squids 'n' squirrels

various tidbits:
took 27 students to the state speech tournament in pharr-san juan-alamo. we did well, getting many students to semi-finals in various events, several to finals, and had a state champ in two categories (humorous interpretation and original oratory). we took a big charter bus, which was fun. on the way back we watched STAR WARS and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. i sort of slept through most of it, as we were driving home in the wee hours of the morn. but it was cool to wake up occasionally to the comfortingly familiar snippets of dialogue and to the loveable gargle of chewy's voice.
left my car with my parents over the weekend and they gave me an early birthday present: new tires, an oil change, and an inspection sticker. seeing as i got a $250 speeding ticket on tuesday, i was extremely grateful to have some assistance in the automotive area. when i went out to my parents' house to pick up my car this afternoon, my mom told me that my sister is worried about her. apparently mom gave my nieces each a pez dispenser, telling them she'd wished she'd given them their presents before easter. this was an odd comment, said my sis, since easter hasn't happened yet. mom laughed to me that it was just a slip in holidays, that the pezes were valentines presents, and besides, they were shaped like bunnies, so the slip-up wasn't all that alzheimeresque. later, dad commented to me privately that mom has been forgetting things lately, like the name of the school where my brother teaches. dad thought maybe the anaesthesia from mom's recent operations has had a negative effect on her memory. i've never heard of anaesthesia causing memory lapses. has anyone else ever heard of this happening? to me, mom has always been a little scatterbrained in terms of her memory of proper names and inconsequential details; it seems like nothing new. but dad seemed to think that she's been worse lately...
how 'bout those oscars? my favorite part was lily tomlin and meryl streep introducing robert altman, and altman's speech. my least favorite part was CRASH winning best picture.
on wednesday i have jury duty. i've never had to serve before. we'll see if i get any good, postable stories from the experience.
next week is spring break!
to people who pray, in whatever form that prayer takes: send out some healing vibes to floridian friend ET and her brother mike, who is struggling with cancer. all possible positive energy to you, my friends!!!