first few days

So, we've moved 98% of our stuff to Richmond. We still need to go back to pick up some small stuff and clean the apartment. We still need to buy and install some shelves for the bathroom and the kitchen. We're waiting on our sofa and wardrobe (for me) to be delivered. Whew. Moving is awesome and crappy at the same time. It's settling down now, though. I still need a job... (that "..." is a hint to keep me in your thoughts/prayers/positive chi/energy to envision me getting an amazing teaching job, ok? Please? When I asked people to do that before we moved to VA, it worked out great! Do it again, okay? Thanks.) Yeah, that whole not having a set job thing is kiiiiind of making me anxious. Not all the time, but I do have moments where I stop and start thinking "OH NO! YOU HAVE NO JOB! NOOOO JOB AT ALL!" and then I miss GHS, my colleagues and my students.... and the security of knowing where I'm going to be teaching next year. This is the point in the summer where all the negative memories go away, I start to remember all the good things and I start to miss all my crazy students and their energy.
Aaaanyway, I love our new apartment. It's smaller, but the space has a lot of potential. It reminds me of friends' apartments back in Kzoo and what we wanted our Davis St. apartment to be like. I have some pictures of the mess we have going on right now, but I'm lazy because today is the first day in about a week that I haven't had to run around from sun up to sun down.
Speaking of Kzoo, Rocket Star is closing on the 13th and the last show is tomorrow. If you are still there, go! I'm sad to see it close and sad not to be able to go one last time, but I know that something else will pop up- Kzoo always does that.

I have a lot of good memories there, so it makes me a little sad to see it go.
Oh and P.S.: I hate all y'all for getting me hooked on John and Kate Plus 8. I hate you. Really. But at the same time: I thank you. Also, I got D hooked. HA!

caesar, rest now. i killed you not so eagerly as i killed myself...

It's spring here. It was 80 degrees yesterday, 70 degrees the day before, kids were itchin' to get outside and teachers were itchin' to get home. I'm enjoying having the windows open and a bike almost ready to ride (there's a slight problem with the left brake line).
This whole week I've been getting the discs for Veronica Mars Season 1. I got hooked on this show cause it comes on after Gilmore Girls, but I hadn't watched any episode before Season 3. So, I put 'em on my Netflix. It's actually really good and even David got into it a little bit. I always though it was more for teenagers, but she makes a lot of references like GG does and it's almost noir-like (similar to the movie Brick, which I loved, but not as noir as that...). I've enjoyed that as well as finally finishing the reading of Julius Caesar. Amazingly, I think 80-90% of the kids liked it (but we are all glad to get a break on reading Shakespeare). We had some fun times with that play. I think they enjoyed my silly reenactments and paraphrasing. We had a few moments of "Friends? I think not! More like lovers!" where a few male students were all, "Um, I'm sorry... were Brutus and Cassius... y'know? No homo, guys. No homo, I'm just wondering" that caused laughter and discussion. Oh, and they loved Act V, where everyone kills themself (or has their servant hold a sword to run on to). As we were reading, a few heads snapped up as the actor is dying (very corny) on the tape with a "WHAT?! DID THEY JUST KILL THEMSELF, TOO?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE DUDES?!". I loved it-- at least I knew they were paying attention. Now, we watch the movie, they finish projects & do presentations on them, review like crazy & take a test on it, and (in 9 school days--since we're all counting down), spring break comes our way. I've been staying after Tuesday-Thursday to try and get some kids to finish up work they've missed (there's been some illnesses going around and a rash of suspensions because we've been in school for weeks straight) and also start them on their projects and (next week) studying for their test. I've noticed a lot more drive in them recently, I don't know if it's because it's the second semester, what we're doing in class, the weather, or the fact that I've been able to stay after school more to help them, but it's nice.
Besides watching Veronica Mars, finishing Julius Caesar and so on, I read and finished Into Thin Air. It was great! Mount Everest & the people who climb (or try to) it are incredibly fanscinating to me. Now I'm reading The Mother Tongue. I finally went to WBG's library--it's really, really nice. It almost feels like a cottage in there 'cause it's got the same type of look, windows and a loft! I've also been trying to finish up #2 of The Alison Transmission (my zine). I've been kinda tired recently, so I haven't been very motivated beyond watching DVDs and reading the books I got from the library. I need to start getting ready to teach a unit on a research paper (very new for me), but I'm gonna use spring break to get that done. I've worked my butt off keeping ahead for this Caesar/Shakespeare unit and now I'm tired and counting down the days to a break. I have no clue what I'm gonna do for spring break. My originial plans were scrapped due to lack of funds. Ah well.