Before I get into a more "normal" post, I have some important caveats to present. Google -- the organization that owns & runs Blogger -- is undertaking a "spring cleaning" that involves a number of changes to Blogger's functionality. I won't go into the technical details but want to warn everyone about possible weirdness in how this blog does or doesn't function in the coming months. Y'know, just in case. <8-o
First, the comments system is being folded very strongly into the Google+ world and OpenID is no longer supported; you'll still be able to leave comments, but how it's done, and your ability to post a comment as anything other than "Anonymous," will depend upon whether or not you have a G+ profile. Also, something that was done behind the scenes a while back seems to have broken parts of the "comment via email" system, and it remains at least partially broken. The problem's allegedly being worked on, but if you've tried to comment on this blog by sending an email and have seen zero results please don't take it personally! I've found a potential workarounds in the Blogger user forums that I'll be trying, but some of them feel a bit Rube Goldberg-esque so I'm not holding my breath. The other thing that's happening is that 3rd party widgets may or may not keep working (or possibly vanish altogether), so if you see anything weird in the sidebars, header, or footer of the blog please let me know (assuming you can figure out how <sigh>).
Okay, all the tech stuff is out of the way, here's some of what I've been saving up to post....!
New Pipsqueakisms:
Although I sorely miss things like it being "blitch dark" when the lights are out or using a "bang" and a "screwter" to build furniture, my niece continues to come up with phrases & behaviors that make us laugh out loud (or at least shaking our heads with a grin). Some more recent examples:
On why she wants to start playing the flute in 4th grade:
"I decided to try the flute because I like blowing air in things!"
(Note to self: Make damn sure she doesn't say this to a boy until she's 18... or maybe 21... 30?)
Called out angrily over her shoulder whilst stomping upstairs after being told to turn off a light she'd left on:
"Fine! I'll do it! But only because I'm not doing it!"
(Yes, you read that correctly. No, we haven't quite figured out exactly what she was saying. But it was funny, anyway.)
After Grandma quietly sneaked up behind her and gave her a good scare:
"Grandma! I thought you were some stranger attacking an innocent child -- and I was that innocent child!"
After making it her business to keep Grandpa company on a bench while Grandma & Mommy shopped:
"Yep! I'm a responsible kid! You can call me R-I-K for 'responsible innocent kid,' but don't call me 'Rick!'"
(I swear I am not, and could not be, making this up!)
Oh, and don't get me started on how many times we've heard how her upcoming 9th birthday is extra-special because, "It's my last birthday with just one digit!"
And, to close out, a little more kvelling by Yours Truly. To make a long, complicated story short, after AJ recently changed jobs I now pick Miri up every afternoon -- most frequently to get her to dance class (she's in five right now, and will be auditioning for the studio's dance team in a couple of weeks). One day each week, she has to get to the studio a little early and then has three hour-long classes in a row. It wasn't a problem when Mommy's job was five minutes down the road, but since the change she's gotten a lot more anxious about being left "alone" for so long. (Dude, never mind all day at school, the hours of after-school care, the times with her friends, or the fact that literally every teacher & parent, along with most of the kids, at the studio know her very well.) She knows this prevents me from doing any of my coursework for a long time (travel time + prep time + class time can equal a five-hour block of my afternoon & evening), and has been very apologetic, but still really, really, really wants me to stay.
Well, Miri knows I'm making an extra effort to be there for her (she checks on me at every break and between classes <grin>), so when I picked her up after school earlier this week she presented me with the following:
Gotta say I'm kinda fond of the kid. :-)
Anyway, that's all for today. I'm still dealing with "interesting" issues with my laptop (including the recent loss of trusty ol' Photoshop CS3 when Adobe shut down the last authentication server and their "special" authentication-free version steadfastly refused to install... while I still have insufficient storage space to install any newer software) so I can't really post the way I want to, but I'm working toward a goal of at least one post every 5-7 days. (Vamos a ver.)
Here's hoping all's well at your end of the wire, and I'll see y'all in June!
PS - Yeah, I "outed" the Pipsqueak's full first name with that photo... She still has several others so we're OK. :-)
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