Year: 2008

Tho it’s V-Day (Happy V-Day folks!) and I’m single, I’m not really bothered by it like some people are. Last night, I listened to the radio, and the DJ sounded so depressed that she didn’t have someone in her life. Her complaint about it was more depressing than not actually having anyone.

Anyways, I’m browsing all the press coverage and online chats about V-day. I came across this funny piece of advice:

Janis Spindel: Funny you should ask that because that is one of the things I tell people depending on their situation. Single people should totally be in a big city where there is a large ratio of well educated, attractive people looking for LOVE!

I suppose I’m doing the right thing… Laff.

There was an ice storm last night that shut down main freeway interchanges in all directions, co-workers 30 minute commute turned into 2.5 hour sagas. Thankfully, the Metro was the one dependable mode of transport and I made it home pretty much on schedule. In the midst of it all, people went to the polling places and voted in the Potomac Primary. And it’s great to see Obama take the lead and pick up momentum after a week’s worth of decisive victories.

I woke up this morning to find my car covered with a thin sheet of ice. Someday I’m going to learn how to use a garage properly. Government workers (that would be me!) got a 2 hour delay, but it wasn’t icy outside (except for the car) so I headed out at my usual time and didn’t have a bit of trouble.

I’m always a bit late with my posts….But it was a beautiful weekend to go biking, and biking we went. Saturday, it was Arastradero with Yi-Ling and Charles. Yi-Ling just got her new Giant mountain bike. Arastradero is known for it’s bowl. It’s usually dry in the summer, but it was a little wet due to the rains last week. Here’s a photo of Charles attacking the bowl on his cross/touring bike. Go Go Gadget fenders!

Also Sunday, I managed to get out across the Golden Gate with Andrew. We climbed up to the the lighthouse parking lot. The city is just behind the cliffs. Andrew called his mom on his bluetooth cycling specific helmet mounted wind noise cancelling headset.

So much political campaigning happening here! The Potomac primaries are happening tomorrow in MD, VA and DC and there is so much more excitement here than I have ever seen in my entire life as a Marylander. We had Clinton and Obama supporters wearing their allegiances while riding the Metro as well as enthusiastic sign holders at the exit of the Metro as I got out to go home. These campaigners are determined, it is freaking cold and windy today! Mike Huckabee kept warm by staying inside and calling. He left a message on the machine. We spent dinner trying to figure out the other races besides the presidential one, there is a local school board seat up for grabs (there are 2 nice candidates so we had to read about each one) and also various delegates which for some strange reason are separated by gender (vote for 4 girls and 4 boys). I’m going to bed and tomorrow I’m going to go vote!

As my father mentioned, this weekend we went to New Jersey to participate in a Rett Clinic, which means that we are part of a 3-year study on Rett Syndrome. We see the doctors twice a year and this is the 2nd time we went. There are 2 appointments, one is a measurement appointment where Edda’s height and weight are measured as well as her various bone lengths and also they do a skin fold test. Then we meet with doctors, (ours is Dr. Skinner) and we get to answer questions on Edda’s health and we get to ask any questions we had. Actually, Edda’s remarkably healthy, our only question was this weird swallowing she does sometimes right before she goes to bed and if it had anything to do with reflux.

They were apologetic for the long wait times, but I actually enjoy being in the waiting room because we get to chat with old friends and also we get to make new ones. It’s nice that even though we don’t know each other that well and we are far apart, that we are not alone (that goes to all my internet families as well!).

Here we are in the waiting room.

The next morning, we ate at my parent’s favorite diner.

Yesterday noon, Jeremy, Doris, Vince & Edda were here in our apartment. After lunch with delicious food from Mom, we went to Children Hospital at Rutgers, NJ, just about 30 miles away, for Edda’s 6-month regular physical.

Her physical sizess and shape were normal with respect to her non-Rett counterparts. In short, she was okay, big and strong. Yesterday, I found out one more thing from Edda. She could grap my extended hands and lifted herself up from the floor. It was very pleased to see her improved abilities.

Last night, Vince would like to sleep with us and Mom was very glad to offer. Guess what, Mom and Vince had their own bed. I slept on a Mattress and even Ruby slept side way across with me. I had no room to extend my legs and Vince had a dream that needed some sort of assurance. So, almost no where to sleep and half awake all the time. Better wake and write this blog 🙂

Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you. Much love.

Today was one of those days in which I felt like everyone else has their crap together and happily moving down the express lane of life and I’m in the slow lane behind the jalopy with the left turn blinking for the past 2 miles. What can I say? I missed a phone call, I got some flack for some things I sold on ebay, and the two shirts I bought Jeremy from the thrift shop were too small even though the neck size clearly stated 16.5 inches. Apparently, clothing manufacturers cannot agree on the size of an inch.

Yes, I have been shopping for some clothing at thrift shops around town. It’s really a gleeful experience for me. I scored two brand new work chino/khaki pants for $6 each and also sweaters. It pleases me to no end that I’m saving money and recycling at the same time. Oh, and it’s also a means of exercising. There is a thrift shop about 1 mile from my office. So it takes me just about an hour to change, run to the thrift shop, browse for 10-15 minutes, run back, shower and change and then go back to my desk.

By far my best score was an official Redskins jersey for $2! Vince practically ripped it out of my hands when he saw it and he wore it to school today. I had to look #11 Ramsey up on Wikipedia. Apparently, he was the quarterback for the Skins from 2002-2005 and now is no longer on the team, so I guess we are a little behind the times. But hey, as long as he wasn’t the guy with the fighting dogs or whatever else players get in trouble for, I guess it’s OK.

Well, it’s my year again, the year of the rat. Why couldn’t it be the year of the mouse? So much cuter and somehow thought of less of as a disease vector. Since this is my year, it should be quite clear, I’m turning 36 this year, smack dab in middle-age-dom.

According to Wikipedia, the year of the rat is associated with:

Good: meticulous, intelligent, shrewd, compassionate, charismatic, charming, ambitious, practical, industrious, honest, eloquent, versatile, familial, creative, hard-working, neat, organized, lovers of music, loving

Bad: controlling, obstinate, resentful, lacks-a-sense-of-humor, manipulative, cruel, vengeful, power-driven, critical, possessive, stingy, bossy, fickle, defensive

Of course, I only show the good side of myself on this blog. My fickle, bossy, defensive, cruel side is certainly there somewhere in my psyche and I try really hard to keep it under wraps, but every once in a while it reveals itself to me in ways I cannot believe. Did I really say that? Did I really do that?

Jeremy’s job is heating up (ha ha, global warming joke). There are two new articles in Science about how biofuels may not be the right approach to solve the global warming issue. There’s a lot of press about these new Science articles, keep your ears and eyes alert.

So I like my job. But every once in a while, I have to call a lawyer and talk to her. I don’t like calling lawyers even though everyone says that the particular lawyers that I have to call are generally the kindest, most sincere type of lawyers there are (if you can believe that.)

So everytime I reach a calling-a-lawyer point in my work, I think to myself, OK Doris, you have to call a lawyer now. I stick a post-it note on it and I move on to another thing in which no lawyer-calling in necessary.

This is not an entirely good thing because my pile of need-to-call-a-lawyer post-it-note covered work was just getting bigger and bigger. So basically, I had to just do it. I spent the afternoon calling one lawyer after another, and you know what? Except for the intense blushing on the first and second calls, it went pretty OK. After I was done, I was sweating a little bit. And now I’m glad it’s over.

High five to me.