Post-Novel Depression

I have finished reading the book. I finished yesterday or the day before actually, and I'm still recovering. I ached to find out the mystery, to complete the novel, and finally, I did. It took some skimming and some skipping, but I successfully arrived at the end after a couple days. Well, I wish I hadn't tried quite so hard, because now I have nothing to do.

This sort of thing has been happening to me for years. I get addicted to a book, its characters, its plot, and I can't get away from it. I stay up till all hours of the morning reading it, and when I'm not reading it, I'm thinking about it. Well, now it's over. And when it's over, I go into this post-partum phase. I mope around the house because I have nothing to read. I don't even WANT to read anything because what I want to read has already been read. But I'm not ready to move in to a new plot with new characters. I'm not ready to get to know a new protagonist.

So, that is how today was. I mean, I went out to eat with the family and I went shopping, but other than that, I felt at a loss. I have been reading a bit of John's old pharmacology book. It's actually pretty interesting. I try to take notes so that I can remember what I'm learning and maybe be smarter than John someday. But I really just want Robert Langdon back, along with Vatican City. And the pope.

I never thought I'd ache for anything Catholic :)

"Thank you, Father. I'll take the wine. You can keep the wafer."

I don't know what to write about....

I've spent the past few days reading Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. It's a good book and I keep thinking about Vatican City and popes. Everything lately reminds me of Vatican City and popes.

I got to see Sarah lastnight, who, in case you don't know, is a friend from high school and Muskingum, my roommate for my freshman year of college, who I've actually known since fourth grade. She's one of my bridesmaids, of course. She also likes the dress I want my bridesmaids to wear so that's good, definitely a relief.

Today I met Kari and Tony at Panera in Canton, which of course was an experience. We sat and talked (and ate) for four hours. We had lunch and potentially could have eaten dinner there, too, except Tony had to leave. Boo. I went and spent my gift card at my favorite store, Victoria's Secret, which will now be my very very very favorite store since I'll be getting married soon :) (Hey, if you don't want to hear about that stuff, don't read my diary!).

Kari showed us pictures of her entire extended family, her sister's beautiful engagement ring (congratulations, Kati!), and Tony showed us pictures of his new place of residence...Princeton! It was neato. He had funny stories too, like about Santa Claus being on the Princeton Seminary's Christmas tree and how some of the students got really mad about it. Hahahaha. I don't like Santa, but I think that might be something fun to do, just to see how people react.

I think tomorrow I will see Lindsay, one of my most favorite people, so that I can get fitted for my bridesmaid (maid of honor, actually, thank you very much) dress.

I'm a little uneasy about the 6 bridesmaids thing. Bridal parties run into these sorts of issues because women are very catty, and because they are all MY friends, but not necessarily friends with each other. So, it's kind of interesting, this wedding thing. It's a little cruel, actually. I feel sort of bad already that I'm making them fly down there and buy a dress and throw me parties. I mean, who really wants to do all that, even if they do love me?

Hmmm. Just something to think about.

I'll Never Be Warm Again

I am eternally cold! It's freezing here! Snow! Eck!!!!

Lovin' these Lyrics...

Bless The Broken Road
by Rascal Flatts

I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you

Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true

Cloud Nine :)

WELL if John didn't know it before, he knows it now--I am the planning queen. The queen of planning. I set a date, picked a place, and tomorrow pick a dress. I have scheduled appointments with where I want the wedding and reception and rehearsal dinner. I NEED to meet with my bridesmaids and maid of honor (I need to put that on my URGENT list), and schedule a time to get engagement pictures taken (John, you better smile!). I have no idea how we're going to pay for it, but right now I just don't care--I've been waiting my whole life for this and we ARE cutting a LOT of corners. I think we'll be saving beaucoup on flowers and alcohol--who knows about my dress, because everyone knows that when I find a dress that looks good, I don't care about the price tag......

And I picked out invitations and practically have them ordered...I just need to make sure we get the place we want. We have our guest list mostly complete and sorta kinda know where we're going to register. We have our bridesmaids and almost our groomsmen lined up and in order, outfits pretty much figured out. At this rate, all will be done by February.

So I am of course, floating on cloud nine, and it's sad that I'm in Ohio and John is in Florida, but it's probably in his best interests. :) He doesn't like it so much when I ask a lot of questions and he says "I don't care" and I bug him, you know, just to make sure he really doesn't care. I'd pick what I want anyway.

October 23rd will be the wedding, the very small wedding, at 12:30 on a Sunday afternoon. The reception will follow...one in FL and one here in Ohio for all those who were unable to attend. The Ohio reception will be around my Christmas break, so keep that in mind. It IS only a year away!

John: You HAVE to pick the honeymoon spot! NO SNOW!!!! :)

This is BIG

In more ways than one! Guess who proposed?

John did! Not just any John, my boyfriend John.

My fiance, John.

Yay!

Count 'em!

1, 2. TWO more days of school and then it's home time for me!

In other news...

JOHN is getting baptized in the ocean! Tomorrow or Friday. I hope it isn't freezing like it was today. Brrrrrrr!

SUSAN is picking me up at the airport on Saturday and then we're going to Veronica's.

VERONICA is having a party. I wonder who will be there? I hope I see as many people as possible!

I got a cocoa/latte maker. It's kind of silly because all it really does is mix up your drinks and heats them at the same time...which isn't difficult to do by hand. But hey, this does it 4 servings at a time. I'm diggin it.

the COCOA maker came in handy yesterday when my class and I re-enacted THE POLAR EXPRESS. I served hot cocoa in nifty little Christmas mugs with marshmallows, they had candy with"nougat" centers (like in the book) and they even got Christmas bells (like the children did in the book). We sang Christmas carols (like they...you know). It was way fun.

THE POLAR EXPRESS movie was AWESOME. The movie itself was decent, but my students were by far the most well-behaved, and their little faces were just lit up with awe the entire time. They loved it! AND we had enough money for everyone to have a "Reel Meal," thanks to those of you who made donations :) THANK YOU!!!!

DO TRY Starbucks' white chocolate mocha. It's to die for. Mom, you would like it, too. I promise!

MY COOKIES for our Christmas cookie exchange were the best. AND my mentor teacher's chocolate chip cookies are not nearly as good as the choc. chip cookies I make, and her students' are out of control. I say all this just because she always acts like she's so great and wise and wonderful and perfect and she is always bossing me and my students around. WELL! At least I can make some darn good cookies. So there!

MY GRANDMA CURIE deserves the credit for that, however. Special thanks to Grandma for passing along that tradition, as it's the only thing I really have to remember you by.

Take care all, and goodnight.

GO INDIANS!!!!! and...feeling old...

The Immokalee High School football team has WON the Florida State Championship! Woooohhhhooooo! I am so proud :)

Immokalee is where I teach. It is the most amazing town I have ever experienced. You should see it. Bright and early (well, dark and early) on my way in to work at 6:30, about 100 men are riding bikes to work and 300 others are riding buses to work in the fields (think orange trees...yeah, I guess they haven't come up with a system like they have for corn!). Stray dogs hump each other on the sidewalks (well, it's true!) and more than 50% of the signs are written in Spanish (so I really don't know what stores and things Immokalee has!). Every morning I pass a giant truck that is handing out food to middle aged men (men like our fathers) who are so humble I'm sure they barely think of it any more as a handout. I pass two sets of projects and a small community of what I guess some people call houses but look like large 100 year old outhouses, eaten away by mold. I pass a "Friendship House," an after-school program center, a few houses being built by Habitat for Humanity, and children walking to school before the sun has risen so that they can be there to get help with homework, read with tutors and teachers, and eat breakfast.

So when I had my first graders lined up along the sidewalk to give a farewell to those 14-18 year old young men, you can bet I had tears in my eyes. The football players' faces peered out from the buses, a hundred Hispanic and Black and Native American young men that have figured or have been told since they were 3 that they will spend their lives working in the fields when they grow up. They were not shouting or jumping or hooting and hollering. They were just looking out, watching the little kids and the entire city of Immokalee wish them luck. They seemed stunned.

It was a really neat thing. Today Immokalee fans filled the stadium in Gainesville, Florida, and even Trick Daddy was there to cheer on the Indians. And guess who the Indians defeated?

The Cowboys! Hahaha.

Good job, Immokalee!

Hi!

Amanda Harrington
15093 Top Sail Court
Naples, FL 34119

Clarification: 10 dollars pays for one child's admission, their snacks, and their part of the "bus fee." Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

$10 for a Cause

Okay, so I hate to sound desperate. But, here's the deal.

The first grade teachers and I are taking our students to see "The Polar Express" next Wednesday. The catch is that we have to have loads of lesson plans surrounding the trip and we have to pay for it. That means 450 dollars for 3 buses, packing our own lunches, and paying a $6.00 admission fee for each child (117 of them).

I normally don't support the whole "Santa Claus" thing a whole lot, but I've been stressing to my students that it's important to BELIEVE in something. Most of these children have very little. 2 of my 17 students have been to a movie theater and the other 15 have not. I promise it is a learning experience for them as they have very little experiences, and it is very special to them, and it will make their Christmas one to remember.

Therefore, if you can send ten dollars, or anything you feel obliged to, please do. Anything left over I will use for books for my classroom.

It's just ten dollars! Ten dollars will send one student, pay for their part of the bus, and pay for a lunch. Maybe even some popcorn :)

Thank you, and Merry Christmas!!!!

I feel...

...confused.
...like I might be getting sick.
...exhausted.
...annoyed by my students.
...angry that I can't afford an apartment.
...angry that I will rent an apartment anyway and then I will be poor.
...angry that I did "everything right" (college, waited for marriage/kids, etc.) and I am still a middle class citizen that doesn't qualify for anything, get any special rewards, and therefore I've ended up as probably the most unfortunate class in America.
...angry that my lower-level poverty children are asked all the time to donate money to kids stricken by the hurricane when my students don't have clothes to wear or books to read, either.

But...goodness how thankful I am, still, anyway, despite all that. But it still bothers me sometimes :)

I feel...

...confused.
...like I might be getting sick.
...exhausted.
...annoyed by my students.
...angry that I can't afford an apartment.
...angry that I will rent an apartment anyway and then I will be poor.
...angry that I did "everything right" (college, waited for marriage/kids, etc.) and I am still a middle class citizen that doesn't qualify for anything, get any special rewards, and therefore I've ended up as probably the most unfortunate class in America.
...angry that my lower-level poverty children are asked all the time to donate money to kids stricken by the hurricane when my students don't have clothes to wear or books to read, either.

But...goodness how thankful I am, still, anyway, despite all that. But it still bothers me sometimes :)

Florida Christmas

Wow, do Florida people ever go all out for Christmas! They even have festivals with outdoor snow. What fun :)

It is certainly an experience to go Christmas shopping and have the complaint that "it's too hot to be carrying all these bags around!" After saying that I immediately realized that normally, I would be in Ohio with a huge bulky winter coat and where, oh where, do you put those things when you're on an all day shopping trip at the mall? I think I usually left it in the car and ran into the mall and out again.

And when I do have to run, thank goodness I don't have to watch out for ice, snowpiles that are deeper than they look, and slush-puddles that have more slush that I bargained for.

I don't miss the snow, and I feel like it is "Christmasy" here because shwew, people are crazy about their decorations. Considering a majority of Naples people (Naplinians?) are from "up north," they try to make up for lack of snow with not only lights and blow up snowmen, not just lit up reindeer and wreaths, but serious winter wonderlands in almost every yard. People totally redecorate inside their homes as well.

Lit up palm trees are pretty cool, too.

Budgets

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apartments

I need a place to live. I need a place to live. I need a place to liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!

Check it out...

Building 429's newest cd is way cool. I highly suggest it to anyone. I LOVE this song:

Above it All

Oh I'm waiting for the answer to the question in my soul
Lord why did you lead me here?
I take a look around and a desperate world surrounds me
I know I'm not of this place, but its here and in my face
All that I am wants to run
God I feel hopeless and undone

Lift me up above it all
I'm feeling broken and alone
Don't let me turn to stone
Lift my heart above it all

I've lost my hope tonight
And I'm praying for the strength to carry on
Lord lift me above it all
Now I'm waiting for a glimpse of hope in an eye
But a flash of sunlight shows a faded gray
Cause these streets are hard and cold
And the alleys burn like coal with a stench of helplessness
And all the life that's been misspent
And all that I am wants to run
God I feel helpless and undone

Maybe I'm not supposed to fly
Maybe you want me here tonight
To lift them up above it all
When they're broken and alone
Don't let me turn to stone
Lift them up above it all
Cause they cannot stand alone
And they're praying for the strength to carry on
Lift us up above it all
When we're broken and alone
Don't let us turn to stone
Lift us up above it all
Because we cannot stand alone
And we're praying for the strength to carry on
Lord, will you lift us up above it all?

I Hear Bells!

Wedding bells, that is! As if everyone doesn't always know, that would be the wedding bells of Timothy Marquis and Lindsay Mast, two of the very best people in the entire world :) And guess who has the honor of being maid of honor?

Why yes, that would be me!

Yikes! Grown up reality real world hits once again. Shoot. Maybe I'll get downgraded to flower girl. Then all I have to be in charge of is rose petals...not a wedding band (Tim would never let me live it down if I lost it), a wedding toast (I'll say something that I'll get made fun of for my entire life, I'm sure of it), and keeping Lindsay sane (she's going to be a basketcase)! Not to mention bridal showers, receptions and bachelorette parties!!!!

Yay! I've already started planning. I have such great ideas. I'm sooooo excited! The other bridesmaids and I will have to get into a private chatroom...considering some are in Ohio, Kendra's in Japan, and I'm in Florida :)

So I was reading all these cool ideas that overachieving maids of honor do and some of them included making slideshows, scrapbooks, etc. and it made me think of all the millions of Lighthouse and Muskie pictures we have of us girls, us girls and guys, the guys, and so many good times.

One year ago we wondered what it would be like to be where we are now, another one of us being married off. It makes me think of Tim when I first knew him. It makes me think of Lindsay's daddy giving her away. It makes me think of Lindsay and I lying on her bottom bunk crying and laughing together.

And now we are all over the country, all over the world, and I'm sitting in front of the computer, alone, wondering if maybe one last time, God would let me look behind me, and there would be Lindsay, at her computer, writing lesson plans for Ed. 330.

Remember how cold our floors were then? Remember how guys used to shout up at our windows, "Hey Lighthouse!" Remember how we'd get up to go to the bathroom, only to find that someone else had just gone in? If I could spend one more day in that house with those five girls, I would in a heartbeat.

But...I am glad where I am today, and I'm glad that Lindsay is where she is. I think we all chose the right paths, and we all did turn out pretty darn well.

Boring Life :)

I haven't been trying to ignore you all or anything, but I just haven't had anything interesting happening. For example, here are the burning questions in my life:

How will I implement Spalding Phonics into my curriculum and when will I have time for Shared Reading?

What will I make for Thanksgiving dinner?

Where is there a store down here that sells chocolate merckens and turkey cookie cutters? Christmas cookie cutters?

Should I start reading a book or get another audiobook from the library?

What book of my Bible should I read next?

What will my doctor be like? Will I have time that day to go to the bank for once? Should I get a car loan from my bank that has a lower interest rate? Well, of course, right?

How am I going to get my Ohio stuff down here when John and I get our own place?



See, I bet you didn't even read all of that it's so boring!

Gracias!

The bell rings.
The children scatter
With their paper hats
And bread crumb boogers.
Today they made butter
For real. They were pilgrims
For make-believe.

Now they are excited for the holiday
Of Thanksgiving.

They will fight with football
For attention from their fathers.
They will eat tamales and torticas.
Perhaps a bit of turkey.
What is a sweet potato? They ask
And laugh when I try to say
“Gracias.”

Bragger Blogger!

Well Ohio friends, I hope you're having fun up there, because tomorrow I'm going to the beach! The weather is SO WONDERFUL here! Yay!

They're Back!

After four days of disaster, my angelic students are back to normal. Welcome back, class!

I started Spalding Phonics today. It was fun! It's really cool, too. All of you teacher friends (K-3) should definitely suggest it to your school. SERIOUSLY.

Okay, so things are great again and I'm happy. Funny how kids can control your feelings that way!

And, until another day...

"There are places I remember
All my life though some have changed.
Some forever not for better,
Some have gone and some remain.
All these places have their moments.
With lovers and friends I still can recall,
Some are dead and some are living,
In my life I've loved them all.
But of all these friends and lovers,
There is no one compares with you.
And these memories lose their meaning,
When I think of love as something new.
Though I know I'll never lose affection,
For people and things that went before.
I know I'll often stop and think about them,
In my life I love you more."
-The Beatles

Teachers can be so stupid...

...imbecilic, or whatever you want to call it, it all means the same thing. Honestly, so far all I’ve learned about teachers in my four years of college and four months of teaching is that they are petty, gossiping, stressed, and psychotic beings who need to have everything spelled out for them.

The 40 and 50 year old teachers on my team don’t know how to write lesson plans, are flabbergasted at how in the world to teach phonics, blah blah blah…mostly because they take their jobs way too seriously. Or maybe they have very low confidence in themselves. I mean, if you can’t write a lesson plan just the way the principal wants it, who the heck cares? What’s the worst thing that could happen? Could your six year old student say, “Miss, this lesson is unacceptable! You’re fired!”

If teachers would just be quiet and get things done maybe they wouldn’t be so stressed out. And look at me! Stressed out and complaining about it online.

Well, teachers are hypocrites too then, I suppose. J

Yay!

Three cheers! The Third Day/Toby Mac concert was way awesome. I missed KENDRA though because she would have danced with me! John would hardly even wave his hands in the air. Lol. They even played "Play that Funky Music, White Boy." Cool. :)

For my birthday I got diamond earrings and a diamond necklace and a George Foreman grill and a toaster and a new outfit from the Gap and a card making kit...and three birthday cakes!

Thanks, Mom

Today is my birthday and I would just like to thank my mommy for making the 23 years of my life absolutely wonderful. I wouldn't be who I am, what I am, or doing what I'm doing if it weren't for you. I wouldn't be this happy :) You give me just the right amount of support to give me courage to explore new things, and the right amount of love to never drift away from you. I love you, Mom, and today I celebrate you!

Well Then!

I am Girl Next Door Click on the picture below to read more: Take the 'What Kind of Girl Are You?' quiz at CookingToHookup.com

Happy Halloween!

Yay! It's my favorite holiday! What's better than spending a whole Sunday watching death and doom on television? Oh, and making yourself sick on Halloween candy? Well, I just don't know. It just doesn't get any better than that out here in adultland.

I just read a tearful online diary of a college student that is "so stressed out." Hello!! Can I get a shutup from anyone else out there that's like, uh, just got a new job that takes about 70 hours a week, is in debt with 10,000 dollars in credit cards, student loans, car payments, and, hopefully soon (yay for me!) a house payment? Yikes! So if you're one of those whiny college students, I'm just going to say it...Shutup!!!!!!!

No, but really. Life is superb. I do have my dream job (although it's not all I thought it would be), my dream car (even though it is only a Cavalier) and I do have the best boyfriend in the entire universe (who's even more than I imagined) AND I got to watch Halloween today! Ha! Life is goooooood.

John and I had a great weekend. He carved a pumpkin and did magic tricks for my first graders on Friday. We volunteered for "Hallelujah Night" at our church (helping operate the obstacle course), and we went to church lastnight for yet another great Bible study. And I called a real estate agent about an outrageously expensive condo that I totally intend on buying because hey, I'm desperate.

That's all for now....

later!

Well, I am having a bit of trouble keeping up with this thing lately. This week has actually been surprisingly good, considering I have had to leave school early for the past week or so. It's good to leave early and do the bare minimum. :) No, but really. My students are learning just as much and I'm at least a little bit less stressed. There's a huge stack of papers at home that I need to grade, but lucky for me, first graders don't notice if it takes a week to get their papers back.

Okay, I am done talking shop, I swear.

Walt Disney World is awesome! John, Mark (John's brother) and I went to downtown Disney to meet their ex-stepmom (from the time John was about 4 to 16), which was really cool considering she is the woman John spent most of his childhood with. She was a way cool person and just that cute-nice type. I liked her immediately. I hope she liked me.

Anyway, we spent the day in downtown Disney, where they sell beer and margaritas and daquiris right on the street like it's nothin', and you can go to 8 different clubs for under 20 dollars. Holy cow, it was like...Disney for adults. It was like...college. Ha!

Well, John and I are such losers. :) We were both so tired from long weeks of work, an early morning, and so on, that we only drank coffee and cappucino and looked around at shops. But it was just as fun as the comedy club, the 70's and 80's dance club, the techno club, and all that combined, I'm sure. Someday I'll have to get my chicas down here to attend those establishments with me. Oh, by the way, downtown Disney is absolutely FREE. I had no idea. I love you, Walt Disney.

John bought a super duper cool pack of magic tricks with cards. I am not kidding, they are so amazing. I've never seen anything like it. I can't wait for my brother and sister to see him do these tricks. And I know all the secrets :)

Oh, and I got my hair highlighted. It is sooooo pretty!!!!!!!! I won't lie :) It's the highlights I have always wanted but I never went to a super highlighting place to get them done. Well, I am impressed. You wouldn't believe how much it cost, though :-( Yikes! I could have bought an annual pass to Disney World, for sure.

In-Laws

I am learning that there are three great things about in-laws. Here they are:

1. They make you realize your family isn't so crazy after all.

2. They make you realize your family is actually very cool.

3. They make you realize how much your family loves you because instead of trying to impress your family, they just love you no matter what, but with inlaws you have to be "pert-i-neer" perfect to get an ounce of love out of them.


But somehow they contributed to making John who he is today so...there's another great thing about them. ;-) Thank you!





Flight to Quebec, please?

Special People!

Apparently there's been this big argument going on between SOME of my family members (I won't mention any names) about WHO is special to me. Sillies. If you even have to wonder whether or not you're special to me, then I feel ashamed of myself :-p

Anyway, I guess I can say things are better now except that I feel like an indentured slave. But...I don't mind it right now. I would probably start to mind it under certain circumstances, however, or if it lasts for too much longer.

We're learning SO much about geology in first grade this week, discussing different kinds of rocks and such, especially GOLD and DIAMONDS. No, but seriously, the kids are loving it. We write and read about rocks every day. How boring, right? But no, it's not. It's been fun!

My Weekend

Well, well, well. What an exciting weekend. Not only did I get to spend all day Saturday at the beach, but I also got to spend quite a few hours in the emergency room. Long story. But to make the long story short, everyone is okay. At least that's what we think and are hoping.

In the meantime, John's mom especially needs your prayers. The doctors think that something possibly could be wrong with her kidneys, her brain (seizures), and her back (which we knew already that she needs surgery on her back). She and her husband are also getting a divorce, which means who knows about the house and where John and I will live or anyone else for that matter. So a lot of prayer for all of us would be very good. Right now I wouldn't be too upset if a hurricane wiped out the whole state of Florida, as then we could all start again with a clean slate. Which I have no reason to hope for that because I haven't made any bad choices, I feel, but the bad choices of others always affects a lot of people, doesn't it?

I know I have two passions: God and teaching. I have two people I really, really love a whole lot: My mom and John. So I guess I need to make those four things my top priorities. I'm just not sure how to do that.

So the lesson for today is that I need to remember not to do things for the sole purpose of making someone happy, because it's impossible for us to make people happy. We all play to an audience of one. If we could all just focus on making God happy and following what HE wants for us instead of what others want, the world would be a better place, no? Our pastor was right when he said that many women are people pleasers. We work ourselves to death over making a good impression, only to realize that we will fall short of people's expectations and in the process of working ourselves to death, we've forgotten about God and begun to work for some other god.

Errands

There is never time to run errands in this business. I need stamps so that I can mail out all the little cards I wrote for friends that have been living all over the world. I wrote these cards for all of you like a month ago and they are still on my dresser.

I made a doctor's appointment for December 1st. His name is Dr. Kronin and his picture is online. I forget what he looks like but I am going to look it up in a minute. I don't really care what my family physician looks like though. I do, however, care what my ob/gyn looks like, and I have not yet found one that is acceptable.

Today is a teacher workday. It's 7:30 and here I am at school, supposedly entering grades when all I really want to do is sleep. I like kids a whole lot more than entering grades, and kids wake me up, and grades make me want to sleep.

I think what I really want to do is be a children's librarian. But I don't want to have to put books in order or do anything with data, and I don't want to bother people about late charges. I just want to read stories and organize fun summer reading programs and dress up like spaghetti like my Aunt Vicky did.

No, I think I just want to be a stay at home mom and go to the Y for exercise classes every day and when I have a baby I can go to those mom/baby swim classes. And I can go to those mom bible studies in the middle of the day and organize luncheons and cook yummy food all day long, because I really like to cook. And I could volunteer for Bible school and all those things I never get to volunteer for anymore.

I feel a little burned out after only three months in the real world. I don't like it here.

This Weekend

Well, I'm looking forward to this weekend. Tomorrow we have no school but it's a teacher planning day so I get to do...dum dum dum! Grade Cards! And you know me, mine are pretty much already done. Then on Saturday we are going to the beach to celebrate John's uncle's wife's birthday (or, John's aunt Karen, who is the aunt we stayed with in Orlando). It's taking place at the little chiki? bar on the beach that I am particularly fond of (it would be great for a casual wedding reception if you know what I mean). AND it is going to be a BEAUTIFUL weekend. The humidity is going down and a COLD front is coming in so it's going to be like only 80 degrees! Hallelujah!

I really like John's aunt Karen. She is like a breath of fresh air. We always say the same things at the same time. It's weird. And I love the way she decorates and does her hair and we even have some of the same clothes. And she has one of those global blah blah things in her van because she gets lost all the time. It is so cool. You can type in "Restaurants" and it will give you a list of restaurants in whatever mile radius you want and even the restaurant description and then tell you how to get there!!! Just imagine. I would be finding yummy restaurants and great shopping centers all the time!

I am so amazed at how well John and I get along. We never have anything to fight about so we end up fighting about who has the most brain capacity in order to love more. I think I am capable of loving John more because I am a right-brained person and I can say words backwards. That means that I am in my right mind and I am a genius, so therefore my brain works frontwards and backwards so I can love John here and back again. But he can only love forward and not go backward. That's my take on things.

Good Morning!

Hello! It is 7:23 am and my students will be arriving in about ten minutes. I feel GREAT today!!!! I went to bed at 6:00 lastnight because I had a migraine. Wow I just feel wonderful. Maybe I'll start going to bed at 6 every night. Today is going to be a great day. I'm actually looking forward to it.

Tomorrow I am being observed by my principal for a whole half hour and I am unsure of when she's coming in. So please pray for me. I normally don't stress out at all when she is in the room, so as long as I can just be normal, I will be fine. The thing is that I think she is coming in the afternoon and our afternoons are always a little crazy. I sort of let the kids relax in the afternoon after math is over. I'm too easy. The good thing is that the kids will be finishing their Christopher Columbus books which I think she will be impressed by.

I told my first graders that Christopher Columbus brought diseases to America on the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria and that "some people say he wasn't such a great person." That's about as far as I could go with the anti-Columbus speech. So we talked about the pros and cons of Columbus. I think they understood. Then we wrote a story pretending we were on the ship, and letters asking for things from the King and Queen. Some kids wrote, "Dear King and Queen, please may I have ships and pizza." Some of the wrote things like, "The trip was too hot. I was so hot because I needed some ice cream." I guess that will do for six year olds :)

Okay I know you don't care about that at all.

The Braves lost to the Astros. Boo. John is a big Braves fan and since the Indians will probably not be playing them soon, I think it's okay to like them, but don't worry. When the Tribe and the Braves go to the World Series in like, 2006 or 2007 or something, you know who I'll be loyal to :) Isn't Chipper just the cutest name ever? I think I might name my next pet Chipper. Not that I would name my kid that.

I am such a girl. The reason I don't like the Astros is because they have too much red in their uniforms. The Braves have a lot in common with the Indians. For one thing, they are both themed around "indians." They both do like tomahawk choppy things. They have the same colors.

The end.

Got Cider?

Well, Florida is jam packed with orange juice, but can I find cider? No. Tomorrow my class is having "Taste October" day and all I could find was candy corn and some nasty looking pumpkin pie. The pumpkin pie will be good for the kids to taste because half of them have never even heard of it, but none of them knew what apple cider was. I guess they don't have apple cider in Florida :-( This is going to be like New Zealand and no biscuits or American cheese or hot dogs all over again.

But hey, the pineapple is pretty darn good. And the watermelon is still delicious and shwew! The weather has been great!

I never thought I'd appreciate a "flat" state but on Saturday as I was driving I went over this hill (yeah! There's a hill in Florida!) and the view just "took my breath away" (isn't that a beautiful thing to say?). It was like there was so much SKY! And the sky was so GORGEOUS! Just pure blue with great puffy clouds, perfectly white. It was awesome. And the sunsets here are priceless.

Oh my gosh, and the Mexican food is aaaamaaazzzing! Lastnight I ate a huge plate of Mexican food at this restaurant, some chips, and when I was done, I was still hungry so I ate some of John's too! It was so good.

See what I mean about being food oriented?

Why, why, why?

As if teaching itself wasn't enough, I have just completed one Saturday, 8-hour class and have 3 more to go, not to mention some other dopey class I have to take that begins soon. Yippeeeeeeee. I want to strangle the people who did our curriculum, too. I want to strangle Houghton Mifflin, our sucky textbook company. It is OCTOBER. I want to teach my kids about bats and spiders, not solids, liquids and gases. How BORING, really. We made pudding on Friday and talked about whether or not it is a solid or liquid. I don't know what the heck it is, to be honest with you.

Teaching is impossible. But what else should I be doing? I know I'm in the right field, but ten, twenty, thirty years from now do I want to be like the teachers I know that are 35, 45, 55? They're PSYCHO let me tell you. I'm not doing it, I'm telling you.

Guess what? There's a doctor in my family! Yep. Mark Harrington. He is in my Bible Life Group at our new church and he is a chiropractor and my insurance covers him. Yay! He's nice and available too so if any of you single Ohioans wanna hookup with my cousin, I'll see what I can do :)

Today I made myself do almost absolutely nothing that involved standing or walking. My feet and my legs hurt so badly. Do any of you other new teachers have this problem? We are allowed to wear comfy shoes at work, and I do, but honestly they hurt so bad that when I walk in the morning they feel bruised and as I was sitting (sitting!) in church I felt like my feet were going to explode inside of my shoes. SO that means not only will I be crazy by the time I'm forty if I stick with teaching, but I'll have vericose veins and be in a wheelchair, too. Eeeee :-(

Okay Amanda! That's enough self pity for the day. If someone wants to visit BEAUTIFUL southwest Florida, October is a GREAT month to visit and you can stay with me FREE and VOLUNTEER in Portable #6 for a few days. Would that not be the greatest thing in the world? What a unique opportunity! The kids are absolutely wonderful and they need a lot of love :)
Not to mention a lot of English!

Okay that's all for today.

I love you all! Peace and God bless :)

Straight off the Bookshelf, I Swear

Painted Princes

Icy sparks slide down my face
As I remember them and that grin
He wore so proudly and so fake.

Never trust faith’s fortune
Especially the kind that passes
Through twilight skies, so real.

Stop trying to catch it.
Deny his prophecies and your intellect,
Interrupt his laughter with screams.

Painted princes cast stones on the lowly,
Broadcasting their splendor
After showering their loves with roses, lilacs, champagne.

The dreams we illustrate
Are plastic mugs of milk compared
To the moons we have in store.

Painted princes never satisfy.
He’ll melt in the heat of the day.
Like all the thieves before.

Growly Teachers!

I growled at my students today. Seriously. I made claws with my fingers and went "grrrr!" They were just being so dumb today. Now of course I did not say dumb. But really, people. Come on.

One of the top three most intelligent girls asked me when she got her math worksheet..."Do we put our names on it?" Duh! What do we do EVERYDAY? Hello. I just looked at her and said "What?!"

This other kid asked me, "Can I have some money?" Um....NO! My response to that question was, "Why would you ask something like that? That is a bit inappropriate, don't you think?" I mean, they ALL get free lunch, so it's not like they are starving or anything. Greedy. One of the other kids said, "That's greedy!" Thank you Joy Cowley for all those Greedy Cat books. Now my kids know what greedy means.

"Miss, can we watch tv?" What???!!! What the heck are these kids thinking and why do they ask stupid, stupid questions like that just to ask, just to talk? Grrr!

They asked SO many questions today that at the end of the day I just said "Give me TWO minutes! Two minutes without any questions!"

And then two of the boys were sexually harassing one of the little girls! Blowing her kisses! What sickos :-p The poor little girl told them to stop and they wouldn't and she sits right in between them...and I know that she has abuse in her past. I just wanted to arrest them. :) Okay, maybe not really. But I was really upset that they made her feel that way.

And WHERE the heck am I supposed to put the trouble maker in my class? No matter who he sits by, he gets them in trouble! Poor Amy. Dear sweet Amy that never does anything wrong got on yellow yesterday :-( I felt so bad for her. And it was all Tony's fault, the little punk. So Amy didn't get a Fun Friday and she deserves it more than anyone for sure. Sigh. Teachers aren't fair, are they?

Pocket Charts are Expensive

I bought a new pocket chart so that I could introduce our pocket chart workstation. Well, I didn't realize it but the 60 dollar pocket chart I bought is like gigantic, so I don't think I can even use it...at least not yet. And where the h-e-double K could I put it anyway in that teeny tiny classroom that is covered in windows?

TOMORROW interims go home and THEN we have Open House. How appropriate, right? Not so much. I'll just have a bunch of p-o'd parents wanting to chat in Spanish. No way Joses! Me no hable.

The first person who tells me how to say "YOUR SON IS SLOW!" in Spanish wins a prize :)

Oh come on. I was just kidding :)

PA-Rrrrraze the Loooowd!

We found a good church! I think it's just about perfect for us. I love it. I am so happy. Happy, I tell you. I want to go live there, where people are happy and where people love God. Do you know, do you have ANY idea how refreshing that is after practically a year of spiritual deadness around me, after being surrounded by nothing but spiritual alive-ness for 6 years? Oh God, it's so good. We went to service, Sunday school, and then I went out to eat with some of the people while John went off to work because honestly, I never wanted to leave.

Is it possible that I could soon have FRIENDS?! Friends who actually love Jesus that I can SEE face to face? Ah! It seems too good to be true. I guess I shouldn't get TOO excited or my new "friends" will be like, "Whoa, this girl is psychotic!" But hello! I was starting to die down here!

The bad news? I think I've lost my Bible! This is an absolutely terrible, horrific, unimaginable thing. It has every verse that has been important to me for the past 5 years highlighted. It has notes in it, memory verses, commitments, prayers, and it's the Bible I read cover to cover my Junior year...so it's important to me. Has anyone seen it?

I Am No Longer...

...an audio book virgin! I am on my final chapters of the book, "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles. It is an interesting experience, listening to audio books. I decided to do it because I was tired of "wasting time" driving for an hour and 20 minutes everyday. I can't believe I'm almost done with the book already. I had no idea it would go so fast.

But the thing is, I'm not sure if I like "A Separate Peace" or not. The guy who reads it on the CD is a quack. I mean, he reads the voices all wrong. I can't picture Phineas the way I want to picture Phineas because the reader man makes his voice sound like a dazed and confused Kurt Kobain. The flowery language is soooo boring when it's spoken but I think it'd be better if it was read--I sort of feel like I'm cheating myself, robbing myself of the book's best qualities, which must be underlying humor as well as sadness and betrayal along with outstanding language. Well anyway, I don't really recommend the book--especially not to you, Mom.

MY JOB

My job is hell on earth. I am not kidding you. It is so hard. Not the teaching part, not the kids part, not the discipline, not the classroom management, no none of that. I'm not sure even what to say IS hard about it...oh wait, maybe it's because NO ONE TELLS ME ANYTHING! I found out today that interims were due today. I thought they were due on Tuesday because that's what I was told previously. Whatever. They'll get them on Tuesday.

So today I was at work until 6:30 and tomorrow (Saturday, right?) I get to wake up at the buttcrack of dawn and go to a CLASS for eight hours.

But the worst part is my mommy isn't here to make me feel better, and my mommy isn't here to say "Just sit down and relax." And she would get me what I wanted without even realizing she was doing anything for me, and if I did something stupid like accidentally leave a light on, she wouldn't care at all. AND MAYBE if life was like that here I wouldn't be so stressed out. Maybe.

To add to my problems, two hurricanes are on the way. Ha!

I Love Disney World!

We decided to stay in Orlando because the hurricane is now headed straight for Georgia. We are right next to Disney World, so wouldn't it be great to go to Epcot while I am here, buy my "season's tickets" for the whole year? But John was too tired so we didn't. :-( Now I get to sit around and take cat naps.

Well, I am going to go back to pouting now.

Down in Georgia, Pickin' Them Peaches...

Do any of you know that song?

Well, that's where we're going--Georgia. Augusta to be exact. We tried to get a more exciting place but the hotels were booked. Florida residents are flying north. We don't know for sure (of course) if it's coming for us now because it looks like it's definitely going towards the panhandle.

We're leaving in a few hours. You can reach me on my cell phone if you need me (330) 343-3877. Our windows are all boarded up and I have almost all my clothes packed and my valuables and my important documents. What a pain...now I'll have to unpack it all eventually. Sigh :) We took pictures of other valuables that we can't take and recorded their serial numbers (John's bike, tvs, dvd players, stereos, etc.) and took a video of the house.

We're going to Orlando tonight to stay over with John's aunt and uncle and cousins...they are awesome, awesome people and I'm really excited.

So I guess we could use a lot of prayer--mostly that people stay sane and don't do stupid things, because that seems to kill more people than does a hurricane.


Peeing Pants Reply to Alison: Hehehe. This little girl was hilarious when she peed her pants. She wasn't embarassed at all. She just smiled and announced to the class, "I just couldn't hold it! So I had a little accident!" And some of the other kids just smiled and said, "That's okay!" And then the little class clown chimes in, "Yeah, we don't care if you peed your pants!" And all the kids laughed, including Beth (the peed pants girl) as she walked out the door. I sent her to the clinic with another student. The clinic gave her another set of clothes. Problem solved :) No biggie.

I have another girl in my class that pees her pants nearly every day, but her adoptive mom works there so she always has another set of clothes at school.

Down in Georgia, Pickin' Them Peaches...

Do any of you know that song?

Well, that's where we're going--Georgia. Augusta to be exact. We tried to get a more exciting place but the hotels were booked. Florida residents are flying north. We don't know for sure (of course) if it's coming for us now because it looks like it's definitely going towards the panhandle.

We're leaving in a few hours. You can reach me on my cell phone if you need me (330) 343-3877. Our windows are all boarded up and I have almost all my clothes packed and my valuables and my important documents. What a pain...now I'll have to unpack it all eventually. Sigh :) We took pictures of other valuables that we can't take and recorded their serial numbers (John's bike, tvs, dvd players, stereos, etc.) and took a video of the house.

We're going to Orlando tonight to stay over with John's aunt and uncle and cousins...they are awesome, awesome people and I'm really excited.

So I guess we could use a lot of prayer--mostly that people stay sane and don't do stupid things, because that seems to kill more people than does a hurricane.


Peeing Pants Reply to Alison: Hehehe. This little girl was hilarious when she peed her pants. She wasn't embarassed at all. She just smiled and announced to the class, "I just couldn't hold it! So I had a little accident!" And some of the other kids just smiled and said, "That's okay!" And then the little class clown chimes in, "Yeah, we don't care if you peed your pants!" And all the kids laughed, including Beth (the peed pants girl) as she walked out the door. I sent her to the clinic with another student. The clinic gave her another set of clothes. Problem solved :) No biggie.

I have another girl in my class that pees her pants nearly every day, but her adoptive mom works there so she always has another set of clothes at school.

Not AGAIN!

All right, all right, so Charley was terrible and Frances was worse than just bad...but Ivan could totally be the killer of us all. Everyone here seems to be taking it VERY seriously since those who didn't take Charley seriously learned their lesson...

Even Dave, John's stepdad, was talking about us escaping to North Carolina...and he would even come with us...(he's a water geologist of some sort and so he usually stays for these things) so if he's planning on leaving too, that means he is pee-in-his-pants-skeered which is of course, not very settling to me.

In case you don't know, Naples is the second-most southern county in FL and we are about 20-30 minutes from the coast. Sanibel isn't far at all from us, and it got ransacked by Charley. Right now, Ivan is a category 4 storm...but it could go up or down at the last minute or totally change direction.

And we're not having school Monday.

I'm thankful for the vacation, of course...but come on people, I can't get much at all done in four day weeks! It totally cancels out spelling tests, that's for sure.

I sent a boy to the principal's office today and a little girl peed her pants...how eventful!

AND my principal and these two very important looking people came in my classroom today just as one of my reading groups grabbed "Connect Four" to play during our literacy block. I didn't say anything because they had already started playing and their normal workstation (the classroom library), they had just packed into boxes (because of the hurricane). This is a BIG NO NO. Our literacy block is supposed to be totally uninterrupted literacy time, which as far as I know does not involve Connect Four. I'm waiting to get reamed for that one. Crap crap crap.

It was a HORRIBLE day to visit my classroom because I was sick lastnight and this morning so everything was a mess and just....oh dear....and it wasn't just my principal, it was these two other people that she was probably trying to impress and...

Okay, I'll stop.

:-(

Songs That Take Me Back...

(I stole this idea from Chrystal who got it from Veronica)

Brown Eyed Girl (any version): This makes me think of, what else? ME!

Walkin' on Broken Glass by Annie Lennox: This is the worst song in the entire world. It takes me back to watching VH1 (sometimes even taping it), waiting and waiting for Wilson Phillips and some other sucky artists' videos...and then THIS song would come on and I would SCREAM and turn it. Then I roomed with Lindsay...and she loved this song! ECK!!!!

I'm Pressin' On by Relient K: I rewrote some lyrics to this song and entitled it "I Hope You Die" my junior year of college. :) What a great thing to do to a Christian song................?

Should I Stay or Should I Go? by The Clash?: I remember doing some sort of break dancing to this song when I was about seven... I don't know.

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen: Who doesn't get taken back by this song?

Kokomo by the Beach Boys: This takes me back to the days when my cousin and I would play this song over and over on his Little Tikes tape player and try to memorize the words...and I'd dream of white dresses and honeymoons :)

Barbara Ann by the Beach Boys: This reminds me of my cousin (the same cousin) because I'm pretty sure two of the first words he said were "Ba-ba-ba-ba-barbara ann..."and he and my other cousin and I would jump on the bed as we listened to this Beach Boys record, singing it at the top of our lungs.

Grandma's Feather Bed by John Denver: My weirdo kindergarten teacher made us memorize this song. Can you imagine?

Livin' on a Prayer by Bon Jovi: My aunt loved Bon Jovi and Bruce Springstein. Anyway, she would always listen to this song and I thought it was about Laura Ingalls (I thought it was called "Living on a Prairie").

Barbie Girl by Aqua: I think this song was playing one of the very last times JR had to ever take me to school...when it was uncool to be dropped off by your parents but I couldn't drive yet. It was the first time I'd heard it and I was like, "what...?!"

Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough by Patti Smyth: This is what I cried to over my first heartbreak...in sixth grade...when little Benny broke up with me to go out with the other Amanda in my class. Tear*

The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra: When usually Winey and Jeff would listen to psycho stuff, they bring out this sort of thing. We listened to Frank Sinatra all the way back from Chicago...and I thought about dancing on top of skyscrapers in a red dress as I sat in the back of the car around midnight. *Sigh.*

I'm A Big Girl by Emilia: This was my big time theme song for my dreadful junior/senior year when I was your typical heartbroken, downtrodden mono-ridden, stressed-out 17 year old.

I'm Here Without You...by 3 Doors Down: John gave me this CD and the words to this song really stuck with me when I was thousands of miles away for almost 100 days. "A hundred days have made me older since the last time that I saw your pretty face..."

Cecilia: For some reason me and some of the other Lighthouse girls danced to this song, in a circle, in me and Lindsay's tiny room, for like an hour.

Sex on the Beach: For some other odd reason, Sarah loved this song our freshman year at Muskingum. We were still in awe of fraternities back then :) We grew out of that real fast...because the only "Sex on the Beach" in Muskieland is a drink--and they're too poor to make it...and too ugly/drunk/smelly to do it (apologies to all of you who are over 40 that I just offended). :)

Yummmmmmmy!

I wrote this REALLY long blog yesterday and the power went out and I completely lost it! Arrrgghh. I guess I shouldn't try to post things in the middle of a hurricane.

Oh by the way, Hurricane Ivan is on his way. Joy! He's headed straight for us, I hear. Of course, that was yesterday. Who knows what it's doing now.

My four day weekend is almost over :-( John and I were going to go to the beach but...it's raining. Big surprise. We've been spending more money than we probably should. But after being stuck in the house with 12 people for two days, who can blame us? I took John out to Applebee's (I LOVE Applebee's!!!!!) and then he took me out to Noodles, this Italian restaurant near us. We went with John's brother Mark and his girlfriend, Jen. It was a great time. Then we played two rounds of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus." Fun game! Then we played 12 rounds of Scattergories! It was nice to hang out with people that don't need help tying their shoes :)

The Italian restuarant was a lot more expensive than we expected but luckily we got there before 6:30, so we got the "Early Bird Specials." I had rack of lamb with grilled veggies over fettucine noodles. Sounds very sophisticated doesn't it? The lamb didn't taste fresh...it had that funny taste to it. Go figure--I guess they don't butcher lambs in the kitchen. What did I expect? New Zealand DID have better quality meat, I'll give them that. But they DID practically butcher their meat out back.

I miss the American restaurant in New Zealand. Isn't that funny? They really did have great nachos. Holly would always get a Corona and I'd get Coke or water (because they don't know what iced tea is in NZ). I also miss the wood oven baked pizzas at this pub in NZ. I am so food oriented! It's crazy. In fact, one of the questions I had to answer lastnight was,

"The perfect first date for me involves..."
a.) great conversation
b.) great food
c.) great sex

Well, I of course chose b, great food. :) On our first date, I had McDonald's at the zoo with John...a grilled chicken sandwich value meal. On our second date, I had lamb kababs at Cafe Istanbul in Easton, and on our third date, I had chicken pot pie at Applebee's. What a strange thing to order. It wasn't very good.

I Love Florida

This is a complainblog again. Sorry :)

WHY DO PEOPLE LIVE HERE?

I have no idea. I am wondering the same thing myself. This place totally sucks! What is up with all the stupid hurricanes every flippin other week? Now we have hurricane Frances. So far "HE" (it is a he Frances) has changed direction away from us, but who knows what he will decide to do. Another hurricane has stirred up though, I hear, in the same place Charley came from and should be here by next week. The GOOD part is that I got a day and a half off of school and would have flown straight home to Ohio for my four-day weekend (Labor Day is Monday) if there had been any seats left on the airplanes. Yes, there are thousands of people that live here that are from or have family in Ohio. It's weird. It's like Ohio Part II down here.

I had to put all my books in storage containers in my classroom just in case the windows get blown in. The storage containers are now stored in my classroom's bathroom, so I hope they are safe. I thought about bringing "Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance" home just in case since it IS my most prized possession, but I left it.

Speaking of Frank, I acted out the book for my kids and they really think I am the best teacher in the world now. I did the voices and the dancing and everything. It was great fun.

Teaching is really hard. The planning part anyway. I have to have an hour and a half of uninterrupted language arts time, which has to be before lunch, and I have to try to squeeze math in before lunch too for it to be profitable. I have to do an hour of reading groups and a half hour of our core (basal) program and let me tell you how much our core program sucks. Basals are the worst thing in the world. Thank you Houghton-Mifflin. I left THOSE books out so if Frances floods them away I don't care!

I wish I had time to do a unit on books by Eric Carle, Dr. Seuss, and all those other great authors but guess what? I don't because I have to read books like "Nan and Fan" and "Cat Sat on a Mat." How are my kids supposed to learn ANYTHING about comprehension and vocabulary from that moronic crap? Your guess is as good as mine.

Well that's all I have to say for now.

Bragger Blog

I successfully made it to school BEFORE 7 am and I didn't wake up until 5:30.

I got home BEFORE 5:00 and then went and WORKED OUT for an hour!

While I was working out, I read a research article about vocabulary and comprehension.

I cleaned the litter boxes really quickly too. All of that was DONE by 5:45. AND I wrote on my blog! Ha!

What should I make for dinner tomorrow?

Did any of you see my pictures? If not, stop being lazy and look at them! :)

Good News: Susan is probably going to come visit me in October! I have our whole weekend planned out already.

Bad Day: My classroom's a/c stopped working today. It was 95 degrees in my room, so we all had to move to another portable to have class there. It was just fabulous. All my kids had headaches and of course, i had one too. All my kids were coughing all day and now guess what I have? A cold. Go figure!

Blogger's New Name: Complainlog? Hmm...sorry :) Gotta vent somewhere!

Bad Day Part 2: Fire ants are still biting my toes at school. Arrrghh.

Good Part: I love my kids!!! They are angels. And they are much smarter than the other first grade classes for sure :)

Good Part 2: I forgot my lunch AGAIN today, but this one little girl DID remember her lunch, and she forgot that she remembered it and went through the lunchline anyway and therefore had an extra lunch so guess what? I got lunch! It was YUMMY! Thanks Cristen!

Let's Make This Easy

If you want to see any of my pictures, just go onto Ofoto.com, type in email address amandah@muskingum.edu and password toulouse. Just don't delete anything! :)

Does This Sound Like a Teachers' Lounge?

Hahaha. Your guys' comments were funny last time. Well, lastnight I stayed at school until 8:30 and I got in trouble with Mr. Bossy Man John. :-p I mean, I would have called but the minutes are out on my phone and when is there time to get online or go to Best Buy to buy more? Never! And how was I supposed to know that the other teachers were going to hand me a lesson plan format that I had to have done by Monday for all my plans for the next week? Yeah! They do things like that. I had to grade spelling tests, math papers, tear out all these math pages, homework pages, and find stuff to give to my gifted kids who sit there in class all bored, AND find stuff for my low kids who sit there in class clueless.

NOT to mention that my room gets up to 81 degrees in the afternoon, there are FIRE ANTS crawling all over now (I got bitten a bunch of times and it hurts like crrrrazy!!!), and yada yada yada. Sigh.

But teaching is fun. I like that part. I LOVE being at school until 3:00....and after that I'm like, okay, I want to go home...home meaning MY home in Orrville to see my mommy. But I can't do that really so I don't mind so much staying a little late. John usually isn't home until late anyway and it's not like I have any friends. But I'm not trying to get pity here, trust me. I am SO GLAD I don't have any friends here because shwew, they would be totally getting ignored right now. Sorry non existent Floridian friends!!!

We do weather and calendar every morning you know, and really the weather is VERY pointless. We are in the sunshine state afterall. The little arrow hasn't been moved off of "Sunny" in all ten days of school. I didn't bother with a seasons chart that had winter with all that snow and crap. They need to make a Florida version!

As an Ohioan I had never thought of this, but the winter/fall lines here in Florida at the mall and other stores are still...winter/fall. Like sweaters and stuff. I need sleeveless shirts for work and all I can find is long sleeve sweaters and pants. Yikes! They need to do something about that.

Mom, Miss Bishop is evil. I tie my students' shoes but when I do it, I tell them they need to practice at home. I don't write notes home that say "YOU need to teach your kid how to tie their shoes!" That's kind of rude. I did write a note home concerning a little girl's shoes because she couldn't walk in them, though, and they were cutting into her skin and making her bleed. I don't think that's crossing the line. I can tell you right now though that I think that little girl will get held back into first grade again because she has a 3 minute attention span, and her birthday is in July so she's younger anyway--just turned siz, when practically all my other kids are almost 8 because they've all been held back once already.

Some of these kids are so S L O W. They hold us up every where we go. I swear it takes this one kid 5 minutes to walk to the carpet, and he will sit way back in the back and EVERY DAY at least 4 times I tell him to move up. You'd think he would get a clue. And then half the kids feel the urge to lay down right there in the middle of class. Hello. "We are not preschoolers," I say. Hahaha. It's kind of fun to make fun of my kids...but you know I love them :) I do want to say sometimes though, "STOP ACTING STUPID!" Because honestly, they do act stupid and I KNOW they are not. One kid really acts like he doesn't get anything and I know he does, he just wants attention, and I have another kid that just stares into space ALL DAY LONG and doesn't do a daggone thing. Arrggh. It's so frustrating, because as a student teacher I could have taken the time to figure out the problem and talk to the kid one on one for half the day, but now I just can't, you know? I just have to move on with the other fifteen kids who are ready to move on. It's aggravating because school just isn't fair to anyone.

Although I am tired and working a lot...I'm not stressed. It's weird, but I'm just not. And I'm never worried really about anything (except my checking account). And I really like what I do :)

I'm Tired

If you're wondering why I haven't posted, it's because I wake up every day at 5 am and work until about 7 or 8, which means I get home at 8 or 9, and then I eat, pack my lunch for the next day, and go to sleep. So yes, I'm tired.

Teaching is a lot of work. I don't think I could be a mom at the same time. I am not kidding, it is like having 17 kids of my own. I do everything for them. I tie their shoes, fill their waters, get their folders ready, etc. etc. I love them all...they're such cuties. But good heavens, it's so much work!!!!!

My First Two Days

My first two days have been great! The kids are adorable, of course, and I am getting along just fine! I will write more later when I'm not so busy!!!

Church Search Fun

Well, each Sunday that I have been here (except the first one I think), I have visited a new church with John. But last Sunday I went by myself. I couldn't find the church I was looking for though, so I just stopped by this other one that had an 11:00 service, called New Hope Ministries, which sounds non-denominational to me. Usually when you go to a non-denominational church you sort of know what to expect. Well, it turns out that this one was Pentacostal. So I got really freaked out. I sat there for a while trying to convince myself to stay. I mean, afterall, they DO believe in God and probably love God just as much as anyone in such and such church. Well I just got so unbelievably uncomfortable that after five minutes of the sermon I got up and left. Isn't that rude? Well, I was angry! Why didn't they say they were pentacostal? Why didn't they have a sign that said, "Hello! We speak in tongues!" Dude.

I haven't been to one church that has been just right. I've liked a couple that weren't really to John's liking, though, and he could probably say the same. I liked the church we went to today (they support the missionaries I know in Haiti) but the sermon was a little different. I mean it was like, very, very, very Biblish. Which is a good thing, don't get me wrong, but we read this whole chapter and a half and talked about Jews and Gentiles and Simon called Peter and Simon and Cornelius and...well, you know, stuff that you might talk about in a small group Bible Study, not a sermon. Needless to say, my attention span was less than the normal 15 minutes. But the worship was good and the people were nice. The other church I liked a lot the worship was bad and the sermon was good. Sigh. And the Baptist church was a little too close to Waco for my liking...and Baptists are a little bit crazy to begin with. SO WHAT TO DO. I just want to find a church.

First Day of School is tomorrow! I am excited. The only thing I am nervous about is the copies I need DONE by 7:20. We start school at 7:40 every morning. Isn't that just great. Teachers must be there by 7:30, and I live about 40 minutes away. So I am getting up at 5 am tomorrow morning. But the good thing is that we let out at 2:10 and have teacher meetings till 3:10. So there's lots of communication happening and if I do need to be home by 4:00, I can be. But you can bet I will be there till at least 5 every day. :)

TEACHING is COMPLICATED. I won't go into detail, but seriously, take my word for it. I am so confused--my teacher's editions are weird, some are missing, there's too much stuff here!!!! Where to start? What to do?

Don't Hold Your Breath!

Hurricane Earl is on its way and it has so far taken the same path as Charley!

Amanda, reporting live from Southwest Florida...

I'm okay!!! The hurricane pretty much missed Collier County. I can't say as much for the people north of us. The town of Puntagorda is totally wrecked. They could use a lot of prayer, that's for sure. Even the airport is gone. John has to go help clean up in Fort Myers probably tomorrow, so hopefully that'll go okay. Fort Myers got it worse than us, too.

See ya later :)

Hi Charley!

Charley is my first ever experience with a hurricane. I hear it's going to be major. Some people, like my tutor (Maria, who is REALLY nice and I get to have her in my room for a whole half day!), who seems to think every house in the tri-county area is going to be wiped out, are freaking out. Most of the people are just like "Oh, it'll be nothin'."

People are boarding up their windows and lowering their storm shutters. We put everything that was by the pool IN the pool or in the sun porch. The sun porch was just installed and it is just about all acrylic, so I'm thinking that might get ruined. It's really funny to see the lawn furniture in the pool.

I don't think I'll be sleeping in the normal spot tonight considering it's in the corner with windows surrounding it.

School has been cancelled for Friday (tomorrow, which was supposed to be our team's planning day). So I um...don't have anything planned and I don't really know what to plan. But you know, I guess I do...first day stuff...how hard can it be, right?

My kids are so cute! Okay, so I haven't seen them yet. But I hear Adrian Martinez-Veda is a real sweetheart, along with Amy Montez. Guess how many of my students have the home language of English? Two. One has the first language of Creole, and the others are ALL ESL with a first language of Spanish. These are the Spanish words I know:

muoy (very)
grande (big)
picane (small)
adios (goodbye)
gracias (thank you)
hola (hello)
como te llamas? (what is your name)
comprende? (understand?)
no comprende (don't understand)
le lavamanos (sink)
le televisor (television)
le bane (bathroom)

I don't know if I spelled those right or if they are exactly right, but I can say them! It's okay though. The kids will be fine, it's just the parents I have to worry about, because pretty much it's pointless to send anything home, really...unless the kids are sweeties and translate for their parents (which some might). It's not even because the parents don't understand any English, it's because they're illiterate (many of them) because they are from somewhere in Mexico and didn't go to school, because they've been migrant farmers their whole lives.

I have three kids with the last name Martinez. I also have kids named Genaro, Antonio, Adrian, Hansy, Marycarmen, Jensel, and so on...

I hope I like them :)

Paycheck Please?

Well, it's been a few days since I've written...and that's because I have been bombarded with classroom duties :) Yesterday I was at work from 7 am until after 8 pm. This week is reserved for fixing up our classrooms, staff meetings, in-services, and today we have accelerated reader training. Fun stuff. Well, the fixing up my classroom is fun anyway. It's so small though! And I JUST found out that I have to have TWO big tables for the paraprofessional and a reading group and the reading ESOL tutor and a reading group. Pshhhh! MY group will be on the FLOOR. That's the way I did it in NZ and it worked better than tables. So you know, whatever. I don't know where I am going to find room for some big tables like that. I don't even have a teacher desk. No room for that, either.

I also have to move these bookshelves for the upteenth time, in order to make room for my tutor's tables. But THIS time there's a TON of textbooks and SSR books on them, so I have to take ALL those books off and then move the shelves. Eeek.

Well, it's about 6:30...so I have to leave in order to get to work by 7:15. Bye!!!

Extra! Extra!

The Cats

Being left in charge of 7 cats sure isn't easy. To make a long story short, the cats literally ruined most of my day and most of John's today. But the cats are happy, I guess. Biscuit and Precious are gettin' it on downstairs... I guess if you're going to breed cats, you'll have that. The sad part is that Precious's eldest son, Figs, saw part of it. He may need counseling.

Well, I still love cats, but let's face it, having more than one is way too many.

The Rain

Every time I drive home from Immokalee, it starts pouring down rain after five minutes of driving. This is not cool. Immokalee Road is probably the most terrible road in the world--it has no "sides" on it, so no drainage, no place to pull over, etc. They also don't use that rough blacktop/asphalt/cementy stuff we use in Ohio, or cinders. I guess they don't need it because they don't have snow, but it sure makes for slippery rain. I hydroplane like crazy. For this reason, I will probably be willing to pay a little extra for car insurance because I'm 90 percent sure I'll be in an accident within the next six months.

The New Teacher Orientation

Wow! Not to diss any one in Ohio, but hello, Ohio schools suck. I'm really learning this each and every day. It is SO different. The way we are treated, the way we are accepted here...it is absolutely phenomenal. The school board bends over backwards for us teachers. I met people who moved here to Collier County from surrounding counties because of its excellent reputation, as well as people from all over the country (and one from Canada!). I met another first grade teacher from Cleveland. She's a total sweetheart, too, and living all by herself down here! So I think we're going to hang out sometime. Collier County is growing like mad crazy...they've doubled their numbers in schools since 1985. So--keep Collier County in mind, fellow teachers!!!! The pay scale is among the best in the state as well.

The Classroom

My classroom is coming along nicely. Yes, it sucks that I have a portable. My dreams of my perfect classroom have been shattered. I don't have a reading corner or anything like that, but I do have a writing center, a guided reading corner, a large group area on the floor, and groups of five...I DONT have a teacher desk yet, file cabinets, and a few other minor things. I do have five computers, one of which is hooked up to a television, which also has cable, etc. And my own overhead. All very nice things to have. I also have my own class bathroom--which is a definite plus for classroom management. However, there is NOWHERE to put backpacks. I have very little wall space, no bulletin boards, and just barely any space. But...I'll survive.

My Fellow Staff Members are aweeeesome. They are soooo nice and FUN! I will have a tutor in my classroom for a full half day, along with two reading/ESOL tutors and four other reading specialist sort of people, a full time guidance counselor... The one reading specialist/resource guy has written guided reading books and studied in New Zealand. He is really, really awesome.

There are THREE male kindergarten teachers in my school. Isn't that incredible? Kindergarten male teachers are hard to come by.

My principal told all of us that whenever anyone has an emergency (like a family/health issue) and has to, for example, travel long distances, that the staff always pulls together money and sends that person wherever they need to go, plus of course you get paid leave for those sorts of things. So mom, don't worry, if there's an emergency, I will be home. This does NOT mean you can fake a heart attack!!!

48 percent of the students in Collier County are Hispanic. About 30 some percent are white. The rest are Haitien, black, mixed, other, and Asian (in that order).

My first day is MONDAY. The students don't come until next Monday, the 16th. I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Loooove Connection!

I am watching the Game Show Network right now. I know that is really dorky, but I love Love Connection! I always have. It's even funnier because it's 2004 now and the shows are from 1988 or something. It's great.

Angels and Demons: Veronica, I've already started it!!! Thanks :)

Rain, Rain Go Away: You should see the weather forecasts down here. I don't know why they bother with 7-day forecasts because EVERY day is 90 degrees, thunderstorms, 100% humidity.

Car Insurance: Does anyone have any suggestions?

SCHOOL!!!!!

I am going to my school tomorrow to see my classroom and get started! Hallelujah!


Thanks Cheryl :) That was sweet! I miss you all, too!!!!

Alone at Last

That's right. The twenty-somethings in the house have been left alone for the week as John's mother, sisters, and stepfather have gone on vacation to North Carolina. That means it's just John, me, John's brother, Mark, and occasionally Mark's girlfriend, Jen (who is really cool, by the way). Too bad we have to medicate all the cats twice a day by shooting this liquid down their throats, scoop the three litterboxes each day, twice a day, and feed them in three different spots about twice a day. What a pain, really. Who would want to do all that? Crazy.

I have two reviews for all of you.

The Butterfly Effect: Although the beginning was really BAD, I mean, scary, horrible, disgusting bad, it panned out all right and I really ended up liking it. It made me think a lot about my past and if I had made different decisions along the way. Lucky for me, I think I got the best result :)

The Da Vinci Code: I successfully completed this book in two days, no problem. It's too good to put down. I highly suggest it, controversial views and all. I really want to visit La Louvre now, along with Scotland and England, just to see the stuff they talked about in the book.

Welp, I am going off to Target with Jen... Ciao! Bonjour!

Cats Cats Cats

I am living with 8 cats.  3 adorable persian kittens (Bella, Ducky, and Biggs), a snooty persian mama (Princess Isabella), a huge white himalayan male cat (Biscuit), an adorable little adolescent himalayan female cat (Mia), a calico cat (Tinkerbell), a crazy fat cat that ate his own tail off (Charlie), and a dog (Sadie).  Well, I woke up this morning and the whole house smelled like cat pee.  But I didn't think it was that bad because I had woken up with it that way.  However, when I came back from swimming, John's mom was freeeeeeaking out because it seems that all the cats must have been peeing ALL over the house.  The furniture, the walls, everything.  Even the piano.  I mean they must have been partying all night or something with the amount of pee that was everywhere.  The thousand dollar leather chair had to be thrown out because it was beyond repair with the stench. 

SIGH.

And then my mom calls and tells me I owe the hospital 1082 dollars.

Needless to say, I cleaned A LOT today, because that is what I do when I'm stressed.  I did the windows, the dusting, the laundry, moved furniture, the whole nine yards. 

Luckily I went swimming early today and still got in some tan and swim time :)  I've learned here that if you get up around 8:00 am, you'll actually get some time to relax...

When All Else Fails...

...talk about the weather!  Man oh man.  It's pouring one second and sunny the next, but no matter what it's always unbearably humid and in the 90's.  Yippee!  Just kidding :-p  At least I can work on my tan...for about 20 minutes at a time, between rain clouds.

I successfully opened a checking account, a savings account, and mom, the money for my insurance is on its way. 

Boy it's hard to keep my skin not itchy and dry here, what with swimming every day.  So I got this Oil of Olay in-shower moisturizer and it works like a dream.  I highly suggest it. 

I think I am going to go clean the bathtub.

 

#%&! in the City

Holy moly!  I live in a city.  I guess I knew Naples was a city, I mean, of course I knew that, but wow.  It's a city with all these outskirt developments though, I guess, and I live in an outskirt development, I think...so that means that I'm not really living in a city but if I want to go "downtown" holy moly batman, I have to be like, a city driver and I am just, well, not. 

AND Oh my goodness!  You would not believe all the different license plates.  In one outing you can find all 50 (well, maybe just 48, what with Hawaii and Alaska and all) state license plates.  Yesterday alone I saw Texas, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Louisiana, Alabama, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, New York...  I am not exagerrating.  I saw all those.  It's weird.  I guess no one comes to visit Ohio so I'm just not used to out-of-towners. 

By the way, Happy Birthday John! 

John, by the way, is the older man I am dating.  Yep, he is a lot older than me.

Turning Thirteen

John's sister Meghann is turning 13 tomorrow.  I remember turning thirteen, when your hair suddenly takes a turn for the worst (no more natural highlights, sudden and unnatural curl you're not used to, coarseness, etc.), your body is and has been doing strange new things for the past two years, and your friendships change styles more than Madonna.  You want to stay in the shower for two hours just to scrub off the sweat (which is sort of a new thing, too), and suddenly you find yourself angry for no reason, sad for no reason, and for some reason, angry with your mother at whatever she says and angry with her when she doesn't say anything at all.  It's a horrible place to be, thirteen!

 

There's Something About Miss Harrington...

Yep, I'm almost a teacher, officially.  I'm meeting with the other first grade teachers tomorrow and I have no idea what to expect!  We are supposed to talk about curriculum, but I have no idea what our curriculum is for the year!  Ha!  I might actually get to SEE my classroom!  Hallelujah! 

John's mom is always mad!

THAT Was Fun

Well, well, well.  I just got back from my "New Hire Meeting" for the school district of Collier County.  I fit in really well because 75% of the people there were also from out of state (Washington, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, California, you name it).  A good, very good thing is that I move right into a Professional License here, not a temporary, and I don't have to take any tests whatsoever, thanks to that trusty ol' Praxis. 
 
We learned all about life insurance, health insurance policies, retirement and pension plans, teacher credit unions, and yeah, so it was basically just a grand party for the adult world that ran from 7:45 am until 3 pm.
 
I also spent 70 dollars today getting fingerprinted, 112 dollars getting my certificate for ECE and Reading Endorsement, and blah blah blah.  I STILL haven't seen my classroom, heard from any of the other first grade teachers, my principal, or anyone.  But of course, they're still on vacation.  Ah well.
 
That's all the lovely news for now!  TTFN.

A Whole New World

This is just an example of the way I lived at home for 22 years with MY mom and the way I'm living now with John's mom.
 
Situation Here:
 
9 year old Anna is acting a little...crazy, how 9 year olds often do.
 
Laura (John's mom) says:  "Anna, I really don't like it when you do that thing you do when you're trying to get a certain response from me.  It's not going to change my response, so you might as well stop doing that."
 
Situation if it Happened at My House (in Ohio):
 
My Mom:  Stop acting like a freakin' retard! 

Hunting Wade

Someone give me Wade's email address because I'm going to string him up by his neck and start cutting body parts off. Thanks. :)

Oh dear.

Well, our dinner lastnight went well. John and I made onion-basil grilled veggies with some type of chicken marinated in this made-from-scratch marinade, compliments of George Foreman and his recipe book. It was a lot of work, cooking for 8 people. Anyway, it went well, and the kids actually liked the vegetables.

It turns out that tomorrow is my turn to cook again, so I'm making fajitas and nachos and cheese dip stuff (compliments of Chrystal and her cheesy dip recipe). This time though, I took a major shortcut and got the fajitas in a bag, which means everything is already thrown together. All it takes is ten minutes to cook. Praise the Lord.

Oh dear, issues on the family front, as you can imagine...me living with 6 other people of all ages and very different beliefs and very different "ways" than I am used to, by far! A lot of "outspokenness" and "opinionated-ness". But...I guess the NZ experience has at least partially prepared me for living with other cultures. Let's hope :)

It's so hot and humid here, I can't even go outside! It's awful. Just awful. But in December, I'm going to be living it up on the beach in the 75 degrees. Oh yeah. Come and visit me then.

Peace

What's Been Happening

Church

John and I visited a church in Ft. Myers that has 7,000 attenders. It's called McGregor Baptist. I think we liked it, but we still need to check out the college/young career group to see what they're like. As you can imagine, they have lots of stuff happening there so I'm sure we could find some group we really like. The bad part is that it's half an hour away...but it's only five minutes from where John works.

Target

John works a lot! And I've been stuck here at the house doing laundry. Booo. No, it's all right. He likes his job, too. He gets to do this undercover security thing and catch people stealing. It's kind of interesting but sad at the same time. For instance, I would just feel bad arresting a homeless guy stealing food. I guess it's just one of those ethics issues on both ends of the spectrum.

Anyway, Target has really cool stuff. So I walked around there after church while John was working (watching me on the security cameras) and ended up buying a bunch of stuff for my classroom. I mean, I just bought plastic organizer kinds of things...really cute ones and really super cheap!

The Teacher Store

There is a new teacher store here in Naples and it is awesome. The owners are really excited about their new business too, so they offer a free consultation on what you should buy and what you shouldn't buy. Anyway, I looked around there with John's mom for two whole hours. I only bought some stamp pads, though. I haven't seen my classroom yet OR my curriculum so I have no idea what I need. AND I want to make my own bulletin boards as much as possible...with construction paper, and not those plastic worms and little kids they always have. So basically I'm going to use the teacher store for lots of ideas, steal them, and use them in my classroom. Mwahaha.

Family Issues

Shwew! This family has a lot of issues! And believe me, EVERYTHING here is a huge issue. But watching (and being a part of) all these issues makes me love John even more because...we just don't have issues.

Florida People

As far as I can tell so far, Florida people (like in stores and on the roads) are really pushy and not very nice. They drive SO FAST!!! The speed limit here on the highways is 70, so you'd think that'd be good enough but everyone goes at least 80. They don't let you over when you need over, they get really mad when you go 75 and then get in front of you and cut you off. It's really mean.

I think I'm going to go for a swim. Later. :)

Howdy from the Sunshine State!

Welp, I'm here. I drove the 22 hours straight without stopping. Still recovering :) The snake is doing fine. He even came out once during the trip to look around and see what was going on. Anyway, everything is good and I'm all settled in quite nicely. Now I am just looking for a church to visit tomorrow.

Ciao, Adios, Sayonara, TTFN....

Well, well, well it's time to go
I will be on the road this time tomorrow
My only companion all the way south
Will be Mr. Snake and his big mouth.
I hope he doesn't talk too loud or sing to much,
Want to play "I spy" or double dutch.
We will stop half-way, sneak snaky in
And sleep in a bed, full of dried-up sin.
Yuck.
I've said my goodbyes,
Let some of my exes know how much I can't stand them
Luckily none of them will ever live south of the Muskingum.
I have seen some friends but not all
Who knows about my father--hopefully he'll call.
This time Friday I'll be in the Sunshine State
Livin' it up with my sexy date :)
I know this poem sucks...give me a break
I only do it for the cake.

Thank you, thank you very much.

So that's my story...the car is nearly all packed and the front seat is saved for Mr. Snake. Hopefully I won't get raped at the cheapy motel. :) I love you all and goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.

Peace and God bless! Prayers will be appreciated :)

My email: Amandalharrington@hotmail.com
I'll give you all my address through email or whatever. I don't want to post it here :)

La La La

Well I think I should just leave Ohio now. I don't have anything else to do and I keep thinking about what I should be doing in Florida. Like that I would kind of like to know what I'll be teaching this year seeing as it's already July.

Charlie is following me around with these sad puppy dog eyes because he knows I'm leaving. Sigh. Dogs.

I officially finished my third and last newspaper article. Look for my very interesting (sarcasm) Shakespeare articles in the Orrviews, coming soon. Schnikies. I practically have a column in the New York Times. Look out Carrie Bradshaw.

It's actually kind of embarassing that I have Shakespeare articles in our newspaper. All my former classmates are going to think I am a total loser. Man oh man. I should ask for them to be published anonymously.

My car is almost all packed up exceptin' some of my clothes and toiletries. I decided to do that because I was bored and I needed to see if I would have to condense my teacher collection of children's books. Thank you God, I didn't! There is at least one book in every teeny tiny crevice throughout my teeny tiny car. Mindy. She's so accomodating.

I'm not sure when I'm leaving but I think I'd really do well with leaving Tuesday, although I'll probably wait until about Thursday. That way at least I'll see Sarah before I go.

Lindsay could possibly be going with me for a few days, but if she can't go I might be able to bring Mr. Snake. But, Ben might be interested in buying Mr. Snake so if that is the case, then I guess I could bring another couple of boxes of books...or maybe a box or two of John's weirdo stuff he had to leave here (like exercise equipment...blah). :)

My cousin is buying the old and disintigrating Rita (my old car). I feel awful for my poor baby cousin, seeing as Rita is like handing over a basketcase friend to be taken care of...he's going to have to pay all of her "medical" bills.

Meanwhile, let's take a survey on what John should do with his life. He's interested in being an FBI agent, an exercise equipment inventor, an international spy, or...well basically anything you can possibly think of. He's also thinking about taking up a martial art. What do you all think? Any suggestions? :) Oh dear, I love you hun.