More hallway etiquette...

Okay, getting back to the hallway etiquette. Just today I was leaving my office space area and two of my colleagues were standing in front of the doorway having a conversation and brazenly blocking access to the door. They were standing 'personal distance' apart (you know, the distance you stand to someone where it is comfortable to both and no one is silently screaming 'why are you standing so close!!!') which put one about a foot from one wall and the other about a foot from the cubicle wall. I approached them, stood for about a second unintentionally eavesdropping on their conversation and then simply shoved my person between them mumbling 'excuse me.'

So was that the correct move? I thought that was better than trying to squeeze my fat ass between one of them and the wall which would almost certainly push them too close together (see 'personal distance' above).

...And the drama continues...

We have decided to pay for another year of storage for our embies. I am talking to my RE tomorrow.

More later.

"Two important things are to have a genuine interest in people and to be kind to them. Kindness, I've discovered, is everything in life."

-- Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-1991)

Feeling Peevish

I was reading a blog the other day (okay, it was today) and the writer asked about 'pet peeves.' We all have them. I have many; perhaps more than most. Someone listed hallway etiquette as one of their pet peeves.

This got me thinking (hey! I get paid to think...not to think about inanities, but thinking is exercising my gray matter which will make me think better when I do finally start thinking about work, so there!).

So what is the correct hallway etiquette? When you approach someone. Do you smile? Do you nod? Do you say 'hello'. Do you stare down at the hallway as if the wisdom of the ages were somehow imprinted in the tiles of this Hallway to the Toilet.

What if it is someone you know? What if it isn't? Do you look at your feet? Do you look at their feet? What if you don't acknowlege them? Worse, what if you do and they don't? You will be humilliated.

What if you encounter a crowd that is blocking the hallway. Do you try to squeeze between someone and the wall? Do you brazenly stride through the middle, muttering 'excuse me' under your breath? Do you cowardly turn around and try to find another way to your destination?

And what about doorways? This is a whole new area. Do you open the door? How far away does someone have to be before you let the door slam in their face? What if someone is holding the door for you? Do you sprint so they don't have to hold it too long? Or slow down, a devilish grin splitting your face, making them wait longer?

Sad things

There are some sad things that are happening in the internet that I know. Some people whose blogs I read and some who I have just discovered.

If you are religious, say a prayer for Elizabeth and her family. And for cancerbaby and her family. They need all the strength that this little corner of the internet can give them.

Potty Training Trials

Yes, people, it is not going well. After six months we are still in those blasted pull-ups. I was hoping by now that my diaper-changing duties would have come to an end. I don't know what to do. The boy can't have any ice cream until he is 26 and will only be able to visit the park when he has children of his own. Obviously withholding privileges doesn't work with E.

I've tried dangling his cherished Spiderman underwear in front of him ('you can't wear these until you can go a day without going pee-pee in your diaper, E!'). I've tried asking him every 5 minutes, "E, do you have to go pee-pee?" Invariably in the last scenario he will have gone again 4 minutes and 59 seconds after I ask him.

He is pretty good at going poopy and will always come to me and say, "Mommy, I have to go poopy." But he only does that with me. Not with B and not at school. Now this works okay with me. I haven't changed a poopy diaper in months, but I think B is starting to get jumpy. One interesting thing about his pooping habits, though, is he always has to get completely undressed before he can go poopy. Don't ask me why you need to remove your shirt when you poop but E does.

But getting back to going pee-pee...I asked my SIL how it went with her kids. She said that she didn't have any trouble, but then her kids were always naked. Really, I have no problem with this and think that a couple of naked days and a couple of days in just underwear will work with E, but B flips out anytime E's wingding is exposed for more than a few minutes.

"Ahhhhh!! Get a diaper on that thing before it goes off!!" Now E isn't a baby and he knows what to do. I think he is just lazy and stubborn (obviously traits inherited from his mother father) so I think the above reaction is a bit overdramatic but I am starting to get tired of this.

What should we do???

On a lighter note, I am including a newsclipping that was sent to me by my SIL. I really think this woman's baby has worse things to worry about than jackhammers.

...And now for something completely different...

A joke...since I can't think of anything else to blog about...

While suturing a cut on the hand of an old Texas rancher, whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to former Texas Gov. George W. Bush and his elevation to the White House.

The old Texan said, “Well, ya know, Bush is a ‘post turtle’.” Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a ‘post turtle’ was. The old rancher said, “When you’re driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that’s a post turtle.”

The old man saw a puzzled look on the doctor’s face, so he continued to explain. “You know he didn’t get there by himself, you know he doesn’t belong there, he doesn’t know what to do while he’s up there, and you just want to help the dumb shit get down.”