August 2004 Archives

Today is the first day of school for everybody.

S- goes back to a high school full of kids.
A- starts freshman year at Maryland.
D- starts 10th grade.

I missed D-'s photo op this morning when he left for school. If I had a brain I'd be dangerous.

I wonder if it would be OK to take his picture tomorrow morning and just say it was his first day of school picture. A year from now, no one would ever know the difference. (Including me. With my memory, I'm sure I'd forget I really took the picture on the second day of school by next week.)

K-

I've watched more of the Olympics than I expected. Last night I watched the women's 3 meter springboard diving competition. I've decided that women's diving is the event to watch.

Statuesque, lithe bodies.

Speedos.

Water.

Yep. Women's diving is definitely my favorite.
K-

Well, I've moved into my new office. I've been at my place of employment going on 24 years and this is the sixth office I've had but it's the first time my office has been in a different building.

The place reeks of new office building smell.

Two things are definitely going to take some getting used to in my new office: I've got a 9 ft ceiling (vs. 7 ft in the old place) and a window (vs. none in the old place). But the new building is also monumentally boring. Green walls... nothing on them... boring boring boring.

My new office is in the basement of the new building. (Although they don't call it the basement; they call it the first floor. But they're not fooling me, I know a basement when I'm in one.) Consequently, no one comes down here. We're isolated.

Finally, my office has no nameplate/room number thingy. Everyone else in my group has their room number and name adorning the outside of their office. Not me. Everyone once in a while, a foreman or construction worker will come by and look at the empty spot where my name and number ought to be, look concerned, shake his head, make note of that fact, and tell me they'll report the oversight. They promise me they'll fix the situation. But I'm not holding my breath.

Room Sign Update
While roaming the hallways upstairs I discovered a hallway directional sign pointing in the direction of our new cafeteria. Professionally done, tasteful, it says "Food Servery".
K-

This weekend my younger son D- is going camping with the scouts. Not his usual troop but with a bunch of kids who will be sealing their membership in the Boy Scouts Order of the Arrow by participating in an "ordeal" weekend.

The Order of the Arrow is kind of like Scouting's honor society. It's been around since 1915 or so. Some people think it's some sort of secret society. But it's not. Any scout leader or parent who wants to attend may do so. It's just that they like to keep the ceremonies and ordeal events veiled in mystery so that the new kids have a special experience.

And just like most other honor societies, mostly what the Order of the Arrow does is service. Because D-'s Ordeal Weekend comes at the end of the summer, I imagine most of what he'll be doing tomorrow is putting away all the stuff left out from summer camp. (When I did my ordeal all the way back in 1969, my weekend was early in June before summer camp began. So I helped get things set up for summer camp. I still remember hauling telephone poles down to the obstacle course. Talk about heavy...)

Anyway... the one thing the Order of the Arrow does really well is ceremonies. There will be a ceremony tonight to start things off and and ceremony tomorrow night when they've passed all the "tests". And another nice thing about the OA for D- is that his older brother was never asked to join. I like it that this is one achievement D- got that his older brother missed out on.

I asked if I could attend. I think it would be neat to see my son inducted. They told me that since they expect about 150 campers they could really use my help in the kitchen. So I guess I'll be working in the kitchen. Tomorrow the high temperature is supposed to be about 88.

Looks like I'll be having an ordeal of my own.
K-

Bill Maher had an article on the Baltimore Sun op-ed page this morning. I quote:

Republicans should really give up trying to spin John Kerry's war record. He could use his medals as roach clips for a pot party with Ho Chi Minh, and it's still better than the Texas Air National Guard.

Couldn't have said it better myself.
K-

Well A- is all moved out and all moved in. We spent the day Sunday moving him into Anne Arundel Hall at the University of Maryland. A- is in a triple. One of his roommates is a buddy of his from high school, the other is someone from southern Maryland.

Fortunately, A- decided to join the Maryland Marching Band. The Mighty Sound of Maryland. The band rehearses the week prior to the regular Maryland move-in day, so we were able get his stuff into his room without major competition for parking spaces, elevators, and hand trucks. That he was able to move into his own room was a real boon since we arrived on campus Sunday morning thinking he would be in temporary quarters during band camp. Initially we were told it would take the week to get his dorm ready for residents.

But we got lucky... his dorm was ready. We dumped A- off with the band, sped home to get the rest of his possessions, and went on back to Maryland. During his dinner hour we moved him in. Looks like everything fits. He couldn't stay; he had two hours of sectionals. So we exchanged hugs, cried a little, and he was out of there like a cool breeze.

It'll take some getting used to... not knowing where he is, what he's doing, or when I'll see him next. But he has a good head, common sense, and determination. He'll be fine.

I figure sometime next year I'll have adjusted.
K-

There are some nights I just can't sleep. This is one of those nights. I toss, I turn, I grab my pillow one way, then I grab it another. But restful sleep eludes me. Here it is nearly 2 in the morning and I'm awake, sitting at the computer, blogging away.

On those nights I can't sleep, something is usually going on inside my head. A work issue, what-if, or some immediate concern lodges itself in my brain and goes round-and-round keeping me awake. I'm guessing the thing that has me worked up tonight is that in just a few hours, I'm taking my son off to college. When we first brought A- home from the hospital this day seemed to be an eternity away. Now it's here. For the first time, I'm taking my child to live somewhere else.

People like to joke about how they can't wait for their kids to move out. But it's 2 AM and I'm not laughing.

We spent the day getting things at Staples and Target, packing, and making sure he has everything he needs.

I think he's ready.

I wish I were.
K-

I've been United Way representative for my group here at work for the last three years...

Great news this morning!

I don't have to do it again!

Yippee! Yahoo! High fives all around!
K-

Today marks the beginning of the 59th annual Howard County Fair. It lasts a week. We decided to go.

County fairs are low key entertainment. And because Howard County is so small, our fair is very low key and very local. You see people you know... teachers, friends, co-workers, even a farmer or two. It's a time to chat with neighbors and catch up. We've gone most years since the kids were little only slacking off in recent years since the kids no longer think of the farm critters as anything special. They're just "big, slobbering farm animals" as D- put it.

This year's fair was about the same as last years. On the first day they hold the Fireman's Parade. All the county volunteer fire companies send an engine or two to be on parade. The fire engines along with old cars, bands, and vintage tractors drive down the center of the fair grounds to the ooohs and aaahs of the adoring Howard County public. See what I mean? Low key.

A highlight for us is the 4-H craft exhibit hall. There you will find quilts and framed needlepoint pictures all of which took much longer than a year to complete. All that effort for a blue ribbon 7 inches long.

The animals are always entertaining for me. Growing up in the suburbs in no way prepares you for farm animals and their attendant upkeep. I tend to gawk at the animals and owners as if they were from Mars marvelling at how close one has to get to the animals and some very basic animal functions. We strolled through the cow palace and saw several families eating their lunches right beside huge wheelbarrows filled with fresh manure. I guess you get used to that. In the show ring we watched a cow milking competition. I don't think I could bring myself to yank on a cow's teat for love or money. Does the cow even notice that activity? We visited the poultry exhibit and saw these things called "capons", which are castrated roosters. They get to be 14-16 pounds. We saw one bending the wire of his cage with his beak trying to get out.

I brought my camera and took some pictures. Click on the link to see the thumbnails. Click on a thumbnail to see the enlargement.
K-

This morning was gorgeous. Maryland hasn't seen a morning this nice all summer long. Not one of those nasty hazy, hot, and humid Maryland mornings. But a Michigan morning. Clear blue sky, dry Canadian air, temperatures in the 50s. This morning was - and I say this with an unblemished 49-year record of heterosexuality - stunning.

A great day for a run; I couldn't wait to get out. As I jogged along, I came across this feather lying in the road. Could things get any better? I found it in a small subdivision across the road from some woods. It's about 8" long. Given that the feather is barred and mostly straight rather than curved I'm guessing it's the tail feather from some kind of hawk. A Cooper's hawk maybe?

Anyway I thought I'd share my beautiful morning and my feather with you.
K-

I'm trying to get up for the Olympics... I'm really trying hard. Honestly, I am. But I'm not there yet. I just don't have a big interest in it yet. I'm still very blasé about the whole thing.

I think much of the reason stems from the fact that I have no interest in most of the events: archery, badminton, boxing, canoeing, handball, field hockey, judo, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, softball, synchronized swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, water polo, weightlifting, and wrestling. I don't do any of them; I'm not going to do any of them; I don't pay attention to them during the intervening 4 years, why bother now?

Some events I find marginally entertaining: diving, field events (love that pole vault), basketball, soccer, and gymnastics.

Some events I truly am interested in and enjoy watching (mostly because I've participated in these sports at some level in my life): baseball, cycling, fencing (I used to fence; it's way cool and way fun.), marathon, and track.

And some events I find monumentally boring: swimming, equestrian events, tennis, and volleyball. Unfortunately swimming and volleyball seem to get extensive coverage. Swimming has to be the most boring sport ever created. How can anyone find watching a swimming competition interesting? How can anyone find swimming in a competition interesting?

I certainly hope the US teams and individuals do well. The athletes certainly deserve their plaudits. But with 8 days to get my Olympic mojo registering anything above tepid... well that effort would be Olympian.
K-

Heard today that more people in the 18-24 age group voted in the last American Idol competition than will vote in the upcoming presidential election.

How sad is that?
K-

I felt like cooking tonight. My menu:

Crab Cakes
Wood-grilled shrimp
Summer tomatoes with basil
Baked potatoes with sour cream
Watermelon for dessert

If I knew where to call, I'd send for a laurel wreath.
K-

Today is the first day of August. August is a funny month. There are absolutely no holidays in August. Not even pseudo-holidays like Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, or Labor Day. (I mean, come on, does anybody seriously commemorate the working stiff on Labor Day?)

I think we need a holiday in August, even a pseudo-holiday.

Suggestions?
K-

Yesterday I was knocking off a few chores. One of them included sweeping my garage. I can go a long time without sweeping my garage. I'm the only one who cares if it's swept, and given that I'm incredibly lazy, it takes a lot of dirt on the garage floor before I'll pick up a broom.

Part of the task involves moving all the stuff on the sides of the garage out of the garage. Let me tell you, this is a lot of stuff. When I moved my big bag of bird food, out flew thousands of these little moths into the garage. Moths! Thousands of them. It was like a plague of Moses.

Now I can't get them to leave!

I've sprayed a few times but it doesn't seem to work. There are too many to swat. Maybe I'll haul out my shop vac a suck them into oblivion.

I guess I expect ants, hornets, crickets, grasshoppers, Japanese beetles, and aphids on my property but moths? Who would expect moths?

I also found out today that there's nothing to be done about all the crabgrass growing in my lawn. Evidently you've got to spread crabgrass killer in March before it emerges not in August once it's in full gear. Who knew?

Maybe I could get the moths to eat the crabgrass.
K-