Queen Mediocretia of Suburbia

Putting the TMI in absentminded

Month: September 2024

  • Alexa nag

    Nagging. I won’t do it. All my married life, if I want something done, either I do it myself (yard-work) or I hire someone (home construction) or I just give up (doctor’s appointments). (Even at work, I balk if I am advised to “just send a gentle reminder in email.”) So, there’s a new wrinkle…

  • Apollo 13 Genealogy Part 2

    Okay, there’s a second runner up for Jerry at NASA. This guy. And, because I have overthought myself into face blindness, here’s someone who may be the same guy with glasses. Or not. (The eyebrow in the high school photo is even more convincing for this guy.) Of course, this guy(s?) had to be disqualified…

  • TWIL: Shapes

    Last week there was a NYT crossword clue: “Fast-food order that comes in four shapes: bells, balls, boots, and bow ties.” I had “ggets” already, so that was easy: McNuggets. I had no idea they had anything but amorphous shapes. And now, after seeing what they consider “Boot, ball, and bell” I am not surprised…

  • Apollo 13 documentary on Netflix (with a Bonus Feature just for me, perhaps)

    Apollo 13 documentary on Netflix (with a Bonus Feature just for me, perhaps)

    There is a new Apollo 13 documentary out on Netflix. Very, very exciting. Worth a look. I have spoken before about how tiring it is to watch space documentaries because I keep looking for Jerry. That’s made even more difficult because I don’t quite know what he looks like. I don’t have a lot of…

  • Botox Update with Bonus Bullet

    I got the bladder Botox on or around June 28th, and in a month the check-up doctor said, “So, our schedule is busy, so if you start to see evidence that the effects are wearing off, call immediately so we can schedule the next series of shots well in advance.” Last week, I noticed effects…

  • Weekly Paint Progress: 9/5

    This week the Cat went from this: … to this … When it was originally this: And I feel that’s it for the Cat, though I always think I can go back. (Related: If anyone was concerned that Mom’s face was too grey in her final iteration, it was, and I gave her a pink…

  • Trial update 2024

    All I have left of my SUPERNOVA clinical trial is just one phone call in November. I began to wonder if that meant I could see some early results. Just as with my last trial, the drug has passed through a progression of names: code name to trial name to brand name. Just as FTy720…

  • Gary is Smarter than I, Yet Again

    The time: 2:00 a.m. The place: kitchen table I am awakened by the sound of Gary cursing. Get up, creep in the dark to the kitchen, where I discover Gary has knocked a dime off the table and does not see where it rolled. He is cursing and searching the floor. “I got this,” I…

  • Rewriting the Novel: Gary is Smarter Than I Am

    “What are you writing in the novel now,” Gary asked. “Well, I don’t want to write chapter five, because it’s all in her head, so I’m going through and doing something else that is boring. I’m charting the days to make sure that the phases of the moon she describes are right.” “What?” I said,…

  • TWIL: Training wheels

    I just told you about how I used training wheels to learn to ride a bike. Evidently training wheels are not the thing anymore. (Because they teach children that if you stop pedaling the bike will just naturally stop on its own and not crash into elderly gentlemen’s backsides? I do not know.) Instead, kids…