Apparently I got canvassed in Chicago the day after I got back from San Francisco, and was issued a voter registration card that arrived in the mail today. That day I took a taxi to work and carried my CSA haul home, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have stopped to be canvassed when carrying that much shit, especially as I've been registered to vote since 2006.

Oh, Chicago.

They just had their budget slashed, lost half their staff, and are scrambling for materials. They were also looking for ties for interviews and people to teach life skills sessions. It's kind of a depressing list. Ties. Can't even afford ties. For at risk youth.

I was at a consignment store in an upscale neighborhood today and bought JZ a nice dress. (Claude Rene, $8)

I was sorely tempted by a Dana Buchman 2-piece silk suit for Jacqueline. It was only like $5, but it was a size 10 and she wears a size 8.

Should I go back and get it and see if it fits her anyway? It was a cool design, jacket and pants.

I guess I could offer it up to anybody here that wears a size 10 if its too big for JZ.

There was also a really cool jacket that was a size 12. Black, very contemporary looking zipper front. Also $5.

Oh, Chicago.

Hey, at least you're alive and a possible voter!

It's kind of a depressing list. Ties. Can't even afford ties. For at risk youth.

Yeah, I'm sure food and pens are higher on the list. It's funny ("funny") how much attention big funders are paying to Out of School Time right now, and how few are actually paying for running the programs.

That's pretty common, sarameg. The ties thing, actually. We had professional dress day on Wednesday's at the school I used to teach at, and male teachers would always bring in their old ties and belts, and give them out.

Whenever I found a nice one at a thrift store, I used to pick them up. I kept a loaner on hand, and quietly provided them to other boys. Still can't tie one.

It's worth it to ask men in your life if they have a tie or two to get rid of. Most guys do, especially if you know any men who dress more formally in their professional life.

Should I go back and get it and see if it fits her anyway?

Sure! Women's clothing sizes are notoriously unreliable. It might fit; it might need a couple small alterations. If it just doesn't fit, you still have a excellent item for cheap that someone else will surely want.

Sure! Women's clothing sizes are notoriously unreliable. It might fit; it might need a couple small alterations. If it just doesn't fit, you still have a excellent item for cheap that someone else will surely want.

Probably so. Anybody here a size 10? How about size 12 for the jacket?

I imagine it is common, just depressing.

It's dry enough outside, I've got the windows open and the fans drawing air inside. It's slightly cooler in than out right now, but I need to get fresh air into this place. It was feeling stuffy after over a week of it being shut up with the ac cranked and barely keeping it dry enough.

I was just camping for the weekend. (and I just skipped about 400 posts) I had a mini-migraine on Saturday, and it rained on Sunday, but I still had a good time. I manged to buy a new kilim rug at an antique store on Sunday during the rain, and it was really good to connect with friends, even if it was in the pauses between the wrangling of their two small children.

I don't know how parents do it. I would not have the patience. My friend was up all night in a tent trailer nursing a baby that would not settle, and the next day still managed to be a rational, patient parent to her almost three year-old that was not happy to be stuck in a trailer in the rain. I would have snapped for sure.

I am too tired to sit up, so I am going to bed.

I would not have the patience.

Nobody has the patience to be a parent before they're a parent. It's sort of like saying, "Well, I can't become a professional tennis player because my forearms aren't freakishly asymmetrical."