December 03, 2003 - 2:21 p.m.

Color Me Relieved

Why am I relieved you wonder? Because my email system is finally working properly! Over the past couple weeks the system had been getting slower and slower. It was a little aggravating at first, but by yesterday I was truly fed up. It was taking several minutes to open an email! I was starting to think I would have to go through the hassle of changing over to an email account on a different service. The tar-like slowness has also contributed to the sparsity of my entries here of late. I always check my email first, and, with the excruciating delays, my windows of time (as well as what little patience I have after dealing with children all day) were eaten up before I even read all my mail.

Luckily, the problem seems to be resolved now. They shut down access to email last night to run some tests. Lo and behold, this morning my emails loaded in mere seconds! Imagine my joy!

See, I am not a terribly patient person. And my laptop would literally put itself in sleep mode during the time in which it was taking to open my email! Give me instant email gratification, please! :)

You'd think a nanny would have more patience. My employers seem to think I am patient - though the kids might disagree on occasion. In certain contexts I can wait an indefinite amount of time to get what I want. A child throwing a temper tantrum, for instance, sends my psyche into suspended animation allowing me to drive, read, make lunch, or pursue whatever task is at hand contentedly while waiting for the tsunami of early childhood emotion to pass. Similarly, I can wait in line for hours for a table at a delicious restaraunt or tickets to a great show. On the other hand, the concept of waiting to open holiday packages until Christmas Day is utterly beyond my comprehension as well as my strength of will (which is probably why my family always waited until Christmas Eve to put gifts under the tree.) Staring at a computer screen and watching the progress bar make only barely perceptible progress towards the ultimate goal of virtual human contact - which is already made difficult enough with the inundation of spam - is more than I could stand!

Other than problems with email, life has been going pretty well. I am making good progress on Christmas shopping. I braved temperatures in the teens last night to go to the mall and try to get some ideas for various people, and was rewarded by uncrowded stores and fortuitous purchases. I still have no idea what to get for my father (as with every year) and haven't decided what I want to give the kids, but having found gifts for two thirds of the people on my list this early in December is highly unusual and quite gratifying! Since I am on such a roll, I may venture out again this evening. With any luck, this year I may be able to avoid the insanity of the last minute hordes!

On an unrelated note, I checked out Roald Dahl's The BFG from the library last week, and B and I have been reading it together. He adores it and always wants me to keep reading chapter after chapter. For such an active kid he is amazingly content to sit and listen. Of course, I picked the book specifically for its humor and action. Also, giants, along with dragons, knights, and aliens, are one of B's favorite topics. We're really enjoying our daily reading time, and after all the attention seeking and acting out he's been doing lately, I think the extra bonding time is a very good thing.

today's project: keeping warm - it's only in the 20s!

musing about: what to get for the man who spurns most worldly possessions (a.k.a. my dad)

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flutter back - fly ahead