I've been checking the SCE&G website at least 12 times a day since I saw the meter reader here. I mean, really, how long does it take to upload a few readings?
I checked again just now and saw numbers where there had previously been nothing. And guess what? Setting your thermostat on 62 (no, I'm not kidding) and running the gas logs nearly all day (but not at night) on these cold days works. Sure, it's a little nippy in the morning when we wake up, BUT my bill was just $22 more this month than last month even though we had much colder temperatures and a longer run of these very cold days than normal.
Guess what I'm doing to celebrate?
I'm living large and turning the thermostat up to 63!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
a great parenting lecture
Last night I attended a lecture at Porter-Gaud that was co-sponsored by Pinewood. The lecture was titled "Raising Children in Challenging Times", and while I thought I might learn more if it were titled "Raising Challenging Children in Challenging (or not-so-challenging) Times, I went anyway and I am SOOOOO glad I did.
The lecture was presented by Robert Evans, Ph.D., of Wellesley, MA. This guy is so funny and smart and wise about parenting, and I want him to move in with us. He can bring his wife and kids and grandkids, too, but he needs to live with me.
Seriously.
I have been in a funk lately with regards to rearing my precious bundle of love, aka Mac, and really needed to hear what he said tonight. The pressure of single parenting is tough and my hat is off to anybody who does it for longer than this measly year term I'm currently serving. It is a thankless, exhausting job from which you emerge battle-weary and scarred after hearing your 7 year-old tell you that "it's always all about you, Mom". Your tongue has permanent teeth marks from where you've bitten it in order to not list all the ways that it's not all about me, Mac. And then I must contend with Mac's perception of his absent father who with each passing day of absence, apparently grows more powerful and important and funny and sportier and smarter than dear old Mom who's at home trying hard to keep those home fires burning.
But I digress.
Back to Dr. Evans.
Nothing he said is earth-shattering or groundbreaking, which is exactly what reassured me. I am doing at least some of this stuff right (or at least adequately) and it was just nice to hear confirmation that age-old, tried-and-true, consistent parenting works. I kept thinking there was a magic bullet out there that I was missing, but there's not.
But I'd still like him to move him with me so he can keep reminding me...
The lecture was presented by Robert Evans, Ph.D., of Wellesley, MA. This guy is so funny and smart and wise about parenting, and I want him to move in with us. He can bring his wife and kids and grandkids, too, but he needs to live with me.
Seriously.
I have been in a funk lately with regards to rearing my precious bundle of love, aka Mac, and really needed to hear what he said tonight. The pressure of single parenting is tough and my hat is off to anybody who does it for longer than this measly year term I'm currently serving. It is a thankless, exhausting job from which you emerge battle-weary and scarred after hearing your 7 year-old tell you that "it's always all about you, Mom". Your tongue has permanent teeth marks from where you've bitten it in order to not list all the ways that it's not all about me, Mac. And then I must contend with Mac's perception of his absent father who with each passing day of absence, apparently grows more powerful and important and funny and sportier and smarter than dear old Mom who's at home trying hard to keep those home fires burning.
But I digress.
Back to Dr. Evans.
Nothing he said is earth-shattering or groundbreaking, which is exactly what reassured me. I am doing at least some of this stuff right (or at least adequately) and it was just nice to hear confirmation that age-old, tried-and-true, consistent parenting works. I kept thinking there was a magic bullet out there that I was missing, but there's not.
But I'd still like him to move him with me so he can keep reminding me...
electricity meter reader
The moment I have been dreading is just about upon me.
My electricity bill last month was really high. We are talking astronomically high for the shoebox we call home (but not, I'm happy to report, as high as my neighbor's was for the same period.) I know it was cold, but we were out of the country for 10 of the roughly 30 days.
Now that it's been even colder and we've been home the whole month and I've been using my gas logs (having no idea what that'll add to the bill), I am terrified of what my bill is going to be.
I just saw the meter reader sneak down to the meter on the side of my house. A thought crossed my mind:
If I tackled him, I could probably steal the meter reader machine from him and hire a young hacker person to change the reading to reflect an abnormally low reading.
It's pretty cold and windy outside, though, and I don't know any young hacker people off the top of my head and he'd probably come to before I had a chance to get the thing out of his hands, so I just watched him leave instead.
Just another day in suburbia.
My electricity bill last month was really high. We are talking astronomically high for the shoebox we call home (but not, I'm happy to report, as high as my neighbor's was for the same period.) I know it was cold, but we were out of the country for 10 of the roughly 30 days.
Now that it's been even colder and we've been home the whole month and I've been using my gas logs (having no idea what that'll add to the bill), I am terrified of what my bill is going to be.
I just saw the meter reader sneak down to the meter on the side of my house. A thought crossed my mind:
If I tackled him, I could probably steal the meter reader machine from him and hire a young hacker person to change the reading to reflect an abnormally low reading.
It's pretty cold and windy outside, though, and I don't know any young hacker people off the top of my head and he'd probably come to before I had a chance to get the thing out of his hands, so I just watched him leave instead.
Just another day in suburbia.
Monday, January 25, 2010
i. hate. running.
This morning I talked to Jimmy and he asked me how the running was going. Doesn't he know proper telephone etiquette when phoning your spouse from Afghanistan? You do not ask about things that induce stress. You ask if the flowers are still alive that you sent last week because you were just getting ready to hit Pro Flowers on your speed dial to order more. Then he went on to tell me that I had spurred him on to run and he'd just finished a 4-mile run.
Dump me in a war zone with no movie theaters or Target or Starbucks and maybe I'd take up running too.
But I felt guilty.
And I hate feeling guilty.
So after Mac finished his homework, he got on his scooter and I got on my big girl pants and we went out to exercise. It was enjoyable to be outside together and Mac was patient to wait for me while I was huffing and puffing along. I didn't even mind so much hitting the 50 mph headwind on the run back home because my boy and I were having a good time. But between you and me, I was awfully glad to see his friend Zachary riding his bicycle to find Mac so they could play. Surely as the Madre del Año, I shouldn't be off gallivanting around the neighborhood in my running shoes while my boy is in the backyard playing with a friend, right?
(And yes, I did download the Spanish program today. Were you impressed by my bilingual posting? I haven't actually done any studying yet and I had to google how to translate "of the year", but at least I knew the Madre part right off the top of my head. Muy inteligente.)
Dump me in a war zone with no movie theaters or Target or Starbucks and maybe I'd take up running too.
But I felt guilty.
And I hate feeling guilty.
So after Mac finished his homework, he got on his scooter and I got on my big girl pants and we went out to exercise. It was enjoyable to be outside together and Mac was patient to wait for me while I was huffing and puffing along. I didn't even mind so much hitting the 50 mph headwind on the run back home because my boy and I were having a good time. But between you and me, I was awfully glad to see his friend Zachary riding his bicycle to find Mac so they could play. Surely as the Madre del Año, I shouldn't be off gallivanting around the neighborhood in my running shoes while my boy is in the backyard playing with a friend, right?
(And yes, I did download the Spanish program today. Were you impressed by my bilingual posting? I haven't actually done any studying yet and I had to google how to translate "of the year", but at least I knew the Madre part right off the top of my head. Muy inteligente.)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
foreign languages
Speaking foreign languages and I go together like oil and water - it's just not my thing. I fancied myself a French scholar after my required semesters of high school French, but then got to college and heard people speak real French and knew I didn't stand a chance. That part of my brain just isn't wired correctly.
So when we first moved to Mexico, I went with zero espanol and thought I'd be fine.
Until I realized I wouldn't be after about 22 minutes in the country.
After a lot of gnashing of teeth, I finally realized that I had to get with the program. When in Rome and all that jazz...
So I took classes at a little school in Guadalajara and then did online courses with the University of Maryland. I got the basics but that was about it. I made myself a promise that I'd never go to another country to live again without the language. The promise was kept with Mozambique because I was able to do full-time Portuguese training with Jimmy at the State Department before we moved there. And even though there was a 4+-year gap between Portuguese classes and our arrival in Brazil, I hoped the Portuguese synapses were still firing. And they were, well enough to get by.
And now, of course, we're going back to a Spanish-speaking country. I'm afraid any Spanish that's still lurking in my brain is so damp and mouldy that there's no way it's coming back out. The Portuguese has taken over.
I thought it would be a good idea to take a class at the local community college, but then I decided that was more commitment than I needed in my life right now.
Then I remembered that counties have adult education programs. I remember Arlington, VA had a comprehensive and wonderful selection of adult ed classes. And when I was in Boston, I picked up the book (no exaggeration) of adult ed classes offered by Cambridge. You could study anything and everything from Thai cooking to Finnish.
Not so in Dorchester County, SC. Your choices are basically ESL or school bus driver training. No joke.
So I shelved the Spanish training until yesterday when Mac and I went to Target. While he used the restroom, I checked out the $1 section right in front of the store where I found this:
Isn't that brilliant? Quick and for dummies and cheap. Just what I was looking for.
Well I started "studying" last night in the bathtub. There's some funny stuff in this book. I thought you might like to improve your Spanish along with me. You should make sure you're locked in the bathroom with the fan on so nobody hears you making these sounds. Here goes three short lessons for your enrichment...
I was so inspired by "putting my mouth in a rounded position, as if to breathe a kiss over a flower" (WHAT?!?!?!), that today I bought a Berlitz program at Barnes and Noble. Since I can't seem to muster the mojo to start my running program, maybe I'll do Spanish instead...
So when we first moved to Mexico, I went with zero espanol and thought I'd be fine.
Until I realized I wouldn't be after about 22 minutes in the country.
After a lot of gnashing of teeth, I finally realized that I had to get with the program. When in Rome and all that jazz...
So I took classes at a little school in Guadalajara and then did online courses with the University of Maryland. I got the basics but that was about it. I made myself a promise that I'd never go to another country to live again without the language. The promise was kept with Mozambique because I was able to do full-time Portuguese training with Jimmy at the State Department before we moved there. And even though there was a 4+-year gap between Portuguese classes and our arrival in Brazil, I hoped the Portuguese synapses were still firing. And they were, well enough to get by.
And now, of course, we're going back to a Spanish-speaking country. I'm afraid any Spanish that's still lurking in my brain is so damp and mouldy that there's no way it's coming back out. The Portuguese has taken over.
I thought it would be a good idea to take a class at the local community college, but then I decided that was more commitment than I needed in my life right now.
Then I remembered that counties have adult education programs. I remember Arlington, VA had a comprehensive and wonderful selection of adult ed classes. And when I was in Boston, I picked up the book (no exaggeration) of adult ed classes offered by Cambridge. You could study anything and everything from Thai cooking to Finnish.
Not so in Dorchester County, SC. Your choices are basically ESL or school bus driver training. No joke.
So I shelved the Spanish training until yesterday when Mac and I went to Target. While he used the restroom, I checked out the $1 section right in front of the store where I found this:
Isn't that brilliant? Quick and for dummies and cheap. Just what I was looking for.
Well I started "studying" last night in the bathtub. There's some funny stuff in this book. I thought you might like to improve your Spanish along with me. You should make sure you're locked in the bathroom with the fan on so nobody hears you making these sounds. Here goes three short lessons for your enrichment...
I was so inspired by "putting my mouth in a rounded position, as if to breathe a kiss over a flower" (WHAT?!?!?!), that today I bought a Berlitz program at Barnes and Noble. Since I can't seem to muster the mojo to start my running program, maybe I'll do Spanish instead...
Saturday, January 23, 2010
clarification on yesterday's facebook post
My posting was not an attack on Republicans. We're a country, for crying out loud, that was founded on political and religious freedom.
And even though we're also a country of free speech, I just can't stand to see political commentary - written by liberals or conservatives - that's juvenile and involves calling names that could have been made up my 7 year-old. I am not kidding - the post that was my undoing involved name calling that probably is circulating around the 3rd grade. So while we have the right to post what we want on Facebook, I have the right to not read it.
I love Republicans; I'd miss out on a lot of family dinners if I disassociated myself completely. So I will not de-friend you just because of your political association alone.
But if you send a gun to me...
Well, all bets are off then.
And even though we're also a country of free speech, I just can't stand to see political commentary - written by liberals or conservatives - that's juvenile and involves calling names that could have been made up my 7 year-old. I am not kidding - the post that was my undoing involved name calling that probably is circulating around the 3rd grade. So while we have the right to post what we want on Facebook, I have the right to not read it.
I love Republicans; I'd miss out on a lot of family dinners if I disassociated myself completely. So I will not de-friend you just because of your political association alone.
But if you send a gun to me...
Well, all bets are off then.
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