Beach!Beach!Beach!

Tomorrow the beach weekend with my friends begins, and I'm so excited! And I'm taking my personal day tomorrow, so that means no school for me. I'm co-chair of snacks for this weekend, so I've been baking. Somehow my baking never looks as good as other people's, but hey, it's an effort. Oh, and trying to find pajamas that are appropriate to wear around other people. Eek.
This weekend I'm looking forward to:

• Playing Wii with everyone. They all have "surprise" Miis waiting for them.
• Wearing a hooded sweatshirt at the beach. I don't know why, but I only like wearing them near water and outside.
  
• TRIVIAL PURSUIT AND SCRABBLE!!!!!!!
• Donna's cooking and John's drink making. If they had a Food Network show, it would kick ass.
  

The big move is getting very close, and a little frightening. When I think about it I have to take a quick deep breath. It's not like I don't know what to expect in Sioux Falls, but maybe more because I do. I'm picturing myself in my new house, and loving that, but everything else is sort of blank. Like I've said before I get pictures in my mind that go with words, and when I think of "new job" and "new friends" and "church" it's all blank. I recognize the uneasiness though, after moving so much, as a mix of excitement and anticipation. There's always the hope that the blank space will be filled by something better than you would have guessed. I can't think about it any more right now though.

I finished reading Gathering Blue a couple nights ago, and loved it. I was hesitant to pick it up because the title sounded to me like it would be a dog book, and that it would have the normal dog book plot: dog is found in a sad state, nursed to health, does something amazing to endear itself to owner, and dies. Ick.

But, there are no dogs. Well, one, named Branchie, but he doesn't really enter into the plot. Anyway, if you liked The Giver, I'd highly recommend it. If you haven't read The Giver, read that one first. I have to say though, the end of Gathering Blue disappointed me. Though Lois Lowry is of course entitled to writing her own ending, I would have done it differently. There is something just so unsatisfying with Kira staying in the Council Edifice, especially after the gruesome description of the leg braces on the singer. Has anyone read The Messenger, which supposedly completes the trilogy?

In other book related news, I had a great teaching moment today. I know I'm doing something right when the kids don't want to stop reading. We're reading Freak the Mighty in 7th grade, and at one point I decided I wanted to have the kids just listen to me read for the rest of class. They're not great readers, and so I wanted them to just hear the story for a while. I asked them to close their books, and they freaked out. Seriously, they were like "noooo!" and "It's just getting so good!"

That was great. When they finally all had them closed and I told them I was going to read to them, there was a sigh of relief. And this afternoon, after school I found a girl sneaking a book out of the box so she could read it during study hall. It was a great moment.

My kids also promised to reenact the scene where Freak and Max parade around the classroom chanting, and scare the teacher until she hides behind her desk. They said they want to do it to the new Language Arts teacher. I've made them promise to let me know how it goes.

Realism

This is so seventh grade:

We've been doing a unit on film in my 7th grade class, and we've spent the last few days doing a problem-solving activity on film piracy. Today the kids were working on their presentations, in which they're supposed to explain the best solution they came up with, and how it would work.

So I'm walking by a group, and I hear the kids discussing the death penalty. One of the kids who most challenges my patience had some insight to share. Watch the 7th grade logic here, folks.

Me: Um, so what does the death penalty have to do with piracy?
Him: If you do piracy, you should get the death penalty.
Me: Remember, the first thing you have to check is if your solution is realistic.
Him: Yeah, it is. It would stop piracy.
Me: Okay. The death penalty is not realistic.
Him: Why not?
Me: Because, in the US crimes like piracy are not punished by the death penalty. Something like that does not warrant the death penalty, if any crime does.
Him: Yeah, but in Asia they kill you for smoking.
Me: They kill you for smoking?
Him: Yeah, you can get the death penalty.
Me: (While giving teacher look) Do you live in Asia?
Him: No...
Me: Okay, then you cannot use the death penalty.

Sometimes, as a teacher, you must revert to 7th grade logic to be heard. :)

Time is a strange these last few weeks in California. As far as school goes, it can't go fast enough. Our seventh grade boys have this genetic predisposition to constantly touch one another. It might be shoving, pushing, tapping, slapping, bumping, or any other verb that involves one person touching another. It seems like something small, but it's been really irritating. I am looking forward to the all school skating party the last day though.

Time is also moving slowly when it comes to the job hunt. I am trying desperately to be patient. It's actually been going quite well the last few weeks with a great interview and a few more possibilities opening up. Nothing definite yet, but some options. It's just hard to wait.

And time is moving very quickly when it comes to spending time with friends. I can't believe I'm leaving all these amazing people in less than a month. I will definitely be back to visit soon.

Leaving California will be hard, but lately I've been getting excited about the big move. Lots of changes have been going on around my house, which I've only seen through pictures.

One of the big changes is that my parents moved the piano I practiced on for years up to my house. I'm still amazed that they're giving it to me, and I'm so excited to be able to play it again. The viola is fun, but playing songs like "Go Tell Aunt Rhodie" isn't as exciting as playing more complicated songs on the piano.

I've also been checking out the cats that are available from the humane society. Tonight I found a pair of Persians named Laverne and Shirley who are already "fixed" and declawed. This is a picture of Laverne. Ever since I saw Amanda's Persian cat shaved like a lion, I've been intrigued by them. I just read though that they have a tendency to want to skip the litter box...maybe not exactly what I'm looking for.

I'm also reconsidering cat names. I've had a short list for a while: Mr. Kittyhead, Gladys, and then an old professor's name: Kathi Bailey. But, I'm open to new possibilities. I also haven't decided if I'll get 1 cat or 2. It looks like I likely won't be having a job where I travel, so maybe my cat won't need another cat to be entertained. 2 cats also may be inching toward crazy cat lady a little sooner than I'd like.

I

am

so

done

with

school.

Rory is coming to Iowa!

Last night was the very last episode of the Gilmore Girls. Sad, sad, sad....

Comparisons

During college I took an expository writing class, and a big part of the class was commenting on the writing of others. One day a classmate was writing about life on a farm, describing the "sweet smell of silage." I raised my hand to protest the collocation of the words "sweet" and "silage." The comparison just didn't work for me.

This week I found a comparison that is much more offensive. I got a copy of Anne Lamott's Grace (Eventually) from the library, and I've been voraciously reading it, hoping to find some of the wit and gravity that I felt while reading Traveling Mercies. Sadly, it has none. And the bit I read two nights ago was just horrible. Just one particular phrase really.

She describes a cab ride from SFO to her home in Marin. I was hopeful about the section because I actually know the sections of San Francisco she's describing. Her cabbie tells her he's taking a "short cut" and she starts to freak out. He eventually gets very lost in a dark part of town, and Anne thinks she's about to be murdered or something worse, and actually contemplates jumping from the moving vehicle.

She asks him for his cell phone (she didn't have hers), and decides that if he gives it to her, she won't have to jump out of the vehicle. If he doesn't, she will have to jump out of the car. Then, this phrase: "But I just sat tight; so tight; tight as a sphincter."

That may be unforgivable. It's right up there with one of my kids comparing Martin Luther King, Jr. with a low-profile, non-violent sinner Jesus.

Today I spent somewhere between 7 and 8 hours in a van with 1 other adult and a bunch of middle school girls. For the most part the girls were a lot of fun. At one point during the early morning drive the girls began to sing the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" song, which the other teacher and I also knew by heart.

The first probably 2/3 of the day was great, including the real reason we were there--a fine arts festival.

By the last hour or two of the van ride home I wanted to sew my ears closed to stop the screeching and singing. I've complained about the guy in the gym who sings to his iPod, but 2 or 3 middle school girls singing different songs with their headphones on, while intermittently screaming and having their phones ring and yelling about boys is definitely worse.

Oh, and the only car game known to middle school girls? Guess. If you're a girl, you know. Truth or Dare. Which isn't really a game at all, as all the ladies know. But whoever invented it should be awarded a medal for legitimizing gossip and asking inappropriate questions.

Overheard

Today's lunch conversation between two seventh grade girls:

Student A: Oh my gosh, I love Abercrombie!

Student B: Yeah, it's awesome! Way better than Hollister.

Student A: Yeah, I don't like Hollister. Everything's the same...it's just the same clothes in different colors.

Student B: Yeah, Abercrombie is way better.