Random Midweek Blather

Leather briefcases in the Plaka in Athens, Greece. I bought one exactly like the second from the right in the bottom row 25 years ago. At the time it was raw and new, and I envied the one my professor had that was almost black with wear. As mine is now.

In the first three weeks of school, we've checked out 3,050 books. This is down from 3,892 last year. There are more students, but less access to the library. We've been in school three weeks, but it's still hot out. Oh, right, that's because the school year should have started yesterday. So confusing to my hard wired internal clock. You can't start school earlier because it is totally necessary to go to the Canfield Fair. Unless you are a three hour drive away.

I still have one class of interest inventories to mark. It has taken me longer this year because half of the students list The Hunger Games and Wimpy Kid as the only books they are interested in. *Sigh*

Told the 6th grade students last week that I would wear my time travel outfit today, so am wearing a beige blouse with enormous puffy sleeves and an elaborate lace front that I bought in 1981, a moss green wool riding skirt, a cameo, and brown leather boots. My skirt has a zipper, and I am still lacking a plaid wool shawl (essential to time travel, as is my woven wool bag I bought in Greece), but other than that, I am ready to time travel. Too bad the Verizon rep I talked to this summer confirmed my suspicions that there are no unlimited plans (why else is there a "Go To Date" feature?)-- it's strictly a per visit charge, which is exorbitant.

Picky Reader, who is a very responsible child, broke the screen of the iPod touch her grandparents got her against my better judgement. She was using the metronome app and it fell off of her music stand.This sort of thing cannot be fixed; for $149, Apple will replace the device. Of course, you need an appointment at the Apple store to even take it in. She is debating whether it is worth her hard earned babysitting money, because she feels she spends too much time with it anyway.

My first thought was "Yes, it's an excellent idea to give every student in the school an iPad. We would not break two a day, and they would all pay the school back the $500 when they lost or damaged the device."

Technology is not the answer to everything. Of course, it would not break my heart when an iPad was broken the way it broke my heart that the 1974 copy of McClintock's Cross-Country Runner turned up moldy beyond repair.  I have another copy, but it doesn't have the history that the other one did. I cried.