Quick Randomday

School starts Monday.  There's no putting it off anymore.  I have a lot done, and a lot that will have to wait until after the first few days.  I will be teaching 2nd - 4th periods, starting with 6th grade, then 8th grade, then 7th grade.  This will be a bit of a challenge to my linear-functioning mind, particularly since I will also be hopping in and out of three different classrooms to do it and presumably will have to pack in and out everything I need.  I am still in search of the holy grail of 8th grade Latin teachers - a really great map of Caesar's Gallic campaigns.  The one I mainly use is an old map of Celtic Europe, with the naked Gallic warrior covered with a modesty shield made of black construction paper before I laminated it, and with a random bead I found in my old classroom taped onto Britain in the general vicinity of Jarrow.  (The Venerable Bede lived there.  It's kind of a pun.)

I was sad to say goodbye to my old classroom.  It had a great view of the quad and flagpole, even if it was too small and always smelled funny.  I will be in larger classrooms, but they keep blinds shut and always feel a little claustrophobic.  And the view isn't really worth opening the blinds for anyway.

Steve gave my laptop a lobotomy yesterday.  The essentials are back to normal.  Part of the deal was convincing me to switch away from Internet Explorer to Google Chrome.  I like the fact that it blocks the ads, but I haven't gotten used to the new interface yet.  This, combined with the new school year, is almost too much paralyzing change all at once.  I would like to hibernate with some books, knitting, and a large bag of something chocolate for a few days, please.

I went to the dentist yesterday to get my tooth adjusted.  (There was a problem with a filling I had recently, where it stuck up too much and altered the whole bite of my mouth.  It was compounded by the fact that I have no corresponding molar on the other side, so the bite was really off.)  It's much better now.  I asked about getting an implant on the other side to even things up, and it sounds like that might have to wait until after college for the kids.

Speaking of major expenses, I feel bad for Secundus, whose new truck ("Francesca") is in the shop.  We have just about reached the point where the necessary repairs authorized for her are equal to the amount that he shelled out for her in the first place.  We are optimistic that if these repairs are completed, she will no longer be in danger of exploding if driven.  We are not so optimistic about recouping these expenses anytime soon.  But on the bright side, enough money has been spent to more than qualify for a waiver on the emissions test.