7 Quick Takes: Twitter, talents and treats

1. I'm not going to talk about the political issues because I'm polite, but I will tell you that Twitter makes the debates infinitely more fun (as if you didn't know that), and I definitely think during the debate on Monday we need to play a drinking game! (It's a shame it's on a Monday but hey, I support wine on Mondays already! Woo!) Twitter also makes it hard to pay attention to what they're saying with any seriousness. But that hardly matters -- it isn't like either candidate says anything meaningful, or even decipherable. I do agree with whoever suggested that their mics be automatically TURNED OFF after their allotted speaking time. When they and the moderator, all three, start stepping on each others' sentences, trying to get the very last word in, it makes me cringe and want to hide under my blanket.

My college had a well-known debate team (or conference? or event? I'm not sure) and I think about KIDS learning the "art" of debate. Hmm. That also makes me cringe a little. I'm hoping my kids won't be interested, heh.

2. But speaking of kids in public speaking situations, 8-year-old AJ has signed up for the Battle of the Books at his school. WAIT 'TIL YOU HEAR: They create their own teams of 4 (I hope he picks smart people and not just his buddies, if he gets to pick) and they divide a list of 24 age-appropriate books among themselves. Every other team has the same list (by grade level). Each kid gets 6 books which they have to read, study up on the author's bio, and other details, and then... Quiz Bowl! If one of your books is asked about, you're responsible to supply your team with the right answer. How I wish this had been available when I was a kid! Although... I did not have the memory for detail like AJ does. He will tell me in which chapter of which book of the 39 Clues mysteries that Dan and Amy found a silver dollar under a bench. And he read that book a year ago, and has read many, many books since. I can't fathom it. So I'm SLIGHTLY excited about sitting in the audience for his Jeopardy!-like debut.

3. And speaking of talents... despite all my worrying over him, that kid is doing so well in his martial arts class. Yesterday, they worked on some conditioning things first. One was "ball-jitsu." They used a stability ball and the instructor wanted the kids to swing one leg over the top of the ball and then bounce-sit on, and quickly back off, the top of the ball. Well, I thought there was no way AJ's little legs would manage that. But he DID. He adapts -- he kind of jumped over it at an angle, but impressed everyone. The instructors were like, "Whoa, AJ! Perfect!"

4. Blood pressure medication (DH) and heartburn (me). These are two things going on in my household right now. Great. We're old people. I ordered half-caff today at Starbucks and I expect to be getting my customized "LAME" badge any day now.

5. Because of the heartburn I was reading up on what we should and shouldn't eat. Always a comforting thing to do. I saw something about sugar being the complete enemy of health, and thought, I do really need to get my sugar intake under control. I don't drink my sugar (I drink alternatively-sweetened things or use Splenda), but I get a lot of it with little handfuls of M&Ms, and other treats. And then I remembered it's October. Hahahahahaha. Hmm.

6. The next couple of weeks are packed full of life and activity, so I'm putting this here so I'll remember it: I've got to figure out how and where to do early voting! I think Nov. 6 will be virtually impossible.

7. I found this Read the Catechism by email in a year yesterday, and I signed up. I don't know how long I'll stick to it, but it's worth a try, right? I also found this: calm.com. 2 minutes or ten, peace for hectic days. I love it more than toast. :)