Vacation Over

Despite the grueling physical aspects, this last week has constituted such a complete mental vacation from work that I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around going back to the office today.

*sigh*

Things I Learned About My Daughter on Vacation

Some of these things I already knew, but they hadn't really sunk in until I spent seven uninterrupted days with her.

1. She is good-natured beyond what I had realized. Even when exhausted after a too-long train ride, or coping with sitting in the ER when she should have been at Disneyland, she maintained an admirably calm and positive attitude. There was no whining, crying, or pouting. At her 'worst' she was "sad," and even then she was willing to be snuggled and bargained into better cheer. (By "bargained", I mean that I found an alternative activity that she considered an acceptable substitute for what she wanted to do: for instance, a cotton candy instead of standing in line for Dumbo at 9pm.)

2. She is generous to a fault. When the "Maleficent as Dragon" brooch I purchased turned out to be more than I had expected, she immediately offered to pay for some of it out of her own money. On the train coming home, when she herself had an episode of sickness, she moved into the seats across the aisle. I had to come after her later to find out that although she wanted cuddles, she had moved away from me so I wouldn't get her germs.

3. She is sensually attuned in a way I don't think I ever have been. She is not content just to look, she wants to touch, smell, even taste when possible. This is a girl who, whenever she washes her hands in a public restroom always pauses to smell the soap. In Disneyland, where so much was new, she was always touching and commenting about the articifical rocks, the real plants, the texture of everything.

4. She is far more interested in how a chicken thigh goes together than she is in meeting Disney characters. On our way to lunch at the Plaza Inn, she was completely indifferent to the appearance of Belle on the sidewalk -- as she had been to the few other characters we'd encountered. But after having devoured most of a chicken thigh, she spent several minutes studying how the bones go together and talking about the implications of how it all worked.

5. She is brave. The only ride that freaked her out was the Hollywood Tower of Terror -- and she probably would have been fine on that if I hadn't let my own fears get the better of me. And, as I wrote earlier, she didn't lose her cool when her mother was violently ill in a hotel room far from home. (At her age, I would have been terrified.)

Since I got home, I find myself thinking of her as a budding Nancy Drew: the kind of young woman who will plunge into whatever interests her without fear, be alert for details most of us would miss, and who will probably have some nice boy trotting after her lead instead of the other way around.

It's Not Over Yet. . .

The day before I went on vacation, the battery light in my car came on. Unwilling (perhaps perversely) to worry about it the day before the adventure, I just left it.

This morning as I started for work, I noticed all the dashboard lights beginning to fade. I quickly got off the freeway, came home, and called my mechanic -- who isn't in the shop for another hour. (My alternator went out a couple of years ago, and I did not want a repeat of having all systems fading out to nothing and having to glide off the freeway.)

I may have to have my car towed about twenty miles. My mechanic works next to the old rocket shop, and I trust him implicitly. But it's a fair drive from my home or current work.

Fortunately, there's someone from work who lives near me, and who will be able to offer me a carpool once I get the car to the shop. . . but this morning is going to be difficult.

Princess Quiz

Found on the chickswithsword community:


The Noble Princess

You are just and fair, a perfectionist with a
strong sense of proper decorum. You are very
attracted to chivalry, ceremony and dignity.
For the most part you are rather sensible, but
you are also very idealistic.

Role Models: Guinevere, Princess Fiona (of Shrek)

You are most likely to: Get kidnapped by a stray
dragon.


What Kind of Princess are You? - Beautiful Artwork (Original Music is BACK!!!)
brought to you by Quizilla

Movies

Still at home, waiting for my dad to give me a ride to work. . . .

On Saturday I took myself out to dinner alone and then to see Rent (which I probably would not have been interested in at all if not for the introduction by kateri_thinks. It was quite good, but I kept thinking that it would be even better onstage, where it started.

Last night, courtesy of Netflix, I finally watched Kingdom of Heaven. My big question: how does a skinny guy like Orlando Bloom keep getting cast as a blacksmith? I really wanted to like it, especially with Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons in the cast, but I kept smacking up against my inability to suspend disbelief at the prospect of a village blacksmith who turns out to be a prodigy with the sword, the only survivor of a shipwreck (except for the black stallion who somehow also survived), a forward thinking landowner, and genius military strategist. It was just too much to accept. (This, yes, from the woman who just swooned over Muppets in 3-D. I never claimed to be consistent. And I guess the Muppets never claimed to be anything but what they are either.) The movie cried out to be a novel, where there would be time for the lead character to grow and develop instead of leaping straight from peasant to warrior lord. But it was gorgeous to look at.

When I was at "Rent" I saw a preview for "Memoirs of a Geisha." It wasn't something I'd been interested in, but I've decided I can't miss a movie starring Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li and Ken Watanabe. It was fun to see Ziyi and Yeoh together again; they were so good together in "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon."

Dad's here. . . Heigh-Ho, heigh-ho, it's off to work I go.