The game against Uruguay

Ecuador, my Ecuador. From the first, we attacked bravely. Felipe Caicedo earned a penalty and then scored it in the same manner in which he’d scored against Bolivia.

Then we hung back and waited for Uruguay to give us spaces. During a counterattack, Christian Benítez seemed to’ve earned another penalty — but instead was booked, unjustly, for diving.

Infuriated, we committed our sole defensive lapse, and the Uruguayans tied the score.

Still, we outplayed and stole points from one of the world’s best teams. The replays are here.

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More tutoring at IUSB. Dunno how helpful I really am, but my students thank me profusely. Many are panicked and seek reassurance. I give them that in heavy doses in order to make my criticisms go down more smoothly.

It’s remarkable what a gentle “bedside manner” I’ve developed these last few years — especially since, with non-students, I continue to be abrasive.

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After work yesterday I watched my dear little friends, the Romaniacs, play soccer. Their team dominated; the ball never seemed to leave their opponents’ half of the field. It was like watching the Spain of the middle-school girls’ league.

Then I visited the Romaniacs’ house; they have two new pet rats, Dusty and Pickles. We all ate supper and I persuaded the Romaniacs to watch “Swooner Crooner.” When Bing Crosby came onscreen, they cracked up, which pleased me. Later I re-sung one of Frank Sinatra’s lines, and cracked up Cristian, the Romaniacs’ father. It’s so gratifying to be with people who think you’re hilarious. :)

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Kenny and I have Web access! We’ve negotiated for weeks with AT&T, and today they finally sent us a technician who could help us. (The previous one was of no use.) Best of all, I got them to promise to waive their installation fee.