"It's times like this when someone is talking to you like you are a grown-up that you have to be careful not to pick your nose or dig your drawers out of your butt."
"Well, that's what being a grown-up is like. At first it's scary but then before you realize, with a lot of practice, you have it under control. Hopefully you'll have lots of time to practice being grown-up before you actually have to do it."
--from The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis, one of the many kids' books I read in order to pursue my career.
Cheers! and a big Hurrah! to all the other grown-ups!
Monday, July 18, 2005
Saturday, July 9, 2005
Cayce Chronicles
"I snuck what was left of my father's chicken into a napkin when Aunt Nora came to the table and got everyone's attention: Did anyone want to dance "The Hokey Pokey"? My mother did. She and Aunt Nora walked off with their arms linked.
I spotted them with Rebecca on the dance floor as I made my getaway. The bandleader was singing, "Put your right foot in, and shake it all about," and the three of them did it along with everyone else, without thinking, as I did, Why? Why would you put your right foot in and shake it all about?"
--from The Wonder Spot, Melissa Bank
As stories I've told before about the neighborhood I live in go (see some December posts about Christmas yard decorations)...there's a new one that got me laughing this week. So sometime around April or maybe May, Will and I decided to get a tent (not a camping tent, but a 10x10 easy-up to provide shade) to put in the backyard and we put mosquito netting around it b/c the backyard is sort of similar to a big stagnant pool of water, meaning really that the mosquitos love it and especially me when I'm floating around in the big pool of water. There's not water, REALLY, but it's a nice comparison. Since then we've spent some time out in the tent eating after we cookout and such, and the experience is always pretty pleasant considering that the Mosquito Super Kris Buffet is closed to the public. About 2 weeks ago, I came home from a short beach trip, and lo and behold! the neighbors had a tent too, minus the mosquito accoutrements. Now the third house down from us also has a tent, but from the window at my desk I can't exactly see the placement of their tent and have no idea whether or not they bothered for the mosquito accessories as we did.
Apparently though, the idea of a tent to block the sun was new in good ole Cayce, and by gosh we're bringing the modern times right on into this town!
I spotted them with Rebecca on the dance floor as I made my getaway. The bandleader was singing, "Put your right foot in, and shake it all about," and the three of them did it along with everyone else, without thinking, as I did, Why? Why would you put your right foot in and shake it all about?"
--from The Wonder Spot, Melissa Bank
As stories I've told before about the neighborhood I live in go (see some December posts about Christmas yard decorations)...there's a new one that got me laughing this week. So sometime around April or maybe May, Will and I decided to get a tent (not a camping tent, but a 10x10 easy-up to provide shade) to put in the backyard and we put mosquito netting around it b/c the backyard is sort of similar to a big stagnant pool of water, meaning really that the mosquitos love it and especially me when I'm floating around in the big pool of water. There's not water, REALLY, but it's a nice comparison. Since then we've spent some time out in the tent eating after we cookout and such, and the experience is always pretty pleasant considering that the Mosquito Super Kris Buffet is closed to the public. About 2 weeks ago, I came home from a short beach trip, and lo and behold! the neighbors had a tent too, minus the mosquito accoutrements. Now the third house down from us also has a tent, but from the window at my desk I can't exactly see the placement of their tent and have no idea whether or not they bothered for the mosquito accessories as we did.
Apparently though, the idea of a tent to block the sun was new in good ole Cayce, and by gosh we're bringing the modern times right on into this town!
Friday, June 3, 2005
Honey Asilomar, my road sister name
And in other news, on the road trip down the 10 my road sister, Flakey, and I were harrassed by a truck full of redneck boys. Apparently, people "holler" out the window at girls in places other than good ole South Carolina; they even do it in the desert. Since the 10 is covered in nothing but small shrubs and mining mountains, it's a scary thing being "hollered" at by stupid boys in their big truck so I decided it was time for a *HP, which doesn't exist in California. Flakey, my good pal, has the bright idea to look in the handy atlas for a "help-there's-scary-guys" number. So we call the CA tourism number and Flakey talks to a lady about how gross these boys are and we get a number to call, but apparently the boys figured out our plot to have them hightailed by some CA Highway Patrol so they left and then it was just Flakey and Honey in the Jetta still cruising down the road.
Other things have happened like eating nachos, going to gross bars named after noxious gases, sitting on ice cubes, pissing off little brothers, the list goes on and on. Overall, the road trip update cannot be truly experienced via the blog. We'll have to go out for a beer and a night of storytelling instead.
If I ever figure out how to post pictures on the blog, I'll do it, but that might take a little more inquiry than I'm up for. Happy days people!
Other things have happened like eating nachos, going to gross bars named after noxious gases, sitting on ice cubes, pissing off little brothers, the list goes on and on. Overall, the road trip update cannot be truly experienced via the blog. We'll have to go out for a beer and a night of storytelling instead.
If I ever figure out how to post pictures on the blog, I'll do it, but that might take a little more inquiry than I'm up for. Happy days people!
Friday, May 27, 2005
Shoop shoop shoooby Doop
It's finally over, the whole first year of teaching chaos. Yay for me and everyone else involved in that silly endeavor. And hooray for the other people about to embark on it. Just 2 more years and I can go back to school too...whew! what a relief!
In T minus a day and a half (T minus means minutes left or something so I hear) I head out to the western parts of the country for a little R&R and P&D&E and F&F. See if you can figure those out.
And an update on other things...mark your calendars the wedding date is set for July 8th, originally June 24th, and let's hope the place hasn't booked the 8th yet. That's a whole year away which is a really long time in my opinion to get ready for a day, one day, a single day. We've discussed eloping, letting Elvis marry us in Vegas, and all those things that seem somewhat more exhilarating than all the months of planning. Hmmm...one does like to dream! I don't think it'll ever happen, thus I'll just make the most of the traditional route and have as many laughs along the way as I can muster. It, too, shall be fun.
In T minus a day and a half (T minus means minutes left or something so I hear) I head out to the western parts of the country for a little R&R and P&D&E and F&F. See if you can figure those out.
And an update on other things...mark your calendars the wedding date is set for July 8th, originally June 24th, and let's hope the place hasn't booked the 8th yet. That's a whole year away which is a really long time in my opinion to get ready for a day, one day, a single day. We've discussed eloping, letting Elvis marry us in Vegas, and all those things that seem somewhat more exhilarating than all the months of planning. Hmmm...one does like to dream! I don't think it'll ever happen, thus I'll just make the most of the traditional route and have as many laughs along the way as I can muster. It, too, shall be fun.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Impressive
I'm very impressed by all the recent updating by the bloggers. If I was YOUR teacher, I'd say fantastic! excellent! spectacular! all ending in an exclamation point because of just how wonderful you are, much like 8th graders who do something great and then lean in ever so slightly hoping to get one of those exclamations from someone. You're cooler than 8th graders though because most of your hormones have settled.
Ever noticed how difficult some words are to text on the cell phone? I have decided that the word "tomorrow" is most time consuming. You know if you need a letter on the same key, you must wait that obligatory 3 blinks of the cursor before being allowed to type the next letter? Well in "tomorrow" there's the 'o' and then wait for the 'm' and then wait for the 'o' then do a quick 'r' and wait for another 'r' and then the 'o' and 'w' are quick no problem type jobs. But wow that's a long one to type. I often want to write 'tom' rather than 'tomorrow,' but often think my reader might think i'll see my friend Tom later. I don't even have a friend Tom; I used to though. I don't know where he is anymore. Hmph.
An update on my teaching career. I have T-5 days and counting. What does T minus ____ mean anyway? What's the T for? So just 2 full days and then 2 half days and then 1 work day and then I dance myself right out of that building in a little celebration jig. And that means, just T minus 7 days before I head out on the Plane Trip/Road Trip of the season. And there are a few reasons that this will be so.
1. 2 plane trips = lots of by myself with a bunch of strangers time
2. reuniting with 2 old friends, one for 2 weeks, one for 4 hours in the airport?
3. Monterey
4. San Francisco http://www.ramadaplazasf.com/main/rpsf-home.htm
5. Food & Beer
Yes, 5 is good.
So this might be the wedding site www.woodfieldinn.com
What does everyone think???
Ever noticed how difficult some words are to text on the cell phone? I have decided that the word "tomorrow" is most time consuming. You know if you need a letter on the same key, you must wait that obligatory 3 blinks of the cursor before being allowed to type the next letter? Well in "tomorrow" there's the 'o' and then wait for the 'm' and then wait for the 'o' then do a quick 'r' and wait for another 'r' and then the 'o' and 'w' are quick no problem type jobs. But wow that's a long one to type. I often want to write 'tom' rather than 'tomorrow,' but often think my reader might think i'll see my friend Tom later. I don't even have a friend Tom; I used to though. I don't know where he is anymore. Hmph.
An update on my teaching career. I have T-5 days and counting. What does T minus ____ mean anyway? What's the T for? So just 2 full days and then 2 half days and then 1 work day and then I dance myself right out of that building in a little celebration jig. And that means, just T minus 7 days before I head out on the Plane Trip/Road Trip of the season. And there are a few reasons that this will be so.
1. 2 plane trips = lots of by myself with a bunch of strangers time
2. reuniting with 2 old friends, one for 2 weeks, one for 4 hours in the airport?
3. Monterey
4. San Francisco http://www.ramadaplazasf.com/main/rpsf-home.htm
5. Food & Beer
Yes, 5 is good.
So this might be the wedding site www.woodfieldinn.com
What does everyone think???
Monday, May 16, 2005
More on Dump Trucks
This morning on my way to school, I watched a dump truck run a red light. I screamed out loud at the truck as I sat in my little car. I do think that the Cayce/West Columbia, Lexington area has more dump trucks than anywhere else that I've lived, but they obviously don't follow any common sense kind of rules. A dump truck is slow; therefore, if the light turns yellow, they shouldn't just try to rush through it. Undoubtably they could have missed, overshot or undershot whatever, but not get through in a timely manner. I hate dump trucks. They look like big blown up toys and for some reason their drivers just get a bad rap in my mind. It's not fair to them I know.
School is almost over. I have 2 weeks of my first year left. Hooray. I'm ready for this one to be over. After looking at the same faces day in and day out, I want a break. I leave for Arizona/California in exactly 2 weeks. I'm counting down the days. Home's fun and all, but heading out that far will be a sweet way to start my summer officially without school. OK I should do something productive, though posting after however many weeks could be considered productive, right?
School is almost over. I have 2 weeks of my first year left. Hooray. I'm ready for this one to be over. After looking at the same faces day in and day out, I want a break. I leave for Arizona/California in exactly 2 weeks. I'm counting down the days. Home's fun and all, but heading out that far will be a sweet way to start my summer officially without school. OK I should do something productive, though posting after however many weeks could be considered productive, right?
Thursday, May 5, 2005
Shock and Awe
I just put myself into my classroom isolation tank.
I had a number of conferences for students who are heading up to the high school next year. We have a kid who's so clearly homosexual. Big deal around here. People are so close minded and in education, being that way is so incredibly backward. Isn't education all about growth and development? OK well we're a developing society and a developing world, but these idiots are still living back in 1950 and they actually SAY it out loud. Things like, "it's just disgusting" and "it shouldn't happen" about students, one in particular, who I happen to teach and think very highly of. He's great, he makes bigger connections to literature than half the kids and probably these talking head idiots who are in charge of his life next year. He's polite and well mannered and has a great group of friends who are accepting of him, so why the hostility toward a 13 year old over the fact that he doesn't like girls. I almost slung a clipboard down the conference table, so I left and now I'm in isolation in my room with Tift playing. GEEEEEz louise.
Why can't we just accept everyone?
I had a number of conferences for students who are heading up to the high school next year. We have a kid who's so clearly homosexual. Big deal around here. People are so close minded and in education, being that way is so incredibly backward. Isn't education all about growth and development? OK well we're a developing society and a developing world, but these idiots are still living back in 1950 and they actually SAY it out loud. Things like, "it's just disgusting" and "it shouldn't happen" about students, one in particular, who I happen to teach and think very highly of. He's great, he makes bigger connections to literature than half the kids and probably these talking head idiots who are in charge of his life next year. He's polite and well mannered and has a great group of friends who are accepting of him, so why the hostility toward a 13 year old over the fact that he doesn't like girls. I almost slung a clipboard down the conference table, so I left and now I'm in isolation in my room with Tift playing. GEEEEEz louise.
Why can't we just accept everyone?
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