Monday bullets of random crap

• The House Without Utilities, Part II: a pipe in my basement broke, meaning the water for the house has been turned off, and will be off until Wednesday, possibly Thursday. I'm crashing on a friend's futon tonight, but a couple of housemates and I are seriously thinking about checking into a hotel tomorrow.
• I had office hours this afternoon and was visited by some very earnest students. One is a scientist who can accept criticism well and really seems to want to learn the ropes of writing about literature. The other is a lit major, but just getting into the swing of things, and was super excited to combine Russian Formalism (which she's getting from some other class) with a short story by Ursula LeGuin (whom she referred to as "Ursula" in a gesture of intimacy I found rather endearing).
• My landlords/roommates have adopted another cat, named Myrtle. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever mentioned it, but their first cat is named General Tso, since he was so hungry when they took him in that he ate their General Tso's tofu. Yes, these are the vegan housemates.