Here’s the first flower pr0n for May.

Shocking as it seems, I already have a day lily blooming.

As mentioned previously, everyone around here has been in at tizzy over the Heather Bresch scandal, and the actions or inactions of WVU President Mike Garrison.

Michael and I are in disagreement over what should happen. He says that there’s no proof that Garrison did anything wrong, so he should resign or be censured. I say, of course there’s no evidence. He’s a lawyer; He would have first and foremost covered his tracks.

And I think that’s where much of the university–and even the state–stands as well. Split over whether Garrison did wrong or not, and what those actions or inactions mean for WVU.

Well, today is the faculty senate special meeting to vote on whether Garrison should be forced to resign or be censured.

Mind you , this time last year the faculty senate was debating a vote of no confidence, in response to what was seen as a rigged selection process, as well as Garrison’s ties with various politicians throughout the state.

There may be no evidence as to Garrison’s wrongdoing, but I’d like to point out two things. First, this was the kind of problem many faculty members were worried about when Garrison was selected. Second, whether Garrison took action action that was unethical or not, he is perceived as acting in an unethical manner, and is thus tarnishing the reputation of the University (WVU has lost at least $1 million in donations due to the scandal.)

Even if Garrison did not directly influence the committee that gave Bresch her unearned degree, he also did nothing to distance himself from the decision and to reduce the appearance of impropriety. And when you are president of the state flagship university, appearances are just as important as actions.

ADDENDUM the First:
Faculty Senate made a vote of no confidence, and recommended that Garrison resign.

It doesn’t matter in the slightest, since the faculty senate has no power, but apparently the faculty senate overwhelmingly disapproved of Garrison’s actions (77 to 19).

Several weeks ago, Michael and I learned about the existence of a product that I knew I definitely needed.

So to surprise Michael, I ordered one for each of us. Michael’s was too big, so we had to send it back, but he got the new size this week, and now we’re totally geeked out.

 
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I’ve had a Kitchen Aid Classic Mixer for more than ten years–it was a Christmas gift from my parents in 1996 I think. A couple years in I had problems with it, and they replaced it for free, which was exceedingly awesome.

When that mixer had problems, it was in the middle of making Christmas cookies, and that was ugly. It didn’t explode, it just wouldn’t shut off. So to stop it briefly I had to shove the switch back, and to turn it off I had to unplug it. They sent me a reconditioned one, no charge, and all has been good.

I use my mixer a lot (we got the shredder/slicer attachment, which I like better than my Cuisinart food processor for many tasks) so I have definitely gotten my use out of it. But it’s started making unpleasant noises while kneading pizza dough, in addition to getting warm and making an odd smell, so I decided that rather than have my mixer explode on me one day in the middle of a batch of pizza dough or cookies, it was time to look for a new mixer.

I went to Amazon, because that’s where I get everything (why venture into the mall if I don’t have to?) and then spent a good deal of time debating.

I knew I wanted the Artisan series, but wasn’t sure about the color. My current mixer is white, which is nice because it matches all the other appliances, and matches the kitchen no matter what. But I love the color cobalt blue, and cobalt blue was in stock.

So go with white, which goes with everything, no matter what color the kitchen is? (and right now my kitchen is green, white, and terra cotta) Or get the color that makes me happy?

Cobalt blue won out, so now I get to look forward to a new mixer, in shiny cobalt blue, and who the hell cares that it doesn’t match the rest of the kitchen?

Maybe I’ll repaint the kitchen to match my mixer…

HA!
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OK, I admit I am picky about text readability, because it’s one of the things I focus upon in my web design class: If you want someone to read something, white on black or black on white are the easiest combinations to read, because they have the highest contrast.

This dialog box, however, is a pretty good example of what not to do.

Just checked my bank account.

I have not yet been stimulated.

Just what I expect from this president.

Some some random odds and ends instead.

The bright spot Sunday was I got to see the twins. They’re 7 months old now, and absolutely, unbelievably, adorable. James has gotten over his “colic” and is just as happy as his sister. He’s also extremely energetic, and kept bouncing up and down–he was a bit much from Grandmom to hold in fact. Helena was calmer, although just as happy. They also made the time and the funeral home easier for everyone, as it’s really hard to be sad when there is a baby giggling at you.

The temperature rose about 35 degrees yesterday, from the morning low in the 40s to an afternoon high in the upper 70s. No wonder every around here feels sick.

I will get pictures taken of the Geek Out Michael and I are having. We are so easily amused. :)

Also, just for Chris, I’m planning a post about Oatmeal. And how delicious it is. Try to restrain your excitement.

As I was reading the comments on yesterday’s post, I realized that I haven’t talked about some subjects that are important to me, and that some of you who have started reading here only recently may not know.

Up until last year, when I dropped out for mental health and personal reasons, I was pursuing and Masters in Public Health. The majority of my classes were gerontology classes, and the focus of my classwork and semester projects was end-of-life care.

And yes, those two subjects are quite often mutually exclusive.

When I discuss my inability to enter nursing homes, this is a phobia that goes back to my childhood. Yesterday’s post was an attempt to answer a question by that wasn’t quite asked by my aunt, as to why I was able to easily enter a funeral home, while remaining unable to deal with nursing homes. My phobia is specifically nursing homes, not funeral homes, not hospitals, and not the ill or the dying. As I said yesterday, it is the atmosphere of nursing homes, and the idea of them, that I am unable to tolerate.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the idea of nursing homes, and in many cases they are necessary to preserve someone’s quality of life. I am simply unable to enter such a facility.

Additionally, I wanted to highlight a comment I made yesterday, which is that you need to talk to your family and your loved ones about what you would want to happen to you if you were to end up incapacitated.

This is a subject we think about primarily in reference to the elderly, however tragedies can happen to any time and anyone, and by making our wishes known now. Yes, it’s morbid and depressing, but far better to have a single morbid and depressing conversation than to give our loved ones days, months, or heaven forbid years of trying to guess what our wishes would have been.

So I’ll start, for this is as good a place as any to make my wishes known. If I were to become incapacitated, with no hope of recovery, I do not want to be kept alive with tubes and machines. Medical technology is a wonderful thing, but I would rather time and money be spent on those with hope of recovery. If tragedy strikes, I want to be remembered as a lively vibrant person, not to be kept around as a living memorial to myself. I don’t want the grief of my loved ones to stretch out over weeks and years. If I am gone, then let me go, so those I love can go on with their lives.

See? That wasn’t too hard. And hopefully that will lead you to have a conversation with those you love, with those who will have to make those hard decisions if you are unable to do so yourself.

And so as not end on a dark note…

Two carrots took a day off from work to go skiing. One lost control, was in a tragic accident, was rescued by the ski patrol, and rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.

After many hours, the doctor came out to talk.

“Doctor, doctor!” said the second carrot, “how is my friend? Will he be okay?”

“I have good news, and I have bad news,” said the doctor. “The good news is he’ll live. The bad news is he’ll be a vegetable for the rest of his life.”

Ba dup dum.

Tomorrow is the first of May.

There is no need for temperatures to be this cold. Freeze warnings that cause me to have to cover my plants are simply unacceptable. Please do something about this, ASAP.

After having to return his for a replacement, Michael and I are now both fully tricked out geeks.

Pictures and and explanation in coming days.

To answer the question that wasn’t quite asked…
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Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter. YUM! Best on whole wheat toast or toasted English muffins.

Tanya‘s on Jeopardy!