Posts from the “WTF” Category

#OMSI pinkwashes science and I am #NotBuyingIt

Posted on June 15th, 2013

I was appalled when I saw the pinkwashing of Wonder Woman at Target. “The real Wonder Woman does not wear pink,” I told Pea. Case closed. #NotBuyingIt There is one place in Portland where I (thought I could) count on taking Pea to learn about science without even thinking about gender stereotyping: the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. We’re there a lot. One of my proudest moments as a mother was the first time she put on goggles and we did a chemistry experiment together. Yesterday we watched a new planetarium show. We ate at Theory. We played in the science playground, futzed around Life Sciences, and then, on our way out, went into the store. The store had changed. OMSI went pink.…

Categories: Epiphanies, Portlandia, Too much to ask?, WTF

Event planning 101, or be a dear and pass the Snickers my way, would you?

Posted on June 12th, 2013

There is a charitable organization I strongly believe in, for which I have done pro bono work and donated time in the past (somewhere on the tubes you can find a webinar I did for them), and to which we, despite our one-income-poverty status, donate money through the CFC. For some bizarre reason, given my misanthropic, introverted nature and my time-jealousy of weekend days (when my husband is home and I can write without punting to television), I volunteered an entire day of my time at a recent event. On my former law school campus. I know, right? I also donated two hours (including travel time) of the previous weekend to go for an orientation (which promised food, and there is still enough of…

Categories: Etiquette, Law, Too much to ask?, WTF

Timing is everything

Posted on May 15th, 2013

This morning, rather early, M woke me up with 1) the last Pepsi MAX in the house and 2) news that someone tried to use my credit card (well, a facsimile thereof) at a Wal-Mart. The good news is the bank caught the fraud straight away (no, I don’t shop at Wal-Mart, not even going to a different state to do it), and the bad actors did not get their cheaply made goods on our dime. The other good news is that particular account is running on fumes until payday. Even if the fraud folks hadn’t caught the error, well, yay for being broke. Now, the neurotic and OCD part of my brain that can’t stand an unsolved mystery? Going nuts over how this…

Categories: Not crazy...yet, WTF

Monday fuckery, the FCC, and ID crisis

Posted on April 29th, 2013

So the HIDA scan this morning wasn’t so bad; I slept through most of it. Pro tip: make your appointment at nuclear medicine for 6:45 AM. The second part wasn’t pleasant (when they give you the drug that makes your gallbladder do its bile-dispensing thing), but despite the uncomfortable feeling, I dozed through it, too, and I managed to eat afterward. The mast drama continues. To make a long story short, M read the FCC regs and realized that the HOA board (and our landlords) were full of shit as to requiring him to take it down. He went to talk to them a few weeks ago, and one of them said, “Really, this is just about saving money?” and offered to call the…

Categories: Hard days, TMI, WTF

Uncle.

Posted on January 13th, 2013

Completely depleted. I’ll be back when I have something kind (or at least entertaining) to say. Or when something goes my way.

Categories: Disasters, WTF

Inquiring minds want to know

Posted on December 19th, 2012

Almost as much fun as questions for Ask AAL are the ways people get to this blog. Such fun search terms! I hate paper napkins. Me, too. Are Christmas cards passe? I don’t think so, given the lovely cards I’ve received (and sent) this year. Mothers’ day is stupid. Yep. Lavoisier in the Year One. It was a good book. Quiet time art projects I don’t think those exist. My kid only does art projects by continuously narrating every step of the project. If my attention wanes, I’ll be brought back to task with “Hey, MOM! Look!” Should I friend my client on Facebook? No. Do women have to remove hats indoors? No. What should I do if my blood pressure is 150/112? Go…

Categories: Weird day, WTF

Things I have tweeted

Posted on October 19th, 2012

No more caffeine after 5 pm. Sigh. I do stupid things late at night…like read the comments on news stories. #EyesBleeding Barista and I are both from the Evergreen State. Picture. In the last couple of weeks, my husband has become a HUGE fan of @TheEllenShow. It is so freaking adorable. Was listening to The Police in the car. For a good few minutes, I thought we had a belt slipping. Thankfully it was just Sting’s voice. Tried to unlock someone else’s car. Again. Wasn’t even the AWD version. Coffee shop new moms. So funny. So annoying. The music at this coffee shop is what would happen if Kate Bush sang on helium. I didn’t know it could GET more shrill. Pea just sang…

Categories: WTF

Ball of Confusion

Posted on October 10th, 2012

I stabbed the fleshy part of my left hand this morning with a serrated steak knife, which feels just as good as you might think. (Am typing one-handed, so apologies to everyone I owe email.) After leaving urgent care with stitches and bandages, I checked email and found this gem. In almost 10 years of blogging, it is my first troll! I had started to think this day would never come. And I know I shouldn’t feed trolls, but since this is my first and the troll made a value judgment about Pea, how could I not? A new comment on the post “Nope. It’s not Pea.” is waiting for your approval http://www.attorneyatlarge.us/2012/10/09/nope-its-not-pea/ Author : Maggie Snow (IP: 107.20.220.39 , ec2-107-20-220-39.compute-1.amazonaws.com) E-mail : msnow@gmail.com…

Categories: Weird day, WTF

A crazy idea

Posted on October 1st, 2012

I have two crazy ideas for my professional future. (By crazy, I mean a sharp deviation from what my work history would indicate I ought to do.) One is secret for now. The other is… …well, very different. Yesterday I spent time looking at what it would take to become a physician’s assistant (PA). It’s a 26-month master’s degree at the university in town. Why? Well, employability. The estimated need for PAs skyrockets by 2020 and hits low earth orbit in 2030. The average salary now is $86K. (Statistic NOT provided by the school.) And the reality is, at least academically, I wouldn’t have much to do to get ready. Because of my university minor and the other science classes I took, I’d only…

Categories: Too much to ask?, WTF

Freaky Friday

Posted on September 21st, 2012

Today is a slightly unusual day. M has a conference, so he had time to go with me to drop off Pea. It made for a slightly less stressed morning routine. It turned into a very silly morning. My morning (if we ignore Pea’s 5:30 “I have to go potty” yelling from her room and the “Then just freaking climb down and go!” and “I can’t! It’s TOO DARK!” hysteria) (re)starts with M’s alarm going off. It plays this: (And yes, it’s this precise version.) For days beforehand, I thought I was dreaming this, that it was some sick and twisted product of my subconscious. I mean, he lived in Germany for years and never managed to learn any German (unless we count “macht…

Categories: Good day, Weird day, WTF