Entry #30

Entry #30

Tuesday, January 3

10:00 a.m. On the radio this morning, the hosts at 93.7 FM were in prime form. I turned it on just in time to hear them say that Obama’s "people" have recommended that listeners ban this radio station. I now understand why. The hosts talk about Obama as though he's the reason for the war and economic crisis, as well as whatever else is wrong with the world. Amazing how quickly Texans forget that it's their own homeboy who inspired this whole shebang. Regardless, it's quite a shame that the U.S. is so incredibly polarized these days—certainly doesn't help anyone in the long-term. So much for the word "United" among the North American states...

I can only listen to 93.7 in fits and spurts, but Kenneth (the host who sounds like Minnie Pearl) is pretty funny. This morning he said he believes that bible stories like Noah’s Ark are just “sweet little tales” that you can’t take literally, which appalled his fellow hosts. “Do you really think that one man was able to take a pair of animals from Asia, another from Africa, two from North American, two from Antarctica...and build an ark?” 

One of the hosts asked Kenneth how he will explain this act of blasphemy when he “meets his Maker.” They were serious, too (as were many listeners who called in to remark upon this), which made this discussion all the more absurd.

1:00 a.m. One benefit of making a wrong turn while driving around The Woodlands is that you might end up discovering an interesting new street name. Today’s wayward adventure led me past “Lazy Lane.” The other day, we saw a road called "Barkdull." I have yet to see "Apathy Ave." or "Get-Off-Your-Ass Blvd.," but you never know. The woman who named all these streets might've lost it toward the end...

Thursday, January 5

8:00 a.m. The front page of this week’s Villager featured a photograph of an infant, with the headline “Shepherd woman gives birth to first South County baby in 2012.” Both David and I did a double take. Little did we know (until we read the article) that Shepherd is the name of a town in South Montgomery County. We’re evidently still in yuletide mode.

Friday, January 6

11:00 a.m. I spoke with a co-founder of H2ecO, a company that delivers purified water because the water here tastes awful, even when poured through a Brita filter. When I spoke to the salesperson, he said that he won’t let his kids drink the tap water here because there are trace levels (labeled “acceptable” by the FDA) of arsenic and barium,"though not enough to glow."

I thought perhaps this guy was pulling my leg, or just trying to get sales, so I did some research, and there are a surprising number of articles supporting these facts. Yikes. Good thing we’re getting some jugs delivered soon.

3:30 p.m. Izzie has become something of a celebrity at the kids’ school, at least among the little kids who flock to her like she’s a farm animal and try to feed her leaves. I told the kids she prefers pine cones, which inspired them to scatter like they were on a treasure hunt, picking up as many pine cones as they could. One kid brought back a bucket of them. Izzie gently accepted her bounty of gifts and crunched on them like popcorn balls. When we left, it looked like she'd created a small pile of mulch.

There’s one girl who always calls our dog “Itchy.” Seems the other kids have followed suit. Noah commented that all we need now is another dog named “Scratchy,” and we’ll be all set.

Saturday, January 7

10:00 a.m. David took Aidan to a babysitting course today that runs from 9:30 until 3:30, so he can earn an official certificate (sponsored by Red Cross, I believe). Both kids initially wanted to take this class, and Noah’s more qualified to babysit now that he’s 14, but he opted out. Was it the fact that he would have to bring a “baby doll” to class (to learn how to diaper, administer first aid, etc.)? Or maybe he's just a low-key teenager who's not crazy about the idea of entertaining Energizer Bunnies for hours on end. Aidan was still keen on taking the class, even after his big brother cancelled, which really says something about how much he loves kids.

Noah got up around 10:00 a.m. this morning, and brought me two pairs of jeans: one had a tear all the way up the butt, apparently a casualty of a football game; the other he said were too baggy and short. So, I have now inherited my first pair of hand-me-down jeans from my SON.

In this morning’s Huffington Post, there was an article about a robbery at a beauty store in Texas that involved not only clearing out the cash register, but also stealing hair extensions:

A man robbed Main Beauty Supply in Dallas this week at gunpoint, demanding all the cash in the register—and a little something extra...The perpetrator..had her surrender all the money in the register, including the change, which he said he needed because he had kids. Then, the thief tossed in a stranger request: he demanded the hair extensions behind the counter.Jackson says the man explained: he needed the best ones for his girlfriend....The demand might sound silly, but hairpieces typically aren't cheap: premium hair extensions can cost upwards of $200 per piece. And surprisingly, this isn't the first hair extension thief on record this year: back in September, four men robbed a Georgia beauty store of an astonishing $100,000 in packages of hair. In May, another Texas hair heist occurred when someone stole over $120,000 in wigs and extensions from a Houston boutique.

Southern gals apparently take their coifs very seriously, and will go to extreme measures to make their hair look as full and flowing as possible (or at least hire their boyfriends to get the best supplies for them). As I write, I'm wearing my semi-damp hair in an unkempt bun...