Shot Talk

Somehow we began discussing cooties over dinner with a group of friends last night. By cooties I mean those nebulous animals? insects? that kids accuse other kids of having. As in: Ew! He's got cooties! I think cooties might have originally referred to head lice, but that's not where I'm going with this.

The proper response to an accusation of having cooties is as follows: Circle, circle; dot, dot; now I've got my cootie shot (while drawing concentric circles on one's hand or upper arm and adding two dots in the middle, of course).

At the table last night were two Floridians, two Texans (guess which?) and two New Englanders. All Southerners related to the common cootie innoculation method. The New Englanders thought we were crazy! They had never heard of such antics. Either these two simply had no defense when confronted about cooties at recess, or New England elementary schoolers are just above such tomfoolery.

A cooties discussion always prompts me to bring up a language issue I have had with cooties since about third grade. In addition to the dot-dot method, the following was also used by the peers on my playground:

Circle, circle; knife, knife; now I have it all my life (the shot, that is). You would draw a knife (line) inside the circles this time, naturally.

I could not and still don't understand how I could be considered a cooties carrier if I had a shot that covers me for life in third grade!

I guess that's the trouble with imaginary shots. There's not scar to show that you're indeed protected.

Anyone else out there know of the knife-knife addendum? Brian thinks I made it up. I need some support to prove my case. Help me out all you pro-knifers!

A New One

All that and a piece of cheese. *

*Impact might vary if you don't have a crazy Boston accent.

The What-If Game

Ann Richards died today. She was the first governor of Texas I recall being aware of. You really couldn't miss that huge white hairdo.

I know I was too young to appreciate the following quote if I happened to hear it in 1988. Richards said it in her keynote address to the Democratic National Convention. I'm glad the press trotted it out again today:

"Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels."

As I watched the TV tributes this morning I wondered: What if Richards had won re-election in 1994, and George W. had never been governor?

It's mind boggling.

The New Girl

I started my new job today. As Annie said, "I think I'm gonna like it here." The only drawback I can forsee is that I'm working an hour more each day than at my last job. I really had it good working 8:30 to 4:30 with an hour for lunch.

Today I actually got to edit, and there is plenty more where that came from that is all mine. I'll be editing for content as well as doing copy editing and proofreading. And I'm going to have real deadlines again! I know I really shouldn't be this excited about deadlines.

More on the job front TK as I get further in.

The In Between

Time off between jobs was fabulous!

First we went way up to Downeast Maine for three days at a lakeside cabin with a group of friends. We also spent time at Acadia National Park. I just can't get enough of glacial landscapes. We even saw the only fjord in the continental United States!

It was fairly cool at night, and we saw a few trees that had some fall leaves. It wasn't even Labor Day yet. I'm not ready for the cool down. Bring on Indian summer.

Because the drive was so long, about five hours, we split up the return trip and spent the night in Portland, ME. It has a revitalized downtown near the water that is charming. We had a very nice meal then spent the night at a Travelodge. It's all about balance.

After Maine I spent two days cleaning house (it really needed it), and one day celebrating my birthday with a mani/pedi and a nice dinner at a new semi swanky place in our town. The fact that our town has a new upscale restaurant is a really good sign. We're hoping this place is on the way up.

The next day I was off to San Diego for a college friend's wedding. I had a lovely time hanging out with my former roommates and Mizzou friends while enjoying the perfect weather. The wedding was at the beach and beautiful.

The flight home was anything but beautiful. It was red eye because I had decided I would rather fly all night and sleep than waste a day. I still think this is preferable. What I don't recommend is having to make a connection prior to the red eye flight.

I had to go from San Diego to LAX. American has about four of these between 6 and 8 p.m. I was very early, and there was room, so I was offered the opportunity to take two flights earlier than the one I was scheduled on. I declined. If I stuck with my iternary, I would wait about two hours in San Diego and two in LA. I didn't want to wait a lot longer in LA.

I finally got on the plane, and all systems were go. Then the engine went off. They told us that there had been a power failure on one of the runways at LAX. It would be at least an hour. We were getting off the plane. I couldn't believe I had waited! I was lucky, however. Before they got everyone off, the lights at LAX were back on and so were we.

Once in LA, I thought I would be set. I would wait and then sleep all the way back to Boston. Unfortunately, my flight was delayed. Bad weather in Dallas messed up all American flights for the whole day. I really struggled to stay awake in order to board. When I finally got on, I went immediately to sleep. I only woke up once because the woman behind me was snoring---an unforseen consequence of the red eye!

When I finally got to Boston, I was greeted by a wonderful husband who took me home to my wonderful bed. I'm think I'm finally back on Eastern time.

The length of this post proves my time off was well spent!