Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve has always been the bigger holiday than Christmas for my family. We usually drive up to Redding to have an early dinner with the Mathis side of the family, then back to Grandma Dittner's to open all our family presents.

It was an extremely small Christmas on the Mathis side this year. We all fit around one table. Granda and her sister Aunt Ardie, her three children, Dawn, Gary, and Jon (Dad), and then Dawn's son, Clint, and the four others of my family. So if you can follow all those commas, it was 10. Usually we have around 20.

They're talking about lunch... so I'll be back with further details after getting dressed.

Sock Puppets

Now the last thing I expected my sisters to do when they woke up after they arrived late on Wednesday was start making sock puppets. Yes, they asked Grandma to raid their closets to make puppets... and this was not a spur of the moment decision. Nikki came prepared with felt, cardboard, hot glue and a myriad of accessories. I was delegating to crocheting a hat and a scarf for Tricia's snowboarding puppet. I then made a hat for my southern creation. She's a redheaded old lady with a pearl necklace and earrings.

So after our creations were cleaned up (we've made 6 in all) we headed into town for a trip to Gaumer's. Now Gaumer's is the town jewelry place that has a stone museum and makes and sets a lot of its own pieces. Dad started a tradition a few years back that we can all pick something out from Gaumer's for Christmas. Last year I chose a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings and this year I saw a ring that matched perfectly. It was really more expensive than I thought Dad would have liked and would have taken six weeks to size and reset, so I went with a gold and garnet pendant and earrings... they go with the rest of my USC wear.

Now as we were meandering Gaumer's, suddenly a voice says over my shoulder, "What am I getting?" My cousin Stacy had seen our truck in the parking lot and had stopped by to visit. She was having lunch with her mom and aunts from her Dad's side. A little later, Aunt Karen came for a visit. Then in came Burney, a guy who works for my Uncle. He was looking for something for the wife. Yet another example of how you can't go anywhere without bumping into someone, or several someones in Tehama County.

We then ate lunch at a grill that overlooked the Sacramento River. The place had changed ownership several times after the original owner had announced their would be no cowboy hats allowed. Bad for business apparently. The new grill had a boot scraper on the outside and a large sign over the door proclaiming cowboy hats welcome.

We went to visit Uncle Chris at his new house, but he wasn't home. Then we headed off to visit Grandma Mathis. Aunt Ardie had gone to Redding so we just visited for a bit before heading off to a quick trip to Walmart before going home.

Dinner was fried chicken followed by a game called American History. I kept hitting the random Uncle Sam slot that told me to go back one space. I think I came in a respectable 3rd or 4th out of seven. Man, board games take and exceptionally long time with seven players.

Shopping and Small Town Living

On Monday Grandma, Mom and I headed to "The Mall" to finish some last minute shopping. We drove the thirty miles into Chico and stopped at Target before heading off to Blockbuster and Barnes and Nobles to finish off. We stopped at The Hacienda. Only in Gerber would all the waitresses be non Latino in a Mexican restaurant. The food was pretty good.

In the evening, we headed over to Aunt Karen's for a birthday party where my little cousins Zach, 9, and Jasmine, 6, conned me into playing Crazy 8's after dinner. There's two little card sharks in the making. Maci, 9 months, was cute crawling around and pulling herself up into a standing position. She even danced a bit when they turned on the musical dancing flower.

I had fun tickling Zach and hanging Jasmine upside down... you know all the fun things that older cousins do to young ones. I was apparently so entertaining, that when they came to visit me on Tuesday, they wanted me to come home with them.

I chased them around Grandma's house, hiding in a closet to scare Zacharie. I even showed them the secret door. In the game room, there's a bathroom on one end that has a door that leads to the second attached garage. On the other end of the room is a camouflaged door without a handle that leads to a closet that also has a door to the garage. Because it has no handle, once you're in, it's impossible to open from the other side if you hold the handle on the other side. That door always used to capture my imagination when I was a kid. I played some hide and seek with them until I got yelled at for running in the house.

Uncle Chris, the kids, Dad and I headed to Los Molinos for lunch at a place where the waitress called you dear, and knew Uncle Chris's order down pat. They gave us some crayons and coloring mats that must have been left over from Halloween. I colored in my pumpkin and ghost. Zach turned his over and started playing tic tac toe with me. Man, I was out of practice. He kept winning. I felt like an idiot.

Back at Grandma's they tried to keep me with them, but I didn't have a ride back from their house to Grandma's if I wanted to go. I promised to see them later. They were apparently over today, and I smiled when I heard that they'd asked after me.

Today we went to see National Treasure in Chico. It was good, but not spectacular. I really enjoyed seeing all the bits of DC and Philly that we saw on our trip over the summer.

I swear that Aunt Karen knows everyone in town. Everywhere we went today, she found someone that she knew. At the movies, she knew two girls in the bathroom. In the fabric store, it was a lady, and in the CostPlus World Market parking lot, it was another lady. I mean we were 30 miles away from her house, and yet there were three! I guess that's what you get when you've lived in the same small town your whole life.

On the way home we stopped at got some Take and Bake Pizza, as you can't get pizza delivered in Gerber. Can you imagine? No pizza? They wanted to know why I didn't just go pick up my pizza rather than have it delivered. It was so much more expensive. Man, saving $3 is not worth getting into the car and driving somewhere and carting it back up the stairs.

So now I've got us all caught up. I'm sitting here typing away on Grandma's spiffy laptop with the 19.4 k speed modem, only half listening to the town gossip about people I have no idea existed before this point. They're watching Wheel of Fortune and I'm desperately craving a Diet Coke.

I totally forgot to mention the helicopter. Yes. They called Uncle Chris and said they had a search warrent and were going to search and if they found it, he could haul it away immediately. That was on Monday.

On Tuesday, they called and said they'd found it, but he couldn't have it. I think they said it was still in one piece... apparently it's never been flown either. Sigh. Uncle Chris was a bit miffed that they needed it for evidence, but hopefully he'll get it back soon. The guy was the known felon who stole it after all. Moral of the story: Never let a known felon rent the same storage space where you keep your helicopter.

The Lost Weekend Part II

"This road must go somewhere... it has a line down the middle of it." Dad has some famous shortcuts... but Petty John Road turned out to be a doozy. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

When my dad announced that we were going to church with my grandmother on Sunday, I wasn't the only one that gave him a strange look. You see, my dad hasn't been to church for... well... maybe since Oklahoma was the answer. He thought he'd give my grandma a Christmas gift by going with her to the church that he helped build when he was about 14. His name was in the concrete somewhere.

The service included a Christmas pagaent that included two women reading a script of the Christmas story while about five people donned different costumes and pantomimed the script. They asked us to sing from the hymnal in order to facilitate costume changes.

After church Dad suggested we take a Sunday drive and Grandma wanted to see the new mansions that were going up outside of Red Bluff. We drove up to Adobe and stared at the houses that rivaled any of the mansions in Beverly Hills. We drove out past the new Home Depot about to open and Grandma mentioned that Red Bluff was about to get an In N Out Burgers. Yum...

Dad took us out past Red Bank Road and we wound our way through the countryside. It's quite breathtaking, actually, how empty and vast that part of the country is. Once we'd driven for about an hour, Dad thought we should try a road that he knew to cut across to Reed Creek Road. Petty John wasn't paved. It wound through a hunting reserve and we drove for about 45 minutes and saw only two houses. At the first house, there was a man outside, but typically of Dad, he didn't want to bother him so we kept on the road and it began to wind upwards in the wrong direction.

The second house we passed, I truly wished I'd had a camera. Blazened across the side were letters that proclaimed it "Da Ranch." On a structure that perhaps was once a mining cabin, but now was nearly a bunch of boards propped up against each other, was mounted a satellite dish. We continued past Da Ranch for another 15 minutes before Dad realized we were now in the pines. If we drove much further we'd head into the mountains that separated us from the coast.

Finally we turned around and headed back, giving up hope that we'd reach the road that we planned on. Back at Grandma's we looked at a map which showed that turning around was a good idea. There weren't any other crossroads until we reached the top of the mountain.

On our nice little Sunday drive we saw the following wildlife: one gray squirrel, doves, quail, a hawk, a huge flock of turkeys, goats, sheep, wild pigs, horses, mules, alpacas, and large group of surly cows who seemed annoyed as we drove up to them and wanted to use the road they were standing on.

We arrived back at Grandmas long enough to sit down for an hour before heading to Redding for dinner at the Hatchcover on the Sacramento River. When we arrived, Uncle Gary was already there, and as we debated about waiting for Aunt Dawn, the hostess announced haughtily, "We don't seat partial parties." Dad leaned over her little podium and said, "You might want to say that a bit nicer." Aunt Dawn walked through the front door a few moments later and the Haughty Hostess seated us. The waiter was entertaining and friendly. Dad managed to spill his wine onto the table and me. He blamed it on the wine menu falling over, but I didn't buy it.

Conversation at dinner.

Uncle Gary: So Janyce, did your brother ever find out who stole the helicopter?
Mom: Someone stole Chris's helicopter?
Me: Uncle Chris has a helicopter?
Dad: It was probably that known felon he was renting to.
Me: Since when has he had a helicopter?
Gary: I read it in the paper. It was on all the news stations.
Me: So how does someone steal a helicopter?
Mom: Oh, he's never actually flown it. It's an experimental craft. It was cheap, so he bought it.

Yeah. So Uncle Chris became a minor celeb when someone stole his helicopter. Later we found out that the news media hounded my grandma for more details and she ended up "the grumpy old lady who answered phones at Dittner Melons" in some news article. Guess they didn't know that was Chris's mom.



Overall, it was an entertaining day.

The Lost Weekend

Here begins the travel journal of Omouse.

I fell asleep Friday night before I could see the end of The Last Starfighter. When I was a kid, that was one of the ultimate movies. Now the special effects look like a cheap computer game. I felt a little guilty after leaving Liz leaning over the toilet after some bad seafood, but it was 11pm and I still hadn't finished packing.

We left at 6:00am on the dot and it wasn't until after we were on the road that I learned I'd been hijacked to Turlock. Where is Turlock you ask? Well, it's between Modesto and Merced on the 99. If you still don't have a clue, imagine the middle of California in the middle of nowhere... and that's Turlock. Apparently it's the home of the quilting place that Mom sends her quilts to in order to be quilted. She was picking one up and dropping one off.

On the way to Turlock we got lost in Bakersfield looking for breakfast. Now it wasn't exactly Dad's fault. The fog was so thick that we couldn't see the Rite Aid on the left side of the street until we'd turned around and gone the other way. We finally settled on the donut shop in plain sight on the corner. Finding the freeway was another adventure, but soon we were heading northbound first.

Once in Turlock, we dropped by the quilt shop and then headed to lunch at The Red Steer. Yeah. Buffet style French Dip and BBQ sandwiches. The guy behind the counter was loud brash and very male in a very efficient manner. The decore was early 80's and the food was okay, but bland. I'd had better sandwiches. Dad said the potato salad tasted like plain potatoes. He was almost tempted not to eat it... almost.

I called Liz on my cell as we got in the car and was laughing so hard that I could hardly talk to her. We managed to get lost on the way to the freeway. The title is beginning to make sense... huh?

We finally got to Grandma's at about 3:30 and Stacy and Karen came to visit. We had enchilada cassarole for dinner and then I went to bed a bit early. Riding around in a car all day is rather tiring work.

I did manage to get the rents to listen to my cd's all the way. I didn't have to listen to any talk radio, and totally got to hear some country cd's that I'd forgotten I'd had. I tried to talk Dad into some Scarlet Pimpernel or Chicago... but he wouldn't go for it.

I'm so PO'd at myself right now

I had this really long post that I thought was really cool... And I lost it, while trying to save it. I thought I hit copy before I posted it. Instead I pushed paste and pasted a letter that I wrote to the parent of one of my problem children. Not happy at all. Grrr.

On the bright side, only three and a half more class days until Christmas.

Countdown

Ten Class Days until Christmas

Some people count down the days in December, I count school days.

Our choir concert on Saturday went very well, except for the few backhanded compliments from the mo that I have learned how to ignore.

It was the premiere of the Westminster Chamber Orchestra and we also hired some brass, keyboard and drums to play along with us. We seriously rocked. I decomposed my solo slightly, but I think by the grimace on his face, that David the Director was the only one to notice.

I had to miss the 4th quarter of The Game to book it from Westwood to Westminster in time for call time. Liz and I brought kebabs, couscous, and strawberries with angel food to Rob's. Yummy. Annelise was conspicuously absent after Ross and Ofe offered her an extra ticket to the game. Ken didn't seem to mind. Annelise kept calling, telling us that Ofe was going to get them beaten up as they were on the edge of the UCLA student section.

Sunday was The Day of the Vegetable. It rained... all day. Liz was sick so we just vegged and I worked on Christmas gifts while we watched movies with commentaries = Return of the Jedi, Princess Diaries. We also watched To Catch a Thief, Pillow Talk, and most of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. There was Nothing on TV yesterday. Sweeps must be over.

Getting in the Spirit

Played some of my new cd "Retro Christmas" that I picked up at Ralphs. The kids seemed to like it. I like it. It's got two songs by Ella, one Billie Holiday, and one Louis Armstrong with several others.

There's supposed to be a Walk Through today, but I've yet to recieve visitors... but there's still two periods to go. Usually they come in through 3 and 4, and 4 is next so we'll see.

I've got class tonight. Have to write a query letter. Oh Goody.

Drunk Drivers

Here's the Press Telegram Article about the death of my former student.

Crash

So I was running high on my NaNoSuccess as I walked to school this morning. I had my sweater and jacket and Griffindor/USC/Wilson colored scarf on, even though it's not quite finished.

I got to school and started being productive when I hear the announcements. Cryptic announcements on the PA are always bad. Always.

"Teachers, please check your emails. If any teachers or students are in need, the counselors will be available in the counseling center all day."

Somebody died. I go to check my email, and there's nothing there. Great. Go back to work, every few minutes glancing at the monitor for email notification. After about five minutes it pops up and I don't want to read it... but I do.

"Dear Wilson Staff,
Many of you saw the articles in the Press Telegram yesterday and today about a 16 year old girl who died of injuries suffered in a car accident over the holiday weekend. The girl was Kathleen Finucane's daughter, Caitlin.

As details become available, we will let you know. If you wish to send a card, her address is..."

Caitlin was one of the many Caitlin/Katelyn's I had at Rogers. My stomach soured and my mood came crashing down. In a school of 4500, you're bound to lose a couple of people during the year, but this is the first one that has been my student.

We as teachers spend so much time and effort pushing these kids towards their adult life, we seldom get to know how they turn out in the end. We like to think we've made a difference. We like to think that they will all live long productive lives and think back to their childhood with fondness. Something like this stops us in our tracks and makes us reevaluate who we are and what we do and what we teach.

It somehow feels wrong to feel solace in the fact that Caitlin is an exception, that most of our students do grow old and die after us.

Enough Said.

So I had a bad week.

For some strange reason, my wall hit me week 3 instead of week 2. But I think I'm over it now... I just have to get 800 words in today to stay up to par. Got choir and a two hourEnglish meeting after work. Oh Goody. Though I'm giving a test to my Per. 5... maybe write then.

So on Friday on my way to Claude's retirement party I got stung by a bee. I had stopped for gas and was just starting my car when, OOWW!! I looked down at my arm and there was a bee. Not sure if I've ever gotten out of my car so fast before.

There was no one to offer sympathy, so I rolled up a catalog and smashed the hell out of the bee, who was trying to sting my window. Then I got back in my car and curse up a blue streak as loudly as possible.

The margaritas helped on Friday, but it's Tuesday and there's still a red spot on my arm about two quarters wide and it itches. Grr.

Little Red Dot

So I know I'm going to have some people very unhappy with me tomorrow when they read this and see my pretty little guage to the left waaay ahead of the little red dot.

You see, LA and Central Coast forums had a little contest. A 48 hour write-a-thon.

I did 9200 even. Whoo hoo!

But the scary thing is... I'm still behind last year by about 3k.

But I broke 30 this morning. I'm officially 61% done.

97 Bottles of Ale on the Wall...

So my manuscript reached 97 pages last night.

That's 12 point Courier New, doublespaced, one inch margins 97 pages.

It sounds so impressive.

Of course when I type, I keep it in 12 point Times New Roman, single spaced, inch and a quarter margins. Then it's only 39 pages. Eh.

It feels like Monday today, because I had no school yesterday. And then I remind myself that it's Friday and do a Happy Dance. I've been happy dancing all day.

One Lump or Two?

Okay, so I sat down at my puter to do a little noveling and suddenly I realized that Liz had booby trapped it.

Two Lumps: The Adventures of Ebenezer and Snooch

It may be my new favorite. I laughed my ass off for about an hour.

Okay, noveling time.

A noveling we go,
a noveling we go,
high ho the the merry oh,
a noveling we go...

In and Out of Grooves

I feel like someone took a vacuum cleaner to my ear and sucked my energy out. My chest hurts, my eyes hurt, my throat hurts, and it just now occured to me that I have aspirin in my desk.

Yesterday I knocked a full can of Diet Coke onto my keyboard. After a good cleaning, it functions... so far. Maybe still slightly tacky.

I wrote very little yesterday... but then I was ahead in my word count anyway. Still am.

The Choir board meeting was completed in an hour, almost exactly, and I was time in home to watch the Las Vegas/Crossing Jordan crossover = two very hot guys in two very different ways.

Having a hard time getting up the oomph to do anything today. Need to go down to the copy room.... but am procrastinating.

Oh, and the whole reason I started this entry: My new NaNoBlog! Had to keep up with everyone else didn't I?

Baty Report

So on Friday I get home feeling good from what I hope was a productive parent conference, in half English, half Spanish no less, and we head off to Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena. It's fairly famous, as it is one of the best and largest independent bookstores in CA. The carpool lane seriously rocks. We managed to cut off about half an hour, but still got stuck in the downtown crappiness.

We were still early though, which is not a problem at all. Had lots of fun meandering around. We were seriously disappointed by the fact you couldn't take Vroman's merchandise into the connecting coffee bar.

I found a seat in about the third row, and some familiar faces came in. There's always that awkward moment when you know someone looks familiar, but you've only met them once or twice but you've seen their posts online? It's weird. I recognized Cybele right away, as she sat next to me. I pulled out my little PDA and keyboard, intent on getting a little writing done and looking very industrious to everyone else. I wasn't the only one with a laptop or writing device there.

"So do you like writing on that keyboard?" A voice from above me asked. I looked up and there was Chris. I suppose it must be strange to be in that semi-celebrity state where people just look at you slacked jawed before processing the information that yes, Chris Baty was talking to me.

I don't remember my answer, but I don't think I embarrassed myself too badly... probably not at all.

Chris started to pass out sticker name tags that said, "Hello, my novel is _____."

"Don't fill them out yet," he said. "Wait until November 25 or so and fill in the space with 'DONE.'"

I thought this was hilarious. Cybele said she'd use it as a laptop sticker.

Chris started off his lecture with saying right away that he wasn't going to actually read from the book, just discuss his philosophy. He took a poll. About 75% percent of us were registered Wrimos, about 25 percent of us were repeat offenders, and only about six had "won" before.

He talked about half an hour, outlining NaNo with his witty reparte and then opened it up to a discussion, where the new Wrimo's could ask questions which could be answered by either Chris or the veterans. It was a really cool, relaxed way of totally covering the reasoning and pitfalls of NaNoWriMo.

After the hour and a bit was over, I stood in line and got my book signed. It says, "To Jenny, Here's to a third month of inspiration & literary mayhem!" Coolio isn't it? I suppose I need to practice all my fun quips for when I have to do booksignings.

At home, I caught up on my word count while Lizzie watched Without a Trace.

So on Saturday, I get up, make my wordcount of the day, then head out to The Tropical, a Cuban cafe on Silverlake and Sunset Blvds. There, in a very dark and scenic room with poured concrete floors, leopard print couches, and a calendar on the wall filled with AA and NA meeting dates, about 15 LA Wrimos gathered with Chris Baty for coffee. Russ, my pal Aarrrgh_User name, Cybele, and several others all sat and talked about what we were doing, how we were doing, and how we planned to do.

We went around the room and announced word counts.

I HAD MORE WORDS THAN CHRIS BATY! Bwahahahahaha! Of course I'm not exactly on a book tour or driving from San Fran to LA and back. But he should have plenty of time to write on the plane to DC and Texas next week.

Overall, I found Chris Baty to be as funny and inspiring in person as he is in print. I feel absolute sorrow for those of you who cannot bask in his presence and feel the "warm sexual glow" of a real novelist. (His words... not mine.)

Who needs Chris Baty?

Who needs Chris Baty when you've got amusing friends like these.

Mel is all angsty in her blog about the election and Clare consols her with these comments.

"You have to look on the positive side:
1. You still have something to complain about
2. At least you're not in Kansas, where Bush swept the board (apparently)
3. John Kerry looks like the tree people from LOTR, an amusing fact that changes the way you look at him forever! Anna thinks Kerry looks like Postman Pat. And she didn't know if he was Kerry or Carrie because both sound the same in an American accent. And she wants to know why Bush isn't on the stamps or coins. I said it would scare people when they mail a letter or buy something and then realise who they actually voted for. "

I never thought about it that way, but now that you mention it, I think John Kerry is an Ent!

Halfway through the day and already have two parent conferences scheduled for the next two days. Hopefully we'll make some progress! Been a busy day.

Adding to that...

Here's a reason I love Chris Baty, founder of NaNoWriMo

"Hey there! Oh man, two days in, and the excitement of it all has returned. Like the irresistible, pathetic overuse of the word-count function."

Too true. The man is brilliant. Going to see him on Friday.

Cat Wrassling

So Norman is in one of his moods. He was wrassling with Eddie until Ed got smart and sat on the end of the bed where there was fewer avenues of attack. Then he decided to attack the rug. Now he's meandering about the apartment complaining.

I'm tired. Still haven't made the shift from Daylight Saving Time... but I did make word count today. I'm officially a day ahead, which is good, considering I may have no computer time at all on Thursday. I need to play around with my Palm. The other day I couldn't get it to sync. Otherwise, I will be sitting at In N' Out and typing madly away on my little gizmo.

I'm not writing it as linearly as before. I've got several chapters started, and not finished... but I know where I'm going. I just have to fill in the blanks.

Today at school was frustrating. Tomorrow Period 6 will probably be lots of parent phone calls, wondering why their children are disrespectful and lazy... well, not couched in quite those same terms, but you get the idea.

Let the Race Begin!

So NaNo has officially gotten off to a bounding start! You can check my meter to the right... yes you can see I've written an impressive 3,451 words so far. I'm camped out in my bedroom and ran through Brahms Requiem two and a half times. I definitely need to find earphones with a longer plug. These are so not going to cut it.

Word On High

So Word On High (aka Mom) has come down and told me I can't talk about my family online. Well here's me thumbing my nose at Ma.

Let's start off with The Oldest sister, shall we?

I've always been impressed with Nikki's grace. From the calmness and surety of the way her fingers move over a keyboard, to the silent presence her posture makes in a room, Nicole has always exhibited a smoothness of motion that reminds me of a ballet. She'll always be smarter than me. It used to kill me when she'd make my papers bleed, but now that I do it myself, I know what an impact a good critical eye can have on a piece of writing. She's a great critic and editor. She's got a gift for the expository where I sometimes run away from. Nikki's organized in ways I could never hope to be. She's a perfectionist, but willing to compromise where it counts. And did I mention she sails and cooks too?

The Youngest:

Tricia excels in areas I couldn't hope to imagine being proficient at. She's got four phones and manages them all with the strategic precision of a general. I'd have lost at least 2 by now. She's a natural leader. I muddled my way through my terms as Worthy Advisor. Tricia ran the show for over a year and made it look effortless. She has a real drive to find a job that brings her not only success, but challenges her in new ways. She has a nack for dealing with kids that sometimes flumoxes me. Tricia has an easy speech and wit that turns confrontational into conversational, making her the greatest people person I've ever met. She got a natural nack for networking and resource building. And if she ever wanted a date, my guy students ALWAYS point her out of the picture of the three of us... and want to know who she is.

So Mom, Blegghghghghgh.

SAD

It's really rather creepy outside my classroom. It's about two minutes before school starts and the clouds and the sun are having a fight. The clouds are winning. The trees look rather ominous with their straggly patches where they've shed portions of their leaves like they've got bad poodle haircuts. Rabid green poodles. Yeah.

Probably isn't helping that I'm still in a very bad sad mood. I just started crying this morning as they showed the news story of the Hendricks family plane crash. I keep telling myself that I've got to get over it... this funky mood, but if my students do anything to piss me off today, they're gonna know it.

I came home from doing my laundry yesterday, and I didn't think I was going to make a big deal of it, but the moment I came through the door, Liz knew something was wrong. She came over to give me a hug and I started bawling and trying to get the story out, but it was just blubbery and hiccuppy and bits and pieces of phrases.

It's stupid really, how much I can be hurt by my sister, but no matter how old I get, when she makes her digs I want to scream and scratch and hit and bite, and only the adult in me backs away and leaves her triumphant.

Because I know, whatever I say, I will be wrong. Because she has a guest and I don't live there. Because she wasn't as good in school. Because I'm older Because I know better.

I know better.

Long Week

Man, Monday seems so long ago... and there's a story I'd like to tell about it, but I'm afraid I can't tell you about it. Just that Nikki got busted!

Tuesday was choir night. I did another one of those listen and pretend to sing and only sing when the altos got low enough for me to sing baritone. I also had an English Department meeting that lasted two BLOODY hours after school.

Wednesday was fun. Lizzie and I went coffee shop hunting. We drove down Broadway to four cafes I had found on the internet. After driving all the way to Long Beach Blvd without stopping (mainly because we sighted potential cafe as we drove past), we headed back and finally ended at a place called Library. It was cool in the atmostspere department. It had brick walls that were lined with crazy photos and bookcases of used books you could purchase for a dollar. There were all sorts of mismatched comfy chairs and coffee tables. Unfortunately on the way out, Lizzie tripped and sprained her ankle. "Is she okay, Miss Mathis?" Suddenly one of my former students appeared - one from Rogers that I based a character in my screenplay on. It was rather random.

Thursday was class night. I didn't do as well as I would have liked on my pages. I was concentrating on sensory and didn't get enough plot or dialog... which is funny because usually I have the opposite problem. On the way home, Lizzie asked me to stop by and pick her up an ace bandage. So I wandered into the grocery store at about 10:30. I think it's back to being open 24 hrs after the grocery strike. I grabbed a bandage, some fruit bars and a bunch of bananas. The line was literally ten people deep. Finally when they got a second line open, I got in the wrong one. Slooooooow! This was all made worse by the fact that I had to peeeee. I looked back when I was second in line and saw there were now 10 people waiting in both of the lines. Fun.

Senza voce no longer

If my Italian is correct... that means sin voz nada mas... or without voice no more!

That doesn't mean that I don't sound like a crackly old two pack an hour hag.

Disappointed currently as it seems Nano is down.

Last weekend was a bit exhausting, but fun.

Started off with a football game - ASU vs. USC. Now the fun part of that is the teams have the same colors, but generally the ASU wore bright yellow and USC wore cardinal. There were all sorts of drunken fools... especially the ASU fans behind us who kept literally kicking us in the butt. They were extremely cocky when they scored their one touchdown, even though the score was 21 to 7 at that point. They left at halftime when it was currently obvious we were kicking their ass, figuratively, of course.

Off we went to Rob's party where he had some amazing yummy stuff. I didn't try the salmon, but the beef stew was excellent. I nearly fell asleep on the couch after a margarita and a glass of wine. I passed on the grapa and limonchella, as I was the one who was going to drive home.
It poured on the way home and has been raining intermittently all weekend.

On Sunday I went to the Yarn Shop and grocery store for beer and chips before Liz and I headed over to Annelisa and Ken's house for their party. If I thought Rob had food... holy moly. Everything was great, and Jessica kept fixing me drinks. There were a lot of people there I hadn't seen in a while, including Ben, a British conspiracy theorist who thinks it wasn't a plane, but a missile shot into the Pentagon on 9/11.

I highly aprove of K and A's new house. They are totally redoing the guest house in the back. It's all torn up except for Chris's room. I got to meet his Brazilian Boa Nena that Annelisa likes to pretend doesn't exist. Snakes are no problem for me.

Okay... I'm totally rattling now... no pun intended.

So losing my voice has lost it's appeal. It's rather difficult to communicate when someone is pushing chairs into the way of the piano you're pushing and you can't warn them to stop.

And when a nervy English teacher actually says tick tock tick tock as you make copies of the test you're giving next period at the onlyoperating machine, you can't reply, "Hey, I lost my conference to PSAT proctoring and have 4 preps... what's your excuse?"

Not to mention students who seem to think you're faking it.

I wish.

I'm Princess Agbani!

Which Nigerian spammer are You?

Super Trooper

So is it sad that the only reason I really showed up to work today was because I couldn't find the sub system number?

I'm running a fever even. 100. Considering last night I was running a 97.5 that's icky.

Back to School Night was last night. Things went well. Very few parents but no major catastrophes. Got home at 8:45 and went straight to bed.

Ever notice how a foriegn language becomes completely incomprehensible when you're sick? Had to have my students repeat themselves multiple times to put the jumble into my head and make meaning of it.

Not the sharpest tack today.

In addition: Sig Files

So last year my sig file for NaNo was:

Yoda of Borg are we: Futile is resistance. Assimilate you, we will.

Which you've got to admit is pretty funny... but any suggestions for this year?

Escribiendo

Today is Official NaNoWriMo sign-up day... well if it isn't, it should be. I've been looking forward to it for weeks now. They reopen the forums and start sign-ups again at 3:00PST. I hope they have good t-shirts this year. I love my black one.

I'm not so stressed today as yesterday... I'm in the second phase - exhaustion. My class went well yesterday, and when I explained the concept for my new novel, no one stared at me as if I had three heads. Screenwriter Man even mentioned something about a physics bubble... which, though interesting, doesn't exactly fit with the rest of Seven and Tamarin... which I think are the titles so far... rather than Seven, Seven II, and Seven III. The new one has a working title of Questing.

I didn't mention that the book I was What Ifing was the third in a series. I mean I didn't want to cause a stir for taking a class, "Beginning Your Novel" when I'd already written 2 1/2.

Serious Bummage

The thing I've been dreading for over a week now has finally happened. Was so stressed out I had to get a fix. Yeah. Spearmint gum. At school. And I may not spit it out when my conference period is over.

They dissolved one of my classes. Just one, mind you... not two. So I know have a schedule that looks like this.

Period1 Conference
Period 3 ELD 1
Period 5 English 3/4
Period 7 Reading

Period 2 ELD 1
Period 4 ELD 1
Period 6 Conference
Period 8 Reading

So I'll have three different classes to teach on odd days and two on even days. And I'll have conference at the beginning of the day rather than in the middle.

New books, new curriculum, new students, new standards, new department.

Did I mention I hate sophomores. Really. Now I have three classes of them.

Goody. Blowing off steam. Deep breath. In. Out. In. Out.

Conversations

Just had a heart to heart talk with Miguel and Eduardo, two rather immature Latino students in my seventh period. It was more a clarification than anything.
"This is what I want. I want you to sit in your own seat. I want you to read during silent reading, and I want you to do your work. What do you want?"
"Umm... I want that. Yeah, I want that too," Miguel says after Eduardo leaves.
"How do we get that?"
"Dunno."
"Think about it. We already agreed to switch Eduardo. Will that work?"
He thinks for a moment. "Yeah. Yeah."
After further prompting I finally ask, "So what are you going to do on Wednesday?"
"Sit down, be quiet, do my work and read."
"And what happens if you don't?"
"I get dentention?"
"Then?"
"ACE?"
"And then?"
"Referral."
"Good. See you on Wednesday"

Hopefully that will work.

Other than that I think I got myself in trouble on Saturday by singing a song with a duck, kangaroo and orangutan in it in front of Ken and Rob. If you know the song, you'll know why they were so shocked to hear it come from my sweet tempered mouth... even if I'd already had a very large vodka and orange.

Kick My Own Butt

Yeah, so it's been almost a week since I've updated... so you might want to settle in for the long haul.

Saturday started itself off with shoe shopping and Wimbledon and finished itself out with a birthday party for at The Palamino. It's a restaurant with a nice bar in Westwood. We stopped at a Ralphs and picked up a small cheesecake and strawberry shortcake for the party. We were still early so we ordered drinks. We told the waitress that the food should go on one bill, and the drinks should be picked up by the individuals as they went.

I had a great time watching the football game, chatting and Ken-watching... which I think is a sport in itself. He delighted in shouting "Bush!!!" as often as possible, encouraging Liz to do the same. Ken likes the thought of a female Democrat yelling Bush whether it's USC football's Reggie Bush or otherwise.

I finally met the ice skater and company and saw some people I hadn't seen since Liz's last party. When the bills arrived... there were two... one for food and one for everyone else... and of course, most people had cards. The others were rather upset that she didn't farm it out to separate checks, so the manager spent about 20 minutes straightening out the mess.

There was an 18% gratuity added to everything, and others were grumpy about paying it, as the waitress had been ignoring them. The waitress lost out on any extra I would have put it when I paid separately. I guessed about $15 but it was only $11 and change. Still, everyone managed to get untangled and be upbeat about it.

On Sunday we went to Ikea for meatballs and furniture. I bought a dresser for Lizzie, a narrow Billy, a wide Billy, and the pieces to make a bookshelf for school. We unloaded with no injury, managing to cart them upstairs, then headed back to Mom's to deliver the truck. I could tell she wanted to go out to dinner so we headed off to a quaint little Mexican place around the corner. I had fajitas that could have served three. The takeout box was completely full when I left.

So we get home and I decided to start putting the dresser together while watching Jane Eyre. Lizzie promptly begins to doze. Now it's not hard to put together IKEA furniture. They have rather clear wordless directions... but I managed to put the plastic floor guards of one piece on the top, rather than the bottom. So when I tried to put the top on, there was a little plasticky thingy blocking the holes. Of course the left side stuck when I tried to lift it and smack, the desktop fell on top of my foot, and cracked one of the support boards. Undaunted I iced it and then went back to work, cursing little plastic doohickies. I promptly backed up onto a hammer and took a centimeter of skin off the bottom of my foot. I stopped to bleed for a moment but DAMNIT I WAS GOING TO FINISH!

And I did. Lizzie and I dragged it into the back bedroom and stuck the drawers in. Spiffy.

Monday was reserved for Bookcase I - Narrow. It went together with no personal injuries. Watched Brother Bear then headed off to Nikki's house for dinner and organizational meeting. I'm so not the perfectionist. I hope we pull this off without getting down each other's throats, but it was quite civil.

On Tuesday I took the train out to Downtown and met Lizzie on the way. We went to our favorite Happy Hour spot and had 3 drinks each and lovely appetizer type food and dessert. Analisse met us and then we headed off to see Little Shop of Horrors. It was great! I had a serious problem repressing my lip movements. The puppetry was uber cool. I love that musical.

Lizzie took my car on Weds. because hers is doing a weird fishtailing thing. Upon her return we headed over to Mom's to watch the season finale of Amazing Race. SOOOO glad that Chip and Kim won. Just wish idiot head and annoying mouth hadn't come in second.

Thursday was marked with my first class of Beginning Your Novel. Yeah, it sounds a little cheezy but it includes info on format, marketing, and submitting... so hopefully it will be useful.

Then there's today. Woke up with just enough time to leave the house. Tired.

One Upped on the Celebrity Front

So I thought we were so cool spotting local ABC 7 newscaster Ric Romero at my mom's birthday dinner. Never mind that we couldn't figure out what channel he was on, but still, when dining in Westminster/Huntington Beach, one does not often have celebrities parking next to them.

Then Liz got home. "Guess who I saw a movie with?"

Bob Hope?

Nope.

And not just one... but two cool stars.

Miguel Ferrer - who in a quick IMDB search confirmed was the cool boss on Crossing Jordan and the voice of Tarakudo in Jackie Chan... which if I remember correctly is the big floating disembodied head.

and...

wait for it...

Viggo.

Man. Am I green?

At least my fingernails are... with sparkles.

I want Viggo for my birthday.

Birthday Madness!

First off - Feliz Cumpleanos para mi mama y mi amiga Liz.

Secondly, I want to strangle my 7th period reading class. They're all ansy and bouncing off the walls.

I've got a serious case of Jekyl and Hyde. My eighth period class is good natured, quiet, and they ACTUALLY GROANED when I told them Silent Reading was OVER. "Can we read some more???" I wanted to hug every single one of them. I felt like smacking most of 8th period today.

Started reading this book yesterday and was tempted to mail it to Mel before I even finished it. It's called English as a Second Language by Megan Crane. It's about a girl who goes to get an MA in England because her ex says she can't. The first few pages she could have been talking about Canterbury (She went to York). I'm anxious to finish, but have, you know, like birthday parties and things to go to.

New and Improved

Just added a link to Neil Gaiman's Blog... because he's cool. I really do need to pick up American Gods again. I know where it is... it's in the closet. I've seen it. I keep thinking I need to finish it, since you know, I got it signed and all... but it's been so long, I'll have to start from the beginning. I think what happened is I brought the book back from Canterbury, and then school started and it got stuck away. Every time I open the closet I think... gotta read it... and never do. But I'm going to do it now. I promise. Really.

Sandwiches

I've always been one of those odd people who've eaten their sandwiches in pieces. I think a lot of it may be due to the trama of biting into one too many with mustard or mayo squishing out. Mom would never remember that I hate them. It's not as if you can really scrape it off without taking the sandwich apart and doing major surgery. I even avoided hamburgers for the longest time because if Mom didn't forget, the restaurant would.

So it's a little convenient, but I'm sitting here with a proper lunch of seven grain bread and ham slices... eaten separately, of course. Oh, and cheese... string cheese. This way, I can hopefully be not starving by 4 as usual.

Planning

SWOTD - Empezar - to start.

Sometimes I think I should learn a bit faster that the beginning of the school year is crazy. Maybe because I was the kind of student that was paranoid the first month of school about having everything the way the teacher asked for it, I really can't understand when I give students a homework assignment and find that like 2% have actually accomplished it.

I am becoming a better teacher though. I now PLAN for only 2% having completed it and provide alternatives accordingly. 3 Subject Notebooks for example, I purchase cheaply in mass quantity, despite the raised eyebrows from the Big Lots and Walmart personnel. I also left time for most students to rotate through my silent reading books even though I told them to come prepared.

I think teaching is 50% planning, 30% back-up plan and 20% thinking on your feet.

New School Year Madness and Al Capone

My classes are beginning to fill up, slowly but surely. I had 5 students this morning in Period 1, compared to one on Thursday. I seem to be going at a rate of one per period.

This weekend was an interesting experience. I hauled myself out of bed to take the metro downtown to volunteer for the Los Angeles Triathalon Registration pick - up. It was quick and easy... except for the stupid rule regarding no eating or drinking.

Mapquest said the Hyatt Regency was a 1/4 mile from the downtown metro stop... it was actually across the street. After changing into our pale green t-shirts, we proceeded to verify their name, distance, age, what wave they were in, start time (all participants needed to be in T1 before 6:30), color swim cap which they could get from the table behind them, luggage tags for T1 and T2, sticker for their helmet, sticker for their bike post, bib that must be pinned in all four corners (don't pin or pull the tab) or wear a race belt. I gave them a neon orange snap bracelet to get them in and out of all transition areas and told them to have a good race. I must have said that info at least a hundred times. Yup. It'll probably be etched permanantly in my head for all time.

We walked over to CPK on Fig and 7th and both ordered our usual. I also took the server up on his offered Strawberry Margarita. It was cold and yummy. We went our separate ways as Lizzie walked to USC and I went back to Long Beach. Ken had dropped out of the game on Rob so he had an extra ticket at the last minute. Liz told me he felt guilty, but hey, totally understandable. Besides, I would have missed Mr. Rocker Man on the train. He was talking when I got on and didn't stop. He stood at the front of the train with an overly large set of headphones around his neck and a pair of drum sticks in his pocket.

At first I thought he was a busker and he was going to ask everyone for spare change. Then I realized he was more the born again type. He told us all about the fact that rockers party to much. They drink and smoke and that he was a rocker and liked to party. He then started to give advice. "You ladies out there, if your man goes to jail and asks you for something, don't give it to him. Drop him. If he asks you to pass him some money in a book, or something, don't go to visit him. I went to prison, and it wasn't good. They're all dirty. They have dirty asses. HIV and syphilus. Yes. Al Capone died of syphilus in West Palm Beach Florida. In Florida. Yeah, he died of a dirty ass."

Keep in mind that he kept repeating himself, as new people got on the train. Finally someone less timid and amused as myself got on. "Hey, shut up. Don't use words like that in front of kids. Some people have their kids on this train." After a bit of word bandying, he got off the train. I turned around and mentioned he'd been talking since downtown. The girl across from me gave a sympathetic stare.

The ladies behind me started up a conversation. "Al Capone ain't my daddy. He ain't the daddy of anyone on the train, so why does he think we need to be told. Besides, Al Capone didn't die in no Florida either. He died in prison cuz he was too suspicious of the doctors to treat him. He died cuz he refused treatment. That's why the stupid ass died."

Right.

After the train, I drove to Wally world to pick up some notebooks, and got distracted by the yarn dept. Bought some to make a blanket. Couldn't find cheap notebooks so headed over to Big Lots and bought theirs. Decided to go to the rents for air conditioning and USC football game. Mom was watching the race so I went upstairs. About 5 minutes into the first quarter, I close my eyes for a minute. When I opened them again, the score was 21 to zip.

The game really wasn't all that exciting... we creamed them. It didn't help that I was dead tired. Mom called me down for pizza and I got a second wind. I started to work on my blanket and got hooked on some celebrity poker. Finally left around 1 am.

While Liz was off to her marathon practice and dinner party, I stayed home and caught some Z's. I watched Girl With a Pearl Earring and House of Sand and Fog. Girl was beautiful (especially with Colin Firth doing a lot of his specialty - brooding looks.) House was good, but depressing.

At about 8 Lizzie called and while I only caught every other word, I figured out she wanted me to go pick up the pottery. So much for my entirely pajama day. I got our napkin holder and spoon rest from Color Me Mine then headed over In N' Out for dinner. Yum.

Liz got home in the middle of Jack and Bobby, and afterwards she put on a movie about a Mormon Missionary meeting a group of gay neighbors. It was good - for what I saw of it. I couldn't keep awake so I headed off to bed before the gay guy managed to seduce the Mormon.

Why I love Fark

I love Fark. Fark is my friend. Just finished reading the coolest article. It's about Paris and the catacombs. Read it. I promise it's cool.

So it's fifth period

And I just finished a stint as signpost directionmaster. The 100 building is shaped like a V. I stood at the point and students shouted out room numbers as they rushed like chickens with their heads cut off. Several of my former students (from Rogers even) who are seniors and juniors were also getting lost. It's scary to think of my little 8th graders who are no longer little.

My ELD 1 classes are small... too small. Hoping fanatically they give them some time to fill up. I have two Cambodian students and they are going to try and put them in the same classes so our single college aide can help them both.

I pulled out my ELD flashcards and went over the alphabet. One of my former students could even alphabetize the cards... in Spanish even. I mean the things have little color codes on them as well, and he still needed help. Yikes.

I have one more conference period and then my reading classes. Hoping not to have a trio of annoyance as in last year's class.

Whoah

Just got a serious case of Back to School Googlies. That's where your stomach tightens and you can't sleep. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get the rest of my stuff done and have a smooth opening day on Weds.

Today we avoided the heat... not as hot as yesterday though. We started off at Barnes and Noble before heading over for DAMN! I just realized I left my CPK in the car! Shit.

Yeah, well after CPK we headed over to The Pike, the new entertainment complex over by the Aquarium of the Pacific. We saw Princess Diaries 2, which was seriously cheesy, and not half as good as the original, but I liked it.

After that we headed over to Color Me Mine and painted the two things I'm missing in the kitchen... a spoon rest and a napkin holder. We get them back on Thurs, so I'll let you know then how they turned out.

Right. So soon we will have everything a kitchen needs, including a long handled lighter so we don't set our polished finger nails on fire. And yes... I did... right before I realized Liz had purchased said lighter. Rather scary to see your nail aflame. Anyway.

Severe Weather Alert

I'm sincerely peeved. I heard the weather man say it was going to be in the low 80's today. NOT EVEN CLOSE!!! It was bloody 98 degrees today! That would be 36 degrees to all you C people out there. Right now it's only 29... that's 85 for the F people. And it's nine o'clock.

Liz and I decided to beat the heat and left for Long Beach Town Center where we went to Ben and Jerry's (spilled chocolate ice cream totally down the front of my white shirt) Ross, (where I bought a pretty new dress and a white shirt to change into) Petsmart, (where I bought a big ass bag of catfood and a scratchy toy thingy for cats) Barnes and Noble (where I was good and didn't buy anything except an ice tea) and a movie - Napolean Dynamite. It was cute, but not spectacular.

We thought about ribs, but had too much popcorn and soda to be hungry.

Now I did skip over the beginning of the day unpleasantness. Started off nicely. Woke up, played a little Playstation, ate a bagel. Then I decided I wanted to finish my book and about 20 pages from the end, the room started spinning like majorly in an anticlockwise direction. So I went to lay on my bed, but it got worse. After I threw up, I took a long shower and felt a bit better. The googly feeling in my stomach wasn't quite gone, but the room stopped moving. Liz got home from marathon practice and we watched a movie about a photographer who like young screwed up girls... and as soon as he got them to be less screwed up and they became independent, he couldn't handle it, and dumped them. It was called Guenivere. I liked it.

So that was my penultimate day of freedom.

Yup.

Athene19 joins the club!

So you'll notice to the right a new link... I'll post it here too... just in case you're blind.
This is Athene19's coolio new blog!

Right.

Bedtime now. Gotta get used to going to bed early to rise at ungodly hours for the dredgery called a job.

Other Stuff - Like Wil Wheaton

Yeah, I know I promised to relate some events of coolness. I'm going to try now...

Think all the way back to August 15. Just as I was grabbing the phone to ask for directions... Liz calls me and tells me she told me the wrong address for the bookstore... it's on Sunset, not Hollywood and Vine. By the time I get myself turned around and going in the right direction, I manage to pull into the parking structure right after Liz. After a yummy lunch of Baja Fresh, we walk next door to the bookstore to wait around for an hour or two until the book signing.

By this time I was really starting to do a pee pee dance and was really annoyed when I couldn't find someone to give me a bathroom token. After traversing the bookstore from end to end, I was successful and then went off to hunt down a Guide to Literary Agents. Liz was hunkered down in a chair so I then offered to go get our books from the cars. Liz had to buy her own copy of Dancing Barefoot, as she'd "stolen" mine and read it while we were waiting for HP3 to start.

Side tangent: I get really impatient when someone is sitting there laughing at a book. I want an explanation, dammit! especially if they are reading something I wrote. It's like torturous hell sitting there waiting while someone is reading your material and you aren't sure if it's funny where it's supposed to be funny.

Moving on. Wil Wheaton was cool. He seemed very modest and unassuming, even nervous. It gave him a sort of unpolished charm. He is an excellent reader and his little asides and sort of "yeah right" stares back at the audience were perfectly timed. He'd finished reading from Just a Geek when a guy wanders through the area and pauses to ask the ultimate question from his book. "Didn't you used to be an actor? Weren't you on Star Trek?" Despite just spending the past half hour describing how much this question drove him nuts, he was gracious and didn't miss a beat. The audience giggled and we all shared the in joke as we rolled our eyes in tandem.

Again Lizzie manages to have a longer and more interesting conversation with author at signing than I did (re: Jasper Fforde). She wore her Team in Training bracelets and they talked a bit about marathons. I just got tongue tied and asked if he'd met Neil Gaiman yet. No, he hadn't, but he wanted to. Trying to think back to Neil Gaiman signing in Canterbury... come to think of it, Mel had a more intriguing conversation with him too. Boogers.

Precarious Posters

So, like the Olympic marathoners, I was tempted to kiss the ground after finishing my latest task of hanging posters... though I didn't... shiny as it is.

There are times when being 5 inches taller would be nice. I'm not asking for a Clare boost here, just enough to let me hang posters easily without standing on a stack of books on a chair ontop of a table.

In case you didn't know, the Walls of Wilson are stucko-concrete painted with a (I swear) teflon beige coating. NOTHING sticks to these walls. Masking tape, duck tape, scotch tape, poster tack... you name it. I even tried my British Blue Tack... which is just another kind of poster tack, but works so much better than our American stuff. During the year (usually right in the middle of class) things randomly fall off the walls.

I have found something that sticks fairly well. The 3M command adhesive hooks stay on pretty well, as long as you don't abuse them. I've invented a system where I literally string a clothesline across one wall, supported with a hook at either end. I did this in Grace and Judy's room two years ago, and theirs are still hanging. Mine from last year unfortunately fell down... of course right in the middle of class.

This year I decided to put my fun posters in the back of the room rather than the front... mostly because I need a ladder to reach the other side. I put a third hook in the middle of my new line, hoping for a longer staying time.

I'm sure this is all fascinating to all of you, but I'm quite proud of myself. So there.

School Days

So I'm sitting in my classroom. I've got my posters unrolled and weighted down with dictionaries. I dragged my desks back where I like them. The floors are nice and shiny. They'll stay that way for oh, a week before going back to the dusty dullness. I'm so glad they let the floor dry more thouroughly than last year before moving everything back in. Sometimes the resin isn't quite dry and the furniture sticks to the floors. Gives new meaning to nailed down. And when you move said furniture, after unsticking it of course, there's usually an unsightly ring... kind of like when you move a chair off a carpet, but not this year! I still have failed to get keys for the closet. Man, who do you have to murder? I thought when one of the teacher retired, I could confiscate his, but we (school secretary and I) can't find them.

Now there's a lot of unschool stuff from the past two weeks that I should tell you about... a coolio book signing, an uber funny short film premier, and the getting of a roomie... but that will wait until later. Gotta actually do some work, man.

Whooof

So all my vaction blog entries are up! Yeah! I'm tired of typing... so that's it for today.

Vacation's Over

So you've probably noticed I haven't written for a while. I have, but it's been in a small journal in a scribbly cursive that occasionally breaks out into print. Yeah, I've got crappy handwriting. Sometimes I wish I had the pretty loopy scrawl of Melissa, but I'm left handed and other than when I'm writing on the board, my handwritings pretty bad.

So scroll down and read my post dated entries starting from Aug. 4.

Home Again

Just finished Something Rotten. Really – that’s the title. It’s a Thursday Next novel. Unfortunately I believe it may be the last. I wish I was as clever as Jasper Fforde… but I’m not. I think we’re beginning our descent into LA. After a last bout of Mario, we headed off to the mall – Neshaminy – to buy Clare’s family some candy.

After failed attempts to get Clare some money, we went to the Blue Fountain Diner. I have learned that you can’t drive a mile in Pennsylvania without hitting a diner… kinda like the pubs in England or the Starbucks in LA. They serve the oddest things in their sapad bar, like whole boiled eggs, and chopped liver. Mel ordered chili that I wouldn’t have eaten and I learned it’s very Midwestern to put ketchup in your chili. Right.

After picking up our luggage Mel drove us to the airport. We parked in Terminal A to see Clare off. No tears… but we were sad. On the way back I noticed that my flight to DC was cancelled due to Charley most likely – so we went back to the car, drove to Terminal E parking and walked back to Terminal D and approached the lineless United counter. The nice man made my day. “Well, we can put you on our direct flight to LAX leaving at 6:30. It pays to check in early, doesn’t it?” Yup.

I was a bit squished at first, but the gentleman in the center seat wasted no time in asking for an empty aisle seat. So that means there’s an empty seat between me and the guy reading There She Is… who I coincidently was sitting next to in the waiting area as well. He’s listening to country music so loudly through his headphones I could probably sing along.

The movie – Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind – weird trip. I can see the lights below and there goes the landing gear. Too bad I’m not near a window. I am beat. I can’t wait to tell Liz about my Grand Adventure… especially since she was nice enough to pick me up.

Cats and BBQ

We managed to get out of the hotel by 11:30. At our stop in a Maryland Denny’s, Mel pointed out that only people who are really tired or really wasted go there. “Because the menu as pictures. You only have to point. I want this and this and this.” Very true.

After we got home, we relaxed for an hour or two with Super Mario, then with a stop at the grocery store for chicken and corn with a C, not a P as originally heard, we headed over to Natalie’s house for a BBQ. Their apartment was actually an old courthouse for their township from the early 1820’s. It was pretty cool. They’re cat people so I had a good time visiting with Ping and Packet… only saw Cowcat from a distance. We painted while the boys watched Celebrity Poker. I painted a dragon sleeping on books while Clare went for more abstract designs. Mel – a jungle scene and Nat painted the numbers on her new mailbox.

DC Day 2

So last night I was too tired – or too distracted by the furry episode of CSI that was continually interrupted by tornado warnings to write.

So Thursday we started off rather poorly when Mel set the alarm for 7:30pm instead of am. We realized, just in time that the last tram before noon left at 9:30 so we got our butts in gear and got to Union Station after a banana and a cookie or two. We hopped on The Old Town Trolley and took it around to visit all the sites. A few highlights: The Whitehouse – where the squirrels were so friendly I could have reached out and touched one. The FBI building – which is only slightly down the street from Ford’s Theater – construction sucks.

The Lincoln Monument has lots of steps and is cool and crowded. A great view. Next time, bring day old bread to feed the ducks in the reflecting pool. The National Gallery is a cool place to buy 10 Monet postcards and illuminated stationary before dragging ourselves back to the tram stop.

The rain started just as we got some good views of the Capitol. Back at Union Station we sprung for Café Uno appetizer sampler, soup or chili, and a brownie Sunday to split between the three of us. Yum! Back outside we waited for a 6:05 tram that never came… or was five minutes early. So back inside we went where we found the loo, and Mel bought a Viking hat. Yup… with plastic horns and everything. She says it’s for Viking Thursday. Strange thing Viking hats… the moment you put it on, you’re compelled to sing. I also forgot to mention previous forays into tourist shops and purchase of presents and money with President Wilson notepad – a million uses at school.

Right. So after being approached by multiple pan handlers, the 7:20 arrived and we rather passed out in the hotel after Will and Grace, CSI, and part of Conan the Barbarian II. – Yeah, Arnold in bikini pants with fur.

DC Day 1

So upon waking we decided it was Mel’s turn to get sick, but she was outvoted – plus we’d be out the night’s hotel in DC without 24 hour notice. So we hopped in the car and drove through Philly and Delaware, stopping for lunch somewhere in Maryland. We got to DC and our hotel and only made one U turn. We were all a little worried checking the wrong side of the street for our hotel.

Gallaudet University is really pretty with gorgeous brick buildings and lush green lawns. The room is in a conference center and the hotel runs a shuttle to Union Station, so after dropping off our bags, we decided to head to the American History Museum. We learned how to navigate the subway and especially – DC Metro doors eat people. Don’t get in their way.

We popped out in the middle of the Mall. I clicked a quick pic of the Capitol and the Washington Monument. The museum has such cool things as Harrison Ford’s suit from Air Force One and Indy’s jacket and Fedora. Ruby Slippers, Abe’s stove pipe hat, and Oscar the Grouch were some of the other coolio stuff. There was an exhibit on Presidents and another of The First Ladies. I never realized how ugly Martha Washington was. There was also a Beatles photo exhibit, an Ella Fitzgerald area, and the flag that was draped over the Pentagon on 9/11.

On the way back we stopped at Union Station Food Court – which was the largest I had ever seen. After exploring only half, I went for Indian while Clare and Mel went for Greek. Yummy. We’re now back at the hotel watching the tail end of Smallville and writing this. I did however, realize I forgot my p.j.’s. Good news is I get a bed all to myself now. J Despite Clare and Mel’s opinion, this was not deliberate.

Amish Country

Today we were going to Amish country but Clare was feeling ill so we stayed in, got drunk, watched Stargate, made cookies and played Mario. It was a good day. We ate stew and dumplings for dinner – yummy. After that we played more Nintendo before some Gin Rummy.
Now I totally skimmed over the two funniest events of the day. First of all, before Clare woke up, Mel wanted me to help pick up her packages… one was almost as tall as me. Mel had ordered two lamps off of Ebay from Minnesota.

Now upon opening the first package we discovered every packing material known to man – bubble rap, cardboard, foam, peanuts, Styrofoam, airbags, and old grocery bags. The second box was similar, but it had an added bonus! A ratty old pink and white flowered pillow. Right. Wonderfully amusing, those Minnesotans. I got into a total giggle fit and didn’t stop laughing for at least five minutes. It was almost as bad as the time Clare explained about tanning salons and paper knickers.

The second amusement stemmed from Mel’s attempt at Daiquiris. Ice, mix, Vodka… blend… not right. More vodka. Nope, more mix, more vodka… bleh… okay, how about some rum? Sugar? Okay… Grenadine! Still not so good, but the blenders full so we’re drinking it anyway. Whoo Hoo! After a few sips, who cares?

King of Prussia and Valley Forge

So we got a new idea… well, Mel got it and I of course am making it my own. In her Virginia Jones series, we’re writing on Virginia and her two friends at an all girls’ boarding school circa 1906. We started discussing this during dinner at Don Pablos, a semi-decent Mexican joint (the only one in Penndel) with slow service. We had a big ass fried ice cream for dessert in a huge martini glass… really because Clare was curious and had never had it before. Yum. It was quickly demolished.

Earlier in the day we went to The King of Prussia Mall which, as Mel tells us, is the largest mall on the East Coast. It was okay. (You know me and shopping.) Mel and Clare forced me into buying a cool stripey skirt and a shirt… total of $25. Sale Baby! I struck out on shoes though. Mel bought some patent leather deals with heels.

We went into Tiffanies and Clare realized she never got a picture of the one in New York so we stood her outside the sign and took pictures. Then this mall security guy told us we couldn’t take pictures in the mall. It wasn’t like we were photographing the jewels. It was a sign for goodness sakes!

After we shopped we went to Valley Forge… which was conveniently practically next door. We visited the gift shop and grabbed a map and did a very cool self driving tourto all the different sights. Lots of beautiful scenery… and deer too. Yeah. The first time we saw one I told Mel to stop the car so I could get a picture. A lady drove by on a bike and told me I could take a picture of her too. I realized why she was laughing at me when later we drove through more countryside plagued with deer. They were almost as numerous as the cannons.

Recovery Day

Today was a day of recovery. I spent most of it napping, trying to shake this cold. Otherwise we were watching The Mummy, eating Mel’s French Toast, or watching her play Super Mario 3. She invited us to play but I suck so badly I get more enjoyment from cheering her on. We gathered our strength long enough to go see a 5:00 Bourne Supremacy. Sooo glad we watched the other one last night. Was not disappointed – action packed Matt Damon. Upon return Andy had made me chicken soup while the other girls enjoyed sloppy Joes and salad. There was Angel Food and the few strawberries she’d saved from the heap for dessert.

Finally watched Mel kick more Mario butt and finished off with a conversation about parents and boys (or girls, in Andy’s case). Mel and Andy related how the first sight of Andy and Rick in all black scared the heck out of Mel, so she just went back to reading her Beowulf. Rick almost asked Mel out, but Andy warned him. “She’s mine.” How romantic. His proposal consisted of opening a joint wedding account. He told her when she thought there was enough money in the account, they’d set a date for their wedding. And if she decided she didn’t want to marry him and just wanted to screw him over and take the money, that was okay too. Such a practical man.

Tomorrow we’re going to The King of Prussia Mall and Valley Forge. Sound like fun? Bed is calling. Actually, Clare looks like she wants me to turn off the light. Her hearing aides are out… that’s a sure sign. Time to go.

Liquer and Matt Damon

Just getting to bed. After a little nap on the couch we went off to dinner at a diner with Natalie and Dell. Clare didn’t exactly believe you could order practically any combo of food without the waitress even batting an eye. It was our waitress’s first day and she was pretty good for it. The dinner specials came with soup, salad bar, a glass of wine, entree, and desert. Whoah. That’s all I gotta say.

After dinner we went to a liquor store because you can’t buy hard stuff on a Sunday in Pennsylvania. Odd but true. I think it’s the Quaker influence holding strong. We bought ready made Cosmos and Vodka (the cheap kind).

Andy went off with Natalie and husband to play Magic and the three of us camped out with Belgian chocolates, Cosmos, and Matt Damon in The Bourne Identity. We followed that a with a little bit of Laurel and Hardy, Dr. Who, and whatever sketch comedy shows on late Saturday night. Tomorrow is Veggie Day. We’re getting pedicures and staying in our p.j.’s

On the Train to Trenton

On the Train to Trenton, Mel took over.

I think Jenny slightly skews events and dialogue. While all these events happened, she retells it in such a manner that she looks better. Like just now, when we were lost in Center City Wednesday night, Jenny said, “When Mel took that turn I know it was the wrong direction.” Sure she did. I was lost in Center City, Philadelphia. The one exit to I-95 I knew of was closed and would have liked some help. – Mel

I would like to add to the above diatribe that I did my due part. I handed her the map. Now I do wonder why I handed her my journal. “Come on, enough about the airplane… I want to read about us!” Fine then. Mel Mel Mel Clare Clare Clare Mel Mel Clare Clare Mel Clare… Is that enough?

She documented every detail about the airplane, but blithely glides over our adventures. - Mel
Well, when one is alone, and has no one to talk to , it is easy to write four pages about airplanes.
We’re currently discussing holidays. The Bahamas or someplace else to sit for a week and do nothing. Clare has just been nominated and elected as President of Next Year’s Vacation.
This morning I woke up around 8:30 freezing my toes off. So I went into the bathroom and took a shower, figuring my buddies would at least be moving when I got out. Took my time, but nope. Just ZZZZZZZ… so I dragged a chair over to the bathroom light and read oh, about a hundred pages of Just a Geek before I decided to blow dry my hair before it completely fixed itself into Unbrushed Mess. The hairdryer did the trick… at least on waking Mel.

At about 11:15 we dropped off our keys and luggage and took a tube to Battery Park. It was a nice little walk with views of the Statue of Liberty and the harbor. We decided to skip the ferry rides on account of my stomach. Mel and Clare then placated themselves with handbag purchases. Clare bought a coolio New York Yankees hat and tehn we stopped for a picture at the World Trade Center Sculpture before heading back to the tube. I won’t mention the pictures I took of Mel and Clare pole dancing in the subway car. Their idea… not mine.

Pole dancing is hard work. Clare and I think we hurt ourselves. - Mel

They’re complaining again. I figure I might skip over to returning our luggage. I got into the correct elevator, while Mel and Clare insisted on getting into the wrong one. Instead of argueing, I said, “I’ll meet you down there,” and pushed the button. As I was waiting for them to switch elevators and join me, a horde of very enthusiastic people poured out of the seminar room and filled the elevator lobby. After Clare and Mel made their way through the throng, Clare parting the way like Moses through the red sea, we collected our luggage where the guy told us the crowd was a group buying into a pyramid scheme. Really, I hope I can be that happy when someone takes my money. They were shouting and clapping and acting like one big friendly mob with name tags.

We stopped in the train station for some goodies and then waited for them to announce the train. I think we’re almost to Princeton now and our seating arrangement is much more comfortable. Next stop is Hamil - ton… according, according to the announcer. At least we could understand him. Most of them just sound like jibberish.

Leo and Dracula

7:03 pm - Three words – My Feet Hurt. I’m also coming down with a cold. I can feel it. Crap.

As soon as Clare finishes her dolling up, we’re off to the theater for some Dracula. We started off the day with a mission from Clare – Stamps and Coffee. So we walked down behind Penn Station and Madison Square Gardens – which is oddly circular and has no visible gardens – and there was Post Office Humongo. Mel waited below while Clare and I climbed the steps to mail her postcards. We skipped coffee for a tube ride followed by brunch – in my case water and a French toast muffin. Clare got her coffee and Mel went with a cranberry orange muffin I think.

11:37pm - Line of the night belongs to Melissa. While soaking feet in tub, Clare asks, “Do you want me to get more ice?”

“No, I already feel like Leonardo DiCaprio will be floating by soon.

Though we did less walking today, Mel’s feet are a mess. After brunch we headed to the Guggenheim. I was impressed with the architecture, less so with the exhibit. It was a bit odd. Hands. Pictures and pictures of hands. Hands holding children. Hands holding batons, pots and several pictures of hands holding cocks. Like I said – odd. Then there was one room with mainly Cezanne, Picasso, and a few Van Gogh and Degas thrown in for good measure. After perusing the gift shop we took our FIRST OFFICIAL NEW YORK CAB ride straight down 5th to Saks. After marveling at a $6,000 dress and a skirt on sale for $995, (oh yes, and yet more handbags and shoes) we went next door to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Clare – “A Cathedral’s a Cathedral and if I sit in that pew, I’ll have to kneel first so I’ll stand, thanks.”

Mel – “It’s too new in here. It’s only 125 and nothing’s falling over or smashed and they have no mystery people underneath the floor.” I’ll never forget Westminster Abbey where they put chairs over Charles Dickens.

So we walked up two blocks, caught the subway and ended up right back at the post office.
Back in the hotel room we discovered a Chinese food flyer under our door and decided to eat in rather than hurry to get dressed and go out. I took a nap. We ended up with Hunaan chicken, lemon chicken and sweet and sour pork. My eggroll had shrimp in it. Blegh!

“Wow, poetry,” says Mel.

We walked down to Times Square and hung a right to Dracula. Just like at La Jolla, there were people flyin’ everywhere. The second act was better musically than the first, but visually it’s a very cool production. Just wish we could have seen Chuck Wagner in it somewhere… I bet he would have been a better Van Helsing. The walk home was cool as we stared at all the bright lights on Broadway. Clare almost got us lost then she threatened to kick me when I started singing On Broadway.

Back in the hotel, we sucked Lady in the Purple Shirt into taking a picture or three of us all. Yeah! Then foot soak, now reading and BED!

Walking and Shopping in NYC

11:54pm EST NYC

So we leisurely got out of bed this morning, drove to Trenton and caught the 11:30 am train to Penn Station. We were able to check in early to Hotel Pennsylvania and by 1:30 we sat down to sandwiches, a wilted Caesar, and a soda for $5. We marched off to Macy’s which was only a block or two down the street. Now Mel and Clare find rows and rows of handbags as an almost orgasmic experience. I, Jenny of the purse-wallet, was not so impressed. So we meandered through a floor of shoes. Again – eh.

After several more floors we decide to head to Bloomies. Clare wants to walk and I said okay, as long as we take the subway back. So we trekked from 33rd to 59th and Central Park then across to Lexington, pausing on 5th Avenue for some pictures. By this time we were all pooped so we high tailed it up to the café on the 7th floor for a soda, then worked our way down from there.

Wandering through the bedding section slightly ahead of Melissa I hear a sales rep ask her if she needs help. Melissa’s classic response. “No thank you, I’m just touching everything.” I suppose I almost got in trouble when I took a photo of Clare with a five fingered duck glove on… but the camera was away before the lady could hunt us down. Clare and Mel bought t-shirts from the Bloomies store and I bought a grand total of nothing!

Off to the subway we went to hunt down Little Italy. I suggested we get off on Canal Street, but Mel wanted one street earlier so I obliged. Now we ended up walking the long way about – through China Town – which would have been a nice place to have dinner, if we hadn’t eaten at Rangoon’s the night before. We found this Italian place, a half a block from Canal Street Station. The waiter on the street polled people eating outside for us to help us decide. Fratelli’s it was, I think. The waiters were friendly and amusing. Ours tried to tell us some joke involving a business card and a million dollars. I think that he meant if we sign and date it, and bring it back in exactly 100 years, they’d give us – or our descendent – a mil. Anyway, we got back to the subway and sat waiting for the yellow trains, but only green ones came by. I thought we might be on the wrong platform but Mel swore there was only one. So I told us to get on the train to Union where at least we could change there. We successfully navigated the route… except Mel also said to get off on Herald Square… not 34th. The next stop being Times Square, we got off and went back to the previous station.

After a short trudge, there we were, the Empire State Building. Unlike our previous visit on New Year’s Day, it only took us 9 minutes to get through the ticket line. Clare timed us. Of course then we had to queue through security and then through the two elevators. Clare informed us those were hydraulic lifts… otherwise the cables would be too big and bulky for 80 floors. I guess having a lift repairman for a dad has some advantages.

We finally got to the top and were quite impressed. I’m glad I got to see it at night. I was windy, but not freezing… definitely not as bad as it was on New Years when then end of our noses went numb for most of that trip. Back at the hotel, I decided it was a good day. A little to much walking, but lots of silliness.

10:46 Mountain Time - Denver Airport

There's a lot of walking to do in Denver. The trains are cool though there's this strange happy jingly music to announce the doors and these little pinwheely things tacked to the walls of the tunnel that spin wildly as the trains pass. I guess they wanted to have something to look at.

10:56 - Have boarded the plane. I'm in the window seat of the last row and man, I can't wait for the air conditioning to kick in. It's bloody hot. This flight, unlike the last is so not full. I might have an entire row to myself. There's two more blonde kids in front of me and I think my seat pocket is broken. It's slightly eschew.

11:09 Spoke too soon. Now in 32D. Got displaced to an aisle seat in favor of a baby in a car seat. The flight did full up. I guess people in Denver aren't as fast paced as LA.

11:40 Now I'm feeling pissy. You'd think the flight attendants would realize they can be overheard when they talk about people only one row ahead of them. I was critisized for being slow to give up my seat. First of all, I was confused that a baby seat had to be by a window, and by the fact they hadn't reserved a window seat for that purpose. When I bought mine I specifically asked for a window. Mind you, I didn't complain, or whine or bitch. I just moved and yet I'm accused of being mean by the flight attendant. Said baby is now crying. I feel like joining him.

10:00pm EST Sitting on the bed discussing moolah. So far we've had a grand time of Rangoon's - a Chinese Burmese place in Philly's Chinatown - named for Debbie's cat. We also watched the Holy Grail, which I mentioned I had never seen. We had pina coladas and chocolate chip cookies they baked yesterday. Tomorrow we head off for the Big Apple. Whoo Hoo! Hrothgar is watching me suspiciously from the end of the bed. I think he's sore at me because I kicked him off Clare's suitcase. Clare has very little luck in removing the feline from her suitcase. She's too tentative and he just pokes back at her. I on the other hand, am all for the pick'm up and dump routine.

Mountain Time

10:46 - Denver Airport

There's a lot of walking to do in Denver. The trains are cool though. There's this strange happy jingly music to announce the doors and these little metal pinwheely things tacked to the walls of the tunnel.

10:56 - Have boarded plane. I'm in the window seat of the last row and man, I can't wait for air conditioning. It's bloody hot. This flight, unlike the last is so not full. I might have the entire row to myself. There's two more blonde kids in front of me and I think my seat pocket is broken. It's slightly eschew.

11:09 - Spoke too soon. Now in 32 D. Got displaced to an aisle seat in favor of a baby in a car seat. The flight did fill up. I guess people in Denver aren't as fast paced as LA.

11:40 am - Now I'm feeling pissy. You'd think the flight attendants would realize they can be overheard when they talk about people only one row ahead of them. I was critisized for being slow to give up my seat. First of all, I was confused that a baby seat had to be by a window, and they hadn't previously booked one. Secondly, I had specifically asked for a window seat when I bought my ticket. Mind you, I didn't complain or whine or bitch. I just moved and yet I'm accused of being mean. Said baby now crying. I feel like joining him. (Side note: As the plane taxied into the gate, baby coughed and spit chewed shredded wheat all over me. Wonderful. How do I get this stuff off without betraying my cool exterior?)

Aiplane Rants: 6:37 am

On the plane after a quick call to Mell giving her permission to split my half of the fun between them until I get there. I've got an emergency aisle seat near the window with a recently graduated USC basketball player's feet stretched out in the space between me and the window. I suppose if you're that tall, you're picky about seat assignment. I love emergency rows - I feel less closed in. I suppose Jenny of the Short Legs should leave those spots for basketball players... and Clare, but I guess I'm just selfish.

So we've got 15 minutes to take off and I can either write or watch the faces as they go down the aisle. It's a strangely blonde group. The poor basketbal player had to move. He's F, not A, so he still gets room to stretch.

7:30 - So the guy next to me inflated a black neck pillow and is already fast asleep. He keeps twitching. Reminds me of Eddie when he's in his dream state. Flight Attendant bumped him awake and I took my opportunity to get up to use the loo. He was asleep again by the time I got back.

LAX 5:49 am

So I'm starting the trip off right with an Earl Grey Venti (one tea bag) and a blueberry muffin from Starbucks. On my way to Denver to check off another airport in my "never been to" list. I'm feeling decidedly low tech compared to my previous trips, traveling with only my cell and a new digital camera. I've got two books, two notebooks, one manuscript, and I'm desperately waiting for my Earl Grey to cool off because my caffeine high from my earlier Diet Coke is wearing off.

A family of tow headed boys just came up to visit with a second family of towheads. The father said they couldn't make the standbye on the last flight as they were only letting a few people on.

"You should have just put the kids on," the first father says. He looks at me and grins as a moment of panic crosses on one of the boy's faces. He can't be more than 7.

Oooh, our plane is pulling up! People are already queueing We've got an hour until the flight takes off. Earl Grey is still hot, but drinkable. I think the family next to me is on their way home. The dad is tanned to the point of burnt. I suddenly realize that I don't think that's our plane after all. Brain's a little fuzzy and it's all Bob Hope's fault.

Yeah, you heard me, Bob Hope. You see I was finding it difficult to sleep after my shower last night so I turned on the telly for a few minites to wind down. It was 11:30 and I figured 15 minutes would be enough until Bob Hope and a penguin showed up. My Favorite Blonde. It's the kind of movie that couldn't do now without extensive animatronics. I don't think you're allowed to put penguins in roller skates anymore. The ASPCA would have a field day with that one.

Hoping for good travel karma. As usual it took me less than 20 minutes to check in and go through security. I'll never forget the Spanish airports where everyone just rather mobbed the plane instead of a neat queue.

Itchy Scratchy and Lost and Found

Okay... so I really need to do something to take my mind off my arm. The iron burn is driving me crazy... I just want to take my fingers and scratch my arm off.

Yesterday was a complete day of Lost and Found. First of all I headed off to school to talk with Ye ol Principal and realized I had forgotten my wallet upstairs. So I drive back around the corner, park, get up to my apartment and realize that my wallet was probably in my bag... back in the car. Yup.

So I park in the green zone and head in to talk to the principal who seems more interested in moving his furniture around than talking to me.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"You're not leaving are you? I really need an ELD teacher."
So he gives me the news that he hired a history teacher to replace Lunderville, rather than farm out all the sheltered classes to different teachers. He also moved Grace over to the Spanish Dept. and is now looking for a new ELD teacher for 2 and 3. Whoo hoo! Hoo Hoo Hoo! Maybe I'll get a replacement that is closer to my own age and doesn't have a penchant for cleaning up other people's rooms. (And not just mine)

So I finish my chat and wander over to the copy machine. I get halfway up the stairs to my class and realize I've lost my school keys. So I wander around the office looking bereft and in increasing mode of panic. I head out and search the car. Then I think I must have left them upstairs when I went to look for my wallet. So drive home, go upstairs, start searching and then realize said keys were in my back pocket. ARGHHHH!

So after class, where I lost my study sheet and had to get a new one from the prof, went to the bookstore to pick up my nice little copy of Just a Geek. Guy in the store lost it. He spent like 10 minutes trying to find it. I know they had it somewhere... They'd called me and said it would be in until the 4th of August. Finally he finds it and I wander triumphantly back home.

So up the stairs I go and see a red Netflix envelope sticking out of my screen door. So I figure someone got one of mine by mistake. I open it up and it's the Harry Potter documentary I reported missing in JUNE! Holy Mackeral!

Maybe the owl post got lost.

Not So Disappointed Anymore

Well, finally got down to looking at who one the Project Greenlight contest.  Not so disappointed that my script didn't make it if they were looking for the type of trash that won. The first few pages have people trying to dump toxic waste in caves only to be stopped by Greenpeace Hippies who are very shortly and graphically eaten by monsters.

Oh goody.

http://projectgreenlight.liveplanet.com/pgl3/writer/pdf/feast.pdf

It doesn't get any better from there. So I knew from the start that they were looking for something more thriller or horror like, but at least they could have picked a GOOD one.  This bloodbath would have never gotten past me.  I'm sorry, but a serious of graphic violence and idiotic one liners does not make a movie.

In the long run, I'm now not sure I want to see the trainwreck.  I'll probably just end up watching it for the amusement factor.  I doubt this movie will be financially successful either.

Idiots

I think there should be a law against idiots who peel past a building at six o'clock in the morning... making it sound like someone's about to come crashing into my window.  Yeah I know that's impossible, considering I live on the second floor, yet it's 6:34 and I'm sitting here at my computer typing away when I should still be sound asleep in my little beddy-by. Because now los gatos are up and wandering about as well. I think they're a little confounded by my cleaning.

I finally put down the trundle and then Norman simply stared at the narrow window ledge he's so found of looking out from.  Then I realized that's how Ed was getting up onto my computer desk.  As much as I complain about how much Eddie loves me, I didn't really mean to disrupt their well ordered lives. 

Oh, they're just going to have to get used to it.  Life is, of course, life.  And change is good. I need a few changes... except for the getting up at 6:30 part.  That will come soon enough when I have to get back into work schedule... but when I'm teaching, I don't go to bed at one o'clock thinking I can sleep in.

Again, despite my complaining, the coolness of the morning is my most productive part of the day.  Once the afternoon heat hits,  the only thing I feel like doing is sitting underneath my bedroom window and reading something. 

Norm's pacing under the window again. He's actually sitting up on two legs trying to look out... maybe I'll take pitty and put something there for him to... never mind... he just jumped up there by himself. I'm  amazed at his agility.

 

Pontiac is Dead... Pour on the Bactine

Right... stabbed in the back (actually his head was smashed in) by another Indian.  That means I finished War Under Heaven, one of my history books.  I'm glad.  As much as I like reading history texts about how evil the British were to the Native Americans, this whole summer school thing is getting old.  At least I've only got a week left.  Whoo hoo.

And I'm going to see Dracula!  Mel bought tickets for this afternoon.  I swear the only thing I did today was read, clean and email Lizzie and Mel all day.  There was a rather long shower in there somewhere where I idiotically cut myself shaving (why is it always on the ankle?) so I've been spritzing myself with Bactine trying to stop the pain from my ankle and the inside of my arm where I burned myself on that stupid iron the other day. The center of the blister began to peel and left a bit of raw skin underneath.  It hurts... so I've become liberally addicted to the Bactine. 

Anyone ever tasted Bactine?  I accidently licked my fingers after using it once and my tongue went numb.  It was yucky. Blegh.