soothe the tumors

Xmas San Diego 2010 has been overwhelmed by the city's biggest rain storm in years. It started raining the day I arrived and has been pissing ever since. Of course, there is supposed to be sun tomorrow, my last day here. But even chilly gray drizzle beats real winter any day, mittens down. And I do get that this is desert, and rain can cause problems, but it is hilarious that 6 days of drizzle is the biggest weather event local news has seen here in years.

It has still been a fabulous trip. Glad it's not my first time here, so when we spend the days hiding inside, at least I don't fear I'm missing anything; we've done all the "must dos" here. Relaxing, reading, napping, happy hours and hours, unexpected fun hidden in brownies, ocean beach for fish tacos, buttery brunches, dodging puddles, and did I mention napping? Think I need one now.

wayfinding

cannot explain how essential long breaks from school are to maintaining my sanity. working with junior high school students sucks every ounce of patience from my bones and the exhaustion wears on the deepest fibers of being. were it not for breaks like this weekend, i would surely have strangled several moody middle schoolers. having a 5-day weekend is one of the few incredible perks to working in a school. as much as i am enjoying the thoughts of this being my last year, i already miss the occasional respites.

knowing a move out of minnesota is coming makes me nervous and excited; knowing that we will not know where we'll live until mid-february turns my stomach to giddy butterfly knots. b is applying to PhD programs this month, and most announce acceptance in feb. the current list of possibilities:

San Francisco

LA

Boston

Princeton, NJ

Baltimore

way west or way east seems to be the plan. yet if all of these schools have their heads up asses and don't accept my smartypants sweetie, and if i am unable to sell my townhouse, minnesota could be added to the list...ugh. but even if that happens, i want to leave my current job. it is time. to move. on.

why is it so hard to get myself excited about the idea of a terrifically terrifying new adventure at, gasp, 36? clearly, i will be much more able to adjust to new surroundings now versus when i am 40, right?

what am i thankful for this spanksgiving freakend? a lot. it has been a lovely, if long long distance, year. my health remains spry, the love of my life keeps becoming more fabulous, my amazing group of friends, a solid healthcare plan, a roof over my head, a warm comforter on my bed, and plenty of pop tarts in the cupboard. oh, and the fact that i can (and will) take a nap anytime i want today. that's pretty sweet.

think i'll take one right now.

and then it was white

of course weather is a subject of small talk everywhere, but minnesotans have a special flare and incessant need to review discuss and predict it. perhaps it's because of shit like this week (here i go) - it was 70 degrees on tuesday and now it has been snowing for 12 hours and will for about 24 more. why the hell can't this happen on sunday night?!?! what good is snow if there is no snow day closing school?

this sudden shift to winter that is never sudden but always feels surprising has inspired the need to hibernate and fire up the crockpot. on today's menu, migas - a recipe i have wondered about for a while and finally decided to try. i have never cooked an egg-based meal in the slow cooker. yeehaw.

i miss palm trees.

ooooooo and a fabulous friend sent me this link to some awesome nerdiness. not a new idea, that we are all made from the remnants of a supernova, but a fascinating one to contemplate again. i love thinking about the comment that when you look at the night sky, the starlight is literally photons from that star touching your retina. photons that have traveled hundreds of trillions of miles for billions of years. the cells of your retina are their final (?) resting place.

aren't you a little old for that?

a happy halloween is coming to an end here in the land of opportunity. this tuesday will bring a wave of stupidity to the voting booths, mouth breathing, teabags steeping; i'm afraid i won't be able to buy enough hand sanitizer to get all the dumb off after my trip there.

idiot politicians on both sides have demonized the idea of paying taxes to such an extent, lies are now oozing out of every orifice about how they will cut taxes. it is impossible. all the shit americans expect the government to do for them have to be paid for, dumbass. and YES rich people should pay a helluva lot more in taxes than i do. they need to pay into the system that allows for their obscene wealth. michelle bachman, one of the dumbest creatures on the planet, loves to insist that if we end the bush tax cuts for wealthy people, they won't be able to create more jobs. her proof? well, obviously -- it is the fact that since those cuts were put in place, we have lost millions of jobs. daddy warbuck's tax cuts do not create jobs.

the photo - taken in a cell in alcatraz. there's a metaphor in here somewhere.

jiffy lube lied

about a month ago, there was a news report about an edmunds.com study on oil changes. they investigated the frequency of oil changes modern cars need, and they proved that the "you need to change your oil every 3,000 miles" idea is a complete lie. the quick lube shops continue to promote the idea with their little window reminder stickers, but they admit, you do not need to change your oil that often (their argument is - well, it's not necessary but it can't hurt to do it that often). the study explains that there indeed was a time when you had to change oil that frequently but with motor oils are much more efficient than they used to be.

the website suggests everyone can wait a minimum of 6,000 miles/6 months, but you should follow what your owner's manual recommends. a quick look at mine, for a 2001 Honda, showed that i only need to change my oil every 7,500 miles - which means twice a year, instead of 4-5 times per year. a savings of at least $150 and far less oil being thrown away into the environment.

this country's ridiculous appetite for oil, which in part led to one of our wars; climate change accelerated by our wastefulness; the gulf spill -- it can hurt to change your oil too often.

way too funny

this has to be one of the funniest things i have seen in years. especially if you already think paula deen is a little creepy. i love it near the tasting, when she licks her fingers, fingers the monstrosity, and feeds it to the hungry puma

bucketful of gee bees

i thought it was time for my first topical subject line... gay blood, camp GB, and the great brainwash. my lack of blogging lately has not correlated with a lack of shit i have to blather on about.

first on the list is the brainwash -- the insanely pervasive myth about vaccines. an episode of frontline focused on the debate (info and episode here). i have several friends currently pregnant and wondered what their views on this are. it all started when one (now known to be suspicious) study found a possible link between the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine and autism. since that study, its claims have been debunked by over a dozen other studies, and it has been shown that it cannot be replicated - a sign of a poor study. there is no link between MMR and autism.

jenny mcarthy took her son in for vaccination, and within days he had autism. that is how she remembers it, and there is no denying how someone choses to remember things. when the argument becomes "i am his mother, i know that something changed after he got that shot" it becomes irrefutable. even oprah couldn't counter that. that single flimsy study is the entire backbone of mcarthy's argument. she has enough celebrity power to make her own ridiculous fears and delusions "true" for suburban moms everywhere. she and her army keep changing their hypothesis - first, it was MMR, then it was an additive (derived from mercury), and on and on. what we are left with is pockets of the country where too many children are not immunized, thus creating the possibility of an outbreak. the concept of herd immunity was fascinating to learn about; when we all get our shots, we all are safer.

second topic - gay blood. did you know that in the US gay men cannot donate blood? if a man has had winkwink relations with another man since 1974, he is disqualified. they don't want his/my blood. since 1983, the FDA has banned gay blood. even the red cross called the ban "medically and scientifically unwarranted". this may finally be changing...

finally -- the day after returning from san diego, i went to winona, mn, for the 8th annual camp GB, a gathering of some of the most beautiful souls i have ever been lucky enough to know. we had 5 days of hot summer fun.

we rented a pontoon and went on the river, watched a backyard movie projected on a garage, painted, released the kracken, rocked some small town karokee (and got the girls all riled up), floated in the lake, and lounged as much as possible. such a gorgeous way to wrap up the summer.