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Sounds like they both want your undivided attention....all at once a wonderful feeling and a dasterly (sp) one. Good luck with them. I truly hope you work out the problem with the dogs AND find meaningful, fulfilling work.

AM I hear alone? What's happening that I'm missing by being at work?

I have to tell you about something that happened at work yesterday. Unfortunately it happened shortly before a genuine misunderstanding and may have contributed to this feeling that I don't have much of a chance of teaching there.

I was in a conversation with a Japanese student about grammar. She wanted to know how and when we learn the English grammar that they struggle so much with. I told her about how much grammar my 10-year-old is learning this year and said she knows more than most adults. As an example, I said that even most English teachers couldn't tell you how many prepositions English has, but my daughter knows.

Just then the academic director walked in so we asked her if she knew how many prepositions English has. She said, "Oh, hundreds."

I said, "Actually, there are 49."

She said, "No, there are hundreds!"

I looked puzzled and said, "How do you figure? There are just 49."

She said, "Oh no, there are way more than that!"

I told her that where I taught before (Vanderbilt) I had brought a list of 49 and that was more than anyone else had been able to compile.

Then she got a sort of sickeningly sweet smile on her face and said, "Ok, if you want to go on believing that, you can!"

Tension filled the room. Soon after that I got the distinct impression that I was no longer wanted.