JUST WATCHED:
WATCHING:
WANT TO WATCH:
JUST READ:
READING:
WANT TO READ:
PLAYING:
WATCHING:
WANT TO WATCH:
JUST READ:
READING:
WANT TO READ:
PLAYING:
As December unfolded, I promised myself that I wouldn’t make a ton of plans over the holiday break. I SWORE I would leave myself some time to just be lazy.
...YEAH RIGHT! Here is my schedule for the next few days/weeks:
TUESDAY: Working during the day and then going to visit Jessica at night. I’m going to pretend we’re roommates again! This is also the two year anniversary of when Baby Blaine asked me to marry him. NOM NOM NOM
WEDNESDAY: It’s Ryan Akers’s party! Literally. The Ladykiller himself is throwing a holiday shindig complete with karaoke. This is sure to be one of my favorite Christmas festivities.
THURSDAY: Christmas Eve Gift! On Thursday, we’re headed to Arabia for Christmas on my Dad’s side. There’s also a promise of my Grandmother’s beef stew. Can’t wait!
FRIDAY: Christmas morning events include opening presents with immediate family, going to my Grandmother’s on my Mom’s side for extended dirty (dirty, dirty) santa games and breakfast, and then trekking back to T-town. [Brief rest on Christmas afternoon/night]
SATURDAY: Day-after-Christmas blues will be shattered by a rawk show by Vulture Whale at the Bottletree. WOOP
...YEAH RIGHT! Here is my schedule for the next few days/weeks:
TUESDAY: Working during the day and then going to visit Jessica at night. I’m going to pretend we’re roommates again! This is also the two year anniversary of when Baby Blaine asked me to marry him. NOM NOM NOM
WEDNESDAY: It’s Ryan Akers’s party! Literally. The Ladykiller himself is throwing a holiday shindig complete with karaoke. This is sure to be one of my favorite Christmas festivities.
THURSDAY: Christmas Eve Gift! On Thursday, we’re headed to Arabia for Christmas on my Dad’s side. There’s also a promise of my Grandmother’s beef stew. Can’t wait!
FRIDAY: Christmas morning events include opening presents with immediate family, going to my Grandmother’s on my Mom’s side for extended dirty (dirty, dirty) santa games and breakfast, and then trekking back to T-town. [Brief rest on Christmas afternoon/night]
SATURDAY: Day-after-Christmas blues will be shattered by a rawk show by Vulture Whale at the Bottletree. WOOP
TOP FIVE THINGS I LIKE TODAY
1. Going to the gym during the month of DecemberThere is hardly anyone there. Apparently, everyone else in the world has Christmas festivities to attend besides me (not that I’m complaining… although I would like to see some Christmas lights!). No one is there to stare at me, change the television to fishing while I’m on the elliptical, or look better than me in their workout gear. An empty gym a happy Kelly makes.
(Stay tuned for “Going to the gym during the month of January” to appear on the list of things I hate next month.)
2. Teaching The Odyssey to my freshmen
They LOVE it. This unit went over millions of times better than I thought. I was afraid they’d be intimidated by the language at first glance; However, they faced it head on and liked it so much they wanted to keep reading even when the bell rang. Lessons like that remind me why I wanted to teach in the first place.
P.S. If I ever have another pet/child, I am going with Calypso for a girl and Polyphemus for a boy.3, 4, and 5. Mark Ingram
Not only is this guy awesome at football and humble, he gave the most thankful acceptance speech I’ve ever heard. HE THANKED HIS TEACHERS, PEOPLE. What a sweet baby.
TOP FIVE THINGS I DISLIKE TODAY
1. FedEx
If you’re not going to leave my package, that is ok. Just don’t put a note on my door saying you left it when you didn’t. Several phone calls later, you allegedly still have my package, and I’m allegedly angry.
2, 3, and 4. When a student says to me (after 17 weeks in school and many, many grammar lessons), “Hey… what do you mean pronoun? Is that like an adjective?” Count to ten. Walk away.
3. Wintertime
My 9th grade students just finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Of course, they loved it! I love watching them start from the beginning, (“UGH Mrs. DUNCAN! This book is so LONG and BOOORRRINNNGG!”) begin to come around in the middle, (“Ok, this isn’t so bad, and Scout’s kind of funny”) and give final, intelligent statements of approval at the end.
Every time I read this book, I take something different away from it. Of course there are the mainstays (i.e. Atticus is a stud). However, it seems that the book is so full of social/economic/psychological commentary that there is always something new to focus on and learn.
After this read, I am thinking about the character of Bob Ewell. Often, I take for granted that everyone is naturally happy, has good intentions, and wants a peaceful existence. That is just not reality.
To say Bob Ewell is the villain in TKAM would be too simplistic. I love the way that Harper Lee gives the reader background on the Ewells before she shows him giving his testimony at the trial and before the reader sees most of his actions. Lee discusses his low economic status and what that means to his family: living by the town dump, too poor to buy shoes or get medicine for his many children, etc. She also makes his alcoholism known early on.
By examining his poor lifestyle and ill-founded pride, Bob Ewell’s actions change from villainous to, honestly, sad. I like to think that he knows what he is doing is wrong, but he has something to prove to himself. Why does Bob attack Jem and Scout instead of Atticus? The answer must be because he was afraid of/intimidated by Atticus. Even still, he attacks the children at night, afraid to get his “revenge” in the daylight. Does Bob Ewell deserve to be pitied? I am still thinking on it.
What about you? Who is your favorite character in To Kill a Mockingbird? Do you have a book that you love to read over and over?
Every time I read this book, I take something different away from it. Of course there are the mainstays (i.e. Atticus is a stud). However, it seems that the book is so full of social/economic/psychological commentary that there is always something new to focus on and learn.
After this read, I am thinking about the character of Bob Ewell. Often, I take for granted that everyone is naturally happy, has good intentions, and wants a peaceful existence. That is just not reality.
To say Bob Ewell is the villain in TKAM would be too simplistic. I love the way that Harper Lee gives the reader background on the Ewells before she shows him giving his testimony at the trial and before the reader sees most of his actions. Lee discusses his low economic status and what that means to his family: living by the town dump, too poor to buy shoes or get medicine for his many children, etc. She also makes his alcoholism known early on.
By examining his poor lifestyle and ill-founded pride, Bob Ewell’s actions change from villainous to, honestly, sad. I like to think that he knows what he is doing is wrong, but he has something to prove to himself. Why does Bob attack Jem and Scout instead of Atticus? The answer must be because he was afraid of/intimidated by Atticus. Even still, he attacks the children at night, afraid to get his “revenge” in the daylight. Does Bob Ewell deserve to be pitied? I am still thinking on it.
What about you? Who is your favorite character in To Kill a Mockingbird? Do you have a book that you love to read over and over?
BEFORE
AFTER
new knobs:
new drawer liner:
took off the wheels, painted, sanded edges:
Piper checking it out:
She approves!
I am not someone who believes in the afterlife or transfer of energies or any of that. For some reason, the older I get, the more I don't buy it, and the more I don't feel like I have to in order to be a good person.
However, I am a dreamer. Not in the mysterious, John Lennon kind of way, but the actual I-have-dreams-most-nights-I-sleep way. And, it always seems that anytime I'm going through heavy personal issues that I dream about people in my life who have died. I don't know if this is a form of cosmic karma, but even after death, people close to me are present in my dreams and in my thoughts.
Anytime I dream about my grandmother on my dad's side (which is often), I am sitting in her living room. She is in "her chair," and I am on the loveseat beside her. Most of the time, I'm telling her about my problems or asking her advice on how to handle things. This is odd to me, because she died before I feel like I had any real adult problems.
In my dreams, she always does and says the same things. She always holds my hand and tells me everything is going to be fine. She eases my worries in a way that only a loving grandmother does. Is this my subconscious trying to convince myself that I will, in fact, be fine, or is this really her comforting me from beyond the grave? I don't know, and I guess I never will. Either way, it's a nice feeling being there with her, even for a minute.
However, I am a dreamer. Not in the mysterious, John Lennon kind of way, but the actual I-have-dreams-most-nights-I-sleep way. And, it always seems that anytime I'm going through heavy personal issues that I dream about people in my life who have died. I don't know if this is a form of cosmic karma, but even after death, people close to me are present in my dreams and in my thoughts.
Anytime I dream about my grandmother on my dad's side (which is often), I am sitting in her living room. She is in "her chair," and I am on the loveseat beside her. Most of the time, I'm telling her about my problems or asking her advice on how to handle things. This is odd to me, because she died before I feel like I had any real adult problems.
In my dreams, she always does and says the same things. She always holds my hand and tells me everything is going to be fine. She eases my worries in a way that only a loving grandmother does. Is this my subconscious trying to convince myself that I will, in fact, be fine, or is this really her comforting me from beyond the grave? I don't know, and I guess I never will. Either way, it's a nice feeling being there with her, even for a minute.
Jesus Camp by Julia Scheeres
I read this book back during July, but I still think about it now. The story is a memoir written by a teenaged white girl growing up in 1970’s Indiana. Her parents are active in the church and forcefully practice their version of religion in their household. When Julia, the narrator (and author), was young, her parents adopted two very different African American boys. Although one skeezy brother gets himself in a bind early on, Julia becomes great friends with her other brother David.
Since Julia and David are different races, they get ridiculed/threatened on a daily basis by their peers and community members; they are forced to ignore each other at school in an attempt to lead normal lives.
Although Julia and David’s parents are hardcore Christian evangelists, they are abusive to the children in several ways. Julia and David do not live up to their standards (and never could have), and they are sent to the Dominican Republic to complete a program at a rigid Christian reform school. This is where most of the memoir takes place.
This book forces the reader to think about motives regarding religion, evangelism versus brainwashing, and the ins and outs of living a “Godly life.”
My only criticism: I thought the author may have come on too strong with topics of sexuality. Although the events may have been written just as they occurred, I felt uncomfortable most of the time during this read. Maybe that was her aim.
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Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
This book made me feel good about life. The story is told from the perspective of Jacob Jankowski, who finds himself joining the crew of Benzini Brothers Circus after a life-changing event. Jacob switches back and forth between his days serving as a veterinarian on the circus staff and his current conditions late in his life at a retirement home. It is saddening to hear his contrasts between his “glory days” and today, when the threat of dementia becomes greater day by day.
I had never read much about the circus and did not know the ins and outs, but when Jacob tells about the behind-the-scenes events, it is like you are there in the action. I fell in love with his character and rooted him and his friends on. There is also a romantic storyline which is anything but typical. Although it sounds cliché, I laughed, I cried, and I will definitely re-read this one when I need a pick-me-up.
P.S. I heard they are making a movie out of this one. I will be first in line!
On my radar to read soon...
The Magicians by Lev Grossman (I read it is the "Harry Potter for adults"!)
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (I WILL read this eventually.)
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (recommended by one of my students - a must read before the movie comes out)
The Road by Cormac McCarthy (recommended by Blaine)
The Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus III (LOVED House of Sand and Fog, and recommended by HCDub)
I just got finished grading the 9th grade autobiographies. Here are my favorite one-liners:
"I would like to grow up and drive a Ford Fusion."
"I was named Brittney. My dad wanted to name me Shenigua, but my mom saved me."
Verb Confusion: "Later on, my mom became my brother, and after 8 years we moved."
"What really makes me happy is getting what I want... a boyfriend who is SEXYFINE!" (sexyfine = all one word and my new favorite)
"When I marry my husband, he must be kind and sort of a Christian."
I died my hair reddish again to cover the gray hair takeover. This is why I'm going gray prematurely:
My tenth graders recently studied Puritanism and Arthur Miller's The Crucible. When they finished, we discussed paragraph formatting and organization, and they had to respond in correct format to prompts about the movie.
On a side but related note, we are having to be especially frugal with our resources this year. We have little to no funding left for copy machines, and the man is expected to pull the plug on them by the end of this month. Because of that, when I have been making copies of assignment sheets, I won't let the students write on them. I am hoping to keep as many class sets as I can for next semester when we don't have copy machines at all.
Back to The Crucible and formatting. When I handed out the assignment sheet, I tried to make the conversation light about them not writing on the paper.
Me: Please do not write on this paper. (Insert speech about copy machines and saving resources.) Do not write on this paper. Again, do not write on this paper. Amber, do you write on this paper?
Amber: No ma'am.
Me: Donnell, will you write on this paper?
Donnell: Absolutely not.
We all grinned and they got to work.
When I get the papers back, what do you know? Most of them had written on the paper. However, one student took it to a whole new ironic level:
SHE WROTE ON THE SHEET TO WRITE "DO NOT WRITE ON THIS SHEET"
:)
I went and saw The Time Traveler's Wife yesterday. I thought it was interesting, and of course I had a mental breakdown during and after it. I honestly cried the rest of the night (B was gone being a rockstar and I stayed home). I can't wait to read the book! I should've done it in reverse order, but oh well.
I did some investigating online, and this is the poem that precedes the book:
Love After Love
The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
-Derek Walcott
I loved how the movie focused on the hardships of the relationship but then showed the rewarding moments, too. The time traveling parts kept me interested and allowed me to overlook some fairly bad dialogue. Although a lot of it was unrealistically romantic, I ate that up. After reading the poem, I feel moved to write and reflect and write and reflect. But, I won't.
I also watched Sunshine Cleaning last night with Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. I highly recommend it, and I'm stealing her post-it mantra idea.
Currently reading: Water for Elephants. Book reviews coming soon!
I took one of those lengthy sliding-scale personality tests today. I think the results are about 95% true. You should take it! Here are my results:
My personalDNA Report
My personalDNA Report
