sweet kitty.

06xmas21.JPG
Originally uploaded by alipants.

You were always the cutest and the best to chase around the house. You were always forgiving and ready to be pet, scratched and purr in return. You were always the one that grabbed people's attention. You were the first one I remember getting, since Daisy and Fluff came before my memory really kicked in. You were always sweet, always friendly. You had the best meow in the world, and you were always the best to scare-- you jumped in quite amazing ways. My friends always came up with great nicknames for you. I pulled your fur off all my clothes more than the other cats'. You didn't look a day over 5 years old (Dinah was 18! in this picture). I'm not sad in the way of crying, but I'm sad because I knew this day would come that one of the four cats we grew up with would die. This also means that Megan and I are no longer kids, that we have entered adulthood and that, as David put it, "it's an end to an era". I'll miss seeing you, hearing your unique meow, and having your small little fluffball in my lap the next time I'm home.

hours and hours

My tire went flat less than 10 miles after merging onto I-64, my daily trek to work. I didn't really get what was going on at first, then I surprised myself at not panicking. I called David to see if he would wake up, then I called 911. Newport News dispatch transferred me to the State Police. I waited an hour. Then I called again. I called again an hour after that. Finally, almost three and a half hours after the initial phone call, a James City County officer stopped. Three police cars (for JCC or other areas) had gone past me already. This guy stopped on his way home from the overnight shift. On his way home! He didn't have to, but he did. I am incredibly happy he did, too, cause he called up a tow truck.
The reason the state police dispatch gave me as the reason they didn't come as quickly as they usually would was because they were all "at the college campus". This probably meant VA Tech, but could've also been ODU in Norfolk, since there was a threat yesterday that emptied the campus. Either way, I was out there for hours in my car.
Thankfully, I have the best, most understanding and forgiving department head there ever was. I called her up after I called the police. We figured I'd be there for 3rd bell. I called her at 8:20 to let her know I wasn't gonna make it, then again when the JCC officer showed up and asked her to call me back. I apologized to her many, many times when I was finally in the tow truck headed back to Williamsburg. I had already missed two out of my three classes and my spare was flat-- there was no way I was gonna make it. I ended up having to replace my two front tires. One was flat, one was gonna be that way soon. I had to get my car re-aligned. And they put air in my spare tire to see if that's all it needed. I got home around 1 PM.
Lucky for us, we got our tax returns already. Otherwise, we'd be completely screwed. $125 for towing. $250 for tires. We just bought those tires about 3 months ago, too. And they realigned the damn thing then. We think it had to do with when we got the ball joints/front end repaired. Remember that noise my car was making? It was the parking brake not disengaging, but it was good we replaced the ball joints anyway (otherwise, who knows what would have happened to my car while I was driving it? I think I prefer the flat tire to a totaled car or death.) After the ball joints being replaced, the steering wheel seemed to be incredibly loose. You go over a bump, sometimes you would have to hold on to the wheel incredibly tight or fight it from going all wobbly and all over the place. We had no clue if this was normal or whatever. We probably should have called. The alignment was incredibly off, which messed up the tires, leading to the flat tire this morning and another $375 to add on to March's total for car repairs of $600. We have now spend almost $1000 (I added in the belts and filters we've had to buy) repairing this damn car since we've been to Virginia. It hit the 100,000 mile mark and it all went to hell! haha. It's all good, though. At least I'm not dead. The VW Jetta has done me good and hangs in there even when it's supposed to be falling apart. The parts we have replaced on this car should have crapped out long before we replaced them. It's a really good thing we hadn't switched residencies from MI to VA before all of this, otherwise, we probably wouldn't have passed state inspection with the car.
I kind of needed a day off anyway. My allergies have been acting up (the pollen is crazy! it's everrrrywhere) and I've felt incredibly exhausted and overwhelmed with getting back into the groove of school after break, kids being cranky, it being the end of the year, and the whole research paper unit. It's made me an easy target for crying and wanting to give it all up. Last night, I started feeling more "up", though. This morning, I only had a few thoughts of: "Wait, why am I doing this again? Do I really feel like getting harassed today by a few cranky ass teenagers who need to get a good slap upside the head by their moms? Why am I putting myself through this?". I've been as whiny as my kids. It's starting to go away though. We'll get into the swing of th research paper and get going.

you are gonna eat your babies!

okay. want a laugh or two?
watch this:

I probably should be more disturbed than I am, but I find this quite hilarious. It could be the journalist and his attitude towards the family, but I think it's mostly the stuff that comes out of their mouth. Tell me your favorite quote when you're done watching it. Mine is "You are gonna eat your babies!" or "Fags eat feces? It's a FACT, hon!" hahahahahaha. Honestly. You have to laugh. (Well, except for the part where someone throws a cup at one of their kids. Then I got pissed that they weren't even thinking about the safety of their own damn kids while they're spewing their hate.)

Then, if you need to cheer up and laugh a little, watch this:

displace me.

I would like to promote another good event and cause. I swear, it's my last until next month.

David and I have decided to take part in Displace Me in Washington D.C. I have promoted the film and the website for the whole "Invisible Children" movement (there's a link on the right side of this page).
There are many cities participating in "Displace Me" including Chicago, for you Michigan folks out there. So much was accomplished by their Gulu/Night Commuter Walks last year (something I didn't get a chance to participate in), it's only one night, but it really means the world to kids in Uganda who know that they have people there for them, fighting for them and at least trying.

kalamazoo pride

Kalamazoo is having its first gay pride event. I would like to promote it solely because it's about damn time. Kzoo has a fantastic gay community and I'm very excited and happy that they're having their own pride event, instead of just taking part in another community's or Michigan's. But. My friend Adam is a pretty big part of the organization, so I definitely wanted to promote the website and everything they're doing on my own blog: Kalamazoopride.com.
The big event itself is on June 9th at the SmartShop. I won't be in Kzoo, but I encourage anyone in Kzoo at that time to go check it out. Also, before that, there's an event on April 21st called the "Pay-the-Rent" BBQ.

no love for eli roth.

This is the trailer for “Hostel, Part II”. We saw it when we went to see “Grindhouse” this weekend.

This trailer made me hate Eli Roth with a passion I keep for the type of “dudebro” that likes to watch drunk girls/women stumble over themselves, the type of dude that gets a kick out of putting date rape drugs in drinks, the kind of dude that likes to video tape them (especially if they look “under age”) drunk and doing stupid things (ahem: Joe Francis, Mr. “Girls Gone Wild”). This trailer added to that. Basically, when Eli Roth showed up for his cameo in “Death Proof”, I wanted to hurl things at the screen. He gives me the heebie-jeebies.
You may ask yourself: Why do I hate Eli Roth so much?
Mostly because of “Hostel”. His other film, “Cabin Fever”, was okay. It was an interesting story for a horror film. I actually had some respect for Eli Roth after watching “Cabin Fever”. Then I watched him on Bravo’s 100 Scariest Moments. He was that dude. “T&A is awesome!” dude. Blood and gore dude. “Duuuude, did you see when that chick got totally killed?!” dude. Yeah. All respect was lost for him after that.
Back to “Hostel”. “Hostel” is not a horror movie. It’s gore. Plain and simple. There is no story line there. There is no plot. It’s blood, guts, gore, torture, murder, etc. It was possible the worst movie trying to play itself off as a horror film ever. It’s one of the few films that I felt cheated after. It wasn’t even a shrug-your-shoulders type of movie for me. It was a I-kinda-really-wish-I-hadn’t-fallen-for-that-lame-trailer-thinking-this-was-actually-going-to-be-good-and-now-I-want-my-money-back movie. Plus, there was the humiliation of having to tell Chris Jackson that he was totally right in his judgement of the movie. It was not a horror movie. It was Eli Roth’s dream. People get scared because they mistake their uncomfortable feelings watching an eyeball pop out or someone’s finger getting sawed off as horror. It’s not. It’s Eli Roth getting off on torturing people.
Now, why did this trailer make me so angry? A few reasons:
1. Why is it only women? Oh, wait. That’s right. Eli Roth getting off on torture. Screw those male characters-- let’s see some chicks get murdered! Yesss! Sexualizing the torturing and killing of women is totally awesome!
2. Why is it American girls? Ooh! Ooh! I know! Maybe because American women (here I actually mean to imply: White American women, because that’s apparently how it’s supposed to be in Eli Roth's world) are the most wanted. Look at those (white) American women! All men are supposed to lust after them, right? Right. Remember the good ol' days of protecting our poor, helpless white women from those savages and/or the slaves? Amazing how far we've come.
3. Why are all the American girls white? Oh, wait. Silly question. We couldn’t include African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans because they’re not actually American, right? Which is why we hyphenate their titles, right? (because they need titles so we know exactly who they are before we even get their name) Right.
4. Why the hell is this in German? (At least I think it's in German. I caught a few German words. The one we saw in the theater sounded Russian, actually) Poor Germans. Always getting associated with torture. Way to go, Eli Roth.
5. Why does every Eli Roth movie have to have boobs and girls kissing? Wait. Wait. I know. Stupid question. It’s Eli Roth. Girls kissing=hot, right? (Guys kissing? Not so much for Eli Roth) Him and Joe Francis should really be friends, if they aren’t already. I think they could really get a good thing going between them.
Basically: Eli Roth is a creep. I do not like him and I don’t respect him as a horror movie maker. It really pains me that he can make films like this and make millions doing it. It’s horrifying to me that people watch his stuff and enjoy it. Especially if the fan of Eli Roth’s is female, then I just want to shake her and go "Nooo! Whyyyy?".
By the way: Even though I do hate Eli Roth, this is just my opinion. It is only a movie, but some of the things in the trailer did bother me. It probably wouldn't bother me so much if I didn't dislike Mr. Roth and his attitude towards people (especially women) so much, but whatever. Most of this is supposed to be funny about issues that I take pretty seriously. It's especially funny (at least to me) since I'm usually the one that's all "BUT IT'S ONLY A MOVIE! GOSSSHHHH, GUYS!".

what?!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were in the mid-80s, upper 70s. The past two days have been chilly, in the 50s and 40s. David and I laughed about how the forecast says there's a chance for snow. Ha! Silly weatherperson! Every time you called for snow, there was maybe 10 minutes of a flurry. Snow! Psh!
So I wake up this morning, sit around, make some coffee and finally decide to open the sliding door curtain.
To see this:

WHOA! We got almost an inch. It's 10:30 and it's still here. It's snowing in Norfolk now, apparently, too. The sun is quickly melting the snow, most of it is off the trees and making huge puddles in the parking lot. I hope it doesn't ruin all the nice blooming trees and flowers! (It probably won't: it's supposed to be in the 50s again tomorrow, and then the 60s and 70s for the rest of the week)

Spring Break 07!!! WOOOOOOO!!!

Even though I have a teacher work day (or as I call it: Teacher Fun Day!) tomorrow, today was my last day with students. SO. Tonight starts my spring break.
I made a mix CD to listen to on my way home from work tomorrow:

1. Rebellion (lies) : The Arcade Fire
2. Days Were Golden : Sunny Day Real Estate
3. Building Something Out Of Nothing : Modest Mouse
4. First Gear : the Rapture
5. Romantic Rights : Death From Above 1979
6. Celebrator : the Blood Brothers
7. Wolf Like Me : TV on the Radio
8. Heatwave : Diana Ross & the Supremes
9. Feelgood by Number : The Go! Team
10. Verbs Before Nouns: Matt & Kim
11. Alala : CSS
12. 10 Dollar : M.I.A.
13. Suffragette City : David Bowie
14. The Clap : the Unicorns
15. Keeping You Alive : the Gossip
16. Your Touch : the Black Keys
17. Cowbell : Tapes 'n Tapes
18. I Don't Do Crowds : Camera Obscura
19. Take Off Your Cool : Andre 3000
20. The Perpetual Self, or "What Would Saul Alinsky Do?" : Sufjan Stevens
21. Puttin' on the Ritz : Fred Astaire

It ranges from kinda mellow to extremely fun and back to mellow. I like making mixes.

would you like some cheese with that whine?

It's kind of disappointing when a group of people that you have known and considered friends at one point in your life are within 50 miles of where you live for a weekend and don't even come for a visit. Or call just to say hi. Oh well. Could I really expect anything different? Nah. I'm not really surprised. I'm more surprised that I don't care as much as I would've a year ago. Progress does occur.
But. It is disappointing that I write letters and only get a few back. I miss getting mail. Thanks to Megan and Julia for the cards/letters. And to mom for the care package (chocolate and coffee! yes!). Speaking of mail... Amanda, have you gotten recipes from your recipe tree? I've gotten one so far! It was very exciting. I hope everyone I sent mine off to sent one to you!

Yesterday I did something that I haven't done in a long time: finish a whole book (315 pages!) in one day. Little Children is pretty darn good; now I want to see the movie.

Three more days left. I don't have much to do this week. Tomorrow: review. Wednesday and Thursday: Test, presentations, turn in projects. Then... we are done with Julius Caesar-- thank god!
For spring break? Read all the books I got out of the library and some that have been waiting on the shelf. Explore WMBG. Finish #2 issue of zine.

Wow.

I found on feministing. I find it completely heartbreaking, unfortunately true, but ultimately inspiring. This was made by a high school student. I hope to inspire my own students to go on and explore issues like this in their world.