Ow!

Okay, it's finally caught up with me. The trauma committed by the surgeon on my head has registered with my body. This morning, I looked in the mirror and saw a pretty good representation of a female Frankenstein monster. I even have some bluish bruises around my jawline. I'm good with the consequences, since the alternative was to have permanent headaches or explosions of goo in my head (Yes, that was the scientific description.) due to the pressure.

I've pretty much slept all day, on and off. It's not been very eventful. I've gotten up to eat and take meds. I am very thankful that I taped CBS News Sunday Morning. I just watched it. I got to see Michael Gill. Mrs. C. gave me the book and pretty much told me I'd have to read it. It is really a good read. It's a really good story of how someone who ostensibly had everything realized how he had virtually nothing. I highly recommend the book. Tom Hanks has acquired the rights to it, so expect him to be playing the guy who starts a new life by working at a Starbucks. Also, they did a feature on James Taylor. He just calms me down. His singing voice is so soothing as is his speaking voice. I am amazed that he seems to be such a simple man. He's clearly lived a lot, but he seems very unaffected though millions seem to bask in his gentleness. This is the link: CBS Sunday Morning 12/23/07. Check it out. There's also a bit on Dutch masters and separation of church and state and a fascinating document I'd never heard of before (though this isn't surprising).

I'm going to go now to watch some of The War.

May your Christmas Eve be ever so magical!

Suprisingly, I'm Enjoying My New Church.

Today I went to my "new" church again. The reverend is really good. I think I've said that I like attending the 8:45 service, since you get out with pretty much the whole day to yourself. One thing I like about not having anyone who plans based on my plans is that I can do whatever I want to do. If I plan on going to church and change my mind, I can. I don't have to feel locked in because I told someone I would. Anyway, a very nice lady introduced herself to me this morning. She has attended the church since she and her husband came here in 1966. A little funny since I was born a year after that and I'm not as young (age-wise) as I'd like to be. She told me about the history and introduced me to some precious older ladies. One, who looked to be at least 66 invited me to her Sunday School class. I thought that was incredibly cordial. What a friendly, nice church. The 8:45 in does skew older. I don't mind, though. I'll go back next week!

I dropped by Starbucks. It's a new store and evidently there's a problem finding people who can read, listen, and think in the service industry. The girl was S-L-O-W. I don't mind waiting for a pumpkin-spice latte. As a matter of fact, I expect to. But I would like to talk with someone who is cordial and knows how communicate with customers. When one guy told the girl that he'd been waiting 15 minutes, she had no discernible reaction whatsoever. I do, however, love the pastries. I got a low-fat blueberry muffin, pumpkin loaf, and a chocolate croissant, all of which were tasty. I enjoyed parts of all of them while watching the DVRed CBS Sunday Morning. It was especially good this morning with interesting stories on serendipitous discoveries such as rubber, Viagra, and Post-It notes. They also had an interview with Dick Cheney's wife, Lynn. She was her high school's homecoming queen. I found that to be funny/interesting. Dick Cheney MAY be human after all. His wife seems to be incredibly nice. I know you don't know what goes on behind closed doors, but wow, she seems like a decent lady.

I've also been trying to get some things together for next week at school. I scanned in some things to post on my school website which has been neglected in a BIG way. I've got to get back to keeping it up, both for my students and for me. It really helps me keep organized. It also provides a resource for students and parents.

I am still loving "Italia." I also bought Kanye West's "Graduation." He is a genius, despite his petulant ways. I really like the fact that he chooses such great music for his samples. "Drunk and Hot Girls" is a horrible song, but the hook is SO good. "Good Morning" is a definite day-starter anthem. "Champion" is inspiring and of course, "Stronger" is one of those songs that you can't get out of your head if you try.

Good week to all!