Welcome, BK! And watch out for Mike. He's a troublemaker!

Welcome, BK! And watch out for Mike. He's a troublemaker!

Thinking I REALLY want to go into work today (even though it's Sunday) to get prepared for the first day of school tomorrow. But I have a tendency to go over the top with my classroom and my teaching and then I burn myself out. So I'm going to force myself to try and relax this weekend (even though I keep getting on my laptop and doing stuff for school). The first week of school is always rough, so I need to rest up and get myself psyched up.

You had me when you said "far left" and I agree with you--criminal behavior is always criminal and it should never be okay, no matter which side it's on. I think most of us can agree that no reasonable person would be okay with being threatened, harassed or attacked in the streets. But then you started generalizing all Democrats as being fine with criminal behavior of minorities. That's not true. Just like not all Republicans are okay with Trump's behavior. Not all Democrats are socialist tree-huggers just like not all Republicans are hillbillies and KKK members. Criminal behavior sucks, and it should be condemned. I don't agree with people making allowances for bad behavior when it suits their political ideology.

As far as Trump goes (since he was brought up here), we need to remember that whatever happens with his criminal cases will set a precendent. Can you imagine if Biden loses the 2024 election and decides to spread lies about election fraud, makes threatening calls to pressure state election officials to "find" him the votes he needs to win, installs fake electors, incites a riot with his inflammatory rhetoric and pressures Kamala Harris to reject the electoral college results and keep him in office instead? Republicans would lose their damn minds. If Trump gets away with that, then we have to be okay with Democrat presidents doing it too. Do we really want a country that runs like that?

Want a president that will try to fix the border issues and be harder on criminals that are killing and looting in the streets? Elect a level-headed Republican who stands for those things but who is not so emotional and unpredictable that people are afraid to give him access to the nuclear football. He/She would have a much better chance of beating Biden than Trump does. The key to either side winning is to get the moderate, independent voters on their side. The majority of people don't like chaos and unpredictability. People should be able to have fair elections, elected government officials should be able to have peaceful transitions into the office, and election officials should be able to do their jobs without the fear of radicals (or the president) threatening them.

Aw, Rock, that's wonderful. Here's to a side effect-free third round.

My call screen says "Scammer Likely".

Procrastinating. And thinking about making some mac and cheese for dinner.

Thinking it has been a lonnnnnnng week. My classroom is still not totally finished and school starts on Monday. But I'm just going to let it go and deal with the rest next week. Today was new student orientation. Only new students were supposed to attend. But I had only one new student and four returning students! They just wanted to come and meet me and see the classroom before school starts. One brought me a huge flower arrangement that is absolutely gorgeous. That totally made my week!

Thanks, Di! It's really scary that he doesn't understand why he's in the hospital, can't remember any of our names and can only give one-word responses. I really hope he improves as he recovers from the surgery.

I arrived back in Kazakhstan yesterday, and I'm trying to get over the jet lag and get things ready for the new school year. I have to be back to work on Monday for staff orientation, but I'm going to the school tomorrow and Friday to start working on my classroom.

Exhausted, jet-lagged and very worried about my dad, who just had brain surgery and is experiencing memory loss.

Not sure what you mean about traveling around the world. Do you mean in one flight?

When I lived in China it used to take about 13-14 hours to fly from Washington, D.C. to Beijing, and then another 3 hour flight to reach Chengdu (the city where I lived).

Trying to scrounge up a ride from the airport when I get back to Almaty. I might have to just take Yandex (like Uber), but I'll have 3 large suitcases so I was hoping for a bigger vehicle.

Nope! Hi Dee! Hi river!


Mike?

Does anyone else love pickles? Rosendale International Pickle Festival (in New York) will be held on October 15 this year. You're welcome.

It was definitely Mark. Super shifty.

Did you know there's a type of coffee in Bali that is super expensive? Kopi Luwak is the world's most exclusive (and most expensive) coffee. The main factor of its high price is the uncommon method of production. It is produced from coffee beans which have been partially digested by the Indonesian palm civet and then excreted.


When I lived in Indonesia one of my classroom parents had my TA and I over to her house and she served us this coffee. I had a really hard time taking my mind off the fact that I was drinking coffee made from coffee beans that had been pooped out by a mongoose.

I'm in an LDR, but I would never intentionally choose one. It was just the way the cards were dealt. Wouldn't you prefer to be able to touch and spend time together in person with your partner?

I know, right? What a novel idea. Thank goodness we came across this thread.

Sitting at the table with Mark, both of us on our laptops. I've been trying to get stuff ready for the new school year. I return to work on August 14!