After our hot-tub date, I was so exhausted that I went to bed at 9:00 and didn't do any reading before turning off the light. I think I was passed out by 9:03. Niiiice. Unfortunately, my 90-minute run on Sunday — which included distance, hard hills, and speedwork, plus negative splits — jacked up my foot something awful. I thought the side-bone of my left foot was all healed but apparently I was mistaken. Good thing I still have a sports-medicine doctor appointment on Friday. Good Friday, indeed. Now, I have a bandage wrapped around my foot, which means in this pouring-down rain, the only shoes I can wear are my Birkenstocks. Ahh, life, you torment me so.

Mmmmm. Just back from a three-hour date w/ my sweetheart Monstro. The first hour was spent at the local redwood hot-tub facility, where we spent the 1 hour gift certificate he gave me for our anniversary. Then, the second hour was spent at Mosaic Cafe, where we enjoyed fresh foods with Middle-Eastern spices and freshly squeezed juice. I was butter in his hands for the third hour, which was spent buying groceries at Stop and Shop. Now it's nearly 8:00, the groceries are put away, Monstro drove the babysitter home, and I'm seriously thinking it might be time to go to bed. Nighty night!

I am officially writing a new play. It is about a female stand-up comedian and a man who doesn't find her very funny, and why. I have written an entire page of stand-up comedy and will be sending it to the only stand-up comedian I know personally, for his illustrious comments. I think it will be a 10-minute play and I look forward to submitting it to Humana this year, once it's done.

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

Answer: The egg.

Why? … Because the egg got laid!

Last night was our first class back from Spring Break and about three minutes before class was going to start, one of my students strolled in and plunked a withdraw form on my desk.

“I'm withdrawing from this class,” she said.

I was a little surprised — her work had been solid and, to my best recollection, nobody's ever withdrawn from my digital photojournalism class so far into the semester — but I found a pen and signed her form.

“Wait a minute, let me see if I still have any of your work.” I flipped through my portfolio and couldn't find any quizzes, but did locate the printout of her self-portrait.

See, with the self-portrait assignment, I tell the students that they aren't to submit a caption. “Instead, I write the caption about you, using what I observe from your picture.” It's fun.

Or maybe not so fun for the more humorless… as I pulled out her self-portrait, which was of her leaning back against a “True Blood” poster, eyes shut, two bleeding puncture wounds on her neck, I said, “I loved this shot — very strong work.” The picture prompted me to write a caption that described her as romantic but edgy, and suggested that if she liked the Twilight books, then Breaking Dawn was probably her favorite.

She took her picture, leveled her gaze at me, and said, “I hated Breaking Dawn.”

By the time I thought to ask whether this was why she was withdrawing, she was already gone. Ta ta!

Yesterday, Monstro and I went to the kids' school to pick them up early. BK's nursery-school class has been studying pets, and as a way to augment the curriculum, the teachers planned a field trip to our local no-kill animal shelter. Monstro and I were particularly looking forward to it because this was the same shelter where we'd procured our cats about 5 years ago.

BK's teacher Peter gave us a clipboard with directions and questions to answer. BK is “pre-verbal” so we were to show him around and mark his responses. BK was quite taken with a scruffy grey mix pup — four months old and bounding with energy. I, however, had alerted the world that though we were going to an animal shelter, we would not be coming home with any new animals. The last thing I need is another small mammal to take care of.

BK's favorite part was running from one side of the doggie area to outside where the dog runs were. Lex's favorite part was holding a 10-week-old kitten, and petting Buster the Dixie Dog.

It was a great time. Thanks CEEC and Peter and June for putting it together. It was our boys' first field trip and they had a blast.