Ten Things Tuesday

No particular themes for O’Mama today because randomness prevails – again.

1. This past weekend, my friend Jan came to visit me in New England from Chicago with her seven year-old daughter. This is us when I visited her when she lived in NYC and couldn’t resist poking her. Maturity runs rampant, no?

Jan and I have known each other since we played “champ “(aka “foursquare”) together when we were FIVE, just over 3.4 billion years ago. I hadn’t seen J since her wedding in 2000, I’d never met any of her three daughters, and I guess we settled into the long-distance friendship limbo; we phoned, we sent cards and books (”You’ve GOT to read this! Here I’ll get it for you…”), but we hadn’t been in the same breathing space for 8 years!?! Our weekend was lovely, with lots of catch up chats over mint tea and while our children were painting in the driveway while husband was fiddling in the garden, Jan and I got to enjoy a sunny and breezy spring day walk and talk. Alas, the weekend flew by, but the visit did me a world of good by distracting my from all the work I pretended didn’t exist…

2. Today I went off to get my state inspection done and confidently drove up to Spiffy lube and… I had a space cadet movement and went all mindless as to why I was there; ten minutes later I was paying for an oil change I almost needed and left, uninspected. I’m now 3 days over the state grace period and plan to do it tomorrow, but THIS time, I’ll tie a string around my finger.

3. Punimbook (punim: Yiddish for face) coughed up a friend request out of the deep dark reaches of my past last evening. Way back in 1988 I was a newscaster at McGill University’s student radio station and hung out with a crowd of ridiculously intelligent and creative people who were just a wee bit on the insane side. When I left Montreal, I left all of that behind except for some slightly spotty memories, so I was startled to hear from a man I’d had a desperate crush on from that crew. Now we’re “friends,” whatever the hell that means, but I hope it means I find out what he’s been doing for the last 22 years. What I find so interesting is that although I haven’t even THOUGHT of him or the station in years, this new, pseudo relationship has me awash in memories.

4. This morning I dropped off an application for a long-term sub position at the site of my teachering trial, where I taught freshman English (SO not my favorite age) and senior expository writing. My former mentor teacher is nearly 20 weeks’ pregnant and wants me to come in and take over teaching two sections of freshman, one of Am Lit, two of debate and persuasion, and possibly one of peace studies for just the over three months she’ll be on covered leave. I know I CAN do it, but after the relatively comfortable twice-weekly schedule of college courses, six classes, five days a week will require a HUGE energy and time commitment that I think I will have to have my family prepare for nowish. That said, I know she wants me to do it, but there have been other applicants… so I am going to attempt patiently waiting.

5. My speech students started delivering their visual aid speeches on Monday, but we only got through 5 of the 13 students. As I had feared most of them, despite lengthy conversations about the power and necessity of the well formed introduction and conclusion, just launched into the bodies of their speeches and then, stopped when they were done, with absolutely no wrap up. Grammar was, in two cases, essentially nonexistent (”we was,” “they was,” “there’s many problems”), but there was discernible effort. My three ringers, the students I KNOW will give good if not great speeches will present tomorrow. One can but hope. I got a great comment from Dingo the other day who, suffering similarly aggressively ungrammatical students, wrote about the desire to gouge out her eye with a chopstick. I’m thinking my students would respond with, “Why you doin’ that?”

6. Dr. who. Each Saturday evening some lovely soul in the UK makes the new episode available online and I find myself waking early on Sunday mornings to watch it before the rest of the house wakes up and needs me for something. Then, I find myself watching older episodes for hours like some dotty addict. Thing is, the show has infiltrated my brain and often when I should be bloody well doing something constructive, I daydream like a fifth grader. What things infiltrates your brains? Please tell me I am not alone!

7. Camp countdown has begun. This summer my darling daughters will return to camp up in Ontario for their fourth summer and they have been essentially unable to talk about much else. Discussions about what they need, what they’ve outgrown (everything) and the calls to gossip with friends in Canada about who is or who is not returning have begun. Boo remarked months back that she spends the better part of the year missing camp and her camp friendships and I see the intense anticipation she is feeling. Of course, she has done a LOT of changing both physically and emotionally over the year, so Mom here anticipates a very different summer for my now 13 year-old child.

8. Mrs. Chili has kindly replenished my supply of fine-tipped pens that for me make for more successful grading. I am certain there’s some pathology there, perhaps delusions, but I know I am far more apt to sail through a pile of exams or papers if the colors with which I scrawl all over the work are interestingly colored and satisfying to write. I’ve been avoiding those piles but now that I am sufficiently armed, onwards it is.

9. Boo was gifted very generously for her Bat Mitzvah and with some of those funds, intends to purchase a digital SLR Canon camera. Of course the model she wants is out of stock, so she’s slightly stompy and has started requesting I make a pilgrimage to whichever Bestest Buy store within 200 miles that has the thing, but has so far been mollified by the promise of our local store that it may come in within the week. Until then, I am certain she’ll ask me about roughly every hour or so.

10. Finally, this weekend we’re going to see what I’ve heard is an excellent treatise on the state of world politics and an actual thinking person’s film – Iron Man. I’m stupid excited. Review to follow.

Happy Tuesday!