Century

My grandmother, Mary Alice Bookhart, would have turned 100 today.

Blah Blah

Since I last checked my blog, my dashboard grew a new tab called "Monetize." I'm intrigued only because I'm curious as to what ads would run. If it's anything like FaceSpace, you'd be seeing ads for teeth whiteners and alternatives to Botox right now. And that would be about as depressing as they are on FaceSpace--yes, I know I'm OLD dammit, I don't have to be continually reminded of it with your sneaky targeted ads! Show me an ad for some kind of hipster band or trendy clothing store and I might actually click on the link because I'd be so grateful not to be taken for an old person!

I read somewhere that the most famous of mommy bloggers--you know who I'm talking about, and I think she's GREAT--makes $40K/month. Though she has THOUSANDS of readers and I have maybe 15. (Not to mention the talent thing.)

Not much else going on here. I think I'm used to the heat--what else can you do? It's not like it's going to get cooler in AUGUST, or even September, so I think we just have to deal until it finally breaks in mid-October. For a while, I was staying indoors and making sure I never went out without water and all that, and now I'm just living my life as usual.

We have spent more time swimming this summer, though. It's been nice because this time last year H.M. was just on the cusp of learning to swim and, while she could swim, looked like she was drowning while doing it. Which was a bit unnerving. This year she has it down pat and swims like a fish.

I have a post half-written in my head about heaven. So look for that.

I'm BAAACK!

Hello! Howya been?

Hot? As hell? Me too. I got two words for you: prickly heat. Yes, something I thought was a malady of infants and perhaps very old people. But I managed to get it, and have been an itchy, welty mess for going on a week now. I have tried everything--lotions, powder, collodial oatmeal baths, antihistamines--and I can keep it at bay for a little while, but short of staying indoors until the heat breaks (October, perhaps?) I may be stuck with it.

So, anyhoo, sorry for the long delay. I never intended to let this blog go, but life has been eventful lately and I just couldn't bring myself to write about it all. Plus I have come to the conclusion that writing is a muscle and unless you exercise it regularly, it's very easy to get out of shape.

Nevertheless, now that my life is a little more settled, I'm going to try to start writing again.

First big news: I have a new job. When last I left you, dear readers, I had applied for a position and was in limbo, not knowing what would happen with it. Well, over the course of what felt like FOREVER, I had one interview, and then a second interview, and then an actual job offer. YES! As some of you may remember from last year, much had occurred at my little non-profit, and I had hoped that things would get better and they appeared to for a little while, but then they got worse again, and I stopped believing that I would ever be able to salvage any of the once-warm feelings I had for the place. So, it was time to start looking again. And, lo and behold! A State job turned up that is a combination of my 2 previous careers: librarian and development/communications officer.

How could a girl refuse?

So I'm one week in at my new place of employment, and am cautiously optimistic. No job is perfect, of course, but it seems like the kind of place where I can settle in, do good work, and live my life outside of 8-5.

Other big news that occurred over the same time period: a close family member (not in my household, but close) was diagnosed with a terrible, horrible, no-good, incurable, degenerative disease. The kind of disease where I had to give serious thought to how I might have to stop working and become a caregiver. I found that I just couldn't allow myself to think about it too much, as I was already tied up in knots re. the job situation and my head might have exploded if I really thought about the future too much. (And the future is grim, dear readers. Where I may be in 5 or so years may have to be the subject of a completely different blog.)

HOWEVER. There are drugs to treat this disease and said family member is responding wonderfully. In such a way that this person is surprising her or his doctor's. It feels like a glorious reprieve, though we have no way of knowing how long it will last.

And if I'm being coy it's because this family member has chosen not to share this diagnosis with others outside immediate family and close friends for the time being. And I have to respect that choice. If you aren't looking for symptoms, it's not that obvious in day-to-day interactions.

So, yes, life has been interesting. In other news, the kiddos are fine. Her Majesty starts kindergarten in 5 weeks, and I have only one daycare payment left. FOREVER. We are doing the summer camp shuffle with Wonder Boy (who should now be called Wonder Pre-Adolescent) which is only challenging in that I planned summer camp when I was working in one location and am now working in an entirely different location so have much more driving at rush hour than I was anticipating. (My afternoons over the last 2 weeks? Driving from my temporary offices at I-35 and 290, to W.B.'s Magic Camp in deep East Austin off Cesar Chavez to Her Majesty's daycare at 34th and Mopac. And then home to South Austin. Yes, I am beat down at the end of the day.)

Pod is fine. His band has put the finishing touches on a CD they've been working on for 9 (?) months, and it sounds terrific. Produced by a guy who recently moved to C. TX from Chicago and who was part of the music scene there--was friends with Jay Bennett and all that. The CD sounds great.

Well, that's it. That's my exciting life. I'll be back with new stories and adventures directly.

I Just Want to Be Friends

"So, blog, I think we need a little time apart. I need some time on my own and I think we should start seeing other social media. I've made some new friends--you know them, Facebook and Twitter?--and I'm kind of hanging out with them these days. Let's just take a break for a while and see what happens, umkay?"

Seriously, dear readers, this is not the end. I just need a short break. There's a LOT of stuff up in the air right now that I can't share with you, as much as I 'd like to. I suspect that in another month or two things will be more settled and I can start writing again. Just not right now.

I'll be back...

Blegh!

Oh, dear readers, I have just had my first television interview. If "visibly nervous" and "addled" was the look was I going for, I succeeded admirably. I'm not saying which station it was for or when it's airing, no way. Because I have friends--and you know who you are--who will find the most unflattering clip of me in the interview and make sure that it gets circulated to everyone who knows me.

If you happen to see the interview, lie to me and tell me I was great.

Also I caught sight of myself in the monitor and I looked like Jabba the Hutt.

Emoticom time.

\:-<

Run, Don't Walk

To your locally-owned record store and purchase the new Decemberists album. Jaysus, it's good. Here's a review:

Library Books

The central branch of the Austin Public Library is closed for about six weeks while they do some repairs so I'm venturing out to other branches on my lunch hour. I've discovered a tiny branch in a crappy strip mall at the corner of Oltorf and S. Congress that has a really good selection of new books. I mentioned this to the librarian there today and he said that the branch was moving to the old p.o. at S. 5th and Mary and was trying what he called a "bookstore model"--that is, the branch was going to be devoted almost exclusively to new books. I love this idea.

I know at least 2 readers who are public library devotees like me and who live in S. Austin--this is a head's up if you hadn't already heard.

So, this is what I checked out today:

• Stuff White People Like, by Christian Lander. Based on the website. I know that some people hate this site and other people love it. I have to say that based on this line in #10, Wes Anderson Movies, "White people love Wes Anderson movies more than they love their kids," I'm digging it.
• Awesome, by Jack Pendarvis. I'm not entirely sure what this is about. Giants? Semen-powered cars? I can't quite tell, but it's logrolled by Barry Hannah and George Saunders which is promising. And I liked the cover.
• Nose Down, Eyes Up, by Merrill Markoe. It's a dog book. I think she has a blog because her name is familiar and I associate it with funny. We'll see.
• The Urban Hermit, by Sam MacDonald. Memoir about a guy who tries to live on $8.00 and 800 calories a day. Neal Pollack calls it, "like a weight-loss manual written by Hunter Thompson," which made me cackle.
• Unimagined: A Muslim Boy Meets the West, by Imran Ahmad. Title pretty much says it all. Logrolled by one of my favorite British comedy writers, Sue Townsend. (BTW, if you haven't read Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole Diaries, go out immediately and buy them.)
  
• Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven, by Susan Jane Gilman. MH, is it you who loved Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress? Same author, new memoir.
• More Information Than You Require, by John Hodgman. 'Nuff said.
• Vampyres of Hollywood, by Adrienne Barbeau and Michael Scott. If I had noticed that Adrienne Barbeau was one of the authors when I picked it up, I probably would have put it right back. (Not that I don't think Adrienne Barbeau is awesome, but I don't tend to read fiction written by movie stars, only their autobiographies.) I'm also very suspicious of this whole "let's take every genre and add vampires" shtick in popular lit. But I do love a good Hollywood story. So I'll try it. (PS--this was VERY good.)
  
• Beat the Reaper, by Josh Bazell. Medical thriller, I think. Looks a little more literate than most.
  

In other news, I bought an IPhone. (Thank you IRS refund!) I like it so much I want to French-kiss it.