it was the laugh that surprised even me.

the laugh was in response to the clincher quote ably delivered by durga, one that ended the first of two major stories from her end of the world.

then off to talking points. weather situation? sudden cool weather from my side, non-appearance of snow from hers. any new dirt? ooh yes, one really juicy tidbit fresh off my stay in qc involving a common friend. her response? tsk, tsk, tsk. you know how hard it is when you belong in a big group and you want to change your persona but you can't because it just won't fly with people who knew you from way back.

(mental note: i remember when our schoolmate krishlex tried to change his name to anthony back in college and all it elicited from us was a collective guffaw. a chuckle wouldn't have been enough. it was too delish for a laugh. classmates - like me and durga - from way back can be really cruel. they could also remind you of where you came from and how uncool we all were.)

dirt from her end? not much. off to the good news of a new addition to the new jersey collective - namely ivan and his wife myles. ivan was offered a position at the bank where he interned.

(background sounds: persistent firetruck alarms. the folks and i try to figure out where it may be coming from.)

the other news was long-delayed and it was about her dreaded observation by the powers-that-be from the district. (read: tenure time) i have every faith in durga that she'll wow anyone with her passion, dedication and creative spunk for teaching kids and inspiring them to do more for themselves.

(i had to insert one of my many strange dreams of late, in which i was donning our high school uniform and the two-and-a-half inch heels from ava's wedding. i have to keep emphasizing the height because, dear reader, you must understand, i don't wear heels at all. incidentally, the dream ended with me hiding from people. of course they find me anyway. in the game of life titled 'hide and seek' you can only imagine my track record.)

update on the pups: three of my former students have expressed interest in adopting one. the gang of seven (unofficially designated by tatay as 'the seven days of the week') are voracious feeders. poor mama kaya is worn out at the end of the day. we end up feeding her milk as well.