i'm having mimosfun!

Philly was fantastic. I got to see Amanda, Trish, Jaime and Beth, meet Amanda and Beth's Philly friends during a potluck, see a Frida Kahlo exhibit (!!! it was AMAZING! I totally nerded out in there), wander around an amazing art museum after going through the exhibit (but didn't see everything, so David and I could make another trip and look at it all), talked about Rock of Love, text messaged each other ridiculous presets texts, took pictures, explored and shopped South Street, ate delicious food at wonderful places, fell in love with a bar (it had couches! and was so interesting to look at!), saw Jesus and zombies in a bar while watching Beth, Trish and Jaime do crafts, and saw "The Odd Couple" at the Walnut St. Theatre (where Amanda works!). Oh! I also got to see Amanda kick ass at her job. It was a fantastic trip and I'm probably forgetting some stuff we did.
I have photos on my flickr site (click on the flickr badge on the right sidebar).

well, well, well...

I missed my train to Philly. For some reason, I thought I was leaving at 6, even though the last train out of WBG is always, always, always 4:45. I realized this at 4:45. We got there at 4:55 and guess what was actually on time? The train. Wow.
This is the first time I've ever done this. But, really, I guess it's for the better? We rushed out of here so fast, I forgot my water and my coat for colder weather. I hate being rushed when I travel, too. The guy at the station was incredibly nice, rebooked me for tomorrow morning--no questions asked. Plus, it's a better view during the day time? The only problem is that the $30-50 I was hoping to save by going on Saturday night instead of Easter Sunday went into paying for the $107 (!!! WHAT?!) ticket to Philly. Drat.
But! Spring break goes on and, after kicking myself for a good 30-45 minutes, I asked David if he wanted to go to a movie. We went to see Doomsday. If you're in the mood for a ridiculously gory, bloody, and hilarious action movie-- do it. You'll also see a trailer for one incredibly freaky looking movie, called The Strangers. Supposedly, it's based on a "true story", but you can't find anything about it on the internet.

Also, this week's episode of This American Life, "The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar", is simply amazing. I was lucky enough to finally catch the airing of TAL since I left my teacher work day at 1 PM. WHRV apparently hates people listening to TAL and airs it every Friday from 1-2 P.M., so I always miss it. I was absolutely fascinated by this story, it was amazing. If you missed it, get the podcast and listen to it! Another good one to get the podcast for is "Shouting Across the Divide", which is about Muslims and non-Muslisms communicating. The first part of it almost made me cry.

Also #2, my birthday is coming up (JK! It's in a few months, but let's just say it's soon). Would you like to buy me an iPodcase for my cold, scratched up iPod? Or how about a new wallet? Or a reusable lunch bag? I really need to stop looking at cute things on the internet.

this room is hainted

The A/C at school still isn't working (they promise that it'll work by the time spring break ends), and it's been warm. Today was incredibly warm. I about passed out in the cafeteria during parent/teacher conferences it was so stuffy!
Anyway, this isn't a sad story about the lack of A/C, it's a story about what happened during my 5th bell.
We're reading Their Eyes Were Watching God (which, by the way, the kids are actually LIKING! How? What? Why?) and the kids are into it. A storm has been blowing in all day and the wind really picked up around 5th bell. Then, all of sudden, the drop ceiling tiles rattle. They rattled. It was strange, but we shrugged it off. After lunch, they do it again. I look up and see that all of the tiles lifted up and then came back down. It was a little disturbing and distracting. I jumped a few times (so did a few students). The pressure in the room was making the tiles go up and down when the wind blew. Thankfully, one of the students opened the door, relieving the pressure, while another one fixed a few tiles that got stuck.
Amy had the same problem in her room, but no one else had. We've concluded that our rooms have ghosts, spirits and haints, which led us to find out that we both thought hainted rooms were probably the coolest rooms.
The administration is always worried about using your time wisely to cram as much into their little brains as possible. They want more instructional time? If the A/C was working, we wouldn't have to worry about keeping our windows open and having to stop to pick up papers and other items that blow over or fixing ceiling tiles, or having our doors open and having children yell into the room or start conversations with students in your class, or not being able to keep them awake or engaged because the heat makes them even more lazy and tired and sluggish (not to mention crabby by the end of the day).

jsyk

Just so you know, I am totally a part of this "Gay Agenda" or "Gay Mafia" or whatever she calls it. Just thought it was fair to let you know.

And just when you thought the train to Crazyville had left, I also bring you this:

(posted on Postsecret this weekend)
Seriously, people?
I really shouldn't laugh, but I can't help it. I refuse to waste my time being upset, especially when they are completely ridiculous. Yes, my jaw drops. But then I laugh, because I remember that the people that believe this crap are a small amount of people, seemingly getting smaller every day, month, and year.

Uh oh. There goes my gay/feminazi/ultra-crazy-liberal/whatever-other-insult-is-being-used-now agenda. Damn. Sorry, guys. I just can't help the want--no, the NEED-- to convert you. Mom, dad-- you should've locked me up years ago.

beware the busy month of March!

I don't have much time or much to say. I feel like I've been making constant to do lists and time has been going way too fast.

This week:
-10th graders started Julius Caesar (both a yay and an ugh)
-11th graders took first SOLs and claimed they were easy (we'll see how 'easy' they end up being when those scores come back)
-Laughed quite a bit with students, about a variety of topics.
Including the NEW Funniest Moment Ever, from the always-hilarious Bryan:
11th graders in 5th bell: Cory finished his writing prompt in 5 minutes! He probably wrote 3 sentences and then dipped!
Me: Didn't you know? Cory can do and does everything in 10 seconds. He probably wrote about 5 pages, and you didn't even realize. He's like the Flash!
(once I said this, I knew Bryan-if he was listening-would say something)
Bryan: That's what his girlfriend said, too!

I shared this moment with the teachers at lunch (most of them know Bryan pretty well) and we were still laughing about it today. I totally set myself up for that.


Coming up is the busy month of March:
-Teaching two pieces of literature that are difficult due to dialect/language: Julius Caesar and Their Eyes Were Watching God.
-Going to Richmond for Abigail's birthday this weekend
-Natalie coming to visit next weekend (!!!)
-Going to Philadelphia/Amanda the weekend after, my first weekend of spring break.
-Possibly going to the Richmond rally the last weekend of March

That's a lot. Good thing I've taught Julius Caesar before. I just need to make sure I know what I'm doing with Their Eyes Were Watching God. I've read it-- I'm just not sure what to do with it.