I'm cheating again....

writing the morning entry the night before, because I have to leave early in the morning.  I will probably walk out the door around 7:30 or so and may not be back until after 11 p.m.  That's a day that's too long and I will be completely and utterly exhausted.  But there's no choice.

I have two screenings to attend, back to back.  They won't finish until 3 in the afternoon. I could then fight rush-hour traffic to get from Hollywood back to Culver City to sit until 5:45 and then drive a lot more to get to trivia.  Instead I'm going to drive straight to the area where trivia is being played (probably save 50 mile of driving by doing that) and run a few errands in that area.  If I have enough time, I have a book to read.

That almost all got overcome by events.  Turns out that for a moment it appeared I was out of one of my medications and it's a critical one.  So I almost had to cancel my Tuesday plans to see screenings to go coax a refill out of the V.A. system.  Fortunately it turned out there were enough left that I can get the refill at my regularly scheduled next appointment (Thursday).  Speaking of regularly scheduled appointments, one popped up for next Monday during class-time which may mean taking that session's quiz on Friday, promising not to reveal the answers to anyone and then missing part of class for that doctor's appointment.

I wrote about my feelings over the debates I didn't watch, my friend's numerous, difficult to follow postings on FB and the whoppers told by the candidates directly on my FB page, so no need to say more here.

I'm pondering why the new sleeping pill I took for the first time last night didn't work as advertised.  The doctor did say to give it a few days.  So I shall.

I'm pondering how Robin Leach, former host of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" can find today's reality TV any more offensive than the pablum he used to host.

I'm pondering just how many errors there are in the textbook and workbook passed out in the class I'm taking.  The review problem for chapter 20 (which I believe we will be tested on) contains two errors that are so big, you can't possibly get anywhere near the right answer without seeing the correctly prepared "answer" document.  We always had trouble with errors in the texts, they are written on very short deadlines and there isn't enough time for full proofing.  But this mistake is just unforgivable.  I'm just glad I found it to save the rest of the class from getting so much material so wrong.

I'm still conducting my experiment on a dating site, to see if more women will respond to one of two identical profiles where the only difference between the two is that one makes significant mention of his financial success while the other merely mentions being employed and lists a moderate income.  But doing that had me pondering the memory of a personal ad I saw a long time ago.  It was from a woman who listed her age as 45 on her profile, but then in her essay says "I lied about my age, I'm really 55, but I look and feel much younger. So don't think of me as 55.  Think of me as 45."  That had me scratching my head.

So did a story one of my old friends told me about finanicial aid applications at private schools.  These applications require the applicants to list the make/model/lease payment or purchase price of their cars, along with info on their houses, savings accounts, other assets and so on.  He got a visit from a parent to drop off her application and she said "you can't count the $140,000 Maserati against us.  It's necessary to my husband's psychological being."

I'm actually making mention of this because we've talked a little bit about who makes up the middle class.  There was a letter this past Sunday to the L.A. Times financial columnist who gives advice from a family trying to decide if they should go into debt to pay for an Ivy League education for their oldest child.  "We're of middle class means" the letter reads and then it goes on to say 'between us we earn about $185,000 per year".  That's not middle class at all.  That's in the top 5% of family incomes all across the nation.  It may seem lower in a high-cost of living area, but it ain't middle class by a long shot.

I'm pondering why, with all the personal ads out there about people who enjoy long walks on the beach,, the beaches aren't really crowded at night with people taking romantic walks.

I'm pondering why it is that our armpits seem to be the one spot on our bodies where odor is at its worst.  Was that by design?

I'm pondering where or not there will be time to run by Philippe's to grab a French Dip sandwich today.  Probably not because the combination of parking and long lines makes visits there lengthy in nature.

And finally I'm pondering the fact it isn't even 5:00 a.m. yet.