We stayed in a family suite for a convention once, and we never used more than the bedroom, bathroom, and entryway. I made a point of opening every door and stepping into every room so the poor thing didn't feel useless.

This mandatory eLearning course consists of a dull-voiced man reading to me the words that appear on the screen. I may explode.

Zenkitty, that is almost ALL of the PD I attend at work. It's thrilling.

My nose is SUPER runny (which is no good).

One of my students asked me to read her personal statement. Roughly half of it was about how her AP English Lit teacher (AKA me) is so mean and hates her and yet she has soldiered through and learned from it how to be more independent. It was such a passive-aggressive gambit, like RL trollbaiting, almost. But I corrected it and handed it back. Then today, I realized the really troubling part was paragraph 2 where she talks about how she craves attention, how she befriends teachers so she can get All the Help even when she understands. But I feel like I can't be the one to point out how this might be a bad tack to take with admissions people. Also, I feel like it's self-aware and honest. So I dropped it in someone else's lap.

Good lord, Kat.

Happy Birthday to Sox's daughter, I!

One of my niecephews is going through the college admission process and at one of the interviews she was asked what hardships she'd overcome [to be in a place to apply to the highly selective college]. She blinked and told them "none." Her parents are upper middle class college professors, she's had all sorts of enrichment programs, she gets along with her brother, etc., etc. Then she added that she was, actually, a bluegrass musician who was missing a tooth. Which got her a laugh. I can't imagine how many times the interviewers hear stories of hardship that are about how a student didn't get the grade s/he wanted, etc., so I hope my niece's answer was appreciated for its self-awareness.

Yikes. Edit: That was for Kat, but generally applies!

Happy Birthday to Sox's daughter, I!

Tomorrow! Though I sometimes forget, because the 14th and 15th are a total blur.

Then she added that she was, actually, a bluegrass musician who was missing a tooth.

With that niecephew, a hardship answer might have been "I am not President, yet." But she gave an excellent, honest answer.

This is just delightful.

[link]

Oven Repair Guy is coming over at 2-ish. Which means that I've got to get the kitchen shiny and presentable. Especially the floor which is my least-favorite part.

Tomorrow!

My phone told me today. It lies.