What is Algebra? Can I wear it with my Wedding Dress?

Wednesday is Math day (aka Mum's day of teaching at Uni). Step father came home to teach Boy and I asked them to do the excel spreadsheet of family worries Boy and I have already classified into sections on the worry tree.

I came home from uni to find a very happy Boy and step father. "He worked solidly," step-father announced. "Scored over 75% on the five Kinetic units on Algebra". Algebra??? "What's that, in relation to our current Math plan?" I wondered aloud trying to keep abreast of Boy's learning. I thought they were doing the worry analysis.

Step-father claims he forgot (now that's a worry!!) they had to complete a task started by us last week, but, oh well, Boy worked well anyway. "Algie-bra is cool," he intonated in a very bad sexy sounding accent of what I know not.

I asked Boy what Algebra was. My reply was "A= B2". I guess in his Aspergic way, he answered my question. Further, I dared to ask for evidence of learning right in the middle of a World of Warcraft raid. How inconsiderate I can be sometimes. Step father (an accountant) gave me a much more informed answer but I still googled it to sate my curiosity and because Google doesn't bung on that pretend sexy accent.

Algebra is a branch of mathematics that uses mathematical statements to describe relationships between things that vary over time. I wonder what the algebraic equation would be for the pre wedding relationships in our house at the moment? How much fun would it be to have access to that drop dead adorable Math guru from the television serial Numb3rs. I could give him our problem situation (household is out of kilter because we are about to have a major event) and see what math equations and theories he uses to describe why and how we're all going to get back to normal in 12 days time.

In Crime and Computation, Rhonda Hillbery states, "Leave it to television to work out a way to make a national symbol of nerdiness—mathematics—into something sexy". I had to laugh when I read this because my first reaction this afternoon to the word Algebra was, "Okay, strapless bra, U bra, algebra". Oh dear, (I am again laughing aloud) how normal we will all be when this wedding is over and done with.