I'm pretty sure that the ESL teacher at my elementary school didn't speak Japanese, which was the language most of her students spoke.

Oh ow ow ow ow ow. I.... for lack of a proper explanation, there is something wrong with my ears. Very, very wrong. Sounds that really shouldn't be bothersome in any way cause physical pain and a lot of mental anguish... so I'm probably crazy or something, but there's that.

And someone just gave lollipops to the entire class and the sucking noises make me want to die. I just told them all no food in class but they've chosen this moment, apparently, to all forget how to speak English. And the Haitian kids are calling me crazy. I understand enough French to know that much.

Sorry for the whining!

Where was elementary school for you, Hil? Okinawa, Hawaii, Manzanar?

Where was elementary school for you, Hil? Okinawa, Hawaii, Manzanar?

New Jersey. NYC suburbs. Some agency in Japan published a list of towns with good school systems, and our town was on the list, so a lot of Japanese businessmen who relocated to NY with their families for a few years lived in our town.

Neat! It's cool how little ethnic enclaves develop -- years ago a friend of mine with an obscure Czech last name was driving through Texas and accidentally stopped in a town where it turned out that her name was shared by a significant percentage of the residents.

I realize I'm being talky meat this morning, but there's nothing like having four guys doing major work in the basement to keep you slightly manic.

Going back to an earlier conversation, put me in the anti-time change group. I'm awake, and it's dark out. In 12 hours, I'll be heading home from work, and it will be dark out, or getting that way.

What's the upside there?

I'm taking a sick day today. I just feel like hell, and got no sleep last night.

Yes, I'm with the people who'd prefer their light after the work day. I rarely sleep later than the sunrise, so having it "later" means that I may get more sleep that way.

(But today, I was awake by 4-ish and couldn't fall back asleep so it's all moot anyway.)

My town was also a place where there were a lot of Japanese businessmen + their families. My mother tutored a lot of the wives and children in English after school - they liked her because she spoke a little -very little- Japanese from living there for a few years. I grew up thinking, "Ikimasho!" was some colloquial expression of hers from the backwoods of Maine until I read The Ginger Tree.

Last night a patron with significant ($500+) library fines was very angry about those fines and was yelling at a staff member. He claims never to have gotten the multiple notices, that he already pays so much in tuition, that he's an Iraq veteran, etc., and we should waive them all.

Turns out he is an Iraq veteran, and there was some dust up when he left the service because he didn't return equipment and was billed for it (which he said he returned, or shouldn't have to pay for).

So, unless the disability office tells me otherwise, I see no reason to waive his fines.

You had furnace excitement! And the process is really loud. And bangy. When my neighbor had hers taken out, I could feel it all the way on my second floor and was rather alarmed before I figured out what was going on.

In 5 minutes, I commence the comedy of 3 cats, 3 carriers and a car ride.