Elise Sereni Patkotak

I depart today on the first part of my journey to the East Coast. I used to do this in one day, leaving at 1 or 2 AM and arriving the next evening on the East Coast. But those days are long past. Now I go to Seattle and spend the night in a hotel in a real bed. Then I take the non-stop Alaska Airlines flight to Philly the next morning. It cost more this way but when I land in Philly I am a pleasant person… well, as pleasant as I ever am. Mostly I’m not a misery

My new used TV is dramatically larger than any tv I’ve ever had. In fact, it’s almost as large as the screens in what now pass for movie theaters. I can watch TV from almost anywhere on my second floor without really having to either turn my head or squint. I think back to those little screens of my childhood and wonder how I ever survived without being able to see exactly how many pores there are on Mark Harmon’s face.

OK, Alaska. I have found a company that actually includes Alaska in its sales pitch when it says free shipping.

http://www.wayfair.com

The lady said that not all items may be covered by this policy but they are sending me a mailbox for the cost of the box plus free shipping. I even called the 800 number to be sure I had it right. I guess there are some places in the lower 48 that understand we are part of the CONTINENTAL United States.

Why is it that whenever we picture aliens we picture them green? Is this some prehistoric memory wired into our genes or do we just think green is a weird color?

So the TSA all but strip searches me at the airport and manages to confiscate my deadly bottle of hand cream but they miss the weapons and grenades being brought in as a test of their competency. Yep. Makes me feel perfectly safe flying. Violated, but safe and with only slightly chapped hands.

So our august legislators feel that since layoff notices went out on Monday to state employees, they have no deadline for passing a budget. Hmmm. At what point did they ever worry about deadlines? They blew past the time they should have been in session. They blew past the deadline for their first special session. And now they’ve blown past the deadline that would have avoided layoff notices. Yeah, I don’t think this group ever really gave a crap about any deadline. On the other hand, if closing state government because no budget was passed impacted their receiving their per

Here’s how it works in my house. I wake up in the middle of the night to Snowy, the dog curled into my back, having hiccups. Every time he hiccups, his back bumps mine. I try to move away from him in order to get back to sleep. Every time I inch away, he inches in. And so we both lay awake waiting for the hiccups to end. Oh well, I needed a bathroom run anyhow.

Maybe the legislature always wanted government to shut down so they could save the money and thus balance the budget. Of course, the branch of government that issues their per diem would remain open.