I'd Like to Buy the World... a Free Wifi Connection

We have no internet at our house right now, which is why we haven't been posting. It is hard to come up with a post while you are sitting in a freezing car in the parking lot of a grocery store using their wifi. Even if we had been posting it would have been boring and full of stories of writing papers and going to class. And I would post more now, but I am getting the stink eye and an occasional not so subtle sigh from Sergio for monopolizing the computer.

Recent thoughts:

It hasn't rained in Portland nearly as much this year, but has been quite cold. We are not equipped for the cold.

Oregon is not part of Super Tuesday. Drat.

Sergio having class until ten three nights a week was dreadful, so he switched a class and will now be teaching law to high schoolers once or twice a week. He just wants to be like me.

The day you tell middle schoolers they will no longer be taught by their regular teacher, but instead by you, they will flip out and become pure evil for at least one day. It was frightening.

Uh oh, another stink eye and drawn out sigh.

So Nice to Be at a Stage in Life Where We Can Make Light of Teenage Pregnancy

Juno ♣♣♣¾
We liked this movie. That was simple, huh? Furthermore, most of the soundtrack is from Kimya Dawson. I have been listening to her for around three years now, and somehow her being in the movie makes me feel cool, like maybe I made a discovery before other people. That is, if you call a discovery hearing an interview with her on NPR and ordering her CD online.

Charlie Wilson's War ♣♣♣½
We also really liked this movie. I think it has Sergio's political juices flowing.

Not Quite the Inner City Experience I Requested

Ms. M: "Everyone have a good weekend, see you Monday."
Student E: "I CAN"T have a good weekend! My dad told me this morning that as soon as I got out of school we were going out to eat and then to the mall. I just want to go home and watch TV."
Me quietly to Ms. M: "I wish someone were taking me to dinner and then shopping."
Ms. M: "No kidding!"

Five minutes later

Student S: "Ms. M I need to you to sign this sheet for me so I can go on my family ski trip. Actually, I wish you wouldn't. I HATE skiing. I wish my parents weren't making me go.
Me quietly to Ms. M: "I wish someone were taking me skiing."
Ms. M: "Me too"
Student S: "I don't want to ski...I just want to stay home with my pony."

And then my eyes crossed and blood started trickling out of my ears.

The End of Days

There was a tornado in Vancouver, Washington this afternoon. I don't think that is supposed to happen. I don't want to hear anymore from anyone about not believing in global warming. Until the world ends though, here is a really funny clip that wraps up many of Sergio's feelings about a certain food.

I Wrote This Post Yesterday, but then I Fell Asleep

We are back in Portland and back to the daily routine. Well, almost. We stuck with the time difference and went to bed at 8:30 last night and woke up just after five this morning without the help of the alarm. The flights were great. No delays anywhere and Eliot was a champ. In fact, after all the worry and preparations, the airline only asked one question. “Did you pay for him?” When they saw we had, they ushered him right through without even a glance. We gave him a slight sedative that didn’t knock him out, but seemed to make him very meditative. We would take him out at airports and he behaved like a little Zen master. My parents can tell you that this is not his normal behavior.
I couldn’t possibly talk about everything we did while we were in Arkansas, but here is a short list.

Toured the Clinton Presidential Library
Played Guitar Hero
Ate everything that wasn’t nailed down, and then ate some more, and when we were through with that we ate even more.
Opened presents
Played with freakishly cute babies
Played with freakishly cute puppies
Rang in the New Year in Fayetteville with some friends and the intoxicated older neighbors
Shopped
Played golf
Played 2 games of Monopoly
Played 2 marathon games of Risk, one in which I totally lost my grip on rational adult behavior
Learned the goofy ways my nephew communicates
Took only about four pictures the whole time
Used a Neti Pot

It was a lovely trip for us. We are terribly sorry if we missed you on this trip, but hopefully we will be close enough this summer to catch everyone. Or, you know, you could come here. I would wait until the spring or summer though. Ok, that is about as far as my brain is taking me today.