The Red River Valley Goes Political

I couldn't be MORE excited. For about a week, I've been looking forward to hearing Barack Obama speak at the ND Democratic State Convention in Grand Forks and today the news hit that Hillary Clinton will be there too! I feel like I just won free tickets to a Rolling Stone concert and it's my birthday and Christmas and I lost ten pounds all at once! I'm sure for many this might not seem like a big deal, but political candidates so rarely bother to stop by our state that I recognize it for what it is... an historic event. Just like the presidential race.

My Idea of Celebrity.

I remember when I was first in college and working as a waitress in the metropolis of Grand Forks. I waited on local newscaster, Terry Dullum. The next time I spoke to my dad, I proudly mentioned this. To which my father replied, "I'm sorry to tell you this, Carmyn, but I've never really considered Terry Dullum to be a celebrity." Looking back, I have to agree.

Yet, this Tuesday I must admit I'm a little bit aflutter for my most recent celebrity encounter. (No, it's not John Cusack. If I met him, I'd be cool and wonderful and he'd realize in moments I was the girl he's been dreaming of all this time and we'd be married quietly and I'd be sure not to flaunt my newfound happiness. No one likes a braggy girl.) No, last night I met Salman Rushdie. Perhaps I'm misrepresenting the situation. Sadly we did not have a one on one encounter that ended in a friendly embrace. I mostly just saw him speak for about 90 minutes. Still, this passes for excitement in my life. I did speak to him as he signed my copy of Haroun and the Sea of Stories at the NDMOA reception that followed the kick off of the UND Writers Conference.

Kind of Reminds me of To Kill a Mockingbird...

... when Scout and Jem find soap carvings of themselves in the hollow of a tree.

I guess this is another artistic use for your crayons.
Check out more of his artwork here.

You're Never Too Old

On Easter Sunday, the Easter Bunny actually visited my dad's house and left an egg for both my brother and me. My dad's suggestion was to look in some of our favorite places.. It turns out he was right. Mine was hidden in the branches of a tree in our backyard. My brother's in his Toyota Landcruiser, parked for the winter. Of course, with all the snow we DID have "bunny" tracks to follow which made the search a wee bit easier. What fun to be a kid again.

Things I'd Like to Try

Tiny Pies in a Jar

Tiramisu on a Stick

Knit Strawberry Baby Rattle

My Kryptonite.

Day 22. I still have hives. Almost had a reprieve on day 21... but relapsed in the night. Woke at midnight and 3 am to mad scratching... I had Albert Einstein hair by morning!

I am sorry for not blogging lately. I'll do a few posts over break and catch y'all up with the exciting life of Carmyn.

My Body is Turning on Me

My head is so itchy, beginning just above my eyebrows, that I would like to temporarily remove all my hair and actually SEE the horror that must be my scalp beneath it. I can feel what I imagine to be raw red bumps, like something out of the Star Wars films when we see Darth Vader without his helmet. I can feel and see five cruel bumps on my forehead and though they itch they are nothing compared to my scalp. I have had hives for thirteen days. If they aren't better by next Friday I am to go back in to the doctor. If I get a fever over 100, I am to go back in. If I get a symmetrical pattern mirrored on both sides of my body, I am supposed to go back in. So far I've just had the hives doing their elusive dance all over my body.

What prompted me to see the doctor was the persistent red and itchy palms that gave off an alarming amount of heat, but it turns out that wasn't as bad as it could get and they faded in about 48 hours. Then I was horrified when something appeared in a place that shall not be named, but the worst has to be this itchy head. The sources I read said that some hives can appear and disappear in anywhere from 2 to 24 hours.. but mine have been tending to appear and disappear about 2 days later or even a bit longer. Their intensity may diminsh but they don't disappear. Afflicted areas include my ears, my lower back, the palms of my hands, my index finger, now the top of my left thumb, three places on the top of my right foot, my right shoulder, my forehead, my entire scalp for days now. It's exhausting.

I started reading about hives online and that was a mistake. I learned that there is almost nothing I can do other than take Benadryl. I can try to learn the source of the hives, but I discovered that 80% of people who have hives never know their cause. It could be caused by an allergy, stress, response to medication, a cold, insect bites, or physical exposure to cold weather, sunlight, or pressure. So far I've narrowed my potential triggers as possibly Advil which I've taken for years, but I also had a respiratory cold when this all started, also I've been a tad stressed.

The hives bother me most right when I wake up in the morning and in the evening right before I go to bed. In fact, the past two nights I've had trouble sleeping because of the head itchiness. It's unbearable. I tried something I read online and that was to use a cold ice pack on the area of hives because it reduces swelling and that seemed to help. The benadryl does not. I lay in bed last night mentally inventing a new kind of cold pack that would cover my whole head at once, something like a shower cap. Well, a girl can dream. My experience in the past few days has been that by noon each day I feel right as rain with only minor itching somewhere on my hand or arm. Today it's nearly 1 pm and I am still wondering if I've died and gone to Dante's version of Hell. is there a level where one itches forever without relief? Damn. There should be.

It's Not Over...

I'm addicted to CNN tonight. Up nearly 2 hours past my bedtime, obsessively watching the scrolling numbers, listening to Clinton and Obama speak... what the heck is happening to me? Was it just me or did Hillary look particularly pretty in pink tonight? Thank you, Ohio... I'll have to wait until morning for my definitive Texas results.

Sunshine.

I've been waking up to sunshine or at least leaving the house to fully lit, sunshiney world. I can't really express how very happy that makes me. It makes me want to wear open toed shoes and skirts. Today I didn't wear a jacket when I left my apartment. And the high today was 20 degrees. So, I'm a little insane but I do believe that a bit of sunshine can cure most any kind of woes.. except maybe sunstroke. I hear it's not terribly helpful with that.

Spelldown.

On Friday I watched the county spelling bee for the first time in ages. It was fun to see the kids... 5th grade through 8th grade... and to rememeber my own experience as a wee kid. I'm a much better speller in the written round than the oral. I know that. I guess that's true of most people. One sweet little fifth grade boy chatted with me while we waited for the written results. I asked him what he thought and he admitted, "It was hard." Bless his heart. I actually thought the words seemed very easy with only one that gave me trouble... "castanets." Of course I do have a masters degree and I've been around a lot longer. The oral round was much trickier with words that seem easy enough until you have to actually spell them right orally the first time around. I would have been knocked out with "malleable." Even though I knew it needed two "l's" I still managed to jot it down wrong in my haste. For you spelling junkies other words included:
stanchion
alluvium
aborigine
acquiescence
trousseau
jococity
paroxysmal
and the winning word, if I am remembering correctly, was "trilithon"

Melting the Subzero Weather with Music...

Superpowers Playlist

1. You Turn Me On I'm a Radio by Joni Mitchell
2. Little Boxes by Malvina Reynolds
3. Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On) by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
4. Samson by Regina Spektor
5. Modern Girl by Sleater-Kinney
6. Ride a White Swan by T.Rex
7. Oh Very Young by Cat Stevens
8. Hot Child in the City by Nick Gilder
9. Third Time Lucky by Foghat
10. MmmBop by Hanson
11. Your Daddy Don't Know by Toronto
12. Hold On, Hold On by Neko Case
13. Diamonds on the Inside by Ben Harper
14. Turn Me On by Nina Simone
15. Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
16. Take Me Home Tonight by Eddie Money
17. Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield
18. Little Willy by Sweet
19. Knock Three Times by Tony Orlando and Dawn
20. Oxygen by Willy Mason
21. Peace Will Come (According to Plan) by Melanie
22. Love is All Around by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

I've been noodling this one over all month. Here it is. My first superpowers playlist. If anyone would like a copy of the CD just let me know and I'll send you one in the mail.

Mooning over the Night Sky.

I found this image and more here. On my Wednesday night I was at trivia at El Roco and I must admit it was sort of cool to see so many bar patrons periodically dashing outside to monitor the progress of the eclipse. It looked a lot like these pics of the moon in various stages even though this person recorded the times using the Eastern time zone. It's hard to explain to others the thrill I get from this sort of thing. I heart space and stars and Jupiter and even cold little former planets like Pluto.

Not so Black and White.

Things are precarious here in the land of Democrats. It may not seem that way, but as the Ohio and Texas primaries creep ever closer it's becoming obvious this could be the end for Hillary Clinton's campaign after losing the last ten states primaries to Obama. I am not staunchly for either candidate... let the record show that I preferred Kucinich or Biden's politics and that ultimately Clinton and Obama shared a lower status on my wish list for a presidential candidate. There's no doubt that with either of them in the White House it would be a moment for the history books. But is that enough of a reason to elect either of them in the eyes of the American public?

For me, it seemed fairly obvious for me that the Republicans had a bigger mess on their hands having NO DECENT candidates and yet it seems that a leader has emerged in their camp with John McCain. I actually find him to be less than threatening, less than electable... old and fairly ridiculous (even my Republican father can't stand him). Still I worry. A country that would reelect Bush for a second term in office cannot be trusted and I am suddenly fearful that Americans might actually opt for a president who is promising a never ending war with Iraq (or at least another 50-100 years of presence there).

I think that right now it's all roses and sunshine in the Obama camp and I worry that once he has the nomination we might still lose the general election come November. I'm not certain that Hillary would have a better shot but something about this whole situation just doesn't feel right. I guess I always thought it would be Hillary in 2008 even though she wasn't necessarily #1 on my list. I believe she could do the job. Run the country. Actually bring about the changes that Obama loves to talk about. Is it wrong that I'm not all that moved by his speeches? Do I have a heart of stone? I wonder if the Republicans will run right over him if he gets the nomination. We may embrace his idealism and spin it so he's "a fresh face not entrenched in Washington politics" but I fear that when the GOP gets a hold of him and the true fight is on, that it will be far less polite and fair than the one we've already watched between Obama and Clinton. I fear the least of his faults will be that he's "inexperienced" and as a country we'll be screwed. For more on the Obama "Delusion" check out this Newsweek Article.

I'm a bit skeptical and bitter. Sure. But I'm not totally without faith. I pray to the God of all that is just and good that the Presidency will be decided by the time we know the democratic nomination and that November will just be making it official.

I have a "beef" about school lunches.

No pun intended... we're all a bit frightened by the news... but apparently not enough to stop serving sloppy joes on Tuesdays.

I never remember the hot lunch program being so strict and highly monitored back in my own school days. I actually have somewhat FOND memories of school lunches at Kyle Elementary School. Beef stew day was a favorite because that also meant homemade bun day. At the end of the meal I recall lunch ladies bringing trays around with extras if everyone had been served and there was food left they brought it around for seconds. It was wonderful. Here every little thing costs extra. I wouldn't be surprised if I got dinged for taking three ketchup packets instead of two.

We used actual silverware and trays and glasses for milk. Sure someone had to wash them at the end of the meal, but think of all the waste that is produced daily by a school district like ours that uses disposable trays and cutlery. I'm amazed it's even permitted in an environmentally conscious society. Could it be that no one knows?

I recall my mother having the monthly school menu taped to the fridge and I would check it out each day in preparation. (Meals have ALWAYS been a big deal for me) there were very few repeats, which was a bummer for me on some of my favorite meals. However, the school where I work has the same thing each week. It's basically a five day repeating meal schedule. There is some variance so it's probably more like a 10 day meal plan but the choices are so similar it's hardly a variety at all. Year in and year out, I am officially unable to swallow another bite of turkey tidbits.

My current complaint is more in the realm of what counts as a vegetable in a standard lunch meal in our school district. Our lunch lady, who is truly a saint, insists that she has to count french fries as a vegetable or our mashed potatoes on turkey tidbit day as our vegetable. Where I come from potatoes don't count as veggies. They are starches. Or am I just making that up? In a recent wellness class I attended we learned about the USDA food pyramid changes and I asked about the french fries and they looked at me like I was from Mars and said NO, french fries do NOT count as a vegetable and I suggested they mention that to our district lunch coordinator. I'm not suggesting we NOT serve french fries or mashed potatoes, just that we not be so "cheap" as to suggest that if a student opts for potatoes on which to put their meatballs and gravy, they not be penalized and have to pay extra for green beans since they "already have a vegetable."

Perhaps this is all just pettiness and nothing to "get worked up over" but it's long been a source of irritation and what fun is having a blog if I can't bitch a little now and then. Perhaps this is a reason to send kids to school with lunchboxes lest they begin demaning a trip to McDonalds when you encourage them to "eat their veggies"

Blah. Blah. Blah.

I am feeling like I'm not living up to my bloggery-duties. I've not written anything much in months. Most of my posts are based on things spotted elsewhere on the net. One might think, as Emma suggested once on her blog, that I am too busy living life to blog, but that would not be the case. Instead I've spent far too much time in the past couple months with terrible head colds and too much blah going on to generate any kind of intelligent text worthy of posting. (Not sure this counts, either!)

On Friday I was hit, (just in time for the weekend) with a terrible cough that morphed into a fever on Saturday and then, on Sunday, with a bizarre reaction of sorts that had both my ears bright red, mildly itchy and generating enough heat to warm my apartment. Oh, and then I had some hives too. The medications keep increasing and the symptoms keep replacing themselves as if my darn body is determined to keep me down one way or another. Sunday night I woke with swollen glands and a sore throat and by Monday night the ear-syndrome and hives had mostly subsided to be replaced by the ever popular stuffy head, I can't bweathe or speak properly and to tilt my head downward is to feel like I'm drowning. Ugh. Now it's Tuesday and the cold meds aren't even making a dent. So, I'm afraid my zest for living is a bit dulled.

I promise as soon as I feel 100% again I'll get crazy and do a bunch of interesting things again.