"Updates"

Haven't posted anything in awhile, been so busy with school. Never knew Summer Session was a bad idea for one class, let alone two classes. 6 more weeks!

Matt and I went to Jim Thorpe on Fathers' Day weekend and left the girls with his parents, we had a great time just "being". We could nap (!), eat, shop and do whatever when we wanted. Nice change of pace. I absolutely love Jim Thorpe, been there many times, but this was Matt's first trip. I think he liked it overall. The art galleries and outdoor activities were more his speed than the cutesy shopping :)

New restaurant that I highly recommend is "Moya", it is on Race Street, across the alley from the Bell Tower. Don't believe all the silly on-line reviews, the food was good (maybe a tad underseasoned were the short ribs), plentiful and the service was outstanding!

Working on studying for a Bio test for Monday night that covers 5 chapters; I think things will calm down a bit after that; it is a large chunk of info. Thank god I am not taking a writing course currently as I just used 2 semicolons in one sentence. Kurt Vonnegut said something about semicolons which was “If you really want to hurt your parents, and you don’t have the nerve to be a homosexual, the least you can do is go into the arts. But do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites, standing for absolutely nothing. All they do is show you’ve been to college.”

Ciao, for now...

"First Day"

I am not sure if it is community college or all colleges, but I have turned into one of those "in MY day" people. The girl sitting behind me in bio class was on the verge of tears because she didn't know what glucose or an enzyme was. There were several kids in my algebra class who were taking the class for the 2nd or 3rd times.

They all text throughout class, they were surprised there were lessons on the first day of classes.

It was interesting. More to follow, I am sure...

"Changes"

Tomorrow my girls will be ending 4th and 2nd grades; where did the time go?

I will be starting school for myself on Monday. Kids think it is a riot that anyone would intentionally go to school during the Summer AND pay for it.

I still need to bake a cake (while they are at school tomorrow) so they have a snack and a "Happy Last Day of School" cake.

Yes, even I can be sappy.

"I Have the Right to Type"

The beauty of the internet, the printed word, television and other forms of media is you can choose what to read or watch or listen to; if you don't like it, don't tune in.

Apparently there is some confusion as to why my neighbors hate me.

The ladies went on a camping trip 4 years ago. We got drunk. We told each other things about our lives and swore we wouldn't say a thing to anyone about what was said.

When we got back from the trip, one of the husbands saw me and asked, "What do you talk about all weekend - us men?". "Ha ha", I replied, "yeah, you know how we girls get when we are together."

From that has come forth a SHITSTORM of people not speaking to me, looking the other way when I come outside and saying nasty things behind my back.

I am so fucking sick of it. Get over yourselves.

"Room to Breathe"

Monday morning was the last birth I will be attending as a labor doula for awhile. This birth started on a Saturday and I didn't get home until Monday morning. I have been a doula for 10 years now and while I love my work, I have been in need of a change for awhile. Doula work in challenging and rewarding, but it can take its toll. This June I will be going back to school to start my RN degree.

I won't be on call 24/7; waiting anxiously for dinner to be interrupted or fearing missing a call if I sleep too deeply. I will have a set class schedule and the freedom to play with my children and have a normal social life again. We have a trip to Dorney Park planned and birthday parties and library days.

There are so many things I want to do, I fear I may get over-zealous and fill my calendar like a kid in a candy store.

What a worry to have :)

I will still be teaching private childbirth education classes and give advice and refer families to doulas who are good and kind and competent. I will also be studying hard and passing my classes.

I will also be partying my ass off :)

"Another Unlovely Day in My Neighborhood"

After almost 7 years of living here, and 4 of them being tortured by my neighbors, we have finally come to the choice of moving. We have met with the broker and Realtor and we are on the hunt for new digs. Where? Who knows. As far away from this hell hole as possible.

It was one thing when the adults were acting like assholes to me, but now my kids are suffering. Being sent home and crying because the "grown ups" are telling them they can't play at so and so's house. I can't take that shit. Plus, the asshole up the street who refuses to see how horrible her children are is totally ignoring the fact one of her kids dug into the side panel of my car (my driveway is the bus stop) with a stick and has caused permanent damage.

It is hard to move when you have 4 kids, 2 of whom have IEPs. You have to carefully consider the school districts, break it to them and explain over and over the dogs are coming, all the toys are coming, etc. Yeah, I have held my ground for 4 stinking years, but now they are messing with my babies. And my fly minivan.

"Panning Sampan"

From the outside, Sampan looks like the coolest Asian-fusion type restaurant on South 13th Street, near El Vez. The interlocked, woven, wooden beams (almost looking like a flattened bird's nest) on the exterior and smoky windows beckons a certain elegance to the block.

Then, you order the food. They make it to be a sort of "tapas-Asian" menu. We ordered two "hot" plates and two "cold". The rabbit dumplings with the bacon and spring peas sounded like heaven but all we could taste was salt. It was not from the bacon, which we sampled separately, it was the scallion reduction sauce the poor bunny buns were swimming in. Our other "hot" selection, Korean BBQ beef rib did not disappoint; very tender short ribs with some mild Kim-Che-esq topping/garnish was a great improvement over the dumplings. Next off of the menu came something simply called "Tuna"; it ended up being quarter inch cubes of raw tuna and avocado and some Indian flat bread. It was all topped off with crispy bits of deep fried rice, which just reminded me of Rice Krispies.

I do not mind paying a certain amount of money for good food, even if it is done up pretentiously. But the salt with every entree; mixed in, on the side in 4 or 5 shades of pink and white and black and the utter indifference of the staff was laughable.

Sampan is on a main street in Philly's "Gayborhood" and all the waitress could do was "apologize" for the surroundings. (this, mind you, was without prompting from us) Granted, we were at a table right next to the Sansom Street Theater (if you don't know, don't ask) but who is she to know what kind of people we were?

Thank god a friend saw us sitting outside at our table (it was a beautiful day) and she joined us at our 3rd pitcher of water.

CapoGiro's avocado gelato (yes, a menu suggestion I trusted), made it all better.