odds and ends

I just won a very satisfying victory over my 18 month old nephew in a lengthy power struggle oevr breakfast. He thought that the tofu/banana/blueberry/applesauce/honey concoction I mashed up for him was beneath him--he kept shaking his head at it. So I left him in his little seat until he bent to my will. And then of course he liked it. And then my mom called to tell me you arent supposed to feed honey to kids under 3. great. Now we are watching a program called The Backyardigans, a set of five little quasi animals who have pretend backyard adventures. they do some stellar little dances.

yesterday I decided I needed to get out, so I took a walk to get a breakfast burrito. on the way back I ran into a meth addict who tried to sell me marcasite necklaces, pore cleaner, and ginsu knives. quite an ecclectic little collection of items. if i had any money i would have bought one, because i'm quite an avid supporter of entrepreneurs who work for their meth.

i always thought that Taiwan had a lot more cool, quirky little innovations to make life easy than the U.S. But recently I've encountered a few nifty little ideas, like the plastic wrap with the easy cutter. and the lazy susan bagging at walmart.

my days have been full of job applications and scholarship applications and trying to choose a class schedule that will accomodate the job i don't have; babysitting my nephew and whatnot. it's been good so far. yesterday we went out for middle eastern food and had the feast for three...actually a feast for 30. we came home with 6 boxes of leftovers. oh sweet american portions. i duly noted the enormous God Bless America poster over the register. i mean, they probably do love america, as i do evermore since my fateful trip to russia--which, as jane pointed out, was characterized y a lot more than racism and unfriendliness, so hopefully i will recount some tales soon--but it's also probably true that they needed to cater to hick bias. this partyicular restaurant is owned by chaldean christians, but no one in el cajon knows that. anyway, the blessed people give you a huge plate of hummus with amazing flatbread. it is sure to be one of my favorite eateries in the near future.

anyway, i hope everyone is well! stay cool.