Well, first off, the Mystery Phone Number: 371-1289 was Kathy and Richard's (and Steph and Ben's) phone number when they lived on Maryland St. We gave it to the Board of Water and Light when we returned from Maine in 1982, and needed a contact phone so they'd turn on the electricity in our apartment (#3, as I recently re-learned from my LCC mail a few years ago . . . you may remember that story).

Mainframes don't have hamsters inside; apparently they're powered by elephants.

The Good News of the Day is that Emil and Charlie went back up to Lansing this afternoon, and Charlie took his placement tests for LCC, which means he was able to register for classes. He also put in job applications all over town. I'm feeling very optimistic about all of this. If he gets a job, he can get an apartment (and pay for part of it with some college money we've put aside). And of course, until he gets a job he can live with us. The best part, though, is that he seems genuinely enthusiastic about his classes, and he really seems to want to move.

And in other good news: The ESL summer program finished up today (good news in itself! I was too busy!!), and I got a very nice compliment from one of the other teachers. She said she hoped I'd be back next year; and that I had fit right in, and the students were completely unaware that it had been my first time teaching in the program. I felt really good about this because I've not been entirely clear about my role in the program and others' expectations of me; I'd tried to do the best that I could without stressing out too much or devoting my life to the thing . . . and had worried that my performance was just not up to par. So it was a real relief to hear otherwise! And when all is said and done, I had a really good time teaching in the program; the students were a delight and the curriculum was interesting. I'm thinking I might actually want to return next year . . .

And finally, I had a long talk with my sister-in-law yesterday. She seems to think that if we can't sell the house and end up renting it, we could reap considerable tax benefits. That would take some of the sting out of the double house payments. And I like the idea in general; it would be nifty to be able to keep this house without going broke. My fantasy is that we could rent it out for nine months and then Emma and I could summer in Ann Arbor (while I teach in the ESL program . . . ) We'll see . . .