one of the ESOL (english as a second or other language--because ESL isn't pc anymore!) cassette tapes wasn't working properly. the student who had checked it out said the recording kept starting and stopping. i listened to the tape and didn't find any places that started and stopped. the nature of the recording started and stopped because it was giving the listener an opportunity to respond to the recording. since i wasn't planning to sit through the entire tape and follow along in the book to find the offending start/stop, i retrieved the master tape to make a new tape. simple plan, not so simple follow-through. first off, i couldn't find any blank cassette tapes in the office. we had a bunch; i should know, i was the one who donated them. also, i'm the one who maintains the supply cabinets and drawers. second, where the heck was i going to find a dual-tapedeck? we have a bunch of single cassette players for students to use, but a dual-cassette player/recorder? even the A/V department didn't have a dual tape player. then i remembered that my parents still have my old tape deck out on the patio (to play music while working in the yard, bbq-ing, etc.). so i went to the house for my regularly-scheduled dog and parent visit. i cued up the tapes and set them to record, then walked the dog. when i came back, my mom asked me what was playing tape player. she said she heard people talking in the backyard, but she knew the dog and i had left. she went onto the patio to investigate and heard the tape playing. i told my mom that i thought the dog needed to improve her conversational skills, so i brought her a tape to listen to. mom was stunned, then i said i was just kidding and told her the real reason why. i needed to buy rice, so my mom and i went to the nearby asian market to buy rice. when i returned, i checked on my recording's progress; it was finished on one side. my dad was out watering the plants. he asked me what the dog was listening to. so i gave him the same explanation that i gave my mom: dog needs to learn conversation, stunned silence, just kidding, blah blah work project, we both laugh. i flipped over the tapes, then we went back into the house. when my recording project was finished, i went out onto the patio to retrieve my tapes. the dog looked at me with huge eyes. she looked confused and distressed. she heard people talking, but didn't see any people. it sounded like someone was there, but they weren't, and if they were, they weren't paying attention to her and telling her how pretty she was. next time, maybe i should plug some headphones in so she won't have to hear the voices blaring over the speakers. | 
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