I have been hunting mice lately, or rather, I have been catching mice with a trap lately. We purchased, several months ago, a TomCat-Live-Catch-Mouse-Trap. I rarely shill products on my blog, but let me tell you, this is a great invention. It does not kill the mice, so there is no gore to clean afterwards. No poison is needed, and no children can smash their fingers in the trap. It is a long tube balanced on a fulcrum. The mouse enters to tube to get the bait, the tube teeters to one side and the trap door shuts.

The only bad part of the trap is that it does not kill the mouse. You must either free the foul beast or dispose of it yourself.

The first mouse we caught was weeks ago. He had been coming onto the kitchen counter, scratching and gnawing the fruit. It was as if Jill got up in the middle of the night and took a bite out of each of the bananas and then ran a fine toothed comb across the peels. Jill denied doing this, so we got the Tomcat mousetrap.

After we caught the first mouse, we were having some kind of party, so I didn't get a chance to deal with it right away. He sat in the trap for over a day. Finally, I had a plan to deal with the live-trapped mouse.

I brought the trap upstairs to the bathroom and held it open over the yawning mouth of the toilet. First the mouse's thin, black, spaghetti tail whipped around the outside of the trap, and then (all the while scrabbling) he slid into the toilet. I held the plunger over his head while flushing the toilet and he was gone. Afterward, my heart thumping wildly, I urinated (also into the toilet) and flushed one more time for good measure.

The trap smelled terribly and had mouse shit in it so I had to wash it out.

**************

The second mouse trapping went much as the first, only the second mouse preferred graham crackers and Rolos.

The second mouse also had the gall to cling to the inside of the plunger while I was trying to flush him away.

I got the 2nd mouse almost right after he got into the trap, so he didn't have enough time even to finish the bait, let alone stink up the trap with his shit. I still rinsed out the trap, though. Now it is clean for its next use.

Please forgive me as I deviate from the standard spiel about taking the train to school and what my kids are doing and belabor you with politics and policies. I've been thinking about the health care system (or lack thereof) in America lately, and, though no one but my friends will read this, will write briefly about it.

I want to begin by pointing out that the corporations that sell health insurance have the sweetest plum in the health care business. Who gets sick? The people who usually get sick are the young (insured by SCHIP - a government program), the old (insured by Medicare - a government program), and the poor (insured by Medicaid - a government program). Furthermore, if you happen to get so sick that you can't work, and you lose your job, you lose your insurance and the government has to pick up the tab. See a pattern here? If it's not profitable to sell you insurance, because you might get sick, the government has to provide for you.

Many people are afraid of 'the government' telling them what kind of health care they can access. "I don't want some bureaucrat in Washington...." Instead, what people have are the actuaries in the insurance companies authorizing and denying access to care. If you happen to want a really expensive procedure that might save your life, you better check the spreadsheet first.

The term 'Health Insurance' is a misnomer anyway. People with health insurance aren't insured against catastrophic medical costs. In fact, if you have catastrophic medical costs, it's in the corporations best interest to make sure you bear as much of those costs as possible. The corporations that are good at sticking you with the bill grow and thrive, those corporations that aren't get bought out.

Given the epidemic of under-insured people, and the obvious lack of insurance provided by the insurance corporations, we need to change the nomenclature. We should begin calling these corporations Health Care Distribution Companies.

Because that's what they are. You can get the procedures, visits with specialists, and medicine that your Health Care Distribution Company authorizes.

Last night I rode my excercycle in the basement, while doing laundry, while the robot was washing the kitchen floor, and at the same time I was watching a recorded lecture. I felt productive.

Today I went out for lunch and got myself a falafel sandwich from Maoz.

We have been visiting my grandmother Bettina since Sunday and it's been very pleasant. The week before my last exam, Grandma was in a car accident and totaled her car. She had to be pulled out by the jaws of life. She thinks that she blacked out and then ran off the road. Good fortune and a graceful diety guided her car so that no one else was hurt. She told her hearing aid technician that she's decided to give up driving.

She has not yet decided to give up being driven, however, and we've been running a lot of errands with her.

Grandma has had some limited nursing care since we've been visiting, but is feeling a lot better. Apparently she cracked a few ribs during the accident and is quite sore. She's been complaining about her chest being sore the entire visit. I said to her, "Well it ought to be sore; you cracked a few ribs didn't you?"

Grandma replied, "Yes I did, but they're down here." She pointed at her hips.

Yesterday May got to watch an Animal Planet show hosted by the late Steve Irwin's ten-year-old daughter. She thought it was utterly fascinating and is the only non-cartoon television show in which she's ever really been interested. This morning May was eating her breakfast and she pointed at Jill, Grandma, the nursing aide, and her self and said "We are all females. They," pointing at Benjamin and I, "are males."

We had a terrifying moment in the bathtub a few nights ago. Grandma's bathtub is very slippery and has a slope at one end. El Destructo was scrambling around the tub and slipped, landing teeth first on the side of the tub. There was a little bit of blood on the gumline and the tooth was chipped. Jill and I were totally freaking out. I wouldn't have felt so guilty but had had a few glasses of wine and my reflexes and consequence-prediction-ability were both impaired. We took him to Grandma's dentist who said that his adult teeth would not be harmed, nothing further needed to be done, though there was a possibility that Ben's tooth would change color. Grandma's dentist didn't charge us for the visit.

El Destructo has also learned how to climb out of his pack-and-play. He climbed out during his 'nap' yesterday, ran around his room screaming, and locked the door so Jill couldn't get into the room. Jill finally picked the lock with a paper clip and took him and his sister to the park.

Last weekend (or was it the weekend before last?), the Forrest family took us out to the Academy of Natural Sciences for the morning. The kids had a great time.

Ben is a *huge* fan of Josh Forrest, the second eldest of the Forrest children. Most of the time El Destructo babbles and screeches all his communications, but I've noticed that whenever Ben thinks something is really important, he enunciates his demands or comments much better than usual. For example, when we parked at the Academy of Natural Sciences, Ben said quite clearly, "Mom, there's Josh! Mom, that's Josh! Mom, that's Josh!" He also has been none to speak quite clearly the names of other kids on the block when he wants to go play with them. When he's hungry, he let's us know, "French fries."

At the top of the Academy of Natural Sciences is an interactive display where you can look more closely at animals. May really liked this part and got to pet a guinea pig, a snake, a tortoise, and a box turtle. She really wanted to pet the legless lizard, but I didn't ask the museum lady to get that one out.

May has also been obsessed, for the last few months, with an ancient grouchy cat who lives two doors down. Frida, the ancient cat, is missing most of her teeth and mostly just sits around on the couch or the radiator. May likes to pet Frida and swaddle her gently in blankets. All the attention May gives to Frida attracts the other kids who are not quite so gentle with Frida. Everytime I see the kids flinging that old, arthritic cat around the house, I become the "Frida-Avenger."

"Put Frida down!" I shout.

Yesterday, I worked on the bathroom sink, which has been draining slowly. I got the plunger and plunged and plunged. Large greasy, gray-black, blobs of soap scum came swirling into the sink. Some were as big as a large marble. Jill was grossed out by this, and quickly came to clean the sink after I was done. We are both happier about the sink draining better after the eviction of the soap scum.

Jill fixed the doorknob on our bedroom yesterday too. It was a little loose, leading us both to fear that one day you would try to turn it and it would fall off in your hand. Anticipation of this event lends to oneself an unnecessary anxiety. After all, if it does happen, one simply picks up the pieces and sticks them into the apparatus, convincing the gears and latches to fulfill their ambitions. I suppose we have a little more anxiety about doorknobs falling apart because the kids are around and they could destroy or lose a doorknob propelling a despondent father to make yet another trip to Home Depot.

Our neighbors had us over for fondue last night. We had bread and cheese for one course then swordfish and chicken in broth for the next. Dessert was chocolate and fruit. It was fun and the kids had a great time. Ben found some Toxic Avenger dolls (action figures - sorry) and enjoyed playing with them and thinking about them. May always had a good time visiting with their friendly, ancient (17 yrs old) cat, Frida. She wraps Frida in blankets and kisses her everytime they meet.

News Of The Kids

This morning, as I was getting ready to leave for school, May came downstairs and said to me, "Di, I have a surprise present for you."

"Oh, what is it?"

"Here you go!" She said, as she gave me two pennies.

"Oh, two pieces of money!" I replied. "Do you know what Daddy likes to do with money?"

"Give it to the bank." She told me.

Benjamin came downstairs to see me off to school, too. After I put my backpack on, he put his on too. Then, he pointed at the door and asked me, "Eh?" When it became clear to him that he was not going to go to school with me, he got pouty and sulky. He was angry enough to refuse me a goodbye kiss this morning.

News Of The Weekend

On Friday, we went to the Asian Students group Lunar Banquet. It was a lot of fun. I drank a lot and there was a ton of really good food. My favorite dishes were a creamy sweet broccoli and shrimp dish and a really sour pork dish. Also the eggplant in garlic sauce was to-die-for.

Saturday we went to the grocery store and then in the afternoon I went for a run. I took May in the joggin stroller (rather than Ben0 and she seemed to enjoy it. She fell asleep near the end of the run.

Sunday, we made a roast beef and watched some TV. Then Jill and I had a fight about whether or not we would fly to wisconsin for a fundraising party my dad is having for his chamber orchestra. The jury is still out on who won the fight.

Despite having a fight on the tail end of the weekend, it was very relaxing and fun.

One of my daughter's stuffed animals, a beanie babie rhooster, is named Gloria. This silly toy has caused Laura Brannigan's song, "Gloria," to be running through my head for days. I think they've got your number, Gloria, I think they've got your alias, Gloria, that you've been living under.

Ben hurt his wrist last week and we finally got him in for an xray last night. It turns out he has a 'buckle fracture' of his forearm. He goes tomorrow for his cast. Even thought he favors and protects that arm a lot, he's still a lot of fun. We had a good time at the radiologists office. As I was waiting for them to finish the paperwork, he climbed up chairs and peeped over dividers while screeching and slobbering. Finally, we got put in a tiny waiting room with an accordion door - great for a wild, hollering peek-a-boo game. Having gotten it out of his system, he was very good about holding his arm still for the Xray.

May has had the stomach flu lately, but has developed a morally questionable behavior of borrowing without asking (a fine line from theft). We're not too sure what to do about this, but I think we're going to institute a few punishments that involve the donation of some of her toys to charity.

It's been cold in the Philly area lately, yesterday was a high of 18 degrees - coldest day of the year I think. It's snowing right now; big, soft flakes like torn cotton balls.

I'll try to post a little bit more often, but the boards are on the horizon and....

This morning, May woke us up and came into our bedroom. She does this most mornings, but today she told me, "It was dark when I came into your room, I saw a scary shadow, which turned out to be a pile of clothes. But I knew I would be OK because you were here."

My presence may be reassuring to her, but not to our toilet. I broke the toilet yesterday, but was pleased to find that Jill and Ben fixed it while I was at school. I felt so bad about breaking the toilet that I fixed the screen door. The spring that slows the closing of the screen door was cracking the frame. I inched the spring over to cover the crack and reattached the mounting of the spring to the door frame in such a way as to avoid a further splitting of the door frame and a reinforcement of the cracked surface. I was very proud of myself as it only took me about 15 minutes (with Jill's help at some critical junctures) and I didn't have to go to the hardware store.

Benjamin was kind of naughty tonight. He kept turning off the water as I was trying to fill the bathtub. Finally, I warned him that if he turned off the water again, I would have to put him in his crib while the tub was filling. He wasn't angry about going into his crib. He made some noises, "mama mama mama." Then, when I got him out, he was willing to let the tub fill.

Yesterday, I ground up some unlabeled coffee beans in hope that they were caffeinated. Everything seemed to be going fine until I got off my train. When leaving the subway, I couldn't decide which set of stairs to take. Should I take the north stairs or the south stairs? Then, when I got above ground, I couldn't decide in which building I should study; library or alumni hall? Finally I stumbled to the library cafe and got some caffeine from a machine that urinates coffee into a cup. It was OK coffee.

Unfortunately, I've adulturated the pure caffienated coffee with the flavored uncaffienated coffee. My plan this morning was to mix the gross Martinson's coffee (a suboptimal pre-ground variety) with the adulturated Melitta. I added enough Martinson's to ensure adequate caffiene dosing and enough adulturated-flavored-decaf/Melitta to palliate the granular-dirty flavor of the Martinsons.

In fairness, Jill warned me that the coffee I might drink yesterday could be decaf. I told her, "I'm prepared for that possibility."

Miraculously, the Giants squeaked by the Cowboys in the second round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday. I couldn't believe it. The Giants have no real running back, no defense, and an-occaisionally-passable-brother-of-a-great-quarterback. In a rare freak event, the Packers will host them Sunday at 6:30 EST.

I try to prepare myself for disappointment, but it's hard not to be optimistic. The Packers had ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE going down to Dallas to play on astroturf before Jerry Jones' God. Dallas really has some legitimate talent, too. Their QB is the real deal, Romo is not brother-of-the-real-deal.

The Packers stumbled ass backwards into a great season. They got some new rookies, Jones WR, and their defense has really come together. They have a couple of no-name running backs that seem to be kicking serious ass, and they've managed to cling to their two excellent tackles and rebuild the interior of their O line. The D line, with no stars save the over-hyped KGB, seems to be playing well too. Brett Favre has more than one receiver who can catch the ball, and even a few who are fast.

I honestly cannot believe this situation. As you may be able to tell, I'm trying to gear up for a major disappointment.

Go Pack Go!!

I went to Kenosha to visit my mom and attend Charlie Malinsky's wake. Mom was pretty broken up about it, she had a hard time dealing with her grief. They had been partners in a law practice and more. Charlie was cremated, at his own insistence, and the pictures of him that they had really reminded us of the things we liked best about him. He loved to cook and sail. He loved his dog, Smitty. He was always a big fan and supporter of yours truly. His kids have been great to my mom since I've been out East; they shovel her snow and help her with her car sometimes. He was always generous to a fault. I had a hard time dealing with his generosity, I always judged him to be bad at business. I hope a wiser judge is ruling on his case now.

I was glad I went, but I missed my train on the return flight and chose to spend the night in the airport rather than pay for a cab home. That sounds like something a crazy-street-person might do, but actually, airports are pretty safe. Everyone who gets into the airport has to pay at least $200, they don't have any weapons, and they certainly don't have any toiletries larger than 3 oz. I found a bench with no arm rests that I slept on. If was comfortable, except for the but-contoured-seating that kept spearing me. I would sleep for 45 minutes or so and then wake up. I caught the 5:09 AM train out of the airport and got home at 6. I slept in until 9 AM. I used the $40 I saved in cab fair to take Jill and the kids to Old Country Buffet the next day. I also bought some diapers.

Ben has figured out how to use the sink drain. He shuts the drain, turns on the water, and splashes like crazy in this creation.

Last week, May came in to the kitchen while we were cleaning up and said, "Guess what? Benjamin and I just traded cookies! I game him my cookie, he gave me his cookie!"

Jill, "Oh."

Me, "Did you get a larger portion of cookie from him than the one you gave?"

May grinned from ear to ear and said "YES!"

We didn't have a party to go to last night, so Jill babysat for our friends Kris and Keith on New Year's Eve. We were torn about it, but they had a party to go to and we didn't want to hire a babysitter and go to a bar or restaurant where we didn't know anyone, and, other than my wife, no-one wants to babysit on NY'sE. If you don't have kids, wouldn't you rather go out and party?

Anyway, I stayed up late riding my excercycle and reading. Then just before midnight, I called Jill on the phone and we counted down together.

Because we were up so late, the kids got up extra early. May woke up about 6:30, and Ben a short while later. Ben screamed and yelled to make certain that neither of his parents could sleep.

After breakfast, Ben cheered up. He blew on his kuzoo (shaped like a trumpet) and ran around in a twelve-inch-diameter circle, alternately jumping and flapping his arms. May quietly read The Lorax and said, "Quiet, Benjamin. I'm trying to read."

My mom's ex-law partner died on Sunday, so I'm flying to Ohare today. I fly back very late tomorrow.

My mom's visit was going really well until the 22nd. That day she skipped lunch and ate chocolates instead. Also, she didn't take her nicotine patch. The straw that broke the camel's back was the continuous screeching and battling of her grandchildren. Anyway, she felt like Jill was at fault for the poor behavior of her grandchildren. Jill and I felt differently and Nancy had to take a trip to Brooklyn on e day earlier than planned.

My cousin Michael sent us a game, Cariboo, that I played with May and Jill's dad, Sandy. The game evoked high drama at our house. After matching her drawn card to the appropriate tile, May would press the 'magic key' and open the game board looking for a 'treasure ball.' This worked well the first couple of times, but, in later rounds, after she matched her card to the tile, the tension was too much for her and she would screech and cover her eyes until I unlocked her tile with the 'magic key.' At one point, Sandy went through a dry spell in which he recovered no 'treasure balls' and he pretended to be sad. May was very sympathetic and offered to share with him her next 'treasure ball.'

After we finished playing and before I put her to sleep, May told me, "I really like to win games."

Jill got May and Ben picture albums for Christmas. May hasn't looked at her album very often, but El Destructo ripped right into his. He tore it immediately and we took it away from him.

Jill feels guilty about my mom's early departure. I feel a little bad, and I hope mom doesn't feel that bad about it.

I had a very "east coast" moment at the bagel shop the other day. I was buying some bagels and had everything picked out. The clerk was standing at the register and I had my money in one hand and my son in the other. All of a sudden, a pushy east-coast-woman steps in between me and my intended financial transaction and begins ordering her bagels from a different clerk.

I could not believe the nerve of this woman. She's got the whole store in which she can order bagels, so why does she have to order in such a way that it interferes with my business? Politely, I said, "Pardon me." And she kept ordering.

A little louder now, "PARDON ME!" Still this east-coast woman ignored me.

Finally, I have become one with the east coast, "PARDON ME!!!!!" The lady gets the hint. I think if I had never lived out East I would have let her cut in line. Still, the nerve of this lady. I'm holding my enormous fat baby and can barely hang on. All I want to do is get my bagels and get out of there. Where does she get off standing in front of the register right before I pay.


My cousin Micahel also sent me 'The Diving Bell and The Butterfly,' and I enjoyed it terrifically. A few of the neurologists who lectured to us last year mentioned it, but it wasn't at the library (vast as the holdings of the Collingswood, NJ library might be) so I didn't read it over the summer. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. The writing was economical and poetic.

Right now, I'm almost done with 'White Teeth' By Zadie Smith.

I Am A: Neutral Good Human Fighter/Wizard (3rd/2nd Level)


Ability Scores:

Strength-14

Dexterity-9

Constitution-17

Intelligence-17

Wisdom-17

Charisma-13


Alignment:
Neutral Good A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them. Neutral good is the best alignment you can be because it means doing what is good without bias for or against order. However, neutral good can be a dangerous alignment because because it advances mediocrity by limiting the actions of the truly capable.


Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.


Primary Class:
Fighters can be many things, from soldiers to criminal enforcers. Some see adventure as a way to get rich, while others use their skills to protect the innocent. Fighters have the best all-around fighting capabilities of the PC classes, and they are trained to use all standard weapons and armor. A fighter's rigorous martial training grants him many bonus feats as he progresses, and high-level fighters have access to special melee maneuvers and exotic weapons not available to any other character.


Secondary Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.


Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

Christmas season is upon us. My mom is visiting and we are relaxing, as much as we can relax anyway. For regular readers, I apologize for not having kept up. I'm entering a busier-than-usual stretch in my education and induction into the American medical-industrial-complex. I'll do my best to blow off steam and let you know about the minor tragedies and major dramas of my family, but I beg your patience.

My mom is visiting us for the next few days and, when she visits, she likes to cook a lot of really good food. Unfortunately, our kitchen is deceptively small and there is really not room enough for more than one person to work in the kitchen at a time. Mom's food is great, but she seems to be out-of-sync with our normal circadian rhythms. For example, an eighteen pound turkey is sitting in the stove behind me as I type. It is fully cooked and ready to eat with cranberry sauce, stuffing (more on the stuffing later), sweet potatoes, and gravy, yet everyone is sleeping except for me. Then, when people are hungry and meals need to be prepared, Mom is working on her next masterpiece, which should be ready at 10:30 AM or so. Nevertheless, we are getting along well and I am on my best behavior, or at least I am trying to be good.

An important item in mom's stuffing and gravy are turkey or chicken giblets
which Jill loathes. After lunch today, Ben climbed up on the step stool to 'help' me with the dishes. He spotted a bowl of gizzards and turkey necks beside the sink. What could be a better treat? He grabbed a mealy, gamey turkey gizzard and began to eat it. He then ran upstairs where his mom caught sight of him. She came downstairs and we had a little fight about it.

Jill said, "Did you do that on purpose?"

I replied, "No, I did not."

Mom defended the gizzard eating, "Everyone in the Barasches and McCannons eats these, there's nothing wrong with it. Everyone does it. I don't know anyone who doesn't eat the gizzards."

Jill said, "You know me! I don't eat that!" She was angry. Then she fell asleep, too sick for lunch. She has a passing stomach illness that is greatly exaggerated by the sight of her offspring eating poultry innards.

I just finished reading a book for fun, though it has a passing connection to Neurology (my professors kept talking about it last year in neuroscience), called The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. It's about a guy who has a hemorrhage in his brain stem and can thereafter only communicate by blinking. Before his accident, the author was the editor-in-chief of a parisian fashion magazine, so the text is very poetic. It's not as depressing as you might think.


May has beens struggling with potty problems since our Thanksgiving venture to NYC.

May is a lucky girl; she had three birthday parties this year.

Our birthday party was the most wild of the three and had some of the kids from the nieghborhood. Jill had the party planned very well. It was a dog themed party. We began by opening the door and letting the wild children into the house. Then the wild children circulated within the living room and dining room to different 'dog care' stations, including the following: dog beauty salon, dog doctor, pup tent, and canine cafe. Then the kids had a craft activity in which they decorated their 'dog houses' (little cardboard boxes that Jill had gotten to contain little take-home-party-favor doggies). Almost immediately as the kids were starting to get rambunctious after the dog-house decorating, the pizza arrived. We ate and then, like clockwork, opened presents. Finally, we ate brownies and ice cream. It was terrific except that I had the worst laryngitis I've had since I was in college and also no one cried at the end (hardly a good kids party if no one cries at the end). I enjoyed the party, but some of the guests were creeped out by my scratchier-than-usual voice.

Then, on the actual day of May's birthday, she had two parties. The first party was at my sister's house where she received elaborate gifts of jewelry from my sister and camoflage army fatigues from my mom. When Sarah brought the cupcakes out of the back room with the candles lit, May screamed over and over again, "I can't believe it! I can't believe it!" May got a chocolate cupcake (her favorite) everyone else got carrot cake cupcakes (my favorite). Ben wasn't too happy with his carrot cake cupcake and kept pointing and screaming at his sister's cupcake. Ah well, each person's birthday comes but once a year.

That evening we went to my Aunt's apartment where we ate large amounts of excellent food from the extended thanksgiving feast (i.e. leftovers). I like to judge a thanksgiving holiday based upon the quality and quantity of leftovers and this year's holiday was very good. In fact, I ate a turkey sandwich for lunch today and may be fortunate enough to have one again tomorrow.

Finally, it came time for us to leave NY. As I was schlepping out bags down to the car, Benjamin came up to my knees and looked up at me. He asked, "Hep ooo?" Ben is very interested in helping grownups do things. He likes to sweep and take out the garbage. He is most interested in helping in real ways. He really wants to haul a bag of trash to the curb. His sweeping is not super helpful, though it is enthusiastic. He also really, really likes to help unload the dishwasher. He was quite disappointed that I wouldn't let him help me haul the bags to the car and went and cried and told on me to his mom.

I have a really bad cold. It struck Saturday after my exam. There's so much preparation that goes into an exam that I run myself ragged. I felt the cold coming on, and instead of resting a lot and fighting it off, I stayed up late studying for many nights in a row. Finally, my system succumbed to the virus. Yesterday I sounded even more like Krusty the Klown than usual and today my voice is totally gone.

Yesterday May went to a birthday party at Chucky Cheese. While Jill and May were at the party, Ben and I went to the airport to get my dad, who flew East for the holiday. When we picked up Jill and May at the Chucky Cheese, I asked may how she liked it. She said, "I LOVED it!" I asked her, "What did you love about Chucky Cheese?" and she replied, "It was really meaningful." Undaunted, I forged ahead. "What was meaningful about it, May?"

"The lights and everything."

Jill described it best when she said the robot rat was low tech in the seventies. Chucky Cheese, for those who have not experienced it or went there too long ago for the underwhelming experience to be present in active memory, is a robot rat that shakes its head a little while some music plays. Then a costumed rat-man comes out and dances with some of the staff. Also, there were rides and games that May was too small and poorly coordinated to play. She rode a few rides meant for kids that are much younger and tried to climb into the skeeball game. She traded her tickets (that Jill won for her at the Chucky Cheese games) for a tootsie roll.

My dad is here visiting and the kids are loving it. Ben got really wild with him last night after we got back from picking up Jill and May. He screeched and leaped down on top of him from the back of the couch. He smacked grandpa and cackled. Then he hit him across the face and knocked his glasses off and across the room. I quickly got grandpa's glasses and put them on top of the TV where no one would step on them.

Today, May had a birthday party, but I will write about that in a separate blog entry.

Last night, at 9:30, I went for a run. I ran down by the river. I wore two t-shirts and some sweat pants. It was a little chilly and my hands were cold. I listened to a lecture on 'opportunistic fungal infections' - pretty bad stuff. I had a great run. I ran faster than I ever have before, and on the way back I was running without thinking about it at all and feeling great. It was like I was floating above the ground or having an out-of-body experience.

I have an exam on Friday and am very tired.

Tonight I came up with a new name for my daughter, The Great Negotiator. She's watching a Winnie The Pooh singing video while I type.

El Destructo has been climbing a lot lately. He pushes a chair over to the kitchen counter and is threatening to climb on top of it.

In regards to feelings of guilt regarding the woman with seizure below....

My friend Ibert told me that on the north side of Philly, if someone has a seizure, that person is usually robbed. So, I don't feel as guilty for not helping. I didn't help, but I didn't take her wallet either.