Five students braved the rain and came to my office hours. I think I was actually helpful to at least three of them. (One wanted help on something where she totally didn't understand the background material needed, so I told her to go work on that background material and then come back to the current work. Another kept nodding and saying he understood everything I said, but then when I asked him questions, he clearly didn't understand, but then he said, "OK, I think I understand it all now" and left.)

Another kept nodding and saying he understood everything I said, but then when I asked him questions, he clearly didn't understand, but then he said, "OK, I think I understand it all now" and left.

Maybe he just wanted to visit the hot teacher.

FWIW Hil, I've learned not to ask "Do you understand?" and instead say something like, "Ok, now show me how to solve for x" or "Let's do this equation in steps: show me how to start" or whatever.

Re: bald eagles - many years ago I had a chance to visit a sort of bald eagle rehab center. These particular eagles were all on the ground and were less afraid of people. I was very impressed by how fierce they looked up close. They don't seem all that fierce in the sky but their legs and talons were very impressive up close.

Connie, if Charlie Eppes from Numbers were a real person, I'd so do that. Despite the fact that my general innumeracy would break his delicate genius brain. And I'd still be hopeless at math...I'd just feel better about it.

My drop leaf table has finally been delivered. I think I need to play around a bit with exactly where in the room it goes -- centered on the wall, or centered under the window. I think centered under the window.

OMG, things I really didn't have time for today: Spending an hour and a half going to Home Depot, buying a ladder ($75 I also didn't need to spend today) and then dragging it home and up to my roommate's bedroom to change the freakin' smoke detector that is on a 14' ceiling. GAHHHHHHHH.

Ugh, amyth - that does not sound like a good start to the day. Hope you get some rest later on.

Yay table, Hil! I'm waiting for our little kitchen table to arrive. It will make the house feel almost complete (just a sofa and we'll actually be comfortable).

OK. Wait for food delivery first, hire PAs later. It is the sensible order of things, after sitting in a hotel lobby interviewing all day. The potential PAs included several hire-able ones. Which has me all in a quandry, because I don't know who to choose, apart from one person who seemed particularly good. I might have to sleep on it, then do trial shifts or something. It's great that they were all so good! Not a single one, out of five candidates, seemed totally unemployable. This is a great step forward from previous years. Perhaps I have finally learnt how to write a job advert.

Fooooood.

Edit to finish a sentence.

Did you get one of those super-foldy ladders? Because those are cool.