today, it did not rain too much.

this is my first blog. i am not going to do a whole "so i am new to this blogging idea, these are the things i'm into so this is what i will be blogging about" kind of spiel. the internet is full of those, so just find someone who dresses kind of like me and you will get the idea.

let's start with some things i have been thinking about. i tutor two kids - one is in 8th grade, one is in high school. neither of them thinks i am very cool. i mean, i'm a tutor, of course i love school and of course i'm a nerd. i'm not exactly pocket-protector material, but nobody wants my autograph, either, least of all the kids i tutor. what am i supposed to do about this? i want them to like me. everyone wants other people to like them. that is the point of interacting with other people. but i also get excited about their math homework. the 8th grader is okay, because at least she still thinks it's cool that i'm way older than her and drive a car. those things are all big deals for someone who is in 8th grade. maybe tomorrow i will tell her that sometimes i eat ice cream for breakfast and go to a bunch of r-rated movies. but the high schooler just plain thinks i am lame. if she were older, i could explain to her that in college the meek inherit the earth and the people who were popular in high school get laughed at, but first of all she is still kind of too young to understand that and it would just make her laugh harder at me and second of all it's not really that true. it's a little true if you are into the music scene, but outside three-hundred level classes and the radio station, it's still pretty much like high school. what's even worse is that she is an extremely stylish high-schooler. she's got this leather bag and a ton of designer clothes and a louis vuitton day planner. so i've been pretty much pretending that i don't buy my clothes at thrift stores and that she thinks my jokes are funny. also, i have been sort of letting her get away with manipulating me into doing her math homework for her. just a little bit though. but then today the solution occurred to me: i could do my job! if i make her do her work and review for all her tests and quizzes and not lie to me and her parents about what is due when and whether she's done it or not, she will get better grades and i will prove to her that it is not about being stylish. it is about being smart, and being smart is being cool. or at least getting good grades means she will not be grounded all the time, and then she can do cool stuff like go shopping for more designer things. i guess i would just be satisfied with commanding a little respect.