I'm with you, JZ.

We get a Scola!

But not actually with you, dangit.

Is there a drug store or a convenience store that is open right now? The place I would usually go is now a Whole Foods.

There's a Walgreens about 3 blocks from you, at Stanyan and Parnassus, and a corner market right across the street from that. Walgreens opens in about 60 seconds and the corner market's been open since 7.

Scola, talk to strangers on the street. go on. good way to waste some time. take some pictures.

Today is Julia Child's 100th birthday and there is a pretty good piece in the Times that is making me want to cook all sorts of calorie-laden things.

Also today is the ice cream social/meet your teacher at the kids' new school, and I need advice. Apologies for the necessary backstory. Casper knows she will be attending this school, and is all set. She's attending the gifted academy, grades 3-6, which operated last year in a different space but at least has some history. She has homeroom teacher's name and a list of classmates. Dillo is enrolled for 1st grade in the other part of the school (in the same building), which is new. They started in May having hired a K teacher, and in June started also enrolling PreK and 1st grade students (they will ultimately expand to K-6 over 2-3 years). They have now hired a preK teacher. As of yesterday they had NOT hired a 1st grade teacher. The class list we received Monday has 5 kids enrolled in 1st grade; yesterday the office said they were continuing to enroll new kids and the number would be higher. They said they would NOT dis-enroll any 1st graders; they would either hire a 1st grade teacher, or have a joint K-1 class.

Note: school starts a week from today. Now, because of the precariousness of all this, we have not yet told Dillo, who tends to be a worrier, that we have enrolled him at this school. He thinks he is going back to our old school. I was planning to tell him tonight at the open house, when he could see his classroom and meet his teacher, and have a sense of the concrete reality of it. But they have not hired his teacher, so I cannot show him his classroom and a friendly smiling face.

What to do? We can 1) tell him tonight and introduce the K teacher (who is very nice) and elide the whole uncertainty thing; 2) keep pretending he is going to the old school and tell him either when the situation is settled or the day before school starts, whichever comes sooner; 3) say to hell with this insanity and switch him back to our old school. I'm pretty angry about this; I understand the scramble of getting a new school off the ground (the principal was only hired in July), but with one week to the first day of school I expected this to be worked out. I am tempted to call the principal and ask her what she expects me to tell my son tonight, you know? (So, what should I do?)

Scola, talk to strangers on the street.

::makes 'crazy' finger motion at head, points at msbelle::

We can 1) tell him tonight and introduce the K teacher (who is very nice) and elide the whole uncertainty thing

I think this one? I mean, will you put him in the school if it's a joint K-1 class? I assume you would much rather have them in the same building, and feel fine about the current K teacher.

Today's edition of My First World Problems, Let Me Show You Them: just realized I can't eat Coq au Vin anymore because it has mushrooms. Damn it.

Jesse, I guess you are right. I think we would stay for K-1, although he is at the high end of 1 - can read fluently and add and subtract, so way above the level of the average entering K. But he is socially slow and on the young end, so on that level K-1 would actually be a bonus. If I could be sure that the K teacher they have would be his teacher, I would feel better. Its the possibility of last-minute switcheroo that is stressful. (At our GA school they steadfastly refused to give classroom assignments until the afternoon before school started, which I can now see has some advantages.)

How hard is going to be to have them at two schools? If you really want him in with Casper, I would present it as a done deal, but make it as awesome-sounding as possible. As in, "Guess what? We found out you could go to Casper's school! Wouldn't that be great?"

Otherwise, I would wait and see what his reaction to the school is tonight. If he likes it and seems curious, then you can go that way, and otherwise keep in his old school?

ION the number of people who want my free analog tube 20 inch TV on Craigslist is pretty amazing. I mean, it works and is a good TV, but it's like 20 years old!