Thursday, August 31, 2006

So I am driving home from Kumon, a tutoring establishment of foreign origins, and Jeb and Erin are smelling each others feet. They attempted to get their oldest sibling, Caleb, to smell each of theirs. He refrained emphatically. Although in his most honest of moments, he will admit to having the smelliest of them all. Of course, they are size 11's and more surface area produces more stink.

I am stuck in traffic at the corner of Keller-Hicks and Hwy.377. I sit through five, that is 5, light cycles. I begin to watch the people in the cars drive by partly as a diversion from the smelly conversation going on around me. I count 18 people talking on their cell phones and one other either a)talking to herself, b) singing along with some music, c) talking on her phone but it is one of those cyborg contraptions that fit inside of one's ear. Those things look like one of those characters, I cannot remember who, from a late Star Wars spin-off who had metal stuck to his face.

When we are riding in our cars, our phones make noise right before they ring. Just a little tidbit.

Leslie is doing Pilates on the kitchen floor. It hurts me. It is possible that one's body shouldn't do all that we make it do.

I here again question the value of assigning students the task of putting together an insect collection.

I am perplexed by the number of places that do nails, fingernails and toenails. Tomorrow, I will count them from home to work and report back to you. I predict thirteen.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Wonder over success
Home Depot over Lowes
McDonald's fries over all others
College over pro
Moo-linium Crunch over all other Blue Bell offerings
Pizza Hut over all others
Thin & crispy over thick crust
Coke over Pepsi
Fall over Summer,Spring, & Winter
Married over single. Good thing.
Country over city
Mountains big-time over beach
Cheddar over american or any other cheese
Whole over 2,1, or 1/2%. But I rarely have it. Take Lucky Charms, which definitely have more charms than when I was a kid, and have a bowl with whole milk. Captain Crunch also but take care of the roof of your mouth.
Maroon over any shade of halloween orange
Dog over a masked dude riding a black horse with his index finger and thumb protruding like he was playing toy guns with a friend as a child but never grew up.
Vermont over Colorado, but Colorado is closer.
Depositing your own check over direct deposit
Cnnsi.com or espn.com
Old house over new house
I am now tired of writing.
Goodnight.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

So, I go to AutoZone to pick up my $171.00 new alternator. While there, a nice girl named Jamie, asks me I would like for them to check out my alternator, to test it. Sure, I say.

They test it and it passes twice. Seems that the local mechanic shop was not quite accurate in communicating to me that my alternator was bad.

Si, the great gentle-man from Laos, puts the alt. back into the Sienna van. He decides to check a couple cables. Seems one has some corrosion down deep, he cleans, car starts, car runs, I save $, and now, Leslie and Deanne Thomas are just about in Hearne, Texas, a few short miles of their College Station destination.

Tonight, FWC had our Open House/Parent Information Night. Nice night. Glad a long day is done.

At home with Caleb, Erin, and Jeb. Erin sleeping on our bedroom floor. Jeb sleeping in our bed.

Just got a hug from Jeb after he ran in here in his gray athletic pants for sleeping attire and a shark tooth necklace.

These are the days. Don't let them slip by.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Today.

Toyota Sienna van, 148,000+ miles. "It is the alternator," the man says. A man from a local mechanic shop, a reputable one. $548.00+ to repair. I say, "wait." I give it some consideration. A gentle-man at school going by the name of Si because we couldn't pronounce his real name can fix anything. He is from Laos. I ask if he can fix an alternator, and he says he can. I call AutoZone and locate a new alternator for $171.00 if I bring the old alternator in. I will do this tomorrow.

The man at the local, reputable shop told me that the alternator would cost about $350.00. I have the satisfaction that I have had a small victory against the auto conspiracy establishment that takes advantage of autoidiots such as me.


Leslie and I go to the municipal court. A sort of errand date. She received a ticket about two weeks ago going about 8 miles over the speed limit. We can plead "No Contest" and request Deferred Adjudication, essentially probation. This we want to do, but we are prohibited from doing this because to qualify the offender must not have had another ticket within the last twelve months. Leslie misses it by about a week. We are told that we can appeal to the judge who will be arriving shortly. We ponder this and defensive driving with the help of Blockbuster but that seems just as costly, both in money and more so in time.

We wait.

She arrives and we are second on the docket behind a murder case.

Just kidding.

We are called in and it takes about 30 seconds to find out that, on this day, the law has extended some mercy. Deferred adjudication is her sentence which equals 90 days probation. Fine = $163.00.

School is running smoothly. Maybe I am becoming dispensable. I long for a fight.

Just kidding.

I visited with Jeb at lunch. He was excited to see me. Good stuff.

Some great words = When the kids say on their way to bed, "Are you coming to see me?"
Oh. Yes. I. Am.

Peace Up. A-Town Down.

Monday, August 21, 2006

I posted last on July 8th.

Since then I have:

floated the Frio River in Concan, Texas with the Auvermann's from Amarillo

painted Fort Worth Christian High School and Middle School

hired five teachers

sent my youngest to kindergarten

attended my parents 50th wedding anniversary celebration in Daingerfield, Texas

seen friends from Australia

started reading a book called The Price of Privilege

thrown some footballs to Caleb

read some books to Erin

wrestled with Jeb

started a new school year, my fifth here