Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Happy Halloween!

We've carved some pumpkins and are looking forward to seeing how many trick-or-treaters will show up. We had a neighborhood party in the park on Sunday with lots of little kids running around, so I suspect we'll have quite a few ringing our doorbell this evening.

In other news, we've been adopted by a neighborhood cat. We've set up a litter pan and have let him stay inside the house the past few nights, so I think we've got ourselves a cat, at least for the winter. Unfortunately, he's a bit stinky, so we may have to risk severe injury and give him a bath. Wiping his fur with a damp cloth just isn't helping enough, although it does take care of some dust issues.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Sunday Scribbling: Good

This is a response to a Sunday Scribblings prompt.

We didn't do much today. My husband graded papers while I caught up on some reading. We had leftover vegetable soup for lunch. We took a walk in the park, holding hands and talking.

The sunny was shining brightly, but it is definitely fall now. I pulled out my handknit sweater and have been warm and cozy all afternoon.

We ate steak and salad for supper while watching PBS, and now we are about to eat some goat cheese mixed with pesto on toast and crackers while drinking some wine and watching Masterpiece Theater.

Life is good.

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Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Don't bother the bat

An email just went out to everyone in my building with the following subject line: CAUTION: BAT ON CEILING TILE 2ND FLOOR

I, of course, work on the second floor. The message advises us to "use caution" when walking in that hallway. I overheard our department secretary remind someone, "Don't bother the bat." Now that is not something I hear every day!

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Sunday, October 15, 2006

Sunday Scribbling: If I could stop time...

This is in response to a Sunday Scribblings prompt.

If I could stop time, I don't think I would use it much during the day. There are enough afternoons that drag on forever already. However, the ability to stop time would be wonderful at night. Imagine, being able to stay up and watch , sleep for 10 hours, and still wake up early enough to watch the balloons launching in the morning. I would probably waste any extra waking hours, but I would love to be able to sleep "late" and still be able to pose as one of those perky "morning people".

If I had rapid enough reflexes with the time-stopping ability, it could save me a lot of cleaning. Whenever I fumble and spill something, I could stop time and catch it before it makes a big mess. I could keep that soda out of the carpet. I could stop that glass from shattering on the floor.

If I could stop time after someone insulted me, would I be able to think of the perfect comeback? Probably not. The things I should have said generally don't come to me until I've gone to bed at night. Of course, with the extra sleep I could get from stopping time at night, I might be so well-rested that I become amazingly quick-witted.

The problem with contemplating a superpower is that I always wonder about the drawbacks. What's the catch? For instance, would I still age while I've stopped time? If so, I could find myself physically years beyond my calendar age, with a correspondingly "shorter" lifespan. Would I be able to have someone else join me "unstopped" in time? If not, it might be rather lonely. (I think that is why I would rather use the ability for sleeping than working.) Combine that with the aging, and I would have a power that should not be used lightly. I guess I'll just keep living one minute per minute instead.

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Wednesday, October 04, 2006