What is mechanical living?

Mechanical living is getting through each day in one piece, maintaining your equilibrium (mostly) and hoping that you won't fly into a thousand pieces. Sometimes mechanical living is the only way to get through a day.

Mechanical living is the hum-drum status quo that provides a relatively smooth background against which the major events in life are set.

Is mechanical living good? Not always. It's easy to get stuck in the gears of the day-to-day machinery of life. But sometimes relying on that machinery to get you through is the only hope of surviving.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Okay, first things first. I took the boys to see Hitchhiker last night. It was pretty good. I'm not sure I would have liked it as much if I hadn't read the book. Ian (9) liked it without reading the book. This was his first exposure to British humor, so I don't know if he "got" it all. Nick (15) thought it was just okay, but I'm sure he was more concerned with his girlfriend being there than anything else.

My favorite character was Zaphod. Very funny and true to the book. Same for Arthur Dent. Ford was a little stiff and forced and Marvin was a little goofy looking for my tastes. I always pictured him more like C3PO, you know? Sleek and fussy. Instead he was dumpy.

Although I haven't read the book in quite some time, I felt like the script was fairly true to it. The narrated sections of the actual Guide were, of course, straight from the book with some very amusing animation to go with it.

Overall, I'd give it a 7 out of 10. Let me kow what you think.

Daily plans...

Today has been frustrating. Both of my morning classes were unprepared for class, so I lost a day of test prep I had planned for next week. None of them seem to be taking responsibility for their own learning. Instead, they expect everything to come from me.

My afternoon classes were better. The PowerPoint presentation project was a good idea. They were working diligently, although I had to answer the same questions that they asked on Wednesday. It's like they don't believe me when I tell them the first three times, so they ask again, hoping for a different answer. Grrrr!

The rest of the afternoon is life as usual -- Nick needs to go to sell coupon books for a drama fundraiser, the other two both have dance, so I won't get to go home before about 8 p.m. I am determined to go see Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy tonight, but I guess it will have to be the late show. Hope it isn't storming so I can go.

How are you?

This morning I walked to the Student Center for breakfast and the woman at the checkout counter (who has seen me regularly for the last 4 years) said, "How are you today?" Nothing unusual; its a standard greeting. I smiled and said, "Fine. How about you?" Again, standard.

But inside, every cell of my brain was screaming, "Not great. My son needs a heart transplant. " The thought that intrudes between every other thought I have.

What would she have done if I said it? I'm sure she would have been sympathetic, but totally shocked. That's not the standard answer.

Close your eyes and just imagine the responses you'd get if you actually told people how you are when they ask. Could be amusing, but it could be kind of scary. It would probably rip the social fabric of our society apart. People would stop speaking to each other at all for fear of hearing the truth about someone else. We've all known that person who actually tells you how she is -- nobody wants to be stuck talking to her. Imagine the whole society being that way.

The results of everyday truth-telling aren't worth it, so I'll go on being "fine" when someone asks. But think about it the next time you say, "How are you today?"

Blogger ramblings

Ever since I posted earlier today, I've been looking for things to post about. In the back of my mind there's a little voice saying, "What do you have to talk about on the internet???" I thought I would roam around a little looking for other blogs to give me ideas. This wandering led to some questions:

1. Why are most blogs written by teens or college students? People older than 25 can type and do surf the net. (I am an example!)

2. Do we really care whether someone puts highlights in their hair or whether he/she got soooo drunk last night?

3. Is it a requirement that blogs are filled with Artsy Angst?

Argggg! If you write or find any really good blogs, please let me know! I know they're out there, I just haven't found them yet.
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Question of the day: Have you ever noticed that all your most profound thoughts occur at red lights?

A day in the life...

Today was about the same as every other day -- hit the snooze until I HAVE to get up, wake up Nick, wake up Ian, find clean clothes for everyone, wake up Nick, wake up Olivia, wake up Nick, get dressed, get everyone to school...

By the time I get to my office in the mornings, I'm already exhausted. I vaguely remember what it was like to feel rested and relaxed. Many moons and arguments ago...

Classes today were kind of a cop-out -- I gave the first two a worksheet and let them do it in class and the last two were in the computer lab working on projects. Thus, this blog.

Guess I should introduce myself...but maybe I'll let you get to know me slowly, over a series of posts...would it make you want to keep coming back?