I am not a fourth grade teacher

Friday was depressing after the dog attack on Thursday. The kids I teach animation as part of an after school thing decided to start calling each other names with vaguely racist undertones. Ok. Not so vague. They were racist. It got so bad that I told them that if I heard "that word" again, I'd send whomever said it to the after school program director. It was said. Unfortunately, it was said by one of the kids with a poor reputation for disruption already. There was crying. There was finger pointing. It was horrid.

I don't remember ever having such a discipline problem. But then, I went to six schools by the fifth grade, so I never really got to be anything else than "new girl."

I don't want to confine these kids, but I'm doing a horrid job getting across what they need to do to make animations because they're so used to being told exactly what to do. I hate that limitation, but I'm going to have to do it. Sad.

At least UT won the OU game. Stoops. hehehe

Agh! The dogs!

Yesterday evening, while A. was drinking sparkling shiraz with friends, Pico started barking with the neighbordogs who are totally ignored and bark all the time. I got annoyed and brought her in. Miss Maggs decided that because I was annoyed, she should attack Pico.

So she did.

I'm lucky I was able to get them apart. I've since done a little research on how to effectively break up a dog fight with just one person. It's not easy, but one way involves tying one dog by its hauches to a fixed object (fence, door) and grabbing the other dog by the rear legs (carefully) and tail, and pulling. I pulled Miss Maggs by the tail, but she wouldn't let go, so the three of us (with Hope in tow) walked around the house, crapping and pissing in fear. Okay. so it was only Pico. But still.

Yay.

I should have realized that Miss Maggs was getting a little cocky when I'd walk in the living room and find her on the settee. Not enough exercise, not enough socialization. Not enough. Never enough.

I mopped everything up with dawn dishsoap (lavendar), then orange oil. And I smudged the house with cedar. It still feels bad. I really wish dogs had never come into our life, and now there's no going back.

Lesson learned about an open freezer

Desk-fly
Originally uploaded by orangeacid.

(Image borrowed from orangeacid's Flickr account b/c I don't have a macro.)

Two days. That's all it took for the freezer door to be slightly ajar in 97 degree weather. Two days, and enough of the dog food melted to cause a convocation of flies. I've killed at least 500 of them. (no, really.) They're there to drive me crazy.

I hate flies.

Sneaky Water Theivery?

So, if the city opens up a fire hydrant to reduce pressure on the lines, and the water is being ejected so fast that it's projected across the street and down the gutter on our side, is it sneaky to walk out with a plastic pitcher and start dumping water on the very dry plants in the side yard?

I was being observed by both the dogs and two city employees. Since my pants are tight (I'm wearing my painting jeans) I came back inside.

Gah, I've got to lose weight.