THE SURVIVALIST STRIKES AGAIN

Monday, December 11, 2006

After I landed in New Jersey, I called Don. You know, to see what was up.

He had been on the phone with Poison Control. Apparently Becca had a sore throat, so she decided to take some medicine. Being the self-sufficient gal she is, she climbed onto the bathroom counter, opened the medicine cabinet, figured out which bottle was hers (the Children's Motrin), undid the "childproof" cap, and glugged down half a bottle.

Apparently someone Becca's size would have to drink 2 bottles of Motrin for it to be toxic... nonetheless she did barf a lot and scared the pants off poor Don.

CRUNCH TIME

All of a sudden, work has picked up tremendously -- I'm off to Jersey trying to win a new client at the moment. We are giving a big-ass Hanukkah party on Sunday. Sarah has a ton of homework. Hanukkah starts in a few days and Christmas slightly after... there's gotta be cards and gifts and parties. Is there enough time in the day for it all?

WHY CALIFORNIANS ARE "LAID BACK"

Friday, December 01, 2006

I think I understand now why Californians seem a little disconnected and slow. (or maybe, they have just always seemed that way to me....)

In the Midwest, we were always trying to stay one step ahead of the weather. Summer's only 8 or 10 weeks long, really, so you had to hurry up and get your fill of outdoors. Fall's only a few short weeks, and really the leaves peak after 2 weeks... gotta go before it's over. Gotta clean the gutters before snow sets in. Shovel before more snow comes. Switch out the wardrobes before it gets too cold. Or too hot. Or too something.

And getting to work was an adventure in survival... an hour-plus of seeing your breath, fighting wind so hard it knocks out your hearing, and trying to conserve energy.

It just doesn't happen here. It's hard to tell the weeks and the months apart. It's dark by 5, and some mornings start with frost. Other than that... the earth seems the same. There is no great need to savor this beautiful day, because one just like it is coming. It's like living in suspended animation, floating through time. It's enough to make anyone lose track of reality.

IT'S WINTER SOMEPLACE

Chicago:

San Diego: