Phone message left on cell as I make commute from hell: (summery) "you have been approved"

Squuuuuuueeeee!!!!! Iz gots me a place to live!! Although its very irrational, but the unit number is 108, which is my birthday, oct-8, so I will take that as a good omen.

Suzi, how does the "not to exceed" thing work?

GF said to get it as we are thinking about getting married. It's my "wedding ring."

Did I know this? I mean, not like it's surprising given how long you two have been together and the whole trying to get pregnant thing, but SQUEE! I'm so happy for you (and so happy that our state is doing the right thing, for once).

{{{{DJ & Friend}}}} What horrible news. It's true that HIV+ is much more manageable than it used to be, but it's still a difficult diagnosis to hear. I wish him strength and health~ma and you strength and coping~ma.

In meme news, I spent the afternoon at The Huntington Library and Gardens, one of my favorite places in the world. We've been members since last year, and I renewed the membership today. I feel so wonderfully rested and relaxed. The weather was absolutely perfect--about 80 in the sun, but with a nice light breeze that cooled the air. Sitting in the gardens, I finished reading the second of the three books I'll be teaching starting next week.

I got my class list today: 15 students, mostly in grades 4 and 5 with one 3rd grader. They're all American but from all over the country. Can I just say that I'm a wee bit nervous about calling everyone on Sunday and Monday? I have no idea how to pronounce some of the names, and I'm not entirely clear on what exactly we're supposed to talk about. I may come in here for hivemind assistance.

In meme news, I spent the afternoon at The Huntington Library and Gardens, one of my favorite places in the world.

The month I spent working there is a very fond memory. Particularly the day my equipment went down and the repairman couldn't get there till the next day, so I was able to wander the Art Museum to my heart's content. I spent a couple of hours in the Medieval Gallery explaining to a curious guard what all the iconography meant in the various pictures of Saints and Madonna and Child, and I turned around and found a class of high school students taking notes. Maybe it was the Huntington Employee badge I was wearing.

I have no idea how to pronounce some of the names, and I'm not entirely clear on what exactly we're supposed to talk about.

Kristin - are you conferencing with them all?

If so, have them introduce themselves and write down their names as pronounced. Ask them each to name a favorite book or story, maybe -

Then talk a little about how the class will go and play a game over the phone? Some sort of 'guess the character' game to see at what level they're reading?

... granted, you can't nod or point at them to get them to introduce themselves. how about alphabetically?... er.

tuna pasta.

notices that Kristin said 'might need' ... smooths back hair and puts away the excitey hand flapping.

Well, that was the most nail-biting ride I've made home in a while. One hour and 45 minutes: detour for flooded road, torrential downpour while heading straight into a storm that could produce tornadoes. Tornado warnings on the radio every 5 minutes. I got home and could hear all the sirens south of me going off. I need to get rid of this 65 mile commute, it's bad for my nerves.

Suzi, how does the "not to exceed" thing work?

They come out and inventory your good and give you a weight with a not to exceed price. When it comes to the actual move, you are charged for what your goods actually weigh, which could be less but won't be more (unless you add things to your inventory) than the NTE estimate. That is the basic theory at least.

Ah, crap, DJ. So sorry about your friend's news. All my punctuation are belong to the both of you. (And lovely tattoo design.)

...I seem to have missed vw's boy's nickname being created. What do the initials stand for?

Fay, crazyblinddate, the website they used to meet!

Sox, your suggestions for questions to ask are great, thanks.

Kristin - are you conferencing with them all? If so, have them introduce themselves and write down their names as pronounced

The class itself is online and handled through email and blogging. This is an introductory phone call, when I have to call each household and introduce myself and the course. The problem is that I will be calling them, so I have to ask for Mr./Mrs. [insert really difficult to pronounce last name] and then tell them I am going to be teaching [insert child's name]. I totally use the "introduce yourself" method in my normal classroom, but I don't think there's a way to do that in this situation. I will probably just do the best I can and then immediately say, "I'm so sorry if I mispronounced your name--could you tell me how to pronounce it correctly?"

This is just adding a new dimension to my irrational phone fear, is all.

Whoa Kristin, you are teaching an online class to kids in elementary school?! That's kinda blowing my mind. What software are you using for the class?

I have a friend who has done all kinds of research into how to help students access age-appropriate resources online (like at what ages can they start manipulating which search engines, at what age do they start learning how to use blogs, etc).