off, as I began the day with some solid writing and Niece Duty got the rest of my daylight waking hours.
My collection of sports bras is drip-drying, but you probably didn't need to know that. Any kind of sport or exercise is impossible without the appropriate hardware. With increased sporting activity, I have had to order a new super-bra from interstate. Them's the 30 day breaks.
There was no treadmill beneath the feet and the nearest waterway was a duck pond and a curious, odd water drainage system for the system of ponds in the park.
Technically today was a day off, as I began the day with some solid writing and Niece Duty got the rest of my daylight waking hours.
My collection of sports bras is drip-drying, but you probably didn't need to know that. Any kind of sport or exercise is impossible without the appropriate hardware. With increased sporting activity, I have had to order a new super-bra from interstate. Them's the 30 day breaks.
Chicago relax
on holiday. that has tuned out to be a boon to both the sleep and book reading challenges. yep, i'm still doing lots of cool holiday stuff -- visiting places, meeting people, eating too much. but i've also been sleeping well and hitting that 7 hour goal (not to mention afternoon naps).
also, spare time in between holiday adventures has been spent reading. finished my third book, "World War Z", this afternoon. yay!! will be scrounging for a new read tomorrow.
the lesson learned here? take vacation the rest of this 30-day challenge and i'll hit my goals!
also, spare time in between holiday adventures has been spent reading. finished my third book, "World War Z", this afternoon. yay!! will be scrounging for a new read tomorrow.
the lesson learned here? take vacation the rest of this 30-day challenge and i'll hit my goals!
Una nueva proyecto despegue
Empezado enseñar una nueva clase en linea esta semana. No esta una cosa grande, pero hay dos cosas diferentes sobre eso.
1. Esta está la primera vez que esta clase ha estado enseña en mi escuela.
2. Lo he escrito -- y la escritura no lo he terminado. ¿Como se dice, "yikes!"?
La clase va a estar cuatro semanas. La semana segundo está casi completo. La semana tercera está bastante bueno — más o menos.
La última semana es ... así, yo debería estar trabajando en ello en lugar de trabajar en esto.
¡Paciencia!
1. Esta está la primera vez que esta clase ha estado enseña en mi escuela.
2. Lo he escrito -- y la escritura no lo he terminado. ¿Como se dice, "yikes!"?
La clase va a estar cuatro semanas. La semana segundo está casi completo. La semana tercera está bastante bueno — más o menos.
La última semana es ... así, yo debería estar trabajando en ello en lugar de trabajar en esto.
¡Paciencia!
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
Little bit of photos, lots of decluttering
I just finished uploading and sharing the best of our family trip in June. There is a little more cleanup I can do for this year, but I'm basically done until the end of July, when I'll have to handle July's pictures.
I spent hours and hours in the basement today, moving stuff around and sorting it out. I just need to figure out what to do with all of the stuff we don't need anymore. Garage sale is a ton of work, Once Upon a Child might be a good solution, but donation is the easiest. I have a really hard time letting go of things, so I was going to try selling it this time to see if a monetary reward would help me get rid of things. I will probably try Once Upon a Child first, then donate the rest.
I spent hours and hours in the basement today, moving stuff around and sorting it out. I just need to figure out what to do with all of the stuff we don't need anymore. Garage sale is a ton of work, Once Upon a Child might be a good solution, but donation is the easiest. I have a really hard time letting go of things, so I was going to try selling it this time to see if a monetary reward would help me get rid of things. I will probably try Once Upon a Child first, then donate the rest.
Catchup
OK, I've missed a couple days but not as many as it appears from the non-blogging. I've been working on this around 10-11 at night every night, and I block my internet at that time, so it doesn't chime very easily with blogging about it. Here's another chunk.
------
Andrew needs to explain a difficult problem to a student who is not yet ready for the material.
JACOB: Let's go through them again. Because your friends are exchanging favours with you. Because generosity makes you look strong. Because your friends are your relatives.
Now Andrew is the recalcitrant student.
Jacob takes the letter out.
JACOB: Clinetics Limited. Know them? (Andrew shakes his head.) They're a genetic testing company. A little low-end compared to your people.
ANDREW faintly: It's not an area of the market we have much contact with.
JACOB gets a cutlery knife from the drawer and cuts open the top of the envelope.
ANDREW: Son,
Jacob waits.
A very challenging student.
Long pause.ANDREW: have you ever seen a Hitchcock film?
JACOB: What?
ANDREW: Do you know Alfred Hitchcock, the film director?
JACOB: Yes, I know Alfred Hitchcock, the film director.
ANDREW: Do you know what a MacGuffin is?
JACOB shakes his head.
ANDREW: So in all of his films, there's some object that the characters are chasing. A briefcase, or a necklace, or a coffin. And they are all very interested in that object. The whole plot of the film revolves around it. So Hitchcock called it the MacGuffin.
Saul enters and stands unobserved.
But the point about the MacGuffin is, that there is no point. It can be anything. It itself doesn't actually matter. It's just a hook to hang the plot on.
You... want a lot of things. You want certainty and trust, and you want to understand everything, you have all these questions and you want to put them to rest. The answer is not in that letter. Don't open it.
Trust me.
JACOB: Why should I?
ANDREW: Because I'm your father.
-------
I've been reading Sarah Kane. I'm not sure I learn much from it, but she makes me feel appropriately inferior: her writing is dazzling.
------
Andrew needs to explain a difficult problem to a student who is not yet ready for the material.
JACOB: Let's go through them again. Because your friends are exchanging favours with you. Because generosity makes you look strong. Because your friends are your relatives.
Now Andrew is the recalcitrant student.
Jacob takes the letter out.
JACOB: Clinetics Limited. Know them? (Andrew shakes his head.) They're a genetic testing company. A little low-end compared to your people.
ANDREW faintly: It's not an area of the market we have much contact with.
JACOB gets a cutlery knife from the drawer and cuts open the top of the envelope.
ANDREW: Son,
Jacob waits.
A very challenging student.
Long pause.ANDREW: have you ever seen a Hitchcock film?
JACOB: What?
ANDREW: Do you know Alfred Hitchcock, the film director?
JACOB: Yes, I know Alfred Hitchcock, the film director.
ANDREW: Do you know what a MacGuffin is?
JACOB shakes his head.
ANDREW: So in all of his films, there's some object that the characters are chasing. A briefcase, or a necklace, or a coffin. And they are all very interested in that object. The whole plot of the film revolves around it. So Hitchcock called it the MacGuffin.
Saul enters and stands unobserved.
But the point about the MacGuffin is, that there is no point. It can be anything. It itself doesn't actually matter. It's just a hook to hang the plot on.
You... want a lot of things. You want certainty and trust, and you want to understand everything, you have all these questions and you want to put them to rest. The answer is not in that letter. Don't open it.
Trust me.
JACOB: Why should I?
ANDREW: Because I'm your father.
-------
I've been reading Sarah Kane. I'm not sure I learn much from it, but she makes me feel appropriately inferior: her writing is dazzling.
Day 15 - Uptown
We've been walking early in the morning when it's as cool as it's going to get in the day. We used to walk at a park but there are too many gunshots in and around the park (not to mention slamming car doors) and now my dog is afraid to go there because of the noise. He doesn't like the sidewalks around our neighborhood either because the neighbors set off firecrackers every night from early June through mid-July. So, we've taken to walking uptown, along Main St.
In a couple of hours, when the shops and government offices open, the street will be bumper to bumper with cars and semi trucks. This photo is of a rare moment when the street is just about empty. This picture makes the town seem drab and lifeless, but actually, it's almost quaint. There's not much to see or do uptown, but they do try to make it look nice with trees and flowers and such.
We're halfway through our 30 Day Challenge. It's been interesting so far. I've enjoyed reading the posts of others more than I've enjoyed trying to find a photo to take everyday. We'll see what the next 15 days bring.
We're halfway through our 30 Day Challenge. It's been interesting so far. I've enjoyed reading the posts of others more than I've enjoyed trying to find a photo to take everyday. We'll see what the next 15 days bring.
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