What time is it??

You know that you are nearly done with setting up house when you get around to hanging pictures. In my case, I know that I am nearly done setting up house when I get around to hanging up clocks.

I started collecting clocks nearly 10 years ago. I am not obsessive about it. My clock collection consists of what you see here, plus another 3 or 4 that are scattered around the house. Most of these clocks aren't plugged in. Some because they are European plugs and some because the represent things that have happened. There are three on this wall that were unplugged simultaneously when we left DC for Tokyo in 2000. Some are set to specific dates like the kids birthdays or our anniversary (which for some reason neither George nor I can remember on an annual basis. The clock does not help.) But, I suspect that I don't plug most of them in because it would be too much like that first scene from Back to the Future - - except that I would be too lazy to synchronize them all!

There are a couple of clocks that actually tell time. The green apple one from Tokyo tells the time, but runs a little slow. The rectangle white one on the bottom left tells times as well. This is the only clock that was given to me by a friend. Her name is Julie and she picked this up at a flea market outside of Brussels. Now tell me - - how nice is a person that actually thinks of you while she is at a flea market? Pretty darn nice. Funny thing about this clock. When she first gave it to me I couldn't get it to work. Then at the very moment when we were both holding the sides of the clock, it magically started working. So, I call it the friendship clock. I am a sentimental sucker. It kept ticking all the way from Germany to London, and even stranger - - from London to San Francisco. I unwrapped it yesterday from amidst 14 layers of bubble wrap to find it still ticking! Amazing.

And this one has been dubbed the move clock. I set the date to the day that we move in to a house. Keeps me from forgetting. Ha ha ha. So, the date on the clock in 08-01. This clock was purchased in a flea market in Frankfurt. It technically does work, but it is the loudest damn electric clock I have ever heard. We had it on for a while when we first got it, but it practically makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up it creates such an electronic hum. I could lend it to some terrorist torture groups. After about 10 hours in a quiet room with just this clock humming and there wouldn't be a soul who wouldn't spill just so they would turn that damn buzzing sound off!!!

Other than the hanging of the clocks, it was a pretty slow day yesterday. I went to a meeting of the 6th grade parents that was hosted by the new headmaster. It was an interesting meeting talking about the philosophy of the school and what not. What I did come to realize was that there are people that take the philosophy of a school VERY seriously. There are also parents who, at the 6th grade level seem oddly prematurely occupied with whether or not the activities that their 12 year olds are taking will look good on their college applications. I hadn't even stopped to wonder whether or not George's lack of running on the cross-country team was going to rule him out of attending the college of his choice. Well, I guess for the G-man it "Looks like the University of Illinois"! (thank you "Risky Business")