**State of DisUnion**

Why was Frist following around Bush after the SOTU address like a labrador puppy? He seemed intent on being in every shot of Bush as the prez worked the crowd.


And from the chronicles of shame:

After being invited to the SOTU address by A MEMBER OF CONGRESS...Cindy Sheehan is arrested for wearing a t-shirt with an antiwar comment on it.

Puleeze!


A friend of mine sent this little observation from Air America:

With Groundhog Day and the State of the Union Address falling in the same
week one cannot but note..

"It is an ironic juxtaposition: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look
to a creature of little intelligence for prognostication, and the other involves a
groundhog."

**Reader's Digest version**

I am sure she will update her blog soon, but in brief, the blog will provide details on rafts, balsawood canoes, chiggers, amoebas, broken generators (read: no toilets, showers or drinking water), piranhas, anacondas, howler monkeys and a "red-eyed devil fish."

All appendages are intact.

**She's emerged!**

Just got a call from Coca, Ecuador. My daughter has emerged from 21 days in the deep jungle. I meant to ask if she has all her apendages, but was so excited to hear her voice on the other end of the line, I plum forgot.

I will post more details after I talk with her tonight. She has stories to tell. I suspect in the next couple of days she will catch up on email, so friends should start hearing from her soon.

She will be home in 5 weeks.

Yeah!

**Snow's a'comin'**

18-20 inches predicted in the Cascades tonight! I am planning two mountain trips next week. The biggest hurdle is not getting time off (ain't working, yet), or getting there (all wheel drive AND chains), but finding someone to go with. So, I may be venturing alone. Next Wednesday - probably daytime snowshoeing. Then on Friday, I am thinking... night snowboarding.

This is the view of Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood probably late this afternoon.

Yes, this is the location for the exterior shots from "The Shining."

**Concerned about privacy?**

Then dig this.

**James H. Chalat**

Imagine my surprise when opening the pages of Newsweek last night and I see this article: One Lawyer'g Guide to Safe Skiing. The attorney is none other than the plaintiff who started the child support case that has made my life DIFFICULT, to say the least. Details are in the post below, along with a summary of the Colorado Supreme Court's waffly ruling.

So Chalat is a sports plaintiff's "go to" man if he/she wants to sue a resort, or an equipment manufacturer, or something. The photo of this dude, with the mountains in the background, along with the easy conclusion one can draw about his lifestyle and income (read: successful and rich) kinda makes you wonder.... Why was paying for his daughters education such an issue? I would like to ask him if he ever thinks about how his father's rights campaign (remember this has nothing to do with father's rights to be an equal participant in parenting, but rather father's rights to NOT SPEND RESOURCES ON THEIR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION), has screwed over others.

**T minus 12 days**

It is, I concede, pathetic to complain about this, but I am not at all interested in the day-to-day obligations of work which commence again in about 12 days. Traveling was fun, prepping classes is a drag, and other than watering my plant, I have avoided the office like the plague - instead working from home with my faithful dog companion curled up next to me (yes, that means on the furniture). But I fear a flood of "quit your whining" comments from those who haven't enjoyed a 6 week break from work that I enjoy each winter.

Even though I am not AT work, I am working. I have a script due in a few days so there are some deadlines looming. I was handed a new course to teach shortly before leaving for Ecuador. I have to redesign a control studio for the radio station. But in general, I am feeling pretty directionless and quite restless - neither of which helps my mood. Add to the mix, NO SUNSHINE in this part of the world for a month or more, and, well, I am understanding the appeal of being a Florida sunbird in the winter.

But there is more to this than the basic laziness and generally dreary weather that dampens my enthusiasm for another semester. I am well acquainted with this point in my job. At about the 4 year point, I get restless. Last time this happened I took another job within a year. I don't particularly want to move again, but I am getting pretty bored.

I thought law school would keep me focused and suitably overwhelmed for 4 years, but the coveted scholarship did not come through so I have withdrawn my deposit that holds my 1L seat. For the past year, law school (on top of full time employment) was my plan, my intellectual raison d'etre, so maybe the vacuum this change of plans has created might be contributing to this "floating" feeling. So, I am considering options:

• Another book - a more theoretical one this time (appeals to my intellectual AND masochistic side)
• Expand my technical training on multimedia software and lay the groundwork for opening a training center (appeals to my increase-my-income side)
• Become fluent in spanish (appeals to my trav-o-phile side)
• Re-learn Calculus (appeals to my want-to-understand-what-the-heck-my-son-is-learning side)
• Get serious about gaining some home improvement skills (appeals to my want-to-remodel-my-house-but-can't-afford-it side)
• Start investing in lottery tickets (appeals to my desire-not-to-work side)

Being a linear kinda gal, I would not do all these things well working on them simultaneously. So I am mulling it over.

**Building Nine**

One of the favorite parts of my Ecuador trip was not in Ecuador at all, but the layover in Houston visiting my niece. This visit included a "special" tour of NASA. And part of the tour included access to the inside of "Building Nine." Building Nine holds full-size mock-ups of the Space Shuttle and the International Space station among other things.

I recently picked up several DVDs on sail, one of which is "Space Cowboys." When the Daedalus team started training on the shuttle in this movie, using a mock up of the Space Shuttle, you could hear throughout my house the words, "Hey, that's Building Nine!" Clint Eastwood Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland went right up the stairs in this picture. The movie also included shots of the four cowboys in a tiny little room (where we also stood) where Shuttle astronauts guide the cargo hold's robotic arm.

There also were shots in the movie of the water training area. We were not allowed to see that. Something to do with the past activities of drunken coops or interns or something.

Or maybe it was drunken politicians....

Overall, very cool having a family at NASA.

**A memory**

I was IM'ing with an old student who was still in bed at 10 am!!, and was reminded of a story about my father, who passed away about 20 years ago at the tender age of 55.

When I was in college my dad used to call me at 7 am on Sat. mornings and say, "Why aren't you up studying?" So one Saturday, when he called at 7 am, I had a guy friend answer the phone.

He never called that early again.

I miss that man everyday.

**Ecuador**

Well, I could go on and on about the trip to Ecuador, but most of you who read this blog have heard about it from those who travelled there. Here is a link to the trip pixs. So if images are your thing, have at it.

I will say this, Ecuador is an amazing country. Chaotic as hell, but things seem to work nonetheless. We traveled by bus and truck - no high faluting car rentals for us. I remain thoroughly impressed by the hardiness and flexibility of my young nieces and nephews.

I still am deeply affeccted by the indigenous community we stayed with. It brought back many of the feelings I had while living in Kenya.

I think most of all I was struck by the confidence, integrity and sensitivity with which my daughter moved through that country. She is fearless in new places. She embraces difference and revels in the cultural differences she encounters. My favorite moment: After several of us went through 30+ minute cleansing ceremonies with a shaman in our indigenous community, my daughter sat down for her cleansing. After about 30 seconds, the shaman stopped and indicated that she was done. Apparently, there was no bad energy to extract and no need to infuse her spirit with good energy. In a way I am not surprised, but I WILL find a way to poke fun at her for this.

**Colorado cut short**

The best laid plans sometimes are not to be. I am back home. The two week trip to Colorado lasted three days. Strained relations. Withdrawal. A cycle with which I am well acquainted. Shame it truncated the longest break I will have for some time. All I can say for now.

But the trip to Colorado involved more than vacation. I had round two in court. I mentioned round one in November. Didn't really talk about it though. But the end is nearing and I am astounded how far things have gone. The entire hearing was about an settlement agreement signed 10 years ago where a promise was made to divide, equally, all college costs. A cap to the contribution was set at the cost of a college state college or university education for up to five year of schooling. Currently that obligation is capped about about $7,500/year, per child for each of us. With the kids scholarships, it will cost about that much for each of us for both kids each year.

Silly me. I took this obligation seriously. I saved. Tucked away equity in homes when I sold them. I inherited some money from the sale of my grandparents home and stuck it in the college fund. With the generous scholarships my kids have managed to secure, I actually had saved enough to meet my obligation for each kid.

Then the "ex" petitions to relieve himself of this obligation. Says he doesn't make enough money. I should have seen the writing on the wall when three years ago he said, during a discussion about my daughter's college plans, that he had not saved anything. It didn't concern him over the years apparently because, as he said to me, "I just figured your mother would pay for the kids' college."

In most other states, a settlement agreement is a legal contract. But I had the stupid "luck" of divorcing in a state where the settlement agreement becomes an order of the court and is subject to modification. Complicate things by throwing in a recent court decision (the successful outcome of father's rights groups lobbying and a perfect test case) that eviscerates parental obligations - even pre-existing ones - and I was looking at a mess.

Here is the summary of the Colorado Supreme Court decision that is fucking with my life (Click here for the full opinion if you like reading this kind of stuff):

Petitioner Nancy Shapiro seeks review of the Court of Appeals’ decision reversing the trial court’s order obligating respondent James H. Chalat to pay his daughter’s full post-secondary education expenses pursuant to a 1984 decree of dissolution. The Supreme Court affirms in part and reverses in part.

Respondent’s agreement to pay his daughter’s college expenses is not enforceable as a contract term. Rather, respondent’s agreement was adopted by the trial court and incorporated into the court’s decree of dissolution. As a result, the trial court retains continuing jurisdiction to modify its orders concerning the daughter, including respondent’s post-secondary education support obligation. The child support guidelines statute does not divest the trial court of this authority. Respondent, however, may only invoke the trial court’s continuing jurisdiction upon a showing of substantial and continuing changed circumstances. Excluding a few specifically delineated situations that are inapplicable to the present case, nothing in the statutory plain language alters this clear, unambiguous requirement. Amendments to the post-secondary education support scheme alone do not automatically trigger a court’s continuing jurisdiction to modify child support orders. Accordingly, the Supreme Court holds that while the trial court retains continuing jurisdiction under the Uniform Dissolution of Marriage Act to modify its 1984 support order obligating respondent to pay his daughter’s post-secondary education costs, respondent must show a continuing and substantial change of circumstances to invoke this jurisdiction and thereby seek modification.

Given this opinion came down a couple month before the hearing it dramatically complicates things and makes it much more messy.

An expensive mess as it turns out.

Last October's hearing involved the "ex" testifying, since he brought the petition before the court. He basically said he had no money because he couldn't find work. This is a person who has never held a job for more than two years since we split. Never fired. Just kept quitting. The last job he had teaching in Europe he actually did hold for two years. Then he apparently took a teaching position in the Caribbean. After a couple weeks, he left that job and the country... rather abruptly. While the details are blurry, the parting was not good apparently and as I learned in court recently, he is basically blackballed from teaching in the country where he currently resides. So he works packing flowers for less per hour than the minimum wage on the U.S. west coast. My attorney asked him if he was committed to helping his kids with college. He said he would do what he could. My attorney asked him if he would return to the states and teach (Where he could make 35-40K). He said no. Liked the country he lived in too much. Except that he was willing to try the Caribbean. By the end of the October hearing, I began to wonder if he was right in the head. He was easily confused. Stoned, drugged, just plain stupid? I don't know. But it almost worried me. Then I remembered. He is not my problem. Phew.

This more recent hearing did not require his appearance. He listened in by phone. I took the stand. I mostly expressed my amazement that my ex had spent over 10K trying to avoid about 8K in back expenses and, at most, another 20K over the next couple of years. He also has forced me to spend 15K in attorney's fees so far. The second hearing got us through my testimony. The attorneys must submit written closing arguments. We won't hear the magistrate's decision until March sometime. I am reasonable optimistic because she seemed even-handed and willing to grapple with the complexities. This was a big change from the dufus that heard my ex's last petition about 10 years ago.

The irony is that even if she is reasonable fair about this, it is not likely the amount will surpass what I had to spend defending my kids' interest. With hindsight, it may have been best not to proceed. Just let him walk away from his obligation. But you never know beforehand that a halfday hearing would end up taking multiple hearings and that all offers of settlement would be rejected.

The whole thing, while intellectually interesting, completely sucked. I will have nothing left when this is over. I will probably have to take a second mortgage on the house, assuming I have enough equity. Or sell it. It is true what they say about these things. The winners are the attorneys. What the hell was my ex thinking?

The highlights of an otherwise sobering trip, both legally and personally: It snowed (I miss snow so much) and I managed to run by Annie's Cafe for a quart of green chili to go. Ate half of it at the airport waiting for my flight. The rest was gone within 24 hours of my return.