Happened last night.

S: (watching but not watching the television at my parents' house, while we were trying to fix mom's computer) - So wait, how long do these (US) elections go for anyway?

me: The democratic elections?

S: No I mean the one to elect the president.

me: That election isn't until November.

S: So what the hell are they doing now?

me: Determining who will represent the Democratic party.

S: I thought this was the real deal here. I thought Clinton & Obama were running against each other to be the next president.

me: Uh. Sort of, but no. John McCain is representing the Republican party, it was more or less a no-brainer there, but because people are divided between Obama & Clinton, it's taking longer to determine who would best represent the Democratic party. But in the end it will probably be down to the superdelegates to determine who will win over the Dems, because the race has been so close.

S: So what you're telling me is, they are having an election to determine who they get to vote for? But the people's voices only count for so much, and in the end it won't really matter anyway?

me: That's about it, yeah.

S: That seams really, uh... stupid and wasteful? They're spending all kinds of money and time just so they can do it all again afterward?

me: I don't know, I'm not a US citizen, I barely understand it myself!

S (after a few minutes): I - I just can't believe they're wasting everyone's time and money on this.

(He spends the next few minutes talking about how he thinks Clinton is a bit too shrewish to be the president, but Obama would have more crazies trying to kill him, and that sadly he thinks all this race to be a democratic rep will be for naught because the US will fuck it up and vote McCain into power anyway).

So we're clear here - I'm not heavy into politics. I never have been. My understanding of politics outside my own country is minimal at best, so I found it really amusing that he got all up in arms about it. You can feel free to vent about whatever here, but I'll probably either not understand it, or ignore it. Just putting that out there in advance.

Ok time for a short nap before work. The pneumonia is still lingering and on top of that a bronchial infection. It's making work incredibly long and tiring, but c'est la guerre, right?

Went out for breakfast with Sir T this morning, which was awesome and just what I needed (seriously, he's like, the best breakfast buddy ever. Just the right amount of food and conversation, little to no lulls, and the right mixture of lackadaisical and hurried so that the event doesn't seem too rushed or dragged). However, sometimes I do feel like I'm in a time-sink, and had I no other plans I could have easily wasted the day talking with him. The funny thing is it seems that the only time we actually get together, it involves eating somehow.

Memo to self: get the book he keeps talking about before he crams it down my throat.

I took today off to go see M in the hospital today. I'm just waiting for a mutual friend to get off work soon so we can go. We're going to stop at the mall first and pick up some things to help amuse M as she will more or less be stuck in a hospital bed until she's ready to bring the baby home. It must be nerve-wracking for her considering she has 4 boys at home, and this is likely the longest she's been away from them ever. J has stepped up to the plate nicely though and is taking care of them. They in turn are also being well-behaved, understanding that J has no idea what he's doing (whose laundry belongs to whom? Who has a project due? Who needs to go to a birthday party?) and that it'll probably stress their mom out more if they act up. That is pretty astute all things considered. Kids are smarter than people give them credit for.

Ok time to toss together some chili in the slow-cooker for S so that he isn't starving when he gets home, and then I'm off to the races.

So in comparison to my last post about trips to Toronto and train madness, the week was pretty boring by comparison. The kids got a couple of play dates in for their holiday and that's about it.

On Wednesday night everyone and their brother called me, which was pretty funny actually because usually I never get phone calls. One call was with regards to one of my friends getting married to that Portuguese lad- they asked me to be the MC. It only makes sense in the grand scheme of things - I'm the only one of their mutual friends that actually knows them both from external sources as opposed to meeting one through the other. I'm actually looking forward to this though I'm going to have to track down the Groom's brother for dirt, and his brother lives in Geneva I think? Somewhere over the pond. I'm sure he has email or something.

Went out with folks from work to Molly Bloom's on Thursday, Friday I did nothing things with S which was kind of nice. We ordered in chicken wings and watched mostly either the Discovery channel or Food network - S thinks Ace of Cakes is just the cat's ass and I stalwartly maintain allegiance to Iron Chef: America even if it is inferior to its Eastern counterpart - I wish they'd show re-runs of that.

Friday I got a text from S telling me that M's water broke (she's only 33 weeks so that's pretty damn early) and got shipped to Victoria hospital. They managed to keep her from going into labor but now she's pretty much stuck in that damn hospital for the next two weeks - the waters only dribbled, they managed to keep that at bay, but if she goes into labor within that timeframe they'd rather have her right there than have to ship her again. If she makes it the two weeks, they'll send her back here, where apparently it'll be ok to have the baby here. She'll still be stuck in hospital until that time comes, which totally sucks for her.

J is beside himself not knowing what to do. It's his first child and then add to that the fact that he's now had the care and feeding of 4 strapping young lads thrust upon him - well, we're hoping their Dad will pitch in somehow, especially since he's not even working at the moment. This just adds stress to M but what can you do right?

The baby is doing well though, which is a relief.

Saturday S and C worked on the electrical wiring downstairs, while I shopped for SH's baby shower. Came home to be attacked - the boys wanting my feedback on how things were to be laid out. S initially didn't want it but C convinced him it was a good idea, since chances are I'll be cranky at the way something was done otherwise. C was right, and as a result S got some more ideas for the basement - our basement. We're taking our time with this project because we want it done right. S initially wanted it done quickly but now he's seeing this as a long-run type thing. Do it right the first time so there's no repeats of labor-intensive work/change.

Yesterday was baby shower day. It was ok and there was tons of people, half of whom were pregnant or trying, and I got to hold more than a few babies too, and take in their warmth and new baby smell; then I came home and cried. S was pretty good about it and did all the nice things that make me feel better.

And now I'm off to get the kids ready for their first day back from March Break. Hallelujah.