yay for good mechanics - and sadly I expect a car repair to cost 500.00 when in the normal/routine level. so 600.00 sounds good to me.

Yay! Unless it's a repeat business discount.

ha! no, that's their actual fixing a tire price. the guy told me that they sell the most tires in all of middle tennessee, which i found hard to believe because they're one of the smallest places.

It's nice when unexpected expenses don't end up being that bad.

totally. thanks, sj.

that is very good news, Nora! cars can be expensive things, can't they. i'm still going to have to eventually get my windshield replaced now that the tiny rock crack has started spiderwebbing. it took it about three years to do that though. all this hot and cold crap is speeding up the process.

So my friend K is going on and on about her great weekend with her boyfriend (another good friend of mine), and how they both played hooky from work today, and how she's so put out because she shut off her phone all day today being "impulsive" and caught merry hell from her parents for not returning their six phone calls (we mock her for how connected to her cell phone she is), and I have a strong desire to just scream at her that I despise her for being so damn happy and I don't care and slam the phone shut.

Horrible person? Need a nap? Need a good shag? I look to you, my Bitches, for guidance. And murder avoidance.

Not a horrible person, Ailleann. Sure, a really good shag would likely change your attitude but until there instagoodshags for the rest of us? Well, we do what we can.

Statement: I am very, very bummed that my 3-day weekend is almost over.

Analysis: I'm in the hardest part of the school year for new teachers, and it sucks. This job is way. too. hard.

Hey Beej, What Shamu Taught Me About A Happy Marriage in the NYTimes strikes me as something you might find interesting.

David, I wish that I could express how completely perfect, and perfectly timed that article is for me. A great gift that I truly appreciate. I'm honored you thought of me in this context.

I use 'dog training' techniques very similar to these in my couple counseling sessions all the time. Not to demean anyone as 'dog' and therefore lower, but focusing on what we want vs. what we don't.

I've been forcibly reminded lately about how much easier it is to advise than to do certain things and this article comes at the very point I realized what I was doing to contribute to the negative aspects of my relationship. It may be forever over, or not, I don't know...but I certainly learned a lot and this is a good reminder.

Thanks for the tip about Office Depot, tiggy. There's a shiny new one very close to me, and I've been considering getting a laptop, so maybe it's a Sign.

Thanks for the tip about Office Depot, tiggy.

you're welcome! the HP that i wanted was out of stock, but they told me they will be getting trucks wed, thurs and sat. so i'm going to try back then because it has everything i want at a price tag of $699. really can't beat that. if they don't get it in, i'm going to work my powers of persuasion for them to sell me the display model and knock some more off the price.

It is annoying because it treats husband as animal and it comes off very manipulative.

Yeah, but she does tell him. So that's something. In a similar vein, AcrossTheHall!Teacher lent me a book called the Dog Trainer's Guide to Parenting, which is surprisingly helpful. Stuff about "training" your SO does sound manipulative, but heck, I can sympathize with the wanting some adjustments to happen (mind you, in my case I'd be the one with clothes on the floor, so...). Of course, with the key thing I think what happened was less that she trained him into doing anything differently and more that she stopped "helping" in ways that were making things worse. So that's more training herself, really.

In other words, Gris, I feel you. It is the hate. I'm 75% certain I won't be returning to this school next year, so I'm tempted to be all "take your multiple observations and do something else with them," but I'll still need my evaluation when I go on to the next school, so must buckle down and "probe more deeply for student understanding," despite the very real likelihood that continuing to question one student for longer than 30 seconds will lead to the rest of them turning their notetaking guides into paper airplanes and entering an indepth discussion of... er, I'm not sure, as it's in Spanish. Something not related to math, I'll tell you that.

Pardon the ramble. I'm meant to be doing planning right now, but my toe hurts.

David, I wish that I could express how completely perfect, and perfectly timed that article is for me.

You're welcome, Beej. It seemed apt for both your work and where you had been recently.

The tenor of the article didn't bug me. I often think it's better to step back from difficult dynamics and think of them in terms of strategies. It will often yield a new angle on things, and take you out of your own contribution to the problem.