Rodney Raccoon and Marimba Ensemble

Last time I took a nap: 25 minutes ago
Last nap before that: unknown
In the Attic: Enjoying the week with Binta

On my school calendar, this week is considered Mid-Winter Break. I hope it's not only the middle of winter. It seems like it's been here way past its welcome. I'm looking forward to hosting the company of spring very soon.

With Mid-Winter Break, however, comes a week off from school. So I'll take that. Today is my 6th day away from teaching, and I still have 3 more remaining. Some months ago, the thought of 9 days on my own to keep Binta occupied would have left me feeling spent and discouraged. This week, however, I've been feeling really positive about our time off together. This new recipe consists of one part me-being-less-depressed, and one part Binta-being-a-little-older, thus, a little easier to handle. I've been using www.gocitykids.com to keep me informed as to what activities are going on in my area. It is a fantastic site, and if they hadn't already thought of it, it might have been my idea. Instead of collecting fliers from all of the libraries, community centers, theatres, and parks, to see what's going on in the area, all a parent needs to do now is click in to the website, and she will find an exhaustive listing of all of the activities that are ideal for kids. That's a seriously good idea!

At the beginning of the week off (last Friday night) I began planning our week-o-fun. I will admit here, trusting that this information will not be used to make fun of me, that I designed a calendar that listed, day by day, events that I'd like us to participate in. I realize how dorky that appears, and well, it can't be helped. Not only was it helpful in organizing our time over the week, but it was a lot of fun to draw up. We caught a couple of puppet shows, some African storytelling, spent time at indoor play gyms, visited the Children's Museum, and the tail end of a festival.

The Sundiata Festival gets its name from a Malian legend, and now focuses on African American art, dance, music, and traditions. I guess it is held each year during the President's Day weekend, however, I have never before attended. All I knew was it was free, and should be good for getting us out of the house.

And it was. Binta and I had a great time. On our way home, we each compiled our list of favorites. My top 3 were:

1. Gaping at the marimba band, comprised of children, aged 9 - 16. They were unbelievable!
2. Watching the hip-hop dance group: Kutt 'N Up, with their synchronized movements and impressive acrobatics.
3. Looking at the pieces of art on display, ranging from colorful quilts, to confusing sculptures, to powerful photographs from New Orleans post Katrina.

Binta's top 3:

1. Riding on the Merry-Go-Round.
2. Getting a hug (and a bookmark) from Rodney Raccoon.
3. Hearing a street musician play "Sunny Days," the theme from Sesame Street, on the saxophone, and dropping money into his case.

One would have a hard time determining that we were even at the same festival! The one thing that we agreed on was enjoying time watching the fountain, and spending time together. It really was a great day, and we only spent a total of $3.00. (Two for the Merry-Go-Round, and one for the musician).

Yeah, we'll be there next year.

My Girl, Leah, at Blockbuster Video!

Kitchen sink: heaping
Diswasher: loaded
Emotional state: fabulous
In the Attic: A new addiction: Lost

Binta's dad showed up yesterday (after a mere 77 days since his last visit). So I was once again faced with the challenge of "What to do With My Time When I do Not Have to be a Responsible Parent." I'm sure I've mentioned it somewhere here before, that this situation does present itself as a challenge for me. It seems that spending so many days as a full time parent of a three-year-old interferes with what I can remember that I used to enjoy doing back before I became a mommy.

What I decided I was craving was some serious time relaxing in front of my TV, watching hours and hours of a television program on DVD. Specifically, the program: Lost. It's one that I know I would not be able to watch in Binta's presence. I've heard fantastic reviews from good friends with great taste, and have been planning for some time now to jump on the bandwagon and try on the show. So, sometime back in September 2005, I placed Season One on hold at the King County Library. Yesterday, I remained number 32 of the 408 holds. The library system shows 29 copies, however, 3 copies are marked as "lost." (If I weren't so damned anxious to watch the show, I might enjoy the irony there.) Although I am very close, I decided last night that I couldn't wait any longer, and would just get a start on the first few discs. After all, there are 6 in the set, and I'll only have 1 week with the library copy.

Plus, I got some child support money yesterday. Blockbuster, here I come!

The disappointing news upon arrival was that Blockbuster had only discs 1, 3, 4, and 6 on the shelf. I knew that I had enough time to complete about 2 discs, since I would have Monday evening and all day today without Binta. Skipping disc 2 was unthinkable, so I picked up the first disc from 24, another program that I've been thinking I need to see, based on recomendations. That seemed like a good plan: sample a little of each. A potpourri of drama based TV.

If anyone reading has seen the first 4 episodes of Lost, he will see the flaw in my plan. I placed disc one into my DVD player, and was not able to turn it off until I had watched all 4 episodes, followed by the first two again, this time with the audio commentary turned on. I was so wound up and agitated from the show, that by the time I climbed in bed well after midnight, I couldn't get myself to sleep for at least another hour.

This series is incredible. From the first minute to the last, the writers did not let me down for a second. The plot is filled with mystery and twists that are so sharp and sudden, causing me to gasp and cry out. The characters are at the same time likeable and horrible, and amazingly complex. Each episode teasingly provides just enough background information about the characters, to keep you guessing about their motives and revising your opinions of them. At the end of the 4th episode, all I could come up with was a mournful: "Nooooooooo!"

Waking this morning with a Lost-hangover, I looked at the DVD of the television show 24, sitting sadly on my table, unopened, with the Blockbuster receipt sticking out from the case. I knew I could not take on a new program, filled with new characters and plot lines. Not with the questions and mystery already in my head. No offense is meant here to either Kiefer Sutherland or any fans of 24. I simply knew that I could not give 24 what it needed from me as a viewer, as I would be too distracted with what I had experienced the night before.

I wondered if Blockbuster would be willing to trade that disc for the second disc of Lost. After all, I hadn't watched it. I just explain my mistaken logic in getting both discs, the effect that Lost had on me, and the fact that I had never even unsnapped 24 from its little case. It made sense to me.

And I guess it made sense to Leah, the store manager at Blockbuster Video. I hadn't even quite finished my story when she smiled and said, "I can trade that out for you, no problem." And when we discovered that disc 2 had still not been returned, she even called another store for me. She traded 24 for disc 3, and I went off to get disc 2 from the Fairwood location.

I have just come down off of 8.51 hours of Lost TV. Twelve episodes in all. One-half of the entire first season. My head is spinning, I am jumping at every little sound I hear, and I am hopelessly content.

Sometimes, it's the little things.

Thank you, Leah. You made my day.

Sports Fan Charlatan

Major accomplishment from yesterday: 3 loads of laundry cleaned, dried, and folded
Today's task: put the folded laundry away before it gets tromped on by Binta
In the Attic: Pending excitement for today's game...

I am not a sports fan. I want that stated clearly here for the record. I know the basic rules of some sports. I mean the basics. I know the objective of baseball is to hit the ball hard enough to occupy the other team with chasing after the ball, while you yourself sprint around the bases. I know the objective of hockey and soccer is similar, in that you're trying to place the sport's accessory (puck or ball) into the designated scoring space more times than your opponent.

I know slightly more about basketball, as I joined up with the school team in seventh grade. I could impress you with a few rules I know, regarding travelling, double-dribbling, and "three in the key."

I could go on to amaze you with little known details about the history of basketball, thanks to the report I had to write sometime in junior high school. For example, basketball was invented by James Naismith, who wanted to create a good indoor game for the winter time. He nailed a peach basket to the wall and there the game started. (using a soccer ball!)

Lacking even more than my sketchy knowledge are my pitiful skills. That seventh grade team that I joined? My dad was the coach. One would think that I'd get plenty of play time, but he would be sadly mistaken. Even nepotism was no help to my pathetic abilities. In fact, my most exciting moment on the court occurred when a scorer's elbow came down on the bridge of my nose, and was forced to leave the practice (yes, it wasn't even a game!) covered in blood.

I ended up joining the high school swim team. There were much less rules to memorize. And I can only recall one bloody nose.

Now, you may see me watching the occasional sports game, but my motivation comes much more from the desire to consume beer and nachos and socialize than to really watch the game.

Today is the SuperBowl. And although I have been known to watch a SuperBowl game from time to time, it is either for the clever commercials or the half time entertainment. Rarely do I even know which teams are playing before the game begins, and I can name a few times that I was still unaware after the game had ended. I know even less about football than I do about any other sport.

But today, I will be watching the game itself. The addictive energy and team enthusiasm here in Seattle has converted me to a temporary Seahawks fan. Nearly everyone in Seattle is into it! Today, Binta and I will each be proudly sporting Seahawks T-shirts, and watching the progress of the game with great interest. Thankfully, I'll be with others who can help interpret the progress of the game when I appear lost.

Go Hawks!