Close calls

Not that you asked, but...
1. I possess the power to deactivate automatic toilet flushers, albeit temporarily. At least three-quarters of the time when using a public restroom where those hands-free flushers are installed, it will not work automatically for me. I am this<---->close to taking it personally.

2. I am this<----->close to being a certifiable music hoarder. I collect any tangentially interesting digital music legally available to me, duly rate it in my iTunes, then forget it exists as I merrily collect other music. I don't believe I will ever set aside the time necessary to listen to all of this music through. And collecting more just muddles my automatic playlists and makes it harder to find that one song I really want to hear. And now that I'm thinking about it, why do I keep around songs I rate 1 or 2 stars out of 5?

For that matter why am I keeping my decades-old and rarely played lps and cassette tapes? Apart from the warmth-spreading nostalgia I feel when listening to crackles and pops on my now vintage vinyl, I'm not sure these albums hold any real value for me anymore. A sad realization that maybe I should have come to several cross country moves ago.

3. And since I brought up public bathrooms (sorry, squeamish readers)...I am this<-->close to asking perfect strangers why they flush the toilet before sitting on it. I'm not sure women do this at home, but out in public they do it a lot.

I'm not in there with them, but it's obvious they enter the stall, immediately flush it, then continue with their business. While I can come up with plausible explanations for this sort of behavior, I still think it is completely irrational. (And I'm not talking about flushing the left behind contents of a previous user; I'm talking about flushing an empty toilet in a suburban public restroom.)

WHAT exactly does flushing the toilet beforehand do for your health and hygiene? For that matter, what exactly do you think you're going to get by sitting on the average public toilet? My answer: Nothing. Others agree there's nothing, nothing, nothing to fear. Just wash your *&^%ing hands afterward, nothing fancy or obsessive required. Oh, and don't put things down on the floor of a public bathroom. I will spare you, faithful readers, the rest of my thoughts on this subject.

4. I might someday be this<--->close to being the victim of road rage at the hands of a cell phone driver whom I have gestured at repeatedly in an attempt to get them to hang up. David has forbidden me from even staring at these people while he's driving, probably an indication of the intensity of my feelings on this matter. It bugs me how many people believe they are immune to the potential power of distractability while driving. Just one of many things people think they are the exception to. Which reminds me of my 1% rule in perceptions of behavior, but that's a subject for another post.

5. I am this<------------------>close to joining a mommy group. While I think Adam would benefit from socializing with other babies, I'm not sure I'd enjoy socializing (or, to be more accurate, hanging out on the fringes) with other baby mommies/nannies. I'd enjoy the access to new acquaintances, but from what I've seen thus far this venue is going to pan out for me. Inevitably it turns to talk of the kid, and listening to conversations about kids' behavior as if it's a competition (fueled by lots of ignorance and fear) gives me ticks. Plus, and I will admit it here but nowhere else: the parents in mommy groups scare me a little.

Okay, enough sharing for one day. It's time for baby gym (I wish I was kidding, but it's really quite fun). Ta ta for now.

Entertain me

I failed to report on our third, fourth, etc monitor-free Monday evening activities because, well, we cheated one week (I felt naughty, but I think David felt nary a twinge of regret) and have done nothing worth reporting otherwise (read, clean up, read some more--this new policy is doing wonders for our periodical consumption). As you have no doubt deduced, monitor-free Mondays are quiet and dull. Still, this is no excuse for not following up on my pledge to report weekly on this personal experiment. As the year waxes and wanes I hope to remain faithful, no matter how mundane those few hours or subsequent reports are.