October Peanuts

• I'd been planning trip to Tokyo for a month, but when I started packing I simply could NOT find my passport despite spending all day tearing the house. I felt a lot worse about having to tell people that I won't be able to meet as planned, than about missing the "Japan Experience." (Rachel ultimately found the missing box containing the passport when she went on a garage-organizing rampage. The box was stacked with a bunch of food storage, which it resembled.)
• Gave my Tokyo conference talk over Skype video. I dressed up for the occasion, which I guess was just as well because I think I saw more ties in the audience than t-shirts (although most were business casual). I *think* skype was low-res enough that the audience couldn't see me sweating in my long-sleeved shirt in my unventilated closet.
• Rachel and I went to the local board games group. Apparently Steve Jackson makes semi-regular appearances to playtest new designs. Also: I hate to say it, but there were several people there doing their best to live up to the stereotype of hygiene-challenged gamers.
• Spent some time in the Main Event arcade waiting for our rock climbing session to begin. Somehow, a complete stranger decided Melissa needed a second gaming card and gave her hers, with a couple dollars still on it. Melissa has that effect on people, somewhat to our chagrin.
• Rachel: "Sometimes, you need to let other kids take a turn being the leader." Matthew: "And sometimes, I'm right."
• Of course Isaac jumped off his dresser and needed to go to the urgent care for a messy cut lip while I was out of town for our board meeting. "Oh, good," I said. "Is that all?" I'm not sure Rachel Ellis thought I was properly sympathetic. But taking him in for poison control is MUCH worse.
• The United customer service dude was thrilled to talk to a white dude in Tagalog. He kept using the inclusive-we with me: "You should take your wife to visit our country." "Spaghetti is really better the way we make it, isn't it?"
• Just when we thought Isaac was potty trained, he had four "accidents", 3 yellow and 1 brown. Except it's not really an accident when he's perfectly capable of going in the toilet.
• Corinna is bored of all her toys. BORED. So I gave her a yard of bubble wrap. She *loves* it.
• Pack meeting ran late. Kids got to bed at 9:30, an hour and a half later than their "official" 8:00 bedtime (which in practice is more like 8:30). Isaac tried to play his usual shenanigans of sneaking out of his room but he was too tired, and fell asleep on the floor.
• Isaac is playing on Rachel's ipod, and found his way to the Doom RPG. He's not having much success, but he did manage to change the menus to Spanish.