Sad and Beautiful World

This is probably only funny to me

I confessed last year that I'm an American Idol fan. It is an Event in my household and so we are all giddy that it started again. Cecily and Charlie got sucked into it last year and have begun this year, so Cec and I decided to Instant Message each other while it aired. It was very entertaining. For us, anyway. Heh.

Cecily
yo!
Sarah
yay!
Cecily
lol
Sarah
LOL
totally
he is going to suck too
Cecily
you can always tell
what's with the shoulders?
oh god
he has a bag
Sarah
omg
he's majorly insecure...that's whats with the shoulders
Cecily
wait, where's paula?
I was on the phone
Sarah
her plane was delayed
lol
Cecily
ah
Sarah
oh man, now he's crying
Cecily
oh man
jesus fucking christ
Sarah
oh lord
what's with the dancing?!?!
Cecily
the fingAH!!!
Sarah
OMG
Cecily
BWHAHAHAHAHAH
Sarah
Did you see the handstand?!?
Cecily
hence the BWHAHAHAH
simon wants to do him
Sarah
hahahahahaha!!!!
wow
Cecily
holy shit
Sarah
Simon has been much nicer this year so far
have you noticed that?
Cecily
no shit
he must be getting BONED
lol
Sarah
hahaha
I'm scared of that goth girl that is coming up
Cecily
and I kind of like her
Sarah
Kiddo says hi
Cecily
tell her I said howdy back
god I hate this commercial
is Pete prepared for his early morning outing?
Sarah
oh, I didn't tell him yet
lol
I'm telling him right now
oh wait
Cecily
holy shit
a sober vampire????
is that what that show is about?
Sarah
what? What show
Cecily
new amsterdam
Sarah
oh, I don't know
Cecily
btw, I should SO go on that moment of truth show
Sarah
yeah!
and don't forget the lyrics...you should go on that
Cecily
seriously, what wouldn't I tell them
aw, he's cute
Sarah
yeah
Cecily
he's in
Sarah
he's nervous awwww
damn, he's blowing it
Cecily
shit
fuck
Sarah
lol
Cecily
oh man
wow, simon IS being nice
Sarah
yeah, I know!
there he goes
Cecily
yeah
now he's overdoing it
Sarah
a bit
simie??
Cecily
roflmao
yeeha
Sarah
yikes
Cecily
dude, BLiNK
suck?
or rock?
Sarah
I don't know....
I think good
Cecily
I was SO MAD that they didn't let that air force pilot through
Sarah
Me too! she was good
Cecily
oh, nice
Sarah
very!
Cecily
nice country voice
Sarah
uh oh
Cecily
fuck you randy
Sarah
lol
Cecily
it's country singing you fuck
Sarah
they hate country
Cecily
every black singer does those stupid RUNS
Sarah
I know and I HATE those runs
Cecily
those are way more annoying than a singing technique that has come over from celtic folk singing, for fuck's sake
grrrrr
Sarah
LOL
Kiddo thinks Simon liked her shirt....
because he could SEE HIMSELF in it!
Cecily
lol
LOL
Sarah
ack
goth girl
Cecily
hey, didn't that guy play for us at Doc's?
Sarah
heh
YIKES
Cecily
charlie just said maybe (name removed) could date her
Sarah
hahahaha!!
wtf
oy vay
Cecily
LOL LOL LOL
excellent, Simon
filler alert
Sarah
yep
Cecily
so cute
Sarah
she is cute
with no confidence
hang on1
ooh
Cecily
oh, wow
but she sounds too much like Norah
Sarah
yeah...
Cecily
yeah!
I liked her
Sarah
she's a bit too mousey
SPEAK UP
Cecily
yeah
sweat stains!
see, I hate him already
Sarah
hahaha
why, the hair?

Cecily
charlie called him the Blake for this year
Sarah
nah, not cool enough
Cecily
lol
as if Blake was COOL
Sarah
he was!
Cecily
no
Sarah
aw, he was adorable
Cecily
so NOT cool
Sarah
I liked blake
Cecily
I know
Sarah
shut up
lol
Cecily
but I love you anyway
Sarah
yay!
always got to have a sob story
Cecily
ah, girlie, why the blue contacts?
Sarah
lol
Cecily
she's so pretty
Sarah
yeah
Cecily
hope she can sing
Sarah
me too
uh oh
they hate when they sing celine or whitney
Cecily
don't do Celine
well, at least she can sing
seriously?
Sarah
yay
Cecily
yes
she's my new fav
awe
(misspelling deliberate)
stand up and shout!
Sarah
??
hang on a sec
Cecily
sorry
Sarah
anyhoo
what was the stand up and shout thing?
Cecily
stand up and shout is from Rock Star with marky mark
Sarah
ohhhhh
Cecily
this commercial is bizarre
Sarah
the comcast commercials?
yes, bizarre
ooh! Chris!!!!! (Daughtry)
(I had put hearts here)

Cecily
yeah, yeah, yeah
lol
hmmm
maybe pink hair right in the front won't work for me
Sarah
hehe
Cecily
of course he is
shit
he's great
Sarah
HAHAHAHA
in your face
or something
Cecily
lol
ok, now I think he's hot
Sarah
HA
damn, you're easy
Cecily
you know it
Sarah
ooohh baby
yay!
Cecily
cute smile
yummy
Sarah
he's great!
Cecily
aw, he brought his mom
charlie says "if James Brown worked at the 7-11"
Sarah
Glitter Boy!
HAHAHAHA
Cecily
worst
haircut
EVER
Sarah
oh yeah
Cecily
he can sing
too bad about the performance
Sarah
if only he knew how to use it
Cecily
Paula is being the meanie this season
Sarah
hardly
Cecily
meaner than usual though
Sarah
yeah, her drugs are wearing off

Cecily
LOL
that new laptop is SWEET
Sarah
I know!
Everyone should have an Apple
Cecily
when we win the powerball, we're so getting some of those
lol
Sarah
lol
mineral powder. what a crock
Cecily
no shit
Sarah
everyone should just rub their face in the dirt
lol
Cecily
my skin is better than ever since I stopped wearing makeup like, ever
Sarah
mine isn't, sadly. my skin sucks
and I hardly ever wore make up ever
Cecily
no it doesn't
it's beautiful, what you talking
Sarah
what, Gary coleman?
I have ZITS all the time
Cecily
who doesn't?
Sarah
I don't know
everyone but me
lol
Cecily
YIKES
Sarah
I love when they do these montages
with the same song
Cecily
they make them all do it
Sarah
yeah
Cecily
lordy
Sarah
here's blake
a gay blake
Cecily
and THAT makes him cool
Sarah
LOL
LOVE him
Cecily
like that necklace and shirt?
me too
Sarah
AWWWWW
I love him!!!!
he
Cecily
he's crying
Sarah
is so cute
Cecily
awwwww
love him
Sarah
Charlie is rolling his eyes, yes?
Cecily
no, he likes him
a gay kid in a 200 person town in NEBRASKA
Sarah
WHOO
Cecily
for fuck's sake
Sarah
that hour went by way too fast
Cecily
look, the black guy that lives in Nebraska!
Sarah
HAHAHAHA
Cecily
seriously
have you been there?
Sarah
nebraska?
no.
drove through Kansas
Cecily
white
Sarah
I bet
Cecily
anyhoo
house
sigh
Sarah
yay
who is the blond woman
Cecily
not sure I'm up for it
Sarah
where do we know her from
Cecily
the one who's gonna get sick
Sarah
yeah
the mom
Cecily
Idon't know
Cecily
k
see ya
Sarah
that was fun! I'm blogging this IM convo tomorrow
FYI

with edits
Cecily
excellent
Sarah
xoxoxo
Cecily
LOL
bye!
xoxoxoox
Sarah
bye!

Offline
Cecily has signed out.

Just another boring “here’s what’s going on” post…

Pete’s birthday was on Saturday! We had the traditional steak and kidney pie at my parents’ house on Thursday night with chocolate cake for dessert. Friday night the kiddo had another school dance to attend so she went to her father’s the next morning. I dropped her off then went over to Border’s to get a few surprise gifts for Pete (who was expecting nothing since we are so tight on funds now, but I had to get something—just a book and a CD). Took him out for Indian food Saturday night with my friend Siobhan, Charlie, Cecily, and Tori. Pete loves Indian food and hardly ever gets to have it because I really don’t like it very much and it usually does quite a number on my stomach.

Sunday I ended up going with Cecily to a fund-raising concert at the World Café for children in South Africa. She had bought tickets for her and her mother, but her mother wasn’t feeling well so I got to step in—bonus being I got to spend lots of time with Tori. Sometimes I honestly can’t believe just how much I love that kid. It makes my heart hurt with all the bursting. The best was that our friend Mark, the one who married Pete and I, has reached out to us again after going back to drinking for a while. He met us outside the concert and came back to Cecily’s house with us. I was so overjoyed to know that he was still alive, above all else, and so I nearly knocked him over with my hug when he showed up. I’m so happy to have him back.

We hung out all afternoon and I finally had to drag myself out of there and home to eat dinner and get my photo taken for the day, but not before getting the pleasure of seeing Tori try the harmonica for the first time. I really think she might be a musical prodigy. It is a bit scary what she does with the piano already, and hearing her blow sound into the harmonica that was in tune and in rhythm with the blues riff Charlie was playing on the piano—well, let’s just say we all had our mouths wide open. Cecily got some video of it, so look for her to post that soon!

I had to get to bed early and get up at 6:30am this morning to go to my first day of babysitting (had to be there by 8 and it is half an hour away). She was wonderful, thank goodness, even with refusing to take anything from the bottle. She cried a bit when they left but agreed to take the pacifier I finally located (she hasn’t been taking it from her parents) and went to sleep. She woke up half an hour later and kicked and stretched for about 30-40 minutes before starting to whimper, refusing the bottle, crying, and then passing out again for another half hour. I tried getting her to take the bottle soon after she awoke, taking advantage of her giggly mood, but she seriously gets angry when you try to give it to her! She got worked up again so as it was almost noon I decided it was time for a walk.

I used this sling Cecily gave me and wrapped her up before realizing getting the harness on the small dachshund they have was going to be a challenge. I managed after some cursing to get it ready. Out we went, her bundled against me with the pacifier firmly in her mouth and looking all around. 20 minutes into the walk—she was asleep again! We were out for about 45 minutes and she stayed asleep until 1:45pm! I tried again with the bottle and managed to get her to suckle it a little by walking around with her and singing at the top of my lungs to distract her. Unfortunately, she still didn’t really get any milk…but she was happy. The only bummer is that my laptop does not like to connect to the Internet there, but we'll work that out. I hope Wednesday is this good!

You Get What You Need

Last week, after complaining yet again about being broke and desperately seeking other means of earning money without having to get a job out of the house, a good friend I’ve known since college phoned. He and his girlfriend have a 4-month old baby girl and Mom is going to be teaching two days a week, so he called to see if I might be interested in babysitting. We talked a bit of logistics and we left it that I’d think about it and then Mom would get back to me. I got off the phone and smacked myself in the head. “Think about it”?? What was to think about? I asked the universe for help, and here it was. An extra bit of cash on a regular basis each week. So today I got over there for 5 hours while my friend is home as well so we can transition to next week, when I begin going there for 5 hours twice a week. So, yay!

The kiddo’s ear is healing well. Thank you all so much for the concern. I had never heard of such a thing happening, but apparently it is relatively common! All earrings should come with that big plastic disc that goes between the backing and the lobe. I really wish we still had the information as to what company made these dolphin earrings, because I want to write them a letter.

In other news, the fish tank my daughter got for her birthday from her father has been set up for a few weeks now. We started with two little orange mollies and once they were acclimated, the next time she returned from a weekend with her father, they came with three black Sailfin mollies—two females and a male, apparently, because the males are happier with two females from which to choose. One of the females died a week ago, sadly. A couple of days later…Saturday morning, in fact…I came downstairs to discover BABIES; a lot of babies—at least 22 by my count! The female had not exhibited any of the odd behavior that is supposed to precede giving birth, so I had no idea to separate her like the literature suggests. Well, it has been a few days and they are thriving. The babies are swimming all over and eating and the adults are all getting along. Amazing. Once the babies get a little bigger, I will take them to the pet store and hope to trade them in for something. Anything. We cannot have this many fish in our 20-gallon tank! I tried to get a photo of them, but it is really hard to focus through the tank onto fish this small. This was the best I could do:

ER Trip

My daughter had to go to the ER last night because of something rather unusual. She was wearing these new earrings since last Wednesday. They are small posts with little flat silver dolphins that lay flush against the ear. She is still relatively new to earrings, and apparently from worry over losing them, she pushed them together really tight, and must have continued to push on them. A few nights ago she told me they hurt and she couldn't get them out. I had a look and tried one, and couldn't either. There was nothing to grip and no 'give' around her lobe. And she didn't let me try long because it hurt. I didn't get a close look.

She stayed at my parents this most recent Wednesday and they gave it a try. She wasn't cooperative in letting them get a good look, either.

Finally yesterday, when she came home early from a half-day of school, I convinced her to let Pete and I look some more. Pete made a contraption using pliers and a clip with a screw to hold the backing and then be able to push the post from the back out. We made progress with one ear. She was done, however, and frustration on all sides made us stop. We went out to run some errands but I kept telling her if she didn't let us have another try we would have to go to the ER. They had to come out. A small look at the other ear had scared me...I couldn't see much of the backing!

When we got home, she gave the earring we had loosened another go by herself and managed to get it out! We had her hold ice on the other ear for about 20 minutes and then convinced her to let us have a closer look. It was not good at all. I made a diagram to try and illustrate just how bad it was...that backing was DEEP inside her little ear lobe and we had no idea how much the skin might have grafted to it...we couldn't handle this at home since we didn't know how much it might tear her skin.

So...the kid and I left, went and got something to eat first, then drove over to the local Emergency Room mentally preparing ourselves for a very long night. It was about 5:40pm.

The place was deserted, and before I could even relax after signing in and getting my coat off, we were called back. We were processed further and then taken to a room where an intern began to examine the ear. She got a forceps and started wriggling it, saying she wanted to try and get it without needing local anesthetic. The kid was a different child now than she was at home, which is normal but Damn! So annoying. LOL. She didn't cry or whine or squeal or squirm like she did when we only LOOKED at it at home! She only asked the doctor to stop once to catch her breath. She didn't even squeeze my hand.

It took a full 2 minutes or so of maneuvering it, then we heard the clicking as it came off the post (which had FIVE ridges in it for some masochistic reason). I even got to assist! She asked me to get gauze from the third drawer down in a mobile supply trolley in the corner when the ear started bleeding. It was all over. We have to keep watch for infection and keep it clean, of course, but that thing is out of her ear, thank goodness.

After discovering the co-pay with her insurance for an ER visit was absolutely outrageous--$200!!! (and something I cannot pay, but put a small amount on and will try to get her father to pay the rest...ain't the US health care system grand?), we walked out of the doors and back to the car at 6pm.

They said the quiet night was unusual. We were able to head home and update Pete, then go over to Charlie and Cecily's house to watch a movie. Amazing.

Girl + Girl = Love

(The comment-authentication thing seems to have broken. I turned it off now).

Hey!

I'm working on a post about my photography, which I think will end up being several posts that cover how my love developed (pun intended) and what photography means to me, and then other posts that talk about technical stuff in ways we can all understand (since I actually don't know much about technical stuff).

In the meantime, however, I want to talk about LOVE. Not mine, but theirs:

 

Since first joining the 365 Days Group, I have seen many instances of two people making a connection, following it up with an in-person meeting, and falling madly in love. It is a joy to witness because even though my husband and I didn’t meet on Flickr, we did meet through the magic of the World Wide Web and it makes me giddy to see others find that kind of fairy tale.

The most recent joy has come from watching Brigid and Xelia, and it is not just because two girls together are hot, though that clearly helps get their view counts and comments up (as a serious aside, it does really bother me to know in my heart if it was two men having such a whirlwind romance, the views and comments would be .000001% of the girls’).

Anyway, their meeting was greatly anticipated in the Flickr world, and they were generous enough to share it with us all through their photos and words. The problem is, Brigid lives in Illinois and Xelia lives in California. They need more visits with one another before deciding if a move is in order, and that takes money, something most of us don’t have. So Brigid took her creativity and set up a CafePress shop with “Very Gay Apparel” to try to make enough to go to California. Prices are reasonable and there are even small buttons and magnets for those who have very little. The slogans say things like “You make me gay” and “Girl + Girl = Love. Spread it.”

As you all know, I’m broke, but I figured I could at the very least pimp the page. If you can afford to get a little something please consider it or, if you are in my situation, please spread the word! Thank you!!

Same story, different day

The more I think I should write, the more impossible it is for me to think of one damn thing to write about. I have to smack myself when thinking I need something dramatic to occur—why would I want to bring craziness back into my life?

It is the same things, with me, and I am just as tired of complaining about them as you are of hearing them, no doubt. We are struggling to stay afloat financially and I hate it, but have I sucked it up and done what it takes to make things better? A—shudder—real job?? I’ve browsed. And I am trying to get more gigs taking photos. I uploaded photos to a stock site (I actually do have some photos that would work for that), but haven’t heard back yet if I am accepted. I am trying to negotiate pricing with a woman who wants maternity photos, but I think I scared her off. I’m new to this, so I have to learn. Cecily is encouraging me to set up a website for portrait photography, so I am trying to figure out how best to do that. I should just get over myself and get a job at a coffee house or bookstore or something.

The house is starting to fall apart, so things are becoming more urgent than they once were. The microwave died; our oven is a deathtrap that oozes toxic fumes if you use the broiler; we had a leak in our bathroom that meant Pete had to break out a couple of tiles to get to the problem—a rotting faucet—but not before our living room ceiling looked like it might collapse any minute. Thankfully, it seems to be drying out now that Pete has created a temporary fix, but we need to get a new faucet and then find tile to replace the ones we removed. The bathroom itself is in dire need of repair and Pete thought this incident would be the motivation to renovate, but we don’t have the money.

See? It’s a bore.

What else can I tell you? The kiddo has been in rehearsals for the school musical, a production of Mulan, in which she plays a Chinese soldier. She seems to be enjoying it, though some nights she doesn’t get home from school until 6pm and she is starving. She’s been good about it all, mostly, and we’ve begun the New Year with being stricter about homework. Too often she would pull a surprise on me by “remembering” at 10pm (bedtime) something she had to do that she forgot to mention the 3 other times I asked her what she had for homework. So far things have been better.

As busy as she already is, and going to her father’s every other weekend on top of that, she still decided to make flyers advertising her babysitting or mother’s helper services for a very modest price (way too modest). Because of this, we met some neighbors down the street that we didn’t know before. They are really nice and have two young girls, but the kiddo has yet to have time to actually go help out for an hour or two. The mom isn’t worried, however, she said she was just so happy to know there was anyone who might be able to help out, even for a short time (she has a two year old and a 9 month old). She also insisted to the kid that she get a bit more money since there are two kids and a puppy involved. She says she’ll teach my daughter how to negotiate, and then maybe I’ll learn something.

Help me out here, folks…request some topics on which you’d like me to babble.

Obla di, obla da

Again, Happy New Year to everyone! How is the year starting out for you so far? Mine is starting out fairly well, I think, even though nobody (including my parents) has bought my 365 Book yet. LOL.

I’ve already had three photo excursions, and it is only just a week into 2008, so that is a good sign. First, I went to the Mummer’s Parade in Philadelphia with Cecily, Charlie, Tori, and my kiddo. I had no desire to go, my memories of the one other time I went marred by images of drunken brawls and wenches peeing on buildings, but Cecily convinced me. It ended up being a lovely afternoon/evening, much to my pleasant surprise! I contacted some Flickr friends who live in town and they met up with us for dinner. I got a lot of great shots that you can see here if you wish.

Last week I went up to New York to visit a guy from Flickr who is from The Netherlands and is planning on moving to NYC as soon as he is able. He was staying with another woman from Flickr, who is a love interest, in a fantastic apartment in Weehawken, NJ—a breathtaking view of Manhattan right out her window. I drove up to NJ and parked. We hung out talking for two cups of coffee before getting ready to brave the 20-degree weather. A short bus ride through the Lincoln Tunnel (only 2 bucks!) and we were at Port Authority. We walked towards the MOMA, we thought, and after about 10 blocks realized we were walking the wrong direction. We hopped a subway back uptown and walked some more, eventually bagging the idea of the MOMA when we realized it cost 20 dollars. We did go into their educational center, however, and saw a wonderful exhibit of work by high school students. We went into the Apple Store to keep warm and drool over everything for a bit. We met up with his girl after her work and went to dinner before heading back to Jersey and then I head home. It was a good day, even if it was really damn cold! I added these photos to the set I started when Matt and his girlfriend Louise were here visiting.

Yesterday, my friend Siobhan called me up and got me out of the house, thankfully. I had spent all Saturday alternating between reading and playing on the computer while Pete ran experiments in the basement. I was fully prepared to do this again on Sunday, but let Siobhan convince me otherwise. We decided to go to Laurel Hill Cemetery, overlooking Kelly Drive, to walk around; and of course, I took lots of photos. I started the set here, but there will be more added this week as I edit them. We then walked along the drive for a bit so she could walk with me without me stopping every 5 seconds to take a photo!
After that, we decided to get some dinner before going our separate ways.

In other news, the fish tank that the kiddo’s dad got her for her birthday is finally all set up, with two Mollys swimming happily. Day two and they are still alive, so I’m hopeful! When the kid came home from her dad’s last night she had major news. I won’t type it out, but suffice it to say she left here still a little girl and came back… …transformed. GIVE ME STRENGTH! She just turned 12, for crying out loud! Well, I knew this was coming soon. And thankfully, all my openness and direct talk that spared no details had her mostly un-phased by the whole thing. Just a bit embarrassed.

Maybe, just maybe, I should try writing about these things right after they happen instead of waiting to do a catch-up post?

Seriously.