and if you remember, then follow (follow follow follow)

Last Thursday I went on a DMV rant in the American history class I'm auditing. In my defense, our class is discussion based, and the topic came up naturally during our conversation, so it was fairly contextual. On the other hand, I got quite passionate – to the point where I was almost interrupting myself in my (apparently) extreme need to expound upon the need for friendly service in DMVs. I think I might have also been wildly gesticulating as I diatribed (it could be a verb), but the memory is a bit of a blur.

Basically, a really sweet girl in our class said that she had thought about how she would love to be the one friendly person at the DMV, but then she realized that she would probably slow down the whole process. My response went something like this 1) you can be efficient and friendly
2) the wait-time at DMVs will not be fixed by a few faster people, the whole system needs to be overhauled, restaffed, and given to a non-government agency.
3) (this one might not have made it in – I was pretty big on no. 2) it's their job. if you work in a customer service type of job, part of the job description is being friendly. math is a part of an engineer's job, and a smile is a part of a customer service job. But let's be realistic, right? People have bad days, people get stuck in jobs that aren't suited for them, some people are shy, introverted, etc. Fine, fine, fine. But that doesn't mean you have to be outright rude/mean/vindictive. I'm going to stop now.

Most of the time I refrain from this sort of outburst (especially outside of class), because I respect myself, and it's hard to respect someone who can't control their emotions/tone of voice/body language. On the other hand, it's really hard to constantly squash down my enthusiasms (I'm quite excitable), and passion is an important part of life – and usually a strong deterrent to depression – so I'm trying to find the happy medium (keeping in mind that I don't really need to freak people out with CONSTANT ENTHUSIASM OVER EVERY TOPIC.) Also, I'm not big on talking about stuff I care about and then not doing anything. It seems wrong. But just keeping it inside and not doing anything seems just as bad, if not worse.

blah blah blah

Smashing Story: I visited my mermaid politician friend this weekend, and we hung out with her pseudo Hungarian pal, "Dancing Dan." He's always good for random information/stories, and this encounter was no different. He told us about a news story he had read in which a dog became addicted to car fumes. (With the article was an accompanying picture of a scraggly mutt with patches of hair missing.) Apparently the owner initially thought it was funny, and he would turn the car on and let the dog get its fix for the day. After a while he decided that maybe it wasn't such a good idea, and stopped allowing the dog to breathe in the fumes. The dog then went through some dramatic withdrawal symptoms. The owner no longer questions the addiction, and supplies it readily.

Alright, so that wasn't really an article. Here you go: check this. Everybody needs to know. (Spread the word).

**

On Thursday, I was helping Vivian with her math homework when I heard a little voice coming from the far right corner of the room.

"Miss Stewart!" It was 7-year-old Katie quietly calling me, and there was a hint of desperation in her voice.

I looked up. She was standing in the doorway of the girls' bathroom, partially covered by the door, but not enough to hide the fact that her pants and underwear were around her ankles.

Vivian burst into laughter and I ran over, hoping nobody else was paying attention.

"Pull your pants up," I whispered.

"I peed on them." She was really upset.

"Katie, sweetie, it happens. Don't worry about it. You can't come out like that."

"But I'm going to feel horrible."

"I'm sorry, I know. But it's okay. You have to pull them up. And don't worry about it, it happens to lots of people."

"Even people who are seven even though they're in 1st grade?"

"Yes." I tried to look reassuring.

Yup. So add potty trainer to my list of job requirements. Anyways, a couple of kids heard me say that it happens to lots of people, and made fun of me (along the lines of "how often does it happen to youuuu?). To be fair, I set myself up for that one.

**

This weekend, the mermaid and I feasted on Ethiopian food for dinner and breakfast, and afterward headed to Little Ethiopia to peruse the Ethiopian wooden crosses and buy injera. I then experienced my first Orthodox baptism which included a sort of exorcism, a mini haircut, and full immersion. After the service I hung out with the baptismee's family, which included his mother, a very devout Protestant who had spent her life translating the Bible into Cree, and kept offering her blessings and prayers on our lives. The next day, I attended a Byzantine Catholic pentecostal service which was half in Romanian. All in all a pleasant experience – kind of like visiting another (very religious) country for a few days.

Today's Life Advice: Is for the ladies. Don't ever try to play soccer in a knee length jean skirt and bulgy flip flops. Just don't.