Wednesday, February 29, 2012

WNBP: Stuff You Should Know

Well, here we are.  Another Wednesday night is upon us and I am about to regale you with another Bullet Post full to the brim with interesting tidbits.  Most of it is stuff of which I am certain you are simply dying to know.

Seriously.  This isn't just me being completely egocentric again like that other time.  I really do believe you will live a better and fuller life for having learned this stuff.

And, if not, I would ask that you humor me.  I went back to school this week and none of the kids in my class seem even remotely interested in anything I have to say.  I'm starting to suffer from a little bit of the Reality Syndrome...


*I think you would be interested to know that I am writing this on my television.


*Not really.  I'm writing it on the new computer, but it is showing up on my television because that is what I am using as a monitor.


*I got a Mac Mini.


*After two years of fiddling around and trying to figure out how best to replace the sadly crashed laptop, this seemed like an affordable solution.  Most of my day-to-day surfing I do on the iPad these days.  After much research and number crunching, the Mini was clearly the best option for me.


*Went to the Apple Store last Thursday.  Was assigned an Apple Genius to assist me after apprising the greeter of my intentions.


*Then spent more time than was really necessary trying to convince him that the new Mini does, in fact, allow me to upgrade the memory at a later time. (and quite easily, too)  The conversation went something like this:


Apple Genius:  Does not.

Sheepish Annie:  Does too.

AG:  Does not.

SA:  Does Too.


AG:  Does not.  Hey, Other Apple Genius!  Can you add more memory to the Mac Mini?

OAG:  Yup.

AG:  Oh...


SA (doing a little head-bob-finger-wave movement) Oh, yeah, I TOLD you so!!!


*Then I had to write a check because my school's new direct deposit system is slower than the old one and that pretty much shut down the whole store.


*In case you are wondering, it will take two Apple Geniuses to process a check.


*I kind of felt badly, though.  My AG was a genuinely nice kid who apologized several times for not knowing enough to really be a helpful kind of genius.  He even thanked me when it was over for, "helping him to learn something new today."


*While the new computer isn't really as convenient as a laptop, it was a much more economical solution and is quite the kick-butt system compared to my dearly departed machine.


*I already had the keyboard and mouse.


*I think I may have spent more time explaining the memory situation to my AG than I did when explaining leap year to my students today.


*But that may have been due to my being less invested in the latter discussion and more willing to give up.


*Here's a fun fact you might want to know:  Back in October, there were little trick-or-treaters stepping over snowbanks to reach the candy.


*Then it became The Winter Of Green Grass And Balmy Breezes.


*Not much of a winter at all.


*I further think you will be fascinated by the idea that I have no plans for going to school tomorrow.


*Big storm a-brewing!


*The long kind.  The kind that starts on a Wednesday night and goes into a Thursday night.


*The kind where actual snowplows are required.


*We haven't had much need for snowplows this winter.  Or snow days.


*Don't get me wrong.  I think I'd rather get out of school a little bit earlier this year.


*Last year was so long I actually contemplated throwing a Fourth Of July party for the kids.


*That said, I am not going to argue when the call comes tomorrow morning.


*Long day at the Learn-a-matorium.  Lots of meetings for Ms. Sheep.  Not all of them pleasant.


*Longer day for my staff who had to stay in the room and cover the class because the little darlings were less than well behaved in my absence.


*Frankly, a snow day might be just the thing to keep me fully staffed.


*I'm kidding.  Only one of them actually threatened to quit and I'm almost positive that she was kidding.


*Almost...


*Weirdest thing said to me by a student in the history of ever:


I don't want you to lick me.  I can only imagine where that tongue has been over the years.


*I suppose if I'd offered to lick him this might have made some sense.


*I have never offered to lick a student.  I do not foresee any possible circumstance under which I might think, "Gee, I should clean that child like a mother cat."


*But the way he said it makes me wonder if he somehow fears my overwhelming need to start lapping randomly away so I probably should take a good long look at my behavior over the last few days.


*The second part of his statement was even more disturbing.


I'll bet you've used that tongue to eat BROCCOLI!!!  Gross!!


*You can see where I might find this whole conversation somewhat odd.


*I hardly ever eat broccoli...


*I am knitting a dishcloth.  I started it over vacation.


*I though you might like to know that.  This is a knitting blog in spite of the sad lack of yarn related activity going on around here.


*The Absurdly Gi-normous


*His adoration for this bit of greenery exceeds that of Romeo and Juliet.  He makes that pair look like rank amateurs in the field of Lovey-Dovey.


*Hence, I frequently find him hanging from the drapes and eyeing his beloved longingly.


*Call me a cold-hearted hater of love, but I do not approve of this relationship.


*I have forbidden it.


*The spider plant doesn't seem to care one way or another.  It hasn't said much on the subject.


*It might be playing hard to get, but I suspect it really isn't interested in having its leaves love-nibbled down to nubs.


*Since going back to school, I haven't been reading as much.


*I am almost finished with Butcher Bird: A Novel Of The Dominion, though.


*I've been meaning to get to that one for a while.  Glad I did.  It is a nice change of pace from some of the stuff I've been reading (and admittedly enjoying) of late.


*It kind of reminds me of Neverwhere: A Novel.  At least at the beginning.


*Fair Warning:  This author has a very flexible notion of Good and Evil, not to mention the concept of Hell.  He doesn't always portray The Bad Guy Downstairs as the villain and that might not be a comfortable thing for some.


*It's well handled, though and certainly thought provoking.  If you've read any of his other stuff, you'll know what I mean.


*I guess you probably already know about Davy Jones.  


*I'm sort of devastated.  As was The Organized Teaching Assistant.  We sang Monkees songs together.


*The Cheerful Teaching Assistant, who is still in her 20s, said we were crazy and who the heck were we talking about anyway?


*Yeah.  I'm old.  Old enough that I'm not going to even do links on this one.  You either know what I'm talking about or you don't.  I can't bear to think of someone having to chase down a link to know that Davy Jones dying is a bad thing.


*Marcia Brady would understand.  


*And no.  I'm not going to do a link for that either. 


*Don't make me come over there.


*Seriously.  Don't.  I'm old and it would take me half an hour to even get out of my recliner to beat you about the head and shoulders with my walker.



So there's all the stuff I think you need to know for this week.  I am chock full of interesting factoids tonight, aren't I?  Now I think I shall switch the TV back over to regular cable-type viewing and enjoy what I believe will the a very nice Night Before A Snow Day.  I think that this storm is one we can count on, but we should always keep in mind that these things can change.  Weather is fickle, after all.

If that is the case, I trust you all know to not try to discuss the matter with me as I trundle off to school...

SA

3 comments:

kmkat said...

Wait. Davy Jones DIED? On Monday? Why didn't someone tell me? He was my favorite Monkee.

Julia G said...

First Whitney Houston, now Davy Jones - he was just a good guy, and those songs by Carole King and Neil Diamond were great - today's autotuned lipsync-ers can't compare. The AGK's dalliance with the spider plant reminded me how much I miss my old spider plant - I nursed one along for a couple of decades before giving it away. They do have such an easygoing, undemanding personality. I'll have to add a new one to the kitty salad bar, er, plant shelf. Here's hoping you have just enough snow for a well-deserved day off, but it all melts by the weekend!

Donna Lee said...

Davy Jones had a young wife. Supposedly she said to him, "let's run upstairs and make love". He supposedly replied, "darling, at my age, it's one or the other but not both".

It made me sad to hear he had died.

I hope you all got some snow out of this storm. 50+ degrees here so no chance for snow. The daffodils are so ready to bloom, all it will take is a few hours of sunshine.