good morning, sunshines! um, i think my last little note sounded a bit whiny. sorry about that. things got much better, and i had a great home visit that reminded me why i love my job, and why i don't just spend my days having coffee shop conversations. i just wanted to take a minute to point out that there are a few new people linked to the left. last night daniel and i played chess over the phone - perhaps the longest, most equally-matched chess i've ever played. i love that this man challenges me to use my brain! i also love that we're both just dorky enough to play chess for two hours on the phone. there are a lot of thoughts and ideas brewing today. perhaps they'll make their way to this page before it's all over.