Busy in a Good Way
WORK, TEACHING: Thanks to shelleybear I'm on my way to cyberteaching. We downloaded Skipe; the only problem seems to be the webcam we bought. It is supposed to track my face, but its idea of tracking is pretty lame, and we (by which I mean womzilla can get it neither to track well nor to stop tracking. And my computer is old enough that the image will lag. Still, Skipe seems to have many potentials I have yet to explore, and the idea of just holding a lesson over the Internet instead of having to write out everything is delightful, almost intoxicating.

In-person tutoring goes well. I feel sorry for one student who has cerebral palsy and is set on taking the LSATs (for entrance to law school) but was denied accommodations like extra time. He's taking it anyway; he'll do better than he would have without me, but not at all well, and I feel saddish about the whole thing. Even with accommodations, he may not do well enough, but we'll probably keep working together and there is at least hope for the next time.

On the other hand, one student has the potential to be my first vicarious 800 (out of 800) on the SAT I. I have had two vicarious 800s on the SAT II in Writing, and he could do that o the SAT I writing too. He's slightly annoying in that he argues with me about answers being wrong, but then I argue back and he finally says, "Yes, I can see that." Well, I'm there to explain, and I'm glad he's not just passive.

RATS: Our Sylvie has some small tumors removed today, but she's home and recovering. We consider her one of the decorative rats, but she seems to be getting more affectionate in her old age (23 months old). She even explored my mouth for rodentistry a couple of times! She's in a post-op cage, with adult diapers instead of regular litter; I put in Celeste, a very laid-back and sweet rat, to keep Sylvie company.

Tonight King Pippin ("He's just a BAYBEE!") is done with quarantine. He seems to be a pure PEW (pink-eyed white--albino), instead of having platinum or champagne markings as I'd thought. We tossed him right in with the Latin Kings and Teddy Rattsevelt, counting on puppy license--that is, that he's too young to be seen as a threat. However, Teddy is being Captain Bristle Butt and butt-fighting with Pippin's nesting box--yes, Pippin won't come out, and Teddy is fighting the box. The rest of the adults in the cage seem curious but not aggressive. We'll see what happens; we can always take Pippin back into his old cage and reintroduce them more slowly.

Life with rats--at least it's always entertaining!

Mood: reportorial