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2004-01-21

I'm kind of sick of where we live. I just found out that a friend whom I don't see very often but really like is going to be moving away next summer. Her husband is beginning a residency so they don't have much choice where they're going. When she told me, I realized I was a bit envious of her, of the opportunity to start new somewhere.

I have a friend who lives in a groovy and beautiful college town 90 miles from Manhattan. She bought a huge piece of property with an old farmhouse on it (she's kind of independently wealthy), then her mother and step-father built a second house on the land to use as a weekend house. The last time my friend and I talked, her mother was seriously ill (cancer). Earlier today I did a search and found her obituary in the NY Times; she died a couple weeks ago.

It's very far-fetched, but I have fantasized about B and I moving into the house. My friend--she's single--adopted a baby boy about a year ago and it just seems like it would be wonderful to raise our kids together. She's also B's favorite of all my friends he's met.

So I am kind of tempted to leave this all behind, though getting jobs in that area would definitely be a challenge. And really, it's just a daydream, I don't know that I have half the energy it would take to pull it off. But it's kind of fun to think about.

Of course, I'm very sorry for my friend's loss. Her mother was young (62) and cool and a big part of my friend's life. I have to call her tonight.

Another thing I daydream about is moving out of this country, particularly if GWB gets reelected. I feel very pessimistic about the state of this union, particularly after Monday's Iowa caucus. I like Dean. I loved this People magazine interview with Howard (or, as she calls him, "Howie") and Judy. They seem like such normal, recognizable people when discussing their domestic arrangements. I especially related to this exchange about TV viewing:

Q: Is there television that [the kids] watch or stuff that you clash over? What are your rules in terms of stuff like that?

Howard: Our kids have been pretty well-behaved most their lives. We don't have big problems there. We usually just talk through whatever our differences are. And one of the reasons we don't have cable is I'd watch CNN, Paul would watch ESPN and Anne would watch MTV, and we'd never talk to each other. We thought about getting cable a few times. I would do it if everybody else in the house really wanted to. But I just think, frankly, the less television you watch as a family, the better off the family is because you don't talk to each other when you watch television. That's not to say we never watch it. Paul likes football. Before I was doing this, I loved the Friday night Washington Week in Review and all that stuff. Judy likes The West Wing.

Judy: I like it. I don't watch it that much because I don't like to turn on the TV because I think if I turn on the TV and the kids are home, they'll gravitate towards the TV. So I've only actually seen it probably five or six times, but I like it a lot.

Howard: You tape every episode.

Judy: I tape them but I haven't gotten around to watching it.

That's pretty much how I am. I used to tape all this stuff then never get around to watching it. So now I rarely even bother to tape it anymore. We do, however, have cable.

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