chicago '08

finally, a reasonable solution to our nation's obesity epidemic was proposed at our local sandwich/ice cream shop.





yesterday, we went to see the cricket hill peony farm. it was gorgeous and fun for our whole family, by which I mean both of us and not including Doug, the ferret, who would have run off and not really enjoyed anything about the farm except the sweet freedom of being outside of the house. I enjoyed the spectacle of the beautifully scented flowers, while Hugsband spotted bullfrogs, snakes and turtles in the farm's pond.

Hugsband is going to teach sex ed to his school's 5th grade boys next week. in preparation, he watched the video that the school shows students each year. we were dismayed to see that the video is from the mid-80's and was produced by the good people at 3-2-1 contact. surprisingly, the information covered in the video is still current- menses still consists of tissue shed from the lining of the uterus and such. even more surprising, the hosts of the video do a wonderful job discussing sexual orientation, masturbation, contraception, and other critical topics that have the potential to send parents into a frenzy.

at the school Hugsband and I both attended, sex ed was taught by the gym teachers, not the science teachers. I am not sure whether it's true or not, but when we (the 5th grade girls) met up with the boys in the cafeteria following sex ed instruction, the boys told us that the coach used a baseball analogy to explain penile-vaginal intercourse. that is, the girl is like a catcher's mitt and the boy is like the baseball.

I learned a lot in washington this week: people in libertarian think tanks don't like it when you ask challenging questions; Barack Obama is really tall and has free jelly beans in his office, Hillary's staffers spend hours on the phone saying things like "if that's a concern, you may want to call the office of your senator from Missouri. senator Clinton represents the state of new york" and "the senator does not believe in amending the constitution"; according to other democratic staffers, they have to do and say what Ted Kennedy's staffers tell them; people on the hill who haven't been in a classroom since entering adulthood can call themselves "special education experts"; and finally, people in DC focus on breadth, not depth, when learning about issues, so they don't know too much about anything.

I saw Chuck Norris in the lobby of the hart senate office building.

I just received a rather upsetting comment on my owl post. apparently, I can buy ANY college degree from a man named Harold. the degree takes only 2 weeks. damnit, Harold. what lousy timing you have! my graduation was yesterday. I didn't actually attend, but I still graduated and do not need degrees now. where were you 5 years ago when I started this stupid process, Harold? or, the years of study before that? Harold, where were you when I was in grades 13- 25? you could have saved me years of learning things and writing papers.

this is a busy travel time. we went into NYC yesterday, and I am going to D.C. for a "policy trip" on wednesday. I don't know what I am supposed to do in washington, exactly, but the group I am traveling with will get to meet policy makers, eat in the senate cafeteria and talk with folks from think tanks. at the end of the month, we're heading to a schmantzy hotel in montreal for a conference and then to the pennsylvania wilds for a rustic cabin vacation with Hugsband's family. so, if you're planning a visit to the Hugsband/Wifey hotel, you'd better call ahead.

we purchased bakery items at 3 establishments in the city yesterday: a sticky bun in the morning, gooey cookies in the afternoon, and another cookie (Hugsband) and lemon macaroon (me!) in the evening. add to that a fancy dinner and a yummy picnic lunch by the turtle pond in the park, and you have a recipe for a lovely, albeit fattening, spring day!

Ilona, we forgot to bring the g.c.!! we have plans for another trip soon, though.