They're Baaaaacckkkkk!

Just when I thought I could safely drive down the road without fear of getting caught in a motorcade -- we became a purple state.  Or maybe it's a striped state.  At any rate, both Senator's McCain and Obama (in alphabetical order) visited us this weekend to bash each other try to win our votes.  

I try to stay away from political blogging, because it just begs controversy and that's not why I blog.  But honestly, am I the only person who's really not happy with either choice at the moment?  

They both promise to cut taxes and give us all kinds of great stuff.  I wasn't born yesterday - that tax cut promise they are trying to use to buy my vote has to be paid for somehow, and borrowing more money from overseas just doesn't seem like a good idea to me.  I've already resigned myself to working until I drop dead, hopefully somewhere with good medical coverage so my dropping dead can be put off a bit, since my 401k is going nowhere and social security is going to be bankrupt before I'm old enough to draw.  

I'm tired of hearing about the party base - either party base.  I'm about as moderate as can be, and I think the polarization that the two parties 'bases' are insisting upon is destructive overall.  

I'm tired of political ads telling me how bad the opponent is without telling me anything about the person who is running.  I'm tired of ads that anyone with a grain of sense can tell are distortions of the truth - are we really that stupid in this country?  

How many more weeks of hearing candidates talk about how bad their opponents are do I have to look forward to?

Random Thoughts...

Why is it that as soon as I hang laundry on the line, rain clouds move in?

Why does the price of gas always go up right when my tank approaches empty, and drops immediately after I fill up?

Why do I have a hard time asking people to do something for me, but so few people seem to feel the same restraint when asking me to do something for them?

It must be that philosophy class that has me pondering all of these questions.  That, and the fact that statistics homework is looming over me like a big, dark cloud.  I used to be really good at stats -- 25  years ago.  That knowledge was pushed out of my brain-RAM by new knowledge, like how to tell if two ten-year-olds playing upstairs are being just too quiet to be trustworthy.  

I often say 'if only I knew then what I know now.'  In some cases I really mean it, but in many others I'm so glad I didn't know, because I might have made choices that would have ultimately changed my life for the worst.  Isn't it funny how you can tie individual decisions into major impacts they made in your life?  

Two Weeks Down, 62 More to Go!

I'm now two weeks into my PhD program.  The way I figure it, I have 62 more weeks of coursework to go.  Then two years of writing dissertation materials.  I'm ignoring summers in my count - those will be filled with writing articles and comprehensive exams - I deny those exist.  

Highlights of what I've learned the last two weeks:

• I  don't really understand Philosophy.  I'm not sure I ever will.  
• All research is flawed.  
• People lie with statistics all the time.
• Driving three hours roundtrip, 4 days a week, is more exhausting now than it was 10 years ago.
  

What I'm still struggling to figure out:

• What am I doing in a room with all these brilliant, intense people?
• Will there ever be agreement between philosophers?  

Hurricane Gustav

I have several friends who live in areas that are likely to be hit by this monster storm.  If you are interested in thoughts on this storm (and Katrina) from someone who lives right in the midst of the storm, check out my friend Chuck's website MacChuck, and his blog.

LA and MS have already been devastated by Katrina.  Even as I selfishly hope this doesn't do too much to raise oil prices, I urge everyone to remember those who live in these areas in your prayers, and hope that lessons were learned from Katrina that can be implemented now to save lives and property.

Get Ready....

Tomorrow starts orientation for my PhD program.  Panic is beginning to set in as I contemplate how on earth I'm going to be a Mom, study, teach, and keep the sails on my travel business!  

Thank goodness I  have some great friends & family who have already stepped in with offers to help out.  

It's a beautiful day here in New England.  Today is my last lesson at UpReach with a client I've worked with this last year.  She's an adorable little four-year-old girl who in 12 short months has transformed from fearful and clinging to Mom to brave and waving with both hands at Mom from atop her pony.  I'll miss working with her, but our schedules just don't match up this fall.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to see her again and marvel at her progress!   

I'm going to attempt to post each week with my thoughts on going back to school.  And I'm going to try to get back into Fun Mondays again! But for today, this will have to do...

Vacation & Home Improvements

I love to travel, but looks like we won't be going for any big trips anytime soon.  We finally got tired of gluing patches onto our 25+ year old pool liner.  Plus this summer started out with a heat wave - two weeks of 90 degree temps.  With no plans for a true summer vacation it looked to be the perfect summer for a little vacation at home.  

BEFORE:
DURING:
AFTER:

Isn't that just the prettiest pool liner you have ever seen?  I'm warning you, say yes, because not only is that my vacation money in that hole in the ground, but it has also been COLDER and WETTER than average ever since we got that thing put in.  We've been in the pool about five of the last 30 days since we put the new liner in.  

Yes, those guys who tormented us this winter by telling us about the record snowfall (I believe we finished the year in 4th place for total recorded snowfall) have now shared the fact that we are in 7th place for wettest summer - and we've still got 17 more days to move up that list.

So I guess I'll go pump some more water OUT of my pool, and contemplate how nice a WARM weather vacation would be! 

Fun Monday - Wordly Wise

The ladies over at Mothers of Brothers, or MoB (I love that acronym) have challenged us to "use our words" this week.  Their instructions:

Words are our building blocks, our stepping stones, and, for many of us, our salvation. We string them together so quickly at times, we often lose sight of how precious they are. So tell us about your favorite word… or if you can’t pick just one, tell us about a few. Are there certain words that feel good the way they roll of your tongue? Do some words make you feel smart? Or silly? Or happy? Which words do you find yourself selecting to put in your posts? Since this response could be a short one, feel free to poll your family and friends and include some of their favorite words as well. If you think a definition is required, please share one. Please keep the words rated G for all audiences. Any language is acceptable, but please provide a translation. And stick to real words as opposed to ones made up along the way. We then challenge everyone to visit the posts on Monday and try to use other bloggers’ favorite words in your blog next week. We can’t wait to expand our vocabulary!

Hypermiling - I predict this will be THE word for 2008.  The hyperlink will take you to a site all about it if you haven't already heard this term.  Since I drive an FSP (fuel sucking pig) I've been trying to follow as many of the tips as possible.  Boy do people hate to drive behind me now:)  

Imagine - I just hear this word and my mind starts off on wild explorations.  It's my happy word.

Interjection - If like me you grew up with SchoolHouse Rock, I probably don't need to say anything more about this one!  I start singing every time I hear it. 

Sesquipedalian - given to using long words; a word of many syllables.  

I use this one on my students when they start trying to BS (pardon my acronymic swear - is acronymic a word?) their way through my class with big words.  Unfortunately (for them) they typically use those big words totally out of context.