Ellen has passed whatever big test she had to take for admittance into the teaching certification world. Praxis, I think it was called. I'm so out of the loop I can't tell you a thing about it but she passed it and is now one step closer to being the surliest high school business teacher of all time. Ellen is spending this week training Dad's new property manager who is very quick and smart and seems a much better investment than that last girl. She and Chris are leaving for Haiti on Tuesday for a colorful family wedding that has Ellen in a dress uproar. Chris stands-by unharmed so far.
Also, she baked a cake. Ain't she somethin'.
On account of some understaffing, I spent several days as a lunch lady on the Trident Tech campus downtown and let me tell you! Those are the surliest bunch of ungrateful kids! Sensationally rude! Remarkably unfriendly! Here I am, a smiling employee at your service and you belittle and snarl at me? Well I never! I never!! Duvall caters the food for this campus see, otherwise I'd have never agreed to such blasphemy. No, I did not have to wear a hairnet but I did have to wear the same outfit that the Zaxby's employees wear except instead of a chicken, my shirt and cap were embroidered with a big golden "D". Ugh!
Why are they so mean, you wonder? They have chips. Lots and lots of shoulder chips and apparently people with chips cannot smile and say thank you. They can only fight you over dimes and cause a scene when you run out of provolone cheese.
"This sandwich is too expensive." they would sneer, seeming to forget that the purchase of said sandwich is optional. Most of them would roll their eyes when I gave them their $4 total for a lunch of juice, skittles, and a granola bar. Maybe if they got some real nutrients their eyes wouldn't stick in that upright position.
I have a new appreciation for lunch ladies, not that I ever didn't. I always loved the lunch ladies.
I don't see much of the old folks these days. I come home achy and tired and forgo driving the extra three minutes to slump on their couch and have ice cream with them. Dad continues to scurry about and occasionally I find small maintenance issues repaired without ever seeing him come up my drive way. He's like the Mask of Zorro, leaving his flaming Z in the form of brass banister caps or new, cleverly placed spigots. Moppy continues playing the piano at nursing homes and helping little ones learn to read. She's such a nice lady.
I feel like I'm barely staving off an awful cold from spending all these freezing nights outside hanging lanterns and string lights. I've been guzzling tea and Emergen-C every morning and night before bed. Next week is my last big week of weddings and then everything slows down for a while. That will be nice in a way. These wacky hours make me feel like I'm working more than a full time job somehow. And y'all know how I feel about free time.
Lastly, I have a horn to toot cause I'm just so proud. This guy...
had a paper published in Nature Magazine. This is a big deal for many reasons. Until my days with Lukas and his family of Einsteins, I did not know that scientists are very much revered by and often paid according to the number of papers they have published. It's a thing in that world they live in. And I don't really mean magazine articles. They have their own ingenious publications and educational proposals that also count as being published. Having your sciencey work published is actually very difficult and Mr. Lukas is quite young to already have this under his belt. BUT because he was published in such a popular journal, none other than BBC News came by his lab to do a little piece on his discovery.
Being a modest fella, Lukas opted out of speaking about his work and instead the department head makes an appearance and his buddy Iesten tries to explain what's going on. I've watched it four times and I keep getting distracted. Something about diamonds and tracking things. But Lukas is in there for a second or so. Him and his blue hands. Go on, take a gander.
Also, his brother just had a little baby boy, making Lukas an uncle for the third time.
Meet little Oliver Payne.
Lukas is but sixish months out from becoming Dr. Payne and then he'll take over the world with nanolasers and latex gloves. I'm really excited for him!
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