More three things...

In re-reading Diana's blog (which I haunt obsessively because she's such a good, funny writer) I realized I missed some "three things"- Three is also my favorite number, so I shall expand upon the three theme:

I missed these:

Three things that scare me:
-Anything terrible happening to my daughter terrifies me.
-Episodes of depression
-Heights, sometimes...its weird, it comes and goes- sometimes I'm fine with heights and other times I practically have a panic attack

Three things that stress me:
Okay, crap, only three? I'm a stress puppy.
-Performance anxiety- I always feel I'm not good enough
-Money
-No down time/alone time

Here are some more three things. Favorite things that are only partial lists because I could go on, and on about books and movies:

Three favorite fiction books:
-"Sophie's Choice" by William Styron
-"A prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving
-"War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy

Favorite non-fiction books- history geek edition
-"Vietnam" by Stanley Karnow
-"Progress and it's Critics" by Christopher Lasch
-"The Rise of the Third Reich" by Richard Evans
There are many more, but these stand out as being especially comprehensive and readable.

Favorite Movies
-Casablanca
-A Lion in Winter
-A Very Long Engagement
Very much a partial list, because I love movies

And now for some things I don't like:

Three "un-favorite" foods:
-Raisins- I can barely stand to look at them.
-Fruit cocktail packed in syrup. Dry heaves just thinking about it.
-Plantaines- (sp?) I don't hate them so much as their texture bugs me

Three random un-favorite things:
- I hate overheated places. I have a lot of natural heat, so overly warm places really bug me
- crowds- I don't like crowds where people you don't know are in your personal bubble
-Stupidity. It appears to be rampant, and its really bothersome

Three things list

My new job is eating my brain, but in a good way.... just super busy and I'm learning a lot, which is good. I have frequented ultra-hip coffee bar, and have encountered a few of the "cool kids", but also have gone with work-mates, who are cool in reality.

I'm copying Diana, the Three things list:

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:-
My husband, my daughter and my sister Tina

Three Things I Can Do:-
Sneeze like a cat, read very quickly, and make excellent fudge

Three Things I'm Doing Right Now:-
Typing, thinking, waiting for my husband to get home with dinner

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die:-
Travel to Europe and other parts of the world, be stunningly beautiful and thin, and write a book

Three Things I Hate The Most:-
Mean people, indifference and incompetence

Three Things I Don't Understand:-
Why Bush is president, advanced math, and the sport of curling

Three Ways To Describe My Personality:-
Insecure, funny and sarcastic

Three Things I Think You Should Listen To:-
Your gut feeling, your grandma, and NPR

Three Things You Should Never Listen To:-
Mean people, the Republican party and Toby Keith

Three Favorite Foods:-
chocolate, salty snacks and sea food

Three Beverages I Drink Regularly:-
Coffee, water and milk

Three Shows I watched As A Kid:-
Wonder woman, Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island

MATH AVALANCHE- RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

Allie has a new math teacher- Mr. "Pop" (names are modified to protect the guilty!) Mr. "Pop" is not very "poppy"- Allie told me about him, but I saw him in action myself on back to school night. And she was right, he very, very quiet and low-key. You can't see his top teeth when he talks...so deceptively mellow.

But then, the avalanche of math homework begins!!! Allie, like me hates math, the difference is, she's really good at it. I have shocked- SHOCKED myself with actually being able to help her understand her homework - even though it is 8th grade math (see my previous posts about how brilliant, super intelligent my daughter is)

Mr. "Pop" is, I'm sure, a nice man (and a Duck fan, he gets a few points for that) but cruelly high levels of math homework.

Allie's funniest teacher is her orchestra teacher Ms. L. She's hilarious and obviously loves her kids. The other teachers seemed fine too, in the whirlwind world of middle school.

This post was co-written by my special co-blogger- Allie. We need to vent about the gazillion math problems we did this weekend when we were very tired.

Tragically Unhip

The new job is going well. Its a bit more fast paced than the old gig, as I'm coming in the middle of much transition in the organization. I have a cube rather than an office, but I have a window and natural light! The new place is very quiet compared to my old workplace. I'm just glad to be getting through my first half week there, and starting to get a bit of a feel for it...

However, my new office is in a big building owned by an ultra-hip creative services agency. They have their own coffee bar, which our staff utilizes as well. So, on Friday, I decided to go to the coffee bar. I was attired in an Old Navy t-shirt and jeans. I looked every inch the 38-year-old mom, non-profit employee I am. At the coffee bar, there was a young guy, late 20s the perfected "messy" hair look, and carefully "stressed" jeans. He was chatting up two blondes. One had white girl dreadlocks, newsboy cap and many piercings. Her companion was probably close to my age, but trying with every fiber of her being not to be. She had ultra low rise jeans and sharp jutting hipbones, and a tiny tee that looked like it would be too small even for my daughter, and super straight blond hair. As a I walked up to the bar, all three stared at me. It was really unnerving. They looked disappointed and exasperated...as if my mere presence had destroyed the ultra-hip, cool moment. As if they were basking each other's coolness, and I had come in and destroyed it all.

There's a line in the movie Forrest Gump, where Forrest meets Jenny at a radical Black Panther meeting. There's and altercation and Forrest says, "I'm sorry I ruined your Black Panther party." As the three got up and left before my mocha was even served to me, I felt like calling after them, "I'm sorry I ruined your ultra-hip cool hang out spot...."

I didn't no whether to laugh, cry or merely be amused that this little exchange. I was never one of the cool kids- I had braces, I was in band, I was shy, I've always been clumsy. Part of me felt like- is this junior high? aren't we all past this? Ahh, well maybe not. Maintaining my caffiene intake is much more important that preserving the sanctity of the the ultra hip coffee spot. I think they need to get used to me temporary disrupting the coolness quotient.

Extravaganza!

So much has happened, I hardly know what and how to write about it...First of all, my last day at what I have now dubbed "my old job" was on Thursday. I had a very lovely goodbye luncheon with all the co-workers and they gave me a nice leather briefcase as a "parting gift" I guess. I will miss those guys, although "new job" is only 10 blocks away, so I plan to pop in once in awhile..

Thursday night my nephews came for a visit in anticipation for Allie's two day birthday party EXTRAVAGANZA! The nephews (ages 12 and 13) were also staying because my sister is recovering from surgery. Her evil, MC Hammer pants wearing ex husband also saw fit to file a custody suit against her days before her surgery. A surgery she had to delay back in December because of another baseless lawsuit. I'm trying not to seeth with hatred of him, but its hard.

So, Friday was the launch of the 12th birthday Extravaganza! I took the Allie, her cousins and best friend to Oaks Park for 6 hours of unlimited rides. Allie loves Oaks Park, so for her past 4 birthdays, we have visited Oaks Park. Usually, my sister goes along, but this time I was on my own. The kids are older and we had a few less kids this time so it wasn't so bad. Although I had to tell my sister that the "curse of the Tilt-a-whirl" was finally broken. In the past, my sister and I would sit on the bench in front of the Tilt-a-whirl and watch the kids and something awful would happen. One year someone got off the ride and puked right in front of us. One year a really drunk guy kept hitting on my sister. So, it was with some trepidation I sat on the Tilt-a-whirl bench. Fortunately, nothing happened. Except I sat next to Little House on the Prairie Mom and her little Ingalls girls kept running around to different rides. They were dressed in these longish, Holly Hobby-esque dresses and had very long hair. I wanted to ask what the deal was with the clothes, but thought better of it. Actually, they were better attired than most at the Park. Not having my sister to talk to I did a lot more people watching. I kept seeing a 50ish, 60ish grandma in a ribbed tank top and NO BRA- plus cut off short-shorts. An outfit appropriate either for someone under 12 or a hooker. One would think a woman that age would have more sense- and she wasn't a Tina Turner 60ish gal, no she had the sags and bags that age and gravity bring. Myself, I don't leave the house bra-less- ever. I have to say even just following the kids around from ride to ride was exhausting.

The next day of the Extravaganza! Involved a pizza party, cake and presents at the clubhouse at our apartment complex with 6 of Allie's friends plus nephews. From the clubhouse the furniture was moved to the living room for a massive sleep over event. There was a small amount of drama, but that soon passed.

By 11:30 am Sunday, mercifully, the birthday Extravaganza! was over. I met my Dad to drop off the nephews in Madras and Allie and I did some last minute school shopping. Monday involved more school shopping as we had a hard time finding the necessary staples of jeans and tennis shoes.

Today, I dropped Allie off for her first day of Middle school. I walked her to her locker and helped her load stuff in. Once she saw her friends, I got a quick hug and she was off- my baby, I did get a little teary on the drive home.

Tomorrow is my big day- first day at the "new" job.