Hot Stuff. 10/17/22

We got our hair chopped off. Boop decided that she wanted to be Gretchen from Mean Girls for Halloween. I was relieved that Gretchen was a motivator for the shorter hair and know it will be easier to manage our various scalp maladies. Then, we went on to the Goodwill to find an appropriate Gretchen outfit. We will need to engineer it a bit, but we feel pretty good about our choices.

The house is abuzz with news that I was wrong about callbacks. Boop got a speaking part in the play. The theatre company really doesn’t need to worry about doing much publicity, as Boop is sure to tell everyone in town (and surrounding states) that she is going to be Grandma Georgina. Fortunately, Boop, much like Grandma, also likes grapes; so it will not be a stretch for her artistically.

Twice in one week to our fabulous downtown; it must be a record. We went to see our friends' 8 year olds in their first band. Heroes from Bowie was a solid choice, and V was a strong lead guitarist. Her bandmate was a whacky drummer and nearly poked a dad's eye out when he threw his drumsticks. At 8 years old, it all could have gone terribly wrong, but you know, they were very tuneful, kept good time, and were all playing the same song. I've heard pub bands who could not claim as much. 

Boop wanted to stay a bit longer at the recital/show when she saw some kids from her school that she knew. I am glad we did, and I am a newly-minted fan of the Ghost Peppers. These 9 year olds are destined for fame. Either they will set the rock world on fire or burn down the neighborhood, but they will do something big. Boop is going to try to find them at school today to make sure they participate in the school talent show. It's funny to see a bunch of professor's kids interpret rock music. They grow up knowing how to navigate college life; so none of them have much investment in the typical draws of rock fandom. And they have all of the resources of any sort of education that they want. 

While there, we surreptitiously dropped off a couple of books to the library, which were months overdue. I think we are still missing one. I need to bite the bullet and just pay them for it. It's not in the spirit of a public library to keep other kids from having access to books. Our other trip downtown was a few days ago. We had a health booth at the Arts Fair, and our coloring pages for kiddies were a hit! As I guess the parents understood, we were just generally sending kindness. 

And we continue to send healing thoughts to those in the hinterlands. And we hope that we see our constituents in the coming year, even though things got cancelled for us, and others were rescheduled. 

Stormy Weather 10/8/2022

It's another semi-annual kids consignment sale on the books. The prep is crazy and all-consuming, but it's such a relief when it's all over. It got me behind in some editorial consulting; so I had to try to catch up this weekend. Another grant review planned. Some extra money. I've had my eye on Portugal for some time. It's one of the countries in central Europe that I haven't visited, and I spent a few months trying to learn Portuguese on Duolingo. The consignment money, along with my consulting money, should make for a decent trip, if I could just commit.

Boop has started another round of auditions and practices for a local play. I let her pick one thing, and aside from flute in school band, which doesn’t require much from me, she wants to do acting. She lost out on her student council bid, but maybe the quality of her campaign has helped people to see her in a new light. So, now she has thrown herself into learning about all of the annoying and bratty little kids in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. How many times have I heard that she wants a ‘bean feast?’ She didn't get a call back, but if she keeps at it, she will get there. I love how Boop keeps putting herself out there, even though she's had mixed results.

More adventures in topomax for this struggling momma. Among other funky sensations, my hands and feet felt like they were perpetually asleep. Good times. I got a promotion at work, and in my first meeting with students, I almost cried. Embarrassing, and I apologized profusely. A few days later, I dropped an apple at church and said the d*** word in frustration, in front of the pastor's wife no less. I could only laugh and apologize. She knew my challenge. We had already had the discussion about topomax, well known for the 10 point IQ drop in her psychiatry work. Fortunately, the neurologist backed me down to a lower dose. My eyes are still a bit psychedelic; the funky migraine aura light show continues. Last word from the neurology nurse, it could take 3 months for the topomax to make a dent on the migraine auras, and I'm thoroughly unimpressed so far.