Found out from my aunt and uncle today that my mother has moved out of their house into a high school friend's apartment. Thanks for letting me know, guys.

I am reminded of the summer when bigbro and I were kids and living at my aunt's house in Tacoma, as we often did during the summers, and our parents called to say, "We moved from Santa Barbara to L.A. -- send the kids back to L.A."

The parenting lessons of today are just that -- of today.

Bit of a weird weekend. Trained 1Ls for Student Org #2 yesterday, then took them out for dinner at a local pub. There was one guy who said he couldn't do the research we assigned without understanding what the ultimate purpose was. Which I sympathize with, but dude. Stop fighting the hypothetical and just do the freakin' assignment like the other good boys and girls.

My co-coordinator kept apologizing for the lack of information, to the point where last year's coordinator, when she left, whispered to me: "You guys don't need to keep apologizing. This is exactly like other projects we get from NGOs -- they're vague and unfocused some times."

In part I think it was a male-female communication issue: he felt he was not given enough direction and assumed this was an issue we should all address, while my co-coordinator and I felt he was trying to undermine our authority a little bit. No one else in the group made much of a fuss about the assignment -- they just did it.

I don't think we handled it very well, and that was frustrating. In retrospect, I think we should have addressed it and then, when he continued to question the assignment, we could have just had a private discussion about it. It's hard when you aren't comfortable with asserting authority. Personally, I haven't done that many projects and don't have much background in this topic area, so I didn't feel I had the knowledge to justify the assignment.

There was a guy like this in training last weekend, too, for Student Org #1. Independent thinkers? Or troublemakers? At least the guy yesterday didn't have an attitude of disdain that characterized the guy last week.

So, a little weird yesterday. Then went to Def and Stave's for some wine and snacks, as did the French King and Mrs. Stave's sister. Being married or otherwise taken, they were intrigued by the blind date I would be having the next day (today). Nice, well-educated, driven fellow. Clearly shopping for a wife, as evidenced in comments about divorce ("a sign of failure") and places that are "great places to raise kids." Not stuff I'm ready for. I wonder if I'll ever be ready? And by then, will there be any guys my age left? I can't deal with someone as young as Friend is. But something about establishment also raises my hackles. I know I am privileged and fortunate to have the education I have and am undergoing, the opportunities I do, the experiences I've had. But I struggle with it. I am uncomfortable with people who take that all for granted. The spectre of my aunt and uncle, so frugal and humble, shadows me always.