alexist

No one wants to read it and the individual complaints are all petty, so I'll spare you, but man, I am short tempered today and fed up. The last straw was discovering my keys are missing again (she gets them out of my bag, which yes, I should put on a high shelf).

The new trick of going into the pail and getting her dirty nappies out is going to do me in, though. (I am not going to try to find a toddler-proof pail at this point.) I'm not sure which is worse--this, or the socks. Socks get lost. (the ones in the top drawers get removed when I'm changing her diaper, so putting them there is not a solution!)

The dishwasher isn't working, water's backing up into the washing machine (I don't know what happened but I had to re-run the spin cycle twice--I was washing dishes in the sink during the spin cycle), Aliza has a meltdown every time I take something away from her (and she can reach everything, I swear), we had nap war this afternoon, my kitchen is a wreck--hell the whole flat is, and it's impossible to clean and keep an eye on a running toddler at the same time. And it's Pesach on Saturday.

EVERYTHING is getting to me today.

Oh great, a light bulb just went in the kitchen. Of course, Neil always waits to replace them, so that's the 2nd one (of 4) and now there's next to no light in there. (also, 2 of 3 gone in the bedroom. And yes, changing light bulbs is his job ever since the time I broke a bayonet fitting trying to change one.) And my back went into spasm so now I can't bend down. I did lose it and yell at Aliza when she started shrieking again. I can't take it any more.

Soon Neil will get home, and oh great! I get to cook dinner, and do dishes, and fold diapers, all in time to go to bed.

I can't find my keys. Again. I know Aliza got hold of them yesterday and I had my hands full, and then forgot to go after them. I need to go out. We have nothing for lunch or dinner (well, we have the meat for dinner, but nothing else; and I need to get tomorrow's chicken so I'm not rushing to the butcher in the morning, then back, then into town to do some errands.) (No, hon, they're not in the bottom of my handbag this time.)

I'm pissed off that if you don't call my GP surgery on the dot of 8:30, you can't get an appointment. I need more frog pills (I took my last one the other day, I think, so no wonder I'm getting ragey) and I have another issue which I won't discuss in an unlocked post.

I'm pissed off at the cramps I'm having. No, it's not that time of the month, but it is that general locale. It hurts to walk. Or pick Aliza up. And I can't sit on the sofa because she tries to climb on me and OH GOD THE PAIN. Ok, I might be exaggerating slightly; this isn't labour. It is, however, very uncomfortable.

Plus, travel rage.

And Aliza will NOT stay out of my bedside table drawer (which can't be locked). Keeping her out of the bedroom doesn't work since she sleeps in there.

I'll spare you the details, but I'm rather annoyed at someone. (FSOT = For Sale Or Trade, ISO = In Search Of.)

If you post that you're ISO item X (as a trade), then don't fuck around with me. If you think that your ISO is worth less than what you have FT, put IN THE LISTING that you're ISO PayPal to make up the value.

DON'T say that you want Item X (which is what I have) then try to hold out for your first choice ISO without coming clean on it--and coming clean to the person who's offered to trade, not just editing your FT post.

DON'T tell me, after I've offered to trade, that now my item is "only" worth $X and yours is worth $X+30 and you'll need PayPal. I offered the PP (and she hasn't replied to me) because I want the item, and international trades are sticky to begin with. I can understand not wanting to take the $30 loss when you also have to pay $20 for shipping. But welcome to capitalism. An item is only worth what people will pay for it. Right now, what I have is valuable. What it cost new is irrelevant, because you can't buy it new. It's discontinued and in demand. Now, I don't know that I'd even get back what I paid if I sold it cash, because people always claim to be desperately ISO things and get cold feet at actually shelling out. (If it were really rare, I would get a stupid amount by auctioning it, but it isn't quite that rare.) But as a trade item? Definitely of value. Her item? Valuable and not easy to get, but still in production even if limited--I could take a chance on getting it.

Finally, you can sit on your ass waiting for your top ISO for a long time, because you won't get it. So, you can hold out for it--and I suspect the other people trying for the same item will get trades first (in order to get some very hard to find carriers, you often need to swap) because what they have is more valuable than what you have. Your item is valuable and HTF, but not quite at the top of the scale. So you can wait and wait (and hope the craze on your ISO goes down--by which point your item may also not be so sought-after) or you can settle and get your 2nd one right now.

Another example of PC gone mad:

http://autisticbfh.blogspot.com/2006/09/neutral-words-glossary.html

Because you're never, ever allowed to imply that autism is in any way negative, nor that any effort to change an autistic person's behaviour is positive. UGH.

Now, I'm not autistic (though the way they're diagnosing Asperger's and borderline Asperger's today, who the hell knows, especially when I was younger and had zero social skills). But I'm not "neurotypical" (god, I hate that term, especially when it's used as a kind of reverse insult) and you know what? I wouldn't want to change and be "normal", but I also know that there are things I did that interfered with my life, and I was HAPPIER when I had therapy to change them. Being able to interact with the world on some kind of "normal" level isn't a bad thing and it's not bad for a parent to want it for their kids. There's a big difference between that and wanting your kid to be "just like everyone else".

I also think that talk like this (invariably from very high functioning Aspies, because they have the ability to be articulate) is a real insult to parents who are struggling with autistic kids who have major issues. It can come off as "oh, you're imposing your view of normality on your kids". No, they're trying to deal with the fact that their kid bangs their head against the wall, or can't talk, or has public meltdowns at the drop of a hat.

1) Woman still co-sleeping with her 10 year old (another woman's answer to "how old is too old": "never" Erm... I would disagree here)

2) Woman co-sleeping with ALL FIVE of hers (how do these people do it? Do they just have a room filled with mattresses? Actually, reading another thread, that is what it sounds like. These people must have enormous bedrooms. One woman claims she's got a king & queen pushed together and two twins "across the room". I couldn't fit a king and a queen in my room and still be able to open the door!)

3) Woman so upset by circumcision that she no longer finds her husband sexually attractive--she can only think of how he's been mutilated (!)

(I normally don't read the circ forum, because, well, why do you think? Not that I'm an advocate of routine circumcision, actually. As far as I'm concerned, I would do it because it's the halacha. So if I weren't commanded, I wouldn't do it, just like I wouldn't consider keeping kosher or observing Yom Tov. But occasionally curiosity gets the better of me and I'm still amazed by how worked up these people get about it. And I still don't get Jewish people who don't circ and claim it's religiously OK. it isn't. You can't claim the halacha is what it isn't.)

4) woman calling infant carriers evil and saying no one should ever use one. My reply: "What are parents supposed to do if their baby isn't big enough for a convertible seat?" (Never mind that it's better for a tiny baby to be all dressed and put into the seat inside, and just have the seat popped into the car)

I also hate people who constantly snark "mainstream" people. Like their whole definition of parenting is based on being different. I parent the way I do because I think it's right. And don't get me started on the ones who make pointless, stupid generalisations about doctors and "Big Pharma".

Annoying article in today's Independent trumpeting the ethical and health benefits of veganism.

Several problems:
- in my experience, vegans are all self-satisfied, smug goits. "I'm so wonderful and virtuous!" No, you're not.

- Veganism misses one of the greatest points of food, that it's enjoyable! Milk substitutes are a great boon to the dairy-allergic and to pareve cooking (though, like with all good things, they have been taken too far by some), but fake soya cheese is no match for a nice farmhouse Cheddar.

- It is impossible to lead a truly exploitation free life unless you set yourself up on a completely self-supporting farm somewhere in the wilds of New Zealand. You're still exploiting plenty of people, so why not exploit a cow and a few chickens? Personally, I'm more worried about the Brazilian peasants who have been displaced to grow your GM-free soya. Besides, don't you need manure for your organic vegetables?

Heather Mills-McCartney wins the prize for dumb statement: "Every time I crack an egg now, I think 'could that have been a baby?'" Aside from the general moronitude of the statement, it's scientifically ignorant. Given that commercially available eggs are unfertilised, they're no more potential babies than anything in your ovaries. Those chickens are going to lay eggs whether we eat them or not. (And the cows will need to be milked, although I agree that current intensive dairying is far from ideal.)

(Speaking of which, where do vegans think all these farm animals would go if we all went vegan? We should just prevent them from reproducing and let them die out?)

4) "My horrible childhood" confessional autobiographies shall be banned.

Henceforth, I declare the following edicts:

1) People must have done something in order to be famous. Winning a reality TV show is not something. Manufactured pop acts must have had a hit single in the past 6 months. Being married to someone famous does not create or continue fame. Victoria Beckham is hence declared non-famous. Kerry Katona is non-famous. Guy Ritchie will soon be non-famous if he does not direct a decent picture.

I realise that this edict will result in a massive cull of celebrity gossip magazines. However, the retraining of journalists will be a small price to pay.

2) The Daily Express is now banned for trying to out-Mail the Mail.

3) Prince Charles is forbidden from speaking, writing, or otherwise making us aware of his existence. He will be forced to abdicate. It needs to be made absolutely clear that the sole remaining function of the monarchy is tourism. Americans already have a republic; we don't need to visit Britain to see another one.

I had another one which I now forget; I shall return to it if I remember.

Today Neil and I were walking in Central Park. We were strolling up past the boathouse when some bitch carrying a Henri Bendel bag nearly crashed into me. She said, "thanks for getting out of my way". (I swear, cross my heart, I am describing this situation word for word.)

That annoyed me; I was walking quite slowly, wasn't walking into her (and avoided her at the last minute) and if she'd said "excuse me" like a NORMAL person, all would have been fine. So I said "thanks for watching where you're going!"

Her reply? "Lose some weight!" (Shouted at me as I was walking up the path.) This absolutely enraged me and I yelled (in my best Brooklynese, I was pissed) "Yeah, well, get over your fucking attitude!" If I'd had the presence of mind I would have gone back and reminded her that shopping at Henri Bendel does not make her royalty and that the plebs do not have to get out of her way.

What a fucking bitch. Really ruined my mood for a bit.