I'm stuck on the phone with my faux niece again. At least teenage girls are easy to have phone conversations with -- you barely have to say anything. She's almost 16. Talking about this boy she likes and how he likes this other girl who likes someone else but she's stringing him along anyway even though she knows I like him OMG I HATE THEM BOTH but they're like both my friends so I can't even say anything on Facebook and OMG.

Just had to cancel my classes for today. I woke up with a ton of pain in my ankle, and after TENSing it for an hour, I could still barely walk. Needs some meds, and I can't drive or teach when I take those.

Oh, Hil - may the meds help quickly.

Hil, I feel you. My back is giving me a lot of pain, and I am full of tramadol and lying on a heating pad. It started giving me grief after I got in bed last night, though I was finally able to find a comfortable position and sleep.

I didn't do anything yesterday to injure it, but maybe it's a delayed reaction to Saturday's leafblowing extravaganza. Boo. I have stuff that needs to get done today, and most of it requires that I be mobile. Come on, heating pad! (Although I can't drive with tramadol in my system anyway, so errands have to wait until this afternoon at the earliest.)

pimping the gift exchange - YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO.

Well, I took some time this morning to do yet another one of the stupid surveys that the university is making us do to make it look like they're doing something. This time, it was answering questions about the campus culture and values and community. I particularly liked the question about whether I have seen undergraduate students engaging in substance abuse. Does alcohol count? If so, then I doubt there's anyone who lives in this county who has not seen undergraduate students engaging in substance abuse.

It also wanted to know whether, when a university team wins something, I say "They won" or "We won."

It also wanted to know whether, when a university team wins something, I say "They won" or "We won."

That's actually an excellent question.

The only times I'd say "we" would be if it was a team that I had something to do with, like a math team that I coached or something. Since those are a tiny minority as university teams go, I said that I say "they."

For a typical population--you're anything but typical, Hil--the question certainly indicates the level of identification with the university community. I've heard people in Provo--home of Brigham Young University--talking about how "we played" who never even attended the school.