School is IN

So the past three of weeks have been buu-ss-yy. Sorry for the lack of updates, though. There is no excuse for that. None.

Today was the first day of the second week of the semester, and I'm starting to settle into the routine. The first week is always the most exciting--fresh-faced freshmen staring up expectantly, waiting for me to pour information over their spongy grey matter--but also the most erratic--former students popping in to say hi, last minute copies, meetings, changes, and everything else to maneuver around. Plus, with more than eight hundred new students due to the MCC Promise, the parking lot was full of eight hundred more cars than it usually has the first week of school. Hmm. Problematic. I'll be able to take the train on Mondays, and Tuesday through Thursday I'm at school by 7:30 a.m., so it's not a problem for me to park. Although I did park at an off-site location and take our college shuttle bus (which they asked us to do if we could) and got a cafeteria buck! So, tomorrow's coffee is free!

And classes are going well, so far. Because of the Faculty Development stuff I'm doing, I've only got four classes, which is a nice break. And my honors composition class actually does the homework I assign. It's kind of amazing, and I'm still waiting for them to rebel.

Other things are going well, too. We spent the week before classes started at Greg and Paula's house while they were out of town on a work/vacation trip to California. We hung out with the girls

and Henry had to get used to a smaller bed.

Trevor and I had a wonderful time watching the Harry Potter movies 3 & 4 on Greg and Paula's fantastically huge t.v. with a wondoriuous surround sound system. It was like being at Hogwarts! Only we were at Dogwarts! (I broke that one out while we were there. Trevor did not think it was as hilarious as I did.)

And the gallery is going well, too. Trevor is working on a new blog for them, and I'll post the link here when it's ready for public readership. It's called Cyclops (Trevor thought of the name).

This Saturday I went shopping with my cousin Erica for some delayed back-to-school gear. We really didn't get much that was schooly, but she had some success at the Alley and Belmont Army Surplus. Plus we ate at the Clarke St. Diner: she had pancakes and I had a grilled cheese and vanilla shake. So. Good.

Oh, WAIT, and DAN AND SIMONA HAD THEIR BABY!

Okay, wow. I can't believe that I didn't start off with that news! Maya Emily Segar was born on August 11th around mid-day. She was 7-ish pounds and beautiful. See for yourself:

(This is the day she was born)

(And this is more recently. As you can see, she's gained a little weight and has started playing X-Box. She's obviously brilliant.)

In other baby news, Ann Boger's due date is...in two days! I think she's pretty ready to have their little nugget, and we can't wait to see him. I wish they lived closer so we could see him in person (oh, and Ann and Dan, too. We'd like to see them.), but we'll hopefully visit them soon. Dan and Trevor are playing Scrabble together on the X-Box right now. What's funnier than the fact their board game is crossing over one thousand miles is the fact that their X-Box avatars look nearly identical. The hair color is a bit different, and Trevor's avatar is wearing a suit (I have no idea why). But otherwise, Ann and I could easily switch avatar-husbands and not know the difference for weeks and weeks. Ann, let me know if you're up for it.

Well, papers need to be graded. By Henry. He's got a lot of work ahead of him tonight. I'm going to make him a pot of coffee. And to leave you all with a giggle in your throat, here's a comic Trevor found for me.