In which I ramble happily

Salt Lake News

I just got home from a long weekend in Denver and my French Praxis scores FINALLY showed up. 192 out of 200. I needed only 181 to "demonstrate compentency". Ha! Take that State Office! :-p

In other recent news, I won the much esteemed Lemon Expert story challenge in the Utah Writing Monkey's1st short story challange. Yay me. I am mostly happy because this is the first time I ever managed to complete a short story, much less one that was any good. So now perhaps I will be able to get the more instant satisfaction of creating short stories rather than exclusively working on novels. I mean, I love the novel writing, but gaaaaah... finishing one is not a daily or even monthly occurance for me. Nice to have some visible progress to mark. Now I have to come up with the seed for the next challenge. To my surprise, I actually have a ton of ideas. But I think I'll try to do something slightly different than last time.

Denver Trip News

I was in Denver to visit one of my college roommates. It's interesting how much we both have changed in the last ten years (we met Freshman year, fall of 1994). We just don't have the same values or goals or... frame of reference. So we get along great while talking about things we shared in the past, or about our families. When we start talking about present or future though... it just felt weird. The feeling like "who is this alien inhabiting my friend's body"? But then, I don't act the same way around her as I do around the people I know from recent years.

Maybe I am just profoundly unable to understand an intelligent, successful woman who repeatedly says things like "I want a baaaaby. I want to get married. I don't want to buy my own house because I just want to get married and have a baby. My biological alarm clock is ringing." and yet is totally unable to appreciate a book of penis humor. Seriously, the girl would not look at the funny book of penises (peni?) (Frankly, I can't think of another body part with quite the comic value... but maybe that's just me.) So I had to ask her: "You, ah, DO know where babies COME from, right?" And she just says... "Oh, Kaatheeee."

College Flashback

Have I mentioned the fact that for the first twenty-two years of my life I went not by "kate" but by "kathy"? Oh yes, it is true. However, we had this roommate senior year at Dartmouth named Ellen. And she was--to put it as politely as possible--a fucking psychopath. Perhaps her inherent instability was tipped over the edge by the fact that she had lost her virginity in our very same senior apartment when she was but a sweet freshman. Perhaps in the quest to erase those memories, she paraded a handful of men through our apartment and her bedroom that year... often we would come home to find her sitting on the futon (my futon) in the living room, watching TV with some guy, oblivious to the fact that her miniskirt had slid up around her hips and we could all see her flower print underwear. She drank my gin. And tonic. And wine. And diet coke. (back when I used to drink Diet Coke like water). But her most annoying habit was to overuse people's names in conversation. "Kaaatheeee, do you understand what I mean?" "Kaaaaatheeee, I don't know what you're talking about." "Have you seen my [butt ugly] scarf, Kaaaaatheeee?" I shudder just to remember it. Gaaah.

End Flashback

So the point of that little tangent is that I cannot FUCKING STAND to be called Kathy anymore. Oh, my family can get away with it. I don't even register when they do it, because they've always called me both Kathy and Kate fairly interchangeably. But there's a way of saying it that just sets my teeth on edge and that's what my friend in Denver was doing.

Other than the personality conflict surprises, it was a good trip. I spent Saturday on my own because KB had an all day conference thingy at her new job. Really nice day - did some grocery shopping, explored the area, went to Washington Park to run/walk, read, and cooked dinner. Second day she and I spent together... went to lunch, went downtown, went to see Finding Neverland which was probably the best movie I've seen since The Incredibles. Though, clearly, quite a different style of film. Monday KB got off work and we had a pretty good day. I went back to Wash Park for a run/walk. KB didn't want to do the park, so she stayed home and had her dad come and take away her old couch (just bought a new one - tough life). We went to Hammond's Candies factory store and took their tour. I think the best part was watching all the little kids with their faces pressed to the windows, watching all wide-eyed at the candy makers working. Of course, we bought a bit of candy on our way out. Only polite. Heh. Dinner we did in Boulder, after browsing their trendy little shops. Ah, if only I had money. And then home again just in time to catch a phone call from my Karlyn and from Sylvan who want to hire me as of tomorrow. Yay.

And with those thoughts (mostly the candy and dinner ones), I think I'll hit the gym before I need to pick Jay up at the airport. It's good to be home.

When does it become harrassment?

I have received two letters from the USOE in the past three days, in addition to the email I already mentioned. The tone has been unremittantly nasty, continuing to imply that I lied about the number of phone inquiries I attempted, and again claiming that my complaints (aka: whining) has ruined the USOE's relationship with the University of Phoenix. But my questions had nothing to do with the advisement agreement between the two institutions... at the bottom of the web page it says to contact this woman about language skills learned without benefit of transcript proof (or however they phrase non-classroom learning).

I have so far declined to respond to these letters of "apology". I am wondering, however, if I should consult with the U of P or with the teacher's union representative. I feel like these letters are personal attacks, implying that I should have just kept my head down and shut up about my problems. I am so not in the mood to deal with this crazy person. Do I shut up and ignore it, considering that I will most likely not be in this state next year? Or do I reply in a civilized manner, explaining my position? Why do I feel so defensive? I'm pretty sure that I'm not the one who screwed up here...

Crank Relief

Wow. Hmmm. Just rereading some of my more recent entries... now I think I know why I've been in such a good mood in real life lately. I've been dumping all my crankiness here. How unfortunate. Or perhaps not so unfortunate.

My happy creative energy has been put to good use though, just not here. Using one of zette's suggestions for creating timelines from the Two Year Novel project, I've outlined the rest of my 2YN and have been fighting to do the same with my other work-in-progress Retribution. The plan is to finish the 2YN by April, per project guidelines, and finish Retribution before NaNo2005.

Speaking of books and titles... I don't really understand how I can be so quick and certain with naming characters, yet coming up with the name of the book itself is an impossible task for me. Hence I call the book by the overall theme instead of a true title. Ah well. If I ever make it to the publication stage, I will most likely not get final say-so on it anyway. So I'll just stick to worrying about grammar, punctuation, character development, and a tight plot. Truthfully, it's the tight plot thing that hurts me every time.

Now I guess the only question is... do I take 4 hours to go xcountry skiing today, or do I cut that down to 2 hours by going to the gym instead? New snow... freshly groomed trails up Millcreek... I'm leaning towards the ski.

Words Fail Me

So. As I think I mentioned, I actually did get my teaching license in the mail last week. Still waiting for the Praxis scores back so I can add the French endorsement. One of the University of Phoenix education coordinators contacted me to let me know that all I needed for the French endorsement was the Praxis exam and then I would be in. This is not what has left me speechless. I was perfectly ready to let bygones be bygones, move on with my life, forget the incompetence I had encountered.

But then I got this email....

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Ms. -----

I would like to apologize for the non-responsiveness of USOE staff. For your information, I have only one message recorded in my phone log for you (Sept. 18, 2003 1:35 p.m.); no other entries in the phone log. If you were forwarded to my assistant, she did not provide any information to me concerning your inquiries. She generally leaves phone message slips of paper on my chair but apparently goofed twice. However, I do take responsibility for my own staff members.
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So far, not bad, though she does imply that I'm lying about another call. In fact, I said that I left two messages on her answering service and was twice forwarded to another employee whose name I did not record.


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MB ----- does not work in the Educator Licensing Department but rather in Curriculum. Have you completed the reading endorsement application? If so, the application would have been submitted to S---, logged into your CACTUS file, and forwarded to MB who is required by her supervisor to review the application within one week and respond to my department. S---- is a secretary who tracks the endorsement applications; she has no authority sufficient expertise to inform applicants
of endorsement requirements.
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Okay, totally missed what I in my email to the U of Phoenix people which was forwarded to her. I said that recently I talked to Mary Beth about another issue, about getting a letter of approval that I was on a endorsement track for reading. It was not about submitting an endorsement request, and I am fully aware that MB is not in licensing.


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I mailed a letter to you today with your French endorsement review and by the end of tomorrow, you will have been placed on a State Approved Endorsement Program for French.
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While this is nice, it's irrelevent. I'm not teaching French right now and won't be until summer or later. But the next part is where it gets good.


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Concerning the four month delay in reviewing your application: it is inexcusable. However, please keep in mind that Utah's Educational system continues to be under funded, my staff members have significantly more work to complete in a 40-hour week than they can accomplish. Easy problems get solved first; more difficult one are delayed. Your problem was delayed
because it involved researching the Dartmouth College French and Italian Department course descriptions. Once your file was placed on my desk, I reviewed the file and made the decision by the end of the same work day. Your complaint has precipitated a change in the working relationship between the University of Phoenix license candidates and the USOE curriculum specialists. As it appears that we do not have sufficient time to complete our licensing tasks, USOE staff will no longer advise any pre-license applicants.
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I am completely cognizant of the limitations placed on Education by the chintzy bastards in the state legislature. But this bitching and moaning that it wasn't REALLY their fault because blah blah blah? And as for researching the course descriptions and major/minor requirements? I was able to pull that info off the Dartmouth website in 10 minutes. And they were advising pre-license candidates? REALLY? I thought my problem was caused by the fact that I didn't get any advice beforehand.


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The problem of significant delay in USOE review should be solved when the Educator Licensing Department moves to an on-line application process for the ten Utah teacher preparation institutions (July 1, 2006 target date). On the other hand, the Bureau of Criminal Identification (where criminal background checks are processed) is currently experiencing a five-month
backlog...
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Yes, that's why we were required to submit our paperwork for processing a year in advance. (That would be March of 2003 for those of you paying attention.)


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Meanwhile, we will begin accepting institutional recommendations over the signature of each university's compliance office by July 1, 2005 so long as the teacher's ETS Praxis scores are submitted with the recommendation. In other works, the ETS score will substitute for the transcript.
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Interesting, but what EXACTLY does this have to do with my case and why should I give a flying fuck?


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I would like to express my regrets for the mistake in the evaluation of your undergraduate French credits as either a "major equivalent" or a "minor equivalent". B----- may have misunderstood the course numbering system for Dartmouth or may not have reviewed the major/minor of lower division/upper division distinctions when he mailed in your institutional recommendation.

J----
Coordinator, Educator Licensing
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Wow. Allow me to translate this one for you people who aren't fluent in Bitch. "I'm sorry you're such an idiot that you didn't realize that your pathetic low-level classes didn't qualify you to teach in this state. Obviously, if you can't decipher the vague directions posted online, then that is not my problem. Oh, and too bad that your advisor was an idiot, too."

So tell me, am I being too sensitive, or was that the biggest non-apology you've ever read?

Slog slog slog

Well, the good news is that I talked to one of the secretaries at the USOE (Utah State Office of Education), because lord knows that secretaries are the ones who really run things, no matter what the business. She told me that my license had been issued last week, but she wasn't sure if it had been mailed yet. She said she would follow up with that and if it didn't show by the end of the week to give her a call back.

So. If the District office looks in their computer records, it will show that I am licensed to teach secondary ed in the state of Utah. Unfortunately, the private tutoring companies don't have that access. So. I'm hoping that the paper will appear in my mailbox very very soon.

But other than the minor inconvenience of not being fully employed (the money issues), the break from "full time" work has been nice. I put full time in quotes because I wasn't really full time last term either. But close enough. So I get to sleep in every other day for at least another week... then I should put in to start subbing on my off days... and get back to the Sylvan people about evening tutoring, as well.

In the meantime, I'll just keep reading through my mountain of books from the library, writing as much as I can, and perhaps even finishing up with my painting project that I started last summer... oh, and going to the gym, too. The goal for this year is to shrink my ass by a third. I'll let you know how that goes...

Ho Hum

I feel like I'm stuck in some sort of holding pattern here. Like I'm in some sort of odd loop. I feel like my days go by so quickly, and yet nothing really happens. I feel like I'm always getting ready for bed, but what did I really accomplish during my waking hours? I don't know, but maybe that's why I haven't had much to say here.

I've gotten some writing done. A whopping 1200 words in the last two weeks. I just can't get into it. Into anything. But I'm not really depressed or anything. I know how that feels, and this ain't it. I feel like I've misplaced my attention span.

I'm still trying to get a response from the Utah State Office of Education, one of the largest collections of useless bureaucrats. It's now been 27 weeks since I first filed my application for licensure. Their website advertises a 20 DAY turnaround. UNofficially, they tell everyone 6-8 weeks. Note the discrepancy. Sadly, without the licensure, I'm kind of screwed. I can't substitute teach in my district because signing up to sub would bring attention back to the fact that I still don't have my licensure, which might make the job I do have somewhat more iffy. I've had an offer from one of the big "supplemental teaching" (aka: tutoring) centers, but they can't hire me until I have license in hand. So basically, the state of Utah has found yet another way to fuck me over.

Maybe this odd state of mind is the result of my trying really hard to just "go with the flow" and not be stressed and not be depressed and not be all bitchy about how fucked up living here has been for me.

Could be.

Well well well

It seems that I won't be jobless after next week afterall. Not that I'll be in a good position, exactly, but at least I'll have some source of steady, reliable income. The school decided to add two reading classes and asked me to teach them. So it's only a 1/3 contract, but they arranged the schedule so I only teach three days a week (because we're on the screwy block schedule - four classes meet each day Mon-Thurs and all 8 meet on Friday), so I will be able to sub two days/week, plus afternoons for the other part time teachers who only have afternoon classes.

And if my licensure ever comes through, I could get that part time job with Sylvan Learning Center and do a few evenings a week there.

The only bad news is that I seem to have picked up a nasty bug at school this week. I was fine until Friday afternoon and then it hit me like a brick. Ugh. So I had to fight my way through this morning's Praxis exam (French: Content Knowledge) with fever and chills and a handful of kleenex. My nose is rubbed raw and I feel like someone's been beating me around the head and shoulders. Gah. Definitely one of the drawbacks to working with kids.

Happy New Year!

Just because I went to bed at 11:30 last night, that doesn't mean I don't know how to have fun. Really.

Started the year off right with a 6 mile cross country ski up Millcreek Canyon with Jay. Got there early enough to beat the crowds and enjoy the new snow. Lots of puppies on the trail coming down though... but not a single collision close call this time.

The Utah Writing Monkeys are starting to schedule meet'n'writes, which can only improve my chances of finishing the NaNo book. I think I need to external motivation to get cranking again. I reread parts of my NaNo WIP (that's National Novel Work in Progress, for the acronymically challenged), and it's not nearly as bad as I feared. A little wordier than it needs to be, and there are certain gaps in logic to be fixed, but I'm happy enough with it to feel good about pushing on to the end before going back to fix the inconsistencies.

And with that thought I will return to cruising other people's blogs and drinking my pomegranate cosmo. Yum. (citrus vodka, grand marnier, lime juice, pomegranate juice - I know it's not REALLY a Cosmo, but it's close enough.)

Home Again Home Again

Happy New Year's Eve!

Got home last night, opened the christmas present that arrived after we left for Pittsburgh last week, and caught up on all my magazines. And played with the new present, of course. Heh heh.

Seeing the family was nice... in that way of visiting family. In other words, I didn't get to spend enough time with some people and had to spend way too much time with others. My father didn't really do a flip out until the last night we were there, and it wasn't nearly as nasty as some I've witnessed. We did clear out all our stuff from the dining room in case he decided that we were "too fucking retarded and irresponsible" to have things. He has been known to break or throw away things that were left where he thought they didn't belong when he gets in one of his moods. Love the man, try to ignore the mental illness, I guess.

Speaking of mental illness, we visited Grandma and Sam. Grandma is our adopted grandma who lived across the street from us when I was a little girl. Lacking grandparents of our own, we latched on to her. She and Sam dated for years, waiting out the deaths of their parents, before marrying in 1980something. For the last ten years, Grandma has been doing the downhill slide of Alzheimers. She was still fairly functional and conversational until about five years ago. I remember taking her to a Dervish concert in Pittsburgh in the Spring of 1999, right before I moved out West, and she was extremely lucid.

Not so anymore. The woman we knew and loved is gone. She talks like a small child and becomes easily confused, leading to tears. It's hard to know what she recognizes and what she doesn't. Like a child, she'll whine for a cookie, but halfway through eating it, she'll forget she has it in her hand. But god help you if you try to take it away... Sam refuses to put her in a care facility, but the daily struggle is eating him up, too. He told us that if we ever suspected a loved one had Alzheimer's, to shoot them or yourself, because the alternatives just were too ugly to live with. I wish I lived closer so I could visit more often. I know my mother gets over there as often as she can, but with her schedule, that's not as often as they need. So I'll do what I have been doing and send them a card as often as I remember. I just wish I was better at remembering that sort of thing.

I didn't intend to be depressing. Our visit with them was fun. Sam has some fantastic stories to tell and loves an audience. He's a bit eccentric - collects clocks and watches and comic book memorabilia. My mother got him a Batmobile for christmas and he went nuts over it. He got Jay to take a watch, a weather station, six or seven CD's, and an old set of vinyl records of Beethoven's 5th from the 50s. When I was little, Sam used to be into stamp collecting, Matchbox cars, and Wonder Woman. One year I drew him a picture of Wonder Woman and cut it out to look like a stamp. He can be ornery, a cranky old man, but he's just a big sweetheart underneath that. I'm only recently discovering that. He had me fooled for many years.

Happy Holidays... and I'm off

Leaving on a jet plane... but I'll be back on the 30th. Going to spend xmas with the family in Pittsburgh. No doubt I will have lots of interesting stories to post about if Jay and I survive. Mwah ha ha ha ha.

Otherwise been in a bit of a funk lately. Not in the mood to sit down in front of the computer and write at all. Probably just backlash from NaNo. I have been on a reading binge lately though. Mmmmm. Booooooks. Goooood. Reality baaaaad.

10 more working days until I have no job again. Interviewed with Sylvan Learning Center and will also be subbing next term. Job security is something I would like to experience before I die. Just saying.

Alrighty - bed time. Must rise absurdly early for tomorrow's flight. That, and Jay is whining "Come to bed, come to be-e-e-d" at me from the other room. Good thing you're cute, sweetie. Good thing.

Just as I suspected...

I got the offer for the spring term contract... teaching 1 reading class (that I am currently teaching), 1 MORE class (a life studies/guided instruction time for 9th graders with problems), and 1 Utah Studies class. Considering that I have not had the training for the counseling portion of MORE, and that I am not FROM UTAH (thank god), I think I'm going to have to turn it down. (This would drop my take home pay to about $900/month for an assload of work, just for reference.)

Because really... 3 preps (preparations for class), all in classes that I'm not qualified to teach, with some of the most difficult students in the school... I don't think there is enough money in the district to make that worth my time and effort. But here's where the little paycheck idiosyncrisies actually come in handy: I still get paid through the end of February. While it's not enough to make my monthly expenses, it's close enough so that if I don't find a job right away, I won't be TOTALLY screwed. Just partially.

So I'm cruising the district websites, keeping my fingers crossed, and updating my resume for Sylvan Learning Center. If worse comes to worst, I'll be subbing, working up in Park City, and tutoring in the Spring. And that's not THAT horrible, right?

And we might not even be here in the Fall anyway. Right, hon? (no pressure. heh heh.)

Still Sick

All that nice head congestion is sliding down into my lungs... where it will no doubt stick around for the next 2 weeks. As long as I'm healthy by the time my flight back to Pittsburgh rolls around, I'll deal with it.

I probably should have taken more than one day off of school, but this was midterm week and I had to get a pile of grading done and entered into the computers anyway. Plus, getting a sub is like dumpster diving. Pure trash with a few pristine, plastic wrapped goodies hidden in the mix. First sub I had was not only late to class, she spent most of the time on her cell phone (according to the students), and didn't do half of what I left for her to do. Plus, she left no notes as to absences or what they had done. Second sub was a gem. Kids liked him, work was done, note left, etc. Unfortunately, he wasn't available for this past week. So I got self-righteous sub.

Self-righteous sub left me a note telling me that I might want to think about mixing up the groups because they were noisy. (Um, hello? Group work with junior high students is always noisy... doesn't mean they're not working.) Also left a mini-lecture about one of my students and how she needs encouragement. "I noticed that J. was engrossed in her book, so I took some time to visit with her. She wants to be a teacher and likes to read and write. I urged her to work on short stories."

Now, on the surface, there's nothing really wrong with what he wrote. I'm aware of J's issues, and the fact that she reportedly has ADHD. However, she also knows better than to read in my class, and she will also tell you anything if she thinks it means you will let her read instead of doing the work she is supposed to be doing. I've seen her writing before and encouraged her the best I could. (It wasn't easy to find something nice to say, but I did.) And that's great that the sub took a few minutes to talk to her, but COME ON. You saw them for 85 minutes. But you, Mr. Self-Righteous, are the one going to save them and open up new possibilities in their lives, etc? The words "Piss Off" come to mind.

The final act of idiocy came when the teacher who uses the room in the afternoon came in and found him at her desk, eating the unsalted, roasted almonds from Trader Joe's that she just brought back from a trip to California (because we do not have Trader Joe's in Utah). As his final act, he said, "Oh, I guess these are your nuts I'm eating," and tosses another handful into his mouth. Note the lack of apology or embarrassment. Anyway.

And, yes, I won NaNo for the second year in a row. The writing is no doubt horrific, but at least it is there.

With that thought, I am going to go lay down and hope I don't cough up a lung. (Sniff. And I wanted to go skiing this weekend. Sniff.)

The Fallout

Not as bad as anticipated. I will have to take one more expensive exam before they will concede that I can teach French. Good thing we teachers get paid so well, eh? My account was only $6 overdrawn when I deposited my paycheck this afternoon. Argh.

I will also be able to get the license processed with an anthropology endorsement - since that was my major in college - and the additional endorsements should be easier to add.

I'm still pissed though. And worse, I'm sick. My head feels like a weird mix of hollow and filled with snot. Throbbing headache. Can't get warm. I'm taking tomorrow off as a sick day - already arranged for a sub.

Still must write 2800 words to finish NaNo... "I will win if it kills me" is what I posted on the site the other day. I just didn't think that the fates would take me up on it. Bleh.

Denied

Oh yes, just when it couldn't get any better... Eighteen weeks (that's about 5 months, oh yes it is) after I submitted my application for licensure, the thing came back rejected. Evidently, it took that long to realize that I don't have a major in French and that they were not going to count all my French classes from Dartmouth. FABULOUS. So pleased I am.

Motherfuckers.

Perhaps it's my fault, but even so, they could have pointed out the problem in the 6-8 weeks the dirty liars CLAIM that the processing takes. Then I could have resolved the issue before the school year started, but NO.

Somehow, I don't think I'll be teaching in the Spring.

Somehow, I think I might be okay with that.

What bullshit.

Desk Sores

That's what my elbows have right now. It's a combination of dry skin and too much time in front of the computer. However, it's all for a good cause.

I'm raised my NaNo wordcount from 21,628 to 40,099 since Thursday morning. For the mathematically challenged among us, that would be about 18,500 words in 3 days. And since I called in to work due to wicked snow conditions on I-80, I still have all afternoon and evening to work on it. Mwah hah ha ha ha. Less than 10K to go!

No, she really did fall down the stairs, officer.

So, obviously, I love my baby sisters. And they're kind of goofy, so they make for good stories. heh heh. Karlyn called me the other day to make sure I was still alive and stuff, since I've been less than frequent in my postings lately. As usual, she had me laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. Or, I would have been laughing that hard, but I threw out my back that night and I wasn't really able to get the proper range of motion. Sigh. (Much better now - I can even sit up without dying.)

Things you have to understand about Karlyn: she looks so sweet and angelic, she's totally the mommy type (I think that's her official title as RA in her dorm), and she's a bit of a klutz. When she was just a wee little bitty slip of a girl, she managed to drop our butter dish on the floor, shattering it to bits. Very sad day. Then she dropped the stopper to the civil war era water jug we kept in the fridge. The jug itself followed only a few days later. I think it tooks weeks for me and Robby (our brother) to forgive her. I mean, it was our favorite jug. She was just our poopy little sister at the time. Cute, but poopy, and clumsy to boot.

All the women in the family have the unfortunate habit of crashing around without watching where we're going, and so we always have strange, unexplainable bruises on our arms and legs. Embarassing, really. Now that I'm in the classroom, I've got permanent deskbruises on my thighs. Damn desks. Damn crowded classroom.

But I digress.

So Karlyn's boyfriend John is a large guy, as I've mentioned before. We were shopping last christmas and she picked up a sweater that was so big... I asked if he was really that big and I think she said something about it maybe not being large enough. In any case, the boy is big, but harmless as a puppy.

They were leaving a party (I'm guessing in a frat basement) and just as they were almost at the top of the stairs, Karlyn slipped and fell backwards, landing on her bum, then knocking her head and sliding all the way to the bottom of the stairs, where she collapsed in a pile of giggles. (Because we crazy sisters tend to laugh hysterically when hurt.) Strangely (or maybe because of her blood/alcohol ratio) she wasn't really damaged beyond a few new bruises. Big John panicked and ran down the stairs after her, attracting the attention of several of the frat brothers... who thought he was beating her. Hah.

Then she went on to tell me about another "partied-too-much" incident where she felt sick and decided to lay on the nice, cold tile floor, preparing to worship the porceline god. John needed to brush his teeth, so he's standing at the sink in his boxer shorts, brushing his teeth while Karlyn moans by his feet on the floor. A friend ducks his head in for a moment... Karlyn says in retrospect it probably did look like John had just finished beating her. Poor maligned boy.

That's what he gets for taking up with my beautiful, accident-prone baby sister.

I must say...

It's really hard to keep up the NaNo word count and post regularly to the blog.

Especially with further distractions of work, gym, other work, friends I haven't seen for 4 years dropping by for an evening on their way through town.... (Hi Aaron - was good to see you! evenifyoudiddelaymywritingthat muchmore)

I need coffee.

Little, Purple, Tinnitus-inducing

That's right. After this week's downhill slide resulted in bouncing along the bottom of rock bottom, I've taken up with the drugs again. Everything has become so overwhelming... I know when I can't just laugh at the stupid stuff that there's a problem.

My prescription ran out in August, but I hadn't filled it since January anyway. I still have three fourths of the last one remaining, so at least I can see if that's going to make life easier to face. And fortunately, I have an appointment with my doctor next month anyway, so I can talk to her about renewing that prescription when I get my other done.

Dammit dammit dammit. I thought I was past this. Will I ever be past this?

Who loves you, baby?

Did I mention that Jay got us tickets to see David Sedaris last night at Kingsbury Hall? Well, he did. It was fucking hilarious... How the hell does he do it? One nasal-voiced, gay ex-pat comes on stage and reads a few stories... to a sold-out venue. God, I would LOVE to have his job. Brilliant.

(Quite the liberal crowd, too. The local public radio guy who introduced Sedaris mentioned that our new county mayor - shockingly, a Democrat - was in the audience... and the theater gave him a standing ovation. Ah, Utah. Reddest state in the Union. Which I find sort of ironic considering that Republicans are supposed to be the anti-communists, but they share the color... whatever. I will never (want to) understand politics.)

(Okay, I'm talking all in asides... definitely a sign that I need to go to bed. Night!)

8000 and counting...

Going okay on the NaNo front. I've been trying to keep up with the minimum 1667 words per day during the week. I hope to make up some ground over the weekend, but since I have to work at my second job, those hopes are not that high.

Are you who I think you are?

Does anyone know how those online people search databases gather their information? I was trying to look up a few people I've lost touch with and I found most of them... but I can't tell how old the data is and whether it's worth paying $10.00 to get the whole sh'bang. I have my doubts. For example, I entered my own name and came up with Arizona as my state of residence. . . . . I haven't lived in Arizona since May of 2001. There are NO listings that put me in Utah.

Since I have registered my car in Utah, paid my taxes in Utah, and have voted every year since moving here, I'm highly suspicious that the other people's information is likewise sadly incomplete. Granted, I don't have a land line, only a cell. BUT, I did have a land line for the first year I lived here. So... I'm guessing that the info is perhaps gathered from driver's license registration? I still have my Arizona license... no motivation to change when the thing doesn't expire until March of 2036. Yep. Love the AZ licenses. Note that the incidental fact that I am legally required to change to a Utah license after 60 (or is it 90?) days of residence has not provided an ounce of motivation to stand in line at the DMV. (That's Department of Motor Vehicles to the non-Americans in the audience - you lucky bastards (<---count that as my election commentary))