The ads do say he doesn't have much else to do...

Our dryer stopped working last week. It was brand new, never-been-used before we moved in, so we called Maytag, they of the commercials featuring the repairman who is so bored because Maytag makes such a top-notch dryer, thus removing the need for his services. As it turned out, in our case they were right, because it was our wiring, which may or may not have been done by a meth-addled capuchin monkey.

In any case, because we first thought it was the dryer, we called in a repairman, who, at some point in his examination Friday morning, inadvertently dropped a roach on our kitchen floor. Kevin found it Friday night and we all had a good laugh imagining his panic when he went to light up his tiny amount of remaining weed and realized he had probably dropped it in a customer's house.

So PSA for the weekend: if you're going to be that careful about hoarding the miniscule amount of pot left in a joint too small to hold with anything other than the finest of needle-nose pliers, you ought to be just as careful about making sure it stays in your pocket.

"Bush Doctrine"? Like anyone knows what that is.

Due to the spiking effect she has on my already-elevated blood pressure, Kevin would like me to avoid all things related to Sarah Palin. However, I would like it to be known that for the near future, I plan to answer all questions with a snotty and slightly panicked "In what respect, Charlie?"

Pleasantly confused

My first day of clinicals went okay. There's a lot of paperwork we have to do, and I don't know that I'll ever be fast enough at doing the various cares, though that's not a huge problem as I don't plan to be working in a field that would require me to give bed baths; giving a laboring woman a bed bath is generally a waste of time, not to mention probably a good way to get punched.

It wasn't complicated, but it was hard work. Speaking of which, a word about natural deodorants: they are insufficient when one is doing anything that breaks the slightest sweat. I apologize to everyone who was subjected to my rankness yesterday. After a lifetime of using Degree and its ilk, I had no idea I could produce that kind of smell.

As per usual, I'm worried about money. I'm applying for part-time jobs this afternoon, but Kevin will have to wait until we're done building the new garage and deck before he starts looking. The lack of student loans for either of us has been a problem. I think this classy lady is on to something. I don't know why neither Kevin nor I thought of exchanging sex for tuition money! I mean, no, we're not virgins, which obviously drives the price down, but then again it's only tech school.

I See a Stroke in Someone's Future!

We checked each others' blood pressures in our nursing skills class yesterday. Mine is 30 points higher than normal. I think I might be a little bit stressed.

Devil in a bouffant

So it would seem that I, along with many many other people, underestimated Sarah Palin. Don't get me wrong, I still think she's grossly unqualified, knows nothing about foreign policy, and has no business being second in line for leader of the United States, behind a 72-year-old man who has had malignant tumors removed from his face three times in the last dozen or so years, the last of which was an invasive melanoma that was removed from his temple.

But I failed to anticipate the popular appeal of a former beauty queen who displays a high level of smug ignorance, a deep mean streak, and an abiding love for shooting and/or consuming moose and moose products. My bad. I also did not anticipate the level of idiocy that would be on display as her supporters grasped at fragile straws to argue for her readiness. Alaska's proximity to Russia gives her international affairs credentials? I guess living four blocks from Lake Superior makes me a freshwater biologist and expert on the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

So yes, Democrats should be concerned about Sarah Palin, despite her many flaws and her ethics problems and her flat-out lies about her own policies as small-town mayor and governor of the state with the smallest population in the union. But there is a bright side! The last week of seeing this awful, awful woman all over the news has galvanized the Democrats and driven a large number of moderates away from McCain, and her snarkiness and attacking have opened the door for Biden to let her have it in the VP debate, which will be wildly entertaining. By the time the election rolls around, we'll all be sick of it, but for now, I'm in a state of gleeful anticipation.

Photo taken from Wonkette

Ugh

I don't know why I forget what a crappy time this 2-3 week period is for me every year. All of a sudden I'm anxious and down and kind of bitchy, if I'm being honest, and it always takes me a while to remember why. It's odd how the little seasonal cues trigger that stuff when you're not even conscious of it.

Lesson 1: "Stethoscope" does not have an "a" in it

Wow, nursing school is hard. It may just be an associate degree, but I'm already putting in waaaay more work than I was while in school for a PhD, even before I abandoned it. I do like it, which is a good thing because I wouldn't have a lot of options if I hated it. Clinicals start next week and I'm nervous. I don't have to walk in there Thursday morning and start an IV or anything, but it's still nervewracking.

Kevin started school too, for the only marine repair program in the state, and it's kind of nice for both of us to be in school at the same time. We have similar schedules and can encourage each other instead of getting resentful that someone always has to be studying when the other person wants to go out or something. Not that we can afford to go out.

Living with my parents has been an adjustment and it's not always easy, but we wouldn't be able to do any of this otherwise. They've helped us out enormously, and although I would really really rather not have to be relying on my parents at the age of 32, it is what it is. We're extremely lucky to have their help.

And, yeah, I love Ashland. It's great living up here. There are some really nice beaches and we've been swimming several times since we got here, though I think the beach weather might be over for the year. Lake Superior isn't what you'd call warm even in the height of summer. We've also been blueberry picking and went to the Bayfield County fair, so I feel fairly confident that we're getting the full northern Wisconsin small-town experience.