I have no idea why people choose to teach the kind of material that’s related to their deepest traumas. She is sadistically setting students up for a failure while masochistically torturing herself. 

I’d never teach works of literature that mention late-term fetal loss, stillbirth, or gestational diabetes because I know I can’t be unemotional about it. Students should not be subjected to projections if they unwittingly touch a sore place in a teacher’s psyche.

A student was stunned to discover that I read all of the essays students submit to me. 

“Every word on every page???” he asked. “Really?”

Turns out Klara has a favorite song that she learned in daycare, “If you are happy and you know it.” It makes me very happy to know that she has a life outside of me, favorite songs, little friends, favorite games that I didn’t introduce her to. 

I need to go clap my hands and stomp my feet.

I’m so proud of my sister. They called an ambulance for her little boy last week and were told that it would take 3 hours for it to arrive. They don’t live in a secluded area but in the midst of a large city (Montreal; hello “free” medical care.)

She didn’t take this common indignity lying down but got in touch with the papers, and now there’s an article about that in the city’s most popular newspaper. If people speak up more, this will put pressure on the dumb bureaucrats who gobble up the money and provide no services. 

The boy is fine but no thanks to the ambulance service. 

First, the Russians fought in Afghanistan, and the US armed the Taliban. Now, the US fights in Afghanistan, and Russians are arming the Taliban.

The three sides of the crazy triangle is equally dumb but the Afghanis are the worst because it’s their land that’s being destroyed while the Russians and the Americans play out their passionate love affair.