Please start this one after the last one is used up. Thanks.

Have fun! :D

I was Belle, Wendy.

How cool! Was anyone you liked at the time the Beast?

Yeah, that is another reason I'm not keen on this challenge. I don't want to spend time writing a multi-chapter fic.

No, he was an arrogant arse. Amy's fiance was Gaston.

Yeah, that is another reason I'm not keen on this challenge. I don't want to spend time writing a multi-chapter fic.

It's supposed to be a oneshot, as usual. I just couldn't see a way of doing it in my usual fandoms.

That's why I don't do challenges. Writing shouldn't be forced upon you.

It's supposed to be a oneshot, as usual. I just couldn't see a way of doing it in my usual fandoms.

It must have felt flippin' weird having to kiss him... or did you?

Edit: What do you mean "forced?" I like a challenge, I find they motivate me.

Yeah, many of the things I can think of would either end the story or take 50 chapters to follow to the end.

It was a stage kiss with the **, our lips never touched. Never kissed Gaston.

Well, 'tis late and I must go to bed. Goodnight, ladies! :D

Hi All,

I am back! I had to cook dinner and play Mom for a while.

My thesis is on the ideal age for special education referral and interventions for kids who have special needs in school. I want to prove that the earlier the interventions, the better the outcome will be for the kiddos. Unfortunately, there are mixed opinions. Specialists like speech therapists and OT / PT providers and SpEd teachers feel that the earlier the better...Administrators take the opposite viewpoints...(for mostly financial reasons). Many parents want the interventions early, but the admins keep stonewalling to save money. It is a vicious circle that must be traveled carefully - or I could lose my job for stepping on toes.

What is your job? Are you working in the place you are doing your thesis. Never a good thing in social sciences.

I was a counselor, then I went back to school and became a Special Education teacher and behaviorist. Now I am certified to teach K-12 SpEd, K-8 regular education, and 7-12 science, and social studies.

My heart lies with the behavioral kiddos and resource room though...

Yes, I work where I did my research. I also expanded my research to include a population sample of 400 respondents to the quantitative study. I used a rating scale to ascertain a collective data group and then figured my t's.

AARGH.

My cousin is doing a master's in special ed. I'm not sure what her thesis is on or if she's doing a non-thesis. Is that possible?

Yes. It is possible. Some schools let the grad students do action research projects or qualitative studies...but these take much longer (up to a year) to complete. I chose my topic because I see so many kiddos that are denied services because the administrators draw out the referral process through RtI or response to intervention. This basically is a way to collect data that proves that regular classroom interventions aren't working; but I think that a seasoned teacher should be able to determine whether the kiddo needs help.

Hey Epi...I found a new bug in my cellar....are ya interested in helping me identify it?

I agree. So what do you plan on doing after finishing this degree? Do you plan on staying a teacher or are you going to try and get into the administrative end and make some changes?

I can try and help you identify. We can do twenty questions.

No need. It is the size and color of an average tick with four smaller legs to the rear of the body and two longer legs with crab like pincers at the front of the body. It also has two smaller legs in front of the main arms. The coloring is shiny brown and the back has a white center insert.

I checked with the dept of health and they said it wasn't a tick...but they couldn't readily identify it as a spider either, although the body is segmented with a large tickish back, a little teeny midsection, and a head observable under microscope.

Any ideas? I am in the New England northeast, and I found it crawling over my woodpile.

Are you certain the small front legs are legs and not part of the mouth apparatus?

Is it elongated or round?

Are you certain it has three body segments?

If you post a picture of it on snapfish or something like that I'd have a better idea.

The two front legs look like feeder arms.

The largest part of the body is pear shaped...and the body is in two sections (thanks to my daughter's magnifying glass).

I preserved the beastie between two pieces of cellophane tape and am willing to send it to wherever for study. I am not the best picture taker, but maybe my hubbie can help out in this dept. He is a biologist, and even he is stumped on this critter.

Is it two parts plus a head or is the head the first part? Does it look like a potato with legs? (I know that's an odd question.) Without seeing it, I'll guess it is a mite. There are lots of crazy insects and other arthropods out there.

The head is the first part and the body is the second. My critter is 3mm long from head to butt, and the body is 2mm wide at the butt. The arms with pincers spread out make it about 7 mm wide. You could say a potato with a head nub and legs with barbs.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/117698/bgpage

http://bugguide.net/node/view/43788

http://www.hydro-gardens.com/images/twospotted_mite.jpg

http://laddersprogram.org/images/wood-eating-termite.jpg

The closest this little bugger comes is to look like the "true bug" icon on the first web page, with a bulbous butt rather than the elongated body.

Could it be a type of pseudoscorpion?

This is my bug!!!

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/images/pseudoscorpion_ellen.jpg

Yeah!!!!!

Excellent, I was going to tick off all the ones with pincers next. Yeah, pseudoscorpions like woodpiles and they do have an odd body shape :) I'm glad you found it.

I wish that I hadn't killed it...they are pretty good little hunters! They would protect my houseplants from the aphids. Oh well, I have lived and learned tonight...now I need to return to my test.

Thanks Epi. I'll write later...I still have two essays and 40 Multiple choice questions to go before midnight ET. Ruth

Good luck.

Goodnight, Rach. Please tell us how you got the hangover tomorrow

Er...well we split for Easter break this past weekend so quite a lot of my course decided that we would celebrate having three courseworks down and five to go. The original plan was just to go to the pub for lunch and a few drinks on Saturday afternoon, but that didn't quite work out. We went into the pub at one p.m on Saturday afternoon. We left at quarter to three a.m on Sunday morning, absolutely plastered. *cringe*

We went into the pub at one p.m on Saturday afternoon. We left at quarter to three a.m on Sunday morning, absolutely plastered. *cringe*

You didn't try to climb up a lamppost, did you? ;)

Did you stay at a friend's house?

You didn't try to climb up a lamppost, did you? ;)

No, or at least I don't think so. To be honest, my memory is pretty hazy after eleven o'clock. The only things I recollect are my friend Scottie (who is at least half a foot smaller than me) trying to lift me up and twirl me around in the middle of the club. Not good. That and we thought it would be a really REALLY good idea to down mojitos before we left. And yes, I stayed at a friend's house.

I get the impression the lamppost suggestion comes from personal experience. If so, do tell...XD

Hi Rach,

am too much of a control freak to ever get drunk enough to consider climbing a lamppost! In fact, if I ever did, I would probably emigrate out of shame!! They're a brazen lot at work, though, forever going on about their latest exploits. In fact, my rather tame lifestyle, to them, is a source of embarrassment! Okay...

What's a mojito?

Sorry for the mix-up.

A mojito is a cocktail made with rum, sugar syrup and mint leaves. It's the first and last time I've ever tried it. I have no idea what on earth possessed me with idea of buying one. but rum and mint leaves are most definitely not a good combination! O_O

Don't like mojitos? Sacrilege! Although they are definitely not a chugging drink, more of a sitting by the pool summer sipping drink.

Yeah, chugging them didn't do any of us any good; definitely not the best of times to try a new cocktail! :)

I don't even want to imagine. So what are you two up to today. I'm hitting a crazy deadline. I have to teach a class tomorrow morning about social insects which I know next to nothing about 9comparatively speaking). I'm almost done with my powerpoint and I'll have to practice tonight. I'm kind of nervous.

Good luck for tomorrow.

I'm currently trawling youtube because someone just emailed me to let me know that there's footage of my band on there that I hadn't seen before. And I'm re-doing the first half of one of my Lord of the Rings fics because the first half isn't that great.

I fee like you already said this but...rock band?

I wish I had time to do serious editing of my older fics. I have from time to time went back and did some grammar, comma, sentence edits but I don't have time to do anything major. That's why I try to outline as best I can before I begin. My next fic's outline is up to 40 pages and I still don't feel confident enough to begin publishing chapters even though I have the first 10 pretty solid in my mind. I like to be flexible and let the story take me where it wants to go, but it helps if you have a goal or end point to shoot for and many of the ideas for conflict and challenge already thought out for along the way. That's how I work at least.

It's a pipe band, but I'm fairly certain someone was talking about a rock band on here recently.

I don't normally have the time for serious editing either, but I'm taking advantage of Easter Break. The fic in question has been in progress for two years and my writing style has (I hope) matured and improved along the way. So now I cringe when I read the first half of it. I try to outline what I work on too; you can always modify plotlines as you write but it really helps to have a general idea of where you're going.

Hi all, I'm home.

Greetings!

Hi Nat, hi Epi.

Was called in for dinner. Cauliflower cheese, with a hint of nutmeg and paprika. Yum!

Rach, I'll give you a hand with your fic.

Howdy! Actually, I'm packing up at work. Later.

See you later. I'm off to be with Richard for a while, so I'll see you in an hour or so.

I'm back! :D

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