It was a mixed bag weekend. Saturday, Omaha, Kouryou-chan and I did the monthly groundskeeping shift at Kouryou-chan's school. We're getting a little fed up that there are parents who come to do the big, dramatic things, like installing a new tiled walkway between the elementary school and the gymnasium, or building a new crawl-through tunnel in the toddler playground, but nobody shows up for the basic maintenence like weeding, cleaning gutters, or raking the parking lot, yet those are the things that make the school keep running. (The economist has an article on
the broken windows theory with experimental results demonstrating that "a disordered state encourages the violation of norms.")
We had exactly one extra volunteer show up this time. He did great, even pulled the stump on an ivy that was murdering the fence. We cut that ivy back in mid-summer, and already it had grown another 24 feet or so up the fenceline.
Kouryou-chan had rehearsals, and when she got home she showed us the dance moves they were teaching her in ballet. It was lovely. I spent the evening being a lazy bum, playing video games and letting Kouryou-chan kibitz over my shoulder.
Sunday, I made waffles with a new (used) waffle maker I'd picked up from the Salvation Army for $2.50. It made great Belgian waffles, huge things, each of which was more than any one of us could eat. I think next time I'm going to have to break them up into quarters or something. After that I had a ton of chores to take care of, like four loads of laundry and cleaning the kitchen and so forth. Ordinary stuff.
Odd fencing. I did it all in rapid order because I was supposed to go hiking that afternoon with a friend along Nebo Trail. That's the same trail that Omaha, Kouryou-chan and I biked on earlier this year, and as we walked we went by the Midway Wastewater Treatment Plant, where she noticed something odd. The way the barbed wire on the top of the fence is arranged, it points
inward. It's not trying to keep people out, it's trying to keep something in. That with the blocky, almost Half-Life-like layout of buildings and the constant, burning methane-control flame at one end makes it seem surreal, even spooky.
Sunset at Seahurst Park We ended up back at a park where we watched the sun go down. You'd think sunset would be relaxing, but no, every fifteen minutes before sunset a guy with a bullhorn stands on the beach and shouts, "We're locking the gates in 15 minutes," or whatever time it is. And they do; they lock the gates at sunset, and according to one older gentleman who warned me to take the announcement seriously, you'll be charged $50 per car to get out afterward. That's ridiculous.
After dropping my friend off at her home, I went home to find Omaha a little frazzled. Kouryou-chan had been a disaster; Yamaraashi-chan is at her mother's house, the neighbor kids don't come out much on Sundays (being Christian fundamentalist nativists at all). A bored nine-year-old is a dangerous thing. They'd gone shopping for clothes and then had the worst experience at a Jack in the Box. Omaha may blog about it on her blog later, but basically it came down to the crew not caring at all and the person behind the counter knowing only enough English for her script.
I made comfort food: grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Point Reyes Blue Cheese is just not strong enough to be prominent in a grilled cheese sandwich, although it is absolutely delicious by itself. Maybe the heating squelches the flavor or something.
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