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</p>
<p>I can say with absolute certainty that she works on her very own timetable, whatever that may be at the time. We have two rolling schools on the list and I want those in early, as well as the couple of EA schools. There is no doubt in my mind that she won’t work with me. No doubt at all. This is her first year in this particular position, but in prior positions, it’s been a nightmare.</p>
<p>DougBetsy, is it a beagle?</p>
<p>zoosermom - that’s pretty awful, if she won’t work with you - after all, that’s her job!</p>
<p>Black lab. We pick him up March 7. And I guess I miscalculated the age. He’ll probably be 5 months at the time of the trip. </p>
<p>D has been begging for a dog since she was able to talk. After bringing home her umpteenth all-A’s report card we couldn’t turn her down anymore. Plus, he’ll be good company when Son departs in <gulp> 18 months. </gulp></p>
<p>We’ve been married 18 years and this will be our first pet, other than gold fish. H and I look at each other every day, shake our heads and mutter, “what are we getting ourselves into?”</p>
<p>D registered puppy’s name as “Master Wayne of Watson.” Call name = Batman. 
(Watson is our street.)</p>
<p>Awwww, black labs are such great pets! I love them, but we have two cats, and have no plans to add to our pet collection. Love the names too! My S went through a huge Batman phase when he was 2-4! And yes, you will have your work cut out for you! Good luck. I’m sure you’ll love him.</p>
<p>DougBetsy:</p>
<p>The 3 month old puppy will keep someone occupied on those long stretches of road. Do tell, what kind of dog? We’ve had a Basenji and Beagle, and currently have a Pem Corgi and a (small size) Labradoodle (one of the two finalists for “First Dog.”)</p>
<p>The groundswell of unhappiness at the cutting of science APs at the HS is growing. M S reported that they will say something on the bulletin t school this AM. Meanwhile, the BoosterClub has it’s annual Casino Night on Saturday, and I’m sure this will be a hot, hot topic of conversation. It seems so counterproductive to cut science APs when it’s clear than some new careers in the “green” and energy fields are in the offing.</p>
<p>Sorry, better get off the soap box before it’s permanently attached to my shoes. But being a strong advocate sometimes works. My H was able to, after a long phone conversation, get JHU-CTY to back off on the length of the “take home” tests for my S online linear algebra class. Just part one of two of the last test took more than 20 hours, no joke.</p>
<p>DB, report in about Batman often! I love black labs. I hope he brings you much joy.</p>
<p>FindAPlace, what interesting dogs you’ve had! I’ve never known anyone who had a Basenji.</p>
<p>FAP - I was hoping D would choose a Basenji. But, she couldn’t find a breeder nearby.</p>
<p>Labs are awesome dogs - and REALLY cute puppies. Take lots of pictures now - you won’t regret it in the years to come. If you think kids grow up fast, wait until you watch a lab - they change practically daily!!!</p>
<p>Five months is a great age for a road trip - we took our golden retriever on one at 6 months and he was wonderful.</p>
<p>Most of the dog breeders around our parts are out in the desert areas and beyond. We went to the Antelope Valley for the Basenji (Kipenzi of Alexandria, call name Penzi … Kipenzi is Swahili for the word “pet”); to Buelton for the Beagle (Artemus of Alexandria, call name Artemus …Artemis (or male Artemus) was the god/goddess of hunting); to near Lancaster for the Pem Corgi (Conroy of Alexandria, call name Conroy … Conroy is Celtic for “red”); and last but not least, to Tehachapi (near Mojave) for the Labradoodle (Buffy of Alexandria, of Buffy … named for her coat color, what’s known as “apricot.”)</p>
<p>Obviously we have fun with the naming because we could never do that kind of thing with kids! I’m not sure what takes us longer, researching the breed we’re interested in or the name for the dog.</p>
<p>Ahh, puppies and safeties…how wonderful.</p>
<p>WUSL is sending emails hawking some local travel agent to set up a college visit. I wonder if they get a kick back?</p>
<p>Twenty hours - that’s insane… My dad, the former college professor, always claimed that there was nothing you couldn’t test in 45 minutes. Even his finals were less than an hour (the students loved him) He was teaching computer chip design - so not exactly a simple subject…</p>
<p>ZM - I completely agree that it would be best to have someone else writing those recs - but it will be a very delicate political situation. After all, writing recs is part of her new job - and the issues you have are the same ones everyone else will have. </p>
<p>What about simply jumping to the front of the queue by asking for them before you leave for summer break (with a post card to be enclosed so that school mails you when they arrive).</p>
<p>SCUALUM: </p>
<p>Yeah, I was calling the 20 hours sadistic, actually. Thankfully DH, the math professor, was able to talk some sense into these people at JHU-CTY. What they had planned was that part one of the test was a little more theoretical (so more learning could go on) and part two was more computational. They have agreed the last two tests can be just the computational. They said about 20 other kids across the country are taking this on line linear algebra classes, so I’m wondering what those kids/parents have been thinking.</p>
<p>You say Sadistic, I say Insane, Tomahto, Tomayto… :)</p>
<p>I guess whoever designed the test probably forgot the difference between teaching and evaluating…</p>
<p>FindAPlace - did I understand you correctly? A 20-hour test? That’s both insane and sadistic! Can’t imagine what they were thinking. Glad your DH was able to reason with them.</p>
<p>LIMOMOF2:</p>
<p>Yes, you understood me correctly, 20 hours. And my DS is no slacker when it comes to math, either. He took AP Calc BC as a sophmore and got an A and a 5 on the AP exam. My DH taught him algerba over the summer so DS could advance to geometry in 7th grade. He knows what hard work looks and feels like.</p>
<p>I knew your S was advanced in math. That’s a ridiculous amount of time for a test. </p>
<p>D’s never taken an online course, and I’m not sure she would have realized it was a problem. Luckily, your DH is a math professor and knew that wasn’t the norm. I wouldn’t have had a clue, and neither would my DH.</p>
<p>We had a good day just got back from Bard and Vassar. S2 didn’t like Bard at all. It seemed too small, too in the middle of nowhere and not enough students around and the campus doesn’t feel like a campus. (Admittedly Friday morning is probably quieter on most campuses than other times.) Vassar seemed soooo much bigger even though it only has a bout 600 more students. But it felt bigger than our high school even though the student body is smaller. He also liked the fact that it was in a small city, even if the city is not that prepossessing. He liked the campus feel and the minimal distribution requirements didn’t bother him. </p>
<p>It was amazing how much more snow was on the ground at Bard - it’s only 45 minutes up the road. It was also aggravating how poorly the walks were shoveled. A student ended up flat on her back slipping on ice right in front of their library. I liked the academic program at Bard very much, the students seemed smart and focused. I had expected them to look artier (that was Vassar), but they just wore jeans and hoodies a fair amount of longish hair on the guys. More leggings and skirts at Vassar. Vassar had pretty good pizza always a plus in my kids’ eyes. Will do more of a report in the college visit section.</p>
<p>Mathmom - while neither of those schools is on my D’s list, she recently received mail from Vassar that had me taking a second look at the school. I just don’t think it’s for her, but I’m glad you and your S liked it. Not good about the poor shoveling at Bard. I hope the student who fell was ok? </p>
<p>While I’m glad we missed the snow at Cornell (well, it snowed, but it wasn’t sticking), I wish I had seen what it looked like after a storm. More than that, I wish D had seen it after a storm…lol.</p>
<p>Toured USC and UCLA this week. Sunny, mid-seventies. :)</p>