"A Problem Page For All!"

I'm still mad that I lost my other reply, but I'll try to capture the salient points.

Hair:

A. Yes, it is tempting to wear it down a lot, but the temptation is remarkably easy to resist after spending half an hour with a hairbrush trying to drag it through the tangles. It's so much easier to wear it braided or otherwise bound and to have to deal with only a minimum of tangles.

B. I admit, I do sometimes pull that trick -- letting it down in public and waiting for men to propose, that is. But I've yet to receive even a single proposal, so the glamor wears off after a while.

C. I sort of am used to my hair and sort of I'm continuously amazed by it. Sometimes when I see photos of my hair down I'm really surprised at how long it truly is. You just can't see it to do it justice by craning your neck in a mirror, so photos are what brings the reality home to me. But, on the other hand, I'm always aware that I have something very out of the ordinary, and I revel in that!

D. Me, not like you because of your hair?! I'd like and love you just the same if you were bald, had purple hair, or had hair two miles long!

Fruits and vegetables:

A. Does it drive you crazy when people say "veggies" instead of "vegetables"? It does me. I don't really know why.

B. Oh, heavens, I never keep track of how many servings of each food group I eat per day. Probably not enough. Today I'm not feeling great, so I woke up and had a Bragg tonic (2 teaspoons each of honey and raw apple cidar vinegar in a mug of hot water). Then I munched on leftover spice bread (made with raisins; does that count?) until I got really hungry and then I had a hamburger with a leaf of lettuce, a couple slices of tomato, and some onion. Oh, and ketchup; but, unlike Regean, I don't count that as either a fruit or a vegetable! In the middle of all that I helped to prepare a vegetable tray for Steve and Cherie to bring to a potluck, so I nibbled on cucumbers and tomatoes while slicing.

How many servings is that? Not nearly nine! I dunno. I guess you "win" on this one if you're even halfway conscious of how many servings of produce you eat, because I airily ignore it all!

Our mothers' health

A. Cherie and I are doing quite well adjusting to the change of not spending so much time together. She makes an effort to only ask for me if she needs me, but I make an effort to check up on her during the day, so it evens out. She still sometimes asks me to watch a movie with her, make her some food or a tonic or get her vitamins, clean up the living room while she's on the couch, etc., but not very often anymore. It's strange not to basically be her shadow, but I'm getting used to it. For a couple months in there I'd literally not let her out of my sight for anything. I even escorted her to the bathroom and up to bed! It takes some getting used to to be on my own again, so to speak, but not too much adjustment.

B. So, your mom is feeling better? I'm very glad to hear that!! Tell me about her diagnosis and treatment and doctor and symptoms and everything! I'm really curious. Give me all the details, I command!

Winter

A. You mentioned wearing scarves in the fall/winter, so, random question: What do you wear outside in the winter? Does it get cold enough for coats -- just a sweater? What about hats? Gloves? Here, my standard outdoor winter wear is a long black wool coat (angle-length), long fluffy crimson scarf (handknit together by Cher and me), some kind of hat (either my black felt fedora or one of my hand-knit ones; my favorite of those is my cottom cream-colored floppy lace confection), and black gloves with feathery red trim on the cuffs. I also have a grey wool poncho which is a lot of dramatic fun to wear in place of a coat, and a hip-length navy blue standard boring coat, and a thinner bright red wool floor-length coat more appropriate for early or late winter because it's not very warm. I know, I have way too many and I should donate some to charity, but I love all my coats, so I'm keeping them!

College professors living on Easy Street

A. Uh, think again. What most people don't realize is that, because teachers and professors only work for nine months out of the year, they're only paid for nine months out of the year. That pay is split so that it comes in even paychecks throughout the year, but it's calculated to pay for only nine months out a year. This is where the unfairness comes in, because, while teachers do have much more flexible summers than workers in other jobs, they do have to work during the summer. Do people ever think about when classes or courses are developed, classrooms are organized decorated (especially elementary school classrooms, which are usually covered in interested displays and brightly decorated bulletin boards), textbooks are reviewed and chosen, and syllabi are written? Ahem. That all happens in the summer. With no pay. I hate, hate it when people act as if teachers only work 3/4 of the year, sluff off during the summer, and roll around in all their spare cash! Teachers are some of the most underpaid folks out there. They do their jobs out of love. Did you know that college professors out of all professions make the least amount of money compared to their required education? Professors need graduate degrees just like doctors and lawyers, but, whereas most doctors and lawyers make quite a "nice" income per year, profs live on next to nothing. Hmph. [End of rant.]

Roller blading

A. Was fun.

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