I’m betting it wasn’t a compliment
By Betsy | 10:26 pmFrom young hipper-than-thou teenaged son:
“Mom, even Dad would never have hung out at a weekend conference with a bunch of geeks, you know…”
Hmmm…maybe I should tell him just how and where I met his father back in the day…! Or share with him that the very first argument my ex and I had was about the relative merits of Windows vs. DOS.
(Ironically enough, my son and I now often battle about Mac vs. Windows superiority. As with the earlier argument, I, of course, am Right - even though I’ve now switched sides. Or at least am footing the bill this time around, which makes me Right by default - right?)
Naaaah. Why point out that the, um, apple hasn’t fallen nearly as far from the tree as he might think?
Or - why not just save that particular piece of ammunition until I really need it?
Topics: Geek whims | 2 Comments »
Spending Sunday night at the grocery store…
By Betsy | 8:22 pm“Mom, look! I’m actually doing it! I’m DOING IT!”
It’s been one of those busy kid-full weekends. Today, I snuck out this morning to spend a few hours at BarCamp Portland (leaving the kids behind to battle each other over Mario Cart Wii.)
Once I got back, it was time to tackle the totally overgrown front lawn. It was so bad that it took two of us, in fact - The Mogul to pre-mow with the people-powered rotary mower, then me following after with the cordless electric putt putt mower.
So when I announced at 4 pm that I was heading to the grocery store & my daughter countered with the heretofore unmentioned Sunday night deadline for learning how to ride a two wheeler already (bike safety classes start shortly at school, I believe; she is “the only person in her class who still can’t ride a two-wheeler, Moooooooom. I have to learn TODAY!”), well - so much for grocery shopping
Instead, after a bit of um, heated discussion about when to share information and why we might not be able to make this often-attempted goal happen today, I dragged the hand-me-down bike down the steps and out to the sidewalk yet again for another try. Insisted that it was a futile exercise until we a) got air in the tires and b) got the seat adjusted. Threw the bike in the car to haul it up to Community Cycling Center at 5 pm after the child first tried it without air in said tires anyway (hooray for the nice guy at CCC!) Bought dinner at the local sandwich shop, and settled in at the local playground with the wide expanse of blacktop for what I thought would be another painful experience.
Uh, nope. Within three minutes, she was moving along entirely under her own power. Within five minutes, you could hear her enthusiastic cries from 20 feet away. And she’d come back every few minutes from her victory laps to exclaim that this was just the ‘best fun EVER’, or accept yet another round of congratulations for figuring out how to make it all work.
Forty-five minutes later, she stopped long enough to call her dad via cell phone. Finally agreed to take a celebratory gelato break. Wanted to head right back to the park afterwards for even more bike riding, but grudgingly went with me to the grocery story instead. Insisted that we had to detour over to the sporting goods section of Fred Meyer to get her a bike lock. Spent too much time trying to coerce me into a new bike horn….new bike handle grips…new bike accessories.
So that’s why I didn’t get back from the grocery store until 8:30 this evening.
Am I wiped out? Yep. But was our last-minute agenda change worth every single little bit of all of the agita expended, both today and in days previously?
Absolutely.
Topics: Drama Mama | 2 Comments »
Pulling my strings
By Betsy | 7:49 pmMy refrigerator is a thing of beauty.
Everything that’s in there can be consumed without fear of food poisoning. The condiments are nicely nestled in the door, the shelves and walls have all been thoroughly cleaned, and there’s now order where there once was chaos.
I had absolutely, positively nothing to do with this miracle.
Unless you count the fact that I happened to mention to The Mogul that I wanted to go to the Farmer’s Market, and that I should probably restock at the grocery store later today.
He suggested that it might make sense to clean out the refrigerator first so we knew just what we needed & had a place to put everything. Next thing I knew, he had a kitchen chair pulled up to the open refrigerator, a roll of paper towels, a garbage bag, and a bottle of non-toxic cleaner - and he’d already started pitching things he thought looked dubious.
I figured that this was a show for my benefit - a task that he’d lose interest in once his sister and I left the house. I was wrong, wrong, oh so WRONG.
I wasn’t wrong, though, when I assumed he had a motive behind the sudden helpfulness (aside from the clear benefits my currently bottomless pit gains from a refrigerator that’s now easy to fill.)
So I wasn’t caught by surprise by the request later in the day to a) drive him to the game store and b) help front a little bit of money for the latest Wii game. And I had to appreciate the fact that he bundled the request with a suggestion that we head out afterwards to dinner at the one place we’d all had a great time at recently - making it that much more attractive.
So, I get a clean refrigerator. Two kids getting along at dinner, two kids now spending time together with the latest Wii game. And buffalo wings for dinner while I kicked both kids’ behind at trivia. What’s not to love?
Feel free to manipulate me a little bit more, Mogul! See, the lawn really does need to be mowed soon….
Topics: The Mogul | 2 Comments »
If I were wiser…
By Betsy | 6:44 pm…I’d give up on things sooner. Call the game on account of darkness. Throw in the towel, hang up the phone, walk away without a single backwards glance.
I’ve never regretted turning the guy who persistently said ‘ain’t down for Date Number Three, for example - but I’ll never get back the wasted months spent with the guy who wasn’t exactly separated from the mother of his children after all.
Unfortunately, since I am definitely Old and Decrepit, I have wasted months galore to reflect on. The job that wasn’t all that after all. The friendship that took far more than it ever gave. The ‘easy-peasy’ volunteer opportunity that sucked my soul dry. The tears I hold back watching self-destructive people deliberately tempt destruction in the most painful, public ways.
Maybe, the trick is not to watch after all. Refuse to look back over your shoulder as you slowly, surely walk away. Dump the phone number, delete the email, stop reading that site. Get smarter as I inevitably grow older.
So, Domino’s Pizza? My children love your bland cheesy goodness, while I like the delivery plus the 2 for Tuesday special. But we’ve had a torturous relationship these last few years - the orders that arrive late, the pizza that always, ALWAYS disappoints.
Tonight, though - it’s over for good.
See, when I order bacon on my pizza, and the online Pizza Tracker confirms that I have, indeed, ordered bacon, well - I expect the full complement of that tasty fried pork that makes Domino’s Pizza almost partially palatable. Maybe. Sorta. If I close my eyes and concentrate on the bacon, that is.
My new motto?
I will no longer settle for anything less than bacon.
Topics: Boss Lady | 3 Comments »
Should have stopped while I was ahead…
By Betsy | 9:23 amYesterday, I…
- Claimed $109 dollar refund ’cause health insurance company had erroneously refused coverage on prescription but were, uh, made to see the error of their ways after a phone call Friday afternoon.
- Deposited expense check of $106 dollars I’d totally forgotten about.
- Returned The Mogul’s now-unneeded replacement phone charger (purchased the day before the phone met a watery demise.) Money back to me? $15.
I also read this, so know I’ve got some extra cash coming Very Soon Now. So I decided to splurge on a new car stereo that will work and play nicely with my current iPod Touch, plus handle the 3G iPhone I’m determined to buy in the near future.
Got it installed. Drove around with the windows open on a beautiful warm sunny Saturday afternoon, happy to be listening to My Music. I had the world by the tail, I did.
Until I got a little too exuberant and hit the curb near my house a little too abruptly while parking the car, destroying the right front tire. The upshot?
- Coughed up 87 dollars on a new tire at Les Schwab.
Needless to say, my punctured ego and I stayed home last night…
Topics: Boss Lady | 1 Comment »
