Square One

So now that I've received my letter from the state informing me that I am a superficial teacher with no depth, I have to decide how to demonstrate that, no, really, I know what I'm doing.

I'm clearly not going to do the same unit again, as it was wholly unacceptable. And yet...if I teach it to my honors seniors, will that help? No, probably not. So what do I teach? And to what class? I have two honors classes and the seniors seem good so far (it's only day one), but should I wait to see the dynamic of my sophomores before I decide? The sophomores would be a little easier, in that I've taught that curriculum for two years now, and could just expand on a unit I've already done. On the other hand, the senior curriculum has some cool stuff (Oedipus Rex, anyone?) and that might be fun to explore with the seniors. However, reading translated Greek can be difficult, which may have been part of the problem I ran into with the failing unit. (I still maintain I did the best with the students I was given, but the state doesn't care about that. One teacher suggested I use a non-honors class, but those are always very...tumultuous when it comes to behaviors. Of course, if I was a good teacher, I'd have excellent classroom management...)

And the other thing is, if I'm going to teach say a short-story, how do I stretch that out for 5-7 hours of instruction (roughly 6 class periods)? Do I do more than one short story? I'm not sure doing a book works because of the way the cycles go...the kids can't retain anything across the shop cycle.

*big sigh* So yeah, this is where I'm at emotionally right now. My day did not suck too badly classes wise, and I had forgotten how quickly 50 minutes can go by when you're busy.

Hope all are well.

Karma?

Apparently, I was a very bad being in a previous life. Not only does my schedule suck and I still don't have class lists and the kids arrive tomorrow, but:

1. My MP3 player died; I had to buy another one
2. I have a sinus infection.
3. I failed my portfolio.

Failed??? I mean, seriously. I don't fail things. That might sound egotistical, but it's true. I've done things that were not perfect, had to re-do things to get what I wanted for a grade, but I've never failed anything. Was my ego talking too much this past year and now I've been bitten in the ass?

I am so distraught, you have no idea. I've only cried a little bit, so far, but the desire to do so comes and goes (like right now...like woah). This means that, no really, the supervisors during student teaching were right: this is not the career for you.

And now that I'm into it for two and a half years, I really can't see myself doing anything else. What am I supposed to do with my life if I don't get to teach?

I have until Feb. 1st to redo the sucker, then I find out by April 1st if I figured it out the second time. My certification expires in July. Let's talk time crunch.

I suck. This pity party is so worth it.

Yay, useless survey

Place an X by all the things you've done, or remove the x from the ones you have not. (This is for your entire life.)

( ) Smoked a cigarette
(X) Drank so much you threw up
( ) Crashed a friend's car
( ) Stolen a car
(X) Been in love
(X) Been dumped (like a bizillion times)
( ) Been laid off/fired
(X) Quit your job
( ) Been in a fist fight
( ) Snuck out of your parent's house
( ) Been arrested
(X) Blind Date
(X )Lied to a friend (just to make them feel better, never to hurt)
( ) Skipped school
( ) Seen someone die
(X) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Been lost
(X ) Been on the opposite side of the country
(X) Gone to Washington , DC
(X ) Swam in the ocean
( ) Felt like dying
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
( ) Played cops and robbers
( )Recently colored with crayons
( ) Sang karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with only coins
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
( ) Made prank phone calls
( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X ) Danced in the rain
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
( ) Watched the sun rise with someone you care about
(X) Blown bubbles
( ) Made a bonfire on the beach
( ) Crashed a party
(X) Gone roller-skating
(X) Gone Ice-skating
1. Any Children? 0
2. Any Pets? Kitty!
3. Any nickname? Lady
4. Mother's name? Carol
5. What is your favorite drink? *shrugs*
6. Tattoos? Got one
7. Piercing? ears, and formerly the belly button
8. How much do you love your job? Well, ya know...
9. Birthplace: Meriden, CT
10. Favorite vacation spot? The beach
11. Been to Africa ? No
12. Ever steal any traffic signs? No
13. Ever been in a car accident? Yes
14. Good childhood or bad? good
15. 2 Door or 4 Door Car? 4 door
16. Salad dressing? Italian/balsamic
17. Favorite pie? Pumpkin
18. Favorite number? 7
19. Favorite movie? "Star Wars"
20. favorite color? blue
21. favorite holiday? Fourth of July
22. Favorite food? Not sea food
23. What happened to # 23? I ate it
24. Favorite brand of body soap? Is it on sale? Score!
25. Favorite TV Show? "House"
26 Favorite toothpaste? Is it on sale? Double score?
27. Favorite smell? Clean laundry; the sea
28. What do you do to relax? read
29. Message to your friends reading this? Bored too?
30. How do you see yourself in 5 years? Tenured
31. What do you do when you are bored? Watch TV, read...surf the net
33. Furthest place you will send this message? England
34. Who will respond the fastest? Kelly
35. Least likely to respond? Roommate


Where's 32?

There are five pictures for you to enjoy.

Hail, hail, the gang's all here.

My brother the pimp with his girlfriend the moose. 

Mom, Dad & Brother with giant bottle o' Jaeger. 

My father doing his "Mary Poppins" impression.  

The first line reads "He who drinks beer sleeps well." 

Personal Hell

The New York Yankees

Circle I Limbo

Parents who bring squalling brats to R-rated movies
Circle II Whirling in a Dark & Stormy Wind

PETA Members
Circle III Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & Snow

Scientologists
Circle IV Rolling Weights

Creationists
Circle V Stuck in Mud, Mangled

River Styx

Qusay Hussein
Circle VI Buried for Eternity

River Phlegyas

Uday Hussein
Circle VII Burning Sands

Saddam Hussein
Circle IIX Immersed in Excrement

Osama bin Laden
Circle IX Frozen in Ice

Design your own hell

Friday good, headache bad

The other day I was thinking about my POI from this time last year and had this desperate urge to call him. This may have been sentimental, or I might be in desperate need of "some," but I did not give into my urge. Go me. Woo hoo.

Then he IMed me the following afternoon while I was at work. Weird, yes?

Anyhew, today was the first official day at work. Still no class lists, but the hamsters were not killed today, only put into comas. I'm feeling like people at work have a problem with me being organized/prepared and it's a little unnerving. Just because I still have a lot of energy to devote to my job doesn't make you look bad...it makes me look young.

Also, we have 11 new staff members, 3 of whom are good-looking young men. W00T!

Finally--I went to the gym all 5 weekdays. Go me again.

Blame my brother! (and other stuff)

So, when I was home Monday and Tuesday, my mother and I were discussing my compulsive need to help and please people, sacrificing my own happiness. This was part of a larger discussion I had with my roommate about where "issues" come from. Roommate was sure this was a "family" issue in some way, but as my parents have never been anything but supportive, I couldn't figure out how.

And then my mother said "It's your brother's fault." And suddenly everything made sense.

See, when Brother was little, he was a pain in the ass. My parents had a helluva time dealing with him. Mom's theory is that I saw how angry or upset they would be and I would try to please them (good grades, cleaning my room, whatever) so that they would be happy again. Even though they weren't angry with me, I saw a way to change their moods and attempted to do so.

Let us all have a lightbulb moment at my expense.

In other news, I go back to work officially tomorrow. I am going in later today, however, to do some more work on curriculum planning because...well, yes. I have classes to teach starting next Thursday and I need to find a way to keep kids occupied for 52 minutes at a clip. In one case, it's 104 minutes, but that's okay, because I'm going to invade the library. On the first day of school...that's right. :) Seniors need to do resumes, why not start right away?

Also, happier news (except for my credit card) but I've pre-ordered my copy of the original Star Wars trilogy. Of course, I'm ending up with ANOTHER copy of the Uber Special Editions as well, but whatever. This will make 5 total copies of the Star Wars trilogy. Does anyone who reads this have me beat? Anyway, if you're going to order yourself the movies (and you should because they're only available until the end of the year), I recommend going to www.starwars.com because they are bundling the movies together and taking some money off the price. Otherwise you'll have to buy each 2-disc set separately and OMGWOAH expensive.

Related, it looks like Harrison Ford actually wants to do Indie IV and even though, according to Lucas, it's going to be a Phantom Menace situation with the fans (not being able to please after so much time, blah blah blah), the Three Amigos are eager to get going. [All this information courtesty of the Illegal-Sized Paper Production.]

Okay, off to eat breakfast before I go into work.

Broken Sunglasses, the Bard and British Silver

This morning my rock star sunglasses met an untimely death. So sad. Thankfully, Mom had another pair that I could wear.

I spent the night at my 'rents house last night so that Mom and I could get an early start on our trip to the Yale Center for British Art. While there, we saw six pictures that might be Shakespeare, as well as some original printings of his works, his will...and lots of other cool stuff related to him. We then looked at a bunch of silver that the British gave to the Tsars of Russia. Also very cool. Unfortunately, my nose was acting up so I had a hard time really examining without feeling like a leaky faucet. (Sorry, gross).

Also, to clarify some thing from the previous post: Wasn't concerned about my drink so much as my know-it-all-ness and how some of my friends could help me not sound so much like that. And I'm not dissing Christianity, I'm just pointing out the fallacy of following rules that have no basis in The Big Book.

I have to go back to work in two days. Mourn for me, s'il vous plait.

Brain Betrayal

It's getting worse, now, the closer I get to starting work: my brain will not allow me to sleep. I read a chapter or two, turn off the lights, and I begin to think.

I was considering my behavior at my boss's party on Saturday. Yes I had a few glasses of wine, but they were spread out over many hours and I was eating...a lot. Anyway, I was evaluating if I did anything foolish and determined I did not, but one of my colleagues said something that made me think.

Many of the people at the party had traveled to Italy recently, so we were discussing Rome and the buildings and angry Italian artists and the Church obviously came up. Someone was telling a story about a pope that's not pictured on a wall and it somehow segued into Church rules. So, since this is stuff I know about, I was playing "did you know..." Not in a haughty way, but just as an FYI kind of thing.

I'm afraid I came off as too bitter, however, which is unfortunate. You know you're not supposed to discuss politics and religion but...I find it fascinating. I didn't mean to come across as "wow, Catholicism sucks," it was supposed to be "Hey, you should know why your church is the way it is."

Anyway, all this rambling is coming to this point: I apologize if I come off as a know-it-all or haughty. It is never my intention to be this way with people; I just like to impart knowledge (hence my profession). I'm not sure how I'm going to fix my party flub with my colleagues, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, and my boss's son is cute. Awkward for me.

For Kel...

the Questioner Thanks for taking the test !

you chose CY - your Enneagram type is SIX. "I am affectionate and skeptical" Questioners are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative. How to Get Along with Me Be direct and clear. Listen to me carefully. Don't judge me for my anxiety. Work things through with me. Reassure me that everything is OK between us. Laugh and make jokes with me. Gently push me toward new experiences. Try not to overreact to my overreacting. What I Like About Being a Six being committed and faithful to family and friends being responsible and hardworking being compassionate toward others having intellect and wit being a nonconformist confronting danger bravely being direct and assertive What's Hard About Being a Six the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations Sixes as Children Often are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent Sixes as Parents are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence worry more than most that their children will get hurt sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele The Enneagram Made Easy Discover the 9 Types of People Harper SanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages You are not completely happy with the result?! You chose CY Would you rather have chosen: AY (EIGHT) BY (FOUR) CX (TWO) CZ (ONE)

Link: The Quick & Painless ENNEAGRAM Test written by felk on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

The Hosing--Part Two

Okay, so I went to a party with my colleagues and got my "official" schedule. I'm teaching 8 classes as opposed to seven (which is normal for my school) but...

Cycle A: Honors IV, 2 sections of regular IV, Creative Writing
Cycle B: Honors II, regular II, Classic Lit on Film, English III

Here's the catch...Cycle A I have a class 7th period (last) one day a week. Cycle B I have a 7th period class 4 out of 5 days a week. This means I don't teach periods 1 and 2 most days of the week. This is NOT good for anyone who knows me, as my best hours are between 8 and 1...not between 9:30 and 2:30...

Needless to say, I've got to talk to someone about this. Not cool!

Also, I drank tonight. Not a lot...but since I haven't been drinking...it's enough...

The Hosing

So I got a phone call at 7:45 yesterday morning from my Assistant Principal, asking if I was "okay" with a schedule change they were making. Now, the schedule I got at the end of the year had me teaching three grade levels, three different preps (types of classes), seven groups of students. The start of the conversation told me the AP wanted to give me an honors sophomore section (one thing I didn't have on this first schedule) and I said sure.

Then he runs down the rest of my schedule.

A cycle I am teaching three classes: Honors English IV, English IV and Creative Writing.
B cycle I am teaching four classes: Honors English II, English II, Classic Literature on Film and English III.

If you look closely (or not), it will occur to you that of my seven classes I am teaching, five of them are different preps. Five! The honors/not honors thing isn't such a big deal; I just grade differently. What's worse is that they told me I wasn't teaching CW this year, so I haven't done ANY work to expand it into a year-long class, and I had shoved all my English III stuff into drawers because I was sure I wasn't teaching it. I HATE Junior English. American Lit (especially when you can only teach it through short stories) is hella boring.

So after kvetching to both my parents, I called my mentor and she at first wanted to know how I'd gotten an advance copy of my schedule and then said "You can't keep letting them do this to you." I'm fairly certain they can, however, because I'm the new kid. My one BIG fear is that I'll have to do my portfolio again (15 days 'til scores are posted) and that I'm going to be overwhelmed prepping...again. Like last year.

There is an upside to this. Despite having to make CW a year-long course, and not being sure if my students will have copies of the textbook for CLoF, there's only one class on this list that I haven't taught before with the new textbook: English IV. In a way, this is very good. I have LOTS of materials stacked up all over the place; I just have to pull them out, tweak as needed. Still, I'm going to be doing more work than ANYONE else in my department: at most, other people have three preps, not five.

So my roommate and I are both up in the air with our schedules. Hers is a good change though; she might get to teach AP Bio. Yay her.

Slightly less weird...sort of...

Okay, so the dream starts out in this big crowd scene at the back of a hotel, near the pool. There is a man of some importance in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by his body guards. People keep asking him how he's feeling, to which he responds "fine." Then, all of a sudden, we can see inside the guy's head, and he thinks everyone is a chicken. He bolts, and now I'm part of the crowd, part of the dream...and I'm with this other woman. We run to follow the guy, who everyone thinks has lost it. We follow him through this little glass structure and back out to the pool, where I find him walking on water. I say something to the girl about this, how I'm surprised, and she looks at me like I'm a moron, "Well, of course he can walk on water." The crowd is still there, but the guy seems to have stopped freaking out, water walking not withstanding.

But now I'm some sort of hostage, or...I don't know, because the body guard guys and the woman drag me over there and Water Walker is freaking out again...more like he's worried he'll be discovered or something. The woman, WW and myself are now standing at the side of the pool, and he has us cross our arms in front of ourselves and touch palms with each other. Then, as a group, we slowly make our way off the edge of the pool and step into the water.

So I'm in the water, but I'm not freaking out. And I don't feel the water, so much, but it feels more like being surrounded in blankets. Then my mother is there, and even though she's above the water, I can understand her perfectly. She's telling me it's okay to come out of the water, that they are gone, and that they left some purple writing behind in an ancient language that Einstein wrote in. So I open my eyes and on the bottom of the pool is written Abess, which, in dream world, was an ancient form of the word abyss. So I get out of the water and am sitting pool side on the concrete near my mother, WW guy, and a third person. WW is reading a newspaper, seemingly disinterested in what's going on. I felt something soft on my face, I thought it was a socked foot, so I turned...

Opening my eyes to discover it was Hob's paw. Now I was awake.

Some other dream involved me washing my hair and being worried about how it felt, but I can't remember much of that one.

(This week of entries brought to you by the letters P, M and S.)

And now for something completely different.

Step 1: Go to this site.
Step 2: Choose 5 quotes that relate to you in some way.
Step 3: Paste them in your blog/lj/whatever, along with the instructions

To be a book-collector is to combine the worst characteristics of a dope fiend with those of a miser.--Robertson Davies, "The Table Talk of Samuel Marchbanks"

There are more fools in the world than there are people.--Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)

Every time we say, "Let there be!" in any form, something happens.--Stella Terrill Mann

[S]he refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn’t boring.--Zelda Fitzgerald, 1922

My Grandmother is over eighty and still doesn't need glasses. Drinks right out of the bottle.--Henny Youngman (1906 - 1998)

Weird Dream Factory

Okay, this dream was a little graphic, so I'm going to try to skim over or euphemize those parts.

I was at Margarita Friday, but most of the usual crowd wasn't there. Roommate and I went, but not her boyfriend. We were waiting for this other guy to show up. When he did, he looked like the actor who played Henry on Dawson's Creek. Anyway. So apparently he was supposed to be there for me, but he and the roomie hit it off and end up locking themselves in her bedroom for quite some time.

Now I'm alone in this place which isn't-yet-is mine and the phone rings and it's some guy calling wanting to talk about my certification. But he never identifies himself as being from the State. He asked me a bunch of weird questions that I couldn't answer (kind of like brain teasers). So we set up a call back for an interview, and then "Henry" (for lack fo a better term) finally comes out of Roommate's room and I pounce him (yeah, in that way.) So we're about to get down to it (but he's really tiny...weird) and then we stop because I want to know why he left me for my roommate earlier. He then brings out all these books on Greek women. There are other people back in the house/apartment now. Only when he comes back with the books...I think he's a woman at this point.

Then I woke up.

Difficulty Sleeping and Weird-Ass Dreams

As a by-product of my current emo state, I am having a hard time sleeping. More specifically, it is why I can't fall asleep at night. (The cats are the reason *coughHobcough* that I am awake at various hours.) Anyway, this is getting really annoying. I'm not eating late at night, or drinking coffee/caffeine or anything like that. Just...can't sleep.

Okay, had two dreams last night that I believe were connected but can't remember the transition between them:

1. At work, and it's the first day of school. My classroom was more like the classrooms from the middle school I went to, but it was still my place of employment. The phone was in a really weird place, I had a LOT of kids (way over 30) and this one who wouldn't sit in his seat...he preferred the floor. Somehow I convinced him his life and mine would be better with his ass in the seat, so that's what he did. (That would never happen in real life). My department head walked in to see how things were going. That's about it.

Okay, now this dream is mostly related to the fact that I was watching The Ron Clark Story on TNT last night. Typical "new teacher changes the students" kind of thing. It made me realize I'm not a very noble teacher; I wouldn't go teach in the inner city and I don't think my job is to save the world. Oh well.

2. For this second dream, I think I was out at my aunt's house in California. We were looking at all the women in her neighborhood, I assume making snippy comments about their inabilitites to eat and whatnot. I turned my head and saw one of the girls I went to high school with...the one who changed her first name. She was with this older man, old enough to be our father, and two very little kids. I told my aunt that I knew the woman and gave her the background. Come to find out they might be moving again, but that the husband used to beat my classmate and had often been too rough with the son (the oldest of the two babies).

No idea where that came from.

Anyway, despite precautions my ankle hurts like a mo-fo this morning after my 45 minutes on the treadmill yesterday, so I am unfortunately going to have to forgo exercise today and instead hopefully get the CD player fixed in my car. Again.

So it shall be one of THOSE days.

Woke up to a bloody nose. In August. WTF?

A survey (which I believe sums up the patheticness of my life)

l a s t
1. friend you saw: Roommate
2. Talked to on the phone: Mom
3. Text: Roommate?
4. Messaged over myspace: No one


t o d a y
1. Wearing: jeans, socks, underwear, bra, t-shirt
2. Better than yesterday?: I got to see my mom...so kind of good, yes.

t o m o r r o w
1. Is: Sunday
2. Got any plans: Go home for dinner, possibly
3. Dislikes about tomorrow?: It's going to be a lot like today...only more boring

f a v o r i t e
1. Number: 5 or 7
2. color: Blue
3. Season: Summer!

c u r r e n t l y
1. Missing someone: Yes
2. Mood: Depressed
3. Wanting: My nose to stop being stupid
4. In a relationship: No

Qs & As
Q: First thing you did this morning:
A: Covered Hob with the bed spread

Q: Last thing you ate:
A: An orange

Q: do you have anything bothering you?:
A: Yes

Q: Whats bothering you right now
A: My nose and my heart. (why ask this question twice, essentially?)

Q: What's the last movie you saw?:
A: As in, never seen? "Much Ado About Nothing."

Q: Do you believe in long distance relationships?:
A: As in do I believe they exist? Yes. ;)

Q: Is there a person who is on your mind right now:
A: Nope

Q: Do you think that a person is thinking of you too?
A: Unlikely

Q: Where is the last place you went?
A: Ocean State Job Lot

Q: Do you look like your mom or dad?:
A: Um...yes?

Q: Do you have any siblings?:
A: Yes

Q: Do you smile often?:
A: No

Q: do you wish upon stars?
A: no

Q: Are you a friendly person?:
A: I try to be...

Q: Who's bed did you sleep in last night?:
A: Cleo's. ;)

Q: What color shirt are you wearing?:
A: Black w/the Thundercats logo

Q: What were you doing at 12 last night?:
A: Sleeping? Or reading.

Q: When is the last time you saw your dad?:
A: Tuesday.

Q: Do you have more guy or girl friends?
A: girl

Q: When was the last time you cried?
A: Full-out sob session? It's been awhile. I've been near tears several times in the past month or so, however.

Q: Do you get angry easily?
A: I'm with Kel on this; it is quite easy to irritate me, but anger is more of a build up.

Q: What was your last thought before you went to sleep last night?
A: "I'm sleeping with the cats again. Wow, my life sucks."

Q: Take any vitamins?
A: Nope.

Q: What are you about to do?
A: I have no idea. Probably watch more tv.

Q: Do you ever check your phone waiting for someone to call?
A: Yes. Even when I'm not expecting a call. Or when I'm hanging out with the only people who call me.

Q: Rate life as of right now 1-10.
A: 4/10. Things could be much worse, but I'm definitely not above failing.

Q: Would you say that most people who first meet you like you?
A: No..I'm too shy and, conversely, too opinionated


TRUTHFULLY.
1. Do you like anyone?: I hate everyone ;)
2. Do they know it?: No
3. Simple or complicated?: Simple, please

IN THE LAST MONTH:
4. Gotten drunk: No
5. Bought anything: Yes.
8. Felt dumb: Yes.
9. Talked to an ex?: No.
10. Missed someone: Yes.
11. Failed a test: No.
12. Ate cereal: Yes.
13. Threw up like crazy?: No.
14. Got your hair cut?: Yes
15. Made out?: *grumbles*

UNIQUENESS:
16. Nervous habits?: Nail biter
18. Can you roll your tongue?: Yes
19. Can you raise one eyebrow?: Both go up, but I can get one higher than the other.
20. Can you cross your eyes? yes
21. Do you make your bed daily: I attempt to
22. Do you think you are unique?: Yes.

HAVE YOU EVER?
23.Given money to a homeless person?: No. Pizza once, though.
24. Said "I Love you" and meant it?: Yes.
26. Waited all night for a phone call?: Yes.
27. And never got it?: Uh...yes?
28. Sat and looked at the stars?: Yes.

MANNERS.
29. Do you swear?: Fuck yeah.
30. Do you ever talk back to people?: Not people who will get me fired
31. You cook your own food?: I've been very bad about this and have let far too many people in the service industry do it for me.
32. You do your own chores?: Sometimes more...
34. You like pepsi or coke?: Coke; Pepsi is really beyond gross
35. You're happy with your hair?: It is flat and uninteresting
38. Do you like to swim?: yes
39. When you get bored do you call a friend?: Not usually...because I never have anything to talk about
40. Are you patient?: Only at work, and even then it is tried

DO YOU PERFER?
41. Flowers or candy: Can't I have both?
42. Gray or black: gray
43. Color or black and white photos: Color.
44. Red or Black: black
45. Lust or Love: Love.
46. Winter or Summer: summer
49. Christmas or Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving
50. Day or night: Night

SUMMERTIME.
51. Pool OR Jacuzzi: jacuzzi
52. Ocean OR Pool: ocean
53. Ice cream OR Popsicles: ice cream
54. Lemonade OR Iced Tea: iced tea
55. Flip Flops OR Tennis Shoes: sneakers, 'cause flip flops hurt
56. Shorts OR Skirts: shorts
57. Fans OR Air conditioning: fans are preferred unless humid
58. Sprinklers OR slip n slide: Sprinklers; the slip n' slide is dangerous



January

1. Did you have a new year's resolution this year?: Lose weight most likely

2. Who kissed you at midnight?: Ken...I think. I was really drunk. It may have been my roommate I kissed. ;)

3. Does it snow where you live?: *grumbles*

4. Do you like hot chocolate?: Mmm...hot chocolate...

5. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop?: I value my life.

February

1. Who was your valentine in 2006?: My cat...oh, and my student Nick.

2. When you were little, did you buy valentines for your whole class?: Probably.

3. Do you care if the groundhog see's its shadow or not?: It's a Hallmark Holiday; gonna go with no.

March

1. Are you Irish?: 1/64th

2. Do you wear green on St. Patty's Day?: Of course!

3. What did you do for St. Patty's Day in 2006?: Almost killed a woman in a diner.

4. Are you happy when winter is pretty much over?: Can I get a "fuck yeah?" Thanks.

April

1.Do you like the rain?: As long as it's not excessive

2. Did you play an April fool's joke on anyone this year?: Nope

3. Do you get tons of candy on easter?: No, my mom realizes I'm trying to be good. Just a few select, quality pieces

4. DO YOU CELEBRATE 4-20?: Er, no


May

1. What's your favorite kind of flower?: Tulip, please

2. Do you like the spring?: Better than winter

3. Finish the phrase "April showers": cause bad allergies

4. What is the first color you think of when you think of Spring?: Green

June

1. What year did/will you graduate from school?: Which time? I've graduated in 1998, 2002 and 2004

2. Did you go on any vacations last June?: No

3. Did you realize nothing special happens in June?: There's a kick ass solstice...and a Kelly.

July

1. What will you do on the 4th of July?: I went to a picnic

2. Do you go on any vacations during this month?: I like to, but I haven't. Was supposed to...

3. Do you blast the A/C all day?: Not unless it's hella-humid

August

1. Will you do anything special to end off your summer?: Purge my closet, visit with some colleagues

2. What was your favorite summer memory of '05?: It's a tie: Visiting Sar or moving to the apartment

3. Did you have sunburn?: When? This year? Yes.

4. Do you go to the beach a lot?: No, but I wish I did. F'ing gas prices.

September

1. Did you attend school/college in '05?: Every day. This time they paid me to show up though. ;)

2. Who is/was your favorite teacher?: Dr. Cole

3. Do you like fall better than summer?: No

October

1. What was your favorite halloween costume ever?: I went as Princess Leia one year (Hoth costume, Cloud City hair). That was pretty cool.

2. What's your favorite candy?: Cadburry Cream Egg

3. What did you dress up like this year?: Goddess

November

1. Whose house did you go to for thanksgiving?: Parents'

2. Do you love stuffing?: No

3. What are you thankful for?: My friends, my family, my cat

December

1. Do you celebrate Christmas?: Absorute-ry

2. If not, what do you celebrate?: Solstice is good too

3. Have you ever been kissed under mistletoe?: Not in like...13 years.

4. What do you want this year?: A non-horrific group of students...and to get laid ;)

5. Do you like cold weather?: No

Much Ado About Nothing

Hopefully, dear readers, you are smart enough to realize that the italics in the title suggest that this will not be a woeful and melancholy discussion of my life this week. Rather, I will be discussing some sort of literary/filmatic (is that a word?) piece. In this particular case, we are on the subject of film.

This is the first Shakespeare I have ever seen where I didn't know the story ahead of time; I have never read this comedy of his. I was pleased with the story and the acting (even Keanu seemed to know what he was doing) and was laughing quite a bit throughout the whole thing. It's kind of like Hamlet-meets-Othello, but there's no body count at the end. Instead, all end up with true love (if the audience met said true love in Act 1) and there's just enough tongue-in-cheek innuendo (that Billy is so good at) to amuse your inner fourteen year old.

If you haven't seen this movie, you should. I end with this: Kenneth Brannaugh = Love

My subconscious is weird as all get-out

I don't remember the whole dream, but at some point last night a store cooler full of diet and regular Coke was talking to me and sliding down the rows of the cooler in a VERY threatening manner.

*goes back to her coffee and Dawson's Creek reruns*

My coffee habit (and other musings since Thursday)

1. Where did this coffee habit of mine actually come from? Shall I blame it on Sar & Kel from our first sojourn in San Antonio? Is it connected to holidays at my parents and drinking with them in the morning? Have I substituted coffee for booze? It is a strange thing, considering I now brew myself a cup every morning.

2. Cleaning sucks. If I ever have money, I will hire someone to clean my house for me. Vaccuming/dusting makes me sneeze, disinfecting the bathroom is just gross and doing dishes is unbelievably tedious.

3. I went to the flea market with my mother on Sunday and picked up two books. One is a collection of Norse myths, published in the 1920's, and illustrated! $8, not bad. The other, however, is the find of the year: a 1979 Star Wars reading comprehension book. The kids were supposed to read short passages and then answer questions on things like author's purpose, character, that sort of thing. Highly entertaining. And only $5, so bonus.


4. I have started saying "Bonus" at the end of things. I do not know where this has come from, and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

5. I went to the gym yesterday, but probably will not go today, unless I go after I eat with my parents. Still, considering most of my day will be spent on the dreaded #2, I will probably have burned many calories. I've been putting things back where they belong all morning and am not nearly done.

(Sub set to nothing: My roommate just walked into the living room and said "Everything going into my purse is black." Please discuss.)

6. I need to go through my closet soon and determine what I truly might wear to work this year and what is least likely to see the light of day. Must also determine what I need (ie: pants, tops, colors, etc). I am a big fan of this falls' colors, however: slate blues, grays, muted purples...am happy that the neons have finally gone away. Why is it that the summer colors are NEVER flattering on me?

7. I am still feeling very emo about my life. Other people's problems (the petty ones or ones that I deem easily fix-able) are pissing me off; the slightest variation from normal makes me twitchy. So if I snap at you in the near future, it probably isn't your fault. But as of this moment I'm wondering if I might want to push my "give-up" age to thirty instead of thirty-five. Sar knows what I'm talking about.

8. Everyone said good wishes to my brother and his gf, as they are really in love with a house that they've found but are finding themselves a tad short on funds. Here's to scraping together money!

9. My friend Katie (the one who got married last year) called me yesterday. It was this call that prompted much of number 7, as I realized I have absolutely nothing to talk about when I'm not at work. It's not like I don't have hobbies, but they aren't really that interesting to other people. Or maybe she and I have finally just gone our separate ways. Which is truly sad, as she was my best friend for so long.

10. I need goddess time. Here's to happy thoughts for October.

Desperate, loser, writer's plea

For those of you with livejournal accounts, please to be checking my lj for writing updates, as it is very lonely over there with only Kelly and Alan talking to me (and I love you both for it!) I like lots of critics!

Intellectual Intercourse

Movie Reviews (and assorted drama)

Underworld: Evolution--Obviously a lot grittier and bloodier than the first movie, I thought it was pretty good. Scott Speedman walked around without his shirt on...a lot. Roommate and I both commented on how smart he was for removing it before he turned into his hybrid were-pire, because he did only have the one top to wear. There was more cursing in this movie than in the first one, which I can't account for. And the third brother mystery...is still that. All-in-all, however, if you liked the first one, you ought to see the second.

Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang--OMGROTFLMAO! Besides seeing Robert Downey, Jr and Val Kilmer kiss (hawt!), this movie was VERY funny. RDJ's character, as narrator, is absolutely delightful. VK's "Gay Perry" is a hoot. The whole story has a Clue-vibe to it (so says the Roommate), and my head did hurt for quite a while trying to piece all of the bits together, but I was not disappointed at all. If you need a laugh and some boy-on-boy action, watch this movie. I leave you with a quote from both Harry (RDJ) and Perry (VK) to whet the appetite:

Harry: [narrating] I tell him about destiny; he's shaking his head. About dreamgirls; he doesn't care. I mention the underwear thing? He has a *fucking conniption*. And you? How 'bout it, filmgoer? Have you solved the case of the - the dead people in L.A.? Times Square audiences, please don't shout at the screen, and stop picking at that, it'll just get worse.

Perry: Did you dad love you?
Harry: Only when I dressed up like a beer bottle, how about you?
Perry: Well, he used to beat me in morse code, so it's possible, but he never said the words.

And now I'm a bad narrator, because I promised you "assorted drama" in the title of my post and nearly left you without it.

There should be a special place to round-up and confine all the assholes who make women feel like we are less than what we are. This place should be very cramped, the water and food supply should be limited, and at least three or four "confused" men named Bubba should be on guard. It's easier to see these things (Well, in the sense that you can spot them, not that it's better to deal with) when a friend is involved, but we have all been there. It's a mantra, I suppose, one that should be put on T-shirts and sold at HotTopic or Charlotte Russe:

If He Makes You Feel Like Shit, That's What He Is.

I shook this man's hand and managed NOT to fangirl!