A little bit of this, and a little bit of that
Netflix emailed me apologizing for a shipping delay and said they’d credit my account 5%. I hadn’t noticed, but thanks Netflix. That’s awfully nice of you. I guess there were some problems with their site. We were college shopping on Monday, so were not looking at the site.
It seems others were, though. And lots of silly people got mad.
Some of the more memorable times of my life have been when I’m in a situation where each turn of the road or path leads me to something fun, unusual or breathtaking. It was that way my first time searching out tide pools on an island off the west coast of Scotland. I didn’t want to leave the island, knowing that behind the next rock was an even more wondrous tide pool. It was that way driving in Montana to Paul and Kelly’s wedding. Each turn of the road brought us to even more beautiful scenery. It was even that way last summer when we visited The House on the Rock in Wisconsin. Each room was full of more unusual items than the last. We had to see all of it, even if we were getting tired after several hours of walking.
So it’s no wonder that my favorite kinds of nighttime dreams are when I’m finding new and exciting things around every corner. This type of dream is usually associated with the purchase of a new house. I’m usually told that we need to move away from our house after we’ve already sold it and bought the new one. I’m always sad about leaving our house, but as soon as I begin to explore the new house I realize it is full of places to explore — so much so I may never stop finding new discoveries.
This morning when Dean got out of bed I was having one of those dreams. As I slowly awoke I realized it was not real and we had not sold our house. I was disappointed because the house in my dream was at least four stories high (plus the basement) and I’d only explored the basement and the two bottom floors. So, instead of getting up with Dean I fell back asleep hoping to get back to the dream about the house. It worked! I got to see the third floor of the house before finally waking up for good.
We visited St. Mary’s College in southern Maryland yesterday with my high school junior. She liked it. We liked it. She’s got a chance of being accepted there.
At the end of the week we’ll visit two more colleges - one in New Jersey and one of three in Pennsylvania. Clare needs to choose which of the three we visit in Pennsylvania. She just called up to me to ask, “What am I looking for?” I replied, “The college you want to visit.” She then asked, “What if I choose the wrong one?”
Now, that is a good question. What if I choose the wrong one? How many times have I worried about that? As a kid with limited spending money — What if I choose the wrong item at the five and dime? As a young woman thinking about getting married — What If I choose the wrong man to marry? As a career woman — What if I choose the wrong job offer? At any restaurant — What if I choose the wrong entré? As a homeowner — What if I choose the wrong shade of paint for the living room?
It goes on and on. You cannot possibly visit every campus just as you cannot paint your living room every shade in the paint store.
The thing about getting older is the fact that you know that you can usually change your mind. Even a bad college choice can be fixed. And if you visit the wrong college during spring break, you can visit one that is more right later.
Decisions are hard. Most of the time. Sometimes you never know if you made the right decision. It’s all a part of life.
Clare will make good decisions — based on her criteria. And if she makes a mistake she’ll eventually learn that mistakes are rarely irrevocable.
That said, I need to tell myself that. I need to be more decisive. I often sit back and let Dean make the decisions because I worry, “What if I choose the wrong one?”
Whooo boy! I thought I was something special when I was just getting emails (and phone calls) from the Clinton Clan. But today the unbelievable happened. Elton John invited me to a concert in New York. Honestly. He sent me an email telling me he is throwing a party. I mean, come on — Elton John. The Pinball Wizard. Diana’s friend. The Candle in the Wind guy.
Here’s what his email says:
Dear Dona, (see that? he called me by name)
There is nothing I like better than throwing a party for a good friend. Will you come out to support my friend Hillary Clinton at a special, one-night-only solo concert in New York? I promise this will be one night that you won’t want to miss.
Click here for more details and to be notified when tickets go on sale.
Sincerely,
Elton John
Gosh, and here I was feeling left out of the party when I heard about all those free things Obama supporters were getting from Oprah. (just kidding - no one’s getting any free things.)
They aren’t, are they?
Since the party is in New York it’s unlikely I’ll go. Plus the ticket price is not really within my budget.
On a side note - Hillary’s site, at least the party information page is not web accessible. The details are all gifs with alt text that reads, “event details” and “ticket details”. For shame, Hillary. I guess she’s not looking for the blind voters.
I’m calling today the beginning of our Irish Season. Not only is it St. Patrick’s Day (My favorite holiday) but it is also the day we meet with Andrew’s rugby coach about Andrew’s trip to Ireland which begins this Wednesday. This is also the week we’ll probably book our flight to Ireland and maybe fill in our itinerary. We’ve already booked two cottages: Parkduff in County Clare and Tralia House in County Kerry.
Having Patrick for a last name was always cool on St. Patrick’s Day — as a kid and as a teacher. March 17th was a determining factor in not changing my name when I got married. Kids would say to me Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Ms Patrick! I never got tired of it. Occassionally, even now, someone will say that to me. It always makes me smile.
According to the Irish folk I met on my first trip to Ireland in 1979, I may not even be of Irish decent. Patrick is not a surname in that country; although, they reasoned, it could have been Fitzpatrick or Kirkpatrick and changed once my ancestors arrived in the United States.
The topic of my son and his friends’ conversation to and from a recent rugby match ranged from nutrition to genetics to ancient history. No swearing nor a fart joke was heard. All I can say is only in Bethesda…
My weblog stats have gone up considerably in the past few days, in part because a math teacher in Ohio is linking to last year’s π Day post. She even used Clare’s π pie photo from that post.
It seems a lot of folks search the Internet for “pi day” related stuff around the middle of March and this blog got several hits. Not millions or even thousands, but dozens — which is rare for Cluch Cargo Lips.
Last year I searched for songs about π for my Jeux Sans Frontiers blog but didn’t find too many fun ones. I ended up using American Pie. I didn’t realize I had one on CD. Kate Bush’s newest album has a song called π in which she sings the first 150 digits of π* but according to this guy, she made a mistake at digit 54.
*which is almost as much fun as Mrs. Bartolozzi in which she repeats “Washing Machine” ad nauseum. (just kidding. I love Kate Bush!)
π
by Kate Bush
Sweet and gentle and sensitive man
With an obsessive nature and deep fascination
For numbers
And a complete infatuation with the calculation
Of π
Oh he love, he love, he love
He does love his numbers
And they run, they run, they run him
In a great big circle
In a circle of infinity3.14159 26535897932
3846 264 338 3279Oh he love, he love, he love
He does love his numbers
And they run, they run, they run him
In a great big circle
In a circle of infinity
But he must, he must, he must
Put a number to it50288419 716939937510
582319749 44 59230781
6406286208 8214 80865132Oh he love, he love, he love
He does love his numbers
And they run, they run, they run him
In a great big circle
In a circle of infinity82306647 0938446095 505 8223…
©2005 Noble & Brite
Drums: Stuart Elliott
Bass: Eberhard Weber
Guitar: Dan McIntosh
Keyboards: Kate
Additional Vocals: Lol Creme
This site almost makes me wish I was pregnant. It’s the brain-child of the woman behind Amalah, whose blog always makes me giggle, except when she’s admonishing her readership. Then I feel guilty although I didn’t do anything wrong. If you’re pregnant — especially in your first trimester, check it out — it has lots of information told in an amusing way. Even if you’re not pregnant, her writing style will make you smile.
Netflix & Xbox 360
Glad I waited and didn’t go out and buy a Roku. This fall Netflix “watch instantly” material will be available through our Xbox 360. Glad my son bought one… I guess we’ll need to contribute to his Gold membership now. Or not. Shhhh, don’t suggest it to him. (0)
I want one!
This way cool “toy” connects to the Internet through your wifi connection and does lots of fun things like tell you the weather forecast, read you the headlines, alert you to messages, and play online radio programs. (0)
College Road Trip Expenses
Hotels: $700
Food: $500
Gas, etc.: $300
Necessities: $200
Spending quality time with Clare: Priceless
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Netflix Keeping Profiles
I’m surprised, but delighted that Netflix listened to its customers. I guess they are smart after all.
We Are Keeping Netflix Profiles Dear Dona, You spoke, and we listened. We are keeping Profiles. Thank you for all the calls and emails telling us how important Profiles are. We are sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused. We hope the next time you hear from us we will delight, and not disappoint, you. -Your friends at Netflix(0)
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