that_clown

11:08 am: Welcome To The Hyperion! (or at least one room)
So in a fit of insane fangirlness, uncontrolled sentimentality and fiscal irresponsibility I have purchased a room door plate from the Angel Prop Auction on Ebay. I'm not entirely certain how this happened but I do know that any competion that doesn't involve sweating brings up the bloodlust and I *cannot* let anyone else win. Oops.

So I have paid a silly amount of money and I don't even know what room number I got. For all I know it could be the janitor's closet. Which, actually, wouldn't be so bad because you know Lorne says there aren't any bugs in there. But I will be hanging it on my bedroom door as long as nothing can come in that I haven't invited. Y'all, of course, can come right in.

10:22 am: Garden Angst
Ack! My primroses and hellebores are blossoming and my daffodils are six inches tall with flower buds. Even the tulips and hyacinths are up. I am waiting for the other snowflake to fall and then what will happen to all my lovely lovelies? And since I am going to my Dad's for his 91st birthday this weekend, I am likely to get snowed in there. And there'll be a funeral. Every year. Maybe I should rename this "The Cycle of Life". And somehow I find that enormously reassuring and kind of satisfying. Hee. I am an utter loon.

11:31 pm: Philanthropy and Yard Work
So I participated in the most interesting project today. I found out about this from my boss, a woman with her finger on the pulse. A group of students from George Washington University are raising money to pay for airfare to go to Belize on their spring break to build houses for people who don't have one. (Duh!) They work every weekend at whatever people need-yard work, babysitting, window washing. And the money all goes into a communal pot to get the group to wherever their building project is. So I have this hill at the back of the lot that doesn't belong to me, it's an easement that belongs to the county so a culvert can run between the properties. But they pay zero attention to it and it is the view from my living room which has a window that is 180"x72". So it's worth my while to clean it up and plant some stuff. This was peachy when I had a housemate who was inclined to help. But I have come to the very slow realization that I can't do it by myself. Verrry slow. Enter the GWU kids.

Four girls descended on me today and worked their butts off. They cleared the hill while I cleaned up the front bed and then we all planted the spring bulbs I bought with every good intention last fall. We put 435 bulbs in, including 100 daffodils out on the hill. They all want to come back in the spring to see them. They ask for a donation of $10 to $20 an hour per worker-a bargain. And deductible! They were the nicest kids; I had them come in for some chai because it was kind of cold and they were really sweet. One of them saw all the Buffy and Angel DVD's and said she loved Buffy, too, because she watched them when she was a little kid. LOL! And ouch!

My butt and quads are sore and I will be sorer tomorrow but I'm so glad to have gotten all this stuff done and not to have wasted the bulbs. But most of all I'm glad to have met people who are willing to work to help an important cause. Impressive.

03:14 pm: I did it to me!
So my used car that I took possession of in December, the first car I chose without my Dad holding my hand, the car I drove 7+ hours to freaking Ohio at Christmas needs $2400 of work just to be fucking SAFE. I could puke. At least I paid for it upfront and I only have to finance THE REPAIRS. And that doesn't include the air conditioning, which seems to have major problems but my mechanic says gently, "We'll handle that closer to the time." *headdesk* A/C in downtown Washington DC is paramount. Paramount, I tell you. Okay, done now. Let the whining conclude.

01:27 am: A Horrible No Good Very Bad Day
So I just got weird/horrible news...

My youngest sister's father-in-law was driving drunk in Toledo on Saturday and hit two people on bikes. Then he fled the scene. Unfortunately for him (and lucky for the rest of us) the car behind him was an off duty cop. So he didn't drive very far. One of the men he hit was killed and the other is in fair condition. The man who died was a pediatrition with a wife and three daughters. I want to do something for these people but I know that would be so intrusive and not helpful to anyone but me. I am sure my sister feels the need to do something on a much more visceral level. One thing's for sure-Dave's going to jail. Now how do you explain this to his grandchildren? Holy shit. What a horrible thing and what a loss. All around.

11:14 pm: I'm goin' on vacation...(tra la!)
Tomorrow morning I am flying to Sarasota to see my very bestest housemate ever, Tammy; and that includes the one I was engaged to. She had a baby in October and she wants me to vet her child care provider-as if I know something about that! She also got weird news and I think she needs a shoulder. When she lived with me it was because she was in the Army as an occupational therapist at Walter Reed. But she served her stint including time in Korea and when she got out she and her husband moved to Sarasota and started a family. Now the Army has drafted her or conscripted her or whatever they call it and she's supposed to report Jan. 22. She has a lawyer and is exploring her options. I can't believe that a woman with a child less than 3 months old could be pulled in involuntarily.

In a lighter vein, tomorrow morning my kids and their parents are flying to Sarasota. Totally unconnected to my trip! Emily, my 5 year old, is convinced we will see each other in traffic or something to the point where I felt she needed to know how unlikely that is-they'll only be in Sarasota for the day and then they're off to Orlando. Her response-"When I see you I will wave!" And on Friday my sister and brother are flying to Orlando for a conference but first the Magic kingdom on the same day the kids will be there. Emily is sure they will have lunch. Knowing Em, they may. To compound coincidence, on Sunday my next door neighbor called and asked if I could take in her garbage cans because she was going away. "Where ya going?" asked I. "Sarasota" she replied. Wow. Any of you Sarasota bound?

Have a great week! I'm going to where it's marginally warm!

11:23 pm: Okay, here's BLUNT but joyful
So today I started with a new GYN and she told me she thought her predecessor (a man, of course)was too speedy in his diagnosis of a hysterectomy and she thought my fibroids could be eliminated in a non-invasive way. I LOVE this woman! Nobody ever tells a woman in her mid forties she doesn't need a hysterectomy. I am very happy.

In another quite different startling body development, my 2 1/2 year old told me yesterday that he has crickets living in his belly button. And then giggled like a mad man. I asked him if they tickled and Dan said "No, only if they want to be naughty." So there you have it.

10:43 pm: Sick and tired of sick and tired
I've had an active case of bronchitis since the second week of September. The kids brought home a cold the first week of school and that was it. I can't get it to settle down and it fuels sinusitus which in turn aggravates the bronchitis yadda boring yadda. So since a few courses of antibiotics haven't worked, I have to stay on inhaled steroids indefinitly and because the coughing has messed up my blood pressure I'm now on BP meds. That's eight prescriptions now. Pfizer has my picture hanging up as abuser of the month!

Now I'm gearing up to go to Ohio for the holiday. I think they would all have a fine time if they loaded themselves up and drove out here for a change. Bwah!

11:34 pm: I KNOW Seeley lives in Cleveland Park...
Can I tell you how much I want to know another local "Bones' viewer? I want to play the where do they live? game and I'm positive the Chinese restaurant is the Yenching Palace. It would be so much fun but nobody watches and I can't seduce anyone to watch either. We've been burned by bad DC tv before!

10:16 am:

Your Birthdate: June 20

You are a virtual roller coaster of emotions, and most people enjoy the ride. Your mood tends to set the tone of the room, and when you're happy, this is a good thing. When you get in a dark mood, watch out - it's very hard to get you out of it. It's sometimes hard for you to cheer up, and your gloom can be contagious. Your strength: Your warm heart Your weakness: Trouble controlling your emotions Your power color: Black Your power symbol: Musical note Your power month: February

Let's see...warm heart, check; musical note, check; black-very powerful!me, ookay. The February thing is odd; that month has never belonged to me. My dad and a sister have birthdays then and it's the month my mother died. Still and all- roller coaster me! Pretty much sums up the whole bipolar thing. Knew I loved Cedar Point for a reason.

11:57 pm: My Crazy Crazy week
I am once again master of my own ship! I wasn't last weekend and I was mostly glad but the week got long...

Last weekend I went to New York with my brother and my three best high school friends; every man jack of them gay, bless 'em, so I'm always the only one who thinks the het jokes are funny; to see the new Sweeney Todd production. I love Patty Lupone but I went to see Micheal Cerveris who plays Sweeney. OMG, the short-bald-middle-aged-sings-like-an-angel love! Squeed like a ridiculous fan-girl, I did, and without apology, too. The cool New Yorky thing was that Alan got a room for us down in Midtown on the same block as the theater. I always stay with Owen in the top of the city but that's a gazillion miles away from the theater district. We were so close that without whining at 7:00AM we jumped in a standing room line for Spamalot, the stage sort of version of Monty Python and The Holy Grail. I laughed so hard I didn't realize I was standing. (Not til the next week when old knees made their displeasure known.)

I knew Alan, my brother, and our friend Tom were going to come down after NY for a few days but then Mike had business here and Owen couldn't stand to be left out so after a weekend of togetherness they all came to DC. Holy shit, that was a lot of togetherness. Thank god I have a lot of extra beds. I still have a last load of towels to fold. After I took the last of them to the airport on Thursday night, I sat on the couch at 9:30 and woke up at 6:15. But we all haven't been in the same place at the same time in 15 years so as long as it's another 15 I'm glad to have seen them.

This weekend is much more pastoral-insulating everything I can because I fear gas bills, mulching leaves, taking care of outside furniture, a little cooking. Very quiet. Yay.

I appreciate-my brother. He brought me 2 whole cases of Diet Vernor's from Toledo! Feel the love!

10:22 am: So here I sit, making a Thomas the Tank engine costume. I think nannies get stuck with more of this kind of stuff than moms. Nobody believes me when i tell them i have work related obligations but recitals and birthday parties never happen during work hours. Dammit.

11:24 pm: It's so shiny...
I finally broke down and got the LJ account. All the cool kids did it a long time ago. I haven't really decided how to use this shiny new tool: the first thing I gotta do is figure out how to get rid of the institutional blue. All in good time-I don't expect to have much company for a while.

Today: Emily had a playdate, Sam had the twins over and Dan took a nap. Things got done. Go me.