psst: Sue, move to NYC, less wintery.

It's tempting....

But, in LA, when it's cold as it is at night, nothing is built to withstand it and that makes coldand cranky.

I am not convince my apartment was built to withstand winter either. It seems to have no insulation to speak of. Thank god for polar fleece and my duvet.

Very few things are as funny as KPRINKLE.

Joe was so kind as to lend me his Nano today.

Now I remember why I don't listen to music when not at home, in the office, or in my car.

Because singing out loud and outright dancing on the sidewalk are looked down upon. You = craxy.

Especially when you aren't signing something most people would recognize. The lyrics from "Wicked" out loud, on a downtown LA street, make you look like a craxy person.

Specially "The Wizard and I". I almost did the Mary Tyler Moore toss and twirl in the middle of our plaza.

I will never forget the spreadsheet I made trying to figure out that problem!

Kprinkle does always make my day better.

Also, I am positive it was Cybervixen (and so weird that she posted today) because I remember her thinking how funny it was that we were all indignant that the teacher would give a problem with NO ANSWER!

I don't know what it is about my new place-- it's got windows in every room that we have pretty much kept open since we moved in in September. But no matter how cold it is, it will be warm in the apartment. I no longer fear the heat death of the universe.

I finally decided that the earrings were just too heavy.

I'm hoping it isn't this. I really like them (some sort of opalescent teardrop glass, wrapped in silver at the top with a garnet set on it.) and I used to wear much heavier ones. It's also weird that it is always the same ear, dangit.

Night temp drop seems normal to me. So I always get confused in the summers here when it doesn't. In the winter, it is pretty much "What do you mean it is only 15 degrees warmer once the sun is up!!!" Always too damned cold.

Because singing out loud and outright dancing on the sidewalk are looked down upon. You = craxy.

I haven't let that stop me yet, Aims. Of course, I just assume that random strangers think I'm craxy anyway.

I no longer fear the heat death of the universe.

You may need to fear the solitude and boredom when it becomes apparent you're the only one left.

Stupid Slate magazine has caused me to waste the whole day. They have a special “Slate Goes to College!” section, and included in it is an article about a website where students rate their professors [link] . I made the mistake of going to it and now I can’t stop reading students’ comments about my colleagues and my friends at other universities and my enemies at other universities. And me, of course. I feel a little dirty doing it, but I can’t stop.

It’s clear that students can be vicious. They pounce on any weakness and say the nastiest things you can imagine. At the same time they can be very kind. Anyone who seems to be making a real effort to teach gets credit for that, even if the results are pretty bad.

The main thing I learned is, if you want high student ratings, forget about learning and just be funny. The students are mostly kind to me, but they generally say “He’s so funny!” rather than “I learned so much from him!” It makes me think that I need to change my approach. I do admit to being fond of this comment, which was written as a poem:

Big Brain. Broad Shoulders. Dry Humor. What’s not to Like?

How are you feeling, Jilli?