I've got just slightly less than a week to come up with going-away presents for people who are going to live in very foreign countries and don't need any more stuff. Feel free to chip in!

Also, dear God, overseeing exams is boring. I can't just leave them to it, because what with working on their assignments at computers nestled up next to each other the opportunity for talking is just too tempting, but I also can't help them, so I just... stroll.

Y'all should just fly out here and be locals for the duration of the World Series! Yes, I like this plan.

I like this plan too! Now all we need is a buttload of cash and a good excuse to take a week off work...

I've got just slightly less than a week to come up with going-away presents for people who are going to live in very foreign countries and don't need any more stuff.

Reading material for the trip, maybe?

Now all we need is a buttload of cash and a good excuse to take a week off work...

I think your most scientifically sound option is to buy some lottery tickets.

ETA: that was in response to Jars, not Emily!

Reading material for the trip, maybe?

Oh, I think they've pretty much planned that out already. They're pretty serious readers in their own rights. I did think about a subscription to audible.com or something, but I don't think they have mp3 players.

Then maybe an MP3 player?

I think your most scientifically sound option is to buy some lottery tickets.

Two steps ahead of you!

What about various guide books for wherever it is they're heading to, Emily?

Tattoo pictures: [link]

[link]

Ignore my dead-eyed look. I wasn't sure where the lens was pointed and the flash took me by surprise.

It's healing really well, and it's so gorgeous.

My job starts with training on Thursday, and I really want to do well so they'll keep me on once the christmas season has passed. It's totally my dream job, and I still can't believe I have it! Yay!

I start French classes this afternoon. Man, life is so crazy and busy, which is so different from a month ago that I can barely keep track of myself. But I think I've finally cleared a lot of the really shitty stuff, and finally I'm getting to the happy part of this excursion.

Emily, you must be in midterms now, right?

There's no such thing as climate change, right? It's just a coincidence that this is the driest recorded year in North Georgia. It's just a coincidence that the Western forests are on fire and we have 80 days of water left if things don't change.

Today's high in NYC is 78°, and the low is 60°. That doesn't seem so bad when you compare it to the record high of 88° in 1979, but the average high for this date, across the data on weather.com, is 61°. Looking back over the month of October, we have averaged 10° hotter than previous Octobers. That is simply ridiculous. I'm missing out on my autumn, and I don't like it at all, especially when you realize that I teach in a classroom with no air conditioning - it's not supposed to be suffering level this late in the year.

Pretty pretty pretty tattoo!

And, zombielike expression notwithstanding, my God, I'm suddenly having a flashback to my experience of watching Julia Styles in The Bourne WhateverItIsThisTime and going "OMGWTF! SA!"

...meanwhile, this is my packing. Yes sir. Packing. That's what I'm doing. Yep. For sure.