Oktoberfest!

Fall is finally here. The leaves are all over, the air is cool, and the stink bugs are trying to invade the house. They have been a little better this week than they were, but I think that is just because we had that little heatwave over the weekend. I expect they will grow in numbers in negative correlation to the mercury in the thermometer.

But at least they are not bedbugs! What a terrible plague! I have read accounts of them in local movie theaters, schools, police stations, shops...!!! There is this ominous invisible threat of them everywhere you go. And what can you do about it? Nothing. Yuck.

Anyway, as for life goes on. It does. The good news is that B is no longer failing any classes, at least not for the time being, and the general trend is upward. So we are hopeful. Math is looking a little shaky but we've embarked on a major investment and signed him up for one of those math tutoring centers, at fairly high expense, but I don't see that there are many options.

He's taking the PSATs on Wednesday and I'm just afraid his basic math skills are not where they should be. He had an evaluation yesterday but I haven't seen the results yet. His sessions will start on Monday and he'll go twice a week. Hopefully, it will help. He comes home from tests saying they were easy and then fails them, which is worse because it means he doesn't even know enough to know that he doesn't know what he's doing!

M is status quo. Tensions are high, and applications are starting to amble out. She submitted one, to her top choice school in Boston, but the high school's parts (recommendations and transcripts) will probably hold up the process for a week or two. Then another school, in NYC, sent her a free application online so she did that, and those final components are also pending from the high school. So, two applications so far. Next week, she goes up to the little college in upstate NY, and then up to Boston the following weekend, and back to Philadelphia (is the plan) for Halloween weekend. But that one might not happen.

My job also limps along. I'm a little disappointed in that it's failed to take shape as an actual role-playing job, rather I am more of a lackey and I heard my boss refer to me the other day as "my secretary." But, whatever. As long as I am not abused and I am paid I can stand it for a while. I really hope it takes on a more meaningful shape soon, though.

Well, another thought. I'm in the middle of what seems to be a losing battle with the website bookrags, which I thought at first was going to be the answer to our high school English problems. I ordered three online lesson plans at the end of summer. I was supposed to have access to them for one year. Two or so weeks later, they blew up my account and I couldn't get to them. The tests for which I needed them came and went, and they stopped answering my emails.

I tried to dispute the charge in PayPal but they wouldn't do it because it was electronically purchased. So I disputed it with my LL Bean Visa. Without notifying me, they have 'resolved' it ... and since my balance didn't go down, it looks as if I have lost again. So, they get to keep my money, and they don't have to provide the service in return. Apparently their language, to the effect of: customers can download and print everything on the entire study guide, is enough to release them from any liability should they fail to provide the service for a year, as their site says they will do.

I got two emails back from them (ever, in response to my 7 or 8), and the first explained that they had had some sort of technical problems, and the second said that they had not been resolved. I am just appalled that they are allowed to get away with this, and that they are as seemingly successful as they are with the level of customer service that they (don't) provide. I'll never darken their web-step again, that's for sure. And my next step is the Better Business Bureau, if I can ever figure out what their operating address is. They have absolutely no contact information on their site at all, and now I can see why. Whew. They have me so mad. Good thing it's over only $50 but the ethical principle is more irritating. They are completely inconsiderate, and if the law supports them, that's completely unfair.

And in other news, Molly's birthday is coming up in two weeks. With the wet weather last week and her leg weakness, she had some trouble getting up the back steps, and she hurt her leg a couple of times when she slipped. But she seems to have recovered and she's back to her old farting and sleeping self. And as for this weekend, no major plans, just an open house at M's only in-state college choice on Sunday, so that will be a short trip for a change!