School has started and I can't believe so much time has passed since I wrote last! To be honest, I'm probably only writing now because the wonderful Pam Brightbill included a link to her blog via Facebook. It kind of reminded me that I had started one of these bad boys too.
So... let's talk movies-
Just the other night I watched Maxed Out. It's a documentary about credit cards and personal and national debt. I'm nerd enough to have enjoyed it and passed it along to a collegue who will be using it in class on Friday. Now, I'm all about bashing the government- *digression- although, with my new interest in the Middle East, I'm definitely starting to feel my nerve*- but the only criticism is that this movie left you feeling empty without any message of hope. What my friends and I concluded is that the only way out of debt, according to the movie, is suicide or claiming bankruptcy. Neither of which is a pliable option. Is it really such a dire situation that we are in, that those are the options? For now, I'll just keep chuggin along with my slightly more than minimum payments and play the lottery come Wednesday. I'd say this film gets a 7.5/10- mainly due to a lack of resolve or proposal.
Recently I also saw 500 Days of Summer to which my initial reaction was much less than what Jon's was- as he loved it. I enjoyed it, but something didn't settle for me. Maybe it was the film's unoriginal attempt at originality at parts? Maybe it was because I must really like "happily ever afters" and their attempt to make it more realistic peeved me off? I mean, who pays dang near $10 to leave a theater feeling very mediocre about life? Maybe I'm hard to please? Whatever the case, my personal opinion is a 7.75/10.
For "fun" I watched Lolita from about the 1950's. I only did this because I've been listening on audiotape to Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. The movie was quite intriguing. I read some commentary on it to find out that the only way they got away with such a risque' movie back then was because they never made her age explicitly known. I'm not sure what to make of it, except I'm sure the book is better because the way that Nafisi uses Lolita to parallel the situation in Iran and Iraq is genious. Her quotes from the book aren't to be found in the movie. The movie gets a 6/10 from me. The book however, is not finished yet, but I just can't get enough! It's about 18.5 hours of listening time. That equates to a lot of driving, which I don't need to be doing. Instead I'll catch myself pulling into the garage and sitting and listening for another 20 minutes or so before I get out of the car. It's fascinating and helps me to appreciate the way things are here in America comparatively. Definitely puts me in check- especially as a woman.
That might be all for now, regarding media updates...
A quick mention though that Vegetarian Today is amazing and I'm certain it will help me in my endeavor to lose weight and gain health as I join a Biggest Loser competition that starts tomorrow. I hope it's the fire under my butt to get me moving! Money is quite the incentive- especially when this competition will last into December!
School has started again and oh! the rough start I had. My schedules were all sorts of messed up and it seemed as if nothing I had requested more than a handful of times was taken into consideration. I won't fret too much about all of that as I think I made my message loud and clear to administration that I need to be prioritized with scheduling. Thankfully I am blessed enough to have principals who took well over an hour to sit down with me and hammer a lot of things out to better my lot for next year. It's nice to finally feel support from above. I think it will make a world of difference.
Now I'm thinking of all the things I should be doing beyond sitting and blabbing away on my blog. I'm off to get crackin'.
7.09.2009
Pennies from Las Vegas
I'll get to the meaning behind my title towards the end, after my update...
It's been a few weeks. I'm now in Florida visiting my family here. I got here two days ago.
Media-wise, here's the latest greatest:
-Saw Public Enemies with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale and loved it. Definite 10/10! I love the hard work and details that go into movies these days. As an educator, I couldn't stop thinking about how to incorporate this into the classroom (until I remembered my assignment next year is strictly math and science- thank God!) I will be passing the movie idea along to a collegue because it can coincide with the Great Depression unit they do quite nicely. I hope to someday be able to use it. :-)
- Still working on A Thousand Splendid Suns and the only reason I haven't finished it yet is because I've fallen in love...
- With Neil Gaiman!! I read/listened to Anansi Boys and was magically whisked away. Almost literally. I began listening to the audio book, then quite miraculously found it at a thrift store for fifty cents. It was one of those it almost fell off the bookshelf into my hand things... Quite odd, but wonderful. So back to my friend Neil, whom I'm certain will become my new best friend. His writing style is so easy to read and so British. His story was brilliant. I wonder if it was intentional or not, probably intentional, that his story (about the spider-god Anansi) weaved, pardon my intentional pun, like a web. It began with a broad picture, then slowly, but surely connected the seemingly vast plot to a small island in the Carribean. It was just genious. The characters became my friends. It was one of those that eventhough I had 30 pages to go, it took me 2 days to finish it because I felt like I'd be saying good-bye forever to my new buds. I'm sure I could be committed somewhere in the world for such inane thoughts... What gives me hopein my newly found despair is that they will be coming out with a movie (or so the crazy guy that works at the local Waldenbook Store says...) It would make a fantastic movie! I went to a cute little book shop in downtown Melbourne (that a plump woman like myself could barely fit down the aisles) and found another one of his books, Neverwhere and this time paid $4. I'm also reading one of his graphic novels 1602 which incorporates the Marvel comics. I know, the man is brilliant. I have heard about him for years and finally decided to see why his name always popped up in the oddest of places. I'm thrilled that I did.
*Paste Puffery break!! I mean, Puff Pastry break!! *
I said that out loud to my aunt, so I feel like it's not too cheesy to repeat it in type. I love when I do that, although I'm sure when it happens more frequently as I age, I won't so much. It's always funny how my brain will switch the beginning of the words and create 2 other valid words... I wonder if there's a technical name for it...?
I've also occupied my time with a PLN graduate course. It was quite fun actually! I came up with at least 40 new ideas for next year! I also met Terri Metz (an English teacher at John Harris) and we had an awful lot in common. It's nice to meet a kindred spirit- someone you connect with instantly or are mystically drawn to and find out later fate must have been toying with you. :-)
Gram stayed at my house for 3 and 1/2 weeks. It proved trying for both of us. She doesn't eat anything except chips, danishes, cookies, fried chicken and anything else that is saturated in saturated fat and all of those things happened to be everything I was/am desperately trying to avoid. I mean, I know self-control has to come in at some point, but it's like giving a crack head that's attempting to quit the habit a free 3-night stay in the slums a week after his decision. I'm desperately hoping to get into good habits when I get home. I'd like to start a Biggest Loser competition with a group of my friends. I need some external motivation. I'd like to comfortably fit into my summer clothes from last year by August 14th- the first day of school. With as much as I have to lose, I don't think it will be too hard and I don't think it'll be too fast. I don't want to join a program because I want to begin life-style changes that I can incorporate for the rest of my life. I don't mind putting money in a pool with my friends because I could (and will) win it back!! :-) We will see...
*Cringes at the sounds of my racist family bashing Obama...*
Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but when I hear the N word fly, that's when a line has been crossed. Talk like that is malicious and evil. No good will EVER come from people with such rotten hearts.
*Sighs*
Alright, I'm getting too distracted anymore to keep writing, so I'll elaborate on my title. My grandmother is obsessed with the song "Pennies from Heaven" because it helps her cope with my grandfather's passing. Essentially it's talking about missing your loved ones and how when you find a penny on the ground it's really them placing it there for you to find so you know they are near you. It's a cute and comforting thought and it's something my grandma hangs on to. So where the Las Vegas part comes in is that my "cousins" (I'm Italian and everyone, no matter how young or old happens to be my cousin) from Vegas are here visiting. I really should learn their names... anyways. They remind me of my papa. It was so intense at moments that I had to excuse myself from the table because tears were forming in my eyes. These men have his mannerisms, his looks, and his sayings. They sound like him. I looked at the one from the side and could have SWORN it was my papa. The details down to the pores in his face were eerily similar!! So, I am dubbing them my "Pennies from Las Vegas". I can't really find too much peace in pennies, but relatives that resemble him, yes.
Until next time, fair well!
It's been a few weeks. I'm now in Florida visiting my family here. I got here two days ago.
Media-wise, here's the latest greatest:
-Saw Public Enemies with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale and loved it. Definite 10/10! I love the hard work and details that go into movies these days. As an educator, I couldn't stop thinking about how to incorporate this into the classroom (until I remembered my assignment next year is strictly math and science- thank God!) I will be passing the movie idea along to a collegue because it can coincide with the Great Depression unit they do quite nicely. I hope to someday be able to use it. :-)
- Still working on A Thousand Splendid Suns and the only reason I haven't finished it yet is because I've fallen in love...
- With Neil Gaiman!! I read/listened to Anansi Boys and was magically whisked away. Almost literally. I began listening to the audio book, then quite miraculously found it at a thrift store for fifty cents. It was one of those it almost fell off the bookshelf into my hand things... Quite odd, but wonderful. So back to my friend Neil, whom I'm certain will become my new best friend. His writing style is so easy to read and so British. His story was brilliant. I wonder if it was intentional or not, probably intentional, that his story (about the spider-god Anansi) weaved, pardon my intentional pun, like a web. It began with a broad picture, then slowly, but surely connected the seemingly vast plot to a small island in the Carribean. It was just genious. The characters became my friends. It was one of those that eventhough I had 30 pages to go, it took me 2 days to finish it because I felt like I'd be saying good-bye forever to my new buds. I'm sure I could be committed somewhere in the world for such inane thoughts... What gives me hopein my newly found despair is that they will be coming out with a movie (or so the crazy guy that works at the local Waldenbook Store says...) It would make a fantastic movie! I went to a cute little book shop in downtown Melbourne (that a plump woman like myself could barely fit down the aisles) and found another one of his books, Neverwhere and this time paid $4. I'm also reading one of his graphic novels 1602 which incorporates the Marvel comics. I know, the man is brilliant. I have heard about him for years and finally decided to see why his name always popped up in the oddest of places. I'm thrilled that I did.
*Paste Puffery break!! I mean, Puff Pastry break!! *
I said that out loud to my aunt, so I feel like it's not too cheesy to repeat it in type. I love when I do that, although I'm sure when it happens more frequently as I age, I won't so much. It's always funny how my brain will switch the beginning of the words and create 2 other valid words... I wonder if there's a technical name for it...?
I've also occupied my time with a PLN graduate course. It was quite fun actually! I came up with at least 40 new ideas for next year! I also met Terri Metz (an English teacher at John Harris) and we had an awful lot in common. It's nice to meet a kindred spirit- someone you connect with instantly or are mystically drawn to and find out later fate must have been toying with you. :-)
Gram stayed at my house for 3 and 1/2 weeks. It proved trying for both of us. She doesn't eat anything except chips, danishes, cookies, fried chicken and anything else that is saturated in saturated fat and all of those things happened to be everything I was/am desperately trying to avoid. I mean, I know self-control has to come in at some point, but it's like giving a crack head that's attempting to quit the habit a free 3-night stay in the slums a week after his decision. I'm desperately hoping to get into good habits when I get home. I'd like to start a Biggest Loser competition with a group of my friends. I need some external motivation. I'd like to comfortably fit into my summer clothes from last year by August 14th- the first day of school. With as much as I have to lose, I don't think it will be too hard and I don't think it'll be too fast. I don't want to join a program because I want to begin life-style changes that I can incorporate for the rest of my life. I don't mind putting money in a pool with my friends because I could (and will) win it back!! :-) We will see...
*Cringes at the sounds of my racist family bashing Obama...*
Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but when I hear the N word fly, that's when a line has been crossed. Talk like that is malicious and evil. No good will EVER come from people with such rotten hearts.
*Sighs*
Alright, I'm getting too distracted anymore to keep writing, so I'll elaborate on my title. My grandmother is obsessed with the song "Pennies from Heaven" because it helps her cope with my grandfather's passing. Essentially it's talking about missing your loved ones and how when you find a penny on the ground it's really them placing it there for you to find so you know they are near you. It's a cute and comforting thought and it's something my grandma hangs on to. So where the Las Vegas part comes in is that my "cousins" (I'm Italian and everyone, no matter how young or old happens to be my cousin) from Vegas are here visiting. I really should learn their names... anyways. They remind me of my papa. It was so intense at moments that I had to excuse myself from the table because tears were forming in my eyes. These men have his mannerisms, his looks, and his sayings. They sound like him. I looked at the one from the side and could have SWORN it was my papa. The details down to the pores in his face were eerily similar!! So, I am dubbing them my "Pennies from Las Vegas". I can't really find too much peace in pennies, but relatives that resemble him, yes.
Until next time, fair well!
6.22.2009
Welcome Summer!! Happy Father's Day!!
It's been a hot minute since I updated what's going on in my life and what better time than 12:34 AM on Monday morning (thank God for summers off!!)?
Let's see... since I last posted, I have:
- Listened to The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama and Angels and Demons by Dan Brown on audio book- both were fantastic! Solid 10/10s! I loved that Barack reads his book. I love the way he speaks and his perspective on politics was so beautifully painted through the eyes of his experience. It made me love the man all the more!! Dan Brown's book was, of course, much better than the movie. The way they confangled the ending was a terrible injustice! But ah, such is Hollywood. Brown painted such the steamy scene in his final chapter that I'm completely floored that Hollywood didn't jump all over that.
- Read 171 pages of A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini- which is wonderful so far! I find the Afghani culture intriguing and I'm glad to learn more about life there and how things have precipitated into today's Afghanistan.
- Went to New York and finally met the people I've heard so much about on my father's side (again, so I remember this time, since the last time was when I was "this big") my Great Aunt Connie, Great Uncle Joe( and their 3 kids and their combined 5 or so children), my Great Aunt Lena (yes, how awesome is it that I have family with my name? Completely unintentionally- I was named after my great grandmother on my mother's side!), her two sons- Philly and...?, my 3rd or so cousins Kathy (and her new husband) and Malissa (my grandpa's cousins' granddaughter...), and Jack and Susie (my grandpa's cousin).
- Spent 3 days in Ontario, Canada with Jack and Susie and intimately experienced Niagra Falls for my first time via a 4D video, going "Behind the Falls", practically touching the rapids, and reading/hearing lots of the rich history surrounding one of the greatest Wonders of the Natural World.
- Drove back home with grandma and my GPS ended up taking us on my papa's old truck routes, which was quite wonderful to experience. We also passed some places from my father's childhood. It was nice quality time with gram- even if she did need 3 bathroom/coffee breaks on a 3 hour trip- my how the tables have turned! :-)
- Taught Vacation Bible School to a wonderful group of 8 and 9-year-olds (Shasarry and Isaac were the most memorable) with Katrina and Seth. Studio Go! Go Lead, Risk, Share, Tell and Obey! The songs- "Go Tell", "I Will" and "Wherever I Go". One of the students was excited about pudding.
- De-weeded my entire back and front yard while also aerating the soil. Took me a combined 9 hours, but the yard looks great! Mom and Tracie are going to take me tomorrow to pick out some new additions to the yard. :-)
- Had a Pine Acres sleep-over with the youth after the last night of VBS- complete with a trip to the Jigger Shop.
- Spent a much-needed day with Toy seeing The Proposal (ehh.. cute, but total surprise ending that still has me unsure of the entire movie now- I'd say she gets an 7.5/10), going to TJ Rockwell for Rhino fries and soup, then ending the night with a brewsky at The Bluebird with Ed and Tim. :-) Family is great, but I need my friends tooo!!!
Yep, so that's what has kept me busy.
Today I went to church with my dad (since my parents left the UCC church nearly 10 years ago and now attend a non denominational church and he always wants me to go with them, so I figured today was a good day for that- especially since my brothers weren't around...) Their services are quite interesting. No agendas or bulletins to be found there! They are "lead by the spirit", which I believe is a pretty refreshing idea. Now, I can't tell you why exactly, but after about the 3rd song, the pastor asked who has lost a husband? My emotions went wild and I began crying. My heart hurt so much and I became overwhelmed with missing my papa. I thought of how tough today was for my dad and how gram had to have been thinking about the father of her two kids and I couldn't fight back the tears. Thankfully my family didn't notice. I felt ridiculous, but I couldn't fight them. It was an almost spiritual stirring from deep within- maybe repressed emotions resurfacing after almost 3 years? Once I finished, I felt so relieved. I'm pretty certain it went unnoticed (thankfully) because seeing others cry fuels my own tears.
After church, we went to the Timeless Cafe for brunch and I had the baked oatmeal with blueberries. I kid you not, I was still full at 6 this evening, when we went to dinner at Hoss's. Two amazing meals. Yay for fathers!!
Because it's Father's Day, perhaps I should elaborate a little about my old man. :-) I was born when my dad was 20 and unmarried. He was a pretty free spirit at the time- jobless and in love with my mother. They lived with my mother's mom right after I left the hospital for a few months and then went to my father's parent's house. We lived there for a few years. My dad got a job at Gooding's Grocery Store working the night shift. He worked the night shift for 9 years as my mother will bitterly remind anyone, but he worked hard. What I think of most, when I think of my dad, it's his dedication to work. In fact, he worked so hard, I don't really remember him much in my childhood. I remember him sleeping during the days and about the time I was heading to sleep, he was going to work. I remember his mullet haircut, his handlebar mustache, that he loved Aerosmith, he was the reason our family car was a 1970's something Charger, he dabbled in some pretty bad things for a brief time (drugs, stealing, etc.), when his job would have picnics at Wickham Park, and that I was Daddy's Little Girl. These are all really painful memories for my father now. I don't bring them up because to me, I understood, even at a young age that he had to work hard for us. He brings them up, typically accompanied with tears, at his remorse for not being there. I try to comfort him as best I can, with genuine appreciation for the many hours of his life that he spent working to provide for his family. When we moved to Pennsylvania 16 years ago, he resumed the night-time shift at Festival Foods. He worked there until the branch closed. He then went to work as a car-detailer at Frederick's Chevrolet, where he continues to bust his butt working. Oh, how we take for granted the "little people" who stock our shelves at the grocery store and clean out our used cars and make them presentable for new buyers! My father has provided a modest life for me, that I believe keeps me grounded and appreciative. Beyond a hard worker, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more spiritually alive man. He constantly gives everything he owns to his family and other teenagers who are without (as they have always had some teen living with them that has a story of abuse or is parentless), he gives Godly advice, constant encouragement and an admirable child-like faith in his heavenly Father. My dad has softened emotionally as well. I'm certain he'll be crying the loudest at my wedding next summer. :-) In my card to him today, I thanked him for always being there and that I hoped and prayed I never take that for granted. When I think of how many of my closest friends don't have a decent father-figure in their lives, I get sick to my stomach at how I sometimes take for granted the fact that my father tries very hard to be an active part of my life. The statistics out there show that it makes a huge difference when you have a constant father-figure in your life. I can't even begin to understand how important having him there has been, simply because I've never had to experience it. God forbid I have to learn that hard lesson anytime soon!
Well, it's taken me just over an hour to type this mumbo jumbo, but I feel better. Blogging is therapeutic! Jon started his new job at ASK tonight, so I head off to sleep alone, with the intent of going to the gym tomorrow morning before Toy and I venture to Harrisburg, plant-shopping with mom and Tracie and getting my mop of hair chopped off!! Oh, the days keep getting busier!
Let's see... since I last posted, I have:
- Listened to The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama and Angels and Demons by Dan Brown on audio book- both were fantastic! Solid 10/10s! I loved that Barack reads his book. I love the way he speaks and his perspective on politics was so beautifully painted through the eyes of his experience. It made me love the man all the more!! Dan Brown's book was, of course, much better than the movie. The way they confangled the ending was a terrible injustice! But ah, such is Hollywood. Brown painted such the steamy scene in his final chapter that I'm completely floored that Hollywood didn't jump all over that.
- Read 171 pages of A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini- which is wonderful so far! I find the Afghani culture intriguing and I'm glad to learn more about life there and how things have precipitated into today's Afghanistan.
- Went to New York and finally met the people I've heard so much about on my father's side (again, so I remember this time, since the last time was when I was "this big") my Great Aunt Connie, Great Uncle Joe( and their 3 kids and their combined 5 or so children), my Great Aunt Lena (yes, how awesome is it that I have family with my name? Completely unintentionally- I was named after my great grandmother on my mother's side!), her two sons- Philly and...?, my 3rd or so cousins Kathy (and her new husband) and Malissa (my grandpa's cousins' granddaughter...), and Jack and Susie (my grandpa's cousin).
- Spent 3 days in Ontario, Canada with Jack and Susie and intimately experienced Niagra Falls for my first time via a 4D video, going "Behind the Falls", practically touching the rapids, and reading/hearing lots of the rich history surrounding one of the greatest Wonders of the Natural World.
- Drove back home with grandma and my GPS ended up taking us on my papa's old truck routes, which was quite wonderful to experience. We also passed some places from my father's childhood. It was nice quality time with gram- even if she did need 3 bathroom/coffee breaks on a 3 hour trip- my how the tables have turned! :-)
- Taught Vacation Bible School to a wonderful group of 8 and 9-year-olds (Shasarry and Isaac were the most memorable) with Katrina and Seth. Studio Go! Go Lead, Risk, Share, Tell and Obey! The songs- "Go Tell", "I Will" and "Wherever I Go". One of the students was excited about pudding.
- De-weeded my entire back and front yard while also aerating the soil. Took me a combined 9 hours, but the yard looks great! Mom and Tracie are going to take me tomorrow to pick out some new additions to the yard. :-)
- Had a Pine Acres sleep-over with the youth after the last night of VBS- complete with a trip to the Jigger Shop.
- Spent a much-needed day with Toy seeing The Proposal (ehh.. cute, but total surprise ending that still has me unsure of the entire movie now- I'd say she gets an 7.5/10), going to TJ Rockwell for Rhino fries and soup, then ending the night with a brewsky at The Bluebird with Ed and Tim. :-) Family is great, but I need my friends tooo!!!
Yep, so that's what has kept me busy.
Today I went to church with my dad (since my parents left the UCC church nearly 10 years ago and now attend a non denominational church and he always wants me to go with them, so I figured today was a good day for that- especially since my brothers weren't around...) Their services are quite interesting. No agendas or bulletins to be found there! They are "lead by the spirit", which I believe is a pretty refreshing idea. Now, I can't tell you why exactly, but after about the 3rd song, the pastor asked who has lost a husband? My emotions went wild and I began crying. My heart hurt so much and I became overwhelmed with missing my papa. I thought of how tough today was for my dad and how gram had to have been thinking about the father of her two kids and I couldn't fight back the tears. Thankfully my family didn't notice. I felt ridiculous, but I couldn't fight them. It was an almost spiritual stirring from deep within- maybe repressed emotions resurfacing after almost 3 years? Once I finished, I felt so relieved. I'm pretty certain it went unnoticed (thankfully) because seeing others cry fuels my own tears.
After church, we went to the Timeless Cafe for brunch and I had the baked oatmeal with blueberries. I kid you not, I was still full at 6 this evening, when we went to dinner at Hoss's. Two amazing meals. Yay for fathers!!
Because it's Father's Day, perhaps I should elaborate a little about my old man. :-) I was born when my dad was 20 and unmarried. He was a pretty free spirit at the time- jobless and in love with my mother. They lived with my mother's mom right after I left the hospital for a few months and then went to my father's parent's house. We lived there for a few years. My dad got a job at Gooding's Grocery Store working the night shift. He worked the night shift for 9 years as my mother will bitterly remind anyone, but he worked hard. What I think of most, when I think of my dad, it's his dedication to work. In fact, he worked so hard, I don't really remember him much in my childhood. I remember him sleeping during the days and about the time I was heading to sleep, he was going to work. I remember his mullet haircut, his handlebar mustache, that he loved Aerosmith, he was the reason our family car was a 1970's something Charger, he dabbled in some pretty bad things for a brief time (drugs, stealing, etc.), when his job would have picnics at Wickham Park, and that I was Daddy's Little Girl. These are all really painful memories for my father now. I don't bring them up because to me, I understood, even at a young age that he had to work hard for us. He brings them up, typically accompanied with tears, at his remorse for not being there. I try to comfort him as best I can, with genuine appreciation for the many hours of his life that he spent working to provide for his family. When we moved to Pennsylvania 16 years ago, he resumed the night-time shift at Festival Foods. He worked there until the branch closed. He then went to work as a car-detailer at Frederick's Chevrolet, where he continues to bust his butt working. Oh, how we take for granted the "little people" who stock our shelves at the grocery store and clean out our used cars and make them presentable for new buyers! My father has provided a modest life for me, that I believe keeps me grounded and appreciative. Beyond a hard worker, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more spiritually alive man. He constantly gives everything he owns to his family and other teenagers who are without (as they have always had some teen living with them that has a story of abuse or is parentless), he gives Godly advice, constant encouragement and an admirable child-like faith in his heavenly Father. My dad has softened emotionally as well. I'm certain he'll be crying the loudest at my wedding next summer. :-) In my card to him today, I thanked him for always being there and that I hoped and prayed I never take that for granted. When I think of how many of my closest friends don't have a decent father-figure in their lives, I get sick to my stomach at how I sometimes take for granted the fact that my father tries very hard to be an active part of my life. The statistics out there show that it makes a huge difference when you have a constant father-figure in your life. I can't even begin to understand how important having him there has been, simply because I've never had to experience it. God forbid I have to learn that hard lesson anytime soon!
Well, it's taken me just over an hour to type this mumbo jumbo, but I feel better. Blogging is therapeutic! Jon started his new job at ASK tonight, so I head off to sleep alone, with the intent of going to the gym tomorrow morning before Toy and I venture to Harrisburg, plant-shopping with mom and Tracie and getting my mop of hair chopped off!! Oh, the days keep getting busier!
5.25.2009
Oh, the things I should be doing...
Before I forget to say anything, let me mention how lucky I am to work with the staff I do! I'm in no way best friends with all of them, but there are many kindred spirits that I have the privilege to learn from. Our final staff meeting of the year was pretty tough because we were saying goodbye to two awesome teachers. I will totally miss Michele Boor and Zach Barnes! Michele is leaving to become a foster mother and Zach is leaving to pursue the West Coast. I admire their passion.
So, once that was over, I began cleaning my classroom with Pandora humming in the background. That lasted for a while until I ran around to try and tie up some loose ends. I got off focus and decided to head home to prepare for the beach trip!
I came home to mow the lawn for my first time, ever. It wasn't so bad. Granted I only did about 1/5 of our lawn (what Jon didn't do...) At least I didn't hurt myself or the lawn mower. I proceeded to pack, do laundry and attempt a nap before getting Jon from work.
By 6:30 we were on the road. Brit, our British GPS, told us we'd be getting there by 9:30. The drive wasn't so bad. We jammed to the Weez. That's our Jersey trip cd. Yay for mp3 format! By 9:40 we were walking into Jeff's family's beach house. We were welcomed by Zach Barnes, Josh Bergstein, his friend Alley, Jared Campbell, Kevin Varano, Eric Samuelson, his husband Gary, Paul Delpriore and of course Jeff. Upon entering the house, Zach declared Jon and I the "coolest couple". He had no specifics or elaborations, but it was enough for me. After all, Zach himself was declared the "coolest person Deb Hines knows" earlier- with that title, he's allowed to declare "cool".
The night was pretty chill. I chatted with Gary about travels, watched a mean horse shoe game, an even meaner Super Scrabble game (Frothy) and rounded out my night with a puke fest in the bathroom. Having been blessed with the experience of food poisoning before, I immediately knew I was being visted again by the food poison devil. Ask Jon, he came out from the depths of my stomach to chat. I'm sorry, but I have to make light of an awful situation. If Jon hadn't been there, I don't know what I would have done! I'm such a baby for pain and he stayed with me throughout my entire vomit session. He held my hair back and assured me I wasn't going to die, although that took a lot of convincing. He's absolutely amazing. After just under 2 hours of that, I passed out. When I woke up, I honestly didn't know where I was. I was so dehydrated/exhausted/out of it, but felt slightly better. My stomach was uneasy and to my own stupidity thought eating something would help... Half an hour after that decision, I was back on the toilet holding on to the garbage can for dear life. After that, it was about every 20 minutes that I was purging. I told Jon I couldn't take it anymore and asked him to take me to the hospital.
On the 10 minute drive to the hospital I puked twice. At this point, it was nothing but bile. It was absolutely miserable. I could barely walk into the hospital, I had become so weak. Thankfully I waited only about 15 minutes from walking into the door until I was in a bed and hooked up to a drip to re-hydrate me. I didn't puke again once I got into the hospital, but I wasn't feeling better. I had to really concentrate on my breathing because whenever it got too shallow, nausea came on strong. Anytime I turned my head too fast or moved anything too quickly, the nausea began. Thankfully after about an hour of that, I was given an anti-nausea shot. After about another hour, the doctor came in and prodded around my intestines and noted something abnormal and called for a catscan. He thought it might have been diverticulosis (something undesirable with your intestines that my dad was diagnosed with a few months ago..) Again, God love my dear Jonathan. He sat by me the whole time and chatted with me or sat quietly, without complaint, as I slept. Which is what happened for hours before I actually got the catscan. A final hour until the doctor came in to reveal that nothing was wrong, my guts were just that swollen from the food poisoning. So, after 6 hours in the hospital, we head back to the beach house.
Once we arrived, we were greeted by lobsters that had taken over the bodies of my co-workers. While we were locked inside hospital walls, they were all taking in the lovely day at the beach. I was extremely bitter. :-) I re-matched Jeff in Guitar Hero and beat him by like 300 points. I am now 2 for 2. The group decided to head to mini-golf. The group now being Mitza, Jared, Kevin, Eric, Gary, Alley, Josh and Jeff (and Jon and I). We split up into 2 groups of 5. It was alright. I'm quite miserable at mini-golf. I didn't come in last place ONLY because Jared was drunk. I'll take it. After that we went to a most amazing ice cream place that served ice cream on waffles. Although I was cautioned by the nurse to eat soup and bread for 24 hours, I had to try this! Thankfully it didn't kill me.
We went back to the house to chat it up a bit before Jon and I left for home. We agreed to split the drive up 1 and 1/2 hours each. I told him to drive first, so he could just crash. Unfortunately he ended up driving 2 hours because we were on bridges and turnpikes. Thankfully we made it home by 2 AM. We both crashed.
He woke up at 7:20 AM to be at work by 8. I slept until 12:15... I woke up and got ready for my Aunt Sue's cookout. I wasn't looking forward to being surrounded by amazing food that I was told I couldn't eat. I resorted to tasting everything and making Jon finish it all off. :-) It was nice catching up with my cousin Heather. She lives such an amazing life with the military. She's one of the only reasons I have hope in our government. After some gabbing, we went home because poor Jon was exhausted. We got home and began preparations for our little Memorial Day picnic. He crashed soon after 9, but I stayed up until almost midnight being nosey on the Facebook and MySpace.
I slept with the living room windows open so it wouldn't be stuffy in there and before drifting off, my imagination lead me to people robbing us. Right after I drifted off, I heard clanking and because that was the last thing on my mind, I was sure our house was being broken into! Fierce and mighty in my yellow underwear, I jumped up and leaned out of my bedroom door and demanded to know who was there! Now, I don't think I'm a dumb person; logic just eludes me. Obviously, and if I had given the situation a mere second or two of honest thought, I could have concluded it was my cousin Billy, who lives downstairs. After he confirmed I was crazy and my heart stopped beating in my throat, I fell asleep.
I woke up at about 7:50 AM to begin picnic preparations. I had to run to the store and to school. I was so excited to buy chicken quarters for 79 cents/lb at Giant! I had done my research and that was the best deal in town. I take pride in being a frugal shopper. I did what I had to do and ended up back at home by about 9:30 AM to finish the preparations.
We had a nice turn out: Mom (Jon's and my soon-to-be), his brother stopped out, Nan, Tim, Nikki and Scott, Strauss, Rach, Zach Vogel, and Oliver. It was beautiful today. We sat outside until everyone but Strauss and Tim left (Nan and Oliver hadn't arrived yet), then went in to play Settlers of Catan (amazing game!). Tim and Jon were very close most of the game and Strauss and I were along for the ride. Then Strauss and Tim left, and Oliver and Nan came. Jon, Oliver and myself indulged in another game. This time around, I won! :-)
Everyone left and Jon and I decided to chill on the couch and watch Night at the Museum. It was cute. For what it was, with the intended audience in mind, I'd give it a solid 7.5/10. Great kid's movie. It had a surprisingly amazing cast. It was funny. I loved Rexy and Dexter. The few historical facts that were incorporated were cool. The only oddity to me in the whole thing (what does this say about me...) was how great the relationship was between Ben Stiller and his ex in the movie. Just too unnatural. Things should probably be that great between people, but the first scene where they were all together, I thought to myself, this had got to be his sister... How often do you see exes kiss each other in greeting?! So yeah, other than that... Cute. I'm glad the loser dad was able to prove himself to his son. Would have been nice if fantasy wasn't in the mix... and a more realistic means of redemption was sought, but be it far from me to attack fantasy. Speaking of which, I was told Stardust is great. That will be on my summer movie list!
I digress... a lot. I need to be working on goals for tomorrow's meeting. I'm stuck between two worlds. The world of summer and the world of wrapping up with the rest of the district. I hope to come to peace with this at 4 PM on Friday, June 5th after my last summer enrichment class ends and I'm heading to Philly to chill with my Beckster, then heading to New York/Canada to get Gram on Monday.
Baby is jamming out to Paramore's "Misery Business"... and I mean jamming. He even included a kick and a full 360 guitar arm strum, which is why he is the love of my life. :-)
Alright, off to do teachery things. :-)
So, once that was over, I began cleaning my classroom with Pandora humming in the background. That lasted for a while until I ran around to try and tie up some loose ends. I got off focus and decided to head home to prepare for the beach trip!
I came home to mow the lawn for my first time, ever. It wasn't so bad. Granted I only did about 1/5 of our lawn (what Jon didn't do...) At least I didn't hurt myself or the lawn mower. I proceeded to pack, do laundry and attempt a nap before getting Jon from work.
By 6:30 we were on the road. Brit, our British GPS, told us we'd be getting there by 9:30. The drive wasn't so bad. We jammed to the Weez. That's our Jersey trip cd. Yay for mp3 format! By 9:40 we were walking into Jeff's family's beach house. We were welcomed by Zach Barnes, Josh Bergstein, his friend Alley, Jared Campbell, Kevin Varano, Eric Samuelson, his husband Gary, Paul Delpriore and of course Jeff. Upon entering the house, Zach declared Jon and I the "coolest couple". He had no specifics or elaborations, but it was enough for me. After all, Zach himself was declared the "coolest person Deb Hines knows" earlier- with that title, he's allowed to declare "cool".
The night was pretty chill. I chatted with Gary about travels, watched a mean horse shoe game, an even meaner Super Scrabble game (Frothy) and rounded out my night with a puke fest in the bathroom. Having been blessed with the experience of food poisoning before, I immediately knew I was being visted again by the food poison devil. Ask Jon, he came out from the depths of my stomach to chat. I'm sorry, but I have to make light of an awful situation. If Jon hadn't been there, I don't know what I would have done! I'm such a baby for pain and he stayed with me throughout my entire vomit session. He held my hair back and assured me I wasn't going to die, although that took a lot of convincing. He's absolutely amazing. After just under 2 hours of that, I passed out. When I woke up, I honestly didn't know where I was. I was so dehydrated/exhausted/out of it, but felt slightly better. My stomach was uneasy and to my own stupidity thought eating something would help... Half an hour after that decision, I was back on the toilet holding on to the garbage can for dear life. After that, it was about every 20 minutes that I was purging. I told Jon I couldn't take it anymore and asked him to take me to the hospital.
On the 10 minute drive to the hospital I puked twice. At this point, it was nothing but bile. It was absolutely miserable. I could barely walk into the hospital, I had become so weak. Thankfully I waited only about 15 minutes from walking into the door until I was in a bed and hooked up to a drip to re-hydrate me. I didn't puke again once I got into the hospital, but I wasn't feeling better. I had to really concentrate on my breathing because whenever it got too shallow, nausea came on strong. Anytime I turned my head too fast or moved anything too quickly, the nausea began. Thankfully after about an hour of that, I was given an anti-nausea shot. After about another hour, the doctor came in and prodded around my intestines and noted something abnormal and called for a catscan. He thought it might have been diverticulosis (something undesirable with your intestines that my dad was diagnosed with a few months ago..) Again, God love my dear Jonathan. He sat by me the whole time and chatted with me or sat quietly, without complaint, as I slept. Which is what happened for hours before I actually got the catscan. A final hour until the doctor came in to reveal that nothing was wrong, my guts were just that swollen from the food poisoning. So, after 6 hours in the hospital, we head back to the beach house.
Once we arrived, we were greeted by lobsters that had taken over the bodies of my co-workers. While we were locked inside hospital walls, they were all taking in the lovely day at the beach. I was extremely bitter. :-) I re-matched Jeff in Guitar Hero and beat him by like 300 points. I am now 2 for 2. The group decided to head to mini-golf. The group now being Mitza, Jared, Kevin, Eric, Gary, Alley, Josh and Jeff (and Jon and I). We split up into 2 groups of 5. It was alright. I'm quite miserable at mini-golf. I didn't come in last place ONLY because Jared was drunk. I'll take it. After that we went to a most amazing ice cream place that served ice cream on waffles. Although I was cautioned by the nurse to eat soup and bread for 24 hours, I had to try this! Thankfully it didn't kill me.
We went back to the house to chat it up a bit before Jon and I left for home. We agreed to split the drive up 1 and 1/2 hours each. I told him to drive first, so he could just crash. Unfortunately he ended up driving 2 hours because we were on bridges and turnpikes. Thankfully we made it home by 2 AM. We both crashed.
He woke up at 7:20 AM to be at work by 8. I slept until 12:15... I woke up and got ready for my Aunt Sue's cookout. I wasn't looking forward to being surrounded by amazing food that I was told I couldn't eat. I resorted to tasting everything and making Jon finish it all off. :-) It was nice catching up with my cousin Heather. She lives such an amazing life with the military. She's one of the only reasons I have hope in our government. After some gabbing, we went home because poor Jon was exhausted. We got home and began preparations for our little Memorial Day picnic. He crashed soon after 9, but I stayed up until almost midnight being nosey on the Facebook and MySpace.
I slept with the living room windows open so it wouldn't be stuffy in there and before drifting off, my imagination lead me to people robbing us. Right after I drifted off, I heard clanking and because that was the last thing on my mind, I was sure our house was being broken into! Fierce and mighty in my yellow underwear, I jumped up and leaned out of my bedroom door and demanded to know who was there! Now, I don't think I'm a dumb person; logic just eludes me. Obviously, and if I had given the situation a mere second or two of honest thought, I could have concluded it was my cousin Billy, who lives downstairs. After he confirmed I was crazy and my heart stopped beating in my throat, I fell asleep.
I woke up at about 7:50 AM to begin picnic preparations. I had to run to the store and to school. I was so excited to buy chicken quarters for 79 cents/lb at Giant! I had done my research and that was the best deal in town. I take pride in being a frugal shopper. I did what I had to do and ended up back at home by about 9:30 AM to finish the preparations.
We had a nice turn out: Mom (Jon's and my soon-to-be), his brother stopped out, Nan, Tim, Nikki and Scott, Strauss, Rach, Zach Vogel, and Oliver. It was beautiful today. We sat outside until everyone but Strauss and Tim left (Nan and Oliver hadn't arrived yet), then went in to play Settlers of Catan (amazing game!). Tim and Jon were very close most of the game and Strauss and I were along for the ride. Then Strauss and Tim left, and Oliver and Nan came. Jon, Oliver and myself indulged in another game. This time around, I won! :-)
Everyone left and Jon and I decided to chill on the couch and watch Night at the Museum. It was cute. For what it was, with the intended audience in mind, I'd give it a solid 7.5/10. Great kid's movie. It had a surprisingly amazing cast. It was funny. I loved Rexy and Dexter. The few historical facts that were incorporated were cool. The only oddity to me in the whole thing (what does this say about me...) was how great the relationship was between Ben Stiller and his ex in the movie. Just too unnatural. Things should probably be that great between people, but the first scene where they were all together, I thought to myself, this had got to be his sister... How often do you see exes kiss each other in greeting?! So yeah, other than that... Cute. I'm glad the loser dad was able to prove himself to his son. Would have been nice if fantasy wasn't in the mix... and a more realistic means of redemption was sought, but be it far from me to attack fantasy. Speaking of which, I was told Stardust is great. That will be on my summer movie list!
I digress... a lot. I need to be working on goals for tomorrow's meeting. I'm stuck between two worlds. The world of summer and the world of wrapping up with the rest of the district. I hope to come to peace with this at 4 PM on Friday, June 5th after my last summer enrichment class ends and I'm heading to Philly to chill with my Beckster, then heading to New York/Canada to get Gram on Monday.
Baby is jamming out to Paramore's "Misery Business"... and I mean jamming. He even included a kick and a full 360 guitar arm strum, which is why he is the love of my life. :-)
Alright, off to do teachery things. :-)
5.21.2009
Playing for Change
I totally need to go to bed, but had to share this! I was being super nosey and checking out other blogs. I can't take credit for finding this, but hey, when you find a good thing, PASS IT ON!! :-)
Highs and Lows
Today was a busy day filled with some really fun times and a really somber one.
It was the student's official last day and we spent it at the Sports Emporium in Mechanicsburg. Before that, I spent some time chatting with Lori Jo and learning of a fun new website (that showed me how few presidents I knew- tisk, tisk!), while I was really supposed to be in homeroom taking attendance! Whoops! I'll get this professionalism thing down sooner or later! Once I got up there, I learned of another great website that only comes from working with teenagers. Free music!
By 8:45 the buses were being loaded and I was on my way in the car, since I would be leaving early. I got there and hung out with Shizz and her hubby as we waited for the buses to arrive. The kids love Shizz and vice versa. It was so powerful to see 2 buses unload and just about every child that got off that bus ran up to Shizz and hugged her. These kids need so much more than academics from us. I want my students to know they are loved like that! Personal goal for next year!
I digress! For the first hour, I stood around and chatted with various teachers and students. We decided it would be fun to play mini-golf, so we did! Lori Jo, Anna, Maryann, Desiree, Jeff (for a few holes) and I began the Castle Course. I had a few good rounds, but no hole-in-ones. The only one of us that got one was Lori Jo! The course was absolutely beautiful. The landscaping was gorgeous and the props were awesome and not tacky. It totally gets my stamp of approval! :-)
After playing only 18 of our 36 paid-for-holes, we had to leave for the funeral. Here's where the day turns bittersweet. Thankfully I had two wonderful ladies with me.
Rosamia's baby's funeral was held in a quaint little church in Hershey. When we got there, it was just around 12:40. I was texted by Rosamia to be there by 1, so I thought we were good on time. It turns out that 1:00 was when the families were there for the viewing. It was an open casket, which is what began the tears. Following that up with a hug from Rosamia pushed me over the edge. I wasn't sure who was consoling who in our embrace. After that we went to sit in the sanctuary to let the family grieve together. We had no problem filling up an hour with chit chat about a wide array of topics. I love listening to both of the ladies I was with. They are both so well- lived people with admirable attitudes about life and such giving spirits. I have learned so much from both of them.
At 2:00 the funeral started. It was done in both English and Spanish. The service didn't strike me in any way UNTIL I hear Rosy sobbing after a friend read a poem she wrote. I almost felt the need to grab my chest to try and push my heart back together! That was the roughest part. As she exited, she continued to sob and nearly collapsed in her boyfriend's arms. Talk about heart-wrenching. We went downstairs to say hi to some former students and I wanted to see DeeDee. We left soon after. I felt bad not saying goodbye to Rosy, but she was obviously preoccupied.
I leave you now to watch Celtic Women: Greatest Journey. Having a father that was adopted and never cared to find out where he came from allows you to dream of your ancestry. I like to believe that I am descendant of an Irish Queen. :-)
Final thought:
"In life, there are more questions than there are answers."
It was the student's official last day and we spent it at the Sports Emporium in Mechanicsburg. Before that, I spent some time chatting with Lori Jo and learning of a fun new website (that showed me how few presidents I knew- tisk, tisk!), while I was really supposed to be in homeroom taking attendance! Whoops! I'll get this professionalism thing down sooner or later! Once I got up there, I learned of another great website that only comes from working with teenagers. Free music!
By 8:45 the buses were being loaded and I was on my way in the car, since I would be leaving early. I got there and hung out with Shizz and her hubby as we waited for the buses to arrive. The kids love Shizz and vice versa. It was so powerful to see 2 buses unload and just about every child that got off that bus ran up to Shizz and hugged her. These kids need so much more than academics from us. I want my students to know they are loved like that! Personal goal for next year!
I digress! For the first hour, I stood around and chatted with various teachers and students. We decided it would be fun to play mini-golf, so we did! Lori Jo, Anna, Maryann, Desiree, Jeff (for a few holes) and I began the Castle Course. I had a few good rounds, but no hole-in-ones. The only one of us that got one was Lori Jo! The course was absolutely beautiful. The landscaping was gorgeous and the props were awesome and not tacky. It totally gets my stamp of approval! :-)
After playing only 18 of our 36 paid-for-holes, we had to leave for the funeral. Here's where the day turns bittersweet. Thankfully I had two wonderful ladies with me.
Rosamia's baby's funeral was held in a quaint little church in Hershey. When we got there, it was just around 12:40. I was texted by Rosamia to be there by 1, so I thought we were good on time. It turns out that 1:00 was when the families were there for the viewing. It was an open casket, which is what began the tears. Following that up with a hug from Rosamia pushed me over the edge. I wasn't sure who was consoling who in our embrace. After that we went to sit in the sanctuary to let the family grieve together. We had no problem filling up an hour with chit chat about a wide array of topics. I love listening to both of the ladies I was with. They are both so well- lived people with admirable attitudes about life and such giving spirits. I have learned so much from both of them.
At 2:00 the funeral started. It was done in both English and Spanish. The service didn't strike me in any way UNTIL I hear Rosy sobbing after a friend read a poem she wrote. I almost felt the need to grab my chest to try and push my heart back together! That was the roughest part. As she exited, she continued to sob and nearly collapsed in her boyfriend's arms. Talk about heart-wrenching. We went downstairs to say hi to some former students and I wanted to see DeeDee. We left soon after. I felt bad not saying goodbye to Rosy, but she was obviously preoccupied.
I leave you now to watch Celtic Women: Greatest Journey. Having a father that was adopted and never cared to find out where he came from allows you to dream of your ancestry. I like to believe that I am descendant of an Irish Queen. :-)
Final thought:
"In life, there are more questions than there are answers."
5.20.2009
Because of you!
Welcome to my page! I was inspired by a co-worker today to finally create a blog, so here we are. You can access her page by clicking my title, I belive. Still getting used to this.
My hopes and dreams for this page are to share my thoughts on music, art, movies, food, relationships, and well, pretty much anything that strikes my fancy.
My fiance', Jonathan (affectionately called Baby, who is currently rocking out to "On the Road Again" on Guitar Hero: World Tour to promote our band, TheHeys), suggests for my opening post to piss and moan about our disappointment with Angels and Demons (the movie). Now, I'll give my take on things. I didn't read the book, so my disappointment truthfully stems from how much it didn't stack up to The DaVinci Code (movie). I'm so completely gullible, which is why I'm a perfect candidate for folklore, urban legends and conspiracy theories. The obvious typically alludes me as well, making the most predictable movies fair game. Having noted those two things about my movie-going personality, Angels and Demons was a total disappointment.
*SPOILER ALERT* Do not continue if you have not seen the movie and/or might be upset if you discover some of the plot!!! ...
So yeah, as soon as Ewan McGregor walked on the stage, I knew he was the bad guy. I can NEVER predict that stuff. I'm normally an edge-of-the-seater through the cheesiest of romantic comedies! Not only did I know he was the bad guy, I knew he was going to be manipulative and play the victim. That disappointed me. I wanted the creepy, stiff old man to be the bad guy with all my might! Honest! Jon's biggest complaint, as others who have read the book, is that they leave out so much and totally change the events and underlying plot. Total bummer.
Okay, in my attempts to be a more positive person, because complaining comes all too naturally for me, I'll highlight the good parts. I totally loved the history of the Illuminati that was infused along with the Catholic church. History never ceases to amaze me. It doesn't take much, to be honest, but how things were/are/can be so secretive to the public realm amazes me. Being so gullable (with a hint of paranoia at times), I sometimes wonder if someone is yanking my leg as we speak! The government has always hidden things from the people. Most probably for the greater good, but nonetheless, it gets you thinking. I digress!! (As I often will, I apologize in advance!) Okay, so good points... the main chick was totally cute. Tom was looking pretty good too. The pool scene was neat. Wonder if that was really him swimming?...
Enough of the mushy gushy. Overall, on a scale of 1-10, this movie gets a 5.7.
Tomorrow I am attending the funeral of one of my former student's baby that passed this past weekend. That will be tough. I never got to meet the little guy. Lord be with the family during this hard time! Especially Rosy and the father!
R.I.P. Corbin
Tomorrow also marks the final day of school for our students. Friday is our last mandated day. We are going to the Sports Emporium in Mechanicsburg and the negative Nancy in me is not looking forward to this at all. Maybe it's because I have a terrible headache and the thought of screaming teenagers and flashing lights right now might kill me.
So, I think this will suffice for now. Good night!
Upcoming May/June events (not in order):
*Reading A Thousand Splendid Suns through a school summer book club
*Canada/New York trip with gram
*Gram staying with me for numerous weeks
*Vacation Bible School
*Two summer graduate classes
*Teaching my summer enrichment class: Career Explorations
*Appreciating the decision to postpone the wedding until next June
My hopes and dreams for this page are to share my thoughts on music, art, movies, food, relationships, and well, pretty much anything that strikes my fancy.
My fiance', Jonathan (affectionately called Baby, who is currently rocking out to "On the Road Again" on Guitar Hero: World Tour to promote our band, TheHeys), suggests for my opening post to piss and moan about our disappointment with Angels and Demons (the movie). Now, I'll give my take on things. I didn't read the book, so my disappointment truthfully stems from how much it didn't stack up to The DaVinci Code (movie). I'm so completely gullible, which is why I'm a perfect candidate for folklore, urban legends and conspiracy theories. The obvious typically alludes me as well, making the most predictable movies fair game. Having noted those two things about my movie-going personality, Angels and Demons was a total disappointment.
*SPOILER ALERT* Do not continue if you have not seen the movie and/or might be upset if you discover some of the plot!!! ...
So yeah, as soon as Ewan McGregor walked on the stage, I knew he was the bad guy. I can NEVER predict that stuff. I'm normally an edge-of-the-seater through the cheesiest of romantic comedies! Not only did I know he was the bad guy, I knew he was going to be manipulative and play the victim. That disappointed me. I wanted the creepy, stiff old man to be the bad guy with all my might! Honest! Jon's biggest complaint, as others who have read the book, is that they leave out so much and totally change the events and underlying plot. Total bummer.
Okay, in my attempts to be a more positive person, because complaining comes all too naturally for me, I'll highlight the good parts. I totally loved the history of the Illuminati that was infused along with the Catholic church. History never ceases to amaze me. It doesn't take much, to be honest, but how things were/are/can be so secretive to the public realm amazes me. Being so gullable (with a hint of paranoia at times), I sometimes wonder if someone is yanking my leg as we speak! The government has always hidden things from the people. Most probably for the greater good, but nonetheless, it gets you thinking. I digress!! (As I often will, I apologize in advance!) Okay, so good points... the main chick was totally cute. Tom was looking pretty good too. The pool scene was neat. Wonder if that was really him swimming?...
Enough of the mushy gushy. Overall, on a scale of 1-10, this movie gets a 5.7.
Tomorrow I am attending the funeral of one of my former student's baby that passed this past weekend. That will be tough. I never got to meet the little guy. Lord be with the family during this hard time! Especially Rosy and the father!
R.I.P. Corbin
Tomorrow also marks the final day of school for our students. Friday is our last mandated day. We are going to the Sports Emporium in Mechanicsburg and the negative Nancy in me is not looking forward to this at all. Maybe it's because I have a terrible headache and the thought of screaming teenagers and flashing lights right now might kill me.
So, I think this will suffice for now. Good night!
Upcoming May/June events (not in order):
*Reading A Thousand Splendid Suns through a school summer book club
*Canada/New York trip with gram
*Gram staying with me for numerous weeks
*Vacation Bible School
*Two summer graduate classes
*Teaching my summer enrichment class: Career Explorations
*Appreciating the decision to postpone the wedding until next June
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