The Truth

Today is the last day of class for my Historical and Political Issues students. I try very hard to hide my political affiliation and opinions during the term, so I always allow them to ask me any political/opinion question on the last day. It's fun to see what they ask, but also how shocked they are at some of the answers.

Here are some of the recurring questions. I wonder how many of you know the answers I gave?
1. Are you a Republican or Democrat?
2. What religion are you?
3. What do you think about gay marriage?
4. What do you think about Don't Ask, Don't Tell?
5. Who is your favorite president?
6. Who is your least favorite president?

The Do-Over

This is going to sound awful, but I am not used to failing. I have lived a charmed life during which I can recall very few instances when I did not get what I wanted. I'm not talking about Christmas and birthday gifts (still waiting on that trip to Space Camp, Numi). Rather, I mean auditions/interviews/try-outs/contests. I have been very lucky.

Knowing that, you can imagine how surprised I was to have bombed my PhD comprehensive exams a couple of months ago. I haven't talked to many people about it, but let's just say it was completely out of the blue and a major blow. I still can't bring myself to wear the clothes I wore that day again because I suspect they are jinxed.

I just received confirmation that I will be retaking these exams the week of Thanksgiving and defending my answers on December 14th. I think I know what I did wrong the first time.... and I think I can be ready.... and I think I can get through relatively unscathed. But the fear factor is amazingly high on this one.

It's got me wondering about what else I might take a "do-over" on if I had the chance. For me, it's my wedding. Not the marriage, but there are lots of things I would change about the actual event if I could go back in time.

The Devil Turns 5

She has been exciting from the first day she rushed into the world after one push.

Happy birthday, Littlest Ms. Eris!

It's Here!

People who know the Eris family know a few important things: first, yes there is a soccer game this week (no matter what week); second, there will be dog hair on you when you leave; and third, that from Memorial Day to Labor Day there is a constant hint of chlorine in the air at our house. We swim three or four days a week, and that doesn't count the mornings that I swim without the kids.

Finally! We had warm enough weather to hit the pool today. It's a new pool - definitely not the same - but we are finding our way. And we didn't have our regular entourage of Numi, the Duchess and the Princess so it felt very lonely. But we made it, and I feel confident that I can now officially declare that Summer has started!


This is what my bathroom will look like for the next 90 days. YES!

I.C.E.

Today I am the responsible adult for my loving wife, Googamus. It's a routine procedure and she totally deserves this, but I am anxious and fidgety waiting here. It got me thinking about being the "emergency contact" person. I love that she asked me to be here for her, and truth be told, she is probably the person I would want in the waiting room with me.

But then I realized, sure they have my phone number if something goes wrong, but who will take care of me?

Questions

"I used to be in the **th Ward. How is your family?"

"So what is your dad doing?"

"I went to school with your dad. He's great. You remind me of him."

"Now that I think about it, you look just like him."



I really hate "re-meeting" people, because this is the kind of stuff I get.

Awesome!

Today Mr. Eris and I went shopping during some rare child-free time. We wandered through the Office Max and then hit the Walmart. Yup, I shop at Walmart. Deal with it. Whilst supporting the evil empire, we stumbled across one of the reasons we shop there: the racks of cheap DVDs. There is almost always some treasure in there that we forgot how much we loved until we saw it with a $7.50 sticker. Today's score was truly epic.

Tonight we will watch The Last Starfighter, starring Robert Preston (that's right, Harold Hill!) on DVD. It will be awesome in all its digital glory! As is the tradition, we will force the children to watch with us, demanding they tell us how great it is.

This leads me to wonder: Is there a movie you would love to have in your collection but you haven't been able to find it yet.

Pod Person

For as long as I have known Mr. Eris he has never been able to sit still and quietly concentrate. He paces during movies. I spend as much time "shush"ing him at church as I do the kids. His feet are always moving, even when he sleeps. And I have seen him finish six books in the 17 years we have been together.

For those of you who don't know, he is working on his MBA. Hopefully he will finish in June. Tonight he studied for over four hours, forcing himself to sit in front of his computer with papers in his hand, trying to cram into his brain all the information he will need for tomorrow's test.

Now he is sitting up in the chair. Asleep. What a man.

The Large Hadron Collider

We're very big on science here at the Eris house.

The other night Mr. Eris and I were enjoying watching Littlest Ms. Eris run back and forth, at full speed, between the living room chair and our bed. She would yell, "Charge!" and then hurl her not-so-little self 10 yards across the house. Each run ended with uncontrolled giggling. Until...

~Please know that I was thinking to myself, "I should probably stop her before someone gets hurt." But I didn't.~

Little Ms. Eris came up the stairs. We watched her shadow as she walked, unsuspectingly, into the pathway of her hurtling sister. The two collided with such force that I swear it looked like they passed through each other. They ended up on the opposite side of where they crashed - Littlest with a head wound.

We didn't recreate the Big Bang, but we came close to knocking them back in time.

Forgot...

I had a blog.

Sorry.

Will do better.

If anyone is still reading and cares :)

www.hotty.grandmama.blogspot.com?

Congrats on the new computer to my fabulous Grandma!

Things That Make Me Happy

I have decided, mostly because I am kind of cranky tonight, to make a list of things that are pleasing to me:

- pink & white animal cookies
- glasses of cold water
- pajama pants
- watching movies with my loving wife
- power naps
- having a tv in my bedroom
- getting to the end of the week!

School Shmool

Today I will take Little Mr. Eris out of school at noon. He doesn't have an appointment with a physician or a dentist or a therapist. He isn't sick. He doesn't have a trip to go on (well, not at noon, anyway). No.

We are going to a movie.

Worst. Mom. Ever.

My Latte Factor

I am not a lazy person. I enjoy setting challenging goals and taking on too many tasks and responsibilities, and I almost always get my projects done on time. But I have a not-so-secret secret: I L.O.V.E. to sleep in. That extra 7 minutes of sleep I get after hitting the snooze button is like heroin to me. I have tried placing my alarm clock on the other side of the room - I just get back in bed. I have tried multiple alarms - I just hit them each and go back to sleep. I have tried setting the clock fast - I just do the math. I hate to get out of bed in the morning.

This habit is starting to cost me big money. I have started sleeping past train time in the morning, which is causing me to pay for gas and parking at school. Even on days when I would have to drive anyway, I sleep in too late to park in the city and ride the train a couple of stops to campus. It is really starting to tick me off.

So, "in public" I am committing to ride the train every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and to park on a surface street every Monday and Tuesday. If you know me (and if you are reading this then you probably do, because this is not the world's most popular blog) then I need you to exert peer pressure. Text me or call me or ask me a question on facebook randomly to make sure I am availing myself of the free public transportation options I have. And if I am wasting my money at the campus parking lot - mock me. Mercilessly. Because I deserve it.