Back To The Grind

My plan worked, partly. I put out the siren call of bikes being ready, and two of my children showed up the next day. I picked them up at the airport, hugs and smooches all around. They still are going to have to fill you in on their adventures since they couldn't figure out how to blog from Suzy's computer. They went to North Carolina and I didn't even get a lousy t-shirt. I actually got a very nice t-shirt saying "I'd rather be biking." Sweet.

So they get in on Thursday morning, we go out for a quick breakfast, and I head off to work. When I get back from work, the kids are at home, The Other (Younger) Half has gone to school, and the kids are planning to go to the school talent show with the neighbors. I opted out because I had a headache (work related). Our children did not participate in the show. It's not that they don't have talent, they do from The Other (Younger) Half. It's just that things have been so hectic that we didn't even think about doing something for the show. Now if they were to showcase any talent inherited from their father, it would consist of sitting on the stage in a comfy chair with the teevee clicker in one hand.

This is what I'm talking about when I say were back to the grind. I'm at work, The Other (Younger) Half is out late at school and the kids are running off to some thing or another. I'm feeling like we all need a vacation together where we can do nothing. That's my favorite kind of vacation.

I should have worn my new t-shirt today. Rain. Rain. Rain. Same for tomorrow I guess. Biking will be difficult until KyKy gets back from China. The Madster and 'Nika aren't at the point of being left by themselves for hours at a time while I'm gone. Let's see... "KyKy your bike is ready for riding!" Maybe that'll get her home sooner.

Day Five...

Finally Friday is here. I can't tell if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Today we are leaving for Beijing, yaaaa, but since it is already Friday this means that I only have a week left. Even though it is only 2 in the afternoon I am exhausted. After running, sorry hopping, around the whole morning I need a rest. I said in my last entry that I was going to Tiny Tots,(Ann's work)to help with the Easter party. This morning Emma,Jessie and I woke up bright and early,8:00, to get ready. When you get to Tint Tots from the street you need to enter a door and go down a little ally that is only for Tiny Tots. This ally is a white wall between the two other houses on either side of TT. In China there is barbed wire everywhere. To add more protection the old owner put barbed wire at the top of the very tall white wall in the alley. Since it was so ugly the people at TT decided to paint it pink.So now the Kedl's call the wire the "Barbie Wire". Anyway, we were trying to decorate the barbie wire with eggs, but we couldn't reach that high,so we just put it on the surrounding trees. At 10, the first class, the pony class, went out on their egg hunt. Then Jessie,Emma and I dressed in out bunny ears and plastic noses with yellow teeth, went up and hid some more eggs in their class room. After the kids had gone back up stairs we followed them and hopped around a bit. When we tried to get close some of the younger kids cried out and backed up. I think we really reached out to those kids. For an hour we hopped and skipped around to 6 different classes. Now we are all back home packing our clothes for our night in Beijing. I will write as soon as I can.

oxoxoxoxoxo
Kysa

Day four...

After being so busy today was a nice day. Today Jessie, Emma and I all stayed at home and did nothing. After Jessie and Emma slept in, I woke up at 6 again, we all got dressed and went over to Lexie's house, a friend of Jessie's who lives in their compound,and asked of she wanted to come out and play badminton. After awhile we decided to go swimming but it was only 10 in the morning, so we decided to wait after lunch. for lunch we had noodles, big surprise, and I was able to try bowdza. Bowdza is a dumpling filled with veggies and meat. I am now addicted. After lunch was swimming, then going home to relax and do nothing. When uncle Kent and aunt Ann came home we all went to the movie store and out to eat. Here in China you can't go to blockbuster, but you can go to the movie store and get movies for really really cheap. Ya our favorite. That was my exciting day at home. Tomorrow I will be going to work with aunt Ann and Jessie, and Emma to go and help with the Easter egg hunt. Then at dinner time we will be going to Beijing, on a train, over night!I might not be able to wrote for a few days but when I do I will have lots to say.

Much love,
Kysa

Days two, and three. Oppps...

Sorry it has taken me so long to write but between trying to catch up on sleep and having an amazing time with my amazing cousins I haven't had time to write much. Right now I am sitting in Jessie's room listening to fireworks go off.It was really cool because on the way home from dinner I looked out the window and up in the sky were little pinpoints of light, they were lanterns. It was fun just sitting there watching the lights go higher and farther. While we where coming up the drive we found a lantern laying in the middle of the street right outside the Kedl's house. It is huge and pink. When I last wrote I was about to go and eat lunch with my cousin Jessie. I had a great time. Let me tell you that the food at SCIS is much better then what we get at our schools. After having lunch with Jessie I went back home and Jessica, there I.E, and I went to the market. First we went to a fruit market. And dad you will be very happy to hear this, we rode the city bus. It was lots of fun.Here the city bus system is much different. The bus stops are much farther apart, you can't get anything like a transfer(you pay for each bus),there are t.v's on every bus,and you don't put your money in a slot you give it to a lady who gives you your ticket. When we got to the market before getting to the fruit we had to pass through the meat market. That was a very interesting experience!Everything stunk and ws very dark.All of it was in a big building. There was a big light walkway where cars could drive through, and off to the sides were little and very dark alleys where most of the meat was. Most, no all of the meat sitting out in the open and there was even a whole torso hanging from a hook. It was really interesting, but didn't smell that great. After we got through there we arrived at the fruit market. Sadly all it turned out to be was a place where companies come to get there fruit. As we walked in I raised my camera to take a picture and some guy started posing. It was awkward! After that Jessica and I went to a flower market, which smelled much better. As we walked up the steps the smells of the flowers wafted out of the door. After we got home uncle Kent cooked a very delicious dinner of fish, rice, beans and pork. It was great. The next day, yesterday was Wednesday. On Wednesday Emma stayed home to keep me company. Jessie was going to also , but she had a project she had to finish for the dragon term. After walking Jessie to the bus stop Emma, Ann and I all went to work. When we got there Emma and I went out for a walk around the block. On the way we stopped and got a traditional breakfast food called dabing. It was delicious and very sweet. On the walk I was able to take some photos of everyday life for people in China. That is one of the things I like taking pictures of best. After we got back and Ann had gotten some work done. The three of us went out and rode another city bus. This time it was better. It was a double decker! Emma and I were lucky enough to get the seats in the very first row. It was the wierdest feeling being at the very top of a moving bus. Sadly we only got to ride it for two stops. After that we went to the flower market and for the first time I heard someone speaking spanish. It made me feel right at home. That night for dinner we went to a really good resturant on the water front. Afterwards we went out and walked on the pier.And looking across the water at Pushi, (we where on the Pudong side)we could see all the buildings lighted up and shinning on the water. And sailing across the water where all these lighted up boats. I keept trying to take some photos of the boats but they where moving to fast. I will write more in a minute.
Lots of x's and o's!

I'm Soooooo Lonely

My family has been gone since Saturday, so it's gotten pretty quiet around here. I'm just knocking around the house all by myself. Tonight was a special night though. Pyscho and Stupid got dressed up in the girls clothes and we had a lovely tea party. Clotted cream, scones, the whole works. Afterwords we were joined by my imaginary friend Bob for a game of Bridge. Bob had to fill in for Lucy the rabbit because she is still out canoodling with her city cousins. Everything was just smashing until Psycho and Stupid got into a fight about a hand that was played and Pyscho started biting Stupid. (See photo) That was the end of that. Psycho and Stupid were banished to the basement, Bob disappeared and I went outside to collect the rabbit before the family gets home. Naw, I'm not lonely.

Despite my delusional behavior, I do have enough sense to remember a sure fire way to get everyone back here, even though they may be having fun all across the globe. Ahem,

Kids, your bikes are ready for riding.

What A Day Already

Woke up this morning to cool temps, gray skies and intermittent rain. I didn't ride because I'm a big sissy. Bleh. I got to work today and the phone was actually ringing. This is somewhat unusual because most of our work is done over the internets and the emails. One of the calls was from Jon telling me he would be late because Clary's father had passed away in the Dominican Republic last night. He was busy making arrangements to get Clary and her mom on a plane to the D.R. today. No fun. Our condolences go out to Clary, Jon and their family.

So the phone rings again. A potential customer from Sweden is asking about a sale that Jon has been working on. I don't really know how to help the guy because Jon is constantly making these deals, and to keep me updated on all of the details would be nearly impossible. I'm just a dumb hillbilly from Springvale Township, and the angles he is working are obtuse beyond my comprehension. So I take a message and tell the guy that people in other parts of the US think I talk funny because I grew up surrounded by Swedes. I still say Minnesooooota. He thought that was funny.

Next we have an eBay sale that has the shipping address listed as California USA, Victoria 91706 Australia. Make up your minds people. There's a bit of difference in shipping costs.

Next, a vendor calls needing our State Sales Tax Exemption Certificate. I can do that, except Jon needs to sign it because his name is on it. They also want to fax an invoice, but the machine is out of paper. Our fax machine is some dinosaur that Jon picked up somewhere that's missing pieces all over the place. It also seems to dial random disconnected numbers every once in a while, just for fun. In an engineering marvel, Jon rigged up a tray to catch the incoming faxes from falling to the floor, but it also blocks access to the paper loading tray. I managed to load the paper without destroying the machine.

Jon also has some units to get ready for shipping from a big sale yesterday.

All of this and more was just this morning after 3 weeks of sloooooow sales.

I've hardly had time to drink my coffee.

I've Got A Secret

And I'm going to tell you faithful reader(s) what it is. It's a super-duper, double top-secret secret. On Saturday March 24th, we took KyKy to the airport for her big trip to China. Unbeknownst to The Madster and 'Nika, The Other (Younger) Half had purchased 3 tickets to Asheville NC. Why Asheville? Suzy, a dear friend of The Other (Younger) Half lives there. Suzy loves the girls, the girls love Suzy, Tacy loves Suzy and Suzy loves Tacy. One big love fest, but you wouldn't know it from reading this blog. Despite my pleading, begging and otherwise nagging, nobody has posted anything from NC. Maybe it's still a secret and I just blew it. What I can tell you is that when The Other (Younger) Half presented the boarding passes to the girls, you could have taken their pictures for the dictionary definition of dumbfounded - eyes wide open, mouths agape, speechless. Then I had to leave as they went through security. That's it. That's the secret

So I've been home here alone since Saturday night. It's been a while since I've spent this much time without my family so I'm a little rusty at this single living thing. If you're reading this Other (Younger) Half, and I have no reason to believe you are since you're not posting, I have some questions for you concerning the household:

1) Despite me being the only one at home the bathrooms still stink. Why is this? Please advise.

2) I put KyKy's rabbit outside to play with her city cousins a couple of days ago. How do I get her back inside?

3) When the dogs are done licking the dishes clean, where do I put them?

4) The bananas are getting brown spots on them. Can they still be touched with bare hands or should I call the fire department? I know you won't be back until Thursday, but if they can't be eaten, can you bring me some for breakfast tomorrow? Thanks.

That's all for now dear. I hope your having a good time down there

Day one again...

AS I was saying the food was wonderful.I don't think I will be able to go home and eat take Chinese take out ever again! We had rice cakes, the best pork and green beans, chiken soup, muchrooms, and lots of other good things that I don't remember what they were called. I would like to say I am becomeing and expert with chop sticks but that remains to be seen.I learned another interesting thing while we were out to eat. Normally in the U.S.A when people have Chinese food they always have rice with i, but in China when you are eating eating at a fancy resturant you don't. When you order rice it is always at the end of a meal, and if you do it is because you are still hungry and that the fod was not that good. So when we tried to order the rice the waiters looked at us like we were crazy. Also when you are in China, you can smoke everyewhere;resturants, stores, everywhere. It gets really anoying when someone does it while you are in a small market and there is nowhere for the smoke to go. After the resturant we went home, I fell asleep right away. This morrning I woke up again at 6. After I went to the bus stop with Jessie and Emma Kent and I went to the store to get some food for to night. The minute you walk in the music is loud and there is color everywhere. And everyone lines up in huge lines just to get the fresh eggs from the country. The escalators are also hard to get used to. Instead of steps that move it is just flat and at a slant so it is very hard to heep you balance. In China the food is also a lot less. Some of the veggies we bought were only .75 cents (in American money).I also saw tons of fish and squid.Have you ever wondered how it is possible to have so many flavors of toothpaste? Well while we were at the market we saw rows and rows of different toothpast.Since the store is so close to the Kedl's house Kent and I walked home. Right now I am sitting here tuype this up. In a little while I will go to have lunch with Jessie at her school. I was going to spend the day there, but that is against the rules. After I get home Jessica,their I.E, is going to show me the fruit market and the best part is that we will take the bus. I will have to hold on to my camera for dear life because the bus is where every one has something stolen. I have to go I will write later.

Day one...

Right now I have been having some problems with the blog. As I said in my last entry everything on the web page is written in characters. It is pure luck that I was able to find my way back here. The other problem is that whenever I want to see what someone else has written, the computer says it can not open up the page.Anything that is written while I am gone I will not be able to read, I will try to figure it out. I am not sure where I left off the other day so I will start with the plane ride. The most I can say is that it was very long! Uncle Kent and I were lucky enough to get the seats in the very first row, this way we had a little extra room to move around in. The down side was we were two feet away from the huge tv screen. So with the combination of the glowing tv, the cramped space, and the hard seats I managed to not sleep a wink. But the excitement of seeing my cousins again made it all worth while. While we were on the plane I was also able to experience plane food for the first time since my long ago trip to California. What I will say about the food is that, airplane food and airplanes do not go well together. And I will leave it at that and let your imagination do the rest. After a 12 hour flight we arrived in Japan late, so Uncle Kent and I ran to our next plane just makeing it in time. Then we had another 2 and a half hour flight to China. Getting through everything at the airport wasn't too bad. It took us and hour or maybe a little more to finally get out into China. Seeing Jessie and Emma again for the first time in almost three months there was lots of running, hugging and screaming. One of the many new things I have learned is that in China car horns are used constantly, and taxi drivers are very fast. After we got home Jessie and I were up untill 12 talking. After I went to bed I slep really hard,just not very long. I woke up at 6 am. The reason I woke up ws because I thought I heard my alarm going off,(it sounds like birds) then I realized it wasn't getting any louder and figured out it was the birds outside my window. Yesterday I managed to stay up the whole day with a little help from my friend caffine. After I wne to the bus stop with Jessie and Emma I came back to there house and Ann Kent and I all left for work. After we dropped Kent off I went with Ann to work and hung out with her. After alittle bit we went out to lunch. While we were there I found out that in China it is rude if the waiter does not stand next to your table untill you order. It can get very awkward. After lunch went out to a market and walked around for a while just looking. I saw my first stray dog, they are everywhere in China. I also got to see Ann bargin with a shop owner over the price of a fancy paint brush. The lady wanted it for 325 RMB but Ann said only 90 RMB. She did get it for her price but she wasn't sure if it was was too expensive because the lady was not sad enough about the final price. you know you have a really good price if the owner is about ready to cry over the final price. After that we headed home and we all went out to eat. This was my first real chinese meal, and it was delicious. I am going to take a break and finish writting about my first day later. Sorry for any errors, I can't find the spell check.
xoxoxoxox
Kysa

Here I am!

Hello everyone! Here I am in China. I need to keep telling this to my self because I still can't believe I am in China. Everything here is, so much. I know that is such a lame description, but that's what it is.Everywhere you look there is construction. And there are apartments and condos in rows. All of them with clothes blowing on the railings. And bikers everywhere! In Minneapolis there is only one lane for the bikers, here there are three rows of bikers in the lane. Did you know that the Worlds Fair will be here, in I think 2010? On the way to Ann's work we drove past the sight. What used to be buildings is now nothing. I need to go now. I am going out with Ann to do some errands and I have my camera...I just wanted everyone to know I arrived safely, i will write more later about the plane ride and all my (exciting?)adventures. Can't wait to hear from everyone. Lots of love, Kysa
P.S. Sorry for any spelling errors but everything here is written in characters and I can't find the spell check.

So This Guy Goes To The Airport. . . .

And loses his family. I'll let them fill you in on the details.

Do I need a title?

Well dad I did pick up the poop! I know all our readers were very concerned about this issues so I thought I better get to it. Just a little going away present. I have successfully finished up my work at school so I can have a nice spring break. Tomorrow I leave for China and I still have a ton to finish up. And yes I will post lots and lots! Talk to you later...

Our Dull Family

To our faithful reader(s):
Sorry about the dearth of posts here, but you need to understand our family is pretty much a crashing bore. We get home, eat, do homework, watch a little teevee and go to bed. If anyone is interested, I could go on and on about the chores that need to get done around the house. These are not getting done lately. Here's and example. This week KyKy is responsible for picking up the deposits made by the dogs in the back yard. She is neglecting this despite my constant nagging. I don't understand why. Where's the joy? Maybe she's saving it for one big happy dookie fest at the end of the week. That or she's waiting for that grassless mudhole of a back yard to dry up. I can't guarantee it, but if my lazy family members will do some posting in the next few days, we could have some fun news for you all.

On the climate change front, I rode my bike to work 4 times this week and 3 times last week. That's 182 miles I didn't drive and fill your lungs with exhaust. You're welcome. You'd think Al Gore would send me a medal or something.

Don't Like The Weather? Blame Me

Yes, that's right, it's my fault. Snowstorms? My fault. Wind? That's me. Icky drizzle? Me again. Thunderstorms this afternoon? Let's wait and see, but you'll know why. Yesterday on my bike, I fought through the wind, with gusts up to 26 mph, both to and from work. This morning it was a miserable drizzle, plus wind. Like I said before, I don't think God likes me and is trying to annoy me with the weather. I suppose there is some unconfessed sin in my life that is the cause of all this, but I'm too lazy to do an "inventory" to figure it out. Also, it would take too long. I'm waiting for some blanket amnesty to clear this all up, but for now you'll just have to bear with me.

Not everything is bad though. At work we get deliveries from FedEx, my former employer, fairly frequently. The last two times our delivery courier, Ron, has stopped in he's had a manager with him on a check-ride. They are grading him on his "Best Practices," the standard routine that some pointy-headed engineers have deemed must be followed at each stop. Lock your truck. Use the grab bar entering and exiting the vehicle. Carry the keyring on your pinky finger so you don't have to dig for it. Shoe your tracker in the DADS unit while getting into your seat. Grab your seatbelt while simultaneously putting the keys in the ignition and starting the truck. There's so much more, not even connected to driving. Demerits for not following set routine. I knew plenty of couriers who would smoke their routes every day without these helpful suggestions. But rules are rules. FedEx always had that big brother mentality, your manager could look at your route trace and start grilling you about why you took too long at any one stop. How about chatting up the customers?

My experience there wasn't all bad. I loved the people I worked with. Our station was such a mishmash of races, political views, ages, sexual orientations, all working together to get the job done. I remember one summer day I was in a downtown elevator drenched in sweat after humping some stupid delivery to the customer (on time). A woman got in the elevator, took one look at me and asked, "Do you like your job?" I told her I could do without the stress, but I really, really liked the people I worked with. She got this wistful look and said, "That's so nice." It's all moot now. In their infinite wisdom, the bean counters and engineers have concluded that MICA is redundant and they will be closing the best damn station in the system come September.

Fast-forward to today. Now I sit at a desk at the lowest stress job I've ever had, except maybe for the bookstore. My worries here? Telling Jon we need to quit buying junk and selling the stuff we have. I also get to drink coffee all day long. But I wouldn't trade my FedEx days for nuthin.
.

And Now A Word From Our Sponsor

If anyone among you living in the lower 48 states needs a tire for your car, get thee to Venburg Tire on highway 61 in Maplewood. I'm serious. I brought in the tire that has been flat twice now thinking it was ruined, but Paul at Venburg looked at it and said that it might be able to be fixed, but he wouldn't know until they had a look on the inside. Sure enough, when I called later in the day, he said they had reinforced the first patch job and fixed another hole. Total cost $13. This is the same outfit I brought the car to a few years ago because of a vibrating sound coming from the front wheels. I was thinking it was old worn out tires, and I told Paul I thought I needed at new set. He looked at them, felt around, stood up and said, "No you don't." He just made a lifelong customer. What I needed was front bearings. I've gone there with crappy cars saying I need tires that are appropriate for this piece of junk, and they never tried to sell me up on something I didn't need. Why didn't I go there in the first place with my flat tire? They moved. At first, when I couldn't find them, I thought they might have gone out of business. "What a stinkin' shame," I thought to myself, "The last honest business in America bit the dust." (Except for Northern Test Equipment of course) Fortunately for me, and for you, they moved across highway 61 to brand new shiny digs, except for the big 80's vintage console t.v. in the waiting area. They brought that over from the old shop. This new place is a fitting reward for doing right by their customers. Now if I wake up tomorrow morning and the tire is flat again, you can forget everything I just said.

The Other (Younger) Half's brother Kent (Improved - now with hair!) stopped by from China this evening. It's always fun to have either of her brothers and their families come and visit. Lots of laughs. Sadly, he left the rest of his family in Shanghai this time. We'll catch up with them when they are all back this summer. KyKy is lucky enough to be leaving on Saturday to go stay with them for two weeks. That's part of the reason Kent is back in town - he'll be escorting her back there. I don't know what that says about me, Kent comes all the way back from China to get KyKy safely to her destination. I, on the other hand, cannot be pulled away from Maplewood to be with her on a Metro Transit bus ride. In any case, make sure you bug KyKy about blogging her trip, right here on Whaddup With Us, your first source for news of the Stocking family.

An Uneventful Weekend

Friday evening the girls were out late with The Evil Grandmother and Dreadful Man (The Other [Younger] Half's parents, and they came up with those names themselves I'll have you know). Saturday morning we all went our separate ways. KyKy and The Madster went with their church youth group to volunteer at Sharing and Caring Hands, a shelter/transitional housing organization on the outskirts of downtown. 'Nika went with The Other (Younger) Half to her massage parlour, er, studio, whatever. I went biking with the TCBC. We all met up again around noon at which point KyKy left to go hang out with one of her school chums. I picked her up about at about 3:30 and then we all piled into the crapmobile to go up to Jon, Clary and the kids' place for a little get together. We had to cut that short, due to the late evening the girls had on Friday. This was not a popular decision, but a necessary one. We'll save exhaustion for this summer. Today, I got up to do another TCBC ride and the female contingent (except for the one dog - Stupid) chilled out at home because, despite our best efforts as parents to get them in bed on time the night before, there were still tired, crabby children in the house. I went to church in the afternoon. In a rather morbid coincidence, I took the #5 and #10 busses to get there. A week and a half ago there was a shooting on the #5 and last week on the #10 a fight resulted in a guy getting pushed off the bus, hitting his head on the pavement, and dying from those injuries. There was nothing as dramatic tonight, although I took the #4 home and there was a poor soul who was drunk after downing a half a bottle of Listerene. Actually it was the cheap Target brand equivalent. Even the chronic alcoholics are thrifty in this town I guess. The lowlight of the weekend was discovering the tire on the Taurus is flat again, after it was supposedly fixed. I guess it's time to stick a crowbar in my wallet and buy another tire for the blasted car. It makes me angry thinking about all the bike swag I could buy with this money being wasted on this vehicle. Sigh.

I Didn't Ride Today

It was 21 degrees outside this morning. We got a little bit of snow and there were ice patches on the roads. Plus I think God doesn't like me sometimes. I swear every time I commute the wind changes to blow into my face. Yesterday afternoon on my homeward trek it was a 10-15 mph out of the south, and I work north and west from where we live. In the morning it was 5-10 mph out of the north. See the pattern? On top of all that, and my legs were tired after 140 miles of riding in 6 days. I tried to get some sympathy from The Other (Younger) Half, and she told me that everyone knows that after a two week layoff, one shouldn't ride 5 out of 6 days. There needs to be some recovery time. "But I'm special," I protested. "Yes, you are special," was her reply. I think the specialness I was speaking of was not the same specialness that was on her mind. And not in a good way. She used to supervise group homes for the developmentally disabled.

Life...

Well, life so far has been pretty quiet here in the 'hood. I rode the city bus the first time without my parents and that was tons of fun. I am looking forward to riding it again. It is nice to know that I have some way to get around independently. The only problem now is, after riding the bus once, I want to ride it everywhere by myself. But being undereducated as I am, and knowing practically nothing about riding a bus, I would probably lose myself within minutes. Hopefully I will be able to ride the city bus to high school now. Since I am going to Southwest I will have to provide my own transportation, so I will end up biking or riding the city bus. I have always wanted to ride my bike to school so I am looking forward to the fall.

Speaking of high school, on Tuesday night everyone went to Southest for registration. We had some quality family time in the hot stuffy gym. We all felt very left out as everyone around us was waving at friends they knew from thier neighborhoods. But since we come from the 'hood, we knew no one. So to make it look like we knew people we waved our hands frantically at the bleachers on the other side of the gym. Just kidding we are not that pathetic. I did see a few friends from school though. It is nice to know that I will not be the only one from Emerson going to Southwest. I now have some idea of how rigorous this program will be. As I walked in to get my registration form, they handed me a book on how to study in the IB program. Gulp!

To anyone who wants to hear about Emereson, I have some interesting news. First, each kid in our Spanish class has to write a 10 chapter book in Spanish, somewhat like the Magic Tree House books are set up. Does anyone have any good book ideas? Secondly, some of the Emerson student council representatives went to the City Wide meeting today. For those of you who don't know what City Wide is, it is a meeting of all the city's student councils coming together and talking about how we can influence our school community as leaders. Well, we had to create a board showing all of the community projects we have done so far this year. Emerson won first place for the second year in a row! Some of the projects we have accomplished so far are; raising money to send two girls this year to Washington DC for a leadership conference, food drive (2000 items) for St. Mary's shelter, a coat drive (400 items) to St. Mary's, working with kindergartners to read in Spanish, sent Christmas baskets to homeless children, we will be sending Mother's Day baskets to the mothers of those children, we got student picture ID's in place for the middle school students, we want to work with the Heiffer project, and we want to send some money to Sudan (probably women and children support), and lastly we want to organize a park clean-up again at Loring park (the park a block away from school). The final news is that Bill Green, the superintendent of the Minneapolis public schools, is coming to talk to Emerson tonight about his vision for Minneapolis public schools. I am going with a friend because I have some concerns that I want to look in to . When I get home I will tell you if anything interesting has happened.

Go Lakers

No, not that stupid basketball team that resides in a locale that has no lakes. I'm talking about the Minneapolis Southwest High School Lakers. Last night we took KyKy over to the school to get her registered for her freshman classes in the International Baccelaureate program. Hundreds of people were in the 1940's era gym, that because it's a 1940's era gym, felt like it was about 80 degrees. KyKy has her schedule filled out and there are two things I'm personally excited about for her. Since she's been in a Spanish Immersion school, she gets to start out in level 3 Spanish. She also signed up for orchestra, which is totally cool. She's been taking viola lessons for years now and is getting pretty good. I can't wait to see how being a part of a bigger group will expand her horizons. This whole program is pretty impressive. There are kids from 30 different middle schools in this freshman class. To add to our fun last night, the Taurus got a flat on the way to the school. Blasted cars. It's going to sit in the garage for a couple of days cuz I'm riding to work. In a nice gesture, no less than two fine citizens of Minneapolis flagged me down to warn me of the flat - one even ran out of her car at a stop light to give me a heads up.

In related school note, 'Nika's Ella Fizgerald history board was deemed good enough to be displayed prominently in the hallway by the school office. Better Ella than Eddie Murphy.

So This Guy Wakes Up At 2 A.M.......

And what does he do? He blogs of course. Never mind the time stamp at the bottom of the post, it's now 2:30, and I'm having one of my periodic insomnia attacks. There's so much to worry about - this endless war, Jon possibly blowing up a $30,000 instrument right before I left work yesterday, The Other (Younger) Half miserable with her mucus filled head. . . . .Oh who am I kidding, it's probably the cavity. The streak is over. I'll survive I guess. I'm just going to have to put my head down and power through this crisis, although that $3500 Pegoretti stainless steel bike frame with the Jackson Pollack-like paint job could be the balm that soothes this troubled soul. But I can't do that. People might get the impression that I'm selfish if I buy that while 'Nika goes without orthodontia and ends up with teeth growing out of the side of her head. Ok, here's a confession. I'm the most selfish person I know, so I'd come up with some stupid rationalization and buy the thing. Now there's something to keep you awake at night. Oh well. Chin up, muster on old boy. I'll just fill my head with all the things I'm grateful for in my life even if it doesn't include that Pegoretti frame. Stiff upper lip and all.

Oh The Humanity!

I have a cavity. This is the third one I've ever had in my life. I think the last one I had filled was probably 28 years ago. I haven't been to the dentist in 3 years, and the time before that was 12 years, and before that it was high school. Oh well, it was a pretty good run. But I'm not the only one with problems. In one month our dentist recommends that 4 out of 5 Stockings get teeth filled. Also, Dr K. wants me to come back in 3 months for another cleaning. She said something about the ph in my mouth not creating cavities but producing calculus. Funny, when I was in school my brain never produced any calculus, why should my mouth start now? (Insert rimshot) Thank-you, thank-you and please no comments about cavities in my brain.

Make sure you ask The Other (Younger) Half why her next appointment is going to take an hour and mine will only take a half hour.

Dentist!

We have a group dental appointment today on Monday, our favorite day of the week. Lotso running around to make the appointments because KyKy still has babysitting and viola. I love Mondays. I can't wait to hear that 'Nika will need braces just like her sisters - that orthodontist needs to make her boat payments ya know. Not until we get on a better dental plan or win the lottery, honey. We need to get a bigger family discount. The Other (Younger) Half is pulling up gimpy with the old sinus infection, sore throat combo that has been visiting our family all winter. Except me! I guess isolating myself in a hermetically sealed room and not picking up anything without a kleenex in my hand to protect me is really paying off. Hat tip to Howard Hughes for those healthy living choices.

Update: Daughter Not Shot On Bus

Finally, I got out on my bike today. 28 miles with the nerds from the TCBC. It's been 2 weeks because of the weather and my sore back. It was very, very nice. Popped up into the 40's today, and it will be even warmer tomorrow.

KyKy made it home yesterday without incident. The only reason I bring this up is that after yesterday's post, I sat down at lunch to read the paper and I saw on the front page of the B section that someone had been shot on a bus the night before. Great. It happend on the notorious #5 bus which runs from Brookdale to Mall of America and passes 2 blocks from our house on Chicago Ave. I've taken it a bunch of times at 1 in the morning when I worked at the hospital. One rollicking good time. It really didn't concern me all that much, but I was afraid that everyone else who knew I was sending my daughter home on Metro Transit would freak out. As it turns out KyKy took the bus (#18 and #21) home with one of her friends and they were joined for the ride by a 7th grader who is also on student council. No problems whatsoever. When I talked to her about taking the bus, she said she had been looking forward to it. Yessssssss.

Ahhhh Friday

The girls and I had a very late night last night. We went to see the Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company's production of The Mikado. Extremely well done and very entertaining. I only recognized one song from the Simpsons though. Too bad they didn't do Pirates of Penzance, which was featured on a whole episode once. It would have made it even more entertaining. It's a good thing that we went on a Thursday night since we didn't get home until 11:15 or so. The girls will have to limp through the day at school I guess.

Next time you see KyKy, ask about her big bus adventure. President KyKy has to lead a student council meeting today after school, and there is no one who is able to pick her up afterwards. I suppose I could leave work early to get her, or she might be able to catch a ride with a friend, but this is more interesting. The girls and I have taken MetroTransit to get around on occasion, but this would be the first solo ride for KyKy. I wouldn't go as far as to say this is a nudging her out of the nest moment, but I'd really like to see her do it for a few reasons. First, she'll experience that feeling of independence that comes with mobility. Second, she'll hopefully build a habit of getting around on her own without mumsy and daddums having to drive her everywhere. (Related to that, she ain't getting a car from us.) Third, we live in the city fer cryin out loud. There are a lot of places that we can get to easily by bus, bike or foot. I know too many people who drive everywhere. I'm trying to get out of the habit myself, and I'd like to teach the girls the same thing. I left her this morning with a map and instructions. Let's see if she goes for it.

Get this......

You are going to die dad(old man)! If he thinks we smell bad, you should be around when he cuts the cheese! The windows literally fog up, and he's the president of the " Fart it loud, fart it proud" club. And he is deffintely is proud of it! The worst part of it is that it lingers in your nostrils for about forever, ( that is until 'Nika brings the "Febreez" out) So, in short my dad is a smelly liar, and that is all I have to say.

P.S.(And that they smell real bad.)

2 Down 1 To Go

Two school projects are finished. KyKy finished her history fair project on Vincent Van Gogh at 1 this morning. It's super-keen looking. The fold out poster board background was painted like an impressionist painting. Tonight 'Nika finished her project on Ella Fitzgerald for Black History Month. Yeah we all know it was last month, don't ask me why it's due tomorrow. She originally was going to do it on Eddie Murphy. Meh. I like Ella much better, and Billie Holiday better than Ella. Billie's life would be a bit too depressing for a 4th grader I think.
That leaves The Other (Younger) Half's project. The big push this term is community nursing. I'm not even sure what she is doing for her project, although I've heard her mumbling something about fixing this avian flu thing once and for all. Never one to think small.

Agree Or Disagree. Has The Muse Descended?

It occured to me tonight that my oldest, well all of my daughters really, will have a distinct advantage over some of their peers when it comes to finding a husband if they choose to marry. What could this be, given that they already have brains, talent, good looks, senses of humor and great personalities? Flatulence. All three are members of the "Fart it Loud Fart it Proud" brigade. At least they are when they are at home. I know I was duly impressed by The Other (Younger) Half's abilities when we were dating, and she had guys proposing to her left and right. I suppose the downside would be that it might attract more of the frat-boy contingent, which is one type of beau I would definitely disapprove. Thankfully, up to this point they've avoided the whole "boyfriend" or "going steady" scene. Maybe they need to fart more at school.

Waiting For The Muse

Have had a couple of crappy days. When I try and post something, it come out as a cranky, whiny rant. Can't have that. No one is interested.

Taking deep cleansing breaths.

Thinking calm blue ocean.

You Would Think After 43 Years......

I grew up with 3 sister. I have 3 daughters. I've been around chicks all my life. So why don't days like today make any sense to me? A little history: at this point in our family's life, I'm the only one who is not in school, as opposed to 10 years ago when I was the only one in school. Today, I was only one in the family who was not openly weeping at some point in the day. The common factor, aside from gender, is school. Everyone has projects, papers, take-home tests. Everyone was despondent to the point of tears. Not me! I was happy all day! Here's what I can't figure out. I've spent more time in school than anyone in this family, and I don't remember crying once, even when profs would tell me that my work was the stinkiest piece of crap they had ever had the displeasure of reading. Made their nose hairs burn. I always believed that education was a good in and of itself. After observing the trials the rest of my family is going through, I'm beginning to wonder about that. Any suggestions posted in the comment section woud be greatly appreciated.

In other news: Big shout out to Mom and Dad who celebrated birthdays this weekend. March 3rd and March 4th 19....... Let's just say they were born when Roosevelt was president, and no I am not talking about Teddy Roosevelt.

Stylin'

We all piled into the family crapmobile (2000 Chevy Venture - never buy a GM product) and headed up to the lovely, scenic Brooklyn Park to get our hair cut. This always turns into an ordeal. We have a friend who cuts our hair at her house, and she does a terrific job. During the week she works at a shi shi downtown salon. She has cut our hair for years, and she does a terrific job. The problem? We left at about 1:30. We got home at 9:30. That's 8 long hours to pay a lot of money to get our hair cut, though she does a terrific job. With our insane schedules, it's really, really hard to justify taking 8 hours to do this, even though we look terrific. But I have to say, we are lookin' gooooood. People have commented how I now look like Brad Pitt, except much fatter. The Other (Younger) Half opted for the Brittany Spears doo, complete with tattoo. Why do I even know about that?

Speaking of shi shi, we are all very proud off KyKy getting into the IB program at Minneapolis Southwest High School. It's the toniest H.S. in all of Minneapolis. I went with her to the open houses at Southwest and Minneapolis South. Both are very impressive schools, and KyKy has a lot of friends at South, so the decision was not going to be an easy one for her. After we visited both schools, I sat her down for a heart to heart. I really wanted her to know 1) that I supported her, no matter what her decision would be and 2) what my feelings were about the whole matter because this decision could set the course for the rest of her life. Having a diploma from one of these schools may determine the college she gets into, which in turn could open (or close) doors for her life's work. So this is what I told her. Minneapolis Southwest has much cooler school colors - purple and white, and a waaay cooler nickname - "The Lakers." I don't think I'm being modest when I say that I might have just tipped the scales in Southwest's favor. I was a philosophy major at The U of M, so I think I know what constitutes a convincing argument.

High School

Guess what! You never will. I am...
What's that you said? You think I just got my acceptance letter from the High School of my choice? Well that part may be right but you will never guess the second half. I am...
What did you say? Oh, so you think I got into Southwest do you! Well I didn't, I got into Southwest! So ha, I knew you never would have guessed.
Well that's my big news of the day. I received a some what wet letter congratulating me on being admitted to the Southwest International Baccalaureate program! Fondly know as IB. Before, High School was something happening next fall. But now that I know I will be going to Southwest, everything seems so permanent. I am very excited, I can't wait to tell everyone!

GO LAKERS!

Mr. Plow, That's My Name, That Name Again Is Mr. Plow

Up at 7am for more snowblowing. I think we got more than a foot this time. There are some new and exciting pictures on Picasa. The kids are off from school today, but not because of the snow. They had the day scheduled off already. I find it quite amusing that every time we get a 5 inch snowfall, they ask if school will call a snow day. Now that we've just had two snowfalls that would have closed school, they didn't get to take advantage of them. One fell on a weekend, the other on a release day.

Gotta get up to work now. Rest easy. The world of used test equipment will not collapse.

Storm Update - No Hamburgers!

I made it home from work without much problem. It was slow driving, but no major incidencts. Ok, please beware, I feel a rant comming on. I need to confess that people who drive any type of big 4 wheel drive vehicle in the city piss me off. What makes me angry is that they get stupider once they get behind the wheel of that machine. I want to remind my reader(s) that simply because you can accelerate better with your 4 wheel drive does not mean you can STOP better with your 4 wheel drive. So quit tailgating, speeding, changing lanes quickly and drive like a rational, reasonable human being. I just want to add that I find it interesting that there are so many SUVs on the road here in the city, when in reality, I can think of 3 or maybe 4 times in the last 22 years I've lived here that I would have found having this type of vehicle useful. Note: when advertising these things, the auto makers show them on mountain roads blasting through snowdrifts, or full of mud after tearing up some off-road track, or on some high mountain top. Let me remind you 4 wheel drive owners, we have no mountains, unpaved roads, and the snowplows are out pretty quickly after a big "snow event." You don't need one of these in the city. End of rant.

It's after 11:30 pm and the snow is still coming down. I got home from work early, fired up the snow blower and cleaned up around our house and the neighbor's place. Speaking of the neighbors, say a little prayer for our next door neighbor Sherry's dad. He just had surgery to remove a brain tumor. Although the surgery was successful, the prognosis is not great. It's an aggressive type of cancer.

The blissful evening of enjoying the winter storm snuggled into our humble abode was only half realized. The Madster and 'Nika went sledding with a friend tonight. They got home late. I rented a couple of movies, but there were only 3 of us to enjoy them. We didn't have hamburgers tonight because: 1) Madster and 'Nika were gone over the dinner hour. 2) The Other (Younger) Half was complaining about having to spend 12 hours today taking an online test and couldn't be bothered to cook dinner. Piffle. I came home from work, cleared snow, and after running a couple of errands, spent some tense minutes watching the weather people on the teevee trying not to soil themselves over this winter storm. Talk about stress. I only wish I had a 12 hour test to take.

I called Jon tonight and told him that more likely than not, I would show up for work tomorrow. Somebody has to be there to make the coffee.

I Love Winter

1) I get to go home early today. The snow is coming down pretty hard, so I want to avoid rush hour, and I want to be able to get through the alley and into the garage before it is impassable. The old Taurus just doesn't have the clearance to get throught much snow. This is reason 1467 not to own a stupid SUV - got to get home before I get stuck.

2) Big snowstorms are best enjoyed from the comforts of one's own home. There's nothing like sitting in your comfy chair watching the snow fall with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. Bonus points for snow after dark when you live in the city. The snow is illuminated by the street lights and the background noise of city life is dampened by the snow.

Looks like hamburgers tonight.