Selfie time -- really??

ChinaBoi--only person in the world who smiles and takes a selfie with cop car in th background after being pulled over for speeding. Sheesh! 

Making the Grade

When you log in to your electronic classroom and don't see the little plus sign icon (meaning you're alone in there, no one else logged on right now), why does that feel eerie and creepy just like walking into a dark classroom in a real college building???

Nonetheless, I have been known to sit in this dark, empty electronic classroom, with bated breath, waiting for the professor to pop in and upload grades, hitting the "refresh" button on my browser. Every five minutes. For days.

Last night, ChinaBoi was sitting with his laptop, logged in to RIT's e-services, hitting the button every 5 minutes on the grade sheet, trying to find out what his final exam grades and semester grades were.

Some things just span generations.

Like mother, like son...

The good news is that he made one A and all the rest B's.  I think that's pretty darn good for a kid who only had half as much schooling as his peers before leaving for college!  Yay, ChinaBoi!

Mohawk again?

That sure didn't take long.  Well, at least I had him normal for a little while.  They did warn us that things like hairstyles and piercings and clothing would make drastic changes once the kids were away from home, so I suspected the mohawk would return. 

I guess I just didn't expect to be quite so...ummm...BRIGHT.  

Open Letter to RIT

Dear RIT, 

I really wasn’t prepared for this day. I thought I would handle it fine, but I wasn’t prepared for the emotions that just broad-sided me. You see, I just handed over something really, really precious into your keeping--and I know you’re not going to give him back in the same condition you got him in. 

I know, that’s your job, but it still hurts. I really am losing him as he is right now.I had no idea when he first came to live with us how strong a bond could form in such a short time. How could he possibly develop as strong a bond as my other son had? It wasn’t like I had him since he was baby; he was already a teenager when I adopted him. We don’t look alike, we don’t even share the same first language, but that is still my son, and he is every bit as precious to me as the other one. 

I managed to hold back most of the tears until he couldn’t see me any longer, but they’re flowing freely now. Turning and walking away from him is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Not much on this earth I treasure as much as that boy (except the other one!), so I have literally left a huge portion of my heart in your hands. 

Please guard it well.

Home Sweet Home

Well, Charlie's home sweet home, for the next nine months or so, anyway...

Pinch me

Somebody needs to pinch me.  Here's the end result of our first day at RIT, and this now seems so surreal.  I can't believe I'm going to be leaving here without him.  I'm not ready for that one to sink in just yet. 

Engineer this!

So it's like this - the boy's car is stuffed to the gills and ready for the trip to New York...but there's no room for me or my one measly little suitcase.  

I told him he wants to be an engineer, gotta figure it out. 

He did eventually manage to squeeze me and my suitcase in there, but man it was a cramped ride from Maryland to New York!