Out From Inside

In the final preparations for my graduate thesis research, I Googled "informed consent" just now, looking for some language that I could use to explain the concept of informed consent to the people participating in my study. The top Google hit? Informed Consent - the leading UK BDSM website. I don't think that's what my university's Human Subjects Review Board had in mind...

My son starts a new preschool tomorrow, and one of the things they've asked us to do is to prepare an earthquake kit for him - they want to be able to look after the children for up to three days. In the kit, along with food items, is supposed to be a family picture and a letter from his parents. His dad and I are each writing one - here's mine:

My darling Boopy,

If you're reading this, we must have just had an earthquake! That's when the ground shakes and all the buildings move. Daddy and I felt it too - I think they're very exciting, but they can be scary too. It's okay to be afraid - I'm sure that some of the other children are also. I know that Amy and the other teachers at school will take very good care of you until Daddy or I can come pick you up. Until then, I want you to be a big brave boy, and maybe you and the other children can hold hands and help each other if you're scared. You know how when you have a bad dream at night and you wake up scared, and Daddy or I comes in and snuggles you until you feel better? Well, you can do the same thing with the other children and your teachers if you want. You can also think about all the fun things that we can do together after we pick you up. We'll go to the park, or maybe go swimming, or even go to the Science Center to see the dinosaurs. Until then, be a good boy and do whatever Amy tells you to do. Mommy and Daddy love you a whole bunch, and we'll be there very soon.

Hugs and big kisses,
Mommy


Writing that was rather a surreal experience. Kinda creepy too. I'm not too comfy about it.

This, kids, is a Humiliation Purity Test, courtesy of ketzl, via Mistress Matisse's blog. Instructions are below, and I've put my answers behind a cut just so I don't scare anyone without their permission. And it seems that I'm 48% pure (which isn't that pure, when you think about it...).

Some questions are phrased from the point of view of the dominant, others from the submissive. Give yourself one point for each no answer if you were at either end of the event. Also, the event must have occurred within the context of a romantic, sexual or sadomasochistic relationship; you may have had an evil drill instructor but that does Not Count.

Have you ever made someone do the following, or been made to do the following:

( Clickie-clickie )

I have an amusing weekend coming up. Four of my girlfriends from my bookclub and I are renting a house on Hood Canal for the weekend to have a little mini retreat. Three of the five have children we're escaping, four of the five have partners we're escaping (well, not ESCAPING - just leaving behind), and it is inevitable that much relaxation and silliness and debauchery will ensue. The funniest part so far has been the furiously-flying emails to establish who is bringing what. One of our number (the soft-spoken Southern belle whose gentle exterior masks a wicked, twisted sense of humor) sent out the first "Stuff to Bring" list, suggesting that it "might be helpful in avoiding a situation in which we have 4 cases of diet coke, 6 dozen pitas, 1 container of hummus, a carton of cigarettes, and an incredible chocolate mousse. More booze than could ever possibly be consumed goes without saying."

So far, the list includes about six bottles of booze (not nearly enough for five women for 48 hours), a couple of seasons of "Sex and the City", five champagne glasses, five martini glasses, a ton of baked goods, several kinds of tea, and enough food to keep us from getting TOO smashed on all the booze. Promises to be entertaining.

Well, it's official - my master's thesis proposal is approved (about four years later than it needed to be, but that's all my fault). Now the fun part starts. :)

Current Mood: relieved

This takes geekiness to a whole new level, but at the same time it's funny and, actually, has some value. :)

LadyAvalon42 did this to me (can't remember the LJ-User tag just now and can't look it up).

1) Total number of books owned?
Yu've got to be kidding. I have NO idea..

2) The last book I bought?
Paddington Bear. Oh, you mean for ME? Adam Gopnik's "Paris To The Moon", Thomas Cahill's "The Gifts of the Jews", and Karen Armstrong's "Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today's World."

3) The last book I read?
Currently reading the Gopnik and Cahill books mentioned above. Last book I *finished* was probably a mystery/thriller thing by... I forget her name, but the book was called Deja Dead. Kind of a Patricia Cornwell ype of book.

4) 5 books that mean a lot to me?
Mary Doria Russell's "The Sparrow"
Anita Diamont's "The Red Tent"
Pat Conroy's "The Water Is Wide"
John Steinbeck's "The Red Pony" (a first-edition copy my father gave me)
Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women"

I don't know that I want someone else controlling my vibrator under these circumstances...

Can anyone confirm for me that he's really going to do this? Or is this just PR hype? I mean, it LOOKS real....

(edit) And let me point out that it's only late April and we're talking about the NORTH ATLANTIC. The more I think about this, the more I'm sure it just can't be real. Someone help me out here...

Oh, please...

Does anyone else think that sometimes the TSA takes things too far? And for that matter, did I ever tell you about the time I was traveling with Boopy when he was probably a year old, and he got randomly selected for extra screening? They made me hold him out while they ran the little handheld scanner all over him, paying particularly close attention to his diaper area. Fortunately he didn't seem to mind, so it was kind of funny... if ridiculous...