Last Day of August

Last full days of three Cavs -- Presley's Parents and Bailey's Mom return tomorrow :-( They posed so nicely for this photo!

Went to church last night so slept in today. Meant to get up at 9 AM and go jogging. But I overslept till past 10 and after I was dressed for jogging my neighbor called asking me to walk her brother and baby to the pit (the local playground). Then Mark made breakfast so I ate that and I guess I will go jogging later. I can't believe how big Sydney looks next to me -- he's just 17 lbs. I gess it is a matter of context -- he looks small when Mark holds him. Mark has put on 10 more lbs over the summer -- need to walk him (along with Bailey :-))

The Weekend .....

Wow -- cannot believe Anthony has been at school for a whole week. He is not nearly as communicative as last year -- I do wish I knew how he was doing and how classes are going. But, adapting for me has been a lot easier than last year. This picture -- on 18 August -- me, Anthony and our friend Vicki outside FAA (Vicki's hubby Dan took the photo and took us to lunch) -- seems like forever ago.
My neighbor is back home after a couple of hospital visits -- hopefully all fixed up. Her brother is here helping her -- I continue to offer to help but not sure she needs my help ..... As long as she's OK, I'm happy :-) I'm not that handy with household tasks in any case so my help is probably only good if you are desperate!
Have gotten a lot of annoying work tasks completed this weekend. Briefings, reports, etc. Hope to get a bit more done .....
I cannot believe another big hurricane (Gustav) is headed for New Orleans. Mark's parents live further away now -- but still close enough that I'm sure they will have some issues. Hopefully no marauding criminals stealing TVs and cars! And now that the Olympics are over we have elections nonstop -- getting too boring too early.
Well I think I"ll have a snack and go to bed ... past midnight.

Over the Hump .....

Over the half way mark for the week ..... went to yoga last night then I had to work on a presentation for the big boss on Thursday (though most likely it will get cancelled which is not unusual) so I did not get to sleep until past 1 AM. Very tired today but was really busy and the day flew by. Was going to come home and sleep till dinner but then decided I better take Sydney and Miss Presley (who is visiting while her family is on vacation) for their usual walk. On the way back saw Melissa and Chris the neighborhood cop (Chris?) next door. Then Lewis and his girlfriend joined us. Then Mark came out. And Jim, Melissa's husband came and offered beer so we had a block party. Mark said many politically incorrect things ... but it was fun. Came in long after Obama was nominated and finally ate dinner. Our block is a lot of fun -- funny that we are the oldest :-0 Seems like yesterday when we were the youngest in Ohio.

Lynn brought over Bailey so now we have three Cavaliers (here trying to sit -- not an easy feat for three Cavs!). I love having all the babies ... reminds me of the days we had Daisy, Candy and Scarlett ... and then baby Anthony.

I have to finish a paper tonight but should not be hard ... need to go to sleep at a decent time. Friday I will work from home ... have to decide if it is worth to go in for staff meeting or if I can get more done here.

Crabby Monday

Crabby does not even begin to describe today. Can't quite put my finger on it. My Drs. appointment was at 10:30 so getting ready in the AM was fairly civilized -- got to sleep a bit extra with the cuddly Cavs. No problems getting to the Drs. office -- appointment smooth; everything OK. Some follow-up screenings -- but not immediately -- just natural caution I guess. So many possible screenings -- you could probably be screened 365 days a year. Started reading e-mails in the parking lot, then the waiting room, the examining room. Anxiety did not mix well with various demands -- everything an "emergency"; refusals to do this or that -- as if work is somehow optional. The CI (crabbiness index) grew and grew -- worse as I came across more and more missed deadlines, endless questions about simple stuff .... More demands. By the time I left was in quite a state. Picked my car up at the Metro -- after getting free samples at Origins -- free anything always has a calming effect. But on the drive home some idiot ran into the back end of my car -- the jolt made me think I had taken my foot off the clutch. Made him pull over so I could yell at him -- threatened to call the cops. There really was no damage so eventually I drove away -- no doubt having terrified this man. I bet it will be a while before he "multi-tasks" while driving ...... Walked the dogs, ate dinner. Then went to church -- that is a Monday ritual that always has a soothing effect. The cool interior of St Rita's -- the Monday night crowd -- there because we want to not because we have to -- always makes everything better. Prayed for my neighbor -- not sure how she is. Don't want to add to burden -- but also don't want to be a spectator -- feeling helpless and useless amongst all the medical "professionals". And her decisions/approaches so incomprehensible to me. I think the best I can do is pray .... And get some work done -- I think the crabbiness is caused by the sheer volume of the undone tasks ...... As Scarlett would say -- tomorrow is another day :-)

What a Sunday .....

Wow -- what a crazy Sunday. My plans were to get up early and go jogging, then get cleaned up and go to church. Then I would do some work -- go get a mani and buy Maggie's Bday present -- and do some more work. There were about 10 things I needed to finish .....

First thing this AM our neighbor called because she was not feeling well. I was going to take her baby out for a walk. When I went to her house after church some other people were there and she had been taken to the hospital. I ran over to see what I could do. She had plenty of friends who are in health care -- but I stayed around to see what I could do. I am not impressed with the care a health care professional receives -- Mark's ER experience was infinitely better. But I guess maybe the hospital makes a difference. Eventually I got an assignment -- to buy groceries for the baby. I cancelled my mani and did that (but also did buy Maggie's gift). I'm really worried about my neighbor -- she is such a good friend and always helps everyone. She can be quite demanding and I am a bit afraid of her (I spent an hour looking for tangerines because she told me to get some and I was petrified of failing -- but as it turns out they are out of season!). Really praying that they sort her out -- it is not life threatening but it is rough when you have a baby to take care of. Hospitals are scary places -- I don't think the folks there know any more than a "civilian" and it just seems to me that the staff do not pay that much attention to detail. And I have a "routine" checkup tomorrow AM. New Dr. -- the one I found last year quit (I seem to be a jinx -- all my Drs go out of business). So I am freaked out ......

At least I did not spend the day on the couch being consoled by Sydney as I did last night (photo). Cavs are so sweet -- Sydney and Presley could tell I was sad so they spent a lot of time cuddling me. They both slept on my side of the bed .... they stay clear of Mark :-)

I guess I better go do as much work as I can .....

Drop Off @ School

On the road home from Pittsburgh. Drop off was hard - but not as hard as last year. And easier than I imagined. I am tearing up and had to hug my baby half a dozen times but no hysterical weeping.

Process was very smooth - I guess that's what you get at a top school. We got there around 11. By noon we had gotten keys, moved everything into Anthony's room and I made his bed and unpacked as much stuff as I could before Mark started getting impatient. We then went to the bookstore and got Anthony's books. Good thing about computer science is there doesn't seem to be many books so we got off relatively easy (two books, a work book and a notebook). Well "easy" EXCEPT for something called a "clicker" which was more than half the bill!!

Went to Union Grill for lunch - for the second time - which makes it a tradition :-). A's roommate Will (they have an efficiency - but it is 3x the size of last year's room) and Tilak who came to our place for Thanksgiving (he's from India) joined us. No tears like last year - I think in large part because Anthony seemed excited/happy to see his friends. He looked a tad sad saying bye to baby Sydney but that's to be expected. But at school there wasn't that forlorn look that so broke my heart last year. I feel the peace that I felt when I visited in September - he is where he needs to be and we are so blessed to afford his education.

At parent's weekend last year one of the speakers - trying to counsel "helicopter" parents read us this quote from Kahlil Gibran (author of the much quoted "The Prophet"). Your children are not your children ... For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow. And you cannot go there - not even in your dreams. How true. I am finding that the hardest part of parenthood is the letting go. Poor A would still be in his bassinet by my bed were it not for Mark moving him into his own room and "replacing" him with a baby monitor so I would be fooled by hearing him breathe :-). I am sure the process will continue to be hard - I have not let go of my lost baby - A's brother or sister - about 6 weeks inside of me and forever a part of me. One of those very hard things to come to terms with since if I had had that baby I would most likely not have become pregnant with A less than a year later. Biggest loss/biggest gain - an immediate realization of God's infinite love and kindness. I better stop as now I am crying. But crying makes you feel better so that's OK. :-). I'll post photos later - can't quite figure out how to get them from camera to BB!

P.S. Here are the photos -- one is A's apartment (nice view of courtyard -- very bright) and the other is at the "commons" -- the pole of knowledge?

Last Day

Mark is home from Hawaii -- was good to see him when I got home. But I am very sad as tonight is Anthony's last night at home before he goes back to school. Here he is on drop off day last year -- quite a change from first day of school in London!
We got to walk Sydney and Presley -- enjoyed the walk but sad to think it will be a long time before we do it again. And poor Sydney will be so sad. He'll be home at Thanksgiving -- but it will be cold again. I cannot believe how summer has flown by. I think Anthony will miss Sydney -- he asked to sleep with him tonight. But he's excited to see his friends -- and his classes should be fun -- well maybe not "fun" but rather challenging. The house will just seem so empty for a while :-( But like anything else -- will survive it! And then I can really count down till vacation as the count down will no longer coincide with days until Anthony leaves home -- but rather it will be a count down of days until he is home for Thanksgiving as well!

Doggie Happy Hour

Thursday night. Went to Doggie Happy Hour at Barkeley Square -- they have a big up front patio where there was a dog treat bar. Went with Lynn and Joyce -- and Bailey of course! Bailey is so funny -- here he is with his "boyfriend". Sometimes I fear he views me as a "rival". Lots of doggies -- always so much fun. I did not want to leave Anthony but I am glad I went as it got my mind off his leaving Saturday. Could not talk him into coming :-(

Anthony did not make his dinner so now I am cooking something. I am really worried he will be lazy at school and never eat now that he is in an apartment and only has a one meal a day meal ticket.

And Anthony cannot afford to lose weight -- his BMI is probably less than mine was in college and I was a 90 lb weakling like my best friend Becky's Mom used to say! I guess it is an irrational fear -- he has a debit card and is smart enough not to starve!

Busy People?

That certainly would not include people who are hanging in Hawaii!

The Bark Ball

Another summer day flew by today. Busy at work -- though I think I did accomplish some things today. Getting used to riding the bus without Anthony -- funny how quickly you can get used to something but getting unused to it is so hard. At least it is August in Washington and a lot of people are away. Which makes for fast commuting -- no crowds on Metro, the streets etc. All the "serious" people are away I guess getting ready to come back day after Labor Day and be "serious" again. Made it through Wednesday and no word from Fox News (was pretty sure that would not happen -- but pretty sure is not the same as certain). Have off site meetings Thursday and Friday so surely there is no way. My video will be in the cafeteria -- somehow I doubt it will go well but we'll see what people have to say -- if anything.

When I got home today went for a run -- going at lunch did not quite work :-( -- The weather has been gorgeous -- not the usual oppressive, humid Washington August weather. And speaking of Washington -- only in Washington would you see something like "the Bark Ball". Getting Sydney introduced us to a brand new world. The Bark Ball is a Humane Society fund raiser -- you basically take your dog to a black tie dinner. Happens in early June. Our neighbor Lynn (Bailey's Mom in photo) introduced us to the Bark Ball. Baby Sydney was such a hit. And Mark gets to use his tux. This year we had to go back again and Sydney brought his "cousin" (same breeder) Presley -- also our neighbor. So we had three Cavs! All the dogs "sit" with their owners. There was an Ambassador at the table next to us. His dog took a fancy to Mark (happens a lot with dogs -- which I guess means Mark is really nice as you cannot fool a dog). Of course Bailey also is in love with Mark and Presley was sitting on his lap so this caused all sorts of commotion and as usual I ended up getting "hurt". Then again perhaps it was more like embarrassed as this dog ended up under my skirt somehow :-)

Just a couple of days left of having Anthony home :-( We got pizza tonight. I know Mark won't like it but he does not know how to comment on my blog so he can't do anything about it! I am sad Anthony goes away but when I look at the cool classes he gets to take and see how excited he seems I feel better. I do have to manage a late Oct or early Nov trip to see him though as I do not see myself lasting till Thanksgiving!

Better go do some work -- more stuff to review ........ The Olympics getting a bit dreary -- the excitement has really worn off. I cannot believe it s dark a bit past 8 PM -- summer almost over. But vacation is around the corner!

Yoga Night

Just came home from yoga class. This picture has nothing to do with yoga -- other than in yoga we do downward and upward facing dog poses and Sydney is a dog :-) But it is so cute. We picked Sydney's name even before we got him -- a name that would work for a girl or a boy. And it followed the tradition of Roma -- Houeida's dog that started Anthony's business. Although I guess that was really TJ -- as TJ's mom recommended Anthony to Houeida. But Houeida recommended him to everyone else ....

We did forward bends in class today and I'm pretty good at those. Actually was doing pretty well (except for hand stand which I just cannot do so I ended up doing half hand stand -- which the teacher insists is harder -- says I am just afraid -- could be but I just cannot do it). But then we got to lotus pose and that did not go so well. As my teacher says though -- yoga is not a competitive sport. And I sure feel better after class -- I wish there was a class I could do after dropping off Anthony. I was feeling pretty down today but class made me feel better -- gets me out of my head -- thinking so much.

A different day today as I worked from home a couple of hours in the morning and then went to an all day meeting. Which was actually not boring. I think we may have a chance of getting alternative fuels right this time -- my second time around. Hard to get it "right" my first time around -- my first job -- after oil hit rock bottom. I hope that does not happen again -- don't want to do this a third time.

Did get a chance to talk to Sharon about one of my possible post retirement careers. That is having a hand in Cuba's reconstruction. As a volunteer. I think Cuba has the makings of turning into a Singapore -- the sort of thing that can happen in a totalitarian regime filled with highly educated people. If that does not work I'll volunteer for an environmental NGO -- though sometimes I worry NGOs are just fund raising machines. I can see Mark sipping cerveza and smoking Cuban cigars in Havana -- hopefully not too many. Anyhow the first step in getting something done is to say it out loud. Like with General Herrelko -- when he had us to breakfast with the boss and asked us what we wanted. Everyone else wanted a file cabinet, a desk, whatever. I said I wanted to live in Europe. And a few years later he made it happen -- albeit at the "small" price of working 70-80 hours a week on my Ph.D. Something I vowed never to do. Which goes to prove there is not such a thing as never for a lot of things.

Mark is in Hawaii still. Reading CNN, MSNBC and my blog -- as he put it "all you need to know". I wish I could read his blog. Oh, wait he does not have one! As I said -- there is not such a thing as never -- maybe some day he will have a blog.

I have got to get to bed at a decent hour tonight -- hard day tomorrow -- a bunch of meetings. Still have to put together a bunch of briefings -- and have a ton of documents to review. Arghhhh I'll just watch gymnastics -- even though the biased U.S. commentator is kinda a pain. I wonder if Mark will figure out how to post comments -- otherwise we can continue having this one way conversation -- a bit like when we got e-mail at work and me and Bev -- who sat across from each other -- used it to communicate. For no other reason than that it was there. Cannot imagine living without e-mail now!

On the Road to Santiago

Another late night -- watching the Olympics but primarily catching up with work. Must have had 100 interruptions today so only one of the four briefings I planned to put together got done. Only person that reads this is Mark -- in Hawaii. He thinks I am going to get "in trouble" by people mis-interpreting what I have to say. If that's the case they need to get a life -- nothing wrong with honesty :-) Plus I don't think I'm mean! Of course I don't get to spend that much time "thinking" (which is super odd for a Chief Scientist -- but I suspect is probably very common). Funny how being away on holiday is the one time when I actually spend some time thinking. Changing time zones almost always guarantee a "thinking marathon" because I can't sleep -- a look back -- sorta like taking an old family DVD out and watching it. And no place seems to catalyze this self reflection as Spain. Perhaps because arriving in Spain as a refugee -- I think December 23 -- definitely December 1969 -- I think started the development of the person I am today. This summer in Leon (photo) on the "Road to Santiago" has all the ingredients for this sort of thing. Not drinking caffeine a couple of cappuccinos (maybe 3 or 4?) guaranteed that I could not sleep. I tried reading, messing with Mark (at one time getting him to fall off the bed :-)). Complaining about snoring (which never helps but it feels good). So eventually I started thinking about our time in Spain '69-'72. Even though I was "there" I still cannot imagine what it must have felt like for my Mom and grandparents to go from living in a mansion to living in a room. And to literally have one suitcase worth of possessions, no money and no job. I am now a lot older than my Mom was then -- she must have been 36 or so. And she coped somehow. So what if she never taught me to cook and she was not all that good at keeping up with her bills? She certainly made sure I had an education and could go from poverty to being pretty well off in a few years. On the "Road to Santiago" we stopped to see my nanny -- had not seen her since '68 or '69 -- cannot quite remember. We talked a lot -- in that peculiar way I have of being able to hold a conversation with someone I've not seen in almost 40 years in a manner that feels like I just saw them yesterday and I will see them again tomorrow. Only time I seem to be able to perfect "being in the present"! Anyhow Amelia was reminiscing about my grandmother and mother. The women she talked about simply do not exist -- or at least ceased to exist in December '69. Almost laughable to hear that my grandmother needed half a dozen maids and that my Mom just went out and so on. To her they were such vapid creatures. Perhaps. But all I can say when it mattered they did the right thing. I spent more time with my grandmother who lived until '97 than my Mom who died in '84. She more so in my mind sure "rose to the occasion" -- surviving the death of her only child; helping me when I had Anthony; always being there. I guess what I thought to myself on the "Road to Santiago" is that being a descendant of those two women -- whatever faults they may have had -- is sure nice insurance. Insurance that I will rise to the occasion if I ever have to -- no matter what. It was nice to see my nanny but in the end I felt that I was glad all that had happened did happen. Probably the only Cuban "grateful" to Castro :-) (Now Mark that IS dangerous to write :-))

Well I better go to bed ... it is late and I have a mtg in the AM -- one of those that will require "thinking" :-).

Sleepy

Had great plans for today. Mark left for Hawaii (lucky!) so I got up early to drive him to the airport (we usually go to Church on Saturday so we sleep as late as Sydney can hold it on Sunday!). The "plan" was to come home, go for a jog, have a shower, make breakfast for me and Anthony and then put in about 3 hours working on presentations for next week. Reality became a jog (check), shower (check), breakfast (check), reading the newspaper (small distraction) -- then totally sidetracked with a nap. From which I woke up at 3. Really quiet (except for the Olympics in the background) as Anthony, Sydney and our guest Roma were all asleep. I guess it will be a long night tonight as I have got to get at least one of the briefings done. Hopefully the Dr. Bob farewell (Dr. Bob being Anthony's former Scout Master) will not go on forever. Should be a couple of hundred people so should be able to slip out. Really do not like parties -- at least not parties with people. Dog parties are OK -- can always talk to dogs!

Just cannot seem to get a sufficient amount of my work done during the week. Meetings, telecons, people coming in and out constantly. And the worse distraction of all is press interviews -- usually someone looking for something unpleasant to write -- though not always. Friday afternoon our Public Affairs guy came by to say Fox News wanted an interview. I'm 99% my boss will take that -- God forbid we ever let a technical person talk about technical matters. My boss would let me -- but Public Affairs would have a cow. Probably an idiotic policy (supposedly the "Senior" people know how to handle it -- although to me they look totally amateurish the few times I have seen them ) -- but I'm glad for it as I would NOT want to be on Fox News (or any TV show at all except either Jon's Stewart's Daily Show or the Colbert Report). I am sure it will not happen but just talking about it will waste oodles of time.


Blogging is also quite an effective way of procrastinating. Now all I have time to do is walk the dogs and the briefing to my Research Advisory Committee will have to wait to be written. Wonder if Mark has made it to LA yet (where he had his stopover). I sure miss him -- but when he's back Anthony goes away. Never ends, always a trade-off :-(

At E-Arden's

Getting a pedi @ E-Arden's (www.reddoorspas.com/). A gorgeous day outside - blue sky, not too warm. Just testing ability to post from BB as that may be all I have in Africa .....

Science, Ethics and Global Warming

Before we went to Spain in July my friend Bev sent me a bunch of links to websites about postmodernism -- a term I had not really heard of before. One of the links talked about Jurassic Park. Something about it really struck me -- though I do not think it was the point at all. The author -- whoever it was -- said that "Jurassic Park was intended to warn the general public concerning the inherent dangers of biotechnology first of all, but also science in general." It then quoted the author of the book Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton as saying "Biotechnology and genetic engineering are very powerful. The film suggests that [science's] control of nature is elusive. And just as war is too important to leave to the generals, science is too important to leave to scientists. Everyone needs to be attentive." What struck me was the concept of the dangers of leaving science in the hands of scientists. I do think scientists become a tad crazy and their work itself sometimes becomes more important than the problem the research should help solve ....... Climate science is probably the extreme current example -- although no doubt there are others -- climate science just happens to be what I deal with the most. A few months back -- I think it was sometime in February -- I asked a so called "climate scientist" this question. I asked him what his reaction would be if a genie came out of its bottle and offered him a deal -- climate change would go away but climate scientists could never again do climate research. He looked at me very seriously and then said "but that's impossible -- there is always something else to study". Priceless. And scary. To me anyone researching a "scary" subject -- cancer, climate change, etc. should have a goal of working themselves out of a job. It amazes me the games scientists play to get funding -- they are so like canibals. Oh well -- I probably should not be philosophizing about science and its motives or I may be tempted to write what I really think about the IPCC -- that august body for which I was a Lead Author -- thereby earning me a" Nobel certificate" -- signifying a somewhat questionable fraction of a Peace Prize (the irony of going from working "War" to Peace Prize is totally Dilbert of course!). As I told my young cousin Meg in one of our aimless text messaging sessions -- if only I had gottten my 1/10,000 of the price $ I could have gotten my coveted pair of Manolos! I love Meg -- she totally got it. She gets much ribbing about the blond thing -- but she truly is one of the wisest people I have come across :-)

I do worry about greenhouse gases -- but I think the fact that I drive a '94 car (less than 55,000 miles!), weigh close to what I did in high school, walk most everywhere, use public transport, live in a small house etc. does more than all the talk in the world. Or even my job -- which is about doing something about it! Seems to be an area made for hypochresy -- our Antarctica cruise mates quoting that silly Stern report ad nauseum -- overlooking the huge carbon footprint we were each making. Of course I did welcome "global warming" a few days into the cruise -- here is me actually ditching my coat in the Peninsula :-) I still cannot believe it ......

I Can'T Believe It

I can't believe Anthony's summer break is almost over. Today (Friday) was his last day of work - last day of riding the bus downtown together :-( Seems as if he just came home and next Saturday we take him back to Pittsburgh. Poor Sydney is really going to be sad -- particularly as they will spend all of next week together laying on the couch (this photo was right after Anthony came home -- in May -- when August seemed forever away). I am sure I am going to be teary when I'm riding the bus alone and walking Sydney alone -- but I hope to do better this year. No hysterical crying and needing to stop at Subways for chocolate chip cookies. Mark just does not relate -- he just doesn't seem sad at all when Anthony is away. Thinking about vacation to West Africa in October helps some - but I sure have a lot to do between now and then -- business trips to Ottawa, Anchorage, Madrid and Seattle starting September 11. I'm going to be exhausted by the time we leave for Paris on Sep 28! Do get a few nights home here and there but not many. Packing will be a challenge. Wish I could get out of some of the trips but don't quite see how. I did get out of a trip to Columbus so that was good. Even though I would have liked to have seen Maggie -- but it will work out better for someone else to go.

Oh well, off to watch the Olympics -- continue to be soooo tired. Tomorrow getting a mani/pedi but I don't have to be there till 11 :-) I do want to get up and jog -- getting close to 99# again -- from my summer low of 95#. Really want to stay around 96#. But calorie counting gets old ..... I think I will do better when I settle a bit after Anthony goes back. Of course then comes travel. Arghhhhhh C'est le vie I guess.

Heroines

Another one of those super busy -- what did I really accomplish days? :-) Just finished my work ... or at least that which absolutely needed to be finished tomorrow. Work was super "Dilbert" today -- as it is most days. Some days I feel like I should pay to go to work as it can be quite entertaining. Anthony is playing video games and Sydney sleeping. Mark still away. And I am wasting time writing stuff no one will read -- which I guess is a lot like my Ph.D. thesis and most of the technical papers I have ever written!

My friend Bev said she looked at my blog and learned a few things. Which seems super odd to me as I probably have written her more than anyone I know and I do not have many boundaries when it comes to sharing information.

I wonder if she knows who I consider my heroines? I wonder if anyone would ever guess that they are Scarlett O'Hara, Evita Peron (photo is me and Anthony at her tomb -- my second visit -- even though I try not to go anywhere twice as few places are ever quite as grand the second time around) and Audrey Hepburn. I think she would know Audrey as she used to call me Audrey when I lived in London and was much more elegant than I am now. Scarlett because I like her philosophy of "I'll think about it in the morning" and "Tomorrow is another day". She may seem flighty and shallow -- but when push came to shove she was the one that got things done. And Evita because as one of the play's song says "she had every disadvantage you need if you need to succeed". No money, no father ... She got so incredibly far in super male-dominated Latin America. But then again is Latin America really male dominated? Certainly was not the case with my grandparents :-)

OK -- better stop messing around and go to bed .... I am soooo sleepy.

Reading with Burros

By the way Mark took this picture of me and a burro reading the same book at the Libreria Couceiro (Couceiro being my Abuelo's last name so it was "meant to be"). Funny I never really think of the Quintanas as my Grandparents -- to me the Couceiros, Taboadas, Lopezs and Novelas are my family -- even those I never met or don't remember -- they are "real" in the way I find characters in books much more real than so called "real" people. Because I always heard so many stories about them and fantasy beats real life any day :-).

Happy Monday (August 11th)

Was really busy today and yet did nothing. Work was super busy - had to tape a video which was kinda odd. Got a facial on Saturday so I would "look good" but then stayed up watching the Olympics. Not a good plan. I guess it won't be seen anywhere except the environmental exhibit in the cafeteria at work (and no one in their right mind outside FAA goes there) next week so that's OK. Wish I was Sydney ....... he ALWAYS looks good :-) My boss agreed if anyone made fun of me I could telecommute the next week. He says I have to prove they were laughing at the video though.

Mark is in Dayton and gets to go to Hawaii next week. I guess I could have gone with him but only 12 days until Anthony goes back to school :-( ..... so I would rather stay home. I am not as weepy as last year but it is amazingly hard. I just cannot seem to get the yogic "be in the present" right. To Anthony 12 days is too far away to think about and he cannot understand why I am upset.

Speaking of Mark, I still cannot believe he beat me at the Komen Race. It is like the athletes at the Olympics that get beat by the opponent who NEVER beats them anywhere else. This was me in Santiago early in the morning. At the Hostal Alfonso (http://santiago-de-compostela.costasur.com/sites/alfonso/en/compostela.costasur.com/sites/alfonso/en/). By the way no one should pay more than 60 Euros for a room in Spain. The Hostales were super clean (a lot cleaner than our house) and much more fun than a big hotel. Always stayed right in the city center (except in Pamplona where it was unaffordable during San Fermines). Anyhow most every morning in Spain I went jogging (in Santiago at the park Alameda) and ran 5K. By contrast, this is Mark. Not quite as cheerful. At about midday - barely up in time for breakfast. Needless to say he did not run a single day. I know I will win next year! Gonna go watch the Olympics now.

Vacation in Spain

Was in Spain July 3-11. Went to Leon and Santiago - before going to Pamplona. Got to visit relatives in La Estrada and my former nanny Amelia, whom I had not seen since 1969. Had been at my grandfather's village in La Estrada in 1970 -- only recognizable thing was the old church. House was really updated - just saw it from the outside. My cousin Ana looked so much like my Mom I became "despistada" and neglected to take any photos. I did manage to get Mark to have his picture taken by "Las Does En Punto" - the statue of the crazy women in Santiago who went around .... well you can see the photo :-)

Mark has agreed to do the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage http://www.mundicamino.com/ Hopefully while we can still walk! As I've done 3 Alonzo Stagg 50/20 hikes (50 miles in under 20 hrs) - a Mom's record for Anthony's Scout Troop -- should be doable ......

Saturday August 9

I seem to have set up my blog -- even without Anthony's help! This is Anthony, me and Sydney at graduation (Anthony's) last year . Anthony knows everything (or at least I have not come across something he does not know -- he is annoyingly most always right).