Odds and Ends Thursday 16

I posted that picture of the millipedes the other day, and that problem seems to have only gotten worse. I swept about 20 of them out the door over the course of the night last night. I don’t know why they bother me so much—I’m pretty sure they’re benign—but they’re just so creepy. And their creepiness increases exponentially when there’s two. And then you go and brush your teeth, and there’s a third when you come back, and by then it’s time to stop mid-brushing to grab the broom. Here are some other odds and ends from the week:

• I did my CNET Pitch-Off Framework Presentation for my year 13 class today as an example of how to use PowerPoint in a presentation. They have to present next week. Theirs won’t be as involved (or as cheesy?), and last night I considered creating something more in line with what I expect they’ll present next week. But then I figured I’d showcase PowerPoint’s bells and whistles. I’m hoping one of them uses some good custom animation.
  
• It’s always bugged me that the second “P” in PowerPoint is capitalized, but I figure, why fight it?
  
• Our school secretary was out today. I don’t know if that means she’s in labor. I didn’t ask anyone, and no one told me. I figure I’ll find out soon enough.
  
• I ended up giving my host family the money to pay for Akanese’s second term. Asolima had to come into Apia for some appointment of Keleme’s, and she gave me a call to ask again. I think I might skip my monthly trip to the village in July. Although maybe I won’t. Hopefully next time I’m hit up for cash, I can give a stronger “no” right off the bat.
  
• Farmer Joe hasn’t been selling Suave conditioner, so on Sunday I picked up some VO5. I buy whatever’s cheapest. Anyway, the VO5 Free Me Freesia smells very good. I recommend it.
  
• In response to the question in the comments yesterday, I haven’t heard too much about specific concerns in Samoa regarding Swine Flu. I did read the newspaper report about the Australian girls who had been cooped up at hotel after one or more of them started to show signs of the flu, but that’s mostly been it. They talk about it on the news enough that my students know what it is, and there were medical personnel who boarded our plane before we disembarked when I came back from New Zealand. All travel to Tokelau was halted at the beginning of May, but I think they lifted that within a week or two. So that’s about it.
  
• We have been getting more emails from the Peace Corps Medical Officer encouraging us to be extra vigilant with hand-washing, etc.
  
• I haven’t begun studying my year 11s’ mug shots yet, but I’ve already picked up a few names from the process of getting the pictures taken.
  
• Epilogue to yesterday: I taught 2 year 9 classes today. The 9.4s quietly stared at me for the entire period. The 9.1s were overachievers and we finished very early. They also giggled whenever I would say anything in Samoan. My use of the phrase “pusa aisa”, literally “ice box”, to help communicate the word “store” was particularly hilarious to them.
  
• I still haven’t gone to get my staff uniform tailored, and tomorrow is Parent’s Day. I’m worried that tomorrow is going to be another uniform day and I’m going to be the only schmuck without one. It’s between $30 and $40 to get a shirt tailored in town, and I haven’t found it in myself to spend the money. Maybe after tomorrow’s embarrassment…
  
• Truth be told, I’m a little nervous for tomorrow because I have no idea what’s going on. On one hand, I’m thinking the fact that I’m not a homeroom teacher gets me out of having to meet with parents. On the other hand, I can also see parents making a special point to stop by the computer lab to see what all the fuss is about. I’m thinking I should just set up a bunch of PowerPoints to display random pictures of school events, and that should be cool enough to show off the computers and also serve as a deterrent to people who get too curious. Or maybe I’ll just disconnect the mice and the keyboards. We’ll see.

That’s all I got for this week. I hope you’re well. Pictures below.
















Another cat fud lesson.
















Bret taught me to do this finger clicking thing at Troy Camp back in college, and these girls noticed me doing it today and started copying. It was also funny because I taught this to RPCB Laura during training as part of a group activity. It was random.
















This was an English exercise left over on the blackboard when I went showed up to teach 9.1 today. I'm not clear on what the instructions were for the activity, but I find it funny. I remember at USC there was a poster in Century Apartments that said, "Beat the Bruins, they will loose," and it was cringe-worthy.
















I went to visit Blakey today. I sat at her lab for a good 10 minutes before I realized she was 30 yards away watching track—err—athletics practice. She's behind the fence posts on the left of the picture.
















The Jungle Cafe is also right outside Blakey's classroom.
















This cruise ship was in Apia Harbour today.
















This is from Season 2 Episode 8 of Flight of the Conchords. I watched it on the plane coming back from New Zealand. They book themselves as a Simon and Garfunkel cover band because it pays $50. It's a funny episode.