Ten Things Tuesday

On a bright and sunny deceptively cold day, the window by my desk allows me to watch my dogs cavort in the snow, They are unencumbered by lists and deadlines and obligations and I just stuck my tongue out at them. Mature, eh?

1. Our book, after weeks of edits and fiddling and file augmentation finally went to press. Right after we found a place where an illustration was wrong and where I’d missed a comma in a position where a period should be. Since internally chanting the mantra of “let it go” hadn’t worked, I am thrilled to report we’ll have another chance to make changes. Proofread, proofread, roofread, people, (didja catch that?) or insanity will ensue. Well, for me at least.

2. Off my do or die Bat Mitzvah list is the hiring of the DJ ( for 1500 bucks) and the ordering of the kippahs, which I did at kippah.com. Where else? Boo couldn’t decide amongst the eggplant, purple and or creme colored ones, so why not all three?

3. Boo is humming along in her quest to memorize her Torah portion and we’re all thrilled she has over half down cold. Every evening, she locks herself into the study and sings along to her text and to the audio file accompaniment of the cantor. I’ve been eavesdropping; she sounds marvelous.

4. Wrong numbers with hospital names on the caller ID cause heart palpitations - beware.

5. Torchwood, the Doctor Who spin off starring John Barrowman (photo link), has begun airing in the UK and fortunately for me, can also be found on some of the file sharing sites. Apart from the great sets and props, the better writing than the Who series, the characters are compellingly flawed and say and do things American networks would never allow. Swearing and crude references, aliens and alien artifacts, and a great premise all contribute to a show I love. The clincher is the fact that the male lead isn’t falling, conventionally, for the female lead, but another male lead.

6. This week, I’ve signed on to take care of one of my daughter’s friends and take her with us on our weekly visit to our local organic Flatbread pizza place. Boo and this girl have been friends for years but lately, tension has crept in over this girl’s habits of excluding Boo and their other friends in order to get in with a more popular crowd. Boo’s hurt, her friend (far less mature than my daughter) is defensive and I am staying out of it unless I’m asked; at 13, Boo is continuing to evolve and I can’t see myself helping matters by discussing the problems. I will observe them and their dynamic and see what happens.

7. My classes are going well this semester although my hybrid class, which I have thus far seen face to face only twice in the last 4 weeks (snow days and holidays) is suffering from a simple lack of time. I gave them a lot more reading/reflecting to do in order to get them writing more, but I can’t help but being disappointed in the instructive capacity of this half online format. My other class’s numbers have winnowed down fro 37 to a more manageable 32 and I am enjoying how determined and focused they are., and that several of them write well enough and with enough sophistication to start real conversations.

8. Finding a dead spider under your pillow in the morning gives serious pause. And ookies.

9. I’ve changed my Meez lady (the little animated, vaguely-me looking creature on the right-hand side of this page’s panel) to reflect the weather I wish I were experiencing, instead of the loads of relentless white we’ve been served. Enough already, really.

10. Finally, I am sending warm birthday wishes to my friend JPR; we’ve been friends for nearly 26 years and although we see each other very rarely (he lives in Ampleforth, near York, in England, and I so don’t), we’ve managed to maintain a warm relationship over the years. Many happies, my old friend. Thanks again for introducing me, with the fabulous drunken philosophers’ song, to Monty Python - I’ve never been the same since.