True Prep

Ye Olde Campus

Sun, 05 May 2013 20:21:08 -0400

Timothy Finton posted this photograph of Middlebury College on our True Prep Facebook page. The Adirondack chairs are so welcoming!It seems to be finally Spring, though with an undercurrent of the chills. It’s about time.

I have been quiet here for too long, but just know that I wanted to make an appearance, but have been busy with a lot of family and housekeeping chores that have been time-consuming and complicated.

Meanwhile, my classmates at Riverdale Country School are, for the first time since the invention of the World Wide Web connecting (without the help of the Alumni Office) just to catch up and trade memories. It’s been extraordinary, reading the hourly comments by the boys (I can’t help it; even though they are probably bald and certainly middle-aged, they’ll always be boys to me) in my grade. And by the way, how can you be a master of the universe and have so much time to play on email?

A group of us — perhaps 18-25 (about a quarter of the class) will show up at dinner next week. The emails reveal both a closeness and a warmth (disguised, often as snark) that are undiluted by the years and remind me how much I value the people with whom I grew up.

(An unflattering shot of part of our campus. To the left of the photograph lies the gorgeous Hudson River. I ate French fries for lunch every day of my senior year in the round outcropping you see of that building. French fries and sometimes a side of French fries.)

As my exhibits grow older, I suppose I tend to feel more and more nostalgic.

More soon.

xLisa

Hi Lisa, I just thought you might like the ties and bowties we're making at over at Lazyjack Press. They're essentially a "go to hell" take on Hermés and Ferragamo. A few of the designs are Red Solo Cups, Kegs and Eggs, and Irish Carbombs. We'd love to get you some hi res images or samples if you're interested. Ps. The original Preppy Handbook sits on my nightstand like a Bible (but more fun). Cheers!

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:07:11 -0400

Ooh! Maybe the girl I just answered will check out your Lazyjack bowties. Post some pictures so we can see them.

Hello, Lisa! I have a VERY important question concerning bowties. My boyfriend has been a repeat offender of wearing (dare I say it) a clip-on!!! I'm going to buy him a real one for his birthday to match his plain black tux so he'll look especially dapper for my (college) senior ball. Anyway, my question is: what sort of tie looks good with a classic black tux? I hope to stray away from a plain black one, seersucker, or pastels. Any suggestions? You're the expert!

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:06:24 -0400

Your boyfriend is lucky you still date him. I am happy that you are buying him a real bow tie. You can do anything from a bright Social Primer tie (though experiment — some of those are too casual for black tie), to a subtle maroon polka dot from Brooks Brothers, or something more collegiate from Vineyard Vines. (They might even make a bowtie with your school mascot or in your school colors. Check on their website.)

While you’re at it, accidentally “lose” those clip-ons. Watch “How to Tie A Bowtie” videos on Youtube.

Cheers,

Lisa

terrapinstationers: americangentility: Hampden-Sydney College...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:10:04 -0400

terrapinstationers:

americangentility:

Hampden-Sydney College Kaleidoscope 1981. Actually worked in conjunction with Lisa Birnbach. The yearbook included an introduction by her.

@LisaBirnbach

Yes, it’s true. I wish I had my copy of that Kaleidoscope. In 2010, when I visited Hampden-Sydney again, many people brought their copies for me to sign. What a special, preppy place. They don’t make them like that anymore.

Ivy Crazy

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:03:41 -0400

It’s the time of the year when this year’s high school seniors have received their envelopes (though they read their results online first) and are getting used to the idea of where they will be headed, come Fall.

It’s also a stirring moment for fans of the Ivy League.

Need I remind you that the Ivy League is made up of 8 northeastern universities for the purposes (originally and only) of athletic competition?

Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale. That’s the story. All together, they comprise about 59,560 students (out of 313 million Americans) if you believe Wikipedia.

First Up: Susan Patton, a Princeton alumna from the class of 1977. She wrote the following editorial — unbidden — to the Daily Princetonian, just because she wanted to share her advice.

OPINION: Letter to the Editor: March 29, 2013

Posted on March 29, 2013

By SUSAN A. PATTON
Guest Contributor

Published: Friday, March 29th, 2013

Advice for the young women of Princeton: the daughters I never had

Forget about having it all, or not having it all, leaning in or leaning out — here’s what you really need to know that nobody is telling you.

For years (decades, really) we have been bombarded with advice on professional advancement, breaking through that glass ceiling and achieving work-life balance. We can figure that out — we are Princeton women. If anyone can overcome professional obstacles, it will be our brilliant, resourceful, very well-educated selves.

A few weeks ago, I attended the Women and Leadership conference on campus that featured a conversation between President Shirley Tilghman and Wilson School professor Anne-Marie Slaughter, and I participated in the breakout session afterward that allowed current undergraduate women to speak informally with older and presumably wiser alumnae. I attended the event with my best friend since our freshman year in 1973. You girls glazed over at preliminary comments about our professional accomplishments and the importance of networking. Then the conversation shifted in tone and interest level when one of you asked how have Kendall and I sustained a friendship for 40 years. You asked if we were ever jealous of each other. You asked about the value of our friendship, about our husbands and children. Clearly, you don’t want any more career advice. At your core, you know that there are other things that you need that nobody is addressing. A lifelong friend is one of them. Finding the right man to marry is another.

When I was an undergraduate in the mid-seventies, the 200 pioneer women in my class would talk about navigating the virile plains of Princeton as a precursor to professional success. Never being one to shy away from expressing an unpopular opinion, I said that I wanted to get married and have children. It was seen as heresy.

For most of you, the cornerstone of your future and happiness will be inextricably linked to the man you marry, and you will never again have this concentration of men who are worthy of you.

Here’s what nobody is telling you: Find a husband on campus before you graduate. Yes, I went there.

I am the mother of two sons who are both Princetonians. My older son had the good judgment and great fortune to marry a classmate of his, but he could have married anyone. My younger son is a junior and the universe of women he can marry is limitless. Men regularly marry women who are younger, less intelligent, less educated. It’s amazing how forgiving men can be about a woman’s lack of erudition, if she is exceptionally pretty. Smart women can’t (shouldn’t) marry men who aren’t at least their intellectual equal. As Princeton women, we have almost priced ourselves out of the market. Simply put, there is a very limited population of men who are as smart or smarter than we are. And I say again — you will never again be surrounded by this concentration of men who are worthy of you.

Of course, once you graduate, you will meet men who are your intellectual equal — just not that many of them. And, you could choose to marry a man who has other things to recommend him besides a soaring intellect. But ultimately, it will frustrate you to be with a man who just isn’t as smart as you.

Here is another truth that you know, but nobody is talking about. As freshman women, you have four classes of men to choose from. Every year, you lose the men in the senior class, and you become older than the class of incoming freshman men. So, by the time you are a senior, you basically have only the men in your own class to choose from, and frankly, they now have four classes of women to choose from. Maybe you should have been a little nicer to these guys when you were freshmen?

If I had daughters, this is what I would be telling them.

Susan A. Patton ’77
President of the Class of 1977

New York, N.Y.

I’d love to hear back from you about this. (It doesn’t appeal to everyone to get hitched in college, no matter where we spend our undergraduate years. Some of us want to live first.)

And now it’s time for a little Pat Robertson:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NesbG-Lj2g0&feature=player_embedded

(Did this link work?)

In other words, don’t panic if you go to State.

—Lisa

Spring Forward

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:02:10 -0400

I do like the expression “Spring Vacation.” I do not like the expression “Spring Break.” I do like to call physical education “gym.” I do not like to call it “P.E.”

More?

I love fruit.

I love peanut butter.

I hate fruit with peanut butter.

I love strawberries.

I like chocolate (sometimes I love it.) I loathe strawberries dipped in chocolate.

I do not consider white chocolate chocolate, or even food.

I love my children.

I like whipped cream.

I would be deeply offended by seeing my children covered in whipped cream.

I dislike the word “blog” but I blog nonetheless.

Today is the first day of Exhibit C’s Spring Vacation. This weather is no warmer than the first day of her “Winter Break,” i.e. Christmas Vacation.

One day this blog will be better designed, more interactive, and full of cool things to do and buy. But not today.

As Pope Francis bade us all — Good night and sleep well!

Lisa

Self-help

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:30:00 -0500

You don’t have to be inexperienced to have your work rejected. Just today I was turned down twice, by two editors. In fact, it was worse. I had one proposal rejected — no reason given, and a written and scheduled piece killed by an editor — no reason given.

I’m sure there’s some explanation for the editors’ decisions, but I would like to know what it is. Is this the new trend to simply reject without explanation? How sloppy. I think anyone who works on a project — even a proposal for a project — deserves that much information, that much respect.

I’m going to tell you that rejection still stings, 32 years after my first book was published. (How is that possible? Don’t do the math.)

So rather than punching a pillow or pouring a stiff drink (the news all filtered in before 11 am), I went to the gym and walk-ran the treadmill for 33 minutes (but who’s counting), listening to my iPod shuffle. Funnily enough, it shuffled straight into melancholia. Why did you leave me? Please stay with me. How blue are you? It was perfect. I wonder if my wallowing burned extra calories? By the time I finished and headed to the mat, it shuffled upwards to some perky jazz.

Work is hard. I don’t mind that at all. Sometimes it’s so hard my head hurts, which isn’t a bad feeling. Finding le mot juste is worth the struggle. My work is hard too, because my industry is going through enormous shrinking pains, and editors are scared to invest in writers.

We all have bad days and good days. I’m hoping this day turns itself around. And I’m hoping all of you have a fruitful day.

Lisa

Thinking about Not Thinking

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 12:41:28 -0500

For me, the pleasure of writing — which is different from writing — has much more to do with finding the precise way of expressing what I feel I want to express. To be candid, it has very little, if nothing to do with the reader; if I’m faithful to my intentions, I hope readers will follow along.

Over the years I have heard from more of you than I would have ever expected. In the “olden days,” I received many letters, cards, thank you’s, why didn’t you’s, and could you’s.

Now with all the accessibility of the www, it is not a big deal to communicate with anyone anymore. Most writers have websites, Facebook accounts, blogs, Twiiter, Instagrams, Pinterest accounts, and so on.

And over the last few years my inboxes are filled with questions about what to wear to an afternoon wedding in a pasture, questions about shoes, questions about colleges, and so on. It is fun to receive them, and I enjoy answering them.

I rarely hear from anyone from outside the preppy realm. (Look, I get that I’m writing this on a blog entitled True Prep.) Duh.

But I did get a note from someone who found a copy of True Prep at his military base in the Gulf and felt like writing. Really? How did it get there? What would make my book appealing to someone fighting in a war? (I didn’t address the notion of camouflage — which I should if I ever update it, and there’s little time for squash or apres ski in Islamabad.) In other words, I appreciated his note, and I was a little embarrassed about it as well. Frequently I just feel like a goofball, doing my goofball thing.

“I enjoyed it, thank you for writing it.”

He didn’t have to say that. He didn’t have to do that.

My response:

“I was moved to read that you found one of my books while serving our country. Thank you for that. I hope it took you out of the grit and grind of what you were doing, even for a few moments. ”

I love hearing from all of you. In a way, I wish all of my writing could be a dialogue instead of the monologue it is.

Thank you all for writing. We need one another.

Lisa

2013: To Be Determined

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:03:20 -0500

Hi Again,

I had written a better post (how defensive is that?) a little while ago, and it disappeared into the ether. So this post may be inferior. You’ve been warned.

Regarding New Year’s Resolutions. This year I experienced my personal best, and didn’t break a resolution until January 6th. I feel pretty good about that.

I want to show you my favorite photograph of the month (I say “show” not “share.”) I posted this on my twitter account @LisaBirnbach and on the True Prep page on Facebook, so if you’re not ~~sick of them~~ already familiar with either of those, here it is for your enjoyment.

Yes, it’s cold for us chickens (when it’s not unseasonably warm).

In any case, a few housekeeping notes. Very very soon, this blog is going to undergo a serious upgrade. In fact, you could say it’s going into rehab, (the preppiest kind of time-out). I hope you will like the new and improved Trueprep.com.

Speaking of all things preppy — including rehab — look what I read today online at the Los Angeles Times’ dot com. This is a paper that takes its real estate reporting seriously. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s house in Baltimore is for sale.

http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-f-scott-fitzgerald-baltimore-town-house-20130130,0,4281960.story

Tempted? Baltimore is an interesting city, not to mention the home of crabs, the worldwide center of Lacrosse, and the residence of living artists like Anne Tyler and John Waters.

Finally, in the End Of Civilization As We Know It Dept.: I wanted to look up Emily Dickinson, to make sure her last name wasn’t spelled with an ‘e’. When one Googles Emily, I shudder to say, the first one that comes up is someone called “Emily Maynard,” a former contestant on “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette.” Or maybe both.

Emily Dickinson, poet

(December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886)

Never married.

Emily Maynard, Professional um…Bachelorette

(February 1, 1986 - )

Probably has not read any poetry.

Am I a snob? I think so.

—Lisa

Fresh Wishes for a New Year December 31, 2012

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 15:56:00 -0500

As 2012 stumbles to its demise, I think we were taught lessons that we cannot ignore (and couldn’t if we wanted to).

Nature is powerful. It can be harnessed, but it cannot truly be controlled.

When one is feeling upset, it is wise not to have a loaded gun at hand.

The less attention we pay the Kardashians, the less attention they will get. (Unheeded.)

As our privacies are being eroded and lost, we learn to value them.

Since we must all share the same planet, we might as well try to get along with one another.

For the money, nothing beats a book for sheer entertainment value.

Still boyish Paul McCartney gets to close the show.

Soon my daughters and I will be writing down our New Year’s Resolutions, as we do every December 31st. (My son, Exhibit A is away with friends, so he’s off the hook this year.) We seal them in an envelope and then open last year’s resolution envelope to see how we’ve done and to see how we’re doing. I know I can do better, and I want to do better. I think I will learn how to be a better grown up in 2013. I probably say that every year, but I actually mean it now, in the final hours of a truly difficult and yucky 12 months.

Like many of you, who have found your talents less relevant to the way business is conducted these days, reinvention is part of my mission too. I can’t wait to see how it shakes down for me. In fact, I’m chomping at the bit.

I send you all my wishes: Good health, a strong core, a lucky break. I hope you find your good scissors that must be in the den and spare reading glasses you had in the car, I hope your stock splits, your child graduates, you get the promotion, your handicap goes down and your popularity goes up.

Happy New Year,

Love, Lisa

In your opinion, what is the preppiest girls' college?

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 18:11:21 -0500

Do not look outside the Commonwealth of Virginia, if you are interested in a preppy women’s college. There reside both Hollins and Sweet Briar Colleges, in addition to Mary Baldwin. (Sweet Briar’s colors are pink and green.)

Hi I looove your blog :) I have a discount code for The Frat Collection and I wanted to share it with you. The code is URI and it gets you 10% off every item in your order. Plus, 10% of your purchase goes towards a charity of your choice! I hope you find this useful! Also, could you maybe share it with your followers? Thanks!

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 18:07:49 -0500

Thanks, Szshaps! Hope all the followers will avail themselves of it.

Happy holidays!

Oh my aching bach (intentional bad pun), but enough about me.

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 14:19:58 -0500

Actually, my pain is a bit lower than that, but this photograph gives you the idea of what’s new in my life.

That’s why I haven’t been here on Tumblr for a while. It’s a big pain and a big bore. Complaining doesn’t help in the slightest. It’s just a bummer for everyone around me. And by not complaining (too much) I’m trying to set an example for my science experiments. Of course, if they are not feeling well they must tell me. But if we’ve established that they have a tummy ache because of something they ate, or they have a headache but haven’t taken any Advil or Tylenol — the actual complaint itself won’t lessen the discomfort.

Enough with today’s science lesson.

Let’s review the last few weeks: Reherniated a disc, “Frankenstorm” Sandy, Election Season comes to an end at last, Nor’Easter, the PetWell scandal (my nickname for Petraeus-Broadwell affair), the BBC scandal, and the Les Miserables trailers which — once you’ve heard them, stick like SuperGlue to the inside of your brain, which in my case is full of mind-numbing painkillers, so it cannot put up much of a fight.

(Action shot)

Let me just say that like many of you, I am particularly grateful for all the hard work of the first responders, New York’s MTA, Governors Cuomo & Christie, Mayor Bloomberg, Occupy Sandy, etc. for helping those in need through nature’s temper tantrums.

Also thankful that the “Mean Season” of politics is over. During it I felt like I was stuck. Until the election was over — really over, including recounts, etc. — I wouldn’t be able to go on with the rest of my life. It just consumed me; and since I was lying in bed, I had plenty of time to read and read and read about the candidates, the campaign strategies, the lies, etc.

So I am shocked by how many conversations have already begun about 2016. I can’t believe there are so many people who are ready for it. Haven’t we decided that election seasons are too long as they are? (Maybe that was just my decision.)

It is Sunday, November 11th at 2 in the afternoon, eastern time. It is Veteran’s Day.

I want to thank everyone who has dedicated him or herself to serving our country. Service comes in many guises — teachers, doctors & nurses, social workers, the military, and volunteers. As even my youngest Exhibit figured out when she was in Lower School, helping others feels so good it doesn’t always seem hard.

Peace,

Lisa

Dear Lisa, I have just started reading True Prep. I am a die-hard preppy, having grown-up during The Official Preppy Handbook years. One thing I have noticed in your new book is the absence of the beloved Tretorn sneaker, which, as you know, was THE staple in every girls wardrobe. Why the absence of such a beloved preppy item? Are they not considered preppy anymore? Are they not cool? I still buy/wear mine...

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:24:37 -0400

Oh Preppymav I feel terrible about this! I wear Tretorns too — still — other than the ugly things I wear for working out, Tretorns are our sneakers. Maybe I just presumed that everyone knew that.

Phew. Supergas and Sperry’s are fine, but Tretorns are the ones.

Best,

Lisa

Dear Lisa, Notwithstanding the oppressive Missouri heat, I'm preparing to update my Fall/Winter wardrobe. The seasons will be highlighted by two business retreats - a four day cruise from Vancouver to San Francisco in late September and a six day winter sports junket to Squaw Valley, California in early February. Meetings will take up about 40% of the waking hours and the attire is business casual. I'd be most grateful for your advice on single-suitcase (+ a carry-on) clothing options.

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:22:40 -0400

Oh Yale, Yale, Yale —

I blew your late Sept. question, though I sense you did fine with your wardrobe for the Vancouver-San Francisco cruise. (I suspect a Barbour made the journey with you.) For Squaw Valley, enjoy your wide-wale corduroys (some plain; some embellished) and crew necks, a tweed or plaid sport coat, and let me think some more when I’m in a wintry state of mind.

Your tardy friend,

Lisa

Hi Lisa, i was wondering how I could convince my parents to send me to prep school? It is not the money I know that and if it was my grandparents would be very willing to pay for it. I don't see why they are so hesitant. Right now I am going to a university model school and like it. I just think I could do better somewhere else.(and a lot of my friends go to prep schools)

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:19:49 -0400

This is no simple question you have posed. Where do you live? What grade are you? Where do you want to go to school? Do you want to board? Are there any good day schools within commuting distance to your house? Do you have siblings at home?

In other words, as a mummy, I see that a gazillion other factors will go into making this decision — not just money, which is a biggie in its own right. If you are doing super well at your school right now and your teachers think you would succeed at a private school, that would be more persuasive than anything else. See if you can get a teacher or dean’s point of view. And good luck!

It's Back to School. (Shock & Awe)

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 20:33:31 -0400

Put away the .

They are out of season now, anyway. (Did you notice I punctuated right after the photograph?)

Though it’s almost time for , it isn’t quite yet. Leaves are still green, the weather is… in crisis, and besides the turning of the seasons — later this week — we’re in the angry season of a presidential campaign (as well as other hugely important senate races) that threaten our psychic well-being. (And I don’t mean psychic as in ; I’m referring to what the Oxford Dictionary calls (relating to the soul or mind:

he dulled his psychic pain with gin.)

(I’m over my cut’n’paste-athon. I promise.)

Life has been funny all around. Here are a few things on my mind.

One day one candidate is up; the next he’s a disaster. I believe for the first time in my sentient, voting life that when voters say they’re undecided, they mean it. (I always thought that was an excuse to not divulge one’s preference, but this year is filled with unexcited voters who aren’t ready to commit.)

Too much vagina talk. I suppose it was exciting (for some) to hear the word used (and used) on network tv last year. But now that this particular body part even has its own biography, it’s vagina this and vagina that. I believe the shock of the word is over, and even its low rent sister, vajayjay — has been overused.

It’s fun to meet old friends and make occasional new ones on Facebook, but reading Facebook can be detrimental to one’s mental health. I’ve learned the hard way. I post too much (including posts which will herald this blog) but mostly I do it because I think I should post something. I suppose posting on FB gives me something to regret, and I always need to second-guess myself.

Either every single woman in the metropolitan area of New York is wearing Christian Louboutin shoes, or many women are secretly painting the bottoms of their shoes with red paint. Either way — look at what we value. On the Nieman Marcus website, prices for his shoes begin at $550, for a pair of simple ballet flats, and rise to $6395 for a crystal-encrusted platform pump which no real lady will ever wear. Congratulations to Monsieur Louboutin for winning his court case, which proves his red soles are his legal trademark. (Ça suffit, Yves St. Laurent.)

Kardashians, the Today Show, and the Kardashians on the Today Show. I’m not the first and I won’t be the last to pick on the poor Kardashian-Jenners and cite them as proof that our world is messed up/going to hell/messed up and going to hell in a red-soled crystal-encrusted platform pump. They do make me angry when they refer to themselves as hard-working business women. It does offend me that even the media outlets that claim the Kardashians are a symptom of our national malaise give them ink or air. Look at me — I’m doing it too. But when I think of hard working people, I do not consider a family that has to wake up unpleasantly early to get their daily hair & makeup fix in order to allow cameras film them shopping or posing to be work of any importance. Disagree with me. Feel free. Defend that tribe. And when the Today Show decides that the coup of having Kris (the mother) discuss her breast implants at 8:46 am, on September 11th — at precisely the time of our first observed moment of silence, I wonder if that producer still has her job.

Why am I grouchy? I have my reasons. But mostly I am shocked by the swift passage of time. It seems like just yesterday my daughter, Exhibit B, graduated from high school. And now she’s away at college, and I’m missing her like crazy. And I have to get used to it, and we all have to get used to these and other inevitable changes.

Now stop reading this and do something useful.

Love,

Lisa

p.s. If you stayed with me till now I’m very grateful. And I already feel better.

Mrs. Brinbach: I have recently renewed my passport in preparation to study abroad in Argentina (goodbye, elementary-school picture!). I am currently looking for a new passport cover--the Pokémon one I so loved in second grade no longer appeals to me. I'm looking for something made from quality leather, preferably without a pattern (though a tasteful one would be acceptable), and I definitely want to be able to monogram it. What are your suggestions? (Psst--I'm a college kid on a budget!)

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 19:45:14 -0400

Dear Jacq,

There are tons of decent looking passport covers all over the internet. Everyone from Pottery Barn to a great travel source called flight001.com sells passport covers which won’t hurt your wallet. Cute, right? Have a great semester!

Lisa, are you considering writing a book on international preppy? It would be interesting to see how different each country interprets their "preppy" and even so, how "preppy" is translated. For example in Mexico a preppy is called a "fresa" meaning strawberry meaning preppy. Just a thought.

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 19:39:35 -0400

Dear Jackie,

I am considering writing an international preppy guide, as a matter of fact. In September’s American ELLE, I wrote an article about what it was like to see preppiness in Europe and Japan. Gracias!

A Purposeful Peloton

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 17:51:18 -0400

When I was watching the women’s road race event, I had no idea at first what Peloton meant. The way I interpreted what I saw on screen, Peloton was — don’t laugh — the name of a Russian cyclist. Think about it; Peloton sounds Russian. Pelotonoff. Peletonov.

Peletonovska. Anyway, I learned as you did that peleton refers to the group behind the leaders in a bike race. I’m not sure if you can have a peleton in a marathon or other sorts of races, but I’m doing my best to use it in a kind of “off-label” way. I am not expecting FDA approval (nor OED approval), but it’s more fun than joining the chorus of complainers about the Olympics.

I realize the objections are really about the way NBC and its many offshoots are deploying delay tactics but rather than complain about all the complaining, indeed, rather than join the peloton of gripers, I’d like to say my Science Experiments and I are enjoying what we’ve seen of the 2012 Olympics, and we’ve laughed at the sarcastic tweets written at NBC’s expense.

NBC can take it like a grown up.

This evening at 5:45, I’m sipping a rare DecafO’Clock mug of fake coffee. The rosé can wait.

It’s horrendously hot out (sounds like a grievance to me) but in my hermetically-sealed writing room, I’ve had to turn off the air conditioning and appreciate the fact that it works, and sometimes, even I do.

Love,

Lisa