Wow... I'm Free

For the next 10 weeks (except for 8 days of teacher professional development mixed in), I am a free woman!! Woo-hoo, summer has begun and I can focus on ME for the majority of the next 10 weeks!

What will I do with my time, you ask?

1) Run. Now I can go early in the morning, but not too early as to run the risk of getting attacked.

2) Hit the gym again. And not have to wake up at 4:30am to do it.

3) Read. I need to finish: "The Count of Monte Cristo", "The Woman in White", "Crime and Punishment" and "War and Peace." I also need to re-read "1984" and "A Tale of Two Cities." If I have any time (or psychological stamina after these hard books), I'm going to tackle "Grapes of Wrath" and "King Lear." Can you tell I'm teaching different books next year? For the record, the first two books (and "War and Peace", to some extent) are my fun books for the summer. I am greatly enjoying "Crime and Punishment", though.

4) Write. I will finish 1 screenplay, and possibly another one that's half-written.

5) RELAX. This is something I struggle with constant. If I have nothing to do, my anxiety level raises. I am going to try to enjoy my spare time and relax when I have nothing to do. This might mean taking more naps, but I'm fully prepared to make that sacrifice. :)

6) Travel. NY and DC. Need I say more?

7) Write in my blog! Yep, now that I have more time, I will write more. My writings, however, might be more boring because I won't have many new and interesting things to write about.

8) Get ready for next year. Yep, I will spend the occasional day creating exams, lesson plans and activities, as well as looking over what I did last year and modifying it. I will be using several new approaches: new novels, I'm going to do a unit on poetry, and I will devote more time to grammar since these kids are way behind on their writing skills.

Random siting of the day: a camel at Rice University. Across from Rice is a small church and they were having a "kids day" last night and the kids were treated to camel rides. I saw the camel at a time of heat and fatigue and I half-wondered if I could hitch a ride on it to get back to my car.

Cheers!