Thursday 13

13 Random Thoughts

1. I get more frustrated with Seattle traffic when it's moving along than I do when it's stop-and-go. I think it's because the left-lane hogs are *so* obvious then.

This does not mean that I will be shifting my commute into true rush hour, however. I do hate to dawdle when I'm behind the wheel.

2. Dawdle? Is that right? What an odd word. (Yeah, that's right. I just looked it up. But the etymology is mostly unknown.)

3. I always forget about link tracking. A few weeks ago, I blogged a link to the Web site for a store that I visited in a professional capacity, just 'cause I loved the store. Well, I found out yesterday that the store owners followed that ol' Zombie Princess trail and found my personal blog. Oops. I'm so glad I only had nice things to say about them! I definitely was not wearing my professional hat when I wrote that post, though. They were entertained. (Just in case: Hi, Roy! Hi, Diane!)

4. Some people think "idealogues" like me are distressed by Obama's cabinet choices. I saw him called a "closet centrist" today. Sheesh. Do they really think we couldn't tell he was a centrist?! Obviously, they have no idea what a truly leftist candidate would campaign for. Perhaps they've forgotten all his talk of finding common ideals and middle ground and how we're not red states or blue states but the United States.

Weren't they listening? Or do they just think we weren't?

I'll try not to generalize for the other 66,882,229 (or so) people who voted for him, but as for me, he is doing exactly what I expected and hoped for. I may not love all of his cabinet choices, and I'm waiting with some interest to see where he'll go for some of the open slots (e.g., Education), but the general direction he's taking is one I can get fully behind.

5. When I was a wee lass of about 12, I took some piano lessons. Last night, Chloe asked to learn one of the few songs I remember from that time. It's a nocturne and kind of a fun song to play, because it's really pretty easy but it sounds good. I hear she did some practicing on Frank's electronic keyboard today and got a totally different sound.

6. In other Chloe news, when I left this morning, I discovered a note taped to the front door. She had made me lunch! She wanted to spare me yet another day eating a slice of pizza (the quickest, easiest, cheapest food item available in the MS cafeterias, and my default choice). Nice start to the day, having her take care of me like that.

7. I have had "Against All Odds" stuck in my head for three days. It's not even my favorite Phil Collins song. That would be "In the Air Tonight." (Drum solo, baby!) Maybe I can switch to that one.

8. I still have my fingers crossed, Steph. And toes.

9. A small rant: "...cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon almighty God." So, Kentucky's answer to the religious, um, commitment that led to 9/11 was to fire back with an alternative religious commitment? Yeah, that's the ticket.

How many Supreme Court cases do these people have to lose before they get a clue that a statement like that has no place in American law? Even the conservative courts will throw it out.

Funny how Christians usually have no problem seeing a statement like that as a problem if it reads "almighty Allah" or "almighty Odin" or "almighty Goddess" or "almighty Buddha." And yet we have citizens and public officials who believe in each of those deities and who are subject to the very same Constitutional protections (and public safeguards) that they are.

As for me, I have a t-shirt that reads, "I pledge allegiance to the Earth—one planet, many gods—and to the universe in which she spins." You should see the looks I get when I wear it.

10. Ack. I have not blogged about our weekend. Well, it was fabulous, replete with friends and food and dancing ducks and daily Charades. I have videos. Will I ever get them posted? Who knows? You're all still waiting anxiously for clips from Chloe's play six months ago, right?

11. I got to do some indexing last night. For those who don't know, indexing is the process of writing index entries which combine to form the index of a book or Help file. Yes, someone creates those suckers by hand, and I am one of those someones. I'm damned good at it, too. I indexed about 600 files in about six hours, and that includes editing them all together. How did I do this? Well, it comes down to experience. I can hold an entire index in my brain and write index entries that slot together slick as you please. Some of my dearest friends have the same ability.

Indexers of the world, UNITE!

12. I can spend hours wading through the always colorful histories of various royal families. The latest tour worked through the Dutch and French and Spanish lines, which are all connected, of course, if you go back just a bit, either by marriage or by blood.

It really wouldn't be that hard for a girl to find a prince to marry. There are dozens of them.

13. The other song that's been stuck in my head is "Way Back Into Love" from the Music and Lyrics soundtrack. Sweet movie. Catchy songs. I think we watched it Sunday night, so maybe that song has been in my brain even longer than "Against All Odds."