Drunken meara is, indeed, cute on toast.

Beverly for Queen of the Universe! (would everyone get a tiara after their two years of service? please?)

Yay for Aimee's sister (boo for having to be at work).

Fay, I'm glad the holiday with lots of water is when it's hot (although it probably doesn't ever get really cold there, does it?).

And in regard to the privileged self-righteous - I went to college with some of them. Kids who couldn't understand that there were people - people right next to them, in their classes, in their dorms - who couldn't afford to drop bunches of money on things they didn't have to think twice about (donations to "important" causes, electronics, meals at nice restaurants, etc.). Some of them learned - and the school did try to create some kind of social conscience, but it didn't always take.

In regard to welfare, etc. - I look at some of the things the government funds, and I figure feeding, housing, and generally taking care of people is (a) a drop in the financial bucket and (b) something we ought to do. For all the people who complain about funding education, housing, medical care, etc., for poor kids, I would like to point out that those are things either we pay for today or we pay for - a lot more - in the future.

I wish my parents had made me work during school vacations. I'm pretty sure I had no discernable work ethic until I was in my 30s and I sometimes doubt it even now.

but I do believe every able citizen should spend two years between high school graduation and college entry performing service, either to their community or some other, away from home and everything familiar. And at the end of the two years, everybody gets a college education. If you qualify/want/can afford a name school, fine. If not, you get a good basic college education.

Where do I go to stage the palace coup, because I really want to see this happen?

Cash, I hope DH's cousin gets her SSDI. You have a good family.

Ellie is killing me ded.

Aimee, great news! The ~ma, she is indeed powerful.

My ideas are somewhat draconian, but I do believe every able citizen should spend two years between high school graduation and college entry performing service, either to their community or some other, away from home and everything familiar.

So what do we need to do to make Bev Queen of the World? I've said this since I worked with college students. I also think they'd get a lot more out of college with a little sense of perspective. There was an important social benefit of the draft: people of very different backgrounds were all shoved together into one place.

Ellie killed me with the cute.

I found that the summers of working in a bindery helped.

I didn't even have to do the work to know that if I didn't work hard, I could end up working in a packing plant. Whenever I faltered, I envisioned having to pack bacon on an assembly line in a cooler. (Thankfully, machines do that now. Back then, it was one of the jobs for women.)

My bout of stomach hell yesterday has left me feeling like I did about 300 sit-ups, minus the feeling of virtue. I don't know what that was, but I'd like to never do that again.

eta: Yay for the great news, Aimee! You can start calling her "Nearly Headless..."

eta: Yay for the great news, Aimee! You can start calling her "Nearly Headless..."

I'm going to cell her that RIGHT NOW.

awesome news Aimee.

fantastic idea Beverly.

awesome big sister Ellie!

that is all until I have enough coffee to overcome the waking up at 2:30 am.

Superb news, Empress! Huzzah!

Wow, Ellie is just the most disarming thing in the history of EVER.

Fay, I'm glad the holiday with lots of water is when it's hot (although it probably doesn't ever get really cold there, does it?).

Ha! Yes, unlike Egypt, over here it never actually gets even a tiny little bit coldish. It's Very Fucking Hot, Very Fucking Hot And Also Raining Like Something Out Of The Bible, or Sweet Baby Jesus I Think I Died And Am Being Broiled By The Flames Of Hell.

(The Let's-Throw-Scented-Water-On-Each-Other festival falls in the latter 'season'. Good Thinking, Buddhist People!)

I can haz nap-time now?

I got back to my parent's house about 11pm last night. I slept for a few hours and then got up with my dad at 5:15 this morning so that I could ride into town with him and be dropped off at home, where I proceeded to crawl into bed with Joe and fall back to sleep until he woke me up to actually take a shower and leave for work.

Gronkity gronk gronk gronk.

Gronkity gronk gronk gronk.

Hey, me too.

I had the hardest time sleeping the last couple of nights because my wife and child weren't home.

It's WEIRD that we're BOTH exhausted!

sneaks in with water gun carefully hidden

Yes, Queen Bev!

We all worked as teens. We wanted the cash, dude! So many of the kids have so much already they don't care so much about cash to spend. My kids know we all have to work.

I'm a bit of a complainer too. I know I'm ridiculously lucky, but I still complain about shit. The trick is learning to whom to complain and when -- then it can be a useful venting tool and make you feel a little better. If all you do is complain, you piss off your audience and reinforce your own bad feeling -- saying, "I'm bored" all the time actually will make you boreder. Er, or that may be just me.

Besides, I like a good rant. It's fun. Still, I try never to forget that I have unbelievably good fortune, that I live one of the most comfortable lives that has ever existed on the planet, and that tons of people have real problems, while mine are, like, high school bullshit.