When you are busy time sure slips past. I'd rather watch it drift by me like a slow moving river instead of the tsunami it has been lately.

I bought a Hyundai Elantra. It's short and sleek and has lots of science fiction lines and all the bells and whistles. I now can hook my iPod directly into the stereo system except that the iPod died about a week after I got the car. I miss it.

And I cannot get another one on the island. You see, last weekend GovGuam finally paid back the income tax refunds from the previous two to three years. And everyone went shopping. They used the shopping malls to hand over checks and then mailed the rest of them. The lines curved out of the buildings and around the perimeter. Some people stood in line for two days. I waited for the mail and got mine the following Tuesday.

So the banks were crowded and the stores were crowded and now there is little left to buy. It's a good year to be a retailer on Guam.

My classes are going well. The girls are good students in general. I say in general because there are always a few rotten eggs. I'm especially having fun with the Guam History and Culture class. In fact it distracts me from the American Government classes I should be teaching. I spent several hours this morning downloading pictures from a cache I discovered while looking up something else. Good stuff.

Wakana is very tired. Working two jobs is getting to her. This will be her last semester teaching at the college. She really needs to quit working 11 hours a day in the classrooms and then another 3 to 4 hours at home.

Animals are all well except that Mama Kitty and Neko refuse to accept Mika. He is bigger than them now and a formidable cat. He keeps trying to play up to them and they keep hissing and growling at him. His new favorite thing is to find the dry mud in the dooryard and roll in it. Dirt really stands out on a white cat.

Kelli is leaving England. She and her family should be back in Maine by February. I think it's a dirty trick to bring her husband and child to Maine at that time of year but that is the plan and she's sticking to it.

Next week is Wakana's last before Christmas Break. I don't finish until the following Thursday. I can't wait.