wasteful me

I'm trying to reduce my "footprint." I didn't realize how much crap I produced until trying to go through a week without producing any. I'm thinking, also, that part of the reason we leave such a garbage trail behind us is that we really don't know how to do anything for ourselves anymore. There is the assumption that we know how to cook (to avoid take-out), know how to iron--!-- (to make our clothes last longer), know how to time-manage (to leave enough time to catch the bus in the morning, instead of last-minute driving. . . and to plan all our shopping far enough ahead that we have a ready stash of reusable bags to whip out of our pockets when we pick up dinner on the way home). Maybe learning how to do all this stuff (with the exception of cooking, which I can do) will be good not just for the environment, but for my mental health as well.

reunion

Reunion highlights thus far: conversation with the bus driver on the way home. And then realizing that I left without paying for my beer. (I also forgot my favourite umbrella. . . grrr). Hopefully the karma gods will forgive me the $6, which I am sure I have more than paid out to cover for others who have done the same thing in the past.

Having a good memory (well, aside from tonight's bill) can be a bit of a double-edged sword. There are only so many enthusiastic hellos you can muster up for people who don't seem to have significantly changed in your eyes, but to whom you may as well have gained 65 pounds, gotten several facelifts and lost half your hair for the time it takes for them to perhaps vaguely recall something remotely resembling your name.

I wish I had mi querido Mexicano to bring with me.

Reunions are overrated.

Teaching writing

The problem with email and instant messaging (and blogging, and text messaging, and. . . and. . . and. . . ) is that it is becoming more and more difficult to explain the difference between language used for speaking and language used for writing.

As much as I am enjoying my students' delightful essays (I do think English teachers are allowed a very unique window into their students' thoughts) I am at a loss as to how to effectively convey the idea that "anywho" is probably not the best transition word, especially in a Shakespeare-inspired essay?