Once again, my weather-boyfriend has done me wrong. I wish that I could break it off, but I just can't. Despite the abuse he doles out semi-regularly, he's there for me every single morning. Sometimes he may screw up, and the results are disastrous, but often, much more often than not, I am wearing appropriate clothing.

We got wet.

On the 4th, by the river, before the fireworks. Wetness came out of the sky, and it landed on us, and into our "shelter" (i.e., not quite a tent, full of much screened area so as to "let in the cool breeze" which just so happened to be accompanied by wet chilly rain yesterday).

I had on shorts and a t-shirt. I brought a sweatshirt, but couldn't work out how to get it to cover my arms, my legs and J's freezing cold short-shorts-clad legs all at once. She brought a jacket, but it was a thin one, b/c her mother ( who was relying on her weather-boyfriend) told her to put away her thick oversized hoodie, b/c "it's going to be 84." The same mother who held her tongue when she wanted to call E crazy for wearing denim capris, b/c she knew that E's 11 year old "I am smarter than anyone" mentality would come out, and she would go put on a SECOND pair of capris on top of the first pair just to spite me.

But the fireworks were gorgeous, and considering everything, it was worth it to go, and it was worth it to be a wee damp and a lot chilly for a couple of hours.

Labels: holidays, kids, weather

posted by Zuska @ 2:47 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

94 degrees

It's hot outside. 94 is pretty damned hot. I'm inside, in air conditioning. I've been outside a couple of times. To walk to/from the train twice, and once to CVS to succumb to my chocolate craving.

One of my kids is at a lake/pond today, and the other is .... somewhere else. Not sure what they decided to do on this hot hot hot hot day. I sent them both with bathing suits and sunscreen, though.

I just wrote an essay. I think it was my best yet. Which is good, since my worst yet was a 3.1 out of 7, and my second worst-yet was a 3.75 out of 7. This time, I'm going for the gold .... give me a 5, baby. Give me a 5.

What happened to the Zuska who used to want the A+'s and A's? She died.

So, really, my essay scores seem to suck. The first one, though, I knew I did a shitty job organizing it, and that I didn't keep my rule separate from my facts, and that I'd do poorly. The second one, I realized after I finished that I missed a relatively big issue. I mean, I guess anytime there's a constitutional question, I need to talk about standing. I did not. Duh.

THIS one, though. THIS one, I think I hit all the issues. I did hit the issues that were hit in the sample, but I came out differently on 2 points. One, I'm not all for this "well, he divorced the kids' mother" as "clear evidence" that a kid was intentionally omitted from a will. That's shitty. I know the dad is just Hypo-Man living in a Hypo-House dying in a Hypo-Crash, but I'm gonna impute decency upon him anyway. I'm not going to assume that he divorces kids when he divorces women. My Hypo-Man is not a Hypo-Loser-Man. So there.

Also, my Wills guy told me that employment retirement accounts are non-probate assets, governed by their contract terms. So that is what I called the damned retirement account. But then stupid sample-answer-dude said "H has no non-probate assets." Yes he does!

Who the hell writes these sample answers? Whoever they are, they should consider sitting in on a couple of BarBri lectures.

Here's today's concern:

I just wrote an essay. Okay, wait. Here are today's TWO concerns: 1) I just wrote an essay and it took 40 minutes instead of the 30 I was told to take. 2) I just wrote an essay that took only 40 minutes, and I feel like there are clouds in my peripheral vision, and I felt like I was so foggy headed and such that I needed a blogging break before I review my Contracts notes and then do my 37 multiple choice questions.

Hello? On Bar Exam day ... I need to be doing this stuff for 3 hours in a row, 4 times. I can't have clouds in my vision and blogging breaks.

Labels: bar prep, weather

posted by Zuska @ 3:21 PM 2 comments

Friday, June 22, 2007

Tort Dude is Funny

Lyco already posted some of the best moments. I was thinking what geeks us bar-exam-studiers are, cracking up at the Torts jokes. Since this was the class that ran the longest, I was grateful for the dude's stand up routine. He had me laughing hard on many occasions (WHY on god's green earth, can I never spell this word?). I think today's hypo about the purpose (or lack thereof) behind statutes criminalizing marijuana were my faves. He also put a tiger in a cage into some random back yard in MY town, and that was fun, b/c I like Tigers.

The girls are at a friend's house today, and she doesn't want to bring them home. I'm almost through the Contracts notes, which means I'm only 2 days behind now, instead of 4. Progress, right?

The outdoor light is yellow, on account of thunder storms rolling through. I love thunderstorms.

Labels: bar prep, stress, weather

posted by Zuska @ 4:43 PM 1 comments

Monday, June 04, 2007

Monday's Lookin' Up

I am feeling a little bleary-eyed-tired, since I woke at 5:50 again to running - despite the pouring rain a la Tropical Storm Barry (or his remnants). That was fun. I was the only one on the reservoir, which I love. Running/exercising is my solo-time, and the more solo, the better.

My back feels 10x better. There are tiny little twinges now and again - but it was a-okay during the run, and I slept great.

I don't feel too behind on bar prep stuff anymore. I think I need to go through some of last week's material to fill in my notes/future note-cards with my states' specifics, but it's okay. I'm not too behind.

Woo hoo for 3 days of Evidence [note the sarcasm].

Labels: bar prep, exercise, weather, weekends

posted by Zuska @ 7:54 AM 1 comments

Friday, June 01, 2007

Calgon? Is that stuff even on the market anymore?

I was thinking, "I'm gonna call my friend J, and whine about how stressed I am." Then I thought, "Beloved's gonna call soon, I'm gonna whine to him about how stressed I am." Then I considered calling my mom, and whining to HER about how stressed I am. Then I thought, "why? I have a blog [for who knows how much longer], I'll whine to it about how stressed I am."

[quick aside: I hate the smell of cigarette smoke more than anything else in the world. I like the smell of skunks. I hate the smell of cologne ... but I hate the smell of cigarette smoke more. So when a collection of boys gather right outside my window and smoke like 17 packs of cigarettes, blowing their nasty-ass smoke into my general direction, I get pissy. I am just that pissy right NOW. At the same time, it gave me an excuse to close the windows and turn on the a/c, which I think was a good thing, since I just went into the bathroom and found two rather round and well-formed droplets of sweat on my face.]

I shouldn't get to complain, b/c despite my stress, I just found 20 minutes to sit at a friend's kitchen table and guzzle a glass of wine while hearing a very brief synopsis of relationship history.

But I am complaining anyway.

5:50 a.m.: Wake up; run around reservoir.
7:00 a.m.: Walk in front door, check on E's morning routine progress; usher kids toward proper clothing and breakfast consumption.
7:30 a.m.: sign a flurry of school notices due to be returned TODAY, or else children will shatter, crack, and likely die.
7:45 a.m.: say bye to children.
7:45:05 a.m.: get in shower
8:14 a.m.: Smile at myself in the mirror in my new [smaller] skirt and cute shoes.
8:25 a.m.: Leave for BarBri
9:10 a.m.: Arrive at BarBri; commence guilty feelings for not finishing the condensing of my notes last night; listen in dread to the lists of tasks completed by my classmates while i was attending "Fun Night" at the kids' elementary school, and helping J with her latest school project, due next Weds., but creating stress now.
9:30 a.m.: Watch video about the torture that will be the MBE Exam.
10:00 a.m.: Think, "Oh my God, I cannot listen to Professor [??] Kaufman talk about Agency and Partnership for more than 3 minutes, b/c his voice and mannerisms are going to make my brain detach from my spinal cord ... or something.
10:10 a.m.: Find myself laughing at Professor Kaufman, and realize that his "performance" is clearly calculated to create triggers in our pathetic brains.
1:10 p.m.: Run out of class to the T station where I am forced to wait until
1:30 p.m.: Get on Train
1:50 p.m.: Arrive in parking garage where zipcar is parked; freak out because parking pass thingy is not in car where it's supposed to be, and I cannot get out of the garage b/c I don't have an entry ticket, b/c I came on foot, and paying for parking without an entry ticket will likely cost upwards of $400 [the monthly fee].
1:52 p.m.: Call Zipcar and think about how utterly helpless they are, try to remember how helpful they were on Monday, wonder why they say, "well, if no one there can help you, call us back" - why? Why not just do whatever it is you would do if I called you back NOW??
1:53 p.m.: Leave garage after pushing "help" button and asking the man to lift the gate. [yeah, that was hard. I'm a dork. As we all know.]
2:03 p.m.: Arrive at public library, 30 feet from elementary school, figure out how to put top down on the Mini named Mim; realize it's too fucking hot for the top to be down, and that I wasted $2/hour on a fancy-pants car when all I really want is a/c.
2:04 p.m.: See E, call her to the car.
2:07 p.m.: Get home, call store to see if shirts are in; make list of items to purchase for tomorrow's bday party.
2:14 p.m.: Leave house.
2:30 p.m.: Arrive at Target, realizing that I have eaten nothing but 2 golf-ball sized nectarines and 20 cherries all day. Realize that I have a headache. Realize that I may pass out.
2:45 p.m. Call other mom who's doing this bday party; run choices by her; get new assignments of things to purchase.
2:55 p.m.: Tell E "sure, go ahead and grab a bag of Peanut M&M's"
3:15 p.m.: Get back in car, having all necessary items (except plain M&Ms, meant for the party, but Target ran out, b/c M&Ms were "buy one get one free"), decide to take E to an art store to get a bday gift for her friend's party which is on Sunday, and to stop at Starbucks for a caffeine-free Frappucino for her, and a venti icey non-fat sugar-less coffee for me.
3:25 p.m.: Realize that I'd eaten entirely too many peanut M&Ms.
3:45 p.m.: Feel a sense of pride at speedy errands as I checked out at the art store and wondered if there's still time for a Stop & Shop run to get ingredients for cookies which I Promised 9 year old's I'd make with them tonight during sleep over extravaganza.
4:15 p.m.: Arrive at home; drop off Target bags and E; look up cookie recipes; make list.
4:30 p.m.: Drop off Zipcar; walk to Stop & Shop; call dr.'s office on the way to make appointments for girls' annual physicals.
4:50 p.m.: Call E, tell her I'm on my way home, and that she needs to do her cello practice; clean her room, and pack her overnight bag so I can drop her off at her friend's house on my way to meet J at soccer where J will be dropped off after acting class, because I need to bring J her cleats, etc.
4:53 p.m.: Receive phone call from E's friend's mom [potential new friend] who wants to "stop by" b/c she's driving past the house and she'll just wait for E while E packs bag. I freak out, tell Potential New Friend that my home is not fit for Human Viewing, and that she cannot come to my house, that I will bring E to her .... later. Potential New Friend informs me that i am, in fact, a freak, and now she wants to be my friend even more. he he he.
5:00 p.m.: Arrive home, scurry around the house picking up, putting away eggs [yes, in that order], coaching E through cello practice; making phone calls re: thunder and lightning and their potential effect on soccer practice and alternate plans for J, who can't be dropped off at home while I'm dropping off E.
5:20 p.m.: Leave house with E.
5:30 p.m.: Arrive at Potential New Friend's House. She pours me a glass of wine. I sit. After sitting for literally 4 minutes, cell phone rings with Alternate Plan Mom [also co-bday party mom] saying, "Can I bring the 9 year olds to your house now?" I somehow put her off for "ten minutes"
5:45 p.m.: Finally leave New Friend's house; practically jog (still in pretty new smaller skirt) to my own house, calling Other Mom saying, "okay!! Bring them over now!" Just hoping that I'll get there before her so I don't have to tell her that I chose to sit and have a glass of wine instead of meeting her at my house 15 minutes ago.
6:00 p.m.: 9 year olds get dropped off. I clean a little, e-mail a little, sweat a little, smell a little cigarette smoke, usher 9 year olds and their damned recorders into the bedroom and close the door, and eventually kick them outside once thunder and lightning are gone and sun is back so they can kick the soccer ball.
6:15 p.m. I write this post.

I still have to do a lot. Beloved's at the store (after work) getting stuff for veggie nachos (veggie in honor of our Kosher 9 year old friend, b/c she can't have the meat and cheese together, and I'd rather give up the meat than the cheese ... although I'd also like meat. I guess Beloved could have cooked it up separate, and just sprinkled it on MY nachos. Damn. I wonder if he'll think of that? This is the kind of thing that he always thinks of. I sit here thinking, "oh, too bad I didn't tell him that," and then he comes home with the same thing in mind, and I gush over how wonderful he is, and how we were clearly made for each other, and that he is truly my soul mate, b/c he read my mind, and made my life perfect.)

I have to make cookies. And I have to make a play list. And I wish I saved this cute new skirt for tomorrow at the party ... but I did not.

Uh, Blogger's having an outage in 2 minutes. I better publish this, and go clean more.

Labels: *E*, *J*, bar exam, bar prep, beloved, birthdays, chaos, friends, housework, parenting, rain, soccer, studies, weather, weekends, whining, zipcar, Zuska the Dork

posted by Zuska @ 6:26 PM 3 comments

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Nothing so pretty as dark storm clouds

There's a thunderstorm brewing. It's very pretty to see as it's moving toward us. Beloved is likely less amused, as he's pedaling up toward Whole Foods hoping he can shop faster than thunder and lightning can travel. I was just outside chatting with a friend coming to pick up one of his kids and one of mine, and noticed that the temp felt at least 15 degrees cooler than 30 minutes previous, when I was running around the reservoir. Mmmm. Summer-time weather. Hot and sunny one minute and chilled and dark the next.

Feels like a crazy day, but is really just another typical weekend day with girls the ages of mine with vibrant social lives. J was supposed to have soccer this a.m., but it was thankfully canceled due to saturated fields. Thankfully because without thinking, I'd invited a friend over straight after, and the house (especially the girls' room, which is their job) needed some attention. I was up at 7 to check on the fields, and then laid into the kitchen. Man, I went nuts. I scrubbed and threw away and cleared surfaces and drawers that hadn't been cleared in [forever]. I'm proud of my work. I now need to venture to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get a couple of last organizational tools -- a silverware organizer for the drawer that used to be the "junk drawer;" some bins [I love bins] for on top of the fridge, to collect take-out menus (my best friends) and other odds and ends that accumulate (since I no longer have a junk drawer) - which I will promise to put away each time the bin fills (Beloved is snarfing at me as he reads this, I guarantee it). Stuff like that.

Friends came by while this was going on, caught me up on some of what I missed at a party last night,* dropped off their kid, and impulsively took one of mine. I then finished my cleaning and organizing while the younger girls played and Beloved .... I don't know what he did. But then Beloved and I took the girls for a walk - got them some lunch, got me some coffee, and then went to the bank because Beloved and I decided to take a major step and open a joint bank account!!! We had a long-ish wait, so we took the girls to a very fun game and puzzle store in town. They were excellent everywhere.

Then Beloved and I shoved them out to the park and we went hunting for plane tickets to Europe. Ugh. Things aren't so great in that department, but they'll be fine. We'll just have to come home with fewer goodies.

Then I went for a run, and when I got back, the girls were picked up and Beloved went to the store, and I'm home alone! How fun! I actually have to go and write a 1-2 page memo to go with my IP assignment. It's due Monday. I can't blow it off like I've blown off outlining, which is really not officially due ever.

*This was an entire post that I wrote out last night. It touched on how I feel overwhelmed when confronted with the possibility of changing plans, and it discussed the reasons why I chose to stay home from this particular party, and the reasons why it was important to me that I stick to my reasons ... I don't think I articulated in that lost post that I was also quite honored that 2 friends were really unhappy to hear I wasn't going, and tried to change my mind ... but I was also overwhelmed. It was a good post, and I liked it. But as I was looking for a reference link, Firefox just kind of :::::: poof :::::::: disappeared on me. And I lost the whole post. I thought later perhaps that was good, because the post also had some bitterness in it, bitterness about my itty bitty apartment, and some honesty as to the jealousy that I feel toward those who have magazine-worthy homes. And that bitterness is lost now. But so is some fun dreaming about my future laundry room and my future in-home office.

Labels: friends, kids, law school, life, weather, weekends

posted by Zuska @ 4:37 PM 0 comments

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Spring is in the air! Yeah!

I may have a sunburn on my face. I feel like I do.

It's 75 degrees!!

I woke in time to go to the gym, but turned that down in favor of running around the lake - it was too nice out to go inside to get my exercise. It was so crowded at the lake, it was almost hard to run.

E started softball today, and J missed her first day of soccer yesterday, but will start Friday. I spent a good portion of the day driving around in the nice weather, and then sitting at the softball field while the 4th and 5th graders tried to find their softball grooves again.

We let Chessie out today, too. I let him out this a.m. -- first time since October, I believe -- and he showed up at the window approx. 10 minutes later, meowing and shaking. He went back out a few more times throughout the day, and now seems to be back to his old self.

It's supposed to stay nice tomorrow - even to hit 83! Wow. Fortunately I'm riding my bike early enough in the a.m., and late enough in the p.m., that I won't be riding while it's 83. I don't like riding when it's 83. I don't mind that it is going to be 83, though.

By the end of the week, it's supposed to be back to the low 50's. I don't want it to do that. I want it to stay warm. I prefer the high 60's and low 70's.

Labels: softball, weather, weekends

posted by Zuska @ 6:40 PM 0 comments

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Sun and Sushi

We've had miserable weather here in New England, probably for a week now. Everyone knows about the Nor'easter that parked itself in our sky, mucking with the marathon, and resulting in a 1 week tax reprieve, right? It was just so gloomy and windy and cold. It certainly didn't feel like April.

Today, however, things are on the mend. It was still sprinkling this a.m., but I bravely said, "fuck it!" and rode my bike to school anyway (first time all week), and didn't even put on rain pants. I was barely damp upon arrival at school, so I wasn't regretful.

When I got out of the gym at noon, however, the sun! It was blinding me! My eyes were not used to such bright and natural light! I went in frantic search for sunglasses as I smiled about how grateful I was that I rode the bike today. If I was on a stinky groaning BUS in this weather, I would have been pissed off!

As of right now, the weathermen are telling us that we're going to have high 70s early next week. Wow.

I'm going out with friends tonight. I feel so ... real. Like a real person. I have friends. We go out. Different friends, even, from those who I pahtied with on Saturday (and how). Spending years moving and moving and divorcing and moving while raising young children wasn't so conducive to making friends. Life feels better this way.

One of my friends asked a couple of us if we were free on Tuesday eve, but I really just wasn't. Beloved and I had plans .... we were getting Shawarmas! And I had a lot of IP reading to do. And it was wet, and cold, and snotty out. I also was waiting to hear if my bar loan application was going to go through, and feeling a little pinched in the wallet. So I said, "no, but can we do Thursday?" And it looks like it's working out.

I love sushi.

Labels: friends, weather

posted by Zuska @ 3:04 PM 0 comments

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Yesterday

I had a very full day yesterday. There was kid drama, ex drama, ex-in-law NONdrama (although I still have things to complain about), and then fun drama in the form of laughter, stories, and a few tears at a friend's bday party, at which I had a LOT to drink (but less than others), and had a really good time.

I wanted to post about the kid drama. I was writing the post in my head yesterday as I was driving home from my parents' house. But now I don't feel like it. It feels like it's in the past, and I am slightly hung over, and I have taxes to do, and a bar application to complete and school work to read --- perhaps even IP to outline.

It's awful outside, and Beloved and I are cozy inside, each at our computers in separate rooms, but circling around each other now and then to share bits and pieces of thoughts and things we read that we think the other will find interesting. It's peaceful, and nice.

Labels: weather, weekends

posted by Zuska @ 3:24 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

stranded

whimper whimper moan moan.

i don't feel good.

it hit me during my first class this a.m. i have chills, and i am hot, and i am nauseous, and i am dizzy.

and i'm on my bike.

i don't feel like riding home. i feel like just going to sleep. here. on the computer lab floor.

i'm waiting to see if it passes, and wondering if i should attempt the gym.

i would say --- not bloody likely --- not today.

we're getting a snow storm on thursday.

it's mid-april.

i remember, living in new england in previous years, that we often got our last push of snow during spring break, which was always around my brother's birthday, which is March 12th.

hello? mid-april?

and i skipped my morning class last thursday due to bad weather, and i really can't do it again. which means i need to wake super-early and get on the damned bus or train at 7 fucking o'clock in the morning.

i hate that.

i think i'm gonna go home. and read for tomorrow, and rest.

then i have to go to the grocery store. if i still feel like this - i'll be taking the bus there. i am making a greek salad for dinner. oh, the effort - it may kill me [sarcasm]. i plan to buy grilled chicken breasts from the prepared food section of whole foods.

yes, i am just that pathetic. and those plans were made before i got hit with whatever ails me.

Labels: food, health, weather

posted by Zuska @ 10:22 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Synchronization

I think it's working out really well that my serious endeavor to get in shape coincides with my last quarter of school. What? Another 10 minutes of this funky treadclimber machine may eat into my reading time for International Law? Huh. Sounds good!

It also works out with the spring-time at the girls' school and with their extra-curriculars and such.

Senioritis is FUN!

Today I get to leave school early so that I can take J out to buy props for a speech she has to give on Thursday. There was a day, probably both 1 and 2 years ago, where this would stress me out to no end, and I would consider leaving money for the babysitter to take her in the afternoon. Today there is no stress involved!! None!

I was a little nervous walking into my early morning class this a.m., because I went to bed at 10:30 last night - instead of reading 30 pages of anti-terrorism statutes. I thought I'd be okay, since last class it was my job to "play the government" in the debates during class. I thought the professor would let me squeak by as a quiet little mouse today. No such luck. But we're behind, so the stuff he was asking about was the stuff I uber-prepared for last time, thinking I'd be called on to argue the government's position. Today, I got to be the ACLU instead of the government, and I enjoyed the discussion much more from that vantage point.

Final piece of cheeriness for the day (well, other than the fact that the sky is blue and it's in the 60s outside, and I'm next to an open window at the library) --- the scale at the gym finally got a clue that I'm really working out a LOT and deserve to see results. Stingy thing that it is - it's finally showing some movement.

Labels: exercise, kids, law school, weather

posted by Zuska @ 12:00 PM 0 comments

Monday, March 19, 2007

Imagine what they could do if winter were year round?

We have had little to no "plowable snow" this year.

In the Boston area, this brings frowns and grumbles - NOT sighs of relief, as those in sunnier climates presume. Somehow, those in Florida and California assume that we're just miserable over the fact that beautifully unique and fluffy whiteness comes down from the sky in the winter here. We're not. People who live in Boston have as much of the ability to move to milder climates as those who find themselves in the boiling infernos that I would hate to live in.

We live here because we like it. Perhaps some people are the other way around - they like it because they live here. I've been both. I liked it when I lived here as a kid, and while there were things about the SF Bay area's weather that I learned to enjoy (after about a year of depression over the lack of REAL seasons), I moved back to New England because I like it.

I like snow. It is fun. I like the cold. I find it 1000x more invigorating than I find the heat. The heat makes me want to melt into a puddle and cry - the snow and cold makes me want to pick up the pace and spin in circles and laugh.

So I, like thousands of others, have been sad about this snowless winter.

What's odd is that the winter of no snow turned the entire region into snow-ignorami. We had a "storm" on Valentine's Day, which mostly produced freezing spit from the sky all day. Then rain. A few times, the rain drops turned a little while, but mostly - it was rain. When I went home that evening, I was up to my mid-calf in puddles of slushy water. It was horrendous.

not as horrendous as what that evenings' flash-freeze did to the roads, sidewalks and cars the next day though. Everything turned to ice. Very hard ice.

There was a LOT of complaining.

In my town, we have a law. Which is legally enforced by the issuing of tickets: property owners must keep their sidewalks clear of snow and ice. I think they have 12 hours? 6 hours? after precipitation ends, before they can be ticketed for not clearing the walk.

This law is relatively important in an urban area. I didn't realize this when I lived in a rural area. I was used to waking up on a snowy a.m., and having the plows go by on the ROAD, which was all I really needed, because if I wanted to go somewhere, I had to drive. In my car. My dad always shoveled a sidewalk in our yard to our front door, but if he didn't, it didn't really matter. We would just go straight in through the garage to the house. No big deal.

Here, however, people walk. People walk to the bus stop, they walk to the T, they walk to the library, they walk to work, they walk with their kids to their kids' school, they walk to their kids' preschools (usually with STROLLERS!), they walk to the grocery store. This walking happens on ... you guessed - sidewalks!

On February 15, it was very hard to get around my smaller city which borders the urban giant known as Boston. driveways, sidewalks, parks pathways (which we have several of -- some with stairs, some not), T stops --- everything was ICE. Some sidewalks were icy on a lower level than others - like people had tried, but still - ice.

I was kinda pissed, b/c it seemed like most people did NOT try. Not at all. It's irritating when you can't get around town because other people do not follow the rules of the community.

But then I started to pay attention to a "discussion" being carried out in our town's newspaper. Homeowners were PISSED OFF. Why? Because they claimed they HAD cleared their walks. They cleared their walks and worked hard right up until collapsing into bed at 11 p.m. to keep their walks clear. But at 11:05 or 11:10 p.m., the town plow truck came by, and dumped more slushy water onto their walks, which then froze 100% solid during the 3 degree night, so that when the residents woke up in the a.m., their walks were solid 8" sheets of ice.

Which was ticket-able.

I sort of didn't blame them for being pissed. Seemed kinda shitty.

This past Friday, it snowed again. Then the snow switched over to ice. Then a little rain came. Then the temperatures plummeted again.

The park behind our apartment building is a sheet of ice. E and I made the mistake of walking across it after her cello lesson on Sunday. It was treacherous.

On the way to her cello lesson, we didn't make that mistake.

We walked on the sidewalk.

The perfectly clear sidewalk.

And up the path.

The perfectly clear path.

Later in the day, as I was walking the girls to various friends' houses, I saw a little mini-plow working on the snow piles - it was taking the snow from the street, and very carefully stacking it on TOP of the snow pile that already existed. This was precision work, I tell you - precision.

There was a town truck with it's lights on, escorting the mini plow.

I started to pay attention and found that on the sidewalks all the main(ish) (in addition to the wealthier) roads, the treadmarks of the mini-plow were evident.

The town seems to be trying to solve the problem.

I was very very grateful for this during my commute this morning - since it's still cold enough for ice, and for snow - and I was 100% unwilling to donate 1.5 hours of my day to a ride on the bus or the T when my bike would get me here in 20 minutes. It was very interesting to see the very very clean lines of snow - the meticulous piles on the shoulders of the roads, and the very clear sidewalks.

If only the town had more time to hone its skills this year, it could have been a great winter.

Labels: bicycle, city life, weather

posted by Zuska @ 3:35 PM 0 comments

Friday, March 16, 2007

Snow Day?

No bike for me today! We're due to get 9 inches of snow! Let's see if for once this winter, the weather man is telling the truth. They said the "heavy snow" would start by 9 a.m., but it's 8:37, and not a flake.

I'm heading to school on the T to work out at the gym, and perhaps read some books, perhaps just fetch some books. If the snow materializes, I'll pick up the girls at around 3 p.m., and let them frolick in the park. If it doesn't-- I guess I'll just do school work. God knows there's enough of it. I may just bring the books home, though (even though I HATE carrying books around) - because if it is snowy, and there's a chance that the girls' school will close early, I will be anxious, and checking my home voice mail every 3 seconds. This compuslive behavior is not conducive to reading about International Law or Intellectual Property. Nosiree.

I'm looking forward to a slow weekend - we have NOTHING planned! God, that sounds like heaven! Tonight is movie night with the kidlets and tomorrow is sweet, sweet sleep until at least 9:30 a.m. The weather is going to suck tomorrow (a large dose of rain to wash away any snow we may get, of course), so I'm staying in. Reading and resting.

Labels: weather

posted by Zuska @ 8:36 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

off to play practice ....

and then cello practice with E. Then home to do laundry and, of course, watch American Idol. As I've said, this is my first year watching the show, and tonight's the first night where the boys and girls are combined, so I'm kind of excited to see what that looks like.

I'm still spending time looking for corners of time to a) get ahead with my reading so I'm not constantly desperately treading water; and b) fill out an application for a bar loan. I want to buy tickets to Europe, damnit!!

Also - today is gorgeous out. I rode my bike home with only one layer of my 2-layer winter coat on, and wished I'd left that at school. It is soooo pretty.

Tomorrow's going to be 66!! 66!!!

Labels: life, weather

posted by Zuska @ 1:52 PM 0 comments

Friday, March 02, 2007

My last day off

And I feel sick. Doesn't it figure? The sore throat hit at approximately 9:30 last night, as I was making muffins for J.'s family breakfast this morning. I muddled through the evening, and Beloved and I had some fun (yee ha!), but I woke up with pain in my throat several times in the night, and now my nose is stuffed up and I'm achy -- in my head and muscles.

not to mention, I have cramps. Of the menstrual variety.

I'm also rather beastly today - grumpy doesn't even begin to describe my attitude.

I feel bad because I made E. go to an extra-curricular thing she does in the morning - it's math-based, and she's done it all year. It starts at 7:30 (school starts at 8), which is the same time J.'s family breakfast started. E. really wanted to come to the breakfast, and I told her no - that she had a commitment to honor, and that she didn't need to be at the breakfast.

Then, at the breakfast, several of her friends were there (siblings of other kids in J.'s class) and were asking for her. At least one of them, I know, skipped the same extra curricular activity to be at the breakfast.

I felt like an ogre.

___________________

I was going to go to school today. I still haven't bought my books, because I still haven't solidified my schedule. So I was going to go to the library and look at the reserve copies to read my first assignments for Monday and Tuesday.

But now I don't feel good.

And these cramps ... I sort of wasn't prepared for that - and needed to go home.

It's also disgusting outside, and I was not about to go home, and then go back out. It's freezing cold and rainy. I didn't bring gloves, because it was supposed to be near 40, but the hand that was holding the umbrella fell off on the way home from frostbite.

So I'm home. And still grouchy.

I'll do the reading (or skimming) before class on Monday -- my first one is at noon. So I'll have time.

____________________________

An example of my grouchiness:

At the girls' school's auction last month, Beloved and I won a quilt made by J's class. We were bidding against at least one other parent in the class, but we won ($180 later). It is a beautiful quilt - they did a fantastic job. Each kid made a square, and then the teacher and a very talented mom sewed it together - the colors are vibrant, and it's really well made.

Earlier this week, J's teacher e-mailed Beloved and asked him if he could bring the item to the classroom for the breakfast so other families could see it, and so the room parent could take some photos so everyone could have a copy. He happily complied.

While we were there, a room parent (who I know and like!) approached me and said she forgot her camera. She asked that I let the quilt stay in the classroom all day, and then she'd bring her camera in the afternoon and take a picture at pick-up, and then J. could just bring it home with her.

I was so irritated.

I didn't want to leave my $180 quilt in the classroom all day. This was stupid of me. The thing hung in the classroom for at least a week before it was brought to the auction - what did I think the kids were going to do? Have a paintball game in the middle of the day? Have a sudden Norovirus outbreak, and projectile vomit all over the thing? I mean, really.
I didn't want my $180 quilt stuffed in J's backpack. She has like, markers and stuff. They could leak on it. She has knitting needles. They could poke a hole through it. She's prone to dropping and losing things. This was not stupid of me. However - I am picking J. and a friend up today, and so I told this person - "okay, but I will meet you in the classroom at 2, and I will bring it home then" But I was still irritated, because ...
I am bringing J and a friend home today right after school for a play date. If I have to wait for this person to get to the classroom, and then to take pictures, and then for polite chit-chat, then I'm never going to get home, and the girls don't have that much time together and I DO NOT FEEL GOOD!!!

Really, this was all stupid of me. It's not like me. I am a nice person. I love to help out, and I love to accommodate others. I like this woman - she is a kind, helpful, giving, unselfish person. I just hope she couldn't detect my crabbiness ... but I think she probably could. I didn't feel good, and I was 1/2 asleep, and my smiley face had somehow been left at home.

___________________________

Beloved and I decided to go out to breakfast after we left the breakfast. We decided it before we ate in the classroom and therefore did not eat in the classroom. We were 2/3s of the way to his work, and he was going to have over an hour to kill, and when he suggested we go and find some eggs (as opposed to bagels dumped out of a bag and about 700 other types of starch), I was game. It also meant coffee that didn't come from a box.

We went to a local Turkish restaurant which is really very yummy and serves breakfast all day. We know someone who is Turkish who ate there when in town, and she said it is absolutely authentic, and very good. Now I like it even better.

Yet, eggs are eggs. I got a cheese and onion omelet, and it was great. But just after I ate 1/2, all my food felt like a rock in my stomach (because have I mentioned? I don't feel good!) That was when Beloved and I discussed the day and he convinced me that me, my mopy-ness and grumpy-ness were better off at home than at school.

I didn't drink my coffee, either. Wanna know why? I ruined it. Since January, I've been on a "healthy eating" kick, and one aspect of that is a major cutback on sugar - including in coffee. I went from drinking peppermint mochas (god, the amount of calories in those things!) to plain old lattes with no syrups or sugars of any kind. Sometimes I drink regular drip coffee - again, with no sugar. I'm also absolutely opposed to fake sugar. I'd rather the calories than cancer, thankyouverymuch.

For some reason, this morning, I got my coffee, and went looking for sugar. Out of an old habit, I guess ... which is weird, because I thought the habit was gone. I suppose this is the first time I've sat at a table in a restaurant with a cup of coffee since I stopped using sugar ....

I found some sugar, and poured it in -- really poured it in. As I was watching the white stream I thought, "huh, that's a lot of sugar - CRAP!" I tried to drink it, but I couldn't. It was too sweet. It didn't even taste like coffee to me.

I see this as a victory. As a permanent change to a healthier Zuska. I am no longer depriving myself by not having sugar in my coffee. It is now just the way I like it.

After we left the breakfast place, I went to the bank to deposit my child support check, and then I went to Starbucks and got me my no-sugar-added latte. Mmmm.

Labels: health, kids, vacation, weather

posted by Zuska @ 9:44 AM 0 comments

Monday, February 26, 2007

No Surprises, No Real Disappointments

Beloved and I watched the entire Oscar show. Red carpet through to the final credits. Man, I'm tired. And we have to get the girls out the door by 7:45 in the morning! Too bad we aren't still on the west coast, where it's 9:24 p.m. right now, not 12:24.

Yeah for Al Gore!!! His little joke when he was on the stage with Leo was so cute, where he pretending that he was making an announcement (that he'd run for President), and then the "end of speech" music played before he could get it out. So cute.

I hope to hear a real announcement soon.

I am so happy that Helen Mirren won for The Queen. I enjoyed Departed enough, and the cast was fantastic enough, that I am not upset at all that it took best picture.

I was a little sad that Pan's Labrynth didn't get Foreign Language Film, but it got two others, and I have heard a lot about how excellent The Lives of Others is, and can't wait to see it.

I think my biggest disappointment would have been if the little girl in Little Miss Sunshine won - mostly because of the fact that almost *every* clip of her acting that is played is her scream. I can scream. My kids can scream. I don't think a scream makes for an Oscar.

I also would have been very disappointed if Devil Wears Prada won anything. Meryl Streep should have been ashamed. Stupid movie.

I hope that in the coming year I will find more opportunities to watch movies throughout the year, rather than smooshing all of my viewings into a 1 month period.

Now we're staying up to try and get an idea of what's going on with the weather. Flights are already canceled in New York, but we're hearing that we're not getting even an inch. Shitty winter.

Labels: movies, weather

posted by Zuska @ 12:23 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Forty-Seven

I ran my errands across downtown Boston to return a file to the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency ... what a good day for that! It was so warm outside! I didn't have on gloves, or a hat, or a scarf, or anything.

I even unbuttoned my coat on the way back.

47 degrees, they say. Huh.

The only downside was that a lot of roofs had water dripping off them to such an extent that it felt like rain. But who cares.

We have a chance of snowish rainish muck again tonight - our weather of the year. We have another opportunity for muck on Thursday. Yet, there are no ridiculously frigid temperatures in the near future.

ALSO --- I said no to an attorney today. He was someone I had never worked for before, so I really don't know how he took it. I'd already gotten a 3:30 phone call with a "please do this today" request, and his came at 4:15 to say "I need this in an hour." I could have called the other attorney and weighed the priorities, but if I do hers in the morning, then my other schedule is all fucked up (remember? the one about the BIG project?), and then I won't get done before I leave.

So I said no.

Labels: co-op, weather

posted by Zuska @ 4:43 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Fizzle - again

This winter sucks. So did last winter.

We were supposed to get up to a FOOT of snow today - a foot! I brought work home! The girls had hopes for a day off from school! [actually, only E. was hopeful, J. didn't want the day off, she wanted to go.]

The snow started before Beloved and I fell asleep last night. It was so pretty, it was tempting to stay up and just watch the snow.

This morning, though, a look out the window showed me less than 3 inches on the ground. WTF?

Of course, there was school. So I trudged into work - intermittently being surrounding by floating white flakes and being pelted in the face with tiny shards of ice.

The ice and then rain will continue all day. No effing snow until 8 p.m., and I think even then, it won't be more than an inch or two.

This sucks! I want a storm! I want a blizzard!

I'm moving to Oswego, NY.

Labels: weather

posted by Zuska @ 9:55 AM 0 comments

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Snow!!

Finally, we have a patch of snow. It isn't supposed to accumulate even to 1/2 inch, but right now, as it's coming from the sky - it's very pretty.

I had told the girls they had a reprieve from chores and room cleaning until 2 p.m., so they could enjoy their Saturday - but now that it's snowing, I extended their reprieve until whatever time they get sick of the snow. They're going to go to the park and run around in the flakes.

They're very happy about this. Through the coughs and the sore neck and the questions as to whether we'll get our friends' bug. Happiness prevails.

I think this has been a good week.

Labels: holidays, kids, weather

posted by Zuska @ 1:43 PM 0 comments

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Jealous of Denver

Man, this morning, our weather girl (I like to call her Barbie) was talking about the fact that since 1857, there have only been TWELVE years that the Boston area had less than 1/2 inch of snow - like this year thus far. And out of those TWELVE years, 10 of them had less than average snowfall for the entire year.

I was really, really bummed about that.

Then I'm forced to read about stuff like THIS, and I get even MORE bummed.

I just think it would be so fun for Boston to shut down b/c of a GIGANTIC blizzard.

Instead, we keep getting highs in the 50s, and lots of nasty SUN.

Christmas-wrecker, the weather is.

Labels: weather

posted by Zuska @ 1:15 PM 1 comments

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