I took Dr. Elizabeth Howard’s History of the English Language course at Kent State 25 years ago, & to this day the content & her delivery influence me personally & professionally. I looked her up this morning w/the intent to reach out & thank her, only to learn she passed away in 2021. Sigh.

I don’t know what to say. I’m just listening to PJ Harvey & cooking dinner & feeling like the contents of my skull are a combination of angry static & a constant yowling.

I would prefer that my tax dollars not be spent on mad kings flagrantly bypassing our own policies & breaking international laws to enact imperialism.

I mean, I’ll take it.

No hoomin, you no goez anneywarez

Idk who needs to hear this, but Twisted Sister has a great Christmas album.

Administrators at my school keep pushing me to use AI to do all of the writing tasks & I’m like SIR, BEING EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD AT DOING THE WRITING TASKS IS WHAT GIVES MY LIFE MEANING.

Happy Caturday from Violet, who knows she is a gift.

Hey AI people, thanks. The existence of your data centers has made my electric bill go from about $70/month to over $200/month & this is totally sustainable. How AI data centers are raising electric bills : Planet Money www.npr.org/2025/12/19/n...

& the festive stitching continues

I am also 44, & today despite a regular workout regimen I got out of breath while tying my shoes. Godspeed to this guy.

The funniest part of this being my husband’s first full winter in Cleveland is him learning snow-related vocabulary like Alberta Clipper, just a dusting, wind chill, blowing & drifting, etc. & it leading to us inventing a game we call Sex Act or Weather Phenomenon.

Happy Caturday to all who celebrate.

Enough movie-going memories for now. Here are my cats in a rare moment of nonviolent physical contact!

The only time I ever skipped school was to wait in line with my friends to buy tickets for the opening day midnight showing of first new Star Wars movie in our lifetime. Star Wars wasn’t mainstream cool back then…we were such glorious nerds!

When I was in grad school my dad & I met up to see a movie, but the one we wanted to see was sold out. Because we’d both driven so far, we stuck around & saw the only other movie playing: ONCE, which is to this day one of my favorites.

My friends for the entire summer of 1999: What do you want to do? Idk. What do you want to do? Go to the dollar theater & see The Matrix again? Sure, what time? We saw it about 11 times.

Every year I take about 2 dozen teenagers on a 3-day Model UN field trip & return home beyond exhausted & behind on responsibilities, but watching them do this work feeds me & reminds me the kids are alright & that we need to turn the world over to them posthaste before we fuck it up any further.

I’m stitching my fingers off to get all of these ornaments done in time to give them away as gifts.

Um…I believe that’s just called intelligence…as in the non-artificial kind…

I was crafty today.

❄️ Whole-family snow day! ❄️ The cats are ecstatic. The humans are pleased, too.

This, a thousand times.

Ohioans: Please do NOT sign the petition to get the elimination of property taxes on the ballot. Taxes fund schools, fire departments, parks, libraries, road maintenance, etc. and all eliminating property taxes would do is shift that burden to sales tax & income tax, which would become unmanageable.

Wherever my high school French teacher is now, I want her to know I still use the same copy of her crêpe batter recipe that she gave me in 1996.

After handing over the contents of my checking account to the plumber for fixing my guest bathroom toilet, I am placing a tip jar on the back of the commode. Friends & family, I am sorry…but peeing at my house is no longer free.

I did not have men proudly announcing their status as pedophiles in attempts to protect other pedophiles on my 2025 bingo card, but here we are… & they can all go rot in hell.

Little did my TX-born husband know when he married a Pisces from Cleveland that yes, even in the notorious gales of November, he would be expected to walk with me to the end of our street daily so I can stare wistfully at Lake Erie while pondering existence. Dude’s a good sport, though.

Does anyone know where the love of God goes / when the wind turns the minutes to hours? 💨 🚢

THIS THREAD. Dear god, yes, all of this thread. Performative food donations don’t help anyone. If you want to actually make a difference, follow Anna’s advice.

Seriously, did they get that at Bed Bath and Beyond with a 20% coupon that came in the mail?

My AP Lit students are analyzing this poem by Ariana Monet while I am out for the day to go to an appointment with my neurologist. The coincidence was not intentional, but it is pretty funny to me. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/160742...

Every time a war criminal dies, an angel gets its wings.

My guy who relocated from Texas to Cleveland in June has started referring to Ohio as “the Arctic North” after a week of high temperatures in the 50s F. Uuuhhh…😬 When should we tell him?

About 1 out of every 4 of the students sitting in my classroom next week will be hungry & aware that there is no food waiting for them at home. And for what?

I need 387 more hours of sleep.

That Springsteen movie REALLY messed me up. That said, go see it. It’s fantastic.

One week from today!

Seen in & around my classroom this week: signs, disregarded.

Why yes, yes I am going to the International Cat Show & Expo today here in Cleveland. Might as well have some fun while the world is ending.

Well, I guess I’m going to get a lot of books read and cross-stitching done between now and late March.

How long until spring training starts?

Hammy’s making me cry with this post-game season wrap-up. 😭

It is occurring to me that I’m listening to Tom Hamilton for the last time until late March, and wow am I sad. ❤️⚾️💙

ME: I should do my own nails at home to save money MY MENACE OF A CAT: The heck you say GHOST OF JACKSON POLLOCK: Beautiful work you two, I’m flattered

Prayers up for Roscoe & Lewis Hamilton. 💔 The bond between those two has always made me so happy.

Overheard from a student conversation today: “I don’t know if I should get a tattoo or buy car insurance.” And honestly? Same, kid, same.

At least we can all wake up this morning grateful that we’ve never taken a 99 mph fastball square in the face…well, every one of us except David Fry. Oof. Good vibes to that guy.

I kinda feel like going out & buying a shit-ton of Tylenol right now.

I really need baseball season to go on & on & on to keep granting me daily temporary reprieve from everything else… ❤️ ⚾️ 💙