Oh, all right...Here are some pics of Rider's creatures...

This is one of Rider's...um...rides.

Notes to Rider

Rider is very busy right now, and has not got the time or the energy for extended communication with me. I am using my blog for the very pedestrian purpose of letting her know how much I miss her. I was standing in the kitchen the other day, looking out at the flaming yellows and reds of our woods, and I got to thinking about her. The leaves aren't changing where she is -- I'm not even sure she can see trees. I will send her a picture of our glorious fall colors now that I've figured out how to upload images. I will also send pictures of her dogs, but until then, she will have to make do with a picture of my dog. Here's the Beag, Rider. Isn't she a cutie???

I miss you, sis.

Serenity Now

I am headed out the door in a matter of moments to view Joss Whedon's feature film. I'm excited about it. I didn't watch the series, but I love all things Joss, so it's sure to be a hit with me. There's something in me that responds to smart-ass writing. I like the wry humor--must be the Brit in me.

That's really all I have to say right now. I'm worried about the boring turn this blog has taken (or maybe it's always been boring, and everyone is just to kind to say something about it). I may have to take steps to liven up my life--in a positive way.

BTW, all you politically savvy correspondents out there: pray for a safe and viable election in Iraq on Saturday. Somewhere in the desert are some soldiers whose lives may depend on it.

Hello, oh Blog of mine...

It's been too long. How have you been? I've missed you!

I wish I had more noteworthy news to report, but aside from a brief trip to the 'Burgh and some massive panic in the classwork area, I haven't been up to too much. The world is moving at a regular pace; alas, my pace is slightly slower. I am behind in just about every subject but lunch.

I'm enjoying my classes. One minor irritant is the way other students treat me. I am somewhat of a bumbling fool, given to rambling about topics, creating projects that border on overkill, and buttering up my teachers. In my own eyes, of course, I am merely engaging in the material and registering excitement and enthusiasm that I actually get to be here, and to learn, and to be the best teacher I can be. I give a big ole FU to the classmates who don't get what I'm about. Actually, it's more of a "You'll See" than an FU, becuase I was in their shoes at one point. I've done my share of sneering at the non-trads. I never realized that they were laughing right back at the folly of my youth.

Don't get me wrong; my classmates like me (I think). But they're babies, and they don't understand the value of what they're doing. What happened to me will happen to some of them: they will cruise through their early twenties, convinced that they've figured it all out. Then, quite suddenly and without advanced warning, they will be in their early thirties and they will realize that they *had no freaking clue about anything*. So they'll go back to college and do it all again, and make the right choices this time (like actually going to class, investing in their own learning, and listening to their professors.

And some twenty-year-old will be making fun of them. Is it wrong of me to want to be there when that happens?

In the immortal words of the grumpy neighbor in It's a Wonderful Life, "Youth is wasted on the wrong people."