Red Nose

All Righty Then

What's that in the distance? Looks like an SUV with an interesting bumper sticker.

Let's see... can we get a little closer?

Aw, isn't that nice? The kid is terrific and Jesus loves me. But wait... what's that sentence below the Jesus sentiment?

Oh. All righty then!

Kids These Days!

We were riding Metro to the Caps game last night (a 7-4 win over the Panthers -- WOO!) when two teenage guys got on the train. They were in fine fettle, whooping it up and laughing with each other, full thug wannabees with wispy facial hair and supreme confidence.

They spread out in the train, sitting apart from each other in separate rows, talking loudly and profanely, making faces at each other in the windows, and generally acting like they owned the world.

And then four teenage girls got on the train. Four loud, laughing, sassy girls cutting up even more than the boys. They stood by the train doors, teasing and trash talking, out on the town on Saturday night.

Those boys physically shrank a foot. No more talking, no more boasting, no more spreading out and owning the car. They clammed up tight, sat up straight and stared out of the window, doing their best to be invisible.

The girls totally noticed them and simultaneously totally ignored them, until one plopped right down next to the kid in front of me. He cringed, literally cringed.

The girls, of course, saw him cringe and pounced. He knew he couldn't win, so he just smiled and tried to disappear as the girls teased him. I really had a hard time keeping a straight face.

Then four older ladies got on the train. The girls got real polite just then, deferring to the older ladies, cleaning up their language and acting right. When two other boys got up and offered their seats to the ladies, the Lead Girl scolded  Baby Thug:

"Get up and give them your seat! Don't you have any manners?"

It's hard out there for a thug. Especially when faced with Miss Thang and her posse.

Ten Good Things

I think, on this day of killing and horror, that I need to think about good things lest the world go dark.

So... here are ten good things.

1. I got a promotion. I'm going to manage a team in my group, a team of two (including me) and I get to hire the other one.  I'll be in charge of the curriculum for a subject area with which I'm familiar, but not by any means expert. A promotion is good!

2. But that's okay, because it means I get to learn new stuff! Learning is good!

3. Also, this promotion included a raise -- a petite raise, to be sure, but a raise is a raise is a raise and it is good!

4. Mom continues to hold her own. The hospice social worker visited her the other day and reported that she was "perky." Normally I am not a fan of the perky, but in this case perky is good!

5. I am not irrevocably behind in my word count for Nanowrimo. I will catch up this weekend, and that is good!

6. Taking public transportation means that I am walking more. Walking is good, too.

7. No cavities! Good!

8. The weekend is supposed to be warmer, and sunny. So good.

9. The Office and 30 Rock were so, so funny this week. I laughed a lot. Laughing is good, good, good.

10. It's Friday, and that is good.

Hope your life is full of good too!

So Yeah, Dinner!

My shoulder has gone wonky -- I think it's my rotator cuff, whatever that is. I have a checkup scheduled for next week, so I will definitely get it checked out then.

Me and Ovi, both of us suffering with upper-body injuries.

We went to a very fun Halloween party Saturday night, at the home of a cigar colleague of Joe's. Good food, friendly people, and some fun costumes. Joe went as a hippie (I know, a stretch!) by wearing his wig hat -- a baseball cap with built-in long hair. I went as a hockey fan.

Yeah, our imaginations were running wild that night!

And, oh hey! On Sunday we went to the Caps game (alas, an overtime loss) and won -- dum dum dum -- a one-topping pizza! How is such a thing possible? I hear you cry.

Well, during the breaks in the action, there are these swell games to keep the crowd engaged. There's the usual Smile Cam, Dance Cam, and Kiss Cam; the Move of the Game and the Fan of the Game, but one of the more energetic games is Capitals Roulette, where -- damn, it's hard to describe -- the illuminated strip that goes around the upper level is animated to be a sort of roulette wheel. (That's clear as mud, I know. Trust me, okay?) The section that hollers the loudest wins, and our section won! Each of us got a coupon for a free Papa John's pizza.

So -- two pizzas for us! Woo!