It has been a crazy week since I last posted.

Tuesday night we cleaned the house in preparation for an out-of-town guest. After we finished putting things away, vacuuming, and changing the sheets on the guest bed, we decided a shower was in order. Usually, since it's just the 2 of us, I turn on the shower, jump in and wash and step out, then DH jumps in and turns off the shower. Except the goddamned thing wouldn't turn off all the way. So hubby hauled out the tools and stripped the hot water handle back to the stem, then used pliers to get the stem turned off.

For those of you keeping score, this is the THIRD problem with the shower/tub handles since we bought the house. THIRD. By this time, however, it's well after midnight, and there's little that can be done except to get the water turned off and go to bed.

Wednesday, I got up and went to work, and then picked up my friend from the airport. We went straight from LAX to the beach, as she'd never put her tootsies in the Pacific. We had lunch at the Kettle (my favorite MB comfort food place) and then walked down to the waves. After goofing around for about 15 minutes and introducing her to the joys of squishing kelp bobbers, we walked back up to the car and made our way back to the casa. We got her gear stowed, watched some TV and went to choir rehearsal.

Thursday I dragged her to school with me, and she got to sit in for the final fetal pig lab of the year. Of course her patience was rewarded with a trip out to Melrose to shop at Fluevog and Kidrobot and lunch at Johnny Rocket's.

Friday we went to the Dodger game (Joe Torre Bobblehead night!).

Saturday was plumbing day 1. We took the access panel off the wall to see how difficult it would be to replace the diverter/valve/handle thingy. As usual, it wasn't that simple. As with the dishwasher, one plumbing job quickly became three, as we discovered that the water shutoff valves for the shower were broken OPEN. So we had to turn all of the house water off to replace those. AND we discovered that the shower would take a hell of a lot more work to replace... so we decided to cap the leaking valves and put the rest off, as we were having people over for a BBQ so that our friends could meet our guest. Much meat and wine took the edge off of the plumbing mess.

Sunday we went to see the Big Fat Rat. It turns out that was an excellent day to go. Not terribly hot, and not terribly crowded either. We rode all the big rides, and most of the smaller ones, too. The longest line we stood in was 45 minutes, for the Nemo submarines. Everything else was 20 minutes or less, including Indy! We had "linner" at the Blue Bayou (yum!) and went to Downtown Disney to the Lego Store via Monorail. We left at 9 because Monday is a work day, but everyone was exhausted by then anyway.

Monday was plumbing day 2. We fixed the valves and tackled the shower/diverter replacement. It quickly became evident that the geometry of the house made it IMPOSSIBLE to remove the pipes via the access panel. So we cut a hole in the side of the house! Extreme, but it was either that or rip out the fiberglass shower surround. And anyway, our house is covered in flat wood panels (1x 12's) with wood shingle siding attached, so what we cut out came out in one single piece (which we screwed back on when we were done). Once we could actually REACH the plumbing, the shower replacement was a piece of cake. And now it works great. YAY Hubby!

Tuesday was my class's final, and then another trip to Kidrobot and a tour of Hollywood Boulevard.

Wednesday I dropped my friend back at LAX, and our whirlwind week was over. Back to real life, and fast. I got a hell of a curve ball at work, and then I had to grade exams.

Today I finally got to do my ACTUAL job. Wow.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:28 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Local blogging is alive and well in Pasadena, and the bloggers are a great crew to hang out with!

Just got home from the reasonably-semi-annually Pasadena bloggers picnic. Ok, it was really Foothill Cities, as the actual group who were there span an area from La Canada to San Dimas, and blog on everything from photography to journalism, to local politics.

Hubby and I decided to take the Princesses, and they were super well behaved. And of course, after running around the park all afternoon they are too pooped to pop! Both of them are napping on the bed at the moment.

Check out the blogs of the folks who were there:
Miss Havisham, who organized the whole shindig (YAY!)
Aaron Proctor
West Coast Grrlie Blather
Altadenablog
Palm Axis
The Real Zajac
Frazgo
KChristieH
Pasadena Daily Photo
Eye Level Pasadena
LA Times Pressmens 20 year club

And I know I missed a couple of people, so if you were there and aren't represented, or you see someone not on the list, let me know in the comments.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 04:29 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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The best laid plans of mice and men....

I was on my way to work this morning, right near the freeway on-ramp, when I heard BOOM. Then rattlerattlerattle.

Yep, I blew out a tire. So I had to cancel my AM class and call AAA to come put on the donut for me. And, since the donut can't handle freeway speed, I had to get it taken care of right away. As we speak, I am waiting for 4 brand-spanking-new tires (it was high time to change them, anyway) and then I'll be on my not-so-merry way to work, I suppose.

Yippeee
/sarcasm.

UPDATE: 4 tires = $781. And I made it to work well in time for my 12 pm meeting.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:54 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I rant, you decide:

If I see this so-called "pregnant man" again, I think I am going to puke.

Gender politics aside, this is NOT a man. Legally, sure. I can agree with that. Phenotypically, even. I can agree he's a man.

But don't fucking go around trumpeting that you're a MAN and you're pregnant. That's not the case, except perhaps on paper. And it's no fucking miracle. You stopped taking your testosterone and the female hormones made by your INTACT OVARIES AND UTERUS THAT YOU WERE BORN WITH started working again. There's no miracle there. That's how your body is supposed to work.

Then you inserted sperm, and voila! The process worked the way it was designed to. Funny that. You got pregnant the same way that every other person born with a uterus tries to. In fact, from what I understand, you had an easier time than a lot of us uterus-bearers, whatever gender our driver's license says we are.

You're not a pregnant man. You are a pregnant ex-female who chose to remain reproductively intact despite partial gender reassignment surgery. Let's be clear on the terminology.

A pregnant man WOULD be worth shouting about, and it would be a miracle. Seeing as how MEN are born without the means of conceiving and carrying a baby INSIDE their body. A pregnant MAN worth studying would be someone who is able to carry a fetus on the inside, and is born with sex chromosomes that say "XY" instead of "XX", and who are born with testes, and vas deferens and a prostate and a penis . Not a "man" born with a uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, and a vagina.

That's no reason to get on Oprah and every other fucking show on TV, ok?

And before you fucking go off on me about being insensitive to transgender people, please understand that I could care less which set of chromosomes you were born with, and whether they match what you show on the outside. Just keep your crotch out of my face. When you go around showing pictures of your beard and man's chest and pregnant stomach, that's tantamount to waving your nuts in my face, which I don't appreciate. And don't go around acting like you got pregnant from sperm inserted up your fake dick, whether you have one or not, when you got pregnant the same way everyone else does. That's nothing to write home about.

All that being said, I wish you and your wife a lifetime of happiness and the blessings of a healthy child, as every family deserves happiness and health. Just not in my face. If nothing else, out of respect for your child's well-being.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:34 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 Yeah, I don't see what the big deal is; a woman had surgery to attach a 'member' but gets pregnant anyway. It's not like the 'member' impeded the progress of the sperm at all. Where's the miracle...?

Posted by: pam at April 05, 2008 05:27 AM (l6NIn)

2 Just keep your crotch out of my face. I was all set to make a smart alec comment, and then I read that. Seriously. You caused me to spill beer when I busted up...

Posted by: T1G at April 05, 2008 07:06 PM (irTdd)

3 Preach it Sistah! I felt the same way watching all of this B.S. In fact, I finally just turned it off...

Posted by: Richmond at April 08, 2008 07:41 AM (p8h1f)

4 So, Chica. How do you *really* feel about this pregnant "man?" :::with "his" pubic facial hair:::

Posted by: baldilocks at April 10, 2008 11:53 AM (0+D++)

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We do that a lot around here I guess. First we bought a house when everyone said we should wait (if we had waited, we would never have closed on a mortgage courtesy of everyone and their aunt foreclosing...)

And now we bought a dishwasher (custom order since it's white... and the date stamped on the back is actually 3 days after we paid for it) when durable goods orders are "inexplicably" down.

Oh well. It's nice to contribute to the economy!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:15 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Crazy doesn't begin to cover it, folks.

And yet I can't think of a better word to describe the last week.

It started out great. I was very productive at work, got through my "pre-Friday" to-do list on Wednesday, if you can believe it, and got my classes back on schedule. No mean feat, I assure you. Wednesday night I went to rehearsal, we went out to dinner and did some shopping, and then we had a quiet evening in front of the TV.

Thursday we awoke to what sounded like a helicopter hovering over the house. And then, as we both got up and began to move about, we noticed that the water pressure in the house seemed very low. But, neither of us needed a shower, and we both had to be out of the house early, so we put it on the mental back burner.

Until I opened the front door to go out to the car. I was greeted by a fountain and a flood.

Some IDIOT thought it would be funny to break our hosepipe off at the top of the dirt. Oh well, they got theirs...a face full of water. HA. MORON. You could see where they were standing... clearly they were in the path of the fountain.

But seriously, what kind of IDIOT doesn't know that there's water in water pipes. No shit.

We called the police, and the officers who came out were highly amused. To say the least. Like us, they figure it was probably a kid. Especially since Hubby had a kid threaten to egg our house earlier in the week. This is being followed up by the PD and at the school.

Friday was a boring day. I can't remember what I did. No kidding.

Saturday we worked all day in the yard, doing a lot of ripping and planting. We had IHOP green eggs and ham and Who Cakes for breakfast. YUMMY!

Sunday I woke up sick. SICK. Like bad tummy sick. If that wasn't bad enough, I had to be at a "work retreat" at 5pm.

I am still moderately queasy. So I am staying home today.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:35 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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It was a hell of a week last week.  Pretty much a downer everywhere you turned.  Plus I was getting out a grant, and any of you who have been around long enough know what that means: life shutdown until that magic email appears from the funding agency with the words "submission successful."

And then Friday afternoon I morphed into an alligator wrangler trying to get both dogs to the vet.  Puppy decided that we HATE her and ABUSE her (of course, we were just putting the leash on her collar and asking her to go to the car from the porch) and generally had a freak out.  I swear she is half cat.  Princess, on the other hand hopped up in the car and sat patiently to be buckled in.  She didn't start growling until puppy tried to crawl UNDER her to hide from evil mom and dad.

But the weekend?  She was good.  We road-tripped all around SoCal on  Saturday, touring every major appliance seller we could find. Hubby's retro check came through last month, and we have BIG plans for it:  a dishwasher.  Hence the grand tour of appliance showrooms.

Silly us, we could have saved all that time and gas.  The best deal on the one we wanted was right in our own backyard at Sears.  We bought this one (in white) in case you were wondering.

Yes, I did look online, but the deal at Sears was far better than I could find elsewhere. Plus 0% for a year, so I can pay it off $50 at a time if I want.

Anyway, we used to have this dishwasher, or at least a previous version of this dishwasher, in Chapel Hill.  It was really quiet, got things clean, and best of all, it holds a hell of a lot of dishes.  Also has a sweet delay feature, so you can start the washer and then go finish your laundry before the damn thing comes on and robs all your hot water... Needless to say, we knew what we wanted, walking in.

Of course, getting a dishwasher means tearing up part of our kitchen, so I also got this.  YAY! Power tools!  And then we had to go to IKEA to get a smaller piece to go in that corner.  We had this by the dishwasher space, but we'd never get the door open with that in place, so we needed something narrower.

So Saturday night we went to IKEA and picked up this little guy.  Fits perfectly.  YAY.  And now I have space to put out my mixer!

Sunday was a lazy day.  We cleaned house and moved (and built!)kitchen furniture.

Yesterday I went shopping and bought a new pair of jeans.  YAY!  I haven't found a pair of jeans that fits this well in YEARS.  And they appear to be a size smaller (although who knows, they changed the sizing numbers). Then I purged my closet and tossed about half of it to be given away.  Go me.

And then I woke up  TODAY to drizzle and the news that cagastro resigned.  Big whoop.  Let me know when the comemierda is really dead.  And his brotherpuppet Raul, too.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:39 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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That would be me.  I have a lot of things I'd like to post on.  The election, ABC's use of the new show Eli Stone to promote their (completely wrong) agenda about autism, football, idiots, work, and the puppy (who is doing just fine, thank you very much.  At least she was when I shut her into the bathroom this morning (the bathroom is her safe room, with her bed and food and toys and puppy pads on the floor and nothing she can tear up or piddle on).

Honestly, I'm not sure where my brain is right now.  I haven't really been on track since before the holidays, and I am trying to get back into the usual routine.  Just as I was getting back in to the swing of things, jury duty fried my brain.

It's amazing how sitting on your ass all day in a terribly uncomfortable seat, surrounded by strangers, and being forced to pay attention can totally zap your energy.  For days.

I have been trying to pick it up, though.  Going to bed earlier, doing things around the house, cooking and baking, yard work.  Pretty much anything to keep me from just falling into the sleepy trap I have been in the last couple of weeks.

Things are slowly improving, though, and at least the insomnia beast hasn't reared its ugly head in weeks.  Sleeping is about what I do best these days.  Damn, I just want to go to sleep RIGHT NOW.  As I type this.

I think the best thing for me to do now is just pack it up, go home, and try to get some work done there.  If I go now, it takes me about half as long to get there as it would if I leave an hour from now.  And I get puppy time.  Which is much more fun than sitting in my office all day.  And maybe I can get some laundry done, too.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 02:14 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Fred was the man.

Let's face it.  Dropping all the hype and the hyperbole, Fred was the only candidate LIKELY to punch the hippies.  And turn the terrorists into nuclear waste.

Because the truth is, I am a one-issue voter:  National security.  As far as I am concerned, the rest of this bullshit can take care of itself.

Abortion? I could care less what you do with your body

Gay Marriage? See above.

The Economy?  Market forces will foster self-correction.  Together with greed, that's how the market stays afloat, not some shitty presidential policy.

So for me, it's all about Security.  Iraq, terror, the border, all of that.

With Fred out of the race there's no candidate that I trust to have the balls to pull the big trigger.  Period.

Forget the Democrats. They're tripping over their ownselves trying to beat each other out of the middle east, and forget regulating the borders, after all, they want Mexican votes. And they'll say whatever they need to say to get them.

And what about the Republicans?  Huckabee is a whiny-ass pussy, Giuliani is not really sure what he wants, Romney is a slick used car salesman (AND he was Governor of Massachusetts, so his conservative credentials seem rather fake to me), and that leaves John McCain.

Eight years ago, I was on the McCain train when he ran against GWB for the nomination.  Then, he seemed like Fred, the only one who was willing to kick ass and take names.

Which frankly, IS the best job description for the President of the United States, IMO.

Today, I am not so sure.  McCain-Feingold and the Gang of 14 antics, among other things, have made me re-think my McCain-iac status, but all in all, today, I think he's the best candidate with regard to what I consider to be the PARAMOUNT issue facing our nation. He's the only one that I think would NOT be a pussy.

So I'll be supporting McCain.  With a little "s". 

Fred, why oh why were you such a lazy asshole?  You could have won the whole thing.  Late start or no.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 01:12 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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So on Saturday we did a bit of yard work.  The Bougainvillea fell over on our gorgeous (and still producing!) yellow tomato plant, effectively killing it.  Once we removed the bougie back to upright status, we found dozens of small green tomatoes still growing on the dying vine.  So we harvested at least 4 quarts of beautiful green tomatoes.

Ironically enough, fried green tomatoes is one of the FEW fried, Southern dishes that I DON'T like.  So I went to Chef Google to find some different recipes for using up the garden's bounty.  One of the first that I turned up was this recipe for Green Tomato Soup.  I made this last night, and by all accounts it was a BIG winner.

Believe it or not.  Originally found here. The recipe below contains my modifications.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 01:51 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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So after 3 days of sitting on my ass on hard wooden benches or stone benches in the hallway, I was excused.  I was #47.  They got to #45 before they finally empaneled a jury.

The case was this one, since I can now talk about it.  Clearly it took longer than anticipated, as the trial actually began this morning.

The most interesting aspect of this case, I learn now, is one that would not be presented to the jury.  That is the REASON it took 2.5 + years to come to trial: the whistleblower cop was fired for reporting the alleged brutality.

Below the jump is a cached version of an article about the case from last May including info on the corruption aspects of the case....
more...

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:52 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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So first off, the reason we can't read is that the judge wants everyone to pay attention. The way she runs voir dire in her courtroom is that she questions the panel aloud en banc, and should any of us not yet in the privileged seats move up, she wants us to be aware of what we are going to be asked. It saves time in questioning the people who get seated later.

So I have been learning a lot about my fellow jurors. Seems there are a lot of people who have really negative opinions about cops and judges and attorneys. And a lot of people who have been harassed by cops or know someone who has.

This is one hundred percent outside my worldview.

It's an interesting exercise in psychology listening to people talk about their experiences and feelings, and then to see the judge and attorneys' reactions. And it certainly makes things less boring, especially for a people-watcher like me.

And, I get to go back in Tuesday morning. As expected, they have already chewed through 36 of the original 55 of us, and the last 7 of those are still actively in voir dire. I expect the jury will be picked and sworn Tuesday, whether or not I get chosen. At this point, I'd almost RATHER be chosen, as it will be 3 days out of my life already, and I'm interested to find out what happens.....

But, joy of joys, I GOT A METRO PASS!!!! No more $5/day to go back and forth. No more bums staring at me while I feed bills into the ticket machine.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 06:16 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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So I am not on a jury, yet. I am, however, in a jury pool for a particular case which I may not discuss except to say it's a criminal matter. I must return to the Courthouse of Doom tomorrow for further waiting around with my thumb up my butt sitting in a courtroom with nothing to do but listen to idiots spew their biases in an effort to get out of service, as reading in the courtroom is prohibited and I suspect that if I piss this judge off it won't be that good for me....

And, joy of joys, it might go through to Tuesday before they actually get around to picking a jury. So much for work this week and next.....

The only bright spot is that I am 7 from the back of the queue....

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:48 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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I get to go in for Jury Duty tomorrow.

Blecch.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:39 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Usually Pasadena is pretty calm on Santa Ana wind days. But tonight it's been blowing up a storm. I'm not sure what the top gusts have been, but 30-40 MPH is a good estimate. It's blown all kinds of things around our yard, and I am currently waiting to hear the big citrus trees in the sideyard come down on the roof.... So we moved into another room, on the lee side of the house. The dogs are actually pretty freaked out, which is a first for a non-thunderstorm.

We've been through a bunch of hurricanes, and at times it's sounded eerily like those did. I wouldn't be surprised to see hurricane or at least tropical storm force sustained winds through the passes with higher gusts.

Holy cow.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 08:41 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Seen at the LlamaButchers'.
Belief-O-Matic:

Your Results:

The top score on the list below represents the faith that Belief-O-Matic, in its less than infinite wisdom, thinks most closely matches your beliefs. However, even a score of 100% does not mean that your views are all shared by this faith, or vice versa.Belief-O-Matic then lists another 26 faiths in order of how much they have in common with your professed beliefs. The higher a faith appears on this list, the more closely it aligns with your thinking.

Interesting, as my religious upbringing is #3 and #5, being both Orthodox and Methodist.

1. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (100%)
2. Orthodox Quaker (93%)
3. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (88%)
4. Seventh Day Adventist (79%)
5. Eastern Orthodox (75%)
6. Roman Catholic (75%)
7. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (64%)
8. Liberal Quakers (56%)
9. Unitarian Universalism (54%)
10. Orthodox Judaism (53%)
11. Reform Judaism (51%)
12. Sikhism (50%)
13. Islam (48%)
14. Jehovah's Witness (47%)
15. Bahá'í Faith (47%)
16. Hinduism (46%)
17. Mahayana Buddhism (42%)
18. Neo-Pagan (42%)
19. Theravada Buddhism (42%)
20. New Age (40%)
21. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (33%)
22. Jainism (31%)
23. Nontheist (30%)
24. New Thought (28%)
25. Taoism (28%)
26. Scientology (26%)
27. Secular Humanism (25%)

Posted by: caltechgirl at 02:56 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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- First of all, I want to start out by saying tonight's Golden Globes were the BEST AWARDS SHOW EVAH.  I'm certain that I am not the first to say so, but it was delightfully refreshing to not have to listen to blather about designer dresses and celebrity dates and political bullshit speeches from idiots who, for the most part, are merely talking out their asses.  Not to mention 3 hours of bad comedy and rotten stage numbers.  Thirty minutes.  No bullshit.  I loved it.

Thanks Writer's Guild.  I wish we could have you picket ALL the awards shows.

On the other hand, I think you writers are a bunch of selfish bastards.  See, LA really is a company town.  And all the NON-writers are really suffering.  One of the news stations reported that if the parties accompanying the awards shows are cancelled, just the parties, that's $80 MILLION out of the area economy.  $80,000,000.00.  That's a hell of a lot of crews and waiters and caterers and delivery guys and lots of others who are barely hanging on in the best of times, and who are facing a serious crisis because a bunch of writers want 2 more cents per DVD.  The actors say they're in solidarity with you, but they can afford to.  Strangely enough, it's the richest among them who are calling for your selfishness to end.  George Clooney and others have begged the parties to come back to the bargaining table, someplace they haven't met in WELL over a month.

In the meantime, crew members, caterers, security guards, and all the other "little people" are struggling.  Not to mention the store owners, construction firms, barbers, restaurants, and other businesses that aren't getting business because Hollywood is essentially shut down.

Get your shit together and grow up.  That is all.  But do skip the awards shows.

-Top Gun is an ass-kicking movie.  I think more people should watch the first half-hour and the last half-hour, and think about the implications of what's going on for TODAY.  We came to the conclusion that if more people actually THINK about what's going on in the world, you'd hear a HELL of a lot less whining about the war.

-Psych is the best show on TV.  If you don't watch it you should.  Especially as NBC will be running episodes starting in February. 

-We watched a lot of TV tonight.  I needed the mental break.  On a whim we flipped it to "Scott Baio is 46 and Pregnant" on VH1.  It was actually funny.  And it had a damn good soundtrack (incl. Depeche Mode and The Cure).  We also watched Home Makeover.  Damn if that show doesn't make me cry every time I see it.

-The Puppies are beginning to get along.  I even have photographic evidence.  They were in the same chair.  I was so shocked I jumped up to get the camera before they could figure out I was going to take pictures.  I'll post them tomorrow when the camera and I are in the same room.

-Who turned on Fred's Espresso machine?  Seriously.  WooHoooooo!

-My mind must be on another planet.  I usually have a mind like a steel trap, but I have forgotten a ton of things this weekend.  Stress, and a working subconscious.  First, Attila Girl asked me to guestblog for her for a few days.  And I forgot.  I was supposed to begin calling for jury duty this weekend, and guess when I remembered to do that?  11:05 PM, when the news dude started talking about Brit-Brit going to court tomorrow.... yeah.  Go me.  And I forgot a bunch of work stuff I need to get done before tomorrow.

And what am I doing?  Blogging and procrastinating.  Because I can.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 01:35 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 Psych is the best show on TV. It's must watch TV for me and the spouse as well. Did you catch the rerun of the pilot? They had a different girl playing Maggie in the first episode. You might remember her as the beeyatch extraordinaire from House this year.

Posted by: physics geek at January 14, 2008 01:29 PM (MT22W)

2 That last little bit about procrastinating is one reason why I love you so much. I resemble that remark. A bunch. Mweh.

Posted by: Margi at January 15, 2008 11:45 AM (Cms8m)

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Ok, it was the only cool title I could think of. 

This one seems to be going around, and I thought it was interesting enough to do.  Evidently the idea is to explore "privilege" (whatever that is) and see what bloggers have in common....  For more background, see it comes in pints?, McGehee, or Dustbury.

Obligatory Legal Mumbojumbo:

Premise: bold each of the statements that applies.

Original source: The list is based on an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. The exercise developers ask that if you participate in this blog game, you acknowledge their copyright.

Father finished college

Mother went to college

Mother finished college

Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor (I assume cousins of my own or subsequent generations don't count as they were not already practicing, and thus could not serve as role models)

Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers (my teachers had way more $$ than we did)

Had more than 50 books in your childhood home Hello, Mom's a Children's Librarian....

Had more than 500 books in your childhood home See Above.

Were read children's books by a parent This is getting redonkulous

Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18 Violin lessons

Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18 and Dance lessons, too, I realize.

The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively (Have you seen a scientist on TV lately? Yeah.)

Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18 (Credit Card? I was 21 before I had a credit card!)

Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs (Does the Caltech Scholarship Fund count? I didn't think so.)

Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs (HA!)

Went to a private high school (the private high schools in Fresno SUCK. I got a MUCH better education at the math/science magnet)

Went to summer camp (Church Camp)

Had a private tutor before you turned 18 (I WAS the F-ing tutor)

Family vacations involved staying at hotels (Hell no, we stayed with relatives or at friends' houses, except one large trip)

Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 (Mom sews. You should see some of my pretty dresses)

Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them (My Neon. Loved it. Dad's car was too unreliable to pass on, and Mom's was new then, too)

There was original art in your house when you were a child (I'm guessing my kindergarten scrawls don't count?)

Had a phone in your room before you turned 18 Hello, former teenage girl here.

You and your family lived in a single family house

Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home Still do, in fact. But for my generation, this really isn't as much of a sign of privilege as it might be now given housing prices then vs now.

You had your own room as a child Only child, duh.

Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course (No, but I TOOK the SAT when I was 12)

Had your own TV in your room in High School After my grandmother moved in with us, I got her TV AND cable!

Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College (you're shittin' me, right? I barely knew what a mutual fund WAS)

Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16 (Nope, I was 17 the first time. I flew to NY and back by myself)

Went on a cruise with your family (I'm guessing the Catalina Ferry doesn't count. I've never been on a cruise)

Went on more than one cruise with your family (see above. What's a cruise?)

Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up Museums, but not galleries.

You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family (Nope, I always knew. Mom used it as an illustration of why we conserve energy.)

Wow, I guess I was a poor little rascal. At least, according to this metric. Funny how we thought we were doing well....

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:19 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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1 I'll have to link to this because it's eerie how close some of our answers are. )

Posted by: Lemon Stand at January 11, 2008 07:40 AM (4cWxS)

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I went to work, the traffic wasn't bad, I came home, took the dogs to the vet, and everything was fine.  That was clearly BEFORE noon.

Then I whacked my forehead on a tree chasing the puppy, scared her (no big deal, I just put a little pressure on her shot site when I picked her up and it hurt) and then spent the afternoon trying to get her to calm down.

i quit.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:16 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 ...and... there's no video of the noggin crashing? Too bad. [sigh] Puppy pictures, then?

Posted by: pam at January 09, 2008 05:52 AM (l6NIn)

2 What do you mean, you quit?

Posted by: Amanda at January 09, 2008 06:56 AM (ay+rD)

3 Oh not good... clearly it's time for a cocktail!

Posted by: CrankMama at January 09, 2008 04:15 PM (F9si8)

4 Oh crap... Better today I hope!

Posted by: Richmond at January 10, 2008 10:47 AM (wg5Wh)

5 Here, let me help you feel better. I adopted a dog. A Dalmatian. I was told she was trained and well over a year old. She was very cute. 1) She had no training whatsoever, including housetraining. No sit, no stay, no come. 2) She was about 5 months old and in full on "teething" mode. Not a well trained 1.5 year old. 3) She suffered from seperation anxiety which could only be relieved by chewing up an entire sofa, guest bed and $800.00 wool rug to name just a few. 4) Did I mention that just seeing a human being would make her pee herself, whine, bark cry and run away? (Everyone but me.. I am MOMMY.) Nightmare. She's great now but man were those first 4 months were a scream. It was more like COCKTAILS, rather than cocktail. Good luck! P.S. even though I'd have rather not gone through that, she is really the dearest little girl. She still has some fear issues and doesn't come when called until she feels like it, but she is a little angel now.

Posted by: Jenn at January 10, 2008 10:51 AM (sSCF/)

6 It's like having a 2 year old. Good grief. Its why I can't ever do another baby mammal in this house. I think I have PTSD from my own once baby mammals.

Posted by: Bou at January 10, 2008 07:35 PM (mPTKU)

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Don't let her sleeping, jailed appearance fool you.  This is a high-speed, mightily independent monster with a bladder the size of a thimble and big, nasty teeth! (well, ok, little nasty teeth...)





It's a miracle she even sleeps.  She didn't shut up until 6 AM Saturday, and last night was pretty bad, although she quit crying a LOT earlier.  I'm hopeful that sleeping in the crate/ pen/ whatever means she's ok with it now......

Posted by: caltechgirl at 06:17 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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1 Aw, what a sweetie. Have you tried putting a clock (that ticks) under her pillow? We did that when our girls were new and it really helped with the crying.

Posted by: beth at January 06, 2008 06:47 PM (9skvr)

2 aaaaawwwwww... how sweet! I don't even have to ask if you're working on bite inhibition...! LOL! Thank God my dog is a year old now; I couldn't live through puppyhood again...!

Posted by: pam at January 07, 2008 07:13 AM (l6NIn)

3 Oh but she is cuuuuuute!!

Posted by: Richmond at January 07, 2008 07:52 AM (GvGiJ)

4 Oh man, puppy crying all night! How well I remember that phase. I figured out one way to stop the crying was to put the puppy in a big cardboard box with blankies *on the floor next to the bed*. Then I dangled my arm and hand downward and into the box. She seemed comforted and slept quietly. I got some sleep too, finally. Maybe my arm was a little numb the next day. Heh. I'm not saying this is a good or proper technique, just that when I got desperate for a quiet night's sleep . . . it worked.

Posted by: dogette at January 07, 2008 04:53 PM (q/UVc)

5 Hey, I know I'm probably the last to notice or clue in, but is that by any chance a message to Hillary scrolling across the top of your screen?

Posted by: dogette at January 07, 2008 04:55 PM (q/UVc)

6 looks like a sweetie! We have our younest poodle box trained..she heads for it at night to sleep..and we close the door. My older dawg..Miss Sassie Poodle has been sleeping with me since she was two months old and she is 14 now..I think the highlight of her day now is to cuddle up next to me at night..and sometimes when I am up late she comes looking for me and barks at me until I go to bed..

Posted by: GUYK at January 07, 2008 07:23 PM (uyoGg)

7 Very cute and great reason not to be at the computer. ;-)

Posted by: vw bug at January 08, 2008 04:45 AM (FPOeI)

8 Oh how sweet!!! She looks so cuddly and adorable!! Aww, puppy snuggles.

Posted by: Amanda at January 08, 2008 10:59 AM (5PUVj)

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