Language & Grammar discussion

I must say the hardest part for me so far has been to come up with something interesting to name my topic/thread. Sometimes I feel the need to outwit/outplay/outlast, yet this is not really a competition-- and I really don't want to be the sole survivor here.

I truly enjoy logging in and reading comments. Occasionally I have something to say, but usually I just read & "lurk". I really like the fun and relaxed atmosphere that has been created by the members of the group.

My brain has run dry for the moment. A good night's rest will do much to restore the depleted supply of coherent thought.

Que Sera Sarah! Whatever will be, will be...

Look forward to your "Captain's Blogs" now and again, Sarah!

I have survived yet another day of torturous testing.

Why is it that my professional reputation boils down to tests that students take one day a year?

Why is it that so much money is spent to find out if I'm doing my job? That money could be used to pay me more. Or at least buy the supplies that I need to do my laboratory experiments.

I think children today don't get to be children as long as they used to when I was a kid. Too much pressure. Too fast paced. Too much exposure. Too much "stuff" (ie cell phones, video gaming systems, other various material possessions). Not enough parents saying "no" and meaning it. Not enough appreciation of "small" things. Not enough teaching and using of manners.

With some good rest my outlook and attitude will improve.

I just noticed I have mentioned rest in both of my posts. Is it really the cure I think it is?

Hear, hear. I agree with your "early twilight of being a kid" sentiments thoroughly. It's especially evident in early schools, in early homework loads, in the denigration of play (which is imaginative and generated by the kids themselves) and so forth. Oh, a soapbox! My kingdom (such as it is) for a soapbox!

And yes, as one who suffers from insomnia (and the detrimental effects it has on your immune system), I can say that rest really IS the cure you suspect. This morning I awoke after only 4 hours of sleep and there was no getting back to sleep. But drugs are anathema to me, so I still keep a-wishing and a-hoping that the next night will bring succor. Meanwhile, I drag myself to the mines each day and work through it.

Oh. And big stakes testing is king because it takes a very abstract thing -- teaching well and learning well -- and boils it down to a statistic (as if that proves anything). Politicians and edu-bureaucrats are addicted to statistics because it is the only thing they can grasp about an otherwise complicated thing (teaching and the vagaries of the human mind).

What? Still on the soapbox, is he? I'll will cease. And desist.

I feel purple with yellow polka-dots today.

My cat has deserted me.

She slipped out the door. WHOOSH! Like the wind. I couldn't stop her . . . or block her . . . or catch her.

Then I got mad.
"Fine! Frolic in the outdoors. Chase the birds. I don't want to patrol you litter box anymore anyway." But she is a cat after all. And in her catly ways-- now she wants to come back in. Only . . . I know in the couple of days she has had her fun, she now has visitors who I do not want to invite into my shiny new house. The fleas must stay out!--I decree. And as a result, so must she.

I gave her a home. I gave her food & water. I gave her a lap to sit upon & and happy scratches upon her little kitty chin and between her kitty ears. I miss her contented purrs. I miss her curling up against my legs at night when I read before I go to bed. There is something comforting to me about that 8 pounds of catness leaning against me. She is independent-- she does not NEED me-- but to know that she CHOSE to be close to me always made me feel special in some way.

It is true you know..."Dogs have masters....cats have staff". I was devastated 3 years ago when my 16 year old neutered tom (a true curmudgeon) died of kidney failure. He hated everybody except me...I think I was the only human he never bit. He loved chippies, cheese and asparagus (when he could get them!). He was far more affectionate than the tabby I inherited from my daughter when she left home...I am his servant and that is all!!

RICHARD IS RIGHT !!!

Get "Advantage" or those flea products you see on TV - they work - Your Kitty doesn't have to stay outside. Besides, it's too early in the year for fleas here in the North. You can order by e-mail, use your credit card & they will ship right to your door.
PS the cheap "store" brands don't work as well. Walmart products don't, either.
Marian

What!!!??? You can order fleas by email and have them shipped right to your door?? Would American fleas need visas to enter NZ?

Forget about e-mail . . . we have FLEA-MAIL!

And we'll be happy to take Visa, MasterCard, and Discover (no American Express, please) :)

Very good Sarah!!

Remember, the WalMart brand isn't as good

I use Frontline drops which dicourages not only fleas but ticks as well. In NE PA we have lots of ticks, and Frontline has been a wonderful prevention for the parasitic plight to which we are prone... The generic brands at W-M do not work and, I often fear that they are of substandard quality. A risk I would never take when it comes to my pets. The drops are great and it sure beats the old days of flea dips! Quite a few years ago,when we had our family of eight cats we had a flea dip production line. If it hadn't been so nervewracking for all of us it could have been an episode for a sitcom! All members of that cat family lived to be at least 16 yrs old. The last one lived to be 21- he was on insulin and thyroid meds and by his old age he was on Frontline. No stress there!

Thank you all so much for your comments! It isn't that I didn't know about these products-- I just didn't know how well they worked! I will hie to the nearest vet this very noon and acquire these miracle drops :)

What is NEPA, Mary? Almost NEPAL?

And while Frontline does work, god only knows the longterm effect the chemicals have on dogs/cats (a problem of modern-day society, we find answers that create new questions).

There's also a type of dust (totally inorganic- as all rocks are-- & chemical free) that you can put on the furry beasts-- it will slice and dice the fleas. Only problem is, I can't remember the name of it and I don't know where to find it.

That's it! Thank you Donna :) Does DE tend to float all over the house?

Aha. A new word of the day.

NE PA is Northeastern Pennsylvania.And you are right about the chemicals...I try not to think about it, which is hard for me-the worrier of all things!

Ohhhhh. Northeast William Penn land. The focal point of the political world (until Tuesday when Sourpuss gets her day in the sun again).

Hahahahahahahahahaha....NE, you crack me up! We have a female leader down under. We call it a nanny state....she knows what is best for us and by god, we had better do it or it will be a double-dose of cod-liver oil!! Have you heard about our famous 'anti-smacking bill'? Parents are not allowed to discipline their kids with a smack anymore! Her day in the sun - all nine years of it - is almost done (our elections this year). I hope you end up with a sensible male president who won't pander too much to do-gooders and tree-huggers, but ends the war that is damaging your country in all sorts of ways.

A-accent-on-men.

No reason a female can't accomplish all that, Debbie.

R

Uh-oh, it's poor Sarah's thread and we're threatening to derail it with male and female stuff. In truth, it's like Dems and Reps... often equally guilty when given positions of leadership. You can't generalize. I was just complaining about a particular female. But I'll behave. Starting... now!

Very true Ruth...but when I look at Maggie Thatcher and Helen Clark....and then Hillary Clinton....scary! And now I too will behave....from now!!!

uh-oh
i must pipe up
i have totally switched my normal preferences and would much prefer hill to over the hill because obama has no substance and put in purely machevellian terms only a force of nature
an egomaniacal ambition hog with the will to power could possibly pull us out of this decline of empire
hill has the ability to kill and anything less is going to kill us as a nation
when the bill comes due as it surely will during the next administration we are going to need someone who won't wither under fire
and who won't be upholding the status quo as mccain can
whether hill is an opportunistic manipulator with questionable ethics is irrelevant to me
she can govern and also has a strong ethic to uphold the traditional democratic principles of empowering the unempowered as well as the ability to hold her own on the world stage and diplomatic circles
no one else in the race can say as much

my apologies to sarah for continuing the debate on your forum

Please, no apologies. I'm enjoying this debate.

I have never understood the negative reactions Hillary C brings out. Never. I think she's incredibly smart and tough. And it's about time we had a credible woman candidate for President.

That said, it broke my heart to vote for Obama, but I did. This country is in such a Slough of Despond (not to mention in an incredible mess) that I think we need the rebirth of spirit that Obama can give.

R

yah-the smear campaign by the religious right and the conservatives on her during bill's admin still resonates with people and yet she still withstands something that i think would make me just want to hide from public view
the woman has courage and an iron resolve that we are going to need to survive the chaos of the coming years
obama is just hope without any backbone
i can't countenance the fact that we are again going to hand the thing to the conservatives and go even deeper into the morass of ill fated war, economic insanity, and global blundering

I used to have a bumper sticker that said, "Uppity Women Unite!"

Oh I am definitely an uppity woman....probably the reason I am still single after 5 years!! I agree with everything you have written about both candidates....and if they were the only 2 choices I would go for Hillary as she seems to have an innate integrity...I have already said what I think of Obama. But in my (first-hand) experience of strong female government leaders with integrity, they end up trying to run private lives. And that is just not on. I would never go into politics myself....I like to be liked...and that, I think, is the difference.

Yep.....I think I must be a Republican.....just as well I can't vote! I like any party that promotes personal responsibility and doesn't tell you how to behave 'for your own good'!!

Well said, Donna. HUZZAH!

Ok....OK! I am off down to the garden shed.....wake me up when you get sick of the cod liver oil!!!! Survival of the fittest does have something going for it....Hey.... someone should run that by Al Gore as a solution to the so-called global warming 'problem'!!

Why is it that a good haircut can change your views on life?

I dunno....aerates the brain....blows away the cobwebs???

Yes, I think a good haircut is like a new lease on life. My troubles fall on the floor with the discarded hair. I feel lighter. I can toss my head around and every hair returns to where it is supposed to be. "No worries for me, haha, I'm light as a feather!" Things that were once muddling my brain are now clear-- I know the path that I will follow. I am sure . . . not questioning or waffling in decisions that must be made.

Happy Mother's Day one and all!

Yesterday I attended my husband's family reunion. That was quite an experience. My own family is rather small (since I can compare it to his now) and we have never truly all been in the same place at the same time. Oh, we've had what we called "Family Reunions", but there were cousins who couldn't get away from work or spouses who chose not to attend. Ancestors tended to have, maybe on the outside extreme, 5 children.

On the other hand, my husband's family had anywhere from 5 to 7 children in each generation. The lawn was packed with relations he hadn't seen in 20 years-- and some he had never seen. Spouses were in attendence and showed how the family had spread into so many different names through marriages. I had always heard references to our "cousins", but the actuallity of it did not hit me until I saw them all in one place. There were scads of children in all age groups (some of which I have taught without knowing they were somehow related), which was great for my son. He had several new friends by the end of the afternoon.

We drank lemonade & iced sweet tea, ate way too much food and mingled for a while. After about 4 hours we were ready to go home, get away from the crowd and into some air conditioning. But all in all it was a good experience :)

If anyone is interested, this seems to be a fun web site for word play and games:

Fun With Words

Thanks Sarah...bookmarked!

I've had this poster since college days:

Procrastinator’s Creed

1. I believe that if anything is worth doing, it would have been done already.

2. I shall never move quickly, except to avoid more work or find excuses.

3. I will never rush into a job without a lifetime of consideration.

4. I shall meet all of my deadlines directly in proportion to the amount of bodily injury I could expect to receive from missing them.

5. I firmly believe that tomorrow holds the possibility for new technologies, astounding discoveries, and a reprieve from my obligations.

6. I truly believe that all deadlines are unreasonable regardless of the amount of time given.

7. I shall never forget that the probability of a miracle, though infinitesimally small, is not exactly zero.

8. If at first I don’t succeed, there is always next year.

9. I shall always decide not to decide, unless of course I decide to change my mind.

10. I shall always begin, start, initiate, take the first step, and/or write the first word, when I get around to it.

11. I obey the law of inverse excuses which demands that the greater the task to be done, the more insignificant the work that must be done prior to beginning the greater task.

12. I know that the work cycle is not plan/start/finish, but wait/wait/plan.

13. I will never put off until tomorrow what I can forget about forever.

14. I will become a member of the Ancient Order of Two-Headed Turtles (The Procrastinator’s Society) if they ever get it organized.

I LOVE IT!

Sarah,

That is fantastic. I love it. I am a procrastinator, and I really appreciate that bit of humor.

Well Andi, you know it took me a long time to get that typed up :) What with my own tendency toward procrastinating and then being easily distracted-- well, it's here now and I'm glad you like it! :)

I'm free, I'm free! WHOOOO-HOOOOO!

(Small dark cloud hovering over head)....I'm not.
(Perks up a little)
But it is Queens Birthday weekend...3 days off and then next weekend it is my BIG party!!!!

(frowny face) We don't have a Queen's birthday celebration-- and even though we have Presidents' Day, not all school districts observe it.

PARTY FOR THE 50th!!!!! Are we still going with the fondue and Black Russians?

I KNEW there was a good reason not to be a republic!!!!

Soooo....what will you do with all your freedom?

Well ... I guess I should amend my statement a bit-- I'm free of the students. There's still a lot of packing to be done. The district is building a new elementary school, so it's not the normal end of year "stuff everything into the cabinets and closets"-- the room actually has to be cleared out completely. I've only been collecting materials for 10 years, so I have it a bit easier than others who have been in the same room for the past 20 :) So there is that last little bit of business to take care of.

My son is taking swimming lessons and participating in the "Kids College" that's sponsored by the local junior college. We'll go to the library. We'll take a couple of weekend vacations. I'll enjoy spending my first summer in our new house. We'll go visit my parents in California. Then it'll be time to move into the new school and get everything set for the new year :)!

Mainly I'll just try to take things a little bit more slowly :)

Enjoy your long weekend!