ljplicease | as real as my tears (Reply)

There is a degree of schadenfreude that I feel at watching the #TrumpCare GOP meltdown this week, but in fairness, I am also relieved that they didn't pass their terrible bill, because the consequences were stark. So I was in good spirits after work on Friday (work btw- has been a complete train-wreck this week, but that is a story for another time), Lena took me out to our favorite local Mexican place and I had a Margarita and one of the specials which I could barely pronounce. The waitperson was new. But great. We know most of the regulars(well, the Friday regulars anyway). Lena wanted me to leave a nice tip, but I always leave a generous tip regardless of performance. My policy is if you are going to live in a country which can't be bothered with a minimum wage (leave alone a living wage), you should at least tip the difference. Anyway, I didn't tell Lena, but I was swayed a little at the last moment and gave a too generous tip.

Normally, when we eat out past walking distance we take turns in the consumption of alcohol. (If we drink at all, which frequently we do not). I am perhaps overly cautious, and I appreciate, but do not demand, that Lena is supportive of this. Only now we can no longer take turns because Lena is pregnant, and has very generously allowed me to continue to not only take my turns, but hers as well! At least until the little guy or gal makes his or her way into the world.

(I bring this up in a very circuitous way because: we had a funny conversation with my mum in Australia where in my mum complained about people announcing their pregnancies on the Facebook, and how it should be private etc. To be honest, announcing such things on the Facebook never even occurred to me (though I announce other stuff, and post pictures of rusty old bolts all the time). I am not sure about Lena. Anyway, later when it was just the two of us we discussed and agreed that we wouldn't be “announcing” the pregnancy, but we would be letting family and close friends know in person before it became obvious, but if I happened to post a photograph to the Facebook that spilled the beans that would be okay. So while my blogity blog is not the Facebook, it is on the internet and the same policy applies. But. I am not announcing it to you dear reader, I am just mentioning it in passing. I mean I write about stuff that happens in my life here in a casual way, so this is like me taking and posting a picture that just happens to contain a baby bump. Now the awkward part is that after writing all of this in in such a detailed, if parenthetical, way both my mum and my wife read my blogity blog... so. Anyway.)

I requested from work that they send me to the National Perl Nerds meeting in June. I made the application based on me being a speaker, though technically my talk hasn't been accepted yet. I am pretty confident that it will be accepted. One of the peculiarities of government work is they make you put the request in months in advance, but won't tell you until 30 days before if you can go. I guess they are optimizing for making the flights as expensive as possible? Anyway, this time it is in Northern Virginia, so there are no flights to book or pay for. The important thing is to be able to do it without having to take time off from work.

Then in July we are going to Colorado for a six day weekend. It is the only four corners state that I haven't taken Lena to. I am looking forward to seeing the mountains, and getting out of Maryland for a few days. Then in October if everything goes well, it won't be just the two of us anymore, but the three of us. Plus the grandparents, and great grandparents as they come to visit. Even dad is threatening to come out in November. Should be an interesting year.