Life is too short to stay grumpy...20070206
20070205
Grumpy
Yeah, so today I'm grumpy. I got to "work" and realized that I didn't have enough time to get done what I needed to get done before I have to go make sure that my Intro Chem students don't kill each other in lab. I hate that. I had something all planned out, I am off by about half an hour in my calculations, so I have to scrap the experiment for today.Wallow, wallow, wallow. Hit the desk repeatedly with fists. Stomp around the lab. Write a blog about being grumpy.
So, here's a picture of Trevor that I took while we were out shopping the other day. You can pretend that he was being a pill, but it's really just that he is so good at posing for me. He saw me pull out the camera, and decided to make faces. The one that turned out the best was his grumpy look.
This picture is my mascot for today.
20070202
A Day Full of Prognostication
I don't need some furry prophet telling me what's coming. Not being able to stomach all the cloy hype surrounding the Groundhog Day festivities, I turned off the television and looked for some portents that I could claim for myself. I came out of my burrow, and, unlike our little furry friend...
...I saw my shadow.
I didn't have to go far. In fact, the first bad omen that caught my attention was the rubbish (that's New Englandese for "trash") spread along every foot of the bus route between my apartment and school. Soda bottles, a variety of cigarette packs, tie wraps off of some pallet or box, a few more cigarette boxes (I've counted four different brands so far), scratched off lottery tickets, napkins, cigarette butts a plenty, and other sundry refuse. There wasn't a point during my trip that I didn't look out the window without being able to see something that someone had neglectfully dropped on the ground.
As I reflect on events that I saw in the news this morning, I feel myself waxing more prophetic. In particular, the harbinger that a facebook.com group playfully calls the "Mooninite Invasion" has really got my vatic juices going--not that someone would have to possess cosmic powers to shed light on the rationale behind the publicity stunt for a cartoon made for adults that features such fine morals as "We don't listen to people who don't like us" and "We do whatever we want whenever we want, at all times." One needs only to see footage of the press conference with the Boston men detained for distributing the suspicious devices throughout the city to see that they harbor no remorse. These grown-up "kids" act as if the whole thing was just a game--see them laugh and crack jokes about a junky hairdo.
What do I see in these trashy tea leaves and arrogant advertising? An America where the average citizens want accountability from the government, from their neighbors, and from big business, but is not willing to lay any responsibility upon their own shoulders. My crystal ball shows me a world where it's okay to cast blame on others when they have erred, but where no apologies are offered for personal wrongdoing.
What? You think we're already there? You could be right, but I'll stick (for now) to my optimistic view that the "average" citizen is still not so blasé about their personal responsibility to make the world a better place, or at least maintain the status quo.
On a lighter note, here is a comic strip that made me laugh:
Ph.D. Comix
20070201
Breaking News
Tiny Untidy Terrorists?
Normal parenting activities at Mountain Village apartment 136 were set back hours today as parents stopped to investigate suspicious objects that had turned up around the domicile. In light of the recent anxiety in nearby Boston over suspicious (?) electronic parcels that had been found nestled in various high-traffic areas of the city, parents in apartment 136 were slow to dismiss the objects in question as innocuous.
"I was just on my way downstairs after changing the baby when I discovered one of the objects with my left foot. I was scared--I thought I was going to drop the baby!" explained Tamara Jones in an interview earlier today. She showed us the laceration on her foot where the object had actually broken through the skin. "I n't know what to make of it at first, so I called it in to the authorities."
Later that day a similar incident occurred as a local resident was preparing to leave for work. "I thought I was safe. I didn't give any credence to the earlier reports of a possible terror threat in the vicinity, so I wasn't paying attention. Then--wham! As I knelt by my bed to reach for my sweatband that had rolled underneath, a little hand jabbed my knee. I looked down and saw what looked like a little person. What was he doing with his hand? It was all a little weird, and I didn't want to take any chances, so I called it in."
Another resident, who only spoke on condition of anonymity, related his experience that same morning. "I was in the middle of [a shower] when I was attacked. A huge stack of colorful plastic toppled on top of me. I was almost buried. Oh, yeah--I was scared! I had heard about some other strange stuff that people were stumbling across in my neighborhood, and I thought to myself, 'Holy smoking [sic.]! Now they're going after the water supply!"
The parents in apartment 136 assured residents that they were safe as clean-up details were deployed to various sites to pick up the strange objects. Authorities have made no arrests thus far in their investigation, but sources close to the case say that evidence is piling up.
Trevor Makes Bed for First Time
In other news, young Trevor Jones made his bed for the first time today. At the request of his father, the hungry two-year-old applied all of his hand-eye coordination to pull off the feat. His mother was impressed, and high-fives were distributed liberally by all the members of the household in a celebration marking this rite of passage. Rumor has it that Trevor's dad had been holding breakfast over his head, contingent upon successful completion of the early morning task, but sources in the Jones household have yet to confirm this allegation.
Boston Sets Record for Least Amount of Snow from the Boston Globe
"In a typical year, according to the National Weather Service, Boston sees 21 inches of snow by the end of January. Last year, Boston had 20.4 inches of snowfall by the end of January. (Last February saw 20 inches, above the normal 10.5 inches for that month.) This year, including last week's dusting, just 1.5 inches of snow have fallen."
Read the entire article at:
Boston.com
Normal parenting activities at Mountain Village apartment 136 were set back hours today as parents stopped to investigate suspicious objects that had turned up around the domicile. In light of the recent anxiety in nearby Boston over suspicious (?) electronic parcels that had been found nestled in various high-traffic areas of the city, parents in apartment 136 were slow to dismiss the objects in question as innocuous.
"I was just on my way downstairs after changing the baby when I discovered one of the objects with my left foot. I was scared--I thought I was going to drop the baby!" explained Tamara Jones in an interview earlier today. She showed us the laceration on her foot where the object had actually broken through the skin. "I n't know what to make of it at first, so I called it in to the authorities."
Later that day a similar incident occurred as a local resident was preparing to leave for work. "I thought I was safe. I didn't give any credence to the earlier reports of a possible terror threat in the vicinity, so I wasn't paying attention. Then--wham! As I knelt by my bed to reach for my sweatband that had rolled underneath, a little hand jabbed my knee. I looked down and saw what looked like a little person. What was he doing with his hand? It was all a little weird, and I didn't want to take any chances, so I called it in."
Another resident, who only spoke on condition of anonymity, related his experience that same morning. "I was in the middle of [a shower] when I was attacked. A huge stack of colorful plastic toppled on top of me. I was almost buried. Oh, yeah--I was scared! I had heard about some other strange stuff that people were stumbling across in my neighborhood, and I thought to myself, 'Holy smoking [sic.]! Now they're going after the water supply!"
The parents in apartment 136 assured residents that they were safe as clean-up details were deployed to various sites to pick up the strange objects. Authorities have made no arrests thus far in their investigation, but sources close to the case say that evidence is piling up.
Trevor Makes Bed for First Time
In other news, young Trevor Jones made his bed for the first time today. At the request of his father, the hungry two-year-old applied all of his hand-eye coordination to pull off the feat. His mother was impressed, and high-fives were distributed liberally by all the members of the household in a celebration marking this rite of passage. Rumor has it that Trevor's dad had been holding breakfast over his head, contingent upon successful completion of the early morning task, but sources in the Jones household have yet to confirm this allegation.
Boston Sets Record for Least Amount of Snow from the Boston Globe
"In a typical year, according to the National Weather Service, Boston sees 21 inches of snow by the end of January. Last year, Boston had 20.4 inches of snowfall by the end of January. (Last February saw 20 inches, above the normal 10.5 inches for that month.) This year, including last week's dusting, just 1.5 inches of snow have fallen."
Read the entire article at:
Boston.com
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