Merry Christmas!

Wow, the holidays came quickly.  I knew they were approaching, but I never fully experienced a Christmas season this year.  Perhaps because I didn't put up a tree this year (I wanted a laptop, so saved all my money for that), perhaps because I didn't go out and see lights, perhaps it's because I knew this year would only be my mom and myself and a Christmas for two tends to be simpler.

The year is drawing to a close, and wow, what a year 2008 has been.  I've had some great ups, some low downs, and plenty of in-betweens.   It definitely wasn't the best year I've ever had.  2009 is going to be much better.

This weekend I'm going to work on my usual year-in-review, and I'll probably post it next Wednesday.

Everyone, enjoy your Christmas, be it huge with kids, presents, singing and turkey, or be it small like a simple lunch and a movie.

Cheers!

Maybe More?

I finally got a new laptop - a macbook!  I can live in this century now.  My other laptop was of this century, but it is still pretty old, and computers age quickly.  I've been working on dial-up because I had a modem and not a wireless card (seriously, that old) and I just didn't bother with dsl, etc. But now I have this!  And my neighbor gave me his passcode for wireless, so I get wireless up here.  Exciting!

So I may post more.  I hope to.  But I'll be updating my mac, putting my music back into iTunes, etc.

Now I just need microsoft office and my computer will be even better!

Happy holidays everyone!

Cheers!

Picture Perfect

One of the things that makes me laugh about my school is picture day. The teachers have to participate, to get badges, and they also purchase picture packages for us. I know I mentioned it last year, and about how it tickles me.

Sure enough, I have my picture package this year! 8 wallets, 2 3x5s, and 4 of a size that's between the 3x5s and the wallets. So that 's 14 pictures of me. I'm actually quite pleased with my pictures this year, but I still have my wallets from last year!

I guess my mom will get one, my sister will get one and then I'll pass the rest out to my friends with a "love, Erica 2008!" on the back. :)

BTW - It's freakin' cold over here!

Cheers!

Bouncing...

(the previous part of the blog has been deleted. I really have to stop writing when I PMS - unhappy E isn't fun!)


Today's poem is another sonnet. I still have the Shakespeare book in front of me, so here's one that I really, really like. I wish I taught a quick unit of poetry before teaching "Jane Eyre," because this poem reminds me of Mr. Rochester and Jane:

Sonnet 119 by William Shakespeare

What potions have I drunk of Siren tears
Distill'd from limbecks foul as hell within,
Applying fears to hopes and hopes to fears,
Still losing when I saw myself to win!
What wretched errors hath my heart committed,
Whilst it hath thought itself so blessed never!
How have mine eyes out of their spheres be fitted
In the distraction of this madding fever!
O benefit of ill, now I find true
That better is evil still made better,
And ruin'd love when it is built anew
Grows fairer than at first, more strong, far greater.
So I return rebuk'd to my content,
And gain by ills thrice more than I have spent.

Favorite Poems

I'm currently working on creating a new poetry unit, and I'm going to do "A Poem A Day" with my kids. I'm finding some poems that I really enjoy, so I'm going to share them with you for the next month or so.

My first favorite poem is Sonnet 27 by Shakespeare. Many of my favorite poems will be one of his sonnets, so be prepared for that!

Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed,
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired,
But then begins a journey in my head
To work my mind, when body's work's expired;
For then my thoughts (from far where I abide)
Intend a zealous pilgrimage to thee,
And keep my drooping eyelids open wide,
Looking on darkness which the blind do see;
Save that my soul's imaginary sight
Presents thy shadow to my sightless view,
Which like a jewel hung in the ghastly night,
Makes black night beauteous, and her old face new.
Lo thus by day my limbs, by night my mind,
For thee, and for myself, no quiet find.

I'm a hopeless romantic, and I love this poem because the speaker is dreaming of going to his love, and describing it as a pilgrimage, which shows the importance of that journey, if in nothing at least in his dream, and that the dream of his love makes night better, and beautiful.

This sonnet is the one I created an illumination project while I was at the Folger this summer. It's hard to say if this is my favorite sonnet, but it is one of them. I'm looking at my Riverside Shakespeare right now, and I'm finding many of them that I can relate to, so I'm sure I'm going to put more up later.

Does anyone have favorite poems they'd like to recommend?

Cheers!

Break!

I am on my break, but it is a break only in the sense that I am not in my classroom. I am leaving shortly for San Antonio for a teacher conference, and then I will be grading district exams, and then I am off to Baton Rouge/Lafayette for Thanksgiving. And then back home for more grading.

How much longer until Christmas break? :)

But the weather is cold and Christmas music will start playing soon, so life is good. And I'm still teaching A Tale of Two Cities, so I really can't complain.

Cheers!

Hair Tip

Beacuse my hair fell flat early last night during the show, I decided to use velcro curlers instead of just using a round brush when drying my hair, which up until then had been working just fine.

While putting my hair in said rollers, I realized that I had no bobby pins with which to hold the curlers in my hair. I then stumbled upon a box of jumbo paperclips, and thought, "why not?" And ladies, I learned that paperclips work well for bobby pins. The curlers are staying put.

:)

Cheers!

Hit-And-Run Shakespeare

My Shakespeare Society is small, but has great kids in it. We ge together weekly and read. Right now we're reading "Much Ado About Nothing," which they enjoy.

Until today. Today was even more fun.

A couple of days ago I was catching up with New York Mike and he was telling me that he also started a Shakespeare club (go figure... we met at Shakespeare Summer Camp) and they're doing something called "Spontaneous Shakespeare," in which his kids rehearse exciting scenes, run into the middle of lunch, randomly perform and run away. I loved that idea, so I told my kids about it and they started jumping up and down. A new tradition at my high school has started.

So today we started rehearsing our first Spontaneous Shakespeare - Act I, scene I of "Romeo and Juliet." I'll stand on the balcony overlooking the commons and, with a mircophone, spout out the prologue, and the kids are going to run in and perform the scene, complete with heavily coreographed wooden-sword fights. And then they'll run away when done. Next semester we'll do a scene from "Julius Caesar" and then after that we'll do "MacBeth" and maybe "Hamlet." The goal is to get other students confused and then curious and then welcoming. Just like we have a teacher who randomly puts on a banana costume and runs in and out of classrooms, we're going to have random Shakespeare performances when no one expects them. We will be a tradition.

And my kids are so pumped and excited. And I get to direct. It's all good everywhere!

Time to do my nails before the show. We close this weekend, which is bittersweet. But we'll act our asses off before we close!

Cheers!

Storm Pictures

Finally, I have Hurricane Ike pictures. I'm still working on my slow, old computer so I'm hesitant to upload (since it takes forever), but I'm currently looking for excuses to stall my evening grading. 60 Jane Eyre essays left.

This is my apartment before. Notice the chimney on the left. Notice that it's attached to the roof.



During the storm, as I laid on my couch, I heard a crash! Thinking it was a tree that went through my neighbor's apartment, I snuck a quick peek outside. Nothing to the left. Nothing to the right. Then I looked down. Damn. That's my chimney.

After the storm, I surveyed the damage. Yep, that's my chimney, floating in flood water. And there is now a hole in my roof. And water spots. And mold (killed later by bleach).

I can be, however, quite optimistic. I knew that I wanted a souvenir from this storm (the storm in which I was of the small percentage that stayed despite a mandatory evacuation order), and what better souvenir than a piece of my chimney? I originally wanted the metal tubes, but was talked into keeping the better pieces of pine. So the Neighbor and I loaded the wood up and took it to his shop, where we made...

this table. I learned how to use power tools and make a patio table! The table still isn't finished - I'm currently punching tiny holes in the table top because it's going to be a large cribbage board. But I've got a nice-sized patio table and it's going to go with me forever as a souvenir of Hurricane Ike 2008.

Cheers!

More Broadway Ramblings

So, despite the fact that I said my broken heart was healed, I'm still saddened by "A Tale of Two Cities" closing before I could go see it. One of the actors in the show, James Barbour, has a blog and I discovered it Saturday and have been reading it daily for news. He said that the producers are working on a touring company (yay!), but that a CD might not happen (boo). I love the concept CD I have, but I want to hear the Broadway cast because they changed quite a bit of the songs, or so I've heard.

So "Tale" is gone. Upon reading Mr. Barbour's blog today, he mentioned that he's in rehearsals for a new show already - "The Count of Monte Cristo."

My devoted readers know that "The Count of Monte Cristo" is my favorite book of all times. In fact, I spent at least one blog entry two years ago about it, and it sits on my coffee table because I'm reading it for a third time.

So how do I feel about a "Count of Monte Cristo" musical? I have mixed emotions. I'm excited because it's such a great book and also that a great deal of the "Tales" cast is in the workshop for this show as well - James Barbour as Dantes, the girl who played Lucie will be Mercedes, and Natalie Toro will be a pirate queen (but that is not a character original to the book...hmmm...). I'm also excited because the man behind "Jeckyll and Hyde", another great musical, is behind this one as well. But I love this book so much, that I'm worried I'll be disappointed. "Monte Cristo" is 1300+ pages. That's a lot of info for a 2-3 hour musical.

So I'm now going to see how I can purchase the "Monte Cristo" cd that was released in Europe for the European opening, since it won't open in America for a while.

Gotta run. I've got 68 more "Jane Eyre" essays to grade.

Cheers!

Sunday

Sundays are going to be my new favorite day of the week. Long ago, when I was a manager for Starbucks, Fridays used to be my favorite day - one I'd take off and get errands run and see movies because most people were at work and crowds were minimal.

But I'm going to have Sundays be my "me" days. Unfortunately, work takes up so much of my time that sometimes I forget about being me. Being in this play was a great way to remember me, but it's ending next weekend. So I'm going to not work on Sundays anymore. I'm not going to write lesson plans, grade, etc. I'll readjust my time, work on time management and learn to not stress if papers are not graded quickly in order to not do school work on Sunday. Well, I'll probably still read the books I'm teaching, but I enjoy that. Sundays will be my "me" days - church, shopping, maybe leisurely brunches with friends, the gym, movies. I have a stack of papers to grade, but I'm going to work on them during the week. I'd like to have them graded by Friday, but there are 150 of them. I'm actually looking forward to grading them. My pre-AP students had to write about"Jane Eyre" - they were to choose to write about it as a Gothic novel, or as a Romantic novel, or to write about Rochester as a Byronic hero. I've looked at a few of them and they're quite good. My enriched class had to write personal narratives - and those will be fun as well, although not as well-written as my nerdy kids' essays (I say this with affection - and I tell them all the time they're nerds, to which I tell them I'm a proud nerd myself).

But my point is, I have grading. I might work on some of them before the show starts (while I'm sitting around in makeup and an evening gown) or during intermission, but I'm not going to freak if they're not done. My boss told me to not be married to my work, but it's hard not to when a social life isn't exciting. Plus I love my job. I love teaching, I love my kids, I love what I teach.

Sometimes I wonder if I put all my energy into my work because I don't have a social life, or if I put all my energy into my work so that I won't have a social life. Last night, after the play, I stopped by school to help chaperone the homecoming dance. The only other teacher there was the Neighbor, who is in charge of lights and sounds. The others were the assistant principals, and they were working in shifts. After the dance ended, my boss teased me about having a hot date, or going out country dancing after the dance. I told him that my hair and make-up looked the way it did because I was too lazy to wash it off after the play. :) And that I don't like clubs and bars and don't date much. He seemed surprised - telling me he was sure I was a partier. I told him that I'm a good faker - I'm an introverted actress. Strange combination, I know.

Anyway, there's my nonsensical ramblings for the day. Sometimes my brain holds a maze of thoughts.

Time to work out before the play.

Cheers!

Apologies

Wow. I haven't posted in a really long time. I'm deeply sorry, and my excuse is the play that I'm in.

School has been back in session and we suffered no major damage from Ike. I'm happy to be back because my boredom was never-ending! We finished "Jane Eyre" - the girls loved it, the boys not so much and now we're beginning "A Tale of Two Cities" - my 2nd favorite book. My first time teaching "Jane Eyre" wasn't too bad - and the fact that I enjoyed reading it last spring probably helped. Luckily I teach books that I truly enjoy.

Speaking of "Tale" and "Jane Eyre".... Jeff, the guy who plays my husband in "Rumors" broke my heart yesterday when he told me that "Tale" is closing - and closing before I could get back up to NY. But I was cheered back up when Amazon.com sent me the cast recording to "Jane Eyre" - it's fantastic. This year I'm already planning on incorporating songs from "Tale" into the chapter discussions and next year I'll be able to incorporate "Jane Eyre" songs into the lessons. My musical brainwashing schemes are being set into motion! Bwa-hahaha. :)

The play is going well. In fact, I have to leave soon - I'm to be at the theatre for 7 to get ready. We're at the Clear Creek Community Theatre and we're running until next weekend. "Rumors" is definitely the funniest play I've been in and my part is great. My favorite line is a deadpan delivery of "I feel sorry for her because one day she'll grow old and die."

I don't know if I'll do another show soon. I'm thinking about auditioning for "Baby", but it's a musical that I'm unfamiliar with. Plus it runs at the same time as the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and I'm in the Show Choir again, singing the National Anthem nightly, and it'll cut into that time.

Plus I'm exhausted. Teaching AND being in a play is very tiring. I went to bed at 6pm Tuesday night. I'm glad rehearsals are over and the show began.

Must run. I promise I'll write more!

Cheers!

After the Storm

Woo-hoo! I have power! I have hot water! I have the news!

So much to write, so much to write. I'll do it day-by-day.

Friday night - the storm was fierce. The wind whipped around, trees were bending. My windows and doors didn't vibrate like some of my neighbors did. The storm itself wasn't bad. I didn't see a lot of lightening, but oh it was there. I fell asleep around 1am, woke up at 4:30 am and had no power. So I went back to bed. (On a side note, the Cop's 13 year-old son sent me an e-mail that night saying hi. Put in an awkward position of not wanting to be rude to a 13-year old yet not wanting to be accused of sneaking back in to his family, I e-mailed the Cop that the kid sent me an e-mail. The Cop actually said, "Good to hear from you!" I wasn't happy.) Sometime during the night I heard a harsh crash right outside my living room door.

Saturday - I woke up around 7am, probably. After a few minutes of watching the wind still whip around, I walked out onto my patio to see what the crash was. Oh, lookee there. That's part of my chimney! After another hour or so, I went downstairs to the Neighbor's apartment and we drank coffee and watched the weather. It had toned down by 10, so we walked to fetch our cars, taking lots of time to take pictures of the destruction in our apartment complex. That wasn't part of my chimney -that was my entire chimney that fell. And mine wasn't the only one. About 20 chimneys didn't make it, the fences didn't make it, all but 2 of the carports were down, some brick siding gone, lots of trees. When we arrived at the garage, we noticed that many cars had smashed windows. Mine was lucky, and the Neighbor just had a crack in his windshield. After we dropped his car back at the apartment, we ventured out around Clear Lake. I can't write all of the destruction that we saw. There's not enough space. Kemah under water, NASA Road 1 with water, trees and power lines snapped, bricks scattered, boats where boats shouldn't be. Streets filled with mud. We checked up on Yvonne's house (fine), Kelly's (couldn't get to it) and then we tried to get to his parent's house... but because of a gas leak, we couldn't get near it. So we came home, walked to school (lots of tree damage), and then walked around Clear Lake's UH campus. Lots of trees down. Came home, showered, and spent the evening with Doc and the Neighbor sitting in chairs in the parking lot, drinking beer and wine.

Sunday - Still no power. Woke up, went to the Neighbor's for coffee (he is a camper, so has a camping cooker) and stayed with him most of the day. Drove around, found a grocery store open. Waiting in line for 30 minutes. Saw one of my students. Came home. Read, chatted. Then the Neighbor and I went to his parent's house - we got in this time. And found a WWII era- Russian plane that was remodeled - and torn in half. Went home, read, chatted. And then the three of us had elk - seriously. We were now cooking the meat we had in our freezer that might go bad. We ate really well that night.

Monday - Still no power. Woke up, went to the Neighbor's for coffee and stayed there the entire day. Worked on editing my script. Read. Doc came over with MRE's - he collects them. He was trying to convince us yesterday that they are actually quite good. He was in the Marines for 24 years, so he's eaten many a MRE, and he buys them whenever he can for instances like that. So we each ate an MRE. It was interesting. I had cheese tortellini. Not too bad, but I still have real food so I won't have another. Walked to school, discovered that the main building was fine. Came home. The three of us took apart my fallen chimney - the Neighbor is going to help me make a table out of the wood - so I'll always have my chimney. :) Cooked elk hamburgers and boudin. Met another neighbor. We were having our own block party.

Tuesday - Still no power. Woke up, went to the Neighbor's for coffee. Then we drove to his parent's house again to clean up. Move the fence pieces, moved tree debris. It took us about 2-3 hours. Then found an open Panera bread (yum) and Cold Stone Creamery (double yum). Ate, went to Target, drove around. The Neighbor's theory was that the longer we stayed out, the better chance we had of having power when we came back. Kelly called - her classroom is destroyed, but mine is rumored to be fine. Argh. I'm going in today at 11:30 to actually see if it is. Came home, and greeted with power! Air! Hot water! The news! For the first time, we were able to see pictures of what was going on in the world around us.

Basically, the Neighbor and I made lemonaide out of lemons. True, the hurricane sucked. I have a hole in my roof, water damage in my storage area, ceiling, hallway and bedroom and mold is forming, but I am very fortunate. There's destruction all around me. We didn't have power for 4 days. But I had fun with my neighbors and made do with what I have.

For pictures, check out www.chron.com. I did take pictures, but haven't uploaded them yet.

Bye for now.

Probably last update for a while...

Lost power at 4am.

All carports in my apartment down.

Pieces of my chimney and roof came crashing down. Tree limbs down.

No flooding.

I'm hot and in the dark.

Blech.

I'm still here!

The wind is picking up now; trees are starting to sway. My electricity just flickered, but not enough to turn anything off. My area is under a curfew now - tonight and tomorrow night I have to stay indoors after 7pm, which is a-ok with me. I'm surprised to see people on the street, driving. Hopefully they are going home.

Still no rain. My windows and glass doors aren't rattling, and it might be because they're in an alcove, protected on either side by storage closets that jut. My bedroom window, however, is protected by nothing.

Neighbor, mom and Andrea are taking naps. I can't sleep. I'll probably be awake all evening.

Cheers!

Update

Nothing new. My car is safely in a garage a block away (up high). The wind is picking up, but nothing scary, and the clouds are starting to fill the sky. My neighbor was hemming and hawing about staying, and he finally decided to stay so he is off relocating his car. I'm very relieved he's staying - that means I won't be completely alone. My next-door neighbor, Doc, is here, but my downstairs neighbor is also a co-worker and great fun (and I know him better than Doc).

Oh, and for the annonymous comment-poster --> that quote you posted is about Galveston. My area is an evacuation area, yes, but I'm at the furthest point. Besides, I don't live in a house. I'm safer than those in houses.

I've been watching lots of ABC, CNN and the Weather Channel. Their pictures do look quite frightening, but I'm not worried anymore. Or maybe I'm not worried because I just ate a bunch of sugar cookies. I decided about 30 minutes ago that I needed chocolate. I did not, however, buy any and the stores are closed. Luckily I had eggs, butter, flour, sugar and vanilla. I therefore baked sugar cookies, which are just as good as chocolate. I don't have baking powder nor baking soda, but I decided to make them anyway (I'm not a baker, by the way). The end product is actually quite tasty. They're not cookie-ish because of the lack of baking powder and soda; they're more like madelines. But they're sweet and cake-y and will be dunked in coffee, so it's all good!

I'll post later. My last post will be right after my electricty goes off. I'll keep my laptop on enough to send that word, but then won't have my laptop on for a while. If you have my cell number, you can send me text messages.

Cheers!

Hurricane Update #2

It's supposed to be here tonight.

I went around Clear Lake and Kemah today to take "before" pictures. The police station down the street from my apartment had boarded windows (something I didn't expect to see). All down Kemah and Seabrook were boarded windows and very full marinas. One thing that I did see and take pictures of that disturbed me is that the water in Kemah is already rising - and there's been no rain. The water is almost over the Seawall in Galveston and Surfside is getting flooded, which isn't surprising, but I wasn't expecting to see the low areas of Kemah already getting extra water. I took pictures of the streets right up against the water - the water is spilling over into the streets.

My neighbors and I are taking our cars two blocks away to a parking garage to keep them safe, which means my method of charging my phone after my power goes out is far away. I'm going to program my blackberry to not accept e-mails so that the battery won't die as quickly.

My next door neighbor is staying, and my neighbor below is wavering. I think he might actually stay, and I'm giving him a key to my apartment so that if he floods during the night he can come up here with his cats and computer and be safe.

I'll update more later. I don't know much more right now. My mom is worried, and I'm trying not to...

Cheers!

Hurricane Update #1

So, there've been some developments...

I woke up at 6am this morning to do laundry and top off my gas tank. Laundry is done, so I have clean clothes for at least two weeks. The gas, however, almost caused a problem. I had a flashback to Rita. I left my apartment at 6:15 to get gas, thinking I was early enough. Nope. The gas station across the street was dark (sold out), so I went to the one across the intersection, where I was greeted with a line. Dejavu - this reminded me very much of the Rita scare. I was in my car with Matt M., trying to find gas because I actually needed some, even though I wasn't leaving. Gas stations sold out quickly, LONG lines formed. This morning I waited about 30 minutes - and I'm sure the gas station is sold out now because only the unleaded regular was left in all 8 pumps. But I only needed 4 gallons, and my car is full and good for a while.

The newspaper didn't mention my zip code as a scary one, but they did list nearby ones so I figured mine was left out. At 7am, Mayor White and Judge Emmet held a press conference - my zip code is under mandatory evacuation. The storm surge is supposed to be the problem - 10-15 feet. And I'm 6 miles away from water (the water that flows into Kemah). But my apartment is on the second floor, so I'll be fine from the storm surge - my car is the only thing that slightly worries me, but my parking lot is elevated so I might be fine. I've been invited to Louisiana and my mom's, but I don't want to drive to Louisiana (to drive back), and my mom will be experiencing the bad things I will - no electricity (I'll be ok with the storm surge, remember).

I don't know. I'm not as confident as I was yesterday.

I'll keep you guys posted....

Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks!

Rage, blow,
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout
Till you have drenched out steeples, drowned the cocks!
You sulph'rous and thought-executing fires,
Vaunt-couriers of oak-cleaving thunderbolts,
Singe my white head; and thou all-shaking thunder,
Strike flat the thick rotundity o'th'world,
Crack nature's moulds, all germens spill at once
That makes ingrateful man.

--King Lear, Act 3, scene 2

This passage seemed appropriate. Ike's a-comin'!

So school is cancelled tomorrow and Friday. I'm not under evacuation yet, but if it gets above a 3, it's recommended for where I am. But I'm still not leaving. Here's my hurricane preparations...

1) Water. I have 2 cases of water - one for drinking and one that I've frozen in case my electricity goes out. Hell, who am I kidding. It's frozen for WHEN my electricity goes out. That way maybe my frozen raw chicken can last a bit longer.

2) Batteries. Check. And luckily my cell phone and iPod can charge in my car without the car being on.

3) Electronics - Radio is good, laptop will be charged and so will my camera. I plan on taking lots of pictures.

4) Food. I went to the store specifically for canned goods this weekend just in case. Now I don't have to fight the people buying stuff now.

5) Work. I have grading to finish, exams to make.

6) Pets. They're at Mom's.

7) Candles. Check. They're vanilla scented, so they'll also keep my apartment smelling good.

I haven't been through a hurricane since 1983's Elisha. Allison was just a tropical storm. This storm oughtta be a good one!

I'll keep you posted as long as my laptop will work.

Cheers!

Thanks Gustav!

Luckily Gustav never came close, but he brought some great weather to us! No humidity for two days - which made this morning's run go quite smoothly.

So I haven't run AT ALL in two weeks, since the 7 mile run. I haven't wanted to run in the evenings (adjusting to school makes me tired) and I didn't go to last week's long run (due to a Friday night social, which won't happen again because I want to run Surfside). So I was a bit apprehensive about this morning's 7 miler. I got really tired at mile 5 last time and walked most of the last 2 miles, so I figured I'd try to go 6 miles before giving up jogging. Nope! I went all 7 quite easily - actually 7.5 (their measurements were off). I was tired, but never felt like giving up! My calves started to tighten and my paced slowed, but I kept with my regular intervals and I feel fine.

Now I'm off to soak in the tub before going out for a day of grading at various coffee shops....

Oh! And I'm back on stage! I was cast in Neil Simon's "Rumors" at the Clear Creek Country Theatre. Rehearsals start next Sunday and I'm sure I'll have lots to say.

Cheers!

The Best of Times

I'm a happy teacher. Not only is school starting tomorrow (yes, I truly am excited), but I'm also listening to the concept recording of a new musical - "A Tale of Two Cities." I ordered the CD months ago, left town and when I came back, the CD wasn't there! So I e-mailed the production with a complaint and they took quick care of it - and even invited me to tour the theatre next time I'm in NY! Hmm.... Now I have to figure out when to go. I hope the show doesn't close soon, because if it does... Christine - you make have an overnight guest! :) I missed "The Woman in White"... I don't want to miss "A Tale of Two Cities."

Lots of stuff is going on. So it's time for yet another catagorized list...

1) Running. Marathon training season has begun! Actually, it began while I was in DC, but I'm just now participating. I rejoined my running group yesterday, and they were up to 7 miles. Gulp. I ran 4 in Central Park three weeks ago, and 5 in Maryland 3 weeks prior to that. The last time I ran 7 miles was in February or March. But I was bound and determined to finish all 7 miles, despite my lack of really running. Hell, I used to run 6 miles every other day! So I started... and finished. I did a lot more walking the last mile and a half, but still finished in less than 1 hour and 45 minutes. The miles I did run were better than the miles I ran last fall, so I'll be in better shape before the half marathon. And I'll be running the Surfside Half Marathon. Unfortunately, Houston sold out three months earlier than it did last year and I didn't make it. It'll be the first time in 4 years that I won't run it, which upsets me terribly. But I have been wanting to run Surfside for years, so I just might as well do it this year! But the race that I'm going to focus on now is the Space City 10-miler in October. Last year I was in no conditition to run it at all (it was my first race since my knee injury, and ran it after training one month for it... after a 6 month hiatus from running) but I finished and won't dwell on my time - I was just happy I finished. This year, I won't necessarily dwell on time as much either, as long as I finish 10 minutes earlier than last year. :)

2) Rodeo. Yep. Rodeo season has started. Bring on the meetings!

3) School. I'm so freakin' excited. I love my job. I may complain, whine, etc, but I really enjoy teaching. I've worked really hard these past two weeks (early, before I was even supposed to start) and have accomplished great things - lesson plans for a month, my room has been set up for a while, I made all of my handouts for the first month, etc. I'm ahead of the game and my stress level is relatively low. So since I finished early, I've been being the good "Buddy Teacher" and SLC leader and have been helping out my fellow teachers. Plus I really like the new teachers and have been hanging out with them - yes, I'm gaining a social life again! Plus one of the new teachers is also my new neighbor - he lives below me (not in the dead man's apartment, but the other one) and we've been hanging out almost daily at one of our apartments, drinking beer, playing the guitar and talking teacher stuff and theatre.

Bring on the kids!

Cheers!

Yoda has Left the Building

I'm back at school, sort of unofficially. I started Monday by welcoming new teachers and attending SLC meetings (I'm an SLC leader this year). Afterwards, I went to my classroom to check on the damage.

Since they cleaned my room this summer, all of my furniture was near the door. Luckily I lift weights and am pretty strong, because I had to move all of it, by myself, to their proper locations. The full file cabinet was a struggle. I then did a quick inventory. The following did not make it back to my room (despite labels): two trashcans, my emergency bucket, and my desk chair. Yesterday I got my trashcans back, I took another teacher's desk chair (she was leaving the building and said I could have it... and it's more comfortable than my other one), and I'll probably get another emergency bucket next week.

But here's the startling thing: my Yoda poster is gone! It's one of the library posters; Yoda is holding a book and the caption reads, "Read and the force will be with you." I'm a total Star Wars nerd and that poster has been on my wall since my first day teaching. And now it's gone. Other teachers complained about their walls being stripped this summer because the building people wanted to paint (but ended up not painting). Whereas their posters were placed on their desks, Yoda faced no similar destiny. I'm guessing he was torn, and then the person who was removing him just threw him away. I need a new one now. Which means I may not have it on the first day.

:(

But on the flip side, my new LSU Championship flag looks great in my room!

Now it's Thursday - I've been in my room Monday, yesterday and today. Half of the time was spent socializing and arranging social activities with teachers, and the other half was actual working (we don't go back until next week, so it's not like I'm going to get in trouble for not working). But my room is all set up, I've written lessons for the first month in both of my sections, created my class overviews/syllabi and even made copies for the first week of class. I might go in tomorrow to make more copies for the rest of the first month. It's quite nice to go in early and just be done with things!

More good news: the theatre department chair was uber supportive of me starting a Shakespeare acting troupe! Woo-hoo! Good news, and on the day that the group photo made it to my mailbox. Now I'm off to search for a picture frame...

Cheers!

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

"Cymbaline" was fantastic! The costumes were phenominal, the big-top music was perfect, the acting was fantastic. I cannot praise it enough. One directorial decision that I particularly enjoyed was turning lords and minor characters into the storytellers, which worked especially well in the opening scene (the story tellers introduced the play and characters using a tableau vivante). Last night's Antony was tonight's Cymbaline, last night's Cassius was one of the story tellers and last night's Portia was also in tonight's performance and they were all really great. I think it's going to be one of my new favorite Shakespeare plays.

The play/text itself was quite different from what I expected. It was a cross between "Much Ado About Nothing," "Othello," and "King Lear." It did not fit the normal Shakespearean comedy nor tragedy. It was tragic in that two people died (one quite visciously), but it was comedic because (a) we laughed at the deaths and (b) everyone was happy in the end. The Folio lists it as a tragedy, but it's not. The Riverside lists it as a romance, but there were deaths. I fully plan on reading the play because I'm wondering if a lot of the comedic situations were actually directorial decisions. Whether they were or not, I was quite pleased with the play. I'd love to see it again; too bad it closed tonight.

Time for bed. I start school tomorrow (sort of)!

Cheers!

Friends, Romans, Countrymen...

...lend me a good production!

So last night, I dragged my friend Daniel to the Houston Shakespeare Festival to see a production of "Julius Caesar". Every summer, they put on two plays, very professionally done (with equity actors and everything), at the Miller Outdoor Theatre. April didn't want to go (her words were, "Heat, bugs and Shakespeare: my idea of hell"), so I convinced Daniel to accompany me. I was slightly disappointed.

I know the play very well (having taught it a couple of times), but I've never seen a live production. I have to admit, I was daydreaming during the production. First of all, the director chose to modernize the dress to suits and cammoflauge. Some Shakespeare plays modernize very well, but I wanted to see the togas. Then the director cut a lot out - the play ran just under two hours - and if I didn't know the play very well, I might've been confused. Things seemed to happen too quickly, and didn't flow as well. Finally, I wasn't too keen on some of the actors' decisions. I felt that Portia was too naggy and Antony's voice was too high pitched and Cassius was too active. I thought Portia could've been stronger, Antony a bit deeper and Cassius a bit calmer (calm villains sometimes work better than hyper villains).

I did like the music, the sound, the set - very minimalistic with a good usage of various planes and stairs - and I enjoyed the actor who played Brutus. And the weather was nice with only minimal bugs (although two ninja junebugs dive-bombed my head and scared the daylights out of me both times).

Tonight's perfomance is "Cymbaline," which is a play that I am completely unfamiliar with - I've never seen it nor read it. I barely know the plot. So I migh enjoy this one better.

Time to organize my apartment!

Cheers!

The Creepy Cross Tour (AKA - I'm home!)

The time is 10:21pm, and I am finally home. Actually, I've been home for about 3 hours, but I needed to go grocery shopping and unpack my clothes.

The name of today's is the nickname April gave our roadtrip home. She called it the Creepy Cross Tour after the 3rd or 4th baptist church with absolutely enormous crosses in the front.

But here's how the roadtrip went...
Wednesday: We left at 6am, and drove until we arrived in Chattanooga, TN around 4:30pm. I drove the entire time, and was a complete music Nazi, alternating between the satellite radio stations and my iPod, which consists mostly of Broadway musicals. Everytime we passed cows, April moo'ed, and everytime we passed bails of hay, I said, "Heeeeyyy." Pretty silly stuff. We saw a tow truck being towed, an 18-wheeler being towed, and a school bus being towed, but the school bus looked as though it had been submerged under water for a while. Seriously. Wednesday's driving consisted mostly of mountain driving (and I thought we'd never get out of Virginia), which I am not accustomed to. I've been a passenger plenty of times for mountain rides, but never driven them. It wasn't too bad until we decided to go to Rock City at Lookout Mountain on the TN/GA border. I haven't been there in 20 years, and I haven't really been in the mountains in 12 years. Rock City was as cool as I remembered it, but I had a small panic attack on the drive up the mountain. The view was beautiful, but it also made me realize that we could die if a crazy person came barrelling down the mountain and plows into us (there was a tiny guardrail separating my car and a cliff). I drove like an old lady: both hands on the wheels, leaning forward, inching my way up the mountain. Plus I have a V4 engine, and it's not used to uphill driving. All in all, the mountain driving was amusing.

Yesterday, Wednesday, we left Chattanooga at 6:15am, arrived in Baton Rouge at 2:30pm (and we went through a time zone change, so add an hour). More mountain driving in the morning, but it was all freeway, so not bad. Beautiful sights, though. More cows. More hay. More tow trucks. I felt gracious and let April control the music, with the occassional veto of her heavy rap. Once in BR, we met up with my godfather, who is the most protective man to me. I completely appreciate it - he took over when my dad died (he taught me how to drive, how to shoot, supports me in everything, etc.), so it was nice to see him again. Then we went to LSU's campus, saw the new changes, bought some stuff for my classroom, and met people for dinner at the Chimes (YUM!): Eddie and Monique, Jeff and Phil, and then Andy came towards the end. Jeff and I used my new beer-drinking tendencies and then we all had some of the best food. There is no food like Louisiana food - and if I ate in Washington or NY like I ate last night, I would've gained 10 pounds. The duck and sausage gumbo was thick, dark and spicy, and the crawfish po'boys were perfection. The Chimes is a restaurant that I have to go to when I go to BR. After dinner, and then coffee, April and I went to Andy's, where Andy and I exchanged teaching stories and I filled him in on all of my Shakespeare stuff. But it wasn't too late of a night; he's already back in school. The afternoon and evening was so wonderful; it made me remember why I like the South and Southerners so much (except the stifling heat, of course). I was given shit sometimes this summer about being from Texas and the South, but I love both Texas and the South. Will I live here forever? Probably not. But the Texas is home, complete with warm people, warm fuzzy feelings, and great food.

This morning, after an early Jazzercise class, we went to New Orleans (might as well, it's only an hour away) for lunch at Port-Of-Call, another college favorite. Their hamburgers are completely worth the drive! Then we came to Houston, battling freakishly bad weather and taking more photos of Creepy Crosses.

And now I'm home. Unpleasant surprises: the dust, the heat, and my apartment people did NOT steam clean the carpets like they were supposed to. Pleasant surprise: I now have cable. I didn't order cable, but I have it. I supposed I should call someone. Maybe I'll do it next week.
So right now all of my bags are everywhere. I have bags on my couch, on the floor, on my dining table, on a loveseat in my bedroom. I don't even know where to begin to unpack my Shakespeare stuff. I might just leave everything nonessential until Sunday night, when I have alone time (April's flight back to DC leaves around 3pm).

But I'm home. I'm sure I've forgotten to mention something. Oh, well. Oh! I'll post more pictures this week.
Cheers!

It's Over

TSI is all over. A wonderful month of camaraderie, Shakespeare, scholarship, cuckold jokes, clapping in 4 syllables, beer, staying up late frantically trying to finish/perfect projects, and way too many experiences with ice down my shirt.

Yes, teachers are just high schoolers with better education.

I don't think I can even begin to explain what I've done this summer, and how much it means to me. I think the best thing I got out of it was something I wasn't even supposed to get out of it - I am now applying to grad school. TSI wants to teach teachers to be better teachers, but for me, it was about spending time in history, and I really have to get off my ass about going to grad school, and then getting into a PhD program. I also know what I want my thesis and dissertation to be about - I'm not going to divulge it right now, but it'll be in the Shakespeare realm. I love Shakespeare and history, so I'm going to mix them together.

I've been sad off and on. I've been wanting to participation in TSI for so long, and me getting accepted into the program created a fissure with the Cop (yes, his name shall no longer be mentioned). Now that it's over, I'm sad. I feel a void. I was in NY for a couple of days, visiting Christine and the baby (and trying not to get the baby sick... I've caught a sickness that I've dubbed the "TSI plague", due to the fact that many people got very very sick while they were here). NY was great, and it helped dull the sharp feeling of emptiness. But when I got back to DC today, I felt sad again. It's strange to be here with everyone else gone. I didn't go by the Folger, but I knew it would be sad if I did.

But I'm on a new mission. And it's a mission that I've been putting off for a while. I have to follow my dreams again!

Cheers!

Forgotten Highlights

I have completely forgotten to mention the highlights!

1) Inside jokes. They're everywhere. Sometimes I think that English teachers are really 15 year olds in disguise. We now have inside jokes on Ian McKellan's private parts, hitting curbs, certain slightly derogatory remarks, certain people, general dislikes of sandwiches, hockey chants, etc. It's enough to make a person pregnant with celestial fire! :)

2) Rare documents. Definitely one of the best things I've done is touched a letter written to Queen Elizabeth by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leiscester. And a warrant for Catesby by Richard III. Yes - I touched them. I could not, however, read them because their handwriting was so tiny back then and they used an odd sort of shorthand.

3) The people. I've met some fantastic people and I hope to keep in touch with a good number of them. As one person in particular said, "We'll always have DC."

Cheers, again!

Weekly Update

I actually have 10 minutes to update my blog!

1) About my self-pity entry from almost two weeks ago... That moment has passed. I am chalking it up to PMS, being homesick, and spending my birthday away from my close friends and family. I'm 30, I'm ok, and I did go out for my birthday - a brief dinner with two TSI Mikes, and then I met up with April for ice cream.

2) TSI. We have five days left! I can't believe it's almost over. It has been psychotically busy, but worth every tiring moment. This week we have two projects due: acting a scene on the great stage and a curriculum project (mine is a documentary). If you want to see some other things I've done, check out http://esmithela.googlepages.com. Eventually I'm going to post a lot of things there, so pardon the construction. :)

3) TSI part II. My new project for the upcoming year: start a Shakespeare Acting Troupe within the school (without stepping on the toes of the drama department). Also, I'm going to take the GRE in early fall and apply to grad school - probably in literature. I have got to get off of my ass and get this done. Listening to the lectures and participating in the seminars have given me a new vision.

4) School. I return to Houston on the 9th, begin work on the 11th! No break for the weary.

We're done on Friday and I'm off to NY for three days (to visit Christine and the new baby!). I hope to blog some more before then. We'll see.

Cheers!

Getting into the Groove

I wish I had more time to write about my adventures over here, but time is not a luxury. For example, due this week I have a 3-5 page research paper, a curriculum project's lesson plans, an oral presentation AND an illumination project (this is kinda hard to explain).

I'm still have fun, still meeting lots of great new people. I'm still homesick, but being out here is definitely worth it.

Time to work on my paper...

Cheers!

Ups and Downs

Let me preface this post by saying that I am getting a LOT out of this program. Today, however, and yesterday were filled with unhappiness.

(Note to readers: I have removed a deeply personal episode of self-pity. I have never deleted an entry before, but I've decided to leave moments of self-pity to my trusty spiral journal. So if you think you read something here before, you have).

But if you're reading this to hear about Folger stuff - I got to read a 400 year old book yesterday. And tomorrow I'm going to read a 450 year old manuscript. These are not copies, my friends, these are the real things.

And I have added some things to my birthday/Christmas/random present wish-list:
1) The book - "All I Needed To Know I Learned From Shakespeare"
2) A fascimile copy of the first folio (but this one is $150 - I might splurge on it as a birthday present for myself... it's cooler than a pair of shoes).
3) The Riverside Shakespeare (another book). (update: I was given this for my birthday by April!)

Gotta go. I have to work on my research paper.

Don't worry about me - I'll be fine.

Cheers!

Shakespeare Summer Camp

Actually, I have 10 minutes to write. So here it goes...

Our schedule is really quite crazy - and mine seems to be longer since I take the subway into the city daily and back home. The others, those who are staying at the ridiculously overpriced Georgetown University townhomes, ride a bus back and forth. That is my one regret - that I can't do the commute with them. They have such a great bonding time with that. I ride the bus occassionally, but must leave them in order to catch a train home.

But back to the schedule - then to the people.

Monday-Friday, we're busy from 8:45 am until 5pm. The morning session is a lecture by an esteemed Shakespeare scholar (there are 3 here, plus several visiting ones). After the lecture is a seminar, where we get to discuss the lecture, the play, our schools, and the occassional smattering of gossip (but that's usually me and whoever is sitting near me). After that we have lunch, in which we stomp around Capitol Hill in search of a quick - and relatively inexpensive - meal. More often than not, sandwiches are involved, which is tiring many people out. After lunch, we then have peformance workshops with a Shakespearean actor and finally end in a curriculum workshop where we learn how to teach Shakespeare more precisely. Evenings are occasionally filled up, occasionally left for us. This week, however, we saw a theatre performance starring one of our Shakespearean actors, we saw a film viewing of "Taming of the Shrew," we attended a wine reception for PBS and the upcoming new release of a "King Lear," and we attended a Nationals/Astros game (where the Astros lost big-time).

And I must mention tea. Every day, from 3-3:30, tea is served. Seriously. Everyone stops working (everyone in the building) for a cup of tea, good conversations and some delightful little cookies. It's quite English.

This week has been filled with not only the above, but extra introductional activities. For example, we were given a tour of the elaborate library, which is a paragraph or two all unto itself (more later) where we got to see really old and rare books (including a Folio) and documents written by Queen Elizabeth. Friday's extra-special activity was a tour of the conservation lab, which is another paragraph unto itself (more later).

Finally, we were given our projects. We are here to learn, and learn we will. We have a 3-5 page research project due soon, as well as lesson plans or a technology project, and various theatre assignments.

So, my next entry will detail the description of the Folger Library, the conservation lab, and the people.

I haven't mentioned the people? The people here are great. We are all Shakespeare nerds and we get along fantastically. I swear, some of them/us were oppressed nerds as teenagers because for a group of 25 teachers (ages range from 26 to 50ish), there's some bawdy conversation, teenage antics and heavy drinking. It's not what you'd think of when the words "Shakespeare Workshop" come to mind.

Gotta run. Time to do more Shakespeare!

Cheers!

End of Week 1

Wow. So much has happened this past week, and I just don't have the time to write about it. My schedule is crazy busy each day, I've met some fantastic people, gone through some fantastic experiences.

I'll write in detail about week 1 maybe tomorrow. I have no plans tomorrow night (as of now).

Cheers!

I'm Here...

Well, I am in DC, and what a trip it has been thus far. Houston to DC via Charleston is a LONG drive. Much longer than I anticipated. I plan on writing more about the roadtrip, but some highlights include:

1) Panama City Beach. I hate this place. My mom wanted to stop there on the first night so that she can go to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. I didn't realize that my mom had no clue as to what kind of place Panama City Beach was; had I known that, I would've talked her out of going. We got there at 7:30ish, checked into the hotel and then went to find the restaurant. It was on the main drag, and took us an HOUR to drive the 7-8 miles to get there. I was hungry at this point, and pretty much turning into a raving bitch because I was sleepy, tired, hungry and surrounded by co-eds wearing very little clothing and guys revving up their cars to try to look cool. It didn't work. So I was in complete hell, and I apologized to my mom later, but at that point, I wanted to be anywhere else.

2) The Garmin. I could never have gotten to DC without it. We named it Lola, and Lola was very talkative and helpful, but got a bit snarky when we took a wrong road or got off the highway to get gas. And she diverted us around traffic, but didn't tell us when construction was ahead.

3) The suicidal butterflies of Georgia. I have never seen so many butterflies as in the country roads of Georgia and they went all kamakazi on my SUV. It saddened me to see so many beautiful bugs slapping my car (and one getting stuck in my car's grill), but I couldn't dodge them.

4) Charleston. Wow. That's all I have to say. I wouldn't mind living there. But as I walked along the bay, with Fort Sumter in the background, I realized yet again how I don't like living in the concrete city of Houston. I want to live in another city, one with history and sightseeing and tradition. Houston has little tradition (really very little compared to older cities). While I was in Charleston, one of my old assistant principals from my old school called and offered me a job at her new school. I like where I am now.

5) Myrtle Beach, SC - Beautiful beach, beautiful sand. I scooped up a baggie of sand and a baggie of shells. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with them, but I'll figure it out. I'm sure a vase or jar will come in handy.

6) Arriving in DC. Finally, after three days of more than 8 hours of driving each day (Monday and Tuesday were 13 hour days), we arrive.

7) Thursday - Thursday was a sight-seeing day. I've seen the sights, but my mom hasn't been in DC in a while, so I showed her around the mall area. Met a cop who works at the cop booth behind the Folger Library, and he gave me some tips as to where to go and do in the near vicinity. Mom and I ended up walking around 5 miles that day (and I still have sore shins), saw major DC attractions, and saw Marine One (Bush's helicopter) dropping him off at the White House (there were two decoy choppers with him).

8) Friday - 4th of July in DC! Woo-hoo! Yes, I went and saw the fireworks on the mall. Beautiful.

Sorry for the briefness of the days - I plan on writing more later. And yes, I have pictures and will post some later.

Cheers!

Summertime Bliss

I love teaching. I love giving teenagers new opportunities to learn something, I love helping them mold their writing skills, I love opening their eyes to new adventures in literature.

But today, my favorite part of teaching is the fact that I have the summer off. Or rather, that I chose to have the summer off.

What's frustrating is to hear non-educators say, "Well, it must be nice that teachers get their summers off." Hell yeah it's nice - but we earn our summers off. We spend 8 hours a day with 120-180 teenagers/kids (unless you're Andy - then you have 35 really tough kids), countless hours grading, creating lesson plans, attending professional developments, sitting in 10 milion different kinds of meetings involving the school or smaller learning community or department or grade level, we plan and grade during the holidays, even parts of the summer. My eyesight is getting worse each year due to the students' increasingly negligent handwriting and I've been threatened. Teaching isn't easy.

But it's so nice to relax during the summer. And so far, my summer's been pretty relaxing. Soon, however, I'll be at Rice University for a week and then 5-6 weeks in DC, so I will be extremely busy. But for now, I leisurely wake up (still around 6:30 - my body does not respond to late sleeping, and neither does my dog), work out for a couple of hours, hang by the pool for an hour or so, babysit my godchild, and then my evenings are completely free. I may be at Starbucks, I may be at the movies, I may be at the gym again, I may be sitting on my arse watching television. I have nothing to grade, nothing to plan. I am doing a smidgeon of work, however, in the form of reading a novel that I have to teach in the fall and answering the study guide questions. I will be doing a great deal of reading this summer, which I love, but I'll be reading school novels. I have to finish Jane Eye, and read Ella Minnow Pea and Do's and Taboos Around the World. I hope to have Jane Eyre finished before I go to DC (plus read those Shakespeare plays).

Hmm. I guess I'm not relaxing as much as I could. But I'm reading by the pool and workin' on my tan.

Cheers!

By the way, if anyone is actually following my posts... the result of my musings last week was very satisfactory. :)

You Didn't Have to Ask

Of course I'll answer. But send me a text message first - I'm still in school this week giving finals.

:)

Who's the More Foolish, the Fool or the Fool Who Follows?

As the school year comes to a close, I must pause and reflect. This was a very interesting school year. It definitely had it's up, professionally, and it's lows, personally.

Here are some things I miss.
1) Playing a 100 point word in Scrabble, knowing my opponent is cursing me on his side of the computer.
2) Randomly sending Shakespeare quotes to someone via text message.
3) Trading crazy school stories.
4) Joking about Samuel L. Jackson being the killer in every movie.
5) Playing Trivial Pursuit on a short road trip.
6) Trading running stories.
7) Looking for the elusive blue coffee cup in movies.
8) Speaking, using big words and then giving kudos for the word choice.
9) Listening about Big Brother rantings (and I'm not talking about the silly tv show)

I find myself wondering, however, is it bad to dwell on the good? If dwelling on the positive makes me forget the negative? And how does one know if one is really lying to oneself or if one is being true to oneself, because sometimes the lies one tells oneself sound so believable?

Sigh. Ultimately, it takes two to tango, and most of the time the chick dancing by herself looks like a fool.

Only one person knows what I'm talking about, so if you're confused... it's ok; this posting isn't for you to understand. As for that one person who does understand... I don't know if you're even reading this. I don't even know what point I'm trying to get across, other than our friendship still creeps into my mind when sometimes I wish it wouldn't. I always look back, even though you told me not to. I can't help it; that's who I am. Foolish.

Rat Testicles (AKA Why I Love My Job)

I love my job because I actually get to hear a story involving the phrase "rat testicles." The story goes as such...

The students are dissecting rats this week in their biology classes, and one particularly troubling student was bet $30 (by another troubling student) that he wouldn't eat the testicles of the rat he was disessecting. Apparently he didn't want to seem like a wuss, so he agreed. Yes, he ate the rat balls (students whipped out their cell phones fast to capture that image), gagged, and then was suspended for two days.

Seriously, wherelse can you get a story like that?

Ladies and gentlemen, let this be a warning: Not everyone needs to procreate.

Cheers!

Life Goes On

More work good news! I was given a Falcon Feather today - meaning I'm the 9th grade teacher of the month for April.

Yay!

And... only 3 more Mondays after today until final exams. I'm beat, my kids are beat, everyone is beat. Summer is approaching slowly...

Cheers!

I'm Ok

I'm good. My brain has taken over and I can see things more clearly and put things in perspective.

What makes me irritated is that I fell for what he was saying - probably because his actions supported his words, which is something I haven't really had. And I saw the baggage he came with - I really did - but I ignored it. Luckily, I can see that the baggaged was/is pretty extensive, and that is what makes me feel better.

So, the lessons learned with this relationship?
1) I do not have to put up with excessive baggage. I can, but I don't have to. I shouldn't have to, especially when that baggage prohibits a future that I really want. And especially if that baggage caused self-esteem issues. Dating someone with self-esteem issues is exhausting!
2) I know how I wanted to be treated. When it was good, it was great and that's how I want future relationships to be like.
3) I do not have to settle. I do not have to put up with flaws. If something bothers me, it bothers me for a reason.
4) I am worth the best.
5) If a relationship gets rocky due to work or something that I've been wanting for years... look at it with a critical eye and to never back down on my dreams. I've had some dreams longer than I've had relationships!

BTW - I've decided to replace tequila with a glass of milk and some chocolate-mint Bailey's. Tasty!

8 weeks until DC! And a trip to NY! And the road trip!

Cheers!

Sad

Well, I was wrong about Sam.

I don't want to say more. But the cynic is me says, "Well, dumbass, this is what happens when you allow yourself to give you heart to someone else."

Well, the cynic has moved in, and for now, she's not moving back out.

Sad and devastated party of one - your table is ready and full of tequila.

I'd say cheers, but I'm just not in a good place right now.

And now I'm going to end with the lyrics of a song - some of you may notice a line from my e-mail signature line. This song has helped me in the past.

"It's a Fine, Fine Line Between Love and a Waste of Time"
There's a fine, fine line between a lover and a friend;
There's a fine, fine line between reality and pretend;
And you never know 'til you reach the top if it was worth the uphill climb.
There's a fine, fine line between love
And a waste of time.

There's a fine, fine line between a fairy tale and a lie;
And there's a fine, fine line between "You're wonderful" and "Goodbye."
I guess if someone doesn't love you back it isn't such a crime,
But there's a fine, fine line between love
And a waste of your time.

And I don't have the time to waste on you anymore.
I don't think that you even know what you're looking for.
For my own sanity, I've got to close the door
And walk away...Oh...

There's a fine, fine line between together and not
And there's a fine, fine line between what you wanted and what you got.
You gotta go after the things you want while you're still in your prime...
There's a fine, fine line between love
And a waste of time.

More Happiness

So, last week was a great work week.

Tuesday - I got accepted to the DC program.
Wednesday - I got my annual review and it was fantastic! My APs love me.
Friday - I was told that I'm being recommended to the district GT (gifted and talented) person to teach the pre-AP/GT class - which is an even higher level than regular pre-AP - I get to teach 3 Shakesepeare plays to one class - plus 2 Dickens, Animal Farm, Jane Eyre and To Kill a Mockingbird. This is a class for kids who LOVE to read and are scarey smart.

By the way, thanks Anonymous for the "BZ" - I appreciate it. :) And I hope you're doing well also. I'll look for that blue coffee cup in NY, now that I think I know where to look.

Cheers everyone!

Fabulous!

I am so excited! Truth to be told, however, some of the initial excitement has worn off and the adrenaline ceases to pulsate through my veins, but excitement still lingers under the surface.

The cause for such excitement? I have been accepted to the Folger Shakespeare Library's Teach Shakespeare Summer Institute (with a grant from the National Humanity For the Arts).

Here's where I show my true geeky-ness: I am overjoyed that I get to spend July and part of August in Washington, DC at the country's most esteemed Shakespeare research facility. In the mornings, I get to attend lectures by Shakespeare professors and researchers, as well as participate in seminars with the other 10-12 participants (yes, I am one of 10-12 chosen!). In the afternoons, we are to spend our time using the museum/library's vast array of primary documents to assist in creating lesson plans for four plays: Taming of the Shrew, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing and Richard III. Yes, Richard III. One person in particular can guess how excited I am about studying and researching Richard III makes me. Plus we get to put on a small production from one of the plays.

Woo-hoo! I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. Plus we get to go see a Shakespeare production at an esteemed Shakespeare theatre in DC, get taken to various socials (including a Nationals baseball game... hopefully one of the games against the Astros), and spend time with other Shakespeare geeks.

Ok, my initial excitement is coming back.

PLUS, there are extras to this good news.
1) ROAD TRIP! I've decided to drive to DC instead of flying, in order to get some miles on my new SUV and to see the Atlantic coast. Mom's going to ride up with me on the way there and fly back, and then Sam is going to fly up when I'm almost done and ride back with me. Finally, I get to see Charleston and Savannah and I get to see North Carolina again. And yes, I'm fully aware of the rising price of gas, but I am going to save and starve in order for this to happen. Plus see below:
2) The money. Yes, I'm getting paid for all of my excitement. And paid well.
3) New York! Due to the fact that I'm getting paid well, I will be taking a small weekend trip to NY to see Christine and the new baby (and hopefully take in at least one musical).
4) Washington, DC! It's DC! Land of free museums, the National Archives, running parts of the routes of the MCM, subway.

I am so flippin' excited. Two years ago I applied and was an "alternate," so I didn't get to participate. Last year, the Library didn't receive a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities. This year, I got in. I'm sure that the fact that I'll be teaching the Shakespearean Studies class at my high school next year is a big perk.

YYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

March Madness... Houston style

AKA - it's Rodeo time!

Three reasons for the lack of posting:
1) I got really sick. I had a nasty respiratory infection (complete with 102.8 fever) - I was too sick to go to work for 4 days straight and I lost 8 pounds. And then one of the prescription medication I was taking had a bad affect on me and I ended up passing out and slamming my skull on the corner of an oak table - and I woke up with a concussion. I'm better now - pretty much back to normal, but the base of my skull is still a tad tender. And an antique china teapot didn't make it - after I hit my head, I fell forward, dragged a chair and my laptop down with me, and knocked into on a shelving unit. The impact caused things to fall, and a ceramic cup that Andy gave me landed on an antique china tea set that my mom gave me. The teapot smashed and a a cup lost a handle. I was more upset about the teapot breaking than the fact that I couldn't stand up for more than 3 minutes without feeling woosey. :) Luckily I had Sam to nurse me back to health (and walk Wibble). Oh, and when I passed out I landed really hard on my left/good knee and damaged it (which feels better now, after some serious pain killers and wraps). I'm the most accident-prone person I know.

2) Rodeo. For the past 6-7 weeks, I've had Rodeo meetings 2-4 times a week, culminating in the beginning of Rodeo last week. Last week I went 4 times, this week I'm going 4 times, and I'm sure I'll go another 4 times the final week. Mostly I'm enjoying it, but I'm also in the Rodeo Choir, singing the national anthem and walking around in costume as a "living history exhibit." It's cool, but busy (especially with the drive time).

3) Sam. Things are going fantastically - and he treats me as no guy has ever treated me before. I came home the other night and was greeted with a note and tulips on my table. He walks Wibble for me when the weather is bad. When I was sick, he was over here all the time with food and a heating pad and willingness to walk Wibble when I couldn't. He sends me a sweet e-mail every night for me to read when I wake up and sends me text messages while I'm at work. Again, I can't say enough good things about this man - he is the most sweetest, selfless person. And he's also acting as a personal trainer for me at the gym - he's working me pretty hard with the weights and my upper body is getting seriously toned.

So, life is good. Work is good. I'm a happy camper.

Cheers!

Coming Home

Last week, I smelled something strange in my apartment. Kinda like trash, but very faint. I found nothing suspect, so I just continued on.

Sunday, after coming home from Mom's house (I house-sat this weekend), I smelled it again, but much stronger. Sam (by the way, the Cop's name is Sam... more on him later) was with me, and I was actually embarassed, apologizing, because I thought maybe I left something to rot under my trash bag. Nope. My trash can smelled fine. He bought me flowers (again) last week, so we assumed it was the water from the flowers so he changed them.

Today, upon coming home, I realized that the smell wasn't coming from my apartment. As I pulled into my complex, I saw a cop car near my apartment and my neighbor's door busted in. As I approached my door, I caught a whiff of that smell, but magnified infinitely. I walked in, grabbed Wibble, and walked her directly to the police officer (who was sitting in my car), where I asked him what happened. He told me that my neighbor has been dead in his apartment, no foul play suspected (I asked because I'm a single chick). I told him that I haven't seen my neighbor in almost two weeks. I pointed out his car, and he asked if I knew if Gene had any family. I told him that I've never seen a famiy member or friend with him.

This is sad and tragic and I feel guilty. My neighbor was a very friendly man who always asked how my day was and how Wibble was (and he never complained about Wibble). I haven't seen him since at least the 1st, because I remember seeing leaflets in his door for days. His car was always there, and recently it was given a notice because of stickers that expired in January and the apartment put a note on his door after the 5th (I guess a rent notice). I feel guilty because I knew something was up, but I figured he was like my other neighbor, who travels a lot for work. I was wrong.

He was only 49 (said the cop, but I figured he was in his 50s). It took over two weeks for the discovery of his body, and it was probably due to the apartment complex. This is another sad aspect. I am so glad that I have friends and family who would think it odd if they haven't heard from me in a while, two people in particular (hell, mom Mom thinks it's strange after 2 days, and Sam would think it strange after 12 hours).

I will be staying at Sam's tonight. I don't feel like staying alone.

I would say "cheers," but under the circumstances...

Super Sunday

The Superbowl is tonight and I'm probably going to not watch it. I will be taping it and showing the commercials to my English class so that we can analyze advertising techniques, but I honestly couldn't care less about the game. The BCIS game was my Superbowl. :)

The student who threatened me is back in school tomorrow. I can't say I'm overly excited about it, but my administrators are cool about it and warned me and said to come to them if anything funny happens. And the Cop volunteered his extra bullet-proof vest, but I don't think that it's necessary. Hopefully the kid chilled out and realized his mistakes. Hopefully.

My running has sucked lately. I've only run 28.1 miles for the month of January - I used to run more than 28.1 miles a WEEK. That has got to change, but if the weather would decide to stick to a consistent temperature and/or precipitation fall, I'll have an easier time. I WILL run 5 tomorrow, 5 Tuesday, 5 Thursday. And then hopefully 8 on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. That'll get me 23 for the week, which will make me happy for now. I'll get back up there eventually. I'm in no hurry.

The Cop is still uber-fantastic. I can't say enough good things about him, so let's just keep it at the fact that I'm surprised someone like really exists. I thought that only Disney came up with men like him.

Cheers!

The Swing of Things

Well, I ran today for the first (real) time since the half-marathon. Right after the half-marathon (2 weeks ago), I got sick and didn't do much of anything for almost a week. And this week was chock-full of Rodeo meetings, which severely restricted running time. I did run an 11:10 mile at the gym last weekend, but today's run of 5 miles was the first. And now that I'm feeling better and I don't have four Rodeo meetings in one week, I'm going to up my miles again, preparing for the Seabrook Half Marathon.

While I usually become irritated when I don't run, I haven't been irritated at all lately. The main reason for the lack of irritation, and my last post, is that I am seeing someone new. And this new guy has made me happier than any guy I've dated. He is the nicest guy I've ever known - selfless, caring, supportive. He's also a weight-lifter/body-building police officer (who gives fantastic hugs and back rubs), so he's going to help me work on lifting weights and I'm going to help him start distance running. Seriously, here's a couple of examples of how sweet he is: he not only likes my hyper dog, but he walks her whenever he's over here so that I don't get cold from the outside temperature and buys her doggie treats. When my mom hinted that she needed man-help around the house, he volunteered, telling me later that he wants to do it to earn brownie points with my mom and myself (but Mom already adores him). On our first date, he brought me a box of chocolate protein/work-out cookies as a present (how thoughtful!). He holds opens ALL doors for me (including car), sends me sweet texts and e-mails all day and was willing to try sushi since he knows how much I love it.

So, since previous boyfriends have all received nicknames, let's call this one the Cop. But I'm giving a bit of warning to you guys: he might soon not have to have a nickname on this blog. Or it might get changed to something else...

Gotta run. The Cop and I are going to dinner with the Pregnant One so that she and her husband can meet him.

Now I Get It

Life is fantastic. Things that I thought were supposed to be quite difficult is are actually quite easy. Things that I thought were impossible for me are not only possible, but actually happening. People I thought were nonexistant are being found.

I Came, I Ran, I Finished, I PR'ed

Geaux me. I rock. I'm a total rockstar.

So, after a nearly year-long hiatus, I ran another half-marathon. My 5th, to be exact. And I PR'ed!! My final chip time: 2:49:40. I previous best time was my first half-marathon 2 years ago (Houston) at 2:56:07. I'm very happy with this race's results.

Lori and I wanted to finish in under three, and I wanted to PR, so I set my Garmin virtual trainer for 2 hours, 55 minutes, which would average 13:21, I think. Again, we finished in 2:49:40, with an average mile of 12:56.

Here's the breakdown:
Before the race: I lost my personal Champion Chip! I'm so upset. I had it at the expo, because they scanned it, and then I haven't seen it since. I turned out my car, my clothes, my room... nothing. THANK GOD they went ahead and put a chip in my bag and I had the sense to make sure that one worked. But I'm highly upset that my San Diego Rock-n-Roll 2005 Marathon champion chip is gone. :(

At the race: The best costume goes to Flash Gordon and Superman. Flash Gordon wore the red unitard thing, complete with face mask and wings. And they both came in at around 4 hours for the full.

Mile 1: 13:00. Cold, crowded. Very crowded. Need more wave starts - specifically one for the walkers.
Mile 2: 12:21. The crowd is sorta thinning out. My light jacket is now around my waist.
Mile 3: 11:53. Crowd much thinner now. I was nearly tripped, though, by someone who was behind me. Seriously, somehow her foot ended up between mine. I screamed "Watch out!" as I pitched forward. Seriously people - watch where you're going!
Mile 4: 11:53. I laugh that this one was the same as the one before. And they were our best miles. And some downhills.
Mile 5: 12:44. My hands are getting numb.
Mile 6: 12:10. We ate Gus.
Mile 7: 13:05. Who knows. I know I'm getting tired, and since we were still ahead of the running man, I opted to walk an extra minute.
Mile 8: 12:41. Lori made me speed up again.
Mile 9: 12:38. My knee is starting to twitch. Took another gu. Ran into Lori's family somewhere around here.
Mile 10: 13:13. Starting to reconsider training for another full marathon.
Mile 11: 13:11. One foot, two foot, one foot, two foot.
Mile 12: 13:43. Knee really hurts, but I'm not telling anyone.
Mile 13: 12:49. This is downtown, and my Garmin was acting up. I don't think this is accurate.
Last bit: 4:11. Again, the Garmin acted up. It said I actually ran 13:43 miles, which can't be right - and I'm not sure where it messed up - probably mile 12 and 13. I do believe we ran 13:2 or 13:3 from all of the dodging of people early on, but whatever.

I still PR'ed!

I am extremely wiped out now. My knee isn't hurting at all now (it stopped hurting when I stopped running) but my calves are aching. Luckily, I have a Stick and will be rolling it out.

So, life is good.

Cheers!

Hello Rodeo, Good-bye Spare Time

Today's treadmill mile: 11:20. Yippee!
Wednesday's treadmill mile: 11:40
Tomorrow's run: Last long run before the half-marathon: 8 miles.

So, Rodeo is fast approaching and I received two e-mails. At leaste twice a week, I will be driving into the city - once for choir rehearsals, once for acting rehearsals, and then once for meetings (every other week).

I wish gas prices would drop. Luckily I still loved the new Escape, so the driving won't be bad. But I'll have to give up Starbucks for 6 weeks in order to pay for the gas my car will be guzzling.

Plus, now that BAF is done, I'll have to do my long runs alone. And my long runs will be done at Memorial or Rice, so I'll have to plan them around rehearsal schedule so that I'm not driving into the city every day.

Here's to busy times.

Cheers!

New Year, Good Run

Yeah, initially today's run was to be 10 miles. Then I woke up and discovered that the temperature was a very windy 39 degrees. So I waited. And waited. And waited. Did an hour of Tae-bo.

Finally I went for a run at 1pm. The temp had risen to 54 and although the wind was still heavy, I figured if I was ever going to run today that I'd have to do it now. And I didn't drive to Memorial, didn't do 10 miles because I had to go over to my mom's house for a family lunch.

So I ran 6, which isn't too shabby. And I'm very pleased with my times. I don't know if it's because my legs were warm from the Tae-bo or because of the chilly weather, but I amassed some nice miles.

Mile 1: 12:18
Mile 2: 13:10
Mile 3: 12:24
Mile 4: 12:49
Mile 5: 12:47
Mile 6: 12:11

Overall pace: 12:36.

I'm pleased. And now I'm going over to my mom's for a late lunch.

Cheers!