thursday a group of english teachers from mason took the day to look at how we teach writing at mason and what we could do to improve. we focused on preparing our students for the OGT and discussed how we could do that, not by teaching to the test but by helping our students become better writers. many good insights and suggestions came from the day, but most importantly, we came away with with a renewed passion for writing and igniting that passion in our students.
personally, i realized one of my major flaws as a writing teacher is i have never really struggled with writing. expressing myself with the written word has rarely been an issue, so i have a difficult time helping my students with some of their issues because i haven't dealt with them. when asked what i do to write well, i look and shake my head: i don't know, i just write. one of the discussions we had thursday was why more of our students weren't in the accelerated and advanced levels of the OGT. casey voiced my first thought: because they aren't. i do believe some students are more gifted verbally than others. we were chastised for selling our students short. that hurt, probably because it was true. i get weary of repeating myself over and over and seeing the same errors over and over and i begin to think i've taken them as far as they can go. i know i can teach them to be proficient - but how much will i be able to take them to the upper levels if they don't already have some innate skill?
i'm still working on that one, trying not to let my prejudices influence my teaching.
an unexpected side effect of our conversation was a suggestion we possibly drop one of our required texts so we could spend more time with writing. one of the problems with the trimester schedule is the time crunch of squeezing everything into 12 weeks. and i certainly would like to spend more time with writing. but jettisoning literature to help with writing seems counterintuitive. i believe one of the reasons students don't write well is because they don't read enough. you have to be familiar with great writing before you can write your own. i'm sure we could work smaller pieces into our writing instruction, but reading shorter texts requires a different set of skills than longer, complex works. but that's based on feelings, not facts.
i wonder if it would be possible to divide the sophomore year into two halves - focus on writing the first trimester and literature the second. ideally, you teach writing in the context of studying literature, but perhaps our unique schedule requires we try something else. it wouldn't be a complete divide, obviously, but maybe something to look into.
the workshop accomplished its purpose - it got us thinking about writing and it got me excited about teaching writing again. here's hoping my students catch the fire, too.
Æ
Tunes: matthew sweet - i almost forgot
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
the humpty hump
as i was driving the 20+ miles to mason today, it hit me that my plans to show In Search of Shakespeare to my class tomorrow were severely hampered by the fact that the dvd was still at the norwood library and the fact that i didn't have it as i drove meant i would be driving back later tonight to drop it off.
i love it when a plan comes completely apart at the seams.
head's been phull of phlegm all day. boxes of kleenex gone. didn't help my overall mood any. that and i had to explain to my students why so many of them failed the practice OGT writing. mostly because they were too lazy to write more than a handful of sentences.
ah, i don't want to talk about that.
so i get to sleep in tomorrow, which is great - heading to a writing seminar at miami u for the day. hopefully it will be a good time and not mind-numbingly boring. could do with something to inspire me to help my students become better writers - much of my passion for that has been scraped away by their apathy toward it. i wish i could spend my time in class on writing instead of the OGT. and yes, i know, the OGT tests writing, but it's a different type of writing.
i said i didn't want to talk about that....
listening to "changes come" from changes come live by OTR. why oh why didn't paul moak join the band? by the way, if anyone out there is interested in going to the christmas show on dec. 16, let me know. i'm buying tickets next week and so far only three people have said they're going out of the bizillion i invited.
ok, currently trying to talk to four people simultaneously on AOL IM. multitasking not my strong point. blogging, chatting, listening to music (ok, that last one's lame).
i have nothing of significance to share. good night.
Ɔ
Tunes: sinead o'connor - the last day of our acquaintance
i love it when a plan comes completely apart at the seams.
head's been phull of phlegm all day. boxes of kleenex gone. didn't help my overall mood any. that and i had to explain to my students why so many of them failed the practice OGT writing. mostly because they were too lazy to write more than a handful of sentences.
ah, i don't want to talk about that.
so i get to sleep in tomorrow, which is great - heading to a writing seminar at miami u for the day. hopefully it will be a good time and not mind-numbingly boring. could do with something to inspire me to help my students become better writers - much of my passion for that has been scraped away by their apathy toward it. i wish i could spend my time in class on writing instead of the OGT. and yes, i know, the OGT tests writing, but it's a different type of writing.
i said i didn't want to talk about that....
listening to "changes come" from changes come live by OTR. why oh why didn't paul moak join the band? by the way, if anyone out there is interested in going to the christmas show on dec. 16, let me know. i'm buying tickets next week and so far only three people have said they're going out of the bizillion i invited.
ok, currently trying to talk to four people simultaneously on AOL IM. multitasking not my strong point. blogging, chatting, listening to music (ok, that last one's lame).
i have nothing of significance to share. good night.
Ɔ
Tunes: sinead o'connor - the last day of our acquaintance
Saturday, October 28, 2006
betrayal
my body betrayed me this weekend. i had it all worked out - a trip up to columbus, a lunch with susie, another dinner at the thurman cafe, then home on this super-sized day (you did remember to set your clocks back right?). and then my body decided to get lazy and not stop the lovely bronchitis virus from coming back in to set up residence in my body again. started exactly the same way - swallowing burning gravel for a day, followed by a slow migration to my lungs and a sense my head was going to explode. lovely. i hoped it would go away, but i should have known i would not be so lucky. ah well, there's always the future....
another day off school - hated to do it, but i was in no shape to teach. and it did give me a chance to catch up on my reading - i finished my U2 by U2 book. fun and entertaining read, though i would have preferred a little less about bono's humanitarian efforts. i admire what he's done, but i'm more interested in the band. of course now i find myself with nothing to read. never a good thing. need to get the new lemony snicket, but haven't found the time. plus, i'll want to read it right away and those pesky OGT practice writing tests are waiting.
saw The Prestige tonight. good movie, though the pacing was a bit slow for my taste. and i figured out part of the plot a bit early, which kind of spoiled some of the movie because i couldn't figure out if i was supposed to know yet or if i was supposed to still be in the dark. excellent performances by all involved, though the more i see of scarlett johansson, the less impressed i am (and i mean that in an acting sense, not in a more flesh sense). she's not a bad actress, but there's not a lot of variety there. yet. but she's still young. i'd recommend seeing it. makes me want to read the book, though, see how the author paced it. and when he let the audience behind the curtain.
ever had an idea that seemed good at the time, but then once it became an actuality, you realized you'd made a mistake? did that at school. for department meetings we split into different groups to focus on different issues and i suggested we have one group dedicated to improving our own writing, and then using what we learned to help our students become better writers. sounded like a good idea, but now i realize i have to actually produce something. i'm hoping the deadline will light a spark under me, but i worry i'll show up on the day of and have nothing, or only have stuff i worked on ages ago. and what kind of stuff should i bring? i'm most comfortable with poetry, but perhaps i should push myself and do a short story? work on a novel? a play? see what i've gotten myself into?
interesting times on blogs i read. for an encouraging tale, check out mike and andrea's blog about andrea's battle with Key-Mo, as she calls it. so strong, so positive. i love them lots. then for another difficult battle, check out chris's blog. what is our responsibility to any particular "church?" do we stay to help make it more Godlike? or do we seek out a church we feel is already moving in that direction? he has excellent thoughts - follow the comments, though, to get a taste of the dilemma.
been having my own thoughts about church lately, but the hour is growing late (relatively, since we get the extra hour tonight, but still feeling a bit out of it), so they'll have to wait for another time. and yes, i know, i shouldn't mention it if i'm not going to talk about it. but i gotta give you a reason to come back for another read, right?
off to take advantage of the extra hour of sleep, assuming i can actually fall asleep. afraid the drugs i'm on will keep me up late again. night.
Æ
Tunes: neil young - cinnamon girl
another day off school - hated to do it, but i was in no shape to teach. and it did give me a chance to catch up on my reading - i finished my U2 by U2 book. fun and entertaining read, though i would have preferred a little less about bono's humanitarian efforts. i admire what he's done, but i'm more interested in the band. of course now i find myself with nothing to read. never a good thing. need to get the new lemony snicket, but haven't found the time. plus, i'll want to read it right away and those pesky OGT practice writing tests are waiting.
saw The Prestige tonight. good movie, though the pacing was a bit slow for my taste. and i figured out part of the plot a bit early, which kind of spoiled some of the movie because i couldn't figure out if i was supposed to know yet or if i was supposed to still be in the dark. excellent performances by all involved, though the more i see of scarlett johansson, the less impressed i am (and i mean that in an acting sense, not in a more flesh sense). she's not a bad actress, but there's not a lot of variety there. yet. but she's still young. i'd recommend seeing it. makes me want to read the book, though, see how the author paced it. and when he let the audience behind the curtain.
ever had an idea that seemed good at the time, but then once it became an actuality, you realized you'd made a mistake? did that at school. for department meetings we split into different groups to focus on different issues and i suggested we have one group dedicated to improving our own writing, and then using what we learned to help our students become better writers. sounded like a good idea, but now i realize i have to actually produce something. i'm hoping the deadline will light a spark under me, but i worry i'll show up on the day of and have nothing, or only have stuff i worked on ages ago. and what kind of stuff should i bring? i'm most comfortable with poetry, but perhaps i should push myself and do a short story? work on a novel? a play? see what i've gotten myself into?
interesting times on blogs i read. for an encouraging tale, check out mike and andrea's blog about andrea's battle with Key-Mo, as she calls it. so strong, so positive. i love them lots. then for another difficult battle, check out chris's blog. what is our responsibility to any particular "church?" do we stay to help make it more Godlike? or do we seek out a church we feel is already moving in that direction? he has excellent thoughts - follow the comments, though, to get a taste of the dilemma.
been having my own thoughts about church lately, but the hour is growing late (relatively, since we get the extra hour tonight, but still feeling a bit out of it), so they'll have to wait for another time. and yes, i know, i shouldn't mention it if i'm not going to talk about it. but i gotta give you a reason to come back for another read, right?
off to take advantage of the extra hour of sleep, assuming i can actually fall asleep. afraid the drugs i'm on will keep me up late again. night.
Æ
Tunes: neil young - cinnamon girl
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
it's gone, gone, gone
whoa-oh whoa-oh whoa
after weeks of waiting, i finally got into heaven and, disgusted with the current state of the dead skin follicles on top of my head, i decided to give up ever having cool, long hair. so i had ashley take the scissors and lighten the load. snip snip snip and now my hair is much shorter and, for the first time in my adult life, brushed forward, not backward into what is known as "the caesar." et tu brute. i like it, though i worry about being able to recreate the look tomorrow morning after my morning shower. but at least the mullet/helmet head/afro is gone now.
we moved house church tonight to the novotnis to help them meet some citybeat deadlines. no skin off my elbow - saves me from having to do a quickie scouring of the place. we can do breakfast another night. plus, i'm guessing we'll get out a bit earlier than last week (10:30), which means my evening won't be quite so late. i love the conversation, but oy the 5:00AM alarm.
update: lunch with susie was wonderful. we went to the blue gibbon and our waiter was...wacky is the only way to describe him. terribly amusing, though bordering on obnoxious at times. but the food was tasty (though it's still weird to me to have lettuce with asian food) and the conversation fun. we hit graeters afterwards for some palate cleaning apple cider sorbet and more conversation. and then i showed her my tree (not like that, ya sick perverts) and we said our goodbyes. a successful second date.
i think.
see, here's where the wheels come off. i lack the experience and/or skills to do whatever i'm supposed to to move from where we are to where i'd like to be. part of that is not knowing if she would like to move to where i'd like to be, but mostly it's being unclear what to do next. do i say something? do something? let it develop naturally? 'cause i've tried the last one before and i always seem to end up stuck in "the friend zone." and while i like the friend zone, for once i'd like that to not be the default setting.
ok, need to spend a couple more minutes looking for the software i got with my new computer so i can effectively clean karla to donate to the havens. i know it's somewhere in this office. of course, i couldn't find it when i searched for it the other night. keeping my fingers crossed....
Æ
Tunes: garbage - temptation waits
after weeks of waiting, i finally got into heaven and, disgusted with the current state of the dead skin follicles on top of my head, i decided to give up ever having cool, long hair. so i had ashley take the scissors and lighten the load. snip snip snip and now my hair is much shorter and, for the first time in my adult life, brushed forward, not backward into what is known as "the caesar." et tu brute. i like it, though i worry about being able to recreate the look tomorrow morning after my morning shower. but at least the mullet/helmet head/afro is gone now.
we moved house church tonight to the novotnis to help them meet some citybeat deadlines. no skin off my elbow - saves me from having to do a quickie scouring of the place. we can do breakfast another night. plus, i'm guessing we'll get out a bit earlier than last week (10:30), which means my evening won't be quite so late. i love the conversation, but oy the 5:00AM alarm.
update: lunch with susie was wonderful. we went to the blue gibbon and our waiter was...wacky is the only way to describe him. terribly amusing, though bordering on obnoxious at times. but the food was tasty (though it's still weird to me to have lettuce with asian food) and the conversation fun. we hit graeters afterwards for some palate cleaning apple cider sorbet and more conversation. and then i showed her my tree (not like that, ya sick perverts) and we said our goodbyes. a successful second date.
i think.
see, here's where the wheels come off. i lack the experience and/or skills to do whatever i'm supposed to to move from where we are to where i'd like to be. part of that is not knowing if she would like to move to where i'd like to be, but mostly it's being unclear what to do next. do i say something? do something? let it develop naturally? 'cause i've tried the last one before and i always seem to end up stuck in "the friend zone." and while i like the friend zone, for once i'd like that to not be the default setting.
ok, need to spend a couple more minutes looking for the software i got with my new computer so i can effectively clean karla to donate to the havens. i know it's somewhere in this office. of course, i couldn't find it when i searched for it the other night. keeping my fingers crossed....
Æ
Tunes: garbage - temptation waits
Friday, October 20, 2006
for the love of money
friday night. partying as usual, which means not at all. not for lack of opportunity but by choice. offered the chance to work the auditorium tonight and since i can't say no to easy money, here i sit. they should end around 9:15, which, if all goes well, means i should be home in time to catch the late showing of BSG. will try to watch it here, but tough with oliver! in the background. plus, i need to tape it to share.
so...i have another date tomorrow with susie. she's in town again for a wedding. of course, we haven't actually spoken, just exchanged emails and messages. but the plan is to do lunch somewhere asian - either lemon grass or the blue gibbon. will decide when i talk to her tomorrow morning. no safety net this time, just the two of us. i'm trying not to think about it, lest i psyche myself out. it's only lunch, after all.
the problem with working for easy money is little projects fall through the cracks - getting karla cleaned and ready to for her move to the havens, sending songs for the 25th anniversary tear down "tape," keeping in touch with friends. oh yeah, and grading, which is always my excuse for taking the job (besides the money). did get a batch done, but i need to get the OGT practice test finished so we can go over them next week. *sigh* it never ends. should have been a PE teacher.
i'm going to have to watch BSG again. too many distractions here.
so i discovered something today - there is no room C211 at mason high school. for our staff training time (primetime), we're meeting in PLC (professional learning cohorts) to look at specific issues. a good idea, if you can find a topic you're interested in. which i've had little success doing. initially i was signed up for the large school climate group, but it wasn't a good fit. then i was going to work with andy and colin on school financing, mostly because it was andy and colin. but now that andy's gone, the thought of looking at financial stuff makes my brain want to crawl from my ears. not a pleasant thought. so today i decided to join up with the gender group. at least i tried to. on the list of groups, they were marked to meet in C211. so when we split into groups i went there. it doesn't exist. i walked around the hallway for a while, convinced i was just missing it. it's a design thing - instead of a classroom, it's two computer labs - C209 and C210. lovely. so then i went to page one of the people in the group, to find out where they were. i was told they couldn't do that during primetime. then on my way back to my room, i stopped into the scheduling office and kim took things into her own hand and paged them. so i made it to the meeting, just in time to wrap things up. group looks like it should be interesting.
ok, oliver's over. time to start encouraging the group to leave.
Æ
Tunes: elvis costello - episode of blonde
so...i have another date tomorrow with susie. she's in town again for a wedding. of course, we haven't actually spoken, just exchanged emails and messages. but the plan is to do lunch somewhere asian - either lemon grass or the blue gibbon. will decide when i talk to her tomorrow morning. no safety net this time, just the two of us. i'm trying not to think about it, lest i psyche myself out. it's only lunch, after all.
the problem with working for easy money is little projects fall through the cracks - getting karla cleaned and ready to for her move to the havens, sending songs for the 25th anniversary tear down "tape," keeping in touch with friends. oh yeah, and grading, which is always my excuse for taking the job (besides the money). did get a batch done, but i need to get the OGT practice test finished so we can go over them next week. *sigh* it never ends. should have been a PE teacher.
i'm going to have to watch BSG again. too many distractions here.
so i discovered something today - there is no room C211 at mason high school. for our staff training time (primetime), we're meeting in PLC (professional learning cohorts) to look at specific issues. a good idea, if you can find a topic you're interested in. which i've had little success doing. initially i was signed up for the large school climate group, but it wasn't a good fit. then i was going to work with andy and colin on school financing, mostly because it was andy and colin. but now that andy's gone, the thought of looking at financial stuff makes my brain want to crawl from my ears. not a pleasant thought. so today i decided to join up with the gender group. at least i tried to. on the list of groups, they were marked to meet in C211. so when we split into groups i went there. it doesn't exist. i walked around the hallway for a while, convinced i was just missing it. it's a design thing - instead of a classroom, it's two computer labs - C209 and C210. lovely. so then i went to page one of the people in the group, to find out where they were. i was told they couldn't do that during primetime. then on my way back to my room, i stopped into the scheduling office and kim took things into her own hand and paged them. so i made it to the meeting, just in time to wrap things up. group looks like it should be interesting.
ok, oliver's over. time to start encouraging the group to leave.
Æ
Tunes: elvis costello - episode of blonde
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
slave to the grind
well, here i am again, babysitting the auditorium while oliver! rehearses in the background. got the call during fourth bell (around noon), about 3 1/2 hours before i was to report to work. but the siren song of easy money was too much to ignore. so here i sit - getting some grading done and watching last night's daily show (saving me from watching the tape when i get home).
seriously, i'm not this shallow.
ok, yes i am.
for house church last night, we went to the esquire to watch Jesus camp. a disturbing film. raised lots of questions about faith and how we pass it on to the next generation. actually brought back a lot of flashbacks to the camps i was both part of and helped to plan. not nearly as over-the-top, but the elements were there - the music to get the kids fired up, the message designed to play on the emotions, the manipulative opportunity for response.
wow, i sound just a bit jaded.
at the same time, i believe God can use those kind of service to truly change people's lives, to draw them closer to Him. and it drives....me....crazy. because God should only work in thurman-ordained ways - in other words, in correct ways. He shouldn't allow people to manipulate, He shouldn't use these places because, well, they don't fit my image of who He is. and yet He does.
She's speaking like a gibbering foreigner
Got a cripple in her clutches
Seems to float like a gaudy angel on strings
Over wheel chairs and crutches
I came to check it out, have a laugh or two
But I'm caught up in the fury and wonderI
watch the leg of the fat lady next to me
Grow several inches longer
There are rumors about the bank account,
Affairs and double dealings
But faith sneaks up like a mischievous child,
And you find yourself believing
I could be deceived, but I believe
That I just got a healing from
Evangeline
(does a miracle occur somehow in spite of her?)
terry scott taylor
don't get me wrong - much of what i saw in the film was disturbing and disgusting and sad. but i can't get away from the the passion i saw there and while it may have been misdirected, it made me question if i'm passionate enough about my own faith. i claim to be keeping my faith from becoming over-emotional, but maybe i'm simply hiding behind ...what? laziness? fear? if my faith has truly made a difference in my life, wouldn't i want everyone to experience it?
of course, that doesn't mean i'm going to force it on people. or start laying hands on a cardboard cutout of bush.
methinks i just heard a timpani sound, which shouldn't be because the pit band isn't supposed to be using ours until they get an insurance waiver. perhaps i should go check that out.
too much already. guess i'll have to write later about my further adventures in dating....
Æ
Tunes: havalina rail co. - green skies
seriously, i'm not this shallow.
ok, yes i am.
for house church last night, we went to the esquire to watch Jesus camp. a disturbing film. raised lots of questions about faith and how we pass it on to the next generation. actually brought back a lot of flashbacks to the camps i was both part of and helped to plan. not nearly as over-the-top, but the elements were there - the music to get the kids fired up, the message designed to play on the emotions, the manipulative opportunity for response.
wow, i sound just a bit jaded.
at the same time, i believe God can use those kind of service to truly change people's lives, to draw them closer to Him. and it drives....me....crazy. because God should only work in thurman-ordained ways - in other words, in correct ways. He shouldn't allow people to manipulate, He shouldn't use these places because, well, they don't fit my image of who He is. and yet He does.
She's speaking like a gibbering foreigner
Got a cripple in her clutches
Seems to float like a gaudy angel on strings
Over wheel chairs and crutches
I came to check it out, have a laugh or two
But I'm caught up in the fury and wonderI
watch the leg of the fat lady next to me
Grow several inches longer
There are rumors about the bank account,
Affairs and double dealings
But faith sneaks up like a mischievous child,
And you find yourself believing
I could be deceived, but I believe
That I just got a healing from
Evangeline
(does a miracle occur somehow in spite of her?)
terry scott taylor
don't get me wrong - much of what i saw in the film was disturbing and disgusting and sad. but i can't get away from the the passion i saw there and while it may have been misdirected, it made me question if i'm passionate enough about my own faith. i claim to be keeping my faith from becoming over-emotional, but maybe i'm simply hiding behind ...what? laziness? fear? if my faith has truly made a difference in my life, wouldn't i want everyone to experience it?
of course, that doesn't mean i'm going to force it on people. or start laying hands on a cardboard cutout of bush.
methinks i just heard a timpani sound, which shouldn't be because the pit band isn't supposed to be using ours until they get an insurance waiver. perhaps i should go check that out.
too much already. guess i'll have to write later about my further adventures in dating....
Æ
Tunes: havalina rail co. - green skies
Sunday, October 15, 2006
ingredients for a (nearly) perfect weekend
it started rather inauspiciously with history's unpeppiest pep rally. it wasn't for lack of trying, but the logistics of walking 2800+ students from the high school to the middle school for a pep assembly designed to be outside seriously put a crimp in any spirit that might be raised. then came the news that my good friend andy was going to be taking a month break, to rest up and heal from his surgery from the summer. while he'll be missed, i'm glad he's taking it easy.
then things started to look up. after school, i went to friday's again for appetizers and great conversation. of course, this put me a bit behind, as i was supposed to pick up steve and sam for our journey to the landing place at 6:00 and i didn't get home in time to make that work. but we finally made it on the road just before 7:00. steve worked on his piece for city beat the whole way up, so it was pretty quiet in the car. we eventually made it to 64 king, only to discover no one was home. but we finally made our way in and i waited for mike to call. my first trip to LP - definitely the same spirit as VC. good to visit with some of the gang there. plus, it was only a short drive to mike's from there. before i left, i made sure sam and steve had my number, in case they ran into problems with the ride to cincy.
my visit with mike was good - good to catch up, watch sylvie hop around the room. we were both pretty wiped, he moreso than i for obvious reasons. andrea's first chemo treatment went as well as could be expected (you can read her account here). always good to visit mike, though kept wishing there was more i could do or say. but really, what is there? i crashed in their upstairs and woke up and headed up to mount vernon to visit with steve and angela before we met brent for lunch and then headed to the drama meeting (brent and i anyway - steve has little desire to be involved). 'twas an excellent visit and quite profitable - steve had burned me an mp3 disc of old christian music (petra, altar boys and the uber-frightening wow gold) as well as the massive dvd collection of top 40 songs from 1975-2001 - i don't know where they came from, but it's like an instant music collection, though i'm certainly not interested in the majority of them). fun.
the drama celebration looks like it's going to be quite a great time. now if we can just get people to show up. unfortunately, i was the cause of brent losing the chance to have one of his infamous top ten lists on a t-shirt. still not sure how it happened, but we were discussing the shirts and dan was suggesting we design them so we could sell them to the cast from this year's play, which i thought was a lame idea, so to steer him away, i suggested maybe we could just put a list of all the productions from the past 20 years on the back. and *poof* there goes brent's contribution. i felt bad, but it was too late. steve and i might make some "renegade" shirts for the three of us, just to help ease the blow.
then after the meeting we headed down to the thurman cafe for dinner. on the way, my phone rang - it was sam and steve. they had made it as far as london and decided to call it quits. i told them i would call when we were done. the cafe was great, as usual, though they still didn't have any xxl shirts, which makes me sad. still need two more to have a whole week's worth. so i said my goodbyes to brent, steve and angela and then headed across 70 to london to pick up the weary travelers. not only were they tired, but they had also gorged themselves on pizza and ale, so they were a bit rough. but we made it home without too much trouble. and i watched BSG and then headed to bed, for i knew what awaited me on sunday...
woke up this morning early - sent off an overdue email to the gang from kent, then jumped in the shower and got ready for church. susie was going to meet me there, so i made sure i was there in plenty of time. good thing, because she got a bit lost and arrived early. i recognized her from the picture on the westerville naz website - not sure if she knew what i looked like or not. so we talked before service - i filled her in on some of the history of st. e's and tried to explain why, if service started at 10:00, there were only half a dozen people there at 9:59. welcome to vc time. chris and deb were going to join us, but as service started, they were nowhere to be seen. then i ended up doing announcements last minute. but eventually we settled down and kevin began his message (with a clip from fight club - woohoo!) and chris and deb wandered in a bit late (turns out chris tried some new way to norwood and it didn't go so well). afterwards, the four of us headed to jalepenos for lunch. was a great time - good food, good conversation, a great first meeting. no details, sorry. but she'll be back this coming weekend, and i'm hoping we'll get to hang out again.
then i was supposed to be at the auditorium to work by 4:00, so i grabbed a quick nap and grabbed my mountain of grading and headed to mason. when i got there, everything was dark, so i called jack. turned out they changed their schedule and came in early and left at 3:00. and they forgot to call me. was ok - i used the extra time to get some grading done (though would have been nice to be paid, too). plus andy was there getting things together, so it was good to see him before he took his break.
then gina and i visited the blue gibbon, a chinese place down on tennessee. good food. gina's excited because it's clean and they do lunch specials on saturday - two things she's been looking for since she left mount vernon and the beloved hunan garden. i thought the food was good, but nothing spectacular - i like lemon grass a bit better food wise. but definitely a good place and one i'll be happy to return to. my fortune: "Lovers come and go, but friends are always there." take that as you will.
to top it all off, both the bengals and the ravens lost and the steelers demolished the chiefs. was great to finally see them play like they should. but of course, wkrc decided to switch in the fourth quarter to the jets/miami game, which seriously hacked me off. i hope it was a network decision, because otherwise it just appears petty and small (of course, we are talking about a bengals affiliate here). angered me enough that i wrote an email to wkrc to complain. i finally get a game to watch, and i miss the ending.
but overall, a great weekend, with the good far outweighing the bad. and how perfect that it comes on one of my "perfect wedding" weekends. alas, this is the last one until 2017, which means i'm going to have to make alternate plans. *sigh* ah well.
time to hit the mountain of grading. here's hoping i whittle it down - need to have them back to the students by tuesday so they can see their errors before they turn in their next essay on friday. it's like the frakking hydra - kill off one pile and another pile rears its ugly head.
Æ
Tunes: russell allen/jorn landre - come alive†
then things started to look up. after school, i went to friday's again for appetizers and great conversation. of course, this put me a bit behind, as i was supposed to pick up steve and sam for our journey to the landing place at 6:00 and i didn't get home in time to make that work. but we finally made it on the road just before 7:00. steve worked on his piece for city beat the whole way up, so it was pretty quiet in the car. we eventually made it to 64 king, only to discover no one was home. but we finally made our way in and i waited for mike to call. my first trip to LP - definitely the same spirit as VC. good to visit with some of the gang there. plus, it was only a short drive to mike's from there. before i left, i made sure sam and steve had my number, in case they ran into problems with the ride to cincy.
my visit with mike was good - good to catch up, watch sylvie hop around the room. we were both pretty wiped, he moreso than i for obvious reasons. andrea's first chemo treatment went as well as could be expected (you can read her account here). always good to visit mike, though kept wishing there was more i could do or say. but really, what is there? i crashed in their upstairs and woke up and headed up to mount vernon to visit with steve and angela before we met brent for lunch and then headed to the drama meeting (brent and i anyway - steve has little desire to be involved). 'twas an excellent visit and quite profitable - steve had burned me an mp3 disc of old christian music (petra, altar boys and the uber-frightening wow gold) as well as the massive dvd collection of top 40 songs from 1975-2001 - i don't know where they came from, but it's like an instant music collection, though i'm certainly not interested in the majority of them). fun.
the drama celebration looks like it's going to be quite a great time. now if we can just get people to show up. unfortunately, i was the cause of brent losing the chance to have one of his infamous top ten lists on a t-shirt. still not sure how it happened, but we were discussing the shirts and dan was suggesting we design them so we could sell them to the cast from this year's play, which i thought was a lame idea, so to steer him away, i suggested maybe we could just put a list of all the productions from the past 20 years on the back. and *poof* there goes brent's contribution. i felt bad, but it was too late. steve and i might make some "renegade" shirts for the three of us, just to help ease the blow.
then after the meeting we headed down to the thurman cafe for dinner. on the way, my phone rang - it was sam and steve. they had made it as far as london and decided to call it quits. i told them i would call when we were done. the cafe was great, as usual, though they still didn't have any xxl shirts, which makes me sad. still need two more to have a whole week's worth. so i said my goodbyes to brent, steve and angela and then headed across 70 to london to pick up the weary travelers. not only were they tired, but they had also gorged themselves on pizza and ale, so they were a bit rough. but we made it home without too much trouble. and i watched BSG and then headed to bed, for i knew what awaited me on sunday...
woke up this morning early - sent off an overdue email to the gang from kent, then jumped in the shower and got ready for church. susie was going to meet me there, so i made sure i was there in plenty of time. good thing, because she got a bit lost and arrived early. i recognized her from the picture on the westerville naz website - not sure if she knew what i looked like or not. so we talked before service - i filled her in on some of the history of st. e's and tried to explain why, if service started at 10:00, there were only half a dozen people there at 9:59. welcome to vc time. chris and deb were going to join us, but as service started, they were nowhere to be seen. then i ended up doing announcements last minute. but eventually we settled down and kevin began his message (with a clip from fight club - woohoo!) and chris and deb wandered in a bit late (turns out chris tried some new way to norwood and it didn't go so well). afterwards, the four of us headed to jalepenos for lunch. was a great time - good food, good conversation, a great first meeting. no details, sorry. but she'll be back this coming weekend, and i'm hoping we'll get to hang out again.
then i was supposed to be at the auditorium to work by 4:00, so i grabbed a quick nap and grabbed my mountain of grading and headed to mason. when i got there, everything was dark, so i called jack. turned out they changed their schedule and came in early and left at 3:00. and they forgot to call me. was ok - i used the extra time to get some grading done (though would have been nice to be paid, too). plus andy was there getting things together, so it was good to see him before he took his break.
then gina and i visited the blue gibbon, a chinese place down on tennessee. good food. gina's excited because it's clean and they do lunch specials on saturday - two things she's been looking for since she left mount vernon and the beloved hunan garden. i thought the food was good, but nothing spectacular - i like lemon grass a bit better food wise. but definitely a good place and one i'll be happy to return to. my fortune: "Lovers come and go, but friends are always there." take that as you will.
to top it all off, both the bengals and the ravens lost and the steelers demolished the chiefs. was great to finally see them play like they should. but of course, wkrc decided to switch in the fourth quarter to the jets/miami game, which seriously hacked me off. i hope it was a network decision, because otherwise it just appears petty and small (of course, we are talking about a bengals affiliate here). angered me enough that i wrote an email to wkrc to complain. i finally get a game to watch, and i miss the ending.
but overall, a great weekend, with the good far outweighing the bad. and how perfect that it comes on one of my "perfect wedding" weekends. alas, this is the last one until 2017, which means i'm going to have to make alternate plans. *sigh* ah well.
time to hit the mountain of grading. here's hoping i whittle it down - need to have them back to the students by tuesday so they can see their errors before they turn in their next essay on friday. it's like the frakking hydra - kill off one pile and another pile rears its ugly head.
Æ
Tunes: russell allen/jorn landre - come alive†
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
question four
i don't feel much like updating on my life, so here's question four from the book of questions. feel free to play along.
If you could spend one year in perfect happiness but afterward would remember nothing of the experience would you do it? If not, why not?
wasn't this an episode of angel? anyway, i wouldn't do it. i'm all for seizing the day, enjoying the moment, etc., but what's the point if you're not going to remember? if i don't know i've experienced perfect happiness, how can it be happiness? since college, i've been a firm believer in the idea that experiences are neutral - they only become good or bad depending on our reactions to them. so if i have no memory of my reaction, then the experience ceases to exist, for me, anyway.
i suppose if my perfect happiness helped someone else experience perfect happiness, and they could remember, it might be worth it to help someone else. but if i didn't remember, would that spoil their own happiness? if shared experiences are forgotten, is something lost? say you went on an incredible vacation with friends, but when you returned, no one remembered what had happened and worse, couldn't share the memory with you or anyone else. would that vacation still be as special as it was?
i remember in my days as a night auditor watching brides and grooms come into the hotel completely trashed. and i felt sorry for them, because what a tragedy not to remember such an important day in your life. it's the danger of living too much in the moment - you risk the consequences of having the experience ruined.
from coupland's Life After God:
so for me, while the experience is important, our memories give the experience meaning. and without those memories, the experience loses significance.
how about you?
Æ
If you could spend one year in perfect happiness but afterward would remember nothing of the experience would you do it? If not, why not?
wasn't this an episode of angel? anyway, i wouldn't do it. i'm all for seizing the day, enjoying the moment, etc., but what's the point if you're not going to remember? if i don't know i've experienced perfect happiness, how can it be happiness? since college, i've been a firm believer in the idea that experiences are neutral - they only become good or bad depending on our reactions to them. so if i have no memory of my reaction, then the experience ceases to exist, for me, anyway.
i suppose if my perfect happiness helped someone else experience perfect happiness, and they could remember, it might be worth it to help someone else. but if i didn't remember, would that spoil their own happiness? if shared experiences are forgotten, is something lost? say you went on an incredible vacation with friends, but when you returned, no one remembered what had happened and worse, couldn't share the memory with you or anyone else. would that vacation still be as special as it was?
i remember in my days as a night auditor watching brides and grooms come into the hotel completely trashed. and i felt sorry for them, because what a tragedy not to remember such an important day in your life. it's the danger of living too much in the moment - you risk the consequences of having the experience ruined.
from coupland's Life After God:
Finally, I will remember the night in its entirety, but the experience will be strangely tiring. The two of us will sit on the warm concrete steps quietly....The two of us will be in a bit of shock, me more than Julie, over the nature of memories - of how they're all stored in the brain somewhere, but how they can get lost of simply misfiled or God only knows what. Had Julie not sat there and coached me through the memories of that night, I would have gone to the grave without ever having remembered what was in fact a magical night in my life. And so what would have been the point of having lived that night at all?
so for me, while the experience is important, our memories give the experience meaning. and without those memories, the experience loses significance.
how about you?
Æ
Friday, October 06, 2006
friday night! woohoo!
Question three from The Book of Questions:
If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet?
i'd probably regret not getting to tell my family and friends i love them one more time, but i'm confident they know that already. would just be good to say it one more time.
a couple of my friendships have faded over the past five years and i suppose i'd like to find out why. i lost touch with stacy, strangely enough, when i lived only minutes away from her house. i visited a couple of times when i first moved to kent, but then we never talked and i got busy and i assumed she did too. but now it's been over four years with no contact. a similar thing happened with jennifer - we were in contact for so long and then suddenly *poof* no more. i guess i hesitate to say anything to either of them because i'm sure they have their reasons and i don't want to tread where i'm not wanted. i can take a hint. and i'm also a little afraid of what i might find out if i ask why they haven't kept in touch. i can't think of anything i might have done to offend them, but then i can be fairly clueless at times.
maybe i should keep on trying - the only time you fail is the last time you try, right? i just don't want to seem like a stalker. but both of them were close friends and i do miss them.
which raises the question, when and how does a friendship end? i know there are people in my own past who i was once close to but haven't contacted in a while - matt, robin, jason, paul, mike. are those friendships over? i'd like to think we could pick up where we left off. so why haven't i? and why haven't they?
thus ends the question/answer part of our evening....
long weekend ahead. i'll be here at the school until after 10:30 tonight with the acting out...er...acting up children's theatre. another six hours to add to this weeks time card- nearly twenty-five total. be great when that paycheck hits.
candice is going to be in cincy tomorrow and we're hoping to hook up for lunch. then back here to mason for another fun-filled evening with the sanitized verison of grease. praise God for headphones. i'd like to go see the departed this weekend if i can find the time. probably should see the original first (infernal affairs), but i doubt that will happen.
i splurged a bit yesterday and bought the new U2 by U2 coffee table book. quite the tome - i'm looking forward to leisurely perusing it and reading their account of their remarkable career. loved what i've read so far - for rock stars, they're all quite articulate. definite must have if you're a U2 fan, but i'm not sure it'll make you like them if you don't already. you'll probably just write them off as megalomaniacal and not nearly as cool or important as (insert your favorite band here).
at least the show started at 7:00 and not 8:00, which means i'll get home a little earlier. finished up my grading, so now i can focus on those stupid essays i've been carrying around forever. must finish them this weekend, which is certainly doable.
enough for now. looking forward to getting home and watching the season premiere of bsg. here's hoping i'm not lost because i missed the end of last season.
Æ
Tunes: daniel amos - on the line
If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet?
i'd probably regret not getting to tell my family and friends i love them one more time, but i'm confident they know that already. would just be good to say it one more time.
a couple of my friendships have faded over the past five years and i suppose i'd like to find out why. i lost touch with stacy, strangely enough, when i lived only minutes away from her house. i visited a couple of times when i first moved to kent, but then we never talked and i got busy and i assumed she did too. but now it's been over four years with no contact. a similar thing happened with jennifer - we were in contact for so long and then suddenly *poof* no more. i guess i hesitate to say anything to either of them because i'm sure they have their reasons and i don't want to tread where i'm not wanted. i can take a hint. and i'm also a little afraid of what i might find out if i ask why they haven't kept in touch. i can't think of anything i might have done to offend them, but then i can be fairly clueless at times.
maybe i should keep on trying - the only time you fail is the last time you try, right? i just don't want to seem like a stalker. but both of them were close friends and i do miss them.
which raises the question, when and how does a friendship end? i know there are people in my own past who i was once close to but haven't contacted in a while - matt, robin, jason, paul, mike. are those friendships over? i'd like to think we could pick up where we left off. so why haven't i? and why haven't they?
thus ends the question/answer part of our evening....
long weekend ahead. i'll be here at the school until after 10:30 tonight with the acting out...er...acting up children's theatre. another six hours to add to this weeks time card- nearly twenty-five total. be great when that paycheck hits.
candice is going to be in cincy tomorrow and we're hoping to hook up for lunch. then back here to mason for another fun-filled evening with the sanitized verison of grease. praise God for headphones. i'd like to go see the departed this weekend if i can find the time. probably should see the original first (infernal affairs), but i doubt that will happen.
i splurged a bit yesterday and bought the new U2 by U2 coffee table book. quite the tome - i'm looking forward to leisurely perusing it and reading their account of their remarkable career. loved what i've read so far - for rock stars, they're all quite articulate. definite must have if you're a U2 fan, but i'm not sure it'll make you like them if you don't already. you'll probably just write them off as megalomaniacal and not nearly as cool or important as (insert your favorite band here).
at least the show started at 7:00 and not 8:00, which means i'll get home a little earlier. finished up my grading, so now i can focus on those stupid essays i've been carrying around forever. must finish them this weekend, which is certainly doable.
enough for now. looking forward to getting home and watching the season premiere of bsg. here's hoping i'm not lost because i missed the end of last season.
Æ
Tunes: daniel amos - on the line
Thursday, October 05, 2006
slacker
how can it be that at the beginning of the week i thought the weekend would never come and now that it's here, i have no idea what happened to the week. i turned around and *poof* it was gone.
pleasantly busy - worked the auditorium monday night, covering for everyone so they could go to jack's mom's visitation. tuesday we painted emily ogle's room a lovely shade of pepto bismol pink for house church (she chose it, not us). last night, sarah martin called and invited me to pay-what-you-can night at footlighter's for seussical, so i skipped buying groceries for another night and went down. show was good, though the characters needed to be bigger and the lighting sucked. sarah was, as always, a high point. i even got invited up on stage at the beginning of act two - i thought sarah has set me up, but found out later it had just been coincidence. an evening well spent. good to see sarah and patrick again. and good to see some more theatre, especially at the price.
spent time in class today talking about america's preoccupation with sex and how it shapes how we view someone like chris mccandless who chose to be celibate. always enlightening to hear my student's opinions. my third bell was quite vocal - we ended up running out of time and having to continue the discussion tomorrow. my fifth bell heard me mention sex and i pretty much lost them to adolescent humor. why must my fifth bell always be the most challenging?
so there's a discussion on the dadl-ot, basically calling for the destruction of public schools, that we need to tear it down and start from scratch. i understand why they believe it, but it's also gets my hackles up to hear them say things like "Also public school do a lousy job of teaching how to think, they prefer teaching what to think" and "They dont teach critical thinking anymore. They teach all the other feel good crap. They dont have the foundation on fundamentals." nothing like generalizations to make your point. look, i know there are serious problems in the way we do education in this country and we ought to be looking at other options and possibilities, but i'm pretty sure dismantling they system will create far more chaos. but then i have a vested interest in seeing schools continue. just saddens me that the perception is so different from what i've experienced as a teacher. granted, mason's a bit unique, but i refuse to believe public education is irredeemable.
i'll put my soap box away now.
new bsg tomorrow night. was going to tape the episodes i missed from last year, but rachel has 2.5, so i think i'll just tape the premiere and watch it when i catch up.
my eharmony adventure continues....some new matches, trying to get to open communication with one that looks very promising. spent quite a bit of time answering her second questions - wanted to make sure i got them just right. now we wait to see how she answers mine. replied to susie and invited her to dinner next weekend - i'll be up in the columbus area for a mvnwhatever drama meeting, so thought that might be a good chance to actually meet. we'll see what she thinks.
ok, time to try to go to sleep. still haven't been able to drop off before midnight at all this week. but at least i'm not waking up at 3-4 AM anymore. maybe i'll get on a normal sleep schedule sometime before i take the big sleep. keeping my fingers crossed.
Ɔ
Tunes: podunk - boomerang
pleasantly busy - worked the auditorium monday night, covering for everyone so they could go to jack's mom's visitation. tuesday we painted emily ogle's room a lovely shade of pepto bismol pink for house church (she chose it, not us). last night, sarah martin called and invited me to pay-what-you-can night at footlighter's for seussical, so i skipped buying groceries for another night and went down. show was good, though the characters needed to be bigger and the lighting sucked. sarah was, as always, a high point. i even got invited up on stage at the beginning of act two - i thought sarah has set me up, but found out later it had just been coincidence. an evening well spent. good to see sarah and patrick again. and good to see some more theatre, especially at the price.
spent time in class today talking about america's preoccupation with sex and how it shapes how we view someone like chris mccandless who chose to be celibate. always enlightening to hear my student's opinions. my third bell was quite vocal - we ended up running out of time and having to continue the discussion tomorrow. my fifth bell heard me mention sex and i pretty much lost them to adolescent humor. why must my fifth bell always be the most challenging?
so there's a discussion on the dadl-ot, basically calling for the destruction of public schools, that we need to tear it down and start from scratch. i understand why they believe it, but it's also gets my hackles up to hear them say things like "Also public school do a lousy job of teaching how to think, they prefer teaching what to think" and "They dont teach critical thinking anymore. They teach all the other feel good crap. They dont have the foundation on fundamentals." nothing like generalizations to make your point. look, i know there are serious problems in the way we do education in this country and we ought to be looking at other options and possibilities, but i'm pretty sure dismantling they system will create far more chaos. but then i have a vested interest in seeing schools continue. just saddens me that the perception is so different from what i've experienced as a teacher. granted, mason's a bit unique, but i refuse to believe public education is irredeemable.
i'll put my soap box away now.
new bsg tomorrow night. was going to tape the episodes i missed from last year, but rachel has 2.5, so i think i'll just tape the premiere and watch it when i catch up.
my eharmony adventure continues....some new matches, trying to get to open communication with one that looks very promising. spent quite a bit of time answering her second questions - wanted to make sure i got them just right. now we wait to see how she answers mine. replied to susie and invited her to dinner next weekend - i'll be up in the columbus area for a mvnwhatever drama meeting, so thought that might be a good chance to actually meet. we'll see what she thinks.
ok, time to try to go to sleep. still haven't been able to drop off before midnight at all this week. but at least i'm not waking up at 3-4 AM anymore. maybe i'll get on a normal sleep schedule sometime before i take the big sleep. keeping my fingers crossed.
Ɔ
Tunes: podunk - boomerang
Saturday, September 30, 2006
'twas the day before october
the best month of the year
jarnsaxa still looks pretty green, though hints of color dance around the edges. and the air has a bit of a bite now when the wind blows. i so love autumn.
so this weekend marks my first year anniversary in the grotto. i still love it here, though much of what i had envisioned for the house hasn't reached fruition quite yet. simple things like art on the walls, flowers in the front, curtains on the window still wait for me to find the time and funds. but it's certainly home. and i look forward to what comes in this second year of home ownership. here's hoping everything doesn't fall apart now that my home owner's warranty has run out.
the white cat that likes to hang out in my back yard just got into a fight with a random neighborhood cat, chasing him at full speed across my back yard. guess he feels this is his territory. still don't know if he belongs to anyone, but he keeps showing up and as long as he's not using my yard for his own personal litter box, i'm happy to let him stay and chase all the squirrels and strays he wants.
still don't know when i need to be at the auditorium yet. figure i'll call steve if i haven't heard anything by 9:00 - that will give me enough time to get showered up, grab my grading and get up to the school if i have to be there at 10:00. would like to have known earlier, but with jack's mom dying, it's understandable. need to check with allen about arrangements, see if anyone is going to the viewing (or if they're even having one).
i decided to stay after school and finish grading the vocab quizzes so i could focus on other grading today (and i kept dozing off, which is not good) when bea came in and asked if i wanted to go get ice cream. of course, i said. then beth and annie called - they were at the brazenhead, but were leaving to hit tgifridays and told us to meet them there. so we did. had a great conversation about our roles as christian teachers in the school - how much are we allowed to say, how much should we say, should we be afraid of the consequences if we step over the line, etc. one of the teachers at the school got into a bit of hot water because a student accused him of proselytizing in class. the teacher's crime? they invited the student to a church activity. not forced them to, not go or you'll lose your grade. just a simple invitation. when did that become proselytizing? you can throw all the "he's an authority figure" nonsense at me, i don't care. i can't believe i'm going to say this, since i've mostly heard it from right-wing nutjobs, but we are promised freedom OF religion, not FROM religion. and i refuse to live in fear that if i mention my faith, the powers that be will come and smite me. we also talked a bit about how we, as english teachers, have it a bit easier, since those kind of conversations come up when we're talking about literature. little harder to make connections when you're teaching math, science, history, etc. and not have it seem like you have an agenda. of course, we then discussed that all teachers have an agenda of some sort. unfortunately, we had to cut things short, but definitely a great time hanging out and talking about stuff. should do that more often.
ok, time to go call steve, see what's happening. hopefully he knows. otherwise i'll probably just end up showing up at 10:00 just in case and if they're not there, i'll just use the time to grade. or go to half price books and lunch - depends on how i feel.
Æ
Tunes: gary hoey - linus and lucy
jarnsaxa still looks pretty green, though hints of color dance around the edges. and the air has a bit of a bite now when the wind blows. i so love autumn.
so this weekend marks my first year anniversary in the grotto. i still love it here, though much of what i had envisioned for the house hasn't reached fruition quite yet. simple things like art on the walls, flowers in the front, curtains on the window still wait for me to find the time and funds. but it's certainly home. and i look forward to what comes in this second year of home ownership. here's hoping everything doesn't fall apart now that my home owner's warranty has run out.
the white cat that likes to hang out in my back yard just got into a fight with a random neighborhood cat, chasing him at full speed across my back yard. guess he feels this is his territory. still don't know if he belongs to anyone, but he keeps showing up and as long as he's not using my yard for his own personal litter box, i'm happy to let him stay and chase all the squirrels and strays he wants.
still don't know when i need to be at the auditorium yet. figure i'll call steve if i haven't heard anything by 9:00 - that will give me enough time to get showered up, grab my grading and get up to the school if i have to be there at 10:00. would like to have known earlier, but with jack's mom dying, it's understandable. need to check with allen about arrangements, see if anyone is going to the viewing (or if they're even having one).
i decided to stay after school and finish grading the vocab quizzes so i could focus on other grading today (and i kept dozing off, which is not good) when bea came in and asked if i wanted to go get ice cream. of course, i said. then beth and annie called - they were at the brazenhead, but were leaving to hit tgifridays and told us to meet them there. so we did. had a great conversation about our roles as christian teachers in the school - how much are we allowed to say, how much should we say, should we be afraid of the consequences if we step over the line, etc. one of the teachers at the school got into a bit of hot water because a student accused him of proselytizing in class. the teacher's crime? they invited the student to a church activity. not forced them to, not go or you'll lose your grade. just a simple invitation. when did that become proselytizing? you can throw all the "he's an authority figure" nonsense at me, i don't care. i can't believe i'm going to say this, since i've mostly heard it from right-wing nutjobs, but we are promised freedom OF religion, not FROM religion. and i refuse to live in fear that if i mention my faith, the powers that be will come and smite me. we also talked a bit about how we, as english teachers, have it a bit easier, since those kind of conversations come up when we're talking about literature. little harder to make connections when you're teaching math, science, history, etc. and not have it seem like you have an agenda. of course, we then discussed that all teachers have an agenda of some sort. unfortunately, we had to cut things short, but definitely a great time hanging out and talking about stuff. should do that more often.
ok, time to go call steve, see what's happening. hopefully he knows. otherwise i'll probably just end up showing up at 10:00 just in case and if they're not there, i'll just use the time to grade. or go to half price books and lunch - depends on how i feel.
Æ
Tunes: gary hoey - linus and lucy
Thursday, September 28, 2006
the drama continues
so i get an email from brent today - he had a vcr malfunction and was unable to tape gilmore girls. in desperation, i send out an email to the district bulletin board asking if anyone had taped it. this resulted in much mocking.
hilarious. glad my sense of self isn't wrapped up in my choice of tv watching (though why i should feel guilty about watching one of the best written shows on tv is beyond me).
while no one at school could help a brother out, i was able to touch base with my friend karen who had taped the episode and she'll be mailing it out to me tomorrow. hopefully it will arrive before tuesday night so i can watch it. i'll keep my fingers crossed.
rough night last night. something i ate didn't agree with me and i was up at 2AM giving my regards to mr. porcelain.
this is probably something i shouldn't share in public.
observation: people get downright giddy when they are setting you up. you can see it on their faces. which makes sense, since they want to see their friends happy and if one friend can make another friend happy, wouldn't that be great? but i gotta tell you, it makes me a bit trepidatious (this is my issue, and i own it. this is not a chastisement of what is a normal reaction). 'cause now, if things don't work out, i'm not only disappointing the girl, but her friends as well. such as what happened this summer. i know this is my over-active guilt gland, but it does throw me a bit. it doesn't stop me from trying, but, well, i worry.
first film club screening was today - the original 1977 version of star wars - you know, the one before george "fixed" everything. nice to see han shoot first. one girl there had never seen star wars, which was lots of fun. after the meeting, some of the group were going to jimmy johns and invited me along. and since i had no plans, i went. good time. fun hanging with students in a non-school situation. would like to do that more often.
friday tomorrow. all day gig at the auditorium on saturday, which is great 'cause i sure could use the extra cash. sunday is church. and somewhere in there i hope to get lots of essays graded. here's hoping saturday provides me ample time to do so.
night.
Ɔ
Tunes: byron boyers - the scotsman
- "Thurman, I meant to TIVO it, but I realized that I was a man and changed my mind."
- "I have to at least laugh a little. No mocking just laughing."
- "Brave was the man what first et an oyster." -Jonathan Swift"
hilarious. glad my sense of self isn't wrapped up in my choice of tv watching (though why i should feel guilty about watching one of the best written shows on tv is beyond me).
while no one at school could help a brother out, i was able to touch base with my friend karen who had taped the episode and she'll be mailing it out to me tomorrow. hopefully it will arrive before tuesday night so i can watch it. i'll keep my fingers crossed.
rough night last night. something i ate didn't agree with me and i was up at 2AM giving my regards to mr. porcelain.
this is probably something i shouldn't share in public.
observation: people get downright giddy when they are setting you up. you can see it on their faces. which makes sense, since they want to see their friends happy and if one friend can make another friend happy, wouldn't that be great? but i gotta tell you, it makes me a bit trepidatious (this is my issue, and i own it. this is not a chastisement of what is a normal reaction). 'cause now, if things don't work out, i'm not only disappointing the girl, but her friends as well. such as what happened this summer. i know this is my over-active guilt gland, but it does throw me a bit. it doesn't stop me from trying, but, well, i worry.
first film club screening was today - the original 1977 version of star wars - you know, the one before george "fixed" everything. nice to see han shoot first. one girl there had never seen star wars, which was lots of fun. after the meeting, some of the group were going to jimmy johns and invited me along. and since i had no plans, i went. good time. fun hanging with students in a non-school situation. would like to do that more often.
friday tomorrow. all day gig at the auditorium on saturday, which is great 'cause i sure could use the extra cash. sunday is church. and somewhere in there i hope to get lots of essays graded. here's hoping saturday provides me ample time to do so.
night.
Ɔ
Tunes: byron boyers - the scotsman
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
guess i wasn't the only one
isn't it funny how when you blow up over stupid things, they turn out to really be stupid things in the end. or maybe that's what makes them stupid things in the first place. anyway, i called time warner cable (thanks to alison who suggested it), to see how much more it would cost me to upgrade to digital cable so i could get the CW. turns out they had lots of complaints and so they added it to the basic level on channel two. this makes me extremely happy, though i keep thinking of the quote from the wedding singer:
"Gee, you know that information... really would've been more useful to me *yesterday.*"
yes, i did just quote from an adam sandler movie. there goes my elitist cred.
but at least i get to watch gilmore and veronica in real time. or at least tape them to watch them after house church.
went outside today for class - figured if we're reading a book called into the wild, might be nice to go outside into the woods behind the school. went well, though lawn mowers almost made me lose students fifth bell (they couldn't hear the whistle to come back). curious moment: during second bell, three of my students didn't come back when i blew the whistle. was trying to figure out what to do when one of the other students told me they'd seen them helping an older gentleman whose dog had tried to run away and had caused him to fall, cutting his forehead. was glad my students did the right thing to help him instead of saying, "sorry, have to get back to class."
just wanted to share my good news. nothing of significance to share. thunderstorms blowing in. need to go close the windows. leaving now.
Æ
Tunes: of montreal - requiem for o.m.m.
"Gee, you know that information... really would've been more useful to me *yesterday.*"
yes, i did just quote from an adam sandler movie. there goes my elitist cred.
but at least i get to watch gilmore and veronica in real time. or at least tape them to watch them after house church.
went outside today for class - figured if we're reading a book called into the wild, might be nice to go outside into the woods behind the school. went well, though lawn mowers almost made me lose students fifth bell (they couldn't hear the whistle to come back). curious moment: during second bell, three of my students didn't come back when i blew the whistle. was trying to figure out what to do when one of the other students told me they'd seen them helping an older gentleman whose dog had tried to run away and had caused him to fall, cutting his forehead. was glad my students did the right thing to help him instead of saying, "sorry, have to get back to class."
just wanted to share my good news. nothing of significance to share. thunderstorms blowing in. need to go close the windows. leaving now.
Æ
Tunes: of montreal - requiem for o.m.m.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!
proof that cincinnati has a long way to go before it becomes a real metropolitan area: no station in the area picked up the new CW network, which means i can no longer watch two of my favorite shows, gilmore girls and veronica mars. this makes me infinitely sad. which is probably infinitely sad that i care so much about tv shows, but i had so looked forward to spending my tuesday nights with lorelai, rory, vernoica and mac. ah well. at least brent said he would tape them for me, so i'll see them eventually. just not as soon as i would like.
back to school - yesterday was rough, but feeling much better now. guess the antibiotics may have finally worked. had to stop taking the gualfinex at night, since it was keeping me up. not like i need any help screwing up my sleep schedule. was better enough yesterday that i mowed my lawn using my new push mower - will take a little longer and a little more effort, but was kind of fun, especially when the neighborhood kids kept coming over and asking me what it was. i tried to show them how much fun it was, but no one took up my offer to try it. tom sawyer i am not.
house church was great tonight - long, rambling discussions about the bible, faith, etc. then a discussion of some of the logistics, which went a long way to helping it feel like a real church (whatever that means) rather than just some friends getting together (not that there's anything wrong with that). God's working and i can't wait to see what happens.
ok, need to try and fall asleep sometime before midnight for the first time in a week. the update on the search will have to wait (and you're all crushed, i know). night.
Æ
Tunes: the blues brothers - sink the bismarck
back to school - yesterday was rough, but feeling much better now. guess the antibiotics may have finally worked. had to stop taking the gualfinex at night, since it was keeping me up. not like i need any help screwing up my sleep schedule. was better enough yesterday that i mowed my lawn using my new push mower - will take a little longer and a little more effort, but was kind of fun, especially when the neighborhood kids kept coming over and asking me what it was. i tried to show them how much fun it was, but no one took up my offer to try it. tom sawyer i am not.
house church was great tonight - long, rambling discussions about the bible, faith, etc. then a discussion of some of the logistics, which went a long way to helping it feel like a real church (whatever that means) rather than just some friends getting together (not that there's anything wrong with that). God's working and i can't wait to see what happens.
ok, need to try and fall asleep sometime before midnight for the first time in a week. the update on the search will have to wait (and you're all crushed, i know). night.
Æ
Tunes: the blues brothers - sink the bismarck
Monday, September 25, 2006
so much for a good night's sleep
medicine has conspired once again to keep me up, now three hours after i tried to go to bed early. frustrating to lie in bed, listening to the crickets, unable to enter morpheus's realm. not even reading helped - an hour later and i'm still not tired. don't think i'll be taking the sudafedish stuff tomorrow night - here's hoping it keeps me awake during the day tomorrow.
weekend was pretty much a carbon copy of the week - a lot of lying around, watching dvds, trying not to move. most constructive thing i did was a load of laundry, unable to even get up the gumption to go grocery shopping (which i'll have to do soon). all that inactivity has gotten the best of me - i'm actually looking forward to school tomorrow. at least i was before i realized i'll probably get only three hours of sleep tonight.
i almost posted a couple of times this weekend in the throes of emotional upheaval, but luckily saner heads prevailed and i kept my ramblings to myself. simple reminder that i'm not nearly evolved as i'd like to think and i've got miles to go before i reach true maturity. though at least i recognized my own selfishness as it was occurring instead of realizing it after it was too late. and at least i was alone and could keep my infection to myself.
i'm beginning to think walt disney may have been the wisest prophet of our time...got an email from susie, the friend chris is trying to set me up with. seems she was talking about the eharmony parody i did to someone at her church, who in turn told her daughter. turns out her daughter used to live here in cincy and only recently moved back. she recognized my name from the story and figured out there probably weren't two red-headed teachers named thurman running around. so the daughter turns out to be courtney, bea's friend that i met a few times. and to further shrink the circumference of the world, bea happened to be in columbus on friday night and the two of them called susie to relay the story. seriously, i need to find a larger planet.
i hate insomnia. and no, hate is not too strong a word.
ok, time to give it the old college try again. obviously typing hasn't done me a lick of good. not sure why i always think it will.
Ɔ
weekend was pretty much a carbon copy of the week - a lot of lying around, watching dvds, trying not to move. most constructive thing i did was a load of laundry, unable to even get up the gumption to go grocery shopping (which i'll have to do soon). all that inactivity has gotten the best of me - i'm actually looking forward to school tomorrow. at least i was before i realized i'll probably get only three hours of sleep tonight.
i almost posted a couple of times this weekend in the throes of emotional upheaval, but luckily saner heads prevailed and i kept my ramblings to myself. simple reminder that i'm not nearly evolved as i'd like to think and i've got miles to go before i reach true maturity. though at least i recognized my own selfishness as it was occurring instead of realizing it after it was too late. and at least i was alone and could keep my infection to myself.
i'm beginning to think walt disney may have been the wisest prophet of our time...got an email from susie, the friend chris is trying to set me up with. seems she was talking about the eharmony parody i did to someone at her church, who in turn told her daughter. turns out her daughter used to live here in cincy and only recently moved back. she recognized my name from the story and figured out there probably weren't two red-headed teachers named thurman running around. so the daughter turns out to be courtney, bea's friend that i met a few times. and to further shrink the circumference of the world, bea happened to be in columbus on friday night and the two of them called susie to relay the story. seriously, i need to find a larger planet.
i hate insomnia. and no, hate is not too strong a word.
ok, time to give it the old college try again. obviously typing hasn't done me a lick of good. not sure why i always think it will.
Ɔ
Thursday, September 21, 2006
kick a guy when he's down
*sigh* truth be told, i'm not feeling much better than i have all week. i'm fine as long as i'm lying down, but as soon as i stand and move around, whatever's taken residence in my lungs starts throwing furniture around the room and i start coughing. the pain in my lungs is mostly gone, but my head still aches and i feel just a bit on the woozy side most of the time. so no school for me again tomorrow. which, i guess, makes the administration a bit wary, since ian called and asked me to bring in a doctor's note. best i can do is the receipt from urgent care, since i'm between doctors. hopefully that's ok - if not, guess i'll...i have no idea. like being sick wasn't bad enough.
medicine's made me all wonky - tired, but unable to fall asleep. it's whatever that sudafedish stuff is. i'm not sure the medicine is working - the phlegm's reduced, but the other stuff lingers. i suppose it takes a bit of time to work, much longer than i wish. not like i like being out of my classroom, since it mostly means i'm going to be buried in grading for a while (yeah, so what else is new). but no use being miserable at school, especially if this illness is something that's going around (which i read in some email i looked at today on my school account).
so how does one spend their days when they have bronchitis? sleep as much as possible, eat some breakfast so there's something in your stomach besides the four pills you take in the morning, check school email and personal, lie in bed for a while finishing off take the canolli by sarah vowell, wander to the comfy chair to finish off newsradio, doze off through lunch, drink lots of fluids, finish watching ZooTV, begin watching my name is earl, get a quick burst of nesting energy and sweep up your entertainment room, watch more earl, get some dinner, take more pills, watch more earl, drink more fluids, call for a sub, call andy to make sure all is well tomorrow, miss call from ian asking for a note, hope to fall asleep to veronica mars, realize it's not going to happen, so you wander in, answer some email and update your blog. fun, no?
not sure what's being celebrated in norwood tonight, but someone has fireworks and has been setting them off periodically for some unbeknownst reason. the upcoming autumnal equinox, perhaps? never heard of blowing things up to celebrate the sun's crossing the equator and ushering in fall, but i wasn' t here last year at this time, so what do i know?
feeling a wee bit melancholy at the moment - as with most stuff this week, i'm blaming the drugs. no reason to be emotional - not that that has stopped me before. 'tis that time of the year. maybe i should blow some stuff up - might make me feel better. right now, i'd settle for this stupid bronchitis to be gone.
all right, enough. going to go lie down, hope sleep comes to take me away. and that the medicine doesn't screw up my dreams, too.
Æ
Tunes: new order - crystal
medicine's made me all wonky - tired, but unable to fall asleep. it's whatever that sudafedish stuff is. i'm not sure the medicine is working - the phlegm's reduced, but the other stuff lingers. i suppose it takes a bit of time to work, much longer than i wish. not like i like being out of my classroom, since it mostly means i'm going to be buried in grading for a while (yeah, so what else is new). but no use being miserable at school, especially if this illness is something that's going around (which i read in some email i looked at today on my school account).
so how does one spend their days when they have bronchitis? sleep as much as possible, eat some breakfast so there's something in your stomach besides the four pills you take in the morning, check school email and personal, lie in bed for a while finishing off take the canolli by sarah vowell, wander to the comfy chair to finish off newsradio, doze off through lunch, drink lots of fluids, finish watching ZooTV, begin watching my name is earl, get a quick burst of nesting energy and sweep up your entertainment room, watch more earl, get some dinner, take more pills, watch more earl, drink more fluids, call for a sub, call andy to make sure all is well tomorrow, miss call from ian asking for a note, hope to fall asleep to veronica mars, realize it's not going to happen, so you wander in, answer some email and update your blog. fun, no?
not sure what's being celebrated in norwood tonight, but someone has fireworks and has been setting them off periodically for some unbeknownst reason. the upcoming autumnal equinox, perhaps? never heard of blowing things up to celebrate the sun's crossing the equator and ushering in fall, but i wasn' t here last year at this time, so what do i know?
feeling a wee bit melancholy at the moment - as with most stuff this week, i'm blaming the drugs. no reason to be emotional - not that that has stopped me before. 'tis that time of the year. maybe i should blow some stuff up - might make me feel better. right now, i'd settle for this stupid bronchitis to be gone.
all right, enough. going to go lie down, hope sleep comes to take me away. and that the medicine doesn't screw up my dreams, too.
Æ
Tunes: new order - crystal
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
hooray bronchitis!
home again - woke up realizing the otc drugs i've been taking haven't done much to make me feel better. so i called ian, got me a sub and went back to sleep for a couple of hours. woke up and decided i needed to go get looked at, but since i am inbetween doctors, i meandered on over to urgent care (which is much closer than i thought), armed with a book, a magazine and my mp3 player (in case there was a wait). wasn't too bad, though i'm always amazed at the amount of time waiting vs the amount of time spent with the doctor. diagnosis: bronchitis. so now i don't feel so bad about calling off - for some reason i usually feel guilty, like if i'm conscious, i should be going to work, fulfilling my obligations. so now i'm on three medications (guaifenex, naproxen and biaxin for the curious) which hopefully will take care of this. be nice to feel somewhat normal again.
beautiful day outside. this is my weather - mid to upper 50s, cool breeze. ah autumn. wish i was in a better place to actually enjoy it. the strange thing is i have this great desire right now to clean, which happens just about never. so do i try to do some cleaning, knowing i really should be taking it easy, or do i go with what i'm feeling and get busy. if i wait long enough, the feeling will probably go away. but who knows when it might return.
again, i'm blaming the medication for my weirdness.
pulled the trigger (i have no idea why i keep using this cliche - i don't even like guns) and signed up for three months of eharmony. now i just have to go through and pick up the communication. i've reached open with one person, the rest we're still doing the "get to know me through ridiculous questions" dance. trying to decide if i need to narrow my choices down and how best to do that. as my friend kat warned, i don't need to become a serial dater at this point in my life.
the joys of expensive gas: one unexpected side effect from the oil companies raping us this summer with their raised gas prices for no reason (don't try to explain market forces to me - it's all politics, baby) is i was able to pick up U2s new DVD - ZooTV Live in Sydney - for free! yep, cashed in my speedyrewards points for a $25.00 gift card to circuit city, which was selling the dvd for only $15.99 (compared to $29.99 at best buy). plus, i have almost $8.00 leftover to use toward something else. score! the dvd makes me nostalgic for my first U2 concert - zootv outdoor broadcast in kansas city. while not exactly like being there, the flashbacks were pretty intense. and the included swag was cool, too. so thanks to all those money-grubbing politicians and oil executives for helping me get my dvd free. least you could do, ya bastards.
no house church last night - felt it was best not to infect everyone. i mean, i'm all for sharing our lives, just not our diseases. we'll pick up next week. looking forward to getting to know everyone a bit better, though at the moment, i'm missing some of the folks from st. e's. don't get to see them as much now that school has started and i've been sick. again with the growing pains.
ok, need to go hydrate. i hope everyone i know feels better than i do. and if you've been near me lately, sorry if i've infected you (he says, having no idea if bronchitis is contagious or not). later.
Æ
Tunes: podunk - a little more
beautiful day outside. this is my weather - mid to upper 50s, cool breeze. ah autumn. wish i was in a better place to actually enjoy it. the strange thing is i have this great desire right now to clean, which happens just about never. so do i try to do some cleaning, knowing i really should be taking it easy, or do i go with what i'm feeling and get busy. if i wait long enough, the feeling will probably go away. but who knows when it might return.
again, i'm blaming the medication for my weirdness.
pulled the trigger (i have no idea why i keep using this cliche - i don't even like guns) and signed up for three months of eharmony. now i just have to go through and pick up the communication. i've reached open with one person, the rest we're still doing the "get to know me through ridiculous questions" dance. trying to decide if i need to narrow my choices down and how best to do that. as my friend kat warned, i don't need to become a serial dater at this point in my life.
the joys of expensive gas: one unexpected side effect from the oil companies raping us this summer with their raised gas prices for no reason (don't try to explain market forces to me - it's all politics, baby) is i was able to pick up U2s new DVD - ZooTV Live in Sydney - for free! yep, cashed in my speedyrewards points for a $25.00 gift card to circuit city, which was selling the dvd for only $15.99 (compared to $29.99 at best buy). plus, i have almost $8.00 leftover to use toward something else. score! the dvd makes me nostalgic for my first U2 concert - zootv outdoor broadcast in kansas city. while not exactly like being there, the flashbacks were pretty intense. and the included swag was cool, too. so thanks to all those money-grubbing politicians and oil executives for helping me get my dvd free. least you could do, ya bastards.
no house church last night - felt it was best not to infect everyone. i mean, i'm all for sharing our lives, just not our diseases. we'll pick up next week. looking forward to getting to know everyone a bit better, though at the moment, i'm missing some of the folks from st. e's. don't get to see them as much now that school has started and i've been sick. again with the growing pains.
ok, need to go hydrate. i hope everyone i know feels better than i do. and if you've been near me lately, sorry if i've infected you (he says, having no idea if bronchitis is contagious or not). later.
Æ
Tunes: podunk - a little more
Monday, September 18, 2006
an extra day of rest
and phlegm. and coughing. and no sleep. lovely.
no school for me today, though that doesn't mean i didn't do anything school-related. had to get stuff ready for the sub, update my edline page, answer some emails. but all of that was done before 6:45AM - again with the no sleeping. so glad i have access to the network from home, otherwise this living 25 minutes away would really suck, especially if i had to drive in to get stuff together. hopefully all went well with my classes. not sure about tomorrow - will depend mostly on how my sleep is tonight. the sudafed has jacked up my sleep schedule.
time to put up or shut up: so the communication weekend is over and if i want to continue what i've started, i'm going to have to fork over the $110+ for three months. an investment. plus, i'm having a little fun doing this - i'm much better at the writing than i am at the awkward first date phase. and this way i get to know a little about them without worrying about being "on." and i must be well suited for this, considering the number of matches i've received. here's hoping it doesn't go to my head....
i'm a bit concerned about house church tomorrow. this isn't like the brownhouse, which tracy keeps clear of cold-causing agents. and with being sick, i fear for uly and for the rest of my guests. i'd see about holding it somewhere else, but wouldn't know where. and i haven't talked to anyone, so really no solid plans for dinner. these are the details slipping through the cracks at the moment. call them growing pains.
avoiding the steelers game at the moment, waiting for studio 60 to come on. taping the game, will watch studio 60, though i probably should try to go to bed instead. but not feeling the least bit tired at the moment. not good.
out of ideas. words fail me. bye.
Æ
Tunes: U2 - don't take your guns to town
no school for me today, though that doesn't mean i didn't do anything school-related. had to get stuff ready for the sub, update my edline page, answer some emails. but all of that was done before 6:45AM - again with the no sleeping. so glad i have access to the network from home, otherwise this living 25 minutes away would really suck, especially if i had to drive in to get stuff together. hopefully all went well with my classes. not sure about tomorrow - will depend mostly on how my sleep is tonight. the sudafed has jacked up my sleep schedule.
time to put up or shut up: so the communication weekend is over and if i want to continue what i've started, i'm going to have to fork over the $110+ for three months. an investment. plus, i'm having a little fun doing this - i'm much better at the writing than i am at the awkward first date phase. and this way i get to know a little about them without worrying about being "on." and i must be well suited for this, considering the number of matches i've received. here's hoping it doesn't go to my head....
i'm a bit concerned about house church tomorrow. this isn't like the brownhouse, which tracy keeps clear of cold-causing agents. and with being sick, i fear for uly and for the rest of my guests. i'd see about holding it somewhere else, but wouldn't know where. and i haven't talked to anyone, so really no solid plans for dinner. these are the details slipping through the cracks at the moment. call them growing pains.
avoiding the steelers game at the moment, waiting for studio 60 to come on. taping the game, will watch studio 60, though i probably should try to go to bed instead. but not feeling the least bit tired at the moment. not good.
out of ideas. words fail me. bye.
Æ
Tunes: U2 - don't take your guns to town
Sunday, September 17, 2006
i love being sick
4:00 AM and here i sit, at my computer, unable to sleep because of a sore throat and a body refusing to fall asleep. this happened last time i went to KI, too, the not sleeping. maybe if i get too much adrenaline in a given day, my body gets overtired and can't sleep. all i know is i can't seem to get my brain to turn off and my body seems much to alert for 4:00 AM. i did mention it's 4:00 AM, right?
doesn't help that i woke up at 1:00 AM to nature's call, only to feel a spider crawling on me. and then it wouldn't let go. kept jumping from one part of my body to another. i'm getting creeped out just typing about it. i can only imagine what it might have done had i not gotten up. *shudder*
KI with shannon was great, as always. park was a bit more crowded than usual for dividend day - no walking straight onto rides. but we rode everything we wanted to and the best ones (delirium, backward racer, vortex and, of course, the beast) twice. saw several students, per usual, who always look at me strangely, knowing i don't work at P&G and wondering what i'm doing there. got a decent bag of goodies, too, though they were sorely lacking in male items this year.
the search continues: eharmony is indeed free this weekend, so i've been taking advantage by going through my matches and making some contact. it being my first time and feeling quantity is probably better than quality at this point, i've established communication with 27 potential matches. so far i've gotten through the first two or three steps with eight of them. the rest aren't around this weekend or aren't interested. not feeling a spark from any of them yet, but then still don't have a lot of info about them at this point. shannon did suggest i only sign up for three months and then let it lapse, because they offer special deals to resign up - she's currently on a month to month basis for 12.95 a month. much better than the buy a year's worth for 20.95. will probably sign up this week, just so i can take full advantage of the site (read: see some pictures)
it's like i've swallowed semi-molten gravel, which has lodged itself in my throat. oi the pain.
ok, i'm going to go read and hopefully fall back asleep. think i'll be getting bread for communion and seeing if someone can cover for me - no one likes an officiant whose nose is dripping into the cup (how' s that for an image?). please, sleep, come.
Æ
Tunes: suzanne vega - calypso
doesn't help that i woke up at 1:00 AM to nature's call, only to feel a spider crawling on me. and then it wouldn't let go. kept jumping from one part of my body to another. i'm getting creeped out just typing about it. i can only imagine what it might have done had i not gotten up. *shudder*
KI with shannon was great, as always. park was a bit more crowded than usual for dividend day - no walking straight onto rides. but we rode everything we wanted to and the best ones (delirium, backward racer, vortex and, of course, the beast) twice. saw several students, per usual, who always look at me strangely, knowing i don't work at P&G and wondering what i'm doing there. got a decent bag of goodies, too, though they were sorely lacking in male items this year.
the search continues: eharmony is indeed free this weekend, so i've been taking advantage by going through my matches and making some contact. it being my first time and feeling quantity is probably better than quality at this point, i've established communication with 27 potential matches. so far i've gotten through the first two or three steps with eight of them. the rest aren't around this weekend or aren't interested. not feeling a spark from any of them yet, but then still don't have a lot of info about them at this point. shannon did suggest i only sign up for three months and then let it lapse, because they offer special deals to resign up - she's currently on a month to month basis for 12.95 a month. much better than the buy a year's worth for 20.95. will probably sign up this week, just so i can take full advantage of the site (read: see some pictures)
it's like i've swallowed semi-molten gravel, which has lodged itself in my throat. oi the pain.
ok, i'm going to go read and hopefully fall back asleep. think i'll be getting bread for communion and seeing if someone can cover for me - no one likes an officiant whose nose is dripping into the cup (how' s that for an image?). please, sleep, come.
Æ
Tunes: suzanne vega - calypso
Friday, September 15, 2006
my own personal hell
so to try and drum up some school spirit, someone in the school decided to have a "black out" night in the stands for tonight's football game against lima. they ordered black t-shirts students could buy and wear to the game. so far so good. then they started to sell them and one of the administrators took a close look at it and immediately told them to stop selling them. the front was supposed to say "WHOSE HOUSE" with the back declaring "OUR HOUSE." unfortunately, this is not what the printers printed. no, instead they say, "WHO'S HOUSE" on the front. yes, we be a school of excellents. so they stopped and i thought all was well.
i was wrong.
today, as i walk the hall's, i see these shirts everywhere. some of them are the original ones, which just makes my head want to explode. but the "corrected" ones aren't much better. the printer fixed them by adding "in the" between the "WHO'S" and the "HOUSE." never mind that this makes the back a total non sequitur. the worst part is students are like, "so what's the big deal?" *sigh* i have failed them as a teacher.
my suggestion was we should put a picture of hugh laurie on the back with the slogan "HUGH'S HOUSE." but i'm not sure anyone would get it.
at least it's friday.
i'm sticking around a bit after school - some of the poor band kids can't get home and back in time for the game, so they'll be coming up to my room to watch the blues brothers until they have to go. i'll get (supposedly) some pizza out of the deal. and it's been a while since i've seen BB. plus i'm still a band geek at heart, so it will be nice to hang out with some of my tribe.
my continuing eharmony saga: updated my "about me" page again - far more humorous now and more me than the "romantic me." pretty happy with it. brent called me yesterday, said eharmony was free this weekend, but i found no mention of it anywhere. hopefully it's true, so i can respond to a couple of matches who have requested communication (they won't let me do anything until i pay, stupid money-grubbing freaks).
ok, i probably should do something school related, though today's pretty simple - vocab quiz and a trip to the media center to work on their essays. and other than grading the spelling portion of the quiz, no grading this weekend. woohoo! and i get to go to KI and get some cleaning supplies. score!
now if i can just make it through the day without strangling some poor child with their "WHO'S HOUSE" tshirt....
Æ
Tunes: harry connick jr. - blue light red light (someone's there)
i was wrong.
today, as i walk the hall's, i see these shirts everywhere. some of them are the original ones, which just makes my head want to explode. but the "corrected" ones aren't much better. the printer fixed them by adding "in the" between the "WHO'S" and the "HOUSE." never mind that this makes the back a total non sequitur. the worst part is students are like, "so what's the big deal?" *sigh* i have failed them as a teacher.
my suggestion was we should put a picture of hugh laurie on the back with the slogan "HUGH'S HOUSE." but i'm not sure anyone would get it.
at least it's friday.
i'm sticking around a bit after school - some of the poor band kids can't get home and back in time for the game, so they'll be coming up to my room to watch the blues brothers until they have to go. i'll get (supposedly) some pizza out of the deal. and it's been a while since i've seen BB. plus i'm still a band geek at heart, so it will be nice to hang out with some of my tribe.
my continuing eharmony saga: updated my "about me" page again - far more humorous now and more me than the "romantic me." pretty happy with it. brent called me yesterday, said eharmony was free this weekend, but i found no mention of it anywhere. hopefully it's true, so i can respond to a couple of matches who have requested communication (they won't let me do anything until i pay, stupid money-grubbing freaks).
ok, i probably should do something school related, though today's pretty simple - vocab quiz and a trip to the media center to work on their essays. and other than grading the spelling portion of the quiz, no grading this weekend. woohoo! and i get to go to KI and get some cleaning supplies. score!
now if i can just make it through the day without strangling some poor child with their "WHO'S HOUSE" tshirt....
Æ
Tunes: harry connick jr. - blue light red light (someone's there)
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