Car Battery fail, Hummus win

I like to say that if i have one virtue, its patience. I liked the idea of that Boiling Points show that used to be on MTV because I thought I would win the money if I was ever on it. Virtues have flip-sides and in my case the flip side of patience is procrastination. Today this was a problem in the shape of my car battery. I've known I needed a new car battery but its been starting okay until today. I was supposed to pick up the little boy I babysit from his pre-school coop and the car was a not interested in going anywhere. And the worst babysitter of the year award goes to...PurpleBecca!!!

Then I made some hummus out of stuff I had in the pantry. It turned out being pretty good, if a little non traditional. I just put this stuff in my little food processor:

1 can garbanzos
2 cloves garlic
about a tablespoon chili powder
about 2 tablespoons olive oil

Now I'm eating it on saltines because if I don't have any tahini you know I don't have pitas.

Everything I Learned in High School Science

Do you remember everything you learned in High School Science? Really? What about equilibrium constants? What about the difference between mutualism and commensalism? What about electromagnetic waves?

I'm taking the Science 8-12 texes test on Thursday as another step toward becoming a certified teacher. This test is so comprehensive that I have no idea if I've been studying for it effectively. As a Cell/Molecular Bio degree holder I thought I would be pretty good on bio and chem, but I'm realizing that there is a good amount of chemistry that I haven't seen since intro chemistry 6 years ago. I've spent most of the last month or two trying to re-learn physics, but now that its down to crunch time I realized that I better study the other stuff as well.

As much as studying can be a drag its actually different this time because I'm thinking in the back of my head how I would teach a lesson on each subject. I'm really excited about the prospect of being able to teach science to some young people.

Once upon a time, I was 15 years old. I lived with my mother in a little white house with decorative wrought iron bars on the window and a big swing in the front yard. When she asked me to go on a drive with her I was not surprised because we often spent weekend afternoons aimlessly wandering until something fun or entertaining presented itself. On this day, however, she seemed to have a certain destination in mind. I said little in the car because I'm the kind of person who says nothing when I don't know what to say. Being in the car is such an intense and forced form of intimacy. So I probably just sang along to the radio while we travelled down the farm-to-market roads and city streets that my mom had memorized to avoid ever having to get on the highway. Finally, we pulled into a trailer park, or rather a "manufactured home community".

"Look at the trailer trash." Demanded my mother.
"Hmm." I said.
"Hello little trailer trash boy." Said my mom, through the closed window to a kid playing ball in the street. I may have laughed a little. I may have made a joke about being there to pick up her new boyfriend. I was 15, and I wanted to fit in. Even with my mother.
"I think I know that girl from school." I said, motioning to a girl to my left, who I probably did not really recognize.
"Well now you know that she lives in a trailer."

I didn't know why my mother was being like this. I always thought that she was so open minded and understanding. I thought that she had taught me how to empathize. Whereas other adults in my life would talk about people behind their backs, my mom would talk TO people. She never seemed put off, intimidated, or disgusted by anyone. I was an idealistic teenager and I had always assumed that she was right there with me. I was getting upset (I had never been angry at this point in my life). When we had completed the circle of the streets through the community and turned out I meekly said, "These people aren't trailer trash. They're just people who happened to live in trailers."

She turned to me with an emotion that I did not fully understand, "That's what I wanted to hear you say. That's why we're here. I'm proud of you. Lets go get a hamburger."

We went and got some food and didn't really talk about the little field trip. I didn't understand it. Its strange to think about how back then she even had any question in her mind that I would have some prejudice against people who lived in trailers, but I probably did. A suburban housing development can be a very isolating thing. All of the houses around you are so much like yours that you forget that not everyone in the world lives in a little white house with wrought iron window bars.

Mom must have realized how much of the world I was missing out on. Thank God I had her.

A Fresh Start

I've tried to maintain a knitting blog for over a year now, but I'm just not a prolific enough knitter/crocheter to come up with interesting posts frequently. So I'm moving, branching out, and prepared to enter the over-sharing culture of the personal blog! This is going to be fun! I'll get to talk about how cute my dog is without having knitted something as an excuse for a post. I can discuss how much I love glam rock and I won't even have to try to stretch to tie it in to fiber art. I'm excited.

Thanks for making the leap...real post to follow.