Oh yeah I can't figure out tumblr except to look at stuff and my phone doesn't do even that very well most of the time.

ita: [link]

ita, did you say your sister is coming in today? It's not a great reason for a visit, but at least you'll get to spend some in-person time with her!

ita: [link]

It's a bit big for the bandage, but I'ma keep it anyway.

I am so glad the guy giving the art lectures is down with the principle of keeping in touch with his students vial email for follow-up questions. I need my me time.

I don't know anything about the place where the class was taught (other than the staff are really nice). The class was 50% or more Asian, and I think geared for illustrators as much as artists, which was interesting. I've never thought of the distinction in a teaching setting. The examples were both art-for-art's-sake and illustrations--lots of RL Stevenson illustrations, f'r'instance, as well as a few movie posters, and not a little comic book work, mostly positive, but one guy repeatedly cited as the wrong answer.

Should one shred one's health insurance card (that feels like it answered itself as I typed) and AAA card (I guess the machine is already on by now...but what are people's shred thresholds?

Matilda started school again today - first day of second grade.

She was fine and happy and the teacher did not seem particularly stern as she had described, but nice. Though she doesn't have her best friends in her class, seeing the actual kids there was more encouraging as I could see that she would definitely have friends to chat with. And I had forgotten that she'd be doing aftercare with her friend Norah, so they'd be getting a couple hours of playtime with each other everyday.

So far so good. Emmett still has another week off before he starts his senior year. The big hiccup in that plan is that the Bay Bridge is closed the entire first week of school.

The exciting and scary thing that happened this weekend was that when I took Matilda out for a milkshake yesterday (while JZ was brunching with Juliana and Lee), the guy sitting behind us had a grand mal seizure. I had to help hold him to keep him from falling to the ground.

It's strange holding somebody when they're seizing - his body was completely rigid and we couldn't even bend his knees to get him safely to the ground. Paramedics came quickly and he'll be fine but Matilda was unnerved by it.

ita, did you say your sister is coming in today? It's not a great reason for a visit, but at least you'll get to spend some in-person time with her!

Yup! She was in Pittsburgh until today, so I'm paying for her rerouting her trip home for a week--renders moot everything I mailed to her friends for her, plus the stuff I was holding onto for her until Christmas I just remembered (I'm passing on a camera and a Nook). Also, hey! It's been since Christmas last, so that's a nice refresher.

And, fuck, no more driving. I told her which shuttles to get from the airport and she said "Shuttle?" I'm like "Premise?" No freaking way I'm stopping and starting all the way to the airport for 6PM.

The idea that my laundry can be done is making me giddy, I cannot lie.

Shit, must elevate. Can't risk the star.

Also on the voter id thing: for the number of cases of proven voter fraud (very VERY small), the increase in the expense for a) changed procedures at the polling place, b) state offices getting a big increase in requests for photo ids, plus c) voters having to spend money they may not have/spend time they may not have to get a voter id. All that expense -- at taxpayer expense directly and indirectly -- for a nearly non-existent problem.

Oh, but he problem those procedures are actually designed to correct isn't voter fraud; it's those pesky poor minorities showing up to vote Democrat. I'm sure they prevent that a lot more than they prevent the hypothetical illegitimate ballots.

Yeah, Matt, that's the unstated premise for it, but for some folks that's too direct.

As with "welfare folks must take drug tests", I like to point out that it's a money-losing proposition for the taxpayer, because that hits some folks right in the pocketbook that they claim is so precious.

There's always hope that the logical divide between cheapness and racism will cause short-circuited brains, but that rarely happens beyond a "But--but?--but!"

(I really must remember to try a "let's mandate drug tests for gun owners!" for some quality trolling in the future.)

Oh, but he problem those procedures are actually designed to correct isn't voter fraud; it's those pesky poor minorities showing up to vote Democrat.

Truthfully, I wondered if my polling place was enforcing the ID requirement because it's >90% Democrat and >60% black.

There's always hope that the logical divide between cheapness and racism will cause short-circuited brains, but that rarely happens beyond a "But--but?--but!"

Come on, can you think of a better way to spend tax dollars than making sure poor black people aren't getting away with something? Surely not!