1) I recorded "That Bike" at the KQED studio yesterday. Very cool -- to sit in a sound room working with the engineer, to read the essay the way I wanted it to be heard and in exactly 2 minutes. Fortunately, I was more excited than nervous. Don't know when it will air yet.

2) Mick took his 3 finals! Sounds like they were progressively challenging throughout the day, but he's confident (hopeful?) he passed. He got up this morning for 7 a.m. Paint Ball with some classmates.

3) Last night Mick was supposed to go out for dinner after his final final (that's fun to write) with friends in the city, but our van broke down while I was taking Aubs to a birthday party! I had to pull over into a driveway on a hill in Mill Valley. So... after I managed rides and care for each of the kids (Aubs to her party, Dane a ride home from school with a neighbor), I sat with the van for an hour while waiting for the tow truck. Mick thought it would be nice to skip the dinner and come home. I actually appreciated that -- even though he took a 2-hour nap and then borrowed a car to gear up for paint ball!

4) Mick picked up the van from the shop after Paint Ball this morning. There was some minor malfunctioning going on with the engine oil light/buzzer the past week; as a result, we'd each added (unbeknownst to the other) extra oil, which caused huge clouds of smoke and minor shut down. The mechanic has disconnected the light/buzzer (a common problem in Vanagons w/ 200k miles on them) and told us just to rely on the dipstick. We're good at that (when a buzzer isn't freaking us out) so that shouldn't be a problem.

5) We're getting excited for Jan & Mike to arrive on Monday. Mike'll be here for 9 days, Jan for 3 weeks. (Yes, in case you're wondering, I'm THRILLED that my mother-in-law will be in our home that long -- she's a treat to have around and we usually know how to give each other space as needed.)

6) Blogger's ticking me off and I can't download any pix. Will have to report that. I have friends who are really chapped about the blogger glitches and are giving up the ghost with their blogs. I'm going to keep plugging away. But if you have problems, email me or blogger and we'll let 'em have it!