Optimization

It starts the minute I walk through the foyer opening into the kitchen.  Left or Right?  Left usually.  I snag a 100% Whole Wheat English Muffin from the pantry rack and take a short step to the kitchen table where I grab a knife, a fork and a spoon.  Next comes a diagonal walk across the kitchen to the corner between the dishwasher and the stove.  I pull open the cupboard above the dishwasher and retrieve a small plate and a cup.  The silverware goes on the plate.  The cup stands by on the counter while I use the fork to split the muffin and pop it into the toaster oven.  I fill the hot pot with water and turn it on and then hop the cup over the stove to rest on another counter while I pull down my vitamins.  Currently, I am taking them in order of size and dumping them all out before taking them.  The vitamins go back to the cupboard, and I take two small steps to the fridge when I pull out the milk and the Smart Balance.  (I hate eating foods that require capitalization.)  The milk sits down next to the cup and them Smart Balance goes over to the toaster oven to await my muffin.  I pour 8 oz of milk, take the pills, and replace vitamins and milk in their respective homes.  The toaster has dinged by now, but I still need to visit the tea cupboard next to the fridge.  I pull down my giant mug and fill it with one PG Tips tea bag and the contents of four Splenda packets whose wrappers are trucked diagonally across the room to the trash.  I bring the mug back to the hot pot where I slide in the spoon.  The water can wait, but my muffin is getting cold.  I pull it out and place it on the small plate then butter it with thin curls of Smart Balance.  The water has generally boiled by now, so I pull out the spoon and let the water pummel the tea bag.  As soon as the water is dark enough I dump the tea bag in the trash, pick up the plate with the muffin and go sit quietly somewhere enjoying the last few minutes before I have to get to work.
 Right now that's as good as it gets.  It'll get better.  Managing cooking times is a bit wonky, and I want to reduce the number of times I leave the corner to do something else.  Optimizing things that I do frequently is one of my favorite games to play.  Breakfast is an especial favorite because there are so many variables.  I am also working on the best strategy for showering, settling into Barnes and Noble for writing time, getting through my workout, how best to put on and take off my backpack at different locations, and getting laundry smoothed out--amongst other things.  I used to worry that I was going to get stuck in a routine, but all these plans are about as permanent as a sand castle.  Take the English Muffins for example.  I love them, but Sam's has started to sell them in two packs totaling 18 instead of the 12 I prefer.  I may have to choose a new breakfast item which changes everything.  I think that might be part of the fun of it.

Those Cute Afghani Hats

When the war in Afghanistan began I had read maybe three articles about that country in Reader's Digest and U.S. News and World Report.  I may also have realized that that gorgeous girl, whose photo National Geographic kept trotting out, was from there.  Know thy enemy may be one reason that attempts at enriching our national understanding of the culture of Afghanistan have slowed down now that we are in the slog of war.  It is hard to think of such simple people giving us such trouble--but isn't that what I learned about Afghanistan from those three articles and a picture?  We were so proud of the way they fought the Russians and now we are the Russians.
I'd rather think about the pictures that we saw at the beginning--the poppy fields, the smiling girls, the tribal leaders.  I wish I knew more about the whys and wherefores of all the things that puzzle me.    I want to know if I'd offend Afghan men by wearing their Pakol hat.  Is it wrong to just grab a hat and go?
Life is a full time job.

Personal History

Somewhere Out There

Dating

Volare

Engagement

You're Still the One

7 years in

Cinema

Yesterday

Embryonic Rights

It's time for new language and a new strategy in the fight for life.  We've danced with our Pro-Choice partner so long the fight has fallen into a soporific waltz and both partners risk falling off a cliff into nothingness. It is time to pay attention to the most dramatic player on the scene--the embryo itself.  It's only defense is its mother, and even that is limited if that mother is in China.  Embryonic stem cell research is hailed from so many quarters without any secondary echo of concern for the costs such possible cures may require.
I'm Pro-Life for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one is human nature.  I don't trust us with the right to treat any human being as expendable.   Throughout history any attempt to draw a line and say that this is not a human being ends in in abuse, and the line itself keeps moving.  If we're blessed it moves to a more generous position, if not, more and more human beings will find themselves oppressed/at risk of death.  By saying the second that slippery little sperm slides in, that baby is a human and worthy of human rights, we draw the line as wide as it can possibly be drawn, at the short end at least.  We draw the largest circle of safety around ourselves.
For these reasons I call for a new language that emphasizes human rights and seeks to reestablish the base line of humanity.

Fallen Woman

I saved myself for the Met.  While most opera lovers were growing up with season tickets well in hand, I was hiding in my closet listening to Met broadcasts on a radio that was also a stuffed dog (my uncle worked at Radio Shack.)  All those years of listening added up to some intense fantasies about seeing my first opera, so I waited for the best, for the Met.  OK, there was one terrible production of Die Fledermaus during college, but it was horrible and during college--that doesn't count, right?  But the years have gone by and kids kept happening and I'm not getting younger, I needed an alternative plan.  Local opera is surprisingly available, but how could Opera Grand Rapids compete with all those girlhood fantasies?
It couldn't.  I was just going to have to go for the virtual experience.  Fathom Events does live broadcasts of opera from the Met.  I have been talking about this since before we were married, so when I rolled over and asked Kurt if he wanted to go see La Traviata he was up and dressed before I'd closed my iPad.  We were in good company and the theater was full-the kind of full I expect for a Harry Potter film.  The Met was gorgeous and the broadcast was good.  Natalie Dessay sung her lungs out.  The set was perfect.  It was everything I'd hoped for.  The only sour note was the ticket price, but only because it was unexpected.
I will be going again.

My Life in Apps

I have made no secret of my love for my iPad.  I am not exaggerating when I say my life is changed because of this machine.  I don't know how I'd go back to life without it.  Here is a glimpse of my life as I live it now thanks to all those great apps.

Reminders--I had to have a place to dump all those tasks that need to be done, but not tomorrow.  I may never get the piano tuned, but I'll think about it every time I open this app.
 iPlan Lessons-  teachers book for homeschoolers.
Pepper Plate--favorite recipes, menu plans and instant shopping lists
Pages--holds most of my novel, my poetry, a class on medieval monasticism for co-op and other stuff I want to hang on to.
Storyist--As soon as I finish typing my first draft up, I'll be breaking this program out to play with the next draft.
Meta Notebook--where I stash my notes on the books I'm reading.
ChorePad--keep track of chores and allowance
Cash Flow--keeping track of kids money from work and gifts
Nature Sounds--takes me home quick with my own brew of sounds.  The loon could be better.
Pocket Yoga--best way to learn yoga I've found
Livestrong Calorie Counter--make a difference for me.  I love to fill out charts and these charts put me on the right path.
My Food--it's pretty and it makes me think about what I'm eating.
Notes--I have sixteen.  They range from medical procedures to poems in process to addresses.  I dump everything here.
Divine Office--fills the day with scripture, songs and prayers
iMissal--up-to-date with the latest changes.  Just figured that out.
Prayers--lots of prayers including rosaries.  Great way to fill empty time.
Prayer Journal--more Protestant way of recording what you're praying for and how often.
MeaCulpa--so helpful to the convert.  You work through scrutinies and the results are packaged neatly with all the prayers and such for Reconcilliation.
Facebook--The news I really care about.  "Go, Ian!  Eat those crackers!"
Sam's Club--shopping list and evalues in a fun setting.
ABC News--what else is going on in the world
Magical Weather--charming
Flixster--if you love movies as much as I do this is a must.
Terra Nova--Please don't let it be dead.
ABC Player--when I need a little down time.
Presidents vs. Aliens--too much fun.

The only thing I can't do easily--work on my blog.  Ironic.
That's it.  My life on an iPad.