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I vowed when we left Korea that I wouldn't be cold at work ever again...still working for Koreans and still cold at work. But it is not their fault this time. The building we are in doesn't look old but it must have the most antiquated heating system ever devised. We have no control over our own heat and interior rooms are nice and cozy but by the time the tepid water (It's never hot) gets to the back outside rooms it is stone cold. The windows are a single pane of glass that cover 60% of the wall and they do a dandy job of transmitting the cold inside. My students yesterday all wore their coats all through class. I'll take too hot over too cold any day.

Okay on to happier news. Dad is making good progress in his recovery and with a generous package of magic chocolate and cherry cookies I'm sure he will be all better soon. He says that the cookies made it through the mail system fine, but one died on the way from the front door to the kitchen and they are losing numbers daily, so the whole troop may be wiped out by Monday. Tragedy.

I have been watching The 70th Anniversary Gone With The Wind DVD set that Andrew bought me for Christmas...I actually have not gotten to the movie yet, but have been going through the extras and behind the scenes material which is fascinating. GWTW is a technicolor movie which means that there are actually 3 pieces of film for each frame and these must lined up precisely, but over time the film shrinks at different rates depending on the color. So the copies of the film that we have been watching for 60 years bear little resemblance to the original. For this set they have used computers to realign the film and clean and repair it. In one documentary they showed side by side views of the film just 10 years ago beside the newest print and the difference is remarkable. The same process was done to The Wizard of Oz...did you know the Kansas scenes were not really black and white but were sepia toned? I borrowed the 70th anniversary edition of Oz from the library and again the image quality is amazing. Every plant and flower in munchkin land has a sheen to it. It was one of the few times I wished that we had a bigger TV so that I could see more of the details. If you love either of these movies it is worth your while to see these newest versions. I think I will have a day off this week and I'm setting aside 4 hours for Gone with the Wind.

I lost it a little at work yesterday while we were discussing the cultural figures they should be aware of on the SAT test. After carefully explaining who Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Salvador Dali, Tim Berners-Lee (invented the Internet) and J.D. Salinger are, a voice from the back, who had been playing a racing game on his Iphone (I can always tell by the way their shoulders move when they have their hands under their desks) says " I only know important people who are Asian."
To which I replied, "Then perhaps you should go find an Asian test to take then." I don't know if it was my tone of voice or the sentiment but things were a little quiet in the room until one of the girls burst out with "Burned!" Then we moved on to learning why "The Perfect" is not a Tense but an Aspect of verbs.

I wrote the rent cheque today with its yearly increase and realized that we have lived here for 4 years now. We had a discussion about moving a little while ago but realized even though the kitchen is too small, we are happy in our cozy apartment with its friendly staff who were worried that we had left when they didn't see us for the 2 weeks we were at Amy and James'. So I don't foresee us going anywhere. It is that kind of personal attention that makes a big building a home. The other tennants who have been here for a long time recognize each other and every year we make room for the students who come and go. We know how to get to Carleton Street (with its convenience store and video rentals) without going outside. We mourn the loss of the movie theater in the Carleton building. We know that when the laundry card malfunctions you just need to rub the chip a little and try again. We marvel whenever we see Maria removing the hallway light shades and cleaning them out ...every month! We know how that M is the floor you can use to access the parking garage next door and L is actually street level if you want to leave the building (you would be surprised how many people get lost). We know where the party room and conference room are. We know that the nicest bathrooms outside of our own apartmets are in the gym. We know that on holiday weekends the security company has extra guards patrolling. It is nice to live in one place for a long time and become a part of a community like this one in the big city, at the very least you get to hear the best gossip.
I hope everyone is happy in his or her home and thankful that we have such stability and comfort in a world where many are not so lucky.

M