Friday Farrago

1. I took the eShakti plunge recently and my dress arrived this week. There are so many eShakti coupons floating around that it wound up being really reasonable. And it's so pretty. I wore it to work today. "Dr. Gladly," one of my students exclaimed when I walked into class today, "have you seen Brave?" Yes, I told her. "You already have her hair," she continued, "and now you have her dress too!"
2. I am the middle-aged bifocal-wearing version of Merida.
3. I am all done with the solo portion of the grad class. My co-instructor and I are teaching together on Monday, and then I have a bunch of stuff to grade. And then! No more 8:00 classes for me! I hope I can continue the practice of getting into the office at 7:45, but I won't be doing it because a room full of students awaits me.
4. Did you see the thing floating around on Twitter where your rapper name was Young + the last thing you spent money on? I could be Young Plumber. (Kitchen sink, streaming water into the basement on Monday night.) Or Young Rear Control Arms, in honor of the surprisingly expensive car parts we replaced this week. Or Young Front Tires, because failing rear control arms will wear your tires out prematurely.
5. Fame awaits me as a rapper, I feel certain. Let's hope money awaits me too, because it's been an expensive week.
6. I might also get to be Young Exterminator. Last night, you guys, there was something scritchy-scratching around IN MY WALL. BY MY HEAD, in the place where I lie down in order to SLEEP. I think maybe a squirrel found its way into the walls somehow? But I don't know for sure? It sounds too big to be a mouse. We have a running family joke about critters in the ductwork -- not just our bunyip but also a whale. (It's a long story.) Just in case any neighborhood critters have been listening to our dinner conversations: we do not welcome visitors in our ductwork. Or our walls.
7. Elwood is going to climb up on the roof tomorrow to see what he can see. I can't spot any gaps in the siding that could admit a squirrel. Wish us luck.
8. I shouldn't be too complain-y about this week, though, because guess what? The Journal of Human Lactation accepted my paper! JHL! is publishing my sole-authored manuscript! So that's really excellent. Maybe I shouldn't complain about the car/plumbing/squirrel in a week with such a happy piece of news. Into every life a little squirrel must fall, and all that.
9. So I won't complain, but I will share a little bit of weirdness: I am the only person who has heard the scritchy-scratching. I tried to share the experience with my 17yo and my husband, but no dice. Silence. Last night I thought to myself, "What if it's, like, a ghost squirrel? Or a rat? Or a WRAITH-LIKE WOODCHUCK in the WALLS?!"
10. Light & Momentary, home of the revenant rodent.