I filled my weekend with the mundane. Soccer, chores, iPod repair. Discreet tasks that take no brain power. Partly it’s because, like post-9/11, I feel a little numb. It feels silly to continue on when so much has changed. I had just moved here two months before 9/11. I was teaching in an urban school…

I took my iPod into the Genius bar. It was an hour wait. The Geeky family wandered around the store and drooled over the Nano, large cinema screens, and Tiger (no, I haven’t updated yet). I felt a little like I was in an emergency room with toys. Finally, they called my name (1/2 hour…

In which I pass judgment on people based on clothing and snippets of conversation. First of all, about half the attendees were men. It seems, too, that a large portion of the moms are very young, like 30 at the most. I’m 38 and Geeky Girl is my second kid. For many of the moms…

Forget national disasters and government mismanagement, the most important issue facing me right now is the death of my iPod. Of course, it’s two weeks past its warranty. Earlier this week, I was listening away at work, charging it at the same time, when suddenly, the song skipped and then it just stopped and the…

I’ve been struggling through the last couple of weeks, getting lots accomplished and generally doing a good job of meeting everyone’s needs, but I feel like I could do more, both on the work and home front. I desperately need to do what Profgrrrrl did and get my schedule in order. I just haven’t had…

So says Cheney: I think the progress we’re making is significant. I think the performance in general at least in terms of the information I’ve received from locals is definitely very impressive. (link) He did acknowledge that there had been problems with the recovery effort. But let’s not get too crazy and say, tax some…

We had our first soccer event last night, a pizza party. I thought, now’s my chance to start getting to them. I introduced myself to people (unusual for me) and chatted. Here are some observations. Soccer moms don’t introduce themselves; they introduce their kids. “Hi, my daughter’s name is ____. What’s yours?” It’s like they…

Last night at 11:30, as I was going into the kitchen to make my coffee for the next morning, I stopped by the hamster cages. You see, over the weekend, Funnie gave birth to 12 or so babies, so I wanted to check on them. I peeked into the cage and saw all the babies…

Today was a day of getting back to routine. As Phantom Scribbler noted, If there is one thing I have learned from the events of the past week, it is that the rhythms of the mundane are unbearably brittle. They falter and dissolve into chaos suddenly, in the crack of concrete, the seep of water…

Dear George, I am one your lowly citizens. I know you don’t like to think about us unless we make a good photo op, but I’ve got something to say, so sit down for a minute. Your citizens need you. No, I didn’t vote for you, but that shouldn’t matter right now. Your citizens are…