Do you have any shared interests? If you both like video games, you can ask if she's been to or would like to go to a game bar or gaming lounge (assuming they have those close to where you live). If you both like museums, you could invite her to one of those. If you both like shopping for clothes or...

Oh my god, these two students in my class. I told them they had to meet with me to discuss their conduct. I scheduled them separately, one at 12:15 and I told the other one to come either at 12:00 or 12:30 depending on her availability. They arrived together after 12:30. They claimed not to have kno...

The sound of retching steadily intensified and soon it was coming from all directions.

It's cool, bro. It's good to apologize, but don't go overboard with the self-deprecation. Everyone here knows you've been going through a rough time. I've mentioned my brother before, who is the type of person who makes everyone around him feel his bad moods. It's a decidedly unpleasant thing to do ...

I'm not going to let it go till the end of the semester. I think I'll find a way to talk to them as privately as possible and tell them to meet with me to discuss their attitude or they can drop the class.

I have until Monday to figure out what to do, but I'd appreciate any advice you all have to offer. The semester just started and I have two students who are super attitude-y. It's two women and they're clearly friends because they sit next to each other, talk to and giggle with each other, and are o...

"You are welcome to remove self from snow, if you do not want help from Mom."

And I somehow always imagined "experimented with drugs" was more free-flowing, party-all-night, four-day bender kind of thing. Not "control group and hypothesis" kind of thing :P I had a chance to do magic mushrooms recently, but I declined. I'd been told by a fellow graduate st...

Since the beginning of the previous semester (sometime in August), I've almost entirely cut caffeine out of my diet. I get a bit from chocolate, but other than that I've only had three cups of coffee. The result is that I feel less sluggish. Also, when I do ingest a large amount of caffeine quickly,...

Welcome back Thanks Enty, hope things are going well for you. Thank you for uploading that! My favorite association with that dramatic narration is Nik's anecdote about it coming up on her iPod while she was on the highway, just as she pulled up to the manned tollbooth, and that she started laughin...

"Just my luck," I muttered, "No wifi in the vortex."

Thank you for uploading that! My favorite association with that dramatic narration is Nik's anecdote about it coming up on her iPod while she was on the highway, just as she pulled up to the manned tollbooth, and that she started laughing so hard she was crying. I fully support any creative endeavor...

Boo to decidedly unpleasant employers. Good luck with the job search, though. If you need any resume help, in terms of proofreading, that's definitely something I can do. Insofar as I do it as part of my job, that is.

Yeah, I got my hair cut in late November or early December. Plus, as far as I know, we don't live in the same area.

Can't sleep (because of caffeine), so I've spent an inordinate amount of time editing photographs of myself. Here are my favorites: http://i.imgur.com/ky90CiZ.png http://i.imgur.com/5SHfZBT.png Would be better if I owned and learned how to use Photoshop, but I'm pretty happy with what I can achieve ...

Super cool! There's a YouTube channel called Abroad in Japan about a British guy who teaches in Japan. He describes his experiences moving there, and talks about making friends and learning the language. You might enjoy watching it or find it useful, I guess is what I'm saying. Feel free to recount ...

I spat to determine which way was down and, by extension, which was up; having settled the matter, I began to dig toward the latter direction furiously.

But the rubble started pulling me in, like quicksand, until it was up to my chest.

I feel like I need a new winter coat, but only because other people keep telling me my coat isn't warm enough. I don't know how they know this. I can't look at a coat and assess how good a job it's doing keeping its wearer warm. What did I get for Christmas? My friend got me fox-shaped salt and pepp...

"No more of this rhyming bullhonky," the mantis decreed, reaching forward with its prominent front legs to block the path in front of me.

(I was hoping for AAB CC BBD EE DDF, etc.)

My brother and I wrestle most holidays, and even though he's always the only one to get injured I always technically lose (he gets me in a hold every time). This is as adults; as children I could beat him soundly with regularity. Yesterday, however, I secured victory by getting him in a headlock. I ...

THUS FAR: The rain pounded in sync with the beating of my heart. Couldn't breathe, couldn't blink; had to wait for it to start. It was dark, it was bleak, it was . . . New York. Suddenly golden light so bright shone from above. It got into my shoes and also my gloves. A bit down the road I got to a...

We did one of these a while ago , and it was a lot of fun. The rules are rather simple: write one sentence at a time to propel the story forward. I'll begin with the same sentence I used last time, slightly edited so the prose is less overwrought: The rain pounded in sync with the beating of my heart.

Saw it tonight. It was good! I have some critiques, but I also genuinely enjoyed watching it.

All three of us--my mom, my brother, and I--are sporting our normal resting expressions in the photo.