| ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) shaharazad and I went to Bethlehem to pay our respects to the Christ Child, and now we are home again.
No, wait.
We went to Bethlehem PA for the wedding of deceptiverose and pleasantlyevil. It was a beautiful wedding and they are now wedded. There were flowers, food, geeks, origami, wind blowing stuff around (the wedding was outdoors), small children in cute suits and dresses, and strawberry jam.
We stayed at the Howard Johnson's Inn, which smelled funny and had no continental breakfast. Otherwise, it was a perfectly good hotel. But you never know how much you miss continental breakfasts until there is none.
On Sunday morning I got up and went off by myself to look for a park to walk around in. GPS said there was a large park nearby, so I went to that. Oh, it was a park all right! A ski park, a water park, a theme park, another ski park... darn those touristy areas.
I parked in an empty parking lot that was probably intended for crowd runoff, found a path, and started walking down it. It led me into the backyard of some ski condos. Oh well. The good thing about mountains is that they are made of rock; I found four relatively flat stones and claimed them as free flagstones for my garden path.
A road trip to Pennsylvania isn't the cheapest way to get flagstones. I should just buy some. But we were there anyhow.
On the way home I passed a nursery and pulled in. They had blueberry bushes! W00t! They're not highbush or scrub blueberries... I guess they're medium-bush. Hehe. Anyway, I bought two, and now I have my long-sought-after blueberries that I never could find on the Cape. What is with that? Wild blueberries are native to Cape Cod. You'd think one nursery around here would sell cultivars. Ah well, I got my blueberries.
Today I have tons of stuff to do. Most of it is yardwork and unpacking. And, oh yeah,I have to comfort the cats and assure them I still love them. My absence over the weekend was traumatizing, you know. | comments: 4 things people said * say something   |
| Two other families got their USCIS I-800 approvals today. The I-800 is the child's immigration application. That means the United States is giving their thumbs up and agreeing to let the children become adopted as US citizens.
Now their documents are headed back to China. China has already approved them in a previous step. Once China sees they've been approved in the US too, they'll make an appointment at the consulate in Guangzhou for a legal adoption.
So. Yup. Two families. Got theirs today.
How's everyone doing? Nice night, huh? Anybody got some wildlife sightings, cute cat stories, bad jokes? Anything worth noting on the news? | | comments: 20 things people said * say something |
| We were headed over the Sagamore Bridge to visit some friends when we came upon this (minus the emergency crews):
By Doug Fraser
dfraser@capecodonline.com
July 04, 2009
BOURNE — A 63-year-old Brookline man was cited with two motor vehicle violations for allegedly causing a four-vehicle collision that closed down the Sagamore Bridge yesterday afternoon and sent three people to the hospital, police said.
According to a Bourne police report, Stephen Woodman drove up the entrance ramp near the Christmas Tree Shop plaza at Exit 1, crossed both lanes of traffic heading off-Cape over the bridge, then drove head-on into traffic traveling east to the Cape, triggering a series of crashes. Woodman hit another vehicle head-on, went airborne and flipped over, landing on the hood of a sedan driven by Lily Ng of Brighton. The force of the collision pushed Ng's car into another vehicle.
Woodman's SUV came to rest suspended three feet off the pavement, it's rear bumper hanging over the edge of the bridge, wedged between the hood of Ng's car and the low concrete and granite wall that lines the highway leading up to the tall cement pylons marking the bridge entrance.
Police and fire department officials were alerted to the crash at 2:30 p.m.
State police, Bourne police and fire, and Sandwich fire crews responded to the scene. Although the crash was confined to the two lanes coming onto the Cape, police had to shut down all four lanes to get their trucks and equipment close enough to the mangled vehicles.
Firefighters used jacks to support Woodman's SUV and keep it from crashing to the ground as they cut away the cab with hydraulic shears to remove the Brookline man from the vehicle.
At one point during the rescue effort, traffic was backed up about four miles to Exit 2 on Route 6 westbound, and for about 10 miles back to Exit 3 on Route 3 approaching the Cape. It took a little over an hour to clear the bridge and restore normal traffic flow.
Woodman was taken to Jordan Hospital in Plymouth, where he was still being evaluated at press time last night. He suffered injuring in the crash that were not life threatening, fire department officials said. Lily and James Ng were treated and released from Cape Cod Hospital.
Woodman was charged with driving to endanger and a marked lanes violation, according to police.
(Article and photo are copyright Cape Cod Times.)
We didn't quite see it happen, but we must have missed it only by seconds. There were barely five cars between us and it.
Be careful out there, okay? Take it easy on the alcohol and the cell phone, and don't drive while tired. It looked like this guy was not particularly impaired, but for some reason he drifted over the double yellow line. It could've happened to anyone. | | comments: 4 things people said * say something |
| Happy American Independence Day!
Yesterday's root canal went well, except for the part where he didn't crown my tooth and simply told me to be careful what I eat until my crowning appointment. Awesome.
However, the infection is back, and I'm trying to head it off somehow so that it doesn't regain its previous epic proportions over the weekend. (It HAD to be a weekend, didn't it?! My original appointment had been for a nice, safe Wednesday, but somehow I STILL ended up getting my root canal on a Friday. Frustration!)
So. Liquid diet, swishing with warm salt water.
*sigh*
Sux.
And I'm thinking of skipping out on the cookout, because I'm in a very foul mood and do not relish the thought of staring at a huge spread of delicious foods I cannot eat. | | comments: 4 things people said * say something |
|
Sorry, what?
It's late April. Nevermind what the calendar says. The sky says... rain today! Rain tomorrow! Seriously considering rain on Sunday!
Funny how those "partly sunny" icons on Yahoo Weather keep disappearing as each day approaches.
Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention: I'm getting a root canal in 2 hours. In case anyone was interested. | | comments: 4 things people said * say something |
| I went to Woods Hole and had a blast! But then, I'm easily entertained.
The transfer in Falmouth was extremely easy, but you have to watch out - the shuttle runs every 1/2 hour and the bus runs every 1.5 hours, so if you take the shuttle too soon on your way back, you can be stuck at Wal-Mart for an hour and a half. The Falmouth Mall is a strip mall with Wal-Mart and Shaw's supermarket and not much else, so even enthusiastic mall-goers would be disappointed to be stuck there for so long.
The shuttle is a refurbished trolley, the kind people take lots and lots of photos of. I guess that's to add to the tourists' experience. They step in and marvel at the seats: "Wow, it's like a real old-fashioned trolley!"
I searched high and low for a yogurt smoothie, but I guess they're not in style anymore. So I bought a $6 frappe and regretted it immediately. It was just like the Carnation Instant Breakfasts I've been subsisting on, but cold. And without the extra vitamins.
I drank some of it, and then I went to the visitor's center, which is like a mini museum with some aquariums and some informative wall murals about ecological issues. It's not a good place to get information, but you can buy a t-shirt.
Then I went to the exhibit center, which was even more like a museum. It had a movie and some interactive exhibits about Alvin, the institute's high-tech deep-sea exploration vehicle. They took Alvin and its remote companion, Jason II, to explore the wreck of the Titanic in the late '80's, and there was an exhibit on that. They also took Alvin and Jason to the Mariana Trenches or somewhere like that and inventoried its unique deep-sea ecosystem, which was teeming beyond all expectations. Marine biologists expected it to be dead down there, not wall-to-wall crabs and polyps and siphonophores.
Between the two, I got a very good sense of what WHOI does that's so important. Human activity damages the planet, global warming is real, and more research must be done to learn more about earth's delicate balance. Okay, so, in a way, it was a big ad for WHOI. But we, the general public, deserve to know what they've been working so hard to discover. Instead of sitting in our homes, being vaguely creeped out by some unformed notion that unpleasant things might be happening in nature, we should all go visit museums. Seriously. Set aside some time this summer to visit a museum. They're usually cheap, they don't take all day (with a few notable exceptions), and if you have kids, your kids will love it.
After that, I sat by the dock and drew bird exercises. I got this from a book. Birds move very quickly, dontcha know, so the point is to catch the essence of a bird's momentary pose in two seconds or less. That's enough time to draw two lines and maaaaybe the feet, if you're lucky. As you practice, you familiarize yourself with the shape and movement of the bird, and hypothetically, you get better at it.
My subjects were two pairs of house sparrows.
And I drew the trolley, because it was a very popular subject for photographs and I didn't have a camera.
Then I went to a sandwich shop with a steady crowd and a delicious menu and ordered a cup of tomato bisque. It was a better purchase than the frappe.
On the way home, I met a nice fellow from India - they're always very cute, very friendly, and very lonely - and we chatted on the trolley. This one wasn't too aggressive, probably because I'm older now and I don't scan as a potential romantic interest anymore. He lives by himself and his family is all still in India, and it's not as easy to get a social life on the Cape as it is in the NYC area, which is where I more frequently met nice Indian fellows.
We parted ways in Falmouth, and then as I was getting on the bus, a 13-year-old boy with a fishing rod recognized me. "Hey, didn't I see you on the bus on the way down?" he asked.
"Yes, and I remember you too," I said. On the way down, there were only four of us on the bus - me, this boy, and his two friends with skateboards who looked like they were inseparable. I guess they'd parted ways with the fishing-rod boy after we got to Woods Hole.
"Did you catch anything?" I asked.
"Yup," he said, "Two. But I threw them back. I don't trust the freshwater fish around here." Then he described how he could sneak up on some fish under a bridge and catch them with his hands, and also shared a run-in with a snapping turtle.
We got on the bus together and he made sure we sat next to each other. We told each other bad jokes until he got off in the town before mine.
So if anyone was wondering whether today's generation of teenagers had fallen out of touch with nature in favor of X-Box and internet, there you have it. A teenage boy who can fish, and who also has social skills with random strangers. I hope he never grows out of those things. | | comments: 1 thing someone said * say something |
| | I'm going to do it! I'm headed to Woods Hole. I'd better hurry, though; it's a long walk to the bus stop and the bus comes every 1.5 hours, so I can't afford to miss it. | | comments: say something |
| Okay, I will not be going to Woods Hole on the Woods Hole bus, because the Woods Hole bus does not go to Woods Hole.
Or, rather, it only goes to Woods Hole until 9:00 AM, and all subsequent trips stop at the Falmouth Clock Tower Mall.
So, uh... pardon me for asking, but... um... why do they call it the Woods Hole bus?
EDIT: Wait, wait... there's a Woods Hole Trolley. It goes from the mall to Woods Hole every thirty minutes from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Sweet. So if I catch the Woods Hole bus at 8:25 AM, that's the last bus that goes to Woods Hole. But I won't be stranded, because when I'm done, I can take the trolley back to Falmouth and catch the Woods Hole bus home. The last Woods Hole bus leaves at 6:50 PM, which is ridiculously early for a last bus, but I don't care - I doubt I'll want to stay longer than 3 or 4 hours.
If I go. The forecast says rain. I have to walk awhile to get to the bus stop. We'll see how tomorrow is. | | comments: say something |
| I have yogurt! I walked to White Hen Pantry to get it. It was a very nice walk, and I think I really needed it, although there was an awful lot of traffic.
At White Hen, I saw the Cape Cod Times - it had a banner at the top proclaiming "The King (of Pop) Is Dead," but then as its feature article it had a large spread about how a storm last weekend seriously eroded several beaches on the south side. There was a picture of beachgoers all crowded onto a tiny strip of sand on Marconi beach.
Then there was a story of a pedestrian who was seriously injured when someone rear-ended a cop car, and the cop car was pushed off the road onto the poor guy.
Every other newspaper on the shelf had given Michael Jackson top (or exclusive) billing on their front pages. Cape Cod Times is only a small newspaper, so they can't devote the whole front page to one story in any case, but I'm glad they stuck with giving the beach story top billing. That's small-town integrity for ya. Hey, losing big chunks of beach like that is a huge big deal for the tourism-centered economy here.
It was so nice to get out, and the sun didn't bother me much today. I think the infection is abating - I'm taking less Percocet than ever now. If the weather is good again tomorrow, I may dig out a stash of cash and take the bus to Woods Hole. That's the home of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, that famed center of marine biology awesomeness. But there's more there than just WHOI - a little community that's half college town, half tourist town has sprung up around the campus. It's tiny and there's almost no place to park, so taking the bus is more practical anyway.
I still can't eat, but I'll buy a yogurt smoothie for lunch I guess.
My boss called this morning. I admitted that I was in La-La land when he'd called yesterday and I hadn't been able to follow his instructions. He said he was feeling poorly, too, and to not worry about it. His wife has Lyme disease and is having an awful time of it. He told me to have a good weekend and get better soon, and I told him likewise.
shaharazad called too. He's in Kid's Room and is currently running his comic book workshop for kids. The kids are generally pretty young, 5 to 7 or so, and they draw the cutest minicomics! This afternoon he'll run his Mad Scientist chemistry workshop, in which he electrocutes a pickle for the amusement of all.
Kid's Room is a whole lot more fun with him around. If any of you were considering going to Origins someday but didn't know whether to bring the kids, bring them. They'll have a blast. Though shaharazad and I will probably take next year off as we and Noble Cloud settle into familyhood together. | | comments: say something |
| Now I remember why I waited so long to call my boss back to find out what he wanted me to do. It's because I'm not so good with the high-level thinking. I sorta-kinda remember what he said, but I'm not sure I understand how to do it. I'm sure it's possible. It might even be easy. But my deductive reasoning skills are elsewhere... they're sleeping...
I probably should've spoken up on the phone, but it was easier to say, "Uh huh... uh huh... okay, I will."
My next post is going to be about something entirely different. I'll find something. It might not be profound, but it will be different. | | comments: say something |
| I almost forgot to mention!
Our last batch of paperwork - acceptance of child, immigration form for child, and a hodge-podge of other documents thrown in for effect - is sent!
The next time we hear from the agent, they shall be telling us our travel date.
WOW! | | comments: 7 things people said * say something |
| It's official - I'm staying home sick from Origins. Rick just left. He was burdened down with errands, but he finally got my drugs from CVS and mailed off the baby's paperwork and filled the car with chemistry experiment materials, and now he has an 8-hour drive to Buffalo, NY and a 5-hour drive tomorrow morning from Buffalo to Columbus.
He'll be running two chemistry workshops in the kids' room - one in which he electrocutes a pickle, and another in which he makes chemicals bubble or turn color or something like that. He'll also run two comic book workshops for the kids. Exciting stuff.
He'll be staying with our friends who live outside of Columbus. We didn't opt for the free hotel room this year, because we didn't know if we'd be traveling to China this early and didn't want to inconvenience GAMA by making them pay for an extra hotel room if we had to quit on short notice. Now we're traveling to China in September instead, but it's a good thing we made those arrangements. Getting sick for reasons unrelated to China wasn't in the plan, but now I have. And here I am.
( Health update, kindly placed under the cut to protect the squeamish. )
So, hey, how are you guys all doing? Having a good summer? (Is it summer where you are? It's still mid-April here. The nights are 58 degrees on average and we've only had 2 nonrainy days so far in June.) | | comments: 9 things people said * say something |
| It's my second day on Percocet and I've already had it with being on drugs. It is my opinion that anyone taking this stuff for recreational purposes is making a mistake. The first day is pleasantly trippy enough, but by the second day, it's not worth the effort. However, it's not bad enough so that, if you've already crowed about how awesome Percocet is, you don't have to humiliate yourself by taking it back. Also, if you're trying to make money by selling it to other recreational users, you wouldn't want to admit to your customers that Day 2 isn't as good.
However, it's true - Day 2 isn't as good. I'd like to stop taking it. Instead, I have to take more, because a single dose is no longer effective enough.
My balance is shot, my speech is slow, my hand-eye coordination is nearly gone, and I'm not loopy anymore; I'm just dull. I suppose all this is worth keeping the pain at bay. But if I could find an alternative that allowed me to function better, I'd take it.
I'm also exhausted from the whole ordeal, which makes me grouchy. While grouchy, I'm having to make several difficult decisions (or at least, decisions that aren't cut-and-dry and deserve some thought.) I need concentration skills in order to finish Noble Cloud's paperwork so I can mail it today. What I really need, though, is for the agents to cal me back and answer my questions. I sound very ill over the phone, but it must be done.
I also hope that Rick can find a way to get to Ohio for Origins, but without stranding or inconveniencing me, and that's looking increasingly less likely. I want him to go and have fun and I want to hear from my friends who are also having fun. However, I'm not going to dwell on my own disappointment. I'm here at home, Origins is happening starting on Wednesday, and there are other issues that genuinely demand my worry. I don't have enough worry to go around.
If any Origin-goers want to post me some greetings and updates while you're there, I'll gladly live vicariously through you all. And pass it on - if you see anyone there who knows me, have them say hello. That would be nice. | | comments: 3 things people said * say something |
| Baby shower: w00t! Rick, my sister, and my mother (et al) did a wonderful job. My grandmother won both the party games. Good for her! Because we probably won't have another baby shower in the family for a while.
Health: bad. Excruciating pain. I can't sleep, can't eat, can barely think, and am trying to avoid movement, sound, and light. It's a weird sinus thing now. Plus some weird, intense nerve action. I have to subsist on Advil and green tea for one more day, and then Monday I'm going to the walk-in clinic. I won't bother with my PCP - he's no good for stuff like this. You know, stuff I'm forced to vaguely describe as 'weird' rather than come out and diagnose myself.
Origins is back to looking unlikely. | | comments: 6 things people said * say something |
| So I'm diddling about on NYT.com, following links to opinion pieces, when I find this article about the gay rights debate in the New York state legislature and how the anti-gay lobbyists haven't been getting their acts together. Apparently, they were overstretched, underfunded, underorganized, and taken by surprise by the timing of the bill. (Rhode Island was supposed to go first, or something? I don't know.)
The difficulties in New York echo those that conservatives have faced throughout the Northeast. Over the last six weeks, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire have all moved to allow gay couples to wed.
The region has been challenging for opponents of same-sex marriage, in part, because the measures are being decided by state legislatures — not voter referendums where the opponents’ ability to motivate large numbers of voters, rather than influence institutional players, has been an advantage.
And then I found this little gem:
The state’s Roman Catholic bishops have been somewhat distracted, too, having focused their lobbying energies this session on defeating a bill that would extend the statute of limitations for victims of sexual abuse to bring civil claims, and have appeared unprepared for the battle over marriage.
Wait, what?
Roman Catholic bishops have been busy lobbying against the rights of victims of sexual abuse?
I know why they're doing it. It's painfully obvious. The Catholic church has been hit hard by many millions of dollars in sex abuse claims. They want to put a cap on the payouts. They have a business to run, and expenses, and there's a recession going on and they're in the middle of a budget crisis.
And yet they are lobbying the government to limit the rights of sexual abuse victims.
Aaaaand I'm not supposed to care. Ho hum. Life as usual. We little people don't concern ourselves with such matters - that's for the government to do.
From the context of the passage, it looks like they won that battle, too, although I'm not entirely sure. I'll have to look into it a bit more.
In other news, I'm very slowly getting better. I called the doctor's office. The receptionist said, "Most definitely go to the ER! Right now!" shaharazad said, "If it's winding up, you're better off staying here than waiting around in an ER waiting room for 6 hours before you get treated."
Here, I have a bed, an internet, a bathtub for my inordinately frequent showers (hey, I like to be clean), and access to all the ice cream and other mild foods I can coax into my stomach. So husband's plan wins. (Also, he took the car to do errands, including getting me more mild foods.)
Edit: I found the article about the bishops fighting the statute of limitations. | | comments: 1 thing someone said * say something |
| | Subject: | LoSC | | Time: | 05:59 pm |
|
| Hi! We heard from China. We have a Letter of Seeking Confirmation.
This means that China has approved our match with Noble Cloud and is asking us to confirm that we're really going through with the adoption. It also means we're getting hit with another wave of paperwork.
This part of the process takes about two months. At the end, we'll get a consulate appointment, which might be in September, or October.... maaaybe August if we're super-lucky, but September is more likely. | | comments: 20 things people said * say something |
| WTF? I was violently ill for one brief moment about a week ago. Then Rick got it, but his is lingering on and on - he actually has appetite issues, which is not usually a long-term symptom for him. Now I've got it again!!
Our houseguest seems to be untouched so far. Thank goodness. I think it was something we ate before she got here. And I'm starting to think ice cream is the only truly safe food, which would be unfortunate. It's not the healthiest food to eat an exclusive diet of. But, seriously, if this is food-borne, I'm going to start developing food issues myself.
Going vegetarian might help... meat is usually the culprit.
OMG, my gut hurts so much. Also, it's raining pretty hard out. We'd been planning to do touristy things in Boston. Maybe we'll limit it to museums.
Our guest discovered Spore yesterday. She played it for a couple of hours straight. If we announce to her that our plans will be truncated today and she'll be able to get more Spore in while we wait for better weather, I'm sure she'll be perfectly happy.
Tomorrow we have several options, and the weather should be better, but we've made no solid decisions yet. We could drive to P-Town or do something Audubon-related or putter around in Hyannis Center. We should stay on Cape, though.
The builders are taking a break this week. I think they're actually working on someone else's project. We still have a tarp draped over our house where the roof should be, and I'm worried with all this rain. But at least it's been quiet the whole time our guest has been here. The cats have been less freaked out, too. And they're getting along well with our guest. I would like Melody to become sociable again. Maybe she'll gain back some of her social skills this week with our guest's help. | | comments: 6 things people said * say something |
| There are consulting interviews tomorrow during Zen meditation. Should I have an interview? What should I say? I've been to one interview, once, a bazillion years ago. I can't remember it at all. I think the Zen master played the "I don't know" game with me... maybe...
In other news, the bullfrogs have moved into the pond! Now there are fowler's toads and bullfrogs at my Frogwatch sessions. The spring peepers have phased themselves out for the season.
I also saw some bats, and a small mammal puttering about on the water. It was the size of a large rat - very large - and swam very slowly. It could have been an adolescent opossum, I suppose. | | comments: say something |
| Hey. Ever wonder what a science blog written by LOLcats would be like? Well, this science blogger and HIV-1 researcher isn't a cat - she's quite human - but she's coming awfully close.
Go take a look for maximuminum lulz and lerning. It's science stuff, fur REALZ. | | comments: say something |
| Spore does not help me get ahead in the world.
I think, however, that I'm going out of my way to avoid doing things that will get me ahead in the world. Productivity! Aaaargh! No!
Also, I find myself wistfully thinking about Tuesday Morning Zen Meditation, and maybe wishing it were Monday night already.
The car seat purchase fell through. The vendor kept saying "It's out of stock!" and moving back the date it's due in. Screw them. I'll find it elsewhere.
Update: I found the same car seat on Amazon.com for the same price. Yay Amazon! It's hard to navigate, but I finally found it.
I think I'll go frogwatching now. I've been hearing fowler's toads at the pond. I'd love to see one sometime - they're pretty nifty-looking. | | comments: say something |
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