The Gang

This is the gang that gathered at a restaurant in downtown Manchester, NH last Friday night:
Lil (or Camry a.k.a. me), AhClem, Short-and-Sassy, and ARB.

We four "weirdos" as ARB called us have known each other for a few years online. I met ARB and his wife for brunch in Tucson a couple of years ago while my husband and I were out there visiting his brother and sister in law. AhClem and I have met a number of times in Boston where he worked in the theatre district and when he's brought his family up to my neck of the woods for family outings. Sassy is the only one I hadn't met before offline, and she's as bubbly and vivacious as I thought her to be. She also pointed out how accurate her nickname is. Their spouses and ARB's sister and brother in law joined us, and we had a wonderful time talking, drinking, talking, eating, and talking.

Another and very different gang arrived today: the freshmen. This is a larger than average class (about 120) but they were pretty sane and civil during meetings in the auditorium and at lunch when some kids go wild. I'm not sure if it's just the demeanor of this group or if the Bridge sessions held in the summer helped tremendously. Either way, it was a good day. Tomorrow they get the day off and the upper classmen return. That's when my year will really begin. Today I spent time getting my student teacher oriented and answering some of her questions. She's a note maker and question asker, a habit that I see as an excellent sign. She wants to jump right in, but I won't let her bite off more than she can chew. Right now she feels a sense of accomplishment in seeing the big picture regarding British Literature, and that's fine, but there are three more course outlines to attack. I'll let her slip into the stream of World Lit once she's wet her toes with the seniors.