Español

Things have been a little crazy here lately. In the last week, I've started back with Spanish classes (I'm at 200-level now) and a family of five was murdered in the town I technically live in (though my mailing address says I live elsewhere) and then their house was set on fire to cover the murder. That has meant very, very long days and late nights for me and very few days off. I have been chained to this computer Webbing....always Webbing...updates to the story, and of course directing reporters and photographers.

I was so tired Tuesday night that I came home from work, took the dog out to pee and apparently forgot, not only to lock the door, but to shut it all the way. So Wednesday morning my cat escaped into the hallway, got in a fight with a dog and then ran into my upstairs neighbor's apartment when he opened the door to go to work and hid under his bed. I was awakened by said neighbor, who just moved in last week, gently knocking on my door. Though I was still very much asleep, I managed to stumble upstairs in my pjs, wedge myself under the bed and reclaim the cat – not wihtout serious woundage. Always a nice introduction to the new neighbors.

Anyway, all you could ever want to know about the murdered family can be found at: www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/MOREY
I won't even bother going into it because I'm tired of talking about it and seriously there's more there than I would ever have the energy to recreate here. If you have any additional questions you can ask them here, though. Or you can join in the spirited story chats, which blame the murders on everyone from the Republicans to illegal Jamaican immigrants to the Mob.

Tonight, however, I got out relatively early (considering they bulldozed the crime scene and Anderson Cooper 360 did a piece on the murders today) and so I have a little time to lock my doors and blog. I also had orientation today to be a Spanish tutor for the 100-level students. Before we started back to classes, I got a post card in the mail from the college asking me to sign up as a tutor based on my grade point average in 102. (I have a 4.0. Ah, if only Professor Chumley could see me know. So I barely made it through French classes. Now, NOW, I'm a linguist.) They pay. And I could use the extra money and the language practice.

So far 201 is very hard. The first chapter - the chapter we are on now - is all about the environment. And while the previous chapters on food and clothing and family all featured words I had some familiarity with through day-to-day life, chatting about the hole in ozone layer (el agujero en la capa de ozono) and nuclear waste (los desperdicios nucleares) are not conversations I imagine ever having much need for. [Yes, waiter, I'll have a margarita and how about the destruction of the rain forests (la selva tropical). That sucks, huh?] Hopefully, I'll be able to keep that 4.0 this semester.