Just Go to the Movies

(Warning - huge video post!)

With only two days left at school, I needed a lesson plan that would keep the kids learning, quiet, and engaged. If you are a teacher, you know how extraordinarily difficult that is. If not, well, be glad you don't know what that's like.

So, I pulled out an old favorite English lesson of mine.

I'm going to go through the lesson here, briefly, so I have the links embedded somewhere with a few notes. It usually takes 1-2 class periods. If any of you teachers out there want more details, just ask!

(Literary tie-in: Symbolism, Theme, Mood/Tone)

1. Define "theme" in music and literature.
2. Talk about John Williams. What does the music tell you about the characters?
a. Harry Potter
b. Star Wars
c. Indiana Jones
3. Show clip from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, students track when they hear the theme and what it tells you about the character/situation. Discuss.


4. Discuss how what you hear affects what you see. Use www.dooku.net to demonstrate (click on the white box)

5. Bonus video - show "Shadow" to talk about building suspense with sound.

Movie Saturday 2.03: Shadow from Brian Omura on Vimeo.

6. Discuss which comes first in movie-making - what you see or the music you hear. Explain that in music videos, it's the reverse.
7. Show example of music video that is designed around the lyrics to the song:

8. Bonus - Suffixes!

9. Teaser next video by saying that it shows the music instead of the words. Same band, by the way, as the last one. Show the beginning, then have kids pick it apart to figure out how Michel Gondry does that (Football Players = bass, Swimmers = synthesizer, Mummies = drums, Skeletons = guitar, Robots = vocoder).


10. The next video, also by Gondry, also shows the music. Again, pick apart and discuss.


11. Same director, same concept, different technique: (I just show the opening of the next video, since it is repetative.)


12. Bonus! Same band, same director, this time talk about mood and tone:


13. Still Gondry, Kylie Minogue. Show video, figure out what's happening, figure out why that's what they're showing - how it illustrates what's happening in the music (draw a spring on the board - the visual and song loops like a Slinky).

Kylie Minogue - New Music - More Music Videos

14. Talk about the symbol for infinity, show (usually more than once) and discuss how this video is an infinity loop.

Cibo Matto - New Music - More Music Videos

Children Will Listen

Here's the antithesis of my post from earlier this week:

I'm showing my classes "The Princess Bride" today while they work on identifying character objectives and motivations (Plus, the sub yesterday seemed unable to handle much more than a movie, and my cold's getting worse).

During the Miracle Max scene, one student raised his hand. "Didn't we read this story, Miss?"

"What?" I said, pausing the movie so I could hear him.

"I know this story! We read it!"

Other students nodded in agreement.

I suddenly recalled that I had, in fact, read them the Miracle Max scene last fall for a Reading Minute. Seriously, it was, like, early October, late September when I read it to them. And yet they remembered it enough to recognize the scene now, 8 months later.

Amazing.


While I'm posting, let me tell you about my day yesterday. I took a personal day and went to the dentist first thing in the morning. No caveties and the dentist was surprised that I hadn't worn braces. Yay for good teeth!

I headed home after that, started a load of laundry, and curled up in my reading chair with a book, a bowl of cereal, and the cat. As happens in that chair, I dozed off with Natasha curled up on my chest, perfectly content.

Around noon, I headed down to Castle Rock. Jill had also taken a personal day, and we decided to play a bit. We got lunch at Anthony's pizza, shopped at Este Lauder (Jill's other job - she very nicely let me use both her expertise and her discount to restock my make-up supplies. Rachel, I'll have to show you the eyeshadow colors I got - they're quiet fun!), and checked out this fun store there called The Barn. We raced back to her place, then, to change for the awards night at STMS.

The awards night was, by my standards, ridiculous. No lights; no sound; no one had informed the high school that we were coming to use the auditorium, so it wasn't ready and we (meaning the faculty, the students, and all of their parents) stood around the lobby for a good 20 minutes waiting for the janitors to finish cleaning it. I offered my help for the technical stuff, but was rebuffed by the two guys in charge with "Oh, silly woman!" looks. When they started the show in the dark by yelling from the stage, I handed my stuff to Jill and hunted down the door to the booth. I plugged in the spotlight and aimed it at the stage, then managed to get a microphone working. Annoying sexism.

Anyway, there were catcalls, rowdy students, kids playing in the aisles, little organization, and at least one parent who showed up in pajama bottoms and a tank top. Boy, did I miss the awards nights at DPJH!

Jill and I went to Dairy Queen afterwards to debrief. After that, we needed to.

Aside from that, yesterday was delightful and made this week much more bearable. Three days to go!

Can't Take My Eyes Off of You

I don't know which is weirder- both eyes dialated, or when only one
has returned to normal....

At 7:30 this morning, our principal decided to cancel our scheduled late start meeting.  As a result of that suddenly available hour, I

- figured out my dental and vision benefits

- made appointments to see the eye doctor that afternoon and the dentist tomorrow morning (I tend to panic about such things right before major trips.)

- wrote a course description for MTHS to use for enrollment next week

- called Apple about my laptop

- found a FedEx location to ship my laptop

- moved several of my items from classroom #2 to classroom #3

- made new seating charts for classroom #3

- met my sub for tomorrow (who mistakenly showed up today.  Between that, the news that he had only subbed once before (and that was for a 5th grade class), and the terrified look on his face as he protested, "I'm a business major," when I asked how he felt about doing a lesson on poetry; I decided that a lesson on poetry was not doable for him tomorrow.  My kids will be analyzing character motivation and objectives in "Princess Bride" instead.)

- discovered that my new classroom has air conditioning that kicks on full blast every ten minutes or so and sounds so much like the inside of an airplane when it's taking off that I found myself flexing my jaw instinctively several times during the day to try to pop my ears

- caught up with Brenda, who is my new neighbor thanks to the classroom change,

and

- planned an outing with Jill.

It's amazing how much I can get done when they cancel a meeting!

Back to Broadway

Awesome.

Oh, I'm so going to go see this one. Nathan, Bebe, Terrence, and Kevin Chamberlin?

Boo-yeah.

Ask Us Again

Verbatim, by the way.

Scene: Sweltering Classroom

The teacher stands at the front of the room. Students are sitting in their desks, looking at her. There are some relatively soft noises from the constuction outside.

The teacher holds up a copy of the vocabulary final exam the students are about to take. She is exhausted and sick, but she dragged herself to school that day lest the principal think she's just slacking off during her last week at that school.

Teacher: When you get a copy of the vocab test, you can pull off the front page (she demonstrates) to refer to the words listed there. Please remember to write your name on it and remember that spelling counts since-

Student 1: Raising hand while interrupting Miss? Can we pull off the front page?

Teacher: Yes. Like I was saying, spelling counts. Any other questions?

Students are silent.

Teacher: All right. Best of luck! She begins handing out the test.

Student 2: As he takes his copy of the test Can I tear off the front page, Miss?

Teacher: Yes.

Student 3: Flipping through the test her neighbor just handed her Can I rip this off? Indicates front page.

Teacher: Yes.

Student 4: Raises her hand, waving it as all of the energy she is using to not talk gets channeled into the hand in the air.

Teacher: Corine?

Student 4: Can I rip this? indicates front page

Teacher: Digs around looking for sarcasm, but verbal irony section of the brain never got out of bed that morning. She wishes she were still there with that part of her brain. Sighing, but without reaction Yes.

As she walks to the back of the room, Teacher decides to post scene as a blog entry as an explanation to her friends for why she sometimes repeats herself during normal conversation. Yes, normal conversation.


P.S. Weekend was fun, despite the illness - did a temple session Friday night, then met up with Britney and Ryan to see "Star Trek". Freakin' awesome movie - I'd watch more of that show if all of it were like this and not like this.

Saturday I went to see the Met's broadcast of La Cenerentola with Elisa and Melissa. It was fun, and I enjoyed seeing the backstage clips in between acts as well.

Sunday was normal church stuff, but because it was Mother's Day, we didn't have Ward Council beforehand. Is it sad that I woke up that morning thinking "Yes! Only three hours of church today!"?

P.P.S. That's right, normal.

Things Are Looking Up

You know how when you climb something really steep - a windy staircase in an old castle or a mountain or something - and as you take the final steps on the top, you look back and that's when you realize how far down you were and how light it is on top?

I'm, thankfully, doing that with every day left at STMS.

Every single day something new happens that makes me nothing but glad to be leaving and that makes me realize how low I had been.

For example? They just released a schedule of mandatory trainings for teachers over the summer. Starting the day after school lets out with a (again) mandatory two-day meeting. They justify this by paying $100 for attending. That's $6.25 an hour, by the way. For coming in outside of the agreed contracted work days, the day after school lets out. What makes it even more special is that they've been sitting on these schedules for at least three weeks, and now they expect the teachers to redo their schedules to meet their demands.

Oh, and? They're extending the work day at our school by 40 minutes without additional pay.

I am so glad to be getting out of there, and I am so sorry for my friends who are staying.

Life continues to be busy. Really, I don't know how this happened, where I suddenly have a full social calendar. Granted, I don't know if it qualifies as a social calendar when 80% of the time is filled with work and church stuff, but still!

For example, I declared "Reasonable bed-time be damned!" and went bowling on Tuesday night. A lane near me does games for $1 after 9:00 on Tuesdays, so Elisa invited a ton of people from the ward to go. A relatively small group showed up (Elisa, me, Jennifer, Noelle, Melissa, Scott, Ben, and Ryan), and they talked me into staying until closing instead of ducking out at a more practical hour. Ooh! And I got three strikes and an awesome spare from a 7-10 split.

Monday I went to FHE, which was a photo scavenger hunt. I'm pleased to say that my team won the grand prize (a couple of rolls of toilet paper)!

Last weekend was a delightful break from the usual. I took Friday off work to attend Rachel's graduation from nursing school. She, as usual, did a far better job than me at documenting the event visually, so I shall simply link to her post here and also direct you to the awesomeness that was our spontaneous trip to the Alpaca Festival. Mmm... fiber!


Oh, also, look! My grandmere and I have the same mouth/chin, don't you think?



And, doesn't Andy look a bit like this guy?

Climbing Uphill

Here's a run-down of what's passed and what's ahead:

Friday - After work, I met Rachel at Park Meadows to go dress shopping for her graduation. We had no luck there (although she did find one later), but we did get some CPK to go. We enjoyed that meal (red pepper and goat cheese pizza and their Thai Crunch salad, if you're wondering) at my place while watching tv shows (30 Rock, The Office, and some Doctor Who for David Tennant/John Barrowman yumminess).

Saturday - Jill and I went downtown to celebrate her birthday, since her family all had to work. We got lunch at Maggiano's, browsed the art museum, made some concert posters at the hands-on part of the museum's current exhibit about rock posters from 1965-1971, browsed Tattered Cover, and enjoyed some delicious pineapple cupcakes at The Shoppe. It was a gray, rainy day; and it was a perfect way to spend it.

After I dropped Jill off at her car, I ran home and changed clothes for a big multi-stake YSA activity our ward was hosting. I was not too excited about going, but I felt obligated. It was luau-themed with dinner, limbo, hula-hoop contests, and generic dancing. They can't do any sort of YSA activity it seems without making it a dance. Which I would be okay with, except that they don't turn down the lights at all, so it becomes a bunch of 20-somethings jumping up and down kinda in time to the thumping loud music. In full flourescent lighting.

In any case, I did run into some friends and chat with them, and I got to talk to Melissa about my new job. Melissa used to teach theater here, then left teaching to work as a theater-director-for-hire for schools. Not a bad job, if you ask me. She's got the scoop on pretty much every school in the area, so she told me a bit more about MTHS.

I was done with the luau after about an hour, so I left and went to dinner with another friend from the ward, Ryan. We had a bit of trouble finding a place open to eat after 10:00, but eventually wound up at Chili's. We hung out there talking until they closed the restaurant, then stood in the parking lot talking until it got too cold to do that. I tend to do that with people - Ben (math teacher-Ben from DPJH) and I used to start talking after school, and not stop until it was dusk and we were the last ones in the parking lot, freezing.

Sunday - Pretty typical - meeting #1, meeting #2, church, home. Church was a little more tricky than usual since my 1st counselor moved to Provo a few days ago without telling anyone in advance, my 2nd counselor left early to go to another ward's sacrament meeting, and my secretary left early with the flu. Which meant I got to conduct Relief Society and play the piano for all of the songs, since my counselors and I are the only girls in the ward who can play the piano. Seems like taking piano lessons while growing up is becoming a rare thing.

Monday - School, like usual, then I had my last induction/ELL meeting at the district office. I can't say I'm sorry to see the last of those! One thing I kind of chuckled at through those ELL trainings (that's English Language Learners, for you non-teachers out there) is that when they want to help us experience what it's like to be in a class where you don't know the language, the teacher tends to bring in examples in either Russian or French, assuming that most people there speak Spanish as a second language. So whoo-hoo my 19th century aristocratic language choices!

During school, I got a phone call from one of the counselors at MTHS. She said she was working on the schedule for next year, and that it looks like they don't need me to teach an English class, at least for the first semester. Which, given the crappy behavior of my current English classes this week, brought me nothing but joy to hear. I mean, I love teaching literature and interpretations and meaty higher-order-thinking stuff, but I am so okay with not teaching grammar and punctuation to a bunch of crabby, angry teenagers for a few months.

In place of that class, she told me I could teach either a Theater Tech class or a Humanities class. Holy crap, what choices! I would love to teach either of those subjects and told her so. We wound up deciding to base the choice on 1) which had more student interest for it and 2) what materials were already available at the school for each. But what a choice!

After the induction meeting, I stopped by Family Home Evening for the opening part, then ducked out when they started playing volleyball, since I hadn't been home or eaten dinner yet at that point.

Tuesday - School, which I left as soon as I finished my last class to meet Rachel to drive up to MTHS. Their spring musical is this week. I can't make the actual shows, since I'll be celebrating my sister's graduation with my fam all weekend, but the current teacher, Ruth, said I was welcome to come to a dress rehearsal. Which, honestly, was better for me because
1) Watching the rehearsal process is a lot more telling of how the program is run and what the expectations are than watching a finished product would be and
2) I could leave without having to sit through the entire show. I love the movie version of "Sound of Music", but I have never been a fan of amature productions.
Plus, this way Rachel could come, too, and I wanted her to see the school and the theater so she can help me plan.

We walked past a series of nuns into the darkened little theater. When she saw me, Ruth jumped up and ran over to give me a big hug. "Amanda!" she cried. "I'm so glad you took the job!" She was nothing but enthusiastic. With a lot of explanations and apologies for the state of the play (which, yeah, it's still rough, but I know how shows and especially dress rehearsals tend to go), she let Rachel and I sit in the audience and watch them run through the first act.

Okay, remember how I said last week I would give you details about my decision? Sitting there, watching these kids rehearse, I started to summarize those points. When it came right down to it,
- the commute didn't matter (I like driving, and I've done longer commutes before with little irritation. Plus, there's no traffic to sit in - it's all gorgeous mountain scenery the whole way)
- the money doesn't matter (my happiness is worth $9000, and I wouldn't have gone into teaching if money was the priority in my decisions)
- I can buy snow tires for my car
- and I'm willing to give small schools/districts another try, knowing how extraordinarily screwed up STMS's district is right now.

Sitting there, what it came down to is that I need to be teaching theater again. I tried to pretend it was just an option for me, that teaching any subject is fine, that I love literature enough to be just as passionate about it, but what this year taught me more than anything else is that I need to be teaching theater. I'm good at it. Really good at it. And it's good for me. Other people who've seen me here have described to me how I come alive when I talk about shows and production possibilities. Jill said that she's seen a real difference in my countenance since I accepted the job at MTHS - that I'm happier, and she can see it in my face. It's sad that I'm that dependable on this art form, but I am and I'm not going to let myself not be myself anymore. And I can do that at MTHS.

So that's why I took the job. And that's why, sitting there listening to Ruth push her kids to be better, marveling at Jesse's work with the orchestra and genuiness with the students, and watching those kids scramble to pull together one last show for Ruth, I couldn't stop thinking about all of the things I could do next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. I was homesick, missing Janelle and Kelley and Ben and knowing that I had to do this without them; but I was also home.

Midway through the rehearsal, Ruth introduced me to another one of the teachers at the school who had stopped by the rehearsal. As she said my name and explained, "she's the new drama teacher here!" every teenage head within hearing distrance immediately turned to stare at me. You could actually hear the air "whoose" with the movement. It was funny.

While they were taking a dinner break and Rachel and I were heading out, Ruth grabbed me one more time and pulled me into the middle of the lobby where all of the students were sitting, eating. She formally introduced me to the students as her replacement with a very nice speech. She repeated how excited she was that I had accepted the position, since they had interviewed a lot of candidates, and I was by far the best (a surprise to me - for all I knew, I was the only one they interviewed). The students clapped politely, still doing that teenage-staring-judging-thing. I said hello, then kind of awkardly-jokingly asked if I should make a speech. "Yes!" Except what was I supposed to speak about? Tell them my biography? Classroom management plan? Recite a sonnet?

Instead, I asked if any of them had any questions. "What's your middle name?" one girl cried out.

"Jane," I replied. Ruth laughed at the question.

"I like your hair," Friedrich (who, to Ruth's disgust, was wearing rhinestone spacers in his ears and long pants to cover his leg tattoos, which made me kinda want to do a version of Sound of Music with all of the Von Trapp kids dressed in clothes of their choice) said from my left.

"Thanks!" I said.

The students then, as students do, promptly ignored me so they could all discuss me amongst themselves. I thanked Ruth and Jesse again, wished them luck, and ducked out.

On the drive home, Rachel and I tried to figure out what musical I could do next year. I don't know yet. I really, really want to do Urinetown - it'd be perfect for that theater in a lot of ways, but I don't think it would work the first year I'm working in that community. Something, though....

After dropping Rachel off, I made some Relief Society phone calls and went to the RS monthly book club. Again, I got a late dinner and went home.

Today - School, blogging, RS visits tonight and hopefully some exercise on my elliptical. Oh, and dropping another dozen tamales off for Rachel and Ben. Mostly Ben. One of the parents at our school makes them every once in a while as a side business.

This weekend is packed with Rachel's graduation and family stuff, which I'm really looking forward to. After that, it's only 12 more days of STMS and then my summer travels begin. Thank goodness!

So there you have it - a slice of life in a nutshell. A very long, very wordy nutshell.

Oh! And I also finished the edits on "Making Waves" and Heidi officially dropped it off last week, so that's another project wrapped up, too. Go us!

The Movie in My Mind

(via Mental Floss)

My Decision

I took the job!

More soon, I promise.

No Sign! I See No Sign!

I try to be a humble person. I hope that hubris isn't one of my fatal flaws. But I'm starting to wonder if the gods are changing the weather just for me.

Consider this:
1) If that March blizzard hadn't hit, I wouldn't have stayed for the second day of the job fair last month. And if I hadn't stayed, I wouldn't have decided to look at any possible opportunities, which is how I wound up interviewing at MTHS in the first place.

2) The very weekend I am making my decision about the job at MTHS, a second blizzard hits Colorado. My only hesitation about the job at this point is my absolute abhorrence of driving in snow. Which was emphasized again during my more-than-twice-as-long-as-usual crawl home yesterday after school.

Then again, MTHS declared yesterday a snow day. Which makes me think that when they say "Information about conditions from Denver to Fairplay is considered since staff and students travel these distances. Safety is the primary consideration in deciding..." on their webpage about snow closures, they're not just talking the talk. Especially since they announced the closure at 10:30 pm the night before, when the snow was just starting to fall.

It's Saturday, it's snowing still here (which puts a kink in my "Let's drive to MTHS one more time!" plan), and I'm catching up on things I need to do. And I'm wondering if these two late-season snowstorms happened to get me to work at MTHS.

Another Day

Three vignettes from Thursday that just seemed to sum up my day at school.

1. As my fifth period were gathering in the room before the bell and I was at my post in the hallway, I sense a disturbance. Going inside, I discovered that someone in my fourth period class had left a lubed-up rolled out condom on one of the desk chairs. Classy.

Cesar offered to throw it away for me. I told them to just wait a second and not touch it. I ran to the bathroom to get some toilet paper (we ran out of tissues at the school a few months ago). When I came back, Cesar had picked it up with a pen and was chasing Jonathan with it.

2. After that class, I went to Brenda's room for an IEP. I was there early enough that we had a chance to chat. I told her about what had just happened at the start of my fifth period, and she told me that she had a kid who stole a soda from her bag yesterday. She caught the kid and he confessed. Then, this morning, she found out that the same kid had gotten arrested that morning for stealing a soda from the 7-11 across the street. Apparently, he was stealing it to give to her to replace the one from yesterday.

3. Driving away from school, I had to creep between a cop car with flashing lights and open doors and the picturesque view of a policeman pinning a guy to one of the vans in our parking lot, handcuffing the guy's hands behind him.

Be a Catholic

I decided this year to give up chocolate for Lent. It wasn't too hard, in the end, but it did make me realize how often chocolate is present when there are snacks or desserts offered to people.

In explaining some of the basics of Jewish beliefs to one of my classes (I always get questions when we read "Anne Frank"), one of the kids asked about keeping kosher. After class, I started thinking about doing that for Lent next year - keeping kosher for 40 days.

Then I realized the irony of it - a Mormon girl keeping kosher to celebrate Lent.

It's so delicious I have to do it.

Thinking

I called him.

We actually played phone tag back and forth a bit before getting each other live.

He offered me the job (!); I asked about the time commitment for the speech club. He said it was really up to me and the needs of the team how much time I would need to spend after school. There are around 11 competitions, almost all on Saturdays between October and January. If there is an assistant coach in town who can ride with the kids on the bus, I could meet them at the hosting school rather than having to drive up and back.

I asked if I could have until Monday to think about it. He said I could have even more time, if that's what I needed. I promised to touch base with him one way or another on Monday.

Whew.

Okay, my feelings have swung to polar opposites in the last 24-hours. Now, they're settling again back towards a middle uncertainty.

Last night I went to see Tang Concubines with Brittany (from the ward). I loved a similar production I saw a few years ago, Terra Cotta Warriors - it's a blend of Chinese ballet, opera, martial arts, drumming, and story-telling. Tang Concubines wasn't quite as good, but it had some wonderful tricks and moments in it. Enough that I couldn't shut off my directing mind - when I wasn't making notes (which I'm going to jot down here for my own records, feel free to skip ahead. Twirling fans by rubbing handles in your hands during backbends; hanging using a long doubled white cloth, then placing behind neck, spinning quickly, and ending on a backbend with the neck supported by the loop and quick full down white lights; warriors with wooden poles lifting up a corpse by threading them under the body in a star pattern; lifting the standing empress up on a platform carried by six soldiers; soldiers with a knife in each hand stabbing outwards like spikes going up and slapping the floor and thighs; DRUMS!, girl steps on guy's crouched thigh, guy turns under her so she ends up sitting on his shoulders; Okay, back to the story)

When I wasn't making notes, I was thinking about what plays would be best to involve a lot of students, very low budget, and a small theater space. I was excited again, and there were some creative buzzings I love but haven't felt since I left DPJH. I need to be teaching theater again.

I'll drive up there again on Saturday with Rachel and Ben (and Jem) so I can get some second and third opinions (and pictures). I'm also schedule to do a temple session tonight for the ward, so that should help with some more meditation time. I want to be certain of my decision when I make it.

Also, I want to thank all of you who have offered so many kind words of encouragement on the blog, by email, by phone, and in person. It really does help (even when I argue back), and it means a lot to me that you're thinking of me (Annie! Email me, will you? I don't think I have your current email address).

DPJH folks, I miss you guys like crazy. I can't articulate my decision to move to many people, but know that it had nothing to do with leaving our school or the drama program there. I loved working with you students, teachers, and parents; and I am crazy proud of the shows we created there. In making a DVD portfolio for my interviews, I went back and re-watched the news clips of our scows and the video Jackie and company made for me - that movie means more to me than I can possibly say. You have set a high bar for whatever job I take next, and your passion and love are what I think of when I wonder why I'm putting myself through yet another job search. So, thanks.

As always, I'll keep you posted!

I Don't Know

The principal from MTHS (Mountain Town High School if you haven't been keeping up) left me a voice mail with all kinds of phone numbers to reach him. He wants me to call back as soon as I can.

I don't want to call him back because I don't know what to say. I can't accept that job yet. I should ask about the after-school expectations, especially on the weekends. I should drive up to the school again to get a feel for the drive when I'm not freaking out because the directions on my iPhone actually sent me to the elementary school, not the high school, which is ten miles further down the road. I should ask for time to think about it, and then really think about whether I want to turn down a job that's almost perfect except for a heinous drive that would require me buying a different car just to be able to get to work a little bit more safely, and turning down the job would mean being without any prospects again and it's only April, but still I don't want to be signing up to work as a sub in August and worrying about making my mortgage payemnts because I turned down the only job to be had back in April....

I'm kind of freaking out, and it's not my freak-out date yet. I just don't know what to tell him. Or, rather, I do and I'm afraid to.

Of course, he could be calling to say I don't get the job, which would solve all of that worrying for me.

GFHS called. They gave the job to the internal candidate.

'But I did a great job at the interview and they're certain someone will snatch me up.'

Yeah.
Thanks.

The Interview (Reprise)

Hi, my name is chitarita and I'm feeling... conflicted.

Newest to oldest:

I just got out of an interview at the high school just down the street from me. Remember them? And that? For ease, I shall now refer to that school as Geographical Feature High School (GFHS for short).

As the VP had hinted, they did call me for an interview. I know they have an internal candidate, so I tried not to get my hopes up. That mission was not helped by reports from my aunt via my parents that it is not unusual for a school to pass on an internal candidate for one who is better qualified. And after my thinking about yesterday's interview (more on that in a few paragraphs), I was back into really, really wanting this.

I did everything I could do. They had 7 people there: two English teachers, the orchestra teacher, the choir teacher, two VPs, and... someone else. I forget what she does. English, maybe?

They had the list of questions printed out at the front desk, and gave it to me to look over before going in. No surprises on the questions, aside from the total absence of questions about discipline or problem students. Odd.

As I waited, another girl in a business suit came out holding the same paper. She had a lanyard hanging out of her bag with the school's name blazened on it, which lead me to conclude that she was the internal candidate. Hmm.

The interview was... dry. They responded to some of my jokes and enthusiasm, but all they did was run down the list of questions, then ask to see my portfolio, then told me they would let me know by tomorrow, in all likelihood. As I left, I passed a nervous-looking guy in a suit (the other interviewee, I assume) and then I realized that I had not mentioned my tech experience when I answered the first question, despite it being specifically asked for.

My gut right now says no job there. They didn't ask me if I had any questions or really deviate from the script, which made it seem like their hearts weren't into me. Their estimated timeline seems quick to me, nor did they mention my meeting the principal at any point before the offer may or may not come. My guess is that they had to conduct at least three interviews for an open position, and they filled it.


This is rather different from the interview yesterday. Also a group thing (principal, vice principal, head of English department, orchestra teacher, dean of activities, and the outgoing drama teacher), they were totally into me the whole time, very open, and very friendly and positive. The principal took me on a tour of the school afterwards (which is hands-down the most beautiful school I've seen), and the drama and orchestra teacher showed me the theater (not nearly the quality of the new building - old, tiny, cinder-blocky with no lighting. Workable, but kind of ugly).

The problem? It would be about a 45-minute commute each way in perfect driving conditions. If it snowed or got icy or anything (and, being Colorado, that would be most of the school year), the drive would be at least an hour.

A lot of the teachers there commute, and several carpool, which would help with gas (1/6 of a tank to go up and back yesterday). Still, if I had this job, it would be doing both drama and speech, which would mean every night and most weekends spent up there (or getting up there). Basically, my life would be all about school 10 months of the year.

I don't know if I could do that. I can't imagine right now turning down a high school theater job, but nor can I reconcile myself to the idea of giving up my growing life in Denver. You all know I'm a workaholic, but I try to keep some balance between work, friends, church, and personal time. This job would take over the others for the entire time (the drive does NOT count as personal time).

So, I'm feeling conflicted. Two interviews; one great, one so-so. Neither job seems possible right now, but nor have I been offered the decision yet.

I just don't know yet. But, apparently, by tomorrow I'll know a little more.

Fail

Question on the board:
Explain why the Hanukkah scene is included in the play, please.
(Recall what we discussed about Hanukkah yesterday!)

Explanation, following the class discussion:
Teacher: Good! So, what words could you put in this phrase?
"The story of the Maccabees _______________ the story of the Franks?"

Student A: Parallels?

Teacher: Excellent. Any other words we talked about yesterday?

Students: (silent)

Teacher: Like how a dove ________ peace...?

Student B: Symbolizes?

Teacher: Great!

Answer to question on the board, from student's paper 5 minutes later:
"Hanukkah is there because it symbolizes the Franks and Vanndanss. It also symbolizes peace like a dove."

Teacher: (Hangs her head in disgust, then copies down the answer for blog fodder.)

Things I Learned in High School

For all of the students who suffered through Robin Hood's torture with me:

Answer the Call!

(At :13 I said "Karen!" in my mind. At :51 I squealed "KEVIN!")

I've been keeping up with Shakespeare and Co's troubles via Meg's blog. They can't afford paper, people. And they are doing good in the world.

I get it, and it breaks my heart.

(If you're a newer reader to my blog, Shakespeare and Co. is the group I studied with for a divine month in 2006. The blog entries about the experience start here. They changed me and my teaching. DPJH folk - these are the people who taught me about check-in, Belly Mamba, and status, and so much more. If you can help them, please do.)

Trouble in His Brain

The principal at what I will now start referring to as Mountain Town High School and I have been playing phone tag, the result of which is that I have a second interview scheduled for Monday afternoon.

!!

He said it would be a standard interview, with the dean of students, a counselor, some teachers, a speech student, and himself present. Sure, nothing to be nervous about.

Pros of MTHS, as I now see them:
- It's high school
- It's a theater and English position
- It's in a community that supports the program
- The principal specifically talked about supporting what teachers are passionate about
- The school tests well above state average, and always meets AYP (STMS has killed off most of my desires to work in a "tough" school, i.e. failing school)


Cons:
- It's a tiny school/district/town (again, something that STMS has killed the desire for - I would love to work in a district like DPJH is in again - one so huge, I get lost in the crowds)
- The pay (Oy! The pay! Money matters, I'm afraid. Not a lot, but this is less than I made my last few years at DPJH. I thought leaving Utah would work in my favor, salary-wise).
- The commute (maybe - I'm curious to see what it's like on Monday)


Okay, so the cons aren't that many. I'm just nervous that I'll like it and nervous that I won't. Typical, for me.


What I need to do now is figure out how to squeeze in some more interview prep in the next four days. I'd like to put together a DVD of some of the plays from DPJH to show them, but I also have the following tasks to do by Sunday night:

- Update grades and print progress reports,
- Finish writing/editing "Making Waves",
- Finish my taxes (it's taking me longer than usual this year, thanks to the trans-state move and all),
- Make and email Jason an itenerary for Greece and Istanbul (he's in charge of greater Turkey),
- Attend a Relief Society Leadership training tonight, and
- Submit the visiting teaching report for March.


So, naturally, I am hard at work on writing a blog entry.


Yeah, my typical procrastination. I am wading through things slowly, but it didn't help that I got bogged down by some sort of sickness for the first part of the week. I'm not sure what it was - a generally thorough exhaustion/dizziness/lethargic mood. It was strange. I called in for a sub yesterday and slept all morning, which seemed to have helped. I feel the beginning itchiness of a cold sore, so it may not be over yet, but at least I was teaching more coherently today.


Speaking of "Making Waves" (and I did, a few paragraphs ago. Remember?), I spend most of my spring break last week in SLC working on the show with Heidi. I did manage to squeeze in a few hours of play with Teresa, Janelle, Ben, John, (missed you, Kelley!) and my grandmother; in between, we worked full-time on the show. I need to fly out to SLC again this weekend to wrap things up (a quick trip - out Saturday morning and back Sunday afternoon), but we're close and it's coming together well. It helped that Heidi and I went to see a really, really strange production on Friday. And by strange, I mean bad. I'm talking, it rivals "N" (of horse chunks fame, remember Camp Shakespeare people?).

It began with the ticket takers instructing us to remove our shoes and leave them in the lobby, continued with a walking tour through a brain (not figuratively), then put us through two very long hours of the egotistical self-uindulgence that is most performance art, included the show's creator handing out beers and champange, yelling at the audience for not getting "enthusiastic" (i.e. drunk), taking a bong hit before leading us on a -not-very-well-done meditative mind-walk, climaxed with them wrapping us all up in orange yarn, and ended with the actors passing out gift boxes wrapped in close-ups of brains. The boxes contained, surprise!, our shoes, because "The greatest gift you can give is a piece of yourself. So, I give you all pieces of yourselves." We then had to stand up, holding the shoes aloft as we tried to find our own in the crowd.


Two good things came of it: 1) Heidi and I got some good ideas for the show while waiting shoeless in the lobby prior to being lead through the brain and 2) we realized that our show is a lot better than this, and if she can get money to do that sort of thing, by golly, so can we.

I also got to see a much better show, since my family and I went to see Andy and Jen perform in Westminster's production of "A Chorus of Disapproval" that Saturday. It helped wash away the brains.

Okay, I'll go do more work now. I'll let you know how the job interview goes. Fingers crossed?

Ups and Downs

The good news - the principal of the high school I interviewed at the second day of the job fair just emailed me. He said he was impressed with the interview and he wants to schedule a second interview as soon as they get back from spring break.

This is the one that is a bit of a commute and is a salary cut, but it's a high school theater/English/speech position. And here's what the principal said to me in the interview that might make all of that worthwhile:

[When it comes to our teachers, we ask] "what are your passions and how can we support them?"


The bad news - when I hit the curb during the snowstorm on Thursday, it apparently bent the wheel-something of my car. Between that and the brake noises I've been hearing, they just quoted repairs at $1300. Ouch. Again, that stupid job fair is turning into the most expensive thing ever. Grr.


P.S. Bad English teacher! Misspelling "brake" - I am ashamed. That's what I get for posting without proofreading.

Slide a Little Closer

As I drove home from the job fair on Friday, I counted the number of cars I passed on I-25 and I-70 that had slid off the road during the storm and were still abandoned there, covered in snow.

11.

I am really, really glad I stayed the night.

At the Fair/The Blizzard

When I was going through the job-hunting process last year, I didn't blog about it until it was very much over. I needed to keep it under wraps for a variety of reasons (Howard), so my blogging was silent on that particular story.

Not so this year, since I've made it totally known that I'm looking.

I'm sitting at the biggest teacher job fair in the state right now, in varying states of despair. I came to the same job fair last year - it was here I found STMS. This year is rather different. For example, the biggest district in the state withdrew from the fair because they instituted a hiring freeze. The next three possibilities nicely took my resume packet, but they said they were only going to



You see that part where I stopped typing? That's when an official got on the P.A. system and announced that the University was closing at 12:30 due to the weather. Turns out the snow that had started to fall lightly when I arrived at the fair (at 6:20 in the morning) had turned into a full-blown blizzard that shut down schools and the airport across the metro area.

I shut my laptop, bid farewell to one of my STMS friends who was here recruiting for the elementary school, and headed out into the storm.

Driving was a nightmare. I made it onto the highway near the school, but it was white-out conditions with ice packed on the roads. I pulled off at the next exit, intending to make my way back to the hotel where I had spent the night. Instead, I took a wrong turn and got rather lost. As I finally navigated my way back to a recognizable starting point, my car slid off the road and slammed into a curb. Whrrr. Whrrr. Yup - stuck.

I got out of the car and remembered that I had taken the emergency shovel and cat litter out of my trunk to make room for the boxes I was moving out of my classroom. I had 12 clocks and a copy of the OED in my trunk, but nothing that would help me get unstuck.

I grabbed a windshield scraper and started hacking away at the ice under my tire. Ice and pieces of the scraper flew around me, and I got back in my car and tried again. Nope.

Just then, this man appeared in my rearview mirror. "Put it in reverse!" he hollered through the blowing snow. I did so. He pushed and gave me directions and we rocked the car back and forth. A second guy appeared yelling, "You need some help?" even as he started to push on the other side. By the time a third stranger stopped, they had gotten me and my car away from the curb and back in motion.

I felt horrible I couldn't stop and thank them properly, since I was merging into traffic at the time. I yelled, "Thank you!" as often as I could while waving out my window.

Ah can always depend on the kindness of strangers!

I crawled my way back to the Super 8 hotel, and managed to book the very last hotel room available in the area. At first, the clerk said it would be a smoking room; but when I got to the front desk, he realized I had stayed with them the night before and gave me the exact same room again. Once again a boost to my faith in humanity!

So, I hauled my stuff up to the room, called the people who would probably worry about me and then called and ordered a pizza. It was about 1:45 by then, and I hadn't eaten anything aside from the granola bar I had for breakfast.

The pizza came about 90 minutes later, and I settled in for a night in the hotel.

Here's the view from my window at about 5:00pm:


I'm back at the job fair now. I figured as long as I was stuck here another night, I might as well take advantage of it and try to find some more possibilities. I've walked the aisles a few times, but a lot of districts didn't come back today, including the two others I had interviews with yesterday. I am sticking with optimism and looked at all of the schools that probably wouldn't require me to move. Again, slim pickings.

I do have an interview set for 11:30 with a district that's about 40 minutes southwest of my house. Not a bad commute, but probably all canyon roads. It's a drama position, but they're salary for my level would be $7000 less than what I'm making this year. A job's a job, though, and I feel like I should stick around for it. If only because it'll hopefully give the roads more time to thaw before I head home.

Oh, and here's a kicker - they closed school early yesterday and all of today. The one time I use a personal day....

At least it's spring break next week. I'm heading out to SLC to work on "Making Waves" (and to play). Wasatch Theater Company wants to do a full production of it, and SLAC wants us to perform it, so we have a lot of work to do. Exciting, though, isn't it? So, if you missed the performance last fall, you'll get a chance to make it up to me! :)

Where was I at the beginning of this long tale? Oh, yeah. The prospects yesterday.

Basically, as in most fields, employment is grim for teachers. I am really (REALLY) glad that I'm doing this as a resident of the state and as an experienced teacher. There are two student-teachers sitting near me right now talking about where they might move to, how it would be great to get an apartment with more than one bedroom, how it "pisses [them] off" when their 8th grade students turn off the lights as they leave the room. "I'm going to write them up on it, seriously. What are they, three?"

Ah, youth. Theirs, I mean, not their students. If only turning off the lights was the worst of my students' misbehavior!

I know that I'm doing the right thing, leaving STMS. I also still believe that Denver is where I'm supposed to be. Despite the lack of opportunities even to interview, I believe I will end up exactly where I am supposed to be next year. Heidi, with her infinite and always timely wisdom, offered me this advice: Think of the absolute last day you can imagine being without a teaching job (I'm trying to make it August 30, but it's really more like August 1). Okay, that's your freak-out date. Anytime you start to panic about not having a job, stop yourself by saying "It's not August 1, so it's not time to freak out yet."

And it's working.

I'll keep you posted.

What Are You Going to Do Now?

An update:

The VP at that school emailed me today. She said my resume and email were very impressive, and I'm obviously well-qualified; but that they have an internal candidate for the position and were only going through the formalities. I'm still welcome to apply/interview, but...


Crap.

Good Vibrations

I need your help!

I just discovered a job posting for a drama/English position at a high school right next to where I live.

If you don't mind, will you please send whatever prayers/happy thoughts/good wishes/groovy mojo you have available my way for this?

It's a more perfect match for me than I can hope for, and I'm terrified to hope for it, but oh! I WANT THAT JOB! and I need some encouragement.

Please!

(And thank you in advance!)

Let's Go to the Movies

A good cast AND it's written by Dave Eggers?
NOW I'm curious.

Emily

I have been around a number of things lately that remind me of one of my favorite people - Emily.

Emily and I met in our freshman year of college - we had a mutual friend (who later disappeared off the face of the earth via marriage), and we were in the same sorority. We bonded one day when we discovered a shared guilty pleasure (really guilty - we both were strangely fascinated by a truly horrible TV show, "Sweet Valley High." I know. Your respect for me just dropped a bit. I understand.), and we've been good friends for... crap. 11 years now. Seriously, are we that old?

Emily gave me a wild side and I gave her some restraint. It's because of her that I can tell people I've been clubbing and cruising the streets of Salt Lake City well after midnight. Any knowledge I have of Buffy, Roswell, and rejecting Italian men comes from her.

Emily very much enjoyed (enjoys?) llamas, so when I saw this commercial tonight, I thought again of her and decided to write this long-intended post:



Cute, isn't it?

Reason #2 Why I've Been Thinking of Emily:
I've been shopping for plane tickets and travel books for my upcoming Yay! 30! trip. Emily and I celebrated our graduation from college the year we were both 20 by backpacking Europe for 6 weeks together. If that doesn't cement a friendship for life, I don't know what does. We saw 10 countries, loads of art museums, visited Mercedes, got very sick, chased Shetland ponies, ate a ton of Chinese food, scared ourselves silly in a village in Germany, were robbed on a train going into Amsterdam, babysat a little girl who only spoke German, got caught in the rain in Paris in white outfits, spent a long night on a train with four Air Force Academy graduates (who were perfect gentlemen), got in a huge fight at Versailles, went to Disneyland Paris the next day to make up for it, and had the time of our lives. It'll be fun to see some new countries with Jason, but in a lot of ways I wish it were Emily going instead.

Plus, we got round-trip airline tickets for $600. Those were the days!

Reason # 3 Why I've Been Thinking of Emily:
For Rachel's birthday a few weeks ago, she invited me to go to a dance club with her and some friends. Many a Friday night went like this:
1) I drive to Emily's house.
2) I sit on Emily's bed and we talk while she tried on various outfits.
3) 2-4 hours later, we head out to a dance club.
4) We (and by that I mostly mean Emily) dance for a bit.
5) Leave the dance club and find some food or head back to watch a movie.

If I were the kind of person who drinks, I'm sure the dancing would have been a lot more comfortable for me. I'm all for dancing when it's choreographed - tell me what to do, and I"m fine. When it's free-form, though, it's totally out of my comfort zone. I spent the first half of the dancing with Rachel and co. moving awkwardly and watching the other people. Aside from the girl who was very seriously executing a Fosse-routine-gone-wrong, complete with bowler-hat; the old guy who was dancing exclusively and extensively with his arms; and the occasional really, really drunk people (one of whom mistook me for a banister at one point and groped me thoroughly as she stumbled down the stairs); I discovered something important: people don't move their feet much when they dance. I started to loosen up a bit more (unlike Rachel, who is an excellent dancer in all forms, and Mavi, whose awesome abandon carries into her crane-like dancing) and had a little fun. Still not comfortable, but I'm glad I went.

Reason #4 Why I've Been Thinking of Emily:
Disco Roller Skating.

Yes, you read that right, Em.

Okay, when we were in college and used to hang out with some other girls (Stephanie, Rachel, and Natasha), on more than one occasion we found ourselves spending more time debating what to do than actually doing stuff.

In a burst of creativity, Emily seized an athletic sock, drew a face on it, dubbed it Sherman, and wrote out a bunch of possible activities on slips of paper that went into Sherman. Sherman showed the bias of his creator, though, seeing as how Emily had written "Disco Roller Skating" on at least half of the papers.

Somehow, though, we never actually did that. When I found out the February ward activity was, in fact, disco roller skating, I was trepidatious (as I was every time Emily brought it up). In my new "I'm Relief Society president so I am totally into all things ward-related!" space, though, I bucked up and did the best I could to dress up for it. I put my hair up in pincurls:



and turned it into the best afro I could:



And off I went!

First of all, there is a whole different brand of freak I didn't know about that is the hard-core disco skaters.
Secondly, I had to go request that the DJ play disco music (strange, right?), and he said he wasn't really sure what disco music was, could I name some songs and he would see if he had any of those. Turns out, he did have "Dancing Queen".
Third, roller skating places haven't changed a single bit since I was last there sometime in the 7th grade. Black lighting, ugly carpet with pictures of skates on them, lockers, the smells, the concessions - all exactly the same.
Fourth, as in the last time I went skating, the only way I know how to stop is by running into the wall.
Fifth, after a few laps with my arms outstretched for balance and the wall within reach, I actually picked up speed and could keep up with the general crowd!
Sixth, I didn't fall once!

Here's the thing. It was fun. It was actually really fun! Like, I totally regret not doing it with Emily in college and now I'm hoping there's a disco skating session in Grand Junction so the next time I visit her we can go, kind of fun.


Don't get me wrong - I think about most of you dear readers often. But you can see why Emily's been on my mind in particular lately, right?

P.S. I do have some great pictures of Em, but it's past my bedtime, and I don't feel like scanning right now. Sorry!

Bless This School

Fresh from the hands of two eighth-grade girls, I give you
Confiscated Theater
(So very [sic])

Foo sum's wrong wid Ryan... :( he's not tha same no more & I was in tha process of falling 4 hem... :(

wait why what happened hun?

nun like he don't talk 2 meh he dont do nun w/ me no more... it's pissing me of! :(

well talk to him and ask him what is wrong. Maybeh he is just gong through something right now its not like him to act that way so i bet its nothing really.

ugh idk! he doesn't like do ANYTHING wit me now... I knew I shouldn't have fallen 4 hem... :( <3>

Id like I said talk to him fu! lol or do you want meh 2? and yeah you shouldn't have but you did cuz yur heart did woo that was deep.. Jaja but yeah I said I wasn't gonna fall 4 Paypay but I did... maybe kuz I did him i don know

nah I will but like :(
ugh! I felt like s*** at lunch he didn't even look at meh! :l
Why duz he gotta pull this s*** now?! :( grrr!!

Fin


Shortly after I took this note, we were moving desks back into place when one of the soccer boys stood up, pulled a bottle of punch out of his backpack, and poured the bottle of punch over his head.

Maybe it was a nonviolent protest against standardized testing?
Hopefully?

At least his mom had a strong enough talk with him last night that he came right up to me this morning and apologized for it. Which was both rare and nice.


Also, my testing group that morning finished their exam with over 30 minutes to go. I couldn't let them leave the room since other classes were still going, and their talking noise level quickly escalated. I did the best thing I could think of on the spot to get them quiet - I hooked up the projector and started playing whatever G-rated clips I could think of online. While we were watching some of the promotional shorts for Pixar's next film, the students noticed a resemblance:

He even sounds like the kid, too!

Hold a March

While I was folding laundry tonight, thinking about how crazy-busy my life has become, it occurred to me that perhaps it's not me - maybe it's March. Maybe I am subconsciously filling my life to the brim because it's the time of year for a total lack of time. Usually it's a musical that's consuming my life. And so, since I do not have a musical to be tearing my hair out over (or making last-minute lutes from scratch), I have instead allowed myself to be filled with school and job-hunting and taxes and travel plans and lots and lots of Relief Society stuff.

Okay, when I look over that list, I feel a little guilty. It's not all bad (I really can't complain about having to shop for plane tickets so I can backpack Europe this summer). Yeah, job-hunting isn't any fun and it takes a lot of time, but I'm choosing to do it. I went to a job fair yesterday about an hour north of here. It was specifically for charter schools. I'm not too sure about working for a charter school - it will probably mean a cut in pay and may not be too stable. Still, I had five interviews, I feel really good about getting a follow-up invitation from at least two of them, and I got to practice answering all of those tedious questions prior to going to the big job fair in a little less than two weeks. I also wound up with five hours to kill between interviews, so I drove to Flatirons. I bought a new pair of Clarks shoes, walked around a lot, browsed the travel books at Borders, and took myself to lunch. It was a long day, but not a horrible one.

Relief Society is probably at fault for most of the loss of my down time. Sundays are now filled with evern more meetings - on top of the normal three hours of church (yes, my non-Mormon friends, three hours), I have two hours of meetings before church starts. Once a month is the post-church "Snack and Chat" (or "Munch and Mingle" or, the most honest version, "Feed and Flirt"), once a month is a "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (which, contrary to the name, has nothing to do with racial tensions. It's when someone volunteers to host dinner and six other people are assigned to go there so people can meet other new people in the ward). Then, during the week there's Family Home Evenings (every Monday), a monthly book club, ward activities, temple assignments, Enrichment, and leadership trainings/meetings.

In a lot of ways, I'm glad for the calling. I wouldn't be going to any of those things (except for church itself) if I didn't feel obligated to go. I'm meeting and socializing with a lot more people, and I care about them more as well. That goes with the calling. I know that it's good for me - I'm still not a fan of large social gatherings, and this is giving me both the practice of attending and things to do while there. If I'm feeling awkward about talking to people, I can always find something to do in the kitchen or in asking someone about something I need to know. At least the calling gives me that. I just miss exercising, sleeping regularly, and having down time and such.

I told myself I would make this a short blog entry; it's after 10 and I need to be at school early tomorrow to set up my room for CSAP testing again. So, I'm going to end this for now. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to blog again soon - I still have stories to tell Emily and the rest of you.

Oh, and Happy Ides of March, and terrible luck to any of you fortunate enough to be working on a musical right now!

Am I Blue

In a nutshell -
I'm job-hunting again. Probably no surprise, but I can finally blog about it because I told my principal the news on Friday, so it's out there.

I applied for a position at one school, a charter school. I spent a long time on the application, and I got my hopes up because I knew I would be good at it and today I got a rejection via email. "Unfortunately, you are not selected as a finalist for the position."

And now I'm in a dark place again.

I can tell myself it's a good thing - the commute would have been awful (about 1 hour), it was an English job (and I need to be doing theater), and it was hardly a sure thing; but I went and got my hopes up and the employment thing is just looking bleaker and bleaker. As it is for everyone.

So, today was a bad day, and I've lost my joie de vivre again. Let me know if you see it anywhere.

In a Little Spanish Town

I have a ton to tell you about (dancing at a club, the Oscars, parent-teacher conferences, and, yes, Emily, disco roller skating), but I also have grades due on Friday and a mountain of workbooks to grade. I promise a nice, detailed blog entry this weekend.

In the meantime, though, I need to brag about this news:

I'm going to Spain!

I was officially accepted as a volunteer for 8 days in a little Spanish village/resort outside of Madrid through the Pueblo Ingles program.



It'll be the kick-start to the Yay! 30! trip Jason and I are taking - we will rendezvous in Athens the day after my program ends, then backpack through Greece and Turkey.

All I want to do is plan the trip, but, alas, I have miles of paper to go before I sleep.

Still, whoo!

I'd Sure Like to Give It a Shot

If you can't get enough of me...

I'm posting on another blog, Shot-a-Day, now as well. It's a fun one - there's a bunch of us who post one photo a day. Quick, interesting little glimpses into various lives.

I'll put a link on the sidebar as well. Enjoy!



P.S. Two books on Monday and another one yesterday. Binge cycle ending nowhere in site.

Sorry

An apology letter:

"Dear Ms. H2O,

I a sorry for not doing nothing and talk probably talking.

A-"

Book Report

Linda and I went to Tattered Cover last night to attend a book signing by Jeff Kinney.
See? Here he is:



He also had his brother and a friend from his youth with him, both of whom are featured in the books:

(And, honestly? The friend is kind of hot. He smiled in a very nice way at me, but it might have been because he was wondering "Why is there a clearly adult woman standing in a line of children, none of whom are attached to her?" He's the blurry one in the blue sweater. No athletic, muscular guys for me - nuh-uh. My genetic selection wiring is set to Nerdtastic!)


Who is Jeff Kinney? He wrote this book series:

which is hilarious! I read it after the signing last night, and it is awesome. You should read it, too.

Okay, speaking of reading books last night, I should reflect a little bit here on my addiction. Normally, I read evenly - every day, here and there, healthy doses. However, the past two weeks or so have found me in a massive binge-and-purge cycle of reading. I think it's stressed-related. I've read... wait, let me count... 10 books in the last two weeks. and they're not all quick reads like "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," either. That's not healthy, if only because I wind up staying up way past my bedtime because I'll say to myself, "You'll just lay awake thinking about the book if you don't finish it, so you might as well finish it." And I readily give in, even though I am 100 pages from the end.

The 10 books have all been good ones. John Green is an especially favorite new author of mine. He wins the Kundera Best Title Award (for "An Abundance of Katherines"), and "Looking for Alaska" is a great read in the vein of "Thirteen Reasons Why." Plus, his books are narrated by gifted, intelligent teenage boys. It's refreshing because 1) most books narrated by gifted, intelligent teenage boys are in the sci-fi/fantasy genre (see Harry Potter, Ender's Game, Pendragon, etc.) and 2) I think reading about how/what gifted intelligent teenage boys think is fascinating.

I'm just worried, though, because I can't exactly pinpoint what's causing me to do so much reading suddenly. Yeah, I have some guesses. The fact that I keep slipping up and calling my new principal "Howard" might clue some of you DPJH-people in on some of my current stresses. Still, stress is not an anomaly in my life. So why the insatiable reading? And why did I spend 3 hours on a Monday night waiting to see an author in bookstore filled with 500 tweens?

Chatting with Linda over a white chocolate steamer was a nice reason. But in between paragraphs of our conversation? I was thinking about reading a book.

Wanting Things

I love my Kindle. I really, really do. It has served me well the past 13 months and is really one of the best Christmas presents I've ever gotten. Just this week I read another six books on it, luxuriating in my ability to get a new one without leaving the house (talk about enabling an addict!).

But have you seen this?



It's so pretty and new and doesn't have the annoying long "Next Page" button on the right that I hit accidently and... sigh. I kinda get now why a person might have an affair.

Lloyd Webber

I would normally just put a link, but this one's good enough to post the entire message:

from McSweeney's

EXCERPTS FROMTHE COLLECTED
ANSWERING-MACHINE MESSAGES
OF LYRICIST TIM RICE.
BY JULIE KLAUSNER AND RACHEL SHUKERT

- - - -
August 12, 1967

Timothy? Is that vous? Fetch the crayons, Timothy. It's Andy Lloyd Webber.

Guess what I have? A ghastly idea for a show. I'll need you to make some sketches. Crayons, Timothy!

Now: Joseph. Not Stalin! The Jew, from the Bible. Yes, Tim, I read the Bible every day. But this is new! I mean old! Old Testament. Ahem. Do you know what Joseph had that we don't? I'll give you a hint. A waistcoat? No! A dreamcoat! A coat made of dreams. It was red and yellow and green and brown and purple and gold and ochre and green and blond and black and poop and pee and cinnamon red and red and red and dragons and bugs and teeth and teal and lemon and black and white and mauve ... Where was I? Oh, yes. Dictation, Timothus!

We need to discuss the Joseph Stalin musical set in Jewish times with Jews, remember? Get out your grease pencil. There will be a narrator. The narrator will be played by a sprightly he/she in harem trousers and a fez. She—or is it "shim"?—will look exactly like Markie Post. Who is Markie Post? I don't know, Tim! I don't know! But the name came to me in a dream. Do you know what this means, Timaphus? I'm a prophet! A prophet! A—

(Speech is drowned out by the sound of rushing water. A bloodcurdling scream, then silence. Beep.)


June 16, 1969

(Prolonged coughing fit. Spitting.)

Tim? It's Andy. Good news, old chum! Guess where I am and guess what I'm reading! The desert! And the Bible! You see, I've been eating peyote, Tim-Tim, and I have a terrible idea. Are you ready? Write this down. Write my vision down! Jesus, Tim. Have you heard of him? Oh, you have? Fine, fine. But have you ever noticed that he and Jim Morrison are the same bloody chap, Tim? Tim! Think trousers, Tim! Tight, tight unguent trousers. "Unguent" not the right word, you say? Well, you're the bloody lyricist—act like it! Mary Magdalene needs a headband and a song about ointment. Or unguent, if you like. The tune should go like this: "Dah ... dah dah dah dah ... daahhh dahhh!" Get out your typewriter. This is a real parable, mate. Jesus was betrayed—tragically betrayed!—by Ben Vereen. And now, thanks to the me-people, the you-people will finally know the truth!

(Howls like a coyote. Beep.)


November 14, 1979

(Muffled groaning, grunting, huffing, then the sound of liquid "release." Throat clearing.)

Timmmmm. Guess who? Wrong! It's Andy. So. I've an idea. It's awful. Pencils ready? Ready? Ready them, damn you!

(Long pause. Then, in a whisper.)

Cats, Tim. Felines. All sorts. Mewing about in a junkyard. Describing one another. Flitting about acrobatically. Cleaning their fur with their pink tongues. I want actual cats onstage singing songs about what kinds of cats they are! Understood? And if that's not possible, Tim, I want you to write songs for human beings to sing whilst they're wearing unitards adorned with clumps of yak fur and their faces are painted like Ziggy Stardust if he were a chimney sweep. Now. This show won't make a dime and it won't run for more than one night, but I want it to be exorbitantly expensive. Really obscene. You see, I've read a book, Tim. Written by one Eliot, T.S. It's called The Waste Land. But, as I read it, all I could think about was cats. Cats!

(Amid a background noise that sounds like hand-licking.)

Rum Tum Tugger. Mr. Mistoffelees, the magical cat! Skimbleshanks, the railway cat! He hops from one train car to the next, with a spindle and a bean can, the tramp! Name the ingénue after the queen! Cast a belter. The overture should go like this: "Dah dah dah dah dah dah dah dah dahhhh." Good? Great. Go!

(Grunting noise. Sound of dry "release." Beep.)


January 10, 1985

Tim, are you there? Pick up, it's Andy. Oh, bollocks—I really can't be bothered if you aren't even going to answer when I make the time to bloody ring you. Listen, I know that technically you're dead to me, but just for old times' sake I wanted to let you in on what I'm certain will be the most successful show that any human being has ever conceived—though, actually, I'm not really a human being: I'm made out of star stuff and the moon and am also God. So.

(In the background, there's the sound of a gunshot, followed by what sound like the screams of Mandy Patinkin.)

I hope you're in a safe crouch, Tim. We both know how you love to crouch. Ha.
I'm thinking about trains, Tim. But the trains have names. And they are symbolized by people, who are really actors, on roller skates. I'd like the actors to be nude, and if they are not I'll be forced to have you killed.

Do you know what happened to me last night? I had a vision of a masked genius. An angel. Of music, Tim. And he lives all alone in a cellar, with only an organ and a private steaming lake for company, and so he has to symbolically rape an innocent young ballet dancer in order to feed his muse. It's a beautiful love story. In fact, I think it will be the most beautiful love story about symbolic rape ever told, apart from that film with Cher and the deformed boy. And it will run for a thousand years. Oh, by the way, Princess Diana is going to die. She's marked for death and only you can stop it.

(Snorting. In the background, Soft Cell's This Last Night in Sodom LP is becoming louder and louder.)

And do call me back about the singing trains. Ta.

(Beep.)

Just One More

One more addition to my post earlier this week. How could I have forgotten this one?



Everyone sing along!

Wait, what?
You mean your family didn't spend many a car trip singing the entire Pirates of Penzance score along with Rex, Linda, Angela, and Kevin?

Weird.

Grisabella...

Grisabella...
Originally uploaded by chitarita

Is very happy today since

1) it's warm enough for me to open the windows,

2) I spent part of the morning letting her be a lap cat while I watched Burn Notice, and

3) I refilled the bird feeder.

Happy Saturday!

An English Teacher!

A student just made my day.

I am teaching verb tenses today, a task I was rather dreading because
a) it is completely idioic that 8th graders are expected to answer a question like

Which is the past perfect progressive form of the verb?
a) took
b) has taken
c) had been taking
d) is taking

on the state standardized tests and
b) this is stuff that I barely understand, and what I do understand only comes after 20 years of school, studying 2 other languages besides English, and looking up explanations on the internet.

And yet, I must teach it, so I am teaching it. Then, in the midst of explaining the future perfect forms of verbs, a student blurted out, "Miss, this is fun! Why can't we do stuff like this every day?"

!!!

And so I have achieved perfection as an English Teacher. It's all downhill from here - I don't know how I can ever top making verb tenses FUN for a squirrly 8th grade boy.

P.S. Do you know the answer to the CSAP question?

Don't Tamper With My Sister

My sister seems to be having a bad week, and I'm wondering if it's going around. A lot of people I know (including me) are feeling more blue than usual. So I did a little poking around and see what kind of internet cheer I can find.

Let's start with one I've posted about before, but it is my go-to happiness movie:


With the awesomeness that is Pixar, this also always makes me smile:


And the Super Bowl this weekend reminded me of one of my favorite commercials:


Speaking of cats...


Even Scrubs knows the power of the kitten:


If kittens don't work, here's what cheers people up in a musical:


And you can't have tap without:


Then again, you could always get a superhero to shove you in the garbage:


And if nothing else works, well, there's always:

Silly Thoughts

Two things I didn't think I would have to tell middle-schoolers, and yet I did this week:
1) "Pole-dancing is not an appropriate thing to do at school."
2) "Here is another pencil. Do not eat this one."

An observation made by middle-schoolers this week that made me think:
Martin Luther King was a racist, Miss! He doesn't say nothing about Mexicans in his speech - it's all about black people and white people.

Something that made me depressed and a little angry this week:
Reading "Revolutionary Road".

Something that made me happy today:
This.

Something that made me want to be creative today:
This.

Something I'm proud of:
I have worked out for 20-60 minutes every day for a month. Except for two days when I was sick and one day when I worked all day and then flew to DC.

Something that perplexes me:
I haven't lost any weight.

Something I used to do and am starting up again and is making me realize that I am getting old because I'm not as good at it as I used to be:
Brenda, Jill, and I are taking yoga every Wednesday at 4:00.

Thing I realized while meditating at said yoga class, thanks to Meg and the other awesome friends from Camp Shakespeare who reached out when I needed it:
I need to be a drama teacher again.

Statement that has caused a lot of people who know me to say or think "Well, duh.":
See one above.

People who make going to work bearable right now:
Brenda and Jill.

Thing happening at work that makes me look forward to Tuesdays:
Linda is teaching a crash-course in Love and Logic over lunch. I really needed this refresher.

Thing that is making me remember winters at DPJH:
My classroom's heater broke, so I've been teaching in scarves and gloves and layers all week.

Thing I'm supposed to be grading instead of blogging right now:
A test on adverbs, commas, and punctuating quotations.

Thing I heard today that broke my heart:
ST High School needs to cut two positions next year, so they're eliminating band and art.

Cat-reference sent by Teresa this week that made me smile:
Mrow.

Thing that I'm calmer about that I would normally expect:
I've been called as Relief Society president in my ward. Oy.

Thing I wish I could do, but can't right now because of the one above:
Run away to GJ for the weekend to play with Emily and the folks.

Sister I'm really, really glad I get to live by and play with:
Rachel

Places Jason and I decided to go this summer for our "Yay 30!" trip:
Island-hopping around Greece, then into Cappadocia and along the western coast of Turkey.

Places we had to put off because it would be too expensive to fly around so many countries, but by golly, I will get to someday:
Morocco, Egypt, and Israel.

Thing I realized I haven't done when I typed the one above:
I haven't posted the other pictures from DC or written a trip round-up. Whoops!

People who still think Jason and I are/should be more than "friends":
Everyone except Jason and me. And Janelle and Kelley, too. They're pretty perceptive.

Proof that Broadway is not the epitome of good theatre:
Thriller? Really, Nederlanders?

Movie I hope will win Best Picture because I want a reminder that a cheesy happy ending is okay sometimes:
This.

Christmas present I wear a lot because lately I need reminders of happiness:
This necklace from my dad.


Time I used to naturally wake up at:
Around 10:00.

Time I now naturally wake up at:
Between 7:30-8:30.

Time I have to get up for work:
5:30

Place I'm going now because of above:
Mmm... bed....