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i got ben mario cart for the wii for father's day. it is awesome. i am addicted. i played it for 2 hours yesterday afternoon and did something strange to my eyes. It freaked me out, but once it was better, I was back to racing around that track.

aiden is going through a growth spurt. he eats and eats and eats. he is napping well. and the gymboree chick comments that he looks bigger than last week.

it hurt if he get his finger in your mouth. his teeth are sharp!

he alllllllmost crawling. He can certainly get himself around the living room no problem.

i have not done the switch to wordpress b/c i am being unreasonably picky about the site look. there are a million choices and I can't find one like this one. I can't use the same code with same WP changes b/c WP is way cooler and has wigets that update the stuff on the right without having to go into the code. that is awesome.

so. i am making the switch to wordpress from moveable type. mainly because of the entry screen not always working. It was almost a no go when I installed regular word press and found that you could not have multiple blogs on one installation. I found wordpress mu, which does allow you to do it.

the one thing i like better about MT is the fact the categories are to the right of the entry screen. it makes me mark categories. i forget if i have to scroll down.

but word press has a MILLION more themes.

plus for MT - the coding is the blog software. I am having to use a different program to modify the code.

if you don't customize the code, the WP theme choosing thing is very nice.

i like how WP mu sets up the multiple blogs in the software.

It would be a tie if not for that whole MT entry screen not working all the time....

It was easy to install (so was MT). Easy to use (like MT).

It is currently slow going b/c of me having to look through a million themes to find something i like.

And they did. and it does make me want to use the realtor again, but i just know that i have to be real clear about making sure she communicates everything. and the broker was nice, and ended up driving out to downer grove to stand over the lender. that's nice and all, but why did that not happen on wednesday? and so if i was to use him again, i would just sit on him harder. but since i'll never move to another location in chicago, i doubt the opportunity will arise.

but i am loyal. I think, well, MT works enough. Why do I feel a need to stick with MT?

Because I am loyal. I like to think the best of things....and people.

but sometimes, things (and people) are just not doing their job!

life lesson: do not trust real estate agent and mortgage brokers. they do not have your best interests at heart. they only have theirs.

This life lesson is brought to you by the letter J, well, okay, my sister's friend jenny. She got a big fancy chem eng job downtown. She decided that it made the most sense to buy a condo. She came up in March to do the shopping. Her first agent was a dud. We pointed her to a recommendation we had gotten from a coworker of some family. The new agent was great. Available on short notice, knowledgeable, helpful, proactive. We were quite proud of our recommendation.

Jenny found the condo she wanted. The offer, etc went well. Things were going smoothly to a may 22 closing date. Everyone had two months to get their shit together.

Usually these stories turn into how much the seller ends up sucking (especially b/c it was the builder). But not this one, the sell turned out to be awesome in the face of Jenny's "people" sucking.

Despite the two months notice, and constant assurances to Jenny that everything was fine, the mortgage broker (strongly recommended by the realtor) had nothing ready as the date approached. At 2 pm the day before the 9 am closing, he finally returns Jenny's phone calls to tell her he needs her offer letter and to tell her that she must pay PMI despite having assured her the whole time that she would not have to pay PMI (She's bring 10%, and he told her he could do a 80/10 with the rest to avoid insurance).

It wasn't the fact that the lender was requiring the insurance (it is understandable in this climate) that was annoying, but the last minuteness of it. It seemed that she was being taken advantage of.

When we gathered at the title office yesterday at 9 am, nothing was ready. The broker was not there nor was he returning Jenny's attorney's phone calls as we all sat there.

When your information comes from the seller's attorney's, something is wrong. The realtor kept defending the broker. The broker kept saying it will be noon...then three...then four for SURE.

The broker blamed it on the lender. I understand some things are out of his control, and that the jenny's situation was unique. The communication about the issue has been very unprofessional. The broker would not return Jenny's phone calls. The realtor did not advocate for her CLINET, instead spent the time defending the broker and making excuses. The whole situation would have been a lot better if the realtor/broker just said, yes, this was a screw up. sorry. and kept Jenny in the loop. She should not be having to call people to get information. People should be giving her information. Especially the realtor, who is going to make $12,000 off this transaction.

So closing is scheduled for noon today. Hopefully it will happen.

Needless to say, we will not be recommending this realtor again. It shows that lots of people can do the easy stuff well, but when things get tough, it really shows where their loyalties lie. I would hire the seller's agent way before i ever would the realtor. At the beginning I thought an agent with many many years of experience was the way to go (knowledge), but this makes me question that thought b/c the realtor's loyalties obviously lied with the broker and not her client. Oh and it is not just us that thinks this...

sketch. so be careful out there.

hopefully they will close today....

• today, i have been very techy. i fixed our wireless router and redid the design on my blog.
• i am tired of perpetually feeling like i have to cough
• sunday we made ben's day by going to the baseball game. my friend tom went with us so I would have something to do. it was chilly, but i did not freeze. and the game was only 8.5 innings! the people sitting behind us were from northern LA. It was obvious, not by their heavy accents or the fact they told us they were from the south, but by their starting a conversation with us - "You folks from around here?" They had won the trip from their company (US Foods). They left in the 5th inning. Strange. They were nice, and amusing. It was good that they left for i think they would have talked to us the whole game.
• cracker jack prizes suck


• what happens to baseball uniforms with players' names that left the team?


• how can baseball be played in a dome? (Ben: it is HOT in houston. people would be dropping like flies if it was outside. the catcher would not be able to make it around the bases!)


• moveable type has some sort of annoying glitch that sometimes makes it unable to type in the entry box. obviously, i have also figured out this problem. but it makes me think about work press.


• Ben is a little too into the game right now. There has been jumping, raising of the arms, and pumping of the fist. FOR REALS? It isn't that close! Three runs is a big lead.

• He just pointed out that he has to engage in something since i have required that he STOP TALKING TO ME. Praise jesus, thank you for tv.


• opps, tv does not prevent useless questions/comments. sigh.


• filing complaint to jesus.

here's a phrase that bothers me:

"we are trying to identify women to hire."

this is insulting to women and men. it is demeaning to imply that women aren't qualified enough to get jobs on their own.

this, of course, is in relation to hiring in science and engineering academia.

I think that this is the wrong answer. The best person should be hired for a job.

The problem doesn't lie in hiring departments anymore. In my opinion, the problem lies in the environment. To get more women in this field, the field must change. Universities must provide good quality childcare, paid maternity leave, help with finding spouse jobs, and a slow down of tenure clock. In my personal opinion, the environment needs to stop expecting people to work 60 hours a week. When these things occur, I believe that the pool with include more women and therefore the best candidate 50% of the time will be a women.

i'm tired tired tired of weight loss/diet things on the today show. i'm only watching now b/c they say jimmy buffett is coming on. i love jimmy buffett.

but really, i'm so tried of people talking like being "overweight" is a horrible thing. I think it is good to exercise. I think it is good to eat fresh fruits and veggies. These diet programs that have prepackaged foods does not seems healthy to me. I just watched some lady buy a bunch of packaged foods at the store (crackers and such). I feel like she would be better off with an apple!

of course, i could be called overly sensitive, but lately i've gotten all into Shapely Prose. It has made me recognize that we just need to get over ourselves! Healthy at Any Size. I am far from "fat" (though i am also far from "skinny"). I am "average". Completely average. And feel great. (well, baring the cold symptoms.) I am SO VERY tired of seeing/reading diet stuff. Oprah is dieting (always). Regis and Kelly had a losing weight things of sorts. The Today Show has something every.damn.day about diets/weight loss.

I read Shape and fitness. I enjoy reading about the people whole lost 60 lbs, but now they are having to do 90 mins of cardio 5xs a week and 60 mins of strength training 2xs a week to keep the weight off! That is a CRAZY amount of time to spend working out. For the majority of people that would be all they do besides work. How about family? or love? or reading? I would venture to say that vast majority of "skinny" people out there could not do 90 mins of cardio ONE day, much less 5xs a week! Healthy at any size!

I wish we could see that people have certain weights. Some are light, some are heavier. Some people have medical conditions that make the heavier then most. Study after study shows that one's weight has way more to do with genetics than lifestyle. People do horrible things to their body to be skinny.

I eat WAY WAY better than benjamin. (I also worked out infinity more (since one is dividing by zero)) but i will always outweigh him, and not by a little. Of course, he loves my body. I'm making concerted effort not to obsess worry about the baby weight have yet to lose. I might not ever lose it, and I am okay with that. Aiden is totally worth every pound that sticks around. : )

so i'm sick. and aiden is sick. i hope aiden doesn't have what i have, but it hard to tell. we both have this wet cough. my lungs hurt when i cough and breath deeply. it is hard to tell if aiden has that too. he is acting happy and stuff. so i hope that razors in the throat only applies to me. but his sleep has been terrible lately, so i thinking that it might be bad. at least i can drink honey tea. there is nothing i can give him. we have no fevers, so the only thing to do is wait this out. this is when i am glad that i don't have a job. it is nice to know that we can lay around tomorrow.

happy mother's day. it is weird that i am a MOTHER! I mean, i know that i am mother, but is still strange. i got myself flowers. ben got me this yummy plum/almond tart. trader joe's has the best flowers.

ben watches a lot of family guy.
seriously. a lot. and this is on top of baseball. a lot of baseball. though less now that i've complained.

not that it matters as i don't really like to watch tv. though i do. cuz i am bored. though i just finished a good book. and bought a couple more off half.com for like $3 per book. i like buying used as it feel like it helps the environment. and i am cheap.

i planted plants yesterday. i am very excited. for the first time i have filled our planters. one has green peppers, red peppers, cucumber, and basil. i have another pot of mint. and the other planter has purple and red flowers. they are on our back balcony since it is southern exposure. it was nice to look at them while I worked out this morning. too bad it takes sooooooo long for the fruit to grow/mature. oh and i got a tomato plant for my upside down hanging bag tomato thing.

the weather has warmed back up. the lake glistened in the sunshine during my run today. it was quite warm. i have a adorable track outfit for aiden. it is so cute. it makes people smile when they pass us.

i got a pedicure today. i still hesitate to pay someone to paint my toe nails, but it was nice to get out of the house and relax alone with a magazine. aiden is breaking in teeth, so our nights have backslid a little. so it was nice to have an hour alone.

i got my proofs back for my paper. and edited them. and returned them. all on saturday afternoon. there wasn't many edits - a missing m, and couple of additions to make it more uniform. all the edits were done in reader, so that was awesome. it was nice to see the paper in journal form - with all the figures and captions in the text. it is nice to to have to read it again, but it was sad to see the last bit of my science science career close. i know that i'll do research and write papers, but i do love science. and i love my research in hindsight. ; )

My friend Tom defended on wednesday! He did great, and of course passed.

We celebrated by hanging out all yesterday (on a THURSDAY!). We went to lunch and we spent the afternoon playing the Wii. He kicked my bum on all the Wii play games, and I beat him at tennis and golf.

He's back to the grind today with corrections.

So. I was thinking this morning about how there are some friends/acquaintances of mine that are very very passionate about Sen. Obama. I can see the attraction. I feel the attraction. I was moved by his speech at the DN Convention last election cycle. I am moved by his message of hope. Who wouldn't be after the past 8 years of hopelessness? These friends/acquaintances for the most part are women. And though I understand the draw of Sen. Obama, I have been amazed that these women weren't supporting Sen. Clinton. There policy positions are so close, wouldn't the draw of a women in the highest office swing your support that way it did mine?

I was pondering this today and realized that in general these friends/acquaintances were in fields that have women role models. They have worked for female bosses. Their organizations are/have been led by women. They do not see sexism in their work place (in general).

I realized that I support Sen. Clinton with almost a blind loyalty because I yearn for a female role model. My career goals in science, policy, or academia have not been inspired by existing female role models. There were TWO female professor in Mat Sci at NU. Was there any at GT? I don't remember any. There are two (i believe) at UC in PP. This is even more unbelievable to me since their student body is more than half female! I have experienced men who don't now how to deal with a smart female, much less a smart female scientist.

I must admit that the lack of female leaders does make me wonder about my own path of balancing child(ren) and career. It is seems hard since so few women seem to do it... (Not that this would detour me, but it just shows how I do yearn for a female leader.)

so. i've been spending a bit of time poking around facebook (hence the twitter question). I have been spending the time because Ben and I play a lot of Word Twist. Last night I was poking around on friends' friends list.

Facebook is great for connecting with old friends.

Facebook is not great for reminding me of people that I was happy not remember. No enemies or anything (ha ha, like i have enemies). But there are some people i knew in college that i just did not like as human beings. I found (find) them fake fake fake. Last night I found out how nice it had been to not remember these people, as I was telling ben about some of them. I'm sure they will fade again from my memory, but as we played wii tennis last night I got all annoyed again at these people.

Today was HOT. I am not complaining, but it was hot. We were out in the heat of the afternoon without really realizing how hot it would be. I walked, Aiden rode, to Pepper's grooming appt about 20 mins away. It was to be an hour, so I planned on walking up to the walgreens and the gap during her spa treatment. I did, it was hot! (I love this new groomers. no cages!) I had to take Aiden's overall's off to make sure he didn't overheat. oh the weather. spring, where are you? is it JULY?!?!?

Anyways, Ben met us at the gap after he got home early. We got some cute hoodies (of course I am going to dress my child like me (tank, jeans, hoodie is my standard, okay he's in a onesie not a tank.)). Of course they were on sale, like i could bring myself to pay full price at the gap. I have been inspired by a random blog to start buying clothes I find on sale for Aiden to grow into. I've gotten some good deals - today- a shirt and a hoodie for 12-18 mo in addition to a hoodie and onesie for now. I got from $5 jeans from the clearance at the children's place. Awesome. Kid's clothes, I have found, can be expensive. I stomach it much better at sale price because they do not wear they that long!

On our way back to the groomers we stopped by the bagel so ben could get corned beef for lunches this weekend. Also, I got to get some cookies from the House of Fine Chocolates - "Your Neighborhood Bakery" - as it says on the package. (WHY THE QUOTES?) I love this little shop. It is old, and yummy. (So i just looked up the store to put a link to their website. Their website is quite modern, unlike their store. Funny.) Anyways. Very yummy. Cookies make the walk less hot. ha ha ha.

Ah. Spring has finally arrived. I have been enjoying running along the lake most days. Yesterday the blue blue lake glittered in the sunshine. Aiden seems to enjoy riding along the lake. I only infer this in the absence of whining. He looks pretty ready to be back at the end of the hour or so trip. This morning it was quite windy, so i put on the wind/rain cover. I was impressed. it is nice, but i think Aiden was happy when i took it off at the turn around point when the wind was now at our backs.

We've had the front balcony door and the windows open. It feels good to get a breeze going. Also, the animals love love love it. Both Pepper the dog and Izzy the cat go out there and hang out.

Today is the first day we haven't been running off somewhere for the lunch time. It is nice to sit and chill.

Ben has stand-by jury duty today. He had to drive out to a suburb (it is county jury duty) and sit in a room. I laugh at him. I laughed really hard when the dog took a bite out of his summons - including the part you have to fill out and take with you. The dog has been acting out lately. And by acting out i mean by stealing baby toys. If she steals from the baby's hand she get time out in the bathroom. So she learns.

I have signed up for a twitter account really only to follow people. Current debate: do i use it?