This is your summer Honey-Do List
Start at the top & work down …
On Monday, I posted my list of summer ambitions: to relax in my rednecky Walmart pool, to garden, to watch copious amounts of Dr. Who, to see lots of summer blockbusters and listen to lots of bluegrass music, to visit family, to write. Those are the things I aspire to.
The real list, sans “real” research which gets its own blog entry, is below the break.
Always, always back up your research materials
Fire-Damaged Master’s Thesis Surveys circa 1996
Last week, The Coach pulled the last two ‘research crates’ out of the closet in the spare room and hauled them up to my office at school. One crate is full of the EIS statements I used in my dissertation; the other was a surprising collection of papers from the late 1990s. Not only did I find the copies of the surveys I used to write my master’s thesis, I also found copies of my Ohio taxes, a quote for renter’s insurance (which was almost twice what we currently pay for homeowner’s insurance because no one will insure you after a fire), hand-colored maps for a research project, and my father’s application for Medicaid.
Almost two decades later, the surveys still smell like smoke.
I’m not sure why I’ve been hauling this stuff around for almost 20 years. It certainly wasn’t for sentimental value, I’ll tell you that. Back in the day, The Coach and I were so ungodly poor that we lived in a trailer that we could barely pay for. Thankfully, we had insurance when the fire gutted that place — and I was lucky that the fire only singed the corners of the surveys so I could start over on my thesis.* Not so lucky was our dog Churchill who died from smoke inhalation. I’ve been thinking a lot about those days, mostly because we had to tell our life stories for our adoption home study. I tend to complain (a little, a lot?) about our low salaries here at the University and about the fact that our student loans will probably follow us into retirement, but we are so much better off now than we were then.
As for the crate, almost everything went into the trash — surveys, newspaper articles, umpteen drafts of the thesis. I did keep a couple of government documents in case I ever want to revisit the Wabash River Corridor (20 year retrospective perhaps?) and a few lesson plans because they amused me, but everything else: POOF!
One crate remains.
* Tip: Never store your backup copies in the same building with your computer. I was completely paranoid when I wrote my dissertation, keeping copies in a fire safe, my work office, and the glove compartment of my old car.
The assembled adoption home study packet
Submitted May 1.
First Home Study Visit scheduled for May 20th.
Rockin’ River City Ride
More like Rockin’ the Pigeon Creek Greenway, but whatever.
I probably should have been working.
Today’s Spring Break Task: Sitting down with the adoption home study paperwork for the first time. We had originally hoped that we could get this done quickly, but now we know that it will be at least the end of May before we can turn in everything since our physicals are scheduled for after the academic year ends. That was a particular problem: I never get sick, but when I do, I usually just go to an Urgent Care or something. Thankfully, The Coach’s doctor is going to take me on as a new patient, so that little issue is solved. That said, I still don’t know why the State needs to know our “infertility” status. I’d like to just say, “I’m 43, duh.” I’m just going to have to get used to the State invading our privacy. Sigh.
Just in case you were wondering, the paperwork’s pretty extensive:
Security and Criminal Checks | This includes a local background check by the county sheriff’s department for anyone over the age of 18, a statewide criminal history background check; a state CPS Check; and an FBI fingerprint check.
Things About Us | Physicals for all members of the household; a foster/adoptive family inventory; a supplemental inventory form; birth certificates for every member of the household; our marriage license (which I have to order because ours burned up in a fire a long time ago); copies of our drivers’ licences; copies of our vehicle registrations; a copy of our current automobile policy.
Things About Our Pets | Copies of the dogs’ and cats’ vaccination records.
Things About Our House | A copy of our most recent water bill to show we are on city water (otherwise you have to have a copy of the water analysis for your well water).
Things About the Types of Kids We are Willing to Adopt | A Child Behavioral/Health Challenges Checklist.
They also ask for copies of divorce decrees, but since neither of us have ever been divorced that’s a non-issue. Plus, at one point someone said something about death certificates, but we don’t need to worry about that either.
At first, I thought the well water thing was odd, until I realized that they were probably worried about nitrates (example: blue babies) and Atrazine (re: bladder cancer). Our State is a bread-basket state (well, if you include corn bread) and the Atrazine thing is a real concern (especially since our state recently received a hefty settlement).
Once the paperwork is in, we’ll have to have two home visits. The first one is theoretically to tell us just how unsafe our house is; the second one is to make sure we have fixed all the things. Of course, we haven’t been able to shake loose a list of things we need to do the house, but rumor has it that we need Carbon Monoxide detectors, smoke alarms (on every floor) and fire extinguishers (also on every floor). Well, that and no wires hanging out of the walls — we’ve been told that numerous times.
Anyways: My day will be focused on finding as many of these forms on the ‘net as possible. My handwriting is too big for the space that the state provides and, quite frankly, I type faster than I write. Wish me luck!
I’m trying very, very hard to be happy but the universe keeps throwing wrench in it. Long story short: We have to make an emergency trip to Ohio tomorrow. Through 6″ to 10″ of snow. Hopefully the Subaru lives up to its reputation. I’ll post more later, but first we need some definitive answers regarding my MIL’s recent break with reality.
In other news, I did get a new analogue camera today.
Most days, that would be enough to make me happy.
Today, not so much.
Sigh.
That’s right: The professor is booked solid from 9 – 5 p.m. today with no lunch break, no pee breaks, no nothing. And then, I get to clean my house and cook a 20 lb bird, make pies, entertain guests, and basically try to figure out how I can finish writing two encyclopedia entries, a personal statement for a fellowship application, and my part of the Greenway report.
Enough already.
Carson: The Compliant Cat
I tried to dress Spartacus in this outfit.
It did not turn out well.
