- Voted for the first time in Maryland.
- Was pleased to see gas prices are down even more.
- Had to buy another carton of orange juice because I drank it so quickly.
- Actually graded some tests.
- Went to the gym and took an aerobics class. I plan to return, once I can walk again.
- Created a "Wicked" playlist on iMeem.
- Slumped into and rebounded from (I hope) a little inexplicable gloominess.
- Realized I can see a professional "Nutcracker" performance this year. Anyone want to come with me to see the Joffrey Ballet at the Kennedy Center? Tickets are $55 and up.
- LOVED this week's episode of The Office. I think it's been a pretty good season so far.
- Discovered that bullet points are a good means for quick updates and may post more often in the future.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Weekly Update
What can I say - I'm a busy woman! Rather than posting this week, I got a few things done (of varying levels of importance).
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Post Gratia Posting
In order to avoid the stack-of-tests-to-be-graded, I have been organizing every other aspect of my life. I have balanced my checkbook, gone grocery shopping, cleaned my room, washed clothes, cooked, washed dishes, and probably something else that I'm forgetting. Now, I will update my blog. I hope you all appreciate the work I am sacrificing to make this happen.
- I love orange juice. I never liked it when I was little. If given a choice between apple juice and orange juice I would always pick apple. I thought it was sweeter and yummier. I also don't really like the way orange juice tastes with other foods. But now I think there is nothing better than a glass of high-quality, high-pulp orange juice when I'm thirsty.
- I have also started to enjoy tea. When I was little we always had herbal tea, which pretty much tastes like water with a fruity smell. But real tea - mmm, so good! Laura is lending me her electric kettle that we used to use at Hillsdale and it's taking me back.
- The church I went to this morning (and have visited twice previously - I think it's winning the best church contest) has a five minute sharing of the peace. It's like social hour in the middle of the service. It's kind of neat. Instead of just greeting the people within reach, you get to see just about everyone.
- The service was contemporary, since I didn't wake up early enough for the "heritage" service. And it wasn't terrible. However, I was sad I didn't get to sing "For All the Saints" and other such wonderful All Saints Day hymns. That church has a great organ.
- Speaking of organs, the reason I didn't wake up in time for the 8:30 traditional service (despite getting back that extra hour of sleep) was because of the Naval Academy's Halloween Organ Concert the night before. Laura and I went with several of our tenth grade students (as their guest) and had a great time. The program was a little bizarre but amazingly spectacular and very fun. It ranged from the famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor to "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast to a tribute to fallen soldiers set to Barber's Adagio for Strings. And best of all, it opened with this. Even though the caliber of the singing is...well...the best you could expect from midshipmen at the Naval Academy, just imagine being in a huge chapel with the live organ music and soaring ceilings and balconies and spotlights. So neat.
Thanks for reading the worst-written post in the history of this blog!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
De Gaudiis Legendi
This past weekend I did something I haven't done for a long time: I wasted time by reading! It was such thrilling and gratifying experience that I almost don't consider it a waste of time (except for the fact that my stack of ungraded papers is now almost an inch thick).
When I was little I was an avid reader. My grandma, a teacher, used to make me feel so proud when she told me I was "reading at such-and-such grade level" when I was only eight. When I wasn't playing outside, I was reading. Granted, I wasn't reading things like the Iliad (which, I happen to know, some little kids actually read), but I was reading - engaging my brain. In high school between school and ballet there was little time to read for fun, which is when reading became my time-waster. I still enjoyed it, but I didn't get to increase my abilites.
Then my reading came to a screeching (yes, screeching) halt. With unlimited access to my own computer in college, I quickly shifted my time-whittling energies to the internet. First it was instant messenger, then Facebook, then the blogosphere. And all along were the movies and TV shows that suddenly became accesssible to me. Most reading, even relatively easy stuff, was edged out. I can think of one book that I read from start to finish during my college years. It was a good book, and I remember feeling refreshed by reading it, but it was the exception.
So I finally took some time out to read. It wasn't great literature, but it was substantial reading. I added back a part of myself that I had lost. My life is now a little less like white bread and a little more like whole wheat. Yay! I look forward to a lot more adventures in reading.
When I was little I was an avid reader. My grandma, a teacher, used to make me feel so proud when she told me I was "reading at such-and-such grade level" when I was only eight. When I wasn't playing outside, I was reading. Granted, I wasn't reading things like the Iliad (which, I happen to know, some little kids actually read), but I was reading - engaging my brain. In high school between school and ballet there was little time to read for fun, which is when reading became my time-waster. I still enjoyed it, but I didn't get to increase my abilites.
Then my reading came to a screeching (yes, screeching) halt. With unlimited access to my own computer in college, I quickly shifted my time-whittling energies to the internet. First it was instant messenger, then Facebook, then the blogosphere. And all along were the movies and TV shows that suddenly became accesssible to me. Most reading, even relatively easy stuff, was edged out. I can think of one book that I read from start to finish during my college years. It was a good book, and I remember feeling refreshed by reading it, but it was the exception.
So I finally took some time out to read. It wasn't great literature, but it was substantial reading. I added back a part of myself that I had lost. My life is now a little less like white bread and a little more like whole wheat. Yay! I look forward to a lot more adventures in reading.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Worth the Move to Another State
After our upper school staff meeting this afternoon I drove home to drop Laura off, then rushed over to the MVA. After making two wrong turns I walked in exactly one minute before it closed.
When I got there I proudly produced everything demanded of me to obtain a Maryland driver's license: Tennessee license, proof of identity, and two proofs of Maryland residence. The lady took one look at my proof of identity, my passport, and said "This is not valid."
"Oh." I said, a little shaken, but not thwarted from my goal. "That's okay, I have my birth certificate." And I did. But I asked her anyway why on earth my passport wasn't valid, she pointed to the signature line which is labelled "Signature of Bearer" and "Not Valid Till Signed". Apparently she wouldn't just let me sign it and accept it as valid. So fortunately I had my birth certificate.
Then I took my number and waited. For only five minutes. Really, I have had very little trouble at the MVA office of Annapolis. And today made it best of all, because I got a semi-flattering driver's license photo. I had almost forgotten that step of the process, but when the lady mechanically said "Please stand in front of the blue cloth" and I repeated "Stand?" I realized what must inevitably occur. But it turned out so well! I was really quite shocked. All thanks goes to my hair stylist. I am also glad I blow-dried my hair. Also I see a lot of resemblence between me and my mom in this picture.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Not Entymology
Somtimes I teach my students etymology. I have them get out their Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionaries (have you ever noticed how you're always expected to utilize resources that are intended for higher than your level? how in high school you have to use a collegiate dictionary, but when you are actually in college they start training you to use the OED?) and find out that "pronto" doesn't exactly come from protinus, meaning immediately, but from promptus, -a, -um which means, well, prompt. I haven't yet pulled out "etymology by sound is not sound etymology" but we're working up to that.
Along those lines, I pass along from the classics blogosphere this funny excerpt from a column in the Buffalo News:
"Now I look forward to cool evenings, good sleeping and new energy. This is the time of the year when it is finally possible to enter the attic without the benefit of a space suit. The word attic is derived from “Attica,” the name for the land of the ancient Greeks — a society that accumulated so much junk that museums had to be built all over the world to accommodate it. Thus, in the modern house the attic is the place to put things that don’t fit anywhere else."
Along those lines, I pass along from the classics blogosphere this funny excerpt from a column in the Buffalo News:
"Now I look forward to cool evenings, good sleeping and new energy. This is the time of the year when it is finally possible to enter the attic without the benefit of a space suit. The word attic is derived from “Attica,” the name for the land of the ancient Greeks — a society that accumulated so much junk that museums had to be built all over the world to accommodate it. Thus, in the modern house the attic is the place to put things that don’t fit anywhere else."
Friday, September 19, 2008
Good-Bad-Good-Bad-Good
Up and down, that's how this week has gone. Fortunately that means it began and ended on a high (except for the small insignificant little detail that the week hasn't ended yet).
"Sinner! Sinner!" No, that's not Angy bringing my grevious faults to light. Those are the words of a seventh grader in my homeroom, after discovering that a classmate didn't know about Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris is quite popular around here. "Not knowing Chuck Norris? That's a sin!" he said.
* * *
"Sinner! Sinner!" No, that's not Angy bringing my grevious faults to light. Those are the words of a seventh grader in my homeroom, after discovering that a classmate didn't know about Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris is quite popular around here. "Not knowing Chuck Norris? That's a sin!" he said.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Sunny Day
I am having a much better day today - in fact it's been downright good. Thank you so much for the encouragement. (o:
At the end of my first class today I asked for questions, the way I always do. One guy in the front row looked at the guy beside him and said in a low voice, "Can I tell her? Has it been long enough yet?" I was like, "Yes! Tell me!"
Apparently one of their other teachers told them that he had conducted an experiment with his friends in college in which they could control where there professor was standing by the direction in which they looked. I guess if all of them were gazing off to one side, the professor would shift to that side to catch their gaze. But it didn't work on me. Haha! I am immune from student manipulation.
At the end of my first class today I asked for questions, the way I always do. One guy in the front row looked at the guy beside him and said in a low voice, "Can I tell her? Has it been long enough yet?" I was like, "Yes! Tell me!"
Apparently one of their other teachers told them that he had conducted an experiment with his friends in college in which they could control where there professor was standing by the direction in which they looked. I guess if all of them were gazing off to one side, the professor would shift to that side to catch their gaze. But it didn't work on me. Haha! I am immune from student manipulation.
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Sunday, November 9, 2008
Weekly Update
What can I say - I'm a busy woman! Rather than posting this week, I got a few things done (of varying levels of importance).
- Voted for the first time in Maryland.
- Was pleased to see gas prices are down even more.
- Had to buy another carton of orange juice because I drank it so quickly.
- Actually graded some tests.
- Went to the gym and took an aerobics class. I plan to return, once I can walk again.
- Created a "Wicked" playlist on iMeem.
- Slumped into and rebounded from (I hope) a little inexplicable gloominess.
- Realized I can see a professional "Nutcracker" performance this year. Anyone want to come with me to see the Joffrey Ballet at the Kennedy Center? Tickets are $55 and up.
- LOVED this week's episode of The Office. I think it's been a pretty good season so far.
- Discovered that bullet points are a good means for quick updates and may post more often in the future.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Post Gratia Posting
In order to avoid the stack-of-tests-to-be-graded, I have been organizing every other aspect of my life. I have balanced my checkbook, gone grocery shopping, cleaned my room, washed clothes, cooked, washed dishes, and probably something else that I'm forgetting. Now, I will update my blog. I hope you all appreciate the work I am sacrificing to make this happen.
- I love orange juice. I never liked it when I was little. If given a choice between apple juice and orange juice I would always pick apple. I thought it was sweeter and yummier. I also don't really like the way orange juice tastes with other foods. But now I think there is nothing better than a glass of high-quality, high-pulp orange juice when I'm thirsty.
- I have also started to enjoy tea. When I was little we always had herbal tea, which pretty much tastes like water with a fruity smell. But real tea - mmm, so good! Laura is lending me her electric kettle that we used to use at Hillsdale and it's taking me back.
- The church I went to this morning (and have visited twice previously - I think it's winning the best church contest) has a five minute sharing of the peace. It's like social hour in the middle of the service. It's kind of neat. Instead of just greeting the people within reach, you get to see just about everyone.
- The service was contemporary, since I didn't wake up early enough for the "heritage" service. And it wasn't terrible. However, I was sad I didn't get to sing "For All the Saints" and other such wonderful All Saints Day hymns. That church has a great organ.
- Speaking of organs, the reason I didn't wake up in time for the 8:30 traditional service (despite getting back that extra hour of sleep) was because of the Naval Academy's Halloween Organ Concert the night before. Laura and I went with several of our tenth grade students (as their guest) and had a great time. The program was a little bizarre but amazingly spectacular and very fun. It ranged from the famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor to "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast to a tribute to fallen soldiers set to Barber's Adagio for Strings. And best of all, it opened with this. Even though the caliber of the singing is...well...the best you could expect from midshipmen at the Naval Academy, just imagine being in a huge chapel with the live organ music and soaring ceilings and balconies and spotlights. So neat.
Thanks for reading the worst-written post in the history of this blog!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
De Gaudiis Legendi
This past weekend I did something I haven't done for a long time: I wasted time by reading! It was such thrilling and gratifying experience that I almost don't consider it a waste of time (except for the fact that my stack of ungraded papers is now almost an inch thick).
When I was little I was an avid reader. My grandma, a teacher, used to make me feel so proud when she told me I was "reading at such-and-such grade level" when I was only eight. When I wasn't playing outside, I was reading. Granted, I wasn't reading things like the Iliad (which, I happen to know, some little kids actually read), but I was reading - engaging my brain. In high school between school and ballet there was little time to read for fun, which is when reading became my time-waster. I still enjoyed it, but I didn't get to increase my abilites.
Then my reading came to a screeching (yes, screeching) halt. With unlimited access to my own computer in college, I quickly shifted my time-whittling energies to the internet. First it was instant messenger, then Facebook, then the blogosphere. And all along were the movies and TV shows that suddenly became accesssible to me. Most reading, even relatively easy stuff, was edged out. I can think of one book that I read from start to finish during my college years. It was a good book, and I remember feeling refreshed by reading it, but it was the exception.
So I finally took some time out to read. It wasn't great literature, but it was substantial reading. I added back a part of myself that I had lost. My life is now a little less like white bread and a little more like whole wheat. Yay! I look forward to a lot more adventures in reading.
When I was little I was an avid reader. My grandma, a teacher, used to make me feel so proud when she told me I was "reading at such-and-such grade level" when I was only eight. When I wasn't playing outside, I was reading. Granted, I wasn't reading things like the Iliad (which, I happen to know, some little kids actually read), but I was reading - engaging my brain. In high school between school and ballet there was little time to read for fun, which is when reading became my time-waster. I still enjoyed it, but I didn't get to increase my abilites.
Then my reading came to a screeching (yes, screeching) halt. With unlimited access to my own computer in college, I quickly shifted my time-whittling energies to the internet. First it was instant messenger, then Facebook, then the blogosphere. And all along were the movies and TV shows that suddenly became accesssible to me. Most reading, even relatively easy stuff, was edged out. I can think of one book that I read from start to finish during my college years. It was a good book, and I remember feeling refreshed by reading it, but it was the exception.
So I finally took some time out to read. It wasn't great literature, but it was substantial reading. I added back a part of myself that I had lost. My life is now a little less like white bread and a little more like whole wheat. Yay! I look forward to a lot more adventures in reading.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Worth the Move to Another State
After our upper school staff meeting this afternoon I drove home to drop Laura off, then rushed over to the MVA. After making two wrong turns I walked in exactly one minute before it closed.
When I got there I proudly produced everything demanded of me to obtain a Maryland driver's license: Tennessee license, proof of identity, and two proofs of Maryland residence. The lady took one look at my proof of identity, my passport, and said "This is not valid."
"Oh." I said, a little shaken, but not thwarted from my goal. "That's okay, I have my birth certificate." And I did. But I asked her anyway why on earth my passport wasn't valid, she pointed to the signature line which is labelled "Signature of Bearer" and "Not Valid Till Signed". Apparently she wouldn't just let me sign it and accept it as valid. So fortunately I had my birth certificate.
Then I took my number and waited. For only five minutes. Really, I have had very little trouble at the MVA office of Annapolis. And today made it best of all, because I got a semi-flattering driver's license photo. I had almost forgotten that step of the process, but when the lady mechanically said "Please stand in front of the blue cloth" and I repeated "Stand?" I realized what must inevitably occur. But it turned out so well! I was really quite shocked. All thanks goes to my hair stylist. I am also glad I blow-dried my hair. Also I see a lot of resemblence between me and my mom in this picture.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Not Entymology
Somtimes I teach my students etymology. I have them get out their Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionaries (have you ever noticed how you're always expected to utilize resources that are intended for higher than your level? how in high school you have to use a collegiate dictionary, but when you are actually in college they start training you to use the OED?) and find out that "pronto" doesn't exactly come from protinus, meaning immediately, but from promptus, -a, -um which means, well, prompt. I haven't yet pulled out "etymology by sound is not sound etymology" but we're working up to that.
Along those lines, I pass along from the classics blogosphere this funny excerpt from a column in the Buffalo News:
"Now I look forward to cool evenings, good sleeping and new energy. This is the time of the year when it is finally possible to enter the attic without the benefit of a space suit. The word attic is derived from “Attica,” the name for the land of the ancient Greeks — a society that accumulated so much junk that museums had to be built all over the world to accommodate it. Thus, in the modern house the attic is the place to put things that don’t fit anywhere else."
Along those lines, I pass along from the classics blogosphere this funny excerpt from a column in the Buffalo News:
"Now I look forward to cool evenings, good sleeping and new energy. This is the time of the year when it is finally possible to enter the attic without the benefit of a space suit. The word attic is derived from “Attica,” the name for the land of the ancient Greeks — a society that accumulated so much junk that museums had to be built all over the world to accommodate it. Thus, in the modern house the attic is the place to put things that don’t fit anywhere else."
Friday, September 19, 2008
Good-Bad-Good-Bad-Good
Up and down, that's how this week has gone. Fortunately that means it began and ended on a high (except for the small insignificant little detail that the week hasn't ended yet).
"Sinner! Sinner!" No, that's not Angy bringing my grevious faults to light. Those are the words of a seventh grader in my homeroom, after discovering that a classmate didn't know about Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris is quite popular around here. "Not knowing Chuck Norris? That's a sin!" he said.
* * *
"Sinner! Sinner!" No, that's not Angy bringing my grevious faults to light. Those are the words of a seventh grader in my homeroom, after discovering that a classmate didn't know about Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris is quite popular around here. "Not knowing Chuck Norris? That's a sin!" he said.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Sunny Day
I am having a much better day today - in fact it's been downright good. Thank you so much for the encouragement. (o:
At the end of my first class today I asked for questions, the way I always do. One guy in the front row looked at the guy beside him and said in a low voice, "Can I tell her? Has it been long enough yet?" I was like, "Yes! Tell me!"
Apparently one of their other teachers told them that he had conducted an experiment with his friends in college in which they could control where there professor was standing by the direction in which they looked. I guess if all of them were gazing off to one side, the professor would shift to that side to catch their gaze. But it didn't work on me. Haha! I am immune from student manipulation.
At the end of my first class today I asked for questions, the way I always do. One guy in the front row looked at the guy beside him and said in a low voice, "Can I tell her? Has it been long enough yet?" I was like, "Yes! Tell me!"
Apparently one of their other teachers told them that he had conducted an experiment with his friends in college in which they could control where there professor was standing by the direction in which they looked. I guess if all of them were gazing off to one side, the professor would shift to that side to catch their gaze. But it didn't work on me. Haha! I am immune from student manipulation.
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