Saturday, September 13, 2014

Random ramblings

Well, the imp missed a solid week of green or better days at school, this week. The school we chose tries to teach more than just curriculum--they try to teach responsibility, too.  Unfortunately for the imp, his mind works like mine does, kinda chaotic, and he's having trouble remembering to put his finished stuff in his takehome folder, and his not-finished stuff in his work-at-school folder--he just shoves it all willy-nilly in his desk.  Yesterday, his teacher cleaned his desk out and off, and told him where to put what.  Twice. 

Which meant he got a yellow day. 

Which, in turn, meant that he didn't watch TV after homework (and yes, I made him do his homework last night--I want to get him into the habit of doing it immediately, not waiting until the last minute). 

And which means that I need to figure out a system in his room for putting away his toys to help him get into the right mindset.

The pixie is starting to not call me to clean her up after using the bathroom.  This led to her having a small smear in her undies yesterday, which the preschool teachers spotted, and changed her bottom half out from the clothes kept in her backpack. 

So, instead of the full-length leggings she wore to school, she came home in capris under her dress.  And got cold and stayed cold all day. 

Then again, she's also a little bit sick.  Not enough to run a fever, but enough to be a little miserable, and throw her appetite off.  I've been a little more understanding of bad behavior, but not a whole lot.  And not by letting her get away with it.

I measured the two of them against a wall last week.  The imp has grown about half an inch in three months.  The pixie?  An inch and a half.  No wonder we can't seem to keep her in dresses that go to her knees--it seems like all the height added has been in her legs.

The cats have gotten squirrelly as the temperatures have cooled (yesterday didn't quite make sixty degrees for the high).  Shadow, in particular, has been acting out of character--she's been tearing through the house, batting a toy between her front feet like it was a soccer ball.  She's also been picking up the catnip fish and carrying them somewhere more comfortable (read: warmer) to snuggle like a small child with a stuffed toy. 

Mom tells me that our dog is still making trouble with the other dogs (read: she's an alpha personality settling into place among beta and omega dogs), but that she's just pudding sweet with my mother.  A very, very loving little dog that likes to curl up at my mother's feet. 

And that she's got great manners in the house. 

I really, really wish she'd shown that here. 

So, unfortunately, the racist twit turned her paper in by the extension time I gave her, and unfortunately, it was a good paper.  I can't fail her or boot her out of class for sheer stupidity, and she's not given me any more reason.  And she's too dumb to realize just how ostracized she is now.  I strongly doubt she's going to get anyone to workshop her paper, next week, and strongly doubt that anyone's going to let her read theirs. 

I got the first paper graded and turned back by Friday--a week after I'd picked them up.  The upcoming Monday is freewrite day, Wednesday is Workshop day, and next Friday I have another paper coming due.  So I have a week with no grading, then I've got paper two to pick up and organize and start on. 

This week, I had a short story come to mind.  I started fidgeting, just playing with words while I was waiting for the class platform to cycle (in vain, as it turned out--it never did work that night).  Started out by describing a match and what it's useful for in general terms, and then had a character butt in and assert "I ate them like candy." 

Um...what? 

I gotta know more.

Four thousand words, and that makes three stories that don't fit anything or anywhere else.  I'm thinking about just collecting those and popping them out in a collection once I've got enough.  Right now, those three make up about 13,000 words, or so. 

At least that story is out of my head, and has let me go, now.  Next?  Revising Fire and Forge for a second draft. 

I'm hoping to have that done by the end of the month, and have it out to beta readers by the beginning of next.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Sorry, folks. A hundred plus spam comments in an hour equals moderation on older posts, so until further notice...you're gonna have to wait for your comments to be approved before they show up.