Thoughts for today...

Teaching high school students is much different than college. After two days, I would venture to say that all the students I have are pretty good: motivated, intelligent, insightful. It is just curious to see how quickly they begin to giggle, gossip, or put on the cool facade.

It's probably because it has been so long since I was in my teens that I have forgotten how consumeristic teenagers are. They are excessively concerned about where they should shop and eat. Of course, most of these students come from financially fortunate families (the summer school tuition is not cheap and they can afford to indulge their intellects rather than get a summer job). I probably was the same way, I have just selectively forgotten that period of my life.

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Now that Sara and I are going to be on opposite sides of the country, we are going to neeed two cars (and I was talking about my students being consumeristic...). Sara and I went to test drive a few today. We would really like to get a Prius, but there is a six to eight month wait on them. That also means that the price you pay for it is highly inflated.

So we looked at some other options.

I was curious to drive the strange looking Element. It would be a practical car because it seems like we are always transporting stuff around (mostly a whiny dog - see the post from a few days ago). It ran well. I am drawn to its unusual design and quirky nature. Sara did not like it, though. Ultimately, however, I did feel like I was driving a delivery truck rather than a car.

At the Honda dealer, however, we did see an Insight that was for sale. Although it is a hybrid (which we like), the design is not what we need right now. Nonetheless, we took it out for a spin just to see what hybrids drive like. It wasn't bad. Probably the weakest part was lack of quick acceleration. It was a perfectly good car for city/urban commuting. Unlike the Prius, however, this car is not selling, and Honda is probably going to discontinue it.

The last car we tested was the Vibe. I liked it a lot and it is on the top of this list, at least for right now. Much to ponder...

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Somehow, in the next six weeks, I need to finish teaching the aforementioned summer course, pack all my belongings, move to Boston, sort out the things I will need for year (both academically and personally), pack those up, drive cross-country, move into a new house, learn my way around a new community, start a new job, and prepare a new course.

Hmmmm. Maybe it is time to open that bottle of tequila I broght back from Mexico. It won't help me accomplish any of those things, but at least I will sleep better.