smattering asides

Just now I'm trying again to figure out what exactly our internet service provider is blocking when I send out a mass email. Not entirely sure if its me or if its the ISP. If i stay online long enough I should have about 5 email messages bounce to myself.

My washing machine is broke, has been broke all week. I've been making increasingly irritable calls to the service shop. Same old story. But as I've had this machine for 6 months and have called for service on 4 separate occassions I think I'm a little justified in being irritable.

A mistake I continue to make in learning language is translating directly the phrase "I don't think they..." Which when translated directly means literally "I don't think". My teacher reminds me that "I do think." Maybe something else is the negative. The better way of saying it is "I think they don't work very hard." rather than "I don't think they work very hard." I've written in more than one place "I DO THINK!!"

I'm learning alot and I'm pretty happy but I would really love to make my houseworker's day and wash clothes tonight. I had to let down my houseworker this week and tell her that I think she can't follow us to the new city. I think we can't afford to pay her and her transport to work. So I've been trying to find her a new job. She really is great but there is just no way we can do it. Try telling that to a nice hardworking girl at the beginning of her week. Follow that up with "sorry the washing machine isn't working". Sigh...

Service man just pulled up. Growling works!!