Snippets Amid the Furor

Amid all the hoopla here in Baja Canada it is easy to forget that life does go on, and I don’t want to let a few things slip by without mentioning them. Because it’s my world being chronicled here, and that’s just how it goes. With apologies to Casey Kasem, we will return to the stylings of Governor Teabagger and The Cronies right after this break.

So, a few snapshots of a life in progress:

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We are now down to one hamster, as either Hammy or Vee expired last week. I’m still not sure which one was which, but now there is only one so it doesn’t really matter.

On the one hand, whichever one it was had long exceeded its expected lifespan – we had them for as long as they usually live, and they were full grown when we got them – so there is only so much one can say beyond “fare the well, good rodent, you had a full life.”

On the other hand, ick.

Let’s just say that the deceased chose an inconveniently narrow place to expire and that the survivor really had to find a way to get from being on one side of the deceased to being on the other side of the deceased, and leave it at that.

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We had our parent-teacher conferences for both of the girls on Wednesday, and they went well. We always look forward to these things, since the girls are both good students and their teachers have been consistently wonderful. And we were not disappointed.

Both Lauren and Tabitha had excellent report cards in all subjects – some room for improvement here and there, but by and large a job very well done – and the teachers report that they are good to have in class – helpful, fun and interesting.

I am immensely proud of them.

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My classes are going well – even the hybrid, which had been a source of worry. I have great students.

The only problem is that I am teaching the same class – Western Civ II – three different times, and all three classes are now at different points due to snow, barrages of questions, and the accelerated schedule of the hybrid. The upshot of that is that I often have to ask myself whether I have already said this or that to this specific class. It’s a good thing I write stuff out.

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One of the most difficult tasks facing any teacher is to stand in front of a class and not fart.

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I find that I have changed my leisure reading (or, more accurately, my “I need to preserve my sanity and that’s more important than sleep” reading) to reflect the current political situation.

I normally tend toward rather bleak stories, often with anti-heroes, where being right and good and just is no predictor of victory, comfort or even survival. This hits a bit too close to home these days, so I’m working on lighter fare for a while.

Well, relatively, anyway.

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I think 3-D movies have played themselves out again. We took Lauren to see the current animated 3-D movie a couple of weekends ago, when Tabitha had a sleepover with a friend, and I have to say that it would have been no different as a normal movie, and a lot cheaper.

I already wear glasses. I don’t need to buy another pair every time I go to the movies.

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And now, back to your regularly scheduled blogging…