Oct. 19, 11:28 p.m., South Main Street
A 29-year-old male was taken into protective custody after creating a disturbance in the Hanover Inn lobby by yelling "What a [expletive] lovely pumpkin display!" The intoxicated male, who had previously trespassed in the Hanover Inn, was later released from the police station.

I miss my hometown.

I love the feeling when you find a song that fits a moment in your life perfectly...
So, obviously, I found a song that I'm absolutely in love with. Everytime I hear it, it makes me so happy and nostalgic. It's called "Somewhere only we know" and it's by Keane. Keane is my band du jour- they're British, they use lots of keyboard (like Coldplay), and their music washes over me like a cool stream. Buy their new CD! It won the British Grammy for best album of the year.

Anyway, the song reminds me of Oxford. Well, yes, they are British, but it also has the feeling of growing older, being independent, and pure genuine happiness. I would wear my UK styles- plaids, peacoats, and wool sweaters- and walk down the cobblestone streets, past the ancient libraries. I would stop at Sainsbury's grocery store for lunch- they had about 20 different kinds of sandwiches on white bread, all packaged daily. They also had the best pasta salads, too! And creamy, sour yogurt with fresh strawberries. Then I would walk to the park by Christ Church and sit with my friends, eat lunch, and watch the crew teams stroke down the river. On Sundays, I would walk past the horse meadow towards Christ Church, walk through the commons, and teach Sunday School to the sweet little British kids. "Somewhere only we know" reminds me of those days. It's brilliant (which is a British colloquialism for cool). They'll be in St. Louis soon- go see them! And they're coming through Michigan and Minnesota in February. Call me. We'll go. Maybe you'll love them too!

"Somewhere Only We Know"
I walked across an empty land
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
I felt the earth beneath my feet
Sat by the river and it made me complete
Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

I came across a fallen tree
I felt the branches of it looking at me
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?

Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

So if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?

Sometimes I feel like I'm sane inspite of my mind. Like this morning: I woke up, got dressed, came into the kitchen, got out a bagle, and decided to finally wash my bagel knife (it was looking a bit crusty). I reached for the faucet, when I suddenly realized that the two knobs were gone and there was a lift-up handle in their place. The first thing that popped into my head and out of my mouth was "Shit! I'm in the wrong apartment!"

So, I think my landlady changed them without telling me, but evenso, I couldn't stop laughing at myself for five minutes, and if that isn't a sign of insanity, I don't know what is.

It was a pretty strange day overall. The first thing that one of the Spanish-speaking kids in my class told me when I got to school was that she had seen a dead man today. That one really puzzled (and scared) me for a while, until I figured out that she had walked past a funeral on the way to school.

One more thing- it is imperative that everyone who reads this buy the new Keane album "Hope and Fears." They're British, they don't have a guitar-player, and they are my absolute favorite band. Some even call them the "new Coldplay." I think they're better. Besides which, we all know that England is just a little bit cooler than America. I mean, they have actual handsome princes there.

Well last night I went to the movies, and since I cough up a lung unless I'm constantly drinking, I bought a large Sprite. I guess I've never bought a large drink at the movies before, because something funny happened: I couldn't really pick it up. My hand was too small to hold the large plastic cup without it slipping, so I had to juggle my shopping bags, jacket, and the gigantic cup. Anyway, this got me thinking about the pros and cons of having tiny hands (which are, with my hands as the standard, hands that have a 6 inch span -when outstretched- from tip of thumb to tip of pinkie).

Cons:
-I can't pick up a large soda at the movies singlehandedly.
-I can't reach an octave on the piano.
-I can't hold a tennis racket (or baseball bat or football probably) without constantly adjusting my pinkie. Well, I guess that's more based on my genetic pinkie curvature, but it definitely doesn't help.
-It's hard to find rings (size 4 or 5).
-I can't do cartwheels (but that might just be my lack of skills).

Pros:
-Good ice-breaker with cute guys, when I ask them to compare hand size, palm to palm...like "oh my gosh, your hands are so big!" I know that's so obvious, but it works!
-Good for hand-holding.
-I can wear my 9 year old cousin's mittens.
-My veins are closer together, which my doctor mom says is a good thing IV-wise.
-Less nail to paint, which probably saves me about a day over my whole lifetime. Also less nail to clip.

Otherwise, the only thing I'm thinking about is getting over this cold. It's a beotch. I'm hacking all the time, and yet I'm not technically "sick," since everyone gets colds, right? Um, no. This is horrendous, and I don't have a moment of peace if I'm not constantly drinking (like at the movies) or popping cough drops. I even have to sleep with a cough drop in my mouth, which is probably awesome for my teeth. Tonight I'm going over to my Aunt's to watch Shrek 2 with my cousins. Then I'm going to a Divali party, hosted by the doctoral candidates in economics. From what I know about economists, I have a feeling this party is going to be wild and crazy. Just kidding. ;>

Hilarious stories of a kindergarten teacher approaching insanity...
the kids have been pretty squirrely lately (that IS the technical term we use), so my cooperating teacher put mini-carpet squares into place. That means that all throughout my calendar lesson, the kids are sliding around on their squares. Then I asked all of the kids to start raising their hands when they have something to say (instead of yelling "Teacher, teacher, TEACHER!" constantly). So now they all continually raise their hands. They offer intriguing comments like:
"Teacher- purple."
"Nobember!"
"Teacher, you forgot (activity I'm about to start)"-- this comment comes every few minutes from one student, to the extent that I started telling him that I have a list and I know what's next.
"Teacher, mumble mumble mumble, smile."
Or my favorite...
(silence for twenty seconds).

On top of the fact that these adorable kids are driving me crazy, I've had the most gross cold for the past week. I feel so horrible when I cough and sneeze all day around the students (even though I use the elbow cover) and my voice has been getting really nasal.

If you had one minute alone with the President, what would you ask him? (Imagine that he would be forced, in that moment, to respond truthfully!)

Take the quiz: "WHAT RELIGION BESTS SUITS YOU?"

Average Christian
You're not going to become a minister anytime soon, but you do your best to live your life in a Christian way. This means that although you probably don't attend church every Sunday, you do your best to follow the Ten Commandments, help the needy and generally be an all around good person. Who needs to follow the entire bible anyways? It was written ages ago, and Christ transmuted it by giving his life.

Isn't that a little bit sad? I guess I present my faith as being pretty superficial...that's because I never want to overwhelm or offend anyone. I think I also try to appear vanilla about my beliefs because it's hard to relate to someone who wears such a huge personal choice on their sleeve. This is so hard to explain! My cross necklace isn't a fashion statement or a badge of support for others to see; I wear it because I like to touch it when I'm very happy, sad, or scared, or when I'm just thinking about my life and God. To be cheesy, it's my Jesus security blanket.

Cricket : "Jesus is never mad at us if we live with Him in our hearts!"
Tommy Corn : "I hate to break it to you, but He is - He most definitely is."
I really liked "I Heart Huckabees," but it gave me an existential nightmere. In it, I was shopping at a huge estate sale with my mom (which I've never done before) and we were walking throughout the mansion, which was filled with antique furniture. Suddenly my mom was gone and I was alone. I kept walking from room to room, but they all looked the same (very musty...like the house in Great Expectations). It was trés Kafka-esque.

Quiz from Caroline's Blog:

13 random things you like
Salty little jalepeño peppers dipped in Hummus (it's so bizarre, but I love it)
piglet
my fish Tutu
British accents
Barack Obama
Being a teacher
Dry erase boards
My Franz Ferdinand cell phone ring that my brother bought for me
Arby's market fresh salads (especially the Martha's Vineyard)
New England
Christmas Carols
Pineapple/Coconut air freshener
My baby cousins

12 random movies
Home for the Holidays
Cinema Paradiso
Alfie (I must see that this weekend!)
El Crimen de Padre Amaro
Dirty Dancing Two: Havana Nights (it popped into my head :>)
Stranger on a Train
When Savannah Smiles
Escape from Witch Mountain
Duck Soup
Azucar Amarga
The Princess and the Soldier
Charlie Brown Christmas

11 good bands or singers (first 11 that come to mind)
No Doubt
Franz Ferdinand
Keane
The Thrills
The Killers
Jem
Travis
U2
Coldplay
Pulp
Elvis Costello

10 things about you... physically
My hair is great for curling or straightening (it behaves)
Blue eyes
Teensy hands
Curved pinkies (which is why I can't play baseball ;>)
Tiny mouth
Pear-shaped
Polish jaw (I guess?)
Low blood-pressure (I used to faint in high school)
A nickle alergy in my left ear but not my right
Size 7 1/2 feet

9 great books
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Bel Canto
Nickle and Dimed
How Race is Lived in America
The Nanny Diaries
The Da Vinci Code (I read it in 12 hours with no breaks)
A Tale of Two Cities
Aráncame la Vida
The Old Gringo

8 favorite drinks
Arizona Green Tea
Piña Colada
Corona
Skim Milk
Earl Grey Tea (preferably Twinnings)
Diet Coke
Veramonte Chardonnay
Horchata (Mexican rice milk)

7 places you love
Hanover, New Hampshire
Oxford
Paris
Anywhere my whole family is
My new apartment
Epcot Center
Barcelona

6 things that annoy you
Tailgaters
Less funding to public schools
Bitter cold
When someone agrees with you and they say "Right?" but as a rhetorical question (I hate that!)
Anything by James Joyce
French haters (j'adore les franceses!)

5 things you touch every day
My hair
The fish food container
My toothbrush
My purse
My necklace

4 shows you watch
Seinfeld (5, 5:30, and 10pm every day! But I don't watch at all those times)
The O.C. (bitch)...it's like tv cotton candy and it comes close to being a satire of itself
Anderson Cooper 360
The Late Show with Conan O'Brien

3 celebrities you have a crush on
Trent Ford
Gael Garcia Bernal
Jon Stewart
(I also had a little crush on Tucker Carlson- because it's rebelious to like a Republican...they're the new "leader of the pack"- so the clip from Crossfire was perfection)

2 people on lj you have kissed
No one, I think (I mean, I don't know if any of them have live journals)

1 letter you like
L...I'm a big fan of glides, but I hate those pesky nasals (they sound like gagging- I wish my name didn't start with one)

It's those that are the strongest that God gives the most challenges...we must take that as a compliment and keep fighting!

I made my vote count. Now back to life without politics...hopefully.