Monthly Archives: July 2008

Downsizing to Normal is the Hump Day Hmmm


A recent documentary on the two year old Indian girl born with an extra set of arms and legs due to a parasitic twin follows the child and her family from her transformation from “goddess” to normal child. The little girl’s family and the village she lived in revered her as the reincarnation of a goddess and as such she brought attention and tourism which provided for her family and helped the community prosper. However, her condition was such that she would not have survived beyond her teens without intervention.

The Hump Day Hmm invites us to ponder the idea of when to leave well enough alone. Do all things “not normal” truly need fixing?

Perhaps it is because I am not feeling well as I write this but I have no opinion on this topic. I question the idea of normal and norms anyway. Nothing/no one could possibly survive too much scrutiny or measurement to fit the one size should fit all theory under which we live.

In the case of the goddess girl should her welfare have been put aside in favor of the continued benefits her condition brought to her family and village? Clearly the answer is no. She was already suffering the ill effects and would have continued to decline health wise. It would have been irresponsible of her parents not to take action. And perhaps their daughter’s job was done. For two years she brought joy and prosperity into their lives and the lives of others. A huge task for one so tiny. Maybe it was her turn. Maybe being “normal” was her reward.

Sick in Bed


I spent the majority of Monday in bed. Disease has been weaving its way around me for weeks now with MidKid and Rob suffering from something that isn’t quite the pneumonic plague but certainly sounds juicy and raspy.

Of course with our first anniversary looming and the fact that I just felt generally invincible, I didn’t take any precautions. No obsessive hand washing or sanitizing hand gels. Didn’t don a mask. Certainly didn’t entertain the thought of separate sleeping accommodations.

So I am sick. But judging from the disparity in our symptoms it is more likely that the humid weather on our trip triggered allergies which have led to a sinus infection. It has all the classic hallmarks: sore eyeballs, tender facial bones, tickly dry cough, out of body lightheaded feeling.

I am toughing it out with bed rest and the most vile of herbal teas. Rest and liquids (and Sudafed).

Back in the day, I was stricken with sinus on and off all spring and summer and into the fall sometimes. The z-pack was my friend. Since moving up to the arid prairie, I have had one sinus infection and I basically just toughed it out for a few days. Like I am doing right now.

It’s a bit inconvenient but on the up side, I am getting a lot of blogging done for this week and next (yes, I blog ahead – where would you be gentle readers if I didn’t, eh?). And I am making much progress with slogging through the ebook on book store ownership.

Not a fascinating read and there is more piddly detail to business owning then there was to teaching, but I know what I need to do and have more questions for the current shop owner as a result.

Sunday I was feeling so cooped up that I escaped into town on my own to scan the bookshop again and wander through Staples. Oddly, or perhaps not for me, wandering among the aisles of an office supply store is relaxing. I do so love paper and writing utensils and the millions of ways to store them.

Today however I haven’t minded being quarantined in the bedroom.

Rob finally gave in and went to the walk in clinic. Sinus infection. Brought on by the virus that preceded it and his stubborn refusal to rest. Despite still feeling like a pile of poop himself, he has taken care of me. Bringing me tea and Sudafed. Napping with me. And taking care of lunch and supper for BabyDaughter.

Still, I was up a few times. Managed to do dishes three times. Ironic because we do have the new dishwasher now. It’s been plugging the hole in the cabinetry since before we left on holiday. Not hooked up, but good things come to those of us with the patience to wait.

In the olden days I would have watched TV.

We don’t have a television in our room. It eventually leads down the path of infrequent sex. Evil like that has no place in our bedroom. I wouldn’t know what to watch anyway, and I have noticed on the trips we have taken to our folks that Rob and I have a tendency to watch TV now as though we were new found aboriginals from the deepest part of the Amazon.

I could have watched a movie, but again it just has the aura of time suck about it. I would rather read and write and think about the mapping and organizing that needs doing in the coming days and how I am going to accomplish it. This just eats up a day like nobody’s business.

Dream Jobs are the Monday Meme


If you’ve read my post yesterday, you know that I am considering the idea of becoming a used book store proprietor. I had at one time thought that if I stayed in education I might pursue a library degree because I thought librarians had kick-ass jobs. No regular classes. No lesson plans. A room full of books and computers and their own offices to boot.

Okay, there was the “kid” thing. A school librarian does deal in students, but as they get older their needs are fewer and as far as I could tell the high schoolers merely used the library as a place to be rather than a place to work on being a successful student.

Used bookstores are far more attractive than new, but I can lose myself in either. If it were not for the awful hours I would have likely gotten stuck with I would have applied for a job at some of the local stores when BabyDaughter starts school full time this fall. I really can’t work weekends or nights because I am selfish and suffer from middle aged entitlement delusion I need to have that time free for husband and children.

I am still writing. Still waiting to hear from the Sci Fi magazine in Edmonton on my “call back” short story. When I was last at Barnes and Noble, I treated myself to a handful of sci fi and fantasy magazines to read and get writer’s guidelines and have plans to plague them with my prose because traveling for days on end gave me plenty of time to come up with story ideas – disturbing ones – but ideas regardless.

So my dream is to be a published writer and truthfully, I love sci fi/fantasy more than any other genre when it comes to writing. I found this great writer, Lavie Tidhar, in Apex. I found Ryck Neube there as well. To this end much more SF reading needs to be done.

But if I have to have a “day job” – there is no “hafta” in my life and I am luckier than most in that respect – then working in/owning a book store would be a dream day job. It even comes before owning a coffee shop which is primarily because I don’t like coffee at all and only frequent those places for teas. I have never heard of a tea shop. I suppose though you could be a tea shop that serves some coffees, but bookshop would be an ultra cool job despite the work. And there is work I am discovering in my research. However, who couldn’t hang out with books all day?

So here’s the meme: if money weren’t the issue (or tangible benefits of any kind really), what would your dream job be? Where? Why?

Remember you can write about it here as a comment or blog it on your own space. Don’t forget to link back if you go with the latter.