7 Quick Takes about Helpful Signage, Being Optimistic about Creepy People on the Internet, and a Second (Possible) Round of COVID

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?

—1—

Has anyone successfully taught their families that dirty dishes go in the dishwasher, instead of on the counter right on top of it? Mine is having a devil of a time grasping that concept. Some kids are better than others, but it drives me crazy.

I was lecturing  threatening  losing my mind  patiently explaining it again yesterday, and the 16-year-old decided to post some signage to help everyone remember: Don't Be Pigs.

Half the family thought this was a bear on a hamster wheel, but I appreciated the effort.

"What's that for?" the 6-year-old asked, seeing the sign for the first time.

"It's a pig with a line through it so it means 'no pigs.' It's to remind everyone to put their dishes away."

The kid looked right at me with a straight face and said, "I don't think it will work."

Later that afternoon I left to take someone to swim lessons, and when he got back I saw that he was right.

Smart kid.

—2—

I've mentioned the language exchange app I'm on to help me practice my Spanish. The main criticism of online language exchange is that you're connecting with strangers on the Internet, so some of them will try using it to date or flirt. 

Up until now, everyone I've met is just there to learn and has been fantastic to practice with. But I guess weirdos are everywhere, and I finally did get some random dude asking me to send him pictures. 

To be honest, though, I was mostly thrilled because I'd just learned the grammatical structure he used to do it and I understood him. 

—3—

Our state requires my 14-year-old son to get a work permit before starting a job, which requires collecting signatures from his school and pediatrician.

We headed to the pediatrician's office to get her signature first, where the receptionist told us she was on vacation. "But I can probably fax it over the the main office and have another doctor sign it," she offered. 

That was on Monday, and I haven't heard anything back from the main office since. I've called them a handful of times and they keep forwarding me to the secretary, who is never at her desk and isn't returning my messages.

On Thursday I finally got a hold of her, and it sounded like she had no idea what I was talking about. She took my number and said she'd "check on it" and call me back, which she never did.

So I'm pretty sure they lost it.

This stupid work permit is taking F-O-R-E-V-E-R to acquire, and after my son turns it it'll still be a few weeks before he gets on the schedule and actually starts working.

At this rate, by the time starts this job he won't even need a minor work permit, because he'll be 18.

—4—

This week I've been priming and painting the exterior doors on the house. 

Don't let this picture fool you: the kids helped for 10 minutes, made a giant mess and ruined my brushes, and then got bored and left to play.

Once they were finished, the doors ended up looking amazing. Before, they were kind of a dingy off-white color, and the guys who painted our house a few years ago got house paint on them, so it was really needed.

The next thing I've been eyeing is our garage doors, which are in desperate need of a good spraying with a pressure washer to clean them off and make them look as pretty as the ones I just painted.

I don't have a pressure washer, but I do have a scrub brush and a 14-year-old who needs a job, and that's the next best thing.

—5—

My cell phone finally died, and Phillip found a great deal on the Internet and got me a new one with a plan that costs even less than my old one. I don't know how it works, but he says it does so I believe him.

The newer phones are so big, though. I feel like I'm carrying around a flat screen TV.

I've only had it for a week, but I've found that I'm actually using my phone less because it's too heavy and awkward to hold comfortably so I only take it out when I really need it.

Which I guess is a good thing, but right now it just feels annoying.

—6—

I think some members of our family have COVID again. We already had it May, so when the 10-year-old got a sore throat and a swollen lymph node last weekend I assumed it was strep. I even took her to urgent care, and they didn't test us because we'd had COVID within the last 90 days.

But then Phillip started to feel achy with a sore throat, and since he'd kept testing negative back in May (despite being sick with the rest of us) he took a test and it turned out positive.

It's possible that the test is just picking up leftover virus from May, but maybe the two of them were reinfected with the new variant. BA.5 or something? I don't know, I can't really keep up anymore. It's like trying to listen to my teenagers explain what's cool now and what's not. We'll just avoid breathing on anyone and call it good.

—7—

Phillip and I have been binge watching an Amazon show (and by binge watching, I mean one or maybe two episodes a week, which is saying something because it regularly takes us a few sittings to finish a movie these days.)

The first episode is somehow both boring and bizarre, but it grows on you.

It's a mystery/sci-fi show about an elderly couple (the wife is played by Sissy Spacek) that stumbles on some kind of extraterrestrial secret they're trying to unravel. The name of the show is "Night Sky," but I personally like to call it "Boomers in Space." 

I'll let you know how Season 1 turns out.

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