2006: Year In Review

01 What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before? Bought a car!
02 Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I am horrible with resolutions, and as such didn't make any last year. Tentatively looking at making some for this year though, and they are:
(a) Quit the self-pity.
(b) Get out of the house more.
03 Did anyone close to you give birth? Not that I know of.
04 Did anyone close to you die? No, thank god.
05 What countries did you visit? Germany.
06 What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? A life outside work.
07 What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Can't really think of any.
08 What was your biggest achievement of the year? Surviving my first year as a kindergarten teacher.
09 What was your biggest failure? Almost getting fired.
10 Did you suffer illness or injury? Not serious ones.
11 What was the best thing you bought? My car, and enrolling myself in the WB program.
12 Whose behavior merited celebration? Jamie, for moving to DC!
13 Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Politicians at large.
14 Where did most of your money go? Good question. Doubtless to the car.
15 What did you get really, really, really excited about? When I found I'd been accepted by the applied linguistics department at Cambridge!
16 What song will always remind you of 2006? That 'Beautiful' song by James Blunt. Because it just won't get out of my head.
17 Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? About the same, I guess.
b) thinner or fatter? About the same, I (optimistically) guess.
c) richer or poorer? In terms of material possessions, richer. Actually earning a salary does that for a person.
18 What do you wish you'd done more of? Made more friends and gone out more.
19 What do you wish you'd done less of? Agonizing over work-related issues.
20 How did you spend Christmas? With the fam in B-lo.
21 "There is no question 21" Ha ha! Hey, Mr. Question Writer, you're not funny.
22 Did you fall in love in 2006? No..
23 How many one-night stands? Ha! 365, baby. And if you believe that, welcome, first-time blog reader!
24 What was your favorite TV show? 'The Office'. Steve Carell, you are a comedy god.
25 Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No, it takes a lot to make me hate someone.
26 What was the best book you read? The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
27 What was your greatest musical discovery? Ben Folds. Old-school, yes, go ahead and laugh.
28 What did you want and get? An iPod. Because I bought it myself.
29 What did you want and not get? A winning lottery ticket.
30 What was your favourite film of this year? 'Little Miss Sunshine'
31 What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 25, and we had a celebration of the last day of school. Also, I went out for Indian food with some friends.
32 What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Being appreciated by colleagues and parents of students.
33 How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006? Workdays: Nice-looking clothes that I wouldn't mind getting tempera paint on. Weekends: Jeans and fleece.
34 What kept you sane? Phone calls to and from friends.
35 Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Are we British now? I don't really know.
36 What political issue stirred you the most? Stupidity in general annoys the crap out of me.
37 Whom did you miss? (American and Scottish) Friends from Germany.
38 Who was the best new person you met? One of my directors is pretty great. Though I really met her in 2005, so I'm not sure that counts.
39 Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006. Learn to communicate. If you have a question, ask it. (hey, that was two lessons)
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. 'Who needs sleep? (Tell me, what's that for?)' ~BNL, 'Who Needs Sleep?' Ha, lame but true. Perhaps I'll come up with a better quote later.

Happy New Year, everyone!

New Year's Resolution

In the year 2007 I resolve to: Bring back disco. Get your resolution here.

B is for 'Big Idiot'

It may actually be possible for me to get too much sleep and not get anything whatsoever accomplished and thus get very cranky... or maybe I'm just a brat and need something to complain about. (the latter is probably true) At any rate, vacation is lovely, I am incredibly lazy and haven't even finished my Christmas/Happy New Year cards yet. Also, the intentions to apply to other grad schools have rather crashed and burned: Georgetown's deadline is the 3rd instead of the 15th, which makes me want to pull my hair out or do something that would at least help me feel like less of an idiot. Perhaps my hopes are pinned on Cambridge after all.

Re: Cambridge: No further news as of yet. Though everyone I've talked to, including those who have connections in grad school offices of admission, thinks I'm in. I'm still not trying to get my hopes up too much, but it's getting hard! I have also stupidly forgotten my application ID and password in MN, so I can't check the status of my application online until I get back. Oh well, at least this way I'm forced not to think about it.

Hope everyone has/had a wonderful Hannukah/Christmas/Kwanzaa/Diwali/Festivus! Go live it up on New Year's Eve...because I will certainly be hanging out at home, watching the ball drop on TV, just like every year.

Guess who's on vacation!

Pick me, pick me!! Not having to work is fantastic...funny, but I feel like I've been more productive not going to work than I do when I go to work. (does that make any sense?) So far, I've got a haircut, gone to the grocery store and the bank, picked up Christmas presents, done my laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and gone for a walk. And I've gotten 10 hours of sleep for two nights in a row. Being in a good mood and not exhausted is a nice change.

While trolling the Internet (because I have time to do that!), I've found this highly amusing site for those of you who have spent extended periods of time in Germany: the Germany Survival Bible! Hilarious, and everything they say is so true! One of my favorite sections is the one about German medicine; how they are averse to anything non-homeopathic, including vaccinations, and how they firmly believe that wearing a scarf cures any illness. Even if you haven't been to Germany, you should read it...those Germans are strange.

Only one more day till I fly home for two weeks! Yippee!

Stay tuned for possibly another post today, or at least before I fly home. Since I'm on vacation and now have time for that sort of thing.

What I Did Today

• Made truffles (mmm!)
• Snapped at the other first-grade class
• Very, very much missed my class, after spending only half an hour with the other first-grade class
• Took an hour-long nap after school
• Danced the tango with one of my students
• Cleaned the shower (eww)
• Did the dishes
• Finished folding laundry that wasn't dry yesterday
• Watched disgusting amounts of television
• Put off going to bed, due to the aforementioned nap

Back in the day

Meme stolen from Jess.

20 years ago, I was:

• hating my kindergarten teacher for playing a joke on me in front of the whole class
• chilling on our old orange and brown plaid couch with the stuffing coming out of the top, watching Nickelodeon
• begging my mom to please, please, please let me take violin lessons

15 years ago, I was:

• the sound tech-type person for a guest speaker/school play (the other gifted-and-talented kids got to be in the play; I was backstage)
• playing "Press Your Luck" with Lauren, Mike and Jonathan at lunch
• cracking my friends up, doing impressions of our teacher

10 years ago, I was:

• crushing madly on a boy from church
• pleading with my friends who had cars to give me rides to and from orchestra
• spending weekends cruising up and down Transit Road, hitting up the bulk foods section at Wegman's and hanging out at Denny's

5 years ago, I was:

• thinking about going abroad for the first time ever, on a 5-week summer program
• 'working' at the Math and German Workshops, getting pizza delivered to Hollenbeck Hall
• spending Thursday nights at Heather, Molly, Jessie and Nick's house, watching 'ER' and griping about those stupid education classes

1 year ago, I was:

• being run ragged by kindergarteners
• pretty much hating my job
• feeling lonely in a new city and still figuring everything out

Yesterday, I was:

• being run ragged by first-graders
• teaching Irish dance
• taking part in a 'holiday sweater pub crawl', which turned more into hanging out with a few folks at one bar and losing the rest of the pub crawlers

Wow, three bullet points every five years really do summarize my life.

The worst Christmas songs!

I've been listening to the 24-hour Christmas music station a lot recently, and I feel a need to share my opinion on this subject with the Internet world. As if you wanted to know, here it comes:
the Unofficial List of Worst Christmas Songs I Have Ever (Or, At Least Recently) Heard!

1. Last Christmas, by Wham! -- I know some people are going to strongly disagree with me on this one, but I seriously cannot stand this song. Whiny, obnoxious, self-pitying... and who can forget that chorus. ('Laaaaaaaaaast Christmas, I gave you my heart [gave you my heart]...) Good god, it's annoying me just thinking about it. Plus, this song reminds me of spending Christmas in Germany; apparently, this song is what the Germans associate with American Christmas carols. Ugh.

2. Wonderful Christmas Time, by Paul McCartney -- [picture this on a synthesizer:] WOW wow wow wow wow wow... WOW wow wow wow wow wow... I love you, Paul McCartney, but the synthesizer was really a poor choice. Plus, I highly doubt the children have been practicing their Christmas songs all year; it's probably been a month and a half at most.

3. Anything by the Beach Boys -- I don't think I really need to explain this one.

4. That Christmas shoes song -- Someone needs to tell the music executives that a heartfelt song does not equal sappiness. Who thinks that a song contrived to wring out every drop of sympathy from your soul, backed up by a children's choir (subtlety, nice!), is actually going to convey the spirit of the Christmas season? Apparently listeners can't draw conclusions; they need to be smacked in the face with a message and be told what to think.

5. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer -- Speaking of Christmas messages, here's a real winner. Nothing says 'Merry Christmas' like the untimely death of a close relative, bad grammar and stupid jokes.

On the flip side, two amazing Christmas songs:

1. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen by Nat King Cole -- Actually, anything by Nat King Cole is fantastic, but this carol is my favorite to begin with. I love me some Christmas carols set in a minor key. I can (and have) set this song on repeat and listened to it over and over.

2. O Holy Night from 'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip' -- Okay, it's from a TV show. The musicians who played this original version are from New Orleans and were sponsored by the Tipitina Fund, which is working on rebuilding the musical tradition of the city. When I was watching the show, this song gave me goosebumps; I got online to download it the next day. (available for listening or downloading here)

I'm curious to hear opinions on this. What are your most loved/despised Christmas songs? Not that this blog has a vast readership or anything, but I'm sure that between the 5 or so of us, we could come up with some pretty good lists.

*SHRIEK!!*

I got an email from the secretary of Cambridge's Applied Linguistics department today. The second sentence is:

'I am happy to inform you that we intend to recommend that you are accepted as a candidate commencing October 2007.'

I just tried to type all sorts of exclamations that come to my mind when I read that, but nothing does it justice.

Anyway, the email goes on that this is by no means an acceptance, the university still has to look at my application, etc., etc. ...but still! Holy one-step-closer-to-going-to-Britain-next-year, Batman!

"I'm compelled to go straight home and crawl into bed until morning. There's nothing wrong with that, right?"

Thanks to Hetta for the quote. And dude, that is totally my life; don't knock it. Let me tell you that I was in bed by 8.30 yesterday. That hasn't been my bedtime since I was 10 (or so). I guess the exhaustion was stemming from a number of factors, such as spending a day with first-graders, trying to teach said first-graders something, doing a painting project with the first-graders, and also getting less than 5 hours' sleep the night before. Because...

I finished and emailed the Cambridge paper! 2137 words of unadulterated crap, but well-written crap. Example sentence: 'Hyltenstam and Abrahamsson’s hypothesis that a second language learner has no hope of attaining native-like proficiency fails to take into account any individual variables that might affect one’s eventual outcome.' Yeah, that's right. Take that, Hyltenstam and Abrahamsson.

Other news: School is being a pain. Not so much the kids as the lack of communication, things not getting done, etc., etc. (the exhaustion might be coloring my view on this one)

Also: I am making spinach lasagna for the Night Formerly Known As 'West Wing Wednesday' But Is Now Just A Wednesday On Which We Eat And Hang Out (And Watch 'Studio 60'). Hopefully it's edible.

How are you?

On today's shopping list

Among a few other things:

• Tissues, times 3
• Zicam, times 2
• Clementines
• Soup, 4 cans

Someone's got a cold. Blech. Stupid germy kids.

And to Müs: 2,000 words is totally eight pages, not four. You lied. Punk.

*Edit: Wow, that Zicam is good stuff! Also, 1098 words. 902 to go. Shoot me in the face.

Oh my god! He's got rabies!

Müs (in the white shirt) is now famous as a 'Sexy Rabid Cannibal'.



Still procrastinating.

Cambridge update

On Monday, I got an email from the secretary of the linguistics department at the University of Cambridge. I was kind of surprised and nervous, not expecting a decision this soon, and via email. However, the content of said email was only one sentence: 'I wonder if you had received my previous email.' Um, no...? So I continued to read the previous email which she had attached. Basically, the admissions comittee wants me to write a paper on a specific journal article in addition to my application, so that they can better decide if I'm suited to their program. This paper was due on: Wednesday, November 29.

[insert expletive here]

So I emailed back, saying that I hadn't received the original email and therefore it would be exceedingly difficult to write a 2,000 word paper on an article in two days, especially since I had to first find the article. After much back-and-forth, I got the very nice and patient secretary to send me the article and give me an extension until Monday.

The gist of all this: Instead of having 3 weeks to write a 'critical analysis' (what does this mean, anyway?) of a journal article, I have two days. (weekend days at least, not evenings after work) What am I doing now? Procrastinating.

Some things never change.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Don't fool yourself, it really is the best holiday of the entire year. I am off to NJ to visit extended family... well, family, period. And eat all sorts of fantastic food. I have been counting down until Thanksgiving since September and cannot wait!

Safe travels to all and enjoy that bass! (...er, turkey)

Say hello to my bipolar self

Heh heh... so the previous post, while true, strikes me now as rather bitchy and obnoxious. It may be deleted in an attempt not to offend people and/or to not get found out by my co-workers. So read and enjoy(?) while you still can.

In other news, today was a fantastic day! My kids had NO TIME-OUTS! None of them! Generally there are at least 4 usual suspects who get 3 or more in one day, but today, everyone was on task! Everyone did their best work (or an approximation thereof)! AND I got to eat my lunch in peace today, not with 50 rabid squirrels (=elementary schoolers). But seriously, no discipline infractions!

My kids rock.

Oh yeah, and I got an iPod. :)

Culture clash

I have an assistant teacher in my classroom, since our school participates in this program that brings foreign students to the US for a semester or a year, to help teach their native languages (Spanish, French, German, etc.) in American classes. I suppose it's sort of like the Fulbright TA program, except the students who come over are in various situations: some have already graduated from college and want to spend some time abroad, some are studying to be teachers and want some real-world experience, and some are killing time before their student teaching starts. My intern belongs to the last group.

Now, I've tried to be open-minded and culturally aware, not to mention patient with the fact that she's not a teacher yet and things don't come naturally to her. However, it's been three months and I've come to a conclusion: We just don't get along. It's not that we really dislike each other, but we are just not on the same page at so many levels. For example, I still don't know very much about her life in Germany, other than her worries about getting a good student teaching placement. I also have no idea how much she knows about me. Other examples:

• I am at school 20 minutes before the kids arrive and usually until at least 5.00.
• She spends time chatting with the other interns downstairs and during lunch hour, showing up 15 minutes late in the morning and afternoon. She also does not help at dismissal, instead leaving early with one of the kids.
• I will send kids out of the group if they are acting up, and talk about it with them later.
• She reprimands them in front of the class, and pretty harshly at that (if you know Germans, you know what I mean).
• I recognize that when a large percentage of the kids aren't paying attention or doing what they're supposed to be doing, it's because I didn't give clear enough directions.
• She plows on ahead and continues to reprimand students for not listening.
• I tell anecdotes about some of the kids occasionally (come on, all teachers do), but in private, among coworkers.
• She talks to me about what some of the kids have done (usually negative stories) in class, within hearing of all of the other kids.
• Me (to kids): "Thank you for listening. Did you hear how quiet we were in the hallway? Everyone has earned a plus; you did a great job."
• She: "I heard that being here helped the last intern so much, and she's having a much easier time with her student teaching. I am so glad I'm doing this now; it'll make student teaching so much easier!"

Disclaimer: I am by no means super-teacher (hi, it's only my second year, I'm still figuring it all out). I think the main difference is that this is my job right now, and I am going to do it well if it kills me. My intern is just waiting around until her student teaching starts and earning a gold star for her resume.

Also, she's German and I'm not. That might have something to do with it.

I heart Canada and ridiculous online quizzes

You are 91% Canuck!

You rock, you are an almighty Canadian through and through. You have proven your worthiness and have won the elite prize of living in a country as awesome as Canada. Yes I know other countries think they are better, but we let them have that cuz we know better than they do, eh?

How Canadian Are You?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

I clearly need something better to do with my time. Wait, 'The Office' starts in half an hour. Guess that problem's solved.

You know it's going to be a long day when...

... a co-worker says, 'You look tired this morning.' Apparently the 7 1/2 hours that is my standard on the weekdays isn't doing it for me. Also, you know it's going to be a really long day when you find out that the copy machine is broken indefinitely.

Random thought of the day: My housemate asked again (!) today how I hit something with my car. (insert expletives in my head here) I explained. He asked, 'Was there any alcohol involved?' I nearly burst out laughing... obviously doesn't know me very well yet, does he? I can drive just as stupidly without being under the influence, thanks very much.

Off to watch 'House' shortly and then to bed. Such is my exciting life.

This one's for you, Müs!

My brother and I spent so much time talking about accents, who has them and how quickly certain people develop them (e.g., I start sounding British after a week in England). But according to this quiz, you talk like you learned to talk: from your parents.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Northeast Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.
Boston
Philadelphia
The Midland
The Inland North
The West
The South
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

What's in a name?

• Although the name Bridget creates an active mind and a restless urge to explore new ideas, we emphasize that it causes procrastination, lack of confidence, and the inability to realize your goals and ambitions.
• The name of Bridget creates a very versatile and creative nature.
• You are quick-minded and have the freedom of expression to mix easily with people.
• Because your feelings and desires are so changeable, you are never satisfied with conditions as they are.
• You have many ideas, plans, and ambitions, but too often they are for an easy way out of a difficulty or an easy way of making money.
• You seek change in order to have the opportunity for travel, new experiences, and new friends and associates.
• You find it difficult to systematize your efforts and to fulfil your obligations and plans as you are not inclined to apply yourself consistently to a job to reach your goals.
• Although you appear positive, you inwardly lack self-confidence and will-power.

So...not entirely flattering, eh? Some are true (procrastination!), some not (easy way of making money? Yeah, that's why I'm a teacher, for those big bucks.). From here.

Nothing else interesting to say today. Perhaps this is due to a lack of coffee. Must go buy some more.

This is what I'm thinking:

(subject line a very obscure reference to a columnist in the Buffalo News)

• Random bullet points today, folks. Sorry, but my thoughts just happen to be this short and random; it's what you get from working with 6-year-olds.
• I was unable to vote today. Kind of pissed off about this. I had no form or combination of IDs that was acceptable. Note for future reference: Moving just before Election Day screws you over.
• Kids were craaaaaazy today. I may or may not have grabbed one by the shoulders and physically made him sit down. (he's the one who's always hitting people, though, so maybe that makes it okay)
• I got roped into helping kids prepare for this play they're doing on Friday and thus lost 20 minutes out of the normal half-hour we get for lunch. As if eating lunch with shouting children isn't bad enough, I had to eat in 10 minutes or less.
• Parent-teacher conferences tomorrow and Thursday = I've left my TA in charge of the class for 2 days. Is it mean that I'm secretly thinking, 'Now you can do some REAL work for once in the past 3 months?'
• Not as nervous about conferences as I was last year. I'm sort of feeling like: 'Well, this is your kid. [insert complimentary phrases here] His/Her biggest challenges are: [insert how kid is a royal pain here]. I'm looking forward to working with him/her over the rest of the year!' Wait, that's basically what I wrote on all the report cards...
• Also, not as prepared as last year. Oh well. I feel like I've known these kids forever.
• I have to go to the DMV tomorrow because their hours are 8-3.45 on weekdays and tomorrow morning will be my first time off since the beginning of September.
• I do not like driving. I am also a bad driver and stupidly hit the corner of the garage. I've had the car for 2 freaking weeks and already have a dent in the bumper. Goddamn it.
• Mental note: Must work on balancing my blood sugar so I don't get this cranky. Sorry, Internet.
• On the plus side: Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks! Start fishing for bass! (obscure inside joke)

Food snob

I've had a sneaking suspicion for some time now that I'm a bit of a food snob, thanks in part to growing up with Wegman's. At college and in Germany, Wegman's was probably the one thing I missed from home (apart from family and friends, obviously). I still miss this store; words cannot describe how absolutely amazing it is. Yes, I did just call a supermarket 'absolutely amazing'. (I love you, Wegman's!!!1!one!)

Anyway. I guess I also have my parents to thank, since they always, always cooked dinner. We very rarely went out to eat, not even for birthdays. Instead, the birthday person got to choose his/her birthday dinner. Mine was usually salmon. In fact, one of my (many) embarrassing moments from elementary school was when we discussed our favorite foods; in a sea of kids calling 'pizza' and 'spaghetti', I said 'salmon.' Weird looks ensued. At any rate, I was lucky enough to have parents who forced me to try new things and weren't afraid to try cooking new things themselves.

So I went grocery shopping today, since I had practically no food in the new house. After scrounging around for lunches for a week, I guess I went a little overboard at the supermarket, as evidenced by some of the items on the receipt:

• dried cranberries
• dried apricots
• couscous (3 types)
• dirty rice mix
• mix for chicken and rice
• tuna - the kind that comes in a pouch and that you don't have to drain
• apricot jam...from France
• sugar snap peas
• cheddar cheese with cranberries in it
• horseradish
• Norwegian salmon (some things never change)

The cashier was like, 'Is this all for you?' Heh heh...yeah. I guess it makes up for those two years shopping at Aldi in Germany and buying the same things (salami, yogurt, juice, cheese, Spätzle, pesto, pasta, pasta sauce, soup and chocolate) every week.

Apparently I do not exist

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Happy 101st post!

Guess I missed noticing the 100th one. Oops. Here's to 101 more frivolous blog entries to amuse myself and clutter up the Internet!

So... I moved this weekend. And seriously, every time I move, I forget what a gigantic pain it is. Packing, organizing stuff, schlepping it, cleaning the old place, rifling through your stuff so you have a semi-matching outfit to wear to school the next day... not fun. This will be the eighth consecutive year that I have moved to a new place. That's nearly a third of my life. Pretty sad, eh? On the plus side:

• low rent and utilities
• a wide-screen TV and cable
• a DISHWASHER -- if you know me, you know what a big deal this is
• Internet at home!!!!

Time to go unpack my stuff. And by 'my stuff', I mean 'one suitcase', because I am freaking exhausted and will no doubt collapse on the bed once I've cleared it off.

Baby, you can drive my car

That's right, I did it! I have broken down and bought a vehicle with more than two wheels! From now on, I can go to Target without spending 1 1/2 hours in transit! I can go to Irish dance without worrying how I'll get there! I can go to and leave school as early or as late as I want! I am very excited, as shown by the abundance of exclamation points, but still kind of leery... now that I've gone ahead and bought the car, I'm afraid that something is going to break off or that I'll somehow mess it up. But I think that's just me being a perfectionist and anal-retentive.

Check it out!

Note the wheel of the bicycle (my former mode of transportation) in the corner.

Spoiler! Not that I need a spoiler (in fact, I think they're kind of ridiculous) but there is a spoiler!

Other things that you can't see from the pictures: Cruise control, a CD player and a sunroof! I am the coolest marginally nerdy first-grade teacher ever.

You knew I looked familiar

I just ran my school photo (ha!) through this face recognition site, and I apparently look like the following people, in this order:
1. Angelina Jolie
2. Ann Kok
3. Brittany Murphy
4. Woranuch Wongsawan
5. Lee Hyori
6. John Cusack
7. Hugh Grant
8. Ueto Aya
9. Maggie Cheung
10. Q'Orianka Kilcher

This begs two questions. One, who are most of these people? Two, why do I look Asian? And like men? In comparison, Müs is most similar to David Beckham. Further proof that he got the good genes.

(Weekend) Update

Did I just reference SNL? Ha ha ha ha ha ha... that is so lame.

To keep everyone posted:
1. Still looking for a car. Finding a member of the male gender to take me to a car dealership is harder than I thought.
2. Still moving at the end of the month. Still have not begun packing.
3. The school is no longer moving. Instead, it will be paying exorbitant amounts of money to the current landlords next year.
3a. The possibility of closing the school next year has reared its ugly, sharp-toothed head.
3b. On the plus side, this gives me new incentive for the grad school thing.
4. The wedding went well. I should be getting paid soon. (!)
5. The application to Cambridge is coming together. I just have to get my ass in gear and get those essays done.
6. I've been invited to a Halloween party! Any costume ideas? I was thinking of fastening bags to a sweatsuit or something and going as a 'bag lady' but that seems kind of dumb. I know you all are crafty, help me out.
7. Still feeling guilty about asking DB for a reference on really short notice. He was obviously not happy. What can I do to make this up?
8. The music at this cafe is the theme to the 'Batman' TV show from the 60's!! Müs, this one's for you!
9. It is 76 degrees and sunny today.
9a. It is supposed to snow on Thursday.

Consider yourselves updated.

STRESSED OUT.

aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH WHAT WAS I THINKING?

This application is kicking my ass. It has grown legs and arms and is beating me to death. The worst part is the guilt I feel for springing reference requests on my three references. ('Uh, hi...do you remember me? Super! Would you write me a reference? Great! How about for next week?') Though I do things at the last minute, I hate it.

Stressing out majorly at this point.

On the plus side:
1. Müs caught the BNL reference.
2. I made shrimp scampi for dinner. I am awesome.
3. New running shoes are also awesome. No wonder Americans wear these all the time.
4. The wedding yesterday went well. Hopefully I will be getting paid soon.

Life, in a nutshell

What is happening with me, you ask? Some recent developments:

1. I am looking for a car.
2. I am moving at the end of October.
3. The school might be moving in December/January.
4. I am playing in a wedding tonight.
4a. I don't have the music yet.
5. I am applying to the University of Cambridge for next year.
5a. The deadline is October 15.
6. I will be applying to other grad school programs, whose deadlines are hopefully later than October 15.

There is some stress going on. Back to work.

PS- But how cool would it be to study in Cambridge?!

Back after extended period of laziness

So I recently realized I haven't posted to this blog in nearly a month....er, whoops. I actually have had some interesting thoughts (!) that may have been worthy of sharing (!!), but I haven't had the access. Oh well. Today, you're stuck with caramel-macchiato-fueled, slightly-congested me, Internet world. Brace yourselves.

First on the agenda, as always, is school. And let me just tell you that beginning the year at an established school as a SECOND-year teacher is about 2371893659287437 times easier than the hell that was last year. No kidding. The kids are one year more mature, have attention spans larger than that of a fruit fly's, and understand what I'm saying. That little last bit has made the hugest difference: I tell them to clean up, they clean up! I tell them nice job, they smile! I tell them to quit shrieking while playing with the dinosaurs, they do...sometimes. The best of all, though, is that there's no longer the permanent question of 'are they acting up because they don't understand what they're supposed to do, or are they just obnoxious little children'. Because the answer now is the latter.

Seriously, though, I have heard from various sources that my class is the quietest, most well-behaved class in the school. And I've got the crazed ADHD kid in my class. Granted, this compliment is only comparative, but still. I rock.

However, I'm not getting too complacent in my job, because we all remember what happened last year when I thought I was going fairly well. So I've still got grad schools in the back of my mind, which I'm going to start contacting once I get this project for the Wittenberg program done. That's right, the project that I supposedly 'started in July' and 'have been working on all summer'. In reality, it hasn't really been started yet and most definitely hasn't been worked on since that day when we had to present the projects. It has to be turned in by Wednesday. Guess what's on the schedule for today and tomorrow. My work ethic has certainly changed since college, though, because I feel that at least one person in the program is going to be doing a half-assed job, and why should I put in all this effort and make an awesome project when they clearly are going to be BSing it the night before? That's bad, I know...but I figure my version of 'zero effort' is actually more like '85% effort' and I'm trying not to drive myself crazy. Conceited, what?

In other news, I am in the process of buying a car (still looking around) and will be moving at the end of next month! Tough decision, this one; I really like where I am now but will be paying less than half my rent by doing this housesitting gig. You just can't beat that. Until then, I am enjoying my current location as much as I can: walking to the movies, going to Izzy's, etc. Both of those things will be much harder to do once I move.

I think that's about it for right now. Consider yourself caught up. (and then go see 'Little Miss Sunshine,' one of the few movies that actually made me laugh out loud, no kidding!)

Quotes!

Go to this page, pick the first five quotes that ring true and describe you, post them. Here goes:

Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down. - Charles F. Kettering (1876 - 1958)

The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. - Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967)

Consult your friend on all things, especially on those which respect yourself. His counsel may then be useful where your own self-love might impair your judgment. - Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD)

The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism. - Sir William Osler (1849 - 1919)

Anyone can do any amount of work provided it isn't the work he is supposed to be doing at the moment. - Robert Benchley (1889 - 1945)

Thanks to Jess and Heather for the idea!

(Sorry about the lack of posting; if I'd post anything at the moment, it would be chock-full of negativity because I don't want to go back to work! So let's avoid that for the moment; content yourself with the quotes listed above.)

The Virtual Album meme...yet again, shamelessly stolen

This meme is your chance to become the next big singer-songwriter without setting up your own overhyped MySpace site. Here is a list of song titles to complete. The idea is NOT to fill in the gaps with the original lyrics – it is to provide your OWN answers in order to personalize the songs and create your own virtual album that is personal, emotional and relevant to the world today. (Or entirely and gratuitously stupid, self-indulgent and/or obscene, it's entirely up to you.) Now, enough of this yakking. Let's ROCK!

1. You can call me long-distance.
2. Summer's here and the time is right for getting some Guinness ice cream at Izzy’s.
3. I can't get no grammar lessons. I done love me some double negatives.
4. If I ruled the world, there’d be chocolate eclairs for everybody. Wait, that’d only happen if I were the King of Spain.
5. I've been to Paradise but I've never been to Disneyworld.
6. The only thing that looks good on me is not in my wardrobe.
7. I would do anything for love, but I won't do the dishes.
8. Oh my god, I can't believe it, I've never seen ‘Back to the Future’ in its entirety!
9. All you need is coffee.
10. The answer, my friend, is pi over 2.

'Cat, go AWAY!'

Title of this post brought to you by the one sentence I have repeated most often today. I am cat-sitting once again, which is basically an excuse for me to use someone else's free internet and eat their food. Oh yeah, and I do actually take care of the cat. The single thing about the cat that annoys me the most, though, is his tendency to jump up onto the table while I'm eating. I am totally grossed out by this. And as I was trying to read the newspaper this morning (since I don't do it very often), the cat jumped up onto the table literally 20 times. After each time, I picked it up and dropped it onto the bench. Apparently it does not know how to take a hint. Now, thankfully, he is sleeping on the floor and not shedding cat hair or sneezing all over my computer.

Side note: If you have never had dried apricots, you are missing out. I bought some yesterday and can't stop eating them; they'll probably be gone by the time I finish writing this post. They remind me of Greece. Seriously, go get some dried apricots.

Crisis of the moment: I have a workshop to go to this week, starting tomorrow. Said workshop is out in a suburb, about 20 minutes west of here by car. I was planning on going with a co-worker, so carpooling was no problem, and we had figured this all out back in June. However... it appears she was scheduled for a different session than I am, and she's already done her training. This means that I now have no way to get out there...I've emailed and called the place, and they were like, 'Well, if you can get here on Monday, the participants usually figure out carpools for the rest of the week.' I was like, that is not helpful. I haven't heard from people whom I've asked for rides, and the buses are such that I would have to leave here before 6am and end up walking between 2 and 3 miles to get to the school. So now I have to throw myself at the mercy of one of my colleagues, who obviously has better things to do than drive 40 minutes out of her way, but I do not see an alternative. Good lord, is this a pain in the ass.

Also about school, I didn't mention last time that last week's workshop (apart from the buzzwords) was remarkably helpful. There was some theory but some actual, practical tips were included, and I couldn't help but think: This would have been incredibly useful last year. Oh well, with experience comes cynicism, or something like that.

Anyway, I felt very prepared and excited to start the new school year with all of these ideas, and then we all met up at school one night to move in furniture. I don't know what it is, but upon entering the building, I just felt like I was not good enough all over again. The new kindergarten teacher's room (i.e., my old room) is set up completely differently, and it looks fantastic: full of great stuff but organized, and all so much more prepared than I ever was (...and am?). Just being back in the school building seems to remind me of all the times I felt utterly beaten down: when the kids made me cry, when parents verbally attacked me, when I was nearly fired because I wasn't working hard enough and appeared 'inept', when I was categorized as a weakness to the school because I was inexperienced. I know, take your past experiences and learn from them, etc., etc., but it's very difficult to get the past year out of my head.

Just thought I'd share that. Mmm, dried apricots.

Education-related buzzwords heard about 13874653286 times each during the past 5 days

• Proactive
• Scaffold(ing)
• Socio-cultural __________
• Administrative buoyancy
• Context
• Best practice
• Content-based instruction
• Challenges
• Standards
• Effective
• Authentic
• Prior knowledge
• Objectives

None of the above are made up. One workshop down, one more to go!

Aaaaaand we're back

Not much to report today; I got back from Ohio on Monday and have been doing all sorts of nothing over the past few days. I did make it into school today, though, to measure my classroom and furniture so I can figure out where to put everything. I'm basically trying to soak up the lethargy as much as possible, since I start a workshop on Monday and have pretty much no vacation after that.

To backtrack: The wedding was lovely, Pamela was beautiful, and the reception was lacking of alcohol. (just teasing, Pamela, it's okay!) It was fantastic to see everyone again, especially Heather and Jamie. With some people, you can just pick up your friendship right where you left off. Again, I was not particularly wanting to come back...assisted by Jamie in this matter, as we almost got lost and I almost missed my flight! (Un)Fortunately, I ended up catching it and made it back home with no further issues.

So since my mind is not currently occupied with school-related things, I've had time to think about other things, such as where I want to live for next year and whether or not to buy a car. I think I've decided for the car; being constantly dependant on people is obnoxious and maybe I'd get out more if I had the means. The other question is whether (and if so, where) to move. I like my apartment, especially the location, but it is a bit expensive. However, less expensive one-bedrooms are not to be had. Other options: (a.) moving in with a roommate, or (b.) housesitting for one of my students' families as they live in Germany for one year. Advantages to each of those: (a.) meeting new people, saving money; (b.) living rent-free (!) for a year. Disadvantages: (a.) having to get used to living with someone again, possibility of annoying roommate; (b.) living way the heck far away from everything that I'm involved with in this city, not feeling independent.

These topics are now open for voting! What do you think? Should I stay where I am, check out craig's list for a roommate, or housesit?

*EDIT: Just found an ad on craig's list for roommate wanted...right down the street from where I am now!

*EDIT #2: I am meeting with the housesitting family at the end of next month and have sent an email to the craig's list girl. Guess we'll see what happens!

Quiz

As Ginny, you are friendly but quiet and timid. You have a thing for men with glasses.

Apparently, it figures out which HP character you are most like, and it also sorts you into a house. The character and the house don't have to match. I guess that would be rather unfair, since nearly all the characters are from the same house.

Back in the US...A

Nothing like a thinly veiled Beatles reference as a subject line. Did anyone else get that or is the connection just in my head? I'll explain it if you want, but then it won't seem quite as witty.

Anyway: I'm back! And as much as I wasn't entirely looking forward to returning to my wreck of an apartment and lack of food, it's nice to be back. I got in on Tuesday and was jetlagged as hell, due to going to bed at 1.30, leaving the house again at 4.30AM to get to the airport, and then about 12 hours in planes and airports. Wednesday was also rather shot, but today has been much better, largely due to my having coffee in the house this morning. Life is good when you don't have to go to work.

So tomorrow is Friday already, and that means getting on another plane to fly to Ohio for Pamela's wedding! Amazing that it's in two days already; where has the time gone? I am very, very excited to see Pamela and meet Andrew, and to see Heather and meet Kevin. (sense a pattern there?) It should be an excellent weekend, rounded out by a Toledo Mudhens game on Sunday. (Müs - if you want a Mudhens baseball cap I will totally get you one.)

So... yeah, nothing else to report at the moment. I'll end with an awesome South Park image of me, made by Müs:


...and now for the description: 'I naturally assumed you have a Ramstein tee shirt, a frazzled expression in a classroom of children, and ice cream in one hand (izzy scoop? what?) and a knife to cut anyone who gets too close to it in another.' Thanks, bro!

Happy Fourth of July!

I was going to be all patriotic and write this in fancy red and blue, but (a.) that is too much work and (b.) it would be too hard to read. Nevertheless, Happy Independence Day, enjoy the fireworks and grilling! Oddly enough, this makes the third consecutive year that I'll have missed the Fourth...also oddly, I'm not too upset about that. Oh well.

We just got back last night from spending three days in Berlin and Potsdam, which were great. Berlin is one of my favorite cities; every time I go there, there is always so much to do and to see. I always go with a list of things to visit or do and leave with at least a third of them not accomplished. This time, I checked off the Museum at Checkpoint Charlie (disappointing), the new Jewish Memorial (very moving), and the New Synagogue (as part of a three-hour walking tour -- interesting and informative). Two days in Berlin is not nearly enough; I'm thinking of going back after the program is finished to do some shopping... with my extensive funds, you know.

However, one of the best parts of the weekend was going to visit a friend of mine in Schöneberg, which is a neighborhood in Berlin. She has been studying there for the past year and I hadn't seen her since summer 2004, when we worked in a random teeny village in Sachsen-Anhalt. It was excellent; not only did we get to catch up (a lot), but we also watched some of the soccer match at ......

TIM'S CANADIAN CAFE!!!

Hopefully Müs will find that as amusing as I did; I took pictures of the place and of the menu. The Germans as well as Fiona thought I was crazy. I was too busy laughing and being nostalgic to notice.

Double-double?

PS - Deutschland vor! Deutschland vor! Cheer for them today, it's the quarter final!

Gedicht des Tages

Seit ich ihn gesehen,
Glaub ich blind zu sein;
Wo ich hin nur blicke,
Seh ich ihn allein;
Wie im wachen Traume
Schwebt sein Bild mir vor,
Taucht aus tiefstem Dunkel
Heller nur empor.
-- Adelbert von Chamisso (1781-1838)

Sorry, non-German speakers, but I just can't translate it and make it sound as nice as that.

On an unrelated note (I swear! Totally unrelated!): We had an awesome class today, about poems and how to interpret them, and how to use them in class. Not quite related to working with 6-year-olds, but what a great seminar. It also helped that the man leading it was very attractive... however, he's married and has two small kids. Damn.

Requisite story about trains and almost missing them

Group dynamics are much better, though a little strange; I think the traveling this weekend helped 'group bonding' a little bit. Although I guess that wouldn't be considered group bonding, as there were a few smaller groups. At least I got to know some people a little better... nothing like being ridiculous and overtired on trains to help friendships along.

The train story: I went to Dresden on Saturday with a group of 4, and was returning with Pam (not to be confused with Pamela) that same evening. After getting up at 6.15, three hours on a train, and a day of fighting crowds of elderly tourists and 90° heat, we were rather exhausted. We had to change trains two times on the way back, once in Elsterwelde-Biehlau and once in Falkenberg (Elster), both of which coincidentally have really long names and are in the middle of freaking nowhere, in Brandenburg. (not to equate 'nowhere' with 'Brandenburg', but if you know anything about Brandenburg, it makes the story better) Anyway, I heard the woman get on the PA system on the train, announcing the connections for the town at which we were arriving, and I heard her say 'Elsterwelde', so Pam and I got off. As we got out, I was like, 'Wow, that was early; the Deutsche Bahn is never early.'

Lo and behold, we got off in Elsterwelde, which is not Elsterwerde-Biehlau. And we had 5 minutes between connections, so we had about 8 minutes to make it to the real station and get to our next train before we were stuck in this rinky-dink town in Brandenburg. We get to the ticket counter in the station; there's no one there. We get to the front of the train station; lo and behold, there is one lonely taxi. I'm like, 'Pam, get in the cab!' She's like, 'Maybe we should first make sure we're at the wrong station...' I'm like, 'Get in the cab!' We get in, tell the driver to step on it, he convinces us that we'll make it while I'm cursing under my breath. Four minutes, three minutes, two minutes left. The driver says, 'Why don't you get the money ready.' Finally, we pull up to the station, I hand him a five Euro bill, and we jump out of the cab. There's no train there...it's 8.25, when the connection was supposed to be. Did we miss it? The taxi driver is hanging around just in case we are stuck in this teeny Dorf with probably no place to stay. Suddenly the PA system sounds, and an announcement: The train is coming! Gott sei Dank! We say goodbye to the taxi driver (who probably then went home and told his wife about the two crazy Americans whom he drove to the next train station over) and get on the train.

And then I got hit on by the ticket-taker for the Deutsche Bahn. But that's a story for another time.

wtf?

Being in Germany and in WB again is fabulous, but to be honest, I am a little disappointed in the program this week. It has included a 3-hour long speed-walk through Wörlitz (a park; you wouldn't think you'd need to speed-walk if you had 3 hours, but the park is huge) and a lecture that was not helpful at all. However, our teacher is excellent and so nice; she has invited us over for coffee during the last week of the course.

The key weirdness here is the lack of group camraderie. I miss the hanging out with friends, inside jokes and generally being ridiculous; here, it's sort of clique-y, and I don't fit in with any of them. Who knew you could have cliques in a group of 11! It all feels very superficial, which I suppose is a typical American trait, but seriously. Can someone please be my friend?

Who knew you could feel lonely when you're constantly with a group, in a town where you know 1/3 of the population.

Rückkehr nach Wittenberg!

Here I am, once again typing away in the computer lab at the Leucorea in WB. Apparently, not much has changed in four years, except now the computers are (slightly) better and DB is probably not going to suddenly appear beside me in a bright orange shirt. Though you never know.

To back up a little, the school year is OVER!!! I survived! I will never be a first-year teacher again! The last two weeks were rather rough, what with summer craziness, report cards, end-of-the-year inventory, and people generally giving me tasks and saying, 'Now, you have to get this done before you leave.' Thank god it's done; time to enjoy being in Germany a little bit.

Coming back has reminded me of all the things I missed about Germany: the fabulous bakeries (a piece of cake for 60 cents!), walking to places, biking, public transportation, German breakfast...I'll surely think of more. However, there's already one thing on the list of things I didn't like about Germany: people talking to me like I'm stupid. I know the freaking numbers; you don't have to show me the number of fingers. Thanks, waitress at the Kartoffelhaus. Anyway, I'm having a great time so far and I'm especially looking forward to the 3-day Berlin/Potsdam trip in two weeks!

Returning to Wittenberg has been strange in some ways. In one sense, it hasn't changed much and so it feels like I never left. On the other hand, I get stared at on the street (ah, the German stare!) and realize that I'm once again the outsider, one of those tourists or students who comes in for a few weeks and then leaves. Also, all the places in town remind me of something that I did there; the Schlosskirche is no longer where Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses, but where I stood squashed in the balcony while watching Reformation services. This is the Blumengeschäft where I always bought flowers for people. There is the Kino where I saw Star Wars: Episode II (and sort of understood), Ich kann mal anders (and sort of understood and laughed a lot), Spiderman ('Die Wahrheit ist...ich liebe dich), Luther (and pretty much understood), Fluch der Karibik (and was proud that I understood), and Mona Lisas Lächeln (and understood but thought it was dumb). This is the Haus der Geschichte, where they have a stuffed cat. The list continues; suffice it to say it's rather a nostalgia trip.

Anyway, just wanted to say I made it and so far, so good. It's time to get out of the computer lab and go have some Eis!

Four more days!

...by which I mean three more days, plus the last day (during which kdg will be a madhouse), plus a 'culture week'. But really, the kids have lots of specials tomorrow so it's like two more real days. Can you tell I am ready to be done?

But right now, I am actually out of the apartment (!) at a coffee place, so I thought I would regale all 4 of my loyal readers with tales of my scintillating social life. Because this weekend was actually fabulous. It was in the 80s and sunny, so my TA and I biked down to the state capitol and took a tour and some pictures. (more fun than it sounds) Then we biked all the way back and were picked up by a mutual friend, who drove us to Uptown, where we hung out at a lake with a beach. I got good and sunburned, then we came back to our respective houses, made ourselves look respectable again, and went out to a few different bars. This was actually not especially great, since they were all really packed, but a good time nonetheless. And then we went back to this friend's apartment, where we hung out and learned some salsa dancing until 4.30 in the morning. What a social butterfly I am! (ha)

Sunday was comparatively low-key; my TA and I hung out at a local street festival for about an hour, until we got bored of navigating our way around people and watching drunk people. The award for the Stupid Comment Of The Day goes to a street vendor who saw me pushing my (bright yellow) bike through the crowd: 'Yeah, I'll give you a ride.' Yeah, you can kiss my ass, buddy.

Anyway, we are down to the LAST real WEEK, and I should mention that all kindergarteners are coming on Friday for the whole day. AM and PM kindergarteners converging; it's like the perfect storm. I need to come up with all sorts of stuff for them to do, so they don't tear the school down. But who cares, because not only is it the last day of school, it's my birthday, so there will be much celebration! Some friends and I are going out for Indian food on Friday night... Indian food! And I have friends! Doesn't this sound like the best plan ever? Perhaps my good mood is caused by the impending end of the year, or the good weather, or the fact that I'm going to Germany shortly, but I cannot be moved to care about schoolwork anymore. What, the classroom hasn't been vacuumed in a week and there are crushed Goldfish and grapes smashed into the carpet? And my table/desk is covered in papers 10 sheets high? I don't freaking care!

Bring on the vacation! And the end-of-school/birthday celebration! (Sidenote: Good god, I will be 25. What am I doing with my life?)

To prove I have not, in fact, thrown myself out of a window

Yes, I am alive. Sorry about that. Zero internet access + scheduled weekends + end-of-the-school-year-craziness = no blog post. Never fear, I am still around and doing okay. However, it is nice to know that people care.

First, a school update: I will be teaching first grade next year. This is the consensus, though I have yet to sign a contract. (are they waiting for me to prove something?) It's not really what I want to do, but it's better than no job at all. Plus, I get to team with the current first grade teacher; he'll know the curriculum, and I'll know the kids. Not too bad. Until then, it's the final countdoooowwwwn! (do do do doooo, do do do do doooo!) Three weeks left with kindergarten... amazing. In those three weeks, I have to prove that they meet all the standards, prepare them for first grade, write report cards, and set up the end of the year program. Actually, I have to do that in only two weeks. Oh sh!t.

Anyway. then it will be off to Germany!! I emailed the Leucorea and tried to live with Jess, and they said no problem, but then I got shot down by the directors of the program here. I was like, the Germans said it was okay, for god's sake! How can you be more anal than the Germans? Oh well, it should be a good time. Despite the fact that the trip is not supposed to be a vacation, and I'm supposed to build a partnership with a school over there, I am so looking forward to getting out of here.

Other update-y news: Müs was just here last weekend, and we had a fabulous time. I was sad to see him go on Monday. Highlights of the weekend:

• Guinness ice cream...twice!
• Dragging him along to school and his acquiring a fan club of 6-year-olds
• (Frozen) Cheez-its
• Walking along the Mississippi
• Sushi!
• Uptown Minneapolis
• Getting stuff 75% off at Borders
• Making him illustrate the kindergarteners' weekly book
• 'The DaVinci Code'
• Ridiculing his ridiculously long hair
• 'Wayne's World'...even though I fell asleep

Excellent. Doesn't it just make you want to come visit?

As I am in school (surprise), I should go get some work done before Irish dancing. Only 3 more weeks!

Just to vent

I've been trying to buy plane tickets to get to Pamela's wedding pretty much all day now. I looked at prices yesterday and suddenly, it appeared this afternoon: a flight for only $170! (compared to the other ones I found starting at $240) Brilliant! And then... travelocity won't 'process my request'. Neither will expedia. Many, many times. And this fare doesn't seem to exist on the airline's website, or on other cheap fare websites. GrrrrRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrr. I'll just keep stalking travelocity and/or expedia until they have to give me the cheap fare.

If I end up having to pay like $300 because these websites are stupid, I will be pissed.

On the positive side, I bought plane tickets home, went for a walk, had coffee and wrote two letters to folks in Germany today. Not bad for a Saturday.

Adventures at The Mall

Today is the last day of spring break (apart from the weekend, which doesn't generally feel like vacation, as it instead feels like a weekend), and I celebrated by going to The Mall. Only the second time I've been since I moved out here, and I was looking forward to it; I'm not a huge shopping person, but I do get in the mood to spend some money now and again. So it was kind of a bummer when one of my favorite stores, for which I had TWO (!) coupons, had nothing good. Apparently it's that weird in-between-seasons time, and everyone is trying to clear out their winter stuff before moving in their summer merchandise. And the winter stuff is pretty well picked over. In the entire 3 hours at the mall, I ended up getting a skirt from H&M; not quite wedding-appropriate, but I can wear it for teaching.

Interesting phenomenon at The Mall: Even with an insane number of stores, I still ended up going to the same 7 or 8. Maybe I need to expand my boundaries a little.

Dreading going to school on Monday, as well as not having Internet at home. Oh yeah, my next-door neighbor (the really nice one with the wireless hookup) moved out. Sucks...looks like I'll have to go through the whole Internet provider crap after all. Until then, I'm enjoying updating my blog while housesitting and having the cat crawl across my lap every 5 minutes.

Seriously, is my life really this boring? This is sad.

Fighting for truth, justice and the American way

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman 70% Spider-Man 70% Robin 55% Batman 50% Hulk 45% Green Lantern 45% Iron Man 45% Supergirl 41% The Flash 40% Wonder Woman 31% Catwoman 25%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

http://www.seabreezecomputers.com/superhero

And the verdict is...

...I passed, I think. The computer gave me the scores at the end of the test, but I have no reference values. So I got a 185 on reading and 190 on math, but I've not a clue what they're out of. If it's out of 200, then yay! If it's out of 2,000, then that sucks. But I think I did okay, at least on the multiple choice questions.

The interesting part came in the form of the timed essay. Timed essays are crap, because who can put together a coherent, thought-provoking essay on a given topic in 30 minutes? I write very methodically; it takes me forever to get words down on paper. My essay had some complex sentence structure and advanced vocabulary...however, I'm not sure if the point got across. I even made some parallel between the Good Samaritan parable and the Eightfold Path (Buddhism); here's hoping that that's actually a valid point. I'm not entirely sure whether the Eightfold Path has anything to do with how to treat other people, let alone whether it belongs to Buddhism or even if it is eight-(not ten-, seven- or pi-)fold. Hopefully my essay grader isn't Buddhist.

Now I am off to this store, to get all crafty. Wish me luck!

This post brought to you by: Poor judgment!

So I have to leave the house tomorrow at 7AM to take a freaking four-hour long series of computerized tests to make sure that my reading, writing and math skills are appropriately becoming a kindergarten teacher. I have to go to bed, but I'm not tired. I also have not really studied for this test. Hey, if I got over a 1400 on the GRE with about 2 hours of cramming the night before, I should be okay, right?

This is all going to bite me in the ass tomorrow, I can just feel it.

Forcing myself into bed now.

Vaaacaaation!

It's really been a while; I feel like I've been going through Internet withdrawal. Round #1 of catsitting went fine, though I discovered that I'm not really a cat person - or at least not a person who enjoys getting woken up at all hours by a stupid cat who likes to walk on sleeping people's heads. So now I'm catsitting again, for someone else, and thus far today I've had to not only clean out the litter box, but also clean up cat vomit. Off of carpet. Mmmm, lovely. At least I'm getting paid for sitting around someone else's house, eating their food, and going out for coffee once in a while.

In other news: MüS IS COMING TO VISIT!!! I'm just a little bit excited. We're going to tour around, and eat ice cream, and share awful stories about our schools! Doesn't that sound like fun? Don't you just want to get on a plane and come on over? Seriously, I cannot wait until May.

I'm planning on taking one of my eight sick/personal days (that's right, a grand total of eight) on one of the days when he's here...however, those eight days are now down from four to two, thanks to a persistent virus last week. And while I was lying lifeless on the couch, croaking that no, I don't think I'll make it in tomorrow either so you should call around for a sub, my director (who had subbed for me) felt it was necessary to tell me what was wrong with my classroom. Uh huh, okay, I'll carefully consider how to more effectively challenge each student at his or her academic level and how to check their work, just as soon as this pesky fever breaks. Feel the love from my coworkers.

More news (perhaps) tomorrow, because I am now on spring break and have all the time in the world to do things like update my blog.

TAREIBF

I don't feel like expending the energy to put together a nice, cohesive blog post, so once again: Thoughts About Recent Events In Bullet Form (TAREIBF)!

• müs is looking at plane tickets to come out here! That would seriously make my year. Someone to show around, someone to agree with me on how cute/frickin' annoying the kids are, someone to derisively tell me how barren my apartment is...brilliant. You better make it out here, müs; my expectations are now set far too high. If you don't come, I will break your kneecaps.
• Teacher work days = fantastic. I got all my report cards done today, without having to kill myself over the weekend. Now it's time to brace myself for conferences on Wednesday and Thursday...12-hour days! Woo!
• St. Patrick's Day for me turned out to be a series of poor choices. Not terribly awful, just rather disappointing. It involved: (a) hanging out with my TA and some of her friends from a local university... (b)...at a frat house. The Sigma Chi house. (Disclaimer: I had not agreed to this in advance.) It was ridiculous; frat boys are amazingly stupid and I am far too old to be doing stuff like this. Anyway, on with the list: (c) going to two very, very crowded bars with (d) drunk people wearing all kinds of tacky green 'Irish' stuff. And (e) cheap, gross beer because Guinness was $7 a pint, and (f) some of said beer getting spilled on my coat. And last, (g) an hour walk home in 15-degree weather because there were no cabs to be had. So yeah, it rather sucked. I stayed in the rest of the weekend.
• You know that feeling when you're kind of getting sick but you do everything possible to stop it? I'm kind of at that phase. (perhaps due to the hour walk in 15-degree weather...) For the last three days, I've been downing tea like a Brit. However, thanks to this teacher work day and not having to stay up ungodly late doing report cards, I might be able to shake it off. Let's hope!
• I recently bought the newest GBS CD as well as this CD from Nickel Creek. Both excellent, if you like my taste in music, but I don't think any of you does. Except maybe müs, for whom I'll be making a copy of the GBS CD anyway. I've been listening to the GBS CD pretty much non-stop since I got it on Saturday, except for in school today, where I had to turn it off because I was singing along and not getting any work done. Just to share: Track #4 from that one is just about the funniest song I have ever heard. I had to listen to it twice just to make sure I heard it right the first time...a bit raunchy but so amusing. (Why yes, I do have the maturity level of a teenage boy.)
• I will be cat- and house-sitting from tomorrow until next Tuesday, so no updates from me. And then I'll be cat-/house-sitting again over spring break. (however, they have wireless internet, so I'll probably update) It's my new little cottage industry.

Happy vernal equinox! Wouldn't 'vernal equinox' be a great name for a band?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Slainte!

The two most beautiful words in the English language:

snow day!

Waking up to a phone call at 6am: Confusing

Calling other people at 6.15am: A bit embarrassing

Going back to sleep and not getting up until 10am: Priceless

Excellent timing on the snow day, too; I was definitely not looking forward to going in to work this week. Now I can get stuff done, like registering for the Praxis (woo! $200 down the drain!) and reading something for fun!

Self-esteem booster of the week (a.k.a., selfish bragging): I actually got a number of compliments this weekend. Granted, two were from 5-year olds ('I've never seen eyes like yours!' - I'm assuming that's a compliment) and most were from intoxicated guys at a dance club, but still. I'll take them where I can get them.

50 Things About Me

...because I couldn't come up with 100. Maybe I'll post another 50 at some point; until then, welcome to my dark and twisted psyche.

50 Things About Me

1. I am ridiculous.
2. I have been known to howl with my dog.
3. Every night before I go to bed, I make my lunch for the next day.
4. Small children think I am a riot.
5. I once took the Myers-Briggs personality test at the career center at college. The woman who went over the results with me said she had never seen anyone more solidly introverted.
6. I get really crabby when I’m hungry.
7. #6 can happen very suddenly. I’ll be fine, and then literally ten minutes later, I’ll be ready to snap at someone for no reason. (sorry, Jamie!)
8. I am very fond of Canada.
9. I don’t dry any of my pants in the dryer, for fear they will shrink and be too short. This probably stems from a childhood of almost never having pants (or sleeves, for that matter) that were quite long enough.
10. I generally only buy pants from this store, because then they will actually fit.
11. I am a very bad liar.
12. Natalie Portman and I share the exact same date of birth.
13. I was voted ‘Most Intelligent’ in my high school class.
14. I get very competitive at trivia games. Sometimes, scarily so.
15. I would give one of my appendages for a dishwasher.
16. I can be very stubborn.
17. The surest way to get me to do something is to tell me that I’m not capable of doing it.
18. In middle school, I was the skinniest and most geeky, awkward, braces- and glasses-wearing, frizzy-haired, picked-on kid you can imagine.
19. Only now, at age 24, am I coming to terms with how I look.
20. I put an extreme amount of pressure on myself to do everything well.
21. I have this irrational fear of driving. I think it’s because I’m a bad driver and I hate not doing things right (see # 20).
22. Name a movie that is a standard of the 80’s, and I probably will not have seen it.
23. I tend to be thrifty. Okay, maybe just cheap.
24. I despise Vivaldi.
25. For the life of me, I cannot keep papers/documents organized.
26. I spent about 10 days in England last year. For about 3 months after that, and without realizing it, I was still talking with a British inflection.
27. I constantly have purple rings under my eyes.
28. I have a weakness for musicians.
29. I have only ever been really drunk once or twice. Both times, I could walk a straight line and carry on a reasonable conversation.
30. I have never met the majority of my relatives, and I don’t know most of their names.
31. I am the procrastination queen.
32. I don’t own a pair of plain white socks.
33. Once I get about halfway through a book, I’ll sometimes flip to the end and read parts of the last chapters. Then I go back and continue reading from where I left off.
34. I love Cryptoquip puzzles: the ones where letters are represented by other letters and you have to figure out the quote.
35. I harbor a secret ambition to get an MA in Linguistics from Cambridge.
36. I also think that working for the NSA would be an excellent job.
37. I know embarrassingly little about popular music.
38. I could eat chocolate chip cookies every day for the rest of my life.
39. I haven’t been on a real vacation (in which you travel someplace else in order to relax, not a traveling, see-everything-you-can-see-in-this-city trip) since I was a junior in high school.
40. If I had the option, I would wear a fleece and jeans every day.
41. I have a tendency to read emails and not answer them, until they either all pile up and I have to spend forever writing people back, or I forget about them.
42. I am incapable of doing anything only half-way.
43. I think dark chocolate is far superior to milk chocolate.
44. I own far too many shoes.
45. I think my eyes are my best feature (apart from the dark circles).
46. I was born over 2 months early. They weren’t sure I was going to make it.
47. I love to cook, but I end up eating pasta all the time because I’m too tired to make something halfway decent.
48. Annoyingly, and for no obvious reason, I get extremely nervous talking to guys.
49. In Germany, I became addicted to coffee. Since then, my tolerance for caffeine has only improved.
50. I appear much more put-together than I really am.

Why learn a foreign language?

Because!

Randomness

As it is Monday evening, and it's my only relatively free night of the week, I thought I'd update quickly to say that I'm still alive. Nothing exciting is going on; school consumes my life and report cards are coming up. (Again! Didn't we just have them?) Outside the job, a few (mildly) noteworthy events and/or comments:

• I went out on Saturday night with my TA, her host mom (art teacher at school) and host mom's friend. A band that the host mom knew was playing at some club, and it was a good time! But rather weird, since there were two of us in our mid-20s and host mom and friend who were 50 and just under 50. Can anyone picture their moms bar-hopping at 2am? For that matter, can you picture yourself bar-hopping in 30 years, while your kids are sleeping at home?
• Sunday, March 12th: My long-awaited return to the Irish dancing stage! There is some big Day Of Irish Dance celebrating St. Pat's Day, and I'll be doing 3 dances with my new school. The costume is quite excellent (though $50 to rent for one day!); I'll have to post a picture of it if I remember to take one.
• One of these days, I'll also get around to posting a 100 Things About Me on this blog. Though I'm afraid I won't be able to think of 100 mildly interesting or amusing aspects of my personality.
• I have to stop going to the grocery store when I'm hungry. Seriously, I've bought so many cookies in the past two weeks, it's rather sad. However, buying sushi for dinner was an excellent idea.
• Clearly, I need a roommate or something if I'm telling you all about my grocery-buying habits.

Time to go finish the laundry!

Improved! Now with more sleep!

Apparently all of my problems are caused by lack of sleep. After having a rather horrific week and a half, I came home from school early(-ish) yesterday and took a nearly 2-hour nap. Then I proceeded to make dinner, watch Monty Python, and go to bed at a decent hour. I'm feeling much better now. (not 100% better, but not in a weeping-and-gnashing-of-teeth mood)

For example: It's Thursday. One would hope that I would be hanging out with certain other people tonight, a certain person in particular. However, it looks like that's not going to happen. So that's kind of a downer, but there will be no dramatics, just mild disappointment.

And now, to amuse myself and the Internet at large: the Four Things Meme, stolen from Heather and Jess and pretty much every single blog that exists.

Four jobs I’ve had:
(1) Lifeguard
(2) Summer camp counselor
(3) Wal-Mart cashier - still scarred for life by this one
(4) Kindergarten teacher

Four movies I can watch over and over:
(1) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(2)Ferris Bueller's Day Off
(3) Mostly Martha
(4) Center Stage - somewhat predictable and cheesy, but entertaining!

Four Places I’ve Lived:
(1) [suburb of] Buffalo, NY
(2) Springfield, OH
(3) Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany
(4) Kaiserslautern, Germany

Four TV shows I love:
(1) The Office - the only show that I absolutely have to watch every week...so hilarious!
(2) Scrubs
(3) Whose Line Is It Anyway? - too bad it's not on the air anymore
(4) CSI: - unfortunately, it loses out to 'The Office' so I haven't seen it lately

Four places I’ve vacationed:
(1) Ocean City, MD
(2) Vienna, Austria
(3) Italy - Rome and Venice
(4) Ireland - Dublin, Cork, Galway, Derry (N. Ireland)

Four of my favorite dishes:
(1) Steak (medium-rare) and baked potato
(2) Chicken marsala
(3) Chicken pot pie
(4) Salmon - especially this dish that my mom has made with really thin pieces of salmon in a butter and cream sauce, with capers... müs, know what I'm talking about? I'm drooling now.

Four sites I visit daily:
(1) (No more) Adventures in Deutschland - *cough*stalker*cough*
(2) Dooce
(3) Google
(4) Yahoo! Mail

Four places I would rather be right now:
(1) With friends
(2) On a beach - with sand, not one of those rocky beaches
(3) Sprawled on the grass under a tree (with leaves on it), reading a book
(4) Anywhere in Ireland

There you have it, Internet. Not at all witty or entertaining, but further proof of my unoriginality. Whoo!

Today has been brought to you by...

...these three words: day from hell. I'm not even going to get into it, it'll make me too depressed. In summary: (1) I have zero control over my class and (2) The kids are learning absolutely nothing.

Jamie, I might have overestimated when I said that I can handle another year of kindergarten.

Bright spot of the day: My grandparents sent me a Christmas present: a huge fleece blanket! So when I'm wallowing in self-pity because I suck at teaching and am lonely, at least I'll be warm.

*yanks self out of self-pitying pit*

Time to go do some schoolwork. Surprise, surprise.

You know you're old and/or a big dork when...

...you turn down a Fasching party in favor of a night at home, a movie and an early bedtime.

B stands for Big Loser.

Reality check

There are moments in which I think my job is great: kids are learning and being nice to each other, everyone's listening, and their progress is amazing. (Case in point: One of the kids helping the new student ask a question in German.)

And then there are weeks when I want to quit, lock myself in my apartment and live off of chocolate alone. Weeks like this one. Though it only has four days, verily, it bites the big one. Chalk it up to the parents who blame everything on that lousy kindergarten teacher instead of their kid not paying a damn bit of attention in class, the people who want us to now prove we are not just meeting standards but exceeding them, the people who've been asking why some kids can't read (they're freaking 5 YEARS OLD, it's KINDERGARTEN for god's sake), and some other totally unrealistic expectations which I am expected to meet. And I was just starting to not think about school every waking minute.

Also, bizarre dreams this past week. What is going on in my life?

Forget it. Bring on the chocolate.

Thank you, George and Abe

...for giving us this long weekend. Without the two of you, February would be a long, cold month. Oh yeah, and thanks also for helping win the Revolutionary War and signing the Emancipation Proclamation.

In honor of President's (or Presidents'?) Day: Name Your Favorite President! Come on, you know you have one. I'll go first: Woodrow Wilson. Brilliant man, had the idea for the UN before anyone else did, got the country through WWI, and alliterative name. Rock on, Woody.

And happy birthday, Hetta! You now have the same age as the title of a television show! Have a great day and eat lots of cake. (by the way, that dinner invitation didn't work out...because I should have called 15 minutes earlier!)

Not a whole lot more to say, except that it's back to school tomorrow. Without another break until March...right before parent-teacher conferences. So I am going to continue slacking off today for as long as humanly possible until I really have to write some lesson plans. Join me in becoming one with the slack.

In which I sound like a squealy 14-year-old girl

*Warning*: This entry to be filled with ridiculousness, since I am currently on a four-day weekend, have had enough sleep, and haven't done a thing all day. Therefore, I'm in a great mood. (bipolar, what?)

I've been listening to this radio station all day, and it's like a constant nostalgia trip. Half the time, it's songs like REM's 'It's The End Of The World' and Blues Traveler's 'Run-Around' which remind me of high school yearbook (i.e., skipping class, racing wheely chairs, vandalizing furniture, fighting over Bruce the couch) and then it's 'Everyday' by Dave Matthews bringing back memories of college. Makes me feel old. I wonder if any songs will make me nostalgic for my first year of teaching. Doubtful; although it has its moments, it's not the most pleasant experience in the world.

So I went out last night with two co-workers and a friend of one of them... it might turn into a Thursday night routine, since we were out last Thursday as well, and we're going ice skating next week. They are a riot, seriously. It is fabulous to be able to (1) talk to people over the age of 6, and (2) be sarcastic and somewhat witty. Of course, that's before I have a few drinks, because then I start talking too much and say stupid things. (at least I realize it and shut up) BUT...

**edited because I've clearly jinxed it already, so really, what's the point**

So...yeah. No concrete evidence, clearly, but I enjoy replaying moments in my head and blowing things entirely out of proportion. Because this is what I do. Suffice it to say I'm looking forward to next Thursday.

What I have realized while house- and dogsitting

• Having an entire house to yourself can be kind of creepy.
• TiVo is fantastic!
• ...as are dishwashers!
• Small dogs are cute when they crawl up onto your bed.
• However, not so cute when they get you up at 6.30 AM on a Sunday.
• Not having your closet to choose your clothes from is a bit irritating. (sounds snotty and materialistic, but try it sometime...it's true)
• Cafe lattes are fabulous.
• It's hard to make dinner when you don't know what food you have or where everything is.
• When you read the newspaper, you actually learn what is going on. (i.e., Mark O'Connor and Leahy are both here this week! Too bad I don't know anyone who'd be interested in going...)

Right, lesson plans.

Warning: Don't read this entry unless you want to listen to me complain.

A lot.

So it's 9.20, the dishes are finally done, my apartment smells like a combination of fish and drying laundry, and I'm apparently a bit sleep-deprived, since I'm feeling rather snappish. (snappish, adj.: ready to snap at small, trivial things) And this blog is going to be full of griping, so WATCH OUT.

First off, if I hear that freaking 'A Hundred Years to Live' song or whatever the hell it's titled ONE MORE TIME, I will seriously flip out. That's not a threat, it will happen.

**remainder of post edited because I like my job and would like to keep it**

Happy St. Bridget's Day!

Ha ha...and happy 21st birthday, Müs!! God, that makes me feel old. Now my age has absolutely no advantages over yours. Damn.

And I got the fellowship; I'm going back to Wittenberg this summer! Time to pull some strings and see if I can live with someone I know...think they'll let me live with an American (i.e., Jess)? That is, if she'll have me? Was that request smooth or what?

In response to the State of the Union address

O Canada, how I miss thee and thy television stations. And Tim's. (double-double?)

Reasons why I would not make it on 'The Bachelor'

• I don't get catty. Bitchy, sure, but not catty.
• I think it's obnoxious to have people prying into my motivations every single step of the way.
• I can't toss my hair.
• It would require far too much effort, appearance-wise.
• You cannot get to know me in 15 minutes or less.
• I can't walk in high heels.
• I don't get all squealy.
• I can't play dumb. I can be rather dense, but that's not nearly as attractive, apparently.
• I can't be two-faced. If I'm lying, you can tell pretty quickly.
• The whole premise turns me off. Twenty-five women fighting for one guy? Seriously.

I'm just watching for the scenery from Paris, the French Riviera, etc. ;)

Oh snap!

Inspiration for today's post: 'Oh snap!' actually heard on TV. Moose, you've started a trend; better find a new catch phrase.

Today was the best day ever. Only seven kids this morning, and three adults in the room! And nine in the afternoon, again with three adults! It was amazing, everyone had some one-on-one time, and it was just so calm. Yay for watching kids at work and learning.

Incidentally, we've started on a Karneval theme, so if anyone has any brilliant ideas on learning center-type actvities that have to do with Karneval and/or Mardi Gras and/or Germany, send them along.

Here is a glowing article written about the school, a.k.a. 'free advertising'.

Randomly, I'm having a semi-career crisis. (or would that be a career semi-crisis?) Is it a bad thing that I have no 5-year goals I can verbalize, besides getting a master's? I've gotten asked this question twice in the past three days, and I'm getting the feeling that I'm not doing the right thing, that I could/should be doing grander things than this. What those grander things might be, I have no idea. I seem to be having a hard enough time getting through each week, let alone thinking about what I should be doing five years from now. And I'm still getting pressure from my parents: 'Okay, so you're going to stay another year, that's fine. It'll help you decide what you want to do next.' Two points come to mind: (1) ...Like what?? (2) ...Because those two years in Germany were so helpful in deciding what I wanted to do with my life.

Never mind. I'll just work on surviving Karneval, I suppose.