We got a Wii! I'm not a big gamer, but ya know, that thing is FUN! We stayed up with friends last night til 1:30 playing. And, you can create characters that mimic your looks and traits. Gotta love those quirky Japanese people.
Two weeks and counting til New York City! Can't wait; sure it's the NCTE Conference, but Christy, Taylor and me are also going to see Chicago. Plus, we're staying at the Marriot Marquis Times Square. How fun is that?!?
Oh, and props to ANGELA for her SAT score! Way to go, kid! A 1980, right? I'm sure it's the highest in the school in one sitting. Great job, you Machiavellian wonder!
Long live Stephangela, DickDakRob, and MC KaHa! I'm tellin' ya, we've gotta get t-shirts made!! :)
Oh, and Casie; these seniors are still asking for pictures of your trip; they're certainly persistent. No pressure... :p
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Fast Facts from a Fun Fall Break
I love cheesy alliteration. ;p
Fall Break is coming to an end. The color here this year is waning thanks to the lack of rain. Still, what's here is a nice reminder of why I decide to live in the little town of Bville.
Good week. Graded about 100 student papers (still about 100 more to go), stayed up late and watched Frasier and Golden Girls, won some sweet Neiman Marcus cosmetics samples on Ebay, started my SECOND part time job at MEC ($420 for 12 hours of monitoring kids and assisting with computer stuff), scored approx. 450 SAT essays for a total of 35 hours at $18/hr. (can't do the math). I love successful weeks. Oh, and Jon drove a new car home last night; it's a 2004 Mazda RX8. Black. He's always loved that car. Sooooo, there's a distinct possibility that we are trading in my Jeep on Monday and I will inherit Jon's current Mazda 6, and he will get the RX8. There's only about 15 more payments left on Jon's car, and I've been looking to trade in my Jeep for a while. I love it, but it gets terrible gas mileage, and something seems to always be tearing up. Or, my dad may even take over payments of the Jeep and drive it.
Now, to the fun facts. Last night I was watching "The History of Sex" on The History Channel--which, I might add, was NOT pornographic. It chronicled the changing attitudes toward human sexuality from the French Revolution (Marquis de Sade, that freak!) through the Victorian Era. Very interesting. The tidbit that got me, though, was this: In Victorian society, legs were referred to as "limbs," and it was thought that the site of a pair of "legs" would drive a man into a sexual frenzy. So, the "table skirt" was invented during this time to prevent any "unnatural union between men and this piece of furniture." Now that's funny. Gotta love Victorian idealogy.
Oh, and one more fun fact from a Food Network show today: when you visit a blood donor clinic in Dublin, Ireland, and donate a pint of blood, guess what they give you in return? A pint of Guinness! Stout, of course. Man, I want to go back there! Even though I detest beer...shhh...don't tell the Irish!
Hey...someone's outside mowing our grass! Better go see...
Fall Break is coming to an end. The color here this year is waning thanks to the lack of rain. Still, what's here is a nice reminder of why I decide to live in the little town of Bville.
Good week. Graded about 100 student papers (still about 100 more to go), stayed up late and watched Frasier and Golden Girls, won some sweet Neiman Marcus cosmetics samples on Ebay, started my SECOND part time job at MEC ($420 for 12 hours of monitoring kids and assisting with computer stuff), scored approx. 450 SAT essays for a total of 35 hours at $18/hr. (can't do the math). I love successful weeks. Oh, and Jon drove a new car home last night; it's a 2004 Mazda RX8. Black. He's always loved that car. Sooooo, there's a distinct possibility that we are trading in my Jeep on Monday and I will inherit Jon's current Mazda 6, and he will get the RX8. There's only about 15 more payments left on Jon's car, and I've been looking to trade in my Jeep for a while. I love it, but it gets terrible gas mileage, and something seems to always be tearing up. Or, my dad may even take over payments of the Jeep and drive it.
Now, to the fun facts. Last night I was watching "The History of Sex" on The History Channel--which, I might add, was NOT pornographic. It chronicled the changing attitudes toward human sexuality from the French Revolution (Marquis de Sade, that freak!) through the Victorian Era. Very interesting. The tidbit that got me, though, was this: In Victorian society, legs were referred to as "limbs," and it was thought that the site of a pair of "legs" would drive a man into a sexual frenzy. So, the "table skirt" was invented during this time to prevent any "unnatural union between men and this piece of furniture." Now that's funny. Gotta love Victorian idealogy.
Oh, and one more fun fact from a Food Network show today: when you visit a blood donor clinic in Dublin, Ireland, and donate a pint of blood, guess what they give you in return? A pint of Guinness! Stout, of course. Man, I want to go back there! Even though I detest beer...shhh...don't tell the Irish!
Hey...someone's outside mowing our grass! Better go see...
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
"Well, as long as it makes him/her happy..."
I love it when my thoughts finally come to fruition through writing.
Something I've learned through the "School of Hard Knocks" in my brief 29 years on this planet is that "happiness" is definitely a state of mind we can't rely upon as our sole, intimate reason for our decision making. My title, that statement, is a cliche all too familiar to our current generations. Myself included. Since when did it become ok to base our decisions--decisions, I might add, that sometimes drastically impact the ones we claim to love--on a gutteral emotion that can come and go with the ticking of the clock? Take right now, for instance. I am happy because we just refinanced our mortgage on our house. Last week I was UNhappy because of the copy machine debachel (don't ask--kids, you know).
What I'm trying to say is that my happiness was dependant upon external circumstances and not something that permanently altered my life. I see it all too often with my students; decisions based on the "here and now" and what makes them "happy" now. Geez, what made me "happy" when I was 15 is WORLDS away from what makes me "happy" now at 30 (technically 29 :)). But lest we forget that as adults we, too, are guilty of falling into the trap of relying on happiness as our functioning power. What indecisive, fickle people we become when we rely on our emotions to be our guide to make life-changing decisions. Am I pointing the proverbial finger? Well, yes, but do not be mistaken: it points right back at me as well.
My point? Think, people. Actions have consequences, both short and long term. You're probably saying, "I know, I know!" right now, but have you really, really thought about those words? The "carpe diem" lifestyle may work for a while, but pretty soon it catches up with us all. Happiness. What is it? Temporal, fleeting, inane, ephemeral. NOT PERMANENT. Find a solid foundation (the Cross, perhaps, and all it stands for) on which to base your life decisions. I know personally grasping this truth has made me feel more blessed than I ever thought possible. Plus, living in a state of idealism and rationalism is just false gratification; pretty soon, reality slaps you in the face. It's worth thinking about. Stop living to be happy and be happy to be living. It's really all we're guaranteed. Everything else just represents added incentives.
Hmmm....I've just realized that this post represents the worst nightmare for any post-modern, anti-absolute thinkers out there, but you know what? I don't care.
p.s. AP kids--find the chiasmus; BONUS POINTS!
Something I've learned through the "School of Hard Knocks" in my brief 29 years on this planet is that "happiness" is definitely a state of mind we can't rely upon as our sole, intimate reason for our decision making. My title, that statement, is a cliche all too familiar to our current generations. Myself included. Since when did it become ok to base our decisions--decisions, I might add, that sometimes drastically impact the ones we claim to love--on a gutteral emotion that can come and go with the ticking of the clock? Take right now, for instance. I am happy because we just refinanced our mortgage on our house. Last week I was UNhappy because of the copy machine debachel (don't ask--kids, you know).
What I'm trying to say is that my happiness was dependant upon external circumstances and not something that permanently altered my life. I see it all too often with my students; decisions based on the "here and now" and what makes them "happy" now. Geez, what made me "happy" when I was 15 is WORLDS away from what makes me "happy" now at 30 (technically 29 :)). But lest we forget that as adults we, too, are guilty of falling into the trap of relying on happiness as our functioning power. What indecisive, fickle people we become when we rely on our emotions to be our guide to make life-changing decisions. Am I pointing the proverbial finger? Well, yes, but do not be mistaken: it points right back at me as well.
My point? Think, people. Actions have consequences, both short and long term. You're probably saying, "I know, I know!" right now, but have you really, really thought about those words? The "carpe diem" lifestyle may work for a while, but pretty soon it catches up with us all. Happiness. What is it? Temporal, fleeting, inane, ephemeral. NOT PERMANENT. Find a solid foundation (the Cross, perhaps, and all it stands for) on which to base your life decisions. I know personally grasping this truth has made me feel more blessed than I ever thought possible. Plus, living in a state of idealism and rationalism is just false gratification; pretty soon, reality slaps you in the face. It's worth thinking about. Stop living to be happy and be happy to be living. It's really all we're guaranteed. Everything else just represents added incentives.
Hmmm....I've just realized that this post represents the worst nightmare for any post-modern, anti-absolute thinkers out there, but you know what? I don't care.
p.s. AP kids--find the chiasmus; BONUS POINTS!
Friday, October 5, 2007
Lost in a sea of orange...
Yep, that's what I'll be this weekend. Jon, Blake, and I have scored tickets to the Georgia-Tennessee football game Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. An SEC fan's dream. I'm very excited. All these Dawgs fans around the school like to pick on UT fans; they're so unoriginal. :) But I really don't mind who wins. I'm a house divided. What I'm really looking forward to is being swallowed up for three hours by 107,000+ roaring fans; it's an introvert's worst nightmare! But, it really is an amazing experience for a college football fan.
GO VOLS!
Oh, and sorry Angela; I'm not copying your template; this was actually my original color. I strayed away from black midway through the summer, but in honor of Halloween and fall, it's time to change back. Guess we'll just be twin blogs!
GO VOLS!
Oh, and sorry Angela; I'm not copying your template; this was actually my original color. I strayed away from black midway through the summer, but in honor of Halloween and fall, it's time to change back. Guess we'll just be twin blogs!
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