Highlights, for childrens

Someone's world was rocked by the fact that everybody has a butt. And Spiderman? Spins webs with his butt.

Posted 9:33 PM by Licketysplit

The rain in Spain

Fellow humans, I am living proof that all it takes is one rainy day to undo a month's work of feeling pretty spiffy! I should just live in a gro-light.

Instead, I live in a place where someone parks lengthwise across three parking spots, one of them being mine! I live in a place with a husband who snores and refuses to get his sleep apnea mask properly fitted to render it comfortable enough to wear and thus stop the snoring. I live in a place with a small child who pitches an unholy fit about sleeping in her special big girl bed, preferring to climb on top of me at 2 AM and 4 AM. I heard tell that at 4 AM, I actually snarled "You and your waking up and you and your snoring! I hate you all!" before jamming a pillow over my head and crying myself back to sleep. Or I don't know what I really did, because I don't remember even saying this. Someone claims I said this. Maybe someone is lying. Maybe someone is delusional due to oxygen deprivation from extreme sleep apnea.

The small child had a fit at the library this morning. Last time she assaulted the sign language bear, and this time she wept 10,000 tears when transparent scarf time ended. I am enjoying a fine cocktail of "Am I horrid parent, or is there something legitimately wrong with her?" This cocktail is a multivitamin and a glass of water and empty promises that someone is going to bring me back lunch soon.

While at the library, I overheard one lump of a woman say "Oh, I never know what to order at Starbucks. Everything on the menu is different." Starbucks should take a memo and introduce a menu with only one thing on it. Or 30 things with the exact same name and constitution. The other lump who was the target of this declaration replied "Lattes! I love lattes! Get a latte!" And then I wept 10,000 tears, and I fell on the ground and kicked my legs in the air until a janitor came and removed me. That exchange, plus the fact that the LOL, MA newspaper, the Lowell Sun (motto: "We never spellcheck, and we call hot dog restaurants gourmet"), reports that a new wine and cheese shop called "Cest wine, Say Cheese" [sic] is opening, causes me to fling myself on the bed like a be-kneesocked school girl and scream "Get me out of this god-forsaken town!" Can't you see that I am destined for bigger things? I'm packing my bag and heading to the bus station right now, like Axl Rose in the "Welcome to the Jungle" video. You'll never take me alive, LOL, MA.

Posted 12:15 PM by Licketysplit

Is there an awareness pin for this too?

The weather has been delightful for a change, so ybab and I are making the most of it. We were at the park, and a ybab dominated the top of the slide like a 33 inch colossus. Some antsy pantsy older kid scrambled up behind her and started crowding her, and then he started whining and muttering. I was thinking "You little shit," and I looked back at him and saw he was wearing a button that read "I'm not misbehaving. I have autism. Please be understanding." Oh, oops. No arguing with that. But where can I get a helpful button for myself?

"I'm not disdaining you. I'm aloof and avoidant and afraid of you because you seem nice."
"I really don't recognize your face out of context. I would say hello if I realized I knew you."
"Your parenting style makes me uncomfortable. I am not going to talk to you at all."
"Your child is simply horrid. Would you like a paper bag and some rope for that?"

I'm imagining this working more like an L.E.D. belt buckle, I guess.

Posted 2:52 PM by Licketysplit

Situations

A ybab has learned to say "I don't like it!" this week. Now everything is "I don't like it!" Mr. H speculated that she's just saying it because she can, but I believe that she has been seething for months and has a backlog to work through now that she can express the sentiment properly.

We can't go do our normal crazy crap this week because there is a movie shooting in LOL, MA. There are trailers and giant heaps of equipment and security guards blocking the way to our STUFF. We have to do our STUFF. This is not fair. If we even attempt to do our stuff, we look like the rest of the slack jawed yokels lining the streets hoping to see people half of them never heard of before. I do not wish to bother anyone, but I do wish to get a snack once in a while. Snacks make the world go 'round. And obese, for that matter.

Yesterday I asked a few different yokels in the space of a block what was going on at the place being filmed. I knew exactly what was going on, but I stayed for the Rashomon-like variations. Apparently there are about 72 different people starring in this movie, for starters. Then I asked if the yokels thought there would be any dogs in this movie. Oh, the opinions! This will be less amusing after a few more days of this.

Posted 11:46 AM by Licketysplit

Busting out all over

It was the first really nice day of Spring yesterday, and ybab and I ventured out for a cup of batshit crazy. We passed by a local bank right after it got robbed. I wouldn't have stopped there anyway because their ATM charges $2. Can you imagine! I go to the one two blocks away. We were just in time for every cop in town converging on the scene and throwing the guy on the ground, depicted by Norman Rockwell here. Ybab tried tripping him first, but he was just too fast.

We watched the prodding for a minute, and then we strolled to the coffee shop, where we ran into one of the cops who helped with the slamming on the ground. His throat was hoarse from running, so he changed up his regular drink and got an iced mocha. Again, can you imagine! He regaled everyone with cop stories, but we had to leave because someone had opinions.

Opinions are a condition shared by the residents of the neighborhood we walked through to get to the playground. They are a giving lot, rolling down their car windows so you can hear their music, fancy free with favorable input on one's physiognomy. I still test well with certain demographics, it seems. Ybab still tests well with drunks, one of whom chucked her under the chin at a stoplight. She bit him, no doubt feeling like she had something to prove after letting a marginally armed robber get away.

At the playground, we made the acquaintance of a woman with two jailhouse tear drop tattoos under her eye. And cell phone dad was there, blissfully unaware that I pulled his toddler out of the street several times while he was busy chirping people. Father who throws a ball at his own son's head on purpose was there too. Father had either poor or exceptional aim and also managed to hit Vomits truly in the temple, knocking my sunglasses askew! At this point, I called Officer Mocha, and he settled the whole thing on the ground. You go to the playground with the army you have.

The moral of this story is that we live in a very good town. You should move here too. I have a condo to sell you.

Posted 12:29 PM by Licketysplit

My filing technique truly is unstoppable

You do not want to know what I did with three days of naps, one father-supervised walk to feed ducks, and a P-Touch. I feel a deep sense of calm in my soul. A place for everything, and all the other stupid crap shredded and recycled.

I even went through a stack of proxy cards and voted them, generally installing incredibly old rich white men on boards everywhere. Sample additional question: "Some tedious meddling killjoy shareholders feel we should not invest in companies that profit from genocide. The board recommends a vote AGAINST this measure, as we wish to swim unfettered in our money bins." Well, a vote for genocide is OK with m--- whoa, wait a minute, reading messes things up again! I voted against profiting from genocide. So far, I've lost 3% for the year, so genocide can't be that lucrative anyway. Don't worry, the 3% was in retirement accounts, and I'm only 25. Indefinitely. The government is going to have a tough time making me take mandatory disbursements. I have a portrait in the attic I'll use as ID.

OK, I made the 3% back last week. But still. Genocide!

Posted 9:05 PM by Licketysplit

Conquer existentialism in 72 easy steps

Can you believe I can go to the grocery store without a dissociative episode or panic attack? It was not always so, blogarinos, although that was still not enough to keep me away from the grocery store. Sometimes it's kind of fun when the stuff on the shelf dances. Hell, I've paid for that experience before. But anyway, such vapors are a thing of the past. They took away my fainting couch down at the Hannaford. They also stole my debit card number, but that's another story for another time. I got a new card, and the expiration date is no longer a very lucky 08/08, which was very popular when calling for Chinese takeout, trust me. Oh right. So anyway, to conquer your existentialism, try doing all your errands with a small conscience who yells at you, passersby, and dogs and fire trucks, just in case there are any. Your conscience should also throw things at you, like a grocery list, a pen, a travel magna-doodle, and a bag of organic soup beans. This works wonders for the constitution, if not the complexion. You might also substitute fire juggling if you do not have a conscience. You'll be far too busy and concerned with your own survival to be crazy, at any rate.

The other day the conscience ran right over to that giant plastic car shopping cart, and I grudgingly soaked it in rubbing alcohol and secured her with a well-gnawed rope. A litter of other children saw her riding in splendor and made comment to their mother as to how they wished for a similar experience. MOMMYIWANNACARCARCARCARMOMMMYYYYYYYY. Their mother glared at me and said "No, we can't do that today."

"YAY! DRIVE CAR! FUN! WHEE! BEEP BEEP!" opined the conscience. Her timing is impeccable. The other kids dialed it up to about 12.

I decided to run with it, since other lady glared at me. "Yes, honey, I love you! You are driving! This is so much fun! I love it when you have fun with me at the store! Yay! What does the car say? Who's the best little girl?"

Then I had to leave without all my groceries so I wouldn't come out and find my tires slashed. On the way out, I realized if you go in the other entrance, there are no fucking plastic cars stored on that side. Oh. This is what it's like to have low concerns.

Posted 11:13 PM by Licketysplit