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The Ugh Point
Jun. 8th, 2010 03:20 amI've hit the Ugh Point in my efforts to clean my sewing room. You know how when you're cleaning and organizing you put away the things you love first. Then the things you think are just okay but are easy to find a home for. And finally you get down to the point where all you have left are things that you look at and go "ugh". It's the stuff that you could maybe throw out, but if you hold on to it you might find a use for it. Or the things that are an awkward shape to store. Or the weird odds and ends that simply don't fit into your organization scheme anywhere so you can't really figure out where to put them that you might have a chance of finding them again if you wanted to.
The curtains are hung, the wall of fabric is all stacked and sorted neatly and I've stashed as much ugh as I could into boxes and baskets, and still I have junk on the floor and not a single surface is entirely cleared. Sunny is coming over tomorrow to help me fit a euro dress (not that much fitting, I'm just having trouble figuring out the math with the gore that runs from wrist to ankles) and she brings with her a very mobile but very young baby so I really have to have the place spotless. Up to now we've just closed the door to that room, but that won't do when the whole plan is to work in there. I'm thinking I might just call it a night and tackle it again in the morning.
In other news, the yard warming party went well on Sunday, though not entirely as I'd planned. I got the house mostly cleaned, with just a few dishes and the mopping of the kitchen floor left to do. Outdoors it was perfect. I hadn't refinished every piece of furniture yet but it was all perfectly serviceable and nicely arranged. It was an ideal set up except for one little thing I hadn't counted on... the muggy hot weather. People showed up, said "nice yard" and immediately fled to the air conditioned comfort of the kitchen. The kitchen where there are only 5 chairs. Not exactly ideal for a group of 15 people. At any rate, everyone got fed with plenty of everything left over. Everything wrapped up around 8 as planned. It's still not completely cleaned up (I've been too tired to face dishes and G was a bit cranky today so I was all for using that as an excuse).
Saturday was a local SCA thing. Jason elected not to come. Georgia and I attended. I mooched my way through the pot luck meal. I had intended to just run home to eat as we lived a mere 10 blocks away or so but someone insisted I borrow a plate and eat since there was more than enough to go around. I figure I had enough karma points as I've hosted a few things at my place and had a free eats table at an event here when I was pregnant. There was live music which G enjoyed. And other children which were at times a pleasure as Georgia found them interesting and at other times an irritation as they insisted they should be able to play with Georgia's things without letting her touch any of theirs and they were often not as careful as I'd have liked them to be around the baby. G bit me while I was feeding her as I tried to move while doing it so I've been a bit tender for the last few days. Seems to be clearing up after what has felt like forever, but which I realize is only 2 days. Used one of my fancy new slings to back carry her for a large portion of the event and she seemed very pleased with that arrangement.
The gentleman I'm speaking to is Stefan of Stefan's Florilegium. Really nice guy and one of my favorite people here. And one of the few people with whom I was not talking politics that day.
The event concept was an interesting one. It's something they call "land court" and the idea is that you petition the B&B for land for your persona based on your titles and the taxes you promise to pay by your intended use of the land. I was asked to head up the local fiber arts guild so promised I would use whatever land was due to me to raise sheep. I was given the 400 acres accorded to my status and an extra 100 for the promise of woven trim to be given as largesse. I was also gifted with 100 acres to hold in trust for Georgia. They had someone calligraphing names and the size of the plot on charters (like scrolls but photocopies on nicer than standard paper) which I thought was really cute. I had mine displayed on a bookshelf but I see that it has moved so I should probably ask Jason in the morning what he has done with it. You then get to write in on a giant map of the city and surrounding area where you would like your land to be. Very cute concept and a bit of fun persona play.
Other than the actual in-court stuff people spent a great deal of time discussing the mundane. Especially the health care thing. Very polarizing issue. The native Austinites all seem in favor of the plan. Anyone who has moved in from the more conservative parts of the state (ie everywhere else) seemed to actually believe the whole Obama death panel bullshit the republicans have been throwing around. One guy actually said something to the effect of "my wife and I are resigned to the fact that we'll die under this new plan because the funds will be allocated to certain races and on a priority level by age and there just won't be anything left for us if we need it" Funds allocated by RACE?!?!?! What kind of crack is this guy on? He followed up that gem with "this bill will kill the insurance companies. Maybe not immediately but in the next 10 years. And then it will all be handled by the government" My retort was "and you say that like it's a bad thing." He changed the subject very quickly when I stated that I'd done some research when I was pregnant that indicated our infant mortality and maternal mortality rates were the worst in the civilized world, even when you take the uninsured out of the equation, and that we also spend the most per capita. How can a system in which you spend the most but get the least be a good thing? He quickly changed the subject after that. Typical republican. When faced with actual data and facts that don't fit their world view they just pretend they didn't hear it. Much better to blindly believe the hyperbole and outright lies coming from their leaders and Fox Newscasters. *sigh*
People keep pointing out that their health care must be good because people come from other countries to get care here. Yes and no. There are 2 types of people who come here for care... people with the money to buy whatever they need and the people who enjoy the charity of coming from a third world nation with some kind of strange affliction that will get the attention they need to get people to donate to their transportation and treatment. Of course it's better care than what the person in the third world nation is getting, and that other person is coming for one of 2 things, either they are too impatient to wait for something non-critical in their country's socialized system or they need some cutting edge thing that is only being done here. That's not to say that all the cutting edge work is being done here either, just that the particular thing they need is. But the truth is that people do the exact same thing in Canada except for the queue jumpers. We also have third-worlders come and get charitable donations to have treatments performed in our system and people coming to enjoy cutting-edge procedures being performed only inside our borders. But we also get Americans crossing the border into Canada to get health care less expensively than they could in the States. If the system is so great why would someone with access to it choose to go elsewhere eh?
On one hand I feel very strongly about health care and don't mind letting people know where I stand. On the other hand I feel like the people on the other side aren't going to listen to me anyway, so other than stating that I disagree with them (just for the purpose of giving them an idea that maybe they are not as much of a majority as they'd like to believe) I don't see much point in having the discussion. They are never going to convince me that the for-profit model is the right way to do things and I never see myself getting through to them so it's rather a lot like banging my head against a brick wall, and at the end of the conversation I always have a head ache like I've been doing just that. There are so many things that I feel so strongly about that are coming in under that "too frustrating to discuss" category (abortion rights, gay rights, women's rights and the importance of labor laws that promote healthy families and support equal opportunity for women).
However, even when people share my views, and there were many there that did, it's still not the kind of talk that puts you in a medieval mindset.
to sum-up: socialized medicine = good, idiot rhetoric-spouting republicans = bad. Talk of nothing but modern politics at an event = bad.
G baby spent most of the event playing happily on my cloak on the floor and charming everyone that walked past. Everyone complimented her on being an excellent, well-behaved baby, which of course she was because we were out in public where she could flirt.
Finally, a bit of Georgia news. Jason insists that she did her first sign on Saturday. He thinks that she asked to be changed twice that day. He noted that she didn't struggle or squirm as much during the change as usual, which confirmed his opinion that she'd asked for it. She hasn't done it since though, so I'm not sure if it was intentional or that her hands just made the gesture by accident. However today she definitely accomplished something that she hadn't before. I had her standing holding on to the rail at the side of her crib while I ran her diapers down to the laundry. When I came back a minute later she was facing a different direction and holding on to a different rail. Later in the afternoon she repeated the feat while I was watching, side-stepping her way along the railing from one end of the crib to the other, screeching with delight the whole way. Step one of cruising is complete. She's still got a ways to go before she's walking, and she has yet to master pulling herself up to a sit much less a stand, but the days of a relatively easily contained child are coming to a close. She's also getting much closer to a crawl. The tummy still drags on the ground but she can really motor around the floor now, crossing the entire room to the exact spot she wants to get to in a minute or less.
The curtains are hung, the wall of fabric is all stacked and sorted neatly and I've stashed as much ugh as I could into boxes and baskets, and still I have junk on the floor and not a single surface is entirely cleared. Sunny is coming over tomorrow to help me fit a euro dress (not that much fitting, I'm just having trouble figuring out the math with the gore that runs from wrist to ankles) and she brings with her a very mobile but very young baby so I really have to have the place spotless. Up to now we've just closed the door to that room, but that won't do when the whole plan is to work in there. I'm thinking I might just call it a night and tackle it again in the morning.
In other news, the yard warming party went well on Sunday, though not entirely as I'd planned. I got the house mostly cleaned, with just a few dishes and the mopping of the kitchen floor left to do. Outdoors it was perfect. I hadn't refinished every piece of furniture yet but it was all perfectly serviceable and nicely arranged. It was an ideal set up except for one little thing I hadn't counted on... the muggy hot weather. People showed up, said "nice yard" and immediately fled to the air conditioned comfort of the kitchen. The kitchen where there are only 5 chairs. Not exactly ideal for a group of 15 people. At any rate, everyone got fed with plenty of everything left over. Everything wrapped up around 8 as planned. It's still not completely cleaned up (I've been too tired to face dishes and G was a bit cranky today so I was all for using that as an excuse).
Saturday was a local SCA thing. Jason elected not to come. Georgia and I attended. I mooched my way through the pot luck meal. I had intended to just run home to eat as we lived a mere 10 blocks away or so but someone insisted I borrow a plate and eat since there was more than enough to go around. I figure I had enough karma points as I've hosted a few things at my place and had a free eats table at an event here when I was pregnant. There was live music which G enjoyed. And other children which were at times a pleasure as Georgia found them interesting and at other times an irritation as they insisted they should be able to play with Georgia's things without letting her touch any of theirs and they were often not as careful as I'd have liked them to be around the baby. G bit me while I was feeding her as I tried to move while doing it so I've been a bit tender for the last few days. Seems to be clearing up after what has felt like forever, but which I realize is only 2 days. Used one of my fancy new slings to back carry her for a large portion of the event and she seemed very pleased with that arrangement.
The gentleman I'm speaking to is Stefan of Stefan's Florilegium. Really nice guy and one of my favorite people here. And one of the few people with whom I was not talking politics that day.
The event concept was an interesting one. It's something they call "land court" and the idea is that you petition the B&B for land for your persona based on your titles and the taxes you promise to pay by your intended use of the land. I was asked to head up the local fiber arts guild so promised I would use whatever land was due to me to raise sheep. I was given the 400 acres accorded to my status and an extra 100 for the promise of woven trim to be given as largesse. I was also gifted with 100 acres to hold in trust for Georgia. They had someone calligraphing names and the size of the plot on charters (like scrolls but photocopies on nicer than standard paper) which I thought was really cute. I had mine displayed on a bookshelf but I see that it has moved so I should probably ask Jason in the morning what he has done with it. You then get to write in on a giant map of the city and surrounding area where you would like your land to be. Very cute concept and a bit of fun persona play.
Other than the actual in-court stuff people spent a great deal of time discussing the mundane. Especially the health care thing. Very polarizing issue. The native Austinites all seem in favor of the plan. Anyone who has moved in from the more conservative parts of the state (ie everywhere else) seemed to actually believe the whole Obama death panel bullshit the republicans have been throwing around. One guy actually said something to the effect of "my wife and I are resigned to the fact that we'll die under this new plan because the funds will be allocated to certain races and on a priority level by age and there just won't be anything left for us if we need it" Funds allocated by RACE?!?!?! What kind of crack is this guy on? He followed up that gem with "this bill will kill the insurance companies. Maybe not immediately but in the next 10 years. And then it will all be handled by the government" My retort was "and you say that like it's a bad thing." He changed the subject very quickly when I stated that I'd done some research when I was pregnant that indicated our infant mortality and maternal mortality rates were the worst in the civilized world, even when you take the uninsured out of the equation, and that we also spend the most per capita. How can a system in which you spend the most but get the least be a good thing? He quickly changed the subject after that. Typical republican. When faced with actual data and facts that don't fit their world view they just pretend they didn't hear it. Much better to blindly believe the hyperbole and outright lies coming from their leaders and Fox Newscasters. *sigh*
People keep pointing out that their health care must be good because people come from other countries to get care here. Yes and no. There are 2 types of people who come here for care... people with the money to buy whatever they need and the people who enjoy the charity of coming from a third world nation with some kind of strange affliction that will get the attention they need to get people to donate to their transportation and treatment. Of course it's better care than what the person in the third world nation is getting, and that other person is coming for one of 2 things, either they are too impatient to wait for something non-critical in their country's socialized system or they need some cutting edge thing that is only being done here. That's not to say that all the cutting edge work is being done here either, just that the particular thing they need is. But the truth is that people do the exact same thing in Canada except for the queue jumpers. We also have third-worlders come and get charitable donations to have treatments performed in our system and people coming to enjoy cutting-edge procedures being performed only inside our borders. But we also get Americans crossing the border into Canada to get health care less expensively than they could in the States. If the system is so great why would someone with access to it choose to go elsewhere eh?
On one hand I feel very strongly about health care and don't mind letting people know where I stand. On the other hand I feel like the people on the other side aren't going to listen to me anyway, so other than stating that I disagree with them (just for the purpose of giving them an idea that maybe they are not as much of a majority as they'd like to believe) I don't see much point in having the discussion. They are never going to convince me that the for-profit model is the right way to do things and I never see myself getting through to them so it's rather a lot like banging my head against a brick wall, and at the end of the conversation I always have a head ache like I've been doing just that. There are so many things that I feel so strongly about that are coming in under that "too frustrating to discuss" category (abortion rights, gay rights, women's rights and the importance of labor laws that promote healthy families and support equal opportunity for women).
However, even when people share my views, and there were many there that did, it's still not the kind of talk that puts you in a medieval mindset.
to sum-up: socialized medicine = good, idiot rhetoric-spouting republicans = bad. Talk of nothing but modern politics at an event = bad.
G baby spent most of the event playing happily on my cloak on the floor and charming everyone that walked past. Everyone complimented her on being an excellent, well-behaved baby, which of course she was because we were out in public where she could flirt.
Finally, a bit of Georgia news. Jason insists that she did her first sign on Saturday. He thinks that she asked to be changed twice that day. He noted that she didn't struggle or squirm as much during the change as usual, which confirmed his opinion that she'd asked for it. She hasn't done it since though, so I'm not sure if it was intentional or that her hands just made the gesture by accident. However today she definitely accomplished something that she hadn't before. I had her standing holding on to the rail at the side of her crib while I ran her diapers down to the laundry. When I came back a minute later she was facing a different direction and holding on to a different rail. Later in the afternoon she repeated the feat while I was watching, side-stepping her way along the railing from one end of the crib to the other, screeching with delight the whole way. Step one of cruising is complete. She's still got a ways to go before she's walking, and she has yet to master pulling herself up to a sit much less a stand, but the days of a relatively easily contained child are coming to a close. She's also getting much closer to a crawl. The tummy still drags on the ground but she can really motor around the floor now, crossing the entire room to the exact spot she wants to get to in a minute or less.
