nice kitty

last night i took measures to protect my skin and all furniture in my home, and i guess oscar would benefit too...

i bought these rubber claw covers for snuffy to wear, and he was not happy when i snipped his claws and glued these things on, and it looks funny when he bears his claws now, cuz these things are shiny and just goofy looking. but now he won't scratch me or the sheets on my bed while he sharpens his front claws.

this cat had been very gentle with me until recently, and i finally decided after waking up with scratches on my feet that he needed something.

oh, one comprehensive paper is written, 3 to go... research is under way for 2 others. it's slow-going, but i'm pacing myself. if only i didn't want a nap so badly after school everyday! if only i were more self-motivating! i'm doing alright, though, i think.

cubs are in the biggest slump ever! this sucks!

oscar

my kitty oscar chews her food now! a few weeks ago i noticed she was just swallowing it whole, and i took her to the vet and they worked on her teeth, apparently she had gum problems, so i just watched her eat and heard the crunching... i feel much better, and i think she does too!

i have begun working on comps finally. jeez.

7-7-07: book 7

that's my prediction. i think the 7th and final harry potter book will go on sale on july 7, 2007.

i also predict that because i've got comps due in less than 3 weeks, and i will want to procrastinate, i will be on the blog a lot to divert myself. darnit.

i just made a personal connection to the statement that "our choices determine who we are"... and i feel like i suddenly truly understand the reason for giving choices - though i always felt there was benefit in giving choices - to children in my classroom. given the choice of reading two different books or given the choice to do "anything in the classroom" are obviously two different things. but what about the student who chooses to read a book in the latter of these situations. that student can really feel like a 'reader' if they choose reading over other free choices. and it tells me that they truly enjoy reading - more than the fact that they are engaged in reading when i tell them to read, it tells me they love reading because they chose it over everything else (although they don't have access to video games & television in my classroom).

it's like in harry potter 6 (here we go again with harry potter) when dumbledore is trying to tell harry the importance of his attitude toward the battle with voldemort. harry realizes that he would want to seek and fight voldemort even if he didn't have to, or whether he was the chosen one or not. i get chills at the part where harry is thinking: it was the difference between being dragged into the ring and walking into the ring with your head held high.

i'm reading a research article that has finally brought this epiphany to me where i can verbalize it rather than just have a feeling that i know - i knew choice was a good idea, now i understand why.

mom... Mommmm.... MOOMMMM!!!

last night on SNL tom hanks and that other guy did a skit of two kids in line at universal studios and their mom was walking around aimlessly with their food and they were shouting at her all the time - mom... Moommm... MOOOMMMM!

well i thought that was annoying and exaggerated until just now at panera this teenage girl just did that. first she did all the shouting and then she goes, "sit up here with me, i'm not sitting down there with ashley!" and the mom goes, "I'm not sitting up on those tall chairs. sit up there by yourself, you don't have to sit with ashley."

it was funny.

and as i look out to the outdoor tables there's a group of bradley seniors ( i know one of them) and they are talking and stuff - all girls and one guy, who is being sat on, and has been sat on for the last 15 minutes. he's not talking, just being kissed once in a while and eating. the girl is sitting side-saddle on his lap and talking to her friends. it's like she's sitting there and feels normal and comfy sitting on this guy. i don't like being sat on while i'm trying to talk to people. and i don't like sitting on people either. cuddling is fun and cool but in a group of talking people it's not normal or comfy to me. but this guy looks like he's only there to be sat on, and she brought him to sit on, and that's it.