May
17, 2003
Well the journalism class has effectively managed to
consume a huge chunk of my time. This week i was
given three assignments to do, and i'm discovering
that "writing on demand" is just not my
forte. It could be due to the rather dry topics -
one on a now infamous ex-Canadian, another a paragraph or
two on a future feature article i'd like to write, based
on something currently newsworthy, and the third is the
regular class assignment. This week we are to follow
a story for seven days, find the relevant facts, and put
it all together in some semblance of intelligence.
Considering there are only 7 days between classes, this
has us all writing about an hour before the class
starts.
Sheesh.
i think part of my issue is the teacher's lack of a
structured teaching style as well. i usually enjoy
school of any sort - and this woman is a very nice
individual. But her idea of teaching is to give the
assignment, no instructions, and then send us off to
figure it out. Then takes points off when we get it
wrong. Talk about trial by fire! i
understand that this method works and that mistakes won't
be repeated once made, but i can do this method by myself
at home! In fact that's how i learned to make web
pages - i'm not afraid to teach myself things. But
when i'm paying someone else to show me instead, then i
expect to get shown!
Okay, rant over. Himself is being very tolerant of
this subject, especially as He hears these very same words
after every class. Heh.
Speaking of Himself - He found my rose! It's called
a Rio Samba and looks like this:
It's parentage is "seedling rose + Sunbright"
(who knew i'd be looking up the parentage of a flower one
day?) More stats:
Rio Samba (AARS) Hybrid Tea Rose
Brightly colored medium sized flowers often come in small clusters, making a vibrant display in the garden. Plant improves with establishment. Dark green foliage. Early to flower.
Average Customer Review: 
Color: Yellow, Orange
Fragrance: Light
Height, Habit: 4', Rounded
Bloom Season: Repeat Bloomer, Spring, Summer, Fall
Bloom Size: Medium, Single Stemmed
Petal Count: Double
Himself planted it in the newly expanded garden area of
the front yard. i can't wait to see it bloom!
He was working on perfect partner points the day He
planted it. He had done that, plus put the deck
furniture out after re-staining the deck, did the dishes
and the shopping and planted the herbs out
back. AND - has had me wear the leather cuffs twice
this week.
The next two days ought to be interesting - His brothers
are in town. We are supposed to be getting together
for a grand visit, probably at a restaurant, as serving a
full meal here for up to 14 people (they are bringing
their wives/kids/mother) is not really feasible. Tea
and dessert would work, but we don't even have a full size
coffee maker! Nor a tv to entertain the kids should they
get bored.
But i think we'll have a great time regardless of where we
meet - and watching four dominant egos all of similar
personalities should be entertaining to say the
least. Especially as only the brothers know the type
of relationship Himself and i have.
Spooker has gone off to live with my son again - just for
the summer. We started experiencing the same
problem as last year. Neighbourhood cats think it's
cool to press their noses up against the windows and look
in, which drives Spooker crazy. He's very
territorial - i'd even suggest "dominant" (just
like someone else in this house! No wonder they bond so
well.) and starts to act out - mostly by growling at the
offending cat, but also by taking his frustration at being
stuck inside, out on us.
He "sprays" one burner of the stove. Not
much, just a small amount of cat pee. He's been
neutered, so can't really spray. However, because it's not
much it's not very noticeable - until you turn on the
burner of course. Ick. Essence of hot cat
pee. It's enough to make you gag. The stove's
never been cleaned so much! Blech.
So he's gone again, at least until the winter when all the
outside cats go back inside. Himself still argues
that we should just let him go out, but i just can't get
my head twisted around the idea. i think within a
week he'll be smushed by a car or torn to bits by some
other cat, and Spooker doesn't have front claws. And
we can't afford the vet bills should he survive these
traumas.
Unfortunately, the mice have figured out he's gone.
Sigh.
Okay, off to wrestle some assignments to the ground.
Or maybe back to bed since i woke up way too early and now
feel like i haven't slept.
Decisions, decisions. :-)
