May 2011

Blackboard: Always Leave ’Em Tearing Their Hair…

May 11, 2011

Un. Freaking. Believable. But maybe not. Maybe I should’ve known I wasn’t gonna escape from Blackboard without one final pain in the butt. One hundred thousand words of student writing was to cross my transom come Tuesday. A few eager beavers turned in their gigantic final papers over the weekend, so on Monday I read [...]

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Small Frugalities, Small Chintzinesses?

May 10, 2011

Chintzinesses? How d’you like that word? I can’t think of a word parallel to “frugality” (n) that means “an act of cheapskatishness.” Nor can I think of a word meaning “the state of being a cheapskate.” Cheapskatitude? At any rate, our subject is that perennial favorite: When does one cross the line from frugality to [...]

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Roundup: Summer’s Here Edition

May 8, 2011

w00t! The pool is finally warm enough to swim in—just! Took the plunge this afternoon. It’s wonderful. Yesterday a choir friend threw a Cinco de Mayo party at her home. After a warm day, the evening was cool and lovely, perfect for outdoor dining, socializing, and karaoke. Two percent humidity on a 100-degree day means [...]

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Love Drop Update

May 6, 2011

Love Drop, the terrific blogger’s combine whose goal is to bring relief and caring to families in dire need, reports that the April Love Drop aided the Kahlens, who have suffered from the economic collapse and whose daughter suffers a hereditary malady. Take a look at the fantastic array of money and gifts showered on [...]

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Financial Terrors: What’s your worst fear?

May 4, 2011

It happened three times yesterday: signs of senility. Not one, not two, but three really serious things that stir up my absolute worst, most terrifying fears—financial and otherwise. First, I learned I failed to pay the Cox bill last month. So convinced was I that I must have paid it that I shot off an [...]

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Dentist: Pays to get that second opinion

May 3, 2011

So I dropped by the good Dr. Davis’s office yesterday afternoon, parking illegally in the menacingly signed parking lot of the mall across the street. He opined that there is no reason to replace the ancient crown in the lower jaw. The chip on it, as he has opined several times in the past, is [...]

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