February 17, 2008
Posted in daughter, dusty, husband
at 9:12 pm
by April
Well, it has been so long, hasn’t it? I know you must be pretty pissed at me, Internets. But I have been really busy, you see…
I gots this new job, and my husband went back to school, and then my kid started school for the first time.
I had no intention of ignoring you, but… oh fuck it. Let’s just go straight to some pictures of my new puppy. You can’t be mad at me looking at pictures of a fluffy puppy.
This is Dusty. He is 8 weeks old and we think he is a shepard/retriever/pancake mix.
We have delayed getting a dog for a long time. The primary reason is that we have not had a fence for our backyard until about 5 days ago, which Husband built very well.
Daughter went to her friend’s birthday party yesterday. With three hours to work, Husband and I planned to hit up the local animal shelters to find us a dog. Our search concluded at the first animal shelter we went to, the main Charleston shelter on Leeds Avenue.
The first dog we looked at was a skinny, long-legged thing, and she really didn’t seem to give a damn that we were interested in saving her from death. She completely ignored us, not even approaching us when we offered to let her smell our butts.
NEXT!
In the last cage were three puppies: two girls and a boy. The volunteer who was helping us let us know that the girls were spoken for, but we could take a look at the boy. I picked him up, and that was pretty much it. As soon as he laid his little head on my shoulder, I was sold. Husband smirked at me for being such a tender-hearted wuss.
During our previous discussion about getting a dog we had made Daughter understand we needed a fence before we could get one. At that time, we had also discussed doggy names. Daughter held firm to her stipulations that we get her a girl dog and that she wanted to name her Belle. Or Ariel. Or Jasmine. Or Sleeping Beauty.
We brought the puppy home to Daughter and she was only 50% thrilled when she learned that he was male. I asked her what she wanted to name him because “Belle” wasn’t a name for boy dogs.
“Spider-man?”
Dusty, you are lucky I’m sticking up for you.
More pictures of the boy are in my Flickr stream to the right.
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August 24, 2007
Posted in parents
at 8:15 am
by April
Maybe I am what she always wanted,
my father as a woman,
maybe I am what she wanted to be
when she first saw him, tall and smart,
standing there in the college yard with the
hard male light of 1937
shining on his black hair. She wanted that
power. She wanted that size. She pulled and
pulled through him as if he were dark
bourbon taffy, she pulled and pulled and
through his body until she pulled me out,
rubbery and gleaming, her life after her life.
Maybe I am the way I am
because she wanted exactly that,
wanted there to be a woman
a lot like her, but who would not hold back, so she
pressed herself hard against him,
pressed and pressed the clear soft
ball of herself like a stick of beaten cream
against his stained sour steel grater
until I came out the other side of his body,
a big woman, stained, sour, sharp,
but with milk at the center of my nature.
I lie here now as I once lay
in the crook of her arm, her creature,
and I feel her looking down into me the way the
maker of a sword gazes at his face in the
steel of the blade.
Sharon Olds, The Gold Cell
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June 26, 2007
Posted in death, rant
at 9:03 pm
by April
Yesterday, news reports stated that WWE wrestler Chris Benoit and his family were found slain in their suburban Atlanta home. In response, WWE cancelled their regularly scheduled programming (a “funeral” for their “murdered” chairman Mr. Vince McMahon, a storyline they began two weeks ago), and aired a three hour tribute to Chris Benoit. The tribute included video of Benoit’s previous wrestling matches and images of him hugging the wife and child that he is believed to have killed.
According to the WWE, Benoit called them on Saturday night to say he could not perform due to a family emergency. Early on Sunday, people with WWE received “curious text messages” from Benoit. These messages prompted the WWE to contact authorities and request that the police check Benoit’s house. The WWE also has said that they have further information about the deaths, which the police have asked them not to release.
I have a couple of problems with all of this.
First, and obviously, the death of Benoit’s wife and 7 year old son is a tragedy. My heart goes out to their families.
I am hoping that the WWE wouldn’t have aired a tribute to him if they knew with 100% accuracy that he killed his wife and child. However, it seems clear that the WWE had reason to believe, “curious text messages,” that Benoit killed himself and his family from the moment it was announced that they were dead. Why, therefore, didn’t they wait to air a tribute to him until they knew for certain how the Benoit family died and who the culprit was?
I believe that the WWE was highly irresponsible for honoring this man so quickly when they had knowledge that the fans didn’t about what happened to their wrestler. I think that a better option would have been to air a re-run with a footer explaining that the deaths of Benoit’s family were under investigation and the McMahon “funeral” was canceled out of respect for the tragedy.
Update: The WWE has released a timeline of what they knew about Chris Benoit, including the contents of his “curious text messages.” Benoit sent five text messages and almost every text message was “My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane. Fayetteville Georgia. 30215″ or something to that effect.
I am sure that the WWE posted the timeline and information about what they knew prior to the discovery of the bodies to deflect the criticism they are receiving from people like me. However, in my case, I have to stand by my original opinion.
If someone, other than Benoit, was guilty of these crimes, wouldn’t his messages have been, “Help! My family has been murdered!,” “Nancy went berserk!” or similar? Instead, Benoit’s text messages were essentially calls for someone to come to his house and find the bodies.
Yes, I realize that this is some excellent Monday-morning quarterbacking on my part, but I can’t see how the WWE wouldn’t have been immediately suspicious that their “superstar” was involved in the death of his family. If it turned out those suspicions were in error (but they weren’t) then they could have run a tribute at a later time. As it was, they jumped the gun, and lovingly eulogized a double-murderer. I still believe they should have aired a re-run, with a message that Benoit and his family were dead and they couldn’t air the “McMahon Funeral” due to the tragedy.
Update #2: Oh, how stupid did I feel when I realized that Chris Benoit’s name is pronounce “ben-wa,” not “ben-oyt?” Quite, stupid actually. My brother used to watch wrestling all the time and I had heard of Chris Ben-wa, not Chris Ben-oyt.
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June 18, 2007
Posted in Sangaree
at 3:19 pm
by April
I received a message from Marty Richard, a commissioner of the Sangaree Special Tax District, that details exactly why our taxes will be increased and what the money will be used for.
Contrary to reports from the P&C and Live 5, Mr. Richard confirmed that the principle reason for the increase is to balance the budget after undercollecting taxes for several years.
The good news is that in the fall-out of the controversy, the commissioners are putting in place a plan to use the higher tax revenue to construct a new administration building, a fire post and new playgrounds.
While I am not a fan of higher taxes (who is?), I am very pleased that the tax district is taking a pro-active approach to governing Sangaree and adding new services that will benefit us all and raise property values.
My thanks go out to the commissioners for making lemonade out of the lemon.
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June 15, 2007
Posted in Sangaree, daughter, photos
at 3:23 pm
by April
I was on the news last night regarding the tax increase for Sangaree. The video is online now. I think the audio is broken on it because for some reason there is none. I can hear the weak-wristed Hamburgler trying to break windows, but once the story comes on… nada nada nada. If the audio works for you, please let me know and tell me what browser you are using.
Even though the audio doesn’t work, you can at least see Daughter running around like a maniac and my fantastic hair.
I’m not entirely happy with the story. I need to hear the audio to articulate precisely why, but I think it was mostly that the Tax District is spinning the tax increase to be the result of the fire station and the more expensive garbage contract. Meanwhile, they are still not telling the residents that they need bring taxes up because they were under-collecting for several years. Why is that so hard to say?
Meh…
My hair looked fabulous though…
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June 14, 2007
Posted in daughter
at 9:08 pm
by April
Husband and I have been wrestling with Daughter over one of the most common problems a parent faces: the bed-wetting. Daughter potty-trained on schedule at about 2 years old. During the daytime, she has always been a champ. She is aware of when she needs to use the potty and does so without assistance (unless I have dressed her that day in complicated clothing, like overalls or a straight jacket). However, bedtime is a different story. More often than not, in the morning she will wake up to a wet bed. Lately, the problem has escalated, and she is wetting the bed during her afternoon nap also.
Husband and I have tried all (I think) classic strategies of dealing with this:
- No drinks after 7:00 PM (her bedtime is 8:00 PM)
- Waking her up before we go to bed and taking her to the potty. (Forgetting to do this is almost a guarantee of wet sheets in the morning.)
- Avoiding shaming her for wetting the bed, or punishing her for doing so.
- Giving her lots of praise for making it through the night without wetting the bed.
I really think the problem is that the girl is just a really heavy sleeper. The child, once she is asleep, can sleep through anything. Last night, we had a thunderstorm and the claps of thunder were so loud that I think God must have just seen the last episode of the Sopranos on His DVR. Daughter slept right through that.
So here are my questions: Is there anything else we can try? Are my expectations just too high to expect stay dry through the night? Does anybody have any twin-size sheets that we can have?
Daughter thinks this post sucks
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June 13, 2007
Posted in rant
at 4:48 am
by April
I supposed it was bound to happen. The criminal justice system (in California!) finally sends a rich, white celebrity to jail for a crime they committed, and pundits and columnists weep for the criminal.
Of course, I am speaking of Paris Hilton.
Do these talking heads actually believe what they are saying? Are they so out of touch with America that they really can’t grasp why the public is largely ecstatic to see Ms. Hilton serving time? Christopher Hitchens condemns us by labeling our glee as “reek[ing] of whatever horrible, buried, vicarious impulse underlies kiddie porn and child abuse.”
Mr. Hitchens: Suck it.
How dare you label America as a nation of pedophiles because for ONCE, the criminal justice system has sent a drunk, unrepentant, law-breaking, racist celebrity to jail!
I, for one, am sick and tired of seeing celebrities repeatedly break the law for everything from DUIs to double-murders and get away with it because they can afford slick lawyers. Meanwhile, thousands of ordinary citizens are sentenced to prisons for crimes they didn’t commit because they can not afford a competant attorney.
That is why America is celebrating Paris’ downfall. It is not just schadenfreude. It is rejoicing at the lone example in recent memory that maybe, just maybe, our country does deliver “justice for all.”
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June 12, 2007
Posted in Sangaree, rant
at 1:37 am
by April
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been receiving information from sources regarding the tax increase for the Sangaree Special Tax District. I posted the information that I have thus far to Sangaree Connection tonight. The piece I posted there is simply the facts, ma’am. However, I believe that this tax increase has greater significance then simply the $50 - $150 bucks that I will be forking out next year.
First of all, it is silly that we are facing a tax hike, because “Whoops! We just didn’t think to look ahead more than a year. My bad!” No, $50 isn’t a heck of a lot of money. But it rubs me the wrong way that an organization in charge of 1.3 million dollars per year does not have a qualified CPA who prepares budget forecasts. The tax district was under-collecting taxes for four years to the tune of $300,000 each year to spend down the savings that had collected. We can afford it an accountant.
Next, I would like say that I don’t like that the tax district had about a million dollars parked in the kitty and the Sangaree Special Tax District Advisory Commission, who no one elected, decided to spend it down by under-collecting taxes. For 20 years or so, the Sangaree neighborhoods have been going without playgrounds and parks and our kids have been running around like hooligans for lack of anything better to do. I bet a million dollars could have set up at least two parks with playground equipment for our families to enjoy. A million dollars could have built a community center. A community center and playgrounds would increase all of our property values and in the end brought in more tax revenue. But no… five short-sighted people decided they would rather pay less taxes.
The tax district commission believes that they don’t have to answer to the residents of Sangaree because no one shows up at their meetings. Do they want our input? Let’s look at the evidence: They only recently began advertising their meetings in advance. They do not actively seek community participation or input in their decisions. They don’t publicize what decisions they are making. The first time they did advertise their meeting throughout the subdivisions, 150-200 people showed up. For their next meeting, they did not advertise in the subdivisions and once again, hardly anyone showed up. Is it a coincidence that this was the meeting in which they were accepting nominations for an opening on the commission?
On the other hand, for our crime watch meetings, we post notices throughout Sangaree every month and 50-75 people attend each time. We have over 300 residents on our mailing list.
The residents do care about our neighborhoods. They do want a say in what is happening in Sangaree, and they are being stifled. I hope at the next tax commission meeting, we can get another 150-200 people there and ask for:
- Publishing the proposed budget each year and accept public input before it is sent to the County.
- Publish the final County-approved budget.
- Publish all policy changes proposed by the Tax District Advisory Commission and request public input before making a decision.
- Begin an aggressive policy of providing recreation in Sangaree, as mandated by the Sangaree Special Tax District’s charter. (Sec. 62-172)
Sangaree has some serious problems right now, that is no secret. I believe that it is going to take major changes to the current procedures of the tax district to get them done, and I hope that that will happen.
Update: I revised this blog entry. I realized that I was being a bit unfair to people who are doing their best to help the community. I still stand by the content of what I wrote, though not necessarily the tone.
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June 9, 2007
Posted in photos
at 1:51 am
by April
Couldn’t resist.
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June 2, 2007
Posted in hailie
at 2:52 am
by April
Tonight, I had an epiphany. As far as epiphanies go, it is well below E=mc2, but slightly above this.
I was in the kitchen preparing my nightly bowl of vanilla ice cream with hot fudge. I had already placed the jar of hot fudge in the microwave to heat. While I was scooping the ice cream out of the cardboard box, Hailie jumped up on the kitchen counter. She began pacing in front of the sink and meowing. To remind her that she isn’t allowed to be on my counters, I swatted at her with my spoon and she gracefully leaped to the floor. I continued to furiously scrape the last few molecules of ice cream from the package and Hailie again jumped up on the counter and walked in front of the sink.
I decided to ignore her for the time-being, as the microwave beeped three times to announce that the hot fudge was now heated. I poured the fudge on the ice cream just as Hailie meowed loudly and startled me. My hand jerked and I spilled a large amount of fudge on my counter. I silently pondered the wisdom of keeping a cat that just caused me to waste a whole ounce of warm gooey chocolate. This wasn’t the epiphany.
I yanked some paper towels off the roll and impatiently flicked them in Hailie’s direction. I cleaned up the mess that the cat made and grabbed my bowl. I bounced onto the living room couch and took my first bite of ice cream.
“Mrrrawwwwow!”
I looked up from my spoon and saw my tabby sniffing at a glass of water sitting on the coffee table.
Cue the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and switch on a couple dozen light bulbs.
I grabbed the glass of water and took it to the sink and filled it up. I then poured the liquid into Hailie’s empty water bowl as her furry form dashed between my legs for her first sip. She then looked at me with a glare that clearly said, “Damn woman, if only I had opposable thumbs, I would have drawn you a picture!”
And the epiphany of the story is: if Hailie had opposable thumbs, she would be my owner.
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