Joyousness! I live in a great state!!

OOOOOhhhh. Squeee!!
I'm going to go see Paul Krugman in Iowa City tomorrow!!
Joyous bliss!!
I'm seriously considering having him autograph my clavicle.. Then I will have it tattooed.
Yummy.
Socialist nerd fangirls unite!!

So, I just finished taking off the 30 year old carpet on my front stairs.
What a thankless fucking job that was.

I had always planned to do this sooner or later, but since the dog-sitter and I got our communications crossed, it had to be done sooner. My poor dog has been a neurotic mess since having her "accidents".
(OH.MY.fucking.GOD.)
The stench and the nastiness.
Anyways.
So I (with some help for a couple of hours... thank you to my eldest son) spent most of the day ripping and shredding and twisting and prying.
My hands look and feel twenty years older. I can barely type.
And now I have a really adorable set of front stairs. They look almost graceful.
You'd never guess they had just turned 100. They don't look a day over 75.

Can I just warn anyone who is thinking of putting down permanent carpet... DON'T FUCKING DO IT.
The crap that gets trapped underneatth carpet is so gross. Years of dust and dirt.
And it simply can't be good for anyone with allergies or sinus issues or fear of nasty things that don't get sucked up by the best, newest vacuum..
There you go. Y'all have been warned.
I'm going to go shower.
I reek and I'm filthy.

 Damn.
Reminds me of grade school.

I'm sort of hoping the Economic Downturn turns into the Mighty Fail (my name for the coming Depression)
I want people to experience poverty and deprivation.
Well, what I want  is for the average bloated American consumer to finally have something prick or poke through their flesh. 
Pain. Reality. Broccoli. A belt buckle.

The things we consume are all about lessening the sensations we should feel.

Advil for a stress headache instead of a glass of water and a walk in fresh air.
Cable T.V. for real life instead of calling your  parents.
Take-out from Trader Joes or Whole Foods for taste instead of cooking at home.
Stretch pants for being bloated instead of the belt buckle digging into your fat gut.


There is something so wrong with a country where children are obese.
Children are supposed to be all about acitivity and motion.
A serious depression may be just the thing to put our priorities back in focus.
The health and education of our children.


And I mean a holistic education, one that includes civics (remember that? the education of citizens) as well as science.
I'm pulling for a Mighty Fail.



eta: Okay, so I was just over on Paul Krugman's blog  and I have to admit that I like his phrase
"Great Depression 2.0" even better than Might Fail.
GD 2.0 it is.