Oh my God...

Has it really been that long?

Yes, yes it has.

I am ashamed at myself for not doing any writing. Let's just put it this way: my health has gone to Hell this year, I have a new teaching position at my old school which is less taxing but involved a (get ready for a term I REALLY HATE) 'learning curve'(spits). There. So I've made my half-assed excuses, now we can move on.

Look. I'm not going to scoot to the edge of my chair and clap my hands over my knees and say "SO much has happened!" because of course it has but not a whole lot of it was that noteworthy. The holiday season has come and, for all of my own intents and purposes, has gone. I have not published a damn thing even though people bring it up with some regularity. I have become friends with new people and become disenchanted with others. My mother and father are in poorer and poorer health, which makes my sister more and more anxious and consequently, more and more bitchy towards me. I am cutting it off there because it's starting to get involved and draw blood and I did not intend to go there.

As I type there are six inches of alien snow on the ground here in SE North Carolina, more than I have seen in many years. I have been hibernating all day but tomorrow I must venture out as the cats are bereft of canned food and it's really pretty excrutiating to live with then when they are. They are rotten and won't eat the dry. I was in a store the other day and saw a pet food place mat that said it perfectly. One circle on the mat had "FOOD" written under it. The other said "NASTY DRY CRAP". Speaking of cats, my sister bought them cat nip toys for Christmas. Now Oliver could give a rat's, you feel me? But ZOOEY...! Well, who knew? Absolutely embarassing. She'll be on Kitty Rehab for sure this coming spring.

I go back to work January 3rd. That means I have to start getting up at 5 am January 4th. I neglected to tell you that school starts an hour earlier this year. Yes, we get out an hour earlier as well, but somehow I wind up staying as late as I did before anyway. I won't even go into the trauma induced December 1st when I had to put on a five-school Forensics tournament...