A stimulus package for the hard times ahead

Seriously, that IS what this ad is about.



I almost spit out my coffee when I first saw this...!

SM hard at work

As you probably know, SM works on the Hill. Well, today, his boss was in a hearing, so SM had to staff him -- which basically means sitting behind him to answer any questions. Which basically means sitting behind him and trying not to fidget, fall asleep or look bored.

SM told me that the hearing was on C-SPAN, so I looked it up online and watched it. This is what I saw:



SM wasn't sitting behind his boss exactly, but I could see him behind another member, Sam Farr. Well, Mr. Farr has a big head, and at first I couldn't see SM at all. He was completely obscured by Mr. Farr.

So I emailed SM and told him to move. He did.



But he went the wrong way. So I emailed him and told him to move in the other direction.



Ah, that was better.

And, I was sending him these pictures, so he was seeing himself on C-SPAN while he was in the hearing. I could also see him checking his Blackberry on camera (in the back, of course). There was lots of back and forth between the Members of Congress and General Petraeus, so SM wasn't on-screen often, only when Mr. Farr was asking questions. Then SM emailed me and said that Sam Farr was going to ask more questions. I was ready when SM did this:



Heh. SM also told me that he was showing the pictures to the women sitting on either side of him, which explains the craning in the picture above.

I was amused.

New plumbing

Quick update: Dad's kidney transplant surgery went well, medically-speaking.  Tuesday was a nightmare of a day, but he was doing quite well yesterday and seems to be suffering only from the usual post-op pain, meds and fuss.  My stepmom is also doing quite well and will be discharged today, I believe.

The day of the surgery was surreal in terms of all the administrative screw-ups.  We were told that they were scheduled for surgery at 8:00 AM and had to be in the hospital at 6:00 AM.  My stepmom didn't actually go back for her surgery until 4:00 PM, and Dad didn't go back until 5:30.  We spent almost 18 hours in the hospital, at least 6 of which were unnecessary waiting due to the administrative error.  I'll rant more about this later.

The important thing is that they seem to be doing fine, and I am grateful for that.  The kidney also seems to be doing very well, and everyone is optimistic that it will continue to be a good little organ in its new home.

Thanks for all the well wishes.