<p>Thanks for the coffee, IL. So, how was the water on that polar bear plunge? :)</p>
<p>GSharp: congratulations on your D1’s engagement. Sorry to hear about the drama and you are wise to launch a preemptive strike on the potential May wedding/graduation conflict. Wishing the happy couple all the best - may you gain a son and future ally in your annual Christmas snowman battle.</p>
<p>Footballmom: i’m sorry that the results at the wrestling tournament were not what your son hoped, but I still think it’s an honor to make it to that level. Congratulations!</p>
<p>T_c: congrats on finding an apartment for your internship & good luck in surviving the stress of tech week & show week with your gf. I hope all goes as smooth as possible.</p>
<p>Thanks for the PVCs for S2’s interview. There were only 6 candidates interviewed out of 120 applicants for 2 internships; he’s still waiting to hear. It would be wonderful if he gets the internship but not the end of the earth if he doesn’t.</p>
<p>And in non-college news, I am the proud mother of 4 new bouncing baby kitchen appliances. I sure hope they are house-broken! :D</p>
<p>G#: adding my voices to the congratulations. And I can vouch that October is a great month to get married! Give your wife a high five for her comment at Plato’s Closet :)</p>
<p>congrats, rmh18! I think the only one you have to worry about is the dishwasher leaking on the floor! But you should be okay for a decade or so.</p>
<p>Another sunny day here! I could get used to this. I hear the Texas panhandle is having another blizzard and travelers are told to “hunker down” in place. </p>
<p>Hopeful about finishing the hallway door frames (dark wood to white) by spring. Working on the last visible one this week…the one around the corner in our bedroom can wait. It all looks so much brighter and larger. And newer.</p>
<p>Apropo of nothing…anyone else have experience with bird feeders, safflower seeds, & squirrels? I read several places that squirrels leave feeders alone because they don’t like safflower seeds, so I am trying using only those seeds for a while. But MY squirrels cling to the feeder and methodically eat the seeds anyway. </p>
<p>G#, congrats! Your wife is awesome - My D was also only allowed to wear age appropriate clothing that would’ve been deemed too “juvenile” for Plato’s Closet. I was also once told D’s clothes were not in “style” - but I didn’t have the guts to say what your wife said!</p>
<p>I think I’m glad I don’t know what Plato’s Closet is.</p>
<p>Congrats on the big news, G#!</p>
<p>I feel like I haven’t posted on here in weeks. Most of you know that I’ve been dealing with my elderly parents. When I was there last week, my mom was ONCE AGAIN changing cable/phone providers. The guy was supposed to come out Thursday, but it was rainy and she didn’t want him “dragging mud into the house.” I told her that if you’re not adding your new service you better make sure they don’t drop the old service. Yep. Today, they lost service and the phone number they’ve had since October 1970, when my dad retired and we moved into that house. <em>sigh</em></p>
<p>In other news (and to bump us back) I am tennnntatively hitching a ride on the grad school wagon. By which I mean I am starting research on programs and am going to talk to my advisor and such. I’m going to apply to do a Master’s program in Canada as part of my Fulbright application, but am also looking at programs in the U.S…It begins.</p>
<p>I just got back from taking S2 out for lunch on his 21st birthday. I bought him a mojito. He doesn’t care for beer or wine. I tried to take him to get a passport but we had horrible luck and I have a strong distaste for the Los Angeles post offices. Prior to going I researched the hours, locations and whether an appointment was necessary. S2 has a full schedule at school, plus an on-campus job and no car. The majority of the post office passport hours are from 10 am to 2pm. Seriously? So he got out of work at 1pm and I picked him up. We went to the first post office and they were nice, but evidently the passport clerk was off today so they weren’t doing them today. Strike one. We went to the second post office and they said they only did passports by appointment and gave us a number to call after 4pm. Strike two. We got to the third post office and were not sure where the front door was. We asked a postal worker loading his truck where the entrance was, and he told us “he didn’t know and he was too busy”. Seriously? We go in the post office and they tell us they no longer do passports but directed us to the two other post offices, which we had already been to. Strike three. Where we live the post office does passports, without an appointment Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm, by appointment on Saturdays and then the local library does them 4pm to 10 pm. He needs to have the passport before he can sign up for the summer Travel Study in Greece that he wants to do. But, says if it is full by the time he gets it, no big deal. We did have a very nice lunch. Even though he is only an hour away I had not seen him since I dropped him off in the beginning of January. After a very unhealthy first quarter (cellulits, kidney stone), he looks great and seems to be very happy. So all in all, life is good.</p>
<p>tx5athome–I would be seriously ticked off at the post office!</p>
<p>Youdon’tsay–you have my sympathy. I was trying to reach my father (he’s in assisted living) for over a week, growing increasingly anxious. Turns out he lost his cell phone. I just tried the land line but he didn’t answer that either. At this hour of the night (almost 9 pm!) I hope he’s having a seriously good time.</p>
<p>At the library today I overheard a tutor telling her HS-age student, “You need two dots here. Two dots. And here.” Not once did she say “It’s called a colon.” I was so tempted to sidle up and hiss, “It’s a COLON!” :eek:</p>
<p>Now I have to decide whether to watch Smash, which is awkwardly trying to find its way this season, or one of the movies I got from the library. I hate to waste an evening…</p>
<p>tx5 that reminds me… i need to check with S2 if he ever renewed his passport…he was supposed to do it while home at xmas…but didnt, so took his passport back with him to do while at school.</p>
<p>good luck on the grad school and fulbright journey tc!!!</p>
<p>sorry about your mom’s phone yds…</p>
<p>i have some painting that needs doing, mommusic , you are welcome to come here if you get finished with yours</p>
<p>tx5, I discovered that are a lot fewer passport places than there used to be. We went to our neighboring town hall before, but they no longer accept applications. We ended up having to make an appointment at our local library. The woman there said that town halls can’t do it anymore - something about them having birth certificates on the premises being a security issue.</p>
<p>Thank goodness for nice cops. DS got stopped for going 52 in a 35 mph zone. This stretch of road is just a couple of miles from our house. It is a NOTORIOUS speed trap, 24/7. We have told him and told him and told him to go slow. When the police officer pulled him over, DS was lethargic and failed the sobriety test. Thank God the cop asked him about meds and didn’t smell alcohol on him! He gave DS a ticket ($185!!) and called us to come pick him up. DS was on a good-driver program with our insurance company, so now his rates will skyrocket. I’m going to withdraw money from his savings account to pay for the ticket and the extra insurance. Now we have to talk to his doctor to see what to do about the meds. Ack. The rest of the day with DS wasn’t much better, so DH and I are pretty discouraged. We want to go back on the cruise ship!</p>
<p>Good one!! DW and I got a real chuckle out of that. But then she tagged it with the dreaded “Dad Joke” label. :rolleyes: </p>
<p>“Cluster headaches” - Laf, I looked that up and I sure hope thats not the problem. That sounds really bad.</p>
<p>12rmh18, I was nowhere near that water, except to stand on it (as in the frozen variety), though the temps were a balmy 45 or so.</p>
<p>mommusic - by coincidence, we were at a plow and hearth store this weekend. they had an amazing squirrel proof feeder that was really cool. I’m sure you can see it on line. A bit pricey though</p>
<p>tx5athome - we had a similar, though much abbreviated, experience some years ago. And they are still in business…why?</p>
<p>No, Laf! It was our Focus. Bubba still has a clean record! Bubba is the one who rescued the offender when we had to go pick him up before the cop would let him go!</p>
<p>initiatelaunch–I’ve seen squirrel proof feeders too. They cost close to $100 which I thought was too much for something that will stay outside in all weather and rust out in a few years. </p>
<p>And I don’t know why I briefly thought today was Tuesday. Paint fumes addled my brain?</p>
<p>12rmh - enjoy your new appliances! They sound cute. ;)</p>
<p>tx5 - ugh. no, double ugh. Post office and passport. yuck.</p>
<p>ML - ouch on the ticket. At least the cop doubted DUI. </p>
<p>Good luck, t_c. That’s exciting!</p>
<p>mathmom - my fingers are crossed for the scholarship. Maybe it will come through.</p>
<p>mommusic - I don’t have any experience with bird feeders. But, Batman knows a thing or 2 about squirrels. I’ll ask him.</p>
<p>Son just posted a new fb profile picture. He’s now grinning ear to ear as he stands beside a tardus blue phone booth. </p>
<p>And, D is pleasantly surprised to learn she has advanced in the selection process for a Center for Public Service job next year. Still no word on the RA app. I wonder if she would be allowed to do both if - by a miracle - she got both. </p>
It all looks so much brighter and larger. And newer.</p>