Everyone should be able to borrow and test drive a dog! How's work, msbelle?

Steph, yes, Oakley. I am planning on being unemployed this summer, so we're looking at minimal camps, and cheap fun. Have you been to the Oakley pool?

work is good. There is stuff to do everyday and sometimes a rush of urgent stuff, but none of it thus far is mentally taxing. Lots of coordination of schedules and then getting things onto peoples' calendars and getting packets together before trips. Today my boss is interviewing 3 candidates for 3 different jobs and so I will be guiding candidates from office to office and back to reception a chunk of the day.

My boss travels every week, so I will always have travel to get booked and expense reports to do, and then credit card bills to reconcile. Those will be my constant background work.

The thing about the set I'm getting my sister--it's a full Scrabble set. 100 letters, plus special tiles.

Does it come with a poster of the board you can tape or otherwise affix to the 'fridge?

My boss ... she's inundated with messages. She also has two kids with problems, a mother in poor health, a recalcitrant ex-husband she's taking to court, and she's very disorganized.

I just find it unsettling that it's MY messages she never sees, although I have no idea if she's missing anyone else's.

Steph, yes, Oakley. I am planning on being unemployed this summer, so we're looking at minimal camps, and cheap fun. Have you been to the Oakley pool?

I'm not sure I've been to the Oakley pool. I've been to the Pleasant Ridge one and the one in Northside. They're what you would expect -- TONS of kids, but they're pretty well run and maintained. I'm guessing Oakley pool is probably the same way -- not a fancy private swim club, but a big-ass pool with a ton of kids. I'm not really sure what people get from a private swim club that they don't get from CRC pools, other than a feeling of superiority and, frankly, virtually no minorities.

I'm not really sure what people get from a private swim club that they don't get from CRC pools, other than a feeling of superiority and, frankly, virtually no minorities.

I get a huge green space, lots more shade and fewer people in the pool where I'm swimming with my 2 year old. I'm a little insulted by your assumption above.

Sad, but mac is COMPLETELY over having a dog and does not want anything to do with the care and upkeep. I think it was good for us to sit her, because he now knows that a large dog is not what he wants, and definately not a large puppy. He HATES being jumped on.

That's fantastic to learn before you've committed to an animal. But maybe a retired greyhound? They are so chill and lazy, IME.

Does it come with a poster of the board you can tape or otherwise affix to the 'fridge?

Nope. You're free to use the entire fridge as you want.

Somehow when I sign up for a private pool they *still* let minorities in. I'm not sure what's up with that. I should get my money back.

However, I do get a metric tonnage less of people in it, and since I hate swimming so much, every less person counts.

It's not a radical idea, paying for nicer surroundings (and I don't mean nicer involves keeping me out), and fewer other people. The minute you say "ton of kids" and aren't sure what I get from not being there, it's obvious our swimming experiences have very different goals.

If my kids were tiny, a private club might be more worth it, but both can pretty much swim now, and are tall enough to stand in the shallow end of most pools. But I am sure the history of private swim clubs in Cincinnati - as well as in Georgia, where they also had them - reflects the history of racial segregation. I am pretty sure private Christian academies (in Georgia) reflect that same history - I am less sure about Catholic schools (more prevalant in Cincinnati and much older) and whether or not they saw an influx of kids when the public schools desegregated.

When I worked at Duke, the "faculty" swim club was only open to faculty and people who were salaried, as opposed to paid hourly. This (plus the price) had the handy result of making it not crowded, but there were also very few racial minorities there. (Edit: I was not eligible for membership, but attended a birthday party there once.)