To do during Advent:

*find a piano to practice carols.
*have a mimosa breakfast at my favorite restaurant with my dad:)
*let my students have more fun...
*decorate my littlest Christmas tree.
*eat at Chino Latino again. I am dying for the Brazilian spicy sauce!
*keep my apartment clean.
*sleep, sleep, sleep
*run, run, run...even when dressed like a Christmas Tree (this Saturday).
*make presents for everyone (stained glass cookies?)
*show my students how to make wool mittens.
*leave work earlier.

11/29- I just reread that post and it sounds secularized (if that's a word). I'm also going to light my advent wreath every Sunday night and try to find a nice prayer to say. Advent is one of my favorite church seasons because it is encompassed by anticipation, hope, and love, three of my favorite emotions.

Thanksgiving

What I'm Thankful For:
Family, friends, and health; kindness, love, and hope for peace around the world.



(I think this card is cute,
but why is there a skunk?)

Most Embarrassing Moment:
After drinking a glass of Jim and Coke (to appease my aunts, who were breaking into the liquor cabinet), I accidentally fell asleep for three hours and missed saying goodbye to everyone! Oops:)

Interesting Topic of Discussion:
Mispronunciation of English words, such as my recent chemistry error, pronouncing carbocation (car-bo-cat-ion) as car-bah-ca-shun.

People Missed:
My grandparents, who felt too sick to come, yet again. I've missed them so much since March.

Best Newcomer at the Table:
Cousin Katie's boyfriend Brian. He mocked my pie-cutting technique, but rightly so, since I'm horrible!

Pickiest Eaters:
I won't name names, but two guests ate nothing but rolls and mashed potatoes, even though my mom actually stuck to American turkey and side dishes this year (nothing African-inspired, for example).

Most Desired Leftover Right Now:
Pumpkin pie! I missed dessert yesterday, so I'm definitely going to eat a piece for breakfast.

Happy Thanksgiving!
ps-

You Are Cherry Pie

You're the perfect combo of innocent and sexy Those who like you enjoy a contradiction

What kind of pie are you?

My life is so chaotic this week, but I don't want to miss saying goodbye.
If you read this, and you live in the cities, meet me for a drink at The Local today at 4:30pm. It's on Nicollet and 10th in the city. If you come, it's pints all around:)

How did I end up here?
My career of choice at...
Age 5: ballerina
Age 10: architect
Age 16: film director
Age 18: fashion designer (fluent in Italian)...I started college with this plan;)
Age 21: teacher

And here I am. Tomorrow, the principal is going to come listen to one of my 2nd grade reading groups read their instructional text, Let's Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich! They wrote it themselves, so obviously they are equal parts nerves and excitement. The principal's job is to make the sandwich by listening to the directions in their story (I was trying to teach imperatives through text...everything is connected). I hope it's messy! That would be so much fun.

I can't wait to go home on Wednesday...sometimes it's just nice to have someone take care of you for a little while. And my mom is the best cook!

Today at church, we sang South African music with the visiting Reverend. It was so beautiful and so much fun, since Episcopalian traditions can seem kind of rote when they're not spiced up every once in a while. After church, I met the "young adult" group, since I'd never been able to find them before. We went to brunch at The Local, which is now my favorite restaurant! It's a traditional Irish restaurant/pub...it reminds me of the pubs in England- American bars can't compete with the atmosphere of drinking with people of all ages, cute little kids and old men (well, not everyone is drinking, but there seems to be a kinship among the patrons). You don't have to hook up or do shots in a pub. And they have Irish coffee and a beautiful, dark room called the Kissing Room:) It's so romantic...and I was there with strangers.

I really like the song "Autumn Sweater" by Yo La Tengo. For some reason it was offered as a ringtone on my phone...Yo La Tengo- isn't that random? But I love it!
When I heard the knock on the door
I couldn't catch my breath
Is it too late to call this off

We could slip away, wouldn't that be better
Me with nothing to say, and you in your autumn sweater

I tried my best to hide
In a crowded room, it's nearly possible
I wait for you, oh, most patiently

So I looked for your eyes
And the waves looked like they'd pour right out of them
I'll try hard, I'll try always
But it's a waste of time
It's a waste of time if I can't smile easily
Like in the beginning
In the beginning...

sleepy, but not ready for bed...
Ever:
1. smoked a cigar – no...I'm sure it would be incredibly funny for people to see me do something like that
2. crashed a friend's car – no. But backed into a parked car (one of my friends father's) and did $3,000 worth of damage;)
3. stolen a car – no
4. been in love - not to the extent that I want to be someday
5. been dumped – no
6. dumped someone - yes, and I was too mean in high school
7. taken shots of alcohol- yes...9 shots of vodka on my 21st
8. been fired - no. I've quit before though, because I got so bored when I was a secretary
9. been in a fist fight – no
10. snuck out of a/your house – no
11. had feelings for someone who didn't have them back- yes
12. been arrested – no...that probably goes along with the cigar smoking. It would be quite uncharacteristic
13. made out with a stranger - yes. That's kind of why we snuck into frat parties in high school
14. gone on a blind date – kind of, but I still don't know if it was a date
15. lied to a friend – never about anything important
16. had a crush on a teacher- yes. My Oxford tutor, with whom I met in his bedroom to discuss the virility of Mexican revolutionary soldiers;)
18. seen someone die – no
19. been on a plane – yes...this question seems out of place
20. thrown up in a bar - I've never thrown up from alcohol. I get tipsy after one sip, but otherwise my tolerance is pretty high
22. miss someone right now - yes
23. laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by - yes, when I was little
24. made a snow angel – yes
25. played dress up – yes. I feel like it everyday when I get dressed as a teacher:)
26. cheated while playing a game – not that I can remember
27. been lonely – yes
28. fallen asleep at work/school – at school, no, because I always thought it would be disrespectful. At work, yes. I took a nap on my teaching table two weeks ago, but it was after hours; I just wanted to have the energy to lesson plan.
29. used a fake id - no
30. felt an earthquake – no
31. touched a snake – yes
32. ran a red light - yes. Only once, in September when I was completely stressed and exhausted.
33. had detention – no
34. been in a car accident - yes. I was riding with my grandparents and a car slammed on the brakes in front of us on the highway. The driver had missed her exit and wanted to turn around and go back...hmmm. My grandpa was sleeping on the backseat and he rolled off and got stuck between the seats, which he couldn't stop laughing about.
35. hated the way you look – yes, but it's always caused by something else
37. been lost – in what sense? Everytime I drive with my cousins, I get lost for some reason. Now they don't get in a car with me without asking me if I know where I'm going:)
38. been to the opposite side of the country – from here? I've been to Florida, California, and Maine, and I once had a layover in Seattle
39. felt like dying – yes, when I was sick in high school
40. cried yourself to sleep – yes
41. played cops and robbers - no. Do boys actually play that? I thought it was a myth perpetuated by Duck Tale
42. karaoke – yes, only once, and it was so bad. I sang "Let's Give Them Something to Talk About"
43. done something you told yourself you wouldn't – no
44. laughed till some kind of beverage came out of your nose- I don't think so
45. caught a snowflake on your tongue - yes
46. kissed in the rain - no
47. sang in the shower - all the time, but not since I realized that the walls in my apartment are paper thin
48. made love in a park - no
49. had a dream that you married someone - no
50. glued your hand to something – no
51. got your tongue stuck to a flag pole - no
52. worn the opposite sex's clothes – yes. There's nothing as comfortable as a big, soft sweater
53. Been a cheerleader – omg no. Don't get me started on high school...
54. sat on a roof top - yes. I used to lay in the sun on the roof outside my window in Oxford
55. talked on the phone all night - no
56. ever too scared to watch scary movies alone - yes! I'm scared by everything. I was traumatized by the Disney movie "The Watcher in the Woods" when I was in middle school
57. played chicken fight – no. I've never really hung out at pools since I was little
58. been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on - no
59. been told you're hot by a complete stranger – yes, by a scary number of older French men who claimed to be professors at La Sorbonne
60. broken a bone – no
61. run into someone you knew in another country? Yes, on top of the Eiffel Tower:)

False alarm...I'm not sick, actually. I think it was work-related physical fatigue. I'm really excited to go to work today, though, because I'm acting out school verbs with the newcomers, we're going to take pictures, and then make our own books :)

Sometimes I forget the traumatic realities that my students face at home. I was doing a vocabulary visualization activity with third grade students, when one asked me, out of the blue, what "sheriff" means. I told him it is the boss of the policemen and he suddenly looked really upset. He then explained to me that he had to translate for his mother yesterday when she was talking to their landlord (it was so lucky I remembered that word in Spanish). But when he translated "the sheriff is going to come lock your door in three days," he didn't know what sheriff meant, so it didn't seem like a desperate thing, I guess. I started to cry in class (but I hid it- I did a fake sneeze) because he has to deal with that kind of pressure. So his teacher and I worked together to get the Latino liason and our social worker to intervene or at least try to do something. No wonder he has trouble paying attention :(

As soon as I feel better, this weekend is going to be so much fun! I have a posh teacher conference at the Radisson downtown on Saturday...I may smuggle out some danish in my purse. Then, I want to see "Walk the Line," "Harry Potter," and maybe "Rent." I also want to go mitten/scarf shopping and lay in bed for hours...I wish I could do that simultaneously;) And I want to eat at The Black Forest Inn sometime on Saturday. I love sauercraut! I think it's my eastern european roots. I hope that two days will be enough time for all of that.

Grr and fit ;) I have so much to do, all the time! I spent 13 hours at work today and I only had about 30 minutes of planning time. It's enough to make me want to go back to graduate school. I miss the control I have when I'm writing a paper. That's a skill that I'm almost proficient in after four years of college: taking notes on notecards (with all bibliography information), cross-referencing by paragraph, and then typing and proofreading. I loved that wustl taught us (some of you) to bs a paper. But now it's like I'm starting over again. Eventually I'll be able to plan for 10 separate lessons each day, but right now it's almost impossible...it's like preparing for 10 different trajectories, based on the needs of each student in those groups, the content, the timing, the teachers...and I teach 55 students each day!!

I can't wait to visit my parents for Thanksgiving. I haven't been back to Ann Arbor since March. I'm not homesick, because I've only spent a week in their new house, but it'll be fun to see my family all together again. I can't believe it's next week! Though I'm kind of nervous, because my "room" is also my Dad's yoga/meditation/incense room :)

I can't deal with the bugs in my building anymore. When I came home tonight there were two 3-inch-long centipedes in the stairwell. Three inches! That's more than disgusting...I could see the eyes. So, I'm going to request pest control again, and after that I might go to a lawyer and get a rent abatement (that's legal jargon for a partial refund...there's a lot of helpful information on the Renters' website:). I don't even sleep in my bedroom anymore, so I shouldn't really have to pay for a one-bedroom, because what I really have is a studio with an extra room to store my clothes, that is otherwise sealed off because the centipedes roam at night. Anyway, the minute that I saw them, I froze and my hand went to my neck to button my collar. I have a subconscious, innate skittishness around huge insects. I might not get any sleep tonight. I need a vacation so much...from my apartment. What I really need is someone to protect me from the bugs. Like a sweet dog to sniff them out.

Chick flick?
I don't understand the stigma that some people have against romantic movies. It's just romance! A guy, who will go unnamed, actually called to get my opinion if a movie that he enjoyed was a chick flick, as though that should affect how much he actually liked it. There is such a double standard...the fact that I want to see the midnight show of Fight Club at the Uptown is probably much more acceptable, right?

Other things I don't understand:
*how "I can't believe it's not butter" can have no fat at all
*why people take up scrapbooking as a hobby...use a glue stick and some markers and just call it a day, honestly
*Ashlee Simpson's popularity
*the Sunshine teacher-spirit committee at my school...I will never be that peppy! We're having a holiday party at Bennigan's; it's a little too much like "the office" for me
*why the veterans had to fire rifles outside today and freak out all the kids
*why the smelly Mr. Washable marker smells like licorice:) There must people something better than that

Veterans' Day
Here's a story about my Grandpa, who was in the army during WWII. After paratrooping into France during the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge, his battalion was walking through abandoned villages in eastern France on Christmas Day. They found a house that had been left so recently that there was smoke coming from the chimney and food in the kitchen. Since they were resourceful soldiers, they went inside and had Christmas dinner together! And it was obviously quite a gourmet meal, since they were in France:)

My desire for excitement outside of school is apparently insatiable.

I decided to go back to the beginning of my postings on this blog and see how I've changed since then (April 2003). It's kind of scary to see how cynical I've become! My posts aren't "omg...I love starbucks!!" anymore, they're mostly dedicated to my job, which is apparently sucking the enthusiasm out of me. Maybe I am becoming a Republican with this quick decrease in idealism.

Although I know that almost everyone is completely absorbed by their first job, I feel like I'm lacking the dichotomy of the typical 23-year-old. I have a new theory: the reason why young adults party more now, why both genders marry later, and binge drinking is so common, is that now everyone's expected to work longer hours, with more and more technology actually increasing the amount of work done each day, and they crave the juxtaposition just to maintain their sanity! That's what I think. Because I suddenly have a desire to get really dressed up, in my red satin halter dress, and hit the Uptown bars. I want the same sense of urgency and overhwhelming emotion in my life as I have in my work...um, well, that's going to take a lot of wild nights. And I'm not even a party girl!

If I don't have that same feeling outside of school- the anxiety, dedication, mental stimulation- I feel like my free time is completely unproductive. It's so sad. I sat at my table this evening and practically had a panic attack: I need to be having more fun than this! Is this really the best you can do for the only free evening you'll have this week? But I couldn't think of anything really exciting I could do tonight. All of my friends here are just as busy...the chances of someone having time to entertain me for a few hours is unlikely. So I made raspberry cupcakes. And next I'm going to wash my dishes.

This is the longest post I've made for such a long time. Actually, I've regained my optimism in the time it took to write it. Who could have predicted that?:)

Ok, since I can't seem to concentrate at all today, I'm going to put aside planning for my Principal's observation and make a list of the highlights of my day (not all necessarily good):

10. Mexican fiesta soup for lunch...where has Campbell's been hiding this all my life? So, so good.
9. I found my pink Ali McGraw hat (circa Love Story). That's the only reason I wish it would snow soon:)
8. Rocío and I discussed differences between Mexican and American men. Apparently Mexican men think that they should try to be friends first...
7. The principal seemed kind of overwhelmed by my 5-color-coded schedule change proposal. He even chuckled a little bit. I hope that's a good thing! In any case, he must have been impressed with my ample highlighter use.
6. Starting on Thanksgiving, I will be in a different place every weekend: Ann Arbor, then St. Olaf for the concerts, Chicago for my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary, and then Marshall for Christmas.
5. I asked for a new computer for my classroom this morning and it was completely hooked up by lunch. I am so lucky to work in this school district!!
4. During a presentation about drugs, given by a policewoman, one of the third graders asked, incredulously, "Wait...you mean pot isn't legal? Really?" OMG...where has he been seeing it, I wonder? ;)
3. Another third grader summarized the entire plot of "Halloween" for me while we were waiting in line. When I suggested that maybe he could say "this is too scary" and go to his room when that movie is on TV in his living room, he said "Oh, no, it's not scary. At the end, the mom kills the bad guy, Michael Myers, with an axe." Why won't he use his summarizing skills in my class? Can he only do that with R-rated movies about serial killers?
2. If I ever finish my lesson plan, I'm going to make raspberry cupcakes from scratch.
1. Okay, my most teacherish highlight: I actually got a chance to whip out my thesaurus today, when one of my students tried to write that doing well on tests makes her feel "good." It's so cute: now I have one sentence on my "Why should we think positive?" poster that says "Doing well on tests makes me feel splendid." :)

I completely love doing things that have nothing to do with school! I've missed that so much (so much more than I thought;). Today I'm going to run around Lake Harriet, which will hopefully give me enough endorphins to stay happy through finishing my planning this afternoon, and then I'll have time for something more.

John, here's the list you asked for:) I hope you guys have fun this week...
Local boy in the photograph- Stereophonics
Tired of Being Sorry- Ringside
Use It- The New Pornographers
Forever Young- Youth Group
Dancin' in The Moonlight- Toploader
Autumn Sweater- Yo La Tengo
Cherry Blossom Girl- Air
Rain City- Turin Brakes
Your Eyes Open- Keane
The Group Who Couldn't Say- Grandaddy
Brighter Than Sunshine (Live At Shepherd's Bush Empire, London)- Aqualung
Let the Distance Keep Us Together- Bright Eyes/Britt Daniel & Spoon
Stephanie Says- The Velvet Underground
Sing Me Spanish Techno- The New Pornographers
To The End- Blur
Struggle- Ringside

The inevitable has happened: I took a nap at school:) It couldn't be helped; I was exhausted after a morning of parent-teacher conferences, but I wanted to stay for a few more hours to organize and plan. So I closed the door to my little room and put my head down on the kidney table. It was very refreshing...no wonder my students try to do it all the time.

... Fill out your answers and re-post ... FIRST thing to do before going to sleep: That's a tricky question- really, the first thing I do before I go to sleep is wake up. The last thing I do is turn off the light. FIRST pet: a teddybear hamster named Rosebud (I was in a classic movie phase when I was 10:)). I got her when she was a baby and soon found out that she had no eye balls...gross! She died from lack of personal hygiene :( FIRST primary school: The Walt Disney School. Doesn't it sound fun? Um, not really...it's just a school in Rochester, NY, that the kids had the opportunity to name. FIRST alcoholic drink you had: Pimms and lemondade in Oxford...I didn't drink until I was legal, but it's a gray area since I was in a different country. FIRST time you entered a bar: Once I was in a country with more lax drinking laws. FIRST time you were sent to the principal for disciplinary action: Never...and now I have the power to send kids, but I use it benevolently FIRST record you bought: It was probably Debbie Gibson FIRST musical instrument you learned to play: Piano...my first teacher thought that I was a prodigy, so she decided that she didn't have the skills to train me. I guess I showed her when I stopped lessons 8 years later! (I wish I hadn't!) FIRST concert you watched: I went to a Devo concert 3 months before I was born:) FIRST sport you played: Lacrosse. It's not fun when a ball as hard as a hockey puck hits your unhelmeted head. Why do boys lacrosse get pads but girls don't? FIRST terrible fight: It was a bar brawl in East Surrey. Just kidding! The worst have always been with my little brother, though I can't imagine fighting with him now. FIRST best friend: Annie Stulberg. We were born two days apart in the same room. FIRST wedding you attended: My Aunt Emily's FIRST person who greeted you on your last birthday: I was so busy on my last birthday, I don't even remember what I did. FIRST collection: Keychains...it's huge FIRST time you saw a ghost: never FIRST roller coaster ride: I can't remember FIRST ambition: I wanted to be an architect. I designed amazing Barbie dreamhouses out of legos...I wasn't content with the prefab models. FIRST job: I was an administrative assistant at the Lear Corporation in Dearborn. (That, and I babysat for years and years. Which is how I built the connections to get that job). FIRST thing you bought with your 1st salary: Probably clothes FIRST thing you bought today: Dolce de Leche scone at Caribou coffee FIRST person you hated: I don't think I've ever hated anyone, per se LAST concert you watched: The Decemberists...but it was mostly listening because I couldn't see anything LAST book you bought: A Beginner's Guide to Arabic. I have a student that I communicate with at all. But now I know how to say teacher, so now I'm a big help, right? LAST thing you bought: Iced Chai Tea Latte at Caribou LAST TV show watched: CNN morning. I wish they had kept Bill Hemmer...he attracted my demographic, I'm sure. LAST movie you watched: Good Night, and Good Luck LAST time you traveled out of the country: Two years ago, to Europe LAST song listened: Tired of Being Sorry, by Ringside LAST argument: My dad, because I lost his Mac OSX software. Oops! LAST thought: Having 12 parent-teacher conferences in four hours is exhausting. Especially since I only see the students for 30 minutes a day, so there's not much to say. Have a good Wednesday!

"Miss , you look like a present. Can I buy you and take you home?"

[After I told them I thought I looked like a candy cane in my striped sweater]... "If you were a candy cane, I'd eat you."

I like my job because the people I'm around all day can say things like that and I know that they're just being nice.

Tonight, I spent over an hour rearranging my schedule so that I meet with certain students at specific times of day when they're least likely to doze off. I also

I'm incredibly overly excited to have a 3 1/2-day weekend. I want to do something fun...any ideas? Does anyone want to go to Ichiban?