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.

Some Filler While We Are Otherwise Engaged

Samantha is always happy to see me, but I am a distant second to Uncle Sergio.

At the Airport: Family Edition

And if we don't talk to you before, Merry Christmas!

Poodle Point of View: SOS

Shh...I am writing this while Blondie and the Bearded One are in the other room. This is very important. I need your help, NOW! You can't let them know you are coming to my aid. Be advised, they are highly unstable people with twisted personalities. I have questioned their incompetence in the past and my likelihood of survival among them, but the game has suddenly changed. TORTURE!

They recently quit feeding me extra meals throughout the day, as though I can live on my regular portion of dog food. I am starving all the time and they are using this against me. Around the time they quit feeding me they brought home a torture bag. Blondie puts treats in the back, knowing I will do anything for food right now, and then she locks me in for minutes at a time. Locks me in! For minutes! I understand from listening endlessly to the Bearded One that this is against the law.

Now, I wouldn't ask for help if that was all that was going on. I am asking because of today's events. It was awful....I don't even think I can talk about it. They took me out of the house and allowed two other strange people to violate my body with various probes. I heard words like "thermometer, vaccination, and health certificate." I don't know what that means, but I can tell you it is NOT good. Especially the one that was rammed up my....well...use your imagination. They also dropped some sort of poison in my ears. I thought I was a gonner then and fought for my life. Alas, I am no match for the vulgar human form. Please help me. They are currently preparing to shave and trim my hair. I can only imagine this is meant to break my spirit once and for all. I don't have much time.... Oh look, a treat in the bag!

Our Love/Hate Relationship with School and Portland

Finals. Done!
Swap teaching. Done!

All that stands between us and Arkansas are two and a half days, one veterinary appointment, and a lot of laundry.

I've Got Nothing

High school freshmen are great. At least the ones for which I am responsible. I really like teaching them about Diminishing Marginal Utility in terms of coffee shops and ice cream sundaes. I also like that they will spend ten minutes teaching me about Mormonism or Islam because it is how they were raised and they know better than me. Everyone is learning! The freshmen that I have no responsibility for but that I do observe are great for giggles.
Me: This is a picture of a rubber tree plant.
Them: Whoa, really? If you run into it will you bounce off?*
So, yeah, I'm loving high school.

Sergio took his first final of this semester today. He may or may not have done well. It is hard to tell because he has been playing online games since he got home and speaking in monosyllables. This is normal post-final behavior.


*Sergio asked if this student was joking. Nope.