24 February 2010
Today I attended class for the fourth time this semester. I think I finally got it right this time, though.
For the first two class periods, I stayed late at work and then drove straight to college. This made for a couple of very long days (especially ’cause I was sick, too). Last week, I went home after work, but I didn’t get home until 4:00, and since I had an appointment in the writing center at 5:30, I only got to be home for an hour. Today, though, I got home at 3:30, and I didn’t have to leave again until 6:00. Granted, it was still a long day, but at least I had a decent break at home for a while.
25 February 2010
Today, my mom picked up Owen from preschool. I’m glad she did; we finally got it to work right. See, last week, she was supposed to pick him up, but he was very sick that day so, instead, she came over to our apartment and had to sit with a sick boy all day. It made me feel bad, because I knew Owen had been excited to have his Grandma come pick him up from school and I knew my mom was looking forward to seeing Owen for the first time since mid-October.
Anyway, today things proceeded more smoothly: my mom arrived at Owen’s preschool a half-hour early (she’s like that) and, after he came out of class beaming with happiness at seeing his Grandma, the two of them lunched at Mickey’s Diner which, I think, is Owen’s favorite place to eat (well, it’s in his top five).
I’m starting to view Thursday evening as the beginning of weekend lately. All three of us are done with our classes by Thursday afternoon and we all sit together and watch Survivor before going to bed. True, I still have to get up and go to work on Friday, but that’s a lot less stressful than school.
26 February 2010
Today, several co-workers and I took our lunch break at Qdoba, where we met up with a former co-worker (she quit about 2 years ago). She had a baby recently, and so well all got a chance to see it. I felt bad that she had the baby strapped into the car seat (even though she was awake and alert) when we first got there. I figured it must’ve been really boring for her to stare at the ceiling. So, I got my lunch quickly, set my food down at a table, then ran back up to the line and asked to take the baby. Of course, the mom was pleased, as this allowed her to get her food without having to deal with baby and car seat.
I set the car seat down on the floor and immediately unstrapped the baby. I set he on my lab and held her with one hand while I ate lunch with the other. Her mom asked I minded holding her, and I said: “Well, she’s not crying, and she doesn’t smell like poop, so I don’t think there’s a problem.”
On a side note, I think it’s funny when I ask a question like: “Why did you name the baby _______?” And the parent answers: “Because my great-aunt (or whoever) was named _______.” Because, from my perspective, that’s not answering the question. That’s answering the question: “How did you become aware of this name?” which is not the question I asked. It’s as if they are only giving me a partial answer and I’m supposed to know the rest. For example…
Q: Why did my parents name me James?
Partial Answer: Because my Dad is named James.
The rest of the Answer: And my parents decided that ‘James’ was a pretty good name and that, by naming me after my Dad, I would be forced to honor him.