ION, studying for this exam is boring.

For all my bitching about the war in Iraq, we remained relatively untouched by it. Until Saturday. My husband's friend (who was in our wedding) was killed when his humvee ran over an IED. He was a volunteer fireman, an all-around great guy and he leaves a wife and two kids. *sigh*

There'll be no catching up after the long weekend.

I hope this miserable rain is just March's way of saying "Fuck you. Good-bye."

Oh Cashmere. I'm so sorry. His family and friends will be in my prayers.

For all my bitching about the war in Iraq, we remained relatively untouched by it. Until Saturday. My husband's friend (who was in our wedding) was killed when his humvee ran over an IED. He was a volunteer fireman, an all-around great guy and he leaves a wife and two kids.

Oh Lisa, I am so sorry. My condolences to you and Christopher, and prayers for his poor family, and friends.

Cass, I really wanted to be there today, too. But I had a performance this afternoon. I'm really bummed I missed you. Glad to see you around, though.

Sorry to hear that, Cash. Damn.

I just feel terrible for Christopher. I came downstairs this morning and found our wedding album on the table. He was up late going through it. He's being all stoic, but I think he's pretty shaken.

Erin --

I take Seroquel as part of my regular meds and it's supposed to help me sleep but that sometimes depends on how keyed up am. After barely sleeping Saturday night and only taking a brief light nap on Sunday I figured that I'd sleep well last night (especially after I got all emotional yesterday). I took Benedryl as an extra measure, went to bed at 9 (with a headache) and the last time I looked at my alarm clock it was midnight. So I'm working on empty today as well.

I was taking Ambien at one point, but I stopped taking it for several reasons. I started taking half a pill (don't know the dosage) and ended up taking 1 1/2 -2 and still had trouble falling asleep. I tried Trazadone, but that screwed up my vision slightly. I don't want to take another med, especially not one that will be expensive as Ambien -- it will push my monthly copays closer $130 (for three meds) , and while I realize that's not a lot compared to what some people pay I really don't want to pay that.

My big problem is falling asleep - once I'm asleep, but I've been like that since I was a child.

Deena -- your kids are such cutieheads!

I did nothing for Easter. Dad was very tired and said that his "I'm fine! I can do most things!" attitude for the first week after his heart attack caught up with him and wiped him out. So we got take in and watched Sharpe's Regiment. However, when I got back to Dad's around 8 ish he was gone and didn't get back until 10 ish. Which means he's being stubborn.

Cahs, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend.

askye, I'm glad your dad is okay, if tired. I think the body is smarter than the brain a lot of times (and almost always smarter than the ego). I'm glad he's started listening to it.

I just feel terrible for Christopher. I came downstairs this morning and found our wedding album on the table. He was up late going through it. He's being all stoic, but I think he's pretty shaken.

Poor Christopher. I can't even imagine. This is going to sound like I'm taking the piss, but I'm not. Sex is a great antidote to death.

(As far as I know, sex is not a great anecdote to death, as I originally typed, but a case could be made...)

...

Long story, X-posted in Natter: Topic!Cindy "Natter 34: To Be Named Later" Mar 28, 2005 5:59:18 am PST

QUESTION for teachers:

Ben starts State-mandated standardized testing, tomorrow. It's the sort of standardized testing which counts (in the higher grades--he's only in third) for/against the student, teachers, and school districts.

He'll be tested on reading. He's a good reader, and has done well on the objective questions in practice exercises. He understands the open-ended essay questions, but is loath to provide detail on his, even when it is asked for. Talking to him has made it clear to me that he knows, understands, and retains the detail. It's just not his nature to give it voluntarily. He just doesn't respect it. Maybe I took home the wrong baby.

Can you recommended any strategies or have any advice for me, or advice I can pass to him? He's mostly an A student. He's bright. He loves school. The errors he makes are almost ALWAYS because he glosses over directions, or is rushing, and makes the school work equivalent of a typo. Maybe I took home the right baby, after all.

Anyhow, what do you have?

Cash, much peace and strength to your friend's family, to Chris and to you. That's a terrible thing.

We're on our way to the Museum of Natural History to meet Flea and family. I'm sure there will be more pictures after this. We're running late, as usual. Later!