Royally Random

For the record, I still think it rocks.


~ So the book I'm currently reading is an inter-library loan.  From the Library of Congress.  I'm a little mind boggled.  I'll admit I don't know much about the LoC (and I'm too lazy at the moment to google its wikipedia page) but as I understood it, it was a library of important historical documents and stuff.  Things full of clues for cheesy Nicholas Cage characters.  Things used for research . . . not pleasure reading.  Now I'm picturing people wandering around like I do at the local library and picking out a stack of books and finally heading up to the desk to check them out and pulling out their LoC library card.  And I kind of want to do it.

~ I also kind of want to edit their wikipedia page to say that there is a secret family of green cats living in the walls. *wink*Katie*wink*

~ From the Securing-my-Place-in-the-Deepest-Circle-of-Hades File: something about the sacrament hymn we sang today reminds me of Bach's Toccata & Fugue.  Every time I hear it.  I don't think they're in the same key, but maybe close ones?  Anyway, when there's time for the instrumental playings because the priesthood passer dudes aren't ready yet (which usually happens, it's a shorter song) I totally feel like the scene is being set for some creepy happenings at an old abandoned castle in Eastern Europe.  I shan't name the hymn so as not to spoil it for anyone else but . . . yeah.  There it is.

~ Have you ever wondered what the world would be like today if Hitler had been accepted to that art school in Austria or wherever?

I get kind of bored sometimes when Luke's at work.

~ If (SPOILER ALERT) Pinocchio/August and Emma don't end up together by the end of the series, this show will totally be ruined for me.  As of about 30 minutes ago.

Also - if you aren't watching Once Upon a Time, how are we friends? :-)

~ So I relearned how to calculate the are of a triangle this week.  I had to relearn it because I sort of remembered, but I haven't used it since, like, 9th grade.  Sometimes it's kind of hard to resist telling the kids that they've learned everything they need to know about math as of third grade (as evidenced by the fact that I didn't have to relearn anything for third grade math, but I have for fourth and fifth).  Because seriously, when was the last time you used the quadratic equation?  The pythagorean theorem?  Who even remembers those formulas?  Or what they're used for? Believe I don't, I just remember their names.  Because they seriously made my life a living hell in high school and college.

Don't get me wrong, I see a little bit of a point to a basic instruction in algebra.  The idea of manipulating numbers according to what information you have in order to find what you need - that is useful.  As evidenced by the fact that on their homework nearly all of them missed 8 = y / 4 . . . but as soon as I switched it around to y / 4 = 8 they totally got it.  So the idea of taking a number out of anywhere and knowing about how to fill it in - good.  Memorizing a bunch of complicated formulas that can only be used for one specific thing that you're NEVER going to actually need to find in real life - the dumbest thing I've ever heard of.  Seriously, how often do you need to find the circumference of a right trapezoid?  Or the hypotenuse of a cubic sphere?

And yes, I know those are all totally screwy.  I'm just throwing out every piece of math vocab I remember.  I'm willing to bet it's as meaningless to most of you as it is to me. (Dad, you totally don't count.)  Anyway . . . coming off the soapbox . . .

~ From the Should-Have-Seen-it-Coming File: telling a couple of kids Luke's name when they asked and they immediately ask "is his last name Skywalker?"  And then mentioning that's how he got the name Luke.  And no more work was gotten out of those two that day.  (and yes, Katie, it was Eric and Mr. "Awk-werd!")

~ Our chain smoking downstairs neighbors are moving.  We'll be celebrating by opening out front windows for the first time ever pretty much the second the leave.  I am so excited.  Hopefully it'll be a little cooler this summer.

~ Birthday month starting Tuesday!!!  And I have an awesome husband who rolls his eyes and rolls with it.  Not that I, like, try to insist on a Mediterranean cruise or a trip to India or anything.  But we are soooooooooooooo going to Arctic Circle sometime this month.

I dream big. :-)


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I might have posted this before.  But it's pretty much the musical equivalent of tilt shift, so that's okay.

So It Turns Out I'm Human . . .

So you remember waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back when you were in elementary school and you thought the teachers lived at the school and more or less ceased when class wasn't in session?  (and don't try to pretend you didn't think that, lol)

You are about to be topped.

So.  Fourth grade this morning.  Teacher wasn't there.  Judging by the situation I'm guessing this was a planned absence with a sub found in advance.  And then the sub called in sick.  Good times, no?  Fortunately that class has a semi-student teacher . . . I believe they are referred to as Level 2 teaching students?  Or something like that?  They're in the classroom but doing more observing than teaching, but maybe a little teaching sometimes . . . or something?  Whatever.  Anyway, the point was that she was there, and a good thing too!

So the powers that be are frantically trying to get another sub, and I have no idea what the deal is or why it's taking so long, but along about 9:30 there's a call to the classroom with (I believe) an update.  So I talk to the semi-teacher briefly and she says she's the teacher unless/until they get a sub, and I wish her luck - and then.  Oh, then.  Our good friend Eric feels the need to chime in.

Eric: I mean, what's up with that?!  Subs aren't allowed to get sick!

Me: They're people too, you know.

Eric: No they're not, they're robots!

To sum up the conversation we had when I could breathe again: Subs are robots, that's why it's so easy for teachers to get a sub when they can't be there.  Teachers are human.  I'm not a teacher, but I'm an aide so I'm not a robot.  Isn't that reassuring? :-)


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To celebrate not being a robot. :-)

Restless Bookworm

Wanna hear something weird?  You may have noticed that it's been . . . a while since my last post.  Suffice it to say this has been a rather uneventful and somewhat bland month.  BUT - I was looking at my stats page the other day . . . because I'm weird like that and like to see how many people are checking me out online.  Anyway.  For some reason this month has gotten more hits than any other month ever, except last June when I did that 30 day thing.  I have no idea why I am apparently the hottest thing ever in Russia right now . . . but it's a major ego boost, so I'll take it! :-)  (also: привет, мои друзья!)

Also: I despise this stupid new blogger layout.  With a passion.

Anyway.  Onto "real" topics.

I've been having quite the struggle finding good books for the last couple of months.  I've mentioned it to a few people, but it seems like I'm getting really picky about what I like to read.  On the one hand, it's really weird because I've always been the girl who reads everything and dislikes almost none of it - but in the last six weeks or so I've put down, like, five books just because I couldn't bring myself to finish them.

Back in the day I was more like a book-goat.  I read everything, with absolutely no discrimination, more or less.  I remember going to the library during the summer as a kid.  I'd check out a dozen or so books, and approximately five days later I'd've finished them all and be ready to go back for more.  But no one else was done with their books yet, so I had to wait.  And out of sheer desperation I'd read everyone else's library books too.  It was almost like going down a ladder - in the course of about two weeks I'd start out by reading my books - a mix of Beverly Cleary types to Star Wars novels from the adult section of the library (and you better believe nothing could make me feel more grown up, lol!) and then I'd read Ashli's books . . . and Shayla's books . . . and finally Rian's books, and since he's six years younger than me and we're talking about the still-in-Idaho-Falls-timeline here we're talking about a 12-year-old reading the books a 6-year-old checked out due to sheer desperation for something to read.  It was not exactly pretty.  And I may still have this book memorized.  Going on two decades later. (holy CRAP, I'm getting old . . . )

So . . . yeah.  I read everything.  During the school year we didn't go to the library so I read the books in the house over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.  Still have some of them kind of memorized too.  We all got books for our birthdays - and I was always getting in trouble for reading everyone else's books before they got a chance . . . but a new book in the house was like manna from heaven!  Christmas was the most glorious time ever because it meant at least twelve new books.  And I'm sure grandma and grandpa remember the time I spent the whole visit doing literally nothing but frantically reading the last five books of the Work and the Glory series.  We had the first four at home and I'd read them at least a dozen times and I was DYING to just finish them already!  Five books.  Couple thousands pages or more.  Four days.  I did it.

That's still one of my proudest accomplishments.  Even if it's not one I exactly bring up a lot.

Anyway.  I guess maybe it's something to do with the fact that I have a library card, a goodreads account, and a car but I am totally losing my patience for so-so books.  There are still plenty that totally hook me right away and blow me out of the water by the end.  But there are more and more  that I just can't bring myself to pick up after a few chapters.  It's really weird.  For me it's kind of disturbingly weird.  Like, what's wrong with me that I can't enjoy all books anymore?  We all know I'm totally over the who LDS fiction thing, but the over all fiction thing really freaks me out.  I know I'm exaggerating, but on the other hand I have had six duds in the last six weeks (literally, I just checked on goodreads) and when I get a string like that it's depressing.  I mean, six out of fourteen is practically half!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway.  I just felt like a little bit of complaining/semi-ranting.  The good books are still out there, they're just getting harder to find I guess. (totally open to recommendations!  and you should totally get on goodreads if you're not!!!)  Back to my current book.  Which is so far, so good.

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Tilt shift is seriously the coolest thing on the face of the planet.

Even When I'm Not Trying

So I had no intention of pulling any pranks yesterday. None. Whatsoever. Frankly, I'm pretty sure there are a couple that can't be topped.

Keep that in mind as you enjoy this conversation from yesterday afternoon.

Luke: What's the date today?

Me: The first.

Luke: Of April?

Me: Yep.

Luke: Hey, it's April Fool's Day! *takes drink*

Me: Yep . . . oh, by the way I'm pregnant. (said sarcastically)

Luke: *chokes* WHAT?!?!?! You're kidding right?!?! Wait . . . that was a joke. Right? Was it a joke? It was a joke.

Me: *facepalm*

I didn't even try to make it believable. It was a spur-of-the-moment, random statement that we were both going to laugh at . . . and he "fell" for it anyway. I must be better at pranks than I thought.


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Poor kitty . . . how can such a look of terror be so adorable?