Don't cry for me, Argentina

I find the current news about the governor of SC quite fascinating. I, of course, feel for his wife and children and hope for their sakes that it all dies down soon. Given our 24-hr news cycle, it should.

What strikes me as amusing, though, is that Gov. Sanford seems to think that the worst thing that he did was have an affair. While that is completely awful, I think the bigger issue is that he took off on a jaunt to an unknown location without telling (apparently) anyone where he went.... Hmmmm.... If I were in the executive office of a state or a country, while I might want to take off, I don't think that is the wisest decision.

Hypothetically speaking, there could have been a hurricane or an attack of sea turtles or some other freak occurrence. And, since everyone thought he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail, time would have been wasted searching amongst the nude hikers (who knew that June 21st was Nude Hiking Day!).

Hmmm... maybe I should tell Kath about a possible vacation plan for next year. :)

Rain, rain, go away

Pretty please.

I would love just one sunny day this week or weekend to enjoy the beach, the sand, and my vacation-y People magazine.

Not so foreign

When my flatmate in England talked about her need to keep her boyfriend a secret from her family (both were Muslim, one family was Sunni and one was Shiite), I found her situation incredulous. I had no understanding as to how religion could be so divisive.

Clearly, I was blind.

Religion (or what some may think of as a lack thereof) has divided my own family, several generations before me. It has affected the generation above me as well.

And now, it has affected me and my generation.

I still don't understand it.

When I hear phrases like "blood is thicker than water" and "family -the ties that bind", I always think... well, just throw a little religion and politics into the mix and watch them unravel.

Wouldn't you know it...

... The one month that I do not have health or dental insurance, I develop what I have self-diagnosed as a small mouth ulcer. Probably from me accidentally biting my cheek on my left side multiple times and then sipping coffee with sugar throughout the day. Happy, happy bacteria, no doubt.

I am now self-medicating with topical oral anesthetics. I don't know what's worse... a sharp pain in the back of my mouth that is only relieved when gargling water or having a tingly, numb left side of my mouth and tongue.

Luckily, July 1st and the start of new health insurance is only 2 weeks away.

Midwesterner no more

We survived a furious last few days of packing and cleaning and ReloCube loading and 20 hours in a compact car with 3 kitties, one of whom traveled in the front seat on a lap.

I was so happy to actually get on the road that I was not even tearful to leave.

Until we swung by the Java House on the way out of town, and Katherine mentioned that this was the last time we'd use our Java Perks number.

Oh Iowa, I will miss you.

I "love" being a woman.

After my previous night and yesterday morning outbursts (if confused, please reference my previous post), poor Katherine tentatively got into the car yesterday when I picked her up after school.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, hesitantly.

"Super!" I cheerfully replied. "Aunt Martha arrived for her monthly visit!"

"So life doesn't seem so dramatic anymore?"

"Nope. Everything's great. I polished off the sour cream and onion chips this morning, and I'm getting the check reissued."

"Oh, great! I wanted to say that I hope Aunt Martha comes soon, but I wasn't sure how you'd respond to that..."

I know God must not be a woman, because no woman would put another woman through the emotional turmoil of our monthly hormone flux.

Rethinking my decision

In the past 12 hours I have cried and wailed and scared the kitties by making growling noises.

First, I shrunk a brand-new pair of dress pants (worn only once) because I didn't line-dry them. That made me mad.

Then, I tried on said-pair of pants and had a "fat tantrum" because "if I was skinnier it wouldn't matter if I shrunk the pants - they would still fit."

And this morning, I discovered that I had thrown out a ~$100 travel reimbursement check that came in the mail yesterday. I had "safely" placed it prominently on the table, but apparently it wasn't so "prominent" because we had a massive paper cleaning binge last night and I obviously tossed it. This was the point at which I clenched my teeth and shook my fists and screamed and growled through said-clenched teeth. (Btw... this is a very effective way to scream - it allows one the illusion of a scream, without screaming as loudly as one would otherwise.)

I had thought that my leisurely packing schedule would make this time of living in upheaval less stressful.

Apparently, I was wrong.

At this point, I am retaining any shred of sanity by thinking of the Art Fest coming up this weekend.