calm and calamity

Today every seagull found a home on top of a lamp post on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. We were going slow enough for me to finally enjoy the scenery. The sea was calm, the rain had paused, the seagulls rested and traffic flowed nicely. It was a nice moment to cap off a nice day.
Most of my classes are good. Two of them range back and forth. One of them usually ends up with me feeling like a complete failure (That will change soon, though). I've been observed for the first time by the many people who must observe me. It was okay, haven't heard any feedback yet. Everyone seems to be very supportive of first-year teachers and pretty laid back in general. My co-teachers are amazing women. I've met some of the sour teachers in school and survived. Too bad for them. They don't know how good they got it here. Maybe I can appreciate this so much more because it is such a positive change. The atmosphere in this HS is so much different from the schools I know (and love). It's not as draining. There is hope. Most of these kids have goals, they know where they're going and they're doing what they need to get there. The district gives them a chance to succeed.
I miss my sister. I'm looking forward to a new digital camera, plane tickets to Michigan for the holidays and to Germany for spring break, and see Amanda's new city. I'm enjoying getting mail and writing back. We're enjoying being able to buy groceries again.
Speaking of food, Williamsburg has really good food. Last week we finally tried Sonic. It was delicious! And they have so many flavors to put into smoothies, slushies, sodas, etc. Oh my! But as for the independent food places here, they are even more amazing. We finally went to one of the pancake/waffle houses here (there have to be about a million! Or at least ten.), Mama Steve's, and it was so freaking good! We had really been craving something resembling an Old Standby from Crow's Nest and I think I found my substitute (it's even better). The pancakes were delicious as well. We're also enjoying Aromas and Retro's.
Soon David's laptop will be here. We will be able to fix his bike and look into getting me a lighter bike for the roads here. The weather is beautiful and cool. The rain comes in waves in small drops and small downpours that are beautiful to watch.
The most entertaining thing that has happened today involved a batch of notes. One showed up on the banister for the stairs. It said, basically, that the people in #1 saw a mouse and have heard noises. They asked if anyone else had seen or heard anything, because our landlord/realtor will not send someone out unless it is an infestation of the whole building. Someone else near them wrote another note and mentioned they heard noises. Someone else writes a note that we should get together an army of cats (I liked that one). And, finally, someone replied with what we were going to write: There was a dead mouse on the stairs. We figured the community cat found and killed it. I'm interested in seeing where this goes. Maybe the salamanders (or something close to that, they always move too fast for me to check them out), the toads, and the community cat can bond together and get the mice out?