Maura's Illuminated Manuscript

I had to do something I haven't needed to do for weeks: bop on down to Ex's to get my car, and then again to return it to the Wendling. When I returned, Ex read my mind as exes do and sent the Wendling out to get us burgers from a south end joint. As we munched, I brought up the imminent end of alimony.

Good news: Ex had it down as Feb. 1. I had it down as Feb. 15. I'll happily take the former. My tacky little party may just happen sooner than I thought.

Bad news: Since our son will still be spending at least* five days a week with her and he isn't chipping in enough just yet, she still wants "help" with food & utilities for him. The figure she named, which she says is preliminary, was $500/month. That's a hell of a lot lower than the $4K/month I'm paying now, but I don't believe it's tax deductible for me. She, however, still has to report it as income. Why isn't the Wendling paying more rent? He will be, says Ex, but he does need to save up first, last, and deposit if he's ever going to be in his own place.

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And on a completely unrelated note, my college housemate S blew into town and wanted to do brunch in Fremont. I hadn't seen her in person since the mid '90s. Hell yes, said I.

She has had an astoundingly varied career as a materials scientist for a major chip maker, a metal fabricator, a database monkey programmer, an Antarctica hand, and I can't even remember what all else. I definitely envied all the mad skillz and experiences she's picked up, but I think she may envy my relative financial stability. I hope we can both get some of what we envy about the other.

But! It turns out S and I have a lot in common: we're both Burners, we went to college together, and we both have... tastes. And regular readers know what I mean by "tastes" in an unlocked entry.

So now that's at least three people I have to meet up with the next time I go to Folsom: months ago I promised Taller Woman that we'd go together; K** is looking awfully promising as someone to go with; and S, who lives in the Bay Area, hasn't been to Folsom in years because she had no one to go with (!) and says she misses it. The Tickler is also wonderful to hang out with at Folsom, but at least historically she's had another girlfriend to stay with.

S & I passed through the Fremont Sunday Market on a sunny afternoon on our meandering way to Gas Works. I can see how the FSM would be a rich vein for Goths to mine for clothing & jewelry, but oddly enough, nothing grabbed me by the collar and insisted that I buy it.

Oh, here's a shallow fashion detail: I was wearing my Red Evil Princess Coat from Dracula Clothing, and I must have collected at least a dozen compliments from strangers about it. I haven't gotten quite that many in a day before, but people have noticed in the past. For a city where people hate to dress up, people sure appreciate you if you make the effort.



*His work schedule is changing to something nearly full time.
**I still haven't given K a moniker. I'm tempted to use a completely misleading pun on her name.

M'boy took his ACT today. For folks outside the US, that's one of the two standardized college entrance tests, the other being the SAT. Since he's got a learning disability, Aspiring Ex et al. arranged for him to have extra time to take the test, which is apparently a customary accommodation. He was taking the test on the UW campus from 0845 to 1430 today.

The ACT is in several sections. You're not allowed to skip back and forth between sections, but you're allowed to decide for yourself when to put down one and start another. You know where this is going: despite the extra time, my son didn't even start on the writing section.

Executive function, my son. Executive function.

I told m'boy, calmly even, that this wasn't good, and that he has probably hurt his chances of getting into a four year school. Since the writing section was technically optional - most students take it - and someone else (Aspiring Ex, I assume) signed him up for it, there ensued the Wendling's characteristically maddening attempts to spin things to make it seem as if it wasn't that bad. I don't buy it, and I don't think he buys it either anymore.

ETA: M'boy later insisted on looking up the UW's application directions, and they do indeed require the writing section. It looks as if AX was on the ball, as usual.

My poor son. He made a reasonable effort today, but he admits he could have practiced more to get up to speed on the other sections. He'd been told that time management was a big factor on the ACT, but he seemed to have forgotten that.

rigel_p pointed out to me this past spring that he doesn't seem to understand that something bad might happen to him if he doesn't learn to cope with (or better yet use) his various brain quirks. At least today might mark a turning point.

We went out for Korean food afterwards, because I'd promised him earlier and he didn't eat his snack until the test was over. (!) He demolished a plate of bulgogi and a bowl of green tea ice cream, and is currently asleep; he was up at about 0615.

Icing? His learner's permit for driving expired on October 9th. That's right: unbeknownst to anyone, he's been driving illegally for the last two weeks. He's got to renew that before he can get his regular license. Now that the ACT is done, he'll have time to study for that.

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For better or worse, I can't find any episode of Magnificent Century with English subtitles after season 1. I think that's Allah God telling me to stop watching it.