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Thursday, August 11

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Tales from the Steppes


2005-08-23

11:14 a.m.
Tuesday, August 23

When I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down

- Ben Folds

The ad I placed in the local paper for an afterschool babysitter has certainly produced some interesting results. The paper came out Wednesday afternoon as I was driving back from Pennsic and my phone began to ring. Now I was very clear in my ad about exactly what I was looking for - I paid a lot extra so I could be specific. Must speak English was a primary requirement as well as being able to drive. Hah! I should not have wasted my money.

Because of all the stuff going on with my father, I felt I had to answer my phone, regardless as to whether I recognized the number or not. So I spent much of my drive home trying to talk to people who did not understand English very well reiterating my needs. I am always a bit suspicious when the first question someone has about the job is "How much does it pay?" Ooooh, thank you for playing.

I even got a phone call from a guy interested in the job. Now I have no problems with a guy babysitting my kids. In some ways, it is even preferable since it is the MM and YM that will be around the most. The EM mostly does her own thing and requires little supervision, just a ride home from the bus stop. But this was not the right candidate for the job as he had no experience and spoke poor English. And just felt wrong.

So I am still looking, though I appear to have one candidate that may be an excellent choice if she can get her schedule arranged properly. My first clue was that when I did not answer my phone, she actually left a message. This may become my initial weed. When the YM was an infant and I was going back to school, I think I interviewed nearly 100 people, either on phone or in person, before finding Hosanna. I cannot go through that again (nor is it really necessary) this year.

1:00 a.m.
Tuesday, August 23

Looking for a sign that the Universal Mind has written you into the Passion Play
- Jethro Tull

I suppose I should be saying a few "Bless me Father for I have sinned"s for Pennsic but oh oops, I don't believe in that sort of thing. And they were all minor sins anyway. But what was that woman's name who was trying to make some guys jealous by pretending that she was kissing me and tried to dip me and ended up dumping me on the ground. Now that is how you know you had a good time. Sometimes it is just better not to know.

The only sin I have comitted tonight involves wine out of a box and ice cubes. Too tacky for words, I know. But it was either that or killing the EM and I don't want to go to jail. It seems that she got cold this morning. So she turned on the heat upstairs (!)and then forgot to turn it off. When I pointed out the wrongitude of her actions, she rejoined that it was all my fault because I would not let her wear one of her new sweatshirts I had just bought her for school. I guess if I were a Cosby kind of parent I would have some cute come back and then my daughter would say yeah mom, you're right. Instead I settled for trying to open up the windows and getting the hot air out of the house so I can make the mongols go to bed and white grenache wine from a box with ice in it. Yum yum.

Pennsic was, hrmmmm, short. I had to leave Wednesday morning, after getting a call saying my father had collapsed and was in the hospital. The good news is that it does not appear to be pancreatic cancer after all. Woohoooooo! The bad news is that the doctors have not a clue as to what he does have. They have now discovered that he has absolutely no reflexes and no feeling in the bottom of his feet. No matter how many times my mother tells me that the doctor in charge is a nice guy, I am having problems with the fact that apparently no one tested his reflexes or his thyroid until this weekend. So he is still in the hospital, tottering around with a cane, exhausted by a trip to the bathroom, while they run more and more tests. I have done my best by being there as much as I can and asking those questions that my parents seem not to be able to ask. The really tough ones, like "So, what's your plan?" of the nice guy doctor.

I am finding it a bit... uncomfortable, being the dutiful daughter. Because I am not. I am the black sheep of the family. The one who does not have a security clearance, who mostly ignores what the 'rents say, and has unruly children. But I am the only one here, so I am subbing for my siblings and doing my best. My brother, the Weasel, was here, on some sort of training thing. This was the first time I had seen him in a couple of years and that was kind of cool. Of course, he had no interest in seeing his niece and nephews, nor did he even ask after them. And I returned the favor by not asking after his dogs.

It was still nice to see him.

The SU flew out to Scotland on Saturday, for a week long business trip. I am not sure I could have picked a worse time for that to happen what with school starting the day after he gets back and the house still a mess from getting the floors refinished. i am hopeful that he will at least bring back some decent souvenirs.

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Thursday, October 26

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