Coffee:

Vortex, right there with you with the jealous!

KT, right there with you on the jealous and the bless.

Sean - iPhone and a black skirt....hmmmmmmmm.

Lunch with buffistas is a great way to break up a frustrating day. So nice to see everyone and to be able to snuggle Miss Matilda - who knows how to mug for the camera.

Work programming drama now has a work around that involves processes that take hours to run, so I will be poking my head in and out of work stuff all weekend to see if one has ended do I can kick off the next. Oh joy, oh rapture. At least it is overtime.

School stuff sees me cursing my team mates yet again. Our last assignment is due tomorrow and two of our team mates are being slugs about doing their parts. I have enough points in the class to pass without this assignment, but still....get it together people.

And thus ends the whining portion of my post.

YAY vw on a great day at the conference and at lunch. I'm glad you were able to join us AND have such a fantastic time. The family has missed you this evening. It is very cute.

There was more but the zombies ated my brain.

I made myself hot pants out of my black trousers.

Muhahaha.

Ok - we're off! I'll try to get pictures!!

Grr, my post got ate. But part of it was asking for pics from Aimee!

{{Suzi}} Yay for Buffista filled lunches. Sorry for the sucky parenting times. I was such a horrible teen, and yet somehow managed to become an excellent adult (IMHO). I've asked my mom how she survived and she claims she reminded herself that "this too shall pass" countless times. Your kids are so lucky to have you and your loving wisdom and guidance. And, this too shall pass.

Kristin, I thought of you when I got a note back from one of my teachers. I had sent a gentle request for a grade update since she usually posts often and it had been a couple weeks. Posting part of her reply since it is not remotely personal.

I apologize... ...in my poor judgement I collected their notebooks (three weeks worth of work) one week before collecting their essay. You can actually measure my grading pile in feet.

Anyone wonder why I thought of you?

I apologize... ...in my poor judgement I collected their notebooks (three weeks worth of work) one week before collecting their essay. You can actually measure my grading pile in feet.

And wow, grade updates every couple of weeks? She is way more on top of things than I am. My parents don't get grade updates (unless something is wrong or they request one) until the end of the quarter. Maybe that's a high school thing, though. What grade does she teach?

I have 13 more comments to write tonight. I underestimated earlier. Argh. I'm lucky to get through three an hour, and my dad should be calling any second now--the Red Cross is flying him into the Ontario airport today to work in a San Bernadino shelter for the next few days--and tonight is probably the only chance I'm going to get to see him. This math is not working. Neither is the caffeine. I may have to resort to Ritalin.

What grade does she teach?

10th grade advanced language. She's a ball of fire. I'm very fond of her. Most of the team updates on line once a week. The teachers with lots of assignments (like math) update more often. We see the grades any time the teachers post to the school system. Brendon has no clue what a great team of teachers he has. The teachers and the school are most impressive, as are the ratings. Being a minimalist he doesn't appreciate them, but I expect he will when he looks back at it from an adult perspective.

eta: I hope you get a chance to have a nice visit with your dad.

Ah, the online grading thing. I know that must be great from a parent perspective, but I am endlessly glad that my kids' parents can't see their grades as we go. The problem in English is that the grades are really inflated for the first 4-6 weeks until their first big paper is entered, and I've had parents freak out about the "huge drop" in their child's grade once that happens, when really the grade is finally accurate. On the other side, I've had parents freak out because it looks like a kid is failing when s/he is missing an early assignment--when in truth it's just a matter of having very few grades at that point.

If all of my parents were reasonable like you, it would be fine. Alas, that is often not the case. Competition seems to be the norm, and parents the worse culprits most of the time.

Anyway, I'm very glad that Brandon has such great teachers. He'll appreciate them someday.

Not sure if I'm going to see Dad. He called to say that he had finally gotten into the terminal--way late because of a hydraulic problem with the plan after it landed--and now he says that the volunteers don't even know where they're staying tonight. He said if he's settled before 10, he'll call me. I'm not holding my breath, but I am hopeful. I've barely seen him in the last two years.

gah. am waiting in lobby of theater for ushers to be ready. don't know a soul. haven't been like this (aka socially alone) in years. Do not want!

Want: [link]

Pretty PTOE. Pretty pretty.