Yay, weekend!

Boy, am I glad that I didn't have to get up at 5:30 this morning. I went home last night, with the cat, and crashed at the parents' house. Got up this morning, had breakfast and coffee with my dad, hung out with my brother and his girlfriend...it was all good.

The three of us (brother, gf & I) are trying to figure out if we should all put in to buy the parents a new computer, as their old one is really annoying. They wouldn't need everything; just a new tower. We'll see.

The kids are starting to show their true colors at work, more due to the readings being difficult than actual behavioral issues. I'm hoping that, by some miracle, they suddenly begin to understand Oedipus Rex and that I will NOT have to read the entire play to them in class. 'Cause that would suck, Beavis. I refuse to do it, actually.

Not much else to report...kind of hungry, because I ate breakfast at 7 am. Will probably try to find some food.

You Are A Hornbeam Tree

You are a reserved person, looking in from the outside. Naturally attractive, you take good care of your looks. You are not egoistic, and you make life as comfortable as possible. You look for kindness in others - though you are seldom happy with yourself. A bit mistrusting and unsure, you dream of being swept away by someone unusual.

What's Your Celtic Horoscope?

Your Learning Style: Curious and Brilliant

You are a very abstract learner. You can grasp even the most complex theories. You Should Study: Astronomy Biology Chemistry Computer Science Linguistics Mathematics Philosophy Physics Psychology

What Should You Study?

Take the quiz:
Who would you be in the War of Armageddon?

The Archangel
You're the Archangel! You'd best fit the role of the Archangel during the Battle of Armageddon, the leader of heaven's army on earth. This says many things about you. You're the leader of all the angels, certainly the most powerful. You're very honest. You're not perfect but you're about as close as they come aside from The Father and Jesus. You fight for the forces of good but you certainly know your limits. There are a few you would not dare contend with...

Quizzes by myYearbook.com -- the World's Biggest Yearbook!



My Personality

Neuroticism	98
Extraversion	4
Openness To Experience	49
Agreeableness	50
Conscientiousness	75

Test Yourself Compare Yourself View Full Report Find your soulmate / pysch twin Xanga, MySpace Surveys and MySpace Layouts by Pulseware Survey Software

Roffle

Thank you, Weird Al, for returning with this diddy. We love you.

Courtesy of the roommate and her boyfriend.

Special Guest Appearances by: Seth Greene and the Star Wars Holiday Special.

Okay, back to work.

The Curiosities of Shopping for Women's Clothes

Boys, you can turn away from this post if you'd like.

Okay, so my mom and I went shopping yesterday at the outlets, because she needed tops for work, and so did I. My brother's gf was supposed to come with us, but decided her poor VISA card was on life support and opted to stay home. So we bought her specialty ground coffee.

Anyway.

They really are sizing women's clothes differently. I tried on a size 8 skirt that was too big. 8! I haven't lost that much weight, and my hip structure hasn't changed, so wtf is up with that? I mean, it was nice to be able to try on a 6, but still. Also, two of the button down shirts I bought were smalls. Very strange.

Also, bra sizes. You know, these things ought to be universal. And yet...I bought a new bra on Wednesday (?) because I had a $10 off coupon from Vicky's. So off I go, try on the bra, like it, take it home.

Two days later, it's not fitting right. Back I go to the store, where a lovely little blonde tells me that I need to go to the sister-size of the one I was wearing; the size I was about a year ago. Only all my IPEX bras in the 34D fit; it's just the Angels that I need a 36C for. Weird. So she said if I could find the tag, I should bring back the one that didn't fit and they'd exchange it for me. On my list of things to do this week.

That is all.

Some pre-bedtime thoughts

1. Leila asked me to post the 5th-8th lines of page 123 of the book nearest me.

"...way the droplets of water on his skin glistened with rainbow colors in the sunlight. Skin that was pale to the eye and firm to the touch. Beneath it were flat muscles..."--Silver Birch, Blood Moon short story collection, "The Frog Chauffeur."

I tag anyone who has a couple of moments and a book nearby.

2. Coffee is for grown-ups. Roommate and I discussed the coffee drinking phenomenon that has swept through the apartment and I have determined that it's not the caffeine we need, but rather a desire to re-assert ourselves as adults in a profession that doesn't always treat us as such.

3. Teachers run into more bacteria than any other profession. Hazard pay, anyone?

4. I am knocking on wood, but for the most part, my classes make me happy. I enjoy my kids and even if they don't do their homework, they are mostly engaged in class. I hope my seniors maintain their level of "well-behaved"-ness when they come back from shop.

I think that's all. Hope everyone is having a good week.

"An Iiad" or Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover

How bad could it be? I thought as I picked a book promising to be a modern-retelling of the Iliad. Boy was I wrong. It was like the Cliff-Notes version, but without any of the explanation. It skimmed over the story, not delving into character thoughts like it should have, like it could have, when handled by the right author. Of course you're not going to re-tell the story in its entirety; there are pages and pages of repetition for the bard telling it from memory. Still, what was done was not nearly as well-thought-out as it should have been.

A disappointment.

A Sarah-created meme

Below are several songs that are either in heavy LadyVader rotation, or things I just want people to hear if they haven't/have forgotten about them.

Don't sell your copies, they'll only be up for 7 days...and we can't download them more than 100 times. So let me know which ones you take.

Willa Ford: I Wanna Be Bad

Good Charlotte: Boys and Girls

Was Not Was: Walk the Dinosaur

The Vapors: Turning Japanese

Justin Timberlake: SexyBack

A Thought for Sunday Morning

Colgate "Max Fresh" toothpaste is like brushing with a mouth full of Lifesavers.

Hi, have some mint.

That is all.

Forget the Ides of March...

...beware the Bags of Spinach!

Sorry, it just makes me chuckle that hysteria going on over this. It's important to know, but it's been in the news cycle for at least 2 days at this point. We get it, throw out the bagged spinach. Wait a while before attempting to eat it again.

In other, more important news, my Star Wars DVDs showed up today. Let us all do a little dance of joy for the me.

My car is also fixed, I just need to go retrieve it from the mechanic. I don't even want to know what it's going to cost me, but I have a feeling I will be a poor, poor woman for awhile.

The weather so far today is lovely, and I am glad we're having one more pleasant spell before we get to the much that is October - November in New England...followed by the white stuff.

Speaking of New England...we were talking about the Puritans before watching The Scarlet Letter and I actually had a kid say "Oh, so they call it New England 'cause people from England founded it?" Crickets, folks, crickets. Even her classmates didn't know what to do with her. I had this girl last year, though, so I shouldn't have been surprised.

Oh yeah, my film class is going to be a pain...I can't get them to follow instructions/stay awake.

Another thing: when I met my sophomores on Wednesday, one of the kids asked if I was Italian because I have very active hands when I talk. I said no, just English and German. Which, I told them, means I can't cook and I'm bent on world domination. Half the class laughed. Go kids. Then I said they'd have to be careful and pay attention during class, because the dry erase markers are slippery and there's no guarantee I won't let one fly. It's like a baseball game...you have to pay attention.

Sorry for the randomness...I'm feeling a little disoriented due to...I don't know what. My brain feels funny. *shrugs*

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

OMG-Did I have a day!

A brief timeline

1. Alarm goes off, waking me from a really weird dream. I am severely disoriented. (5:30)
2. Get out of the house later than I'd wanted, but still manage to get to work on time. (6:45)
3. Assistant Principal is just pulling in, says we have to "talk."
4. One of my classes has disappeared; I am now teaching three, not four. (6:50)
5. Above situation is unacceptable. Am given two choices; decide to co-teach with my mentor for one class. (6:55)
6. Am given someone's homeroom and told to meet in his classroom "just for today." (7:15)
7. Have homeroom, go to my first period class with mentor. (7:50)
8. Phone rings; AP tells me I am to keep homeroom where it was; kids shouldn't have to walk to their first period class (8:15)
9. Rest of day is blur...(8:30-3:15)
10. Drive home, talking to roommate on hands-free device, car starts to rumble and drive funny (3:45)
11. Pull over to discover I have flat tire. Call AAA. (3:50)
12. Am rescued by very nice auto guy, who fixes my tire (4:20)
13. ... ... ...

Oooh...Meme

Comment and I'll give you a letter and then you have to list 10 things you love that begin with that letter.

1. Teacher Appreciation Days--Free stuff, discounts, and food!
2. Tomatoes--they go with just about everything
3. Text messages--feel the love
4. The Princess Bride--great movie
5. Tchaikovsky--pretty music
6. Timberlake's new song--I want my SexyBack, too.
7. Tea--how can you not?
8. Time off--who doesn't?
9. Tacos--because I'm a sucker for Mexican food
10. Thursday--because the week is almost over. Plus, CSI

Bad Dreams and Bad Form

So I couldn't sleep last night. Part of it was your typical back-to-school anxiety, but I had this VERY bizarre dream involving a platoon (?) of US Marines who were coming home from Iraq but they'd lost a bunch of their comrades over there and it was all very traumatic for them and for me.
And I have a problem with both CNN and MSNBC for re-broadcasting the unedited footage of that morning. I know we shouldn't forget what happened but...ug, it's like watching Challenger blow up again or something...why do it to us?

Anyway, my boys play tonight and I'm a little nervous, as they are under a brand new coach and while my "new" quarterback is a pretty good guy, he's a little bit older and that is not good in football.

Hob is yelling at me for sneezing. Just wanted you all to know.

Hope everyone had a good day.

Weekend Update

Friday night was nice because my uncle and one of my cousins from San Francisco were out on the East Coast and had dinner with us. I then came home and passed out before I could watch either Stargate program. I was a little grumpy and anti-social anyway, so it was just as well I went into my room and didn't try to socialize on the couch in the living room. (Wow, does that sound dirty or what?)

Saturday was spent mostly on the couch watching movies, including Jersey Girl, which did not suck as much as I thought it would. Then I drove back to my parents' house to attend the bi-annual Ladies' Night dinner at my dad's club. Mom and I left early, and I watched two hours of Law and Order: SVU before falling asleep.

So far today, I 've watched part of a bizarre anime show called Blood: The Last Vampire, talked with my brother's gf, gone grocery shopping, gone to the gym, and watched some football. Oh yes, football is back.

I was going to correct and/or plan lessons for the week and realized that I left what I needed at work. Oh yes, I'm smart.

Oh, apparently I suffered from foot in mouth at work this week and didn't realize I'd said anything I wasn't supposed to. Oh well.

Hope everyone else had a lovely weekend.

Nothing new to report...

But, I did want to share the lyrics to Carrie Underwood's new song with everyone. Even if you aren't bitter about a break-up, it's still funny. Go find it, one and all.

Before He Cheats

Right now he's probably slow dancing with a bleach blonde tramp,
and she's probably getting frisky...
right now, he's probably buying her some fruity little drink cause she can't shoot whiskey...

Right now, he's probably up behind her with a pool-stick, showing her how to shoot a combo...

And he don't know...

That I dug my key into the side of his pretty little suped up 4 wheel drive,
carved my name into his leather seat...
I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights,
slashed a hole in all 4 tires...

And maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.

Right now, she's probably up singing some
white-trash version of Shania karoke..
Right now, she's probably saying "I'm drunk"
and he's a thinking that he's gonna get lucky,
Right now, he's probably dabbing on 3 dollars worth of that bathroom polo...
And he don't know...

That I dug my key into the side of his pretty little suped up 4 wheel drive,
carved my name into his leather seat,
I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights,
slashed a hole in all 4 tires...

And maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.

I might saved a little trouble for the next girl,
Cause the next time that he cheats...

Oh, you know it won't be on me!

Ohh... not on me...
Cause I dug my key into the side of his pretty little suped up 4 wheel drive,
carved my name into his leather seat...
I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights,
slashed a hole in all 4 tires...

Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.

Ohh.. Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats...

Ohh... before he cheats...

Insomnia and weird dreams

So besides waking up every 1-2 hours last night, all I remember from my dream was the Arrigoni bridge and an elaborate dance number set to country music.

I love work stress.

Shakespeare at 6 AM

I have never been one to sleep in; most of you know that. I do, however, like to make it past 5:30 on the weekends, which was not an option yesterday as a certain orange furball

had other ideas.

So after checking my email and feeding said furball, I did the next most logical thing: I decided to watch The Merchant of Venice, a play I had never read before but had heard much about. I tried to put the captions on, hoping to be able to read what I couldn't understand aurally, only to discover that the subtitle options were limited to French. Even at that wee hour, I knew I wouldn't be able to process Shakespeare in French...so I was left to my own ears to decipher the story.

Did I catch it all? Of course not. Still, I enjoyed, mostly because it kept switching between comedy and tragedy, with no clear-cut genre working by the end of it. I know some people frown on the portrayal of Shylock, and think it'll create anti-Semitic feelings, but I guess I didn't see it that way. Rather, Shylock is an ass...who happens to be Jewish. He is not an ass because he is Jewish.

So, yes, if you haven't read/seen this play, you should. Al Pacino does an excellent job as Shylock, and Portia may be one of my favorite Shakesperian heroines.

For those of you interested (and that's probably very few of you), my v.p. is looking at the failing portfolio this weekend; hopefully he will have some brainstorm to help me pass it the second time. I have to call the state department of education back on Tuesday because I need to set up a session with one of their scorers. All good thoughts my way, please and thank you. :)

While the iPod updates...

Jonas! Congratulations, you're...

You're the hero of "The Giver" by Lois Lowry! Your world is quite bland and controlled, but there's more to it than meets the eye! You don't start out very inquisitive or rebellious, but when push comes to shove, you're a very special person. What an interesting result, congratulations!

Link: The Beloved Literary Character Test written by lachrymosis on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test