The Iliad is almost over. Bye Achilles. Bye Hector. Bye Agamemnon.

My cold is still cold. It's getting tiring. I'd like it to be over. I'm not as tired as I was, but I'm still congested.

My son has settlement on his house tomorrow. What a big step.

Not much else to write. My life is boring.

No jury for me. I wasn't picked. It's a pretty random process. Some people got picked for multiple juries and some weren't picked for any. I was one of the latter. I knew one of the lawyers. A former student. Another of the people on the witness list was a former student. They ask you if you can still be objective and I said yes, but it's still up to the lawyers to pick you.

The dog is doing better. We're being more attentive to his relieving of himself. We also have had some success with him being penned in an area of the kitchen. He seems to like that and it quite content with his area.

Ms. Darrup is here talking about college. I went to college. It was quite some time ago. How far away is far away? I find that an interesting question. Some people think Kutztown is far away. I went to college six hours away from home. That was far. But it wasn't too far. It was far though and I was a bit homesick at first, but after you come home a few times, and you go back to a high school football or basketball game, you suddenly realize that your time here is over. Life continues here at NL but it no longer includes you. That's nothing bad, it's just reality. Mrs. Frye retired. Ms. Hamilton replaced her. In the past five years, the English department has gone from Mr. Hunter, Mrs. Grimes, Mrs. Lloyd, Mrs. Frye, Mr. Weaver. All of those people are gone. Wow. And that's just in five years. Even for teachers, Northern Lebanon stays, but the people change. That's how it is.

College is the same too. I went to homecoming the year after I graduated. I thought people would miss me. When you're gone, you're gone. That sounds pretty sad, but it's true.

While the kids are doing a little exercise on the roles they played as kids, I'll update my blog. The dog goes a lot. Goes, you know what I mean. I suppose if my bladder were the size of an m&m, I'd go a lot too.

We are pretty much in full swing now. Most everyone is set up to blog on blackboard through V3 academy, and I'm anxious to see how that goes. I miss Florida and I could eat Chipotle. Though I am excited that it's nearby, it's just too far away to bring home, so it's best to be eaten there.

There is a lot I'd like to say, but sometimes I don't want to reveal too much personal stuff on here. I've been selected to appear for jury duty next week. I'm excited about that because it's my first time. Last year, shortly after my daughter was old enough to serve, she got a summons but she had already moved to Florida. I, on the other hand, have lived in Lebanon County all my adult life and this is the first time. Weird how that goes.

Wow, where did the time go. Here we are. The first week of school is over and I'm am tired. Changing from blogging here to blogging on blackboard this year. We have two new teachers. New teachers are cool. We like them.

Blogging.
School does start next week. I don't know if I'll get in there before next week which makes me feel irresponsible, but in reality, I would probably just go hang out. I haven't golfed since Saturday. I plan to tomorrow.
My daughter bought a new car last night with some help from dad. That's me. She needed a new car, but I was surprised at how popular Honda Fits are right now. It's actually a cute little car and seems pretty solid.
I'm watching the news, and they are replaying some of last week's town meeting in Lebanon. I fear posting my true political feelings, because for everyone who agrees with me, there are people who disagree, and it's weird because as a teacher, I am discouraged from sharing political positions. If I tell you I like a certain writer, and that writer is one who supports my political positions, isn't that necessarily stating, indirectly, what my position is.
For example, there was a woman on the news this morning who said, "Any time the government gets involved in something, they tend to muck it up." Now I won't say whether or not I agree with this woman, but the fact that I quoted her means I find her statement somehow worthy of being repeated. What would this infer?
The dog is sitting on my lap as I blog. I would appreciate any input from anyone on how to housebreak him. He's not doing his best, and I've been left alone with this task now, though if I had my way, I wouldn't have a dog right now. That's not to say I don't like him, but because I like him doesn't mean I don't have some idea of how this makes our lives much more complicated because every decision we make as long has we have a dog must be made considering that fact. How long has the dog been alone? Considering our Florida situation, this contributes a whole new set of circumstances to my life. I tend to be sensitive to animals. I don't want to be one of those pet owners who is negligent. I don't like the idea of penning a dog for more than a couple hours at a time. So in the back of my mind, a clock is always ticking. At night, I listen for any sign of his needing to go out.
So this is now my new life with a dog.

School starts in a bit. Actually, a week and two days.

I am watching We Are Marshall.

My daughter is officially engaged. Ring and everything. It's quite nice.

Trying to get my mind into school, but I am trying hard to get the most out of my summer. Yesterday my son and I played 36 holes of golf. It was pretty much fun, but I did grow weary in the afternoon.

The puppy is growing. I am a bit frustrated with his house brokenness or lack thereof. His messes are quite small though, so that's the positive side, if there is one.

Heat. It's wilting. I set off fireworks last night. We bought a firepit which is a fancy name for a thing you can burn stuff in outside and stay warm or keep the bugs away. We used it for the first time last night, and the kids made smores. I am not a fan of smores. I find them a bit too mushy and sweet. Many people love them

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the classes I have this year. Unsure about the future of blogging. Unsure of the requirements for blogging.

Saturday evening. It's been a little while since I posted anything significant. The dog is adjusting to us as we are to him. He's the size of a small cat. I guess I consider it killing two birds with one stone. That's an idiom and we have been discussing idioms in the final of the three classes I just completed teaching yesterday. It's quite tiring, this teaching business because you have to be up all the time. From the moment the first student arrives until the last student leaves, you have to be the teacher. At NL, I get little breaks between classes where I can let down my guard a bit, but these classes are hard. Teaching teachers also adds an additional pressure because who is to say that I know any more than they do. But I'm grateful for the opportunity (now that it's over) to teach.

I've gotten the beginning of the year letters advising me when to be there and what we will be doing for the first couple days. Where did the summer go?

I guess the biggest news is that Chipotle Mexican Grill opened this weekend in Harrisburg. My son and daughter went. I didn't. I understand that on Friday they were giving away free burritos and that the line was all the way around the block. Free burritos. Life is good. I haven't been there yet but my daughter, either in an attempt to somehow gain my favor, or just because she's a nice girl, brought me a burrito bowl. That's a burrito without the shell in a bowl.

Looks like there have been some changes to my schedule this year. Looking forward to it, sort of. I may be teaching some old stuff again that I haven't taught for a while. That's all good because I love literature.

Not much else. Another Saturday night watching whatever is on the tube. Daughter's with the BF and son's at a wedding. Not his, or I'd be there.