is it just me?

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, Baby Liz does not watch a lot of TV. This isn't really because of some moral high ground on our part, we just never offered much TV and as a result she does not have much of a video attention span. However, if she finds a show that she likes, she wants to watch it over and over and over and over. The same episode. No other episode will do. So one day a while back we innocently stumbled across an episode of Dora the Explorer titled "Big Sister". Seemed appropriate, so I started it on for her and (probably) went to cook dinner. What I failed to consider was that this episode would then need to be watched 8 gazillion times. I would know every word of dialogue, every annoying inflection of that giant-headed girl's voice. I would sing the songs in my sleep and I would see their faces in my dreams. Forest, farm, Dora's house!

So, in viewing #472, I started noticing just how jacked up the plot was. The basic story is that Dora's mom is having a baby. It starts with Dora telling her monkey friend, apparently she can't get real friends, that her dad gave her a cell phone so he could call her when her mom was going to have the baby. WTH. How old is Dora? Seven? And her parents send her out into the forest with a cell phone? So then, the phone rings and her dad says "Come quickly! Vengan RAPIDO!" So then she has to consult a map to figure out how to get home. Really? You're an explorer and you need a map to get to your house? And if you knew the baby was coming why did you venture so far away? Then they do the Dora formula which is you have to go through two places and then your destination. They repeat this over and over because I guess kids like being able to remember shit? Or something? Anyway, first they follow a snake through a spooky forest. At some point they help someone fix a go-cart. Then there's a nut farm with all these little worker squirrels. Completely bizarre. All the while talking about how excited they are about the baby, but if they were so excited why didn't they wait at home??

Anyway, Dora finally gets home. And I guess maybe because they live in the jungle (I think) her mom has not gone to a hospital and the babies are totally born at home by the time Dora gets there. However, her ENTIRE family including cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles are all already there waiting for her when she gets there. They all say "Dora! You made it!" Again, WTH. All those people went to see the baby and no one could stop and give the 7 year old a ride? She had to find her way through a forest with a snake? And then the babies are cute and cooing and they sing to them for five seconds and they fall asleep. And we all know that is exactly how life is with newborn twins.

Of course I know that Dora is not really supposed to be based in reality, but I can't help but wonder if Baby Liz watches it and thinks, really? Because when my mom had a baby we went to the hospital in a car. And my baby brother was not cute and smiley. Though, the other day my stepmother-in-law was driving Baby Liz home from the grocery store and got lost and Baby Liz directed her home. So, maybe she is learning things after all. And clearly I need to learn to tune that shit out.

that's gonna cost you take 17
The new chair of my department decided we should have Friday morning coffee together. You know, get together, talk about...whatever it is we might have to discuss with one another. So, he planned it and he brought treats. And if you offer people treats at 10am in their place of work, you will get a lot of takers. But for some reason, he thought everyone would know the he wanted us to pay for it? Let me tell you one thing about economists: they are cheap. And if they think you are giving them something for free they will not offer to pay for it. So now he's sick of paying for it and is going to ask people to pay. But the other thing with economists (who are kind of jerky, if you didn't know) is that if you have once given them something for free, they are not going to want to pay for it. Which means end of awkward coffee hour. YAY!