So we’re settled in to watch the RNC for the second night in the row. Simply put, we have a new TV that, when used with our rabbit ears, picks up PBS very clearly. Here are some of our observations:

1. Couldn’t these speakers have spent at least ONE hour of their lives at a Toastmasters meeting?
2. Berlin’s clearly an Obama supporter judging by her extensive gas while listening to Romney this evening.
3. Whoever is sitting at the switching bank thinks that we would really enjoy seeing audience members chatting with one another. The speakers aren’t nearly as interesting as this poorly framed shot!
4. Bill Lehrer is spending next Saturday sitting for the GED exam.
5. “Drill, baby, drill.” It was exactly 0.67 seconds later that Priscilla slumped over dead leaving Matt alone to sing “Motherless Children” to Berlin and Mojo as he tucked them into bed.

EDIT: Jim Lehrer, not Bill Lehrer. Priscilla is also sitting for the GED on Saturday.

If I get one more nasty-gram yelling at me because I am ambivalent towards the Olympic games, I’m going to start kicking you all between the legs.

I’ve been a delinquent blogger this week. I didn’t spend my Sunday or Monday evening this week writing blogs for the upcoming week, instead I spent them eating. So you’re all feeling the result of my delinquency. You seem to be making up for it in commenting though, which is much appreciated. Did you know there’s a rule about that? 90% of visitors are trawlers, 9% are regulars who occasionally converse, and 1% are addicts that make life worth living. Sort of like how Sharon Osbourne totally makes the show “America’s Got Talent” worth watching. You guys know who you are… the Sharon Osbournes of my life.

I was talking with a friend this week who asked if blogging changes my relationships. Well, kinda, I said. I open myself up to friends and acquaintances in ways that daily conversation otherwise wouldn’t. But I’ve seen some of my relationships blossom because of it. In taking that first step to tear down walls, I’ve become closer to people who just needed me to make the first move. It’s a blessing in disguise. You lay yourself somewhat bare, which would seem dangerous, but can pay off by allowing others to do the same.

Said friend also asked about how my blogging affects my relationship with Matt. Technically, I’ve been blogging since 2004 when he first entered my life. I’ve learned a lot about it since then, and where to draw some boundaries to show respect for my husband and our relationship. But Matt will always fear that I’ll one day lay myself bare in a way that really injures me. This just goes to show what a wonderful man I married. He’s never concerned that I’ll paint him in a bad light, more that I’ll be hurt from making myself too vulnerable.

Needless to say, I think it’s a terrific medium. I’ve found more positives from it than negatives, and just like the print medium, I don’t think it’s going anywhere soon. In fact, I think YOU should blog. Yes, you! Cause I’d love to see YOUR photos and hear about YOUR life. It’s a karma thing.

I’ve always been a big believer that you can get just about anywhere you want with whatever degree you’ve got. The only place this doesn’t seem to fit are in industries where very specific government regulations prevail such as education, healthcare, finance, and law. I think I’ve always felt this way because my dad’s a Yale grad with a history major focused on the Middle Ages, yet has been an investment writer for over 25 years. Seems like you can get any job you want if you work hard enough at it.

Despite the fact that more and more people are saying the Graduate degree is the new Bachelors and moaning about the declining value of your college degree, I still hold to the belief that most masters degrees are almost worthless. Maybe not “almost worthless” but certainly not of more value than several years of real-world work experience. I don’t even think where you attend college matters much beyond your first job, which a good school might help you acquire.

I’m willing to acknowledge that my thoughts on this matter most likely stem from my general dislike of institutions of higher learning. It might be the precocious snobbery associated with academia that I hate. But I was one of those kids who probably would have been better off going to vocational tech school than the ridiculously crazy private school I attended. Wow, that says a lot about me. Rock on with your bad self, Soldering 101!

Tell me about the degree you got and how worthwhile it’s been to you over the years.

We had a fabulous weekend in the White Mountains - myself camping with family and a very stinky Berlin - Matt hiking the Presidential Traverse. They summited 9 mountains in 2.5 days. Not bad if you ask me.

I foolishly decided to leave my camera at home so it wouldn’t get damaged… or wind up smelling like dirty camp dog. But the White Mountains are so breathtaking, which I always seem to forget until I go back. I give New Hampshire a lot of flack after growing up there, but I have to take it all back after a 15 minute hike to a boiling river unspoiled and barren even on a holiday weekend.

My love of place is strong, albeit not as strong as other people I know. But I have really connected with some places I have been/lived, and out of them all, New England still takes the cake. We live in a green city, a historical city, and a place of significant cultural relevance. Drive one way for a half an hour and you’re at the beach. Drive another direction for an hour and you’re in the middle of lush farmland. Drive a few hours north and you’re at some of the most beautiful, most hiked mountains in the US. Go ahead and read all about it in Yankee Magazine.

But I think what I love the most in New England are these crazy people. These people who are stingy and private about their economic status. These people who are outrageously liberal yet go to New Hampshire on the weekends to shop tax-free and hunt. New England has some of the best universities and has always been known as an intellectual hub. But it’s a place where lobstermen are lauded, perhaps even more than senators. I think I love this place so much because of it’s glaring contradictions. Do you understand me all the better now?

They say that people in New England are rude because of seasonal effective disorder. I disagree. I think we’re rude for the same reason Iceland was named as such. Because we sort of want to protect this place and keep it a secret.

I’ve met some famous people and some semi-famous people in my life. I would say this makes me lucky, but seeing as I have yet to get the hookup from one of these famous people I think I’m still in the same boat I was before meeting them. What good are famous people if they don’t hook you up?

Nonetheless, the thing I realized after meeting Murray Waas the other day is that NICE semi-famous people talk about YOU not them! They ask you about your thoughts on stuff instead of going on and on about their fabulous careers. N.T. Wright didn’t do that so much. Not that he was mean, he just wasn’t as nice as Murray Waas. Isn’t that quite a statement about the Bishop of Durham? Maybe it was just an off-day.

And that’s just it. We were talking to Murray about Obama and McCain, and I told him that I don’t really cut politicians slack for the communication flubs they make while behind the podium. After all, they ARE going for the President of the United States, they gotta work for it. Sure, they’re always under the public eye, constantly being scrutinized, but this is the price to pay for being a household name. Is that such a tough price to pay?

My suggestion to mean famous and semi-famous people? Talk about them, not you. And go hire a good PR firm.