"A quest is not to be undertaken lightly – or at all! – pondered Hlothgar, Thrag of the Western Boglands, son of Glothar, nephew of Garthol, known far and wide as Skull Dunker, as he wielded his chesty stallion Hralgoth through the ever-darkening Thlargwood, beyond which, if he survived its horrors and if Hroglath the royal spittle reader spoke true, his destiny awaited – all this though his years numbered but fourteen."

-- Stuart Greenman's winning entry to the fantasy fiction category of the Bulwer-Lytton awards, given to the worst opening sentences


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on a very different note, today is a big day for us. i'm heading off to the dentist this afternoon and we're leaving rex with a sitter for a couple of hours. we're using a woman who just opened up a home daycare three doors down from us, and who we're hoping (barring any problems) to use for childcare once i go back to work. i hope rex charms her as he's done to everyone else -- and that he likes her! he's having a pretty good morning (he's *such* a morning guy -- not sure where he gets that, since both of his parents require caffeine to function and be even remotely pleasant in the mornings).

when i called the woman's references it seemed as though they were all pretty judgmental about me going back to work: "she's great, but how do YOU feel about going back to work?" and while talking to them i felt not only defensive, but alienated. i'm not like those women. i don't understand how you could fault someone for wanting to go and use their brain every day while contributing to the family finances and getting social interaction with other adults. i suppose there are plenty of jobs that people don't like as much as i like my job. and yes, i will feel sad leaving rex. i'm sure it will positively break my heart if and when his childcare provider sees some developmental milestone before i do. but i also want him to be raised in a household where both parents are breadwinners, are equal partners and are happy with their lives. although plenty of women are probably happy staying home, if there's one thing my maternity leave has taught me, i'm not one of those women.
and on that note, i've got to get showered and ready to go