November's First Friday!

Today is Master Awesome's birthday.  I would just like to say that.

For the little Chinese girl in us all:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZHZTkYWopA&feature=related Sweet, sweet video.

And how are you, my friends? 

It looks like all my east coast buddies made it through the storm. The weather was so pleasant this fall, after a wickedly hot and dry summer.  I've enjoyed it.  I hope we get a little more Fall, even if it's the chilly kind, before we plough straight into legitimate winter.

We're all recovering from that head cold.  Grant's ear was bothering him this morning.  I actually got a call from the nurse.  Want to know what escaped her lips while she was on the phone?  I asked if she'd looked in the ear, and she told me I didn't want her to.  She told me that she's "self taught."  I think I'm going to have to look into the sate requirements for the position of School Nurse.  Anyway, in case you are curious, I gave her permission to give him a dose of Ibuprofen.

Abbie was at the same "nurse" on Wednesday.  She had a nosebleed.  I actually wrote in the file that she was prone to them, and the "nurse" was still blabbing on about how maybe she bumped it while at recess.  I should have figured her out then.

Halloween was great.  I have nothing unpleasant to report.  Even the pre-teenage kids all seemed really nice and pleasant this year.  It was very comforting.  Since I am still getting over the cold, I took Grant and Abbie around the first few houses, and then Josh took them for the real thing.  I had water boiling as they came in, for hot chocolate.

I read In The Woods, by Tanya French.  Well written, but I was slightly disappointed.  Are you going to read it?  I won't spoil it, since it's a suspense book. Here's the non-spoiler review:

A little Irish boy and his two best friends go into the woods behind their houses, just like they have done pretty much every day, and don't return.  Eventually, a search is conducted, and the boy is found grasping a tree and with no memory of what happened.  He grows up in an English boarding school, where his accent changes, and decides to be a murder detective.  As a young (and, therefore, conspicuous) murder detective, he is relieved when a woman transfers to the department, so the guys will have something else to speculate about.  The two become not only partners, but extremely close, though platonic, friends.  One day, the female counterpart accepts a job before hearing the particulars.  It is from the man's hometown, and it is a child murder.  She is the only one who knows his past, and they take on the investigation, not knowing if it is relevant to his friends' disappearance, or whether it will trigger the release of locked memories.

Sounds great, right?  It was very well written, and well paced.  Some things I was particularly wondering about, though, are addressed but not resolved.  The end is somewhat of an unraveling, not a putting together.  Well, anyway, why don't you read it, and then tell me what you think?

I also had an eye appointment.  New glasses next week!  I had my eyes dilated, too.  They weren't very good about preparing me for that.  I was told that they needed to put a few drops in, to better determine (blah, blah, blah)....  He started to walk off, and I said, "Wait, is this going to affect my driving?" 
"Oh, no, it's just going to make you a little light sensitive, and will wear off in about an hour."
Are you laughing?  You probably are if you've had this done before.  I couldn't read anything, I was VERY light sensitive, and driving home, even though I waited, was interesting, to say the least.

Taiko last night was quite a workout, but I made it through. I'm playing Oodaiko on Isami Goma, and that is super fun.  I'm the first drum on Hanabi, and I'm playing the A side on Ashura, even though I've been practicing the B part lately.  I'll be playing on Zoku, too, but we didn't practice that yet.  I'm playing chuu for Suwako, and I'm also playing the uchiwa on Kokoro no Koe, the uchiwa and fue duet!!  It's the only part I'm having to learn for this show.  Crazy, Man!

Here's most of the song:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbKSGDZTkBU&playnext=1&list=PLD1D728DBC3E131DD&feature=results_video


We drove a different way to practice last night.  They are doing bridge work on 70, so we crossed the river on 94 instead.  I was a little surprised to see Michelle's mom's car at her house.  We made it on time to practice.  I think we're going to stick with that route.  After practice, though, Michelle called her mom from my car and told her to meet at MacDonald's.  That MacDonald's is on 70.  So, we got off at the Lake St. Louis Blvd exit to drive through town and get to 70.  We had one wrong turn.  My fault - I wouldn't have believed her if I'd known the area better.  I think I got home at 11.

I'm having trouble with a glitch on the Subfinder page.  It's embarrassing.  It makes me look like I don't know what I'm doing.  I'm hoping for work next week.  I'm also still looking for another job.  Know of any?

Meat loaf tonight!

Have a happy weekend, everyone!  We plan to do housework.