Gym, ads, and a great cause.

Beth at BooksEtc's son is involved in a youth organisation called One Child which is fighting against kids being sold into the sex trade....they have a chance to get a $15,000 grant if they win a medal that is awarded by on-line voting. If your interested in helping them out, click on the link above and follow from there. I did.

I just finished reading "Everyone Worth Knowing" by Lauren Weisberger of "The Devil Wears Prada" fame. It's a beach read that Nomad brought down for me, which is great as there is a preponderance of classics around and my brain was wearing out....but two things about the book struck me. First, there were so many product placements in this book, I do seriously wonder if she is getting money for it. I mean really I don't think a page goes by without a reference to a specific brand. No one drinks vodka, they drink a particular brand of Vodka...etc.etc. Is this advertising? Because boy, it feels like it. The other hilarious aspect of it all is that I had never heard of most of the brands. The only ones I recognised were the names dropped around the main character's freaky left-wing enviro-feminist vegetarian parents. Heck, I use some of those products. Clearly I am not 'someone worth knowing' in those circles. Gee, I'm crushed. Does sarcasm come across well on-line?

The saga of the free-loading wanna-be student...my boss's line is that if she wants to come with me to walk the dog, no problem. As that is all I am willing to offer, that is what I will call her and offer. If she turns out to be great and I like her, fine. If not, the Chuckster and I will be doing some intensive offroading and that should clear the air a bit. Bwaah haaahhhh haaah..........

The elder daughter has begged me to let her stay home on Friday morning, apparently there is some sort of volleyball tournament, and she has been put on a team with a bunch of grade six kids; one of whom is her chief antagonist on the playground, following her around and calling her names. She would not mind me saying that she is completely and utterly inept at volleyball. So am I. I rather hate it too. So the idea of being on a team with a guy who already harasses you, and KNOWING that you are going to let the side down, to the sure vitriol of some of the players, is an opportunity for public humiliation that I think we are going to pass on. Gym from hell. If she had been put on a team with friends of hers, none of whom were taking it seriously, she would have been right up for it...but lets not give this guy ammunition, eh? Some folks get just a little tiny bit too intense at sports events. I can predict with some certainty that she will be having a headache on Friday morning.

The eldest has never been exactly keen on ball sports in any way, and with the disadvantage of living on a boat, where you NEVER throw things because they will ALWAYS fall overboard, indeed it is a punishable offense to throw things, well, you can see how she finds that whole catch and throw thing a bit of a challenge. The younger one shows occasional interest in playing catch, so the man or I will dutifully go out and toss around a hacky sack, or kick a soccer ball around, but the elder? Well she thinks the best thing about a family outing to the park to play soccer is the opportunity to drive her sister nuts by refusing to play the game properly.

They can row a boat, and sail and snorkel, and swim in 3 foot seas, and blow the lifeguards away when asked about boating safety..."What should you take with you in a boat to be safe?" 6 year old: "Well, life jackets, spare oar, spare oarlock, VHF, compass, space blanket, water, 100 feet of line and an anchor, bailer, reflecting mirror with aiming hole, knife, compass, chart, underwater epoxy......." Then if they get into the big boat they really blind them..."EPIRB, shortwave, life raft, VHF, charts, GPS......"

Different skills.

Beth from BooksEtc also left us a challenge to sum up our lives in six words. An interesting mental exercise. I would find my day in six words hard. May have to give this a go. Maybe a daily challenge?

Change, challenge
Question, Push
Ponder, Adore.