ma~~ to your mother Windsparrow

Much ~ma to your mom, Andi.

GC, I'm so sorry about the tile. I agree that giving it a few days is a good idea, though. A big change like that is always a little shocking.

I'm so miserably tired that I'm not sleepy. WTF, brain? Sleep deprivation begets more sleep deprivation, I guess. I'm down to the last four essays (of those turned in on time; I still have five AWOL), so the grading hell has paid off. I can finish those in the morning, but I'm going to be paying the price of too many short nights in a row.

What I'm really dreading right now is my morning commute. It is pouring outside right now. We're supposed to get 1-4 inches by tomorrow. Great for the drought, but anyone who's lived in LA knows what torrential rain means for rush hour. Utter. Hell. Not only do Angelinos not know how to drive in the rain, the roads are going to be slippery as hell since they've been dry for so long. I should really get up and leave at least 30 minutes earlier than usual, but that would mean being out the door by 6. Yeah. It's 1AM already. Not gonna happen. I'm going to be a risky enough driver on 4 hours of sleep.

a pox on pre-school snifflebugs. that is all I have to say on the subject.

sparky, I know you went puppyshopping last night. reveal.

andi, much ~ma to your mom and support~ma to your sister.

ita, I hope you're feeling better.

and Kristen, safe ride to work.

Someone tell me a good reason why I shouldn't have to go to my Baltimore meetings on Monday? I cannot push the button to buy the tickets.

And lastly, very off topic: Please don't interpret this as callous or in any way disregarding the horror out in Nebraska, I'm not. We had some bad stuff happen to someone where I work yesterday and I'm kind of overwhelmed by losses personal and national, so my brain is doing things on the sidetrack. Like this: does it bother anyone else that the family who tried to help the Omaha boy by taking him in is getting raked over the coals by the media and asked 'do you think there was anything more you could do?' I wish they could kick back with, 'don't know mr anchorman, but I didn't see you around when he needed support, do you think there was anything more you could do? Sorry if that's too obnoxious too early in the morning.

aksye, surgery~ma to your mom.

Andi, some eye~ma to your mom, too. I hope the specialist can help her and fix the detached retina.

Kristin, good luck with the commute. LAistas, be careful out there. I hope there aren't any mudslides after the fires.

We got another 2-3 inches of the White Death last night. There is now a foot of snow on the ground and I read in the local paper how this is more snow than they've gotten in the last several winters. The is the second earliest that the city park is opening the tobbogan run and skating rink in TWENTY years.

I got to use the snowblower last night so I could figure it out, since DH has left on his annual Actuarial Pilgrimage to Las Vegas.

Emeline got into a pre-school yesterday!! She starts Turtles on January 8th!

I'm so excited. I was all prepared to go school shopping and buy supplies and whatever, but all I need to take is Kleenex and hand sanitizer.

Pooh.

I wanna take a pencil case and notebooks and glue sticks and safety scissors and crayons and pencils and ... and ....and ...

Well, she'll start kindergarten in a year and half. Guess I can wait for that.

...

EIGHTEEN MONTHS TIL KINDERGARTEN????

t runs around yelling

fuckity, some financial hoohah regarding Tom's mom. I feel so helpless over here- we can't DO anything!

Like this: does it bother anyone else that the family who tried to help the Omaha boy by taking him in is getting raked over the coals by the media and asked 'do you think there was anything more you could do?' I wish they could kick back with, 'don't know mr anchorman, but I didn't see you around when he needed support, do you think there was anything more you could do? Sorry if that's too obnoxious too early in the morning.

Sox, we had a schizophrenic man shooting off freeway overpasses and terrorizing Columbus a few years back. He actually killed a grandmother driving home from a doctor's appointment. When they caught him and started looking at his situation, a lot of questions were asked of his family and why they didn't do any more to stop him. As someone who has dealt for nearly 20 years with an older brother with schizophrenia, your response would be entirely appropriate. The System does absolutely nothing to help people with severe mental illness or psychological problems deal or cope. Nor do they offer respite or assistance to families trying their best to take care of their loved ones and trying to keep them from committing crimes or hurting other people. It gets exhausting and even when a tragedy does occur, fingers don't get pointed at the systems that could have prevented them.

It also comes down to the fact that some of these crimes just can't be prevented. They're still examining the Crandon shootings here in Wisconsin and the authorities are not providing much information in response to FOI filings by the newspapers, citing the continuing investigation.

She starts Turtles on January 8th!

I approve. :)

She starts Turtles on January 8th!

Yay, Turtle Emeline!

Aimee, they have 4 year-old kindergarten here and I'm wondering if, when we get Owen figured out with his therapy, whether he'll fit in there. Freaks my shit right out.

He went upstairs to get his sister when she woke up a few minutes ago and I can hear him saying, "OK, Owibia, take a hold of my hand" as they walk down the stairs.

Finanacial~ma for Tom's mother's situation, Nora. I'm sorry you guys feel so helpless over here.

Oof, that is of the suck, Nora. I hate when hand-wringing is the only thing that can be done over a bad situation (see also ita's ongoing migraine hell).