Remember when New Year's Eve was fun?

Maybe it's just me, but I truly do not enjoy New Year's Eve anymore. I don't know what happened, exactly. I used to like it. Back in high school, and perhaps the first year or two of college, I threw an annual New Year's Eve party. All of my friends (and their friends) had a standing invitation to the party, and we always had a good time. Or at least that's how I remember it. Perhaps I'm editing memory here, but I like the idea of thinking that everyone had a good time at my parties.

At some point, I outgrew the parties... and some of the friends, too... and they outgrew me. I remember the first year that my party plans were threatened by a severe lack of guests. It seems that one of my guests planned her own party. The guest list was divided, and loyalties were challenged. It was messy. But if I recall correctly, that year proved to be my biggest and best New Year's Eve party. Some 40 people showed up (invited and uninvited), an impromptu dance floor was created, and several people stuck around until the wee hours of the morning. (I have the whole thing documented on several hours worth of video tape.)

It was my best New Year's Eve party, and also my last. To everything, there is a season, I suppose.

After that, there was a series of interesting New Year's Eves: a Barenaked Ladies concert, a completely spontaneous crashing of a party at the house of an old high school friend (that was 99-00, and I wound up having a really good time), and following that, the year that all of my friends were invited to their friends' parties. (That was the first year that I spent at home, alone, with the clock covered, because I couldn't stand the idea of ringing in the new year by myself.)

For the next two years, some friends and I went to parties at bars we used to frequent. Expensive, loud, hot. Crowded with drunk people I didn't know and didn't like. Not worth my time or my money.

This year I'm going to New York, to be with my friends and their friends. We've rented a limo to take us to a hibachi restaurant/club for dinner, drinking and dancing. A bit on the pricy side, I guess, but it sounds like a really good time. I'm looking forward to it, not because it's New Year's Eve, but because I get to spend time with people I like.

It's not that I hate New Year's Eve... I just don't like how people make such a huge deal out of it (and every other holiday we celebrate).

Okay, I'm venting again. And damnit, I'm not even finished. I really wanted to tackle the whole New Year's resolution thing. Ah, another post for another time.

blah

So here's the deal: I have the entire week off from work. I know that sounds fabulous and glorious, but seriously, it's not all it's cracked up to be.

First of all, most of my friends work non-teaching jobs, so no one else is around to hang out with during the day. I can go out at night, but my friends can't stay out late, because they have to work the next day.

Being home all day with nothing to do sounds great... in theory... but after the first day, it gets kinda boring. Since I had a very stressful month of work and school, I decided not to bring home any work over break. So I don't have papers to grade, and I'm between semesters in grad school, so I don't have any classwork to do.

I've been spending my days off doing the following: laundry (every blessed piece of clothing or bedding I own), feeding and walking the dog (who sleeps most of the day), watching TV and DVDs, checking/writing email.

I keep thinking I should DO something. I thought about going out today, but I'm not sure where to go. For the first time in YEARS I didn't get any giftcards for Christmas, so I haven't felt like going shopping. (Plus, there's nothing I need to buy.) I'm not a fan of going to the movies, so that's out.

Then I thought, hell with it. I have a week off. There's no law that says I have to do something with my time off. So why can't I just sit here and do nothing for several days in a row? How often do I get to do that? Not often at all. Not even in the summer, since I work camp and take summer classes.

So that works for a few minutes. I convince myself that I don't need to do anything at all. And then, out of nowhere, I feel guilty for doing nothing.

I can't win.

Currently, I have my sheets in the wash and Season 2 of "Mad About You" playing on TV. I spent about 10 minutes writing this blog, and now that it's done, I feel like I should go organize my CD collection or something.

happy day after christmas to you!

So, Christmas is over. And now I can sit in my pajamas all day and do absolutely nothing, because I deserve the break, damnit. I had the longest week ever. On Tuesday, I swore it was Wednesday... on Wednesday, I thought it felt like Thursday... by Thursday, I just didn't give a shit anymore. I had full days of work from Monday-Thursday... and if you have a six year old (or just know one), you know how excited they get about Christmas and Santa and presents and everything else that goes with it. Imagine 19 six year olds. For 4 1/2 days. Holy crap.

Thursday night was our school's annual Christmas show, which meant an extra long day for me. My kids were cute as hell (of course), and the show was great, but I was exhausted by the end of the night. That didn't stop me from going out with Erin to Whiskey Tango to see a kickass cover band. We met up with Karen, Rich, and Gina... and Kay was there, too! I had way too much to drink, resulting in a wicked hangover Friday morning. Dealing with six year olds whilst hungover is NOT a good idea. Thank God it was a half day - I don't know how Erin got through a full day with her 6th graders. She's a trooper. :-)

Last night Doug and I headed over to Kay's for her Christmas karaoke party. I kicked some ass. (Well, I think so, anyway, and that's all that counts.) I would've smoked my last song ("How You Remind Me") if it wasn't for my "backup singers." I need to go get a Play Station so I can buy the karaoke game and throw singing parties.

And the week ain't over yet: I've got another night out, another party, and New Year's Eve in New York. Woo-hoo!

a Christmas rant

I am fucking sick to death of everyone suddenly being all PC about the "holiday season." We can't say "Merry Christmas" without offending someone. We can't display a nativity scene in a public place. And certain stores now have banners advertising "holiday trees," instead of "Christmas trees." Come on, now, how many holidays in December (or any other month, for that matter) use a pine tree? You're not fooling anyone by changing the word "Christmas" to "holiday."

I don't know who is doing the complaining, but it's getting out of hand. My mother works in a large bank in Newtown that has always decorated for Christmas. This year, a customer called to complain about the decorations, saying that he would take his money out of the bank if the decorations weren't removed. The complaint made its way to the president of the bank, who ordered the decorations to be taken down. What happened next? Well, of course, several other loyal customers called to complain that there were NO decorations on display. Those complaints were also directed to the bank’s president, but he has opted to keep the bank Christmas-free. (I’m so very grateful that I work in a Catholic school, and that I’m not only allowed, but encouraged to decorate for Christmas.)

It’s not a religious thing… even though people are treating it that way. But think about it. Who exactly is pushing Christmas and Christmas carols and Christmas shopping? The media. Two stations in Philly were playing non-stop “holiday music” in November (which really means “Christmas music,” since I’ve yet to hear a Hanukkah or Kwanzaa song.) If you watch TV, read the paper, or use the Internet, you’ve been seeing ads for decorations, presents and other assorted holiday paraphernalia for over a month now.

And if people are so worked up about it being a religious issue (saying that stores who promote Christmas are favoring one religious holiday over another)… well, maybe they should take a look at the people who celebrate Christmas. I don’t want to get all holier-than-thou here, but the truth is that Christmas began as a religious holiday. There are many, many people who celebrate Christmas by putting up a tree, baking cookies and buying presents, despite the fact that they aren’t practicing Catholics/Christians. I could name several right now, but I’m not going to single anyone out, because it’s not fair to them. In our society, it’s become acceptable to turn a religious celebration into a secular, commercialized one. Look at the other holidays we celebrate. February 14th – a day that we’re urged to remember our loved ones with chocolates and cards – is the feast of Saint Valentine, a Catholic saint. March 17th – a day that many people use as an opportunity to get drunk – is the feast of Saint Patrick, another Catholic saint. Mardi Gras, a day for drinking, partying and flashing people, is the day before the Catholic season of Lent. Mardi Gras was traditionally a day to eat and drink before Lent’s 40-day period of fast and sacrifice. Even the legend of the non-religious holiday icon Santa Claus was based on a Catholic saint, Saint Nicholas, who left gifts of money for the poor people in his village.

See, I said I wasn’t going to be a holy roller, but it got kinda hard not to. I don’t have anything against non-practicing Catholics who celebrate Christmas… but it’s like me saying, “Hey, 8 days of presents sounds like a good idea. I think I’m gonna celebrate Hanukkah from now on.” It just doesn’t make sense.

I’m not sure who my beef is with. The media, for forcing Christmas down our throats? Maybe. The overly sensitive people who seem to think that everything is a personal slight against them? Perhaps. At any rate, I refuse to apologize for my beliefs and opinions.

That having been said, I apologize if this blog was offensive to anyone. Happy holidays, all!

who needs sleep?

I had a crazy week. And then I had a crazy weekend. This has been the story of my life for the past few weeks, and I fear next week will be no different.

After teaching a full day on Thursday, I had to stay for parent conferences from 4-7 PM. On Friday, we had conferences again from 9-11 AM, followed by our faculty Christmas party. Got home at 3, baked four dozen cupcakes for Lunch with Santa, did some laundry, and went to Karen's Christmas party.

(Brief notes about party, for those who did not attend: much alcohol was consumed, old jokes and high school memories were revisited, inappropriate text messages were sent, and a good time was had by all. Got home at 4 AM, and woke up at 8 AM. With a wee bit of a hangover.)

This morning, I went to our school's Lunch with Santa. The cafeteria was filled with kids ranging in age from 6 months to 12 years... and oh my GOD, the noise... Not exactly the place a person with a hangover and 4 hours of sleep should be. So needless to say, I was exhausted when I came home. I pretty much did nothing tonight. Threw in some laundry, put on a movie, slept through most of it.

So it's 8 days until Christmas. Is everyone ready? I'm not. I have to finish shopping and start baking. I need to decide what to give my first graders for Christmas. I have to wrap my presents. So much to do, so little time. I'm not a fan of the hustle or the bustle. But the holly and the jolly I like.

"... I twisted it wrong just to make it right..."

I figured that after those two completely bitchy posts, I should assure my readers that I am in much better spirits these days. (And no, I'm not drunk...)

Work is going well. The kids are extremely, extremely, EXTREMELY hyper... what with the upcoming holiday season and all... but I've been able to stay on top of them. For the most part.

My principal was in my room last week to observe me. My kids were awesome, and my principal loved my lesson. Report cards are due tomorrow (I just finished writing them - no one failed!), and parent conferences are Thursday & Friday. After that, it's smooth sailing as far as work goes. Our faculty party is this Friday after conferences, our school Christmas show is next Thursday... and next Friday at 12 PM, I'll be running out the door, car keys in hand, ready to start my break. Woo-hoo!

And to end this on a happy note - the past few days have been stressful and frustrating and exhausting (for various reasons, some of which will remain nameless). But today, I was positively giddy (also for various reasons, none of which will be revealed here). I was tempted to do the Snoopy happy dance (you know... the one he does in the Charlie Brown Christmas special?), but I was afraid I'd scare my kiddies. I really wanted to, though. Tee hee...

and it continues...

My weekend just got exponentially worse. I woke up this morning and heard a story that REALLY upset me. And then the dog threw up.

I'm done with my weekend. I just wanna go back to work.

why this weekend sucked

Sooooo.... this is probably gonna be a long bitchy blog. If you don't want to hear me complain, stop reading now.

Are you sure?

Okay.

If you've decided to embark on this journey with me, then I give you props. I'm not in a good mood, and since blogging is currently my only available outlet, I plan to make good use of it.
I had a four day weekend, and I had a lot of plans for it. Planned to wake up early on Thursday and spend my day shopping. Instead, I slept til 11:30 and got a late start on shopping. I did, however, get a lot done (God bless Target), so I didn't feel so bad about sleeping in. Thursday night I went to the Fiona Apple concert. I purposely left my house early, based on my past experiences driving to Tower Theater. I got caught in traffic on 95 and then again on 676. Then Market Street was closed for construction, so I had to take a crazy detour around an area of the city with which I am unfamiliar, and therefore, uncomfortable. I got to the concert 15 minutes late, but all I missed was the guy who opened, and he wasn't that hot. Fiona, on the other hand, was awesome. Highly recommended. Great, great show.

Planned to do more shopping on Friday, followed by decorating. Woke up to lots of snow, and found out that "all public and parochial schools" were closed. DAMNIT. They called a snow day on my day off!!! What a huge waste. I opted not to go shopping and spent the day decorating with my mother (who called out of work).

That brings us to today. I had tickets for a Flyers game, but gave them up because I agreed to go with my mother on a bus trip to Lancaster & Reading to visit a Christmas Village and a National Christmas Museum. (It sounded like a good idea at the time...) Most of the trip was nice. It was mostly older people... and one five year old boy named Adam, who the tour guide just thought was the cutest damn thing. I did not. (Off-duty teachers are not required to think children are cute. Especially on the weekend.) The last stop we made was to a Christmas Village. It was entirely outdoors - basically a light display that looked fabulous from the road, and kinda crappy close-up. (The closer you get to Christmas light designs, the less they look like whatever it is they're supposed to look like.) It was bitter cold, extremely crowded, and a little too commercialized for my taste. Canned Christmas music (I heard the Neil Diamond version of "The Hallelujah Chorus." Seriously.), gaudy light displays, and obnoxious, cranky people do not make for a fun evening.

The bus was supposed to be back in Philly by 8:45, which means I'd have been home by 9 at the latest. I had plans to go see Jealousy Curve and Bridges and a Bottle at Grape Street tonight. I even had a ride offer from Ray. Sadly, I had to text him to let him know I would not be able to make it, because the bus left the Christmas Village 15 minutes later than planned, and I didn't get home until 9:40. Sure, I could've driven myself to Manayunk... but by the time I cleaned the snow off of my car and tapped MAC, it just wouldn't have been worth it.

So now I'm home on Saturday night and I'm bored and I'm pissed off and I just spent 20 minutes bitching about my weekend on myspace. Blah.

I'm going to go listen to some music and grade some papers until I fall asleep. I still have one day left of the weekend - maybe it won't be a total waste.

Thanks for listening. I'm done bitching now.

feelin' fabulous

I went to class tonight - the last one of the semester! Yay! Oh, and I got my big ass project back. I got an A, which means I also have an A for the course. 4.0, baby!

Okay, enough bragging. I gotta go grade some papers. Report cards are due next week.

19 days until Christmas!

xmas, free verse

today, I'm Christmas-ing

music

decorations

wrapping paper

cards

all unearthed from their places of spring hibernation

and stacked in piles on the basement floor

boxes

crates

bags

an unwieldy array of cheer

ready to be displayed

the ordinary of the house is suffocated

by the jingle of bells

and the circle of wreaths

too much merry

the calm of me is stifled

by the pile of ads

the call of the mall

the emptiness of wallet

'tis the season

stuff

I handed in my bitch of a project tonight. And I filled out my professor's evaluation. I was honest, but not mean. It's all good. One class left this semester (next Tuesday) and then I can celebrate!

I had weekend plans to go visit a friend in West Chester to do Christmas shopping and other assorted holiday fun things. Apparently we had our weekends mixed up, though. Her man is visiting her this weekend, so I am now unexpectedly free of plans. That kinda sucks.

This week is DRAGGING. How is it only Tuesday??? Blech.

Well, this was pointless. And it's past my bedtime, so I'd best be hittin' the sack. :)

I wanted to do this hours ago...

... but I didn't.

I have a MAJOR report to turn in for grad school and it's due Tuesday. It's part of a reading assessment I've been working on all semester. I have to write a case study and organize everything in a binder and hand it in and hope to God that I didn't fuck anything up. Kinda stressful. I don't think it'd be half as stressful if our professor were just a tad more helpful. But there's not much I can do about that.

So when I woke up today (after getting FOUR hours of sleep), I wanted to get on here and blog my lil ol' heart out. (It's addictive, damnit!) But I didn't. I spent all day working on my project... in between doing laundry and checking my email (not procrastinating, waiting for something from a friend in the same class). The project's not quite done yet, but I thought it'd be okay to take a blog-break.

Last night was crazy. I've never seen Street Road Bar & Grille so packed! It was like everyone and their mother (and father, and sister, and cousin) showed up to see UpFall and In Theory. I feel like I spent all night socializing. I must have talked to everyone at one point or another. I don't think they could've asked for a better crowd. As per usual, the music was kickass. I totally dig UpFall's new covers, and I LOVED the comeback of the Trio Medley!!! Hands down, my favorite UpFall song. And as for In Theory... well, what can I say? Those boys rock hard core. They played all my favorites (although I was promised a surprise cover, which never happened). And I'm all about their new originals, especially "What I Want." That's the shit, man! They need to get that up on their myspace profile so I can hear it again!

It goes without saying that the alcohol was flowing freely. I had several beers, as well as two shots of Jaeger: one with the UpFall boys before their set, and one with Dan... just because I thought he could use one. Jaeger does a body good! And it also goes without saying that the evening ended in the wee hours of the morning at the fabulous GA. There's nothing quite like quoting Dane Cook and debating the merits of standardized testing over a plate of french toast at 4 AM. Good times.

It was a great way to end my Thanksgiving break. Unfortunately, it's time to get back into work-mode. I agree with Sharon - we should have off for Thanksgiving Monday (much like Easter Monday). We could all use an extra day to recover.

boo... hiss...

I'm so pissed off by the Flyers that I felt the need to post again. Today's game was disgraceful. No other word would even begin to describe it.

But I still have tonight to look forward to... whoo!

Hey, if you haven't already planned on it, come on out to Street Road Bar and Grill to see UpFall and In Theory rock out! It'll be worth it!

the aftermath of turkey... and other adventures

It feels like Sunday, but it's only Friday. That's freakin' sweet.

I've been taking full advantage of my time off from work. Wednesday was a half day, so I had some time to do laundry and relax before heading out to see Jealousy Curve. They were amazing. This is only my second time seeing them... but I think I appreciated them a lot more this time, because I've been listening to their CD since the first time I saw them. I knew more of the songs, so I was able to sing along like the crazy ol' groupie I am. (Just kidding. I'm no groupie. But I do *heart* musicians.)

I gotta say... even though JC was awesome, the bar was a nightmare. It was kinda ratty and dingy and squalid... and very crowded. I had to literally elbow my way to the bar when I needed a beer refill. And the bathroom situation was ridiculous. Three toilets. Total. In a place where alcohol is consumed in mass quantities. And, oh yes, let's not forget the steps that one has to use to get out of the bar. Whose bright idea was it to make the drunk people go down the steps?

Ray and I had some navigational difficulties on the drive home (in the snow, woo!), but we managed to get home without incident. (By the way, Ray, we needed to take 476 south instead of north to pick up 95. Oh well.) I got home at around 2:30 AM and the first thing I did was settle myself in bed to watch that night's episode of "Lost," which I had taped. Or so I thought. Turns out, I screwed something up, and it only taped the first ten minutes of the show. I was PISSED. But I figured out that I could download it, so I did that tonight. I'm gonna watch it as soon as I'm done typing this.
Today my mother and I went to the movies to see "Rent." I was totally unimpressed. I'm not big into movies to begin with, but I figured, you know, it's a musical and everyone raves about it. But honestly? It was depressing, the music was just okay, and it was way too long for my taste. I want my $6 back.

Tomorrow is going to kick MAJOR ASS. Flyers game in the afternoon, and an UpFall/In Theory show at night. The Flyers won today, and I'm expecting big things from them tomorrow. They'd better not disappoint. And as for the bands... well, they never disappoint. And I heard a crazy rumor that In Theory has something extra special up their collective sleeves. (I have an inside source...)

Okay, I can't wait anymore. I need to go watch "Lost."

it's the most wonderful (?) time of the year

Look at me go. I'm just blogging everyday now.

Anyway, I feel better. Almost perfect. My throat is still slightly sore, but mostly only after I have a coughing fit. And the coughing's getting better, so I guess it's almost over. But the sore throat does not bode well for my week/weekend plans. How am I supposed to sing along with In Theory or yell at the refs at the Flyers game with a sore throat? Not good.

Here's my gripe o' the day. I'm disturbed by the fact that people are already doing their Christmas shopping. I haven't even started thinking about it. I can barely decide what I'm wearing to work tomorrow... how can I be expected to plan a gift list and a budget? Bleh.

I'm all about Christmas. I like the traditions, the dinners, the cookie baking, the gift wrapping, the decorations. But I can't deal with all this commercialism. Christmas candy was stacked next to Halloween candy in October. Christmas cards and decorations were in the seasonal aisle with the scarecrows and pumpkins in November. And don't get me started on the Christmas carols. Two radio stations are now playing non-stop holiday music. It's not even Thanksgiving. Why do people insist on forcing Christmas down our throats? It feels like it starts earlier every year. There's just no reason for that.

I'm sick of it already and it's not even Advent yet. That's just depressing as all get out.

Bah humbug, I say.

NyQuil is my friend

When I woke up this morning, I felt a lot better than I did yesterday. But after two hours with my first graders, my throat was sore again and my head was pounding. Blech. So I wussed out and went home early. It's the first time in three years that I had to miss work for being sick... and it's the first time that I've ever gone home early.
I spent the day on the couch, wrapped in an afghan, doped up on NyQuil, watching hours of horrible TV reruns ("Full House," "Step by Step," "Family Matters," "Boy Meets World.")

I'm going back to work tomorrow. I have a day and a half left before Thanksgiving break. I can get through it.

*cough*

I have a sore throat. It sucks. I don't have a fever or a headache or even a cold. Just a sore throat. And I have to teach tomorrow. I'd call out, but we only have 2 1/2 days of school this week, due to the Turkey Day festivities. It's just not worth it.

Anyway.

Rumor has it that there is a shit-load of local rock happening this week/weekend. For those of you who don't know, I am a HUGE fan of the rock. And local rock... well, that's a new passion of mine. If I can swing it, my plans for this week will be as follows:

Wednesday - Jealousy Curve
Thursday - Turkey Day
Friday - Fooling April
Saturday - Flyers game (woo-hoo!), UpFall/...In Theory
Sunday - (much needed) day of rest

Should be a good week.

Last night I went out for a friend's birthday. We went to a restaurant/bar in Bensalem (a total dive, but sometimes they're the most fun). It was karaoke night, and it was also some guy's 80th birthday party. Know what that means? Lots of old people singing Tony Bennett. It was... interesting. But we had a good time. Then Pat showed up and bought us shots of Jaeger. Yay for Pat! Yay for shots! Needless to say, the "entertainment" was a lot more entertaining after that.

The group I was with tried in vain to convince me to sing karaoke. I would have considered it, if not for the sore throat. But I'm not much for singing in public. Anyone who saw me at our last house party saw how I avoided the mike at all costs (that is, until I was too drunk to notice/care). And I've been known to stay away from Ray at ...In Theory shows for fear that he'll stick the mike in my face (as he's wont to do). I've never done karaoke in my life. Ever. One of these days, perhaps.

Gotta jet. My laundry beckons.

grrrr...

I had a paper & a presentation due tonight for my grad school class. My partner and I met 4 different times (twice on a Saturday, once during our Fall Break, when we had the week off from class, and once before class last week) to work on this project. We exchanged a few phone calls and countless emails. We turned in a 7-page paper, and gave a 20-slide presentation, complete with a 5-page handout, 2 video clips, 3 overheads, and a hands-on group activity. It was quite impressive, if I do say so myself.

It took us about half an hour to present, but it would've been 10 minutes shorter if the professor didn't keep interrupting us to put his two cents in. Then, right toward the end of our presentation, he LEFT THE ROOM to return the TV/VCR. I was appalled. We kept talking, though. Damned if I'll stop so he can run errands. We were the last group to present tonight, so class was over as soon as we finished. Because of his constant interruptions, class ran 5 minutes over, which I'm sure pissed a few people off.

And then, the icing on the proverbial cake: Before we left, he gave us back our graded paper and the grade for our presentation. Lemme get this straight... he somehow managed to read a 7-page paper, grade it, and give his full and undivided attention to our presentation, all in the space of 25 minutes? I don't think so. We did all that work, and all we got for it was a few check marks on the paper, and a comment that said "nice use of powerpoint" for the talk we gave tonight. Bullshit.

We got an A, though.

But still. This professor really gets on my nerves. Course evaluations are next week. I can't wait to write about him. Fucker.

girls' night out

Tonight was surreal. And that's all I have to say about that.

yawn

Ugh. It's Thursday, but I still feel like I'm recovering from last weekend. I had 2 long days, 2 late nights, a lot of alcohol, and 4 hours of driving. I felt fine Monday and Tuesday. Then yesterday, I felt like I was sleeping on my feet all day. I overslept, rushed to work, and dragged my ass through my day. Today was slightly better, but still... trying to stay on top of 19 energetic first graders is draining enough as it is.

Despite my sheer exhaustion, I'm trying to figure out my plans for this weekend. I should do something relaxing. I don't see that happening, though. I feel like going out and doing something fun. I'll regret that next week, for sure.

I am TOTALLY looking forward to the UpFall/In Theory show on the 26th. It's been way too long since I've seen the UpFall boys live in concert. And rumor has it that they have some new material. Hmmm... any chance they've learned "I Touch Myself"? That would rock hard core.

hell yeah

Got my midterm back last night.... got an A (96).

I rock.

wedding weekend

I. AM. SO. FUCKING. TIRED.

I spent the weekend in New York for my friends' wedding. I had a great time, but it was a busy weekend. Rehearsal & rehearsal dinner Friday night, hairdresser came early on Saturday morning, pictures started at noon, ceremony at 2:30, reception at 6. Then back to the hotel to hit the club in the lobby for more dancing, then up to the bridal suite for some after-hours partying with the newlyweds. I didn't get to sleep until 4 AM.

The bridal party was very large (6 bridesmaids, 1 man-of-honor, 1 best man, 6 groomsmen, 1 mother-of-the-groom escort, 1 flower girl, 1 ring bearer), so we had an 18 passenger SUV scheduled to take us from the apartment to the church. But when it got to the apartment (10 minutes late), it was leaking transmission fluid. There was no way to get a replacement limo in time, so we had to call cabs. Talk about arriving in style! The replacement limo took us from the church to the reception hall, and then a school bus took us from the hall to the hotel (along with about 30 other out-of-town guests). Even though the SUV was cool, I think the cheese-bus ride was the highlight as far as transportation goes. There's nothing quite like a busload of drunk wedding-goers singing at the top of their lungs while passing a bottle of vodka around. Sweet.

Embarrassing story of the evening (you knew there would be one!): It was cocktail hour, and some bridesmaids & I were mingling with guests. I saw a VERY good looking guy standing by himself across the room, eating some hors d'oeurves. Dark hair, nice suit, no wedding ring, and it didn't look like he was with anyone. No one I was talking to knew who he was, so I made it my mission to find out. I said to one of the bridesmaids, "Okay, he's not married, as far as we can tell. So knowing my luck, he's gotta be gay." Just then, the DJ asked the bridal party to line up so that we could make our entrance into the reception hall. Hot Guy walked past us on his way into the hall, and the man-of-honor (bride's gay best friend) stopped him so that he could introduce all of us to his new boyfriend. DAMNIT. Later, I told man-of-honor & Hot Guy the story, and we all had a good laugh over it. But man, what a waste!

Anyway, I'm exhausted (I got maybe about 10 hours of sleep total this weekend)... and I'm probably still hungover... and I'm sore from walking around in heels and dancing all night. Tomorrow is a faculty meeting, so I don't have to deal with the kids. Whoo-hoo!

I'm awake!

So it's almost midnight, but I'm not asleep because tomorrow is a personal day for me. WHOO! I'm leaving for NY sometime in the late morning/early afternoon for my friend's wedding (which is Saturday). I'm in the wedding, which means I have a lovely hunter green dress that I'll wear once and then stick in the back of my closet to collect dust. Oh, and shoes dyed to match.

I did my nails tonight. I never do my nails, because they always chip. This time is no exception. I went with a French manicure (a do-it-yourself kit, go me!), thinking that a lighter color wouldn't show as much if it chipped. I can see the imperfection, but I'm sure no one else is going to be staring at my nails. At least I hope not. That'd be kinda creepy.

From what I hear, there's going to be a shortage of single guys at this wedding. The groom is 35 and his friends are all married already. That doesn't bother me TOO much... but it'd be nice to meet someone, you know? Hell with it. I'm gonna go get drunk & have a blast either way. It's gonna be one hell of a party.

I still haven't packed. Eh. I'll get to it later.

What I'm doing right now (cuz I know you wanna know)

... watching the Flyers (they're up 2-1 right now)

... stuffing pumpkin shaped treat bags for my first graders (Halloween pencil, jack o'lantern eraser, spider ring, small sheet of Halloween stickers, and 2 Dum-Dum lollipops)

... baking Halloween cookies (the break 'n bake kind, for school tomorrow)

... typing my weekly "First Grade Homework" sheet

... ignoring my puppy (who is under the mistaken impression that Dum-Dums are puppy treats)

... waiting for dryer to buzz

Just a little slice of my life... from me to you with love.

TGIF? Not really.

Damn stomach flu is going around school. One kid threw up last Friday. This week, I had one out Monday and Tuesday, one out Thursday, and one out Friday. Plus two of my kids threw up in school on Friday (not in my classroom, thank God) and had to be sent home.

I left on Friday feeling mentally and physically exhausted. But not sick. Then I made the mistake of going to our 8th grade teacher’s house for happy hour. She had all sorts of yummy snacks out: cheese and crackers, tortillas and salsa, veggie tray. She gave us a choice of cerveza or homemade pina coladas. She served taquitos (beef and chicken). I had three pina coladas (two with alcohol, one virgin) and a shot of passion fruit rum. I munched on a lot of veggies and chips, as well as a few taquitos (YUM).

I got caught in some crazy traffic going home, so I got bored and sent Erin several text messages about Karen’s party that night. Finally got home, checked my email, found the party info on myspace, and sat down on the sofa to relax. That’s when I fell asleep. I woke up two hours later feeling like complete shit. Blech. I briefly debated going to the party, then realized that it was already 8:20, I didn’t have anything to wear (costume or otherwise), I still needed to shower, and I didn’t have the energy to pick my head up off the sofa. I wound up going back to bed at 10:30. On a Friday night. Damnit. How pathetic is that?

And of course I feel fine today. It’s 9:30 and I’m bored as hell. If there was a party tonight, I’d be good to go.

Stupid long week. Stupid sick kids.

At least this week will be better. Work Monday, off Tuesday (All Saint’s Day!), work Wednesday and Thursday, out Friday (personal day – wedding in NY). And Monday I get to do fun Halloween-y things with the kids, which means I don’t need to have “real” lesson plans for that day.

Ooh, and I don’t have my grad school class this week, because of Fall Break. AND… Doug & I are going to see Ben Folds on Wednesday! Whoo-hoo!

Okay. That’s enough blogging for tonight.

no habla espanol (yet)

I am currently indulging in one of my guilty pleasures: Sweet & Salty Honey Nut Chex Mix. It is the SHIT. Any combination of salt and sweet and crunch is a good one.
Long day today. Work, home, walk dog, dinner, class (including midterm and sitting through a presentation). And it's only Tuesday.

I need to learn Spanish. My four years of high school French turned out to be pretty much useless in the real world (and that includes my trip to Paris, where everyone spoke English). Spanish is kinda similar to French. I can't speak it well, but I can usually understand enough to pick up on a conversation.

One of my first graders (who is fluent in both English and Spanish) gets a real kick out of saying "gracias" to me every chance she gets, just so she can hear me say "de nada!" Today she said to me, "You speak Dora Spanish!" I'm not sure if she meant I speak Spanish just like Dora... or that I only know the "easy words" that Dora teaches on her show. She didn't elaborate.

So I have to find someplace that offers Spanish lessons that are relatively inexpensive. It'd come in handy during parent conferences, and it would look sweet on a resume.

I guess that's it for now. Adios!

crappy poem, written during class... found in my notebook while studying for midterm

The in-between of summer and fall
Is hardly not even a season at all
The sun is high
The wind is cool
The pool is open
(But so is school)
It’s not yet time for Halloween
The back porch door still has a screen
My jacket’s on
But flip-flops stay
The weather changes
Day by day
And what comes next?
It all depends
When fall begins
And summer ends

10/04/05

plans

After my crazy-long Weekend O'Rock last weekend, and an even more chaotic week at work, I decided I needed to take a few days to do nothing but veg. So this weekend it's pajamas and cheesy movies. And some internet surfing and perhaps a few chapters of my new book. And if I'm so inclined, there's a stack of tests that need to be graded, a pile of laundry that's just about ready to walk to the washing machine on it's own, and the weekend newspaper that's just begging to be read. Oh, and I can dig out my fall/winter clothes, and put away my summer clothes. If there's time, I might squeeze in a haircut. And I have lesson plans to write. And I have a midterm on Tuesday night that I have to study for.

Yup... pajamas and cheesy movies it is.

the rest of my weekend

Last night a group of us went out for my birthday. The whole experience was, in my opinion, subpar. We went to Jolly's Piano Joint downtown for some fun drunk sing-along antics. The bar was ridiculously loud and crowded. There was a huge bachelorette party there. They had three tables reserved, but they weren't using them. Instead they were crowded around the piano being obnoxious, as drunk bachelorette party guests are wont to be. So we crammed ourselves into a back corner. The waitress came around to take drink orders and informed us that there was a 2 drink minimum per person after 8 PM. (Which wasn't mentioned on the website or posted at the door.) We almost left, but then decided to stay for a few songs to see if the situation would improve.

There was a small back section with a few tables and some cushy chairs. Three people were sitting there taking up the entire space. When they got up to leave, my friend asked the waitress if we could sit there. She said yes, so we started to move our stuff back there. Then one of the men said he was staying there. He sat there, by himself, smoking a cigar and nursing his drink. We were furious, because there were like 6 chairs and 3 tables back there. One of my friends went to ask him if we could sit there, and then the manager came over, told us that it was a reserved area, and put up a velvet rope to keep us out. Totally unecessary. After about half an hour, more people showed up and joined the man in the back. They kept the rope up all night. How pretentious.

Anyway.

So the music was okay. The piano player played a Ben Folds song (whoo-hoo!) and some Beatles, but way too much Springsteen. Then, of course, there were the quintessential piano bar songs: Sweet Caroline, Build Me Up Buttercup, Tiny Dancer (!!!), Piano Man, Friends in Low Places, Take Me Home Country Roads... good stuff.
Then the drama started. One of my friends didn't show up (she had fallen asleep and didn't wake up til after 11), there were some fights involving people and their significant others, there was much discussion about where to go after the piano bar - and everyone kept saying, "It's up to you, it's your birthday!" C'mon, you all know I hate making decisions! Ack. But it wasn't completely awful. It just wasn't how I had hoped the evening would go. Next year, I'm going to have a fondue party at my house for my birthday. No more going out.

Today I went to dinner with the family. Yummy dinner... tiramisu for dessert. And my parents gave me a Magna Doodle as one of my birthday presents! (That wasn't a completely random gift - I kept saying I wanted to buy one.)

So that's my 28th birthday in a nutshell. My Weekend O'Rock is over, and tomorrow it's back to work. Bleh.

weekend o'rock

My Weekend O' Rock (which began with Weezer/Foo on Thursday) continued on Friday night. I went to Grape Street with Doug & Ray, where we met up with Tom, Remy, Kay, Doug's friend Jill and someone else that I'm probably forgetting. We saw 4 bands total - 3 full sets, and the tail end of a band that was playing when we came in. Lemme test my memory for a minute: Rebel Saints, Idiosympathy, Wayne Junction, Jealousy Curve. I'm pretty sure that's right. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.)

My review of the bands is as follows:

Rebel Saints - Eh. I could take 'em or leave 'em. Some of their stuff was kinda quirky, but I couldn't decide if I liked them or not.

Idiosympathy - Very very cool. Kind of a combination of Coldplay, Radiohead, and maybe a little bit of Travis. Plus the lead singer made John Mayer faces while he played his guitar. I was impressed enough to buy their CD for $5.

Wayne Junction - Not bad, but nothing spectacular either. I had a hard time understanding the singer. But they did a kick-ass cover of "Elenore Rigby."

Jealousy Curve - Definitely the highlight of the evening. I was blown away by how good they were. To borrow a Ray word - they were "tremendous." I usually get bored when a band is playing songs I don't know, but that wasn't the case this time. I bought their CD as well, and I expect to wear it out in my car's CD player. :)

Other highlights from the evening include: the Big Red sing-along in the car, the peanut butter and jelly video (does anyone know who that was?!), the discovery of Ray's gangsta side (musically speaking, that is), killing my cell phone battery by taking blurry pics, and of course, the drinking of beer. Beer is always good.

All in all, a solid night of rock. Good stuff.

Weezer & Foo

Well, what can I say? I expected rock, and I got it. I can sum up the entire night in 4 words: Best. Fucking. Concert. Ever. (EVER.) I've been to a lot of kick-ass concerts, but none of them have ever rocked as hard as last night's show.

Doug & I were supposed to pick up Pat & Tina by 5:30, but I got stuck at work and we didn't make it there until almost 6. We got to the concert & parked at the Linc near some of Pat's work friends. We decided to skip the opening act to have a few beers and watch the work friends get high on various substances. Ahem.

So anyway, we made it in just in time for Weezer's first song, after stopping for another beer (which I drank through a straw - never done that before!). Our seats were nose-bleed, but at least we had a good view of the whole stage. Weezer was great! I've seen them 3 times before (not counting last night) and I always enjoy them. They mixed a lot of old school favorites (If I recall correctly, they played "Surf Wax America" and "My Name is Jonas"!) with some of the better new ones. All in all, they played an amazing show.

Then came Foo. Ah, Foo. I've never seen them live before, so I was really looking forward to it. I was not disappointed. They are SO GOOD live. Every song was awesome, the audience was insane, and Dave Grohl rocks my socks in a major way.

Doug & I were singing along, and I was hoarse by the third or fourth song. I don't know how that man does it night after night. (And on that note, mad props to Dan - I couldn't get through "Best of You" at all! My voice gave out about halfway through the song.) My favorites: "Breakout," "Hero," "In Your Honor," "Learn to Fly," and "This Is A Call." They ended the set with "Everlong," which started out acoustic, and then went into full-out rock by the last verse. Amazing. Their encore included (what else?) "Monkey Wrench," which just made my night complete.

Great show, awesome bands, good crowd, kick-ass rock. Best birthday present I've gotten in years. Thanks, Doug!

Tonight my Weekend O'Rock continues at Grape Street to see Jealousy Curve.

Whoo-hoo!

I've got another confession to make

The concert fucking rocked. Dave Grohl is the MAN.

More tomorrow.

is it Friday yet?

I know it's late, but I have a faculty meeting tomorrow, which means we start an hour later than usual. Nice.

So the aftermath of the accident is upon us. Erin texted me this morning to say that her & Mike were hurting, so they were going to get checked out. I was a little sore today too, which kind of surprised me, because I felt fine last night. I think I just got banged around in the car when it was bouncing off of SUVs and medians. That, and the fact that I braced myself about a split second before the impact, so I think my muscles are stiff from that. I took some Aleve and sat around doing nothing all day. I haven't had a decent night's sleep since at least Thursday, so I didn't feel guilty about being lazy at all.

This week is going to kick some serious ass. For starters, I only have kids for 4 days this week, thanks to the faculty meeting. On Thursday night, I'm going to see WEEZER AND FOO!!!! I'm like, just a tiny bit excited about that. (!!!!!!!) Then on Friday night, I'm going to Grape Street to see Jealousy Curve, who I heard in Ray's car last weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing them live. On Saturday, I'm going out with my friends for my birthday. We're going to a piano bar in Center City and then probably out to dance. Sunday is my birthday, and dinner with the family. Definitely a kick-ass week.

Time for bed now. Hey, if anyone's interested in joining us on Saturday night, email me and let me know. The more, the merrier!

Municipal Pier No. 9

I had a fun evening planned tonight. Erin, Mike and I were headed to a bar to see a band. With the exception of In Theory shows, Erin & I haven't hung out in about... 6 years? Maybe more?

Anyway, on the way downtown, Mike's car was hit by some guys in an SUV. They hit the passenger side, sending us onto a median (narrowly missing a poor, defenseless sapling), across Del Ave, onto the sidewalk (narrowly missing a pole), directly in front of Municipal Pier No. 9.

No one was hurt, but we were all shaken up. Understandably.

It took the cops an hour to get there, and in that time FIVE tow trucks appeared, as if from thin air. The tow truck drivers all got out of their respective trucks and congregated on the sidewalk. They all seemed to know each other. We actually heard them talking about past accidents. Erin & I suspect that this is what they do on their slow nights.

While we waited for the cops, we stood in the drizzle, took bad cell phone pics, watched the tow truck parade, admired the view of the bridge & the river, chatted about random stuff, and debated going across the street to the Comfort Inn to see if they had complimentary food. Since Mike's car was undrivable and had to be towed, Mike's dad had to come get us and take us home.

Not quite the evening we had planned.

So now I'm home, and tired, and very hungry. Sleep first. Food will have to wait until tomorrow.

no hangover... just tired

Blech. I feel crappy. I got home at 3:30 AM, after a night of mild drinking at the Bistro (yay for shots!) and snacks at GA (I should've ordered the sunrise burrito, damnit). Fell asleep right away, then woke up at around 7-ish. Went back to sleep, but couldn't breathe well. I've been battling a head cold, but I didn't want to take any cold pills last night after I'd been drinking. Now I'm paying for that. I actually don't feel as sick as I have for the past few days, which is good. I just don't feel like I got enough sleep. And sadly, I have to be awake, because I have a dress fitting (for a wedding in November) at 11:30.

Just felt like bitching. I knew you'd understand.

whatever and ever (amen)

I'm so tired. I just got home from grad school. This professor SUCKS. It's 3 hours of excruciating torture. My friend is trying to convince me to take 2 classes next semester. I might do it. I'd love to be finished my degree by December '06. I'm gonna have one hell of a graduation party. (Hey, can I book ...In Theory? Now that would kick some serious ass!)

Anyway, I just saw something on TV that reminded me of something that happened a few weeks ago. I wanted to blog about it before, but I just didn't get around to it.

Here's the story:

I was at a bar with 2 friends. One friend (Friend A) is a regular at this bar, so she introduced us to the bartender and another regular. Let me establish this up front: I was not interested in said regular. He's in his late 30s, longish greasy-ish hair, Harley Davidson t-shirt, smoker. Not my type. But he was fun to talk to, so Friend A & I were chatting with him. I was buzzed, and therefore quite amusing, whipping out the one-liners and sarcastic wit that most people find so charming (*ahem*). He kept saying, "You're so funny!" and to Friend A, "I like this girl, she's cool!"

At this point, let me reiterate my non-interest in Mr. Harley. I was simply enjoying the fact that someone (namely, a man) was enjoying my company. Call it an ego thing.
Now during this whole exchange, Friend B was being moody and distant. She sat, arms folded, and didn't talk unless spoken to. She had one drink, which she nursed for about an hour. She kept yawning.

And here's the kick in the ass - Mr. Harley liked Friend B! WTF? Did I miss something? She was so boring! She didn't say anything! She didn't get involved in our conversation! She was completely giving off the "don't talk to me" vibe. But Mr. Harley thought she was "cute." (Direct quote.) He tried asking her questions, to which she gave non-committal one word answers.

Sheesh. I simply do not understand men. And that's that.

the non-party becomes a party (sort of)

I tried (well, actually, Doug & I tried) to throw together a very last minute non-party, since AC was cancelled (still pissed about that, btw), and of course it was so last minute that no one could come. Or else there were some extenuating circumstances that prevented them from coming. In any event, the non-party idea was shelved. Instead, three-fifths of ...In Theory sat on the back porch working on some tunes while I graded papers & downloaded music in the living room. There may not have been a party, but by God, there was onion dip. (I thought it might help recapture the party atmosphere that I had so desperately wanted. Dip does miraculous things, you know...)

Then practice ended and the real fun started. First - we hopped in the car (listening to Jealousy Curve - way cool) for a dinner trip to GA. Always a good time. That was followed by an amusing drive (listening to Jimi Hendrix) to wherever our whim dictated (turned out to be South Street). Walked South Street, hit a few record stores, bought some music (for me... Amos Lee and Death Cab for Cutie). Back in the car (listening to Dr. Dog) for another trip to GA, this time for drinks. We sat in the same section, had the same waiter. Since we only ordered water, soda and coffee, he didn't charge us. We left a substantial tip. (He is the MAN!) Next, back to the house to watch "Old School," at the insistence of Doug and Ray, because Dan and I hadn't seen it. Damn funny movie.

So... Definitely not the evening that I had in mind, but it turned out to be a great time. The non-party became a mobile party, and a good one at that. Those guys can hang!

And now... back to work. I've got lesson plans to write.

it's random. it's good.

So tired. So very tired.

I had class last night (3 hours of sheer torture) and Back to School Night tonight. That's 2 late nights in a row. Blech.

So anyway, tomorrow is Thursday already. Whoo-hoo! One step closer to Friday and the weekend! Speaking of which...

When the hell is the next In Theory show??? It's just too damn long between shows, guys. Get your asses in gear! Some people need the rock, damnit! I NEED THE ROCK! Make it happen! (Btw, I know the next show is October 7th... I was just trying to make a point...)

Ahem.

Lemme tell you... I absolutely LOVE my mp3 player. It is my new favorite thing in the world. It is the keeper of all things good. It is my reason for being. It rocks my socks. Seriously, we're like best friends.

I watched "How I Met Your Mother" again this week, and I still *heart* NPH. He's so quirky! I think that's the same word I used last time. Oh well. I just love me some dorky guys, I guess. I'd marry one, if he were rich. And fairly attractive. And funny. And understanding of my busy schedule. And if he liked to iron. I hate ironing.

I have nothing to say that's worth reading at all. In fact, if you've made it this far, give yourselves a big fat kudo or two. You've earned it.

I guess that's all for tonight.

I *heart* Doogie Howser!!!

I just watched "How I Met Your Mother." I was pleasantly surprised. I could watch it again next week. And I'm totally in love with Neil Patrick Harris. He's quirky, in an endearing kinda way. Lol.

I CAN'T WAIT FOR "LOST" ON WEDNESDAY!!!!!

Dude, I'm hooked. That is the show. And you know, those two shows, plus the Simpsons & "Monk," are pretty much all I'll watch this season. I'm not that big into TV. I mean, I don't have a lot of shows that I need to watch every week.

Tomorrow is our Back to School Night. Bleh. I have to give a speech to the parents of my students about my classroom procedures and policies. After a full day of teaching. BLEH. No fun.

adventures in the acme

I was helping my mother shop for groceries this afternoon. Amid the old ladies and young mothers with screaming kids, there was an extremely attractive man shopping alone, sans wedding ring (hey, when you're 27 and single, you look for these things). Saw him a few times, darting in and out of aisles, looking kind of lost.

My mother and I were picking out pasta, when Hot Guy came down the aisle. My allergies had been awful all morning, and I was in the middle of a sneezing fit, tissue at my nose, when Hot Guy walked over to us, and asked MY MOTHER to help him find the right kind of olives for martinis.

So my mother got to go talk to Hot Guy while I blew my nose. Damnit.

And that, dear friends, is the story of my life.

In other news, it's Saturday night and I'm sitting at home. I wanna go out, but no one seems to be around. Bleh.

If you're sexy and you know it, clap your hands...

Rob Thomas has a sexy voice. I never used to think that. I was never a Matchbox 20 fan or anything. It's all just a recent development. And don't get me wrong, I don't think he's attractive, physically. I mean, he's not hideous, but I don't think he's hot, either. It's just the voice. Does that make sense?

And while I'm at it, here's a list of other sexy-voiced male singers:
~ Dave Grohl
~ Rivers Cuomo
~ Damien Rice
~ Justin Timberlake (stop laughing, damnit!)
~ Usher
~ Brandon what's-his-name from Incubus
~ Adam what's-his-name from Maroon 5
~ Jim Morrison

And some non-sexy-voiced male singers:
~ Bruce Springsteen
~ Michael Jackson
~ Barry Manilow
~ James Taylor
(...among others...)

Just some food for thought. Enjoy. And hey, add your own in the comments section. I'm sure I'm missing a few good ones.

The stuff in my head

Ever have one of those dreams that's so realistic, that when you wake up, you just wanna go back to sleep? I had one of those last night. It was random and weird and so plausible... but now that I've dreamt it, I know it won't happen, because real life is never as cool as dreams. I kinda wish I could write the script for my life, so that everyone would say and do the stuff that I think they should say and do. But then I think that maybe that wouldn't be so cool after all. I'd get bored of people being so damn predictable, and there would be no surprises, and let's face it, there are probably much cooler things that could happen than the stuff I think about.

But anyway, it was a neat dream.

And DAMNIT, I'm bored.

You can't always get what you want

Crappy title, cuz I bit off an overplayed song. But whatever.

The first day of school was fine. The kids are cute. I think I'm up to 19 kids, which is still the smallest class I've ever taught. Not too shabby.

My complaint is with the events that occured after work. I recently purchased an MP3 player that is NOT an ipod. (I'm a non-conformist. And my brother recommended it.) I want to play it in my car, so I need to buy an FM transmitter. And a car antenna, because mine was stolen last year. Doug said he'd go with me for the trip to Best Buy, provided we could stop at Dan's house to pick something up.

We went to Best Buy (against my better judgement) first to look for the transmitter. The less-than-helpful employee showed us 3 different ipod accessories, despite the fact that Doug very clearly stated that I don't have an ipod. A point which I later reiterated, to no avail. Anyway, they don't carry a transmitter for any other player.

Fine.

So then I went to Pep Boys to get an antenna. I told the guy who "helped" me what kind of car I have, and he showed me an antenna with this huge monster power motor thing attached to it (which, to the best of my knowledge, goes inside the car somewhere). For $69.99. Okay, let me get this straight - someone stole my antenna by unscrewing it, and I have to pay $70 plus installation to replace it? How is that possible? Can't I just buy another antenna to screw into the hole? It's not one of those fancy antennas that retracts. I could just go unscrew one from another Elantra on my street and pop it in my car. But I'm not like that. I'm going to call the car dealership where I bought the car, and see if they can help me.

Finally, we went to Dan's house, where Doug picked up his wind screen. It's something that attaches to a mike to reduce certain sounds, as Doug explained it to me, but as far as I can see, it's just a screen that's been spit on by Ray and Doug. Ick.

On the way home, some Tom Petty cheered me up considerably. How can you be sad when he's enjoying his last dance with Mary Jane? You just can't. Awesome song, great lyrics, and kick ass harmonica solos. I can just picture him taking a hit of his joint before he blows it out of the harmonica. That's why it sounds so groovy.

But some good came out of this. I bought season one of "Lost" when I was at Best Buy. Seven hours of creepy island fun... whoo-hoo!

(And btw, Ray? "Almost Famous" rocked my world. Amazing movie, unbelievable soundtrack. Made me wanna sing "Tiny Dancer" on a tour bus with In Theory. Someday... )

'Twas the night before school...

Yeah. I should be in bed. But you know, I'd never seen "Almost Famous," and I was told that I really had to see it. So I watched it. And now it's after 10:30 PM and I have to wake up at 5:30 AM and I'm not feeling 100% ready for the first day of school. But I don't have much of a choice because tomorrow is indeed the first day of school. Lucky me.

I still have to print out a parent letter and figure out what to wear. Ugh. Little known fact: teachers also get nervous before the first day of school. Shhh... don't tell anyone.

In other news, our 5th grade teacher's son is in a band that plays at the Bistro, so I'm going to see them on Friday night. It'll be interesting to see a band that's not In Theory play at the Bistro. :) I think the band's called Clashing Plaid, or something equally punk-y. I hear they're pretty good. We'll see.

Okay. I can't put it off any longer. It's time to go to bed. 'Night, all!

Four weddings and a funeral.

Or more like one wedding and a luau.

Doug, Christina & I went to my cousin's wedding last night, and then headed straight to the luau afterward. I was pretty excited about finally getting to go "down the house" for a party. Drinks! Band! People! Food! Etc! So I was really bummed when we got there (before midnight) and discovered that the party was over. What the hell? From what I understand, these parties usually run a lot later. I'm not sure what happened exactly, but it was a buzz kill.

Doug & I tried to re-route the party (or a portion of it, anyway) back to our house, but thanks to some drama and a few sour moods, it was just a small group of us. No matter. We had a blast. (And alcohol. Can't forget the alcohol.) We had our own acoustic sing-along 'til 4 AM... followed by the requisite trip to GA for a late-night/early-morning snack. I went to bed at 6 AM. Beautiful.

Funny how plans can change so quickly - after the luau broke up, I thought for sure that the night would be a bust, but it turned out to be a damn good time.

Some choice quotes from last night...

At the Luau
Me: What are you drinking?
Christina: Ugh... just water...
(approximately two seconds later, at bar)
Christina (to bartender): Can I get a vodka tonic?

At My House
Me: Here's some vodka - it was in the freezer.
Dan (apparently channeling Paris Hilton): That's hot!
Me (drunk and confused): No, no... see? It's cold.

Everywhere
Ray: We have two rules. One: Rock! Two: Find more places to rock!
(repeated several times throughout the evening.)

Good times.

Happy early birthday to me!

My brother (who rocks, by the way), bought me a ticket for the Weezer/Foo concert in October. It's an early birthday present. A big ol' WHOO-HOO is in order! I can't wait!!! It's gonna be an amazing show. I'm guessing a lot of people I know will be there. I've already heard/read people talking about it. Perhaps there should be a pre-concert party? Straight from work to the parking lot, have some beer, then rock at the show... but then, after that, I would need to call out of work on Friday to recover. :) Maybe that's not such a good idea. But the concert will kick ass either way.

School starts on Tuesday - both grad school and work-school. I'm not ready for either. I had 2 weeks off from grad school, and I got kinda spoiled. I was actually able to read REAL books, instead of textbooks and articles. And as for work... well... I'm excited to go back, even though I'm going to miss my summer freedom. I have a super small class this year - only 16 have registered. There might be 2 more coming, but still, 18 is a very small class. This will be the smallest class I've had since I started teaching, not counting the year I taught special ed (previous class sizes, in order from earliest to most recent: 31, 29, 34, 24). I'll be thrilled to have 16 kids, though. I will be able to do SO much with this class. A big difference from the year I had 34, believe me.

And, oh yeah... did I mention that I'm going to see WEEZER and FOO?!?!? Whoo-hoo!!!!!

the weekend FLEW

I had a surprisingly good weekend. I went to two parties - Karen's BBQ on Saturday, and a birthday thing at a bar on Sunday (for James, the guy who took pics at the last Bistro show). Karen's party was a fun time, even though my attendance was cut quite short by my brother's girlfriend's malfunctioning digestive system. But we did manage to squeeze in a good old fashioned acoustic sing-along before we left! I live for the sing-along parties! I could do that every weekend. (Seriously. Let's do it every weekend.) Tom & Doug played Weeze and Foo and Banditos (whoo-hoo!) among others, and the rest of us sang along. Some of us more than others. Although I did urge certain people to sing more (cough*Tom*cough).

So... Hmmm... I guess all can be revealed on the blog, right? Blogs just make people share things. So I'll share. It was kind of weird to be at a party at Karen's parent's house... I haven't been there in years. It was also a little strange to be hanging out with people I haven't really talked to in years. Outside of an In Theory show, I mean. I wasn't uncomfortable at all. I don't think I expected anyone to make me feel uncomfortable, but ... I guess I just wasn't sure what to expect. But it was all good. Sometimes burning bridges is a good thing. Other times it's better to keep them intact. You never know, right?

Well, it's late, and I'm trying to get back on work schedule. School starts next week, and I'm FAR from ready to go back to work. 'Night, all.

I don't got game.

Why is The Sims so damn addictive??? I've been playing it non-stop since Doug gave it to me, and I don't even like video games. In fact, if you put one in front of me right now, I wouldn't have the slightest clue what to do. (True story.)

I mean, I have a general knowledge of what's out there. PS2 and Game Boy Advance and XBox and such. Mostly because I teach first grade, and the average first grader is obsessed with anything that will numb their brain for hours on end. But this goes way back to when we had a functioning Nintendo. (No numbers or addendums here. Just "Nintendo." The gray, boxy one. Remember that?) I played Tetris, Legend of Zelda, Dr. Mario and Super Mario Brothers (but only 1 and 3... 2 was hokey). And honestly, that's probably the last time I touched any sort of game system.

And even back then, I didn't like video games much. I remember when I used to have my New Year's Eve parties in the basement, and I'd have to hide the Nintendo in the closet so that the boys wouldn't feel compelled to play in the middle of my party.
But now it's like I'm coming full circle. Technology is taking over the world, and I can't fight it. I have a laptop, a digital camera, a camera phone, and a Palm pilot. This summer, I've been on the computer more often than not. Reading/posting blogs, researching lessons for this coming school year, playing Freecell and Yahtzee, creating South Park characters on a website Doug found, reading/writing email... and now The Sims.

Damn Sims.

sometimes you just gotta brag...

I got my grades for last semester's classes today. Allow me a small moment of celebration, accompanied by a brief, yet tasteful, victory dance:

I got an A in both classes!!! Whoo-hoo!!! 4.0, baby!!!!

That is all.

early to rise

I'm back to waking up early this week for inservice (ah, the joys of teaching). The last time I saw 6 AM was most likely an up-all-night party. Lemme tell you, the other side of 6 AM is not pretty.

I'm starting to get that end-of-the-summer panic going on. The feeling that summer's almost over and I haven't gone on even one vacation. The feeling that I haven't been to enough parties (or thrown enough parties). The feeling that I should go out and do something fun 'n' crazy as one last hurrah before September 7th. Any suggestions?

Sleep is overrated

So. Fucking. Tired.

Screw this 4 AM crap. I don't care how cool GA is, I can NOT stay out until 4 AM and then have a productive day the next day.

But last night's show rocked hard. (Or as Ray would say - "It owned!") It wasn't so much a show as it was a private party. No one was there except us band groupies, and that was actually pretty damn cool. At one point, I think the band even abandoned the set list. The best part of the show though, hands down, was the acoustic set. It was like some crazy jam session - one good song after another. (Mr Big, whoo-hoo!!!)

And okay, even though I'm completely exhausted, I had a blast at GA after the show. As always. But I'm still pissed that they didn't have waffles. Or soup. And that Rich took one of my chicken fingers even though he had a burger. Damnit.

So now it's already past noon and I've wasted half of my day sleeping, drinking tea (my throat is kicked - a combination of singing and the damn cigarette smoke), and burning CDs for my godson. In a few hours, I need to make myself somewhat presentable and go to a family dinner for his birthday. But for right now... the pool beckons. Later.

Am I old? (Please say no...)

Today is my godson's 14th birthday. Since I didn't know what to buy him, I decided to take him to the mall and let him pick out what he wanted instead. We spent the day at Willow Grove Mall (his request), and it was quite an experience. The last time I spent the day with a 14 year old was... well, probably when I was 14 (which was like 13 years ago).

We went to a music store, where he browsed through some choice CDs: AC/DC, Beatles, Beastie Boys, System of a Down, Green Day. He showed his obvious ignorance to good music by asking me, "Dree, what CD is 'Sergeant Pepper' on?" I sighed. Shook my head. Held up the Sergeant Pepper CD.

Then he made me feel old. He talked about some bands he listens to. One is called Mustard Plug. Now I consider myself to be pretty up-to-date on the latest cartoons, kiddie trends, and music with my first graders... but apparently, I know nothing about 14 year olds. I have never heard of Mustard Plug. I'm kind of afraid to find out what they sing.

We went to stores like Hot Topic and Spencers. He bought two giant silver belt buckles (one was a flaming Cadillac), a bracelet made out of a bike chain, an early Beastie Boys CD, and a mini Sharpie marker to clip to one of the many chains draped across his drooping jeans.

He laughed at jokes that I thought he was too young to understand. He let some curses slip, leading me to believe that he uses that kind of language around his friends. (Did I curse when I was 14? I don't remember!) He talked to me about his friends, his girlfriend (what?!?), his blog on Xanga, his plans to start a ska band. We debated the merits of Family Guy and Simpsons. We ate a gourmet Mexican meal (aka - Taco Bell). And then I had to take him home, because he "might have missed some phone calls."

Wow. He's all grown up. It's kinda scary.

(I bought Doug a kick-ass new T-shirt... he said he's gonna wear it to Street Road tomorrow, so make sure you check it out!)

Inspiration, and the lack thereof

I wish I had something inspiring to write about.

For that matter, I wish I did something inspiring, so that I would have something inspiring to write about.

And while I'm at it... I wish I could do, think and say something inspiring every day.

And then everyone would want to be around me in the hopes that they, too, would be inspired to be inspiring every day.

I used to write more. Letters. Poems. Journals. Things that meant something to someone. Now I write lesson plans. And emails. And occasionally I sign a birthday card.

To be honest, my lesson plans are sometimes inspiring. But not in the same way that my poems were inspiring. I haven't been that inspired in over a year. What was different a year ago? Where did the inspiration go?

I wasn't inspired when I wrote this. I was tired. I'm tired of not being inspired.

And now you must be tired of reading "inspired."

playing God (and other tales)

My brother gave me his Sims disk to put on my computer. He said he thinks I'd get a kick out of it. And damnit, he's right. For the life of me, I can't figure out what's so entertaining about telling little computer people what to do. Is it the power? The control? The fact that I'm so bored that watching paint dry seems like it'd be fun? (Probably that last one.)

I had a Susie Homemaker kinda day. Cleaned the bathroom, did the dishes, walked the dog, made dinner, did more dishes, sewed the hem on the sleeve of my favorite green shirt. I'm especially excited about the shirt. It started unraveling in the wash last summer, and I finally got around to fixing it. But... go me! I can sew!

So here's the problem - I have nothing to write about, as is evidenced by my last few (or all) posts. Once I go back to work, I'll be chock full of amusing anecdotes and scintilating stories. Of course, I'll be too busy to blog about them.

Oh, wait - here's a fun topic. My friend is on eHarmony now. Paying way too much money to do something she can do at pretty much any bar/coffee shop/bookstore/laundromat. But her twin sister recently got married and had a baby, so she's feeling old-maidish. Anywho, she's trying to convince me to do the whole online thing, too. I told her I don't have the time or money necessary to get into that kinda thing. But it seems like more and more people are going that route lately. My best friend even met her husband on the Internet. I just think it kinda forces the issue. Meeting Mr. Right is something that's supposed to just happen, you know? But as my friend so shrewdly pointed out, "What if it doesn't 'just happen' on it's own?" I dunno... she might have a point. But for right now, I'm saving my money and keeping my fairy tale. Sue me for being old-fashioned.

I hate shopping

My trip to Wal-Mart yielded little in the way of merchandise, but much in the way of revelation. I am not in any way, shape or form ready to be around children again. Wal-Mart was full of the little urchins, and they were in rare form. ("It's the most wonderful time of the year...") Whining, crying, begging, screeching. Darting in and out of aisles, hanging off of shopping carts, climbing on displays. I wanted to run them over with my cart. One in particular, actually. A girl, about seven years old, decided it'd be a hoot to set off every blessed singing/animated/talking toy in the kiddie aisle and then run like hell.

I'm thinking about early retirement.

one day, I'll just move into wal-mart

Why is it that there is nothing good on TV on Sunday nights? Bleh. I need to find someplace fun to go on Sundays instead of sitting here looking for something to watch.

Tomorrow seems like a good day to go to Wal-Mart. I need a bunch of random stuff, and that's their specialty. I should probably make a list of what I need, or else I'll be wandering around the store throwing stuff into my cart willy-nilly. (Do people still do things willy-nilly? They should. It's a lost art.) Okay, I need: cookie sheets (for magnet letters, not for cookies), felt, index card file box, garment rack (for charts in school, not for garments), birthday card... hmm... there must be more. Damnit. I'm gonna walk out of there with a cart full of stuff I don't even want.

Oh well.

Just for fun, I added a bunch of pics on here. I didn't think I even had that many pics of myself. Check out the one of me rockin' with Ray at the Bistro Friday night. Pretty kick-ass. I wish I knew what song that was, though.

Ooh! There's a "Night Court" marathon on TV Land! Now I have something to watch. Whoo-hoo!

What's wrong with this picture?

I went to bed at 4:30 this morning, humming the Mr. Belvedere theme song. That's just not right.

weekend... yay!

I'm done grad school until September. *huge sigh of relief* Got a B+ on my paper for Psych of Reading, which is a much better grade than I thought it was worth. And I think I kicked some serious ass on my final tonight... but we'll see.

I'm psyched for the Bistro tomorrow!!! I've got some people coming (cuz I pimp the hell outta this band) and I can't wait to hang out. And it'll be good to see the band again. Haven't seen them play since my party, which was 8 hours of pure acoustic sing-along fun. I need to have another party. Screw this once-a-year thing.

I got the annual "welcome back" letter from my principal today, which means I need to get my ass in gear and start thinking about Back to School Things. Maybe next week. I'm still on vacation. :)

I asked for this.

Grad school is kicking my ass sideways. For some reason, I decided it'd be a good idea to take two classes in the Summer II session. You know, since I'm not working this summer. Unless you count the 4 weeks of camp I did in July. So that's 4 nights a week for 6 weeks (don't ever say that "teachers have their summers free"). And of course, both classes have major projects due the last week of class, which is this week. I spent all day writing a paper that was supposed to be 4-6 pages. Mine was a little over 4 pages, but at least 2 of them were pure bullshit.

But on Thursday I'll be done. (At least until Fall semester.) Whoo-hoo! So on Friday, I am going to the Bistro and having myself a celebratory beer (or two, or three). Hell yeah.

Beer is evil(ish)

Still recovering from kick-ass party Saturday night. I'm hoarse from smoking a cigar and singing all night. And, of course, the drinking didn't help. Damnit. I never learn.