remind me never to buy anything off of ebay again. k?

thx.

When I first looked up my textbooks on the school website (the books i need for the classes I am taking, not the ones I am teaching), I sort of freaked because nary a single class that i was taking had textbooks assigned to it.

Turned out to be a massive mistake, mostly on the part of the bookstore (of course). So, today, I went back online and was pleasantly surprised to see a grand total of 5 textbooks (including one workbook?) for the three classes I am taking. [and yes, if you've been following along all the while, i will be teaching 2 different classes, taking 3 classes, working part-time at a new job (same employer), and still, you know, doing wife and mother things like cooking dinner and taking a certain cute first grader to school and taekwondo. I may have to begin medicine for anxiety this semester. But I am tough and I'll do it. I always have.]

And they all sound absolutely scintillating:

--Communicative Grammar of English
--Workbook to Communicative Grammar of English
--Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (which I have to get off of abebooks because it's out of print)
--Teaching by Principles
--Teaching ESL Composition

Not bad at all. And a couple of those are only 30 bucks or so.

So then I had the stroke of genius to check the classes I was teaching to get absolute verification on the books that I would be teaching from (the 102 was a given--the McGraw Hill Guide to Academic Writing or some boring thing like that), but the 120 (English Comp for Non-Native Speakers) was a little iffy. Mostly everyone said they thought it was the same book. But no one knew 100%. Not even the TESOL director. Nice. It was a good thing I looked it up, too, because as it turns out, they're different books (the 120 uses Writing Today something something something). So two preps! From two different books! YESSSSSSSSSS!!

AND THEN I decide, well, let me make sure that the 102 class has been assigned the books I think it has been assigned [Note: if you have finished the 'how-to-teach' class, which i have, you can pick your own texts from a list of pre-approved texts. however, since I was not a teacher officially when textbooks were adopted last semester, i would have to teach using the default McGraw-Hill Guide]. This, too, is a good thing. Because when I pull up my section number, lo and behold!, the 2nd Vol of the Norton Anthology of English Lit and, horror of horrors, Great Expectations.

So I called the woman in charge of book orders and told her. So she's going to fix it. She said I must have been given the section of another GTA who does not follow the RULES AT ALL or there was a massive mix-up and some brit lit 2 class is buying the mcgraw hill guide to academic writing. HA.

BUT, she did tell me that my desk copies were available and I could come and pick them up. I'm going to leave work today at 2:45 to pick Carla up from school, and hopefully Bellee can go with me to the school to get them (I haven't received my parking decal yet, unfortunately. I think it is in the mailbox at my old apartment. I have to go over there and get the key back and check. Kudos to the post office for forwarding mail /sarcasm)

in other news, Carla started first grade this morning and it was good. She was very excited. She strolled into school with some sunglasses that Bellee had given her. She was ultra-cool this morning in her jeans, flowered empire waist camisole tank thing and brown 3/4 sweater. And tennis shoes, because it is first grade. She wasn't happy about the tennis shoes. But oh well.

I have a lot of work to do to make my office habitable for the person who will replace me. Whoever that may be and whenever they may start.

Do I really want to switch to LibraryThing? I have a lot of friends over there. And this is generally the good thing about doing these sorts of things--that way you can bogart books from your friends' libraries. ahem. discover new reading materials, i mean.

but the thing about it is that on goodreads i have at least 400 something books in my library, and they are all tagged and nice and neat. And right now librarything can't import tags (but they're working on it). So i would definitely have to pay, and I'd probably do a lifetime for $25 because that's the most economical, right? and on top of paying for it, i would have to go in and add all my tags again one at a time. so i might just wait until they've perfected the import to include tags.

What advantage does LibraryThing have over Goodreads, oh-people-in-the-know?

They both have the same functionality, pretty much. I think with Library Thing you can add in bulk. But you also have to pay for LibraryThing (not a lot, but still), while goodreads is free.

Hmmm. Just curious.

So I was in the kitchen, cooking Carla's dinner and she comes in and asks me, "Mommy, what channel is the weather channel? I want to see if  it is going to rain." So, I say, "Channel 38. Have fun."

A few minutes later, she comes back in the kitchen and says, "Mommy, the weather channel is NOT boring! It's like if you had bought me a puppy! There's going to be a tornado somewhere and it's going to rain all over the world! And I think there's going to be a tornado here, but I REALLY have to go to the bathroom and I'll probably miss it."

Then later, I tell her to come and eat, and since it's just the two of us, we sit at the little table. And do you know what she asks? If we can watch the weather channel. 

yeah.

 

minor friends-cut. mostly people who haven't updated in forever. if the last thing you posted was from Christmas of 07, then I probably don't even know who you are.

Bought: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien; and Atonement by whoever wrote it. Ian somebody. McEwan? I'm reading TTTC first.

bored.

Do you think people who don't know the difference between "your" and "you're" should be strung up by their gonads? You do? Then you should visit GrammarBlog.

For a laugh, go to English Fail and check out the Top Funny Posts (right-hand sidebar). Warning: some are NSFW and some are just not that funny.

For some interesting word and phrase origins, or for ever-exciting dictionary talk, visit Word Origins.

Interested in a little lexpionage to enliven your day? Pop over to Wordspy.

And the ever-popular and politically incorrect engrish.com

That's all I've got.

It's time for bed. right?

Oft him anhaga are gebideð,
metudes miltse, þeah þe he modcearig
geond lagulade longe sceolde
hreran mid hondum hrimcealde sæ
wadan wræclastas. Wyrd bið ful aræd!


Swa cwæð eardstapa, earfeþa gemyndig,
wraþra wælsleahta, winemæga hryre:


Oft ic sceolde ana uhtna gehwylce
mine ceare cwiþan. Nis nu cwicra nan
þe ic him modsefan minne durre
sweotule asecgan. Ic to soþe wat
þæt biþ in eorle indryhten þeaw,
þæt he his ferðlocan fæste binde,
healde his hordcofan, hycge swa he wille.
Ne mæg werig mod wyrde wiðstondan,
ne se hreo hyge helpe gefremman.
Forðon domgeorne dreorigne oft
in hyra breostcofan bindað fæste;
swa ic modsefan minne sceolde,
oft earmcearig, eðle bidæled,
freomægum feor feterum sælan,
siþþan geara iu goldwine minne
hrusan heolstre biwrah, ond ic hean þonan
wod wintercearig ofer waþema gebind,
sohte seledreorig sinces bryttan,
hwær ic feor oþþe neah findan meahte
þone þe in meoduhealle mine wisse,
oþþe mec freondleasne frefran wolde,
wenian mid wynnum. Wat se þe cunnað
hu sliþen bið sorg to geferan
þam þe him lyt hafað leofra geholena:
warað hine wræclast, nales wunden gold,
ferðloca freorig, nalæs foldan blæd.
Gemon he selesecgas ond sincþege,
hu hine on geoguðe his goldwine
wenede to wiste. Wyn eal gedreas! (lines 1-36)

Then, lines 92-110:

Hwær cwom mearg? Hwær cwom mago? Hwær cwom maþþumgyfa?
Hwær cwom symbla gesetu? Hwær sindon seledreamas?
Eala beorht bune! Eala byrnwiga!
Eala þeodnes þrym! Hu seo þrag gewat,
genap under nihthelm, swa heo no wære.
Stondeð nu on laste leofre duguþe
weal wundrum heah, wyrmlicum fah.
Eorlas fornoman asca þryþe,
wæpen wælgifru, wyrd seo mære,
ond þas stanhleoþu stormas cnyssað,
hrið hreosende hrusan bindeð,
wintres woma, þonne won cymeð,
nipeð nihtscua, norþan onsendeð
hreo hæglfare hæleþum on andan.
Eall is earfoðlic eorþan rice,
onwendeð wyrda gesceaft weoruld under heofonum.
Her bið feoh læne, her bið freond læne,
her bið mon læne, her bið mæg læne,
eal þis eorþan gesteal idel weorþeð!


The funny thing with Anglo-Saxon is that to a person unfamiliar with the language, it frequently looks like gibberish. But when they hear it pronounced, they're surprised at how many words they can pick out.

I think I'm at my geek limit for the day.

BTW, the second segment I posted is the influence for the song Aragorn sings in LotR:tTT "Where now the horse and rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?" Nice, huh?

Remember the Power Team? If you're not from the US, or are from certain north-eastern and/or western areas of the US, you may not know what the Power Team is.

AND I PITY YOU.

I really do.

I remember being in highschool, cramming into a church somewhere in Auburn with a bunch of my fellow youth group members, watching Spectacle for God in its truest form. The Power Team.

( Behold )

And then I find out that the Power Team is even responsible for God's greatest wonder (second only to JesusChrist himself) and Power for Good and the Republican Party, devotee of Logan's Steakhouse*, Chuck Norris! And I quote: "CHUCK NORRIS and his entire family now follow Christ after seeing a Power Team crusade."

Can you believe it???

And you can even buy "Power Apparel for the Power Believer" on their website (www.thepowerteam.com).

*Chucky recently visited the city I live in campaigning for the local republican candidate for who knows what, and my co-worker saw him eating at Logan's Steakhouse. I guess things haven't gone so well for the Chuckmeister since "Walker, Texas Ranger" was wrongly yanked from the airwaves and forced into endless syndication.

I'm sure there are some missing. Warning: it's long.

( To-Read Booklist 2008 )

I might be missing a few, but OH WELL. I'm working from memory. My knuckles are swollen from the heat and the typing. And perhaps from the lack of water and sleep. Anywho. I'm going to see my bestest lapsus_lingue at her potential new pad!

So that I can find it later because Carla wants one:

http://www.amazon.com/Insect-Lore-1010-Butterfly-Garden/dp/B00000ISC5

First, with the movies. There are spoilers under the cuts.

I had no idea that there was yet another Highlander movie. I was a fan of the show, but not a fanatic...I think I mainly watched it on reruns on USA or some channel similar, several years ago when it was on TV still in sindication. I was never a huge fan of the movies, mostly because I don't really like Christopher Lambert. I did watch the last Highlander movie (4, I think Endgame, but mainly because it featured Adrian Paul, who is HOT). So when I was at Movie Gallery over Memorial Day weekend, and I saw the case for Highlander: The Source, I picked it up. My mom and my sister are both fans of the movies, so I figured it would be a good movie for them (We always get several movies, each chosen for a particular family member. My dad gets action movies or thrillers--his movie was Untraceable. I'll get to that one in a minute).

( I had no idea what I was getting into )

( Untraceable--big spoiler for the ending under here )


( The Golden Compass--slight spoilers, but if you've read the books you're safe )

( Stephen King's The Mist )

I'm going to have to cut this short. I've spent all DAY writing this, and I still haven't gotten to the books or LOST!!!! last night. So I'll probably post something else later.

( pigture )

it's the little things that bring me pleasure.

You would not believe how many pigtures I took last night, by the way.

courtesy of lapsus_lingue

e.l.f. makeup has been recently bought by Nordstrom's, who is going to repackage their cosmetics and sell it under Nordstrom's brand. As a result, they are selling all the makeup with the e.l.f. label for just a $1 each. PLUS enter the coupon code CAROLINA and get 7.50 off your first $15. You'll still have to pay shipping, but it's just $6.95 for standard. Which, and thank you lapsus_lingue for the math, works out to free shipping for 15 items. YAY! Good, cheap makeup FTW.

I don't know what I am going to do with so much lip gloss, but I will be happy figuring it out.

So I made it to my goal--I made it a few weeks ago in fact. I'm at 67 going on 68, soon to be 69 then 70 (as soon as I finish all the Narnia books, which shouldn't be long). So here they are, rated and everything.

The rating system: By all means, these ratings are subjective. More than anything they evaluated my enjoyment of a book. I took different things into account for rating the books, so if you have any questions about any of the particulars, just let me know.
It was on a scale of 0-5, but nothing is so bad as to deserve a zero (or, at least, I didn't read it this year). For the math geniuses out there, 2.5 is average, 3 is good, 4 is great and five is excellent.

( Books I've Read 2007 )

Why doesn't the NintenDogs game come with a warning label that it might break the hearts of young children?

Carla has three puppies on her nintendogs game (which we bought because we live in an apartment and therefore cannot have a dog). She accidentally sold one of them back to the pet store in the game--and once you've done that you can't get them back again. This is the second time she's done this since she got the game last year, and both times she wept uncontrollably.

I can still hear her now, emitting a wild squeak every few minutes (she's in my sister's room, which is where she sleeps when we're at my parents' house).

She's also wearing pink footie pajamas. She'll be okay.

Thanksgiving was good--fried chicken (we don't do turkey), honey-baked ham, dressing, momma's potato salad (my favorite!) and two roasted hens. plus other stuff. it was just us--momma, daddy, linde (my sister), Charlie (my husband) and carla. so there will be left-overs for weeks, which is what's supposed to happen, after all. We went shopping today to pick up some stuff for Carla--her birthday is two weeks before christmas, then you've got christmas, then two weeks after christmas you've got Los Reyes (more presents). So we're stockpiling.

I also bought $50 of scrapbooking stickers and papers and rub-ons and CRAP for $25 at Hobby Lobby today. Who feels accomplished? I do. Who's only completed one physical scrapbook page in her entire life? Why, that would be me as well. Let me tell you, when I go for something, I go hardcore. And did you know that Hobby Lobby pretty much has at least half of their store on sale at 50% off all the time? The departments vary, but dang. That's a lot of sales merchandise. Like today, all of their scrapbooks and scrapbooking supplies were 50% off.

Tomorrow? We're driving to Columbus, GA, to go shopping because it's the Iron Bowl in Auburn tomorrow and, even though Auburn is closer, it's not worth the hassle. And Columbus has a toys R us. and a Michael's.

Maybe I can be good and complete my Carla shopping this weekend. Then i just have to worry about the rest of my family (which is considerably more difficult)  

Currently Reading:
Marked by PC Cast and Kristin Cast
The Magician's Nephew CS Lewis (Book one of The Chronicles of Narnia)
How to Be Lost by Amande Eyre Ward

Plus I have pillaged my sister's books yet again. Mostly cheap palate cleansers, if you know what i mean. 

More later, with feeling. And pictures.