Catching Up 2.0

Adey immed me...when are you going to blog again? Sheesh....I just blogged...omg...over a MONTH ago! Okay. you can all take away gold stars. I am a sucky blog hostess. I will offer to you my lame excuses, and hope they measure up :-)

Desi''s Top 10 Reason for blog Neglect

Reason 1: GiddyUp Man Started School
Whomever said that life gets easier AFTER the kids start school LIED. As Super-Mom, I now have to worry about school fundraisers, the Marathon, chaperoning the wee trip to the Pumpkin farm, and making sure my son's unruly hair stays down. Then there is remembering that he likes to go 15 minutes early so that he can run around in a big circle with his bestest friends in the entire world...the whole pre-K class. After school, it is mandatory that we go to the park or the nature trail or to Aunt Kerri's house or for Ice Cream or to the Comic Book Store. Sharpie Boy, the accomplice, has been in the IU for his third year now, and they don't have fundraisers. He also passes out from exhaustion once he his strapped into his car seat. If he could talk, he would say, "Mama, lets go home and chill." I can read his mind; it's one of the 7 super secret powers we get at Motherhood School. It isn't as handy as the MAMA VISION we are all given upon graduation (yes, I DO know who sent that blue matchbox down the toilet...MAMA Vision...it is everywhere). Anyway, Sharpie Boy spoiled me...but Giddy Up Man has been waiting his whole wee life to go to school and then drive me crazy with post-academic adventures. His Tae Kwon Do class, of course, has hit parade season. And, as he rode the float today tossing Smarties at the free world, the parents huffed and puffed behind it for 5 miles, I thought that my next book would be titled "The Fat Girls Guide to Gittin' Skinny." Strategy 1: Follow the Tae Kwon Do Cart in a Halloween parade.

Reason 2: The Boss shifted to Middles and the Phillies Made the Playoffs (but lost it all)
It is no secret to anyone living in a 30 mile radius that The Boss likes Baseball and NASCAR. On the day I delivered GiddyUp Man, The Boss watched NASCAR in my hospital room. Feeling lucky that he wasn't castrated after 24 hours of labor resulting in a C-Section, he felt entitled to watch the race and then suggested we name the boy after the winning driver. If I coulda moved...
So, the Phillies, his all time favorite team. made it to the Superbowl or whatever it is they get to before they get to the World Series, and we had to watch every game. Tivo was simply not good enough. On the days he had to work, many a cardiac patient was tortured as he oggled their TV screens. When the Philles lost in the playoffs, he moped around like a sad puppy. GiddyUp Man added insult to injury by chanting "Hey Ho Baseball is OVER!!!!!" ( I secretly sang along).

Reason 3: My Virtual Life has Picked Up
Not wanting to be bored this semester, I decided to take all of my classes into Second Life. That adds up to over 200 students. I can only THANK ME LUCKY STARS for the Dream Team: Eloise, Daliah, and my newest addition, an intern named Neveah. Desi and the Pussycats are always busy inworld, but we are working on some AWESOME projects. The students in Progressive Era Literature have built this incredible environment that looks like a theme park. There is a working train, a sweat shop disguised as a Fun House, and a working carousel, Ferris wheel, and cups ride. They students have added lots of great information about literature and social history of the era, and - truly - have gone above and beyond. Many thanks to Eloise Pasteur for her tireless volunteerism in building for the students. Check it out at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Finger%20Lakes%20Island/218/46/276
The rest of my students are involved with the World University Exchange (see Reason 4).

Reason 4: World University Exchange
What happens when you take a boat load of faculty from around the world and all their students and stick them into Second Life in a virtual Survivor-meets-College activity? Life gets busy! The WUE is an AWESOME project, but it involves daily work and planning. Check it out at http://worlduniversityexchange.wikispaces.com/ As far as we know, this is the largest multi-national virtual project for college students in SL.

Reason 5: People Invite me to Chat
There are so few people in this area doing virtual worlds and Web 2.0 stuff that I get lots of requests to speak. Meeting new people is lots of fun, and it is really rewarding to see people have their AH HA moments right there in front of you. There are lots of opportunities..some near...some far...but I love to travel, so there you have it.

Reason 6: Texas Tech
In the midst of pulling toys out of the loo and correcting the nine BILLIONTH comma splice, I am also taking a class toward that coveted PhD. At the rate I am going, I ought to have it when I am 97. Anywho, the class is interesting, but there is loads of reading, writing, massaging, weeping, and writing some more. The class is a theory one, and my self-diagnosed ADD kicks in when I have to sit still enough to read anything with the word "Thus" in it. It is a lot of work, but it is useful, and I am learning a lot. Plus, it helps to BE a student while teaching students.

Reason 7: Minnie May
The problem with being the family pushover is that when someone finds a stray kitty, it is high time to pick up the phone and call Aunt Beth for a rescue recon mission. I got a call to rescue a cat in the sister-in-law's basement at her apartment building, and after two hours of coaxing, this little sweet kitty emerged and was rescued. Little sweet kitty has claws and teeth of sharpened steel, though. Sadly, she must have been abused and, to make life even more interesting, no one taught her how to keep her paws crossed, so it looks like I am going to be a Grandma. So, since this kitty is not-so-friendly, we have her on the sun porch, and I spend too much time feeding, talking, and trying not to get sliced up by her. I have been giving her mothering lessons and trying to get her to notice that not all humans are jerks.

Reason 8: Addiction to Pogo
The first step in dealing with addiction is admitting the weakness. So, there you have it, I am addicted to Pogo. Specifically, I am addicted to games called Lottso, Zuma, and the Wedding Planner. I am also addicted to the game WeBoggle (thanks, Jean-Claude) and to Tetris on GiddyUp Man's Advanced Color GameBoy. I used to think best when driving, but then a bunch of jerks were given driving licenses, so now I think whilst matching wee little shapes and shooting colored balls into oblivion.

Reason 9: It's Fall
I love Autumn. It is my favorite season, and I like to be out among the leaves and not in front of my laptop. So, lame as it is, I am out and about and not in and glued to my keyboard.

Reason 10: Grading Papers
Believe it or not, I read every assignment twice before grading it. This takes up a lot of time and energy (let alone mood). As papers swing in, I try to have them back within a week. So, grading takes up a large chunk of time.

I realize these are all lame excuses, but it least paints a picture of why I am sooooo busy :-) But, I promise to repent and write faithfully :-)